Ex-U.S. Navy SEAL's killing puts focus on war's psychological toll

(Reuters) - The slayings of former U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and another man trying to help a troubled U.S. military veteran, now charged with killing them at a Texas gun range, has renewed focus on the psychological wounds of war.

Eddie Lee Routh, 25, of Lancaster, Texas, an active duty Marine from 2006 to 2010 who served in the Iraq war, faces murder charges that could lead to the death penalty in Saturday's shootings at a gun range 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Routh, a military reservist, is charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Kyle, 38, and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield, 35. The pair were shot at close range at the Rough Creek Ranch gun range, which was designed by Kyle, a distinguished military sniper

Routh is being held on a $3 million bond at a county jail, and Dallas television station KXAS reported that he was tasered by jail guards on Sunday night after becoming aggressive and had been placed on suicide watch.

Jason Upshaw, a captain in the Erath County Sheriff's Office, said on Sunday Routh's mother had reached out to Kyle to try to help her son, who Marine Corps records show served one tour of duty in Iraq.

Officials said Routh's mother may have contacted Kyle, author of the book "American Sniper," because he co-founded the FITCO Cares Foundation that tries to help veterans recovering from physical and emotional injuries.

Twice in recent months, Routh was taken to a mental hospital after behaving erratically, according to police reports from Dallas and his hometown of Lancaster.

The Lancaster police report said Routh's mother called police in September because he had been drinking and became upset and threatening when his father told the veteran he was going to sell his gun.

Police found Routh wandering and crying nearby, without a shirt or shoes, and he told an officer he was a Marine veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress, the Lancaster police report said.

Authorities were still trying to determine what led to Saturday's shooting, which took place at close range.

"I don't know that we will ever know," Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant told a news conference on Sunday.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS

Law enforcement officers have not said Routh specifically suffers from post traumatic stress, a severe anxiety disorder caused by witnessing or participating in traumatic events, but the killings renewed the focus on PTSD among veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimated in a report released last fall that about 30 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffered from some form of post-traumatic stress.

The shooting would not be typical of a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress alone, said Dr. Harry Croft, a San Antonio psychiatrist who specializes in treating veterans for post-traumatic stress.

"Although this is very sensational and very tragic, it is at the same time, very rare," Croft said, adding that he was concerned it might stigmatize returning veterans.

Julie Wynn, a counselor who has worked with returning veterans as well as survivors of the 2009 shooting incident at Fort Hood, said the stress of war affects everyone differently.

"Some people come home and they never have a problem, they put it behind them, they lead normal lives," she said. "Other people, with stressors like family, jobs, the economy, they don't do well with moving on."

Kyle had been volunteering to help Marine Corps veterans suffering from PTSD, sometimes taking them to the shooting range, according to a posting on a website run by members of the Special Operations Forces.

Kyle had called ahead to let staff know the group would be there on Saturday, and the three men rode together to the range in Kyle's pickup truck, officials said.

After the shooting, Routh drove to his sister's house in Kyle's truck and told her what happened, authorities said. She called police after he headed home, where he was arrested a short time later.

Kyle, who served four combat tours of duty in Iraq, won two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars for bravery, according to his book, which covers his military service from 1999 to 2009.

Interviewed in January about the call for gun control in the wake of the slayings at a Connecticut elementary school, Kyle told the website guns.com he favored arming teachers who have been screened and trained but opposed restrictions on gun owners.

(Additional reporting by Marice Richter; Editing by David Bailey, Barbara Goldberg, Todd Eastham and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-u-navy-seals-killing-puts-focus-wars-031041733.html

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Russell Brand: He's Classier Than We Thought!

If you think Russell Brand is a little sleazy, well, join the club. The British comedian has never shied away from his womanizer image, even when he was married (briefly) to Katy Perry. And yet, every once in a while, we get a glimpse of a classier guy underneath. This week, he showed us both.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/russell-brand-hes-classier-we-thought/1-a-520431?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Arussell-brand-hes-classier-we-thought-520431

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Timberlake gives Super Bowl-eve comeback concert

FILE - This Jan. 27, 2013 file photo shows actor-singer Justin Timberlake at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Recording Academy announced Wednesday, Jan. 30, that the pop star will perform at the awards show on Feb. 10. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

FILE - This Jan. 27, 2013 file photo shows actor-singer Justin Timberlake at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Recording Academy announced Wednesday, Jan. 30, that the pop star will perform at the awards show on Feb. 10. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? One of the most anticipated musical moments of the year so far happened in New Orleans and was connected to the Super Bowl ? but it had nothing to do with Beyonce.

Instead, it was another superstar, Justin Timberlake, who had the town buzzing as he gave his first performance in nearly five years ? a sizzling, hour-long concert that featured the nattily dressed entertainer with a more than 10-piece band and guest appearances by Timbaland and Jay-Z, who's prominently featured on Timberlake's comeback single, "Suit and Tie."

Timberlake hadn't released new music in years, preferring to concentrate on a blossoming acting career that included star turns in movies such as "Friends With Benefits" and the Oscar-nominated "The Social Network."

But when Timberlake took to the stage on Saturday night for DirecTV's Super Bowl-eve bash, it seemed as if he had never left. Timberlake, dressed in a black tux, betrayed no nerves or rust as he appeared with the backing band dubbed "JT & the Tennessee Kids" and dove into the night's first song, "Like I Love You," his signature falsetto in top form.

There was a bit of irony in the setting of Timberlake's comeback concert because he is identified with the most infamous Super Bowl performance of them all, 2004's wardrobe malfunction featuring Janet Jackson. He spoke a little about Sunday's big game as he baited Baltimore Ravens fans against San Francisco 49ers followers.

Other than that, he had little else to say, letting his music do all the talking. For the most part, his musical statement consisted a rundown of his greatest hits, including "Senorita," ''Cry Me A River," ''Summer Love" and "My Love" (the latter of which included a verse of Jay-Z and Kanye's "... In Paris").

But he did offer at least two new songs that seemed as if they could have been inspired by his recent marriage to Jessica Biel. Both were slow jams: One was called "Push Your Love Girl," while another had the refrain: "I'm in love with that girl ... don't be mad at me."

Timberlake also drew from others' music, performing a cover of INXS' "What You Need" and delivering a spot-on rendition of the Jacksons' "Shake Your Body Down To the Ground," complete with the Jacksons' trademark choreography.

The standing-room crowd ? which included Paul McCartney, Sofia Vergara, John Legend and New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft ? was dancing most of the night, and by the time Jay-Z came on to deliver his verse for "Suit and Tie," the party was in full throttle.

Timberlake ended the evening with "SexyBack," bringing his sexy ?and more importantly his music ? back for the public to enjoy.

Timberlake's comeback will reach an even larger audience next Sunday with his performance on the Grammys. His third album, "The 20/20 Experience," is out next month.

___

Online:

http//www.justintimberlake.com

___

Follow Nekesa Mumbi Moody on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-03-Super%20Bowl-Justin%20Timberlake/id-521e625338ab4dffb71ffa1149647e94

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Humans Can Feel Terror Even If They Lack Brain's 'Fear Center'

A growing body of work shows that the brain has different systems and mechanisms to respond to certain kinds of threats and physiological changes in the body

By Mo Costandi and Nature magazine

Intense fear is commonly believed to require a reaction by the brain structure called the amygdala, but that may not always be the case. Image: Flickr/Capture Queen

People seem to have more than one way to work themselves into a panic. Contrary to a long-standing assumption of neuroscientists, humans can experience fear even when they lack the brain structure widely regarded as the brain's 'fear center'.

Many studies on animals over the years have shown that the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped structure located deep inside the brain, is crucial for the fear response. This finding has been confirmed in studies of humans.

Justin Feinstein at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and his colleagues have now found that in certain situations the fear response may occur even in people who do not have a working amygdala. Their work is published online today in Nature Neuroscience.

Different fears
Feinstein and his team had been studying a 44-year-old woman with an extremely rare genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease, in which the amygdala hardens and shrivels up. The woman, known as S.M., showed only minimal levels of fear when shown clips from horror films and when exposed to large spiders, snakes and other things that many people find terrifying.

One situation in which the amygdala triggers fear and panic attacks is when it detects unusually high concentrations of carbon dioxide ? a sign of possible suffocation ? by sensing increased acidity in the blood. This may occur even if CO2 is inhaled in concentrations that are not lethal. Feinstein and his colleagues therefore predicted that patients with damaged amygdalas would not feel fear after inhaling the gas.

To test this, they asked S.M., two other patients with Urbach-Wiethe disease, and 12 healthy controls to inhale 35% carbon dioxide through a mask. To their surprise, the researchers found that the brain-damaged patients did experience fear immediately after inhalation ? and, in fact, became even more fearful and panicky than did the healthy volunteers.

?The patients experienced significantly more fear and panic than the controls,? says Feinstein. In interviews conducted afterwards, all three patients reported feeling scared of suffocating and dying while inhaling the gas. For S.M., this was the first time she had experienced fear since childhood.

Different mechanisms
The amygdala plays an important role in responses to external threats, and is also involved in the social aspects of emotion, such as recognizing the facial expressions of others. These new findings clearly show, however, that it is not essential for all fear responses, and also suggest that the brain contains distinct mechanisms for generating fear in response to certain physiological changes within the body.

"This study adds to a growing body of work showing that there are different systems for responses to different kinds of threats,? says neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux at New York University in New York city.

?There is lots of evidence that the amygdala contributes to threat-evoked responses,? LeDoux adds, ?but very little evidence that it generates?the conscious experience of fear."

Feinstein now intends to use functional neuroimaging to try and identify the brain structures involved in the amygdala-independent response, which he says could include the brainstem and the insular cortex, a brain region known to be involved in bodily awareness.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on February 3, 2013.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=aa9ca370af83ce427368158a90022337

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Love Of Family & Home: January Highlights (Month In Review)

Well, some things never change!

Once again, I feel like time is flying right before my eyes!

February?!

Didn't we JUST ring in the new year?!

Yea....that's what I thought!!

Since January seemed to go by in a flash, I thought I would take a minute to recap everything that happened on the blog this month!!

If you missed any of the posts, you will find the links under the photos. Just click on the link to read the it in full!!

Did you miss anything?!

Which post was your favorite in January?

Is there anything you would like to see more or less of in the coming months?! ?

I'm always looking for new ideas!! If you have anything, be sure to leave them in the comments section below!

Have a blessed day!!

Don't Miss Out -?DIY projects, home decorating, crafts & more by checking out?my subscribe page.

Source: http://www.loveoffamilyandhome.net/2013/02/january-highlights-month-in-review.html

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OUYA To Launch Soon, But Where Are The Games? | TechCrunch

With less than two months before OUYA?s launch, it?s time to tell the truth ? its future doesn?t look promising. The OUYA is starting to feel like a gaming console without the games. Publishers and developers aren?t promoting OUYA games because there?s nothing to promote ? nothing that was specifically developed for the launch line-up. Even worse, Final Fantasy III will be the flagship launch title, a game that has been available on countless gaming systems for years. OUYA isn?t the gaming revolution that backers expected.

Earlier today, Darrell Etherington reported that the Android-based gaming console would launch in-store in June. The more than 68,000 backers to its Kickstarter campaign will get their consoles in March. While the company is still planning to ship on time, that was only half of the launch challenge.

Gamers buy a new gaming system based on two key elements: launch games and who is making the console. As the OUYA is not coming from an established company, the team is facing an even harder task ? selling enough good games to make the console interesting.

You may say that the OUYA is an Android-based console and that many titles will be ported to a TV screen and OUYA?s gaming controller in minutes. Yet, there is no way you could compare an Android game with what gamers expect from a traditional gaming console. Even the Nintendo Wii U with its pretty weak launch line-up could count on ZombiU, Assassin?s Creed 3 or New Super Mario Bros. U. Angry Birds (or an equivalent game) and Final Fantasy III won?t convince an experienced gamer. You don?t need a dedicated device to play Canabalt.

Moreover, Best Buy or Target customers don?t care about Android. When they?ll walk into a store and see the Android logo, it won?t mean anything to them. Normal people, those who don?t usually back projects on Kickstarter, they buy a Samsung phone, not an Android phone made by Samsung. That?s why average consumers do not line up to buy Nexus phones. Without its Kickstarter video, the OUYA is uninteresting.

When it comes to games, even though OUYA claims to launch with 200 games, most of them are just Android ports or come from inexperienced developers. There is no big system-seller that may convince undecided gamers. And if you backed the console for its emulating capacity, you?ll be part of a very tiny minority.

Vevo, XBMC or TuneIn are nice additions, but are already available on most TV boxes or support equivalent apps. The Roku, the Apple TV or even the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 have long been hooked up to everyone?s TV, ready to stream content. The OUYA will not sell en masse for these apps alone.

Before the end of the year, OUYAs will gather dust on store shelves, next to Boxee devices and other products that promised to revolutionize TV or gaming without actually achieving this status. The OUYA won?t be the first to disappoint, and there will certainly be other gaming consoles in the future that will end up in the attic in no time.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/05/ouya-to-launch-soon-but-where-are-the-games/

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Kuwait sentences 3 former MPs for emir insults

KUWAIT CITY (AP) ? Three former Kuwaiti opposition lawmakers were sentenced to three years hard labor Tuesday for insulting the country's ruler in the latest crackdown on perceived political dissent in the Gulf nation, a defense lawyer said.

The sentences are part of an escalating backlash from authorities as the oil-rich country faces growing political unrest. Kuwait has the Gulf's most free-wheeling political system and a vibrant press, but denouncing the Western-backed emir is illegal.

The charges against the former parliament members ? Falah al-Sawwagh, Bader al-Dahoum and Khaled al-Tahous ? stem from speeches made at rallies opposing changes to Kuwait's voting rules.

Defense lawyer Khaled al-Juaisri said he planned to appeal. A statement by Kuwait's information minister, Salman Al Sabah, stressed that the country's judiciary grants fair trials to "all citizens, regardless of their position."

On Sunday, rights groups say a Kuwait court sentenced a Twitter user to five years in prison for a post considered offensive to the emir. Similar sentences have been issued recently in Kuwait and other Gulf countries.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kuwait-sentences-3-former-mps-emir-insults-161453408.html

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