[OOC] Mechanical Angel

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Aniihya

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2 small Wall Street firms close doors (AP)

Two small Wall Street firms have closed doors in the past two weeks, apparent casualties of heightened investor unease following last year's wild stock market swings and lingering fear over the European debt crisis.

New York investment bank Kaufman Bros. LP posted a message on its website Monday saying it had ceased operations.

Brokerage firm Ticonderoga Securities LLC, also based in New York, shut its doors last Tuesday. The firm left a message on its website thanking clients for their support over the past two years.

Concerns over the U.S. economy and the European debt crisis drove a volatile summer and early fall on Wall Street. That's led to more subdued trading, and reduced fees for many brokerage firms.

Calls to Kaufman and Ticonderoga were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wall_street_firms_closures

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Experts: US ill-prepared for oil spill off Cuba

MIAMI (AP) ? The U.S. is not ready to handle an oil spill if drilling off the Cuban coast should go awry but can be better prepared with monitoring systems and other basic steps, experts told government officials Monday.

The comments at a congressional subcommittee hearing in the Miami Beach suburb of Sunny Isles come more than a week after a huge oil rig leased by Spanish energy giant Repsol YPF arrived in Cuban waters to begin drilling a deep water exploratory well.

Similar development is expected off the Bahamas next year, but decades of tense relations between the U.S. and Cuba makes cooperation in protecting the Florida Straits particularly tricky. With memories of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico still fresh, state and federal officials fear even the perception of any oil flowing toward Florida beaches could devastate an economy that claims about $57 billion from tourism.

Florida International University Professor John Proni told officials to be proactive. He is leading a consortium of researchers on U.S. readiness to handle any spill.

"For the last few years, my colleagues and I have been visiting Washington to say the best time to start preparing for an oil spill is before it happens," Proni told leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in a hotel-turned-hearing room overlooking turquoise waters. Proni said he has seen little action from officials in Washington, though they responded positively.

U.S. officials have turned attention to preventing future spills since the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by the energy company BP exploded in April 2010, causing the well to blow out and unleashing millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude washed up on pristine shoreline, soiled wildlife and left a region dependent on tourist dollars scrambling to rebuild its image.

Coast Guard officials said Monday they didn't know if drilling off Cuba had begun.

Experts testified current estimates have surface oil ? in event of any spill off Cuba ? moving up to 3 mph due to the Gulfstream, but that the fast-moving current would make it difficult for any crude quickly crossing the Florida Straits.

Rear Adm. William Baumgartner, commander of the Coast Guard region that covers the Florida Straits, said a likely scenario would have oil spreading and reaching U.S. waters in six to 10 days.

Proni said he wants a system that can monitor changes in underwater sounds to immediately alert U.S. officials to a spill or other unusual activity. He also wants the U.S. to invest in developing better computer models to predict oil movement and to assess the existing ecosystem and the type of oil Cuba possesses. That way, experts can better pinpoint any possible damage and find out if it came from Cuban wells.

Proni said the fast-moving water would make it difficult to burn the oil or strain it, as was done to halt the spread of the Deepwater Horizon spill. He added that more research is needed on the risks of using chemicals that break down the oil into tiny droplets.

Baumgartner said his agency has been working on a response plan. The Coast Guard and private response teams have been granted the required visas under the U.S. embargo to work with the Cuban government and its partners should a problem arise. Since March 2011, the agency has been working with Repsol, and U.S. officials inspected the rig earlier this month.

The rig was given a good bill of health. Asked Monday about the rig's readiness, though, the U.S. Department of Interior's regional director for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Lars Herbst said inspectors found some minor problems with the safety systems that would have kept it from being allowed to drill in U.S. waters. He said it was unclear whether repairs had been made.

Jackie Savitz a senior scientist with the nonprofit Oceana, who attended the hearing, said she was glad lawmakers were so concerned but hoped they would express similar interest in offshore drilling in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, where many rigs are already drilling for oil.

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, one of three South Florida Cuban-American lawmakers who attended the hearing, said the concerns over Cuba's oil exploration were particularly pressing because of the political context and hopes the Obama administration would quickly respond to the consortium's concerns. But he agreed Proni's proposals could be applied to the Gulf of Mexico too.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has authored a bill that would sanction those who help Cuba develop its oil reserves.

"We can't stop Repsol from drilling now, but we can act to deter future leaders to avoid the Castro brothers becoming the oil tycoons of the Caribbean," she told the committee.

Fellow South Floridian U.S. Rep. David Rivera wants to expand the 1990 Oil Pollution Act to fully cover companies operating in foreign waters, in the event oil reaches U.S. territory to ensure they repay the U.S. government for any cleanup costs for spills.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-30-Cuba-Oil%20Drilling/id-191736322a494ab5a6896a5477d0db45

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Questions remain in deadly Florida highway crash

Debris and wreckage lie along the highway after a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Debris and wreckage lie along the highway after a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Firemen hose down a commercial carrier truck on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., after it was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck which killed at least nine people in the early hours of Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

A fireman sprays the interior of a burned vehicle that was involved in a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

At left, firemen rest after fighting fires that resulted from a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Florida Highway Patrolmen inspect the damage from a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup on the highway, which had been closed for a time because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire. At least five cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flame. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

GAINESVILLE, FLa. (AP) ? Just hours before a pileup that killed 10 people, authorities had closed a stretch of highway smothered in smoke and fog due to a three-vehicle crash that left a passenger seriously injured. Why they reopened it just minutes before the second crash ? and who made the call ? remained murky Monday, with the Florida Highway Patrol refusing to answer questions as national investigators hinted they might join the inquiry.

An FHP report noted that police closed Interstate 75 about midnight Saturday following the smashup between two SUVS and after drivers called in reporting low visibility. They reopened the roadway at 3:30 a.m. ? 15 minutes before at least a dozen cars, six tractor-trailers and a motorhome collided south of Gainesville, pushing some of the cars under the crushing bellies of big rigs, causing others to burst into flames and sending metal shrapnel flying through the air. Eighteen survivors were hospitalized.

FHP spokesmen at the state and local level did not respond to several phone calls and emails Monday from The Associated Press seeking answers to what protocol authorities follow ? and whether it had been altered following a similarly deadly crash in 2008 on Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa, about 125 miles south of Sunday's crash. Four people were killed and 38 injured in that crash.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to Gainesville on Monday to determine if it would formally join the inquiry into the crash and its causes. Either way, the highway patrol will remain in charge of the investigation, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said. "We've investigated a number of these pileups and we just want to see if there is any lesson we can learn from this particular series of accidents," he said. "One of the areas that our investigators will be looking at is the reopening of I-75."

The pileups happened on both sides of the highway. When rescuers first arrived, the smoke and fog were so thick the only way they could locate victims was by following the sound of their screams and moans from the wreckage, which was strewn for nearly a mile.

Authorities had not released the names of the victims, but did say that four people died in one of the cars and that a "tour bus-like" vehicle also was involved in the pileup. The fog and smoke had cleared enough Monday to reopen all lanes of the roadway.

Steven R. Camps and some friends were driving home hours before dawn Sunday when they were drawn into the massive wreck. "You could hear cars hitting each other. People were crying. People were screaming. It was crazy," the Gainesville man said hours later. "If I could give you an idea of what it looked like, I would say it looked like the end of the world."

Before Camps hit the fog bank, a friend who was driving ahead of him in a separate vehicle called to warn of the road conditions. The friend said he had just seen an accident and urged Camps to be careful as he approached the Paynes Prairie area, just south of Gainesville.

A short time later, Camps said, traffic stopped along the northbound lanes. "You couldn't see anything. People were pulling off the road," he said. Camps said he began talking about the road conditions to a man in the car stopped next to him when another vehicle hit that man's car.

The man's vehicle was crushed under a semi-truck stopped in front of them. Camps said his car was hit twice, but he and another friend were able to jump out. They took cover in the grass on the shoulder of the road. All around them, cars and trucks were on fire, and they could hear explosions as the vehicles burned.

"It was happening on both sides of the road, so there was nowhere to go. It blew my mind," he said, explaining that the scene "looked like someone was picking up cars and throwing them."

The fire that is believed to have contributed to poor visibility on the highway had destroyed 62 acres and was still burning Monday. Florida Forest Service spokeswoman Ludie Bond said the fire began Saturday and investigators were still trying to determine whether the blaze had been intentionally set. She said there were no controlled burns in the area and no lightning. No home are threatened by the fire. ___ Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-Deadly%20Interstate%20Crash/id-4c64e4788b30457599bfb6f896091d4a

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Is Bebo Finally Dead?

Largely forgotten social network Bebo may have shut down today. Bebo users certainly seem to think that this is the end. The Bebo website is down, and as a result there's a steady stream of sad tweets using the "#bebo" and "#ripbebo" hashtags. And if it's a false alarm, the company isn't doing much to combat that impression ? the most recent posts on both the Bebo and Team Bebo Twitter accounts date from November.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iorT0Rzn5a4/

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Myanmar's Suu Kyi calls for changes to constitution (Reuters)

DAWEI, Myanmar (Reuters) ? Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on Sunday for changes to the military-drafted constitution in her first political trip since ending a boycott of the country's political system last year and announcing plans to run for parliament.

Thousands of people lined the roads shouting "Long live mother Suu" as her motorcade moved through the rural coastal region of Dawei about 615 km (380 miles) south of her home city,

Yangon, the main business centre.

The trip, only her fourth outside Yangon since her release from years of house arrest in November 2010, demonstrates the increasingly central role of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate as the Southeast Asian state emerges from half a century of isolation.

"There are certain laws which are obstacles to the freedom of the people and we will strive to abolish these laws within the framework of the parliament," Suu Kyi said to cheers from supporters after meeting officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Dawei.

The NLD, though well known in the country, has had limited real political experience. It won by a landslide a 1990 election, a year after Suu Kyi began a lengthy period of incarceration, but the then regime ignored the result and detained many party members and supporters.

The NLD boycotted the next election, held in 2010 and won by a military-backed party after opposition complaints of rigging.

Her address on Sunday offered the most extensive detail yet of the policies she would bring to parliament.

In particular, she said she wanted to revise a 2008 army-drafted constitution that gives the military wide-ranging powers, including the ability to appoint key cabinet members, take control of the country in a state of emergency and occupy a quarter of the seats in parliament.

"We need to amend certain parts of the constitution," she said, adding the international community was poised to help Myanmar "once we are on an irreversible road to democracy."

She also said fighting between government soldiers and ethnic minority rebels had to be resolved. There has been heavy fighting recently in Kachin state but rebellions have simmered in many other regions since independence from Britain in 1948.

"Diversity is not something to be afraid of, it can be enjoyed," Suu Kyi said.

Although she has not started to campaign formally for the April 1 by-elections, the speech outside her office to supporters waving party flags and wearing T-shirts showing her face felt like a campaign stop.

"She's becoming more and more explicitly political and talking about the importance of policies," said a diplomat in the crowd. "I think it is the best speech I have heard from her."

"GREAT TRANSFORMATION"

Suu Kyi and her allies are contesting 48 seats in various legislatures including the 440-seat lower house in by-elections that could give political credibility to Myanmar and help advance the end of Western sanctions.

Business executives, mostly from Asia, have swarmed into Yangon in recent weeks to hunt for investment opportunities in the country of an estimated 60 million people, one of the last frontier markets in Asia.

Myanmar is also at the centre of a struggle for strategic influence as the United States sees a chance to expand its ties there and balance China's fast-growing economic and political sway in the region.

The visit to Dawei gives rural voters a rare glimpse of 66-year-old Suu Kyi, a symbol of defiance whose past trips outside Yangon were met with suspicion and violence by the former junta, which handed power to a nominally civilian parliament in March.

But many of the same generals who dominated the junta now lead a government on a dramatic reform drive, freeing hundreds of political prisoners, loosening media controls, calling for peace with ethnic insurgents and openly engaging with Suu Kyi and other opposition figures.

As a result, this trip was very different to one last July to Bagan, north of Yangon, where she was trailed by undercover police and kept a low profile, fearful of a repeat of an attack on her motorcade in 2003 in which 70 supporters were killed.

Suu Kyi told the World Economic Forum in Davos last week that Myanmar had not yet reached its "great transformation," but the elections in April could bring that point closer.

Many believe the turning point for Suu Kyi came on August 19, when she and President Thein Sein met in the capital, Naypyitaw. The president has since repeatedly urged parliament to pursue reforms, while Suu Kyi has voiced support for his government.

Many Burmese speculate that a senior government role, possibly even a cabinet post, awaits Suu Kyi, the daughter of assassinated independence hero General Aung San.

But to get there, much work lies ahead.

Her party has limited resources. Its headquarters are cramped and crumbling. Its senior ranks are filled with ageing activists. And there are questions over how much influence it can wield in a year-old parliament stacked with military appointees and former generals.

Her supporters, however, say her presence would bring a powerful pro-democracy voice to a chamber where many members remain reluctant to speak their mind.

"She will be able to do more inside the parliament than if she remained on the outside. There are some crucial things to do urgently concerning ethnic issues and political changes," said Ko Htin Kyaw, a dissident who was arrested in 2007 and freed in an amnesty this month.

(Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_myanmar_suukyi

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Ambient Enhances Smart Grid Communications Node ? comcast.net ...

Jan 30, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX News Network) -- Ambient Corporation, a provider of scalable smart grid communications platforms and technologies, announced that its Ambient Smart Grid communications nodes now include Qualcomm's mobile broadband ...

Read More

Source: http://www.blackmereconsulting.com/ambient-enhances-smart-grid-communications-node-comcast-net

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Turn a Canning Jar into a Travel Mug with Cuppow

Cuppow is a silicone drinking lid that converts any wide-mouthed canning jar into a travel mug.? Canning jars are sturdy, heat-resistant, easy to clean, and cheap, but their wide openings don’t make them a travel-friendly mug.? Simply replace the seal with the Cuppow, screw the ring back on, and you have a eco-friendly cup that [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/28/turn-a-canning-jar-into-a-travel-mug-with-cuppow/

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Is it time to say goodbye to our aging Dome? (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/192731119?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Cuba Communist Party eyes term limits at gathering (AP)

HAVANA ? Cuba's Communist Party opened a two-day conference Saturday to hold an internal debate on the future of the party, the possibility of political term limits and perhaps even a change or two at the top.

The closed-door gathering is a follow-up to last April's historic party summit where delegates green-lighted fledgling reforms, opening up long-shut doors of economic opportunity.

But while the government has essentially followed through on its economic promises ? things like liberalizing home and car sales, expanding private-sector activity and offering loans to support farmers, entrepreneurs and homeowners ? expectations were low that this weekend would yield any blockbuster announcements beyond what officials have already hinted at.

"The expectations were high because this conference was perceived as an act of continuity with relation to the 6th Congress, as a space to complete the economic adjustment with complementary political reforms," said Cuban-born economist Arturo Lopez-Levy, a lecturer at the University of Denver. "It became clear that that vision was unfoundedly optimistic."

Foreign journalists were not allowed access, and limited coverage was available through the island's official media. State-run website Cubadebate showed photos of President Raul Castro presiding over the conference wearing a gray blazer and a dark, open-collar shirt, with what appeared to be a small bandage on the tip of his nose.

In a brief snippet of video posted on Cubadebate, Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura said in a keynote speech that the conference would focus on "the everyday work of the organization."

Castro himself has dampened expectations for any big announcements, saying two weeks ago that nobody should have "great illusions about the conference" and the topics of debate were more "an internal question for the party."

According to a draft agenda that circulated last fall, one matter up for discussion will be Castro's call to limit officeholders including the president to two five-year terms, with the goal of achieving a "gradual renewal in leadership."

Over the years a number of rising young stars considered potential successors to Raul Castro, 80, and his brother Fidel, retired and largely out of sight at 85, have been unceremoniously fired. There are no obvious replacements waiting in the wings.

In April the younger Castro, who is also party chief, lamented the lack of politicians prepared to take over from the 70- and 80-somethings who occupy many top posts. Grooming new leaders would be a priority during his five-year term, he said.

Recently a Cuban official told The Associated Press that despite the lack of movement in visible roles like cabinet ministers, many midlevel government posts have quietly changed hands, with younger officials moving up. If true, that would bolster Raul Castro's claim that his government was laying the groundwork, albeit slowly, for generational change. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, and his assertions could not be independently confirmed.

Communist Party newspaper Granma said Saturday that delegates would consider how best to promote women, blacks and young people through the ranks of the party and government.

They will also evaluate the party's role in "the direction and systematic control of the process of updating the economic model and the progress of the economy," Granma said.

The draft agenda for the conference was discussed at thousands of local party and committee meetings and many of its objectives modified. The purpose of the conference was to turn the agenda into policy in support of last year's reforms, Machado Ventura said.

"Let us make our best effort to cast off obsolete mindsets of inertia and old prejudices," he said in comments broadcast on the afternoon news. "Let us work with responsibility and an eye toward the future, with the goal of strengthening the foundation of the (party's) work."

The Communist Party, the only party allowed in Cuba, does not have lawmaking powers but issues guidelines that are later taken up by parliament.

The conference's opening day was timed to coincide with the 159th anniversary of the birth of poet and independence hero Jose Marti, in whose honor a noontime 21-cannon salute thundered from a historic fort overlooking the Havana harbor.

But some said that's about all the fireworks they expect this weekend.

"The only thing that might be interesting is if they have some kind of election, to see who they put in the political bureau, especially if they put someone there who's not 80 years old," said Javier Blanco, a 32-year-old Havana resident. "Other than that... I don't think anything will come out that we don't already know."

Many Cubans were disappointed last month when authorities scuttled a proposal to eliminate the exit visa required for travel off the island.

Lopez-Levy said recent signals from Cuban leadership suggest there's no prospect for major political change in the near future.

"The Cuban Communist Party is going to make an adjustment to its internal life ... but it's not going to subject its political model to open debate on structural reforms as it did with its economic and social project," he said. "It's a low-risk strategy for the short term, but it could complicate the future."

___

Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez and Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana contributed to this report.

___

Follow Peter Orsi on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Peter(underscore)Orsi.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_communist_party_conference

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Obama's Drop-Out Proposal Won't Make Kids Learn (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | During his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama called on states to pass laws requiring that children remain in school until age 18. According to Chris Moody's posting in The Ticket, Obama was using his "bully pulpit" to tell local school districts how to do their jobs. It offended some Republicans, Moody writes, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who had to fight the urge to become this year's Joe Wilson.

I don't find Obama's desire to see children stay in school offensive so much as I find his suggestion as to how to do this poorly thought out. It's one of those things that sounds nice when you say it, but you realize upon further consideration that it just won't work. At first blush: Local school districts, at least the ones in my home state of Colorado, would have an incentive to do this as they get revenue for the state based upon how many students are enrolled. Fewer dropouts, bigger enrollment.

The Obama Administration could spice up the offer a little from the federal side too, tying education funding for states to the requirement that each state pass a law mandating attendance until age 18. It actually wouldn't shock me, having seen the feverish intensity by which my state's department of education and others were willing to modify state laws in order to pursue multi-million dollar "Race to the Top" federal grants. In fact, the suggestion that states do this may have been more of a sign of things to come than merely a suggestion.

But it still won't work. First of all, how is it going to be enforced? And who is going to enforce it? Are you going to put a bunch of 16- and 17-year-olds in jail if they don't go to school? Are you going to put their parents in jail for having truant children? (As hideous as I find it, some states and districts already have truancy laws calling to do exactly this.)

So, say you force most, but not all, students to stay in school until age 18. What then? Are they going to want to learn? A lot of them don't want to learn now. Instead, as Phil Gingrey of Georgia stated in Moody's post, they go to school when they feel like it and disrupt the other kids in class.

There are certainly things that could promote kids staying in school until 18. I think more could be done in the arena of school-to-work or trade school cooperatives that put practical application to what kids learn, making that learning more engaging and meaningful. But attempting to force someone to stay in school when they are determined not to be there doesn't seem to be the most logical solution ever suggested. Especially not for the kids who do want to be there.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120127/pl_ac/10890127_obamas_dropout_proposal_wont_make_kids_learn

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Pesticide may worsen honeybee virus

A common pesticide used by beekeepers to kill honeybee-infecting mites temporarily leaves the bees more susceptible to a debilitating virus, new research suggests.

From parasitic flies to numerous viruses, honeybee colonies across the globe have a lot of things threatening their survival, but perhaps no stressor is as disastrous as varroa destructor mites. The tiny vampiric arachnids latch onto bees of all stages of life and suck their "blood." Often in the process, the mites deliver to the bees deformed wing virus ? which causes wing disfigurements in developing pupae, resulting in flightless bees that die shortly after their emergence. Both these mites and the deformed wing virus have been implicated in colony collapse disorder, and together they can wipe out an entire honeybee colony within a few years if left untreated, scientists have found.

The most successful weapon against these mites (at least those that haven't developed a resistance) has been pesticides called acaricides. However, scientists know little about the chemicals' effects on honeybee viruses. To find out, Joachim de Miranda, a bee ecologist at the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, and his colleagues studied the effects of the common acaricide Apistanon levels of several viruses in honeybees.

To their surprise, they found that concentrations of deformed wing virus in treated bee colonies initially increased for a period, before ultimately dropping when more mites died (though the virus levels didn't fall below those seen in untreated colonies until the last week of the six-week treatment used in the study).

If future studies conclusively show that Apistan causes a spike in the virulence of deformed wing virus, the findings could have implications for beekeepers, the researchers say.

"Make sure that you know that you absolutely have to treat before treating with acaricides," de Miranda told LiveScience. "If you don't have a lot of mites, then this treatment will only cause you more damage."

Of mites and viruses
During the winter, honeybees do not hibernate, but instead cling tightly together on the combs in the hive to form insulating "clusters." While in the cluster, the bees still rear young and consume food, but all reproduction is stopped. Because the bees need a critical number of members to effectively block out the cold, the colony must be healthy before and during the chilly season.

"They have to be as healthy as possible going into the winter to survive and produce the next generation during the spring before dying off," de Miranda explained.

Previous studies showed that colonies that were effectively mite-free were still dying over winter, and bees that died had elevated levels of deformed wing virus, said Stephen Martin, a varroa mite expert at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the current research. "What we suspect is that the virus has now changed ? it was initially reliant on varroa, but now virulent forms don't rely on that kind of transmission," Martin said, referring to the fact that over the winters, when the mites are dead, the virus can still be transmitted to other bees through their regurgitated food.

In light of this fact, beekeepers need to know how soon before winter they need to start treating their colonies for varroa mites, to ensure that the bees make it to spring.

A balance of evils
The researchers don't yet know what could have caused the initial spike they saw in deformed wing virus in the pesticide-treated bees, but suspect that Apistan could be working synergistically with the virus against the bees; alternatively, the chemical may be negatively affecting bee immunity, leaving them more vulnerable to the deformed wing virus.

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Whatever the case, the study doesn't conclusively show that Apistan had an effect on virus levels, and the results could just be a statistical anomaly, Martin told LiveScience. The researchers are now looking to test how Apistan affects virus levels in the absence of varroa mites.

De Miranda doesn't think beekeepers should be alarmed, because the virus spike wasn't significant enough to cause major damage, though using pesticide to treat bees with just low levels of the mites may not be the best idea. Colonies highly infested with mites need to be treated, he said, adding that "you have to see it as sort of a balance of different evils."

At the very least, the study shows that beekeepers should probably treat their colonies for more than six weeks ahead of chilly weather, because there were still substantial levels of deformed wing virus at the end of the study treatment.

"Beekeepers need to be aware that viruses don?t sit still and things are continually changing," Martin said. Fifteen years ago acaricides that killed mites also reduced virus levels, but this is clearly not happening anymore, he said. "Things are not as straightforward as we once believed."

The study was published in the January issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46167215/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Bus-sized asteroid buzzes Earth ... harmlessly

A small asteroid the size of a city bus zoomed between Earth and the moon's orbit Friday, just days after its discovery, but it never posed a threat to our planet, NASA says.

The asteroid 2012 BX34 passed within 36,750 miles (59,044 kilometers) of Earth when it made its closest approach at 10:30 a.m. ET. The space rock is about 37 feet (11 meters) wide and would have broken apart in Earth's atmosphere long before it reached the ground, if it had reached the planet at all, NASA scientists said.

"Asteroid 2012 BX34 is small," astronomers with NASA's Asteroid Watch at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a Twitter message. "It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try."

The space rock passed Earth at a distance that is only about 0.17 times that between Earth and the moon. For comparison, the moon typically orbits Earth at a distance of about 240,000 miles (386,000 kilometers).

Asteroids this small are hard to spot, and luckily they pose the least concern," Asteroid Watch scientists explained. "Our goal is to find the bigger ones." [Video and image of asteroid 2012 BX34's orbit]

In September, NASA announced that it has spotted about 90 percent of the largest asteroids (the size of a mountain or bigger) that can come near Earth. About 911 such giant space rocks have been confirmed. Astronomers estimate there are about 981 big near-Earth objects that occasionally creep close to our planet.

Asteroid 2012 BX34 was the second space rock to fly relatively close by Earth this week, Asteroid Watch scientists said. On Jan. 23, another small asteroid ? called 2012 BS1 ? passed by the planet at a range of about 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers), which is about 3.1 times the Earth-moon distance.

"Asteroid 2012 BS1 is so small (about 7 meters) it would disintegrate in our atmosphere if it were to come close to Earth," the Asteroid Watch team wrote.

Astronomers with NASA and other science teams routinely scan the skies in search of near-Earth asteroids that could pose a danger to the planet. Experts estimate that asteroids about 460 feet (140 meters) across and bigger can cause widespread devastation near their impact sites, though a larger space rock would be required to cause destruction on a global scale.

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This week, scientists from around the world are also discussing how Earth should respond to the threat of an asteroid impact. The so-called NEOShield project is a European commission led by the German Aerospace Center and includes scientists from universities and industrial partners in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States and Russia.

You can follow Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46155814/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Would your city want a nuclear waste site?

If the price is right, would your town want a nuclear waste site?

A panel of experts said today that finding a volunteer community is the best way to pick a place for a waste repository that could outlast human civilization. The site would store spent nuclear fuel that has been piling up at the nation's 104 nuclear reactors.

The President's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future released its final report Thursday with eight key recommendations about how to kick-start a federal waste disposal policy that it says "has been troubled for decades and has now all but completely broken down."

Congress picked Yucca Mountain, Nev., as a permanent repository in 2002, but the Obama administration nixed the plan in 2010 after disputes with state officials. Even with the closure, the Department of Energy will have spent $10 billion on Yucca Mountain by 2020, according to estimates by the General Accountability Office.

The nuclear waste panel said that it's better to convince a local town or tribe to take the facility, rather than selecting a site and then trying to convince local residents afterward.

"I don't have a secret recipe," said Allison Macfarlane, a panel member and environmental science professor at George Mason University. "But the community should get what they want, jobs, university scholarships, the options are endless."

Macfarlane cited two successful examples. In the 1970s, residents of Carlsbad, N.M., agreed to host a disposal site for waste generated by the nearby nuclear weapons labs. After decades of delays, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) began taking shipments in 1998.

The town got 1,300 jobs, several factories and a youth sports complex ? as well as $300 million in highway funds.

In Sweden, federal officials tried several times to site a long-term waste disposal site until they asked for volunteers. Two communities vied for the project, which is now under way.

Macfarlane said that state governments have to be on board before moving forward. Opposition from state officials in both Nevada and Utah killed previous plans for nuclear waste sites.

ANALYSIS: Is Nuclear Energy Safe?

Consumers have been paying a tax on their utility bills from nuclear-generated electric power to build such a long-term storage site for several decades. Katrina McMurrian is executive director of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition, a group of utilities, state officials and advocacy groups pushing for a disposal location. She says now it's time for the government to step up and get the job done.

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"Rate-payers across the country have been paying to have this taken care of in return for a resting place established for used nuclear fuel," McMurrian said. "We simply want the government to make good on its promise."

The new report said deep geologic disposal is the best way to safely store spent nuclear fuel, material that will remain radioactive for tens of thousands of years. Big metal canisters made of either stainless steel (France), copper-steel (Sweden) or a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy (planned for Yucca Mountain) would be lowered into a mine 900 feet to 2500 feet below ground.

The canisters could be put into granite, clay or salt, as long as the surrounding formations are geologically stable, Macfarlane said. That means below potable groundwater, away from heat sources and fissures.

Ideas for putting nuclear waste under the seabed or in orbit were rejected as either in violation of international treaties (sea) or too risky (space).

"We can't send up every single rocket with a 100 percent guarantee that it won't blow up," Macfarlane said.

? 2012 Discovery Channel

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46168836/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Celtics Beat Magic In 'Ball Fight:' Kevin Garnett Helps Erase 27-point Deficit (VIDEO)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Paul Pierce had 24 points and 10 assists, and E'Twaun Moore added 16 points to help the Boston Celtics erase a 27-point deficit and beat the Orlando Magic for the second time this week, 91-83 on Thursday night.

Pierce and Moore had 10 points each in the fourth quarter.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Orlando had an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but shot 2 of 17 in the final 12 minutes. The Magic scored just eight points in the period.

The Celtics have won three straight for just the second time this season. It also was their fourth consecutive victory over the Magic, dating to last season.

Since a season-best, five-game winning streak, the Magic have lost three times in five games, including a 31-point defeat at Boston on Monday.

After being mostly manhandled on both ends for three quarters, Boston found its energy in the final 12 minutes, sparked by Pierce and Moore.

The Celtics opened the fourth quarter with a 15-1 run and grabbed their first lead since the opening period, 79-76 with 7:32 to play.

The Magic went 0-for-7 from the field, missed 5 of 6 free throws and committed three turnovers during Boston's spurt.

A free throw by Pierce after Ryan Anderson's technical foul made it 84-78 with 3:47 remaining. The Magic got within 84-80 after a pair of free throws by Hedo Turkoglu, but no closer.

Early on, it seemed like the Magic's night.

In a reversal of its dismal performance in the first half of Monday's loss, Orlando led 58-37 at halftime on Thursday ? eclipsing its point total in the entire first game by a basket in the opening 24 minutes.

With three starters out, including center Jermaine O'Neal, Boston coach Doc Rivers was forced to start Kevin Garnett opposite Howard.

The move worked out early.

Howard was whistled for two quick fouls ? one while setting a screen, and the second defending Garnett about 15 feet from the basket. He was forced to the bench less than three minutes in.

The Magic picked it up on both ends without him, and closed the quarter on a 30-11 run to build a 16-point lead.

Anderson was active throughout the spurt and led with 12 first-quarter points. He also kept several possessions alive by tipping the ball out from scrums underneath the basket.

Notes: Magic owner Rich DeVos and former guard Nick Anderson presented Howard with a plaque to commemorate him passing Anderson as the Magic's career leading scorer. Howard broke the mark against Indiana earlier this week. ... Rivers was given his third technical foul of the season with 8:47 left in the first quarter. ... The Celtics played without G Rajon Rondo, who missed his fourth game because of a sore right wrist, G Ray Allen, who was out for a second game with an injured left ankle, and C Jermaine O'Neal, out because of a sore left knee. Rivers said Rondo is still in pain, and there is no timetable for his return.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/celtics-beat-magic-comeback-ball-fight-kevin-garnett_n_1235688.html

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Prince Fielder introduced by Detroit Tigers (AP)

DETROIT ? Saying "dreams come true," Prince Fielder was introduced Thursday by the Detroit Tigers.

Fielder appeared at a news conference at Comerica Park after finalizing a $214 million, nine-year contract, the fourth-largest deal in baseball history.

"This is awesome," Fielder said. "I just never thought this could happen."

With Detroit desperate to win its first World Series title since 1984, the big first baseman will combine with Miguel Cabrera to give the Tigers perhaps the most formidable Nos. 3-4 hitters in the major leagues. But with Cabrera shifting to third, it also will give Detroit a potentially troublesome defense at the infield corners.

Fielder was seated at a dais along with owner Mike Ilitch, manager Jim Leyland, GM Dave Dombrowski and agent Scott Boras.

Dombrowski called it "a very exciting time for this city" as Fielder was given his Tigers jersey.

Ilitch recalled how Prince Fielder used to hang around Tiger Stadium whether his father Cecil played for Detroit,

"He was marked to be a major league baseball player," Ilitch said.

Ilitch said discussions began after the Tigers learned that Victor Martinez will miss most or all of the season because of a knee injury sustained during offseason workouts.

Leyland said Brandon Inge, who is being displaced because of Fielder's arrival caused Cabrera's move to third, "isn't the happiest camper." Leyland also said he thought Cabrera was capable of handling defensive duties at third.

Fielder will earn $23 million in each of his first two years with Detroit, then will make $24 million annually in the final seven seasons of his $214 million, nine-year contract, according to terms obtained by The Associated Press.

That contrasts with Albert Pujols' backloaded $240 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, agreed to last month.

Pujols gets $12 million this year and $16 million in 2013, with the salary increasing to $23 million in 2014 and then rising $1 million annually.

Detroit announced the deal Thursday, and scheduled a news conference later in the day.

Fielder would get an additional $500,000 if he's the AL MVP, $200,000 if he's second through fifth and $100,000 if he's sixth through 10th. For each MVP he wins after the first, he would get $1 million.

He also would get $100,000 if he's an All-Star starter and $50,000 if he's a reserve, or alternatively $100,000 if he's a Baseball America or Sporting News postseason All-Star. He also would receive $100,000 for a Gold Glove, $100,000 for a Silver Slugger, $100,000 for the Hank Aaron Award, $150,000 for league championship series MVP and $200,000 for World Series MVP.

In addition, he gets a hotel suite on the road.

Fielder made $15.7 million in his final season with the Brewers. He had a $15.5 million base salary and earned $100,000 for finishing third in NL MVP voting, $50,000 for starting the All-Star game and $50,000 for a Silver Slugger award.

This is the fourth $200 million contract in baseball history, following Alex Rodriguez's $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, A-Rod's $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas and Pujols' agreement with the Angels.

Among current players, Fielder's $23.78 million average salary is behind only A-Rod ($27.5 million), Ryan Howard ($25 million), and Cliff Lee and Pujols ($24 million each).

___

AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bba_tigers_fielder

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As Obama Touts Common Core, The State Standards Spread Slowly Across U.S.: Study

Amy Bednarz, an English as a second language teacher in a Massachusetts elementary school, is confused. She doesn't know exactly what to teach.

For years, she'd been told that the state standardized tests were a make-or-break aspect of her teaching and should drive her instruction. Then came the professional development meetings this summer where she was told to teach the Common Core State Standards, a new set of academic benchmarks now being adopted by the majority of U.S. states. She got a worksheet, a binder and little guidance.

But while exams that test the Common Core are still in development, her kids will be taking the same old state tests. And then there are the emails her principal sends the school every morning: the state tests are 30, 29, now 28 days away.

"It feels like another initiative that's being thrown at us, a latest and greatest tool to solve problems in education," she said of the Common Core.

The piled-on reform she refers to received top billing in Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

"For less than 1 percent of what our nation spends on education each year, we?ve convinced nearly every state in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning -- the first time that?s happened in a generation," said Obama, referencing the Common Core.

What Obama made sound like a revolution seems more like a slog, such accounts and recent reports indicate. The Common Core State Standards in math and English Language Arts are beginning their slow creep into America's classrooms in 46 states and Washington, D.C., according to a new report released Wednesday by the Center on Education Policy. The standards pepper the conversations of teachers and school administers, shaping instruction -- or not -- in various ways.

The CEP report surveyed 35 CC-adopting states, finding that while the "vast majority" are familiarizing school officials with the new materials, states don't expect to implement the new standards until 2014-15 or later. And while they're staying the course, 21 states cited challenges in gathering the adequate resources to implement the standards, and 20 states indicated that they are concerned about having the right number of computers required to handle the new tests.

The Obama administration incentivized these national standards, which came to fruition through the collaboration of governors, state schools' chiefs and Gates Foundation cash. Substancewise, they focus on teaching fewer things, in greater depth. Their development included the input of teachers, unions, university administrators and the influence of international assessments. The standards themselves came out last year. The assessments that test the standards are still in development: two consortia are working off of $360 million in federal Race to the Top money, having outside companies develop test items. The tests, which will be administered on computers, are currently scheduled to be operational by the 2014-2015 school year.

While the new benchmarks are often described as a method for both ensuring that students are "college-and-career ready" and that school standards are comparable across state borders, there's no way to guarantee to they're being taught.

As it turns out, in this transitional period, teachers like Bednarz are teaching one set of standards while being tested on another.

Jack Jennings, CEP's president, said people shouldn't worry about these differences. "Right now, the Common Core is just being introduced to teachers, in the sense that they're being told what it means and why it's different from what they're doing now," Jennings said.

Other teachers are having an easier time. Darren Burris, who teaches high-school math in Boston Collegiate Charter School, volunteered to coach other teachers on implementation and sees the standards as an "opportunity."

"We have a narrow mission: to prepare each kid for college," he said. "And that's the goal of these standards."

The Common Core's focus on depth over breadth, he said, has allowed him to experiment in the classroom -- and in the hallway. One day's Common Core standard was to "construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others," so he brought that lesson to life by writing out math prompts on big post-its in the corridor. Pairs of students circulated between them, scrawling their answers on the post-its, while commenting on the solutions of their peers.

"Why didn't we do this before?" a student asked.

Yet especially with Republicans taking office in statehouses and governorships since the commitments were made, the standards have been perceived by some as a political liability: a potentially big-government-seeming program that appears to standardize education across the country when state control has long been Conservative currency. For that reason, proponents are careful to couch it in state, not federal, terms.

The CEP study says that at this point, states' concerns are more practical than political. "The thing that I found most arresting was the clarity with which the report puts forward that it's the view that the political risk is secondary to the implementation risk," David Coleman, an author of the literacy standards, told The Huffington Post.

But recent headlines show that may not be the full story. A few months ago, Alabama launched an unsuccessful bid to pull out of the standards. Just Wednesday, Indiana's state senate voted down a measure to leave the new standards behind. But its sponsors -- which count Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) among its ranks -- are vowing to revive the push.

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/common-core-state-standards-center-on-education-policy_n_1233181.html

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JPMorgan CEO says foreclosure deal threatened

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said President Barack Obama's decision to expand investigations into home lending and sales of mortgage securities could stop settlement talks with the states over foreclosure practices.

"It has a pretty good chance of derailing it," Dimon said in a televised interview with CNBC from Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.

Obama, in his State of the Union address Tuesday, said he has asked his attorney general to create a special unit of prosecutors to expand investigations into home lending and packaging of mortgage-backed securities. It is not clear how the new unit will be different from earlier investigations.

JPMorgan is the largest U.S. bank and one of the larger servicers of mortgage loans. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup and Ally Financial Inc have been in talks with state attorneys general for months about settling allegations of foreclosure abuses.

The banks and states have been discussing a plan that would have the banks pay $25 billion to homeowners through reductions in principal on mortgage loans.

"I think it would be better for America if that settlement took place," Dimon said. "If this thing derails that, so be it." (Reporting by David Henry; editing by John Wallace)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46145731/ns/business-real_estate/

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Paterno funeral draws legions four days after death (Reuters)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa (Reuters) ? Thousands lined the frigid streets while family and friends of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno gathered inside a private funeral hall on Wednesday to mourn a man whose towering image was shaken by his inaction in a child sex abuse scandal.

Fired in November after 46 years as head coach, a major college record 409 victories and two national championships, Paterno was celebrated by fans who chose to remember a triumphant coach with a motto of "Success with Honor" rather than a man dismissed unceremoniously by the university board of trustees.

The burial was set for later on Wednesday, with a final public memorial due on Thursday. Paterno died of lung cancer on Sunday. He was 85.

Tens of thousands of people lined the street outside the campus Pasquerilla Spiritual Center in response to a campaign on Facebook to "Guide Joe Paterno Home," forming a gantlet covering much of the mile and half to Beaver Stadium, where Paterno coached for over four decades.

"It shows how much of an icon he was and how many hearts he touched directly and indirectly," said Christina Flanaghan, 21, a junior at Penn State from Philadelphia.

"It means that this man means a lot to people," said Devon DeGilio, 19, a freshman from Morristown, New Jersey.

The massive outpouring attempted to wash away the tarnished image of Paterno, who exposed himself to criticism by failing to intervene more forcefully when he was told in 2002 of an accusation that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky molested a young boy in the Penn State football showers.

Sandusky, 67, who maintains his innocence, faces 52 criminal counts accusing him of molesting 10 boys over 15 years, using his position as head of The Second Mile, a charity dedicated to helping troubled children, to find his victims. The court has placed him under house arrest.

Among those attending the funeral was former quarterback Mike McQueary, who as a graduate assistant in 2002 told Paterno he walked in on Sandusky molesting a boy in the showers.

Paterno told university officials but not police.

Also attending was former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris, perhaps the biggest star to play for Paterno, who was better known for turning out great linebackers with Sandusky's help.

Some 27,000 mourners passed by Paterno's closed casket for a viewing on Tuesday and a further 10,000 on Wednesday, said Bob Smith, director of the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.

Wednesday's viewing was to have begun at 8 a.m., but the doors opened closer to 7:30 a.m., Smith said, because of a line that at one stage stretched for more than a block from the center, three and four abreast.

"When we got here at 5:30 a.m.," he said, "the line was already forming."

Among the final mourners was actor Billy Baldwin, who did not attend Penn State but who attended many wrestling matches at there in the 1980s. During that time, he said, he got to know Paterno, and had had dinner at the Paterno home.

"I can't use words to describe the enormous, immense level of respect I have for the guy," Baldwin said.

(Reporting by Dave Warner; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/us_nm/us_usa_paterno

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