Bunker Hill

Nathaniel Philbrick retells the story of the bloodiest battle of the American Revolution, after which there was no turning back.

By David Holahan / April 29, 2013

Bunker Hill By Nathaniel Philbrick Viking Adult 416 pp.

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Nantucket-based historian and skilled helmsman Nathaniel Philbrick has sailed yet again into the headwinds of an oft-told tale with Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution. Earlier, Philbrick had set his compass for "Custer?s Last Stand" and the "Mayflower."

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It was not always thus. A dozen years ago, Philbrick's breakout book, ?In the Heart of the Sea,? resurrected the long-forgotten tragedy of the Essex, whose demise at the hands of a leviathan served as the inspiration for Melville?s ?Moby Dick.? The doomed Nantucket whaler was as renowned in its century as the Titanic would be in the one to follow.

But absent such obscure yet compelling historical breezes, the more reliable trade winds of the past must suffice.? Besides, a good yarn is worth retelling. How many of us, after all, truly appreciate what happened at Bunker Hill? It was the bloodiest of all the battles of the Revolutionary War, which like so many American conflicts had yet to be declared when the colonists and the British clashed on June 17 of 1775. The Red Coats captured Bunker Hill from the Patriot militias on their third assault, but at a terrible cost and to no long-term advantage. They would abandon Boston and the hornets? nest that was Massachusetts in March of the following year.

After the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, there were still Patriots who believed that reconciliation with Great Britain was possible. But after Bunker Hill, the Americans had crossed the Rubicon. British casualties exceeded 1,000. There was no more middle road. It was liberty or death time.

In retelling the incendiary tale of a city and a battle that sparked our revolution, the author introduces the reader to some famous, infamous, and not-so-famous characters. Future President John Quincy Adams was just seven when he and his mother Abigail watched and listened to the battle some miles distant. The moment would have a profound impact on Adams for the rest of his life. His father John was away in Philadelphia at the Continental Congress, while others, such as Dr. Joseph Warren, manned the front lines. George Washington would not appear to lead the New England fighters for more than two weeks after Bunker Hill.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ARnHNnif_WQ/Bunker-Hill

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Arbitrary iPad Swipes and Taps Make Accidental Art

When you check your email, when you play Temple Run, when you're selecting a song to listen to, you're making art. You just don't know it. In a series called Invisible Hieroglyphics, artists Andre Woolery and Victor AbiJaoudi highlight those hidden masterpieces you don't even mean to make.

The works of art are created on a wide variety of apps, from Instagram to Pinterest to Angry Birds, and more. Each accidental painting is a lovely smattering of colorful digital finger painting.

Here's Fruit Ninja:

This one's from the Facebook app:

Check out the rest on Woolery's site. They're a pretty great way to illustrate that technology can be beautiful. And anyone with an iPad can be an artist. [Andre Woolery Art via Mashable]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/arbitrary-ipad-swipes-and-taps-make-accidental-art-484494160

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Rendezvous Connects You With Nearby Folks Who Share Your Interests, Keeps Track Of Who You've Met

Rendezvous is an upcoming mobile application built at the TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 hackathon by San Francisco developer Taran Gill and designer Mehtab Bajawa. The app intends to connect you with others nearby who share your interests, as based on Facebook profile data. But while other mobile apps, including those in the recently trendy “ambient location” space often do the same, the difference with Rendezvous is that it keeps track of your location history, too. That way, you can scroll back to see who you met and when, as well as perhaps discover other missed connections. The mobile app was built using the Facebook API alongside the NewAer API for location data. And also unlike other location apps,?Rendezvous doesn’t use GPS data – which means it won’t kill your smartphone’s battery. (Hooray!) Instead, Rendezvous will be able to tell if users are connected to the same Wi-Fi router or cell tower in order to determine their proximity to each other. Though the build created this weekend focused on using Facebook data, Gill explains that the app will be developed further after the event wraps to include other APIs and data sources, in order to do things like connecting users’ Pandora’s playlists, for example. Users may be able to manually enter in data, too. (E.g. “what’s on my mind right now”). Friending functionality is also on the way, and that could be really interesting, since it could tell you others places you and your new friend had both visited together in the past, unknowingly. “It’s a lot of data that nobody has ever collected before,” says Gill. He adds that?didn’t know that he would be working on when he arrived at Disrupt this weekend, but wanted to start a new project. In San Francisco, he had been working on a cloud storage startup for many months, but acknowledges that space is now dominated by major players like Google.?Meanwhile, co-creator Bajawa recently left his job in the finance industry to begin working on startups and tech. For those who attend a lot of hackathons like this one and other networking events, an app like this could come in handy to help you not only find people you would want to know, but also help you remember who you met at a later date.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/aevIsh6xS8A/

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Insight: Good life goes on as Syrian elite sit out war

By Michael Stott and Samia Nakhoul

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - It might sound absurd to talk about normal life in Syria after two years of civil war which have killed more than 70,000 people and left five million more destitute and homeless.

Yet in the neighborhood of Malki, a tree-lined enclave of central Damascus, a wealthy group of elite, pro-government Syrians still enjoy shopping for imported French cheeses, gourmet hand-made chocolates and iPad minis in the well-stocked, recently built Grand Mall and in nearby boutiques.

Such are the parallel realities of a conflict in which, for all the gains made by rebels and the current chatter about U.S. "red lines" crossed that might ultimately draw in Western might, President Bashar al-Assad is holding his ground in the capital, bulwarked by his own foreign allies and by many Syrians who fear his end could prove fatal for them too. And so life goes on.

In Malki, sprinklers water the manicured lawns outside their blocks of million-dollar apartments. Maids and drivers cater to their every whim and birds sing in the trees. Fuel for their BMWs and electricity for their air-conditioning is plentiful and the well-guarded streets are free of loiterers.

"Look at this display and you feel all is well, life is good and everything is here," said an elegantly dressed Hiyam Jabri, 50, as she placed her order at the delicatessen counter in the mall's main supermarket.

Malki residents continue to enjoy material comforts and abundant supplies of imported goods, even as millions of their compatriots subsist on food handouts.

The United Nations World Food Programme estimates it is feeding 2.5 million people inside Syria - a tenth of the population - and a further million who have fled the country, offering them subsistence rations of flour and rice.

"We are trying to keep up with the enormity of the crisis and the impact of the brutality," the WFP's deputy regional emergency coordinator Matthew Hollingworth said in the capital.

Most of those whom his staff help "haven't been displaced once but sometimes twice, three times". Food is so scarce for those uprooted by the fighting that rations intended to feed a family of five are being shared by three families.

ILLUSIONS

Even in Malki, though, the air of normality is an illusion - as unreal as the oft-repeated assertions of government officials that victory is near and Assad still controls almost all Syria.

Scratch the surface of the illusion and the normality quickly becomes anything but.

Pasted to the lamp-post outside the elegant chocolatier Ghraoui, whose interior boasts award certificates from France, is a wad of black and white fliers. They are printed by families and they mourn sons and husbands killed in the war.

It is a war, however, that seems to be going nowhere fast.

Recent days have shown again the reluctance of the United States and its allies, in the face of evidence Assad's troops may have crossed President Barack Obama's "red line" by using chemical weapons, to intervene militarily against him - not least as some rebels have espoused the cause of al Qaeda.

Among the few independent outsiders seeing at first hand the mosaic of opinion and suffering in Syria, many aid workers lament that international discourse has become a monotone debate on supplying weapons, with little push for a negotiated peace.

"We need a political solution for this conflict," said Marc Lucet, the local emergency coordinator for UNICEF, whose fellow humanitarian workers recount grim tales of hungry refugees found cowering in half-built apartment blocks or idle factories.

The surface serenity of Malki contrasts with what aid groups say is a country splintered by ever shifting frontlines and a fragmenting opposition; many fear violence will spread beyond Syria's borders and are baffled by the debate in the West over how far to arm rebels, saying this will only make matters worse.

Stressing the need for a political settlement, however, unpalatable and, so far, unattainable, UNICEF's Lucet said: "The solution is certainly not to give more weapons to either side."

Attempts to bring Assad down by diplomatic means have failed to break the impasse, even if they do make life less comfortable in Malki.

Inside the Ghraoui chocolate boutique, as everywhere else in Syria, sales are strictly cash only - sanctions have forced international credit card networks to boycott transactions here.

Prices on restaurant menus in local currency, the Syrian pound, have been hastily updated with stickers multiple times - a tell-tale sign of rapid inflation.

At the luxury mall supermarket, Eyad al-Burghol says he is selling fewer imported foodstuffs than before because many wealthy customers have left the country.

FIGHTING TALK

A distant thump of artillery fire serves as a reminder that, just a few kilometers (miles) away, fierce street-to-street battles are being fought between government and rebel forces. Some days, Russian-made MiG fighter jets streak across the sky on their way to bomb insurgent positions.

The abundant security in Malki, residents say, is provided by men who speak the Iranian tongue of Farsi, rather than Syrian Arabic. Tehran has long been Assad's sponsor against his fellow Arab leaders and the word on the street - impossible to verify - is that this heavily guarded area of town may be home to the Syrian president himself and to his immediate family.

Assad is not seen in public these days and officials refuse to comment on his movements or whereabouts.

Senior Syrian officials try hard to show visiting reporters a picture of normality in which the government is firmly in control. But even the cocoon in which they live and work is starting to be punctured by the facts of war.

Syria's central bank governor Adeeb Mayaleh gave Reuters an interview last week at a headquarters building bearing the scars of a car bomb attack earlier in the month. Blinds hung twisted and useless in front of warped window-frames without glass. A palm tree outside had been reduced to a charred skeleton.

The bank chief insisted that the government had plenty of foreign currency available to guarantee imports and enough cash to pay public employees' wages in advance each month. For how long? Iran and Russia, he said, were about to agree fresh funds.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad gave an upbeat assessment of the war in an interview - but a Syrian who works nearby told us that the complex housing the ministry had been attacked four times by rebels in the past few months.

UNICEF regional coordinator Youssef Abdul-Jalil estimated that at least three million children inside Syria now needed humanitarian assistance because of the war: "There is a crisis of the children of Syria," he said. "They are paying a terrible price in their lives, in their surroundings, in their health, in their education and in their lack of protection".

REALITY INTRUDES

Cars still choke central Damascus and traffic police still issue tickets for speeding and even clamp badly parked vehicles. But armed checkpoints snarl progress to a snail's pace.

Travel agents still offer flights and holidays. But the road to the city's airport is considered too dangerous by many and flights are available only to a few, friendly, destinations.

Telephones still work and officials still show up for work in neatly ironed shirts and well-pressed suits - but many scuttle off early to be home before nightfall.

One resident spoke of a distant relative, a Christian from a prosperous family of car dealers, who was kidnapped. Accused of supporting Assad, he was beaten while hanging upside down. His captors then they injected fuel into his veins. Released for a ransom worth over $20,000, the man died a few days later.

While the Syrian elite continue to insist that the military campaign against the rebels is succeeding, aid workers in Aleppo say that the area of the country's biggest city that is now controlled by the government is very small.

The main north-south highway which connects Aleppo to Damascus via the major cities of Homs and Hama now features some 38 checkpoints, about nine of which are manned by various groups of rebels, NGO workers who have traveled along it recently say.

In the capital, the government says it guarantees a "Square of Security" in the center; some locals joke that rebel gains have shorn it to a rather smaller "Security Triangle".

Damascus's walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the 7th-century Umayyad mosque, retains its beauty. But these days it is eerily empty. Tourists have long gone and the souvenir sellers have all but given up hope of selling anything.

Inside the mosque's main prayer hall, featuring a shrine said to contain the head of St. John the Baptist, mournful guides tell of how the imam was recently murdered.

At a jewelry shop in the al-Hamidiyeh bazaar, Anas Hallawi, 25, sat looking bored: "People are selling their gold not buying these days," he said. "Our business thrived on foreign tourists and Syrians buying gold for their brides.

"Now the tourists are gone. And nobody is getting married."

At the Al-Naranj restaurant in the Christian Quarter, one of Damascus's finest eateries, diners discussed the relative risks of car bombings versus random mortar attacks and kidnap. Little wonder that so many with the means have left for Lebanon, as life in the capital becomes a kind of ghoulish Russian roulette.

Across the room, a smartly dressed family group celebrated a betrothal with a lavish spread of traditional Syrian food on a table decorated with red roses.

As the strains of the old songs died away and a festive cake was eaten, a fighter jet roared across the sky. Artillery fire thudded in the distance. The family looked upwards through the restaurant's glass roof, eyes suddenly fearful. (Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-good-life-goes-syrian-elite-sit-war-154008389.html

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Cross Culture Relationship? - Talk About Marriage

Let me try to be more specific - the things we have in common are what have drawn us together - we enjoy the same music and movies and travel and holidays, etc.
We are highly attracted to each other as in, opposites attract type of thing. I am blonde and fair skinned and he is my middle aged version of Antonio Banderas, lol.
He is kind, courteous, etc.

We have big differences, I am not suggesting these are problems, just big differences: he talks to all his family members, every day, almost as if reporting in - they need to know where he is at all times (and this man is over 50 yrs old! LOL)

He is starting life over here after several mishaps. Long story short - he reunited with a college girlfriend on Facebook, they dated long distance, then he moved here to the US to be with her. Soon after moving here, he found out some fairly surprising things about her and they soon split up. Instead of going back to So. America, he has chosen to stay here and build a new life, so we are at very different places in our lives. I am looking to retire in 5 or so years and he is starting over....
Although the roles of men and women in his country have changed over the years, he is still somewhat old school, but at least open minded. He cooks for me, etc.
We sometimes have language difficulties - not always, sometimes.

Anyway, that's most of it....I am just trying to take it day by day, but worry about getting too involved and maybe wonder if I shouldn't go back to dating American born guys...

T

Source: http://talkaboutmarriage.com/ladies-lounge/72214-cross-culture-relationship.html

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Mobile broadband demand pushes Ericsson Brazil plant to capacity

By S?rgio Spagnuolo

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Strong demand for mobile broadband equipment in Latin America will keep Ericsson's plant in Brazil at full capacity this year, says a senior executive at the telecom equipment manufacturer.

Mobile phone operators in Brazil are scrambling to improve their networks after heavy scrutiny from regulators because of poor service and a lack of investment in mobile infrastructure in recent years. The problems came despite a ballooning client base in Latin America's biggest economy.

But strong demand for faster, smartphone-friendly networks in neighboring countries is also fueling a growing need for mobile equipment elsewhere in the region.

"We see a growing demand in Latin America, both in 3G and 4G," said Andre Gildin, Ericsson's market intelligence director for the region, referring to the higher-speed networks that Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and other countries are rolling out.

The Swedish-based company expects 3G equipment to make up most of the demand this year in Brazil. Demand for 4G equipment is growing too as the industry begins building the country's fourth-generation mobile network.

The 4G effort is beginning in cities that in June will host soccer games during the Confederations Cup. The contest is a prelude to next year's World Cup, a much bigger event that is expected to strain Brazil's mobile telephone networks.

In 2012, about 40,000 pieces of mobile signal transmission equipment were produced at Ericsson's factory in the state of Sao Paulo. That took the factory to its production limit, a level that should be reached again by the end of the year.

"Our expectations are to finish this year with a similar number", Gildin said in an interview this week.

Half of this year's production will supply the Brazilian market, he added, while the rest would be exported to other Latin American countries. Big customers include operators in Mexico, which is implementing its 4G network, and Colombia, which is expanding both 4G and 3G services.

Argentina, Chile and Peru are also improving their mobile phone networks.

Ericsson says it has about 40 percent of the market in Brazil for 3G equipment. While the 3G network still has a long way to go in the country, the initial steps toward 4G services are helping the company get an early lead in that segment too, Gildin said.

Ericsson provides telecom gear, both 3G and 4G, to all four major Brazilian mobile operators - Telefonica's Vivo, Oi, Telecom Italia's TIM and America Movil's Claro.

Claro and Oi recently started to offer 4G services. Vivo and TIM are expect to announce their 4G plans next week.

Anatel, the Brazilian telecoms regulator, gave operators a deadline of next Tuesday to launch their 4G networks in the cities that will host the Confederations Cup.

(Editing by Paulo Prada and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mobile-broadband-demand-pushes-ericsson-brazil-plant-capacity-004326836.html

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WWDC tickets go on sale, sell out in two minutes

The tickets for this WWDC 2013 have come and gone in record time, with passes for this year?s event selling out in an astounding two minutes, after going on sale at 10 AM Pacific. The speed at which the tickets sold out can at least be partially attributed to the fact that Apple pre-announced when they woud go on sale, something that they haven?t done in past years.

The time that it has taken for WWDC tickets to sell out every year has decreased steadily for a number of years. Last year's tickets sold out in two hours, and while many expected them to move even faster this year, it?s doubtful that anyone expected them to go quite this quickly.

Did you plan on buying a ticket? Did you manage to get one, or did you just miss it?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ByULHW3Tfes/story01.htm

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NBCUniversal expansion to start with Harry Potter

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) ? NBCUniversal plans to begin construction this summer on a $1.6 billion, 25-year expansion of its Los Angeles-area theme park, offices and production facilities.

The company owned by Comcast Corp. announced Tuesday that it would start building The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at its Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, along with upgraded TV production studios and office space on the studio lot.

The project would eventually include a hotel and retail outlets, adding nearly 2 million square feet to the studio complex. The plan initially called for nearly 3,000 residences, but that was dropped last year after objections from local residents and politicians.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved the plan Tuesday, unanimously directing its lawyers to prepare documents for final approval.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nbcuniversal-expansion-start-harry-potter-003042579.html

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Video: HBT Extra: Are Jays biggest disappointment so far?

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/51637896#51637896

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The crystal's corners: New nanowire structure has potential to increase semiconductor applications

Apr. 23, 2013 ? There's big news in the world of tiny things. New research led by University of Cincinnati physics professors Howard Jackson and Leigh Smith could contribute to better ways of harnessing solar energy, more effective air quality sensors or even stronger security measures against biological weapons such as anthrax. And it all starts with something that's 1,000 times thinner than the typical human hair -- a semiconductor nanowire.

UC's Jackson, Smith, recently graduated PhD student Melodie Fickenscher and physics doctoral student Teng Shi, as well as several colleagues from across the US and around the world recently have published the research paper "Optical, Structural and Numerical Investigations of GaAs/AlGaAs Core-Multishell Nanowire Quantum Well Tubes" in Nano Letters, a journal on nanoscience and nanotechnology published by the American Chemical Society. In the paper, the team reports that they've discovered a new structure in a semiconductor nanowire with unique properties.

"This kind of structure in the gallium arsenide/aluminum gallium arsenide system had not been achieved before," Jackson says. "It's new in terms of where you find the electrons and holes, and spatially it's a new structure."

EYES ON SIZE AND CORNERING ELECTRONS

These little structures could have a big effect on a variety of technologies. Semiconductors are at the center of modern electronics. Computers, TVs and cellphones have them. They're made from the crystalline form of elements that have scientifically beneficial electrical conductivity properties. Many semiconductors are made of silicon, but in this case they are made of gallium arsenide. And while widespread use of these thin nanowires in new devices might still be around the corner, the key to making that outcome a reality in the coming years is what's in the corner.

By using a thin shell called a quantum well tube and growing it -- to about 4 nanometers thick -- around the nanowire core, the researchers found electrons within the nanowire were distributed in an unusual way in relation to the facets of the hexagonal tube. A close look at the corners of the tube's facets revealed something unexpected -- a high concentration of ground state electrons and holes.

"Having the faceting really matters. It changes the ballgame," Jackson says. "Adjusting the quantum well tube width allows you to control the energy -- which would have been expected -- but in addition we have found that there's a highly localized ground state at the corners which then can give rise to true quantum nanowires."

The nanowires the team uses for its research are grown at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia -- one partner in this project that extends to disparate parts of the globe.

AFFECTING THE SCIENCE OF SMALL IN A BIG WAY

The team's discovery opens a new door to further study of the fundamental physics of semiconductor nanowires. As for leading to advances in technology such as photovoltaic cells, Jackson says it's too soon to tell because quantum nanowires are just now being explored. But in a world where hundreds of dollars' worth of technology is packed into a 5-by-2.5 inch iPhone, it's not hard to see how small but powerful science comes at a premium.

The team at UC is one of only about a half dozen in the US conducting competitive research in the field. It's a relatively young discipline, too, Jackson says, and one that's moving fast. For such innovative science, he says it's important to have a collaborative effort. The team includes scientists from research centers in the Midwest, the West Coast and all the way Down Under: UC, Miami University of Ohio and Sandia National Laboratories in California here in the US; and Monash University and the Australian National University in Australia.

The team's efforts are another example of how UC not only stands out as a leader in top-notch science, but also in shaping the future of the discipline by providing its students with high-quality educational and research opportunities.

"We're training students in state-of-the-art techniques on state-of-the-art materials doing state-of-the-art physics," Jackson says. "Upon completing their education here, they're positioned to go out and make contributions of their own."

Additional contributors to the paper are Jan Yarrison-Rice of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; Bryan Wong of Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, Calif.; Changlin Zheng, Peter Miller and Joanne Etheridge of Monash University, Victoria, Australia; and Qiang Gao, Shriniwas Deshpande, Hark Hoe Tan and Chennupati Jagadish of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Cincinnati.

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. Melodie Fickenscher, Teng Shi, Howard E. Jackson, Leigh M. Smith, Jan M. Yarrison-Rice, Changlin Zheng, Peter Miller, Joanne Etheridge, Bryan M. Wong, Qiang Gao, Shriniwas Deshpande, Hark Hoe Tan, Chennupati Jagadish. Optical, Structural, and Numerical Investigations of GaAs/AlGaAs Core?Multishell Nanowire Quantum Well Tubes. Nano Letters, 2013; 13 (3): 1016 DOI: 10.1021/nl304182j

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_technology/~3/Rw930UopHIw/130423135720.htm

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Los And Lola Monroe's Baby Is A Taylor Gang Bad Boy

'He got the best of both worlds ... he got two strong families on either side,' Los tells MTV News of son Brixton Royal.
By Rob Markman

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706226/los-lola-monroe-baby.jhtml

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FBI Missed Tsarnaev's Trip To Russia? - Business Insider

Google Maps

Dagestan, Russia

The FBI did not know that deceased Boston Marathon bomber suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev went on a six-month trip to Dagestan and Chechnya, Russia?in 2012 because his name was misspelled, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday.

?He went over to Russia, but apparently when he got on the airplane, they misspelled his name, so it never went into the system that he actually went to Russia,? Graham said on Fox News, saying he spoke to an assistant director of the FBI.

Graham's comments, first reported by Politico, inform why the FBI failed to realize that the 26-year-old was a terrorism risk.

The F.B.I. interviewed Tsarnaev and his family in Boston after Russia's warning, but found no sign of terrorism activity at the time.?

Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of the suspected bombers, told The Wall Street Journal that FBI?officers visited him about 18 months ago to discuss Tamerlan's interests.

"They told me they were watching everything?what we look at on the computers, what we talked about on the phone," he said. "I said that's fine. That's what they should be doing."

The New York Times reports that the trip?did not seem?to radicalize?Tsarnaev, who had?already begun?practicing devout Islam. But it could have provided the FBI with further incentive to find indications of violent behavior.

?One of two things happened,? Graham said Monday on Fox News, ?the FBI either dropped the ball or our system doesn?t allow the FBI to follow this guy in an appropriate fashion. I think once the Russians made the request, the FBI did a good job of looking at him. The reason we didn?t know he went to Russia is because the name was misspelled.?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-missed-tsarnaevs-trip-to-russia-2013-4

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Corpse Party: Blood Drive heading to PS Vita | VG247

Tue, Apr 23, 2013 | 08:32 BST

Corpse Party: Blood Drive is heading to PS Vita, according to Famitsu. The game is said to be a continuation of Corpse Party: Book of Shadows? 8th chapter, entitled ?Blood Drive?. Fancy that.

Siliconera reports that the Famitsu details suggest the game will conclude the storyline of Heavenly Host Elementary School, is out this year in Japan and will be published by 5pb.

Famitsu?s story summary is as follows, ?Are the terrible events that occurred in the Shinozaki family, home to both Yoshie and Sachiko, an omen of a new tragedy? After Sachiko?s departure, Heavenly Host was thought to have collapsed. However, because of a master of a greater power, the power of its curse has expanded.

?Finally, the countless mysteries surrounding Heavenly Host Elementary School will be revealed. Will it be possible to bring back the friends cruelly killed within the school??!?

Interesting stuff. Are you keen on more Corpse Party? Let us know below.

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/04/23/corspe-party-blood-drive-heading-to-ps-vita/

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Netflix's Updated iOS App Comes With a Shiny, New Intuitive Design

While it may not be quite the total overhaul some were hoping for, Netflix has just released a not-quite-major but definitely more convenient update to its iOS app. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2ktGUZw8wpM/netflixs-updated-ios-app-comes-with-a-shiny-new-intuitive-design

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Activists fear large death toll near Damascus

This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows members of the free Syrian Army hiding behind scrap metal during an attack against Syrian government forces, in the neighborhood of al-Amerieh in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, April. 21, 2013. The Syrian opposition called on Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from the country immediately, as activists said regime troops supported by pro-government gunmen linked to the Lebanese Shiite militant group battled rebels Sunday for control of a string of villages near the Lebanon-Syria border. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows members of the free Syrian Army hiding behind scrap metal during an attack against Syrian government forces, in the neighborhood of al-Amerieh in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, April. 21, 2013. The Syrian opposition called on Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from the country immediately, as activists said regime troops supported by pro-government gunmen linked to the Lebanese Shiite militant group battled rebels Sunday for control of a string of villages near the Lebanon-Syria border. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Six days of clashes in two Damascus suburbs may have killed hundreds of people, a dramatic spike in the rising death toll in the Syrian civil war, activists said Monday.

The reports came as President Bashar Assad's forces pressed on with a major offensive in the suburbs against opposition fighters who have been closing in on parts of the Syrian capital. To the north, regime troops surged around the contested town of Qusair in Syria's Homs province, near the frontier with Lebanon.

The precise number of those killed in the latest fighting in Jdaidet Artouz and Jdaidet al-Fadel suburbs could not be immediately confirmed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the number of the dead could be as high as 250. Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said the group has documented 80 names of those killed but fears a much higher toll.

The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said the death toll was 483 and that most of the victims were killed in Jdaidet Artouz. State-run news agency SANA said Syrian troops "inflicted heavy losses" on the rebels in the suburbs.

Conflicting reports of death tolls are common in Syria's crisis, especially in areas that are difficult to access because of the fighting. The government also bars many foreign journalists from covering the conflict. Both activist groups, the Observatory and the LCC, rely on a network of activists on the ground in different parts of Syria.

Also Monday, two bombings targeted an army checkpoint and a military post in a third Damascus suburb, Mleiha, killing eight soldiers there, according to the Observatory.

Over the past two weeks, the Syrian military, supported by the Hezbollah-backed militia known as the Popular Committees, has pushed to regain control of the border area. The region is strategic because it links Damascus with the Mediterranean coastal enclave that is the heartland of Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

The fighting around Qusair also points to the sectarian nature of the Syrian conflict, which pits a government dominated by the president's Alawite minority against a primarily Sunni Muslim rebellion, and underscores widely held fears that the civil war could drag in neighboring states.

The pro-government daily Al-Watan predicted Monday that "the liberation" of the Qusair area will be completed within a "few days." Troops have already captured several towns and villages around the town.

The report claimed the army was making a "rapid" advance in the outskirts of Qusair, inflicting heavy losses on the rebels and forcing some of them to retreat toward Lebanon.

In Lebanon, there are deep divisions over the Syrian conflict, with Lebanese Sunnis mostly backing the opposition while Shiites support Assad. Lebanese fighters have also traveled to Syria to join either Sunni or Shiite groups, and several have been killed in clashes.

Over the weekend, several rockets fell in the predominantly Shiite Lebanese towns and villages along the border and some Lebanese schools in the area remained closed Monday for fear of more shelling.

Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime in March 2011 but eventually turned into a civil war. More than 70,000 people have been killed so far, according to the United Nations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-22-ML-Syria/id-59b23e06e49f436bbc203472327958ca

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Josh Thomson and Yoel Romero score Knockout of the Night bonuses for UFC on Fox 7

UFC on Fox 7 was one of the best cards of the year. Of the 12 fights on the card, eight ended with a knockout or technical knockout. This made the decision for Knockout of the Night bonuses even more difficult for the UFC.

Since there were no submissions, they gave out two $50,000 knockout bonuses. One went Josh Thomson, who delivered the first knockout against Nate Diaz. It was Thomson's first fight in the UFC since 2004. He fought in Strikeforce for several years, and returned to the promotion after the parent company who owns the UFC bought and then folded Strikeforce.

The other $50,000 bonus went to Yoel Romero, who was making his UFC debut after fights in Strikeforce and a long career as an Olympic-level wrestler. In the first fight on the card, Romero knocked out Clifford Starks with a flying knee.

Fight of the Night bonuses of $50,000 each went to Matt Brown and Jordan Mein. Though their fight lasted just six minutes, every second of the bout was memorable. Brown started strong as he aggressively put Mein on his heels, but Mein appeared to wobble Brown with body shots. One minute into the second round, Brown notched the TKO win.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/josh-thomson-yoel-romero-score-knockout-night-bonuses-034020190--mma.html

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Gmail, Drive, other Google apps down for some

Vital Google services down for you? Well, you're not alone. Tips have been pouring in this AM that many of Mountain View's apps are down, including Gmail and Drive. We were able to independently confirm the partial outage and Google's App Status Dashboard has been updated to reflect the "service disruption." The down time isn't affecting everyone, however. Most of those hanging around the Engadget compound are still able to check their hate mail and Caskers notifications. Are you having trouble getting through to Google's servers? Let us know in the comments.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Source: Google Apps Status Dashboard

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/gmail-drive-other-google-apps-down-for-some/

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Tobacco companies keep people smoking despite UK cigarette tax increases

Apr. 16, 2013 ? Raising tobacco prices is one of the most effective means of reducing tobacco use, particularly among price-sensitive smokers such as young people and people with low incomes. But when the UK government has been raising cigarette taxes to increase prices and deter smoking, tobacco companies have been absorbing the tax increases on their ultra-low-price (ULP) brands to keep their prices low. As a result, real ULP cigarette prices have remained virtually unchanged since 2006 and their market share has doubled, suggesting that as cigarette taxes rise, many smokers downtrade to cheaper cigarettes and carry on smoking.

Transnational tobacco companies categorise cigarette brands into four price segments: premium, mid-price, economy, and ultra-low-price (ULP). A research report published online today in the journal Addiction reveals that while the real weighted average price of premium, mid-price and economy brands has increased gradually between 2001 and 2009, the real price of ULP cigarettes has barely changed since 2006, greatly reducing the effectiveness of cigarette taxes to deter smoking.

Tobacco companies have achieved this by overshifting taxes on their higher priced brands (increasing cigarette prices on top of the tax increases) and undershifting taxes on their ULP brands (absorbing tax increases so they are not passed on to the consumer) to keep the prices of their cheapest brands low. The former enables tobacco companies to increase their profits while the latter helps keep smokers in the market.

Unsurprisingly, the market share held by price-static ULP cigarettes doubled between 2006 and 2009, while the market share of the other three categories has fallen. But the rising prices of the more expensive brands means that, even with a falling market share, revenue from premium and mid-price brands has increased steadily since 2001.

Says lead author Anna Gilmore, Professor of Public Health & Health Foundation Clinician Scientist in the University of Bath's Department for Health and the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, "Tobacco companies use their price changes to win two ways in the UK: when tobacco taxes increase each year, the tobacco companies hide their price increases on more expensive cigarettes behind the tax increases, making large profits from smokers who aren't bothered by price increases. Simultaneously, they cut the prices of their cheapest cigarettes so that smokers who would be deterred by price hikes continue to smoke. Tobacco company revenues increase and fewer smokers quit. To increase the effectiveness of cigarette taxes, the UK government must find ways to narrow the price gap between the cheapest and most expensive cigarettes and prevent tobacco companies from discounting their cheapest brands."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wiley, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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. Anna B. Gilmore, Behrooz Tavakoly, Gordon Taylor, Howard Reed. Understanding tobacco industry pricing strategy and whether it undermines tobacco tax policy: the example of the UK cigarette market. Addiction, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/add.12159

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/x10OWXqmm20/130416085422.htm

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NKorea, marking leader's birthday, shows more ire

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? After a day of festivities to mark the 101st birthday of its first leader, North Korea on Tuesday offered new prickly rhetoric against the United States and South Korea, which are watching closely for signs whether it will conduct a medium-range missile test in defiance of international concerns.

State media said the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army issued an ultimatum demanding an apology from South Korea for "hostile acts" and threatening that unspecified retaliatory actions would happen at any time.

The statement, relayed through the KCNA state media agency, came after a day of festivities in North Korea's capital that featured art performances, public dances and crowds thronging to giant bronze statues to pay homage to the late leader Kim Il Sung,

The renewed rhetoric was sparked by a protest in downtown Seoul, where effigies of Kim Il Sung and his son and successor, late leader Kim Jong Il, were burned. Such protests are not unusual in South Korea and this one likely gave the North a pretext to react negatively to calls for joining in dialogue with its neighbors than an actual cause for retaliation.

The North's statement said it would refuse any offers of talks with the South until it apologized for the "monstrous criminal act." North Korea often denounces such protests, but rarely in the name of the Supreme Command, which is headed by Kim Il Sung's grandson and North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un.

"If the puppet authorities truly want dialogue and negotiations, they should apologize for all anti-DPRK hostile acts, big and small, and show the compatriots their will to stop all these acts in practice," the statement said, referring to North Korea's official name.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had received no such ultimatum officially, noting that there is no communications line between the two Koreas.

Pyongyang launched a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth, which was the centennial, but the holiday this year has been much more low-key, with Pyongyang residents gathering in performance halls and plazas and taking advantage of subsidized treats, like shaved ice and peanuts, despite unseasonably cold weather.

The calm in Pyongyang has been a striking contrast to the steady flow of retaliatory threats North Korea has issued over ongoing military exercises between South Korea and the United States. Though the maneuvers, called Foal Eagle, are held regularly, North Korea was particularly angry over their inclusion this year of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers and F-22 fighters.

"The ultimatum is just North Korea's way of saying that it's not willing or ready to talk with the South," said Chang Yong-seok at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University. "North Korea apparently wants to keep the cross-border relations tense for some time to come."

The Tuesday ultimatum comes just after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up a tour to coordinate Washington's response with Beijing, North Korea's most important ally, as well as with Seoul and Tokyo. Kerry said a missile test would be provocation that would further isolate the country and its impoverished people. He said Sunday that the U.S. was "prepared to reach out," but that Pyongyang must first bring down tensions and honor previous agreements.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a parliamentary committee Monday that North Korea still appeared poised to launch a missile from its east coast. North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test in February, has already been slapped with strengthened U.N. sanctions for violating Security Council resolutions barring the regime from nuclear and missile activity.

To further coordinate their response, South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, will meet with President Barack Obama on May 7 at the White House.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Monday the United States is open to dialogue with North Korea but only if Pyongyang proves itself to be trustworthy.

"The burden remains on Pyongyang. They need to take meaningful steps to show that they'll honor their commitments," Ventrell told reporters in Washington. "We need to see them be serious about denuclearization, indicate their seriousness, and start to reduce the threats and stop provocations."

North Korea has warned that the situation has grown so tense it cannot guarantee the safety of foreigners in the country and said embassies in Pyongyang should think about their evacuation plans. But British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday that although there is reason for concern over the "frenetic and bellicose" rhetoric, Britain believes there has been "no immediate increased risk or danger" to those living in or travelling to North Korea.

Pyongyang's media gave little indication of how high the tensions are.

The front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party newspaper, on Tuesday featured photos of Kim Jong Un at a performance the night before of the Unhasu orchestra, along with his aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, and other top officials. North Korean media also reported that he watched volleyball and basketball games between Kim Il Sung University of Politics and Kim Il Sung Military University.

Starting from early Monday morning, residents dressed in their finest clothing began walking from all parts of Pyongyang to lay flowers and bow before the bronze statues of Kim and his son, late leader Kim Jong Il, as the mournful "Song of Gen. Kim Il Sung" played over and over. Similar statues of the Kims are located in every North Korean province.

___

Associated Press writer Sam Kim contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-marking-leaders-birthday-shows-more-ire-052153500.html

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China cozies up to Iceland in race for Arctic resources

China has been paying a lot of attention to Iceland, a country with a population 5,000 times smaller than its own, as an effort to stretch its influence into the Arctic Sea.

By Peter Ford,?Staff writer / April 15, 2013

Iceland's Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is shown the way by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after inspecting a guard of honor during a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Monday.

Andy Wong/AP

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It is clear why Iceland is interested in China: the Arctic nation?s prime minister is currently in Beijing to sign a free trade agreement that will boost Icelandic fish exports more than somewhat. But why is China so interested in Iceland?

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Perhaps because the Arctic is shaping up to be one of the world?s future hotspots, as the melting icecap reveals a potential treasure trove of natural resources and clears new shipping routes.

?China has an interest in the region and it wants to be part of the Arctic game,? says Geir Flikke, an expert in Arctic security issues at the University of Oslo.

Chinese officials, though, are more evasive. Asked about Beijing?s embassy in Reykjavik ? a hulking granite block that can house more staff members than work in Iceland?s entire foreign ministry ? the Chinese Foreign Ministry would say only that it had dispatched ?the necessary and proper number of diplomats? to foster bilateral ties.

In fact, say Chinese Arctic experts and foreign observers, the attention that Beijing is paying to a minnow state with a population 5,000 times smaller than its own is all part of China?s bid to stretch its influence into the Arctic as part of a global vision.

?China sees itself as a 21st?century power and it wants a seat at the table,? says Malte Humpert, founder of the Arctic Institute, a think tank in Washington. ?They are seeing where there is potential ? and developing their geo-strategic position.?

China: a 'near arctic nation?'

The Chinese government has no declared Arctic policy, but it has taken to calling China a ?near-Arctic nation? despite being about 1,000 miles away from the Arctic Circle at its nearest point. Beijing sent its only icebreaker, the Snow Dragon, on its first trans-polar voyage last year, and China is hoping to be accepted as a permanent observer at the eight-nation Arctic Council next month.?

Behind all this is climate change. As global warming shrinks the polar ice, resources such as rare earths, iron ore, oil, and gas are becoming more accessible. At the same time, a northern sea route is opening up that is ice-free during the summer months, which could cut 30 percent off China?s shipping costs to Europe.

Just 46 vessels, including the Snow Dragon, made the trans-Arctic passage last year, mostly LNG tankers and iron-ore transports accompanied by Russian icebreakers. But by the middle of this century, some experts predict, ordinary ships with ice-strengthened hulls will be able to pass directly over the North Pole for several months a year.

That route would cut a third off the current sea journey between Shanghai and Hamburg, points out Zhang Yao, director of the Ocean and Polar Research Center at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. Europe is now China?s biggest trade partner and ?we believe the Arctic route could play a very important role in China?s trade, taking a significant proportion of it,? Dr. Zhang says.

If that were to happen, says Professor Flikke, Iceland would be attractive as a transport hub, though Icelanders themselves seem a little nervous about that prospect. When a Chinese billionaire tried to buy a swathe of gale-swept coastline in 2011, claiming he planned to build a resort and golf course there, the government rebuffed him amid public fears he was a stalking horse in Beijing?s search for deep water ports.

The Arctic route would serve another Chinese strategic purpose, though. Currently, 80 percent of Beijing?s oil imports are shipped through the narrow and pirate-ridden Malacca Straits?(see map)???which lie between Malaysia and Indonesia ? a security nightmare in time of crisis. As China seeks to diversify its energy sources, and buy more from Russia, shipping such fuel around the top of the world would be an attractive prospect.

Resources as the world warms up

But shipping is not all there is to it, says Mei Xinyu, a researcher at a think tank linked to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. China ?cannot afford to ignore the potential resources that it will become possible to exploit as the world warms up,? he argues.

Thirty percent of the world?s untapped gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil lie within the Arctic, according to US Geological Survey estimates. Greenland, a dependency of Denmark, is thought to have the largest deposits of rare earths outside China, along with major iron ore reserves.

A British company is hoping to win Greenland?s approval this year for an iron-ore mine that would supply 15 million tons a year of ore to China, and employ up to 3,000 Chinese miners. But the government that took office earlier this month in Nuuk is wary of such an influx into a territory whose population is only 57,000. ?The coalition emphasizes that foreign labor should be minimized,? the new ruling parties declared.

China appears to have been quite successful in calming local reservations about its regional intentions; most of the smaller Arctic nations say they support Beijing?s bid for permanent observer status at the Arctic Council although Canada or the United States might veto the attempt at a summit next month in Tromso, Norway.

That would be a blow to Chinese ambitions, says Mr. Mei. ?China would like to take part in making the rules that will govern sea routes, resource exploitation and scientific polar research,? he explains. ?If China is not a permanent observer? at the Arctic Council, which has made itself the forum for such policy decisions, ?we will have to accept policies set by others that may not take China?s interests into account.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6c3JkfAOm3I/China-cozies-up-to-Iceland-in-race-for-Arctic-resources

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Snoqualmie Pass Avalanches: 1 Missing East of Seattle

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. -- Rescuers scrambled late Saturday to find a missing snowshoer after a pair of spring avalanches struck separate groups in the mountains east of Seattle, the authorities said.

Three people were initially reported missing, but officials said late Saturday that only one man is now unaccounted for following the twin avalanches.

One avalanche, at Granite Mountain, carried three snowshoers more than 1,200 feet, said Sgt. Katie Larson of the King County Sheriff's Office.

"One of the climbers tells me that they had no warning," she told KOMO-TV. "The avalanche, at this point, from what he's describing, is 30 feet wide, eight feet deep and about a quarter-mile long."

Two men emerged from the snow, but their friend, described as a 60-year-old man, was still missing Saturday evening.

Northwest Weather and Avalanche program director Scott Schell said that the agency's daily bulletin had ranked Saturday's conditions as having a "considerable" danger for avalanches in the area.

The other avalanche occurred on Red Mountain, near the Alpental Ski Area off I-90. A woman was hiking with her dog near a group of a dozen other people when the avalanche hit.

The woman, who had been reported missing, was hypothermic and unable to walk after she was unearthed from several feet of snow. Her dog was OK.

The other person initially reported missing, Chris Soun, told KOMO the group was about 2 1/2 miles into the wilderness when the avalanche struck and split the group. He said his friends found him buried against a tree and dug him out.

"I thought I was dying,'" Soun said.

Several people in the 12-person party made it off the mountain, but most were still there by 5:30 p.m. None is believed to have a serious injury.

The avalanches occurred as heavy snow fell near Snoqualmie Pass about 50 miles from Seattle.

An avalanche meteorologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Northwest Avalanche Center said April snow is particularly susceptible to avalanches, because of warmer daytime temperatures and more sunshine.

"Spring skiing is a tradition here," Garth Ferber said. "April snowfall is common and susceptible to the effects of sun and daytime heating."

___

Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/13/snoqualmie-pass-avalanche_n_3078099.html

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NASA's Wallops Island prepares for the spotlight

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (AP) ? On one of Virginia's small barrier islands, a NASA facility that operates in relative obscurity outside scientific circles is preparing to be thrust into the spotlight.

On Wednesday, Orbital Sciences Corp. plans to conduct the first test launch of its Antares rocket under a NASA program in which private companies deliver supplies to the International Space Station. If all goes as planned, the unmanned rocket's practice payload will be vaulted into orbit from Wallops Island before burning up in the atmosphere on its return to Earth several months later.

The goal of the launch isn't to connect with the space station, but to make sure the rocket works and that a simulated version of a cargo ship that will dock with space station on future launches separates into orbit. Orbital officials say that should occur about 10 minutes after liftoff.

In that short period of time, Wallops Island will transition from a little-known launch pad for small research rockets to a major player in the U.S. space program.

The Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's rural Eastern Shore is small in comparison to major NASA centers like those in Florida, California and Texas. The site is near Maryland and just south of Chincoteague Island, which attracts thousands of tourists each summer for an annual wild pony swim made famous by the 1947 novel "Misty of Chincoteague." The Eastern Shore is dominated by forests and farmland, and Wallops Island's isolated nature, with marshland to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, has also made it home to a Navy surface warfare combat center.

Those who work at Wallops Island joke that even people living on the Eastern Shore are surprised to learn about rocket launches there.

In fact, more than 16,000 rockets have been launched from Wallops Island since 1945, but none has drawn the attention of Antares. Most of the launches are suborbital and focus on educational and research programs.

"The real transformation here at Wallops is we've always been kind of a research facility," said William Wrobel, the facility's director. "So this transition is really kind of into an operational phase, where we're going to be doing kind of regular flights out of here to the space station."

A successful launch would pave the way for Dulles-based Orbital to demonstrate that it can connect its unmanned Cygnus cargo ship with the space station this summer. If that's successful, Orbital would launch the first of eight resupply missions from the island in the fall under a $1.9 billion NASA contract.

Orbital has been in the commercial space business for more than 30 years, producing small satellites and rockets for NASA and the military. Antares marks the company's first venture in medium-size rockets, which can carry twice as much of a payload as other rockets it produces.

The space station delivery contract was awarded in 2008, and the company had originally hoped to launch in 2011, when NASA retired it shuttle program. In a partnership with Orbital and NASA, Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority built a $120 million liquid fuel launch pad at Wallops specifically for this type of mission. But there were numerous delays, and the state agency didn't turn over the launch pad to Orbital until October.

That further put Orbital behind California-based competitor SpaceX, the second private company working with NASA on cargo resupply missions. NASA chose SpaceX to develop a commercial spaceship in 2006, and it docked with the space station for the first time in 2012.

SpaceX's Dragon capsule returns to Earth after missions with science experiments and old station equipment, but Orbital's Cygnus is filled with trash and burns up in the atmosphere upon re-entry.

"The fact is, there is not that much cargo valuable enough to warrant the additional cost that's inevitable when you try to return something," Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said. "''It's a demand question. How much return cargo is there and does NASA need to order a Cygnus that can return cargo in addition to what the SpaceX capsule does?"

Landing Orbital's business was seen as a major victory for Virginia over Florida, which has a storied space history as the former home of U.S. manned spaceflight.

But Beneski said Wallops Island had several advantages over Florida, including Wallops Island is a smaller facility and not as busy, he said.

"The Wallops range for flights like this is not very congested. It's not that busy with other satellites going to orbit because sometimes you can have schedules overlap with other missions," he said. "Down in Florida, they launch a lot of high-value national priority missions, so potentially you can get bumped on the schedule, and of course, that would cost money."

Virginia officials say the publicity associated with Antares should help recruit other space and technology companies to do business on Wallops Island, particularly those interested in launching satellites.

"This launch is going to be a real watershed event," said Dale Nash, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. "We are getting into the big time."

__

Brock Vergakis can be reached at www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-wallops-island-prepares-spotlight-151732644.html

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Russia plans over $50 billion in space spending by 2020, eyes space weapon deterrent by 2030

We've already seen the Obama administration announce its latest budget for NASA this week, and now President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia will be spending more than $50 billion in its space-related efforts by 2020. The most immediate result of that will be the completion of the Vostochny Cosmodrome near Russia's border with China, which Putin says is still on track to see its first rocket launch as soon as 2015 and its first manned launch in 2018. With NASA decommissioning its shuttle program, all manned space launches currently take place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (as pictured above), and Putin says the new launch base will also be open for other countries to use.

Beyond that, Putin says that Russia will also have what's being described as a space weapon deterrent system by the year 2030, although specifics on it unsurprisingly remain a bit light for the time being. Russia says it also remains committed to sending cosmonauts beyond Earth's orbit in the future, including to a permanent base on the moon that it says could be used as a future launching pad for flights to Mars. Unmanned missions will precede that, though -- indeed, a new Moon probe is set to be the first launch from the aforementioned Vostochny Cosmodrome.

[Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls]

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Source: Bloomberg, AFP, Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/12/russia-plans-over-50-billion-in-space-spending-by-2020/

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