ge number of vehicles and army jeeps.After showing taped footage of mourners
and documentaries of Kim Jong Il, state TV began airing the procession,
showing cars moving slowly through the snowy city, led by a limousine
carrying a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong Il.Wednesday's procession had
a stronger military presence than 1994.Kim Jong Il, who ushered in a
"military first" era when he took power, celebrated major occasions with lavish,
meticulously choreographed parades designed to show off the nation's military might, such
as the October 2010 display when he introduced his son to the
world.Kim Jong Un was made a four-star general and appointed a vice
chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party last
year.After the funeral, the young Kim is expected to cement his power
by formally assuming command of the 1.2 million-strong military, and becoming general
secretary of the Workers' Party and chairman of the party's Central Military
Also escorting the limousine were military chief Ri Yong Ho and People's
Armed Forces Minster Kim Yong Chun. Their presence indicates they will be
important players as the younger Kim consolidates his leadership. Top Workers' Party
officials Choe Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam and senior military officer
Kim Jong Gak also took prominent positions.The early part of Wednesday's funeral
ceremony was shrouded in secrecy, as in 1994, when Kim Il Sung
died. Back then, Kim Jong Il and top officials held a private,
hourlong ceremony inside the Kumsusan palace before the procession through the city,
according to his official biography.Pyongyang's foreign diplomats were invited to attend the
procession, though few other outsiders appeared to be allowed into the country
for the funeral. One foreign diplomat in Pyongyang, who asked not to
be named because of the sensitive nature of her work, said funereal
music played and people wept as the convoy left Kumsusan followed by
a lar
iStockBad science papers can have lasting effects. Consider the 1998 paper in
the journal the Lancet that linked autism to the MMR vaccine for
measles, mumps and rubella. That paper was fully retracted in 2010 upon
evidence that senior author Andrew Wakefield had manipulated data and breached several
proper ethical codes of conduct.Nevertheless the erroneous paper continues to undermine public
confidence in vaccines. After the Lancet article, MMR vaccination rates dipped sharply
and haven't fully rebounded. This decline in the MMR vaccine has been
tied to a rise in measles cases resulting in permanent injury and
death.Each year hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles are retracted. Most involve no
blatant malfeasance; the authors themselves often detect errors and retract the paper.
Some retractions, however, as documented on the blog Retraction Watch, entail plagiarism,
false authorship or cooked data.No journal is safe from retractions, from the
mighty "
APMarch 3, 2011: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., speaks as his
wife Callista looks on during a meeting with Gov. Nathan Deal in
the Governor's office in Atlanta. Decorah, Iowa Callista Gingrich has appeared
the dutiful spouse on the campaign trail, regularly appearing at Newts side
wordless but with a smile during his town hall speeches. Tuesday night,
Callista broke her usual silence and spoke behind the podium to introduce
her husband and best friend.A lot of people ask me why Newt
would be a good president, she said to packed crowd at Mabe's
Pizza in Decorah. And I really think that Newt has been preparing
for this challenge his entire life. He has a proven record of
national leadership, a thorough understanding of our nations history and a genuine
love for our country.Her appearance comes amid renewed attention to Gingrichs marital
history. Documents unearthed by CNN indicate that when Gingrich filed his divorce
complaint in 1980, his wife Jack
Iran is threatening to stop the flow of oil through the Strait
of Hormuz a key world oil route in the Persian Gulf
if the West imposes more sanctions over its controversial nuclear energy
program.The sanctions stem from a U.N. watchdog report that alleges the country
may be developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the claims, stating that
its program is for peaceful purposes, Reuters reports."If [the West] impose sanctions
on Iran's oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow
from the Strait of Hormuz," Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi
told Iranian news agency IRNA."Our enemies will give up on their plots
against Iran only if we give them a firm and strong lesson,"
he added.In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called the threat "bluster."
He said it was "another attempt by them to distract attention from
the real issue, which is their continued noncompliance with international nuclear obligations."Rahimi
has no major
ge number of vehicles and army jeeps.After showing taped footage of mourners
and documentaries of Kim Jong Il, state TV began airing the procession,
showing cars moving slowly through the snowy city, led by a limousine
carrying a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong Il.Wednesday's procession had
a stronger military presence than 1994.Kim Jong Il, who ushered in a
"military first" era when he took power, celebrated major occasions with lavish,
meticulously choreographed parades designed to show off the nation's military might, such
as the October 2010 display when he introduced his son to the
world.Kim Jong Un was made a four-star general and appointed a vice
chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party last
year.After the funeral, the young Kim is expected to cement his power
by formally assuming command of the 1.2 million-strong military, and becoming general
secretary of the Workers' Party and chairman of the party's Central Military
