Obama to bullying victims: I know what it's like

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama smiled when he said his large ears and funny name once made him a target of school-yard harassment. But he was all seriousness Thursday when he told a White House conference on bullying that torment and intimidation must not be tolerated. cheap ray ban sunglasses

Some 13 million students, about a third of all those attending school, are bullied every year, the White House said. Experts say that puts them at greater risk of falling behind in their studies, abusing drugs or alcohol, or suffering mental or other health problems. Kids who are seen as different because of their race, clothes, disability or sexual discount oakley sunglasses orientation are more likely to be bullied.

"If there's one goal of this conference," Obama said, "it's to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It's not." He spoke to more than 100 parents, students, teachers and others gathered to discuss the problem and share ideas for solutions.

"Bullying can have destructive tory burch flats consequences for our young people. And it's not something we have to accept," he said.

The issue has been getting more attention partly because texting, Facebook, Twitter and other technologies are being used to carry it out — it's called cyberbullying — and because of media coverage of teens who have killed themselves after such taunting.

Families of some of those youngsters joined Obama at the White House, including Tina Meier, of suburban St. Louis. Meier's 13-year-old daughter, Megan, tory burch outlet hanged herself in 2006 after falling victim to an Internet hoax carried out, in part, by an adult neighbor who posed as a boy. The neighbor, a woman, was later convicted of a federal misdemeanor in a landmark cyberbullying trial.

"No family should have to go through what these families have gone through," Obama said. "No child should feel that alone."

Meier had a message for parents who want to take away their children's computers and other electronic devices to spare them from bullying: It won't work. She urged them instead to get a better understanding of what their kids are doing.

"Technology is out there. We cannot shut it off. Children are not going to allow it to be shut off," Meier told participants. "We have to make sure that we have parents who understand what's going on in their child's online world, as well as the real world."

Speaking as a parent and as a victim, Obama urged everyone to help end bullying by working to create an atmosphere at school where children feel safe and feel like they belong. He said that even he felt out of place growing up.

"I have to say, with big ears and the name that I have, I wasn't immune," said Obama, who moved around a lot as a boy, being born in Hawaii and growing up there and in Indonesia. "I didn't emerge unscathed," he said.

Obama said adults have too often turned a blind eye to the problem by chalking up the harassment to kids being kids. But he said a national attitude adjustment is in order because of the damage that bullying can do.

A White House conference tory burch handbags doesn't immediately solve any problem. But what it does do, particularly by involving the president, is tell the country that an issue is, in fact, a problem that requires a national response.

In the case of bullying, the conference also gave Obama another chance to press his education agenda. He has tried to make bullying a part of that by warning that failure to address the behavior puts the U.S. at risk of falling behind other countries academically.

Before breaking into smaller groups, conference participants heard from experts who study bullying. Discussions in the breakout sessions touched on anti-bullying efforts in schools, communities and on campuses, as well as on cyberbullying. Two other sessions were conducted online, including one with Sebelius answering questions.

Michelle Obama said parents need to be more involved in their children's lives, their schools and their activities since youngsters "don't always tell us every little detail." She said her youngest daughter, 9-year-old Sasha, often says "Nothing" in tory burch shoes response to questions about her day at school.

The first lady, who introduced the president, also urged adults to set an example by treating others with compassion and respect, and giving each other the benefit of the doubt. "It sends a message to our kids about how they treat others," she said.

Study: Coffee tied to lower stroke risk in women

DALLAS – Women who enjoy a daily dose of coffee may like this perk: It might lower their risk of stroke.

Women in a Swedish study who drank at least a cup of coffee every day had a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared to those who drank less coffee or none at all.

"Coffee drinkers should rejoice," said Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "Coffee is often made out to be potentially bad for your heart. There really hasn't been any study that convincingly said coffee is bad."

"If you are drinking coffee now, you may be doing some good and you are likely not doing harm," she added.

But Hayes and other doctors say the study shouldn't send non-coffee drinkers running to their local coffee shop. The study doesn't prove that coffee lowers stroke risk, only that coffee drinkers tend to have a lower stroke risk.

"These sorts of epidemiological studies are compelling but they don't prove cause," said Dr. David S. Seres, director of medical nutrition at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.

The findings were published online Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

Scientists have been studying coffee for years, trying to determine its risks and benefits. The Swedish researchers led by Susanna Larsson at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said previous studies on coffee consumption and strokes have had conflicting findings.

"There hasn't been a consistent message come out," of coffee studies, said Dr. Cathy Sila, a stroke neurologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

For the observational study, researchers followed 34,670 Swedish women, ages 49 to 83, for about 10 years. The women were asked how much coffee they drank at the start of the study. The researchers checked hospital records to find out how many of the women later had strokes.

There were a total of 1,680 strokes, including 205 in those who drank less than a cup or none.

Researchers adjusted for differences between the groups that affect stroke risk, such as smoking, weight, high blood pressure and diabetes, and still saw a lower stroke risk among coffee drinkers. Larsson said the benefit was seen whether the women drank a cup or several daily.

"You don't need to drink so much. One or two cups a day is enough," she said.

Larsson, who in another study found a link between coffee drinking in Finnish men who smoked and decreased stroke risk, said more research needs to be done to figure out why coffee may be cutting stroke risk. It could be reducing inflammation and improving insulin sensitivity, she said, or it could be the antioxidants in coffee.

Larsson and others point out that those who want to reduce their chances of a stroke should focus on the proven ways to lower risk: Don't smoke. Keep blood pressure in check. Maintain a healthy weight.

Ranks of cancer survivors growing fast, CDC says

ATLANTA – The number of cancer survivors in the United States is increasing by hundreds of thousands a year, and now includes roughly one in 20 adults, health officials said Thursday.

More people are surviving cancer, in part, because of earlier detection and better treatment, they said.

In 2007, there were about 11.7 million Americans with a history of cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Forty years ago, the number of cancers survivors was about 3 million. That increased to 10 million in 2001 and to 11.4 million in 2006.

Healthy eating, less smoking and other preventive steps may also be playing a role in the increase, health officials said.

"There are some cancers that we can't prevent and they are terrible tragedies," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. "But there are many that are preventable, or if caught early can result in much longer life."

Demographics are a factor in the survivor increase, too. Cancer is most common in people 65 and older, and the nation's elderly population is growing. The CDC said 7 million — 60 percent — of the cancer survivors were 65 or older.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer made up the largest share of cancer survivors, at 22 percent, followed by men with prostate cancer, at 19 percent.

The estimates from the CDC and the National Cancer Institute were based on information from nine U.S. cancer patient registries.

The survivor count includes anyone who had a cancer diagnosis, including people who had been successfully treated as well as those still getting treated or who may be dying from the disease. About 65 percent had survived for at least five years, and 40 percent for 10 years or more.

Obama to bullying victims: I know what it's like

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama smiled when he said his large ears and funny name once made him a target of school-yard harassment. But he was all seriousness Thursday when he told a White House conference on bullying that torment and intimidation must not be tolerated. cheap ray ban sunglasses

Some 13 million students, about a third of all those attending school, are bullied every year, the White House said. Experts say that puts them at greater risk of falling behind in their studies, abusing drugs or alcohol, or suffering mental or other health problems. Kids who are seen as different because of their race, clothes, disability or sexual discount oakley sunglasses orientation are more likely to be bullied.

"If there's one goal of this conference," Obama said, "it's to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It's not." He spoke to more than 100 parents, students, teachers and others gathered to discuss the problem and share ideas for solutions.

"Bullying can have destructive tory burch flats consequences for our young people. And it's not something we have to accept," he said.

The issue has been getting more attention partly because texting, Facebook, Twitter and other technologies are being used to carry it out — it's called cyberbullying — and because of media coverage of teens who have killed themselves after such taunting.

Families of some of those youngsters joined Obama at the White House, including Tina Meier, of suburban St. Louis. Meier's 13-year-old daughter, Megan, tory burch outlet hanged herself in 2006 after falling victim to an Internet hoax carried out, in part, by an adult neighbor who posed as a boy. The neighbor, a woman, was later convicted of a federal misdemeanor in a landmark cyberbullying trial.

"No family should have to go through what these families have gone through," Obama said. "No child should feel that alone."

Meier had a message for parents who want to take away their children's computers and other electronic devices to spare them from bullying: It won't work. She urged them instead to get a better understanding of what their kids are doing.

"Technology is out there. We cannot shut it off. Children are not going to allow it to be shut off," Meier told participants. "We have to make sure that we have parents who understand what's going on in their child's online world, as well as the real world."

Speaking as a parent and as a victim, Obama urged everyone to help end bullying by working to create an atmosphere at school where children feel safe and feel like they belong. He said that even he felt out of place growing up.

"I have to say, with big ears and the name that I have, I wasn't immune," said Obama, who moved around a lot as a boy, being born in Hawaii and growing up there and in Indonesia. "I didn't emerge unscathed," he said.

Obama said adults have too often turned a blind eye to the problem by chalking up the harassment to kids being kids. But he said a national attitude adjustment is in order because of the damage that bullying can do.

A White House conference tory burch handbags doesn't immediately solve any problem. But what it does do, particularly by involving the president, is tell the country that an issue is, in fact, a problem that requires a national response.

In the case of bullying, the conference also gave Obama another chance to press his education agenda. He has tried to make bullying a part of that by warning that failure to address the behavior puts the U.S. at risk of falling behind other countries academically.

Before breaking into smaller groups, conference participants heard from experts who study bullying. Discussions in the breakout sessions touched on anti-bullying efforts in schools, communities and on campuses, as well as on cyberbullying. Two other sessions were conducted online, including one with Sebelius answering questions.

Michelle Obama said parents need to be more involved in their children's lives, their schools and their activities since youngsters "don't always tell us every little detail." She said her youngest daughter, 9-year-old Sasha, often says "Nothing" in tory burch shoes response to questions about her day at school.

The first lady, who introduced the president, also urged adults to set an example by treating others with compassion and respect, and giving each other the benefit of the doubt. "It sends a message to our kids about how they treat others," she said.

Study: Coffee tied to lower stroke risk in women

DALLAS – Women who enjoy a daily dose of coffee may like this perk: It might lower their risk of stroke.

Women in a Swedish study who drank at least a cup of coffee every day had a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared to those who drank less coffee or none at all.

"Coffee drinkers should rejoice," said Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "Coffee is often made out to be potentially bad for your heart. There really hasn't been any study that convincingly said coffee is bad."

"If you are drinking coffee now, you may be doing some good and you are likely not doing harm," she added.

But Hayes and other doctors say the study shouldn't send non-coffee drinkers running to their local coffee shop. The study doesn't prove that coffee lowers stroke risk, only that coffee drinkers tend to have a lower stroke risk.

"These sorts of epidemiological studies are compelling but they don't prove cause," said Dr. David S. Seres, director of medical nutrition at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.

The findings were published online Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

Scientists have been studying coffee for years, trying to determine its risks and benefits. The Swedish researchers led by Susanna Larsson at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said previous studies on coffee consumption and strokes have had conflicting findings.

"There hasn't been a consistent message come out," of coffee studies, said Dr. Cathy Sila, a stroke neurologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

For the observational study, researchers followed 34,670 Swedish women, ages 49 to 83, for about 10 years. The women were asked how much coffee they drank at the start of the study. The researchers checked hospital records to find out how many of the women later had strokes.

There were a total of 1,680 strokes, including 205 in those who drank less than a cup or none.

Researchers adjusted for differences between the groups that affect stroke risk, such as smoking, weight, high blood pressure and diabetes, and still saw a lower stroke risk among coffee drinkers. Larsson said the benefit was seen whether the women drank a cup or several daily.

"You don't need to drink so much. One or two cups a day is enough," she said.

Larsson, who in another study found a link between coffee drinking in Finnish men who smoked and decreased stroke risk, said more research needs to be done to figure out why coffee may be cutting stroke risk. It could be reducing inflammation and improving insulin sensitivity, she said, or it could be the antioxidants in coffee.

Larsson and others point out that those who want to reduce their chances of a stroke should focus on the proven ways to lower risk: Don't smoke. Keep blood pressure in check. Maintain a healthy weight.

UN alarmed at huge decline in bee numbers

GENEVA (AFP) – The UN on Thursday expressed alarm at a huge decline in bee colonies under a multiple onslaught of pests and pollution, urging an international effort to save the pollinators tory burch outlet that are vital for food crops.

Much of the decline, ranging up to 85 percent in some areas, is taking place in the industrialised northern hemisphere due to more than a dozen factors, according to a report by the UN's environmental agency.

They include pesticides, air pollution, a lethal pinhead-sized parasite that only affects bee species in the northern hemisphere, tory burch shoes mismanagement of the countryside, the loss of flowering plants and a decline in beekeepers in Europe.

"The way humanity manages or mismanages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21st century," said UNEP executive director Achim Steiner.

"The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees," he added.

Wild bees and especially honey bee colonies from hives are regarded as the most prolific pollinators of large fields or crops.

Overall, pollinators are estimated to contribute 153 billion euros ($212 billion) worldwide or 9.5 percent of the total value of food production, especially fruit and vegetables, according to the report.

Honey bee colony declines in recent years have reached 10 to 30 percent in Europe, 30 percent in the United States,and up to 85 percent in Middle East, said scientist Peter Neumann, supra skytop one of the authors of the first ever UN report on the issue.

But in South America, Africa and Australia there were no reports of high losses.

"It is a very complex issue. There are a lot of interactive factors and one country alone is not able to solve the problem, that's for sure. We need to have an international network, global approaches," added Neumann of the Swiss government's Bee Research Centre.

Some of the mechanisms behind the four-decades-old trend, which appears to have intensified in the late 1990s, are not understood. UNEP warned that the broad issue of countryside management and conservation was involved.

"The bees will get the headlines in this story," UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttall told journalists.

"But in a sense they are an indicator of the wider changes that are happening in the countryside but also urban environments, supra shoes in terms of whether nature can continue to provide the services as it has been doing for thousands or millions of years in the face of acute environmental change," he added.

Nonetheless, scientists have been unable so far to quantify the direct impact of bee decline on crops or plants, and Neumann insisted that some of the impact was qualitative.

Citing British research, the report estimated that pollination by managed honey bees is worth 22.8 billion to 57 billion euros in terms of crop yields, and that some fruit, seed and nut crops would decrease by more than 90 percent without them.

One key driving force behind bee destruction in Europe and North America has been a type of mite, the varroa destructor pest, which attacks bees and that beekeepers struggle to control, Neumann said.

"It's quite shocking how little we know about this essential pest of honey bees although it has caused havoc in agriculture for more than 20 years."

"African bees are tolerant, we don't know why," he added.

Meanwhile, frequent changes in land use, degradation and fragmentation of fields, trade carrying hostile species such as the Asian hornet into France or virulent fungi, tory burch flats , chemical spraying and gardening insecticides as well as changing seasons due to climate change have added to the hostile environment for bees.

Sleeping With Your Pets Can Be Unhealthy, Study Says

Do you let your pet sleep with you? It could be hazardous to your health.

Sound crazy?  designerbagsfactory A new study says a surprising number of people allow their pets to curl up with them, and it could actually be risky. But are the new findings overblown? What dangers could you face from close contact with your pets?

In a nightly ritual, Chrissy Carew and her five dogs all bunk up together for the night.

"I consider them full-fledged members of our family," she says.

A new survey shows 56 percent of dog owners in the U.S. let their dogs sleep next to them. But researchers say that could lead to some real problems. louis vitton bags

"Sometimes we forget that they aren't our children. They are pets and also they have their own life and there are diseases that can be transmitted," says veterinarian Bruno Chomel of the University of California's School of Veterinary Medicine. tory burch outlet

Chomel is one of the lead authors of the study just published by the Centers for Disease Control. Researchers tracked people who had close contact with their dogs and cats, either sleeping next to their pet or allowing their animal to lick and kiss them.

In rare instances, some caught illnesses like the plague, wholesale handbags rabies, antibiotic-resistant infections; meningitis; and cat-scratch fever. Others picked up ringworm and intestinal parasites.

Medical experts say that one of the most important things a pet owner can do is to keep your dog or cat free of fleas. The insects bite and could spread disease.

"You always think it's never going to happen to me, but when it happens to you it can be very sad and very bad," Chomel says.

Eric Marlowe Garrison caught a terrible case of ringworm on his foot. The culprit: his roommate's cat. He says he will change the way he interacts with pets.

"It has certainly taught me a lesson," Garrison says. tory burch shoes

But infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine says his cat sleeps with him.

"Anytime human beings have close associations with animals, including their pets, there's some risk, but it's very, very small," he says.

Indoor cats pose less risk because they don't come in contact with fleas.

Chrissy Carew makes sure coach handbags she keeps her dogs very clean and plans to continue to let them in her bed, despite the survey findings.

People most at risk for catching something from a pet are the elderly, the very young and people with weakened immune systems. If your pet appears sick, limit close physical contact until they are better. Always wash your hands after petting an animal.

Remember that researchers have also found that pets have tremendously positive benefits on people's health, like reducing stress and tory burch flats anxiety.

Sleeping With Your Pets Can Be Unhealthy, Study Says

Do you let your pet sleep with you? It could be hazardous to your health.

Sound crazy?  designerbagsfactory A new study says a surprising number of people allow their pets to curl up with them, and it could actually be risky. But are the new findings overblown? What dangers could you face from close contact with your pets?

In a nightly ritual, Chrissy Carew and her five dogs all bunk up together for the night.

"I consider them full-fledged members of our family," she says.

A new survey shows 56 percent of dog owners in the U.S. let their dogs sleep next to them. But researchers say that could lead to some real problems. louis vitton bags

"Sometimes we forget that they aren't our children. They are pets and also they have their own life and there are diseases that can be transmitted," says veterinarian Bruno Chomel of the University of California's School of Veterinary Medicine. tory burch outlet

Chomel is one of the lead authors of the study just published by the Centers for Disease Control. Researchers tracked people who had close contact with their dogs and cats, either sleeping next to their pet or allowing their animal to lick and kiss them.

In rare instances, some caught illnesses like the plague, wholesale handbags rabies, antibiotic-resistant infections; meningitis; and cat-scratch fever. Others picked up ringworm and intestinal parasites.

Medical experts say that one of the most important things a pet owner can do is to keep your dog or cat free of fleas. The insects bite and could spread disease.

"You always think it's never going to happen to me, but when it happens to you it can be very sad and very bad," Chomel says.

Eric Marlowe Garrison caught a terrible case of ringworm on his foot. The culprit: his roommate's cat. He says he will change the way he interacts with pets.

"It has certainly taught me a lesson," Garrison says. tory burch shoes

But infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine says his cat sleeps with him.

"Anytime human beings have close associations with animals, including their pets, there's some risk, but it's very, very small," he says.

Indoor cats pose less risk because they don't come in contact with fleas.

Chrissy Carew makes sure coach handbags she keeps her dogs very clean and plans to continue to let them in her bed, despite the survey findings.

People most at risk for catching something from a pet are the elderly, the very young and people with weakened immune systems. If your pet appears sick, limit close physical contact until they are better. Always wash your hands after petting an animal.

Remember that researchers have also found that pets have tremendously positive benefits on people's health, like reducing stress and tory burch flats anxiety.

The 7-year itch is now the 3-year glitch

LONDON (Reuters) – The "three-year glitch" has replaced the "seven-year itch" as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted, tory burch outlet according to a new survey.

Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.

The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and tory burch shoes points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.

"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," louboutin shoes said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.

The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.

The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.

More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those cheap bags outlet in relationships older than three years.

This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.

The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - christian louboutin pumps a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.

The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.

The findings also showed that more than three quarters (76 percent) of all people surveyed responded that "individual space was important" within a relationship and pointed to a rise of individual activities.

A third (34%) of those who have been seeing their partners for longer than three years have at least two evenings a month defined as a "pass" or a "ticket" where it is accepted that they can pursue their own interests and 58 percent of the same sample group enjoy regular holidays without their partners.

The top 10 everyday niggles and passion-killers: ladyshoessale 1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extended family - too much/too little, 9 percent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinking too much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent; 9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent; 10. Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttings etc., 4 percent.

Will March 19 'Supermoon' Trigger Natural Disasters?

On March 19, the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past 18 years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away. On top of that, it will be full. And one astrologer believes it could inflict massive damage on the planet.
Richard Nolle, a noted astrologer who runs the website astropro.com, has famously termed the upcoming full moon at lunar perigee (the closest approach during its orbit) an "extreme supermoon.
When the moon goes super-extreme, Nolle says, chaos will ensue: Huge storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters can be expected to wreak havoc on Earth. (It should be noted that astrology is not a real science, but merely makes connections between astronomical and mystical events.)
But do we really need to start stocking survival shelters in preparation for the supermoon?
The question is not actually so crazy. In fact scientists have studied related scenarios for decades. Even under normal conditions, the moon is close enough to Earth to make its weighty presence felt: It causes the ebb and flow of the ocean tides.
The moon's gravity can even cause small but measureable ebbs and flows in the continents, called "land tides" or "solid Earth tides," too. The tides are greatest during full and new moons, when the sun and moon are aligned either on the same or opposite sides of the Earth.
According to John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, particularly dramatic land and ocean tides do trigger earthquakes. "Both the moon and sun do stress the Earth a tiny bit, and when we look hard we can see a very small increase in tectonic activity when they're aligned," Vidale told Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com.
At times of full and new moons, "you see a less-than-1-percent increase in earthquake activity, and a slightly
The effect of tides on seismic activity is greatest in subduction zones such as the Pacific Northwest, where one tectonic plate is sliding under another. William Wilcock, another seismologist at the University of Washington, explained: "When you have a low tide, there's less water, so the pressure on the seafloor is smaller. That pressure is clamping the fault together, so when it's not there, it makes it easier for the fault to slip."
According to Wilcock, earthquake activity in subduction zones at low tides is 10 percent higher than at other times of the day, but he hasn't observed any correlations between earthquake activity and especially low tides at new and full moons. Vidale has observed only a very small correlation
What about during a lunar perigee? Can we expect more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on March 19, when the full moon will be so close?
The moon's gravitational pull at lunarperigee, the scientists say, is not different enough from its pull at other times to significantly change the height of the tides and thus the likelihood of natural disasters.
"A lot of studies have been done on this kind of thing by USGS scientists and others," John Bellini, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, told Life's Little Mysteries. "They haven't found anything significant at all."
Vidale concurred. "Practically speaking, you'll never see any effect of lunar perigee," he said. "It's somewhere between 'It has no effect' and 'It's so small you don't see any effect.'"
The bottom line is, the upcoming supermoon won't cause a preponderance of earthquakes, although the idea isn't a crazy one.
"Earthquakes don't respond as much to the tides as you'd think they would. There should actually be more of an effect," said Vidale.
Most natural disasters have nothing to do with the moon at all. The Earth has a lot of pent up energy, and it releases it anytime the buildup gets too great. The supermoon probably won't push it past the tipping point, but we'll know for sure, one way or the other, by March 20.

But the U.S. showed caution, warning against a go-it-alone approach.

"Absent international authorization, the United States acting alone would be stepping into a situation whose consequences are unforeseeable," Clinton said. "We're looking to see whether there is any willingness in the international community to provide any authorization for further steps."
Clinton said the U.S. was suspending its relationship with Libya's remaining envoys to the country, although the move falls short of severing diplomatic relations. She said she would meet with Libyan opposition figures when she travels to Egypt and Tunisia next week, marking the highest level contact between the U.S. and the anti-Gadhafi elements.
NATO said it had started round-the-clock surveillance of Libyan airspace, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said a meeting of EU foreign ministers would discuss how to isolate the regime.
U.N. Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz of Egypt expressed serious concern about the more than 1 million Egyptians still in Libya, "and we are afraid that the tragic events that happened in Iraq using human shields to protect air defense systems on the ground would be repeated." He added that he had "no concrete information" about whether that was happening.
Germany said it froze billions in assets of the Libyan Central Bank and other state-run agencies. The U.S., Britain, Switzerland, Austria and other countries have also frozen Gadhafi's assets.
"The brutal suppression of the Libyan freedom movement can now no longer be financed from funds that are in German banks," Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said.
The Libyan government tried to stave off tough action, sending envoys to Egypt, Portugal and Greece. Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Tripoli; Zeina Karam in Cairo; John Heilprin in Geneva; Elaine Ganley in Paris; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Don Melvin and Robert Burns in Brussels; Bradley Klapper and AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller in Washington; and Alan Clendenning in Madrid contributed to this report.

long deserted amid the fighting.

A torrent of artillery and tank shells pounded around the facilities and the adjacent residential areas — long deserted amid the fighting.
Akram al-Zwei, an opposition leader in nearby Ajdabiya, said gunboats off shore joined the bombardment, though that could not be independently confirmed. He said four battalions of pro-Gadhafi troops were involved in the assault, battling the opposition's civilian militias and an eastern-based special commando unit, the Saiqa 36 Battalion, that had joined the rebellion.
Rebels fought back with rocket fire and anti-aircraft guns. But the fighters, mostly armed with assault rifles, appeared outgunned. "We don't have any heavy weapons," shouted one fighter, named Ali.
By the afternoon, many rebels were speeding east from Ras Lanouf in a frantic evacuation, most converging on the opposition-held oil port of Brega and Ajdabiya, 100 miles (160 kilometers) away. "Everyone just started leaving. It's not organized," said one retreating fighter. "The weapons we have just don't reach them."
Ras Lanouf's main hospital was hit by artillery or an airstrike, and the rebels pulled their staff out and evacuated patients to Brega and Ajdabiya, said Gebril Hewada, a doctor on the opposition's health committee in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city.
At least four rebel fighters were killed, 35 wounded and 65 missing in the fighting, according to doctors in Brega.
It was not clear whether government forces completely held Ras Lanouf. Al-Zwei and Ghoga, the opposition spokesman, claimed it remained in rebel hands.
A rebel fighter who fled the city after nightfall said it still had not fallen.
"They are still bombing it from the air, the sea and with rockets, but the ground forces have not come in," said Mohammed el-Gheriani, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle.
But it appeared that Brega, 70 miles (116 kilometers) farther east, could also be under threat. During the day, a warplane struck an empty area in Brega, which has also largely been evacuated of residents and personnel.
"We need help from the international community, but we just hear promises," said Mohammed Ali al-Zwei, a 48-year-old rebel fighter. "They are doing nothing."
Taking back Ras Lanouf would be a major victory for Gadhafi, pushing his zone of control farther along the coast. His regime has also claimed a victory in the west, saying Wednesday it recaptured Zawiya, the closest rebel-held city to the capital, after a six-day siege. Western journalists in Tripoli were taken late Wednesday to a stadium on the outskirts of Zawiya that was filled with Gadhafi loyalists waving green flags and launching fireworks. But the journalists were not allowed to visit Zawiya's main square, and the extent of government control was not known in the city, located on Tripoli's western doorstep.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Qaid reiterated the government's claim Thursday, reading a military statement that Zawiya had been recaptured at 11 a.m. Wednesday and journalists would be taken Friday to visit the city.
"Now the forces are cleaning the city of the extremist armed militants," Qaid told reporters. He said "the security forces and civilians" had seized weapons and ammunition, including anti-aircraft guns, mortar shells and anti-tank missiles.
At a U.S. Senate hearing, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said there was no indication that Gadhafi would step down and offer a speedy resolution to the crisis.
"Gadhafi is in this for the long haul," he said. "From all evidence that we have ... he appears to be hunkering down for the duration."
Pressed on which side had the momentum, he was even clearer: "I think in the longer term that the regime will prevail."
Hours later, the White House distanced Obama from Clapper's remarks. Obama does not think Gadhafi will prevail, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's position on Clapper's comments. The official reiterated Obama's stand that Gadhafi has lost legitimacy and should leave power.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Clapper has the full confidence of the president.
Western countries appeared to be growing more open in their embrace of the rebel movement. But they were struggling with how to translate that into concrete support.
France said it planned to exchange ambassadors with the rebels' Interim Governing Council after Sarkozy met with two representatives from the group, based in Benghazi.
"It breaks the ice," said Mustafa Gheriani, an opposition spokesman. "We expect Italy to do it, and we expect England to do it."
French activist-intellectual Bernard Henri-Levy sat in the meeting and said France was planning "targeted operations" to defend civilians if the interim council demands them and the international community approves. Henri-Levy did not elaborate and the French government declined to comment, so it was not clear if he was describing a new, more aggressive plan for intervention.
NATO has said it is drawing up plans for a no-fly zone but would only act with the approval of the U.N. Security Council. Britain and France have backed the rebels' calls for a no-fly zone.

Rebels retreat from Libyan oil port amid barrage

RAS LANOUF, Libya – With fierce barrages of tank and artillery fire, Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists threw rebels into a frantic retreat from a strategic oil port Thursday in a counteroffensive that reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and now threatens its positions in the east.
The rout came as the U.S. director of national intelligence stressed that Gadhafi's military was stronger than it has been described and said that "in the longer term ... the regime will prevail." President Barack Obama has called on Gadhafi to step down, and the White House later distanced Obama from the director's assessment.
Hundreds of rebels in cars and trucks mounted with machine guns sped eastward on the Mediterranean coastal road in a seemingly disorganized flight from Ras Lanouf as an overwhelming force of rockets and shells pounded a hospital, mosque and other buildings in the oil complex. Doctors and staff at the hospital were hastily evacuated along with wounded from fighting from the past week.
The opposition, however, made some diplomatic gains. France became the first country to recognize the rebels' eastern-based governing council, and an ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy said his government was planning "targeted operations" to defend civilians if the international community approves. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would meet with opposition leaders in the U.S., Egypt and Tunisia.
In Tripoli, Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed to retake the eastern half of the country, which has been in opposition hands since early in the 3-week-old uprising.
"I have two words to our brothers and sisters in the east: We're coming," he told a cheering crowd of young supporters. The son depicted Libyans in the east as being held "hostage" by terrorists.
Gadhafi's government sent a text message to Tripoli residents, warning imams at mosques against allowing protests after Friday prayers. The message quoted Saudi cleric Sheik Saleh Fawzan, a member of the Saudi Supreme Scholars Council, as saying it was "unacceptable" for any imam "who incites people (or) causes disturbances of the society in any mosque."

There were demonstrations after prayers for the past two Fridays, and militiamen used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the crowds who had gathered in mosques. There were an undetermined number of deaths after the Feb. 25 demonstrations.

The retreat was a heavy blow for the ragtag rebel forces of armed civilians and mutinous army units that only days before had confidently charged west, boasting they would march the hundreds of miles (kilometers) to "liberate" Tripoli.
There were no concrete signs of Western moves toward military assistance that the opposition has been pleading for. A rebel spokesman went beyond repeated calls for a no-fly zone to prevent Gadhafi's air force from harrying opposition fighters and said the West should carry out direct strikes against regime troops.
"We have requested for all steps to be taken to protect the Libyan people. We believe the U.N. can do that. The bombardment of mercenaries and Gadhafi troop camps are among our demands," Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, a spokesman of the governing council, told reporters in the opposition's eastern bastion of Benghazi.
The rebel capture of Ras Lanouf a week ago had been a major victory as they pushed along Libya's long Mediterranean coastline toward Tripoli, in the far west of Libya. A day after seizing it, their forces charged farther ahead, reaching the outskirts of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and a stronghold in the center of the country.
They were met there by a heavy counterattack that in the past week steadily pushed them back toward Ras Lanouf, 380 miles (615 kilometers) east of Tripoli, even as the rebels tried to build supply lines to keep up momentum.
The regime's offensive appeared to build in force. On Thursday morning, rebels were bringing in heavier weapons such as multiple-rocket launcher trucks and small tanks to the front lines just west of Ras Lanouf. But they came under a powerful barrage of shelling that pushed them back along the flat, desert scrubland into the tiny oil port.