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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Was the Little Ice Age triggered by massive volcanic eruptions?
ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? A new international study may answer contentious questions about the onset and persistence of Earth's Little Ice Age, a period of widespread cooling that lasted for hundreds of years until the late 19th century.
The study, led by the University of Colorado Boulder with co-authors at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and other organizations, suggests that an unusual, 50-year-long episode of four massive tropical volcanic eruptions triggered the Little Ice Age between 1275 and 1300 A.D. The persistence of cold summers following the eruptions is best explained by a subsequent expansion of sea ice and a related weakening of Atlantic currents, according to computer simulations conducted for the study.
The study, which used analyses of patterns of dead vegetation, ice and sediment core data, and powerful computer climate models, provides new evidence in a longstanding scientific debate over the onset of the Little Ice Age. Scientists have theorized that the Little Ice Age was caused by decreased summer solar radiation, erupting volcanoes that cooled the planet by ejecting sulfates and other aerosol particles that reflected sunlight back into space, or a combination of the two.
"This is the first time anyone has clearly identified the specific onset of the cold times marking the start of the Little Ice Age," says lead author Gifford Miller of the University of Colorado Boulder. "We also have provided an understandable climate feedback system that explains how this cold period could be sustained for a long period of time. If the climate system is hit again and again by cold conditions over a relatively short period -- in this case, from volcanic eruptions -- there appears to be a cumulative cooling effect."
"Our simulations showed that the volcanic eruptions may have had a profound cooling effect," says NCAR scientist Bette Otto-Bliesner, a co-author of the study. "The eruptions could have triggered a chain reaction, affecting sea ice and ocean currents in a way that lowered temperatures for centuries."
The study appears this week in Geophysical Research Letters. The research team includes co-authors from the University of Iceland, the University of California Irvine, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation, NCAR's sponsor, and the Icelandic Science Foundation.
Far-flung regions of ice
Scientific estimates regarding the onset of the Little Ice Age range from the 13th century to the 16th century, but there is little consensus, Miller says. Although the cooling temperatures may have affected places as far away as South America and China, they were particularly evident in northern Europe. Advancing glaciers in mountain valleys destroyed towns, and paintings from the period depict people ice-skating on the Thames River in London and canals in the Netherlands, places that were ice-free before and after the Little Ice Age.
"The dominant way scientists have defined the Little Ice Age is by the expansion of big valley glaciers in the Alps and in Norway," says Miller, a fellow at CU's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. "But the time in which European glaciers advanced far enough to demolish villages would have been long after the onset of the cold period."
Miller and his colleagues radiocarbon-dated roughly 150 samples of dead plant material with roots intact, collected from beneath receding margins of ice caps on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. They found a large cluster of "kill dates" between 1275 and 1300 A.D., indicating the plants had been frozen and engulfed by ice during a relatively sudden event.
The team saw a second spike in plant kill dates at about 1450 A.D., indicating the quick onset of a second major cooling event.
To broaden the study, the researchers analyzed sediment cores from a glacial lake linked to the 367-square-mile Langj?kullice cap in the central highlands of Iceland that reaches nearly a mile high. The annual layers in the cores -- which can be reliably dated by using tephra deposits from known historic volcanic eruptions on Iceland going back more than 1,000 years -- suddenly became thicker in the late 13th century and again in the 15th century due to increased erosion caused by the expansion of the ice cap as the climate cooled.
"That showed us the signal we got from Baffin Island was not just a local signal, it was a North Atlantic signal," Miller says. "This gave us a great deal more confidence that there was a major perturbation to the Northern Hemisphere climate near the end of the 13th century."
The team used the Community Climate System Model, which was developed by scientists at NCAR and the Department of Energy with colleagues at other organizations, to test the effects of volcanic cooling on Arctic sea ice extent and mass. The model, which simulated various sea ice conditions from about 1150 to 1700 A.D., showed several large, closely spaced eruptions could have cooled the Northern Hemisphere enough to trigger the expansion of Arctic sea ice.
The model showed that sustained cooling from volcanoes would have sent some of the expanding Arctic sea ice down along the eastern coast of Greenland until it eventually melted in the North Atlantic. Since sea ice contains almost no salt, when it melted the surface water became less dense, preventing it from mixing with deeper North Atlantic water. This weakened heat transport back to the Arctic and created a self-sustaining feedback on the sea ice long after the effects of the volcanic aerosols subsided, according to the simulations.
The researchers set solar radiation at a constant level in the climate models. The simulations indicated that the Little Ice Age likely would have occurred without decreased summer solar radiation at the time, Miller says.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Gifford H Miller, John R. Southon, Chance Anderson, Helgi Bj?rnsson, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Aslaug Geirsdottir, Yafang Zhong, Darren J Larsen, Bette L Otto-Bliesner, Marika M Holland, David Anthony Bailey, Kurt A. Refsnider, Scott J. Lehman. Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, 2012; DOI: 10.1029/2011GL050168
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.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130131509.htm
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Salvage crews suspend work on capsized cruise ship (Reuters)
GIGLIO, Italy (Reuters) ? Salvage crews preparing to pump thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel and oil from the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Italian coast suspended work on Saturday because of bad weather that could last into next week, officials said.
With heavy seas and strong winds set to continue, work on removing more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel may be held up for days, according to a spokesman for SMIT, the Dutch company that is managing the operation.
"Starting operations depends on the weather conditions," Martijn Schuttevaer told reporters. "The forecast is for the bad weather to last until Tuesday and we don't expect to be able to recommence activities until the middle of the week."
A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn after strong winds and high waves worsened conditions for the divers working on the huge wreck.
Despite the interruption the search continued for bodies on the half-submerged vessel, which lies in about 20 meters of water on a rock shelf close to the island of Giglio off the Tuscan coast.
Divers found the body of a woman on Saturday, bringing the number of known dead to 17. Authorities also said they had identified the body of a German woman recovered last week.
Two of the bodies found after the shipwreck are unidentified and 15 people are still missing.
With no hope of finding survivors, the focus has switched to preventing an environmental disaster in Giglio, a popular holiday island in a marine nature reserve.
Before the work was suspended, crews were installing valves to help pump out six fuel tanks towards the front of the ship which hold most of the diesel. The pumping operation is expected to take between three weeks and a month.
The Concordia, a 290-metre long floating resort carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, sank more than two weeks ago after it ran into a rock close to the shore which tore a long gash in its hull.
The accident, expected to trigger the most expensive maritime insurance claim ever, has set off a legal battle in which U.S. and Italian lawyers are preparing class action and individual suits against the operator, Costa Cruises.
In a bid to limit the fallout, Costa, a unit of Carnival Corp, the world's largest cruise ship operator, has offered the more than 3,000 passengers $14,500 each in compensation on condition they drop any legal action.
The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore, and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.
The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
300 arrested in daylong Occupy Oakland protests
Occupy Oakland protestors burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest on the steps of City Hall, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
Occupy Oakland protestors burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest on the steps of City Hall, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
A woman pleads with Occupy Oakland protestors to not burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
Oakland Police block the entrance to City Hall after Occupy Oakland protestors gained access into the building during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Oakland officials say police are in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse on Saturday. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
Oakland police block off a street in downtown Oakland during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
An Oakland City police officer stomps out a burning American flag after Occupy Oakland protestors set City Hall's flag on fire during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) ? Dozens of police maintained a late-night guard around City Hall following daylong protests that resulted in 300 arrests. Occupy Oakland demonstrators broke into the historic building and burned a U.S. flag, as officers earlier fired tear gas to disperse people throwing rocks and tearing down fencing at a convention center.
Saturday's protests ? the most turbulent since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November ? came just days after the group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.
An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."
"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," Quan said.
Protesters clashed with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. And police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and bean bag rounds, City Administrator Deanna Santanta said.
Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said about 300 arrests were made.
"These demonstrators stated their intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and that's exactly what has occurred today," Santana said.
The group assembled outside City Hall late Saturday morning and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center.
The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.
Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.
The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.
A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, said Sgt. Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman.
Quan said that at one point, many protesters forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.
She blamed the destruction on a small "very radical, violent" splinter group within Occupy Oakland.
"This is not a situation where we had a 1,000 peaceful people and a few violent people. If you look at what's happening today in terms of destructing property, throwing at and charging the police, it's almost like they are begging for attention and hoping that the police will make an error."
Dozens of officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building looking for protesters who had broken into the building, then ran out of the building with American flags before officers arrived.
The protest group issued an email criticizing police, saying "Occupy Oakland's building occupation, an act of constitutionally protected civil disobedience was disrupted by a brutal police response today."
Michael Davis, 32, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said Saturday was a very hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using "flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags."
"What could've been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us," Davis said. "We were peaceful."
City leaders joined Quan in criticizing the protesters.
"City Hall is closed for the weekend. There is no excuse for behavior we've witnessed this evening," City Council President Larry Reid said during a news briefing Saturday.
Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, echoed Reid's sentiments and said that what was going on amounts to "domestic terrorism."
The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.
Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.
In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Quan was among the critics, but on Saturday, she seemed to have changed her tune.
"Our officers have been very measured," Quan said. "Were there some mistakes made? There may be. I would say the Oakland police and our allies, so far a small percentage of mistakes. "But quite frankly, a majority of protesters who were charging the police were clearly not being peaceful.
Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included "serious concerns" about the department's handling of the Occupy protests.
Jordan said late Saturday that he was in "close contact" with the federal monitor during the protests.
Quan added, "If the demonstrators think that because we are working more closely with the monitor now that we won't do what we have to do to uphold the law and try keep people safe in this city, they're wrong."
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BP fails to shift $15 billion oil spill costs onto Transocean (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? Oil giant BP has lost its attempt to shift over $15 billion of costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill onto contractor Transocean, increasing the possibility BP may have to foot the entire $42 billion clean up bill.
A U.S. federal judge on Thursday said BP must uphold a clause in its contract with Transocean Ltd that would shield the Swiss-based driller from compensatory damage claims related to the 2010 disaster.
That means London-based BP may have to shoulder alone compensation claims brought by the likes of fishermen and hoteliers whose livelihoods were affected by largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
However, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier left open the possibility that Transocean might still have to pay all or part of any punitive damages and civil penalties imposed by the U.S. government under the federal Clean Water Act.
Barbier, who oversees multistate litigation over the spill, ruled that BP need not indemnify Transocean for these.
BP has estimated civil fines of around $3.5 billion related to the spill, although maximum possible fines could top $20 billion if gross negligence was established on the part of BP or its contractors.
BP has made no provision for punitive damages because it says there is no legal basis for them. Barbier has limited the cases in which claims for punitive damages can be brought.
Thursday's decision means Transocean's potential liability over the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion that caused 11 deaths, was "materially diminished" analysts at UBS said in a research note.
BP had previously sought to shift the whole cost of the disaster, currently estimated at around $42 billion, onto Transocean.
Shares of Transocean rose 8.2 percent at 0856 GMT, while BP shares fell 1.7 percent.
RESPONSIBILITY
Transocean owned the rig, while BP owned a majority of the Macondo well whose blowout led to the spill.
BP has said it would like to reach an out of court settlement with Transocean but Barbier's ruling makes its negotiating position weaker.
Both sides claimed victory over the ruling, which Transocean spokesman Lou Colasuonno said "discredits BP's ongoing attempts to evade both its contractual and financial obligations."
BP said the decision "holds Transocean financially responsible for any punitive damages, fines and penalties flowing from its own conduct.
"As we have said from the beginning, Transocean cannot avoid its responsibility for this accident," spokesman Daren Beaudo said in an emailed statement.
LEGAL ARGUMENTS
BP has already paid out $7 billion in claims to third parties who have suffered losses and has an outstanding provision of $8.2 billion for further claims and litigation, suggesting third party claims are expected to top $15 billion.
However, plaintiffs lawyers say compensatory claims could even end up totaling more than the $20 billion BP has set aside in its gulf coast restoration fund.
Two U.S. government probes have put most of the blame for the disaster on BP, suggesting BP is likely to face the largest share of any fines levied.
The New Orleans-based judge has set a February 27 start date for a trial to apportion blame.
The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-md-02179.
(Writing by Tom Bergin; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Jodie Ginsberg)
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Obama urges Congress to act in election year (AP)
CAMBRIDGE, Md. ? President Barack Obama rallied House Democrats for an election-year fight, urging them to work with Republicans if they show some willingness to put politics aside but telling the rank and file to call them out if they stand in the way.
Addressing Democrats on the final day of their three-day annual retreat, Obama outlined the political stakes over the next few months as congressional Democrats try to push his agenda in the face of Republican opposition, the GOP choses its nominee and signs of recovery in a fragile economy go a long way to determining his re-election chances and the party's fate.
Obama said Democrats should seize the opportunity "whenever there is a possibility that the other side is putting some politics aside for just a nanosecond in order to get something done for the American people, we've got to be right there ready to meet them," the president told the sometimes raucous crowd.
However, "where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country, more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we've got to call them out on it," the president said. "We've got to push. We can't wait; we can't be held back."
Coming off a three-day tour to promote his State of the Union message, Obama promised a "robust debate about whose vision is more promising" when Republicans choose their nominee.
On a day when reports showed the economy picking up late in 2011 but still considered "fragile" by the White House, Obama told Democrats wondering about their re-election prospects: "It's going to be a tough election because a lot of people are still hurting out there and a lot of people have lost faith generally about the capacity of Washington to get anything done."
House Republicans, who held their retreat in Baltimore last week, have repeatedly said the election will be a referendum on Obama's policies, especially his handling of the economy.
The president acknowledged that Democrats have embraced parts of his agenda when it was politically difficult and in some cases costly. The party took a drubbing in the midterm elections, losing control of the House and seeing their ranks diminished in the Senate.
And despite some past clashes with House Democrats over his willingness to compromise with Republicans, Obama was warmly received and was introduced as "our champion" by Rep. John Larson of Connecticut.
The president returned the warmth with a vote of confidence that Democrats would win back the House in November, making a nod to their leader as "soon-to-be once-again Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi."
"I believe in you guys. You guys have had my back through some very tough times," said the president, who received a small gift ? a DVD of House Democrats singing Rev. Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."
Last week, at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in New York, Obama stood on the stage and crooned a line from the Green classic.
Democrats were upbeat at their three-day session, energized by Obama's State of the Union address and its populist themes as well as recent polls showing more Americans say the country is on the right track and approve of Obama's handling of the economy. Divisions in the Republican ranks that were on full display last year in the fight over extending the payroll tax cut and the bitter battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for the GOP presidential nomination also lifted Democratic spirits.
But the relationship with the White House hasn't always been cordial. Vice President Joe Biden, who addressed the Democrats prior to Obama's speech, described some of the rough patches.
He noted that several members in the room were mad at him in December 2010 after Obama negotiated an extension of President George W. Bush's tax cuts over the objections of some House Democrats. Last year, frustrated Democrats complained the Obama gave away too much in negotiating a spending bill and an agreement to raise the government's borrowing authority.
Biden said Pelosi told him at the last conference to "get tough. Enough is enough." He said the "message was heard. The message was heard. And I think we've delivered."
Biden said Democrats would reclaim the House and he would help candidates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida. Those states also are critical to Obama's hopes of winning another term.
"We cannot succeed unless you all come back," Biden told House Democrats.
The vice president was more pointed in his political remarks than Obama and called out some Republicans by name. He said the American people will reject GOP unwillingness to compromise and its blatant determination to make Obama a one-term president.
Of the presidential candidates, Biden said Romney's criticism of the auto bailout and a host of positions stated by rival Newt Gingrich on government intervention will create a clear contrast for voters.
"These guys are helping us by saying what they believe," Biden said.
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Robert Hegyes, played Epstein on 'Kotter,' dies (AP)
METUCHEN, N.J. ? Robert Hegyes, the actor best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the 1970s TV show "Welcome Back Kotter" has died. He was 60.
The Flynn & Son Funeral Home in Fords, N.J., said it was informed of Hegyes' death Thursday by the actor's family.
A spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., told the Star-Ledger newspaper that Hegyes, of Metuchen, arrived at the hospital Thursday morning in full cardiac arrest and died.
Hegyes was appearing on Broadway in 1975 when he auditioned for "Kotter," a TV series about a teacher who returns to the inner-city New York school of his youth to teach a group of irreverent remedial students nicknamed the "Sweathogs." They included the character Vinnie Barbarino, played by John Travolta.
The show's theme song, performed by John Sebastian, became a pop hit.
Hegyes also appeared on many other TV series, including "Cagney & Lacey."
He was born in Perth Amboy and grew up in Metuchen, the eldest child of a Hungarian father and Italian mother.
He attended Rowan University, formerly Glassboro State College, in southern New Jersey, before heading to New York City after graduation. He returned to Rowan on several occasions to teach master classes in acting, a university spokesman said Thursday.
"He was a good friend to the university," spokesman Joe Cardona said.
Hegyes continued to act after "Kotter" and was a regular on "Cagney & Lacey." He also guest-starred in shows including "Diagnosis Murder" and "The Drew Carey Show."
On his website, Hegyes wrote that he was inspired by Chico Marx, whom he had played in a touring production of a show about the Marx Bros. He also recalled how his mother encouraged him to get involved in theater as a teen.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Ex-head of French breast implant maker arrested
This is an image made available on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 by Interpol of Jean-Claude Mas, when he was arrested in Costa Rica on a drink driving offence in 2010 . Mas, who ran the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese, was detained at his residence in the Mediterranean coastal town of Six Fours Les Plages shortly before dawn, Thursday a police official said. A police search of the residence was under way, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is officially in the hands of judicial investigators. (AP Photo/ Interpol)
This is an image made available on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 by Interpol of Jean-Claude Mas, when he was arrested in Costa Rica on a drink driving offence in 2010 . Mas, who ran the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese, was detained at his residence in the Mediterranean coastal town of Six Fours Les Plages shortly before dawn, Thursday a police official said. A police search of the residence was under way, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is officially in the hands of judicial investigators. (AP Photo/ Interpol)
This is an image made available on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 by Interpol of Jean-Claude Mas, when he was arrested in Costa Rica on a drink driving offence in 2010 . Mas, who ran the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese, was detained at his residence in the Mediterranean coastal town of Six Fours Les Plages shortly before dawn, Thursday a police official said. A police search of the residence was under way, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is officially in the hands of judicial investigators. (AP Photo/ Interpol)
PARIS (AP) ? The former head of a French company at the center of a breast implant scandal affecting tens of thousands of women worldwide was arrested along with his former deputy Thursday in southeast France, officials said.
Jean-Claude Mas, who founded and ran the now-defunct implant maker Poly Implant Prothese, was detained as part of a judicial investigation in the southeastern city of Marseille into manslaughter and involuntary injuries, an official said. A regional official said the company's former No. 2 executive, Claude Couty, was also detained.
The arrest before dawn at a family residence in the Mediterranean resort town of Six Fours Les Plages culminates weeks of speculation about whether judicial investigators would be able to assemble enough evidence to detain Mas on legal grounds.
Mas, 72, had been believed to be residing in the home. His defense lawyer Yves Haddad earlier this month denounced the "numerous un-truths, nonsense and aberrations" in the case, but said Mas would only speak with authorities.
So far no specific defendant has been named, but an official with knowledge of the probe said Mas was expected to face preliminary charges after appear before an investigating judge in Marseille later Thursday. He was being held in resort town ahead of that anticipated transfer.
The three officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is in the hands of judicial investigators.
Investigating judge Annaick Le Goff opened the probe after a woman in the southwestern Gers region filed a lawsuit in the wake of the 2010 death from cancer of her daughter who had received a suspect implant.
Since then, a complaint by the sister of Marseille resident Edwige Ligoneches, a breast implant recipient who died in November of complications from lymphoma, has since been included in the case file ? along with as many as 3,000 other complaints by other alleged victims.
Le Goff also spoke with the head of a victims' association, Muriel Ajello, on Thursday, the regional official said.
A secretary at the Toulon office of Haddad told The Associated Press that the defense lawyer was with Mas during police questioning, and was not immediately available for comment.
The suspect PIP implants have been removed from the marketplace in several countries in and beyond Europe amid fears that they could rupture and leak silicone into the body.
Mas had run PIP until the company was closed in March 2010.
Mas is also on Interpol's most-wanted list, but the international police agency said its "red notice" was issued in June at the request of Costa Rica, where he faces a drunken driving charge.
Authorities worldwide have been scrambling to strike a proper public response to the scandal, notably concerning who will pay to remove the implants made with cheap, industrial-grade silicone instead of medical-grade gel ? or if the implants need to invariably come out.
European governments have taken different positions: German, Czech and French authorities say they should be removed, while Britain says there is not enough evidence of health risks to suggest removal in all cases.
On Wednesday, health authorities in Brazil said the government will fine private health plans that refuse to pay for the removal and replacement of faulty breast implants sold by PIP and a Dutch company.
The scandal has put pressure on French health authorities for allegedly not doing enough to vet the quality of a product used by untold thousands of women both in France and abroad.
France's Health Safety Agency has said the suspect implants ? just one type of implants made by PIP ? appear to be more rupture-prone than other types. Investigators say PIP sought to save money by using industrial silicone, whose potential health risks are not yet clear.
PIP's website said the company had exported to more than 60 countries and was one of the world's leading implant makers. The silicone-gel implants in question are not sold in the United States.
According to estimates by national authorities, over 42,000 women in Britain received the implants, more than 30,000 in France, 9,000 in Australia and 4,000 in Italy. Nearly 25,000 of the implants were sold in Brazil.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Recent study by Mars, Incorporated and partners underscores importance of metabolism in understanding health benefits of cocoa flavanols
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Public release date: 25-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
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Mars, Incorporated
New analytical methods improve understanding of flavanol absorption and metabolism and provide basis for meaningful in vitro studies to assess exactly how these compounds work in the body
MCLEAN, VA. (Jan. 25, 2012) --- A comprehensive investigation of flavanol absorption and metabolism has provided a critical step forward in our understanding of how cocoa flavanols work in the body to exert their circulatory and cardiovascular benefits. Through the development of improved analytical methods, this recent work provides detailed insights into the extensive metabolism of flavanols, which calls into question the reliability of in vitro studies using un-metabolized materials. This collaborative research was conducted by an international team of scientists from Mars, Incorporated, the University of California, Davis (US) and the University of Reading (UK).
Increasing scientific evidence indicates that (?)-epicatechin, the main flavanol in cocoa, can have a positive impact on the circulatory and cardiovascular systems. Absorption and metabolism, however, play a key role in determining the exact effect food constituents and nutrients such as (?)-epicatechin have in the body. Following absorption, nutrients are metabolized transforming them into new compounds that are different from those originally present in food. As metabolic transformation has a significant impact on how nutrients support healthy functions, investigating this process is critical to furthering our understanding of exactly how cocoa flavanols are linked to health benefits.
While the metabolism of flavanols has been established in previous studies, the development and validation of improved analytical methods in this research enabled a far more detailed assessment than previously possible. As a result, this study was able to clearly and reliably demonstrate the extensive metabolism of (?)-epicatechin following consumption of a flavanol-containing cocoa drink. As in vitro studies using un-metabolized cocoa flavanols do not take this metabolism into account, they are not able to accurately reflect what is happening in the body. For example, early findings looking at flavanols in a test tube suggested that they exerted their benefits through an antioxidant mechanism. However, this latest research adds to a growing body of evidence challenging this notion and indicating that when examined in the body flavanols' cardiovascular benefits are in fact independent of any antioxidant properties.
Commenting on the impact of this work for future research in the field, Dr. Hagen Schroeter study author and director of fundamental health and nutrition research at Mars, Incorporated stated: "By significantly advancing our understanding of the absorption and metabolism of cocoa flavanols, this research helps to address existing disagreement in this area and sets a new standard in flavanol analytics that will improve the scientific tools available. Furthermore, this work again calls into question the validity of in vitro research that does not take into account the extensive metabolism of compounds like (?)-epicatechin."
"The study provides a critical step towards a more complete understanding of flavanols and their benefits and, ultimately, towards the translation of this knowledge into innovative flavanol-rich food products and concrete health recommendations," added Dr. Schroeter.
The research has been published in the international journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine and is available for free online here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584911012548. It forms part of a wider body of collaborative research in this field and builds upon the findings of a previous paper examining flavanol absorption that was published in 2011.
###
About Mars, Incorporated:
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the philosophy of a "mutuality of benefits" for all stakeholders this vision serves as the foundation of the Mars, Incorporated we are today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 65,000 Associates worldwide are putting our Mars Principles in action every day to make a difference for people and the planet through our performance.
Science and Mars, Incorporated:
Mars, Incorporated believes investment in science and technology is crucial to our success and key to addressing a wide range of social, economic, ecological and environmental challenges. We demonstrate this commitment through uncommon collaborations between academic, government, non-government and industry sectors. We are proud of our holistic approach to science and sustainability and have partnered with leading institutions on research projects such as mapping the cacao genome, understanding the role of genetics and nutrition in animal and human health, developing new approaches to complex food safety issues, and understanding the role of agroforestry in promoting biodiversity.
Flavanols are a group of natural compounds that are particularly abundant in cocoa. A significant body of published research has shown that consumption of cocoa flavanols can improve the performance of the circulatory system and may help support cardiovascular health. In collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific institutes, Mars, Incorporated has been pursuing extensive research to advance understanding of cocoa flavanols for over 20 years.
Mars, Incorporated's ongoing commitment to research in the field of cocoa flavanols is represented by the publication of over 130 scientific papers and approximately 50 patents. Using this knowledge, Mars scientists have developed a proprietary, patented Cocoapro process that helps to retain the flavanols found naturally inside the cocoa bean, which are usually destroyed during normal processing.
For more information, please visit mars.com
[ | 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-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Elizabeth Willett
Elizabeth.willett@mss.effem.com
301-768-9100
Mars, Incorporated
New analytical methods improve understanding of flavanol absorption and metabolism and provide basis for meaningful in vitro studies to assess exactly how these compounds work in the body
MCLEAN, VA. (Jan. 25, 2012) --- A comprehensive investigation of flavanol absorption and metabolism has provided a critical step forward in our understanding of how cocoa flavanols work in the body to exert their circulatory and cardiovascular benefits. Through the development of improved analytical methods, this recent work provides detailed insights into the extensive metabolism of flavanols, which calls into question the reliability of in vitro studies using un-metabolized materials. This collaborative research was conducted by an international team of scientists from Mars, Incorporated, the University of California, Davis (US) and the University of Reading (UK).
Increasing scientific evidence indicates that (?)-epicatechin, the main flavanol in cocoa, can have a positive impact on the circulatory and cardiovascular systems. Absorption and metabolism, however, play a key role in determining the exact effect food constituents and nutrients such as (?)-epicatechin have in the body. Following absorption, nutrients are metabolized transforming them into new compounds that are different from those originally present in food. As metabolic transformation has a significant impact on how nutrients support healthy functions, investigating this process is critical to furthering our understanding of exactly how cocoa flavanols are linked to health benefits.
While the metabolism of flavanols has been established in previous studies, the development and validation of improved analytical methods in this research enabled a far more detailed assessment than previously possible. As a result, this study was able to clearly and reliably demonstrate the extensive metabolism of (?)-epicatechin following consumption of a flavanol-containing cocoa drink. As in vitro studies using un-metabolized cocoa flavanols do not take this metabolism into account, they are not able to accurately reflect what is happening in the body. For example, early findings looking at flavanols in a test tube suggested that they exerted their benefits through an antioxidant mechanism. However, this latest research adds to a growing body of evidence challenging this notion and indicating that when examined in the body flavanols' cardiovascular benefits are in fact independent of any antioxidant properties.
Commenting on the impact of this work for future research in the field, Dr. Hagen Schroeter study author and director of fundamental health and nutrition research at Mars, Incorporated stated: "By significantly advancing our understanding of the absorption and metabolism of cocoa flavanols, this research helps to address existing disagreement in this area and sets a new standard in flavanol analytics that will improve the scientific tools available. Furthermore, this work again calls into question the validity of in vitro research that does not take into account the extensive metabolism of compounds like (?)-epicatechin."
"The study provides a critical step towards a more complete understanding of flavanols and their benefits and, ultimately, towards the translation of this knowledge into innovative flavanol-rich food products and concrete health recommendations," added Dr. Schroeter.
The research has been published in the international journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine and is available for free online here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584911012548. It forms part of a wider body of collaborative research in this field and builds upon the findings of a previous paper examining flavanol absorption that was published in 2011.
###
About Mars, Incorporated:
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the philosophy of a "mutuality of benefits" for all stakeholders this vision serves as the foundation of the Mars, Incorporated we are today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 65,000 Associates worldwide are putting our Mars Principles in action every day to make a difference for people and the planet through our performance.
Science and Mars, Incorporated:
Mars, Incorporated believes investment in science and technology is crucial to our success and key to addressing a wide range of social, economic, ecological and environmental challenges. We demonstrate this commitment through uncommon collaborations between academic, government, non-government and industry sectors. We are proud of our holistic approach to science and sustainability and have partnered with leading institutions on research projects such as mapping the cacao genome, understanding the role of genetics and nutrition in animal and human health, developing new approaches to complex food safety issues, and understanding the role of agroforestry in promoting biodiversity.
Flavanols are a group of natural compounds that are particularly abundant in cocoa. A significant body of published research has shown that consumption of cocoa flavanols can improve the performance of the circulatory system and may help support cardiovascular health. In collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific institutes, Mars, Incorporated has been pursuing extensive research to advance understanding of cocoa flavanols for over 20 years.
Mars, Incorporated's ongoing commitment to research in the field of cocoa flavanols is represented by the publication of over 130 scientific papers and approximately 50 patents. Using this knowledge, Mars scientists have developed a proprietary, patented Cocoapro process that helps to retain the flavanols found naturally inside the cocoa bean, which are usually destroyed during normal processing.
For more information, please visit mars.com
[ | 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/2012-01/cl-rtp012512.php
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SAP bullish on 2012 after record results (Reuters)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) ? SAP, the world's biggest maker of business software, was upbeat on its topline growth this year citing its investment in new technologies and robust corporate spending.
Investors have worried that they may have overestimated the resilience of corporate tech spending in a deteriorating global economy, especially after SAP's big rival Oracle Corp reported weak quarterly results last month.
But there have been increasing signs that the outlook may not be as dim as some feared. IBM Corp, the world's largest technology services company, brimmed with confidence for 2012 as it posted strong results last week.
"We have significant momentum going into 2012," SAP said on Wednesday as it published its full financial results for 2011.
The German company expects operating profit will rise to 5.05-5.25 billion euros ($6.6-$6.8 billion) at constant currencies from a 40-year record level of 4.71 billion in 2011.
SAP shares were down 0.2 percent at 44.32 euros by 1223 GMT, while the German blue-chip index was 0.7 percent lower.
SAP had already reported a better-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter sales and profit on January 13.
It attributed the strong performance to demand for its biggest software products and growing demand for its HANA offering, which allows companies to analyze business data quickly, and said it had won market share overall.
"In the current environment, where growth is tough to come by, this is clearly an encouraging message," Citigroup analyst Charles Brennan said.
CHASING THE CLOUD
SAP said it expects its 2012 revenue from software and software-related services to rise by 10-12 percent in the full year from 11.35 billion euros in 2011.
As much as 2 percentage points of that increase will be contributed by SuccessFactors, which SAP last month agreed to buy for $3.4 billion to keep up with rivals in the race for cloud-computing business.
The U.S. acquisition will dampen earnings in 2012, reducing operating margin growth to about 0.10 percentage points, compared with 1.1 percentage points improvement recorded in 2011, co-Chief Executive Bill McDermott said.
Even excluding the impact of the acquisition, margin growth will slow to 0.7 percentage points.
"We think that SAP will continue to outperform into 2012," JP Morgan analysts said, citing fourth-quarter strength across regions and business divisions, resilient pricing and growing market share amid challenging conditions.
SAP, based in Walldorf near Heidelberg, built its business on large, integrated software systems sold to many of the world's biggest companies, such as Apple, GE, McDonald's and Pepsi.
Now it is also betting on its mobile and so-called in-memory databank technology, designed to make analytical software more powerful by accessing data stored locally on a chip instead of on a server, allowing it to cater to a wider variety of clients.
And it sees revenue from the cloud business at 2 billion euros by 2015.
"We are well positioned to exceed our 20 billion euros revenue target and reach a 35 percent operating margin in 2015," Chief Financial Officer Werner Brandt said.
SAP has about 183,000 customers and bills itself as the world's leading provider of software for managing supply chains and customer relations.
SAP, whose stock has gained about 10 percent over the past year, trades at about 14.5 times 12-month forward earnings, at a premium to Oracle's multiple of 11.4 and IBM at 12.7, according to ThomsonReuters StarMine data.
($1=0.7704 euros)
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Dan Lalor and Mike Nesbit)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_sap
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wisconsin Scientist Says H5N1 Flu Strain He Created Is Less Dangerous
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A Wisconsin researcher said his team?s version of the H5N1 bird flu virus is not as lethal as that developed by Dutch researchers.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0c195f7516edf34c8526d16b5c141008
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(Follow-up) Agreement Reached With Metropolitan Life Insurance ...
You are here: Home / Breach Incidents / (Follow-up) Agreement Reached With Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Over Release of Some Customers? Personally Identifiable Information
Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Protection Commissioner William Rubenstein have reached an agreement with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. to provide additional protections to the current and former customers whose personal information was made public.
Information of current and former MetLife customers was part of a spreadsheet posted to the Internet by an employee of the company. When one of the customers saw the information in November, 2009, he contacted the employee who then notified the company, which took responsibility for correcting the problem and provided credit monitoring and identity theft insurance for the affected customers.
?The company acted voluntarily to correct the mistake of its employee and to protect its customers,? Attorney General Jepsen said. ?But this agreement reinforces the need to make clear to anyone in possession of personally identifiable information about their legal requirements to protect it and ensure that it s not made publicly available.?
Commissioner Rubenstein said, ?I share the Attorney General?s heightened concerns over consumer privacy and identity theft issues. In this instance, MetLife has stepped up to the plate to take its responsibilities seriously. We expect all companies to take the necessary steps to protect any personal information they may gather and we will continue to be vigilant in holding their feet to fire to do so.?
MetLife agreed to pay $10,000, which will be placed in a special fund used to reimburse the State?s investigative and enforcement costs, or reimburse these or future consumers for losses. MetLife also agreed to reimburse the cost of placing and lifting once security freeze per credit file per customer. Customers who paid to place or lift a security freeze themselves will be eligible for reimbursement. The company had previously paid for two years of credit monitoring and identity theft insurance for the customers affected.
MetLife also agreed to enhance its employee training policies and procedures about the legal requirements to protect personally identifiable information and specifically to prohibit posting such information to Internet websites.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Fitzsimmons handled this matter for the Attorney General with Assistant Attorney General Phillip Rosario, head of the Consumer Protection department.
Source: Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen
Source: http://www.databreaches.net/?p=22956
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Giffords says farewell to Tucson constituents
U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., tours the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center, one of her favorite charities, with her staffer Ron Barber, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. The tour is her last act as a congresswoman in Tucson before her resignation this week. (AP Photo/Matt York, Pool)
U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., tours the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center, one of her favorite charities, with her staffer Ron Barber, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. The tour is her last act as a congresswoman in Tucson before her resignation this week. (AP Photo/Matt York, Pool)
U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., tours the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center, one of her favorite charities, with her staffer Ron Barber, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. The tour is her last act as a congresswoman in Tucson before her resignation this week. (AP Photo/Matt York, Pool)
U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords tours the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center, one of her favorite charities, with Community Food Bank CEO Bill Carnegie Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. The tour is her last act as a congresswoman in Tucson before her resignation this week. (AP Photo/Matt York, Pool)
U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords, left, tours the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center, one of her favorite charities, with Community Food Bank CEO Bill Carnegie Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. The tour is her last act as a congresswoman in Tucson before her resignation this week. (AP Photo/Matt York, Pool)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) ? On a bittersweet day for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the outgoing congresswoman spent her final hours in Tucson as the city's U.S. representative, finishing the meeting she started on the morning she was shot and bidding farewell to constituents who supported her through a long recovery.
It may not be the end, though. The woman whose improbable recovery captivated the nation promised, "I will return."
Giffords spent time Monday at her office with other survivors of the shooting rampage that killed six people and injured 13. She hugged and talked with survivors, including Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her young friend and neighbor, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. The little girl died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
"The last time I did this I had Christina's hand," Hileman said. "It was something that was hanging out there, and now it's not."
Others who met with Giffords included Pat Maisch, who was hailed as a hero for wrestling a gun magazine from the shooter that day, and Daniel Hernandez, Giffords' intern at the time who helped save her life by trying to stop her bleeding until an ambulance arrived.
"It was very touching," said Maisch, who was not hurt in the attack. "I thanked her for her service, wished her well, and she just looked beautiful."
Giffords announced Sunday that she would resign from Congress this week to focus on her recovery. Maisch was sad to think that Giffords would no longer be her congresswoman.
"But I want her to do what's best for her," she said. "She's got to take care of herself."
However, an upbeat Giffords hinted that her departure from public life might be temporary. In a message sent on Twitter, she said: "I will return & we will work together for Arizona & this great country."
In her last act in Tucson as a congresswoman, the Democrat visited one of her favorite charities, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
The food bank established the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center with $215,000 it received in the wake of the shooting. Giffords' husband and former astronaut Mark Kelly told people who wanted to help Giffords after the shooting that the best way to do so was to donate to one of her favorite charities.
The center has helped 900 families get on food stamps in the last year and offered guidance to needy families seeking assistance with housing, insurance, clothing and other basic needs.
"It's a wonderful thing that she gets to come here and see the center we built," said Bill Carnegie, the food bank's CEO. "But it's also her exit from Congress. I'm concerned about the future."
Giffords' aides had to yell at TV cameramen and reporters who surrounded the congresswoman as she arrived, telling them to back up. Giffords didn't bat an eye and walked with confidence through the crowd and into the building, where she promptly hugged Carnegie and others.
When she saw the center that is named in her honor, she said "Wow" and "Awesome."
When one woman told Giffords, "I love your new hairstyle," she beamed and responded with "Thank you."
Giffords did not address reporters at the center and planned to head to the airport right after her visit. She was expected in Washington on Tuesday for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
In her announcement Sunday, Giffords said that by stepping down, she was doing what is best for Arizona.
"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," she said in a video posted online.
The video showed a close-up of Giffords gazing directly at the camera and speaking in a voice that was both firm and halting.
"I have more work to do on my recovery," the congresswoman said at the end of the two-minute message, appearing to strain to communicate.
C.J. Karamargin, who was Giffords' spokesman until recently, said he can only imagine what she is feeling as she steps down.
"But Gabby would never want to do a job unless she could give everything to it," he said.
"The news of her stepping down was almost more emotional than this time last year because then, she had survived and had a positive prognosis. Now we've got this pause, this comma, in her career ... and she won't be back anytime soon."
Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank range as she was meeting with constituents outside a grocery store. Her recovery progressed to the point that she was able to walk into the House chamber last August to cast a vote.
Giffords' resignation set up a free-for-all in a competitive district.
She could have stayed in office for another year even without seeking re-election, but her decision to resign scrambles the political landscape.
Arizona must hold a special primary and general election to find someone to finish out her remaining months in office. That will probably happen in the spring or early summer. Then voters will elect someone in November for a full two-year term.
Giffords would have been heavily favored to win again.
She was elected to her third term just two months before she was shot, winning by only about 1 percent over a tea party Republican. But she gained immense public support during her recovery.
Among those mentioned as potential candidates were several Republican and Democratic state lawmakers and the name of Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, although he has publicly quashed such speculation.
A state Democratic party official who met with Giffords on Sunday also suggested that she could return to politics.
Jim Woodbrey, a senior vice chairman of the state party, said Giffords strongly implied at a meeting that she would seek office again someday. He said the decision to resign came after much thought.
"It was Gabby's individual decision, and she was not in any condition to make that decision five months ago," he said. "So I think waiting so that she could make an informed decision on her own was the right thing to do."
___
Associated Press writers Bob Christie and Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and David Espo in Washington contributed to this story.
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Egypt's Islamists win 75 percent of parliament
Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters hold placards depicting Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak, one encircled in a noose that reads, in Arabic, "rule of the people," left, and another depicting a statue of Mubarak being glued back onto a pedestal with writing that reads, "fall, fall, to the military rule," at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
CAIRO (AP) ? Final results on Saturday showed that Islamist parties won nearly three-quarters of the seats in parliament in Egypt's first elections since the ouster of authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak, according to election officials and political groups.
The Islamist domination of Egypt's parliament has worried liberals and even some conservatives about the religious tone of the new legislature, which will be tasked with forming a committee to write a new constitution. It remains unclear whether the constitution will be written while the generals who took power after Mubarak's fall are still in charge, or rather after presidential elections this summer.
In the vote for the lower house of parliament, a coalition led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood won 47 percent, or 235 seats in the 498-seat parliament. The ultraconservative Al-Nour Party was second with 25 percent, or 125 seats.
The Salafi Al-Nour, which was initially the biggest surprise of the vote, wants to impose strict Islamic law in Egypt, while the more moderate Brotherhood, the country's best-known and organized party, has said publicly that it does not seek to force its views about an appropriate Islamic lifestyle on Egyptians.
The two parties are unlikely to join forces because of ideological differences, but both have a long history of charity work in Egypt's vast poverty-stricken neighborhoods and villages, giving them a degree of legitimacy and popularity across the country in areas where newer liberal parties have yet to get a foothold.
Muslim Brotherhood lawmaker Mohammed el-Beltagi said the new parliament represents "the wish of the Egyptian people."
Egypt's elections commission acknowledged that there were voting irregularities, but the vote has been hailed as the country's freest and fairest in living memory.
The liberals who spearheaded the revolt that toppled Mubarak struggled to organize and connect with a broader public in the vote, and did not fair as well as the Islamists.
The Egyptian bloc, which is headed by a party founded by Christian telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris, said it won 9 percent of the seats in parliament. Egypt's oldest secular party, the Wafd, also won around 9 percent.
Newer parties, such as the liberal Revolution Continues Party won 2 percent, as did the Islamist Center Party, which had been banned from politics under Mubarak.
The results leave the liberal groups with little ability to maneuver in parliament, unless they choose to mobilize the street in protests or work on key issues with the dominant Islamist groups, said Mohamed Abu-Hamed, the deputy leader of the liberal Free Egyptians Party.
The Brotherhood has refused to join recent street protests, saying that elections and the new parliament are the best ways to respond to demands that the military transfer power immediately to a civilian authority.
"The street and the parliament are not at opposite ends. The issues are not going to be resolved by protests, but through parliamentary laws," the Brotherhood's el-Beltagi said.
The final tally, which includes at least 15 seats for former regime figures, comes as little surprise since election results had been partially announced throughout the three stages of the vote, which took place over several weeks across the country.
The United States long shunned Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and turned a blind-eye to the arrest and torture of Salafis, who now comprise the bulk of Al-Nour Party's constituents, under Mubarak, who was a longtime U.S. ally.
However, top U.S. officials from the State Department have recently met with the Muslim Brotherhood's leaders, who have in turn assured Western officials that they respect minority rights and support democracy.
A White House statement said that President Barack Obama called Egypt's ruling military leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Friday and welcomed the historic seating of the lower house of Egypt's Parliament, which is set to convene for the first time on Monday.Activists have accused the country's military leaders of repressive tactics. Critics say the nearly 12,000 civilians who have faced military trials since Mubarak's ouster have not been afforded proper due process.
Chief military prosecutor Adel el-Morsi said that 1,959 people convicted in military courts since Mubarak's ouster would be released on the one-year anniversary of the start of the uprising on Wednesday.
Among them would be Maikel Nabil Sanad, a blogger who was arrested in March and sentenced to two years in prison on charges of criticizing the armed forces and publishing false information for comments on his blog comparing the military to Mubarak's regime.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Lawyer Demands Pacemaker Vendor Supply Source Code
Oh, come on. The source code is not going to tell you a whole lot, it would be only comprehensible to experts and it says nothing about the little hardware bits. Does Mr. Lawyer want Medtronics to go over the schematics with him? Explain the physics?
Sometimes you just have to settle down and let things go. Yes, regulatory agencies should review operations of medical devices closely. No, they don't need to peek inside.
I don't even think the FAA looks at the code for the flight control computers on airli
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