PFT: Broncos crush Raiders, win 8th straight

ShermanAP

Next Friday, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman will attempt to overturn his four-game suspension for violation of the league?s policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Sherman has two separate arguments.

First, and as initially reported by Mike Garafolo of USA Today, Sherman claims that he drank from the water bottle of a teammate that had been spiked with Adderall.? The teammate has both a prescription and a therapeutic use exemption, allowing the teammate to ingest Adderall, which contains amphetamines.

Sherman has denied that account in text messages sent to Curtis Crabtree of KJR, who works part-time for PFT.? However, we?ve confirmed Garafolo?s account.

Second, Sherman believes there were flaws in the method of obtaining his urine for testing.

It?s unknown whether both arguments will actually be advanced at the hearing.? Given that the two contentions are somewhat inconsistent (i.e., ?I accidentally ingested it? and ?the testing methodology generated a false positive?), Sherman would be wise to pick a horse.

The problem is that both horses likely will lose.? As to the water-bottle excuse, it won?t matter.? Players are responsible for anything that is in their systems.? As to the attack on the collection process, the problem is that the procedures for pursuing appeals allow the NFL to refuse to provide most of the evidence that would help the player establish irregularities.

As the source explained, these cases are lost not in the hearing room; they were lost at the negotiating table.? Unless and until the league and the union agree to testing procedures that require the NFL to prove with a high degree of certainty the accuracy of the collection and testing of a sample that, if positive, will result in a suspension, players will be at risk of being wrongly suspended.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/06/broncos-cruise-to-victory-over-raiders/related

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What happens to plant growth when you remove gravity?

Dec. 7, 2012 ? It is well known that plant growth patterns are influenced by a variety of stimuli, gravity being one amongst many. On Earth plant roots exhibit characteristic behaviours called 'waving' and 'skewing', which were thought to be gravity-dependent events. However, Arabidopsis plants grown on the International Space Station (ISS) have proved this theory wrong, according to a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology: root 'waving' and 'skewing' occur in spaceflight plants independently of gravity.

In plant roots, 'waving' consists of a series of regular, undulating changes in the direction of root tips during growth. It is thought to be associated with perception and avoidance of obstacles, and is dependent on gravity sensing and responsiveness. 'Skewing' is the slanted progression of roots growing along a near-vertical surface. It is thought to be a deviation of the roots from the direction of gravity and also subject to similar mechanisms that affect waving. Even though the precise basis of these growth patterns is not well understood, gravity is considered to be a major player in these processes.

To test what happens to plant root growth when you remove gravity entirely, a research team from the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, grew two types of Arabidopsis thaliana cultivars -- Wassilewskija (WS) and Columbia (Col-0) -- on the ISS. The plants were grown in specialized growth units that combined a plant habitat with a camera system which captured images every six hours. Imaging hardware delivered the telemetric data in real-time from the ISS, and comparable ground controls were grown at the Kennedy Space Centre.

The phenomenon of negative-phototropism in plant roots is well documented, but its role in orienting root growth is still being explored. The authors found that, in the absence of gravity, but in the presence of directional light, spaceflight roots remained strongly negatively phototropic and grew in the opposite direction of the shoot growth, as they do back on Earth. The path taken by the roots as they grew also retained the complex patterns of waving and skewing, characteristic of Earth-grown, gravity-influenced, roots. Furthermore, while in orbit, each cultivar retained its unique terrestrial skewing pattern.

However, the team observed that the degree of waving exhibited by the plants in space did not match what would be predicted for roots showing an equivalent amount of skewing back on Earth. In space, waving was far more subtle. This result reinforces the idea that waving and skewing represent two separate phenomena, and that gravity is not a mechanistic part of the basic waving and skewing processes.

Lead authors Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl commented "Although plants use gravity as an orientating tropism on the Earth's surface, it is clear that gravity is neither essential for root orientation, nor is it the only factor influencing the patterns of root growth. It seems that other features of the environment are also required to ensure that a root grows away from the seed, thereby enhancing its chances of finding sufficient water and nutrients to ensure its survival."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Anna-Lisa Paul, Claire E. Amalfitano and Robert J. Ferl. Plant growth strategies are remodelled by spaceflight. BMC Plant Biology, (in press) 2012 [link]

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/top_science/~3/_azd-HK8tlw/121206203148.htm

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Eleven killed in S.Africa military plane crash

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed when a South African military plane crashed during severe weather in a remote area of the eastern Drakensberg mountains, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

A spokesman denied reports the plane was carrying medical personnel to attend to former President Nelson Mandela, local media reported.

"On board the aircraft was a crew of six and five passengers and it was confirmed that there are no survivors," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The C-47 Dakota aircraft left an air base near Pretoria on Wednesday and was flying to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape province when it went missing, the ministry said.

Military doctors responsible for the well-being of the 94-year-old Mandela often fly to the same Eastern Cape airport before proceeding to Mandela's home in Qunu, the rural village where the anti-apartheid leader was born.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africa-military-plane-crashes-remote-mountains-083402091.html

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AXA seeks buyers for some U.S. life insurance assets: Bloomberg

PARIS (Reuters) - French insurer AXA is seeking buyers for some U.S. life insurance assets that could be worth some $500 million, Bloomberg News reported, citing three unnamed sources.

AXA has hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for the assets, which include the remants of the Mony Group Inc, a business that AXA acquired in 2004, the news service said.

An AXA spokesman declined comment.

Following the $1.5 billion takeover, Mony's network of financial advisers was folded into AXA's own and the unit has mostly stopped selling life insurance.

In November, AXA cut its profit outlook in a sign of how low interest rates have squeezed life insurers which are committed to minimum payouts to customers.

(Reporting By Christian Plumb. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/axa-seeks-buyers-u-life-insurance-assets-bloomberg-094513936--sector.html

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US, Russia set for surprise Syria meeting

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pauses during a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Kevin Lamarque, Pool)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pauses during a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Kevin Lamarque, Pool)

(AP) ? The top U.S. and Russian diplomats will hold a surprise meeting Thursday with the United Nations' peace envoy for Syria, signaling fresh hopes of an international breakthrough to end the Arab country's 21-month civil war.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will gather in Dublin on the sidelines of a human rights conference, a senior U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. She provided few details about the unscheduled get-together.

Ahead of the three-way meeting, Clinton and Lavrov met separately Thursday for about 25 minutes. They agreed to hear Brahimi out on a path forward, a senior U.S. official said. The two also discussed issues ranging from Egypt to North Korea, as well as new congressional action aimed at Russian officials accused of complicity in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

The former Cold War foes have fought bitterly over how to address Syria's conflict, with Washington harshly criticizing Moscow of shielding its Arab ally. The Russians respond by accusing the U.S. of meddling by demanding the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime and ultimately seeking an armed intervention such as the one last year against the late Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

But the gathering of the three key international figures suggests possible compromise in the offing. At the least, it confirms what officials describe as an easing of some of the acrimony that has raged between Moscow and Washington over the future of an ethnically diverse nation whose stability is seen as critical given its geographic position in between powder kegs Iraq, Lebanon and Israel.

The threat of Syria's government using some of its vast stockpiles of chemical weapons is also adding urgency to diplomatic efforts. Western governments have cited the rising danger of such a scenario this week, and officials say Russia, too, shares great concern on this point.

On Thursday, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused the United States and Europe of using the issue of chemical weapons to justify a future military intervention against Syria. He warned that any such intervention would be "catastrophic."

In Ireland's capital, one idea that Brahimi could seek to resuscitate with U.S. and Russian support would be the political agreement strategy both countries agreed on in Geneva in June.

That plan demanded several steps by the Assad regime to de-escalate tensions and end the violence that activists say has killed more than 40,000 people since March 2011. It would then have required Syria's opposition and the regime to put forward candidates for a transitional government, with each side having the right to veto nominees proposed by the other.

If employed, the strategy would surely mean the end of more than four decades of an Assad family member at Syria's helm. The opposition has demanded Assad's departure and has rejected any talk of him staying in power. Yet it also would grant regime representatives the opportunity to block Sunni extremists and others in the opposition that they reject.

The transition plan never got off the ground this summer, partly because no pressure was applied to see it succeed by a deeply divided international community. Brahimi's predecessor, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who drafted the plan, then resigned his post in frustration.

The United States blamed the collapse on Russia for vetoing a third resolution at the U.N. Security Council that would have applied world sanctions against Assad's government for failing to live by the deal's provisions.

Russia insisted that the Americans unfairly sought Assad's departure as a precondition and worried about opening the door to military action, even as Washington offered to include language in any U.N. resolution that would have expressly forbade outside armed intervention.

Should a plan similar to that one be proposed, the Obama administration is likely to insist anew that it be internationally enforceable ? a step Moscow may still be reluctant to commit to.

In any case, the U.S. insists the tide of the war is turning definitively against Assad.

On Wednesday, the administration said several countries in the Middle East and elsewhere have informally offered to grant asylum to Assad and his family if they leave Syria.

The comments came a day after the United States and its 27 NATO allies agreed to send Patriot missiles to Turkey's southern border with Syria. The deployment, expected within weeks, is meant solely as a defensive measure against the cross-border mortar rounds from Syria that have killed five Turks, but still bring the alliance to the brink of involvement in the civil war.

The United States is also preparing to designate Jabhat al-Nusra, a Syrian rebel group with alleged ties to al-Qaida, as a foreign terrorist organization in a step aimed at blunting the influence of extremists within the Syrian opposition, officials said Wednesday.

Word of the move came as the State Department announced Clinton will travel to the Mideast and North Africa next week for high-level meetings on the situation in Syria and broader counter-terrorism issues. She is likely then to recognize Syria's newly formed opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, according to officials.

The political endorsement is designed to help unite the country against Assad and spur greater nonlethal and humanitarian assistance from the United States to the rebels.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-06-EU-US-Syria/id-bd98105bc9e248bcbfc61a3ae637df6c

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Jovan Belcher Memorial Service: Chiefs Players Attend Service For Teammate (PHOTOS)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Heads bowed, somber past and present Kansas City Chiefs players turned out Wednesday for a memorial service for teammate Jovan Belcher, who killed his girlfriend and then himself over the weekend.

Belcher fatally shot 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins on Saturday at the Kansas City home they shared with their 3-month-old daughter, Zoey. He then drove to the Chiefs practice facility at Arrowhead Stadium, where coach Romeo Crennel, general manager Scott Pioli and defensive assistant Gary Gibbs witnessed Belcher commit suicide.

The team moved up its practice schedule so that players could attend Wednesday afternoon's service at the nearby Landmark International Deliverance and Worship Center, where Belcher and Perkins worshipped. The media wasn't allowed inside.

Afterward, a coffin was wheeled from the building and driven away in a hearse.

Retired Chiefs Hall of Famer Bobby Bell said Pioli and an uncle of Belcher's spoke during the service.

"It's done and over with and people need to get on with their lives, and the team needed to try to get forward," Bell said. "It's tough on them. When you see somebody and play with them you're buddies, friends."

Many of the players boarded coach buses after the service, but a few walked to their own vehicles with their wives and girlfriends.

"It was good," running back Peyton Hillis said of the service. He wouldn't comment further.

Defensive end Ropatisp Pitoitua, kicker Ryan Succop, and linebacker Derrick Johnson said they didn't want to be interviewed.

Before the service, veteran offensive lineman Ryan Lilja said he hoped the memorial would provide some closure for the Chiefs, who will try to win their second straight game Sunday at Cleveland.

"You got to try to deal with it however you deal with it, and grieve the best way for the individual," he said, "and I think this is the best way for us as a team to get closure and move on and focus on football."

Lilja said some players have taken advantage of counseling services that have been provided by the Chiefs and the NFL and that there's been a change in the atmosphere around the team building.

"There definitely is more, `How you doing? How you feeling? How you coping?'" Lilja said. "There's definitely more of that, and people leaning on each other, and be an ear when they need it. Guys are going to deal with this on an individual basis."

Pastor Sylvarena Funderburke, who serves at Repairers of the Breach Christian Center in Kansas City, said she was at the service to sing "I Won't Complain," a song the Belcher family requested.

"It is an honor. We don't always understand why things happen," she said before the service. "That's when you have to rely on your faith and just trust God to give you strength to make it through tough times."

Karen Young, who belongs to the Landmark church and serves as an usher, said Belcher and Perkins went to the church "practically" every week until the baby was born but hadn't been seen much since then.

Larry Brown, who also attends the Landmark church, said Belcher was "gentle" and "caring" and Perkins "a real nice person."

"I believed that they were made for each other," said Brown, whose brother is the church's leader, Bishop John L. Brown. "They didn't appear to be the type of people who just put on facades. They were very happy. She was very genuine. Every time I saw them, they were always laughing."

The barber shop where Belcher was a regular is in the same strip mall where the church is located. Barber Lee Garron walked over to the memorial service to pay his respects.

"He was a good person," Garron said. "He was. He was like anyone else. You don't know what they are thinking or what is going on in their head. It's like you or me. You just never know."

Belcher's Chiefs locker remained full of his equipment and personal belongings Wednesday as players quickly showered and dressed in suits for the service. Some said they avoided looking at the linebacker's locker, while others were fine with seeing their teammate's things as he left them.

"I don't have a problem seeing Javon's locker over there," defensive back Travis Daniels said.

He said it was important for the team to support the families of everyone involved.

"We're definitely thankful we have the opportunity to see them one last time before they go home and everything," Daniels said ahead of the service, referring to relatives who traveled from out of town to attend. "We definitely want to go and pay respects to him and his family."

___

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed to this story.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/jovan-belcher-memorial-service-chiefs-players_n_2248025.html

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Washington lights up as marijuana legalised

A man smokes marijuana

A man smokes marijuana

Image: Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press/Press Association Images

POT SMOKERS LIT up in Washington state today as recreational marijuana became legal in a historic first for the United States, clouded by the fact that federal law still bans the practice.

Pot parties

Midnight pot parties were reported across the western US state as a new law came into force following a November 6 referendum to legalise private consumption of marijuana for recreational use.

Some 200 people gathered at midnight (8AM GMT) outside Seattle?s appropriately-named Space Needle, a futuristic tower that dominates the skyline, to light up and celebrate their newfound freedom.

The law made it legal for those over 21 to possess and use up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana. A number of US states have already legalised pot for medicinal purposes, but Washington is the first allowing it purely for fun.

Colorado residents approved a similar law last month, on the same day President Barack Obama was re-elected, but its pot lovers will have to wait until January 5 to light up with impunity.

But even while Washington?s marijuana fans partied, the limits of the new law were underlined: the Space Needle gathering was technically illegal, since the new law allows only private, not public, consumption of weed.

Officers took no action, and the Seattle Police Department said that for the moment it will only issue verbal warnings, even though in theory they could impose $50 fines on those smoking marijuana on a street or in a public square.

Marijwhatnow?

Police drew praise for a blog ? which became an instant Internet hit ? taking a light-hearted approach to explaining exactly what is and isn?t legal under the new law.

The ?Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use in Seattle? includes a link to a ?Lord of the Rings? video clip entitled ?The Finest Weed,? showing wizard Gandalf blowing meditative smoke rings with Bilbo Baggins.

In keeping with the spirit of (the new law), the department?s going to give you a generous grace period to help you adjust to this brave, new, and maybe kinda stoned world we live in.

Does this mean you should flagrantly roll up a mega-spliff and light up in the middle of the street? No.

But the police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a Lord of the Rings marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to.

More broadly, the new Washington and Colorado laws run counter to US federal law, which still bans recreational use of marijuana across the country.

?Regardless of any changes in state law growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remains illegal under federal law,? noted the US Attorney?s Office in Seattle.

-???AFP, 2012

Read: Two states vote to legalise gay marriage ? while two more say Yes to marijuana>

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Source: http://www.thejournal.ie/washington-marijuana-legalised-706711-Dec2012/

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Tablet sales skyrocketing, driven by iPad mini, Android demand

The latest predictions from researcher IDC show a continuing increase in tablet sales from the end of 2012 all the way through 2016, according to the company's latest Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.

IDC raised its estimate for the total number of tablets to be sold worldwide in 2012 from 117.5 million to 122.3 million in today's release, on the basis of strong demand for the Apple iPad mini and growing Android sales numbers. The company also upped its 2013 prediction from 165.9 million units to 172.4 million, and its 2016 figure from 261.4 million to 282.7 million.

"Android tablets are gaining traction in the market thanks to solid products from Google, Amazon, Samsung, and others. And Apple's November iPad mini launch, along with its surprise refresh of the full-sized iPad, positions the company well for a strong holiday season," said IDC tablet research director Tom Mainelli in a statement.

Related Articles on Techworld

IDC's researchers also predicted that Android-based devices would account for a larger proportion of tablet sales than they had in previous years. The company's estimate gives Android tablets 42.7% of the global market for 2012, compared to 39.8% in 2011, while Apple's share is predicted to decline from 56.3% to 53.8% at the same time.

Ryan Reith, who manages IDC's mobile device trackers, says that shifting form factors are partially responsible for this change.

"The breadth and depth of Android has taken full effect on the tablet market as it has for the smartphone space. Android tablet shipments will certainly act as the catalyst for growth in the low-cost segment in emerging markets given the platform's low barrier to entry on manufacturing. At the same time, top-tier companies like Samsung, Lenovo, and ASUS are all launching Android tablets with comparable to premium products, but offered at much lower price points," he says.

Nevertheless, the relative market shares of the two leading platforms will both decrease slightly as time goes by, according to IDC. By 2016, the company's researchers said, Android and iOS will both surrender minor amounts of market share to Windows, which will account for 10.3% of sales at that time.

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/270/f/3547/s/265c0595/l/0Lnews0Btechworld0N0Cmobile0Ewireless0C34153640Ctablet0Esales0Eskyrocketing0Edriven0Eby0Eipad0Emini0Eandroid0Edemand0C0Dolo0Frss/story01.htm

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