farb889: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Father of man FBI shot claims his son was executed

Abdul-Baki Todashev holds a photo he claims is of his dead son Ibragim Todashev, during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 30, 2013. The father of a Chechen immigrant killed in Florida while being interrogated by the FBI about his ties to a Boston Marathon bombings suspect says agents killed his son ?execution style.? Abdul-Baki Todashev showed journalists 16 photographs on Thursday of his son, Ibragim, in the morgue with what he said were six gunshot wounds to his torso and one to the back of the head. He said the pictures were taken by his son?s friend Khusen Taramov. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Abdul-Baki Todashev holds a photo he claims is of his dead son Ibragim Todashev during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 30, 2013. The father of a Chechen immigrant killed in Florida while being interrogated by the FBI about his ties to a Boston Marathon bombings suspect says agents killed his son ?execution style.? Abdul-Baki Todashev showed journalists 16 photographs on Thursday of his son, Ibragim, in the morgue with what he said were six gunshot wounds to his torso and one to the back of the head. He said the pictures were taken by his son?s friend Khusen Taramov. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW (AP) ? The father of a Chechen immigrant killed in Florida while being interrogated by the FBI about his ties to a Boston Marathon bombings suspect said Thursday that the U.S. agents killed his son "execution-style."

At news conference in Moscow, Abdul-Baki Todashev showed journalists 16 photographs that he said were of his son, Ibragim, in a Florida morgue. He said his son had six gunshot wounds to his torso and one to the back of his head and the pictures were taken by his son's friend, Khusen Taramov.

It was not immediately possible to authenticate the photographs.

The FBI says 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Ibragim Todashev was killed last week during a violent confrontation in his Orlando home while an FBI agent and two Massachusetts state troopers questioned him about his ties to slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as well as about a 2011 triple slaying in Massachusetts.

Three law enforcement officials said initially that Todashev had lunged at the FBI agent with a knife, although two of them later said it was no longer clear what had happened.

Greg Comcowich, a spokesman for the Boston FBI, declined to comment Thursday on the elder Todashev's claim that his son was unarmed.

Abdul-Baki Todashev said the photos were emailed to him by Taramov, who apparently was at the morgue to identify the body. The father said Taramov was part of the Muslim community holding the body for the family until they could retrieve it.

The father said Taramov told him that U.S. agents interrogated him on the street while five officials interrogated Todashev in his Florida house for eight hours on May 22, the night he was shot. He said his son was "100 percent unarmed."

Todashev's father said his son moved to the U.S. in 2008 on a study exchange program and met Tsarnaev at a boxing gym in Boston in 2011, about a year before he moved to Orlando. He said the two were "not particularly close friends."

Prior to last month's bombings, Todashev underwent an operation for a sports injury and was on crutches, making it physically impossible for him to have been involved in the bombings, his father said. He added that Todashev had recently received a green card and was planning to return to Chechnya for the summer last Friday, two days after he was killed.

The father said he and his brother were interviewed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Thursday as they sought a visa to take his son's body back to Chechnya.

FBI agents interrogated the younger Todashev twice before the night he was shot, his father said. Todashev told him that he thought Tsarnaev had been set up to take blame for the bombings.

"I'd only seen and heard things like that in the movies ? they shoot somebody and then a shot in the head to make sure," Todashev said.

"These just aren't FBI agents, they're bandits," he added.

___

Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to the story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-30-Russia-Boston%20Bombings/id-f7192f3fd3684f898c0e0daa4eec8a4c

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Tesla details Supercharger expansion, NYC to LA road trips possible by year's end

Tesla's perpetually free Supercharger station has already enabled the driving of about a million miles, totally free, to owners of the Model S sedan. However, availability of that network has been very limited. Unless you lived in very specific areas of NY or CA, you've been out of luck. That's beginning to change. Following up on Elon Musk's D11 appearance, Tesla has announced that by the end of next month it will triple the size of the Supercharger network, covering crucial routes like Vancouver to Portland (with Seattle in between) and Dallas to Austin. New connection points will open in Illinois, Colorado, New York and, yes, California.

But wait, there's more. Within six months the network will spread further and, before the end of the year, Tesla promises you'll be able to drive from New York to Los Angeles in your Model S -- so long as you don't mind stopping for 20 minute recharges every couple-hundred miles. Finally, by mid-2014, Tesla promises its network will "stretch across the continent" and cover "almost the entire population of US and Canada." (Sorry, Hawaii.) PR and video featuring more details after the break.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: Tesla

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qOfZmrKo6gc/

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Fast-Spinning Magnetic Star Has Strange Glitch

One of the strongest magnets in the universe, a magnetar, is unexpectedly capable of a strange new kind of glitch ? a mysterious, unexplained drop in speed, researchers say.

Unraveling what briefly put the brakes on this powerhouse's spin could help shed light on states of matter that scientists currently are not able to recreate in labs, scientists added.

Magnetars are a type of neutron star, which is the core of a massive star that devoured all its fuel, collapsed under its own weight and then exploded as a supernova. Magnetars are also often thought of as the most powerful magnets in the cosmos, with magnetic fields up to approximately 5,000 trillion times that of the Earth's. Astronomers have discovered less than two dozen magnetars so far. [The Top 10 Star Mysteries Ever]

"Magnetars are really spectacular and mysterious objects," study co-author Victoria Kaspi, an astrophysicist at McGill University in Montreal and leader of the Swift magnetar monitoring program, told SPACE.com. "They can unleash extraordinary explosions and have the highest magnetic fields known in the universe, but they're relatively tiny, just the size of a city or so. How do they combine all that? We really want to understand them better."

The explosions that give birth to neutron stars, including magnetars, crush them into some of the densest objects known, second only to black holes ? a neutron star often packs as much mass as a half-million Earths within a diameter of only 12 miles (20 kilometers), and a teaspoonful of neutron star matter would weigh about 1 billion tons on Earth, approximately twice the combined weight of all the cars in the United States. This extraordinary mass gives a neutron star a powerful gravitational field as well ? a projectile would need to fly at about half the speed of light to escape from its surface.

Neutron stars can also spin as fast as the blades of a kitchen blender, up to 43,000 revolutions per minute. Past studies revealed hundreds of neutron stars can undergo changes in speed dubbed "glitches," in which the stars suddenly whirled faster.

Now for the first time, scientists have discovered that neutron stars can abruptly slow down as well, a surprising irregularity currently unexplained by existing models of neutron stars.

"We've dubbed this event an 'anti-glitch' because it affected this star in exactly the opposite manner of every other clearly identified glitch seen in neutron stars," said study co-author Neil Gehrels, the lead researcher on the Swift mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Scientists focused on the magnetar 1E 2259+586, located about 10,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cassiopeia, using NASA's Swift observatory to watch it from July 2011 to mid-April 2012. Ordinarily, the magnetar completed a revolution every seven seconds, but the researchers discovered it had later slowed by 2.2 millionths of a second.

"I looked at the data and was shocked ? the neutron star had suddenly slowed down," said study lead author Rob Archibald at McGill University. "These stars are not supposed to behave this way." [Star Quiz: Take the Stellar Challenge]

The extreme forces that matter in neutron stars experience theoretically gives rise to a host of bizarre, exotic phenomena that might explain regular glitches. For instance, researchers suspect the interior of a neutron star possesses, among other curiosities, a kind of frictionless state of matter known as a neutron superfluid. This superfluid is thought to make a neutron star's core spin faster than its crust, occasionally giving the crust bursts of speed that astronomers saw as glitches.

Now scientists have to explain how anti-glitches might come to exist.

"There was a huge outburst of X-rays from the magnetar a week before the anti-glitch was discovered, which does seem to suggest some process in its interior is responsible," Kaspi said.

One possibility is that a neutron star may have pockets of superfluids under its crust that each move at different speeds. These pockets could end up revolving more slowly around the neutron star's core than its crust, ultimately braking its spin in an anti-glitch. Another possibility is that internal vortexes of neutron superfluid that normally help drive the neutron star crust's movements could get driven inward by powerful concentrations of magnetic force emanating from the neutron star's core.

Learning more about what causes anti-glitches might shed light on longstanding mysteries about matter under extremes. For example, matter in neutron stars can get squeezed to densities up to more than 10 times greater than in the atomic nucleus, far beyond what current theories of matter can describe.

"Magnetars are the universe's strongest magnets and are some of the best laboratories we have for understanding pure physics," said study coauthor astronomer Jamie Kennea, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University. "The extreme conditions on these stars could never be replicated in any laboratory here on Earth."

Now that one anti-glitch has been discovered, further analysis of past findings might turn up smaller, less conclusive examples, Kaspi said. Future research, such as that conducted bythe NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR) X-ray telescope recently approved to go on the International Space Station, might help discover more anti-glitches, Kaspi said.

In addition, some existing models of neutron star glitches cannot explain some of the behavior astronomers have seen from them. A better understanding of anti-glitches might help solve these puzzles as well, Kaspi said.

The scientists detailed their findings in the May 30 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?and?Google+. Original story on?SPACE.com.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fast-spinning-magnetic-star-strange-glitch-171412599.html

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

In Vietnam, a Cuban rat poison finds new market

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? His wares banned in much of the world, the Vietnamese salesman hawking a rat poison laced with salmonella sought to prove the bait was as safe as claimed. He sliced open a packet with a pair of rusty scissors, dipped his finger into the sticky, bad-smelling rice, brought out a few grains and then chewed them gingerly.

"It tastes a little bitter, that's all," said Nong Minh Suu. He chose not to swallow the unhulled grains, instead spitting them out after a few seconds before lighting a cigarette. "When rats eat this, 100 percent of them will be killed. It is absolutely safe to human health."

Rat poisons normally come with warnings against human consumption and medical directions about what to do if accidentally eaten. Not so "Biorat," a bait produced in Vietnam by a Cuban-state owned company that earns foreign exchange for the Castro government.

The company claims the salmonella strain it includes is "harmless" to everything ? humans, the environment, pets and other animal species ? apart from rats. That is disputed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a U.S. federal government agency, and other international health institutions including the World Health Organization.

Biorat's production and sale in Vietnam is a legacy of the cozy ties between Cuba and Vietnam, two nations on opposite sides of the world but whose leaders are bound together by a public embrace of Communism. By operating here, the company, called Labiofam, can import ingredients free of any complications stemming from the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba that has been in force since the early 1960s.

It also gives it a base to try and enter new markets in Southeast Asia. The company is currently installing a new, automated production line at its Vietnam factory in preparation for a push in the region, where demand for rat poison is growing along with its population of rats, which nibble their way through at least 15 percent of the region's annual rice crop.

Labiofam produces an array of products alongside Biorat, from cancer treatments made from the stings of scorpions, larvacides that target mosquitoes, pesticides, even a probiotic range of yoghurt. They are marketed across the developing world, mostly in African and South American countries, where the company leverages government-to-government links forged in the Cold War and by the ongoing deployment of teams of Cuban health workers.

Salmonella, the name given to a group of bacteria, is the most common cause of food poisoning in the United States. In 2011, it was responsible for around 1 million illnesses and at least 29 deaths, according to the CDC. Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. It is especially dangerous for young children and the elderly.

A strain of salmonella was used in rat poisons in Europe until the 1960s, but it was linked to several deaths and illnesses in humans, triggering the ban. Labiofam says it has isolated a different strain to that used in those preparations, but the CDC says its research shows it is the same. A 2004 report by the American agency even warned that it could be used in a bioterrorism attack.

"There are too many questions, why would you want to use something that has not been cleared by the CDC," said Grant Singleton, an expert on rodent biology and management at the International Rice Research Institute. "Its efficacy is questionable. I have not seen anything published in mainstream peer-reviewed scientific papers to demonstrate it's effective."

Singleton also pointed to an ingredient in the poison that its makers rarely mention: a small amount of warfarin, a chemical rodenticide in its own right, and suggested that it could be the agent that is killing rats. Company marketing literature refers to the chemical only as a "catalyst" though on the packet it is listed as warfarin.

The company said criticism of its product was a result of American hostility to the country and commercial jealousy. There are no documented deaths or illnesses as a result of using the product in Vietnam or other countries.

"It is quite complicated, but this all comes down to politics," said Gustavo Junco Matos, the head of the company in Vietnam, in an interview at a trade stand in Hanoi where the product was on display next to Cuba's better known exports: rum and cigars. "Ours is a biological product and only causes damages to rats."

The Vietnamese government, which controls all media in the country and doesn't allow for open discussion and criticism of its decisions, acknowledged that the product was banned in some countries, but said there was nothing to worry about. "We use it and find that it's effective and it's good in Vietnamese conditions," said Nguyen Xuan Hong, director of the plant protection department at the agriculture ministry.

Biorat's backers admit it has disadvantages: it is more expensive than most of its chemical competitors and needs to be refrigerated, adding to costs for distributors. But it has captured market share in several regions, something helped by government subsidies toward its purchase when it first hit the market 10 years ago, according to Suu.

There is so far little sign of Biorat getting much traction in Asian markets, even with the backing of the Cuban diplomats who are tasked with promoting it via its embassies in the region. Biorat demonstrations have been held in the Philippines and Indonesia, but so far its sales push has only resulted in one import license, that of Malaysia, according to the company.

Most of the 2,000 tones the factory and 100 workers produce each year is shipped to Angola, Biorat's number one market and a country that the Castro regime gave massive military, humanitarian and development support to from its 1960s independence struggle onwards. The company declined to reveal its global revenues.

At least one other Labiofam product has run into problems. The marketing of its larvacide as a major weapon in the battle against malaria in Africa has been criticized by international health organizations, which says larvacides have only a limited role to play.

"They do a very good job in getting governments to pay a lot of money for products that appear to be deficient," said Maria Werlau, a Cuban dissident and critic from the U.S.-based Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy and a critic of President Raul Castro's government. "You don't have the same kind of accountability (in Cuba) that there is in other countries. There is no way to scrutinize what is going on. That's why they market these products in the developing world."

Rats have been feasting in Asia paddy fields since famers began cultivating it around 12,000 years ago, but an increase in the number of yearly harvests in many regions has meant more for them to feed on. As rat numbers increase, so does the economic cost: a loss of just 7 percent of Asia's rice crop is enough rice to feed 245 million people for 12 months.

Farmers in Vietnam often build plastic fences around their plots, which can protect them but only shifts the problem to neighbors. Trapping and electrocution, supposedly banned because of the risks posed to farmers of accidental electrocution, are common, but for many farmers poison is the weapon of choice, either routinely or when an infestation strikes.

Cao Thi Huong has been using Biorat for more than 10 years, spending around $30 on treating her small plot two times a year. She lives close to Suu's house, where boxes of Biorat are kept in large refrigerators at the back of the garden close to a chicken coop. "Personally speaking, I think it's better than the chemical," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-cuban-rat-poison-finds-market-065102161.html

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'Low sodium diet' key to old age for stars: New observations challenge current stellar theories

May 29, 2013 ? Astronomers expect that stars like the Sun will blow off much of their atmospheres into space near the ends of their lives. But new observations of a huge star cluster made using ESO's Very Large Telescope have shown -- against all expectations -- that a majority of the stars studied simply did not get to this stage in their lives at all. The international team found that the amount of sodium in the stars was a very strong predictor of how they ended their lives.

The way in which stars evolve and end their lives was for many years considered to be well understood. Detailed computer models predicted that stars of a similar mass to the Sun would have a period towards the ends of their lives -- called the asymptotic giant branch, or AGB [1] -- when they undergo a final burst of nuclear burning and puff off a lot of their mass in the form of gas and dust.

This expelled material [2] goes on to form the next generations of stars and this cycle of mass loss and rebirth is vital to explain the evolving chemistry of the Universe. This process is also what provides the material required for the formation of planets -- and indeed even the ingredients for organic life.

But when Australian stellar theory expert Simon Campbell of the Monash University Centre for Astrophysics, Melbourne, scoured old papers he found tantalising suggestions that some stars may somehow not follow the rules and might skip the AGB phase entirely. He takes up the story:

"For a stellar modelling scientist this suggestion was crazy! All stars go through the AGB phase according to our models. I double-checked all the old studies but found that this had not been properly investigated. I decided to investigate myself, despite having little observational experience."

Campbell and his team used ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) to very carefully study the light coming from stars in the globular star cluster NGC 6752 in the southern constellation of Pavo (The Peacock). This vast ball of ancient stars contains both a first generation of stars and a second that formed somewhat later [3]. The two generations can be distinguished by the amount of sodium they contain -- something that the very high-quality VLT data can be used to measure.

"FLAMES, the multi-object high-resolution spectrograph on the VLT, was the only instrument that could allow us to get really high-quality data for 130 stars at a time. And it allowed us to observe a large part of the globular cluster in one go," adds Campbell.

The results were a surprise -- all of the AGB stars in the study were first generation stars with low levels of sodium and none of the higher-sodium second generation stars had become AGB stars at all. As many as 70% of the stars were not undergoing the final nuclear burning and mass-loss phase [4] [5].

"It seems stars need to have a low-sodium "diet" to reach the AGB phase in their old age. This observation is important for several reasons. These stars are the brightest stars in globular clusters -- so there will be 70% fewer of the brightest stars than theory predicts. It also means our computer models of stars are incomplete and must be fixed!" concludes Campbell.

The team expects that similar results will be found for other star clusters and further observations are planned.

Notes:

[1] AGB stars get their odd name because of their position on the Hertzsprung Russell diagram, a plot of the brightnesses of stars against their colours.

[2] For a short period of time this ejected material is lit up by the strong ultraviolet radiation from the star and creates a planetary nebula.

[3] Although the stars in a globular cluster all formed at about the same time, it is now well established that these systems are not as simple as they once thought to be. They usually contain two or more populations of stars with different amounts of light chemical elements such as carbon, nitrogen and -- crucially for this new study -- sodium.

[4] It is thought that stars which skip the AGB phase will evolve directly into helium white dwarf stars and gradually cool down over many billions of years.

[5] It is not thought that the sodium itself is the cause of the different behaviour, but must be strongly linked to the underlying cause -- which remains mysterious.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/bAxCUTkp1qM/130529133246.htm

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John C. Reilly Offered Guardians of the Galaxy Role

John C Reilly Carnage Guardians of the Galaxy: John C. Reilly Offered Key Role In Marvel Cinematic Universe

The S.H.I.E.L.D. organization noticeably?absent in the story of?Iron Man 3 is making a return in a big way, both this fall in Joss Whedon?s?Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. live-action TV series, picked up for a full season by ABC, and next year in?Captain America: The Winter Soldier where S.H.I.E.L.D. will take center stage.

The group, headed up by Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), will expand to see many new faces over the next two years. As we learned this weekend, it may get a few more is the most unexpected of places:?Oscar-nominated actor and funnyman John C. Reilly has been offered a role in?Guardians of the Galaxy as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

HitFix has the scoop which not only details the potential new casting addition, but many of the possible story and character elements of the film that writer and director James Gunn?s screenplay may draw from. They also have word that?Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are being brought in to help polish the script.

Guardians of the Galaxy Concept Art 570x248 Guardians of the Galaxy: John C. Reilly Offered Key Role In Marvel Cinematic Universe

Markus and McFeely have solidified their roles in the Marvel family and not unlike overseer and?Avengers 2 writer/director Joss Whedon, have a large part in shaping Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They got their start with Marvel having co-written?Captain America: The First Avenger?and have since helped co-write Thor: The Dark World?and?Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Guardians of the Galaxy is their fourth Marvel film.

By utilizing the same family of writers Feige forming a team of sorts, using?Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for multiple films, all overseen by Joss Whedon. Drew Pearce who wrote the now-canned?Runaways for Marvel Studios was brought in to help write?Iron Man 3, and almost had a gig helping polish the?Guardians of the Galaxy screenplay as well. Don?t be surprised to see his name attached to one of the Phase Three Marvel films.

Nova Marvel Comics Art Guardians of the Galaxy: John C. Reilly Offered Key Role In Marvel Cinematic Universe

As for the new details on?Guardians of the Galaxy, HitFix?s source claims that?John C. Reilly ? a Disney favorite for starring in Wreck-It Ralph -?is in talks for the role of?Rhomann Dey. Marvel Comics readers may know Dey as the alien leader of Nova Corps who passed on his power and role to the human Richard Rider ? the current Nova and leader of the Corps, but after seeing?Iron Man 3, we know better than to assume Marvel Studios is going closely follow character and story arcs from the books. The film version of?Rhomann Dey will (as the report indicates) be human, serving as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, a handler of sorts for the Guardians.

Knowing that the film will take place ?95% in space? according to James Gunn and Marvel Studios Pres Kevin Feige, the role may be limited, but it?ll be recurring as a long-term contract for multiple pictures. HitFix describes Dey as the Agent Coulson of the Guardians, but he?s not the only key human character. He may have a partner also?liaising for the Guardians of the Galaxy and the names of interest include?Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman and Ken Watanabe. All four actors would be welcome additions to the Marvel franchise.

Guardians of the Galaxy Comic Rocket Raccoon Wal Russ 570x276 Guardians of the Galaxy: John C. Reilly Offered Key Role In Marvel Cinematic Universe

As for the characters officially revealed to star in?Guardians of the Galaxy, a few more details about them have emerged as well:

Rocket Raccoon will be joined by fellow intelligent animal from the planet?Halfworld, Wal Russ (pictured above), when he first appears in the movie. The two are guards of?The Keystone Quadrant, a sectioned off star system for the criminally insane where animals were genetically engineered with bipedal walking abilities and human-level intelligence to serve as caretakers. Moviegoers may be in for some wacky characters (see: Cosmo the space dog).
The other key piece of info is yet another villain rumor, joining the list that already includes The Collector, The Controller and most recently, Ronan the Accuser. Thanos will be involved in the film, much like he will for?The Avengers 2, but he won?t be the main antagonist, instead serving as the big baddie behind the scenes. HitFix claims that Michael Rooker?s?Yondu Udonta is the main bad guy (described as a ?space pirate?), a major deviation from the comics where Yondu is actually one of the original Guardians and a good guy.
Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) may not be playing the main villain either as previously reported, as his character may start as a threat but ?switch sides? during the film. We don?t know who he?s playing yet but he may be being set up for a future spinoff film of his own, hinting that he could be playing someone like?Captain Mar-Vell (who has connections with Ronan the Accuser and the Kree alien empire) or Adam Warlock (a crucial character involved with the Infinity Gauntlet Thanos is after ? as seen in Thor). The other, less likely possibility is that he?s playing Black Bolt, leader of?The Inhumans which may be a Phase Three Marvel film.

At this stage, fans who followed the development of all the post-Iron Man films know how out of control rumors and speculation can become. Knowing that Marvel Studios is not restricted to remaining faithful to the comics means that any character can be altered, dropped or merged with others, so predicting how James Gunn?s ?twisted? story will play out is impossible. The film hasn?t even begun shooting, let alone finished casting, and we already have four different rumored villain possibilities not including Thanos.

Who would you like Lee Pace to play and what villain should serve as the primary antagonist in?Guardians of the Galaxy?

___

Iron Man 3?releases May 3, 2013,?Thor: The Dark World?on November 8, 2013,?Captain America: The Winter Soldier?on April 4, 2014,?Guardians of the Galaxy?on?August 1, 2014,?The Avengers 2?on May 1, 2015,?Ant-Man?on November 6, 2015, and?Doctor Strange?sometime after that.

Let me know on Twitter @rob_keyes?if you?re excited for Marvel going cosmic!

Source: HitFix

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927549/news/1927549/

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PC shipments face sharp slump in 2013 as tablets ascend - IDC

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global personal computer shipments face a deeper-than-expected 7.8 percent slump this year as tablets overtake laptops for the first time, according to a report from market research company IDC.

The firm previously had forecast a 1.3 percent decline in PC shipments for 2013 but said in a report on Tuesday that consumers content with tablets are continuing to hold off replacing ageing laptops and desktop computers.

By 2015, tablets will outship not just laptops, but all PCs, according to IDC.

Driven by growth in inexpensive devices running Google's Android platform, worldwide tablet shipments will expand 58.7 percent this year, while average selling prices for the devices will fall 10.8 percent to $381, IDC said.

Since Apple launched the iPad in 2010, PC industry heavyweights like Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Intel have struggled to adapt their products to consumers' growing preferences for mobile devices.

PC shipments are expected to fall an additional 1.2 percent next year, according to IDC.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pc-shipments-face-sharp-slump-2013-tablets-ascend-165519716.html

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How to move documents on your Mac HD to iCloud

If you own a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion and use an iPhone or iPad running iOS 6, iCloud is a great way to access certain kinds of files and documents across all your devices. For many users, they'll just start off creating documents in iCloud whether they're on their Mac or iOS device. But what about all those documents that are already on your Mac that you'd like access to on your iPhone and iPad?

As it turns out, you can kick them over to iCloud pretty easily. Here's how:

Keep in mind, as with anything, only apps and document management software that support iCloud integration will work with this. For this example, we'll be moving a document from Pages that's stored on the hard drive, to iCloud. Pages supports iCloud on both Mac and iOS.

Open the document that's currently saved to the hard drive of your Mac that you'd like to move to iCloud. In our example, we'll move a regular Pages file.
In Apple's default apps, click on the On My Mac tab in the upper left hand corner to navigate to the document if you haven't already found it and launched it manually.
Once you have the document or file open, hover over the title of the document at the top until you see a little drop down symbol appear next to it. Click on the drop down arrow to the right of the title.
Now choose the Move to iCloud option.
You'll be ask to confirm that you'd like to move the document to iCloud. Just confirm.

That's all there is to it. The document you've moved will now be available cross-platform in their respective apps. While this isn't a perfect solution, it works for now. One of our iOS 7 wants is a much needed file management system across all devices, iOS and Mac. Until then, this should help ease some of the pain when it comes to dealing with older documents.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/MIBF5sCCz2w/story01.htm

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New Mayo Clinic approach could lead to blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's in earliest stage

Public release date: 29-May-2013
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Contact: Nick Hanson
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Blood offers promise as a way to detect Alzheimer's disease at its earliest onset, Mayo Clinic researchers say. They envision a test that would detect distinct metabolic signatures in blood plasma that are synonymous with the disease -- years before patients begin showing cognitive decline. Their study was recently published online in the journal PLOS ONE.

Researchers analyzed cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples from 45 people in the Mayo Clinic Study on Aging and Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center (15 with no cognitive decline, 15 with mild cognitive impairment and 15 with Alzheimer's disease). They detected significant changes in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma in those with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's. Most important, changes in plasma accurately reflected changes in the cerebrospinal fluid, validating blood as a reliable source for the biomarker development.

The team uses a relatively new technique called metabolomics, which measures the chemical fingerprints of metabolic pathways in the cell -- sugars, lipids, nucleotides, amino acids and fatty acids -- to detect the changes. Metabolomics assesses what is happening in the body at a given time and at a fine level of detail, giving scientists insight into the cellular processes that underlie a disease. In this case, the metabolomic profiles showed changes in metabolites related to mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, further confirming that altered mitochondrial energetics is at the root of the disease process.

The researchers hope that identified changes in the metabolic pathways could lead to the panel of biomarkers, which can eventually be used on a larger scale for early diagnosis, monitoring of Alzheimer's progression, and evaluating therapeutic approaches, says co-author Eugenia Trushina, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic pharmacologist.

"We want to use these biomarkers to diagnose the Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear -- which can be decades before people start exhibiting memory loss," Dr. Trushina says. "The earlier we can detect the disease, the better treatment options we will be able to offer."

###

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to Dr. Trushina, grant number R01ES020715; the National Institute on Aging to the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, grant number AG006786; and the National Institute on Aging award to the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, grant number AG016574.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.com and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news.

Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.

MULTIMEDIA ALERT: For audio and video of Dr. Trushina talking about the research, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network.

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New Mayo Clinic approach could lead to blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's in earliest stage Public release date: 29-May-2013
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Contact: Nick Hanson
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Blood offers promise as a way to detect Alzheimer's disease at its earliest onset, Mayo Clinic researchers say. They envision a test that would detect distinct metabolic signatures in blood plasma that are synonymous with the disease -- years before patients begin showing cognitive decline. Their study was recently published online in the journal PLOS ONE.

Researchers analyzed cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples from 45 people in the Mayo Clinic Study on Aging and Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center (15 with no cognitive decline, 15 with mild cognitive impairment and 15 with Alzheimer's disease). They detected significant changes in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma in those with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's. Most important, changes in plasma accurately reflected changes in the cerebrospinal fluid, validating blood as a reliable source for the biomarker development.

The team uses a relatively new technique called metabolomics, which measures the chemical fingerprints of metabolic pathways in the cell -- sugars, lipids, nucleotides, amino acids and fatty acids -- to detect the changes. Metabolomics assesses what is happening in the body at a given time and at a fine level of detail, giving scientists insight into the cellular processes that underlie a disease. In this case, the metabolomic profiles showed changes in metabolites related to mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, further confirming that altered mitochondrial energetics is at the root of the disease process.

The researchers hope that identified changes in the metabolic pathways could lead to the panel of biomarkers, which can eventually be used on a larger scale for early diagnosis, monitoring of Alzheimer's progression, and evaluating therapeutic approaches, says co-author Eugenia Trushina, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic pharmacologist.

"We want to use these biomarkers to diagnose the Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear -- which can be decades before people start exhibiting memory loss," Dr. Trushina says. "The earlier we can detect the disease, the better treatment options we will be able to offer."

###

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to Dr. Trushina, grant number R01ES020715; the National Institute on Aging to the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, grant number AG006786; and the National Institute on Aging award to the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, grant number AG016574.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.com and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news.

Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.

MULTIMEDIA ALERT: For audio and video of Dr. Trushina talking about the research, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network.

[ | 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/2013-05/mc-nmc052913.php
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Does This Method Really Thinks I'm Going To Cheat Him? :D - Java ...

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","tag":"il","useoption":"0","example":"[il]Code Here[/il]","switch_option":"0","menu_option_text":"","menu_content_text":"","single_tag":"0","optional_option":"0","image":"il2.png"},"code":{"id":"41","title":"Code","desc":"Allows you to enter general code","tag":"code","useoption":"1","example":"[code]$text = 'Some long code here';[/code]","switch_option":"0","menu_option_text":"","menu_content_text":"","single_tag":"0","optional_option":"1","image":""}}) ); ipb.vars['emoticon_url'] = "http://cdn.dreamincode.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/default"; //Search Setup ipb.vars['search_type'] = 'forum'; ipb.vars['search_type_id'] = 32; ipb.vars['search_type_2'] = 'topic'; ipb.vars['search_type_id_2'] = 321925; //]]>

1 Replies - 49 Views - Last Post: Today, 12:53 PM Rate Topic:

#1 stefilix ?

Reputation: 2

Posts: 19
Joined: 10-April 13

Posted Today, 12:45 PM

Few weeks ago I decided to create first console game Texas Hold'Em Poker, everything is going pretty well...yesterday I finished and game logic, now is only left part for a River stage where a method has to check for a best hand.. But that is not a problem I came here for a help. So, I created a method getRealPointValue() which returns a real pointValue, as you can see below.

 public String getRealPointValue(String pointValue, boolean highAce) {         switch (pointValue) {             case "A":                 return (highAce) ? "14": "1";             case "K":                 return "13";              case "Q":                 return "12";             case "J":                 return "11";             case "T":                 return "10";             default:                 return pointValue;         } }

So the problem now is, I have a statement where I say:

 // it says no suitable method found for a String.. ok.. so I tried to cast it into (char) inside getNumricValue method just before getRealPointValue, but doesn't work...   int pointValue = Character.getNumericValue(getRealPointValue("T", false));

So I decided to change a parameter pointValue into a char, and do something like this:

 public static String getRealPointValue(char pointValue, boolean highAce) {         switch (pointValue) {             case 'A':                 return (highAce) ? "14": "1";             case 'K':                 return "13";              case 'Q':                 return "12";             case 'J':                 return "11";             case 'T':                 return "10";             default:                 return (String)pointValue;         } }

But this is also impossible, bcs of incompatible types, which req a String not a char..

This post has been edited by stefilix: Today, 12:46 PM

Is This A Good Question/Topic? 0

Replies To: Does this method really thinks I'm going to cheat him? :D

#2 stefilix ?

Reputation: 2

Posts: 19
Joined: 10-April 13

Re: Does this method really thinks I'm going to cheat him? :D

Posted Today, 12:53 PM

oh my god.. my bad... I'm stupid.. Since I'm going to use this methods just in some case for integer compare, then I'm going to return int.. :DD

 public static int getRealPointValue(String pointValue, boolean highAce) {         switch (pointValue) {             case "A":                 return (highAce) ? 14: 1;             case "K":                 return 13;              case "Q":                 return 12;             case "J":                 return 11;             case "T":                 return 10;             default:                 return Integer.parseInt(pointValue);         }     }

So now this make sense..

int pointValue = getRealPointValue("A", true);

This post has been edited by stefilix: Today, 12:57 PM

Page 1 of 1

Source: http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/topic/321925-does-this-method-really-thinks-im-going-to-cheat-him-d/

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Lime Energy Co. Receives NASDAQ Notice Regarding Delinquent Filing of Quarterly Report

Huntersville, NC (PRWEB) May 28, 2013

Huntersville, NC ? May 28, 2013 ? Lime Energy Co. (NASDAQ: LIME) (the ?Company?) today announced that on May 22, 2013, it received a letter from The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (?NASDAQ?) notifying it that it was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because it had not yet filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (the ?Additional Deficiency?) and that the Additional Deficiency served as an additional basis for delisting the Company?s common stock from the NASDAQ Stock Market. That letter also formally notified the Company the Panel would consider the Additional Deficiency in their decision regarding the Company?s continued listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The Company expects to present its views with respect to the Additional Deficiency no later than May 29, 2013.

As previously disclosed, the Company received a notice from the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Staff on January 9, 2013 regarding the Company?s failure to satisfy NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because it had not filed its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, and September 30, 2012, and that as a result its common stock was subject to delisting from the NASDAQ Stock Market. The Company requested a hearing before the NASDAQ Hearings Panel (the ?Panel?) to review the listing determination and to request that the Panel grant it additional time to regain compliance. The hearing was held on February 21, 2013. On March 6, 2013, the Panel notified the Company's that it had agreed to grant its request for continued listing of its common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market, subject to certain conditions, including the condition that on or before August 9, 2013, the Company shall file its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

The Company expects that it will file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 on or before July 31, 2013. The Company also expects that it will file restated financial information for the years ended December 31, 2008, December 31, 2009, December 3, 2010 and December 31, 2011 and for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 (the ?Affected Periods?) on or before June 30, 2013. As previously disclosed, the Company?s Audit Committee has determined that the Company?s consolidated financial statements for the Affected Periods could not be relied on. The Company also expects that it will file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and its financial statements for the quarters ended June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012 on or before June 30, 2013.

Cautionary Statement

This press release includes ?forward-looking statements? within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control. We caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events and results may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ?may,? ?plan,? ? ?will,? ?expect,? ?intend,? ?estimate,? ?anticipate,? ?believe? or ?continue? or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. A number of important factors could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including how promptly we are able to complete our accounting review and the results of that review, as well as those factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on March 16, 2012 with the SEC, which can be found at the SEC?s website http://www.sec.gov, each of which is specifically incorporated into this press release. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

Contacts:
Investor Relations
Ashley Conger
(704) 892-4442
aconger@lime-energy.com

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10773273.htm

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Lenovo ThinkPad T520i Intel WLAN Driver 15.6.1 for Windows 7 x64

Fixes:
- Fixed a security vulnerability issue.
- Fixed an issue where the mobile hotspot connection might go limited and disconnected.

Versions:
- 15.6.1 (Package for Windows 7)
- 15.4.1.1 (Driver for Windows 7)

This package installs the Wireless LAN driver to enable the following devices:
- Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
- Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235

If this package has been installed, updating (overwrite-installing) this package will fix problems, add new functions, or expand functions. This program is language independent and can be used with any language system.

It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Do not forget to check with our site as often as possible in order to stay updated on the latest drivers, software and games.

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Source: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/NETWORK-CARD/INTEL/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T520i-Intel-WLAN-Driver-1561-for-Windows-7-x64.shtml

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Syrian troops gain ground, TV reporter killed

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Syrian troops gained ground Monday in a nine-day offensive against a key rebel-held town, and a Syrian TV correspondent covering the fighting there was killed by gunfire, state media and a pro-opposition group reported.

The fighting raged as European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels to try to bridge divisions over easing an arms embargo, a step that would allow weapons shipments to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In Paris, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov exchanged updates on their efforts to launch Syrian peace talks at an international conference in Geneva next month.

The Assad regime has said it is willing to attend the talks in principle, while Syria's fractured political opposition is still holding internal discussions about it.

There is little evidence that either side is ready to halt the violence that has killed more than 70,000 people since March 2011.

In Syria, heavy fighting was reported Monday in the western town of Qusair, the target of a regime offensive that began May 19, and around the nearby Dabaa military base.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition group, said regime troops and allied fighters from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah captured the nearby town of Hamidiyeh, tightening their siege of Qusair. Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said troops were trying to capture the village of Haret al-Turkumen in order to put Qusair under "complete siege."

Syrian state TV said troops captured more parts of the northern and central rebel-held neighborhoods of Qusair. The town had been under rebel control almost from the start of the uprising against Assad in 2011.

Al-Mayadeen TV, which has several reporters embedded with Syrian troops, aired video from the town showing widespread destruction. At least three bodies could be seen on one of the streets.

In an incident apparently related to the fighting, a rocket struck the Lebanese town of Hermel, just across the border from Qusair. A 17-year-old girl was killed and a woman was wounded by the rocket, said a Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The Observatory said that Hezbollah has lost 79 fighters in Syria in 10 days of fighting, all of them but four of them in the Qusair area.

The battle for Qusair has exposed Hezbollah's growing role in the Syrian conflict. The Shiite militant group, which has been fighting alongside Assad's troops, initially tried to play down its involvement, but could no longer do so after dozens of its fighters were killed in the area and buried in large funerals in Lebanon.

On Saturday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah firmly linked his militant group's fate to the survival of the Syrian regime, raising the stakes not just in Syria, but also in Hezbollah's relations with rival groups in Lebanon.

Qusair's value lies in its location along a land corridor linking two of Assad's strongholds, the capital of Damascus and towns on the Mediterranean coast, the heartland of his minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. For the rebels, holding Qusair means protecting a supply line to Lebanon, just 10 kilometers (six miles) away.

The Syrian reporter killed Monday, Yara Abbas, had been covering the fighting near Qusair.

Abbas, who worked for state-owned Al-Ikhbariyah TV, was attacked by rebels who ambushed the car carrying her and her crew near the Dabaa base close to Qusair, the Syrian Information Ministry said in a statement carried by state TV. A cameraman and his assistant were wounded, the report said.

Dozens of journalists have been killed, wounded or kidnapped since Syria's crisis began.

Amnesty International said this month that Syria's government and some rebels are deliberately targeting journalists.

In the central city of Homs, a car bomb exploded near a gas station, killing at least four people and wounding dozens, the Observatory said. Syria's state-run news agency SANA put the number of dead at six.

The EU debate on easing the arms embargo showed deep divisions among member states. Britain was the most outspoken proponent of relaxing the arms embargo but faced strong opposition from EU members like Austria who feel that pouring more weapons into the war zone will only make the Syria conflict deadlier.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday there were more indications than ever that gas warfare has become part of the Syrian civil war. France said it has been looking into such reports since early this month.

"(There are) are stronger and better substantiated indications of the local use of chemical arms. We have to check this and are doing this with our partners," Fabius said.

He did not specify which side was accused of using them.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut.

Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Syrian-troops-gain-ground-TV-reporter-killed-4550736.php

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Libyan parliament chief resigns over ex-regime ban

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? Libya's parliament chief has resigned just weeks after lawmakers passed a controversial law banning officials who served under Moammar Gadhafi from senior government posts.

Mohammed al-Megarif, who was Libya's ambassador to India in 1980 before he joined the opposition in exile, announced his resignation on Tuesday.

The new law, which would effectively ban al-Magarif and other experienced leaders from politics, was passed under pressure by militias.

Al-Magarif's eyes welled up as he spoke before the General National Congress in the capital, Tripoli.

He decried what he described as the empowerment of some lawmakers backed by gunmen and warned of the need to eradicate Gadhafi-era schemes, including "revenge, antagonism ... and hatred" that still plague Libya.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-parliament-chief-resigns-over-ex-regime-ban-152248973.html

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Judicata Raises $5.8M Second Round to Build Out Advanced Legal Research Systems; Keith Rabois Joins Board

Judicata, a legal research startup based in San Francisco, has closed its second round of financing, a $5.8M round led by Khosla Ventures. Keith Rabois, a former PayPal and Square executive who recently joined Khosla Ventures, will take a seat on Judicata?s board.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xJW0TYuwHJc/

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Even farm animal diversity is declining as accelerating species loss threatens humanity

May 27, 2013 ? The accelerating disappearance of Earth's species of both wild and domesticated plants and animals constitutes a fundamental threat to the well-being and even the survival of humankind, warns the founding Chair of a new global organization created to narrow the gulf between leading international biodiversity scientists and national policy-makers.

In Norway to address an elite gathering of 450 international officials with government responsibilities in the fields of biodiversity and economic planning, Zakri Abdul Hamid offered his first public remarks since being elected in January to head the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) -- an independent body modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Dr. Zakri, a national of Malaysia who co-chaired 2005's landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and serves also as science advisor to his country's prime minister, cited fast-growing evidence that "we are hurtling towards irreversible environmental tipping points that, once passed, would reduce the ability of ecosystems to provide essential goods and services to humankind."

The incremental loss of Amazon rainforest, for example, "may seem small with shortsighted perspective" but will eventually "accumulate to cause a larger, more important change," he said. Experts warn that ongoing climate change, combined with land use change and fires, "could cause much of the Amazon forest to transform abruptly to more open, dry-adapted ecosystems, threatening the region's enormous biodiversity and priceless services," he added.

"It has been clear for some time that a credible, permanent IPCC-like science policy platform for biodiversity and ecosystem services is an important but missing element in the international response to the biodiversity crisis," Dr. Zakri told the 7th Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment "demonstrated that such an intergovernmental platform can create a clear, valuable policy-relevant consensus from a wide range of information sources about the state, trends and outlooks of human-environment interactions, with focus on the impacts of ecosystem change on human well-being. It showed that such a platform can support decision-makers in the translation of knowledge into policy.

"The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment provides our baseline," he said. "The IPBES will tell us how much we have achieved, where we are on track, where we are not, why, and options for moving forward. It will help to build public support and identify priorities."

The structure of IPBES mimics that of the IPCC but its aims go further to include capacity building to help bridge different knowledge systems.

"IPBES will reduce the gulf between the wealth of scientific knowledge on declining natural world conditions, and knowledge about effective action to reverse these damaging trends," he said.

Even barnyard diversity is in decline

Some scientists have termed this the "sixth great extinction episode" in Earth's history, according to Dr. Zakri, noting that the loss of biodiversity is happening faster and everywhere, even among farm animals.

He underlined findings by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization that genetic diversity among livestock is declining.

"The good news is the rate of decline is dropping but the latest data classify 22% of domesticated breeds at risk of extinction," Dr. Zakri said.

Breeds become rare because their characteristics either don't suit contemporary demand or because differences in their qualities have not been recognised. When a breed population falls to about 1,000 animals, it is considered rare and endangered.

Causes of genetic erosion in domestic animals are the lack of appreciation of the value of indigenous breeds and their importance in niche adaptation, incentives to introduce exotic and more uniform breeds from industrialised countries, and product-focused selection.

Among crops, meanwhile, about 75 per cent of genetic diversity was lost in the last century as farmers worldwide switched to genetically uniform, high-yielding varieties and abandoned multiple local varieties. There are 30,000 edible plant species but only 30 crops account for 95% of human food energy, the bulk of which (60%) comes down to rice, wheat, maize, millet and sorghum.

"The decline in the diversity of crops and animals is occurring in tandem with the need to sharply increase world food production and as a changing environment makes it more important than ever to have a large genetic pool to enable organisms to withstand and adapt to new conditions," he said.

Biodiversity and the Sustainable Development Goals

According to Dr. Zakri, the most important outcome of last year's Rio+20 international environmental summit of nations was agreement to set new multi-year global objectives to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (2000 -- 2015).

Biodiversity is expected to feature prominently in the new "Sustainable Development Goals."

For specifics, Dr. Zakri commended the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, already established through the Convention on Biological Diversity, which contain five strategic priorities and 20 specific targets internationally agreed for achievement by 2020, beginning with public awareness of the value of biodiversity and the steps people can take to conserve and use it sustainably.

"The Aichi Targets are an important contribution to the SDG process and it is up to us to ensure that they are fully considered," he said.

"I would argue, though, that advancing towards equity and sustainable development requires us to go beyond. We need to meet the fundamental challenge of decoupling economic growth from natural resource consumption, which is forecast to triple by 2050 unless humanity can find effective ways to 'do more and better with less.' There are no simple blueprints for addressing a challenge as vast and complex as this but it's imperative we commit to that idea.

"We also need measures of societal progress that go beyond Gross Domestic Product. We need the kind of vision embodied in the Inclusive Wealth Index being pioneered by Sir Partha Dasgupta of Cambridge University, Anantha Duraiappah at IHDP, and Pushpam Kumar at UNEP. As they have convincingly argued, enlightened measures of wealth that include natural capital, not just output like GDP, offers a real portrait of sustainable development," he added.

"The idea that natural capital should be measured like this makes many nervous. And I agree that many of the services the environment provides, like clean water and air, are irreplaceable necessities.

"In theory, however, the undoubted value of these natural treasures should be reflected in their price, which should rise steeply as they become scarcer. In practice, natural assets are often hard to price well, if at all. Although this work is still in its infancy, it is worth recalling that GDP has only been measured for the last 70 years. And that originally it was a far cruder metric than today. The reality over many decades and the recent experience with the MDGs demonstrate all too clearly the limited success that even legal biodiversity-related commitments have in the absence of some sort of metric that speaks to other sectors and interests involved in the development process. We need to urge more economists to do the hard but valuable work of pricing the seemingly priceless. Ensuring these ideas are properly reflected in the SDGs could provide the type of support and encouragement needed."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/_CXd8kdMwJg/130527100624.htm

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