HONG KONG (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is ready to buy sovereign bonds of euro zone countries that require assistance and agree to fiscal adjustment programs, European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Wednesday.
The launch of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) bond-buying program has helped calm financial markets and bring down sovereign bond spreads for troubled countries, including Spain -- which the markets expects will seek a bailout.
"Let me confirm that the ECB is ready to undertake OMTs whenever a country has successfully applied for an ESM precautionary assistance program, with IMF involvement," Coeure said prepared remarks for the third annual Thomson Reuters Pan-Asian Regulatory Summit.
Coeure also said a proposed single supervisory mechanism (SSM) would be key to the Europe's financial stability and to bolster financial integration in the region, saying political leaders were likely to agree on final details next month.
"I am confident that European leaders can agree in December on the final features of the SSM and confirm that it will start legally in January 2013 and operationally in 2014," he said.
Coeure said the ECB remained committed to promptly implementing the Basel III bank capital rules that are due to be phased in from January 2013, saying they were "a cornerstone of the G20 reform agenda".
U.S. regulators have cast doubt on that implementation date, prompting European banks to seek a delay so they are not at a competitive disadvantage.
"Delayed implementation of Basel II.5 and Basel III by any major jurisdiction would weaken the incentives for financial institutions to comply and also cast serious doubt on the overall reform effort," Coeure said.
(Reporting by Elzio Barreto and Vikram Subhedar; Editing by John Mair)
We enter a phenomenal news period the next 48 hours as we decide our next president.
Like our Earth-shaving storms of recent history, each presidential election seems to become more of a breathless event.
And now, we are here. The Vindicator launches into an intense coverage cycle that has us as communicative and connected as you'll need.
Whether you are on your smartphone, on your computer, near a radio Tuesday, The Vindicator will have the best local news report available at your fingers.
And on Wednesday, we will have the most complete print report in the Valley.
FOR RADIO: Listen to "Live Vindy Vote 2012." The Vindy will team up with local radio talk show host Louie Free (WHTX AM-1570) for live election night coverage that will be <strong>livestreamed on Vindy.com</strong> as well as <strong>aired over 1570</strong>. The show runs from 7 p.m. until midnight.
Through this live broadcast, stay abreast of all the election news live as it happens from our 30 journalists out in the field and in the newsroom monitoring the elections. If it happens Tuesday, it will be on this special webcast.
Live guests will visit the show as well, including many of the folks on the ballot.
FOR TWITTER Set up your hashtag now for Valley voting. All Vindy coverage and commentary will play out over #vindyvote. You are encouraged to join in the real-time discussion.
All of this will <a href="http://www.vindy.com/politics/">find a home at this link</a> on vindy.com. Our internet team has bolstered our structure so that whatever format you choose, you can read and listen all night long.
FOR PRINT And it all comes together in print on Wednesday. We even have special plans early Wednesday morning when you are asleep to modify our print plans should the vote be too close to call when you go to bed.
Mind you that you'll see Tweets, Facebook pages and TV commercials that will make you think there's a better place for election coverage. But there's not. There's just The Vindicator. It's all you'll need, and I approved this announcement.
CBSSports.com?s Jon Heyman reports that the Reds and Jonathan Broxton have come to terms on a multiyear deal that is set to be announced Wednesday.
It?s expected to be a three-year pact, and one imagines it?ll come in close to Brandon League?s three-year, $22.5 million deal with the Dodgers.
The plan appears to be for Broxton to step into the closer?s role, with Aroldis Chapman joining Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey in the rotation. Mike Leake would work in relief.
It?s a switch with tons of upside, but also with plenty of risk. Of the three biggest relief-to-starting conversion stories last year, only one paid off: Chris Sale with the White Sox. Daniel Bard was a bust for Boston, and Neftali Feliz got hurt in Texas and needed Tommy John surgery.
And then there?s Broxton. He was a perfectly effective reliever with the Royals and Reds last year, amassing a 2.48 ERA in 58 innings. However, his margin for error certainly isn?t what it was. During his first five years with the Dodgers, he averaged at least 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings every season, topping out at 13.5 in 2009. Last year, he was all of the way down to 7.0 K/9 IP.
Personally, I?m all for taking the chance on moving Chapman to the rotation. Still, I would have gone in a different direction for a closer replacement. Re-signing Ryan Madson to a one-year deal would have been the better move.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? You could call this "Pac-Man, the Sequel." Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission have spotted a second feature shaped like the 1980s video game icon in the Saturn system, this time on the moon Tethys. (The first was found on Mimas in 2010). The pattern appears in thermal data obtained by Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer, with warmer areas making up the Pac-Man shape.
"Finding a second Pac-Man in the Saturn system tells us that the processes creating these Pac-Men are more widespread than previously thought," said Carly Howett, the lead author of a paper recently released online in the journal Icarus. "The Saturn system -- and even the Jupiter system -- could turn out to be a veritable arcade of these characters."
Scientists theorize that the Pac-Man thermal shape on the Saturnian moons occurs because of the way high-energy electrons bombard low latitudes on the side of the moon that faces forward as it orbits around Saturn. The bombardment turns that part of the fluffy surface into hard-packed ice. As a result, the altered surface does not heat as rapidly in the sunshine or cool down as quickly at night as the rest of the surface, similar to how a boardwalk at the beach feels cooler during the day but warmer at night than the nearby sand. Finding another Pac-Man on Tethys confirms that high-energy electrons can dramatically alter the surface of an icy moon. Also, because the altered region on Tethys, unlike on Mimas, is also bombarded by icy particles from Enceladus' plumes, it implies the surface alteration is occurring more quickly than its recoating by plume particles.
"Studies at infrared wavelengths give us a tremendous amount of information about the processes that shape planets and moons," said Mike Flasar, the spectrometer's principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "A result like this underscores just how powerful these observations are."
Scientists saw the new Pac-Man on Tethys in data obtained on Sept. 14, 2011, where daytime temperatures inside the mouth of Pac-Man were seen to be cooler than their surroundings by 29 degrees Fahrenheit (15 kelvins). The warmest temperature recorded was a chilly minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit (90 kelvins), which is actually slightly cooler than the warmest temperature at Mimas (about minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit, or 95 kelvins). At Tethys, unlike Mimas, the Pac-Man pattern can also be seen subtly in visible-light images of the surface, as a dark lens-shaped region. This brightness variation was first noticed by NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1980.
"Finding a new Pac-Man demonstrates the diversity of processes at work in the Saturn system," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Future Cassini observations may reveal other new phenomena that will surprise us and help us better understand the evolution of moons in the Saturn system and beyond."
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My friends, America was born some 450 years ago in 1776 and has the documentation to prove it. Now, America has an expiration date ? Dec. 31, 2012.
Yes, Christopher Columbus? great experiment in democracy is set to sail over a cliff ? a ?Fiscal? cliff, as it were. According to economics experts such as David Gregory, the fiscal cliff is a combination of tax hikes and budget cuts that will paralyze the economy and bring about such calamities as a return of smallpox, forced incest and insects of above average size, according to economic expert such as Jake Tapper.
As economic experts such as Scott Pelley and Lloyd Blankfein have noted, there is but one way to pave over the fiscal cliff and ensure the fall is lined with concrete is to cut entitlement spending. While people spend their whole lives paying into entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, these entitlements are free money to an American public long accustomed to receiving free government largesse. This free giveaway of benefits that people have paid into must be curtailed, or America will fail, as falling over cliffs is almost always fatal.
My friends, since America won its civil war against Europe, it has long fought to be more like Europe. Currently, Europe is continually cutting benefits and forcing austerity measures on its people. This is causing the economies of many European nations to contract, which, as non-partisan organizations such as Fox News have pointed out, help save economies and keep insects at their normal, smaller size.
The truth is obvious and unavoidable ? if America falls over the fiscal cliff, all Americans will die, as politicians will lock all emergency exits and burn the place to the ground. This can only be avoided if all Americans who make less than, say, $250,000 a year start feeling the pain.
As Founding Father Abraham Lincoln once said, ?A nation divided cannot afford to take care of anyone who makes less than, say, $250,000, without falling over a fiscal cliff and bringing about such calamities as a return of smallpox, forced incest and insects of above average size, according to everyone at CNBC. Also, tax hikes are off the table.?
The time is now, America. Because the cliff is coming. And if we fall over that cliff, we will all drown in the seas of fire. It?s time we become educated about it.
IRAs & workplace retirement plans have higher contribution limits. Presented by Peter Miralles, CFP?CIMA?CLU
The IRS has set annual contribution limits for IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement plans higher for 2013, and made other important adjustments for inflation as well. Here is an overview of some notable changes just announced.
The 2013 IRA contribution limit: $5,500. This is a $500 increase from 2012, and it applies to both Roth and traditional IRAs. The IRA catch-up contribution limit for those 50 and older remains $1,000.1,3
The 2013 contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b), TSP & most 457 plans: $17,500. For the second year in a row, we see a $500 increase. The catch-up contribution limit on these plans for participants 50 and older remains $5,500.1,2
The phase-out range on Roth IRA contributions has increased. It starts $5,000 higher in 2013 than in 2012 for married couples filing jointly ($178,000-$188,000) and $2,000 higher for single filers and heads of household ($112,000-$127,000).3
The phase-out range on deductible contributions to traditional IRAs has risen. In 2013 it increases by $1,000 for single filers ($59,000-$69,000) and $3,000 for married couples filing jointly ($95,000-$115,000), provided the spouse making the contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan. If not, the deduction is phased out if the couple?s income is between $178,000-$188,000 ? up $5,000 from 2012.1,3
The annual gift tax exclusion rises to $14,000 next year. The IRS has kept this at $13,000 for several years; no more. In 2013, a taxpayer can gift up to $14,000 each to as many different people as he or she wishes, tax-free.4
You may be able to deduct a greater portion of LTCI premiums. For 2013, the deductible portion of eligible long term care insurance premiums that may be included as medical expenses on Schedule A rises. The new limits are $360 for taxpayers 40 or less, $680 for taxpayers aged 41-50, $1,360 for taxpayers aged 51-60, $3,640 for taxpayers aged 61-70, and $4,550 for taxpayers age 71 or older.4,5
The kiddie tax exemption increases to $1,000. It was set at $950 in 2012.4
The foreign earned income exclusion rises to $97,600. That is a $2,600 increase over 2012.4
In addition to these 2013 IRS adjustments, Social Security recipients will see a 1.7% rise in their benefits next year.2
Peter Miralles is a Representative with Cambridge Investment Research and may be reached through http://awc2.com/ or at 678-680-5300.
This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please note ? investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.
tagged as 401k, financial planning, investing, IRA, IRA contribution, IRS, retirement, stock market, tax, tax law Posted in financial planning,investing
Burning more calories is easier when working out with someone you perceive as betterPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Brandon Irwin bcirwin@k-state.edu 785-532-6765 Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The key to motivation in physical activity may be feeling inadequate. One Kansas State University researcher found that those who exercised with a teammate whom they perceived to be better increased their workout time and intensity by as much as 200 percent.
Brandon Irwin, assistant professor of kinesiology, was the principle investigator in a study that tested whether individuals engage in more intense physical activity when alone, with a virtual partner or competing against a teammate.
"People like to exercise with others and make it a social activity," Irwin said. "We found that when you're performing with someone who you perceive as a little better than you, you tend to give more effort than you normally would alone."
For the first part of the study, college-age females exercise on a stationary bike six sessions in a four-week period. They told participants to ride the bike as long as they could. On average, each participant rode for 10 minutes.
Next, the same group of participants returned to the lab for more exercise sessions, but was told they were working out with a partner in another lab whom they could see on a screen. In reality, this was only a looped video. Participants also were told that their virtual partner was part of the first study and had ridden the bike approximately 40 percent longer than them.
"We created the impression that the virtual partner was a little better than the participant," Irwin said. "That's all they knew about their partner. In this group, participants rode an average of nine minutes longer than simply exercising alone."
While this 90 percent increase was promising, Irwin said he and his team had a hunch that the motivation could go even further. The participants were invited back to the lab for more exercise sessions with a virtual partner. This time, though, they were told they were on a team with their partner.
"We told them they were working together to achieve a team score," Irwin said. "The team score was the time of the person who quits first. The participants believed that in the previous trial, they didn't exercise as long as the other person. We created a situation where the participant was the weak link."
Participants in this team trial exercised approximately two minutes longer than simply working out alongside someone. However, Irwin added that the results look different over time.
"This was an average, but over time the difference got much bigger," he said. "In the beginning, the participants were exercising about a minute longer than the partner group. By the last session, participants in the team group were exercising almost 160 percent longer than those in the partner group, and nearly 200 percent longer than those exercising as individuals."
Irwin said this might be because those who believed they were exercising with a partner built a rapport over time and didn't want to let the partner down. He said the team was initially surprised at the drastic increase over time in participants working out with a teammate.
"If they're constantly working out with someone who's beating them, we wondered how motivated people would be to keep coming back and getting beat again," Irwin said. "It turned out to be exactly the opposite. Over time, it can be very motivating, as long as the conditions are right."
Irwin said research has shown that if an exercise partner or teammate is roughly at the same level or is exponentially better, the motivation disappears. He and his team found that a partner who worked at a level approximately 40 percent better was optimal.
"In certain fitness goals, like preparing to run a marathon, consider exercising not only with someone else, but with someone who is that much better," Irwin said. "For an extra boost, consider some type of team exercise that involves competition, like playing basketball at a regular time throughout the week."
In the future, Irwin wants to continue using virtual partners to increase the time and intensity of physical activity, but he hopes to move beyond false partners.
"I want to partner people up with actual individuals, not just prerecorded workout partners," he said. "Similar to matchmaking software for romantic relationships online, individuals from different sides of the country could be matched up based on their fitness goals and levels. Using technology, you could run with someone using your smartphones."
Irwin is currently researching this option and hopes to bring it to fruition within the next several years.
###
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Burning more calories is easier when working out with someone you perceive as betterPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Brandon Irwin bcirwin@k-state.edu 785-532-6765 Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The key to motivation in physical activity may be feeling inadequate. One Kansas State University researcher found that those who exercised with a teammate whom they perceived to be better increased their workout time and intensity by as much as 200 percent.
Brandon Irwin, assistant professor of kinesiology, was the principle investigator in a study that tested whether individuals engage in more intense physical activity when alone, with a virtual partner or competing against a teammate.
"People like to exercise with others and make it a social activity," Irwin said. "We found that when you're performing with someone who you perceive as a little better than you, you tend to give more effort than you normally would alone."
For the first part of the study, college-age females exercise on a stationary bike six sessions in a four-week period. They told participants to ride the bike as long as they could. On average, each participant rode for 10 minutes.
Next, the same group of participants returned to the lab for more exercise sessions, but was told they were working out with a partner in another lab whom they could see on a screen. In reality, this was only a looped video. Participants also were told that their virtual partner was part of the first study and had ridden the bike approximately 40 percent longer than them.
"We created the impression that the virtual partner was a little better than the participant," Irwin said. "That's all they knew about their partner. In this group, participants rode an average of nine minutes longer than simply exercising alone."
While this 90 percent increase was promising, Irwin said he and his team had a hunch that the motivation could go even further. The participants were invited back to the lab for more exercise sessions with a virtual partner. This time, though, they were told they were on a team with their partner.
"We told them they were working together to achieve a team score," Irwin said. "The team score was the time of the person who quits first. The participants believed that in the previous trial, they didn't exercise as long as the other person. We created a situation where the participant was the weak link."
Participants in this team trial exercised approximately two minutes longer than simply working out alongside someone. However, Irwin added that the results look different over time.
"This was an average, but over time the difference got much bigger," he said. "In the beginning, the participants were exercising about a minute longer than the partner group. By the last session, participants in the team group were exercising almost 160 percent longer than those in the partner group, and nearly 200 percent longer than those exercising as individuals."
Irwin said this might be because those who believed they were exercising with a partner built a rapport over time and didn't want to let the partner down. He said the team was initially surprised at the drastic increase over time in participants working out with a teammate.
"If they're constantly working out with someone who's beating them, we wondered how motivated people would be to keep coming back and getting beat again," Irwin said. "It turned out to be exactly the opposite. Over time, it can be very motivating, as long as the conditions are right."
Irwin said research has shown that if an exercise partner or teammate is roughly at the same level or is exponentially better, the motivation disappears. He and his team found that a partner who worked at a level approximately 40 percent better was optimal.
"In certain fitness goals, like preparing to run a marathon, consider exercising not only with someone else, but with someone who is that much better," Irwin said. "For an extra boost, consider some type of team exercise that involves competition, like playing basketball at a regular time throughout the week."
In the future, Irwin wants to continue using virtual partners to increase the time and intensity of physical activity, but he hopes to move beyond false partners.
"I want to partner people up with actual individuals, not just prerecorded workout partners," he said. "Similar to matchmaking software for romantic relationships online, individuals from different sides of the country could be matched up based on their fitness goals and levels. Using technology, you could run with someone using your smartphones."
Irwin is currently researching this option and hopes to bring it to fruition within the next several years.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
On Sunday, China landed a jet on its aircraft carrier for the first time. The vessel only recently came into service, and is part of a initiative to boost military spending.
By Reuters / November 25, 2012
A carrier-borne J-15 fighter jet on China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. China has successfully landed a fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier, which entered service two months ago, the country's official news agency confirmed Sunday.
Zha Chunming/Xinhua/AP
Enlarge
China?has carried out its first successful landing of a fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier, state media said on Sunday, a symbolically significant development as Asian neighbours fret about the world's most populous country's military ambitions.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
The home-built J-15 fighter jet took off from and landed on the Liaoning, a reconditioned Soviet-era vessel from?Ukraine?which only came into service in September this year.
China?ushered in a new generation of leaders this month at the 18th?Communist Party Congress?in?Beijing, with outgoing President?Hu Jintao?making a pointed reference to strengthening?China's naval forces, protecting maritime interests and the need to "win local war."
China?is embroiled in disputes with the?Philippines?and?Vietnam?over?South China?Sea islands believed to be surrounded by waters rich in natural gas. It has a similar dispute with?Japan?over islands in the?East China?Sea.
FILE - This Oct. 30, 2012 file photo shows water reaching the street level of the flooded Battery Park Underpass, Tuesday in New York, remnants from Superstorm Sandy. Extreme weather is a growing threat to the nation's lifelines _ its roads, bridges, railways, airports and transit systems _ leaving states and cities trying to come to terms with a new normal. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, File)
FILE - This Oct. 30, 2012 file photo shows water reaching the street level of the flooded Battery Park Underpass, Tuesday in New York, remnants from Superstorm Sandy. Extreme weather is a growing threat to the nation's lifelines _ its roads, bridges, railways, airports and transit systems _ leaving states and cities trying to come to terms with a new normal. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, File)
In this Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2012 photo, conference flags are displayed ahead of the Doha Climate Change Conference, in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2012. The eighteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) will take place from Monday, Nov. 26 to Friday, Dec. 6, 2012.(AP Photo/Osama Faisal)
DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? During a year with a monster storm and scorching heat waves, Americans have experienced the kind of freakish weather that many scientists say will occur more often on a warming planet.
And as a re-elected president talks about global warming again, climate activists are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. will be more than a disinterested bystander when the U.N. climate talks resume Monday with a two-week conference in Qatar.
"I think there will be expectations from countries to hear a new voice from the United States," said Jennifer Morgan, director of the climate and energy program at the World Resources Institute in Washington.
The climate officials and environment ministers meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha will not come up with an answer to the global temperature rise that is already melting Arctic sea ice and permafrost, raising and acidifying the seas, and shifting rainfall patterns, which has an impact on floods and droughts.
They will focus on side issues, like extending the Kyoto protocol ? an expiring emissions pact with a dwindling number of members ? and ramping up climate financing for poor nations.
They will also try to structure the talks for a new global climate deal that is supposed to be adopted in 2015, a process in which American leadership is considered crucial.
Many were disappointed that Obama didn't put more emphasis on climate change during his first term. He took some steps to rein in emissions of heat-trapping gases, such as sharply increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. But a climate bill that would have capped U.S. emissions stalled in the Senate.
"We need the U.S. to engage even more," European Union Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told The Associated Press. "Because that can change the dynamic of the talks."
The world tried to move forward without the U.S. after the Bush Administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 pact limiting greenhouse emissions from industrialized nations. As that agreement expires this year, the climate curves are still pointing in the wrong direction.
The concentration of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide has jumped 20 percent since 2000, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil, according to a U.N. report released this week. And each year, the gap between what researchers say must be done to reverse this trend, and what's actually being done, gets wider.
Bridging that gap, through clean technology and renewable energy, is not just up to the U.S., but to countries like India and China, whose carbon emissions are growing the fastest as their economies expand.
But Obama raised hopes of a more robust U.S. role in the talks when he called for a national "conversation" on climate change after winning re-election. The issue had been virtually absent in the presidential campaigning until Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast.
The president still faces domestic political constraints, and there's little hope of the U.S. increasing its voluntary pledge in the U.N. talks of cutting emissions by 17 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.
Still, just a signal that Washington has faith in the international process would go a long way, analysts said.
"The perception of many negotiators and countries is that the U.S. is not really interested in increasing action on climate change in general," said Bill Hare, senior scientist at Climate Analytics, a non-profit organization based in Berlin.
For example, Hare said, the U.S. could stop "talking down" the stated goal of the U.N. talks to keep the temperature rise below 2 degrees C (3.6 F) compared to pre-industrial levels.
Todd Stern, the U.S. special envoy on climate change, caused alarm among climate activists in August when he said that "insisting on a structure that would guarantee such a goal will only lead to deadlock." He later clarified that the U.S. still supports the 2-degree target, but favors a more flexible way to reach it than dividing up carbon rights to the atmosphere.
Countries adopted the 2-degree target in 2009, reasoning that a warming world is a dangerous world, with flooding of coastal cities and island nations, disruptions to agriculture and drinking water, and the spread of diseases and the extinction of species.
A recent World Bank report found the world is on track toward 4 degrees C (6.2 F) of warming, which would entail "extreme heat-waves, declining global food stocks, loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, and life-threatening sea level rise."
The U.S., alone among industrialized countries, didn't ratify the Kyoto Protocol because it found it unfair that China and other emerging economies, as developing countries, were not covered by any binding emissions targets. The U.S. and other rich countries say that firewall must be removed as the talks enter a new phase aimed at adopting a new climate treaty by 2015 that applies to all countries.
China ? now the world's top carbon emitter ? wants to keep a clear dividing line between developed and developing countries, noting that historically, the former bear the brunt of the responsibility for man-made climate change.
The issue is unlikely to be resolved in Doha, where talks will focus on extending Kyoto as a stopgap measure while negotiators work on the wider deal, which would take effect in 2020.
The 27-nation EU, Switzerland, Norway and Australia are on board but New Zealand, Canada and Japan don't want to be part of a second commitment period of Kyoto. That means the extended treaty would cover only about 15 percent of global emissions.
Delegates in Doha will also try to finalize the rules of the Green Climate Fund, which is supposed to raise $100 billion a year by 2020. Financed by richer nations, the fund would support poorer nations in converting to cleaner energy sources and in adapting to a shifting climate that may damage people's health, agriculture and economies in general.
In addition, countries need to agree on a work plan to guide the negotiations on a new treaty. Without a timeframe with clear mileposts, there's a risk of a repeat in 2015 of the hyped-up but ultimately disappointing climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009.
Judging by previous conferences, the negotiations in Doha will ebb and flow, with progress one day being replaced by bitter discord the next. And in the end, after an all-night session, bleary-eyed delegates will emerge with some kind of face-saving "accord" or "action plan" that keeps the talks alive another year, but does little to address the core problem.
"It shows that leaders and also the public in these countries ? the U.S. certainly is one of them ? don't yet understand the full implications of the costs associated with the path that we're on," said Alden Meyer, of the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists.
___
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2012) ? Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have sequenced the genetic code of a birch tree for the first time, which could help protect British birch populations.
The genome, which is around 450 million letters, will help researchers understand the genetic basis of traits such as disease resistance and growth shape.
There are over sixty species of birch trees around the world, with huge ecological and commercial importance. They are an essential part of the Boreal forest located around the North Pole, which is the world's largest land-based ecosystem. The team sequenced the genome of a dwarf birch tree from Scotland, a species that is nationally scarce in Britain but common further north in Europe.
Lead researcher Dr Richard Buggs, from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences said: "Dwarf birch is an excellent model for birch genomics, as its small size makes it easy to grow and experiment with, and it has a smaller genome than some other birch species. This genome sequence is a valuable resource for scientists studying birch trees around the world."
The threat of an American pest is currently hanging over British birch populations. The bronze birch borer -- a type of beetle -- is a common and serious threat to birch trees in North America. British birch species show unusually low resistance to the pest, unlike their American counterparts, and if the pest were to come into the UK then it could cause widespread devastation.
Alan Watson Featherstone, executive director of Trees for Life, a charity that conserves dwarf birch near Loch Ness, said: "This is a tremendous breakthrough. Together with our woodland restoration work at Dundreggan, where we have one of the greatest concentrations of dwarf birch in Scotland, it will do much to benefit the conservation of this important species."
Queen Mary, alongside conservationists Trees for Life, and Highland Birchwoods are partnering to supervise a PhD student, James Borrell, who is surveying the genetic diversity of dwarf birch populations in Scotland.
James said: "This newly sequenced genome will be a hugely valuable tool in our effort to conserve this species. We are building on this to survey the genomic diversity of dwarf birch trees in Britain to inform management strategies."
The research was carried out jointly with the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). It is published in the journal Molecular Ecology.
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In April of this year I wrote about how quantum cryptography (more properly called Quantum Key Distribution or QKD) was leaving the laboratory bench and is balanced on the cusp of entering into real-world use. At the time, many thought I was talking about the far distant future.? However, as is so often the case, people underestimate how rapidly technology moves on. A paper just published by a research group in Cambridge UK could be a game changer for QKD.
One of the main objections to QKD has been the expense. It has been necessary to have fibre optic cabling dedicated to the task (so called dark fibre). With dark fibre, in the absence of other data signals, secure key rates exceeding 1 Mb/s and a transmission distance of over 250 km have been achieved. Until now, the idea of leasing such fibres from telecoms providers has put potential users off at the first hurdle.
However, the results of the Cambridge team provide a technique where QKD can be used on a fibre optic cable that is already being used for other communications traffic. The ability to use shared fibres has suddenly, and to many people?s surprise, made QKD an economic prospect, with costs likely to be little different to a corporation fitting a top-end firewall.
QKD and traditional data traffic are at opposite ends of the brightness scale. When beaming traditional data down a fibre, you try to use high power levels in order that it will travel as far as possible without the need to ?repeat? the signal.? QKD, however, requires light intensities at the lowest imaginable levels.? With QKD, we are trying to send and detect single photons of light. Not only that, but we need to be sure that our transmission method isn?t interfering with the ?quantum state? of the photon, which is the very property upon which QKD relies.
I describe the task of using shared fibres for QKD as like trying to see the stars whilst staring at the sun. One simply overwhelms the other.
What the Cambridge team have succeeded in doing is switching between the various light sources so rapidly, and so cleanly, that very small numbers of photons can be sent and detected in between the pulses carrying the traditional data.? The timing needs to be extraordinarily accurate as the system opens a ?gate? to let through single photons for only a tenth of a billionth of a second.
The trick is that the pulse that contains the QKD photons has to be coordinated with the detectors, so that they know when to expect the one QKD photon between the pulses of millions of standard data photons.? By using such accurate ?time slicing?, it is now possible to at one instant stare at the sun and then momentarily see the stars.
The technique announced is so accurate that the speed at which QKD can be transmitted is not materially different to what was achieved using dark fibre, whilst the rates for standard data can be maintained at Gigabits per second. Currently the method has been used successfully on fibres up to 90km long, but just as distances for QKD over dark fibres have increased up to 250km, it is highly likely that these distances will be extended. After all, this is just the first announcement of the technique, and the one thing we know for sure is that technology has a habit of getting better very quickly.
Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as it appears. Fibre optic cable suffers from effects that can work against this time slicing technique, no matter how accurate it is.? One such phenomenon is called Raman Scattering.? This is different from the more usual Rayleigh Scattering that people tend to envisage with fibre optic cabling, as they imagine the photons bouncing their way down the length of a glass fibre. In Raman Scattering, rather than bouncing inside the glass crystal of the fibre ?elastically? so that the photons maintain their energy and wavelength, a very small proportion of the photons (1 in 10million) are scattered so that their frequency is changed.? This causes detection problems.
However, the phenomenon is well understood, the models predicted to a high degree what was observed by the Cambridge team, and their system coped well, and was able to do the necessary error correction.? Indeed, the fact that the Raman scattering modelling was so well modelled in these tests suggests that the team have an environment that they can control successfully.? If you can predict the level of errors likely to occur, then you can make the necessary corrections.? You treat the errors as noise, which in the field of communications engineering is a well-trodden path.
More prosaic matters are what will hold up this technology.? For domestic use, there are few homes that have fibre running all the way to the homes router.? But, certainly in the UK, fibre is making an appearance at the end of many streets in cities across the nation, even though the final leg of the network is good old fashioned copper.? Governments are vying to roll out superfast broadband in their countries, which can only mean that fibre based networks will proliferate. Perhaps with them will come ?super secure? networking in the form of QKD.
Meanwhile, fibre networks are the basis for most Internet backbone providers, and many corporations.? With the costs now of the same order as much of the other equipment they buy for securing their networks, we must surely be about to see QKD become at least part of the network security landscape.
It appears the Cambridge research team have made a significant step forward, and whilst the journey is far from complete, I believe this further demonstrates that QKD is no longer just of academic interest.? It?s about to become a mainstream method of securing data networks.
Image: Tommy Moorman, from Best-Kept Secrets by Gary Stix, Scientific American January 2005 Issue.
With the introduction of the Microsoft Surface RT tablet ($699.00 direct), Microsoft also unveiled the latest in PC peripherals, the Surface cover and keyboard. While there will likely be third-party accessories coming soon, right now, Microsoft's own accessories are the only game in town. Like its sibling, the Microsoft Touch Cover, the Microsoft Type Cover is both tablet cover and keyboard, but it places far more emphasis upon the keyboard, with tactile keys, firm construction, and a look and feel that is far more like a traditional laptop than Microsoft's Surface ads have shown.
Design
Microsoft's Type Cover is both tablet cover and keyboard. In many respects, it's similar to the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover (for New iPad, iPad 2) , which both protects the tablet screen and offers a full keyboard for more productive use than the tablet alone could offer.
The Type Cover attaches to the Surface with a magnetic docking connection. The dock connects along the bottom edge of the Surface, attaching like the spine of a book, securely held in place by the magnetic connection. It's secure enough to pick up the tablet and let the cover hang loose without fear of the cover coming loose. When you don't need a keyboard, the cover folds back behind the tablet, which is sensed by an accelerometer in the cover, disabling the keyboard so that it can be gripped like a paper notebook with the cover folded back.
Unlike the Microsoft Touch Cover , which has no tactile feedback, the Type Cover offers a much more familiar feel, with scissor-switch keys, and a firm backing that makes typing on uneven surfaces a bit more feasible. The key-travel, though minimal, provides a much more comfortable typing experience. However, the introduction of key movement and mild key resistance means that typing is just a tad slower that on the Touch Cover, where you need only touch the key instead of depressing the key. The result is a keyboard that is more comfortable, but not quite as responsive. Whether or not that is an issue is entirely subjective, so head to a Microsoft Store if you want to try before you buy.
The Touch Cover is also slightly thicker, to provide the extra millimeter or so of key movement offered by the scissor-switch keys. As a result, the Type Cover is 6 millimeters thick, while the Touch Cover is only 3. The weight is also similar, coming in at 0.47 pound, just a whisper heavier than the 0.45 pound Touch Cover. Compared to Microsoft's other mobile Windows 8 keyboard, the Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard , the Type Cover is much closer to full-size, making the experience much less cramped.
Compared to the touchpad on the Touch Cover, the Type Cover's touchpad is also a bit better, with a smoother surface. Like the Touch Cover, however, it still the miniscule proportions, measuring a tiny 2.6 by 1.4 inches. The mouse buttons are integrated into the touchpad and, like the Type Cover's keys, the right- and left-buttons actually click when pressed, providing a much more traditional mousing experience.
Features and Performance
Given that the Type Cover is made exclusively for Microsoft's Surface tablets, it should be no surprise that Windows 8 (and Windows RT) functionality is built in, with functions from the Charms Bar found in the F1-F12 buttons. These include volume controls, and Charms for Search, Connect, Devices, and Settings. You've also got function keys for Home, End, PgUp, PgDn, and the usual Esc and Del keys.
In actual use, the Type Cover certainly feels better than the Touch Cover, thanks to the moving keys and clickable mouse buttons, but compared to the Touch Cover, it's just not as sensitive, or as fast. On the other hand, it is more comfortable, and the typing fatigue experienced with the Touch Cover is alleviated by the cushioning springiness of the keys. For a Windows 8 keyboard with more sensible ergonomics, the Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard offers a curved surface with better typing feel. It's also going to be an easier transition for touch typists, as the keys are separate and distinct, with the usual nubs on the F and J keys to keep you anchored to the home row.
If you expect to do a lot of typing on the Surface RT, this is the keyboard to get. It's more comfortable and familiar than the Touch Cover, and is far more friendly to touch typists and users who may be away from a desk or table. It's not as cramped as the Microsoft Wedge, and it's more compatible with touch-typing than the Touch Cover. However, it's a little thicker, a little heavier, and it's not as responsive as the Touch Cover. The differences are minimal, but shoppers will want to get some actual hands on time with each before deciding which to buy.
COMPARISON TABLE Compare the Microsoft Type Cover (for Surface) with several other keyboards side by side.
And we're thankful for her! We're revealing the films we're most thankful for in 2012 leading up to Thanksgiving. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Intelligence officials say they knew it was a terrorist attack from the beginning, and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice was given unclassified talking points that were deliberately vague. But Republican critics say that helped mislead the public. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
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By Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
Top intelligence officials told NBC News Monday night that they have known the Sept. 11 attack on the Benghazi consulate was a terrorist act from the beginning.
White House and intelligence officials meanwhile are denying charges by Republicans that there was an attempt to whitewash the origins of the Benghazi attack to protect the president politically. In the months since the attack, Republican lawmakers have focused on comments by Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who said what transpired was a ?spontaneous reaction to a hateful and offensive video.? ?
The attack in the Libyan city resulted in the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
Officials said that although there was no question that the attack was terrorism, they did not know whether they were spontaneous or planned long in advance. They also did not have the suspects? identities.
That?s why, they said, they kept their unclassified talking points for Rice vague to avoid compromising future legal proceedings. ?
On Sept. 16, Rice said on Meet the Press that the attack was ?a spontaneous reaction to a video, and it?s not dissimilar but, perhaps, on a slightly larger scale than what we have seen in the past with 'The Satanic Verses' with the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.?
On Sept. 20, nine days after the attack, White House spokesman Jay Carney told a gaggle of reporters on Air Force One that the attack was ?terrorism.?
Previously, the White House had used the term ?extremists? to describe those who had breached the consulate grounds. In the Rose Garden on the day after the attack, President Obama said, "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. ... We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done."
Republicans have since pounced on Rice?s comments, saying that she had misled the public. Their outrage sparked calls for an investigation into whether politics played a role.
A senior intelligence official told NBC News that members of the intelligence community changed the reference from al-Qaida to ?extremists? ? not anyone from the White House who had a political agenda.
Officials confirm that then-CIA Director David Petraeus testified in a closed session immediately after the attack that it was a terrorist assault, as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Sunday on Meet the Press.
Petraeus repeated that testimony in closed sessions on Friday. Congress has held several hearings, public and closed, into what happened in Benghazi.
So why were those unclassified talking points created in the first place?
Officials say they were produced in response to requests from the House Select Committee on Intelligence for language that could be used in media interviews. ?
The main purpose was to provide talking points sensitive to the fact that there could be legal proceedings in the future, the senior official said. Initial intelligence was tenuous, and affiliations were unclear.
Investigators also worried the investigation could be compromised if they provided too much information.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prince Johan Friso, who has been in a coma ever since he was buried in an avalanche while skiing earlier this year, has shown occasional signs of minimal consciousness, the Dutch government said on Monday.
Queen Beatrix's 44-year-old middle son, who gave up his right to the throne a decade ago, was skiing off-piste near Lech in the Austrian Alps in February, when he was caught in an avalanche.
The accident attracted considerable media attention at the time. Prince Friso was trapped under the snow for 25 minutes before he was pulled out unconscious. His doctors said his brain was starved of oxygen while he was under the snow which resulted in a cardiac arrest that lasted 50 minutes.
He was later flown to London, where he remains, for treatment but doctors said he had suffered severe brain damage and might never come out of a coma.
He has recently shown "occasional signs of minimal consciousness", the royal family and the prince's wife said in a statement released by the government, although they did not give any details and added that the prognosis remains very uncertain.
Prince Friso, whose older brother is Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, gave up his right to the Dutch throne when he married a commoner whose past was considered too racy for her to become a member of the Dutch royal house.
When he asked for permission in 2003 to marry Mabel Wisse Smit, Dutch media published details of her relationship with mobster Klaas Bruinsma, who was shot and killed in 1991 in front of the Amsterdam Hilton hotel.
Following the revelations, the couple decided not to get official permission for their marriage.
(Reporting by Sara Webb, editing by Paul Casciato)
Back before smartphones came along and made our lives easier, when we hit the open road we had to—hahahahaha—print out directions. Sometimes, if you can believe it, we used physical maps made of paper. Now that epic road trip you take is even easier to plan and execute with Roadtripper's iPhone app. More »
Dee-Jays BBQ Ribs and Grille in Weirton on Thursday, presented representatives of the Tony Teramana Cancer Center with a contribution of $3,500 following its annual ?Power of Pink? fundraiser in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Among those taking part in the presentation were, from left, front, Jacqui DeFranco and Donna Brown from Dee-Jay?s; Susan Miller, director of the Teramana Cancer Center; and Lynn Barbe, oncology patient advocate. In back are Dewey Guida and Michael Guida. -- Craig Howell
One main purpose for congressional hearings into the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, is to find out how to improve security for US diplomats. But political point-scoring could get in the way.
By Howard LaFranchi,?Staff writer / November 15, 2012
A locked canvas bag labeled 'SCCI' arrives for a closed oversight hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into the circumstances surrounding the deadly attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Capitol Hill Thursday, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
Enlarge
Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle say they want to get to the bottom of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, so that lessons can be learned ? and performance improved ? concerning the mitigation of risks involved in carrying out diplomacy in dangerous places.
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It?s just not clear that the intensely politically charged atmosphere surrounding the investigations into the assault that killed four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya, will allow that to happen.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing Thursday that sought to begin to understand what happened in Benghazi in order to avoid similar tragedies in the future. But the hearing, only one of several congressional meetings this week on Benghazi to be held in public, was marked by the same political attacks and recriminations that dominated the Benghazi debate prior to the Nov. 6 election.
Republicans on the panel railed against President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for ?lying? to the American people about what happened in Benghazi, while Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of ?hypocrisy? for blasting the State Department over lax security provisions after having cut the department?s security budget requests.
Responsibility for the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith, and CIA security contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods falls ?squarely on the shoulders of the secretary of state and the president,? said Republican committee member Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, who accused the administration of ?turning a blind eye ? to the dangers in the area.?
In response, Democrat Gary Ackerman of New York said the ?stench of hypocrisy? wafted from the House majority, which he said had cut hundreds of millions of dollars from State Department budget requests for security. ?If you want to know who is responsible in this town? for the Benghazi deaths, he added, ?look in the mirror.?
The hearing did reveal that Secretary Clinton will testify before the committee, probably next month. Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Clinton has committed to testifying before both her committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a report expected soon from a panel Clinton named to investigate the Benghazi attack.
The five-member Accountability Review Board is expected to finish up its work and deliver its report by early to mid-December. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen said.
Canada?s Christine Nesbitt and Denny Morrison claimed World Cup speedskating victories Saturday.
The 27-year-old Nesbitt, from London, Ont., won the women?s 1,500 metres in one minute 56.35 seconds.
Morrison, from Fort. St. John, B.C., won the men?s 1,000 in 1:09.43.
South Korea?s Sang-Hwa Lee won her second 500-metre World Cup race of the season, finishing in a time of 37.92 seconds. Lee beat American Heather Richardson, who finished in 38.13 seconds.
The two also finished in the same order in the event Friday.
Finland?s Pekka Koskela won the men?s 500 in 34.96 seconds, beating Poland?s Artur Was and South Korea?s Mo Tae-Bum. Koskela also took second in the men?s 1,000, behind Morrison.
UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad looks on while sitting on the bench during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Indiana State in Los Angeles, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. The NCAA ruled freshman Shabazz?Muhammad is ineligible to play basketball after violating amateurism rules, leaving the Bruins without their highly touted recruit to start the season. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad looks on while sitting on the bench during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Indiana State in Los Angeles, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. The NCAA ruled freshman Shabazz?Muhammad is ineligible to play basketball after violating amateurism rules, leaving the Bruins without their highly touted recruit to start the season. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The NCAA ruled UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad eligible to play Friday, and the star freshman guard is set to make his Bruins debut Monday night.
The NCAA said Friday that UCLA's sanctions against Muhammad were sufficient after the school required him to sit out three games and repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits. The NCAA and UCLA found that Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to Duke and North Carolina.
Muhammad will be in the lineup when the No. 13 Bruins (3-0) return to action Monday night in New York against Georgetown at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
"I am excited to be able to play for UCLA starting next Monday," Muhammad said in a statement released by the school. "My family and friends were very supportive of me throughout this process and I couldn't have gone through this without them."
The NCAA announced Nov. 9, less than two hours before the Bruins' opener, that Muhammad was ineligible. UCLA filed a formal appeal Wednesday.
"We are extremely grateful that this matter has come to a conclusion," UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said in a statement. "I want to recognize that a lot of long hours and tireless effort were put into this process by staff members from UCLA and the NCAA, as well as by Shabazz Muhammad's family.
"This entire process has been challenging on many fronts, but we believe strongly in the principles of fairness, integrity and due process."
Muhammad led Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas to three Nevada Class AAAA titles, averaging 29.4 points and 10.1 rebounds last season as a senior. He was the Naismith Boy's High School Player of the Year and the MVP in the McDonald's All-American game.
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Public release date: 26-Nov-2012
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One of the main objections to QKD has been the expense. It has been necessary to have fibre optic cabling dedicated to the task (so called dark fibre). With dark fibre, in the absence of other data signals, secure key rates exceeding 1 Mb/s and a transmission distance of over 250 km have been achieved. Until now, the idea of leasing such fibres from telecoms providers has put potential users off at the first hurdle.
