Journalism has an important role in political life - social

Yesterday, at the headquarters of Nhan Dan, Surgeons Department of Propaganda Ministry of Information - Communication and Association of Journalists held a leadership meeting in the press offices early spring Canh Dan.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Head of the Propaganda To Huy Rua Surgeons attended. Speaking encourage people to report in the country, Prime Minister appreciated and acknowledged the contributions made by the press in the past year, have made the task of propaganda to create consensus, trust trends, targets start of the whole society; press has created a favorable environment for the development of the country, empowering Vietnam on the international arena. Simultaneously, the Prime Minister also proposed to promote press strength, limited deficiencies, continues to confirm an important role in political life - society of the country and contribute to successful implementation of economic tasks - Social Congress in 2010 towards the National Party was second XI. The Prime Minister has sent best wishes to new victories in new journalism revolution in Vietnam.

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Obama vows to use power to thwart terrorists

HONOLULU – President Barack Obama on Monday vowed to use "every element of our national power" to keep Americans safe and said the failed Christmas Day plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner was "a serious reminder" of the need to continually adapt security measures against changing terrorist threats.



But even as Obama spoke, word came that a State Department warning had failed to trigger an effort to revoke the alleged attacker's visa. And officials in Yemen confirmed that the would-be bomber had been living in that country, where terrorist elements quickly sought to take credit for his actions.

The incident prompted stiffer airport boarding measures and authorities warned holiday travelers to expect extra delays as they return home this week and beyond.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, charged with trying to destroy an aircraft, is being held at the federal prison in Milan, Mich. A court hearing that had been scheduled for Monday to determine whether the government can get DNA from him was postponed until Jan. 8. No reason was given.

Calling Abdulmutallab's action an "attempted act of terrorism" Obama vowed to "do everything that we can to keep America safe" and declared: "The United States will more than simply strengthen our defenses. We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us."

Members of Congress, meanwhile, questioned how a man flagged as a possible terrorist managed to board a commercial flight into the United States carrying powerful explosives and nearly bring down the jetliner. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Monday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that he chairs would hold hearings in January.

Meanwhile, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the thwarted attack as retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen. Yemeni forces, helped by U.S. intelligence, carried out two airstrikes against al-Qaida operatives this month in the lawless country that is fast becoming a key front in the war on terror. The second one was a day before Abdulmutallab attempted to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight as it prepared to land in Detroit.

Yemen has long been an al-Qaida stomping ground. But officials fear that deepening instability in the Middle Eastern nation may be giving new opportunity for the terror group to establish a base to train and plan for attacks on the West.

A statement posted on the Internet by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said Abdulmutallab coordinated with members of the group and used explosives manufactured by al-Qaida members.

Solving one mystery of Abdulmutallab's pre-Detroit path, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said Monday that he was in Yemen from August until early December. He had received a visa to study Arabic in a school in San'a. Citing immigration authorities, the statement said Abdulmutallab had previously studied at the school, indicating it was not his first trip to Yemen.

Obama, on vacation in his birthplace of Hawaii, acknowledged the attack showed the need to increase the United States' defenses. He detailed the pair of reviews that he has ordered to determine whether changes are needed in either the watchlist system or airport screening procedures.

"This was a serious reminder of the dangers that we face," he said. "It's absolutely critical that we learn from this incident."

Obama's remarks Monday were the first heard from him on the Christmas Day scare three days earlier.

Officials said that was deliberate — an effort by the White House to balance the need for the president to show concern but also to not unduly elevate a botched incident and thereby encourage other would-be attackers.

Back in Washington, federal officials met to review their layered system of watchlists and other procedures to examine how to avoid the type of lapses that led to the attack.

Abdulmutallab's family in Nigeria released a statement that that his father had reached out to Nigerian security agencies two months ago. The statement says the father then approached foreign security agencies for "their assistance to find and return him home."

U.S. officials say that is how Abdulmutallab came to the attention of American intelligence, just last month, when the father, prominent Nigerian banker Alhaji Umar Mutallab, reported his concerns to the American Embassy in Abuja. A senior U.S. official said the father was worried that his son was in Yemen and "had fallen under the influence of religious extremists." The father did not mention any specific threat.

These concerns landed him among the about 550,000 names in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database, known as TIDE, which is maintained by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. Other, smaller lists trigger additional airport screening or other restrictions, but intelligence officials said there wasn't enough information to move him into those categories.

Another apparent lapse concerns Abdulmutallab's visa.

Britain had refused to grant him a student visa in May, but there was no apparent effort to revoke his U.S. tourist visa, issued in June 2008 and good for multiple entries over two years.

The embassy visit by Abdulmatallab's father triggered a Nov. 20 State Department cable from Lagos to all U.S. diplomatic missions and department headquarters in Washington. It was also shared with the interagency National Counter Terrorism Center, said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.

The NCTC, which has responsibility if any visas are to be pulled over terrorism concerns, then reviewed the information and found it was "insufficient to determine whether his visa should be revoked," Kelly said.

Michael Chertoff, who was homeland security secretary in the Bush administration, questioned why Abdulmutallab's visa wasn't revoked. It's a "serious indicator" when a parent goes to authorities to discuss concerns about his child and it "certainly would cause me to ask questions," said Chertoff in an interview.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that the aviation security system failed, backtracking from a statement Sunday in which she said it worked.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., joined the GOP critics of that statement. "They just don't get it," said Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. "The system didn't 'work' here." Hoekstra, who is running to become his state's governor, included his criticism in a campaign e-mail that asked supporters for donations.

The White House said Obama's low-key response was carefully calibrated.

The plane had been on the ground in Detroit for two hours on Friday before officials first informed Obama. Advisers said they wanted to make sure they had complete and accurate information before going to the president but, even so, Obama's first briefing with national security and homeland security advisers lasted less than 15 minutes. Obama's motorcade was rolling toward the gym minutes afterward.

Two days later, when another flight from Amsterdam to Detroit came under suspicion, it was about 90 minutes after it landed before Obama was informed of what had been a false alarm.

Throughout the weekend, Obama has mixed vacation activities with crisis monitoring. He played golf on Saturday with friends and was playing basketball with aides when that second flight landed in Detroit on Sunday. He went from there to a beach and a gourmet restaurant dinner in the evening.

On Monday, he did not address the public until after a workout and a tennis game with his wife — and went golfing immediately afterward.

Associated Press writers Jennifer Loven, Matt Lee, Eileen Sullivan, Lolita Baldor and Devlin Barrett in Washington; Pamela Hess in New York; Ed White in Detroit; Jon Gambrell in Lagos, Nigeria; Donna Abu-Nasr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Mark Niesse in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, contributed to this report.
(By PHILIP ELLIOTT)

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Who Was Good King Wenceslas?

One of the best loved Christmas Carols is the 129-year-old carol: Good King Wenceslas. In 1853, John Mason Neale chose Wenceslas as the subject for a children’s song to exemplify generosity. It quickly became a Christmas favorite, even though its words clearly indicate that Wenceslas ‘looked out’ on St. Stephen’s Day, the day after Christmas. So Good King Wenceslas is actually a Boxing Day carol! For a tune, Neale picked up a spring carol, originally sung with the Latin text ‘Tempus adest floridum’ or ‘Spring has unwrapped her flowers’. This original spring tune was first published in 1582 in a collection of Swedish church and school songs.

Jolly Old St. Wenceslas

Who was King Wenceslas anyway? Wenceslas was the Duke of Bohemia who was murdered in 929 AD by his wicked younger brother, Boleslav. As the song indicates, he was a good, honest, and strongly principled man. The song expresses his high moral character in describing King Wenceslas braving a fierce storm in order to help feed a poor neighbour. Wenceslas believed that his Christian faith needed to be put into action in practical ways. Wenceslas was brought up with a strong Christian faith by his grandmother St. Ludmila. Wenceslas’ own mother Drahomira, however, joined forces with an anti-Christian group that murdered Wenceslas’ grandmother, and seized power in Bohemia. Two years later in 922 AD, the evil Drahomira was deposed, and Good King Wenceslas became the ruler. He became Bohemia’s most famous martyr and patron saint. His picture appeared on Bohemian coins, and the Crown of Wenceslas became the symbol of Czech independence.

Intergenerational Appeal

Even as a young child, I remember feeling moved as I sung this unusual carol. Why does Good King Wenceslas have such a deep and lasting impact on its hearers? Perhaps it is because there are so many levels of meaning to this carol. A child may hear one thing, an adult may hear another. I find that I can sing it again and again, and new meaning continues to pour forth from the carol. Recently the phrase ‘Fails my heart, I know not how, I can go no longer’ really spoke to me. It reminded me that sometimes there are times in our lives when life and its stresses seem to overwhelm us, and we feel that ‘we can go no longer.’ The response of Good King Wenceslas was most interesting. He said: ‘Mark my footsteps, my good page, Tread thou in them boldly: Thou shalt find the winter’s rage freeze thy blood less coldly.’ Wenceslas reminds us that when we are all alone, life can feel very bleak. It is at such times that solidarity with another human being can help ‘our blood freeze less coldly’. Wenceslas affirms that we are not alone, and subtly points to the basic Christmas message that Jesus our Master will never leave us in the cold.

In His Master’s Steps

In the last verse are the memorable words: ‘In his master’s steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted.’ The author John Neale, an Anglican priest, shows us here that the essence of true living is learning to walk in our Master’s steps. All of us need a Higher Power to help guide us along our journey. Jesus said: "If anyone would come after me (and tread in my steps), he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Our challenge each Christmas is to look beyond the toys and tinsel, to see ‘the Master’s steps.’
(by The Reverend Ed Hird)

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Climate talks resume in Copenhagen after major delay

Formal negotiations have reopened at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen after a delay of nine hours.

The hold-up was caused by wrangles over the texts to be used as the basis for the talks.

Beneath the dispute lies a long-running accusation from developing countries that the Danish hosts are trying to sideline their concerns.

New funds have been pledged, notably by Japan which will provide $5bn a year to poor nations if a deal is reached.

Earlier, police clashed with protesters who stormed barricades around Copenhagen's Bella Centre.

Campaign groups have been angered about restrictions on access to the talks, and by the glacial progress of negotiations.



But Japan's pledge ramps up significantly the amount of "fast start" money on the table.
Its $5bn per year - payable from 2010-2012 - adds to the £3.5bn per year commitment made by EU leaders at their summit last week.

But it will only kick in "on the condition that successful political accord is achieved... that is a fair and effective framework with participation of all major emitting countries and agreement of their most ambitious targets".

Japan has been especially determined that emission curbs from major developing countries should be legally binding.
China, its big regional economic rival, is adamantly opposed.

Another pledge came from a six-member group - Australia, France, Japan, Norway, the UK and US - which will collectively commit $3.5bn over three years to combating deforestation - again, "in the context of an ambitious and comprehensive outcome in Copenhagen".

The UK commitment will come from its component of the EU's $3.5bn per year.

Columbian Environment Minister Carlos Costa, whose country would benefit from such an initiative, said: "We welcome initiatives such as this one that provides prompt start finance that will allow developing countries, and their communities, to start work on the ground."
Continuing divide

The formal negotiations, which were due to start at 1300 local time, eventually got underway at 2200 - a delay caused by the Danish hosts angering developing countries by trying to introduce new documents as the basis for negotiations.

Developing countries insisted on using documents that have come out of negotiations that have been going on for most of the year.

The new Danish texts were reportedly shown to a few key delegations and rejected out of hand. Delegates waited in the conference hall with no information about when the session would begin.

The issue illustrates the continuing divide between rich and poor blocs here, with developing countries repeatedly accusing the Danes of trying to impose a shape on the summit that will lead to the outcome desired by developed nations.
Towards the end of the evening, a group of about 30 protesters were preparing to spend the night in the centre, apparently with the blessing of security guards.

During the day, police detained more than 240 protesters during the clashes, which led to injuries on both sides.

In the main hall, meanwhile, a succession of presidents and prime ministers made set-piece speeches.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, on behalf of the African Union, gave some details of a proposal - drawn up with substantial French involvement - aimed at breaking the impasse here.

"Every one of us knows that Africa has contributed virtually nothing to global warming but has been hit first and hardest," he said.

Mr Zenawi related some elements of his proposal, including that the sum of $50bn per year by 2015 and $100bn per year by 2020 should be raised for poorer countries through "creative financing mechanisms" such as taxes on financial transactions and aviation fuel.
He acknowledged that he knew his proposal "would disappoint those Africans who from the point of view of justice have asked for full compensation for the damage done to our development prospects".

It certainly infuriated the African group of negotiators, because it also endorsed positions that most African countries oppose - notably, a target for maximum temperature rise of 2C (the G8 and EU target), whereas most African governments are committed to 1.5C.

It is not clear whether his proposal has support from other African leaders, however, or from further across the community of poor vulnerable countries such as small island states.

Lord Stern, who has had a strong hand in developing the proposal, said it was "strong and reasonable".

"The rich countries should give their strong support to the Meles plan, which has been put forward by an African leader with the interests of developing countries at its heart."

Worst impacts

Other speeches exemplified the fault lines running through the process.

While EU delegates spoke of achieving the 2C target "if everybody is now ready to overcome the procedural obstacles", developing countries made clear that they viewed the continuing chaos over texts as a matter of principle, not procedure.

And Nauru's president, Marcus Stephen, demanded proper legal negotiations on the lower temperature target.

"The science tells us that we must limit the rise in global temperature to well below 1.5C to preserve the chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.

"To accept anything less would mean the destruction of our marine ecosystems, shortages of food and water, and the relocation of our communities. Please tell me - how is this practical?"

Earlier, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown conceded that a deal might not be achievable here.

But, he added: "If you don't get an agreement this week, people will doubt whether you can get an agreement at all."
(By Richard Black)

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Obama pushes health care with Senate Democrats

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama met Sunday with Senate Democrats to try to rally support for a sweeping health care bill undergoing a heated debate in the chamber.

The gathering with the Democratic caucus lasted about 50 minutes, with Obama encouraging passage of the health care bill without talking specifically about all the outstanding issues, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said afterward.
One of those major issues -- abortion -- will come up this week when the chamber votes on an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion by adding language included in the House version of the bill.

Obama's visit came amid a rare Sunday session for the Senate as it considers the Democratic proposal that so far is unanimously opposed by Republicans.



White House spokesman Bill Burton said Obama "thanked members of the Senate for their hard work so far and encouraged them to continue forward on this historic opportunity" to pass health care reform legislation.

"The question now is whether or not we're going to get it done," Obama told the senators, according to Burton.
Meanwhile, a group of moderate and liberal Democrats will meet again Sunday afternoon to try to work out differences over tough issues such as a government-run public health insurance option, Reid said.

The group compiled by Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has been meeting regularly to seek Democratic consensus on the public option and other issues threatening the ability of Democrats to overcome a Republican filibuster.

"There are still a few things to work out in the bill," Reid said, adding that "the issues were being narrowed," but that "we're not there."
On the Republican side, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Sunday repeated past criticism that the health care bill ignored GOP concerns and issues.

"There was no interest in drafting a proposal that was in the political middle," McConnell said, adding that the Democrats wrote a bill "that Republicans couldn't in good conscience support."

Reid denied the claim, saying Republicans had plenty of opportunity for input in the months of debate and scores of committee hearings so far. The lone goal of Republicans is to defeat the bill to cause political harm to Obama and the Democrats, Reid said.

"Republicans are being destructive," Reid said. "They want this to be, as one senator said, President Obama's 'Waterloo,' and it's not going to be."

On Saturday, Senate Republicans failed to eliminate $42.1 billion in cuts to Medicare home health care service in the health care bill.

The 53-41 vote shot down a motion offered by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Nebraska, that would have sent Reid's $848-billion reform plan back to the committee with instructions to remove all home health care cuts.

Johanns objected to the cuts, saying the services "help some of the most vulnerable Americans."

Democrats say the bill instills needed reforms to ensure the long-term solvency of the government-run Medicare health program for seniors.

In response, Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, offered an amendment that prohibits reducing "guaranteed" home health benefits.

The Senate passed Kerry's amendment 96-0, on the sixth day of Senate debate on Reid's 2,074-page bill.

The public option remains the most contentious issue for Democrats, with two members of the caucus saying they have yet to see a compromise they can support.

"There are a lot of discussions going on and I'm going to work hard to see if there isn't somewhere to be in terms of a compromise, but I haven't seen it yet," Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, said last week.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut who sits with the Democratic caucus, has maintained his opposition to any form of public option in the health care bill.

The Democratic caucus contains 60 seats in the 100-member chamber, which is the minimum number needed to overcome a filibuster. If any Democratic caucus members balk at the public option, the party would need some Republicans to back the bill in order for it to pass.

The House of Representatives narrowly passed a more than $1 trillion health care bill this month.

If the Senate also manages to pass a bill, a congressional conference committee will then need to merge the House and Senate proposals into a consensus version requiring final approval from each chamber before moving to Obama's desk to be signed into law.
(CNN)

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A wild ride on NASA's massive flight simulator

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--There I was, staking my claim to a pilot's slot in one of NASA's next-generation lunar landers, and to be perfectly frank, I think I'd better not quit my day job.

"I think we probably walked away from that," said NASA aerospace engineer Eric Mueller, after one rough touchdown. It was an overly charitable assessment of my performance. I'd hate to know what he was really thinking.

If you've been paying attention, you're probably aware that there are no current missions to the moon, and so you know that I wasn't actually trying to land there. But I was piloting the same equipment that real-life astronauts have been using to prepare for potential future lunar trips, and so you'll have to forgive me for being a bit disappointed that my skills are likely not up to snuff.
Motion simulator readies NASA for moon landing (photos)

This indulging of my astronaut fantasies was part of a visit last week to NASA's Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS), the world's largest tool for training those whose actual job is to fly lunar landers, space shuttles, helicopters, Joint Strike Fighters, and even bobsleds on the skills and tricks necessary to get their crafts safely to their destinations.

Based in the Aviation Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center, the VMS offers those who use it six degrees of freedom, including 60 feet of vertical and 40 feet of lateral motion simulation inside a huge, 100-foot-tall chamber that looks like something over which an auto mechanic would salivate. Those "flying" the simulator (see video below) have 20 feet of movement in both in the left and right directions, as well as 4 feet forward and back, and 25 degrees of roll, pitch, and yaw.

Originally opened in 1980 to enable pilots to test-fly helicopters, the VMS is currently being used, among other things, to help NASA get ready for what is likely to be its next great mission: a return to the moon with Constellation, the space agency's long-awaited next-generation program and the followup to the Space Shuttle program.

Over the years, according to Kathleen Starmer, the deputy director of NASA's SimLabs outreach team, VMS has been used by a wide range of private companies and military agencies that have needed to run vertical motion tests, including Boeing, Lockheed, Grumman, and others. And today, even when the simulator is not set up for faux lunar landings, it is in use 100 percent of available time, Starmer said. Those wishing to use it need only show that their project can offer some benefit to NASA, and be able to pony up about $5,000 a day.

Flying Altair
But I hadn't come to the VMS to see what it would be like to fly a helicopter. I'd come for a shot at Altair, the next-generation lunar lander, and the one that will be the business end of the Constellation program, at least on the surface of the moon.

According to Karl Bilimoria, an aerospace engineer in the VMS program, NASA is now in the process of running its third formal Altair simulation. When reporters aren't being allowed to barely land in the simulator, "pro astronauts," as Bilimoria put it, are coming to Ames and spending full days in the VMS. One reason for that, he said, is that with Altair, the pilots will need to master pinpoint landing accuracy: they'll need to put the craft down within 10 feet of their designated landing sites on the moon, requiring far more precision than what was required of the pilots of the Apollo age.

This is expected to be a difficult task with Altair because one of the design philosophies of the Constellation program will be to shave as much mass as possible off the payload in order to reduce takeoff weight--and save tremendous amounts of money that each additional pound costs to put in space. Bilimoria said NASA hopes to outfit Altair with the smallest possible control jets, a configuration that makes minute control of the landing craft more difficult than was the case with its much sportier Apollo counterpart.

Which would mean, of course, that NASA is trying to offset the loss of some of the brute force control that comes with less propulsion on the lander with state of-the-art electronics: advanced control systems and advanced cockpit displays.

It might not be possible to achieve the kind of landing accuracy NASA wants with the reduced control jet profile, Bilimoria said, but "before we throw our hands up," it will try to solve the problem with technological advances. "We can always squeeze out a little more," he said. "The question is, is it enough?"

To date, Bilimoria said that multiple simulations have shown that technology isn't quite up to the task at hand, and that it could be another year of running tests in the VMS before it's known if the goal is possible. Of course, any return trip to the moon is many years away, but Mueller explained that NASA is doing this work now in order to have the most advanced notice possible if it's going to be necessary to design Altair with larger control jets.

Rough landings
Inside the cockpit, I was strapped in and given some quick instruction (see video below) on how to read the two major digital displays and how to use them in conjunction with a set of joysticks to properly land the craft. The space is set up to resemble what an actual Altair interior would look like, down to the view out the window, and the narrow working space that is partially made possible by having both the pilot and co-pilot stand up straight rather than sit down.

In fact, the Altair cockpit simulator is one of five separate "interchangeable cabs" used in the VMS to mimic different kinds of vehicles, from rotorcrafts to fighters to transport vehicles. Each cab can be set up with conventional aircraft instruments or advanced avionics, depending on the needs of the client using the simulator.

On an Altair pilot's right is what is known as a vertical situation display, which Mueller said is a fairly typical glass cockpit-type display that, for the most part, would be familiar to fixed-wing pilots, and which is new for a lunar lander. The idea, said Mueller, is that this display provides good cues for landing.

On the left side is the horizontal situation display, a newer system that provides Altair's pilots with velocity vectors, and a touchdown display. This system features a set of "bells and whistles" developed at Ames and designed to help the pilot keep a "nice hover" over the landing spot and to improve their hover and descent skills.

One display in the cockpit shows the ground and the landing pad, and the lander's progress towards a proper touchdown.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

And, just to help the pilot with more true-to-life visual cues, there's also a "view" out the front windows, as well as a view from straight down underneath the lander at the ground below.

For someone skilled at piloting any kind of aircraft--even simulated ones in video games--landing the faux Altair is not that hard. The visual cues are extremely intuitive--basically, just keep a little dot in the center of the screen by tapping the joystick one way or another--and it's designed to be fairly simple, in the VMS, at least, to land.

Adding to the realism, of course, is the fact that the cockpit rocks back and forth and left and right, as it would in real life. So if you overcorrect, get ready to tilt the wrong way. Given my lack of skills, I found myself doing that far more than I should have.

Still, in each of my landing attempts, I managed to get the craft onto the lunar "surface," not even crashing once.

The progress of the lander is marked by the green line on the display in this picture. The long, squiggly line is evidence of a rather lengthy and roundabout approach to the lunar surface.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

To be sure, though, none of the current or future astronauts have to worry much about me being a competitor for their spots on actual moon missions.

Nor would they worry about competition from a CNET colleague who accompanied me to the VMS. As he attempted to fly the lander, his progress was recorded as a long, very squiggly green line on one of the displays, evidence of a remarkable lack of precision.

In the control room, two VMS scientists watched my colleague's progress and shook their heads.

"We've never seen anything like this," said one, of my colleague's roundabout approach to the ground.

"He still hit the pad," said the other. "It's amazing."
(by Daniel Terdiman)

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Damning report reveals Catholic abuse cover-ups

Horrific details of child sex abuse by Irish Catholic priests and the way the offences were covered up by the Church have been revealed in a sickening report.
Dublin authorities enjoyed a cosy relationship with the Church and did not enforce the law as four archbishops, obsessed with secrecy and avoiding scandal, protected abusers and reputations at all costs.

Hundreds of crimes against defenceless children from the 1960s to the 1990s were not reported while Irish police treated clergy as though they were above the law.

In a three-year inquiry, the Commission to Inquire into the Dublin Archdiocese uncovered a sickening tactic of "don't ask, don't tell" throughout the Church.

While the Dublin Archdiocese inquiry found no evidence of a paedophile ring, some findings included: One priest admitted sexually abusing more than 100 children - Another accepted he abused on a fortnightly basis during his 25-year ministry - One complaint was made against a priest who later admitted abusing at least six other children.

Four archbishops - John Charles McQuaid who died in 1973, Dermot Ryan who died in 1984, Kevin McNamara who died in 1987, and retired Cardinal Desmond Connell - did not hand over information on abusers.

Other bishops knew about the child abuse for many years. Bishop James Kavanagh, Bishop Dermot O'Mahony, Bishop Laurence Forristal, Bishop Donal Murray and disgraced Bishop Brendan Comiskey, a reformed alcoholic who failed to control paedophile priests when in charge of the Ferns Diocese were all named.

The 700-page report includes 45 potted histories of priests from 1975 to 2004 who were investigated by the Commission.

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Utility energy storage no longer just giant batteries

If you need more evidence that energy storage is much more than lithium ion batteries, take a look at the latest smart-grid utility storage projects.

The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced that $620 million in stimulus funding is going to 32 smart-grid programs, which will be coupled with another $1 billion in private money. A total of $770 million from government and industry sources in the next few years will go to energy storage, giving a number of storage technologies a dose of real-world experience. (See this PDF for details.)
(Credit: PG&E)



Notable in the list is the prominence of compressed-air energy storage and flow batteries, two technologies rarely discussed just a few years ago. Also in the mix are flywheels and using batteries for distributed energy storage in communities.

It's unlikely that all the DOE-aided projects will immediately prove to be commercially viable. But storage has clearly emerged as a key component in the vision of the smart grid. A number of start-ups are developing technologies they hope can address a specific storage application or undercut pumped hydro, considered the cheapest form of utility storage, on price. With pumped hydro, water is pumped uphill and released at peak times to run a generator. But its use is limited by geography.

Many of the 16 Energy Department power storage grants were focused on storing wind power, which is a variable source of energy. In California, for example, utility Pacific Gas & Electric plans to store the power generated by wind turbines at night, when turbines are most productive in underground caverns. During the day, when grid demand is higher, the air is released and passed through a turbine to make electricity.

The advantage of underground compressed air storage is that it can be cheaper than batteries and can store many hours worth of energy. PG&E forecasts that its Kern County, Calif., project can deliver 300 megawatts of power for 10 hours, enough to supply tens of thousands of homes.



Another novel technique is using metal tanks to store compressed air, a technology being developed by a Dartmouth College spin-off SustainX. The compressed air is released to run a hydraulic motor that drives a generator to make electricity.

Flow batteries, meanwhile, use tanks of liquid electrolyte solutions. When the two liquids interact, there is a chemical reaction that creates a flow of electricity.

An advantage of this approach is that store large amounts of energy and discharge relatively quickly, according to the Electricity Storage Association. One project will use technology from Premium Power, which makes tractor trailer-size zinc flow batteries to maintain a steady frequency on the grid and supply power during times of peak demand.

Different strokes
The variety of technologies points to the range of energy storage applications. Flywheels from award winner Beacon Power, for example, can absorb and discharge megawatts' worth of power to the grid but only in 15-minute bursts. Still, flywheels are getting more attention because they are a nonpolluting replacement to the natural-gas plants now used to smooth out short-term fluctuations in grid frequency, according to the company.

Click on the image for a slide show of different energy storage technologies.
(Credit: AEP)

Large batteries, too, will be further tested for grid storage. Duke Energy plans to use multiple battery types for 20 megawatts' worth of power delivery at the Notrees Windpower project in Texas. The "hybrid" battery system is being designed for two tasks: to smooth out short-term grid fluctuations and to supply hours' worth of power during the day, according to a Duke Energy representative.

Utility Portland General Electric in the next two years plans to install five batteries from auto battery supplier Ener1 to supply enough juice to power 400 homes for about an hour. Alternative chemistries, including lead carbon batteries from East Penn Manufacturing, will also be used.

One project will test the viability of used car batteries for grid storage. Lithium ion plug-in car batteries from A123 Systems will be used to supply 25 kilowatts for two hours in 20 community energy storage projects. The performance of lithium ion batteries degrades after many years in a car, but there is still sufficient storage and power for grid applications, utility executives say.
(by Martin LaMonica)

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Obama could lock in Afghanistan decision Monday

WASHINGTON – The White House said President Barack Obama could use an unusual evening war council session Monday to lock in his long-awaited decision on whether to commit tens of thousands of new U.S. forces to the stalemated war in Afghanistan.

Military officials and others said they expect Obama to settle on a middle-ground option that would deploy an eventual 32,000 to 35,000 U.S. forces to the 8-year-old conflict.

That rough figure has stood as the most likely option since before Obama's last large war council meeting earlier this month, when he tasked military planners with rearranging the timing and makeup of some of the deployments.

The president has said with increasing frequency in recent days that a big piece of the rethinking of options that he ordered had to do with building an exit strategy into the announcement — in other words, revising the options presented to him to clarify when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government and under what conditions.

As White House press secretary Robert Gibbs put it to reporters on Monday, it's "not just how we get people there, but what's the strategy for getting them out."

Obama was holding the 10th meeting of his Afghanistan strategy review since mid-September on Monday night, with a large cast of foreign policy advisers, to go over that revised information from war planners.

In the 90-minute session in the Situation Room, "they'll go through some of the questions that the president had, some additional answers to what he'd asked for, and have a discussion about that," Gibbs said.

The meeting was arranged for the unusual nighttime slot to accommodate both Obama's packed public schedule on Monday and the fact that many of his top advisers were leaving town for the holiday. No more war council meetings are on the calendar.

The presidential spokesman said it was possible Obama could lock in a decision at Monday's meeting or that it could come "over the course of the next several days." In either case, it will not be announced this week, he said.

The force infusion expected by the military would represent most but not all the troops requested by Obama's war commander, for a retailored war plan that blends elements of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's counterterror strategy with tactics more closely associated with the CIA's unacknowledged war to hunt down terrorists across the border in Pakistan.

McChrystal presented options ranging from about 10,000 to about 80,000 forces, and told Obama he preferred an addition of about 40,000 atop the record 68,000 in the country now, officials have said.

Obama has already ordered a significant expansion of 21,000 troops since taking office. The war has worsened on his watch, and public support has dropped as U.S. combat deaths have climbed.

The additional troops would be concentrated in the south and east of Afghanistan, the areas where the U.S. already has most of its forces, military officials said. The new troops that already went this year were directed to help relieve Marines stretched to the limit by far-flung postings in Helmand province and that would continue, while the U.S. effort would expand somewhat in Kandahar.

The increase would include at least three Army brigades and a single, larger Marine Corps contingent, officials said.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision is not final.

U.S. war planners would be forgoing the option of increasing U.S. fighting power in the north, a once-quiet quadrant where insurgents have grown in strength and number in the past year. But McChrystal's recommendation never called for a quick infusion there.

In the absence of large additions of ground forces, dealing with the north would probably require relying more heavily on air power, two military officials said. Any such additional air strikes would be more successful if, as U.S. officials hope, Pakistan turns up the heat on Taliban militants on their side of the border.

As originally envisioned by McChrystal, the additional U.S. troops would begin flowing in late January or after, on a deployment calendar that would be slower and more complex than that used to build up the Iraq "surge" in 2007. McChrystal's schedule for full deployment has it taking nearly two years, military officials said.

The relatively slow rollout is largely driven by logistics. But it also could give the White House some leverage over Afghan President Hamid Karzai. U.S. officials note that where and how fast troops are deployed are a means to encourage fresh and more serious efforts at cooperation and clean government in Afghanistan.

The White House is aiming for an announcement by Obama by the middle of next week, after Congress returns from its Thanksgiving break.

Military officials, congressional aides and European diplomats said they expect Obama to deliver a national address laying out the revamped strategy. Said Obama in a television interview last week: "At the end of this process, I'm going to be able to present to the American people in very clear terms what exactly is at stake, what we intend to do, how we're going to succeed, how much it's going to cost, how long it's going to take."

Congressional hearings would immediately follow that address, including testimony from McChrystal.

"Gen. McChrystal will certainly be coming back to ... testify. When that is is still to be determined," based on the timing of the White House announcement, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

On the topic of increased costs in Afghanistan, Gibbs said that the subject of a war tax, suggested by some leading Democrats on Capitol Hill, has not come up yet in the president's extensive meetings with his war advisers.
By ANNE GEARAN and JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writers

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Missing Person (episode 11)

Missing Person (episode 11)
2009-08-31 18:16:58.0
Right on ScheduleThings were starting to make more sense to me now. I was beginning to see what had really happened to Sarah Salas, and why she was killed. But I had no proof to show that I was right. I needed to get some real evidence. I went home and rang up Kathy Chang. I asked her to do me a big favor that night. Fortunately, she said “yes.” Now I was ready. I turned on the television and watched the baseball game. I had some time to kill until it was dark outside. When it was nighttime, I got in my car and started driving.When I got near Bill and Sarah’s apartment building, I turned off the lights of my car and parked about a block away. I didn’t want anyone to know I was here. It was now 7:30 p.m. I was right on schedule.Very quietly I walked up the sidewalk in front of the apartment building. I needed to break into Costello’s apartment, which was on the first floor. I looked into the apartment through the window. There was a light on. I took out my gun and made sure I had bullets in it. I slowly began to open the front window, which was already cracked open. After about a minute, I got the window open and stepped inside the living room of the apartment.I saw a light on in the kitchen. There was someone in there, and this time it was no cat. I walked to the kitchen door. I needed to surprise the person if I were going to catch him. As I opened the door, I yelled as loud as I could, “Don’t move!” The man turned around suddenly. I had guessed right: it was Bill. “What?! What are you...” Before he finished his sentence, Bill took the frying pan he was holding and hurled it toward my face. I ducked down and the pan flew over my head. Bill came at me. He pushed me to the ground, and hit me in the stomach.I hit him back in the face. We hit each other several times, until I noticed that my gun was now on the floor next to us. I stopped hitting Bill and reached for the gun. But Bill saw what I was doing, and jumped up. He grabbed the gun before I could get it in my hands, and pointed it at me.“Don’t move, Reeves.” Bill had a big smile on his face. I was not smiling.“So you figured out the truth, eh?” Bill said. “You think you are so smart, don’t you, Reeves? Well, you were right. I did kill Sarah, and now I will get all of her money. But you will just get a bullet in your head. That’s your reward for being so smart.”Bill looked at me with real hatred. I have seen men kill before. I know the look in their eyes before they kill. I knew that I didn’t have much time to think of something.Bill stood in front of me with the gun pointed at my face. Suddenly I remembered the pills I found in Bill and Sarah’s bedroom for Bill’s bad leg. Now I knew what to do.

Collect

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21 dead as devastating floods hit Turkey

21 dead as devastating floods hit Turkey
2009-09-09 18:11:33.0
ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- At least 21 people were feared dead on Wednesday after two days of torrential rains triggered flash floods in northwestern Turkey, sweeping cars into the sea and sending gushing water into homes and businesses.
A Turkish woman awaits rescuers on her balcony following heavy morning rain in Istanbul.
Sixteen people were believed to have been killed in Istanbul province and five in neighboring Tekirdag province, according to provincial officials. Three of the five killed in Tekirdag were from the same family.
Among the dead in Istanbul were seven women textile workers who were trapped in their minivan, CNN sister network CNN Turk reported.
Several roads in Istanbul city were closed, including the airport road, blocked by big trucks dragged by water. Rescue missions were in full swing and residents in Istanbul had been warned not to wander outside, CNN Turk said.
"We never had such rain in all the time I have been here," said Zafer Ercan, deputy mayor of the town of Silivri, an hour west of Istanbul city.
He said more than 200 cars were washed into the Marmara Sea and 800 homes and businesses were flooded in the neighboring town of Selimpasa.
The rain stopped Tuesday evening, but resumed early Wednesday. Heavy overnight rain flooded western neighborhoods in Istanbul city.
The amount of rain that has fallen in two days roughly equals what normally falls in six months in the Turkish province, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler told the state-run Anatolia News Agency.

According to cnn

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US Sales of Electronic-Books Increasing

Amazon.com digital book reader Kindle
The Association of American Publishers says e-book (electronic book), sales topped $12 million in June - up more than 150 percent from the same month last year. Manufacturers of hand-held, digital book readers are also reporting healthy sales. Online retailer Amazon.com says sales of its device, called the Kindle, have exceeded expectations since its release in 2007. The wireless devices allow consumers to purchase electronic-books online and read them on a screen almost instantly. E-book readers are thin, like a magazine, and can store hundreds of titles on a device smaller than most paper books. They are also portable and allow readers to download books using a wireless Internet connection. Some devices even have a feature that reads the story out loud.
Sales of both e-books and digital readers are rising as American consumers continue to demand products that fit their increasingly mobile, computerized society.
"I definitely would find it more convenient for myself if I had a whole bunch of books just on this little computer," says digital-reader owner Pauline Camden.Online retailer Amazon.com says it stocks more than 300,000 e-book titles. It charges about $10 each for best sellers and new releases in e-book form. Hardback versions often cost much more. Some authors and publishers have moved to digital releases to save on the costs of producing a book, such as printing, delivery and storage. These costs account for more than 12 percent of the retail price of a traditional book. Mystery novelist Debbi Mack's (author of Identity Crisis) books are sold in electronic form. She says digital publishing is a valuable tool for authors.
"I think that it provides a lot of opportunities for people to get old, out-of-print work back out on the market. If you can't find a publisher, but you know that you have a quality product, it gives you a means of doing that," she says.But critics say e-books are not as engaging as traditional paper books.Author Eugenia Kim's (author of The Calligrapher's Daughter) new novel is available in both formats. But she says she prefers the feel of a traditional book. "There is something wonderful about the tactile act of turning a page," she says, "and having that whole business of having the story reveal itself as you turn a page. I think it comes from a childhood experience with books."Others shun electronic book publishing. Richard Peabody publishes poetry and short stories in traditional form only. "I really think that some people just don't want to read on the screen. If you work all day and you read [computer] screens all day long, it's like the last thing you want to do," he says.Meanwhile, technology corporations are already battling over who should own the digital rights to many books. Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo oppose a legal settlement giving rival Google the rights to millions of copyrighted titles. The companies say the settlement could hurt competition in the e-book market as more consumers choose to use electronic readers.

According to Voanews

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West Africa flooding affects 600,000, U.N. reports

Torrential rains and flooding since June have affected 600,000 people in 16 West African nations, the United Nations reported Tuesday.
People walk in the flooded streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, last week.
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The worst hit have been Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana and Niger, said Yvon Edoumou, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. So far, 159 people have died, he said. Sierra Leone has also been hard hit, according to the U.N.
Edoumou said removing water from flooded areas is a top priority, but powerful pumps are in short supply.
"Some people refused to leave their homes so they are living in floodwaters," he said.
The United Nations has not yet received reports of waterborne diseases, but Edoumou said a real threat exists of diarrhea or, worse, cholera.
The U.N. World Food Programme said Tuesday it has begun distributing food to tens of thousands of homeless flood victims.
WFP has set a goal of feeding 177,500 people, mainly in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, where 150,000 people have been affected and key infrastructure -- including a central hospital, schools, bridges and roads -- has been damaged.
The flooding in Burkina Faso is the worst in 90 years, WFP said.
Many of those in Ouagadougou most needing help were already receiving aid from WFP, but those rations were lost in the floodwaters, the U.N. reported.
"It is always the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most from floods like these as their few remaining assets are swept away, leaving them hungry and destitute," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said.
Roads and buildings have been ruined from Mauritania to Niger, the U.N. reported. In Agadez, Niger, a town about 458 miles (738 km) north of the capital, Niamey, close to 988 acres (400 hectares) of vegetable crops and hundreds of livestock were washed away.
Herve Ludovic de Lys, head of OCHA in West Africa, said natural disasters have a lasting effect that unravels years of progress against poverty.
"The situation is very worrying," he said in an OCHA statement issued Tuesday.
The rainy season in West Africa begins in June and continues through late September. In 2007, 300 people died and 800,000 were affected by the storms.
This year, fears abound that more heavy rain will fall in already waterlogged areas.
Despite the misery, Edoumou said the rains are a mixed blessing for countries dependent on agriculture. The harvest this year will be more bountiful, he said

According to Cnn

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