Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193529159?client_source=feed&format=rss
williston north dakota kody brown transylvania carrie ann inaba california earthquake california earthquake jenna lyons
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Politicians, union hail RBS CEO's bonus refusal (AP)
LONDON ? Britain's leaders, politicians and union leaders on Monday welcomed the decision by the chief executive of nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland to refuse, under huge media pressure, a million-pound ($1.6 million) bonus.
The bank, which is 82 percent-owned by taxpayers, announced Sunday that Stephen Hester would not accept a bonus of 3.6 million shares after calls to do so grew from politicians, labor unions and the media.
The bonus would have been on top of Hester's annual salary of 1.2 million pounds for leading the restructuring of RBS, which the government spent 45 billion pounds to rescue and nationalize during the global credit crunch.
Prime Minister David Cameron urged the bank to show restraint in its bonus payments to Hester's senior colleagues in the coming weeks, and suggested it do a better job to explain how executive pay is linked to performance.
"They have got to have proper regard in terms of restraint when they have had so much money from the taxpayer and they have made so many mistakes in the past," Cameron told reporters in Brussels, where he was attending a summit of European leaders.
Cameron's comments came after Foreign Secretary William Hague said Hester's decision was "sensible and welcome," while David Fleming, national officer of the Unite union, called it "better late than never."
The opposition Labour Party had been planning to force a vote in the House of Commons on a motion demanding that Hester be stripped of the bonus.
"I don't think this can be just a one-off episode, because if we don't deal with this systematically, if we don't deal with the issue of bankers' bonuses in a proper way, this kind of thing is just going to re-occur," said Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.
He said banks "need real change in the boardroom and new rules and real change from the government to, say, tax the bankers' bonuses until we see the change in behavior that we need."
The pressure on Hester to forego his bonus, however, raised doubts on the bank's longer-term ability to retain high-level executives.
"The ongoing politicization of contractually owed bonuses can only serve to increase the risk that management will ultimately decide to leave, severely hampering the prospects of a further recovery," said Gary Goodwood, analyst at Shore Capital Stockbrokers.
"This is one of a number of reasons why we think it is still too early to take a positive stance on Royal Bank of Scotland shares."
Bruce Packard at Seymour Pierce took a contrary view, saying any move to "more clearly align incentives with actual share price performance ? RBS shares fell by a third in the last year ? ought to be taken as good news for owners of the business."
The government will only recover its investment in RBS if the company's stock rises to around 50 pence. On Monday, it was down 2.4 percent at 27 pence.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects dollar conversion in 1st paragraph to million instead of billion.)
zanesville ohio zanesville ohio light field camera world series game 1 exotic animals exotic animals scott hall
Monday, January 30, 2012
Kentucky still easy No. 1 in AP poll
Kentucky starts it second straight week ? and fourth this season ? as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press' college basketball poll.
The Wildcats were again a runaway choice, receiving 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel on Monday.
Syracuse, which got the other No. 1 votes, and Ohio State both moved up one place to second and third. Missouri, which had been No. 2, dropped to fourth after its loss to Oklahoma State.
North Carolina, Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State and undefeated Murray State round out the top 10. The Racers, the lone remaining unbeaten team in Division I, cracked the top 10 for the first time in school history.
Gonzaga and Vanderbilt return to the rankings at 24th and 25th. The Bulldogs, who have won 12 of 13, were out the last two weeks, while the Commodores, winners of 10 of 11, were out the last six.
Kansas State dropped out from 22nd after a four-week run, while Connecticut, which has lost three straight and five of seven, fell from 24th. Connecticut had been ranked for the last 28 polls, the sixth-longest current streak. The longest current run is Duke at 90 consecutive polls, a streak that started with the preseason poll of 2007-08.
Associated Pressmarie osmond st louis cardinals josh hamilton beavis and butthead cardinals jennifer nicole lee jennifer nicole lee
Authorities: Man, 2 toddlers found dead in Va home (AP)
RICHMOND, Va. ? Authorities say they are investigating the suspicious deaths of a 40-year-old man and two 3-year-old girls ? all related ? whose bodies have been found in a home in central Virginia.
Hanover County Sheriff's spokesman Chris Whitley told The Associated Press the bodies were found Saturday afternoon after investigators were called to a home in Mechanicsville, near Richmond.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch identified the dead as a father and his two twins but Whitley declined to elaborate on their relationship or the cause of death.
Sgt. Whitley says authorities are collecting evidence as part of a "death investigation" and seeking to determine the sequence of events that led to the deaths. He says preliminary information indicates there are no suspects at large. He declined to release their names early Sunday.
sat cheating scandal the secret life of bees kyle orton kyle orton diners drive ins and dives hangover cure lebron james engaged
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Obama 'putting colleges on notice' on high tuition (AP)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? President Barack Obama fired a warning at the nation's colleges and universities on Friday, threatening to strip their federal aid if they "jack up tuition" every year and to give the money instead to schools showing restraint and value.
Obama can't proceed, though, without the OK from Congress, where the reaction of Republican lawmakers ranged from muted to skeptical. Higher education leaders worried about the details and the threat of government overreach, and one dismissed it as mere election-year "political theater."
Average tuition and fees at public colleges rose 8.3 percent this year and, with room and board, now exceed $17,000 a year, according to the College Board.
Obama delivered his proposal with campaign flair, mounting a mainstream appeal to young voters and struggling families. He said higher education has become an imperative for success in America, but the cost has grown unrealistic for too many families, and the debt burden unbearable.
"We are putting colleges on notice," Obama told an arena packed with cheering students at the University of Michigan.
"You can't assume that you'll just jack up tuition every single year. If you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down."
Obama is targeting only a small part of the financial aid picture ? the $3 billion known as campus-based aid that flows through college administrators to students. He is proposing to increase that amount to $10 billion and change how it is distributed to reward schools that hold down costs and ensure that more poor students complete their education.
The bulk of the more than $140 billion in federal grants and loans goes directly to students and would not be affected.
Rising tuition costs have been attributed to a variety of factors, among them a decline in state dollars and competition for the best facilities and professors. Washington's leverage to take on the rising cost of college is limited because American higher education is decentralized, with most student aid following the student. And that's not counting the legislative gridlock.
"If you were a betting person, you would not bet on it getting done, simply because the political atmosphere in Washington is so poisonous," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, an organization that represents colleges in Washington.
Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said Obama put forward "interesting ideas that deserve a careful review." But Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who leads a House panel with jurisdiction over higher education, said Obama's plan should have tackled federal regulations that she said contribute to the problem.
The top Democrat on the House education committee, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said Congress has bipartisan concern about the rising costs of college and thinks the president's plan will open up a conversation about the problem. Some Republicans in the past, including Rep. Buck McKeon of California, have offered proposals similar to the president's.
Others were sharper in their critique.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former education secretary, questioned whether Obama can enforce any plan that shifts federal aid away from colleges and universities without hurting the students it is meant to help. "The federal government has no business doing this," he said.
Enacted or not, Obama's plan may have the kind of popular appeal he can use in the campaign.
In Ann Arbor, he soaked up the cheers of students as he outlined the agenda from his State of the Union speech, and gave a shout out to the popular quarterback of the school's football team. And Obama used the college-aid matter to put the onus for action on Republicans, again painting them as obstructionists and himself as the fighter for the middle class.
Mary Sue Coleman, president of University of Michigan, said schools should be challenged to find ways to restrain costs, but they can't continue to make up for state cuts. Money for state universities in Michigan dropped by 15 percent in this year's state budget, and many ? including the University of Michigan ? raised tuition to help make up for the lost support.
Obama challenged states to be more responsible, too.
"He recognizes every part of it," Coleman said. "That's what was so powerful about the speech."
Kevin Carey, policy director at the independent Education Sector think tank, said higher education leaders will surely detest Obama's plan even if they do not say so directly.
"Instead, they'll work behind the scenes to kill it," Carey predicted.
University of Washington President Mike Young said Obama showed he did not understand how the budgets of public universities work. Young said the total cost to educate college students in Washington state, which is paid for by both tuition and state government dollars, has actually gone down because of efficiencies on campus. While universities are tightening costs, the state is cutting their subsidies and authorizing tuition increases to make up for the loss.
"They really should know better," Young said. "This really is political theater of the worst sort."
Obama also wants to create a "Race to the Top" competition in higher education similar to the one his administration used on lower grades. He wants to encourage states to make better use of higher education dollars in exchange for $1 billion in prize money. A second competition called "First in the World" would encourage innovation to boost productivity on campuses.
Obama is also pushing for the creation of more tools to help students determine which colleges and universities have the best value.
Michigan was Obama's last stop on a five-day trip to sell his State of the Union agenda in politically important states.
The White House has begun facing criticism from Republicans and daily questions from reporters about the blurring of Obama's governing and campaign-style events. Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said Obama went before Michigan students to promote a policy idea.
Said Carney: "We're not going to tell people not to applaud."
___
Associated Press writers Ben Feller and Julie Pace in Washington, David Runk in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Donna Gordon Blankinship in Seattle contributed to this story. Hefling contributed from Washington.
frank gore frank gore drew brees drew brees nfl games nfl schedule nfl scores
Many Mo. farmers shut out of federal flooding aid (AP)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? Farmers whose land was damaged by Missouri River flooding expressed frustration Friday that a missed deadline will keep them from sharing in $215 million from one federal disaster program.
Farmers and communities had to apply for the aid by June 30, but many still had land under water then and couldn't do a required damage assessment. Water didn't recede from many farms in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri until late September or early October.
The money is part of $308 million in funding the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week. It is distributed through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, which requires a sponsor such as a city, county or drainage district. The money is meant to be used to clear drainage ditches, fix levees and structures and reshape eroded banks.
Officials couldn't say Friday how many farmers missed the chance to apply for help.
About 1,200 of Bruce Biermann's 2,500 acres in northwest Missouri flooded last summer. He said he should be planting this year's crop in about 60 days but that will be tough to do without help with repairs.
"It certainly is disappointing that we can't have access to funds that are basically earmarked for disasters like this," he said.
The flooding started in June when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing massive amounts of water from upstream reservoirs filled by melting snow and heavy rains. The deluge continued for months, overtopping levees and turning farms into lakes. When the water finally receded, farmers found tree limbs, trash and, in some places, a 2- to 3-feet of sand covering their land.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the application deadline set by Congress led to the money being primarily focused on disasters that happened earlier in 2011 but that didn't mean farmers who suffered later damage wouldn't get help.
"I don't think it's accurate to suggest that the folks in northwest Missouri aren't going to get help and assistance," he said during a visit to Kansas City to tout President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. "We will continue to work with our existing programs to give them as much help as possible."
The deadline for the next round of funding is Jan. 31, but it's unclear how much money will be given and whether it will come in time to help farmers and communities make repairs before this spring's planting season.
The farmers' and communities' best chance of getting some of the $215 million already allocated will be if other communities don't use all the money they requested. Unused money is placed in a pot that could be redistributed, and about $452,000 leftover from past storms already has been used to help farmers in northwest Missouri, where 207,000 acres flooded last year.
David Sieck, who has about 1,500 acres of corn and soybeans near Glenwood, Iowa, said it really bothered him that an arbitrary deadline was keeping some farmers and communities getting immediate access to the money. About half of land is in river bottoms and about three-fifths of that flooded last year.
"Never ever do I remember a prolonged flood for 3 1/2 months," he said.
Missouri and Utah shared the bulk of the $308 million in disaster aid announced last week. Missouri received $50 million, while Utah got $60 million to deal with two rounds of flooding.
Along with $35 million from the watershed program, Missouri received $15 million from the USDA's Emergency Conservation Program, which helps clear debris and grade farmland. Much of that money will go to the southeast portion of the state where the corps blew three holes in the Birds Point levee in May to relieve pressure at the height of flooding that threatened nearby Cairo, Ill.
"We appreciate the work of everyone involved in securing it for Missouri and we are glad that farmers throughout the state are going to benefit, but the people in northwest Missouri are not," said Blake Hurst, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau.
state of play the national defense authorization act the national defense authorization act bcs rankings miguel cotto vs antonio margarito terminator salvation terminator salvation
Friday, January 27, 2012
Former Guatemala dictator faces war crimes charges (Reuters)
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) ? Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity as the Central American nation seeks to close files on a brutal 36-year civil war.
A judge found sufficient evidence that linked Rios Montt, who ruled during a particularly bloody period in 1982 and 1983, to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in one counterinsurgency effort.
"I believe that there is enough evidence in these charges," said Judge Carol Flores, who agreed with prosecutors that Rios Montt, as head of the government, should answer for brutality under his rule.
Prosecutors allege that Rios Montt, who ruled as commander-in-chief for 17 months, turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson to rid Guatemala of leftist insurgents.
Lawyers also charge that Rios Montt conceived a counterinsurgency plan that killed at least 1,771 unarmed members of the Ixil tribe that he said were aiding guerillas and drove another 29,000 more into forced exodus.
Defense attorneys claim that Rios Montt, 85, did not control battlefield operations during the 1960-1996 internal conflict that left nearly a quarter of a million dead or missing and therefore cannot be held responsible.
"Each commander is responsible for making decisions in his own post," attorney Danilo Rodriguez said.
Ixil women clad in bright red indigenous dresses attended the hearing that ended in Rios Montt being ordered to house arrest until a preliminary hearing in March.
The right-wing party Rios Montt founded has lost relevance and the former general was turned out of Congress in a September general election, loosing the immunity from prosecution granted to public officials.
(Reporting By Michael McDonald; editing by Christopher Wilson and Eric Beech)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_guatemala
eagle rock music festival arbor apple crisp recipe apple crisp recipe
DirecTV settles dispute with Sunbeam over blackout (omg!)
LOS ANGELES, Jan 26 (TheWrap.com) - DirecTV and Sunbeam Entertainment have broken bread and ended the carriage dispute that caused customers in Boston and Miami to miss both the Packers-Giants NFL playoff game and the Golden Globes earlier this month.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement to end the Sunbeam blackout, and regret that any of our customers were forced into the middle of a business dispute where they should never have been in the first place," DirecTV said in a statement Thursday. "We believe, like many, the public interest is best served by allowing customers to keep their local broadcast stations as we negotiate future agreements, rather than being denied access by broadcast stations and used as leverage in what should be a private business matter."
The statement added, "The Sunbeam-owned stations - WHDH and WLVI in Boston and WSVN in Miami - are now available for DIRECTV customers in those cities."
The disagreement between the two companies came to a head on January 13 when, unable to reach a deal with DirecTV, Sunbeam pulled its programming from the service. That left customers of Fox affiliate WSVN in Miami and viewers of CW affiliate WLVI and NBC affiliate WHDH, both in Boston, in the dark. In all, approximately 450,000 customers were affected.
Things got ugly on January 15, as both the Golden Globes and the playoff game prepared to air. Customers engaged in a mass Twitter protest throughout the Globes telecast. Meanwhile, Sunbeam rejected a request from DirecTV to air the football game despite the lack of a contract just prior to kickoff.
During the blackout, DirecTV issued a statement to its subscribers saying it was "working hard to bring back your local channel as quickly as possible" -- while adding that Sunbeam was trying to "extort a more than 300 percent fee increase to carry WSVN in Miami, and WHDH and WLVI in Boston."
DirecTV did not disclose the terms of the new agreement.
(Editing By Zorianna Kit)
end of the world 2012 leap year pink martini times square 2012 predictions new years eve ball drop new years eve times square 2012
ASU center ensures access to archaeological data that otherwise may be lost
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 26-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Julie Newberg
julie.newberg@asu.edu
480-727-3116
Arizona State University
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provides grant to support the Center and to develop and expand the Digital Archaeological Record
TEMPE (Jan. 26, 2012) - Preserving archaeological information, facilitating access to a wide range of digital documents and data, and enhancing archaeological research are vital services that Arizona State University's Center for Digital Antiquity (http://www.digitalantiquity.org) provides for researchers, students and the public.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a grant of $1.2 million beginning in March 2012 that will support the Center's operations and development. The grant enables the Center to greatly expand the content of its digital repository, to enlarge the community of users and to continue development and enhancement of software to improve the repository user's experience.
The Center for Digital Antiquity develops, maintains and oversees the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR http://www.tdar.org), the country's largest digital repository of world-wide archaeological data and information. The Center was established in 2009 with support from an earlier grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Technology has changed the way that people create and store information moving from books and paper to digital files stored on tape, floppy disks, CD-ROMs and other media. A problem associated with this shift is that digital files are far more susceptible to loss due to degradation of storage media, software obsolescence and inadequate documentation.
When this happens with archaeological data, it is especially tragic. It entails a loss of irreplaceable information about our national and global heritage and represents a waste of time, effort and public money that has been expended to collect, analyze and report the data.
"In laboratory-based science, experiments can be repeated; however, you can't dig a site twice," said ASU Professor and Sustainability Scientist Keith Kintigh, who was the principal investigator for the first Mellon grant and is a co-principal investigator on the new grant. "The archaeological record provides our only access to most of human history. For example, human societies both contribute to and respond to gradual environmental change. Archaeological evidence allows us to better understand the conditions under which societies are resilient to long-term change, and the configurations that lead to collapse."
Francis P. McManamon, Center for Digital Antiquity executive director and principal investigator for the new Mellon grant, notes that "approximately 40,000 archaeological investigations take place every year in the United States, yet only a handful thoroughly publish their findings and the supporting data in traditional, general distribution books. Most projects do produce limited distribution paper reports that end up in just a few of the thousands of state and federal agency offices and university libraries." Compounding this problem, there is no reliable way to discover the existence of reports relevant to a particular research topic and the reports are frequently difficult to use and expensive to obtain.
The situation with the supporting data is far worse. Even in the unusual case that the supporting data (notes, drawings, photos etc.) exists in a public repository, they are even harder to find and are rarely adequately documented or maintained. Adam Brin, Center for Digital Antiquity director of technology and a co-principal investigator on the new grant, adds: "we want to make sure that these unpublished reports and the almost-never published supporting data and analyses are easily discoverable and widely accessible now and in 100 years. We have designed and built tDAR to ensure this."
tDAR has been in full operation for about a year and is growing rapidly with thousands of documents, data sets and images, including 3-D scans of artifacts.
"By providing Web-based discovery and access of reports, images and well-documented data sets, tDAR enables archaeological syntheses that could never have been done before. tDAR's cutting-edge data integration tools allow researchers to analyze data across projects that span large areas and long time intervals yielding new knowledge about the past," Kintigh said.
Organizations that currently use tDAR as a digital repository include the Phoenix Area office of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Midwest Archeological Center of the National Park Service, the Mimbres Foundation and the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization.
"We have archaeological information from across the United States, from the Arctic to the Southwest, and from the West coast to New England. Documents, data sets and images from places like Cape Cod, coastal Georgia, the California desert, the Great Lakes region and New York City, as well as from right here in Phoenix and Tucson, can be found in tDAR," McManamon said.
"We believe that digital copies of reports, along with the photographs, data sets and the other digital data from each project should be deposited in a trusted digital repository, such as tDAR, as part of every project's normal workflow. This will ensure that these digital records are preserved and can be easily discovered, accessed and used by current and future scholars," he added.
The repository is ideal for public agencies, research organizations and individual scholars who want to preserve and protect their archaeological research project records, while making them readily available for use in research, leading to new discoveries and better understanding of the past. Agencies and scholars also will find tDAR an effective and efficient means of providing appropriate access to their research results to the general public.
"We now have in tDAR the archaeological reports from many large projects that were completed decades ago," McManamon said. "For example, the repository includes a large number of reports and detailed records from archaeological investigations in the Phoenix area that were completed in advance of the construction of the Papago Freeway, the Hohokam Expressway and the Central Arizona Project."
Securing a grant to ensure the future of The Center for Digital Antiquity represents an important professional milestone for McManamon, who spent 32 years at the National Park Service where he served as chief archeologist and recognized the need for an archaeological information repository like tDAR.
"We have a terrific tool," he said. "The repository has been a crucial need for many years. We are very grateful to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its essential and steady support that is advancing scholarship and preserving irreplaceable records of human history. We're committed to rapidly expanding our collection of information and to building tDAR's user community while ensuring long-term digital access to the archaeological record."
The Center is associated with ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Global Institute of Sustainability, and the University Libraries.
###
Contact:
Julie Newberg
Arizona State University
Media Relations
(480) 727-3116
Julie.newberg@asu.edu
[ | 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: 26-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Julie Newberg
julie.newberg@asu.edu
480-727-3116
Arizona State University
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provides grant to support the Center and to develop and expand the Digital Archaeological Record
TEMPE (Jan. 26, 2012) - Preserving archaeological information, facilitating access to a wide range of digital documents and data, and enhancing archaeological research are vital services that Arizona State University's Center for Digital Antiquity (http://www.digitalantiquity.org) provides for researchers, students and the public.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a grant of $1.2 million beginning in March 2012 that will support the Center's operations and development. The grant enables the Center to greatly expand the content of its digital repository, to enlarge the community of users and to continue development and enhancement of software to improve the repository user's experience.
The Center for Digital Antiquity develops, maintains and oversees the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR http://www.tdar.org), the country's largest digital repository of world-wide archaeological data and information. The Center was established in 2009 with support from an earlier grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Technology has changed the way that people create and store information moving from books and paper to digital files stored on tape, floppy disks, CD-ROMs and other media. A problem associated with this shift is that digital files are far more susceptible to loss due to degradation of storage media, software obsolescence and inadequate documentation.
When this happens with archaeological data, it is especially tragic. It entails a loss of irreplaceable information about our national and global heritage and represents a waste of time, effort and public money that has been expended to collect, analyze and report the data.
"In laboratory-based science, experiments can be repeated; however, you can't dig a site twice," said ASU Professor and Sustainability Scientist Keith Kintigh, who was the principal investigator for the first Mellon grant and is a co-principal investigator on the new grant. "The archaeological record provides our only access to most of human history. For example, human societies both contribute to and respond to gradual environmental change. Archaeological evidence allows us to better understand the conditions under which societies are resilient to long-term change, and the configurations that lead to collapse."
Francis P. McManamon, Center for Digital Antiquity executive director and principal investigator for the new Mellon grant, notes that "approximately 40,000 archaeological investigations take place every year in the United States, yet only a handful thoroughly publish their findings and the supporting data in traditional, general distribution books. Most projects do produce limited distribution paper reports that end up in just a few of the thousands of state and federal agency offices and university libraries." Compounding this problem, there is no reliable way to discover the existence of reports relevant to a particular research topic and the reports are frequently difficult to use and expensive to obtain.
The situation with the supporting data is far worse. Even in the unusual case that the supporting data (notes, drawings, photos etc.) exists in a public repository, they are even harder to find and are rarely adequately documented or maintained. Adam Brin, Center for Digital Antiquity director of technology and a co-principal investigator on the new grant, adds: "we want to make sure that these unpublished reports and the almost-never published supporting data and analyses are easily discoverable and widely accessible now and in 100 years. We have designed and built tDAR to ensure this."
tDAR has been in full operation for about a year and is growing rapidly with thousands of documents, data sets and images, including 3-D scans of artifacts.
"By providing Web-based discovery and access of reports, images and well-documented data sets, tDAR enables archaeological syntheses that could never have been done before. tDAR's cutting-edge data integration tools allow researchers to analyze data across projects that span large areas and long time intervals yielding new knowledge about the past," Kintigh said.
Organizations that currently use tDAR as a digital repository include the Phoenix Area office of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Midwest Archeological Center of the National Park Service, the Mimbres Foundation and the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization.
"We have archaeological information from across the United States, from the Arctic to the Southwest, and from the West coast to New England. Documents, data sets and images from places like Cape Cod, coastal Georgia, the California desert, the Great Lakes region and New York City, as well as from right here in Phoenix and Tucson, can be found in tDAR," McManamon said.
"We believe that digital copies of reports, along with the photographs, data sets and the other digital data from each project should be deposited in a trusted digital repository, such as tDAR, as part of every project's normal workflow. This will ensure that these digital records are preserved and can be easily discovered, accessed and used by current and future scholars," he added.
The repository is ideal for public agencies, research organizations and individual scholars who want to preserve and protect their archaeological research project records, while making them readily available for use in research, leading to new discoveries and better understanding of the past. Agencies and scholars also will find tDAR an effective and efficient means of providing appropriate access to their research results to the general public.
"We now have in tDAR the archaeological reports from many large projects that were completed decades ago," McManamon said. "For example, the repository includes a large number of reports and detailed records from archaeological investigations in the Phoenix area that were completed in advance of the construction of the Papago Freeway, the Hohokam Expressway and the Central Arizona Project."
Securing a grant to ensure the future of The Center for Digital Antiquity represents an important professional milestone for McManamon, who spent 32 years at the National Park Service where he served as chief archeologist and recognized the need for an archaeological information repository like tDAR.
"We have a terrific tool," he said. "The repository has been a crucial need for many years. We are very grateful to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its essential and steady support that is advancing scholarship and preserving irreplaceable records of human history. We're committed to rapidly expanding our collection of information and to building tDAR's user community while ensuring long-term digital access to the archaeological record."
The Center is associated with ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Global Institute of Sustainability, and the University Libraries.
###
Contact:
Julie Newberg
Arizona State University
Media Relations
(480) 727-3116
Julie.newberg@asu.edu
[ | 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/asu-ace012612.php
college basketball gunsmoke papelbon papelbon anita hill penn state football schedule carrier classic
Thursday, January 26, 2012
AT&T Sold 9.4 Million Smartphones—7.6 Million of Them Were iPhones [Factoid]
ryan leaf ryan leaf jahvid best libya map libya map world series game 2 world series game 2
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
PFT: Colts to name Pagano as coach
APLast week, long-time Browns beat writer Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer inadvertently posted an unflattering message about Browns owner Randy Lerner on Twitter.
?He is a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world,? Grossi said.? The tweet was later deleted.
As it turns out, Lerner may remain sufficiently relevant to influence the work assignments at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.? According to CleveScene.com, Grossi has been removed from the beat.
Last week, the newspaper addressed the issue at its website, Cleveland.com:? ?Last night, Plain Dealer Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi made an inadvertent, inappropriate post to Twitter concerning Browns owner Randy Lerner.? Grossi has reached out to Lerner to apologize.? The Plain Dealer also apologizes.?
Grossi also addressed the situation in a video podcast:? ?Last night there was a comment attributed to me on my Twitter account.? It was inadvertent, it was inappropriate, and I do apologize for it.? I?ve reached out to Randy Lerner to apologize to him for it and we?ll just leave it at that. It was inappropriate and not meant to be tweeted, but it was inappropriate nonetheless.?
Though no one has explained specifically how it happened that the tweet was posted on Grossi?s page, it appears this is the latest example of someone not understanding how to properly use the ?direct message? function.? Grossi apparently intended to express his opinion privately to one of his Twitter followers, but he accidentally posted it onto his primary Twitter profile, which can be viewed publicly.
And while we know nothing about any other issues or circumstances between Grossi and his bosses, the reaction seems more than a little harsh.? Though the not-intended-for-publication message raises potential questions about Grossi?s objectivity when it comes to Lerner, it?s not as if Lerner is actively involved in the management of the team.? In many respects, Lerner is an absentee landlord, with little or no interest in doing the things that so many other NFL owners love to do.
But while Lerner takes a hands-off approach to the Browns, he has shown a willingness to respond to indignities with aggressive action.? In 2008, the Browns ended a preseason partnership with WOIO-TV after the station broadcast a portion of a 911 call made by Lerner?s sister when her daughter drowned.
?The recent coverage of the Lerner family tragedy is but the latest, albeit the most shocking and insensitive example of this destructive behavior,? Browns vice president Michael Keenan wrote in a letter to WOIO terminating the contract for ?irresponsible journalism.?
It?s currently unknown whether Lerner or the Browns requested, suggested, or demanded that Grossi be reassigned.? Regardless of how this all came to be, Grossi?s only wrongdoing, in our view, was his failure to properly navigate the Twitter application on his smartphone.
Besides, the substance of Grossi?s comments don?t come off to us as objectively offensive or inappropriate.? He referred to Lerner as ?pathetic? and called Lerner an ?irrelevant billionaire.?? (I?ve been called much worse than an ?irrelevant billionaire,? and I aspire to be much less.)
If it turns out that Lerner indeed pushed the Plain Dealer to dump Grossi from the beat for his accidental expression of a private opinion he?s entitled to have, it definitely will be evidence, in our opinion, of a pathetic act by the billionaire owner of a largely irrelevant team.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/25/source-pagano-to-coach-colts/related
mike james cbs red tails red tails heidi klum heidi klum red tails trailer
Google, MIT bestow App Inventor to the unwashed masses
Google, MIT bestow App Inventor to the unwashed masses originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
The Inquirer | 
MIT | Email this | Comments
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NfB1ZJLMLfM/
peter marshall peter marshall zombie boy zombie boy harvard yale joe paterno lung cancer joe paterno lung cancer
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Web music revenue growth stuck in single figures
LONDON (AP) ? Legitimate music downloads still aren't growing quickly enough.
A report published Monday by the recording industry's main lobby group showed that digital revenue has grown 8 percent over the past year to about $5.2 billion ? a solid figure for some industries, but not one where overall receipts have fallen by nearly two-thirds amid a shift toward online ? and in many cases illegal ? music downloads.
"The 8 percent figure should be much higher," said Frances Moore, the chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. "That's part of our task in 2012."
Moore blamed music piracy for starving online retailers and music subscription services of custom, saying the legitimate music business was working in an "extremely challenging" environment.
"It's very difficult to turn things around overnight," she said.
The IFPI's report highlighted many of those turnaround efforts, noting for example that there are around 500 legitimate music services worldwide offering up to 20 million tracks.
It said subscription services were doing particularly well in Scandinavia, the home of popular music service Spotify, whereas in France the number of subscribers nearly doubled in the first 11 months of 2011.
Music pirates remain the IFPI's No. 1 enemy, and the group's report congratulated several countries on their efforts to crack down on illegal file sharing.
It said French authorities had sent out more than 700,000 warnings to suspected copyright violators, an act it said had helped drive down file sharing on peer-to-peer networks by 26 percent since October 2010.
In the United States, the group said most major American Internet service providers had signed up to a "copyright alert system" aimed at issuing similar warnings to suspected file sharers.
Even in China, where piracy rates approached 100 percent, the IFPI said progress was being made. In June record companies joined hands with search engine Baidu to fight pirated content and create authorized digital music service Ting.
But the fight against infringement has seen some high-profile reverses, including last week's shelving of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S., which was originally intended to block access to pirate websites. Critics accused the law's backers of installing a regime of Internet censorship, and Google and Wikipedia partially obscured or entirely blacked out their websites in a dramatic and ultimately successful protest.
Moore described the bill's demise as a setback and said that the technology community "has come out a bit hysterically against this."
But she said her organization would continue to lobby internationally for website-blocking, arguing that the measure was "efficient, effective, and proportionate."
There's much at stake as the music industry struggles to build its online presence. Worldwide sales of physical music ? such as CDs ? have dropped from $28.1 billion in 2000 to $10 billion in 2011.
Independent media analyst Mark Mulligan said in the U.S. the music industry has "already lost half of the music market in the past 10 years."
He said there was no realistic hope digital music would make up for the shortfall in the near term.
"What we're talking about is: 'How much of a burning building can we save from the flames?'" he said.
___
Online:
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry: http://www.ifpi.org/
Associated Presssocial security adderall muskingum county muskingum county barometer barometer intc
Monday, January 23, 2012
Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air
As AirPlay speaker systems increase in number?most of them still being referred to as "docks" despite a lack of an actual dock for an iPhone, iPod, or iPad?a few things are becoming increasingly clear. Almost all AirPlay docks are black, and the Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air is no exception. They are all pretty expensive?the G-17 is a hefty $549.99 (direct). For the most part, all AirPlay docks thus far offer quality audio, ranging from booming bass, as with the Audyssey Audio Dock Air ($399.99, 3.5 stars) to superb high fidelity sound, as with the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air ($599.95, 4 stars). However, the disturbing trend that seems to be emerging with some AirPlay docks is a tendency to drop the stream?audio often pauses or stops completely, and this happens in a variety of scenarios. The G-17 sounds excellent, but is not immune to these stream issues. Klipsch reps acknowledge some of the streaming issues and claim a future update to iOS should fix the problem, but Apple reps will not comment on a time frame for the next update.
Design
The rounded, glossy black piano finish of the Gallery G-17 Air is striking, as is the horizontal array of drivers?two 20Watt woofers in the middle and two 10Watt tweeters on the far left and right ends of the front panel. A small Klipsch logo and a remote sensor are the only other things on the front panel. All of the controls are located on the small right-hand side panel?Power, Volume, Input Select, and Wi-Fi, which is used for inital setup. The back panel houses the power cable connection, a 3.5mm Aux input, and a USB connection. You'll need a Phillips head screwdriver to attach the glass stand to the speaker unit (screws are included), but the G-17 is also wall-mountable. Also included with the G-17 and its stand: a rubber cover for the input panel on the back, a black cloth grille cover in case you want to hide the awesome looking drivers, a remote control, the power supply, an owners manual, and?seriously?white gloves, so your fingertips don't smudge the glossy black surface when you move the system.
The included remote can be frustrating to use?depending on the angle, and strength of the Wi-Fi signal, adjusting the volume can be a very delayed process. When the signal is good and the audio is streaming smoothly, the remote, which is a simple, thin, black plastic controller with membrane buttons, works fine. It has Power, Volume, Play/Pause, Skip Forward/Backward, and Input Select buttons.
Performance
The Gallery G-17 offers fairly powerful, refined audio performance for its size. There are four drivers but no subwoofer, and the net result is a audiophile-friendly flat response, devoid of booming deep bass but quite capable of articulating low frequencies well. Kick drums sound tight, not thunderous. Lower register stringed instruments sound pleasantly resonant, not overly boosted or booming. John Adams' modern classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," sounds neither overly bright nor rumbly. Instead, the G-17's response favors mid-range frequencies, occasionally allowing high frequency percussion hits, like wood blocks, to pop out from the more commanding force of the stringed instruments. At maximum volume on deep bass tracks, the G-17 doesn't distort, but this is partially due to the lack of booming bass pushed out by the speakers. Still, many systems that have no subwoofer try to reproduce deep bass frequencies with the result of distortion, and the G-17 avoids this problem. The Knife's "Silent Shout," at maximum volume, doesn't sound as thumping as it would on a system with a sub, but it does not distort either, and the bass frequencies are still well represented. Basically, the G-17 offers a nice, smooth response throughout the frequency range that doesn't exaggerate the lows or ignore them. Fans of accurate response over booming bass will be pleased.
What they?and everyone else?will not be pleased with are the issues that AirPlay streaming suffers from. Simply put, no matter what variables we tried to introduce?say, shortening the distance between the dock, iPhone, and router, or using an entirely different Wi-Fi network?the audio streaming was spotty. The more tasks being completed on the Wi-Fi network, no matter how un-taxing on the bandwidth, like sending an email, the more likely the stream is to pause, or stop completely. Sometimes, the stream stops without any competition from a computer using the same network?simply adjusting the volume on the iPhone or laptop streaming the audio is enough to interrupt the stream. The Audyssey Audio Dock Air has similar streaming issues, and none of these problems occur when using an AirPort Express and AirPlay to stream from the same devices over the same Wi-Fi network. This is possibly because the AirPort Express uses 802.11n wireless signal, while Apple's AirPlay and the supported docks use 802.11g. Again, reportedly, there is a fix in the works in the next iOS update, but until then, this is the reality for some AirPlay docks.
With this in mind, it's not surprising that Apple is reportedly choosing to either switch to or include Bluetooth streaming into the AirPlay feature. Even a year or so ago, Bluetooth streaming was still a weak audio solution, with very little bass and low bit-rate fidelity. But recent developments have strengthened the audio quality greatly, as evidenced by recent Editors' Choices, the portable Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker ($299.95, 4 stars) and the fantastic JBL OnBeat Xtreme ($499.95, 4.5 stars), which shows up as an AirPlay device on an iPhone or iPad, but uses Bluetooth. Bluetooth streams are interrupted far less than AirPlay streams, at least in recent testing between Bluetooth speaker systems and AirPlay speaker systems.
If you're looking for a wireless dock, it's looking more and more like Bluetooth?as long as it's a recent system?is a more reliable option than AirPlay docks are at the moment. (AirPlay using Apple AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme products, however, is very reliable.) The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air remains at the top of the list of AirPlay docks, in terms of audio performance, with the Klipsch Gallery G-17 somewhere near the top. The G-17 sounds great, but like the Audyssey dock, the wireless streaming problems bring its rating down a notch.
More Speaker reviews:
??? Audyssey Audio Dock Air
??? Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air
??? Samsung HW-D450
??? Logitech Mini Boombox
??? Audioengine 5+
?? more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/vBmu3wKLshw/0,2817,2398261,00.asp
osu basketball dale sveum jets broncos thursday night football demi moore johnny jolly johnny jolly
Tips For Knowing Car Insurance|first that your insurance policy will ...
Lots of people think learning about auto insurance is a difficult process. Mastering a lot more destroys confusion like whatever in life.
You might be capable to discover lower insurance premiums by relocating to one more city or state. The thinking right behind this can be that different localities have various laws and demographics, therefore various premiums. So, auto insurance policies can be less expensive if you plan on moving.
When folks buy a new automobile insurance policy, they generally forget to check if it features a clause to payout in the event of an accident caused by an uninsured driver. You must consider hard concerning this since it will result in an increase during the price you pay. If an uninsured driver brings about an accident, it really is way too late to discover that this act is not really covered by your policy.
Give some thought to what a fresh car will cost to insure prior to you make the obtain. Maintain in mind the safer your automobile is, the reduced your insurance premiums might be. Much more sporty cars are not. Be sure to incorporate this expense in to the budgeting for your car expenses.
Comparing the expenses of unique insurance policies for the car is not really the only significant factor. You also need to familiarize your self with the details of the policy, like the amount of the deductible, the protection levels as well as the limitations of any benefits.
Think of traveling a automobile that isn?t so sporty. Insuring a sports car costs significantly a lot more than insuring other vehicles. You intend to own a vehicle that is less flashy. In fact, autos that have larger motors are higher priced to insure. Pricey vehicles are regularly targets of theft. This factors into your insurance cost.
Drivers who have a very brief commute could potentially be eligible for a a particular discounted on their automobile insurance in accordance with their low mileage. So that you can be eligible for the discounted you want, you are planning to need to drive a lot less than 7,500 miles in the given year. You may also be eligible for a a commuter rebate by taking public transit to job rather than traveling.
Most auto insurance policies are in fact issued about the particular driver who buys the insurance, not the vehicle alone. Some people will let friends drive their automobile and in case the friend gets in a car accident, the insurance will not pay. When you want a policy that addresses further drivers, be prepared to pay more.
1 strategy to save money would be to remove coverage for rental vehicles from your insurance policy. This is something where the charges will develop, but you will in no way obtain the use out of it for everything you pay into it. Keep in mind which you will be needing back up transportation when the occasion arises, but it is possible to often save money by eliminating this option.
In the event your poor driving record is traveling up the cost of auto insurance, you may have the ability to get it reduced. There are numerous insurance businesses which will provide to reduced your speed once you complete safe traveling classes in case you have been interested in an accident, or have received a ticket. Some insurance providers will also let you prove your great traveling habits by installing a specific tracking device as part of your car.
In the event you are involved in an accident, quickly speak to the police. The police are top equipped to collect all the appropriate facts and will determine what to carry out next. The police, and also the accident report they file, could become your very best friend where your automobile insurance organization is concerned. As fairly quickly as possible, phone the police.
Reasonably priced auto insurance prices are not the rare occurrence they might seem being. Use these ideas to help you reduced your car insurance premiums.
self hire motorhome insurance has never been this easy! Get more free information by going to this website motorhome insurance or call 0800 612 8719, we are open 24/7 in the UK
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Supreme Court rules public domain isn't permanent, says Congress can re-copyright works
If you've been enjoying the fireworks over PIPA and SOPA these past weeks, get ready for more intellectual property ugliness. The US Supreme Court handed down a decision Wednesday granting Congress the power to restore copyright claims on works that have entered the public domain. The six to two decision (with only the conservative Samuel Alito and liberal Stephen Breyer dissenting) was issued primarily with an eye towards bringing the country in line with an international treaty known as the Berne Convention. The plaintiffs in the case included orchestra conductors, educators, performers and archivists who rely on public domain works such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis and compositions from Igor Stravinsky. Many orchestras, including that of lead plaintiff Lawrence Golan, will now be forced to stop performing works that are a regular part of their repertoire due to licensing fees. Hit up the more coverage link for the complete (PDF) decision.Supreme Court rules public domain isn't permanent, says Congress can re-copyright works originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Ars Technica | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/supreme-court-rules-public-domain-isnt-permanent-says-congress/
johnny appleseed scrimshaw jacoby ellsbury jacoby ellsbury facebook charging act scores the good wife
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Combination of oral drugs suppresses common type of hepatitis C
Thursday, January 19, 2012
A new combination of investigational drugs successfully suppressed hepatitis C genotype 1 infection in a high percent of patients who had not responded to previous treatment in a study led by a University of Michigan hepatologist.
The study, which will be published Jan. 19 in the New England Journal of Medicine, focused on hepatitis C genotype 1, which is predominant in the United States and the most difficult to treat. Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver and can cause liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. It is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood and blood products.
In this pilot study, patients with hepatitis C genotype 1 infection, who had not responded to previous treatment with PEG-interferon alfa and ribavirin, were given a combination of two investigational direct-acting antiviral agents (daclatasvir and asunaprevir) alone, or were given these two antiviral agents along with PEG-interferon alfa-2a and ribavirin. All the patients saw their hepatitis C viral load drop rapidly, says Anna S. Lok, M.D., professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Michigan Medical School and lead author of the study.
All 10 patients given the four drug treatment -- two direct-acting antiviral agents (daclastasvir and asunaprevir) that block the NS3 and NS5A regions of the hepatitis C virus plus PEG-interferon alfa and ribavirin -- had sustained virologic response with undetectable virus at the end of treatment and at 12 weeks after stopping treatment. Four of the 11 patients given the two direct-acting antiviral agents only also achieved sustained virologic response.
A sustained virologic response or SVR means there is no detectable Hepatitis C virus in a patient's blood after treatment is stopped. Achieving sustained virologic response is important, because research has shown that late relapse is rare.
"The two recently approved hepatitis C drugs ? telaprevir or boceprevir -- combined with PEG-interferon alfa and ribavirin have limited success in patients who have not responded to previous treatment with PEG-interferon alfa and ribavirin. Because of this high unmet medical need, there is a necessity for new combination regimens that can increase response rates in that population," says Lok, who also is Director of Clinical Hepatology at U-M. "The high rate of sustained virologic response in patients who received the four drug regimen is very exciting. Although only four of 11 patients given the two direct-acting antiviral agents only achieved sustained virologic response, this is the first study to show that sustained virologic response can be achieved without the use of interferon or ribavirin. These data are very encouraging because PEG-interferon alfaand ribavirin are associated with many side effects and many patients with hepatitis C choose not to receive treatment for fear that they cannot tolerate those drugs."
An estimated 170 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C, with genotype 1 being the most prevalent genotype. Up to 80 percent of those infected with hepatitis C will become chronically infected. Twenty percent of people with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis and, of those, up to 25 percent may progress to liver cancer. Although there is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C, it is a potentially curable disease.
In the Phase II clinical trial, Lok, along with a team of researchers including scientists from Bristol-Myers Squibb, studied patients with Hepatitis C genotype 1, who had not responded to prior therapy with PEG-interferon alfa and ribavirin. The study was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
"Overall, these results suggest that further research into combinations of direct-acting antiviral agents, with or without PEG-interferon and ribavirin, should be encouraged," Lok says. "Caution must be exercised in selecting the right combination of direct-acting antiviral agents in studies of interferon-free regimens because in this study, all 7 patients who received only two direct-acting antiviral agents that did not achieve sustained virologic response had emergence of drug resistance variants to both drugs."
In this study there were no serious adverse events on treatment or discontinuations due to adverse events. Diarrhea was the most common adverse event in both groups, but it was mild or moderate in all cases.
###
University of Michigan Health System: http://www.med.umich.edu
Thanks to University of Michigan Health System for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 57 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116853/Combination_of_oral_drugs_suppresses_common_type_of_hepatitis_C
2012 predictions times square drew peterson earthquake new years eve times square 2012 new years eve ball drop 2012 holidays
Friday, January 20, 2012
EU to decide on Google, Motorola Mobility deal Feb 13 (Reuters)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? EU regulators set on Thursday a new February 13 deadline to decide whether to clear Google's takeover of U.S. handset maker Motorola Mobility after the Internet search engine came forward with new documents to support its case, the EU Commission said.
The EU executive last month suspended the previous January 10 deadline while waiting for certain documents from Google.
The world No. 1 Internet search engine wants to buy Motorola Mobility to boost its patent portfolio and compete better with rivals such as Apple.
U.S. antitrust regulators are also assessing the deal.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robin Emmott)
tucker carlson richard castle richard castle comedy central hawaii five o don t ask don t tell repeal michelle le
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Tourists from 5 nations victims in Ethiopia attack (AP)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ? Gunmen in Ethiopia's arid north attacked a group of European tourists traveling in one of the world's lowest and hottest regions, killing five, wounding two and kidnapping two, an Ethiopian official said Wednesday.
Ethiopia called the attack "an act of open terrorism" and said the gunmen came from neighboring Eritrea and attacked the tourist group before dawn on Tuesday. Three Ethiopians were also taken hostage. Eritrea denied it was involved.
Austrian, Belgian, German, Hungarian and Italian nationals were among those in the tourist group, Ethiopian Communications Minister Bereket Simon said.
Two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were among the five killed, according to an Interpol report cited by the spokesman for Hungary's prime minister. Two Belgians were seriously hurt and two Italians escaped unharmed, the report said. Two Germans were kidnapped.
Austria's foreign ministry confirmed that an Austrian man from the province of Upper Austria was among the five dead. Germany's foreign minister also confirmed two German deaths. Germany's foreign minister said 12 other people were flown to safety by helicopter.
Those wounded in the attack arrived in Addis Ababa Wednesday evening, where they were met by embassy personnel. A British diplomat at the airport said it was possible one British tourist was among the group attacked.
One victim had to be moved in a wheelchair. Others covered their faces to avoid being photographed by journalists. A diplomat said that the victims did not want to make any statements to the media and said that they have had "a very hard time."
Ethiopia offered its condolences to the families of victims and said it would "do everything possible to try and get those taken prisoner released as soon as possible," a government statement said. "It is already clear that the attack was carried out with the direct involvement of the Eritrean Government. There is a fear that the people who have been kidnapped might be taken across the border into Eritrea."
Ethiopia said it suspects the attack was linked to an upcoming African Union summit in Addis Ababa later this month. It said the attack shows that the international community "must now get serious about the destabilizing role of the Eritrean regime in the region."
The tourists were visiting a volcanic region in Ethiopia's northern Afar region, which lies below sea level and is known for its intense heat and picturesque salt flats.
Some of the tourists appeared to be traveling with Addis Ababa-based Green Land Tours and Travel, according to three people in Ethiopia's capital, all of whom asked not to be identified because the information hadn't yet been made public.
Green Land Tours and Travel offers a 15-day travel package to the Afar region, which include visits to watch salt extraction from salt lakes and a trek around a volcano that spouts lava pools.
Some of the tourists on the trip also appear to have been booked by a company in Germany called Diamir, which posted a statement on its website saying that it deeply regrets what happened. Diamir said it had offered the Ethiopia trip several times a year since 2006.
"Up until the current incident, Diamir had no indications that the security of guests could be in question in the region," it said, adding that there was no German travel warning in place for Ethiopia or parts of it at the time of the incident.
Bereket said that "some groups trained and armed by the Eritrean government" attacked the tourists about 20 to 25 kilometers (12 to 15 miles) from the Eritrean border.
Eritrea's ambassador to the African Union, Girma Asmerom, said Ethiopia's allegations are an "absolute lie" and that the attack is an internal Ethiopian matter.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war from 1998 to 2000,claiming the lives of about 80,000 people. Tension between the neighboring East African countries rose last year when a U.N. report claimed that Eritrea was behind a plot to attack an African Union summit in Ethiopia.
Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Launsky-Tiefenthal said there was an Austrian Foreign Ministry travel warning in effect for the region since 2007 "because of several incidents involving attacks on tourist groups ... in some case politically motivated in others criminally motivated."
In 2007, five Europeans and 13 Ethiopians were kidnapped in Afar. Ethiopia accused Eritrea of masterminding that kidnapping, but Eritrea blamed an Ethiopian rebel group. All of those hostages were released, though some of the Ethiopians were held for more than a month.
In 2008, Ethiopia foiled a kidnapping attempt on a group of 28 French tourists in the area.
"The problem is, there is no infrastructure in the area, no telephone lines, satellite phones barely work," Launsky-Tiefenthal said, comparing the remote area to "the surface of Mars."
___
Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Anita Powell in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
threadworm nick swisher pirates of silicon valley htc flyer tablet htc flyer tablet hank williams bruins
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)