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Monday, November 28, 2011
Occupy Wall Street And Homelessness: Millions Spent To Evict Camps, While Cutting Shelter Funds
As cities around the country have swept Occupy Wall Street camps from their plazas and parks in recent weeks, a number of mayors and city officials have argued that by providing shelter to the homeless, the camps are endangering the public and even the homeless themselves.
Yet in many of those cities, services for the homeless are severely underfunded. The cities have spent millions of dollars to police and evict the protesters, but they've been shutting down shelters and enacting laws to prohibit homeless from sleeping overnight in public.
In Oakland, Atlanta, Denver and Portland, Ore., there are at least two homeless people for every open bed in the shelter system, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In Salt Lake City, Utah, and Chapel Hill, N.C. -- two other cities that have evicted protesters from their encampments -- things are better but far from ideal. In Chapel Hill, according to the HUD study, there are 121 beds for 135 homeless people, and in Salt Lake City, 1,627 for 1,968.
Heather Maria Johnson, a civil rights attorney at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, said most cities in the U.S. lack adequate affordable housing, emergency or transitional housing, or other social services for people who are either homeless or are in danger of losing their homes. "This was true before the current economic crisis and remains true today, particularly in areas that have cut social services due to budget concerns," Johnson said.
According to HUD, job losses and foreclosures helped push more than 170,000 families into homeless shelters in 2009, up nearly 30 percent from 2007. Of course, those are some of the same problems that have inspired people to protest.
ATLANTA
After Atlanta's Mayor Kasim Reed forcibly evacuated Occupy Atlanta from a public park, protesters moved into a homeless shelter. As it turned out, the shelter had been tied up in court battles with the city for a few years, and the city had planned to close it. The shelter was scheduled to be shut down a few days after the protesters moved in, but that date has since been postponed indefinitely and protesters have taken up the shelter's cause.
Local stakeholders -- including city officials, the local business development group Central Atlanta Progress, Emory University and other business interests -- have been trying to boot the Task Force homeless shelter from its home as it sits on a valuable piece of real estate.
The fight between the shelter and its opponents goes back at least to 2008. In a recent court case, the task force that runs the shelter contended that Emory University had been trying to rid their area of the shelter for years. Emails released in court show that officials from Emory approached major private donors to the task force to make their case against the shelter, and that they talked with investors about foreclosing on it. And in recent weeks, the shelter has fought the city to prevent local authorities from turning off their water.
Some point out that the media has been paying more attention to the shelter's troubles since the protesters' arrival. Earlier this month, the county told a local TV station that tuberculosis had broken out at the shelter. Protesters told HuffPost that they thought these claims were bogus.
One protester, Tim Franzen, said he'd been living in the shelter for weeks and had yet to see signs of anyone getting sick. He described the claim as an attempt to smear the Occupation and the shelter.
So did Shab Bashiri, another protester. "The city wants to shut it down with absolutely no alternative," she said. According to Bashiri, the protesters had not only been "occupying" the shelter but had also been sleeping outdoors in areas where homeless people stay.
The shelter is the largest in the southeast, housing more than 1,000 people on some nights. "The city doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with 1,000 people," Franzen said. "So where would they go? We don't know."
Atlanta has been flagged as one of the worst cities nationally in which to be homeless and has the widest income gap between rich and poor.
Many protesters argue that the city should fund the shelter with the money they've spent on dealing with the protest. The mayor's office reports they spent nearly $500,000 in just two weeks dealing with Occupy Atlanta, most of it on overtime pay for police. Maurice Lattimore, who helps run the shelter, said $500,000 could fund the shelter easily for two years. He noted that the city hasn't put any money into the shelter's coffers since the court battle began three years ago.
The Atlanta mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment.
PORTLAND
In Portland, Ore., Mayor Sam Adams said despite his support for the Occupy movement's principles, the Portland camp was getting dangerous. After the eviction, the mayor pointed to the presence of homeless people and people with mental illnesses. Nearby businesses had been pressuring him with claims that homeless residents were scaring away customers.
Judas James, a member of Occupy Portland who is himself homeless, said the protesters have tried to help homeless people who sought shelter with them by providing food, medical attention, tents and blankets.
"If there was money there for them, these people could be taken care of," James said. "It's hard because we want everyone to be safe, and we just don't have the resources to help them with it."
If the city were to take care of them using the money they've spent to pull down tents and clean up the park, it would amount to nearly $850,000, according to data from Mayor Adams' office.
Adams has acknowledged that the Occupy Portland movement has highlighted the city's homelessness problem, and said he supports a lot of the protesters' positions.
The city has invested $13 million towards relieving homelessness in the past five years and has devised a long-term plan to combat the problem. Yet, in an attempt to climb out of a budget hole of over $3 billion, Oregon has slashed its funding for social services by more than $73 million.
Amy Ruiz, a spokesperson for the mayor, wrote in an email that "providing social services and maintaining peace are not mutually exclusive. The City must, and does, do both." Ruiz pointed out that several nonprofit organizations, which receive money from state and local governments, had moved several dozen homeless people out of the Occupy camps into shelters, motels and other "lower-impact, and safer, camps."
Ruiz said more than 20 outreach workers representing at least seven organizations reached out to the homeless at the encampments before shutting them down.
Dennis Lundberg, an outreach worker, told Adams that the camp was doing more harm than good to Portland's street youth, who preferred the camp to the shelter system because they could reap the benefits of free meals without submitting to the sorts of rules imposed by the shelters.
DENVER
In October, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock came out in support of new legislation that would ban homeless people from sleeping in public places overnight.
"We only have one downtown," Hancock said at the time. "We cannot afford to lose our city core. If people don't feel safe going downtown, that is a threat to the very vitality of our downtown and our city."
A couple weeks later, Hancock said he didn't want to allow protesters to set the precedent for sleeping in tents in the public parks. This was a prelude to Denver sending in riot police to evict the protesters.
Johnson, the civil rights attorney with the NLCHP, said the organization has noticed a nationwide increase in laws that criminalize homelessness, including laws that prohibit sleeping, sitting or storing belongings in public spaces, even when there is insufficient shelter space.
She argued these criminalization measures cost far more to municipalities than providing adequate shelter to people. Citing studies conducted in 13 cities and states, she said that it costs on average $87 per day to jail someone, compared to $28 per day to house them in a shelter. "With state and local budgets stretched to their limit, it's profoundly irrational to waste taxpayer money on these expensive criminalization policies," she said.
According to Revekka Balancier, the communications director of the homeless outreach program Denver Road Home, the city's homeless shelters are at capacity every night, and many have long waiting lists. And she noted that the city's homeless population is growing. A report from 2009 found that 10,604 people were living on the streets and in area shelters on the night the survey was conducted. By 2011, that number had increased by 6.5 percent, to 11,377.
A spokesperson for the mayor said that the city works with Denver Road Home and other organizations to "comprehensively address the needs of our homeless population."
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Gameloft bringing a dozen iPad games to Jetstar flights, curbing in-flight boredom with UNO
Gameloft bringing a dozen iPad games to Jetstar flights, curbing in-flight boredom with UNO originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
91% The Descendants
All Critics (138) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (126) | Rotten (12)
One of the year's best films, a bubbly meditation on family and responsibility that weighs just enough to matter.
With so many balls in the air the temptation is to rush from one plot strand to another, but Payne takes the opposite approach. He also captures the complexity of emotional reactions that grief stirs.
It's a lovely, heartfelt character study of common, everyday people trapped on the horns of an uncommon but not unheard-of dilemma.
The latest exhibit in Payne's careful dissection of the beached male, which runs from Matthew Broderick's character in "Election" to Jack Nicholson's in "About Schmidt" and Paul Giamatti's in "Sideways."
This mature, well-acted dramatic comedy is deeply satisfying, maybe even cathartic.
A tough, tender, observant, exquisitely nuanced portrait of mixed emotions at their most confounding and profound -- all at play within a deliciously damp, un-touristy Hawaii that's at once lush and lovely to look at.
The best thing here is Clooney, cleverly dropping some of his man's man mannerisms to make Matt less of an idea and more of a human.
It's smart, funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming, wise, and, despite some sad moments, genuinely optimistic. I experienced more feelings watching it than I usually get from ten movies.
Well-acted and touching with a mild eye for human foibles, this is one of the better-written films of the year.
What's so special about Payne's approach in The Descendants is how acutely observed and subtle the movie is, especially since the previews are selling it as a broader, more absurd comedy.
If you see The Descendants, see it for Clooney (and Woodley), but don't believe the hype that it's one for the ages.
A lot of The Descendants is affecting, but its mushier tone is often less emotionally resonant than the bitter sarcasm of Payne's earlier work.
This unforgettable movie succeeds by making audiences feel like a part of the family. Clooney knocks it out of the park with a marvelous performance. Woodley makes a strong bid for a supporting actress nomination. The supporting players are all given...
Here's where I am right now: The Descendants is the best movie of 2011. It is the movie of the year, in many ways beyond its simple superlative overall excellence.
(Clooney) is at the top of his game in his scenes alone with the comatose Elizabeth. Asking questions that are unable to be answered, his pain at his loss and her betrayal is heartbreaking.
Audiences will argue about whether it's a comedy or a drama, but they'll agree they saw a wonderful film.
The Descendants finds Payne, now 50, having arrived in midlife with a new maturity, eschewing solipsism and snickers for a deeper engagement with the world.
Clooney has never been better, displaying more range and less actor-ego than ever before... The Descendants would still be a splendid movie without him; with Clooney, it's one of 2011's very best.
It's good, but far less than you'd expect from the guy who started his career with the gleefully provocative Citizen Ruth and Election.
In the hands of writer-director Alexander Payne, Clooney has rarely seemed so much at home.
There are ample opportunities for the film to soak in pathos, righteousness, farce, or pictorialism, and Payne manages to nod at those pitfalls without falling into them.
An emotionally ennobling film that wears its compassion on the sleeve of its ugly Hawaiian print shirts.
Payne displays a knack for both perfect casting and using his lead actor in sometimes unconventional, unexpected ways
Director Alexander Payne prefers to start a movie with one strike against him. He always picks a dislikable protagonist... Then, as he slowly gives characters self-awareness, he gives us reasons to watch and care about them.
More Critic ReviewsSource: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_descendants_2011/
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Architect: Beijing airport damage not design flaw (AP)
BEIJING ? One of the architects behind the busiest airport in Asia said Thursday that substandard materials or installation ? not design flaws ? are likely to blame for wind blowing parts of the roof off Beijing's three-year-old Terminal 3.
The airport is the result of a frenetic Chinese building boom that has produced numerous architectural marvels, though some of the iconic new projects have been hit by quality and safety problems.
State media say passengers reported seeing bits of white and yellow roofing material blowing across runways and through parts of the $2.8 billion terminal on Tuesday. In statements issued earlier this week, the airport said no one was hurt and operations were not affected.
It was the second time in a year that wind damaged the airport, which is second only to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in terms of total passengers.
"If the products provided by the suppliers were not up to their highest standards, or if the individual items were not installed properly, then this kind of thing could happen," said Shao Weiping, an architect with one of the firms that collaborated on the structure, the Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute.
Shao said he was "very confident that the design was perfect and involved no mistakes or flaws."
Terminal 3 was one of several high-profile projects commissioned by the Chinese government in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The building was designed by Britain's Norman Foster. The Hong Kong office of Foster & Partners didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
A man with the airport's press office refused to comment on the incident or give his name, and referred to the airport's earlier statements.
China's multi-trillion dollar building boom has produced high-speed trains, smooth new superhighways, cruise terminals and airports. But many of the projects, built quickly to meet deadlines that often appear geared toward political grandstanding, have suffered quality and safety problems.
Two bullet trains crashed on July 23, killing 40 people and injuring 177. In 2009, a blaze at the Beijing construction site of the new headquarters for CCTV, China's main television network, gutted a luxury hotel and killed a fireman.
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Friday, November 25, 2011
Jobless claims rise but stay below 400,000 (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? New claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but held below 400,000 for the third straight week, suggesting the labor market was gaining traction.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed to a seasonally adjusted 393,000 from an upwardly revised 391,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims at 390,000.
The U.S. economy has gathered steam in the second half of the year, expanding at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter. It could accelerate in the fourth quarter.
That could help the country avoid a recession, which is expected in the euro zone. But economists still see a risk of a U.S. recession next year, especially if lawmakers allow extended unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut to expire at the end of 2011.
A Labor Department official described the jobless claims report as straightforward, with no states estimating their level of claims.
Initial claims below the 400,000 mark are normally seen as pointing to some healing in the jobs market.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, fell 3,250 to 394,250, the lowest since April.
The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid rose 68,000 to 3.69 million in the week that ended November 12.
Economists had forecast so-called continuing claims falling to 3.605 million from a previously reported 3.608 million.
A total of 6.73 million people claimed unemployment benefits under all programs during the week ending Nov 5, down 44,608 from the prior week.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe)
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Robert Pattison Is 'Sensational' In 'Cosmopolis'
'He's a great actor,' director David Cronenberg tells MTV News. 'It's obvious in the movie.'
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in "Cosmopolis"
Photo: Caitlin Cronenberg's Twitter
The infamous birth scene in "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" may have drawn comparisons to the work of director David Cronenberg, but star Robert Pattinson got to work with the auteur for real in the upcoming "Cosmopolis," an adaptation of the novel by Don DeLillo.
The role represents a dynamic shift from the character fans around the world know Pattinson for, Edward Cullen, but Cronenberg, when he spoke with MTV News' Josh Horowitz, explained that the choice was nothing more than the normal casting process.
"You start with the basics. How old is he? What does he look like? Is the character very nerdy? Is he handsome and devilish?" Cronenberg said. "Is he an intellectual? You think about all these things and you think about the actors who could possibly project the things that you need from this character."
Once Cronenberg had a list of potential candidates for the "Ulysses"-inspired protagonist, Eric Packer, it is important to consider a star's profile in order to get the proper funding for the film. Cronenberg said that it takes an actor with a name like Pattinson to get his movies made.
After judging Pattinson's interest in the project and working around his schedule, it was clear to Cronenberg that he was the man for the job. "Ultimately, I felt he was the guy. Once again, intuition," he said. "I saw his movies, including ones maybe his Twi-Hard fans don't know about, like 'Little Ashes.' Maybe they saw 'Remember Me,' I'm not sure."
As for Pattinson's "Twilight" reputation, it's something Cronenberg acknowledges. "I can't pretend that I'm not aware of that. This is an unusual jump for him. He said it himself. It's scary," Cronenberg said, adding that it's the scary part of it that makes it worthwhile. "It's a scary thing because he's never really had to carry a movie quite that way before, totally on his own," he said. "He's in every scene. He's almost in every shot, so scary for him, but for an actor, scary is good. You don't want to be bored. You don't want to be too confident."
The question that will be on everyone's minds who goes to see the film may ultimately be, "Can the 'Twilight' kid actually act?" Cronenberg was quick to cast any doubt aside. "Really, he's fantastic. He's sensational," he said. "Really, I'm telling you. He's a great actor. It's obvious in the movie. It's not like maybe yes, maybe no. It's obvious."
Check out everything we've got on "Cosmopolis."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674814/robert-pattinson-cosmopolis-david-cronenberg.jhtml
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With IPO On Hold, Kayak Reports Q3 Revenue Up 28 Percent To $61M; Net Income Up 44 Percent
As AllThingsD reported in September, travel search engine Kayak has put its IPO on hold until market conditions improve. Kayak filed its S-1 for a public offering nearly a year ago. Today, the company just filed a new S-1 with its revenue numbers from the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. During the most recent quarter, Kayak posted $61.16 million in revenue, up 28 percent from the same quarter in 2010. The company also increased revenue slightly from the second quarter 2011, which came in at $56.7 million.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/P_SzvbZ7eQk/
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iPad 3: Super-High-Res Displays a Go, But Yields Will Be Low
It's the most definitive assurance yet that Apple's next iPad will include a screen with a near "retina display"-quality resolution: DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim has told CNET that "production has started" for 2048x1536, 10-inch-class tablet screens, and three manufacturers -- Samsung, Sharp and LGD -- are supplying parts to Apple.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/h6QIZQByUSc/
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Jeremy London Wanted by Police for Alleged Domestic Abuse
Actor and Celebrity Rehab graduate Jeremy London is wanted by police for questioning after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. The Palm Springs Police Department reports that London's girlfriend called them on Friday morning, claiming that London, 39, assaulted her outside of her home after an argument over custody of their child.
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Iraq attacks Exxon for signing deal with Kurdish region (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? Iraq said on Tuesday it would slap sanctions on U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) for signing a deal with the Kurdish region, which it said came without any approval from either Baghdad or Washington.
"The Iraqi government is considering sanctions, and will inform the company before they make a public announcement," Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani told an industry conference in London.
"The position of the U.S. government has been that they were unaware of it and if they had been asked, they would have obliged (Exxon) to get approval of the Iraqi government," he told the audience packed with hundreds of Western executives and consultants.
The comment means Exxon could lose its giant contracts to develop fields in southern Iraq after agreeing to six exploration deals with the northern Kurdish region, which is at loggerheads with the central government in Baghdad over oil and land rights.
Exxon has yet to comment on the deal, which some analysts and industry insiders say could have been a rare miscalculation by the world's largest publicly traded oil company of political risks in Iraq.
U.S. State Department has not yet commented on the deal.
"Everyone was keen to see what Shahristani had to say. And he could not have agreed because fundamentally it would show Baghdad has lost. If he approved the Kurdish deal others would rush and sign similar deal and other regions such as Basrah would ask for more autonomy," said one risk consultant with clients in Iraq, who asked not to be identified.
"Washington must be furious. What can you say when your own company goes and destroys stability in Iraq?," he added.
Other industry insiders said they believed Exxon might still win the risky game.
"I don't think that Iraq has the right to cancel the existing contract. They can blacklist Exxon from future contracts, but Exxon probably sees better opportunities in Kurdistan," said one delegate at the conference.
"Maybe Exxon is just playing the long game. Shahristani is the most hawkish in the cabinet, so perhaps Exxon is taking the long view, hoping that he will leave, and that it will get other contracts later. They see that they can get better terms in Kurdistan for now," he added.
FEARS OF SANCTIONS
Iraq is one of the world's biggest holder of oil reserves and presence in the country is key for global majors at a time when their resources are getting depleted.
Although the country has repeatedly slashed its ambitious production targets it still plans to more than double its output over the next decade which would allow it to become the world's No.3 producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Baghdad has said any oil deals signed with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) are illegal.
"Exxon's interests in Iraq are large and not to be compared with what was announced from small blocks in the region," Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi said last week.
Exxon, with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), has a multi-billion dollar contract with Iraq's oil ministry to develop the 8.7 billion barrel West Qurna Phase One oilfield in the south, one of many large contracts Iraq hopes will help rebuild its crude industry.
OPEC member Iraq has signed scores of deals with foreign oil explorers to develop its oilfields as it recovers from years of war and sanctions more than eight years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
But oil majors have until now stayed away from the northern Kurdish region because of the ongoing dispute with Baghdad over who controls disputed territories and the region's oil resources.
Industry sources have said Shell as well as U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) have all considered signing similar deals with Kurdistan but changed their mind at the last minute fearing sanctions from Baghdad.
(Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by James Jukwey)
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Penn St. taps ex-FBI director for investigation
Former FBI director Louis Freeh, speaks after it was announced by Ken Frazier, chairman of the Penn State University special committee, that Freeh will lead an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse by a former Penn State employee Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former FBI director Louis Freeh, speaks after it was announced by Ken Frazier, chairman of the Penn State University special committee, that Freeh will lead an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse by a former Penn State employee Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ken Frazier, right, chairman of the Penn State University special committee, speaks during a press availability to announce former FBI director Louis Freeh, left, will lead an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse by a former Penn State employee Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former FBI director Louis Freeh, left, answers questions as Ron Tomalis, vice chairman of the Penn State special committee, center, and Ken Frazier, chairman of the Penn State University special committee, stand nearby during a press availability to announce Freeh will lead an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse by a former Penn State employee, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Former FBI director Louis Freeh, pauses while speaking after it was announced by Ken Frazier, chairman of the Penn State University special committee, that Freeh will lead an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse by a former Penn State employee, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ken Frazier, chairman of the Penn State University special committee, speaks during a press availability to announce former FBI director Louis Freeh will lead an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse by a former Penn State employee, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Former FBI director Louis Freeh, tapped to lead Penn State's investigation into the child sex abuse allegations against a former assistant football coach, said his inquiry will go as far back as 1975, a much longer period than a grand jury report issued earlier this month.
Freeh was named Monday to oversee the university board of trustees' internal investigation into the abuse allegations that ultimately led to the ouster of longtime football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier.
Freeh said his goal was to conduct a comprehensive, fair and quick review. His team of former FBI agents, federal prosecutors and others has already begun the process of reading the grand jury report and looking at records.
"We will immediately report any evidence of criminality to law enforcement authorities," said Freeh, who has no direct connection to Penn State.
Penn State has faced criticism since announcing that its internal investigation would be led by two university trustees, Merck pharmaceutical company CEO Kenneth Frazier and state Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis.
Faculty members on Friday called for an independent investigation of how the university handled abuse allegations, and the faculty senate endorsed a resolution asking for an independent investigation.
In announcing Freeh's appointment, Frazier stressed the former FBI director's independence. Freeh will be empowered to investigate employees up to and including the board of trustees itself, Frazier said.
"No one is above scrutiny," Frazier said. "He has complete rein to follow any lead, to look into every corner of the university to get to the bottom of what happened and then to make recommendations that will help ensure that it never happens again."
Freeh said he had been assured there would be "no favoritism." He called that assurance "the main condition of my engagement."
Former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is accused of molesting eight boys over a 15-year period beginning in the mid-1990s. Authorities say some assaults happened on campus and were reported to administrators but not to police.
Authorities say Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in 1999, met the children through The Second Mile, a youth charity that he started in 1977. By going back as far as 1975, Freeh's investigation would cover the entire time The Second Mile has existed and 24 of the 30 years that Sandusky worked at Penn State.
Amid the scandal, Penn State's trustees ousted Spanier and Paterno. The trustees said Spanier and Paterno failed to act after a graduate assistant claimed he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in a campus shower in 2002.
Paterno, who has the most wins of any major college football coach, has conceded he should have done more. Spanier has said he would have reported a crime if he had suspected one had been committed.
Sandusky has said he is innocent. He has acknowledged he showered with boys but said he never molested them.
Former school administrators Tim Curley ? who is on administrative leave ? and Gary Schultz are charged with not properly alerting authorities to suspected abuse and with perjury. They maintain their innocence.
Freeh founded an investigation firm, Freeh Group International Solutions, after leading the FBI from 1993 to 2001. He previously served six years as a special agent.
After his time at the FBI, Freeh also did work for credit card giant MBNA, which has business relationships with Penn State and its alumni association. But a spokeswoman for Freeh's investigation said in a statement that it would not compromise the probe. The statement said Freeh has "no previous personal connection to Penn State" and had no role in negotiating MBNA's longstanding business deal with the school.
Freeh's law firm was hired to look into the bribery case involving FIFA's presidential election. Soccer's governing body banned candidate Mohamed bin Hammam for life for bribing voters. The ruling body also banned 11 Caribbean soccer leaders and disciplined others in the corruption scandal.
Freeh said he spoke with Attorney General Linda Kelly on Sunday night and was determined not to interfere with the ongoing criminal case. A spokesman for Kelly said she was aware of the Penn State trustees' special committee but declined to comment on it.
Gov. Tom Corbett called Freeh's selection "a good one," noting his familiarity with grand juries and the role of prosecutors.
Rod Erickson, Penn State's new president, also lauded the selection. He vowed complete cooperation and said Freeh's findings "will prompt immediate actions for which I will remain responsible."
Freeh will report to a special committee comprised of six university trustees; Dan Hagen, chair of the university's faculty senate; Rodney Hughes, a doctoral student in higher education at Penn State; and retired Air Force Col. and astronaut Guion Bluford, a 1964 Penn State graduate.
Officials also announced that anyone who has information related to the probe can contact investigators at a telephone hotline ? 855-290-3382 ? and a special email, PSUhelp(at)freehgroup.com.
Meanwhile, Penn State police have referred a report of an indecent assault at an outdoor swimming pool building to the attorney general's office.
A police log noted the report referred to an incident that occurred between June 1, 2000, and Aug. 30, 2000. The report was made to campus police Wednesday and was noted on Thursday's police log.
When asked if the report was related to allegations against Sandusky, Penn State Police Chief Tyrone Parham said Monday: "We can never describe anything related to a victim or suspect."
State open records laws don't require Penn State to release the full police report.
A state lawmaker who represents the State College area said he was sponsoring a bill that would reverse the exemption ? which applies to Penn State and three other universities that rely heavily on state funding but are independently run.
Rep. Kerry Benninghoff said a "more open climate" might prevent future scandals.
___
Associated Press writers Genaro C. Armas in State College, Pa.; Marc Levy and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pa.; and Fred Lief in New York contributed to this report.
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Judge upholds Cook Inlet belugas as endangered (AP)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska ? Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga whales were correctly listed as endangered, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a state lawsuit that claimed the listing will hurt economic development.
Judge Royce C. Lambeth of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said the National Marine Fisheries Service properly followed requirements of the Endangered Species Act and used the best science available in making its determination.
Cook Inlet beluga whales did not bounce back after a decade, despite a ban on subsistence hunting blamed for depleting their numbers, he said.
"When the best available science predicts that a recently enacted ban on subsistence hunting will reverse the abrupt depletion of a species, a decade without any noticeable recovery in the species population should raise a concern that the true cause of its decline has not been fully addressed," Lambeth wrote.
Alaska Attorney General John Burns said in a prepared statement that the decision was disappointing.
"We maintain that the listing process was defective because it did not sufficiently involve the state or consider the conservation measures already in place to protect Cook Inlet belugas," he said. "We are reviewing the decision and considering further options."
The state unsuccessfully sued to overturn the listing of polar bears as a threatened species and is suing to overturn restrictions on commercial mackerel and cod fishing in the western Aleutian Islands aimed at protecting endangered Steller sea lions.
Rebecca Noblin, an Anchorage attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of six environmental groups that intervened in the case, said Lambeth's beluga decision shows the state is wasting taxpayer money on a frivolous challenge.
"It's clear that a species that has dropped from 1,300 to less than 400 is in danger of extinction," she said. "It's not surprising the court upheld NFMS' decision."
Cook Inlet stretches 180 miles from Anchorage to the Gulf of Alaska.
Beluga whales, which can reach 15 feet long, are a high-profile species. The white whales feed on salmon, smaller fish, crab, shrimp, squid and clams. In late summer, belugas often can be spotted from highways leading from Anchorage, chasing salmon schooled at stream mouths.
The Cook Inlet population dwindled steadily through the 1980s and early `90s, Lambeth wrote, and the decline was accelerated between 1994 and 1998 when Alaska Natives harvested nearly half the remaining 650 whales in only four years.
The National Marine Fisheries Service initially determined that controlling subsistence hunting would allow the population to recover. But in October 2008, after a second listing petition had been filed, the agency declared belugas endangered. The state sued, and Escopeta Oil Co., which has drilling interests in Cook Inlet, intervened in the case.
The state argued that belugas were already protected by other environmental laws and that the fisheries service failed to consider state conservation programs designed to improve the habitat and food supply of belugas.
Lambeth said most of the efforts cited by the state address larger conservation goals and have only incidental effect on the beluga's chance for survival. Other aspects of state plans were unfunded, he noted.
The state said the listing would deter commercial fishing, oil and gas exploration, and tourism, and could affect operations at Alaska military installations. The state claimed the fisheries service disregarded and failed to properly respond to information the state provided regarding stability of the population.
Lambeth rejected the state's arguments and said the state appeared to be expressing its disagreement with the fisheries service's results rather than the process the agency used.
"The record amply reflects, however, that the service considered the statutory factors and articulated a rational response for its listing determination, grounded that decision in the best scientific data and provided a full opportunity for public comment before publishing its final rule," he wrote.
The listing means federal agencies, before issuing commercial permits, must first consult with the service to determine potential harmful effects on the white whales.
The state also objects to the agency's designation of 3,013 square miles of Cook Inlet as critical marine habitat for belugas. The designation excludes the Port of Anchorage. The judge did not rule on that separate issue.
Video: Herb on the Street: Focus Media
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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45389778/
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Autograph Collection adds Historic Union Station Hotel to Portfolio
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Source: www.breakingtravelnews.com --- Saturday, November 19, 2011
Autograph Collection, one of Marriott International?s newest business ventures, announced today that Union Station Hotel, located in Nashville, Tennessee, will join the Collection in January 2012. ...
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UFC 139 postfight: What if Hendo-Rua had been on Fox? Awesome, right? White says you?re dead wrong ? again!
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Let it go. You're not going to win this one against Dana White.
The UFC president continues to hear from some longtime MMA fans what a misstep it was to put just one fight on the UFC's debut on Fox. Last Saturday, during the UFC on Fox postfight, White lashed out at critics and explained why the show was done the way it was done.
He got more of it tonight on Twitter when hundreds of fans asked "imagine if the Dan Henderson-Mauricio Rua classic was on Fox?"
White fired back again during the UFC 139 aftermath.
"If that fight that happened tonight went on FOX for the first time ever, let me tell you what ? I would not be having a good time these last five or six days," White said at the UFC 139 postfight press conference (0:26 mark). "[...] Those of us who are in this room and people who have been watching this for a long time just incredibly appreciate what those two did tonight in there, and you can understand what they went through and what's going on. The rest of the world would go, 'Oh my God. What was that?'"
White said the last thing he needed were kooks coming out of the woodwork to complain about the level of brutality.
"That's not the fight you want for your first time on network television," White said (1:29 mark). [...] The big thing is to go on network television and not have Fox flooded the next day with phone calls saying 'get this [expletive] off of TV.'"
The boss isn't backing away from the stern message he sent hardcore fans following UFC 139.
"I couldn't care less what they think about that fight. I don't care. People are like, 'Oh, you don't care what your fans think?' No, I do not care what you think. That fight had to go the way that it went because none of you guys understand what goes on behind the scenes," said White.
White confirmed the next UFC on Fox show will be in Chicago at the United Center on Jan. 28. It'll be a two hour show featuring four televised fights.
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New residential construction increases
In October, both single family permits and starts increased from September , though both measures were tepid when compared on a year-over-year basis.
Today?s New Residential Construction Report showed that in October, both single family permits and starts increased from September with both measures continuing to show tepid results when compared on a year-over-year basis.
Skip to next paragraph SoldAtTheTop'SoldAtTheTop' is not a pessimist by nature but a true skeptic and realist who prefers solid and sustained evidence of fundamental economic recovery to 'Goldilocks,' 'Green Shoots,' 'Mustard Seeds,' and wholesale speculation.
Recent posts
Single family housing permits, the most leading of indicators, increased 5.1% from last month to 434K single family units (SAAR), increasing 6.6% above the level seen in October 2010 but remaining an astonishing 75.86% below the peak in September 2005.
Single family housing starts increased 3.9% to 430K units (SAAR), but dropped 0.9% below the level seen in October 2010 and a stunning 76.41% below the peak set in early 2006.
With the substantial headwinds of elevated unemployment, epic levels of foreclosure and delinquency, mounting bankruptcies, contracting consumer credit, and falling real wages, an overhang of inventory and still falling home prices, the environment for ?organic? home sales remains weak and likely very fragile.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here.To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on paper-money.blogspot.com.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/SCDgH3T1nIU/New-residential-construction-increases
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Sunday, November 20, 2011
Spain pleads "not guilty" to attacking Anniston mayor
The Anniston City Council member accused of assaulting the mayor has pleaded "not guilty."
John Spain was convicted in district court. His ?not guilty' plea is part of an appeal for a jury trial, but his attorney says a deal may be in the works.
Spain is accused of grabbing Mayor Gene Robinson by the neck during a city council meeting.
Copyright 2011 WBRC. All rights reserved.
Source: http://anniston.myfoxal.com/news/news/100151-spain-pleads-not-guilty-attacking-anniston-mayor
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Researchers develop 'super' yeast that turns pine into ethanol
Friday, November 18, 2011
Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a "super strain" of yeast that can efficiently ferment ethanol from pretreated pine -- one of the most common species of trees in Georgia and the U.S. Their research could help biofuels replace gasoline as a transportation fuel.
"Companies are interested in producing ethanol from woody biomass such as pine, but it is a notoriously difficult material for fermentations," said Joy Doran-Peterson, associate professor of microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
"The big plus for softwoods, including pine, is that they have a lot of sugar that yeast can use," she said. "Yeast are currently used in ethanol production from corn or sugarcane, which are much easier materials for fermentation; our process increases the amount of ethanol that can be obtained from pine."
Before the pinewood is fermented with yeast, however, it is pre-treated with heat and chemicals, which help open the wood for enzymes to break the cellulose down into sugars. Once sugars are released, the yeast will convert them to ethanol, but compounds produced during pretreatment tend to kill even the hardiest industrial strains of yeast, making ethanol production difficult.
Doran-Peterson, along with doctoral candidate G. Matt Hawkins, used directed evolution and adaptation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a species of yeast used commonly in industry for production of corn ethanol, to generate the "super" yeast.
Their research, published online in Biotechnology for Biofuels, shows that the pine fermented with the new yeast can successfully withstand the toxic compounds and produce ethanol from higher concentrations of pretreated pine than previously published.
"Others before us had suggested that Saccharomyces could adapt to harsh conditions. But no one had published softwood fermentation studies in which the yeast were pushed as hard as we pushed them," said Doran-Peterson.
During a two-year period, Doran-Peterson and Hawkins grew the yeast in increasingly inhospitable environments. The end result was a strain of yeast capable of producing ethanol in fermentations of pretreated wood containing as much as 17.5 percent solid biomass. Previously, researchers were only able to produce ethanol in the presence of 5 to 8 percent solids. Studies at 12 percent solids showed a substantial decrease in ethanol production.
This is important, said Doran-Peterson, because the greater the percentage of solids in wood, the more ethanol that can be produced. However, a high percentage of solids also places stress on the yeast.
"Couple that stress with the increase in toxic compounds, and the fermentation usually does not proceed very well," she said.
Pine is an ideal substrate for biofuels not only because of its high sugar content, but also because of its sustainability. While pine plantations account for only 15 percent of Georgia's trees, they provide 50 percent of harvested timber, according to Dale Greene, professor of forest operations in UGA's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The loblolly pine that Doran-Peterson and Hawkins used for their research is among the fastest growing trees in the American South.
"We're talking about using forestry residues, waste and unsalable timber," said Peterson, "Alternatively, pine forests are managed for timber and paper manufacturing, so there is an existing infrastructure to handle tree-farming, harvest and transportation for processing.
"The basic idea is that we're trying to get the yeast to make as much ethanol as it can, as fast as it can, while minimizing costs associated with cleaning or washing the pretreated pine. With our process, no additional clean-up steps are required before the pine is fermented," she said.
###
University of Georgia: http://www.uga.edu
Thanks to University of Georgia for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115339/Researchers_develop__super__yeast_that_turns_pine_into_ethanol
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
Mexico's 'legitimate president' Lopez Obrador will run for high office again
Firebrand leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who led protests over his narrow loss in the Mexico's 2006 presidential race, was chosen by his party to run again in 2012. But can he win?
Anyone familiar with Mexican politics probably knows that re-election of presidents here is outright barred. Unlike in other parts of Latin America, there are no exceptions and no attempts by leaders to re-write the ban.
Skip to next paragraphSo how is the ?legitimate? president of Mexico poised to run again in the 2012 cycle?
That?s the quandary faced by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known widely as AMLO), who narrowly lost the 2006 race to official Mexican President Felipe Calderon, but who never recognized the victory and instead declared himself, over loudspeakers and in newspapers advertisements, the nation?s real leader.
Now his party, the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), has selected him to be its standard bearer in next year's presidential race.
Of course, AMLO doesn?t really face the re-election ban, because despite calling President Calderon a usurper amid allegations of fraud ? he lost the race by about half a percentage point ? only his most diehard fans ever took the discourse seriously.
Yet it is exactly this fiery side of his personality, embraced by his supporters on the left, that has alienated many who would have preferred to see Mexico City?s progressive Mayor Marcelo Ebrard as the party's choice.
Most recall with dread the six-week sit-in that AMLO called in the heart of downtown Mexico City in contesting the election results, causing nightmarish commutes. Might there be another if he is defeated once again?
The PRD selected AMLO over Mr. Ebrard via two surveys that the party agreed to use to choose their candidate. The popular mayor, who is seen as less radical but perhaps out of touch with the rural left that is so drawn to AMLO, said that, in the name of unity, he would step aside. ?A divided left would only take Mexico to the precipice,? he said.
The Ebrard faction argued that it appeals to a wider swath of the public, especially independent voters. With AMLO on the ticket, many analysts speculate the race will be a tougher battle for the PRD to win.
But in choosing AMLO, the party itself, which has been badly divided, may fare better (especially since the Revolutionary Institutional Party, or PRI, is far ahead in polls anyway). AMLO is widely loved within the PRD and his star power will be a boon for candidates at the local level, says Aldo Mu?oz, a political scientist at Mexico State's Autonomous University. ?If AMLO left the PRD, the PRD would have a lot more to lose than AMLO,? Mr. Mu?oz says.
The former governor of Mexico State, Enrique Pena Nieto, has been the favorite in polls leading up to the race. He comes from the PRI, which lost its power to Calderon?s National Action Party (PAN) in 2000, after 71 years in power. ?
The PRD is the first major party to have chosen its candidate. The race doesn?t officially kick off until February.
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Friday, November 18, 2011
"Big Bang" machine to get huge upgrade in 2020
GENEVA |
GENEVA (Reuters) - Physicists from around the globe launched a major program on Wednesday aimed at converting the LHC "Big Bang" particle collider at CERN near Geneva into a vastly more powerful cosmic research machine by the year 2020.
CERN officials said the effort, involving scientific establishments in the European Union, the United States and Japan, would demand development of new technologies in fields ranging from super-conducting magnets to energy transfer lines.
The upgrade will enable the operators to carry out up to 10 times as many collisions, or luminosity, in the LHC as the hundreds of millions a second now, and to gain deep insight into the origins and make-up of the universe.
"With processes so rare, extra luminosity makes a big difference to our ability to make precision measurements and discover new things," said Sergio Bertolucci, research director at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
The program was put in motion at a meeting of scientists and engineers from participant countries to plan how work will be coordinated, CERN said.
The collisions, in which particles are smashed together at just a fraction under the speed of light, produce computer- monitored explosions that have been dubbed "mini-Big Bangs."
The LHC, or Large Hadron Collider, runs around a 27 km (16.8 mile) circular tunnel under the borders of Switzerland and France. It has been in operation since March 2010, producing a wealth of data for physicists and cosmologists.
Scientists at CERN monitoring the collisions have spotted some puzzling events, but so far nothing has emerged that takes man's knowledge clearly beyond what they call the Standard Model of how the cosmos works.
HIGGS BOSON
Physicists are hoping that a small luminosity increase, for which preparations will be made during the two-month winter shutdown from next month, will help produce evidence next year of the existence of a particle, the Higgs Boson, thought to give mass to matter.
Establishing exactly how the debris of the "Big Bang" 13.7 billion years ago came together to form stars, planets and the other stuff of the universe is one of the prime targets of the LHC in its initial phase.
But later on, after a year-long shutdown at the end of 2012 during which the LHC will be adapted to double its luminosity, CERN researchers will be looking for what they call "New Physics" or phenomena beyond the Standard Model.
These could include insight into what is the "dark matter" making up some 23 percent of the universe, the idea of "super-symmetry" which helps explain the properties of gravity, and what is the "dark energy" driving expansion of the universe.
However, the 10-fold upgrade being planned for 2020 could take man's knowledge far into the realms of what at present is pure speculation on subjects like the true nature of time and the possible existence of other universes.
Taking part in preparations for what will be called the High Luminosity LHC will be Japan's KEK and the U.S. LARP network of laboratories, which include Fermilab near Chicago whose long-running Tevatron collider closed down in September.
(Reported by Robert Evans; Editing by Tim Pearce)
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