Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/303100395?client_source=feed&format=rss
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শনিবার, ৪ মে, ২০১৩
বৃহস্পতিবার, ২ মে, ২০১৩
Book News: Amazon in the Arab World, Playing Moby : The New ...
Twenty-five handwritten manuscripts, including those of ?The Great Gatsby,? ?The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,? and ?Mrs. Dalloway.?
Does a poem that Sylvia Plath wrote two weeks before her death reveal her as being ?disturbed??
Michael Bhaskar explores the reasons for Amazon?s reluctance to enter the Arab book world.
?A sealed letter arrived at the palace?s library, leaving staff stunned. The letter, written by a former Lambeth Palace Library employee before his death, revealed the whereabouts of many of the library?s precious books.? Fourteen hundred stolen books were recently recovered by London?s Lambeth Palace Library.
Read this Q. & A. with the makers of Moby Dick, the video game.
Source: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/05/book-news-amazon-in-arab-world-playing-moby.html
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Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs
May 1, 2013 ? The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have found. The tail's exceptional flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm equipped with muscles made out of polymer, which could be used in medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation. UC San Diego engineers, led by materials science professors Joanna McKittrick and Marc Meyers, detailed their findings in the March 2013 issue of the journal Acta Biomaterialia.
"The study of natural materials can lead to the creation of new and unique materials and structures inspired by nature that are stronger, tougher, lighter and more flexible," said McKittrick, a professor of materials science at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.
McKittrick and Meyers had sought bioinsipiration by examining the armor of many other animals, including armadillo, alligators and the scales of various fish. This time, they were specifically looking for an animal that was flexible enough to develop a design for a robotic arm.
"The tail is the seahorse's lifeline," because it allows the animal to anchor itself to corals or seaweed and hide from predators, said Michael Porter, a Ph.D. student in materials science at the Jacobs School of Engineering. "But no one has looked at the seahorse's tail and bones as a source of armor."
Most of the seahorse's predators, including sea turtles, crabs and birds, capture the animals by crushing them. Engineers wanted to see if the plates in the tail act as an armor. Researchers took segments from seahorses' tails and compressed them from different angles. They found that the tail could be compressed by nearly 50 percent of its original width before permanent damage occurred. That's because the connective tissue between the tail's bony plates and the tail muscles bore most of the load from the displacement. Even when the tail was compressed by as much as 60 percent, the seahorse's spinal column was protected from permanent damage.
McKittrick and Meyers' research group uses a unique technique that applies a series of chemicals to materials to strip them of either their protein components or their mineral components. That allows them to better study materials' structures and properties. After treating the bony plates in the seahorse's tail with the chemicals, they discovered that the percentage of minerals in the plates was relatively low -- 40 percent, compared to 65 percent in cow bone. The plates also contained 27 percent organic compounds -- mostly proteins -- and 33 percent water. The hardness of the plates varied. The ridges were hardest, likely for impact protection -- about 40 percent harder than the plate's grooves, which are porous and absorb energy from impacts.
The seahorse's tail is typically made up of 36 square-like segments, each composed of four L-shaped corner plates that progressively decrease in size along the length of the tail. Plates are free to glide or pivot. Gliding joints allow the bony plates to glide past one another. Pivoting joints are similar to a ball-and-socket joint, with three degrees of rotational freedom. The plates are connected to the vertebrae by thick collagen layers of connective tissue. The joints between plates and vertebrae are extremely flexible with nearly six degrees of freedom.
"Everything in biology comes down to structures," Porter said.
The next step is to use 3D printing to create artificial bony plates, which would then be equipped with polymers that would act as muscles. The final goal is to build a robotic arm that would be a unique hybrid between hard and soft robotic devices. A flexible, yet robust robotic gripper could be used for medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation. The protected, flexible arm would be able to grasp a variety of objects of different shapes and sizes.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Diego.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Michael M. Porter, Ekaterina Novitskaya, Ana Bertha Castro-Cese?a, Marc A. Meyers, Joanna McKittrick. Highly deformable bones: Unusual deformation mechanisms of seahorse armor. Acta Biomaterialia, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2013.02.045
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/h6G_iJCIvog/130501132123.htm
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Google Hangouts add remote desktop control, let you play tech support
Google recently updated its Hangout chat client with the same remote desktop control tech integrated into Chrome. This slick new feature gives you the option to take control of someone's computer (with their permission, of course) during a video call. If you often find yourself recruited to help friends and family members with technical issues, you'll definitely dig this. To begin a remote session, start a Hangout and click View More Apps > Add Apps > Hangouts Remote Desktop. Now that you've got this light work out of the way, it's time to move on to some heavy lifting -- like helping grandma set up that Netflix account she's been asking about.
Source: Daniel Caiafa (Google+)
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No wealth tax on agriculture land: Finance Ministry - Firstpost: Latest ...
New Delhi: Under attack over proposal in the Budget, the government today sought to explain that wealth tax was proposed only on urban land and not on agricultural land.
?As the wealth tax is levied only on unproductive assets, there was no intention to levy wealth tax on the agricultural land which cannot be termed as unproductive assets,? the Finance Ministry explained after passage of the Finance Bill 2013 in the Lok Sabha amid opposition walkout.
The government explained that the taxes were being levied only on urban land and not on agricultural land. Reuters.
It further said that the wealth tax is not leviable on urban land which is ?classified as agricultural land in the records of the Government; and used for agricultural purposes?.The proposed amendment will take effect retrospectively from April 1, 1993, the Ministry said.
With apprehensions raised by farmers, especially those in Punjab and Haryana, and capitalised by Congress? opponents, Finance Minister P Chidambaram took the first opportunity to clarify that there was no intention of the UPA government to levy wealth tax on agriculture land.
Referring to the other proposal of one per cent TDS on sale of property exceeding Rs 50 lakh, it said the person will not be required to obtain Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) for that transaction.
?In order to reduce the compliance burden on the deductor deducting tax under section 194-IA (I-T Act), it is proposed to insert a new sub-section? to provide that the provisions of section 203A shall not apply to a person required to deduct tax in accordance with the provisions of new section 194-IA,? the Ministry added.
It also clarified that furnishing of PAN will not be a pre-condition for claiming lower rate of withholding tax of 5 per cent on payment of interest to non-resident entity for investment in long term infrastructure bonds.
As per the earlier proposal, withholding tax of 20 per cent was to be levied on such payments in case the
non-resident entity failed to provide PAN.This has been done in view of ?practical difficulties?
faced by non-residents in obtaining PAN. The proposed amendment shall take effect from June 1, 2013.
PTI
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/no-wealth-tax-on-agriculture-land-finmin-742461.html
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বুধবার, ১ মে, ২০১৩
Italy race problems seen with black gov't minister
FILE - In this April 29, 2013 file photo Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge listens as Italian Premier Enrico Letta delivers his speech during a vote of confidence to confirm the government, in the lower house of Parliament, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
FILE - In this April 29, 2013 file photo Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge listens as Italian Premier Enrico Letta delivers his speech during a vote of confidence to confirm the government, in the lower house of Parliament, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
In this photo taken on April 28, 2013 photo Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge walks moments after taking oath during the swearing in ceremony at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
FILE - In this April 28, 2013 file photo Italian Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge arrives at Chigi palace Premier's office, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
ROME (AP) ? It was hailed as a giant step forward for racial integration in a country that has long been ill at ease with its growing immigrant classes. But Cecile Kyenge's appointment as Italy's first black Cabinet minister has instead exposed the nation's ugly race problem, a blight that flares regularly on the soccer pitch with racist taunts and in the diatribes of xenophobic politicians ? but has now raised its head at the center of political life.
One politician from a party that not long ago ruled in a coalition derided what he called Italy's new "bonga bonga government." On Wednesday, amid increasing revulsion over the reaction, the government authorized an investigation into neo-fascist websites whose members called Kyenge "Congolese monkey" and other epithets.
Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children. She was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections.
Premier Enrico Letta tapped Kyenge to be minister of integration in his hybrid center-left and center-right government that won its second vote of confidence Tuesday. In his introductory speech to Parliament, Letta touted Kyenge's appointment as a "new concept about the confines of barriers giving way to hope, of unsurpassable limits giving way to a bridge between diverse communities."
His praise and that of others has been almost drowned out by the racist slurs directed at Kyenge by politicians of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, an on-again, off-again ally of long-serving ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, and members of neo-fascist Internet groups.
In addition to his "bonga bonga" slur, Mario Borghezio, a European parliamentarian for the League, warned in an interview with Radio 24 that Kyenge would try to "impose tribal traditions" from her native Congo on Italy.
Kyenge on Tuesday responded to the insults, thanking those who had come to her defense and taking a veiled jab at the vulgarity of her critics. "I believe even criticism can inform if it's done with respect," she tweeted.
Unlike France, Germany or Britain, where second and third generations of immigrants have settled albeit uneasily, Italy is a relative newcomer to the phenomenon. France has several high-ranking government ministers with immigrant roots, and few French had a problem with the appointments: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy named a justice minister and urban policy minister, both born in France to North African parents, to his cabinet, while his minister for human rights was born in Senegal. Francois Hollande's government spokeswoman was born in Morocco and raised in France, and his interior minister was born in Spain. He also has two black ministers from French overseas territories ? one from Guyana and one from Guadeloupe.
Italy is another story. Once a country of emigration to North and South America at the turn of the last century, Italy saw the first waves of migrants from Eastern Europe and Africa coming to its shores only in the 1980s. In the last decade or two, their numbers have increased exponentially, and with them anti-immigrant sentiment: Surveys show Italians blame immigrants for crime and overtaxing the already burdened public health system. Foreigners made up about 2 percent of Italy's population in 1990; currently the figure stands at 7.5 percent, according to official statistics bureau Istat.
Some of the most blatant manifestations of racism occur in the realm of Italy's favorite sport, soccer ? which for Italians and others has shown itself to be a perfect venue for displays of pent-up emotions. In the case of a handful of Italian teams, soccer is a way for right-wing fan clubs to vent.
Mario Balotelli, the AC Milan striker born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants and raised by an Italian adoptive family, knows all about it. Perhaps Italy's best player today, he has long been the subject of racist taunts on and off the field: Rival fans once hung a banner during a match saying "Black Italians don't exist" while the vice-president of his own club once called him the household's "little black boy."
Balotelli called Kyenge's nomination "another great step forward for an Italian society that is more civil, responsible and understanding of the need for better, definitive integration."
The race situation is almost schizophrenic in Italy. In the same week Kyenge was made a government minister and Balotelli was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, AC Milan's rival Juventus was fined 30,000 euro for fans' racist taunts during a game against Milan in which Balotelli wasn't even playing.
"There was no racism 40 years ago because there were no non-white Italians," said James Walston, a political science professor at American University of Rome. "You need the other in order to hate the other."
"It will take a long time ? probably there will never be a completely racism-free society ? but it will take a long time for Italy to reach the sort of acceptance, multi-cultural acceptance that the rest of Europe has and North America has," he said in an interview.
Kyenge got off to a rocky start with the Northern League when, on the day she was named minister, she said one of her top priorities would be to make it easier for children of immigrants born in Italy to obtain Italian citizenship. Currently, such children can only apply once they turn 18.
The issue has vexed Italy for years and previous center-left governments have failed to change the law even though most Italians ? 72 percent according to a 2012 Istat-aided study ? favor it. It's not just a matter of a passport but has real impact on the ability of an immigrant family to integrate into Italian society: Children of non-EU immigrants born in Italy, for example, can't take advantage of the EU citizen discounts at the Colosseum and other cultural treasures, having to pay full admission prices to get in to learn the heritage of the nation where they were born. If they were Italian citizens, they'd get in free until they were 18.
But raising an issue that so riles the Northern League ? during an already tense political transition ? was enough to set off Roberto Maroni, the interior minister in Berlusconi's last center-right government and a top League official. Maroni immediately demanded that his successor as interior minister make clear his position on the law.
Other members of Maroni's party were more blunt: Italian newspapers quoted the head of the League in Italy's northern Lombardy region Matteo Salvini as saying that Kyenge was a "symbol of a hypocritical and do-gooding left that wants to cancel out the crime of illegal immigration and thinks only about immigrants' rights and not their duties."
La Repubblica newspaper on Tuesday, meanwhile, cited the vile insults directed at her on fascist Internet groups such as www.ilduce.net . Repubblica said the antagonism was born from the League's basic opposition to a minister who tends to favor immigrant rights. "But the racist origins had to explode. And here they are. True, they're consigned to the stupid transience of the Web, but they're a sign of the widespread climate of hatred" in the country, the paper wrote.
Coming to Kyenge's defense was Laura Boldrini, the president of parliament's lower chamber, who for years was the chief spokeswoman in Italy for the U.N. refugee agency. In that role she frequently defended the rights of immigrants ? and squared off with Northern League leaders after they pushed through a controversial 2009 policy to send back would-be Libyan migrants without screening them first for asylum.
"It is indecent that in a civil society there can be a series of insults ? on websites but not only there ? that are being hurled against the neo-minister Cecile Kyenge," Boldrini said. "Like many people, watching her take her oath of office I felt that Italy was taking an important step forward, and not just for 'new Italians.'"
Also defending Kyenge was the other foreign-born minister in Letta's government, Josefa Idem, a German-born Italian who won five Olympic kayaking medals before retiring after the London Games. Idem is Italy's new equal opportunities minister ? one of seven women in Letta's government ? and in that role authorized an investigation by Italy's national anti-discrimination office into the racist online slurs directed against Kyenge.
Italian news reports quoted Idem as saying she was doing so in her capacity as minister "but also as a woman."
Sociologist Michele Sorice at Rome's Luiss University said Italians have long harbored racist attitudes, stemming from the nation's colonial past in north Africa, but that they stayed hidden until the Northern League "legitimized" xenophobic political rhetoric after entering the government in the 1990s. The League denies it's xenophobic and says it is merely protecting the interests of Italians.
Italy has since become more sensitized to the issue, Sorice said, but it still lags behind its European and North American partners. Changing the law on citizenship, as Kyenge wants, "wouldn't do anything more than to bring Italy into line with the great European traditions," he said.
But he was doubtful that this particular government, made up of longtime political rivals, could pull it off when even previous center-left governments had failed to do so.
"It remains to be seen how this can be done on a practical level with a coalition government," he said.
___
Tricia Thomas in Rome and Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed.
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
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