Conn. lawmakers pass wide-ranging gun control law

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, Conn., right, and Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, shake hands after the passage of a gun-control bill in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The bill passed the Senate and goes onto the Conn. Houses for approval. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, Conn., right, and Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, shake hands after the passage of a gun-control bill in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The bill passed the Senate and goes onto the Conn. Houses for approval. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Paul Regish of East Hartford, Conn., holds signs as gun rights advocates enter the legislative office building at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A Capitol security officer enters a revolving door at the legislative office building, with a sign warning not to bring weapons on to the grounds at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Gun rights advocates fill the hallways of the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Paul Regish of East Hartford, Conn., holds signs as he stands with other gun rights advocates outside the legislative office building at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Connecticut lawmakers gave final approval early Thursday to a wide-ranging bill that includes sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, a response to last year's deadly school shooting in Newtown that one lawmaker called "the nation's worst nightmare."

Following a total of more than 13 hours of respectful and at times somber debate, the House and the Senate voted in favor of the 139-page bill crafted by leaders from both major parties in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who was scheduled to sign it at noon on Thursday during a ceremony at the state Capitol.

"I pray today's bill ? the most far-reaching gun safety legislation in the country ? will prevent other families from ever experiencing the dreadful loss that the 26 Sandy Hook families have felt," said House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, referring to the families of the 20 first graders and six educators killed Dec. 14 inside Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The December massacre, which reignited a national debate on gun control, set the stage for changes in the state that may have been impossible elsewhere: The governor, who personally informed parents that their children had been killed that day, championed the cause, and legislative leaders, keenly aware of the attention on the state, struck a bipartisan agreement they want to serve as a national model.

The bill passed 26-10 in the Senate and 105-44 in the House of Representatives. Both were bipartisan votes.

The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban and creates what officials have called the nation's first dangerous weapon offender registry as well as eligibility rules for buying ammunition. Some parts of the bill would take effect immediately after Malloy's signature, including background checks for all firearms sales.

Connecticut will join states including California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in having the country's strongest gun control laws, said Brian Malte, director of mobilization for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington.

"This would put Connecticut right at the top or near the top of the states with the strongest gun laws," Malte said.

Colorado and New York also passed new gun control requirements in the wake of the Newtown shooting, in which a 20-year-old gunman used a military-style semi-automatic rifle.

Compared with Connecticut's legislation, which, for example, bans the sale or purchase of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, New York restricted magazines to seven bullets and gave owners of higher-capacity magazines a year to sell them elsewhere. Colorado banned ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

"There are pieces that are stronger in other states, but, in totality, this will be the strongest gun legislation passed in the United States," Betty Gallo, a lobbyist for Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said of the Connecticut bill.

But some lawmakers said they felt the legislation did not do enough to address mental health issues.

Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Newtown, acknowledged the legislation "is not perfect" and he hoped would be "a beginning in addressing critical mental health needs."

Rep. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford, said he felt the bill "doesn't speak to the issue of gun violence that has permeated our cities," adding how families in his district who've lost children to gun violence have not received the same level of attention from state politicians as the Newtown families.

Many legislators spoke of balancing the rights of gun owners with addressing the horror of the Sandy Hook shooting. They've received thousands of emails and phone calls urging them to vote for or against the bill, with veteran Sen. Joan Hartley, a Democrat, saying she's never seen a more polarizing issue at the state Capitol.

But Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, whose district includes Newtown, said he felt he was representing the interests of the Sandy Hook victims as he cast his vote.

"I stand here as their voice, as their elected representative," he said, reciting the names of the 26 victims at the school.

Lawmakers appeared to still be stunned by the enormity of the massacre.

"When a child is sent to school, their parents expect them to be safe. The Sandy Hook shooting rampage was a parent's, a school system's, a community's and the nation's worst nightmare," said Republican state Sen. Toni Boucher of Wilton.

Gun rights advocates who greatly outnumbered gun control supporters in demonstrations held earlier in the day at the Capitol railed against the proposals as misguided and unconstitutional, occasionally chanting "No! No! No!" and "Read the bill!"

"We want them to write laws that are sensible," said Ron Pariseau, of Pomfret, who was angry he'll be made a felon if he doesn't register his weapons that will no longer be sold in Connecticut. "What they're proposing will not stop anything."

By the time the Senate voted around 6:30 p.m., many of the gun rights advocates had gone home, leaving behind proponents of the bill who applauded when the tally in the Senate was read. The halls were mostly empty by the time the House voted at 2:26 a.m. on Thurdsay.

House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, who helped craft the bill, said he realizes the gun owners are unhappy with the bill, but he stressed that no one will lose their legally owned guns or magazines under the legislation.

"We did our job. We did it together," he said. "We did the best we could and I think we did a good thing."

In the legislature, where Democrats control both houses, leaders waited to unveil gun legislation until they struck a bipartisan deal that they say shows how the parties can work together elsewhere. They touted the package as a comprehensive response to Newtown that also addresses mental health and school security measures, including the creation of a new council to establish school safety standards and the expansion of circumstances when someone's mental history disqualifies him or her from obtaining a gun permit or other gun credentials.

But momentum on federal legislation has stalled in Congress, and President Barack Obama has planned a trip to Connecticut on Monday to step up pressure to pass a bill.

A silent majority in favor of stronger gun control has emerged following the Newtown massacre, Gallo said.

Among the gun control advocates were Dan and Lauren Garrett, of Hamden, wearing green shirts in honor of the Sandy Hook victims. The Garretts traveled to Hartford with their 10-month-old son, Robert, to watch the bill's passage. They said they hope lawmakers will build on the proposal.

"It's just the beginning of this bill. In six months from now, it's going to get stronger and stronger," Dan Garrett said. "I think they're watching us all over the country."

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Kalin and Michael Melia in Hartford and John Christoffersen in New Haven contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-04-US-XGR-Gun-Control-Conn/id-6780019feec84733af2fcaadf43eb6e6

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How Is Social Media Influencing Business Travel? [STUDY] - AllTwitter

Despite a downturn in the global economy, just one in five respondents to a recent survey said that they have travelled less for business since 2008, and 85 percent said that they find business travel more enjoyable today than they did five years ago.

So what?s changed? Certainly, the ability to interact with travel brands via platforms such as Twitter and Facebook has empowered the business traveller to make better decisions whilst planning their trip. More than eight out of ten (85 percent) business travellers said that they would follow a travel brand on social media to learn more about travel deals (61 percent), other travellers? experiences with that brand (29 percent) and to stay updated on the brand?s latest news (28 percent).

The infographic below takes a closer look at the key findings from this study, addressing how the rise of social media has changed the relationship between travellers and brands.

(Source: Embassy Suites Hotels. Travel image via Shutterstock.)

Source: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-business-travel_b39236

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Big East to become American Athletic Conference

NEW YORK (AP) ? The current Big East will be called the American Athletic Conference starting next season.

The conference announced the decision Wednesday after university presidents approved the new moniker earlier in the day.

The Big East football schools were in need of a new name after they agreed to let seven basketball schools break away from the conference to start a new league this summer to be called the Big East. In return, the football schools received about $100 million of a $110 million pot the league had accumulated in recent years from exit and entry fees and NCAA basketball tournament revenue.

The American Athletic Conference will have 10 members in its first season: Rutgers, Louisville, Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Memphis, Houston, SMU and Temple.

Rutgers and Louisville are likely leaving after 2013 and are set to be replaced by Tulane, East Carolina and Tulsa in 2014. Navy is scheduled to join in 2015 for football only, and the conference will begin playing a league championship football game.

Nine of the schools set to compete in the American Athletic Conference were at one time part of Conference USA. By 2014, South Florida, UConn, Temple and Cincinnati will be the only schools in the AAC to have been in the Big East.

Commissioner Mike Aresco said the members worked with marketing experts, media partners and asked for feedback from fans to come up with a list of possible names.

"Versions that included the word 'American' led every list," Aresco said in a statement. "American Athletic Conference represents a strong, durable and aspirational name for our re-invented Conference."

The rebuilt conference has new television deals in place with ESPN and CBS.

"The American Athletic Conference is a brand that suggests a national scope and quality membership," said Burke Magnus, Senior Vice President, College Sports Programming, ESPN. "It is an exciting time for the new conference and ESPN looks forward to our future together."

The Big East will now be a basketball-centric conference with old Big East members Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul and Providence, along with Xavier, Butler and Creighton.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-east-become-american-athletic-conference-225857821--spt.html

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Vietnamese hopeful of unproven Scientology 'detox'

In this photo taken on March 18, 2013, patients at the Scientology Health Center of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims jog in the early morning in Thai Binh, Vietnam. The center runs a 25-day health program which, as well as massive consumption of vitamins, includes four-hour sauna sessions and a morning run. While there is no medical evidence that the treatment at the center is effective, Vietnamese authorities are supporting it as a way of relieving some of the suffering of the between 2 and 4 million people suffering from illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange during the war. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

In this photo taken on March 18, 2013, patients at the Scientology Health Center of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims jog in the early morning in Thai Binh, Vietnam. The center runs a 25-day health program which, as well as massive consumption of vitamins, includes four-hour sauna sessions and a morning run. While there is no medical evidence that the treatment at the center is effective, Vietnamese authorities are supporting it as a way of relieving some of the suffering of the between 2 and 4 million people suffering from illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange during the war. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

In this photo taken March 18, 2013, patients at the Scientology Health Center of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims take a dose of 35 vitamins in the early morning in Thai Binh, Vietnam. The center runs a 25-day health program which, as well as massive consumption of vitamins, includes four-hour sauna sessions and a morning run. While there is no medical evidence that the treatment at the center is effective, Vietnamese authorities are supporting it as a way of relieving some of the suffering of the between 2 and 4 million people suffering from illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange during the war. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

In this photo taken on March 18, 2013, patients at the Scientology Health Center of the Vietnam Association of Orange Victims get their pulse and blood pressure checked by doctors in Thai Binh, Vietnam. The center runs a 25-day health program which, as well as massive consumption of vitamins, includes four-hour sauna sessions and a morning run. While there is no medical evidence that the treatment at the center is effective, Vietnamese authorities are supporting it as a way of relieving some of the suffering of the between 2 and 4 million people suffering from illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange during the war. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

In this photo taken on March 18, 2013, a patient enters a sauna room at the Scientology Health Center of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims in Thai Binh, Vietnam. The center runs a 25-day health program which, as well as massive consumption of vitamins, includes four-hour sauna sessions and a morning run. While there is no medical evidence that the treatment at the center is effective, Vietnamese authorities are supporting it as a way of relieving some of the suffering of the between 2 and 4 million people suffering from illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange during the war. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

In this photo taken on March 18, 2013, Nguyen Van Ho, 63, shows off his scar he was wounded in a battle in 1975, at the Scientology Health Center of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims in Thai Binh, Vietnam. The center runs a 25-day health program which, as well as massive consumption of vitamins, includes four-hour sauna sessions and a morning run. While there is no medical evidence that the treatment at the center is effective, Vietnamese authorities are supporting it as a way of relieving some of the suffering of the between 2 and 4 million people suffering from illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange during the war. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen)

THAI BINH, Vietnam (AP) ? North Vietnamese army veteran Nguyen Anh Quoc grimaces as he forces down the last of the 35 vitamins he takes each morning. After decades of suffering from illnesses he believes were caused by exposure to Agent Orange, he is putting his faith in a regime advocated by the Church of Scientology.

"I have to take them," the 62-year-old said at a treatment center established with the help of a Scientology-funded group. "They will clean up my body."

The center, a converted mushroom farm in northern Vietnam, owes as much to Scientology's desire to expand around the world, away from scandal in the United States, as it does to pressure in Vietnam to try to help aging veterans still suffering from the effects of war.

Many medical experts regard the treatment ? a 25-day vitamin and sauna regime ? as junk medicine or even dangerous. But for now at least, it has found fertile ground here.

The Vietnamese advocacy group overseeing the program in Thai Binh province wants to offer it to all 20,000 people suffering from ailments blamed on dioxins in Agent Orange. U.S. airplanes sprayed up to 12 million gallons of the defoliant over the country during the Vietnam War to strip away vegetation used as cover by Vietnamese soldiers.

The advocacy group, which has the implicit support of the government, has almost completed a two-story accommodation block for patients and is raising funds for a much larger complex, with 15 more saunas than the five it currently has.

"I have seen so many desperate families that their tears have dried up," said Nguyen Duc Hanh, the head of local branch of the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims in Thai Binh. "I don't know what the scientists say about its effectiveness, but the patients say it improves their health. They should be able to experience it before they die."

Scientologists believe the regime, which includes massive consumption of vitamins, four-hour sauna sessions and morning runs, can "sweat out" toxins stored in body fat. There are no peer-reviewed studies to back this claim.

The center was established in 2010 by five foreign members of a Scientology-funded sister organization, The Association of Better Living and Education. They gave local staff two months of training. The group is devoted to spreading church founder L. Ron Hubbard's social welfare programs and health treatments around the world.

The center makes no reference to its links to the church, and the volunteers have long departed. But having its "Purification Rundown" treatment accepted by authorities here adds legitimacy to it, and gives the church a foothold from which to grow.

The church sent volunteers to Asia to administer another of its treatments, a massage called a "touch assist," in the aftermath of disasters including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and 2008 Myanmar cyclone.

Since its emergence in the 1950s, Scientology has battled accusations, legal challenges and government scrutiny around the world over accusations it is a secretive cult that preys on vulnerable people. Its leaders deny those accusations.

Scientologists market the "rundown" treatment simultaneously as a spiritual treatment for followers and as a secular one for those needing "detox," either from drug addiction or chemical exposure. Two affiliated Scientology groups use the treatment in drug rehabilitation centers that have drawn wrongful death lawsuits and investigations.

In 1991, Scientology offered "rundown" treatments in Russia to people suffering symptoms related to radiation exposure following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The church still refers to the mission in its online literature, claiming numerous successes, but Russia banned it from performing medical treatment in the country in 1996.

Last year, a French court upheld fraud charges and fined the church $791,000 for its efforts to persuade people to take the "rundown."

Rubina Qureshi, vice president of ABLE International, said the detox has helped thousands of people exposed to chemical contamination, alleviating symptoms such as sleep difficulties, memory problems, pain and mood swings.

"Whatever the long-term health status of these individuals may be, reducing symptoms that have persisted for decades can have profoundly beneficial effects and this is a worthwhile goal in itself," Qureshi said via email.

The Thai Binh province group said it selects patients based on the severity of their symptoms, and that about 600 people have gone through the course.

Fourteen days into the program, Quoc, who suffers from diabetes, nervous system complaints and memory loss, said he was sleeping better, has a better appetite and felt better overall. A reporter questioned four other patients, all of whom made similar statements.

All patients get daily care and attention from nurses, as well as pulse and blood pressure checks by doctors. Those who live outside of town also receive food and board during the course.

"It is an excellent program. I feel my health is much improved," said Quoc, who spent much of the war fighting along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was heavily sprayed with Agent Orange.

It is unclear if those feelings of better health endure. Hanh said it was too expensive to monitor patients once they leave the center.

Many people exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam can't work, or have family members that need full-time care. The Vietnamese government provides them a stipend of between $50 and $90 a month, but there are few residential centers for people with severe disabilities.

None of those taking the course when an Associated Press reporting team visited recently appeared to be suffering from life-threatening or debilitating illnesses. All were able to comfortably jog slowly for half an hour.

Pham Ngoc Tan, a 29-year-old patient, said he was on the course after his father offered his place to him. He said he needed it because he and his wife had been having trouble conceiving.

In the U.S., the Board on the Health of Select Populations, part of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, said in 2010 that there is an association between herbicide exposure and some forms of cancer, including Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It said there was more limited evidence of possible associations with several other diseases.

Washington has for years questioned whether Agent Orange is responsible for sickening Americans or Vietnamese, though it has spent billions on health care and other programs for U.S. veterans who were exposed. It denies any legal liability in Vietnam.

While it gives money to Vietnamese health and disability programs in general, it ignores Vietnamese requests for compensation or direct assistance to victims, saying all help is "regardless of cause."

Vietnam attributes more illness and conditions to exposure then America does, including, for example, reproductive abnormalities and congenital deformities. Very few people in Vietnam have been tested for levels of dioxins.

Hanh says the treatment costs around $350 per person, which the victims association pays for. It gets some funds from individual donors, both at home and abroad, and Vietnamese companies, often state-run ones. The center's expansion is being financed by a joint venture company owned by state-owned PetroVietnam and a Russian company.

Last year, the military began a second "rundown" course at a military hospital in the capital, Hanoi, according to the head of the national victims support group, Nguyen Van Rinh. Blood samples taken from patients before and after the treatment are being sent to Germany, where a lab has been contracted to check whether dioxin levels have changed, he said. The hospital declined to answer questions about the program.

Many medical experts are troubled by the large amount of vitamins "rundown" patients are instructed to take, especially niacin, which far exceed the daily recommended doses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA warns that taking too much niacin can lead to "liver problems, gout, ulcers of the digestive tract, loss of vision, high blood sugar, irregular heartbeat, and other serious problems."

"It's bad enough that the treatment is ineffective ... and that people's expectations get raised. Another thing that it is a potentially dangerous undertaking," said Stephen Kent, a sociology professor at the University of Alberta in Canada who has studied Scientology.

Still, patients including Nguyen Thi Be are hopeful. She worked along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, repairing bridges and roads damaged by U.S. bombs. Since the war ended, she has suffered two miscarriages, has a daughter diagnosed with Down syndrome and suffers from uterine fibroids, cysts and other ailments.

"The veterans here may look not very ill, but many of us are rotten from inside with illnesses," she said, her face red after emerging from a sauna session. "After 13 days, I haven't seen a drastic improvement but I think I will be better with time. Other people who have finished the treatment highly recommended it. They looked very healthy when I saw them."

______

Follow AP's Vietnam bureau chief at www.twitter.com/cjbrummitt

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-04-AS-Vietnam-Scientology's-Spread/id-9e6bccdf71954b12a273c4d169ff9096

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Meatless food for meat eaters | Food and More with John Kessler

My family has been eating a lot less meat over the past few years. Oh, we still get nice steaks to throw on the grill, and when they show up on the table with oven-roasted potatoes and a mound of dressed arugula, the meal is cause for celebration. But more often than not, dinner will be an amply tricked-out salad with a loaf of bread, a bowl of farro topped with vegetables and a fried egg, or a spicy tofu stir-fry with rice.

Maybe we?ve evolved. Maybe we?ve just changed. We don?t eat this way because we?re trying to cut meat out of our diets; partial vegetarianism is our new normal.

So I?m guessing we no longer qualify as ?meat lovers? in the traditional sense. We?re certainly nothing like the fictional ?Mr. Sausage? whom my friend Kim O?Donnel had in mind when she wrote ?The Meat Lover?s Meatless Celebrations: Year-Round Vegetarian Feasts? (De Capo Lifelong Books, $18.99). Mr. Sausage is that dude who would laugh if you even mentioned the words ?kale salad.? As I envision him, he eats like Ron Swanson on ?Parks and Recreation? and he talks like Rocky Balboa.

The book is a follow-up to O?Donnel?s 2010 book ?The Meat Lover?s Meatless Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes Carnivores Will Devour,? which was a cornerstone text for people who climbed on board the ?Meatless Monday? train.

O?Donnel ? a former Washington Post columnist who routinely posted Meatless Monday menus on that paper?s website ? was in town to teach a class at The Cook?s Warehouse, so I invited her over to the house to spend the afternoon shopping at Your DeKalb Farmers Market and cooking from her book.

The book is geared toward festive meals and get togethers. There are some simple recipes but many more that rise to the occasion, whether it?s a Super Bowl party, Thanksgiving or an Easter dinner. They can take a little more time than, say, that salad I dump everything into.

We decide to modify her recipe for lentil ?meatball? subs ? losing the hoagie rolls and cheese, but keeping the ?meatballs? and marinara sauce.

It?s a good thing we had the afternoon, because the meatballs are a bit of a project, albeit an easy and fun one. You cook brown rice and lentils separately, let them cool and mash them together with all the typical meatballs seasonings. You then shape and refrigerate the balls, fry them in batches, then keep them warm in the oven while you assemble the meal. You end up with a tender, full-of-flavor meatball with a fantastic crisp crust.

And when these ?meatballs? come to the table, they taste nothing like clean-out-the-fridge tofu surprise. They are cause for celebration. Ron Swanson, I?m inviting you over.

Lentil ?Meatballs? with Marinara

(adapted from ?The Meat Lover?s Meatless Celebrations? by Kim O?Donnel) Total time: About 2 hours Hands on: 45 minutes Servings: 6

• 6 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 cup uncooked medium or long-grain brown rice
• 1 cup dried brown or green lentils
• 5 garlic cloves ? 2 whole, 3 minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus 1/2 cup for panfrying
• 3/4 cup onion that has been very finely minced or grated using a box grater (about 1 medium sized onion)
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 (23- to 28-ounce) container tomato puree
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or pecorino)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup unseasoned medium-grind breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Bring 3/4 cup of the water to a boil, then add the rice. Return to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 40-45 minutes. Off the heat, keep the rice covered for 5 minutes. Measure out 1/2 cup of the cooked rice and transfer to a baking sheet or plate to cool completely. Refrigerate the remaining 1 cup of rice for another use.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the lentils. Place the lentils in a large saucepan, along with the 2 whole garlic cloves and the remaining 6 cups of the water. Over high heat, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium. Cook the lentils until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain thoroughly so that the lentils are dry. Allow to cool completely.

While the lentils cook, prepare the marinara sauce. In a medium-size saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat, then add 1/4 cup of the onion and the 3 minced garlic cloves, cooking until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of the dried oregano and stir occasionally to minimize sticking.

Add the tomato puree and stir to combine the mixture. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the sauce can simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Place the cooled lentils and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the lentils are mashed. (Or use a potato masher.) Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl, then add the cooled rice, the remaining 1/2 cup of onion, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oregano, and the grated cheese, salt, black pepper, bread crumbs and egg.

With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the mixture until well mixed.

Using a 1/8-cup measure, shape into balls. They will be slightly sticky to the touch. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Over medium-high heat, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch skillet until the oil shimmers. Gently lower the balls into the hot oil, cooking in batches and making sure not to crowd the pan, as they are somewhat delicate and benefit from space. Lower the heat to medium and panfry on first side for about 3 minutes. Turn (or gently nudge) to second side and cook for 2 minutes.

Transfer the first batch to a baking sheet add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil to the skillet for subsequent batches and cook in the same manner. Transfer the balls to the oven to finish cooking about 5 minutes; the balls will still be somewhat soft to the touch but will have dried out a bit and will have a slightly crispy coating.

Place the warm marinara in the bottom of a wide bowl and arrange the ?meatballs? on top.

Per serving: 482 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 17 grams protein, 47 grams carbohydrates, 13 grams fiber, 27 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 968 milligrams sodium.

- by John Kessler for the Food & More blog

Source: http://blogs.ajc.com/food-and-more/2013/04/02/meatless-food-for-meat-eaters/?cxntfid=blogs_food_and_more

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Copyright Matters Program May 6, 2013: ?Nimmer on Copyright ...

The U.S. Copyright Office will host a Copyright Matters program on May 6, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress. A panel of experts will address??Nimmer on Copyright: Celebrating 50 Years??with reflections about the treatise and copyright law. The panel will be moderated by Karyn Temple Claggett, associate register of copyrights and director of policy and international affairs, and includes David Nimmer, UCLA School of Law and Irell & Manella LLP; Jon Baumgarten, former general counsel in the Copyright Office; Barton Beebe, professor of law at New York University School of Law; Robert Brauneis, professor of law at The George Washington University Law School; and Shira Perlmutter, chief policy officer and director for international affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The event will be hosted by Maria A. Pallante, Register of Copyrights. Joseph Salvo, president of the Copyright Society of the USA, will give opening remarks. The event is free and open to the public.

The Copyright Matters lecture series was founded by Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante in 2011 as a community forum to discuss the practical implications of copyright law in the 21st century and to provide education and training to the staff of the U.S. Copyright Office. Through the series, a wide range of invited speakers ? including Congressional leaders, authors, market experts, and legal scholars ? present topics of critical importance to the copyright debate. Lectures occur throughout the year at the historic Library of Congress and include discussions about authorship, copyright registration, marketplace investment, copyright enforcement, fair use, international norm setting, orphan works and other updates and revisions of copyright law for the digital age.

Source: http://www.photoattorney.com/?p=4326

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Study: Dementia tops cancer, heart disease in cost

Cancer and heart disease are bigger killers, but Alzheimer's is the most expensive malady in the U.S., costing families and society $157 billion to $215 billion a year, according to a new study that looked at this in unprecedented detail.

The biggest cost of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia isn't drugs or other medical treatments, but the care that's needed just to get mentally impaired people through daily life, the nonprofit RAND Corp.'s study found.

It also gives what experts say is the most reliable estimate for how many Americans have dementia ? around 4.1 million. That's less than the widely cited 5.2 million estimate from the Alzheimer's Association, which comes from a study that included people with less severe impairment.

"The bottom line here is the same: Dementia is among the most costly diseases to society, and we need to address this if we're going to come to terms with the cost to the Medicare and Medicaid system," said Matthew Baumgart, senior director of public policy at the Alzheimer's Association.

Dementia's direct costs, from medicines to nursing homes, are $109 billion a year in 2010 dollars, the new RAND report found. That compares to $102 billion for heart disease and $77 billion for cancer. Informal care by family members and others pushes dementia's total even higher, depending on how that care and lost wages are valued.

"The informal care costs are substantially higher for dementia than for cancer or heart conditions," said Michael Hurd, a RAND economist who led the study. It was sponsored by the government's National Institute on Aging and will be published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Dementia also can result from a stroke or other diseases. It is rapidly growing in prevalence as the population ages. Current treatments only temporarily ease symptoms and don't slow the disease. Patients live four to eight years on average after an Alzheimer's diagnosis, but some live 20 years. By age 80, about 75 percent of people with Alzheimer's will be in a nursing home compared with only 4 percent of the general population, the Alzheimer's group says.

"Most people have understood the enormous toll in terms of human suffering and cost," but the new comparisons to heart disease and cancer may surprise some, said Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the Institute on Aging.

"Alzheimer's disease has a burden that exceeds many of these other illnesses," especially because of how long people live with it and need care, he said.

For the new study, researchers started with about 11,000 people in a long-running government health survey of a nationally representative sample of the population. They gave 856 of these people extensive tests to determine how many had dementia, and projected that to the larger group to determine a prevalence rate ? nearly 15 percent of people over age 70.

Using Medicare and other records, they tallied the cost of purchased care ? nursing homes, medicines, other treatments ? including out-of-pocket expenses for dementia in 2010. Next, they subtracted spending for other health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or depression so they could isolate the true cost of dementia alone.

"This is an important difference" from other studies that could not determine how much health care cost was attributable just to dementia, said Dr. Kenneth Langa, a University of Michigan researcher who helped lead the work.

Even with that adjustment, dementia topped heart disease and cancer in cost, according to data on spending for those conditions from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Finally, researchers factored in unpaid care using two different ways to estimate its value ? foregone wages for caregivers and what the care would have cost if bought from a provider such as a home health aide. That gave a total annual cost of $41,000 to $56,000 per year for each dementia case, depending on which valuation method was used.

"They did a very careful job," and the new estimate that dementia affects about 4.1 million Americans seems the most solidly based than any before, Hodes said. The government doesn't have an official estimate but more recently has been saying "up to 5 million" cases, he said.

The most worrisome part of the report is the trend it portends, with an aging population and fewer younger people "able to take on the informal caregiving role," Hodes said. "The best hope to change this apparent future is to find a way to intervene" and prevent Alzheimer's or change its course once it develops, he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-dementia-tops-cancer-heart-disease-cost-211240339--finance.html

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