ISRAEL21C: Elbit unveils new cyber simulator http://t.co/jip4coa0 #Israel

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Source: http://twitter.com/ISRAEL21C/statuses/218467499497365505

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An Example of Why I Don't Use Creative Commons Licenses

Too many people do not understand how it works.

The Smithsonian ran a blog entry today illustrated with a charming firefly photographed by?Terry Priest (?art farmer? on Flickr):

"Firefly 0877" by Terry Priest, distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

The Smithsonian ran the photo captioned as follows:

Photinus pyralis, a species of firefly found in the eastern United States (via wikimedia commons)

No mention of the photographer. Just a link to the Wikimedia commons database.

Crediting Wikimedia Commons for an image is like attributing a Mark Twain quote to ??The Public Library?. A repository is not the source. Wikimedia Commons did not spend hours creating a technically difficult photograph of an insect in flight. Terry Priest did, and Terry Priest deserves the credit.

This is not just an etiquette breach. Both Wikimedia Commons and Flickr give the following terms for distributing Mr. Priest?s work:

Pay attention to the bit about attribution.

With the photographer uncredited, Smithsonian has not followed the license conditions and is in violation of terms. The firefly is still a copyright-protected image. Creative Commons is not a copyright-free zone. With Smithsonian operating outside the agreement, they have opened themselves up to an infringement lawsuit should Mr. Priest be feeling litigious.

I don?t mean to pick on a fine institution like the Smithsonian. Nor am I suggesting Mr. Priest ought to sue, although he?s legally within his rights to. I?m just using this as representative of the Creative Commons abuses that are rife on the internet.

Creative Commons is a good thing. I would like the organization to succeed. Ultimately, though, the accumulated misattributions of Creative Commons licensed materials are bad for everyone. The more that content?distributors take without giving back, the less incentive creators have to feed material into the system. If open-source art is going to work, users need to be partners, not parasites.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=acc4d56464cd03dd45e4a20940c4988c

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Easier way to make new drug compounds

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) ? Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a powerful new technique for manipulating the building-block molecules of organic chemistry. The technique enables chemists to add new functional molecules to previously hard-to-reach positions on existing compounds -- making it easier for them to generate new drugs and other organic chemicals.

"This is a basic tool for making novel chemical compounds, and it should have a wide range of applications," said Jin-Quan Yu, PhD, a professor at Scripps Research and senior author of the new report, published in the June 28, 2012 issue of the journal Nature. The co-lead authors are Dasheng Leow, PhD, a former Yu lab member who is now a researcher at the A*Star Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore, and Gang Li, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Yu laboratory.

"Controlled selectivity and reaction efficiency are important goals in synthetic chemistry methods for discovering and manufacturing therapeutic and diagnostic agents," said Robert Lees, PhD, who oversees chemical synthesis grants at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which partially supported the work. "Professor Yu's work is an exciting example of progress toward those goals, and his novel methods are likely to find broad utility in pharmaceutical research."

The new advance is a method for "CH activation" -- chemists' code for the removal of a simple hydrogen atom from the carbon backbone of an organic molecule, and the replacement of that hydrogen atom with a functional chemical group. Compared to the traditional method, in which chemists modify only the existing functional groups on a compound, CH activation more directly boosts the complexity of a compound, giving it potentially valuable new properties.

Overcoming Technical Obstacles

Over the past decade, Yu has helped to pioneer the development of versatile CH-activation techniques. But the use of these techniques has been limited by important technical obstacles. For example, some strategies employ a specially designed molecule that contains the bond-cracking metal palladium; it can attach to an existing functional group on a chemical at an angle that puts the palladium in position to sever a particular CH bond nearby -- enabling the attachment of a new functional group at that site. So far, such activation techniques have been useful only against CH bonds that are close to a functional group and that occupy the most accessible relative position (the ortho position) on an aromatic hydrocarbon's carbon-ring backbone.

"But what if a CH bond is in the middle of a desert, so to speak -- far from the nearest functional group?" said Yu. "And what if it is also on the hard-to-access meta position, facing away from the nearest functional group in terms of geometry? How do you reach out so far and then around, to cut it?"

In the new study, Yu and his team showed just how to do this with a chemical structure that can deliver bond-breaking palladium to a relatively remote CH site, more than a dozen bonds distant from the nearest functional group. The lengthy, modifiable structure includes a nitrile (a carbon-nitrogen group) and has a flexibility that allows it to act like a crane swinging a wrecking ball. "It brings the palladium out and around to the CH bond at the meta position, and it has the right length and angle so that it will not touch any other positions," said Li.

"It overwhelms the intrinsic preference for other usually more reactive and accessible CH bonds," said Leow.

Just a Small Sample of the Possibilities

The team used the technique to quickly modify a variety of compounds, including the amino acid phenylalanine and the neurotransmitter-mimicking drug baclofen. "These are from compound classes that chemists use routinely to synthesize new candidate drugs and other useful chemicals," Yu said. "And they represent just a small sample of the possibilities; we think that we can apply our technique to many compound classes and functional groups."

Yu has now established a collaboration with the pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb to exploit the new technique in drug development and manufacturing. "The new method will certainly be adopted by pharmaceutical chemists, but I expect that polymer chemists, materials chemists, and others will find it useful too," he said.Yu's research is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Scripps Research Institute, via AlphaGalileo.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Dasheng Leow, Gang Li, Tian-Sheng Mei, Jin-Quan Yu. Activation of remote meta-C?H bonds assisted by an end-on template. Nature, 2012; 486 (7404): 518 DOI: 10.1038/nature11158

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.

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Adele Had Her Heart Broken By A Bisexual Boyfriend / Queerty

? CHASING PAVEMENT

Chart-topping chanteuse Adele had her heart broken by a boyfriend who left her for her gay best friend, according to a new unauthorized biography.

According to Adele: The Biography by Marc Shapiro, it was on the ?Rolling in the Deep? singer?s 18th birthday that the whole messy affair blew up. ?Adele had professed her love and he did the same; she had known he was bisexual but, in the rush of romance, felt they could make it work,? writes Shapiro. ?Four hours after laying their emotional cards on the table, the boy ran off with one of Adele?s gay friends.?

Four hours? That?s hardly enough time for your nails to dry, let alone get your heart broken. And it?s not like Adele got the short end of the deal: The non-affair supposedly inspired two songs on 19,? ?Hometown Glory? and ?Daydreamer,? and fueled her songwriting for Grammy smash 21.

That?s a lot more than Kelly Osbourne, another big girl burned by a bisexual beau, got.

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Nathan Followill and Jessie Baylin Expecting First Child

Nathan Followill and his wife, singer/songwriter Jessie Baylin, are expecting their first child in December, the band's rep confirms to PEOPLE.

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Chinese space crew making homeward journey

Three Chinese astronauts have undocked their spacecraft from an orbiting robotic module and are preparing to return to Earth on Thursday night.

China's Shenzhou 9 vehicle separated from the Tiangong 1 space lab Wednesday evening, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. The mission's three taikonauts, as Chinese astronauts are known, returned to Shenzhou 9 to begin the maneuver at 6 p.m. ET (6 a.m. Thursday Beijing time).

1. More space news from msnbc.com

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      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A new poll suggests Americans would prefer to have Barack Obama rather than Mitt Romney in charge if extraterrestrials attack. Which raises a serious question: Who's really supposed to be in charge of responding to alien signals?

   2. New method probes alien world's atmosphere
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The spacefliers are expected to land around 10 p.m. ET Thursday (10 a.m. Friday Beijing time), Xinhua reported. Their touchdown, in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, will wrap up a historic mission that marked a big step forward in China's ambitious space plans.

"Chinese astronauts have their own home in space now," Shenzhou 9 commander Jing Haipeng told Chinese President Hu Jintao during a congratulatory space call on Tuesday, according to Xinhua. "We are proud of our country!" [Photos of Shenzhou 9 Mission ]

Shenzhou 9 launched on June 16 carrying three astronauts, including 33-year-old Liu Yang, the nation's first woman in space. The mission aimed to pull off China's first-ever manned space docking, and it succeeded ? twice. The vessel hooked up with Tiangong 1 via remote control on June 18, and then again June 24 with the taikonauts at the wheel.

China thus became just the third country to performed a manned docking in orbit. The United States and Russia first accomplished the feat in 1966 and 1969, respectively.

Shenzhou 9's flight is testing technology and techniques needed to build a permanently staffed space station in Earth orbit. Chinense officials have said the nation hopes to have a 60-ton station up and running by 2020.

For comparison, the $100 billion International Space Station weighs about 430 tons. The huge orbiting lab is run by a consortium of more than a dozen countries, but China is not among them.

China's space dreams don't end in low-Earth orbit. The nation has said it wants to return lunar samples to Earth with a robotic spacecraft by 2016 or so, and it plans to put a taikonaut on the moon sometime after the space station is built.

In addition to Liu and Jing, Shenzhou 9's crew includes Liu Wang, 42, who steered Shenzhou 9 away from Tiangong 1 Wednesday evening. Jing, 46, also flew on China's last manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008.

Shenzhou 9 is China's fourth manned space mission, with the other three flights coming in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The nation plans to launch another crew to Tiangong 1 soon, perhaps by the end of the year.

Tiangong 1 has been circling Earth since September 2011, and in November it linked up with the robotic Shenzhou 8 vessel, achieving China's first unmanned space docking.

Follow Space.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

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As elderly populations rise, home health ... - Pomerado News

In-home caregivers provide assistance and companionship to elderly individuals.

By Claire Covert-Wilson

According to a recent report from USA TODAY, the country?s population of individuals aged 65 and older is set to double between 2000 and 2030 ? meaning that, within the next few decades, there will be more than 72.1 million elderly Americans nationwide. Faced with mounting medical costs and limited community resources for senior care, aging Americans and their families are understandably concerned for the future. However, thanks to home health caregivers, there is a highly professional and refreshingly personal alternative to institutionalized living arrangements. By providing care and companionship at home, these caregivers can ensure a better quality of life for aging loved ones ? all while giving them the respect and individual attention they deserve.

Unlike assisted living facilities, which usually maintain a pre-determined schedule and rotating staff to accommodate the needs of many residents, in-home caregivers work one-on-one with clients in their own homes to provide personalized attention and assistance as it is needed. In today?s economy, with medical care costs on the rise and community senior assistance facilities ever further and farther between, it is impossible to overestimate the importance of a reliable, honest, professional and friendly caregiver. In addition to the advantages of focused attention and individualized scheduling, in-home care comes with the added benefit of heightened stability, comfort and even improved life expectancy for seniors who wish to continue living at home.

Find balance and peace of mind with help from qualified in-home caregivers

As baby boomers begin to retire, many will find themselves striving to care for aging parents while simultaneously planning for their own well being down the road. Rather than suffer the physical and emotional stress of taking on a loved one?s care full-time (or alternatively, committing them to an assisted living facility), individuals in this position can strike the right balance with help from a qualified in-home caregiver.

Here in Poway, Unlimited Caregivers is an ideal option for those seeking a middle ground between familial and institutional senior care. As a family-owned and operated company, we are committed to extending the same warmth, kindness and respect we would show to one another to our clients. After all, everyone ? regardless of age or position in life ? has a story worth telling. We believe in listening to those stories, and rewarding our clients for their wisdom and experience with the highest possible standard of care.

With a strong connection to the local San Diego senior community and a dedication to compassionate service, Unlimited Caregivers is your premier resources for experienced elder care assistance. Learn more about us and schedule a consultation today: www.unlimitedcaregivers.com.

Short URL: http://www.pomeradonews.com/?p=26094

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Alabama school district settles suit from civil rights era

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Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 revealed by Google, rolling out in mid July

It's seems like only yesterday we were all crowded around our laptops, watching a live stream and getting amped for Ice Cream Sandwich. Truth is, that was six months ago now and, while most of the Android running public still hasn't been blessed with 4.0, it's already time to make the leap to 4.1. Today Google officially took the wraps off Jelly Bean, the next evolution of its mobile platform and while its not quite the revolutionary shift that was Gingerbread to ICS, it still marks an important improvement for the ecosystem. One of the biggest features is Project Butter, a deep diving effort to improve performance and response time. The whole system hums along at 60fps now, and while the difference of a few miliseconds might sound like small potatoes, it becomes glaringly apparently the moment you run Jelly Bean next to an ICS device. Animations are smoother and quicker. The CPU immediately ramps up the moment a touch is detected to ensure speedy response.

The home screen has also been tweaked, adding some nice features like dynamically resizing widgets, so you no longer have to place it, resize it then move it to where you want if there isn't enough room. If there is room, but you app icons are merely in the way, the widget will automatically push them to the side. And, in a nice slick touch, apps and widgets can be removed by flicking them off the screen. Another extremely welcome touch is the addition of offline voice input. Now you can tap the microphone and dictate a message even with the phone in airplane mode.

The camera app, which was already a highlight of ICS, has gotten even better in 4.1. Now, the gallery is slickly integrated, allowing you to quickly pull up the photo you just took with a swipe to the left. You can keep swiping through your images or even pinch to zoom out and view all your images in a filmstrip view. Deleting images is as simple as swiping a pic off the screen and, if you've manage to accidentally removed one, a quick tap of the undo button restores it. And, speaking of images, you can now share them and video using Google Beam, and Android now supports pairing with Bluetooth devices with the assistance of NFC.

Gallery: Android Jelly Bean 4.1

Continue reading Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 revealed by Google, rolling out in mid July

Jelly Bean, Android 4.1 revealed by Google, rolling out in mid July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android 4.1  | Email this | Comments

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Either You Were Involved in ?Fast & Furious? or You Are Asserting a Presidential Power That You Know to be Unjustified: Rep. Issa?s Scathing Letter to President Obama

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Recovery Hits A Plateau ~ Trulia Housing Barometer | Real Estate ...

Posted on June 27, 2012 by holliehansen

Each month Trulia?s Housing Barometer charts how quickly the housing market is moving back to ?normal.? We summarize three key housing market indicators: construction starts (Census), existing-home sales (NAR) and the delinquency-plus-foreclosure rate (LPS First Look). For each indicator, we compare this month?s data to (1) how bad the numbers got at their worst and (2) their pre-bubble ?normal? levels.

All three indicators took a step backward in May 2012:

?Construction starts slid back for the month, but up for the year. Starts dropped from an upwardly revised 744,000 in April to 708,000 in May, a 4.8% month-over-month decline. But starts are up 28.5% year over year. Still, construction has a long way to go: starts are just 23% of the way back to normal.

?Existing home sales also decreased. Dropping from 4.62 million in April to 4.55 million in May, home sales are not quite halfway back (45%) to their normal level from their worst point during the bust.

?The delinquency + foreclosure rate ticked upward. (Remember, on this measure, lower is better.) In May, 11.32% of mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure, inching up from 11.26% in April and 11.23% in March, though down from 12.07% a year ago. The delinquency + foreclosure rate is 36% of the way back to normal, ahead of starts but behind sales.

Averaging these three back-to-normal percentages together, the market is now 35% of the way back to normal, compared with just 19% back to normal a year ago.

The housing market recovery has hit a plateau, remaining in the 33-37% range since January after making several jumps in the second half of 2011.

Of course these statistics are going to vary from region to region, but for the most part we can say that for Northwest Florida we are seeing positive recovery in all areas of the market. For more information on how you may qualify for a new home or to get a free marketing evaluation of your home or property, please call Hollie Hansen at 850.258.2602 or email me at holliesellshomes@gmail.com.

This entry was posted in Agent Stories, Counts Real Estate, Market Watch, Real Estate and tagged Buying, construction, homes . census, housing market, Mortgages, new homes, Selling. Bookmark the permalink.

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Qualcomm Extends Vuforia Augmented Reality Platform To The Cloud (Video)

Qualcomm announced an upgrade to their Vuforia Augmented Reality platform on Wednesday. Vuforia is a platform that focuses on using images as the "targets" to launch an AR experience, rather than requiring consumers to scan QR codes or other glyphs. So instead of scanning a barcode, you just scan a specific picture to start the AR experience on your mobile phone or tablet (it could launch a video, or a 3D model, etc.) There are many AR companies that employ this method of recognizing images. That is nothing new. The difference here is that the old version of Vuforia required the database of images that are the "targets" to be stored locally on the device running their software and therefore had a limited capacity of storage (around 80 images). This new system allows developers to continue using local app storage of image targets but they can also now implement programatic, API-based access to up to 1 million targets using a new cloud database system.

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Men's Health Month: Tips and issues | Navy Medicine

Lt. Dawn Whiting, Nurse Corps, Health Promotion and Wellness with Navy & Marine Corps Public Health Center

Recruits from Division 816 march in formation after completing physical training at Recruit Training Command (RTC) Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. Division 816 is one of the Special Warfare Operations divisions at RTC. The "0800" Divisions are made up of rating candidates for Special Warfare Operator, Special Warfare Boat Operator, Navy Diver, Explosive Ordnance Disposal and rescue swimmers. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre N. McIntyre/Released)

Did you know that according to the Mayo clinic, unintentional injury is the third largest threat to men?s health? Only heart disease and cancer pose a greater threat. Within the US military population, injuries are the leading health problem, with musculoskeletal injuries comprising the majority of these incidents. The good news is many of these are preventable. What can you do to mitigate your risk?

• To prevent overuse injuries of the lower extremities, civilian and military research has shown that decreasing running volume can significantly reduce your risk. The Joint Services Physical Training Injury Prevention Workgroup found a 40 percent reduction in running distance was associated with a 53 percent reduction in stress fracture incidence and only slightly (three percent) slower run times. One way to achieve this reduction in total mileage without sacrificing speed or cardiovascular endurance is to practice interval training. Evidence shows substituting some long runs with interval training can actually lead to more rapid performance gains while reducing total mileage. Examples of interval training include Fartlek runs, sprint repeats and track workouts. Every interval training session should include a warm-up and cool down, and interval work should not be started until you have a good cardiovascular base (the ability to maintain an elevated heart rate for 20-30 minutes three times per week).
• Quit tobacco use. Tobacco reduces the ability of your red blood cells to carry oxygen, therefore making your body unable to meet the increased oxygen demands. Research examining male infantry Soldiers found those who smoked increased their risk of injury threefold. Tools to help with tobacco cessation can be found at NCMPHC Healthy living.
• When driving, wear your seatbelt and do not drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription drugs that may make you drowsy.
• If you own or operate a motorcycle, enroll in a motorcycle safety course.

MCPON sends a message about motorcycle safety. Motorcycle Safety Month was during the month of March, but that doesn?t mean we should forget this topic.

• Utilize the Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System (NOFFS) to improve your workouts, improve your performance both on and off the job, and reduce your risk of injury. To learn more about NOFFS, build your individualized workout, or to download the NOFFS iPhone app?click here.??
• When at work, utilize available personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with your company?s policies.

For more information about injury prevention, as well as other health promotion and wellness topics, please visit our website at by clicking here.

Sailors participating in Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System (NOFFS). The system is built on five pillar preps of eat clean, eat often, hydrate, recover and mindset. NOFFS is designed to keep Sailors ashore and afloat in peak physical condition while reducing the risk of sports injuries and stressing the importance of proper nutrition.

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Barclays fined $452 mn in rate manipulation probe

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Bill Schneider: Is Everything Under Control?

Barack Obama is facing the most dangerous period of his presidency. The danger is that he will not appear to be in control of events. If that perception takes hold, voters will conclude that the president is not up to the job. And they will abandon him.

It is a great fiction, of course, that a president is in control of events. Presidents rarely are. The point is that a president has to appear to be in control. Otherwise the voters feel frightened and leaderless, at the mercy of forces that are out of control.

The challenge becomes particularly acute during natural disasters -- events that are beyond anyone's control. That is when people are desperate to believe that the situation is under control. President Bush faced that challenge when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. Instead of immediately taking charge, President Bush appeared remote and passive -- a detached spectator viewing the damage from the air. A great American city was nearly destroyed. Over 1,800 people lost their lives. The president seemed powerless to do anything.

The same thing almost happened after 9/11. For several days, President Bush was hardly in evidence. Fortunately for terrified New Yorkers, they had a leader who seized the moment. Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in the streets, covered in ash, holding public briefings, offering reassurance, barking orders. Did he really have the situation under control? No. But Giuliani gave the impression for several terrifying days that he did.

Bush ultimately rescued his image when he showed up at Ground Zero three days later, grabbed a bullhorn and shouted, "I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!" The president offered what Americans desperately wanted in that awful moment: a show of defiance and resolve.

President Obama is not facing the challenge of a natural disaster or an attack. But he does appear to be at the mercy of forces beyond his control. The economy, first and foremost. Americans behave as if the president is commander-in-chief of the economy. He's not, of course. No one is. No one can command an economy of this size and complexity to do anything. But the president has to give that impression.

What exactly can the president do about the debt crisis and the intensifying recession in Europe? He acknowledged at the G-20 summit in Mexico, "Given that we don't have full control over what happens in Europe or the pace at which things happen in Europe, let's make sure that we're doing those things that we do have control over." Like what? He called on Congress to "act on a jobs plan that would put us on a path of creating an extra million jobs." There is not a chance Congress will do that. Meanwhile, the White House seems to be waiting breathlessly for the jobs numbers to come out every month, in the hope that they will deliver salvation.

Those numbers come out next week. This week the administration is waiting helplessly for the Supreme Court to pass judgment on its signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act. If that law is declared unconstitutional, Mitt Romney's argument that the Obama presidency has been a failure will get considerable re-enforcement.

When the Court issued its ruling on the Arizona illegal immigration law this week, Justice Antonin Scalia used the opportunity to express contempt for President Obama's executive order halting the deportation of illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. "Are the sovereign states at the mercy of the federal executive's refusal to enforce the nation's immigration laws?" Scalia asked disdainfully.

The president's enemies are gathering against him. Whenever President Obama complains about Congress's failure to act, he makes himself appear to be at the mercy of a hostile Congress. They are in control, not the president.

The same thing happened to President Bill Clinton after the Democrats lost control of Congress in 1994. The Republican Congress seized the initiative. For a while, House Speaker Newt Gingrich looked like the head of government. Clinton reached his low point on April 18, 1995, when he was reduced to pleading at a news conference, "The President is still relevant here." One day later, the federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed. That disaster gave President Clinton the opportunity to restore his image of leadership.

President Jimmy Carter was not so lucky. Carter appeared more and more hapless and ineffectual during the final year of his presidency. He was buffeted by forces beyond his control -- student radicals in Teheran, the energy crisis, inflation, recession, Soviet defiance. Carter's failure led to the election of Ronald Reagan, a man who probably could not have gotten elected in any other year. In 1980, however, Reagan's ability to project leadership and confidence gave the country exactly what it wanted.

What can Obama do? He has to appear unfazed and unrattled: "No drama Obama." His decision to issue a deportation stay was a political masterstroke that rattled his Republican critics, including Justice Scalia. Obama defied efforts by House Republicans to bring down Attorney General Eric Holder by claiming executive privilege. He has taken a series of small-scale initiatives, just as President Clinton did when he was on the ropes -- programs for mortgage relief, jobs for veterans, protections against dangerous invasive species like Burmese pythons and Asian carp, a port expansion in Florida, a pledge to keep a plant open in Ohio. It's Obama's way of keeping his pledge, "If Congress won't act, I will."

And if the Court strikes down the health care law? Obama has to step up immediately and say, "Don't be alarmed. We have other ways of doing this. We will not allow the Court to take health insurance away from fifty million Americans." In other words, everything is under control.

?

Follow Bill Schneider on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BillSchneiderDC

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Going for Broke: 5 Experiments That Went Out in a Blaze of Glory

Features | Space

Scientists have used the last moments of major experiments or spacecraft to make a push for knowledge--or to produce some fireworks

By John Matson ?| June 26, 2012?|

Image: NASA

Burning up, blowing up or crash-landing is usually considered a bad thing for a space mission. But some of the most successful missions have ended when scientists deliberately steered them to their demise. For some spacecraft, such destruction was always part of the plan. Others had simply achieved their goals, budget outlays had run their course, the time had come to wind them down, and researchers realized that they had nothing left to lose by sending the probes on one last daredevil plunge.

View a slide show of five experiments pushed to the limits?and beyond.

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Mr. Sports: SEC, BCS Championship and new rules for Pop Warner ...

The reality of the Southeastern Conference facing a new chapter in its long history is really coming to the forefront with the start of the 2012-2013 college sports year just months away. During recent annual SEC school meetings, the addition of two new schools this upcoming year, Texas A&M and Missouri, meant for new divisional alignment and scheduling that for most of us would boggle the mind.

The SEC announced its championship plan for the new school year, which included stops at Missouri and Texas A&M for conference championships. Missouri will host the Outdoor Track and Field, while Texas A&M will host the Swimming and Diving championships.

The remainder of the SEC title stops includes the 21st consecutive year the football championship will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta while Hoover will host the baseball tournament for the 16th straight year. The men?s basketball tourney will be held in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena and the women?s version of the conference title going to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia.

Here is the complete rundown of the SEC championships with location and dates:
Baseball: May 21-26, Hoover, Ala.
Men?s Basketball: March 13-17, Nashville, Tenn.
Women?s Basketball: March 6-10, Duluth, Ga.
Cross Country: Oct. 26, Nashville, Tenn.
Football: Dec. 1, Atlanta, Ga.
Men?s Golf: April 19-21, Sea Island, Ga.
Women?s Golf: April 19-21, Birmingham, Ala.
Gymnastics: March 23, North Little Rock, Ark.
Soccer: Oct. 29-Nov. 4, Orange Beach, Ala.
Softball: May 8-11, Lexington, Ky.
Swimming and Diving: Feb. 19-23, College Station, Texas
Men?s Tennis: April 17-21, Oxford, Miss.
Women?s Tennis: April 17-21, Starkville, Miss.
Indoor Track & Field: Feb. 22-24, Fayetteville, Ark.
Outdoor Track and Field: May 9-12, Columbia, Mo.
The sport of Equestrian will be held for the first time this year with dates and locations yet to be determined.

College Football

The college football season is still weeks away, but its not too early to begin thinking ahead fort the 2012 season.

The BCS Championships will be played Jan. 7, in Miami, Fla. To get there, two teams must survive what promises to be a hectic 2012 regular season with some teams also facing conference championship games after the regular campaign is complete.

Which team has the toughest road to the BCS? According to Phil Steele?s Football, the toughest schedule going into the 2012 season is Notre Dame. The Irish kick off the season against Navy in a game to be played in Dublin, Ireland. Notre Dame also has games against BYU, Michigan, Stanford, USC and Oklahoma. Ouch!

Ole Miss? schedule is ranked second followed by Iowa State, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Baylor, Texas A&M, Miami and Kentucky rounding out the top 10.

Other schools of note include South Carolina (13), Auburn (17), Arkansas (19), Missouri (20), Alabama (28), LSU (29) and USC (30).
This entire ranking will change once the season gets underway.

Pop Warner Football

The Pop Warner Football program, which I assisted in getting a stronghold in Madison many years ago when I worked for the Madison Recreation Department, will introduce new rules to limit contact drills to one-third of practice time this year. The 83-year old national youth football program is the first league at any level of football to have restrictions in place on contact levels.

Several studies indicate the high health risks in youth football.

Pop Warner also put into place an additional rule, whereas, full-speed, head-on blocking or tackling drills, in which players line up more than three yards apart is prohibited.

These are great rules for safety, but in the long run you will see a dramatic lack of skills in those areas as the players get older.

Bits and Pieces

The Huntsville Stars will arrive back home on June 26th for an 11-game home stand, including July 4th. All of the games, except for Sunday, July 8, will begin at 6:45. That lone Sunday game will see first pitch at 4 p.m.

Kudos to the young New York Giants football fan that recently mailed $3.36 to Brandon Jacobs who left the Giants for the San Francisco 49ers. The young six-year old was told his favorite football player was making the move from the East Coast to the West Coast because the Giants couldn?t pay Jacobs enough money.

The small boy emptied his piggy bank.

Speaking with departed Bob Jones girl?s basketball head coach Tim Miller, he told me he will always cherish his time spent with the Patriots and excelling the program to new heights in the state. His chance at joining the University of Alabama women?s program as an assistant coach was perfect timing for him personally, as he was looking to make the jump to the collegiate level. Miller joins head coach Wendell Hudson on the Alabama staff.

By Bob Labbe

bob0873@yahoo.com

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Column: A mournful lament for a fabulous Euro 2012

By JOHN LEICESTER

AP Sports Columnist

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:52 a.m. ET June 26, 2012

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - With Germans wowing like Brazilians, the attack-minded Italians shedding their defensive skins and the Spanish hogging the ball to suffocate opponents rather than dazzling with "Ole!" artistry, the European Championship has delivered a festival of enthralling and cerebral soccer that has challenged national stereotypes.

But, strangely, it feels a bit funereal, too.

In years ahead, when the matches on offer aren't, say, the Netherlands vs. Germany or Italy vs. Spain but maybe Wales vs. Estonia, will we mourn Euro 2012 as the last great international soccer tournament, truly memorable for unrelenting high-quality play from first day to last?

Possibly.

As UEFA President Michel Platini convincingly argues, opening the Euros to more teams - 24 beginning in 2016 instead of the current elite of 16 - will be more democratic and more inclusive for European soccer's lesser nations, the likes of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Estonia or Norway that narrowly missed out this time.

Better value for money, too. More teams will mean more matches, which in turn should mean greater use of stadiums, airports and other expensive public works built for a sporting extravaganza that lasts just weeks. Landing at the new airport in Euro 2012 host city Donetsk - the terminal shiny and imposing although there are very few planes on the tarmac - one cannot help but wonder whether the money couldn't have been better spent.

So the head says "yes" to Platini's plan. But the heart says "no" after 28 games at Euro 2012 that, with a few exceptions, were hugely engrossing, with quality matchups and play. The fear is that by watering down such fine wine to make it stretch further, Platini may also rob the Euros of some flavor.

Another feature of Euro 2012 has been that soccer, the beautiful game, has outshone the mindless hooligans and ugliness associated with it. Fighting between Polish and Russian fans, against the police and with each other when their teams played out a 1-1 draw on June 12 in Warsaw was the exception not the rule.

By levying fines totaling (euro) 325,000 ($400,000) against Russia, Croatia, Germany, England and Poland, UEFA demonstrated commendable intolerance for rowdy behavior and fans who racially abused Italy forward Mario Balotelli, who is black.

But UEFA muddied the message by imposing a one-match ban and a (euro) 100,000 ($125,000) fine on Nicklas Bendtner after the Denmark forward celebrated a goal by lowering his shorts to reveal the name of a betting firm on his underwear. The severity of the punishment gave the impression UEFA is more concerned about tackling guerrilla marketing and preserving exclusivity for its sponsors than weightier issues like fan racism and violence.

Unlike this season's Champions League, UEFA's top club competition won by Chelsea with defensive and reactive tactics, Euro 2012 has rewarded bold and dynamic attack-minded soccer.

The four semifinalists - Italy, Germany, Portugal and Spain - took games to their opponents, instead of merely sitting back, soaking up attacks and waiting for opportunities to quickly counter, as Chelsea did against Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

In the Champions League final, Bayern had 35 attempts on goal, Chelsea just nine. But Bayern still lost, so soccer and fortune did not favor the most enterprising team.

But the reverse was true in the Euro 2012 quarterfinals. The losers - France, the Czech Republic, Greece and England - together made just 24 attempts on goal. That was as many as Germany, alone, in its 4-2 win over Greece and a stunning 11 fewer than Italy, which from Daniele De Rossi's shot against the post in the third minute peppered England's goal but somehow didn't score in 120 minutes.

Still, Italy's subsequent 4-2 penalty shootout victory justly rewarded a team and its coach, Cesare Prandelli, whose flowing forward attacks are dismantling the stereotype of defense-heavy Italian soccer grinding out ugly wins.

For Prandelli and Germany coach Joachim Loew, the aesthetics of victory are important, too. Prandelli hopes the richer new palate of hues in the Azzurri's style of play will rub off on Serie A clubs, too.

"Coaches need to start playing football more, and not just look for results," Prandelli said. "There are two years of work behind this and I think this is the future of football. In terms of quality, we're not lacking anything to anyone."

No huge new star emerged at Euro 2012, with the exception, perhaps, of 21-year-old Alan Dzagoyev. But his three goals for Russia were dulled by his team's collective failure to reach the quarterfinals.

Instead, this has been a tournament where established names - notably Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and Andrea Pirlo - again demonstrated with awesome play why they are stars.

Other established names - the entire Netherlands squad, England's Wayne Rooney and France's uncouth and uncool Samir Nasri - left us doubting whether they are quite the stars they take themselves to be.

If there is a Euro 2012 bone to pick, it is that too few fans from western Europe were able to venture this far east, seemingly because of cost, the daunting logistics of travel to and between co-hosts Poland and Ukraine and, possibly, because of pre-tournament concerns of racism and hooliganism that, it turned out, were hugely overblown.

Stadiums filled with fans from Poland, Ukraine, Russia and former Soviet republics who relished the chance to partake in a tournament that previously had been no farther east than Germany and the former Yugoslavia. And, naturally, once their own nations went out in the group stage, local crowds didn't root for remaining teams with the same fervor that Spanish or Italian fans would have had they been here in greater numbers.

They still paint their faces and make plenty of noise. But their cries of "Ukraine! Ukraine!" during, for example, England vs. Italy and France vs. Spain, were divorced from the on-field action and therefore disconcerting.

But that is perhaps a snobby western opinion that ignores the fact that since taxpayers from Poland and Ukraine are footing the bill, they can damn well enjoy this party in whatever manner they like. The same could be said of South Africans who insisted on blowing their earsplitting vuvuzela plastic trumpets at their World Cup in 2010.

If that is our only complaint, these have been very successful Euros, indeed. A true celebration of soccer but, sadly, perhaps the last of its kind.

---

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsCarl De Souza / AFP - Getty Images

Pirlo's peerless performance

PST: Italy's Andrea Pirlo was positively magnificent in Sunday's quarterfinal win over England. But don't take our word for it alone.

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Make me an offer, say online shoppers

ScienceDaily (June 26, 2012) ? Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer, according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry.

The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain, said Don Conlon, Eli Broad Professor of Management in MSU's Broad College of Business.

But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and, when they were successful, worried they overpaid. Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle.

"Americans are very busy, and it's less time consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer," Conlon said. "People tend to be happier when they're in the receiver role."

Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years, from $226 billion this year to $327 billion in 2016, according to Forrester Research Inc.

Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com, which provides offers.

Using these two models, Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car.

Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said, but they also made more deals in that receiver role. Further, when they had to make the bids, they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.

From an industry perspective, putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. "If you're a business with a lot of product," Conlon said, "you may want to be the one making the offers."

However, when selling single items, such as an antique car, accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.

Conlon's co-researchers are Catherine Tinsley of Georgetown University; Samuel Birk and Aleksander Ellis of the University of Arizona; and Stephen Humphrey of Penn State University.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Donald E. Conlon, Catherine H. Tinsley, Samuel J. Birk, Stephen E. Humphrey, Aleksander P.J. Ellis. Is it sometimes better to receive than to give? Preferences for receiver roles over proposer roles in consumer behavior ultimatums. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.05.003

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.

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Office Remodeling ? Aids in Business Development, Client ...

Remodeling your office can be exciting and rewarding. ?Exciting, because you can create textures and moods that just weren?t available even fifteen year ago,due to the wide variety of materials available today. ?Rewarding, because an office build out in Chicago?can aid in work flow, business development, and client retention.

Form, Function, Quality and Price

Think for a moment of all the different kinds of offices, insurance, financial, law, physician, dental, etc. and you?ll quickly realize that to help accomplish the business? goals, each has its own unique requirements for how the space will ultimately be tailored.

We have access to lots of source materials including domestic and imported hardwoods, solid surface materials, and naturally, plastic laminates. ?The accessibility of these materials combined with our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility means that we?ll be able to build whatever designs your architect or designer can dream.

Still looking for a designer? ?We can either create your unique design ourselves, or recommend a designer for you.

Office Build Outs

Moving into a brand new space? ?We have you taken care of there also. Our process works equally well when building out new office space, and we mesh seamlessly with the rest of the trades working on your project.?

Your practice or business will really shine with a freshly remodeled or newly built office. ?We can make planning your project a snap.

Finding the right supplier and partner for your office build out project is not something you should take lightly. End-user clients have demands that are continuously growing. ?Clients are asking for a wider variety of materials, more innovative designs and mixed surfaces with an eye towards sustainability and durability. This presents a challenge for many office remodeling providers that is too great and may lead to project delays, budget overruns and overall poor execution.

Tell us more about your project and we?ll have our office remodeling specialists contact you to discuss your project needs in more detail. ?For more information about office remodeling and office build out, visit here.

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.

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Proposition 8 trial witness to stop opposing marriage for gay couples ...

David Blankenhorn, founder the Institute for American Values and a witness at the trial of the ballot which led to California?s gay marriage ban says he will no longer fight against marriage rights for gay couples.

Mr Blankenhorn wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times that he still believed children had the right ?insofar as society makes it possible, to know and to be cared for by the two parents who brought them into this world?.

But, he said, ?there are more good things under heaven than these beliefs?.

Mr Blankenhorn cited firstly the ?equal dignity of homosexual love? and said that while gay and straight relationships were not the same, ?the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over?.

?Whatever one?s definition of marriage, legally recognizing gay and lesbian couples and their children is a victory for basic fairness.?

Secondly, he said ?mutual acceptance? and ?compromise? was a necessary part of living together in society, that ?bending the knee a bit, in the name of comity, is not always the same as weakness? and that he wanted ?conciliation?, not ?further fighting?.

Thirdly, Mr Blankenhorn said the emerging consensus among the broader general public had persuaded him in part to change his views.

The consensus, he said ?may be wrong on the merits?, but ?surely it matters?.

He wrote: ?I had hoped that the gay marriage debate would be mostly about marriage?s relationship to parenthood. [...]

?In the mind of today?s public, gay marriage is almost entirely about accepting lesbians and gay men as equal citizens. And to my deep regret, much of the opposition to gay marriage seems to stem, at least in part, from an underlying anti-gay animus. To me, a Southerner by birth whose formative moral experience was the civil rights movement, this fact is profoundly disturbing.?

He continued: ?With each passing year, we see higher and higher levels of unwed childbearing, nonmarital cohabitation and family fragmentation among heterosexuals. Perhaps some of this can be attributed to the reconceptualization of marriage as a private ordering that is so central to the idea of gay marriage. But either way, if fighting gay marriage was going to help marriage over all, I think we?d have seen some signs of it by now.?

Instead of campaigning against marriage for gay couples, Mr Blankhorn said he would ?like to help build new coalitions bringing together gays who want to strengthen marriage with straight people who want to do the same?.

?For example, once we accept gay marriage, might we also agree that marrying before having children is a vital cultural value that all of us should do more to embrace? Can we agree that, for all lovers who want their love to last, marriage is preferable to cohabitation?

?Can we discuss whether both gays and straight people should think twice before denying children born through artificial reproductive technology the right to know and be known by their biological parents??

Mr Blankenhorn had argued against gay marriage rights in the trial of Proposition 8 in 2010, characterising marriage more as a relationship in which to bring up children than a private relationship between two adults.

That court case ultimately ruled that Proposition 8, a public ballot through which voters revoked the rights of gay couples to marry in California, was unconstitutional. The court said his appearance constituted ?inadmissible opinion testimony that should be given essentially no weight?.

It said: ?Blankenhorn?s opinions are not supported by reliable evidence or methodology and Blankenhorn failed to consider evidence contrary to his view in presenting his testimony.?

Mr Blankenhorn?s Institute for American Values aims to ensure children grow up with both married parents, ?renew the ethic of thrift?, combat ?extremism in the Arab and Muslim world? and ?civilise? public conversation.

He has previously acknowledged benefits of marriage rights for gay couples. In his book the Future of Marriage, he said it would promote stable, committed relationships for gay couples, mean fewer children would grow up in institutions, reduce the incidence of hate crimes and drive progress in the American dream of equal opportunity regardless of an individual?s circumstances.

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin told AP: ?While it can be difficult as a public figure to change course, I applaud him for taking a courageous and principled stand. His experience wrestling with the issue of marriage equality and coming out on the right side of history will be an inspiration to millions of fair-minded who are in the same?place.?

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Islamist Morsi named Egypt's president

CAIRO (AP) ? Islamist Mohammed Morsi was declared the winner Sunday in Egypt's first free presidential election in history, closing the tumultuous first phase of a democratic transition and opening a new struggle with the still-dominant military rulers who recently stripped the presidency of most of its powers.

In Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising that ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, joyous Morsi supporters wept and kneeled on the ground in prayer as soon as they heard the outcome announced live television. They danced, set off fireworks and released doves in the air with Morsi's picture attached in celebrations not seen in the square since Mubarak was forced out on Feb. 11, 2011.

Many are looking now to see whether Morsi will try to take on the military and wrestle back the powers they took from his office just one week ago. Thousands vowed to remain in Tahrir to demand that the ruling generals reverse their decision.

"I pledge to be a president who serves his people and works for them," Morsi said on his official web page. "I will not betray God in defending your rights and the rights of this nation." He was scheduled to address the nation Sunday night in his first speech after being declared president.

The White House congratulated Morsi and urged him to advance national unity as he forms a new government. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Morsi's victory is a milestone in Egypt's transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule under Mubarak. The Obama administration had expressed no public preference in the presidential race.

Left on the sidelines of the political drama are the liberal and secular youth groups that drove the uprising against Mubarak, left to wonder whether Egypt has taken a step towards becoming an Islamist state. Some grudgingly supported Morsi in the face of Ahmed Shafiq, who was Mubarak's last prime minister, while others boycotted the vote.

Morsi will now have to reassure them that he represents the whole country, not just Islamists, and will face enormous challenges after security and the economy badly deteriorated in the transition period.

Pro-democracy leader Mohammed ElBaradei urged unity after the results were announced.

"It is time we work all as Egyptians as part of a national consensus to build Egypt that is based on freedom and social justice," he wrote on his Twitter account.

The elections left the nation deeply polarized with one side backing Shafiq, who promised to provide stability and prevent Egypt from becoming a theocracy. Because of his military career, many saw him as the military's preferred candidate.

In the other camp are those eager for democratic change and backers of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood who were persecuted, jailed and banned under Mubarak but now find themselves one of the two most powerful groups in Egypt.

The other power center is the ruling military council that took power after the uprising and is headed by Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years.

Just one week ago, at the moment polls were closing in the presidential runoff, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued constitutional amendments that stripped the president's office of most of its major powers. The ruling generals made themselves the final arbiters over the most pressing issues still complicating the transition? such as writing the constitution, legislating, passing the state budget? and granted military police broad powers to detain civilians.

"I am happy the Brotherhood won because now the revolution will continue on the street against both of them, the Brotherhood and the SCAF," said Lobna Darwish, an activist who has boycotted the elections.

Also, a few days before that constitutional declaration, a court dissolved the freely elected parliament, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, leaving the military now in charge of legislating.

Brotherhood members and experts said the results were used a bargaining chip between the generals and the Brotherhood over the parameters of what appears to be a new power-sharing agreement. The country's new constitution is not written and the authorities of the president are not clear.

This is the first time modern Egypt will be headed by an Islamist and by a freely elected civilian. The country's last four presidents over the past six decades have all came from the ranks of the military.

"Congratulations because this means the end of the Mubarak state," said Shady el-Ghazali Harb, a prominent activist who was among the leaders of the protests in January and February last year.

The results of the elections were delayed for four days amid accusations of manipulation and foul play by both sides, raising political tensions in Egypt to a fever pitch.

The delay plunged the country into nerve-wrecking anticipation and pushed tensions to a fever pitch. Parallel mass rallies by Shafiq and Morsi supporters were held in different parts of Cairo and cut-throat media attacks by supporters of both swarmed TV shows. In the hours before the announcement of the winner, the fear of new violence was palpable.

Heavy security was deployed around the country, especially outside state institutions, in anticipation of possible violence. Workers were sent home early from jobs, jewelry stores closed for fear of looting and many were stocking up on food and forming long lines at cash machines in case new troubles began.

Morsi, the 60-year old U.S.-trained engineer, narrowly defeated Shafiq with 51.7 percent of the vote versus 48.3, by a margin of only 800,000 votes, the election commission said. Turnout was 51 percent.

Farouk Sultan, the head of the commission, described the elections as "an important phase in the end of building our nascent democratic experience."

Sultan went to pains to explain the more than 400 complaints presented by the two candidates challenging counting procedures and alleging attempts of rigging. It appeared to be an attempt to discredit claims that the election commission was biased in favor of Shafiq, the candidate perceived as backed by the military rulers.

The country is deeply divided between supporters of the Brotherhood, liberals and leftists who also decided to back them as a way to stand up to the military, and other secular forces that fear the domination of the Brotherhood, and grew critical of it in the past year. The small margin of victory for Morsi also sets him for a strong opposition from supporters of Shafiq, viewed as a representative of the old regime.

Naguib Sawiris, a Coptic Christian business tycoon who joined a liberal bloc in voicing opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood a day before the results were announced, said he expects the new president to send a reassuring message to Egypt's Christian minority who represent around 10 percent of the population of 85 million.

"There are fears of imposing an Islamic state ... where Christians don't have same rights," Sawiris told the private TV station CBC. Morsi "is required to prove the opposite. ... We don't want speeches or promises but in the coming period, it is about taking action. ... He was not our choice but we are accepting it is a democratic choice."

Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist presidential candidate who came in a surprising third place in the first round of elections, asked Morsi to live up to his pledges to form a national coalition government and appoint presidential aides from different groups "that express the largest national consensus."

Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a leading leftist politician, said Morsi must fight to get his powers back or he will lose any popular support he may have garnered.

"If he fights to get his power back, we will support him. But if he doesn't fight back, then he is settling for siding with the military," he said.

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