Iran warns off foreign planes during naval drill: report

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has warned off foreign surveillance planes that have tried to approach its forces during naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian military spokesman said on Tuesday.

The drills, which began on Friday, are aimed at showcasing Iran's military capability in the shipping route through which 40 percent of the world's sea-borne oil exports pass.

Iran has threatened to block the strait if it comes under military attack over its disputed nuclear program. The United States has said it would not tolerate any obstruction of commercial traffic through the strait.

"So far about 30 warnings have been given to reconnaissance and surveillance planes of extra-regional forces that wanted to approach the area where the drills are taking place," Commander Amir Rastegari told the semi-official Mehr news agency.

He said the planes had been warned to keep out of Iranian air space and away from the site of the exercises.

The official IRNA news agency quoted Rastegari as saying the foreign planes kept away after Iran issued warnings because they were "afraid of being destroyed" by Iranian forces.

Six days of drills are taking place in an area of about 1 million sq km in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and northern parts of the Indian Ocean.

State television reported that naval forces had successfully test fired Qader (Capable) coast-to-sea and Nour (Light) surface-to-surface missiles.

Rastegari was quoted as saying by Iran's English-language Press TV that the Qader cruise missile with a range of 200 km had "successfully and precisely hit and destroyed its mock enemy target".

On Sunday, Iran said its special forces and diving units had drilled defending ports and the coastline against attack.

Iran held a similar 10-day drill last December and sent a submarine and a destroyer into the Gulf four months ago just as U.S. and allied navies were conducting exercises in the same waters to practice keeping oil shipping lanes open.

Israel has threatened to launch military strikes against Iran's nuclear program which many in the West fear is aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says it is only interested in generating electricity and other peaceful projects.

Iran holds military exercises several times a year and regularly unveils advances in domestically-produced military hardware. Defense analysts say Iran often exaggerates its military strength.

(Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-warns-off-foreign-planes-during-naval-drill-141334229.html

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Many weddings as gay marriage becomes legal in Md.

TILGHMAN ISLAND, Md. (AP) ? Same-sex couples in Maryland were greeted with cheers and noisemakers held over from New Year's Eve parties, as gay marriage became legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line on New Year's Day.

James Scales, 68, was married to William Tasker, 60, on Tuesday shortly after midnight by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake inside City Hall.

"It's just so hard to believe it's happening," Scales said shortly before marrying his partner of 35 years.

Six other same-sex couples also were being married at City Hall. Ceremonies were taking place in other parts of the state as well.

The ceremonies follow a legislative fight that pitted Gov. Martin O'Malley against leaders of his Catholic faith. Voters in the state, founded by Catholics in the 17th century, sealed the change by approving a November ballot question.

"There is no human institution more sacred than that of the one that you are about to form," Rawlings-Blake said during the brief ceremony. "True marriage, true marriage, is the dearest of all earthly relationships."

Brigitte Ronnett, who also was married, said she hopes one day to see full federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Maryland, Maine and Washington state were the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, in November, a development Ronnett said was significant.

"I think it's a great sign when you see that popular opinion is now in favor of this," said Ronnett, 51, who married Lisa Walther, 51, at City Hall.

Same-sex couples in Maryland have been able to get marriage licenses since Dec. 6, but they did not take effect until Tuesday.

In 2011, same-sex marriage legislation passed in the state Senate but stalled in the House of Delegates. O'Malley hadn't made the issue a key part of his 2011 legislative agenda, but indicated that summer that he was considering backing a measure similar to New York's law, which includes exemptions for religious organizations.

Shortly after, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore wrote to O'Malley that same-sex marriage went against the governor's faith.

"As advocates for the truths we are compelled to uphold, we speak with equal intensity and urgency in opposition to your promoting a goal that so deeply conflicts with your faith, not to mention the best interests of our society," wrote O'Brien, who served as archbishop of the nation's first diocese from October 2007 to August 2011.

The governor was not persuaded. He held a news conference in July 2011 to announce that he would make same-sex marriage a priority in the 2012 legislative session. He wrote back to the archbishop that "when shortcomings in our laws bring about a result that is unjust, I have a public obligation to try to change that injustice."

The measure, with exemptions for religious organizations that choose not to marry gay couples, passed the House of Delegates in February in a close vote. O'Malley signed it in March. Opponents then gathered enough signatures to put the bill to a statewide vote, and it passed with 52 percent in favor.

In total, nine states and the District of Columbia have approved same-sex marriage. The other states are Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington.

Meanwhile, the weddings continued throughout the day Tuesday. Clayton Zook, 28, and Wayne McKenzie, 30, married by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay at the Black Walnut Point Inn on Tilghman Island.

"We've been together for six and a half years, so this one day doesn't really change a whole lot as far as our feelings," said Zook, of Baltimore. "It does change a whole lot in how we are recognized, and we're certainly felt more as equal in the state of Maryland now."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/many-weddings-gay-marriage-becomes-legal-md-202823588.html

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New Year Resolutions and Happiness Strategies | Santa Barbara ...

Guest column by Summerland resident Jackie Ruka

Yes, it?s that time again, a new year means creating new intentions, setting new goals and embracing change for being better with our health, career, finances, relationships, community and spiritual well-being.

According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology 2012 the most common New Year resolutions by Americans are: self-improvement, weight, money-related and relationship resolutions are only successfully achieved by 8 percent within a six-month time span.

While many assume happiness is a derivative of success, studies have proven that isn?t quite the case. Many professionally successful people and those with notable wealth are actually not happy ? often quite the opposite. Even more surprising is that what you might perceive as success could actually be hindering your happiness.

As a society we?ve gotten it backwards: it is happiness that leads to success not vice versa.

Scientific studies actually prove that we are the ambassadors of our own happiness in that we have full control over this enviable state of mind, which is a powerful precursor of success in terms of the true meaning of the word and how it impacts the human experience.

An array of credentialed psychologists and other respected researchers have studied people around the globe to discern how money, culture, attitude, health, memory, altruism and daily habits affect our well-being. The field of ?positive psychology? has dug deep and formerly recognized that a person?s thoughts and actions can have a significant effect on their happiness and life fulfillment.

With this in mind, here is a list of 10 scientifically proven happiness strategies:

1. Savor ordinary events. Study participants who took the time to do this ?showed significant increases in happiness and reductions in depression,? psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky notes. Reflecting back on moments of your day, even those you might ordinarily hurry through, is a worthwhile effort.
2. Avoid comparisons. Focusing on your own personal achievements instead of making comparisons to others will better impact your happiness and self-esteem, according to Lyubomirsky, which leads to greater life satisfaction. It?s easy to lose sight of what achievements, both personal and professional, have enriched our life, and we must remind ourselves ? often.
3. Put money low on the list. According to researchers Kasser and Ryan, those who put money high on their priority list are at greater risk for depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. ?Money-seekers also score lower on tests of vitality and self-actualization,? Ryan says.
4. Have meaningful goals. As humans, we thrive on having a purpose, but what is purpose if there is no meaning behind it? ?People who strive for something significant, whether it?s learning a new craft or raising moral children, are far happier than those who don?t have strong dreams or aspirations,? father and son team Diener and Biswas-Diener found.
5. Take initiative at work. Researcher Amy Wrzesniewski says that, ?when we express creativity, help others, suggest improvements or do additional tasks on the job, we make our work more rewarding and feel more in control.?
6. Make friends and treasure family. This may seem like a no-brainer, but we need relationships. Sometimes we underestimate the importance of such connections.
7. Fake it until you make it. ?This actually works, according to Diener and Biswas-Diener, who assert, ?Happy people see possibilities, opportunities, and success. When they think of the future, they are optimistic, and when they review the past, they tend to savor the high points.? This may take some practice, so try to smile even when you don?t feel like it.
8. Keep a gratitude journal. When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, you can either become a time bomb waiting to go off or you can recalibrate. An excellent tool for detoxing and redirecting your thoughts is with a gratitude journal. Those who write in a journal on a weekly basis are healthier, more optimistic, and more likely to achieve personal goals, according to author Robert Emmons.
9. Get moving. According to a Duke University study, exercise may be as effective as drugs in treating even major depression. Exercise releases endorphins, the feel-good hormone. Duke researcher Blumenthal suggested that ?exercise may be beneficial because patients are actually taking an active role in trying to get better. Patients who exercised may have felt a greater sense of mastery over their condition and gained a greater sense of accomplishment.
10. Serve others. This is often referred to as a ?helper?s high.? According to ethicist and researcher Stephen Post, helping a neighbor, volunteering, and donating goods and services results in more health benefits than exercising or quitting smoking. ?Researcher Elizabeth Dunn similarly found that those who spent money on others reported greater happiness than those who spent it on themselves.

With so much science underscoring that we are active participants in the process, I prefer to regard happiness as a verb. Navigating happiness is a journey filled with a series of actions. It?s not an outcome. No matter the circumstance, we all have the capacity to be happy. The only question is what next step you will take to foster your own?

??America?s Happyologist? Jackie Ruka is a lifestyle expert who founded the Get Happy Zone (www.gethappyzone.com) personal development organization. She is also the author of the soon-to-be-released book, ?Get Happy and Create a Kick Butt Life, a Toolbox for Rapidly Activating the Life You Desire.??Contact her and take her Fearless Quiz online at?www.tinyurl.com/HappinessQuiz.

Source: http://www.santabarbaraview.com/new-year-resolutions-and-happiness-strategies442545/

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The QLOCKTWO W By Biegert & Funk Is A Timepiece For Literate Lovers Of Good Design

Biegert & Funk has made a name for itself thanks to its iconic clock design that tells time the way we tend to convey it to one another in conversation ? with written words in five-minute increments, spelling out “half past twelve” or “a quarter to five.” After creating a number of wall and desk clocks with this design, the firm made a lot of people’s wishes come true and revealed the QLOCKTWO W, a wearable version of the design that fits on the wrist. One has been sitting on mine for the past couple of weeks, and in that time it has managed to make a strong impression on both myself and my friends and family. With only a 10 x 11 grid of letters making up 110 characters in total (that’s less than a tweet), the QLOCKTWO?W can display any time, and even though it only spells out five-minute increments, if you’re more exact, four dots at the bottom of the watch’s face indicate the specific minute, and you can cycle through to a view of the seconds ticking by with a couple presses of the QLOCKTWO’s single button. It also displays the calendar date (and if you’re unaware of the month and year, you likely have more problems than a watch can fix), and is available in English, French and German versions. The QLOCKTWO?W comes in three different finishes ? polished, brushed, or black stainless steel. The face of each measures 35 x 35mm, which with a square-faced watch wears roughly similar to a 40mm standard round watch. For me, since I prefer smaller faced watches, it’s a perfect size. The square design and the non-tapering wide 24mm leather strap make it appear more substantial than you might expect, however, and it definitely attracts a lot of curiosity from onlookers. Biegert & Funk have done a phenomenal job with the overall look of the case and strap, which isn’t surprising given their history as a design firm. The QLOCKTWO?W’s most impressive feature is its display, however. When you activate the display, words light up to reflect the current time. Unlike other watches that use a push-button LED illumination trick to show the time, I found the lighting on the QLOCKTWO?to be incredibly even. The letters on the face are relatively small, but they show up clear and very easy to read thanks to the well-engineered backlighting. The

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/hmt6w62ohG0/

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Rival Sudans signal border concessions before summit

ROSEIRIS, Sudan/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan said on Tuesday they wanted to set up a demilitarized border zone, signaling possible concessions ahead of a summit which will test whether they can mend ties and restore vital oil flows.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan's Salva Kiir are expected to hold a summit this month hosted by the African Union to discuss how to secure their disputed border after the neighbors came close to war April.

Both nations agreed in September in Ethiopia to resume oil exports from the landlocked South through Sudan. Juba shut down its oil production in January after failing to agree with Sudan on an export fee, one of several conflicts left over from South Sudan's secession in 2011.

But the African neighbors still have to move back their army 10 km (six miles) from the border to set up a buffer zone, a condition to restart oil flows. Both also accuse each other of supporting rebels on the other's territory.

In a speech on New Year's Eve, Kiir said the new republic was willing to withdraw its troops from the 1,800-km (1,200-mile) long border, much of which is disputed.

"To be able to establish the border monitoring mission, we are temporarily withdrawing our forces from the immediate border areas," Kiir said.

"This will allow for a demilitarized border zone to be operational," he said, without giving a date for the pullout. "We hope that these arrangements will make sure that peace and stability is maintained along our common border."

South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told Reuters the withdrawal would have to be coordinated between the two countries. He did not elaborate.

NO OIL FLOWS YET

Bashir did not mention Kiir's comments at a rally on Tuesday but said Sudan wanted to implement the September deals, which would include the troop pullback, and open the border for trade.

"We strive and will continue to strive to improve ties with our neighbor South Sudan which has signed with us a peace agreement," Bashir told a crowd in Blue Nile state which borders South Sudan.

"We are ready for good neighborly relations and cooperation and we want to implement all agreements signed in Addis Ababa," he said.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan under a 2005 peace deal which ended decades of civil war but both countries have yet to decide on ownership of several disputed border regions.

South Sudan had originally hoped to resume oil exports by January but has postponed turning on wells until the buffer zone is in place. Oil is the lifeline for both economies.

No date or venue has been set yet for the summit though diplomats say the meeting is likely to take place in Addis Ababa where both countries are due to meet in mid-January for border security talks.

The two rivals are also at odds over Abyei, an area between Sudan and South Sudan prized for its fertile grazing land.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing in Roseiris and Carl Odera in Juba; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rival-sudans-signal-border-concessions-summit-184400974.html

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Gunmen fire on protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian security officials say masked gunmen drove into Cairo's Tahrir Square and opened fired on an anti-government sit-in, seriously wounding two activists.

They said the four gunmen also vandalized vehicles in the area, including those of the U.S. Embassy, early Monday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The U.S. Embassy, which is off Tahrir Square, said vandals attacked an Embassy van, slashing its tires and breaking a window. It warned U.S. citizens in a warden message against going to the square in downtown Cairo, where New Year's celebrations are planned later. The square was the center of Egypt's uprising two years ago.

The sit-in was to protest against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's moves to pass a disputed constitution.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-fire-protesters-cairos-tahrir-square-170252335.html

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We Look Back Earthily at 2012

Superstorms, electric cars, alternative fuels and Arctic sea ice all made environmental news in 2012. David Biello reports

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  Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

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Twenty-twelve was quite a year of change for the planet, if not quite the apocalypse imagined by New Age shamans or Hollywood producers.

Arctic summer sea ice shattered its previous record low, and set off a storm of speculation about what an ice-free Arctic might mean for future weird weather. In a bid to counter exactly this kind of thing, a team of would-be geoengineers dumped iron in the ocean off British Columbia to prompt a plankton bloom, in hopes of boosting local salmon populations and sucking CO2 out of the air.

In a perhaps less quixotic bid, scientists continued to work on breakthroughs that could alter our dependence on fossil fuels, from using microbes to turn seaweed into biofuels to better batteries for electric cars.

Speaking of which, an electric car, the Tesla Model S, became simply the best car of the year, according to Motor Trend. Meanwhile, the human population kept growing, urbanizing and struggling to either feed itself or not overfeed itself.

Finally, there was Hurricane Sandy, which closed our offices for a week and appeared to have blown climate change back onto the American political landscape, however briefly. Judging by what happened at the United Nations climate conference in Doha, however, 2012 was not the year when the United States or the world finally did something about restraining the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, not even CO2 capture and storage. And it doesn?t look like 2013 will be either.

That said, natural gas began to supplant coal in the U.S., driving down greenhouse gas emissions. And that's a good thing. Happy New Year!

?David Biello

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=881749f1f70c40a2e80404ba507b52c0

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