Scientists build the first all-carbon solar cell

ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2012) ? Stanford University scientists have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive materials used in photovoltaic devices today.

The results are published in the Oct. 31 online edition of the journal ACS Nano.

"Carbon has the potential to deliver high performance at a low cost," said study senior author Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a working solar cell that has all of the components made of carbon. This study builds on previous work done in our lab."

Unlike rigid silicon solar panels that adorn many rooftops, Stanford's thin film prototype is made of carbon materials that can be coated from solution. "Perhaps in the future we can look at alternative markets where flexible carbon solar cells are coated on the surface of buildings, on windows or on cars to generate electricity," Bao said.

The coating technique also has the potential to reduce manufacturing costs, said Stanford graduate student Michael Vosgueritchian, co-lead author of the study with postdoctoral researcher Marc Ramuz.

"Processing silicon-based solar cells requires a lot of steps," Vosgueritchian explained. "But our entire device can be built using simple coating methods that don't require expensive tools and machines."

Carbon nanomaterials

The Bao group's experimental solar cell consists of a photoactive layer, which absorbs sunlight, sandwiched between two electrodes. In a typical thin film solar cell, the electrodes are made of conductive metals and indium tin oxide (ITO). "Materials like indium are scarce and becoming more expensive as the demand for solar cells, touchscreen panels and other electronic devices grows," Bao said. "Carbon, on the other hand, is low cost and Earth-abundant."

The Bao group's all-carbon solar cell consists of a photoactive layer, which absorbs sunlight, sandwiched between two electrodes.

For the study, Bao and her colleagues replaced the silver and ITO used in conventional electrodes with graphene -- sheets of carbon that are one atom thick -and single-walled carbon nanotubes that are 10,000 times narrower than a human hair. "Carbon nanotubes have extraordinary electrical conductivity and light-absorption properties," Bao said.

For the active layer, the scientists used material made of carbon nanotubes and "buckyballs" -- soccer ball-shaped carbon molecules just one nanometer in diameter. The research team recently filed a patent for the entire device.

"Every component in our solar cell, from top to bottom, is made of carbon materials," Vosgueritchian said. "Other groups have reported making all-carbon solar cells, but they were referring to just the active layer in the middle, not the electrodes."

One drawback of the all-carbon prototype is that it primarily absorbs near-infrared wavelengths of light, contributing to a laboratory efficiency of less than 1 percent -- much lower than commercially available solar cells. "We clearly have a long way to go on efficiency," Bao said. "But with better materials and better processing techniques, we expect that the efficiency will go up quite dramatically."

Improving efficiency

The Stanford team is looking at a variety of ways to improve efficiency. "Roughness can short-circuit the device and make it hard to collect the current," Bao said. "We have to figure out how to make each layer very smooth by stacking the nanomaterials really well."

The researchers are also experimenting with carbon nanomaterials that can absorb more light in a broader range of wavelengths, including the visible spectrum.

"Materials made of carbon are very robust," Bao said. "They remain stable in air temperatures of nearly 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit."

The ability of carbon solar cells to out-perform conventional devices under extreme conditions could overcome the need for greater efficiency, according to Vosgueritchian. "We believe that all-carbon solar cells could be used in extreme environments, such as at high temperatures or at high physical stress," he said. "But obviously we want the highest efficiency possible and are working on ways to improve our device."

"Photovoltaics will definitely be a very important source of power that we will tap into in the future," Bao said. "We have a lot of available sunlight. We've got to figure out some way to use this natural resource that is given to us."

Other authors of the study are Peng Wei of Stanford and Chenggong Wang and Yongli Gao of the University of Rochester Department of Physics and Astronomy. The research was funded by the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford and the Air Force Office for Scientific Research.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University. The original article was written by Mark Shwartz.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Marc P. Ramuz, Michael Vosgueritchian, Peng Wei, Chenggong Wang, Yongli Gao, Yingpeng Wu, Yongsheng Chen, Zhenan Bao. Evaluation of Solution-Processable Carbon-Based Electrodes for All-Carbon Solar Cells. ACS Nano, 2012; 121031083325001 DOI: 10.1021/nn304410w

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://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/Mi-id-mdp04/121031125037.htm

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Wal-Mart, in China, pushes suppliers down green path

BEIJING (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc has given global suppliers five years to comply with its environmental rules or risk being pushed off U.S. shelves at the world's largest retailer, expanding a sustainability campaign launched in 2009.

The new requirements, announced in China where Wal-Mart has more than 20,000 suppliers, will compel workshops that churn out much of the world's toys, clothing and electronics to improve on energy efficiency, waste reduction and other markers on the retailer's checklist.

If suppliers fall short, they could be cut off from the nearly 4,000 Walmart discount stores and more than 600 Sam's Club wholesale warehouses that the company operates in the United States.

The standards set in Wal-Mart's "sustainability index", which has helped to burnish an image tarnished by criticism from labor groups and local communities, have already been embraced by 500 of the world's major consumer product makers.

The retailer said that by the end of 2017, U.S. Walmart and Sam's Club stores will get 70 percent of their goods from global suppliers that use the sustainability index.

"This will send a clear message to the Walmart supply chain that if you want to grow and partner with us for the long term, you will engage with us on the sustainability index," Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke said in a speech in Beijing, a copy of which was provided to Reuters in advance.

TOY STORY

Wal-Mart has pushed suppliers to cut down on packaging, water usage and energy consumption, in part because it cuts costs.

It launched the sustainability index in July 2009, saying it would eventually be used in ratings that let consumers judge how green a product is.

The company is a frequent target of labor groups who say it pays poverty-level wages at its U.S. stores and drives small competitors out of business, but it has earned praise from environmental groups for its green efforts.

Its China ties have also drawn scrutiny. Wal-Mart was among the pioneers in buying from China after it joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, which helped drive down prices in Wal-Mart's stores but added to the U.S. trade deficit and left the company open to complaints that it was hurting U.S. jobs.

Wal-Mart said as recently as 2008 that it directly exported about $9 billion a year out of China, and third-party suppliers shipped another $9 billion, although it no longer provides that information on its website.

A 2007 study by the U.S.-based think tank Economic Policy Institute estimated that the retailer alone accounted for 11 percent of the growth in the U.S.-China trade gap between 2001 and 2006.

Because of its size - Wal-Mart's global sales are nearly quadruple those of the world's No. 2 retailer, Carrefour SA - its environmental rules can have an outsized impact when filtered through its tens of thousands of suppliers.

Wal-Mart registered some $65 billion in second-quarter sales at its namesake U.S. stores, accounting for about 7 cents out of every retail dollar spent in the United States, excluding autos.

Wal-Mart said its index covers 107 product categories such as apparel, electronics and toys. It asked its buyers to use the index to choose suppliers and set conditions.

The company has been seeking ways that help to save energy or otherwise sustain its people and the environment but without raising prices for its cost-conscious customers.

A Wal-Mart executive told Reuters in September that the retailer had asked computer makers to shorten the default time before their laptops and PCs lapse into sleep mode, cutting it to five minutes from the standard 30 minutes.

Duke said the retailer's toy buyers visited Chinese factories recently "with the index in hand" to judge energy usage and check on whether the plastics used in the toys were safe for factory workers and their communities.

"The index is providing us with a full picture of the sustainability of products - from social to environmental issues, from the impact on workers to the impact on the planet," Duke said.

(Writing by Emily Kaiser; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wal-mart-china-pushes-suppliers-down-green-path-073233442--finance.html

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Exercise boosts satisfaction with life, researchers find

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) ? Had a bad day? Extending your normal exercise routine by a few minutes may be the solution, according to Penn State researchers, who found that people's satisfaction with life was higher on days when they exercised more than usual.

"We found that people's satisfaction with life was directly impacted by their daily physical activity," said Jaclyn Maher, graduate student in kinesiology. "The findings reinforce the idea that physical activity is a health behavior with important consequences for daily well-being and should be considered when developing national policies to enhance satisfaction with life."

The team examined the influence of physical activity on satisfaction with life among emerging adults ages 18 to 25 years because this population's sense of well-being appears to worsen more quickly than at any other time during adulthood.

"Emerging adults are going through a lot of changes; they are leaving home for the first time and attending college or starting jobs," said Maher. "As a result, their satisfaction with life can plummet. We decided to focus on emerging adults because they stand to benefit the most from strategies to enhance satisfaction with life."

The researchers recruited two groups of college students at Penn State. The first group, consisting of 190 individuals, entered information into a diary every day for eight days. The second group, consisting of 63 individuals, entered information into a secure website every day for 14 days. Both groups answered questions aimed at determining participants' satisfaction with life, physical activity and self-esteem. The personalities of all participants in the first group were assessed at the outset of the study using the Big Five Inventory short form.

For the second group (the 63 individuals who filled out questionnaires online for 14 days), the researchers wanted to further investigate whether physical activity was indeed, the cause of participants' increased satisfaction with life rather than some other factor such as mental health, fatigue, or Body Mass Index.

"Shifts in depression, anxiety and stress would be expected to influence a person's satisfaction with life at any given point in time," said David Conroy, professor of kinesiology. "In addition, fatigue can be a barrier to engaging in physical activity, and a high Body Mass Index associated with being overweight may cause a person to be less satisfied in a variety of ways."

By controlling for these variables, the researchers were able to determine that the amount of physical activity a person undertakes in a particular day directly influences his or her satisfaction with life. Specifically, the team found that by exercising just a little more than usual a person can significantly improve his or her satisfaction with life.

The results appeared online this week in the journal Health Psychology.

"Based on these findings, we recommend that people exercise a little longer or a little harder than usual as a way to boost satisfaction with life," said Conroy.

The National Institute of Aging at the National Institutes of Health funded this research. Other authors on the paper include Shawna Doerksen, assistant professor of recreation, park and tourism management; Steriani Elavsky, assistant professor of kinesiology; Amanda Hyde, graduate student in kinesiology; Aaron Pincus, professor of psychology; and Nilam Ram, associate professor of human development and family studies and of psychology.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Penn State.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Jaclyn P. Maher, Shawna E. Doerksen, Steriani Elavsky, Amanda L. Hyde, Aaron L. Pincus, Nilam Ram, David E. Conroy. A Daily Analysis of Physical Activity and Satisfaction With Life in Emerging Adults.. Health Psychology, 2012; DOI: 10.1037/a0030129

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/JDKAMeF2FqU/121025161751.htm

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Let's Get Personal: How Coconut Oil Has Been Helping Me

I initially started this post to be a focus on how coconut oil can help improve thyroid function and aid in weight loss, but as I started writing, it turned into more of a Let?s Get Personal post. So, for the sake of not letting this post get too long, I am going to discuss my personal experience with how coconut oil has helped me, and then soon, I will share a more scientific post about how coconut oil helps the thyroid and weight loss.

NOTE: Due to the FDA and FTC laws on health claims, I need to make this very clear. None of the information in this post is to be construed as medical advice. I am not a doctor or certified medical practitioner of any sort. I am simply sharing the success that I have had with adding coconut oil to my diet. Every person is different and you should always consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet, supplements, or exercise routine. For a full disclaimer,?please?read my Terms and Conditions. The following post is ALL my own, personal experience.

I?m a Nut for the Coconut

You all know that I have a major love affair with?coconut?oil. I have written about it many times and it is a staple in my kitchen. I use lots of it daily.?If you want to read some of my past posts, check these out:

For years, I have read, and been told, that coconut oil can help improve thyroid function and also help the body shed weight. I think that these two things go hand-in-hand, because typically if you have a low-functioning thyroid, you will also find it incredibly hard to lose weight. If you are hyperthyroid, you usually have the opposite problem (too much weight loss), so for the sake of this article, I will just be focusing on hypothyroid issues.

Coconut?s Role in My Healing Journey

As some of you know, this summer (on August 1st), I embarked on a healing journey. I finally got to a place in my life where I felt that I could handle taking on the health problems that I had been ignoring. I won?t go into a lot of detail about my healing journey in this post, so if you want to know more, I do encourage you to read my Let?s Get Personal Series. I will be talking about thyroid issues, hormone issues, adrenal issues, and blood sugar issues.

When I first started on this journey, the main?dysfunction?that I wanted to address was my low-functioning thyroid. Turns out, I actually have an autoimmune disease ? Hashimoto?s ? rather than just being hypothyroid. So, for me, we have to focus on the immune system first and foremost.?I was diagnosed as hypothyroid about 6 years ago. I look back and wish I had taken the extra tests at that time. I am curious to know if I was autoimmune this whole time. For the most part, I have not had many of the symptoms of low thyroid function, up until about a year ago.?Maybe?it was because I was not as in tune with my body as I thought I was. Or, maybe it was because I was in tune with my body and I was just in denial. Whatever the reason, I had just resolved that I would take my T4 medication and that was that. But, I finally realized that I owed it to my present self, and my future self, to figure out what was going on with my body and do?everything?in my power to fix it.

Now that I am a couple months into the journey, I can look back and see that I did have many more symptoms of low-functioning thyroid and adrenal issues that I ever realized. Here are some of the symptoms that I have noticed over the last 6 years:

• Slow, steady weight gain, despite eating a real food diet and exercising regularly
• Inability to lose weight, even when I would try
• Hair loss
• Unstable moods and emotions
• Brain fog
• Fatigue

Now, I have always eaten coconut oil. Really, I have eaten coconut oil for as long as I can?remember? It is one of my primary cooking oils and I use it daily. I never really took it medicinally, I just relied on whatever I was getting from my meals. In total, I was probably getting 2-4 tablespoons of coconut oil per day. With that amount, I was not experiencing increased thyroid function or weight loss.

Now, please note that I am not obsessed about being the ?perfect size?, nor am I focused on being skinny. I just want to lose the excess weight (60+ pounds) that I have put on over the last 6-8 years and get back down to a size where I can once again feel healthy and comfortable in my skin. It is a well known fact that excess weight is a burden on the body. It is hard not only on our bones, joints, and ligaments, it is also hard on our internal organs,?cardiovascular?system, blood sugar system, etc. So, my focus is not to be skinny. My focus is to be healthy. My goal weight is 160-170 pounds. That is where I feel healthy and it fits my 5?10? frame.

There. I said it. I just confessed to the world how much I weigh (you all can do the math).

I am now officially mortified.

Moving on ?.

So, over the last 6-8 years, I put on a total of 67 pounds. They just kind of crept on, and then one day I looked at the scale and said ?WHOA!?. I reached my heaviest weight about a year and a half ago, and over the course of the last couple years, I have lost around 15 pounds. Not a lot, and it wasn?t easy. Losing weight has never been easy. Still, it was a long ways away from my goal weight range of 160-170, which, BTW, according to the CDC, if I weigh 170, I would still be considered ?Overweight? by their BMI calculator. I honestly think the standard BMI calculators are a bunch of junk. They don?t take into consideration anything other than height and weight. There is no consideration for frame size (I am a big-framed person anyways ? you know, ?big boned?), muscle mass, etc. Hence the reason that I am not concerned with getting to what the CDC determines as a ?normal? weight.

I attribute this weight gain to (a) my low-functioning thyroid, (b) my?malfunctioning?adrenals, (c) food allergies (gluten/grains, legumes, and dairy), (d) emotional eating, and (e) too much stress. All of which, I am working on fixing. It is frustrating to realize how much weight you put on, despite eating a?relatively?clean diet with lots of real food. I know there are many, many people out there who feel the exact same way.

Anyways, I have completely digressed from my initial point. Thank you for sticking with me ?. I tend to do that a lot.

Back in the middle of August, I was whining confessing to Lydia how frustrated I was that I was eating such a clean diet (no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no sugar), better managing my stress, and exercising (walking and yoga ? nothing too strenuous to burden my adrenals), yet I wasn?t losing any weight. She told me two things:

1. You don?t lose weight to get healthy, you get healthy to lose weight.

2. Try upping your coconut oil.

Point number 1 really hit home for me. We live in a world where we are constantly told that we need to lose weight to be healthy. That, if we just lose weight, we?ll never have to worry about heart disease, diabetes, etc. Because of this, our society is obsessed with weight loss and we live in a world where we are judged by how we look. Losing weight is not a cure-all. Yes, it can help alleviate excess burden on your body, but it?s about time that we start focusing on why we are overweight and address those issues, before we do anything else. More times than none, there are going to be underlying issues that are simply preventing our bodies from dropping extra baggage.

Point number 2 was a total ?Duh!? moment for me. Of course! I should up my coconut oil. I have always known that it?s good in aiding weight loss and helping thyroid health, so why wasn?t I already doing that?

Starting that day, I upped my daily intake of coconut oil to 9-12 tablespoons per day. Yes. You read that correctly. Since I use a lot of coconut oil in cooking, I average about 3 tablespoons that way. The other 6-9 tablespoons, I get by adding it to my tea. I try to drink 2-3 mugs of herbal tea per day and I add about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil into each mug. I am so used to it by now that I actually crave it. For me, it?s almost a treat! I have a cup with breakfast and lunch, and then often another mug at dinner.

And then ?.

The weight started coming off. I began to steadily lose about 1 pound per week (sometimes a little more or less, depending on my activity and stress levels that week). And I am thrilled with that. A pound a week is a good, safe rate to lose weight. To date, I have lost 17 additional pounds. Combine that with my previous 15 pound weight loss and we?re at a whopping 32 pounds gone! I am officially halfway to where I want to be! And, there has been nothing difficult or frustrating. I don?t even think about it. I just eat as cleanly as possible, enjoy my tea and coconut oil, and let my body do what it needs to do. It took me 6+ years to get to this point, so it certainly isn?t going to change overnight!

I also feel like I have a little more energy throughout the day, and my energy levels are staying stable, whereas before, they were kind of up and down. A lot of that has to do with my determination to keep my blood sugar levels stable, but getting plenty of fat is key to making that happen.

Now, please don?t misinterpret this as me saying if you eat a whole bunch of coconut oil, you?ll lose weight. In my case, I think there are a number of reasons that I am finally being able to drop the excess weight, when in the past, I was not. I think all of the lifestyle changes that I have made over the last few months are all feeding off of one another to help with weight loss (upping my coconut oil intake may have been the one final thing that my body needed):

1. We?eliminated?allergens: grains, dairy, legumes, and sugar.

2. We started supplementing with high-quality?products for specific areas that I was deficient.

3. I started focusing on getting more rest ? in bed by 9:30pm most nights.

4. I got my blood sugar regulated so I no longer have spikes and dips.

5. I am working on the emotional aspects of illness and healing and that process is helping re-define my relationship with food.

(when I say ?we?, I mean me and my?nutritional?therapist Lydia)

I am so excited about all of this. I think that we really underestimate the amount of fat that our bodies need. After decades of being fed the low-fat nonsense, I think we forget that fat is an important part of our diet. I have a feeling that even when I was eating what I considered a lot of fat, I perhaps wasn?t really eating enough. I am looking forward to seeing where this journey takes me. Remember, fat does not make you fat! If you?re still afraid of saturated fat, please read this post.

Whew! That was a long post. But, that is how coconut oil has helped me and I wanted to share. Have you had success incorporating coconut oil into your diet? Have you experienced improved thyroid function and/or weight loss? I would love to hear your story! Leave a comment below.

P.S. Coconut oil is not just good for they thyroid, it?s good for a host of things.?For lots of health-related information on coconut oil, I have found?this book from the founders of Tropical Traditions?to be very informative. Because the FDA and FTC doesn?t like us talking about the health benefits of coconut oil, I recommend this book to everyone, so that you can learn more about coconut oil?s health benefits. It was just updated for 2012 and contains a ton of new information.

P.S. If you?re a?new customer, you can receive a copy for free on your first purchase, and I get a discount coupon for referring you!?Click this link?to place your order and receive your free book!

Virgin Coconut Oil Book from Tropical Traditions

About Jessica

Delicious Obsessions was founded by Jessica Espinoza in 2010. Jessica is passionate about real food, natural living, and more. She helps people see how to eat nourishing food, without breaking the bank. Her motto is "baby steps" -- making small, lasting changes, one at a time, is the best way to ensure long-term success. This website contains "affiliate links" where appropriate, on which, I may earn a small commission or referral fee on your purchase. This has no effect on your price. The monies earned help maintain and support this website's hosting, maintenance, and the development of free content. The content shared on this site is for informational and educational purposes only. Statements/products discussed have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult your own health care practitioner before making changes to your current diet or before beginning any herbal or vitamin supplement regimen or exercise program.

Source: http://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/10/lets-get-personal-how-coconut-oil-has-been-helping-me/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lets-get-personal-how-coconut-oil-has-been-helping-me

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Damning Video Shows US Security Contractors ... - Business Insider

Two whistleblowers have released a video that allegedly shows key?U.S. security contractors in Kabul, Afghanistan getting drunk and high on narcotics while on the job, Cindy Galli, Rhonda Schwartz and Brian Ross?of ABC News report.

The contractor in the video, Virginia-based Jorge Scientific, has won almost $1 billion in U.S. government contracts. The company's operations manual contains a "zero-tolerance for alcohol and drug use" and says all personnel must be on alert 24/7 for a possible terror attack, ABC News reports.

The military?prohibits the?use of alcohol or illegal drugs by U.S. contractors in Afghanistan under what is known as?General Order Number One.?

There are currently more private contractors in Afghanistan than?uniformed U.S. military personnel. The video will surely inflame critics of outsourcing work to contractors that was once done by the military. Government reports have found that the U.S.?has wasted tens of billions of taxpayer dollars?in Iraq and Afghanistan as it?squanders?$1 for every $6 spent?and sometimes indirectly funds the Taliban.

Two former employees, John Melson and Kenny Smith, will use the video as evidence in a lawsuit they've filed against Jorge Scientific,which claims that the actions "endangered Jorge employees, the U.S. mission, and U.S. military personnel."

The footage shows the?security manager for the company slamming vodka and wrestling with another employee. Another part allegedly shows the?company's medical officer glassy-eyed and unable to respond to a request for help after injecting himself with?Ketamine,?a prescription anesthetic.

That medical officer, Kevin Carlson, told ABC News there was?"massive drug and alcohol abuse" at the Jorge Scientific facility, often led by?Chris Sullivan, the?company's senior on-site executive,?who would carry a loaded pistol tucked into his pants.

"It was like a frat house for adults," Melson told ABC. "Some of them to the point where they were passing out, there's firearms laying around, some of them still carrying the firearms on them."

Melson and Smith?worked as armed security officers in Kabul as part of a $47 million contract to train the Afghan National Police but?quit in disgust and out of concern that their own safety was being compromised, according to ABC News.

"This arrogant image that Americans have worldwide, this was feeding right into it," Melson, a National Guard sergeant who served in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan before working for Jorge Scientific, told ABC News.

Furthermore, the men told ABC News that there was no oversight of the contractors. In fact, they allege that at least one female Army major was a regular at the parties and often used a room in the facility for sexual encounters.?

The Army, prompted by inquiries from ABC News, has opened a criminal investigation.?

The video will be aired this evening on "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline."

Here's the initial report:

SEE ALSO:?INSPECTOR GENERAL: Money Spent In Afghanistan Is Actually Making Things Worse >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-contractors-party-afghanistan-2012-10

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Bangladesh father denies son involved in New York bomb plot

DHAKA (Reuters) - The father of a Bangladeshi man accused of attempting to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank denied on Thursday that his son was involved and said he was the victim of a "racist conspiracy".

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, was arrested on Wednesday and faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda.

"This is nothing but a conspiracy. There is still a racist conspiracy there," his father Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah told reporters in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

"The intelligence of the USA is playing with a mere boy whom we sent for higher study. The allegation against my son is not true at all. He could not even drive a car. How was he caught with a van?"

Nafis appeared in a Brooklyn court on Wednesday. The criminal complaint against him said he had entered the United States in January and that he had said he was in contact with members of al Qaeda overseas.

The complaint said he had travelled by van with a man to a New York warehouse where Nafis assembled what he thought was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb.

The man he believed to be an accomplice was in fact an undercover agent working for the FBI and the explosives were not in working condition. He was arrested later in a hotel near the bank.

Nafis had been a business student at North South University, a prestigious private institution in Bangladesh, before leaving to study computer science in the United States.

His father, a senior vice president of a private bank, said Nafis was the more religious of his two children, but in no way a fanatic. He told reporters he had asked the government for help "so that our son will not fall victim to an arranged story".

"He fell into trap," he said. "We talked with him 24 hours before he was arrested."

(Reporting By Serajul Quadir; Editing by Ron Popeski and Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-father-denies-son-involved-york-bomb-plot-134942370.html

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Health News - Tumor stem cells in the focus of cancer research

by Sel - Cancer researchers, stem cell researchers and tumor stem cell researchers will convene for the fourth time at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg on October 14th to 16th, 2012.

About 400 experts from around the globe will discuss the role of tumor stem cells in the development of cancer and how they sustain tumors and cause metastasis. Of particular relevance is the question of how these findings may be utilized for potential new therapies. The symposium is generously supported by the Heinrich F. C. Behr Foundation, which has provided funding for six other international meetings at DKFZ before.

At the first conference on the topic of ?Stem cells and cancer?, the existence of tumor stem cells was still considered to be more of a hypothesis than a fact. However, by now these particularly dangerous and, at the same time, resistant cells have been detected in a growing number of tumor types, and what started out as a theory of a handful of experts has evolved into a rapidly growing research field.

?The award of this year?s Nobel Prize in Medicine to stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka clearly indicates that this research field has moved into the focus of biomedical research,? says Professor Otmar D. Wiestler, Chairman of the Management Board of DKFZ, who launched the symposium. ?Back in 2007, we already awarded the Meyenburg Prize to Yamanaka at the German Cancer Research Center. This shows that we were already aware of how closely linked stem cell research is with cancer research.? Thus, when Yamanaka reprogrammed body cells into stem cells, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, he used the same genes that also play a role in the development of cancer.

Tumor stem cells are the most dangerous cells in a tumor. Not only does the tumor originate from them, they also continuously supply new cancer cells and, thus, sustain the tumor. Their direct offspring is also supposed to be the very cells that leave the tumor and form dreaded metastases in other parts of the body. Unfortunately, it is precisely these cells which are not very sensitive to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Therefore, they are also suspected to be responsible for the recurrence of tumors after seemingly successful treatment. Professor Andreas Trumpp, co-organizer of the symposium, who leads the Division of Stem Cells and Cancer at DKFZ and is Managing Director of HI-STEM, the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine at DKFZ, is therefore convinced that cancer treatment can only be successful if this ?root of all evil? is selectively eradicated. ?We are searching for techniques to find the relatively rare tumor stem cells with sensitive methods and then to eliminate them in a targeted approach,? said Trumpp describing the goal of his research work.

?Cancer? is a collective term for multiple diseases. Cancer medicine distinguishes at least 200 different types of tumor ? just as many as cell types in the human body. ?It is becoming more and more apparent that this heterogeneity also applies to tumor stem cells,? says Andreas Trumpp. Just recently his group has discovered in dangerous pancreatic cancer that there are different types of this disease which differ in the severity of their progression. ?We suppose that the reason for this lies in the different tumor stem cells that cause the tumors. Our goal is now to use this knowledge for therapy by selecting drugs that are specifically effective against the respective tumor stem cells.

Numerous cancer researchers today are concentrating on identifying the molecular characteristics of tumor stem cells in various cancers with the aim of developing specific therapies against them. Among those researchers is Professor Ana Martin-Villalba, who leads the Division of Molecular Neurobiology at DKFZ. Martin-Villalba discovered the cell surface protein CD95 on the tumor stem cells of glioblastoma, an extremely aggressive type of brain tumor. The cells receive growth signals via this receptor molecule. Based on her results it was possible to develop a substance which blocks this receptor and thus inhibits the growth of the tumor stem cells.

The organizers of the German Cancer Research Center, the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Leopoldina have invited stem cell researchers from different areas to the conference. Thus, for example, Catriona Jamieson, a doctor and scientist working at the University of California in San Diego., is searching for ways to track down and destroy blood cancer stem cells in their hiding place called ?niche? in the bone marrow. She will present results from first clinical trials at the symposium. Luis Parada from the University of Texas in Dallas will report on his latest findings on brain tumor stem cells. Owen Witte from the Broad Stem Cell Center of the University of California in Los Angeles, who is a member of President Obama?s Cancer Panel, will explain in his lecture how prostate cancer also originates from tumor stem cells. Finally, the last session on Tuesday afternoon will be dedicated to the Nobel Prize winning reprogramming of cells. Markus Wernig of Stanford University in California will report on how his group succeeded, based on the work of Shinya Yamanaka, in directly reprogramming skin cells into nerve cells without the detour via stem cells.

?We are proud to bring together the international elite of cancer researchers, stem cell researchers and tumor stem cell researchers in Heidelberg on a regular basis?, said Otmar Wiestler. ?And we are convinced that this growing research area will critically impact and improve the treatment of cancer patients in the future.?

The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) with its more than 2,500 employees is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany. At DKFZ, more than 1,000 scientists investigate how cancer develops, identify cancer risk factors and endeavor to find new strategies to prevent people from getting cancer. They develop novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful. Jointly with Heidelberg University Hospital, DKFZ has established the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg where promising approaches from cancer research are translated into the clinic. The staff of the Cancer Information Service (KID) offers information about the widespread disease of cancer for patients, their families, and the general public. The center is a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. Ninety percent of its funding comes from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the remaining ten percent from the State of Baden-W?rttemberg.

Source: http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/33043-Tumor-stem-cells-the-focus-cancer-research.html

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President Obama Re-Energizes Supporters with Aggressive Debate Performance

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Obama takes offensive against Romney in debate rematch

HEMPSTEAD, New York (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama launched aggressive attacks against Republican rival Mitt Romney on jobs, energy and Libya in their second debate on Tuesday as the Democrat tried to reclaim the momentum in a tight White House race.

Obama was much sharper and more energetic than in their opening debate two weeks ago, when his listless performance was heavily criticized and gave Romney's campaign a much-needed boost in the run-up to the November 6 election.

The president scolded Romney for accusing him of trying to take political advantage of the attack by Islamist militants in Libya last month that killed four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

"That's not what we do. That's not what I do as president, that's not what I do as commander in chief," Obama said during the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, calling the accusation "offensive."

"I'm the president and I'm always responsible, and that's why nobody's more interested in finding out exactly what happened," Obama said.

Romney questioned Obama's claim that he called the Benghazi attack "an act of terror" in the White House Rose Garden the day afterward, but moderator Candy Crowley of CNN corrected the Republican. Transcripts show Obama did use the term that day.

The Republican accused Obama of failing to follow through on the promises of his 2008 campaign.

In one of his stronger moments in the 90-minute debate, Romney took aim at Obama's economic record in office, saying it has led to 15 million more people on food stamps, slow growth and a lack of jobs.

"The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, 'Look, I've created 5 million jobs.' That's after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country," the former Massachusetts governor said.

Polls showed voters judged Obama the winner. A CNN survey gave him the edge by 46 percent to 39 percent, while CBS had Obama the winner by 37 percent to 30 percent.

"I think Obama won this one. I'll say I'm a Romney supporter, but I don't think he effectively got all his points," said audience member James Digirolamo, from Long Island, New York.

"I was a little disappointed how the moderator handled the debate, in particular the issue with the ?terror' remark," he said, referring to criticism by Republicans that moderator Crowley intervened in favor of Obama during the exchange over Libya.

PRIZE FIGHTERS

Both candidates roamed the stage to talk directly to participants in the town-hall format, where undecided voters from Long Island asked the questions.

At times the two men circled each other warily at center stage like prize fighters, talking over each other and bickering frequently about the rules and who had exceeded their time.

Romney confronted Obama face-to-face at one point to ask repeatedly if licenses and permits for energy drilling on federal land had been reduced during his administration.

Recent polls have put the race for the White House at a virtual dead heat just three weeks ahead of the election.

Obama seems to have stopped his slide after the last debate. In a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll on Tuesday, he gained a bit more ground on Romney for the third straight day and led 46 percent to 43 percent.

But a Gallup/USA Today survey showed Romney ahead by 4 percentage points in the 12 most contested states.

After being slammed for his passive performance in the first debate, Obama attacked Romney repeatedly this time.

He resurrected his charge that the economic proposals put forward by the former private equity executive were designed to protect and bolster the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

"Governor Romney says he's got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn't have a five-point plan, he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules," Obama said.

Romney said Obama's economic record speaks for itself.

"The president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. He's great as a speaker and at describing his plans and his vision. That's wonderful, except we have a record to look at and that record shows that he just hasn't been able to cut the deficit, to put in place reforms for Medicare and Social Security to preserve them, to get us the rising incomes we need."

Arguing that he supports equal opportunities for women, Romney said he once had "binders full of women" candidates for cabinet jobs when he was Massachusetts governor. The quote suggested that influential women were not part of Romney's circle and prompted a flurry of comments on social media.

The two also clashed over the Obama administration's 2009 auto bailout, with Romney saying Obama had misrepresented his position that General Motors should go into a managed bankruptcy.

"He keeps saying, you want to take Detroit bankrupt. Well, the president took Detroit bankrupt," Romney said. "You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did."

Obama responded: "What Governor Romney said just isn't true. He wanted to take them into bankruptcy without providing them any way to stay open. And we would have lost a million jobs."

The pair meet again next week in Boca Raton, Florida for their final debate, which will be on foreign policy.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-gets-second-chance-debate-rematch-romney-000004120.html

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What's baking on Saturn's moon Titan?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 16, 2012) ? Radar images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal some new curiosities on the surface of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, including a nearly circular feature that resembles a giant hot cross bun and shorelines of ancient seas.

The results were presented today at the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences conference in Reno, Nev.

Steam from baking often causes the top of bread to lift and crack. Scientists think some similar process involving heat may be at play on Titan. The image showing the bun-like mound was obtained on May 22, 2012, by Cassini's radar instrument. Scientists have seen similar terrain on Venus, where a dome-shaped region about 20 miles (30 kilometers) across has been seen at the summit of a large volcano called Kunapipi Mons. They theorize that the Titan cross, which is about 40 miles (70 kilometers) long, is also the result of fractures caused by uplift from below, possibly the result of rising magma.

"The 'hot cross bun' is a type of feature we have not seen before on Titan, showing that Titan keeps surprising us even after eight years of observations from Cassini," said Rosaly Lopes, a Cassini radar team scientist based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "The 'bun' may be the result of what is known on Earth as a laccolith, an intrusion formed by magma pushing up from below. The Henry Mountains of Utah are well-known examples of this geologic phenomenon."

Another group of Cassini scientists, led by Ellen Stofan, who is based at Proxemy Research, Rectortown, Va., has been scrutinizing radar images of Titan's southern hemisphere. Titan is the only place other than Earth that has stable liquid on its surface, though the liquids on Titan are hydrocarbon rather than water. So far, vast seas have only been seen in Titan's northern hemisphere.

A new analysis of Cassini images collected from 2008 to 2011 suggests there were once vast, shallow seas at Titan's south pole as well. Stofan and colleagues have found two good candidates for dry or mostly dry seas. One of these dry seas appears to be about 300 by 170 miles (475 by 280 kilometers) across, and perhaps a few hundred feet (meters) deep. Ontario Lacus, the largest current lake in the south, sits inside of the dry shorelines, like a shrunken version of a once-mighty sea.

Scientists led by Oded Aharonson, another radar team member based at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, think that cycles analogous to Earth's Croll-Milankovich cycles, which explain climate changes in terms of the way Earth orbits around the sun, are at play on Titan, too. Such cycles on Titan would cause long-term transfer of liquid hydrocarbons from pole to pole. By this model, the south pole could have been covered with extensive seas less than 50,000 years ago.

"The seas on Titan are temporary hosts for experiments in prebiotic chemistry, and we know they are cycling from one hemisphere to the other over 100,000 years," said Stofan. "I'd love to get a closer look at the seas of the north or these dry seabeds to examine the extent to which this prebiotic chemistry has developed."

The Cassini team has confirmed some of the stability of Titan's northern seas by looking at radar images from Cassini taken about one Titan season (in this case, six Earth years) apart. The newer images, from May 22, 2012, on the same flyby as the hot cross bun images, show the shorelines stayed about the same, indicating the northern lakes are not transient weather events, in contrast to the temporary darkening of parts of the equator after a rainstorm in 2010.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and ASI, the Italian Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The RADAR instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the US and several European countries. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/f1I-8O8ftXk/121016190457.htm

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The Possible Privacy Violations of Verizon's Cell Phone Tracking Program

Capitalizing on all the information we put into our cell phones, Verizon Wireless is selling all our app usage and location information to marketers, reports CNET's?Declan McCullagh. Part of what it calls the Precision Market Insights initiative, Verizon is not only tracking consumers, it is sharing that information with other companies, and possibly linking it to databases with more of your personal information.?"We're able to view just everything that they do," Bill Diggins, U.S. chief for the Verizon Wireless marketing initiative, said at an?industry conference?earlier this year. "And that's really where data is going today. Data is the new oil."

RELATED: It's Not Just Google: Everyone Tracks Everyone on the Internet

If it sounds creepy, that's because it might not be legal, even though Verizon did the bare minimum to make it sound that way by only selling the information in aggregate and also providing an opt-out feature. Still Paul Ohm, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School, who works at the Federal Trade Commission told McCullagh this might all violate federal wiretapping law because it digs deep into our cell phone transactions. As this stuff gets kind of murky, we spoke with?Ryan Calo, an affiliate scholar for the Center for Internet and Society and Assistant law professor at the?University of Washington, who explained how exactly this could violate the FTC's privacy guidelines (and also creep you out).

RELATED: How Google+ is Showing It's Serious About Privacy

There are a few things that Calo told us to consider in this situation: Anonymity, the ability to opt-out, Verizon's clarity, possible harm, and then the wire tapping issue. Verizon must comply with all of these things, not just one. "Even if you give consumers notice about a particular practice and you permit them to opt-out at least the FTC has been clear that you can't bury the lede," he told The Atlantic Wire. Let's see how the cell phone company did.?

RELATED: The Internet Data We Would Like the Right to Forget

Anonymity

What Verizon Is Doing: Verizon has said that it doesn't give these marketers the information of individual customers, but does so in aggregate. For example, if a company wants to know about the behavior of 35 year old white males, they can get the cell phone behaviors of that audience, but not of a specific man in that group.?

RELATED: Police Surveillance of Cellphones is Skyrocketing

Does it Pass the Privacy Test??As long as the wireless carrier doesn't give specific URLs to these marketers about your specific behavior and is geared to a general audience, Calo believes that this should be fine.?

RELATED: The iPhone Has Enslaved Mobile Carriers

Opt-Out Option

What Verizon Is Doing: The company does allow users to opt-out of the tracking on the Verizon Wireless websites. Users have to first sign in and head to the My Privacy section of the website. There, the subscriber will apparently find three different boxes to uncheck, as pictured below.

Though, when we went to the site, it did not show up as such, giving us just one "do not track" button to click.

?

Does it Pass the Privacy Test:?Yes, Verizon offers an opt-out option. But the harder it is to opt-out, the more likely it is to violate FTC privacy guidelines. This confusion certainly won't help the wireless carrier's case.?

Clarity

What Verizon Is Doing: The company sent out emails to customers informing them of the new policy. It also has a lengthy section on its site explaining the program.?

Does It Pass the Privacy Test: Calo compares this to a case in which Sears?technically?explained everything it did with a similar tracking program, but the FTC came down on it for not giving enough notice to customers.?

Harm

What Verizon Is Doing: It claims that the anonymity plus the ability to opt-out avoids incurring any harm on an individual.

Does It Pass the Privacy Test: Not necessarily. "It is totally possible for you to be harmed in a way that implicates privacy, even if the person harming you doesn't know who you are," Calo told us. "Because?of Verizon's Precision Market Insights, you end up getting charged more, or end up missing a deal?those are the kinds of things where it doesn't matter where they know who you are." However, he also notes that it doesn't sound like these marketers are using this information for targeted ads, but just to know more about Verizon customers, in which case it's less likely the consumer will be "harmed."

Wiretapping

What Verizon Is Doing: In order to give these marketers this information it is possible Verizon is doing what is called "deep packet inspection." Meaning it giving up more information than we might like. Calo explains it like this: "Verizon has no business figuring out what I'm saying. They need to be able to connect me to Gmail but they don't need to read my communications," he said.

Does It Pass the Privacy Test: If Verizon is indeed doing that deep packet inspection, it could be violate the Wiretap act, says Calo. But,?Ryan Radia, associate director of technology studies at the?Competitive Enterprise Institute?think tank told?McCullagh that he thinks the opt-out exonerates Verizon.?

?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/possible-privacy-violations-verizons-cell-phone-tracking-program-224218361.html

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Exports mild China rebound to aid local firms

Home ? business ? Exports mild China rebound to aid local firms

China

WICHIT CHAITRONG
THE NATION October 15, 2012 1:00 am

Gross domestic product (GDP) in China grew only 7.6 per cent in the second quarter and would slow further to 7.4 per cent in the third quarter. The official figure will be released this week, said Peng Wensheng, chief economist of China International Capital Corporation (CICC), an investment bank based in Beijing.

The world's second largest economy has been facing heavy headwinds from the weakening global economy and tightening financing conditions in the country, Wensheng said at a closed-door seminar hosted by Siam Commercial Bank.

CICC projects China will grow 7.6 per cent this year and expects a mild turnaround of 8 per cent next year, compared with 10 per cent per year in the past one or two decades. The sluggishness this year is partly a short-term cyclical fluctuation in the economy, he said.

The US Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing (QE3) and the European Central Bank's plan to buy government bonds without limit will stabilise the global economy. That should lead to a rise in exports.

What has happened in the past few years in Europe has been destroying investor confidence. QE3 is expected to do more good than harm to China, in contrast to QE2 in 2010, when the Chinese economy was overheated.

Businesses in China have been unloading inventory, as they have suffered from falling prices of their products. However, the destocking is expected to come to an end by the middle of next year.

Tight financing conditions also contributed to the economy's deceleration.

The real interest rate is high now and commercial banks are cautious about lending.

Banks are hesitant because of the decline in safe assets, include their reserves, government bonds and central bank debt.

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, is expected to further ease its monetary policy in order to support the economy.

"This year the central bank cut interest rates twice in June and July. Many people wonder why the central bank stopped cutting rates," he said.

The reason was the risk of a property bubble, as housing prices in Beijing and Shanghai have increased four to five times from 10 years ago.

"Property bubbles hamper monetary easing," he said.

ROOM TO CUT RATES

If the property market does not boom and real estate transactions are not high, the central bank is likely to further cut its policy rate.

"There is a lot of room to cut interest rates because rates re-|main high compared with a near zero-per-cent rate in the US," he said.

Another reason why the central bank has not yet moved aggressively on interest rates is that China does not have high unemployment like in the US and Europe.

China instead faces a labour shortage, particularly in lower skills, causing a profit squeeze for companies.

While some critics say China may slide into stagflation, the chances are low.

However, the softening eco-nomy has weighed somewhat on |the labour market, as some |factories have reduced working |hours.

CICC believes that there is big room for fiscal expansion next year.

"The political cycle will support infrastructure investment in 2013," he said.

The staging of the National Congress in the past has been usually followed by large infrastructure investment. The 18th National Congress took place this year.

China currently is experienc-|ing capital outflows. That has prompted the central bank to step in by selling US dollars and buying yuan to prevent currency depreciation.

Chinese investing more overseas has contributed to capital outflows. Chinese corporate balance sheets are not as strong as many people expect. Overall private firms carry liabilities. Only the government's fundamentals are strong as the country earns huge international income.

The Chinese equity market is among the poorest performers due to overvalued shares. Investment returns to shareholders are smaller, as firms have only benefited from expansion, not innovation or efficiency.

"Many people are frustrated |at the high economic growth rate |in China but low returns from |the Chinese equity market," he |said.

The economic growth model there is different from America where firms deliver high returns to shareholders due to innovation and efficiency.

Over the medium and long terms - five to 10 years - China's economy will be become more balanced as domestic consumption will contribute more to economic growth. Currently China depends mainly on exports for growth.

The turning point would start in 2015 when the economy would be more balanced by domestic consumption due to demographic changes, he added.

Vorada Thangsurbkul, head of investment banking at Siam Commercial Bank, said the future| in China is promising for Thai exporters especially food producers.

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Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Exports-mild-China-rebound-to-aid-local-firms-30192333.html

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Jackson football notebook: Manchester QB Ryan Stiles delivers big game despite hand injury

Rich McGowan | Jackson Citizen Patriot, October 15, 2012 3:44 p.m.

Manchester coach Wes Gall gives the play to quarterback Ryan Stiles at Manchester High School on Friday night. Manchester won the game, 21-12, against Michigan Center. - (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

As a team prepares for a game where a conference championship hangs in the balance, about the last thing it wants is for its quarterback?s availability to be uncertain. But Manchester found itself in just that position heading into last week?s showdown with then-undefeated Michigan Center.

Manchester junior quarterback Ryan Stiles injured his hand in practice. And though coach Wes Gall said they weren?t sure when or how the injury happened, by the following day, its effects were apparent.

?His whole hand was black and blue. We didn?t know on Wednesday (if Stiles would play Friday),? Gall said.

Not only did Stiles suit up, he was effective. He completed 8 of 15 passes for 123 yards as Manchester upset Michigan Center 21-12.

In the first quarter he threw a beautiful pass to Nick Cozart down the Manchester sideline for a 48-yard gain that set up the Dutchmen?s first touchdown of the night.

?(Wednesday) he could only throw the ball 10 yards,? Gall said. ?The next day he could throw 20 yards. Today was the 30-yard day.?

Stiles? play helped Manchester win a share of the Cascades Championship with Michigan Center and Grass Lake, and also clinched the team?s fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs.

?We knew we had to get this one to get a solid, guaranteed playoff berth, that was huge,? Stiles said. ?Plus a three-way tie for the conference doesn?t hurt.?

-- By Rich McGowan

?

Conklin airs it out for Western

Parma Western junior quarterback Ryan Conklin continued to show a fine passing arm Friday in the Panthers? 32-10 victory over rival Northwest. Conklin completed 17 of 25 passes for 211 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in Western?s first victory of the season.

?As our line has developed and gotten better with protection, Ryan had more time,? Western coach Al Ennis said. ?We?ve been able to break down more of what we want him to look at. He?s just doing a better job of making his reads and selecting the open receivers.?

Conklin threw all three of his touchdown passes in the first half as Western built a 19-10 lead at intermission. In the first half, Conklin was 12-for-17 for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

?I feel so much more comfortable,? Conklin said. ?I played last year on varsity, but this year I started off a little rough. I?ve gotten better and better every week, and I?m just looking forward to (this) week.

?If we can keep rolling and get a big win (this) week, we?re just going to get big wins next year, too. It?s going to be great.?

Western (1-7) finishes its season on the road Friday at Buchanan, which is 6-2 and headed for the postseason.

-- By Chip Mundy

?

No rest for Grass Lake

Though his team has clinched a playoff berth, has a 7-1 overall record and won a share of the Cascades Conference championship, Grass Lake football coach Randy Cole knows it can?t relax this week.

Not with a trip to visit undefeated Leslie looming.

Last Friday, the Warriors flexed their muscle in a 42-6 win over Hanover-Horton in an impressive all-around showing. The Grass Lake defense was stout while the offense put up all six touchdowns in the first half.

But Cole understands Leslie will be no pushover in the last game of the regular season. The Warriors knocked off the Blackhawks twice last season, once in the regular season finale and again in the district championship.

?We play a great Leslie team next week, so we gotta get ready ? they?re a super football team,? Cole said.

-- By Stephen Brooks

?

Titans take to the air

Given the success Jackson Lumen Christi has enjoyed this season running the football, it can be easy to forget the Titans can get it done through the air as well.

Just ask Eaton Rapids.

Lumen Christi quarterback Justin O?Dowd completed just four passes but three went for touchdowns of 40, 25 and 7 yards. O?Dowd finished with 82 yards throwing, and his favorite target was Austin Childs, who caught all three of O?Dowd?s touchdowns for 72 yards.

-- By Rich McGowan

Source: http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/7769255061520459676

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Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S start receiving Android 4.1.2 over the air

When Android 4.1.2 hit the airwaves for upgrades, it was limited to a very exclusive club of Nexus 7 owners. Google has widened the gates considerably as of today: we're receiving multiple reports of GSM-based Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S owners getting the new Jelly Bean build through official, over-the-air channels. Upgrades here aren't as noticeable as they are on the reference Android tablet; besides fixes, we've mostly heard that it's now possible to expand a notification with a single finger. Those with CDMA-based phones are left out so far, but if you discover any surprise extras before 4.1.2 hits our own devices, be sure to leave us a tip.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S start receiving Android 4.1.2 over the air originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/15/galaxy-nexus-nexus-s-start-receiving-android-4-1-2-over-the-air/

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The foundation has been laid for further development

You are here: Home / News / The foundation has been laid for further development



October 14, 2012 By admin

During the 20th anniversary celebrations of the People?s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government in office at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, several youths gave their views on how they see developments under the administration.

Shontelle
?Our country faced several struggles to be free, to have unity and mostly to have a stronger democratic tradition. Guyana as it is today has shown significant improvement compared to 20 years ago. 1992 was time for a change, and it was a time for a new beginning.
We have worked hard to be where we are today because as a youth growing up, I?ve heard my parents say and I quote, ?You children have it way easier than us?.

Shontelle

I have battled this saying in my head and I finally understood the true meaning of it. Guyana was indeed a struggle ? our country was desperate, bankrupt, with more than two-thirds of the population living in misery and poverty, children were hungry, our roads and other infrastructure, schools, hospitals, electricity, and water were in a dilapidated state. We as a country have worked hard to establish this foundation, and as a youth of Guyana, I am privileged to be living in this era.
?While today we enjoy these? freedoms, 20 years ago we lived in a society where less than 40 per cent of the population had access to secondary schools and less than 75 per cent had access to primary schools, compared to 85 per cent and 100 per cent access today, respectively. Most of those without access were the poor and vulnerable who found themselves in a population where 85 per cent of the people lived in poverty compared to 35 per cent today. ?Studies show that improvement in education result in the reduction of poverty.
We took destiny in our hands and we made a difference in the lives of our people and in the future of our country.
Today, Guyana is a better country. We will unite together and we will continue making this country, the country that any citizen will be proud of and enjoy living in.?

Keoma
?1992 is remembered as a water-shed moment in our country?s post-independent history after a lengthy hiatus ? it marked the return of fair electoral practices at the ballot box level. While I myself would not have been around to traverse this turning point in our country?s modern history, the generation before mine would recount the euphoria that they felt and the renewed hope they acquired in our country and its development.

Keoma

?Undoubtedly, we have made substantial gains in improving the welfare of our citizenry. Undoubtedly, we still have more to do? undoubtedly, it can be done for the democracy has allowed for a competition of ideas, and this can only mean better for our development.
?The road to democracy is ideally an infinite one, but this is one that we must persist on trekking further and while we are here celebrating this democracy that we have collectively attained, we must stand in defending it against the threats it constantly faces. ?This leads me to two points; firstly even after centuries of having a crack at it many countries, if any, have yet to perfect democracy after 20 years. I would agree that Guyana has not done badly. Lastly, democracy is attained and retained only through the collective action of the people, the defence of democracy is never the vocation of one individual or one group of people, it requires the efforts of all our citizens, whether here or in the diaspora. ?Democracy calls for our daily participation in representing our interest not just once in every five years, yes we have somewhere to go but we are on our way and we are going to get there.?

Kristen
?I must acknowledge the fact one that cannot be disputed by anyone, that Guyana is definitely a better country than it was 20 years ago. This clearly demonstrates that our country has made progress and is continually striving for greater development.

Kristen

?The year 1992 brought about changes, more importantly a new beginning. The improvement we have made is such a relatively short time has taken us step closer to greater opportunities for Guyanese, especially us youths. When we look around us, a better Guyana is quite visible. For instance, people are better housed, better clothed, better fed; improved infrastructure and growing industries have all been part of the new Guyana brand. We have greater access to education and training. Healthcare is better and more accessible, more and better trained professionals and wider access to variety of other opportunities.
?Our families everywhere are living in their own homes, the transport system is also rising to the challenges posed by increasing number of people acquiring vehicles of their own and our highways are being overhauled, and expanded to four lane status. This tells me one thing that everywhere, everyone is having a fair chance of reaching their individual potential, and all in all, Guyana today is more advance and in a better position of making our motto a reality of ?One people, one nation, one destiny?.
?We should together as one participate in the furtherance of our one Guyana plan, as we all strive to achieve our Guyana dream.?

Dexter
?I grew up in Matthews Ridge, North West District in Region One, which was a striving community in the early years, but degenerated?, due to the economic challenges which affected many sector industries. During those critical years, the region?s basic infrastructure suffered further severe blow since maintenance of these and overall economic development were almost non-existence.? ?Today, I briefly touch on three key sectors, which were most challenging in my time. We often heard about the phrase, ?education is the key out of poverty?, but during my childhood, I have seen the education system deteriorated to an extent where students were no longer interested in attending schools, since the reality of living in a depressed community with limited opportunity to earn a living led school-age students to alternative sources of income such has mining. The number of trained teachers was almost nil, even though those who taught me gave of their best, not withstanding poor wages, conditions of work and lack of access to basic teaching aids.

Dexter

Consequently, there was a higher rate of school dropout, including many of my friends, perhaps these could have been attributed to the limited number of students from that area that was not granted Hinterland scholarship from that period.
?The water distribution line was non-functional due to lack of maintenance and investment, and this resulted in residents having to transport water from their houses from the source which was some distance away from the centre of the community. The elderly felt the brunt of this unsavory experience, arguably one can say that the time and money spent to transport this vital commodity could have better utilised for other productive purposes.
?Thirdly, electricity was not available to households since the generating plant was non-functional due to unavailability of spare parts and fuel. This resulted in most of the community resorting to lamps and the privileged few with standby generators to have access to this another vital commodity. One can only imagine the related consequences to the absence of these basic necessities, especially on critical sectors such as the hospital and general health service. The infrastructure ranging from roads to bridges were in a state of disrepair due to years of neglect, and this affected the economic activities of residents to be engage in? trading and other livelihood since the ability to traverse form one community to the next was hazardous to say the least. From 1992, there have been concerted efforts to address the human capital as well as the basic infrastructure of the Hinterland communities across the country, including Matthews Ridge. There has been training of teachers and community health workers, provision of portable water to residents, building of roads and bridges, provision of solar panels to households for electricity, creation of economic activity for residents by way of grant and general improvements in the lives of residents of the communities.
?If one was to ask if all things are bright and beautiful, the answer will be no, but one can say that effort has been made to improve the lives of Hinterland communities. It is my humble view that today, as Amerindians, we are better off than 20 years ago; today I feel confident that notwithstanding the challenges, we as Amerindian people will continue to strive forward with the policy of the PPP/C administration. ?Today, we are proud of who we are; today we are a respected people. I congratulate the People?s Progressive Party on this significant milestone.?

Source: http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/?p=1949

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