Trees on tundra's border are growing faster in a hotter climate

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Evergreen trees at the edge of Alaska's tundra are growing faster, suggesting that at least some forests may be adapting to a rapidly warming climate, says a new study.

While forests elsewhere are thinning from wildfires, insect damage and droughts partially attributed to global warming, some white spruce trees in the far north of Alaska have grown more vigorously in the last hundred years, especially since 1950, the study has found. The health of forests globally is gaining attention, because trees are thought to absorb a third of all industrial carbon emissions, transferring carbon dioxide into soil and wood. The study, in the journal Environmental Research Letters, spans 1,000 years and bolsters the idea that far northern ecosystems may play a future role in the balance of planet-warming carbon dioxide that remains in the air. It also strengthens support for an alternative technique for teasing climate data from trees in the far north, sidestepping recent methodological objections from climate skeptics.

"I was expecting to see trees stressed from the warmer temperatures," said study lead author Laia Andreu-Hayles, a tree ring scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "What we found was a surprise."

Members of the Lamont Tree-Ring Lab have traveled repeatedly to Alaska, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this past summer. In an area where the northern treeline gives way to open tundra, the scientists removed cores from living white spruces, as well as long-dead partially fossilized trees preserved under the cold conditions. In warm years, trees tend to produce wider, denser rings and in cool years, the rings are typically narrower and less dense. Using this basic idea and samples from a 2002 trip to the refuge, Andreu-Hayles and her colleagues assembled a climate timeline for Alaska's Firth River region going back to the year 1067. They discovered that both tree-ring width and density shot up starting a hundred years ago, and rose even more after 1950. Their findings match a separate team's study earlier this year that used satellite imagery and tree rings to also show that trees in this region are growing faster, but that survey extended only to 1982.

The added growth is happening as the arctic faces rapid warming. While global temperatures since the 1950s rose 1.6 degrees F, parts of the northern latitudes warmed 4 to 5 degrees F. "For the moment, warmer temperatures are helping the trees along the tundra," said study coauthor Kevin Anchukaitis, a tree-ring scientist at Lamont. "It's a fairly wet, fairly cool, site overall, so those longer growing seasons allow the trees to grow more."

The outlook may be less favorable for the vast interior forests that ring the Arctic Circle. Satellite images have revealed swaths of brown, dying vegetation and a growing number of catastrophic wildfires in the last decade across parts of interior Alaska, Canada and Russia. Evidence suggests forests elsewhere are struggling, too. In the American West, bark beetles benefitting from milder winters have devastated millions of acres of trees weakened by lack of water. A 2009 study in the journal Science found that mortality rates in once healthy old-growth conifer forests have doubled in the past few decades. Heat and water stress are also affecting some tropical forests already threatened by clear-cutting for farming and development.

Another paper in Science recently estimated that the world's 10 billion acres of forest are now absorbing about a third of carbon emissions, helping to limit carbon dioxide levels and keep the planet cooler than it would be otherwise.

There are already signs that the treeline is pushing north, and if this continues, northern ecosystems will change. Warming temperatures have benefitted not only white spruce, the dominant treeline species in northwestern North America, but also woody deciduous shrubs on the tundra, which have begun shading out other plants as they expand their range. As habitats change, scientists are asking whether insects, migratory songbirds, caribou and other animals that have evolved to exploit the tundra environment will adapt. "Some of these changes will be ecologically beneficial, but others may not," said Natalie Boelman, an ecologist at Lamont-Doherty who is studying the effects of climate change in the Alaskan tundra.

In another finding, the study strengthens scientists' ability to use tree rings to measure past climate. Since about 1950, tree ring widths in some northern locations have stopped varying in tandem with temperature, even though modern instruments confirm that temperatures are on a steady rise. As scientists looked for ways to get around the problem, critics of modern climate science dismissed the tree ring data as unreliable and accused scientists of cooking up tricks to support the theory of global warming. The accusations came to a head when stolen mails discussing the discrepancy between tree-ring records and actual temperatures came to light during the so-called "Climategate" episode of 2009-10.

The fact that temperatures were rising was never really in dispute among scientists, who had thermometers as well as tree rings to confirm the trend. But still scientists struggled with how to correct for the so-called "divergence problem.'' The present study adds support for another proxy for tree growth: ring density. Trees tend to produce cells with thicker walls at the end of the growing season, forming a dark band of dense wood. While tree-ring width in some places stops correlating with temperature after 1950, possibly due to moisture stress or changes in seasonality due to warming, tree ring density at the site studied continues to track temperature.

"This is methodologically a big leap forward that will allow scientists to go back to sites sampled in the past and fill in the gaps," said Glenn Juday, a forest ecologist at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, who was not involved in the study. The researchers plan to return to Alaska and other northern forest locations to improve geographical coverage and get more recent records from some sites. They are also investigating the use of stable isotopes to extract climate information from tree rings.

###

The Earth Institute at Columbia University: http://www.earth.columbia.edu

Thanks to The Earth Institute at Columbia University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 69 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115108/Trees_on_tundra_s_border_are_growing_faster_in_a_hotter_climate

dean ornish yom kippur yom kippur diamondbacks wolf creek wolf creek arizona diamondbacks

Berlusconi faces future of legal, business woes (AP)

ROME ? His legacy tarnished and his hopes of clinging to power dashed, Silvio Berlusconi faces daunting legal and financial challenges and the prospect of life outside the international spotlight now that he has left office.

He has vowed he won't run again for office, though few expect he'll abandon Italian politics for good. Berlusconi himself has already said he might help out a campaign here or there because, well, "they've always turned out well for me."

But with Berlusconi's resignation as premier Saturday following months of market turmoil, a political era in Italy closes and the 75-year-old Berlusconi is just a billionaire businessman once again.

"What we are viewing now is not the end of a government, but the end of a system, of a political system," said Massimo Franco, a political analyst for leading daily Corriere Della Sera.

Indeed, Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for the last 17 years, a polarizing figure who served three terms as premier. He held off political opponents and jousted with magistrates pursuing him on corruption and sexual misconduct charges, but was felled by massive international and market pressure.

The media mogul had thrived rubbing shoulders with the powerful, whether vacationing with Russia's Vladimir Putin or getting a taste of Texas ranch life when hosted by then President George W. Bush in a meeting of Iraq war allies.

But seen as an impediment to economic reform, his exit came quickly as Italy was swept up by Europe's debt crisis.

Whether he goes back to running his media empire or even returning to the vacant post as president of his beloved AC Milan soccer team, he faces an unpleasant agenda. Judging from how his media voices are reacting, it won't be a completely quiet exit.

"Stop a Europe of technocrats," clamored a headline in the family newspaper Il Giornale of Italy's presumed new government headed by economist Mario Monti. "This government is a coup."

Berlusconi's resignation will mean he can no longer claim official government business as a reason for missing hearings in his three trials, a tactic that has been used to delay proceedings. His attempt at fashioning a law that would have given him immunity was overturned by the Constitutional Court.

But charges in two Milan trials related to his business dealings will run out due to the statute of limitations early next year ? leaving little peril that the billionaire would face any penalty even if courts can reach a conviction in the first trial. The Italian system allows for two levels of appeal.

Berlusconi is expected to testify before Christmas in his trial on charges of paying British lawyer David Mills to lie for him on the stand in another case. A verdict is expected in late January, but with the statute of limitations set to expire in March, it is impossible that two levels of appeal could be completed to make any verdict final.

Berlusconi has denied the charge, and Mills saw his conviction overturned on appeal.

In the other trial concerning his Mediaset media empire, Berlusconi is charged with tax fraud in the purchase of TV rights. Berlusconi denies the charges, which also expire in the spring.

In Berlusconi's most sensational trial, the 75-year-old is accused of paying for sex with a Moroccan teen ? known by her nickname Ruby Rubacuore, "Ruby the Heartstealer" ? and using his influence to cover it up. No fewer than 22 court dates have been scheduled through May.

A conviction would mean Berlusconi would be permanently barred from public office ? but he has already pledged not to run again and his hopes of one day becoming Italian president were dashed by the sex scandal.

That leaves the billionaire back where he started: running his considerable empire. The economic crisis has made that more challenging.

Shares in Mediaset have lost half of their value since May, as the debt crisis lapped ever more perilously at Italian businesses, and dropped by as much as 10 percent in trading sessions this week as Berlusconi's political future was decided by the markets.

Mediaset ? which is controlled by the family holding company Fininvest and includes private TV stations as well as newspapers and other publications ? dropped from euro4.242 a share in May to euro2.142 on Friday.

"It could be that Berlusconi is very scared by the financial crisis. If you think that Fininvest is 95 percent invested in Italy," said Carlo Guarnieri, a political scientist as the University of Bologna.

Even more dangerous was his loss of a civil suit to rival media group over corruption in the acquisition of the Mondadori publishing empire. A court has ordered him to euro560 million ($800 million) for corrupting a judge.

Alarmed by the amount, Berlusconi went as far as quietly introducing a measure into Italy's austerity budget this summer that would have allowed the company to delay payment until the final appeal, but withdrew it after political opponents raised an outcry.

He can still count on friends in high places to look after his interests: his 41-year-old political heir, Angelo Alfano, now heads his People of Liberties party and he remains its founder.

But Franco, the Corriere della Sera analyst, said Berlusconi's future in the near-term is probably not on Italy's center political stage.

"I think Berlusconi can just survive, maybe with a personal party, but I don't think he is due to rule and lead Italy in the foreseeable future any more," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111112/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_berlusconi_s_future

colt mccoy case mccoy case mccoy kristin davis kristin davis phillies phillies

Municipal bankruptcy in Alabama: Will other local governments follow suit?

Municipal bankruptcy in Jefferson County, Ala., was filed this week and is the largest in US history. Other cash-strapped local governments are watching the case closely.

Cash-strapped local governments across the US are closely watching the $4 billion, Chapter 9 bankruptcy filed this week by Jefferson County, Ala. ? the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history.

Skip to next paragraph

Beyond the dozens of US municipalities that have already defaulted on bond payments this year, hundreds of others are being crushed by gold-plated union contracts and municipal-bond refinancing deals that blew up in the real estate crash of 2008. It's a situation that some fear could lead to a wave of destabilizing defaults on usually rock-solid muni bonds.

The Jefferson County bankruptcy case, along with three other major municipal bankruptcies filed this year, may offer new avenues for cities and counties to renegotiate their debts. But as it hits the courts, the Alabama case is also likely to be scattered with cautionary tales and caveats that may give municipal fiduciaries pause before ducking into the courthouse to seek protection from creditors.

Either way, "there are going to be other municipalities in financial distress looking at what happens in this case," says Melissa Woodley, a finance professor at Samford University in Birmingham ? the seat of Jefferson County.

Indeed, Jefferson County became the fourth municipal entity to declare bankruptcy this year ? with Harrisburg, Pa.; Central Falls, R.I.; and Boise County, Idaho, coming before. However, such filings remain rare. Fewer than 500 have taken place since 1937 and only 40 since 1981, according to Bloomberg. The previous record was set in 1994 when Orange County, Calif., asked the courts to reorganize $1.7 billion in debt.

"This [Jefferson County case] was not the first casualty in municipal bankruptcies, and it very likely won?t be anywhere close to the last," writes Jon Ogg for 24/7 Wall St., an online investment newsletter.

Analysts like Meredith Whitney, who predicted the 2008 Wall Street crash, have warned for years about a looming municipal-bond crash ? where a spike in local governments defaulting on bond payments could trigger a mass exodus of investors out of the usually safe municipal bond market. That, in turn, could force local governments to either raise taxes or dramatically reduce budgetary outlays and services.

"I think next to housing, this is the single most important issue in the United States and certainly the largest threat to the US economy," Ms. Whitney told "60 Minutes" last year.

Faced with massive budget deficits and little hope of another Washington bailout, revenue-starved cities like Miami and Detroit have discussed bankruptcy. They've hinted that where there's a lack of political will to either raise taxes or cut services in order to pay off debts, a judge might have to do that work.

John Young Jr., the court-appointed receiver in the Jefferson County bond debacle, told Reuters that politics was a factor in the 4-to-1 decision by the Jefferson County commissioners to declare bankruptcy. "Politicians don't want to be attached to [utility] rate increases and tax increases, and both were going to be necessary," he said.

Indeed, beleaguered municipalities struggling with political stalemates over revenue and debt pressures could look to bankruptcy courts as a process "that may allow [those issues] to be worked out" in a more neutral, nonpartisan way, says Ms. Woodley at Samford University.

Still, few expect a sudden rush of municipal bankruptcies. For one thing, such bankruptcies, including the one in Jefferson County, are usually signaled years in advance, giving investors time to adjust. Right now, there aren't an overwhelming number of municipalities sending such signals.

Moreover, Jefferson County remains a unique case. While most municipal debt problems today stem from generous pension packages negotiated during better economic times, Jefferson County managed to overpay for a new sewer system and years later refinance its overbearing debt using untested and risky Wall Street derivatives and interest-rate swaps.

Also, malfeasance was rife: Twenty-two officials have been found guilty of corruption in setting up the sewer bond deal, and JPMorgan Chase, the primary note-holder, has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties to the Securities and Exchange Commission for its role in the debacle.

And then there are the costs of bankruptcy. Jefferson County has hired two well-known Hollywood bankruptcy attorneys charging about $1,700 an hour combined ? a rate at which the lawyers will have earned the average per capita annual income in Jefferson County in just over three days.

"This can drag on for years, meaning millions of dollars in just attorney's fees," says Andreas Rauterkus, a finance professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/e9dxsfPXxfg/Municipal-bankruptcy-in-Alabama-Will-other-local-governments-follow-suit

nba lockout james whitey bulger rachel uchitel amerigo vespucci julio jones elizabeth warren coptic church

Consumer's guide to downloadable gifts (AP)

Remember when gifts were objects, purchased or crafted and wrapped with a bow, then presented with a flourish?

Over the last few years, gift cards have become a popular alternative, and now as we become increasingly connected to our smartphones, laptops and e-readers, gifts are going digital, too. Here's what you need to know to navigate a holiday shopping season without gift wrap or envelopes or even little plastic cards.

? E-books

You can still buy bestsellers for loved ones who have swapped their paperbacks for an e-reader such as Amazon.com's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook and Sony's Reader. Of the three, Amazon is the only one that lets you choose a specific Kindle e-book to give as a gift. Barnes & Noble and Sony direct you to purchase a physical gift card or send an electronic one via email, either to yourself to print and present, or directly to the recipient.

To buy a book for a Kindle owner, head to the Kindle e-book store on Amazon's website. Click on any book title, and you'll see an option to "give as a gift." Amazon will send an email to the recipient once you finish checking out. When the recipient gets the notification by email, she can click on a link to accept the gift and send the title to her Kindle device. This works the same way for people who use Amazon's Kindle software to read books on smartphones and computers, too. If the recipient loses the notification email, you can go into your own Amazon order history and resend it, for no extra charge. And if it's a book the recipient has already read, she can exchange it for Amazon.com credit.

One downside if you like to get all your holiday shopping done early: Anything you order is instantly delivered.

Here are some relevant links:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId200555070

http://ebooks.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/60/kw/gift/r_id/166

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/NOOK-Gifts-NOOK-Gift-Cards/379003182

? iPads and iPhones

For the uninitiated: Apple's iPad tablet computer and iPhone smartphones can be loaded up with music, movies, games, books and useful (or frivolous) programs called "apps" through Apple's iTunes store. You can buy a plastic iTunes gift card where gift cards are sold, but you can also send almost all of those types of media as gifts.

You've got to download the iTunes software and create an account if you haven't already. Then, in the iTunes store section, browse for the album, TV series or game of your choice. Next to the button prompting you to "buy this album," there should be a little arrow. Click it and pick the option to give as a gift instead.

There is one major exception: Apple doesn't yet allow you to give e-books as gifts via iTunes. And as with giving Kindle e-books, gifts from iTunes are delivered when you pay for them, making advance holiday shopping a challenge.

Details at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2736

? Groupon, LivingSocial and other group-discount sites

Some of the most-talked-about startups are group-buying sites, and Groupon, which just went public, is king of the heap. These companies send emails to their members every day advertising a special deal at a local shop, restaurant, spa or other business, usually something along the lines of, "$10 for $20 worth of donuts." Once you buy a deal, it's stored in your account. When you're ready to use it, you can either print out the voucher and turn it in, or you can pull it up using a smartphone app once you're in the store.

The number of Groupon-esque sites is growing by the day; if you're interested but don't know where to start, you can sign up with a deal aggregator like Yipit, which collects all the deals in your area in a single email.

If you see a deal that will make a perfect gift, Groupon and LivingSocial make it pretty easy. Both show "give as a gift" options right on the main deal page.

When you click to purchase a Groupon, an email goes to the recipient. If you would rather make it a surprise, you can send it to yourself, then print and hand it over later. Groupons are almost all transferable, even though the name of the buyer will remain on the voucher. Just be sure to look over the fine print to confirm. If one of your recipients is all about Groupons, but you don't see a deal you know she'll like, the company also sells gift cards.

With LivingSocial, once you buy a deal, you can also go into your account later and opt to give something as a gift. This site lets you set a date for delivery, making it easier to surprise your recipient. There are some quirks in the LivingSocial gifting process. For one thing, if you say you're going to print out the voucher, but then change your mind, you won't be able to email it as a gift later. Good thing there's a pretty detailed "help" section on the site: http://help.livingsocial.com/help_topics/gifts

Now, using coupons and discounts to buy gifts isn't new. But when you give the gift of Groupon, the recipient will know you paid less.

? Facebook-based gift cards and mobile apps

Lord & Taylor is among the retailers experimenting with what they're calling "social gifting," which in their case means making it easy to tap friends on Facebook to pitch in for a gift certificate. If you're not already a Facebook devotee, it probably doesn't make sense to join up just for this. But if you already have connected with friends on the social networking site, keep reading.

From Lord & Taylor's Facebook page, you can click a link that says gift cards to install a virtual gift card app. Pick the recipient and the amount you want to spend, and set a date for delivery in the future. Once you pay for the gift card, you can then invite others to contribute additional money to the gift card. You could tweet or email the link, or the app will help by suggesting friends you have in common, so you can send a quick Facebook message. You could post the plea to your own Facebook wall, too, though the recipient might see that.

On the delivery date, the recipient will get an email or a Facebook message showing how much each person contributed; they can send the gift to their phone or print out a barcode to redeem the gift certificate.

A growing number of other stores, including Starbucks and Target, allow customers to pay via mobile phone apps, and gift cards can be converted for use in those accounts.

? Startups

Several Internet startups are taking different approaches to digital gift-giving. One, KangoGift, lets you send a gift certificate for everything from a basic cup of coffee to a six-week music class by text message to a recipient's cell phone, or right to their Facebook page. Then they can just bring their phone along and show it to the merchant to redeem their gift. Most of the offers are clustered in four cities ? Boston; New York; Madison, Wis.; and Chapel Hill, N.C. ? but there are some national merchants on board, such as Fandango for movie tickets, that sell things that can be redeemed online.

Another, Giftly, lets you bundle up to three different shops, restaurants or services into a single gift package ? tickets at three artsy movie theaters, or pints at three different microbreweries, maybe. You decide the amount and the merchants, then send either by email, Facebook or snail-mail. This makes it easy to customize a gift, even if the merchants themselves don't offer gift cards or gift certificates.

But the recipient needs to be fairly tech-savvy. To redeem the gift, the recipient actually pays for it herself, then goes online at the shop with her smartphone to get the same amount reimbursed to a credit or debit card she registers with Giftly. (To get around the little matter of not everyone owning a smartphone, the startup is also working on a prepaid debit card that only works at the locations specified on the Giftly.)

More information at http://www.giftly.com or http://www.kangogift.com.

With many of these options, one of the biggest challenges is timing. In some cases, the only way to give a gift on the first night of Hanukkah or Christmas morning is to dash to the computer at the right moment to hit send.

But even for the most tech-savvy on your gift list, you might be better served making the presentation more traditional, says Tracy Tuten, an associate marketing professor at East Carolina University who has made gift-giving research her specialty. That's because all the emotions that make gifts an important part of relationships happen when you hand over the neatly wrapped package and not when the person is actually getting the pedicure you bought for her with a Groupon.

And while teenagers may be the earliest adopters, buying them a gift that can be sent straight to their smartphones comes with the same pitfalls as any other type of gift, Tuten says. It must walk the line between proving you have made an effort to understand who they are and what they like, and giving them enough choice that they don't feel boxed in.

Sorry, technology hasn't fixed that problem yet.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111110/ap_on_hi_te/us_fea_downloadable_gifts

seattle news seattle news cheryl burke jenna fischer ben bernanke anwar al awlaki amanda knox

Ahmadinejad: Iran won't retreat from nuclear path

In this image provided by the Presidency Office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, second right, shakes hand with an unidentified army colonel as he arrives at the Shahr-e-Kord, during his provincial tour, in central Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. Iran won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in his first reaction since a U.N. watchdog report that Tehran is on the brink of developing a warhead. (AP Photo/Presidency Office, Ebrahim Seyyedi, HO) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

In this image provided by the Presidency Office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, second right, shakes hand with an unidentified army colonel as he arrives at the Shahr-e-Kord, during his provincial tour, in central Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. Iran won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in his first reaction since a U.N. watchdog report that Tehran is on the brink of developing a warhead. (AP Photo/Presidency Office, Ebrahim Seyyedi, HO) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

In this image provided by the Presidency Office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, waves to the crowd during a public gathering at the city of Shahr-e-Kord, in his provincial tour, in central Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. Iran won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in his first reaction since a U.N. watchdog report that Tehran is on the brink of developing a warhead. (AP Photo/Presidency Office, Ebrahim Seyyedi, HO) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 8, 2008 photo released by the Iranian President's Office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, visits the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital, Tehran, Iran. The U.N. nuclear atomic energy agency said Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011 for the first time that Iran is suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear arms. (AP Photo/Iranian President's Office, File)

(AP) ? Iran won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program, but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in his first reaction since a U.N. watchdog report that Tehran is on the brink of developing a nuclear warhead.

The comments ? broadcast live on state TV ? contrasted sharply with Western warnings that Iran appears to be engaged in a dangerous defiance of international demands to control the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions.

In Paris, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France would support boosting sanctions against Tehran to an "unprecedented scale" if Iran stonewalls investigations, even as Israel and others say that military options are still possible. Meanwhile, Iran's chief allies, China and Russia, have issued cautious statements calling for diplomacy and dialogue.

"This nation won't retreat one iota from the path it is going," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Shahr-e-Kord in central Iran. "Why are you ruining the prestige of the (U.N. nuclear) agency for absurd U.S. claims?"

Ahmadinejad also strongly chided the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with "absurd" U.S. accusations.

The 13-page annex to the IAEA's report released Tuesday included claims that while some of Iran's activities have civilian as well as military applications, others are "specific to nuclear weapons."

Among these were indications that Iran has conducted high explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead. The report also cited preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test, and development of a nuclear payload for Iran's Shahab 3 intermediate-range missile ? a weapon that can reach Israel.

Ahmadinejad repeated Iran's claims that it doesn't make sense to build nuclear weapons in a world already awash with atomic arms.

"The Iranian nation is wise. It won't build two bombs against 20,000 (nuclear) bombs you have," he said in comments apparently directed at the West and others. "But it builds something you can't respond to: Ethics, decency, monotheism and justice."

The U.S. and allies claim a nuclear-armed Iran could touch off a nuclear arms race among rival states, including Saudi Arabia, and directly threaten Israel. The West is seeking to use the report as leverage to possible tougher sanctions on Iran, but Israel and others have said military options have not been ruled out.

The bulk of the information in the IAEA report was a compilation of alleged findings that have already been partially revealed by the agency. But some of the information was new ? including evidence of a large metal chamber at a military site for nuclear-related explosives testing. Iran has dismissed that, saying they were merely metal toilet stalls.

Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted lawmaker Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash as saying the report shows that IAEA "has no powers and moves in the direction" of the U.S. and allies. Another parliament member, Parviz Sorouri, accused IAEA chief Yukiya Amano of tarnishing the agency.

"The report was drawn up by Americans and read by Amano," the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

The U.N. Security Council has passed four sets of damaging sanctions on Iran, but veto-wielding members China and Russia oppose further measures and are unlikely to change their minds despite the report's findings.

China has not isn't publicly commented yet on a U.N. assessment of Iran's nuclear programs in a likely sign that it will wait for Washington and Moscow to signal their intentions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Wednesday that Beijing was studying the report and repeated calls for dialogue and cooperation.

In Paris, Juppe said France would support tougher sanctions if Iran refuses to answer new questions about its nuclear program.

"We cannot accept this situation (of a nuclear-armed Iran), which would be a threat to stability and peace of the region and beyond," he said on France's RFI radio.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said late Tuesday it would not comment on the report until it had time to study it.

"It is important to figure out whether there really are new, and indeed trustworthy, facts that confirm the suspicions that there are military components in the Iranian nuclear program, or whether we're talking about the intentional and counterproductive exacerbation of emotions," said the Russian statement.

___

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-09-Iran-Nuclear/id-7447b980106f43ac88c378623eac232f

nene leakes aesop rock take care track list michael jackson trial carlos the jackal pittsburgh steelers steelers

Cain defends against harassment allegations (AP)

ROCHESTER, Mich. ? Businessman Herman Cain is continuing to defend himself against accusations that he sexually harassed women when he led a Washington trade group more than a decade ago.

Cain says at a Republican presidential debate Wednesday that the American people "deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations."

Cain says that since the allegations surfaced more than a week ago, "voters have voted with their dollars," and supported his campaign.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was asked about the allegations against Cain. Romney says Cain has responded to the questions and "people can make their own assessment."

The questions about the Cain allegations generated boos from the audience at Oakland University.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111110/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_cain

ford evos ides of march diane sawyer starship troopers starship troopers the skin i live in charlie daniels band

Arizona immigration crackdown leader trails in recall (Reuters)

PHOENIX (Reuters) ? A powerful Republican state Senate leader who championed Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants appeared headed for early removal from office on Tuesday in a historic recall election, returns showed.

With all precincts reporting, state Senate President Russell Pearce was trailing his chief challenger, Republican newcomer and charter school administrator Jerry Lewis, by 7 percentage points, 45.4 percent to 52.4 percent.

Election officials said the final outcome remained uncertain due to an unknown number of early votes and provisional ballots that remained to be tabulated.

Still, Pearce all but conceded his ouster in remarks to supporters late on Tuesday, saying, "It doesn't look like the numbers are going my direction in this, and I'm OK with that."

"I intend to spend a little time with my God, my wife and my family and reassess where we need to go," he added.

Lewis declared victory in what he called a "historic upset" over a prominent incumbent with long list of influential backers and a 3-to-1 fund-raising advantage.

The race in the conservative Phoenix suburb of Mesa is believed to be the first recall election ever mounted against a state legislator in Arizona.

The recall movement was galvanized mainly by Pearce's role as chief architect of a state law that required police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain and suspect is in the country illegally.

Enactment of the measure, signed by Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010, ignited a furor among Latino and civil rights activists, including calls for an economic boycott of Arizona, and sparked a court challenge by the Obama administration.

A federal judge has thrown out key provisions of the law, including the mandate for police checks of immigration status, and the case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pearce waged an all-out battle to retain his seat in a heavily Republican district of about 70,000 registered voters.

The 64-year-old politician, first elected to the state legislature in 2000, vehemently defended his get-tough stance on illegal immigrants flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border, a phenomenon he called "a national crisis."

Pearce also broadened his platform to include his efforts in other areas such as balancing the state budget.

He branded his political opponents as "far left liberals" and labor union activists, and chastised the recall election coming when he has just one year left in his current term.

Lewis, 55, has maintained that residents could not afford to wait until the next election to replace a man who he said has tarnished Arizona's image.

The stage for the recall race was set in July when Brewer, a strong supporter of Pearce, approved the mid-term election challenge after a citizen's group turned in enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

Lewis said the Southwestern state badly needs someone who can tackle immigration and other issues with an approach free of "fear-mongering and political rhetoric," and said Arizona should work with the federal government on a comprehensive immigration solution, not battle the government in court.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111109/pl_nm/us_election_arizona_recall

nobel peace prize verizon wireless oregon ducks football the league the ides of march yankees espn magazine

Public Health Students Network at Washington Conference

Published:?Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Updated:?Wednesday, November 9, 2011 02:11

Students from the Florida A&M University Institute of Public Health and members of the Future Public Health Professionals had a chance to go to the American Public Health Association's national meeting Oct. 29 in Washington.

The conference was a chance for students to get a look at cutting edge health research, meet peers from other schools and to meet with high-ranking officials within the public health field, including U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin.

"It's probably the largest meeting where public health professionals and students come and talk about public health research and the latest, best practices in public health,"?said Dr. Cynthia Harris, director and professor with the FAMU Institute of Public Health.

"It's important for us that they get a chance to attend and participate, present research papers and network because we focus on them as future public health professionals."

Eric Walker, a second-year FAMU graduate student and president of FAMU's Future Public Health Professionals, said the conference was a great chance for him and other students to network, but he took away more than that.

"Networking is happening all the time," said Walker. "I found out with this conference, you don't pass up the opportunity to talk to people.

Source: http://www.thefamuanonline.com/news/public-health-students-network-at-washington-conference-1.2667751

new iphone new iphone tmobile iphone van jones van jones dark energy dark energy

The nation's weather (AP)

Conditions in the Upper Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley will improve on Thursday as the strong storm system in the Upper Great Lakes exits the region and moves into eastern Canada. Only a few snow showers will be possible in parts of northern Wisconsin and Michigan during the day as cold air pushes in behind the system. The brunt of precipitation associated with this system will advance into the Northeast due to an associated cold front. Light to moderate rain showers with isolated thunderstorms are expected in the region throughout the day. Showery weather will also be possible down the Eastern Seaboard as the cold front approaches the East Coast.

Meanwhile, the trough of low pressure over the Eastern U.S. will direct Tropical Storm Sean northeastward through the nearby western Atlantic with some acceleration. Strengthening of Sean is expected on Thursday and the storm may reach Category 1 strength. The center of Sean is expected to pass northwest of Bermuda on Friday morning.

In the West, generally calm weather conditions will persist in the continental West as high pressure remains the dominant weather feature of the region. Outside the mainland, conditions will begin to improve in western Alaska as the near-record breaking low pressure system that brought extremely dangerous winds and precipitation to the region on Wednesday weakens. Expect cold and windy weather to persist in the state. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday have ranged from a morning low of -2 degrees at Bryce Canyon, Utah to a high of 84 degrees at Hollywood, Fla.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111110/ap_on_re_us/us_weatherpage_weather

the league the ides of march yankees espn magazine espn magazine anywhere but here wall street protesters

Rapper Heavy D AKA Dwight Myers Dead At 44 (Photos/Video)