Texas district attorney, wife found dead at home

File- This Jan. 31, 2013 file photo shows David Byrnes, Sheriff of Kaufman County, right, bowing his head as Mike McLelland, District Attorney of Kaufman County answers questions at a news conference at the Kaufman Law Enforcement Center in Kaufman, Texas. McLelland and his wife where found dead in their home Saturday March 30, 2013. Authorities are investigating. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, David Woo, File )

File- This Jan. 31, 2013 file photo shows David Byrnes, Sheriff of Kaufman County, right, bowing his head as Mike McLelland, District Attorney of Kaufman County answers questions at a news conference at the Kaufman Law Enforcement Center in Kaufman, Texas. McLelland and his wife where found dead in their home Saturday March 30, 2013. Authorities are investigating. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, David Woo, File )

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) ? A Texas prosecutor and his wife were found killed in their house two months after one of his assistants was gunned down near their office, authorities said.

Investigators found the bodies of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, on Saturday, said Kaufman County sheriff's Lt. Justin Lewis. Police, FBI agents, Texas Rangers and deputies were part of the investigation.

Assistant district attorney Mark Hasse was shot to death in a parking lot a block from his office on Jan. 31.

Lewis declined to say how the couple died or whether authorities believe their deaths are linked to Hasse's. He wouldn't provide further details.

Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh told The Dallas Morning News that the McLellands had been shot in their home and that although investigators didn't know if their deaths and Hasse's were related, they couldn't discount it.

"It is a shock," Aulbaugh told the paper. "It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock and until we know what happened, I really can't confirm that it's related but you always have to assume until it's proven otherwise."

Sam Rosander, who lives in the same unincorporated area of Kaufman County as the McLellands, told The Associated Press that sheriff's deputies were parked in the district attorney's driveway for about a month after Hasse was killed.

Aulbaugh said recently that the FBI was checking to see if Hasse's killing could be related to the March 19 killing of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements, who was gunned down after answering the doorbell at his home. He said it's routine for authorities to look for possible links when there are similarities between two deaths.

Evan Spencer Ebel, a former Colorado inmate and white supremacist who authorities believe killed Clements and a pizza deliveryman two days earlier, was killed in a March 21 shootout with Texas deputies about 100 miles from Kaufman.

Hasse was chief of the organized crime unit when he was an assistant prosecutor in Dallas County in the 1980s, and he handled similar cases in Kaufman County, 33 miles southeast of Dallas.

McLelland had said Hasse was one of 12 attorneys on his staff, all of whom handle hundreds of cases at a time.

"Anything anybody can think of, we're looking through," McLelland said after the assistant prosecutor was killed.

In recent years, Hasse played major roles in Kaufman County's most high-profile cases, including one in which a justice of the peace was convicted on theft and burglary charges and another in which a man was convicted of killing his former girlfriend and her 10-year-old daughter.

McLelland graduated from the University of Texas before a 23-year career in the Army, according to the website for the district attorney's office. He later earned his law degree from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law.

He and his wife have two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-31-District%20Attorney%20Dead-Texas/id-c11e74fa62304b9b961fce6bb746cd16

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A Clip From The First 'General Hospital' Episode (VIDEO)

insidetv.ew.com:

To help celebrate General Hospital's 50th anniversary on April 1, EW obtained an exclusive look at the very first scenes from the long-running ABC sudser -- which, naturally, begins with images of busy nurses (and a fairly ominous soundtrack). Brace yourself for the Twilight Zone feel of the original black and white episode, and see if you recognize anyone!

Read the whole story at insidetv.ew.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/first-general-hospital-episode_n_2980227.html

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Angelina Jolie Denies "Secret Wedding" to Brad Pitt

Gossips will jump on any opportunity to speculate about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's nuptials -- so when Angelina recently swapped her diamond engagement ring for a gold band, the flurry of "secret wedding" rumors began anew. On Wednesday, Jolie put the rumors to rest with a quick "no" to a nosy paparazzo. Watch the TMZ video below!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/angelina-jolie-denies-secret-wedding-brad-pitt-timeline-their-marriage-rumors/1-a-530940?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aangelina-jolie-denies-secret-wedding-brad-pitt-timeline-their-marriage-rumors-530940

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Customer Complains About Lululemon Sheer Pants - Business Insider

A disgruntled customer says that Lululemon employees made her bend over to prove her pants were see-through.?

The yoga retailer announced it was recalling 17 percent of its pants last week because many were too sheer.?

The Consumerist first reported about the woman's complaint, made on the Lululemon Facebook page.?

"I went into my local store to return my Astro pants and Invert crops, both purchased this month. I was asked to BEND OVER in order to determine sheerness. The sales associate then perused my butt in the dim lighting of the change room and deemed them ?not sheer?. I felt degraded that this is how the recall is being handled. I called the GEC to confirm this is their protocol, and they verified that yes, the ?educators? will verify sheerness by asking the customer to bend over.

Please explain as to how this is gratifying customer service? If I think my black Luon pants are sheer and there is a mass recall happening, am I not entitled to go in without having to BEND OVER and obtain a refund?"

But Lululemon's Facebook administrator quickly worked to address the woman's complaint, offering to contact her local store.

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The company also posted this on Facebook:?

"?We don?t need to see our guests in the garments to deem them sheer. We want our guests to be comfortable in their products and will make it right for them if they feel their black bottoms are sheer."?

Carolyn?Beauchesne, author of?the blog Lululemon Addict,?also reported about women who said they had to bend over in stores to prove sheerness.?

"Lululemon has been pretty?tone-deaf in handling quality issues before?but this really takes the cake," Beauchesne wrote.?

Beauchesne also suggested a solution for the controversy.?

"Publishing a list of items that have been recalled would help clear up a lot of confusion," she wrote. "No list has been released?as of yet."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/customer-complains-about-lululemon-sheer-pants-2013-3

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First South Sudan oil to reach Sudan in mid April

CAIRO (Reuters) - South Sudan's first oil exports will reach Sudan in mid-April after resuming production, Sudan's state news agency SUNA said on Wednesday, citing a senior oil official.

After months of negotiations both African countries agreed earlier this month to resume cross-border oil-flows after tensions between them eased.

Landlocked South Sudan, which shut down its entire output in a row with Khartoum over oil fees last year, needs to export its oil through the Sudanese port of Port Sudan.

The first southern cargo would cross Sudan's border between April 15 and 20 and then go to Port Sudan, Awad Abdel-Fattah, Secretary-General in Sudan's oil ministry, told SUNA.

South Sudan's oil minister said on March 14 oil firms in the South had been ordered to restart production, which he said would take two to three weeks.

South Sudan was producing about 350,000 barrels per day before it shut down its oil output. Both countries depended heavily on crude exports for state revenues and the foreign currency they use to import food and fuel.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 under a 2005 peace deal which ended one of Africa's longest civil wars but both countries are still at loggerheads over ownership of disputed territories and other issues.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-south-sudan-oil-reach-sudan-mid-april-062204650.html

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These Clever Packages Can Turn Crates of Coke Into Boxes of Life-Saving Medicine

It's one thing to have life-saving medicine, but it's quite another to get it delivered to where its really needed. And what better way to make sure it gets to the furthest reaches of the world than by packing it in with a truly vital necessity like Coke. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/qr-vUUtL-9E/these-clever-packages-can-turn-crates-of-coke-into-boxes-of-life+saving-medicine

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Napolitano rejects ?border trigger? in immigration proposal

Janet Napolitano (Christian Science Monitor)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday rejected a "border trigger" provision many Republican lawmakers say must be included in immigration reform legislation.

The proposal, which would require that that the U.S. border with Mexico be declared secure before illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S. could apply for citizenship, has sparked significant concern among progressives and union leaders. And Napolitano, a Democrat and former Arizona governor, revealed Tuesday at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast roundtable in Washington that she also believes it shouldn't be put into practice.

"Once people really look at the whole system and how it works, relying on one thing as a so-called trigger is not the way to go," Napolitano said, adding that multiple factors must be taken into account to determine the border's status. She added that there "needs to be certainty" in an immigration reform bill for families already in the United States.

A bipartisan group group of senators known as the "Gang of 8"are currently working on immigration reform legislation in Congress and proposed border security requirements as part of their deal.

One member of that group, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and fellow Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, have been championing a specific trigger for measuring security and have found support for their idea among congressional conservatives who support immigration reform.

Members of Congress have been in communication with Napolitano personally and with her department.

But Napolitano on Tuesday refused to offer reporters any additional details on her communications with the Senate group.

She did reveal her belief that times have changed.

Napolitano noted that four years ago when she took the helm of the department, there was little appetite for immigration reform among members of Congress while two wars were being waged.

And last year, the 2012 election helped pushed things forward, she said.

"I think now is the time ... I think the election had consequences in that regard."

When asked to rate the Senate group's odds of success, Napolitano offered a nonspecific answer.

"I'm always optimistic," she said.

Napolitano said that today, 10 years after the creation of Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the U.S./Mexico border is more secure than ever before.

Napolitano mentioned a range of issues that fall under her department in addition to immigration, including the Secret Service, customs and border protection and, largely, terrorism.

Napolitano defended the recent decision by the Transportation Security Administration to permit pocketknives on airplanes, something originally outlawed after the 9/11 attacks. Members of Congress and other critics expressed outrage over the decision to make an exception for pocketknives, a decision set to take effect April 25.

But Napolitano on Tuesday said the move was appropriate.

"I think, frankly, it's the right decision," she said. "From a security standpoint, we're trying to prevent a bomb from getting on a plane, and if you're talking about a small knife, there are already things on a plane that somebody could convert into a small, sharp object."

She mentioned that what keeps her awake at night are unseen threats.

It's "not what I know about, 'cause what I know about, we can do something about," Napolitano said. "It's what's out there that I don't know about."

What she doesn't lie awake at night thinking about is the 2016 election.

?I think my plate is so full right now that I think that contemplation would be the kind of thing that would keep me up at night,? Napolitano said, brushing off a question about her presidential aspirations. ?And I lose enough sleep as it is.?

Combating terrorism and defending against attacks is a daily mission of the department, Napolitano said, adding that her department is aiming to hire "600 hackers for good," who will be focused on cyber threats.

Napolitano said she spends a lot of her time working on relations with the private sector with regard to cyber security.

But oddly enough, that doesn't mean she's personally up on the latest cyber technology.

Napolitano explained Tuesday that she does not use email. At all.

And she hasn't used email since she served as Arizona's attorney general around the year 2000.

"I think email sucks up time," she said, lamenting the hundreds of emails she found herself forced to "scroll through" daily and the way in which people used email as a replacement for making contact.

"I haven't found it to be a problem," she added. Napolitano said people who need to reach her are able to do so through her staff (who she mentioned use email for her) and via phone.

Oh, and she doesn't tweet or text either.

It "allows me to focus" on what's important, she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/dhs-secretary-janet-napolitano-doesn-t-rule-2016-144911624--politics.html

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13 Trends That Will Define Business - Business Insider

As much as we focus on the day-to-day political and economic crises in the United States or Europe, we forget that business is truly global. There are technologies and trade and policies that affect every business and country that exist.?

When we get better at transporting things and have greater access to markets, trade gets even more global, and technology and cooperation are really starting to push that. FedEx's?global trade policy magazine Access?put together a list of the biggest trends in business, technology, and trade.

We spoke to Brooking Institute fellow and?global trade expert Josh Meltzer?and FedEx global media manager Jenny Robertson?about some of the top trends?from the report.?

Driverless cars are coming far sooner than we thought

Access spoke?to Wired Magazine co-founder and futurist Kevin Kelly, and asked him what would define trade over the next few years.

He replied:??I think in two years we?ll see certain parts of highway systems where you can turn your car over to the computer within certain parameters."?

The potential impact on the economy is massive. Congestion will cost the US an estimated?$133 billion in 2020.?

While the US lags behind, the rest of the world is moving forward with high speed rail

There are?currently negotiations?to create the world's most ambitious high speed rail network. It could run from China to the United Kingdom, and over 17 countries in between. Parts are already operating, and the hope is to have a fully connected network by 2022.?

Japan's participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership could define 21st century trade in the Asia Pacific region

Japan's recent bid to join the Trans Pacific Partnership trade talks?could be a game-changer.

"A successful bid could be a big strategic gain for the U.S. and the Trans Pacific Partnership ?generally, Brookings fellow Josh Meltzer told us. "It would make it a much more significant trade agreement from a U.S. perspective and change the nature of the negotiations."?

The talks are essential for "developing new rules for 21st century trade in the Asia Pacific region, Melter says. "Those rules are things like digital trade and cross-border data flows, on statehood enterprise, on regulatory coherence, to name a few. And getting Japan in would be important because, from a rules perspective it would increase the potential for the TPP to ultimately become a free trade agreement A in the Asia Pacific region, which I think is the ultimate aim of all of the participants "

Watch out for growing logistics clusters

MIT professor?Yossi Sheffi argues?that a select few cities are making the investments and have the attributes to become "Logistics Clusters" and dominate world trade. He tells Access: ??If you look at Panama?s five-year plan, they want to become more than just the canal. Chongqing in central China is another city to watch. And the German?government just put 100 million euros into Dortmund, Germany, north of Cologne."

The world needs to figure out how to consistently trade services

The United States is the world's number one exporter of services, and is meeting with other leaders in Geneva to try and hammer out a legal framework.?

There are still many barriers, Fedex Global Media Manager Jenny Robertson told us in an email interview:?

U.S. services exporters encounter substantial non-tariff barriers (NTBs) around the world, which keep our services trade from reaching its full potential.? Traditional barriers to services exports include sectoral prohibitions on foreign participation, foreign equity limitations, discriminatory regulatory requirements, lack of transparency, and nationality requirements for service providers. 21st-Century NTBs include restrictions on data flows, forced localization, and unfair competition from state owned enterprise

An?international services agreement that removes barriers could boost exports by $860 billion a year and create three million jobs.

Chinese megacities are going to be an even greater economic behemoth?

Fedex's Jenny Robertson tells us that?"Nine cities will be connected by 150 major infrastructure projects. The megacity?s location in the Pearl River Delta creates a single manufacturing hub of 42 million people ? four times the size of New York City."

The merger will create the world's largest city by 2018, and a massive concentration of economic power.?

Infrastructure is a massive advantage, and countries will race to match Germany and Singapore

A?survey from consulting firm?Mercer found that Singapore had the world's best infrastructure, but that three German cities came in the top five. The benefits are clear. Singapore is a massive global shipping and business hub, and Germany's manufacturing power has weathered years of European difficulty.?

Other countries will be looking to catch up.?Big examples?that will change global trade will include the Panama canal expansion, and massive investments by China in Guangdong and Shanghai.?

Get ready for predictive GPS

GPS is already almost ubiquitous.?Researchers at the University of Birmingham?have created an algorithm that's a sort of predictive GPS, it uses your phone combined with your ?friends to predict where you'll be in a day's time.?

Social shopping may mean the end of exclusivity

More and more, shopping experiences, even online, are community based, centered around curation and a lack of friction. Everyone involved in commerce is going to have to figure out how to deal with a more frictionless and democratic ecosystem.?

Free trade agreements are making the world more open

Access highlights three free trade agreements as particularly significant

• The ?U.S. South Korea FTA will make some 95 percent of bilateral trade between the two huge economies duty-free over the next five years.
• The new U.S. Panama FTA removes tariffs that were as high as 81 percent.
• The EU-Singapore FTA, settled in September, connects two economic powers and makes it easier for both to do business.?

Smart glasses are going to hit the marketplace and change the consumer experience

Once the stuff of science fiction, wearable computers are going to be a fact of consumer life soon. Businesses need to use the experience with early adapters to figure out their advantage as the technology becomes more widespread.?

The data explosion has changed everything, but we have no idea how to regulate it

Data regulation is?"one of the least discussed, most urgent issues affecting trade."

International trade policy needs a huge update to keep up with the pace of innovation. At this point, countries are being more reactionary rather than planning or innovating. One of the biggest things the world can do to grow the economy is come up with a framework that balances between respecting privacy, and giving business a break.?

The financial crisis lead to massive infrastructure spending, and we're still seeing the impact

CIBC World Markets, a Canadian bank,?expects $35 trillion?of global infrastructure spending over the next 20 years.?

That's on top of what's already been spent. The amount of money that's flowed into the global economy hasn't been matched in size or speed?since World War 2.?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/13-trends-that-will-define-business-2013-3

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PFT: Ayanbadejo speaks at Supreme Court rally

Getty Images

The 2011 labor agreement included an important provision:? HGH testing is coming to the NFL.? Nearly 20 months later, HGH testing is no closer than it was before the agreement was signed.

The latest evidence comes from the case of Andrus Veerpalu, an Estonian skier whose three-year suspension was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.? Naturally, the NFL and the NFLPA disagree as to the meaning of the ruling, and the incident has caused Albert Breer of NFL Network to learn that the two sides have scrapped an agreement to conduct a so-called ?population study? aimed at gauging the permissible natural levels of HGH in football players.

The details don?t matter, because neither the NFL nor Congress is willing to do anything more than huff and puff about the union?s refusal to honor the agreement to submit to HGH testing.? As a result, the perception is that neither the NFLPA nor the NFL truly want HGH testing.

Since the day the NFL banned the use of HGH, the prohibition has been enforced via the honor system.? The problem with the honor system? ? It works roughly as well as the rhythm method.? So with no way to test for HGH, players will get caught only if a vial of HGH falls out of their letterman jackets, or if the player?s name pops up in the records of an HGH supplier the government is prosecuting.

Surely, the NFL and the NFLPA realize that, if/when HGH testing begins, plenty of players will be caught.? Which will reduce the supply of healthy players.? In turn, players who quit using HGH will not recover as quickly from injuries, likewise reducing the supply of healthy players.

And it won?t be good for the game if players are busted for using HGH, even though most fans presume that they?re using something to get big, to stay big, and/or to rebound from big hits applied by other big men.

If the NFL truly wanted to force the issue on HGH testing, wouldn?t the league unleash the legal hounds and push the issue in court or via an arbitration?? The players already have agreed to submit to testing, and the NFL has more than enough ammunition to argue that the NFLPA deliberately is dragging its feet.? The idea that the NFL doesn?t want to force players to the needle by court order only goes so far.? At some point, the NFL needs to do more than complain about the NFLPA?s refusal to proceed, or the NFLPA will continue to refuse to proceed.

Likewise, Congress has proven to be impotent on the topic, periodically issuing hollow threats but never taking action.Through it all, the delay has given those who use HGH an opportunity to find better masking agents ? or to develop the next wave of substances that work like HGH but for which testing doesn?t yet exist.

The best news for the NFL, the NFLPA, and Congress is that neither the media nor the fans seem to care that the NFL and the NFLPA have struck a deal to abandon the honor system, but that the honor system has continued to be used for two seasons, and counting.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/26/ayanbadejo-speaks-at-ally-on-steps-of-supreme-court/related/

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Circuit of the Americas: Homegrown Hellraising

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When it comes to choosing venues for press launches, car and motorcycle manufacturers are in a constant race to outdo each other-- from Sardinia to the Arctic Circle, no locale is too far flung for a car or bikemaker to debut their wares, if only for the "wow" factor of juxtaposing their latest, greatest hardware against a visually and viscerally stunning background.

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The latest hot property is the newly minted Circuit of the Americas, a 3.4 mile road course which made its auspicious debut with last November's Formula One United States Grand Prix, and is building buzz for its rumored half billion dollar price tag and difficult-to-learn layout. It's also garnered some unwanted attention for some ugly friction with racing legend Kevin Schwantz, but for the (mainstream) most part, the circuit promises to stoke the motorsports fire stateside in a way that hasn't been achieved in recent memory.

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And so it was in a grand fashion that Ducati launched the first motorcycle press launch at COTA-- and only the second vehicular press launch there, on the heels of a Jeep SRT8 event just a few weeks earlier-- and heralded the new track with their $30,000 1199 Panigale R superbike.

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What's it like to pilot the ?berDuc at the Austin track? In a word, daunting: negotiating 20 turns of varying camber, shifting radii, and elevation changes is no small task, and doing so aboard a 195 hp, 417 lb two-wheeled rocket requires every last ounce of core strength, concentration, and intestinal fortitude. It's not just about remembering the nuance of each turn, but staying on guard when rhythmic, high-speed esses constrict into a tight right hander that's sure to create some interesting power plays when the MotoGP circus goes to battle there on April 21. The track offers a little bit of everything, which I was fortunate (and frightened) enough to experience on the Panigale R: a dramatic uphill that resolves with an acute left hander, followed by a sweeping right hander that F1 cars have taken at roughly 180 mph-- not to mention a back straight so long, the Ducati is able to hit the rev limiter in sixth gear before its monobloc stoppers are called to duty for a sharp left hander so tight, F1 cars can only handle it at a piddling 68 mph.

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With rental rates for the general public rumored to be in the $100,000 range, it's unlikely that COTA will be accessed by many enthusiasts. But in terms of a fresh stage for motorsports in the U.S., it will be hard to beat the newest, biggest, and most notorious circuit to hit primetime in years.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/ducati-panigale-r-circuit-of-the-americas?src=rss

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Jolie meets with women, girls in eastern Congo

GOMA, Congo (AP) ? Angelina Jolie is meeting with women and girls in eastern Congo, where sexual violence is rampant.

Jolie, a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, traveled to the Nzulo camp near Goma on Monday along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The International Rescue Committee says it's provided care to more than 2,500 women and girls who have been raped or abused over the last year alone. The IRC is handing out kits with flashlights and whistles, as well as cleaning products so that women can avoid bathing at creeks where the risk of assault is higher.

Sexual violence is frequently used as a weapon of war by rebel groups that operate in eastern Congo, as well as by Congolese soldiers.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-25-AF-Congo-People-Jolie/id-205d4f0f19344bc88a93054f4b0596d7

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I'm Home! ? Fostering Family Bonds and a Sense of Home

Photo Credit to misteraitch on Flickr

?Mommy, I?m home!? two-year-old Ethan hollered. He had just been to Sunday School and was returning to the class room where is own mother was the teacher. Considering where Ethan had just been, where he was and where he was going, perhaps those words are more profound than we realize.

Home is Where the Family Is

We all long to be home, and even Ethan knows that home is where Mommy ? or family ? is. In this modern age, families can feel at home even if they are not physically together. A college student feels at home when they receive a care package. Grandparents feel at home when they get homemade cards from the grandchildren. Children feel at home when they are connected in some way to their parents, and parents feel at home when all the little chickens are safely in the coop.

Some things to do to foster family bonds:

? Maintain photo albums to teach children about extended family
? Keep a family journal to be read out loud occasionally, reminding ourselves what fun we have as a family
? Keep a family history and pass down our heritage, complete with stories of our ancestors
? Keep family prominently displayed in our home
? Write and telephone extended family regularly

Home is Where God Is

Ethan had just been to Sunday School, and recognized that he was Home. He is being taught about his Heavenly Father and Jesus, and that if he lives a certain way, he can return Home to live with them. What can we do now, as adults, to progress on our journey Home? The same thing that we teach our children: Scripture reading, prayer, and living according to God?s commandments. Choose good friends and treat others kindly.

Some things to do to improve our journey home:

? Pray on a regular basis
? Read scriptures daily; better yet ? FEAST upon the word by studying it
? Do a good deed daily ? or more
? Learn and keep God?s commandments
? Love one another

Home is Where We Feel Safe

Ethan felt at home at church because he felt safe there. Just like the wise man who built his house upon a rock, we feel safest when we are within sturdy dwellings. We feel safe when we are prepared for life to happen. We feel safe when we have back up plans.
We also feel safe on a different level when we are with those we love and who love us. Ethan knew he was surrounded and protected by people he loved and could trust. Like him, we want to be with family when we are in danger, but we also call upon the Lord at those times. As the saying goes ? there are no atheists in foxholes!! His presence makes us feel safe and secure wherever we are and whoever we are with.

Some things to do to feel safe:

? Plan ahead and be prepared
? Have emergency plans for fire and tornado, and practice those plans regularly
? Have a list of contacts phone numbers in a convenient place
? Have emergency supplies stocked up and easily accessible
? Establish and/or maintain a relationship with God (see previous list)

We Must Actively Teach our Children To Feel Safe

Children do not automatically feel safe. How can they unless they experience it first? That occurs when they are infants, swaddled and cuddled. As they grow, there are specific things we can do to help our children feel as safe as Ethan.

? Teach them that Heavenly Father loves them.
? Teach them the names of all the people in their lives that love them
? Teach them how to always get in touch with you, provide them access, and RESPOND IMMEDIATELY, regardless of where you are or who you are with
? Teach them how to get in touch with all the other people that love them
? Teach them the family safety plans

Are We Doing All We Can to Go Home?

Ethan is doing all he can to return home ? to his mother at church and to his Heavenly home ? by trusting his parents. We must trust our Heavenly Father in the same, childlike way. If we do that, we will feel safety here, and safety there!

About Robin Egerton

Robin Egerton has written 67 posts in this blog.

Robin is an experienced homeschooler and has extensive experience in fostering and adopting. After several years as a foster parent, Robin and her husband adopted a total of five children and later began a homesteading project. She learned to raise chickens, sheep and dogs. After growing extensive gardens and planting an orchard, the produce is canned and added to the food storage pantry to this day. When life with teens became extraordinarily hectic, Robin began putting her canning energy into preparing her own convenience foods. Robin's hobbies are knitting, crocheting, genealogy and she will soon be joining the world of amateur photography.

Source: http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/im-home-fostering-family-bonds-and-a-sense-of-home

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BoE's King says global crisis "far from over"

In his new cover story for New York magazine, Joe Hagan offers the most in-depth look at the Today?show ratings?disaster that has created Matt Lauer's weeks-long attempt at image rehabilitation, and it's now clear that the defining moment that brought the morning show crashing own to Earth ? the exit of Ann Curry ? was something of a cross between the fourth circle of Hell and?and running with the Heathers?in high school: Curry got pranked, she got her clothes made fun of, she was prevented from reaching out to Robin Roberts, and her legacy lives on as a ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boes-king-says-global-crisis-far-over-180418323--business.html

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Colorado governor a friend of paroled inmate's dad

This undated photo released by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows paroled inmate Evan Spencer Ebel. Ebel, 28, is the man who led Texas authorities on a 100 mph car chase that ended in a shootout Thursday, March 21, 2013, and may be linked to the slaying of Colorado's state prison chief. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Corrections)

This undated photo released by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows paroled inmate Evan Spencer Ebel. Ebel, 28, is the man who led Texas authorities on a 100 mph car chase that ended in a shootout Thursday, March 21, 2013, and may be linked to the slaying of Colorado's state prison chief. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Corrections)

Emergency personnel are on the scene of a crash and shootout with police involving the driver of a black Cadillac with Colorado plates in Decatur, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The driver led police on a gunfire-filled chase through rural Montague County, crashed his car into a truck in Decatur, opened fire on authorities and was shot, officials said. Texas authorities are checking whether the Cadillac is the same car spotted near the home of Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements, who was shot and killed when he answered the door Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Wise County Messenger, Joe Duty) MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT

Emergency personnel are on the scene of a crash and shootout with police involving the driver of a black Cadillac with Colorado plates in Decatur, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The driver led police on a gunfire-filled chase through rural Montague County, crashed his car into a truck in Decatur, opened fire on authorities and was shot, officials said. Texas authorities are checking whether the Cadillac is the same car spotted near the home of Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements, who was shot and killed when he answered the door Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Wise County Messenger, Jimmy Alford) MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT

Emergency personnel carry the driver of a black Cadillac with Colorado plates who was involved in a high speed chase and shootout with police in Decatur, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The driver led police on a gunfire-filled chase through rural Montague County, crashed his car into a truck in Decatur, opened fire on authorities and was shot, officials said. Texas authorities are checking whether the Cadillac is the same car spotted near the home of Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements, who was shot and killed when he answered the door Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Wise County Messenger, Jimmy Alford) MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT

This undated image provided by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows its director, Tom Clements. Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer says Clements was shot to death around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night, March 19, 2013 when he answered his front door in Monument, Colo., north of Colorado Springs. Police are searching for the shooter. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Corrections)

DENVER (AP) ? Attorney Jack Ebel testified before the Colorado Legislature two years ago that solitary confinement in a Colorado prison was destroying the psyche of his son, Evan.

When Jack Ebel's longtime friend, Gov. John Hickenlooper, was interviewing a Missouri corrections official for the top prisons job in Colorado, he mentioned the case as an example of why the prison system needed reform. And once Tom Clements came to Colorado, he eased the use of solitary confinement and tried to make it easier for people housed there to re-enter society.

Now authorities are investigating whether Evan Spencer Ebel, who was paroled in January, is linked to the assassination of Clements, who was shot and killed Tuesday night when he answered the front door of his house in a rural neighborhood.

The bullet casings from that shooting are the same type as those found at the site of a bloody gun battle Thursday between Evan Ebel and Texas law enforcement officers that ended with Ebel being shot and killed, according to court records.

The car Ebel drove matched the description of the one spotted outside Clements' house on the night of the prison director's death. Authorities also found a Domino's pizza delivery box in the trunk and a jacket or shirt from the pizza chain. Denver police say Ebel is now a suspect in the Sunday slaying of pizza delivery man Nathan Leon.

Hickenlooper confirmed his relationship with Jack Ebel to The Denver Post and KUSA-TV Friday evening and then in a written statement Friday night. State records show Ebel donated $1,050 to the governor's 2010 campaign. But there's no indication that Hickenlooper's relationship with the Ebels played a role in the shooting.

Hickenlooper denied having any role in Evan Ebel's parole.

"Although Jack loved his son, he never asked me to intervene on his behalf and I never asked for any special treatment for his son," Hickenlooper's written statement said.

State prisons spokeswoman Alison Morgan said Evan Ebel was paroled Jan. 28 as part of a mandatory process after serving his full prison term. He had most recently been sentenced to four years for punching a prison guard in 2008, according to state records.

Hickenlooper said he never mentioned Ebel's name to Clements or anyone else connected with the prisons system. He said he only heard about the role of his friend's son Thursday night.

"I didn't know Evan was out," the governor told The Denver Post and KUSA, adding that he called Jack Ebel after being told of the connection. "He was distraught, he was devastated. I've never heard him so upset, and he's had some hard things in his life."

Lt. Jeff Kramer of the El Paso County sheriff's office said Friday evening that he was unaware of the relationship between Hickenlooper and Ebel's father.

Jack Ebel did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment.

A federal law enforcement official said Ebel was a member of a white supremacist prison gang, the 211s. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Colorado officials wouldn't confirm Ebel's membership but placed state prisons on lockdown Friday afternoon.

"There's been an inordinate amount of media attention on one threat group, and that has required additional security measures," Morgan said. The corrections department also was preparing for a Monday memorial service for Clements, she said.

The 211 gang is one of the most vicious white supremacist groups operating in the nation's prisons, comparable to the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups.

Founded in 1995 to protect white prisoners from attacks, it operates only in Colorado and has anywhere from between a couple hundred to 1,000 members, senior fellow Mark Potok said Friday.

Legal records show Ebel was convicted of several crimes in Colorado dating back to 2003.

Scott Robinson, a criminal defense attorney and media legal analyst, represented Ebel in 2003 and 2004. He said Ebel had been sentenced to a halfway house for a robbery charge in 2003 before he was accused in two additional robbery cases the following year that garnered prison sentences of three and eight years.

"I thought he was a young man who was redeemable, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the case," Robinson said, saying he didn't recall the details of the case.

Robinson said he knew Ebel before he got in trouble. He said Ebel had a younger sister who died in a car accident years ago.

Vicky Bankey said Ebel was in his teens when she lived across from him in suburban Denver until his father moved a couple of years ago. She remembers seeing Ebel once jump off the roof of his house. "He was a handful. I'd see him do some pretty crazy things," she said.

"He had a hair-trigger temper as a kid. But his dad was so nice," Bankey said.

Hickenlooper agreed that Evan Ebel had "a bad streak" that his parents had tried to correct.

"The events of the past few days have been devastating for all involved," he said in the written statement. "I am in shock and disbelief about how everything seems connected in this case. It makes no sense. Tom's death at the hands of someone hell-bent on causing evil was tragic in every way. It also now appears Tom's killer may have had another victim. Our hearts and prayers are with Nathan Leon's family as well."

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers P. Solomon Banda, Dan Elliott, Colleen Slevin, Alexandra Tilsley and Catherine Tsai in Denver; Thomas Peipert in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Angela K. Brown in Decatur, Texas.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-23-Corrections%20Director%20Killed/id-fe5afb4e6434425cb5d5cf79b968fc16

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Regency Travel and Tours unveils highlights of Qatar | News ...

As the burgeoning city of Qatar rapidly advances becoming ever more attractive to local, regional and international tourists, Regency Travel and Tours - named World?s Leading Travel Agency by the World Travel Awards in 2012 - has unveiled a new hand-guide to the country?s top excursions.

Regency Holidays, the leisure & tours division of Regency Travels and Tours, and a household name for holiday travel in Qatar is launching a new range of exciting serviced tour packages, allowing both locals and expats alike to discover the hidden treasures of Qatar ? 101 Things to do in Qatar.

The ?101 things to do in Qatar? product will offer a range of serviced packages under History, Culture, Adventure, Entertainment, Water Sports, Shopping and Leisure. Whether you?re a Doha resident looking for a fun family weekend or a traveller in transit searching for a spot of culture, Regency Travel and Tours tailored packages and 24 hour booking service make discovering Doha easy.

From afternoons of adventure in your own private desert camp to an evening of romantic dining at a sunken desert dinner table, carved from the sands of the Arabian dunes. See a falcon race across the sky after its prey or take a turn through history at the Museum of Islamic Art. Stroll through Souq Waqif on a hot Doha day and haggle with the spice merchants, watch a wonderful sunset splinter across the Arabian Sea from the deck of your own private Dhow, listen to tales of the undiscovered ocean from the original pearl divers.

From jet skiing, to fishing and horseback riding choose any one of the 101 Things to do in Doha and discover the city as you?ve never seen it, through the eyes of the locals who know best.

101 Things to do in Qatar is the brain child of Regency Travel and Tours, birthed from 26 years of experience as the leading tour operator in the country. As one of the key ambassadors for inbound and outbound tourism in Qatar to both international and local traders, it was only natural that Regency Travel and Tours progress Qatar?s vision 2022 goals to market the country to the next level.

By positioning Qatar as an ideal cultural and luxury leisure destination for individual and family travellers the new range of affordable packages designed by the local Qatari community outlines the numerous opportunities Qatar holds for entertainment under the 101 Things to do in Qatar brand.?

The core objective of this new brand is to expose the possibilities for family and independent entertainment by educating the public and tourism faculties with a series of pamphlets and brochures highlighting prime locations, activities, camps, outings, trainings and recreations.

With an emphasis on quality and service, Regency Holidays will roll-out their new campaign from March 2013 with a series of trademarked red ?101 Things to do in Qatar? branded flyer stands, soon to be available in hotels, cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and gas stations across the country; offering free city-guide brochures to the public, inviting them to experience the city?s best entertainment and excursions.

On a mission to educate the public the Regency Holidays team will be inspiring the industry with a branded road show, enhancing the knowledge of hotel concierges, and sub-agents in the local market with the full list of ?101 Things to do in Qatar?; equipping them with the perfect tool to sell the experience to travellers who might be curious about what the country has to offer in the way of entertainment. With packages created from as short as a two hour shopping blitz to a day of overnight desert camping anything can be easily and affordably arranged through Regency Holidays, depending on the client?s desires and availability. By training these key bodies in the local tourism industry Regency Holidays believe they will be able to provide a better service to visiting guests from neighboring GCC countries and international travellers by giving them a richer and more meaningful experience of Qatar.

The new campaign will involve heavy social media plugs and presence on the recently re-launched website,? www.RegencyHolidays.com and on Facebook, in an effort to captivate a wider audience, promoting the product extensively as the ?101 Things to do in Qatar? gathers momentum and champions itself firmly as the countries number leading city-guide. In 2012 Qatar was named World?s Leading Business Travel Destination by the World Travel Awards.

Source: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/regency-travel-and-tours-unveils-highlights-of-qatar/

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Amazing Race B-52 Bomber Prop Sparks Outrage From Vietnam Veterans

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/amazing-race-b-52-bomber-prop-sparks-outrage-from-vietnam-vetera/

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Russian serial killer who called himself 'Rambo' gets life sentence for 9 murders

By Steve Gutterman, Reuters

MOSCOW ? A Russian serial killer who butchered his nine victims with a knife and hammer -- and said he ate the hearts of two of them ? was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.

Prosecutors said Alexander Bychkov targeted alcoholics and the homeless out of disdain for their way of life, lured them into deserted areas, killed them, dismembered them and hid the body parts.

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They said he described all nine killings in a journal with the words: "The bloody hunt of a predator born in the year of the dragon," state-run news agency RIA reported.

A court in the Penza region convicted the 24-year-old, who sometimes called himself "Rambo," of nine murders between September 2009 and January 2012.

Bychkov was arrested last year on suspicion of stealing 10,000 roubles ($320) and merchandise from a hardware store, but was charged with the murders after investigators found evidence.

RIA said he told authorities he had eaten the hearts of two victims, but he was not charged over that because there was no evidence to prove it.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/29de6516/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C220C174144860Erussian0Eserial0Ekiller0Ewho0Ecalled0Ehimself0Erambo0Egets0Elife0Esentence0Efor0E90Emurders0Dlite/story01.htm

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British judge upholds ban on Christian group's "gay cure" ads

By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) - A British judge upheld on Friday a decision to ban a Christian group from placing adverts on London buses that suggested people could be cured of homosexuality.

The group, Core Issues Trust, wanted to place adverts on the side of London's distinctive red double-decker buses that read: "Not gay! Ex-gay, post-gay and proud. Get over it!"

The proposed adverts were a response to a campaign by gay rights group Stonewall, which had run adverts on London buses that read: "Some people are gay. Get over it!"

In a 35-page ruling, High Court judge Beverley Lang dismissed Core Issues Trust's claim for a judicial review into the ban on the adverts imposed by Transport for London (TFL).

"(The advert) was not a contribution to a reasoned debate," she wrote, saying that the group's freedom of expression was counter-balanced by the risk of causing grave offence to gay people and increasing homophobic attacks.

Core Issues Trust said it would appeal, arguing the judgment was "likely to stifle open and free debate" about homosexuality and discriminate against "those who reject a 'gay' identity".

The group says it aims to help "people who voluntarily seek to change from a 'gay' lifestyle to a gender-affirming one".

Stonewall welcomed the judgment, saying the decision to ban what it described as "voodoo 'gay cure' adverts" was correct.

TFL, the public body in charge of the bus network, decided in April 2012 to stop Core Issues Trust from running the adverts on the grounds that they went against its "commitment to a tolerant and inclusive London".

"CENSORSHIP"

The Christian group argued in court that the real reason for the ban was that London Mayor Boris Johnson disagreed with the view expressed and thought the adverts could hinder his re-election campaign. A mayoral election was due three weeks later.

Core Issues Trust based the accusation on a TFL press statement dated April 12, 2012, which said the mayor "was strongly of the view that this ad should not be run".

Judge Lang dismissed the accusation that Johnson had abused his position as TFL chairman to advance his political interests. She said TFL had acted in its own interest to avoid causing offence, an objective shared but not imposed by Johnson.

Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said Johnson had been right to express his objections to the proposed adverts.

"In a city where over half of gay young people face bullying at school, and where tens of thousands of gay people are subjected to hate crimes every year just because of the way they were born, it's perfectly proper for a mayor to object to the use of such advertising in an iconic public setting," he said.

However, Lang's judgment contained some criticism of TFL, suggesting that it had not considered whether it was perhaps applying double standards by banning Core Issues Trust's adverts after it had allowed Stonewall's "Get over it!" campaign.

Christian groups supporting Core Issues Trust seized on that part of Lang's judgment, which referred to the Stonewall adverts as "controversial, sensitive and potentially offensive".

"As soon as a Christian group responds to Stonewall's provocation and dares to challenge the reigning political orthodoxy, the message is banned," said Andrea Minichiello Williams, director of a group called the Christian Legal Centre.

"This case demonstrates the huge asymmetry and censorship that characterises public debate at the moment," she said.

(Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-judge-upholds-ban-christian-groups-gay-cure-134816468.html

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Men and women get sick in different ways: Developing gender-specific medicine is a major challenge of the future

Mar. 22, 2013 ? Recent research in laboratory medicine has revealed crucial differences between men and women with regard to cardiovascular illness, cancer, liver disease, osteoporosis, and in the area of pharmacology.

At the dawn of the third millennium medical researchers still know very little about gender-specific differences in illness, particularly when it comes to disease symptoms, influencing social and psychological factors, and the ramifications of these differences for treatment and prevention. Medical research conducted over the past 40 years has focused almost exclusively on male patients.

A new article titled "Gender medicine: a task for the third millennium" presents research on gender-related differences conducted by Giovannella Baggio of Padua University Hospital and her team.

The article, which appears in the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM), highlights evidence for considerable differences between the sexes in five domains -- cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver diseases, osteoporosis, and pharmacology.

Typically perceived as a male illness, cardiovascular disease often displays markedly different symptoms among women. While a constricted chest and pain that radiates through the left arm are standard signs of heart attack in men, in women the usual symptoms are nausea and lower abdominal pain. Although heart attacks in women are more severe and complicated, when complaining of these non-specific symptoms women often do not receive the necessary examination procedures, such as an ECG , enzyme diagnostic tests or coronary angiography.

Colon cancer is the second most common form of cancer among men and women. However, women suffer this illness at a later stage in life. Furthermore, colon tumors typically have a different location in women, and they respond better to specific chemical treatments. Gender also has an impact on the patient's responsiveness to chemotherapy administered to treat cancer, such as colon, lung, or skin cancer. In this way, gender impacts the course of the disease and the patient's chances for survival.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a liver disease that primarily affects women. The authors of the study provide clear evidence that for this disease and chronic hepatitis C, the genetic makeup and differing hormone levels of females are a primary risk factor. This finding also applies to osteoporosis. While typically viewed as a female disease because of the much higher rate of female patients, osteoporosis also strikes men. The study contends that osteoporosis is too often overlooked in male patients, and it documents a higher mortality rate among men suffering bone fractures.

Baggio and her team also show variation between men and women in the pharmacology of aspirin and other substances. Differences in action and side effects are attributable to different body types, varying reaction times in the absorption and elimination of substances, and a fundamentally different hormonal status. Thus, to administer medication safely and effectively, the dosage and duration of treatment must take the patient's gender into account.

The study concludes that additional and more far-reaching clinical investigations of gender differences are needed in order to eliminate fundamental inequalities between men and women in the treatment of disease.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by De Gruyter, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Giovannella Baggio, Alberto Corsini, Annarosa Floreani, Sandro Giannini, Vittorina Zagonel. Gender medicine: a task for the third millennium. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 2013; 0 (0): 1 DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2012-0849

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/most_popular/~3/ZvFzAurIc-I/130322090850.htm

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Selena Gomez Brushes Off 'Spring Breakers' Persona: It's Just 'A Part'

Knowing her character, Faith, is just a role, the actress tells MTV News she was comfortable in the film, out nationwide on Friday.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Selena Gomez in "Spring Breakers"
Photo: Muse Productions

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704092/selena-gomez-spring-breakers.jhtml

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Dot Earth Blog: Global Study of Monsoons Finds Ocean Variations Have Driven Recent Shifts

The seasonal rains called monsoons matter enormously to human affairs, from the Indian subcontinent to the American Southwest. Getting a better understanding of the forces that will shape these features of the climate system in coming decades is a big research priority, but also a very tough challenge given the many factors in play.

In a study published in this week?s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers analyzing monsoon patterns around the Northern Hemisphere since the 1970s conclude that there has been a substantial intensification of summer monsoon rainfall and circulation. The researchers say natural variations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans appear to be the main force behind the shift. Climate models have tended to project a different result.

I asked a variety of scientists working on these questions to evaluate the paper and related materials in an e-mail discussion including one of the authors, Peter Webster, a Georgia Institute of Technology climate scientist.

I distributed the abstract and a news release from the University of Hawaii, where the lead author, Bin Wang, is chairman of the department of meteorology.

Here?s an excerpt from the release:

Current theory predicts that the Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon circulation should weaken under anthropogenic global warming.

Wang and his colleagues, however, found that over the past 30 years, the summer monsoon circulation, as well as the Hadley and Walker circulations, have all substantially intensified. [Explore this Real Climate post to see how much this finding conflicts with what had been conventional wisdom.]

This intensification has resulted in significantly greater global summer monsoon rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere than predicted from greenhouse-gas-induced warming alone: namely a 9.5% increase, compared to the anthropogenic predicted contribution of 2.6% per degree of global warming.

Most of the recent intensification is attributable to a cooling of the eastern Pacific that began in 1998. This cooling is the result of natural long-term swings in ocean surface temperatures, particularly swings in the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation or mega-El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation, which has lately been in a mega-La Ni?a or cool phase. Another natural climate swing, called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, also contributes to the intensification of monsoon rainfall.

Here?s a link to the paper and the abstract, followed by the discussion so far:

?Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon intensi?ed by mega-El Ni?o/southern oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation?

Bin Wang, Jian Liu, Hyung-Jin Kim, Peter J. Webster, So-Young Yim, and Baoqiang Xiang

Prediction of monsoon changes in the coming decades is important for infrastructure planning and sustainable economic development. The decadal prediction involves both natural decadal variability and anthropogenic forcing. Hitherto, the causes of the decadal variability of Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon (NHSM) are largely unknown because the monsoons over Asia, West Africa, and North America have been studied primarily on a regional basis, which is unable to identify coherent decadal changes and the overriding controls on planetary scales. Here, we show that, during the recent global warming of about 0.4?C since the late 1970s, a coherent decadal change of precipitation and circulation emerges in the entirety of the NHSM system. Surprisingly, the NHSM as well as the Hadley and Walker circulations have all shown substantial intensi?cation, with a striking increase of NHSM rainfall by 9.5% per degree of global warming. This is unexpected from recent theoretical prediction and model projections of the 21st century. The intensi?cation is primarily attributed to a mega-El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (a leading mode of interannual-to-interdecadal variation of global sea surface temperature) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and further in?uenced by hemispherical asymmetric global warming.

These factors driving the present changes of the NHSM system are instrumental for understanding and predicting future decadal changes and determining the proportions of climate change that are attributable to anthropogenic effects and long-term internal variability in the complex climate system.

In my query to climate scientists, I noted that the work appeared to raise significant questions about the limits of climate models and pose a challenge for anyone arguing that recent shifts in monsoons are due to human-driven climate change. Here?s the discussion (I cleaned up some e-mail shorthand but the rest is as written; it is technical in spots):

Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research:

I do not find this result at all surprising, but some of the material is a bit misleading. I have not read the paper, however there continues to be confusion about changes in monsoons (in this case), or ENSO [the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation], etc. and the effects of those changes in terms of precipitation and other effects. So the terminology makes a difference.

For instance please see Trenberth, K. E., 2011: ?Changes in precipitation with climate change.? Climate Research, 47, 123-138, doi:10.3354/cr00953

So while the monsoon winds might weaken the precipitation nonetheless increases (more bang for the buck) as a weaker circulation carries more water vapor (and latent energy). ENSO might weaken by some definitions but droughts and floods increase in magnitude. The way one frames the questions about the role of climate change matters. Decadal variability has been acknowledged in many other recent publications such as?

Dai, A., 2013: ?The influence of the Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation on U.S. precipitation during 1923-2010.? Climate Dynamics, doi:10.1007/s00382-012-1446-5, in press.

?and extensively in climate models in the work of Clara Deser, see the paper in Nature Climate Change recently and articles such as this?

Deser, C., A. S. Phillips, V. Bourdette, and H. Teng, 2012: ?Uncertainty in climate change projections: The role of internal variability.? Climate Dyn., 38, 527-546, DOI 10.1007/s00382-010-0977-x.

Indeed regionally, interannual and decadal variability is still dominant in the climate record and will be for a long time. The whole idea of regional climate prediction that has come to the fore mainly because of need/demand is not based on sound science owing to fundamental predictability issues. How one does attribution is indeed an issue.

Andrew Turner, a climate scientist at the University of Reading in England (interviewed by Vikas Bajaj for the Green blog last year):

The paper?offers a useful framework for which decadal variations in the global (or northern hemisphere) may be explained via large scale modes of oceanic variability. This potentially could lead to added predictability for a certain proportion of monsoon rainfall variability.

However, this decadal predictability, ?necessary for infrastructure planning, energy policy, business development, and issues related to sustainability? (to quote the PNAS paper) is only useful to end-users (people on the ground) if rainfall in local regions can be better predicted. Basing local planning decisions on hemisphere-scale signals may be misguided, and so probably if any decadal predictions can be made for these hemisphere-scale portions of the monsoon then they need to be supplemented by information from other sources of predictability in order to target the local level. Whether this can be done is another matter.

A certain amount of care is needed in interpreting the results of this paper at a local or even regional monsoon level. For example the increasing trend in the coherent NHSM decadal precipitation shown in the paper (Figure S3B: the spatial pattern and associated principal component time series of the EOF) in fact suggest a weakening over recent decades in much of India and East Asia. This is in stark contrast to the headline result.

Correspondingly, in those regions I mention (which, by population, represent the most important regions of the global monsoon) much of the increasing precipitation signal is coming from oceanic regions: the eastern Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the South and East China Seas and Bay of Bengal. The declining signal over India shown by the GPCP decadal mode is broadly consistent with gauge measurements since the 1950s ? that several research groups including my own are trying to understand, perhaps relating to emissions of anthropogenic aerosol ? although there are discrepancies between these gauge-based data sets themselves (see our recent review in Nature Climate Change, for example).

We already know that (regional) monsoon variability on the scales for sub-seasonal to interannual are higher than the projected model trends of future mean monsoon rainfall (I?ve just seen that Kevin has mentioned this also). In some models, the decadal variability for monsoons such as the South Asian monsoon also outweighs the magnitude of the future trends, and in others it does not (the review above is one example showing this). We need to better characterise the decadal variability in the regional monsoons and understand why models show such different behavior.

Reacting to Trenberth, Peter J. Webster, an author of the new paper and climate scientist at Georgia Tech, wrote this, directed to Kevin Trenberth:

Kevin,

Thanks for your insight. But perhaps you might read the paper first before directing (misdirecting) the attention away from Andy?s questions.
To me, the issue is that there is a trend when one considers the global monsoon (and yes, Kevin has written about the global monsoon, too). I think that one of the problems that we have had in monsoon stuff is to consider the monsoons bit by bit. We received reviewer criticism from (I guess) Indian scientists who have spoken of a diminishing monsoon. Yet, India is a small place and their statistics are based on the average annual rainfall over India that doesn?t include rainfall from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh or any countries in East Asia. I think that one has to be careful in drawing global conclusions from local or even regional trends or events (read Sandy!) What this paper does is show that if one carefully considers the larger scale aspects of the monsoon including the oceanic monsoon (see some of the papers by Winston Chao a decade or so ago: thoroughly recommend) then one can start to see trends on a global basis. I think that some times we get caught up in minitua or filligree of climate. So if we make a contribution in this paper it is that viewed holistically that the monsoons are changing and there is a supporting physical basis for this.

Webster added this note, directed to Andrew Turner (and me):

Dear Andys (two),

Andy T?s point is well taken but please read the previous note. We start by making the point that there is a trend in the global monsoon as we describe it. Yes, there are changes in the Indian monsoon but note that this a regional perspective. Let us say that we start at looking at the rainfall over India and then extrapolate that to the globe. One gets an opposite global trend that is completely misleading. And one is left trying to understand regional changes without a global context. But if one finds a global monsoon trend and if it turns out to be robust, then one has a handle to help understand local or regional changes. To me, the most important thing is finding large scale physics that help make sense regional changes.

Andy T is correct that the largest changes in the South Asian monsoon rainfall is occurring in the Bay of Bengal which, by the way, is the regional maximum in precipitation and has been for a long time. And, I believe that the Indian Ocean is the ocean of fastest sea-surface temperature increase. So I am hopeful that we can increase interdecadal prediction by understanding the links between global physics and regional response.

Years ago, Tim Palmer and I had a discussion about the impact of global forcing (e.g., CO2) on circulation patterns. It seemed to us that the impact would be on the ?normal modes? of natural variability. That is, one would expect impacts to be on the gross features of the climate system (PDO, AMO, ENSO?.). Whereas the magnitude and frequency of these phenomena may be forced to change, it is less likely that we would get new phenomena. We may even have written this up 20 years ago in some obscure journal. But I think that this point is pertinent to our paper.

I?ll add more as responses come in. If you have questions, post them and I?ll alert the group I?ve queried.

It?s important not to rely too much on a single study, of course. Here?s recent research, also from the University of Hawaii, that has a closer focus on southern Asia and draws different conclusions: ?Global Warming Shifts The Monsoon Circulation, Drying South Asia?. And looking further in the future, other researchers see greenhouse-driven warming becoming a big and harmful influence in that populous region: ?A statistically predictive model for future monsoon failure in India.?

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/global-study-of-monsoons-finds-ocean-variations-have-driven-recent-shifts/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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