Piece of 9/11 plane was from wing

NEW YORK (AP) ? Authorities now say a 5-foot part that's believed to be from a hijacked 9/11 World Trade Center jetliner came from a wing.

Police said Monday the rusted metal part from a Boeing 767 is a trailing edge flap support structure. It helps secure wing flaps that aid in regulating plane speed.

Investigators initially thought it was part of the landing gear, because both pieces have similar hydraulics.

Authorities believe the aircraft part is from one of the two hijacked planes that brought down the trade center and killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. But Boeing officials can't determine which flight.

The chief medical examiner's office says its workers will sift soil at the site for human remains starting Tuesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jet-part-found-last-week-nyc-wing-163129144.html

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Gene sequencing helps identify drug-resistant malaria

Know your enemy and the fight becomes easier. Researchers have pinpointed three sub-populations of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum that appear to be a major force in drug resistance. The findings could help efforts to track the spread of resistant malaria in future.

The first signs of resistance to the front-line malarial drug artemisinin emerged in Cambodia in 2009. If this resistance spreads worldwide, it will leave people with malaria without an effective drug to treat their illness.

Olivo Miotto at the University of Oxford, and a large international team, studied the genomes of 825 malarial parasites from south-east Asia and west Africa in an effort to understand why some parasite populations become resistant.

The work identified three drug-resistant P.?falciparum sub-populations in western Cambodia that were different from each other, and different from populations in eastern Cambodia, neighbouring countries and west Africa.

"For the first time we have identified the emergence of sub-populations associated with a drug resistance to artemisinin," says Miotto.

Why Cambodia?

Cambodia is thought to be a breeding ground for resistance. Past drug therapies in the country encouraged sole use of artemisinin to treat malaria, which could have been a factor.

Demographic factors could also have played a part: the Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s left the country with poor infrastructure and small, isolated communities. In those circumstances, a resistant strain can replicate itself quickly through inbreeding: in west Africa there is more outbreeding, which may slow the spread of resistance there.

"This research sheds light on the evolution of artemisinin resistance and suggests that the situation is more complicated than we thought," says Lisa Ranford-Cartwright from the University of Glasgow, UK, who was not involved in the study.

A full understanding of the mechanisms that build resistance is still out of reach, but the new study does mean researchers will be able to use genetic tests to identify any geographical spread of the three resistant sub-populations in future.

"Being able to detect if there is a sudden explosion of one particular type of parasite will indicate if something is going wrong," Miotto says.

Journal reference: Nature Genetics, DOI: 10.1038/ng.2624

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First snapshot of organisms eating each other: Feast clue to smell of ancient Earth

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Tiny 1,900 million-year-old fossils from rocks around Lake Superior, Canada, give the first ever snapshot of organisms eating each other and suggest what the ancient Earth would have smelled like.

The fossils, preserved in Gunflint chert, capture ancient microbes in the act of feasting on a cyanobacterium-like fossil called Gunflintia -- with the perforated sheaths of Gunflintia being the discarded leftovers of this early meal.

A team, led by Dr David Wacey of the University of Western Australia and Bergen University, Norway, and Professor Martin Brasier of Oxford University, reports in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the fossil evidence for how this type of feeding on organic matter -- called 'heterotrophy' -- was taking place. They also show that the ancient microbes appeared to prefer to snack on Gunflintia as a 'tasty morsel' in preference to another bacterium (Huroniospora).

'What we call 'heterotrophy' is the same thing we do after dinner as the bacteria in our gut break down organic matter,' said Professor Martin Brasier of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences, an author of the paper. 'Whilst there is chemical evidence suggesting that this mode of feeding dates back 3,500 million years, in this study for the first time we identify how it was happening and 'who was eating who'. In fact we've all experienced modern bacteria feeding in this way as that's where that 'rotten egg' whiff of hydrogen sulfide comes from in a blocked drain. So, rather surprisingly, we can say that life on earth 1,900 million years ago would have smelled a lot like rotten eggs.'

The team analysed the microscopic fossils, ranging from about 3-15 microns in diameter, using a battery of new techniques and found that one species -- a tubular form thought to be the outer sheath of Gunflintia -- was more perforated after death than other kinds, consistent with them having been eaten by bacteria.

In some places many of the tiny fossils had been partially or entirely replaced with iron sulfide ('fool's gold') a waste product of heterotrophic sulfate-reducing bacteria that is also a highly visible marker. The team also found that these Gunflintia fossils carried clusters of even smaller (c.1 micron) spherical and rod-shaped bacteria that were seemingly in the process of consuming their hosts.

Dr Wacey said that: 'recent geochemical analyses have shown that the sulfur-based activities of bacteria can likely be traced back to 3,500 million years or so -- a finding reported by our group in Nature Geoscience in 2011. Whilst the Gunflint fossils are only about half as old, they confirm that such bacteria were indeed flourishing by 1,900 million years ago. And that they were also highly particular about what they chose to eat.'

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Journal Reference:

1. David Wacey, Nicola McLoughlin, Matt R. Kilburn, Martin Saunders, John B. Cliff, Charlie Kong, Mark E. Barley, and Martin D. Brasier. Nanoscale analysis of pyritized microfossils reveals differential heterotrophic consumption in the ?1.9-Ga Gunflint chert. PNAS, April 29, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1221965110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/hiDQhD4eNRI/130429154107.htm

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Activists, UN put 'killer robots' in the crosshairs

Nidhi Subbaraman , NBC News ? ? ? 2 hrs.

Nearly every fighting ship in the U.S. Navy carries a Phalanx defense system, a computerized Gatling gun set on a six-ton mount that uses radar to spot targets flying out of the sky, or cruising across the ocean's surface. Once it "evaluates, tracks, engages and performs a kill assessment," a human gives the order to rattle off 4,500 rounds per minute.

This sort of "supervised" automation is not out of the ordinary. When Israel's "Iron Dome" radar spots incoming missiles, it can automatically fire a counter missile to intercept it. The German Air Force's Skyshield system can now also shoot down its targets with very little human interaction.

For years, "sniper detectors" have pointed telltale lasers at shooters who are firing on troops; DARPA is even working on a version that operates "night and day" from a moving military vehicle that's under fire. Meanwhile, sniper rifles themselves are getting smarter: In the case of the TrackingPoint precision guided firearm, the operator pulls the trigger, but the gun's built-in computer decides when the bullet flies.

"We are not in the 'Terminator' world and we may never reach there," says Peter Singer, author of "Wired for War" and director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution. "But to say there isn't an ever increasing amount of autonomy to our systems ? that's fiction."

Preparing for a future in which robots may be given a tad more independence, an international coalition of humans rights organizations including Human Rights Watch are banding together to propose a treaty ban on "killer robots."

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots publicly launched April 23 with the goal of bringing the discussion about autonomous weapons systems to regular people, not just politicians and scientists. Also this month, the United Nations Special Rapporteur recommended a suspension of autonomous weapons ? or "lethal autonomous robotics" ? until their control and use is discussed in detail. But critics of those reports argue that it's too early to call for a ban because the technology in question does not yet exist. Others say this is the reason to start talking now.

"Our feeling is that [it is] morally and ethically wrong that these machines make killing decisions rather than humans [making] killing decisions," Stephen Goose, director of the arms division at the Human Rights Watch, told NBC News.

The group clarifies that it isn't anti-robot, or anti-autonomy ? or even anti-drone. It's just that when a decision to kill is made in a combat situation, they want to ensure that decision will always be made by a human being.

Goose says the title of the new campaign is deliberately provocative and designed to catalyze conversation. He said, "If you have a campaign to stop 'Fully autonomous weapons,' you will fall asleep."

"The problem with modern robotics is there's no way a robot can discriminate between a civilian and a soldier," said Noel Sharkey, a professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. and an outspoken advocate for "robot arms control." "They can just about tell the difference between a human and a car."

But a treaty prohibition at this time is unnecessary and "might even be counterproductive," cautions Matthew Waxmann, a national security and law expert at Columbia Law School. Waxmann told NBC News that he anticipates a day when robots may be better than human beings at making important decisions, especially in delicate procedures like surgeries.

"In some of these contexts, we are going to decide not only is it appropriate for machines to operate autonomously, we may demand it, because we are trying to reduce human error," said Waxmann.

Michael Schmitt, professor of international law and chairman of the U.S. Naval War College, told NBC News that a ban now, as a matter of law, is a "bad idea." When the Human Rights Watch wrote a 50-page report on the future of robotic warfare, Schmitt wrote a rebuttal in Harvard's National Security Journal. His main argument: "International humanitarian law's restrictions on the use of weapons ... are sufficiently robust to safeguard humanitarian values during the use of autonomous weapon systems."

Singer, whose work has made him an ombudsman in the growing debate over robotic warfare, says that now is the time to talk ? now, when Google cars are guiding themselves through San Francisco's streets and algorithm-powered stock trading accounts crash markets based on keywords.

Singer thinks the debate needs to gain traction before governments and big companies become invested in the technology ? and begin to influence the direction of policy. "People aren't pushing for more autonomy in these systems because it is cool. They're pushing for it because companies think they can make money out of it," he said.

Autonomous weapon systems that can operate independently are "not centuries away," Singer told NBC News. "We're more in the years and decades mode."

Nidhi Subbaraman writes about technology and science. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.

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Visualized: Space hurricane! NASA's Cassini records super cyclone on Saturn (video)

If the crashing sound of lightning striking Saturn wasn't enough to excite your inner-meteorologist, then perhaps footage of a raging extraterrestrial hurricane will win you over. After orbiting the ringed planet for nine years, NASA's Cassini probe has managed to snag video of a super storm on the celestial body's north pole. Cloaked by the darkness of winter, the hurricane's eye became visible as Saturn's northern hemisphere transitioned into spring. Unlike the tropical cyclones of Earth (see: Hurricane Katrina, Sandy and Irene), this furious typhoon has been spinning for several years and has winds that flow at speeds exceeding 300MPH. Further differentiating itself from our world's whirlwinds, this alien cyclone is locked to its planet's north pole and is fueled by small amounts of water vapor instead of an actual ocean. Completely in a category of its own, the hurricane's eye measures about 1,250 miles wide and is surrounded by fluffy white clouds the size of Texas. To see this Saturnian fury in all its glory, check out the video after the break and feel free to leave your gratuitous hurricane names in the comments below.

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NBA's Michael Jordan marries ex-model over weekend

Michael Jordan got married over the weekend, with Tiger Woods, Spike Lee and Patrick Ewing among those attending the NBA Hall of Famer's wedding in Palm Beach, Fla.

Jordan married 35-year-old former model Yvette Prieto on Saturday, manager Estee Portnoy told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The 50-year-old Jordan owns the Charlotte Bobcats.

Nearly 300 guests were present as they exchanged vows. The reception took place at a private golf club in Jupiter designed by Jack Nicklaus. Jordan owns a home near the course.

Entertainment included DJ MC Lyte, singers K'Jon, Robin Thicke and Grammy Award winner Usher and The Source, an 18-piece band.

The six-time NBA champion and Prieto met five years ago and were engaged last December.

Jordan had three children with former wife Juanita Vanoy. The couple's divorce was finalized in December 2006.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nbas-michael-jordan-marries-ex-model-over-weekend-024122152.html

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Sanford, Colbert Busch debate for first time

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) ? Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert, after sparring from a distance for weeks, finally face off Monday in the pitched race for the state's vacant 1st Congressional District seat.

The two meet Monday evening at The Citadel in a debate sponsored by the Patch news service, the South Carolina Radio Network and Charleston television station WCBD. The debate is being cablecast by C-SPAN.

It's their first joint appearance in the campaign that started earlier when incumbent congressman Tim Scott was appointed to the state's vacant U.S. Senate seat. Sanford and Colbert Busch, as well as Green Party Candidate Eugene Platt, compete May 7 in a special election in the district that runs from northeast of Charleston south to the resort of Hilton Head Island.

Sanford's public career was sidelined in 2009 after he revealed he had an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman to whom he is now engaged. For weeks now, Sanford has been trying to make a political comeback, hammering Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, for not debating more.

Sanford has accused her of running what he called a stealth campaign, fueled by out-of-state money and that the voters don't know where she stands on the issues.

"In the absence of everything else this (debate) takes on added significance because she hasn't debated," Sanford said.

Colbert Busch's campaign has responded that she has been busy with her own aggressive campaign schedule.

"I'm really looking forward to this debate," Colbert Busch said Friday. "I think what you will see when Mark and I are standing on the same stage is you will see an enormous difference between the two of us and you will see an enormous difference between the two campaigns. I'm really looking forward to it."

But she said she didn't think the campaign turns on the debate.

"I think people understand our campaign and what our campaign is doing resonates throughout the district," she added.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-29-1st%20District-South%20Carolina/id-5d2306ad348a445d921bc2d399dd285c

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Teachers trash Mexican political party offices in regional capital

By Luis Enrique Martinez

ACAPULCO, Mexico (Reuters) - Angry teachers on Wednesday attacked offices of Mexico's main political parties in the capital of the southwestern state of Guerrero to protest against an education overhaul, breaking windows, spray-painting walls and starting fires.

Dozens of teachers opposed to President Enrique Pena Nieto's new education reform ran riot in the city of Chilpancingo, trashing installations of his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the main opposition parties.

Police were nowhere to be seen.

Television footage showed masked protesters throwing chairs, papers and plants out of the upper floors of the PRI offices in Chilpancingo as others destroyed images of Pena Nieto and sprayed colorful graffiti about him on the walls of buildings.

Teachers in Guerrero, home to the popular beach resort of Acapulco, are fighting the legislation that aims to revamp the country's failing education system by imposing tougher oversight of teaching standards and cracking down on abuses.

The law takes away control of teacher assessment from a powerful teachers union and seeks to end the practice of teachers passing on posts to relatives or simply selling them.

Teachers have been one of the most militant groups in Mexico in recent years, periodically causing major disruptions in some states during efforts to force through change.

"We need to avoid the law of the jungle imposing itself, chaos and the breakdown of public order," PRI chairman Cesar Camacho said, pledging to investigate the unrest.

Images from Milenio Television also showed protesters armed with sticks attacking offices of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which also backed the education reform.

The footage showed people had set fire to a building next to the PRI complex. It was unclear if it belonged to the party.

Milenio's website quoted Chilpancingo Mayor Mario Moreno as saying the city lacked the means to take on the protesters. "We've already asked for federal assistance," he said.

Previous demonstrations in Guerrero have shut down main roads in the state, which is already suffering from a wave of violence that spawned vigilante-style "community self-defense" groups.

The groups have taken the law into their own hands, rounding up who they see as suspects, including police, and prompting criticism the government is no longer in control of some areas.

Guerrero state police said elements from the self-defense groups were among the people attacking the political offices.

The protests in Chilpancingo kicked off after Guerrero's state congress on Tuesday rejected demands from the teachers to amend the education bill, which involves constitutional changes that must be approved by Mexico's state legislatures.

To escape disruption from the protests, the state congress moved this week to Acapulco, which last year became the murder capital of Mexico with more than 1,000 homicides reported.

Pena Nieto signed the education law in February. Lawmakers must still draw up separate legislation to implement it.

(Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Simon Gardner and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teachers-trash-mexican-political-party-offices-regional-capital-155435081.html

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Syrian troops capture key town near Damascus

BEIRUT (AP) ? After five weeks of battle, Syrian government troops captured a strategic town near Damascus, cutting an arms route for rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime, state media and activists said Thursday.

By taking the town of Otaybah, east of the capital, the army dealt a major setback to opposition forces that in recent months have made gains near the city they eventually hope to storm.

Also on Thursday, rare fighting broke out in the tightly controlled central city of Hama between troops and rebels who ambushed an army vehicle and took over a school that the regime was using as a base. At least seven people were killed.

With fresh supplies of weapons from foreign backers, the rebels have recently seized military bases and towns south of the capital in the strategically important region between Damascus and the border with Jordan, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) away.

The regime has largely kept the rebels at bay in Damascus, although opposition fighters control several suburbs of the capital from which they have threatened the heart of the city, the seat of Assad's power. Last month government troops launched a campaign to repel the rebel advances near the capital, deploying elite army units to the rebellious suburbs and pounding rebel positions with airstrikes.

The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, said government troops regained control of Otaybah late Wednesday.

State-run SANA news agency said Thursday that the army has "restored complete control" over Otaybah. The official news services also said Assad's troops "discovered a number of tunnels which were used by terrorists to move and transfer weapons and ammunitions."

The regime and state media refer to rebels as terrorists and accuse them of being part of a foreign plot seeking to destroy Syria.

"It's a huge victory for the regime, and a big blow to the opposition that is now in danger of losing other towns and villages around Damascus," Abdul-Rahman said of the army's campaign.

On Thursday, the army was already capitalizing on the territorial gains, pounding southern suburbs of Damascus including the long-contested Daraya with artillery barrages and air strikes, according to the Observatory. The group relies on a network of activists on the ground that also reported fierce clashes between rebels and army troops to the east of the capital.

The army's offensive to dislodge rebel fighters from neighborhoods ringing Damascus is part of the government's broader campaign to secure central provinces of Hama and Homs, and areas along the Lebanese border. The region is of strategic value to Assad's regime because it links Damascus with the coastal enclave that is the heartland of Syria's Alawites and also home to the country's two main seaports, Latakia and Tartus.

Syria's regime is dominated by the president's minority Alawite sect ? an offshoot of Shiite Islam ? while the rebels are mostly from the country's Sunni majority. Assad's major allies, the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and Iran, are both Shiite.

Otaybah is located on a road linking Damascus with the eastern suburbs of Damascus known as Eastern Ghouta. Rebels have been using the road to transport weapons and other supplies to the capital. Many of the capital's surrounding towns and neighborhoods have been opposition strongholds during the 2-year-old conflict.

Losing control of the town will make the defense of rebel enclaves in northeastern suburbs such as Douma, Harasta and others very difficult, Abdul-Rahman said.

In Hama, rebels ambushed and destroyed an army vehicle after a six hour battle with troops. Amateur videos uploaded by activists online showed an army vehicle in flames amid sounds of intense gun battles.

Another video showed rebels raising black Islamic flags over the Nasseh Alwani school after "liberating it" from troops who had transformed it into a military base, and what appeared to be the bodies of soldiers burning inside.

The videos appeared consistent with Associated Press reporting from the area.

Fighting in Hama is rare because the government keeps it under tight control. The city was the site of a notorious massacre in 1982, when Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez, ordered the military to quell a Sunni rebellion. Amnesty International has estimated that between 10,000 and 25,000 people were killed in the siege, though conflicting figures exist and the Syrian government has never made an official estimate.

The Syrian conflict started with largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime in March 2011 but eventually turned into a civil war.

The fighting has exacted a huge toll on the country, killing more than 70,000 people, laying waste to cities, towns and villages and forcing more than a million people to flee their homes and seek refuge abroad. Millions have also been displaced inside Syria.

International aid agencies have been pleading for funds to help refugees in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon. They have also been asking the Syrian government to allow aid convoys into the country and facilitate access to the area inside cities and towns that have been affected by fighting.

The latest damage to the country's rich cultural heritage came on Wednesday, when the minaret of the landmark 12th century Umayyad Mosque in the northern city of Aleppo was destroyed during fighting in the old walled city.

About 500 Syrian refugees held a strike in Jordan's largest refugee camp at Zaatari near the border to demand an international humanitarian zone be set up in southern Syria to enable their return home.

They shuttered makeshift shops in the camp in the first of what they said would be daily strikes in the hope of drawing attention to difficult conditions inside the desert facility.

But some of Zaatari's 120,000 residents complained that the closure will only harm people inside the camp who need food and other basic supplies the shops offer.

The U.N. refugee agency has warned against establishing buffer zones in Syria fearing the possibility that Bosnia-like massacres would occur.

___

AP journalist Mohammad Hannon reported from Zaatari.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-troops-capture-key-town-near-damascus-064600068.html

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Big brands rejected Bangladesh factory safety plan

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she holds a picture of her and her missing husband as she waits at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. The death toll reached hundreds of people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she holds a picture of her and her missing husband as she waits at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. The death toll reached hundreds of people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she holds a picture of her and her missing husband as she waits at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. The death toll reached hundreds of people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she waits at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 26, 2013. The death toll reached hundreds of people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) ? As Bangladesh reels from the deaths of hundreds of garment workers in a building collapse, the refusal of global retailers to pay for strict nationwide factory inspections is bringing renewed scrutiny to an industry that has profited from a country notorious for its hazardous workplaces and subsistence level wages.

After a factory fire killed 112 garment workers in November, clothing brands and retailers continued to reject a union-sponsored proposal to improve safety throughout Bangladesh's $20 billion garment industry. Instead, companies expanded a patchwork system of private audits and training that labor groups say improves very little in a country where official inspections are lax and factory owners have close relations with the government.

In the meantime, the number of deaths and injuries has mounted. In the five months since last year's deadly blaze at Tazreen Fashions Ltd., there were 40 other fires in Bangladeshi factories, killing nine workers and injuring more than 660, according to a labor organization tied to the AFL-CIO umbrella group of American unions.

Wednesday's collapse of the Rana Plaza building that killed more than 300 people is the worst disaster to hit Bangladesh's fast-growing and politically powerful garment industry. For those working to overhaul conditions for workers who are paid as little as $38 a month, it is a grim reminder that corporate social responsibility programs are failing to deliver on lofty promises.

More than 48 hours after the eight-story building collapsed, some garment workers were still trapped alive Friday, pinned beneath tons of mangled metal and concrete. Rescue crews struggled to save them, knowing they probably had just a few hours left to live, as desperate relatives clashed with police.

"Improvement is not happening," said Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garment Workers Federation in Bangladesh, who said a total of 600 workers have died in factory accidents in the last decade. "The multinational companies claim a lot of things. They claim they have very good policies, they have their own code of conduct, they have their auditing and monitoring system," Amin said. "But yet these things keep happening."

What role retailers should play in making working conditions safer at the factories that manufacture their apparel has become a central issue for the $1-trillion global clothing industry.

The clothing brands say they are working to improve safety, but the size of the garment industry ? some 4,000 factories in Bangladesh alone ?means such efforts skim the surface. That opaqueness is further muddied by subcontracting. Retailers can be unwittingly involved with problematic factories when their main suppliers farm out work to others to ensure orders are filled on time.

"We remain committed to promoting stronger safety measures in factories and that work continues," Wal-Mart said in a statement after the Rana Plaza collapse. The world's largest retailer says there was no authorized Wal-Mart production in the building.

Labor groups argue the best way to clean up Bangladesh's garment factories already is outlined in a nine-page safety proposal drawn up by Bangladeshi and international unions.

The plan would ditch government inspections, which are infrequent and easily subverted by corruption, and establish an independent inspectorate to oversee all factories in Bangladesh, with powers to shut down unsafe facilities as part of a legally binding contract signed by suppliers, customers and unions. The inspections would be funded by contributions from the companies of up to $500,000 per year.

The proposal was presented at a 2011 meeting in Dhaka attended by more than a dozen of the world's largest clothing brands and retailers ? including Wal-Mart, Gap and Swedish clothing giant H&M ? but was rejected by the companies because it would be legally binding and costly.

At the time, Wal-Mart's representative told the meeting it was "not financially feasible ... to make such investments," according to minutes of the meeting obtained by The Associated Press.

After last year's Tazreen blaze, Bangladeshi union president Amin said he and international labor activists renewed a push for the independent inspectorate plan, but none of the factories or big brands would agree.

This week, none of the large clothing brands or retailers would comment about the proposal.

Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner did not directly answer questions about the unions' safety plans in replies to questions emailed by The Associated Press. H&M responded to questions with emailed links to corporate social responsibility websites.

In December, however, a spokesperson for the Gap ? which owns the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains ? said the company turned down the proposal because it did not want to be vulnerable to lawsuits and did not want to pay factories more money to help with safety upgrades.

H&M also did not sign on to the proposal because it believes factories and local government in Bangladesh should be taking on the responsibility, Pierre B?rjesson, manager of sustainability and social issues, told AP in December.

H&M, which places the most apparel orders in Bangladesh and works with more than 200 factories there, is one of about 20 retailers and brands that have banded together to develop training films for garment manufacturers.

Wal-Mart last year began requiring regular audits of factories, fire drills and mandated fire safety training for all levels of factory management. It also announced in January it would immediately cut ties with any factory that failed an inspection, instead of giving warnings first as before.

And the Gap has hired its own chief fire inspector to oversee factories that produce its clothing in Bangladesh.

But many insist such measures are not enough to overhaul the industry that employs 3 million workers.

"No matter how much training you have, you can't walk through flames or escape a collapsed building," said Ineke Zeldenrust of the Amsterdam-based Clean Clothes Campaign, which lobbies for garment workers' rights.

Private audits also have their failings, she said. Because audits are confidential, even if one company pulls its business from a supplier over safety issues, it won't tell its competitors, who will continue to place orders ? allowing the unsafe factory to stay open.

The Tazreen factory that burned last year had passed inspections, and two of the factories in the Rana Plaza building had passed the standards of a major European group that does factory inspections in developing countries. The Business Social Compliance Initiative, which represents hundreds of companies, said the factories of Phantom Apparels and New Wave Style had been audited against its code of conduct which it said focuses on labor issues not building standards.

"The audits and inspections are too much focused on checklists," said Saif Khan, who worked for Phillips Van Heusen, the owner of brands Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, in Bangladesh until 2011 as a factory compliance supervisor.

"They touch on broader areas but do not consider the realities on the ground," he said.

___

Johnson reported from Mumbai, India. AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York and AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-26-Bangladesh-Building%20Collapse-Inaction/id-8b75d4e25df8487b8e9adc577a90bae9

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Apple docked $118,000 by China court for violating authors' copyrights

Apple will have to pay three Chinese authors a total of $118,000 for stocking their books in its App Store without a proper say-so, according to China Daily. A court ruled that it was Apple's job to verify that third-party uploads met copyright requirements and that it had the means to do so since all the books in question were best-sellers. Apple's attorney declined to comment, but the court also suggested that similar online retailers should learn from the case "and improve their verification system" -- bringing perhaps another headache to would-be e-book stores in that nation.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Software, Apple

Comments

Via: ZDNet

Source: China Daily

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/N1DX_TdFUzA/

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Third Child on the Way for Dierks Bentley

The country star and wife Cassidy will welcome a sibling for big sisters Evie and Jordan..

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/b8g22gic5kQ/

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Apple shares fall as buyback, dividend hike fail to please

(Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc are set to open down 3 percent on Wednesday as the company's plan to return $100 billion in capital failed to appease shareholders shaken by the iPhone maker's first quarterly drop in profit in a decade.

A soft outlook from Apple for the current quarter prompted at least 17 brokerages to slash their price targets on the iPhone maker's shares by up to $180 per share.

Apple forecast revenue of $33.5 billion to $35.5 billion this quarter, lagging Wall Street's average expectations of $38.2 billion.

Apple shares traded at $393.67 premarket.

Apple could be resetting investor expectations with its soft June quarter outlook, JP Morgan's Mark Moskowitz said. He slashed his target price on the shares to $545 from $725, reflecting the much lower revenue outlook.

Canaccord Genuity said it sees much weaker overall iPhone sales and a higher proportion of sales of lower-priced Phone 4 models.

It cut its target price on Apple shares to $560 from $600 and warned of significant market share loss at the higher end of the smartphone market ahead of the release of a new model, the iPhone 5S, in autumn.

BMO Capital Markets cut its rating on Apple's stock to "market perform" from "outperform," voicing concern that the company would have to trade off revenue growth for margins in the longer term.

Apple's gross margin was 37.5 percent in the second quarter, lagging market expectations for a 38.5 percent margin.

Seven analysts have "neutral" or equivalent ratings on Apple's stock and three have "sell" ratings. The rest of the 56 analysts covering Apple have "buy" ratings on its stock, according to StarMine data.

Apple's growth has slowed as smartphones reach saturation in the developed world and it goes head-to-head with increasingly aggressive rivals in developing countries such as China and India, where customers prefer cheaper models.

"We believe the increased competitiveness of the smartphone market is creating challenges for Apple," BMO's Keith Bachman said.

Facing stiff competition from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Google's Android phone system, Apple shares have almost halved from a record high of $705.07 last September.

While the valuation on Apple shares does not appear stretched, there is still a lot of risk and uncertainty around earnings, Nomura analysts said.

Apple stock is now trading at roughly 13 times estimated 2013 earnings per share. By contrast, the average price-earnings ratio for the sector is about 16.5, according to Starmine

Apple also disappointed Wall Street by indicating that consumers would have to wait till the fall and 2014 for any new products.

"We had anticipated a late July to August launch of the iPhone 5S and midrange iPhone," Nomura analysts said in a note. The brokerage cut its target price to $420 from $490.

Apple relies heavily on new product launches to drive revenue growth. It refreshed its offerings in October, unveiling the 7.9-inch iPad mini and an updated full-size iPad.

Investors looking for sales and profit to start accelerating again will need to be patient, analysts at Credit Suisse said as they cut their target price on Apple shares by $75 to $600.

(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Sruthi Ramakrishnan; Editing by Rodney Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-shares-fall-buyback-dividend-hike-fail-please-132441367--finance.html

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Barbara Bush on Jeb run: 'We've had enough Bushes'

FILE ? In this Oct. 22, 2002, file photo former first lady Barbara Bush makes a point as she campaigns for her son, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla. Amid the celebration surrounding the opening of son George W. Bush's presidential library, Barbara Bush is brushing aside talk of her son Jeb running for president in 2016. When asked how she felt about it she told NBC's "Today" show, Thursday, April 25, 2013, "We've had enough Bushes." (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

FILE ? In this Oct. 22, 2002, file photo former first lady Barbara Bush makes a point as she campaigns for her son, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla. Amid the celebration surrounding the opening of son George W. Bush's presidential library, Barbara Bush is brushing aside talk of her son Jeb running for president in 2016. When asked how she felt about it she told NBC's "Today" show, Thursday, April 25, 2013, "We've had enough Bushes." (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Amid the celebration surrounding the opening of son George W. Bush's presidential library, former first lady Barbara Bush is brushing aside talk of a Jeb Bush run for the White House.

Appearing in an interview Thursday on NBC's "Today" show, Mrs. Bush was asked how she felt about Jeb, the former governor of Florida, seeking the presidency in 2016.

Mrs. Bush replied, quote, "We've had enough Bushes."

She went on to say she thought there were many worthy candidates, telling anchor Matt Lauer, "There are people out there" who are qualified. Mrs. Bush, who had a reputation for bluntness when her husband George H.W. Bush was president, spoke from the site of the presidential library. On Wednesday, George W. Bush told CNN he thought Jeb Bush should run for president.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-25-Barbara%20Bush-No%20More%20Bushes/id-3d85e81fe6914673872599208e42dc4a

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Homeland's Damian Lewis Stars In Jaguar Ad - Business Insider

Jaguar is pulling out all the stops to promote its first new sports car since 1974, and that includes releasing a 13-minute ad/short film starring Homeland's Damian Lewis.

Lewis, who told the Hollywood Reporter that the Ridley Scott produced gig "fell into [his] lap," was excited to play what he saw as a quirky British character, especially considering that?"There's not a lot of comedy in?Homeland."

Filmed in Chile ? "As a redhead, I stood there occasionally thinking, 'Wow, I really wasn't designed for the desert.'" Lewis told THR ? "Desire" is about a man who's about to deliver the $92,000 F-Type but gets embroiled in a gangster's altercation with his wife. (Obviously leading to a chase in the desert).

Lana Del Rey provides a soundtrack with a song called "Burning Desire," which was exclusively written for the car's launch.

Although advertisers have been known to release short films rather than ads, sometimes cutting longer online versions down to TV commercial length, the sweet spot is usually around three and a half minutes. This was the length of Prada's short by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola?and Cartier's short that went viral last Christmas.

But going longer isn't unheard of.

Fallon helped launch?BMW Films in 2001.?A series of approximately 10-minute branded short films, starring Clive Owen as the Driver, were released online to a general audience.

George Bryant of the Brooklyn Brothers, which created the short with RSA Films, told Ad Age that this is "not BMW all over again?... This is drama and narrative -- we were all on board to make something different."

Bryant continued that the Jaguar film also differed in terms of its marketing strategy, building a supposed $9 million in unpaid media buzz by creating online chatter months before it premiered.?

Watch the ad below and let us know if you saw it through to the end:

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/homelands-damian-lewis-stars-in-jaguar-ad-2013-4

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Own Every Single One of History's Most Important Cameras (On a Poster)

Following up on its gloriously detailed Evolution of Video Game Controllers print, Pop Chart Lab is back with a new visual treat for photographers, particularly those who've been shooting since the days of film. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8Ez_e1RZtoo/own-every-single-one-of-historys-most-important-cameras-on-a-poster

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Logitech adds gaming keyboards and mice for Mac users

Peripheral maker Logitech has long sold gaming products for PC gamers - mice, keyboards, game controllers and headphones - and recently grouped the products more formally under the "Logitech G" brand. Logitech's new G lineup includes six redesigned mice and keyboards which hit store shelves later this month. Now Logitech has announced Mac support for them.

The products covered so far include Logitech's complete line of G-branded mice and keyboards. All of them sport features optimized for gamers - mice with specialized buttons for gaming functions, precision electronics within, durable materials, wired and wireless designs. The keyboards feature adjustable backlighting and special programmable "G" keys, built-in LCD displays that show you in-game information, multi-key rollover and anti-ghosting circuitry to make sure you're as precise as you can be.

The Mac support comes from Logitech Gaming Software, which can be downloaded from the company's support pages for each of the new G products.

Logitech's G line also includes surround-sound headsets and game controllers like joysticks and gamepads, but those remain Windows-specific at this point. The company won't say if those products will be getting the Mac treatment any time soon, but this is a good start for Mac gamers looking to outfit their rigs with some sweet gaming gear.

Source: Logitech

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/iygWXUYfus4/story01.htm

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The LITFL Review 102 - Life in the Fast Lane medical education blog

Welcome to the 102nd edition!

The LITFL Review is your regular and reliable source for the highest highlights, sneakiest sneak peaks and loudest shout-outs from the webbed world of emergency medicine and critical care. Each week the LITFL team casts the spotlight on the best and brightest from the blogosphere, the podcast video/audiosphere and the rest of the Web 2.0 social media jungle to find the most fantastic EM/CC FOAM (Free Open Access Meducation) around.

The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beaut of the Week

Resus.ME

• Cliff Reid over at?Resus.ME?smashes his way to top spot this week, as he brings us 3 great hot-of-the-press articles, that really tackle the core of what we do. He starts off with?Another argument for ED thoracotomy?- yes that?s right ? we know we don?t often get a meaningful outcome for these patients, but we can give their families and other patients an meaningful outcome through organ donation. Cliff then sheds some light on where EMCC is, and where it should be heading on?Upstairs vs Downstairs: an EPIC Conundrum?- the?comments?on this post are a must read. He finishes the week with a look at ?swallowing a camera in GI bleed - ?it can?only?diagnose and not treat, making its?benefit?questionable?in the unstable patient ? but an interesting concept none the less!

The LITFL Review Top Picks

Emergency Medicine Ireland

StEmylns

EXPENSIVECARE

• David leaves the hustle and bustle of the ICU and takes us on a journey into?What is Palliative Care??A lesson for us all in here!
  

eMeducation

?EMCrit

The Sono Cave

Emergency Medicine Tutorials

SCANCRIT

• SAM?- What?s SAM you ask??SAM stands for Systolic Anterior Motion of the mitral valve and may be seen as a complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathies (HCM), myocardial infarction and mitral valve repair or dysfunction.
  

The Short Coat

Broome Docs

SOCMOB

The Trauma Professional?s Blog

• The First Law Of Trauma ? Remember:?Any anomaly in your trauma patient is due to trauma, no matter how unlikely it may seem (? until proven otherwise).
  

Academic Life in Emergency Medicine

boringem

Pediatric EM Morsels

• Eyelid Laceration?-Nice Review of a deceptively difficult diagonsis and management problem.
  

Emergency Physicians Monthly

The Poison Review

PHARM

Resus Review

The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine

• This?episode?focuses on the renal colic shuffle, and can you flush that stone out? Want to know more have a?listen?to -?Stone Me.

empem.org

• ?Headaches in kids?-?In this ?noggin-cast? they explore the causes of headache, including primary headachse like migraine and tension headache, and secondary headaches from viral illness and a few other strangeosities?

thebluntdissection

• in with a chance??- A?superb, simple informative overview by Chris on managing and recognising a trauma patient with a chance fracture.
  

Dr Smith?s ECG Blog

PEM ED

?Practical Evidence

• Episode 12 ? New Trauma Guidelines: ATLS and Spine. Scott brings us up-to-date with the new ATLS guidelines for 2013! Take home point: less clear stuff and more red stuff is the key to resuscitating the haemorrhaging trauma patient.
  

Resus Room Management

EKG Videos

?EMpills

UMEM Educational Pearls

This weeks pearl on Keppra is by Ellen Lemkin:

• Although Keppra has been used more frequently in clinical practice, there is little evidence for its use in status epilepticus.
• It has a wide spectrum of action and few drug interactions.
• Initially, case series appeared to be highly successful in terminating seizures as an add-on agent.
• A review of 2 prospective studies found efficacies of 44% as an add- on agent, and 75% as a primary agent. The studies had markedly different populations.
• In a retrospective study, the treatment failure rates were 3X higher than that of intravenous valproic acid as an add-on agent in terminating status epilepticus.
• Therefore, although it is used frequently, the evidence for use is limited and inconclusive in terminating status epilepticus.

The LITFL Review Shout Out of the Week

EM Journey

Shout this week goes to new Aussie Blog?EM Journey?By Chris Edwards (@EMtravellor). Chris? philosophy?for this blog is:?Given the wealth of blog and podcasts sites available, I am attempting to find a niche by providing a forum for a concept I thought of, called Crowd Learning and Problem Solving (CLaPS).?

The?GMEP?Cases of the week

GMEP Video of the week

Video of the week is By James Rippey on?Emergency Department Surgical Airway Pathway.

GMEP Image of the week

This patient came in septic with hypotension, tachycardia, obtunded mental status.?What?s the Diagnosis?

Twee Dee and Twitical Care

The medical photographer really doesn?t like it when I photobomb her pictures.

News from the Fastlane

The Final Words

• ?Every Turkey has a Terminal Event?

- Billy Mallon

• ?Critical Care should be a Philosophy- Not a Place?

- Haney Mallemat

LITFL Review EM/CC Educational Social Media Round Up

Show Reference list

Related posts:

Source: http://lifeinthefastlane.com/2013/04/the-litfl-review-102/

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In New Mexico desert, drone pilots learn the new art of war

By Tabassum Zakaria

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico (Reuters) - The tide of war may be receding, as President Barack Obama is fond of saying, but U.S. military demand for unmanned drones and their remote pilots is growing.

Here in the New Mexico desert, the U.S. Air Force has ramped up training of drone operators - even as the nation increasingly debates their use and U.S. forces prepare to leave Afghanistan.

"Every combatant commander in the world is asking for these things. Down in Southcom, Africom, Pacom, they're all asking for these assets, so it is in very high demand," said Lt. Col. Mike Weaver, 16th Training Squadron commander at Holloman Air Force Base, referring to the military's Southern, Africa and Pacific commands.

Weaver is an example of a fighter jet pilot turned pilot of Remotely Piloted Aircraft, or RPA, as the Air Force insists on calling drones. He flew F-15 fighter jets over Iraq and, after those squadrons were drawn down, trained on drones and flew them over Afghanistan.

"With the growth of the RPAs being what it is, a fast-growing industry in the Air Force really, you've got pilots coming from all different walks of life to fill the shoes," Weaver, clad in a green flight suit, said in his office here.

The use of drones to target and kill individuals has become increasingly controversial, and lawmakers have questioned Obama's legal justifications for using them to kill militants overseas who are U.S. citizens.

Obama has promised more transparency and, officials say, he and CIA Director John Brennan are deciding whether to remove the spy agency from the drone business and leave it to the Pentagon.

"Things are moving in that direction - moving more of these (CIA) operations to the military," a U.S. official told Reuters.

On Tuesday, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee will hold a rare public hearing on the administration's drone policy.

The Holloman base is a 90-minute drive from El Paso, Texas, through desert and low-lying scrub, on a road where a handful of vehicles would be considered rush hour.

In this sparsely populated expanse near Alamogordo and the dunes of the White Sands Missile Range, the military has expanded training over the last four years on the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft made by General Atomics.

CLASS IN SESSION

At the Holloman "schoolhouse," there will be 678 pilot and sensor operator students for fiscal year 2013 that started in October, up from 136 in 2009, when training was done solely on the Reaper. About two years ago, the Air Force established a special category, 18x, for drone pilots who came into training having never flown a manned military aircraft.

Right up front, Weaver explains why pilots bristle at the use of the word drone, which in the Air Force refers to targets that pilots practice shooting down. "We do not like the name 'drones' because it has the connotation that it is this autonomous machine out there operating."

Drone pilots make up less than 10 percent of Air Force pilots, but the service says in recent years it has trained more pilots to fly drones than fighters and bombers combined - 350 drone pilots in fiscal year 2011 compared with a total of 250 fighter and bomber pilots.

RPA pilots have similar physical requirements as military pilots of manned aircraft and go through an initial flight training course on small civilian aircraft in Pueblo, Colorado, a Holloman spokeswoman said.

At the end of 2012 there were 1,280 active duty Air Force pilots flying drones, compared with 300 in December 2007. Other military services also fly a variety of unmanned aircraft.

Previously, "the top dogs went to F-15s, and that has since changed because there is no air war," Weaver said. "The fighter track is just not as popular as it used to be."

An 18x student gets over a year of training before flying a mission overseas, compared to two years training to become a fighter pilot. For already established military pilots the drone training is about 6 months, but it is not necessarily easier for them. "We've had guys with pilot wings wash out of this," Weaver said.

The Pentagon earlier this month scrapped a proposed new medal to honor drone pilots and cyber warriors after an uproar over a decision to rank it above some medals given to service members wounded or killed in battle.

Personnel who remotely fly the CIA's drones and press the trigger on the weapons also come from the military, but they operate under the authorities that govern the spy agency's covert operations, sources said on condition of anonymity.

Supporters of moving the program to the military say the CIA would then fully focus on intelligence gathering and analysis.

Any shift would occur gradually, to iron out issues such as whether the CIA should continue conducting drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan, which is not a declared war zone.

The military uses drones for missions such as providing air cover for ground troops, striking enemy snipers, or detecting homemade bombs. Fresh footprints or other disturbances in remote areas can be detected by comparing images captured by drones.

MORE BASES

Until 2009 all U.S. military drone operations were conducted from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, but now they have spread to Cannon, Ellsworth, and Whiteman Air Force bases, located in New Mexico, South Dakota and Missouri, respectively. The aircraft take off from bases in the regions where they operate.

Training at Holloman started in 2009. Italian and British militaries send students to the training center, and the French and Germans have also shown an interest.

It takes a two-member crew to operate a drone: a pilot, who is an officer, flies the plane and launches the missile, and a sensor operator, who is enlisted, directs the camera equipment. Crews work in shifts because the drones can fly for 14-24 hours.

The lethally named Predator and Reaper aircraft look like silver-hooded flying reptiles with a sensor sphere under the "head" that operates as the eyes.

The "cockpit" from which the aircraft is flown is in a tan trailer with no windows and two giant air-conditioning hoses pumping air to cool the computers. On the Holloman base, the trailers are behind their own fenced area with razor wire and access restricted by a combination lock.

Inside the trailer, two chairs face about a dozen screens in total, including some that can tap into top information classified as secret and top secret. The feel is of an isolation chamber, with no outside distractions.

"This is a sterile cockpit environment," Weaver says. There is even a special knock if someone wants to enter.

A pilot who previously flew manned jets said she wished the drones offered a broader view, like the cockpit of a manned plane so the surrounding area could be seen. "Now I look at the ground all the time," she said, requesting her name not be used.

Weaver said the job is definitely not like playing video games. "You see (targets) running and you can hear them sometimes, the fear in their voice. It's not a video game."

(Editing by Warren Strobel, Claudia Parsons and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-desert-drone-pilots-learn-art-war-050525524.html

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