subsonic sandpit: July 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

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Senate ready for symbolic showdown on tax cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate is bracing for a tax-cut showdown that is all about Democrats and Republicans showing voters their differences over taxing the well-off while accusing each other of threatening to shove the government over a fiscal cliff.

Senators planned to vote Wednesday on a $250 billion Democratic bill that would extend expiring tax cuts next year for all but the highest earners. Democrats will need 60 votes to advance the proposal, which they do not have.

It seemed unlikely that senators also would vote on a rival GOP plan that includes the best-off Americans in the tax reductions, a measure that was destined to lose.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, was ready to push legislation through his chamber next week that closely mirrors the Senate GOP measure. Republicans there introduced their bill on Tuesday, accompanied by another measure designed to speed work next year on legislation overhauling the entire tax code.

The clash in the Senate underscored how little the partisan tax-cutting duel had to do with actually passing a law this year. If anything, it highlighted how entrenched both parties' views were.

"Democrats will simply never agree we should hand out more tax breaks to the richest 2 percent of Americans while this economy is in the situation it's in now," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, sponsor of the Democratic bill.

"Our friends on the other side are practicing what could best be described as 'Thelma & Louise' economics," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.

"Let's just march the whole country right off the cliff and see how that works out," McConnell said, referring to the movie's memorable climax.

If the two sides don't compromise, a massive $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts for 2013 would be triggered automatically in January ? the so-called fiscal cliff, which analysts say would jar the already weak economy.

Mostly following President Barack Obama's proposal, the Democratic bill would continue Bush-era tax cuts for everyone except individuals making at least $200,000 yearly and couples earning more than $250,000.

Those taxpayers would face top rates of 36 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively, instead of today's 33 percent and 35 percent. That would mean higher taxes for 2.5 million households, or 2 percent of all 140.5 million tax returns, according to 2009 data from the Internal Revenue Service.

Democrats say levies on the wealthy should rise because all income groups should contribute to deficit reduction. Republicans say those tax increases would burden the owners of many companies, leaving them less money to create jobs.

The Democratic bill also would let the top estate tax rate grow to 55 percent next year, with only the first $1 million in an estate's value exempted. That's an uncomfortable move for Democratic senators from farming and high-cost states.

Republicans would renew today's milder 35 percent top rate, exempting the first $5.12 million. Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation says the lower Democratic threshold would affect the owners of 46,700 estates projected to die next year ? a tiny percentage of Americans, but far more than the 3,600 who would be exposed under the GOP's terms.

Democrats would impose top tax rates next year of 20 percent on dividends and capital gains, two sources of income enjoyed disproportionately by the wealthy. The GOP top rate would be 15 percent.

The GOP bill ignores some tax reductions for low- and middle-income families that Democrats want to extend.

These include the American opportunity tax credit, worth up to $2,500 to cover college expenses; language making the earned income tax credit more generous for large working families and some married working couples; and a boost in the tax refunds some families get under the child tax credit.

All were part of Obama's 2009 stimulus bill, which Democrats say were meant to be permanent but Republicans say were only a short-term response to the recession.

Combined, those Democratic provisions would provide tax breaks averaging $1,000 to 25 million families, according to Treasury Department figures distributed by the White House.

Republicans also proposed bigger tax write-offs than Democrats did for small businesses taking deductions for the costs of buying some equipment.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-ready-symbolic-showdown-tax-cuts-063840455--finance.html

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

10 million Galaxy S3 smartphones sold says Samsung

Samsung announced on Sunday that it has sold more than 10 million Galaxy S3 smartphones since it launched on?3 May globally and went on sale in Europe on 29 May.

Over the last 52 days, almost 200,000 smartphones have been sold every day. More than one million of the smartphones have been sold in South Korea alone and the Galaxy S3 is now on sale in more than 140 countries. J.K. Shin, head of Samsung's mobile communications division, told Korea's Yonhap news agency, "It appears that it (accumulated sales) has exceeded 10 million units".

A poll of 41 analysts, conducted by news?agency?Reuters, forecasted that Apple has sold around 31 million iPhone handsets in the second quarter of the year while Samsung would have sold more than 50 million smartphones over the same period.

The Galaxy S3?can be had on contracts for around ?26 per month on T-Mobile and SIM-free for around ?450.

Source: http://feeds.itproportal.com/~r/itproportal/rss/~3/JkIjgSCI-bw/

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Austria church mounts billboard search for priests

-TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN - A tractor passes a poster with the title "The Mission" from the Catholic Church, in Lower Austria near St. Poelten, Austria, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Poster reads : The Mission, those who give all receive even more. Seeking to repopulate its thinning clerical ranks, the Roman Catholic diocese of Austria?s most populous province launched a province-wide billboard campaign Tuesday meant to recruit priests. But nuns are welcome as well. And the posters are also looking for part-time help - laymen and women prepared to dedicated at least part of their life to Catholic religious and social service. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

-TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN - Klaus Kueng diocesan bishop of St. Poelten speakes during a press conference at the start of the release of the poster with the title "The Mission" from the Catholic Church, in Lower Austria in St. Poelten, Austria, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Seeking to repopulate its thinning clerical ranks, the Roman Catholic diocese of Austria?s most populous province launched a province-wide billboard campaign Tuesday meant to recruit priests. But nuns are welcome as well. And the posters are also looking for part-time help - laymen and women prepared to dedicated at least part of their life to Catholic religious and social service. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

-TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN - Klaus Kueng diocesan bishop of St. Poelten speakes during a press conference at the start of the release of the poster with the title "The Mission" from the Catholic Church, in Lower Austria in St. Poelten, Austria, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Poster reads : The Mission, those who give all receive even more. Seeking to repopulate its thinning clerical ranks, the Roman Catholic diocese of Austria?s most populous province launched a province-wide billboard campaign Tuesday meant to recruit priests. But nuns are welcome as well. And the posters are also looking for part-time help - laymen and women prepared to dedicated at least part of their life to Catholic religious and social service. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

-TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHNA car passes a poster with the title "The Mission" from the Catholic Church, in Lower Austria near St. Poelten, Austria, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Poster reads : The Mission, those who give all receive even more. Seeking to repopulate its thinning clerical ranks, the Roman Catholic diocese of Austria?s most populous province launched a province-wide billboard campaign Tuesday meant to recruit priests. But nuns are welcome as well. And the posters are also looking for part-time help - laymen and women prepared to dedicated at least part of their life to Catholic religious and social service.(AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

-TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN -Klaus Kueng diocesan bishop of St. Poelten speakes during a press conference at the start of the release of the poster with the title "The Mission" from the Catholic Church, in Lower Austria in St. Poelten, Austria, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Poster reads : The Mission, those who give all receive even more.. Seeking to repopulate its thinning clerical ranks, the Roman Catholic diocese of Austria?s most populous province launched a province-wide billboard campaign Tuesday meant to recruit priests. But nuns are welcome as well. And the posters are also looking for part-time help - laymen and women prepared to dedicated at least part of their life to Catholic religious and social service. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

VIENNA (AP) ? European men take note. While unemployment is growing in much of the continent, a powerful international organization is now advertising vacancies in Austria for hundreds of white-collar jobs.

Requirements: a sense of religious mission and a commitment to celibacy. Benefits: a possible inside track to Heaven.

Seeking to repopulate its thinning clerical ranks, the Roman Catholic diocese of Austria's largest province launched a province-wide billboard campaign Tuesday meant to recruit priests.

Nuns are welcome as well. And the posters are also looking for part-time help ? laymen and women prepared to dedicate at least part of their life to Catholic religious and social service.

Such mass advertising for priests is rare anywhere ? and the decision of the Lower Austrian diocese to turn to it now reflects fears that the Catholic Church in this country many soon not be able to carry out its mission due to the lack of clergy.

Austria formally remains an overwhelmingly Catholic nation, with more than 64 percent of its people declaring themselves as church members. But many are Catholics in name only.

Like elsewhere in much of Europe, Masses are poorly populated in Vienna and other bigger cities and the number of declared Catholics is shrinking ? in Austria by 13 percent since 1960 ? as former believers fed up with church scandals and a perceived sense of the Vatican's disconnect with the world flee in droves.

At the same time, however, the number of priests has dropped even more sharply ? in Austria by 26 percent. In St. Poelten, Lower Austria's provincial capital, 244 priests are administering to the needs of believers in 423 parishes. Country-wide, the overwhelming majority of priests are over 60, and young replacements are scarce.

Launching the billboard campaign Tuesday, Klaus Kueng, St. Polten's bishop, described the lack of interest in the priesthood as "a huge problem." But Lukas Leitner, whose advertising agency developed the project, was optimistic that his strategy would bear fruit.

Eighty large billboards and 300 smaller electric placards are being mounted in the province of 1.6 million people. One depicts a priest, a deacon and a nun flanked by other church workers. Another shows laymen and women. Larger than life, their gaze is serene, their message simple: "The Mission. Those who give all receive even more." A link takes the curious to a home page that tells them who these people are and why they are committed to the church.

There have been more controversial campaigns. Recruitment billboards graphically depicting Christ's agony in the 1980s in Toronto drew outrage from some, while the Trinitarian Fathers advertised in Playboy and Rolling Stone in the 1970s.

But Leitner says the concept is deliberately low-key, reflecting Catholic clergy and laypeople "as the heroes of everyday life ? which they truly are, with so many different traits and skills."

"From there," he says, "we developed the concept to simply stage people of the church ? priests and laymen ? like in a blockbuster in a movie theater."

Kueng also suggests people will relate to the simplicity of the message, and to the men and women delivering it.

"The placards show real people ... who are joyfully working for the church and are ready to show it by putting their faces to the camera."

___

Associated Press video reporter Philipp Jenne contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-24-Austria-Poster%20Priests/id-c27989a0035f4df2a454753c77cc672e

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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Guys who like My Little Pony gather for 'BronyCon'

My Little Pony cartoon fans, some in Little Pony costumes, listen to a presentation at ?BronyCon? Saturday, June, 30, 2012, in Secaucus, N.J. This weekend's "BronyCon Summer 2012" at the Meadowlands Exposition Center attracted 4,000 men, women, boys and girls, many in colorful wigs and costume. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

My Little Pony cartoon fans, some in Little Pony costumes, crowd isles of vendors at ?BronyCon? Saturday, June, 30, 2012, in Secaucus, N.J. Scores of men in brightly colored costumes were among the 4,000 My Little Pony fans at this weekend?s ?BronyCon? gathering in New Jersey for fans of a My Little Pony cartoon. ?Bronies? are guys who like ?My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Matthew Zadonia carries a stuffed animal from the My Little Pony cartoons as he stands with others at ?BronyCon? Saturday, June, 30, 2012, in Secaucus, N.J. Scores of men in brightly colored costumes were among the 4,000 My Little Pony fans at this weekend?s ?BronyCon? gathering in New Jersey for fans of a My Little Pony cartoon. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Jeannine Riley, of Bethlehem, Pa., is dressed as the "My Little Pony cartoon character Pinkie Pie as she stands with Michele Moser, of Bethlehem, Pa., dressed as Rainbow Dash, while they walk at ?BronyCon? Saturday, June, 30, 2012, in Secaucus, N.J. This weekend's "BronyCon Summer 2012" at the Meadowlands Exposition Center attracted 4,000 men, women, boys and girls, many in colorful wigs and costume. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Josiah Tyrrell, of Syracuse, N.Y., is dressed as the character Flam from the My Little Pony cartoons as he stands with others at ?BronyCon? Saturday, June, 30, 2012, in Secaucus, N.J. Scores of men in brightly colored costumes were among the 4,000 My Little Pony fans at this weekend?s ?BronyCon? gathering in New Jersey for fans of a My Little Pony cartoon. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) ? Dale Fjordbotten is a proud "My Little Pony" fan, with the shiny blue body suit and yellow lightning bolt, blue wings and blue tail to prove it.

Like many "Bronies" ? boys and men who like the cartoon "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"? the 25-year-old college student turned out over the weekend for "BronyCon Summer 2012" at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, which drew 4,000 men, women, boys and girls, many in colorful wigs and costumes.

"I thought about what people would say. 'It's creepy. It's weird. It's a ... show for little girls,'" said Fjordbotten, from Staten Island, N.Y. "It's just a great show ... the story line, the plot, the beautiful animation."

Bronies say they're a misunderstood lot who've gotten a bad rap from the media. They're all about the show, friendship, love and tolerance, and they have no bad intentions, they say.

"I discovered that there's nothing to be ashamed of being a Brony," said 19-year-old James Penna of Mastic in Long Island, N.Y. "People are into what they're into."

Outside the convention center, young men danced and sang along with songs from My Little Pony cartoon that blasted from loud speakers as a video screen on a large truck showed the show's characters. One observer said it almost felt like a Grateful Dead concert.

Inside, vendors sold stuffed ponies, pony accessories, pony signs, pony hats and just about every pony item imaginable. Stars who do the show's voices signed autographs and gave speeches.

Staff appeared to be a little overwhelmed at times. It was just over a year ago when BronyCon attracted about 100 people to some meeting rooms in New York City. Now there are thousands of Bronies across the country.

Hasbro released the first My Little Pony toys in 1983, and they led to television specials, a film and the first TV series from 1986 to 1987.

The brand stuck around through the years. But along came animator Lauren Faust, who was hired by Hasbro and sparked new life to My Little Pony when she created the "Friendship is Magic" series.

Faust had worked on "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" before dreaming up the land of Equestria, where My Little Pony characters like Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie get into all kinds of adventures.

Faust told The Associated Press at BronyCon on Saturday that she never imagined the show would be such a hit with teenage boys and young men. She said her main target was little girls, but she hoped to draw in moms and perhaps some boys with strong characters and compelling story lines.

"We live in a society where saying that something is for girls is the equivalent to saying that something is stupid, or saying that something isn't worthwhile," Faust said.

"I think that's awful and I think that kind of attitude needs to be changed," she said. "And these men are doing it. ... They're proud that they're forward-thinking and modern enough to look past this misogynistic attitude."

Faust said she, like the Bronies, is disturbed at the negative images some people have about men who like the show.

"There are a lot of people who when they first hear about men watching a show for little girls, they're taken to a creepy place," she said. "They think there's something wrong with that, something devious about it. I think that's unfortunate.

"I don't think you have to have bad intentions to like little girls or to like the things that they like," Faust said. "And it's upsetting to me that people jump to those conclusions. I think it's unfair to men and I think it's unfair to girls and women."

To set the record straight about Bronies, Faust, John de Lancie and others are producing a documentary that filmed over the weekend at BronyCon. De Lancie is the voice of Discord on "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and is perhaps best known for playing "Q'' on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Zac North traveled from his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, to be with fellow Bronies in New Jersey this weekend. He dressed as his favorite character, the antagonistic Discord, wearing a hooded and multicolored costume complete with a dragon tail, since Discord is a pony-dragon hybrid.

Why does he like the show?

"It's colorful and innocent, which is something I don't have in my life," the 26-year-old Sam's Club worker said. "I like the community away from the show."

Twenty-year-old My Little Pony fan Gabby Pantaloni of Hershey, Pa., said she was kind of shocked that so many guys like the show, as she stood in a line at BronyCon to get her picture taken with other enthusiasts dressed like her favorite character Rarity.

"After watching the show, I could see why anyone of any age would like it," she said. "I think it just makes us all feel like kids again. Some of us are afraid of growing up. We're all just kids at heart."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-07-01-Whose%20Little%20Pony/id-fed3e66a1e9d440eadd9fd9c4715c296

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Pakistan rejects charge of state role in Mumbai attacks

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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Sue Ansel '82 Promoted to President & CEO at Gables Residential

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DepauwUniversityMediaRelationsNews/~3/IZC9PLQ2o5I/

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Seabirds study shows plastic pollution reaching surprising levels off coast of Pacific Northwest

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2012) ? Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of British Columbia.

The study, published online in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, examined stomach contents of beached northern fulmars on the coasts of British Columbia, Canada, and the states of Washington and Oregon, U.S.A.

"Like the canary in the coal mine, northern fulmars are sentinels of plastic pollution in our oceans," says Stephanie Avery-Gomm, the study's lead author and a graduate student in UBC's Department of Zoology. "Their stomach content provides a 'snapshot' sample of plastic pollution from a large area of the northern Pacific Ocean."

Northern fulmars forage exclusively at sea and retain ingested plastics for a long period of time, making them ideal indicators for marine littering. Analysis of beached fulmars has been used to monitor plastic pollution in the North Sea since the 1980s. The latest findings, when compared to previous similar studies, indicate a substantial increase in plastic pollution over the past four decades.

The research group performed necropsies on 67 beached northern fulmars and found that 92.5 per cent had plastics -- such as twine, Styrofoam and candy wrappers -- in their stomach. An average of 36.8 pieces per bird were found. The average total weight of plastic was 0.385 grams per bird. One bird was found with 454 pieces of plastic in its stomach.

"The average adult northern fulmar weighs five pounds, or 2.25 kilograms," says Avery-Gomm. "While 0.385 grams in a bird may seem inconsequential to us, it's the equivalent of about five per cent of their body mass. It would be like a human carrying 50 grams of plastic in our stomach -- about the weight of 10 quarters."

"Despite the close proximity of the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch,' an area of concentrated plastic pollution in the middle of the North Pacific gyre, plastic pollution has not been considered an issue of concern off our coast," says Avery-Gomm, "But we've found similar amounts and incident rates of plastic in beached northern fulmars here as those in the North Sea. This indicates it is an issue which warrants further study."

The researchers propose annual monitoring of trends in plastic pollution and the effectiveness of marine waste reduction strategies.

"Beached bird surveys are providing important clues about causes and patterns of sea bird mortality from oil spill impacts, fisheries by-catch and now plastic ingestion," says co-author Karen Barry with Bird Studies Canada, a not-for profit organization that helped facilitate the study.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of British Columbia, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Patrick D. O?Hara, Lydia Kleine, Victoria Bowes, Laurie K. Wilson, Karen L. Barry. Northern fulmars as biological monitors of trends of plastic pollution in the eastern North Pacific. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.04.017

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120704124321.htm

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Full Tilt Poker CEO arrested on fraud charges

The chief of Full Tilt Poker surrendered to authorities on Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal gambling and that the online poker operator defrauded its players.

Raymond Bitar,40, had been working at Full Tilt's Dublin, Ireland, headquarters, and until Monday had not returned to the United States since charges against him were first announced in April 2011.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged 11 people at the three biggest online poker companies: Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. The U.S. government also seized their Internet domain names.

At a hearing late on Monday in Manhattan federal court, Bitar pleaded not guilty to nine criminal counts, including illegal gambling, money laundering and wire fraud charges.

Online gambling has been illegal in the United States since 2006, the year Bitar moved Full Tilt's operations to Ireland. Some U.S. lawmakers have talked recently about legalizing Internet gambling and regulating it.

Since unveiling the case, prosecutors have expanded both their civil and criminal charges against Full Tilt. They say it operates as a Ponzi scheme and paid its directors more than $440 million while defrauding players, even after the charges were filed.

Prosecutors say Full Tilt, founded in 2004, has taken in about $1 billion from players in the United States. They estimate that Full Tilt still owes $350 million to customers in the United States.

Accustations denied
Full Tilt and Bitar have denied the Ponzi scheme accusations.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman at Monday's court hearing denied a prosecutor's request to refuse bail for Bitar, and set his release on a $2.5 million bond. He will, however, remain jailed until all the bail conditions are met.

Prosecutor Arlo Devlin-Brown said Bitar's decision to stay in Ireland rather than face U.S. charges showed he was at risk of flight. Devlin-Brown said that Bitar had remained in Ireland to operate Full Tilt's fraud against its players.

"He was running it, I submit, because the company was at this point little more than a Ponzi scheme and he had to be there to prevent it from unraveling," said prosecutor Arlo Devlin-Brown.

Bitar, a U.S. citizen from near Los Angeles, California, said in a statement that he had stayed in Ireland to work on "possible solutions to get the players repaid."

Tiltware, a California-based company, owns all the Full Tilt Poker entities.

Absolute Poker co-owner Brent Beckley pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to break U.S. laws against gambling on the Internet. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for July 23.

The case is USA v. Tzvetkoff et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York No. 10-cr-00336.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48058369/ns/business-us_business/

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China court: Apple pays $60M to settle iPad case

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2012 file photo, a man walks by an advertisement of Apple's iPad 2 in Shanghai, China. Apple has agreed to pay China's Shenzhen Proview Technology $60 million to settle a dispute over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, July 2, 2012, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

BEIJING (AP) ? Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market.

Apple's dispute with Shenzhen Proview Technology highlighted the possible pitfalls for global companies in China's infant trademark system. It also posed a challenge for the communist government, which wants to attract technology investors to develop China's economy.

Apple Inc. says it bought the global rights to the iPad name from Proview in 2009 but Chinese authorities say the rights in China were never transferred. A Chinese court ruled in December that Proview still owned the name in China. Proview, which is struggling financially, asked Chinese authorities to seize iPads in an apparent effort to pressure Apple to settle.

"The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement. "Apple Inc. has transferred $60 million to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter."

China is Apple's second-largest market after the United States and the source of much of the Cupertino, California-based company's sales growth.

Proview hoped for more money but felt pressure to settle because it needs to pay debts, said a lawyer for the company, Xie Xianghui. He said Proview sought as much as $400 million and might still be declared bankrupt in a separate legal proceeding despite the infusion of settlement money.

"This is a result that is acceptable to both sides," Xie said.

The dispute centered on whether Apple acquired the iPad name in China when it bought rights in various countries from a Proview affiliate in Taiwan for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000). The December court ruling said Proview, which registered the iPad trademark in China in 2001, was not bound by that sale, even though it was part of the same company.

The settlement should be good news for both Apple and its customers because it clears a potential obstacle for the company to start selling the new iPad 3 in China, said You Yunting, a lawyer for the DeBund Law Office in Shanghai.

"It is a good deal for Apple, because sales of iPads, which are in great demand, can compensate for this $60 million cost," You said.

Apple has yet to announce a China release date for the iPad 3 but the country's telecommunications equipment certification agency approved the tablet in May.

The case gave Chinese authorities a chance to show that their courts could impartially resolve intellectual property disputes but also raised the possibility that technology investors might be put off by a negative outcome for Apple. Chinese regulators said Proview clearly owned the mainland name rights under Chinese rules.

Without a formal ruling, it will be hard for companies to draw lessons about how Chinese courts will handle such disputes in the future, said Stan Abrams, an American lawyer who teaches intellectual property law at Beijing's Central University of Finance and Economics.

"It's such an atypical case," he said. "Certainly, the details and specifics of this kind of commercial dispute aren't going to give us any long-term lessons."

The outcome reflects Chinese courts' preference for encouraging adversaries in commercial disputes to settle instead of pushing for a ruling, Abrams said. He said the relatively small size of the settlement by Apple's standards suggested Proview gave in, possibly under pressure from either its creditors or the court.

All of Apple's iPads are made in China by Foxconn Technologies Group, which employs more than 1 million people in sprawling factories. Brazil's government says Taiwan-based Foxconn plans to open factories there to produce iPads and other products.

Shenzhen Proview Technology is a subsidiary of LCD screen maker Proview International Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong court ruled in July that Proview and the Taiwan company both were "clearly under the control" of the same Taiwanese businessman, Yang Long-san, and had refused to take steps required to transfer the name under the agreement. The judge said the companies acted together "with the common intention of injuring Apple."

However, that judgment had no automatic force in the mainland case because Hong Kong, while Chinese territory, has a separate legal system.

Apple also ran into a trademark dispute before it launched the iPhone in 2007.

Cisco Systems Inc., the maker of networking hardware, had owned the trademark since 2000 and used it for a line of Internet-connected desk phones. After Cisco sued, the companies reached an undisclosed settlement and the phone launch went off as planned.

The dispute came amid complaints Beijing is failing to stamp out rampant unlicensed Chinese copying of goods ranging from music and Hollywood movies to designer clothing and pharmaceuticals.

But unlike "trademark squatters" who register names of products already sold abroad and then demand foreign companies pay for the Chinese rights, Proview registered the iPad name long before Apple planned its tablet computer.

"The only thing companies really should take form this case is, be careful when you do transactions, be careful with your contracts," Abrams said. "Be careful you're doing it the right way or you could pay a lot for your mistakes."

___

AP researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-02-China-Apple-iPad%20Dispute/id-8a61fb3af248488fbf7e02dc34584f54

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Measuring the uncertainties of pandemic influenza

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail |

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Contact: Jeanne M. Fair
jmfair@lanl.gov
Inderscience Publishers

A major collaboration between US research centers has highlighted three factors that could ultimately determine whether an outbreak of influenza becomes a serious epidemic that threatens national health. The research suggests that the numbers in current response plans could be out by a factor of two or more depending on the characteristics of the particular pandemic influenza.

Researchers from Argonne, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, have used sensitivity analysis to uncover the most important disease characteristics pertaining to the spread of infection with an influenza virus. These are: the fraction of the transmission that occurs prior to symptoms, the reproductive number, and the length of each disease stage. Their use of data from past pandemics as well as information on potential viral evolution demonstrates that current response planning may underestimate the pandemic consequences significantly.

"It has become critical to assess the potential range of consequences of a pandemic influenza outbreak given the uncertainty about its disease characteristics while investigating risks and mitigation strategies of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and social distancing measures," explains Jeanne Fair of Los Alamos National Laboratory and her colleagues. The team has used a simulation model and rigorous experimental design with sensitivity analysis to show the extremes of consequences of a potential pandemic outbreak in the USA. The simulation incorporates uncertainty in the evolution and characteristics of the pathogen and differences in the epidemic response, and uncertainties in the sociological response to a pandemic.

Although we are yet to face an H5N1 avian influenza epidemic, the team suggests that they have nevertheless been able to develop a worst-case scenario for all possibilities considering mortality rates and infectiousness based on current knowledge and historical patterns dating back to the 1917-1918 global pandemic. They suggest that a future worst-case influenza pandemic might be up to four times as lethal as the pandemic that occurred towards the end of the Great War. Moreover, their simulation suggests that the use of antiviral drugs may not be as effective as healthcare authorities would hope. On a positive note, they have found that social distancing could be the most effective way to contain the spread of infection, usefully reducing symptoms by an average of 16% although it will cost 50% more than antiviral use through lost working days and commerce.

"Do we prepare for the worst-case scenario when preparing for a pandemic?" asks Fair. "While the worst-case scenario is indeed the worst, it may not be as likely. As far as mortality rates, the 1918 was the worst but really still was only around 2% which is could be considered low." While, the next pandemic could be worse than that of 1917-1918, the worst case scenario may not be as likely, the team concludes. Their study supports earlier findings that no single, pure strategy is best and that a mix of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions will be needed to contain the disease and reduce the total number of deaths. It would be prudent to incorporate these findings in planning for the next pandemic, the team asserts.

###

"Measuring the uncertainties of pandemic influenza" in Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, 2012, 16, 1-27

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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.

Measuring the uncertainties of pandemic influenza Public release date: 2-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jeanne M. Fair
jmfair@lanl.gov
Inderscience Publishers

A major collaboration between US research centers has highlighted three factors that could ultimately determine whether an outbreak of influenza becomes a serious epidemic that threatens national health. The research suggests that the numbers in current response plans could be out by a factor of two or more depending on the characteristics of the particular pandemic influenza.

Researchers from Argonne, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, have used sensitivity analysis to uncover the most important disease characteristics pertaining to the spread of infection with an influenza virus. These are: the fraction of the transmission that occurs prior to symptoms, the reproductive number, and the length of each disease stage. Their use of data from past pandemics as well as information on potential viral evolution demonstrates that current response planning may underestimate the pandemic consequences significantly.

"It has become critical to assess the potential range of consequences of a pandemic influenza outbreak given the uncertainty about its disease characteristics while investigating risks and mitigation strategies of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and social distancing measures," explains Jeanne Fair of Los Alamos National Laboratory and her colleagues. The team has used a simulation model and rigorous experimental design with sensitivity analysis to show the extremes of consequences of a potential pandemic outbreak in the USA. The simulation incorporates uncertainty in the evolution and characteristics of the pathogen and differences in the epidemic response, and uncertainties in the sociological response to a pandemic.

Although we are yet to face an H5N1 avian influenza epidemic, the team suggests that they have nevertheless been able to develop a worst-case scenario for all possibilities considering mortality rates and infectiousness based on current knowledge and historical patterns dating back to the 1917-1918 global pandemic. They suggest that a future worst-case influenza pandemic might be up to four times as lethal as the pandemic that occurred towards the end of the Great War. Moreover, their simulation suggests that the use of antiviral drugs may not be as effective as healthcare authorities would hope. On a positive note, they have found that social distancing could be the most effective way to contain the spread of infection, usefully reducing symptoms by an average of 16% although it will cost 50% more than antiviral use through lost working days and commerce.

"Do we prepare for the worst-case scenario when preparing for a pandemic?" asks Fair. "While the worst-case scenario is indeed the worst, it may not be as likely. As far as mortality rates, the 1918 was the worst but really still was only around 2% which is could be considered low." While, the next pandemic could be worse than that of 1917-1918, the worst case scenario may not be as likely, the team concludes. Their study supports earlier findings that no single, pure strategy is best and that a mix of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions will be needed to contain the disease and reduce the total number of deaths. It would be prudent to incorporate these findings in planning for the next pandemic, the team asserts.

###

"Measuring the uncertainties of pandemic influenza" in Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, 2012, 16, 1-27

[ | E-mail | Share ]
?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/ip-mtu070212.php
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Monday, July 2, 2012

ICC staffers held in Libya released

ZINTAN, Libya (AP) ? Libya released on Monday four International Criminal Court staffers who had been held for nearly four weeks on allegations that they shared documents that could harm national security with Moammar Gadhafi's imprisoned son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi.

As they were released, ICC President Sang-Hyun Song, a South Korean judge, apologized to the Libyan government and people for the incident and promised an investigation into the allegations. Song flew to Libya for the handover.

"The ICC is grateful to the Libyan authorities for their agreement today to release the Court's staff members so that they can be reunited with their families," Song said as the four were released.

A plane carrying Song and the staffers landed at Rome's Ciampino airport late Monday, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Seif al-Islam was the most senior member of the ousted Gadhafi regime to be captured in last year's civil war. Long viewed as a likely heir-apparent to his father, he faces charges by the ICC of crimes against humanity. He was captured by a militia in western Libya after his father was taken captive and then killed last October following more than 40 years as Libya's eccentric, authoritarian ruler.

Libya's new leadership accused Seif al-Islam of torturing and killing rebels, as well as other crimes.

His trial has been at the heart of a dispute between the ICC and the Libyan government. Libyan authorities have challenged the ICC's right to try Seif al-Islam, saying the international court is a tribunal of last resort, intended to try suspects from countries that cannot or will not prosecute them.

The court had expressed concern that Libya's judiciary is not yet ready to give Seif al-Islam a fair trial. The ICC judges ruled on June 1 that Libya doesn't have to hand over Seif al-Islam at least until a ruling on Tripoli's challenge.

Richard Dicker, international justice program director at Human Rights Watch, said the release of the ICC employees was "overdue," and that if Libya had any concern over their conduct, it should have submitted a complaint to the ICC.

"It is unacceptable that the ICC staff would be held for nearly a month when Libya had no right to do so," he said in an email to The Associated Press.

Amnesty International echoed the same sentiment and urged the ICC to investigate the legality of the detention and the allegations made by the Libyan authorities. It also questioned Tripoli's readiness to offer Gadhafi's son a fair trial.

"Not only has it denied them (the ICC staffers) their liberty and stopped them from performing their functions, but it has also undermined Seif al-Islam Gadhafi's right to an effective defense and delayed the ICC's decision on the Libyan authorities' recent application to bring him to trial in Libyan courts," said Amnesty International's Marek Marczynski.

He urged the ICC to review the impact of the detention and take measures to ensure Gadhafi's defense team has time to prepare their case.

The Libyan lawyer who represents Tripoli's interests at the ICC, Ahmed Al-Jehani, said the mission staffers were released because they have diplomatic immunity.

Libyan authorities say they placed Australian defense attorney Melinda Taylor and her Lebanese translator under house arrest after they visited Seif al-Islam in prison in the western town of Zintan and allegedly shared documents that could harm the country's national security. Seif al-Islam was captured by Zintani rebels late last year and has been held there ever since.

Al-Jehani said state prosecutors accused Taylor of having Seif al-Islam sign three blank pieces of paper, but they could not press charges because she has diplomatic immunity. Al-Jehani said Libyan authorities do not know why she wanted his signature.

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Aziz said the staffers, which also include a Russia national and a Spanish national, will leave to Tripoli and then Italy later in the day.

Al-Jehani, who is also the Libyan prosecutor leading the case against Gadhafi's son, said they were in good health. He said the case has now been closed in Libya and the staffers will not return.

"Definitely they are free and they will not be coming back to Libya," he said.

Al-Jehani said the detention of the ICC staff has further complicated relations with Libya.

"The relationship has become more difficult and more unstable," he said, adding that Libya would likely press ahead with its case against Seif al-Islam after the country's first nationwide elections this week to choose a parliament.

___

Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Cairo, Frances D'Emilio in Rome and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/icc-staffers-held-libya-released-150452075.html

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US sees stronger hints of Higgs

2 July 2012 Last updated at 13:48 ET By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

Hints of the Higgs boson detected last year by a US "atom smasher" have become even stronger, scientists have said.

The news comes amid fevered speculation about an announcement by researchers at the Large Hadron Collider on Wednesday.

Finding the particle would fill a glaring hole in the widely accepted theory of how the Universe works.

This 30-year hunt is reaching an end, with experts confident they will soon be able to make a definitive statement about the particle's existence.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

The evidence is piling up... everything points in the direction that the Higgs is there?

End Quote Prof Stefan Soldner-Rembold University of Manchester

The latest findings have come from analysis of data gathered by the US Tevatron particle accelerator, which was shut down at the end of last year.

Researchers squeezed the last information out of hundreds of trillions of collisions produced by the Tevatron - which was based at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois - since March 2001.

This final analysis of the data does not settle the question of whether the Higgs particle exists, but gets closer to an answer.

The scientists see hints of the boson in roughly the same part of the "search region" as the LHC - between the masses of 115 and 135 Gigaelectronvolts (GeV).

The signal is seen at the 2.9-sigma level of certainty, which means there is roughly a one in 1,000 chance that the result is attributable to some statistical quirk in the data.

In particle physics, three sigma counts as "evidence". Claiming a discovery requires a statistical certainty of five sigma - which denotes a one in a million chance that any given result is a fluke.

Sniffing success

Fermilab's Rob Roser, co-spokesperson for the Tevatron's CDF experiment, said: "Our data strongly point toward the existence of the Higgs boson, but it will take results from the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe to establish a discovery."

Stefan Soldner-Rembold, spokesperson for the machine's DZero experiment, told BBC News: "The evidence is piling up... everything points in the direction that the Higgs is there."

Continue reading the main story

Statistics of a 'discovery'

Particle physics has an accepted definition for a "discovery": a five-sigma level of certainty
The number of standard deviations, or sigmas, is a measure of how unlikely it is that an experimental result is simply down to chance rather than a real effect
Similarly, tossing a coin and getting a number of heads in a row may just be chance, rather than a sign of a "loaded" coin
The "three sigma" level represents about the same likelihood as tossing more than eight heads in a row
Five sigma, on the other hand, would correspond to tossing more than 20 in a row
With independent confirmation by other experiments, five-sigma findings become accepted discoveries

The professor of physics at the University of Manchester, added: "At the Tevatron a lot of important work has been done over the last years... it has been essential for arriving at this stage.

"So yes, the Tevatron experiments should get recognition for that, even though the LHC will be the collider to provide the final proof that the Higgs exists."

The Higgs is the cornerstone of the Standard Model - the most successful theory to explain the workings of the Universe - and explains why all other particles have mass.

If the LHC confirms the boson's existence, physicists will set about the task of working out whether or not it is the version of the Higgs predicted by the Standard Model.

Many researchers will hope it is not, because that would hint at phenomena outside our current understanding of physics.

The Higgs cannot be seen directly; physicists have to infer its existence by looking at the particles it has ultimately decayed - or transformed - into, and work backwards to "reconstruct" it.

The Tevatron and the LHC look for the boson in different ways. The LHC is expected to present evidence for a Higgs transforming into two photons - the rarest decay path predicted by theory.

The Tevatron appears to see hints of a Higgs transforming into particles known as b quarks - the most common type of decay.

Combining information from both accelerators will provide vital clues about the nature of this potential new particle, and whether it is really the Higgs boson scientists expect.

Most researchers now regard the Standard Model as a stepping stone to some other, more complete theory, which can explain phenomena such as dark matter and dark energy.

A non-conformist Higgs could open the door to a theory called supersymmetry - which predicts that each Standard Model particle is accompanied by a heavier partner known as a "sparticle". Or it could hint at the existence of extra dimensions.

For physicists, these would be more exciting outcomes, and would keep them busy for many years to come.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18677808#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Sunday, July 1, 2012

Google Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean"

Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" is a solid refinement of what is now the world's most popular OS on new smartphones. While calling it 5.0 would have been a stretch, it's more significant than you'd expect for a point upgrade. For now, you can only get Android 4.1 on a few devices, including the?Samsung Galaxy Nexus ($199.99, 4 stars) and Samsung Nexus S (3.5 stars) phones, and the Google Nexus 7 ($199, 4.5 stars) and?Motorola Xoom (3.5 stars) tablets. The upgrades will roll out sometime in the middle of July as over-the-air updates. There's nothing revolutionary about Android 4.1?the new Google Now feature comes close, but it doesn't work well enough just yet. Still, there are so many minor updates and overall performance improvements that Jelly Bean adds up to our new Editors' Choice for mobile smartphone OSes.

User Interface Improvements
For this review, I tested Android 4.1 on an unlocked Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Right from the beginning, the setup process was smooth, and faster than it is with earlier Android phones. Most of the default options were already checked, for example, and I had no problem adding my existing Google account. Once you're in, the OS walks you along with a series of translucent tip screens that appear over the home screen and main menu. This hand-holding is definitely helpful if you're new to the OS, though experienced users will already know many of the tips.

There's more going on here than just minor UI refinements, though. At Google I/O, Google engineering director David Burke talked about Project Butter, which was the company's effort to improve Android performance enough that it feels "buttery" smooth in use. This effort affected many aspects of the OS, such as improved vsync timing for faster frame rates on the display itself, triple graphics buffering for preventing dropped frames in video games, and improved overall touch-screen response.

On the Galaxy Nexus, there's definitely a noticeable improvement. You can now easily resize and move around icons and widgets on each home screen panel or delete apps by swiping the icon up, which causes it to disappear. The system font ("Roboto") already looked sharp and smooth before, and still does. But menu animations, finger swipes, and scrolling now feel at least as solid as they do on iOS, and possibly even a bit better in spots. The Galaxy Nexus is no longer one of the fastest Android phones on the market, but you wouldn't know that from how nicely the unit responds with Jelly Bean loaded.

Keyboard, Web Browser, and Messaging
The new predictive keyboard is another solid upgrade. I spent quite some time typing on it, and it seemed to do a much better job than before at guessing the word I meant, even whenever I typed several letters incorrectly. The prediction function works just as it does on Apple iOS 5.1.1 (Free, 4.5 stars), in that it can figure out your left finger was slightly to the left each time, for example, and then figure out what word you meant based on that and the grammar of the sentence you're typing.

The new predictive text engine also one-ups the that of iOS on the iPhone, in that it still shows the bar beneath the text window with possible alternatives?rather than just one the way the iPhone does?and then pops it in with a little animated fade as you continue typing. These are small details, but they're beautiful in action. This is exactly the kind of polish Android needed.

The Web browser offers smooth handling of multiple tabs, which you can swipe among on a separate screen. One issue; while auto-rotate was turned off by default, when I turned it on, I noticed some pages had trouble formatting columns of text when flipping between landscape and portrait mode. In other words, the screen would be formatted correctly in one orientation, but then end up with a thin column and tons of white space in the other.

Adobe has officially dropped support for Flash, starting with Jelly Bean. This doesn't bother me as much as it bothers some other people. Even when it works on mobile devices, it doesn't really work all that well. The end of Flash for Android is hardly a surprise, at any rate, as Adobe said months ago it was discontinuing all mobile Flash development.

In the messaging app, tap the new message icon, and it pops up names and photos from your contact list as you type letters, including alternate phone numbers indented slightly as compared with the main one. I tested this function with a book of about 1,500 contacts and it was super-fast.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/T62K9UgA44Y/0,2817,2406539,00.asp

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Phil's Podium Of The Automotive Pure: Ten Trick Technologies That ...

Now that I?ve gotten the memory-bile of ?Notorious Technologies?? implemented during my ever-progressing automotive maintenance and repair career ? somewhat further out of my system, now seems as good a time as any to reflect on some of the technological ?bright spots? I?ve come to be acquainted with and appreciate during that same period. Some of these highlights were coming into widespread acceptance way back in the early days of my High School Auto Shop training, while others came considerably later.

In any event, these technologies not only gained widespread acceptance among auto manufacturers then, but they are all still being used by these manufacturers today, a couple of them in a considerably evolved format.

I?ll be listing them in their order of appearance on the scene.

The Disc Brake:

If you?ve read my diatribe directed at the Drum Brake (Phil?s Bin of Automotive Egregiousness?Part One), you know that the Disc Brake is pretty much the polar opposite of that technology.

With its simplicity, stopping power, resistance to fade, durability, reliability and serviceability, it?s no wonder that the disc brake?s tenure is under no threat of termination. This design, augmented by tremendous advances in materials technology, is still being used at the highest levels of motor racing.

In the early days of my mechanical schooling, I remember seeing disc-braking systems mostly on European, English and some Japanese cars, many of which sported non-vented (solid) rotors. They worked excellently, considering the relatively low mass of these cars and the generally modest (by today?s standards) speeds they were capable of generating.

U.S. manufacturers followed suit a couple years after the overseas manufacturers, so by the time I was actually repairing automobiles for pay, many of them had at least vented disc brakes on the front.

Sure, there have been a few developmental dead ends that we techs had to endure. A long-standing example had to be front rotors on rear-drive vehicles where the wheel hub was cast with the rotor. This meant that every time the rotor was serviced or replaced, the wheel bearings had to be serviced, too, whether they needed it or not. Replacement costs for these units has risen with the price of metals, so thankfully, the ?composite? rotor has become the standard design today.

The composite design has separate rotor and hub assemblies, with the hub bearings now being a non-serviceable part of the hub unit. In the early days of the composite rotor, some auto manufacturers, apparently wanting to leave some room for further developmental improvements, created the ?captive rotor? design, wherein the composite rotor BOLTS to the INSIDE of the hub (usually on the driven hubs), for your servicing convenience. Fortunately, most brake rotors on modern automobiles mount on the other side of the hub, where replacement is usually only one easy step removed from a basic pad replacement. Pure? Most definitely.

The Electronic Ignition:

A once-famous automotive tune-up chain was founded on the constant need for servicing the ignition distributor contact points and condenser.

If the automotive ignition system had started with breakerless (contactless) electronic coil triggering technology, that business niche would not have existed. In fact, with continued advances in electronic ignition technology, including computerized distributorless systems, that once famous business is all but ancient history.

During my schooling years, most vehicles did have contact-style ignition coil triggering, but by the mid-?70?s ? with a few exceptions ? virtually all vehicles had some form of electronic ignition systems. By the end of the ?70?s, I don?t believe any manufacturer was still using contact points systems.

I really haven?t MISSED the old contact points systems.

I will, however, never FORGET having to service some of the more exotic vehicles these systems were featured in. I remember the early Lotus Esprit?s, where the distributor was mounted horizontally, in line with and at the front of the engine, under the intake manifold. It had to be removed by techs with some athletic ability ? as the engine was mounted amidships ? just to service the contact points and condenser!!

The Catalytic Converter:

Along with a couple of technologies I?ll be covering in one of the next parts of this series, the Catalytic Converter has to be the single most significant emissions control component for automobiles EVER introduced.

A few other technologies had to be developed in order to implement the use of the ?CAT?, most of which also had a desired effect in other areas.

A cat wouldn?t work using the leaded fuel available at that time, so unleaded fuel had to be developed. Performance fans bristled at the loss of the few Octane Points that tetraethyl lead had added to their favorite ?Hi-Test? or ?Ethyl? fuel. Eventually though, manufacturers found a way to exceed the performance boundaries of that time using unleaded fuel of a considerably lower octane rating.

Engine durability issues had to be confronted also, as the lead in the fuel had provided needed lubrication to internal parts, such as piston rings and valve seats.

When these were addressed, engine longevity increased, partly from the use of harder critical component materials, and partly just because of the absence of the lead. Being a solid, the lead tended to accumulate in and around these components ? and even more critically on spark plugs ? causing what was referred to as ?lead fouling?. Typically, spark plugs would only last ten to fifteen thousand miles, and part of their longevity equation had to do with lead accumulation on the plug.

Techs didn?t mind ? though I doubt we appreciated it fully at the time ? having to handle fuel that didn?t have lead in it, especially since we didn?t have the use of thin Nitrile gloves, as we do now.

Does anybody remember the ?Smog Alerts? publicized by local air quality management agencies in urban areas, across the U.S.A?

They weren?t some sort of bureaucratic overreaction boondoggle ?t he air was really THAT hazardous! I remember going outside to play in my suburban Los Angeles neighborhood during one of these alerts, and within a couple of hours I was almost overcome by a severe tightness in my chest. Once the brown was gone from the air, I never experienced that sensation again!

Largely due to the implementation of the catalytic converter and supporting technologies, those alerts are a thing of the past in many urban areas.

Phil Coconis is the owner of a West Coast independent auto repair shop.

Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/06/phils-podium-of-the-automotive-pure-ten-trick-technologies-that-changed-the-automotive-maintenance-repair-scene-part-one/

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Suspected militants killed in NE Nigeria raid

DAMATURU, Nigeria (AP) ? Police say security forces have killed suspected sect members during a military raid on their hideout in a besieged city in Nigeria's northeast.

Yobe state police spokesman Toyin Gbadagesin said Friday's operation left the house completely destroyed in a residential part of the city of Damaturu.

He said he could not say how many suspected members of the radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram were killed.

A staff of the Damaturu Specialist Hospital said the army brought three bullet-riddled bodies to the morgue early Saturday. He requested anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to journalists.

The raid comes after the sect has carried out a series of deadly attacks in the city.

Boko Haram's spiritual home of Maiduguri is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Damaturu.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-01-AF-Nigeria-Violence/id-817fb6aebee54086b3b339bd8a943a73

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