Report details countries' freedom status

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Shows Libyan protesters demonstrating during march an anti hardline Islamist in Benghazi, Libya, 21 September 2012. Hundreds of Libyan protesters forced members of a hardline Islamist militia out of their base in the second city of Benghazi, setting fire to and wrecking the military compound. UPI/Tariq AL-hun.

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Published: Jan. 17, 2013 at 8:56 AM

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Popular movements prompted major gains in freedom in the Middle East last year, a Freedom House report found.

Freedom House's annual report on the state of global freedom labels 90 countries as "free" in 2012, increasing by three from the previous year, with 16 countries showing positive gains.

But 27 countries' scores declined, marking the seventh year the report has indicated more declines than gains worldwide.

The data also indicated increased dictator persecution of civil society organizations and the media, as well as escalating violence as a result of gains in the Middle East revolutions.

Freedom House said the most striking gains came in Libya, which went from the classification of "not free" to "partly free," marking the country's biggest numerical jump in the report's 40-year history.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, and African countries also saw increases, Freedom House reported, while declines occurred in Kenya, Turkey and Russia, among others.

Freedom House said the number of electoral democracies was the same as in 2011, at 117, with two achieving the status and two dropping from the category.

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Report details countries' freedom status

5 countries where freedom is dying

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Sadly, democracy is on the decline in several African nations

Which countries have seen the biggest declines in political and civil rights over the last several years? Pro-democracy watchdog Freedom House has the answers in its latest Freedom in the World rankings. Freedom House rates each country on a scale of 0 to 100, with 40 points devoted to political rights and 60 to civil liberties. Four of the five biggest declines in that score over the last five years have come from African nations. Here, the five worst performers:

Bahrain Last year, Kim Kardashian irked human rightsactivists by tweeting "I'm in love with The Kingdom of Bahrain" while visiting the country to promote a franchise called Millions of Milkshakes. Why the anger? The ruling Al Khalifa family has been especially harsh in handing down lengthy prison sentences to opposition activists. Earlier this month, Bahrain's highest court upheld a rulingthatcondemned 20 activists to prison, including eight life sentences. Activists abroad are still trying to free Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, who according to the BBC was jailed for encouraging "illegal gatherings."

Guinea-Bissau This West African country moved from the classification "Partly Free" to "Not Free" thanks to what The New York Times called the "cocaine coup,"an uprising by the military that, months before a presidential run-off election, turned the country into perhaps the biggest center for drug trafficking in Africa. Since then, the national legislature has been suspended and opposition parties have been harassed. Amnesty Internationalwarned that the severe beatings of two government critics in October would only add to the "rapid deterioration of the human rights situation in the country and the pervasive climate of fear."

Gambia In August, Gambia President Yahya Jammeh executed nine prisonerswithout warning and declared that his government would kill all of the country's remaining death row inmates by September, setting off a firestorm of criticism from the international community. Jammeh, who gained power in a 1994 coup, later halted the executions amidst growing pressure. Still, the prisoners (many of whom are reportedly political) aren't completely out of the woods. According to Al Jazeera, Jammeh claimed that he would resume the executions if the country experienced an "increase in violent crime."

Madagascar Political and economic instability still plague Madagascar years after former disc jockey Andry Rajoelina led a military-supported coup against then-President Marc Ravalomanana in 2009. According to Freedom House, the country's problems, including "intimidation of journalists, violence in the south, and a rise in human trafficking," have only gotten worse. While Rajoelina's recent announcementthat he was "ready to make a democratic transition" by not running in the May presidential elections is a positive sign, observers fear what might happen if the exiled Ravalomanana tries to rally his supporters.

Mali The most precipitous decline in the history of the Freedom in the World report belongs to Mali. The country started 2012 with a rating of "Free" before a rebellion by ethnic Tauregs set the stage for a military uprising, which led to the overthrow of democratically elected President Amadou Toumani Toure. Soon al-Qaeda-linked rebels claimed the north, causing some African officials to dub the region the "Afghanistan of West Africa."This month, French armed forces entered Mali to stop the march of rebels towards the capital, creating fears of a military quagmire that could have serious repercussions for neighboring countries, Europe, and the United States. The worst-case scenario, according to NPR's Dina Temple-Raston, is that France's intervention attracts terrorists from other countries turning what was a local conflict into a "global terrorism problem."

Read the entire Freedom House report here.

SEE ALSO: 10 things you need to know today:January 12, 2013

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5 countries where freedom is dying

Tito Ortiz on Scouting Talent at Bellator MMA, Cris Cyborg Fighting Rousey + More – Video

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Tito Ortiz on Scouting Talent at Bellator MMA, Cris Cyborg Fighting Rousey + More
MMA HEAT was on the scene in Irvine California for Bellator MMA #39;s debut show on SPIKE TV. While there Wade Eck caught up with "The People #39;s Champ" Tito Ortiz and found out how his new management company, Primetime 360 Entertainment Sports Management, is doing, his thoughts on Cris Cyborg fighting UFC Champ Ronda Rousey, the challenges that face Cyborg in losing weight, Mike Dolce and his Dolce Diet, dealing with Dana White and scouting Russian talent at the Bellator show. Be sure to visit http://www.MMAHEAT.com for more interviews and MMA content. Ns falamos Portugus! * We #39;re on Facebook http://www.facebook.com * Follow MMAHEAT on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com * Follow Karyn on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com

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Tito Ortiz on Scouting Talent at Bellator MMA, Cris Cyborg Fighting Rousey + More - Video

Tito Ortiz "waiting for the UFC to make a decision" on Rousey vs Cyborg – Video

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Tito Ortiz "waiting for the UFC to make a decision" on Rousey vs Cyborg
Tito feels his fight against Forrest to end his UFC career was BS. Not only does Tito feel that he won the fight, having dropped Forrest multiple times and landing ground and pound during the fight. Additionally, Ortiz was not happy that as a former champion, his last fight was against someone on TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) and had up to 6x the amount as a normal person. Ortiz also talks about Ronday Rousey possibly facing Cris Cyborg in the UFC. Ortiz feels that although Cris is a better athlete and striker, that Rousey definitely has a strong chance, as she is a great fighter and Olympic medalist herself.

By: Aaron Tru

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Tito Ortiz "waiting for the UFC to make a decision" on Rousey vs Cyborg - Video

Red tide reported off Collier beaches

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Photo by COREY PERRINE // Buy this photo

Corey Perrine/Staff The footprint evidence is clear where a fish was picked away by birds Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, at Barefoot Beach State Preserve in Bonita Springs, Fla. An agal bloom, known commonly as red tide, is a phenomenon where high concentrations of Karenia brevis, a microscopic marine algae, contain toxins that paralyze the nervous system in fish. In large quantities, they cause the water to appear red or murky, hence the name. The blooms can affect humans causing eye and respiratory conditions such as coughing, sneezing, tearing and itching.

Dead fish have washed ashore on North Naples beaches as a red tide continues to hang on offshore of Southwest Florida, Collier County beach monitors reported Wednesday.

Red tide is a bloom of microscopic algae that releases a toxin that can kill marine life and cause respiratory irritation in humans, including as recently as early last week. The county is warning people with emphysema and asthma to avoid the beaches.

One beachgoer estimated that Barefoot Beach was littered with one dead fish every five feet for a mile, and 20 fish were reported on Vanderbilt Beach north to Wiggins Pass, county pollution control worker Rhonda Watkins said.

Watkins said the county's regular beach rake routine picked up the Vanderbilt Beach fish, but beach raking is not allowed on Barefoot Beach, which is within a preserve area.

Satellites are tracking patches of elevated to high chlorophyll levels stretching offshore from southern Pinellas to Collier counties. More water samples are scheduled to be taken from the beaches Thursday.

Water samples collected earlier this week showed red tide at very low levels at Vanderbilt Beach and Seagate and at low levels at the Naples Pier and South Marco Beach.

To report dead fish or red tide symptoms, call 239-252-2502. Red tide updates are available by calling the county's hotline at 239-252-2591.

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Red tide reported off Collier beaches

Sonoma County planners to weigh parking fee proposal for state beaches

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Goat Rock State Beach in Jenner.

The state's plan to expand the number of beaches along the Sonoma Coast where visitors would be charged for parking faces its first crucial test in Santa Rosa today.

The Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments is scheduled to vote on whether to give California State Parks the authority to install 15 new self-pay machines at beaches on the Sonoma Coast.

The state's application for a county coastal development permit does not spell out any fees, but parks officials previously said they plan to charge visitors $8 for parking.

The plan faces stiff opposition, including from Jason Liles, chairman of both the zoning board and the county's Planning Commission.

"I don't like anybody charging for beaches," Liles said this week.

His main concern with the plan is that people will park outside the designated areas and put themselves at risk getting to the beach. He said emergency personnel "already spend a fair amount of time helping people" who get into trouble at the coast.

County staff are recommending that the permit be denied. The decision can be appealed to county supervisors and ultimately the California Coastal Commission.

State officials say the new day-use fees are necessary to keep the beaches open and to reopen others as the park system grapples with budget cuts and a deferred maintenance backlog of more than $1 billion.

Within Sonoma Coast State Park, eight day-use areas and two environmental campgrounds are closed, along with two-thirds of Bodega Dunes Campground. Only a few day-use areas with restroom facilities remain open, in addition to 49 camping spaces at Wrights Beach and Bodega Dunes.

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Sonoma County planners to weigh parking fee proposal for state beaches

Astronomy Photographer of the Year calling for entries

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Run by The Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with Sky at Night Magazine, the competition is an international search for images of the cosmos, from photographs of galaxies millions of light years away to dramatic images of the night sky taken closer to home.

Entrants have until 13 June to submit their entries with the winning images due to be showcased in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich from 19 September to 23 February 2014.

There are four main categories in the competition - Earth and Space, Our Solar System, Deep Space and Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year taken by photographers under the age of 16. There are also three special prizes: People and Space, Best Newcomer and Robotic Scope awarded to the best photograph taken using a computer-controlled telescope.

Photographers can enter the competition online by visiting http://www.rmg.co.uk/astrophoto and may each submit up to five images. The overall winner will receive 1500 with category winners each receiving 500. There are also runners-up cash prizes and all winning entries will receive a one-year subscription to Sky at Night Magazine.

In a press statement, competition judge and Sky at Night Magazine editor, Chris Bramley, says: The fantastic standard of entries last year showed that you don't need expensive equipment or decades of experience to take stunning astrophotos. I'm really looking forward to seeing what new astro-imagers submit in 2013.

Also on the judging panel this year isspace scientist and TV presenter Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Dr Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and science and astronomy writer Will Gater,among many others.

The winners of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013 will be announced at an award ceremony at the Royal Observatory on 18 September.

To view the entries online, visit: http://www.flickr.com/groups/astrophoto.

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Astronomy Photographer of the Year calling for entries

RP6 robot solves a maze with Artificial Intelligence – Video

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RP6 robot solves a maze with Artificial Intelligence
The RP6 Robot solves a maze. The program is a (so called) production system, which is used in the field of AI. The actions of the robot are codes in a rule basis. The current action lays on the top of the goal stack. During the search, the Robot ist oriented to the left wall. The robot speaks in German language. It calibrates the line sensor regularly to find the walls of the maze. program download: http://www.kaffka.eu

By: saturnatsky

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RP6 robot solves a maze with Artificial Intelligence - Video

Aaron Sloman – Artificial Intelligence – Psychology – Oxford Interview – Video

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Aaron Sloman - Artificial Intelligence - Psychology - Oxford Interview
Interview at St Anne #39;s College Oxford. Conference: Winter Intelligence put on by the Future of Humanity Institute. Aaron Sloman is a philosopher and researcher on artificial intelligence and cognitive science. He is the author of several papers on philosophy, epistemology and artificial intelligence. He held the Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science at the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham, and before that a chair with the same title at the University of Sussex. He is now working with biologist Jackie Chappell on the evolution of intelligence and is Honorary Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science at Birmingham. He is a Fellow of Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour and European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence. Sussex University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Science in July 2006. Aarons Homepage: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk

By: Adam Ford

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Aaron Sloman - Artificial Intelligence - Psychology - Oxford Interview - Video

NASA And Ball Aerospace Bring James Webb Telescope One Step Closer To Completion

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January 17, 2013

Image Caption: Ball Aerospace Technician Robin Russell inspects the Webb Telescope Aft Optics Subsystem during mirror integration activities. The Aft Optics bench, made of lightweight beryllium like the mirrors, holds Webb's tertiary and fine steering mirrors. The installed, gold-coated tertiary mirror can be seen in the background. Photo courtesy Ball Aerospace.

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Another milestone was recently met by the engineering team working on NASAs James Webb Space Telescope when they completed performance testing on the observatorys aft-optics system (AOS). Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system conducted the testing at their facilities in Boulder, Colo.

Completing Aft Optics System performance testing is significant because it means all of the telescopes mirror systems are ready for integration and testing, said Lee Feinberg, NASA Optical Telescope Element Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

The AOS has gone through a series of thermal, vibration, and cryogenic testing since last May to demonstrate that it can withstand the intense vibrations of the rocket launch and remain precisely aligned. The testing also proves that the AOS will function at the extremely cold temperatures in space.

The AOS, which is the final optical subsystem in the Webbs Optical Telescope Element to complete integration and test activities at Ball Aerospace, will remain at the Ball facility to be used in integrated testing with the flight actuator drive unit and AOS source plate assembly.

Each optical element that Ball Aerospace builds for the Webb is extremely sophisticated, said David L. Taylor, Ball Aerospaces president and chief executive officer. The successful completion of another milestone brings us one day closer to the launch of NASAs next major space observatory.

Both a shroud to eliminate stray light and two large radiator panels that keep the assembly cold surround the AOS, a precision beryllium rectangular optical bench that houses the tertiary and the fine steering mirror installed at the center of Webbs primary mirror.

Ball will begin the process of shipping the finished Webb primary to NASAs Goddard facility in September 2012. The remaining mirrors will arrive at Goddard in 2013 to be integrated into the telescope in 2015. Currently, the Webb telescope is on track for an October 2018 liftoff.

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NASA And Ball Aerospace Bring James Webb Telescope One Step Closer To Completion

Stem Cell Therapy Guidelines Readied

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MANILA, Philippines --- The Department of Health (DOH) is preparing guidelines for the use of stem cell therapy in the treatment of diseases in the Philippines.

This was announced by DOH Secretary Enrique T. Ona yesterday in a convention on stem cell therapy at the Manila Hotel.

Ona said a bio-ethics advisory board will develop the guidelines which will include ethical standards in the application of stem cell therapy to treat diseases such as malignancies, blood disorders and metabolic disorders, among others.

"The institutional board will review and approve Stem Cell therapies based on guidelines by the advisory board," Ona said.

He added that the board will also include ethical and legal issues surrounding stem cell therapy.

Last week, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) issued a joint statement that warned against the dangers of receiving stem cell transplants that came from another source other than the patient's body.

"If the stem cell that you received is not from your own body, it could lead to fatal complications," Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) and the PMA said.

The doctors warned that complications arising from stem cell transplants include graft-versus-host disease, stem cell (graft) failure, organ injury, infections, cataracts, infertility, new cancers, and even death.

Ona said a public hearing will be held on January 18 regarding the preliminary draft of the guidelines.

He said the guidelines will ensure the minimum quality of service and application in the use of stem cells in health settings.

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Stem Cell Therapy Guidelines Readied

Nutrition education program for food stamp recipients faces cuts

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by Julie Siple, Minnesota Public Radio

January 16, 2013

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ST. PAUL, Minn. Recent action by the federal government to prevent dairy prices from skyrocketing will curtail an effort to help Minnesota food stamp recipients eat healthier.

As part of the fical cliff negotiations earlier this month, officials moved to keep the dairy industry's price support system from expiring. But to do so, Congress took about $110 million from the nutritional education component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.

As a result, the education program aimed at helping low income Americans make healthy food choices took a hit. Program leaders in Minnesota are scrambling to absorb what they expect will be a $2.6 million cut from a $9.7 million grant in FY2013. States have not received final word on the size of the cuts.

"We know the research shows that kids that eat well, parents that eat well, do better at work, they do better at school," said Bev Durgan, dean of University of Minnesota Extension, which runs the statewide program. "It cuts down on health care costs. So this program really is about helping people make better decisions."

Durgan said the program is particularly important at a time of economic crisis, when families are struggling to put healthy food on the table and health care costs are rising. Community nutrition educators help families stretch tight food budgets to afford enough healthy food. They also help children make smart decisions that will serve them well over a lifetime.

TEACHING GOOD HABITS IN FOOD CHOICES

On a recent day, middle school students at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul gathered around Angie Thornhill, one of those nutrition educators, to make a simple taco salad.

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Nutrition education program for food stamp recipients faces cuts