Portland man asks judge to release his dog from humane society ...

The custody battle over ownership of a husky-Siberian dog will continue Thursday morning, when a Corvallis judge will consider whether to return the dog to his original Portland owner.
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The dog ? known alternately as ?Chase? and ?Bear? ? has been held in protective custody at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland for the past 2? months.
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Jordan Biggs, the 20-year-old woman who found him in March 2011, was charged this past July with first-degree theft for refusing to give the dog back to his original owner.
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Pending her trial, her attorney asked Benton County Circuit Judge Locke Williams to keep the dog sequestered at an animal shelter because the dog is evidence. Williams agreed.
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But Thursday at 8:45 a.m., an attorney for the dog?s original owner, Sam Hanson-Fleming, will argue that the dog should be released to Hanson-Fleming because it?s not necessary to keep the dog as evidence. The Benton County prosecutor?s office is supporting Hanson-Fleming?s motion.
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If the judge declines to release the dog to Hanson-Fleming, the Portland man's attorney requests that the dog be released to a friend of Hanson-Fleming?s or a third party who knows neither Hanson-Fleming or Biggs.

Check OregonLive.com for updates. Stay tuned for Tweets, as well.

Watch a video of Jordan Biggs' last appearance in August.

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/10/portland_man_asks_judge_to_rel.html

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Stereotype Threat and That Obama Tape (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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EADS-BAE merger could be hostage to U.S. politics

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - To win approval for their planned $45 billion merger, EADS and BAE systems must persuade Washington to let a pan-European behemoth control some of the most sensitive U.S. defense contracts, without triggering a political backlash.

Defense industry experts say it should not be difficult for Washington to protect its security interests in allowing the deal to go ahead, but the politics could become complicated if Boeing and other competitors lobby against the deal.

"The security issue can be dealt with if the deal is structured properly," said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute think tank.

"The only way this deal can be blocked in the U.S. is if opponents demagogue the issues of security."

The merger must first be cleared by European officials, and the companies and shareholders must agree terms, but U.S. approval would eventually be necessary as well.

BAE is British in origin, but increasingly it has become a trans-Atlantic firm, easily the biggest foreign company in the U.S. defense sector. The U.S. military is its biggest customer and accounts for nearly half of its global revenue.

Its U.S. defense operations are precisely what would make it such an attractive partner for EADS, the Franco-German maker of Airbus civilian jetliners.

Under a complicated Special Security Arrangement (SSA) with the U.S. government, BAE's U.S. defense businesses are kept under separate management and run by Americans, allowing it to bid for and work on contracts involving top secret technology.

Theoretically, there is little reason why those safeguards could not remain in place after a merger with EADS.

But politically, it may be one thing for Washington to allow defense deals with a private sector contractor from Britain - its main battlefield ally in Iraq and Afghanistan - and another thing entirely for it to cooperate so closely with a European giant, partially controlled by the French state.

Opposition in Congress could be sparked quickly, given long-simmering mistrust of France and concerns about European trade subsidies, said an executive for one of the biggest U.S. weapons makers who asked not to be identified while speaking about the deal between the European firms.

"This could get inflamed pretty quickly. After all, this is the House of Representatives that banned 'French' fries," the executive said, referring to a period of difficult relations between Washington and Paris, when France opposed the Iraq war and the congressional cafeteria began serving "freedom fries".

Some experts compared the political risks surrounding the merger to those of Dubai-based ports operator DP World, whose plans to manage operations at U.S. port terminals were derailed in 2006 by sudden bipartisan opposition in Congress.

Opposition could come from Boeing, which is EADS's rival in the civil aviation sector. Boeing has so far not launched a lobbying effort over the proposed merger, but has said it would examine it closely and expects the government to as well.

U.S. officials have been tight-lipped thus far, saying only that they will carefully review the terms, if and when BAE and EADS submit a proposal.

Sources close to the negotiations say initial talks with senior Pentagon officials revealed no major dealbreakers, despite some news reports highlighting possible concerns.

SPECIAL SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS

BAE's Special Security Arrangement, which limits senior management jobs at its U.S. division to Americans, has particularly wide-ranging terms, allowing it to win work on sensitive U.S. projects such as the F-35 fighter jet and cybersecurity, as well as with various intelligence agencies.

EADS also has a U.S. unit with an SSA for secret Pentagon work, but its activities are much more limited. Senior sources at BAE say they are hoping their security arrangement could be extended to the U.S. operations of the combined group.

"BAE's SSA is very good and gives it a lot of access," said a source close to BAE who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the deal publicly. "For the merger to happen, BAE wants its SSA preserved. BAE does not want ... any impediments to its ability to do what it does in the U.S."

Former U.S. government officials say the current structure will be reviewed closely to rule out access by foreign governments, and may well be tweaked in some form.

"BAE is saying everything would remain the same ... but (the Department of Defense) looks at who is the ultimate owner and whether a foreign government has the right to control you in any manner," said one former U.S. national security official.

BAE will have to use its political and economic clout in Washington - and possibly make some concessions - to get a green light for the deal. Its lobbyists began blanketing Capitol Hill within hours after news of the merger surfaced, seeking to assure key lawmakers that the merger would not harm America's sensitive defense projects, according to industry sources.

Sean O'Keefe, the former Navy Secretary and Pentagon budget chief who heads EADS's U.S. unit is also making the rounds, as are other Americans with the company.

Once a deal is announced, it must be approved by a body called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), which is headed by the U.S. Treasury and includes the Pentagon, State Department and other government agencies.

That process, which is conducted behind firmly closed doors, could take weeks or months and may well stretch into 2013, said former officials, predicting that Congress could start to air its concerns once a formal proposal was on the table.

"That's when the politics will start heating up," said the executive from the large U.S. arms firm. He said most U.S. companies don't feel threatened by the deal, given EADS's tiny presence, but could be irritated by the Pentagon allowing two European companies to merge when they have discouraged similar moves by U.S. firms.

One senior industry executive familiar with the deal agreed that the politics could become a "wild card", noting that the Dubai Ports situation showed how quickly the tide could turn against a deal in Washington.

Even if the political environment turns hostile, President Barack Obama's administration might find it difficult to block the deal, given the involvement of key allies, and his own repeated calls for cooperation with allies on defense.

"If the British, German, French and Spanish governments appeal directly to Obama to approve the deal ... it's hard to see how he could turn them down," said an executive at another large U.S. defense contractor. "There's just not enough business to go around."

SOME CHANGES MIGHT BE NEEDED

BAE's U.S. work in land vehicles and ship repair is not expected to raise security concerns. But it could be a different story for Sanders, a Nashua, New Hampshire company that makes sensitive aircraft protection and surveillance equipment. BAE's SSA was shaped when it acquired the unit from Lockheed in 2000.

The U.S. unit of BAE is run by American CEO Linda Hudson, who previously worked for General Dynamics and is widely respected in the industry. Most of the U.S. division's board members are also American, although the parent company's British CEO and finance director also sit on the board.

After the merger, that may not be enough to satisfy Washington, said Espirito Santo defense analyst Ed Stacey.

"The U.S. will want a stiffer firewall around some sensitive projects," he said, noting that while the current board of BAE's U.S. unit was selected by the company but vetted by the Pentagon, the U.S. unit of the combined company might have to accept a board installed by the Pentagon.

"BAE may also be ordered to divest a few of its best U.S. assets, which would damage the logic of doing a deal."

BAE insists that it does not expect to have to divest any of its U.S. operations - the very units that make the deal so attractive to EADS - but privately executives say certain other concessions such as the board makeup may be acceptable.

(Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eads-bae-merger-could-hostage-u-politics-163511717--finance.html

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Increase in craft beer helps turn industry around

Brewers can finally toast to good sales this year, after a mid-year report published by the Brewer's Association cited a 14 percent growth in beer sales.

The organization represents 1,400 U.S. breweries, or about 70 percent of the industry.

Craft beer also experienced a spike in sales - 6 million barrels this year, a 12 percent increase in volume.

"India pale ales, seasonal beers, Belgian-inspired ales and a range of specialty beers are just a few of the beer styles that are growing rapidly," said Brewers Association director Paul Gatza in a statement.

Craft brewers, 97 percent of brewers in the U.S., are "small, independent and traditional."

American breweries are experiencing a surge, reaching a 125-year-high of 2,126 breweries over the last year. An additional 1,252 breweries are in the planning stages.

The beer industry's sales decline over the past four years can be blamed on the recession, according to The Washington Post. Key consumers, blue-collar males in their 20s, were deeply affected by the economic downturn.

Liquor and wine sales weren't as affected. Liquor sales rose by 4 percent in 2011 and wine sales increased their store volume by 4 percent this year.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/increase-craft-beer-helps-turn-industry-around-201831646--abc-news-Recipes.html

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Prostate cancer treatment brochure that leaves out risks of paralysis ...

When it comes to social media many pharmaceuticals are risk averse to the minefield of compliance issues it poses on the marketing front. But traditional marketing still poses plenty of pitfalls as Endo Pharmaceuticals recently experienced.

A brochure from Endo Pharmaceuticals, a division of Endo Health Solutions, for the drug developer?s subcutaneous prostate cancer implant treatment, Vantas, incurred the ire of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?sOffice of Prescription Drug Promotion in the Division of Consumer Drug Promotion.

In a letter obtained by pharmaceutical news blog Pharmalot, the regulator points out that the problem is not so much for what the brochure contained as what it left out. The brochure claims its androgen deprivation therapeutic, a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist, reduces the amount of testosterone the body makes, slowing the growth of prostate cancer cells. According to the letter for which Pharmalot provides a link:

..the brochure fails to state that paralysis may result from the risk of spinal cord compression, and that patients are at increased risk of developing hyperglycemia, diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death, and stroke. As a result, the brochure misleadingly suggests that Vantas is safer than has been demonstrated.

As Pharmalot points out, it?s not as if the company forgot to include warning information. But that?s some pretty critical information to leave out.

The letter advises Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania-based Endo to stop distributing the brochure and to respond to the FDA by October 10.

Endo got Vantas as part of its acquisition of Indevus in 2009 to diversify its drug portfolio. Net sales of Vantas were $19 million in 2011, primarily in the U.S., according to Endo Health Solutions? full year earnings report. It?s been available in the U.S. since 2004.

[Image from stock.xchng user svilen001]

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Copyright 2012 MedCity News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://medcitynews.com/2012/10/prostate-cancer-treatment-brochure-leaves-out-side-effects-like-paralysis-diabetes-draws-fda-ire/

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Zimmerman, Nationals win NL East championship

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, center fielder Bryce Harper, starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez and left fielder Michael Morse celebrate with teammates after clinching the National League East division title following their 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in a baseball game, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, center fielder Bryce Harper, starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez and left fielder Michael Morse celebrate with teammates after clinching the National League East division title following their 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in a baseball game, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche (25) is doused as he is interviewed by a television reporter, right, during the Nationals' celebration after clutching the National League East division title following their baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth, left, celebrates with teammates after clutching the National League East division title following their baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo celebrates after the Nationals clutches the National League East division title following a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth, center, celebrates with teammates after clutching the National League East division title following a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? As the Washington Nationals' first draft pick back in June 2005, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was there almost from the start, through the various last-place finishes and the consecutive 100-loss seasons.

He stuck around, signing a couple of long-term contracts, always convinced he would be a part of a winner one day.

That day finally arrived Monday night, when the Nationals clinched their first NL East title since moving from Montreal seven years ago.

And so, his gray championship T-shirt soaked with champagne and beer, white ski goggles dangling around his neck, Zimmerman ? low-key and straight-faced through the ups and downs (well, mostly downs) ? paused in front of the couple of thousand fans in the stands cheering and chanting during the players' on-field celebration. On his way to the home clubhouse at Nationals Park, Zimmerman raised both arms and bellowed.

"The odds were in my favor, that I was going to win at some point here, right?" Zimmerman said moments earlier, smiling as wide a smile as can be.

"For all the things we've been through, all the things this organization's been through," he added, "to be right here, right now, it's pretty impressive."

Despite being beaten 2-0 by the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, the Nationals earned the division championship, because the second-place Atlanta Braves lost 2-1 at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Washington, in first place since May 22, leads Atlanta by three games with two to play in the regular season. The Braves' loss finished as the top of the ninth inning ended in Washington, and the Nationals congratulated each other in their dugout with hugs, high-fives and spiked gloves.

"The way it happened tonight doesn't really matter," Zimmerman said. "We put ourselves in that position to have the luxury of having the other team have to play perfect baseball. We played a great 159, 160 games to get to that point, and we should be commended for that."

Amid the postgame delirium on the field, the crushed cans and strewn bottles collecting in the grass, pitcher Gio Gonzalez grabbed 86-year-old team owner Ted Lerner and steered him toward the gaggle of players.

"Ted, this is your party!" the effervescent left-hander yelled. Then, turning toward teammates, Gonzalez shouted: "Hey! Who's got the cooler? This is the man, right here!"

All in all, 21-game winner Gonzalez and the rest of the first team in 79 years to bring postseason baseball back to the nation's capital threw quite a victory party. Thanks to strong pitching from Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper's burst of energy and Adam LaRoche's slugging, the Nationals won enough from April through September that even a loss on the first day of October could not stop them from achieving the sort of success that seemed so far away only a few years ago.

"The puzzle came together," Lerner said, "a little earlier than we expected."

When Michael Morse led off the bottom of the ninth, the PA announcer informed the crowd that the home team was the champion, and when the game ended red fireworks lit the night sky with the Capitol building off in the distance beyond left field. The scoreboard declared "NL East Division Champions."

It was the second division crown in franchise history. The Montreal Expos won the NL East in 1981, a strike-shortened season, by beating the Phillies in a best-of-five playoff.

"This is incredible. The excitement. The joy. The fans. Smiles on everyone's faces, the excitement that's going on," Gonzalez said. "Everyone here just witnessed history. Hopefully we can try to continue that journey."

When the game ended, the Phillies ? winners of the previous five NL East titles; already eliminated from playoff contention this year ? gathered in the middle of the diamond for regular post-victory handshakes.

"Made me mad. Yes it did. Very much so. I'm a bad loser," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said about watching Washington clinch against his club. "Nobody should be a good loser. I'm a bad loser and I always will be."

The Nationals, meanwhile, collected in their home clubhouse for alcohol-spraying. They gathered around general manager Mike Rizzo and dumped bubbly over his shaved head. Harper, who has more homers (22) than years on earth (19), shared some apple cider with LaRoche's 9-year-old son, Drake.

"I'll remember being in the scrum in the middle of the clubhouse with all the guys, just elated and all together," Rizzo said later. "We live with each other for seven months a year. (This is the) culmination of all that emotion and such a successful season for us."

On Sept. 20, the Nationals assured themselves of no worse than an NL wild-card berth ? and guaranteed Washington a postseason game for the first time since the Senators lost the 1933 World Series to the New York Giants.

But even on that night of success, Washington manager Davey Johnson made clear he wasn't all that interested in merely getting a chance to play in a one-game, in-or-out, wild-card playoff. No, he wanted his team to focus on bigger prizes at hand.

With Washington back home from a six-game road trip and on the verge of a big accomplishment, the first roar of the night from the crowd came a few minutes before the first pitch, when a booming voice over the loudspeakers let everyone know that the home team's "magic number is down to one!"

In the end, Kyle Kendrick (11-12) pitched seven scoreless innings for the win. John Lannan (4-1) gave up two runs in five innings for Washington. That the Nationals lost did not matter, of course.

The spectators often rose at key moments, whether their team was at the plate or in the field. Fans also reacted with applause and cheers when the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field showed that Pittsburgh had taken a lead against Atlanta in the fifth inning.

All in all, quite a contrast from the mostly silent, mostly empty ballparks that were home to Nationals teams that lost 100 games apiece in 2008 and 2009. Then again, those worst-in-baseball clubs earned No. 1 overall picks in the amateur draft that turned into Strasburg and Harper.

Rizzo also oversaw a rebuilding of a farm system and two very key additions from outside the organization: Gonzalez, acquired from Oakland for four prospects last offseason; and Jayson Werth, signed away from Philadelphia with a $126 million free-agent deal in December 2010.

He was right in the middle of all the celebrating, twirling a shirt overhead in the middle of a circle of bouncing, fist-pumping, alcohol-dumping teammates.

Werth was brought to Washington, in part, to show the club how to win, having been a part of the Phillies' perennial division champions and 2008 World Series winners. And so it was somehow fitting that the Nationals' title came on a night when they were facing the Phillies.

"These guys have been through a lot. That just goes to show you it's not easy. It's not easy getting to this point," Werth said. "Luck plays into it a lot. You've got to be on good teams ? and I'm on a good team."

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-02-Nationals%20Clinch/id-ef165908a5774546bca9eab8b383ea5a

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24-hour strike paralyzes Belgium train traffic

BRUSSELS (AP) ? A 24-hour strike by Belgian rail workers on Wednesday paralyzed train traffic throughout Belgium and the international high-speed service to London and Paris.

The strike, which started late Tuesday, reached its peak during the Wednesday morning rush hour when tens of thousands of commuters had to take to traffic-choked highways to get into the capital or work.

Many employees had taken precautions and even though long traffic jams were reported early Wednesday, they were not as bad as initially feared.

Both Thalys and Eurostar canceled services to the Belgian capital.

"In Brussels, the strike is a success, around 80-90 percent of the people are on strike," said Philippe Peers of the socialist CGSP trade union. "Many of the stewards as well are on strike, so I can tell that there will be not a single train in Brussels."

Rail service was expected to resume late Wednesday and be back at full service on Thursday morning.

Despite the weeklong warning, it still caused plenty of hardship.

Georgina Saldena, a Mexican tourist, was heading for the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. "Until today, we thought we had to go there by train," she said after she was surprised by the strike. And as tourist, she felt stranded with few indications of alternative options. "There is no sign, nothing that says that we have to come here to take a bus," she said at a bus stop that would take her to Paris, Saldena said.

Matthieu Regibout, who works in Brussels, said he took the last train on Tuesday, and slept in his office to avoid the strike's effect.

Rail workers are fearful their employment conditions will be undermined under a new plan to revamp and streamline the three companies currently overseeing train traffic in Belgium.

Unions want to go back to a single company controlling the rail grid and train traffic, saying the numerous and lengthy delays of the past could be blamed on managerial disorganization.

The state-controlled rail sector has traditionally been a huge employer in Belgium, a historic trailblazer when it comes to its dense rail grid. It still employed some 65,000 people two decades ago, but it has now dwindled to 37,000 with no personnel expansion in sight, said socialist union leader Jean-Pierre Goossens.

"Every day, pressure at work increases since there are no hirings," Goossens said.

The VBO federation of employers said there was no reason to hobble the nation and its embattled economy with the 15th labor action in the sector over the past two years and called for limits on the right to strike.

"It is time to contain this abuse of power," said Bart Buysse, VBO director general.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/24-hour-strike-paralyzes-belgium-train-traffic-081223842--finance.html

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Lawyers for accused Colorado theater gunman want leaks probed

DENVER (Reuters) - Attorneys for accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes are demanding an investigation into the release of a recent booking photo of their client and leaks about a notebook he sent to his psychiatrist, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Public defenders complained in the documents that a recent picture of Holmes released to the media violated a gag order imposed by Arapahoe County District Court Judge William Sylvester in the case.

Holmes, a 24-year-old former neuroscience graduate student, is accused of opening fire at a suburban Denver movie theater during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20, killing 12 moviegoers and wounding 58 others.

In a motion to the court, the defense asked the judge to order a probe into how and why the picture was taken and distributed to the media. It also asks the court to consider what sanctions might be "an appropriate response to this violation."

Holmes appeared at his last hearing with short-cropped brown hair, looking starkly different than in his initial mug shot and earlier court hearings where he sported tousled longer hair that was dyed red.

After that hearing, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office released a new photo of a Holmes with close-cropped hair.

Sylvester ruled that the booking photo issue will be addressed at Holmes' next court hearing on October 11. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson told Reuters he would "await ... the judge's evaluation of this matter."

In a separate filing, defense lawyers requested the judge impose sanctions on prosecutors for information about the contents of a package Holmes mailed that was leaked to Fox News days after the massacre, purportedly detailing plans for the rampage.

Initially, prosecutors sought to look at the package's contents, but defense attorneys objected, saying the parcel was mailed to psychiatrist Lynne Fenton, who once treated Holmes, and fell under doctor-patient privilege.

Prosecutors abruptly dropped their bid to review the package, but defense lawyers said it was obvious from information they have received that law enforcement leaked details of the parcel to Fox News, which they said impedes their client's right to a fair trial.

"The discovery received thus far supports the defense's concern that the government was responsible for leaking information about the contents of the package to the media," the motion said.

In documents released last week, a detective said he "fanned" through the contents of the notebook and that the package also contained "burnt currency." (Editing by Mary Slosson, Cynthia Johnston and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawyers-accused-colorado-theater-gunman-want-leaks-probed-225742783--sector.html

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Glitch may have led supercomputer to historic chess victory

15 hrs.

Devin Coldewey

A computer glitch might have led to the?supercomputer Deep Blue's famous upset?victory over chess grand master Garry Kasparov in 1997, according to an IBM employee?quoted in a new book.

Deep Blue was defeated by Kasparov in 1996, although the match?did contain the first single-game?victory of a computer?program over a world champion. The 1997 rematch was another story, however: Deep Blue won the deciding final match after three consecutive draws.?But in Nate Silver's new book "The Signal and the Noise," one of?Deep Blue's operators suggests that a glitch in the computer's software might have been at the heart of at least one of the games.

At the end of the first game, Kasparov had forced Deep Blue into an unsalvageable position after 43 moves, and Deep Blue's response was to move its rook in a?way that didn't make any sense to its human opponent. This may have rattled Kasparov, who could not understand the move and may have decided the computer was playing at a higher level than him.

As it turns out, the move really didn't make any sense.?According to an anecdote from the book, initially?recounted by the?Washington Post,?a bug in the program, which the engineers thought had been fixed, made it so that when Deep Blue was cornered, it picked a move completely at random.

Murray Campbell, who worked on Deep Blue and other supercomputers?for years, told Silver:

A bug occurred in the game and it may have made Kasparov misunderstand the capabilities of Deep Blue.?He?didn't?come up with the theory that the move it played was a bug.

Silver's book is about how people and machines make predictions, and why some work and others don't. In Kasparov's case, his internal model?of Deep Blue could have been?thrown off by the bug, making him overestimate the computer's cleverness.

"The Signal and the Noise" goes on sale this week; for a full review of it, click over to the Washington Post.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC?News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/glitch-may-have-helped-supercomputer-beat-chess-champ-historic-match-6206532

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Clam shells yield clues to Atlantic?s climate history

ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2012) ? Two Iowa State University graduate students are just back from the Gulf of Maine with another big catch of clam shells.

Shelly Griffin and Madelyn Mette recently boarded a lobster boat, dropped a scallop dredge into 30 meters of ocean water and pulled up load after load of Arctica islandica.

?These are the clams that end up in clam chowder,? said Alan Wanamaker, an assistant professor of geological and atmospheric sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Wanamaker studies paleoclimatology, the variations and trends of past climates and environments, with the goal of better understanding future climate changes.

The Iowa State researchers only need a few live, meaty clams for their studies. They?re really after the old, dead shells. Off the coast of Maine, clams can live up to 240 years, year after year adding another band to their shells, just like a tree adds another growth ring. In the colder waters of the North Atlantic near Iceland, the clams can live up to 500 years, recording even more information in what scientists call annual shell increments.

Wanamaker and his research team bring those shells back to Iowa State?s Stable Isotope Laboratory where they?re cleaned, sorted, measured, cut, polished, drilled and otherwise prepared for careful microscopic imaging, geochemical testing and radiocarbon analysis.

It turns out those shell increments are a lot like sensors at the bottom of the ocean ? they record long records of information about the ocean, including growing conditions, temperatures and circulation patterns.

A paper published by Nature Communications in June 2012 reported how Wanamaker (the lead author) and an international team of researchers used radiocarbon data from shells to determine when clams collected north of Iceland were living in ?young? or ?old? water. Young water had been at the surface more recently and probably came from the Atlantic. Old water had been removed from the surface much longer and probably came from the Arctic Ocean.

The paper reports warmer, younger water from the Gulf Stream during the warmer Medieval Climate Anomaly from about A.D. 950 to 1250. The paper also reports that shell data showed older, colder water during Europe?s Little Ice Age from about A.D. 1550 to 1850.

The researchers? interpretation of the data says the Gulf Stream carrying warm water from the subtropical Atlantic was strong in the medieval era, weakened during the Little Ice Age and strengthened again after A.D. 1940. Those fluctuations amplified the relative warmth and coolness of the times.

Wanamaker said a better understanding of the ocean?s past can help researchers understand today?s climate trends and changes.

?Is the natural variability only that, or is it influenced by burning fossil fuels?? he said. ?Maybe we can understand what will happen in the next 100 years if we understand oceans over the past 1,000 years.?

And so Wanamaker ? a former high school science teacher in Maine whose fascination with climate change sent him back to graduate school ? works with students to carefully collect, process and study clam shells.

The research is painstaking ? the shell increments are measured in millionths of a meter and microscopes are required at the most important steps. And the tools are sophisticated ? two mass spectrometers measure shell fragments for different isotopes of carbon and oxygen. (Isotopes are elements with varying numbers of neutrons. Heavier isotopes of oxygen in the shell material generally correspond to colder ocean temperatures.)

?Isotopes are just wonderful tracers in nature,? Wanamaker said, noting he also takes isotope measurements for research projects across campus and beyond.

When it comes to Wanamaker?s own work with clam shells, ?In the broadest sense, we?re trying to add to our understanding of oceans over the last several thousand years,? he said. ?We have a terrestrial record ? we can get an excellent chronology from tree rings and there is a climate signal there. But that?s missing 70 percent of the planet.?

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Iowa State University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Alan D. Wanamaker, Paul G. Butler, James D. Scourse, Jan Heinemeier, J?n Eir?ksson, Karen Luise Knudsen, Christopher A. Richardson. Surface changes in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the last millennium. Nature Communications, 2012; 3: 899 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1901

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/most_popular/~3/44kEnTFv2SQ/121001161236.htm

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NY AG sues JPMorgan over Bear Stearns securities

NEW YORK (AP) ? The New York attorney general's office has hit JPMorgan Chase with a civil lawsuit, alleging that Bear Stearns perpetrated massive fraud related to residential mortgage-backed securities that it sold prior to its 2008 collapse and subsequent sale to the New York bank.

The suit is the first to be filed under the auspices of the RMBS Working Group, set up by President Barack Obama to investigate and prosecute alleged misconduct that contributed to the financial crisis.

NY AG Eric T. Schneiderman alleges that Bear Stearns led investors to believe that the loans in its RMBS portfolio had been carefully evaluated and would be continuously monitored. But Schneiderman alleges that Bear Stearns failed to do either.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. spokesman Joseph Evangelisti says the bank intends to contest the allegations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ny-ag-sues-jpmorgan-over-bear-stearns-securities-232414261--finance.html

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Teens and technology | Dayton Children's Blog

The popularization of the automobile in the 1920s was not universally welcomed. Many raised questions about the safety of this new invention and their concerns were valid. There are about 1.2 million fatalities world-wide associated with car accidents, and another 50 million people injured and billions of dollars in damages. Even so, few are willing to give up the convenience of the auto in spite of these significant costs.

As with many things in life, we try to minimize the risks to enjoy the benefits.

We?re in that same situation today in dealing with the dilemmas presented by kids and technology. Our teens are technologically connected with 68 percent of them sending text messages daily, averaging somewhere between 60 and 100 texts every day. Over half of our teens visit a social networking site daily. Over 80 percent of teens have their own cell phone, and two-thirds have a device that allows them to connect to the Internet.

That means that 67 percent of our kids can visit virtually any website without our guidance or supervision. We are fearful.? We don?t want our children in internet relationships with strangers, addicted to pornography, victims of cyber bullying or sexting, and spending excessive times with screens rather than interacting with real people.

There is a digital abyss between parents and kids when it comes to technology. Kids experience this world very differently than their parents, playing down the risks while applauding the many advantages. While most adults go to the internet for information, kids seek relationships in their digital worlds.

Our kids love technology, and report that the benefits outweigh any risks. For the 75 percent of teens who are involved with social media, they report that use of networks such as Facebook helps them be more confident, outgoing, sympathetic to others, and feel better about themselves. They overwhelmingly report that it has helped their relationship with friends and family members other than adults. About an equal number report it has hurt and helped their relationships with their parents.

Teens are aware of the risks of technology, with 20 percent to 41 percent of them reporting that they feel ?addicted? to their cell phone, iPad, or social networking site, and 28 percent of them feel their parents are ?addicted? to those same devices.

We?ll give up neither our cars nor our computers and so we?ll have to help our children deal with both, in spite of the risks. This means doing two things.

• Educate. Engage your children in ongoing conversations about technology. Learn about Facebook and texting, and talk with your kids about articles like this.
• Supervise. You?ve got to match the degree of supervision with the needs of your child. As with driving a car, apply the simple principle that supervision decreases as responsible behavior increases.

Source: http://blog.childrensdayton.org/are-teens-too-technologically-connected/

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