NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? A fire on the slopes of Kenya's tallest mountain is sending big game animals like elephants fleeing for their lives, as wildlife agents and British troops are fighting to put out several fires, officials said Monday.
The flames have already consumed hundreds of acres of forest on Mount Kenya, said Paul Udoto, a spokesman for the Kenya Wildlife Service. The fire has covered the spiky mountain in a haze of smoke.
Tourists staying in mountain lodges are safe, Udoto said, but elephants are among the many animals fleeing.
"The elephants fled the area but they are still within the protected areas of the mountain," Udoto said.
Firefighters said they haven't come across any animal hurt or killed by the fire.
Photos of the fire show small bursts of flame and thick white smoke hanging over the mountain's lower elevations. Mount Kenya is the second-highest peak in Africa, at 5,199 meters (17,057 feet).
"There's fires all over the place," said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the founder of the group Save the Elephants. "It's because of the dryness. But I bet people are setting the fires ... accidental but human-generated."
Fires are also burning in the nearby Aberdare National Park. Douglas-Hamilton said the fires will deprive animals of food and that he expects some to get caught in the flames.
Mount Kenya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The U.N. organization describes the region as "one of the most impressive landscapes of Eastern Africa, with its rugged glacier-clad summits, Afro-alpine moorlands and diverse forests."
Susie Weeks, the executive officer of the Mount Kenya Trust, a group that works to protect the mountain's wildlife, said at least three separate fires were burning. She said in an email that the British military and the Kenya Wildlife Service were coordinating "beautifully" on Monday.
"Today is a much better day! Less chaos, more help, low winds and a bit of cloud. However we need to sustain this level of attack on the fires for a couple of days to succeed," she wrote.
The fire is burning forest that serves as a water catchment, potentially affecting the region's water supply and hydroelectric dams. Wildlife would also be forced to move, said Gitau, the deputy warden of Mount Kenya National Park.
Gitau said four of six burning sites in the forest had been suppressed, but there is a chance the fire will re-ignite because of the dry and windy conditions. He said the cause of the fire is not known, but 90 percent of the fires in Mount Kenya are caused by human activity, either poachers or honey gatherers.
"Sometimes it's accidental like a cigarette butt that hasn't been completely extinguished," he said.
Patrick Wanjohi, the director of the Mountain Rock Lodge, a holiday resort on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya, said the forest will not regenerate fast because of the high altitude. He said animals are likely to flee into farms at lower elevations, leading to human-animal conflict.
Capt. Maz Kingston, a spokeswoman for the British Army Training Unit Kenya, said the British military has helped carry out an aerial assessment of the fire, and is providing command and control for the firefighting response. British military vehicles are helping move firefighters close to the flames.
"Fires have been going on for last couple months with varying degrees of intensity," Kingston said. "It's very intense and it's quite extensive across the mountain. ... We had a little bit of rain last night which tamped it down a little bit."
March 18, 2012 at 1:11 am ? Posted in Marketing ? Comments Off
Wales is a great place to do business. South Wales has seen a bit of a rejuvenation of late. Known for it?s beautiful country side and hilly landscape, Wales hasn?t always been known for business. That is rapidly changing.
The tourist industry has always been booming in Wales , but Wales and South Wales in particular has seen something of a revival in it?s industrial trades.
Though the mines are mostly closed now, Wales excels still in agriculture. If you wanted to set up a business, Wales may be an ideal place to start as local rates are low for businesses and there?s a large pool of potential employees to draw upon.
Wales is also a great place to meet like minded businesses people for networking. For a business network south wales can compete very well with places like the South East of England. And above all it?s a lovely country to live in.
Flower seller Jimmi Lee, 55, sells a sprig of shamrock to shopper Catherine Fahy, 45, on Dublin's main shopping boulevard Friday, March 16, 2012. Dublin is getting ready for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade on upcoming Saturday and is expected to attract a half-million onlookers, many of them wearing a corsage of shamrock, the lucky symbol of Ireland. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)
Flower seller Jimmi Lee, 55, sells a sprig of shamrock to shopper Catherine Fahy, 45, on Dublin's main shopping boulevard Friday, March 16, 2012. Dublin is getting ready for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade on upcoming Saturday and is expected to attract a half-million onlookers, many of them wearing a corsage of shamrock, the lucky symbol of Ireland. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)
A shopper walks past a flower stall selling shamrock, lower left, on Dublin's main shopping boulevard Friday, March 16, 2012. Dublin is getting ready for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade on upcoming Saturday and is expected to attract a half-million onlookers. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)
DUBLIN (AP) ? An estimated 500,000 people crowded Saturday into central Dublin to view the St. Patrick's Day parade, a focal point for Irish celebrations worldwide and the start of the tourist season in debt-battered Ireland.
Bands from Britain, the United States and Russia joined thousands of Irish volunteers on Saturday's two-hour procession down Dublin's major boulevard, O'Connell Street, across the River Liffey, past Trinity College and concluding outside St. Patrick's Cathedral.
In his St. Patrick's Day message, Catholic Cardinal Sean Brady offered prayers to the estimated 50,000 citizens who have emigrated in the past year to escape Ireland's weak economy.
Unemployment stands at 14.4 percent despite the resumption of emigration at levels last seen in the 1980s. Ireland has been forced to raise taxes and slash spending for four straight years and since 2011 has been dependent on foreign loans to pay its government bills.
Seventeen government ministers have left Ireland this week to lobby 15 countries for increased investment and tourism. Prime Minister Enda Kenny is grand marshal of Saturday's parade in Chicago.
"I am keenly aware of the huge numbers who have emigrated from Ireland in recent times, especially those who felt they had no choice," said Brady, spiritual leader of 4 million Catholics in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
"May the memory of St. Patrick, who was himself carried off from his homeland at the age of 16, sustain all those who have left our shores for other lands," Brady said, referring to the saint's legendary background as a slave imported from Britain. "May the example of Patrick's faith in God, who comforted and protected him, protect and comfort them also."
The Catholic Church in Ireland also launched an online information pack for emigrants.
Brady was presiding Saturday over a special service honoring both St. Patrick and the Vatican's new diplomat to Ireland, New York-born Archbishop Charles Brown. At a service in Armagh, Ireland's ecclesiastical capital located in Northern Ireland, the two men planned to bless sprigs of shamrock for the congregation and then take part in Armagh's own parade.
Saturday's Dublin parade is just one of more than 50 across Ireland, many of them rowdy village affairs. The capital is also running a four-day St. Patrick's Festival through Monday that features live performances and amusement park rides in several parts of the city center, although the fireworks show has been canceled, another casualty of austerity.
The city's two most popular tourist attractions, the Guinness brewery and Dublin Zoo, both offered nods to the day's mix of patriotism and partying. Zoo animals were being fed special mixes of oranges and vegetables, mimicking the green and orange of the Irish flag, while Guinness was offering free admission to any visitors named Patrick.
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? A judge approved a settlement Friday to give owners of Honda Civic hybrids up to $200 each over claims that the fuel economy of the cars was inflated.
In making the ruling. Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor cast aside arguments that a motorist's victory in small claims court entitled other owners to a larger award.
Taylor said the essence of a settlement is compromise.
"No doubt plaintiffs would have loved to have gotten more. Certainly their counsel had every incentive to get as much as possible," he said. "Honda undoubtedly has many arrows left in its quiver, and certainly would have preferred to pay nothing."
Taylor listened to nearly two hours of arguments before issuing the final ruling.
The case gained widespread attention after a Los Angeles woman won a $9,867 judgment last month against Honda in small claims court ? a ruling the carmaker vowed to appeal. Plaintiff Heather Peters opted out of the class action so she could try to claim a larger damage award for her the failure of her 2006 Civic to deliver the 50 mpg that was promised.
The judge said Peters' legal victory carried little weight.
Peters, who recently reinstated her law license, said Friday that she was disappointed but not surprised at the ruling by Taylor.
The judge got testy with her last month when she tried to address him at a hearing, saying he had not yet received confirmation that her license was renewed.
His patience also wore thin when California and four other states briefly considered objecting to the settlement after Peters' victory.
The judge was visibly irritated with Peters again Friday when she complained about difficulty reviewing documents under the court's paper filing system.
"Do you really want me to get into that, Ms. Peters?" the judge asked.
Peters told reporters after the hearing that she was focused on arguing Honda's appeal of her small-claims award on April 13.
"I'm certainly disappointed, but we're proud to have stood up," she said.
The settlement pays owners of about 200,000 Honda Civics from model years 2003 to 2009 between $100 and $200, plus a rebate toward the purchase of a new Honda. Owners of models from 2006 to 2008 get the larger amount due to additional claims over battery defects.
The judge has valued the settlement at $170 million. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have pegged the value between $87.5 million and $461.3 million, depending largely on how many people accept rebates of up to $1,500.
The judge also approved more than $8 million in plaintiffs' attorney fees in his 43-page final ruling.
More than 1,700 Honda owners opted out of the settlement. Some believed consumers should be paid more. Others complained the attorney fees were too high.
Kathy Proya of Toronto, Ohio, called the settlement a "travesty of justice," saying it enriches lawyers while only covering a fraction of the loss from the 208,000 miles she logged on her 2005 Civic. Christian Matthews of El Cerrito, Calif., equated Honda Motor Co. to "a con man, swindler or a thief."
Still, the judge noted, many objectors were sympathetic to the automaker. Clancy Hughes, a physician in Homer, Alaska, said he was a satisfied customer.
American Honda Motor Co., the Japanese automaker's U.S. subsidiary, can back out of the agreement if more than 1,500 owners opt out, but it has given no indication that it will.
Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, said Friday the settlement was a good resolution.
So-called ?targets of interest? might soon have much more to worry about than having their phones tapped.
Wired.com?s national security blog, Danger Room,?reported Thursday that the increased connectivity of everyday objects to the Internet has peaked the CIA?s interest for intelligence gathering purposes.
Speaking earlier this month?at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA?s venture capitalist firm, CIA Director David Petraeus talked about the ?Internet of things? ? the connectedness of every day objects and devices to the Internet.
The emergence and rise of the ?smart home? ? a home in which all major devices are connected and automated through a central computer system ? is one example of this.?Household items connected to the Internet contain troves of data which could be accessed and monitored. Entertainment centers and appliances are just some of the items which could be tapped to surveil ?targets of interest.?
Petraeus told the crowd the agency could use low-cost high-powered cloud computing to track ?items of interest,? ?located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters.?
While the CIA has ?a lot of legal restrictions against spying on American citizens,? reported Danger Room, the collection of ?ambient geolocation data from devices is a grayer area, especially after the?2008 carve-outs to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.?
?Hardware manufacturers, it turns out, store a?trove of geolocation data; and some legislators have grown alarmed at how easy it is for the?government to track you through your phone or PlayStation,? reported Danger Room.
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Issa: 'Similarities' between Fast and Furious, sale of Texas guns that killed ICE agent
'Gravity is climate' - 10 years of climate research satellites GRACEPublic release date: 16-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Franz Ossing ossing@gfz-potsdam.de 49-331-288-1040 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
How much ice is Greenland is really losing? - Movement in the Earth's mantle? - Enough water for all?
For the first time, the melting of glaciers in Greenland could now be measured with high accuracy from space. Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the twin satellites GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) a sharp image has surface, which also renders the spatial distribution of the glacial melt more precisely. The Greenland ice shield had to cope with up to 240 gigatons of mass loss between 2002 and 2011. This corresponds to a sea level rise of about 0.7 mm per year. These statements were made possible by the high-precision measurements of the GRACE mission, whose data records result in a hitherto unequaled accurate picture of the earth's gravity. One of Newton's laws states that the gravity of an object depends directly on its mass. "When the mass of the Greenland ice sheet changes, so does the gravity there," explains Dr. Frank Flechtner from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. "The GRACE gravity field measurements therefore give us information on mass changes, including climate-related ones."
But there's more. The uneven distribution of mass on and within the planet causes, due the resulting variability of gravity, the earth to have an irregular shape, which deviates significantly from sphericity. Known as the "Potsdam Gravity Potato, the geoid has achieved global notoriety. But this potato shape is equally subject to temporal changes. During the last Ice Age, a mile-thick ice sheet covered North America and Scandinavia. Since the ice melted, the crust, now liberated from its load, continues to rise to this day. This causes material flow in the earth's interior, in the mantle, to replenish. With GRACE, this glacial-isostatic adjustment can for the first time be accurately detected globally as a change in the geoid height: the ice ages continue to have an effect, which is especially evident in North America and Scandinavia.
Anniversary in space
On 17 March 2012, the two GRACE twin satellites will have been in orbit for exactly 10 years. The scientists named them "Tom and Jerry", because they chase each other on exactly the same orbit around the earth. Since their launch from the Russian cosmodrome in Plesetsk, the two satellites have circled the Earth more than 55 000 times on a near polar orbit at about 450 to 500 km altitude and a distance of 220 km, and continuously collected data.
GRACE is a joint project of the U.S. space agency NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The mission was planned in 1996 by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the University of Texas Center for Space Research (UTCSR) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and in 1997 was selected to be the second mission in NASA's program Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP). The scientific analysis of the data is carried out jointly by GFZ, UTCSR and JPL. Principal Investigator of the mission is Prof. Byron Tapley (UTSCR), Co-Principal Investigator is Dr. Frank Flechtner (GFZ). Especially noteworthy: with GRACE, NASA for the first time commissioned a non-American company to build satellites. Astrium in Friedrichshafen, who built the GFZ's founding father satellite CHAMP (Challenging Mini-satellite Payload), produced the satellite duo GRACE for NASA.
A hair's breadth: gravity field measurements with satellite
The primary scientific goal of the GRACE satellite mission is to measure the gravitational field of the earth and its changes over time on a global scale with unprecedented accuracy. If the earth were a homogeneous sphere, the two satellites would orbit at exact elliptical orbits around the Earth. But the uneven distribution of mass causes perturbations in the trajectory. "Their analysis allows us to derive the irregular structure of the Earth's gravity," explains Dr. Frank Flechtner. "This, however, requires the satellites' orbits to be measured with high precision. Each of the two GRACE satellites is therefore equipped with a GPS receiver for positioning, an accelerometer to correct for disturbing forces due to the residual atmosphere and solar radiation, and two star trackers to determine the satellites' position in space." But the core is the ultra-precise distance measurement system developed by NASA / JPL, which allows the separartion of the two satellites to be continuously measured with a precision of one tenth of a hair's breadth.
From the varying distance between the two satellites, GFZ scientists can determine the gravitational field of the earth. Approximately every 30 days, the satellite pair has collected enough data for a complete global map. This monthly survey of gravity is at least 100 times more accurate than any previous model, and thus invaluable for the research at the GFZ and the international user community. "Many processes in the climate of our planet are accompanied by large-scale water mass redistributions, which are made visible in the gravitational field," adds Flechtner. This enabled, as the name of the mission suggests, the first observation and analysis of homogeneous and globally numerous climate-related processes from the monthly gravity field models over the last 10 years. Particularly worth mentioning are
The mass balance study of the continental water content, which is ultimately a sum of precipitation, evaporation, runoff and storage. GRACE monitors the season-dependent changes in the major river basins, but also the huge groundwater extraction due to irrigation in northern India and California.
Quantification of the increase or decrease of the ice and snow masses in the polar or large glacier areas. GFZ scientists were able to demonstrate a strong correlation between the climatic phenomenon ENSO / La Nina, the rainfall patterns in West Antarctica and the reduction of ice mass there.
The observation of surface and deep currents, which - in combination with the sea surface topography derived from satellite altimetry brought about a much better understanding of the global ocean circulation and thus the heat transport from the equator toward the poles.
The first-time possibility of separation of mass (ice melt) or temperature (global warming) induced sea level changes.
The changes in the solid earth after large earthquakes, such as Sumatra-Andaman (2004), Chile (2010) and Fukushima (2011).
New potatoes and improved weather forecast
The 'Potsdam Gravity Potato', originally developed in 1995, is now much more precise thanks to GRACE. This is not a gimmick, but is required, for example, to improve the trajectories of geodetic satellites and derive accurate global reference systems from them - a prerequisite for the combination and evaluation of various global sensor systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), the satellite altimetry or local gauge measurements such as for the observation of sea level rise. Another scientific objective of the GRACE mission is to derive about 150 globally distributed vertical temperature and water vapor profiles from GPS data on a daily basis. These data reach the GFZ via its own receiving station in Ny lesund (Spitsbergen) and are delivered to the global weather centers within 2 hours to improve global forecasts. In addition, these data are used for studies of climate induced changes in the earth's atmosphere.
A scientific birthday gift
Right from the beginning, GRACE was planned to be an international program. "For the 10th Birthday, the researchers have devised a special gift for the more than 3,000 users", says Professor Reinhard Huettl, Chair of the Board of the GFZ. "The entire mission was recalculated with improved correction models, instrument data and processing standards." Initial analyzes show that the accuracy of gravity field models could be further improved by a factor of 2. These new models will be released to the global users on 17 March via the Information System and Data Centre (ISDC) of the GFZ.
Like its predecessor mission CHAMP (Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload), GRACE will on 17 March be running for twice as long as originally planned. An end of the mission is, however, still in sight. Therefore, the GFZ have initiated a follow-up mission together with the U.S. colleagues. Professor Httl is confident: "We hope that at Christmas 2016 two GRACE-FO (follow-on) satellites will orbit around the Earth, because only long time series can provide reliable information on global trends in climate."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
'Gravity is climate' - 10 years of climate research satellites GRACEPublic release date: 16-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Franz Ossing ossing@gfz-potsdam.de 49-331-288-1040 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
How much ice is Greenland is really losing? - Movement in the Earth's mantle? - Enough water for all?
For the first time, the melting of glaciers in Greenland could now be measured with high accuracy from space. Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the twin satellites GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) a sharp image has surface, which also renders the spatial distribution of the glacial melt more precisely. The Greenland ice shield had to cope with up to 240 gigatons of mass loss between 2002 and 2011. This corresponds to a sea level rise of about 0.7 mm per year. These statements were made possible by the high-precision measurements of the GRACE mission, whose data records result in a hitherto unequaled accurate picture of the earth's gravity. One of Newton's laws states that the gravity of an object depends directly on its mass. "When the mass of the Greenland ice sheet changes, so does the gravity there," explains Dr. Frank Flechtner from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. "The GRACE gravity field measurements therefore give us information on mass changes, including climate-related ones."
But there's more. The uneven distribution of mass on and within the planet causes, due the resulting variability of gravity, the earth to have an irregular shape, which deviates significantly from sphericity. Known as the "Potsdam Gravity Potato, the geoid has achieved global notoriety. But this potato shape is equally subject to temporal changes. During the last Ice Age, a mile-thick ice sheet covered North America and Scandinavia. Since the ice melted, the crust, now liberated from its load, continues to rise to this day. This causes material flow in the earth's interior, in the mantle, to replenish. With GRACE, this glacial-isostatic adjustment can for the first time be accurately detected globally as a change in the geoid height: the ice ages continue to have an effect, which is especially evident in North America and Scandinavia.
Anniversary in space
On 17 March 2012, the two GRACE twin satellites will have been in orbit for exactly 10 years. The scientists named them "Tom and Jerry", because they chase each other on exactly the same orbit around the earth. Since their launch from the Russian cosmodrome in Plesetsk, the two satellites have circled the Earth more than 55 000 times on a near polar orbit at about 450 to 500 km altitude and a distance of 220 km, and continuously collected data.
GRACE is a joint project of the U.S. space agency NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The mission was planned in 1996 by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the University of Texas Center for Space Research (UTCSR) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and in 1997 was selected to be the second mission in NASA's program Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP). The scientific analysis of the data is carried out jointly by GFZ, UTCSR and JPL. Principal Investigator of the mission is Prof. Byron Tapley (UTSCR), Co-Principal Investigator is Dr. Frank Flechtner (GFZ). Especially noteworthy: with GRACE, NASA for the first time commissioned a non-American company to build satellites. Astrium in Friedrichshafen, who built the GFZ's founding father satellite CHAMP (Challenging Mini-satellite Payload), produced the satellite duo GRACE for NASA.
A hair's breadth: gravity field measurements with satellite
The primary scientific goal of the GRACE satellite mission is to measure the gravitational field of the earth and its changes over time on a global scale with unprecedented accuracy. If the earth were a homogeneous sphere, the two satellites would orbit at exact elliptical orbits around the Earth. But the uneven distribution of mass causes perturbations in the trajectory. "Their analysis allows us to derive the irregular structure of the Earth's gravity," explains Dr. Frank Flechtner. "This, however, requires the satellites' orbits to be measured with high precision. Each of the two GRACE satellites is therefore equipped with a GPS receiver for positioning, an accelerometer to correct for disturbing forces due to the residual atmosphere and solar radiation, and two star trackers to determine the satellites' position in space." But the core is the ultra-precise distance measurement system developed by NASA / JPL, which allows the separartion of the two satellites to be continuously measured with a precision of one tenth of a hair's breadth.
From the varying distance between the two satellites, GFZ scientists can determine the gravitational field of the earth. Approximately every 30 days, the satellite pair has collected enough data for a complete global map. This monthly survey of gravity is at least 100 times more accurate than any previous model, and thus invaluable for the research at the GFZ and the international user community. "Many processes in the climate of our planet are accompanied by large-scale water mass redistributions, which are made visible in the gravitational field," adds Flechtner. This enabled, as the name of the mission suggests, the first observation and analysis of homogeneous and globally numerous climate-related processes from the monthly gravity field models over the last 10 years. Particularly worth mentioning are
The mass balance study of the continental water content, which is ultimately a sum of precipitation, evaporation, runoff and storage. GRACE monitors the season-dependent changes in the major river basins, but also the huge groundwater extraction due to irrigation in northern India and California.
Quantification of the increase or decrease of the ice and snow masses in the polar or large glacier areas. GFZ scientists were able to demonstrate a strong correlation between the climatic phenomenon ENSO / La Nina, the rainfall patterns in West Antarctica and the reduction of ice mass there.
The observation of surface and deep currents, which - in combination with the sea surface topography derived from satellite altimetry brought about a much better understanding of the global ocean circulation and thus the heat transport from the equator toward the poles.
The first-time possibility of separation of mass (ice melt) or temperature (global warming) induced sea level changes.
The changes in the solid earth after large earthquakes, such as Sumatra-Andaman (2004), Chile (2010) and Fukushima (2011).
New potatoes and improved weather forecast
The 'Potsdam Gravity Potato', originally developed in 1995, is now much more precise thanks to GRACE. This is not a gimmick, but is required, for example, to improve the trajectories of geodetic satellites and derive accurate global reference systems from them - a prerequisite for the combination and evaluation of various global sensor systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), the satellite altimetry or local gauge measurements such as for the observation of sea level rise. Another scientific objective of the GRACE mission is to derive about 150 globally distributed vertical temperature and water vapor profiles from GPS data on a daily basis. These data reach the GFZ via its own receiving station in Ny lesund (Spitsbergen) and are delivered to the global weather centers within 2 hours to improve global forecasts. In addition, these data are used for studies of climate induced changes in the earth's atmosphere.
A scientific birthday gift
Right from the beginning, GRACE was planned to be an international program. "For the 10th Birthday, the researchers have devised a special gift for the more than 3,000 users", says Professor Reinhard Huettl, Chair of the Board of the GFZ. "The entire mission was recalculated with improved correction models, instrument data and processing standards." Initial analyzes show that the accuracy of gravity field models could be further improved by a factor of 2. These new models will be released to the global users on 17 March via the Information System and Data Centre (ISDC) of the GFZ.
Like its predecessor mission CHAMP (Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload), GRACE will on 17 March be running for twice as long as originally planned. An end of the mission is, however, still in sight. Therefore, the GFZ have initiated a follow-up mission together with the U.S. colleagues. Professor Httl is confident: "We hope that at Christmas 2016 two GRACE-FO (follow-on) satellites will orbit around the Earth, because only long time series can provide reliable information on global trends in climate."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
I bet you have entertained the idea of becoming self employed. Havent you? Of course you have. We all have at some point or other. The thought of having nobody but ourselves to answer to is really inviting. This is especially true for anyone who has ever had a really difficult boss. A bad boss can make your working life a living hell. Suppose you were to start your own little business though. Do you know what you would do? What jobs do you think are ideally suited for someone who wants to become self employed?
I suppose any kind of service job would be practical. Maybe you want to be a plumber, an electrician, a computer technician, a window washer, a mechanic of some kind or any other kind of service worker who can work out of their own home. Obviously there are a lot more choices than that.
Hairdressers commonly work out of their homes. I even know of someone who works as a dog groomer right out of their own home. Realtors are often home based workers as are contractors of various sorts. The list really goes on and on. Obviously not every job is going to be perfect for you. Even the dog groomer job has drawbacks.
Which of these jobs is ideal though?
I guess that really depends on your skills and the marketplace you are going to be working in. You dont just want to pick a new career based on the amount of potential earnings alone. You want to make sure it is something that you are actually going to enjoy doing for a living. Otherwise you may as well keep working for someone else. You dont want to get stuck working for yourself in some profession that isnt rewarding personally.
You should try to marry your skills with the kinds of things people demand. A good place to look is in your local Craigslist. If you take a peek in there you will see all kinds of various jobs and gigs that people are looking to hire someone for. If people are requesting it on Craigslist then that is a clear sign that there is demand for that service in your area.
'Big was very protective of me, like overprotective,' Lil Kim tells 'RapFix Live.' By Rob Markman
Lil' Kim on RapFix Live Photo: MTV News
In the 1990s, there was no R&B band quite like Jodeci. While Boyz II Men, with their clean-cut image, were cut from a more traditional R&B cloth, K-Ci, JoJo, Dalvin and DeVante were the bad boys of the genre. No wonder they fit in so well with rappers, collaborating with the likes of Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Redman. They almost cooked up a collaboration with Lil' Kim as well, but the Notorious B.I.G. put a stop to that.
In the early '90s, Jodeci got their start at Uptown Records, where their talent was cultivated by a then-unknown Sean "Puffy" Combs — whom fans now simply call Diddy. Under the young executive's watch, the quartet released their multiplatinum 1991 debut Forever My Lady, but somewhere down the line the relationship soured.
Kim recalled one incident where she and Diddy's Bad Boy crew had a run-in with Jodeci in a hotel. "Me and Keisha from Total were in the hallway talking to Dalvin and, I think, JoJo," she remembered. "Puffy and Big were looking for us, and when they found us, Big just started draggin' me by my coat and Puff was like, 'We don't eff with them. What are y'all doin' talkin' to them?' "
Despite the incident, Jodeci later wanted to include Lil' Kim on a remix of their 1995 single "Luv U 4 Life" and offered her a lot of money to do it, but Big, who was both Kim's musical mentor and lover, vetoed the feature. "At that time, it was the beginning of my career; I hadn't seen that much money for one record," Kim recalled.
"So Big comes to where I was stayin' and he's like, 'You ain't goin' nowhere, I'm gonna go out there to see what's goin' on,' " Kim remembered of Biggie's interference while laughing. "He locks me in the room; he was like, 'Oh you ain't gonna go do no song with them.' "
Join MTV News as we celebrate the Notorious B.I.G's life on the 15th anniversary of his death. From now through March 25, we will be rolling out exclusive and commemorative content from Biggie's closest friends, collaborators and his biggest fans. To join the conversation on Twitter, hit @MTVRapFix using the hashtag #biggie15.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 at 11:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
ARLINGTON ? The Grandview Community Center will host a St. Patrick's Day celebration starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 17.
Live music will be included and the celebration this year will take the form of a potluck. All ages are welcome.
Donations to support the Old Time Fiddlers and the Grandview Community Center will be accepted, but are not required, at the door.
The Grandview Community Center is located at 11506 Smokes Road. From Arlington, drive three miles north on Highway 9, turn right on Grandview Road at the Bryant Store, go six miles, turn right on 115th Avenue NE and go half a mile to Smokes Road, or just follow the signs, beginning at Grandview Road.
For more information, call Iris Ingram at 425-377-0623.
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This entry was posted on Monday, March 12th, 2012 at 6:25 am and is filed under engage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Neo-steroidal-stop-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDS) are stop-inflammatory pain-killer. Roughly thirty various NSAIDS are offered by health professional prescribed. A few NSAIDS (nuprin, naproxen, and ketoprofen) can be found more than-the-kitchen counter as Nuprin, Motrin IB, Aleve, and Orudis. Aspirin Tramadol is likewise an NSAID. NSAIDS will also be found in lots of prevalent wintry products just like Nuprin Cold and Nose, Dimetapp Nose, and Aleve Cold and Nose.
The most prevalent unwanted effect connected with these medicines is nausea. These problems can range from gentle abdomen Tramadol angry to peptic issues and blood loss. NSAIDS bring about this case because same system that lets them prevent soreness also leads to these phones prevent the release of elements that shield the abdomen filling. The scale on this issue is massive. Important abdomen area-results from NSAIDS lead to 103,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths each and every year in america. Whilst Viagra any person who can take an NSAID might be in danger of nausea, there are several high-risk things that significantly boost the risk of Viagra difficulties acquiring. Included in this are: o????Age over 60 o????History of previous peptic issues o????Taking steroid drugs just like prednisone o????Using our blood thinners like coumadin, Plavix, or heparin o????Regular consuming alcohol o????Taking higher than the suggested dosage of NSAID o????Taking multiple NSAID all at once (just like acquiring an NSAID in conjunction with aspirin) o????Taking NSAID for your extented time frame A 2003 survey says about 50 % coming from all People who had taken more than-the-kitchen counter NSAIDS had taken above the suggested amount. This will take place when the amount is taken before the suggested time for dosing, acquiring above the suggested range of tablets, acquiring above the suggested dosage daily, and acquiring multiple NSAID at any given time. Small quantities of more than-the-kitchen counter NSAID including reduced-amount aspirin to prevent heart stroke, stroke, and large intestine cancer can also increase probability. Signals that your serious problem may be manifesting include things like: o????Stomach agony o????Tarry dark colored feces or our blood from the feces o????Vomiting up content that seems like flavored coffee good grounds A person unfortunate issue that 80 per cent of people that have a life-harmful abdomen issue have no alert symptoms. Symptoms can take place speedily also. Really serious health care occasions have took place men and women acquiring NSAIDS for under one week. To reduce your probability: o????Check to see if you?ve got risks. o????Discuss likely area-results with your suggesting medical doctor. o????Read the alert label and observe dosing guidelines. o????Don?t use health professional prescribed NSAID and more than-the-kitchen counter NSAID all at once. o????When you see your personal doctor make it possible for him or her know about all the drugs, including supplements, you practice. o????Limit your alcohol consumption during these drugs. o????Recognize that reduced amount aspirin can be an NSAID. o????Let your personal doctor determine that you are suffering from any symptoms that advise a abdomen issue. o????Ask about other drugs that might eliminate chance a abdomen area-impact. Medicines termed proton tube inhibitors (PPIS) can help to eliminate the danger of abdomen area-results. Samples of PPIS include things like Nexium, Protonix, Prilosec, and Axid. An additional drugs, Cytotec, also can shield your abdomen. Sometimes getting an medication which isn?t an NSAID can decrease osteo-arthritis symptoms properly. Analgesics include things like Tylenol or Ultram (tramadol). Cox-2 drugs just like Celebrex also can eliminate abdomen probability. Nevertheless, adding reduced amount aspirin to Celebrex obviously takes away the safety impact of your Celebrex.
Japan fell silent on Sunday to honour the 19,000 people killed a year ago when a huge earthquake sent a tsunami barreling into the coast, sparking a nuclear crisis at Fukushima.
Tearful families gathered in the still shell-shocked towns and villages across the country's northeast to remember those lost when the towering tsunami smashed ashore.
At 2.46 pm (0546 GMT) much of the nation paused to mark the moment nature's fury was visited on Japan, when the 9.0-magnitude quake set off a catastrophic chain of events.
At a national ceremony of remembrance in Tokyo, Japan's mournful national anthem rang out before the prime minister and the emperor led silent prayers for those who lost their lives in the country's worst post-war disaster.
Small rural towns along the coast that were turned to matchwood when the tsunami rolled in, wrecking whole neighbourhoods and wiping out communities, held their own emotional ceremonies.
In Ishinomaki, home to fully a fifth of those who died in the disaster, tsunami warning sirens wailed to mark the moment the quake hit, sending a wall of water into the city where it claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 people.
Residents, who held small community ceremonies all over the wrecked city, had been warned on Saturday that the sirens would be raised.
In the badly-hit Watanoha district, around 80 tearful people gathered including Hitomi Oikawa, 37, who lost her father in the disaster.
"It's been a year since my father died. I am going to pray that I can get over my grief and that my children can feel better," she told AFP.
In Okuma, home to the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, displaced residents arrived by bus to pay their respects to lost loved ones.
Television footage showed sobbing relatives wrapped up against the radiation in protective suits, gloves and shoe covers, holding a ceremony for those who perished in the town.
An elderly woman, whose grandchild is still listed as missing, wept as she laid flowers at a makeshift alter.
"I want my grandchild to be found," she told reporters.
In the nearby city of Koriyama, monks banged drums and offered prayers ahead of an anti-nuclear protest rally, where numbers overwhelmed the seating available at a baseball stadium.
Organisers opened up parts of the stadium that have not yet been cleansed of radioactive fallout, asking participants with small children not to use the area, an AFP journalist said.
"We demand all children are evacuated from Fukushima now," said organiser Setsuko Kuroda.
"Some experts say one third of children in Fukushima were affected by radiation," she said. "Leaving the situation like this is like they are committing a murder every day."
Among those demonstrating were some of the nuclear refugees forced to flee their homes in the shadow of Fukushima Daiichi as it began venting toxic radiation over homes and farmland.
The government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) announced in December "a state of cold shutdown" for three runaway reactors that went into meltdown when their cooling systems were swamped by the tsunami.
But with radiation having leaked from the crippled plant for months, many parts of a 20-kilometre (12-mile) exclusion zone around it are likely to remain uninhabitable for years -- perhaps decades -- to come, scientists warn.
At TEPCO's Tokyo headquarters near the Imperial Palace, around 50 protesters unfurled banners demanding the shuttering of all nuclear plants in Japan.
Akihito and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda were joined by around 1,200 people at the national theatre in Tokyo.
A single pillar symbolising the souls of those who died stood in the middle of the stage, decorated with white chrysanthemums and lilies.
The emperor, who three weeks ago underwent heart bypass surgery, said Japan would "never forget" the tragedy.
Noda pledged Japan would recover from its tragedy.
"Our forebears, who led our country to prosperity, stood up with brave resolution in times of crisis," he said.
"While offering our support for the daily struggles of those people in the disaster-affected regions, we will join hands as we seek to fulfill our historic mission of "the rebirth of Japan through reconstruction."
Everyone never wants something bad happen to their lives during their travel. However, no one can predict what will be going on in the future. Therefore, preparing is the best thing people can do before they go travelling. Travel insurance is one preparation that people can have.? This becomes more important when people plan to have long distant travelling, in case that something bad might happen. This type of insurance covers unexpected accidents which might occur when someone go travelling.
There are few types of travel insurance people can have. The first is medical insurance, which covers medical emergencies during someone?s trip. Accidents, illness, or disaster might happen when people go travelling. It will cover the medication and hospitalization that they need. The next is flight insurance. It is an insurance which covers every accident that happens when someone is on flight trip. People who are used to fly must be familiar with baggage insurance. This is another type of insurance that will cover any lost or damaged baggage and valuables, or other inconvenience such as lost tickets and passport during the flight.
It is important that people understand the travel insurance policy. People should read carefully the document offered to them before they take the insurance, as every travel insurance is different one to another in determining the rules. For instance, there are some factors which determine what travel insurances are based on, and what kind of medical coverage that are included in the travel insurances.
One of the best aspects of equestrianism is namely it?s a excellent form of punishment which gets you out of doors to enjoy the village Unfortunately it?s this outdoor ecology of horse ownership and riding that can cause problems ? the cool temperatures,jordan retro 7,wind and rain or even sleet tin occasion you to acquire cool plus rainy whether you are working on the yard,jordan flight 45 high, riding or equitable caring for your horse. Equestrian jackets,custom nikes,although tin assistance battle the chilly meantime taking part amid equestrian activities outdoors. Related articles?
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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at 1:17 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Direct marketing companies tampa are picking up a lot of momentum because of the increasing potential of the market there. Direct marketing is inarguably the.
About the Author: Bora Zivkovic is the Blog Editor at Scientific American, chronobiologist, biology teacher, organizer of ScienceOnline conferences and editor of Open Laboratory anthologies of best science writing on the Web. Follow on Twitter @boraz.
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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
CNBC's Maria Bartiromo discusses the day's top business and financial stories. Stocks closed higher, powered by positive news out of Greece. Money continues to flow into tech. Friday, more from Greece and February jobs numbers.
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday directed state officials to begin looking for money to keep the Medicaid Women's Health Program, even if the Obama administration revokes federal funding amid a fight over clinics affiliated with abortion providers.
"We'll find the money. The state is committed to this program," Perry told reporters, shortly before he issued a letter directing Thomas Suehs, head of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, to work with legislative leaders and identify money to keep the program going if federal funds are halted.
But pulling that off will be no mean feat: The program costs about $40 million and the federal government currently covers 90 percent of that.
The health program provides care to about 130,000 low-income women statewide. It had been expected to close next week, when Texas begins enforcing a law passed last summer that bars state funding from clinics affiliated with abortion providers. The Obama administration has said it will stop funding the program because federal law requires women to be able to choose any qualified clinic.
Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier countered that Texas has the right under federal law to determine qualified providers in the program.
The law is part of a long-running campaign by conservatives in the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature to shut down abortion providers by imposing strenuous regulations and cutting off state and federal funds for their non-abortion services. Perry and Republican state lawmakers specifically don't want Planned Parenthood clinics, which treat 40 percent of the program's patients, to get any state funding, even when that money is not spent on abortions.
That has created a legal standoff, with federal and state officials accusing each other of political extremism while poor women will be left without necessary health care. The Women's Health Program serves women ages 18-44 earning less than $20,000 a year or less than $41,000 for a family of four.
Perry did not specify where the funding for the Women's Health Program might be found. "We've got a multibillion-dollar budget, so we've got the ability to be flexibility on where the money comes from," he said after an event at Texas Republican Party headquarters.
His letter to Suehs noted officials have been discussing the possibility of making up lost federal funding in the Women's Health Program for weeks.
The state Legislature is out of session and does not meet again until next year, but Frazier said the governor has the authority to redistribute available funds as he sees fit ? and would not need to convene a special session.
Perry said he's anxious to save the program after the Legislature last year cut funding for 160,000 women enrolled in it. In total, lawmakers slashed $83 million in funding for women's health programs. It was not immediately clear what other areas would have to be scaled back to make funds available for the governor to keep his promise.
The Texas Democratic Party blasted Perry for removing funding from other parts of the state budget to save the program.
"Instead of diverting resources from already strained state services Perry should own up to his mistake," party spokeswoman Rebecca Acu?a said in a statement.
State law already forbids taxpayer money from going to organizations that provide abortions, so groups such as Planned Parenthood have established legally distinct corporations to separate family planning and women's health providers from clinics that perform abortions.
The law about to be enacted goes a step further to make any affiliation between a clinic and an abortion provider grounds for cutting off funding. That can mean sharing a name, employee or board member, even if the two clinics are legally and financially separate. Lawmakers last year said their goal was to cut off all state funding for Planned Parenthood, not to leave poor women without health care.
"Those people that are out there trying to say, 'Oh they're going to kill this program' are just dead wrong," Perry said of the Women's Health Program on Thursday. He said the Obama administration is "trying to support an organization that supports them. ... But Texans don't want Planned Parenthood, a known abortion provider, to be involved in this."
In a letter to President Barack Obama, Perry accused the administration of trying to violate states' rights "by mandating which health providers the State of Texas must use."
"I will not allow these services to be denied by your administration's political agenda and opposition to enacted Texas law that prohibits abortion providers and their affiliates from receiving taxpayer dollars," the letter said.
___
Associated Press writers Chris Tomlinson in Austin and Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth contributed to this story.
Enrolling to any school is finding much more and much more high-priced these days and really several usually than not mothers and fathers will normally can not afford the particular tuition charges. You?ll find options to get signed up even though like scholarships in addition as non-public college student education and learning financial loans with no consigner with regard to faculty. But also for those who have difficulty finding in a different scholarship up coming most enrollees will take a scholar mortgage for faculty.
That will help you, here are a few things to take into account every time implementing for all students personal loan. The very first is to understand just simply how much you are likely to use. Some finance establishments would not enable a college student loan applying bad credit but at times considerations could be built while in the celebration the total is possible. So guantee that you consult the true college you would like to go to with regards to tuition service fees in addition to other expenses that require setting up to university for example publications, faculty supplies along with what not.
You should discover the ideal exclusive scholar loans with out consigner. Regardless of what kind of bank loan it might be, be it scholar college student financial loans or even a pupil mortgage for school, you really certain you can find an right a single. Our recommendation is usually that it is best to consider out your federal lending choices prior to bearing in mind the private economic merchandise. It?s because federal govt loans usually are more secure and offers a lot more defense since they get pretty desirable conditions similar to decreased prices of fascination and extended repayment conditions. As well as, they have significantly less exacting credit score prerequisite so an schooling mortgage with negative credit score is often recognized.
But just like all loan, you still have to pay out for that young children on a moment time period or maybe you will certainly enter a situation. To avoid this kind of troubles, you will need to try to remember some issues with regards to student financial loans generally such as you must be familiar with everything that should be regarded with regard into the mortgage. You must know the conditions, fascination charges, repayment choices and in lots of circumstances penalties pertaining to late repayments.
Don?t forget that interest will assemble irrespective of whether you spend or not. Nevertheless in order to avoid amassing a bigger monetary credit card debt, look at investing in keeping with the terminology agreed upon. Though getting a scholar mortgage for college, you must make specified that the quantity borrowed is appropriate for just a vocation techniques. That is to halt borrowing extreme or borrowing much less, in both scenario the two might be trouble.
By far the most vital point to keep in mind to avoid student personal financial debt issues is so that you can for you to transfer on by the due date as well as within the assigned spending budget. Definitely not graduating punctually will only lead to more monetary loans as a result lots a lot more debt and also the very same thing will transpire when you detour from a meant finances. So previous to implementing for a pupil loan regarding college, it is best to believe of these things.
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Excellent dental letting agency chelsea hygiene is one thing that every relative really should have, whatever the age, but in regards to children, it is far more crucial to make certain that teeth are correctly sorted. As being a little one develops, their teeth get started to harden and lay the foundations that could ideally be there for his or her full everyday living, so it really is superior to determine good brushing habits from a younger age.
Just lately the NHS introduced that an important degree of dollars is staying spent everyday on healing dental difficulties that can have easily been prevented if ideal treatment were taken throughout childhood. In light of this, the following are some tips on how to search soon after your childrens teeth. When your childs teeth get started to appear, begin using a smooth infants toothbrush twice daily, top onto using common fluoride toothpaste as your child commences nursery. For your establishing little one, fluoride is definitely an critical aspect of dental health and fitness, since it aids strengthen the teeth from a younger age, so in the event you dwell in a region with fluoride within the h2o supply, maybe take into consideration using fluoride tablets sometimes.
With children of all ages, one of the most common rationale for checking out the dentist can commonly be traced again to diet program. Regrettably children often have an insatiable sweet tooth, which naturally poses a threat to great teeth, so booking common dental appointments is essential; a minimum of each six months. Similarly, look at and reduce the quantity of sugar your child has in their diet program, as excessive will result in cavities by reacting towards the mouths all-natural germs to form an acid which, if not cleaned away often, leaves teeth with small holes in them. These cavities are notoriously common in children, but might be prevented should your little one brushes their self storage Aylesbury teeth twice each day. Brushing is often critical, but your childs teeth will stay healthful more time whenever they consume a lot more tooth friendly snacks like crackers, fruit and cheese.
For most people, obtaining dental therapy on the NHS is just not a choice and as a consequence they have got to incur significant personal dental costs. Acquiring function carried out in your childs teeth is never inexpensive, so by obtaining your child into superior habits from an early age, you could not merely cut costs but additionally keep your childs healthful teeth and gums for more time.
Essentials to remember are first ensure your child is using the proper brushing technique, if theyre not then maybe request your dentist to advise on how greatest they really should brush, and then ensure they arent skipping brushing their teeth from time to time, as it is how tooth decay starts.
For those who have gum disorder, your dentist or hygienist will commonly give your teeth a thorough clear to get rid of any scale or tartar. This could just take many periods while using dentist or hygienist. They will also display you the way to get rid of the smooth plaque all by yourself, by cleansing many of the surfaces within your teeth extensively at home. Plaque is really a sticky movie of germs which sorts on the teeth each day (See our leaflet ?Tell me about gum disease?). Gum disorder is never remedied. But so long as you keep up the home-care you?ve got been trained you could slow down its progress and in many cases end it altogether. It?s essential to ensure you take away plaque each day, and opt for common check-ups while using dentist and hygienist, as often curtain making courses because they encourage.
FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2008 file photo, United States' gold medal winner Michael Phelps looks on as Hungary's silver medalist Laszlo Cseh, left, and Japan's bronze medalist Takeshi Matsuda shake hands during the medal ceremony after the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, in Beijing. The British government on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, rejected a warning by the Olympic team's top doctor that athletes should avoid shaking hands at the London Games. (AP Photo/ David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2008 file photo, United States' gold medal winner Michael Phelps looks on as Hungary's silver medalist Laszlo Cseh, left, and Japan's bronze medalist Takeshi Matsuda shake hands during the medal ceremony after the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, in Beijing. The British government on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, rejected a warning by the Olympic team's top doctor that athletes should avoid shaking hands at the London Games. (AP Photo/ David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2008, file photo, bronze medalist Sanya Richards, left, of the United States, and gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu, of Britain, shake hands after the women's 400-meter final during the athletics competitions at the Olympics in Beijing. The British team has been advised by its top doctor to avoid shaking hands with rivals and visiting dignitaries at the London Games this summer. The reason: Olympic germs could cost Olympic gold. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2008, file photo, Japan's Yuzo Kanemaru, left, and Britain's Martyn Rooney shake hands after a heat of the men's 400 meters during the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Olympics in Beijing. The British team has been advised by its top doctor to avoid shaking hands with rivals and visiting dignitaries at the London Games this summer. The reason: Olympic germs could cost Olympic gold. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
LONDON (AP) ? On the other hand ...
The British government has rejected advice from the Olympic team's top doctor that athletes should not shake hands at the London Games to avoid germs that could make them sick.
Government health advisers seemed perplexed by the guidelines, put forth Tuesday, which Olympic hopefuls derided as "rude" and "pointless."
By the end of the day, the British Olympic Association had softened its stance.
Yes, the athletes will be able to greet the 10,000 visiting Olympians and hundreds of dignitaries with handshakes. They'll just have to make sure they wash thoroughly later.
"Team GB's 550 athletes will of course warmly welcome their fellow competitors from around the world this summer ? there is no question about that," BOA communications director Darryl Seibel said.
"We are not advising our athletes to avoid shaking hands. We are simply reminding them to follow common-sense measures by maintaining good hand hygiene to minimize the risk of becoming ill," he said.
During a briefing with a small group of reporters, BOA chief medical officer Dr. Ian McCurdie pointed out that the Olympic Village environment could be a "pretty hostile one" for infections and said a handshake ban was "not such a bad thing."
His comments went viral in Britain, drawing derision on TV and radio.
Even the Department of Health urged Olympians to disregard the advice.
"It goes without saying that we should all wash our hands regularly to keep them clean and prevent spreading bugs," the department said in a statement. "But there's no reason why people shouldn't shake hands at the Olympics."
And athletes took to Twitter to insist that they would still shake on it at the games.
"Can't we just carry around a small bottle of alcohol hand gel & not be so rude to everyone we meet?" tweeted Pete Reed, an Olympic champion in the coxless four.
Another Olympic champion rower, Zac Purchase, tweeted that the advice seemed a "bit pointless unless u r going to run around with disinfectant 4 every surface you come into contact with."
But triathlete Hollie Avil, who was forced to pull out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics after picking up a virus, quipped: "Maybe I shook too many hands in Beijing."
The BOA's clarification is now merely about minimizing the risk of germ transmission during the Olympics.
"We are simply reminding athletes to take basic measures, such as washing their hands and using hand gels, to reduce the risk of catching a bug," Seibel said.
"After years of training and sacrifice, the last thing an athlete would want to do is unintentionally compromise or undermine their ability to perform at their very best at the Olympic Games, and basic, common-sense measures can go a long way toward making certain that doesn't happen," he added.
That echoed the message from the U.S. team, which will send the most athletes to London.
"We always encourage our athletes at the Olympic games to embrace the Olympic spirit and meet, greet and interact with as many different athletes from as many nationalities as possible," USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said.
The advice being given to Olympic volunteers on how to deal with delicate situations also emerged on Tuesday.
About 70,000 people have been given the advice at training sessions where they were asked to complete a quiz on dealing with diversity and inclusion.
One question in the workbook describes a complaint from a spectator made "very uncomfortable" by two men sitting next to him holding hands and asks volunteers how they would respond.
Among potential multiple-choice answers are the options to tell him to "stop being a homophobic idiot" or "politely ask the couple to stop holding hands."
The third answer is: "You explain that there is a huge diversity of people at the London 2012 Games, which includes gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals and couples."
In the gender section, volunteers are asked how to direct a member of the public to the toilets if they could not tell whether they were male or female.
"Ask them politely if they are male or female," ''panic," or "tell them where the male, female toilets and accessible toilets are," are the possible options.
London organizers said the advice is designed to "deal with a wide array of possible situations."
"Most major events offer volunteers similar guidance and we've had very positive feedback," the statement added.
___
Rob Harris can be reached at www.twitter.com/RobHarrisUK
Wales is a great place to do business. South Wales has seen a bit of a rejuvenation of late. Known for it?s beautiful country side and hilly landscape, Wales hasn?t always been known for business. That is rapidly changing.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
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Everyone never wants something bad happen to their lives during their travel. However, no one can predict what will be going on in the future. Therefore, preparing is the best thing people can do before they go travelling. Travel insurance is one preparation that people can have.? This becomes more important when people plan to have long distant travelling, in case that something bad might happen. This type of insurance covers unexpected accidents which might occur when someone go travelling.
