Monday, April 29, 2013

APNewsBreak: Russia caught bomb suspect on wiretap

(AP) ? Russian authorities secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bombing suspects vaguely discussed jihad with his mother, officials said Saturday, days after the U.S. government finally received details about the call.

In another conversation, the mother of now-dead bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, officials said.

The conversations are significant because, had they been revealed earlier, they might have been enough evidence for the FBI to initiate a more thorough investigation of the Tsarnaev family.

As it was, Russian authorities told the FBI only that they had concerns that Tamerlan and his mother were religious extremists. With no additional information, the FBI conducted a limited inquiry and closed the case in June 2011.

Two years later, authorities say Tamerlan and his brother, Dzhohkar, detonated two homemade bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260. Tamerlan was killed in a police shootout and Dzhohkar is under arrest.

In the past week, Russian authorities turned over to the United States information it had on Tamerlan and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. The Tsarnaevs are ethnic Chechens who emigrated from southern Russia to the Boston area over the past 11 years.

Even had the FBI received the information from the Russian wiretaps earlier, it's not clear that the government could have prevented the attack.

In early 2011, the Russian FSB internal security service intercepted a conversation between Tamerlan and his mother vaguely discussing jihad, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.

The two discussed the possibility of Tamerlan going to Palestine, but he told his mother he didn't speak the language there, according to the officials, who reviewed the information Russia shared with the U.S.

In a second call, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva spoke with a man in the Caucasus region of Russia who was under FBI investigation. Jacqueline Maguire, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington Field Office, where that investigation was based, declined to comment.

There was no information in the conversation that suggested a plot inside the United States, officials said.

It was not immediately clear why Russian authorities didn't share more information at the time. It is not unusual for countries, including the U.S., to be cagey with foreign authorities about what intelligence is being collected.

Nobody was available to discuss the matter early Sunday at FSB offices in Moscow.

Jim Treacy, the FBI's legal attache in Moscow between 2007 and 2009, said the Russians long asked for U.S. assistance regarding Chechen activity in the United States that might be related to terrorism.

"On any given day, you can get some very good cooperation," Treacy said. "The next you might find yourself totally shut out."

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva has denied that she or her sons were involved in terrorism. She has said she believed her sons have been framed by U.S. authorities.

But Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers and Zubeidat's former brother-in-law, said Saturday he believes the mother had a "big-time influence" as her older son increasingly embraced his Muslim faith and decided to quit boxing and school.

After receiving the narrow tip from Russia in March 2011, the FBI opened a preliminary investigation into Tamerlan and his mother. But the scope was extremely limited under the FBI's internal procedures.

After a few months, they found no evidence Tamerlan or his mother were involved in terrorism.

The FBI asked Russia for more information. After hearing nothing, it closed the case in June 2011.

In the fall of 2011, the FSB contacted the CIA with the same information. Again the FBI asked Russia for more details and never heard back.

At that time, however, the CIA asked that Tamerlan's and his mother's name be entered into a massive U.S. terrorism database.

The CIA declined to comment Saturday.

Authorities have said they've seen no connection between the brothers and a foreign terrorist group. Dzhohkar told FBI interrogators that he and his brother were angry over wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the deaths of Muslim civilians there.

Family members have said Tamerlan was religiously apathetic until 2008 or 2009, when he met a conservative Muslim convert known only to the family as Misha. Misha, they said, steered Tamerlan toward a stricter version of Islam.

Two U.S. officials say investigators believe they have identified Misha. While it was not clear whether the FBI had spoken to him, the officials said they have not found a connection between Misha and the Boston attack or terrorism in general.

___

Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in Washington and Michael Kunzelman in Boston contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-27-Boston%20Marathon-Russia/id-cfb418756c2f4c2e8ab1e77976b35674

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Activision CEO Kotick among top-paid CEOs in U.S

(Reuters) - Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard Inc's Chief Executive Robert Kotick received a total compensation of $64.9 million last year, making him one of the top paid CEOs in the United States.

Kotick's 2012 total compensation includes about $56 million in stock awards, while there were no stock awards for 2011. His base salary doubled to $2 million, according to regulatory filings on Friday. (http://r.reuters.com/bew67t)

The $56 million in stock awards will be paid over five years and is contingent upon meeting certain goals for company performance.

Kotick, 50, also a board member of Coca-Cola Co, was paid $8.33 million in 2011 by Santa Monica-based Activision.

The company's revenue and net income, however, rose only in single digits for 2012, slower than the growth rate it saw in 2011.

Activision's Kotick makes more than three times the $21 million pay package received by Goldman Sachs Group Inc's CEO Lloyd Blankfein in 2012, and it is 50 percent higher than Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger's $40.2 million compensation in 2012.

Kotick has been a director and CEO of Activision Inc since February 1991, and in July 2008, he became CEO of Activision Blizzard in connection with the combination of Activision and Vivendi Games.

(This story was corrected to show that $56 million will be paid over five years and is contingent upon company performance)

(Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Maureen Bavdek)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/activision-ceo-kotick-among-top-paid-ceos-u-200813305.html

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Harvick wins Richmond after 2-lap overtime sprint

Kevin Harvick celebrates winning the Toyota Owner's 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday April 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Kevin Harvick celebrates winning the Toyota Owner's 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday April 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Kevin Harvick celebrates winning the Toyota Owner's 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday April 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Clem Britt)

Kevin Harvick is doused with champagne by his crew in Victory Lane after winning the Toyota Owner's 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday April 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Clem Britt)

Kevin Harvick holds the trophy as he celebrates winning the Toyota Owner's 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday April 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Clem Britt)

Tony Stewart (14) and Jimmie Johnson (48) spin out in Turn 2 during the Toyota Owner's 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday April 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason Hirschfeld)

(AP) ? When the dust settled at Richmond, 'Ol Happy Harvick was the only driver smiling.

Kevin Harvick plowed through traffic on the final restart, driving from seventh to Victory Lane in a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. He did it with one of those head-scratching "Where did he come from?" drives in which everyone was just hanging on.

"Just shifted gears, hit the pedal and hoped for the best," Harvick said. "They all went high and I went low. The seas kind of parted there. They didn't get a very good restart, and my car launched.

"I was able to take it three-wide, those guys all drove it in hard, and I was able to get by the next two. I only had one to go by the time I got to the backstretch."

It was Harvick's first Sprint Cup win of the season ? he opened the year with a win in the exhibition Sprint Unlimited at Daytona ? and his 20th career victory. It put Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing in Victory Lane, snapping a two-race winning streak by Joe Gibbs Racing.

"That was vintage Kevin Harvick right there," crew chief Gil Martin said.

Juan Pablo Montoya was trying to hold off Harvick for his first win since 2010 when the caution came out with four laps remaining.

"I was like, 'Really? Really?'" Montoya said about the caution. He pounded his fist on the steering wheel when the yellow flag waved.

Montoya left the decision to pit or stay out to crew chief Chris Heroy, who gamely tried to calm the driver and convince him he could still win the race. He brought Montoya down pit road, a decision most of the field followed as everyone traded track position for tires.

Both Montoya and Harvick took four tires, which put them sixth and seventh on the final restart. Harvick teammate Jeff Burton was the leader after Burton, Jamie McMurray and AJ Allmendinger didn't pit and stayed on the track.

When the race resumed, the first three cars on old tires couldn't hold off traffic, creating mayhem through the field. Harvick rocketed his way through the pack, dragging Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano with him.

Bowyer wound up second, Logano third and Montoya had to settle for fourth.

Montoya, who is off to a horrific start to the season with six finishes of 20th or worse in the first eight races, was comforted with his first top-10 finish of the season.

"That is what we needed," he said. "I felt like last week we had a top-five car as well, but not quite a car to win. I think this weekend, we came here and tested, and the guys did an amazing job, and we had a good car all weekend."

Tony Stewart restarted in fifth, but was bumped out of the way by Kurt Busch and faded to 18th. Stewart angrily traded bumps with Busch on the cool-down lap, even trying to force him into the wall, before the two drivers headed to the garage. Once back at their haulers Stewart and Busch shouted at each other over crew members, with Busch claiming the final two laps "were a free-for-all."

"We were hoping to be on the right sequence at the end," Busch said. "Some guys had older tires. Some guys had newer tires. We were in the mixed. A green-white-checkered at the end, it is just chaos. Cars are everywhere. People are beating and banging and shoving each other out of the way. It's pretty wild."

Burton wound up fifth to give RCR two cars in the top-five. Carl Edwards was sixth in the highest finishing Ford, and Matt Kenseth, who started from the pole and led a race-high 140 laps, was seventh for JGR.

Kenseth came into the race on the heels of stifling NASCAR sanctions after an illegal part was found in last week's race-winning engine. NASCAR essentially stripped Kenseth and JGR of everything but the trophy, but the team responded with another strong showing.

He felt he could have finished higher if not for the frantic final restart.

"Just being on the outside and (Busch) drove up through there and knocked my whole side off and put me in the marbles," Kenseth said. "Just two laps, everybody is going to go for it and go for every hole they've got."

Aric Almirola was eighth for his third consecutive top-10 finish, and Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-28-NASCAR-Richmond/id-90dc9ee37b114b04b0ef66e07a5184ad

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Turn the Volume Down | N Demand Magazine

The first modern-day headphones were invented in 1910 by Nathaniel Baldwin. However, it was the debut of Sony?s Walkman in 1979 that catapulted the use of headphones. Interestingly, deemed as a new form of entertainment, the number of people who said they walked for exercise increased by 30% during the Walkman?s most popular period. Today, 80% of Americans listen to music too loudly when using headphones. And there is a potential price we pay for this convenience.

The consequence is hearing loss, and it is more common than ever before. One in five teens has hearing loss; 30% higher than in the ?80s and ?90s. If this continues, the potential ubiquity of hearing aids may equal that of eyeglasses.

Hearing loss caused by loud sounds is called noise-induced hearing loss, and it cannot be surgically or medically repaired. There is permanent damage to nerves and structures of the ear. Celebrity sufferers from noise-induced hearing loss include Former President Bill Clinton and Will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas who says that he never hears silence due to constant ringing in his ears.

Volume or sound pressure is measured in decibels (dB). Here are some examples to put dB volume in perspective:

A whisper = 20 -30 dB.

A conversation with friends and families = 60 dB.

Our favorite R & B concert = 120 dB or louder.

A plane = 140 dB.

A rocket launching = 180 dB.

Permanent damage can be caused by consistent volumes of 85 decibels or greater or a one-time sound of 120 decibels or greater. Most headphones can produce sounds up to 120 decibels. Time is also a determinant of hearing loss. The longer the duration of a loud sound, the higher the likelihood of hearing loss.

Most people are not aware if they are experiencing hearing loss since it is gradual. Some signs that you may not be hearing so well are:

Ringing in your ears (tinnitus);
Difficulty understanding speech in noisy places or over background noise;
Misunderstanding what people are saying and asking to repeat what was said;
Listening to the TV, radio, or your headphones at a higher volume than before;

People repeatedly saying you are talking loudly.

We all can share the responsibility of ensuring good hearing health in our community. Fortunately, many companies that sell and package headphones do alert buyers that noise levels at 85 decibels and above repeatedly can cause hearing loss. However, it is unclear how many consumers actually see or read the warning nor is it clear if people know if their headphone volume has reached the 85 decibels threshold.

What can you do? Prevention is the key word. Here are some tools to decrease your chances of hearing loss.

Simply turn down the volume. Most ears will adjust to lower volumes in one week.
Keep the maximum volume at 60% or lower. In other words, no more than a little past the half way mark on the volume bar.
Decrease the amount of time that you listen with your music devices.
If you cannot hear other people talking or if people have to shout for you to hear them within three feet of you, the volume is too loud.
Buy headphones that rest over the ear opening instead of earphones or ear buds that are placed directly in your ear.
Purchase headphones that only increase up to 85 decibels for adults and 65 decibels for children.
If you suspect hearing loss or are an avid headphone user, speak to your health care provider to have your ears tested.
Be your ?brother?s keeper?. If you can hear someone else?s music from their headphones, their headphones are too loud. You may want to nicely suggest they turn them down.

Source: http://www.ndemandmag.com/turn-the-volume-down/

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Friday, April 26, 2013

U.S. to spend $890,000 ? on nothing (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301391317?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Pink full moon Thursday: Who gets to see it?

April's full moon is traditionally called the 'pink moon,' a reference to pink phlox, one of the earliest flowers of spring. This week's 'pink moon' might actually appear pinkish in Europe, Africa, or Asia, where spectators will see a partial lunar eclipse.

By Joe Rao,?Space.com / April 22, 2013

The Earth's shadow passes across the moon during a lunar eclipse above Cape Town, May 4, 2004, creating a warm salmon glow. Thursday's lunar eclipse will be less complete than the 2004 eclipse, and won't be visible at all in the Americas. The 'pink full moon' itself, the first full moon of April, will shine on everyone with clear skies.

Mike Hutchings / Reuters / File

Enlarge

This month's full moon, which falls on Thursday (April 25), always reminds me of one of the first times I viewed the April full moon

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When I was very young boy living in New York, there was a popular television weathercaster by the name of Carol Reed. While not a meteorologist, she had an upbeat personality and always finished her reports with what became her personal catch phrase: "And have a happy!"

One evening, Carol commented that it would be clear for everyone to get a good view of that night's "pink"?full moon. When it got dark, my mother accompanied me outside expecting to see a salmon-colored moon, but all we saw was a full moon that looked the way it always did: yellowish-white with not a hint of pink.

While I don't recall the year of this episode, I can state most definitely that it took place in the month of April, since many years later I learned that traditionally the full moon of April is called the "pink moon," a reference made to the grass pink or wild ground phlox which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring season.

So on Thursday night, when you look skyward at this year's version of the "pink" April full moon, remember not to take the term literally!

A bit of an eclipse

While this month's full moon may not look pink, if you live in Europe, Africa or much of Asia, you will notice something a bit different about it, because it will take place on the night of a lunar eclipse.? ?

Unfortunately, in North America, none of this eclipse will be visible, since the actual instant of full moon occurs on Thursday afternoon (April 25), when the moon is below the horizon.

Beginning at 2:04 p.m. EDT (1804 GMT), the moon begins to meet the Earth's shadow; a little over two hours later it arrives under the middle of that shadow. By then the moon will have just risen and will be visible low to the east-southeast horizon as seen from Ireland, and will be setting over south-central Japan in the morning hours of Friday, April 26.

Feeble at best

If we were to rank a total eclipse of the moon as a first-rate event, then what is scheduled to be seen on Thursday for those living in the Eastern Hemisphere would almost certainly fall into the third- or even fourth-rate category; in fact it might add new meaning to the term "underwhelming."

During the first 110-minutes of the eclipse, the moon's northern hemisphere pushes ever-so-gradually into the Earth's partial shadow, called the penumbra. The outer two-thirds of this are too subtle to detect; but then perhaps by 3:30 p.m. EDT (1920 GMT) you may realize you are beginning to detect the ever-so-slight gradient of a soft grey darkening around the top of the moon.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/g3o4BcG_2QU/Pink-full-moon-Thursday-Who-gets-to-see-it

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Einstein's gravity theory passes toughest test yet

Apr. 25, 2013 ? A strange stellar pair nearly 7,000 light-years from Earth has provided physicists with a unique cosmic laboratory for studying the nature of gravity. The extremely strong gravity of a massive neutron star in orbit with a companion white dwarf star puts competing theories of gravity to a test more stringent than any available before.

Once again, Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, published in 1915, comes out on top.

At some point, however, scientists expect Einstein's model to be invalid under extreme conditions. General Relativity, for example, is incompatible with quantum theory. Physicists hope to find an alternate description of gravity that would eliminate that incompatibility.

A newly-discovered pulsar -- a spinning neutron star with twice the mass of the Sun -- and its white-dwarf companion, orbiting each other once every two and a half hours, has put gravitational theories to the most extreme test yet. Observations of the system, dubbed PSR J0348+0432, produced results consistent with the predictions of General Relativity.

The tightly-orbiting pair was discovered with the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and subsequently studied in visible light with the Apache Point telescope in New Mexico, the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands. Extensive radio observations with the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico and the Effelsberg telescope in Germany yielded vital data on subtle changes in the pair's orbit.

In such a system, the orbits decay and gravitational waves are emitted, carrying energy from the system. By very precisely measuring the time of arrival of the pulsar's radio pulses over a long period of time, astronomers can determine the rate of decay and the amount of gravitational radiation emitted. The large mass of the neutron star in PSR J0348+0432, the closeness of its orbit with its companion, and the fact that the companion white dwarf is compact but not another neutron star, all make the system an unprecedented opportunity for testing alternative theories of gravity.

Under the extreme conditions of this system, some scientists thought that the equations of General Relativity might not accurately predict the amount of gravitational radiation emitted, and thus change the rate of orbital decay. Competing gravitational theories, they thought, might prove more accurate in this system.

"We thought this system might be extreme enough to show a breakdown in General Relativity, but instead, Einstein's predictions held up quite well," said Paulo Freire, of the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Germany.

That's good news, the scientists say, for researchers hoping to make the first direct detection of gravitational waves with advanced instruments. Researchers using such instruments hope to detect the gravitational waves emitted as such dense pairs as neutron stars and black holes spiral inward toward violent collisions.

Gravitational waves are extremely difficult to detect and even with the best instruments, physicists expect they will need to know the characteristics of the waves they seek, which will be buried in "noise" from their detectors. Knowing the characteristics of the waves they seek will allow them to extract the signal they seek from that noise.

"Our results indicate that the filtering techniques planned for these advanced instruments remain valid," said Ryan Lynch, of McGill University.

Freire and Lynch worked with a large international team of researchers. They reported their results in the journal Science.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. J. Antoniadis, P. C. C. Freire, N. Wex, T. M. Tauris, R. S. Lynch, M. H. van Kerkwijk, M. Kramer, C. Bassa, V. S. Dhillon, T. Driebe, J. W. T. Hessels, V. M. Kaspi, V. I. Kondratiev, N. Langer, T. R. Marsh, M. A. McLaughlin, T. T. Pennucci, S. M. Ransom, I. H. Stairs, J. van Leeuwen, J. P. W. Verbiest, D. G. Whelan. A Massive Pulsar in a Compact Relativistic Binary. Science, 2013; 340 (6131): 1233232 DOI: 10.1126/science.1233232

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/top_news/~3/1WiPm0QUO_o/130425142250.htm

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Top ECB official cautions: rate cuts have costs

FRANKFURT, German (AP) ? A top European Central Bank official is warning about the side effects of ultra-low interest rates ? remarks that appear aimed at cooling heightened market expectations the bank will cut interest rates next week.

Joerg Asmussen says in a speech Thursday that very low rates can take the pressure off banks and governments to fix their financial problems ? and in any case are not being passed on by banks in the countries where low rates are most needed.

He said monetary policy "is not an all-purpose weapon for any kind of economic illness."

A run of disappointing economic news this week has fueled market expectations that the bank will cut rates from a record low of 0.75 percent as soon as May 2 to stimulate the sagging eurozone economy.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-ecb-official-cautions-rate-cuts-costs-081113519--finance.html

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White House says it's open to fix on FAA furloughs

FILE - This April 22, 2013 file photo shows travelers standing in line at the LAX International Airport in Los Angeles. Under pressure, the White House signaled Wednesday it might accept legislation eliminating Federal Aviation Administration furloughs blamed for lengthy flight delays for airline passengers, while leaving the rest of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in place. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - This April 22, 2013 file photo shows travelers standing in line at the LAX International Airport in Los Angeles. Under pressure, the White House signaled Wednesday it might accept legislation eliminating Federal Aviation Administration furloughs blamed for lengthy flight delays for airline passengers, while leaving the rest of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in place. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Huerta testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 24, 2013, before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation hearing on flight delays that are being caused by the FAA's decision to furlough air traffic controllers because of mandatory budget cuts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Huerta testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 24, 2013, before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation hearing on flight delays that are being caused by the FAA's decision to furlough air traffic controllers because of mandatory budget cuts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Under growing pressure, the Obama administration signaled Wednesday it might accept legislation eliminating Federal Aviation Administration furloughs blamed for lengthy delays affecting airline passengers, while leaving the rest of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in place.

The disclosure came as sentiment grew among Senate Democrats as well as Republicans for legislation to ease the impact of the cuts on the FAA, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood held talks with key senators.

"I think there was a meeting of the minds" on steps to remedy the situation, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said after the meeting. He said he hoped for a resolution before the Senate begins a scheduled weeklong vacation at week's end.

Said LaHood, "There are too many delays and common ordinary citizens are being affected."

According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which is privy to FAA data, there were 5,800 flight delays across the country for the three-day period beginning Sunday, when the furloughs took effect. Some were caused by weather. The union said that compares with 2,500 delays for the same period a year ago.

At the White House, press secretary Jay Carney said that if Congress "wants to address specifically the problems caused by the sequester with the FAA, we would be open to looking at that.

"But that would be a Band-Aid measure," he added. "And it would not deal with the many other negative effects of the sequester, the kids kicked off of Head Start, the seniors who aren't getting Meals on Wheels, and the up to three-quarter of a million of Americans who will lose their jobs or will not have jobs created for them."

Officials estimate the FAA furloughs will save slightly more than $200 million through Sept. 30, a small fraction of the $85 billion in overall reductions that stem from across-the-board cuts, officially known as a sequester, that took effect in March.

Neither Rockefeller nor LaHood disclosed the terms of possible legislation.

Other senators in recent days have proposed giving the FAA flexibility in the rules governing its spending. Under a different suggestion, funds would be shifted from a federal grant program for airport improvements into the account that pays for air traffic controller salaries.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the other top Democrats have consistently expressed opposition to piecemeal legislation aimed at easing the impact of the spending cuts, a position that congressional officials say reflected the administration's position.

But support for that view among Senate Democrats has eroded in recent days as airlines reported thousands of flight delays and industry executives pressed for a restoration of full funding for air traffic controllers.

"I think it's better to do a big deal, but as we work toward that big deal we have to admit that there are some things that are very problematic," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who helped write legislation to give the FAA flexibility to switch money between accounts and permit full staffing by controllers.

At least three other Democrats support the measure, which Klobuchar co-sponsored with Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota and several other GOP lawmakers. "This is a very simple bipartisan bill that fixes the problem," Hoeven said, adding he had informed the White House of his plans.

Rockefeller, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, was joined at the meeting by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the panel's senior Republican, as well as LaHood and Michael Huerta, the FAA administrator.

Referring to the lawmakers, LaHood said he and Huerta "offered our apologies to them for the fact that we had not kept them informed about all of the things that we had been discussing. We talked about some fixes and we'll see where it takes us."

Echoing Carney's remarks, he also said he had told Rockefeller and Thune "if there were a fix, the White House would consider it."

It was not clear whether supporters of the legislation or of similar proposals could gain a vote in the Senate before Congress begins its vacation, and if so, what the prospects might be in the House.

Nor was it clear whether any FAA-related measure might include a provision to keep open smaller towers that the agency says might be closed as a result of the spending cuts, a provision that numerous lawmakers in both parties favor.

Democrats said it was unlikely any FAA bill would be expanded to offset the impact of the cuts on Head Start or other programs that draw more support from Democrats than Republicans.

Apart from the inconvenience caused by delays, some lawmakers have criticized Huerta, saying they were blindsided by the flight delays. Republicans have been particularly vocal.

Huerta got a public tongue-lashing during the day when he appeared before the House Appropriations Committee.

"You didn't forewarn us this was coming. You didn't ask advice about how we should handle it. This imperial attitude on the part of this administration ? you are the latest example of it ? is disgusting," Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said.

Huerta said LaHood had warned at a news conference in February that the furloughs were coming and could create flight delays of up to 90 minutes.

He also said he had testified about them at a hearing before a different committee earlier over the winter.

"It's fair to say the thing that captured the media's attention was the" threatened closure of small towers, he added. "The furlough problem didn't sink in with Congress and the public until recently."

___

Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-24-Obama-FAA/id-6434e7c0d9c64b9b8d3d84fb3c0f5c44

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Assured Labor Raises $5.5M To Find Jobs For Workers Across Latin America

assured laborAssured Labor, a New York, Mexico City and S?o Paulo-based startup that helps low- and middle-income workers across Latin America find jobs through their mobile phones, just closed $5.5 million in funding led by Mexican private equity firm Capital Indigo. Other existing investors include Great Oaks Venture Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Kima Ventures, Enzyme Venture Capital, Fabrice Grinda and Jose Marin. The company, which came out of MIT’s Media Lab, runs two big job-hunting services called EmpleoListo in Mexico and TrabalhoJ? in Brazil that now have 500,000 job seekers and 16,000 employers. They’re growing at a clip of about 1,000 employers per month. (They only just broke into the Brazilian market a year ago.) With Assured Labor, employers looking for potential hires can put job descriptions in through the company’s website. Assured Labor will find the most qualified candidates and text message or e-mail them. Workers register on computers either at home or through web cafes. Once they’re in the system, they’ll get text messages any time a company posts a relevant position and they can text or call back through a private number. Naturally, employers pay to find candidates. This company isn’t really competing with higher end services like LinkedIn. “LinkedIn is going for the opposite end of the job spectrum,” said CEO David Reich. Reich says Assured Labor is more of a social enterprise that targets the lower-earning segment of the market. If you look at the job listings on Empleolisto, they’re for positions like customer service representative or bilingual executive assistant. Many of their clients are still on feature phones, as Latin American markets are only beginning to experience an oncoming wave of affordable Android phones. “I wish that transition with smartphones would happen faster,” Reich said. “A lot of users would have a better experience with us through smartphones. They still have very small penetration, maybe only 10 to 15 percent in most countries in Latin America.”

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4VpmAsNOKXo/

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This Old Fashioned Lego Stadium Is Beautiful and Multifunctional

The Green Gables Stadium never existed in real life, but you wouldn't know that from looking at the fa?ade of this Lego model. The huge domed stadium, built by Lego maniac RedCoKid, looks just like an early 20th century ballpark, and it sports some cool features beyond looking really pretty. More »
    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Couq3aUo1DU/this-old-fashioned-lego-stadium-is-beautiful-and-multifunctional

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

PFT: Fluker claims hack after tweet about benefits

Philadelphia Eagles v Washington RedksinsGetty Images

The Redskins surrendered their 2013 first-round pick in the trade for Robert Griffin III, leaving them with seven selections later this week ? two picks Friday and five picks Saturday. With the QB position in good hands, addressing one of the NFL?s more porous defenses would be a logical next move for Washington. Here?s a rundown of the top draft needs for the depending NFC East champions:

Cornerback: Bringing in at least one rookie would be sensible with?DeAngelo Hall, Josh Wilson and E.J. Biggers all slated to be unrestricted free agents at season?s end. It will interesting to see how the Redskins proceed at this position without a first-round pick in this draft and the 2014 selection meeting. If they can find a second- or third-day cornerback with promise ? think Casey Hayward to Green Bay at No. 62 last April ? it would give them some flexibility.

Outside linebacker: If Brian Orakpo can stay healthy after missing most of 2012 with a pectoral injury, he?s likely to garner a big-time second contract. Edge-rushing talent for a ?30? front is a must, and Orakpo ? a free agent at season?s end ? shouldn?t lack for suitors if at full strength. Orakpo?is productive (8.5 sacks or more in three seasons since entering the league in 2009) and in his prime (27 at the start of the season). Even if Washington can keep Orakpo, there is always a spot for another pass rusher.

Right tackle: Tyler Polumbus seems the likely starter here after re-signing for two more seasons. However, adding a tackle prospect capable of backing up both spots now and pushing for the ORT job later would make sense.

Inside linebacker: London Fletcher will be 38 in May, and the other starter inside, Perry Riley, can test free agency after the season. The Redskins drafted ILB prospect Keenan Robinson in Round Four last April and could stand to keep adding to their options behind Fletcher and Riley.

Safety: Brandon Meriweather comes off an ACL tear. Reed Doughty will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2013 campaign. Ex-Buccaneers safety Tanard Jackson must seek NFL reinstatement to return to the field this season. If the Redskins get some breaks at this position, they could craft something of a workable solution from the personnel at hand for 2013. However, there?s a good deal of uncertainty. Bolstering the safety depth chart might not be a bad idea.

The Redskins? first pick is in Round Two (No. 51 overall), and they have at least one choice in each of the next six rounds. This is good news for Washington, which needs to make good use of its selections. The Redskins can fill out a solid lineup for 2013 as is, but they have numerous free agency decisions coming, and their defense needs bolstering. Also, Washington could use a little more defensive line, wideout and running back depth, too.?Oh, for a team to be in love with a quarterback when the Redskins are on the clock in the second round. Here?s a team that could use another couple picks.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/23/d-j-fluker-claims-hacking-after-tweet-about-money-from-agents/related/

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How Many FICO Credit Scores Do You Have? | Bankrate.com

credit

FICO: It's the most common credit score used by lenders in existence. But did you know you have more than one? That's right; the world's most popular credit score comes in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins offers in ice cream.

There are older versions and newer ones; there are scores tailored for specific lending purposes, such as mortgages or credit cards; and there are scores custom-made for each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. Even though all these scores share the FICO brand, you likely won't score exactly the same on each one.

"It's probably the No. 1 or No. 2 misunderstanding about credit scores that there (isn't) more than one FICO score," says Kenneth Lin, CEO of credit education website CreditKarma.com. "A consumer literally has three to four dozen FICO credit scores."

But there's no reason to feel lost in FICO's complex credit-scoring universe that contains more scores than you can count on your fingers and toes. Here's a breakdown of the myriad FICO credit scores that lenders may use to judge your creditworthiness and what you can do about it.

Generation gap

Remember when Microsoft introduced Windows 95? Three years later, it followed up with Windows 98. In the years since, we've met Windows 2000, XP, Vista and versions 7 and 8. The main FICO score, known as a general risk credit score, is similar to Windows' evolution, says John Ulzheimer, president of credit education at SmartCredit.com.

The first FICO scores hit the scene in 1989. It (and its descendants) predicted the likelihood a consumer will become 90 days behind on payments over the next 24 months on different debt types. Over the years, the score has been poked, prodded and tweaked from its original formula to account for changes in consumer behavior and the lending landscape, says Frederic Huynh, principal scientist at FICO.

For example, the most current score, FICO 8, introduced in 2009, penalizes isolated late payments less than previous scores but punishes high balances on credit cards more. It ignores collection claims less than $100, and it reduces the benefit of authorized user accounts.

"In general, with every redevelopment, the newer score tends to be more predictive," Huynh says. "It pushes your good players up higher and your bad players down lower."

Still, many lenders stick to older versions of the FICO credit score because they predict well enough, and it's too expensive and time-consuming to change out scoring models, Ulzheimer says.

"It's like replacing a 99-cent gasket deep in your car engine and paying $5,000 in labor to do it," he says.

How many FICO credit scores
do you have?

Grand total: 53FICO produces several generations of its general risk score and its industry-specific credit scores, each one unique to each credit reporting bureau. See the tally of the different generations that each bureau has below.

Source: Bankrate.com.
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Let's get specific

FICO wasn't content with just redeveloping the older scores to be better version of themselves. The company also rejiggered its classic model to hone in on certain types of lending. Out of the machinations came FICO credit scores that predicted mortgage risk, auto loan risk, installment loan risk, credit card risk and personal finance risk (for smaller lenders).

"The score starts off with the base score, which is robust and a good indicator, but takes it one step further to predict how likely a consumer will pay back its auto debt obligation, for example," Huynh says.

These FICO scores have different ranges than the generic risk score, which generally runs between 300 and 850. Otherwise, the three-digit score has a "very similar look and feel" to the classic, says Huynh. The scores still estimate the risk of delinquency over the next two years, but for a certain loan type.

These different flavors of the FICO credit score also have undergone redevelopments over the years, such as the general risk score. That means several generations of the industry-specific scores exist, too.

Multiplied by 3

So FICO has oodles of the general risk score and a boatload of industry-tailored credit scores. Now triple them. FICO tweaks each version of its credit score for each of the three national credit reporting bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- which sell the scores to lenders and pay royalty fees to FICO.

"The three credit reporting agencies organize their information in different and fundamental ways," says Craig Watts, spokesman for FICO. "We tailor the formula, so it takes the maximum advantage of the bureau's strengths."

Experian and Equifax each provide 16 different FICO credit scores to lenders: five iterations of the general risk score and up to three generations of the five industry scores. TransUnion provides 21 different FICO credit scores to lenders, six versions of the general score and up to four generations of the industry scores.

Some older FICO scores are only available to lenders who have an existing relationship with the credit bureau. New clients (lenders) aren't offered the oldest scores.

So the final tally is 53 FICO credit scores. But that number shouldn't change your financial behavior, says Lin.

"As a consumer, you should focus on paying your bills on time, not getting in over your head and making sure there are no errors in your credit report," he says. "Don't get lost in all the nuances of the different scores."

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit/how-many-fico-credit-scores-do-you-have.aspx

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Stocks surge after fake tweet scare

Dow briefly plunges 143 points after fake AP tweet about explosions at the White House. But the market recovers and the Dow closes 152 points higher. Strong quarterly earnings boost stocks.

By Steve Rothwell,?AP Markets Writer / April 23, 2013

Glenn Kessler, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange last week. Stocks, which plunged briefly on a fake AP tweet, quickly recovered and then surged.

Richard Drew/AP/File

Enlarge

Companies that do the best when the economy is improving led the market higher Tuesday after several of them reported strong quarterly earnings.

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Coach, a maker of luxury handbags, and Netflix, which streams TV shows and movies over the Internet, were winners after announcing profits that impressed investors. Financial?stocks?rose after Travelers' earnings beat the expectations of financial analysts who follow the company.

That's a change from earlier this year. The?stock?market's surge in 2013 has been led by so-called defensive industries such as health care, consumer staples and utilities. Investors buy those?stocks?when they're unsure about the direction of the economy and want to own companies that make products people buy in bad times as well as good. Until now, they've been less enthusiastic about?stocks?of companies that provide discretionary goods and services and do best in good times.

"For a change we are actually seeing more cyclical parts of the economy lead the market," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

For development in Brazil, two crops are better than one

Apr. 22, 2013 ? It's not just about agriculture. Growing two crops a year in the same field improves schools, helps advance public sanitation, raises median income, and creates jobs.

New research finds that double cropping -- planting two crops in a field in the same year -- is associated with positive signs of economic development for rural Brazilians.

The research focused the state of Mato Grosso, the epicenter of an agricultural revolution that has made Brazil one of the world's top producers of soybeans, corn, cotton, and other staple crops. That Brazil has become an agricultural powerhouse over the last decade or so is clear. What has been less clear is who is reaping the economic rewards of that agricultural intensification -- average Brazilians or wealthy landowners and outside investors.

Leah VanWey, associate professor of sociology at Brown University and the study's lead author, says her results suggest at least one type of agricultural intensification -- double cropping -- is associated with development that improves well-being for average rural Brazilians.

Looking at agricultural and economic data from the last decade, VanWey found that in munic?pios (counties) where double cropping is common, GDP and median per capita income were both substantially higher. Double cropping was also associated with higher quality schools and better public sanitation. "We looked at two indicators of private goods and two indicators of public goods," VanWey said. "Overall, we find this really nice pattern of impacts on development associated with double cropping. These benefits seem to be widespread through the population."

Meanwhile, intensification to single-crop fields from pasture with low stocking rates was not associated with development gains, the research found. VanWey says that is probably because double cropping is more labor intensive, which creates jobs, and more lucrative, which creates more tax revenue that can be invested in public goods. That was evidenced by a case study of two counties within Mato Grosso that was part of this new research.

"The community with the most double cropping also has a soy processing plant that employs thousands of workers as well as complementary poultry and swine raising and processing," VanWey said. "In the long run there isn't much money in just growing things and selling them, but processing allows the local area and workers to retain more of the per-unit cost of the final product."

The findings are published in an issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B focused on agricultural development in Brazil.

Mato Grosso has drawn much attention from scholars in recent years. It is not only the heart of Brazil's agricultural production but also sits on the border of the nation's cerrada (savanna) biome and the Amazon rainforest biome. Some evidence over the last decade suggests that even as agricultural production in the state has increased, deforestation in the Amazon region has slowed. For that reason, the state is seen by many as a model for agricultural development that minimizes harm to the environment.

To understand how land use is associated with economic development, VanWey teamed with John Mustard, professor of geological sciences at Brown, and Stephanie Spera, Mustard's graduate student. Spera and Mustard used imaging from NASA's Terra satellite to track land use changes in Mato Grosso from 2000 to 2011. They captured satellite images of the region every 16 days for a year. They looked for peaks in the greenness of the fields followed by a rapid loss of greenness, indicating the ripening and subsequent harvesting of a crop. Two peaks in greenness in the same year is an indicator that a field is double-cropped. Spera and Mustard recorded images from 2000 to 2001, and again from 2010 to 2011, to see how usage had changed over the decade. They found substantial increases in both single- and double-cropped fields.

VanWey then matched those data to local economic data, with the help of Brown undergraduates Rebecca de Sa and Dan Mahr.

The research showed that intensification to single-crop fields from pasture had no effect on economic variables. Double cropping, however, was associated with strong gains. For example, where double cropping was common, median income was substantially higher. According to VanWey's calculations, median income for citizens of Mato Grosso would be decreased from 346 Brazilian reals per month (about $190) to 144 reals without the effects of double cropping. On the other hand, if all areas double cropped, monthly income would increase to 459 reals.

"[Double cropping] increases median incomes in an entire county, not just among people working in agriculture," VanWey said. "So I'm arguing that it's going to have these effects on the entire economy by providing employment that's related to the agriculture."

The positive association with public goods such as schools was strong as well. For that analysis, VanWey looked at a 10-point quality assessment scale used by the Brazilian government. She calculated that if all areas of Mato Grosso double cropped, scores on the assessment for public schools would increase from an average of 4.2 to 5.4.

The increases in measures of both personal wealth and public goods suggest widespread economic development associated with double cropping, VanWey concludes. However she's not yet ready to advocate for public policy steps like blanket subsidies for double cropping. More research needs to be done, she says, to find out why double cropping thrives in some places but not others.

She and her colleagues are working on those questions now.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brown University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Leah K. VanWey, Stephanie Spera, Rebecca de Sa, Dan Mahr, and John F. Mustard. Socioeconomic development and agricultural intensification in Mato Grosso. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B., 2013 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0168

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/top_news/top_environment/~3/sGEFBJoN-Lg/130422175716.htm

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Thousands want to take one-way trip to Mars, but will you pay their way?

Mars One's founders and would-be astronauts discuss plans to go a one-way trip to the Red Planet in 2023.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Organizers of the Dutch-based Mars One project opened up their website on Monday to take applications for a one-way trip to Mars in 2022.?

That's right: These astronauts won't be coming back. The idea is to jump-start a permanent settlement on Mars, with more supplies and settlers arriving every couple of years.

The organizers say the $6 billion cost for the first landing would be covered through reality-TV deals and merchandising, but they skirted pointed questions about the plan's financial feasibility.

Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp compared the non-profit venture to the London Olympics, which reportedly brought in $3.8 billion in revenue for last summer's 17-day spectacle. "If you can make $1 billion per week just by having a large audience in the entire world, then suddenly $6 billion doesn't sound like so much anymore," he said.


He declined to provide a detailed breakdown of the costs during Monday's news conference in New York, largely because he didn't want to give away any competitive information about the talks being conducted with potential suppliers. "It would be very stupid for us to give the prices that have been quoted per component," he told reporters.

He acknowledged that the mission's financial aspects posed the greatest challenge. However, he said the drama surrounding Mars One's plan to send four-person crews to Mars, with no promise of return, was "exactly the greatness that makes it possible to finance this."

"It's easier to finance a mission to Mars than to finance a mission to the moon," he said.

Thousands register interest
There has certainly been lots of enthusiasm for the mission: Lansdorp said Mars One has received more than 10,000 emails from more than 100 countries around the world, voicing willingness to sign up for a one-way ticket to the Red Planet. Starting Monday, anyone 18 or older can formally apply?? provided that they pay an application fee. Lansdorp said the fee ranges from $5 to $75, depending on the standard of living for the country of residence. U.S. residents, for example, will be charged $38.

Mars One's recruitment video refers to past glories of the space effort.

Each applicant will have to submit a one-minute video explaining why he or she should be among the first humans on Mars. Applicants will be screened for physical and mental fitness, and will have to speak English. They should also be "mature and interesting," Mars One says. But chief medical director Norbert Kraft said there are no formal academic or professional prerequisites. "We will give the training," he said.

Mars One's business plan calls for the latter stages of the selection process to be broadcast on TV and the Internet. Twenty-four to 40 finalists would be chosen to go through years of training. At the end of the process, Mars One expects at least six crews to be ready for flight. Each crew would consist of two women and two men. Having six crews available would ensure against the possibility that someone gets sick?? or gets "cold feet"?? when it's time to fly to Mars, Kraft said.

The venture's time line calls for the first in a series of preparatory robotic missions to lift off in 2016. An exploratory rover would be sent to Mars in 2018, and another rover would head out in 2020 to get the chosen target site ready for human habitation. Eight robotic missions would be sent before the human crew sets out in 2022 on a seven-month cruise, Lansdorp said. The landing is currently scheduled for April 2023, "exactly 10 years from today," he said.

Organizers say the $6 billion raised through broadcast and marketing rights would cover costs through the first landing in 2023. Billions more would be required to keep the colony going and growing beyond that.?

Lansdorp said the project would be presented to international broadcasters at the Mipcom conference in Cannes, France, this October. He acknowledged that the time line might be delayed due to technical difficulties. "This will not be easy," he said. "There is lots of engineering and testing to be done before the first humans land." But he said the Mars One group is already in discussions with spaceflight companies including SpaceX and Paragon Space Development Corp. about the launch plans.

Grant Anderson, Paragon's senior vice president of operations, said his company was working on a concept design study that would be delivered to Mars One this summer. "The Mars One program is doing this right," Anderson said.

One of the potential scenarios would employ expanded SpaceX Dragon capsules for the missions, Lansdorp said. SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, has repeatedly said it's technically possible to put humans on Mars in 10 years. There's already a "Red Dragon" plan for Mars landings, with an estimated price tag of $400 million or less per mission.

Reality check
Veteran rocket engineer Robert Zubrin, who is president of the non-profit Mars Society, agrees that Mars One's plan is technically feasible ? but adds that it's incredibly challenging. "They have set a very high bar for themselves, and I'm not sure they have the resources," he told NBC News.

Former NASA mission planner Scott Hubbard, who is now a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, said landing on Mars safely ranked among the biggest challenges. "Anyone familiar with the 'seven minutes of terror' knows that getting anything substantial [to the Martian surface] is not a trivial issue," Hubbard said. Other challenges include weathering the radiation exposure and health effects of long-term weightlessness on the way to Mars; and truly being able to have astronauts live off the land once they get to Mars, with no possibility of heading back to Earth.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2b090537/l/0Lcosmiclog0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C220C1786520A20Ethousands0Ewant0Eto0Etake0Eone0Eway0Etrip0Eto0Emars0Ebut0Ewill0Eyou0Epay0Etheir0Eway0Dlite/story01.htm

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Write Incoming Data From UC To File - C And C++ | Dream.In.Code


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","tag":"il","useoption":"0","example":"[il]Code Here[/il]","switch_option":"0","menu_option_text":"","menu_content_text":"","single_tag":"0","optional_option":"0","image":"il2.png"},"code":{"id":"41","title":"Code","desc":"Allows you to enter general code","tag":"code","useoption":"1","example":"[code]$text = 'Some long code here';[/code]","switch_option":"0","menu_option_text":"","menu_content_text":"","single_tag":"0","optional_option":"1","image":""}}) ); ipb.vars['emoticon_url'] = "http://cdn.dreamincode.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/default"; //Search Setup ipb.vars['search_type'] = 'forum'; ipb.vars['search_type_id'] = 15; ipb.vars['search_type_2'] = 'topic'; ipb.vars['search_type_id_2'] = 319251; //]]>

    Source: http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/topic/319251-write-incoming-data-from-uc-to-file/

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