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What if, in response to the steadily rising tide of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean lithium-ion battery production over the past two decades, a U.S.-based company decided to open up shop and manufacture Li-ion cells? Could it be competitive? A recent study published in the Journal of Power Sources attempts to estimate the cost of such an endeavor and compares it to the cost of the same exact venture in China. The conclusion? Well, maybe.
Examining the production costs involved in the widely-popular, boringly-named 18650-size li-ion cell?commonly found in rechargeable flashlights, older laptop batteries, and the Tesla Model S?battery industry researchers Ralph J. Brodd and Carlos Helou estimate that it would cost 30 cents more per cell to produce 35 million batteries in the U.S. as opposed to doing it in China. (Ramping up the production ten-fold to 350 million batteries reduces that difference to 7 cents per-cell.) The disparity might seem almost negligible, but, over a full year of production, it would cost a U.S. factory $10 million more to produce those 35 million.
Although the numbers seem to say that opening a U.S.-based battery manufacturing operation, right now, will be more costly than opening one overseas, the researchers argue "that this cost differential is not significant enough to influence a siting decision." That conclusion is based on a number of future hypotheticals: Rising wages for highly-skilled Chinese workers, reduced costs due to increasingly automated production lines, as well as a few intangible benefits such as "innovative synergies that may develop when R&D personnel have convenient access to the factory floor," plus the added bonus of a "Made in the U.S.A." tag?however attractive that may be to global automotive companies.
It's nice to fantasize about a return to U.S. manufacturing dominance (the country is still fourth in the world, by the way), but domestic Li-ion battery-makers aren't faring well at the moment. A123 systems, considered a poster-child of U.S. renewable manufacturing after receiving a $249 million federal grant, went bankrupt late last year and was bought by the Wanxing Group, a large Chinese auto parts maker. Currently, Johnson Controls seems to be the strongest U.S. Li-ion battery producer?with an expanding plant in Holland, Mi.?however, their latest project comes by way of a $45 million Department of Energy grant to supply Li-ion batteries for 120 municipal hybrid trucks. Tesla Motors, whose CEO is a driving force behind electric vehicles and bastion of American entrepreneurship, exclusively uses Panasonic li-ion cells made in Japan in the battery pack of the Model S.
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23 hours ago
Richard Termine / Sesame Workshop via AP
Sesame Workshop, creators of "Sesame Street," had to cut staff on Tuesday.
It's a sad day on the "Street." Sesame Workshop, makers of the classic children's program "Sesame Street," laid off approximately 10 percent of its employees Tuesday.
"Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street, is constantly assessing where we must invest for the future in response to today's rapidly changing digital environment," the company said in a statement obtained by Reuters. "After careful review, we have concluded that we must reduce our workforce by approximately 10% to strategically focus our resources."
According to Deadline.com, 30 employees lost their jobs, and the company's Sesame Learning program and Global Education departments will be absorbed into other parts of the company. Former Newsweek, Inc. CEO Tom Ascheim, who was an executive vice-president with Sesame Leaning, was one of those laid off, Deadline reports.
Sesame Learning was described by the company as "a vital Workshop initiative aimed (at bringing) the 'Sesame Street' advantage to classrooms and child-care settings."
There was no word on whether "Sesame Street," the workshop's Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning program, would be directly affected.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/c-cutbacks-sesame-lays-workers-6C10450530
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It's time to rethink the way our children learn. It's all a bit overwhelming, attempting to restructure the age-old classroom model, particularly in a system as bogged down in bureaucratic red tape as education. This month, however, we packed up our things and toured the country to find out how educational institutions are adopting new models to help reinvent the learning process -- rather than sitting idly by, waiting for the system to change around them. Naturally, technology is playing a huge role in that shift, moving from models of teaching to models of learning, where students can explore, express themselves and learn at their own speed.
We kick things off in Chicago, where Jackie Moore, a former systems programmer, is teaching inner city students how to build robots in a shopping mall basement at LevelUP. Next up, we head Miami and California, to see how technologies like the iPad, Google Chromebook and One Laptop Per Child's XO laptop are being implemented in three schools, including interviews with educators, students, OLPC CEO Rodrigo Halaby and Google director of product management, Rajen Sheth. We'll also talk to component retailers SparkFun and Adafruit about the initiatives those companies have implemented to help kids learn electronics at an early age, and then we sit down with American Museum of Natural History president, Ellen Futter, to discuss the ways the New York City institution is redefining itself for the 21st century.
We've also got an interview with Ali Partovi, a serial entrepreneur, who is working to make computer science an essential part of the elementary-level STEM program, through Code.org. Richard Culatta, the acting director of the US Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology discusses how devices can help target the learning process for individual students and LeapFrog CEO John Barbour tells us how his company is rethinking the educational toy. All that plus prognostications from John Roderick and some really sweet moose dioramas can be yours to enjoy after the break.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Laptops, Robots, Tablets, Science, Internet, Software, HD, Mobile, Alt, Google, Acer
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/g9NqE-rhFoY/
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June 25, 2013 ? North Carolina State University researchers are using video game technology to remotely control cockroaches on autopilot, with a computer steering the cockroach through a controlled environment. The researchers are using the technology to track how roaches respond to the remote control, with the goal of developing ways that roaches on autopilot can be used to map dynamic environments -- such as collapsed buildings.
The researchers have incorporated Microsoft's motion-sensing Kinect system into an electronic interface developed at NC State that can remotely control cockroaches. The researchers plug in a digitally plotted path for the roach, and use Kinect to identify and track the insect's progress. The program then uses the Kinect tracking data to automatically steer the roach along the desired path.?
The program also uses Kinect to collect data on how the roaches respond to the electrical impulses from the remote-control interface. This data will help the researchers fine-tune the steering parameters needed to control the roaches more precisely.
"Our goal is to be able to guide these roaches as efficiently as possible, and our work with Kinect is helping us do that," says Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work.
"We want to build on this program, incorporating mapping and radio frequency techniques that will allow us to use a small group of cockroaches to explore and map disaster sites," Bozkurt says. "The autopilot program would control the roaches, sending them on the most efficient routes to provide rescuers with a comprehensive view of the situation."
The roaches would also be equipped with sensors, such as microphones, to detect survivors in collapsed buildings or other disaster areas. "We may even be able to attach small speakers, which would allow rescuers to communicate with anyone who is trapped," Bozkurt says.
Bozkurt's team had previously developed the technology that would allow users to steer cockroaches remotely, but the use of Kinect to develop an autopilot program and track the precise response of roaches to electrical impulses is new.
The interface that controls the roach is wired to the roach's antennae and cerci. The cerci are sensory organs on the roach's abdomen, which are normally used to detect movement in the air that could indicate a predator is approaching -- causing the roach to scurry away. But the researchers use the wires attached to the cerci to spur the roach into motion. The wires attached to the antennae send small charges that trick the roach into thinking the antennae are in contact with a barrier and steering them in the opposite direction.
The paper, "Kinect-based System for Automated Control of Terrestrial Insect Biobots," will be presented at the Remote Controlled Insect Biobots Minisymposium at the 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society July 4 in Osaka, Japan. Lead author of the paper is NC State undergraduate Eric Whitmire. Co-authors are Bozkurt and NC State graduate student Tahmid Latif. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.
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Posted on 06/24/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments
Bulletin Today | Personal Health | Politics PrintWhere to begin? Come Oct. 1, when the online health insurance marketplaces open for business, that will be the challenge for many people who want to get coverage under the health care law.
To get ready for the launch, they can visit the government?s newly revamped HealthCare.gov website. Or they can call the 24-hour call center, which opened June 24. It?s supposed to be able to handle enrollment questions in 150 languages.
The website asks a few simple questions, such as what coverage you have now, where you live and your age range. The site offers up a checklist of information you will need to have handy when the application process opens. You can also get questions answered through a live online chat. And you can sign up to get email alerts with more information.
Here?s what three imaginary consumers would find out:
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Over the summer, the Department of Health and Human Services will add new features so that by the time marketplace enrollments begin, you?ll be able to set up accounts, complete an insurance online application and shop for coverage. A Spanish version, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, is also being updated.
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Also of Interest
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See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more
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What does Lotus remind us of? It is our national flower. It is also a car manufacturer based in Norfolk, UK and has a Formula one team, which borrows engines from Renault for racing. Lotus on the other hand is known for many adventures on four wheels. Lotus car manufacturers are known for making the best chassis in the world. They have tuned numerous cars for various manufacturers. To give you an example, they are involved in making the chassis for the famed Nissan GT-R. Albeit, Lotus makes cars for themselves in a very unusual way.
Lotus takes flagship engines from reliable manufacturers like Honda and Toyota and supercharges them to give it the extra punch. Later on, they plonk the engines in the middle of their extremely light and stiff sports cars and make them go around corners exactly like you dreamed off, flat, quick and with tones of grip. Lotus has made its appearance like background music in a movie when it comes to their Indian ventures. Long ago, Lotus stepped in and tuned the chassis on the Mahindra Scorpio (no one is perfect at first).
Not so long ago, Lotus stepped in and tuned Force Motors? SUV to make it better and less floppy given the fact it is a barge. Moreover, very recently the Sail twins from Chevrolet got their chassis tuned from Lotus. Chevrolet went ahead and biased the suspension towards ride quality over dynamics. The reason we mentioned all the ventures to make you realize that Lotus is not unknown and because they are about to enter a highly competitive and established segment in the automotive world, Motorcycles!
Lotus has announced that they will be entering the motorcycle market with a 200 BHP motorcycle. Yes! That is right, they are tapping into the niche market of hyper bikes. Lotus says this bike will be the best looker on the road and engineers will focus on design, ergonomics and high-end technologies. The bike is code named C-01. The venture is being commenced with partnership with Kodewa German auto racing team, car designer Daniel Simon and the Holzer group.
Daniel Simon is no ordinary man. He is responsible for carving out Bugatti cars and has designed the world famous Tron motorcycle for Disney in 2010. So finally, we can expect Tron styled motorcycle? Not so sure, but it may end up borrowing some cues from it. The motorcycle will be developed with Formula One experience and technologies. Carbon fiber, titanium and aerospace steel is bound to be used for this challenging venture. All the latest equipment is on disposal for making the Lotus C-01 motorcycle reliable with equipment and attention to detail making sure that it rolls out without any production faults.
Given the rich past of Lotus when it comes to design and quality, we just hope the motorcycle turns out with Lotuses core beliefs. Light, dynamic, fast and immense fun. The C-01 could be a game changer for Lotus and may get the cash registers ringing again because the car manufacturing business is a bit cold given the market scenario. Given the fact that the hyper bike market is dominated by Japanese and single European manufacturer BMW, we wish Lotus all the best for their venture and welcome them to the world of two wheels.
Source: http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/lotus-cars/lotus-to-launch-200-bhp-c-01-motorcycle/
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REUTERS/Olivia Harris
Sarah Harrison, assistant to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, thanks supporters outside Ecuador's embassy in west London on June 21, 2012.
Russia's Interfax news agency reports that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is hanging out at the Russian airport, waiting for a flight to Cuba, and is accompanied by a woman named?Sarah Harrison.Harrison is the?closest adviser to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who orchestrated the release of reams of classified U.S. government documents and other embarrassing information.
Wikileaks confirmed: "Miss Harrison has courageously assisted Mr. Snowden with his lawful departure from Hong Kong and is accompanying Mr. Snowden in his passage to safety."
Harrison is a U.K. journalist, legal researcher, and?section editor for WikiLeaks who has been with the organization for more than two years. She was assigned to Assange ahead of WikiLeaks' publication of the Afghan war logs.
An interesting point from Dominic Rushe of The Guardian?(emphasis ours):
Despite her closeness to Assange, Harrison may seem a strange choice to accompany Snowden, as unlike several people close to WikiLeaks ? most notably human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson ? Harrison has no legal qualifications or background.
She previously worked as an investigative researcher for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Rushe also notes that?the "direct intervention in Snowden's situation marks a departure in practice for WikiLeaks ? which has previously stressed its arms-length relationship with sources ? but is consistent with the organisation's world view on protecting and supporting whistleblowers."
WikiLeaks is equating the situations of Snowden and Assange as former Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of WikiLeaks and lawyer for Julian Assange, said Wikileaks is "interested in preserving Mr. Snowden?s rights and protecting him as a person. What is being done to Mr Snowden and to Mr Julian Assange - for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest - is an assault against the people".
In August Ecuador granted political asylum to Assange, who is currently holed up in the country's London embassy. Snowden has requested asylum in Ecuador.
Here's Harrison in July 2012 reading a statement from?Assange ? who, like Snowden, is avoiding U.S. prosecution for espionage?? about the release of the Syria Files i.e., emails from the Syrian government.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/wikileaks-traveling-with-edward-snowden-2013-6
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? NBC "Meet the Press" host David Gregory got a rise out of Glenn Greenwald by asking the Guardian reporter why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden.
Greenwald replied Sunday that it was "pretty extraordinary" that someone who calls himself a journalist would ask whether other journalists should be charged with felonies.
Gregory said that the question of who is a journalist may be "up to a debate" with regard to Greenwald. The host added that he was asking a question, not taking a position.
Greenwald broke the story of Snowden's disclosure of U.S. government surveillance programs. Snowden was believed to have landed in Russia on Sunday ? possibly as a stopover before traveling to South America.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nbcs-gregory-why-shouldnt-greenwald-charged-170757003.html
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Four months in the making. Now it?s live. Alpine?s newly updated and freshly launched website.
This was a major undertaking and accomplishment, namely because this website is monster-sized and information-rich!
Highlights:
Content:
Our hats are off to Terrel Armstrong and Shawn Frazer who patiently and professionally synergized our ideas and content into the masterpiece we now call . . . our website! Thanks to each of you!
Go Alpine!
Click here to view the new site.
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A TV screen shows a news report of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Sunday, June 23, 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A TV screen shows a news report of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Sunday, June 23, 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
FILE - In this June 21, 2013 file photo, a banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, is displayed at Central, Hong Kong's business district. The Hong Kong government says Snowden wanted by the U.S. for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has left for a "third country." The South China Morning Post reported Sunday, June 23, 2013 that Snowden was on a plane for Moscow, but that Russia was not his final destination. Snowden has talked of seeking asylum in Iceland. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
A TV screen shows a news report of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Sunday, June 23, 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A TV screen shows a news report of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Sunday, June 23, 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A TV screen shows a news report of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Sunday, June 23, 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Admitted leaker Edward Snowden circled the globe in evasion of U.S. authorities on Sunday, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.
The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said they would help him.
"He goes to the very countries that have, at best, very tense relationships with the United States and do not value press freedoms whatsoever," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., adding that she feared Snowden would trade more U.S. secrets for asylum.
"This is not going to play out well for the national security interests of the United States," she added.
The move left the U.S. with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.
Snowden helped The Guardian and The Washington Post disclose U.S. surveillance programs that collects vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, but often sweeping up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.
Snowden has been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.
In a statement, the Justice Department said it would "continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."
A State Department official said the United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S.
The White House would only say that President Barack Obama had been briefed on the developments by his national security advisers.
Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Interfax cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on the plane that landed Sunday afternoon in Moscow. The report said he intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.
U.S. lawmakers scoffed, and warned that all countries helping Snowden to evade trial were hurting their relationship with the U.S.
"The freedom trail is not exactly China-Russia-Cuba-Venezuela, so I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there'll be consequences if they harbor this guy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Upon his arrival, Snowden did not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. One explanation could be that he wasn't allowed; a U.S. official said Snowden's passport had been revoked, and that special permission from Russian authorities would have been needed.
"It's almost hopeless unless we find some ways to lean on them," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
With each suspected flight, efforts to secure Snowden's return to the United States appeared more complicated if not impossible. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.
"As we have seen of late, I think 10 percent of Snowden's issues are now legal, and 90 percent political," said Douglas McNabb, an expert in international extradition and a senior principle at international criminal defense firm McNabb Associates.
The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed unlikely. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half century of distrust.
Venezuela, too, could prove difficult. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.
U.S. pressure on Caracas also might be problematic given its energy exports. The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports Venezuela sent the United States 900,000 barrels of crude oil each day in 2012, making it the fourth-largest foreign source of U.S. oil.
Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner, said Snowden's options aren't numerous though.
"You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."
That is perhaps why Snowden first stopped in Russia, a nation with complicated relations with Washington. U.S. lawmakers warned those relations would grow more perilous if Moscow does not cooperate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States," Schumer said. "That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."
It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished with disclosing highly classified information.
"I am very worried about what else he has," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had been told Snowden had perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents.
Ros-Lehtinen and King spoke with CNN. Graham spoke to "Fox News Sunday." Schumer was on CNN's "State of the Union." Sanchez appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein was on CBS' "Face the Nation."
___
Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Matthew V. Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.
___
Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott
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BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? Demonstrators once again took to the streets in Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services.
Thousands gathered in the central square of Belo Horizonte and hundreds rallied in several other cities, largely to protest legislation that would limit the power of prosecutors to investigate crimes in a country where many are fed up with the high rate of robberies and killings.
President Dilma Rousseff broke days of silence on Friday with a broadcast address in which she vowed to battle corruption while improving government services, acknowledging the anger that has led to more than a week of vast, sometimes violent protests across Latin America's largest country.
She said she planned to soon meet with leaders of the protest movement, governors and the mayors of major cities. But it remained unclear who could represent the massive and decentralized groups of demonstrators taking to the streets with a range of grievances, including woeful public services despite a high tax burden.
Rousseff said that her government would create a national plan for public transportation in cities. Officials in many cities have already backed down from the hike in bus and subway fares that set off the protests. She also reiterated her backing for a plan before congress to invest all oil revenue royalties in education and a promise she made earlier to bring in foreign doctors to areas that lack physicians.
"I want institutions that are more transparent, more resistant to wrongdoing," Rousseff said in reference to complaints of deep corruption in Brazilian politics, which is emerging as a focal point of the protests. "It's citizenship and not economic power that must be heard first."
The leader is a former Marxist rebel who fought against Brazil's 1964-1985 military regime and was imprisoned for three years and tortured by the junta, and she pointedly referred to earlier sacrifices made to free the nation from dictatorship.
"My generation fought a lot so that the voice of the streets could be heard," Rousseff said. "Many were persecuted, tortured and many died for this. The voice of the street must be heard and respected and it can't be confused with the noise and truculence of some troublemakers."
Edvaldo Chaves, a 61-year-old doorman in Rio's upscale Flamengo neighborhood, said he found the speech convincing.
"I thought she seemed calm and cool. Plus, because she was a guerrilla and was in exile, she talks about the issue of protests convincingly," Chaves said. "I think things are going to calm down. We'll probably keep seeing people in the streets but probably small numbers now."
But Bruna Romao, an 18-year-old store clerk in Sao Paulo, said Rousseff's words probably wouldn't have an impact.
"Brazilians are passionate," she said. "We boil over quickly but also cool down fast. But this time it's different, people are in full revolt. I don't see things calming down anytime soon."
Some 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets nationwide Thursday night to denounce everything from poor public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for next year's World poor public services
The protests continued Friday, as about 1,000 people marched in western Rio de Janeiro city, with some looting stores and invading a $250 million arts center that remains empty after several years of construction. Police tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas as they were pelted with rocks. Police said some in the crowd were armed and firing at officers.
Other protests broke out in in the country's biggest city, Sao Paulo, where traffic was paralyzed but no violence was reported, and in Fortaleza in the country's northeast. Demonstrators were calling for more mobilizations in 10 cities on Saturday.
With Pope Francis scheduled to visit Brazil next month, the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops issued a statement expressing "solidarity and support for the demonstrations, as long as they remain peaceful."
"This is a phenomenon involving the Brazilian people and the awakening of a new consciousness," the Catholic leaders said in the statement. "The protests show all of us that we cannot live in a country with so much inequality."
Rousseff had never held elected office before she became president in 2011 and remains clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight. A career technocrat and economist, she was helped into the presidency by her mentor, the tremendously popular former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Marlise Matos, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, said before Rousseff spoke that officials need to take stronger action.
"The government has to respond, even if the agenda seems unclear and wide open," she said. "It should be the president herself who should come out and provide a response. But I think the government is still making strategic calculations to decide how to respond. What I'd like to see as a response is a call for a referendum on political reform. Let the people decide what kind of political and electoral system we have."
Social media and mass emails were buzzing with calls for a general strike next week. However, Brazil's two largest nationwide unions, the Central Workers Union and the Union Force, said they knew nothing about such an action, though they do support the protests.
A Thursday night march in Sao Paulo was the first with a strong union presence, as a drum corps led members wearing matching shirts down the city's main avenue. Many protesters have called for a movement with no ties to political parties or unions, which are widely considered corrupt here.
The unrest is hitting the nation as it hosts the Confederations Cup soccer tournament, with tens of thousands of foreign visitors in attendance.
Carlos Cardozo, a 62-year-old financial consultant who joined Friday's protest in Rio, said he thought the unrest could cost Rousseff next year's elections. Even as recently as last week, Rousseff had enjoyed a 74 percent approval rating in a poll by the business group the National Transport Confederation.
"Her paying lip service by saying she's in favor of the protests is not helping her cause," Cardozo said. "People want to see real action, real decisions, and it's not this government that's capable of delivering."
___
Barchfield reported from Rio de Janeiro and Brooks from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writers Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Jack Chang in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-leader-breaks-silence-protests-001503729.html
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? For months, BP has complained that a Louisiana attorney who is administering its settlement with tens of thousands of Gulf Coast businesses and residents has made decisions that expose the company to what could be billions of dollars in fictitious claims arising from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Now the court-appointed administrator himself is investigating allegations that could provide the London-based oil giant with fodder for its argument that it hasn't gotten a fair shake from the claims-processing team.
Lafayette-based lawyer Patrick Juneau confirmed Friday that he has opened an internal investigation of alleged misconduct by one of his staff attorneys, Lionel H. Sutton III.
Sutton resigned Friday morning, Juneau spokesman Nick Gagliano told The Associated Press.
A report outlining the allegations, a copy of which was obtained by the AP, accuses Sutton of "writing polices" that benefited himself and other plaintiffs' lawyers. It does not elaborate.
Prepared by Juneau's office, the report also says a "confidential source" who contacted Juneau's security chief accused Sutton of trying to influence a claim filed by a New Orleans-based law firm. The same firm allegedly paid Sutton a portion of settlement proceeds for claims he had referred to it before he went to work for Juneau.
Juneau provided the report to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier during a meeting in his chambers Thursday. The administrator has pledged to thoroughly investigate the claims involving Sutton, who started working for his office in November 2012, according to the report.
Both BP and claimants "rightfully expect fairness and objectivity from this claims process," Juneau wrote.
"Our goal is to operate in an efficient, transparent and fair manner. All allegations are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly."
But in its own statement Friday, BP said only a "comprehensive and independent investigation will ensure the integrity of the claims process."
Sutton acknowledged in an email late Thursday that he had been told he was suspended "pending an investigation of an anonymous allegation against me."
"I have not been made aware of the substance of the allegation or the status of the investigation," Sutton wrote. "Once this is resolved, I would be happy to discuss it all with you."
According to the report, Sutton denied the allegations when Juneau discussed them with him.
"Sutton advised Juneau that he did not retain any interest in the claims or clients and the allegations were 100 percent incorrect," the report says.
But the report also cites passages from a string of email exchanges in which Sutton allegedly asks about his cut of nearly $500,000 in settlement payments to an individual who had filed several seafood-related claims.
In response to a lawyer who emailed him in January 2013 and asked him about his fee, Sutton allegedly responded, "They sent you the check for my fee. The total fee on (the claimant) was 10k (+ or -). They sent you 5 for me and kept the other 5."
Jonathan Andry, a lawyer at the firm that allegedly paid Sutton, didn't immediately respond to messages left at his office and with his answering service.
BP attorney Mark Holstein, in a letter to the judge Friday, said it's possible no further investigation into the matter would have happened had the company not pushed the issue with Juneau by requesting a meeting this week.
"It is undisputed that the CSSP first became aware of the Sutton allegations at the end of May 2013, yet it appears that Mr. Sutton's emails were not locked down, searched and reviewed for almost three weeks..." he wrote, referring to the Court Supervised Settlement Program.
Juneau's office determined that "the Andry Law Group/Andry Lerner L.L.C., had 675 claimants, businesses or individuals that had at least completed a claims form and/or registration form" with the claims database, the report said.
The report indicates that Juneau's security head, David Welker, notified the FBI's New Orleans division about the lawyer's alleged misconduct. Welker until recently was the special agent in charge of the FBI office in New Orleans.
An FBI spokeswoman in New Orleans declined to comment Thursday.
Before the allegations even surfaced, BP PLC had sued to block what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses over the spill. The company has accused Juneau of trying to rewrite the terms of the deal and asserts that he has made decisions that expose the company to fictitious losses that were never contemplated in the settlement.
Barbier, who is overseeing the massive settlement, appointed Juneau last year and has upheld his decisions for calculating payments. BP has appealed, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case in July.
It's unclear how much influence Sutton had over the process of evaluating and paying scores of claims spawned by the deadly Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 rig workers and led to the nation's offshore oil spill.
The report prepared by Juneau's office Thursday doesn't elaborate on the allegation from the confidential source that Sutton was "writing policies within the (settlement program) that ultimately may benefit his friends who are attorneys and himself."
But the revelation could strengthen BP's position as it forges ahead with a high-stakes challenge to Juneau's interpretation of the settlement terms.
"If I'm Judge Barbier, I've got to worry about this," said Howard Erichson, a Fordham University law professor specializing in complex litigation. "Any claims settlement relies on a reliable claims process. If the integrity of the claims process is challenged, the judge is going to take that very seriously."
The spill began in April 2010 after the BP-leased drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded off the Louisiana coast. Roughly 200 million gallons of crude oil were released from the Macondo well a mile under the Gulf surface. Marshes, fisheries and beaches from Louisiana to Florida were fouled by the oil until a cap was placed over the blown-out well in July 2010.
BP set up a compensation fund for individuals and businesses affected by the spill and committed $20 billion. The claims fund initially was handled by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg but Juneau took over the processing of claims after the settlement was reached last year.
Juneau's office announced in May that it has determined more than $3 billion in claims are eligible for payment through the settlement agreement. More than 162,000 claims were filed and more than $2 billion had been paid to claimants as of May 6.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/administrator-opens-probe-spill-claims-lawyer-173946788.html
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HARRISON, N.J. ? The mark of many great goal scorers is the ability to be selfish in front of the goal.
Three of the best United States forwards ever must have missed that memo.
On Thursday at Red Bull Arena, Abby Wambach smashed Mia Hamm?s international goal scoring record. Wambach entered the game needing two goals to tie the record of 158 goals; she had those within 19 minutes. By halftime she was alone at the top and two clear with 160 goals.
Wambach now owns the greatest individual record in all of soccer ? men?s or women?s. She said she would celebrate her record with family and friends on Thursday night, but the significance of Hamm?s name ? one synonymous with women?s soccer to this day ? bumping down to second on the charts isn?t lost on Wambach.
?If I were to end my career right now, I would have done it before breaking (the record),? Wambach said. ?That?s how much respect I have for Mia ? how much she?s done for me personally, how much she?s doing even for Alex Morgan, still. This is a personal thing. Mia wants players to break her records. I now want Alex to break mine and I just told Alex, ?you better do it in much less time than I did.??
Such is the relationship of three of the most prolific scorers in the history of soccer. Wambach and Hamm are atop the charts, while Morgan?s 44 goals in 68 caps (and at 24 years old) has her on a blistering pace to join the fray. But their ambitions always lie in seeing their apprentice succeed them. Hamm did it for Wambach, guiding the 5-foot-11-inch forward through her early professional years with the U.S. and the Washington Freedom and shaping Wambach?s raw talent into a more determined, more focused player.
[MORE: Wambach breaks Hamm's mark with four-goal night]
?I?m just glad I got to share 158 with her. It was short, but it was fun,? Hamm said humbly in a statement issued through U.S. Soccer.
That?s it. No grievances. No ego. That?s Hamm?s nature. It?s Wambach?s too, and now she plays role model to Morgan. Their goals are to create each others goals.
Just as Hamm and Wambach became a dynamic duo in the three-plus years they played together in the early 2000?s, Wambach and Morgan have become inseparable on the field. Morgan?s assist on Wambach?s fourth goal Thursday was her 13th on a Wambach goal (Hamm assisted 14).
[MORE: Wambach praises teammates in reaching milestone]
But the connection goes well beyond pinging crosses to each other. Find Abby Wambach in warm-ups and you?ll find Alex Morgan. Passing together. Stretching together. Even sitting next to each other on the bench after being taken out of the match (a 5-0 rout) early in the second half.
It?s a connection that breeds sustainable success as the U.S. ushers in the next generation.
Postgame on Thursday, Morgan was beaming as if she just scored goal No. 160.
?I?ve looked up to Abby for so many years,? Morgan said. ?She?s a great leader for this team, and to be able to be a part of this memory looking forward and breaking this record, Abby completely deserves it and I?m really happy for her.?
The relationship is triangular. Hamm helped Morgan train in the offseason to sharpen her skills through the dormant winter. Wambach said she was likely to speak with Hamm following Thursday night?s interviews.
Three greats at what can be the most selfish position in soccer, as unselfish as they come when it comes to each other. That they emerged for the United States in succession without any lapse in between is an unprecedented gift from the soccer gods. Greatness followed greatness, and Morgan is well ready to take the torch and sprint away with it.
?Alex is going to score tons of goals in the next few years,? Wambach said. ?I think we have such a different kind of strength. When I?m having a great game, she?s probably going to be on the assisting end of things. But I want to be putting her in the positions to score goals, because my legs can?t move like hers. She can score goals in such random positions, like the Canada game.
?She?s going to be a threat for us. She?s going to be scoring the lion share of goals for our team over the next couple years, so if my role becomes assister, great. If I?m the set piece threat, fine. Whatever my role is to help this team win a World Cup title, that?s all I care about.?
That elusive World Cup ? the only thing Hamm, and now Wambach, ever really cared about. Hamm won two.
Wambach gave Hamm the retirement gift of an Olympic gold medal. The best thank you Morgan could ever give Wambach is a World Cup trophy in 2015.
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HONG KONG (AP) ? The Hong Kong government says a former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the U.S. for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has left for a "third country."
The South China Morning Post reported Sunday that Edward Snowden was on a plane for Moscow, but that Russia was not his final destination. Snowden has talked of seeking asylum in Iceland.
Hong Kong said in a statement that it allowed Snowden to leave despite an extradition request from the U.S. because documents provided by the U.S. government did not "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law."
It said there was no legal basis to stop Snowden from leaving.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-says-snowden-left-third-country-081745849.html
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128752/___minutes_with__a_space_scientist
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For many small businesses, getting set up with voice-over-IP telephony generally meant one of two things: consumer-focused platforms that were affordable but didn't really offer business-specific features, or complex enterprise-class PBX systems that were expensive and too difficult to deploy. Luckily for the SMB, Kerio Technologies offers the Kerio Operator Box 1210, a PBX chock-full of enterprise-class features that is fairly easy to deploy, straightforward to use, and at just the right price-point for small budgets.
Why would a small business want to shift to a VoIP?system instead of just sticking with the normal business phone service from the local phone carrier? For starters, it could help make the business look bigger, with auto-attendant recordings, specialized messages for after hours, and the ability to handle calls, such as providing hours of operation or product information via pre-recorded messages, even when the line is busy.
Kerio actually offers the SMB-class PBX in various forms. There is the Kerio Operator Box 1210 ($900 for a five-user license), a small appliance small enough to sit comfortably on a desk, and the Kerio Operator Box 3210 (starting at $1400 for a five-user license), a 1U server. Administrators can download the Kerio Operator software and install it onto their own hardware. Kerio also offers Operator as a VMware virtual appliance (vmx and ovf formats) for organizations who prefer virtual environments. The low cost of entry is a big plus for the small business.
For this review, I looked at the Kerio Operator Box 1210.
Looking at the Hardware
Measuring 10.7 by 7.7 by 1.7 inches?(HWD) and tipping the scale at just over 4.4 pounds, the desktop PBX is a distinctive orange and easy to see. The rear panel has four Ethernet ports, two of which are Gigabit, along with two USB ports, a power button, and the port for the power cord. The front panel has LEDs for power, status (usually means disk activity), and one for each network port. I had the desktop PBX running on my desk for several months, and the unit never got noisy or hot to touch.
The Operator Box 1210 has 2GB of memory and 8GB of industrial grade compact flash disk storage. Kerio Operator is based on Asterisk, the open-source SIP communication software, which is why it can work with a wide range of IP phones and softphones, including models from Cisco, Snom, Polycom, and Yealink/Well. Operator Box 1210 can support up to 50 concurrent calls and concurrently record up to 10 calls. The appliance comes with 4GB of on-board storage for voicemails. The 3210 supports a higher call volume.
At $900, the Kerio Operator Box 1210 comes with five users by default. Organizations can buy additional licenses per user for $30, in additional groups of five, to add more users to the system.
Getting Started
Setup is not that difficult, unlike many business-class PBX systems which generally require a technician or a reseller to come on site to help with the deployment. However, Kerio Operator Box 1210 has a lot of steps, and each one has to be done exactly as they are listed in the installation guide. The box ships by default with a static IP address already assigned. I connected the Kerio box with a testing machine so that I could open up the Web-based interface.
I created a password for the Administrator account and then stepped through the setup wizard to set the time zone and other basics. I changed the IP address assigned to the box to one that fit my network. While I had the option to use DHCP, network devices should have static IP addresses. After changing the IP address, I plugged the Kerio box directly into the switch so that it was on the network.
As mentioned earlier, it is extremely important to follow the installation instructions carefully. For example, when trying to get to the Web-based administrator interface for the first time, I was supposed to plug one end of the Ethernet cable into the Operator Box's port 1. And it has to be port 1. I wasted a lot of frustrating minutes trying to troubleshoot why I couldn't ping the box or open the Web interface before realizing that I'd plugged cable in to port 4. As soon as I switched ports, everything worked.
I decided to deploy the Kerio Operator behind a firewall. I specified on the interface, under System, that there was a firewall, and entered my public IP address. This meant I had to add port forwarding rules to handle incoming SIP?traffic (port 5060). I didn't need to open the other TCP ports specified in the manual since I didn't need features like being able to access the Web-interface directly from the Internet?Next: Kerio Operator Box Web Interface, PBX Features
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/xVBU-z5i4yI/0,2817,2419785,00.asp
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We've seen our share of short-throw projectors that can project a large image even when placed relatively near the screen, but most are higher-resolution (either XGA or WXGA) models. The BenQ MS616ST, geared to business and education settings, is one of the few we've looked at with SVGA (800 by 600) resolution. Its price is modest for a short-throw projector, and it has a good selection of connectivity ports, but its image quality for both data and video could be better.
The MS616ST is a DLP-based projector with a modest rated brightness of 2,500 lumens. The projector is white with silver trim and rounded corners. It has large and responsive focus and zoom rings; the zoom ratio is a modest 1.2:1. The projector measures 4.1 by 12.3 by 9.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 6 pounds, making it quite portable, though it lacks a carrying case (as is true with many SVGA projectors).
The MS616ST has a respectable set of ports, including VGA (which doubles as component video); monitor-out; HDMI; 3 RCA jacks for composite video/audio; S-video; one audio-in and one audio-out jack, an RS232 jack, a mini-USB type B port for connecting with a computer for USB Display (which emulates what's on your computer screen), and a USB type A port for running a presentation from a USB thumb drive (file types supported are JPEG, JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF and TIFF). An optional WiFi adapter, which also plugs into the USB A port, is available for $50.
Data Testing
Under full zoom, the MS616ST projected an image about 48 inches on a diagonal from just under 4 feet away. When I switched to video with its widescreen aspect ratio, it threw an image roughly 60 inches on a diagonal from about 5 feet away. The image was able to stand up to a good amount of ambient light without notable degradation.
In data image testing, using the using the DisplayMate suite, the BenQ MS616ST's data image quality was unimpressive, though still suitable for business or classroom presentations, provided that there isn't a lot of fine detail. In text testing, the two smallest white-on-black sizes were blurred, with the smallest barely readable, and the smallest black-on-white text was blurred as well. When viewing our tests over a VGA connection, there was considerable pixel jitter in certain images, which was greatly reduced by adjusting the phase setting; it disappeared when I switched to an HDMI connection, though image quality and issues otherwise pretty much remained the same.
Colors were on the dull side, particularly reds and yellows. There was some green tinting in images with gray backgrounds. We expect to see some pixilation with SVGA projectors, but it was a little more pronounced than usual, even considering the low resolution.
Video
Video quality was suitable for showing shorter clips as part of a presentation. The rainbow effect?in which red-green-blue flashes appear, usually in bright areas against a dark background?was not particularly severe, but would likely be distracting to people who are sensitive to it. Pixilation was also frequently visible. There was a loss of detail in some bright areas, and skin tones tended to look redder than normal.
Audio from a single 10-watt speaker is loud enough for a small to mid-sized room and is of reasonable quality.
The MS616ST has some eco-friendly features that can save in power consumption and increase lamp life to as much as 6,500 hours. EcoBlank mode lets presenters easily take a break, blanking the screen out and lowering energy consumption up to 70% while it's paused. The projector will also automatically enter EcoBlank mode after 3 minutes without a signal. SmartEco mode automatically adjusts lamp brightness, depending on lighting conditions.
This projector is 3D-capable, with support for 3D Blu-Ray via HDMI as well as NVIDIA 3DTV Play, enabling it to display 3D content from NVIDIA 3D Vision. Active-shutter 3D glasses are not included, and can cost more than $70 per pair. You may be hard-pressed in outfitting a classroom with them, as you could easily end up paying several times the cost of the projector itself.
For better image quality for both data and video in an SVGA projector (albeit a long-throw model), at a bargain price, consider the Editors' Choice Epson EX3212 SVGA 3LCD Projector. As a 3LCD-based projector, it is immune from the rainbow effect seen with the MS616ST and many other DLP projectors, though it lacks 3D capability.
For a great short-throw projector, consider the Editors' Choice Optoma TW610ST, a DLP-based model with WXGA resolution and a rated brightness of 3,100 lumens. It provides excellent data image quality, passable video quality, 3D capability, and an even shorter throw distance than the MS616ST (a 68-inch image from just 3 feet from the screen).
The BenQ MS616ST offers multiple connectivity choices as a value-priced business or classroom data projector. It stumbles on image quality for both data and video, but if you need a data projector for a tight space and don't have much fine detail in your presentations, it might fit the bill at a bargain price.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/DjIq-a795dY/0,2817,2420637,00.asp
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It's not uncommon to hear bibliophiles and pedants waxing poetic about the wonderful and incomparable "old book smell," but tiresome as these tirades may be, it turns out they might actually be on to something. Thanks to a recent scientific study, that same, vanilla-tinged aroma wafting off the pages of old tomes is now the most efficient way to flavor our ice cream.
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