Headline June 16th, 2012 / The Laws of Extraction

"The Laws of Extraction"

Anyway you look at it, Russia has the greatest legitimacy in the Arctic--geographically, historically, demographically, hydrologically. It has six major rivers that feed the Arctic Ocean, while the other countries have one or two. And it now hopes to prove, geomorphologically and geologically.

If the world were an orange with 18 segments meeting at the top, the North Pole, roughly 8 of them would be in Russia, Canada would have 4, Denmark 2, and Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. just one apiece. Only a sliver of Alsaka on the Beaufort Sea. Lies above the Arctic Circle.

The new accessibility of the Arctic's deposits is not going to make the effort to curb global warming any easier. Ironically , fossil fuel emissions are making more fossil fuel available. But it is going to cost so much to get the Oil in Arctic out that the Russians are going to need partners.

Gazprom, Russia's parastatal, is already partnering with France's Total and the Norwegian energy giant Statoil. Russia as yet does not have the technology to tap the huge deposits of natural gas below the sea floor, or the estimated 30 to 40 billion dollars it would cost, and the partners do.

Traditionally, all the Arctic countries mention their own sectors. Only in the last ten years is the discussion about the unfairness of definition of sectors. This is how the seven countries with claims in Antarctica divvied up the continent in 1959, agreeing not to use their sectors for military purposes or to exploit their resources until 2048.

How do we know that there is so much Oil there? Seismic profiles establish that at the bottom of North Ice Sea is a large amount of oil-bearing structures analogous to the structures of western Siberia that formed 38 million years ago, when the Arctic ocean was beginning to be formed.

And in addition to Oil, do remember the existence of ''thermokarst lakes'' as the water filled ones are called, are bubbling with 'Methane' that has been trapped in the ice. Methane is atleast 20 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than Carbondioxide.

The Siberian permafrost zone alone contains an estimated 500 gigatons of carbon. The entire human output is about five and a half gigatons.And in Yakutia the entire economy is based on 'Diamond Mining'. The Republic is practically a private fiefdom of Alrosa, the world's second largest diamond company, after De Beers. Yakutia's President was also once the President of Alrosa.

Remarkable story as the Post continues. Flock back tomorrow.

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless

Facebook response to IPO lawsuits to focus on Nasdaq

Facebook is expected to make its first public response as early as tomorrow to the wave of investor lawsuits regarding the company's lackluster IPO.

The social-networking giant is planning to file a motion to consolidate all the shareholder lawsuits pending against it, providing inside perspective on the role that the Nasdaq stock exchange's performance had on the stock's trading activity, a personal familiar with the matter told The New York Times. The IPO's lead underwriters -- Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase -- are also expected to join the motion, the paper reported.

Facebook representatives declined to comment on the report.

Soon after Facebook's stock began trading on May 18 at $42.05, shares tumbled to their $38 offering price. Shares have steadily declined about 30 percent since the IPO, leading to a wave of lawsuits from investors who claim the company's executives and its bankers misled them by "selectively disclosing" material information about its revenue outlook.

In the days before the public offering, the lead underwriter for the deal told major clients it was reducing its revenue forecast for the company. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs reportedly reduced their estimates because a Facebook executive instructed them to. That information was reportedly verbally conveyed to institutional investors but not to smaller investors.

Facebook, which reported in March that more than half its 900 million members were using mobile devices to access the network, updated its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early May to say that the shift to smartphones and other mobile gadgets was cutting into the prices it can set for advertisers, which would in turn hurt the company's revenue.

However, Facebook's motion is also expected to place some of the blame for the IPO's flop at the feet of the Nasdaq stock exchange, which has already expressed regret over the decision to proceed with the blockbuster offering after a 30-minute delay in the IPO's opening contributed to confusion among traders. Traders complained they were not able to confirm changes or cancellations made to Facebook orders starting as early as 4:30 a.m. PT. Later on in the morning, some traders said they had not received confirmation from Nasdaq that transactions had actually been completed.

In response to demands for compensation for losses incurred by the snafu, Nasdaq submitted plans last week to offer up to $40 million to financial firms that lost money in the botched IPO.

Source: cnet

Can pizza vending machine finally cure our munchies?

All these years later, we here at Crave are still driving around at 3 in the morning (is it still 3 in the morning?) with the mad munchies eyeing the all-night gas stations and closed supermarkets and looking for that WonderPizza vending machine we heard so much about back in '07.

Honestly, with our stomachs growling maniacally as they have been for the last 39 months or so, we've been considering bagging the pie and grabbing a kosher hot dog, a piece of raw meat, or even a pair of socks to eat. Whichever vending machine appears first.

Ah, but it looks like there's hope. The smartphone we picked up at that last vending machine we encountered -- the smartphone we've so far refrained from eating -- tells us that another company promises to bring pizza vending machines to the States. And judging from the video (embedded below), the resulting pies might not be entirely revolting.

A quick check on what, during this endless quest, has become our go-to blog --PizzaMarketPlace.com -- informs us that Italian Claudio Torghel's "Let's Pizza" machine should arrive soon, with its Dutch distributor, A1 Concepts, opening a U.S. headquarters this year.

A1 CEO Ronald Rammers says the machines can fire up a fresh, tasty pizza in just 2.5 minutes, owing to their infrared ovens. He also says the machines are always stocked with the freshest ingredients because they're Internet-connected and can thus cry out when running low on, say, onions, or peppers.

"We have our own facilities where we produce the toppings," Rammers tells PizzaMarketPlace.com, "and it is possible to create any kind of pizza -- meat, fish, vegetarian, any kind. We also receive requests for kosher pizzas and pizzas that meet the requirements for Muslims. All options are open. Each machine offers four different pizzas."

Awesome, we say. But will the machines include some sort of GPS device so we can find them? We can't keep driving around like this forever.

Source: cnet

Elise DeRoo ’12 nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

Colgate’s Elise DeRoo ’12 was one of two Patriot League student-athletes to be nominated for the 2012 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

DeRoo’s nomination was based on her service, leadership, athletics and academics. DeRoo, a native of Newtown, Conn., finished an incredible four-year career at Colgate this spring. She was a dominant force in cross country for two years, capturing the women’s individual championships in 2009 and 2010 before taking third at the 2011 event.

DeRoo was also a force within the league in both the indoor and outdoor seasons of track and field during her career. She won a pair of individual titles at the 2010 indoor championship meet in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs en route to earning first-team All-League laurels. That spring she added two more victories in the 5,000 and 10,000 events at the outdoor championships. She earned another gold at the 2011 indoor championships when she set the meet record with a winning effort in the 1,000, and was part of Colgate’s record-setting foursome that took first in the distance medley relay.

After not competing at the league’s 2012 indoor track and field championships, DeRoo returned in the spring to take fourth place at the league meet with a personal best in the 10,000 while adding a fifth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run.

DeRoo excelled in the classroom as well as in competition, graduating with a 3.97 grade-point average with a degree in molecular biology. She was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year five times, including twice in cross country (2010, 2011), twice in indoor track and field (2010, 2011) and once in outdoor (2010).

A member Colgate’s Dean’s List all four years, she earned the school’s Mitchell Memorial Award as the graduating student-athlete with the highest GPA. DeRoo plans to spend next year working in a vascular surgery lab at the University of Michigan before attending medical school. Navy’s Jess Palacio was also nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award by the Patriot League on Thursday. The winner of the award will be named in October.

Original source here.

Microsoft to take on Apple with own Windows 8 tablet?

A future Lenovo Windows 8 tablet.

Microsoft will announce its own tablet next week at an event in Los Angeles, according to reports, taking a page from Apple's playbook.

If true, this is not the typical Microsoft business model; usually it leaves device announcements to device makers. The PC industry is the classic example of this.

And, so far, that has been the case for Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets. Companies like Acer and Asus demonstrated Windows 8 tablets and hybrids at Computex last week, for instance.

But a report at The Wrap and another at AllThingsD say Microsoft has other plans.

Microsoft reportedly concluded that it must have its own tablet and is involved in the hardware design too. The Wrap reported it is a "Microsoft-manufactured tablet," that would "put the company in direct competition with giant rival Apple."

Indeed, if true, it would. Apple designs both the software and hardware and therefore is able to achieve a level of quality control over a product that often eludes Microsoft and its hardware partners.

A Microsoft tablet has the potential to rankle Windows device makers, too. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Nokia and a long list of other PC makers are working on scores of Window 8 and Windows RT tablets and hybrids. Many are likely to debut when Microsoft release Windows 8 later this year.

Microsoft infamously canceled it Courier tablet project in 2010.

Source: cnet

Nokia to Cut 10,000 Jobs and Close 3 Facilities

BERLIN — Nokia said Thursday it would slash 10,000 jobs, or 19 percent of its work force, by the end of 2013 as part of an emergency overhaul that includes closing research centers and a factory in Germany, Canada and Finland, and the departures of three senior executives.

The company also warned investors that its loss was likely to be greater in the second quarter, which ends June 30, than it was in the first, and that the negative effects of its transition to a Windows-based smartphone business would continue into the third quarter.

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, posted a loss of €929 million, or $1.2 billion, in the first quarter as sales plummeted 29 percent. Once the undisputed global leader in the mobile phone business, Nokia has been outcompeted by Apple, as well as by Samsung and other makers of handsets running Google’s Android operating system.

In February 2011, Nokia and Microsoft announced an alliance to produce a line of smartphones called Lumia running the Windows operating system.

Since then, the Finnish company has seen its sales fall and profit evaporate as consumers and operators have avoided, or demanded discounts on, smartphones running Nokia’s in-house Symbian operating system, which the company is phasing out. Although Lumia devices have won critical praise, sales have not been strong enough to offset declines in its main business.

“These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia’s long-term competitive strength,” said Stephen Elop, the Nokia chief executive and a former Microsoft executive. “We do not make plans that may impact our employees lightly, and as a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities.”

The company said the job reductions, and the shutdowns of research and development centers in Ulm, Germany, and Burnaby, Canada, and a handset factory in Salo, Finland, would save €1.6 billion by the end of next year.

As part of its streamlining, Nokia announced the sale of its luxury handset business, Vertu, to EQT VI, a European private equity firm, for an undisclosed price. The company also said it had purchased Scalado, a maker of smartphone imaging technology that is based in Lund, Sweden. It did not say what it paid for Scalado. Further, Nokia said it would “closely assess the future of certain noncore assets.”

In a conference call with journalists, Mr. Elop suggested that Nokia Siemens Networks, the company’s 50-50 network equipment venture with Germany’s Siemens, which lost a combined €986 million in 2010 and 2011, could be one of the businesses in the focus of its future review. Mr. Elop declined to describe Nokia Siemens as a noncore asset but said the network gear maker’s restructuring, now in its second year, was designed to make it more attractive for potential investors.

“What we have said is that Nokia Siemens is going through its own restructuring and we are pleased with the efforts so far,” Mr. Elop said. All the restructuring is being done to make it “a more independent entity in future,” he added. “As that proceeds, we will make a determination to see what the future holds.”

Nokia said 3,700 of the planned 10,000 job to be cut would take place in Finland. The handset factory in Salo to be closed is Nokia’s largest in the country, and about 850 employees will be affected there by the reductions. Nokia plans to keep a research center in Salo open.

Pete Cunningham, an analyst at Canalys, a research firm in Reading, England, said the cuts by Nokia were not surprising given the intense competition from Apple, the global leader in smartphones, and Samsung, the South Korean rival that overtook Nokia this year as the world’s largest bulk maker of cellphones.

“It is an unfortunate but necessary action to streamline the business to ensure that it has the best chance of competing,” Mr. Cunningham said. “Apple and Samsung are really turning the thumbscrews on the rest of the market. Nokia is having to work very hard to make its Lumia handsets attractive due to the lack of traction that Windows Phone has in the market today.”

Shares of Nokia were down 9.4 percent Thursday in Helsinki trading.

Nokia employed 53,553 workers in its handset business at the end of March. The company also had 68,595 employees in Nokia Siemens. (REad more on Newyork daily times)

Giants Add Technology to Their Training Staff

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants General Manager Jerry Reese looked out a window at the team’s training facility one day last summer and quickly became confused. He knew that Manchester United, the British soccer power, was training at the facility ahead of its match with all-stars from Major League Soccer, but he had no idea what the players were wearing.

 

Data from heart-rate monitors and watch-like G.P.S. devices can be tracked in real time on laptops.

“Ronnie, what’s that strap on their back?” Reese said to Ronnie Barnes, the Giants’ vice president for medical services. Barnes smiled.

“That’s a G.P.S. device,” he told Reese. “And we should have them, too.”

The reason, Barnes said, was simple. Technology, the Giants hope, will ultimately help optimize a player’s ability while reducing the risk of injury, essentially telling the team when a player is physically ready to be at his best. Now, after dabbling with the use of heart-rate monitors before last season, the Giants are pushing forward with the idea, an outlier among N.F.L. teams.

In recent off-season workouts, the Giants used heart-rate monitors, G.P.S. devices and hydration/nutrition monitoring to better evaluate how much energy a player had exerted and how quickly he was recovering. While similar technology is widely used by soccer teams around the world, as well as by athletes in individual sports, like runners, few professional sports teams in the United States have shown an interest.

“Football is really the last bastion of sports, where you don’t really look at that,” Barnes said. “Yet we train them like heck, and we don’t really know whether they’ve recovered or not.”

He added: “I’m looking into the future. We’ve known we need to do this, and I feel like we’ve begun to pioneer a little bit with our players and within the league.”

It is a multilevel operation. Tracking a player’s heart rate allows the team to see, among other things, at what points and during which drills a player is at maximum exertion, and how often he reaches that point. Testing hydration levels allows the team to see if a player is showing up to practice with full energy and if he is replacing the fluids he loses — if he is not, he may be more prone to injury. Using G.P.S. devices allows trainers to see the distances run by specific players during workouts — data that can be a powerful comparison tool for coaches and front-office executives.

For example, G.P.S. data from a recent Giants workout showed that Da’Rel Scott, one of several running backs competing for carries, ran the most among the backs. When Barnes mentioned that to Tom Coughlin, the coach was intrigued, considering all of the backs were doing the same drills.

“It really lets you see exactly what you — and just you — are doing,” offensive lineman Kevin Boothe said of the technology.

Generally, the number of players involved in a workout makes specific attention impossible.

“Currently, Couch Coughlin comes to me and says, ‘Do you think the team looks tired?’ ” Barnes said. “Or the players come to me and say, ‘Our legs are dead.’ And I’ll go up and say, ‘Coach, the guys are telling me they’re really tired.’ ”

Barnes laughed and continued: “And usually he says to me, ‘Well, we haven’t done that much!’ But then he’ll make adaptations based on what I’ve told him. With this setup, I’ll be able to tell him, yes, they are tired — and also that, say, Ahmad Bradshaw is particularly tired and here’s why.”

About 35 Giants players volunteered to wear the devices during workouts, as well as give urine samples to measure hydration. The players also answered standardized survey questions designed to give context to the data. The Giants worked with Timex — one of their corporate partners and the maker of the devices — as well as the Korey Stringer Institute, which is a part of the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education, to conduct the study.

Iowa Premiere Camera Turned On Local Legend

After seven decades as his subject, Coe College is hosting the Iowa debut of a documentary about the life and work of notable Cedar Rapids photographer and distinguished Coe alumnus George Henry.

The 1949 Coe graduate and lifelong Cedar Rapidian is the subject of “80 Years Through the Lens – the Life and Work of George T. Henry.” The Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival event is scheduled for June 28 in Kesler Lecture Hall of Hickok Hall on the Coe campus. Screenings are scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. with a question-and-answer session with Henry and Santa Fe, N.M, filmmaker Kevin Kelly following each session.

The George T. Henry Archives in Coe’s Stewart Memorial Library will be open from 3-4:15 p.m. prior to the film’s Iowa premiere. DVDs will be available for purchase in Hickok Hall before and after the movie is shown and on June 29 in the Coe College Bookstore. DVDs are also available at www.georgehenrymovie.com.

Over a year in the making by Kelly, a 1967 Coe graduate, the 30-minute documentary proceeds chronologically from Henry's early life and family growing up in Cedar Rapids, his World War II years as a B-24 "Liberator" bomber pilot, his 68 years as Coe's official photographer, his 45 years as a white-water boatman, his "mingling" with the bears in northern Minnesota, and his reflections on life at 89 years of age.

The film is Henry's story in his own words, illustrated by his photos of the last 80 years and videos of his wilderness adventures. Included are recollections about his trips with Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, Art Buchwald, Andy Williams, John Glenn and other interesting people, including Kelly himself. Anyone who is interested in Coe College, photography, life on the river and in the wild, and tall tales as only George can tell them will love this film. Henry’s story smashes stereotypes about aging and challenges us to live our later years in a more exuberant fashion.

For Kelly, making films of a biographical nature has been a natural outgrowth of his 35 years as a clinical psychologist. "Now instead of focusing on problems to solve I can enjoy learning about the special stories people have to tell about their lives," he said. "It was very gratifying to have so many people at Coe step up to help us accomplish this important mission."

Coe Musical Technical Director Robert Benson, a 2006 graduate of the college, composed and performed much of the movie’s soundtrack. Substantial funding for the project was provided by Coe alumni and friends and residents of Cedar Rapids.

The film premiered at Reel New Mexico in Santa Fe on June 14.

Original source here.

NeverSeconds blogger Martha Payne school dinner photo ban lifted

A controversial ban preventing a nine-year-old girl from photographing her school meals has been lifted following a storm of protest on the internet.

Martha Payne, from Argyll, got more than two million hits on her NeverSeconds blog in just a few weeks.

Argyll and Bute Council said press coverage of the blog had led catering staff to fear for their jobs.

But council leader Roddy McCuish later told the BBC he had instructed senior officials to lift the ban immediately.

Martha began publishing photographs of her Lochgilphead Primary School lunches on 30 April.

She gave each meal a 'food-o-meter' and health rating, and counted the number of mouthfuls it took her to eat it.

The schoolgirl had been using the blog - which she started with the help of her father Dave - to raise money for the Mary's Meals charity.

But in a post published on Thursday evening, Martha said her headteacher told her not to take any more photographs for the blog.

Under the headline "Goodbye", the post stated: "This morning in maths I got taken out of class by my head teacher and taken to her office.

Charity blog

"I was told that I could not take any more photos of my school dinners because of a headline in a newspaper today."

The council's decision to impose the ban came after the Daily Record newspaper published a photograph of Martha alongside chef Nick Nairn under the headline "Time to fire the dinner ladies."

An explanatory note posted on the blog by her father read: "I contacted Argyll and Bute Council...and they told me it was their decision to ban Martha's photography.

Martha gave this cheeseburger a health rating of just 2/10

"It is a shame that a blog that today went through two million hits, which has inspired debates at home and abroad and raised nearly £2,000 for charity is forced to end."

Mr Payne later told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme his daughter was not happy about the council's decision.

He added: "I understand that it's brought pressure from around the world and media interest, but that is really out of our control.

"But we are very supportive of the school - the fact that she has been encouraged to blog and she got permission to do this is testament to them.

"Everyone in the kitchens has been wonderful to Martha and she enjoys going into lunch every day."

By Friday morning, the council's decision had sparked a furious reaction on social media.

Local MSP Mike Russell, Scotland's education secretary, tweeted he would be writing to the council's chief executive in his capacity as local MSP, calling for the "daft" ban to be overturned.

Job fears

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeted: "Stay strong Martha" before urging his 2.3 million followers to retweet the message to show their support for the schoolgirl.

Argyll and Bute Council later issued a statement defending its position and claimed media coverage of the blog had led catering staff to fear for their jobs.

It added: "The council has directly avoided any criticism of anyone involved in the 'never seconds' blog for obvious reasons despite a strongly-held view that the information presented in it misrepresented the options and choices available to pupils.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

It is a good thing to do, to change your mind, and I have certainly done that”

Roddy McCuish Argyll and Bute Council Leader

"However this escalation means we had to act to protect staff from the distress and harm it was causing.

"In particular, the photographic images uploaded appear to only represent a fraction of the choices available to pupils, so a decision has been made by the council to stop photos being taken in the school canteen.

"There have been discussions between senior council staff and Martha's father however, despite an acknowledgement that the media coverage has produced these unwarranted attacks, he intimated that he would continue with the blog."

Cleland Sneddon, the executive director of community services at Argyll and Bute Council, told the BBC that school catering staff had been left "in tears" by press coverage.

However, Mr McCuish later told the BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that he had instructed senior officials to lift the ban immediately.

He said: "It is a good thing to do, to change your mind, and I have certainly done that."

Mr McCuish said he had not yet been able to inform Martha of the lifting of the photo ban, but had a meeting arranged with her father next Thursday to discuss "a way forward".

'Dinner summit'

He said the council had been concerned about criticisms of dining hall staff in an article about Martha's blog in the national media, but accepted that it should have raised the issue with the newspaper concerned rather than taking action against the schoolgirl.

"I don't know what went wrong yet, but I will do my very best to find out," he said.

"I hope, come the summer, we will have a way forward, like a school dinner summit which will take place this summer."

Martha had been raising money through a Justgiving page for the Mary's Meals charity, which helps feed some of the poorest children in the world.

Publicity caused by the ban helped her smash through her £7,000 target - with total pledges of almost £20,000 being made by Friday afternoon.

The total stood at only about £2,000 on Thursday evening.

A Mary's Meals spokesman said: "Martha's support for Mary's Meals has been amazing and we are extremely grateful for everything that she has done to help us reach some of the hungriest children in the world.

"We are overwhelmed by the huge response to her efforts today which has led to so many more people donating to her online donation page.

"Thanks to this fantastic support, Martha has now raised enough money to build a kitchen in Malawi for children receiving Mary's Meals as part of our Sponsor A School initiative and has broken the record for hitting a Sponsor A School online fundraising target in the quickest amount of time".

Among the pictures Martha published on her blog was one featuring her £2 lunch of a pizza slice, a croquette, sweetcorn and a cupcake.

Martha wrote: "I'm a growing kid and I need to concentrate all afternoon and I can't do it on one croquette. Do any of you think you could?"

Touring the American Southwest in a cowboy’s boots

America’s Wild West – an era of 19th-century pioneers, cattle drives that traversed rugged terrain and heroes that fell on either side of the law – was tamed long ago. Like wranglers taming feral horses, Americans eventually dominated the mysterious frontier, industrializing its scenery, ousting its native peoples and reigning in its lawlessness.

But look closely enough and you will find pockets of traditional American Western culture that stay true to their heritage; places where real life cowboys still ride across untamed landscapes.

Texas
Following the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), the growth of the nation’s cattle industry gave rise to the prominence of the American cowboy in Texas. Ranchers began herding their cattle to railroads in the East to meet the increasing demand for beef.
In Fort Worth, a city serious about its western heritage where Texas Longhorn cattle are still herded through town twice a day for tourists to see, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame celebrates the lives of past and present influential cowboys. Its Chisholm Trail Exhibit leads visitors along the 19th-century trail (named after the Cherokee-Scottish trader, trail guide and interpreter Jesse Chisholm) upon which ranchers drove cattle from Texas to Kansas. A great exhibit for children is the Adventures of the Cowboy Trail. Although being indoors in a museum does take some of the “adventure” out of it, the exhibit features interactive stations where kids can re-enact such activities as packing for a trail, preparing the cook’s wagon, branding cows, and digging for Native American arrowheads.
On 28 July, Fort Worth’s Stockyards historic district celebrates the National Day of the American Cowboy, featuring events such as the Hay Stacking World Championships and Cowboy Idol, a country-western version of the TV singing competition American Idol.
From Fort Worth, head five hours south to Bandera, the self-declared “cowboy capital of the world”. The Bandera area is home to a number of public ranches. All summer long, on BR Lightning Ranch in Hill County, a few miles from downtown Bandera, the Summer Buckle Series Rodeo hosts weekly events such as bull riding, calf roping and steer riding. The ranch also prides itself on being the only place where you can find a high-diving aqua mule act in which the animals dive off a 24ft-high platform into six feet of water. Unsurprisingly, this show has sparked controversy and garnered a great deal of criticism from animal activists. A more animal-friendly experience can be found nearby at Hill County Alpacas, a ranch with award-winning (and adorable) huacaya alpacas, bred for their soft fur.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (formerly the National Cowboy Hall of Fame houses some of the country’s most renowned Western art. Currently, the Prix de West Invitational, an exhibit featuring over 300 works of authentic Western art, is bringing together talented contemporary painters and sculptors from around the US. Also on display is a collection of the drawings and writings of Will James, an artist who worked to promote positive public perceptions of the working American cowboy during the early 1900s.
Continue the hunt for authentic Western artwork at a fantastic outdoor fair that draws cowboys and collectors from all over the country. The Cowboy Trade Day, two hours northeast of Oklahoma City in Catoosa, takes place every September and is a treat for anyone on a quest for treasures from the true Old West. Craftsmen and antiques wranglers come to sell, trade and buy such prizes as historic spurs and belt buckles, Native American jewellery, old guns (modern firearms are not allowed), pioneer memorabilia, and handcrafted modern and antique saddles, hats and boots.
Colorado
Colorado recently approved funding for the establishment of a Professional Bull Riders University in the city of Pueblo, two hours south of Denver. The school will be a training facility for rodeo sports and, the town hopes, a tourist attraction for spectators of those sports.
The measure is a strong indication that the cowboy lifestyle is thriving in certain pockets of Colorado. Even the metropolis of Denver still hosts the annual National Western Stock Show, a livestock event that displays 20 different breeds of cows in addition to bison, alpaca, llamas, yaks and more. (Read more on BBC news)

Thai culture chiefs go Gaga over singer's "offensive" show

Thailand's government has hit out at pop sensation Lady Gaga for a second time in as many weeks by filing a police complaint over the singer's "offensive" use of its national flag during her sellout concert last month.
The Culture Ministry said Gaga's use of the flag, tied to the back of a motorcycle while dressed in provocative outfit, was "inappropriate" and disrespectful to its people, a ministry official told Reuters, requesting anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.
Lady Gaga performed before 50,000 fans in Bangkok on May 25 as part of a world tour that caused controversy in the Philippines and South Korea and prompted organizers to cancel her show in Indonesia after Islamic groups objected to her "vulgar" style.
The Grammy Award winner had already upset some Thais when she Tweeted to her 24 million followers upon arrival in Bangkok her plans to buy a fake Rolex watch at one of the city's ubiquitous street markets.
The Tweet stirred debate in Internet chat rooms and on web boards, resulting in the Commerce Ministry lodging a complaint with the United States embassy, saying Gaga was undermining its efforts to stamp out piracy.
Many of Bangkok's indoor and outdoor markets are renowned for selling cheap replicas of coveted designer handbags and accessories. Gaga has made no comment on her Tweet.
The Culture Ministry said police would not prosecute Lady Gaga but it filed the formal complaint to show dissatisfaction.
The ministry has long been criticized for being overzealous in its censorship of films, music, television and some Western cultural practices in an attempt to preserve the traditional conservative values of a country that also has a reputation for racy night life and neon-lit go-go dancing bars.
(reuters)

Notes from the Dominican Republic

A group of students, faculty and staff are participating in a service learning project in the Dominican Republic, from May 21-June 6, 2012. They are working with an organization called Caminante, and completing projects in both nursing and teaching.

The group is maintaining a blog as they participate in this journey. Below are a few excerpts; follow their blog, Walking with Caminante.

May 23, 2012

Day 2 and 3: Chelsea’s Reflections: The children’s selflessness is very shocking. … While passing out supplies during a craft, several little girls stopped participating to help me hand out supplies. From what I could tell, one child was asking other students if they had everything they needed. … The main thing I will be taking back with me to Ohio is this sense of welcoming and love that I do not ever want to forget.

A particular event that made me want to write on this topic is that one little girl in particular and I really connected over the three days. On a previous day, we had handed out silly bands as a prize at the end of our lesson. The next day, after being in Los Cocos for around 10 minutes, she ran straight up to me, hugged me, and with the cutest smile ever, proudly handed over her silly band. I naturally began to insist she keep it and initiated putting back on her little wrist. She put her hand up and smiled, so I accepted her gift (she got it back later.) It just really amazed me how this little girl, who seemingly has nothing materialistic in her possession, wanted to give me, some woman she barely knows and cannot communicate with, her one special accessory. I have seen this open, accepting, happy love, that I haven’t experienced before. The closest thing I can compare it to is hospitality I’ve been lucky enough to receive at home, but it was never from a child. She reminded me how important it is to give and show others how appreciative and grateful you are. I wish I could thank her.

May 24, 2012

Day 4: Sylvia’s Reflections: On our way to Los Cocos that morning, the van was stopped due to a worrisome sight. There was a young girl, probably around the age of 3, she was crying and it appeared as if she was lost. Cristina and Yocasta jumped out of the vehicle in order to help the young girl. … Eventually, a woman came over and told (us) that she would take the girl back to her mother who apparently lived further up the street. Such an event truly makes one question, where is the mother? Does she care about her child? For a child that young to walk so far away from home without having her mother realizing it is baffling. This struck me very deeply because I know that when I was young, if I wandered 3 feet away from my mother, she immediately began looking for me. Yocasta told the woman to warn the girl’s mother that her daughter can be taken if another incident like that happened. I am happy to know that there are people like Yocasta out there, fighting for the protection of children.

June 1, 2012

Day 12: Kimberly’s Reflections: In the morning, the nursing team and the education team both taught in La K today. It was our first time in this classroom and it turned out to be a rough day for us. There (were) only a couple small rooms and barely enough desks. The desks that they did have were all broken with missing backs and sometimes missing legs. Alyssa and I taught our lesson on Children’s Rights. We read them one of our stories which is about having the right to express your opinions and ideas. In the story, the character George, talks about how he held a strike against a school until they got enough desks and chairs for all of the students, because not only do you have the right to an education, but you have the right to a GOOD education. The children in La K agreed with the story and they started requesting that they get more chairs, because of the kids that were standing in the back. (So a few of the students that were sitting actually went next door and brought a few more chairs in for their standing classmates.) It was really touching to see them learning from our stories and recognizing that they are entitled to these rights no matter who they are. I hope that they continue standing up for themselves and demand the best education that they can get. This area that we were in is apparently really prone to child violence, so I hope that they also took from our lesson that they have the right to not be harmed. The biggest thing that these kids need to do is learn their rights and stand up for themselves.

Astronomy professor Debra Elmegreen joins Nobel laureates as American Association

Galaxy researcher Debra Meloy Elmegreen, the Maria Mitchell Professor of Astronomy at Vassar College, was recently inducted as a permanent Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon Elmegreen by peers for her contributions to science and technology. Elmegreen now shares this distinction with numerous Nobel laureates and her scientific forebear Maria Mitchell, the world’s first professional female astronomer and the first professor hired by college founder Matthew Vassar.

Elmegreen’s research interests include the structure of galaxies and star formation, and she has contributed to over 200 scholarly articles. Among her many achievements Elmegreen is completing a 2-year presidency of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), which at more than 7,000 members is the world’s largest organization of professional astronomers. Elmegreen’s duties have taken her before Congress numerous times to testify for funding of astronomical research, and in the AAS’s 110-year history she is its first president from a liberal arts college. Elmegreen has taught at Vassar since 1985.

“When I was young, one of the appeals of astronomy to me was that it seemed far removed from the problems on Earth. I was so naive that I had no idea that astronomy depended on federal funding and politics, like most other things,” recalls Elmegreen, whose AAS presidency continues through June. “I’ve learned how important it is for ordinary citizens to let Congress know what matters to them, and that political battles have lots of intricacies. It has all been fascinating to me.”

Prior to her presidency Elmegreen served two years on the National Research Council’s Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Committee, which each decade reports on the most urgent matters in the field and recommends a national strategy to Congress, NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other key agencies. In 1975 Elmegreen was the first woman to graduate with a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from Princeton, and she went on complete her Master’s and doctorate in astronomy at Harvard. Later Elmegreen was the first woman awarded a Carnegie Postdoctoral Fellowship for research at the prestigious Palomar Observatory in California.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest general scientific society, and perhaps best known for its distinguished weekly journal Science.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Original source here.

Crossley and Seymour Award Winners Announced

At this year’s Annual Awards Celebration held on Friday, May 25 in the Alfond Sports Center, both Lorrie Kyle, executive assistant to the president, and Pam Woodley, leadership student counselor at the Crummer Graduate School of Business, received top honors.

During the program, Kyle received the Helen A. Ward Crossley Distinguished Service Award for Staff, which was established in 1999 as a means of recognizing Rollins staff members for their outstanding service and dedication to the College. The award is granted annually to an individual staff member, as determined by a selection committee.

“It is a rare and wonderful thing when one comes across someone as extraordinarily talented and hard working as this individual,” said President Lewis Duncan, who presented the award to Kyle. “Over the past several years, I have been regularly reminded of what a great asset she is to Rollins and how fortunate we are to have her.”

In recognition for her service to Rollins, Kyle received $1,000, her name engraved on the Helen A. Ward Crossley memorial plaque maintained by the College, and a personalized trophy.

“Receiving the Helen A. Ward Crossley Service Award means more than I can say—Helen was a friend of my late mother-in-law, who worked at Rollins for nearly 30 years,” Kyle said. “She would have loved this, and would have been the first to understand my wish to thank everyone for making my work for Rollins such a joy.”

Later in the awards celebration, Woodley was given the Thaddeus Seymour Staff Award for Community Engagement, an honor established in 2006 as a means of recognizing Rollins staff members for sustainable and demonstrated service in local and global communities. Woodley was acknowledged for her efforts in Orlando’s underserved communities and for continuing the work her mother started at the Callahan Neighborhood Association, which she established in 1973.

“To receive the Thaddeus Seymour award was a very humbling experience as well as quite surprising,” Woodley said. “I don’t view what I do as that significant as compared to my mother, Georgia Woodley, who was my role model and benchmark for community leadership. My mother was a community activist who made a tremendous impact in the Callahan and greater Parramore areas, so after she passed away I was inspired to continue her work and her legacy.”

A donation of $500 will be made in honor of this year’s award recipient toward the community organization of her choice to further encourage her efforts in citizenship and leadership.

Original source here.

Endlessly (Paranormalcy, #3) by Kiersten White

Try as she might, Evie can’t seem to escape her not-so-normal past. And what was supposed to be a blissfully normal school break is ruined when a massive group of paranormals shows up at her house, claiming that Evie is the only one who can protect them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The deadly war between the faerie courts looms ever closer. The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its future rests solely in Evie’s hands.

So much for normal.

With a perfect blend of humor and suspense, Endlessly is everything readers could dream of in a conclusion—and the unexpected twists will keep them guessing until the very last page.

Rock of Ages (2012)

Rock of Ages is an American musical film and is a film adaptation of the 2006 Chris D'Arienzo comedy rock/jukebox Broadway musical of the same name. Originally scheduled to enter production in the summer of 2010 for a 2011 release, it eventually started production in May 2011 and was released on June 15, 2012.

The film stars country singer Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta with an ensemble cast including Tom Cruise, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Malin Åkerman, Bryan Cranston, with Alec Baldwin and Mary J. Blige. The film featured the music of Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, Europe, Night Ranger, Twisted Sister, and REO Speedwagon, and was directed by Adam Shankman.

Synopsis: The story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock 'n' roll romance is told through the hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more.
added the official version from youtube.com on December 15, 2011

Muhammad Ali and Grandson featured in new Louis Vuitton ads

For its new Core Values campaign, luxury company Louis Vuitton has cast heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.
In a shoot signed by American photographer and Vuitton veteran Annie Leibovitz, the campaign shows the 70-year-old with one of his grandsons at his home in Arizona.
With a Louis Vuitton travel bag beside him, Ali's gaze is directed toward his grandson who is wearing a pair of boxing gloves and has the look of a fighter heading into the ring.
The campaign features the text "Some stars show you the way."
According to the Wall Street Journal, the choice of Muhammad Ali goes back to a list of personal heroes drawn up by the brand's top executives, including Yves Carcelle, the luxury company's CEO himself. Angelina Jolie, Bono and Mikhail Gorbachev, among others, have also appeared in Louis Vuitton's Core Values campaign in past years.
The latest images will be seen in international press titles as of June 15.

Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years in prison

(Reuters) - Former billionaire Allen Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison on Thursday for running a $7 billion scheme in which he stole money from his investors to finance an extravagant lifestyle in the Caribbean.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner said Stanford's actions were among the most "egregious criminal frauds," and investors who lost money said Stanford's crimes were worse than those of Bernard Madoff, another Ponzi schemer.

In March, Stanford was convicted of 13 charges including fraud and conspiracy for selling certificates of deposit from his bank in Antigua to thousands of investors in the United States and Latin America. He had already spent some of those proceeds on yachts, girlfriends, sponsorship of a cricket tournament and other accoutrements of a high-rolling life.

Stanford denied committing fraud or running a Ponzi scheme and, in a statement that went on for 40 minutes, he blamed the U.S. government for ruining a business he said had enough assets to repay its depositors. "They destroyed it and turned it to nothing," he said.

Prosecutor William Stellmach told the judge: "This is a man utterly without remorse. He treated his victims like roadkill."

One of the victims, Angela Shaw, said Stanford preyed on retired teachers, veterans and refinery workers, unlike Madoff, who targeted the wealthy.

"He stole more than millions. He stole our lives as we knew them," Shaw said.

Harry Redknapp: 'Finishing third would not have saved me'

Harry Redknapp feels he would have been sacked even if Tottenham had qualified for the Champions League.

Spurs confirmed the 65 year-old's departure in the early hours of this morning after negotiations over a contract extension with chairman Daniel Levy broke down.
Redknapp believes this outcome was inevitable, regardless of what happened on the pitch - with Spurs losing out on Champions League football again despite finishing fourth in the Premier League, because of Chelsea's Champions League final triumph over Bayern Munich last month.
"We finished fourth and were unlucky at the end, but I think the same outcome would have happened," Redknapp said on BBC Radio Five Live.
"Even if we had finished fourth, the chairman would have gone down the same road. But that is football.
"I had four great years at Spurs. All you can do is leave the club in a better state than you found it and I did that, for sure."

Everton manager David Moyes is this morning the odds-on favourite to replace Redknapp, who transformed the fortunes of the north London club since taking charge in Oct 2008.
Chairman Levy said it was not a decision the board had made lightly.
A statment on the club's official website read: "Harry arrived at the club at a time when his experience and approach was exactly what was needed.
"This decision in no way detracts from the excellent work Harry has done during his time with the club and I should like to thank him for his achievements and contribution. Harry will always be welcome at the Lane."
In his first full season in charge Redknapp guided Spurs to fourth position, taking them into the Champions League for the first time.

Euro 2012: Spain 4-0 Ireland, Italy 1-1 Croatia

Torres scores the opener

Fernando Torres scored two goals as Spain overwhelmed Ireland with a 4-0 victory.

Spain dominated the possession and passing throughout the match.

Torres scored an outstanding opener just 4 minutes after the start of the match when Iniesta run into trouble but Dunne couldn't gather himself as Torres got in like a flash, nicking the ball away, taking it at speed into the right-hand side of the box and rifling a shot past Given at his near post.

Spain scored the second just at the start of second half
Iniesta shoot came off Given but right to David Silva. He composed himself to beat a man, threading it through two pairs of Irish legs and passes into the bottom corner

Torres got the second receiving a through ball in space on the right-hand side and taking a good touch and to slot it past Given.

Torres Substitute, Cesc Fabregas scored the final goal on a corner, getting past Ward with ease to hammer it in between Green and Given into the far corner.

Ialy 1 Croatia 1

Croatia claimed a crucial point against Italy to enhance their chances of progressing from Group C following an impressive opening 3-1 win against Republic of Ireland.

Mario Mandzukic’s 72nd minute equaliser completed a second half recovery against an Italian team which had earlier looked to be coasting to victory.

Andrea Pirlo’s exquisite free-kick had reflected the domination of Cesare Prandelli’s side, particularly in the first half.
But a rare lapse at the back offered the Croatian a way back, although they’ll still need a point against Spain in their final fixture if they’re to earn themselves a quarter-final spot.

11 All-Natural, Instant Energy Boosters

1. Tap Your Thymus
"Your thymus is located at center top of your chest, below the collar bone, between your breasts. When tapped it triggers the production of T-cells, boosts energy, relieves stress, and increases strength and vitality," says Marian Buck-Murray, a nutrition coach and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner in Maplewood, New Jersey.
For an instant boost of energy, Buck-Murray recommends tapping your thymus with your fingertips for 20 seconds, while slowly and deeply breathing in and out.

2. Get Some Sun
It's not surprising you feel tired when you're stuck inside a cold office with fluorescent lighting. Sneak outside to soak up some sunshine for 15 to 20 minutes.
"Sunlight energizes and elevates mood," says Dr. Lorraine Maita, a board certified internist and author of Vibrance for Life: How to Live Younger and Healthier in Short Hills, New Jersey.

3. Sip Some Green Tea

If coffee is your go-to solution for the afternoon slump, try swapping out your cup of Joe for green tea. "Green tea has small amounts of caffeine, and there are many noted studies that demonstrate that EGCG, the active compound in green tea, facilitates weight loss," says Dr. Elizabeth Trattner, who specializes in integrative medicine in Miami Beach, Florida.
So in addition to boosting energy level, you might burn some extra calories! A study by Japanese researchers found that participants who consumed 690mg of catechins from green tea daily had significantly lower body mass indexes and smaller waist measurements than those in a control group.


Read complete news at Huffingtonpost.com

South Korea Removes Evolution From School Textbooks

Creationists in South Korea won a campaign to remove evolution from high school textbooks.

According to Nature.com, a group called the Society for Textbook Revise mounted an effective petition drive and is claiming credit for the removal of the evolution "error" from student's textbooks in order to "correct" their understanding of the world.

South Korean publishers will soon be removing examples of evolution from many high-school textbooks. The decision was taken , after government officials sent the Society's petition to publishers, reports the New York Daily News.

The group petitioned to remove specific examples of how animals have evolved, including the horse and Archaeopteryx bird, along with any reference to human evolution and Charles Darwin's theory of human origin. The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) has confirmed that publishers are working on revised editions.

According to Newser, the Society For Textbook Revise was set up in the 1980s by the US Institute for Creation Research when Christianity spread across South Korea.

Many biologists are furious with this decision saying they were not consulted. Dayk Jang, an evolutionary scientist at Seoul National University, told Newser: “The ministry just sent the petition out to the publishing companies and let them judge.”

South Korea is increasingly becoming a "scientific powerhouse," Josh Rosenau, programs and policy director at the National Center for Science Education told the Daily News. But Rosenau worries that South Korea will not be able to compete internationally if it doesn't continue teaching evolution in schools.

“Evolution is the core of modern biological science,” he said. “When something like this comes to fruition, the scientific community can be caught flat-footed.”

According to Newser, approximately forty percent of South Koreans don't believe in evolution, akin to a Gallup poll showing nearly the same percentage of Americans also deny evolutionary claims.


(Huffingtonpost.com)

Japan to develop drones to monitor radiation

TOKYO — Japan’s nuclear energy authority and the country’s space agency Tuesday announced a joint project to develop a drone to measure radioactivity in the environment after last year’s nuclear disaster.

Japan has been forced to invent or improve systems for measuring radioactive contamination since a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in March 2011 sparked the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a generation at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Remote-controlled helicopters have been used but are not suitable for remote and mountainous territory as they have to fly low and the operator has to be able to see the aircraft, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

But unmanned aircraft could fly at higher altitudes over potentially contaminated areas, resolving the issue.

The plan is to develop a 2.6-meter-long aircraft with a 4.2-meter wingspan.

Radiation from Fukushima was scattered over a large area and spread as far as several hundred kilometers from the power station by wind and rain.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes around the plant and swathes of the area remain badly polluted. The clean-up is proceeding slowly, amid warnings that some towns could be uninhabitable for three decades.


© 2012 AFP