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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Large Protestant march begins peacefully amid heavy police presence in Northern Ireland
LONDON - A large Protestant march through the heart of Northern Ireland's capital has begun peacefully amid a heavy police presence.
Tens of thousands are expected to participate in one of Belfast's biggest parades in years, and authorities have deployed in force to prevent street clashes with Northern Ireland's Catholic minority.
The Unionist marches date back to the 19th century and are a longstanding irritant between Northern Ireland's two main religious communities and show no sign of fading away, despite a successful peace process.
Nearly every aspect of the marches ? from the parade route to the music played ? is fought over by both sides.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/large-protestant-march-begins-peacefully-amid-heavy-police-133009294.html
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Saturday, September 29, 2012
'Ultimate Silent Security': Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 ...
Bitdefender has released its 2013 generation of products, Antivirus Plus, Internet Security and Total Security, announcing all-round improvements, as well as new features. Photo: Bitdefender Corp.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bitdefender for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
As one of the editors at TheBlogIsMine, I spend much time during the day in the Internet. Even people, who don?t work at the computer, spend countless hours online each day whether it?s social media, photo sharing, Skype, catching up on the latest news or reading interesting blogs such as TheBlogIsMine.
As technology continues to expand, the number of ways that our computers can be harmed increase dramatically each year. However, ordinary users, to my mind, don?t need to worry about various e-threats such as computer viruses, spyware, malware, scams and?phishing attacks.
However, there is Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013, the #1 antivirus software with ?Editor?s Choice? awards from CNET and PC Mag magazines, offers award-winning protection against all kinds of viruses, spyware, trojans and identity theft without slowing down your computer. What makes it so special?
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 is the latest addition to the developer?s collection, and it has been built to keep up with the recently created or improved threats that wander on the internet. The program is a powerful, accurate and highly configurable antivirus tool that delivers everything you need to keep your PC malware-free.
The core antivirus engine is constantly scanning all your internet, email and instant messaging traffic, for instance, detecting and blocking known threats before they?re able to install.
Two additional proactive technologies are used to uncover brand new threats, while keeping false alarms to a minimum. And the results are so good that independent testing labs AV-Comparatives awarded the program their highest Advanced+ rating in the January-September 2012 Retrospective/Proactive test.
The installation process of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 is rather simple and painless. It doesn?t cause any headache because there is nothing to configure during the installation process. Simply click on the Install button to get the Bitdefender installer running. You don?t even need to choose custom installation as the standard one will do all for you.
Moreover, for Antivirus Plus 2013 version, BitDefender takes privacy and security to new levels. BitDefender Antivirus Plus 2013 debuts with ?several new features, among them:
- BitDefender Safepay: A secure standalone Web browser that automatically opens when you visit banking and shopping sites. The browser is run in what is commonly called a sandbox mode, a separate virtual environment on your PC. Since the browser is isolated, it prevents many types of attacks that malware uses to capture your sensitive activity, such as keystroke logging, phishing, and network spoofing.
- USB Immunizer: Scans and cleans any malware found on USB drives and other removable media, from CDs to remote network drives. It?s designed to protect you from threats like the Flame virus, and should help keep you from accidentally carrying malware and infecting PCs when you connect your USB drive or other removable media.
- Device Anti-Theft: Included only in the BitDefender Total Security 2013, this tool will allow you to remotely lock, wipe, and locate your laptop?similar to those ?find my phone? apps you may have used on your smartphone or tablet.
- BitDefender Autopilot: Hate the disruptive pop-ups that traditionally come with the antivirus software territory? You?ll be able to enjoy your browsing without interruption with this feature. It runs in the background, pop-up-free.
- Social Network Protection: Facebook and Twitter have become an integral part of our lives, and with them, so too has come the fear of falling victim to scams, hackings, and other privacy violations. With Social Network Protection feature, all of the links you receive from friends across various social media sites will be filtered, and your privacy settings will be monitored.
- Parental Control Options:?This feature allows parents to block inappropriate content, restrict Web access between certain hours, and it helps them remotely monitor their children?s online activity ? even on Facebook!
Staying protected online is very important to us here, at TheBlogIsMine, as we don?t want that our credit card information or other important data will be stolen. We also don?t want to experience a virus that could harm the files on our PCs because there are a lot of important files saved on our computers.
So, put it all together and there?s a lot of power here for your money: if you need the #1 antivirus software with top-notch protection against both online and offline threats then Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 will be an excellent choice for you.
Need even more security?! No problem! Bitdefender Total Security 2013 is right for, however, with a slightly higher price tag than ?Antivirus Plus 2013. For more information, you can visit the official page of Bitdefender Total Security 2013. For trial purpose, you can put Total Security 2013 a test drive for 30 days.
The last but not the least: BitDefender is giving away a Dell Inspiron laptop pre-loaded with its Total Security 2013 software. Find out how to enter the giveaway contest here.
Source: http://www.theblogismine.com/2012/09/28/ultimate-silent-security-bitdefender-antivirus-plus-2013/
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HBT: Millwood contemplating retirement
Kevin Millwood pitched decently for the Mariners this this season before a sore shoulder put an early end to things this month, but the impending free agent told Greg Johns of MLB.com yesterday that he?s not sure whether he wants to come back for another season.
?I?m going to go home and just relax and play with my kids and see what happens, see how I feel and see what pops into my head,? Millwood said Friday. ?I don?t have any definite plans right now on next year, but I?m sure at some point in the offseason it?ll hit me on what I want to do.?
?I knew I wanted to play this year,? he said. ?But like I said, now I?m just trying to figure out physically if I can do it. I still definitely believe I can get people out, but whether it?s time to stay home and spend more time with my kids or try it again, I don?t know the answer to that yet.?
Millwood signed a minor league deal with the Mariners last offseason and made the team out of spring training. The 37-year-old right-hander ended up posting a 4.25 ERA and 107/56 K/BB ratio over 161 innings in 28 starts. And he wasn?t just a Safeco Field creation either, as his ERA was only slightly higher on the road (4.35) than it was at home (4.15). Still, it?s unlikely any team will give him much of a guarantee at this point, so he?s understandably thinking about whether it?s worth trying to put his body through another season.
Millwood has a 169-152 record and a 4.11 ERA over 16 major league seasons. While he has averaged an unspectacular 6.9 K/9 for his career, he ranks 59th all-time with 2,083 strikeouts. He is the active leader in strikeouts among right-handed pitchers.
Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/29/kevin-millwood-is-thinking-about-retirement/related
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theloop: Apple's Scott Forstall problem http://t.co/lSlnOgfJ
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Catalysis: Optimizing water splitting
ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2012) ? Computer simulations of a metal-sulfide alloy unlock the secrets to designing solar-powered catalysts that generate hydrogen fuel from water.
Partnerships can pay off when it comes to converting solar into chemical energy. By modeling a cadmium sulfide (CdS)-zinc sulfide (ZnS) alloy with special computational techniques, a Singapore-based research team has identified the key photocatalytic properties that enable this chemical duo to 'split' water molecules into a fuel, hydrogen gas (H2). The theoretical study was published by Jianwei Zheng from the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing and his co-workers.
Chemists had already identified CdS and ZnS semiconductors as promising photocatalysts for water splitting. However, both came with a drawback related to the size of their so-called 'band gap' -- the energy difference between occupied and unoccupied electronic states that determine photo-activity. While CdS can readily harvest solar energy because of its small band gap, it needs a metal co-catalyst to produce H2. On the other hand, ZnS requires high-energy ultraviolet light to initiate water splitting owing to its large band gap.
Recently chemists had overcome these problems by alloying CdS and ZnS together into a 'solid solution': a physical state where Zn ions are distributed homogenously inside the crystal lattice of CdS. Altering the proportion of ZnS in these alloys enables production of photocatalysts with tunable responses to visible light and high H2 evolution rates in water. Improving the design of a Cd-ZnS solid solution is difficult, because its underlying mechanism is poorly understood.
As a workaround, Zheng and his co-workers used a technique known as 'special quasi-random structures' (SQS) to mimic a completely random alloy with a series of small, periodic models. After carefully working to correlate experimental random hexagonal crystals with their SQS approximations, they calculated the electronic properties of the Cd-ZnS solid solution using hybrid density functional theory -- a computational method that gives accurate descriptions of band gaps.
When the researchers gradually increased the Zn content of their model alloy, they saw that the band gap deviated from a linear combination of the two components. This effect, known as band 'bowing', arises from volume deformations within the Cd-ZnS solid solution and is an essential parameter for predicting catalytic solar H2 production.
Further calculations revealed that the alloy's high catalytic activity stemmed from obvious elevation of the position of unoccupied electronic states, and a subtle change in the position of occupied electronic states, as the amount of Zn increased. But to retain strong light harvesting capabilities and to avoid premature corrosion, the team proposes an equal ratio of ZnS to CdS for optimal photocatalytic water splitting.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Jian-Chun Wu, Jianwei Zheng, Chelsey L. Zacherl, Ping Wu, Zi-Kui Liu, Rong Xu. Hybrid Functionals Study of Band Bowing, Band Edges and Electronic Structures of Cd1?xZnxS Solid Solution. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2011; 115 (40): 19741 DOI: 10.1021/jp204799q
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Guest Post ? 5 Tips for Managing Type 2 Diabetes
Valerie Johnston is taking over my blog today
5 Tips for Managing Type 2 Diabetes
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes, and is characterized by the body?s inability to produce enough insulin or its inability to utilize insulin correctly. The peptide hormone insulin is essential for your body to be able to transform glucose into energy. Without insulin, the glucose that you consume through your diet builds up in the cells, which can lead to many diabetes symptoms.
If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it?s important to know that there are many things that you can do to take control of your health disorder. You don?t need to rely solely on diabetes medication in order to reduce your symptoms.
1. Healthy Diet
Today?s medical professionals now understand the important role that diet plays in the development of diabetes. The link between the modern American diet and the rise in type 2 diabetes cannot be denied. Fast food and other types of processed foods lead to obesity and overall poor health, which are primary causes for type 2 diabetes. Changing your diet may be the most important thing that you can do to reduce your symptoms.
A diet that will help you manage your condition should include fresh fruits and vegetables, and other types of whole foods including whole grains, nuts, and beans. Avoid foods that are high on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a system used to rank foods based on how they affect glucose levels. Processed foods such as white bread, soda, and white rice are high on the glycemic index.
2. Exercise
Regular exercise is good for all aspects of your health, but can be especially important for managing type 2 diabetes. When you exercise, your blood sugar levels will remain in better balance as the glucose is pushed out of the blood and into your body?s cells. Regular fitness training is also ideal for maintaining a healthy weight, which is another important factor in managing type 2 diabetes.
3. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Obesity and type 2 diabetes go hand in hand, which is why many developed countries (where processed foods are the norm) are suffering from a rising diabetes epidemic. If you are overweight, losing the extra pounds that you are carrying around can make a considerable difference in how well you are able to keep your condition under control. To shed those extra pounds and to keep them off for good, a healthy diet and exercise are essential.
4. Reduce Stress
Ongoing stress can wreak havoc on the body?s ability to control blood glucose levels. If you suffer from stress on a regular basis, now is a better time than ever to work toward reducing your stress levels. There are several stress-reducing approaches that you can follow. A few suggestions include meditation, yoga, and tai chi. Taking simple steps every day to reduce your stress levels will help. For example, getting outdoors for a daily walk, treating yourself to a relaxing massage, and taking time out for yourself to cozy up with a good book are all steps that you can take to reduce your stress levels. In addition, changing your diet to include less caffeine and alcohol can also reduce the stress in your life.
5. Increase Your Knowledge about Type 2 Diabetes
Managing your condition will become much easier the more that you know about type 2 diabetes. While it may seem overwhelming at first, treating your condition will become second nature to you over time. Take a proactive approach by asking your doctor how to monitor your blood glucose levels, why carb counting is important, and how your medication affects your symptoms. Keep a notebook so that you can develop a system that works best for you and that keeps you feeling your best with as few symptoms as possible.
Valerie Johnston is a health and fitness writer located in East Texas. With ambitions of one day running a marathon, writing for Healthline.com ensures she keeps up-to-date on all of the latest health and fitness news.
Related posts:
- Guest Post ? Taking Diabetes Medication Safely
- Know the symptoms because type 1 diabetes has no favourites
- B.C. NDP leadership candidate Adrian Dix says Type 1 diabetes doesn?t slow him down
Source: http://www.battlediabetes.com/blogs/s/guest-post-%E2%80%93-5-tips-for-managing-type-2-diabetes
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Telia scraps plans to charge extra for mobile VoIP in Sweden, hikes overall rates in compensation
Telia raised hackles in March when it proposed charging Swedish subscribers extra if they wanted to use voice over IP. On top of the net neutrality issues, the proposed price premium would have been a slap in the face to Skype, the country's homegrown VoIP pioneer. While Telia's Spanish subsidiary Yoigo has no problems with such a split, Telia itself must have had a change of heart: as of now, all regular plans will continue to treat internet telephony as just another set of data packets. Only a new, ultra-basic Telia Flex Bas plan excises the option. Unfortunately, most everyone will have to pay the price for equality -- new subscriptions will have their data plans "adjusted" to compensate for increasing data use, and those paying daily will see their maximum rates jump from 9 SEK ($1.40) to 19 SEK ($2.90). As painful as the price hike might sound, however, we'd still endure it to avoid carving the mobile internet into pieces.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Telia scraps plans to charge extra for mobile VoIP in Sweden, hikes overall rates in compensation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
President Emeritus John R. Silber Dead at 86 | BU Today | Boston ...
In the slideshow above, view images from John Silber?s tenure as president of Boston University, from 1971 to 1996. Photos by BU Photography
John R. Silber (Hon.?95), the president emeritus and former chancellor who led the transformation of Boston University from a commuter school to a renowned research institution, died early this morning, Thursday, September 27, at age 86. The cause of death was kidney failure.
Silber, who came to Boston University in 1971, was the University?s seventh president, and served for more than three decades, as president until 1996, then as University chancellor from 1996 to 2003. He also was a College of Arts & Sciences professor of philosophy and of international relations, a University Professor, and a School of Law professor of law.
Silber was strong-willed, outspoken, and often controversial, and his resolute work ethic, formidable capacity for knowledge, and dogged determination to improve both BU and the city of Boston made him well known in academic as well as political circles. During his tenure at BU?which coincided, for a time, with his unsuccessful 1990 run for governor of Massachusetts?he greatly expanded the campus, recruited top-notch faculty, including two future Nobel Prize winners, and established the University?s long-running partnership with the Chelsea Public School system, which began in 1988 and continued for 20 years. The University he served for so long awarded him an honorary degree at the 1995 Commencement.
?In the seven years I have served this wonderful institution, I have come to appreciate the magnitude of what John Silber accomplished at Boston University,? says University President Robert A. Brown. ?He worked tirelessly to transform the University, introducing ever higher standards in the hiring and promotion of faculty and admission of students. There were some who found fault with his candor, and those who disagreed with him on some policy or decision, but nobody can deny John?s legacy. He was famously outspoken and unhesitant in decision-making. He left an indelible imprint on Boston University and set the foundation for the course to greatness that we are steering today. We owe John a tremendous debt of gratitude.?
While his tendency toward blunt speech earned him moments of local and national attention, most memorably during his gubernatorial campaign, his friends and supporters praised him for choosing truth over tact. ?I called him the last candid man,? author Tom Wolfe (Hon.?00) said. ?There aren?t many left who say what they mean, and mean what they say.?
Silber was born in San Antonio, Tex., to Jewell Silber, a schoolteacher, and Paul Silber, an architect who immigrated to the United States from Berlin in 1902. He described his parents as ?strict but loving? people who ?gave no excuses.? In 1989, he told the Boston Globe about his realization at age four that his right arm, shortened by a congenital birth defect, would never grow. ?My mother always fixed my sleeves so I would have use of my arm,? he said. ?She never hid it. Neither have I. By not pampering me, they let me develop into the person that I am.?
He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, where he met his wife, Kathryn (Hon.?01), and graduated with a degree in philosophy. He earned a master?s degree in 1952 and a doctorate in 1956 from Yale, both in philosophy, then returned to his home state to teach philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He was named chair of the philosophy department in 1962, and the dean of UT?s College of Arts and Sciences in 1967, but a clash with the chairman of the university?s board of regents over a plan to split the college into smaller schools led to his dismissal in July 1970. His principled stand, however, won the attention of the BU presidential search committee, then entering the ninth month of looking for a new leader.
When Silber arrived the following year, the school bore little resemblance to the BU of today. The campus had only 66 education and research buildings and 42 residence halls, the library had less than a million books, and most critically, the University was operating at a budget deficit of $8.8 million.
?When I came here, we didn?t have a list of our alumni,? Silber told the University?s weekly newspaper, the BU Bridge, in 2002. ?We didn?t have a balanced budget. We didn?t have a computerized payroll system. We were raising only about $2.5 million a year. Back then, running Boston University was like trying to fly a 747 without avionics, without an instrument panel.?
Silber took an ambitious tack, balancing the University?s budget in 18 months, and then launching an aggressive campaign to hire new faculty, first in the humanities and social sciences, then in the life sciences. Elie Wiesel (Hon.?74), the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, was recruited in 1976, and Derek Walcott, a College of Arts & Sciences professor emeritus of creative writing, in 1982?both went on to win Nobel Prizes, Wiesel?s in peace, and Walcott?s in literature. At Silber?s behest, two other Nobel laureates joined the faculty, the late Saul Bellow (Hon.?04), a University Professor and a CAS professor, in 1993, and Sheldon Glashow, the Arthur G. B. Metcalf Professor of Mathematics and Science, in 2000.
Over the next 25 years, BU experienced a period of unprecedented growth and engagement with the city of Boston. New programs and institutes served a range of constituencies?with the founding of the Prison Education Program in 1972, Metropolitan College offered courses for prisoners in state correctional facilities, while the University Professors Program allowed advanced undergraduates to plan their own curricula. The physical plant improved dramatically as well, doubling in size with the addition of facilities such as the Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering, in 1983, the Rafik B. Hariri Building for the School of Management, in 1996, and the Boston University Photonics Center, which opened in 1997.
The Silber family, 1971.
Under Silber?s leadership, BU also forged deeper ties with the community, most notably by taking the unprecedented step of managing a failing Boston-area school system. The Boston University/Chelsea Partnership, established in 1988, brought new facilities, curriculum changes, and new policies for students, teachers, and administrators into a troubled system, with the goal of making Chelsea?s school?s ?a model for excellence in urban education.? The partnership, which provided the district with tutoring programs, early-childhood education, scholarships, and enrichment programs, was intended to last for a decade; it ended in 2008 after two. Silber also created the Boston Scholars Program in 1973?the largest such scholarship program in the country. In 1993, he founded the Boston University Academy, a college preparatory school for secondary school students.
Silber served on the Kissinger Commission (the President?s National Bipartisan Commission on Central America), and was chair of the Massachusetts Board of Education, which during his tenure developed the first curriculum frameworks.
Despite his success in raising the University?s profile, Silber?s direct, unguarded critiques of students and faculty made him an unpopular figure in some circles at points in his career. In 1976, unhappy with what Time magazine called his ?overpowering style in office? and a proposed budget cut that could include faculty positions, 10 deans and three-quarters of the Faculty Assembly called for his resignation?a move that the Board of Trustees voted down.
His presidency was never again at stake, but Silber continued to draw public scrutiny over the years. He took a leave of absence from BU to run for governor of Massachusetts in 1990, and secured the Democratic nomination. His campaign was initially a success, but he failed to win over the old guard of the Democratic party, and ultimately lost to William Weld. After his return to the University, in 1993, the Massachusetts Attorney General investigated the finances of BU, and the University was asked to adjust its governance rules. In 1996, when he stepped down as president, he was named chancellor, maintaining an office on Bay State Road and continuing to live in BU-owned housing. In 2003, he was widely criticized for his role in selecting Daniel Goldin, a former administrator at NASA, as BU?s ninth president?and then dismissing him with a $1.3 million payout before Goldin took office.
Silber?s role at BU diminished over the next few years, as Aram Chobanian (Hon.?06), the former provost of the Medical Campus and School of Medicine dean, served as president ad interim, then president, until Robert A. Brown, the former provost of MIT, was appointed the 10th president of Boston University in 2005. Silber continued to live on the BU campus, but turned his attention to other interests, such as sculpture (he completed a bas-relief of Wiesel), and architecture. He published a well-reviewed critique of modernist architecture in 2008, taking special exception to the work of Frank Gehry, titled Architecture of the Absurd. In December 2011, he finished a critical analysis of the work of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a project he began in 1954 when he was a graduate student and member of the junior faculty at Yale. The book, Kant?s Ethics: The Good, Freedom, and the Will (Walter de Gruyter, 2012), was published in May.
In 2007, the University honored Silber with a gala tribute, featuring letters and presentations from colleagues, dignitaries, and friends. While many friends poked fun at the former president?s notorious frankness and occasional temper, others talked of his lesser-known kindness: letters and phone calls that came at times of illness or trouble, his habit of eating breakfast and dinner with his children every day, even at the most demanding moments of his career, and his long and loving relationship with his wife, Kathryn, who died in 2005.
?What I am most grateful for was the honor and privilege of serving for more than 30 years,? Silber said at the end of the evening. ?BU was one of the finest toys I was ever allowed to play with?a great toy with enormous potential, if you polished it up and gave it a few tools to make it run.?
Silber is survived by six daughters, Rachel Devlin and Martha Hathaway, of Newton, Mass., Judith Ballan, of New York City, Alexandra Silber, of Carlsbad, Calif., Ruth Belmonte, of State College, Pa., and Caroline Lavender, of Atlanta, Ga., a son, Charles Hiett, of Hot Springs, Ark., 26 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Phyllis Silber, of San Antonio, Tex., two nieces, and a great-niece and a great-nephew.
Funeral services will be private. A memorial service will take place in the near future. BU Today will provide details when they become available.
Source: http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/president-emeritus-john-silber-dead-at-86/
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'Homeland' cheat sheet: What you need to know
By Sean T. Collins, RollingStone.com
Nadav Kander / Showtime
Claire Danes and Damian Lewis of "Homeland."
"Homeland"?is hot. The Showtime series'?surprise sweep?of the Emmys last Sunday has people lining up to check out the Claire Danes/Damian Lewis/Mandy Patinkin-starring suspense saga's season premiere on Sunday, like shoeless travelers waiting for the full-body scan at airport security. That makes this the perfect time to catch up on Season One's major players, plot twists and unsolved mysteries with our "Homeland"?cheat sheet.
Whether you're a fresh-faced rookie or a grizzled veteran who just needs a refresher, consider this your intelligence briefing.
WARNING: Many Season One spoilers ahead.
Sgt. Nicholas Brody is a terrorist . . .
Captured in Iraq and held prisoner by al Qaeda torturers for eight years, Marine sniper Nick Brody (Damian Lewis) was presumed dead until he was "rescued" by American forces and brought home at last. But it was all an elaborate al Qaeda scheme to use Brody, whom they'd successfully turned against the U.S. while he was in captivity, as a sleeper agent. In fact, the single biggest surprise of "Homeland"?Season One was how quickly it confirmed Brody's shady status. Sure, they faked us out about his potential innocence now and then, but instead of some big is-he-or-isn't-he mystery, they made Brody's true allegiance clear before the pilot's closing credits rolled.
More from RollingStone.com: 'Modern Family,' 'Homeland' win big at 2012 Emmys
. . . a politically well-connected terrorist . . .
As a returning war hero with a photogenic family, Brody's a media darling, and he's been used to help sell the ongoing War on Terror since his first day back. The ambitious, amoral vice president, William Walden, even hand-picked Brody to replace a disgraced congressman in the House of Representatives. This gives Brody the perfect opportunity to get close to political, intelligence and military movers and shakers ??an opportunity his al Qaeda minders take advantage of when they send him to blow up the VP and his team with a suicide vest.
. . . and an actually-not-a-horrible-guy-kinda terrorist.?
But as you can tell by the fact that he's, y'know, alive for Season Two, Brody didn't go through with it ??in part because the bomb malfunctioned, but mostly because he couldn't bear breaking his family's hearts or taking innocent lives. His whole motive for joining al Qaeda in the first place was his disgust with the "collateral damage" America's wars have produced. And in his (unreleased, obviously) video suicide note, he says he set out to kill the vice president not because he hates America, but because he loves it too much to let guys like the VP destroy its honor. He ends the season by rejecting terrorist mastermind Abu Nazir's violent ways and insisting he can change America's destructive policies from the inside.
Carrie Mathison spent months trying to stop him . . .
One woman came closer than anyone else to catching Brody: CIA analyst Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), who works to protect the country with a white-hot intensity any terrorist would envy. Tipped off about a flipped American POW by a terrorist-turned-informant long before Brody resurfaced, she was a lone voice calling for surveillance of the homecoming hero ??surveillance she ended up setting up illegally with help from her ex-spook buddy Virgil (David Marciano) when her requests were denied. No matter how many times he seemed to establish his innocence, Carrie invariably found the one crack in his excuses and alibis.
. . . and also falling in love with him . . .
Oh, right ??she slept with him, too. We'd already gotten hints that she could be dangerously reckless, but after the Agency pulls the plug on her surveillance program, she decides to keep an eye on Brody by making contact outside of work. Estranged from his wife due to his PTSD, Brody ends up conducting a whirlwind weekend-long affair with Carrie, before breaking it off when he realizes she suspects him of being a sleeper agent. At first it seems like Carrie did this just to try to trip him up, but by season's end it's clear she actually does love him, even though she believes he's guilty as sin. The heart wants what it wants, man.
More from RollingStone.com: Rob Sheffield's 2012 fall TV preview: 'Homeland'
. . . and she was right, but no one believed it . . .
Time and again, circumstances made Brody look innocent. That flipped POW that Carrie was warned about? Turns out Brody's sniper partner Tom Walker, whom Brody thought he'd beaten to death at his captors' gunpoint, was still alive and working for al Qaeda as well. The captured terrorist who committed suicide with a smuggled razor blade after a visit from Brody? Turns out there's a mole inside the Homeland Security apparatus who could have gotten it to him instead. The fact that he's covering up his encounters in captivity with Nazir, or killing Walker, or converting to Islam and praying behind the closed doors of his garage? Maybe he's just ashamed of how his captors broke him, or afraid of how his family would react. The suicide bombing Carrie was so convinced Brody was about to commit? Never happened. By that point she may as well have been ranting about Bigfoot.
. . . and she doesn't believe it either, because she's bipolar.
After getting caught in an explosion targeting a member of Brody's support network who'd outlived his usefulness, Carrie cracks. Her psychiatrist sister has been medicating her for bipolar disorder for years, keeping it a secret from the CIA so she wouldn't lose security clearance, and the blast sends her into the mother of all manic episodes, during which she loses her job when Brody rats out their affair to the Agency. She becomes so fixated on Brody's guilt that she shows up at his house, confronting his wife and daughter about the husband and father they love. When the bomb doesn't blow, she believes she?was wrong about everything, and signs up for electroconvulsive therapy in hopes that shock treatment will stop her mania from recurring. Unfortunately, this also wipes out her knowledge of a clue that more or less proves Brody's guilt.
Abu Nazir is a terrorist mastermind . . .
The head of al Qaeda in Iraq and Brody's personal overseer, Abu Nazir (Naveed Nagahban) is the world's most wanted terrorist. He flipped both Brody and his partner???whom he orders Brody to kill following the failed suicide bombing, in order to prove his continued loyalty ??maintains a support network throughout the U.S. and remains in periodic contact with Brody, encouraging him to remember his mission. We've heard some pretty sinister things about what happens to the families of people who don't.
. . . and Vice President William Walden is pretty much just as bad.
That mission would never have taken place without the actions of Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan), who ordered a drone strike on a school in hopes that it'd hit Nazir and ended up killing 82 children, including one very close to both Nazir and Brody. Walden's now running for president, and he's accepted Brody into his inner circle in hopes that some of that war-hero glamor will rub off, but he remains committed to the warmongering policies that spurred Nazir and Brody's quest for vengeance in the first place.
Saul Berenson is the best in the biz . . .
Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is Carrie's bushy-bearded, soft-spoken mentor, one of the few people in the Agency who not only recognizes her brilliance ??everyone does ??but also has found a way to put up with all the impulsivity and intensity that goes with it. Saul may be even smarter than Carrie: His knack for winning the trust of the people he interrogates and his ability to put together a big picture from small details helped him nab several of Nazir's accomplices. Unfortunately, his workaholism cost him his marriage.
. . . and David Estes is a tool . . .
The consummate company man, Estes (David Harewood) was part of Vice President Walden's inner circle when the order to blow up the school was given, and he helped cover it up even when Carrie and Saul were looking for the reason why Nazir was so active again after months off the radar. He's very much a political creature, which has made him the Agency's go-between for Walden and Brody, enabling them to get too close to CIA decision-making for anyone's good. He was Carrie's boss, before he fired her over her affair with Brody, her illegal surveillance operation and her bipolar disorder ??and oh yeah, he used to date her, which cost him his marriage.
. . . and any of them could be an al Qaeda mole.
Nazir has someone on the inside, feeding him information and tipping off his minions when the CIA is on their trail, leading to escapes, suicides and even a bombing in the middle of downtown D.C. It could be Saul, who initially failed a polygraph test asking about the smuggled razor blade an al Qaeda prisoner used to kill himself. It could be Galvez (Hrach Titizian), Saul and Carrie's go-to guy for delicate and demanding operations they can't pull off themselves, who's secretly spying on Carrie for Estes. It'sprobably not Estes or Walden, since Brody nearly blew them up, but who knows?
It's really all about a kid named Issa . . .
The most important character on "Homeland"?has been dead for three years. When Abu Nazir took Brody out of isolation and gave him limited freedom to win him over, he also "hired" the Marine to teach English to his adorable son Issa (Rohan Chand). The kid learned quickly, and before long the two of them were playing soccer and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" ??Brody was the loving father Nazir could never be, and Issa was the young son Brody's captivity had robbed him of raising back home. Then Issa and 81 of his classmates died in the vice president's drone strike, driving Nazir and Brody to plan revenge. Years later Brody would scream Issa's name while sleeping next to Carrie; when she and Saul uncovered the covered-up drone strike she realized who he was talking about, but seconds later a jolt of ECT wiped the clue from her brain.
. . . and a teenager named Dana.
Like Carrie, Brody's teenage daughter Dana (Morgan Saylor) both loves her dad, and suspects him. She's the one who's most upset that her mother Jessica (Morena Baccarin) kept her relationship with Brody's Marine buddy Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) a secret when Brody came back from the dead. She's the one who catches Brody praying to Allah and keeps the secret of his conversion to Islam out of respect. She's the one who notices something is wrong in the days leading up to the suicide bombing attempt. And she's the one who realizes there may be some truth to Carrie's manic rantings and calls her dad up at the last minute, convincing him not to go through with it without ever fully realizing he was up to anything in the first place.
What did like most about season one? What are you looking forward to in season two? Tell us on our Facebook page!
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Top 10 Listz: Top 10 Arthropod Pets
by Amy Clark
Arthropods have external skeletons, segmented bodies, and several jointed appendages. There are many different kinds of arthropods, including arachnids, insects, and crustaceans. Where some people regard these creatures as pests, others enjoy them as pets. The collection and keeping of these fascinating creatures is a growing hobby amongst many people. There are many sources for purchase, and quite a few forums dedicated to this most interesting field. Please be aware that not all of these are legal to own, and should not be released into the wild if they are not native to your area. The following lists ten common arthropod pets, in no particular order.
The walking stick, otherwise known as stick insect, stick bug, phasmids, ghost insects, or leaf insects, is an herbivore, living on leaves and other plant material. There are over 2,500 species. They are longer and thinner than the mantis, and are often confused as mantids. Although they fall under the subclass pterygoda, meaning winged insect, they have no wings. They go through three life stages: the female drops many eggs that land wherever in the autumn, nymphs emerge in the spring, and by summer they are adults. The female can reproduce without males, and the offspring will be clones of the female. They survive by camouflaging themselves to look like the twigs and branches they perch on, even mimicking the color of said branch.
As pets, they are easy to care for. Just try to imitate their natural environment with the proper humidity, temperature, and food. Handling is easy, as they are not aggressive, but are delicate and should be handled gently. The Indian walking stick is a popular classroom pet. They can be left alone for up to a week with no adverse affects.
The praying mantis is so called because of its long spiked forelegs that are bent as if in prayer. Using these legs, the mantis lunges, grabs its prey, and holds it while eating it alive. They are predators, living on other insects, even cannibalizing one another at times. They lay their eggs in the autumn in layered clusters, covered by a foam that hardens and is waterproof, hanging from a branch. In the spring, the tiny babies that survived by not being eaten by their siblings or other insects climb the branch and go through several metamorphosis until they are adults. With their final metamorphosis, they have wings.
As pets, they are fun to watch. Feeding is generally easy, as they are aggressive and quick to snatch the offered food. Watching them eat may take a strong stomach, as the prey is alive and struggling through most of the ordeal. There are many different kinds of mantises in the pet trade, at all sorts of sizes. The largest mantis is the ischnomantis gigas, at a whopping 6 1/2 inches. The smallest is the bolbe pyhmaea, at about less than half an inch. It is well known that the female will eat the male during copulation. However, this does not always happen, especially if the female has been well fed prior.
Most people think of roaches as pests. Yet only 5 or so out of 4,000 species of roaches are household pests. Roaches adapt easily to their surroundings, although they are typically found in warm areas. They are mostly omnivores, but there are some species that eat wood. They are fast and very hardy, and can survive without food for a long time, without air for up to forty five minutes, and being submerged in water for half an hour. It is believed that roaches would survive a nuclear holocaust, and they certainly have a higher resistance to radiation than humans. As pests, they can leave trails of bacteria with their feces and cause allergic reactions in humans.
But as pets, they are colorful, entertaining, and easy to care for. There are many beautiful specimens to choose from in the pet trade. The hissing cockroach is probably the most well known. Blaberus Craniifer, the true death head roach, is a lovely specimen that has the death head image on the back of its head. Feeding is simple, grind up some dry dog food and grain, or buy commercial roach jelly online. Misting is helpful, as some like to lick the drops off the side of the aquarium. Some are good climbers, and an inch of vaseline around the top of the aquarium will keep them inside. They can be held easily, although you should wash your hands after. Breeding is easy, just keep a male and female together, and soon you will have lots of babies. The dubya roach is often used as a food source for other pet insects.
There are more than 350,000 species of beetles in the world, living in diverse places like deserts, tropical climates, and even in water. Some are pests that eat garden plants and some eat the pests, like aphids and mites, that eat garden plants. Some are useful in cleaning up carrion or dung. And some are eaten by other insects, animals, and birds. They lay eggs that hatch into larvae that can in some cases take years to become mature adults. The adults are generally not long-lived.
In Japan, the rhinoceros beetle is a popular pet. They have a horn on the thorax and a horn pointing forward from the center thorax. They can reach almost 6 inches long and weigh 3 ounces. They can be purchased from stores and even vending machines. Sometimes they are used for gambling, fighting one another, as males tend to be combative. The Goliath beetle is one of the largest and heaviest at up to 2 to 3 inches long and weighing a hefty 3 or 4 ounces. It belongs to the scarab family. The scarab family has some of the most beautiful markings and colors. Beetles are a little harder to find in the pet trade, and you may have to start with a larvae that will remain buried most of the time. But if you are patient, you will briefly have a fascinating pet.
Ants are everywhere. They are predators, scavenger, and herbivores. They are very social and live in groups with a hierarchy. The colony is ruled by a queen, who is the only fertile female. The other, infertile females, are workers and soldiers. They communicate through pheromones, sounds, and touch and defend themselves by biting or stinging. They are related to wasps and bees. Some, like harvester ants are sold as food for pet horned lizards.
Harvester ants are also sold for ant farms, a fun hobby many children and adults enjoy. Harvester ants have large jaws and will bite. These farms are flat so the ants can be viewed as they go about their daily lives, building tunnels and carrying food. They should be fed a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, birdseed or the white of a boiled egg. Special ant food can be ordered online. An eyedropper works well to deliver just a little bit of water to one area, not so much that any of the ants will drown. It is fun and educational to watch the socialization and teamwork of these enterprising creatures. It would be even more entertaining to watch them breed and raise babies, but queens are not usually offered as pets. For that, you may have to catch one.
Centipedes are fast and aggressive. They can be found in the tropics and in deserts. They hunt at night and eat roaches, crickets, mice and bats. If bothered, they will bite or pinch, and are venomous. They have flattened bodies, a single pair of legs per segment, and can get up to twelve inches long. There are over 8,000 species.
These are pets for the advanced keeper. Care must be given that they do not escape. They are cannibalistic and must be housed separately. Some can live more than a decade in the wild, and even longer as pets. Even though they can live in the desert, they require dark, damp habitats with plenty of hiding places. They molt seven to ten times before maturity. Centipedes do not have 100 legs like their name implies; rather they always have an odd number of legs. Usually the female of the species will grow larger than the male or have different colors. And while some people will hold their pet centipede, it is advisable not to.
Unlike centipedes, millipedes are long, round, slow, and eat decaying vegetation. They also have 2 pair of legs per segment, as opposed to 1. They can have 36 to 400 legs, depending on the species. There are over 10,000 species. Millipedes burrow into the ground. Some may secrete a poison through their skin, and there are some mammals that get drugged off this secretion by licking the millipede. They defend themselves by curling into a ball and do not bite.
Millipedes are easy to house and can live in groups. The giant African millipede is a popular pet, getting as big as 10 inches. They can be long lived and are non aggressive, making them fun to hold. Pet millipedes will eat fruit or vegetables, and need extra calcium to aid in shedding. They like damp areas and live under plant debris, and need a somewhat deep substrate so they can burrow. Being nocturnal, they aren?t quite as visible as some pets, so you would want to watch them at night. They reproduce easily, so take care not to house males and females together if you don?t want a lot. While they are not aggressive, some people may have allergic reactions to their secretions and should take care.
Hermit crabs live in shells and as they grow change to newer, larger shells. The largest species can live 30 to 70 years or more. They are great climbers and diggers, and fun to watch. Some species live under water, like marine crabs, and others on land. Most are aquatic, living in saltwater, and even the land ones must return to the sea to breed. There are many different colors, like red, brown, and purple, with varying patterns such as dots and stripes. They are scavengers and omnivores, eating dead things and plants.
They are a popular pet, but many people do not realize how much care must be given to them. As a result, they are short lived as pets. They need space, proper substrate, fresh water, salt water, food, extra shells, and things to climb. For specifics, please go to the site mentioned above. If you want your hermit crab to live and be healthy, you must meet their specific needs.
Scorpions are predators, eating other insects. They sting their prey to paralyze it before eating. There are over 2,000 species, and 30 or more have the venom that can kill a human. They grow from between 0.3 inches to 9 inches long. They have 8 legs, 2 claws that vary in size according to species, and a segmented tail with a stinger on the end.
The emperor scorpion is probably the most common scorpion kept as a pet. They are black and have large claws, and grow to 6 inches. Give them a place to burrow or hide, some crickets or roaches, proper heat and humidity, and a shallow water bowl. They can live 6 to 8 years, and shouldn?t be handled, although their venom isn?t as potent as other species. More than 1 can be kept together, as long as there are enough hiding spots and room to move. Since they are nocturnal, they will be more interesting to observe at night.
This particular arthropod is my favorite. There are so many different sizes and color combinations and temperaments to choose from. Some have stripes like a tiger, and some have markings like a skeleton. Most are hairy. They can be found in America, Africa, Asia and Australia. The African and Asian tarantulas are known as old world, and typically have stronger venom and are more aggressive than the new world tarantulas found in America that usually will just flick irritating hairs when threatened. They eat quite a variety of living things, from crickets to mice. Some are arboreal, living high up in trees and others are terrestrial, living on the ground or in burrows.
They are easy to find in the pet trade. They range in size from a fingernail to a dinner plate. In an appropriate size enclosure, the burrowing species will dig and line a hole with webbing. Mine do this right up against the glass so I can always see them even when they are hiding. Feeding is entertaining. Drop the cricket or roach in and watch the tarantula dash out and grab it. The largest ones can be fed mice or rats, but it is unadvisable because the rodent might hurt the tarantula. Large dubya roaches work well for large tarantulas. Some tarantulas go long periods of time without eating, either because they simply aren?t hungry, or are getting ready to molt. That is also interesting, to peer into the enclosure and see what looks like 2 tarantulas! Because when they molt, they lay on their backs and step out of their old skin, leaving behind what looks like another whole tarantula. Don?t feed for a few days after molting as the tarantula is vulnerable and the fangs need to harden.
Source: http://top10listz.blogspot.com/2012/09/top-10-arthropod-pets.html
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
RIM Shows Off BlackBerry 10?s Gaming Prowess
The perception of RIM?s BlackBerry ecosystem is that it?s only meant for business use; too stuffy. The company tried to change that by introducing some standard games to the equation with its Blackberry PlayBook, but it?s handsets remained largely without any entertainment prospects.
With BlackBerry 10?s new touchscreen interface, however, it looks like mainstream mobile games will finally be making their way to BlackBerry devices.?During its keynote today, RIM?s team lead for gaming, Sean Paul Taylor showed off some of the games that will be coming to BlackBerry 10.
Of the four games shown during the keynote, four were rehashes of titles we?ve already seen on Android and iOS including Shark Dash, Jetpack Joyride, and Shadowrun. Each game appeared to run smoothly and without and hiccups, although and real impressions will have to wait until we can actually get our hands on them.?
The one game that did interest us was the space shooter Alpha Zero. RIM says the game is brand new and will make its big debut on BlackBerry 10. Taylor says the game supports multitouch gestures, allowing users to control their ship?s lasers by moving two fingers around the screen.?
That was it for the games RIM was showing off for its new OS. There also wasn?t any mention of the number of games that will be available for the operating system at launch. If RIM really wants to drop its stodgy image, it?ll have to offer users far more entertainment options than what we?ve seen.?
Source: http://blog.laptopmag.com/rim-shows-off-blackberry-10s-gaming-prowess
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Wakeboarder's finger found in lake trout months later
By Isolde Raftery, NBC News
When Hans Galassi lost four of his fingers in a wakeboarding accident in Idaho, he joked, wryly, that they had become fish food.
He wasn?t surprised, then, when the Bonner County sheriff called him up, telling him he had a funny story to tell him.
?I was like: Let me guess, they found my fingers in a fish,? Galassi, 31, told the Spokesman-Review. (The newspaper?s headline was equally flippant: "Lake trout gives fisherman the finger.")
Galassi was wakeboarding on Priest Lake in northern Idaho on July 4 when his hand was caught in the cord, fully severing his fingers. His friends rushed him to a resort and he was transported to the hospital by helicopter.
Then, on Sept. 11, a man named Nolan Calvin was fishing on the west side of Priest Lake when he caught a large lake trout. As he was cleaning the fish, he found what appeared to be a severed human finger, according to a press release from the Bonner County Sheriff?s Office.
According to the sheriff?s department statement: ?It is unknown, of course, how long the fish actually retained the finger in its digestive track, however, it was noted that the finger was in remarkably good condition at the time of recovery.?
Sheriff?s Detective Sgt. Gary Johnston was particularly impressed.
?You fall asleep in your bathtub or hot tub, you come out and your fingers are all puckered up and prune-like. And it wasn?t like that,? he told the Spokesman-Review.
Calvin, the fisherman, placed the finger on ice, which he turned over to deputies, who were able to derive a decent enough fingerprint to trace back to Galassi. The fish, officials concluded, had traveled about eight miles north of where Galassi lost his fingers.
The investigation concluded, the sheriff?s department offered Galassi back his finger.
Galassi told the Spokesman-Review that he declined.
?I?m like, uhhh, I?m good,? he said.
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Macedonian, Greek Ministers Meet in New York :: Balkan Insight
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| Dimitris Avramopoulos [left] and Nikola Poposki [right] | Photo by: mfa.gov |
The two ministers met for an unofficial conversation at Macedonia's request at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to reiterate their country?s stands.
After asserting that Greece had done its part towards resolving the dispute between the two states over Macedonia's name, Avramopoulos said it was time for the government in Skopje to do more.
?Things might have been different and even better in relations between us if the neighbouring country showed more respect on historically and culturally sensitive issues that are of particular importance to Greece,? Avramopoulos said in reference to Macedonia after the meeting.
Aside from the long-running dispute over Macedonia's name, Greece objects to Macedonia's more recent drive to lay claim to what Greece considers its own exclusive heritage.
For his part, Poposki repeated that Macedonia had no territorial claims against Greece, describing claims to the contrary as an ?artificially imposed perception?.
The fresh initiative comes at a time when the European Commission is about to release its annual report on Macedonia's progress towards EU membership.
The report, to be published on October 10, is expected to contain yet another recommendation for a start to EU accession talks - the fourth in a row.
However, without a solution to the "name" dispute at hand, the EU is unlikely to offer an actual start date for the talks, owing to the continuing Greek blockade.
Greece insists that use of the term "Macedonia" implies a territorial claim to its own northern province of the same name. Citing the unresolved issue, Greece has repeatedly blocked Macedonia?s progress towards both EU and NATO membership.
UN-brokered talks to overcome the long standing dispute have failed to result in a solution and there have been no substantial talks for over a year, partly owing to the complicated political situation in Greece.
Macedonia obtained EU candidate country status back in 2005, and the European Commission has recommended a start to accession talks since 2009.
Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-greek-fm-s-hold-introductory-meeting
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Apple says iPhone 5 scratches are normal for aluminum products
Mitt Romney's recent slide in several polls, including those in the battleground states of Ohio, Virginia and Florida, is troubling enough for the GOP. But, now the Republican nominee appears to be trailing President Barack Obama among a traditionally conservative constituency: NASCAR fans. Obama leads Romney 49 to 42 percent among NASCAR enthusiasts, according to [...]
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Solar panel startup to get $197 million from Uncle Sam
By Reuters
LOS ANGELES - A tiny solar company named SoloPower will flip the switch on production at a U.S. factory Thursday, a major step toward allowing it to tap a $197 million government loan guarantee awarded under the same controversial program that supported failed panel maker Solyndra.
SoloPower has initiated a strategy to differentiate it from struggling commodity players in the solar panel industry. Still, there are several similarities between SoloPower and Solyndra - which became a lightning rod in the U.S. Presidential campaign this year after taking in more than $500 million in government loans and then filing for bankruptcy.
Like Solyndra, SoloPower is a Silicon Valley start-up and uses the same non-traditional raw material in its solar panels. And, like its now-defunct peer, SoloPower is one of just four U.S. panel manufacturers to clinch loan guarantees under the Department of Energy's $35 billion program to support emerging clean energy technologies. The DOE payments to SoloPower will come on top of the $56.5 million SoloPower has collected in loans, tax credits and incentives from the state of Oregon and the city of Portland, where its first factory will be located.
And, perhaps most importantly, SoloPower is entering the market at a time of cutthroat competition from cheaper solar products made in China.
Though global demand for photovoltaic solar installations is expected to grow about 8 percent this year, rapid expansion of panel manufacturing in Asia in recent years - combined with a pullback in government incentives in key European markets - has left a glut of solar panels in the market, sending prices down 30 percent this year alone.
Companies that make those panels are now struggling to survive. Even the world's largest solar panel maker, China's Suntech Power Holdings Inc, warned on Friday that it may be delisted by the New York Stock Exchange because its share price, which reached $90 in 2008, is now less than $1. Debt-heavy Suntech has also been hurt since it said in July that its partner in a solar development fund might have defrauded it with a bogus collateral pledge of hundreds of millions of German bonds.
Political pressure
These struggles have heaped political pressure on the sector. Republicans, intent on taking back the White House in November's election, are using Solyndra and other U.S. Department of Energy loan failures to brand the Obama administration's green incentives a waste of public money and fountain of cronyism. Solyndra, for instance, was backed by George Kaiser, a major fundraiser for Obama.
As the failures accumulate, Obama is under pressure to show better results for the program.
Earlier this month, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a "No More Solyndras" bill that would phase out the program for energy loans. It is highly unlikely to be taken up by the U.S. Senate or signed by Obama.
SoloPower says the comparisons to Solyndra are unwarranted.
The San Jose, California company's lightweight, flexible solar panels have a unique advantage, Chief Executive Tim Harris said in an interview. They are pointed squarely at commercial and industrial rooftops that can't support traditional panels, according to Harris, who said half of the buildings in the world can't bear the weight of heavy, rigid panels made with silicon. This includes many of the buildings that house warehouses and big box retailers, Harris said. In addition, he said SoloPower panels are commanding a price premium in a market that has become increasingly commoditized.
"We have way more demand than we have capacity at a very substantial premium price," Harris said in an interview. He declined to specify the premium SoloPower is able to charge, but said his company's product is best suited for markets such as Japan, Italy and Korea, which have high electricity prices and favorable incentives for rooftop systems.
The company has been able to raise more than $200 million in venture funding from investors including Crosslink Capital, Hudson Clean Energy Partners, Convexa Capital Ventures and Firsthand Capital Management.
"Before one dollar of the DOE loan is relied upon it will be demonstrable that this is a company that absolutely can manufacture a product that there will be verifiable demand for," said John Cavalier, a managing partner with Hudson Clean Energy Partners, which invested in SoloPower. "I don't think anyone will question the wisdom of making a loan of this nature to this company."
But some in the industry are skeptical of SoloPower's ability to succeed without having to lower its prices to compete with cheaper products from Asia.
"They are flexible and lightweight. Is anyone willing to pay a price premium for that? I would lean toward saying no," said Matt Feinstein, a solar industry analyst with Lux Research, a research and advisory firm that specializes in emerging technologies. "They have to compete head-to-head with the Chinese."
Lighter, less efficient
SoloPower must have its first production line up and running and meet other undisclosed milestones before it can begin to draw down funds from its U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee. Harris expects that to happen later this year or early next year. Funds from the loan guarantee will pay for construction of the rest of the Portland, Oregon factory, which is expected to be completed in 2014. DOE spokesman Damien LaVera would not provide details on the terms of SoloPower's loan guarantee and said the company's technology was not similar to Solyndra's, but would not elaborate.
Once completed, the plant will produce 400 megawatts of solar panels annually and employ about 400 people. There are 60 people working there currently.
SoloPower will be profitable once the first line is up and running producing panels, Harris said. Many solar companies, meanwhile, have been losing money as they scramble to cut costs as quickly as the prices on their products are falling.
Solyndra, for its part, drew down 99 percent of its $535 million loan guarantee without turning a profit.
Some project developers, bankers and others are wary of newer "thin film" solar technologies like SoloPower's that are less efficient than traditional panels at transforming the sun's light into electricity.
Thin film, a broad term for solar panels that don't use silicon as their raw material, became a darling of investors five years ago when solar-grade silicon prices soared to $500 a kilogram. Thin film makers argued that despite their shortcomings in efficiency, they could deliver far cheaper solar power than their silicon-reliant rivals. Today, however, an influx of capacity from Asia has driven spot prices for polysilicon to about $20 per kg, raising questions about the need to fund alternatives to silicon-based panels.
"SoloPower is going to have to deal with the industry perception right now that thin film is a dying technology," said GTM Research solar analyst MJ Shiao. "A start-up thin film manufacturer makes a lot of developers uneasy."
But SoloPower's Harris disputed that view, saying his company already has more orders than it can fill. "There is a pipeline of projects that are about ready to go that are just waiting for this lightweight module. If you want to put solar on, we're the only choice," he said. "It would be impossible to start a factory today unless you had a unique product."
Cheap competition
Like Solyndra, SoloPower's panels use copper indium gallium selenide, or CIGS, as their raw material. CIGS panels have long held the promise of being cheaper than polysilicon-based panels while delivering efficiencies that are higher than other thin film technologies such as cadmium telluride, the raw material used by U.S. solar heavyweight First Solar Inc. The drastic drop in the price of traditional panels over the last few years, however, has kept CIGS manufacturers from delivering on that promise on a commercial scale.
In the last year, CIGS solar companies HelioVolt and Ascent Solar Technologies Inc have sold stakes to South Korean conglomerate SK Group and TFG Radiant Group, respectively. Another, Miasole, has cut staff and said publicly that it is searching for a partner. Rival Nanosolar earlier this month said its chief executive left after just eight months.
Though Solyndra is the best known solar failure of the last year, it was far from the only one. GTM Research estimates that the United States produced 281 megawatts of PV modules in the first half of 2012, compared with 561 MW in the first half of 2011. That's a big reason why a string of manufacturers in both the United States and Europe have closed their doors in the face of competition from increasingly cheap Chinese panels.
First Solar, for example, postponed indefinitely its plans for a second U.S. factory in Arizona because of the weak market conditions. Start-ups are being hit too. Of the four companies that received loan guarantees for photovoltaic solar manufacturing, two - Solyndra and Abound Solar - have filed for bankruptcy. SoloPower and Lexington, Massachusetts-based 1366 Technologies Inc, which received a $150 million loan guarantee, remain. 1366 also has yet to draw down funds from its loan guarantee.
Even the Chinese manufacturers, whose products are the cheapest in the world, are losing money and struggling with ballooning inventories. One of the biggest Chinese solar companies, LDK Solar Co Ltd, said earlier this month that it was looking to raise cash and may sell a strategic stake.
For its part, SoloPower has hired Macquarie Capital to help it explore partnership opportunities. Such a deal could include giving distribution rights to a European or Asian partner in return for a stake in the company. SoloPower is not up for sale, however, Harris said.
In fact, the company could even pursue an initial public offering next year, Cavalier of Hudson Clean Energy Partners said.
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New UF study shows river turtle species still suffers from past harvesting
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Public release date: 25-Sep-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Max Nickerson
maxn@flmnh.ufl.edu
352-273-1946
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. University of Florida researchers studying river turtles in Missouri found populations of the northern map turtle have not recovered from harvesting in the 1970s.
Scientists used data collected by Florida Museum of Natural History herpetology curator Max Nickerson in 1969 and 1980 as a baseline, then surveyed the same stretch of river in the Ozarks in 2004 to determine the northern map turtles had not recovered from a previous 50 percent population loss caused by harvesting, likely for food. River turtles help ecosystems function by cycling nutrients and maintaining food web dynamics. Assessment of the northern map turtle, a protected species in some states, is essential as increasing human populations and global warming further alter its habitat. The study was published Sept. 14 in Volume 3 of Copeia, and is scheduled to appear online this week.
"The importance of river turtles is really underplayed," said lead author Amber Pitt, a Clemson University postdoctoral research fellow who conducted research for the study as a UF graduate student. "River turtles are long-lived, rely on the same water resources that we do and can serve as indicators of water quality. People should be concerned if turtles are impacted by poor water quality because we are likely being affected, too."
Inhabiting river systems from southern Arkansas to Quebec, the northern map turtle, Graptemys geographica, is among the most wide-ranging map turtles in the U.S. They are dietary specialists and depend mainly on snails, making the species especially susceptible to biodegradation. Formally known as the common map turtle due to its wide geographic distribution, its name was changed in 2000 so people would not assume it was abundant, Pitt said. The northern map turtle is listed in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and this research may be used as a guideline for conservation or protection of other turtle species.
Scientists determined harvesting was likely the cause of the 50 percent population loss between 1969 and 1980 based on analysis of data published by Nickerson and Pitt in the Florida Museum of Natural History Bulletin in August. Data showed fewer adult females, which are larger than males and preferred for the food trade, and local residents confirmed turtle harvesting occurred in the river, Nickerson said.
"This shows that harvesting, even if it's a one-time event, can cause a turtle population to significantly decline and remain impacted for decades, because this species doesn't reproduce quickly," Pitt said. "It was really discouraging to see that even without the pressure of further harvesting, they couldn't recover over that long time period, which is partially due to their biology but may also be associated with habitat degradation and disturbance."
Researchers used similar methods to survey the nearly 3-mile stretch of the North Fork of White River in Ozark County, Missouri, in 2004 by snorkeling to locate, tag and record information about the turtles. Based on the 2004 examination of the river, habitat degradation was apparent because of increased siltation, sedimentation and algal blooms.
"What's happening in these big spring-fed rivers is very important," Nickerson said. "When you clear the banks of a river, you increase siltation, which affects the food sources, reproduction, plant growth, species composition and basic ecology of that section of the stream, and perhaps the entire river."
River degradation has been partially caused by human recreation, which drastically increased by 2004, Nickerson said. People swimming and boating also frighten turtles so they may not bask as much as needed to maintain their health and maximize egg production.
Although scientists generally agree many turtle populations are declining worldwide, little has been published on river turtle communities, said Don Moll, a professor emeritus at Missouri State University who co-authored a textbook on freshwater turtles.
"This is a very important study because it follows the dynamics of this turtle community over a more than 30-year time period, and really it's the only published river turtle study I can think of that does that," Moll said. "It's a real contribution in that sense it's so unique."
One concern with attracting conservation efforts to river turtles may have to do with their small size because they do not garner as much public attention as larger marine species, Pitt said. Adult female northern map turtles are about 11 inches long.
"Often times with conservation, you have the charismatic mega fauna that people care about, such as sea turtles everybody cares about sea turtles, including me," Pitt said. "But river turtles are facing just as many threats as sea turtles. People are also harvesting river turtles and there are very few laws in place to stop this harvest it's a global epidemic that is causing turtle populations to be wiped out."
###
Credits
Writer
Danielle Torrent, dtorrent@flmnh.ufl.edu
Source
Max Nickerson, maxn@flmnh.ufl.edu, 352-273-1946
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 25-Sep-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Max Nickerson
maxn@flmnh.ufl.edu
352-273-1946
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. University of Florida researchers studying river turtles in Missouri found populations of the northern map turtle have not recovered from harvesting in the 1970s.
Scientists used data collected by Florida Museum of Natural History herpetology curator Max Nickerson in 1969 and 1980 as a baseline, then surveyed the same stretch of river in the Ozarks in 2004 to determine the northern map turtles had not recovered from a previous 50 percent population loss caused by harvesting, likely for food. River turtles help ecosystems function by cycling nutrients and maintaining food web dynamics. Assessment of the northern map turtle, a protected species in some states, is essential as increasing human populations and global warming further alter its habitat. The study was published Sept. 14 in Volume 3 of Copeia, and is scheduled to appear online this week.
"The importance of river turtles is really underplayed," said lead author Amber Pitt, a Clemson University postdoctoral research fellow who conducted research for the study as a UF graduate student. "River turtles are long-lived, rely on the same water resources that we do and can serve as indicators of water quality. People should be concerned if turtles are impacted by poor water quality because we are likely being affected, too."
Inhabiting river systems from southern Arkansas to Quebec, the northern map turtle, Graptemys geographica, is among the most wide-ranging map turtles in the U.S. They are dietary specialists and depend mainly on snails, making the species especially susceptible to biodegradation. Formally known as the common map turtle due to its wide geographic distribution, its name was changed in 2000 so people would not assume it was abundant, Pitt said. The northern map turtle is listed in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and this research may be used as a guideline for conservation or protection of other turtle species.
Scientists determined harvesting was likely the cause of the 50 percent population loss between 1969 and 1980 based on analysis of data published by Nickerson and Pitt in the Florida Museum of Natural History Bulletin in August. Data showed fewer adult females, which are larger than males and preferred for the food trade, and local residents confirmed turtle harvesting occurred in the river, Nickerson said.
"This shows that harvesting, even if it's a one-time event, can cause a turtle population to significantly decline and remain impacted for decades, because this species doesn't reproduce quickly," Pitt said. "It was really discouraging to see that even without the pressure of further harvesting, they couldn't recover over that long time period, which is partially due to their biology but may also be associated with habitat degradation and disturbance."
Researchers used similar methods to survey the nearly 3-mile stretch of the North Fork of White River in Ozark County, Missouri, in 2004 by snorkeling to locate, tag and record information about the turtles. Based on the 2004 examination of the river, habitat degradation was apparent because of increased siltation, sedimentation and algal blooms.
"What's happening in these big spring-fed rivers is very important," Nickerson said. "When you clear the banks of a river, you increase siltation, which affects the food sources, reproduction, plant growth, species composition and basic ecology of that section of the stream, and perhaps the entire river."
River degradation has been partially caused by human recreation, which drastically increased by 2004, Nickerson said. People swimming and boating also frighten turtles so they may not bask as much as needed to maintain their health and maximize egg production.
Although scientists generally agree many turtle populations are declining worldwide, little has been published on river turtle communities, said Don Moll, a professor emeritus at Missouri State University who co-authored a textbook on freshwater turtles.
"This is a very important study because it follows the dynamics of this turtle community over a more than 30-year time period, and really it's the only published river turtle study I can think of that does that," Moll said. "It's a real contribution in that sense it's so unique."
One concern with attracting conservation efforts to river turtles may have to do with their small size because they do not garner as much public attention as larger marine species, Pitt said. Adult female northern map turtles are about 11 inches long.
"Often times with conservation, you have the charismatic mega fauna that people care about, such as sea turtles everybody cares about sea turtles, including me," Pitt said. "But river turtles are facing just as many threats as sea turtles. People are also harvesting river turtles and there are very few laws in place to stop this harvest it's a global epidemic that is causing turtle populations to be wiped out."
###
Credits
Writer
Danielle Torrent, dtorrent@flmnh.ufl.edu
Source
Max Nickerson, maxn@flmnh.ufl.edu, 352-273-1946
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/uof-nus092512.php
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