Kerry: Urgent progress is needed on Mideast peace

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry is beginning a new round of Middle East peace diplomacy, arriving Wednesday in Jordan, his base for talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Kerry is to travel from Amman to Jerusalem on Thursday for dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has a lunch scheduled on Friday in Amman with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

At a news conference earlier in the day in Kuwait, Kerry expressed hope that two sides could make progress but denied press reports that any three-way meetings with both Netanyahu and Abbas were expected.

Kerry said he's set no specific deadline for making concrete progress in talks between Israel and the Palestinians that he's continuing this week, but that long before September there needs to be some kind of progress shown.

U.N. General Assembly, which reconvenes in September, voted overwhelmingly in November to upgrade the Palestinians from U.N. observer to non-voting member state. The Palestinians have said that if attempts at reaching an accord between the two sides fail, that they'd pursue a strategy of international recognition on their own, which would make finding peace in the decades-long conflict more elusive.

Kerry spoke during a news conference with Kuwait's emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah. It is Kerry's fifth visit to the region since becoming secretary of state earlier this year.

"The time is getting near where we need to make some judgments. Last time, I was here, I said it's time for leaders to make some hard decisions," Kerry said. "That stands. It is time. Why is it urgent? It's urgent because time is the enemy of a peace process."

"I don't want to trap myself or any of the principals in this with arbitrary ? or somewhat ad hoc time limits," Kerry said.

But he added: "Long before September we need to be showing some kind of progress in some way. ...That's why I'm here for this visit and I hope it can be productive."

Kerry has been shuttling between the Israelis and the Palestinians in search of a formula to restart talks. So far, there have been no signs of a breakthrough.

Abbas is being propelled toward a stark choice that could come as soon as next week, define his legacy and set the course for his people in their conflict with Israel. Abbas' aides fear he's being pushed by the U.S. into dropping his conditions for negotiating with Netanyahu

Israeli settlements lies at the heart of the heart of the nearly five-year impasse in Mideast peace efforts. The Palestinians say they will not negotiate while Israel continues to construct settlements in territory they seek for a future state. Netanyahu says the fate of the settlements should be resolved in negotiations, and talks should resume immediately without any preconditions. The Palestinians claim the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future state.

"We come at this carefully. We have been working towards, hopefully an understanding that allows everybody to move forward, notwithstanding the difficulties that people face in the politics of their own countries," he said. "Why am I confident that something can be down? Because I believe peace is understood by them ? both of them ? to be urgent."

On Syria, Kerry acknowledged that getting a transitional government set up in Syria would be a "hard lift."

But he painted a dire picture of the alternative to convening an international conference to reach a political resolution to the two-year civil war.

"The people of Syria are suffering ... the prospect a long, continued war, which is very possible, means not only will many, many people die, many more homes will be destroyed, cities be destroyed. Not only will you have more atrocities, more violations of human rights, even some small evidence here and there of some ethnic cleansing.

"Not only will you have all that, but you may ultimately have complete destruction of the state of Syria so that the army and the institutions will fall apart and you will have a complete sectarian breakdown and that becomes far more dangerous for all of the region because it will empower extremists as well as create ongoing sectarian strife" in the region.

He reiterated his called for Iran and the Hezbollah fighters, which are bolstering Assad's forces, to leave Syria ? a move he said would make it easier for a political resolution to be reached.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-urgent-progress-needed-mideast-peace-130625075.html

the masters live mega millions winner holy thursday chris stewart evo 4g lte marlins new stadium arnold palmer

Texas Senator Filibusters Abortion Bill (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315204165?client_source=feed&format=rss

danica patrick Michelle Laxalt Alabama Shakes Safe Haven Rita Ora Meteor Russia jay z

Miley Cyrus Is A 'Skilled Twerker,' And Ying Yang Twins Co-Sign!

D-Roc and Kaine explain why they consider the 'We Can't Stop' singer 'the twerking mascot.'
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709565/miley-cyrus-ying-yang-twins-twerk.jhtml

Electoral College map nyc marathon nyc marathon willie nelson khloe kardashian Wreck It Ralph Movember

Scientists find neighbor star with three planets in life-friendly orbits

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A neighbor star has at least six planets in orbit, including three circling at the right distance for water to exist, a condition believed to be necessary for life, scientists said on Tuesday.

Previously, the star known as Gliese 667C was found to be hosting three planets, one of which was located in its so-called "habitable zone" where temperatures could support liquid surface water. That planet and two newly found sibling worlds are bigger than Earth, but smaller than Neptune.

"This is the first time that three such planets have been spotted orbiting in this zone in the same system," astronomer Paul Butler, with the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.

Scientists say the discovery of three planets in a star's habitable zone raises the odds of finding Earth-like worlds where conditions might have been suitable for life to evolve.

"Instead of looking at 10 stars to look for a single potentially habitable planet, we now know we can look at just one star and have a high chance of finding several of them," astronomer Rory Barnes, with the University of Washington, said in a statement.

Additional observations of Gliese 667C and a reanalysis of existing data showed it hosts at least six, and possibly, seven planets.

The star is located relatively close to Earth, just 22 light years (129 trillion miles/207 trillion km) away. It is about one-third the size of the sun and the faintest star of a triple star system.

In addition to the three well-positioned "super-Earths," two more planets may orbit on the fringe of the star's habitable zone and also could possibly support life.

The research will be published this week in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-neighbor-star-three-planets-life-friendly-orbits-002751999.html

comedy central philadelphia eagles obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012

Mobile Online Casino, Convenience Maximized | Tech on the Go ...

Posted by Admin on June 24th, 2013, 2:04 pm GMT

Maximize your game time with the ultimate convenience; mobile online casino. Get all your favourite online casino games direct to your mobile devices today.

How Does The Mobile Online Casino Work?

Whoever said dreams don?t come true never visited our mobile online casino. You heard correctly. Now you can get all the excitement, all the options and all the fun with double the convenience delivered direct to your mobile device. It is just part of being a member at the number one online casino there is.

It is so simple, you are going to love it. All you need to do is login to our site from your mobile device, and you will automatically be directed to our mobile site ? http://www.casino.com/mobile/, a version that has been tailor-made to fit and work optimally with your device. Alternatively, you can login from your computer right now with your mobile number. We?ll send you an SMS with an access code that will allow you to gain entry to our private mobile lobby, and the rest is up to you. Whether it is an iPad, Smartphone or Blackberry, our mobile online casino will accommodate you accordingly.

With this simple to use technology, we can even offer our customers the same bonuses, perks, VIP points, variety and prizes that you are presently enjoying as members of the best online casino around. Don?t waste another minute; get on board the greatest breakthrough in online casinos yet. You?ll be glad you did.

What?s Available At A Mobile Online Casino?

You are probably wondering what you have to give up to play mobile, but that?s the best part of the deal. Thanks to the latest and greatest in cellular technology, our top-rate online casino can offer our clients all their favourite online casino games as well as hundreds of popular trends to choose from. Are you an online blackjack fan? Now you can play this card classic straight on your cellphone with all the graphics, sound effects and gaming features that you currently enjoy at our online casino. Do you prefer the fast pace of online slots machines? The strategy of online roulette? The ease of scratch cards? The random nature of video poker? Whatever your flavour, our mobile online casino has the variety you need to cater to your every whim. But don?t take our word for it. Grab your mobile device now, and log in to your free account to discover the fun-filled world that awaits you.

from your own site.

Source: http://www.techonthego.co.uk/2013/06/mobile-online-casino-convenience-maximized-13836

bill rancic nflx giuliana rancic giuliana rancic elie wiesel temptations work hard play hard

E-cigarette study hints at quit-aid potential

By Andrew M. Seaman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a trial of e-cigarettes among Italian smokers with no desire to quit using tobacco at the outset, up to 13 percent of participants were not smoking regular cigarettes at all a year later.

Though the study was not billed as a smoking-cessation test, more than half of participants cut down on tobacco soon after they started using the e-cigarettes. And the percentage who quit smoking entirely by the end rivals results achieved with medications, the authors note in the journal PLOS ONE.

"I think the main message of the study is that we can use these products as an extraordinary tobacco control tool," Dr. Riccardo Polosa, the new study's senior author from the University of Catania, told Reuters Health.

"This really is the first clinical trial that's ever been reported on electronic cigarettes. There has been survey evidence and anecdotal reports, but this is the first serious study," said Dr. Michael Siegel, who studies e-cigarettes but wasn't involved in the new research.

E-cigarettes were first introduced in China in 2004. The battery-powered devices let users inhale nicotine-infused vapors, which don't contain the harmful tar and carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke.

While past studies have looked at the use of e-cigarettes, the new study is the first to follow hundreds of smokers for an entire year. It did not, however, compare the devices to traditional nicotine replacement therapies, such as gum or patches.

To see how many e-cigarette users would cut down or quit smoking cigarettes without any encouragement, the researchers recruited 300 people between June 2010 and February 2011. All were current smokers who stated they had no intention of quitting in the near future. Each participant was then randomized into one of three groups.

One group received e-cigarettes along with cartridges containing 7.2 milligram (mg) of nicotine. Another group also received the devices and 7.2 mg nicotine cartridges, but later in the study they were switched to 5.4 mg nicotine cartridges. And a third group got e-cigarettes and cartridges containing only tobacco flavor but no nicotine.

Each participant received enough supplies to last three months and went to regular checkups throughout the year.

At the end of the study, 13 percent of the group that first received the highest-dose nicotine cartridges was no longer smoking. That compared to 9 percent of those who were in the reduced-nicotine group and 4 percent in the group without nicotine.

Since there was no control group of smokers who got no e-cigarettes at all, it's hard to know how many would have quit smoking on their own by the end of a year, experts noted.

Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said he would expect about 2 percent of the participants to quit within a year if they weren't involved in a study.

However, Polosa's team also found that between 9 and 12 percent of people in each of the nicotine-cartridge groups had reduced the amount they smoked by at least half.

"The study is very positive in that it shows if you smoke even a low- or medium-strength e-cigarette, you can get some increased quitting and decreased smoking," Dr. Murray Laugesen, a tobacco and nicotine researcher who was not involved with the new study, told Reuters Health.

"It also has to be acknowledged that these are good results in people who had no intention of quitting," said Laugesen, a public health medicine specialist at Health New Zealand Ltd in Christchurch. He is also involved in an e-cigarette clinical trial and hopes to present the results in September.

Siegel told Reuters Health that what's attractive about e-cigarettes is they can not only provide the nicotine that smokers crave without other harmful substances, they allow people to mimic their traditional smoking behavior.

Researchers said that's one reason why e-cigarettes might turn out to be a better form of nicotine replacement therapy than patches and gums, but there's no data yet to prove it.

"I think that's why they? found the people who actually got no-nicotine electronic cigarettes had some sort of quitting behavior? But obviously the people who got the nicotine and the high dose of nicotine did the best. Clearly having the nicotine and device structure is ideal," Siegel said.

But he cautioned that more research is needed - especially on the long-term safety of e-cigarettes and how the devices stack up against traditional smoking cessation methods.

"My advice to people is to try the traditional therapy first. But I think electronic cigarettes are for people who have tried and failed nicotine replacement therapy, which is, sadly, most people," Siegel added.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1cec3gn PLOS ONE, online June 24, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/e-cigarette-study-hints-quit-aid-potential-210528041.html

Jerry Nelson Foo Canoodle Isaac path Tropical Storm Isaac path Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Isaac Path

98% Mud

All Critics (149) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (146) | Rotten (3)

For at least three-quarters of the way, this is a fine film, and one that kids and parents could see together.

There is an enchanted-fairy-tale aspect to Mud, but its bright, calm surface only barely disguises a strong, churning undercurrent.

A modern fairy tale, steeped in the sleepy Mississippi lore of Twain and similar American writers, and with a heart as big as the river is wide.

Nichols has a strong feeling for the tactility of natural elements-water, wood, terrain, weather.

Nichols takes his time with the story, dwelling on how the boy is shaped by the killer's tragic sense of romance, yet the suspense holds.

"Mud" isn't just a movie. It's the firm confirmation of a career.

Just like its lead character, this film is packed to the brim with sadness, swagger and soul.

All the women in this movie are shrews, liars and/or emasculators.

Mud is a moving exploration into the nature of manhood, with superb performances, striking location and engrossing story creating a mesmerising and heartfelt coming of age drama.

A stripped back approach to tracking the process of growing up, but lacks the faith to see the plan executed to the end

Nichols takes his time unravelling Mud and Ellis's entwined fates, but his characters are so rich that it's well worth being in their company.

In its energy and nuance, Mud seems like the kind of film Hollywood would've made in the Seventies, and would've continued to do if not for the advent of market-conscious filmmaking.

More than a mere tribute to Twain and Dickens: this has all the makings of a modern classic.

An extremely sophisticated and progressive examination on how adolescent masculinity is defined by often-contradictory cultural attitudes towards femininity.

Mud is as beautiful to watch as it is to listen to, and feel kinship to, whether you're from the South or just Southern at heart.

In Jeff Nichols, America has a champion of the religious and working class. With the schism between the right and left in the U.S. growing ever larger... his ascent couldn't have come at a better time.

This is a film with a great naturalistic style and captivating performances and which does just about everything right.

Jeff Nichols writes characters with depth, nurtures strong performances form his cast and allows the screenplay's backwater setting to effectively create tone and texture.

This is American cinema at its very best as Huckleberry Finn meets Stand By Me.The two boys are terrific and McConaughey is sensational as Mud, dazzlingly frazzled as the hunted and haunted man on the run.

Up till just past the three-quarter mark, Mud is one heck of a nifty psychological fable.

The Southern-fried drama "Mud" is an electrifying example of what happens when you merge a crackerjack yarn with a very specific setting, and then pour on the heat with riveting performances.

McConaughey and Sheridan 's acting skills, as well as those of the entire supporting cast, make this movie better than it ought to be.

It gets under our skin because Nichols gives us time to come to know Mud's island like the places we knew as children.

As Mud might say, it's a hell of a thing.

The boys are so skillfully played that Mud also plays like cinema verite. Nichols' fluid camerawork suggests a documentary-style approach. That helps these young lads transform into flesh-and-blood characters who get our attention and support.

No quotes approved yet for Mud. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mud_2012/

marijuana Colorado Marijuana elizabeth warren puerto rico diane sawyer Washington Election Results drudge report