A new method for the compression of complex signals is presented

Public release date: 31-Oct-2011
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Contact: Ana Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid

This press release is available in Spanish.

The study, which was carried out by Eduardo Martinez Enrique and Fernando Daz de Mara, of UC3M's Department of Signal Theory and Communications and Antonio Ortega, of USC-Los Angeles's Electrical Engineering Department, recently received the Best paper award at the International Conference on Image Processing 2011 (ICIP 2011), the most important international conference in the scientific field of image and video processing, whose most recent conference received 2,245 articles from 67 different countries.

This article, entitled "Video encoder based on lifting transforms on graphs", presents a new type of transform for compact representation of video sequences. "A transform," Eduardo Martinez explained, "is a mathematical tool that allows us to look at an object of interest from an alternate point of view, suitable for the problem we are trying to solve. Our object of interest is the video and our problem is to compress it, that is, to represent it in the most compact manner possible," he went on. The transforms presented are capable of compacting energy more efficiently than those that have been used up until now.

The application they have used to evaluate this development is video compression, whose objective is to represent a sequence with the smallest possible rate (the one which occupies the smallest space possible) to achieve a determined quality. With this new compression method, they would be able to reduce a binary system, for example, to transmit a video using streaming (very common on the Internet) or Digital Terrestrial Television. Other possible applications for this development may include noise reduction in a video (which can improve the subjective quality of a low quality sequence), data compression in sensor networks, or the study and interpretation of brain behavior, through the transformation of brain signals very noisy into other types of signals that are easier to interpret and analyze.

Pixels like grains of sand

In order to explain how this compression method works, the researchers have made use of an analogy. We can see each image that makes up a video as a handful of sand spread out on the floor: each pixel is like a grain of sand. The objective of a transform for compression is to reorganize the grains of sand in various levels above the floor. In this way, on the lowest levels a few grains of sand would be used to draw the softest forms, like a sketch of the image. Moving upward, the rest of the grains of sand would be used and more details would be added. And if the structure collapsed, the grains would fall and the original image of the video would be drawn again. "Once the grains of sand are reorganized in this manner," Eduardo Martinez explained, "compressing is simple: we would remove levels from the top down as needed."

To sum up, this research presents a new way of reorganizing those grains of sand so that the highest levels scarcely affect the final structure of the video. When the images are represented in compact form, the edges of the objects turn out to be the most complicated part as that is where the image changes noticeably, and as a result more resources are needed to represent that part. "In this case," the researcher pointed out, "the levels of sand in relation to the detail (the highest) become very important, and eliminating them could appreciably degrade image quality." Currently, in scientific literature, we can find research related to methods that can transform images without crossing the edges of the objects, that is, following specific directions. "Our transform," he added, "extends this concept to video sequences, because it can follow the most suitable directions throughout a sequence of images, also taking into account the temporal dimension."

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More information:

Study: Video encoder based on lifting transforms on graphs Authors: E. Martinez Enrique, F. Daz de Mara, Antonio Ortega Presented at: The International Conference on Image Processing 2011

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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.

Public release date: 31-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ana Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid

This press release is available in Spanish.

The study, which was carried out by Eduardo Martinez Enrique and Fernando Daz de Mara, of UC3M's Department of Signal Theory and Communications and Antonio Ortega, of USC-Los Angeles's Electrical Engineering Department, recently received the Best paper award at the International Conference on Image Processing 2011 (ICIP 2011), the most important international conference in the scientific field of image and video processing, whose most recent conference received 2,245 articles from 67 different countries.

This article, entitled "Video encoder based on lifting transforms on graphs", presents a new type of transform for compact representation of video sequences. "A transform," Eduardo Martinez explained, "is a mathematical tool that allows us to look at an object of interest from an alternate point of view, suitable for the problem we are trying to solve. Our object of interest is the video and our problem is to compress it, that is, to represent it in the most compact manner possible," he went on. The transforms presented are capable of compacting energy more efficiently than those that have been used up until now.

The application they have used to evaluate this development is video compression, whose objective is to represent a sequence with the smallest possible rate (the one which occupies the smallest space possible) to achieve a determined quality. With this new compression method, they would be able to reduce a binary system, for example, to transmit a video using streaming (very common on the Internet) or Digital Terrestrial Television. Other possible applications for this development may include noise reduction in a video (which can improve the subjective quality of a low quality sequence), data compression in sensor networks, or the study and interpretation of brain behavior, through the transformation of brain signals very noisy into other types of signals that are easier to interpret and analyze.

Pixels like grains of sand

In order to explain how this compression method works, the researchers have made use of an analogy. We can see each image that makes up a video as a handful of sand spread out on the floor: each pixel is like a grain of sand. The objective of a transform for compression is to reorganize the grains of sand in various levels above the floor. In this way, on the lowest levels a few grains of sand would be used to draw the softest forms, like a sketch of the image. Moving upward, the rest of the grains of sand would be used and more details would be added. And if the structure collapsed, the grains would fall and the original image of the video would be drawn again. "Once the grains of sand are reorganized in this manner," Eduardo Martinez explained, "compressing is simple: we would remove levels from the top down as needed."

To sum up, this research presents a new way of reorganizing those grains of sand so that the highest levels scarcely affect the final structure of the video. When the images are represented in compact form, the edges of the objects turn out to be the most complicated part as that is where the image changes noticeably, and as a result more resources are needed to represent that part. "In this case," the researcher pointed out, "the levels of sand in relation to the detail (the highest) become very important, and eliminating them could appreciably degrade image quality." Currently, in scientific literature, we can find research related to methods that can transform images without crossing the edges of the objects, that is, following specific directions. "Our transform," he added, "extends this concept to video sequences, because it can follow the most suitable directions throughout a sequence of images, also taking into account the temporal dimension."

###

More information:

Study: Video encoder based on lifting transforms on graphs Authors: E. Martinez Enrique, F. Daz de Mara, Antonio Ortega Presented at: The International Conference on Image Processing 2011

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/ciuo-anm102811.php

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Russian cargo ship launched to space station

MOSCOW (AP) ? A Russian cargo ship was launched successfully to the International Space Station on Sunday, clearing the way for the next manned mission and easing concerns about the station's future after a previous failed launch.

The unmanned Progress M-13M blasted off as scheduled at 2:11 p.m. Moscow time (1011 GMT; 6:11 a.m. EDT) from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said.

"It was a perfect launch," Lyndin told The Associated Press, adding the ship successfully reached a designated orbit and will dock at the station Wednesday. A new crew will be launched to the space outpost on Nov. 14, he said.

A Progress launch failure in August, which was blamed on an "accidental" manufacturing flaw, cast doubts about future missions to the station, because the upper stage of the Soyuz booster rocket carrying the cargo ship to orbit is similar to that used to launch astronauts.

The next Soyuz launches were delayed pending the outcome of the probe. NASA said the space station ? continuously manned for nearly 11 years ? will need to be abandoned temporarily if a new crew cannot be launched by mid-November.

The Russian spacecraft serve as the only link to the station after NASA retired the space shuttle in July.

Sundays' Progress mission was the second successful launch of a Soyuz booster rocket after the August mishap. Earlier this month, another Soyuz rocket launched the first two satellites of the European Union's Galileo navigation system from the Kourou launchpad in French Guiana. The launches followed inspections, which required the rocket engines to be sent back to manufacturers for close examination.

The August crash was the latest in a string of spectacular launch failures that have raised concerns about the condition of the nation's space industries. The Russian space agency said it will establish its own quality inspection teams at rocket factories to tighten oversight over production quality.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-10-30-SCI-Space-Station/id-742cfd1c1dfd4501a547eb479cae6e4f

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Daily Aspirin May Help Prevent Colon Cancer for Those at High Risk (HealthDay)

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 randomized 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 randomized to receive a starch 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 randomize 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.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111027/hl_hsn/dailyaspirinmayhelppreventcoloncancerforthoseathighrisk

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Nintendo Is Planning In-Game Virtual Item Sales For 3DS

It seems factors like the smartphone gaming revolution, the rise of social games, and shrinking video game sales do have an impact on Nintendo's business strategy after all. Various Japanese media, i.e. the country's biggest business daily The Nikkei, are reporting today that Nintendo is planning to offer in-game virtual item sales for 3DS titles. The background here is that Nintendo's sales from its "digital" business (downloads of classic games, for example) currently account for under 5% of the total. This number is much higher for other "traditional" video game makers: Konami, for example, is now making more money with social games (which are very popular in Japan) than with packaged software.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/C8xvRU83Lb8/

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Cards' Holliday to miss World Series Game 7

St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday is picked off third base with Texas Rangers' Adrian Beltre covering during the sixth inning of Game 6 of baseball's World Series Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday is picked off third base with Texas Rangers' Adrian Beltre covering during the sixth inning of Game 6 of baseball's World Series Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Matt Holliday thought he'd be ready to go in Game 7 of the World Series. Just got his right pinkie stepped on during Thursday's game at Busch Stadium.

A restless, painful night changed that thinking. The Cardinals took their cleanup hitter off the roster with a bruised right wrist, an injury manager Tony La Russa said was significant enough to land Holliday on the 15-day disabled list if it was the regular season.

"As the night went on my wrist started bothering me pretty bad to the point where I couldn't sleep," Holliday said Friday. "As the night went on I thought 'Wow, maybe the adrenaline wore off.'"

Holliday said doctors found "pretty substantial inflammation" in the wrist and one told him he would need three weeks to recover.

"It's frustrating. This is something you look forward to," Holliday said. "But this is a team game. It's not about me."

It's the final setback of an injury-plagued season. Holliday was on the DL twice with an appendectomy and quadriceps injury. He had to leave a game in August when a moth got stuck in his ear and injured a tendon on his right middle finger late in the year.

"It would be nice to kind of get it all out of the way and hopefully have a clean year next year," Holliday said. "Every time I felt like I was getting close to 100 percent, something else has come up."

Holliday struggled to regain his stroke in the postseason, and the Cardinals also have used Lance Berkman and David Freese in the cleanup spot. He was 3 for 19 with no RBIs in the World Series and batted .294 overall with a homer and five RBIs.

Holliday was injured when he was picked off third base in the sixth inning. The Cardinals went on to a dramatic 10-9, 11-inning victory over the Texas Rangers to force the first winner-take-all game in the World Series since 2002.

Rookie outfielder Adron Chambers replaced Holliday on the active roster.

"Well, it's difficult when you have to bang one of your core guys, but in a situation like this, you know, the evaluation is: What can he provide to you if he plays?" La Russa said.

"It's pinch running," La Russa said. "You can't put him out there ? he can't swing the bat."

The five-time All-Star reached on a throwing error in the sixth inning Thursday. He advanced to third after walks to Freese and Yadier Molina, but wandered too far down the line after a pitch to Nick Punto, and Rangers catcher Mike Napoli rose from his crouch and fired to third.

Holliday dived back to the bag, but Adrian Beltre had his foot blocking his path, and Holliday's wrist bent at an awkward angle.

He was eventually removed from the game, and the Cardinals initially said he hurt the small finger on his right hand. X-rays came back negative.

Major League Baseball must approve roster moves during the series, and the commissioner's office released a statement saying, "MLB Postseason rules provide that injured players can be replaced during the World Series if the severity of the injury, as determined by Major League Baseball, is such that it would require a disabled list assignment during the regular season."

The speedy Chambers likely will be used as a pinch runner.

He spent most of the season at Triple-A Memphis, and had just eight at-bats in 18 games with St. Louis during the regular season. He's a combined 1 for 5 this postseason.

"The effect is that's one of our middle guys, especially against a left-handed pitcher," La Russa said of playing without Holliday. "He'd be hitting fifth today. It kind of shortens our lineup

"Tough decision."

___

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-10-28-BBO-World-Series-Cardinals-Holliday/id-784badff2416441fbef9ea0f195c4654

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Local TV news: Sharing agreements mean less original content and possible monopoly violations

Local TV news: Sharing agreements mean less original content and possible monopoly violations

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Watching local TV news can lead to d?j vu. During the past decade, a growing number of local television stations have entered into agreements together ? to share video footage, reporters, anchors and even full newscasts. A new report by the University of Delaware's Center for Community Research and Service looks at the impact of these possibly monopolistic agreements on local media markets and on the principles the federal government uses to regulate the broadcast industry: diversity, competition and localism.

Danilo Yanich, author of the report and associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration, filed his findings with the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is in the process of making decisions about media ownership and consolidation. Yanich says he hopes what he found will inform the federal body's decisions.

Yanich and his students conducted a content analysis of newscasts from eight American television markets. In each market, at least one sharing agreement exists. These agreements are known, depending on their conditions, as shared services (SSA) agreements, local marketing/ management (LMA) agreements or local news sharing (LNS) agreements. Purportedly, they help relieve some of the economic burdens shouldered by local stations in gathering and presenting news content.

Yanich found the agreements "had a profound effect on the local news broadcasts in the markets," resulting in the broadcast of "a sizable proportion of stories on a combination of their stations."

Service agreements have resulted in a loss of diversity and localism at local news operations and have eliminated quality jobs, says Jim Joyce, president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA, which represents about 8,000 workers at local and national television operations. The CWA partially commissioned the report.

Combining resources through these agreements resulted in a significant number of stations in the same markets using the same anchors, reporters, scripts and graphics.

In Denver, for example, stations with service agreements shared the same script and graphics about two-thirds of the time. In Peoria, Ill., consumers, despite having five local news stations, were viewing identical stories on several channels.

The combination of newsrooms also resulted in job losses. In Peoria, 30 employees were laid off and 16 were transferred to another station within the market.

"Local television news still holds a pre-eminent position as a news source for the public," Yanich says. He added that while the movement toward shared services agreements undoubtedly will continue, stations retain public interest responsibilities.

###

University of Delaware: http://www.udel.edu

Thanks to University of Delaware for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114584/Local_TV_news__Sharing_agreements_mean_less_original_content_and_possible_monopoly_violations

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PFT: Dolphin rips fans pushing for 'Suck for Luck'

Getty Images

The Bills have paid linebacker Shawne Merriman $6.95 million over the last season and a half?for one sack and nine tackles in five games.

Amazingly, Merriman?s contract appears to get worse for the Bills.

According to a January article by Tim Graham (formerly of ESPN.com), Merriman is guaranteed another $3 million in 2012. ?We?ve seen it written that the Bills had some injury protection for that money, but that no longer appears to be true.

Graham wrote that Merriman?s 2012 money was guaranteed the moment he was cleared to practice this year.?In essence, his new Achilles injury is viewed as different problem than his old Achilles injury. ?So the Bills are on the hook for it.

Merriman is due $4 million in base salary in 2012 and a $1 million roster bonus next March. ?We can?t imagine the Bills will give him another chance, so they will basically have to pay him $3 million to go away.

Claiming and then signing Merriman never made any sense. I?ve heard from Bills fans that they had to take a roll of the dice to get some talent. That?s insane. ?The Bills have done so many things right in the Gailey/Nix era, but there is no defending the Merriman contract.

It was a terrible bet the moment the contract was signed. Merriman missed 30 games between 2008-2010, including 13 last year. He has 4 sacks since 2007. ?He was never going to make big money on the open market. ?Guaranteed base salaries are for star players; Merriman was not in that kind of bargaining position.

If the Bills wanted to take a risk on Merriman, they could have waited for him to be a free agent and given him something like a 1-year, $3 million contract. That?s more money than far more productive linebackers got after the lockout.

Instead, the Bills will wind up paying almost $10 million to Merriman for one sack. That apparently includes $3 million next year, when he may no longer even be in the NFL.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/26/fasano-says-fans-pushing-suck-for-luck-are-sick/related/

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Boeing profit lifted by commercial and defense sales (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Strong demand for commercial and military aircraft lifted quarterly earnings at Boeing Co (BA.N), making the builder of the new 787 Dreamliner the latest big-ticket manufacturer to ease fears about global economic conditions.

The results and a higher 2011 profit forecast sent Boeing shares 5 percent higher. The stock also gained on news of the first commercial flight of Boeing's high-profile, carbon-composite Dreamliner.

The profit beat from the world's largest aerospace and defense company was the latest in a string of recent upbeat reports from other top manufacturers like Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) and Honeywell International Inc (HON.N).

"I think we're completely headed in the right direction and this is another piece of the puzzle to indicate we are," said Andrew Bodner, president of Double Diamond Investment Group.

"If you look at corporate earnings, that's been one of the strong points of pulling us out of any recession," he said.

Boeing shares, a Dow Component, closed 4.5 percent higher at $66.56 on the New York Stock Exchange. (For a graphic on Boeing's earnings, see http://link.reuters.com/net64s)

DREAMLINER

Boeing's earnings were reported on the day of the first commercial flight for Boeing's long-delayed 787 Dreamliner, a lightweight, carbon composite widebody. The plane-maker recently made its first delivery of the 787 and the 747-8 Freighter -- both years behind schedule.

Boeing said on Wednesday it would calculate the profitability of the 787 program based on 1,100 planes. This was the first indication from Boeing as to when the plane-maker expected that program to turn a profit.

Chief Executive Jim McNerney previously said he expected the program to be profitable from "day one" based on the company's usual accounting practices.

In other Boeing commercial programs, the initial accounting block is much smaller. For the 767, 777 and 757 programs, the block was closer to 400 planes.

But early demand for those planes was much weaker than for the record-setting 787, which had more than 800 orders years before its first delivery. So Boeing spread its 787 investment over the larger accounting block.

"They're going to be profitable from day one with very small margins," said Alex Hamilton, managing director of EarlyBirdCapital. "It's a little bit of a break from historical precedent, and that's a luxury they were given with such a large backlog."

Now analysts want to know if Boeing can ramp up its production rate for the plane to 10 per month by the end of 2013, as promised. The current rate is two per month.

Boeing also said on Wednesday it expected a delay in the first delivery of a slightly bigger version of the Dreamliner, the 787-9, which was previously scheduled for delivery to Air New Zealand in late 2013.

In a regulatory filing, Boeing said, "With successful completion of the 787-9 critical design review we have assessed the schedule and first delivery is now expected in early 2014, although we continue to look for opportunities to regain schedule."

EARNINGS BEAT

Boeing, which competes with EADS (EAD.PA) unit Airbus, said third-quarter profit rose to $1.1 billion, or $1.46 per share, from $837 million, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier.

The average Wall Street earnings forecast was $1.10 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the full year, Boeing raised its earnings per share guidance to a range of $4.30 to $4.40, "reflecting strong core performance." Its previous forecast was $3.90 to $4.10.

The company, however, narrowed its 2011 revenue forecast to between $68 billion and $70 billion, from $68 billion to $71 billion previously.

"This was a good operating performance at both (Boeing Commercial Airplanes) and defense," aerospace analyst Robert Stallard of RBC Capital Markets said in a research note.

"We think airline demand and the backlog remains robust, and Boeing's cash position should start to improve as 787 and 747-8 inventory starts to ship," he said. "We think these two drivers will overwhelm other issues going forward -- if Boeing can execute."

Boeing, which splits its business between defense and commercial airplanes, said third-quarter revenue increased 4 percent from a year earlier to $17.7 billion, while its order backlog grew to $332 billion from $323 billion at the beginning of the quarter.

Revenue for Boeing's commercial airplanes division increased by 9 percent to $9.5 billion on increased deliveries of its airplanes.

Boeing delivered 127 commercial airplanes in the third quarter, including 100 of its best-selling 737 narrowbodies and 21 widebody 777s. [ID:nN1E7950RA] The number of deliveries was up slightly from the 124 reported for the year-ago quarter.

Boeing gets paid for its airplanes at delivery. Its commercial airplane delivery guidance for 2011 is now about 480, down from previous guidance of 485 to 495.

Revenue for Boeing's defense, space and security business was $8.2 billion in the quarter, steady from a year ago. The company also reported 10 percent operating margins for the division, an improvement over 8.4 percent a year earlier.

Despite military budget constraints, Boeing noted strength in programs such as tanker and Growler.

Matt Collins, an industrials analyst at Edward Jones, noted "impressive profitability" for Boeing's defense business. But he warned of challenges ahead.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/bs_nm/us_boeing

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Garmin launches Garmin Fit app and the ANT+ adaptor for iPhone

Garmin has announced an iPhone fitness app called Garmin Fit and also an accessory called the ANT+. The fitness app will allow users to track their workouts including pace, distance, time and calories burnt. It can also map your runs and automatically uploads your data to Garmin...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Q2wsOA9rPqM/

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2 in custody in NC high school shooting

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) ? Two teenagers were in custody in the shooting of a 15-year-old fellow student who was wounded in the neck during a lunch period outside her North Carolina high school, and a sheriff said Monday the pair will be charged.

The 18-year-old and 15-year-old male suspects and the victim attend Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, Cumberland County Sheriff Earl "Moose" Butler said at a news conference. Both suspects participated in the shooting and were being questioned, he said. The weapon, a .22 Daisy rifle and shell casings have been recovered.

Abercrombie was in stable condition after surgery at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, according to Butler, who said she was standing in a breezeway outside the school cafeteria when she was shot.

Tanna said the older suspect is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, while the 15-year-old will go to juvenile court, although an exact date for the student's appearance wasn't known.

The sheriff said the two teens were apprehended with the help of surveillance video which showed them carrying the rifle inside the school. The suspects were either in the hallway with the door open or outside the breezeway where Abercrombie was walking.

While the high school has metal detectors, Butler said he didn't know if they were used on a daily basis at the school. WTVD reported that the suspects may have sneaked the rifle into the rural school in a shirt or pants.

Butler said investigators don't think Abercrombie was the intended target, but no motive has been established.

"Why did they shoot? I don't know," he said.

The high school and nearby Mac Williams Middle School were locked down for hours before students were allowed to go home.

Butler said additional staff will be on hand at both schools on Tuesday to help the school resource officer on duty. The schools are scheduled to operate as normal.

Asked how long the extra deputies would be on the campuses, sheriff's office spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said, "As long as it takes to make sure the school has been put back in order and students and parents feel confident about their safety."

A police officer assigned to the high school was standing near Abercrombie when she was shot at about 1 p.m. and immediately called 911, Tanna said.

Students from the middle school were sent home before their high school counterparts, who were still gradually leaving the campus by 6 p.m. Students were searched by police and left the building in long lines holding their hands above their heads before boarding buses that took them from campus.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-24-School%20Shooting-NC/id-9e221f367497450b93a7f5b2827cdfa9

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U.S.-North Korean nuclear talks delayed (Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) ? A second day of scheduled talks between the United States and North Korea on nuclear issues has been delayed at the request of Pyongyang, but will take place later Tuesday, a U.S. statement said. No reason was given.

The talks were due to be held at the diplomatic mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Geneva from 0800 GMT, but an hour later the U.S. delegation led by Ambassador Stephen Bosworth had still not arrived, a Reuters Television crew reported.

"In response to a request from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea delegation, the United States delegation will arrive at the DPRK mission for a working lunch and an afternoon session," the U.S. mission said in a brief statement.

No further details were immediately available and North Korean officials did not answer the phone at the mission.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il told Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang that a stalled 2005 deal should be the basis for fresh talks about the North's nuclear program, Chinese media reported Tuesday, leaving unanswered the key question of uranium enrichment, a possible pathway to atom bombs.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111025/pl_nm/us_korea_talks_delay

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Allstate Motorcycle insurance reliability | Grafiesta

Allstate motorcycle insurance is a protection for your financial condition. You will be helped by having this insurance from unwanted and unexpected condition. There is impossible to avoid accident even if you have ridden your motor for three years or more. This company offers easy and affordable protection for your motorcycle. Among various others insurance, Allstate motorcycle insurance is the best one in its class to protect and give the best coverage for its customers. There are various kinds of insurance available in this company. You can choose to have what you really need from Allstate motorcycle insurance for your financial condition as well as your requirements.

Allstate motorcycle insurance has various coverage but for easier options, you can choose to have one among two major types of coverage. There are property damage liability and Bodily injury liability. Those are coverage which are required by law. This insurance will help you to have the best protection whenever you ride your motor. There is no need to worry with the cost or anything that will make your financial condition at stake. Property damage liability coverage is available to give protection from paying repairing, replacement of the people vehicle and property as well as homes and other structure. Having this insurance means you have less burden and anticipation for the worst.

The second type of Allstate motorcycle insurance is bodily injure liability. This coverage will pay for medical cost, loss of income as well as funeral expenses of the people who are involved in the accident or event. You should also note that each state has its own policy. You should know that bodily injury passenger is covered and separated under passenger liability coverage but in other places, you can also get premium for the insurance of passengers. This coverage is quit important since one of the most expensive service is health service. You will also be in trouble if you are injured and could not get your salary. The loss of income coverage from this insurance will be the biggest beneficial offerings for your needs.

Allstate motorcycle insurance coverage upgrades

Allstate motorcycle insurance also offers upgrade for premium and standard coverage that you have. You can protect your motorcycle and yourself like a nit shell so it will protect your entirely. You may need to have First accident waiver. This coverage can be obtained for free in some conditions but you can also have this by paying few more. A person could have this coverage when they are involved in an accident within 48 months, insurance policy with this company for 48 months, driver and bike has been covered with the insurance and the driver is not charged for traffic violation due to the accident. You can also have insurance that will cover your equipment like crash bar, windshield and many more. There is no need to worry if the things will be stolen or damaged by other people. Towing and labor cost can be a good insurance if you think you may have higher chance to break your motor during a trip. This coverage will handle the cost; it is worked like an reimbursement so you will be able to have your money back after repairing your motorcycle.

Allstate motorcycle insurance is more than just a company to protect a motorcycle and driver. It gives you complete options and upgrading if you think you need to have additional protection for more secure life. You can have rental reimbursement, loan Gap coverage, and many more. All of the coverage and policy are dedicated for the customers so it will fit perfectly for the customer. A customer will also have multiple motorcycle discounts if you have more than one motorcycle. You can also get multiple policy discounts if you insure something else. Allstate motorcycle insurance is one stop company for better life.

Source: http://www.grafiesta.com/allstate-motorcycle-insurance-reliability.html/

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Moderates stall rise of Swiss nationalists (AP)

BERN, Switzerland ? Swiss voters backed moderate forces in a general election Sunday in which nationalists failed in their effort to break through the 30 percent barrier with a campaign heavy on anti-immigrant sentiment.

The nationalist Swiss People's Party, or SVP, was projected to take 25.9 percent of the vote for the lower house, a drop of 3 percent on four years ago, according to public television station SF.

"We didn't achieve our election goal," People's Party president Toni Brunner conceded as results trickled in.

The party's rise was stalled by the Conservative Democratic Party whose members split from the SVP in 2007, and the centrist Green Liberal Party, which successfully rode a wave of anti-nuclear sentiment following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant in March.

Both are expected to receive about 5.3 percent of the vote for the 200-seat National Council. Voters are also deciding on 45 of 46 seats for the upper house, or Council of States.

The panoply of political parties in Switzerland makes for intense haggling after every election, as each group demands fair representation in the country's cross-party government.

The result is a unique "magic formula," designed to condense complex electoral results into a seven-member Cabinet capable of governing by consensus in spite of sometimes widely differing views.

Despite its worse-than-expected result, the People's Party retains the biggest share of the vote and immediately laid claim to two Cabinet seats.

The party has built up a strong base of voters with campaigns warning of immigrants spoiling an Alpine nation that's been an oasis of relative stability within stormy Europe.

In its campaign, the People's Party accused foreigners of driving up Switzerland's crime rate, and called for those convicted of crimes to be deported. It also wants to reintroduce quotas on immigration from the 27 countries of the European Union, of which Switzerland isn't a member, illustrating the point with striking posters of black boots stomping on the Swiss flag with the message "Stop Mass Immigration."

The number of foreigners living in Switzerland rose almost 3 percent to 1.7 million over the past year ? mostly Italians, Germans, Portuguese and Serbs. Switzerland, along with Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, has one of the highest proportions of foreign inhabitants in Europe.

They account for one of every five of the country's nearly 7.9 million permanent residents, and mostly live in the large cities of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne and Bern.

Many foreigners who work in Switzerland come for jobs for which they're considered highly qualified, but that hasn't stopped the Swiss from worrying that the influx of outsiders in their midst is spurring a rise in crime, house prices and joblessness.

For some voters, however, the People's Party's relentless focus on foreigners went too far.

Pushing a stroller in the capital Bern with his twin 1-year-old sons ? half Swiss, half Sri Lankan ? architect Timo Odoni pointed to one of the nationalists' posters.

"I just can't stand how they do their posters because it reminds me of 60 years before, in Germany, a little bit. And we have to do something about it," Odoni said.

"I certainly will vote the green and left parties," he said. "We have no problem with immigration, really. We have other problems, but not this problem."

___

Frank Jordans contributed to this report from Geneva.

___

Follow John Heilprin at http://www.twitter.com/JohnHeilprin

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_election

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Embattled Olympus says task force to probe deals (AP)

TOKYO ? Olympus Corp. is establishing what it says is an independent task force to review past acquisitions, seeking to ease mounting shareholder pressure over the abrupt dismissal of its CEO who questioned a $687 million payment to financial advisers.

The camera and medical device maker said Friday the committee will include outside lawyers and accountants who will investigate deals that have come under scrutiny since CEO Michael Woodford presented allegations of potential financial wrongdoing.

The company also said it is working to answer letters sent by concerned investors.

Olympus' latest move comes after its shares endured a brutal week, shedding half their value. More than $4 billion of its market value has evaporated.

Shareholders and analysts say the escalating scandal highlights long-standing corporate governance problems in Japan, where board independence is rare and companies face less outside scrutiny.

Woodford has said that his firing is linked to his probe of a $687 million payment to financial advisers as part of Olympus' purchase of U.K.'s Gyrus Group Plc. The payment represented more than a third of the deal's $2 billion value. Fees for advisers are normally 1 to 2 percent of the deal value.

Woodford also questioned the lofty prices Olympus paid for three other Japanese companies that appear to have little strategic value.

He commissioned Pricewaterhouse Coopers to analyze the deals and distributed the results to the board of directors. The findings compelled him to call for Olympus executives to resign.

The board of directors fired Woodford last Friday instead.

Chicago-based Harris Associates L.P., which owns a 2.5 percent stake in Olympus, is among the major shareholders seeking answers. It sent a letter to the board of directors, demanding an independent investigation and details about the company's mergers and acquisitions procedures.

____

Associated Press writer Bob Barr in London contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_olympus

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Sprinkle Salt on a Napkin to Keep It from Clinging to Your Drink [Annoyances]

Get the most popular stories and breaking news directly in your Twitter feed Follow @Lifehacker

If you're heading out on the town tonight, here's a simple tip to solve one barfly annoyance: Lifehacker reader scarbrti and reddit user Dracomantis suggest sprinkling a little salt on your drink napkin to prevent it from sticking to your bottle or glass every time you pick it up. It's not the world's largest annoyance, but hey, nobody likes dealing with a sticky napkin clinging to their drink.

Photo by bddigitalimags/Shutterstock.

Salt a napkin to keep your cocktail glass or beer from sticking to it | Lifehacker #tips

LPT: Sprinkling a little salt on a paper napkin will stop it from sticking to your bottle/glass when you pick it up. | Reddit

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/l-UhGYpG_uU/sprinkle-salt-on-a-napkin-to-keep-it-from-clinging-to-your-drink

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Meteor Shower Spawned by Halley's Comet Peaks Early Saturday (SPACE.com)

Early bird skywatchers set your alarms: The annual October meteor shower will peak before sunrise on Saturday (Oct. 22) as the Earth passes through a stream of leftover dust from the famous Halley's Comet.

The Orionid meteor shower promises to offer skywatchers with a dark sky and good weather up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak, according to a NASA forecast.

"Although this isn't the biggest meteor shower of the year, it's definitely worth waking up for," said Bill Cooke, head of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office, in a statement. "The setting is dynamite."

The Orionids will emanate from a point in the southeastern sky (as viewed from the northern mid-latitudes) near the raised arm of Orion the Hunter, the constellation that gives them their name. From there, they streak across Taurus the Bull, the twins of Gemini, Leo the Lion, and Canis Major.

The sky map of the Orionid meteor shower here shows where to look to see the "shooting star" display.

The Orionids are visible each year, even though Halley's comet only swings by about every 75 years. This is because comets leave a trail of volatile ices and dust along their orbital path that hangs around long after the comets have come and gone.

This year, some of the Orionids will also appear to pass through a "celestial triangle" formed by the crescent moon, Mars and Regulus, a star in the constellation Leo. Others may even collide with the moon, and Cooke says this presents a great opportunity for amateur skywatchers and scientists alike.

Unlike Earth, the moon has no atmosphere to intercept and burn up meteoroids, so pieces of debris reach the surface and explode where they hit.?

"Some explode with energies exceeding hundreds of pounds of TNT," Cooke said. These lunar crashes could produce flashes so bright they can sometimes be seen through backyard telescopes.

By observing these collisions, Cooke and his colleagues are able to learn about the structure of comet debris streams and the energy of the particles within them. Since the start of their monitoring program in 2005, they've seen 15 Orionids hit the moon: two in 2007, four in 2008, and nine in 2009, Cooke said.?

This year looks promising as one-quarter of the moon's dark terrain will be exposed to Halley's debris stream, so the team has millions of square miles to scan for explosions, he added.

As Halley swings in a huge orbital loop around the sun, it passes near the plane of Earth's orbit in two places (the first as it swings inward to the inner solar system, the other as it leaves). The gas and dust shed by the comet, therefore, is encountered by Earth twice a year.

Earth passes through the first patch of comet Halley debris in early May, giving rise to the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The pass the second pass occurs every year in late October, giving rise to the Orionids.

Editor's note: If you snap a great photo of the Orionid meteor shower and would like to share the image and your comments for a possible image gallery or story, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at?tmalik@space.com.

Natalie Wolchover (@nattyover) is a staff writer for Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com. For the latest in space science and exploration news, follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111021/sc_space/meteorshowerspawnedbyhalleyscometpeaksearlysaturday

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Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Flat Tax Plan Has Skyrocketed His Campaign to the Top For Now (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | For 2012 Republican presidential nominee hopeful Herman Cain, it might have been good thing that his nontax-related views have been eclipsed by the swelling popularity of his signature initiative, the 9-9-9 plan. Cain's desire to potentially electrocute people attempting to enter the U.S. illegally, for example, (which later became a joke, before it stopped being a joke again) has largely been ignored, obscured by the shadow of his tax reform strategy. The appeal of 9-9-9, however, may soon wear thin under increasing scrutiny.

Cain and his team of economic advisers, which seems to consist of one person, a banker named Rich Lowrie, have come up with a tax plan that leaves even conservative economists puzzling over whether such a proposal is sustainable long term. Fellow Republicans, most vocally his political rivals for the presidential nomination, have assailed 9-9-9, characterizing it during the Tuesday debate as a thinly disguised impending tax increase.

Aside from the daunting feat of entirely overhauling the U.S. federal tax code and overcoming opposition from within the Republican Party, 9-9-9 has also garnered criticism from the outside and would likely not fare well enough at the polls during a general election for Cain to ever have to worry about the mechanics of implementing his plan.

Critics have pointed out the plan would leave the lower and middle classes paying considerably higher taxes, a deeply unpopular idea. One analysis concludes 9-9-9's lack of tax credits and exemptions would equal "a huge tax hike for the working poor and a substantial tax increase on the labor income of the middle class." Even more unpopular, the wealthiest Americans, currently taxed at roughly 35 percent, would see a dramatic reduction of taxes paid under such a low flat rate. A separate analysis indicates the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans would save over $210,000 annually based on the plan.

With growing angst over wealth disparity and high unemployment, encouraging a plan that increases the tax burden of the lower and middle classes, while lowering taxes for the rich seems ill-advised. A recent Gallup poll indicates nearly two-thirds of Americans favor raising taxes on the wealthy as a means to promote job growth, and 70 percent approve of raising taxes on some corporations by eliminating tax deductions.

Cain's plan may have given him star power, but in the future will no doubt find itself under intensifying criticism. Accusations that 9-9-9 is a deeply flawed handout to the rich funded by the working class will need to be met with more than repetitive slogans. Perhaps having a one-man economic advisory board (Cain does claim to have more than one adviser, although the rest of his team remains conveniently "confidential") is responsible for Cain's most popular idea drawing ire from all ends of the political spectrum.

If Cain continues to rest his campaign on a single talking point, his status as a front-runner will likely be as short-lived as Rick Perry's.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111019/us_ac/10238447_herman_cains_999_flat_tax_plan_has_skyrocketed_his_campaign_to_the_top_for_now

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Education makes political comeback in Washington (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A rare show of bipartisanship in a divided Congress produced a deal to fix an education law long considered flawed, until a single senator stalled progress Wednesday.

The delay would be short and would not deter the committee working on one of the most significant overhauls of the No Child Left Behind law since it was passed in 2002, the chairman said.

A little more than an hour into the hearing by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., used a procedural maneuver to put the brakes on the discussion.

The renewed focus in Washington on education comes as the 2012 campaign begins to unfold.

President Barack Obama has chided Congress for not acting to revise the law and has told states they can seek waivers from some unpopular requirements. He also has made saving teachers' jobs an essential part of his $447 billion jobs plan.

The Senate committee chairman, Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin, and the top Republican, Wyoming's Mike Enzi, announced a bipartisan bill on Monday that seeks to give more control over education to states and local districts.

At the hearing, Harkin and Enzi said they were unhappy with parts of the measure, but pleased they could achieve a consensus on the issue.

Paul complained that he wasn't given enough time to review the more than 800-page bill and said there haven't been hearings on the bill this year.

He said the federal government would retain too much control over education and that students still would be tested every year.

Paul used a procedural maneuver to put a halt on the hearing, citing a rule that says a committee cannot meet when the Senate is in session. That rule typically is waived.

"I think it's a mistake to continue No Child Left Behind in any form or fashion," Paul told the committee.

Harkin said the committee had hearings last year on the issue, and that Paul's move would not deter the committee's work. The committee is scheduled to resume debating the bill Thursday morning. Harkin said that the committee will debate the more than 70 amendments Paul has indicated he will file.

A coalition of 20 civil rights, disability rights and business groups, including the NAACP and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, expressed criticism of the overhaul.

They said "states would not have to set any measurable achievement and progress targets or even graduation rate goals" and huge numbers of low-achieving kids would slip through the cracks.

Earlier, the administration said it wasn't pleased that the bill left out a requirement on teacher and principal evaluations.

Obama said last month that he was so frustrated that Congress hadn't fixed No Child Left Behind that he was allowing states that met certain conditions to get around some parts of the law. At least 39 states, in addition to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have told the Education Department they intend to seek a waiver.

A GOP-led House committee has forwarded three bills that would revise the law. But some of the more contentious issues, such as teacher accountability and effectiveness, have not yet been addressed.

Obama has made saving teachers' jobs an essential part of his effort to sell his $447 billion jobs plan. But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has compared Obama's jobs plan to "bailouts" that perpetuate economic problems, not solve them.

The White House has said that nearly 300,000 jobs in the education sector have disappeared since 2008 and that Obama's plan would support the hiring or re-hiring of 400,000 educators.

When the president's jobs plan was brought up in the Senate last week, not a single Republican senator supported it and it died.

Democrats said they would bring up parts of it separately, starting with the effort to save the jobs of teachers and first responders. The chances of passing the component on saving jobs for teachers and first responders appear dim.

___

Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111019/ap_on_go_co/us_education_politics

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Ohio Animals Tragedy Calls Attention to Loopholes in Captive Wildlife Laws

This week?s release and death of more than 50 so-called ?exotic? animals near Zanesville, Ohio, is a tragic reminder that the laws protecting wildlife in the U.S. are full of loopholes that endanger not only the animals themselves but also people.

One of those loopholes could actually be closed soon. Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed doing away with an exemption in the Captive-bred Wildlife Registration Program that currently allows individuals to own ?generic? tigers (any tiger, usually cross-breeds, that can?t be identified as from the Bengal, Sumatran, Siberian/Amur or Indochinese subspecies and are therefore genetically useless for conservation purposes). If the new rule passes, owners of all of these tigers?the USFWS estimates there could be 5,000 or more of these animals in the U.S. alone, significantly more full-breed tigers than remain in the wild?would be required to register the animals with the government. Owners would need permits of authorizations to sell the tigers across state lines, to harm them or to kill them. (You can read more about this proposed rule change and find out how to comment on it here.)

By the way, estimates of how many tigers are in private ownership in the U.S. are highly controversial. Some environmental groups say there may be as many as 10,000. Last month, the Feline Conservation Foundation released a survey which counted 2,884 tigers in zoos, nature centers and sanctuaries, but this obviously does not include much of the the hidden market that fed people like Zanesville?s Terry Thompson, although they did know about him.

While all tigers and lions are protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the ESA does not regulate private ownership of these or any other species or sales within a state?s borders. And once an animal has been sold, it can easily be transported (legally or otherwise) across state lines.

This is an even bigger loophole, and it ties directly to the tragedy in Zanesville. Each state in the U.S. has different laws regarding the ownership of exotic animals. In New York, home of Scientific American, it is illegal for a person to own any wild animal (not that this stops people?don?t forget the famous case of a Harlem man who housed a tiger in his apartment). In Maine, where I live, a person may possess a wild animal after obtaining a permit. In Ohio?one of the most lax states in the union regarding exotics?there are no laws banning or restricting the ownership of wild animals. The only restriction is that non-domesticated animals brought into the state must carry an entry permit and a certificate of health. (The non-profit Born Free USA has a run-down of all 50 state exotic animal laws.)

According to Ohio?s NBC 4, the only laws governing exotic animals in the state regulate breeders and exhibitors, such as zoos or sanctuaries. Those facilities must maintain heath certificates and veterinary inspections for their animals.

This lack of state laws protecting wildlife and exotic animals results in a situation where many states, but especially Ohio, become havens for exotic animal auctions where animals (many of them being endangered species) to private collectors and hunting ranches. See the video below for more information on this unethical market.

One such auction is the triennial Mid Ohio Alternative Animal and Bird Sale, the most recent of which was held on September 16. While no big cats or bears were reportedly for sale at this particular event, the event?s Web page does note that other species would be available. (The event?s only restriction for buyers: ? A USDA licence [sic] will be required when purchasing certain primates (Baboons, Chimpanzees, Gorrillas [sic], and Orangutans?.)

Following the tragic events in Zanesville, many advocates for humane treatment of animals are calling for new laws to end these auctions. ?We have some animal auctions in Ohio that have to be shut down. Shut down. And we have to have strict permitting process here,? said TV icon Jack Hanna, director emeritus of Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The Web site Change.org is running an online petition to ban the sale and ownership of exotics in Ohio.

In several TV appearances during the past 24 hours, Hanna said that any new laws would not affect legitimate breeding facilities, which are a vital part of the conservation process and important partners for zoos and animal sanctuaries.

In a public statement, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, decried Ohio?s lack of regulations for the dangers they pose to humans: ?In recent years, Ohioans have died and suffered injuries because the state hasn?t stopped private citizens from keeping dangerous wild animals as pets or as roadside attractions.?

The Born Free USA database of exotic animal incidents lists 1,599 animal attacks on humans since 1990, including 75 deaths.

(It?s worth noting that the previous governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, tried to change at least a tiny portion of these laws. Just before he left office, he issued an executive order that would have prevented people convicted of animal cruelty?such as Terry Thompson?from owning exotic animals. That order was allowed to expire in April under current Ohio Gov. John Kasich.)

In the face of Zanesville, many people ask, is there a conservation value in private ownership of wildlife and endangered species? The answer, simply, is no. Private citizens are not equipped or trained to ensure the health of wild and exotic animals, to breed them in a manner that ensures species? long-term survival, or to keep they safely separated from people who could be harmed if they escaped.

As long as people keep thinking that they can tame nature and put it in a cage, another Zanesville is just around the corner.

Photo by Braden Kowitz via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=8b4ec559fbfd6c15ca40f2eaa6565575

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