Spurs' Parker out about a month with ankle sprain

SAN ANTONIO (AP) ? San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker will be out for about a month with a left ankle sprain.

Parker, the team's leading assist man, injured the ankle in the third period of Friday night's win over the Sacramento Kings.

The team announced Saturday afternoon that an MRI showed Parker had a Grade 2 left ankle sprain, and will be out for "approximately four weeks."

The 30-year-old Parker closed out February averaging 26.1 points and 8.3 assists and had shot 54 percent from the field.

On Friday night, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Parker was "playing better than any other point guard in the league" this year, and that the team would miss him.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-02-BKN-Spurs-Parker-Injury/id-e11ce1cd77a24b1099a91666d0c5e93b

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Weiner says increased penalties are '2014 issue'

FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2012 file photo, baseball union head Michael Weiner speaks during a news conference in New York. Weiner says, Monday Feb. 25, 2013, there's active discussion about increasing the penalties for violating baseball's drug testing program. Weiner says players have very little patience for seeing their peers try to cheat the system. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2012 file photo, baseball union head Michael Weiner speaks during a news conference in New York. Weiner says, Monday Feb. 25, 2013, there's active discussion about increasing the penalties for violating baseball's drug testing program. Weiner says players have very little patience for seeing their peers try to cheat the system. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) ? Baseball players' union head Michael Weiner says toughening penalties for drug violations will have to wait until the 2014 season.

"There are going to be talks. I don't what the result is going to be," he said Sunday after meeting with the Baltimore Orioles as part of his tour of the 30 spring training camps.

The current sanctions have been in place since the 2006 season: 50 games for a first offense, 100 for a second and a lifetime ban for a third. Selig held a news conference Saturday and said he wanted increased penalties as soon as possible.

"Starting this offseason, we had substantial discussion among player leadership about whether the penalty structure we have is right ? whether there should be increases ? whether there should be a differential penalty for intentional or unintentional users," Weiner said.

"That dialogue is continuing. We had some dialogue even with the commissioner's office in the offseason that didn't lead to any changes, and I suspect that we'll have those discussions over the course of the year," he said. "But it's going to be a 2014 issue. We're not going to change the rules of the game in the middle of the season. In a sense, the drug-testing season started with spring training."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-03-BBO-Weiner-Drug-Testing/id-538c47fdeba54b05b25ce540731a3d2d

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Retirement Home Nurse Refuses to Perform CPR on - KTLA 5

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KTLA) ? A nurse at a retirement facility refused to perform CPR on a woman who had collapsed and later died.

The nurse called 911 around 11:00 a.m. on February 27 from Glenwood Gardens when the 87-year-old woman stopped breathing.

The 911 dispatcher instructed the nurse to perform CPR, but she refused saying that it was against the retirement facility?s policy to perform?CPR.

The dispatcher asked the nurse to find someone else who would be willing, but no one came forward.

Paramedics arrived several minutes after the call and took the woman to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

The retirement facility released a statement extending its condolences to the family and said its ?practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel?arrives.?

Source: http://ktla.com/2013/03/02/retirement-home-nurse-refuses-to-perform-cpr-on-dying-woman/

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Expectant parents die in NY crash; infant survives

NEW YORK (AP) ? A pregnant young woman who was feeling ill was headed to the hospital with her husband early Sunday when the car they were riding in was hit, killing them both, but their baby boy was born prematurely and survived, authorities and a relative said.

The driver of a BMW slammed into the car carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, at an intersection in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, said Isaac Abraham, a neighbor of Raizy Glauber's parents who lives two blocks from the scene of the crash.

Raizy Glauber was thrown from the car and her body landed under a parked tractor-trailer, said witnesses who came to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.

Both of the Glaubers were pronounced dead at hospitals, police said, and both died of blunt-force trauma, the medical examiner said.

Their infant son was in serious condition, said Abraham. The hospital did not return calls about the child. The Glaubers' driver was in stable condition, police said. Both the driver of the BMW and a passenger fled and were being sought, police said.

On Saturday, Raizy Glauber "was not feeling well, so they decided to go" to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber's cousin. Abraham said the Glaubers called a car service because they didn't own a car, which is common for New Yorkers.

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had begun a life together in Williamsburg, where Raizy Glauber grew up in a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbinical family, Sara Glauber said.

Raised north of New York City in Monsey, N.Y., and part of a family that founded a line of clothing for Orthodox Jews, Nachman Glauber was studying at a rabbinical college nearby, said his cousin.

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000. The community has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned at a funeral Sunday afternoon. Dozens gathered shoulder to shoulder on the street outside, nearly everyone in black. Men in hats stood together just outside the synagogue and women were on the far side of the street, according to tradition. The sound of wailing filled the air as the two black-draped coffins were carried from a vehicle.

After the funeral began, a speaker sobbed uncontrollably, his voice choked with grief and echoing over loudspeakers set up outside.

Afterward, the cars carrying the bodies left and headed to Monsey, where another service was planned in Nachman Glauber's hometown.

"You don't meet anyone better than him," said his cousin. "He was always doing favors for everyone."

She said Nachman's mother herself just delivered a baby two weeks ago.

"I've never seen a mother-son relationship like this," said Sara Glauber. "He called her every day to make sure everything was OK. He was the sweetest, most charming human being, always with a smile on his face."

She added that, of him and his bride, "if one had to go, the other had to go too because they really were one soul."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expectant-parents-die-ny-crash-infant-survives-144618750.html

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Penney CEO to testify over Martha Stewart pact

NEW YORK (AP) ? It's been a tough week to be Ron Johnson. After facing down investors this week over a dismal quarterly performance, the J.C. Penney CEO will be in the spotlight again ? in court.

Johnson is expected to testify Friday in New York State Supreme Court in a trial that pits the struggling department store chain against rival Macy's Inc. over a partnership with domestic diva Martha Stewart.

The trial focuses on whether Macy's has the exclusive right to sell some of Martha Stewart branded products such as cookware, bedding and bath items.

Macy's is seeking to block Penney from opening Martha Stewart mini shops in its stores. The shops are part of Johnson's big plan to reinvent the shopping experience at the beleaguered chain.

Penney's shares have now lost nearly 60 percent of their value since early last year when Johnson revealed his plan to scale back most sales in favor of everyday low prices. The stock drop is the latest indictment that Johnson's turnaround strategy is failing on Wall Street as much as on Main Street.

Johnson is counting on the rollout of the shops, particularly Martha Stewart's, to bring back shoppers who have fled to rivals like Macy's.

Johnson's testimony comes four days after Macy's CEO Terry J. Lundgren testified in court that the company had built the Martha Stewart brand to be the biggest name in home items since it began carrying some of the products in 2007.

Martha Stewart, who founded Martha Stewart Living, is expected to take the stand next week.

Johnson's testimony marks a culmination of a legal battle between the three companies that started shortly after the Penney-Martha Stewart deal was announced in December 2011.

Macy's renewed its 2006 pact with Martha Stewart Living in January 2012 but then immediately sued the company, saying it breached a long-standing contract when it penned the 10-year deal with Penney. Penney also invested $38.5 million in a nearly 17 percent stake in Martha Stewart Living. In a separate lawsuit, Macy's sued Penney, claiming it had no regard for the Macy's contract and that Johnson had set out to steal the business that it had worked hard to develop.

Macy's also contends that Johnson "knowingly and purposely demanded and received confidential information" from Martha Stewart about the contract and crafted a deal that was more lucrative than the terms of the Macy's agreement.

The two suits were consolidated for the bench trial. Supreme State Court Judge Jeffrey Oing is presiding over the trial, which is expected to last three weeks.

Penney is aiming at what it believes is a loophole in the agreement between Macy's and Martha Stewart. It's a provision that allows Martha Stewart to sell goods in categories like bedding in Martha Stewart Living's own stores.

According to Martha Stewart, because the Macy's agreement doesn't say the goods under dispute can be sold "only in "stand-alone" stores, the mini shops within J.C. Penney stores do not fall under the exclusive agreement.

Macy's Inc., based in Cincinnati, disagrees. Lundgren argued that a typical definition of a store is that it has a parking lot, is part of a mall or has a sidewalk in front.

Macy's claims substantial damages and said the maneuver by Penney "threatens to inflict incalculable further harm on Macy's." The company claims that "billions of dollars of sales are involved."

But according to a memo filed by Penney, Macy's rights to Martha Stewart aren't nearly as sweeping as it suggests. Under Macy's interpretation of the contract, Martha Stewart Living is "little more than an in-house designer for Macy's," according to Penney.

Last summer, Macy's won a preliminary injunction against Martha Stewart Living that would prevent it from selling housewares and other exclusive products at Penney. Judge Oing granted Penney permission to open Martha Stewart shops, as long as the items under the exclusive contract with Macy's are not sold in them.

Penney plans to open shops featuring designs from Martha Stewart on May 1, but spokeswoman Daphne Avila said that the products like bedding that Macy's has deemed exclusive have been stripped of the Stewart name and instead feature the label "JCP Everyday." Window treatments and paper products like stationery, which are not included in the exclusive arrangement with Macy's, will bear Martha Stewart's name.

But Macy's is also trying to stop Martha Stewart from providing designs to J.C. Penney ? whether or not it gets rid of the Martha Stewart name.

The stakes are high for all three companies, but particularly for Penney.

Investors were bracing for a bad fourth-quarter report from Penney, but the staggering losses and revenue drops were far worse than feared.

Penney reported on Wednesday after the markets closed that it widened its quarterly loss to $552 million, or $2.51 per share. Revenue fell 24.8 percent to $12.98 billion.

Results for the full year were even more jaw-dropping. For the fiscal year, Penney lost $985 million, or $4.49 per share, compared with a loss of $152 million, or 70 cents per share, in the year ended January 28, 2012. Revenue dropped 24.8 percent to $12.98 billion.

Macy's, one of the best performing department stores, turned in a solid fourth quarter. Lundgren says home items a key business. Having another major department store sell Martha Stewart towels, pots and other merchandise could hurt its sales in that area.

For its part, Martha Stewart Living is trying to fatten merchandise revenue as it struggles to offset declines in its broadcast and publishing business, a segment that accounts for more than 60 percent of its business.

The stakes also are high for the personalities involved in the suit. Lundgren said that he hasn't spoken with the lifestyle guru since Dec. 6, 2011, when she called him to inform him that she signed a deal with Penney. The next day, Martha Stewart announced the deal to the public. Lundgren testified Monday that he was so shocked when Stewart told him that she had signed a deal, he hung up on her.

"I was completely shocked and blown away," he testified. "It was so far from anything I could imagine."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-01-Macy's-Penney-Trial/id-76abd7224a654e02a525e547693a412e

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Buying Gaming Consoles at Launch Might not be a Good Idea ...

By Joey Davidson | March 1, 2013

While we?re all getting pumped up about the PlayStation 4 and whatever Microsoft?s bringing out soon, I?d like to take a few minutes to dull the blade of hype and suggest that buying consoles at launch isn?t so awesome.

I?ve got three key reasons that I?ve pulled from what seemed to be an ever-growing list of ideas. Here?s why buying consoles on day one isn?t such a good idea.

Launch lineups are rarely good.

Man, launch games. On one hand, you?ve got stuff like?Halo,?Luigi?s Mansion,?Super Mario Bros. and?Super Mario World. Notice a trend? These games were from console launches that?occurred?more than 10 years ago. They?re absolute classics, I won?t argue that, but they?re a rare thing.

Looking back on the launch games that accompanied the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the scene isn?t so pretty. Sure, you?ve got one or two standouts like?Resistance: Fall of Man and, I don?t know,?Kameo: Elements of Power. But, by and large, launch lineups are an ugly sight.

And the real problem is that most gamers will wind up tired of the limited selection of software available for their newest machine within weeks or, if they?re lucky, months.

Look at the Wii U??Nintendo Land,?New Super Mario Bros. U and?ZombiU are all great games. But?that?s it. Just like every other launch lineup, things get too sparse, too fast. You have to wait six months to a year before real classics start popping up.

A year or two after the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hit the market, we had games like?Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction,?Uncharted: Drake?s Fortune,?Halo 3,?Crackdown and?Assassin?s Creed. Those are classics. Is anyone still talking about?The Outfit?

How about price drops?

Look no further than the Nintendo 3DS to find the source of this launch day hesitation. Nintendo brought their newest handheld to life (barely) with a $250 price tag and a software catalogue more barren than Death Valley.

Six months later, Nintendo was forced to drop the price of their system by $80 (a move I suggested was brilliant back in August of 2011). Those of us who picked it up on launch day at the $250 mark were treated to a round of free virtual console games. Which, well, was okay. I still wish I had the $80 in hand.

The PS Vita?s current price has been a barrier for entry when it comes to a lot of potential consumers since the handheld?s launch. In fact, a price drop is almost a requirement at this point, though Sony hasn?t moved on that just yet.

All systems drop in price over their first few years at market. Deciding when to buy comes down to the current cost of the machine and whether or not it?s valuable. In the case of the launch Nintendo 3DS and its games, $250 was a complete whiff.

Avoiding flawed hardware.

I don?t have to work too prove my point here. Remember the Xbox 360?s launch? Good. Now, remember the Red Ring of Death? Great. That happened a lot.

In fact, you?d be hard pressed to find a launch Xbox 360 still in working order. They?re a rare breed, in shorter supply than unicorns and fairy dust.?Speaking as someone who lost a console early to the RRoD, waiting would have been a better choice.

We suggest you wait it out.

So, really, unless you?re a diehard fan who absolutely can?t go around six months to a year without having the latest and greatest home console, we suggest you wait it out. Perhaps the only real reason to buy a console at launch is if one of its best features will be dropped in future models. Remember the launch PlayStation 3s? One model was backwards compatible. That one was a keeper.

You?ll avoid flawed hardware, you might see the system drop in price and you?ll be able to jump aboard when there are truly good games to play. Launch games may as well be a genre in and of themselves. A genre you should generally avoid.?Steel Diver, I?m looking at you.

Will you be picking up the PlayStation 4 or new Xbox at launch? Or, are you the type who?d rather wait for things to get better?

The photo at the head of this post comes from NASA.

Join the discussion

Source: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/03/01/buying-gaming-consoles-at-launch-might-not-be-a-good-idea/

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SpaceX rocket blasts off for space station cargo run

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Fri Mar 1, 2013 11:56am EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies blasted off on Friday carrying a capsule filled with food, supplies and science experiments for the International Space Station.

The 157-foot (48-meter) tall Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship lifted off at 10:10 a.m. EST from the company's leased launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, just south of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"Beautiful liftoff. Probably seen more than 75 in my life, but it just never gets old," NASA's Associate Administrator Lori Garver posted on Twitter as the rocket punched through partly cloudy skies and headed toward orbit.

The Dragon capsule, which carries more than 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of science equipment, spare parts, food and supplies, is scheduled to reach the station Saturday morning.

Engineers were assessing a problem with the capsule at the time that its solar wing panels were scheduled to be deployed.

"It appears that although it achieved Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some kind of problem right now," John Insprucker, a Falcon 9 manager with Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, said on a webcast.

He said that managers are studying the problem and may be able to provide details later in the day.

The problem occurred about 11 minutes after liftoff, when the capsule's solar wings were to unfurl. Onboard cameras did not show that happening. SpaceX's webcast then cut the live feed from orbit.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk later said on his Twitter feed that the problem was with the Dragon's thruster pods.

"System inhibiting three of four from initializing," Musk said. "Holding on solar array deployment until at least two thruster pods are active," he added.

The cargo run is the second of 12 missions for privately owned SpaceX under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.

Following a successful test flight to the space station in May 2012, SpaceX conducted its first supply run to the orbital outpost in October. During launch of that mission, one of the Falcon's nine engines shut down early, but the other motors compensated for the power shortfall.

The problem was traced to an engine material flaw, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said Thursday.

ANOTHER FREIGHTER ON THE WING

"The conclusions they came to, we agree with," added NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

"Our role as NASA is to sit next to them and work with them and understand the anomaly so that we're comfortable. We have two options as the customer: We can either put our hardware on that vehicle or not."

A second space freighter, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., is expected to debut this year.

NASA turned to private companies to ferry supplies to the Space Station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations, following the retirement of its shuttle fleet in 2011. Staffed by rotating crews of six, the orbiting laboratory flies about 250 miles above the Earth.

With the shuttles grounded, NASA plans to hire private firms to fly astronauts as well as cargo, breaking Russia's monopoly on crew transport that costs more than $60 million per trip.

Government spending cuts said to begin Saturday do not impact space station operations or supply runs, said NASA's space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

But the cutbacks, implemented under the "sequestration" law, will slow development of privately owned space taxis.

NASA has partnership agreements worth more than $1.1 billion through May 2014 with SpaceX, Boeing Co. and privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp. to develop passenger spacecraft.

Under the expected budget cuts, NASA would effectively halt space taxi development work this summer. Under sequestration, the agency expects its $17.8 billion budget to drop to $16.9 billion, Bolden said.

"Overall availability of commercial crew transportation services would be significantly delayed, thereby extending our reliance on foreign providers for crew transportation to the International Space Station," NASA administration Charles Bolden wrote in a letter last month to Senate Appropriations Committee chairwoman Barbara Mikulski.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/QsKIsuppNL8/us-space-nasa-idUSBRE92006C20130301

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Groupon fires CEO, Mason admits "failure" in candid memo

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc fired Andrew Mason as chief executive officer on Thursday, ousting a co-founder who captured headlines with his quirky style but failed to reverse a crumbling share price or stop a gradual erosion of its main daily deals business.

The leader in Internet daily deals launched a search for a new leader to turn the company around, the same day its stock slid 24 percent after a dismal quarterly results report.

In an unusually candid post-firing letter, Mason -- known for his atypical sense of humor -- confessed he was getting in the way of the company he co-founded just a few years ago, and had failed in his role as leader.

"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention," Mason wrote in a memo addressed to the People of Groupon and made available to Reuters.

"From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable."

The company said in a statement that Mason was asked to step down.

Co-founder Eric Lefkofsky and board member Ted Leonsis will lead the company in the interim, until a permanent CEO is found.

The company plans to hire a recruiting firm for the CEO search, a spokesman said.

The Groupon board met on Thursday and decided to replace Mason. No Groupon board members will be considered as CEO candidates, according to a person familiar with the board's deliberations.

Newly hired chief operating officer Kal Raman -- brought onboard to turn around the international operations -- is a possible candidate. However, the company is likely to favor an outside candidate who has e-commerce and global experience, said the person, who is familiar with Groupon's strategic thinking.

Groupon declined to comment on CEO candidates.

"We all know our operational and financial performance has eroded the confidence of many of our supporters, both inside and outside of the company. Now our task at hand is to win back their support," according to a letter from Lefkofsky and Leonsis.

GROUPON'S HEYDAY

Groupon, once hailed on magazine covers as the fastest-growing startup in history, rose to prominence in 2010 as the desire for daily deals -- sharply discounted online coupons for everything from neighborhood car washes to spa treatments -- peaked.

The company, which Mason once joked he founded to get then-partner Lefkofsky "off his back", in late 2011 joined a number of consumer Internet startups to go public at multibillion dollar valuations.

But shortly after, demand for daily deals began to evaporate. Groupon's costly international expansion, particularly into economically troubled Europe, began to erode growth and margins. And Wall Street quickly soured on the company, wiping out a lot of its market value.

"Groupon is a very large, very complex multifaceted global business. It's got ambitions in a lot of different areas and categories," said Macquarie Research analyst Tom White. "They are either going to have to find somebody who is a proven executer in handling complex businesses, or maybe this is a signal they are going to simplify."

The company's stock closed 24 percent lower on Thursday after the daily deals company posted a surprise quarterly loss on Wednesday, partly because it took a smaller cut of revenue from merchants offering holiday season discounts.

"The next person who comes in will have tough road ahead. The new CEO will have to be somebody with a strong stomach," said Dan Niles, chief investment officer at AlphaOne Capital.

"It's a lot like J.C. Penney. Changing the CEO is not going to change the fundamental tough aspects of the business. J.C. Penney stock did great when they replaced the CEO, and look what has happened since then."

Groupon shares rose as much as 8 percent in after-hours trade, from a close of $4.53 on the Nasdaq. However, later in the evening session the stock was up 4.2 percent at $4.72.

It has lost three quarters of its value since its November 2011 initial public offering at $20.

(Additional reporting By Liana Baker and Jennifer Saba in New York and Alexei Oreskovic and Poornima Gupta in San Francisco, writing by Edwin Chan; Editing by Gary Hill and Carol Bishopric)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/groupon-fires-ceo-mason-admits-failure-candid-memo-002132087--sector.html

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Proposed RMA changes 'deeply troubling', Environmental Defence ...

Many of the government's proposed changes to the Resource Management Act are "deeply troubling" because of the "radical shift of power to Ministers" and the introduction of new economic development objectives to compete with environmental outcomes, says the Environmental Defence Society.

The country's leading lobby group on environmental law and regulation, the EDS says many of the proposals in a discussion paper released this morning by Environment Minister Amy Adams "go too far."

"The changes could encourage unsustainable and environmentally damaging urban sprawl," said EDS executive director Gary Taylor in a statement. "Developers will be thinking all their Christmases have come at once."

Among issues highlighted in a hastily prepared seven page analysis of the proposals is the intention to create a new government agency which could step in over the heads of local governments to speed up developments regarded as being nationally significant.

Adams focused particularly on the need to release new land for housing in Auckland, but EDS fears this is "another example of the government removing responsibility from elected representative local authorities and placing it in the hands of the executive or their nominees."

Proposed changes to Sections 6 and 7 of the RMA, governing the approach to nationally important matters, could also weaken the Act's current bias in favour of maintaining environmental bottom-lines and instead allow a bias in favour of economic development.

The government discussion paper says the changes are necessary because in practice, the RMA may have resulted in "an under-weighting of the positive effects (or net benefits) of certain economic and social activities."

However, EDS says that merging the two sections and adding new requirements for local government to take into account communities' future needs "will place greater emphasis on economic effects to the detriment of the environment."

EDS did, however, welcome some aspects of the proposed reforms, particularly the government's rejection of recommendations from a Technical Advisory Group that would have weakened protections for coasts, landscapes, and native flora and fauna.

"However, the inclusion of competing economic development matters may dilute that protection."

While the plan to reduce the number of planning documents in operation could work, EDS is concerned this could see a loss of regional planning at the expense of plans focused at the district level.

?

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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Source: http://www.sharechat.co.nz/article/654aa6f1/proposed-rma-changes-deeply-troubling-environmental-defence-society-says.html

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China sets its 5th manned space mission for summer

BEIJING (AP) ? China will send three astronauts to its orbiting space station this summer in a mission that's part of preparations to establish an even larger permanent presence above Earth.

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft will take flight sometime between June and August, the country's manned space program said in its statement Thursday. The craft will deliver its crew to the Tiangong 1, where the trio will spend two weeks conducting tests of the station's docking system and its systems for supporting life and carrying out scientific work.

Two Chinese spacecraft, one of them manned, have docked already with Tiangong 1 since it was launched in September 2011. China has been extremely cautious and methodical in its manned missions, while hoping to avoid accidents and loss of life that could tarnish one of the nation's most successful and prestigious scientific and engineering undertakings.

The station is to be replaced in around 2020 with a permanent space station that will weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA's Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth the size of the 16-nation International Space Station. China was barred from participating in the International Space Station, largely on objections from the United States over political differences and the Chinese program's close military links.

China's ambitious space goals also include plans for sending a rover to the moon, possibly followed by a manned lunar mission. China's manned space program launched its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the U.S. to achieve that feat. The upcoming mission would be China's fifth manned space flight.

China would also be the third country after the United States and Russia to send independently maintained space stations into orbit.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-sets-5th-manned-space-mission-summer-020523377.html

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A game plan for climate change

Feb. 27, 2013 ? Researchers have successfully piloted a process that enables natural resource managers to take action to conserve particular wildlife, plants and ecosystems as climate changes.

The Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework is a practical approach to assessing how future changes in air and water temperatures, precipitation, stream flows, snowpack, and other environmental conditions might affect natural resources. ACT enables scientists and managers to work hand-in-hand to consider how management actions may need to be adjusted to address those impacts.

"As acceptance of the importance of climate change in influencing conservation and natural resource management increases, ACT can help practitioners connect the dots and integrate climate change into their decisions," said WCS Conservation Scientist, Dr. Molly Cross. "Most importantly, the ACT process allows practitioners to move beyond just talking about impacts to address the 'What do we do about it?' question."

The ACT framework was tested during a series of workshops at four southwestern United States landscapes (see map) that brought together 109 natural resource managers, scientists, and conservation practitioners from 44 local, state, tribal and federal agencies and organizations. The workshops were organized by the Southwest Climate Change Initiative, representing The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS), the Western Water Assessment, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

One example comes from the Bear River basin in Utah, where workshop participants looked at how warmer air and water temperatures and decreased summer stream flow might affect native Bonneville cutthroat trout habitat and populations. The group strategized that restoring the ability of fish to move between the main stem of the Bear River and cooler tributaries, protecting cold-water habitat, and lowering the depth of outflow from reservoirs to reduce downstream water temperatures could help maintain or increase trout population numbers as climate changes.

Participants in another workshop considered the impacts of reduced snow-pack and greater variability in precipitation on stream flows in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. To maintain sufficient water in the system and support aquatic species and riparian vegetation, attendees identified options such as restoring beaver to streams, building artificial structures to increase the storage of water in floodplains, and thinning the density of trees in nearby forests to maximize snowpack retention.

"The ACT process helps workshop participants move beyond the paralysis many feel when tackling what is a new or even intimidating topic by creating a step-by-step process for considering climate change that draws on familiar conservation planning tools," Cross said. "By combining traditional conservation planning with an assessment of climate change impacts that considers multiple future scenarios, ACT helps practitioners lay out how conservation goals and actions may need to be modified to account for climate change."

The results will help land managers as well as people. "Climate change impacts livelihoods and threatens the water supplies of many of our communities," says Terry Sullivan, The Nature Conservancy's New Mexico state director. "We hope that this tool will be utilized to help make decisions which will lead to healthy and sustainable watersheds, and ultimately sustain water supplies for farms and cities."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Molly S. Cross, Patrick D. McCarthy, Gregg Garfin, David Gori, Carolyn A.F. Enquist. Accelerating Adaptation of Natural Resource Management to Address Climate Change. Conservation Biology, 2013; 27 (1): 4 DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01954.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/uCZ0ExO6-vU/130227150903.htm

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Why This All-Important Chart Says We Are Back in Recession

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
By Michael Lombardi, MBA for Profit Confidential

Central banks around the world are busy printing paper money in an effort to devalue their currencies and keep up with their government obligations. But the fact of the matter is that there is weakening demand in the global economy; paper money printing will not grow an economy if consumer and business demand is falling!

Let?s look at the chart for the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) below.

This chart is flashing a warning sign. But analysts and economists are paying little attention to it. This chart is a picture of demand for goods in the global economy?bleak at the very best.

Today, the BDI is close to the level it was at when the global economy was hit by the financial crisis of 2008!

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

But this isn?t the only signal that we are back in a recessionary period; major economic hubs in the global economy are in serious trouble. Take Germany, for instance. It was considered the strongest nation in the troubled eurozone. According to Germany?s Federal Statistics Office, exports from the country plummeted two percent in the last quarter of 2012 after nine consecutive months of expansion. (Source: Deutsche Welle, February 22, 2013.)

Canada is facing challenges with exports in the global economy as well. The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney, said this week, ?We?ve dampened our forecast of exports because we?re seeing a competitiveness challenge?a productivity issue. Even with that, the export performance has been lower on average than we have expected.? (Source: ?Growth in fourth quarter may be softer than expected; exports weak: Carney,? Global News, February 26, 2013.)

China, the manufacturing powerhouse of the global economy, is also witnessing an economic slowdown. China exports a significant portion of its products to the global economy. According to the HSBC Flash China Purchasing Managers? Index (PMI), Chinese factory growth just declined to its lowest level in four months. The PMI had a reading of 52.3 in January, and by February, the PMI reading fell to 50.4. (Source: Reuters, February 25, 2013.) Any PMI reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing.

Other exports-focused countries in the global economy, such as India, Russia, and Brazil, are showing warnings signs of economic contraction. The key stock indices in those countries have declined since the beginning of the year.

Dear reader, central banks in the global economy have been printing paper money in order to boost their countries? exports. I believe these central banks are missing the most important part of the economic growth equation?demand. Devaluing currencies to spur economic growth will not help if demand is slowing. The eurozone crisis hasn?t taken a rest, and consumers in the U.S. economy continue to pull back on spending, as evidenced by the U.S economy contracting in the final quarter of 2012.

If a global recession comes into play?and I believe it will?it will have a major impact on U.S. multinational corporations. Combine weaker profits at U.S. companies (because of the soft global economy) with weak consumer demand and an already contracting U.S. economy?and it?s all bad news from there, no matter how much money the central banks print.

Michael?s Personal Notes

Stock markets in the U.S. economy have developed a bad habit?going up on quantitative easing and falling when it stops.

Look at the chart below:

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

In 2008, when the Federal Reserve announced its first round of quantitative easing, stock market investors loved it, as key stock indices, including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rallied. The returns were phenomenal for a very short period of time; but in early 2010, when quantitative easing ended, the stock market declined.

From there, the vicious cycle continued?a stock market rally on quantitative easing news and a sell-off at its end.

As I have been harping on about in these pages, this is not a sustainable policy. A stock market being propped up by quantitative easing does not equal economic growth in the U.S. economy. First, businesses in the economy must grow; second, individuals in the U.S. economy must be confident with their income; only then does an increase in consumer spending and jobs follow.

Unfortunately, quantitative easing didn?t do what it was supposed to do?spur real economic growth in the U.S. economy. Rather, it pushed up the stock market and sent bond prices plummeting.

I?m convinced the stock market is not rising because of the lack of corporate earnings growth or better future expectations. As a matter of fact, those who are closest to public companies?corporate insiders?are selling stocks at near-record levels, while corporate earnings growth for the first quarter of 2013 may now be negative.

For the week ended Wednesday, February 13, 2013, the Investment Company Institute reported that long-term equity mutual funds saw inflows of $5.72 billion. In the previous week, mutual funds saw $6.0 billion in new money come in. (Source: Investment Company Institute, February 30, 2013.) Investors are running toward the stock market, and as history has proven time and time again, the individual investor is often wrong.

Mark my words: any minor pullback will lead to an extensive sell-off in the stock market. Remember 2008? Stock market investors sold in a panic, because their losses were growing.

Now consider this; there is already some disagreement between the members of the Federal Reserve about keeping quantitative easing going at its current pace, as there will be serious risks if paper money printing continues?inflation, asset bubbles, and the declining value of the dollar are just the beginning.

If the past is any indicator, as soon as the Federal Reserve reduces its quantitative easing program, the stock market decline could be significant. As their losses accumulate, stock market investors will sell, and the sell-off will take flight. Capital preservation seems to be the best strategy in the current market?a stock market filled with optimism and artificial quantitative easing.

What He Said:

?If the U.S. housing market continues to fall apart, like I predict it will, the stock prices of major American banks that lend money to consumers to buy homes will come under pressure?these are the bank stocks I wouldn?t own.? Michael Lombardi in PROFIT CONFIDENTIAL, May 2, 2007. From May 2007 to November 2008, the Dow Jones U.S. Bank Index of the world?s largest bank stocks was down 65%.

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Source: http://www.profitconfidential.com/economic-analysis/why-this-all-important-chart-says-we-are-back-in-recession/

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