Egypt's president sets date for constitution vote

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi called Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a contentious draft constitution, setting a date for another milestone in the country's transition to democracy. Widespread disputes over the charter and Morsi's recent seizure of near absolute power have marred the process and thrown the country into turmoil.

As has been the case in nearly two years since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, what should have been a cause for national celebration turned into dueling protests between opponents and supporters of how the transition has been managed? largely divided along Islamist and secular lines.

More than 100,000 Morsi supporters organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafi groups took to the streets of Cairo and other cities a day after a massive opposition demonstration against his recent decrees giving him immunity from judicial oversight and the charter that was rushed through an assembly packed with allies.

The presidency has been locked in a tug of war with the powerful judiciary and secular and Christian activists since Morsi granted himself far-reaching powers on Nov. 22 in a bid to pre-empt an expected decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to dissolve the constitutional panel, as it had done the Islamist-led parliament earlier this year.

Morsi also decreed that courts cannot dissolve the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council ? another decision slated to be before the Constitution Court on Sunday. In protest, most of the nation's judges have gone on strike.

It was not clear if Egypt's highest court would go ahead with Sunday's session. Any move to do so would be a direct challenge to Morsi and could further undermine the charter's legitimacy. Judges also have threatened to boycott observing the referendum, and the secular opposition promised a civil disobedience campaign.

"After receiving this draft constitution, and out of keenness to build the nation's institutions without delay or stalling, I will issue today the call for a public referendum on this draft charter on Saturday, Dec. 15," Morsi said. "I pray to God and hope that it will be a new day of democracy in Egypt."

The dispute has thrown Egypt into a fresh round of turmoil after months of protests, rising crime and economic woes. It also has mobilized an increasingly cohesive opposition leadership of prominent liberal and secular politicians ? a contrast to the leaderless youth uprising last year that toppled Mubarak.

Late on Saturday, a few thousand pro-Morsi supporters gathered outside the building of the Supreme Constitutional Court and set up tents, heightening the tension.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland lamented the lack of consensus in Egypt's constitution-writing process.

But other U.S. officials said there were internal debates over whether to criticize the draft constitution for limiting freedom of expression, failing to grant freedom of worship, criminalizing blasphemy and eroding women's rights guarantees.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about internal deliberations.

Acknowledging the disagreements, Morsi said he didn't want to delay the transition and said the draft constitution is another brick in Egypt's democratic experience. He also called for a national dialogue in his nationally televised address to the constitutional assembly.

The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, alleges the courts are dominated by Mubarak-era judges trying to stall progress.

"I tell my opponents before my supporters, help me to carry out this responsibility you bestowed upon me in managing the country's affairs," Morsi said, urging protesters to take their opposition to the ballot box. "With us all we build the nation."

As he announced the date, his supporters holding their rally near Cairo University danced and chanted in celebration. "The people support the president's decision!" they chanted.

Ashraf Metawli, a 32-year-old government employee from the Nile Delta province of el-Menoufia who was brought by bus to Cairo for the rally, said the majority of Egyptians are Muslims and its constitution should be an Islamist one.

"This is our belief. We picked the president for Islamic law, and our choice was democratic," he said. "What Morsi is doing is to get rid of all that is corrupt."

Across the Nile River, a few thousand of Morsi's opponents rallying in Cairo's Tahrir Square raised their shoes to show contempt for the plan.

The opposition held massive rallies last week, and several hundred are holding a sit-in in Tahrir, the epicenter of the uprising that forced Mubarak to step down last year. They have said they would only participate in a national dialogue if Morsi rescinds his decrees, which they said gave him near-dictatorial powers.

Prominent democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate who is a member of the opposition coalition leadership, said on his Twitter account that Morsi put to a referendum a constitution that "undermines basic freedoms and violates universal rights. The struggle continues."

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in backing Morsi, have depicted the opposition as an elitist group that has not been able to muster success in the previous elections, including an earlier referendum during the military rule, and parliamentary elections that brought the Islamists to power.

Mohammed el-Beltagy, a senior Brotherhood member and a member of the constituent assembly, told the Brotherhood-affiliated TV station Misr 25, said the opposition was a media phenomenon.

"We either go to the ballot boxes and let the people be the arbiter, or we can believe that the elite are a substitute for the people."

Islamists, including the Brotherhood and the more radical Salafi groups, garnered nearly 75 percent of the seats in last winter's parliament election. But the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved the parliament in June, setting the stage for the current standoff.

In his speech, Morsi appealed to the judges to carry out their duties, praising their national roles and adding that the state will not challenge their decisions or powers.

"I am sure that the judges of Egypt will be of help to their nation and people. No one can act outside legal legitimacy," he said in the official ceremony held for the delivery of the draft constitution attended by panel members, as well as the defense minister, signaling military support.

Nasser Amin, the head of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, said Morsi was sending a subtle hint that he didn't expect the judges to challenge his decrees.

He added that Morsi's decision to call for a referendum despite a legal challenge hanging over the body that drafted it undermines the referendum's legitimacy.

"It will be a stillborn constitution," he said.

Threatening to prolong the standoff, various groups, including religious clerics and university professors, have offered to observe the referendum in case the judges follow through with their threats to boycott it.

Despite wide opposition to the constitution and walkouts by secular and Christian representatives from the panel drafting the constitution, Morsi said the constitution establishes a real democratic system and "is going in the right direction."

Opponents say the draft charter has a distinct Islamist bent and rights groups have raised concerns about articles that undermine personal and women rights as well as freedoms of expression.

"We want to overcome disagreements and bickering to move toward serious and productive work. There are massive challenges ahead in the future internally and externally," Morsi said, referring to those who walked out of the panel or are criticizing the draft.

The opposition announced plans for an intensified street campaign of protests and civil disobedience and even a possible march on Morsi's presidential palace to prevent him from holding a nationwide referendum on the draft. It is not clear whether the opposition can rally enough voters to shoot down the constitution in a referendum or organize a boycott campaign.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-president-sets-date-constitution-vote-204209385.html

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Obama aides seek to counter Republican charges on "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration sought to counter Republican charges on Friday that President Barack Obama's plan to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" is light on spending cuts and too reliant on tax increases.

Administration officials said the overall plan, offered to Republicans on Thursday and quickly rejected by them, would achieve $4.5 trillion in savings to the government. This includes around $1 trillion in cuts already enacted into law and would set up an "expedited process" to spirit through Congress some of the most comprehensive legislation in decades.

The plan, which Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined to Republican congressional leaders, is aimed at taking a big step toward comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code and overhauling federal programs like Medicare by next August 1, according to a summary provided by administration officials.

The fate of the administration proposals is uncertain, as they are now part of a mix of offerings to be hashed out over the next few weeks and beyond, aimed at heading off a package of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that would tip the U.S. economy over the fiscal cliff and back into recession.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell outlined his ideas for cutting entitlement programs in a Wall Street Journal interview Friday, while House Republicans said talks had basically arrived at a stalemate at this juncture.

The administration's proposals for next year, when combined with some immediate savings such as taxing the rich at a higher rate, would raise approximately $1.5 trillion in new revenues. Those would be coupled with about $2.4 trillion in spending cuts, according to the officials who asked not to be identified.

Some of those proposed spending cuts are controversial. For example, they count $800 billion in savings from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that are winding down. Many Republicans in Congress argue that sound budgeting should not allow for counting savings on money that was not going to be spent.

The war savings were part of previous deficit-reduction negotiations that failed in 2011.

TWO-STEP APPROACH

Administration officials disclosed details of the White House proposal in an effort to push back against Republicans' characterization of it as not serious.

Without a deal, around $600 billion in steep tax increases and spending cuts would begin in January, forcing the economy into a recession, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

As expected, the White House proposal called for a two-step approach to deficit reduction.

The first step would mainly consist of letting income tax rates rise on families with net incomes above $250,000. The revenues generated would help replace the steep, automatic spending cuts to domestic programs due to kick in on January 2 if Congress and the president cannot reach a compromise.

Also included are the extension of expiring major tax breaks, such as the research and development credit.

A second deficit-reduction step, which both Republicans and Democrats have talked about at length, would give Congress time to revamp the complicated U.S. tax code and figure out how to slow the rapid growth of federal healthcare programs for the elderly and poor.

Under the scenario laid out by Geithner, the new tax provisions would become effective on January 1, 2014, according to administration officials, and are anticipated to bring in an additional $600 billion in revenues over 10 years, beyond the $950 billion from raising taxes on the rich.

Meanwhile, federal spending would be cut by $350 billion over 10 years by reforming Medicare and other unspecified health programs, the officials said. Savings of another $250 billion would be achieved by cutting subsidies to farmers and other actions.

Also tucked into the proposal, the officials said, were $200 billion in "economic growth initiatives" designed to help stimulate the sluggish economy.

This would include $50 billion in infrastructure spending, an extension of payroll tax cuts, extending unemployment benefits and funding for a mortgage refinancing program.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Fred Barbash and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-aides-seek-counter-republican-charges-fiscal-cliff-010121591--business.html

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Myanmar cracks down on mine protest; dozens hurt

MONYWA, Myanmar (AP) ? Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is urging a negotiated resolution to protests over a military-backed copper mine in northwestern Myanmar after the government's biggest crackdown on demonstrators since reformist President Thein Sein took office last year.

Riot police used water cannons, tear gas and smoke bombs to break up the 11-day occupation of the Letpadaung copper mine, wounding dozens of villagers and Buddhist monks early Thursday. The move risks becoming a public relations and political fiasco for Thein Sein's government, which has touted Myanmar's transition to democracy after almost five decades of repressive military rule.

In a visit scheduled before the crackdown, Suu Kyi met Thursday with company officials and protesters and was scheduled to meet with local officials and others Friday.

The mine is jointly operated by a Chinese company and a holding company controlled by Myanmar's military, and activists say as the project expands, villagers have been forced from their land with little compensation.

Through state television, the government initially acknowledged using the riot-control measures but denied using excessive force against the protesters. In an unusual move, it later retracted the statement without explanation.

Protesters suffered serious burns after the crackdown near the town of Monywa. It was unclear if people were burned by the weapons themselves or because the weapons ignited fires in shelters at the protest camps.

"I didn't expect to be treated like this, as we were peacefully protesting," Aung Myint Htway, a peanut farmer whose face and body were covered with black patches of burned skin, said.

Another protester, Ottama Thara, said: "This kind of violence should not happen under a government that says it is committed to democratic reforms."

Still writhing from pain hours after the early morning crackdown, Aung Myint Htway said police fired water cannons first and then shot what he and others called flare guns.

"They fired black balls that exploded into fire sparks. They shot about six times. People ran away and they followed us," he said. "It's very hot."

Suu Kyi's visit to nearby Kan-Kone village had been scheduled before the crackdown. The Nobel Peace laureate, elected to parliament after spending most of the last two decades under house arrest, unexpectedly went to the mine to meet with its operators before making her speech.

"I already met one side. I met with mine operators. I want to meet with villagers and protesters," she said. "I want to negotiate hearing from both sides."

She asked the crowd to be patient. "I haven't made any decision yet. I want to meet with both sides and negotiate," she said in a speech that lasted less than 15 minutes. "Will you agree with my negotiating?" The crowd shouted its assent.

Some of Suu Kyi's comments suggested that she may not fully embrace the tactics of the protesters. "When dealing with people, I don't always follow what people like. I only tell the truth," she said. "I will work for the long-term benefit of the country."

After her speech she went to the hospital where many of the injured were being treated, and met with protest leaders at the hotel in Monywa where she is staying. A protest leader, Thwe Thwe Win, said afterward: "We will wait for Aung San Suu Kyi to negotiate with the companies. But we will not stop the protest until we achieve our demands, though I cannot tell you how we will proceed at this point."

Ohn Kyaing, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, said she told the mine's executives that force should not have been used. He said the executives said they did not direct the action, and that it had been the work of the state security forces. Ohn Kyaing said Suu Kyi on Friday would meet with officials in charge of the crackdown, as well as local villagers and their representatives.

Government officials have publicly stated that the protest risked scaring off foreign investment in Myanmar's long-neglected economy. Villagers affected by the mine claim they did not receive satisfactory compensation and demand a more comprehensive environmental impact assessment.

The mine is a joint venture between China's Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd. and the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd., and most people here remain suspicious of the military and see China as an aggressive and exploitive investor that helped support its rule.

The protesters' concerns about the mine do not yet appear to be widely shared by the broader public. But hurting monks ? as admired for their social activism as they are revered for their spiritual beliefs ? is sure to antagonize many.

Aung Myint Htway said he didn't care that police treated him badly but added, "I won't forgive them for what they did to our monks."

According to a nurse at a Monywa hospital, 27 monks and one other person were admitted with burns caused by some sort of projectile that released sparks or embers. Two monks with serious injuries were sent for treatment in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, a 2? hour drive away.

Other evicted protesters gathered at a Buddhist temple about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the mine's gates.

The protest is the latest major example of increased activism by citizens since the elected government took over last year. Street demonstrations have been legalized, and are generally tolerated, though detentions have occurred in sensitive cases.

Political and economic liberalization under Thein Sein has won praise from Western governments, which have eased sanctions imposed on the previous military government because of its poor record on human and civil rights.

However, the military's position in Myanmar's government remains strong, and some critics fear that democratic gains could be temporary.

The government's surprise suspension last year of a Chinese-backed hydroelectric project, in response to similar concerns about social and economic consequences, was seen as a significant indicator of its commitment to democratic reform. But China was unhappy about the decision, and Thein Sein's ministers have warned about offending Myanmar's big neighbor to the north and scaring off other foreign investors.

China's foreign ministry has defended the mining venture as mutually beneficial and said that environmental remediation and compensation to relocate affected residents all conformed to Myanmar law.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/myanmar-cracks-down-mine-protest-dozens-hurt-022059336--finance.html

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Colombia, FARC wrap up first round of peace talks

HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's Marxist-led FARC rebels said their peace talks with the government were going well, but the lead negotiator for President Juan Manuel Santos was more reserved as the two sides finished the first round of meetings aimed at ending their protracted conflict.

In separate sessions with the press, neither side spoke of breakthroughs in the talks, but nor was there any sign they had hit irresolvable obstacles as happened in previous peace attempts. They will reconvene in Havana on Wednesday.

The country's bloody guerrilla war, in which tens of thousands of people have died, dates back to 1964 when the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, formed as a communist agrarian movement. It turned later to the illicit drug trade, kidnappings and extortion to sustain itself.

Millions of people have been displaced by the war, which the FARC says is a fight to end Colombia's long history of social inequality.

Dutch national Tanja Nijmeijer, a FARC negotiator, told reporters the talks "are going very well," with occasional moments of levity.

"The atmosphere during the talks is very good. There's even space for little jokes, for laughing," she said in response to a question.

Senior FARC leader Andres Paris said the negotiators mingled in the hallways during breaks and were getting to know each other.

"One doesn't know who is more surprised, them or us," said the mustachioed guerrilla. "When we sit at the table, they can observe not barbarians, not savages, but fighters, intellectuals, politicians, the sensible men and women."

Lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle, who read a statement and took no questions, gave a more muted assessment, but indicated progress.

'MORE THAN SPEECHES'

"We have finished the first round of direct conversations. I can say ... we have advanced as expected," said de la Calle, wearing a black suit and white shirt, but no tie.

"We will not move conversations at the table to the microphones. More than speeches, we want concrete results," he said. "When there is relevant information, we will make it public in an opportune manner."

His comments were the first by the government negotiating team since the talks began on November 19, while the FARC members have spoken daily going into the meetings.

So far, they have held to an agreement not to discuss what is being said at the negotiating table. One of their topics has been Simon Trinidad, a former rebel leader they want released from a 60-year prison sentence in the United States so he can participate in the talks.

A photo of Trinidad, who is imprisoned for the kidnapping of three Americans in Colombia, loomed behind the rebels at their news conference.

Nijmeijer, who wore black clothes and a checked Palestinian scarf slung around her neck, read a FARC declaration of solidarity with the Palestinian people before going into Thursday's talks.

Previous attempts at peace ended in shambles, but a 10-year-long, U.S.-backed military offensive has weakened the FARC to the point the government believes the group may be ready for a negotiated end to the war.

The talks have begun with the complicated issue of rural development. Four equally thorny topics - ending the war, the political and legal future of the rebels, the drug trade and compensation for war victims - will follow.

Both sides said they wanted full citizen participation in the peace process, which Santos hopes to conclude in nine months.

They have opened an Internet site, www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co, for citizen input and will hold citizen forums.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colombia-farc-wrap-first-round-peace-talks-005838529.html

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You Won't Believe How Much Graphing Calculators Have Changed

Twenty-seven years after introducing the world's first graphing calculator, Casio has developed its most sophisticated educational Game Boy ever. Indeed, the new Casio fx-CP400's 320 x 528 resolution screen isn't just color—it's a freaking touchscreen that flips from vertical to horizontal. That's a far cry from the drab 94 x 64 display on the the Casio fx-7000G from 1985. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/BrTVwwuexWw/you-wont-believe-how-much-graphing-calculators-have-changed

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Get Your Can to Class 2012 | Narberth-Bala Cynwyd Sports ...

Tomorrow, November 30, 2012, 6:00 am

All Saints Church, 1325 Montgomery Ave, Wynnewood, PA | Get?Directions??
FREE

This is a great way for us to take care of our health and share our good fortune with others at the same time.?

Join us this year and help feed our community!?
All donations will go to Philabundance.?

Men and women of all ages and fitness levels can attend up to 3 classes. Women only and co-ed classes are available.

Cost is 1 can of food per person. Of course you're welcome to bring more than one can!?

See class schedule on website as there are two locations All Saints Church (Wynnewood) and Cerca Trova Yoga,?2124 Darby Rd, Havertown

40.01302

-75.27285

primary

Get Your Can to Class 2012

Weekly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 6:00 am

All Saints Church

1325 Montgomery Ave, Wynnewood, PA

/listings/all-saints-church-322e38c1

2084025

/locations/8245385

Source: http://balacynwyd.patch.com/events/get-your-can-to-class-2012-e390a730

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WordPress.com Launches Restaurant Vertical As It Pushes Platform Well Beyond Basic Blogging

Restaurants are kind of notorious for having painful web experiences -- either with websites that are horribly basic and out of date, or needlessly souped up with music and Flash animation. So it was good news today when web publishing stalwart WordPress.com rolled out a new set of templates specifically aimed at helping restaurants build clean, useful websites that can be easily accessed from both desktop and mobile devices.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TnCekDyZDxs/

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NIU coach emails Heisman voters about Jordan Lynch

When NIU first started a modest Heisman campaign for quarterback Jordan Lynch, Lynch responded by becoming the first quarterback in major college history to pass for 400 yards and run for 150 in NIU's biggest win of the season in a game on ESPN2. Now he gets another chance at a national stage in Friday's MAC title game, and coach Dave Doeren is trying hard to get the word out with a personal letter of recommendation.

Dave Doeren emailed Heisman voters touting Lynch's candidacy.

That's a brilliant move. Not only does he take his message straight to the people who matter, but even doing so creates news. When people write about what Doeren said about his quarterback, he gets his message sent twice, once directly to the voters and a second time when sportswriters pass on the message. And when they write about it, it makes the message that much more legitimate.

You can read Doeren's entire endorsement on the link above at Yahoo.com, but here is a portion of what Doeren wrote:

"He is a blue collar winner that truly loves and respects the game of football. His relentless energy and compassion for competition and winning is inspirational and contagious. I love to see him practice and play -- he is worthy of any and all consideration he gets for the Heisman Trophy."

~Dave Doeren, NIU football coach

The best thing NIU did for Lynch was not tell everyone his stats, but to make people notice him before the Toledo game. When Lynch then made history on national TV, passing for 296 yards in the third quarter alone, to help NIU clinch the MAC West title, everyone knew it was no accident.

Well, Lynch has another chance Friday night. He can't win the Heisman this year, but he could crack the top 10 with another good game -- and a victory -- over Kent State, and that could set him up as a legitimate contender to at least crack the top five as a senior next season.

All coach Dave Doeren and NIU officials can do is make people aware of Jordan Lynch. From there, it's all up to him. Playing at NIU, he has to be flat-out better than everyone else and have eye-popping stats. But he's been putting up unique running/passing numbers all year. And his school and his coach have done their part by letting everyone know about it.

Source: http://www.rrstar.com/blogs/x1156348073/NIU-coach-emails-Heisman-voters-about-Jordan-Lynch

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Target upbeat about holidays after 3Q climbs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? Target Corp. on Thursday reported a third-quarter net income that handily beat Wall Street expectations, and the big-box retailer issued a rosy outlook heading into the critical holiday shopping season.

The company, based in Minneapolis, is optimistic about the period, which can make up 40 percent of a retailer's annual revenue. The cheap-chic chain cited its new price matching program and a holiday collection partnership with luxury department store Neiman Marcus.

For the fourth quarter, the company said it anticipates adjusted earnings of $1.64 to $1.74 per share. Analysts predict $1.50 per share.

Target's stock added $1.11, or 1.8 percent, to $62.49 in late morning trading Thursday.

Target's upbeat view contrasts with rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The world's biggest retailer on Thursday issued a fourth-quarter profit outlook that came in below Wall Street expectations.

For the three months ended Oct. 27, Target earned $637 million, or 96 cents per share. That's up from $555 million, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier.

The current quarter's performance included a 15-cent gain tied to the retailer's sale of its consumer credit-card business to TD Bank Group.

Target, which had been looking for a buyer for nearly two years, announced the deal last month.

Removing certain items, the chain's earnings were 90 cents per share. Analysts expected 78 cents per share, according to a FactSet poll.

Revenue climbed 3 percent to $16.6 billion from $16.05 billion, but missed Wall Street's $16.91 billion forecast.

Revenue at stores open at least a year, a key retail metric, rose 2.9 percent, slower than last year's 4.3 percent increase. This figure excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/target-upbeat-holidays-3q-climbs-162113486--finance.html

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New way for antibiotic resistance to spread

ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2012) ? Washington State University researchers have found an unlikely recipe for antibiotic resistant bacteria: Mix cow dung and soil, and add urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. The urine will kill off normal E. coli in the dung-soil mixture. But antibiotic-resistant E. coli will survive in the soil to recolonize in a cow's gut through pasture, forage or bedding.

"I was surprised at how well this works, but it was not a surprise that it could be happening," says Doug Call, a molecular epidemiologist in WSU's Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. Call led the research with an immunology and infectious disease Ph.D. student, Murugan Subbiah, now a post-doctoral researcher at Texas A & M. Their study appears in a recent issue of the online journal PLOS ONE.

While antibiotics have dramatically reduced infections in the past 70 years, their widespread and often indiscriminate use has led to the natural selection of drug-resistant microbes. People infected with the organisms have a harder time getting well, with longer hospital stays and a greater likelihood of death.

Animals are a major source of resistant bugs, receiving the bulk of antibiotics sold in the U.S.

The scientists focused on the antibiotic ceftiofur, a cephalosporin believed to be helping drive the proliferation of resistance in bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli. Ceftiofur has little impact on gut bacteria, says Call.

"Given that about 70 percent of the drug is excreted in the urine, this was about the only pathway through which it could exert such a large effect on bacterial populations that can reside in both the gut and the environment," he says.

Until now, conventional thinking held that antibiotic resistance is developed inside the animal, Call says.

"If our work turns out to be broadly applicable, it means that selection for resistance to important drugs like ceftiofur occurs mostly outside of the animals," he says. "This in turn means that it may be possible to develop engineered solutions to interrupt this process. In doing so we would limit the likelihood that antibiotic resistant bacteria will get back to the animals and thereby have a new approach to preserve the utility of these important drugs."

One possible solution would be to find a way to isolate and dispose of residual antibiotic after it is excreted from an animal but before it interacts with soil bacteria.

The WSU experiments were performed in labs using materials from dairy calves. Researchers must now see if the same phenomenon takes place in actual food-animal production systems.

Funding for the study included grants from the National Institutes of Health, the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine's Agricultural Animal Health Program, the WSU Agricultural Research Center, and Call's Caroline Engle professorship in research on infectious diseases.

Other researchers were Devandra Shah and Tom Besser, both in WSU's Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and the Allen School, and Jeffrey Ullman at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington State University. The original article was written by Eric Sorensen.

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. Murugan Subbiah, Devendra H. Shah, Thomas E. Besser, Jeffrey L. Ullman, Douglas R. Call. Urine from Treated Cattle Drives Selection for Cephalosporin Resistant Escherichia coli in Soil. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (11): e48919 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048919

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/7Gqaz4fc6Ac/121115141826.htm

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Melvin will welcome back Colon to A's

By JANIE McCAULEY

AP Baseball Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:43 p.m. ET Nov. 14, 2012

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Bartolo Colon will be welcomed back to the Oakland Athletics with no hard feelings - at least by newly crowned AL Manager of the Year Bob Melvin.

Melvin said Wednesday he is "thrilled" the right-hander will return to the club next year after his 2012 season ended with a 50-game suspension Aug. 22 for testing positive for testosterone.

Colon received a $3 million, one-year contract Nov. 3, though he still has five games remaining on his suspension when the 2013 season starts. While the new deal includes incentives for starts and innings, he also has potential bonuses for relief appearances - though Melvin said Colon would prepare as a starter and will be "embraced" by the reigning AL West champions.

"He's gone through his penalty," Melvin said. "It's one thing if it's a guy who might be a little bit of a bad guy, but his is a true gentleman, a great guy who just made a mistake. He'll be embraced back here again. He was very important for us. Guys like that can kind of get lost in the shuffle when they're not here and you get to the postseason, but he was a key guy for us, he really was."

The former Cy Young winner went 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts for Oakland last season, his 15th in the majors.

A's general manager Billy Beane said finding a veteran pitcher to be part of a young rotation - and for the financial value - Colon was the perfect fit.

Melvin said he last spoke to Colon about three weeks after the suspension began, and they will talk again before the start of spring training in February.

"I don't need to talk to Bart. I will call him at some point in time," Melvin said. "I got very close to him, and we had a nice conversation and he was very remorseful when all that went down. I think in the back of his mind he was hoping this situation would arise for him again, and it did."

A's assistant general manager David Forst said Wednesday the team remains in contact with shortstop Stephen Drew. Oakland declined to pick up their half of a $10 million mutual option late last month. Drew is seeking a long-term deal.

"We're still in touch," Forst said. "We're looking to do something at that position, and he's still an option."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Price squeaks past Verlander

HBT:?The Rays' David Price?won the AL Cy Young Award?by the slimmest of margins Wednesday. He received 14 of 28 first-place votes and finished with 153 points to 149 for the Tigers' Justin Verlander, chosen first on 13 ballots.? Other than a 1969 tie, it was the tightest race in the history of the AL award.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49830986/ns/sports-baseball/

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Outsourcing to India? 5 Must Eat Foods in Hyderabad, India

I am regularly asked by clients who are visiting our BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)office in Hyderabad, India about Indian food. I spend over 6 months a year in India and have done for 2 years and so by now I consider myself an expert on culinary Indian matters! As founder of remote staff services provider, OutsourcePal.co.uk I have had to quickly immerse myself into Indian culture and diet. But it hasn?t been difficult because I love Indina food. When a client visits our office I am quick to take them to try the many fine foods available in India.

Without further delay here are my top 5 foods:

1) The biryani (most commonly chicken but sometimes veg and lamb/mutton).

This is a classic Hyderabad dish. It reminds of the British ?Sunday roast? in the sense that it is virtually a default dish for all Hyderabadis. Its not a question of ?do you like it?? its just accepted that everyone likes it.

A biryani consists of yellow rice marinated with herbs, spices and large fresh succulent portions of chicken eaten off the bone. As important as the chicken and rice is what accompanies it ie a serving of a hot curry sauce, some curd (yoghurt) and finally a few slices of raw onion. A squeeze of fresh lemon completes the famous chicken biryani! Needless to say, I am addicted to this dish and its the first thing I look forward to when back in India. (best washed down with an ice cold Kingfisher beer!). If you are a client of Outsource Pal and you have visited India then you will have tried a chicken biryani!

2) Curd

To me curd was something from a nursery rhyme until I realised that it was yoghurt. It seemed strange at first to mix yoghurt with rice especially using the same plate from which I had just eaten a hot curry. But I soon got used to it. Hyderabadis tend to finish every meal with a helping of cool curd on top of their rice. Its a fine way to finish a meal. Delicious!

3) Dal

The simple and somewhat under rated dal is one of my favourite foods and a staple diet. There are many different types of dal. My favourite is the simple but delicious tadka dal. Healthy, filling and refreshing all at the same time. Mmmmm!

4) Idli

My favourite Indian breakfast is idli. Its light, healthy and delicious. It comes served with a chutney and I can highly recommend the spicy coconut chutney.

Apparently its made from a black lentil mixed with rice though its consistency feels more like a light cake.

Whatever it is ? it makes for a great start to the day!

5) Dhosa

Dhosa is the most flexible of dishes! It seems to pop up at all time in Hyderabad whether that be for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack! Again it is best served with a chutney.

One of my favourite Indian foods.

India is a great place for food lovers so if you are thinking of outsourcing to India please be sure to visit our office in Hyderabad and let us take you for a biryani!

Tags: outsourcing to India

Category: outsourcing to India

Source: http://www.why-outsource.com/outsourcing-to-india/outsourcing-to-india-5-must-eat-foods-in-hyderabad-india/

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Arizona Border Patrol Seizes 5,00 Rounds of Ammo Heading to Mexico

Published at 9:50 am EST, November 14, 2012

Thousands of rounds of ammunition headed for Mexico were seized Wednesday by Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Dennis DeConcini Port.

CBP officers conducting routine outbound inspections referred Erik Raul Enriquez-Leon, 21, of neighboring Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for an additional inspection of his Mitsubishi sedan. During the inspection, officers located 272 boxes of 7.62 x 39mm ammunition, the type often used in assault weapons, concealed in both rear quarter panels of the vehicle.

The vehicle and ammunition (5,440 rounds) were processed for seizure. Enriquez was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement?s Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HSN-Notitas-De-Noticias/~3/ZQVjw06U_pI/19840

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10 Killer Techniques to Quadruple Your Internet Marketing Success ...

Are you tired of getting little or no results at all from your Internet Marketing strategy? Hopefully by now, you have realized that in order to be successful with online lead generation, you need to have more than just a pretty website.

First, I will assume that what you are really after is not more traffic to your website, but more leads for your business. ?So the quality of traffic that you reach and what they do when they arrive on your website is more important than just getting droves of visitors.

Be sure to check out our Free Guide to?Capturing Better Sales Leads Online.

You need a website that rocks!

1. Responsive Website Design

Your website design is the most important first step to your online success. ?All too often business owners are focused on getting more traffic without considering the fact that what your visitors see in the first tenth of a second upon landing on your site will create a first impression.

Not only do you need a professional looking design that stands out from your competition, but you need to keep in mind the growth of mobile web surfing. Statistics prove that when a visitor lands on a web-optimized site from their mobile device, they will spend much less time on the site and the bounce rate (a bounce occurs when a visitor exits your site immediately on the landing page?without?clicking further) is much higher.

Responsive website design?is a new way of building your website so that it automatically adjusts to different screen sizes. ?This means that your website will have the same look and feel on all types of devices and browsers but certain elements will adjust and?re-size?automatically?to fit the screen size without jeopardizing the size of important elements like your company logo or the text.

2. Conversion Architecture

What do you want your visitors to?do when they arrive on your site? ?I?m sure you have lots of great knowledge to share and fantastic photos of your product or service, but your website is?not a brochure.

When you are working with your web designer, you need to think about how you can encourage your visitors to take action. In other words, how can they convert from a visitor into a lead?

We all know that the best form of lead is when someone grabs the phone and calls you, purchases directly through your website or submits your request form, but the chances are that not everyone who lands on your website is at that stage in their buying process yet. ?So what small actions can they take to, perhaps unknowingly enter into your lead nurturing process?

Conversion architecture is a process of engineering your website to get the most value from each visitor who lands there. ?This is the most important piece of your Internet Marketing Success. ?If you send traffic to a poorly converting site you are wasting visits.

Let?s use this illustration. ?Let?s assume you have a website generating 10,000 visitors per month with a 2% conversion rate. ?So 200 website visitors are contacting you each month.

Now let?s assume you could improve your conversion?architecture?and increase your conversion rate by just 1%. ?That would double the number of monthly leads you are now getting!

You might think you already have a great website and all you need is more traffic but I would challenge you to consider the actual percentage of visitors who convert into leads and the potential of improving your conversion?architecture?before investing to increase your traffic.

You need to show up!

3. Write Killer Content

There is only one thing that is going to attract the right visitors to your website, keep them there and engage them into taking action or converting. ?You have to have lots of well written, compelling content!
If you search on Google for almost any topic, one of the top entries will be Wikipedia. ?Do you know why? ?How about 6210 indexed pages of content in Google?s directory?

You have probably heard before that ?content is king?. ?Your business involves selling some products or services that people need or want. ?Your job is to add content that will help them choose what to buy and from whom. ?And if you do it right, they might just choose you!

Just having great content is the first and most important aspect of generating traffic to your website. ?This is what Google is looking for and how they will decide if you are special enough to rank in their index.

4. On-Page SEO

You don?t need to be a Search Engine Optimization Expert?to know the basics of on-page SEO. ?Just follow these simple steps and you are well on your way:

a. Keyword Research ? you have to identify keywords?relevant?to your niche that people in your geographic target are searching for and that have a low level of competition. ?There are lots of tools available online to help you with this. ?Some are free and others are paid. ?The easiest is to simply use Google?s own keyword tool.

b. Title Tag?- Including your keyword in your <Title> tag on your web page is the most important aspect of on-page SEO. ?Note that your page should only target one keyword phrase. ?Don?t try and stuff extra keywords in there as this will confuse Google and water down your results.

c. Headings?- Include your keyword in your <H1> primary page heading and you can use variations of your keyword in your subheadings, <H2>, <H3> and so on. ?Using headings also helps you break up your content so it is visually pleasing and easy to skim through.

d. Keyword Density ? The density of your keyword usage in your content is less strict than it once was but Google?s algorithms are very smart and will sense if your content is stuffed with your keyword and is not written for a human reader. ?The best rule of thumb is to read your content over before publishing and ensure that it sounds like a normal person talking.

You DO want to use your keyword in your text at least a few times. ?And usually, the longer your article is the more you can use your phrase. ?Also, including it in your first paragraph can help.

e. Page Description ? Your <description> meta tag should also include the keyword phrase used in it. ?Try to keep your description shorter than 152 characters to avoid the ? from showing up in the search query.

f. In-Site Links ? Linking your content from other content pages, articles and blogs will help Google find the content. ?Using the keyword as the anchor text that links to the content will help apply relevance to your page for the target keyword.

On-page SEO is really quite simple. ?It is also very time consuming and there are lots of intricacies that make it more complicated to do really well but these are the basics. ?If you are worried about messing it up or don?t have tons of spare time to do it yourself, maybe consider hiring a professional SEO service.

5. Off-Page SEO

If content is King, the inbound links are Queen. ?Above I said that links within your website tell Google what your content is about, or how it is relevant. ?Well if Google sees what you say about yourself and weighs that against what others are saying about you, what do you think they will find more valuable?

The way you build up your relevance is by getting other websites to link to you. The anchor text that links to your content is important. ?Try searching ?click here? on Google and see who shows up first. ?If you look at the Adobe website, nowhere does it mention the words ?click here?. ?It is not on the site at all!

The only reason that website shows up first is because so many other websites link to it with the anchor text ?click here?. ?So similarly, if you can get lots of websites to link to you with a particular phrase, it will help you rank for that phrase.

One note. ?The authority of the linking source is another very important factor. Try to get highly authoritative sites to link to you. ?Better still, leave this to the professionals.

6. Pay Per Click

I know? you?never?click on those ads?on Google and probably never even look at them (that?s what I hear all the time), but somehow Google manages to earn $100 Million per day?from advertising!

Let me say something about Pay Per Click Advertising. ?It works! ?All the time!

In fact if it doesn?t work, it costs you nothing! ?You only pay when someone searches for your keywords and clicks on your ad. ?Rewind back to the top of this article, the part about conversion architecture, to determine if your website will work as well as your pay per click advertising.

Not all pay per click is search based. ?There are plenty of opportunities to advertise online. ?In fact Google?s display ad network gets 24.2 billion ad impressions every day and those convert into an average 2.1 million leads or sales, daily!

There are also opportunities for paid advertising on Facebook, Twitter and other social media marketing vehicles

You need to engage!

7. Social Media

Social Media Marketing is in my opinion the least important way to generate traffic to your website. ?It is also the slowest and will involve a lot of time and effort.

However by sharing your awesome content?within your social networks, you will be spreading that content around, encouraging engagement, sharing and probably getting some good inbound links!

??????? 8. Email Marketing

Don?t spam your subscribers. ?Give them value. ?Educate them.
Provide? information to help them decide what to buy and where
to buy it.

??????? 9. Inbound Marketing

Nurture, nurture, nurture. ?Take a look at my article,
What is Inbound Marketing?

???????? 10. Calls to Action

If you want them to buy something or download something
or sign up for something or request something or whatever
action you want them to take, ask?them to take that action!
You might be?surprised?to see how many actually do
what you ask them to!

This has turned into a much longer blog post than it was intended. ?If you got this far, for goodness?sake?post a comment and let me know so I don?t feel that it was a lot of wasted effort! ?And if you have found this?intriguing? you should check out our Free Guide to?Capturing Better Sales Leads Online.

So to wrap this article up, you can?t expect every person who converts on your site to be an instant sale. ?But if you have done a good job at getting them engaged enough to give you their email address, you have an opportunity to turn them into an eventual sale and perhaps even repeat sales and lighting a fire of spreading word of mouth.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/10-killer-techniques-to-quadruple-your-internet-marketing-success-0331688

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German utility E.ON lowers 2013 outlook

BERLIN (AP) ? German electricity and gas supplier E.ON AG on Tuesday lowered its earnings forecast for next year because of economic uncertainty and rapid changes in the energy industry, an announcement that caused its shares to tumble.

The reduced forecast came as the utility, which is based in Duesseldorf, reported a ?179 million ($228 million) loss for the third quarter.

E.ON said the earnings figure was hit by charges totaling ?1.2 billion at various units, and pointed to "a generally deteriorated business environment along with regulatory intervention."

A year earlier, E.ON made a net profit of ?173 million. Third-quarter revenues rose to ?28.23 billion from ?24.46 billion.

E.ON's shares dropped sharply when markets opened and kept on falling. By late afternoon, they were down 12.8 percent at ?14.42, by far the worst performer on Frankfurt's DAX index of blue-chip stocks.

The company said it remains on track to meet its target for this year of underlying net income between ?4.1 billion and ?4.5 billion, and still plans to pay a dividend of ?1.10 per share for 2012.

However, it said it is reviewing its longer-term targets. The previous 2013 forecast for underlying net income of ?3.2 billion-?3.7 billion "no longer seems achievable" in light of the "the substantial economic uncertainties and the structural changes in the energy industry," it said. The company also said it would review longer-term statements regarding its performance in 2015.

CEO Johannes Teyssen said E.ON faces "huge challenges," particularly in its electricity generation business, and added that the company is "exploring whether to close some assets."

He said in a letter to shareholders that one problem is that, as countries switch to more climate-friendly power supplies, gas-fired generators "have become barely profitable to operate." That's in part because overall electricity demand is very low, but also because energy from renewable sources is fed into grids as a priority when demand is higher, he added.

For the first nine months of the year, E.ON said its net earnings rose to ?2.73 billion from the previous year's ?864 million. Revenue increased to ?93.63 billion from ?77.51 billion.

For that period, E.ON credited an improvement in its wholesale gas business; the effect last year of costs stemming from Germany's decision to speed up its phaseout of nuclear energy; and new gas-fired generating units in Russia.

E.ON last year announced a plan to cut up to 11,000 jobs from a workforce of some 80,000.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-utility-e-lowers-2013-outlook-093436654--finance.html

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Al-Futtaim&#39;s Trading Enterprises Launches Fisker Luxury Hybrid ...

Fisker, the world?s first environmentally-responsible luxury car made its official Middle East appearance last night as Trading Enterprises and Fisker Automotive leadership unveiled the award-winning Karma sedan in front of global and regional media at Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai Festival City.

Senior management from Al-Futtaim and Fisker Automotive pulled the wraps off the world?s first high performance electric luxury vehicle, making the privately held Dubai-based business group exclusive partner in the GCC and MENA regions.

The launch was attended by Henrik Fisker, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Fisker Automotive, Barny Koehler, Co-Founder and CEO of Europe and Middle East, Fisker Automotive, Len Hunt, President ? Automotive, Al-Futtaim Group, Colin Cordery, Managing Director, Trading Enterprises and other senior management from Al-Futtaim.

Trading Enterprises will distribute Fisker automobiles exclusively in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt and the Levant. The region?s first Fisker showroom will open in Dubai Festival City?s automotive park before the end of the year. Depending on the chosen interior trims, accessories and paint combinations, the Fisker Karma will retail in the UAE for between AED500,000 and AED600,000.

Colin Cordery, Managing Director, Trading Enterprises said: ?We are familiar with first-class automotive brands and understand the need to offer premium customers a technologically advanced vehicle that respects the environment.

?Fisker offers an environmental alternative to traditional luxury vehicles and we are well placed and proud to partner with Fisker and support their vision of delivering uncompromised, responsible luxury to this part of the world. Al-Futtaim has built strength and credibility in delivering great customer experience and this latest partnership with Fisker automobiles further reiterates our position as the region?s number one dealer of the finest automotive brands.?

Henrik Fisker, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Fisker Automotive said: ?Today is a proud moment for the Fisker brand as it is the start of our journey in the Middle East. We could not have found a better business house than Al-Futtaim Group to partner us. Al-Futtaim is one of the strongest players in the automotive segment with proven capabilities in customer engagement, high standards of after-sales service, network of showrooms and parts distribution centers. We are honored to have a partner with such strong legacy.?

Source: http://www.energytrend.com/Fisker_EV_20121025

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ESA start-up company wins GMES Masters award

Public release date: 26-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Meisner
robert.meisner@esa.int
European Space Agency

The one-man Dutch business BlackShore has won the top prize in the European Earth-monitoring competition. The winning project, Cerberus, exploits social media to advance Earth observation applications.

In its second year, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Masters competition received more than 100 innovative business proposals from 20 European countries. The competition fosters creative product development and entrepreneurship in Europe in the GMES service fields: land, ocean, air quality, climate change and emergency response.

The GMES Masters was created by ESA, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, the DLR German Aerospace Center and T-Systems, and is supported by the European Commission.

This year, two additional German industry leaders Astrium GEO-Information Services and European Space Imaging GmbH joined the competition as partners.

The 2012 winners were announced on 25 October at an event in Munich, Germany organised by Anwendungszentrum Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) GmbH.

Volker Liebig, Director of ESA's Earth Observation Programmes, unveiled BlackShore's project Cerberus as the overall winner the GMES Master 2012 endowed with 20 000.

The project, which also won the European Space Imaging High-Res Challenge, is presented as a 'serious game' that involves participants in the creation of digital maps based on GMES data.

Cerberus users can mark where they see, for example, cracks in ice, damaged power cables or areas of drought on satellite images. This input is then translated into map layers to be used, after verification, by governments or other interested parties.

BlackShore is a Dutch start-up company hosted since 2011 at the ESA Business Incubation Centre Noordwijk, part of the Agency's Technology Transfer Programme.

Josef Aschbacher, Head of the ESA GMES Space Office, presented the award for the ESA App Challenge to Dr Harald Skinnemoen and his team from the Norwegian company AnsuR Technologies AS.

Their crowdsourcing app ASIGN provides in-situ visual GMES validation and helps to organise professional field teams for crisis management.

During last year's flooding in Thailand, the ASIGN mobile app demonstrated its usefulness by merging near-realtime information from space and the ground to help those struck by the disaster.

Meanwhile, an offshore oil spill and gas flare monitoring service based on upcoming Sentinel-1 and -2 data, called MOSP-RIOS, was chosen as the winner of the GMES Master's Ideas Challenge. The proposed service was submitted by Daniele Di Erasmo and his team at Serco S.p.A. (Italy).

Taking home the prize of the DLR Environmental Challenge was Steve Lee of Scotland's Stevenson Astrosat Ltd.

The company's thermal and carbon efficiency reporting tool ThermCERT is designed to use space-derived data to increase the quality of thermal output measurements.

Dr Tim McCarthy and his team from the Irish company iGeotec Technologies Ltd won the prize in the T-Systems Cloud Computing Challenge for WAMSAPs Wide-Area Monitoring using Spaceborne and Airborne Platforms.

This novel approach facilitates continuous monitoring of man-made and natural environments in a more timely and comprehensive manner.

Finally, BALIST, submitted by Dr Virginie Lafon and her team from the French Technology Transfer Unit GEO-Transfert, was chosen as the winning submission in the Astrium Radar Challenge.

This nearshore bathymetry service maps coastal water depths using data from the Sentinel-1 and -2 missions, which will be launched from 2013 onwards.

The GMES Masters prize pool has a total value of 335 000 both in cash and in kind, the latter mainly in the form of satellite data or the chance to enter the incubation programme at one of Europe's seven ESA Business Incubation Centres.

The European Commission has contributed satellite data packages worth 100 000 to this year's GMES Masters. The impressive participation and the quality of the submitted ideas in the competition's first two years have demonstrated that innovative GMES applications possess great economic potential, especially for small- and medium-enterprises and start-up companies.

The aim of the GMES programme is to provide easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.

###

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

Public release date: 26-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Meisner
robert.meisner@esa.int
European Space Agency

The one-man Dutch business BlackShore has won the top prize in the European Earth-monitoring competition. The winning project, Cerberus, exploits social media to advance Earth observation applications.

In its second year, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Masters competition received more than 100 innovative business proposals from 20 European countries. The competition fosters creative product development and entrepreneurship in Europe in the GMES service fields: land, ocean, air quality, climate change and emergency response.

The GMES Masters was created by ESA, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, the DLR German Aerospace Center and T-Systems, and is supported by the European Commission.

This year, two additional German industry leaders Astrium GEO-Information Services and European Space Imaging GmbH joined the competition as partners.

The 2012 winners were announced on 25 October at an event in Munich, Germany organised by Anwendungszentrum Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) GmbH.

Volker Liebig, Director of ESA's Earth Observation Programmes, unveiled BlackShore's project Cerberus as the overall winner the GMES Master 2012 endowed with 20 000.

The project, which also won the European Space Imaging High-Res Challenge, is presented as a 'serious game' that involves participants in the creation of digital maps based on GMES data.

Cerberus users can mark where they see, for example, cracks in ice, damaged power cables or areas of drought on satellite images. This input is then translated into map layers to be used, after verification, by governments or other interested parties.

BlackShore is a Dutch start-up company hosted since 2011 at the ESA Business Incubation Centre Noordwijk, part of the Agency's Technology Transfer Programme.

Josef Aschbacher, Head of the ESA GMES Space Office, presented the award for the ESA App Challenge to Dr Harald Skinnemoen and his team from the Norwegian company AnsuR Technologies AS.

Their crowdsourcing app ASIGN provides in-situ visual GMES validation and helps to organise professional field teams for crisis management.

During last year's flooding in Thailand, the ASIGN mobile app demonstrated its usefulness by merging near-realtime information from space and the ground to help those struck by the disaster.

Meanwhile, an offshore oil spill and gas flare monitoring service based on upcoming Sentinel-1 and -2 data, called MOSP-RIOS, was chosen as the winner of the GMES Master's Ideas Challenge. The proposed service was submitted by Daniele Di Erasmo and his team at Serco S.p.A. (Italy).

Taking home the prize of the DLR Environmental Challenge was Steve Lee of Scotland's Stevenson Astrosat Ltd.

The company's thermal and carbon efficiency reporting tool ThermCERT is designed to use space-derived data to increase the quality of thermal output measurements.

Dr Tim McCarthy and his team from the Irish company iGeotec Technologies Ltd won the prize in the T-Systems Cloud Computing Challenge for WAMSAPs Wide-Area Monitoring using Spaceborne and Airborne Platforms.

This novel approach facilitates continuous monitoring of man-made and natural environments in a more timely and comprehensive manner.

Finally, BALIST, submitted by Dr Virginie Lafon and her team from the French Technology Transfer Unit GEO-Transfert, was chosen as the winning submission in the Astrium Radar Challenge.

This nearshore bathymetry service maps coastal water depths using data from the Sentinel-1 and -2 missions, which will be launched from 2013 onwards.

The GMES Masters prize pool has a total value of 335 000 both in cash and in kind, the latter mainly in the form of satellite data or the chance to enter the incubation programme at one of Europe's seven ESA Business Incubation Centres.

The European Commission has contributed satellite data packages worth 100 000 to this year's GMES Masters. The impressive participation and the quality of the submitted ideas in the competition's first two years have demonstrated that innovative GMES applications possess great economic potential, especially for small- and medium-enterprises and start-up companies.

The aim of the GMES programme is to provide easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/esa-esc102612.php

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