Zoologger: The only cross-dressing bird of prey

Species: Circus aeruginosus

Habitat: throughout Europe and western Asia, playing dress-up

Gliding over a bed of reeds in south-west France, a male western marsh harrier circles his nest. Scanning the surrounding area, he spots a second male on a nest just 400 metres away from his own.

Ordinarily this would be the start of a fight. Male marsh harriers are territorial, and don't like another male to set up home within 700 metres of the nest. Yet the new neighbour merits nothing more than a long look.

That's because the interloper is a cross-dresser. Ever since he reached sexual maturity, his feathers have been coloured like a female's. Marsh harriers are one of only two bird species ? and the only bird of prey ? where some of the males mimic females.

Transvestite raptor

Male marsh harriers are mostly grey, with yellow eyes, while females are brown with white heads and shoulders, and brown eyes. Females are also about 30 per cent bigger than males.

Not all males obey the gender rules, though. Up to 40 per cent of them have mainly brown feathers with no greys at all, though they do still have the yellow eyes that mark them as male, and are no bigger than expected for their gender. These female-like males acquire their unusual colour in their second year, and keep it for the rest of their lives.

Males that look like females are common among fish, reptiles and insects, but extremely rare in birds. The only other example is a shorebird called the ruff (Philomachus pugnax). Ruffs breed in groups called leks, and some males mimic females to gain access to real females.

The question is, why do male marsh harriers feel the need to masquerade as females? Audrey Sternalski of the Chiz? Centre for Biological Studies in France and Francois Mougeot of the Arid Zones Research Station in Almer?a, Spain, are trying to find out.

Don't hit me!

Sternalski and Mougeot suspected that female-like males were less likely to be attacked by other males, and thus avoid wasting energy by fighting. They monitored 36 breeding pairs at their nests, and watched how they responded to a series of decoys that looked like typical males, female-like males, and females.

As expected, nesting males were most likely to attack the male decoys, and only attacked female and female-like decoys at the expected low rate. Females rarely attacked any of the decoys, which is normal as it is the males that defend the territory.

So it seems the female-like males can pass for females, at least in the eyes of males, and escape being attacked as a result. But their mimicry runs deeper than feathers. Sternalski and Mougeot say they don't just look like females: they behave like them too.

In their tests, female-like males who were defending nests did attack decoys, but they were more likely to attack female decoys than male ones. That is bizarre, says Mougeot, because from their point of view a female is a potential mate, not a threat. Only a true female should regard another female as a potential rival worth attacking.

A separate field study revealed another unusual twist. Sternalski found that female-like males took an active role in mobbing predators, while normal males did little.

All of which suggests the real winners might be the typical males. Instead of having their territories bordered by aggressive males, they can build a nest surrounded by relatively timid female-like males who pose no threat ? but who can be relied on to drive off the predators.

"There must be some advantage to mimicking females," says Mougeot, otherwise the female-like males would have died out. But he says it's not yet clear exactly what that advantage is.

Journal reference: Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0914

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Dow average slides as Italian borrowing costs soar (AP)

NEW YORK ? The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 240 points in early trading after Italy's borrowing costs soared.

The yield on the benchmark Italian government bond spiked above 7 percent, a sign that investors are losing faith in the country's ability to repay its debt. Analysts say Italy will not be able to refinance its debt at current rates, which will force it to either enact deep austerity measures or to receive financial assistance to prevent a default.

Greece, Portugal and Ireland required bailouts when their bond yields rose above 7 percent. But unlike those countries, Italy's $2.6 trillion in debt is too large for other European nations to bail out.

Europe's debt crisis continued in Greece as well. The country's two main political parties are still engaged in power-sharing negotiations and have yet to name a prime minister to lead the interim government. The new government must pass an austerity package to receive the next loan installment of emergency loans. Without the funds, Greece could default before Christmas.

Markets fear that a chaotic default by either Greece or Italy would lead to huge losses for European banks. That, in turn, could cause a global lending freeze that might escalate into another credit crisis similar to the one in 2008 after Lehman Brothers fell.

The Dow was down 242 points, or 2 percent, to 11,928 ten minutes after the market opened. The S&P 500 lost 29, or 2.3 percent, to 1,246. The Nasdaq composite slid 64, or 2.4 percent, to 2,663.

In corporate news, General Motors Co. lost 7.7 percent after the company said Europe's economic woes were weighing on its profits.

The Wendy's Co. dropped 3.4 percent after the company said higher beef prices contributed to a larger third-quarter loss.

Dean Foods fell 1.9 percent after the company took a write-down in its fresh dairy business.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111109/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Early-state lawmakers in no hurry to endorse (Politico)

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint embodies the feeling of many Republican lawmakers from early-primary states.?

He?s looking at the GOP presidential field and thinking about sitting it out.
?
?It?s increasingly unlikely I?m going to endorse, but I want to ? think it through,? he told POLITICO. ?I?m coming to the conclusion I could be more helpful focused on the Senate Conservatives Fund and not getting over-involved in a presidential race.?
?
This year, the sidelines are packed with Republicans who are steering clear of the endorsement game even though their states are expected to play an outsized role in choosing the nominee. A look around the members of Congress from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina shows an indecisive ? or even indifferent ? bunch of lawmakers who see an unsettled presidential field and are deciding they could spend their time better elsewhere.
?
The phenomenon is stretching to DeMint?s Palmetto State colleagues, like Rep. Tim Scott, also a tea party favorite, who has not yet been driven to endorse.
?
?There are some folks [who] need to spend more time in South Carolina,? Scott said, adding that ?of course,? he?s referring to Mitt Romney. ?He says he wants to come, but in the end, whether he comes to my town halls or not, he needs to be present in South Carolina a lot more than he is.?
?
It?s not just South Carolina. From New Hampshire Rep. Charlie Bass to veteran Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and his Hawkeye State colleague Rep. Steve King, bold-faced names in early voting states just aren?t interested ? at this point or, in some cases, through the early contests ? in putting their political capital on the line behind a candidate for president. This is a departure from previous election cycles, when many early-state lawmakers endorsed in the summer and early fall, before the early contests began.?

Continue Reading

The reasons are plentiful. The primary field is extraordinarily fluid and, frankly, unimpressive to many Republicans. Conservatives have not yet anointed a favored candidate, instead shuffling through a number of figures.
?
Texas Gov. Rick Perry was once seen as a savior, but his candidacy has floundered. Herman Cain is facing damaging sexual harassment allegations. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has fallen off the map. And Romney is still viewed skeptically by many elements of the Republican base.
?
?The candidate [who] wins is the candidate willing to be different from the other candidates, and I have not seen that differentiation on issues that I can support,? Bass said in an interview.
?
The lone exception to endorsement avoidance is Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, who has backed Perry. He?s the only lawmaker from Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina to endorse a candidate who is still in the race.
?
Another New Hampshire lawmaker, Rep. Frank Guinta, is ?leaning toward ? an endorsement? and will meet with Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman soon when the House is out of session.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1111_67709_html/43515203/SIG=11m3q2ttd/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67709.html

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Bieber, Gaga dominate MTV awards in Belfast (AP)

LONDON ? The MTV Europe Music Awards turned into a celebration of Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga Sunday night as the two picked up a number of top prizes, including best male and best female act.

Gaga, striking in several outfits throughout the evening, also won for best song and best video for "Born This Way." Bieber picked up best pop act as well.

Their live performances captured the differences between the two ascendant mega-stars: the teenage Bieber, wholesome and almost impossibly cute; Gaga challenging and aggressively sexual in her approach.

Other awards went to Bruno Mars, Eminem and Katy Perry while the band Queen received the "Global Icon" award, in effect a lifetime achievement award to the now-graying rockers, who closed the show with a spirited set of their classics, including "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions."

It was a rousing end to the awards show, a highlight on the European music calendar that also draws A-list stars from the United States. It was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the first time.

Queen guitarist Brian May said the show focused attention on how Belfast had found "true peace" after years of sectarian violence.

"It's wonderful to be in Belfast," he said.

The show also included a video tribute to the late Amy Winehouse, who died earlier this year in London.

But the evening was dominated by Bieber and Gaga, the two crowd favorites.

The casually dressed Bieber said modestly that he had voted for competitor Kanye West and thanked his fans and family for his first award.

"Never say never, right?" he said, waving his trophy in the air.

After he won his second award, for best pop act, he praised his fans for staying with him despite "a lot of crap on the Internet," an apparent reference to unsupported allegations that he had fathered a child after a brief liaison.

Bieber took the stage a few minutes after Gaga accepted her award in characteristic style.

"Thank you so much, I love you so much. I'm so grateful. I'm really smiling right now, but I know you can't tell," said Gaga, wearing a bizarre silver dress with an oversize tilted hat that completely covered her face except for tiny holes that allowed her to see. She joked that she had had a lot of Botox treatment.

Gaga, who has enjoyed a year of spectacular commercial success, triumphed over a strong field that included a resurgent Jennifer Lopez, Adele, Katy Perry and Beyonce.

She later won awards for best video and best song for "Born This Way." She thanked her "little monsters" for their support and said she regarded "Born This Way" as her most important work to date. She also won an award for having the best fan base.

Earlier, Perry ? dressed in a mostly pink jacket and miniskirt ? won the best live act award, and the American band Thirty Seconds to Mars won best alternative act and best world stage.

American rapper Eminem was named best hip hop act and Linkin Park took the prize for best rock band.

The show featured performances by headliners Bieber, Gaga, Bruno Mars ? who won for best newcomer and for "best push" ? Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol and other top acts.

Chris Martin, the Coldplay frontman, joked that the band was just "warming everyone up for Justin" on his way into the awards ceremony, which was hosted by Bieber's girlfriend, the actress and singer Selena Gomez.

She admitted she was nervous about her performance while being photographed on the red carpet just before the show.

The awards, which were set up in 1994, have previously featured performances by stars including U2, Paul McCartney, Take That, Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111106/ap_en_mu/eu_britain_mtv_awards

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Greenpeace protests SAfrican coal power station (AP)

JOHANNESBURG ? Greenpeace activists chained themselves to a gate and climbed a crane Monday at a South African coal-fired power station to protest dependence on coal, weeks before the country hosts a global conference on climate change.

Melita Steele, a Greenpeace climate change expert, said the protest started at dawn Monday at the Kusile power station with activists chaining themselves to the gates of the construction site. Security guards later cut the chain. Steele said six activists climbed a crane at the site and were dangling there from ropes with a banner declaring: "Kusile ? climate killer."

Eskom, the state-owned power company, says it needs Kusile because of rising electricity demand. It is expected to be completed in 2016. Another coal plant, called Medupi, is scheduled for completion in 2015. Eskom also has renewable projects planned.

Eskom's coal-powered electricity plants are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions by South Africa.

"Construction should be stopped and investment should be shifted to renewables," Steele said in a telephone interview. Greenpeace says the protesters will try to spend the night at the plant.

Eskom spokeswoman Hillary Joffe said the utility agrees that South Africa should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and is moving toward green technology and cleaner coal. But she said South Africa also needs to develop, and that cheap coal is an important part of its energy mix.

Greenpeace argues that coal would not be considered cheap if the costs of pollution, health problems, water use and climate change are factored in.

The World Bank has approved $250 million in funding for to help Eskom build solar power and wind power plants, and approved a $3.75-billion loan to Eskom for the Medupi plant.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111107/ap_on_bi_ge/af_south_africa_greenpeace

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Suicide bombers kill 7 in north Afghanistan

Two suicide bombers targeted worshippers on a key Muslim festival in northern Afghanistan, killing seven, including two local police commanders, officials said Sunday.

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The bombers struck as Muslims were leaving a mosque on the outskirts of Old Baghlan City after prayers at the start of the Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice.

At least 18 other people were taken to hospitals with injuries from the attack in Hassin Tal, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the city.

One bomber blew himself up and the second was captured before he could set off his explosives, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for the regional police commander in the north.

The bombings raise questions about Afghan forces' ability to tackle the insurgency head-on without their NATO partners. NATO is working to handing over full security responsibilities to Afghan forces before the end of 2014, when the coalition plans to withdraw its combat troops.

NATO officials say attacks such as Sunday's bombing do little more than grab headlines and have little impact on the balance of strength between the government and the insurgents.

Kamen Khan, the police chief in Old Baghlan City, said one of the two dead local police commanders was a well-known local leader named Abdul who, like many Afghans, goes only by one name.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Taliban, against whom NATO has waged a decade-long war, routinely target Afghan officials and security forces as well as international forces.

In his Eid message two days ago, Taliban leader Mullah Omar said his fighters must protect Afghan civilians, who are dying in rising numbers, so the insurgency can maintain good relations with the population.

U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, condemned the bombing and challenged Omar to do so, too.

"If Mullah Omar is serious about his call upon the Taliban to eliminate acts against civilians, he too should condemn this publicly," Allen said.

Separately, NATO said that two of its service members were killed, raising to 495 the number of coalition troops killed in the country so far this year. One was killed in an insurgent attack in the south on Saturday, and one died in another attack by militants Sunday in the west. NATO provided no other details.

As the U.S.-led coalition and its Afghan partners have focused their operations on Taliban strongholds in the south and east, the insurgency has carried out an increasing number of attacks in the north and west.

Shortly before the morning attack, Karzai greeted Afghans on the holiday. Breaking with past speeches marking the occasion, he made no mention of reconciliation with the Taliban and did not call on its leaders to break from the insurgency.

Ethnic minorities, who reside outside southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban are at their strongest, are the most resistant to efforts to reconcile with the insurgents.

Minorities worry that Karzai, a Pashtun, will make too many concessions to the Taliban to shore up his Pashtun base in crafting a peace deal to end the war. Assassinations of prominent northerners are likely to erode their already minimal appetite for a peace settlement.

Five leaders affiliated with the Northern Alliance, a coalition mostly composed of non-Pashtun minorities which has fought the Taliban since 1996, have been killed in a little more than a year.

Later Sunday, Karzai met with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who made an unannounced trip to the country.

Gillard's trip comes after an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire during a parade at a base in southern Kandahar province on Oct. 29, killing three Australian soldiers and wounding seven others. Australia has about 1,500 troops in Afghanistan. The attack brought Australia's death toll from the conflict to 32.

___

Associated Press writers Tarek El-Tablawy and Deb Riechmann contributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45179946/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Apple now requiring Mac App Store applications to be sandboxed by March 2012

Apple's already made OS X more like iOS in more ways than one, and it looks like it will soon be taking another step in that direction. As of March 1st, 2012, Apple will require all apps available in the Mac App Store to be "sandboxed," which Apple says is "a great way to protect systems and users by limiting the resources apps can access and making it more difficult for malicious software to compromise users' systems." The other side of that coin is that by limiting access to said system resources, applications are also more limited in what they can do, which has left some developers facing a tough decision: either comply and get in the App Store, or go it alone. They will be able to request access to some resources, but they'll have to provide a justification for it to Apple as part of the submission process. As TUAW notes, however, this isn't a completely new development -- Apple had actually intended to implement the requirement this month, but it's apparently decided to give devs a bit more time to get used to it.

Apple now requiring Mac App Store applications to be sandboxed by March 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Health Tip: Help Prevent Breast Cancer (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- There's no sure way to prevent breast cancer. But the womenshealth.gov website says there are things you can do that may help lower your risk.

Here are the site's suggestions:

  • Maintain a healthy body weight; shed pounds if you are overweight or obese.
  • Limit or eliminate alcohol consumption.
  • Get regular exercise.
  • Breast-feed your baby.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111104/hl_hsn/healthtiphelppreventbreastcancer

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SmartDraw

Type
Business, Personal, Professional
OS Compatibility
Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
More

Editor's Note:
This product has not yet been tested. The following coverage is based on information provided by the manufacturer or developer.

SmartDraw ($297 for one license) is a desktop program for creating charts, graphs, flow charts, mind maps, and other kinds of visual diagrams, primarily used in business and academic settings. The app was designed to help people who have little to no design skills make visuals that look good, with features like automatic alignment and spacing guiding them along.

The outputted files from this program can integrate with Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Microsoft Project, but it's only compatible with Windows (2000, XP, Vista, 7). You can also import old Microsoft Visio files to update them using SmartDraw. While SmartDraw does have some proprietary formats for exporting, it also has options for commonly used formats, like PDF, JPG, and AutoCAD.?

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    Fox Signs Andy Serkis and Rupert Wyatt for More Planet of the Apes

    RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES slice

    The film that surprised me the most this year was undoubtedly Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Going into the movie, I saw it as an unnecessary cash-in on the Planet of the Apes franchise that inexplicably starred James Franco. Much to my surprise, director Rupert Wyatt delivered one of the most emotional films of the year with a powerhouse performance by Andy Serkis in some of the best motion-capture these eyes have ever seen. With that, I?m happy to report that Fox is now officially moving forward with a sequel to the film as they?ve just closed a very hefty deal for Serkis to return and reprise his role as Caesar. Hit the jump for more, including who else is returning for the follow-up and news on Fox?s push for awards consideration for Serkis? performance.

    Andy-SerkisFox is planning multiple sequels to Apes, as Deadline reports that Serkis is the first actor to be locked in for the follow-up as well as future installments. Wyatt (who deserves a hefty amount of credit for Apes? success) was already under contract for the sequel, so he?s back, as are screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. There?s no word on deals for James Franco or Freida Pinto, but the former?s arc had a nice ending to it with Apes, and the latter spoke about three sentences throughout the course of the entire film, so I wouldn?t be upset if they don?t return.

    As for where the franchise goes in future installments, the story is still currently in the idea stage. Wyatt previously ruminated on where the sequel could pick up:

    ?You could start this story again eight years from where we left off, the next generation of apes, those that have come from our protagonists, perhaps going in to a conflict with humans and showing real fear, in the same way as going into war for young soldiers in this day and age, telling their story. Or how apes are taking over cities, and being moved into human environments and having to interact with them and deal with things that are part of our culture and understand and evolve through them. Spies that are in the employ of the apes, working against humans and humans maybe existing underground, because that?s a way they can avoid the virus, coming up above ground wearing gas masks, and maybe that?s what dehumanises them.?

    andy-serkis-imageAll great ideas, and again here you can see how Wyatt doesn?t simply think in terms of spectacle or what will look cool, he?s all about the emotional aspects of the story. Since there?s no script, it?ll most likely be a while before we see the Apes sequel head into production. Then there?s the lengthy post-production process that will most certainly involve many more apes that need crafting.

    Not only is Serkis getting a hefty payday to return to the franchise, Fox is now officially gunning for an Oscar nomination for the actor?s strong performance. This isn?t the first time a Serkis-lead motion-capture performance has garnered awards attention, as there was plenty of talk (and controversy) concerning his work as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. The jury?s still out on how the acting community as a whole feels about motion-capture performances being judged alongside live-action, but Serkis? talent undeniably shines through his performance as Caesar. This is much, much more than cartoons, folks.

    rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-movie-image-03

    Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1923893/news/1923893/

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