Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Reese Witherspoon Apologizes For Her Behavior: Actress 'Deeply Embarrassed' After Arrest

ATLANTA ? Reese Witherspoon is "deeply embarrassed" about what she said to police officers after she and her husband were arrested during a traffic stop in Atlanta.

The Oscar-winning actress released a statement late Sunday apologizing for her behavior to police that began when her husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, was arrested early Friday for driving under the influence of alcohol.

"Do you know my name?" Witherspoon is quoted as saying in a state trooper's report. She also said: "You're about to find out who I am" and "You're about to be on national news," according to the report.

"I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said," Witherspoon said. "It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that is no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. The words I used that night definitely do not reflect who I am. I have nothing but respect for the police and I'm very sorry for my behavior."

Witherspoon said she can't comment further "out of respect" for the pending case, and her publicist, Meredith O'Sullivan Wasson, offered no other details.

The 37-year-old actress was arrested on a municipal charge of disorderly conduct early Friday after a state trooper said she wouldn't stay in the car while Toth was given a field sobriety test. She was released from jail after the Friday morning arrest and was in New York on Sunday night for the premiere of her new film, "Mud." She posed for cameras on the red carpet but did not stop to talk to reporters.

The trooper noticed the car driven by her husband wasn't staying in its lane early Friday morning, so he initiated a traffic stop. He reported that Toth had droopy eyelids, watery, bloodshot eyes, and his breath smelled strongly of alcohol.

Toth told the trooper he'd had a drink, which Witherspoon said was consumed at a restaurant two hours before the traffic stop, the trooper writes.

Before the field sobriety test began, Witherspoon got out of the car, was told to get back in and obeyed, the report said. After the "Walk the Line" star got out a second time, the trooper said he warned her that she would be arrested if she left the car again.

As the test continued, "Mrs. Witherspoon began to hang out the window and say that she did not believe that I was a real police officer. I told Mrs. Witherspoon to sit on her butt and be quiet," Trooper First Class J. Pyland writes.

Toth, 42, was then placed under arrest. He was charged with driving under the influence and failure to maintain the lane.

At that point, the report says, Witherspoon got out and asked the trooper what was going on. After being told to return to the car, she "stated that she was a `US Citizen' and that she was allowed to `stand on American ground,'" the report states.

The trooper then began to arrest Witherspoon. The report says Witherspoon was resistant at first but was calmed down by her husband.

Toth and Witherspoon were then taken to jail.

News of the arrest broke shortly before Witherspoon arrived on the "Mud" red carpet.

"I can't say anything because I don't know," said director Jeff Nichols. "I literally ? the first guy on the press line to say something was the first time I heard about it so I gotta go figure it out."

Matthew McConaughey, who plays the lead role in "Mud" and is represented by Toth, said "I'm not going to comment on that because it's too fresh."

__

AP writers Sandy Cohen in Los Angeles and Lauri Neff in New York contributed to this report.

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Feds ask to interview wife of suspected bomber (Providence Journal)

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Sunday on 'This Week': Trail of Terror (ABC News)

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Can the friend of my friend be my enemy?

Can the friend of my friend be my enemy? [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Catherine Crawley
ccrawley@nimbios.org
865-974-9350
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)

Choice affects stability of the social network

Just as humans can follow complex social situations in deciding who to befriend or to abandon, it turns out that animals use the same level of sophistication in judging social configurations, according to a new study that advances our understanding of the structure of animal social networks.

The study, which appears today in the journal Animal Behaviour, is the first in which researchers applied a long-standing theory in social psychology called "structural balance," which is used to analyze human relationships, to an animal population to better understand the mechanisms that determine the structure of animal social groups. Researchers analyzed social bonds in behavioral data from a long-term study of the rock hyrax, a small mammal that lives in colonies across Africa and the Middle East.

Structural balance theory considers the positive or negative ties between three individuals, or triads, and suggests that "the friend of my enemy is my enemy" triangle is more stable and should be more common than "the friend of my friend is my enemy" triangle. Another configuration, "the friend of my friend is my friend," is considered to also be a stable configuration in the social network. The last possible triangle, "the enemy of my enemy is my enemy," presages an unstable state, according to the theory.

The potential power of structural balance theory is its ability to predict patterns in the structure of the whole social network and also predict changes that occur over time, as unstable triads are expected to change to stable ones.

"We all live in social networks of some kind, either online or offline, and we are interested in understanding how these groups form and dissolve and their internal dynamics, but while studying these human dynamics is important, it's also very difficult and in many cases impractical. So we study how sociality evolved in animals, which might offer us some insights into our own social behavior. And indeed, the structural balance theory that was developed to study human behavior appears to be relevant in animals as well," said the study's lead author Amiyaal Ilany, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.

In the study, the hyraxes tended to form balanced triads and changed unbalanced triads to balanced triads over time. However, new individuals in the population new pups or males that migrate into the network introduced social instability by often forming unbalanced triads, causing the network as a whole to retain some level of instability. The study also found that contrary to classical structural balance theory, the "enemy of my enemy is my enemy" configuration was actually a stable configuration. The results suggest that structural balance may play a role in the evolution of social structures by selecting against specific configurations. Structural balance may also serve as a psychological mechanism that allows specific social structures to exist and that prevents cooperation between members of different groups.

The authors suggest that structural balance may be prevalent in other species as well.

"The results indicated that changes in social relationships are dependent not only on two individuals, but significantly on third parties, which underscores the importance of structural balance theory in explaining the evolution of complex natural social systems," Ilany said, who was a doctoral student at Tel Aviv University when the research was begun.

###

Citation: Ilany A, Barocas A, Koren L, Kam M, Geffen E. 2013. Structural balance in the social networks of a wild mammal. Animal Behaviour. Published online 21 April 2013. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000334721300153X

Contact Information:

Catherine Crawley, NIMBioS at ccrawley@nimbios.org; 865-974-9350

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) brings together researchers from around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Can the friend of my friend be my enemy? [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Catherine Crawley
ccrawley@nimbios.org
865-974-9350
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)

Choice affects stability of the social network

Just as humans can follow complex social situations in deciding who to befriend or to abandon, it turns out that animals use the same level of sophistication in judging social configurations, according to a new study that advances our understanding of the structure of animal social networks.

The study, which appears today in the journal Animal Behaviour, is the first in which researchers applied a long-standing theory in social psychology called "structural balance," which is used to analyze human relationships, to an animal population to better understand the mechanisms that determine the structure of animal social groups. Researchers analyzed social bonds in behavioral data from a long-term study of the rock hyrax, a small mammal that lives in colonies across Africa and the Middle East.

Structural balance theory considers the positive or negative ties between three individuals, or triads, and suggests that "the friend of my enemy is my enemy" triangle is more stable and should be more common than "the friend of my friend is my enemy" triangle. Another configuration, "the friend of my friend is my friend," is considered to also be a stable configuration in the social network. The last possible triangle, "the enemy of my enemy is my enemy," presages an unstable state, according to the theory.

The potential power of structural balance theory is its ability to predict patterns in the structure of the whole social network and also predict changes that occur over time, as unstable triads are expected to change to stable ones.

"We all live in social networks of some kind, either online or offline, and we are interested in understanding how these groups form and dissolve and their internal dynamics, but while studying these human dynamics is important, it's also very difficult and in many cases impractical. So we study how sociality evolved in animals, which might offer us some insights into our own social behavior. And indeed, the structural balance theory that was developed to study human behavior appears to be relevant in animals as well," said the study's lead author Amiyaal Ilany, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.

In the study, the hyraxes tended to form balanced triads and changed unbalanced triads to balanced triads over time. However, new individuals in the population new pups or males that migrate into the network introduced social instability by often forming unbalanced triads, causing the network as a whole to retain some level of instability. The study also found that contrary to classical structural balance theory, the "enemy of my enemy is my enemy" configuration was actually a stable configuration. The results suggest that structural balance may play a role in the evolution of social structures by selecting against specific configurations. Structural balance may also serve as a psychological mechanism that allows specific social structures to exist and that prevents cooperation between members of different groups.

The authors suggest that structural balance may be prevalent in other species as well.

"The results indicated that changes in social relationships are dependent not only on two individuals, but significantly on third parties, which underscores the importance of structural balance theory in explaining the evolution of complex natural social systems," Ilany said, who was a doctoral student at Tel Aviv University when the research was begun.

###

Citation: Ilany A, Barocas A, Koren L, Kam M, Geffen E. 2013. Structural balance in the social networks of a wild mammal. Animal Behaviour. Published online 21 April 2013. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000334721300153X

Contact Information:

Catherine Crawley, NIMBioS at ccrawley@nimbios.org; 865-974-9350

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) brings together researchers from around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/nifm-ctf042213.php

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

New Mexico Programs Designed for the Adult Continuing Education ...

Returning to school as an adult continuing education unm learner can be a daunting and intimidating process. The good news is, you are not alone. According to the American Council on Education, adult learners (over the age of 25) make up nearly 40 percent of the nations higher education student population. Due to many factors, including corporate downsizing and monetary invigoration from Government grants, workers looking to reinvent their careers via adult continuing education unm are finding more and more opportunities and services than ever before.

In partnership with New Mexico colleges and universities like unm continuing education, these Government grants are creating a renewed focus on workforce development. Specifically, continuing education unm services offered to new mexico continuing education students lies along the skills building spectrum from resume writing tips to art history courses to professional development classes like real estate licensure. These are only a few of the many services offered to continuing education unm students.

Programs and access to these services are expected to keep improving for continuing education unm learners. In a recent research paper commissioned by the American Council on Education, higher education leaders are being asked to implement new ideas that will better meet the needs of the post traditional (continuing education unm) learner. The aim, this paper contends, is to instill new life and knowledge into our economy and workforce.

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Source: http://www.proctorpta.com/reference-and-education/new-mexico-programs-designed-for-the-adult-continuing-education-learner/

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Charles Taylor appeals war crimes conviction

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) ? Prosecutors urged judges Tuesday to reject former Liberian President Charles Taylor's appeal against his war crimes conviction and 50-year prison sentence, saying the court should hold "lords of war" as responsible for atrocities as the machine gun-wielding killers they support.

Taylor was found guilty in April 2012 of aiding and abetting Sierra Leone rebels, becoming the first former head of state since World War II to be convicted by an international war crimes court. He was convicted of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture and the use of child soldiers.

But as Taylor watched silently from his seat in the courtroom Tuesday, one of his lawyers, Christopher Gosnell, said judges at his trial had a "deep and fundamental" misunderstanding of the legal notion of "aiding and abetting."

He compared Taylor's actions with those of other governments that provide support to rebel groups, saying Taylor "had no criminal intent" in aiding armed groups in Sierra Leone. Another of his lawyers, Eugene O'Sullivan, called Taylor's sentence "manifestly excessive."

Taylor's defense lawyers have put forward 45 grounds to appeal his conviction and sentence, alleging that trial judges made dozens of factual and legal errors. Prosecutors in turn argued he should have been convicted not just of aiding and abetting rebels, but of ordering or instigating their crimes ? considered more serious.

From his presidential palace in Liberia, Taylor provided arms, ammunition and other support to rebels responsible for murdering and mutilating their enemies in Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war that ended in 2002 with some 50,000 dead. In return, the rebels paid him in so-called "blood diamonds" mined by slave labor in Sierra Leone and Taylor gained influence in the volatile west African region.

Taylor claimed he was only trying to help stabilize the war-torn country, but trial judges rejected that argument.

"The lives of many more innocent civilians in Sierra Leone were lost or destroyed as a direct result of his actions," Presiding Judge Richard Lussick said when he sentenced Taylor last year.

Rebel fighters in Sierra Leone gained international notoriety for hacking off the limbs of their victims and carving their groups' initials into opponents. The rebels developed gruesome terms for the mutilations that became their chilling trademark: They would offer their victims the choice of "long sleeves" or "short sleeves" ? having their hands hacked off or their arms sliced off above the elbow.

Taylor ran Liberia from 1997 to 2003. As his government fought a two-front rebellion in 2003, he stepped down and fled to Nigeria under international pressure. Three years later, Taylor was finally arrested and sent to the Netherlands.

Prosecutors want Taylor's 50-year sentence ? already effectively a life sentence for the 64-year-old former president ? raised to 80 years to send a message to leaders who facilitate atrocities.

"Those are the promoters of war, the lords of war that sell arms to groups engaged in these conflicts," prosecution lawyer Nicholas Koumjian said.

He likened Taylor's aid to rebels to the case of a Dutch businessman, Frans van Anraat, who was convicted by a Dutch court for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein knowing the Iraqi dictator would use them to make poison gas.

Koumjian's comments aimed to counter Taylor's arguments that he should not have been convicted because his support for rebels was not deliberately designed to help them kill and maim.

Gosnell said that for judges to convict Taylor of aiding and abetting crimes, his help must be "connected to a specific crime and there must be a substantial contribution to that crime."

Instead, he said trial judges applied a standard "so broad that it would in fact encompass actions that are today carried out by a great many states in relation to their assistance to rebel groups or to governments that are well-known to be engaging in crimes."

In their written appeal, Taylor's lawyers said "the Trial Chamber's approach extends criminal liability far beyond its proper bounds as recognized in international law."

Taylor's lawyers also argued that his conviction was based in part on uncorroborated hearsay evidence that should not have been admitted. They have asked judges to overturn all of Taylor's convictions.

The appeals chamber is expected to take months to reach its judgment.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/charles-taylor-appeals-war-crimes-conviction-105221757.html

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Thursday, January 17, 2013

China-Taiwan undersea cable set to open: state media

The first undersea fibre-optic cable between China and Taiwan is set to begin operating this week, official media reported Wednesday, the latest sign of closer links between the Cold War rivals.

Yang Yi, spokesman for Beijing's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the cable would enhance communications and was "good news" for the two sides, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Yang hailed the cable, set to open Friday, as another milestone in the relationship between the two following the establishment of postal and trade links as well as direct shipping and air routes.

Ties have dramatically improved since Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang political party came to power in 2008. He was re-elected in January 2012 for a second and final four-year term.

China still insists Taiwan is one of its provinces, even though the island has ruled itself for more than 60 years since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, becoming a vibrant democracy with a dynamic economy.

The cable stretches 270 kilometres (167 miles) from the Chinese city of Fuzhou to Tamsui on Taiwan, the report said.

Yang also said China was willing to supply water to the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen close to Fujian province on the mainland.

Officials from Kinmen have discussed a proposal to use ships to transport water from Xiamen in Fujian.

The fortified Kinmen island group was a flashpoint during the Cold War, when it was heavily shelled from the mainland.

Source: http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/China-Taiwan_undersea_cable_set_to_open_state_media_999.html

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