Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/science-news
september 11 2001 september 11 2001 pomegranate pomegranate 9 11 lightning dominica
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
New Scientist - Online News
Monday, October 24, 2011
Nevada moves caucus to Feb. 4 after backlash
In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011,New Hampshire's Secretary of State Bill Gardner walks by the historic desk where presidential candidates file their paperwork to be on the nations first presidential primary ballot, in Concord, N.H. Gardner doesn't just play chicken with other states over the presidential nominating calendar: He spent years raising roosters and hens at home. A look at the prime defender of New Hampshire's first in the nation primaries. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011,New Hampshire's Secretary of State Bill Gardner walks by the historic desk where presidential candidates file their paperwork to be on the nations first presidential primary ballot, in Concord, N.H. Gardner doesn't just play chicken with other states over the presidential nominating calendar: He spent years raising roosters and hens at home. A look at the prime defender of New Hampshire's first in the nation primaries. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011,New Hampshire's Secretary of State Bill Gardner is seen in his office in Concord, N.H. Gardner doesn't just play chicken with other states over the presidential nominating calendar: He spent years raising roosters and hens at home. A look at the prime defender of New Hampshire's first in the nation primaries. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011,New Hampshire's Secretary of State Bill Gardner is seen in his office in Concord, N.H. Gardner doesn't just play chicken with other states over the presidential nominating calendar: He spent years raising roosters and hens at home. A look at the prime defender of New Hampshire's first in the nation primaries. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) ? Nevada Republicans have shifted their presidential caucuses to early February, a move that ends an increasingly bitter standoff among rival states and for the first time clarifies the path to the Republican presidential nomination.
There will be no voting before Christmas. That's despite warnings from New Hampshire's top election official that Nevada's initial insistence to host its contest in mid-January could force the Granite State to schedule the nation's first Republican primary election in roughly six weeks.
But facing boycott threats from campaigns, incentive offers from the Republican National Committee, and the private blessing of the Mitt Romney campaign, Nevada Republicans voted Saturday to set their caucuses for Feb. 4. It will be the West's first stop in the race for the Republican presidential nomination and the fifth contest overall, after Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.
"The candidates are anxious to come here and campaign and don't want to have the heat put on them by New Hampshire to stay away," former Nevada Gov. Bob List, a national Republican committeeman, said before Saturday's vote. "We have to eat a little crow perhaps in some people's minds, but I think in the end it's a win-win."
The calendar scramble had consumed Republican officials in early voting states and complicated candidates' decisions about travel, the timing of television advertisements and the distribution of limited resources. But with New Hampshire now free to settle on its preferred date of Jan. 10, the final puzzle pieces appear to have fallen into place.
Iowa will keep its Jan. 3 caucus date despite Nevada's move, Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn said Saturday.
The Republican presidential contenders are free to shift their campaigns into high gear with the first stop on the road to the GOP nomination set for Iowa in just 10 weeks.
"Now you'll see the campaigns ramp up very quickly," said Michael Dennehy, a New Hampshire Republican operative who led Sen. John McCain's political operation four years ago and was a central player in the Granite State's boycott push in recent weeks.
Nevada's shift ensures the state won't suffer penalties expected for states that violated national party rules by skipping ahead to boost their political influence. Nevada Republicans also stand to earn some perks at the party's national convention in Florida next August. As part of negotiations in recent days, the Republican National Committee promised Nevada delegates they could sit on the floor "in the best positions," and would have prime hotel space if they made the change, according to Nevada GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian.
"This will be well worth it," she said. "We will be the good guys in the end because we don't need to be New Hampshire's pi?ata."
Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval endorsed the move, saying it would allow the state GOP to focus on its principal goal ? winning elections.
"The move preserves Nevada's first-in-the-West standing and creates a scenario where all candidates will likely compete here," he said in a statement.
The RNC would not comment on its specific role in the discussions, but Chairman Reince Priebus, who had called for a compromise, praised Nevada's decision.
"Nevadans should be proud of their Republican leaders," he said. "They have restored their state's key role in the nomination process and in the 2012 presidential election."
The Romney campaign also played an active, but private, role in the flap.
Campaign officials initially encouraged Nevada to schedule its caucuses before Florida, hoping that Romney's popularity in Nevada would fuel a victory there and create momentum heading into the critical Florida contest. But sensing a political backlash in New Hampshire, Romney representatives in recent days encouraged key Nevada Republicans to settle on a later date.
The Romney campaign would not discuss its actions publicly when asked Saturday, but did not dispute its role.
New Hampshire officials were clearly happy.
"It's a win for the process and it's certainly a win for New Hampshire," said Phyllis Woods, a RNC member from the Granite State. "Going forward, we really want to have Nevada as an ally. We really don't want to have enemies as we go into the next primary calendar."
Also Saturday, Nevada Democrats said they would hold their caucuses on Jan. 21.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who helped obtain the state's third-in-the nation status in 2008, decried the GOP's move.
"I'm deeply disappointed that the Nevada Republican Party has caved to the will of the Republican National Committee and New Hampshire," he said in a statement.
___
Silva reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press writer Tom Beaumont contributed to this story from Iowa.
Associated Presssidney crosby nhl mph abraham lincoln america got talent 2011 savannah cat rachel maddow
Verizon 3Q earnings double on pension effects
NEW YORK (AP) ? Earnings doubled at Verizon Communications Inc. in the latest quarter due to pension accounting effects, but the bottom-line result masked a weak quarter in the local-phone division, which was hammered by a strike and a hurricane.
In wireless, Verizon, the largest carrier, kept adding more high-paying subscribers than rival AT&T Inc. But like AT&T, it was hurt by the delayed launch of the new iPhone model, and missed analyst expectations for the number of new subscribers on contract-based plans.
Verizon on Friday said its net income rose to $1.38 billion, or 49 cents per share, in the three months ended Sep. 30. That's up from $659 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding an adjustment in the value of its pension plans, Verizon says it earned 56 cents per share. That is a penny above the average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.
Pension adjustments were larger in last year's quarter. Factoring those in, the latest earnings were about even with last year.
Revenue rose 5.4 percent to $27.9 billion from $26.5 billion a year ago and was in line with analysts' expectations.
Shares of the New York-based company were unchanged at $37.10 in premarket trading.
Verizon Wireless added 882,000 subscribers on contract-based plans. That was a slowdown from iPhone-fueled results earlier in the year ? Verizon started selling the coveted smartphone in February. Analysts had expected about 950,000 additions in the quarter.
Analysts were in general caught flat-footed by the effect of the delayed iPhone launch, underestimating how much people were holding back. Apple Inc.'s overall iPhone sales failed to meet their expectations when it reported Tuesday, sending its stock down. Last week, the company launched the new iPhone 4S, and sales have set new records.
Verizon had previously warned that a two-week strike in the local-phone division and the ravages of Hurricane Irene would cost it about $250 million in the quarter. Operating income for the division was a weak $53 million, and new installations of FiOS TV and Internet service were the lowest in five years.
Associated Pressnotre dame football wisconsin badgers football wisconsin badgers football chris cook easter island dallas weather bcs rankings
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Verizon 'on track' in Q3, revenues up 5.4 percent to $27.9 billion
Continue reading Verizon 'on track' in Q3, revenues up 5.4 percent to $27.9 billion
Verizon 'on track' in Q3, revenues up 5.4 percent to $27.9 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/JaiGbZxaGso/
tennessee titans freedom tower freedom tower osama bin laden dead picture sept 11 never forget flight 93 shot down
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Greece may need 60 percent bond writedown; EU at odds (Reuters)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Private holders of Greek debt may need to accept losses of up to 60 percent on their investments if Greece's debt mountain is to be made more sustainable in the long-term, a downbeat analysis by the EU and IMF showed on Friday.
Euro zone finance ministers threw Greece a lifeline on Friday by agreeing to approve an 8 billion euro loan tranche that Athens needs next month to pay its bills.
But the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund -- the so-called troika -- issued a gloomy report on Greece's ability to pay its debts.
Among three scenarios it examined, the only one that would reduce Greece's debt pile to 110 percent of GDP -- a level still regarded as high -- was one in which private bond holders agreed to a 60 percent haircut.
"To reduce debt below 110 percent of GDP by 2020 would require a face value reduction of at least 60 percent and/or more concessional official sector financing terms," the debt sustainability report, obtained by Reuters, showed.
A footnote explained that the ECB disagreed with including the scenarios in the report, concerned that private sector lenders would refuse to agree to such a steep writedown voluntarily, effectively leading to a fullscale Greek default.
The report also said Greece's debt pile could peak at 186 percent of GDP, from around 160 percent currently.
The euro zone finance ministers said the 8 billion euro tranche, the sixth installment of 110 billion euros of EU/IMF loans agreed last year, would be paid in the first half of November, pending the IMF's sign-off. That should allow Greece to avoid defaulting on its debt this year.
Meeting ahead of a summit of EU leaders on Sunday, finance ministers also indicated that deep divisions between France and Germany over how best to scale up the euro zone's bailout facility to give it more firepower may have been overcome.
France believes the most efficient leverage method would be to turn the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) into a bank, allowing it to access ECB liquidity. Germany and others opposed this, and France's finance minister said he was not going to be unnecessarily confrontational over the issue.
"We will not make it a point for definitive confrontation," he told reporters as he left the meeting late on Friday. "What matters is what will work. And what will work is something that is dissuasive and an effective firewall."
Austria's finance minister, Maria Fekter, who arrived at the meeting saying there were seven options on the table for leveraging the EFSF, left the meeting saying there were now two, indicating that some progress had been made.
If France does ultimately drop its insistence on the EFSF being turned into a bank, then the most likely method for scaling up the EFSF is expected to be some form of insurance program aimed at restoring confidence in euro zone debt.
A group of 10 major financial companies, including banks, insurers and global bond fund giant PIMCO, wrote to EFSF chief Klaus Regling on Friday saying partial insurance of sovereign bonds could be a viable means to secure private funding for euro zone states "if implemented in size."
"The ability of the EFSF to potentially write significant amounts of such 'insurance' without any further increase to the existing commitments should be an important element in any comprehensive plan by the European government to address the crisis," the letter, seen by Reuters, said.
By guaranteeing only a portion, perhaps a third or a fifth, of each debt issue, the available EFSF funds could stretch 3-5 times further, increasing it to around 1 trillion euros.
However, analysts are concerned that such a plan could create a two-tier bond market, with bonds that have guarantees trading at a premium to the secondary market -- an outcome that could exacerbate market turmoil. Some analysts believe choosing such an option would be the worst outcome of the summit.
BLIZZARD OF MEETINGS
In a related set of discussions, EU finance ministers will on Saturday meet to discuss the requirements for recapitalizing the European banking system, with the aim of making it more resilient to the possibility of a default in Greece and any wider contagion across the continent.
EU leaders will then meet on Sunday to see if they can agree a comprehensive plan to resolve the two-year-old debt crisis, with another summit scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, because no breakthrough is expected on Sunday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Europe's top two officials, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, will also meet late on Saturday to try to break the deadlock before Sunday's summit.
Sarkozy appeared isolated after an acrimonious meeting in Frankfurt on Wednesday, when he pushed the idea of turning the EFSF, a 440-billion-euro ($600 billion) fund, into a bank.
Germany, the ECB and the European Commission all argued that the move would violate an EU treaty prohibition on monetary financing of governments.
"The path is closed for using the ECB to ease liquidity problems," Merkel told conservative lawmakers in Berlin, according to participants at the private meeting.
The outcome of the Sunday and Wednesday summits will determine whether investor confidence in the euro area can be restored. It will also influence whether an expected Greek debt write-down triggers a chain reaction of financial turmoil across Europe, hitting French, German and other banks -- and potentially pushing Italy and Spain deeper into the mire.
EU officials say the total amount required to shore up the region's banking system is just short of 100 billion euros. Those banks that cannot raise money on the markets will have to turn to national governments, and finally to the EFSF.
European banks will be required to increase their core tier one capital ratio to 9 percent to help them withstand losses on sovereign debt, banking sources said.
FRENCH RATING IN SPOTLIGHT
An EU source said France, which has presidential and parliamentary elections from April to June and is desperate to keep its top-notch AAA credit rating, was pressing for banks to be given at least nine months to meet the target.
France fears its credit rating could come under threat if the wrong method is chosen to scale up the bailout fund to prevent contagion spreading to Italy and Spain, the euro zone's third and fourth largest economies.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Friday it was likely to downgrade France and four other states if Europe slips into recession. It was the second agency this week to cast doubt on France's rating after Moody's on Tuesday.
Underlining the threat the euro zone crisis poses to the global economy, U.S. President Barack Obama held a video conference with Merkel and Sarkozy on Thursday, reiterating that he hopes a solution will be in place in time for a summit of G20 leaders in Cannes, France on November 3-4.
(Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke and Madeline Chambers in Berlin, John O'Donnell, Julien Toyer, Jan Strupczewski, Robin Emmott and Luke Baker in Brussels; Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Janet McBride, Mike Peacock and Peter Graff)
arrested development arrested development baltimore ravens shannon tweed shannon tweed don lapre aladdin
Women & Infants participating in National Pelvic Floor Disorders Network
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uVPVAteQftomuNgWLItHm9EwZol91sIozSrXq1tmE7qqG8kRTaQlzXuI_b8okksJthnbihAYy5EU2oU0NmomZkokpOlWs0giMC33mqB0M=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 20-Oct-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Amy Blustein
ablustein@wihri.org
401-681-2822
Women & Infants Hospital
Hospital is 1 of only 8 sites selected from across the country
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to participate in the national Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). Women & Infants is one of just eight medical centers from across the US, and the only one in the Northeast, to work collaboratively to develop and perform research studies related to women with pelvic floor disorders.
Co-principal investigators at Women & Infants are Deborah L. Myers, MD, director, and Vivian Sung, MD, MPH, of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and faculty at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
"Pelvic floor disorders are an issue of growing importance, from both an individual and public health point of view," said Dr. Myers. "Participating in such high-level, national research will offer us the opportunity to test and refine the most appropriate treatment protocols for women for generations to come."
The five-year grant from the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development will enable members of the Network to design and conduct large-scale, high quality studies to significantly advance the care of women with pelvic floor disorders. Studies include treatments and prevention of urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and other sensory and emptying abnormalities of the lower urinary and gastrointestinal tracts.
The PFDN team aims to learn more about how to help women with pelvic floor problems. Treatments are available, but there are still questions about how best to take care of women with pelvic floor problems. The PFDN was started to study pelvic floor problems and come up with answers to these questions.
###
To find out about the open studies in the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network at Women & Infants Hospital, please call Ann Meers, RN, urogynecology research coordinator, at (401) 274-1122, ext. 2811.
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. A U.S.News Best Hospital in Gynecology and Best Children's Hospital in Neonatology, Women & Infants was ranked number one in the Providence metro area and a top-performer in cancer, and has achieved a 5-star rating in Maternity Care for 2011 from HealthGrades. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women's medicine, Women & Infants is the seventh largest obstetrical service in the country with more than 8,500 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
New England's premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation's only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation's only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 20-Oct-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Amy Blustein
ablustein@wihri.org
401-681-2822
Women & Infants Hospital
Hospital is 1 of only 8 sites selected from across the country
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to participate in the national Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). Women & Infants is one of just eight medical centers from across the US, and the only one in the Northeast, to work collaboratively to develop and perform research studies related to women with pelvic floor disorders.
Co-principal investigators at Women & Infants are Deborah L. Myers, MD, director, and Vivian Sung, MD, MPH, of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and faculty at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
"Pelvic floor disorders are an issue of growing importance, from both an individual and public health point of view," said Dr. Myers. "Participating in such high-level, national research will offer us the opportunity to test and refine the most appropriate treatment protocols for women for generations to come."
The five-year grant from the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development will enable members of the Network to design and conduct large-scale, high quality studies to significantly advance the care of women with pelvic floor disorders. Studies include treatments and prevention of urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and other sensory and emptying abnormalities of the lower urinary and gastrointestinal tracts.
The PFDN team aims to learn more about how to help women with pelvic floor problems. Treatments are available, but there are still questions about how best to take care of women with pelvic floor problems. The PFDN was started to study pelvic floor problems and come up with answers to these questions.
###
To find out about the open studies in the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network at Women & Infants Hospital, please call Ann Meers, RN, urogynecology research coordinator, at (401) 274-1122, ext. 2811.
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. A U.S.News Best Hospital in Gynecology and Best Children's Hospital in Neonatology, Women & Infants was ranked number one in the Providence metro area and a top-performer in cancer, and has achieved a 5-star rating in Maternity Care for 2011 from HealthGrades. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women's medicine, Women & Infants is the seventh largest obstetrical service in the country with more than 8,500 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
New England's premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation's only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation's only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/wih-wi102011.php
cj wilson chris carpenter chris carpenter coco rocha coco rocha al sharpton izon
LightSquared foe bias on GPS? (Politico)
When Bradford Parkinson wrote to the FCC in August, urging the commission to scuttle LightSquared?s plans for a nationwide wireless network, he signed off as vice chairman of a board of independent experts that advises federal agencies on GPS-related matters.
Here?s what he didn?t mention: Parkinson is heavily invested ? to the tune of millions of dollars ? in Trimble, a GPS company at the center of an all-out lobbying blitz against LightSquared in Congress and federal agencies, including the FCC.
Continue ReadingNow LightSquared is crying foul, arguing that Washington is getting a skewed view of its business endeavor from the oft-cited Stanford professor and his colleagues on the federal advisory board.
?Parkinson appears merely to have been fulfilling his fiduciary responsibility as a Trimble board member to use his reputation and credibility ? and that of the federal advisory board on which he serves ? to protect his company and its stock owners,? said Terry Neal, a spokesman for LightSquared.
In an interview with POLITICO, Parkinson flatly rejected any suggestion of a conflict between his position on the panel ? formally named the National Space-Based Positioning Navigation & Timing Advisory Board ? and his role at Trimble. He said his advice in the debate has been based on what?s best for the country.
?I have no conflict of interest,? Parkinson said. ?My guess is that Trimble will actually end up with more business? if LightSquared enters the market.
?It?s well known that I?m on the board of Trimble,? Parkinson said, adding that ?everyone of significance is certainly aware of it.?
But a telecom analyst who has followed the LightSquared debate closely said he was unaware of Parkinson?s financial ties to Trimble ? and argued that they deserve wider airing.
?Dr. Parkinson has an exceptionally distinguished record and is clearly being listened to by important government players in this debate, but it?s not clear to me that everyone is aware of his direct involvement in Trimble through his board seat on the company,? said Paul Gallant of MF Global Holdings. ?His Trimble job doesn?t necessarily discredit his science, but government officials always want to know when advocates have a personal financial stake in the outcome.?
The GPS industry is engaged in a pitched battle against LightSquared, arguing that the band of wireless spectrum that the firm intends to use would interfere with GPS devices that rely on an adjacent band. LightSquared calls the charge overblown, at best, saying any interference issues can be resolved. It?s just a matter of who pays for the fixes.
tim wakefield tim wakefield jacqueline kennedy jacqueline kennedy jackie o john kennedy jr john kennedy jr
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)