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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Brit Music Industry to Haul Pirate Party to Court
Britain's music industry body is preparing to take the Pirate Party UK to court for offering access to The Pirate Bay, which has been blocked in the UK. The British Pirate Party has set up a proxy service that allows users to circumvent the UK's ban on The Pirate Bay,
Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The asteroid collision widely thought to have killed the dinosaurs also led to extreme devastation among snake and lizard species, according to new research ? including the extinction of a newly identified lizard species Yale and Harvard scientists have named Obamadon gracilis.
"The asteroid event is typically thought of as affecting the dinosaurs primarily," said Nicholas R. Longrich, a postdoctoral associate with Yale's Department of Geology and Geophysics and lead author of the study. "But it basically cut this broad swath across the entire ecosystem, taking out everything. Snakes and lizards were hit extremely hard."
The study was scheduled for online publication the week of Dec. 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Earlier studies have suggested that some snake and lizard species (as well as many mammals, birds, insects and plants) became extinct after the asteroid struck the earth 65.5 million years ago, on the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula. But the new research argues that the collision's consequences were far more serious for snakes and lizards than previously understood. As many as 83 percent of all snake and lizard species died off, the researchers said ? and the bigger the creature, the more likely it was to become extinct, with no species larger than one pound surviving.
The results are based on a detailed examination of previously collected snake and lizard fossils covering a territory in western North America stretching from New Mexico in the southwestern United States to Alberta, Canada. The authors examined 21 previously known species and also identified nine new lizards and snakes.
They found that a remarkable range of reptile species lived in the last days of the dinosaurs. Some were tiny lizards. One snake was the size of a boa constrictor, large enough to take the eggs and young of many dinosaur species. Iguana-like plant-eating lizards inhabited the southwest, while carnivorous lizards hunted through the swamps and flood plains of what is now Montana, some of them up to six feet long.
"Lizards and snakes rivaled the dinosaurs in terms of diversity, making it just as much an 'Age of Lizards' as an 'Age of Dinosaurs,'" Longrich said.
The scientists then conducted a detailed analysis of the relationships of these reptiles, showing that many represented archaic lizard and snake families that disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous, following the asteroid strike.
One of the most diverse lizard branches wiped out was the Polyglyphanodontia. This broad category of lizards included up to 40 percent of all lizards then living in North America, according to the researchers. In reassessing previously collected fossils, they came across an unnamed species and called it Obamadon gracilis. In Latin, odon means "tooth" and gracilis means "slender."
"It is a small polyglyphanodontian distinguished by tall, slender teeth with large central cusps separated from small accessory cusps by lingual grooves," the researchers write of Obamadon, which is known primarily from the jaw bones of two specimens. Longrich said the creature likely measured less than one foot long and probably ate insects.
He said no one should impute any political significance to the decision to name the extinct lizard after the recently re-elected U.S. president: "We're just having fun with taxonomy."
The mass (but not total) extinction of snakes and lizards paved the way for the evolution and diversification of the survivors by eliminating competitors, the researchers said. There are about 9,000 species of lizard and snake alive today. "They didn't win because they were better adapted, they basically won by default, because all their competitors were eliminated," Longrich said.
Co-author Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, a doctoral student in organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, said:
"One of the most important innovations in this work is that we were able to precisely reconstruct the relationships of extinct reptiles from very fragmentary jaw material. This had tacitly been thought impossible for creatures other than mammals. Our study then becomes the pilot for a wave of inquiry using neglected fossils and underscores the importance of museums like the Yale Peabody as archives of primary data on evolution ? data that yield richer insights with each new era of scientific investigation."
Jacques A. Gauthier, professor of geology and geophysics at Yale and curator of vertebrate paleontology and vertebrate zoology, is also an author.
###
The paper is titled "Mass Extinction of Lizards and Snakes at the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary." The National Science Foundation and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies supported the research.
Yale University: http://www.yale.edu
Thanks to Yale University for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125854/Asteroid_that_killed_the_dinosaurs
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Tags tosses bounty suspensions? |? Shields Goodell
Getty ImagesWhen first we absorbed the ruling from former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue as summarized on the Twitter page of NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, it seemed fairly obvious that Tagliabue was looking for a way to give the players the keys to their freedom without giving Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma the keys to the league?s vault.
Careful examination of the 22-page, single-spaced ruling generated by Tagliabue definitely confirms that Tagliabue has indeed tried to insulate Goodell from liability for defamation, if for no reason other than to insulate Tagliabue?s law firm from losing one of its most important clients.? Still, portions of the text crafted carefully by Tagliabue suggest a passive-aggressive effort to send an unmistakable message to the man who is now presiding over the sport of football.
Consider this paragraph, which applauds Goodell for trying to eradicate bounties from football but basically says, in polite fashion, that he lacks the sophistication or proper understanding of human nature to pull it off:?? ?In this context, confronted with the events here, Commissioner Goodell correctly set out aggressively to address them. But when an effort to change a culture rests heavily on prohibitions, and discipline and sanctions that are seen as selective, ad hoc or inconsistent, then people in all industries are prone to react negatively ? whether they be construction workers, police officers or football players.? They will push back and challenge the discipline as unwarranted.? As reflected in the record in the present appeals, they will deny, hide behind a code of silence, destroy evidence and obstruct. In other words, rightly or wrongly, a sharp change in sanctions or discipline can often be seen as arbitrary and as an impediment rather than an instrument of change.? This is what we see on the record here.?
In other words, Tagliabue is telling Goodell he shouldn?t have tried to defuse a time bomb with a hammer.? The process requires more nuance, and Goodell?s predecessor invoked his own predecessor in order to show Goodell, in subtle fashion, why Tagliabue possibly thinks Goodell can?t hold the jock of the man whose car, according to the new TIME article, Goodell used to drive.
Specifically, Tagliabue cites ?an important example? from the tenure of former Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who used ?a short-term exemption from discipline as a means of swiftly facilitating an intensified effort to change a negative culture to enhance the health and safety of NFL players.?? Tagliabue then explains (or, from Goodell?s perspective, lectures) the details.
It was the 1980s.? And the NFL was (finally) waking up to the problem of steroids.? ?Rozelle developed and implemented a set of policies, prohibitions and testing regimens to identify steroid abusers and eliminate the safety and health risks,? Tagliabue writes, knowing full well that Goodell knows this because he was working in the league office at the time.? ?[Rozelle] included a discipline-free transition year in the new policy.? Rozelle warned one-year in advance that a discipline policy suspending players for steroid use would be implemented the following season.? Four months prior to the enforcement of the policy, all players were advised by letter of the specific disciplinary actions for steroid use.? For that year, Rozelle sharpened the rules and set escalating penalties while withholding player discipline.? Rozelle recognized the realities of team operations and sought to ensure uniform compliance and enforcement in several dozen team workplaces.? He understood that sometimes it is necessary to clarify the rules ? make sure everyone understands; postpone discipline for a while, not forever, but maybe for a season; and then enforce the rules with strict discipline.?
In other words, Tagliabue is telling Goodell, as gently as possible, that he needs to pump the brakes the next time he wants to break balls over whatever longstanding problem he suddenly decides needs to be eradicated.? The fact that Tagliabue sent the message in a 22-page document that has been disclosed for the media to study makes it even more of a slap by the master to his former servant.
Hopefully, Goodell will be able to set aside the public nature of the friendly scolding and draw from Tagliabue?s words the lessons that will help the league office deal with similar problems effectively and properly in the future.? Though that may eventually occur, in the short term it?s safe to assume that Goodell will read Tagliabue?s words and privately seethe.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/11/tagliabue-vacates-all-player-discipline/related/
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Obama blasts Michigan right-to-work bills
President Barack Obama traveled to the?Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in?Redford, Mich., Monday to issue a speech on the economy, pressure Republicans in Congress to raise taxes on the nation's top earners, and highlight Daimler's new $120 million investment in the plant.
But it was the president's criticism of Michigan's right-to work legislation that stole the show for the audience of Daimler union employees.
"What we shouldn't be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages," the president told the audience, which immediately roared with cheers, applause and whistles. "These so-called right-to-work laws, they don't have to do with economics, they have everything to do with politics." They're about "giving you the right to work for less money," he added, noting that Michigan's history shows how unions have helped "build a better America."
New state right-to-work legislation, which forbids requiring all employees who benefit from a labor contract to pay union dues,?is scheduled to move through the Michigan Legislature for final action this week. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has pledged to sign the final version.
Activists have mobilized against the legislation, which they view to be an anti-union effort, resulting in a state Capitol lockdown last Thursday.
The president's comments Monday were his first public statements on the situation in Michigan.
His appearance was pegged to Daimler's announcement of its investment in the Detroit Diesel plant, which created 115 good, new "union" jobs, the president said. "That's great for this plant, good for this community, but it's also good for American manufacturing."
The president highlighted the plant as a symbol of how American manufacturing and auto industries are rebounding and growing in the new global economy.
"The competitive balance is tipping a little," the president said.
Obama appealed to the audience, which he characterized as middle-class, on the issue of the "fiscal cliff" by warning that the average middle-class family stands to pay $2,200 more in taxes next year if the automatic spending cuts and tax increases go into effect Jan. 1.
The president said America will head into a "downward spiral" if this happens, and placed the onus once again on Republicans to resolve the crisis by agreeing to raise taxes on households making more than $250,000.
"We've got to get past this whole situation where we've manufactured crises because of politics," Obama said.
Obama met Sunday with House Republican Speaker John Boehner, the GOP's lead voice on "fiscal cliff" negotiations, but no details of that conversation have been offered.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, during Monday's briefing on Air Force One en route to Michigan, also would not reveal any information. "I won't characterize yesterday's meeting or other conversations, but the president does believe we can reach an agreement," Carney said.
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
New Android video game console to be presented on 12/12/12
Seattle based start-up eSfere Entertainment have designed a unique video game console that will allow people to play their favorite Android games at high quality from the very first minute.?
eSfere will have strong technical specifications and a wireless touchpad controller which means that games can be played immediately, once downloaded from Google Play, on the user?s TV.
Developers will not need to worry about re-adapting their games specifically for this machine, since it will keep the touch controls inherent to mobile gaming, but the action will jump from 4?, 7? or 10? devices to large screen displays.
More details about this new product and the crowdfunding campaign behind it will become available on Wednesday December 12th on www.eSfere.com.
See more
Pressking
Source: http://www.pressabout.com/new-android-video-game-console-to-be-presented-on-121212-664475/
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Egypt's Morsi backs off decree, but fails to assuage protesters (+video)
President Mohamed Morsi held firm in rejecting what had been a key demand of the opposition: delaying a referendum scheduled for Saturday on a new constitution.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is seen during a photo opportunity in his office at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday. Egypt's military said Saturday that serious dialogue is the "best and only" way to overcome the nation's deepening conflict over a disputed draft constitution hurriedly adopted by Islamist allies of President Mohammed Morsi, and recent decrees granting himself near-absolute powers.
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
EnlargeEgyptian President Mohamed Morsi last night rescinded his recent decision removing checks on his power and making the constitution-writing process immune from judicial review, a move that brought thousands of people into the street against him across Egypt.?
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President Mohamed Morsi refused to delay a referendum on Egypt's constitution.But he held firm in rejecting what had been a key demand of the opposition: delaying a referendum scheduled for Saturday on a new constitution that was hurriedly completed less than two weeks ago by a committee that most secular and Christian members had resigned from in protest.?
Though the main coalition of opposition groups that united against Morsi's recent actions has yet to announce its response to the decree, which came late last night, some members of the opposition and protesters say the move does not satisfy them.?
"Morsi used the powers of the decree to push his constitution on us, so what does it mean if he cancels it now? It means nothing. He achieved his goal already," says Haitham Mohamed, who has spent much of the last week protesting the president's moves. He noted that if the referendum approves the constitution, Morsi's previous decree, and the powers that came with it, would have been invalidated soon anyway. "We demanded that he delay the referendum, and for a constitution we agree on. He ignored this demand."
The president issued the new constitutional decree after an all-day discussion among various political figures he called a national dialogue, though it was boycotted by the main opposition coalition. The referendum will go on as planned, according to the text of the new constitutional decree. The document also stipulates that if the majority votes against the new constitution, a new constituent assembly will be created through direct elections.
Opposition members had previously criticized the referendum because a "no" vote would leave Morsi with sweeping powers. The new document canceled Morsi's previous decree making his own actions immune from judicial review, granting himself wide powers to "protect the revolution," and protecting the constituent assembly from dissolution by the judiciary. But it does say that constitutional decrees such as this one are immune to judicial challenges.
Fresh protests planned
Protesters prepared to march to the presidential palace today to voice their rejection of the president's new move. The streets around the palace turned into a battle zone this week when the president's supporters attacked the protesters who had gathered there. Seven people were killed in the street clashes.?
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Chinese Consortium to Buy International Lease Finance Corp
International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) is a big name, in fact the biggest name in airliner leasing globally and it is on the block to be sold.
ILFC is owned by American International Group (AIG) and they are looking to sell a 90% stake in the company to New China Trust Co Ltd, New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, P3 Investments Ltd and China Aviation Industrial Fund. AIG needs the money from the sale as they owe $182 billion to the US government for its bailout. It sounds like a motivated sale.
ILFC may be the biggest, but the fleet of aircraft they own is not the newest, in fact Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group referred to the new owners as becoming "a curator of an old jet museum."
So what gives? Could this consortium just be looking to coast on ILFC's reputation in the airline industry? Somehow I doubt it. Chinese business is always on the move and I suspect they will want to modernize the leasing fleet and the company itself. I have a feeling they are thinking of Chinese airline expansion, too.
This is not a small Chinese purchase, like Epic Aircraft or even Cirrus was. This purchase could be a global game changer in the world airliner business, depending how it plays out.
Once again Chinese investors show that they not only have the money, but also the verve to go big and buy what no one else seems to want to risk. As time goes by the aerospace world is looking increasingly Chinese these days!
Here is how the foreign ownership list now looks:
- Cirrus Aircraft - Government of the Peoples Republic of China
- Continental Engines - Government of the Peoples Republic of China
- Diamond Aircraft - majority owned by Medrar Financial Group, Dubai
- Epic Aircraft - Engineering LLC, Russia
- Glasair Aircraft - Jilin Hanxing Group, China
- International Lease Finance Corp - 90% New China Trust Co Ltd, New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, P3 Investments Ltd and China Aviation Industrial Fund
- Liberty Aerospace - 75% owned by the Kuwait Finance House, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House of Bahrain
- Piper Aircraft - Government of Brunei
- Superior Air Parts - Weifang Tianxiang Technology Group, China
So who will be next?
Source: http://copa8.blogspot.com/2012/12/chinese-consortium-to-buy-international.html
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