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A good bok choy recipe can be difficult to find.  Too often bok choy recipes disguise the leafy green vegetable in heavy sauces or combine it with other, more strongly flavored vegetables so that bok choy’s unique, if subtle, characteristics are lost in the final dish.  When bok choy first becomes available, usually in the early spring but often in autumn as well, I prefer a recipe in which it is dressed simply and served on its own, without the addition of other vegetables. In this way, the cruciferous vegetable with its pale, elongated stalk and broad, verdant leaves can shine on its own – though paired with other subtle flavors which complement its sweet and slightly peppery undertones without competing against them.

My favorite bok choy recipe combines miso, ginger, fish sauce and sesame seeds in a gentle glaze that seasons the vegetable without overpowering its subtle flavors.  Unlike many leafy green vegetables, bok choy is relatively low in oxalates – a compound with a strong chelating effect that contributes to kidney stones.  Though the effectis of oxalic acid extend far beyond kidney stones, indeed some evidence indicates they may play a role in vulvodynia and chronic fatigue syndrome; moreover, evidence indicates that autistic children experience improvement in their condition once dietary oxalates were limited¹. Fortunately, oxalates are easily mitigated by light cooking which is why leafy greens and other vegetables high in oxalates, such as beets, should be cooked prior to serving.  A healthy intestinal tract fed on probiotic supplements and foods may also help to mitigate the effects of oxalate^{2, 3}.(…)
Click here to read the rest of Recipe: Miso-glazed Bok Choy (496 words)

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For many years we’ve explored how entertainment and software industry piracy statistics are very reliable — at least in terms of being consistently and notoriously wrong on an annual basis. Each year companies (especially the BSA) like to throw out marginally-coherent data "proving" the supposedly-huge impact piracy has on the economy, national security or employment. The claims are quickly debunked as nonsense — yet the same claims return year after year, and often get cited by U.S. politicians as gospel.

Carl was the first amongst many to direct our attention to a new study by the GAO on the effects of piracy (covering all sectors, even toys, clothing, automobile parts, and medicine). The GAO’s study unsurprisingly found that U.S. government and industry claims that piracy damages the economy to the tune of billions of dollars "cannot be substantiated due to the absence of underlying studies." The full GAO report is worth a read, and not only argues that claims of economic impact have not been based on substantive science — but that file sharing can actually have a positive impact on sales:

"Some experts we interviewed and literature we reviewed identified potential positive economic effects of counterfeiting and piracy," The GAO wrote. "Some consumers may knowingly purchase a counterfeit or pirated product because it is less expensive than the genuine good or because the genuine good is unavailable, and they may experience positive effects from such purchases. Consumers may use pirated goods to ‘sample’ music, movies, software, or electronic games before purchasing legitimate copies," the GAO continued. "(This) may lead to increased sales of legitimate goods."

Study after study have supported the conclusion that file sharers purchase more media — though the idea never resonates the same way as claims of economic armageddon caused by file sharing. While the GAO’s report does obviously highlight some of the negative impacts of counterfeiting, the GAO goes on to argue that any overarching conclusions of piracy’s impact on the broader economy may not even be possible. The GAO was instructed to study piracy’s impact as part of the Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (PRO-IP Act) — which delivered plenty of handouts to the entertainment industry. ProIP was ironically pushed through using unreliable studies to justify its creation. Of course we’ll soon be swimming in new dubious data “proving” the GAO wrong — and around and around we go.

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Found under: MeeGo, Intel, Maemo, Nokia, ,

Remember that Nokia and Intel joint MeeGo initiative announced at MWC 2010 Well it looks like we have more details about it and it looks like this new mobile platform is progressing quite nicely. The first specs and features have been already mentioned and it looks like MeeGo handsets will come with Fennec and Flash support VoIP calling capabilities instant messaging social networking location-based services cloud data syncing support for third-party app stores thanks to Intels

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Same as the old boss…

Yup, we’re back where it started. While we’re thankful for our time with SBN, it’s good to be home.

Aspiring Bond villains take note: there’s only one of these Nautilus VAS luxury submersibles on the market today, so if you don’t act fast you risk losing out on a $2.7 million submersible joyride like few others. More »

Britney Spears one of the most scrutinised celebrity women on the planet – she’s also one of the most drastically-airbrushed. The Britster, 29, has fronted two campaigns for juniors apparel brand Candie’s — and in an unorthodox move for a celeb whose very livelihood depends on imagery, Spears has allowed Candie’s to release the unaltered version of her latest shoot for their label.

The pop star’s whole body has been trimmed down with the use of digital photography: camera’s even zapped Brit’s tramp stamp from the final images. Insiders say the star wants her young fans to have a healthy body image and to understand the tricks that technology can play when it comes to those seemingly-flawless promos that are often used to sell food, music, and clothing.

“Britney is proud of her body – imperfections and all,” a source told The Daily Mirror

Spears isn’t the only star to fight back against the of retouching images to make celebrities appear “perfect” – a trend that causes women to develop unhealthy views of their own bodies.

Jessica Simpson recently appeared on the cover of Marie Claire, without makeup or retouching.

Many readers have come to Dr. Heather Oxford for advice on animal health and wellness through Unleashed’s Ask a Vet column. But when she’s not answering your pet-health questions, Dr. Oxford is a practicing veterinarian at L.A.’s California Animal Rehabilitation (CARE), helping animals to bounce back from illness and injury. Dr. Oxford shares the story of one special patient who’s fought both paralysis and distemper with the help of some devoted animal lovers. Here’s M.J.’s story:

This past month, M.J. has continued to make steady progress with gaining neuromuscular coordination and strength in her hind limbs.

She is standing herself up with ease now and you can hardly ever catch her lying down. She is so eager to get around on her legs now that she doesn’t need any help at all.

She hasn’t had to use her cart for almost three months now, and hasn’t needed a supportive sling or pelvic harness for about a month. She hasn’t needed the help of her blue booties for a few weeks now either.

She has been walking longer distances and even shaking and doing tight turns without losing her balance now! 

We are so excited that she has come so far. Even her urinary control has improved and she is not dribbling between potty breaks anymore.

The photo above shows M.J. during an underwater treadmill therapy session. (After the jump, see another photo of her receiving electroacupuncture treatment.) She’s such a cutie, and she’s sweet; she will make the ideal pet for some lucky person.

If you are interested in adopting M.J., please contact the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation.

RELATED:

One rescued dog, one inspiring story: M.J. the shepherd mix overcomes paralysis, distemper

Resilient rescue dog M.J.’s condition continues to improve after ‘wheelchair’ training, laser therapy

— Heather Oxford, DVM

Dr. Oxford received her bachelor of science degree at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. She also received a master’s of public health degree in epidemiology from Emory University and went on to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. She then went to the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine, where she received her doctor of veterinary medicine degree. She practices at California Animal Rehabilitation and is also certified in veterinary rehabilitation and acupuncture. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Wade, and German shepherd, Tess.

Check out more of Dr. Oxford’s work in Unleashed’s Ask a Vet column.

Danielle Bari Flaum, of Short Hills, N.J., is founder and chair of the No Nukes for Iran Teen Advocacy Program.

I looked around the room and it really hit me. I was sitting with Israeli Ambassador Michel Oren in his private study at the Israeli Embassy, Washington D.C.
Now, the gift of memory allows me to fully realize the truly amazing day I had along with other members of the No Nukes for Iran Teen Advocacy Program.

Meeting with Ambassador Oren in his study, we discussed the successes and struggles of our No Nukes for Iran campaign. He thanked us for our passionate efforts and congratulated us on
creating excitement in bringing together many Jewish and non-Jewish groups around the issue. He stressed that a nuclear Iran poses a monumental security threat, sharing memories
of growing up after the Holocaust and recalling the promises that his generation made to “never again” let a Holocaust happen. The thought of Iran gaining nuclear weapons, he said, causes him to have sleepless nights.
We presented the Ambassador with a “No Nukes for Iran” banner and lapel pin – which, he told us, he loved.

Ambassador Oren informed us that members of the Israeli Consulate were meeting with Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center, downstairs at the Israeli Embassy. Next thing we knew, we were downstairs speaking to the members of the Israeli consulate and Rabbi Saperstein, informing them about our project. Ambassador Oren passed out our No Nukes for Iran car magnets, urging the members of the Consulates to take this project back to their communities.
We were deeply grateful to Ambassador Oren and Benjamin Sack, Director of National Initiatives and State Government Relations, for an incredible morning.

Next we headed to the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill to meet with
Robert Marcus, staff member for the House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs, who gave us a crash course in government and
politics. We also met with Jonathan Moore, legislative assistant to
Representative Steven R Rothman (D-NJ09), and told them about our
missionincluding what we have been doing and what we wanted from them:
to learn about the Iran Petroleum Sanctions Act and if – and when – the
legislation would become law. At first I did not think they would
really take us seriously, considering that we were only teenagers, but
they kindly informed us that we knew more about politics and the
legislative system than many lobbyists and adults they had meet with
before. We left the meeting feeling good.

Next stop was AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where
we met with Leadership Development Director Jonathan Kessler and National Field Organizer Suzy Goldenkranz and learned firsthand from
some of the experts about strategies on foreign
policy lobbying. AIPAC’s staff reminded us that it’s not what we have already accomplished that is so imperative but rather our next course
of action that will keep people interested in the project. It was an
inspiring and challenging meeting.

In our meeting with Rachel Hillman, program associate at the B’nai
B’rith Youth Organization, we discussed how to tap into BBYO’s energy
and encourage its members to join our mission of a nuclear weapons-free Iran. Joining
with an international youth movement was another highlight of our day.

Finally, we joined the RAC’s L’Taken Social Justice Seminar, a gathering of more than 300
teens, for a lively Shabbat service where I had the honor of delivering our
message to the gathering. I loved looking out at my peers and
challenging them to stand up, speak out, and declare that this
generation of youth wants to live in a world free of terrorists
threatening Israel and our safety.
I hope I inspired them to lobby their elected officials not only
about the importance of Iran remaining free of nuclear weapons but on any
issue that speaks to them. As I addressed the teens, I realized the
meaning of the saying “Everybody can make a difference;” before this
moment, I had not realized that I really did how the power to enact change. .

Ambassador Oren, AIPAC, staff members on Capitol Hill. They all asked us the
same question: “What is your next step?”
The answer is that No Nukes for Iran has just launched a national petition with a goal of 100,000 signatures, thus creating a powerful
lobbying tool.

There are several things you can do right now to stand up and speak
out on this issue!

• Sign the petition at www.nonukesforiran.org.
• Post this message on your Facebook and Twitter.
• Send this blog post to your rabbi, youth leader, club members and other groups to let them know this is important to you and to our
  generation.
• Print out the petition and have all your friends, family and classmates sign it. Then scan the signed petition and mail it to
  [email protected].

The time is now, together we must shout out: No Nukes for Iran!

Local schools officials Tuesday ratified a deal with the teachers union that will shorten the academic year by five days both this year and next. The pact, approved 7-0 by the Los Angeles Board of Education, saves the jobs of 1,280 permanent elementary teachers.

As a result, class sizes are expected to remain at the current 24 students per teacher in the early elementary grades. (Prior to this year, the maximum class size was 20 at that level.)

Also spared are 85 counselors at middle schools and high schools and 56 school nurses.

“I realize that pay cuts are especially hard at this time,” said board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who, like other top officials, commented in a district statement. “Our teachers and principals are heroes for agreeing to this necessary, but unwelcomed, change. It’s always good when people are not losing their jobs.”

The agreement saves an estimated $147 million. Other employee unions agreed to concessions in advance of the teachers.

Not all jobs have been saved.

Still at risk are 354 teachers without tenure protections. Many, if not all, had been rehired after being laid off last year, and they are likely to be laid off again.

Among hundreds remaining on the layoff list are psychologists, psychiatric social workers and librarians. Schools entitled to extra antipoverty funding will be able to rehire to fill some of these positions at their campuses.

District officials hope to preserve more jobs and services with a $100-per-parcel tax that voters will consider in June. That measure would raise $95.2 million annually for four years. The district has had to close a deficit estimated at $640 million for next year and $263 million the year after.

— Howard Blume

The Hemet City Council approved an emergency measure Tuesday to fortify city buildings in response to a series of attacks against police officers in recent weeks.

The resolution allows the city to begin awarding no-bid contracts to "harden" areas at City Hall and the Police Department headquarters.

City Manager Brian Nakamura said the city received a $150,000 grant from the state and another $15,000 from Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone to fund the construction and installation of surveillance equipment.

"What we’re going to try to do is create a safe buffer," Nakamura said in an interview, adding that counters in public areas may be heightened and plexiglass shields may be installed.

The council resolution cited law enforcement intelligence indicating that city buildings are the likely targets of future attacks.



"Intelligence reports indicate that the police facility is the likely focus of future criminal acts," Capt. Dave Brown wrote in a memo to council members. "Immediate action is required to harden these facilities."



No specific suspects have been named, and authorities have not said whether they believe the attacks have been carried out by a single person or group.

Last month, authorities led raids on the Vagos motorcycle gang, which was described as an "extreme threat" to law enforcement. In all, 33 members were arrested in Riverside County and 36 others were taken into custody in Arizona, Nevada and Utah as part of the operation, authorities said. Charges included possession of drugs and weapons.

In recent months, the attacks have involved booby traps set at the headquarters of the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force, officials said. In December, a gas utility line was redirected to fill the offices with gas. Officials said a spark could have triggered a devastating explosion.

In February, a "zip gun" was hidden by the gate to the task force office and rigged to fire. When a gang officer opened the gate, the weapon went off, the bullet narrowly missing him, authorities said.

In early March, police said, a "dangerous" device was found near the unmarked car of a task force member. That was followed by an arson attack on several city trucks March 23.

Now authorities are investigating whether an early-morning fire Monday at a Hemet police shooting range was another attack on the department.

The fire at the remote training facility off Warren Road broke out shortly after 2 a.m. Much of the building was destroyed in the blaze.



Authorities are offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the attacks. Anyone with information is asked to call (951) 765-3897.

— Robert J. Lopez

Found under: Palm, Pre, Pixi, Plus, Vodafone, O2, ,

Palm might not be doing so well lately but that doesnt mean the webOS creator is going to die without a fight. It looks like the company is getting ready to pitch the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus to European consumers starting with April 28.German webOS lovers will be able to buy these two phones from either O2 or Vodafone in the very near future. Will this move save Palm Most likely not but its still good to see that Palm is not going to give up that easily. Its webOS mobil

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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Ferrari, Racing

Without a doubt, the highlight of our trip to Miller Motorsports Park for the Ferrari Challenge this past weekend was seeing the brand new 599XX on track. This is only the second and last time the cars will be in North America for 2010, so it was a special treat to see the cars driven in anger. We gushed earlier about how beautiful the cars look in person, but there’s nothing like seeing a 599XX fly down the front straight then hearing the transaxle pull off successive downshifts before the car dives into turn one.

Audio and visuals aside, part of the intrigue of watching the 599XX is knowing how much incredible technology is in the car. For example, there are fans in the back of the car that pull air from the underside and out of ducts near the taillights to increase downforce. How much? The 599XX produces 1,389 pounds of downforce at 186 mph, and after looking through our photos we could actually see the rear spoiler at work, turbulent air swirling up behind the car. There are nine different traction control settings, the 6.0-liter V12 can rev to 9,000 rpm and the new sequential gearbox can bang off shifts in a mere 60 milliseconds.

Of course, we knew we could never get away with just showing you photos (which we have plenty of in the gallery below). So we brought out a video camera to capture some footage of the 599XX on track. Turn up the volume and follow the jump to enjoy the wail of a Ferrari V12.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading 2010 Ferrari Challenge at MMP: The sights and sounds of the Ferrari 599XX

2010 Ferrari Challenge at MMP: The sights and sounds of the Ferrari 599XX originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An Orange County man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his role in smuggling songbirds into the United States from Vietnam by hiding them in another man’s pants.

Duc Le of Garden Grove entered the plea in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. The 34-year-old man faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in June.

Codefendant Sony Dong pleaded guilty last year to illegally importing wildlife after authorities discovered 14 songbirds strapped to his legs on a flight from Vietnam to Los Angeles.

Authorities say the birds could have been sold for up to $400 each. The birds survived the trip.

Le was arrested after investigators found 51 songbirds at his home.

Dong faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced April 26.

— Associated Press

Animal news on the go: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

A file photo provided by the Justice Department shows Sony Dong with songbirds strapped to his legs after being detained at Los Angeles International Airport. Credit: Associated Press

The NCAA committee that oversees rules changes has approved a measure brought forward by Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe allowing bowl committees to give equal consideration to teams with 6-6 records when evaluating at-large bids.

At first glance, it would seem to reward teams that played a tougher schedule rather than padding their record with cupcakes. The change would also give bowls more flexibility to create the most interesting matchup, potentially boosting revenues for struggling bowl committees.

Matt Sanderson, co-founder of Playoff PAC, told the San Diego Union Times that the rule could allow bowls with open slots for at-large teams to select power-conference teams with 6-6 records over smaller-conference teams with winning records.

Sanderson points to this season’s GMAC Bowl, which took 9-3 Troy as an at-large team. Under the revised rules, the GMAC Bowl could have offered the at-large slot to 6-6 Notre Dame.

While the new provision still needs an OK by the greater NCAA, most rule revisions that make it out of committee are approved.

Suffice to say… no one wants to see a bad 6-6 team stink it up in a marquee bowl game. The reality is that – with new bowls coming on in Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl – there are going to be 70 teams in bowl games this year. If a bowl needs to dig deep and get an at-large team, I would prefer them to create the most interesting game they can.

No disrespect intended, but I would *much* rather see a hypothetical 6-6 Southern Cal as an at-large against Alabama, for example, over a 7-5 Louisiana Monroe.

Just sayin.

© fanblogs.com

View the original post or comment on New bowl rules to open more doors to 6-6 teams…

Talk about an unlikely couple! Kristen Stewart’s perma-scowl is gonna be working overtime once she gets wind of reports that Robert Pattinson — her rumored love interest on and off the set of the Twilight films — has been secretly bumping uglies with Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester.

Pattz and Meester, who recently ditched longtime beau Sebastian Stan, have reportedly been sexting each other and hooking up for late night rendezvous at the brunette’s Manhattan bachelorette pad, In Touch Weekly is reporting.

“He ducked out of the building and hopped into a waiting car,” says a spywitness, who spied Rob sneaking out of her . “He apparently spent the night with Leighton, and didn’t want anyone to know! She’s having a texting romance with him, and is so into it. She talks with Rob almost daily.”

Found under: Nokia, C3, C6, E5, Symbian,

Nokia has three brand new handsets for us the C3 the C6 and the E5. Sure theyre not the smartphones youd like them to be and they seem ready to compete against Microsoft KIN phones rather than other hot smartphones. The C3-00 will be available for 90 in Q2 and for that price it will offer you quad-band GSM support 2.4-inch QVGA display Bluetooth 2.1 Wi-Fi 55MB of internal memory up to 8GB memory upgrade via microSD full QWERTY keyboard Opera Mini and Nokias Symbian S40 OS

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The bad news keeps coming for the DWP — even on a day when its management was boasting to the world how the public had reduced water consumption to a 32-year low but couldn’t answer questions about the impact of conservation on its revenue.

Professor Jean-Pierre Bardet, the head of  USC’s civil engineering department,  said a team of scientists he led has determined that DWP’s requirement that lawns only be watered on Mondays and Thursdays caused uneven pressures that stressed pipes and led to the rash of blowouts of water mains last summer and fall.

 “The bottom line is, you want to create a more even usage of water
pressure so you don’t have a sudden drop of water pressure at a given
time of the day,” said Bardet, told Councilwoman Jan Perry’s Energy and Environment Committee Tuesday afternoon.

The ream’s report said: “Those water pressure drops on these days were caused by an increased
water flow during the watering of lawns. As a result,
the cyclic levels of water pressure increased and accelerated the metal
fatigue failures of aged and corroded cast-iron pipes.”

The DWP’s initial reaction was to deny the report and try to deflect responsibility for an ill-conceived water rationing policy, according to statements the utility released. Here’s KPCC’s updated report:
 

The DWP has released a statement about Bardet’s report,
indicating nobody there has yet read it. “The Department believes
corrosion is the indisputable and primary factor in most of our water
main breaks, including those from last September,” the DWP statement
says. “We believe Dr. Bardet’s findings will support this position.”

DWP says its own internal report blames blowouts in September
2009 on system pressures created by repairing breaks from earlier in
the summer. “It is the Department’s position that the operational
changes to accommodate City Trunk Line repairs resulted in ruptures on
mostly cast iron mains, which accounts for the increased severity of the
breaks in the weeks that followed,” the report says.

Let’s hope the mayor delivers on his promise by Thursday and cleans out those at DWP responsible for its many failures and bring transparency and professionalism to the nation’s largest municipal utility.

Of course, you’ll have a hard time find anyone to book your bet on him delivering what he has promised.