PARIS ? Palestine became a full member of UNESCO on Monday in a historic vote that could cost the agency a fifth of its budget and that the U.S. and other opponents say could harm renewed Mideast peace efforts.
Monday's decision is a grand symbolic victory for the Palestinians, but it alone won't make Palestine into a state. The issues of borders for an eventual Palestinian state, security troubles and other disputes that have thwarted Middle East peace for decades remain unresolved.
Lawmakers in the United States had threatened to halt some $80 million in annual funding if Palestinian membership in UNESCO was approved. It wasn't clear in the immediate aftermath of Monday's vote whether the threat would become reality.
White House spokesman Jay Carney called UNESCO's decision "premature" and said it undermines the international community's goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace plan. He called it a distraction from the goal of restarting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Huge cheers went up in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization after delegates approved the membership in a vote of 107-14 with 52 abstentions. Eighty-one votes were needed for approval in a hall with 173 UNESCO member delegations present. In a surprise, France voted "yes" ? and the room erupted in cheers ? while the "no" votes included the United States, Israel, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany.
"Long live Palestine!" someone shouted in the hall, in French, at the unusually tense and dramatic meeting of UNESCO's General Conference.
Even if the vote's impact isn't felt right away in the Mideast, it will be quickly felt at UNESCO, which protects historic heritage sites and works to improve world literacy, access to schooling for girls and cultural understanding, but it also has in the past been a forum for anti-Israel sentiment.
Existing U.S. law can bar Washington from funding any U.N. body that accepts members that do not have the "internationally recognized attributes of statehood." That requirement is generally interpreted to mean U.N. membership. But it remains unclear whether the U.S. State Department will try to find legal wiggle room.
Democrats and Republicans in Washington criticized the move. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement, "Today's reckless action by UNESCO is anti-Israel and anti-peace."
Aside from the U.S. funding cut threat, Israel's Foreign Ministry said it "will consider its further ... cooperation with the organization" after Monday's vote.
UNESCO depends heavily on U.S. funding ? Washington provides 22 percent of its budget ? but has survived without it in the past: The United States pulled out of UNESCO under President Ronald Reagan, rejoining two decades later under President George W. Bush.
Palestinian officials are seeking full membership in the United Nations, but that effort is still under examination and the U.S. has pledged a veto unless there is a peace deal with Israel. Given that, the Palestinians separately sought membership at Paris-based UNESCO. All the efforts are part of a broader push by the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas for greater international recognition in recent years.
"Joy fills my heart. This is really an historic moment," said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. "We hope that today's victory at UNESCO marks but a beginning. Our admission to UNESCO is not an alternative, is no substitute for something else."
In the Gaza Strip, Abbas' rival, the militant Hamas government, also praised the UNESCO decision, saying that Hamas' confrontational approach toward Israel was behind the vote.
"It also indicates that the Palestinian cause is getting more support while American policy is regressing," said Hamas official Salah Bardawil.
UNESCO, like other U.N. agencies, is a part of the world body but has separate membership procedures and can make its own decisions about which countries belong. Full U.N. membership is not required for membership in many of the U.N. agencies.
Monday's vote is definitive, and the membership formally takes effect when Palestine signs UNESCO's founding charter.
Israel's outspoken foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said before the vote that if it passed, Israel should cut off ties with the Palestinian Authority. It was not clear whether he was voicing an individual opinion or government policy. He has a history of making comments embarrassing to the prime minister.
In an address to parliament, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the Palestinians move.
"Unfortunately, the Palestinians continue to refuse to negotiate with us. Instead of sitting around the negotiating table, they have decided to form an alliance with Hamas and take unilateral steps at the U.N., including today," Netanyahu said. He warned his government would "not sit quietly."
The U.S. ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, said Monday's vote will "complicate" U.S. efforts to support the agency. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is up to member states "to ensure the United Nations system as a whole a consistent political and financial support."
"As such, we will need to work on tactical solutions to preserve UNESCO's financial resources," he said. He urged a negotiated solution to Mideast peace.
Ghasan Khatib, spokesman for the Palestinian government in the West Bank, urged the United States to keep UNESCO funding.
"We look at this vote as especially important because part of our battle with the Israeli occupation is about the occupation attempts to erase the Palestinian history or Judaizing it. The UNESCO vote will help us to maintain the Palestinian traditional heritage," he said.
Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, called the vote a tragedy. "They've forced a drastic cut in contributions to the organization," he said.
"UNESCO deals in science, not science fiction," he said. "They forced on UNESCO a political subject out of its competence."
____
Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris, Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, Edith Lederer at the United Nations, Joe Federman in Jerusalem contributed.
Hotels might have to consider offering tiered fees for better wifi service
Hotel wifi has never been the best internet connection for many people, but it might actually have gotten worse recently. The New York Times reports an increasing number of complaints about hotel wifi so slow you can compare it to dial-up connections of old. The culprit, according to hotel and meeting industries information provider?iBAHN, is Apple's iPad.
More people now carry multiple mobile devices on the road, and the iPad in particular is used for bandwidth-heavy tasks like streaming videos due to its relatively large screen real estate. "The bits used for video streaming and downloading increased thirtyfold on our network in one year," says iBAHN chief executive David W. Garrison. In that regard, you can say that tablets of similar size share the responsibility of clogging up hotel wifi connections. But since the iPad accounts for a massive 97% of tablet-based web traffic, it's getting all the blame.
The growth in hotel internet bandwidth demand compels owners to rethink their wifi services. Studies conducted on the subject for iBAHN all result in the same thing ? free wifi is essential when choosing hotels to stay in. But as the quality of internet connection matters as well, hoteliers now have to choose between continuing to offer free but crappy wifi or introducing a tiered fee system.
A tiered system retains a free wifi option, although it comes with limited capabilities. Only those who are willing to pony up some cash for premium connectivity during their stay can get the best coverage possible. Yes, it will hurt your wallet, but if fast internet connection on the road is essential for higher productivity, then perhaps setting aside some cash for the best hotel wifi connection is worth it.
NY Times via TUAW
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
Scientists and conservationists accuse the state environmental agency of editing references to climate change and sea level rise out of a public report ? because the agency, like Gov. Rick Perry, is skeptical of global warming.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host: The Texas coast has also battled its share of dangerous floodwaters. Now a controversy over alleged scientific censorship is roiling Galveston Bay. It involves the administration of Texas Governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry.
ARI SHAPIRO, host: Scientists and conservationists accuse the state environmental agency of editing references to climate change and sea level rise out of a public report because the agency and the governor remain staunch global warming skeptics. NPR's John Burnett reports.
JOHN BURNETT: Galveston Bay is a large estuary on the upper Texas coast whose deteriorating health is of great concern to stakeholders, from fishermen to boaters to birders. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the TCEQ, commissioned a scientific report called State of the Bay, but it wasn't happy with some of the results. The report's authors are in agreement that sea-level rise caused by global warming is threatening wetlands surrounding Galveston Bay, but the TCEQ did not want any mention of human-caused environmental calamities and pulled out its red pencil.
L'OREAL STEPNEY: Let's call the meeting to order. I'll guess I'll do my official gavel thing.
BURNETT: And that's what brought issue before 50 people Wednesday morning inside a meeting room in a mosquito-infested marsh a few miles from the troubled bay. L'Oreal Stepney is deputy director of the Office of Water at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
STEPNEY: Let me say this clearly. We are not an agency that is about censorship. It is not what we do, it is wrong, it is not who we are.
BURNETT: Stepney played down the firestorm as merely professional differences between her agency and the report's authors. But the scientist who wrote the offending chapter claims what happened is nothing less than the muzzling of an inconvenient truth.
JOHN ANDERSON: One of the most striking edits that was made was the deletion of a figure that was taken from Science magazine that showed the measured rate of sea level rise over the long term in historical time, and the predicted rate of rise, and again, that was taken from Science magazine, one of the most credible journals on Earth.
BURNETT: The author is John Anderson, a ruddy-faced 67-year-old oceanographer from Rice University, who among other things has spent 26 seasons studying ice sheet changes in Antarctica, and its effect on global sea level rise. He says the agency deleted passages that Galveston Bay is currently rising three millimeters a year, a six-fold increase, and that human-induced global warming is the cause.
ANDERSON: And I think the travesty here is that this chapter was actually written for teachers. They're my target audience, and this to me is just an outward attempt to keep scientific information, scientific fact, from getting into classrooms.
BURNETT: The agency also deleted a reference that manmade dams on rivers have disrupted important sediment deposition into the bay. L'Oreal Stepney said in an interview that the report should focus on the overall health of the bay and avoid controversial theories. She said the TCEQ is not ignoring the reality of sea-level rise - it's mentioned elsewhere in the report - it's only Anderson's chapter linking it to global warming that they object to.
STEPNEY: It's unsettled science, in our opinion, and that's our position, and we've been clear about that.
BURNETT: At the meeting, the TCEQ offered a compromise - the agency would publish "State of the Bay" without Anderson's chapter and dissident scientists could publish the unedited chapter on their own. But that didn't placate the Galveston Bay Council that held the meeting. One after another members spoke up. The chair of the council said they wanted the state to publish the complete report unexpurgated. A representative from the EPA, which helped fund the study, echoed her comment. Then concerned citizen Albert Gonzalez spoke his mind.
ALBERT GONZALEZ. TEXAS: The political climate in our nation right now seems to be anti-regulation, anti-science. That just is very, very upsetting, and I just wanted to make that comment.
BURNETT: The world's leading science academies state that most of the global warming in recent decades is likely the result of human activities. Rick Perry, his commissioners on the TCEQ, and some members of Congress, mostly Republicans, say that human-caused climate change is junk science. The governor's office said he would have no comment on the Galveston Bay censorship controversy, which has yet to be resolved. John Burnett, NPR News, Houston.
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Kirsten Dunst has certainly perfected the pixie-like, ethereal actress thing ?"The Virgin Suicides" or "Melancholia," anyone?
Now, she's using her charming superpowers in a mesmerizing new R.E.M. video, shot in black and white with a stationary camera capturing close-up footage of Dunst.
So what's she doing?
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Dunst isn't really doing much of anything during the song, "We All Go Back to Where We Belong," but the video is still entirely watchable.
The actress, wearing a black dress with white flowers, just stands against a white wall and appears to be listening to the song, absorbing the lyrics.
Story: Rolling Stone exclusive: Why R.E.M. broke up
Yet you can't wait for her next expression, as she looks like she's thinking, then swaying, then dissolving into giggles. She looks so sweet and pretty throughout the video, and says nothing until the final frame, where she appears to mouth "it's amazing" about the tune.
MORE: Kirsten Dunst: German citizen
Two versions of the video were made, with poet-activist John Giorno starring in the second version, which has a style similar to Dunst's and was also shot with a stationary camera. In a band statement, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe described the videos as having "gravity and beauty."
PICS: The rocker chic look
The song is part of the band's new album, titled "Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage, 1982-2011," which is a 40-song retrospective on the group's long career.
The album will be available Nov. 15.
? 2011 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SEOUL, South Korea ? U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday he is skeptical that diplomacy will push North Korea to give up its nuclear program, and he raised the prospect of the North's stance leading to "escalation and confrontation."
In a question-and-answer session with reporters after meeting with South Korean government leaders, Panetta said he was concerned that North Korea is deliberately alternating between periods of modest accommodation with the West and episodes of violent aggression, perhaps with no real intention of surrendering its nuclear ambitions.
Asked whether he is skeptical about a renewed effort by the Obama administration to explore a possible new round of international negotiations over the North Korean nuclear program, Panetta said, "We're not sure where those talks are headed at this point." Discussions held this week in Geneva by American and North Korean diplomats produced no apparent breakthrough.
"For that reason, I guess the word `skepticism' would be in order," he said.
Separately, the State Department's top Asia policy official, Kurt Campbell, was in Seoul Thursday to brief officials on the Geneva talks. North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement saying the talks "helped deepen each other's understanding," and said both countries agreed to further talks on whether to resume the six-party denuclearization talks involving North and South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.
Panetta said China "can do more" to push North Korea to give up its nuclear program.
"There are moments when we think that they are urging North Korea to engage, but frankly I think China can do more to try to get North Korea to do the right thing," he said. China is a longtime North Korean ally.
"I know that sometimes they make that effort and sometimes North Korea doesn't pay attention."
Panetta's visit to South Korea ? his first as secretary of defense ? is part of a broader Obama administration effort to shore up South Korean confidence in a military alliance that has endured for six decades. Panetta met with the South Korean defense and foreign affairs chiefs and paid a courtesy call on President Lee Myung-bak.
In parallel talks, the new chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, and top officers from the U.S. Pacific Command met with top South Korean military officers for an annual review of the U.S.-South Korean military alliance. Panetta is to attend a second round of alliance talks Friday before flying home.
Panetta has called the North "reckless" and a "serious threat" to peace on the Korean peninsula, which exploded in war in 1950 and drew the U.S. and other nations into a bloody three-year conflict against the North and China.
In his session with reporters Thursday, Panetta was asked what can be done to break a cycle of North Korean behavior in which it alternately makes gestures of accommodation to the West, followed by provocations.
"The cycle ultimately has to be broken," he said. "There is either going to be an accommodation where they decide to make the right decisions with regards to their future and join the international family of nations ... or, if they continue these provocations, then obviously that's going to lead to the possibility of escalation and confrontation."
Among the maneuverings that influence U.S. thinking about the security threat posed by North Korea is the process now under way in which the supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, is expected to turn over the reins of power to his son, Kim Jong Un, a newly minted four-star general believed to be in his late 20s. He would be the third-generation leader in a family dynasty that has ruled since Kim Il Sung founded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948.
North Koreans are expecting to learn more about Kim Jong Un next year when the nation celebrates one of its biggest historical milestones: the 100th anniversary on April 15 of the birth of Kim Il Sung.
U.S. officials are unsure what timeline has been set for the leadership succession, but two senior American military officers in Seoul said Thursday it appears the process has slowed, possibly because Kim Jong Il's health problems seem to have eased. The officials spoke to a group of reporters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
U.S. and South Korean officials believe Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke in August 2008 that kept him out of the public eye for months.
The officials, who are privy to the latest intelligence assessments, said North Korea's recently more accommodating approach to the U.S. is judged to be only a tactical maneuver, likely to be followed next year by North Korean demands for concessions. That would follow a decades-long pattern of North Korean behavior in which unmet concessions lead to a period of provocations, such as the 2006 nuclear test that came just months after the North cut off nuclear disarmament talks.
The U.S. officials declined to say whether they believe the North can be persuaded to give up its nuclear weapons, but their analysis of the North's basic approach to the West strongly suggested they do not expect it to change course.
At the same time, the North is making gains in certain aspects of its conventional military, the officials said. It has expanded its commando force ? meant to infiltrate the South and conducted rear-area sabotage and assassination in the event of war ? and kept up its creation of underground facilities to protect key weapons and command centers from outside bombardment.
THURSDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Two aspirin a day may cut the risk of colon cancer by more than half in people who are predisposed to these types of tumors, new research suggests.
And two tablets of 300 milligrams each also cut the risk of other tumors related to Lynch syndrome, a major form of hereditary colon and other cancers, according to research published in the Oct. 28 online edition of The Lancet.
People with Lynch syndrome should talk to their doctors about taking daily aspirin, keeping in mind that aspirin does have side effects, including stomach ulcers, said the study authors.
Previous research has found that otherwise healthy people who take about 75 milligrams (mg) of aspirin a day reduced not only their risk of developing colon cancer but also their chances of dying from it.
But the one in 1,000 people who have Lynch syndrome, also known as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (or HNPCC), have a much higher risk of cancer than the general population: About half of people with these genetic abnormalities will go on to develop cancer in their 30s or 40s.
Earlier data from this trial showed no reduction in colon cancer among regular aspirin takers but that phase of the study only followed people for two years.
This part of the study, which was funded by a consortium of cancer organizations and Bayer Corporation, followed 861 carriers of Lynch syndrome for about four years.
The participants were randomly chosen to take either 600 mg of aspirin (427 patients) in two tablets daily or a placebo (434 patients) for at least two years.
Participants were also randomly selected to receive a resistant starch, thought to protect against colorectal cancer, or a placebo. "There's evidence that people on high-carbohydrate diets have a lower incidence of colon cancer," said study lead author Dr. John Burn, professor of clinical genetics at Newcastle University in England, during a Thursday press conference.
"In people taking aspirin, there were 10 colorectal cancers versus 23 in the placebo group," Burn reported. "We reduced by 60 percent the number of colon cancers in people who actually took aspirin for two years."
The incidence of other forms of Lynch syndrome-related cancers was also reduced and the authors hope to see a reduction in non-Lynch syndrome-related cancers over the coming years.
Surprisingly, however, there was no difference in the number of polyps in the two groups, indicating that "there must be something [happening] early in the process," said Burn.
"One possibility is that [aspirin] might be enhancing programmed cell death or apoptosis in [certain] cells that will go on to become cancer," he added.
Also surprisingly, side effects from "what seems like a huge dose of aspirin," Burn said, were about equal: 11 in the treatment arm and nine in the placebo arm.
"Results of this study support aspirin use for people with Lynch syndrome, in addition to regular colonoscopies as recommended by their health care provider," said Eric Jacobs, strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology for the American Cancer Society. "However, aspirin use can have side effects and should be discussed with a health care provider."
Jacobs added that aspirin use is not presently recommended for cancer prevention alone "because even low-dose aspirin can increase the risk of serious stomach bleeding."
The next phase of the study will randomly select people to receive differing doses of aspirin, from 75 mg to 600 mg, and follow them for five years.
If a lower dose proves also to be effective at lowering the incidence of colon cancer, that might reduce side effects even more, Burn said.
"This is a randomized, controlled trial so it's the best data by far you can get," said Dr. Richard Whelan, chief of colorectal surgery at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. "If you've been diagnosed with Lynch syndrome, you should talk to your doctor to make sure you're not at high risk for complications from aspirin such as a history of ulcers, gastritis, gastrointestinal problems," Whelan noted.
"If you are at risk, it may be possible to add preventive medicines to protect against ulcers and the like," he said. But the results "cannot be extrapolated to the general population," Whelan continued. "There the level of evidence is much lower."
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on colorectal cancer.
S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Discovery Communications Inc (NASDAQ:DISCA) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, November 1, 2011. Discovery Communications is a global media and entertainment company that offers programming across multiple distribution platforms in more than 170 other countries.
Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of 55 cents per share, a rise of 37.5% from the company?s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. The average estimate is the same as three months ago. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved down. It has risen from 54 cents during the last month. For the year, analysts are projecting profit of $2.31 per share, a rise of 29.8% from last year.
Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company reported net income of 62 cents per share versus a mean estimate of profit of. The company has beaten estimates for the past three quarters.
Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $1.01 billion in revenue this quarter, a rise of 9.1% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $4.13 billion for the year, a rise of 9.5% from last year?s revenue of $3.77 billion.
Analyst Ratings: 11 out of 20 analysts surveyed (55%) have a buy rating on Discovery Communications.. This is below the mean analyst rating of nine competitors, which average 58.8% buy ratings.
A Look Back: In the second quarter, profit rose more than twofold to $254 million (62 cents a share) from $107 million (25 cents a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 10.8% to $1.07 billion from $963 million.
Key Stats:
The company has seen net income rise in three straight quarters. Net income rose 80.5% in the first quarter and 23.2% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue rose 8.2% in the first quarter from the year earlier, climbed 5.3% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter and 8.4% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
Competitors to Watch: Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (NYSE:SNI), CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), Outdoor Channel Hldgs., Inc. (NASDAQ:OUTD), Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LINTA), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA), Madison Square Garden, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSG), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), and Point.360 (NASDAQ:PTSX).
Stock Price Performance: During August 2, 2011 to October 26, 2011, the stock price had risen $3.91 (10.3%) from $38.14 to $42.05. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between February 1, 2011 and February 11, 2011 when shares rose for nine-straight days, rising 12.2% (+$4.75) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between August 15, 2011 and August 22, 2011 when shares fell for six-straight days, falling 8.2% (-$3.22) over that span. Shares are up 35 cents (+0.8%) year to date.
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Contact: Evelyn Brown evelyn.brown@nist.gov 301-975-5661 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued for public review and comment two draft guides to securing wireless communication networks. NIST is requesting comments on the two publicationsone on Bluetooth networks and one on wireless local area networksby Nov. 10, 2011.
The draft Guide to Bluetooth Security (NIST Special Publication 800-121 Rev. 1) is a revision of the original guide, which was released in September 2008. The document describes the security capabilities of technologies based on Bluetooth, which is an open standard for short-range radio frequency communication, and gives recommendations to organizations on securing their devices effectively. Significant changes from the original SP 800-121 include an update to the vulnerability mitigation information for "Secure Simple Pairing," which helps protect against eavesdropping, and the introduction of Bluetooth version 3.0 High Speed and Bluetooth version 4.0 Low Energy security mechanisms and recommendations. Version 3.0 provides data rate improvement over previous versions of Bluetooth, while 4.0 concerns smaller, resource-constrained devices like heart rate monitors and other wearable medical sensor networks.
The draft Guidelines for Securing Wireless Local Area Networks (SP 800-153) is intended to provide organizations with recommendations for improving the security configuration and monitoring of their wireless local area networks (WLANs) and their devices connecting to those networks. SP 800-153's recommendations cover topics such as standardized WLAN security configurations, security assessments and continuous monitoring. SP 800-153 is an entirely new document that supplements and does not replace older NIST publications on WLAN security, such as SP's 800-97 and 800-48.
###
The draft version of SP 800-153 is available at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-153/Draft-SP800-153.pdf, and of SP 800-121 rev. 1 at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-121r1/Draft-SP800-121_Rev1.pdf.
Comments on these publications should be submitted via email by the Nov. 10 deadline. For SP 800-153, please submit comments to 800-153comments@nist.gov, with "Comments on SP 800-153" in the subject line. Likewise for SP 800-121, please send them to 800-121comments@nist.gov, with "Comments on SP 800-121" in the subject line.
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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.
Contact: Evelyn Brown evelyn.brown@nist.gov 301-975-5661 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued for public review and comment two draft guides to securing wireless communication networks. NIST is requesting comments on the two publicationsone on Bluetooth networks and one on wireless local area networksby Nov. 10, 2011.
The draft Guide to Bluetooth Security (NIST Special Publication 800-121 Rev. 1) is a revision of the original guide, which was released in September 2008. The document describes the security capabilities of technologies based on Bluetooth, which is an open standard for short-range radio frequency communication, and gives recommendations to organizations on securing their devices effectively. Significant changes from the original SP 800-121 include an update to the vulnerability mitigation information for "Secure Simple Pairing," which helps protect against eavesdropping, and the introduction of Bluetooth version 3.0 High Speed and Bluetooth version 4.0 Low Energy security mechanisms and recommendations. Version 3.0 provides data rate improvement over previous versions of Bluetooth, while 4.0 concerns smaller, resource-constrained devices like heart rate monitors and other wearable medical sensor networks.
The draft Guidelines for Securing Wireless Local Area Networks (SP 800-153) is intended to provide organizations with recommendations for improving the security configuration and monitoring of their wireless local area networks (WLANs) and their devices connecting to those networks. SP 800-153's recommendations cover topics such as standardized WLAN security configurations, security assessments and continuous monitoring. SP 800-153 is an entirely new document that supplements and does not replace older NIST publications on WLAN security, such as SP's 800-97 and 800-48.
###
The draft version of SP 800-153 is available at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-153/Draft-SP800-153.pdf, and of SP 800-121 rev. 1 at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-121r1/Draft-SP800-121_Rev1.pdf.
Comments on these publications should be submitted via email by the Nov. 10 deadline. For SP 800-153, please submit comments to 800-153comments@nist.gov, with "Comments on SP 800-153" in the subject line. Likewise for SP 800-121, please send them to 800-121comments@nist.gov, with "Comments on SP 800-121" in the subject line.
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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.
DOWNLOAD and listen to “That’s Not Love” the new freestyle from Juice McCain http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/juice-that-s-not-love-freestyle-song.535551.html Connect With Juice McCain www.iamjuice.com www.twitter.com/iamjuice www.youtube.com/user/juicemccainvideo www.facebook.com/IAMJuiceMcCain
Sprint Nextel, the no. 3 carrier in the United States, reported its quarterly earnings today, and they're quite solid. In Q3 2011, the company generated consolidated net operating revenues of $8.3 billion, up from $8.15 billion in the same period last year and relatively flat compared to Q2 2011. The company booked a quarterly loss of $301 million (or 10 cents per share), roughly a third the loss it reported in the same quarter a year ago ($911 million).
LEWISTON, Maine?? A man who died this month at age 80 nearly took a secret to his grave ? a secret that was discovered only after his family went through his belongings in a storage unit.
Inside an unplugged freezer, they found a set of human remains that investigators believe may be those of the man's girlfriend, who disappeared in 1983, when she was 29. Now investigators are trying to confirm the identity of the body, the cause of death and who may have been involved.
State police detectives were awaiting results of an autopsy being performed Monday. DNA tests may be needed to confirm whether the body was that of Kitty Wardwell, who was last seen with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Frank Julian.
"The answers are going to come from the medical examiner's office," said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The storage unit was rented in 1992 by Julian, who died on Oct. 1. Back in 1983, he occasionally lived with Wardwell 100 miles away in Holden.
Julian told police in New Hampshire that he last saw Wardwell after an argument that June, when he dropped her off at a motel in Salem, N.H., before returning to Maine, police said. She was reported missing the following month by a close friend.
A state police investigation indicated she was likely a victim of foul play in Maine. Because of that, the investigation officially remained open.
The freezer was inside a 10-by-10 storage unit at Moore Self Storage Facility in Lewiston, where Julian dutifully paid in advance for the unit, coming around the first of each month to pay in person, owner Gary Boilard said. The last payment was made on Sept. 6, so the unit was rented through November, he said.
The storage company's previous owner kept good records, indicating Julian rented the unit 19 years ago on Oct. 6, Boilard said.
Boilard described the situation as "bizarre."
"How do you keep a secret that long?" he said.
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The family was going through boxes inside the storage unit when the remains were discovered, and half of the unit was still filled with boxes when state police alerted Boilard on Saturday. "There were boxes on tops of boxes. From front to back, from top to bottom, it was full of boxes," he said.
Other than the freezer, there was little else of interest stashed in the unit ? mostly household items, McCausland said.
At the time of his death, Julian was operating a secondhand store on Main Street. Before that, from 2001 to 2007, he'd run the One Stop Shop in a building owned by Hubert Nadeau, selling T-shirts, Christmas decorations, knives and "just about anything," Nadeau said.
Nadeau said he was surprised by the news of the body's discovery. "He was a very nice guy," Nadeau said Monday. "I had no idea what it was all about."
Both Wardwell's and Julian's families are being kept in the loop on the investigation, and both families are cooperating, McCausland said. Dwight Collins, Wardwell's brother, said the family was awaiting further word on the body but declined to comment further. Other family members either couldn't be reached or declined to comment.
The process of determining the body's identity could be time-consuming because of the condition of the body. Wardwell's family members have donated DNA samples that will be compared against DNA from the body, McCausland said.
Julian was 52 when Wardwell disappeared. An obituary in the Bangor Daily News described Julian as a former restaurateur and novelty salesman who played on John Bapst High School's 1948 championship football team.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
First Google.org-funded geothermal mapping report confirms vast coast-to-coast clean energy source Public release date: 25-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Cobb cobbk@smu.edu 214-768-7654 Southern Methodist University
Earth's heat could out-produce coal plants
DALLAS (SMU) New research from SMU's Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, documents significant geothermal resources across the United States capable of producing more than three million megawatts of green power 10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today.
Sophisticated mapping produced from the research, viewable via Google Earth at http://www.google.org/egs/, demonstrates that vast reserves of this green, renewable source of power generated from the Earth's heat are realistically accessible using current technology.
The results of the new research, from SMU Hamilton Professor of Geophysics David Blackwell and Geothermal Lab Coordinator Maria Richards, confirm and refine locations for resources capable of supporting large-scale commercial geothermal energy production under a wide range of geologic conditions, including significant areas in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. The estimated amounts and locations of heat stored in the Earth's crust included in this study are based on nearly 35,000 data sites approximately twice the number used for Blackwell and Richards' 2004 Geothermal Map of North America, leading to improved detail and contouring at a regional level.
Based on the additional data, primarily drawn from oil and gas drilling, larger local variations can be seen in temperatures at depth, highlighting more detail for potential power sites than was previously evident in the eastern portion of the U.S. For example, eastern West Virginia has been identified as part of a larger Appalachian trend of higher heat flow and temperature.
Conventional U.S. geothermal production has been restricted largely to the western third of the country in geographically unique and tectonically active locations. For instance, The Geysers Field north of San Francisco is home to more than a dozen large power plants that have been tapping naturally occurring steam reservoirs to produce electricity for more than 40 years.
However, newer technologies and drilling methods can now be used to develop resources in a wider range of geologic conditions, allowing reliable production of clean energy at temperatures as low as 100?C (212?F) and in regions not previously considered suitable for geothermal energy production. Preliminary data released from the SMU study in October 2010 revealed the existence of a geothermal resource under the state of West Virginia equivalent to the state's existing (primarily coal-based) power supply.
"Once again, SMU continues its pioneering work in demonstrating the tremendous potential of geothermal resources," said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association. "Both Google and the SMU researchers are fundamentally changing the way we look at how we can use the heat of the Earth to meet our energy needs, and by doing so are making significant contributions to enhancing our national security and environmental quality."
"This assessment of geothermal potential will only improve with time," said Blackwell. "Our study assumes that we tap only a small fraction of the available stored heat in the Earth's crust, and our capabilities to capture that heat are expected to grow substantially as we improve upon the energy conversion and exploitation factors through technological advances and improved techniques."
Blackwell is scheduled to release a paper with details of the results of the research to the Geothermal Resources Council in October 2011.
Blackwell and Richards first produced the 2004 Geothermal Map of North America using oil and gas industry data from the central U.S. Blackwell and the 2004 map played a significant role in a 2006 Future of Geothermal Energy study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that concluded geothermal energy had the potential to supply a substantial portion of the future U.S. electricity needs, likely at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact. SMU's 2004 map has been the national standard for evaluating heat flow, temperature and thermal conductivity for potential geothermal energy projects.
In this newest SMU estimate of resource potential, researchers used additional temperature data and in-depth geological analysis for the resulting heat flow maps to create the updated temperature-at-depth maps from 3.5 kilometers to 9.5 kilometers (11,500 to 31,000 feet). This update revealed that some conditions in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. are actually hotter than some areas in the western portion of the country, an area long-recognized for heat-producing tectonic activity. In determining the potential for geothermal production, the new SMU study considers the practical considerations of drilling, and limits the analysis to the heat available in the top 6.5 km (21,500 ft.) of crust for predicting megawatts of available power. This approach incorporates a newly proposed international standard for estimating geothermal resource potential that considers added practical limitations of development, such as the inaccessibility of large urban areas and national parks. Known as the 'technical potential' value, it assumes producers tap only 14 percent of the 'theoretical potential' of stored geothermal heat in the U.S., using currently available technology.
Three recent technological developments already have sparked geothermal development in areas with little or no tectonic activity or volcanism:
1) Low Temperature Hydrothermal Energy is produced from areas with naturally occurring high fluid volumes at temperatures ranging from less than boiling to 150C (300F). This application is currently producing energy in Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.
2) Geopressure and Coproduced Fluids Geothermal Oil and/or natural gas are produced together with electricity generated from hot geothermal fluids drawn from the same well. Systems are installed or being installed in Wyoming, North Dakota, Utah, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
3) Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Areas with low fluid content, but high temperatures of more than 150C (300F), are "enhanced" with injection of fluid and other reservoir engineering techniques. EGS resources are typically deeper than hydrothermal and represent the largest share of total geothermal resources capable of supporting larger capacity power plants.
A key goal in the SMU resource assessment was to aid in evaluating these nonconventional geothermal resources on a regional to sub-regional basis.
Areas of particular geothermal interest include the Appalachian trend (Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, to northern Louisiana), the aquifer heated area of South Dakota, and the areas of radioactive basement granites beneath sediments such as those found in northern Illinois and northern Louisiana. The Gulf Coast continues to be outlined as a huge resource area and a promising sedimentary basin for development. The Raton Basin in southeastern Colorado possesses extremely high temperatures and is being evaluated by the State of Colorado along with an area energy company.
###
SMU's Geothermal Laboratory in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences conducted this research through funding provided by Google.org, which is dedicated to using the power of information and innovation to advance breakthrough technologies in clean energy.
Editor's Note: To explore the new Enhanced Geothermal Systems maps built on SMU's research via Google Earth, download the latest version of Google Earth at http://www.google.com/earth/ and then download and open the file at http://www.google.org/egs/downloads/EGSPotential.kmz.
SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
First Google.org-funded geothermal mapping report confirms vast coast-to-coast clean energy source Public release date: 25-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Cobb cobbk@smu.edu 214-768-7654 Southern Methodist University
Earth's heat could out-produce coal plants
DALLAS (SMU) New research from SMU's Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, documents significant geothermal resources across the United States capable of producing more than three million megawatts of green power 10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today.
Sophisticated mapping produced from the research, viewable via Google Earth at http://www.google.org/egs/, demonstrates that vast reserves of this green, renewable source of power generated from the Earth's heat are realistically accessible using current technology.
The results of the new research, from SMU Hamilton Professor of Geophysics David Blackwell and Geothermal Lab Coordinator Maria Richards, confirm and refine locations for resources capable of supporting large-scale commercial geothermal energy production under a wide range of geologic conditions, including significant areas in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. The estimated amounts and locations of heat stored in the Earth's crust included in this study are based on nearly 35,000 data sites approximately twice the number used for Blackwell and Richards' 2004 Geothermal Map of North America, leading to improved detail and contouring at a regional level.
Based on the additional data, primarily drawn from oil and gas drilling, larger local variations can be seen in temperatures at depth, highlighting more detail for potential power sites than was previously evident in the eastern portion of the U.S. For example, eastern West Virginia has been identified as part of a larger Appalachian trend of higher heat flow and temperature.
Conventional U.S. geothermal production has been restricted largely to the western third of the country in geographically unique and tectonically active locations. For instance, The Geysers Field north of San Francisco is home to more than a dozen large power plants that have been tapping naturally occurring steam reservoirs to produce electricity for more than 40 years.
However, newer technologies and drilling methods can now be used to develop resources in a wider range of geologic conditions, allowing reliable production of clean energy at temperatures as low as 100?C (212?F) and in regions not previously considered suitable for geothermal energy production. Preliminary data released from the SMU study in October 2010 revealed the existence of a geothermal resource under the state of West Virginia equivalent to the state's existing (primarily coal-based) power supply.
"Once again, SMU continues its pioneering work in demonstrating the tremendous potential of geothermal resources," said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association. "Both Google and the SMU researchers are fundamentally changing the way we look at how we can use the heat of the Earth to meet our energy needs, and by doing so are making significant contributions to enhancing our national security and environmental quality."
"This assessment of geothermal potential will only improve with time," said Blackwell. "Our study assumes that we tap only a small fraction of the available stored heat in the Earth's crust, and our capabilities to capture that heat are expected to grow substantially as we improve upon the energy conversion and exploitation factors through technological advances and improved techniques."
Blackwell is scheduled to release a paper with details of the results of the research to the Geothermal Resources Council in October 2011.
Blackwell and Richards first produced the 2004 Geothermal Map of North America using oil and gas industry data from the central U.S. Blackwell and the 2004 map played a significant role in a 2006 Future of Geothermal Energy study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that concluded geothermal energy had the potential to supply a substantial portion of the future U.S. electricity needs, likely at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact. SMU's 2004 map has been the national standard for evaluating heat flow, temperature and thermal conductivity for potential geothermal energy projects.
In this newest SMU estimate of resource potential, researchers used additional temperature data and in-depth geological analysis for the resulting heat flow maps to create the updated temperature-at-depth maps from 3.5 kilometers to 9.5 kilometers (11,500 to 31,000 feet). This update revealed that some conditions in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. are actually hotter than some areas in the western portion of the country, an area long-recognized for heat-producing tectonic activity. In determining the potential for geothermal production, the new SMU study considers the practical considerations of drilling, and limits the analysis to the heat available in the top 6.5 km (21,500 ft.) of crust for predicting megawatts of available power. This approach incorporates a newly proposed international standard for estimating geothermal resource potential that considers added practical limitations of development, such as the inaccessibility of large urban areas and national parks. Known as the 'technical potential' value, it assumes producers tap only 14 percent of the 'theoretical potential' of stored geothermal heat in the U.S., using currently available technology.
Three recent technological developments already have sparked geothermal development in areas with little or no tectonic activity or volcanism:
1) Low Temperature Hydrothermal Energy is produced from areas with naturally occurring high fluid volumes at temperatures ranging from less than boiling to 150C (300F). This application is currently producing energy in Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.
2) Geopressure and Coproduced Fluids Geothermal Oil and/or natural gas are produced together with electricity generated from hot geothermal fluids drawn from the same well. Systems are installed or being installed in Wyoming, North Dakota, Utah, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
3) Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Areas with low fluid content, but high temperatures of more than 150C (300F), are "enhanced" with injection of fluid and other reservoir engineering techniques. EGS resources are typically deeper than hydrothermal and represent the largest share of total geothermal resources capable of supporting larger capacity power plants.
A key goal in the SMU resource assessment was to aid in evaluating these nonconventional geothermal resources on a regional to sub-regional basis.
Areas of particular geothermal interest include the Appalachian trend (Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, to northern Louisiana), the aquifer heated area of South Dakota, and the areas of radioactive basement granites beneath sediments such as those found in northern Illinois and northern Louisiana. The Gulf Coast continues to be outlined as a huge resource area and a promising sedimentary basin for development. The Raton Basin in southeastern Colorado possesses extremely high temperatures and is being evaluated by the State of Colorado along with an area energy company.
###
SMU's Geothermal Laboratory in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences conducted this research through funding provided by Google.org, which is dedicated to using the power of information and innovation to advance breakthrough technologies in clean energy.
Editor's Note: To explore the new Enhanced Geothermal Systems maps built on SMU's research via Google Earth, download the latest version of Google Earth at http://www.google.com/earth/ and then download and open the file at http://www.google.org/egs/downloads/EGSPotential.kmz.
SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
With "Battlefield 3" (screenshot left) and "Modern Warfare 3" (screenshot right) both about to launch, it's time to get ready for a shootout.
By Winda Benedetti
With "Battlefield 3" launching Tuesday and "Modern Warfare 3" launching Nov. 8th?? the lines have been drawn and so have the guns. So very many guns.
But which side will you join?
All of the video game industry has its eyes on this rivalry?that pits Team DICE/Electronic Arts against Team Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer/Activision ? a rivalry that?has inspired passionate side-choosing among gamers around the world.
Of course, the big question is: Which game will come out on top in the long run? Game analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities thinks he knows. He told Forbes that he predicts "Modern Warfare 3" will dominate, selling some 16 million copies worldwide this year while "Battlefield 3" will sell half that at 8 million copies globally this year.
Live Poll
Which game will you buy?
164519
'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'
29%
164520
'Battlefield 3'
38%
164521
Why pick one when you can play both?
28%
164522
Yet another first-person-shooter. Yet another sequel. I'll pass on both.
5%
VoteTotal Votes: 3060
Interestingly, he also predicts that some 2 to 3 million gamers will buy both titles.
Of course, if Pachter's predictions are correct, the big winner here is going to be the video game industry. He believes the two games will generate more than $1.4 billion in revenue and make up 15 percent?of total packaged videogame software sales in the fourth quarter alone.
Ultimately, both games will run you, the player, $60. And the real question is: Where will you spend your money and your time? The developers and publishers have released the launch trailers for each game. Check them out below and then cast your vote.
"Modern Warfare 3" launch trailer:
"Battlefield 3" launch trailer:
For more game news, check out:
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+. ?And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.
SAN FRANCISCO ? Netflix jolted its already shell-shocked shareholders with a third-quarter financial report that portrayed a company in crisis.
Netflix's blooper reel, released Monday, included an even larger customer exodus than the company had foreseen after announcing an unpopular price increase in July. What's worse, the report contained a forecast calling for more defections from the largest U.S. video subscription service.
The backlash will deprive Netflix Inc. of some the revenue that management had been counting on to finance the company's expansion plans while it pays higher fees for Internet video streaming rights. The result: Netflix expects to post losses next year when it starts selling its steaming service in Britain and Ireland. The company didn't offer further specifics.
None of the developments pleased Wall Street as Netflix lost more than a quarter of its value after the bad news came out. If that sharp decline holds in Tuesday's trading, it will mark the first time Netflix's stock price has fallen below $100 in nearly 14 months.
Netflix shares shed $31.19, or more than 26 percent, to $87.35 in Monday's extended trading.
It's the latest setback for a former stock market darling whose shares topped $300 just 4 1/2 months ago. Netflix's market value had already plunged by about 60 percent, or nearly $9 billion, before Monday's late sell-off.
Netflix lost its luster among consumers and investors by raising prices as much as 60 percent in the U.S. and bungling an attempt to spin off its DVD-by-mail rental service.
The company, which is based in Los Gatos, Calif., ended September with 23.8 million U.S. subscribers, down about 800,000 from June. Netflix had predicted it would lose about 600,000 U.S. subscribers in a forecast released last month.
Management expects to gain U.S. subscribers in the current quarter, although Netflix didn't set a specific target. But a substantial number of Netflix's customers are expected to choose between renting DVDs through the mail or streaming video over high-speed Internet connections _instead of paying for both services.
The biggest hit is expected on the DVD side, a service that Netflix has been de-emphasizing to save money on mailing costs as its spends more to license movies and TV shows for its Internet video library. The company expects its DVD subscribers to fall from 13.9 million as of Sept. 30 to as low as 10.3 million at the end of December. Streaming subscriptions in the U.S. may rise by as much as 100,000 subscribers in the quarter, according to the company's projections.
The outlook looks even grimmer, considering that Netflix consistently added 1 million to 2 million subscribers per quarter leading up to the price increases.
From a financial perspective, Netflix did better than analysts expected in the July-September period.
The company earned $62.5 million, or $1.16, per share, in the third quarter. That compared to income of $38 million, or 70 cents per share, at the same time last year.
The performance topped the average earnings estimate of 96 cents per share among analysts polled by FactSet.
Netflix's revenue climbed 49 percent from the same time last year to nearly $822 million ? about $9 million above analyst estimates.
Netflix's downfall leaves CEO Reed Hastings in a precarious position.
Once regarded as one of the savviest leaders in technology and entertainment, Hastings has turned into a punching bag for frustrated Netflix customers and shareholders. Many of them are still befuddled by his recent decision making.
After Netflix's higher prices kicked in on Sept. 1, Hastings amplified the outrage by outlining a plan to toss the DVD rental business onto a separate website called Qwikster. The split from the Internet streaming service got panned so badly that Hastings reversed course in less than three weeks.
"We've hurt our hard-earned reputation and stalled our domestic growth," Hastings wrote in a letter accompanying Monday's third-quarter report. "But our long-term streaming opportunity is as compelling as ever and we are moving as quickly as we can to repair our reputation and return to growth."
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Public release date: 26-Oct-2011
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