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…but no one will take the prisoners! – If Obama follows up on his promise to close Guantanamo prison in Cuba, what will he do with the detainees? 225 prisoners are still being held there, 60 of whom have already been cleared for release. The Bush administration has asked Australia to take some of them in?two times in one year?but has been refused both times.

BBC News quotes deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard as saying, “Assessing those requests from a case-by-case basis, they had not met our stringent national security and immigration criteria and have been rejected.” The State Department has asked about 100 other countries to accept prisoners as well. They want to clear Guantanamo over the next two years.
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So often, when we make New Year’s resolutions, we concentrate on giving up our vices, but what we REALLY want is to become someone new. In in my case, this would be someone who loses weight effortlessly and has an exquisite complexion, high cheekbones, tiny ears (mine resemble those of Alfred E. Newman of “Mad” magazine) and a thick, abundant head of hair I could flip around. When I lost 100 pounds, over three years of effort, I got a new body, but I have to work constantly in order to keep it and alas, the complexion and hair improvements did not automatically follow.
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Each January 1, many of us resolve to change. We will give up smoking. We will eat healthier. We will be more patient. However by January 15, we’ve chucked it all out the window. But all is not lost.

For risk-takers and impulsive people, New Year’s resolutions often include being more careful, spending more frugally and cutting back on dangerous behavior, such as drug use. But new research finds that these individuals, whom psychologists call novelty seekers, face an uphill battle in keeping their New Year’s resolutions due to the way their brains process dopamine.
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Some birds speak our language, but what most of us hear is bird song. Can we figure out what they’re saying (singing) to each other?

To many people, bird song can herald the coming of spring, reveal what kind of bird is perched nearby or be merely an unwelcome early morning intrusion. But to researcher Sandra Vehrencamp, bird song is a code which can tell us what birds are thinking.

Birds use song systems to communicate about mating and reproduction, territorial boundaries, age and even overall health. Vehrencamp studies birds from Costa Rica, Colombia and Bonaire to decode which elements convey such essential information.
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