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MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. ? Howard Sheckter was a painfully shy 10-year-old when he found his calling in a Glendora hailstorm.
As lightning and thunder crackled all around him, he looked up and felt chunks of ice bounce off his cheeks.
The experience ignited an obsession.
"My mother's telephone bills were huge because I was calling the weather service 10 times a day," said Sheckter, now 62. "One day, my mother called the operator and asked, 'What number is this?' The operator said, 'It's the weather service. You must have a weatherman in the family.'"
She did, and her son's fascination only grew. Sheckter taught himself meteorology, and through it the withdrawn, nerdy boy found a way to relate to the world ? and for the world to relate to him.
For the last three decades, the lanky real estate agent has doubled as the weather sage of the eastern Sierra, with forecasts presented daily on his Mammoth Weather website and on KMMT, KIBS and KRHV radio. His predictions trigger flurries of excitement or anxiety in the Mammoth Mountain ski resort, which draws about 1.3 million skiers a year.
Sheckter is still quite shy. But when he's talking about the weather, as they say around here, you can't shut Howard up. His forecasts can be spellbinding and numbingly complex.
"When there's a storm coming in, Howard gets real excited and tends to go on about oscillations, flows and millibars," Stacy Powell, news director at KMMT in Mammoth Lakes, said with a laugh. "So, I break in and ask the question keeping our listening audience at the edges of their seats: Howard, is it going to snow or not?"
On a recent weekday, Sheckter sat in a small home office, his desk covered with computer screens filled with isobars ? those squiggly concentric circles that encircle high- and low-pressure areas.
With animated expressions and rapid-fire explanations, he spoke of meteorological challenges ahead. It's springtime in the eastern Sierra, he explained, and the warmer temperatures, rain and melting snow mean that the ski season is coming to an end in a town where skiing and related operations employ nearly half of the area's 7,500 residents.
Business owners were praying for a few more forecasts of snow in March and April.
"I can feel the pressure," he said, poring over satellite photos, data from weather stations and three decades' worth of personal records. "The business community up here thrives on snow."
Sheckter tries to lighten the technical load in his forecasts with corny jokes, some of them borrowed from Bill Keene, the late Los Angeles traffic and weather reporter who peppered his bulletins with cheesy puns such as: "The temperature is going lower than a snake's vest button."
But trying to suss out the bottom line from his forecasts ? is it going to snow or not? ? requires patience and concentration.
"The fact is, nobody knows what the hell Howard is talking about most of the time ? and I find that totally charming," mused George Shirk, managing editor of Mammoth Times/Mammoth Sierra magazine. "It's endearing to listen to him ramble on about how an isometric low system bulging over Iceland and breaking down over the Azores signals a certain weather pattern just over the horizon."
Sheckter has been studying local weather patterns since he moved to Mammoth Lakes in 1978 and landed a job as a boot fitter in a sporting goods store. The owner of that store nicknamed him "Dr. Howard" because Sheckter spent his lunch hours drawing isobars on a chalkboard.
He's been known as "Dr. Howard" ever since. Today, his forecasts help snowplow companies determine how many days they can expect to remain working, and how much the town should allocate for road maintenance. They are also used to predict when the region's 26 black bears will be coming out of winter hibernation.
"Howard has his finger on the pulse," said Steve Searles, a wildlife specialist who has gained a national reputation as a bear whisperer, someone who can deal with problem bears without killing them. "Around here, if the subject is weather, sure as heck someone will pipe up, 'What does Howard have to say?'"
That was not an easy question to answer on March 20, the first day of spring.
"A high-pressure block near Greenland has been correlated with a drier winter for California," Sheckter mumbled to himself, scanning data streaming over multiple computer screens. "However, this pattern is forecasted to break down over the next week to 10 days, allowing the possibility of storminess to return.
"If the upper wind flow at 10,000 feet has a lot of moisture and moves from the southwest," he added with a smile, "I predict that the storms that arrive around the end of March and early April will produce more precipitation. In fact, I'm banking on it."
louis.sahagun@latimes.com
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea warned Seoul on Saturday that the Korean Peninsula had entered "a state of war" and threatened to shut down a border factory complex that's the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.
Analysts say a full-scale conflict is extremely unlikely, noting that the Korean Peninsula has remained in a technical state of war for 60 years. But the North's continued threats toward Seoul and Washington, including a vow to launch a nuclear strike, have raised worries that a misjudgment between the sides could lead to a clash.
In Washington, the White House said Saturday that the United States is taking seriously the new threats by North Korea but also noted Pyongyang's history of "bellicose rhetoric."
North Korea's threats are seen as efforts to provoke the new government in Seoul, led by President Park Geun-hye, to change its policies toward Pyongyang, and to win diplomatic talks with Washington that could get it more aid. North Korea's moves are also seen as ways to build domestic unity as young leader Kim Jong Un strengthens his military credentials.
On Thursday, U.S. military officials revealed that two B-2 stealth bombers dropped dummy munitions on an uninhabited South Korean island as part of annual defense drills that Pyongyang sees as rehearsals for invasion. Hours later, Kim ordered his generals to put rockets on standby and threatened to strike American targets if provoked.
North Korea said in a statement Saturday that it would deal with South Korea according to "wartime regulations" and would retaliate against any provocations by the United States and South Korea without notice.
"Now that the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK have entered into an actual military action, the inter-Korean relations have naturally entered the state of war," said the statement, which was carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Provocations "will not be limited to a local war, but develop into an all-out war, a nuclear war," the statement said.
Hours after the statement, Pyongyang threatened to shut down the jointly run Kaesong industrial park, expressing anger over media reports suggesting the complex remained open because it was a source of hard currency for the impoverished North.
"If the puppet group seeks to tarnish the image of the DPRK even a bit, while speaking of the zone whose operation has been barely maintained, we will shut down the zone without mercy," an identified spokesman for the North's office controlling Kaesong said in comments carried by KCNA.
South Korea's Unification Ministry responded by calling the North Korean threat "unhelpful" to the countries' already frayed relations and vowed to ensure the safety of hundreds of South Korean managers who cross the border to their jobs in Kaesong. It did not elaborate.
South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said the country's military remains mindful of the possibility that increasing North Korean drills near the border could lead to an actual provocation.
"The series of North Korean threats ? announcing all-out war, scrapping the cease-fire agreement and the non-aggression agreement between the South and the North, cutting the military hotline, entering into combat posture No. 1 and entering a 'state of war' ? are unacceptable and harm the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula," Kim said.
"We are maintaining full military readiness in order to protect our people's lives and security," he told reporters Saturday.
In Washington, Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, noted the "reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea."
"We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean allies," Hayden said. "But, we would also note that North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats, and today's announcement follows that familiar pattern."
The White House has stressed the U.S. government's capability and willingness to defend itself and its allies and interests in the region, if necessary.
"We remain fully prepared and capable of defending and protecting the United States and our allies," Hayden said.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Naval skirmishes in the disputed waters off the Korean coast have led to bloody battles several times over the years.
But on the streets of Seoul on Saturday, South Koreans said they were not worried about an attack from North Korea.
"From other countries' point of view, it may seem like an extremely urgent situation," said Kang Tae-hwan, a private tutor. "But South Koreans don't seem to be that nervous because we've heard these threats from the North before."
The Kaesong industrial park, which is run with North Korean labor and South Korean know-how, has been operating normally, despite Pyongyang shutting down a communications channel typically used to coordinate travel by South Korean workers to and from the park just across the border in North Korea. The rivals are now coordinating the travel indirectly, through an office at Kaesong that has outside lines to South Korea.
North Korea has previously made such threats about Kaesong without acting on them, and recent weeks have seen a torrent of bellicose rhetoric from Pyongyang. North Korea is angry about the South Korea-U.S. military drills and new U.N. sanctions over its nuclear test last month.
Dozens of South Korean firms run factories in the border town of Kaesong. Using North Korea's cheap, efficient labor, the Kaesong complex produced $470 million worth of goods last year.
___
Associated Press White House reporter Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
___
Follow Sam Kim at www.twitter.com/samkim_ap.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-says-state-war-skorea-014344604.html
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The main inhibitor to any perception of President Obama as a radical environmentalist is his environmental record. Today's announcement on cleaner gasoline rules continues Obama's small environmental dial-turns focused on economics and short-term health improvements over sweeping attacks on climate change. If he were managing a baseball team, he'd be playing smallball ? and environmentalists seem to have given up on hoping for a home run.
RELATED: Obama Has a Friend in Rising Gas Prices
New standards that being proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency today focus on a subset of a subset of energy policy: reducing the amount of sulfur in refined gasoline by two-thirds. ?Auto manufacturers support the proposal, as it makes the exception required by vehicles in California more of a rule.
RELATED: Romney's Regulation Swipes on Obama Need a Rewrite
Consumers may be the first group to see an effect, however small. The Washington Post reports that the move could increase the cost for a gallon of fuel by a penny ? 0.2 percent of the current national average price per gallon ? though Drudge Report went with the high end of an oil industry estimate, suggesting an increase of 9 cents.
RELATED: Texas's Continuing Drought; Curbing Coal
The Post describes the benefit of the change.
While gasoline sulfur itself does not pose a public health threat, it hampers the effectiveness of catalytic converters, which in turn leads to greater tailpipe emissions. These emissions ? nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and fine particles ? contribute to smog and soot, which can cause respiratory and heart disease.
And the benefits trickle out from there. Automobile exhaust has been directly linked to childhood asthma. Soot is linked to global warming. Some volatile organic compounds are known carcinogens.
RELATED: Why Obama Can't Say 'Frack'
The argument presented by the White House mirrors its announcement last year that the EPA was creating a new standard of 54.5 miles-per-gallon for cars and SUVs by 2025. The administration estimated the move would save consumers $1.7 trillion over the lifetime of the vehicle, and reduce oil consumption by 2 million barrels a day. Buried in that last number is the real benefit: a reduction in greenhouse gas emission and the pollutants that affect public health. As with today's announcement, automobile manufacturers supported the MPG standard ??it provided clarity around the production of a new generation of vehicles.
RELATED: Attacks Fair and Not-So-Fair on Obama's Keystone Decision
Obama's MPG standard was broadly hailed as his most important environmental move during his first term,?largely because he passed on bigger moves. His agenda avoided ? and continues to avoid ??steps like regulating carbon dioxide emissions from new and existing coal power plants, the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. His biggest efforts to curtail the use of coal power has been on the economic front: encouraging investment in renewable energy technologies and embracing the use of cleaner natural gas in energy production.
Today's announcement prompted the usual position-taking. Conservatives and the oil industry complained about the price increase and the affect on refiners; environmentalists hailed the air pollution reductions and their accompanying health benefits. Fox News' story on the proposal includes a telling line:
Environmentalists hailed the proposal as potentially the most significant in President Obama's second term.
And it potentially could be the most significant ??if Obama doesn't do something more drastic to combat climate change. There's a lot of time left in his second term. But, so far, the president appears to prefer a few solid hits to a game-ending grand slam.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-moneyball-environmentalism-takes-aim-pollution-gasoline-150138111.html
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Associated Press Sports
updated 2:02 p.m. ET March 30, 2013
SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) -Rickie Lambert scored for the 14th time in his first Premier League season as Southampton beat Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday to edge closer to securing its status in the top flight.
The highest scoring Englishman in the league this season struck from a free kick in the 35th minute only two minutes after Chelsea captain John Terry had cancelled out Jay Rodriguez's 23rd-minute opening goal at St. Mary's Stadium.
After also beating Liverpool last round, Southampton rose two spots to 13th, four points above the relegation zone with seven matches left.
The result endangers Chelsea's bid to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League. The reigning European champions are only two points ahead of fifth-place Arsenal after their first league loss in five weeks.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsPST: Teenager Jose Villarreal hit a spectacular bicycle kick in stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw for the Galaxy in Toronto.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51380906/ns/sports-soccer/
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Spahub.com, the largest online spa directory, launches their new wellness blog as the latest addition to their website, with contributing writers covering a range of health and wellness topics; everything from spa facials to cosmetic surgical procedures.
Best Prices on all YOUR Health and Fitness Requirements! CLICK HERE
Source: http://www.16g.org/spahub-com-launches-new-spa-wellness-blog/
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By Rick Rothacker
(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's
Montag's compensation, which included a $5.46 million bonus and $8.19 million in stock, increased 21 percent to eclipse the $12 million awarded to Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, according to a filing the bank made on Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bank of America's executives were handed bigger pay packages in 2012 as the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets made progress in recovering from the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Its shares climbed more than 100 percent in 2012, while the bank padded its capital holdings and made strides in resolving mortgage-related litigation.
In his annual letter to shareholders, which was posted on the bank's website on Thursday, Moynihan struck an optimistic tone, saying the company had been "transformed" by a stronger balance sheet and a focus on core customers.
The letter also signaled Moynihan's plans for rewarding shareholders by buying back more stock. Earlier this month, the bank passed the Federal Reserve's annual stress test and won permission to repurchase $5 billion of its own shares.
"We are well-positioned to return excess capital to our shareholders and we believe that buying back common shares is the best way to continue to drive value for our shareholders," Moynihan wrote.
As part of this year's stress test, the bank did not request an increase in its quarterly dividend, which has been stuck at a penny per share since the financial crisis.
Moynihan, whose compensation was disclosed last month, was the bank's second-highest-paid executive after his total rose more than 70 percent to $12 million thanks to a higher stock grant of $11.1 million. He did not receive a cash bonus.
Montag, who runs global banking and markets businesses, has made more money than the CEO since joining Bank of America through its 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. In 2012, he also earned more than the CEOs at JPMorgan Chase & Co
Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson made $11 million, followed by co-Chief Operating Officer David Darnell ($9.5 million) and general counsel Gary Lynch ($7 million), according to the filing.
For 2013, the bank is increasing Moynihan's salary by 58 percent to $1.5 million and upping the base pay for Montag and Darnell by 18 percent to $1 million.
BOARD SHAKE-UP
Thursday's proxy filing also disclosed that five of the bank's 18 directors will not stand for election at this spring's shareholder meeting as part of a board shuffle that began last summer.
Three directors who were at or near the retirement age of 72 - Virgis Colbert, Donald Powell and Charles Rossotti - are departing, joining two other directors - Robert Scully and Mukesh Ambani - who had previously announced they were leaving.
The exits are the latest reshaping of the bank's board, which will shrink to 13 members.
In 2009, federal regulators pressed the bank to add directors with more financial expertise after the company required multiple bailouts during the financial crisis. Of those six board members, only former Federal Reserve Governor Susan Bies and former DuPont
In anticipation of retirements, the bank has added six new board members since August, all of whom will stand for election at the May 8 shareholder meeting. Four of the new directors were found through a search firm and two others were identified by Holliday, the board's chairman, according to the filing.
(Reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, N.C.; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Bernard Orr)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bofa-markets-chief-banks-highest-paid-executive-12-180240240--sector.html
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ROME (AP) ? In his most significant break with tradition yet, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention center ? a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual to men.
No pope has ever washed the feet of a woman before, and Francis' gesture sparked a debate among some conservatives and liturgical purists, who lamented he had set a "questionable example." Liberals welcomed the move as a sign of greater inclusiveness in the church.
Speaking to the young offenders, including Muslims and Orthodox Christians, Francis said that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.
"This is a symbol, it is a sign. Washing your feet means I am at your service," Francis told the group, aged 14 to 21, at the Casal del Marmo detention facility in Rome.
"Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us," the pope said. "This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty. As a priest and bishop, I must be at your service."
In a video released by the Vatican, the 76-year-old Francis was shown kneeling on the stone floor as he poured water from a silver chalice over the feet of a dozen youths: black, white, male, female, even feet with tattoos. Then, after drying each one with a cotton towel, he bent over and kissed it.
Previous popes carried out the Holy Thursday rite in Rome's grand St. John Lateran basilica, choosing 12 priests to represent the 12 apostles whose feet Christ washed during the Last Supper before his crucifixion.
Before he became pope, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio celebrated the ritual foot-washing in jails, hospitals or hospices ? part of his ministry to the poorest and most marginalized of society. He often involved women. Photographs show him washing the feet of a woman holding her newborn child in her arms.
That Francis would include women in his inaugural Holy Thursday Mass as pope was remarkable, however, given that current liturgical rules exclude women.
Canon lawyer Edward Peters, who is an adviser to the Holy See's top court, noted in a blog that the Congregation for Divine Worship sent a letter to bishops in 1988 making clear that "the washing of the feet of chosen men ... represents the service and charity of Christ, who came 'not to be served, but to serve.'"
While bishops have successfully petitioned Rome over the years for an exemption to allow women to participate, the rules on the issue are clear, Peters said.
"By disregarding his own law in this matter, Francis violates, of course, no divine directive," Peters wrote. "What he does do, I fear, is set a questionable example."
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he didn't want to wade into a canonical dispute over the matter. However, he noted that in a "grand solemn celebration" of the rite, only men are included because Christ washed the feet of his 12 apostles, all of whom were male.
"Here, the rite was for a small, unique community made up also of women," Lombardi wrote in an email. "Excluding the girls would have been inopportune in light of the simple aim of communicating a message of love to all, in a group that certainly didn't include experts on liturgical rules."
Others on the more liberal side of the debate welcomed the example Francis set.
"The pope's washing the feet of women is hugely significant because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on ? and even banned ? in some dioceses," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of "The Jesuit Guide."
"It shows the all-embracing love of Christ, who ministered to all he met: man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile."
For some, restricting the rite to men is in line with the church's restriction on ordaining women priests. Church teaching holds that only men should be ordained because Christ's apostles were male.
"This is about the ordination of women, not about their feet," wrote the Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a traditionalist blogger. Liberals "only care about the washing of the feet of women, because ultimately they want women to do the washing."
Still, Francis has made clear he doesn't favor ordaining women. In his 2011 book, "On Heaven and Earth," then-Cardinal Bergoglio said there were solid theological reasons why the priesthood was reserved to men: "Because Jesus was a man."
On this Holy Thursday, however, Francis had a simple message for the young inmates, whom he greeted one-by-one after the Mass, giving each an Easter egg.
"Don't lose hope," Francis said. "Understand? With hope you can always go on."
One young man then asked why he had come to visit them.
Francis responded that it was to "help me to be humble, as a bishop should be."
The gesture, he said, came "from my heart. Things from the heart don't have an explanation."
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-washes-womens-feet-break-church-law-002454620.html
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) ? Search warrants used in the investigation of the Newtown school shooting by a 20-year-old gunman were released Thursday, with some information withheld at the request of a prosecutor.
The warrants are related to searches of Adam Lanza's home and car. They have been under a sealing order that expired Wednesday, and prosecutors until now have made few details available, despite pressure to do so.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had expressed concern about leaked information appearing in the news, and state lawmakers had requested a more complete accounting of the case as they address gun control and other issues raised by the shooting.
A Danbury Superior Court judge on Wednesday granted a request by the prosecutor overseeing the investigation, State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III, to withhold some details. Sedensky asked to redact the name of a witness, saying the person's safety might be jeopardized if the name were disclosed. He also asked that the release not include other information such as telephone numbers, serial numbers on items found and a few paragraphs of an affidavit.
Lanza shot his mother to death inside their Newtown home on Dec. 14 before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he massacred 20 first-graders and six educators. He killed himself as police arrived. Authorities have said it will take until June or later for the investigation to be completed.
The Associated Press and other news outlets have reported previously that Lanza showed interest in other mass killings and authorities found literature on other massacres at his house.
Malloy announced last week that additional information would be released at his request. He expressed concern that some information about the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook reportedly disclosed by a top state police commander at a recent law enforcement seminar in New Orleans was leaked.
"Like many others, I was disappointed and angered to learn that certain information about the Newtown shooting had been leaked, specifically with concern for the victims' families who may have been hearing this news for the first time," the governor said in a statement.
A column published last week in the New York Daily News, citing an unnamed police officer who attended the seminar, reported that Col. Daniel Stebbins discussed evidence that suggested the Newtown gunman studied other mass slayings and dedicated extensive planning to the rampage.
The seminar was designed for only law enforcement professionals, and sensitive information dealing with the tactical approaches used by first responders to the Sandy Hook shootings was discussed, state police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said.
Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. said this week that legislative leaders hope to review the search warrant documents before finishing work on a bipartisan bill that addresses gun control and other issues related to the massacre.
A judge denied a motion by the AP and five newspapers seeking to intervene against any move to extend the current 90-day seal of the warrants. Sedensky had said earlier that the request to intervene was premature because the state hasn't filed any further requests.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/search-warrants-released-newtown-investigation-130656368.html
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E!
By Drusilla Moorhouse, TODAY contributor
"What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" is the title of E!'s new docu-series about the oddball Olympic swimmer -- and a question no sane person should adopt as a personal motto.
"I want everyone to be in my shoes," says the self-proclaimed fashion icon, displaying a pair of his famous electric green high-tops, in an extended preview for the show. Is he speaking metaphorically or just advertising his brand?
Some other revelations from "Lochtenation":
"What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" premieres April 21 on E!.
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Gordon Stoker dies: He sang with the Jordinaires, a backup group for Elvis Presley on 'Hound Dog," "It's Now or Never," and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Gordon Stoker also sang with Patsy Cline on "Crazy."
Elvis Presley performing with the Jordanaires' Gordan Stoker, left, and Hoyt Hawkins. Stoker, a member of The Jordanaires vocal group that backed Elvis, died Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at his home in Brentwood, Tenn.
(AP Photo/Country Music Hall of Fame)
EnlargeGordon Stoker, a member of The Jordanaires vocal group that backed Elvis Presley, died Wednesday. He was 88.
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His son, Alan, told The Associated Press that Stoker died at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee, after a lengthy illness. Stoker, who was born in Gleason, Tennessee, got his start playing the piano on WSM radio and its signature show, the Grand Ole Opry.
Alan Stoker said his father was just 15 when he started playing professionally. He joined the Jordanaires as a piano player, but then became tenor vocalist. The group was already well known for their gospel singing when Presley recruited them to perform on his recording of "Hound Dog," in 1956.
The Jordanaires originated in Missouri and came to Nashville, where they backed Red Foley on a segment of the Opry called the "Prince Albert Show," according to John Rumble, senior historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Rumble said they drew on both black and white gospel music, as well as many of the hymns Stoker knew by heart from his childhood in rural West Tennessee.
"He could play by ear," Rumble said. "Anything he could hear on the radio, he could play it."
The quartet soon developed a national audience after performing on the Opry and the nationally syndicated show, "Eddy Arnold Time."
They recorded and performed for years with Elvis, who was a huge gospel fan, Rumble said. In some of the early Elvis recordings, such as "It's Now or Never," and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" their vocals really stood out, he said.
The Jordanaires also performed with Patsy Cline on "Crazy," with Jim Reeves on "Four Walls," on George Jones' 1980 hit "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and on Kenny Rogers' "Lucille."
They were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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Mar. 26, 2013 ? Early diagnosis is critical in treating Lyme disease. However, nearly one quarter of Lyme disease patients are initially misdiagnosed because currently available serological tests have poor sensitivity and specificity during the early stages of infection. Misdiagnosed patients may go untreated and thus progress to late-stage Lyme disease, where they face longer and more invasive treatments, as well as persistent symptoms.
Existing tests assess the presence of antibodies against bacterial proteins, which take weeks to form after the initial infection and persist after the infection is gone. Now, a nanotechnology-inspired technique developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania may lead to diagnostics that can detect the organism itself.
The study was led by professor A. T. Charlie Johnson of the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences along with graduate student Mitchell Lerner, undergraduate researcher Jennifer Dailey and postdoctoral fellow Brett R. Goldsmith, all of Physics. They collaborated with Dustin Brisson, an assistant professor of biology who provided the team with expertise on the bacterium.
Their research was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
"When you're initially infected with the Lyme disease bacterium, you don't develop antibodies for many days to a few weeks," Johnson said. "Many people see their physician before antibodies develop, leading to negative serological test results. And after an initial infection, you're still going to have these antibodies, so using these serological diagnostics won't make it clear if you're still infected or not after you've been treated with antibiotics."
The research team's idea was to flip the process around, using laboratory-produced antibodies to detect the presence of proteins from the organism. This is an extension of previous work Johnson's lab has done connecting other biological structures, such as olfactory receptors and DNA, to carbon nanotube-based devices.
Carbon nanotubes, rolled-up lattices of carbon atoms, are highly conductive and sensitive to electrical charge, making them promising components of nanoscale electronic devices. By attaching different biological structures to the exteriors of the nanotubes, they can function as highly specific biosensors. When the attached structure binds to a molecule, that molecule's charge can affect the electrical conduction of the nanotube, which can be part of an electrical circuit like a wire. Such a device can therefore provide an electronic read-out of the presence, or even concentration, of a particular molecule.
To get the electrical signal out of these nanotubes, the team first turned them into transistor devices.
"We first grow these nanotubes on what amounts to a large chip using a vapor deposition method, then make electrical connections essentially at random," Johnson said. "We then break up the chip and test all of the individual nanotube transistors to see which work the best."
In their recent experiment, Johnson's team attached antibodies that naturally develop in most animals that are infected with the Lyme disease bacterium to these nanotube transistors. These antibodies naturally bind to an antigen, in this case, a protein in the Lyme bacterium, as part of the body's immune response.
"We have a chemical process that lets us connect any protein to carbon nanotubes. Nanotubes are very stable, so we have a very reactive compound that binds to the nanotube and also has a carboxylic acid group on the other end. For biochemists, getting any kind of protein to bind to a carboxylic acid group is just child's play at this point, and we have worked with them to learn how to perform this chemistry on the side wall of nanotubes. "
After using atomic-force microscopy to show that antibodies had indeed bound to the exteriors of their nanotube transistors, the researchers tested them electrically to get a baseline reading. They then put the nanotubes in solutions that contained different concentrations of the target Lyme bacteria protein.
"When we wash away the solution and test the nanotube transistors again, the change in what we measure tells us that how much of the antigen has bound," Johnson said. "And we see the relationship we expect to see, in that the more antigen there was in the solution, the bigger the change in the signal."
The smallest concentration the nanotube devices could detect was four nanograms of protein per milliliter of solution.
"This sensitivity is more than sufficient to detect the Lyme disease bacterium in the blood of recently-infected patients and may be sufficient to detect the bacterium in fluids of patients that have received inadequate treatment," Brisson said.
"We really want the protein we are looking to detect to bind as close to the nanotube as possible, as that is what increases the strength of the electrical signal," Johnson said. "Developing a smaller, minimal version of the antibody -- what we call a single chain variable fragment -- would be a next step.
"Based on our previous work with single chain variable fragments of other antibodies, this would probably make such a device about a thousand times more sensitive."
The researchers suggested that, given the flexibility of their technique for attaching different biological structure, eventual diagnostic tools could incorporate multiple antibodies, each detecting a different protein from the Lyme bacterium. Such a setup would improve accuracy and cut down on the possibility of false-positive diagnoses.
"If we were to do this type of test on a person's blood now, however, we would say the person has the disease," Johnson said. "The first thought is that if you detect any protein coming from the Lyme organism in your blood, you are infected and should get treatment right away."
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/jKHfAQDeP-s/130326194140.htm
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By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon cargo capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, bringing back science experiments and gear from the International Space Station.
The spacecraft left the orbital outpost at 6:56 a.m. ET, and parachuted into the ocean about 225 miles west of Mexico's Baja California at 12:34 p.m. ET.
"Recovery ship just heard the sonic booms from Dragon re-entry and has data transmission lock," Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of the privately held company known as SpaceX, wrote on Twitter just before splashdown.
A minute later, recovery ship personnel reported seeing Dragon's parachutes, Musk said.
"Recovery ship has secured Dragon," Musk wrote. "Cargo looks A-OK."
The ship will take the capsule to the Port of Los Angeles, near the company's Hawthorne, California, headquarters, a journey expected to take about 30 hours.
Dragon's return began 252 miles above Earth when astronauts aboard the station used a robotic crane to pluck the capsule from its berthing port and set it into orbit.
SpaceX flight controllers then stepped in and remotely commanded Dragon to fire its steering thrusters and begin the 5.5-hour journey home.
"It looks beautiful from here," station flight engineer Thomas Marshburn radioed to Mission Control in Houston as the capsule flew away.
"Sad to see the Dragon go. Performed her job beautifully, heading back to her lair. Wish her all the best for the splashdown today," Marshburn said.
The Dragon cargo ship reached the station on March 3 with more than 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of science equipment, spare parts, food and supplies. It was the second of 12 planned cargo runs for NASA under a $1.6 billion contract. A second freighter, built and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp, is expected to debut this year.
The U.S. space agency hired both firms to fill the gap left by the retirement of its space shuttle fleet in 2011.
Dragon's arrival was delayed a day while SpaceX engineers grappled with a thruster pod problem that had threatened to derail the mission.
"I don't want to go through that again. That was hard-core," Musk said during a keynote speech at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, earlier this month.
PRECISION RENDEZVOUS
Engineers believe the glitch was caused by a blockage in a pressurization line or a stuck valve. It was cleared and the capsule made a precision rendezvous with the station with no problems. An investigation remains under way, said company spokeswoman Christina Ra.
Dragon returned to Earth with 2,668 (1,210 kg) of cargo, including a freezer filled with biological samples from the crew for medical research.
While Russian, European and Japanese freighters also service the station, only the SpaceX vessel is designed to return cargo to Earth, a critical transportation link that had been lost with the retirement of the shuttles.
SpaceX is working to upgrade the Dragon capsule to fly people as well. A test flight with company astronauts is targeted for 2016.
In addition to enhancing the Dragon capsules, SpaceX is working on an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket. Last week, the rocket's new Merlin engines completed a 28th and final test run, certifying it for flight, Ra said.
The company plans to debut its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket on a science satellite-delivery mission for the Canadian Space Agency in June.
That rocket also will be the first flight from SpaceX's new launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Five previous Falcon 9 flights have launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Dragon's return initially was scheduled for Monday, but it was docked an extra day because of high seas in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, Orbital Sciences Corp, which holds an eight-flight, $1.9 billion NASA contract for station resupply flights, plans to test launch its new Antares rocket as early as April 16 from the commercial Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Orbital's Cygnus cargo capsule is targeted to make a demonstration run to the space station later in the year.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-dragon-capsule-leaves-international-space-station-120341030.html
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It?s all about the quest
Larry Gian has been in love with barbecue since he had his first taste of smoked brisket back in 1978, and you might just say he?s on a quest for BBQ perfection. ?You can find him at thebbqgrail.com, on?Linked In?and @BBQGrail?on Twitter. ?Drink from his cup of barbecue knowledge in this BBQ Pit Boss Grilling Guru interview.
How my guest feel about the meal.? Food brings people together like nothing else.? It doesn?t matter what I cook as long as those eating are enjoying the meal.
Just about any grill that will give you some control over heat is okay in my book.? Control of heat is the hardest thing for people to learn and often times it?s because the grill they purchased doesn?t give them an opportunity for success.
Intensity.? Cooking is never casual.? I love to be around the grill, there is something primal about it.? It?s just so personally rewarding.
I still to this day have a tendency to undercook chicken.? I?m not sure why it?s such a challenge for me, but I end up returning chicken to the grill more times than I?d care to admit.
A perfectly grilled ribeye steak or an awesome smoked? pulled pork sandwich.
Watching someone par-boil beautiful pork ribs before putting them on the grill.
I have always wanted a BYC smoker by David Klose.
I would love to go fishing for Wild Alaska Salmon and to grill it right out of the water.
My favorite cut of meat to cook outdoors is a ribeye steak.? But over all I?d rather cook pork than anything else.
Depends on the meat.? I prefer my steaks medium rare and my pork chops medium.
Chef Adam Perry Lang.
Barbecue snobs who think there is only one way to do something and it?s there way.
My Super Fast Red Thermapen
Charcoal Lighter Fluid
I can?t really think of anything I?d like to invent that isn?t out there already.??
My pulled pork is what people ask for the most, but I suppose MOINK Balls are what I?m best known for.
That I tried my best to make eating a joyous occasion.
My personal motto when doing anything is:? ?Give with no expectation of anything in return.?
??.
This Grilling Guru Interview was brought to you by the Pit Boss BBQ Tool Belt. ?The BBQ Pit Boss makes and outstanding grilling gift for him.
Source: http://pitbossbelt.com/wp/bbq-pit-boss-grilling-guru-interview-larry-gian-bbq-grail
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By Bernard Vaughan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rengan Rajaratnam, the younger brother of imprisoned hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, pleaded not guilty on Monday to insider trading charges.
The younger Rajaratnam entered his plea in Manhattan federal court, one day after his arrest at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Vinoo Varghese, an attorney for Rajaratnam, said his client arrived in New York early Sunday morning, accompanied on a flight from Brazil by an FBI agent.
Prosecutors on Thursday accused Rengan Rajaratnam, 42, of conspiring with his brother to trade on non-public information concerning Clearwire Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc in 2008.
Rajaratnam appeared in court dressed in a blue dress shirt, blue jeans and a dark suit jacket Varghese gave him upon entering the courtroom.
"Not guilty, your honor," he said when U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald asked him for his plea. Rajaratnam agreed to the judge's request to refer to him as "R.R."
Lawyers for Rengan Rajaratnam said their client learned through news reports that he had been charged, and volunteered to return immediately from Brazil, where he had lived and worked for the past year, to defend himself.
"Within a matter of hours, Mr. Rajaratnam literally dropped everything and headed to the airport," Varghese told Buchwald. Varghese added that Rajaratnam offered to pay the FBI agent's plane ticket and that he was "mentally and physically drained" from the past 72 hours but determined to defend himself.
The government did not seek Rajaratnam's detention because he volunteered to U.S. authorities to return immediately to face the charges, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Massey said at the hearing. He remains free on a $1 million bond secured by $500,000 in cash and property, Massey said.
Rajaratnam, a U.S. citizen born in Sri Lanka, has surrendered his U.S. passport to the FBI and will be allowed to stay at a Manhattan residence, Massey said. He will also receive mental health counseling because of the stress he is under, Massey told the court.
Buchwald set June 4 for the next court date in the case.
Rengan Rajaratnam, whose full first name is Rajarengan, was a portfolio manager at the hedge fund Galleon Group, and the trades for which he was charged resulted in nearly $1.2 million of illegal profit, according to prosecutors.
The defendant was charged with six counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, and faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the fraud counts.
He also faces separate U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges. These allege a broader scheme that netted $3 million in illicit gains following trades on stocks including Polycom Inc and Hilton Hotels.
Rengan Rajaratnam's arrest is the latest in a sweeping crackdown on insider trading by the U.S. government.
The office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said it has charged 77 people in its investigation since October 2009, 71 of whom have since been convicted.
Raj Rajaratnam, 55, received an 11-year prison sentence in October 2011 after a jury convicted the former billionaire the previous May.
The cases are U.S. v. Rajaratnam, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-cr-00211; and SEC v. Rajaratnam in the same court, No. 13-01894.
(Reporting By Bernard Vaughan, Nate Raymond; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Benrard Orr)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rajaratnams-brother-brought-york-face-charges-142950407--sector.html
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Mar. 22, 2013 ? For decades researchers have recorded sounds from whales and other marine mammals, using a variety of methods including passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) to better understand how these animals use sound to interact with each other and with the environment. Now, for the first time, researchers report using this technology to record spawning cod in the wild.
Acoustic behavior in cod has been of interest for several decades, but few studies have observed their use of sound as part of reproductive behavior. Although both sexes produce low frequency "grunts," only male Atlantic cod make this sound during spawning season.
Researchers from NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and their colleagues from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS), School of Marine Science & Technology at UMass Dartmouth (SMAST), and Cornell University's Bioacoustics Research Program recently reported their findings, online, in the ICES Journal of Marine Science.
"Few current coastal cod spawning sites are known, especially given historical data that indicate many cod spawning sites once existed along the New England coast. Passive acoustics makes locating potential sites much easier." said study co-author Sofie Van Parijs, who heads the passive acoustics group at NOAA Fisheries' Woods Hole Laboratory.
The findings have implications for conservation and management of this iconic species and possibly for other recreational and commercial fish species. Species in more than 100 families of fish are known to produce sounds. The cod family contains several sound-producing species, including haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), pollock (Pollachius virens) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).
The researchers report on a 2011 pilot study in northern Massachusetts Bay. A single marine autonomous recording unit (MARU) was deployed at a depth of 51 meters (168 feet) within a seasonal fishery closure area established to protect a coastal cod spawning aggregation.
The MARU recorded continuously for 75 days during the spring spawning season, with the acoustic sounds confirmed as cod grunts. Cod were also captured in the vicinity of the MARU as part of a tagging study being conducted concurrenty at that time by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) confirming that cod were present.
Male cod grunts were recorded on 98 percent of the recording days. The grunts, were most often heard during daylight hours, and were most common in late May and early June. The MARU was deployed from April 14 through June 27
"We acoustically captured the start of the 2011 spawning period but not the end," said Van Parijs. "Future deployments of multiple MARUs over larger areas and in conjunction with tagging studies could help determine movement patterns of cod in the spring, and give a better picture of how cod are distributed within the spawning protection area. In addition, underwater cameras could provide insight into the structure of the spawning aggregation."
Atlantic cod are known to gather in high concentrations in very small areas to spawn, sometimes forming vertical columns or "haystacks." They often return to the same location to spawn, a behavior known as spawning site fidelity.
In the spring of 2012, the researchers deployed an array of nine MARUs in the same area as the 2011 pilot study to record cod acoustics through an entire spawning season and over a larger area.
Lead study author Keith Hernandez, formerly a researcher in Van Parijs' group at NEFSC and now a graduate student at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, says human-produced sounds might mask cod grunts in coastal areas with high human activity, an issue of concern since grunts and other sounds can be used to advertise for females and warn off competitors.
The next steps for passive acoustic monitoring are to explore the size and extent of known cod aggregations, and to locate other spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank region. Researchers also need to determine if the grunt data can be used to develop an index of relative cod abundance.
"We're already looking at the acoustic data we've collected from other projects in the region, including the Ocean Noise Budget in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and other offshore monitoring studies," said Van Parijs. "We continue to work with colleagues at the Mass DMF, whose cod tagging studies contribute core information and complement federal efforts."
The study was funded by NOAA's Ocean Acoustics Program.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/gsg4Q19uLo0/130323152912.htm
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NEW YORK (AP) ? A new $12 million television ad campaign from Mayors Against Illegal Guns will push senators in key states to back gun control efforts, including comprehensive background checks.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the ad buy Saturday ? just days after Senate Democrats touted stronger background checks while acknowledging insufficient support to restore a ban on assault-style weapons to federal gun control legislation.
"These ads bring the voices of Americans ? who overwhelmingly support comprehensive and enforceable background checks ? into the discussion to move senators to immediately take action to prevent gun violence," Bloomberg said in a statement issued by the group he co-founded in 2006.
The two ads posted on the group's website, called "Responsible" and "Family," show a gun owner holding a rifle while sitting on the back of a pickup truck.
In one ad, the man says he'll defend the Second Amendment but adds "with rights come responsibilities." The ad then urges viewers to tell Congress to support background checks.
In the other ad, the man, a hunter, says "background checks have nothing to do with taking guns away from anyone." The man then says closing loopholes will stop criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining weapons.
The Senate is scheduled to debate federal gun control legislation next month. On March 28, the group plans for more than 100 events nationwide in support of passing gun control legislation that includes background checks.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other gun-control advocates frequently cite a mid-1990s study that suggests about 40 percent of U.S. gun transfers were conducted by private sellers not subject to federal background checks. Based on 2011 FBI data, the group estimates 6.6 million firearms transfers are made without a background check for the receiver.
A spokesman for Bloomberg could not immediately say if the $12 million was coming from Bloomberg or the mayor's political action committee, Independence USA. The New York Times, which first reported the ad campaign Saturday night, said Bloomberg was bankrolling the ad buy.
A spokesman for the National Rifle Association blasted Bloomberg and the new ads, saying NRA members and supporters would be calling senators directly and urging them to vote against proposed gun control legislation.
"What Michael Bloomberg is trying to do is ... intimidate senators into not listening to constituents and instead pledge their allegiance to him and his money," said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.
Bloomberg has long supported efforts to curb gun violence, including sending New York City undercover investigators into other states to conduct straw purchases from dealers. Last month, Bloomberg's PAC poured more than $2 million into ads supporting Illinois state Rep. Robin Kelly, who won a special primary and ran partly on a platform of supporting tougher gun restrictions.
The new ads will air in 13 states the group believes are divided on gun control: Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bloomberg-mayor-group-tout-big-gun-control-push-004838083--politics.html
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MEXICO CITY, Mar 22 (IPS) - Two separate bills to reform Mexico's mining laws, one from the government and the other from academics and NGOs, agree on the urgent need for major changes in the rules governing the industry.
But the two proposals part company when it comes to the mechanisms and goals of the changes to the 1992 mining law. The government's priority is to secure a greater share of the profits of the lucrative mining industry, while civil society's aim is to protect the environment and local communities in mining areas.
The bill drawn up over the space of a year by social groups and independent experts proposes a ban on opencast mining, a scheme for royalty payments on minerals and metals, and environmental remediation measures. The present law, according to its critics, offers huge incentives to mining companies and no benefits at all to the state and local communities.
"The reform must prohibit opencast mining for extracting precious metals. Priority must be given to protecting human rights, the environment, and water resources," Juan Carlos Ruiz, a researcher at the Colegio de San Luis, a public college, told IPS.
"The real cost of mineral extraction should be calculated, including the cost of water, site remediation and the economic development of the region," said Ruiz, who was involved in drafting the civil society bill.
The reform bill put forward by the government is in the hands of economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo. So far it is a declaration of the government's intentions for the new law, which the administration wants to see come into force in 2014.
Under the present legislation, Mexico has become a paradise for the mining industry, to the point that there are 25,693 concessions covering 51 million hectares, according to economy ministry statistics.
Spokespersons for the Mexican Chamber of Mines (Camimex), the industry association, told IPS that 285 companies are operating 853 mining projects in the country, generating more than 300,000 direct jobs and making a total of over seven billion dollars in investment in 2012.
In the period 2010-2012 alone, 15 new mines came into operation, while a further 22 are being built or are in the exploratory phase, the spokespersons said, adding that Camimex does not have "a public position" yet on the legal changes being discussed.
ProM?xico, the state agency for attracting foreign investment, said gross revenue from mining was 22 billion dollars in 2012, and forecast some 35 billion dollars in foreign direct investment would arrive over the next six years, mainly from Canada and the United States.
Mexico is the world's top producer of silver, in third place for bismuth, fifth for molybdenum and lead and ninth for gold, according to ProM?xico and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
But mining has created friction with local communities, because of deforestation, water pollution and the generation of hazardous liquid waste, and local opposition to the mines is strong.
The economy minister said in various presentations that his ministry wishes to review the current pattern of concessions, in particular the payment of fees on commodity production and benefits for local communities.
When it comes to taxes, Guajardo said he does not think the new scheme must necessarily be based on a royalty system, although this is the international standard and is advocated as the most beneficial scheme for mining countries.
Companies operating in Mexico currently pay between 36 cents of a dollar and eight dollars a year per hectare of their concessions for extracting precious metals and minerals. The only additional tax they pay is income tax.
Reforming the mining law was one of the clauses in the Pact for Mexico, a commitment signed by conservative President Enrique Pe?a Nieto with the political parties represented in Congress when he took office in December.
The pact includes the approval of a new mining law that is to "revise the concessions scheme and payment of federal fees linked to production."
It also says "the resources arising from these fees will be used principally for the direct benefit of municipalities and communities where the mines are located."
Guajardo explained that the pillars of the new law will be: a new tax formula for mining concessions, sustainability, respect for protected natural or cultural sites, benefits for local communities and legal security for investors.
The minister is now seeking consensus on these issues before presenting his bill to Congress, where the bill proposed by the social organisations has already been tabled and will be a reference point for the debate.
ECLAC says that in Latin America, a region of vast mining wealth, the windfall revenue from the soaring minerals prices should be efficiently invested, based on the principles of social and environmental sustainability.
It also calls for building a social consensus to invest that income effectively in human capacity building, technological innovation, infrastructure and programmes for mitigation of environmental impacts.
"We have a clear understanding of the importance of mining and what it represents as the first link in the production chains of metallic and non-metallic minerals. It would be absurd to eliminate it," Ruiz, the academic, emphasised.
"But there should be effective mechanisms for society to call into question the granting of concessions, because no one ever asks the people living in an area if they agree to the concession of land," he said.
According to the Observatory of Mining Conflicts in Latin America, there are 175 socio-environmental conflicts or clashes over natural resource use ongoing in the region, involving 183 mining projects and 246 communities. Twenty-one of these conflicts are in Mexico.
ECLAC indicates that the majority of the disputes are related to silver, gold and copper mining. Agriculture is the sector most harmed by mining activity.
Pueblos y Ciudadan?a Organizada vs. la mina Esperanza Silver (People and Citizens Organised against the Esperanza Silver mine), an NGO, has collected more than 8,000 signatures on an on-line petition addressed to environment minister Juan Guerra, to put an immediate stop to the Esperanza gold mine, owned by Canada's Esperanza Silver Corporation.
This opencast mine project covers 15,000 hectares in Tetlama, in Morelos state, adjacent to Mexico City.
Environmental organisations say there are at least 25 opencast mines in Mexico, and with new concessions this figure could rise to 200, including areas where there has been no mining previously.
? Inter Press Service (2013) ? All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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Civil Society Seeks to Influence Mexican Mining Law Reform, Inter Press Service, Friday, March 22, 2013 (posted by Global Issues)
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