Moments of Awareness

For all the headlines about the Tea Party and blind voter anger, the most disturbing story of this year’s election is embodied in an odd combination of numbers and letters: 501(c)(4). That is the legal designation for the advocacy committees that are sucking in many millions of anonymous corporate dollars, making this the most secretive election cycle since the Watergate years. As Michael Luo reported in The Times last week, the battle for Congress is largely being financed by a small corps of wealthy individuals and corporations whose names may never be known to the public. And the full brunt of that spending — most of it going to Republican candidates — has yet to be felt in this campaign. Corporations got the power to pour anonymous money into elections from Supreme Court and Federal Election Commission decisions in the last two years, culminating in the Citizens United opinion earlier this year. The effect is drastic: In 2004 and 2006, virtually all inde...

15 September 2010 Last updated at 09:35 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Next warns on low-growth future The chain is not expecting a "meltdown" in consumer demand High Street retailer Next has warned that it is expecting at least three to five years of low sales growth - as customers remain reluctant to spend. In a statement to the City, the firm said this muted retail environment should be seen as "the new normal". Its comments came as it reported a 15% rise in half-year profits to £213m, with sales up 5% to £1.59bn. Next also reiterated that higher cotton prices may lead to customers having to pay more for clothes. The fashion retailer did, however, make significant gains in the FTSE 100 after announcing the substantial rise in pre-tax profit, which saw its share price rise by 4.9%. The news appeared to lift sentiment in other major ...

14 September 2010 Last updated at 21:22 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Prison ship records from 19th Century published Each of the prison hulks held up to 300 inmates in cramped conditions A picture of life on board Britain's 19th Century prison ships has emerged with the publication online of details of some of the 200,000 inmates. The records outline the disease-ridden conditions on the "prison hulks", created to ease overcrowding elsewhere. The prisoners included eight-year-old Francis Creed, who was jailed for seven years on HMS Bellerophon for stealing three shillings worth of copper. The records, held by National Archives, are published online at Ancestry.co.uk. The Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books 1802-1849 include character reports written by the "gaoler". Creed served his term alongside murderers, thieves and bigami...

14 September 2010 Last updated at 05:11 ET Share this page Facebook http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11287130 " title="Post this story to Twitter">Twitter Share Email Print License cannabis sales, expert says By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News Suppliers could be licensed to distribute branded products, Prof Pertwee argues Policymakers should consider allowing the licensed sale of cannabis for recreational use, says one of the UK's leading researchers of the drug. Professor Roger Pertwee is to make the call in a speech at the British Science Association festival in Birmingham. He is expected to say radical solutions have to be considered because he believes the current policy of criminalising cannabis is ineffective. But the government insists decriminalisation would not work. The dismissal last year of Professor David Nutt as the previous government's leading drugs adviser showed it ...

14 September 2010 Last updated at 07:27 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Could glasses soon be history? By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine Scientists have identified a gene that causes short-sightedness, a discovery which paves the way for treatment to prevent one of the world's most common eye disorders. So could this mean the end of spectacles? A pair of glasses used to come with its own brand of humiliation in the classroom. Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine Is eavesdropping so wrong? What shape is a recession? Are dying languages worth saving? Tricking the body into f...

15 September 2010 Last updated at 09:21 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Cornwall NHS offers surfing as therapy for depression Surfing helps to build self-esteem for sufferers of depression, say health chiefs A pilot project is under way offering surfing as therapy on the NHS for young people in Cornwall. Over the next six weeks professional surfers will run one-to-one lessons for 20 young people with diagnosed mental health needs. The aim is to give them therapy through building confidence and help them learn a new skill. The project, which is costing a total of £5,000, is worth the money, said Cornwall Primary Care Trust (PCT). Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote The coast is one of our greatest assets” End Quote Joe McEvoy Cornwall PCT Joe McEvoy, who commissioned the service for the PCT, said: "I think it wil...

15 September 2010 Last updated at 13:40 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print New method to tackle binge drinking in young people By Katie Alcock Science Reporter, BBC News Many students do not know what a '"unit" of alcohol looks like. Researchers at Aston University have come up with a new way to help young people control their drinking. They found over 500 students from universities in the UK had no idea what a "unit" of alcohol looks like or what safe levels of alcohol intake are. The Aston team established that giving the students feedback on how their drinking compares with peers reduced their consumption. The study was presented this week at the British Science Festival. Dr Richard Cooke, one of the researchers, asked students at three UK universities to define "bin...

15 September 2010 Last updated at 14:15 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Gene therapy for blood disorder a 'success' By Helen Briggs Health reporter, BBC News The patient suffers from an inherited disorder which affects his body's ability to create red blood cells Gene therapy has been used for the first time to treat an inherited blood disorder in what doctors say is a major step forward. A man given pioneering treatment to correct a faulty gene has made "remarkable" progress, a US and French team has revealed. Gene therapy is an experimental technique that manipulates genes in order to treat disease. It has seen some successes, but also setbacks, including a patient's death. Continue reading the main story Related stories Cancer gene therapy resul...

15 September 2010 Last updated at 16:27 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Falling in love costs you friends By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News Passionate relationships can leave you little time for anything else Falling in love comes at the cost of losing two close friends, a study says. We probably all know that a passionate new relationship can leave you little time for others, but now science has put some numbers on the observation. Oxford University researchers asked people about their inner core of friendships and how this number changed when romance entered the equation. They found the core, which numbers about five people, dropped by two as a new lover came to dominate daily life. "People who are in romantic relationships - instead of having the typical five [individuals] o...

14 September 2010 Last updated at 15:55 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Gold price hits new record high Continue reading the main story FOREX GOLD INDEX(PM FIX) $/OZ Last Updated at 16 Sep 2010, 12:10 ET price change % 1272.50 + +5.50 + +0.43 More data on this commodity The price of gold hit a record high on Tuesday, with analysts giving a number of reasons for its rise. Both the price of the actual metal and the price for buying it at a future date rose more than 2% to $1,274.75 an ounce. It was the biggest one-day gain for the commodity in four...

14 September 2010 Last updated at 05:11 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print License cannabis sales, expert says By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News Suppliers could be licensed to distribute branded products, Prof Pertwee argues Policymakers should consider allowing the licensed sale of cannabis for recreational use, says one of the UK's leading researchers of the drug. Professor Roger Pertwee is to make the call in a speech at the British Science Association festival in Birmingham. He is expected to say radical solutions have to be considered because he believes the current policy of criminalising cannabis is ineffective. But the government insists decriminalisation would not work. The dismissal last year of Professor David Nutt as the previous government's leading drugs adviser sh...

14 September 2010 Last updated at 17:04 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Anti-censorship program Haystack withdrawn The software was born out of the 2009 protests in Iran Software created to help Iranians escape government control of the web has been withdrawn over security fears. Haystack was designed to help people in the country communicate via the web without revealing their identity. However, independent tests showed that Haystack's creators had little control over who was using the program. The tests also revealed that it could be vulnerable to attacks that limited its effectiveness to mask a user's location or identity. Continue reading the main story Related stories The web makes the personal political On Iran's virtual front line Twitter responds on Iranian role ...

15 September 2010 Last updated at 19:35 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Tiny cow from Cheshire among new Guinness World Records Swallow (right) is smaller than the average sheep A cow whose tiny stature saved her from the abattoir has entered the record books as the world's smallest. Swallow, a Dexter cow from Cheshire, stands 33.5in (0.8m) tall from hind to foot - shorter than most sheep. The 11-year-old, who is currently pregnant, has produced nine calves and is described by owner Caroline Ryder as the "nanny of the herd". Swallow secured a slot with the tallest dog, longest snake and oldest gorilla in the 2011 Guinness World Records. The tiny cow was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1999 and bought by the Ryder family at a rare breed auction in 2006. 'Genetic anomaly' Brought up in Rishworth, West Yorkshire, her small size m...

WASHINGTON — The rate of illegal drug use rose last year to the highest level in nearly a decade, fueled by a sharp increase in marijuana use and a surge in ecstasy and methamphetamine abuse, the government reported Wednesday. Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, called the 9 percent increase in drug use disappointing but said he was not surprised given "eroding attitudes" about the perception of harm from illegal drugs and the growing number of states approving medicinal marijuana. "I think all of the attention and the focus of calling marijuana medicine has sent the absolute wrong message to our young people," Kerlikowske said in an interview. The annual report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found marijuana use rose by 8 percent and remained the most commonly used drug. Mike Meno, a spokesman for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, said the survey is more proof that the...

T he Better Business Bureau is often stereotyped as the complaint people or the scam watchdog organization. If you turn to this column on a regular basis, you know we talk a lot about scams. But there is something else you should know about the BBB: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is to build trust in the marketplace. We do that a number of ways, including calling out the bad guys through columns like this and educating consumers about wise spending and giving. We also go out of our way to recognize those businesses that set the bar for acting with ethics and integrity. Today I would like to spend some time with you sharing another way we build trust in the marketplace: by setting standards for businesses and encouraging best practices. We're honored to be one of many groups welcoming best-selling author Bob Burg to Nampa next week. He'll be helping businesses with some of those best practices that make for a better business climate. Bob co-authored the books ...

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Police say a Vancouver woman threw acid in her own face, then lied to investigators, saying a woman she did not know was responsible. Vancouver Police Chief Clifford Cook said Thursday that Bethany Storro admitted to fabricating a story about the attack in which she suffered severe burns. Cook says he does not know a motive for Storro's actions. Cook says discrepancies began to emerge during the investigation. Storro had said a woman with a ponytail attacked her on Aug. 30. Cook says Storro is "very remorseful." via news.yahoo.com Posted via email from Peace Jaway

See the full gallery on posterous Craving Dawn & Apple Thief at Terrapin Station Posted via email from Peace Jaway