Today, Cool Planet BioFuels, Inc. announced that BP Technology Ventures has made an investment in the company?s C round led by Shea Ventures. Current Cool Planet investors,??General Electric, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, NRG and North Bridge Venture Partners also participated. The amount of funding was not disclosed.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dTXTQ-CEl3k/
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TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Closing off the Gulf to oil tankers will be "easier than drinking a glass of water" for Iran if the Islamic state deems it necessary, state television reported on Wednesday, ratcheting up fears over the world's most important oil chokepoint.
"Closing the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's armed forces is really easy ... or as Iranians say it will be easier than drinking a glass of water," Iran's navy chief Habibollah Sayyari told Iran's English language Press TV.
"But right now, we don't need to shut it as we have the Sea of Oman under control and we can control the transit," said Sayyari, who is leading 10 days of exercises in the Strait.
Tension has increased between Iran and the West after EU foreign ministers decided three weeks ago to tighten sanctions on the world's No. 5 crude exporter over what the U.N. nuclear watchdog says is an attempt to design an atomic bomb, but left open the idea of an embargo on Iranian oil.
Iran, which says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, warned on Tuesday it would stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if sanctions were imposed on its crude exports.
The announcement over the possible closure of the only access channel for eight U.S.-aligned, Gulf Arab states to foreign markets, pushed up international oil prices on Tuesday although they slipped back on Wednesday in thin trade and as the market dismissed it as rhetoric.
"The threat by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz supported the oil market yesterday, but the effect is fading today as it will probably be empty threats as they cannot stop the flow for a longer period due to the amount of U.S. hardware in the area," said Thorbjoern bak Jensen, an oil analyst with Global Risk Management.
"WILL NOT YIELD"
The Strait of Hormuz is "the world's most important oil chokepoint," according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The State Department said there was an "element of bluster" in the threat, but underscored that the United States, whose warships patrol in the area, would support the free flow of oil.
It was not immediately clear what Sayyari meant by controlling the Sea of Oman, but the Iranian navy has been developing its presence in international waters since 2010 for counter-piracy operations and also to show off its naval power.
Iran's international isolation over its defiant nuclear stance is hurting the country's oil-dependent economy, but Iranian officials has shown no sign of willingness to compromise.
Iran dismisses the impact of these penalties, saying trade and other measures imposed since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the U.S.-backed shah have made the country stronger.
During a public speech in Iran's western province of Ilam on Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad implied Tehran had no intention of changing course.
"We will not yield to pressure to abandon our rights ... The Iranian nation will not withdraw from its right (to nuclear technology) even one iota because of the pressures," said Ahmadinejad, whose firm nuclear stance has stoked many ordinary Iranians' sense of national dignity.
Some Iranian oil officials admitted have that foreign sanctions were hurting the key energy sector that was in desperate need of foreign investment.
Though four rounds of the U.N. sanctions do not forbid the purchase of Iranian oil, many international oil firms and trading companies have stopped trading with Iran.
"SHOWING TEETH"
So far, big trade partners of Tehran - Russia and China -have blocked a ban on Iran's oil exports at the United Nations.
Iran's arch-foes Israel and the United States have not ruled out military action if diplomacy and sanctions fail to rein in Iran's nuclear work.
The presence of U.S. naval forces in the Gulf to secure a free passage for oil has increased concerns over a possible military conflict if Iran tries to block the waterway.
Analysts say Tehran could retaliate against any military strike by launching hit-and-run attacks in the Gulf and by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
About 40 percent of all traded oil leaves the Gulf region through the strategic waterway.
An Iranian analyst who declined to be named said the leadership could not reach a compromise with the West over its nuclear activities as it "would harm its prestige among its core supporters."
"Iranian officials are showing their teeth to prevent a military strike," said the analyst.
"Closing off the Strait of Hormuz will harm Iran's economy that will be very dangerous for the establishment ahead of the parliamentary vote."
Iran will hold its parliamentary election in March, the first litmus test of the clerical establishment's popularity since the 2009 disputed presidential vote, that the opposition says was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad's re-election.
The vote was followed by eight months of anti-government street protests and created a deepening political rift among the hardline rulers.
With the opposition leaders under house arrest since February and the main reformist political parties banned since the vote, Iranian hardline rulers are concerned a low turnout would question the establishment's legitimacy.
Frustration is simmering among lower- and middle-class Iranians over Ahmadinejad's economic policies. Prices of most consumer goods have risen substantially and many Iranians struggle to make ends meet.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams)
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With hardly a week to go before the transfer window is open, Fabio Capello has slammed top English clubs for "stealing" young talents.
According to the England team manager, the practice of netting young players from around the world by top Premier League clubs will have long-term consequences. Capello has also urged Fifa to initiate drastic action to tackle the tendency, according to a report in the Telegraph.
The practice, many feel, effectively prevents young, dynamic English talents from coming up.
The Italian has reportedly told a football conference in Dubai: "Clubs are talent-scouting all over the world and are stealing young players by bidding higher and not thinking of the consequences for those countries.
"A line needs to be drawn. Fifa should pass new rules. I've spoken to (Uefa President Michel) Platini and in the future clubs will be forbidden to steal players when they are very young."
According to the report, Capello was particularly frustrated by the fact that only a third of players in the Premier League are eligible for England, compared with 60 percent in Italy, his home country.
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Capello was irritated when Germany deployed players of Polish and Turkish origin in their 2011 World Cup squad when they took on England as it had taken away players from their home countries, the report has noted.
Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/274412/20111229/football-transfer-news-fabio-capello-slams-theft.htm
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(Reuters) ? Obese older adults may be more likely than their thinner peers to suffer a potentially disabling fall -- though the most severely overweight may be somewhat protected from injury, according to a U.S. study.
Falls are often seen as a problem for thin, frail older adults, since their bones are especially prone to fractures, but obesity carries its own risks, said researchers whose findings appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
"People who are obese may have a harder time with balance," said Christine Himes, of Syracuse University in New York, who worked on the study.
And when obese older adults lose their footing, they may be less able to react quickly and stop a fall, she added.
Looking at 10,755 people aged 65 and up, Himes and colleague Sandra Reynolds found that obese older adults were anywhere from 12 percent to 50 percent more likely to suffer a fall over two years than their normal-weight peers.
Those odds rose with the level of obesity. The 50 percent higher risk was seen among people with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher -- about 45 kg (100 lb) overweight for a man, or 36 kg (80 lb) overweight for a woman.
Body mass index is a measure of weight against height.
The study participants were surveyed every two years. Between 1998 and 2006, the group reported a total of 9,621 falls, resulting in more than 3,100 injuries serious enough to need medical attention.
Of people who suffered a fall, 23 percent were obese, compared with just under 20 percent among older adults who did not fall during the study period.
The researchers factored in health conditions linked to both obesity and the risk of falling, such as arthritis, pain in the legs, diabetes and stroke. But obesity itself was still linked to a higher fall risk.
But when it came to the risk of being injured by a fall, the most severely obese older adults, with a BMI of 40 or higher, were one-third less likely to be injured than normal-weight people who fell.
People with milder obesity had no such protective effect. In fact, those moderately obese people were at greater risk of reporting longer-term disabilities after falls, versus normal weight men and women.
Those with a BMI of 30 to 34.9 were 17 percent more likely than normal weight people to report a disability after a fall. And those with a BMI between 35 and 39.9 were 39 percent more likely to report a disability.
Himes said the patterns make sense.
Obese people, in general, may be more vulnerable to falls than thinner folk, and when they do fall, the most obese people may get some protection from injury by their extra padding and denser bones.
But when obese people are injured, they may be less likely to recover.
"It's just harder for obese people to recover from injury. They're going to be in poorer physical shape to begin with," Himes said.
It's estimated that more than one-third of U.S. residents age 65 and up suffer a fall each year, and a similar proportion of older adults are obese -- a trend, Himes noted, that is likely to get worse.
"This is just another reason that obesity needs to be considered an important public health problem," she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/uuUlSa
(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)
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iShare recently took a look at the subject of recording television programs.
Over the 17th and 18th of November 2011 832 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 59.6% of the sample were male, 6.3% in their twenties, 20.7% in their thirties, 34.6% in their forties, 23.3% in their fifties, and 15.1% in their sixties.
Note that when television watching is mentioned, that includes both live television and time-shifted contents.
Read more on: club bbq,ishare,recorder,televisionQ1: At home, do you have a television plus recorder, or a television with a built-in recorder? (Sample size=832)
? All Male
N=496Female
N=336Separate television and recorder 61.8% 63.1% 59.8% Television with built-in recorder 11.8% 8.9% 16.1% Both 7.9% 9.5% 5.7% Neither (to end of survey) 18.5% 18.5% 18.5% Q2: With whom do you currently live? (Sample size=678)
? All Male
N=404Female
N=274Family, spouse (to SQs) 88.2% 86.1% 91.2% Alone 10.3% 12.9% 6.6% With friends 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% Other 0.7% 0.2% 1.5% Q2SQ1: At what time do you most often talk with your family, spouse? (Sample size=598)
? All Male
N=348Female
N=250Evening meal 65.1% 68.4% 60.4% In front of television 14.0% 12.6% 16.0% Breakfast 7.2% 6.3% 8.4% Before bed 7.0% 4.9% 10.0% Between meals 2.0% 2.3% 1.6% Lunchtime 2.0% 2.3% 1.6% After waking up 1.3% 1.1% 1.6% Other 1.3% 2.0% 0.4% Q2SQ2: What is the source of topics of conversations with your family, spouse? (Sample size=598, multiple answer)
? All Male
N=348Female
N=250Things within the family 60.9% 60.1% 62.0% Television programs 55.5% 51.1% 61.6% Work, school 52.5% 48.9% 57.6% Friends 31.6% 26.7% 38.4% Hobbies 27.9% 25.3% 31.6% Other 4.2% 4.0% 4.4% Q3: About how much television do you watch per day on average? (Sample size=678)
? All Male
N=404Female
N=274Less than one hour 10.2% 10.4% 9.9% One to two hours 24.8% 28.5% 19.3% Two to four hours 39.8% 43.6% 34.3% Four to six hours 18.0% 13.1% 25.2% Six to eight hours 4.4% 3.0% 6.6% More than eight hours 2.8% 1.5% 4.7% Q4: When do you watch the most television? (Sample size=678)
? All Male
N=404Female
N=274Weekends 44.2% 50.2% 35.4% Weekdays 36.9% 28.5% 49.3% Over the New Year 10.0% 9.9% 10.2% Public holidays 6.2% 7.7% 4.0% Summer holidays 0.4% 0.7% 0.0% Other 2.2% 3.0% 1.1%
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Story Published: Dec 24, 2011 at 4:39 PM MST
Story Updated: Dec 24, 2011 at 4:39 PM MST
With just two weeks remaining in the NFL's regular season, the Denver Broncos try to stay on top of the AFC West.
Your source for local and surrounding area scores and sports news.
Be sure to watch KULR-8 News @ 6 and 10 M-F, and weekends @ 5
and 10 for complete coverage.
Have a score to report? Sports story idea?
Send to our Sports Department: sports@kulr.com or give us a call, 406-656-8558.
Source: http://www.kulr8.com/sports/local/Saturday-KULR-8-Sports-On-Demand-12-24-136191048.html
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank ? Tens of thousands of tourists and Christian pilgrims packed the West Bank town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations Saturday, bringing warm holiday cheer to the traditional birthplace of Jesus on a raw, breezy and rainy night.
With turnout at its highest in more than a decade, proud Palestinian officials said they were praying the celebrations would bring them closer to their dream of independence.
Meanwhile, Christmas celebrations began to take place around the globe, with Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Christmas Eve Mass two hours before midnight at Vatican City and urging the faithful to look beyond the commercialization of the holiday and discover its true meaning.
"Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light," Benedict told congregants in a packed St. Peter's Basilica.
Bethlehem, like the rest of the West Bank, fell onto hard times after the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out in late 2000. As the fighting has subsided in recent years, the tourists have returned in large numbers.
By late night, the Israeli military, which controls movement in and out of town, said some 100,000 visitors, including foreigners and Arab Christians from Israel, had reached Bethlehem, up from 70,000 the previous year.
Thousands of Palestinians from inside West Bank also converged on the town.
"It's wonderful to be where Jesus was born," said Irma Goldsmith, 68, of Suffolk, Virginia. "I watch Christmas in Bethlehem each year on TV, but to be here in person is different. To be in the spot where our savior was born is amazing."
After nightfall, a packed Manger Square, along with a 50-foot-tall (15-meter-tall) Christmas tree, was awash in Christmas lights, and the town took on a festival-like atmosphere.
Vendors hawked balloons and corn on the cob, and bands played Christmas songs and tourists packed cafes that are sleepy the rest of the year. As rain began falling in the early evening, many people cleared out of the square and raced to nearby restaurants.
Festivities were to culminate with Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born.
Among the visitors were a surprisingly large number of veiled Muslim women with their families, out to enjoy an evening out in what is normally a quiet town.
"We love to share this holiday with our Christian brothers," said Amal Ayash, 46, who came to Manger Square with her three daughters, all of them covered in veils. "It is a Palestinian holiday and we love to come here and watch."
Israel turned Bethlehem over to Palestinian civil control a few days before Christmas in 1995, and since then, residents have been celebrating the holiday regardless of their religion.
Pilgrims from around the world also wandered the streets, singing Christmas carols and visiting churches.
"It's a real treat to come here," said John Houston, 58, a restaurant owner from Long Beach, California. "It makes me feel really good to see what I have been learning from the time I was a kid in Sunday school until today."
Houston said he was surprised by Bethlehem's appearance, which is a far cry from the pastoral village of biblical times. Today, it is a sprawling town of cement apartment blocs and narrow streets that combined with several surrounding communities has a population of some 50,000 people.
Located on the southeastern outskirts of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is surrounded on three sides by a barrier Israel built to stop Palestinian militants from attacking last decade.
Palestinians say the barrier has damaged their economy by constricting movement in and out of town. Twenty-two percent of Bethlehem residents are unemployed, the Palestinian Authority says. Israeli settlements surrounding Bethlehem have added to the sense of confinement.
The Christmas season is essential for Bethlehem's economy, which depends heavily on tourism.
Most visitors entering Bethlehem, including the top Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, had to cross through an Israeli-controlled checkpoint to reach town.
Twal, a Palestinian citizen of Jordan, arrived in a traditional midday procession from Jerusalem, and later, celebrated Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity.
In his homily, he referred to the Arab Spring, imploring Arab leaders to have "wisdom, insight and a spirit of selflessness toward their countrymen" and praying for reconciliation in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and North Africa.
He also noted the Palestinian campaign to join the United Nations, and complained that the U.N. was "less than united" in its support for the now-stalled initiative. He also criticized the international community for pushing the Palestinians to "re-engage in a failed peace process" which has "left a bitter taste of broken promises and of mistrust."
The patriarch lamented the Israeli barrier enveloping Bethlehem ? "let us tear down the walls of our hearts in order to tear down the walls of concrete" ? and prayed for peace for both Palestinians and Israelis
The Palestinians have subtly tried to draw attention to their plight with this year's Christmas slogan, "Palestine celebrating hope," a veiled reference to their bid to win U.N. recognition. With peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians are seeking membership as a state in the United Nations and recently gained admission to UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency.
"We are celebrating this Christmas hoping that in the near future we'll get our right to self-determination, our right to establish our own democratic, secular Palestinian state on the Palestinian land. That is why this Christmas is unique," said Mayor Victor Batarseh, who is Christian.
Late Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told a meeting of Christian leaders that he is committed to reaching peace with Israel, despite a three-year standstill in negotiations.
"I hope they will come back to their senses and understand that we are seekers of peace, not seekers of war or terrorism," said Abbas, a Muslim. "The mosque, church and synagogue stand side by side in this Holy Land."
Today, only about one-third of Bethlehem's residents are Christian, reflecting a broader exodus of Christians from the Middle East in recent decades. Overall, just 60,000 Christians live in the Palestinian territories, making up less than 2 percent of the population, according to Palestinian officials.
At the Vatican, Benedict kicked off an intense two weeks of public appearances that will test the 84-year-old pontiff's stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.
The Christmas Eve Mass was moved up to 10 p.m. from midnight several years ago to spare the pope a late night that is followed by an important Christmas Day speech. In a new concession this year, Benedict processed down the basilica's central aisle on a moving platform to spare him the long walk.
Benedict appeared tired by the end of the Mass and a dry cough interrupted his homily.
On Sunday, Benedict will deliver his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" speech, Latin for "to the city and the world," from the central loggia of St. Peter's overlooking the piazza. Usually, the speech is a survey of sorts of the hardships and wars confronting humanity, and ends with the pope delivering Christmas greetings in dozens of languages.
President Barack Obama was spending the holiday with his family in Hawaii. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama wished all Americans a merry Christmas and happy holidays, with a special message of thanks to U.S. troops, especially those serving in Afghanistan.
"Let's take a moment to give thanks for their service; for their families' service; for our veterans' service," the president said Saturday. Obama noted that with the Iraq war over, the last troops from that conflict are home for the holidays.
___
Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Vatican City.
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Bangalore/Mumbai: Just as it seemed that banks had curbed lending to the real estate sector, a study shows that they actually lent more?a significant chunk of it being risky loans to firms that are not listed on the stock exchanges.
Between October 2010 and September 2011, according to a December report by IDFC Securities Ltd, lending by banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to real estate developers grew 14% to Rs 1.6 trillion.
Unlisted developers account for 62% of this sum, says the report titled Unlisted Developers: The bigger black hole.
Banks lent Rs .15 trillion.
Experts warn that such a fast pace of lending will only lead to an increase in loan defaults, especially with realty firms struggling to sell properties.
?With the next six-nine months expected to remain difficult (for the realty sector) and a significant portion of debt due for repayment, defaults by some unlisted players are unavoidable,? analysts Nitin Agarwal and Vineet Chandak of IDFC Securities wrote in the report.
Financial strain: A residential project under construction in Gurgaon. The IDFC report says real estate firms may be forced to slash prices by 10-25% due to poor sales. Mint
Banks and NBFCs stepped up lending to the realty sector despite repeated statements of caution by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the high risk of lending to the price- and interest rate-sensitive sector.Given that operational cash flows of many developers are strained due to low sales, they could be forced to cut prices, the IDFC report says, predicting a much-anticipated 10-25% correction in property prices in the near to medium term.
The implications of heavy borrowing by unlisted realty developers are multi-fold, said Amit Goenka, national director-capital transactions, Knight Frank India, a property advisory.
Of the incremental lending of about Rs 20,000 crore between October 2010 and September 2011, 67% went to unlisted firms, according to the IDFC report.
?These are unprecedented leverages for them and chances of defaulting are high,? Goenka said. ?Going forward, we may see consolidation in the form of distressed sales of assets, taking private loans or private equity money to pay off other loans and consummation in discounted sales.?
Unlisted borrowers offer more attractive returns or agree to higher interest rates, Goenka said, explaining perhaps why banks lent to these firms ignoring the regulator?s warnings.
IDFC?s Chandak said that in some instances, banks have asked the unlisted borrowers for ?almost twice the collateral because the sector risk profile has gone up?.
Most bankers agree that loans to unlisted developers can be riskier since the corporate governance standards of these firms are not satisfactory in many cases.
?It is a serious issue as there is a higher chance of default as they are not following corporate governance,? said the chief financial officer of a foreign bank, who did not want to be identified.
?Real estate business itself is largely unorganized... It is not true to say that listed companies are always safer and unlisted ones are not in terms of credit quality, although they may not have corporate governance standards as good as listed ones,? said B.A. Prabhakar, who is set to take over as the chairman and managing director of state-run Andhra Bank from 1 January.
The bank has not seen any defaults from real estate companies so far, he said.
Growth in gross debt for the top 25 listed real estate firms largely remained unchanged between October 2010 and September 2011. For DLF Ltd, the country?s largest developer by sales, however, net debt rose by nearly Rs 1,000 crore in the quarter ended September to Rs 22,519 crore, which the firm said was due to delays in receiving payments from its sales of non-core assets.
Buckling to the pressure from equity investors, listed developers have sought to manage or reduce their debt-equity ratio by curbing aggressive land acquisitions, by raising equity, or selling non-core assets, among other measures, the IDFC report said.
Developers, typically, get money from banks to finance projects at 12-14% interest rates and from NBFCs at 18-20%. About 30-35% of the funds a developer needs typically come from banks.
Demand for funds by unlisted realty firms is huge, particularly with the market for initial public offerings (IPOs) drying up due to stock market volatility. The last public share sale by a real estate firm in India was by Prestige Estates Projects Ltd in October 2010, after which nearly $4 billion of fund-raising largely meant for acquisitions and debt repayment was called off because developers didn?t think the market conditions were conducive.
Two large IPOs planned by realty firms Emaar MGF Land Ltd and Lodha Developers Ltd were put on hold.
Sunil Mantri, chairman, Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd, said listed developers have access to more fund-raising channels such as pledging of shares, while unlisted developers have few options to choose from and have to battle the increasing costs of borrowing.
?We have got bank loans for mid-sized residential projects, with all approvals, but they aren?t keen to lend to long-gestation projects,? said a Bangalore-based developer, who didn?t want to be named. ?We have also raised money from NBFCs for other corporate purposes at very high rates but sales have been good in Bangalore and, therefore, we will be able to pay back.?
madhurima.n@livemint.com
Source: http://www.livemint.com/2011/12/25233659/Unlisted-real-estate-firms-pil.html
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(Reuters) ? A federal judge on Friday barred high profile Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio from detaining people simply for being in the country illegally, in a ruling that faulted the local lawman for enforcing federal immigration law.
The 40-page written opinion by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow came on the same day he issued legal sanctions against Arpaio over destroyed documents.
The decisions come as a further blow for the controversial sheriff, who already has faced rebukes from the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Both rulings by Snow stemmed from a 2007 civil lawsuit against Arpaio and his agency, which accuses his officers of racial profiling of Latinos in traffic stops the judge found were conducted as immigration sweeps.
The judge also said officers with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department (MCSO), which covers Phoenix and surrounding areas, circulated emails that "compared Mexicans to dogs" and portrayed them "as drunks."
"Local law enforcement agencies, such as MCSO, may not enforce civil federal immigration law," Snow said in his written opinion.
He added that the sheriff's agency was "hereby enjoined" from detaining "any person based only on knowledge or reasonable belief, without more, that the person is unlawfully present within the United States."
In his ruling, Snow also granted a request by plaintiffs to certify the lawsuit as a class action.
He defined the class action as encompassing all Latinos "stopped, detained, questioned or searched" by Arpaio's officers "while driving or sitting in a vehicle" on roads or parking areas in Maricopa County.
EVIDENCE DESTRUCTION
Snow also cited the admitted destruction of emails and patrol records by Arpaio's office related to the case. He noted the sheriff's agency never contested those documents were shredded rather than lost.
Further proceedings in the case are expected to be decided by Snow rather than a jury because the plaintiffs have not requested a jury trial.
Snow's sanctions against Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were outlined in written opinions issued a day after the judge heard oral arguments on the matter.
Separately last week, the U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing report accusing Arpaio and his deputies of engaging in a "pervasive culture of discriminatory bias" and violating civil rights laws by singling out Latinos for unlawful detention and arrests.
The same day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security barred Arpaio's deputies from screening jail inmates for their immigration status.
Arpaio was given until January 4 to agree to negotiations addressing the abuses cited by the Justice Department or face a request for a court order requiring compliance.
The Justice Department's report and the similar allegations raised in the lawsuit relate to Arpaio's controversial efforts to crack down on illegal immigration in Maricopa County.
Those efforts have earned him accolades in conservative political circles. Several candidates for the Republican presidential nomination sought his endorsement, which ultimately went to Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Arpaio has denied that his department engages in racial profiling and accused the Justice Department under President Barack Obama of undermining immigration enforcement.
A lawyer for Arpaio was not available for comment.
The sheriff was a strong supporter of controversial new Arizona law SB 1070, requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain and suspect of being in the country illegally.
That law is under challenge by the Obama administration in a case the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide next year.
Aside from the allegation of racial profiling, Arpaio also faces a firestorm over media reports that his office might have given short shrift to hundreds of sex-crime investigations.
(Editing by Steve Gorman and Jerry Norton)
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LONDON (Reuters) ? Queen Elizabeth's 90-year-old husband Prince Philip had a "good night" after being rushed to hospital for heart surgery and will be visited by members of Britain's royal family on Saturday, Buckingham Palace said.
Britain's longest-serving royal consort, known for his outspoken and sometimes brusque manner, needed an operation to fit a small tube to clear a blocked artery after suffering chest pains as the royal family prepared to celebrate Christmas.
"The Duke of Edinburgh had a good night," a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said. "There is an expectation that some of the royal family will visit this morning."
Philip had been due to spend Christmas with members of the royal family - including grandson Prince William and his wife Catherine, accordingly to British media - at the Sandringham royal estate in eastern England, but he may have to spend the holiday in a hospital bed.
Philip, who married Elizabeth in 1947, was taken to Papworth Hospital, one of Britain's main heart and chest centers, about 60 miles away in Cambridge on Friday.
"The Duke of Edinburgh was found to have a blocked coronary artery which caused his chest pains," the palace said. "This was treated successfully by the minimally invasive procedure of coronary stenting."
He would stay in hospital "for a short period" under observation, it added.
The hospital declined to comment although, with members of the royal family visiting him on Saturday, it appeared unlikely he would be discharged until at least Christmas Day.
Philip had attended a lunch for staff a week ago and had been on "very good form," the BBC reported.
"He has had these chest pains before and I don't think it's anything untoward, but given his age they are being safe rather than sorry," former royal press spokesman Dickie Arbiter said.
Despite his age, Philip generally has been in good health and has continued a busy round of charity work and social engagements, recently visiting Australia and Ireland.
A pivotal figure in the House of Windsor, Philip has a reputation as a fiercely loyal consort who prefers outdoor pursuits to introspection.
Britain's tabloid newspapers have delighted over the years in recounting his many public gaffes.
He once told British students in China: "If you stay here much longer, you'll be slitty-eyed."
Born on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921, Philip served in Britain's Royal Navy before marrying Elizabeth. They have four children, including the heir to the throne, Charles.
(Reporting by Matt Falloon and Peter Griffiths; Editing by Alison Williams)
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LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - At the start of the 20th century, inventors Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla clashed in the "war of the currents." To highlight the dangers of his rival's system, Edison even electrocuted an elephant. The animal died in vain; it was Tesla's system and not Edison's that took off. But today, helped by technological advances and the need to conserve energy, Edison may finally get his revenge.
The American inventor, who made the incandescent light bulb viable for the mass market, also built the world's first electrical distribution system, in New York, using "direct current" electricity. DC's disadvantage was that it couldn't carry power beyond a few blocks. His Serbian-born rival Tesla, who at one stage worked with Edison, figured out how to send "alternating current" through transformers to enable it to step up the voltage for transmission over longer distances.
Edison was a fiercely competitive businessman. Besides staging electrocutions of animals to discredit Tesla's competing system, he proposed AC be used to power the first execution by electric chair.
But his system was less scalable, and it was to prove one of the worst investments made by financier J. Pierpont Morgan. New York's dominant banker installed it in his Madison Avenue home in the late 19th century, only to find it hard to control. It singed his carpets and tapestries.
So from the late 1800s, AC became the accepted form to carry electricity in mains systems. For most of the last century, the power that has reached the sockets in our homes and businesses is alternating current.
Now DC is making a comeback, becoming a promising money-spinner in renewable or high-security energy projects. From data centers to long-distance power lines and backup power supplies, direct current is proving useful in thousands of projects worldwide.
"Everyone says it's going to take at least 50 years," says Peter Asmus, a senior analyst at Boulder, Colorado-based Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm in global clean technology. But "the role of DC will increase, and AC will decrease."
FROM CLOUD TO MICROGRID
The main factor driving demand is the need to conserve energy and produce more of it from renewable sources. Alternating current is generated by rotating engines, but renewable sources such as wind and solar produce DC power. To use it, because of the way our buildings are wired, we first convert it to AC.
Another thing that's happened since Edison's time is the advent of the semiconductor. Semiconductors need DC power, and are increasingly found in household appliances. These have to convert the AC supply back to DC, which is a waste of energy and generates heat. In the early years of industrialization this wasn't an issue, but today it's important, especially in the huge and fast-growing business of cloud computing.
The companies that handle our information traffic are racking their brains to boost efficiency and cut carbon emissions from their plants. Pike Research expects the green data center business to be worth $41 billion annually by 2015, up from $7.5 billion now. That will be just under a third of all spending on data centers.
Finnish information technology company Academica, for instance, has a data center in a granite cave beneath Helsinki's Uspenski cathedral. It uses Baltic sea water to cool the plant and feeds surplus heat to the city's homes. IBM has designed a solar array to power its Bangalore data center. Microsoft has filed a patent application for a wind-powered data center.
Direct current may be one way to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. Right now, outside a handful of universities, it's not the first thing people are thinking of because there are more basic things to do, says Eric Woods, Research Director for Smart Industry at Pike. But for companies on the leading edge, "it's sort of coming out of the research ghetto."
Pike has not put a figure on how big the DC component of the green data center market will be. Swiss-Swedish engineering firm ABB, a big DC advocate, says about 35 percent of demand for green data centers will come from the United States, 30 percent from Europe, and the rest spread globally.
Every day, says ABB, we all send more than 300 billion emails and 250 million tweets globally. The centers to handle all this data are growing by 10 percent each year and already consume 80 million megawatt-hours of energy annually -- almost 1.5 times the amount of electricity used by the whole of New York City. They're also responsible for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions.
DC power could help. At low voltages it has long been used in data centers but will be "game-changing" at higher voltages, ABB says.
Beyond its potential in data centers, DC power's ability to run on renewable energy sources makes it interesting for important plants that need to operate in "island mode" -- independent of the grid -- in case of a supply failure. Building systems with small, self-contained electricity distribution networks known as microgrids is of particular interest to governments and militaries who worry about terrorist attacks.
"In our view the market (for microgrids) is about to take off," said Pike Research's Asmus, who also sees demand for microgrids in countries that aren't densely covered by AC grids, such as Australia and India, and in developing countries looking to replace costly and wasteful diesel generators.
SMART GRIDS
And it's not just "island mode." Thanks to power electronics - semiconductor switching devices - DC can now be transmitted at high voltage over very long distances, longer than AC. It can be easily used in cables, over ground or under the sea.
High voltage direct current (HVDC) systems are the backbone of plans for smart grids, or supergrids, which aim to channel energy from places where power sources such as sunlight and hydropower are abundant to countries where it is scarce.
Siemens, which vies with ABB for market leadership in HVDC transmission, says demand is increasing fast. "By 2020, I'm expecting to see new HVDC transmission lines with a total capacity of 250 gigawatts. That is a dramatic increase," says Udo Niehage, CEO of the Power Transmission Division in Siemens' Energy Sector. "In the last 40 years, we've only installed 100 gigawatts worth of HVDC transmission lines."
Emerging markets have been the main drivers. ABB has installed a 2,000-km line in China that operates DC power; a 2,375-km HVDC project under construction in Brazil will be the world's longest transmission line when it comes online in 2013.
But Europe is also important. HVDC is now used in a power connection between Britain and the Netherlands. The island of Majorca, whose tourists push up power demand every summer, was hooked up to the Spanish mainland in September. The HVDC system can transmit 30 to 40 percent more energy than with conventional overhead lines carrying alternating current.
Jochen Kreusel, the head of ABB's Smart Grid program, says smart grid demand will put Europe at the forefront of HVDC growth over the next 10 years. "At the moment, based on the number of projects, I'm quite sure it's the strongest market," he said. Pike in November 2010 estimated HVDC investment would reach $12.1 billion by 2015.
The bulk of this DC know-how is currently with European companies, although Chinese firms are joining in. Besides ABB, Siemens and France's Alstom are the main players.
NOT THERE YET
There are plenty of obstacles to all these developments. People in some places worry about the environmental damage from laying new grids, others point to a lack of standards and say DC still has technological limitations that need to be fixed.
Public fears about the potential danger of high voltage cables could also be an issue, especially in the United States where standard voltages are already much lower than in Europe. There are practical limitations, such as a shortage of cable-making capacity.
If the economic climate does not improve, cash may also be a constraint. Countries such as Spain and the Netherlands have already cut subsidies to renewable energy projects. ABB's Kreusel says the economic crisis will have an impact on the market, but he still expects DC to become "an evolutionary add-on" to AC grids over the next 20 years.
How would Edison see all this? He might even have foreseen it. "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy," he reportedly told his associates Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone in the 1930s. "What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."
(Edited by Simon Robinson)
Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/R7nCIMPY2m8/us-power-acdc-idUSTRE7BJ0PW20111221
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Spokane, Wash.?
? A man who admitted to planting a bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route was sentenced Tuesday to 32 years in prison, the maximum punishment as negotiated under a plea deal that he tried to withdraw and then later denounced.
"I am not guilty of the acts that I am accused of and that I plead guilty to," Kevin Harpham said before U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush handed down the sentence. He agreed to the deal in September to avoid a possible life sentence, Harpham said.
The statement prompted the judge to impose the higher end of the possible prison sentence, which was negotiated in the plea bargain as between 27 and 32 years. "I am distressed that you appear not the least bit apologetic," Quackenbush said.
Harpham, who has extensive ties to white supremacists, blamed the judge for not giving his defense team enough time. The 37-year-old said he did not intend to injure people with the bomb he placed in downtown Spokane prior to the January parade.
Rather, he intended for the shrapnel to hit the side of a building as a show of protest against the multiculturalism celebrated by the parade, he said.
"I was making a statement that there are people out there who don't agree with these ideas," Harpham said. He likened himself to a Christian protesting gay marriage, "but a bit more dangerous or extreme."
The judge said he was perplexed because Harpham had been honorably discharged from the Army and had no criminal record. Quackenbush wondered whether a "shrill and caustic and vitriolic" culture fueled by talk media was partially to blame.
Just before Harpham was scheduled to be sentenced, his lawyer tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea by noting that a newly hired defense expert questioned whether the explosive device in question met the legal definition of a bomb.
Harpham said he intended to seek an appeal, which he has 14 days to file.
Federal prosecutors said it was important that a long sentence be imposed in the case.
"Acts of hate like this one have no place in our country in 2011," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division in Washington.
The pipe bomb was loaded with lead fishing weights coated in rat poison, which can inhibit blood clotting in wounds, officials have said. The bomb was discovered and disabled before it could explode.
The Jan. 17 parade drew a crowd of about 2,000. It was forced onto an alternative route after the bomb was found. Harpham walked in the parade and took pictures of black children and of a Jewish man who was wearing a yarmulke, prosecutors have said.
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The Barry Bonds case is over. Bonds, as we speak, is being sentenced. The penalty: 30 days of house arrest, two years of?probation?and?250 hours of community service. ?This, by the way, is what the probation office recommended. Prosecutors were seeking a 15 month jail term.
In handing out her sentence, the judge observed that she agreed with the jury that Bonds tried to obstruct justice. Just that he failed. She noted that he did not threaten witnesses, for example. ?When I first read his grand jury testimony three and a half years ago I observed the same thing. You can tell Barry wanted to perjure himself. He just was pretty damn bad at it.
The judge also noted that the sentence took into account that Bonds has a strong record of philanthropy, much of which is unpublicized. Weighing against that, I presume, is that he is a lousy stinkin? cheater who robbed some sportswriters of their childhood memories.
Of course, there was some pathetic desperation on the part of the prosecution during the hearing. When trying to argue against the light sentence, the prosecutor said that Bonds planned to lie ahead of time and that he kept mistresses and lived a double life for years. The judge, not having it, noted that Bonds wasn?t convicted of any of that. ?It?s something the prosecution and most of the people sitting in moral judgment of Barry Bonds have never quite gotten their minds around, but there you go.
I don?t know about you, but I would feel more secure walking the mean streets of Los Altos Hills tonight, knowing that Barry Bonds is secure behind the bars of the home security system that cost more than many public schools.
UPDATE: ?Bonds won?t even have to serve any of that now. The judge has stayed (delayed) the sentence until after Bonds? appeal of his conviction is heard. Which will take some time. And, in my opinion, may very well prevail.
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The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.
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While I wouldn't expect it to fly with its current name for very long, check out this project that came out of NYT's recent Open Hack Day. Called OkCandidate, it's OkCupid... for voters. Instead of finding you the best romantic candidate to date and make beautiful love babies with, it tries to determine which presidential candidate is most compatible with your beliefs.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HUE0JEt5QLY/
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AUBURN, Ala. -- Chris Denson and Frankie Sullivan scored 12 points each, and Varez Ward added 11 to lead Auburn over South Florida 52-40 Wednesday night.
Auburn (5-1) went on an 8-2 run to start the second half, increasing a one-point halftime advantage into a 29-22 lead on a pair of Ward free throws with 15:55 to go.
After South Florida (6-5) cut the lead back to two, 31-29, the Tigers went on a 14-3 run, culminating with a Denson teardrop in the lane, for a 45-32 advantage with 6:48 to go.
The run was enough to propel Auburn to the win, sealing its best start since the 2004-05 season.
"I liked the way we responded," Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. "I want to play a fast-paced game with this team. I want to score 80 points a night, but that always isn't going to happen. You have to win what I call a 'grind out' game, and tonight was one of those."
Ward and Sullivan, who both started the Tigers' first five games, came off the bench at the first timeout a little more than two minutes into the game. Barbee said the players started on the bench because nagging injuries had kept them out of practice for all but about two of the 11 days since their last game, an 81-59 loss to Seton Hall on Dec. 2.
Denson started in Sullivan's place, and Josh Wallace started at point guard for Ward.
"Guys who have practiced have earned their right to start. There's nothing more to that," Barbee said.
The Tigers, who entered Wednesday night in a tie for 337th out of 344 Division I teams with a 57.3 percent free-throw mark, made 15 of 18 (83.3 percent) from the line on the night.
Augustus Gilchrist led the Bulls with 10 points, as South Florida struggled to a 33.3-percent night from the field (14 of 42), 22.2 percent from 3-point range (4 of 18) and 50 percent from the free-throw line (8 of 16).
The Bulls were especially bad after the break, hitting only 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from the field in the second half.
"It was a very frustrating night," South Florida coach Stan Heath said. "We couldn't pick and roll, we couldn't find the basket and we just couldn't score."
Gilchrist scored his 10 points in the first 14 minutes, then went scoreless for the rest of the game.
South Florida's 40 points were the lowest for an opponent against Auburn since Alabama A&M scored 40 on Dec. 29, 2008.
"All week we just focused on defense, and we just have to get better on the offensive end," said Denson, who also recorded three steals on the night. "That's what our main focus is on right now. I think we have the defense pat, but I think the layoff helped us a lot in that category."
South Florida jumped out to a 9-2 lead with 16:49 to go in the first half, thanks in large part to six points from Gilchrist, who hit two jumpers and added a put-back slam dunk.
Auburn missed its first five shots of the game before a breakaway dunk by Denson off a steal stopped the skid with 15:05 left.
The Bulls' lead stayed between one and five points until a Sullivan layup with 31 seconds left in the first half gave the Tigers their first lead of the game at 21-20, an advantage they'd take into halftime.
Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half. South Florida shot only 39.1 percent (9 of 23) from the field and committed seven turnovers, while Auburn shot 36.4 percent (8 of 22) and turned the ball over eight times.
Gilchrist led all scorers with 10 points in the first half for the Bulls. The senior shot 5 of 7 from the field, leaving the rest of his team to shoot 25 percent (4 of 16).
Ward scored seven in the first half for the Tigers, and Denson added six.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/15/2547083/auburn-defeats-south-florida-52.html
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