Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/181084123?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Deschanel, Gordon-Levitt post New Year's Eve duet (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are curious about your New Year's Eve plans.
The two actors perform a duet in a video posted this week on YouTube, musically asking, "What are you doing New Year's Eve?"
She plays ukulele and he plays guitar in the two-minute video of the 1947 jazz song.
Deschanel calls her "(500) Days of Summer" co-star "simply the best" in a note accompanying the video.
The two actors don't reveal their New Year's Eve plans in the clip, but they will be celebrating together in 2012. Both are nominated for Golden Globe Awards: she for actress in a TV comedy for "New Girl," and he for his lead role in the film "50/50."
___
Online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?vaSq1cez_flQ
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Friday, December 30, 2011
gazettehockey: Story about No. 5 Colorado College preparing to start the 2nd half of the season by hosting Air Force and No. 10 Union: http://t.co/hWNoXue1
Story about No. 5 Colorado College preparing to start the 2nd half of the season by hosting Air Force and No. 10 Union: Source: http://twitter.com/gazettehockey/statuses/152257895818465280
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Libya Ex-Rebels Sign Up for Government Jobs
TRIPOLI ? ?Hundreds of former Libyan rebels who helped topple Muammar Qaddafi were filling out applications Wednesday for jobs with the new government as a first step to disarmament, the interior minister said.
Fawzy Abdul-Ali told The Associated Press that former rebels will be asked to turn in their weapons after training and working with the government.
The uncontrolled ownership of weapons has been a major security concern since the end of the eight-month civil war that toppled Qaddafi in October. Rival revolutionary militias that remain armed have clashed repeatedly.
Abdul-Ali said former rebels will have until the end of January 2012 to apply for governments posts through local military councils distributing the applications.
Ibrahim al-Khamsy, 50, hoped that filling out an application will get him a job at an oil rig, like the one he had for 13 years. He also expects the new government to compensate him for the years he spent unemployed after Qaddafii regime officials fired him in 1990.
"I hope I can go back to my old job, but they have to count those years of experience... or give me a raise," he said.
Although the application process was not scheduled to begin until January, several local councils began distributing the applications over the past day.
Mohammed al-Shatewi, a member of one of Tripoli's military councils, said ex-rebels can apply to join the army, the Interior Ministry, a civil institution or to continue their education and study abroad.
The applications ask former rebels what brigade they belong to, what their rank was during the uprising and the serial numbers of the weapons they possess. It also asks them for personal information regarding their education, marital status and if they were wounded in the uprising.
Rabie al-Aib, 31, a former rebel who became disabled during the fighting and is now unemployed hoped that filling out an application will help him get by a little easier.
"I want to get a job, and have a car and a house," he said, mirroring what several other former rebels wrote on their applications.
Former fighters who are unemployed could receive a monthly stipend from the government until they find work, the interior minister said.
National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdul-Jalil has noted before that 75 percent of those carrying weapons are unemployed.
According to Munier Karim, the head of a local military council in the capital Tripoli, there are nearly 400 unemployed former rebels out of 1,200 fighters registered with his council. The capital has several local military councils.
The application process is an attempt by the country's new leaders to stamp their authority on the nation and rein in the dozens of armed factions that arose during the war and now are reluctant to disband or submit to the central authority.
NTC officials estimate that 200,000 former rebels need reintegration, and finding them work is a major challenge facing Libya's new rulers.
Officials have said that the government cannot disarm fighters until there are alternatives, including jobs and training.
The government is seeking to dissolve revolutionary brigades throughout the country and unify them into a cohesive national army or police force.
In an interview with the AP, Defense Minister Usama al-Juwali said his ministry needs about 25,000 recruits.
"We need new blood, " he said, noting that the ministry is trying to rebuild and restructure its air force, special forces and border guards, among other branches.
"We need security forces to guard vital institutions and oil companies," he said.
Abdul-Ali, the interior minister, said his ministry needs another 25,000 recruits to restore security to Libya. The Interior Ministry supervises police forces.
Earning around $150 a month as a driver in the desert for an oil company, Bilgassim al-Katib, 22, said he wants to join a security ministry. To him, the application marks the start of a new year and for once, hope for the future.
"I hope the upcoming year will be good. The dictator is gone and we hope the best for a new Libya," he said as he filled out an application.
Source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/qQP0vJU4lZA/
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Vigil honors victims of Texas Christmas shooting
GRAPEVINE, Texas |
GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - Six victims of a Christmas Day shooting rampage near Dallas were honored by more than 100 friends on Wednesday who wept and clung to each other as they shared their memories at a candlelit vigil.
The group gathered early in the evening at a park in this quiet suburb about a mile from the apartment complex where police said Aziz Yazdanpanah, 58, opened fire on Sunday morning and killed his estranged wife Fatemeh Rahmati, 56, and two children Nona, 19, and Ali, 14.
Toting two pistols and dressed as Santa, the gunman also shot and killed his wife's sister, Zohreh Rahmaty, 58, her husband, Mohamad Hossein Zarei, 59, and their daughter, Sahra Zarei, 22, before turning a gun on himself.
"Nona would not want harsh words said, only good things," said Allison Baum, Nona's best friend and the organizer of the event to remember the family of Iranian immigrants who had settled in the Dallas-Fort Worth area decades ago.
"This is a night of closure and a way to pay our respects," she added.
The family was beloved by the Iranian community in the Dallas area, according to long-time family friend Fran Hosseiny, who said she received a call from relatives of the victims in Iran on Wednesday morning.
"They were worried that no one was here to remember them," she said. "I told them they had so many friends and were so loved that no one will forget them."
Sahra's boyfriend, Jonathan Garcia, was among those who paid tribute at Wednesday's vigil. He was the last person to have contact with any of the victims through a text message sent by Sahra on Sunday morning.
"We were very close and had lots of plans," Garcia said of Sahra, who he said hoped to go to medical school after graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington in the spring.
"I do know she left us happy, and I have no doubt about that."
Karim Ghoghaie, who said he had known the family for more than 30 years, told Reuters that relatives from London and Los Angeles arrived on Wednesday to claim the bodies, which will be buried at a private funeral in the Dallas area on Thursday.
The massacre rocked the usually festive Dallas suburb dubbed the "Christmas Capital of Texas" and known more for its tourism, Christmas season events, festivals and vineyards than for violence.
As friends prepared to remember the victims on Wednesday, new details from the ongoing police investigation emerged.
Search warrants released in the day identified two guns recovered from the scene as a Smith & Wesson 915 model 9 mm pistol and a Glock 23 .40-caliber pistol.
Police said they found one pistol in the hand of Yazdanpanah, who shot himself in the head, and another in the hand of his brother-in-law.
"We believe Yazdanpanah put the gun in Zarei's hand to make it look like he had shot them," said Grapevine Lt. Todd Dearing. "But we know that Mohamad was a victim just like the others."
(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Peter Bohan)
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After military service, younger veterans are trained, tested and JOBLESS
Natesha Lovell left for Iraq in 2004, the sole woman in her U.S. Army Reserve deployment. She returned safely, but life sincethen hasn't been easy.
The former supply sergeant has been unemployed since 2008, and now finds herself without a home. She crashes at a friend's place in Clifton Park.
Lovell is one of many returning service members who have struggled to find work since returning from overseas. In fact, the unemployment rate among younger veterans is far higher than for their counterparts who didn't serve in the military.
And with a million troops, according to a White House estimate, expected to return home from Iraq and Afghanistan by 2016, veteran unemployment is a problem that is threatening to become a crisis ? especially in an economy that is still failing to create work for the millions of Americans who are already jobless.
"A lot of younger soldiers have never held civilian employment," said retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Van Pelt of the New York National Guard. "They've never gone out and had to find a job."
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate among veterans overall ? 7.4 percent in November ? is actually below the 8.2 percent rate of overall joblessness, a testament, in part, to veterans' ability to keep work once they have it.
But for veterans from ages 18 to 24, usually looking for a toehold in the labor market, the unemployment rate is a staggering 37.9 percent ? more than double the rate for non-veterans in the age group, according to data compiled by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.
Of course, some young people entered the military because they were already struggling to find work. And some are in demographic categories that have been hit particularly hard by the recession.
They are more likely than non-veterans, for example, to be black or Hispanic, two groups with higher rates of unemployment. And some younger veterans lack college degrees in an economy that has shed lower-skill jobs in fields such as manufacturing, transportation and retail.
The unemployment rate among people with a high school diploma, but no college, is 8.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while it is just 4.2 percent for Americans with at least a bachelor's degree.
But advocates for unemployed veterans note that many returning troops have college-level computer or other advanced skills, even if they've never entered a higher-ed classroom.
The trick is getting those skills represented on a resume ? in language a civilian employer can understand.
The veterans have to turn off the military jargon, said Van Pelt, a leader in a newly created National Guard program that's trying to match veterans with employers.
The National Guard program, and similar help available at Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, are part of a growing effort to help returning veterans find work, highlighted by President Barack Obama's recent signing of a law providing tax breaks for companies that hire jobless veterans.
Advocates for veterans say employers who seek out returning military members will be rewarded with workers who are especially disciplined.
"Their experience is a real positive from an employer's point of view," said David Bobrek, president of Blasch Precision Ceramics in Menands, which has hired 20 or so veterans in recent years.
"We get a better understanding (from veterans) of what it takes to get the job done," Bobrek added.
Still, some employers resist hiring those who are newly exiting the military. Veterans advocates say they suspect fear of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a significant reason.
Van Pelt said he senses an "undercurrent" of belief among employers that PTSD makes veterans unreliable workers, but he believes the disorder is not nearly as common as many employers seem to believe.
Lovell, who remained in the Army Reserve and, later, the National Guard after returning from Iraq in 2005, believes her employment difficulties have stemmed from fears she'll be returned to military service.
The University at Albany graduate said she struggles to understand why she can't find work.
"I've always suspected that they were afraid to invest their money in people who could possibly leave," Lovell said. "That's the only reason I can come up with."
Reach Churchill at 454-5442 or cchurchill@timesunion.com.
Source: http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/After-military-service-younger-veterans-are-2423390.php
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
NYT: For Joplin, a love letter in ruins
JOPLIN, Mo.?? As this rebuilding city races to finish clearing the rubble from the deadly tornado last spring, one irreparably broken structure has been allowed, for now at least, to remain.
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The building, a modest red brick house, has no roof. All but one of its exterior walls are missing, splintered and scattered by the storm, leaving an impression of a giant dollhouse. A Christmas tree, dressed in ornaments, has been placed in a tidy living room arrangement of two couches and a coffee table.
The reason this house has so far survived the wrecking ball can be found scribbled on its walls, on its floorboards, in its closets and along virtually every other remaining surface. They are personal messages, thousands of them, handwritten by the volunteers who flooded the community to help sift through and cart out the debris. Every day visitors and locals alike stop to add a note to the collection.
Every disaster has its memorials, from the organic to the carefully orchestrated. Several monuments have emerged here as the city labors to clear the remaining rubble of the tornado that cut through the heart of the community on May 22, killing 161 people. But as that effort nears completion, the community is questioning what to do with a memorial that is itself rubble.
City leaders have been discussing whether to move the whole structure or perhaps simply take parts of the building for public display. ?We think there is some value to preserving it,? said Mark Rohr, the city manager. ?But we can?t let it sit there forever.?
In the meantime, the walls of the building, known here as the volunteer house, are peeling under the assault of sun and rain and wind. Like a love letter slowly torn to pieces, the peeling paint is littering the floorboards with snippets of messages, often just a few letters, a name or a word, like ?home,? ?rebuild? and ?alone.? In the newly barren patches, more messages are being scrawled.
The serendipity of the monument stands in sharp contrast with the deliberate stone and steel structures put up in nearby Cunningham Park. The first structure is a three-tiered fountain with 5, 22 and 11 streams of water on the different levels to symbolize the date of the storm. The second is an enormous metal replica of the rubber wristbands handed out to volunteers, emblazoned with the message ?The Miracle of the Human Spirit.? A third one honoring relief workers is planned.
These are the official memorials, the ones visited this month by a collection of men in suits who had gathered for the announcement that a company had donated $25,000 to the park. At the end of that ceremony, a man dressed as Santa emerged to present the assembled politicians, including the governor, with a giant check and to pose for photos. ?Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas, everyone,? he said, ?And thank you, Coca-Cola.?
Throughout Joplin, it is hard to miss the signs and sounds of progress. New houses and businesses have emerged on the flattened landscape. Plans to replace the destroyed high school and hospital are moving forward. And though many are still struggling, the feared exodus has not begun.
That progress, city leaders have said repeatedly, could not have happened without the assistance of volunteers. Nearly 115,000 volunteers, from every state, have registered with the city since the storm, and perhaps as many simply showed up and started helping.
This was what Tim Bartow, the owner of the house, was responding to when he wrote a message of thanks to the volunteers who lent their hands and backs to the hard, messy work of clearing the rubble. Mr. Bartow, who rode out the storm with his family in the basement, spray painted it in large letters on the side of the home: ?You are our heroes.?
Then he cleared space in the house for the storm-damaged furniture, which had been strewn over several blocks, so that volunteers would have a place to rest. After a while, the volunteers started writing messages of their own, offering love from Georgia and prayers from Texas. Now many make a point of stopping here before they leave the community.
Some just signed their names, but the more expansive recited Scripture or offered words of support. The sentiments expressed are hardly unusual, reminding that in moments of tragedy, people seek comfort in the worn truths underlying clich?s.
?The human heart, even after this,? reads one message written on the kitchen floor, each letter on a different tile, ?remains stronger than this very ground.?
The foundation of the house, in truth, is crumbling, Mr. Bartow said. But he has decided to leave the house up until city leaders decide on the question of preservation.
Patrick Tuttle, director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the decision would be made soon because cleanup deadlines were looming. ?Whether we take part of it or all of it is the question,? he said.
Then, whatever remains will be torn down so the property can be sold as an empty lot.
For now, though, the house stands, oddly resilient to the deconstructive power of the storm and the constructive power of the rebuilding city, speaking to a moment in between that will be harder to explain when it is gone.
This story, "For Joplin, a Love Letter in Ruins," first appeared in The New York Times.
Copyright ? 2011 The New York Times
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45788442/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/
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NBA roundup: Bulls stun Lakers in season tip-off
NBA roundup: Bulls stun Lakers in season tip-off
LOS ANGELES ? Derrick Rose drove the lane and lofted home a smooth floating shot for the winning points in the Chicago Bulls? opener, just in case anybody doubted the youngest MVP in NBA history can
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Source: http://www.rgj.com/article/20111226/SPORTS/111225014/1018
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Device warns of catastrophic failure in lithium-ion batteries, robots celebrate
"Catastrophic lithium-ion battery failure" are five words Malfunctioning Eddie never wants to hear, and may not have to, thanks to a new sensor developed by the folks at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Despite the popularity of lithium-ion batteries in everything from consumer electronics to hybrid and electric vehicles, they have been associated with a phenomenon called "thermal runaway" -- known to cause overheating and potentially, fire. The newly developed device measures the electrical parameter of the cell, which is an indicator of whether the internal layer temperatures are getting too toasty. The best part? The warning comes before the heat can reach the surface and cause catastrophic failure, perhaps saving our electronics from a fate like the one in the video after the break.
Continue reading Device warns of catastrophic failure in lithium-ion batteries, robots celebrate
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Monday, December 26, 2011
How To Install/Flash Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich MIUI Alpha ROM On Galaxy N...
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China software firms report high sales after government crack down on piracy
Government's intensified efforts to root out software piracy are bringing concrete benefits to software providers.
Kingsoft Corporation, China's renowned software company, posted sales of 130 million yuan during the first 11 months of this year, representing a sharp increase from annual sales of tens of millions of yuan in 2007.
"This also reflects that Chinese consumers have heightened awareness on copyright protection," said Liu Chao, Kingsoft's product director.
Kingsoft is not the only beneficiary.
Huang Yaohui, Adobe's general manager of the Greater China Region, said that the usage rate of authorized Adobe software in China has continuously increased due to the government's copyright protection efforts.
Huang said he is satisfactory with the current usage rate, though he declined to disclose the specific proportion of copyrighted Adobe software to pirated Adobe software in the country.
As early as in 2006, Chinese authorities had issued a statement requiring all governmental departments to buy computers installed with copyrighted software.
The government spent 1.07 billion yuan (169.84 m U.S. dollars) on purchasing copyrighted software during the 2007-2010 period, according to data from the Central Government Procurement Centre.
This year, China has organized teams of inspectors to canvass central and local government computers to ensure that all the departments are using authorized software, and stepped up inspections of software pre-installation on computers sold in the country.
Thanks to its continuous efforts, copyrighted software has already been installed in central government departments, and it will be popularized among local authorities next year, Chang Xiaocun, head of the market order department of the Ministry of Commerce, said Tuesday [20 December].
The pre-installed rate of authorized operating systems in factory-produced computers in China reached 98.08 percent in 2010, and the rate for some companies like Lenovo and Acer had hit 100 percent.
"Computers pre-installed with unauthorized software have long been a core problem for the software industry. We are glad to see such piracy is finally subsiding," said Han Jun, deputy director of the Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Han said that with the country's stronger attempt to shift from imitation to innovation, the government will work harder to root out piracy, such as handing out hefty penalties to offenders.
The government's frequent campaigns against intellectual property infringement helped create a sound business environment and greatly boosted the development of the country's software industry.
CAXA, the country's largest provider of computer-aided design software, also reported buoyant sales in recent years.
"A domestic automaker bought 2,000 pieces of software from our company to replace its old ones," said Liu Aijun, CAXA technical director.
"As China increasingly becomes the software developer and seller, rather than just the user, people's views on piracy will change. They will not tolerate it any more," Liu added.
Consumers have shown preference to copyrighted software out of safety concerns, as unauthorized software often include computer viruses, worms and Trojan horses that permit outsiders to invade users' systems.
A rise in people's incomes in recent years also helped promote the use of authorized software in the country.
"Copyrighted software is becoming more affordable nowadays, so I feel less incentive to buy pirated pieces," a 28-year-old bank employee surnamed Zhang said.
Despite much progress China has made in combating software piracy, it still needs to do more to protect intellectual property rights and reduce trade frictions with other countries.
China should require government agencies to count software purchases as fixed assets subject to annual audits, and promote the use of licensed software among enterprises and individuals after pushing governments to use authorized software, said Chang Xiaocun.
Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 0745gmt 25 Dec 11
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Vick, Eagles beat Cowboys 20-7 in snoozer (AP)
ARLINGTON, Texas ? Michael Vick threw two touchdown passes to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 20-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday in a game that had all the intensity of a preseason dress rehearsal.
This game became somewhat meaningless midway through the first quarter. A victory by the Giants eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs and turned the Dallas-New York game next weekend into a showdown to decide the NFC East title. The Cowboys said late Saturday that the game has been moved to prime time.
The Cowboys still had wild-card hopes to play for, but clearly were more concerned about getting ready for the "win and you're in" route to the playoffs. Quarterback Tony Romo left after injuring his throwing hand on the first series and oft-injured running back Felix Jones hit the bench for good after the second series. They came within 7 seconds of getting shut out.
Vick threw a touchdown pass on the opening series and again just before halftime. Alex Henery kicked field goals of 43 and 51 yards for the Eagles' only points in the second half.
Philadelphia (7-8) won its third straight, giving the preseason "Dream Team" the chance to avoid a losing record by beating the Redskins at home in its finale next weekend. The Eagles also swept the season series against the Cowboys for the first time since 2006, having clobbered Dallas 34-7 in October.
The Cowboys (8-7) lost for the third time in four games, and are guaranteed another losing record after Thanksgiving. If they end up missing the playoffs, that flop at the finish will loom large all offseason. Of course, if they win the division, it'll only be a footnote. The upcoming week will be filled with all sorts of similar high-stakes ramifications that will be riding on the finale for both Dallas and New York.
When this game kicked off, the Giants were up by only six points midway through the fourth quarter, so the Cowboys and Eagles still had a lot to play for.
Philadelphia got the ball first and Vick picked up where he left off the last time these teams met, cruising 80 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead. Then Eagles snuffed Romo, forcing a punt from around midfield.
On the final play of that series, Romo rushed a third-down pass to avoid a sack. On his follow-through, he smacked his passing hand on Jason Babin's helmet. That's when things got about as interesting as they'd be the rest of the afternoon.
While Romo was in the locker room getting X-rayed, the Giants began pulling away. Soon after, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones arrived on the sideline from his midfield viewing booth, presumably to discuss or demand the play-it-safe approach.
Jones returned to his booth about the same time that Romo returned to the sideline, doctors having determined he had no broken bones, just a bruise. Romo threw a few wobbly warm-up passes, spoke to a trainer, then got his wrist wrapped. About the same time he was trading his helmet for a baseball cap, team vice president Stephen Jones arrived on the sideline and spoke with trainers. Jones then joined Romo as being done for the day.
Vick was 18 of 32 for 293 yards, with the touchdowns going to Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek. Jason Avant nearly had another TD, but fumbled inches before touching the pylon, resulting in a touchback for the Cowboys.
DeSean Jackson caught five passes for 90 yards, and he ran for 27 yards on a pair of end arounds, both coming on consecutive plays.
Dallas' Stephen McGee ? who moved up from third-stringer to backup when Jon Kitna went on injured reserve ? was 24 of 38 for 182 yards, and ran four times for 28 yards. McGee beat the Eagles in last season's finale, but he struggled to even sustain drives this time.
It didn't help that his running backs were Sammy Morris (pulled from retirement before last week's game) and Chauncey Washington (signed off the street this week).
McGee appeared to have overseen Dallas' first shutout since November 2003, and first at home since September 1991, also against the Eagles, when a fourth-down pass from the Philadelphia 18 fell incomplete in the end zone with 2:13 left.
But the defense forced a punt and rookie Bruce Carter blocked it, giving McGee one last drive. He started on the 16 with 19 seconds left, running for 12 yards, then hitting Miles Austin for a 4-yard touchdown pass.
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Lockerbie bomber insists he was wrongly convicted (AP)
LONDON ? The convicted Lockerbie bomber claimed Thursday to have new evidence about the 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 that he said could clear his name.
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 over the attack that killed 270 people, most of them American, when the aircraft exploded over the Scottish town. He was freed from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds in August 2009 after doctors estimated he had only three months to live due to cancer.
In an interview published in several British newspapers, which they reported had been carried out by al-Megrahi's friend George Thomson on Saturday, the former Libyan intelligence officer protested his innocence and claimed he was on the brink of death.
"I am an innocent man," al-Megrahi was quoted as saying. "I am about to die and I ask now to be left in peace with my family."
Since the fall of ex-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Scotland has asked Libya's new authorities to help track down others responsible for the Lockerbie bombing.
In the interview, al-Megrahi said he had collaborated on a new book about the case, which he claimed would present new evidence. He insisted that a key prosecution point against him at his trial was flawed.
Prosecutors said al-Megrahi had bought clothes in Malta that were later packed around the bomb. A key witness, shopkeeper Tony Gauci, identified al-Megrahi during the trial.
"I never ever in my entire life bought clothes from his shop, I have never bought clothes from him. He dealt with me very wrongly. I have never seen him in my life before he came to court," al-Megrahi was quoted as saying.
Al-Megrahi said the interview, which was filmed by Thomson for a documentary scheduled for release in February, would be his final comment on the case.
"I will not be giving any more interviews, and no more cameras will be allowed into my home," he was quoted as saying.
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2012 Will Be the Year of the Android Tablet
Oct 20: Becoming a Security Detective - Gathering and Analyzing Security Intelligence in the Enterprise
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July 28: InformationWeek & Symantec present: Infrastructure at Risk -- Taking Decisive Action to Secure Your Critical Data Assets
Join the editors of InformationWeek and leading security experts from Symantec for an in-depth look at the current threats faced by large and small organizations, and the implications for your business, your customers, and even your country. You'll hear how today's threat landscape is changing drastically, and learn the latest countermeasures and best practices to keep your company's precious data assets out of the hands of determined cybercriminals.
July 27: Electronic Health Records -- Moving from Concept to Reality
At this InformationWeek Healthcare Virtual Event, we will talk with healthcare practitioners, IT professionals and other industry experts about issues surrounding EHR selection, deployment and use.
Platinum Sponsor: HP, Intel, GBS, Geotrust, NextGen
Silver Sponsor: Proofpoint
On-Demand: InformationWeek & Interop present: Business Mobility Unleashed
In this virtual event, the leaders behind InformationWeek Business Technology Network and Interop zero in on the top mobile technologies and techniques you'll need to understand and master to ensure your organization thrives in the wireless world.
Platinum Sponsors: Alcatel-Lucent, APC
Gold Sponsor: HP
Silver Sponsor: Emerson Network Power
Bronze Sponsor: Skybot
On-Demand: Cybersecurity Best Practices
In this half-day virtual event, experts assess the state of cybersecurity in government and present the latest strategies for creating a more secure, attack-proof IT infrastructure. This event will help CISOs and other information assurance professionals in federal, state, and local government stay on top of the latest developments in the field.
Platinum Sponsor: GeoTrust
Gold Sponsor: Bit9
On-Demand: Data Center Transformation
Data centers are undergoing incredible transformations that create
both opportunities and challenges for IT professionals. Server virtualization enables rapid provisioning,
more efficient use of resources, and improved disaster recovery. That trend will continue with storage and network virtualization,
allowing IT pros to further abstract -- and optimize -- data center resources.In this virtual event, you will learn how prepare your organization for a data center transformation.
Platinum Sponsors: AMD, APC, Cisco, Eaton, SunGard
Gold Sponsor: Emerson Network Power
On-Demand: Cloud Computing Roadmap: Controlling the Cloud - Managing, Optimizing and Integrating Cloud Services with Your Existing IT Infrastructure
In this virtual event, you'll learn how to craft your own strategy for successfully embracing and integrating new cloud computing capabilities without derailing or destroying your current IT roadmap.
Platinum Sponsors: ArcSight, GoToAssist, SunGard, thawte
Gold Sponsor: Symform
Silver Sponsor: Skybot
On-Demand: Plugging the Leaks -- Finding and Fixing the IT Security Holes in your Enterprise
In this virtual event presented by Dark Reading and InformationWeek, you'll find out how criminals target the flaws in your IT environment, and you'll get some insight on the best methods for finding and fixing your vulnerabilities -- before you're hit by malware or unauthorized access.
Platinum Sponsors: NetIQ, Novell, thawte, Webroot
Gold Sponsors: ArcSight, Bit9, OpenText
Silver Sponsor: Application Security, Core Security, Lumension
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Source: http://www.informationweek.com/byte/commentary/personal-tech/tablets/232301038
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Friday, December 23, 2011
Medvedev to sum up his 4 years in Putin's shadow (AP)
MOSCOW ? President Dmitry Medvedev will make his last state-of-the-nation address on the darkest day of the year. It's inadvertent but appropriate timing for the man whose four years in office may be best remembered for imposing a time change that forces millions of Russians to go to work in the dark.
Medvedev occasionally raised hopes he would soften the tight control that predecessor Vladimir Putin crafted, but his reformist words were accompanied by little action and he is largely seen as a pliant placeholder for the man who has dominated Russia for over a decade.
His speech before the newly elected parliament on Thursday will be closely watched for the government's response to the street protests that have drawn tens of thousands since the fraud-tainted Dec. 4 vote.
Medvedev said over the weekend that Russia's political system has "exhausted itself" and needs modernization, and he is expected to spell out details in his address.
The rallies in Moscow and as many as 60 other cities have reflected a weariness with Putin's rule. After eight years as president, Putin stepped into the prime minister's office so as not to violate a constitutional limit of two consecutive terms, but his return to the presidency in the March election no longer looks to be as easy as once expected.
Sensing the threat posed by the largest show of popular discontent since the 1991 Soviet collapse, Putin and Medvedev have promised political reforms. Putin signaled the direction of changes last week when he said he would support easing registration rules for political parties and the return of direct elections for governors, which he abolished years ago.
But he added that candidates for governors would need to be vetted by the president, a provision that means little would change. Any change to allow more political parties also would have limited impact before the next national parliamentary election in 2016.
"Medvedev will likely say the same thing using different words," said Dmitry Oreshkin, an independent analyst. "He hopes to remain part of the system and follows the simple rule of never running ahead of the boss, and we all know who the boss is."
The opposition has seen the proposals as window dressing and continues to demand an election rerun and the ouster of election officials accused of orchestrating the fraud. Putin and Medvedev have bluntly rejected the demands, saying the results reflected the people's will.
Putin's United Russia party lost nearly 25 percent of its seats, barely retaining a majority in the elected lower house, and the opposition and independent observers said even that result was achieved by widespread fraud.
The outcome further weakened the position of Medvedev, whom Putin charged with leading the party through the parliamentary election with the promise of appointing him prime minister when he vacates the position next year.
Medvedev has been a lame duck ever since he and Putin announced in September that they intended to swap places. Their announcement, which they said was based on an agreement made years ago, was seen as a cynical manipulation of the political process and outraged many Russians.
Even though most Russians understood that Putin had remained in charge, some had cherished hopes of liberal change under Medvedev and wanted to see him remain president and eventually shed the authoritarian legacy of his mentor.
After his election in 2008 at the age of 42, Medvedev had raised hopes with promises to allow greater political competition, protect media freedoms, liberalize the economy and combat graft. His famous statement that "freedom is better than non-freedom" warmed many hearts, and his open manner and easy smile contrasted sharply with the steely demeanor of his mentor.
Medvedev has delivered little.
Allegations of massive corruption have continued to haunt the large state-controlled companies led by Putin's lieutenants, opposition parties have been denied registration, the parliament has remained a mere rubber stamp for government decisions and the nationwide TV stations have continued to serve as a propaganda machine for the government.
"Many people hoped that Medvedev could shake up the bureaucratic machine and fight corruption, but it all has been limited to words," said Valery Khomyakov, the head of the Council for National Strategy, an independent Moscow-based think tank.
The killings of Anna Politkovskaya and other prominent journalists have remained unsolved and Russia has remained one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
The investigation into the prison death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested by the same Interior Ministry officials he accused of corruption, has fizzled despite Medvedev's acknowledgement of official crimes in the case and his promise to punish the culprits.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, who has been in prison since 2003 on charges widely seen as Putin's revenge for challenging his power, saw his term extended by several more years last December.
The iPad-toting, tweeting Medvedev has tirelessly promoted his pet project of creating a Russian version of Silicon Valley in the Moscow suburb of Skolkovo, but the Russian economy has continued to rely almost exclusively on exports of raw materials, while the crumbling of the Soviet-era industrial base has led to an increasing number of accidents.
In the absence of real changes, some of Medvedev's reforms have drawn criticism and, sometimes, open mockery.
His move to rename the Russian police force was ridiculed by many who said that the name change did nothing to end police abuses and rampant corruption in the ranks.
Putin has sought recently to distance himself from Medvedev and didn't mention his name a single time during a 4 1/2 hour call-in TV show last week. When asked about the controversial police reform, Putin said only that he had nothing to do with it.
Facing a question about another unpopular move by Medvedev, who this year permanently switched the nation to summer time, delaying dawn by an hour during the long dark winter, Putin promised with a sly smile to have another look at the issue.
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First ever direct measurement of Earth's rotation
ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2011) ? A group with researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are the first to plot changes in Earth's axis through laboratory measurements. To do this, they constructed the world's most stable ring laser in an underground lab and used it to determine changes in Earth's rotation. Previously, scientists were only able to track shifts in the polar axis indirectly by monitoring fixed objects in space. Capturing the tilt of Earth's axis and its rotational velocity is crucial for precise positional information on Earth -- and thus for the accurate functioning of modern navigation systems, for instance.
The scientists' work has been recognized an Exceptional Research Spotlight by the American Physical Society.
Planet Earth wobbles. Like a spinning top touched in mid-spin, its rotational axis fluctuates in relation to space. This is partly caused by gravitation from the sun and the moon. At the same time, Earth's rotational axis constantly changes relative to Earth's surface. On the one hand, this is caused by variation in atmospheric pressure, ocean loading and wind. These elements combine in an effect known as the Chandler wobble to create polar motion. Named after the scientist who discovered it, this phenomenon has a period of around 435 days. On the other hand, an event known as the "annual wobble" causes the rotational axis to move over a period of a year. This is due to Earth's elliptical orbit around the sun. These two effects cause Earth's axis to migrate irregularly along a circular path with a radius of up to six meters.
Capturing these movements is crucial to create a reliable coordinate system that can feed navigation systems or project trajectory paths in space travel. "Locating a point to the exact centimeter for global positioning is an extremely dynamic process -- after all, at our latitude, we are moving at around 350 meters to the east per second," explains Prof. Karl Ulrich Schreiber who directed the project in TUM's Research Section Satellite Geodesy. The orientation of Earth's axis relative to space and its rotational velocity are currently established in a complicated process that involves 30 radio telescopes around the globe. Every Monday and Thursday, eight to twelve of these telescopes alternately measure the direction between Earth and specific quasars. Scientists assume that these galaxy nuclei never change their position and can therefore be used as reference points. The geodetic observatory Wettzell, which is run by TUM and Germany's Federal Agency for Cartography (BKG), is also part of this process.
In the mid-1990s, scientists of TUM and BKG joined forces with researchers at New Zealand's University of Canterbury to develop a simpler method that would be capable of continuously tracking the Chandler wobble and annual wobble. "We also wanted to develop an alternative that would enable us to eliminate any systematic errors," continues Schreiber. "After all, there was always a possibility that the reference points in space were not actually stationary." The scientists had the idea of building a ring laser similar to ones used in aircraft guidance systems -- only millions of times more exact. "At the time, we were almost laughed off. Hardly anyone thought that our project was feasible," says Schreiber.
Yet at the end of the 1990s, work on the world's most stable ring laser got underway at the Wettzell observatory. The installation comprises two counter-rotating laser beams that travel around a square path with mirrors in the corners, which form a closed beam path (hence the name ring laser). When the assembly rotates, the co-rotating light has farther to travel than the counter-rotating light. The beams adjust their wavelengths, causing the optical frequency to change. The scientists can use this difference to calculate the rotational velocity the instrumentation experiences. In Wettzell, it is Earth that rotates, not the ring laser. To ensure that only Earth's rotation influences the laser beams, the four-by-four-meter assembly is anchored in a solid concrete pillar, which extends six meters down into the solid rock of Earth's crust.
Earth's rotation affects light in different ways, depending on the laser's location. "If we were at one of the poles, the Earth and the laser's rotational axes would be in complete synch and their rotational velocity would map 1:1," details Schreiber. "At the equator, however, the light beam wouldn't even notice that the Earth is turning." The scientists therefore have to factor in the position of the Wettzell laser at the 49th degree of latitude. Any change in Earth's rotational axis is reflected in the indicators for rotational velocity. The light's behavior therefore reveals shifts in Earth's axis.
"The principle is simple," adds Schreiber. "The biggest challenge was ensuring that the laser remains stable enough for us to measure the weak geophysical signal without interference -- especially over a period of several months." In other words, the scientists had to eliminate any changes in frequency that do not come from Earth's rotation. These include environmental factors such as atmospheric pressure and temperature. They relied predominantly on a ceramic glass plate and a pressurized cabin to achieve this. The researchers mounted the ring laser on a nine-ton Zerodur base plate, also using Zerodur for the supporting beams. They chose Zerodur as it is extremely resistant to changes in temperature. The installation is housed in a pressurized cabin, which registers changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature (12 degrees) and automatically compensates for these. The scientists sunk the lab five meters below ground level to keep these kinds of ambient influences to a minimum. It is insulated from above with layers of Styrodur and clay, and topped by a four-meter high mound of Earth. Scientists have to pass through a twenty-meter tunnel with five cold storage doors and a lock to get to the laser.
Under these conditions, the researchers have succeeded in corroborating the Chandler and annual wobble measurements based on the data captured by radio telescopes. They now aim to make the apparatus more accurate, enabling them to determine changes in Earth's rotational axis over a single day. The scientists also plan to make the ring laser capable of continuous operation so that it can run for a period of years without any deviations. "In simple terms," concludes Schreiber, "in future, we want to be able to just pop down into the basement and find out how fast the Earth is accurately turning right now."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Technische Universitaet Muenchen.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- K. Schreiber, T. Kl?gel, J.-P. Wells, R. Hurst, A. Gebauer. How to Detect the Chandler and the Annual Wobble of the Earth with a Large Ring Laser Gyroscope. Physical Review Letters, 2011; 107 (17) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.173904
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222103114.htm
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Military hearing resumes in Manning leak case
FORT MEADE, Md.?? The young Army intelligence specialist accused of passing government secrets spent his 24th birthday in court Saturday listening to lawyers and witnesses discuss whether his sexual orientation plays any role in the case against him.
Prosecutors began presenting their case that Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was the source of the WikiLeaks website's collection of U.S. military and diplomatic secrets. The government's first two witnesses were Army criminal investigators.
Manning's defense team asked both witnesses whether they found evidence of homosexuality or references to gender-identity disorder among Manning's belongings. One investigator testified she knew Manning was gay before she arrived in Baghdad to collect evidence. Manning had been stationed in the Iraqi capital.
Manning allegedly acknowledged he was gay in the online chat logs, called authentic by the military, at the heart of the case.
The defense wants to show that his struggles as a gay soldier in the era of "don't ask-don't' tell" contributed to mental and emotional problems that should have barred him from having access to sensitive material.
The military is conducting a hearing to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Manning to trial. Manning's lawyers tried to oust Lt. Col. Paul Almanza as the presiding officer because of alleged bias, but an Army appeals court rejected their request late Friday.
Separately, lawyers for WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange are asking the military's highest appeals court to guarantee them two seats in the courtroom at Fort Meade.
Manning is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive items including Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, State Department cables and a classified military video of a 2007 American helicopter attack in Iraq that killed 11 men, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.
The Obama administration says the released information has threatened valuable military and diplomatic sources and strained America's relations with other governments.
Friday was Manning's first appearance in public after 19 months in detention. He appeared slight but serious in his Army camouflage fatigues and dark-rimmed glasses, taking notes during the proceedings and answering straightforwardly when called upon by Almanza.
Manning, a native of Crescent, Okla., is relying on a defense that will argue much of the classified information posed no risk.
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In addition to claims of partiality, his lawyer, David Coombs, argued that Almanza wrongly denied the defense's request to call as witnesses the officials who marked as secret the material WikiLeaks later published. Instead, the officer accepted unsworn statements from those people, Coombs said.
Friday's tangling, however, centered primarily on Almanza's Justice Department job. "I don't believe I'm biased," Almanza said, explaining that his government work concerns child exploitation and obscenity. He said he hasn't talked about WikiLeaks or Manning with anyone in the department or FBI.
The Justice Department has a separate criminal investigation into Assange. A U.S. grand jury is weighing whether to indict Assange on espionage charges, even as he is in Britain fighting a Swedish request that he be extradited because of rape allegations.
Manning's hearing at this Army post outside Washington is open to the public, with limited seating.
The case has spawned an international support network of people who believe the U.S. government has gone too far in seeking to punish Manning.
In London, several dozen protesters from gay organizations, the Occupy London protest camp and other groups rallied outside the U.S. Embassy Saturday calling for Manning's release. Some held placards declaring "Free Bradley Manning" and "Happy Birthday Bradley."
More than 100 people gathered outside Fort Meade for a march in support of Manning.
Todd Anderson, 64, said drove from New York City to take part.
"I think this man showed a great deal of courage, the kind of thing I wouldn't have the courage to do, and I really consider him to be a hero," Anderson said.
Juline Jordan, 46, said she flew in from Detroit just for the day.
"I support what he did because he exposed some horrific war crimes and horrific things done at the hands of the United States government and the Department of Defense, and he's a hero for that," Jordan said.
___
Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Mark Sherman in Washington and Brian Witte at Fort Meade contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45707454/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Inflation eases, creates space for Fed stimulus (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? U.S. consumer prices were flat in November as Americans paid less for cars and gasoline, a further sign of a cool down in inflation that could give the Federal Reserve more room to help a still-weak economy.
The Labor Department said on Friday the Consumer Price Index was unchanged last month. Economists had expected an increase of 0.1 percent.
Prices spiked earlier in the year but the report showed the trend has shifted. Over the past 12 months, prices have risen 3.4 percent. That marked a second monthly decline from a three-year high in September.
The report "leaves the Fed ample cover for any additional monetary policy accommodation they may see warranted in the New Year," said Ian Lyngen, a bond strategist at CRT Capital Group in Stamford, Connecticut.
Still, some of the data could give pause to policymakers at the central bank.
Outside food and energy, prices climbed a faster-than-expected 0.2 percent. These so-called core prices rose 2.2 percent in the 12 months through November, up from 2.1 percent in October.
"Core inflation ... is a bit more persistent than what some people had expected," said Jeremy Lawson, and economist at BNP Paribas in New York.
Economists and investors see inflation slowing further over the coming months, which could help convince the Fed to do more to bring down the country's 8.6 percent unemployment rate.
Prices for U.S. government debt rose slightly as investors saw the data opening the door a bit wider to stimulative Fed action. U.S. stocks rose and the dollar fell against the euro as investors remained on edge over the euro zone's debt crisis.
The U.S. recovery has picked up momentum over the past few months, but the Fed on Tuesday warned that turmoil in Europe still presents a big risk to the U.S. economy and it kept the option of further monetary stimulus on the table.
FED EASE STILL IN PLAY
In an appearance before Congress on Friday, New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley defended a decision by the U.S. central bank to provide dollars for banks overseas, warning of the risks of disruptive asset sales if liquidity dried up.
"If the access to dollar funding were severely impaired, this would necessitate the abrupt forced sales of dollar assets by these banks, which could seriously disrupt U.S. markets and adversely affect U.S. businesses, consumers and jobs," he said.
A 2.4 percent drop in gasoline prices and a 0.3 percent decline in the cost of new vehicles dragged down overall prices in November. Prices for food rose 0.1 percent, while within the core index, prices for apparel jumped 0.6 percent.
Many economists have said the Fed could try to give the economy a bit of help at a meeting on January 24-25 by laying out forecasts for interest rates that could underscore its willingness to keep borrowing costs ultra-low for a prolonged period.
The U.S. central bank has held overnight interest rates near zero since December 2008 and has bought $2.3 trillion in government and mortgage-related bonds in a further attempt to stimulate a robust recovery.
Some Fed watchers also think the U.S. central bank will step up bond buying later in 2012.
(Additional reporting by Chris Reese and Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Neil Stempleman and Andrew Hay)
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CBS sets new schedule with "Amazing Race," "Gifted Man" (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? "The Amazing Race" will return with a new edition on Sunday, February 19 at 8 p.m., CBS said Thursday.
The network also revealed a shakeup to its Friday night lineup, with "Undercover Boss" moving to Fridays at 8 starting February 17, following three Sunday broadcasts, starting with its January 15 premiere at 8 p.m.
The network's new offering "A Gifted Man," which premiered September 23, will shift from Fridays at 8 to Fridays at 9 to accommodate "Boss."
"CSI: NY," which had been occupying the Fridays at 9 p.m. timeslot, will return to its place on March 30, when "A Gifted Man" completes its season.
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Death of Florida A&M drum major ruled a homicide
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? The state medical examiner's office has ruled that the death of a Florida A&M University drum major last month was a homicide after concluding that the student was severely beaten in a hazing incident and died within an hour.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office issued a statement Friday evening saying it planned to work with the State Attorney's office "to identify the charges that are applicable" in the death of 26-year-old Robert Champion.
The medical examiner's office in Orlando found that Champion had bruises to his chest, arms, shoulder and back and internal bleeding that caused him to go into shock, which killed him.
"The Champion family's worst fears were realized tonight when their son Robert's death was ruled a homicide by hazing," the victim's family said in a statement Friday evening. "We now hope that all those responsible for this act will swiftly be brought to justice. Our goal is that no other family will have to live through this pain."
"We don't want to stop the music," the statement said, "we want to stop the hazing."
Champion's Nov. 19 death and the severe beating of another band member during a hazing ritual three weeks earlier have brought new scrutiny to a culture of hazing within the Tallahassee school's famed Marching 100 band.
State and local authorities are investigating the death. Any death involving hazing is a third-degree felony in Florida, but no charges have been filed so far. Three male band members were arrested in a separate probe involving the recent beating of a female member whose thigh bone was broken.
Witnesses told emergency dispatchers that Champion was vomiting before he was found unresponsive aboard a band bus outside an Orlando hotel after the school's football team lost to rival Bethune-Cookman.
The report by Dr. Sara Irrgang, an associate medical examiner, described Champion as "previously healthy" and showing "no evidence of natural disease" except for a slightly enlarged heart. Immediately after the hazing, Champion complained of thirst and fatigue, then loss of vision and signs of shock, the report said.
The toxicology report was negative for drugs and alcohol and there was no injury to the internal organs.
Champion's father, Robert Champion Sr., said he knew his son had been hazed.
"We just need to figure out what we need to do now to get the hazing under control," Champion told The Associated Press from his home in suburban Atlanta.
The family's attorney, Christopher Chestnut, said "justice needs to be swift and immediate."
"We're not calling for dismantling of the band," he said. "There needs to be high-level scrutiny. The students are adults, but they're young adults."
In its statement, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said that it had interviewed "the vast majority of individuals present in the incident."
"During the inception of this death investigation OCSO Detectives have followed all appropriate protocols as if investigating a homicide and will continue to do so through the conclusion of the case," the statement said.
The agency said no additional information will be released until charges are announced.
Champion's name was repeatedly invoked during FAMU's winter graduation ceremony Friday by Narayan Persaud, a faculty and board member. He called on graduates to be "Champion Rattlers" and to help ensure that hazing never happens again.
Larry Robinson, who recently stepped down as assistant secretary of commerce in the Obama administration, acknowledged Champion in his commencement speech. He said there were "dark clouds in our midst" but he predicted the university would overcome the tragedy.
"The world is watching. Let them see, let them hear the real FAMU. Let them know we have been here 124 years and we plan to be here another and yet another," he said.
News of the autopsy came soon after Gov. Rick Scott met privately with FAMU President James Ammons to discuss whether the university leader should step down.
Ammons was reprimanded by the school's Board of Trustees, but the governor has said he thinks Ammons should be suspended until multiple investigations are complete.
FAMU's president does not report directly to the governor. But the governor is responsible for selecting some of those who serve on the FAMU board of trustees. The governor also appoints most of the people who sit on the board of governors that oversees the State University System.
A couple hundred FAMU students showed their support for Ammons during a protest late Thursday night outside the Governor's Mansion. Scott eventually came outside and talked to them, but he did not back off seeking a suspension.
Ammons said he and the governor had a "great discussion" and he was considering the request.
"We all have the best interests of Florida A&M University at heart, we are going to do what's best for university," Ammons said.
A new wrinkle has come from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which has warned that Scott's push to suspend Ammons could affect the school's accreditation because of "undue influence" on the board from outside.
Friday evening, Ammons and Florida A&M board chairman Solomon L. Badger III issued a statement addressing the medical examiner office's findings.
"This information is extremely upsetting for all of us, even though it confirmed what we suspected," the joint statement said. "We again convey our deepest condolences to the Champion family. We will continue to cooperate with all agencies looking into the matter and are committed to creating a safe environment for the entire FAMU community and ensuring that this never happens again at FAMU."
Separately, a group of black Tallahassee ministers formed a task force charged with battling hazing at all historically black colleges and universities. Student leaders at FAMU have launched an initiative to encourage every student on campus to sign an anti-hazing agreement; clubs and organizations that don't sign risk being sanctioned by student government.
Hazing cases in marching bands have cropped up over the years, particularly at historically black colleges, where a spot in the marching band is coveted and the bands are revered almost as much as the sports teams. In 2008, two first-year French horn players in Southern University's marching band had to be hospitalized after a beating. A year later, 20 members of Jackson State University's band were suspended after being accused of hazing.
In 2001, FAMU band member Marcus Parker suffered kidney damage because of a beating with a paddle. Three years earlier, Ivery Luckey, a clarinet player from Ocala, Fla., said he was paddled around 300 times, sending him to the hospital and leaving him physically and emotionally scarred.
___
Fineout reported from Tallahassee, Fla. Associated Press Writer Leonard Pallats in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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