IBEX: Glimpses of the interstellar material beyond our solar system

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
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Contact: Susan Hendrix
Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A great magnetic bubble surrounds the solar system as it cruises through the galaxy. The sun pumps the inside of the bubble full of solar particles that stream out to the edge until they collide with the material that fills the rest of the galaxy, at a complex boundary called the heliosheath. On the other side of the boundary, electrically charged particles from the galactic wind blow by, but rebound off the heliosheath, never to enter the solar system. Neutral particles, on the other hand, are a different story. They saunter across the boundary as if it weren't there, continuing on another 7.5 billion miles for 30 years until they get caught by the sun's gravity, and sling shot around the star.

There, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer lies in wait for them. Known as IBEX for short, this spacecraft methodically measures these samples of the mysterious neighborhood beyond our home. IBEX scans the entire sky once a year, and every February, its instruments point in the correct direction to intercept incoming neutral atoms. IBEX counted those atoms in 2009 and 2010 and has now captured the best and most complete glimpse of the material that lies so far outside our own system.

The results? It's an alien environment out there: the material in that galactic wind doesn't look like the same stuff our solar system is made of.

"We've directly measured four separate types of atoms from interstellar space and the composition just doesn't match up with what we see in the solar system," says Eric Christian, mission scientist for IBEX at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "IBEX's observations shed a whole new light on the mysterious zone where the solar system ends and interstellar space begins."

More than just helping to determine the distribution of elements in the galactic wind, these new measurements give clues about how and where our solar system formed, the forces that physically shape our solar system, and even the history of other stars in the Milky Way.

In a series of science papers appearing in the Astrophysical Journal on January 31, 2012, scientists report that for every 20 neon atoms in the galactic wind, there are 74 oxygen atoms. In our own solar system, however, for every 20 neon atoms there are 111 oxygen atoms. That translates to more oxygen in any given slice of the solar system than in the local interstellar space.

"Our solar system is different than the space right outside it and that suggests two possibilities," says David McComas the principal investigator for IBEX at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Either the solar system evolved in a separate, more oxygen-rich part of the galaxy than where we currently reside or a great deal of critical, life-giving oxygen lies trapped in interstellar dust grains or ices, unable to move freely throughout space." Either way, this affects scientific models of how our solar system and life formed.

Studying the galactic wind also provides scientists with information about how our solar system interacts with the rest of space, which is congruent with an important IBEX goal. Classified as a NASA Explorer Mission -- a class of smaller, less expensive spacecraft with highly focused research objectives -- IBEX's main job is to study the heliosheath, that outer boundary of the solar system's magnetic bubble -- or heliosphere -- where particles from the solar wind meet the galactic wind.

Previous spacecraft have already provided some information about the way the galactic wind interacts with the heliosheath. Ulysses, for one, observed incoming helium as it traveled past Jupiter and measured it traveling at 59,000 miles per hour. IBEX's new information, however, shows the galactic wind traveling not only at a slower speed -- around 52,000 miles per hour -- but from a different direction, most likely offset by some four degrees from previous measurements. Such a difference may not initially seem significant, but it amounts to a full 20% difference in how much pressure the galactic wind exerts on the heliosphere.

"Measuring the pressure on our heliosphere from the material in the galaxy and from the magnetic fields out there," says Christian, "will help determine the size and shape of our solar system as it travels through the galaxy."

These IBEX measurements also provide information about the cloud of material in which the solar system currently resides. This cloud is called the local interstellar cloud, to differentiate it from the myriad of particle clouds throughout the Milky Way, each traveling at different speeds. The solar system and its heliosphere moved into our local cloud at some point during the last 45,000 years.

Since the older Ulysses observations of the galactic wind speed was in between the speeds expected for the local cloud and the adjacent cloud, researchers thought perhaps the solar system didn't lie smack in the middle of this cloud, but might be at the boundary, transitioning into a new region of space. IBEX's results, however, show that we remain fully in the local cloud, at least for the moment.

"Sometime in the next hundred to few thousand years, the blink of an eye on the timescales of the galaxy, our heliosphere should leave the local interstellar cloud and encounter a much different galactic environment," McComas says.

In addition to providing insight into the interaction between the solar system and its environment, these new results also hold clues about the history of material in the universe. While the big bang initially created hydrogen and helium, only the supernovae explosions at the end of a giant star's life can spread the heavier elements of oxygen and neon through the galaxy. Knowing the amounts of such elements in space can help map how the galaxy has evolved and changed over time.

"This set of papers provide many of the first direct measurements of the interstellar medium around us," says McComas. "We've been trying to understand our galaxy for a long time, and with all of these observations together, we are taking a major step forward in knowing what the local part of the galaxy is like."

Voyager 1 could cross out of our solar system within the next few years. By combining the data from several sets of NASA instruments Ulysses, Voyager, IBEX and others we are on the precipice of stepping outside and understanding the complex environment beyond our own frontier for the first time.

The Southwest Research Institute developed and leads the IBEX mission with a team of national and international partners. The spacecraft is one of NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed missions in the Small Explorers Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

###

For more information about the IBEX mission, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/ibex

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Susan Hendrix
Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A great magnetic bubble surrounds the solar system as it cruises through the galaxy. The sun pumps the inside of the bubble full of solar particles that stream out to the edge until they collide with the material that fills the rest of the galaxy, at a complex boundary called the heliosheath. On the other side of the boundary, electrically charged particles from the galactic wind blow by, but rebound off the heliosheath, never to enter the solar system. Neutral particles, on the other hand, are a different story. They saunter across the boundary as if it weren't there, continuing on another 7.5 billion miles for 30 years until they get caught by the sun's gravity, and sling shot around the star.

There, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer lies in wait for them. Known as IBEX for short, this spacecraft methodically measures these samples of the mysterious neighborhood beyond our home. IBEX scans the entire sky once a year, and every February, its instruments point in the correct direction to intercept incoming neutral atoms. IBEX counted those atoms in 2009 and 2010 and has now captured the best and most complete glimpse of the material that lies so far outside our own system.

The results? It's an alien environment out there: the material in that galactic wind doesn't look like the same stuff our solar system is made of.

"We've directly measured four separate types of atoms from interstellar space and the composition just doesn't match up with what we see in the solar system," says Eric Christian, mission scientist for IBEX at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "IBEX's observations shed a whole new light on the mysterious zone where the solar system ends and interstellar space begins."

More than just helping to determine the distribution of elements in the galactic wind, these new measurements give clues about how and where our solar system formed, the forces that physically shape our solar system, and even the history of other stars in the Milky Way.

In a series of science papers appearing in the Astrophysical Journal on January 31, 2012, scientists report that for every 20 neon atoms in the galactic wind, there are 74 oxygen atoms. In our own solar system, however, for every 20 neon atoms there are 111 oxygen atoms. That translates to more oxygen in any given slice of the solar system than in the local interstellar space.

"Our solar system is different than the space right outside it and that suggests two possibilities," says David McComas the principal investigator for IBEX at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Either the solar system evolved in a separate, more oxygen-rich part of the galaxy than where we currently reside or a great deal of critical, life-giving oxygen lies trapped in interstellar dust grains or ices, unable to move freely throughout space." Either way, this affects scientific models of how our solar system and life formed.

Studying the galactic wind also provides scientists with information about how our solar system interacts with the rest of space, which is congruent with an important IBEX goal. Classified as a NASA Explorer Mission -- a class of smaller, less expensive spacecraft with highly focused research objectives -- IBEX's main job is to study the heliosheath, that outer boundary of the solar system's magnetic bubble -- or heliosphere -- where particles from the solar wind meet the galactic wind.

Previous spacecraft have already provided some information about the way the galactic wind interacts with the heliosheath. Ulysses, for one, observed incoming helium as it traveled past Jupiter and measured it traveling at 59,000 miles per hour. IBEX's new information, however, shows the galactic wind traveling not only at a slower speed -- around 52,000 miles per hour -- but from a different direction, most likely offset by some four degrees from previous measurements. Such a difference may not initially seem significant, but it amounts to a full 20% difference in how much pressure the galactic wind exerts on the heliosphere.

"Measuring the pressure on our heliosphere from the material in the galaxy and from the magnetic fields out there," says Christian, "will help determine the size and shape of our solar system as it travels through the galaxy."

These IBEX measurements also provide information about the cloud of material in which the solar system currently resides. This cloud is called the local interstellar cloud, to differentiate it from the myriad of particle clouds throughout the Milky Way, each traveling at different speeds. The solar system and its heliosphere moved into our local cloud at some point during the last 45,000 years.

Since the older Ulysses observations of the galactic wind speed was in between the speeds expected for the local cloud and the adjacent cloud, researchers thought perhaps the solar system didn't lie smack in the middle of this cloud, but might be at the boundary, transitioning into a new region of space. IBEX's results, however, show that we remain fully in the local cloud, at least for the moment.

"Sometime in the next hundred to few thousand years, the blink of an eye on the timescales of the galaxy, our heliosphere should leave the local interstellar cloud and encounter a much different galactic environment," McComas says.

In addition to providing insight into the interaction between the solar system and its environment, these new results also hold clues about the history of material in the universe. While the big bang initially created hydrogen and helium, only the supernovae explosions at the end of a giant star's life can spread the heavier elements of oxygen and neon through the galaxy. Knowing the amounts of such elements in space can help map how the galaxy has evolved and changed over time.

"This set of papers provide many of the first direct measurements of the interstellar medium around us," says McComas. "We've been trying to understand our galaxy for a long time, and with all of these observations together, we are taking a major step forward in knowing what the local part of the galaxy is like."

Voyager 1 could cross out of our solar system within the next few years. By combining the data from several sets of NASA instruments Ulysses, Voyager, IBEX and others we are on the precipice of stepping outside and understanding the complex environment beyond our own frontier for the first time.

The Southwest Research Institute developed and leads the IBEX mission with a team of national and international partners. The spacecraft is one of NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed missions in the Small Explorers Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

###

For more information about the IBEX mission, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/ibex

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/nsfc-bgo013112.php

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Syrian troops push back in fight on Damascus edges (AP)

BEIRUT ? Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.

President Bashar Assad's regime is intensifying its assault aimed at crushing army defectors and protesters, even as the West tries to overcome Russian opposition and win a new U.N. resolution demanding a halt to Syria's crackdown on the 10-month-old uprising. Activists reported at least 28 civilians killed on Monday.

With talks on the resolution due to begin Tuesday, a French official said at least 10 members of the Security Council backed the measure, which includes a U.N. demand that Assad carry out an Arab League peace plan. The plan requires Assad to hand his powers over to his vice president and allow the creation of a unity government within two months. Damascus has rejected the proposal.

A text needs support from nine nations on the 15-member U.N. Security Council to go to a vote. The French official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with departmental rules.

The British and French foreign ministers were heading to New York to push for backing of the measure in Tuesday's U.N. talks.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron's office urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition to the measure.

"Russia can no longer explain blocking the U.N. and providing cover for the regime's brutal repression," a spokeswoman for Cameron said, on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Russia insists it won't support any resolution it believes could open the door to an eventual foreign military intervention in Syria, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution paved the way for NATO airstrikes in Libya. Instead, the Kremlin said Monday it was trying to put together negotiations in Moscow between Damascus and the opposition.

It said Assad's government has agreed to participate. The opposition has in the past rejected any negotiations unless violence stops, and there was no immediate word whether any of the multiple groups that make up the anti-Assad camp would attend.

The United Nations estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria's crackdown since the uprising against Assad's rule began in March. The bloodshed has continued since ? with more than 190 killed in the past five days ? and the U.N. says it has been unable to update the figure.

Regime forces on Monday heavily shelled the central city of Homs, which has been one of the cities at the forefront of the uprising, activists said. Heavy machine gun fire hit the city's restive Baba Amr district.

The Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that 14 were killed in the city on Monday. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, put the number at 15. Both also reported the discovery of a family of six ? a couple and their four children ? who had been killed by gunfire several days earlier in the city's Karm el-Zeitoun district.

The past three days, pro-Assad forces have been fighting to take back a string of suburbs on the eastern approach to Damascus where army defectors who joined the opposition had seized control.

Government troops managed on Sunday evening to take control of two of the districts closest to Damascus, Ein Tarma and Kfar Batna, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the London-based head of the Observatory.

On Monday, the regime forces were trying to take the next suburbs farther out, with heavy fighting in the districts of Saqba and Arbeen, he said.

At least five civilians were killed in the fighting near Damascus, the Observatory and LCC said. The Observatory also reported 10 army defectors and eight regime troops or security forces killed around the country.

The reports could not be independently confirmed. Syrian authorities keep tight control on the media and have banned many foreign journalists from entering the country.

The wide-scale offensive near the capital suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, which has remained relatively quiet while most other Syrian cities have slipped into chaos since the uprising began in March.

The violence has gradually approached the capital. In the past two weeks, army dissidents have become more visible, seizing several suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus and setting up checkpoints where masked men wearing military attire and wielding assault rifles stop motorists and protect anti-regime protests.

Their presence so close to the capital is astonishing in tightly controlled Syria and suggests the Assad regime may either be losing control or setting up a trap for the fighters before going on the offensive.

State media reported that an "armed terrorist group" blew up a gas pipeline at dawn Monday. The pipeline carries gas from the central province of Homs to an area near the border with Lebanon. SANA news agency reported that the blast happened in Tal Hosh, which is about five miles (eight kilometers) from Talkalakh, along the border with Lebanon.

Further details were not immediately available.

There have been several pipeline attacks since the Syrian uprising began, but it is not clear who is behind them.

Assad's regime has blamed "terrorists" for driving the country's uprising, not protesters seeking democratic change.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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Source: http://whatstockstoinvestin.com/stock-investing-with-myclime/

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Egyptians vote in Upper House elections on Sunday (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptians vote Sunday in the first stage of elections for the upper house of parliament, with Islamists seeking to repeat the success they enjoyed in elections for the lower house.

Voting for the Shura council will be held over two stages ending in the middle of February and follow a lower house election that was Egypt's most democratic since military officers overthrew the king in 1952.

The series of elections for both houses of parliament are the first since Hosni Mubarak was toppled from the presidency on February 11 last year by a popular uprising.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group banned during his rule, won 47 percent of the seats in the lower house, more than any other party.

"The Shura council elections are as important as the People's Assembly (lower house) elections," said Hussein Ibrahim, a member of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and head of its parliamentary bloc.

"Members of both chambers will choose the committee that will draft the constitution, the milestone of Egypt's democratic transition," he said.

Under an interim constitution, parliament is responsible for picking the 100-strong assembly that will write a new constitution to replace the one that helped keep Mubarak in power for three decades.

Elections for the Shura Council have traditionally been less intense than lower house due to the breadth of constituencies that makes it harder for voters to know their candidates.

The Shura chamber's powers are limited and it cannot block legislation in the lower house. However, its members must be consulted before lower house MPs pass any bill.

Ninety of the Shura council's 270 seats will be decided in the first round of voting to be held Sunday and Monday, with run-offs on February 7. Another 90 will be determined by voting on February 14 and 15, with run-offs on February 22.

The remaining 90 will be appointed by Egypt's next president, expected to be elected in June according a transition timetable drawn up by the military council to whom Mubarak handed power nearly a year ago.

"The elected part of the Shura council will convene without the appointed seats until presidential elections are held and the new president appoints the other 90 members," an official from the body overseeing the election told Reuters.

(Editing by Tom Perry and David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_egypt_parliament_vote

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Prions more mobile than thought

Disease agents can jump from one species to another

Web edition : 2:46 pm

The protein-based pathogens known as prions may pass between different species more easily than has been thought, a team of French researchers reports in the Jan. 27 Science. By infecting engineered mice with prions from goats and cows, scientists also have shown that the invaders readily target tissues other than the brain.

?We may underestimate the threat posed by some of these diseases by focusing only on the brain,? says Pierluigi Gambetti, a prion researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. ?It adds a new element to the equation.?

The research also raises the possibility that new prion strains recently identified in cattle and small rodents might be able to jump to other species, including humans.

?We should, in the future, be more exhaustive when looking at the possibility of prions being passed from one species to another,? says Hubert Laude, a professor at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research in Jouy-en-Josas and a coauthor of the study.

Prions closely resemble normal proteins made by a host. When prions invade a host, they propagate by forcing these normal host proteins, actually called prion proteins, to assemble improperly. When these malformed proteins accumulate in the brain, they cause mind-wasting conditions such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people and scrapie in sheep.

For the most part, intrinsic biological differences between species prevent these pathogens from jumping hosts. But some prions are known to be transmitted between species, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which humans contract after being exposed to mad cow disease in cattle.

?This barrier can be very, very strong or easily broken,? Laude says. ?It depends on the species, the donor, host and also the strain of prion.?

To measure the strength of this barrier, Laude?s team used genetically engineered mice that expressed the normal human prion proteins. The scientists injected the mice with prions known to target similar proteins from cows or goats.

Laude?s team found misassembled proteins in the spleens of over half the mice, suggesting that this tissue might be more susceptible to infection. Malformed proteins were also detected in some of the animals? brains, though the mice all lived out a normal life span and didn?t exhibit any signs of disease.?

Taken together, these findings suggest that prions once believed to be limited to only one species can jump the barrier and affect other species.

Found in: Biomedicine

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337970/title/Prions_more_mobile_than_thought

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Fielder: Joining Tigers 'kind of a dream' (AP)

DETROIT ? Prince Fielder was born in 1984, the last time Detroit won the World Series.

After luring Fielder to Michigan with the fourth-largest contract in baseball history, the Tigers are hoping he will help usher in a new championship era for the Motor City.

"This is awesome," Fielder said Thursday after finalizing a $214 million, nine-year deal with Detroit. "It's kind of a dream come true. I'm excited."

Detroit began seriously pursuing Fielder after designated hitter Victor Martinez tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during offseason conditioning. Now the Tigers have three of baseball's biggest stars ? Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander ? all in their primes. Detroit won the AL Central by 15 games last year but lost to Texas in the AL championship series.

When the Tigers introduced Fielder on Thursday, the message was clear:

"We're trying to win right now," general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "We tried to win last year. We were close. I think we've reached a point now, on a yearly basis, we feel that way. When you look at the core of our group of players, there's a lot of guys that are on that field right now that are quality players."

Fielder's father Cecil became a big league star when he returned to the majors from Japan and hit 51 home runs with Detroit in 1990. Cecil played with the Tigers into the 1996 season, and young Prince made a name for himself with his prodigious power displays during batting practice at Tiger Stadium.

Detroit plays at Comerica Park now, and times have changed. The Fielders' strained relationship has been well documented, and Prince didn't elaborate on it Thursday.

"I'm just ecstatic about being with the Tigers," Prince Fielder said. "I'm just here to enjoy the day."

It will be up to manager Jim Leyland to figure out where to play all of his powerful hitters. He said Thursday the Tigers will move Miguel Cabrera from first base to third to make room for Fielder. He also listed a possible batting order, with Cabrera hitting third and Fielder fourth.

It's a lineup based on power, not speed.

"If they hit it where they're supposed to hit `em, they can trot," Leyland said. "We're going back to the old-fashioned baseball. We've got big-time power on the corners."

Fielder's contract includes a limited no-trade provision. He can be traded to 10 clubs without his consent before 2017, when he gains rights to block all trades under baseball's labor contract as a 10-year veteran who has been with a team for at least five years.

He will earn $23 million in each of his first two years with Detroit, then will make $24 million annually in the final seven seasons of his contract, according to terms obtained by The Associated Press.

The move carries plenty of risk for the Tigers. Fielder is 27 and has been extremely durable during his career, but Detroit is committing to him for almost a decade.

"I go by my instinct, like everybody else does," said owner Mike Ilitch, the Little Caesars pizza mogul who signed off on this massive deal after what had been a quiet offseason for the Tigers. "My instincts told me that this is going to work out fine."

Leyland sounded as taken aback as anyone with his club's sudden change.

"This boggles my mind, to be honest with you," he said. "I was kidding somebody. I said ? I'm being funny ? `About three weeks ago we were talking about maybe getting an extra pitcher or bullpen guy or something. Well, we didn't know if we had the finances to get a guy.' I said, `I don't know what happened in three weeks. Little Caesars did good, evidently.'"

The hardest adjustment might be for Cabrera. He's returning to a position he played while with the Florida Marlins, but he's played only 14 games at third base with the Tigers ? all in 2008 right after he joined the team.

Fielder made 15 errors last year, the most in baseball by a first baseman.

"Mr. Ilitch and Dave have given me a lot of nice pieces to this puzzle. It's my job, along with coaches, to figure out how to put that puzzle all together," Leyland said. "(Cabrera) is not going to have the agility, most likely, defensively that Brandon Inge had. You give up a little something, but you get a whole lot in return."

Leyland said he talked to Inge, who lost his job as Detroit's everyday third baseman last season.

"He's not the happiest camper," Leyland said. "He certainly understands."

Dombrowski indicated he's satisfied with his roster heading into spring training, although it's hard to rule out any more moves after the Tigers shockingly emerged with Fielder.

The pitching rotation is anchored by Verlander, who won the Cy Young Award and MVP last year, but Detroit's fifth starter spot is still uncertain. Dombrowski said the Tigers could bring in some non-roster invites to compete for that job.

"I think positional player-wise, we're pretty well set," he said.

___

AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bba_tigers_fielder

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Obama rejects controversial Keystone oil pipeline

Michael Marshall, environment reporter

US president Barack Obama has rejected plans for a vast oil pipeline reaching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, The Washington Post is reporting.

The Keystone XL pipeline has been criticised by environmentalists, but promoted by Republicans because they argue it would create jobs.

Canadian energy infrastructure firm, TransCanada had applied for a permit to build the pipeline. It would ferry bitumen from the Alberta oil sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. Environmentalists cited the enormous greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel that would be produced, as well as the risk to the sensitive ecosystem of the Nebraska Sandhills, through which the pipeline was planned to pass.

Last November the government announced a new environmental review of the project, delaying the final decision until 2013 - after the upcoming presidential election. However, late last year Republicans forced the government to make a decision within 60 days.

The rejection is not final - TransCanada will have the opportunity to reapply for a permit to build the pipeline along a route that avoids the Sandhills region. Still, Republicans - including US presidential candidate Mitt Romney - have reacted by excoriating Obama for his decision.

By turning down the permit, Romney said "the president demonstrates a lack of seriousness about bringing down unemployment, restoring economic growth and achieving energy independence", according to the Post's article.

And Agence France-Presse quotes John Boehner, speaker of the US House of Representatives and a Republican as saying:

If we don't build this pipeline to bring that Canadian oil, and take out the North Dakota oil and deliver it to our refineries in the Gulf Coast, that oil is going to be shipped out to the Pacific Ocean and be sold to the Chinese... This is not good for our country.

Canada is also developing another pipeline to carry bitumen away from the Alberta tar sands. The proposed Northern Gateway would terminate on the West Coast, in British Columbia, where it could be shipped across the Pacific to China.

By contrast, many environmentalists regard Keystone as a key test of Obama's green credentials, which have taken a battering since he came to office.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1bf0523d/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A120C0A10Cobama0Erejects0Econtroversial0Eke0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Lohan impresses judge with community service efforts

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SHOWBIZ

Wednesday January 18,2012

Actress LINDSAY LOHAN is continuing to impress a Los Angeles judge with her good behaviour after staying on top of her community service requirements.

The Mean Girls star returned to court on Tuesday morning (17Jan12) for another progress report hearing in relation to her recent conviction for a probation violation.

Lohan won top marks from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner in December (11) for completing part of her community service punishment ahead of the court-ordered deadline, and she has kept up the good work in recent weeks.

Her ongoing efforts won Lohan high praise from Judge Sautner on Tuesday after the court official received a glowing report from the star's probation officer for her work at the Los Angeles County Morgue.

During the brief hearing, Judge Sautner gushed, "Keep doing what you're doing. You appear to be doing very well."

Lohan is next due in court on 22 February (12), by which time she must have completed an additional 15 days of community service and another five therapy sessions.

The actress was told to complete 120 hours of community service and undergo counselling following a necklace theft conviction in early 2011, when she was already on probation for a 2007 DUI incident.

If she continues to impress Judge Sautner, Lohan's probation will end in March (12).

Source: http://uk.express.feedsportal.com/c/33338/f/565858/s/1beb7d13/l/0L0Sdailyexpress0O0Cposts0Cview0C2964450CLohan0Eimpresses0Ejudge0Ewith0Ecommunity0Eservice0Eefforts0C/story01.htm

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China says Arab League 'effective' in Syria - BangkokPost : News

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Straying Djokovic has easy win at Australian Open (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Novak Djokovic was having an easy time of it in his first-round match at the Australian Open, so he decided to experiment by coming to the net.

Like pretty much anything he does on the tennis court these days, it was an unqualified success. He easily beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 on Tuesday to advance to the second round and continue his quest to join Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by winning three straight Grand Slam singles titles.

"When you're 3- , 4-love up, why not try some other things, something that is not characteristic for your game," said Djokovic, who usually doesn't stray far from the baseline.

"But I am definitely working on my net game, approaching the short balls as much as I can, and take my chances."

He took them well, winning 21 of 26 points he attempted at the net.

While Djokovic looks to extend his Grand Slam success, reigning U.S. Open women's champion and Australian hope Sam Stosur was beaten in the following match, and a full and partisan house at Rod Laver Arena could do nothing to help.

The sixth-seeded Stosur was outplayed by Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (2), 6-3. The Romanian later told the crowd that "probably the whole country hates me now."

Serena Williams, a five-time Australian Open champion who lost to Stosur in the U.S. Open final last September, was due to play her first-round match later Tuesday against Tamira Paszek of Austria.

Williams, who comes into the match with concerns over her left ankle after twisting it at the Brisbane International two weeks ago, didn't defend her title here last year because of injury.

Stosur's first-round loss mirrors that of Petra Kvitova, who went out in the first round of last year's U.S. Open after winning Wimbledon.

"I'm not sure if it's one of my biggest matches, but it feels like that now," said Cirstea, who had lost both her previous matches against Stosur.

Stosur saved three match points while serving to stay in the match, but finally lost it when her looping forehand drifted over the baseline. No Australian has won the national title since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

"Certainly not the way that I wanted, not just this tournament but the whole summer," to play out, Stosur said. "There's not any other word for it but a total disappointment."

Second-ranked Kvitova and No. 4 Maria Sharapova advanced. After surrendering her opening service game with a double-fault, Kvitova won 12 consecutive games in a 6-2, 6-0 win over Russia's Vera Dushevina.

Sharapova, a former Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, won the first eight games of a 6-0, 6-1 win over Gisela Dulko of Argentina in her first match since returning from a left ankle injury.

The 2008 champion needed just 58 minutes for the win and the only game she lost was on her own serve.

Other women advancing included No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, who beat Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-3.

No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, No. 17 Dominika Cibulkova, No. 27 Maria Kirilenko, Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak, Shahar Peer of Israel and 2000 Wimbledon semifinalist Jelena Dokic also advanced.

Joining Djokovic in the second round of the men's draw is the player he beat last year in the final here, fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who had a first-set lapse before beating American Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Murray, who has lost in Grand Slam finals three times without taking a set, is attempting to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a major.

Andy Roddick easily defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to also move into the second round. The 15th-seeded American broke Haase to go up 3-0 in the final set with a running passing shot down the line that left his opponent hitting his head with his racket. He broke Haase again to close out the match.

No. 5-seeded David Ferrer advanced in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, over Rui Machado of Portugal. No. 17 Richard Gasquet, No. 23 Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 24 Kei Nishikori of Japan and No. 32 Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia also advanced.

Djokovic started his Australian Open defense wearing a pair of red, white and blue shoes with images of his three major trophies on the sides and a Serbian flag on the heels.

He gave up an early break but immediately broke back at love as he won the next 17 games, saving a break point in the opening game of the second set.

"I think it was a learning process for me in the last couple of years. I just have more confidence that I'm playing on right now," he said. "I just believe that I can win, especially against the biggest rivals in the major events."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Rivals say split SC conservative vote aids Romney

Republican presidential candidate, former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., speaks as he campaigns at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Prayer Breakfast in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., speaks as he campaigns at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Prayer Breakfast in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Sen. Rick Perry, listens as he campaigns at the Faith and Freedom Coaltion Prayer Breakfast in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich makes remarks during an event at Jones Memorial AME Zion Church, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., embraces his wife Karen after he spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalitin Prayer Breakfast in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks as he campaigns at the Faith and Freedom Coaltion Prayer Breakfast in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? A splintered conservative vote in South Carolina could pave the way for Mitt Romney to win this week's pivotal primary, some rivals said Sunday, acknowledging an outcome that prominent state lawmakers suggested could end the nomination fight.

"I think the only way that a Massachusetts moderate can get through South Carolina is if the vote is split," said Newt Gingrich, portraying himself as the lone conservative with a "realistic chance" of beating Romney in the first-in-the South contest.

Polls show Romney, the former Massachusetts governors who struggled to a fourth-place finish in South Carolina during his 2008 White House run, with a lead heading into Saturday's vote. The state has a large population of evangelicals and other conservative Christians, and concerns arose four years ago about his Mormon faith.

But Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry all said Romney, after victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, continued to benefit from the fractured GOP field and the failure of social conservatives to fully coalesce around a single alternative.

"If for some reason he's not derailed here and Mitt Romney wins South Carolina ... I think it should be over," said the state's senior senator, Republican Lindsey Graham. He added, "I'd hope the party would rally around him if he did in fact win South Carolina."

Santorum said South Carolina is "not going to be the final issue" and spoke of the "need to get this eventually down to a conservative alternative" to Romney. "When we get it down to a two-person race, we have an excellent opportunity to win this race," said the former Pennsylvania senator who won the endorsement of an influential group of social conservatives and evangelical leaders Saturday in Texas.

Perry, the Texas governor, said it was "our intention" to compete in the next contest, Florida's primary Jan. 31, even if he finished last in South Carolina.

Gingrich said he would "reassess" his candidacy if he lost in South Carolina and acknowledged that a Romney victory would mean "an enormous advantage going forward."

The former House speaker appealed for the support of "every conservative who wants to have a conservative nominee."

"I hope every conservative will reach the conclusion that to vote for anybody but Gingrich is, in fact, to help Romney win the nomination," he said.

To Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the equation is simple: "If Romney wins South Carolina, I think the game's over. This is the last stand for many candidates."

He noted that three candidates are pursuing the evangelical vote "very strongly and without any question that works to the Romney campaign's benefit. It's hard to find a single candidate that rallies all of the Christian voters in South Carolina and therefore that splintered approach will probably have a major impact" in the primary.

Romney took a rare day off from campaigning while his opponents focused on the South Carolina coast. They also attended church services and prayer breakfasts in a state with a large population of evangelicals and other conservative Christians.

At the Cathedral of Praise in North Charleston, Gingrich was cheered by church members as he criticized activist judges who he said had made "anti-American" rulings to keep God out of schools. Santorum spoke at the same church Saturday.

At a prayer breakfast in Myrtle Beach, Perry appealed to religious conservatives to back his candidacy.

"Who will see the job of president as that of faithful servant to the American people, and the God who created us?" Perry said. "I hope each of you will peer into your heart and look for that individual with the record and the values that represent your heart."

The candidates faced a packed week of campaign events and nationally televised debates Monday and Thursday. No Republican has won the party's presidential nomination without carrying South Carolina.

Santorum battled Romney to a virtual tie in Iowa before falling to fifth place in New Hampshire. Gingrich and Perry fared poorly in both states.

All three have the backing of well-financed independent groups known as super political action committee that can help keep their candidacies afloat.

Santorum refused to suggest anyone should drop out of the race as a way to consolidate conservative support behind an anti-Romney candidate. But he said Republicans would have a hard time beating President Barack Obama in November if Romney were the nominee. Santorum cited Romney's push for mandatory insurance coverage in Massachusetts.

Gingrich and Perry used television interviews to focus on Romney's former leadership of the Bain Capital venture firm. Both defended raising questions about Bain's business practices, saying Romney's tenure would come under relentless assault from Democrats in the general election.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman picked up the endorsement of The State, one of South Carolina's leading newspaper. Huntsman came in a weak third in New Hampshire after skipping Iowa, but the paper described him as a "realist" able to appeal to the centrist voters who will decide the general election.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul was returning to campaigning for the first time since Wednesday. He has spent several days at home in Texas after his second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary last week.

Gingrich, Graham and Scott appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," while Santorum spoke on "Fox News Sunday" and Perry was interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union."

___

Associated Press writers Tom Beaumont in Myrtle Beach and Julie Pace in North Charleston contributed to this report.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-15-US-GOP-Campaign/id-7b5a9e307fd7418b9e8e73ee106841e0

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White House casts doubt over anti-piracy legislation (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? White House officials raised concerns on Saturday about online piracy legislation pending in Congress that Google and Facebook have decried as heavy-handed and Hollywood studios and music labels say is needed to save U.S. jobs.

In a blog posting, three advisers to President Barack Obama said they believed the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and other bills could make businesses on the Internet vulnerable to litigation and harm legal activity and free speech.

"Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small," said the officials, including White House cyber-security czar Howard Schmidt.

The House of Representatives' SOPA bill aims to crack down on online sales of pirated American movies, music or other goods by forcing Internet companies to block access to foreign sites offering material that violates U.S. copyright laws.

U.S. advertising networks could also be required to stop online ads and search engines would be barred from directly linking to websites found to be distributing pirated goods.

The search engine Google has repeatedly said the bill goes too far and could hurt investment. Along with other Internet firms such as Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter and eBay, it has run advertisements in major newspapers urging Washington lawmakers to rethink their approach.

STEALING JOBS

Proponents of stricter piracy rules reacted strongly to Saturday's White House statement, which darkened prospects for legislation already expected to struggle to clear Congress in an election year.

"It is not censorship to enforce the law against foreign thieves," said Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who chairs the House judiciary committee. He estimated intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying U.S. jobs and account for more than 60 percent of American exports.

"Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while some of America's most profitable and productive industries are under attack," he said in a statement responding to the White House.

Smith, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, had vowed to press ahead with the bill in spite of criticism from Google and others and said he thought it would pass the House, where Republicans have a majority.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it strongly supported the House legislation as well as the "Protect IP Act" in the Democrat-controlled Senate, calling both "narrowly targeted bills designed to target the worst of the worst offenders."

"Given the broad consensus that this issue needs to be addressed, it is time to come together and adopt strong legislation that ends the ability of foreign criminals to prey on innocent consumers and steal American jobs," it said.

The Motion Picture Association of America said while the White House statement raised significant points, "protecting American jobs is important too, particularly in these difficult economic times for our nation."

And the Recording Industry Association of America, noting the United States is the world's top exporter of creative works, said it was intolerable for Internet companies to be allowed "to direct law-abiding consumers to unlawful and dangerous sites."

"Hyperbole, hysteria and hypotheticals cannot change the fact that stealing is wrong, costing jobs and must be contained," it said.

PUBLIC OPPOSITION

Schmidt and the other advisers said the Obama administration was ready to work with lawmakers on a narrower, more targeted approach to online piracy to ensure that legitimate businesses - including start-up firms - would not be harmed.

They also said online firms and Internet providers should adopt voluntary standards to clamp down on piracy, an approach Republicans in Congress and many companies have said lacks the teeth to have an impact.

Saturday's statement did not make clear whether Obama would veto the piracy legislation if it reaches his desk, something the White House would likely spell out more formally ahead of any votes in Congress.

Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director of the consumer rights group Public Knowledge, called on lawmakers to set aside the existing bills and get to work on a new "consensus bill" responding to the White House concerns.

"The messages being sent by the public in opposition to this bill are finally getting through to Washington," Siy said.

(Additional reporting by Diane Bartz, Jim Finkle and Tom Ferraro; Editing by John O'Callaghan and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120114/tc_nm/us_usa_internet_whitehouse

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No favorite left in playoffs

Brady gives Patriots an edge, but it's a razor-thin margin over other 3 teams

Brian Snyder / Reuters

Tom Brady could take the Patriots back to their first Super Bowl since the 2007 season.

ANALYSIS

updated 11:33 p.m. ET Jan. 15, 2012

Gregg Rosenthal

There are no big upsets left in the NFL playoffs.

The Patriots, Ravens, 49ers, and Giants are all talented teams with obvious limitations. They are all fallible.

It feels like any team left has a great shot at the title, but of course that was the case all along. It just took the Packers and Saints getting knocked out to remind us that the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy was wide open.

We like to convince ourselves the NFL is predictable. We forget that the regular season often has little to do with the postseason. Every year, we are surprised and come back for more.

Consider: Next Sunday?s matchup between the Patriots and Ravens marks the first time since 2004 that the top two seeds made the AFC Championship.

The NFC proved far more surprising. In the year of the record-setting quarterback, Alex Smith?s team beat Drew Brees? Saints in a furious late shootout. Aaron Rodgers will likely win the MVP, but he was outplayed by Eli Manning.

Manning?s Giants symbolize that the playoffs are a different season. It wasn?t so long ago the Giants lost their fourth straight game and were 6-6. Or how about when they lost at home to the Redskins to fall to 7-7?

All year, the Giants had a defense that gave up big plays in bunches. They couldn?t run the ball on offense. But they spackled those problems, displayed their considerable talent, and well, got a little lucky. (9-7 wouldn?t make the playoffs in most divisions.)

Now the Giants have a solid chance to win their second title under Tom Coughlin. I can?t remember a Final Four that was more evenly matched. It wouldn?t surprise me if any of these teams won, but I?m going to lamely try to predict what teams have the best chance left to win it all.

As NFL fans, we never learn.

1. New England Patriots
Things have fallen into place nicely for the Patriots. They only had to beat a mediocre Broncos team to get to the AFC title game.

The recipe to beat New England in the playoffs was simple: have a pass rush and a quarterback. Well, the best quarterbacks have been knocked out.

Baltimore is a difficult test, but the Patriots are a much different team than they were in 2009 when the Ravens won in Foxborough. They have won in a variety of ways. More importantly, Tom Brady has Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez at his disposal.

The Patriots' defense has also quietly improved. They are healthier than they have been all year with safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes both making a huge difference.

New England gets the top spot on my list because they have the last transcendent quarterback left in the field. In a one-game situation, I?ll still take Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick drawing up a gameplan.

Brady and Belichick will only get so many chances to win one more title. They know what a great opportunity they have in front of them.

2. San Francisco 49ers
If the 49ers can survive that game against New Orleans, they can survive anything. The 49ers have the best group of defensive players remaining. Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis, and Navorro Bowman are all among the best at their positions.

Jim Harbaugh is on a serious playcalling roll and the 49ers showed against New Orleans they can win any kind of game. They love the slugfest and Alex Smith showed they can come from behind too.

3. New York Giants
Winning in Green Bay and San Francisco in back-to-back weeks is a tall order. The Giants can match up with any team?s talent, but scoring on the 49ers will be difficult. New York?s sagging running game figures to be stuffed.

The Falcons and Packers haven?t had the horses to show the holes in New York?s pass protection, but the 49ers can get to any quarterback. Just ask Drew Brees.

The Giants are peaking at the right time and they will get a lot of comparisons to the ?07 title team. They remind me more of the ?08 Eagles. That Philadelphia team was talented, got hot late in the year, and then lost in the NFC Championship game in Arizona just when everyone expected them to win.

4. Baltimore Ravens
The gap between the Ravens and Patriots is not great, but Baltimore finished fourth in my little exercise for a few reasons.

They don?t have the best remaining defense left. That belongs to the 49ers. San Francisco is more physical, too.

Houston dominated the line of scrimmage against Baltimore. The Texans were the better running team, and they had the better pass rush.

Baltimore had the better quarterback against Houston, but that won?t be true against the Patriots. And it won?t be true if the Ravens faced the Giants; Joe Flacco simply hasn?t played that well down the stretch this season.

Could the Ravens win it all? Of course. But they are playing on the road Sunday and don?t seem to be playing their best football.

As we learned Sunday, that can all change in one performance.

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No favorite left in playoffs

Rosenthal: There are no big upsets left in the NFL playoffs. The Patriots, Ravens, 49ers, and Giants are all talented teams with obvious limitations. They are all fallible.

NY pulls off one giant upset against Green Bay

Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes and the Giants shocked the Packers 37-20 in an NFC divisional playoff game Sunday. Manning threw for 330 yards, sending the Giants to San Francisco for the NFC championship game next Sunday night.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46009277/ns/sports-nfl/

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Iran warns Gulf Arabs on oil (AP)

CAIRO ? Iran warned Gulf Arab oil producers against boosting production to offset any potential drop in Tehran's crude exports in the event of an embargo affecting its oil sales, the latest salvo in the dispute between the West and the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

The comments by Iran's OPEC governor, published Sunday, came as Saudi Arabia's oil minister was quoted the same day denying that his country's earlier pledges to boost output as needed to meet global demand was linked to a potential siphoning of Iranian crude from the market because of sanctions.

World oil markets have been jolted over concerns that Iran may choke off the vital Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for sanctions hampering its ability to sell its oil. Saudi Arabia and other key Gulf Arab producers have recently said they are ready to provide stable and secure supplies of oil.

The U.S. recently imposed sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and, by extension, refiners' ability to buy and pay for crude. The European Union is also weighing an embargo on Iranian oil, while Japan, one of Iran's top Asian customers, has pledged to buy less crude from the country.

Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran's OPEC governor, was quoted Sunday by the pro-reform Shargh newspaper as saying that attempts by Gulf nations to replace Iran's output with their own would make them an "accomplice in further events."

"These acts will not be considered friendly," Khatibi said, adding that if the Arab producers "apply prudence and announce that they will not participate in replacing oil, then adventurist countries will not show interest," in the embargo.

The embargo concerns are linked to Iran's nuclear program. The West maintains Iran is enriching uranium for weapons purposes while Tehran says its program is for purely peaceful purposes such as generating electricity.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and a close U.S. ally, had said that it was ready to raise its output to accommodate global market needs. The country is the only member of the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that has significant spare capacity, currently estimated at roughly more than 2 million barrels per day.

With concerns building amid the standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program, a string of Asian and Western officials have visited Saudi Arabia over the past week. While offering assurances that it could meet a shortfall in supply through its spare capacity, Saudi officials have also been careful to say that it was an internal matter if nations chose to abide by any sanctions.

Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi appeared to try to further clarify the country's position in comments published Sunday in the daily Al-Ektisadiyah newspaper.

"We never said that Saudi Arabia is trying to compensate for Iranian oil in the case that sanctions (are enacted)," Al-Naimi was quoted as saying. "We said that we are prepared to meet the increase in global demand as a result of any circumstances."

The kingdom has a production capacity of 12.5 million barrels and is believed to be producing slightly over 9 million to 9.5 million barrels per day.

Iran's warning introduces a new layer of complication to an issue that has the potential for broad regional and global fallout.

"If the regional countries ... say no to what is harmful to the security of the region, then nothing will definitely happen," he said. But if the security of oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is violated, "all will be lost," he said.

"If these countries make a mistake and give the green light, this will be a historic green light," Khatibi said.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy, is widely seen as the main counterweight to Iran in the region. Any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a sixth of the world's oil flows, would also affect the export abilities of the major Gulf producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.

While momentum appears to be building for the sanctions by the West, China, another major buyer of Iranian oil, has come out against the measures.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for meeting with officials in which the two countries "pledged to work together to further expand all-around exchanges and cooperation," according to China's Xinhua news agency

Wen said the two sides "should expand trade of crude oil and natural gas and energy-related cooperation as to deepen their energy partnership," Xinhua reported.

During the visit, Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco and Chinese refiner Sinopec finalized an agreement to develop a 400,000 barrel per day joint venture refinery in the Red Sea city of Yanbu. The deal is just one between China and Gulf producers as the Asian powerhouse reaches out across the world to secure energy supplies for its booming economy.

___

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_mideast_oil

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Rahm Emanuel and public sector union play hardball over Chicago library hours

Across the US, financially strapped local governments are cutting back on library hours. In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has reduced the libraries' week to five days amid a stand-off with a public union.

A standoff between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a public sector union has reduced opening hours at the city?s public libraries, shortening the system?s week from six days to five.

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The dispute is not unique to Chicago: All across the United States, municipalities seeking to fill gaps in their budgets are routinely cutting hours and staff in local library systems, a trend that critics say impacts the most vulnerable population in a troubled economy.

?All local government agencies are vulnerable to cuts in this economic climate, but libraries need to be sure they?re telling the story of how they are part of the solution to the economic crisis,? says Molly Raphael, president of the American Library Association (ALA), a non-profit trade association based in Chicago.

The Chicago Public Library system is being forced to shutter 76 of its 79 branches on Mondays, reducing hours to 40 a week. The new schedule went into effect this week, a decision dictated by Mayor Emanuel?s office late last week.

Emanuel is accusing the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, which represents library employees, of using the library issue as ?a bargaining chip? and refusing to accede to concessions on ?a host of other subjects.?

According to the Chicago Public Library marketing director, Ruth Lednicer, 176 employees were laid off as a result of the Monday closings, which the system is considering ?temporary ? until further notice.?

?We?re hopeful the city and union reach an agreement,? Ms. Lednicer says.

In his budget address to the city council last fall, Emanuel said he wanted the library service hours cut by 8 hours and proposed doing so on Monday and Friday mornings, a half-day schedule he said would have the least impact on the public. Last week, he opted for a full-day closure on Monday, but called it ?avoidable.? He said the reduction in hours was designed to save the city $7 million.

The switch, from two half-day closures to a full day, infuriated some members of the city council who say they were misled by the mayor.

?That?s not what was proposed or voted on. It?s completely contrary. We need to sit down quickly and get back to the original agreement, which was keep those libraries open? every day, Alderman Scott Waguespack told the Chicago Sun-Times last week.

AFSCME Council 31 Spokesperson Anders Lindall rejects Emanuel?s charge that the unions are not cooperating to keep libraries open and adds that the city, under union rules, is not contractually allowed to reduce hours per day.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/8GwzpgOI_u0/Rahm-Emanuel-and-public-sector-union-play-hardball-over-Chicago-library-hours

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Turkish Cypriots mourn Rauf Denktash's death (AP)

NICOSIA, Cyprus ? Turkish Cypriots declared a weeklong period of mourning for former longtime leader Rauf Denktash and founder of their breakaway state who died at age 87, an official said Saturday.

Schools and public buildings will be shut for Tuesday's funeral in the Turkish Cypriot north of the divided island's capital Nicosia, while all official events will be canceled and flags will fly at half-staff, Turkish Cypriot official Osman Ertug said.

Turkish Cypriots were left numb at news of Denktash's death Friday, despite the fact his health has been deteriorating since last May when he had a stroke. Turkey announced that flags will also be lowered to half-staff and at all its embassies abroad until Denktash's funeral.

Meanwhile, officials paid tribute to Denktash, whose utter devotion to a separate Turkish Cypriot state defined a 60-year political career and earned the enmity of the majority Greek Cypriots.

The island was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of a union with Greece. Denktash was the driving force behind a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in 1983, presiding over the breakaway state ? that only Turkey recognizes ? from 1983 until bowing out of active politics in 2005.

So devoted was Denktash to the separatist cause that leading Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris quoted his daughter as saying his final words included a diktat to Greek Cypriot leaders ? spoken in Greek ? that the north is an independent republic.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Denktash's death was "a loss not only for the Turkish Cypriots but for all Turks."

Gul urged Turkish Cypriots to safeguard their state, which he said was Denktash's greatest legacy while striving for "success in the half-century-long struggle for a fair and lasting peace" in Cyprus.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "saddened" to hear of Denktash's death. Ban called Denktash a "historic Turkish Cypriot leader with whom the United Nations had a long relationship" as part of numerous failed rounds of U.N.-facilitated reunification talks.

Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias said he called the current Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu to convey his condolences and would also contact Denktash's son, Serdar.

"Denktash was steadfast to his vision for partition," Christofias said. "We can't agree naturally with Rauf Denktash's vision, that's reality, but it would be wrong at this time to make generalizations and accuse Denktash."

Gul, Turkey's parliamentary speaker Cemil Cicek, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu were expected to attend the funeral, according to Turkey's NTV television.

It was not known if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who underwent surgery about six weeks ago, would also attend.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120114/ap_on_re_eu/eu_cyprus_denktash

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Syracuse University Basketball Fan

Lots of buzz about the Number 1 ranked Syracuse University Orange Men?s Basketball team this year. The fans in the Carrier Dome are even crazier than normal. ?Remember the young fan I showed you a couple of years ago? ?Last weekend I attended the Big East game between the Syracuse Orange and the Marquette Golden Eagles and ran into a slightly older fan who allowed me to photograph him.

Syracuse University Basketball fan before a game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/50mm, 1/125s, f/3.2, ISO 800, EV +1.0.

The Orange went on to win 73-66 (Sorry, Kathy!) thanks to the support of over 25,000 fans many wearing orange clothing though not many?with orange wigs.

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This entry was posted in People, Sports and tagged 50mm, basketball, beads, fan, gloves, man, new york, nifty fifty, nikon D700, orange, syracuse, wig. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://viewsinfinitum.com/2012/01/11/syracuse-university-basketball-fan/

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