Crowds in Rio mob pope
as he begins Brazilian visit


Tens of thousands of cheering faithful greeted Pope Francis Monday on his arrival in Brazil, mobbing a motorcade carrying the pontiff into central Rio de Janeiro at the start of a weeklong visit.
 
Video showed security officers struggling at several points to push back the joyous crowds, while the pope rolled down the window of his car to touch those who reached inside.  One woman handed the 76-year-old pope an infant, whom he kissed before handing back.
 
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and a host of dignitaries met the Argentine-born Francis, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio,  as he stepped off a commercial airliner to begin his visit.
 
Later, anti-government protesters clashed with police outside the palace holding the official papal welcoming ceremony.  Reports from the scene said crowd anger appeared directed at Brazilian leaders, not at the pontiff.
 
Separately, police in the neighboring state of Sao Paulo, where the pope will visit a Catholic shrine later this week, said they safely detonated a small, homemade explosive device found in a parking garage at the shrine.
 
Police described the explosive as low-powered and said it was not clear whether it was related to the papal visit.
 
The pope's heavily policed visit comes at a time of social upheaval that began with protests in June against a bus fare increase in Sao Paulo.  Those demonstrations quickly grew into massive street protests against government expenditures for hosting football's 2014 Word Cup, and then spread to include protests against official corruption.
 
The Rio visit and the return to Francis' home continent is set to coincide with Thursday's international celebration of World Youth Day.  More than 1 million young Catholics are expected to participate in the events.
 
The pontiff's schedule also includes a meeting with young inmates at a Rio prison and a visit to shantytowns largely cleared of drug traffickers earlier this year.  He also will inaugurate a Rio hospital wing for the treatment of drug addicts and will pray at a shrine to Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil.
 
Aboard his flight from Rome, the pope told journalists he is worried that the world, with high jobless rates for young people, is running “the risk of having a generation without work,” even though he said work confers dignity.
 
He also criticized the “culture of rejection” of the elderly, saying they should not be thrown away by cultures that concentrate on everything new.
 

EU finally puts Hezbollah
on terrorist organization list


The European Union has put Hezbollah's military wing on its list of terrorist organizations, underscoring concern about the group's role in Syria and a bombing attack last year in Bulgaria. 
 
Monday's decision by European Union foreign ministers targets only the military wing of Hezbollah, which is also Lebanon's most powerful political party. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU would review the terrorist designation every six months.
 
"That does not prevent continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon. We also agreed that the delivery of legitimate financial transfers to Lebanon and delivery of assistance from the European Union and its member states will not be affected," she said.
 
Blacklisting Hezbollah allows EU members to freeze the group's assets in Europe, and it might also include travel bans for individuals. Ms. Ashton said it sends both a political signal and a real signal that the 28-member bloc does not tolerate terrorism. The move marks a victory for Britain and the Netherlands, which have been pushing for the listing, following a terrorist attack in Bulgaria last year in which Hezbollah has been implicated. That bus bombing killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver.
 
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, "It's a year since the terrible bombing attack in Bulgaria and we believe its very important when there's a terrorist attack on European soil that Europe gives a firm and clear response to that. A designation would also make it easier for us to work together in the face of further terrorist threats and send a very clear message to Hezbollah and others about that."
 
Also of concern is Hezbollah's strong support for the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and its military crackdown on a two-year-old uprising there.
 
Israel welcomed the EU's decision, but expressed disappointment that it did not also include Hezbollah's political wing.
 
The EU foreign ministers also called for the release of political prisoners in Egypt, including the country's ousted president Mohammed Morsi. They called for an inclusive democratic process in the North African country, along with elections as soon as possible.


Detroit residents not surprised
by city's financial failures


Although Detroit’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing made headlines around the world, it was no surprise to the long-suffering residents of that U.S. city. Those who live there endure long police and fire response times, amid the blight and urban decay of a city that once was the fourth largest in the United States. But some residents see the city’s bankruptcy as a fresh start.

While more than 1 million people have left over the last 50 years, lifelong resident John George decided to stay in Detroit, and he watched it hit rock bottom.

“The good news about hitting rock bottom is sometimes you get a bounce, and that’s what we’re looking for.  A bounce from the bottom back up, you really can’t go too much farther than a bankruptcy to hit rock bottom,” he said.

The streets of this neighborhood are a symbol of Detroit’s rock bottom.  Homes once populated with middle class families, with cars in each driveway and bikes on each sidewalk, have been replaced with piles of garbage and burned out ruins.

As founder of the charitable organization called Motor City Blight Busters, John George’s mission is to tear down things that once were the soul of this neighborhood, now abandoned and neglected, so they don’t encourage crime, vandalism or fire.

He said he’s seen enough hardship in Detroit to not be surprised by the city’s bankruptcy filing.

“Detroit needs a second chance, and I think that, by filing that Chapter 9, that is our second chance,” said George.

“This is an economic shot heard around the world," said University of Michigan Law Professor John Pottow. He said the eyes of the world were upon Detroit, and how its leaders and residents responded to the financial crisis, because other municipalities could suffer the same fate.

“There’s public deficits in every major European country right now.  You know, the Greek crisis as well.  So they’re seeing this as maybe the canary in their own coal mine about what’s going to happen in the future, and they want to see what happens,” he said.

What John George saw happening was the city reinventing itself as something more than just the home of the U.S. auto industry.

“Buildings and people and cities go in cycles, and for Detroit, it’s our time for us to cycle out of this negative time, and cycle into something better, something more stable, more revitalized, more beautified,” he said.

Along with shedding its crippling debt, George wanted to see Detroit improve services, decrease crime and shorten response times by emergency workers.

And with the blight removed, maybe, just maybe these streets will see new life again, reminiscent of the fond memories of John George’s childhood.

“If it’s clean and safe, we can attract new families, young families, and I think that will happen in time," he said.

In the meantime, John George is doing his part to help the effort, tearing down Detroit’s urban blight, one street, one house at a time.

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What’s purple, green and smells rancid from midnight to dawn? You guessed it, the titan arum. The towering flower released its stench for the first time in seven years as it bloomed Sunday evening at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington. D.C. As the world attention was focused on Britain's new royal, in Washington people from far and wide came to  see and smell the world's largest collection of flowers on one stem.
 
The titan arum is more commonly known as the corpse flower. It's famous for its unique odor, something like rotting flesh, which it uses to attract pollinators. Botanist Bob Willeby, at the U.S. Botanic Garden, says it takes a lot of energy for the plant to create such a large bloom, two to three meters tall.
 
“This is an unusual occurrence, it happens infrequently throughout the United States in the world in general," he said.
 
It’s becoming more common, though, as colleges and universities acquire titan arums for their science programs. The plant, native to Indonesia, thrives in hot, humid climates.
 
Anticipation was high when the Botanic Garden announced the imminent flowering of its titan arum last week. But it didn't bloom until Sunday. When the crowd entered the gardens Monday morning, something was missing.
 
Some of the visitors were disappointed. “It’s not stinky," said one girl.
 
Botanic Garden Educator Todd Brethauer said the stench occurs in cycles.
 
“The peak production of the chemicals, based on studies done in Germany and Japan, occurs around midnight and then it starts to taper off about four o’clock in the morning," he said.
 
This is to attract pollinators, like dung beetles and flies, rather than bees and butterflies.  They frequent sweet-smelling flowers.  
 
Although visitors were not able to appreciate the anticipated odor, they were still content to see the incredible plant in all its glory.
 
Only a few lucky people were able to witness the blooming of the titan. The plant collapses after 24 to 48 hours.

 
Earth is due for big disaster
from Sun, insurer predicts


With the sun nearing the peak of its 11-year cycle, scientists say a powerful solar storm may be headed toward Earth. The storm could shut down electricity supply networks and disorient GPS and satellite systems.

The worst known geomagnetic solar storm hit Earth in 1859, observed and sketched by astronomer Richard Carrington. The Carrington event upset global telegraph communications. Surprised operators watched sparks fly from telegraph lines and set telegraph paper on fire.

While not nearly as powerful, other storms in history have cut power, knocked out telephone service, short-circuited satellites and caused radio blackouts. 

The Earth is overdue for another Carrington-like storm, according to a new report released by Lloyd’s of London, the world oldest insurance market.

Co-author Neil Smith says it could be even more devastating, given the worldwide dependence on electric power supply grids.

“We are estimating that 20-40 million people might be without power from anywhere up to one, even two years," he said. "That has to do with the critical issue of replacement transformers. That number of people without power could result in an economic cost somewhere between $0.6 trillion to $2.6 trillion.”

The focus of the report is North America.  Smith says the continent’s geologic features and aging infrastructure put it at high risk for bad solar weather. The power grid, satellites, aircraft communications, astronauts and oil pipelines are particularly vulnerable. “If there was a big solar flare, it could of course knock out a whole lot of transformers.”

Michael Wiltberger, a scientist at the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, builds models to track the sun cycle, ultimately to better predict solar weather.

He observes coronal mass ejections that race through the solar system at speeds of three million to five million kilometers per hour. They reach Earth in less than two days.  Wiltberger sees them, at the speed of light, less than eight minutes after an eruption on the sun.

That gives space weather forecasters some lead time, but Wiltberger says predicting precisely when and where a storm will hit is much more complex.

“The real challenge that we have, that we are struggling with and trying to build into our numerical models, is to understand what the magnetic field is going to be inside this hot gas that is coming out," he said, "because it’s that magnetic field that is the key that unlocks the entry of energy and mass into the Earth’s, near-Earth’s region.”

Wiltberger says the models could provide a framework to monitor a storm and improve predictions. He hopes that system will be operational within five years. 

In the meantime, Neil Smith of Lloyd’s of London is calling for greater cooperation to mitigate the impact before the next big storm comes on the horizon.

“We are just raising awareness of the issue, because step one is to get different parties aware that this is a potential issue," he said. "And then we need to work with governments and the utility industry to tackle it. It’s not something that any one party could actually solve on their own.”

Smith adds that such work is critically important, to avoid what could become large-scale economic and societal chaos.


Eurozone debt still mounting
despite austerity measures


The combined debt in the eurozone continues to grow, even as many of the 17 nations in Europe's currency bloc have adopted austerity measures to cut spending and raise taxes.

European officials say the eurozone debt level hit an all-time high in the first three months of the year, more than 92 percent of the economic output of the eurozone nations. Only two of the eurozone countries reported falling debt, economic powerhouse Germany and tiny Estonia.

Cutting spending and increasing taxes have been prescribed as the main response to the eurozone's three-year governmental debt crisis. Five countries have secured bailouts to avoid defaulting on their debts.

But as government programs have been cut, the eurozone's jobless rate has reached a record 12.2 percent and the currency bloc is stuck in an 18-month recession.

European officials in recent months have begun to advocate programs promoting job growth. But they have not cut their austerity programs, although some countries have won delays in the time needed to improve their economies to meet Europe-wide standards.


Robin Hood film recount
revenge on corporations


Two new films explore fictional fringe groups that take social justice into their own hands. "The East" and "Now You See Me" offer 21st century Robin Hood-type plots where young vigilantes target corporate greed.

The underground organization called The East warns before it attacks:  “Change your ways or pay the consequences.” Its members don't kill, not directly anyway.

Instead, they turn the corporations’ practices against them. They feed CEOs their tainted medicines. They force them into rivers their companies’ pollute.

Ellen Paige plays Izzy, one of the radicals. Brit Marling plays Sarah, a corporate spy who goes undercover to infiltrate The East in order to expose its members. She ends up joining the group instead.

“When we started shooting the film a week before Occupy Wall Street blew up, we were so excited," said Ms. Marling, who also co-wrote the script. "We felt like, ‘Oh gosh!’ We were telling a story that is really prescient and what people are feeling.”

"Now You See Me" also has a star-studded cast which includes Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, and Woody Harrelson. The film addresses corruption in the banking system and its collapse in 2008.

"The story about these magicians who are recruited by this kind of secret organization to pull off these incredible heists where they are actually stealing money from corrupt business people and distributing it back to people who have been stolen from," said Jesse Eisenberg who plays Atlas, the leader of famous illusionists. “There is some kind of social justice that they are stealing from people who have stolen from others and giving money back to people who have rightfully deserved it.”


London researchers renew
retina in the eyes of mice


Scientists have taken a major step toward potentially reversing a common form of blindness.

Researchers at the University College London  successfully transplanted light-sensitive photoreceptor cells from a synthetic retina that was grown from embryonic stem cells into night-blind mice. Photoreceptor cells are light sensitive nerve cells at the back of the eye. Many forms of blindness, including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and diabetes-related blindness, are caused by the loss of these cells.

The transplanted cells appeared to develop normally into the mice’s retina and formed nerve connections needed to communicate visual information to the brain, the researchers said.

In the future, the process could provide an unlimited supply of healthy photoreceptor cells for transplantation into human retinas.

“Over recent years scientists have become pretty good at working with stem cells and coaxing them to develop into different types of adult cells and tissues,” said Robin Ali of University College London. “But until recently, the complex structure of the retina has proved difficult to reproduce in the lab. This is probably because the type of cell culture we were using was not able to recreate the developmental process that would happen in a normal embryo.”

The researchers grew the cells using a 3D culture method developed in Japan. Throughout the process, the cells were compared to cells developed normally to ensure they were biologically equivalent. Scientists then transplanted about 200,000 of the cells and injected them into the retina of night-blind mice.

Three weeks after the procedure, the injected cells began to look like normal, mature photoreceptor cells. Six weeks after the procedure, the cells were still there, and researchers noticed nerve connections with the existing retinal circuitry.

“The new 3D technique more closely mimics normal development, which means we are able to pick out and purify the cells at precisely the right stage to ensure successful transplantation,” said Ali. “The next step will be to refine this technique using human cells to enable us to start clinical trials.”