Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/164131594?client_source=feed&format=rss
crimson tide wake forest wake forest day light savings time curmudgeon daylight savings time 2011 selena
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
North Pole dinos lived short, hard lives
The winter holiday season often portrays the North Pole as a cozy fantasyland, but new research on dinosaurs that lived there shows that Arctic life has been tough for millions of years, with North Pole dinos finding it hard to reach their 20th birthday.
The findings, published in the journal Historical Biology, offer a rare look at dinosaur life stages. Fossils from high latitudes better express growth bands that reveal how these animals grew up. Scientists can then analyze them similar to how they study tree rings.
"We determine growth rates by looking at the number and spacing of the growth bands in a cross section of a femur," co-author Patrick Druckenmiller explained to Discovery News. "We measure the distance of each band from the center of the bone as a proxy for body size. In this case, it's presented as a percentage of total length. Growth banding becomes narrower as the growth rate progressively tapers off later in life."
Following this process, the researchers determined some polar dinosaurs grew rapidly as juveniles, became sexually mature at about age 9, and died at around age 19 (assuming they didn?t bite the dust due to disease, an accident or for some other reason).
Druckenmiller, curator of Earth Sciences at the University of Alaska Museum, and colleague Gregory Erickson focused their research on Pachyrhinosaurus femur bones excavated from the early Maastrichian (about 65 to 70 million years ago) of Prince Creek Formation in Northern Alaska.
?Pachyrhinosaurus is a member of the horned dinosaur family Ceratopsidae,? Druckenmiller said. "It was a large, probably gregarious, herbivore. Instead of having thick horns over the eyes and nose area (think of the iconic Triceratops) it had large 'bosses,' which are bony growths that give the skull a very thick appearance."
This explains the dinosaur's name: Pachy, meaning "thick and heavy," and rhino, meaning "nose."
This dinosaur was far from being alone in the Arctic, however. The North Slope of Alaska was home to numerous other plant-eating and carnivorous dinosaurs. The most common was a duck-billed dino very similar to Edmontosaurus. The region was also home to a large tyrannosaurid, a few dromaeosaurs and the human-sized Troodon.
Pachyrhinosaurus would have been preyed upon by the carnivores, but because of its size ? about 26 feet long and weighing around 4 tons ? Druckenmiller suspects few hunters "took on an adult-sized healthy animal."
Animals that would be expected from this area, such as lizards, crocodilians and turtles, have never been found. One reason could be that they had trouble getting to Alaska.
-
More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science
-
Guide us to the top Science Geek Gifts
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Send in your suggestions for the 10th annual Science Geek Gift contest ... you might just win a geeky prize.
- New bee or not new bee? 11 species added
- What? Yeti nests found?! Not so fast...
- Ant-like robots poised to invade the marketplace
-
Guide us to the top Science Geek Gifts
Hendrik Poinar, a McMaster University anthropologist who has also studied North Pole animals, told Discovery News that the Bering Land Bridge, which joined Alaska to eastern Siberia, may have been more of a barrier than a gateway.
"I think it is increasingly clear that the bridge was indeed a filter more than a bridge," Poinar said. ?It certainly was not a freeway, and it makes us think about what ecological function it clearly played over the last several millennia.?
Somehow, dinosaurs did make it to Alaska, but they faced "annually freezing winter temperatures," according to Druckenmiller, who explained that scientists determine past climates based on plant remains. The Arctic, however, was somewhat warmer than it is today at certain latitudes.
Nevertheless, he said, "Long, dark winters were probably a major influence on anything that lived there."
Druckenmiller and other researchers hope future studies on North Pole dinosaurs might reveal information about migratory behaviors, overwintering strategies, and dinosaur physiology. The world's largest collection of Arctic dinosaurs is housed within the Earth Science Collection at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks.
? 2011 Discovery Channel
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45357252/ns/technology_and_science-science/
generators generators lesean mccoy while you were sleeping while you were sleeping happy halloween happy halloween
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Were Apple Working on an AMD-Powered Air? [Rumours]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/TkJ76NYRri4/are-apple-working-on-an-amd+powered-air
amanda knox latest news leann rimes brass monkey x factor auditions x factor auditions flds flds
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Merkel and Cameron discuss clashing views on euro (Reuters)
BERLIN (Reuters) ? Angela Merkel and David Cameron will try to resolve clashing views on the euro zone crisis Friday, after Berlin accused London of being selfish about Europe in comments that touched off British sensitivities about German bossiness.
The British government wanted a low profile for the eurosceptic Cameron's visit - but such hopes were dashed by two lawmakers high up in Merkel's ruling party blasting euro zone-outsider Britain's stance in the days before the visit.
Merkel told her Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) annual congress in Leipzig this week that Europe faced its "toughest hour since World War II."
She prescribes altering the European Union treaty to impose German-style budget discipline, preferably on all 27 members of the EU rather than just the 17 countries in the euro zone.
"Plans for a possible treaty change are now at a very interesting point and we expect to exchange views with our British partners," Peter Altmaier, chief whip of Merkel's conservatives in the Bundestag, told Reuters.
But treaty change talk seems to irritate Cameron's conservative-led coalition for two reasons: it falls far short of the "big bazooka" response he urges; and it touches a raw nerve about ceding more sovereignty to the European Commission in Brussels.
Britain is already that worried Germany's proposals for a tax on financial transactions - which it still wants introduced in Europe despite rejection by the Group of 20 leading economies - would hurt London's competitiveness as a financial hub.
This prompted Merkel's parliamentary leader Volker Kauder to tell the CDU in Leipzig, to rapturous applause, that Germany would not accept Britain "only defending its own interests" and especially those of the City of London's financiers.
His metaphorical comment that the German approach to the crisis was so widely accepted that "German is being spoken in Europe" prompted jingoistic British headlines such as the Daily Mail's: "We no longer need to fear the jackboot but we have a great deal to fear from German bossy boots."
TAX "UNJUSTIFIED"
"Germany is making the running ... in a way she has not presumed to do since World War II," said the conservative Mail.
The British government's response was more muted.
Business Secretary Vincent Cable, from Cameron's more pro-Europe Liberal Democrat coalition partners, said Germany's stance on the transaction tax was "completely unjustified."
Cameron said in a speech this week, in an apparent response to Merkel's calls for greater political and fiscal convergence, that Europe needed "the flexibility of a network, not the rigidity of a bloc."
Britain's conservative leader is in a quandary on the euro, realizing his country's exports could be harmed by a collapse most likely to be avoided by more unity among euro zone leaders - however much that goes against the grain in London.
Crucially, London fears being left out of crucial decisions regarding the European single market, which it greatly values.
With the Bank of England warning that Britain's economy will struggle to grow until mid-2012 - in contrast to Germany's - it is tempting for London to deflect blame onto the euro zone.
Cameron's "big bazooka" response would involve the European Central Bank becoming the lender of last resort to prop up debt-ridden countries such as Greece and Italy - much in line with U.S. President Barack Obama's call for drastic action.
Such an infringement of the ECB's independence and its focus on price stability is completely taboo for Merkel. But she replies more calmly than Sarkozy, who told Cameron in October: "We are sick of you criticizing us."
German officials say Merkel is disappointed with her fellow conservative leader for not using his influence to aid the euro, and for threatening to use any EU treaty change to claw back powers from Europe rather than cede more.
"Achieving treaty change is visibly not too easy for this British government," said Altmaier.
Berlin recognizes Cameron's troubles with backbenchers who voted in large numbers last month in favor of a referendum on EU membership, and the Germans recall his campaign vow that any transfer of sovereignty would be put to a referendum.
"Nobody believes such a referendum in the UK would get a majority," said the German chief whip.
(Additional reporting by Matt Falloon in London)
black friday sales 2011 whitney duncan bradley cooper elisabeth hasselbeck roger craig roger craig cadillac xts
Gingrich says he received Freddie Mac compensation (AP)
URBANDALE, Iowa ? Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has acknowledged receiving personal compensation from Freddie Mac, the federally backed housing agency, but says he doesn't know exactly how much he was paid.
The former House speaker left open the possibility that his consulting firm received between $1.6 million and $1.8 million. Gingrich says he received a portion of that for providing "strategic advice for a long period of time" after he left Congress.
That amount is significantly higher than the $300,000 figure Gingrich was questioned about last week.
Gingrich spoke with reporters in Iowa on Wednesday. He defended Freddie Mac's role and said every American should be interested in expanding housing opportunities. The federally backed mortgage lender has become a focal point of anti-government sentiment because of the housing crisis.
powerball lenny dykstra top chef texas stanley tucci stanley tucci x factor voting “do a barrel rollâ€
Friday, November 18, 2011
Kindle Fire Gets Torn Down ? No Surprises Here
iFixit, bless their hearts, have taken a Kindle Fire to pieces, though as it turns out, there aren't too many pieces to begin with. The battery is one huge unit, and all the processing and I/O occurs on a single PCB at the bottom of the device. Those expecting a carbon copy of the Playbook both outside and in will be disappointed: the layout, batteries, PCB, and all the components are different, making the form factor more or less the only real similarity between the two devices.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/2yERgsj5QnU/
eric church martina mcbride sara evans lionel richie cma awards cma awards christmas tree tax
Thursday, November 17, 2011
New Google commercial shows off the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich
A new Galaxy Nexus commercial has popped up on the official Google Nexus YouTube channel. The commercial, titled 'Calling All', shows off Ice Cream Sandwich as well as some of the key Android features already available. The point is to see them altogether in one phone, the Galaxy Nexus.
The features shown off are:
- Face Unlock
- Android Beam
- Camera with Panorama Mode
- Google+ with Hangouts
- Voice Typing
The commercial is very nicely done. It highlights the technical features while playing to the mainstream crowd. It's also a bright and happy commercial in contrast to dark world of the Verizon Droid commercials. As much as we love those intense Droid ads, they tend to intimidate sometimes so it's nice to see something different for a flagship device. It should be noted that Verizon had nothing to do with this one as this was all Google in their effort to promote the phone in general. Still no release date for US customers but UK residents were able to nab one today if they were lucky.
Source: YouTube
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/zA1pCRrMWy4/story01.htm
brady quinn brady quinn nick fairley barry sanders barry sanders tim allen enlightened
Online auction added to Elizabeth Taylor sale (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Fans of Elizabeth Taylor will have a chance to buy an item from the vast collection of the Hollywood actress when Christie's sells nearly 1,000 lower-priced pieces in a special online auction.
The auction house said on Monday the online-only component of December's widely anticipated live sales of the Collection of Elizabeth Taylor would feature items with estimates as low as $100.
Christie's added the online sale, which begins on December 3, to the series of live auctions later in the month of Taylor's jewel collection, haute couture and fine and decorative arts, aiming to include a wider audience.
"The online-only sales provide an additional means for her legions of collectors and fans to participate in the auctions, no matter where they live," Marc Porter, chairman and president of Christie's Americas, said in a statement.
During an international tour of the collection ahead of the December sale in New York, thousands of people have packed venues in Moscow, London and Los Angeles to see Taylor storied collection of jewels and haute couture.
The online sale will be divided into four categories: fine jewelry, fashion and accessories, costume jewelry and decorative arts and memorabilia.
Among items hitting the auction block are about two dozen designer handbags by Dior and Valentino, as well as accessories by the likes of Cartier, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada.
Taylor's designer clothing, from Halston and Chanel to Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and more will also be offered online.
Estimates for lots such as four glass perfume bottles, a JAC-designed art deco bracelet and earrings set, or a pair of Chanel ear clips with the signature "CC" pendants, start as low as $100 but will probably sell for more.
A preview of the online items will go live on Monday at shop.modaoperandi.com/ElizabethTaylor. The full complement of offerings can be found on Christie's' website starting on Friday.
The live auctions begin on December 13 with the film star's most iconic jewels, and continue through December 16 with additional auctions of fine jewelry, fashion, accessories, decorative arts and film memorabilia.
Impressionist and modern art will be auctioned in London in February.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney; For the latest Reuters lifestyle news see: http://www.reuters.com/news/lifestyle)
new york snow braxton miller braxton miller noreaster noreaster steve miller band boston weather
Monday, November 7, 2011
[OOC] The Naruto Occupation
Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "The Naruto Occupation"
DESTROY THE INVA-
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.
Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!
This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?The Naruto Occupation?. Anything posted here will also show up there.Topic Tags:
Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "The Naruto Occupation"
You may edit this first post as you see fit.
"ATATATATATATATA!!!!"
-
JayZeroSnake - Member for 1 years
Y'know, I'll probably start work on a character for this...
-
Gamer_Templar - Member for 0 years
DESTROY THE INVA-
I mean, uh, sure! Who's side are you on, though?
-
JayZeroSnake - Member for 1 years
Return to Out of Character
Post a reply
-
RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.
If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.
Who is online
Registered users: <3Dream<3, Ace Darkfire, Aika, Akantha*, almostinsane*, Ameronin, AmiOfTheRain, Andaho, Aniihya*, Archlkan*, ArcticFox*, Ashbugg22, awesomeskaterdude, AzricanRepublic*, BBClock, BekaL101, birdguard, Black, Blackbird26*, blackwolt*, Blacx, Blademaster_v3*, BlueWind_22, Breyerluv, Calvazara, Capn Pandie, Cazuki*, Centraiu, CherrySwirl*, ChildOfNone, chocolateloversuntie, ChristyLovesYou, Cienpher*, Conumbra*, CriminalMinds*, CrystalRose, danm36*, DaughterOfTheNight, defiante1*, demonpuppluto*, desire99600, dinocular*, dionkar336, Discipline, Dragon, Duchess-Zombie, DumbDora, ELECTRIKPASSION*, Eleera Cain*, Elrith Eldwind, EnkoKasumi, Entity of Sin*, Ersatz Creed, Everscale, evilfang, Exuro, Felicity, Fight The Tears, flying monkey child*, Forget~Me~Not*, freakofnature*, Fredalice, freemixer25*, Gamer_Templar*, goblinslayer, goldenangel32, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GreenSweatshirtGal*, Gryazi, Guardian Angel, HeroOfAwesomeness*, Hinasil*, Horseygirl*, Ikiros*, Imperial Waltz, iowa90, Irish Wolf, jackrules158, Jadeling Hawkins, Jayhawker010*, JayZeroSnake*, jena8806, JessieJohan, Jinx911*, Jo_Tunn*, Kai, Kamek Koopa, Kenzi, Kestrel*, Kiina, Kikora, KumoriRyuu*, Kuukakulily, Lanz, LavenderMistress, LeiaHair*, Leif Cauldor*, Lethalan*, lewdug97, Lifecharacter*, Light_of_the_Fallen, Lily Evans, Literature*, LostInFantasy, LSunday, LuckyNumber24, Lurelle*, Majestic-12 [Bot], Makokam, Mantis, Maybe?, Michaelis_xXx_Elly, Mike53210*, Moonscar, MotherDragons, Mr_Doomed, MSN [Bot], MSNbot Media, NarrowEye, Nemmy826, Nevermore90, Ninjacat, NorthernSoul, Oborosen, OdiOdi, onirukon, Oran Tarlin, Ottoman*, pieluver*, poeticjustice8012, powerpack, Princess Awinita*, projectdarkeden, Pseudosyne, Psyk0ttik*, Qetzo*, Queenforaday, RainWish*, RedPinkCyanOrange*, Rem?us*, Rilla, Romaneck, Ropeburn*, Rulke, Scarlet Bullets, Script*, Secret Admirer, Sehnsucht., Setsugie, Shanatos, Shaodow, Shi-chan, Shinku122, SinfulSoul*, Siren, Skuld*, SkullsandSlippers, SkunkishBlue, Skyeblueme3, SlightlyInsane, smrtazz13*, SolrSurfr3, sparkleshine, speckles32shido, Spiral Thoughts, Steppin' Razor*, SunshinexDeath, Sweet Angel Jocelyn, sweetgal, Terror Mechina, ThanatosXIII, The Illusionist*, The Sickness, TheFirstFist, Thorait, Tiko, TravlersTails*, Tumbleweed, TwiliXDragon, Tyliana*, VitaminHeart, WadeJackel*, wolfoftheage*, XavierDantius32*, xnightxelfx, xxTaliaxx, Yahoo [Bot], YeOldeSeattle*, ZeroStrategy*, ZeroTolerance, Zetta, zhill
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/12oim8h80jk/viewtopic.php
death row naacp cheryl cole x factor forgetting sarah marshall freetown freetown nicole scherzinger
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Turkey earthquake: WTA expresses condolences over quake
Turkey earthquake: Sunday's quake happened in eastern Turkey, far from the tournament location in the west. Women's Tennis Association officials briefed the eight elite players on the 7.2-magnitude quake near the border with Iran.
Players at the WTA Championships in Istanbul lent their support Monday to those affected by Turkey's devastating earthquake.
Skip to next paragraphSunday's quake happened in eastern Turkey, far from the tournament location in the west. Women's Tennis Association officials briefed the eight elite players on the 7.2-magnitude quake near the border with Iran. About 270 people were confirmed dead by Monday afternoon, and the toll was expected to rise.
Second-ranked Maria Sharapova said she was saddened by the news, adding that she has received many phone calls and e-mails expressing concern.
"I think it gives us an opportunity to sit down and say, 'We're very, very lucky and fortunate to be doing what we're doing,'" Sharapova said. "These things that happen around the world, you just never know where it can happen. I mean, this was only a few hours from here."
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Istanbul on Thursday and said she wanted to pass along condolences on behalf of all the players.
"All our thoughts are with everyone affected, and of course it's never nice when something like this happens," said Wozniacki, whose profile in Turkey has risen since she signed a commercial deal with a Turkish airline last year. "I definitely got a few messages yesterday and just asking if everything was OK, and if we're all OK here."
The season-ending WTA Championships is being held at the Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, which will host the $5 million event through 2013. It starts on Tuesday and the final will be played on Sunday. Qatar hosted the tournament for the last three years.
At the draw ceremony on Sunday, CEO Stacey Allaster spoke on behalf of players and tennis officials.
"We will do whatever we can to support the people of Turkey in some small way through the power of sport," Allaster said.
Kicking the commander-in-chief (Politico)
Republicans spent the past decade being shocked and stunned by Democrats who dared to question their president?s motives for going to war in Iraq.
The late liberal lion, Sen. Ted Kennedy, took an extra large heaping of abuse from the right for his constant attacks on George W. Bush?s character as commander in chief. One low point for political civility was when Kennedy said the war in Iraq was ?made up in Texas? for political purposes.
Continue ReadingObama on Iraq troop withdrawal
The House Republican leader at the time called the remarks ?hateful,? ?disgusting? and attacked the Massachusetts senator for ?insulting the president?s patriotism.?
Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, characterized this and other similar Kennedy comments as ?paranoid lunacy.?
I seem to remember him calling Kennedy?s words ?shameful.?
And they were.
Can you imagine any United States senator stooping so low as to suggest that our commander in chief would risk the safety of American troops for political purposes?
Sadly, I can.
That?s why I wasn?t surprised to see GOP politicians lining up to question the president?s character in recent days when the topic of Iraq came up again.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham practically lifted Kennedy?s words line for line when he told CBS?s Bob Schieffer that ?Iraq and Afghanistan are being run out of Chicago, not Washington.?
Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann piled on for the sport of it, saying the decision to end an 8-year war and occupation was decided by ?General Axelrod?, the architect of President Obama?s reelection campaign.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry also channeled Teddy Kennedy by accusing the current commander in chief of ?putting U.S. troops in peril by making a political statement to his base.?
Given GOP comments over the past weekend, are we to assume that Republicans now consider it acceptable to accuse a president of politicizing a war while threatening the safety of Americans for nakedly political considerations?
Did it ever occur to these Republican candidates that there are millions of conservative Americans who believe that after 8 years, 4,500 U.S. deaths and the federal government?s spending of $750 billion of taxpayers? money, we have given enough of our blood and treasure to Iraq? That maybe it is time to stop rebuilding Iraq and start rebuilding the U.S.A.?
And that perhaps the president made the decision he did because he thought it was in America?s best interest, instead of simply his own?
I doubt it. Whenever Democrats or Republicans lash out at their political opponents, logic never seems to get in the way of a cheap shot.
At the start of the Iraq war, Ted Kennedy conveniently forgot that the idea to depose Saddam Hussein was not ?made up in Texas? but rather during the Clinton administration, when regime change in Iraq became official policy. Kennedy himself supported Clinton?s Iraq policy and told fellow senators that ?we have known Saddam Hussein has been seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction for some time.?
This week, it is Republicans who are making themselves look foolish by attacking Obama for following a timeline laid out not by ?General Axelrod? but by George W. Bush.
The GOP would do well to live by the same standards of civility that they espoused during the Bush era and be guided by the quaint belief that politics should end at the water?s edge.
A guest columnist for POLITICO, Joe Scarborough hosts ?Morning Joe? on MSNBC and represented Florida?s 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001.
pete seeger penn state football bernie madoff itunes match itunes match gazelle gazelle
Monday, October 24, 2011
PFT: Colts' Addai expected to return Sunday
ReutersThe 2011 Philadelphia Eagles seem to make news every week, so why not make some news on their bye week, too?
Cornerback Asante Samuel joined Tim McManus and Pat Callahan of 97.5 The Fanatic in Philly earlier today.? And Samuel made it clear that he?s not happy with the team?s reported willingness to trade him.
?Definitely, it doesn?t sit well with me,? Samuel said.? ?Definitely, I?ve been nothing but what they expected me to be when they brought me there. . . .? Definitely, it doesn?t sit well with me.? And obviously they don?t want me there, so life goes on.? So we?ll see where I?ll be at.?
Samuel says that knowing the team doesn?t want him won?t affect his play.
?Well, as long as I?m getting paid I?m gonna do my job,? Samuel said.? ?So whoever [is] cutting the check, I do my job. . . . So I?m not worried about that.? I just know in the back of my head they don?t want me there.? So, you know, that?s not gonna leave.? They put it out there so everybody could know that, so I know that and everybody knows that.? So it?s in the back of my head.? And Asante Samuel is a business entity first, so I?m going to make sure I handle my business accordingly.?
Samuel was the subject of trade rumors after the Eagles acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnadmi Asomugha in the days after the lockout ended.? Last week, those rumors resurfaced before the annual trading deadline.
Samuel joined the Eagles on the first day of free agency in 2008, only weeks after dropping what would have been a perfect-season-clinching interception for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.? Signed through 2013, Samuel?s salary spikes from $5.9 million this year to $8.4 million next season.? He?s due to earn $10.4 million in base salary in the final year of the deal.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/22/addai-looks-likely-to-return-for-colts/related
terry fator rachel zoe gerard butler brady hoke brady hoke scarlett johansson ali lohan
Sunday, October 23, 2011
EU launches its first satellite navigation system
In this photo provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), Russia's Soyuz VS01 rocket sits on its launching pad, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in the space base of Kourou, French Guiana . The Russian Federal Space Agency and Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-country European Space Agency, will launch tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, the Soyuz rocket from the European spaceport in South America, carrying two Galileo navigation satellites in its maiden flight. (AP Photo/ESA, S. Corvaja) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES
In this photo provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), Russia's Soyuz VS01 rocket sits on its launching pad, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in the space base of Kourou, French Guiana . The Russian Federal Space Agency and Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-country European Space Agency, will launch tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, the Soyuz rocket from the European spaceport in South America, carrying two Galileo navigation satellites in its maiden flight. (AP Photo/ESA, S. Corvaja) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES
In this photo provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), Russia's Soyuz VS01 rocket sits on its launching pad, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in the space base of Kourou, French Guiana . The Russian Federal Space Agency and Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-country European Space Agency, will launch tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, the Soyuz rocket from the European spaceport in South America, carrying two Galileo navigation satellites in its maiden flight. (AP Photo/ESA, S. Corvaja) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES
In this photo provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), Russia's Soyuz VS01 rocket sits on its launching pad, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in the space base of Kourou, French Guiana. The Russian Federal Space Agency and Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-country European Space Agency, will launch tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, the Soyuz rocket from the European spaceport in South America, carrying two Galileo navigation satellites in its maiden flight. (AP Photo/ESA, S. Corvaja) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES
BRUSSELS (AP) ? A Russian rocket launched the first two satellites of the European Union's Galileo navigation system Friday after years of delay in an ambitious bid to rival the ubiquitous American GPS network.
The launch of the Soyuz from French Guiana, on the northern coast of South America, marks the maiden voyage of the Russian rocket outside the former Soviet Union, with European and Russian authorities cheering at liftoff in relief after the launch was pushed back by a day.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said it is the first time that two teams work together on the launch of the Soyuz.
"We have been able to combine the best spacial activity aspects of both governments, that of France and that of Russia," he said. "I am convinced that will yield us good results."
The Galileo system has become for some a symbol of EU infighting, inefficiency and delay. Now, officials are hoping it will kick off a trans-Atlantic competition with the American GPS network.
Antonio Tajani, the EU's industry and enterprise commissioner, even linked it to Sunday's crucial summit of EU leaders struggling to put their financial house in order. "Europe shows that she is capable of managing a big project just days from the European economic summit," he said.
The rocket is expected to place into orbit the Galileo IOV-1 PFM and FM2 satellites during a nearly four-hour mission. The two satellites will be released in opposite directions.
The mission was delayed for 24 hours because of a leaky valve, and there was much relief at EU headquarters Friday that the project finally was off into space. The first part of the launch was successful, with the rocket expected to travel over Asia, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean, said Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, the commercial arm of the European Space Agency.
GPS has become the global consumer standard in satellite navigation over the past decade, reducing the need for awkward oversized maps and arguments with back seat drivers about whether to turn left or right.
Laurent Wauquiez, France's higher education minister and former deputy minister for European affairs, said Europe should not depend on a U.S. military-based GPS system that could be shut down at any time for security reasons.
"It means overnight we could lose our autonomy," he said. "There is an issue of sovereignty. We must not neglect this aspect even in a period of globalization."
The EU wants Galileo to dominate the future with a system that is more precise and more reliable than GPS, while controlled by civil authorities. It foresees applications ranging from precision seeding on farmland to pinpoint positioning for search-and-rescue missions. On top of that, the EU hopes it will reap a financial windfall.
"If Europe wants to be competitive and independent in the future, the EU needs to have its own satellite navigation system to also create new economic opportunities", said Herbert Reul, head of the EU parliament's industry, research and energy committee.
There are still several more years to wait, but the satellite launch is a major step in getting Galileo on track. It will start operating in 2014 as a free consumer navigation service, with more specialized services to be rolled out until 2020, when it should be fully operational.
After the initial launch, two satellites will go up every quarter as of the end of 2012 until all 30 satellites are up.
The EU hopes its economic impact will stand at about euro90 billion ($125 billion) in industrial revenues and public benefits over the next two decades.
The idea for the program first rallied support in the late 1990s, and its development has been pushed back with delays ever since. When it became clear in 2008 that private investors weren't lining up to finance Galileo, the EU decided taxpayers would underwrite most of the program.
The European Commission said development and deployment since 2003 is estimated at well over euro5 billion ($6.8 billion). Maintaining and completing the system is expected to cost euro1 billion ($1.35 billion) a year.
Critics have said the cost overruns were much higher.
"Far from celebrating," officials "who have supported Galileo should be making a public apology to taxpayers for this shocking waste of time, effort and resources," EU legislator Marta Andreasen of the anti-Euro UKIP party said.
___
Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Kerwin Alcide in Kourou, French Guiana, contributed to this story.
Associated Pressrimm bill of rights constitution day constitution day apple juice apple juice brad pitt
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Cadaver dog 'hit' at baby Lisa's home
KANSAS CITY, Mo.?? An FBI cadaver dog reacted to the scent of a dead person inside the Kansas City home where a baby girl disappeared nearly three weeks ago, and investigators discovered soil in the backyard that had been "recently disturbed or overturned," police said in a court document released Friday.
But the lawyer for the family questioned the significance of the report.
The affidavit, filed earlier this week in support of a search warrant targeting the family's home, also stated that the girl's mother, Deborah Bradley, "made the statement she did not initially look for her baby behind the house because she 'was afraid of what she might find.'"
Those details and others in the affidavit, publicly released Friday, led to a daylong search Wednesday of the family's home, where the parents say then-10-month-old Lisa Irwin must have been snatched in the middle of the night as the mother and two other boys slept. Bradley and the baby's father, Jeremy Irwin, reported the girl missing on Oct. 4 and have denied any role in the disappearance while insisting police have pointed the finger at them.
The affidavit stated that an FBI cadaver dog taken into the house Monday indicated a "positive 'hit' for the scent of a deceased human in an area of the floor of Bradley's bedroom near the bed."
The FBI dogs, which often are used at both disaster and crime scenes, are trained "specially to recognize the scent of decaying, decomposing human flesh," retired FBI special agent Jeff Lanza said Friday.
"That can be the scent of an actual body decomposing, or residual scents after the body is no longer there," Lanza said.
But Joe Tacopina, lawyer for the parents, told The Associated Press late Friday he considers the report meaningless. Tacopina noted that cadaver dogs are trained to detect decomposing flesh ? and even if the baby had died, decomposition could not have happened so quickly.
The document also indicated police felt they needed handheld digging tools after an investigator noticed dirt in a garden area behind the home appeared to have been "recently disturbed or overturned." During Wednesday's search, investigators could be seen digging behind a shed in the backyard.
Among other revelations in the affidavit:
?Officers searched all rooms in the house and the basement after being called to the home Oct. 4. Officers sought evidence but because the parents said the baby had been abducted, the only areas extensively processed for DNA and fingerprints were the baby's bedroom and possible entry points.
-
Only on msnbc.com
- Public display of fallen leaders' bodies a tradition
- Republicans criticize Obama over Iraq withdrawal
- 'Occupy' protesters find allies among the wealthy
- Dating after diagnosis: Love in the time of chemotherapy
- Live vote: Was Iraq war worth?human, financial cost?
- Flooded Thailand races to rescue pets, loose crocs
- Updated 55 minutes ago 10/22/2011 5:40:26 AM +00:00 It's A Snap! Vote for your favorite travel photo
?The parents had told police that three cell phones were missing. The affidavit said a phone had since been found in a desk drawer, but that phone wasn't one of those reported missing. The missing phones haven't been found.
?Interviews with people involved in the case revealed "conflicting information for clear direction in the investigation."
Another document released Friday revealed some of what police recovered from the home during Wednesday's search: a comforter and blanket, some clothes, rolls of tape and a tape dispenser.
The family's local lawyer, Cynthia Short, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the documents, and police declined to discuss what they found.
But before the affidavit was released, a statement issued by Short's office insisted the parents had no role in the disappearance and disputed claims that the parents aren't cooperating with police. The statement said the parents have consented to "unfettered access" to their property and allowed police to take hair and other samples.
"They have taken all calls from detectives, and answered questions posed again and again," the statement read. "In the initial hours of the investigation, they tolerated accusations, volunteered to take polygraph examinations; continued to work with detectives even after the interviews turned into pointed accusations."
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44992690/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
snl lost in space yahoo sports halloween costumes steven jackson steven jackson iheartradio
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)