MONYWA, Myanmar (AP) ? Security forces used water cannons and other riot gear Thursday to clear protesters from a copper mine in in northwestern Myanmar, wounding villagers and Buddhist monks just hours before opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was to visit the area to hear their grievances.
The crackdown at the Letpadaung mine near the town of Monywa risks becoming a public relations and political fiasco for the reformist government of President Thein Sein, which has been touting its transition to democracy after almost five decades of repressive military rule.
The environmental and social damage allegedly produced by the mine has become a popular cause in activist circles, but was not yet a matter of broad public concern. But hurting monks ? as admired for their social activism as they are revered for their spiritual beliefs ? is sure to antagonize many ordinary people, especially as Suu Kyi's visit highlights the events.
"This is unacceptable," said Ottama Thara, a 25-year-old monk who was at the protest. "This kind of violence should not happen under a government that says it is committed to democratic reforms."
According to a nurse at a Monywa hospital, 27 monks and one other person were admitted with burns caused by some sort of projectile that released sparks or embers. Two of the monks with serious injuries were sent for treatment in Mandalay, Myanmar's second biggest city, a 2 ? hour drive away. Other evicted protesters gathered at a Buddhist temple about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the mine's gates.
Lending further sympathy to the protesters' cause is whom they are fighting against. The mining operation is a joint venture between a Chinese company and a holding company controlled by Myanmar's military. Most people remain suspicious of the military, while China is widely seen as having propped up army rule for years, in addition to being an aggressive investor exploiting the country's many natural resources.
Government officials had publicly stated that the protest risked scaring off foreign investment that is key to building the economy after decades of neglect.
State television had broadcast an announcement Tuesday night that ordered protesters to cease their occupation of the mine by midnight or face legal action. It said operations at the mine had been halted since Nov. 18, after protesters occupied the area.
Some villagers among a claimed 1,000 protesters left the six encampments they had at the mine after the order was issued. But others stayed through Wednesday, including about 100 monks.
Police moved in to disperse them early Thursday.
"Around 2:30 a.m. police announced they would give us five minutes to leave," said protester Aung Myint Htway, a peanut farmer whose face and body were covered with black patches of burned skin. He said police fired water cannons first and then shot what he and others called flare guns.
"They fired black balls that exploded into fire sparks. They shot about six times. People ran away and they followed us," he said, still writhing hours later from pain. "It's very hot."
Photos of the wounded monks showed they had sustained serious burns on parts of their bodies. It was unclear what sort of weapon caused them.
The protest is the latest major example of increased activism by citizens since the elected government took over last year. Political and economic liberalization under Thein Sein has won praise from Western governments, which have eased sanctions imposed on the previous military government because of its poor record on human and civil rights. However, the military still retains major influence over the government, and some critics fear that democratic gains could easily be rolled back.
In Myanmar's main city of Yangon, six anti-mine activists who staged a small protest were detained Monday and Tuesday, said one of their colleagues, who asked not to be identified because he did not want to attract attention from the authorities.
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It?s that time of year again?when we gather with family and friends to stuff ourselves with turkey and other good things, enjoy each other?s company, watch or perhaps play some football or other games, and most of all to give thanks for what we have been given.
When I sat down to talk with a group of Ray Primary students this week, they not only seemed to have a handle on the meaning of the holiday, but they also gave me a glimpse of what would be happening during the day and also offered some cooking tips for the star of the show.
First they all agreed that Thanksgiving Day is ?celebrated to give thanks to people and was started many years ago by the Pilgrims who wanted to thank the Indians for helping them get through a rough winter.?
I agree with that, but they all had more to say.
Tracon Naranjo is the son of Stephen and Sarah Naranjo of Kearny and is in the third grade.
He?s going to his grammy?s in Mammoth for dinner where turkey and pumpkin pie, his favorites, will be on the menu. He said he will probably be watching T.V. (Sponge Bob, Scooby Do, Goodluck Charlie, Austin Ally and maybe some football) while waiting for dinner and after.
He added that his grammy usually has everything ready when he and his parents get there, but sometimes his Mom helps out.
When asked how to cook the turkey, he offered this advice, ?I?d get the frozen turkey and put it over the sink and if it still has ice on it, I would bang it on the counter and then put in the oven for 30 seconds at 40 degrees.? He added that he would then cut it open with a knife, put stuffing in it and put it on the table.
He will be most thankful this year for his family and pets.
Alley-Michael Hing is a fourth grader and the son of Michael and Michael Hing of Superior.
He and his family will be gathering at his Grandma?s place in Superior where he will meet up with his cousins. They plan on watching T.V. and playing video games like Halo, his favorite, while dinner is cooking.
On the menu will be turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, root beer and his favorite pumpkin pie with whipped cream.
He said his grandma and aunts do all the cooking but he offered his take on cooking the bird. ?I would put it in the oven at 35 degrees F. for 40 minutes, put gravy, stuff it and put in on the table.?
He added that he is thankful for his life and T.V.
Amariz Ochoa lives in Dudleyville. Her parents are Rene and Mitzi Ochoa and she is a third grader.
She will be at her Grandma?s house in Dudleyville for the day with her aunt, uncles and cousins where she will be playing Contra Four.
Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie will be served along with stuffing that is stuffed into the bird. She likes the turkey and pumpkin pie the best.
He grandma and Mom do the cooking, but she also had a recipe for the turkey. ?I?d put it in the sink so the ice will come off, stuff it with stuffing, take a thread and needle to sew it up, put it the oven for 30 minutes at 35 degrees. Take it out and put it on the table.?
This year she is thankful for her family, her pet Lolo, new born bunnies, food, video games and T.V.
Faith Hinojos is in the fourth grade and is the daughter of Abel and Cheryl Hinojos of Kearny.
Her family will be going to her Tia Monica?s home in Kearny to celebrate along with her aunt, uncle and cousins.
The menu will feature turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and apple pie which her favorite part of the meal.
She doesn?t know what she?ll be doing while her Mom and Nana do the cooking, but she hopes to be playing some board games, which she loves.
Her take on getting that turkey to the table includes, ?wrapping it in plastic wrap and putting it hot water in the sink?take off the plastic and put stuffing in, take a string and tie the legs together, then put butter, salt and pepper on it.? It would then go into the oven for 40 minutes at 40 degrees.
Food, school, home, family and her brother are among the many things she?s thankful for.
Ashiya Varley is in the third grade and is the daughter of Teri Varley of Kearny.
She will be celebrating the day at his own house with her aunt, uncle, cousins, grandma, her other Mom, her brother and her dog.
Dinner will offer turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and ?that thing made out of green beans with crunchy things on top.? Her favorites include mashed potatoes, gravy and the little rolls made by her Aunt.
She said everyone helps get the dinner on the table but she also plans to be playing on her trampoline, and playing Clue and Pictionary.
When asked how to cook the turkey she said, ?I don?t really know, mostly they cook it, I just stuff it!?
She is thankful for a home, her family, her brother, her dog and the fact she?s the youngest in the family.
Kacy Molar lives in Kearny, is the daughter of Gilbert and Tana Molar and is in the fourth grade.
She will be going to her Grandma?s house in Riverside for the day along with her two brothers, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
They all will be playing games which are different every year and watching movies which are also different each year while having snacks before dinner.
Dinner will include mashed potatoes, turkey, fruits and vegetables, cookies, cupcakes, along with pecan, apple and pumpkin pie. The potatoes and pumpkin pie are her favorites.
Her Grandma, her aunt and her Mom will be doing the cooking and although she wasn?t sure about how to cook the turkey, she offered this, ?I defrost it with hot water in the sink and then stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.?
She said she is most thankful this year for her house, family, her dogs and anything that helps us in life like food and water.
So there you have it?some cooking hints and good thoughts to help get us through the holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone and be safe.
To comment on this article and others ?visit?the Copper Area News Facebook?or send us an email at CBNSun@MinerSunBasin.com
FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, the first F-35B fighter jet attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 arrives at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Yuma, Ariz. So far two veteran pilots of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing have been trained to fly the F-35B. They are becoming the first members of the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 that will debut at a ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.(AP Photo/The Yuma Sun, Craig Fry, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, the first F-35B fighter jet attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 arrives at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Yuma, Ariz. So far two veteran pilots of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing have been trained to fly the F-35B. They are becoming the first members of the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 that will debut at a ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.(AP Photo/The Yuma Sun, Craig Fry, File)
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? The Marine Corps is forming the first squadron of pilots to fly the next-generation strike fighter jet, months after lawmakers raised concern that there was a rush to end the testing of an aircraft hit with technical problems.
So far two veteran pilots of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing have been trained to fly the F-35B. They are becoming the first members of the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 that will debut at a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.
The first F-35B arrived Friday and 15 more are slated to arrive over the next year. The Defense Department has pumped a half a billion dollars into upgrading the facilities, hangars and runways at the base to make way for the next-generation fighter jet, officials said.
The pilots of the new squadron are expected to fly the aircraft by year's end.
The Marines are the first in the military taking the steps toward putting the planes in operation. The F-35B would replace Cold War-era aircraft such as the F/A-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier.
"It's a pretty big milestone that a lot of people are looking at and judging," said Marine Capt. Staci Reidinger, a spokeswoman at the Yuma base. "The lessons learned will be shared."
Tuesday's inauguration comes only months after leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee suggested that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rushed a decision to develop the Marine Corps version of the fighter jet.
In a letter sent in February to the Pentagon chief, Sens. Carl Levin, the committee chairman, and John McCain, the panel's top Republican, questioned whether the F-35B had met the criteria to warrant an end to its probation. The F-35B had been on a two-year probation because of "significant testing problems."
Levin, D-Mich., and McCain, R-Ariz., wrote that the program "has enjoyed some success over the last few months, after several years of having fallen short." But they said "more problems with the F-35B's structure and propulsion, potentially as serious as those that were originally identified a year ago, have been found. This is salient where the F-35B has completed only 20 percent of its developmental test plan to date. Your decision, therefore, appears at least premature."
Neither McCain nor Levin could be reached for comment on the squadron.
The developer of the aircraft, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., is building three versions of the F-35 ? one each for the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
Schedule delays and cost overruns have dogged the F-35's development, making it the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program ever. Ten years in, the total F-35 program cost has jumped from $233 billion to an estimated $385 billion. Recent estimates suggest the entire program could exceed $1 trillion over 50 years.
Aviation safety consultant and retired Marine Corps Col. Pete Field, who served as the former director of the Naval Test Pilot School, said the Marine Corps' F-35B is the most complicated of the three versions because it can take off from shorter runways and land vertically. One of the problems earlier on in its development was it was heavier than predicted, Field said.
It was lightened substantially, but Field said that could also mean structural problems in the long run.
"It remains to be seen if the F-35B has a long life and is structurally sound," said Field, who was the chief test pilot for the F/A-18. "We won't know for two to three years after it's been in operation. If nothing crops up, perhaps the engineers have done their best work."
The F-35B stands out among military aircraft because it can be launched from small Navy ships and land in confined areas, allowing it to support ground troops on smaller battlefields. Its sophisticated stealth capabilities also means, like the Air Force's F-22, the aircraft can fly into enemy territory without being detected by radar.
"All we can do is hope that they have solved all the program problems and that they've got a pretty good airplane," Field said.
Former Marine and Rep. Duncan Hunter, Jr., R-Calif., who is the only member of Congress to have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said he trusts the decision of Panetta and Marine Corps leaders.
"The 35B is going to take the Marine Corps to a new level of sophisticated flight technology," Hunter told The Associated Press. "The ability for the F-35B to take off and land in an extremely constrained lading zone, that's huge for what it brings to the table. The Harrier was a great airplane but it was also limited. It doesn't have all the new technology. The F-35B has that."
Blended families spend a lot of time meeting each other in parking lots.
?How did I get here?? I thought one cold Thanksgiving morning. I was in the cold deserted parking lot of a Doctor?s office in town, where my husband and I were meeting his ex-wife?s mother to pick up my five year old stepson. As I exchanged a quick Thanksgiving hug with my husband?s ex-Mother in Law, I thought ?Sometimes my life is so weird.? Yes, in a Stepfamily, there is a special weirdness that only the holidays can bring.
The ?Holiday Tug of War? is something that even a traditional family experiences. Who?s house are you going to for Christmas Eve? Who?s house are you going to for Christmas morning? What about Christmas afternoon? Thanksgiving? etc etc etc. When you begin dealing with step families, instead of the traditional two-party tug of war, you grow a third limb of family that wants time with your children. Again, I realize that I am VERY lucky. My husband?s ex has passed away, but we?ve still got a great relationship with her parents. This helps avoid much of the drama a normal stepmom would experience during the Holiday season. For example, I have a friend who became a stepmother and found herself spending her first Christmas as a newlywed with her husband at the ex-wife?s house, with her new stepchildren and the Ex?s family. Yikes!
We may not have that amount of drama, but like every family there is still some craziness. Over the years that we?ve been married, we?ve figured out some ways to make it easier on everyone. I?m not a parenting guru or expert. These are just some guidelines that help our family enjoy the holidays a little more.
When you?re kid-sharing during the holidays you?ve got to keep the suitcase ready!
1. Take your time.
I have Thanksgiving Day. On Thanksgiving Day, we stay home and eat dinner as a family. On Thanksgiving Day, we don?t go to my parents? house; we don?t go to his parents? house. During that week we go and ?do Thanksgiving? with our parents at various times, and my stepson goes to see his biological grandparents. But Thanksgiving Day is MINE. And I guard it ferociously. It?s the day to hold my husband and son tight and be grateful for the winding road that brought us together.
2. Share.
We are so lucky to live so closely to all three families that want to be a part of my son?s life. However, it takes some scheduling to make sure that everyone has their special time with him and us. And sometimes that?s hard. As a mom, I want to spend the holidays with my child. However, I also realize it?s important for him to spend time with his biological mother?s family. As a result, he spends Christmas Eve day with them. The first year it was really depressing, but since then my husband and I have tried to make new traditions, just for us. We spend the day wrapping presents, finishing up shopping together, and then going on a special Christmas Eve Dinner Date. Afterwards we pick our son up and take him home to get ready for Santa. We can let him spend Christmas Eve day with them, as long as he wakes up at our house on Christmas morning!
3. Set limits.
This is something I?m still working on. As I?m sure you know, one of the best parts of the holidays is watching the kids open presents and seeing their excitement. But when you start multiplying families, the number of presents starts growing exponentially. On Christmas, our son gets to open presents FOUR TIMES. #1 at his biological grandparent?s house, #2 at our house (which we try to limit to just one big present), #3 at my in laws? house, and #4 at my parents? house. That is a whole lot of present opening, and as the only grandchild on the receiving end of three families the potential for a spoiled child is very high. We encourage the grandparents to think of practical things like clothes, money for college, etc. But honestly, those aren?t really that much fun to open on Christmas morning! So he does get some fun things. I?ve found it helps to keep some of those new ?fun things? at the grandparent?s house. It keeps our house from being so cluttered and he has something to play with when he visits.
4. Be flexible and make it work.
In all families, the unexpected happens. Stress happens. Life happens. Just roll with it. Like me, you may find yourself a deserted parking lot on a Thanksgiving morning, waiting for the child hand-off. Or maybe you may have some other weirdness that the holiday brings that?s unique to your family. I find that if I can look past the bumps in the road and focus on the good stuff (the quality time spent with my family) the weird stuff doesn?t seem so bad.
I hope you and your family have a very happy, stress free holiday filled with all of the love that makes the weird stuff worthwhile!
About the author
Lexie Robinson Austin is one of the few born and raised Huntsville natives. She is a stepmom to one, a librarian to many, a reader of books, and baker of cookies. She likes ridiculously impractical shoes and the color pink.
Journalist Anick Jesdanun's fundraising page on Crowdwise, which is also social network for raising money.
By Anick Jesdanun, AP
Superstorm Sandy convinced me that I should do something new: raise money toward hurricane relief. If it weren't for the ease of nudging my friends and family to contribute by way of social media and online fundraising tools, I'm not sure I would have done it. I do know that I wouldn't have been as successful.
I have regularly donated in the past, particularly when people I know are raising money for cancer research, youth programs and other charities in connection with a marathon, a triathlon or some other big event. But I've never raised money myself. I didn't want to feel as if I had to run because I was trying to raise money, or that I had to raise money to guarantee a spot in a sold-out running event. I wanted to keep the two completely separate.
The storm that devastated my city and lots more up and down the East Coast changed my thinking.
The Sunday after Sandy made landfall two weeks ago, I was supposed to run my 50th marathon in New York, 10 years to the weekend since I had run my first marathon, also in New York. It would have been a celebratory affair. Then Sandy came along, and after days of intense debate, the marathon was abruptly canceled. I channeled my energies instead toward raising money for relief.
Of the several sites I could have used to organize my fundraising campaign, I chose Crowdrise because I could link my efforts with a broader campaign by the marathon's organizers to turn the event into a Race to Recover. These and other sites make it easy to choose a charity to support and send appeals to friends and family. The sites handle the credit card transactions and tax receipts, and they forward the money to the charities, after taking out processing fees.
After signing up for a free Crowdrise account, it became clear it wasn't just a fundraising site, but a social network for raising money. When you join a cause, you are grouped into a team with others. Those teams are grouped into larger campaigns ? in my case, the New York Road Runners' efforts to raise hurricane-relief money for a dozen local and national charities.
The money I raised was added to the team totals, so I could see the cumulative impact of our individual efforts. Some campaigns let you see their totals, too. A few thousand dollars might be a drop in the bucket, but the millions collectively raised by people like me made a bigger difference. I could browse the site to see what strangers supporting my cause were doing. I could also see what other causes they were raising money for, whether related to Sandy relief or not.
If you're thinking of getting involved, for Sandy relief, cancer research or any other cause, here are some tips. Many of these steps also apply if you're using other fundraising sites, such as FirstGiving and Razoo.
Razoo
Razoo is one of several sites where you can organize fundraising efforts to help those hurt by Superstorm Sandy.
Create or join a cause To get started, I simply visited the New York Road Runners' Crowdrise page for Sandy relief. I could make a donation without signing up if that was all I wanted to do. I simply had to pick which of the dozen charities should get my funds and provide credit card information.
Because I wanted to raise money myself, I created an account and browsed through the listed charities. Some were devoted to restoring parks after the storm. Others were targeted at feeding people or rescuing animals. A few were broad relief organizations, such as the American Red Cross. I chose a local group that would disperse funds to where the needs are, The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.
The process is similar for other groups and events. United Airlines and the Equinox gym, for instance, are running similar campaigns for Sandy relief. You can create your own fundraising campaign as part of a 30th birthday celebration or a bike trip across the country ? people you know would try to raise money for your selected cause, not your bike trip! There's even one connected to a college football game next weekend between archrivals USC and UCLA (in that case, for cancer research).
If I weren't already part of an event, I could have simply clicked "I'm a Fundraiser" to search for a cause and raise money as an individual. Crowdrise already has a list of more than 1 million recognized charities, using a database from GuideStar, a research organization specializing in nonprofits. It won't let me create and raise money for a Buy Me a New iPad charity. For that, I'd need Kickstarter, Indiegogo and others that emphasize fundraising for personal projects.
Send out appeals You're given a fundraising Web page, where you can describe the need and make your plea in your own words. Too lazy? Simply keep what's already there. You can also add photos ? such as those showing the devastation left in Sandy's path.
Crowdrise has a bunch of tools for sending out appeals using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or plain old email. I ended up posting my own links on Facebook because Crowdrise's 420-character limit conflicted with my tendency to ramble. For Twitter posts, Crowdrise's tool would shorten it further to comply with Twitter's 140-character limit. Those limits do not apply to email, but a test message through Crowdrise's system ended up in Hotmail's junk folder. No, thanks.
I encouraged my friends and family to spread the word, even if they weren't able to give themselves. Many contributions came in that way, as people reposted links on Facebook or got in touch with others through email. I reconnected with a college classmate in the process and saw contributions from a friend's dad and from someone who used to babysit me as a toddler.
As my direct appeals (read: spamming) faded, I simply added a link to the bottom of my outgoing emails. It's there as a reminder, but also out of the way.
Track your progress Donations trickled in following my various appeals. Crowdrise sent me a notification each time and recommended "dropping everything you're doing so you can send a personal thank you."
From your account, you simply hit a "Send Thank You" link next to each donor's name. There's a "Thank All Donors" list, too, if you're lazy. I preferred the personal touch. In some cases, I sent thanks through email or Facebook instead, though Crowdrise won't mark those people on your list as already thanked. (FirstGiving and Razoo send automated thank-you notices, though you may personalize those automated messages.)
I initially set a goal of raising $1,285, or $26.22 for each of the 49 marathons I had run (26.22 is the number of miles in a marathon to two decimal points). An orange bar on my fundraising page showed how close I was to the goal. I hit that in four days and increased the goal to $2,622. I returned to the site now and then to check on my progress.
Network and give Once I hit that initial goal, I started responding to other appeals on Crowdrise. I gave to one friend's campaign for the American Red Cross and to another for a Brooklyn group that was trying to recover from the storm in time to serve Thanksgiving meals to the needy.
As I mentioned before, Crowdrise is more than a one-time transaction. It gave me the option of posting a notice about my donation to my Facebook profile, so that friends seeing it might give, too. Receipts I'd need for tax deductions are easily accessible from my account.
And on each fundraising page, including mine, is a huge button inviting donors to raise money for that cause, too.
The catch Crowdrise tries to put the "fun" in fundraising. Getting people to part with their money isn't easy, particularly for ongoing needs that aren't revolved around a crisis continually in the news. Two weeks after the storm, many people have moved on. Contributions are slowing.
But Crowdrise does make it easier. I know that I'm more likely to give ? and give more ? when I'm supporting a friend's direct appeal. I love seeing that orange goal bar move closer to the 100 percent mark. I can only imagine that it's influencing others in a similar way.
The catch is that Crowdrise charges a fee on each transaction, at least 5 percent of the donation amount. Other fundraising sites do so as well, and when you're giving directly to a charity, there are similar amounts taken out for credit card processing and other costs. Crowdrise gives donors the option of paying a separate processing fee ? but doing so does nothing to increase the amount going to that particular charity. Rather, the for-profit startup says it keeps the money so that it can reduce fees overall.
That said, I'm reaching out to people who normally might not have given, either because they weren't thinking about it or didn't know whom to give to. Others might have given more knowing that I'm supporting the cause. So those extra donations more than cover the transaction fees.
Anick Jesdanun, deputy technology editor for The Associated Press, can be reached at njesdanun@ap.org.
Though the medical community remains split on whether or not Internet addiction exists, effects have been seen in both men and women who can't shut down their technology. "Both have substituted virtual friends and reality for real reality," said NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman.
IMAGE Our goal was to create an image that revives the vibe of the late 19th ? early 20th century, while also reinterpreting this vintage foundation by injecting it into a contemporary atmosphere. Therefore, the logo is based on a Roman-type font, and is mixed with a playful, classic ligature. The logotype contains the address, and thus locates itself. The latter fact provides an easier form of communication and unifies the typographic language, moreover, thoroughly determines its style. Nevertheless, the typographic language tends to reach beyond the boundaries of a logo and of various graphic elements, and becomes the concept itself, the interior?s distinguishable cornerstone. A ?trafik? was a type of tiny shop selling tobacco, sweets, newspapers, toys, and other knickknacks, and was a real treasure island for children. I?ve purposefully created an image that reflects this specific feeling. The typography resembles broadsheet newspapers, while French cards, the essential accessories of early 20th century clubs and the typical souvenirs of a ?trafik?, serve as accentuated design elements. Trafiq has its own deck of cards, which, besides being used as business cards, fill various functions, further strengthening an already well-established visual identity.
Trafiq webdesign: here.
PACKAGING The concept of packaging is based on the world of the formerly mentioned ?trafiks?, and puts simplistic, playful ideas into practice such as hard-pack cigarette boxes and matchboxes. Regardless, it still pulls off the feat of remaining elegant, and follows the visual path carved by trafiq?s image. Both the technological design and the execution of packaging can be attributed to Sz. Vari?ns Csomagol?stechnikai Kft.
BUILDING GRAPHICS The VIP lounge?s concept: Similar spaces usually ooze sultry lust, so the quotes written on the walls are taken from erotic literary works in their original languages. The quotes are taken from timeless masterpieces such as Apollinaire?s The Eleven Thousand Rods, Boccaccio?s Decameron, and, last not least, Geoffrey Chaucer?s The Canterbury Tales. The restrooms? concept: Simplistic restroom graffiti collected from Anglo-Saxon countries, and separated by genders. Their content was not altered, although they are presented in an elegant, footed, and classical antiqua that conjures an intense paradox and basically gives life to an artistic concept; moreover, it gives an iconic edge to its location. Posters: Humorous, framed texts referring to sexuality, night-time entertainment, and getting tipsy, all interpreted in the language of contemporary typography. These texts, at least to an extent, resemble both the philosophy of late 19th ? early 20th century artists and the atmosphere of bohemian saloons independent from high-nosed institutions. Classy forms of hidden advertising, signages, and the suggestive art work covering the DJ booth enrich and complement the concepts listed above.
?We were looking for a distinguishable visual identity for Trafiq,?one of the newest bars in downtown Budapest.?Our goal was to create a bohemian but in the same time sophisticated atmosphere based on the Hungarian trafiks of the turn of the previous century. We?ve chosen him for his body of portfolio, which we knew would be a perfect match for our concept.?Well, we believe that the visual concept is flawless, and reveals itself in the details.? ? said?Istv?n Sz?raz, founder.
The collapse of Classic Maya civilization linked to droughtPublic release date: 8-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Carl Stiansen c.r.stiansen@durham.ac.uk 44-191-334-6077 Durham University
The Classic Maya culture thrived in rainy times and then collapsed in turmoil as the weather turned to drought, according to new research.
An international project including Durham University, UK, and led by researchers from Pennsylvania State University, USA, and ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has created a precisely-dated record of rainfall from cave deposits in the Classic Maya region, and compared it to a 'war index' of hostile events recorded on stone monuments. The research has enabled the team to create a unique historical timeline linking climate and culture in unprecedented detail.
The war index is based on how often certain keywords occurred in Mayan inscriptions on carved stone monuments, and the researchers were able to chart how increases in war and unrest were associated with periods of drought.
The new datasets provide a unique insight into how a civilisation prospered and developed, expanding into large cities, during a period of favourable climate and then collapsed following climate change between AD 660 and 1100.
Maya rulers commissioned monuments to record events and the research team found the frequency of texts carved on stone monuments pointing to status rivalry, war and strategic alliances increased significantly between AD 660 and 900, during the drying trend.
The findings are published in the journal Science.
The lead researchers were Professor Douglas Kennett, Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Dr Sebastian Breitenbach, ETH Zurich.
Professor Douglas Kennett said: "It is not just climate drying and drought that is important, but the preceding conditions that helped stimulate societal complexity and population expansion. This set the stage for societal stress and the fragmentation of political institutions later in time as conditions became drier."
Dr James Baldini, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University (UK), led the cave monitoring portion of the study.
Dr Baldini said: "The rise and fall of Mayan civilisation is an example of a sophisticated civilisation failing to adapt successfully to climate change. Periods of high rainfall increased the productivity of Maya agricultural systems and led to a population boom and resource overexploitation. The progressively drier climate then led to political destabilisation and warfare as resources were depleted.
"After years of hardship, a nearly century-long drought from 1020 sealed the fate of the Classic Maya."
The role of climate change in the fall of the classic Maya civilisation had previously been suggested, but remained controversial due to dating uncertainties in previous climate records.
The research team reconstructed rainfall for the last 2000 years using the chemistry of stalagmites from Yok Balum cave in Belize. The cave is located 1.5 kilometres from the Classic Period Maya site of Uxbenk and is close to other major Maya centres, all influenced by the same climate systems.
Then, because the Mayans recorded political events and their dates meticulously on carved stone monuments, the team was able to compare its climate reconstruction with the changing frequency of warfare. These war-related events were recorded by Dr Martha Macri (co-author, University of California, Davis) in the "Maya Hieroglyphic Database" and the well-dated occurrences of these words were compiled and the frequency compared to changes in climate.
Professor Kennett said: "The historical texts carved on stone monuments provide a rich record of wars, marriages, accessions of kings and queens, and the capture and killing of warriors from competing groups. The events are incredibly well dated with the Mayan long count calendar system.
"The end of this tradition of stone carving between AD 800 and 1000 marks the widespread collapse of the Classic Maya tradition."
Harriet Ridley, a Durham University PhD student who co-authored the paper, added: "The multi-disciplinary nature of this study contributed to its success. Meticulous archaeological archiving and an extremely well-dated rainfall reconstruction mean that we are able to make confident links between political events and rainfall shifts."
Climate changes in the region were driven by the shifting position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (the ITCZ, a belt of rainfall encircling the Earth) and the frequency and strength of El Nio events. The researchers believe that during the Maya Collapse, the ITCZ may have failed to reach far enough north resulting in catastrophic drought.
Using chemical and mineral analyses of stalagmite layers, the researchers were able to reconstruct a record of weather in the Maya region over the past two millennia.
The rainfall reconstruction matches up well with historically documented climate events, including a drought between AD 1535 and 1575 which was linked with reduced agricultural productivity, famine, war, disease, widespread death, and population relocation. The documented cultural effects of this drought provide an analogue for what might have occurred during the Classic Maya Collapse, the researchers believe.
The Classic Maya region covers portions of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.
###
The research team included institutions in the USA, Switzerland, the UK, Germany, and Belize. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the European Research Council, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the German Science Foundation and the Alphawood Foundation.
Key Dates in Maya Prehistory:
40BC-AD100: Rise El Mirador:
AD 100-300: El Mirador decline
AD 100-300: Rise Tikal & Uxbenk
AD 400-500: Early Classic expansion and rapid development of Maya populations and key cities
AD 800-900: The Maya Lowlands collapse
AD 900-1000: Northward political/demographic shift
AD 1040-1100: Chichen Itza Collapse
Note: The Classic Maya culture (AD 300 to 1000) flourished in the Central American rainforests and developed a sophisticated culture, complex architecture (notably pyramids), and an accurate calendar system. This calendar is said by some to predict the end of the world in December 2012. The Classic Maya culture collapsed mysteriously between AD 800 and 1100.
[ | 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.
The collapse of Classic Maya civilization linked to droughtPublic release date: 8-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Carl Stiansen c.r.stiansen@durham.ac.uk 44-191-334-6077 Durham University
The Classic Maya culture thrived in rainy times and then collapsed in turmoil as the weather turned to drought, according to new research.
An international project including Durham University, UK, and led by researchers from Pennsylvania State University, USA, and ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has created a precisely-dated record of rainfall from cave deposits in the Classic Maya region, and compared it to a 'war index' of hostile events recorded on stone monuments. The research has enabled the team to create a unique historical timeline linking climate and culture in unprecedented detail.
The war index is based on how often certain keywords occurred in Mayan inscriptions on carved stone monuments, and the researchers were able to chart how increases in war and unrest were associated with periods of drought.
The new datasets provide a unique insight into how a civilisation prospered and developed, expanding into large cities, during a period of favourable climate and then collapsed following climate change between AD 660 and 1100.
Maya rulers commissioned monuments to record events and the research team found the frequency of texts carved on stone monuments pointing to status rivalry, war and strategic alliances increased significantly between AD 660 and 900, during the drying trend.
The findings are published in the journal Science.
The lead researchers were Professor Douglas Kennett, Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Dr Sebastian Breitenbach, ETH Zurich.
Professor Douglas Kennett said: "It is not just climate drying and drought that is important, but the preceding conditions that helped stimulate societal complexity and population expansion. This set the stage for societal stress and the fragmentation of political institutions later in time as conditions became drier."
Dr James Baldini, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University (UK), led the cave monitoring portion of the study.
Dr Baldini said: "The rise and fall of Mayan civilisation is an example of a sophisticated civilisation failing to adapt successfully to climate change. Periods of high rainfall increased the productivity of Maya agricultural systems and led to a population boom and resource overexploitation. The progressively drier climate then led to political destabilisation and warfare as resources were depleted.
"After years of hardship, a nearly century-long drought from 1020 sealed the fate of the Classic Maya."
The role of climate change in the fall of the classic Maya civilisation had previously been suggested, but remained controversial due to dating uncertainties in previous climate records.
The research team reconstructed rainfall for the last 2000 years using the chemistry of stalagmites from Yok Balum cave in Belize. The cave is located 1.5 kilometres from the Classic Period Maya site of Uxbenk and is close to other major Maya centres, all influenced by the same climate systems.
Then, because the Mayans recorded political events and their dates meticulously on carved stone monuments, the team was able to compare its climate reconstruction with the changing frequency of warfare. These war-related events were recorded by Dr Martha Macri (co-author, University of California, Davis) in the "Maya Hieroglyphic Database" and the well-dated occurrences of these words were compiled and the frequency compared to changes in climate.
Professor Kennett said: "The historical texts carved on stone monuments provide a rich record of wars, marriages, accessions of kings and queens, and the capture and killing of warriors from competing groups. The events are incredibly well dated with the Mayan long count calendar system.
"The end of this tradition of stone carving between AD 800 and 1000 marks the widespread collapse of the Classic Maya tradition."
Harriet Ridley, a Durham University PhD student who co-authored the paper, added: "The multi-disciplinary nature of this study contributed to its success. Meticulous archaeological archiving and an extremely well-dated rainfall reconstruction mean that we are able to make confident links between political events and rainfall shifts."
Climate changes in the region were driven by the shifting position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (the ITCZ, a belt of rainfall encircling the Earth) and the frequency and strength of El Nio events. The researchers believe that during the Maya Collapse, the ITCZ may have failed to reach far enough north resulting in catastrophic drought.
Using chemical and mineral analyses of stalagmite layers, the researchers were able to reconstruct a record of weather in the Maya region over the past two millennia.
The rainfall reconstruction matches up well with historically documented climate events, including a drought between AD 1535 and 1575 which was linked with reduced agricultural productivity, famine, war, disease, widespread death, and population relocation. The documented cultural effects of this drought provide an analogue for what might have occurred during the Classic Maya Collapse, the researchers believe.
The Classic Maya region covers portions of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.
###
The research team included institutions in the USA, Switzerland, the UK, Germany, and Belize. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the European Research Council, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the German Science Foundation and the Alphawood Foundation.
Key Dates in Maya Prehistory:
40BC-AD100: Rise El Mirador:
AD 100-300: El Mirador decline
AD 100-300: Rise Tikal & Uxbenk
AD 400-500: Early Classic expansion and rapid development of Maya populations and key cities
AD 800-900: The Maya Lowlands collapse
AD 900-1000: Northward political/demographic shift
AD 1040-1100: Chichen Itza Collapse
Note: The Classic Maya culture (AD 300 to 1000) flourished in the Central American rainforests and developed a sophisticated culture, complex architecture (notably pyramids), and an accurate calendar system. This calendar is said by some to predict the end of the world in December 2012. The Classic Maya culture collapsed mysteriously between AD 800 and 1100.
[ | 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.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2012) ? To build the computer chips of the future, designers will need to understand how an electrical charge behaves when it is confined to metal wires only a few atom-widths in diameter.
Now, a team of physicists at McGill University, in collaboration with researchers at General Motors R&D, have shown that electrical current may be drastically reduced when wires from two dissimilar metals meet. The surprisingly sharp reduction in current reveals a significant challenge that could shape material choices and device design in the emerging field of nanoelectronics.
The size of features in electronic circuits is shrinking every year, thanks to the aggressive miniaturization prescribed by Moore's Law, which postulated that the density of transistors on integrated circuits would double every 18 months or so. This steady progress makes it possible to carry around computers in our pockets, but poses serious challenges. As feature sizes dwindle to the level of atoms, the resistance to current no longer increases at a consistent rate as devices shrink; instead the resistance "jumps around," displaying the counterintuitive effects of quantum mechanics, says McGill Physics professor Peter Gr?tter.
"You could use the analogy of a water hose," Gr?tter explains. "If you keep the water pressure constant, less water comes out as you reduce the diameter of the hose. But if you were to shrink the hose to the size of a straw just two or three atoms in diameter, the outflow would no longer decline at a rate proportional to the hose cross-sectional area; it would vary in a quantized ('jumpy') way."
This "quantum weirdness" is exactly what the McGill and General Motors researchers observed, as described in a new paper appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers investigated an ultra-small contact between gold and tungsten, two metals currently used in combination in computer chips to connect different functional components of a device.
On the experimental side of the research, Prof. Gr?tter's lab used advanced microscopy techniques to image a tungsten probe and gold surface with atomic precision, and to bring them together mechanically in a precisely-controlled manner. The electrical current through the resulting contact was much lower than expected. Mechanical modeling of the atomic structure of this contact was done in collaboration with Yue Qi, a research scientist with the General Motors R&D Center in Warren, MI..
State-of-the-art electrical modeling by Jesse Maassen in professor Hong Guo's McGill Physics research group confirmed this result, showing that dissimilarities in electronic structure between the two metals leads to a fourfold decrease in current flow, even for a perfect interface. The researchers additionally found that crystal defects -- displacements of the normally perfect arrangement of atoms -- generated by bringing the two materials into mechanical contact was a further reason for the observed reduction of the current.
"The size of that drop is far greater than most experts would expect -- on the order of 10 times greater," notes Prof. Gr?tter.
The results point to a need for future research into ways to surmount this challenge, possibly through choice of materials or other processing techniques. "The first step toward finding a solution is being aware of the problem," Gr?tter notes. "This is the first time that it has been demonstrated that this is a major problem" for nanoelectronic systems."
Funding for this research was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, le Fonds Qu?b?cois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
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What is writing? I have some thoughts in my head. When you read what I?ve written, you should understand those thoughts.
It sounds so simple when I say it like that. In practice, well, maybe it is and maybe it isn?t. Let?s find out.
Any textbook of English grammar will teach you the rules of writing clear correct English.
1. Choose the correct word 2. Prefer the simple word to the pompous one 3. Prefer the single word to the circumlocution 4. Prefer the short word to the long 5. Use the active rather than the passive voice
These rules apply regardless of whether you?re writing about medicine, engineering, law, education, travel, dating, or even a good old-fashioned novel. Meanwhile, you?ve probably read a lot of published articles, journals, and entire textbooks that manage to break at least four of those rules.
I like the word ?circumlocution,? by the way. Locution is writing or speaking, from the same root word as locomotion. Circum mean circular, from the same root as circumference. So circumlocution is not saying what you mean, but just talking around it. Don?t do that.
In 1953, Watson and Crick wrote a letter to Nature magazine and won a Nobel prize. The letter described the structure of DNA in under 900 words. Short articles are great.
I want to quote something that was published in 1977, just to show you how little things have changed. This is from THORNE?S BETTER MEDICAL WRITING by S. Lock, Pitman Medical Publishing.
?Scientific writers are rarely literate. If a colleague tells a scientist that his latest article is difficult to understand, the writer is more likely to assume that his colleague is unintelligent than that his article is unintelligible. Such writers believe that discussions about style, choice of words, length of sentences, active and passive voice, subjunctives, and the like, are for nonscientific second-rate minds with nothing original to say, and are irrelevant for serious scientific workers. Unfortunately, this argument can be supported by reference to published accounts of important work, many of which are badly written. No editor will reject first-class research because it is in poor English, and few journals have enough staff to rewrite all the articles they publish.
?So why does style matter?
?Simplicity and clarity are the features of good scientific writing. Nobody is asking you to write great literature, but the meaning must be readily understood. Good points to remember are that doctors not working in the subject should be able to understand the article, clear thought can be expressed clearly, and a man with something of value to say has no need to pad it out just to bore editors (who are likely to reject them) and bore their readers (who are unlikely to finish them).
?In other words, most writers are failing to communicate, which is the object of writing in the first place.?
Scientific writers are rarely literate? That?s bold.
Clear thought can be expressed clearly. The meaning must be readily understood. Communication is the object of writing.
Remember those.
I lived in Asia for 12 years before returning to North Carolina in October with my Australian wife and our lovely Calico cat. I think I remember how to drive. I've written 12 published books, thrown twice as many in the trash, and edited over 300 more. Also, I work part-time as a pet sitter because I've gotten too lazy to do sales for MichaelEdits.com
ISTANBUL (AP) ? A Turkish court on Tuesday opened a trial in absentia of four former Israeli military commanders in the killing of nine people aboard a Turkish aid ship that tried to break a Gaza blockade.
Prosecutors have demanded life in prison for several officers in command at the time of the 2010 Israeli raid, but it appears unlikely that any sentence could be carried out.
The case symbolizes the rupture between Turkey and Israel, former allies whose diplomatic ties are effectively frozen. Israel has rebuffed Turkish demands to apologize for the raid on the ship and to compensate those killed as a precondition for normalizing relations.
Hundreds of people gathered outside an Istanbul criminal court that planned to hear testimony from passengers who were on the Gaza-bound ship at the time of the Israeli raid, as well as relatives of those who were killed. Nine pro-Palestinian activists ? eight Turks and a Turkish-American ? were killed aboard the vessel Mavi Marmara, part of an international flotilla trying to break the blockade, which Israel says it imposed in 2007 to keep Palestinian militants from bringing weapons into Gaza.
Turkey disputes Israeli assertions that its soldiers acted in self-defense after being attacked by activists when they boarded the ship. The commando operation sparked condemnation worldwide and led to an easing of Israel's blockade on the coastal territory.
The accused include Israel's former military chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, and three other former commanders.
"The trial will look into what the commanders did, what crimes were committed aboard the ship. There may also be additional indictments along the way," said Gulden Sonmez, a spokeswoman for IHH, an Islamic aid group that had operated the Mavi Marmara.
Sonmez said Israel would be required to give up the defendants if they are convicted, and that other countries would be required to do the same if they are caught elsewhere in the world. Israel scoffed at that assertion, describing the Turkish trial as a "kangaroo court" aimed at stoking anti-Israeli propaganda.
"The so-called accused were not even informed or served or notified that they were going to be charged, which makes this one big puppet show," said Yigal Palmor, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry.
A United Nations report into the 2010 Israeli raid described the blockade of Gaza as legitimate. It said violent activists on board the Mavi Marmara had attacked raiding Israeli naval commandos, but also accused Israel of using disproportionate force against the activists.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Classical composer Elliott Carter, whose challenging, rhythmically complex works earned him widespread admiration and two Pulitzer Prizes, died Monday at age 103.
His music publishing company, Boosey & Hawkes, called him an "iconic American composer." It didn't give the cause of his death.
In a 1992 Associated Press interview, Carter described his works as "music that asks to be listened to in a concentrated way and listened to with a great deal of attention."
"It's not music that makes an overt theatrical effect," he said then, "but it assumes the listener is listening to sounds and making some sense out of them."
The complex way the instruments interact in his compositions created drama for listeners who made the effort to understand them, but it made them difficult for orchestras to learn. He said he tried to give each of the musicians individuality within the context of a comprehensible whole.
"This seems to me a very dramatic thing in a democratic society," he said.
While little known to the general public, he was long respected by an inner circle of critics and musicians. In 2002, The New York Times said his string quartets were among "the most difficult music ever conceived," and it hailed their "volatile emotions, delicacy and even, in places, plucky humor."
Carter had remained astonishingly active, taking new commissions even as he celebrated his 100th birthday in December 2008 with a gala at Carnegie Hall.
"I'm always proud of the ones I've just written," he said at the time.
In 2005, his "Dialogues," which had premiered the previous year, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in music. And in 2006, his "Boston Concerto" was nominated for a Grammy Award as best classical contemporary composition.
Carter won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1960 for his Second String Quartet; his second award was in 1973 for his Third String Quartet. The Juilliard String Quartet chose to mark its 45th anniversary in 1991 with a concert of all four Carter string quartets. A fifth quartet came out in 1995.
When the first National Medal of Arts awards were given in 1985, Carter was one of 10 people honored, along with such legends as Martha Graham, Ralph Ellison and Georgia O'Keeffe. The awards were established by Congress in 1984.
The New Grove Dictionary of American Music said that at its best, Carter's music "sustains an energy of invention that is unrivaled in contemporary composition."
Carter said he found Europeans more receptive to his works than his fellow Americans because music in Europe is not purely entertainment but part of the culture, "something that people make an effort to understand."
The lack of widespread attention didn't seem to bother him.
"I don't think it means anything to be popular," he said. "When we see the popular tastes and the popular opinion constantly being manipulated by all sorts of different ways, it seems to me popularity is a meaningless matter."
In 1992, Carter said his favorite piece of music was his Concerto for Orchestra, written in 1969. It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its 125th anniversary season.
"It particularly expresses a picture of the United States as an evolving world of not only people but of nature," he said.
Among his early works were two ballets, "The Minotaur" and "Pocahontas," and his First Symphony. His First String Quartet in 1951 started him on the road to greater critical attention.
Besides composing, Carter wrote extensively about 20th-century music. A collection of articles, "The Writings of Elliott Carter: An American Composer Looks at Modern Music," was published in 1977.
Carter as born in New York in 1908. As a young man he became acquainted with composer Charles Ives, who encouraged his ambitions. He studied literature at Harvard and then studied music in Paris under famed teacher Nadia Boulanger, who also guided Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Virgil Thompson.
As Carter turned 100, he recalled a visit to the hall in 1924 to see the New York premiere of Igor Stravinsky's revolutionary work "The Rite of Spring."
"I thought it was the greatest thing I ever heard, and I wanted to do like that, too," Carter recalled. "Of course, half the audience walked out, which was even more pleasant to me. It seemed much more exciting than Beethoven and Brahms and the rest of them."
In 1939, he married sculptor Helen H. Frost Jones. They had one son. He is survived by his son and a grandson.
Nov 5 (Reuters) ? Apple?s lawsuit against Google?s Motorola Mobility unit over alleged patent abuse was thrown out on Monday just hours before trial, a setback for the iPhone maker in its efforts to gain leverage in the smartphone patent wars.
The two rivals were set to square off in a Madison, Wisconsin federal court over the library of patents Google Inc acquired along with Motorola for $12.5 billion in May. Apple Inc claimed Motorola?s licensing practices were unfair.
However, late last week District Judge Barbara Crabb questioned whether she had the legal authority to hear Apple?s claims, and on Monday she dismissed the case.
A Google spokeswoman said the company was pleased with the order, while an Apple representative declined to comment. In a legal brief filed after Crabb?s ruling, Apple contended that the judge does indeed have the authority to hear its claims.
Lea Shaver, an intellectual property professor at Indiana University School of Law, said a ruling against Google would have diminished Motorola?s patents as an effective bargaining chip in settlement negotiations.
?This puts Apple back into the position it was before,? Shaver said.
Apple and Microsoft Corp have been litigating in courts around the world against Google and partners like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which use the Android operating system on their mobile devices.
Apple contends that Android is basically a copy of its iOS smartphone software, and Microsoft holds patents that it contends cover a number of Android features. Microsoft is set for a trial against Motorola in Seattle next week in a case with similar issues as the Apple matter in Wisconsin.
Apple and Microsoft accuse Google of demanding too high a royalty for some of its so-called standard essential patents. Motorola promised to license those patents on fair terms, they argue, in exchange for Motorola technology being adopted as an industry standard.
In Wisconsin, Crabb had ruled during the run-up to trial that she might decide what a fair royalty for Motorola?s patents should be.
However, in a court filing last week, Apple argued that it would not consider itself bound by Crabb?s rate if it exceeded $1 per Apple phone.
Given Apple?s position, Crabb questioned whether she had the power to issue merely an advisory opinion. ?It has become clear that Apple?s interest in a license is qualified,? Crabb wrote on Friday.
Microsoft, by contrast, has agreed to live with whatever terms U.S. District Judge James Robart sets at the Seattle trial.
In Wisconsin, the trial was scheduled to begin Monday afternoon in Madison, but Crabb dismissed the case during a morning hearing. If Apple cannot convince Crabb to reconsider, then the matter could be appealed.
In its statement, Google said Motorola has long offered licensing at reasonable rates. ?We remain interested in reaching an agreement with Apple,? the company said.
The case in U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin is Apple Inc. v. Motorola Mobility Inc., No. 11-cv-178.
filed under: Real Estate posted on October 31st, 2012
Women, did you know you make 90% of the real estate buying decision when considering a Virginia Beach or Hampton Roads Home?
Granite, Tile, Hardwood ? Give Me All of It
If that is the case then Women should have a dedicated REALTOR(R) (like me) who will consider all your needs, wants, and desires in a home and help you find that specific dream home.
Top 5 things Women want in a home (see this previous post for more ideas):
1.? If two story home, would like an upstairs laundry area.
2.? Wood floors and less carpet
3.? Garage so husband or significant other keeps their ?stuff? out of the house.
4.? Good neighborhood and schools.
5.? Backyard for entertaining.
Lastly, Women should be prepared home buyers.? Read my Home Resource Guide Here for Great Tips
See a few of your favorite ?Homes That Women Want? below:
?
Showing properties
1 - 50 of 250+.
See more Homes That Women Want - Signup For Alerts.
(all data current as of
10/31/2012)
5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 5,242 sq ft
Lot size: 20,908 sqft
Year built: 1994
5 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 2,700 sq ft
Year built: 2013
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,200 sq ft
Lot size: 2.50 ac
Year built: 2013
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 2,000 sq ft
Year built: 1981
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 3,563 sq ft
Year built: 1895
4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 4,412 sq ft
Lot size: 18,730 sqft
Year built: 1967
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,896 sq ft
Year built: 1994
4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,690 sq ft
Lot size: 27,878 sqft
Year built: 1979
5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 5,594 sq ft
Lot size: 3.00 ac
Year built: 1994
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 3,232 sq ft
Year built: 1986
3 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,053 sq ft
Year built: 2005
5 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 4,000 sq ft
Lot size: 1.51 ac
Year built: 1943
3 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 2,060 sq ft
Lot size: 19,602 sqft
Year built: 1953
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 3,503 sq ft
Year built: 2000
4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,398 sq ft
Year built: 2011
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,600 sq ft
Lot size: 15,246 sqft
Year built: 1990
5 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 3,458 sq ft
Lot size: 10,890 sqft
Year built: 1995
4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,427 sq ft
Year built: 1968
5 beds, 4 full baths
Home size: 3,410 sq ft
Lot size: 32,896 sqft
Year built: 2003
4 beds, 2 full, 2 part baths
Home size: 4,352 sq ft
Lot size: 3.00 ac
Year built: 2000
4 beds, 3 full, 2 part baths
Home size: 4,237 sq ft
Lot size: 17,859 sqft
Year built: 2005
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,401 sq ft
Year built: 2013
4 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 1,768 sq ft
Lot size: 15.00 ac
Year built: 1987
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 2,554 sq ft
Lot size: 22,869 sqft
Year built: 1969
5 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 2,610 sq ft
Year built: 1957
3 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 2,250 sq ft
Year built: 2013
5 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 3,084 sq ft
Year built: 1908
5 beds, 4 full baths
Home size: 3,917 sq ft
Lot size: 1,188 sqft
Year built: 2004
4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,938 sq ft
Lot size: 3.00 ac
Year built: 2009
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 3,820 sq ft
Year built: 1993
5 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 4,957 sq ft
Year built: 1998
4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 4,000 sq ft
Lot size: 25,700 sqft
Year built: 1985
4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,000 sq ft
Year built: 2012
5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 5,628 sq ft
Year built: 2002
3 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 1,716 sq ft
Year built: 1959
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,000 sq ft
Lot size: 19,166 sqft
Year built: 1986
5 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,926 sq ft
Lot size: 34,848 sqft
Year built: 1998
5 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 2,373 sq ft
Lot size: 3.00 ac
Year built: 1875
3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,735 sq ft
Year built: 1992
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,922 sq ft
Lot size: 10,454 sqft
Year built: 2007
4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,135 sq ft
Lot size: 27,878 sqft
Year built: 1940
4 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 1,988 sq ft
Year built: 2000
3 beds, 2 full baths
Home size: 1,780 sq ft
Year built: 2012
3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,801 sq ft
Year built: 2012
3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,548 sq ft
Year built: 2012
4 beds, 3 full baths
Home size: 2,313 sq ft
Year built: 2001
6 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 4,283 sq ft
Lot size: 16,552 sqft
Year built: 2006
4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 3,100 sq ft
Lot size: 3.00 ac
Year built: 1990
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,740 sq ft
Lot size: 16,117 sqft
Year built: 2004
4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 2,800 sq ft
Lot size: 9,328 sqft
Year built: 1987
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posted by Dennis Blackmore
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 at 8:20 am and is filed under Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Public release date: 8-Nov-2012
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