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In the present day and age, thousands of organization owners are flocking to the Web and Planet Wide Net to establish websites to sell products and to market services of all kinds and varieties. Probably you are a person who is interested in embarking on the creation of an Web based business enterprise. In the alternative, possibly you are taking into consideration establishing an Web based venue for a business that already exists in the brick and mortar world. In either case, if you are inclined to produce an Net based venue for a business enterprise, you should give serious to consideration to retaining the solutions of a Search engine optimization specialist.
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Source: http://culturapopulara.ro/?p=27191
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, was briefly hospitalized due to her bipolar disorder, the actress' spokeswoman said on Tuesday after video emerged of Fisher giving an unusual stage performance. The video came from a show Fisher gave aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean last week, according to celebrity website TMZ, which posted the clip. The clip shows Fisher, 56, singing "Skylark" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," at times appearing to struggle to remember the lyrics. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italian-president-says-forming-government-cannot-rushed-111019609.html
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LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Lindsay Lohan's attorney has suggested to prosecutors that the actress serve as a motivational speaker and perform non-jail activities to resolve her latest criminal case, according to a letter obtained Tuesday.
The letter from lawyer Mark Heller proposed several alternatives for Lohan, who could be sent to jail if a judge determines her actions in a traffic crash violated terms of her probation in a previous theft case.
His letter states that Lohan's turbulent home life has deeply impacted her and requires a different approach in the case.
The actress plans to spend time recording public service announcements and make "periodic visits to schools, hospitals, and other venues where she may provide inspirational talks, encouraging children to pursue positive goals and avoid bad habits," states the letter filed on Friday and released by the court Tuesday.
Heller also proposed the establishment of a nonprofit foundation in Lohan's name to benefit young people.
The actress "has made a commitment to herself to elevate her life and participate in activities which will advance her desire to lead a model life," Heller wrote in a motion seeking a delay in the case that returns to court on Friday. Trial is now set for March 18.
Lohan is charged with three misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing officers from performing their duties. She has pleaded not guilty.
The actress could face 245 days in jail if she is found to be in violation of her probation.
The star of "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" was sentenced to psychotherapy in November of 2011 in cases involving theft and drunken driving charges, but she has not been required to attend counseling since being placed on informal probation in March 2012.
Those terms were imposed by Judge Stephanie Sautner, who is retiring and will no longer handle Lohan's case.
The crash that prompted the current charges occurred in June on Pacific Coast Highway while Lohan was on the way to a movie shoot.
Terry White, chief deputy city attorney in Santa Monica, declined comment on the letter. He said discussions about a possible resolution are scheduled to take place this week.
Lohan, 26, was on her way to a beach shoot with another person for the TV movie "Liz and Dick" when her car crashed into the back of a dump truck. Police allege she lied about being behind the wheel.
Heller is also seeking dismissal of the charges against Lohan, arguing that police ignored her when she said she didn't want to be interviewed without her attorney present.
Lohan was at the hospital at the time, not in custody, and showed no signs of impairment when officers gave her a field sobriety test, the lawyer said.
___
Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lohans-attorney-seeks-deal-prosecutors-203949506.html
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ZURICH (Reuters) - Three people, including the suspected assailant, have been killed in a shooting at a factory near the Swiss city of Lucerne, police said on Wednesday.
Seven others were injured in the attack which happened just after 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) at a wood processing company in the town of Menznau, west of Lucerne, the police said in a statement.
Emergency services were at the scene and the area had been cordoned off. A news conference is due at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT).
Last month, a gunman killed three women and injured two men in the Swiss village of Daillon, stirring a debate about Switzerland's firearm laws that allow men to keep guns after their mandatory military service.
There is no national gun register but some estimates indicate that at least one in every three of Switzerland's 8 million inhabitants keeps a gun, many stored at home. Citizens outside the military can apply for a permit to purchase up to three weapons from the age of 18 in a country where sharp shooting and hunting are popular sports.
A shooting in the Zug regional parliament in 2001, in which 14 people were killed, prompted calls to tighten laws, but the majority of Swiss citizens rejected a proposal in 2011 for extra measures such as lock-ups for guns outside service periods.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-killed-seven-injured-shooting-swiss-factory-124134215.html
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![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
Share ] Contact: Katie Baker
katie.baker@sagepub.co.uk
020-732-48719
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, CA (February 27, 2013) SAGE and United Bible Societies (UBS) today announced a new agreement to publish The Bible Translator from April 2013.
The Bible Translator, edited by Dr Stephen W. Pattemore, is a refereed journal dedicated to articles about the theory and practice of Bible translation. With effect from the first SAGE issue in April 2013, the journal will be taking on a new format. Having previously appeared in two separate series (Technical and Practical papers), the journal will now publish three more substantial issues, combining both the major theoretical contributions previously discussed in the technical series, and the papers previously published within the practical series. The second and third issue of the journal will be published in August and December respectively.
"We are growing a strong portfolio in Theological and Biblical studies, and to have been selected by United Bible Societies to publish their prestigious journal is a credit to the strengths SAGE has developed working closely with this community," said Karen Phillips, Editorial Director, SAGE. "Over many decades, The Bible Translator has published authoritative, high quality material to guide, support and inform the Bible translation community. In an increasingly competitive journals environment, we will ensure the Journal continues to build its readership, exposure and impact."
"United Bible Societies and the editorial team at The Bible Translator are delighted to be working with SAGE and we are excited about the benefits that our new partnership will bring," commented Dr Simon Crisp of UBS. "We believe that SAGE shares our commitment to promoting research of the highest quality and ensuring that it reaches a truly international audience. We look forward to developing a successful future with them."
The first SAGE issue will publish in April 2013. The new website will be http://tbt.sagepub.com/
###
SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets. Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepublications.com
United Bible Societies is made up of 146 national Bible Societies operating in over 200 countries and territories. Together, they are the largest translator, publisher and distributor of the Bible in the world. UBS is active in a wide range of areas related to the Bible, and also makes a substantial scholarly contribution through its investment in original-language critical editions of the biblical text, its respected series of commentaries on individual books of the Bible, and the involvement of its translation specialists in scholarly discourse and publication. Its flagship journal The Bible Translator, founded in 1950, has served for six decades as a major resource for Bible translators and scholars around the world. www.unitedbiblesocieties.org
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 27-Feb-2013 Share ] Contact: Katie Baker
katie.baker@sagepub.co.uk
020-732-48719
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, CA (February 27, 2013) SAGE and United Bible Societies (UBS) today announced a new agreement to publish The Bible Translator from April 2013.
The Bible Translator, edited by Dr Stephen W. Pattemore, is a refereed journal dedicated to articles about the theory and practice of Bible translation. With effect from the first SAGE issue in April 2013, the journal will be taking on a new format. Having previously appeared in two separate series (Technical and Practical papers), the journal will now publish three more substantial issues, combining both the major theoretical contributions previously discussed in the technical series, and the papers previously published within the practical series. The second and third issue of the journal will be published in August and December respectively.
"We are growing a strong portfolio in Theological and Biblical studies, and to have been selected by United Bible Societies to publish their prestigious journal is a credit to the strengths SAGE has developed working closely with this community," said Karen Phillips, Editorial Director, SAGE. "Over many decades, The Bible Translator has published authoritative, high quality material to guide, support and inform the Bible translation community. In an increasingly competitive journals environment, we will ensure the Journal continues to build its readership, exposure and impact."
"United Bible Societies and the editorial team at The Bible Translator are delighted to be working with SAGE and we are excited about the benefits that our new partnership will bring," commented Dr Simon Crisp of UBS. "We believe that SAGE shares our commitment to promoting research of the highest quality and ensuring that it reaches a truly international audience. We look forward to developing a successful future with them."
The first SAGE issue will publish in April 2013. The new website will be http://tbt.sagepub.com/
###
SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets. Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepublications.com
United Bible Societies is made up of 146 national Bible Societies operating in over 200 countries and territories. Together, they are the largest translator, publisher and distributor of the Bible in the world. UBS is active in a wide range of areas related to the Bible, and also makes a substantial scholarly contribution through its investment in original-language critical editions of the biblical text, its respected series of commentaries on individual books of the Bible, and the involvement of its translation specialists in scholarly discourse and publication. Its flagship journal The Bible Translator, founded in 1950, has served for six decades as a major resource for Bible translators and scholars around the world. www.unitedbiblesocieties.org
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/sp-stp022713.php
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The Company:?
My client, a leading professional services firm is looking for a Senior Business Development Manager to join their Sales and Marketing Team to support the team in their new business acquisition in the ThamesValley, M4 Corridor area. The role will form part of the South Sales Team, helping to drive business forward, realise growth potential and focus on key target clients to broaden the firms current client portfolio.
?
The Responsibilities:
?
The Candidate:
?
?
?
Please note: Due to the specific sectors we work in, only candidates with valid work experience in a Law Firm, Accountancy Firm, Management Consultancy, Property/Construction Firm, Financial Services Firm or a high profile relevant Association or Agency will be considered.? We regret that our clients will not accept applications outside of these areas.
?
Blue Enterprises offers the services of an employment agency for permanent work and an employment business for temporary work.
Source: http://www.bluelegal.com/latest-jobs/senior-business-development-manager-thames-valley/
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The Pirate Bay is leaving Sweden, because pressure from a local anti-piracy group representing the entertainment industry is getting too much for it. Instead, the 'Bay will be hosted across Norway and Spain, reports Torrent Freak.
While The Pirate Bay moved to the cloud in October 2012, it continued to use web hosting services provided by the Swedish Pirate Party. But earlier this month the Pirate Party was threatened with a lawsuit from Sweden's Rights Alliance if it didn't sever ties with The Pirate Bay by February 26th.
That day is here, and so The Pirate Bay has done the only thing it could, shifting its hosting services to pirate parties in Norway and Spain. The Pirate Bay's Winona told TorrentFreak:
"TPB did of course have lots of backup transit lined up for ages. This is however the first time we are going to show two at the same time. It will be interesting to see who is now blamed for hosting TPB. In the end, maybe the anti-interneterians will understand that they can't win a fight when they have the people against them."
Norway and Spain have both shied away from taking legal action against file-sharing sites in the past. It'll be interesting to see if that remains the case. [Torrent Freak via Ars Technica]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986933/the-pirate-bay-leaves-sweden-over-legal-threats
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By Lisa Fernandez, NBCBayArea.com
The search resumed on Monday for two adults and two children who called for help on their sinking sailboat about 65 miles off Monterey on Sunday.
A Coast Guard helicopter took off about 6:45 a.m. to look again for the four, including two children under 8, who reported their sailboat was sinking about 4:20 p.m. Sunday, according to Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert. She added that the boaters said their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and their electronics were failing, and their boat may be called the Charmblow.
The four were originally thought to have gone missing off Half Moon Bay and are believed to be traveling south based on the flow of the current, Coast Guard officials said.
An hour later, the group reported that they were abandoning their boat. They didn't have life rafts so they were trying to make one out of a cooler and life preserver ring, Lampert said. It's unknown if they had life jackets.
The Coast Guard then lost radio contact with the group.
The National Weather Service had issued an advisory throughout the weekend warning boaters of strong winds and rough seas around the Bay Area.
Mariners "operating smaller vessels should avoid navigating in these conditions," the advisory said.
A search overnight, which included crews from the California Air National Guard, and Coast Guardsmen aboard a 210-foot cutter, yielded no results.
The Coast Guard is asking anyone with any information regarding the incident to notify the Coast Guard immediately at 415-399-3547.
? NBC Bay Area's Bob Redell contributed to this report.
?
?
This story was originally published on Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:12 AM EST
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WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration and civil rights groups are defending a key section of the landmark voting rights law at the Supreme Court by pointing reformed state, county and local governments to an escape hatch from the law's strictest provision.
The Voting Rights Act effectively attacked persistent discrimination at the polls by keeping close watch, when it comes to holding elections, on those places with a history of preventing minorities from voting. Any changes, from moving a polling place to redrawing electoral districts, can't take effect without approval from the Justice Department or federal judges in Washington.
But the Voting Right Act allows governments that have changed their ways to get out from under this humbling need to get permission through a "bailout provision." Nearly 250 counties and local jurisdictions have done so; thousands more could be eligible based on the absence of recent discriminatory efforts in voting.
The viability of the bailout option could play an outsized role in the Supreme Court's consideration of the voting rights law's prior approval provision, although four years ago, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said the prospect of bailing out had been "no more than a mirage."
The court will hear arguments Wednesday in the case, which is among the term's most important, in a challenge from Shelby County, Ala.
Opponents of the law say they no longer should be forced to live under oversight from Washington because the country has made enormous racial progress, demonstrated most recently by the re-election of President Barack Obama. They object in particular to the 40-year-old formula by which some jurisdictions, most in the Deep South, are swept under the law and others remain outside it.
The administration and its allies acknowledge that there has been progress. But they say minority voters still need the protection the law affords from efforts to reduce their influence at the polls. Last year, federal judges in two separate cases blocked Texas from putting in place a voter identification law and congressional redistricting plan because they discriminated against black and Hispanic residents.
Obama himself talked about the case in a radio interview last week. He told SiriusXM host Joe Madison that if the law were stripped of its advance approval provision, "it would be hard for us to catch those things up front to make sure that elections are done in an equitable way."
Also, the law's defenders say places that have changed their ways can win release from having to get Washington's blessing for election changes. Governments seeking to exit have to show that they and the smaller jurisdictions within their borders have had a clean record, no evidence of discrimination in voting, for the past 10 years.
Shelby County has never asked to be freed from the law, but would seem to be ineligible because one city in the county, Calera, defied the voting rights law and prompted intervention by the Bush Justice Department.
Yet places with a long, well-known history of discrimination probably could find their way out from under federal monitoring, according to a prominent voting rights lawyer who used to work for the Justice Department.
"Birmingham, Ala., where they used to use fire hoses on people, may well be eligible to bail out," said the lawyer, Gerry Hebert. Birmingham officials said they've never considered asking.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/24/3251061/can-escape-clause-save-voting.html
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You could play around with doing this, if you have a laptop or can otherwise change the orientation of the drive.
From what you are saying, it sounds like it could be a bad or loose electrical connection as well, though the drive itself seems like the easiest thing to check by swapping it out.
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Microsoft now has last licks at debuting the company's Xbox 360 successor. Here's how it can avoid a lukewarm reception.
Press events are a tricky beast. No one ever said they were easy to pull off. But with Sony casting the first stone in the next-generation console gaming war, Microsoft can learn a lot from what worked and what didn't.
When the lights went up, Sony execs were shaking hands and congratulating each other. But the packed house at the Hammerstein Ballroom wasn't exactly participating in the same adulation. Instead, it was left with a heap of unanswered questions, most notably the lack of physical hardware and a price tag.
By now it's safe to assume Microsoft will strike back with an event of its own, possibly before the company's E3 2013 press conference. If that's the case, one-upping Sony's coming out party shouldn't be much of an issue.
Here's what Microsoft can do:
Give us a box and give us a price
This one's a no-brainer. Sure, the PS4 and next Xbox will most likely just be a box, not much different than the PS3 or Xbox 360. But I think some critics who've downplayed the absence of a physical console might be forgetting that the box itself can be news, too. What if it's shockingly small? What if there's some sort of functionality built into the casing the likes of which we've yet to see so far in the industry?
Let's also not forget about the branding side of things. For all intents and purposes, the Sony event was made to be the PS4's coming out party. This was to be the world's first exposure to the future of PlayStation. For a presentation to carry that kind of weight, some sort of symbol must be attached to that tentpole event.
Keep in mind, Wednesday night's event was attended by press from all around the world who flew into town for 24 hours or less -- all that time and money spent on what was not a whole lot more than a series of trailers. Even if it were nothing more than a hollowed-out plastic mold, I do believe there'd be a much greater sense of satisfaction throughout the industry. If this wasn't meant to be that kind of party, then Sony should not have gone through with it.
Don't spend a lot of time on the specs
Specs and numbers are all fine and good, but they mean next to nothing to the average gamer. Sure, developers care about specs but they already know what's packed inside the thing because they've been working with it for months.
Telling the world that your new console is jam-packed with 8GB of RAM is like prefacing a concert with a detailed description of what kind of guitar pedals are going to be used in the performance. There's a time and a place for these kinds of things. Don't get me wrong, I understand that there's an audience that cares about specs, but do a better job of explaining how these specs will directly benefit the end user.
Microsoft needs to make an event directed at consumers because they are the people who need to be won over. Accomplish that and you're already ahead of the game.
Don't tell; Show
A lot of high-concept and lofty aspirations were tossed around on Wednesday night, specifically in the realm of real-time streaming and social connectivity. That's great, but Sony should have created some kind of real-world demonstration to help better get some points across. Even if all that entailed a prerecorded video, it would have given the audience a clearer understanding of what kind of social and cloud-based functionality the PS4 will possess.
Sony spent a while talking up how seamless and intuitive these ultra-ambitious features were going to be, yet we all left that event without any idea of how exactly it was going to work.
We were also never properly introduced to the PS4's interface. There were glimpses of it during the video-sharing segments, but a brief tour really would have been beneficial and provided a better understanding of what the next PlayStation is going to feel like.
Don't repeat anything
With Sony hitting the stage first and bringing along a number of third-party developers to show off their next-generation endeavors, it's eliminated a lot of what Microsoft can do with games that won't be exclusive to the next Xbox. The key here is to avoid repeating any of those presentations. Confirming that these developers have also signed on to support the next Xbox is one thing, but spending the least amount of time on games we've already seen Sony talk about should be a top priority.
Debut a killer app
There wasn't one game exclusive to PS4 that really won the crowd over. Of course, Microsoft won't be able to pull this one out of a hat, but it also shouldn't sit on a killer app, either. If there's a Halo 5 cooking or a new game from Epic in the works, Microsoft should absolutely lead with that.
Microsoft started off the last generation with the majority of blockbuster exclusives, but that trend has been shifting toward Sony for a while. Sony wasn't able to generate buzz around a "must-have" PS4 title, so now it's on Microsoft to see if they can rise to the occasion.
Of course, Microsoft has yet to announce any sort of next-generation Xbox event, but we're still anticipating something soon. As soon as we hear anything we'll be sure to pass that information along and will be on hand if and when it happens.
Regardless, the big winner this week is E3 2013 happening in June. We can all but guarantee both Microsoft and Sony will have new, playable hardware at the big show in Los Angeles, and we'll be there live-blogging and roaming the show floor to bring you the absolute latest.
Source: http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=683390&goto=newpost
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CAIRO (AP) ? An Austrian man held hostage in Yemen for two months has appealed to his government to save his life, saying his captors would kill him in a week if their ransom demand was not met. The Austrian Foreign Ministry said a government crisis cell met Sunday to discuss the case.
Dominik Neubauer, who was kidnapped with a Finnish couple on Dec. 21, said in a video posted on the Internet Saturday and monitored in Cairo, that he was kidnapped by a Yemeni tribe "which is asking for some money." He spoke on the video with a rifle pointed at his head.
He did not say how much.
Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss said Neubauer had been studying Arabic in Yemen. "We consider it (the video) to be authentic," he said. "This is the first proof of life."
Weiss said Austrian authorities were in contact with their Finnish counterparts.
On the video, Neubauer, seen wearing a black shirt and sporting a thick brown beard and mustache, spoke first in English and then in German. He identified himself, the date of his capture and appealed to the Yemeni and the Austrian governments and the European Union to pay his abductors the ransom.
Tears streamed down his face as he addressed his relatives in German, saying "Mum, dad, Lukas, Angela, I love you more than anything. So far I'm in good health."
Kidnaping foreigners is not uncommon in Yemen, an impoverished Arab nation. Almost all of the kidnappings are carried out by tribesmen who use the captives as bargaining chips to force authorities to provide their areas with services and jobs. They mostly end with the release of the hostages unharmed.
___
Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kidnapped-austrian-says-captives-demand-ransom-155950048.html
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ANKARA, Turkey ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting German troops deployed to operate Patriot missile batteries in Turkey.
The Patriots were sent to Turkey, a NATO member, to protect it from spillover from Syria's civil war.
Merkel's two-day visit comes as Turkey grows increasingly frustrated over the slow progress in its bid for European Union membership. Before arriving Sunday, Merkel said she backs opening a new chapter in those stalled talks, despite being skeptical about Turkey's accession.
The chancellor's first stop was Kahramanmaras, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border, where some 300 German troops are manning two out of six NATO-deployed anti-missile batteries.
Merkel will hold talks with Turkish leaders on Monday. She is accompanied by a delegation of businessmen.
The Associated Press
Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/24/merkel-visits-troops-operating-patriots-in-turkey/
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iOS (Jailbroken): The lock screen on the iPhone hasn't changed much since its inception, but if you're looking to give it a slight overhaul without changing everything, SubtleLock is a simple little jailbreak tweak that gives your lock screen a lot more room to breath.
SubtleLock reduces the size of the clock, stuffs the date into the corner, and shrinks down the "slide to unlock" area. The benefit here is that it offers a heck of a lot more room for notifications when they come in. It also fully supports other apps like LockInfo and Dashboard X to give you more room to display useful info on your lock screen.
SubtleLock ($1) | Modmyi via Cult of Mac
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An Atlas 5 rocket blasts off on Dec. 11, 2012, beginning the Air Force's third X-37B classified space plane mission.
By Leonard David
Space.com
The U.S. Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane is quietly chalking up mileage in space more than two months after its latest launch into orbit.
The robotic?X-37B space plane?soared into orbit atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 11. The mini-shuttle's mission is known as Orbital Test Vehicle-3 (OTV-3), since it is the third classified mission under the Air Force's X-37B program.
How long OTV-3 will remain in Earth orbit is unknown. The hush-hush?space plane?mission is officially on Air Force space tracking books as USA-240.
"The mission is ongoing," Air Force Maj. Eric Badger, a spokesman for the X-37B program, told Space.com. "As with previous missions, the actual duration will depend on test objectives, on-orbit vehicle performance and conditions at the landing facility." [Photos: U.S. Military's X-37B Space Plane]
NASA / MSFC
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center image shows on-orbit functions for the reusable X-37 space plane, now under the wing of the U.S. Air Force.
A new reusable space plane
The current flight under way has attained one known major milestone ? that of reusability.
This same vehicle was flown on the maiden voyage in the X-37B program back in 2010. That OTV-1 mission lasted nearly 225 days in orbit and then zoomed back to Earth on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean, gliding down onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The OTV-2 mission, which used a different X-37B vehicle, also made a Vandenberg touchdown on June 16 of last year after remaining in orbit for 469 days, more than doubling its sister ship?s stay.
There's a possibility that OTV-3 may not land in Vandenberg. There have been discussions about bringing the space plane down at the space shuttle landing strip at NASA's?Kennedy Space Center, next door to Cape Canaveral, as a possible cost-cutting measure.
"The possibility of using the former shuttle infrastructure for future X-37B landing operations is still being investigated," Badger said.
Boeing
Stretching 29 feet in length and weighing 11,000 pounds, the second Boeing-built X-37B became the longest on-orbit space vehicle on June 16, 2012 when it completed a 469-day mission with an autonomous landing at Vandenberg Air Force Station in California.
Space test platform
The X-37B looks a bit like a miniature?space shuttle. The vehicle is 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 m) wide, with a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed.
Only two X-37B space planes have been constructed for the Air Force by Boeing Government Space Systems, officials say. Flights of the space plane are conducted under the auspices of the Air Force?s Rapid Capabilities Office.
According to an Air Force fact sheet, the Rapid Capabilities Office is working on the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle "to demonstrate a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the United States Air Force."
Mission control is handled by the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron, 21st Space Wing, of the Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Skywatcher insight
While little is known regarding what OTV-3 is toting in its cargo bay, amateur skywatchers offer some insight into the mission.
"All does seem quiet," said Ted Molczan of Toronto, a leader in an ever-vigilant, worldwide satellite sleuthing network.
"OTV-3 remains in its initial orbit, maintaining altitude with periodic engine firings," Molczan told Space.com. "Unlike the first two missions, its ground track does not closely repeat at the frequent intervals that would suggest an imaging reconnaissance mission."
Confusion and speculation
While missions of X-37B remain obscure, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., criticizes the program as a less-than-cost-effective way to conduct space activities.
UCS space experts assert that, while the space plane is versatile and capable, there are better, more efficient and more cost-effective ways of carrying out the X-37B's possible missions.
"And because it is an Air Force project and its details are classified, the plane has generated confusion, speculation and, in some cases, concern about its actual purpose" a UCS document issued prior to the OTV-3 mission launch said.
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for Space.com since 1999.Follow Space.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?and?Google+.?
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17057900-the-mystery-above-militarys-x-37b-mission?lite
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Public release date: 22-Feb-2013 Share ] Contact: Morgan Kelly
mgnkelly@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University
A new climate model predicts an increase in snowfall for the Earth's polar regions and highest altitudes, but an overall drop in snowfall for the globe, as carbon dioxide levels rise over the next century.
The decline in snowfall could spell trouble for regions such as the western United States that rely on snowmelt as a source of fresh water.
The projections are the result of a new climate model developed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and analyzed by scientists at GFDL and Princeton University. The study was published in the Journal of Climate.
The model indicates that the majority of the planet would experience less snowfall as a result of warming due to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Observations show that atmospheric carbon dioxide has already increased by 40 percent from values in the mid-19th century, and, given projected trends, could exceed twice those values later this century. In North America, the greatest reductions in snowfall will occur along the northeast coast, in the mountainous west, and in the Pacific Northwest. Coastal regions from Virginia to Maine, as well as coastal Oregon and Washington, will get less than half the amount of snow currently received.
In very cold regions of the globe, however, snowfall will rise because as air warms it can hold more moisture, leading to increased precipitation in the form of snow. The researchers found that regions in and around the Arctic and Antarctica will get more snow than they now receive.
The highest mountain peaks in the northwestern Himalayas, the Andes and the Yukon region will also receive greater amounts of snowfall after carbon dioxide doubles. This finding clashes with other models which predicted declines in snowfall for these high-altitude regions. However, the new model's prediction is consistent with current snowfall observations in these regions.
The model is an improvement over previous models in that it utilizes greater detail about the world's topography the mountains, valleys and other features. This new "high-resolution" model is analogous to having a high-definition model of the planet's climate instead of a blurred picture.
###
The study was conducted by Sarah Kapnick, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Princeton University and jointly affiliated with NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, and Thomas Delworth, senior physical scientist at GFDL.
The paper, "Controls of Global Snow Under a Changed Climate," was published online by the Journal of Climate Feb. 6.
This work was supported by the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science, a collaborative institute between Princeton University and GFDL.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 22-Feb-2013 Share ] Contact: Morgan Kelly
mgnkelly@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University
A new climate model predicts an increase in snowfall for the Earth's polar regions and highest altitudes, but an overall drop in snowfall for the globe, as carbon dioxide levels rise over the next century.
The decline in snowfall could spell trouble for regions such as the western United States that rely on snowmelt as a source of fresh water.
The projections are the result of a new climate model developed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and analyzed by scientists at GFDL and Princeton University. The study was published in the Journal of Climate.
The model indicates that the majority of the planet would experience less snowfall as a result of warming due to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Observations show that atmospheric carbon dioxide has already increased by 40 percent from values in the mid-19th century, and, given projected trends, could exceed twice those values later this century. In North America, the greatest reductions in snowfall will occur along the northeast coast, in the mountainous west, and in the Pacific Northwest. Coastal regions from Virginia to Maine, as well as coastal Oregon and Washington, will get less than half the amount of snow currently received.
In very cold regions of the globe, however, snowfall will rise because as air warms it can hold more moisture, leading to increased precipitation in the form of snow. The researchers found that regions in and around the Arctic and Antarctica will get more snow than they now receive.
The highest mountain peaks in the northwestern Himalayas, the Andes and the Yukon region will also receive greater amounts of snowfall after carbon dioxide doubles. This finding clashes with other models which predicted declines in snowfall for these high-altitude regions. However, the new model's prediction is consistent with current snowfall observations in these regions.
The model is an improvement over previous models in that it utilizes greater detail about the world's topography the mountains, valleys and other features. This new "high-resolution" model is analogous to having a high-definition model of the planet's climate instead of a blurred picture.
###
The study was conducted by Sarah Kapnick, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Princeton University and jointly affiliated with NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, and Thomas Delworth, senior physical scientist at GFDL.
The paper, "Controls of Global Snow Under a Changed Climate," was published online by the Journal of Climate Feb. 6.
This work was supported by the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science, a collaborative institute between Princeton University and GFDL.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/pu-fif022213.php
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Recent forest clearance for oil palm by Olam, Kango, Gabon. Photo by: Alexander De Marcq.
A new report by The Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK), dramatically entitled The Seeds of Destruction, announces that new palm oil plantations in the Congo rainforest will soon increase fivefold to half a million hectares, an area nearly the size of Delaware. But conservationists warn that by ignoring the lessons of palm oil in Southeast Asia, this trend could be disastrous for the region's forests, wildlife, and people.
"Governments of Congo Basin countries have handed out vast tracts of rainforest for the development of palm oil with apparently little or no attention to the likely impacts on the environment or on people dependent on the forest," Simon Counsell, Executive Director of the Rainforest Foundation UK, said.
The palm tree used to produce palm oil originated in Africa, so production in the Congo Basin isn't new. But industrial palm oil production involving massive plantations is a recent development for the region. The approach, modeled after operations in Southeast Asia, raises concerns among environmentalists who argue that palm oil has been a disaster for the forests of Malaysia and Indonesia. Indeed, scientific research has found that between 1990 and 2000, 86 percent of all deforestation in Malaysia was for palm oil.
The largest palm oil developer in the Congo Basin is currently Malaysian-owned Atama Plantations SARL, which is working to establish a 180,000-hectare (450,000-acre) plantation in the Republic of Congo. But the entire enterprise is masked by a complete lack of transparency, says the report."No publicly available maps of the concession are available, but evidence suggests that the forests designated for clearance mostly appear to be virgin rainforest that is habitat for numerous endangered species, including chimpanzees and gorillas. The area borders, and some of it may fall inside, a planned National Park and Ramsar site," according to the RFUK report, which notes that logging has already begun on the concession.
The RFUK report further questions whether the plantation development is simply an excuse to log what it calls "primary forests with significant timber stocks."
Another controversial concession, this time in Cameroon, has received considerable pushback from international NGOs as well as local groups. U.S.-based Herakles Farms is working to develop a 60,000 hectare palm oil plantation in forest bordering four protected areas, but the company's reputation has been tarnished by local protests, as well as condemnation from international groups such as Greenpeace. Last year, 11 top tropical biologists sent an open letter to Herakles condemning the project.
But Herakles and other companies say they are bringing economic development to a notoriously poor part of the world.
The RFUK report notes that in many cases governments appear unwilling even to take advantage of the economic benefits of palm oil plantations, by overly-sweetening deals to foreign corporations.
"The contracts signed between governments and oil palm developers are being kept secret, reducing transparency and democratic accountability. Those contracts that have come to light show that governments have already signed away some of the potential economic benefits, by granting developers extremely generous tax breaks of 10 to 16 years and land for 'free' or at highly discounted rates," the report reads.
In addition, the palm oil plantations are speaking local conflict with traditional landowners, much as they have done in Malaysia and Indonesia. Locals often have little input on the project and in some cases leases are extraordinarily long, for example Herakles Farms' lease is 99 years.
"New large-scale oil palm developments are a major threat for communities, livelihoods and biodiversity in the Congo Basin," Samuel Nguiffo, Director of the Center for Environment and Development (CED), Cameroon, said. "It is absolutely not the appropriate answer to the food security and job creation challenges the countries are facing. Supporting small-scale family agriculture is a better solution."
After years of fierce criticism in Southeast Asia over environmental and social issues, the industry and NGOs created the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004 to address problems connected to oil production.
The RFUK report notes that Congo basin countries must learn from the lessons of little-regulated palm oil expansion in Southeast Asia.
"There is a need for regional agreement to ensure that best practices are mandatory for any new oil palm development, including avoiding high conservation value forests and ensuring the rights of existing forest dwellers are respected," adds Counsell, whose report warns that RSPO alone won't be enough to produce sustainable palm oil in Africa.
In addition, the report recommends greater transparency across the board; targeting degraded instead of forested lands; ensuring locals have free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); and more focus on small, local palm oil over massive foreign plantations.
Atama Plantations SARL site in the Republic of the Congo. Click to enlarge.
Related articles
Controversial palm oil project concession in Cameroon is 89 percent 'dense natural forest'
(02/21/2013) Satellite mapping and aerial surveys have revealed that a controversial palm oil concession in Cameroon is almost entirely covered by "dense natural forest," according to a new report by Greenpeace. The activist group alleges that the concession, owned by Herakles Farms, is under 89 percent forest cover. The U.S.-based corporation intends to build a 70,000 hectare palm oil plantation in a region surrounded by four protected areas, including Korup National Park, but has faced stiff criticism from numerous environmental groups as well as conflict with locals.
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(02/06/2013) Surveys in Gabon's Minkebe National Park have revealed rare and hard data on the scale of the illegal ivory trade over the last eight years: 11,100 forest elephants have been slaughtered for their tusks in this remote protected area since 2004. In all, poachers have cut down the park's elephant population by two-thirds, decimating what was once believed to be the largest forest elephant population in the world.
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(01/31/2013) In 2008 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced a jaw-dropping discovery: remote swamp forests in northern Republic of Congo contained a stunning population of 125,000 western lowland gorillas that had somehow gone unnoticed by scientists. At the time the President of WCS, Steven E. Sanderson, called the area the "mother lode of gorillas," and expressed hope that the discovery would lead to a new park. Well, late last year, a park was finalized.
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Foreign loggers and corrupt officials flouting logging moratorium in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(11/08/2012) In 2002 the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced a moratorium on commercial logging in a bid to save rapidly falling forests, however a new report by Global Witness alleges that industrial loggers are finding a way around the logging freeze. Through unscrupulous officials, foreign companies are abusing artisanal permits?meant for local community logging?to clear-cut wide swathes of tropical forest in the country. These logging companies are often targeting an endangered tree?wenge (Millettia laurentii)?largely for buyers in China and Europe.
NASA satellites catch vast deforestation inside Virunga National Park
(10/03/2012) Two satellite images by NASA, one from February 13, 1999 and the other from September 1, 2008 (see below), show that Virunga National Park is under assault from deforestation. Located in the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the park has been assailed by entrenched conflict between rebels and government forces, as well as slash-and-burn farming, the charcoal trade, and a booming human population.
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CITATION: Jeremy Hance mongabay.com (February 21, 2013). Activists warn of industrial palm oil expansion in Congo rainforest.http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0221-hance-congo-palm-oil.html |
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In what appears to be the latest in a minor wave of attacks on Twitter accounts belonging to out-sized corporate entities, an out-of-character tweet from Donald Trump's verified account set the Internet abuzz, and then disappeared, shortly before noon ET on Thursday.
"These hoes think they classy, well that's the class I'm skippen," read the suspect remark issued from @realDonaldTrump. It was a glaring non sequitur following tweets such as "Republicans must be careful with immigration?don?t give our country away," and "Wow, Macy's numbers just in-Trump is doing better than ever ? thanks for your great support!"
"Yes, obviously the account has been hacked and we are looking for the perpetrator," Rhona Graff, senior vice president, assistant to the president of the Trump Organization, told NBC News via email.
This confirmation was quickly echoed by Trump himself, in a tweet that read, "My Twitter has been seriously hacked ? and we are looking for the perpetrators."
Cut off after a single rogue tweet, the Trump Twitter anomaly was far shorter than the Burger King and Jeep takeovers earlier this week. On Monday, Burger King's Twitter account was hacked and renamed McDonalds, and over the course of a hour, sent out 53 tweets (and garnered 73,421 retweets) making light of the situation. The Tuesday attack on Jeep's Twitter account ? which included the erroneous announcement that the car maker had been taken over by Cadillac ? ceased after just 10 minutes and 13 tweets.
Soon after @Jeep regained control, the Twitter accounts of MTV and BET appeared to be compromised. The MTV account tweeted claims the network had been taken over by BET, and BET tweeted it was now owned by MTV. This turned out to be a publicity stunt by the networks, both owned by Viacom. As NBC News reported on Tuesday, the account of a PR representative warned of the hack ahead of time on Twitter and then both MTV and BET copped to the scheme after the "hack."
NBC News has asked the Trump Organization how Trump was able to regain control of his Twitter account so quickly, and will update this story if we receive a response.
Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitterand/or Facebook.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/trump-twitter-mystery-who-hacked-donald-1C8462918
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