We're looking for photographers based in Jordan, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo-Japan for a global project. Anyone have any recommendations? Source: http://twitter.com/ThatGirl_Chloe/statuses/152752056095092736
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No matter how exciting your plans are for New Year's, two NASA spacecraft have you beat ? they've got a date with the moon.
After more than three months of spaceflight, NASA's twin Grail probes are set to start orbiting the moon this weekend, with Grail-A arriving Saturday (Dec. 31) and Grail-B following on Sunday (Jan. 1). The spacecraft are on a mission to map lunar gravity in unprecedented detail, shedding light on the moon's composition, formation and evolution.
"Our team may not get to partake in a traditional New Year's celebration, but I expect seeing our two spacecraft safely in lunar orbit should give us all the excitement and feeling of euphoria anyone in this line of work would ever need," said Grail project manager David Lehman, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in a statement.
An anxious New Year's Eve
The $496 million Grail mission (short for Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) launched on Sept. 10 and took a circuitous, and energy-efficient, route to the moon. Earth's nearest neighbor is just 240,000 miles (386,000 kilometers) away, but the two spacecraft will have put about 2.5 million miles (4 million km) on their odometers when they finally arrive.
The long journey has given the mission team plenty of time to assess the probes' health and to power up their science gear, researchers said.
Both spacecraft will make their orbital-insertion maneuvers automatically. Still, about 40 members of the Grail team will be monitoring the action over the weekend to make sure everything goes according to plan ? and to jump in if it doesn't, Lehman told reporters Wednesday (Dec. 28).
Orbital insertion is a nerve-wracking part of any space mission, and Grail gives scientists and engineers twice as much to worry about.
"The anxiety level is heightened right now, and it is more so than with other missions, because we do have two spacecraft to go into lunar orbit," Lehman said. "But we've been studying and working on this for three or four years ? four years ? and we're well-prepared for that."
The fact that Grail-B will arrive about 24 hours after Grail-A should help streamline the process and calm some nerves.
"The team will have time to rest between each event," Lehman said.
Mapping lunar gravity
Once they arrive at the moon, the Grail spacecraft will perform a series of additional burns to get closer and closer. By early March, they should be just 34 miles (55 km) above the lunar surface, and that's when the probes' science campaign will begin. [Video: Grail's Mission to Map Moon Gravity]
Grail-A and Grail-B will chase each other around the moon for 82 days, staying 75 to 225 miles (121 to 362 km) apart.
Regional differences in the moon's gravity will cause the two spacecraft to speed up or slow down slightly, changing the distance between them as they fly. Using microwave signals that they bounce back and forth to each other, Grail-A and Grail-B will gauge these distance variations constantly ? and with incredible precision.
The Grail probes will be able to determine how far apart they are to within a few microns, less than the width of a human red blood cell, researchers have said.
Scientists will use the twin probes' measurements to construct extremely accurate maps of the lunar gravity field. These maps, in turn, should reveal the moon's structure in great detail, allowing scientists to draw insights about how the rocky body formed and how it has changed over time.
So the Grail team is hoping that the two spacecraft's arrival at the moon heralds many exciting discoveries to come in 2012.
Having "a great set of technological accomplishments, I think, is a great way both to end the year and start the new year," said Grail principal investigator Maria Zuber, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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RICHMOND, Va. ? When Thomas Jefferson died, scores of slaves were sold from his Monticello plantation to settle his debts. Peter Fossett, 11, was among them, recalling that he was "born and reared as free, not knowing that I was a slave, then suddenly, at the death of Jefferson, put on an auction block and sold to strangers."
Fossett's story is one of many included in several new projects launching this winter to shed light on the slaves who lived and worked at Monticello.
A website launching Jan. 27 will showcase oral histories of the slaves in an online project called "Getting Word: African American Families of Monticello." An exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. called "Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty" also opens Jan. 27 and will weave in some excerpts from the "Getting Word" project. And an outdoor exhibit, "Landscape of Slavery: Mulberry Row at Monticello," will open Feb. 17 at the Monticello estate in Charlottesville, Va.
___
Zinie Chen Sampson can be reached on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/zinie
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The Toronto Maple Leafs might want to download the Panthers roster before Tuesday?s game at BankAtlantic Center. The Leafs also should forget watching film of the previous meeting between the two in November.
Because of all the injuries, the Panthers hardly resemble the team they were just last week much less right after Halloween.
Center Stephen Weiss (upper-body injury) became the seventh Florida forward to go on the injured list. Weiss, who missed Friday?s game at Boston, practiced on his own Monday and is questionable for Tuesday?s game against his hometown Leafs.
?He?s a maybe,?? coach Kevin Dineen said. ?He got a good skate in, and his heart is pretty big.
?We?ll make the final decision for him, but he wants to get out there.??
If Weiss returns, he likely will be reunited with linemates Tomas Fleischmann and Kris Versteeg. If not, Dineen could split the remaining wingers as he did at Monday?s evening practice in Coral Springs.
On Monday, Florida?s top line was Fleischmann with center Shawn Matthias and winger Matt Bradley (57 goals in 654 career games). Versteeg was on a second line pairing with center Mike Santorelli and Tomas Kopecky.
With center Mark Cullen on re-entry waivers and missing practice, defenseman Erik Gudbranson was put back on the fourth forward line working with Evgenii Dadonov and Bill Thomas.
Cullen likely will be in the lineup Tuesday, thereby replacing Dadonov at center and moving Gudbranson back to the blue line.
?I played [forward] a little as a kid and I enjoyed it. I?ve always considered myself an offensive guy,?? Gudbranson said. ?It was fun getting in front of the net, getting into the corners.??
?We need guys to step up, and that means everyone including myself or Michal Repik or Dadonov,?? said Versteeg, who went into the Christmas break leading the Panthers in goals (16) and points (37). ?We should always pride ourselves enough to win no matter who is out there. We haven?t had a full lineup all year, so we?re not going to make excuses now.??
Dineen has yet to use the Panthers? mounting injuries as an excuse either through the media or in meetings with his team. Six years as an AHL coach seasoned him to expect injuries and to deal with being short-handed.
In Florida?s 5-1 win in Toronto on Nov. 8, three of the injured forwards (Jack Skille, Sean Bergenheim and Marco Sturm) scored.
?We are a long way from where we were a month ago, and that?s fine,?? Dineen said. ?You have transitions during a season. We were stable with the lines, and now we shook them up. We may shake them up again [Tuesday] night.??
One thing working in the Panthers? favor in the coming weeks is their schedule. After running through the first three months like a whirling dervish, the Panthers get to slow things down. Florida plays three games before New Year?s Day and five in the next 11 days. After that stretch, the Panthers play just three games in 10 days.
The easier schedule is definitely welcomed.
?I?d rather get the injuries out of the way so we?re healthy down the stretch,?? defenseman Ed Jovanovski said. ?We only have 12 or 13 games before the All-Star break. Getting through this, you?ll see guys filter back into the lineup. We just have to take care of our home ice.??
Around the ice
??The Panthers definitely noticed prospect Jonathan Huberdeau?s game in Canada?s 8-1 win over Finland in the opener of the World Junior Hockey Championships. Huberdeau, who led the Panthers with three goals during the preseason, had a goal and four assists in the win.
?Yeah, they played real well,?? said Gudbranson, who would have been playing for Team Canada if he wasn?t with the Panthers. ?Huberdeau really ripped it up.??
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/27/2562502/injuries-giving-florida-panthers.html
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Ring in the new year with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest.
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Staying in with the family? There are plenty of holiday specials to watch, not to mention New Year's celebrations. Family driving you crazy? Get out of the house and take in a new movie.
TV
Almost every channel has a New Year's Eve special to ring in 2012.
The classic, of course, is the clumsily named?"Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest." Like Ruth's Chris Steak House, the special's convoluted title?pays tribute to its original host and the new one. (Dec. 31, 10 p.m., ABC)
NBC's New Year's celebration is "New Year's Eve With Carson Daly," which also?features news anchor Brian Williams.
Prefer a down-on-the-farm special? "American Country New Year's Eve" features "American Idol's" Lauren Alaina and other country performers. (Dec. 31, 11 p.m., Fox.)
Movies
Moviegoers are spoiled for choice this holiday.
If it's action you're looking for, "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" turns Tom Cruise into James Bond, with stunning stunts, beautiful women, and Cruise hanging off the world's tallest building. (In theaters now.)
If the whole family wants to see something dramatic but inspirational, "War Horse" is a good bet. Spoiler: Animal lovers and those with sensitive stomachs should know the horse manages to come through World War I pretty much intact, and there's a happy ending. (Opens Dec. 25.)
And fans of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy have long awaited the English remake of "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Early fears were that it couldn't live up to the 2009 Swedish-language version, but reviews have been quite positive. (In theaters now.)
DVD
George Clooney plays a grim assassin who's rethinking his career in "The American," a very serious thriller that may give you a completely different view of the handsome actor. (On DVD Dec. 28.)
Their lives still fascinate: Sid Vicious killed Nancy Spungen in 1978, and the Sex Pistol bassist died himself in 1979. "Sid & Nancy" has been a cult favorite almost since its 1986 release, and now it's on Blu-ray. The film, at 25, is now older than either Sid or Nancy ever got to be. (Out on Blu-ray Dec. 27.)
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Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/20/9588048-best-bets-ring-in-new-year-with-stars
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Teamsters union elects three new leaders, spokesman says ??
| THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Teamsters union in Las Vegas has elected three new leaders, a little more than a year after a threatened national union takeover amid board infighting and claims of misuse of funds.A spokesman said Tuesday that results of the Local 631 vote were tallied Friday and were being certified Tuesday by an arbitrator based in San Di... | Breaking News |
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Source: http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?rid=202196223&cat=1e0899715fbc2697
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With 2011 nearing its close, the Reporter is taking a look back at the best that was in the world of Bellevue area sports and recreation. From now until the end of the year, we will recap the best moments, stories and athletes of our area.
Humanitarian Recognition - Liz Strathy-Merrill and Nick Merrill and Doingood Foundation, Run Baby Run
There are a bevy of individuals, organizations and groups that invest countless time in humanitarian causes in and around Bellevue. But none is so closely tied to the world of local sports like Liz Strathy-Merrill, her husband Nick Merrill and Run Baby Run.
During this past summer, the Reporter profiled the couple's journey across the state to support the construction of an addition to a school in Uganda, Africa.?The project, dubbed "Run Baby Run", was in conjunction with another Bellevue-based foundation known as "Doingood", which was founded and is operated by Amy Rogers.
Nick and Liz met Rogers through a mutual friend, but discovered their ties went back further than any of them ever knew when it was revealed the Rogers' brother John was a teammate of Strathy-Merrill when the two were swimmers at the University of Washington. John died of AIDS in 1996 and in 2005, a school in Uganda was built in his honor.
The same school that Nick and Liz ran to build an addition to this time around.
"It all just kind of came full-circle," Rogers said.?"That made it a little more special."
Prior to their most recent four-day running excursion, the Newport Shores residents ran 200 miles from Portland to their home in Bellevue to raise money to build wells in African Villages.
"It was my wife's idea," Nick Merrill said of the idea to run 100 more miles this time around. "I'm always up for a challenge."
300 miles of running in five days was the goal and before ever the actual running ever began, the couple had already raised $40,000 towards their goal.
Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/belsports/~3/YEywIkLpoJM/136209803.html
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Jammu, Dec 26 (IANS) Some remote and inaccessible border areas in Jammu and Kashmir will soon get electrified through solar and wind energy.
This is being done under the Remote Village Electrification Programme (RVEP) to be commissioned by the Science and Technology department of the state.
'The project will provide electricity to remote inaccessible areas, border areas and some remote hospitals as these are not connected with National Power Grid,' Minister for Science Technology Aga Syed Ruhullah said.
He said that each project will cost Rs.20 lakh and will generate 8.8 kilowatts of power (6.6kw from wind energy and 2.2 kw from solar photovoltaics) 'to slowly replace the conventional power supply and bring down the cost of providing electricity through diesel generator sets being used in some remote areas.' An estimated 350 units would be installed.
A majority of these projects would be in areas that remain cut off for a few months during winters due to snowfall.
According to official statistics, 809 villages in the Jammu region close to the international border and 349 in the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh are without electricity. 'We are going to cover 285 villages and 28 hamlets under RVEP,' the minister said.
In September 2009, about 30 villages comprising 3900 households in the remote Gurez area of North Kashmir close to the Line of Control (LOC) got solar electrification benefitting 30,000 people living there.
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John Steinbeck?s searing The Grapes of Wrath came to movie theaters in 1940. Henry Fonda stars as Tom Joad, an ex-con who leads his fellow Okies west to California during the depths of the Great Depression. Here are 21 Grapes of Wrath movie trivia items and fun facts?
1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was first published by Viking in 1939. Reported Malcolm Cowley in The New Republic (5/3/39): "I can?t agree with those critics who say that The Grapes of Wrath is the greatest novel of the last ten years; for example, it doesn?t rank with the best of Hemingway or Dos Passos. But it belongs very high in the category of the great angry books like Uncle Tom?s Cabin that have roused a people to fight against intolerable wrongs.?
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The Grapes of Wrath one sheet style A movie poster - Heritage Auctions
3. Darryl F. Zanuck wanted John Ford (1894-1973) to direct the picture, feeling that Ford was the only man for the job, given his feel for America and his emotional connection to common people. Ford, however, demanded a month off before starting The Grapes of Wrath. At the time, Ford was "working like hell, averaging eighteen hours a day" on the set of Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), starring Henry Fonda and Claudine Colbert.
4. Henry Fonda had read Nunnally Johnson?s script and was itching to play the lead role of Tom Joad, asking Leland Howard to set it up. Howard informed Fonda that the actor would have to meet with Darryl F. Zanuck personally. That prospect didn?t please Fonda, who viewed Zanuck as "a narrow bastard with only two interests in life, making movies and satisfying" his sex life.
5. Henry Fonda and Darryl F. Zanuck eventually met. Zanuck wanted Fonda to sign a seven-year contract with Fox, hinting that he was also considering either Tyrone Power or Don Ameche for the role of Tom Joad. When Fonda pointedly replied that he wanted to remain a free-lance actor, Zanuck said with a smile, ?Well,? I?m not going to give you Tom Joad and then let you go off and do some picture with MGM and Joan Crawford.? Reluctantly, Fonda acquiesced and signed the contract, an act which would cause him immeasurable grief in the years to come.
6. Darryl F. Zanuck borrowed cinematographer Gregg Toland from MGM for $50,000.
7. The Grapes of Wrath was budgeted at $750,000. A second unit performed some background filming in Oklahoma?s Dust Bowl, while John "Pappy" Ford filmed at various locations in Arizona, New Mexico and in California?s lush San Fernando Valley.
8. The Grapes of Wrath was completed in only 43 days, with production starting on September 15, 1939, and ending on November 8, 1939. John Ford shot an economical 40,000 feet of film ? 100,000 feet might have been the norm with another director.
9. The emotional farewell scene between Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) and Ma Joad (Jane Darwell) was accomplished in one take. ?We rehearsed it and rehearsed it so that the camera crew could get the moves down,? Fonda is quoted by Dan Ford (grandson of John) in Pappy: The Life of John Ford (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1979). ?Every time we got to the bench and were about to go into our lines, Pappy would say ?cut??Well, as actors we were very much aware of the emotion in this scene, and we really wanted to run it. We were like race horses chomping at the bit, but he wouldn?t let us go until the camera was ready. When we finally did run the scene we were ready! I mean the emotion was built up inside of us, and it was working for us. It was there in the face and in the eyes, and we had to fight to hold it back. It was a great, great scene and we knew it right then. After it was over, Pappy just got up and walked away from it?Everybody knew we could print that take.?
10. Darryl F. Zanuck, head of production at 20th Century-Fox, had a big hand in the final product. It was Zanuck who edited Nunnally Johnson?s screenplay, selected the accordion as the main instrument in Alfred Newman?s music score, added the cricket sounds to the swampy camp meeting attended by Preacher Casy (John Carradine) and tacked on Ma Joad?s "we?re the people" speech at the end of the movie.
11. The Grapes of Wrath opens on a dusty road near Oklahoma City where Tom Joad, recently released from prison, enters the Cross Roads diner. Tom Joad had spent the last four years in the state penitentiary, having killed another man at a dance hall after the man had stabbed him with a knife. Both men had been drunk at the time, with Tom retaliating with a shovel and striking his attacker dead. Tom had been given a seven-year sentence, but had gotten out in four.
12. In flashbacks, it?s the Shawnee Land and Cattle Company who move the tenant farmers a.k.a. "dusters" off the land. "The cats" ? caterpillar tractors ? move in, bulldozing fences and houses, with their operators earning $3 a day for their work. Muley Graves (John Qualen) threatens to shoot one of the cat operators, only to discover that he?s the son of a neighbor.
13. Uncle John (Frank Darien) produces a handbill advertising for 800 migrant pickers in California. With only a day left to vacate their Oklahoma farm, the Joads load up their old truck before dawn and begin the long trek to California. Grampa Joad (Charley Grapewin), however, stubbornly refuses to leave, so the family spike his coffee with Soothin? Syrup. The sleepy drunk old man is then placed in the truck and hauled away.
14. Grampa Joad becomes ill and dies along the way. Too poor to afford an undertaker, the Joads bury William James Joad right there, leaving a note at the makeshift grave. This practice was not uncommon among displaced Okies during the Great Depression.
15. The Joads follow U.S. 66 to California. Across the Pecos River in New Mexico, their truck overheats. Pa Joad is then "allowed" to buy a loaf of day-old bread for ten cents from a surly employee at a truck stop.
16. The Joads glimpse their first sight of California from the Arizona side, scanning a series of desolate mountains. ?Well, there she is, folks,? Pa Joad remarks contemptuously. ?The land of milk and honey ? California.?
17. The Joads are assigned house #63 at the Keene Ranch near Pixley, California, where they pick peaches for five cents a box ? no bruised fruit allowed in the final count.
18. Tom Joad enjoys a dance with his ma at the Farmworkers? Wheat Patch Camp where they glide across the floor to the strains of "Red River Valley," performed by accordionist Danny Borzage.
19. The Grapes of Wrath debuted at New York City?s Rivoli Theater on January 24, 1940. The first day?s attendance was 12,917. The film proved to be an overnight sensation, as long lines of eager moviegoers snaked around the theater for weeks, resulting in traffic problems for the NYPD.
20. Author John Steinbeck loved the movie version of his famous novel. The Grapes of Wrath earned seven Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Supporting Actress (Jane Darwell, won), Best Director (John Ford, won), Best Screenplay (Nunnally Johnson), Best Sound Recording (E.H. Hansen), and Best Film Editing (Robert Simpson). Jane Darwell had almost missed being cast in Grapes, as Beulah Bondi had also been considered for the pivotal role of Ma Joad.
21. Deceased cast members from the Grapes of Wrath include Henry Fonda (1905-1982), Jane Darwell (1879-1967), John Carradine (1906-1988), Charley Grapewin (1869-1956), Dorris Bowdon (1914-2005), Russell Simpson (1880-1959), O.Z. Whitehead (1911-1998), John Qualen (1899-1987), Eddie Quillan (1907-1990) and Zeffie Tilbury (1863-1950).
?I?ll be all around in the dark. I?ll be everywhere, wherever you can look. Wherever there?s a fight so hungry people can eat, I?ll be there?? - Henry Fonda as Tom Joad
Copyright ? 2011 William J. Felchner
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William J. Felchner is a graduate of Illinois State University. His many articles have appeared in such publications as True West, Hot Rod, Persimmon Hill, Corvette Quarterly, Western & Eastern Treasures, Military Trader, Illinois Magazine, Sports Collectors Digest, Movie Collector's World, Antiques & Auction News, Frontier Times, Old West, Pennsylvania and Goldmine.
Source: http://factoidz.com/john-fords-the-grapes-of-wrath-1940-movie-trivia-fun-facts/
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Japan has lowered its economic growth forecast for?2012?as a cumulative effect of a rising yen, natural disasters and the eurozone debt crisis.
The Japanese government stated that the economy will expand at 2.2 percent in the fiscal year 2012, which is lower than the previous forecast for 2.7 to 2.9 percent growth. At the same time, the goverment sounded optimistic that the European sovereign debt crisis?will ease next year. International trade and finance have been badly affected by the eurozone debt crisis, which has been threatening to pull down global economic growth.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda approved the revised estimates while projecting that Japan will face a trade deficit for fiscal 2011.
The government has stated that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami have seriously damaged the nation's economic activities for the current fiscal year. "The economy picked up after the supply chain rebuilt itself quickly," the government stated.
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"But after summer, the recovery has slowed due to a quickly rising yen and the global economic slowdown brought about by the European sovereign debt crisis," it added. The strong yen and Europe's sovereign debt crisis have severely hurt the exports of the country.
In addition, unemployment is expected to stay close to 4.5 percent in fiscal 2011 and 4.3 percent in fiscal 2012.
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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/271885/20111223/japan-cuts-economic-growth-forecast-next-fiscal.htm
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Sending out my first tweet from my new iPad! Special #Christmas gift to me from my awesome wife! 
Bukowsky Jeff Flowers
Source: http://twitter.com/Bukowsky/statuses/150791505727074307
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There are some American politicians who question the mission that President Obama has set for the no fly zone in Libya. These politicians have their reasons for questioning the actions that are taking place. Here are three politicians who have weighted in on the no fly zone in Libya.
According to Business Insider, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) said "Getting the authority from the UN to go into Libya for humanitarian reasons doesn't say very much. There's a lot of militarism going on there, and I don't know how much humanitarianism is going on there."
This quote by Paul can be best described as Paul feeling that intervention in Libya should have gotten approval from Congress instead of the UN. Paul is expressing his feelings that President Obama side-stepped the American people and has led them into another long conflict we have no business being a part of.
On Rep. Dennis Kucinich's (D-Ohio) website, he says the following: "While the action is billed as protecting the civilians of Libya, a no-fly-zone begins with an attack on the air defenses of Libya and Qaddafi forces. It is an act of war. The president made statements which attempt to minimize U.S. action, but U.S. planes may drop U.S. bombs and U.S. missiles may be involved in striking another sovereign nation."
Kucinich is expressing that he does not believe that the US should be in any type of war, battle, or enforcing any no fly zone anywhere in the world. His position is not surprising, considering that he has also been a big supporter of ending all operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fifth District U.S. Rep. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, told the Martinsville Bulletin that "military resources have been used in a 'warlike atmosphere' without a complete consultation with Congress. I think the president has got to better articulate what our short-term goal is, what our long-term goal is and what our exit strategy is if there is one for our action."
Hurt is questioning the true nature of what the final plan is for exiting the conflict in Libya. It is not known, in his opinion, how long we will be enforcing the no fly zone, and Hurt wants to know that we have an exit plan that does not burden the American taxpayer or the US military like the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have.
All three of these politicians are objecting to America's intervention in the Libya conflict. These politicians feel that we have entered into something that is not only wrong for America, but wrong for the rest of the Middle East. These three politicians intend to get their message out any way possible through the media. However, the President is the commander and chief of the military, and if he wants to enforce a no fly zone in Libya, then the President doesn't really need to get approval from Congress because it is not considered an act of war.
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Astronomers using NASA's Kepler mission have detected two Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant star. This discovery marks a milestone in the hunt for alien worlds, since it brings scientists one step closer to their ultimate goal of finding a twin Earth.
"The goal of Kepler is to find Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone. Proving the existence of Earth-sized exoplanets is a major step toward achieving that goal," said Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).
The paper describing the finding will be published in the journal Nature.
The two planets, dubbed Kepler-20e and 20f, are the smallest planets found to date. They have diameters of 6,900 miles and 8,200 miles - equivalent to 0.87 times Earth (slightly smaller than Venus) and 1.03 times Earth. These worlds are expected to have rocky compositions, so their masses should be less than 1.7 and 3 times Earth's.
Both worlds circle Kepler-20: a G-type star slightly cooler than the Sun and located 950 light-years from Earth. (It would take the space shuttle 36 million years to travel to Kepler-20.)
Kepler-20e orbits every 6.1 days at a distance of 4.7 million miles. Kepler-20f orbits every 19.6 days at a distance of 10.3 million miles. Due to their tight orbits, they are heated to temperatures of 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit and 800 degrees F.
In addition to the two Earth-sized worlds, the Kepler-20 system contains three larger planets. All five have orbits closer than Mercury in our solar system.
They also show an unexpected arrangement. In our solar system small, rocky worlds orbit close to the Sun and large, gas giant worlds orbit farther out. In contrast, the planets of Kepler-20 are organized in alternating size: big, little, big, little, big.
"We were surprised to find this system of flip-flopping planets," said co-author David Charbonneau of the CfA. "It's very different than our solar system."
The three largest planets are designated Kepler-20b, 20c, and 20d. They have diameters of 15,000, 24,600, and 22,000 miles and orbit once every 3.7, 10.9, and 77.6 days, respectively. Kepler-20b has 8.7 times the mass of Earth; Kepler-20c has 16.1 times Earth's mass. Kepler-20d weighs less than 20 times Earth.
The planets of Kepler-20 could not have formed in their current locations. Instead, they must have formed farther from their star and then migrated inward, probably through interactions with the disk of material from which they all formed. This allowed the worlds to maintain their regular spacing despite alternating sizes.
Kepler identifies "objects of interest" by looking for stars that dim slightly, which can occur when a planet crosses the star's face. To confirm a transiting planet, astronomers look for the star to wobble as it is gravitationally tugged by its orbiting companion (a method known as radial velocity).
The radial velocity signal for planets weighing one to a few Earth masses is too small to detect with current technology. Therefore, other techniques must be used to validate that an object of interest is truly a planet.
A variety of situations could mimic the dimming from a transiting planet. For example, an eclipsing binary-star system whose light blends with the star Kepler-20 would create a similar signal. To rule out such imposters, the team simulated millions of possible scenarios with Blender - custom software developed by Fressin and Willie Torres of CfA. They concluded that the odds are strongly in favor of Kepler-20e and 20f being planets.
Fressin and Torres also used Blender to confirm the existence of Kepler-22b, a planet in the habitable zone of its star that was announced by NASA earlier this month. However, that world was much larger than Earth.
"These new planets are significantly smaller than any planet found up till now orbiting a Sun-like star," added Fressin.
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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu
Thanks to Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116188/First_Earth_sized_planets_found
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SPOKANE, Washington?? An Army veteran with extensive ties to white supremacists was sentenced to 32 years in prison Tuesday for planting a poison-laced bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route in what he said was meant to be an attack against the cultural diversity celebrated by the event.
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Kevin Harpham tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his earlier guilty plea just before receiving the maximum punishment from U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush, who said the previously law-abiding Harpham seemed to be influenced by a "shrill and caustic and vitriolic" culture fueled by talk media.
Harpham told the judge: "I am not guilty of the acts that I am accused of and that I plead guilty to." He said he only agreed to the deal in September to avoid a possible life sentence.
The statement prompted Quackenbush to impose the higher end of the possible prison sentence, which was negotiated in the plea bargain as between 27 and 32 years.
"I am distressed that you appear not the least bit apologetic," Quackenbush said.
Harpham blamed the judge for not giving his defense team enough time. The 37-year-old said he did not intend to injure people with the bomb he placed in downtown Spokane prior to the January parade.
Rather, he intended for the shrapnel to hit the side of a building as a show of protest against the multiculturalism celebrated by the parade, he said.
"I was making a statement that there are people out there who don't agree with these ideas," Harpham said. He likened himself to a Christian protesting gay marriage, "but a bit more dangerous or extreme."
The judge said he was perplexed because Harpham was honorably discharged from the Army and had no criminal record.
"That is contrary to what this community and this country is about," Quackenbush said.
Just before he was scheduled to be sentenced, Harpham's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea by noting that a newly hired defense expert questioned whether the explosive device in question met the legal definition of a bomb.
Harpham said he intended to seek an appeal, which he has 14 days to file.
Federal prosecutors said it was important that a long sentence be imposed in the case.
"Acts of hate like this one have no place in our country in 2011," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division in Washington, D.C.
Federal officials have said Harpham acted alone.
The pipe bomb was loaded with lead fishing weights coated in rat poison, which can inhibit blood clotting in wounds, officials have said. The bomb was discovered and disabled before it could explode.
The parade on Jan. 17 drew a crowd of about 2,000 on a cold winter morning. It was forced onto an alternative route after the bomb was found. Harpham walked in the parade and took pictures of young black children and of a Jewish man who was wearing a yarmulke, prosecutors have said.
Prosecutors said Harpham acted alone. He was arrested March 9 at his rural home near Addy, Wash.
The plea deal charged Harpham with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and the hate crime of placing the bomb in an effort to target minorities. Prosecutors dropped charges of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and unauthorized possession of an unregistered explosive device. If convicted, he could have faced up to life in prison.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, has said that Harpham made more than 1,000 postings on the Vanguard News Network, a white supremacist website. The center also has said that Harpham belonged to a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.
Harpham served from 1996 to 1999 in the Army at what is now Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma. His lawyers have said Harpham had not been recently employed.
He has remained in the Spokane County Jail without bail since his arrest. Under the deal, Harpham would remain on probation for the rest of his life once he leaves prison.
During his sentencing, a suspicious package was found near the federal courthouse, but a bomb squad determined it was not an explosive.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45735089/ns/us_news/
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In this image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011, purports to show military vehicles in Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL, TV OUT
In this image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011, purports to show military vehicles in Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL, TV OUT
This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011, purports to show a man shot by snipers in Homs, Syria.(AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT
Graphic shows the cumulative death toll from the uprising in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) ? As government troops advanced on a village in northwestern Syria, activists say the terrified residents fled into a valley for fear of being arrested or worse. What happened next, one of the activists said, was "an organized massacre."
The troops surrounded the valley and unleashed a barrage of rockets, tank shells, bombs and gunfire in an hours-long assault, according to two human rights groups and a witness, killing more than 100 people and leaving no survivors in one of the bloodiest days of a crackdown by President Bashar Assad against a nine-month popular uprising.
The White House said it was "deeply disturbed" by Tuesday's attack, France called it a "murderous spiral," and the Arab League reminded the Assad regime of its responsibilities to protect its civilians.
The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have died since March as Syria has sought to put down the uprising ? part of the Arab Spring of protests that has toppled long-serving unpopular leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Members of Syria's opposition said the bloodshed outside the village of Kfar Owaid, about 30 miles from the northern border with Turkey in Idlib province, was evidence of the authoritarian leader's intent to intensify its crackdown on the uprising before Arab League observers arrive in the country Thursday. The death toll from two days of violence this week topped 200, including up to 70 army defectors killed near the city of Idlib, the activists said.
"It was an organized massacre," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based activist group. "The troops surrounded people, then killed them."
Kfar Owaid is part of the rugged mountainous region of Jabal al-Zawiyah, the scene of clashes between troops and army defectors, as well as weeks of intense anti-government protests.
One Kfar Owaid villager who is an anti-government activist told The Associated Press by telephone that scores of residents and activists had fled to the nearby Budnaya Valley ahead of the advancing troops. He said the security forces had lists of names of those who organized massive anti-regime protests recently in the village.
Those who fled to the valley were completely surrounded by troops, said the activist, who identified himself only as Abu Rabih for fear of government reprisal. The troops then opened fire with tanks, rockets and heavy machine guns, he said, adding that they also used bombs filled with nails to increase the number of casualties.
He said 110 people were killed in the attack, with 56 of them buried in Kfar Owaid on Wednesday. Others were buried in nearby villages.
Abdul-Rahman corroborated the Kfar Owaid witness account. The group, which uses a network of local activists to collect information on the crackdown, said 111 people from the village were killed Tuesday.
All of those in the valley were unarmed civilians and activists, with no armed military defectors among them, the rights groups said.
The Jabal al-Zawiyah region has been under intense attack by government forces since Saturday, Abu Rabih said.
Syrian officials have not commented on the allegations.
Assad agreed Monday to allow foreign monitors into Syria under an Arab League plan aimed at stopping the bloodshed. The huge toll Monday and Tuesday from the crackdown has reinforced opposition suspicions that Assad is trying to stall before a new round of international condemnation and sanctions. His regime already has been left isolated and under pressure from the Arab world as well as the West.
The Obama administration reacted to the latest reports by renewing its call for Assad to step down, saying he "does not deserve to rule Syria."
"The United States is deeply disturbed by credible reports that the Assad regime continues to indiscriminately kill scores of civilians and army defectors, while destroying homes and shops and arresting protesters without due process," the White House said in a statement read by spokesman Jay Carney, warning that the international community could take more steps against Syria.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland added that the stepped-up violence signaled that Syria's acceptance of the Arab League plan is merely a "stalling tactic."
"This is not the behavior of a government that is getting ready to implement the Arab League proposals," she told reporters, adding later that: "We've got lots of promises as the government continues to mow down its own people."
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said "everything must be done to stop this murderous spiral into which Bashar Assad is leading his people more every day." He added that the U.N. Security Council must "pass a firm resolution demanding the end to this repression."
The German government's human rights commissioner, Markus Loening, called for an immediate end to violence against deserters and demonstrators.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said "it is unacceptable" that so many people were killed after Syria agreed to an Arab League plan to halt the bloodshed.
In Cairo, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby expressed deep concern about reports of an escalation in violence and appealed to Damascus to shoulder its responsibilities to protect civilians in compliance with its pledges to abide by the league's plan.
The Arab League plan calls for Syria to halt its crackdown, open talks with the opposition, withdraw military forces from city streets and allow in human rights workers and journalists. The 22-member Arab League has also suspended Syria's membership and leveled economic and diplomatic sanctions.
Despite the new violence, the Arab League appeared to be going ahead with its plans to send in its first delegation of monitors on Thursday. An Arab League official said the second team of observers ? 30 experts in military affairs and human rights ? will head for Syria on Sunday, led by Lt. Gen. Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa of Sudan.
Another team of 100 observers will leave for Syria within two weeks, he said.
Syria's main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, described this weeks killings as "brutal massacres and genocide," saying it has urged the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on Syria. The SNC also asked the international community to help protect Syrian citizens.
The conflict, which began with peaceful protests in March, has become increasingly militarized in recent weeks, with clashes nearly every day between troops and army defectors who have joined the movement against Assad. Idlib province has witnessed some of the most intense clashes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces shot and killed three people in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani and one in the northern town of Saraqeb. It added that a large force stormed the town of Dael in the southern province of Daraa, wounding dozens of people. Another group, the Local Coordination Committees, said 15 people were killed Wednesday ? part of a death toll of more than 100 people this week.
On Monday, security forces killed up to 70 army defectors as they were deserting their military posts in Idlib, activists said.
The accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has banned most foreign journalists and places heavy restrictions on the work of local reporters.
In Damascus, meanwhile, the Iranian Embassy said five Iranian engineers who work at an electricity station in the restive Syrian city of Homs were kidnapped Tuesday ? a possible attempt by Assad's staunchest ally to corroborate his regime's claim that armed gangs are to blame for the anti-government uprising.
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Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.
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Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue
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BEIJING ? A man from a southern Chinese fishing village whose death in police custody helped spark a rare revolt was given a hero's farewell Friday as thousands of tearful residents mourned what they called his sacrifice for them.
Wukan, a village of 20,000, has for months been the site of simmering protests by locals who say officials sold farmland to developers without their consent.
Protests against official misconduct are increasingly common in fast-developing China, but Wukan residents have taken things a step further, erecting barricades over the weekend to keep police out and posing a challenge to the authoritarian government. On a near-daily basis, thousands of villagers gather for rallies, shouting slogans for the return of their land and pumping their fists in the air.
The gathering took on a more somber note Friday as about 7,000 people attended a memorial ceremony for local butcher Xue Jinbo, who before his death had been one of the village's representatives in tense negotiations with officials over the land seizure.
Banners saying "You sacrificed your life for our land" and "Sadly mourn Xue Jinbo" were displayed at the ceremony, said villager Qin Zhuan, who was reached by phone.
Qin said they made speeches and lined up to bow in front of a large photograph of Xue, who died Sunday, not long after he was detained by police on suspicion of participating in riots in September.
Expressing commonly held suspicions over Xue's death, another villager said he appeared to have been abused in custody.
"He is man with a loving heart for people. He was killed for struggling to win the land for the villagers. We all cried for him," said villager Huang Hancan. "He must have suffered from mistreatment for a good healthy man to turn into a dead man just a day after being detained. No doubt, he was beaten to death and everyone can imagine that."
In an interview this week with Hong Kong online magazine iSun Affairs, Xue Jinbo's daughter said his body showed signs of bruising and swelling on his mouth, hands, neck and elsewhere, as well as open wounds on his forehead and jaw.
"When we looked at his back, there were also many bruises that look like he had been kicked or stamped on," she said in a video posted on the magazine's website.
Calls to the offices of the Communist Party propaganda department and the government of Shanwei city, which oversees Wukan, rang unanswered Friday. Chinese media reported that local authorities said Xue died of cardiac failure.
Problems in Wukan erupted in violence in September, when hundreds of villagers smashed buildings and clashed with police in protest against the sale of their farmland without their consent. Villagers since have submitted petitions and sought meetings with higher officials without success.
Last Friday, police took away several village representatives and when police tried to return the next day, residents blockaded the roads with tree trunks and barriers to stop them. Residents say police fired tear gas and water cannons at the villagers, who armed themselves with sticks, clubs, hoes and other farming tools.
Police then retreated and set up blockades on the main roads into Wukan, preventing villagers from entering and leaving and food from being brought in, villagers reached by phone said.
Huang said the residents would not give up. "We want justice from the government and we will fight to the end," he said, adding that the villagers also wanted the truth about Xue's death.
On Wednesday, the mayor of Shanwei city threatened to take strong measures against the leaders of the rebellion. He also promised to investigate local officials for wrongdoing and impose a temporary freeze on one farmland development project until a majority of villagers are satisfied with the conditions of the land transfer.
But signs of a split in the community were starting to emerge. Government supporters were offering food in exchange for villagers' signatures, said Qin, the woman who attended the funeral.
"Most of them are former village officials and their relatives who have an interest in the land sales," Qin said. "They offered us rice and cooking oil on condition that we must sign an empty white paper. We suspected that our signatures would be used for other purposes, so we refused to sign."
With a booming economy, demand for land to build factories and housing complexes in China has soared. Land disputes have grown apace, becoming one of the leading causes of the tens of thousands of large-scale protests that hit China every year.
Around Wukan village and in much of the rest of Guangdong province, conflicts have been intense because the area is among China's most economically developed, pushing up land prices.
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Follow Gillian Wong on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gillianwong
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