Senators caution immigration deal not final

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republican Party?s search for a way back to presidential success in 2016 is drawing a striking array of personalities and policy options. It?s shaping up as a wide-open self-reassessment by the GOP. Some factions are trying to tug the party left or right. Others argue over pragmatism versus defiance. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republican Party?s search for a way back to presidential success in 2016 is drawing a striking array of personalities and policy options. It?s shaping up as a wide-open self-reassessment by the GOP. Some factions are trying to tug the party left or right. Others argue over pragmatism versus defiance. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., makes a point as he is joined by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Michael Bennett, D-CO, during a news conference after their tour of the Mexico border with the United States on Wednesday, March 27, 2013, in Nogales, Ariz. A group of influential U.S. senators shaping and negotiating details of an immigration reform package vowed Wednesday to make the legislation public when Congress reconvenes next month. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Even with one of the largest hurdles to an immigration overhaul overcome, optimistic lawmakers on Sunday cautioned they had not finished work on a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

The AFL-CIO and the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce reached a deal late Friday that would allow tens of thousands of low-skill workers into the country to fill jobs in construction, restaurants and hotels. Yet despite the unusual agreement between the two powerful lobbying groups, lawmakers from both parties conceded that the negotiations were not finished.

"With the agreement between business and labor, every major policy issue has been resolved," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who brokered the labor-business deal.

But it hasn't taken the form of a bill and the eight senators searching for a compromise haven't met about the potential breakthrough.

"We haven't signed off," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

"There are a few details yet. But conceptually, we have an agreement between business and labor, between ourselves that has to be drafted," he added.

Yet just before lawmakers began appearing on Sunday shows, Sen. Marco Rubio warned he was not ready to lend his name ? and political clout ? to such a deal without hashing out the details.

"Reports that the bipartisan group of eight senators have agreed on a legislative proposal are premature," said Rubio, a Florida Republican who is among the lawmakers working on legislation.

Rubio, a Cuban-American who is weighing a presidential bid in 2016, is a leading figure inside his party. Lawmakers will be closely watching any deal for his approval and his skepticism about the process did little to encourage optimism.

Rubio, who is the group's emissary to conservatives, called the agreement "a starting point" but said 92 senators from 43 states haven't yet been involved in the process.

The detente between the nation's leading labor federation and the powerful business lobbying group still needs senators' approval, including a nod from Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican whose previous efforts came up short.

"I think we're on track. . But as Sen. Rubio correctly says, we have said we will not come to final agreement till we look at all of the legislative language and he's correctly pointing out that that language hasn't been fully drafted," Schumer said.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., also noted the significance of the truce between labor and business but added that this wasn't yet complete.

"That doesn't mean we've crossed every 'i' or dotted every 't,' or vice versa," said Flake, who is among the eight lawmakers working on the deal.

Schumer negotiated the deal between AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue during a late-Friday phone call. Under the compromise, the government would create a new "W'' visa for low-skill workers who would earn wages paid to Americans or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department would determine prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it would vary from city to city.

The proposed measure would secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already here.

It's a major second-term priority of President Barack Obama's and would usher in the most dramatic changes to the faltering U.S. immigration system in more than two decades.

"This is a legacy item for him. There is no doubt in my mind that he wants to pass comprehensive immigration reform," said David Axelrod, a longtime political confidant of Obama.

During the last week, an immigration deal seemed doomed. But the breakthrough late Friday restarted the talks.

Ultimately the new "W'' visa program would be capped at 200,000 workers a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau being pushed by labor groups as an objective monitor of the market, according to an official involved with the talks who also spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

A "safety valve" would allow employers to exceed the cap, the official said, if they could show need and pay premium wages, but any additional workers brought in would be subtracted from the next year's cap.

The workers could move from employer to employer and would be able to petition for permanent residency and ultimately seek U.S. citizenship. Neither is possible for temporary workers now.

"As to the 11 million (illegal immigrants), they'll have a pathway to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and it will be hard, and I think it is fair," Graham said.

The new program would fill needs employers say they have that are not currently met by U.S. immigration programs. Most industries don't have a good way to hire a steady supply of foreign workers because there's one temporary visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers but it's capped at 66,000 visas per year and is only supposed to be used for seasonal or temporary jobs.

Separately, the new immigration bill also is expected to offer many more visas for high-tech workers, new visas for agriculture workers, and provisions allowing some agriculture workers already in the U.S. a speedier path to citizenship than that provided to other illegal immigrants, in an effort to create a stable agricultural workforce.

Schumer, Flake and Axelrod appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Graham was interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union."

___

Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-31-US-Immigration/id-9a61247a0ae24e93bfdaee06f464ffab

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Zox Pro Training System: Super Speed Reading | Blog3.RapiChat ...

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Source: http://kaisetumare.blogspot.com/2013/03/zox-pro-training-system-super-speed.html

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Drones Could Replace Eager Youths On Paper Routes

Innovation in newspaper delivery techniques hasn't really seemed like a priority in awhile because of the whole death of print thing and whatever. But since drones categorically improve all situations, a local French postal service is turning paper routes into air routes. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DmviMDWdztU/drones-could-replace-eager-youths-on-paper-routes

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Banks win dismissal of most rate-rigging claims

NEW YORK (AP) ? A group of banks including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have won dismissal of most of the claims in private lawsuits alleging that they rigged a key interest rate.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York dismissed antitrust claims brought against the banks by a group of plaintiffs that included the City of Baltimore and some pension funds. The plaintiffs alleged that they had suffered losses because the banks had manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR.

The judge said that while the banks had already paid billions of dollars of penalties to government regulatory agencies, private plaintiffs had to satisfy many requirements which governments didn't.

LIBOR is the rate banks use to borrow from each other ? and it is critical. The rate indirectly affects the cost of loans that people pay when they take out loans. It provides the basis for trillions of dollars in contracts around the world, including bonds and consumer loans ? such as when consumers buy a home or car.

It is a self-policing system and relies on information that global banks submit to a British banking authority.

Cities and municipal agencies in the U.S. have filed a flurry of lawsuits against some of the banks that set the LIBOR. They have sought damages for losses they say they suffered as a result of an artificially low rate, which depressed the value of bonds and other investments pegged to the key interest rate.

Last fall a U.S. watchdog found that government-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac and its larger sibling Fannie Mae together may have lost more than $3 billion on their investments from banks' rate-rigging.

Last week Freddie Mac sued JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and 12 other big international banks in federal court in Alexandria, Va., claiming the lenders rigged the key interest rate, causing the lender to incur huge losses.

Two big British banks and Switzerland's largest have been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for manipulating LIBOR by U.S. and British regulators.

Calls placed to attorneys for plaintiffs in the case were not immediately returned.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-29-Banks-LIBOR/id-c2e0c072576f4112bee3d2bb1f0e7585

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University of Illinois' Blue Waters supercomputer now running around the clock

Things got a tad hairy for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Blue Waters supercomputer when IBM halted work on it in 2011, but with funding from the National Science Foundation, the one-petaflop system is now crunching numbers 24/7. The behemoth resides within the National Center for Supercomputing Application (NCSA) and is composed of 237 Cray XE6 cabinets and 32 of the XK7 variety. NVIDIA GK110 Kepler GPU accelerators line the inside of the machine and are flanked by 22,640 compute nodes, which each pack two AMD 6276 Interlagos processors clocked at 2.3 GHz or higher. At its peak performance, the rig can churn out 11.61 quadrillion calculations per second. According to the NCSA, all that horsepower earns Blue Waters the title of the most powerful supercomputer on a university campus. Now that it's cranking away around-the-clock, it'll be used in projects investigating everything from how viruses infect cells to weather predictions.

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Source: National Center for Supercomputing Application

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

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Boomer Donna Read's Advice For Surviving A Late-Career Layoff ...

Donna Read never planned to spend the rest of her life working at a grocery store. But the decent wages and great benefits kept her there for 12 years, until she was fired last summer. At age 58, Read fell into poverty, and into a depression that kept her in bed for three months.

But now Read is going back to school, as she has always wanted, thanks to state retraining benefits for the unemployed. After over a decade of selling groceries and moving boxes, Read will train to become a substance abuse counselor, with the hope of helping the homeless with their addictions -- a struggle that she knows all too well herself. Along the way she also learned some harsh lessons about being laid off at midlife, and starting over.

12 Years of Loyalty

In many ways, the recession battered workers ages 55 or over the hardest; many baby boomers were laid off from companies that they'd been loyal to for decades, and then had less time to start over in new careers and recoup lost savings. In the past few years, older Americans were less likely than those in other age groups to lose their jobs, but were far less likely to find new work if they did. In early 2012, 44 percent of older job seekers had been out of work for at least a year, according to the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative. After all, a younger, cheaper worker seems, at first glance, to be a much better investment than 58-year-old Read.

More: How I Survived Nearly 2 Years Of Unemployment

Read's job at the supermarket chain QFC in Seattle began as a summer gig in the year 2000. She wanted to do something else with her life, but the paycheck wasn't too bad; over 12 years the annual raises brought her to $14.75 an hour. The stability helped her quit drinking and smoking. The generous benefits also covered her various medications -- for cholesterol, thyroid issues, restless leg syndrome and depression.

She was also good at it, she says. For the first eight years, she worked in a store, and always received positive evaluations. Then she moved into the warehouse where QFC made its sandwiches, salads, dressings and dips. "I worked with a bunch of kids who sometimes struggled to keep up with me -- which I was proud of."

'Walmart-ed'

Then last August, Read was fired, two days before her 58th birthday. Her boss said it was because she'd been late four times that year. "I essentially got Walmart-ed," says Read, referring to the common accusation that Walmart tries to keep its staff part-time, so as to avoid paying them benefits. QFC declined to comment on any element of Read's story, saying the company does not discuss personnel matters with the media.

Stunned, and believing the termination was unfair, Read had the union file a grievance on her behalf, and then another a month later, and then another a month after that. During that time, Read could hardly get out of bed. "I was so depressed, and so shocked. I couldn't even wrap my head around the idea that I had been fired."

More: What Teachers Don't Tell You About Succeeding In The Real World

Read was still hopeful that she could get her job back, but had nothing to live on while she waited. She had no savings, and says she was unable to get unemployment benefits. This can happen when there are inconsistencies between the employer and employee's stories, according to Sheryl Hutchinson, communications director for Washington's Employment Security Department. So Read applied for food stamps, and then sold most of her clothes and shoes on eBay.

Becoming A Human Being Again

Then something shifted. "I woke up one morning, and I thought, 'I never have to go back there again!' " Read chirps. "It was liberating."

In February, Kroger agreed to give Read $100 for each year she had worked. She thinks that the store settled because it was wary of the possibility of an age-discrimination lawsuit. At the same time, Read was able to get her unemployment benefits too.

"If a worker in a very similar circumstance had not had a union and a union contract that allowed her to challenge that, there wouldn't have been any recourse," Tom Geiger, the spokesman for Read's old union UFCW 21, told AOL Jobs.

"I'm a human being again," Read thought when she got the first check, which she handed straight over to her landlord, who had been letting her live in her apartment rent-free for six months.

More: Ready For A Career Switch? Don't Skip These Steps

Once Read got on the unemployment rolls, she had a mandatory meeting at WorkSource, the state's resource center for job seekers. That's where she learned about worker retraining programs. "There were ways that it could be completely funded, even books and a bus pass," Read says. "My ears went, 'What!' "

On April 1, Read will start classes at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash., to become a certified substance abuse counselor. As a former addict who has spent stretches homeless, it felt suddenly like a calling.

"I've always wanted to do that," says Read, who realizes that she'll be starting her new career at the age of 60. "I can look at my experience, and say, 'This is what I thought about when I wanted a cigarette, or a drink, or to do a line. I know these things for real."

Toilet Paper Thief

But without any income, it's still a hard to get by each day. Read receives $291 a week in unemployment benefits, and three weeks of every month that check goes straight to rent. The final week goes toward utilities, Internet, cat food, and a bus pass. Then she has $16 a week in food stamps.

"You don't think about toilet paper, until you have no money," says Read, who admits that she began pilfering toilet rolls from the Safeway bathroom. "I became a thief, I did! And I felt so bad about it I wanted to confess."

More: Workers Over 50 Are The New 'Unemployables'

But overall, her unemployment has given her a new perspective on how she'll spend the final decades of her life. She's been taking more pictures, one of her greatest passions. And selling her belongings and cutting down on shopping, she says, "became a positive thing. ... I realized I had too much stuff."

And while she's excited about her new career, Read's more cynical about the state of her finances. When asked how long she'll keep working, she replies, like 28 percent of Americans, "until I die."

Now feeling back on a positive track, Read has some advice for the millions of other Americans who have been laid off:

1. Go to your state, and throw yourself on their mercy. Read urges people who lack savings to take advantage of all the benefits the state has to offer. "Get food stamps, that's a dignity," she says. "Get Medicaid, that's a dignity."

2. Don't listen to politicians. Read's frustrated by politicians who imply that the people using those services are freeloading in some way. "I paid into it for 30 years, and I had to use it," she says about the safety net. "I don't appreciate politicians, rich people, telling me it shouldn't be an entitlement. I paid for it. I paid for it out of the meager salary I earned all these years, compared to theirs'."

3. It's not about you. "No one has job security whether you think so or not," she continues. "A downturn in the economy can destroy your life. Anyone who is smug and arrogant enough to lump everyone together who's unemployed in the same category as lazy, shiftless -- they need to watch their backs. ... It can happen to anybody."

4. See a therapist. "With Medicaid, get a therapist. ... You slave away at a company for all those years, and they throw you out like you're worthless. It messes with your head," she explains. "Most people think they can do it, particularly women my age. They think they can do it on their own. And some can do. But it's better to have a couple therapy sessions than three months in bed."

5. Go out. Half of unemployed workers have avoided social situations with friends and acquaintances, according to a survey by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. Forty-four percent said they'd lost contact with close friends. "When this happens to you, especially at this age, don't hide. Get help," advises Read. "So many people hide away, and slip into these deep, deep depressions, whether they've had it all their lives or not."

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Vote-buying, political polarisation, credibility critical ... - Minivan News

The 2013 presidential elections are set to unfold ?against a context of uncertainty, crises?of political legitimacy and unprecedented levels of political polarisation,? Transparency Maldives has stated, in an extensive pre-election assessment published on Thursday.

?The latter is characterised by mistrust, categorical negative framing of one another and by the lack of self-accountability of institutions, politicians and their parties for their role in the existing political crises. The electoral background is therefore discouraging,? Transparency noted.

The detailed report identifies key challenges in the lead up to the election, such as the candidacy of former President Mohamed Nasheed, lack of monitoring of campaign financing, an extensive and entrenched culture of vote buying, and a media establishment set on fueling personality politics and further polarisation.

?The upcoming Presidential Elections are currently headed to unfold against this political context of crisis of legitimation, uncertainty of democratic transition, existing polarisations and other challenges that have been aggravated by the controversial transfer of power on 7 February 2012,? Transparency states.

?Bitter zero-sum game?

Political polarisation in the Maldives has grown in the wake of the failed all-party talks and events of February 7, leading to bitter mistrust between political factions and the pervading sense among parties that the loss of the upcoming elections ?could amount to losing everything?.

?Political polarisation is characterised by mutual mistrust and radical negative categorisation of?people, politicians, political parties and, sometimes, entire institutions,? Transparency notes.

?It?s characterised by the lack of self-reflective criticism, by the failures to hold one?s own self and party to account, and the inability to listen to and compromise for the callings of the other side. It?s also characterised by an apparent struggle for political power as a bitter zero-sum game.?

As a result of this polarisation, the limited space for public debate on urgently-required public policies and programs continue to be ?colonised by demagogic appeals to religio-nationalist sentiments, empty motifs, and outlandish electoral promises never intended to be delivered,? Transparency stated.

?Similarly, as the polarisation is symbolised by political personalities, political debate is likely to center on personalities as opposed to issue-based discourse.?

Particular challenges around polarisation include a ?lack of cooperation and dialogue among major political parties, opening up space for intolerance and violence?, ?a possibility of contestation of elections results, especially if the victory is through a narrow margin?, and the risk that even if the election results are respected, ?a significant segment of the polity might reject the incoming president as the representative for all the people in the true democratic spirit required in defeat.?

Transparency called for restraint among parties, appealed for policy debates, and extensive and long term observation on behalf of the international community.

Nasheed?s candidacy

Transparency stated that most of the people and institutions interviewed for the report, ?irrespective of their political affiliations?, saw the potential disqualification of Nasheed from the presidential race through the ongoing court proceedings as ?a major challenge? for the elections.

?None of the major political actors Transparency Maldives met was eager for disqualification of?President Nasheed, although some qualified their position saying that rule of law must apply equally for all and he must face justice.

?A few major stakeholders believed it was politically motivated. A politician of a major political party saw any election victory for them without President Nasheed as a rival candidate as just a ?hollow victory?.?

Should Nasheed be prevented from contesting on behalf of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Transparency predicted political violence in the run up to the elections marring the electoral environment, boycott of the elections by the MDP, outright rejection of elections results and the incoming president by the MDP, and widespread disruptions to the elections themselves: ?Transparency Maldives heard suggestions it would be altogether impossible to hold elections in some parts of the country.?

In light of controversy surrounding the judicial legitimacy of the proceedings against Nasheed, Transparency backed international calls for an inclusive election.

?As an elections-observing NGO, Transparency Maldives is of the view that if any potential presidential candidate is prevented from the Presidential Elections through a controversial process, the credibility and democratic representativeness of the elections will be called into question.

?Several international bodies, including most recently the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, have criticised the state of the judiciary. There are deep disagreements as to the legitimacy of the Hulhumale? Magistrate Court and the special bench of judges appointed to oversee President Nasheed?s trial. Some of the members of the Judicial Service Commission have openly questioned the legality of appointing a special bench. All these reasons give room to doubt the judicial processes,? Transparency stated.

?Crucially, even if elections can be held [without Nasheed], the incoming president will face immense legitimacy challenges, as is the case with the current government. Democracy consolidation is impossible under a context where legitimacy [of the government] is contested by a substantial segment of the population. Thus, key to successfully addressing the ongoing legitimation crisis is holding elections in which candidates of all major political parties are free to contest,? Transparency added, calling for the government, the elections commission, prosecutor general, judicial services commission, judiciary and human rights commission to ensure no presidential candidate is prevented from contesting.

Buy-election fears

Transparency identified vote buying as key issue in the lead up to the election.

?The issues of vote buying and influencing voters through patronage seem to have had a long history in the country,? the report notes.

Transparency enlisted focus groups to study the issue on Fuvahmulah, Kaashidhoo, and Hulhudhuffaar to try and identify why the practice was so accepted.

?A crisis of confidence in candidates? sincerity to deliver on their electoral promises could?be one of the main reasons why many people take offers. Almost all the participants in the?discussions thought the candidates would not bother about them or their community post-elections, or after winning the elections. ?They would not even answer their phones? was a?common retort,? Transparency noted.

?There are particularly vulnerable groups of people who are targets of vote buying. Youth groups?who are victims of drug addiction, for example, could be offered drugs, money to buy drugs, or?drugs at discounted rates, in exchange of their votes. Similarly, the less disadvantaged people,?people in need of medical treatment, or the more elderly, seem to be particularly vulnerable?to vote buying.

A weak elections complaints system and loopholes in the electoral legal framework ?mean?there is no effective deterrence against vote buying. Criminalisation of taking bribery in?exchange of votes in the Penal Code also hinders reporting.?

?Finally, civil society or the EC has so far failed to even successfully thematise and problematise?vote buying in the public sphere, and therefore there is a need for greater awareness on the?issue among the people.?

Transparency studied the Kaashidhoo by-election, during which ?vote buying reached new highs?.

?We were told by campaign agents involved in the respective campaigns that the two main candidates spent more than MVR7 million (US$454,000) an amount double the total spending limit under the law for Kaashidhoo constituency of 2231 voters.?

?In contrast, the much less populated Hulhudhufaar, vote buying took place more sparingly and?discreetly. In Fuvahmulah, we were told, one candidate did not even have to campaign, but visited the island a week or so before the election and just distributed cash to his constituency.?

At the same time, most participants of the focus groups ? particularly women ? said that people did not necessarily vote for the candidates from whom they took money.

?There are two possible reasons why people might not vote for the candidates even if they receive offers from them: there is a general confidence in the secrecy of vote since 2008 Presidential Elections, and there is little or no fear of post-election reprisals from candidates,? Transparency stated.

?Some of the few people, who thought people vote as they take offers, ironically cited religious reasons in keeping a promise. However, some participants reported that candidates/agents influence people to show proof of their vote. Thus, some smuggle mobile phones with cameras into voting booths to take photos of their voted ballot papers or some even showed their ballot papers to representatives of candidates at the polling stations.?

Transparency suggested decriminalisation of acceptance of offers to increase people?s willingness to come forward and report the practice, while calling on the elections commission and other authorities to create an interagency task force to tackle the problem and prosecute those making offers. It also called for greater voter education, particularly surrounding vote buying and the practice of assisted voting.

Elections commission

The Transparency report details some concerns about the capacity of the elections commission, in particular the relationship between the commission members and the technical staff.

At the same time, ?No major political party or key stakeholder questioned the independence or impartiality of the EC as an institution. No such allegation was also made against any Commission members with regard to any election.?

?A few interlocutors, however, questioned the impartiality of some of the members of the EC?and some staff, and cited instances. Several interlocutors also expressed concern there existed such allegations, especially made by the staff, against some members.?

?There could be challenges to the EC to act impartially and independently in a highly polarised?political environment, as members are likely subjected to external pressures. This could be aggravated by the fact that a simple majority of those present and voting in a parliamentary sitting could remove a member of the EC. While some interlocutors believed there was a possibility of removal of some members in the run up to the elections, the fact that no political party has a majority in the People?s Majlis means that removal requires cross-party cooperation, which might not be forthcoming.?

Given the charged nature of the election, training and recruitment of non-partisan polling staff was emerging as a challenge, Transparency noted.

?Another common concern by several of the interlocutors we met was that some polling workers acted in partisan manner. Transparency Maldives? own observation, however, found polling workers were largely unbiased in the last Local Council, Parliamentary and the Presidential Elections.

?Nonetheless, with the current levels of political polarisation and shortcomings of the legal framework that allows politicisation of civil servants, the EC will find it extremely challenging to recruit nonpartisan polling staff for the upcoming elections,? Transparency stated.

Despite the many challenges outlined in the report, Transparency noted that the success and credibility of past elections ? including by-elections held subsequent to the events of February 7, 2012 ? gave cause for hope.

?Maldivians have in the past shown they do respect the outcomes of free, fair and inclusive?elections. The upcoming elections therefore give hope. Yet to convert hope into reality requires?realisation of the tri-values of freedom, fairness, and inclusiveness for the upcoming elections.

?Assuring freedom for the upcoming elections requires sustaining an electoral environment for voters to freely choose a president without fear, intimidation, and undue influence, but through the opportunities to fully exercise freedom of expression, association and assembly.

?Fairness at a minimum requires a level playing field. Thus, the existing culture of misuse of public resources by the incumbency to their electoral advantage must stop.

?Inclusiveness requires ensuring an electoral context for all to participate in elections, and ensuring that no potential presidential candidate is prevented from contesting the Presidential Elections through any questionable processes.?

Read the 2013 pre-elections assessment

Source: http://minivannews.com/politics/vote-buying-political-polarisation-credibility-critical-challenges-for-2013-elections-transparency-maldives-report-55352

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Police ID severed head found on golf course in 1989

A severed head found on a golf course 24 years ago has been identified using DNA evidence and may be linked to a serial killer, New Jersey police said today.

The head of 25-year-old Heidi Balch, who worked as a prostitute around Manhattan in 1988, was found on a Hopewell Township, N.J., golf course, in 1989, but was only identified this month after collaboration between the New Jersey State Police and the Hopewell Township Police Department.

"It was shocking," said Hopewell Township Police Chief George Meyer, who was one of the detectives called to the scene after the head was found near the seventh hole.

"Periodically, over the years, detectives would pick up the case and make efforts at identifying her," he said. "I kind of thought, 'No, she is never going to be identified.'"

A break came when detectives realized the dumped head matched a story from serial killer Joel Rifkin, who claimed to have dismembered and dumped a victim named Susie around New Jersey, State Police Det. Sgt. Stephen Urbanski told ABCNews.com. Rifkin was never convicted for the alleged crime, but is serving 200 years in prison for other murders.

Detectives decided to chase the story.

"The team obtained the names of all the prostitutes that were registered around the same time [from the NYPD]," Urbanski said.

They then compared the photos to the composite of the severed head. A woman named Susan Spencer seemed to be a match.

After chasing aliases and false Social Security numbers attached to the woman, a face on a missing persons website jumped out at Urbanski.

It was Heidi Balch.

The problem was, Balch wasn't reported missing by her aunt until 2001 and, when making the report, she told police her niece was last seen in 1995.

Still, the team decided to pursue the lead and paid the aunt a visit. Not only did they learn that the sighting in 1995 was secondhand information, but Balch's parents were alive and living in Baltimore.

"After interviewing [the aunt], we went down to Baltimore and grabbed the mom's DNA," Urbanski said.

The DNA was a match to the skull, closing the 24-year-old cold case.

"Looking at the horrific case, and after a lot of people worked on it, it was amazing it came to this," Urbanski said. "It was a matter of finding those clues."

Heidi Balch Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-identified-severed-head-24-121106617.html

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SoundHound now scavenging tunes in more tablet-friendly Android version

If you've ever had an earworm you just can't put a name to, the SoundHound music recognition app -- that even translates your humming -- can be just the sorcery you need. There's now an Android version with a more tablet-centric design and tighter Google integration that brings "streamlined sharing to Facebook, Twitter and more," according to the company. It also trumpeted a stronger relationship with digital music service Rdio, which added interactive music mapping to its SoundHounded track-linking abilities, letting you see others across the globe with the same musical tastes and bad memory. You can grab it at Google Play or Amazon's Appstore for Kindle, but if you're as tone deaf as some of us, don't forget the auto-tune.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4bnWH33yPpI/

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Order & Chaos Duels tops iPhone Games of the Week

This week our top game is a deep collecting card battle game called Order & Chaos Duels ? Trading Card Game. In it, players collect cards and battle their friends in live multiplayer engagements. But if that sounds a little too time consuming, we?ve got plenty of other fun games to check out. From cartoon racing games to speed solitaire to an Indiana Jones parody and a pug adventure game, there?s a lot to like in this week?s top games. Have a look!

Fans of collectible card games should take a close look at Gameloft's Order & Chaos Duels ? Trading Card Game. It?s a classic battle of good and evil come to life in a collectible card game. Players create a hero and collect over 250 cards that they can use in live multiplayer battles against other human beings. Order & Chaos Duels also offers up longer quests and adventures for players looking for more than just one-on-one battles. Note that Order & Chaos Duels is free to play but there are in-app purchases for special abilities that enhance gameplay and assist players along the way.

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Also on Appolicious

The Indianapolis 500 is one of the world?s oldest auto races. You can learn more about the cars and the people who race them thanks to this Guest Post from Zinio.

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Cell-shaded racing games aren?t exactly new but Nitro, developed by Z2, might be the best looking app in the bunch. Aside from its sleek 3-D cartoon visuals, Nitro also boasts real-time multiplayer for up to six racers. For those who prefer their racing in a solitary environment, Nitro also offers players the chance to race against AI baddies called ?The Rivals.? Nitro also features time trials, so you can practice as well as customize cars by upgrading body kits, superchargers, exhausts and spoilers.

If you like your solitaire with a little more urgency and frenzy, Solitaire Blitz from PopCap is the game for you. Solitaire Blitz demands players clear their decks in under 60 seconds. It doesn?t get much more urgent than that! Luckily Solitaire Blitz offers some fun incentives for playing along including different characters for each deck, various awards for in-game achievements, and treasures like rare trinkets and coins to purchase boosts to make Solitaire Blitz even faster. This isn?t your grandma?s solitaire at all, that?s for sure.

In Indiana Stone, you are the boulder. No longer must you run from certain death, instead enjoy the opportunity to be the certain death. Players roll along through locations in Egypt, China and Indiana as they try to crush the Indiana Jones look-alike so eager to escape. The visuals are a retro treat, like playing a game designed with very ugly Lego blocks! Whether you?re playing story mode, a quick roll game, or the endless mode, TwinSky Games's Indiana Stone certainly brings something new to the app game arena.

Downloading Tic Toc's Pug Run seems like a no-brainer, if only to have that adorable app icon on your iPhone homescreen. But the game is pretty interesting, too. Players play as a pencil sketch of a pug named Bogart as he tries to connect with his owner and come to life. The player has to collect pencils and coins to purchase treats for Bogart that will keep him alive and running towards his owner, the young boy who drew him. With a unique art style and fun gameplay, Pug Run is great for gamers of all ages.

Source: http://www.appolicious.com/games/articles/13344-order-chaos-duels-tops-iphone-games-of-the-week

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Sony KDL-32R400A

The Sony 32R400A is an LED-backlit 720p set that doesn't try to be anything other than a simple 32-inch HDTV. It doesn't have Web apps, it doesn't have 3D, and it doesn't have any other functions that make it useable without plugging in a cable, antenna, or Blu-ray player. Still, this $399.99 (direct) HDTV is worth considering if you're looking for a smaller screen for a guest bedroom, office, or kitchen, and are on a strict budget. Even so, you won't get as good picture quality as with our Editors' Choice budget set, the 42-inch RCA LED42C45RQ.?

Design
Very plain looking, visually, the 32R400A is little more than a 32-inch monitor with HDMI ports. Its bezel is flat and black, only punctuated by a Sony logo and a power light. Its 3-inch-thick frame is a bit chunky compared with larger budget HDTVs like the Westinghouse UW40T2BW, despite its LED backlighting. It sits on a rectangular plastic base that keeps the screen relatively low and very stable, but doesn't allow any pivoting adjustment.

A few basic control buttons are tucked behind the right edge of the screen, while an MHL-equipped HDMI port and a USB port sit opposite behind the left side of the screen. An additional HDMI port, along with component and composite hybrid video inputs, a 3.5mm audio output, a digital audio output, and a coaxial connector for cable or antenna can be found on the back of the screen. They're slightly awkwardly placed if you want to mount the set on a wall.

The 6.2-inch remote is small, flat, and simple. The buttons aren't backlit, and are clustered together fairly closely, so entering numbers blindly takes some practice. On the other hand, the direction pad and Volume and Channel buttons are large and distinct enough to find easily with your thumb.

Performance
We evaluate HDTVs using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter, DisplayMate test patterns, and SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 diagnostic software. According to our tests, the 32R400A produces a respectable picture, albeit one that doesn't excel at brightness, black level, or color. After basic calibration with power saving features disabled, the 32R400A produced a peak brightness of 192.83 cd/m² and a black level of 0.1 cd/m² for an underwhelming contrast ratio of 1,923:1. As far as color accuracy, greens lean more towards blue than they should, and reds appear darker than ideal, as the CIE color comparison chart below shows. (The boxes represent the ideal values for the colors, while the dots indicate the measured values.) To compare, the $360, 40-inch TCL LE40FHDE3000 boasts a higher contrast ratio and black level of 4,821:1 and 0.06 cd/m² respectively, and the Toshiba 32L2200U puts out a peak brightness of 303.81 cd/m², but has a black level of 0.14 cd/m². Color skewing is worse on the TCL set, however.

This is only a 720p screen, so you're not getting full 1080p HD resolution, but for its small size that's not a major flaw. Washed out shadow and highlight details and muddled greens are the biggest problems from which the 32R400A suffers. Black Swan on Blu-ray looked a bit faded and cloudy, with the deep and textured darks not showing clearly on the screen. In Piranha on Blu-ray, the very sunny party scenes looked blown out, and the greens of plants and blue-green of the water looked undersaturated. Nothing is skewed horribly to the point of yellow or green skin, but they colors don't have any sense of "pop," and the mediocre contrast ratio makes both shadows and highlights feel flat. Viewing angles are excellent, though, with the picture becoming only slightly pale when viewed from the far sides, matching Sony's claim of an 178-degree range.

As a 32-inch LED-backlit screen, the 32R400A is a modest energy user. It consumes 38 watts under normal use with power saving features turned off, and 33 watts with power saving set to low. Higher power saving features made the screen too dark to watch comfortably. The same-size Toshiba 32L2200U hits the middle ground between the two settings by consuming 35 watts, and the larger TCL 40-inch LE40FHDE3000 uses 50 watts.

The Sony 32R400A is a capable low-priced set that comes with the same flaws you get with many other budget TVs: a lack of features and middling picture quality. The colors, despite looking undersaturated, are relatively accurate compared with some other budget models. However, you can get an overall better (and larger) picture for less with the $360 40-inch TCL LE40FHDE3000. And the 42-inch RCA LED42C45RQ serves up superior picture quality for the price, so it's our Editors' Choice for under-$500 HDTVs.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/nveAsRg1qCE/0,2817,2417048,00.asp

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Meet Some of the Lucky People Who Suddenly Owe Google $1500

We already knew about the lucky six who will officially have the honor of paying Google $1,500 in exchange for Glass and the adventures and (highly likely) ridicule that will soon follow. But now @projectglass is announcing the rest of the lucky winners by replying individually to their #ifihadglass tweets. Here are some of them in all their glory. There will be 8,000 in total. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/O5znVxKm5RY/meet-the-people-who-suddenly-owe-google-1500

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The best news for BlackBerry: Its success may not hinge on the American market

By Simon Evans MEXICO CITY, March 27 (Reuters) - United States central defenders Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler went into Tuesday's game against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium with just two World Cup qualifying starts between them, but looked like they had been alongside each other for years in a spirited 0-0 draw. Gonzalez, making his third start in a qualifier and Besler making his first, held Mexico at bay in front of more than 95,000 fans as the U.S earned just their second point ever at the home of their arch-rivals. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/best-news-blackberry-success-may-not-hinge-american-190915145.html

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Bradford issues a report on child protection in Muslim religious

An attempt is being made in Bradford to safeguard the estimated 9,000 children who attend Muslim religious schools in the city. But the NSS says it is not enough and that a legal framework is urgently needed to control the network of madrassas.

Bradford Council for Mosques, Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, NSPCC, and West Yorkshire Police worked together over the last 12 months to produce Children Do Matter. The study looks at issues including child protection, staff recruitment, bad practice and child abuse.

The usual spin is put on the value of madrassas, the so-called "schools" that indoctrinate children in Islamic teachings (for instance, Kath Tunstall, Strategic Director of Children's Services in Bradford, writes: "Masajid and Madaaris play a significant role in promoting the spiritual and social development of children, enhancing their self-esteem and positive identity.").

But there is no escaping the fact that these institutions are unregulated, secretive and often provide cover for child abuse.

There have been several cases over the last few years that have reached the courts of children being beaten and sexually abused in madrassas and as alarm begins to grow about what is going on behind the closed doors of these places, the Muslim community is gradually coming to realise that it cannot simply disregard the law in relation to the treatment of children.

The report admits that madrassas vary in quality and care ("There is no uniformity or consistency", it says). Some are run in multi-million pound complexes, others in private homes. The teachers are mostly unqualified volunteers. Some give a good quality religious education, others simply force the children to learn the Koran by rote, often using physical punishment to reinforce the indoctrination.

None have any outside regulation.

The report admits: "There is an apparent level of secrecy surrounding the running of Masajid and Madaaris due to negative representations of Muslims and Islam in the media. This is not to suggest that there is anything wrong or sinister about them but this level of 'closeness' does give rise to suspicion and hinders wider community engagement."

It also admits that employment procedures and health and safety considerations are sometimes "minimal": some of these places "tend to be satisfied by a minimalist approach to ensuring proper policies, procedures and practice are in place."

The report also says:

While in some of the larger Madaaris English has become the principle medium of education alongside one of the community languages, such s Arabic, in many other Madaaris teaching is delivered in one of the community languages often by teachers with little or no command of English.

This poses considerable difficulty for children who access mainstream education in English and with very basic or no command of their mother tongue or that of the teacher.

Teachers who have no or very little command of English also tend to have least understanding of safeguarding issues, legal requirements or of the responsibilities that impact on their role. They also tend to practice the traditional methods of teaching/ discipline.

More than often, Faith teachers in Madaaris are employed for their knowledge of the faith and not for their teaching skills.

By and large, there is little provision for teachers to learn and upgrade their teaching, behaviour and class management skills. This is partly due to lack of understanding of the need for such training partly due to lack of knowledge of resources available.

Mohammed Rafiq Sehgal, the senior vice-president of Council For Mosques Bradford and the chairman of its safeguarding working group, said: "The report is an uncompromising and honest account. I hope that messages and suggestion contained in the report will be taken seriously and acted upon by those concerned."

The study was started in 2011, after religious teacher Sabir Hussain, 60, was sentenced to ten weeks in prison for assaulting pupils at the Markazi Jamia Mosque in Lawkholme, Keighley.

The key conclusions of the report include:

• Religious schools must stipulate the need for Criminal Records Bureau checks.
• There should be a register of all teachers and others at the schools.
• Parents should be more involved.
• Learning should be structured.
• Women should have greater involvement in the schools.
• There should be openness to counter prejudiced ideas of secrecy within the schools.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: "Reports like this are all very well and I'm sure full of good intentions, but the Muslim community cannot be permitted to go its own way and remain unregulated in areas where others are forced to act within the law. It is not good enough that these 'schools' are allowed to be so secretive and that there is no legal framework in which they must operate. Children are entitled to better than that. It is their safety and their welfare that must come first, not the desire of community leaders to simply indoctrinate them."

Source: http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/03/bradford-issues-a-report-on-child-protection-in-muslim-religious-schools

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Understanding Reseller Web Hosting | eWealthToday

Reseller web hosting is a type of website hosting in which an account owner can use the allotted bandwidth and hard drive space they lease to host web pages for a third party. This type of hosting can contribute greatly to a website?s success. For more information that can help you truly understand reseller web hosting, read below.

The Basics of Reseller Web Hosting

The person handling this type of web hosting is called a reseller. The basic concept behind reseller web hosting is that the reseller purchases a host?s services and then sells them to his or her own customers, usually in exchange for a certain fee. Typically, resellers are represented by either companies that own a dedicated server or businesses that have purchased reseller hosting plans for a particular web hosting service. The original service provider takes care of any issues relating to hardware, software, and connectivity, while the reseller is responsible for building a customer base with whom to interact and sell the service. A reseller is able to set up and maintain customer accounts via a web interface, commonly referred to as a ?control panel?.

The Benefits of Reseller Web Hosting

For the reseller, the benefit of using reseller web hosting is more than obvious: this type of web hosting is a relatively easy way to increase an income, without all the effort, time, and money usually associated with opening an online business. It can be the perfect starting point for anyone wanting to make money online. For customers, choosing to use a reseller web hosting provider as opposed to a standard hosting service can be a way to save a couple of bucks, because this type of hosting tends to be cheaper. Reseller web hosting, with the right amount of dedication, can be quite a lucrative business venture because every web page needs hosting, so the potential customer base is virtually infinite.

Is It Hard to Get Into Reseller Web Hosting Business?

Not at all. This type of business venture does not require extensive technological knowledge, so anybody serious about making an income from this can certainly succeed. For anyone interested in becoming a reseller, a few steps must be undertaken. Firstly, a thorough market research is required. Browse through several web hosting providers and compare their offers and fees.

After finding the perfect provider, the next step involves establishing the medium through which you can sell the services, typically a web page. Some web hosting services offer resellers the possibility to create their own pricing structure and business plans. Some even offer discounts for those wishing to get in the reselling business. After picking a provider, the final step requires paying attention to marketing strategies, which can help bring clients in and keep them.

Conclusion

These represent some of the most important things needed to be known in order to understand reseller web hosting. If you are interested in either opening or using this type of service, the info provided in this article should help you get started.

Source: http://www.ewealthtoday.com/online-business/web-hosting/understanding-reseller-web-hosting/

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Bearing up in Glendale: Another bruin takes to the city

Just as the memory of "Meatball," Glendale's favorite bear, may be fading, it appears a new bruin has taken to the city.

And this black bear ? described as 3 to 4 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds ? has a fondness for hummingbird sugar water and a taste for honey. This dietary insight is based on its snacking habits during multiple visits over the course of at least six months to the Chevy Chase Canyon neighborhood.

In some cases, the bear has knocked down hummingbird feeders hanging as high as 8 feet off the ground.

"I was kind of surprised another bear is back," said resident Suzanne Whitman, whose bird feeder was knocked down about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home on Chevy Chase Drive. The bear, she said, visited her home twice last year.

The bear may also be responsible for destroying Herbert Harder's small backyard apiary, which contained seven beehives that he had maintained for 30 years. Harder hasn't replaced the hives and isn't entirely sure he wants to take the risk.

It took only three visits for the bear to decimate Harder's honey crop and population of bees, he said. But the bear's fourth visit was the most devastating, since it tore apart several hives and sent others rolling down a steep hillside.

Harder's hummingbird feeders also found themselves on the bear's menu.

According to residents, the bear visited the Chevy Chase Canyon neighborhood at least seven times last year, including a foray into a trash bin for chicken, rice and baklava.

Other trash runs, door-pawing and sunbathing sightings have prompted police responses, including a helicopter search and the use of air horns and floodlights.

After spending winter in their dens, bears typically leave their hide-outs around spring and begin foraging for food, said Kevin Brennan, a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A bear usually starts feeding on grass, but an urban bear may yearn for something a little tastier ? and fattier.

Human garbage, Brennan said, is higher in protein fat than a bear's natural diet, making the human food irresistible.

"Bears are smart animals and they go back to those sources," Brennan said.

With a very acute sense of smell, bears will go virtually anywhere and put up with almost anything to reach a source of tasty food, he said.

Though state wildlife officials were aware of a bear's past visits to the Chevy Chase Canyon area, they had not received any recent reports, Brennan said. Still, he added, "they are creatures of habit."

Harder said he wants the bear to be trapped and relocated just like Meatball, who was moved earlier this year to an animal sanctuary in San Diego County after twice being relocated deep within Angeles National Forest.

"He is going to stay here until he destroys everything or hurts someone," Harder said.

The gender of the bear has yet to be verified.

But trapping and relocating doesn't work, Brennan said, noting Meatball's persistence.

"The issue is not the bears. The issue is improper storage of garbage," he said.

Whitman, a neighborhood watch block captain, has urged neighbors to cover their trash bins and to keep small children and animals inside at night.

In her 25 years of living in the canyon, she said she has never before had visits from a bear.

"It's a little too much nature," Whitman said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/_Ubre5bxhcg/la-me-bear-back-20130325,0,82661.story

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Union: Hawaii teachers vote on contract in April

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii's teachers union has set an April 17 date to vote on a new contract.

The vote comes after a tentative deal was reached over the weekend between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state.

Union officials said on the association's Facebook page early Monday that before the vote, teachers will be able to review the contract and ask questions at information sessions before the final vote.

The union also posted a link to the 106-page agreement.

The teachers' last contract expired in June 2011.

Teachers voted down a contract offer in January last year, then tried to pressure the state to accepting it later by voting on it again and passing it.

The sides sought the help of a federal mediator this month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/union-hawaii-teachers-vote-contract-193458399.html

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Gunman opens fire with assault rifle outside fast-food restaurant; 1 dead

By Wendy Fry, Lea Sutton and Monica Garske, NBCSanDiego.com

SAN DIEGO -- A man was fatally shot at close range by a semi-automatic assault rifle Saturday evening outside a fast-food restaurant, authorities confirmed.

The shooting happened at around 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 a.m. ET) ?in the parking lot of a Carls' Jr. on Sweetwater Road in National City, Calif. The gunman fled the scene after fatally injuring a male victim.

The victim was shot approximately 10 times from a distance of about 10 to 15 feet, according to Lt. Robert Rounds. When police arrived, the victim was lying on the ground in critical condition.

He was transported to UCSD Medical Center, but died a short time later.

Police immediately began searching the area for the suspect, who fled the parking lot in a white 1970s Ford pickup truck with an orange stripe on it.

Investigators roped off the parking lot in the Sweetwater Town and Country Shopping Center with crime scene tape as they searched the area for bullet casings.

'Boom-boom-boom-boom'
Witnesses Muhammed Camran and Michael Ybarra told NBC 7 San Diego that they were right across the street at the time of the shooting, playing golf at a nearby golf course.

The sudden sounds of gunfire shocked both of them.

?We were over here at the golf course just hitting some balls and we hear a loud ?boom.? The first one was really distinctive like ?boom-boom-boom-boom? and we kind of ducked because it was out of nowhere,? recalled Camran.

More news from NBCSanDiego.com

Meanwhile, witness Trevor Hermann was working at Pet Mart, less than 200 yards from the scene of the deadly shooting.

?I was helping a customer, looking at dog food, and then all of a sudden we heard all of the gunshot. Then I went out and thought it could have been someone's backfire from a truck, but I didn?t think that much, and then I looked further away and there was a guy just lying there,? he explained.

Hermann said he saw the suspect speeding away in an orange and white truck that drove right past his storefront.

?It had a little bit of speed on it and it went away a little quick, and that?s how I knew it was that truck that did the shooting,? he added.

Police say witnesses describe the suspect as a Hispanic male wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt. He was last seen driving east on Sweetwater Road in the distinctive truck.

The shooting victim's name has not yet been released. A report from the county Medical Examiner's office confirms the man was a 43-year-old National City resident.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29f4d624/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C250C174522940Egunman0Eopens0Efire0Ewith0Eassault0Erifle0Eoutside0Efast0Efood0Erestaurant0E10Edead0Dlite/story01.htm

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Yankees' Jeter expected to start season on DL

FILE - In an Oct. 14, 2012 file photo trainer Steve Donohue, left, and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, right, help Yankees' Derek Jeter off the field after he injured himself during Game 1 of the American League championship series in New York. Derek Jeter will likely join Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson on the New York Yankees' star-studded disabled list for the season opener against the Boston Red Sox on April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

FILE - In an Oct. 14, 2012 file photo trainer Steve Donohue, left, and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, right, help Yankees' Derek Jeter off the field after he injured himself during Game 1 of the American League championship series in New York. Derek Jeter will likely join Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson on the New York Yankees' star-studded disabled list for the season opener against the Boston Red Sox on April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Derek Jeter will likely join Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson on the New York Yankees' star-studded disabled list for the season opener against the Boston Red Sox on April 1.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says it's "more likely than not" Jeter will start on the DL because of a sore left ankle, still recovering from surgery last October.

"April 1 is unrealistic in my mind now," Cashman said Sunday. "There's nothing new going on other than growing pains as he gets through these final hurdles of his rehab."

Eduardo Nunez, known for his bat more than his glove, would fill in at shortstop for the 13-time All-Star, who broke the ankle Oct. 13 during the AL championship series opener against Detroit and had surgery a week later.

The 38-year-old, who has repeatedly vowed to be ready for opening day, played in his first big league spring training game on March 9 as a designated hitter. He returned to shortstop four days later, then played consecutive games on March 15 and 16 before inflammation kept him out of the lineup.

He received an anti-inflammatory injection Wednesday and had four at-bats as a DH Saturday in a minor league exhibition game.

"I know Derek extremely well, and I can read his face," Cashman said. "And his face today tells me that the reality of his circumstances is starting to sink in, and the disabled list might be necessary. I told him what I think, and he didn't fight me on it. That's reality."

Jeter is 3 for 11 with a double in five spring training games. New York could put him on the DL backdated to Friday, meaning he could be activated on April 6, when the Yankees are at Detroit.

"It's a goal, it doesn't mean an absolute," Cashman said. "We'll respond to how he's feeling. That's all we can do. At some point this will be behind him."

Cashman wants Jeter to be available to play the field when he's on the active roster.

"We have to get him to be able to play shortstop," Cashman said. "I don't think it's going to get him healthy DHing for us."

Jeter has not been on the DL for opening day since 2001, when he missed the first four games after straining his right quadriceps during a spring training game that March 16. Two years later, he dislocated his left shoulder in the opener during a collision at third base with Toronto catcher Ken Huckaby, who was covering the bag. Jeter was sidelined until May 13.

Seeking their 18th playoff berth in 19 years, the Yankees' batting order figure to be missing almost half its regulars when the season starts.

Rodriguez isn't expected back until after the All-Star break following left hip surgery on Jan. 16. Teixeira hasn't ruled out missing the first two months of the season because of a partially torn tendon sheath in his right wrist, an injury sustained while taking swings off a tee with the U.S. at the World Baseball Classic on March 5. Granderson is expected to be out until the first week of May after breaking his right forearm when he was hit by a pitch from Toronto's J.A. Happ on Feb. 24 in his first spring training at-bat.

In addition, New York allowed Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin and Eric Chavez to depart as free agents.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-24-BBA-Yankees-Jeter/id-c5c42af275e44b5ebd268a7dbbcb8b49

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Nanowire solar cells raise efficiency limit

Monday, March 25, 2013

Scientists from the Nano-Science Center at the Niels Bohr Institut, Denmark and the Ecole Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne, Switzerland, have shown that a single nanowire can concentrate the sunlight up to 15 times of the normal sun light intensity. The results are surprising and the potential for developing a new type of highly efficient solar cells is great.

Due to some unique physical light absorption properties of nanowires, the limit of how much energy we can utilize from the sun's rays is higher than previous believed. These results demonstrate the great potential of development of nanowire-based solar cells, says PhD Peter Krogstrup on the surprising discovery that is described in the journal Nature Photonics.

The research groups have during recent years studied how to develop and improve the quality of the nanowire crystals, which is a cylindrical structure with a diameter of about 10,000 part of a human hair. The nanowires are predicted to have great potential in the development not only of solar cells, but also of future quantum computers and other electronic products.

It turns out that the nanowires naturally concentrate the sun's rays into a very small area in the crystal by up to a factor 15. Because the diameter of a nanowire crystal is smaller than the wavelength of the light coming from the sun it can cause resonances in the intensity of light in and around nanowires. Thus, the resonances can give a concentrated sunlight, where the energy is converted, which can be used to give a higher conversion effeciency of the sun's energy, says Peter Krogstrup, who with this discovery contributes to that the research in solar cell technology based on nanowires get a real boost.

New efficiency limit

The typical efficiency limit - the so-called "Shockley-Queisser Limit" - is a limit, which for many years has been a landmark for solar cells efficiency among researchers, but now it seems that it may be increased.

It's exciting as a researcher to move the theoretical limits, as we know. Although it does not sound like much, that the limit is moved by only a few percent, it will have a major impact on the development of solar cells, exploitation of nanowire solar rays and perhaps the extraction of energy at international level. However, it will take some years years before production of solar cells consisting of nanowires becomes a reality, says Peter Krogstrup who just completed his PhD at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen.

The research is conducted in collaboration with the Laboratory des Mat?riaux Semiconducteurs, Ecole Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne, the Foundation and the company SunFlake A / S. Their scientific findings work support results published in the journal Science in January. Here, a group of researchers from Lund, showed that the sun's rays was sucked into the nanowires due to the high amount of power that their solar cell produced.

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University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute: http://www.nbi.ku.dk/english/press_and_media/

Thanks to University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127427/Nanowire_solar_cells_raise_efficiency_limit

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