Women in combat: What concerns U.S. Marines most

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Male Marines listed being falsely accused of sexual harassment or assault as a top concern in a survey about moving women into combat jobs, and thousands indicated the change could prompt them to leave the service altogether.

The anonymous online questionnaire by the Marine Corps surveyed 53,000 troops last summer, with the results provided to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta before he opened thousands of combat positions to women last week.

The Marine Corps released the results to The Associated Press on Friday.

Among the other top concerns listed by male Marines were possible fraternization and preferential treatment of some Marines.

Respondents also worried that women would be limited because of pregnancy or personal issues that could affect a unit before it's sent to the battlefield.

Military experts said the results were not surprising because the Marines have the highest percentage of males among the branches of the armed forces.

Former Marine infantry officer Greg Jacob of the Service Women's Action Network said the Pentagon's estimate that 86 percent of assault victims opt against filing complaints "suggests that there's hardly an overabundance of reports, false or otherwise."

Some, however, said the survey shows the need for sensitivity training and guidance from leadership so the change goes smoothly, as occurred when the military ended its policy that barred openly gay troops.

"I think there is this sense among what I would imagine is a very small minority of Marines that this male bastion is under siege and this is one more example of political correctness," said David J. R. Frakt, a military law expert and lieutenant colonel in the Air Force reserves.

Just as the Marine Corps adjusted to the end of "don't ask, don't tell," despite being the most resistant among the military branches, troops will likely fall in line again with this latest historical milestone, said Frakt, a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Marine Corps officials did not respond to a request for comment on the survey results.

About 17 percent of male Marine respondents and 4 percent of female respondents who planned to stay in the service or were undecided said they would likely leave if women move into combat positions. That number jumped to 22 percent for male Marines and 17 percent for female Marines if women are assigned involuntarily to those jobs, according to the survey.

Both sexes mentioned intimate relationships between Marines and feeling obligated to protect female Marines among their top five concerns about the change.

Female Marines also said they worried about being targeted by enemies as POWs, the risk of sexual harassment or assault, and hygiene facilities, according to the survey, which did not give specifics.

The women surveyed also expressed concern about acceptance and physical abilities if given a ground combat job.

About 31 percent of female respondents ? or 1,558 women Marines ? say they would be interested in a lateral move to a combat position as their primary job, and 34 percent ? or 1,636 ? said they would volunteer for a ground combat unit assignment.

Elaine Donnelly of the conservative Center for Military Readiness and a vocal critic of the change said the survey asked the wrong questions and should have been asking if troops favor it and whether it will make a more effective force.

The questionnaire also relied on the "mistaken belief" that training standards will remain the same, which Donnelly said is not realistic given the differing physical abilities between the genders.

She said the Pentagon is bent on imposing gender-based quotas that will drive down standards. Defense leaders say standards will not be lowered.

"The results that are being put out there are designed to manage public perception," she said. "There is a lot about this that still needs to be discussed and it's really not fair to the women who serve out there."

The infantry side is skeptical about how women will perform in their units, and some positions may end up closed again if too few females meet the physically demanding standards of combat, said Gen. James Amos, head of the Marine Corps, who spoke to reporters Thursday at a defense conference in San Diego.

"I think from the infantry side of the house, you know they're more skeptical," Amos said. "It's been an all-male organization throughout the history of the U.S. Marine Corps so I don't think that should be any surprise."

Most Marines support the policy change, Amos said.

It will be up to the military service chiefs to recommend and defend whether women should be excluded from any of those more demanding and deadly positions, such as Navy commandos or the Army's Delta Force.

Over the past decade, many male service members already have been fighting alongside women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women who serve in supply units, as clerks and with military police have ended up on the unmarked front lines of modern warfare.

More than 150 women have been killed in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving in support roles.

About 7 percent of Marines are female compared to about 14 percent overall for the armed forces.

Both sexes surveyed said getting women closer to the action will improve their career opportunities.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marine-survey-lists-concerns-women-combat-002047180.html

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Knicks to host Sandy Hook kids, families Saturday

NEW YORK (AP) ? The New York Knicks will host 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday when they play the Sacramento Kings.

Twenty or more children from the Newtown (Conn.) Choir from Sabrinas Encore Products will sing the national anthem before the game, the second time this week the Knicks and children from the devastated community about 90 minutes away will be together.

The Knicks organization on Tuesday visited Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at the school in December.

The team, the Knicks City Dancers and Madison Square Garden's Garden of Dreams Foundation hosted 400 children from Sandy Hook Elementary (now Chalk Hill Elementary) and their families at the Newtown Youth Academy in what was called a "Knicks Family Fun Day" event.

"It was fun," Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony said. "We went out there (and) it was just good to see a lot of people smile all over again. Just to be doing the things that we were doing ? playing the games, playing basketball with them, just making people smile and feel happy about themselves."

There were basketball drills and contests, along with other activities such as a magician, face painters and balloon makers in a carnival-type setting.

"That was great," Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire said. "We were there pretty much just wanting to put smiles and hope back in the families faces. It was an awesome event. Great for us to interact with the families there. That was great for them."

A month after the killings, children from the choir who will perform recorded "Sandy Hook: Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Proceeds from the sale of the song will benefit the Newtown Youth Academy and the United Way of Western Connecticut.

_____

AP freelance writer Adriano Torres contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/knicks-host-sandy-hook-kids-families-saturday-003607567--spt.html

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Some plants are altruistic, too, new study suggests

Feb. 1, 2013 ? We've all heard examples of animal altruism: Dogs caring for orphaned kittens, chimps sharing food or dolphins nudging injured mates to the surface. Now, a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder suggests some plants are altruistic too.

The researchers looked at corn, in which each fertilized seed contained two "siblings" -- an embryo and a corresponding bit of tissue known as endosperm that feeds the embryo as the seed grows, said CU-Boulder Professor Pamela Diggle. They compared the growth and behavior of the embryos and endosperm in seeds sharing the same mother and father with the growth and behavior of embryos and endosperm that had genetically different parents.

"The results indicated embryos with the same mother and father as the endosperm in their seed weighed significantly more than embryos with the same mother but a different father," said Diggle, a faculty member in CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department. "We found that endosperm that does not share the same father as the embryo does not hand over as much food -- it appears to be acting less cooperatively."

A paper on the subject was published during the week of Jan. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors on the study included Chi-Chih Wu, a CU-Boulder doctoral student in the ecology and evolutionary biology department and Professor William "Ned" Friedman, a professor at Harvard University who helped conduct research on the project while a faculty member at CU-Boulder.

Diggle said it is fairly clear from previous research that plants can preferentially withhold nutrients from inferior offspring when resources are limited. "Our study is the first to specifically test the idea of cooperation among siblings in plants."

"One of the most fundamental laws of nature is that if you are going to be an altruist, give it up to your closest relatives," said Friedman. "Altruism only evolves if the benefactor is a close relative of the beneficiary. When the endosperm gives all of its food to the embryo and then dies, it doesn't get more altruistic than that."

In corn reproduction, male flowers at the top of the plants distribute pollen grains two at a time through individual tubes to tiny cobs on the stalks covered by strands known as silks in a process known as double fertilization. When the two pollen grains come in contact with an individual silk, they produce a seed containing an embryo and endosperm. Each embryo results in just a single kernel of corn, said Diggle.

The team took advantage of an extremely rare phenomenon in plants called "hetero-fertilization," in which two different fathers sire individual corn kernels, said Diggle, currently a visiting professor at Harvard. The manipulation of corn plant genes that has been going on for millennia -- resulting in the production of multicolored "Indian corn" cobs of various colors like red, purple, blue and yellow -- helped the researchers in assessing the parentage of the kernels, she said.

Wu, who cultivated the corn and harvested more than 100 ears over a three-year period, removed, mapped and weighed every individual kernel out of each cob from the harvests. While the majority of kernels had an endosperm and embryo of the same color -- an indication they shared the same mother and father -- some had different colors for each, such as a purple outer kernel with yellow embryo.

Wu was searching for such rare kernels -- far less than one in 100 -- that had two different fathers as a way to assess cooperation between the embryo and endosperm. "It was very challenging and time-consuming research," said Friedman. "It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, or in this case, a kernel in a silo."

Endosperm -- in the form of corn, rice, wheat and other crops -- is critical to humans, providing about 70 percent of calories we consume annually worldwide. "The tissue in the seeds of flowering plants is what feeds the world," said Friedman, who also directs the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard. "If flowering plants weren't here, humans wouldn't be here."

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Journal Reference:

1. K. Baruch, N. Ron-Harel, H. Gal, A. Deczkowska, E. Shifrut, W. Ndifon, N. Mirlas-Neisberg, M. Cardon, I. Vaknin, L. Cahalon, T. Berkutzki, M. P. Mattson, F. Gomez-Pinilla, N. Friedman, M. Schwartz. CNS-specific immunity at the choroid plexus shifts toward destructive Th2 inflammation in brain aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211270110

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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_environment/~3/rtVW7CsHjnc/130201132334.htm

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Vote For Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, Part 2

Every year, the Razzies celebrate the worst that Hollywood has to offer. More than 48 thousand Rotten Tomatoes fans helped to choose the nominees, now it's time to pick the big winner. Cast your vote for Razzies' Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, and find out the results on Oscar Eve, February 23.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926759/news/1926759/

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Twitter confirms theft of 250,000 user names, emails in hack

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 23 hrs.

Twitter announced in a blog post Friday that a recent, "extremely sophisticated" hack may have exposed around 250,000 users' email addresses and other information.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," wrote Bob Lord, Twitter's director of information security. He did not indicate whether the breach was connected to Thursday's downtime.

Data stolen included user names, emails, session tokens (used to maintain a logged-in state), and passwords, although the latter were "salted" and encrypted, meaning they are likely unable to be read by the hackers. Consequently, little damage appears possible other than publishing the attachment of accounts to certain email addresses.

Affected users have had their passwords reset and their Twitter sessions terminated, and should receive an email soon informing them of the fact. Twitter also advocated disabling Java in browsers as an additional security step, following the recent discovery of a separate security flaw in the web app platform.

This is the third high-profile hack to have surfaced in the last week: Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that their systems had been infiltrated by Chinese hackers.

Whether the three attacks are related is not known, as the extent of the hacks has not been fully documented. Twitter indicated that it is gathering information and helping government and law enforcement agencies in order to track down the culprits.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/twitter-confirms-theft-250-000-user-names-emails-hack-1B8219075

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Tri-Valley's Largest Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Colliers ...

PLEASANTON, CALIF. ? Jan. 31, 2013 ? Harsch Investment Properties, a privately-held real estate investment, development and management company, has signed Colliers International to occupy Class A office space at Hacienda West, located in Hacienda Business Park.

?Colliers International is a commercial real estate industry leader and authority, and its selection of Hacienda West further validates the quality and value we offer to our tenants,? said Don Little, senior vice president for Harsch Investment Properties in the Bay Area and head of development in three states. ?Heading into 2013, we are seeing a steady improvement in the East Bay market, as evidenced by a decline in vacancy rates in Pleasanton and the surrounding areas.?

Colliers International, the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world, signed a six-year, 12,000 square foot lease, commencing April 1, 2013. Deal negotiations were represented by Ted Helgans of Colliers International and by Brian Lagomarsino for Harsch Investment Properties, also of Colliers International.

?Our decision to re-locate to Hacienda West, after 15 years in our present location, was simply based on what Harsch Investment Properties was able to offer us,? said Marshall Snover, senior vice president and managing partner for Colliers International in Pleasanton. ?Colliers International has worked in partnership with Harsch on the West Coast for many years and holds deep respect for their strength of ownership and the way they manage their properties. Harsch developed a compelling economic package and accommodated our request to use our own architect to design the interior of the space. Additionally, our brokers and staff were attracted by the amenities that Hacienda West offers and look forward to the move.?

Hacienda West is conveniently located on Hopyard Road in Pleasanton, Calif. and totals 208,883 square feet. It offers a beautifully landscaped campus that includes a courtyard with a fountain and seating, easy access to both I-580 and I-680 freeways, as well as close proximity to restaurants and retail services. Hacienda West offers multiple amenities, such as on-site property management and building engineering, showers and lockers, a coffee cart and food service in the lobby and free shuttle service to and from Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).

About Harsch Investment Properties
Harsch Investment Properties is a privately held real estate company that acquires, manages and develops properties for its own portfolio. Founded in 1950, the company owns and operates 20 million square feet of office, multi-tenant industrial, multi-family and retail properties in five western states. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Harsch has regional offices in Portland, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and San Diego. More information can be found by going to http://www.harsch.com.

Tagged Colliers International, Harsch Investment Properties, Pleasanton

Source: http://news.theregistrysf.com/tri-valleys-largest-commercial-real-estate-brokerage-colliers-international-relocating-to-harsch-investment-properties-hacienda-west/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tri-valleys-largest-commercial-real-estate-brokerage-colliers-international-relocating-to-harsch-investment-properties-hacienda-west

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Dot Earth Blog: After Steven Chu Leaves, Who Should Be Obama's Next Energy Secretary?

As Matthew L. Wald and others reported this morning, Energy Secretary Steven Chu is poised to head back to California, leaving President Obama with a new opportunity to signal his approach to energy and climate policy in his final term.

On Twitter I offered my view of an ideal candidate, someone with the wisdom, voice and drive to propel a sustainable energy quest:

There could be a host of reasons why she won?t be picked, but Shirley Ann Jackson, the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 1999, at least embodies the qualities that would be great to see in this cabinet seat.

She has Chu?s intelligence, but far more rhetorical power and plenty of experience dealing with the rough battles surrounding energy choices. (The experience was gained in part at the helm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; I first saw her in action in 1996, when covering disputes over the safety of the Indian Point nuclear power plant complex.)

I?ve paid several visits to Rensselaer and marveled at the entrepreneurial energy of faculty and students alike. The school has also mastered the tough art of getting different disciplines to collaborate.

Some students see Jackson as too distant and formal (there?s a telling video moment here).

But more revealing, to me, is her spirited exchange last year with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia when he visited the campus along with Secretary Chu and three other notable men, to participate in the school?s annual Commencement Colloquy. The full discussion is here and an excerpt on climate and the Supreme Court is here:

Watch some of the conversation and I think you?ll agree that Jackson would have no problem making her points in a male-dominated cabinet.

Whoever is chosen, I hope that person reviews, and embraces, the talking points assembled so artfully a decade ago by the chemistry Nobelist Richard Smalley.

As I?ve explained before, there is enormous potential for progress on climate-smart energy steps even in the face of persistent division over the extent of the threat from global warming. See the three slides here for some evidence: ?Energy Agreement Hidden by Climate Disputes.?

4:10 p.m. | Addendum | If you offer a suggestion for this cabinet seat using Twitter, use the tag #nextenergysec and it will show up here.

4:55 p.m. |Update

Daniel P. Schrag, a Harvard professor focused on energy and climate and member of the President?s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, sent this recommendation by e-mail:

Shirley would be a great choice. Another perspective would be to choose someone from the business world. I think a major challenge with DOE is management, and I think DOE?s engagement with the business community would benefit from a business leader taking the helm. My choice would be Jeff Immelt. He has been at GE for a long time, and oversaw the ?ecomagination? campaign. He certainly understands the business world and the energy world, and he has worked closely with the administration on a number of projects. I would love to see someone like Immelt take over Chu?s vision of a clean energy future, but with the excellent management skills to make them a reality.

5:53 p.m. | Postscript | I forgot to mention that Jackson, like Schrag above, is a member of the President?s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/who-should-be-obamas-next-energy-secretary/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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