Renowned climate scientist comes under fire

Renowned climate scientist comes under fire

Renowned climate scientist comes under fire - The prestigious California-based Pacific Institute climate research group has launched an investigation of its president and founder, Peter Gleick, after he admitted fraudulently obtaining documents from global warming skeptics challenging his work.
The institute in Oakland revealed its inquiry into the widening controversy in a terse statement posted on Wednesday on its website, hours after the San Francisco Chronicle said it was discontinuing an online blog that Gleick had been writing for the newspaper.
"The Board of Directors of the Pacific Institute is deeply concerned and is actively reviewing information about the recent events involving its president ... and documents pertaining to the Heartland Institute," the board statement said.
Gleick himself went public about the matter on Monday with a statement confessing that he had posed as someone else to obtain internal memos from the Heartland Institute, a think tank that argues skeptic positions, among them that climate change is not caused by human activity and that health hazards from tobacco have been exaggerated.
"My judgment was blinded by my frustration with the ongoing efforts - often anonymous, well-funded, and coordinated - to attack climate science and scientists ... and by the lack of transparency of the organizations involved," Gleick wrote in the statement, carried on the Huffington Post website.
Even before his mea culpa, Gleick, a renowned authority on global freshwater issues and winner of a MacArthur "genius" grant, had resigned last Thursday as chairman of the American Geophysical Union's Task Force on Scientific Ethics.
HARSH DEBATE
The scandal illustrates the increasingly harsh tone in the public and political debate over global warming, despite the consensus among mainstream scientists that rising levels of heat-trapping "greenhouse" gases, primarily caused by human activity, are altering the Earth's climate.
Heartland is among a group of skeptic organizations that have written extensively about the so-called Climategate case in which thousands of climate scientists' emails were hacked via the University of East Anglia in Britain.
The initial batch of those emails was made public in 2009 and a second set in December 2011 as a major climate conference was getting under way in Durban, South Africa.
Heartland cited those emails in claiming that the scientists who wrote them were trying to cover up evidence that cast doubt on human-caused climate change. Five separate investigations later found no wrongdoing on the part of the scientists. The source of the hacking was never identified.
Gleick has admitted that he obtained various internal Heartland documents - including a fundraising plan, a meeting agenda and a budget - by soliciting them under someone else's name, then forwarding them anonymously to members of the media and other climate scientists.
One of those lists dozens of major U.S. corporations from a wide range of industries as donors to the Heartland Institute, among them tobacco and energy companies. Another lists consultants Heartland has paid, one of them hired to devise a "climate education project" for public school children.
LUMINARY?
In a written statement on Monday, Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast acknowledged that all of the documents Gleick circulated were authentic except one, titled "2012 Heartland Climate Strategy," which Bast called a forged memo.
Gleick said he did not alter any Heartland document and said he received this document anonymously in the mail and that it provided the impetus for him to use a false identity in requesting additional records from Heartland in a bid to verify its source.
Bast said release of the allegedly forged document had damaged Heartland's reputation, and he threatened legal action. "Gleick's crime was a serious one," he wrote.
"The documents he admits stealing contained personal information about Heartland staff members, donors, and allies, the release of which has violated their privacy and endangered their personal safety," Bast said.
The incident has raised concern among climatologists that scientific credibility might be tarnished.
"We think it unfortunate that this has the potential to deflect the conversation away from the scientific consensus that the climate change is taking place," said Christine McEntee, executive director of the American Geophysical Union.
It also raised ethical questions for journalists. Alana Nguyen, executive producer of the San Francisco Chronicle's website, said the newspaper had discontinued Gleick's unpaid blog because it was part of a feature reserved for local "luminaries."

Tornado season looms, but forecasting a challenge

Tornado season looms, but forecasting a challenge

Tornado season looms, but forecasting a challenge - Tornado season is starting, but don't ask meteorologists how bad it will be this spring and summer.
They don't know. They're having a hard enough time getting a fix on the likely path of storms expected in the next 48 hours, from the Ohio Valley to the Southeast coast.

The very nature of tornadoes makes them the wildcard of weather disasters. It's just hard to figure when and where they'll appear.
On Wednesday night, one hit Rome, Ga., the National Weather Service said, with winds of 95 mph, leaving a 3-mile swath of destruction.
It's not the first one of the year. In January two people were killed by separate twisters in Alabama. Preliminary reports showed 95 tornadoes struck last month, compared with 16 in January 2011, a particularly stormy year.
The season usually starts in March and then ramps up for the next couple of months, but forecasting a seasonal outlook is even more imprecise than predicting hurricane seasons. Tornadoes are too small and too short-lived. They don't develop like blizzards and hurricanes, which are easier to project.
They pop in and pop out. The storms that give them birth may last only a few hours. Hurricanes and blizzards are lumbering beasts that spend days moving across the satellite maps. When a hurricane approaches, coastlines get days to evacuate. With a tornado, if the weather service can let people know 20 minutes in advance, it's considered a victory.
The deadly Joplin, Mo., tornado "wasn't violent until just about the time it got to the hospital," said Harold Brooks, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Severe Storms Laboratory, in Norman, Okla. "Even when you're in the field, there are still times when you're surprised by the intensity of the event and how quickly it started."
The federal storm center says 158 died in that storm; local officials count 161.
If a forecast for a hurricane or blizzard is off by a mile, it's still bad weather. But a mile difference means no damage in a tornado, Brooks said: "It's so much finer in time and space on the tornado, it does make it a harder problem."
It takes a piece of debris only a few seconds to fly around an entire tornado; it takes hours to circle a hurricane. Yet tornadoes, though smaller, can have stronger winds. Since 1950, there have been 58 tornadoes in the United States with winds exceeding 200 mph; six last year alone. Only three hurricanes have made U.S. landfall with winds more than 155 mph.
And forecasters are telling the Southeast and Midwest to get ready again.
"It looks like this week we're moving into a slightly more active dynamic pattern," said warning meteorologist Greg Carbin at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, also in Norman, Okla.
The percolating Ohio Valley/Southeastern storm is proof of how hard meteorologists have it. On Tuesday evening, Carbin said, "We're kind of expecting it to be a fairly significant event" and the storm center's website had a small red swath for potential severe storms with tornadoes.
By Wednesday afternoon, the storm prediction center massively expanded its Thursday watch area to include 14 states from Florida to Indiana. By Thursday afternoon, it was down to mostly Kentucky and Tennessee with parts of neighboring states.
"A lot of things have to come together at once to have a tornadic storm and the skill at forecasting all those things is near zero," said Howard Bluestein, a professor at the University of Oklahoma. "They are definitely more unpredictable."
All this comes on the heels of one of the worst tornado years in U.S. history. Tornadoes in 2011 started the earliest ever — New Year's Day — killing 550 people, injuring 5,400 and causing $10 billion in damage over the year, the most in U.S. history. The 2011 season had the most tornadoes in a single day and a single month on record.
But if you ask tornado experts what that means for this year, they'll answer that they just don't know.
Some meteorologists mention La Nina, the flip side of El Nino, as an indicator. It's a cooling of the central Pacific Ocean. Scientists have noticed a correlation between strong La Ninas and active tornado seasons — including last year. But it's not that simple or clear-cut, Columbia University professor Michael Tippett said. The current La Nina is weakening so much it shouldn't be a factor this year, several experts said.
Tippett has a new study that gives some hope, pointing out potential factors — vertical wind shear, updraft and a type of rainfall — that might help for long-range tornado forecasts.
Later this summer, meteorologists will meet in a special conference to try to figure out how to do that type of longer-term tornado prediction. And the National Weather Service is installing new radar for live forecasting, tracking and distinguishing of tornadoes that could save lives in real-time because forecasters can be more certain in their warnings, said National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Schlatter.

See Venus, Jupiter & Moon Align in Weekend Celestial Show

See Venus, Jupiter & Moon Align in Weekend Celestial Show

See Venus, Jupiter & Moon Align in Weekend Celestial Show - If the weather is clear this weekend, even those who normally do not look at the sky may be struck by a dazzling celestial scene in the west after sunset: a view of two bright planets and an even more eye-catching crescent moon.

The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will accentuate the beauty of the slender crescent moon on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 25 and 26). The planet Mercury may also be visible too, low on the horizon, beneath Venus depending on your sky conditions, but it will disappear quickly after sunset.
Even if your local weather brings clouds or rain, you can still watch Venus, Jupiter and the moon align online via online broadcasts.
Venus, the "Queen of the Sky," can put on a show all by itself, at times far outshining any other object in the night sky except for the moon. It's so bright that you can even glimpse it in the daytime — if you know exactly where to look.
The sky maps of Jupiter and Venus for this story show how the planets and the moon will appear together on Saturday and Sunday. Astronomers call this cosmic arrangement a triple conjunction.
Early Saturday afternoon, if your sky is clear and blue, try locating the crescent moon at around 1 p.m. local time. It will be roughly two-thirds up from the southeast horizon to the point directly overhead.
If you find it, look a short distance directly below it to find Venus. The planet should appear as a tiny white speck against the blue daytime sky. At dusk, the pair will make for a beautiful sight, with Venus hovering below and to the moon's left, while much higher above and to the left of this dynamic duo will be Jupiter. [Photos: Amazing Views of Jupiter, Venus & Moon]
On Sunday evening, the moon will have moved up, almost to where Jupiter is, sitting off to the lower right of the bright gas giant planet.
Another planet is also gracing the night sky in addition to Venus, Jupiter and Mercury: Mars. The Red Planet is currently rising in the eastern sky a few hours after sunset.
The smile of the moon
This weekend's dazzling skywatching show is a good occasion to reflect on the astronomical history associated with Earth's moon.
It has been said that the calendar is humanity's first scientific invention and the moon has played an important role in this regard. Calendars, such as the ones used in the Jewish and Muslim faiths, have lunar months that begin on the evening when the crescent moon first appears in the western sky at sundown.
For instance, the moon's so-called "Knife of Time" hung low in the western twilight sky on Thursday (Feb. 23), heralding the opening of Adar, the sixth month of the year 5772 in the Jewish Calendar. This arresting classification of the young crescent moon aptly characterizes how the moon's phases and cycle seemingly cut the year into convenient segments. [Infographic: Moon Phases & Lunar Cycle]
Astronomers define the "new moon" as that moment when the moon occupies the same ecliptic longitude as the sun. Since the moon is then in close proximity to the sun in the sky, it cannot be seen (unless in silhouette during a solar eclipse).
In popular parlance, the term "new moon" refers to when the moon appears as a narrow sliver over the next few evenings, adding delicate beauty to the western twilight as a thin arc of light enclosing a ghostly ball. Here was the signal by which the ancients set their calendars.
But how is it that we can see the entire outline of the moon when it's in its crescent phase? To answer this question, let’s imagine ourselves as astronauts on the surface of the moon.
Earthlight on the moon
The Earth as seen from the moon would loom in the sky nearly 3.7 times larger than the moon does for us. In addition, the land masses, the oceans and clouds make the Earth a much better reflector of sunlight as compared to the moon.
In fact, the Earth's reflectivity varies as clouds, which appear far more brilliant than the land and seas, cover greater or lesser parts of the visible hemisphere. The result is that the Earth shines anywhere between 45 times to as much as 100 times more brightly than the moon. So it is not only a larger mirror to reflect the sunshine, but owing to our atmosphere it’s a far better reflector as well.
And the Earth also goes through phases, just as the moon does for us, although they are opposite from what we see from Earth. The term for this is called "complementary phases."
On Tuesday (Feb. 21), for example, there was a new moon for us, but as seen from the moon that day, there appeared a brilliant full Earth in the lunar sky. Now, as the sliver of a crescent moon slowly grows each night in our western twilight sky, its entire globe may be glimpsed. This appearance is popularly called "the old moon in the new moon's arms," for the bright crescent seems to be wrapped around the faintly lighted part.
Sunlight is responsible for the slender crescent, yet the remainder of the moon appears to shine with a dim bluish-gray tone, because a considerable part of it is sunlight reflected by our atmosphere; the air around us scatters the bluer colors most effectively, as our blue daytime sky clearly shows. So while the dark portion of the moon is not receiving sunlight, it shines dimly by virtue of earthlight: the nearly full Earth illuminating the otherwise dark lunar landscape.
Use binoculars or a small telescope to better appreciate the appearance of the full globe of the moon, its grayish-blue tone delicately interposed between the brighter sunlit crescent and the not-much-darker background sky. Unlike a full moon, which can sometimes appear almost blindingly bright and flat, like a one dimensional disk, an Earth-lit crescent can appear strikingly three-dimensional.
Da Vinci figured it out!
Leonardo Da Vinci was the first to recognize the dim ghostly glow of earthshine. In his Codex Leicester, written between 1506 and 1510, there is a page entitled "Of the Moon: No Solid Body is Lighter than Air." Leonardo suggested that the moon has an atmosphere and oceans like Earth.
As such, Da Vinci thought, the moon was a good reflector of light because it was covered with so much water. As for the "ghostly glow," he explained that it was due to sunlight bouncing off Earth's oceans and, in turn, hitting the moon.
Da Vinci, of course, had it all wrong about the moon: We now know it does not have an atmosphere nor any flowing liquid oceans. And while he correctly assumed that sunlight is reflected from the Earth to the moon, it is the clouds that are chiefly responsible for the reflected light, not the oceans.
Is it a grin or a cup?
Lastly, take note that the cusps or "horns" of the crescent moon always point directly away from the sun's place; after new phase they're pointing in the direction that the moon is going.
During late winter and early spring the crescent moon resembles a thin smile on the sky, perhaps reminding some of the distinctive mischievous grin of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. Others may see the crescent resemble a cup that might hold water — call this a wet moon if you want to follow old-time tradition.
If you snap an amazing photo of Jupiter, Venus the moon or any other skywatching target and would like to share it for a possible story or image gallery, please contact SPACE.com managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

Researchers Create Fabric That Converts Body Heat Into Electricity

Researchers Create Fabric That Converts Body Heat Into Electricity

Researchers Create Fabric That Converts Body Heat Into Electricity - We've all heard of solar power and wind power, but researchers at Wake Forest are developing another alternative form of power: thermoelectrics. They've created a fabric -- comprised of tiny carbon nanotubes -- that can convert body heat into an electric charge.
[More from Mashable: What to Do When Your Social Media Strategy Is Successful
The device, called Power Felt, uses temperature differences to create electricity.
“We waste a lot of energy in the form of heat. For example, recapturing a car’s energy waste could help improve fuel mileage and power the radio, air conditioning or navigation system,” graduate student Corey Hewitt Hewitt says. “Generally thermoelectrics are an underdeveloped technology for harvesting energy, yet there is so much opportunity.”
[More from Mashable: Researchers Use 3D Printing to Create Robotic Dinosaurs [VIDEO]]
How might we see Power Felt used in practical applications? The researchers say it could line car seats for a battery boost or line clothing garments to power devices that monitor performance or your iPod -- among other uses.
“Imagine it in an emergency kit, wrapped around a flashlight, powering a weather radio, charging a prepaid cellphone,” says David Carroll, director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials and head of the team leading this research. “Literally, just by sitting on your phone, Power Felt could provide relief during power outages or accidents.”
The researchers are still looking for ways to improve the device, but the university is also in talks with investors to bring Power Felt to the market.

The Greater Your Fear, the Larger the Spider

The Greater Your Fear, the Larger the Spider

The Greater Your Fear, the Larger the Spider - Fear can distort our perceptions, psychological research indicates, and creepy-crawly spiders are no different. People who are afraid of spiders see the arachnids as bigger than they actually are, recent experiments have shown.

Researchers asked people who had undergone therapy to address their fear of spiders to draw a line representing the length of a tarantula they had just encountered in a lab setting.
"On average, the most fearful were drawing lines about 50 percent longer than the least fearful," said Michael Vasey, lead study researcher and professor of psychology at Ohio State University. "We have seen participants draw lines that are at least three times as long as the actual spider." [What Scares You? (Infographic)]
After undergoing exposure therapy — in which people confront something they fear, in this case, spiders — 57 people with spider phobia were given the task of approaching a spider in an aquarium, then using a 4-inch (10.2 centimeter) probe to nudge it around the tank. They repeated this encounterfive times with different species of spider over eight weeks.
During the task the arachnophobes periodically rated the distress they were experiencing on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being no distress. Afterward, the spider was covered up and the participants filled out questionnaires and drew a line on an index card to represent the length of the spider, from tips of the front legs to tips of the back ones, they had just encountered.
Because the tarantulas were covered up while the participants drew, the results of this study, which appeared in the January issue of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, left an important question unresolved: Were the results due to a distortion of the arachnophobe's visual perception of the spider or their memory of that spider?
To clarify, in more recent experiments, Vasey and his colleagues asked participates to draw the length of the spider while looking at it. This did not change their results, indicating their visual memory was being affected.
"There is some variability, but among individuals most afraid of spiders we have seen some pretty radical overestimates," Vasey said.
Researchers already suspected a connection between fear and altered visual perception; for instance, previous research has shown that people with a fear of heights tend to overestimate the distance below them when looking down from a balcony. But this new work makes it clear the phenomenon extends to arachnophobia and likely other animal phobias.
The distortion may serve a purpose, according to Vasey. After a near miss with a venomous snake or with a bus, seeing either as larger or more threatening might help you learn to be more cautious. However, the same bias could become harmful. For instance, if your fear leads you to overestimate the size of something that is not very dangerous or if the bias becomes self-re-enforcing, according to Vasey.
"If a spider seems 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) instead of 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters), you might be more afraid of it. And the more afraid of it you are, that might contribute to an even more biased perception," he said.

Venus, Jupiter, moon offer dazzling night show

Venus, Jupiter, moon offer dazzling night show

Venus, Jupiter, moon offer dazzling night show -  Stargazers of the world are getting a treat this weekend.

On Saturday and again Sunday, Venus, Jupiter and Earth's moon converge for a brilliant night show.
Venus and Jupiter already are lining up in the western sky. In mid-February, the two planets were 20 degrees apart from a viewing perspective. The gap narrows to 10 degrees by month's end.
A crescent moon joins the show this weekend for a triple combination. The celestial encounter will be visible from around the world at twilight. The moon will appear closer to Venus on Saturday and closer to Jupiter on Sunday.
The moon then retreats from view, but Venus and Jupiter keep drawing closer. The two planets will be just 3 degrees apart by mid-March.

Science Fiction or Fact: Could a 'Robopocalypse' Wipe Out Humans?

Science Fiction or Fact: Could a 'Robopocalypse' Wipe Out Humans?

Science Fiction or Fact: Could a 'Robopocalypse' Wipe Out Humans? - If a bunch of sci-fi flicks have it right, a war pitting humanity against machines will someday destroy civilization. Two popular movie series based on such a "robopocalypse," the "Terminator" and "Matrix" franchises, are among those that suggest granting greater autonomy to artificially intelligent machines will end up dooming our species.

Given the current pace of technological development, does the "robopocalypse" scenario seem more far-fetched or prophetic? The fate of the world could tip in either direction, depending on who you ask.
While researchers in the computer science field disagree on the road ahead for machines, they say our relationship with machines probably will be harmonious, not murderous. Yet there are a number of scenarios that could lead to non-biological beings aiming to exterminate us.
"The technology already exists to build a system that will destroy the whole world, intentionally or unintentionally, if it just detects the right conditions," said Shlomo Zilberstein, a professor of computer science at the University of Massachusetts.
Machines at our command
Let's first consider the optimistic viewpoint: that machines always will act as our servants, not the other way around.
"One approach is not to develop systems that can be so dangerous if they are out of control," Zilberstein said.
Something like Skynet – the computerized defense network in "The Terminator" that decides to wipe out humanity – is already possible. So why has such a system not been built? A big reason: Nuclear-armed nations such as the United States would not want to turn over any of the responsibility for launching warheads to a computer. "What if there is a bug in the system? No one is going to take that risk," said Zilberstein.
On a smaller scale, however, a high degree of autonomy has been granted to predator drones flying in the Middle East. "The number of robotic systems that can actually pull the trigger autonomously is already growing," said Zilberstein.
Still, a human operator monitors a drone and is given the final say whether to proceed with a missile strike. That certainly is not the case with Skynet, which, in the "Terminator" films, is given control of America's entire nuclear arsenal.
In "The Terminator," the military creates the program with the objective of reducing human error and slowness of response in case of an attack on the U.S.
When human controllers come around to realizing the danger posed by an all-powerful Skynet, they try to shut it down. Skynet interprets this act as a threat to its existence, and in order to counter its perceived human enemy, Skynet launching America's nukesat Russia, provoking a retaliatory strike. Billions die in a nuclear holocaust.Skynet then goes on to build factories that churn out robot armies to eliminate the remainder of humankind.
In a real-life scenario, Zilberstein thinks simple safeguards would prevent an autonomous system from threatening more people than it is designed to, perhaps in guarding country's borders, for example. Plus, no systems would be programmed with the ability to make broad strategic decisions the way Skynet does.
"All the systems we're likely to build in the-near future will have specific abilities," Zilberstein said. "They will be able to monitor a region and maybe shoot, but they will not replace a [human] general."
Robots exceeding our grasp
Michael Dyer, a computer scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, is less optimistic. He thinks "humans will ultimately be replaced by machines" and that the transition might not be peaceful. [Americans Want Robots, and They're Willing to Pay]
The continued progress in artificial intelligence research will lead to machines as smart as we are in the next couple hundred years, Dyer predicts. "Advanced civilizations reach a point of enough intelligence to understand how their own brain works, and then they build synthetic versions of themselves," he says.
The desire to do so might come from attempts at establishing our own immortality – and that opportunity might be too much for humanity to resist.
Maybe that sort of changeover from biology to technology goes relatively smoothly. Other rise-of-the-machines scenarios are less smooth.
Dyer suggests a new arms race of robotic system could result in one side running rampant. "In the case of warfare, by definition, the enemy side has no control of the robots that are trying to kill them," Dyer said. Like Skynet, the manufactured might turn against the manufacturers.
Or an innocuous situation of overdependency on robots spirals out of control. Suppose a factory that makes robots is not following human commands, so an order is issued to shut off power to the factory. "But unfortunately, robots happen to manage the power station and so they refuse. So a command is issued by humans to stop the trucks from delivering necessary materials to the factory, but the drivers are robots, so they also refuse," Dyer says.
Perhaps using the Internet, robotic intelligences wrest control of a society that depends too much on its automata.
Overall, a bit of wisdom would prevent humankind from falling into the traps dreamed up by Hollywood screenwriters. But the profit motive at companies has certainly engendered more automation, and the Cold War's predication on the threat of mutually assured destruction points out that rationality does not always win.

Robot Gliders Track Huge Pockets of Ocean Water

Robot Gliders Track Huge Pockets of Ocean Water

Robot Gliders Track Huge Pockets of Ocean Water - Deep-diving, unmanned ocean robots have revealed that enormous pockets of salty water travel for thousands of miles in one mass, without being diluted, according to new research.

The pre-programmed ocean gliders tracked a giant disc of water 650 feet (200 meters) tall and 25 miles (40 kilometers) across as it traveled from the Bass Strait, a swath of salty ocean that separates Australia from Tasmania, to ocean regions far to the east of the island, according to a study from the University of Technology Sydney and CSIRO in Australia.
The free-swimming gliders can take data from as deep as 3,300 feet (1,000 m) in the ocean, and, based in part on chemical signatures in the water, revealed that at least some of that Bass Strait water made it as far as the Indian Ocean.
"We're getting a terrific amount of data that is opening up a very big window on Australia's oceans," said the University of Technology Sydney's Mark Baird, in a statement.
The $230 million Integrated Marine Observing System has deployed a range of observing equipment in the oceans around Australia, and is making all of the data freely and openly available for the benefit of Australian marine and climate science as a whole.

Gene Might Be a Culprit in Sudden Infant Death for Boys

Gene Might Be a Culprit in Sudden Infant Death for Boys

Gene Might Be a Culprit in Sudden Infant Death for Boys - 

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) may sometimes have a genetic component, a team of German researchers reports.

DNA analysis from a small group of infants who succumbed to SIDS revealed that many of the male children carried a particular enzyme mutation that may have impaired their ability to breath properly. This was not the case for female SIDS patients.
Study author Dr. Michael Klintschar, director of the Institute for Legal Medicine at Medical University Hannover in Germany, said his team tried to build upon previous research suggesting that "abnormalities in the brain stem, the part of the brain that regulates breathing and other basic functions, lead to SIDS."
"The reasons for these abnormalities are unclear," he noted, "but some scientists believe that the genes inherited by the parents might be one of several factors."
Klintschar and his colleagues found indications that SIDS risk might be higher among male infants who carry a mutation of an enzyme -- called MAOA -- that appears to impede key neurotransmitter function.
"Babies that have this variant inherited might have an impaired breathing regulation," he said. "But the risk conveyed by this gene variant is relatively small compared to other factors, like sleeping position [or exposure to] smoking. Moreover, the findings have to be replicated in another population sample."
The study appears online and in the March issue of Pediatrics.
The authors noted that SIDS is one of the great mysteries in pediatric medicine, with efforts to pin down the root cause for the sudden loss of children under the age of 1 year falling short of a definitive answer.
The new study focused on 156 white infants (99 boys and 57 girls) who were born in the Lower Saxony region of Germany and died while sleeping.
The deaths took place between the second and the 51st week of life, and all remained "unexplained" despite full autopsies, clinical history reviews and analyses of the circumstances of death.
DNA samples were taken from all the deceased, as well as from another 260 male adults between the ages of 18 and 30.
The result: MAOA mutations were more commonly found among male SIDS children than among their healthy male counterparts. This did not hold true with female SIDS children.
Most mutations appeared to be clustered within a specific time frame of death that correlated with the majority of SIDS fatalities. That is, infants who had died between the age of 46 days and 154 days -- the most prevalent period of SIDS deaths among the study group -- were significantly more likely to carry MAOA mutations than those children who died at ages above 5 months.
The authors concluded that among at least a subset of male SIDS patients, a genetic brain stem abnormality might be the driving force leading to their sudden loss.
"Our study furthers our understanding of the mechanism of SIDS," Klintschar said. "[But] it does not lead directly to a 'cure' of SIDS. And up to now [it] does not enable a lab test to estimate the individual risk of a baby to die from SIDS. But it emphasizes that measures already recommended to prevent SIDS -- using pacifiers, avoid sleeping in the prone position, no smoking during pregnancy -- make sense. Mothers of families with a prior SIDS case in the family should be more careful than others. But in most cases, obeying these recommendations keeps the baby safe."
However, while also an advocate of such basic preventive measures, Dr. Warren Guntheroth, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, holds no stock in a genetic basis for SIDS.
"I think it's nonsense," he said. "There's years and years of research that has shown that SIDS is not inherited. Not genetic. The only genetic link I will admit to is that males are definitely more at risk than females. But apart from that, I think fooling around with laboratory studies of genes and saying that that might cause SIDS is a far reach."
So what can parents do?
"Probably one of the most important things is not to put the baby on its tummy for sleep. That reduces risk by 50 percent," Guntheroth said. "Another is the use of the pacifier. Pacifiers, for reasons nobody understands well, reduces the risk. Also, don't overheat the child, by overdressing or putting the infant in a room that is too hot. Finally, cigarettes increase the risk terribly. Living with a parent that smokes is a definite risk factor, so the parent can do themselves and the child a favor by quitting or at least not smoking in the same area as the child."

US Navy Launches Next-Generation Military Satellite

US Navy Launches Next-Generation Military Satellite

US Navy Launches Next-Generation Military Satellite - launched an advanced tactical satellite today (Feb. 24), lofting to orbit the first spacecraft in a new communications constellation that should provide a big upgrade for American troops.

The Mobile User Objective System-1 (MUOS-1) satellite blasted off at 5:15 p.m. EST (2215 GMT) today, riding an Atlas 5 rocket into the skies above Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after an eight-day delay. The satellite was supposed to launch last week, but strong upper-level winds and thick clouds caused scrubs on both Feb. 16 and Feb. 17.
MUOS-1 will settle into a geostationary orbit above the Pacific Ocean, then undergo about six months of checkouts and tests before becoming operational, Navy officials have said.
The four-satellite MUOS constellation is designed to augment and eventually replace the current network that helps American warfighters around the globe communicate and coordinate. [Photos: Launch of Navy's MUOS-1 Satellite]
"MUOS will greatly enhance the capabilities of the warfighter to communicate on the move," said Mark Pasquale, vice president and MUOS program manager at Lockheed Martin, in a statement. Lockheed Martin is building the MUOS satellites for the U.S. military.
"The system will provide military users 16 times the communications capacity of existing satellites, including simultaneous voice, video and data capability enhancements, and we look forward to achieving mission success for our customer," Pasquale added.
Today's liftoff marked the 200th launch for the Centaur upper stage, which is part of the Atlas 5 rocket. The Centaur first lifted off the pad back in 1962; in the years since, it has helped launch many spacecraft, including NASA's Voyager and Viking probes in the 1970s and the Curiosity Mars rover this past November.
A big communications boost
The U.S. military currently relies on a constellation of satellites called UHF Follow-On, or UFO, for much of its communications needs. However, this network is aging, and two of the satellites stopped working several years ago, bringing the number of functional spacecraft down to eight.
Further, the military's demand for communications capacity is on the rise, due largely to a sharp increase in the use of unmanned aircraft. The MUOS network is an attempt to boost that capacity, and to shift the burden away from the deteriorating UFO system.
When it's complete, the MUOS constellation will consist of four active satellites, plus one orbiting spare. Each MUOS satellite will carry two payloads — one similar to the UFO payload (to provide links to currently deployed user terminals), and a new digital payload that will boost communications capacity significantly.
"Utilizing commercial 3G cell phone and satellite technology, MUOS will provide mobile warfighters point-to-point and netted communications services at enhanced data rates and priority-based access to on-demand voice, video and data transfers," Lockheed Martin officials wrote in a recent statement.
A few years away
It will be a few years before American warfighters can take full advantage of the MUOS network.
For starters, MUOS-1 has to undergo that six-month checkout period. And engineers still haven't finished the software that will allow users to communicate with MUOS-1's digital payload, so the satellite will likely use its UFO-like payload exclusively for a spell after coming online.
Further, it will take a while to complete the MUOS constellation. MUOS-2 is scheduled for launch in July 2013, with MUOS-3, 4 and the spare perhaps following at roughly one-year intervals, officials have said.
Lockheed Martin won a $2.1 billion Navy contract to build MUOS-1, MUOS-2 and associated ground control architecture back in September 2004. The Navy later exercised an option to build three more MUOS spacecraft.

Brooklyn Woman With 45 Cats Faced With Furry Dilemma

Brooklyn Woman With 45 Cats Faced With Furry Dilemma

Brooklyn Woman With 45 Cats Faced With Furry Dilemma -  A Brooklyn woman says she is faced with a major predicament.

Barbara Berger, of Brighton Beach, said the landlord at her rent-stabilized apartment told her she had to decide between staying in the home and keeping her cats — all 45 of them.

“All my life, I felt animals were vulnerable and they do need help. And now I’m made to look like I’m an animal hoarder. I do try my best, you know, I spend an awful lot of money and time on caring for them and now I’m being criticized and possibly evicted and possibly homeless because these poor cats that I helped,” Berger told 1010 WINS on Friday.

Berger said she’s not willing to give up the apartment for the kitties, but needs help to place them in homes.

“I’m willing to give up a lot of the cats, but I want to stand by them. I don’t want to become homeless, I don’t want to give up what I have because it’s hard to live in this world. I don’t want to be homeless,” she said.

The woman said she has previously offered to keep just 10 of the cats, but the landlord of the apartment refused and said she could only keep 2.

Now, Berger is faced with a dilemma of wanting to keep and care for the felines or getting the boot from her apartment.

“These animals I helped — I did the best I could and whatever I could afford. A lot of the ASPCA turned their backs on me. I had some falling out with them because they wouldn’t take anything from me, they make me out to be a bad person.”

Cops Seek 6 Teen Suspects In Two Brooklyn Robberies

Cops Seek 6 Teen Suspects In Two Brooklyn Robberies

Cops Seek 6 Teen Suspects In Two Brooklyn Robberies - Police are looking for six teenage suspects, including 3 girls, wanted for two robberies in Brooklyn.

Both incidents took place last Sunday evening in the Clinton Hill/Fort Greene section of the borough.

In the first incident, police said two males in their teens approached a 21-year-old woman from behind before punching her in the head and face while removing her cellphone from her hand. Both suspects then fled on St. Edwards Street around 7 p.m.

The second incident took place only a couple of hours later at the intersection of Willoughby and Flatbush Avenue when a 42-year-old woman was approached by two females and four males, who punched the victim in the face and demanded money.

The victim was also carrying a bag of groceries, which the suspects also took, police said. The victim sustained a swollen eye and cuts to her face as a result of the incident.

Investigators Continue To Seek Answers In Deadly South Plainfield Blaze

Investigators Continue To Seek Answers In Deadly South Plainfield Blaze

Investigators Continue To Seek Answers In Deadly South Plainfield Blaze - As investigators try to determine what caused a deadly New Jersey house fire that killed a grandmother and her four young grandchildren, police say they want to question a man who lived in the two-family home and hasn’t been seen since the blaze.

Police have stressed that the man they are looking to question is not a suspect. He lived in an apartment that adjoined the South Plainfield home and was there just before the fire began.Robert Taylor lost his 2-year-old Elijah in the fire that ripped through a 150-year-old farmhouse in the early morning hours Thursday. The children’s mother, Natalie Jefferson, was able to get out, but her mother and four of her seven children could not.

“I don’t know where the blames lies. I just know we lost five really good people,” Taylor told CBS 2′s Derricke Dennis.

Fire officials don’t yet know the cause but they believe it started in the downstairs kitchen, then quickly spread to the top, trapping the family inside. They called it “the worst fatality fire in South Plainfield history.”

“We’re in the kitchen area, under investigation, still try to pinpoint where it started,” Scalera told CBS 2′s John Slattery.

Investigators say there is no evidence of working smoke detectors inside the home.

“There appears to be no functioning smoke detectors or alarms in 1407 Clinton Avenue. Were there, but not functioning,” said South Plainfield Fire Chief Tom Scalera.

CBS 2 spoke with the landlord, Gerald Avelos, who says there was an inspection in October and that all the detectors were operable then.

“So I don’t know whether they were removed, they probably did, I can’t tell you that,” he said.

Neighbor Isabel Scavino said she and her children watched in horror as Natalie Jefferson, who lived inside the home with her mother and seven children, escaped the fire with her infant daughter, Angel.

“Little kid in her arms, she just came out running, screaming ‘Help, help’ and the other two kids after her,” described Scavino. “They were saying ‘Help, help! We need help, our brothers and sisters are in there.’”

Jefferson along with three of her children, 14-year-old Jaquan, 8-year-old Jordan and 1-year-old Angel, survived the fire. Killed where 2-year-old Elijah, 3-year-old Christopher, 12-year-old Alize, 7-year-old Tyler and Jefferson’s mother, 62-year-old Ann Jefferson.

The Teacher Data Reports on SchoolBook: An Explanation

The Teacher Data Reports on SchoolBook: An Explanation

The Teacher Data Reports on SchoolBook: An Explanation - SchoolBook has published the teacher data reports using a new tool that was created by interactive journalists at The New York Times and WNYC. The goal of the tool: to make the data easier to understand and put the rankings into context.

Teacher Data Reports

Search for your school to view the recently released teacher data reports.


The tool can be found on Web pages created for every school whose teachers’ rankings were released on Friday by the city’s Department of Education. You can find those pages by typing in a school name in the box on the left.

You will find a wealth of data on that page, starting with an overall snapshot of the school, as told by the percentage of teachers at that school whose rankings in English or math were “above average” or high — two of the city’s five ranking categories. You’ll also be able to see how that compares to schools across the city.

Below those school numbers are the names of individual teachers, grouped by grade. The numbers listed with the teachers’ names are the rankings, meaning that teacher’s place when compared to other teachers like her or him.

A teacher can have up to four rankings for each grade taught: for math during the 2009-10 school year, math career, English in 2009-10 and English career. Career rankings are based on one to five years of data.

The numbers are situated along a black line. That line indicates the margin of error for that teacher’s ranking. A fuller explanation, and an example, can be found on each school’s page.

Clicking on a teacher’s name brings up additional information: the number of children in the class the ranking is based on; an “expected” score based on the past performance and demographics of his or her students; and the actual average test score of those students. Test scores are reported as standard deviations above/below the citywide mean.

The difference between the expected score and the actual score is considered the “value added” by the teacher.

One more piece of information can be included with a teacher’s listing: his or her response or explanation of the ranking, as submitted to SchoolBook. We encourage teachers to add their responses.

A module that allows you to search by teacher name is also on that page.

In creating this tool, SchoolBook decided to showcase only the most recent and career rankings, since we agree with many critics that the older data is less useful. We wanted to make clear the margin of error, since one of the weaknesses of these ratings is the large margins. And we wanted to put every figure in the context of the school and expected scores.

All of the data were provided by the city’s Department of Education (ratings for teachers in charter schools and District 75 are expected to be released on Tuesday). A team of journalists spent several hours verifying the data, dealing with anomalies, searching for missing data and making sure everything worked as planned before posting it on our site.

Release of Teacher Data Is Widely Denounced

Release of Teacher Data Is Widely Denounced

Release of Teacher Data Is Widely Denounced - Outside the doors of the Tweed Courthouse, the headquarters of the city’s Education Department, there were few champions on Friday of the release of individual performance rankings of 18,000 public school teachers.

Although city officials chose to release the teacher reports on the Friday of a week-long break, when many teachers and principals were on the beach and out-of-reach, the publication of the reports was greeted with an outpouring of criticism.

Many of the leading candidates to replace Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg sided with the city’s teachers union in opposing the reports, impugning the validity of their data. And by Friday evening, nearly 700 people — some from New York City, others from across the country — had signed a petition on Change.org urging major newspapers not to list teachers’ names and rankings.

The word of the day was shame, both on the press and on the city’s Education Department for pursuing and suing for the data’s release, and on behalf of teachers, many of whom view this as public humiliation.

“The Bloomberg Administration is making a grave mistake by releasing personal teacher ratings,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a likely candidate for mayor, in a statement. “It would be irresponsible for any news outlet to print this data or represent it as an accurate portrayal of what really happens in the classroom.”

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, another probable mayoral contender, called the reports “misleading,” but blamed the court ruling rather than the mayor.

“I wish the court order did not necessitate the release of this data,” she said in a statement.

Even a Columbia University economist, Jonah E. Rockoff, who recently authored a study with two other economists using the same kind of data, known as value-added data, to show the effects good teachers can have on students, said he opposed their public outing in New York City.

“I think the release and having people focus on value-added in the absence of other information is a nuisance,” he said. “It’s going to cause a lot of controversy, stir up a lot of trouble for some people, and I feel like it’s unnecessary.”

Chancellor of the Board of Regents Merryl Tisch said that releasing the reports could endanger the teacher evaluation system recently agreed upon by the state’s teachers’ unions and the State Education Department. The formula that districts will eventually put in place will use teachers’ value-added scores as 20 percent of their evaluation, and a swell of opposition to the methodology could make it difficult for districts and unions to reach final agreements.

“I really think publishing the names of teachers and their rankings on one metric of any type of teacher performance is not going to result in the improvements that we want,” she said. “And it will demonize teachers and it’s going to make it more difficult to retain the best and brightest in the classroom.”

Responding to criticism, city education officials argued that their hands were tied. Though Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott said he had mixed feelings about the reports and worried how they would be interpreted by parents and reporters, he said the department had to comply with the court’s decision ordering the release of the information with names attached.

The Education Department sent a letter to principals, advising them on how to handle the situation when teachers and students return to classrooms next week.

Patrick Kelly, principal of a Bronx middle school, said he planned to spend some of this weekend looking at his teachers’ reports, anticipating that when he arrives at work on Monday, he will be welcomed back by concerned faces.

An Audio Report on the Who, What and Why of Teacher Ratings

An Audio Report on the Who, What and Why of Teacher Ratings

An Audio Report on the Who, What and Why of Teacher Ratings - 

Beth Fertig, and The Times’ data specialist, Rob Gebeloff, dive into the data reports for 18,000 teachers and give listeners an eight-minute overview during a segment of “All Things Considered” on WNYC.

Listen here to understand better why people are paying attention to a method of assessing teachers that soon will be used as part of a new evaluation system for all public school teachers in New York State.

Child molester gets 30 years for atrocious seven-year sex attack spree

Child molester gets 30 years for atrocious seven-year sex attack spree

Child molester gets 30 years for atrocious seven-year sex attack spree - A BABY-FACED pedophile was slammed with 30 years behind bars for molesting at least eight children in Queens — including members of his own family.

Felix Cartagena, 27, also shared photos of his monstrous crimes with sickos on the Internet.

Four of the young victims depicted in pornographic photos — some depicting bondage — remain unidentified.

“This (defendant’s) crimes are far worse than some who commit homicides,” Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Michael Canty said.

“And I keep thinking of of the victims we don’t even know. They’re out there,” Canty added.

But the most powerful argument to throw the book at Cartagena came from his sister, whose 7-year son was among those who were violated.

The prosecutor read aloud her letter to Judge Carol Amon.

She recounted FBI agents sitting in her kitchen with photos of children found on her brother’s computer.

“I clearly remember the agent sliding a photo of the child across the table and it was at that moment I died,” she wrote.

“It was my son. What scared the hell out of me was my own family member did this to my son.

“Felix, I always had your back until I learned you betrayed me in the worst possible way. When I look at you, I see no remorse.”

The feds found Cartagena in a kiddie porn sewer on the Internet and he readily admitted taking pictures of children he had molested, according to court papers.

The victims range in age from two to 12 and the attacks occurred over a seven-year period. All the molestation victims are male.

Teen suspect busted in shooting of Bronx boy, 8

Teen suspect busted in shooting of Bronx boy, 8

Teen suspect busted in shooting of Bronx boy, 8 - A 15-year-old gang banger was busted Friday for shooting a Bronx boy in a botched revenge plot, police said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Eduardo Rodriguez had intended to shoot a teen from a rival group Tuesday night, but ended up plugging 8-year-old Armando Bigo.

Rodriguez was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Armando’s mom said she was elated a suspect was nabbed.

“We are so happy to hear they got someone, but it’s sad that it’s a teenager. It’s just a child,” said mom Ely Flores, 31. “How do all these kids have guns on the streets? It's hard to believe a little teenager could get a gun.”

The beef began last year when three teens chased one of Rodriguez’s crew into the street, where he was hit by a car and killed, police said.

The traffic fatality was “at the core of the ongoing violence back and forth between these two crews,” Kelly said.

On Tuesday night, Rodriguez rolled by the Soundview bodega on his bike, looking to settle the score, but ended up hitting Armando, who was in the store with his mother to buy potato chips, police said .

The second-grader was still in stable condition at Jacobi Medical Center with a wound to the left shoulder. His mother said that her son was still very sore.

“He’s doing okay,” said his mom. “He walked yesterday, but he was in so much pain, and they gave him morphine. They wanted to see if the bullet moved down.”

Relatives said the slug was lodged in a bone near his neck, but he’s expected to fully recover and could be released in a few days.

Federal judge expands churches-in-schools reprieve, allows all congregations to stay in city schools until a trial is held

Federal judge expands churches-in-schools reprieve, allows all congregations to stay in city schools until a trial is held

Federal judge expands churches-in-schools reprieve, allows all congregations to stay in city schools until a trial is held -

A Manhattan Federal Court judge Friday reversed a previous eviction of religious groups from city schools where they had long rented space for worship services.

Judge Loretta Preska had issued a 10-day reprieve to 60 churches last week, but that was then shot down by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the stay applied only to the sole plaintiff in the case, the Bronx Household of Faith.

But in granting a new reprieve and extending it for an undetermined period of time, Preska said Friday that her “order extends to the Bronx Household of Faith and, in addition, to any similarly situated party.”

Preska’s ruling will be in effect until there is a trial on the merits of the case.

For 16 years, the city has fought to remove churches from schools, citing church-state separation concerns. The city declared victory last December when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

But the long-running legal battle came to Preska’s court after Bronx Household’s lawyers raised new First Amendment arguments. They argued that the congregation, which had been worshipping in Public School 15 in University Heights, had its right to religious freedom violated; previously they had argued that free speech rights were being denied.

City lawyers said Friday that religious organizations with pending applications for worship space in city schools will now have them evaluated as a result of the new order.

Groups that have not applied, or whose applications were denied before the order was issued, will not be given access to schools this weekend.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/federal-judge-expands-churches-in-schools-reprieve-congregations-stay-city-schools-a-trial-held-article-1.1028221#ixzz1nO99Hgb6

Twelve killed in protests across Afghanistan

Twelve killed in protests across Afghanistan

Twelve killed in protests across Afghanistan - 

Twelve people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest day yet in protests that have raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence.
The burning of the Korans at the Bagram compound earlier this week has deepened public mistrust of NATO forces struggling to stabilize Afghanistan before foreign combat troops withdraw in 2014.
Hundreds of Afghans marched toward the palace of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, while on the other side of the capital protesters hoisted the white flag of the Taliban.
Chanting "Death to America!" and "Long live Islam!," protesters also threw rocks at police in Kabul, while Afghan army helicopters circled above.
Friday is a holy day and the official weekly holiday in Afghanistan and mosques in the capital drew large crowds, with police in pick-up trucks posted on nearby streets.
Armed protesters took refuge in shops in the eastern part of the city, where they killed one demonstrator, said police at the scene. In another Kabul rally, police said they were unsure who fired the shots that killed a second protester.
Seven more protesters were killed in the western province of Herat, two more in eastern Khost province and one in the relatively peaceful northern Baghlan province, health and local officials said. In Herat, around 500 men charged at the U.S. consulate.
U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Karzai apologizing for the unintentional burning of the Korans at NATO's main Bagram air base, north of Kabul, after Afghan laborers found charred copies while collecting rubbish.
Muslims consider the Koran to be the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence. Desecration is considered one of the worst forms of blasphemy.
Afghanistan wants NATO to put those responsible on public trial.
In neighboring U.S. ally Pakistan, about 400 members of a hardline Islamist group staged protests. "If you burn the Koran, we will burn you," they shouted.
To Afghanistan's west, Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami said the U.S. had purposely burned the Korans. "These apologies are fake. The world should know that America is against Islam," he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio.
"It (the Koran burning) was not a mistake. It was an intentional move, done on purpose."
Most Westerners have been confined to their heavily fortified compounds, including at the sprawling U.S. embassy complex and other diplomatic missions, as protests that have killed a total of 23 people, including two U.S. soldiers, rolled into their fourth day. The embassy, in a message on the microblogging site Twitter, urged U.S. citizens to "please be safe out there" and expanded movement restrictions to relatively peaceful northern provinces, where large demonstrations also occurred Thursday, including the attempted storming of a Norwegian military base.
The Taliban urged Afghan security forces Thursday to "turn their guns on the foreign infidel invaders" and repeatedly urged Afghans to kill, beat and capture NATO soldiers.
Germany, which has the third-largest foreign presence in the NATO-led war, pulled out several weeks early of a small base in the northern Takhar province Friday over security concerns, a defense ministry spokesman said.

No G20 deal on IMF cash this weekend, pressure on Europe

No G20 deal on IMF cash this weekend, pressure on Europe

No G20 deal on IMF cash this weekend, pressure on Europe - World economic powers told Europe on Friday it would have to do more to fight its financial crisis before they agree to provide back-up in the form of a bigger IMF war-chest.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 top economies are gathering in Mexico City with Europe hoping that China, Japan and others will soon commit to giving the International Monetary Fund more money so it can help euro zone countries which suffer a cash crunch.
But many G20 countries are insisting that Europe needs to take the first step by bolstering its own bailout funds.
"I expect no decision at the G20 summit on boosting the IMF's resources," said Jens Weidmann, head of Germany's central bank and a European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member.
The host of the weekend's meetings, Mexico's finance minister, Jose Antonio Meade, said it was "still early in the process" to discuss specific amounts and ways that G20 nations could commit more money.
The world's rich countries have used the G20 to coordinate their response to the financial crisis that erupted in 2008 after the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble and then spread to Europe where many countries are saddled with heavy debts.
As the crisis has dragged on, however, divisions over how to tackle it have deepened. The IMF wants to raise as much as $600 billion in extra resources to help deal with fallout from the euro zone debt crisis, but the plan faces resistance from countries including the United States and Canada.
The United States has told Europe to do more on its own and also made clear it will not provide more cash to help the IMF handle the crisis.
"What we don't want to see is the IMF substitute -- and it really cannot substitute -- for a stronger European response,"
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNBC television.
Even if it wanted to, President Barack Obama's administration would have little or no chance of getting Congress' approval in an election year to send more cash to help out Europe.
U.S. reluctance has put the onus on Europe's richest countries plus China, Japan and others to raise the funds.
EU leaders will meet next week to discuss boosting their own bailout funds. Even G20 countries that are willing to help are unlikely to promise more money until Europe proves it is acting to help itself.
"The problems many countries are facing today have a solution if they act decisively and in time," said Mexico's central bank governor Agustin Carstens. "If this is done sooner rather than later we will see a promising future for the global economy."
Despite the stand-off over timing, there was broad agreement within the G20 about the need to increase eventually the IMF's firepower and that would likely be reflected in a communique at the end of the weekend's meetings, diplomats said.
GERMANY HITS BACK
Germany has come under pressure with critics saying it could
do more to help its struggling European partners and that its insistence on fiscal belt-tightening risks plunging Greece even deeper into crisis.
Weidmann hit back on Friday, saying Germany was already financing a "disproportionately large share" of rescue efforts to date and that its insistence on budgetary discipline was aimed at ensuring a stable monetary union.
He said there was a popular misconception that Germany had managed to "dodge the flames of the current crisis ... (and) ... is now selfishly refusing to come to the aid of the stricken countries by acting as chief firefighter."
Mark McCormick, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said the long-term answer to Europe's problems would require further progress on a common approach to running national budgets.
"Money from the G20 via the IMF buys them a bit more time," he said.
Some member countries will push the G20 this weekend to at least outline the mechanisms it would use to help.
"Since we might not be able to finalize any numbers, money pledges by individual countries, we should not waste the opportunity to move forward," said Paulo Nogueira Batista, Brazil's representative at the IMF.
The next opportunities for the G20 to agree on more funds for the IMF are most likely to be in April, at the twice-yearly Fund meetings, or in June, when G20 leaders meet in Mexico.
While policy makers squabbled over whether and how to boost the IMF's firepower, a group of international bankers joined calls for the G20 to work harder to boost growth, warning that the euro zone crisis threatens to hit the global economy.
Governments should also take a slower approach on tough new financial rules, the Institute of International Finance said on the eve of the G20 meeting here.
The IIF welcomed the progress Europe has made in addressing its sovereign debt problems through an emergency bailout fund, central bank liquidity, and toughened fiscal rules. But it cautioned that budget cutbacks in weaker countries like Greece and Spain could severely damage long-term growth prospects.
"While necessary, fiscal austerity will in the short term weigh on already sub-par growth," it said. "Mitigating the impact of fiscal austerity is key."

Iran has expanded sensitive nuclear work: U.N. agency

Iran has expanded sensitive nuclear work: U.N. agency

Iran has expanded sensitive nuclear work: U.N. agency - 

Iran has sharply stepped up its controversial uranium enrichment drive, the U.N. nuclear agency said on Friday in a report that will further inflame Israeli fears the Islamic Republic is pushing ahead with atomic bomb plans.
The nuclear watchdog also gave details of its mission to Tehran this week where Iran failed to respond to allegations of research relevant to developing nuclear arms - a blow to the possible resumption of diplomatic talks that could help calm worries about a new war in the Middle East.
"The Agency continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a quarterly report about Iran issued to member states.
Iran's increase of work that can have both civilian and military purposes underlines that it has no intention of backing down in a long-running dispute with the West that has sparked fears of war.
U.S. crude futures extended a rally on the IAEA's findings, which added to concerns that Iran's tensions with the West would escalate. It gained more than $2 to hit the highest intraday price in nine months.
The White House said the IAEA report confirmed that Iran was violating U.N. Security Council resolutions with its nuclear enrichment program.
"When combined with its continued stonewalling of international inspectors, Iran's actions demonstrate why Iran has failed to convince the international community that its nuclear program is peaceful," White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.
In what would be a big expansion, Iran has increased the number of centrifuge machines enriching uranium - material that can be used to make atomic bombs if refined much further - by well over a third since late last year, the report indicated.
Preparatory work to install thousands more centrifuges is under way, potentially shortening the time needed to make high-grade uranium for nuclear weapons.
Tehran says its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes, but its refusal to curb enrichment has drawn increasingly tough sanctions on its oil exports.
Iran's ambassador to the IAEA said the report had vindicated its position and insisted Tehran had no intention of giving up its nuclear march.
"The IAEA report indicated that all Iran's nuclear activities are under the supervision of the agency," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying.
"It shows again that Iran's nuclear activity is peaceful."
DUTY
Israel, which has threatened Iran with pre-emptive strikes on its nuclear sites, had no immediate comment.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has warned that the Islamic state's nuclear research could soon pass into what he called a "zone of immunity," protected from outside disruption.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the IAEA report increased concerns over the real purpose of Iran's nuclear program.
Ashton, who represents the United States, Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain in stalled talks with Iran, also urged Tehran to cooperate fully with the IAEA.
"The findings of this new IAEA report contribute to further increased concerns on the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program," Ashton's spokeswoman said.
"Iran has to address all existing concerns and to build confidence in the nature of its nuclear program."
The confidential IAEA report showed that Iran since last November had tripled monthly output of uranium refined to a level that brings it significantly closer to potential bomb material, an official familiar with the agency's probe said.
"The concern is that they are trying to give the impression that they are putting in the capability that could much more quickly make weapon-grade uranium," nuclear proliferation expert David Albright said.
"This could all be posturing to show further defiance, but unfortunately it does concern many countries about what is Iran planning." Albright added that Iran seemed to have problems developing newer and more efficient centrifuges.
NUCLEAR WORK IN BUNKER
The failure of the two-day IAEA visit to Tehran this week could hamper any resumption of wider nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six world powers as the sense grows that Tehran feels it is being backed into a corner.
The IAEA team sought answers from Iran raised by a previous agency report in November that suggested it had pursued military nuclear technology. Those findings helped to precipitate the latest sanctions by the EU and United States.
Making clear the two sides had been far apart, the IAEA report said there were major differences on how to tackle the issue and that Iran had dismissed the U.N. agency's concerns as "unfounded." No further meetings are planned.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano urged Iran in the report to provide "early access" to Parchin, a military site near Tehran seen as central to the agency's investigations into possible military aspects of Iran's nuclear work.
His agency's report showed Iran had carried out an expansion of activities both at its main enrichment plant near the central city of Natanz and at the Fordow underground site.
Enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power plants, which is Iran's stated aim, or provide material for bombs if refined much further, which the West suspects is Tehran's ultimate plan.
At Natanz, the IAEA report said Iran had declared that 52 cascades - each containing about 170 centrifuges - were now operating, up from 37 in November. At Fordow, about 700 centrifuges are now refining uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent and preparations are under way to install more.
Fordow is of particular concern for the West and Israel as Iran is shifting the most sensitive aspect of its nuclear work, 20 percent enrichment, to the site.
Estimated to be buried beneath 80 meters (265 feet) of rock and soil, it gives Iran better protection against any Israeli or U.S. military strikes.
Nuclear bombs require uranium enriched to 90 percent, but Western experts say much of the effort required to get there is already achieved once it reaches 20 percent concentration, shortening the time needed for any nuclear weapons "break-out."
The IAEA said Iran had now produced nearly 110 kg (240 pounds) of uranium enriched to 20 percent since early 2010. Western experts say about 250 kg (550 pounds) are needed for a nuclear weapon, although it would need to be enriched much further.

Supreme Court to hear corporate human rights case

Supreme Court to hear corporate human rights case

Supreme Court to hear corporate human rights case - 

The Supreme Court will weigh next week whether corporations can be sued in the United States for suspected complicity in human rights abuses abroad, in a case being closely watched by businesses concerned about long and costly litigation.

The high court on Tuesday will consider the reach of a 1789 U.S. law that had been largely dormant until 1980, when human rights lawyers started using it, at first to sue foreign government officials. Then, over the next 20 years, the lawyers used the law to target multinational corporations.
The case before the court pits the Obama administration and human rights advocates against large companies and foreign governments over allegations that Royal Dutch Shell Plc helped Nigeria crush oil exploration protests in the 1990s.
Administration attorneys and lawyers for the plaintiffs contend corporations can be held accountable in U.S. courts for committing or assisting foreign governments in torture, executions or other human rights abuses.
Attorneys for corporations argue that only individuals, such as company employees or managers involved in the abuse, can be sued, a position adopted by a U.S. appeals court in New York. Other courts ruled corporations can be held liable.
The justices will hear an appeal by a group of Nigerians who argue they should be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit accusing Shell of aiding the Nigerian government in human rights violations between 1992 and 1995.
California attorney Paul Hoffman, who will argue on behalf of the plaintiffs, said corporations, under the 1789 law, were permissible defendants and that corporate civil liability was a general principle of international law.
"Businesses involved in genocide, crimes against humanity or other serious human rights violations deserve no exemption from tort liability," he said in a brief filed with the court.
NO EXEMPTION FOR GENOCIDE
The Obama administration supported the corporate liability argument, as did international human rights organizations and Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Representing Shell at the arguments, Kathleen Sullivan, a former dean of the Stanford Law School in California, said U.S. and international law do not allow corporate liability for the alleged offenses. She said the post-World War Two Nuremberg tribunals covered prosecutions of individuals, not corporations.
She warned of the consequences of allowing such lawsuits.
"Even a meritless ... suit against a corporation can take years to resolve," she said in a brief, adding that corporations may reduce their operations in less-developed nations where such abuses tend to arise.
The British, Dutch and German governments supported Shell and said it violates international law to apply a U.S. law from more than 200 years ago to acts that take place in other countries and have no connection to the United States.
Also backing Shell are various multinational corporations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce business lobby. Robin Conrad, head of the group's legal arm, said that if the Supreme Court upholds corporate liability, "the global business community will face yet another wave of frivolous and expensive litigation."
In the past two decades, more than 120 lawsuits have been filed in U.S. courts against 59 corporations for alleged wrongful acts in 60 foreign countries, lawyers in the case said.
Many of the lawsuits have been unsuccessful, though there have been a handful of settlements, the lawyers said. Many of the cases, having dragged on for years, are still pending.
Among the cases: Indonesia villagers accused Exxon Mobil Corp's security forces of murder, torture and other abuses in 1999-2001; Firestone tire company was accused of using child labor in Liberia; and Ford Motor Co and other firms were accused of aiding South Africa's apartheid system.
The Alien Tort Statute from 1789 states that U.S. courts shall have jurisdiction over any civil lawsuit "by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."
In its first substantive look at the law in 2004, the Supreme Court ruled it can be used for certain well-established international law violations, but did not determine who may be held liable.
A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June.

World Bank chief says U.S. should lead some global bodies

World Bank chief says U.S. should lead some global bodies

World Bank chief says U.S. should lead some global bodies - 

A solid U.S. candidate to head the World Bank would be good for the United States and the bank because the world's largest economy should be represented in top international bodies, outgoing President Robert Zoellick said on Saturday, while emphasizing he has no role in the selection process.
In an interview in Singapore, Zoellick also said he did not believe Spain, Italy or Portugal needed bailouts to ease massive debt burdens but that reforms needed critical support of Germany and other European leading nations and expressed cautious optimism that the global economy would sustain growth this year.
The World Bank last week launched the nomination process to select a new president to succeed Zoellick when he steps down in June, inviting names from any of its 187 member countries. The Obama administration has said it would open the process to competition.
Zoellick noted however that Americans did not hold top posts at the United Nations, World Trade Organization, regional development banks or International Monetary Fund.
"I want the United States to feel a sense of responsibility to the international system. So in that sense if you get the right American candidate I think that can be good for the United States and the bank."
So far, two people most often mentioned as possible successors are both American: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former White House economic adviser and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. The State Department has insisted that Clinton would not be taking the job.
Much like in 2011, when Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, officials from countries such as Brazil and the Philippines said it was time to break the decades-old pattern of putting an American in charge of the World Bank and a European atop the IMF.
Agustin Carstens, Mexico's central bank governor, who had made an unsuccessful bid to head up the International Monetary fund last year, said on Wednesday the World Bank presidency should be open to a wide field of candidates.
BUYING TIME IN EUROPE
Zoellick said the latest Greek bailout totaling 130 billion euros would merely buy time.
"It's too early to know, partly it depends on the actions the Greeks have to take," he said.
"I think that the European Union has dealt with Greece as one element but the core elements are really going to be the success of some of the bigger countries, such as Italy and Spain."
But he said bailouts weren't necessary for these two countries or Portugal.
"Each country's situation is different and you really have three interconnected problems. For some it's the size of the sovereign debt, for some it's the effect on the banking industry, and for some it's their competitiveness," he said adding that "Spain and Italy need time to make the reforms."
"But I do think that all this is harder to accomplish when there is a recession in Europe."
Support from other European nations was also crucial.
"What I've tried to suggest, given the politics of reform in some of the Mediterranean countries, (is that) it will be important for Germany and other leaders in the process to show some prospects if the reforms are taken and how they will be supported by the other European countries."
Zoellick heads next to China for the release on Monday of a major economic report by the bank and a Chinese government think tank, looking at economic opportunities and challenges to the year 2030.
GLOBAL ECONOMY, CHINA AND OIL
Zoellick said that prospects for global economic growth this year remain guardedly positive with much hinging on Europe stabilizing and China reaching a soft landing, with oil prices a wildcard.
"I have a cautious optimism about the international economy. Our forecasts are that growth might slow down a little bit this year. What I see is that the U.S. economy has got some momentum," he said.
"If Europe is able to continue to stabilize the situation, that's a big if, but that's an important part. And I think China has issues in the real estate sector but my own guess is they are on the process for a soft landing.
"The two big question marks to me are energy prices with the political risk and Europe being able to maintain things."
Brent crude futures settled near a 10-month high above $125 a barrel on Friday, posting a fifth straight weekly gain as heightened concerns over tensions with Iran about its nuclear program and cuts in supply sent oil prices up on both sides of the Atlantic.
The crude oil price spike has prompted speculation the International Energy Agency may again call for the release of oil stocks, or the U.S. may release strategic petroleum reserves.
Zoellick said oil prices remain a concern, though the World Bank is only an observer in any decision to release strategic oil stocks.

Evacuations in Syria as diplomatic pressure mounts

Evacuations in Syria as diplomatic pressure mounts

Evacuations in Syria as diplomatic pressure mounts - 

The first wounded and sick women trapped in the most embattled district of the Syrian city of Homs have been evacuated, and talks were held to evacuate more on Saturday, while pressure mounted on President Bashar al-Assad's government to call a ceasefire and let in humanitarian aid.

Assad's forces killed 103 people in Syria on Friday in the bombardment of the besieged city of Homs and in attacks on the countryside of Hama and the east and north of the country, the activist group Local Coordination Committees said.
Most of those killed were civilians, including 14 children and one woman, it said.
The killings continued the same day that Western and Arab nations meeting in Tunis mounted the biggest diplomatic push in weeks to end Syria's 11-month-old crackdown on the opposition.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Assad -- and his backers inside Syria and abroad -- that they will be held to account for the crackdown on opponents and what she described as a humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.
Addressing her comments to Russia and China, which vetoed tough action on Syria in the United Nations, she said: "They are setting themselves not only against the Syrian people but also the entire Arab awakening."
"It's quite distressing to see permanent members of the Security Council using their veto when people are being murdered - women, children, brave young men -- houses are being destroyed. It is just despicable."
"I am convinced Assad's days are numbered, but I regret that there will be more killing before he goes," she said.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Washington, said: "It is prime time to stop the killing of Syrian citizens by their own government."
"All of us seeing the terrible pictures coming out of Syria and Homs recently recognize it is absolutely imperative for the international community to rally in sending a clear message to President Assad that it is time for a transition."
Diplomatic moves are hamstrung, so far at least, because there is little appetite for military intervention in Syria and attempts to ease Assad out via the United Nations Security Council have been stymied by Russian and Chinese vetoes.
Beijing and Moscow declined invitations to attend the meeting in Tunisia.
In a tacit acknowledgement that the scope for pressuring Assad through diplomacy is limited, some of the delegates at the conference -- especially Gulf states long opposed to Assad -- pressed for an international peacekeeping force in Syria and favored arming the Syrian rebels.
The Syrian opposition, meanwhile, appeared to be taking matters into its own hands, saying it was supplying weapons to rebels inside Syria while Western and other states turned a blind eye.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal led the hawkish camp, saying that arming the Syrian rebels would be "an excellent idea."
EVACUATED TO SAFE AREA
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the Syrian Arab Red Crescent initially brought out seven women and children from the besieged Baba Amro district of Homs and took them to a hospital in elsewhere in the city.
A further 20 uninjured women and children were evacuated later and taken to "a safe area," ICRC chief spokeswoman Carla Haddad said. Foreign journalists trapped in the area were not among them.
"It's a first step forward," Haddad told Reuters. "The priority now is evacuating the seriously wounded or sick.
"We are continuing discussions to resume the operation tomorrow morning."
With the bombardment of opposition-held neighborhoods in Homs entering its fourth week on Friday, the ICRC has been negotiating with the Syrian government and opposition forces to bring out the sick and wounded from Baba Amro.
But foreign journalists trapped in Baba Amro, two of them badly wounded, refused to leave the besieged neighborhood without an ICRC and foreign diplomatic presence, and a commitment to a full humanitarian ceasefire, it said.
Two of the journalists, Edith Bouvier and Paul Conroy, need urgent medical care. The bodies of slain journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, killed this week, remain in Baba Amro.
A Syrian Foreign Ministry official, quoted by the state news agency, said attempts to bring the journalists out of the area had been obstructed by opposition groups.
"Authorities in Homs sent a number of notables of the city and ambulances from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to receive the foreign journalists who had entered Syria illegally," the official said.
"Despite continuing this effort for several hours with armed groups in Baba Amr, these groups refused to hand over the wounded and the bodies - putting the life of the wounded French woman in danger and hindering the return of the bodies (of the two dead journalists) to their respective countries."
A French and ICRC plan to get international medical teams in to extract the foreign journalists and tend to the neighborhood's most badly wounded was rejected by the Assad government, activist group Avaaz said.
With the wounded being taken only as far as a hospital in Homs, it was unlikely men would agree to leave the area for fear of falling into the hands of Syrian security forces.
"Baba Amro is being hit with 122mm artillery directed at it from surrounding villages. A father and his 14-year-old son were among those killed. They were trying to flee the shelling when shrapnel hit them in the street," resident Mohammad al-Homsi said.