Earth's 'missing energy' not lost after all

Scientists have determined that Earth's "missing energy" isn't missing after all.

Earth's primary energy source is the sun, which bombards the planet with solar rays every day. This energy helps drive our weather system, makes the planet warm enough for life and drives photosynthesis in plants, among other things. But not all of this energy is retained by the Earth ? some of it is reflected or radiated back into space.

By studying the amount of solar energy absorbed by the atmosphere, and comparing it to the energy released back into space by the planet, a team of researchers has calculated how much energy is retained by the planet. Most of the energy is held within the oceans as heat; the influx causes a slow rise in temperature.

Missing or not?
A previous study, released by a different group in 2010, noted that the ocean heating from 2004 to 2008 seemed to slow. This led them to suggest that some of the planet's energy was missing.

But the new team, led by Norman Leob of NASA's Langley Research Center, re-examined the numbers measured over the course of the last decade and found them to be relatively stable.

Loeb's team maintained that the margin of error was larger than the original study took into account.

"One of the things we wanted to do was a more rigorous analysis of the uncertainties," Loeb said in a statement. "When we did that, we found the conclusion of missing energy in the system isn't really supported by the data."

Looking for what was lost
Using a decade's worth of data collected by the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE), the team determined the amount of energy absorbed from the sun. They then subtracted the energy reflected back into space, as well as the energy emitted by the Earth, using the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES).

The energy left over is trapped somewhere on Earth. Less than 10 percent of it heats the land and atmosphere, and melts snow and ice, while the rest heats the ocean.

The original study found that the Earth's temperature, which had been steadily rising, slowed its pace. But the new study notes that the methods for measuring characteristics of the ocean shifted in 2003.

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When accounting for the margin of error of both methods employed, the new study states that the apparent decline is "not statistically significant, nor is it observed by CERES."

Currently, data on the ocean is collected via the Argo program, which has dropped more than 3,000 floats in saltwater around the world. As the floats sink and rise, they measure the temperature and salt content of the water up to a depth of 1.25 miles (2,000 meters).

"Our data show that Earth has been accumulating heat in the ocean at a rate of half a watt per square meter (10.8 square feet), with no sign of a decline," Loeb said.

? 2012 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46194231/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Super Bowl advertisers seek buzz on social media (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? In the age of Twitter and Facebook, many Super Bowl viewers will use the commercial breaks to go online and see what people are saying about the game. This year, advertisers want them to tweet about their favorite commercials as well.

Having spent record-breaking sums to secure the most valuable television slots in advertising, global brands from Coca-Cola to Volkwagen are looking to leverage social media to extend the buzz and reach of their ads.

According to executives from Comcast Corp's NBC television network, which will broadcast the February 5 football game, a 30-second commercial slot cost $3.5 million on average this year, up from $3 million for last year's Super Bowl, which was on News Corp's Fox station.

"The social media conversation has put more value on a Super Bowl ad, fans will discuss your ads on Twitter and Facebook and then go to YouTube to watch it on demand over and over again," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media.

This year's Super Bowl will take place in Indianapolis, with the New York Giants and New England Patriots battling it out for the National Football League Championship. An expected 100 million people will watch the game, which is among a dwindling number of TV programs that still draw big live audiences.

NFL games are so valuable to advertisers that the league recently secured hefty pay increases that will bring in about $6 billion a year from Walt Disney Co's ESPN, broadcast networks and satellite TV provider DirecTV for rights to air games and sell the advertising time.

The average price of Super Bowl ads have risen more than 50 percent in the last 10 years, defying economic downturns and secular industry issues. NBC sold out all 70 spots around this year's game shortly after Thanksgiving weekend in November and reached a new high with one slot selling for around $4 million.

The game, including lower priced halftime slots, could easily generate over a quarter of a billion dollars in ad sales.

"The overall demand for Super Bowl spots is very high this year," said Tim Calkins, marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "Prices are high. Demand is high. I think that's a very positive sign for the economy."

Consumer research forecasts that 60 percent of fans watching the Super Bowl will also be tied into a second screen such as a smartphone or tablet.

COKE Vs PEPSI ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Anheuser-Busch, which typically buys exclusivity as the only beer advertiser during recent Super Bowls, is again the biggest spender, according to industry sources.

Not unlike past Super Bowls, Coca Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc will face-off for soda supremacy. Both beverage makers have come up with campaigns that attempt to leverage social media after their commercials air.

Coca-Cola's TV commercials, which will air during the first-and second-quarter breaks, will center around its computer-generated Arctic polar bears watching the game. The bears will then be brought to life on Twitter, Facebook and on a dedicated Website doing such things as responding to fans and commenting on the game. They will even have their own Twitter hashtag --#GameDayPolarBears -- for fans to follow.

"We wanted to interact with consumers in the most simple and organic way so they would have nothing to do other than what they usually do," said Pio Schunker, Coca Cola senior vice president of integrated marketing platforms.

Fans who catch Pepsi's commercial with "X Factor USA" winner Melanie Amaro performing the Otis Redding song "Respect" will be able to download a free video of the performance by using the Shazam app on their phones to capture audio from the commercial.

There are also partnerships with online radio service Pandora Media Inc and social TV specialist GetGlue centered around the game and other free content.

"Our philosophy now is nothing happens in isolation," said Shiv Singh, global head of digital for Pepsico Beverages. "Social TV is a massive phenomenon and a critical element of our Super Bowl campaigns."

AUTOS SPEND BIG AGAIN

The biggest spender by category is the autos industry, which made a big comeback last year and was noted for one of the most memorable spots -- Volkswagen AG's ad with a young child dressed in a Darth Vader outfit believing he can control the Passat car's lights.

This year, Volkswagen's Audi is hoping to win more creative kudos with a spot that taps into the "Twilight" teen vampire pop culture phenomenon. The 60-second spot, which will air during the first break in the game, will highlight the new 2013 Audi S7 and its LED headlight technology, which has unfortunate consequences for a party of young vampires.

Audi hopes to continue the conversation about the ad via the Twitter hashtag #SoLongVampires.

NBC executives say the auto makers are leading a trend toward long-form campaigns of 60 seconds or more, allowing high-end creative concepts to be fleshed out in the commercial's narrative rather than just going for a quick gag and punchline.

Chrysler Group LLC, Toyota Motor Co, Honda Motor Co Ltd, Hyundai Motor Co, and other automakers will also be advertising during the game.

General Motors Co's mainstream Chevy brand will run seven TV commercials before, during and after the game, for instance. It will also center its overall campaign heavily around Web-based partnerships with NBC, Twitter and Facebook.

SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS SELL

With the conventional wisdom being that consumers are more likely to make a purchase if recommended by a friend or family member, chief marketing officers are keen to insert themselves in a Facebook or Twitter conversation about the products and services they sell.

Bluefin Labs, a start-up company that aggregates and analyzes TV viewer data and comments on Twitter and Facebook, has been hired by several advertising agencies with Super Bowl campaigns to help understand how football fans react to the commercials during the game.

"Advertisers don't think about the TV campaign alone anymore but as a way to reach eyeballs and then stimulate conversations about their brands," said Bluefin executive Tom Thai.

While advertisers are eager to experiment with social media during a big-ticket event like the Super Bowl, there are still questions on how they measure its impact with a consistent, industry-accepted method, said Alex Iskold, founder of GetGlue, which lets TV fans share their viewing experiences by 'checking-in' in exchange for online rewards.

"Social TV engagement hasn't been fully priced yet," Iskold said. "We are collectively working to figure out the value to the advertisers. "It took years for the traditional display ad model to solidify; I don't think it will take us that long to price social TV."

(Reporting By Yinka Adegoke in New York,; additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles,; editing by Peter Lauria)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wr_nm/us_superbowl_advertising

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Picture of the Day (talking-points-memo)

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Obama to senators: Change the way you do business (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is pressing his case for changes in how the Senate does business, hoping to ease the partisan gridlock, and he wants to bar lawmakers from profiting from their service.

In his radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said many people he met during his five-state tour after his State of the Union address were optimistic but remained unsure "that the right thing will get done in Washington this year, or next year, or the year after that."

"And frankly, when you look at some of the things that go on in this town, who could blame them for being a little cynical?" Obama said.

The president reiterated his calls for government reform made in Tuesday's address, saying he wants the Senate to pass a rule that requires a yes-or-no vote for judicial and public service nominations after 90 days. Many of the nominees, he said, carry bipartisan support but get held up in Congress for political reasons.

Obama noted that "a senator from Utah" said he would hold up nominations because he opposed the recess appointment of the head of the new consumer protection agency and three members of the National Labor Relations Board. Obama put the officials in their post during the Senate's holiday break; many Republicans have called that move unconstitutional. Obama said the American people deserve "better than gridlock and games."

"One senator gumming up the works for the whole country is certainly not what our founding fathers envisioned," the president said.

While Obama did not name the lawmaker, Utah GOP. Sen Mike Lee said Thursday that because of the president's "blatant and egregious disregard both for proper constitutional procedures and the Senate's unquestioned role in such appointments, I find myself duty-bound to resist the consideration and approval of additional nominations until the president takes steps to remedy the situation."

Obama said he also wants Congress to pass legislation to ban insider trading by lawmakers and prohibit lawmakers from owning securities in companies that have business before their committees.

In addition, the president is seeking to prohibit people who "bundle" campaign contributions from other donors for members of Congress from lobbying Congress. Obama urged the public to contact their member of Congress and tell them "that it's time to end the gridlock and start tackling the issues that really matter."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., delivering the GOP address, said Obama's address to Congress lacked much discussion of the president's achievements "because there isn't much."

"This president didn't talk about his record for one simple reason," Rubio said. "He doesn't want you to know about it. But you do know about it, because you feel the failure of his leadership every single day of your life."

Rubio accused the president of driving up the national debt, failing to reduce high unemployment across the country and offering divisive economic policies.

The Florida senator said there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor but the best way to solve the problem is by embracing the American free enterprise system. Rubio said he hopes 2012 "will be the beginning of our work toward a new and prosperous American century."

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

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The nation's weather (AP)

A strong winter storm over the Northwestern U.S. is Sunday's main weather story. A broad low pressure system spinning over the Gulf of Alaska will push eastward and into British Columbia. This will push a trough of low pressure onshore that will extend into the Pacific Northwest.

Abundant moisture will flow in from the Pacific, allowing heavy snow showers to develop across western Washington and Oregon. The system's leading edge will kick up some scattered snow showers across northern Idaho and Montana, but snowfall accumulation will be light in the range of 2 to 4 inches.

In the Cascades, however, heavier snow showers are likely. Snowfall accumulation may reach up to 12 inches across the northern Washington Cascades, while only light precipitation is expected into Oregon. To the south, the fire danger will remain high across southern California as a ridge of high pressure allows for dry, warm, and windy conditions. Wind gusts will range from 30 to 40 mph in these areas.

In the East, a trough of low pressure will support widespread and light snow showers over the Great Lakes and Northeast. Snowfall accumulation will range from 1 to 2 inches from Michigan through New York. High pressure continues building over the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico.

This will allow for sunny skies and dry conditions to persist from the Gulf state through the eastern valleys and Mid-Atlantic states.

Temperatures in the lower 48 states ranged Saturday from a morning low of -17 degrees at Stanley, Idaho, to a high of 82 degrees at Opa Locka, Fla.

___

Online:

Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com

National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov

Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_us/us_weatherpage_weather

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Video: ?Let?s Stay Together? gets bump in sales thanks to Obama

Friends, family say goodbye to Etta James

??Etta James was remembered at a service Saturday attended by hundreds of friends, family and fans as a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46168992#46168992

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Finance chiefs reassure business leaders at Davos (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world's economies down.

The finance chiefs said the picture in Europe has changed over the past two months as the European Central Bank has loaned billions of euros to fragile banks, indebted countries have pushed through convincing reforms and EU leaders have come near to building a closer fiscal union that would make their common currency stronger.

Several also signaled Friday that Greece is close to clinching a crucial debt-reduction deal with private bondholders ? a key element in Europe's efforts to stem a two-year debt crisis that is causing ripples around the globe. The crisis is a central topic at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"They're making progress on reforms, they're changing the institutions of Europe to put better discipline on fiscal policy," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. "You have three new governments doing some very tough things. You have an ECB doing what central banks have to do. You see them move to try to strengthen the financial sector."

Geithner said the fate of the U.S. economy ? and by extension of the rest of the world ? hinges on Europe's debt crisis, along with potential tensions with Iran. He said the main piece of unfinished business for Europe is building a bigger fund to help troubled economies survive.

But while French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that fund needs to be increased to calm markets, his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that his government is not prepared to do so. Germany, as Europe's biggest economy, would face the biggest bill.

"We must not give the wrong incentives," Schaeuble said. "You can make any figure. It will not work if the real problems will not be solved."

Both, together with Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado and European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, agreed that the idea of issuing "eurobonds" backed jointly by all eurozone governments is a non-starter for now. They didn't rule out the possibility that such bonds could be introduced once confidence in Europe's public finances is restored, with Guindos calling that a "final target."

Schaeuble said eurobonds would provide bad incentives by allowing debt-ridden countries to "spend money you don't have on the bill of others."

Many economists have said eurobonds are needed to solve the crisis as they could reduce the borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries by pooling them with bonds of stronger economies like Germany's.

European leaders have been especially concerned about Greece, whose borrowing costs are so high that it needs a second European bailout just to pay its interest, but the finance chiefs signaled Friday that a deal is at hand.

Greece has been negotiating with the a group representing banks and other lenders in the hopes that they will forgive half of Greece's debt in exchange for Greek assurances that it will pay back the other half without defaulting on its loans. The deal would also let Greece repay over a longer period at a lower interest rate ? negotiators have been trying to agree on what that rate will be.

Schaeuble said he is "quite optimistic" about a deal, while Rehn said he hopes a deal can be reached "if not today, maybe by the weekend."

Agreement between Greece and its creditors is needed before Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree to a second multibillion-euro bailout package.

Another key missing element is a plan for closer fiscal union among the 17 countries that use the euro, plus nine of the other 10 countries in the European Union ? the United Kingdom has refused to participate. On Monday, leaders meet in Brussels to work out the details of that new compact.

Schaeuble and Baroin noted that even the agreement in principle to forge closer ties has calmed markets since a December summit, as borrowing rates have dropped and stock markets have risen. Part of the reason is also the ECB's more aggressive offerings of super-cheap, long-term loans to Europe's shaky banks.

The compact would include tougher rules restricting the budget defecits that participating countries can run. Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank, said such rules are needed to show that countries can pay their own way, and he called them the first ? "though timid" ? step toward a closer union of the countries that use the euro.

Draghi said borrowing rates would remain high "for quite a while," as bond markets are overestimating the risk involved in holding European government debt after years of understimating it. But, he added, such market pressure was "the most potent engine for reform in different governments."

"It's amazing," Draghi said. "If you compare today with even five months ago, the euro area is another world."

The crisis threatens more than Europe: the U.N.'s refugee chief warned Friday that it is fueling conflicts around the world. Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that rising food prices and growing unemployment are hitting those already at the bottom hardest, sparking conflict in places like South Sudan and exacerbating hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_davos_forum

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Video: Ports Calling for New Business

Though Savannah is the fourth largest port in the U.S. by volume, it is the largest single container terminal in the nation, with CNBC's Jane Wells.

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Thursday Candidate Schedule (TIME)

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Senegalese politicians court leaders of age-old Muslim sect

Sufi brotherhoods provide key support for Senegalese presidential candidates, but fragmentation within the groups could spill over into politics, writes guest blogger Alex Thurston.

? A version of this post ran on the author's blog,?Sahel Blog.?The views expressed are the author's own.

Skip to next paragraph

Senegal's presidential elections are scheduled for Feb. 26, and politicians are courting the leaders of the country's large Sufi brotherhoods, also called "marabouts." They are one of four main Muslim communities who have contributed to shaping Senegal's democracy, reports Reuters.? President Abdoulaye Wade says he has never hidden that he is a Mouride, a 129-year-old order of Islam which counts millions of devotees within the West African country.

Wade?s affiliation with the Mouridiyya is definitely salient for many Mourides, including youth. When I was in Senegal in 2006-2007 I heard several young Mourides repeat with pride a prophecy that Senegal?s first president would be Christian (this was Leopold Senghor), the second Muslim but not Mouride (this was Abdou Diouf), the third Muslim and Mouride (they saw Wade as the fulfillment of this part of the prophecy), and all of the rest Mouride.

This feeling was not, however, universal. Even before the 2007 elections, many young Mourides were already dissatisfied with Wade?s performance, particularly with regard to the economy, and a shared religious affiliation did not seem to dilute their opposition to the president.

Another wrinkle in the relationship between Wade and the Mouridiyya is the growing complexity of the marabout ?field? in Senegal. The key lines for me in the Reuters article were these:

A heavily-set figure in a pristine white robe and with an earpiece connected to his Apple iPhone, Cheikh Abdoul Ahad Mbacke Gainde Fatma has seen more Dakar politicians in the last 24 hours than most Senegalese will see in a lifetime.

Ahad Mbacke is the great-grandson of revered Mouride founder Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke and heads the organizing committee for the ?Grand Magal,? the annual Mouride festival which draws millions to Touba for a week of praying, eating and revelry.

Why did I bold ?great-grandson?? Let?s do a little math. Sheikh Amadou Bamba died in 1927. The Sheikh had a number of sons. In Senegalese Sufi brotherhoods the system of hereditary succession works laterally ? ie, leadership typically passes from one brother to another inside the same generation before passing to the next generation. In polygamous families, the number of descendants can multiply rapidly, to the point where there can be dozens of potential male heirs. As political scientist Dr. Leonardo Villalon wrote in 1995 with regard to Senegal (see his book Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal, p. 137),

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Uiuam3VJ1II/Senegalese-politicians-court-leaders-of-age-old-Muslim-sect

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NASA Honors Fallen Astronauts in Solemn Ceremony (SPACE.com)

This week, NASA is paying tribute to fallen astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of space exploration by holding a remembrance ceremony today (Jan. 26) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Today's Day of Remembrance will honor the 45th anniversary Friday (Jan. 27) of the three astronauts who died in a fire at the launch pad while training for the Apollo 1 mission. The tribute ceremony also marks 26 years since the fatal shuttle Challenger accident on Jan. 28, and nine years since the loss of shuttle Columbia and its crew on Feb. 1.

"NASA's Day of Remembrance was actually started after the Columbia accident," agency spokesman Allard Beutel told SPACE.com. "By pure happenstance, the three high-profile accidents at NASA related to astronauts happened at relatively the same time of the year, separated by years, but all within a few days of each other. It was decided that NASA would put aside the last Thursday of January ? whatever that date happens to be ? to pay tribute."

And while the Day of Remembrance is a solemn event, it also serves as a reminder to remain vigilant and careful in the pursuit of space exploration, he added.

"It's obviously somber, but it's also a time when people seem to renew their commitment to doing their personal best to make sure that there isn't another accident," Beutel said. "Spaceflight, by its very nature, is inherently risky. It always will be, but you do your personal best. There's a story that goes around NASA that says, 'it won't fail because of me.' Everyone takes that attitude." [The Apollo 1 Fire: NASA's First Disaster]

During the ceremony at the Florida spaceport, NASA officials, including Kennedy Space Center director and former astronaut Bob Cabana, will participate in a wreath-laying at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

"It's open to the general public and to all Kennedy employees throughout the day," Allard said. "Typically, during the ceremony itself, there could be in the neighbourhood of 50 to 60 people gathered around, but NASA employees can stop by the Space Mirror Memorial any time to pay tribute to NASA's fallen."

Apollo astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grisson, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee perished in NASA's first major tragedy on Jan. 27, 1967. A fire broke out in the Apollo 1 module during a ground test at the launch pad about a month before the scheduled launch.

An accident review board was unable to conclusively determine the cause for the fire, but design flaws were blamed for the module's flammability. The tragedy prompted redesigns of the Apollo capsule and agency-wide procedural changes.

Almost 20 years later, NASA lost seven more astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on Jan. 28, 1986.

Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ron McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis and NASA's first educator astronaut, Christa McAuliffe, were killed in the tragic accident.

An investigation into the disaster showed that exceptionally cold weather had caused a seal, called an O-ring, on the shuttle's right solid rocket booster to fail at liftoff. This allowed pressurized hot gas to escape from inside the booster, which damaged the attachment between the booster and the orbiter.

Seventy-three seconds into Challenger's 10th flight, the external fuel tank exploded and the orbiter broke apart. The seven astronauts were killed when their crew cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean.

On Feb. 1, 2003, NASA suffered another space tragedy when the space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas on its return home at the end of the STS-107 mission.

Following the accident, studies showed that a piece of foam insulation from Columbia's fuel tank broke off during launch and hit the orbiter's left wing, damaging the heat shield.

Commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, David Brown, payload commander Michael Anderson and Illan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, were lost when the orbiter's heat shield failed to protect the vehicle from the intense heat upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.

In addition to NASA's fallen astronauts, the Day of Remembrance was designed to honor the deaths of others in the agency as well.

"It's for the astronauts, but it's also intended to be for all members of the NASA family who lost their lives supporting space exploration," Beutel said. "These are the people who died supporting the cause of spaceflight," Beutel said. "It's a time to reflect and reinforce that this is dangerous and difficult, but it's worth doing. If everyone does their personal best to not let things fail because of them, then it makes the entire cause of space exploration a little safer and a little better."

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120126/sc_space/nasahonorsfallenastronautsinsolemnceremony

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Marine spared from jail time in Iraq killings (Reuters)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif (Reuters) ? A U.S. Marine accused of leading a 2005 massacre of 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha was spared jail time when he was sentenced on Tuesday for his role in killings that brought international condemnation on U.S. troops.

The harshest penalty Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, now faces for his guilty plea on Monday to a single count of dereliction of duty is a demotion to the rank of private, the lowest rank in the service, as recommended by a military judge.

More serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed as part of a plea deal that cut short Wuterich's court-martial.

The outcome appeared certain to stoke outrage among Iraqis, adding to anger over other abuses by U.S. soldiers or private security contractors, including the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal, during the more than eight years troops spent in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Even before it became clear that Wuterich would be spared from serving time in jail, relatives of the victims decried the results of his court-martial as a disgrace.

The head of the Iraqi parliament's human rights committee, Saleem al-Jubouri, said terms of the plea deal were "a violation of Iraqis' dignity" and vowed to convene his panel on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

Wuterich, whose guilty plea had carried a maximum possible penalty of three months in jail, showed no emotion as a military judge pronounced his sentence.

But in a pre-sentencing statement he read in court earlier in the day, Wuterich expressed remorse for the slayings and said he realized his name would always be associated with "being a cold-blooded baby-killer, an out of control monster."

As part of his guilty plea, Wuterich accepted responsibility for giving negligent verbal instructions to the Marines under his command when he told them to "shoot first and ask questions later," orders that resulted in the deaths of civilians.

In his court statement on Tuesday, Wuterich added that when he gave that order, "the intent wasn't that they should shoot civilians. It was that they would not hesitate in the face of the enemy."

He said that he and his fellow Marines behaved honorably under extreme circumstances, and that he "never fired my weapon at any women or children that day."

A final decision on a demotion of rank for Wuterich is up to the commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command, Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser, who had ruled out any confinement as part of the punishment.

Any discharge process faced by Wuterich, a father of three girls, will be separate from his sentencing.

OUTRAGE IN IRAQ

Wuterich was accused of being the ringleader in a series of shootings and grenade attacks on November 19, 2005, that left two dozen civilians dead in Haditha, a city west of Baghdad that was then an insurgent hotspot.

The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses and military prosecutors as a massacre of unarmed civilians -- men, women and children -- carried out by Marines in anger after a member of their unit was killed by a roadside bomb.

Defense lawyers argued the deaths resulted from a chaotic, fast-moving combat situation in which the Marines believed they were under enemy fire.

Jeffrey Dinsmore, an intelligence officer with Wuterich's battalion, testified on Tuesday that insurgent forces "had complete control over the city (of Haditha) at the time" and the unit had received word that an ambush was likely.

He said insurgents were known to commandeer homes as places to launch attacks and to use civilians as human shields.

Six of the seven other Marines originally accused in the case had previously had their charges dismissed by military judges, while another was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Even before sentencing, word of a plea deal that carried a jail term of no more than 90 days for Wuterich sparked indignation in Iraq, where Ali Badr, a Haditha resident and relative of one of the victims, called it "solid proof that the Americans don't respect human rights."

"This is not a traffic felony," said Khalid Salman, a lawyer for the Haditha victims' relatives and a cousin of one of those killed, expressing his shock at the plea ahead of sentencing.

Wuterich, in his statement on Tuesday, directed an apology to family members of those killed in Iraq, but said civilians were not singled out for attack.

"Words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of your loved ones," he said. "The truth is, I don't believe anyone in my squad ... behaved in any way that was dishonorable or contrary to the highest ideals that we all live by as Marines."

"But even with the best intentions, sometimes combat actions can cause tragic results," he added, reading calmly and deliberately.

In his own remarks to the judge before sentencing, Wuterich's civilian defense lawyer, Neal Puckett, said his client had unfaltering integrity and was "not evil," but knew that his Marine career was at its end.

After the proceedings, his lawyers said Wuterich planned to pursue a post-military career in information technology.

Wuterich enlisted in the Marines after his 1998 graduation from high school, where he was an athletic honor-roll student and played with the marching band. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when the Haditha incident occurred.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/us_nm/us_marine_haditha

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Gingrich says DREAM Act with military aspect OK

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he would allow illegal immigrants to earn U.S. citizenship if they serve America in uniform.

Gingrich said during Monday's GOP debate that if president he would veto a version of the proposed DREAM Act that would allow a path to citizenship for children who come to the United States with their undocumented parents if they complete college.

Gingrich says college graduation alone is not enough.

Gingrich says citizens of other countries already have the opportunity to earn U.S. citizenship by wearing a uniform. He says that children of undocumented immigrants too should have that option.

Rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum say they would veto any version of the DREAM Act that gives citizenship for college graduates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-23-GOP-Debates-DREAM%20Act/id-d2617722f2574cbbb9f15b1047b007c5

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Immune system may help to trigger the menopause

The immune system may play a role in stopping a woman's biological clock.

John Perry at the University of Oxford and colleagues looked at 43 genomic studies of the menopause, covering more than 50,000 women. By comparing the age that menopause began, Perry's team identified 13 regions with possible links to menopause timing. Three of the regions were housed within genes associated with the immune system. Other regions occurred within genes that control gene repair, regulate hormones and trigger inflammation.

It's not yet clear whether the immune system is the main driver of the menopause or merely a backseat player to biological forces such as hormonal fluctuations. "This will become clearer when we have identified more of the genetic basis of menopause onset," says Perry. However, a genetic test to predict when menopause will begin is still a distant prospect.

The link between ovulation and the immune system isn't unexpected: some women with primary ovarian insufficiency, who undergo an unusually early menopause, have an autoimmune disease of the ovaries.

Journal reference: Nature Genetics, DOI: 10.1038/ng.1051

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Syria rejects new Arab League plan to end crisis

An anti-Syrian regime protester colors his fingers with the revolutionary flag colors during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An anti-Syrian regime protester colors his fingers with the revolutionary flag colors during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Syrian army defectors gather at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Syrian army defectors gather at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

An anti-Syrian regime protester flashes victory sign as he marches during a demonstration at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Anti-Syrian regime protesters carry revolutionary flags while performing a traditional dance during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria on Monday rejected the Arab League's wide-ranging new plan to end the country's 10-month crisis, saying the League's call for a national unity government in two months is a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in a suburb outside the capital, Damascus, to mourn 11 residents who were either shot dead by security forces or killed in clashes between army defectors and troops a day earlier, activists said.

The crowd in Douma ? which one activist said was 60,000-strong ? was under the protection of dozens of army defectors who are in control of the area after regime forces pulled out late Sunday, said Samer al-Omar, a Douma resident.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.

President Bashar Assad blames the uprising that erupted in March on terrorists and armed gangs acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country. His regime has retaliated with a brutal crackdown that the U.N. says has killed more than 5,400 people.

There is growing urgency, however, to find a resolution to a crisis that is growing increasingly violent as regime opponents and army defectors who have switched sides have started to fight back against government forces.

The Arab League has tried to stem the bloodshed by condemning the crackdown, imposing sanctions and sending a team of observers to the country. On Sunday, the League called for a unity government within two months, which would then prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held under Arab and international supervision.

The proposal also provides for Assad to give his vice president full powers to cooperate with the proposed government to enable it to carry out its duties during a transitional period.

The state-run news agency, SANA, said Damascus considers the plan "flagrant interference in its internal affairs" and the latest turn in an international plot against Syria.

It was not immediately clear what steps, if any, Syria could take to counter the Arab League's stance.

The European Union backed the Arab plan Monday, and it extended existing sanctions against Assad's government by adding 22 more officials and eight companies to the blacklist.

Omar Idlibi, a spokesman for the Syrian National Council opposition group, said the Arab efforts do not go far enough. He and many other opposition figures demand Assad leave power and say anything less will just give the regime time to bury the revolt.

But there are significant splits in the opposition about the way forward.

Hassan Abdul-Azim, who heads the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, or NCB, said the Arab plan is an "advanced step as the Arab League has started dealing with matters more seriously."

Abdul-Azim told The Associated Press that the plan would put more pressure on Assad's regime and "tells it that it's impossible to keep matters as they are."

Syria appeared to get a serious boost Monday from its powerful allies in Russia. Russia's business daily Kommersant reported that Moscow has signed a contract to sell 36 Yak-130 combat jets to Syria ? a deal that, if confirmed, would openly defy international efforts to pressure Assad's regime.

The Arab League's observer mission has come under heavy criticism for failing to stop the violence in Syria.

On Monday, the head of the mission defended the observers' work, saying their presence had cut down on the bloodshed. Speaking at League headquarters in Cairo, Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi told reporters the observers have witnessed violence from both the Syrian security forces and armed opposition groups.

"When the delegation arrived, there was clear and obvious violence," he said. "But after the delegation arrived, the violence started to lessen gradually."

On Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers extended the mission for another month. The mission's one-month mandate technically expired on Thursday.

Violence continued inside Syria on Monday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops and army defectors clashed Monday near the western town of Qusair, close to the Lebanese border. It said five soldiers were killed and 13 were wounded.

The Observatory added that 11 civilians were killed by security forces in different parts of Syria, five of them in the northwestern province of Idlib, that borders Turkey.

The LCC put Monday's death toll at 10.

It was impossible to reconcile the discrepancy.

Syria has prevented most independent media coverage and until recently has refused to issue visas for most foreign journalists. In recent weeks, the regime has begun to permit entry for journalists on trips escorted by government minders.

___

Hubbard reported from Cairo.

___

Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-23-ML-Syria/id-3fa771a822e54d2dae6aa52d0c5bd75a

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DLD 2012 ? @Jack Dorsey: ?Twitter Has A Business Model That ...

Earlier this fine Sunday afternoon, Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey took the stage at the DLD Conference, the annual pre-Davos meeting of minds held in Munich, Germany.

In an interview with not one but two journalists (Holger Schmidt from FOCUS Magazine and Techonomy?s David Kirkpatrick), Dorsey talked a great deal about Twitter and a little bit about Square.

Dorsey didn?t reveal anything spectacular about either company, emphasizing once more how Twitter is not your traditional social network (here?s my counterpoint) and that its business model works, thanks very much for asking.

He also talked about how Square is looking to expand outside of the United States and why 2012 will be a pivotal year for Twitter in Germany.

Below are my notes ? some of Dorsey?s responses are slightly paraphrased.

Let?s start by talking about the platform wars. How do you see the future role of twitter compared to Facebook, Google+ and other social networking services?

Twitter is different because we?ve always been about hosting public conversations, that are real-time to boot. There?s always been this perception that you need to tweet to use Twitter, but we see a huge number of people using it for the discovery of news, events, content and so on. Our focus on simplicity is another differentiating factor.

Some people say Google+ is more of an attack on Twitter than on Facebook. Do you look at it that way?

We have concerns about building and growing Twitter, not so much about competitors. We want to get Twitter into more markets, so more people use it. Google has a lot of evolutions to go through, with search slowly becoming replaced by apps, the rise of social and whatnot. But again, social for us is only one part of what people use Twitter for, and we see the service more as an information utility.

Twitter was obviously born from a blogging-centric mindset, but where we shine is real-time discovery, being able to open up Twitter and instantly see what?s going on in the world, or with your friends and family. When we recently redesigned the website, we focused a lot on the discovery part of the equation, making it very simple for people to get value out of Twitter without necessarily participating.

Twitter has just acquired Summify, a startup that built technology for filtering relevant news. Is this an important area for Twitter, helping people overcome information overload?

Our goal is delivering relevant content to people, instantly. This sounds simple but is in fact extremely complicated to pull off in real-time. We want to bring you closer to what?s happening in the world, and we have a lot of work to do ? Summify will help us in that regard.

Should we expect more acquisitions?

We?re always looking for amazing teams, and we can get them by acquiring companies, then why not?

In the long run, is Twitter going to become a destination for information, or a distribution channel that brings traffic to other websites?

The beautiful thing about the service is that it is both. The most amazing thing about Twitter is that it reaches every single device on the planet, from the cheapest phone to the most advanced smartphone. We?re not just about distribution, but also about people sharing content on Twitter.

(Dorsey brings up the Hudson river plane crash incident as an example of content that was shared first on Twitter sparking an international conversation.)

Yes, ok, but have you made up your mind about whether you want to be a distribution channel or a destination site?

Well, it?s a blurry line, but in essence we think of every tweet as a destination on itself, while Twitter is also a mechanism for distribution of content.

There?s been a lot of coverage of the Internet?s reaction to SOPA and its subsequent delay. Do you think we?re entering a new world of democracy? Will this outpouring of reactions on social networks, effectively changing things, become more common?

Services like Twitter definitely make this more possible, based on immediate feedback, the fact that everyone can give their opinion right away. This way, you get free access to public thoughts, right from someone?s phone.

We see politicians use Twitter to consume real-time conversations. It?s mind-blowing. Question is what do we do with that information? I?m a believer that if you give people data and information, it will help them make better decisions.

Twitter in that sense can really help the world, allow us to have better conversations, get a better grasp of how people approach the world, their trials and tribulations.

It look a long time for Twitter to develop a business model, and it?s based on advertising. We can agree that Twitter is big in perception but comes up short when it comes to engagement and stickiness. Do you need the same level of engagement other social networks enjoy to make your business model work?

Twitter?s business model has been in development for quite some time, and it works. Advertisers use it and we see them coming back for more. The market has vetted, and confirmed that they want to keep using it. Twitter?s ?Promoted? products ? including promoted tweets, accounts and trends ? are currently seeing 3 to 5 percent engagement.

We?re always looking to increase engagement, but I also think about other things, like that fact that our technology can have a positive impact on the world and how businesses interact with their customers.

So what you?re saying is that even with the extremely minimal exposure of ads that you deliver, engagement can still prove sufficient enough to make for lots of revenues down the line?

Absolutely, it?s huge. Every signal that we?re getting from both users and advertising proves to us that people want more of it.

What?s more important to you as a business right now: make money or get more users? And you can?t answer both.

Both. It?s not really a fair question. We think of revenue as not a destination but as oxygen that feeds the model and vice versa. You can?t build a product without revenue, but you can?t focus on revenue without having a product either. Twitter is an organic system and product. Time and time again, you see companies whose revenue model makes their products better, just look at how Google AdSense improved search.

You?re unusual in many ways, but also because you have two fulltime jobs: you?re also the CEO of Square. Is Square coming to Europe soon, and what obstacles do you expect?

We would love to come to Europe and we?re going to work hard this year to get traction outside of the United States. The company has been around for two years, but the product has only been on the market for one year, and we?re seeing massive uptake. We have about a million merchants currently using Square, creating new jobs because of it.

We don?t want to limit ourselves to the US, and we?re looking at other markets right now. Germany, for example, is fascinating for both Square and Twitter. Many people don?t know this, but the first programmer we hired for Twitter, Florian Weber, was based in Hamburg, so we definitely have strong ties to Germany.

Interestingly, you just visited China. Twitter is not available there, but will Square soon be?

Square is definitely looking at China. People there use a lot of debet cards, there are lots of sole proprietors, but the tool that?s lacking is a way for them to handle payments. We?re looking all over Asia for opportunities.

In Germany, Twitter is struggling with low adoption rates. What do you plan to do about that?

We?re currently building a team here in Germany. We also plan to have lots of conversations with local entrepreneurs, engineers and press to develop the system so anyone can use it in Germany. This will certainly be a pivotal year for Twitter in Germany.

(Photo not from DLD but from TechCrunch Disrupt ? sorry about that)

Software engineer Jack Dorsey is the Co-Founder of Twitter, and was the CEO until October 2008. Dorsey had the original idea for Twitter while still at Odeo, a podcasting startup which was a project of Obvious Corp. He is now the chairman of Twitter. In May 2009, Dorsey announced his latest startup, Square. Square, originally code-named Squirrel, is a mobile payment startup with both an app and a piece of hardware that allows the iPhone and Android to...

Learn more

Twitter, founded by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in March 2006 (launched publicly in July 2006), is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to post their latest updates. An update is limited by 140 characters and can be posted through three methods: web form, text message, or instant message. The company has been busy adding features to the product like Gmail import and search. They recently launched a new site section called ?Explore? for...

Learn more

Square is a revolutionary service that enables anyone to accept credit cards anywhere. Square offers an easy to use, free credit card reader that plugs into a phone or iPad. It?s simple to sign up. There are no extra equipment, complicated contracts, monthly fees or merchant account required. Co-founded by Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey in 2009, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Saint Louis and New York City.

Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/22/dld-2012-jack-dorsey-twitter-has-a-business-model-that-works/

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Review: Copper River Bag Co. Voyager Bag for iPad

“Stylish and artisanal, the Copper River Bag Co. Voyager messenger for iPad is for those who put a premium on rugged good looks and hand-crafted quality.” The Copper River Bag

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/mnVlHD4Yj9c/story01.htm

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Schoolkids Name Moon Orbiters

60-Second Science | Space

GRAIL A and B, the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar moon satellites, are now Ebb and Flow, courtesy of Montana students. Cynthia Graber reports.

January 20, 2012

More 60-Second Science

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Two washing-machine-sized satellites recently went into orbit around the moon. In March, they?ll start to gather detailed data about the quirks of the moon?s gravity. The working names for the satellites have been GRAIL A and B, for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory. But they just got new names?courtesy of fourth graders from Bozeman, Montana.

NASA invited U.S. students to submit essays with suggested names. The Bozeman entry was picked out of more than 900 schools representing 11,000 students. The winners impressed the judges with their careful research about the goal of the mission. Because the moon?s gravity gives us our tides, the kids suggested GRAIL A and B?s new handles: Ebb and Flow.

The mission is NASA?s first with instruments aboard entirely dedicated to education. Each satellite has a small camera that middle school students can request be aimed at target areas on the moon for study.

The winning essay writers said that what are now called Ebb and Flow are on a journey, just as the moon is on a journey around the Earth. And as the students have begun their own journey, of scientific exploration.

?Cynthia Graber

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=44e8b2763f28e2265c82923654803324

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Is it legal and or possible to turn an owned PS2 game to a PC or ...

ps2 emulaters have too many problems. I don't know of a software that can convert it to a computer playable format. I use wine to make a pc app usable on a mac.

' }

Legal, probably, as long as you legally own a copy. Possible? Gooooood luck with the coding.

It isn't legal if the copyright or terms of use prohibit this, but if its for your own use and your not sharing the information or the game for free or profit, then they likely won't even know you've done anything.

Source: http://www.instructables.com/answers/Is-it-legal-and-or-possible-to-turn-an-owned-PS2-g/

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Stress blamed for student tics at New York school (Reuters)

BUFFALO (Reuters) ? State health officials have determined stress likely caused a dozen female high school students to suddenly experience tics and other neurological symptoms associated with Tourette Syndrome, they said on Friday.

The Le Roy Central School District, about 50 miles east of Buffalo, scrambled to conduct environmental testing for air quality and mold after 12 students developed tics and impulsive verbal behavior over the course of the last three months.

But state health investigators ruled out environmental factors, latent side-effects from drugs or vaccines like Guardasil, trauma or genetic factors.

The girls were all treated by doctors and most are improving, school officials said.

"Stress is often attributed to these kind of symptoms," Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman with the New York State Department of Health, said on Friday, echoing the opinion of neurologists who have treated the girls.

"The Le Roy school is safe," Hammond said. "The environment or an infection is not the cause of the students' tics. There are many causes of tics-like symptoms."

Dr. David Lichter, clinical professor of neurology at the University at Buffalo, said he evaluated one of the girls who exhibited involuntary movements as well as periods of unresponsiveness.

Lichter said a phenomenon called "mass psychogenic illness," once called mass hysteria, is likely the cause.

He said high levels of stress may increase the chances.

"Subjects turn subconscious psychological stresses into physical symptoms, and they do it without being conscious of it," he said.

"I don't think the girls in this particular school are more stressed. The thing about this outbreak - and it has been documented around the world - is there may be one or two who manifest a true organic disorder, and then modeling behavior takes place," Lichter said.

The health department continues to monitor each case. No new cases have been reported.

(Editing By Barbara Goldberg and Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/us_nm/us_tics_school_newyork

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