Oscars telecast review: Guys, it's not about you

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Would it shock you to learn that this year's Oscars producers also produced "Chicago"? Not at all? OK.

Self-referencing was the order of the evening Sunday at an overstuffed Oscars telecast where host Seth MacFarlane and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron decided the ceremony was All About Them.

That was the only explanation for a lengthy opening sequence centered on how MacFarlane would fare as host, and numerous reminders throughout the show of how much we all enjoyed "Chicago."

Thanks, guys, but we kind of took care of praising "Chicago" when it won Best Picture in 2002.

The Oscars are always a treasure trove of hilarious narcissism - it's inherently obnoxious to hear some of the richest and best-looking people alive praise one another and themselves.

This year had plenty of the usual silliness - as when best supporting actor Christoph Waltz praised Quentin Tarantino for going on a "hero's journey" to make films. And it won't exactly reduce Hollywood's sense of self-importance that no less than Michelle Obama handed out the Best Picture. ("Argo" won.)

Inflated egos are to be expected. But we can usually count on the producers and host to share the spotlight. Not so this year.

You can't really blame MacFarlane for turning the opening into a "Family Guy" episode, with all of his show's requisite pop culture references, parody songs and gay panic jokes. MacFarlane brought in William Shatner to play Captain Kirk critiquing the show from the future.

The "Ted" director and star made it all of eight minutes before his first gay joke. He sang a song about actresses' "boobs" with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, then clarified that he isn't a member.

"Oh, trust me," Captain Kirk said from the future. "In July 2015, you join the chorus."

The theme of the night was celebrating musicals, but it was hard to find anything else consistent about the ceremony. Like many an overstuffed blockbuster, the three-and-a-half-hour show refused to leave anything out.

Studio slates are so dominated by CGI monstrosities that Oscar voters now nominate pretty much every grown-up movie they see for Best Picture. Rather than make hard decisions, they give us a grab bag.

And so we get extended ceremonies like this one, which somehow always manage to cull names from the "In Memoriam" segment, but not boring parts of the show. Key figures like the host and producers are allowed to protect their vanity pieces, and viewers just have to deal.

We were occasionally rewarded for our patience. Shirley Bassey and Adele gave spectacular performances of Bond songs from five decades apart. Jennifer Hudson delivered another excellent rendition of "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going" from "Dreamgirls." And we learned that Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron are good dancers.

But of course they are.

Catherine Zeta Jones did a commendable job on "All That Jazz" from "Chicago" - but couldn't we have left it at that? The producers also reunited their cast as presenters - to remind us once again how much we apparently still cherish their decade-old film.

Near the end of the ceremony, Tarantino made his hero's journey to the stage to accept his well-deserved award for Best Original Screenplay and remind us of the importance of writers.

One thing the best writers do is keep it short. Maybe next year should be a tribute to writers.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oscars-telecast-review-guys-not-202415849.html

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Hands-on with the LG Optimus G Pro

LG's flagship Android smartphone gets bigger, faster and ... a bit familiar-looking

You're forgiven for thinking it. We all are. It's impossible to pick up the LG Optimus G Pro -- the oversized, 5.5-inch Android half-phone/half-tablet unveiled this week at Mobile World Congress in Spain -- and not think of another Korean manufacturer's similar product. Go ahead and get that out of your system.

This is the Optimus G Pro. Not the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. But, yeah. There are certain physical similarities. You can't help by notice that. And for sure the folks in the 50 or so countries LG's planning on launching the Optimus G Pro in (beginning in the second quarter) will notice. Maybe that's the idea. Or maybe not.

In a nutshell, it takes all of the hardware and software LG brought in the original, smaller Optimus G in the fall of 2012 and expands it to a larger platform. The display sports a 1920x1080 resolution, for about 400 pixels per inch. The internal specs are beefier, powered by a 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, the better to push all those pixels. Sluggish, this device is not.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/WzrerTq1ydY/story01.htm

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Fragments of continents hidden under lava in the Indian Ocean

Monday, February 25, 2013

The islands Reunion and Mauritius, both well-known tourist destinations, are hiding a micro-continent, which has now been discovered. The continent fragment known as Mauritia detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart, and had been hidden under huge masses of lava. Such micro-continents in the oceans seem to occur more frequently than previously thought, says a study in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience ("A Precambrian microcontinent in the Indian Ocean," Nature Geoscience, Vol 6, doi: 10.1038/NGEO1736).

The break-up of continents is often associated with mantle plumes: These giant bubbles of hot rock rise from the deep mantle and soften the tectonic plates from below, until the plates break apart at the hotspots. This is how Eastern Gondwana broke apart about 170 million years ago. At first, one part was separated, which in turn fragmented into Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica, which then migrated to their present position.

Plumes currently situated underneath the islands Marion and Reunion appear to have played a role in the emergence of the Indian Ocean. If the zone of the rupture lies at the edge of a land mass (in this case Madagascar / India), fragments of this land mass may be separated off. The Seychelles are a well-known example of such a continental fragment.

A group of geoscientists from Norway, South Africa, Britain and Germany have now published a study that suggests, based on the study of lava sand grains from the beach of Mauritius, the existence of further fragments. The sand grains contain semi-precious zircons aged between 660 and 1970 million years, which is explained by the fact that the zircons were carried by the lava as it pushed through subjacent continental crust of this age.

This dating method was supplemented by a recalculation of plate tectonics, which explains exactly how and where the fragments ended up in the Indian Ocean. Dr. Bernhard Steinberger of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and Dr. Pavel Doubrovine of Oslo University calculated the hotspot trail: "On the one hand, it shows the position of the plates relative to the two hotspots at the time of the rupture, which points towards a causal relation," says

Steinberger. "On the other hand, we were able to show that the continent fragments continued to wander almost exactly over the Reunion plume, which explains how they were covered by volcanic rock." So what was previously interpreted only as the trail of the Reunion hotspot, are continental fragments which were previously not recognized as such because they were covered by the volcanic rocks of the Reunion plume. It therefore appears that such micro-continents in the ocean occur more frequently than previously thought.

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Torsvik, T.H., Amundsen, H., Hartz, E.H., Corfu, F., Kusznir, N., Gaina, C., Doubrovine, P.V., Steinberger B., Ashwal, L.D. & Jamtveit, B., ?A Precambrian microcontinent in the Indian Ocean", Nature Geoscience, Vol. 6, doi:10.1038/NGEO1736.

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres: http://www.helmholtz.de/en/index.html

Thanks to Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126998/Fragments_of_continents_hidden_under_lava_in_the_Indian_Ocean_

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Laser mastery narrows down sources of superconductivity

Feb. 24, 2013 ? Identifying the mysterious mechanism underlying high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) remains one of the most important and tantalizing puzzles in physics. This remarkable phenomenon allows electric current to pass with perfect efficiency through materials chilled to subzero temperatures, and it may play an essential role in revolutionizing the entire electricity chain, from generation to transmission and grid-scale storage. Pinning down one of the possible explanations for HTS -- fleeting fluctuations called charge-density waves (CDWs) -- could help solve the mystery and pave the way for rapid technological advances.

Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have combined two state-of-the-art experimental techniques to study those electron waves with unprecedented precision in two-dimensional, custom-grown materials. The surprising results, published online February 24, 2013, in the journal Nature Materials, reveal that CDWs cannot be the root cause of the unparalleled power conveyance in HTS materials. In fact, CDW formation is an independent and likely competing instability.

"It has been difficult to determine whether or not dynamic or fluctuating CDWs even exist in HTS materials, much less identify their role," said Brookhaven Lab physicist and study coauthor Ivan Bozovic. "Do they compete with the HTS state, or are they perhaps the very essence of the phenomenon? That question has now been answered by targeted experimentation."

Custom-grown Superconductors

Electricity travels imperfectly through traditional metallic conductors, losing energy as heat due to a kind of atomic-scale friction. Impurities in these materials also cause electrons to scatter and stumble, but superconductors can overcome this hurdle -- assuming the synthesis process is precise.

For this experiment, Bozovic used a custom-built molecular beam epitaxy system at Brookhaven Lab to grow thin films of LaSrCuO, an HTS cuprate (copper-oxide) compound. The metallic cuprates, assembled one atomic layer at a time, are separated by insulating planes of lanthanum and strontium oxides, resulting in what's called a quasi-two-dimensional conductor. When cooled down to a low enough temperature -- less than 100 degrees Kelvin -- strange electron waves began to ripple through that 2D matrix. At even lower temperatures, these films became superconducting.

Electron Sea

"In quasi-two-dimensional metals, low temperatures frequently bring about interesting collective states called charge-density waves," Bozovic said. "They resemble waves rolling across the surface of a lake under a breeze, except that instead of water, here we actually have a sea of mobile electrons."

Once a CDW forms, the electron density loses uniformity as the ripples rise and fall. These waves can be described by familiar parameters: amplitude (height of the waves), wavelength (distance between waves), and phase (the wave's position on the material). Detecting CDWs typically requires high-intensity x-rays, such as those provided by synchrotron light sources like Brookhaven's NSLS and, soon, NSLS-II. And even then, the technique only works if the waves are essentially frozen upon formation. However, if CDWs actually fluctuate rapidly, they may escape detection by x-ray diffraction, which typically requires a long exposure time that blurs fast motion.

Measuring Rolling Waves

To catch CDWs in action, a research group at MIT led by physicist Nuh Gedik used an advanced ultrafast spectroscopy technique. Intense laser pulses called "pumps" cause excitations in the superconducting films, which are then probed by measuring the film reflectance with a second light pulse -- this is called a pump-probe process. The second pulse is delayed by precise time intervals, and the series of measurements allow the lifetime of the excitation to be determined.

In a more sophisticated variant of the technique, largely pioneered by Gedik, the standard single pump beam is replaced by two beams hitting the surface from different sides simultaneously. This generates a standing wave of controlled wavelength in the film, but it disappears rapidly as the electrons relax back into their original state.

This technique was applied to the atomically perfect LaSrCuO films synthesized at Brookhaven Lab. In films with a critical temperature of 26 degrees Kelvin (the threshold beyond which the superconductivity breaks down), the researchers discovered two new short-lived excitations -- both caused by fluctuating CDWs.

Gedik's technique even allowed the researchers to record the lifetime of CDW fluctuations -- just 2 picoseconds (a millionth of a millionth of a second) under the coldest conditions and becoming briefer as the temperatures rose. These waves then vanished entirely at about 100 Kelvin, actually surviving at much higher temperatures than superconductivity.

Ruling out a Suspect

The researchers then hunted for those same signatures in cuprate films with slightly different chemical compositions and a greater density of mobile electrons. The results were both unexpected and significant for the future of HTS research.

"Interestingly, the superconducting sample with the highest critical temperature, about 39 Kelvin, showed no CDW signatures at all," Gedik said.

The consistent emergence of CDWs would have bolstered the conjecture that they play an essential role in high-temperature superconductivity. Instead, the new technique's successful detection of such electron waves in one sample but not in another (with even higher critical temperature) indicates that another mechanism must be driving the emergence of HTS.

"Results like this bring us closer to understanding the mystery of HTS, considered by many to be one of the greatest problems in physics today," Bozovic said. "The source of this extraordinary phenomenon is slowly but surely running out of places to hide."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/R3e5kmat5ag/130224142911.htm

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Cutting edge Calif. tunnels poised to open

PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) ? Two slick new mile-long tunnels are undergoing final safety tests this month, poised to divert motorists away from an ocean cliff-hanging roadway dubbed Devil's Slide south of San Francisco to a smooth, Alpine-like passageway unlike any in the U.S. today.

The $439 million project, paid with federal emergency funds, features massive exhaust fans, carbon monoxide sensors and a pair of 1,000-foot bridges soaring 125 feet above a grassy horse ranch. A series of 10 fireproof shelters are staggered between the double bores, and remote cameras dangle from the ceiling, monitored by an around-the-clock safety staff of 15.

The tunnels, the first in the U.S. designed and built with an Austrian technique, have a Euro-glossiness to them, with white, glistening walls and shiny pipes gliding down a rounded ceiling. There's a bit of theme park vibe as well, with retaining walls and fake boulders at the entrance sculpted by the man who shaped and molded Disneyland's Indiana Jones ride.

"A new highway tunnel is a rare beast in this country, and what they are doing at Devil's Slide is certainly different than anything we've seen in the U.S.," said Neil Gray, director of government affairs at the Washington, D.C.-based International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association.

The Tom Lantos Tunnels, named after the late congressman, are the first tunnels built in California in more than 50 years. There are only a handful of tunnels under construction in the U.S. today, including the Alaskan Way Tunnel in Seattle, and the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, just 34 miles east of Devil's Slide in the eastern San Francisco Bay area.

Unlike those tunnels built to relieve commuter congestion, this new pair, 15 miles south of San Francisco, will divert a treacherous 1.2-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway that constantly erodes and frequently collapses.

It's a spectacular section of road that was never meant to be.

Just three years after its 1937 completion, the road tumbled into pounding waves below. The road has fallen eight times since, causing costly closures that have devastated communities to the south ? Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, Princeton and Half Moon Bay ? that depend on the route for daily commutes and for tourism from motorists heading south from San Francisco.

Each closure turns a 7-mile scenic drive from Pacifica to Montara into a 45-mile detour through the hills, and some have lasted for months.

In addition to slides, every year there are serious ? often deadly ? accidents on the narrow roadway, which twists so sharply that safe drivers are forced to slow to less than 25 mph. Reckless motorists have plunged hundreds of feet down the cliffs or drifted into oncoming traffic, resulting in horrifying head-on collisions. Plans are to turn the road, once closed, into a pedestrian and cycling park.

The new route, once bitterly contentious, became a model of Californian cooperation in 2006 after local voters declared 3-to-1 that they wanted the more expensive tunnels instead of a state-backed 4.5-mile road that would cut inland around a rugged, sage-covered mountain, crossing streams and paving over sensitive plants and habitat.

But not everyone wants to be rerouted.

For decades, Capt. William "Smitty" Smith, has eased his SUV every morning through the stretch, driving south from San Francisco to his charter boat in Half Moon Bay.

"I come around the Devil's Slide bend and the whole world opens up, the entire coast, and I can see what kind of day I'm going to have," he said.

Now, instead of dense fog, rainbows, choppy seas and rolling currents, he'll face a tunnel long enough to challenge the toughest breath holders in the back seat.

Other residents are apprehensive about earthquakes. The tunnels cut through a seismically flashy area, where the notorious San Andreas fault grumbles and jolts.

"I'm not going to like going through those tunnels, but it's mind over matter," said Phoebe McGaw, working in a coffee shop a few miles south of the project. "And it's about time they finish."

Neither on budget nor on time, it was a 5-year, $240 million project when it launched in 2006. Seven years and $439 million later, Y. Nien Wang, project manager for design contractor HNTB Corp., said seismic concerns, along with few existing standards and regulations, made it a particularly challenging project.

The Federal Highway Administration is only now developing national tunnel inspection standards, and doesn't track information on tunnels in any systematic way. And since this was the first tunnel constructed in decades in California, there were many first-time decisions to be made about seismic safety and design.

"A lot of what we did will be a model for future tunnel work in California," said Wang.

The one-lane tunnels with wide shoulders for stalled cars and bicycles are built to withstand a magnitude 7.5 to 8.0 earthquake, the maximum movement geologists estimate for this reach of the San Andreas fault.

Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said the site's geology also added costs. With one set of machinery for soft rock, a different set for hard rock, crews dug with what were at the time the two largest excavators in the country, 148 tons each. Each time they bumped into a different type of rock, they would have to swap out the entire set of machinery.

"We had to demobilize, remobilize, demobilize, remobilize," said Haus. "That adds up."

And then there were the red-legged frogs. Early on, planners realized that at least one of the 256 streams this protected species lives in ran close to the tunnel sites. Thus, a team of three biologists were hired to protect whatever frogs they could find.

Going from sliding roadway to high-tech tunnels has been a grinding process for U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who spent hours in emotional hearings about the slide as a county supervisor 25 years ago.

"When we first started debating this issue, I was young and frisky. Now I'm old and color my hair," she said. "But residents on the coast no longer have to live in fear that their road will wash out and they'll be stranded."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-24-Devil's%20Slide%20Tunnel/id-dacb3239fa71479a91c2ab1d28c2badf

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Stop Generating Leads! Internet Marketing Lead Generation | List ...

Uploaded by admin on February 21, 2013 at 10:08 pm

http://www.Mehak.tv ? Get Your FREE Report on the 8 Secrets of top earners Here! Most of the time you will get online marketers building their list and generating leads everyday but in this video today I am going to tell you to stop generating leads on a daily basis! http://youtu.be/ec50ZHNWMJE Internet marketing can be a difficult process to make money and everyone is always told to continue list building but thats not what you should be concentrating on when you want to be successful online. http://www.Mehak.tv ? Get Your FREE Report on the 8 Secrets of top earners Here!

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Source: http://www.mad-marketing-method.com/stop-generating-leads-internet-marketing-lead-generation-list-building-online-business/

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Give Rocket Languages A Chance

Learning new languages can be a tricky proposition.? We suggest that you look into getting a good program to help you to learn at home if you can?t attend a class.? There are a multitude of different options for you.? Most people seem to think that Rosetta Stone is the be all and end all of language learning programs, but that?s not the case.? We suggest that you look into the rocket language software, which is cheaper and probably better suited for someone who wants to learn a language the traditional way, without a lot of bells and whistles.? It has been rated very highly by many sources.

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Source: http://www.happymapling.net/reference-and-education/give-rocket-languages-a-chance/

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BP tanker drivers at Grangemouth oil refinery start three-day strike over pay and pensions

22 Feb 2013 11:19

FIRST of two planned walk-outs is set to hit aviation fuel and supplies of petrol to BP garages across Scotland.

BP TANKER drivers at the Grangemouth oil refinery have started a three-day strike over pensions and pay.

More than 40 drivers walked out at 4am today. The strike will last until 8am on Monday.

Supplies of fuel to BP petrol stations across Scotland and north-east England were expected to be hit by the stoppage. Aviation supplies will also be affected.

A second, four-day strike beginning next Thursday is planned.

The Unite union said 90 per cent of the 42 tanker drivers balloted had voted for strike action following the transfer of an aviation contract from BP to DHL.

The union said the drivers were set to lose ?1400 a year in pay and as much as ?100,000 from the value of their pensions as a result.

Grangemouth's owners Ineos said their operations would continue as normal during the strike.

A BP spokesman said: "Our priority remains the safe delivery of fuel products to all our customers.

"We have been working to, and continue to work to, minimise any potential disruption the industrial action planned for this weekend at Grangemouth could cause."

Around 20 drivers formed a picket line outside the refinery today.

Edinburgh Airport said they were aware of the strike action and were making plans.

Source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/tanker-drivers-grangemouth-oil-refinery-1724472

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Year Walk tops iPhone Games of the Week

I?ve been waiting with a great deal of interest for Year Walk from developer Simogo since it was first announced some months back. It?s finally available on the iTunes App Store, and as expected, it?s as beautiful as it is totally weird and somewhat disturbing. Year Walk kicks off the best games we?ve seen this week, but it?s in good company, with mellow puzzlers and fast-action running and gunning titles to balance things out.

Simogo (Bumpy Road, Beat Sneak Bandit) is known for its quality experiences and great visuals, so it?s not surprising that Year Walk sports more of the same high-quality. The game puts players in the first-person role of a protagonist experiencing a vision quest at night in Sweden, navigating the eerie and frozen landscapes by swiping back and forth and solving puzzles. What makes Year Walk fun is that the entire game is intuitive (there?s no tutorial), so you?ll have to be clever and creative in order to solve the game?s puzzles. Year Walk is also speckled with horror themes and imagery, so it?s probably not great for kids, but its dark weirdness makes it great for everyone else. Simogo even developed reference app Year Walk Companion, a guide to the creatures and mythology you?ll encounter.

You might be saying to yourself, ?Great ? another running title and/or giant worm game.? You aren?t wrong in being a tad disdainful, since such games are in heavy rotation on the App Store. Luckily, Worm Run sets itself apart early with its simple but intuitive controls scheme, requiring players to swipe in the direction they want to run or jump. The simplistic controls actually make the frantic experience of running to keep ahead of a huge, ravenous space worm a lot more enjoyable and even more tense, with players? moves like sliding down walls actually working against them as they try to flee the worm.

Puzzler Sporos is infectious. Each level begins by presenting players with an arrangement of cells, connected to one another in a specific pattern. Your job is to place your ?sporos? on the grid in order to make them infect the all the other cells, with each of the sporos infecting adjacent cells in a different direction. You?ll need to put the right sporos in the right places in order to complete each puzzle, with the levels growing more difficult all the time. The fewer moves you make with each cell, the higher your score. Sporos takes a mellow approach to its gameplay while still being challenging, and it looks great. It?s the kind of puzzler that?s perfect for when you?re waiting in line and want to kill a few minutes.

If you liked the first Gun Bros, you?re going to dig the second one. Back are the solid controls and plenty of guns you can use to take on the forces of T.O.O.L. as one of two Gun brothers. Just like last time out, you can join up with a friend and blast enemies in a cooperative two-player mode. The sequel to Gun Bros adds lots of other features, too ? more guns and bad guys, primarily, but also additional gameplay modes that let you get more mileage out of Gun Bros 2. For a free multiplayer game, Gun Bros 2 is an explosive time.

Another logic puzzle game, Puzzle Restorer requires players to complete pixelated paintings, all of which are set on a grid. The trick is that you have a limited number of ?brush strokes? and only so much paint with which to complete the images. You?ll be able to see what picture you need to make, and are required to drag a finger from one of the painting?s existing pixels to fill in the space between them. You?ll need to carefully plan your moves, and you can only start and stop painting at certain locations. As levels get more complex, puzzles become tougher. Like Sporos, Puzzle Restorer is another great way to spend a few minutes challenging your brain. You can even test the game with the free version.

Download the Appolicious Android app

Source: http://www.appolicious.com/games/articles/13243-year-walk-tops-iphone-games-of-the-week

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Virginia, Washington Move Closer To Drone Bans

Government agencies, law enforcement officials angry at backlash

Steve Watson
Infowars.com
Feb 22, 2013

The states of Virginia and Washington moved significantly closer to banning spy drones yesterday, making legislative progress that has angered government agencies and law enforcement.

The Washington Times reports that the Virginia General Assembly approved a moratorium on drone aircraft in the state, sending the legislation to Gov. Bob McDonnell?s desk.

The Senate passed their version of the bill, which advocates a blanket ban on the use of drones except where missing person searches are concerned, for the next two years. Members voted by a 40-0 vote after accepting an amendment from the House, which passed their bill, HB2012, Wednesday.

?We are pleased that it?s on the way to the governor with strong bipartisan support,? bill sponsor Delegate Benjamin L. Cline, Augusta Republican, told reporters in Charlottesville, Va. ?We hope that the governor will also share our support for a breathing period to get some rules in place.?

Although the bill does not go quite as far as Delegate Todd Gilbert?s legislative push last year for a permanent strict ban on surveillance by drones, it is a step in the right direction as far as privacy advocates are concerned.

Gov. McDonnell is expected to approve the moratorium, despite comments he made last year when he described warrantless drones as ?great?, citing ?battlefield successes?.

?If you?re keeping police officers safe, making it more productive and saving money? it?s absolutely the right thing to do.? McDonnell said on the deployment of drones in the state.

The approval of the moratorium on drones comes in the wake of the passage of legislation by city officials in Charlottesville, Va to keep drones out of their airspace altogether, making it the first US city to enact such a ban. Whether city officials will be able to extend their ban to federal drone aircraft or not remains to be seen.

In a similar move in Washington State yesterday, legislation to limit drone use was approved 9-1 by a House Committee, and will move forward to the Rules Committee before potentially heading to the floor of the House.

?I?m pleased the Committee moved H.B. 1771 with a ?Do Pass? recommendation. We?ve been working on the issue for several months and we have a lot of work left to do, but we passed the first hurdle today. It?s a great day for freedom and liberty in Washington State,? said Rep. David Taylor (R), the primary sponsor of the bill.

Much like the Virginia push, the Washington legislation allows for drones to be used for surveillance, by government agencies and law enforcement, only if a warrant is issued, or in search and rescue situations.

?This bill quite simply provides protection to the citizens of Washington state from warrantless surveillance. That?s our intent here. To start a conversation and say if these things are going to be used, you will protect the Constitutional rights of the citizens,? said Rep.Taylor.

?The entire drone issue is not going to be solved with just this one bill, but this will get the law enforcement side under control because there are no clear guidelines out there right now for the use of these drones and we could put the state on the hook with liability if these drones are used in an improper manner,? said Rep. Matt Shea (R), another sponsor.

?Drones are the equivalent of King George the III?s General Warrants. We must get their use by public agencies and law enforcement under control now to protect the people of Washington from warrantless searches and seizure. Just imagine what state environmental agencies could do with drones ?. Tyranny,? said another sponsor, Rep. Jason Overstreet (R).

Many testified in support of the drone ban, including a former FBI official, as well as regular citizens. Officials from government agencies and drone manufacturers expressed anger, and argued that the ban would cost jobs, hinder safety efforts, and lead to over-regulation of law enforcement searches.

The Washington state push comes in the wake of a scrapping of plans by Seattle city officials to roll out drones. Mayor Mike McGinn ordered the city police department to abandon extensive plans it had to roll out drones it has already acquired through federal grant money.

Several?other states and?cities are considering legislation to prohibit the use of drones in domestic skies. Oregon became the latest state to do so recently with the introduction of a?bill setting out licensing requirements for drone use in the state. The bill would fine those who use unlicensed drones to conduct surveillance. New limitations are also being proposed for federal evidence collected by drone use in a state court.

Meanwhile, in related news, Rolling Stone notes that the drone industry is set to launch an all out PR offensive to convince Americans that the unmanned vehicles are more than just tools for spying and assassinations.

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Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones? Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.

This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 10:38 am

Tags: drones

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Source: http://www.infowars.com/virginia-washington-move-closer-to-drone-bans/

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Kendrick Lamar Made 'Poetic Justice' Plea, And Janet Jackson Heard It

'We're still crossing our fingers right now,' K-Dot tells MTV News of his wish for a Janet Jackson cameo in his 'Poetic Justice' video.
By Rob Markman

Kendrick Lamar
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702331/kendrick-lamar-poetic-justice-janet-jackson.jhtml

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Researchers find crime drama viewers more likely to aid sexual assault victims

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Viewers of primetime crime dramas, like NCIS, CSI or Law & Order, are more inclined than non-viewers to see themselves intervening on behalf of the victim of a sexual assault, according to recent research at Washington State University.

Published in the Journal of Health Communication, the study suggests prime-time television may be a successful medium for educating the public about sexual assault and encouraging positive responses, according to Stacey Hust, associate professor of communication with the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications and lead researcher.

A once taboo topic on television, sexual assault has been depicted with increasing frequency in prime-time television programming in recent years, Hust said. Previous research indicates that crime dramas include nearly six violent acts per hour, about a tenth of which are related to sexual assault.

"Although content analyses have not established whether crime dramas portray individuals intervening in sexual assault, we knew from watching some of the programs that at least some episodes featured bystanders who intervened before the crime or who came forward to help after the crime was committed," Hust said. "We wanted to see if watching these programs was associated with bystander intervention.

To answer this question, she and her colleagues fielded a survey to college freshmen to examine the link between crime drama viewing and intentions to intervene during a sexual assault. After controlling for previously identified factors known to influence intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations, the data indicated increased exposure to crime dramas was associated with increased intentions to intervene.

"Sexual assault is a particularly difficult problem to address with health communication campaigns, given adults' discomfort with discussing the topic," said second author Emily Garrigues Marett, a management faculty member at the College of Business at Mississippi State University. "This finding is exciting for health communication practitioners because it suggests that prime-time television may be a successful medium for educating the public on the issue and encouraging positive behaviors."

This study's findings are even more relevant, given the prevalence of sexual assault within the United States. According to U.S. Department of Justice figures, nearly 1 in 6 adult women and 1 in 30 adult men will experience sexual assault within their lifetime.

"Increasing bystander intervention is critical to sexual assault prevention efforts," Hust said. "Bystander intervention both creates an environment in which sexual assault is not tolerated and an environment supportive of victims?both of which are necessary to eliminate sexual assault."

###

Washington State University: http://www.wsu.edu

Thanks to Washington State University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126934/Researchers_find_crime_drama_viewers_more_likely_to_aid_sexual_assault_victims

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PFT: NFL will crack down on coaches arguing

Getty Images

The 40-yard dash is the marquee event of the NFL Scouting Combine, but it?s also often disparaged by those who say that a player?s speed in running 40 yards in a straight line while wearing shorts and a T-shirt does not say much about what kind of football player he is.

Count longtime NFL executive Bill Polian among those who say the 40 does, in fact, matter.

Polian, who ran the draft room for the Bills for eight years, the Panthers for three years and the Colts for 15 years, said on NFL Live that when he looks at the ways a player can show his stuff at the Combine, it begins with showing off his pure speed.

?No. 1, the 40 times. If you are a believer in speed ? and I am, and was ? the 40 times are very important,? Polian said.

Polian said that while he wouldn?t get too obsessed with separating players by the hundredths of a second, there are certain 40 times that a player simply has to meet if he wants to be considered a high-level draft prospect at his position.

?There are benchmarks,? Polian said. ?A guy doesn?t need to run a 4.42 as opposed to someone who runs a 4.43, but they have to get under the barrier that a club sets for each position. So a receiver who?s more than 4.5? His stock?s going to fall, and there?s no two ways about it.?

Polian had some big first-round hits by drafting for speed early in his tenure with the Colts, including Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne and Dwight Freeney. Unfortunately for Polian, he missed with speedy first-round picks like Donald Brown, Anthony Gonzalez and Jerry Hughes later in his tenure.

Those misses do not, however, shake Polian?s belief in the 40.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/20/refs-will-flag-coaches-who-leave-the-sideline-to-argue-calls/related/

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Multiple Sclerosis Euphemisms - Multiple Sclerosis Blog

As many a child learns a euphemistic name for their ?private parts,? several - if not all - of us have used little nicknames for parts or our life with MS.

I was listening to a short interview on the radio with a woman who has written a book about her experience after her husband?s death. It was her use and explanation of several euphemisms around dying, death and grieving. As grief and the grieving of loss is part of our regular MS exercise routine, I thought we?d give it a go here on the Life With MS Blog.

We use non-scientific names and tags for events for the same reason we teach children alternatives for their bits; it?s less frightening.

As you may recall, I?ll often refer to an MS attack as a ?thing?. I?m not afraid of an attack (or my disease? on most days) but ?thing? is something that I can talk about without other people being afraid. ?Spot? or ?Plaque? sound soooooo much better than ?Lesion? and the list goes on.

An old stand-by that has lost favor in the past years is ?good day, bad day?. I think we got tired of people saying that they had ?bad days? too as if they had any idea what ours were like. I suppose that others have gone the way of the dodo as well.

Some of these names will be for symptoms; others will represent the disease activity itself. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

So, as we head into the weekend, I thought we?d share some of the less-than-clinical monikers we used for the different parts of MS. No one is going to judge you for your use of such things. Quite the contrary, I expect that many of your will be admired and your nicknames adopted.

So, lift those ?Frankenstein arms?, place those ?dodgy fingers? on the keys and stamp out your epithet before that ?bumble bee but? makes it hard to sit in your chair.

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers

Trevis

You can also follow me via our Life With MS Facebook page, on Twitter, and in our group on MS Connection.org. Also, check out our bi-monthly MS blog for the United Kingdom, look for our very special new monthly blog for the National MS Society, and don?t forget to check out TrevisLGleason.com.

Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/trevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms/multiple-sclerosis-euphemisms/

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Facebook says it was hacked, no data compromised

Facebook Inc. says it was the target of hackers but no user information was compromised during the attack.

The social media giant said Friday on its security blog that the company discovered in January that its system had been targeted in a sophisticated attack. A handful of the company's employees visited a developer's website that had been compromised, which led to malware being installed on the Facebook employee laptops.

Facebook says it has found no evidence that user data was compromised.

The company has fixed the infected machines, informed law enforcement and has an investigation of its own under way. Facebook also says it was not the only company targeted in the attacks but was one of the first to discover it.

"We are working continuously and closely with our own internal engineering teams, with security teams at other companies, and with law enforcement authorities to learn everything we can about the attack, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future," the company said on its website.

Facebook shares fell 18 cents to close at $28.32 and dropped another 7 cents in after-hours trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-02-15-Facebook-Hacked/id-4269a4fb8aea4733a09ede7403a9d1f9

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Successor in limbo, defense chief pines for Pentagon exit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With his successor's fate unclear, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta publicly pined for retirement on Thursday, saying he was packed up and ready to take his wife, Sylvia, home for Valentine's Day and "get the hell out of here."

But the man nominated to replace the 74-year-old Panetta, former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, faces stiff opposition from Senate Republicans who are threatening to hold up his confirmation vote - potentially delaying Panetta's retirement plans.

Panetta, longing to return to his California walnut farm after four years as Pentagon chief and CIA director, has repeatedly said goodbye to Pentagon and Washington officials in recent days, something he hoped he was doing once and for all at a ceremony on Thursday.

Still, he couldn't be sure.

"I feel like it's 'Groundhog Day' around here," Panetta joked at a Pentagon ceremony honoring former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In the movie "Groundhog Day" the main character lives the same day over and over.

"My office is packed up. Sylvia is packing at home. I'm ready to go. It's like, 'All right.'"

Panetta joked that Clinton's presence at the Pentagon was a great Valentine's Day gift to Defense Department employees.

"The second best Valentine's present would be to allow Sylvia and I to get the hell out of town at the end of the day," he quipped.

Aides say Panetta is likely to leave the Pentagon for California, regardless of what happens in the Senate on Thursday. But he will stay in office until Hagel's confirmation battle is resolved, potentially returning next week, they say.

Hagel, 66, broke from his party while in the Senate by opposing former President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq War, angering many of his Republican colleagues. Some members of his party have also raised questions about whether Hagel is sufficiently supportive of Israel, tough enough on Iran or capable of leading the Pentagon.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/successor-limbo-defense-chief-pines-pentagon-exit-190928395.html

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SEC sues traders over suspicious Heinz options trading

(Reuters) - Securities regulators on Friday filed suit against unknown traders in the options of ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, alleging they traded on inside information before the company announced a deal to be acquired for $23 billion by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil's 3G Capital.

The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, cites "highly suspicious trading" in Heinz call options just prior to the February 14 announcement of the deal.

That trading, the suit said, caused the price of the particular call option they bought to soar 1,700 percent and generated unrealized profits of more than $1.7 million.

The regulator claims the traders are either in, or trading through accounts in, Zurich, Switzerland. The account had no history of trading in Heinz over the last six or so months, the SEC said.

It has also obtained an emergency order to freeze assets in the Swiss account linked to the trading. In the suit, the SEC refers to the account as the "GS Account," and in a statement Goldman Sachs said it was cooperating with the regulator's investigation.

"Irregular and highly suspicious options trading immediately in front of a merger or acquisition announcement is a serious red flag that traders may be improperly acting on confidential nonpublic information," Daniel Hawke, chief of the SEC's Division of Enforcement's Market Abuse Unit said in a statement.

Representatives of Heinz and Berkshire Hathaway were unavailable for immediate comment. A 3G representative declined to comment. The founder of 3G, Jorge Paulo Lemann, is from Brazil but has made a home in Switzerland since the 1990s. He has not been implicated in any wrongdoing related to the deal.

After the deal was revealed on Thursday, options market experts called Wednesday's trading "suspicious and incredibly well-timed.

The suit marks the second time in two years that controversy has erupted over trading in a Berkshire acquisition target.

In March 2011, Berkshire struck a deal to buy the chemical company Lubrizol for $9 billion. Less than three weeks later, Berkshire said Buffett's lieutenant David Sokol was resigning, and disclosed that Sokol had been buying up Lubrizol shares while pushing Buffett to acquire the company.

The SEC dropped a probe into Sokol's trading earlier this year.

The suit is Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Certain Unknown Traders in the Securities of H.J. Heinz Co, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-1080.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Bernard Vaughan; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sec-files-suit-against-unknown-traders-over-heinz-212639442--sector.html

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Baboons that cheat like humans -- and try to hide it

Between secret rendezvous, deleted messages and outright lies, people will go to great lengths to cover up unfaithful acts. But it now seems we aren't unique in our deception ? gelada baboons also actively try to hide their infidelity, new research suggests.

"This kind of deception is common in our society, but it is so difficult to prove that any other animal does it," said lead researcher Aliza le Roux, a behavioral ecologist at the University of the Free State in South Africa. "Here's some evidence that we aren't alone in the world in this, and there are evolutionary roots to our behavior."

Gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) live in small units, which consist of up to a dozen females, a few subordinate males and a dominant male, who holds exclusive reproductive rights to the females. Geladas live in an open grassland habitat and typically produce loud vocal calls during mating, so the dominant male should be able to easily detect any infidelity and stop it from happening. But previous research showed that follower males sire about 17 percent of a group's offspring.

Given this fact, the researchers wondered if gelada baboons engage in a behavior known as tactical deception. "It's when you are doing something that's benefiting you ? when you are cheating, basically ? but you are actively doing something to not be discovered," le Roux told LiveScience. [See Photos of the Cheating Gelada Baboons]

Despite numerous anecdotal reports, tactical deception hasn't been systematically shown to exist outside of human society, le Roux explained. Instead, other studies have only documented functional deception, which happens when an individual grasps an opportunity that's presented. For example, long-tailed macaques are more likely to mate when potentially harassing bystanders aren't around.

To see if geladas take steps to conceal their unfaithfulness, le Roux and her colleagues observed the mating behaviors of 19 reproductive units living in the Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia. Between January 2009 and December 2011, they recorded 939 within-pair copulations (occurring between a dominant male and one of his females) and 93 extra-pair copulations (between a subordinate male and a female).

They found that cheating geladas were more likely to copulate when they were at least 65 feet (20 meters) away from the dominant male, a behavior similar to what was seen previously in macaques. However, geladas took an extra step to hide their infidelity: They kept quiet. The baboons were much less likely to vocalize during extra-pair copulations compared with within-pair copulations, suggesting their deception is tactical, not opportunistic, le Roux said.

The researchers also found that dominant males "punished" those caught cheating. About 20 percent of all extra-pair copulations ended with the dominant male rushing the couple, trying to bite them and showing other acts of aggression. But the punishment had little long-term effect, with the majority of cheaters quickly going back to their bad habits. "There was no change in their behavior, which is a little bit of a pity," le Roux said.

"This topic is important, since it will shed a light on the evolution of human cheating and punishment," Liesbeth Sterck, a behavioral biologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands who was not involved in the study, told LiveScience in an email. However, Sterck said, the study shows no more proof of tactical deception than her own work with long-tailed macaques, and the gelada's apparent tailoring of vocalizations could just be a learned behavior.

But le Roux thinks it's more likely the cheating geladas are taking into account the visual and acoustic perspectives of their leaders. And given the anecdotal reports, this behavior could be widespread. "I'm sure it happens in quite a few other species, and not just primates," she said.

The study is detailed online today (Feb. 12) in the journal Nature Communications.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gelada-baboons-keep-sexual-infidelity-hush-hush-160941458.html

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CRS Turns' Mud Hole' into Popular Rec Area | Woodall's ...

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Part of the award-winning installation by Commercial Recreation Specialists in a Stoughton, Wis., park

Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS) is again the recipient of the Wisconsin Parks and Recreation Association (WPRA) Outstanding Aquatics Facility Design Award.

Together with the city of Stoughton Parks & Recreation Department, CRS? team of aquatic play specialists won the 2012 award for helping to transform the city?s 52-year-old natural swimming pond into an award-winning water-based family entertainment center, according to a news release.

?Stoughton?s new aquatic facility is the best of the best,? says Steve Thompson, CEO of WPRA. The association?s 2,400 members represent the parks, recreation and therapeutic recreation industries throughout Wisconsin.

Two years ago, Stoughton?s swimming pond, then named Mandt Park Pool, was a declining ?mud hole,? as area locals affectionately called it. Competition from large regional water parks left little interest for what was once the community?s prized aquatic recreation facility. But last year, CRS helped change all that.

In 2012, Stoughton brought in CRS to help them renovate the area and develop a Water-Based Family Entertainment Center, complete with themed site amenities and coordinating signage compatible with its new name, ?Troll Beach.? With the addition of a commercial shade structure and aquatic inflatables including the 16-foot Aquaglide Summit Express, Free Fall 6, the Wibit Slider and AquaTrack, the community?s enthusiasm for the pond exploded. According to Troll Beach?s data, its attendance doubled from the year before and its revenue increased by 400%.

?Stoughton?s Troll Beach is a great example of how inflatable modules can immediately and actively revitalize a community?s water-based recreation,? says CRS President Ron Romens. ?We?re excited to win the WPRA Outstanding Aquatic Facility award with Stoughton. It is an honor being involved with an award winning facility once again.?

CRS is headquartered in Verona, Wis., with representatives in New Jersey and Minnesota. It serves customers throughout the United States and the Caribbean.

For more information visit www.crs4rec.com.

?

• January 21, 2013 -- Berens Joins Commercial Recreation Specialists (0)
• December 18, 2012 -- CRS Touts Pool Inflatables? Success Stories (0)
• November 2, 2012 -- CRS Touts Adventure Series Water Sports Line (0)
• October 5, 2012 -- CRS Offers AquaClimb to Campgrounds (5)
• August 16, 2012 -- CRS?s Wibit Aquatrack Revives a N.J. Pool (0)
• February 20, 2012 -- CRS Extends Offerings for Pools and Aqua Zones (0)
• February 16, 2012 -- CRS?s H2Whoa Zone-Unleash Your Potential ROI (0)
• February 16, 2012 -- Rec Vendors See Improving Campground Market (0)
• February 14, 2012 -- CRS Announces Redesigned Jungle Joe 2 (0)
• February 13, 2012 -- CRS Touts ?Wet and Wild? Zoom Floom (0)

Source: http://www.woodallscm.com/2013/02/crs-turns-mud-hole-into-popular-rec-area/

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Aristocrat the Saint Bernard may be the biggest dog at Westminster

Aristocrat (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

NEW YORK?Of all the big dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Aristocrat may very well be the biggest.

The hulking Saint Bernard from Hopewell, N.J., weighs in at a burly 180 pounds?far more than his handler Melody Salmi who says that looking after him is like ?caring for a child.?

For one thing, traveling with Aristocrat?who is affectionately known as ?Cookie? to his family and friends?requires more than just toting around a few extra bags of treats.

Salmi says she travels in an extended van that is ?totally full? of Aristocrat?s equipment. Always at risk of overheating, the dog has his own battery-powered industrial fan?which he was plopped in front of after a pre-Westminster press conference last week, as Salmi misted him with a spray bottle of water.

?Oh this is nothing,? Salmi laughed. ?We?ve got dog food and fans. We bring ice. Two coolers. Wet clothes. Grooming products. Blow dryers. A microwave.?

Last week, Aristocrat was using just one of his fans. But Salmi says he usually requires three?at least at indoor events. During the summer, she brings a minimum seven fans at every show.

?We?re just trying to keep him cool,? Salmi says. ?They are supposed to be in the snow (but) you have to adapt to whatever your surroundings are.?

Can Saint Bernards deal with heat? Yes, says Salmi, who used to breed Saint Bernards in Florida.

?You just have to have a lot of air conditioning,? she laughs. ?The electric company loves you.?

For dog fanciers, Aristocrat may be the most recognizable dog at Westminster. For months, his owner, Linda Baker, has been advertising her dog big time in industry magazines. It?s an aggressive campaign for what will be Aristocrat?s final year on the show circuit, and they want to win.

Last year, Aristocrat competed at 84 shows. So far in 2013, he?s competed in 15 shows?and he?s scheduled to be on the road every single weekend this year.

?We are pushing him really hard this year,? Salmi says, misting Aristocrat again with ice water. ?We want him to have a great final year before he retires.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/meet-dogs-westminster-aristocrat-saint-bernard-125913727--finance.html

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New Landsat Earth-monitoring satellite launched from California

By IRENE KLOTZ

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:26pm EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - - A new satellite to keep tabs on Earth's changing landscape rocketed into orbit on Monday, ensuring continuation of a 40-year-old photo archive documenting urban sprawl, glacial melting, natural disasters and other environmental shifts.

The eighth and most sophisticated Landsat spacecraft blasted off at 1:02 p.m. EST (1802 GMT) aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch was broadcast on NASA Television.

The so-called Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, will join the sole operational 14-year-old Landsat 7 spacecraft in providing visible and infrared images from an orbital perch 438 miles above Earth.

The satellites circle the planet every 99 minutes, relaying pictures showing details down to about the size of a baseball diamond.

The images, which are distributed at no charge, are used by federal, state and local governments and planning boards worldwide to monitor crops, assess damage from fires, floods and other natural disasters as well as to track coastlines, glaciers and other areas impacted by global warming.

"LDCM will continue to describe the human impact on Earth and the impact of Earth on humanity, which is vital for accommodating 7 billion people on our planet," project manager Ken Schwer, with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, told reporters during a preflight press conference.

Monitoring food production, for example, is essential to sustaining Earth's growing population, added Thomas Loveland, a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, which is partnered with NASA on the Landsat program.

"Our federal programs that map the type and extent of crops needed to understand what the food supply will be and the impact on the market will benefit greatly from this," Loveland said.

Landsat's commercial customers include Google, which uses the images in its popular virtual Google Earth program, and the insurance industry which, for example, taps Landsat data to assess risk exposure to wildfires in the western United States and gauge crop production.

The Landsat program has been providing imagery since the first satellite's launch in 1972. LDCM was built by Orbital Sciences Corp.

Once operational, the satellite, which cost NASA $855 million, is expected to relay 400 images per day to ground stations in South Dakota, Alaska and Norway.

The Atlas rocket is manufactured and launched by United Launch Alliance, a joint partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

(Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/f_SLBIiJqCg/us-space-satellite-idUSBRE91A11Q20130211

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Lindsey Vonn-Tiger Woods Relationship: Confirmed By Friends, Definitely Romantic

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/lindsey-vonn-and-tiger-woods-relationship-confirmed-by-friends/

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Top Poker Site Launches Facebook App

PokerStars offers play-money only poker to users of world's largest social network

In another big breakthrough for social gaming on Facebook, leading online poker room PokerStars has launched a play-money app for use by members of the world's largest social network.

Poker on Facebook

The PokerStars Facebook app ushers in new era for Facebook poker. It allows players to compete with their friends, family and associates for chips, although these cannot be cashed in for prizes. Chips are earned for winning games or for claiming prizes from in-game bonuses.

Other prizes on offer include: Challenges, which are presented by PokerStars pro Liv Boeree; Achievement, which are earned in-game; and Experience Points, which are rewarded per hand played, and show seniority. These can also be earned through completion of challenges and accomplishments.

Mix of real and social

This app stands out from other Facebook poker and gaming apps, in that players can link it to their regular PokerStars account. Just login to the Facebook app using your regular PokerStars log info, to?synchronize?the two.

On the other hand, it still maintains some similarities to other social games, such as those created by Zynga Poker. Users of the PokerStars Facebook app can purchase virtual trinkets, and display them to their friends to show off their recent successes!

Source: http://www.onlinecasinoreports.com/news/industrycoverage/2013/2/12/top-poker-site-launches-facebook-app.php

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APNewsBreak: Flaws found in US missile shield

FILE - In this Friday, May 4, 2012 file photo, a Russian military officer is on duty in the main control center of a radar station at the missile defense facility in Sofrino, 50 km (31 miles) northeast of Moscow. Secret U.S. Defense Department studies have cast doubt on whether a multibillion dollar missile defense system planned for Europe will ever be able to protect the United States from Iranian missiles as intended, congressional investigators say. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)

FILE - In this Friday, May 4, 2012 file photo, a Russian military officer is on duty in the main control center of a radar station at the missile defense facility in Sofrino, 50 km (31 miles) northeast of Moscow. Secret U.S. Defense Department studies have cast doubt on whether a multibillion dollar missile defense system planned for Europe will ever be able to protect the United States from Iranian missiles as intended, congressional investigators say. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)

Sailors man the rails aboard the guided -missile destroyer USS Barry as the ship depart the Norfolk Naval Station Thursday morning, Feb. 7, 2013 for a 6-month deployment. The USS Barry has deployed to Europe to protect U.S. allies from ballistic missiles. (AP Photo/TheVirginian-Pilot,Bill Tiernan) MAGS OUT

Sailors man the rails aboard the guided -missile destroyer USS Barry as the ship departs the Norfolk Naval Station Thursday morning, Feb. 7, 2013 for a 6-month deployment. The USS Barry has deployed to Europe to protect U.S. allies from ballistic missiles. (AP Photo/TheVirginian-Pilot,Bill Tiernan) MAGS OUT

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Secret Defense Department studies cast doubt on whether a multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe can ever protect the U.S. from Iranian missiles as intended, congressional investigators say.

Military officials say they believe they can overcome the problems and are moving forward with plans. But proposed fixes could prove difficult. One possibility has been ruled out as technically unfeasible. A second, relocating missile interceptors planned for Poland and possibly Romania to ships on the North Sea, could be diplomatically troublesome.

The studies are the latest to highlight serious problems for a plan that has been criticized on several fronts.

Republicans claim it was developed hastily in an attempt to appease Russia, which had opposed an earlier system. But Russia is also critical of the plan, which it believes is really intended to counter its missiles. A series of governmental and scientific reports has raised questions about whether it would ever work as planned.

At a time that the military faces giant budget cuts, the studies could lead Congress to reconsider whether it is worthwhile to spend billions for a system that may not fulfill its original goals.

The classified studies were summarized in a briefing for lawmakers by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' nonpartisan investigative and auditing arm, which is preparing a report. The GAO briefing, which was not classified, was obtained by The Associated Press.

Military officials declined repeated requests to discuss the studies on the record, noting they were classified. Even speaking on condition of anonymity, officials declined to say whether the GAO accurately had reported its conclusions. But the briefing had been reviewed by several Defense Department officials and the revisions they requested were incorporated. There was no indication they had objected to how the studies had been described.

The officials who spoke to the AP emphasized that the interceptor intended to protect the United States is in the early stages of development and its capabilities are not known. They said that the U.S. is already protected by other missile defense systems. Even if European-based interceptors are unable to directly defend the United States, they say they would protect not only European allies and U.S. troops stationed on the continent, but also U.S. radars there that are necessary for all U.S. missile defense plans.

Missile defense has been a contentious issue since President George W. Bush sought to base long-range interceptors in Central Europe to stop missiles from Iran. Some Democrats criticized the plans, saying they were rushed and based on unproven technology. Russia believed the program was aimed at countering its missiles and undermining its nuclear deterrent.

It might seem logical for the U.S. to want to have a defense against Russian missiles, but it's not that simple.

A new missile defense system aimed at Russia could undermine the balance between the nuclear powers, leading Moscow to add to its arsenal and build up its own defenses. It would undermine prospects for further cuts in nuclear weapons, which are a priority for President Barack Obama, and could hurt U.S.-Russian cooperation on other issues of international importance.

Obama reworked the plans soon after taking office in 2009, saying the threat from long-range Iranian missiles was years off. His plans called for slower interceptors that could address Iran's medium-range missiles. The interceptors would be upgraded gradually over four phases, culminating early next decade with those intended to protect both Europe and the United States.

The plans have gained momentum in Europe with the signing of basing agreements in Poland, Romania and Turkey, as well as backing by NATO.

Russia initially welcomed the plan, but now strongly opposes it, especially the interceptors in the final stage. Russia fears those interceptors could catch its intercontinental missiles launched at the U.S.

It is that fourth stage that is now at issue.

The GAO investigators said that the classified reports by the Missile Defense Agency concluded that Romania was a poor location for an interceptor to protect the U.S. It said the Polish site would work only if the U.S. developed capabilities to launch interceptors while an Iranian missile was in its short initial phase of powered flight.

But the administration is not pursuing that capability because it does not believe it is feasible, according to one senior defense official.

The military has considered deploying interceptors on ships, but the Navy has safety concerns that have not yet been resolved. The suggestion of attempting intercepts from ships on the North Sea probably would aggravate tensions with Russia. That could put it right in the path that some Russian ICBMs would use, further reinforcing Russia's belief that it, not Iran, is the target of the system.

The GAO investigators also took the administration to task for not conducting studies earlier that could have revealed the problems. Reports by the GAO and scientific bodies advising the government have raised other concerns about the missile shield, citing production glitches, cost overruns, problems with radars and sensors that cannot distinguish between warheads and other objects.

One report by the National Academy of Sciences recommended canceling the fourth phase of the system and deploying the interceptors to the East Coast.

The GAO study was requested by Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, who until recently led a panel that oversees missile defense. He said he is concerned that the interceptor in development might be useless in protecting the United States.

"This report really confirms what I have said all along: that this was a hurried proposal by the president," he said.

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Online:

Missile Defense Agency: http://www.mda.mil/system/system.html

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Follow Desmond Butler on Twitter: http://twitter.com/desmondbutler

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-09-US-Europe-Missile%20Defense/id-d119471687de413bb8d85c44687b0f16

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