Ecuador's Correa breezes to second re-election

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) ? President Rafael Correa, a fiery-tongued leftist who has endeared himself to the lower classes by expanding Ecuador's welfare state but drawn wide rebuke for intolerance of dissent, breezed to a second re-election on Sunday.

The U.S.-educated economist won 56.9 percent of the vote against 23.8 percent for his closest challenger, former banker Guillermo Lasso, with 57 percent of the vote counted.

Correa, 48, called the outcome a victory for his "citizens' revolution," and promised to further reduce poverty, which the United Nations says has dropped nearly five percentage points to 32.4 percent since he first took office in 2007.

"We are only here to serve you. Nothing for us. Everything for you," Correa told jubilant supporters from the balcony of the Carondelet presidential palace, celebrating long before official results were released.

Lasso, the ex-head of the Banco de Guayaquil, had run a business-friendly but relatively tame campaign, and conceded as first official results were released. Former President Lucio Gutierrez won 6 percent. The rest of the vote was divided among five other candidates.

Correa has brought surprising stability to an oil-exporting nation of 14.6 million with a history of unruliness that cycled through seven presidents in the decade before him. With the help of oil prices that have hovered around $100 a barrel, he has raised living standards among the poor and widened the welfare state with region-leading social spending.

Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, said Correa has shown himself to be the "undisputed rhetorical leader of Latin America's left" and will now see his standing enhanced there.

But Shifter said Correa's moves to concentrate power have damaged Ecuador's "already precarious institutions" while his ramping up of social spending "is simply applying the standard recipe for many populist governments in the region." While it succeeds in building political support in the short term, it's not clear whether it is sustainable, he said.

Correa's result Sunday topped the 51.7 percent he won in his first re-election in April 2009 in a ballot set up by a voter-approved constitutional rewrite. Correa is now legally barred from another 4-year term.

Correa dedicated his victory to Venezuela's cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez, his close ally among Latin America's alliance of leftist leaders.

While a practitioner of one-man rule in the Chavez mold, he is more respectful of private property.

Ecuador relies on petroleum for more than half of its export earnings, and he has used this oil wealth to make public education and health care more accessible, and lay thousands of kilometers (miles) of new highways.

Foreign investment has suffered, however, and Lasso ran on guaranteeing multinational businesses more favorable terms, such as abolishing a 5 percent tax on capital removed from Ecuador.

Correa said he's happy to have more foreign investment but "it's better not to have it than to mortgage the country in the name of that pipe dream called foreign investment."

He did not explain, meanwhile, how he planned to pay for efforts to "quicken and deepen" poverty reduction. Skeptical economists say the state can't afford it without major new revenue sources.

Such talk doesn't dim the enthusiasm for Correa of the likes of Jomaira Espinosa.

"Before (Correa), my family didn't have enough to eat" and her father couldn't find work, the 18-year-old said. Now her father has a job as a public servant and she expects to be able to study for free at a university thanks to Correa's programs.

Correa has been harshly condemned for using criminal libel law against opposition news media and for such strong-arm tactics as seizing Ecuador's airwaves virtually at will to spread his political gospel and attack opponents.

German Calapucha, a 29-year-old accountant, said he voted against Correa because he's tired of the president's imperiousness.

"He thinks that because he wins elections he has the right to mistreat people," Calapucha said.

He has eroded the influence of opposition parties, the Roman Catholic Church and the news media, stacked courts with friendly judges and prosecuted indigenous leaders for organizing protests against Correa's attempt to open up Ecuador to large-scale mining without their consent.

"He is far too insolent," said Laura Realpe, a 59-year-old housewife.

That matters little to voters such as Fabian Garzon, a 48-year-old messenger and cleaner.

Thanks to Correa, he has been able to buy his own apartment with a $24,000 government-issued mortgage.

His monthly salary, meanwhile, has more than doubled over the past four years, from $200 to $450, and payments for his social security, vacation and other government-mandated contributions are being made regularly.

"I worked 25 years without having my own house and at this age, thank God, I'm able to own my own home," Garzon said.

In all, 1.9 million people receive $50 a month in aid from the state. Critics complain that the popular handouts to single mothers, needy families and the elderly poor, along with other subsidies, have bloated the government.

The number of people working for it has burgeoned from 16,000 to 90,000 during Correa's current term, Ecuador's nongovernmental Observatory of Fiscal Policy reported in December.

Correa also has been unable to stop a growing sensation of vulnerability in a country where robberies and burglaries grew 30 percent in 2012 compared with the previous year.

The graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign gained an early reputation as a maverick, defying international financiers by defaulting on $3.9 billion in foreign debt obligations and rewriting contracts with oil multinationals to secure a higher share of oil revenues for Ecuador.

He has also kept the United States at arm's length while upsetting Britain and Sweden in August by granting asylum at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the online spiller of leaked U.S. government secrets who is wanted for questioning in Sweden for alleged sexual assault.

Correa has, meanwhile, cozied up to U.S. rivals Iran and China. The latter is the biggest buyer of Ecuador's oil and holds $3.4 billion in Ecuadorean debt, according to Finance Minister Patricio Rivera.

___

Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report from Lima, Peru

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecuadors-correa-breezes-2nd-election-015442074.html

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Forget about leprechauns, engineers are catching rainbows

Feb. 15, 2013 ? University at Buffalo engineers have created a more efficient way to catch rainbows, an advancement in photonics that could lead to technological breakthroughs in solar energy, stealth technology and other areas of research.

Qiaoqiang Gan, PhD, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at UB, and a team of graduate students described their work in a paper called "Rainbow Trapping in Hyperbolic Metamaterial Waveguide," published Feb. 13 in the online journal Scientific Reports.

They developed a "hyperbolic metamaterial waveguide," which is essentially an advanced microchip made of alternate ultra-thin films of metal and semiconductors and/or insulators. The waveguide halts and ultimately absorbs each frequency of light, at slightly different places in a vertical direction, to catch a "rainbow" of wavelengths.

Gan is a researcher within UB's new Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics.

"Electromagnetic absorbers have been studied for many years, especially for military radar systems," Gan said. "Right now, researchers are developing compact light absorbers based on optically thick semiconductors or carbon nanotubes. However, it is still challenging to realize the perfect absorber in ultra-thin films with tunable absorption band.

"We are developing ultra-thin films that will slow the light and therefore allow much more efficient absorption, which will address the long existing challenge."

Light is made of photons that, because they move extremely fast (i.e., at the speed of light), are difficult to tame. In their initial attempts to slow light, researchers relied upon cryogenic gases. But because cryogenic gases are very cold -- roughly 240 degrees below zero Fahrenheit -- they are difficult to work with outside a laboratory.

Before joining UB, Gan helped pioneer a way to slow light without cryogenic gases. He and other researchers at Lehigh University made nano-scale-sized grooves in metallic surfaces at different depths, a process that altered the optical properties of the metal. While the grooves worked, they had limitations. For example, the energy of the incident light cannot be transferred onto the metal surface efficiently, which hampered its use for practical applications, Gan said.

The hyperbolic metamaterial waveguide solves that problem because it is a large area of patterned film that can collect the incident light efficiently. It is referred to as an artificial medium with subwavelength features whose frequency surface is hyperboloid, which allows it to capture a wide range of wavelengths in different frequencies including visible, near-infrared, mid-infrared, terahertz and microwaves.

It could lead to advancements in an array of fields.

For example, in electronics there is a phenomenon known as crosstalk, in which a signal transmitted on one circuit or channel creates an undesired effect in another circuit or channel. The on-chip absorber could potentially prevent this.

The on-chip absorber may also be applied to solar panels and other energy-harvesting devices. It could be especially useful in mid-infrared spectral regions as thermal absorber for devices that recycle heat after sundown, Gan said.

Technology such as the Stealth bomber involves materials that make planes, ships and other devices invisible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection methods. Because the on-chip absorber has the potential to absorb different wavelengths at a multitude of frequencies, it could be useful as a stealth coating material.

Additional authors of the paper include Haifeng Hu, Dengxin Ji, Xie Zeng and Kai Liu, all PhD candidates in UB's Department of Electrical Engineering. The work was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UB's electrical engineering department.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University at Buffalo. The original article was written by Cory Nealon.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Haifeng Hu, Dengxin Ji, Xie Zeng, Kai Liu, Qiaoqiang Gan. Rainbow Trapping in Hyperbolic Metamaterial Waveguide. Scientific Reports, 2013; 3 DOI: 10.1038/srep01249

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_science/~3/HvucdTTaR9w/130217085259.htm

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Oscar Pistorius: Bloody Cricket Bat Now Center of Investigation

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As Patent Drama Continues, 3D Printing Provides A Way Out For Mashup Creators

Editor's note: Michael Weinberg is vice president at?Public Knowledge?where he focuses?primarily on copyright, issues before the FCC and emerging technologies like 3D printing. Mashups are one of the great art forms of our time. Although remixes, mashups, sampling, and collage predate the Internet by decades (if not centuries), easy and accessible digital tools have allowed anyone to remix videos, music and photographs into their own original works. Mashup culture has produced fantastic?music, critical?video, and delightful?cultural artifacts of all?kinds.

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Anti-Land grabbing cell - Police Commisoner - Indian Real Estate ...

15 Hours Ago ? #1

New Member

?

Join Date: Apr 2010

Posts: 2

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We bought land in Kadirvedu back in 2002 and price has appreciated well right now. About 3 months back a local guy has started construction on our land. We panicked and our lawyer has registered a complaint with the Police commisoners office - the anti-land grabbing cell. We have been affected by this contruction along with 2 others who own adjoining pieces of land. The other 2 parties have also joined in the complaint.

Can someone provide any experience regarding the effectiveness of this recently formed anti-land grabbing cell?

What else do you thing we need to be doing? Any other suggestions?

?

Source: http://www.indianrealestateforum.com/chennai/t-anti-land-grabbing-cell-police-commisoner-51381.html

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Camel OK after enclosure escape, clipped by van

CONCORD, Calif. (AP) ? Officials believe a camel that escaped its enclosure twice Tuesday before being clipped by a minivan probably just wanted to be around some other animals.

The Contra Costa Times reports (http://bit.ly/TMEFcl ) the single-humped camel was hit by the van as it walked along a road in Concord around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

It was the second time Tuesday the 10-year-old camel named "Phil" escaped its enclosure. Earlier in the day citizens helped California Highway Patrol officers shepherd the camel off the roadway.

Raymond Ferrante ? a land manager for a company overseeing property where the camel is being kept ? says UC Davis veterinarians have examined it and said the camel did not suffer any broken bones, or other injuries.

Ferrante says because camels are "very social" he believes that's why Phil escaped its enclosure twice in one day.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/camel-ok-enclosure-escape-clipped-van-045642192.html

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EU summit to debate austerity budget, tough cuts

STRASBOURG, France (AP) ? Many European Union leaders will push for a harshly pared-down budget at their summit this week but the EU parliament insists it is ready to reject a deal that curtails spending on growth and employment.

On the eve of the two-day summit, which begins Thursday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that "for the first time ever - there will be a real terms cut compared to the current budget." Van Rompuy chairs the summits, which are held in Brussels.

Britain is leading several wealthy northern member states in calling for bigger cuts in the seven-year EU budget, which will total about ?1 trillion ($1.35 trillion) for the years 2014-2020. On the other hand, poorer eastern and southern countries in the 27-nation bloc want to ensure continued EU financial support.

As the meeting approached, there appeared to be a lot of jostling for position. Parliamentary leaders, meeting in Strasbourg, warned they would reject any plan that undermines the role of the EU.

In Brussels, a spokesman said the European Commission, the EU's executive body, had already agreed to cut more than ?1 billion ($1.35 billion) in administrative costs over the budget's seven-year period. But he said more severe cuts would leave the Commission unable to do its job, just as it is being called on to do more and more as the EU integrates more deeply in response to the financial crisis.

"How can we imagine that an EU institution can ensure a proper banking union with a budget that is cut by whatever billions in figures we hear here and there?" said Olivier Bailly, the spokesman. "At the moment, there is a need for a reality check between the requests that are sent to the Commission, the Council, the Parliament, or the European Central Bank, and the budget, the means, that are given to these institutions to fulfill their commitments vis-a-vis the member states and European citizens."

A senior EU official said that, while Van Rompuy is proposing an overall cut, some items within his proposed budget will grow, including an effort to combat youth unemployment.

Spending on programs meant to ensure future prosperity, such as research and development, education and innovation, will also grow in real terms, the official said. He spoke only on condition of anonymity, in line with EU policies.

___

Don Melvin contributed from Brussels

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-summit-debate-austerity-budget-tough-cuts-104105078--finance.html

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New England braces for major snow storm

BOSTON (AP) ? A major winter storm heading toward New England may not be one for the record books, but even some of the nation's snow-hardiest people should proceed with caution, according to at least one expert.

As much as 2 feet of snow could fall on a region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter, the National Weather Service said. That's exciting for resort operators who haven't had much snow this year.

The storm would hit just after the 35th anniversary of the historic blizzard of 1978, which paralyzed the region with more than 2 feet of snow and hurricane force winds from Feb. 5-7.

"This has the potential for being a dangerous storm, especially for Massachusetts into northeast Connecticut and up into Maine," said Louis Uccellini, director of the weather agency's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Uccellini, who has written two textbooks on Northeastern snowstorms, said Wednesday it was too early to tell if the storm would be one for the record books. But he said it will be a rare and major storm, the type that means "you can't let your guard down."

The snow will start Friday morning, with the heaviest amounts dumped on the region that night and into Saturday as the storm moves past New England and upstate New York, the National Weather Service said.

A blizzard watch for parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island said travel may become nearly impossible because of high winds and blowing snow.

A coastal flooding watch also is in effect for some shore communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut and northern Long Island.

Thanks to the ability to make their own snow, the region's larger ski resorts aren't as dependent on natural snowfall, though every bit helps.

At Mount Snow in Vermont, spokesman Dave Meeker said the true value of the storm will be driving traffic from southern New England northward.

"It's great when we get snow, but it's a tremendous help when down-country gets snow," he said. "When they have snow in their backyards, they're inspired."

Assuming the snow clears out by the weekend with no major problems, ski areas in Massachusetts also were excited by the prospect of the first major snowstorm they've seen since October 2011.

"We'll be here with bells on," said Christopher Kitchin, inside operations manager at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford, Mass. "People are getting excited. They want to get out in the snow and go snow-tubing, skiing and snowboarding."

Tom Meyers, marketing director for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Mass., said that at an annual conference of the National Ski Areas Association in Vermont this week, many participants were "buzzing" about the storm. He said the snow will arrive at an especially opportune time ? a week before many schools in Massachusetts have February vacation.

"It is perfect timing because it will just remind everybody that it is winter, it's real, and get out and enjoy it," Meyers said.

The snowmobile season in northern New England started off strong, but after rain and warm weather last month, many trails in Maine turned essentially to thick sheets of ice, said Bob Meyers, Maine Snowmobile Association executive director.

"People got a taste of it," he said, "and there's no question they want some more."

___

Ramer reported from Concord, N.H. Contributing to this report were AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington and Associated Press writers Lisa Rathke in Montpelier, Vt., and Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/england-braces-major-snow-storm-073119573--finance.html

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Munitio SV

Munitio has been making earphones since 2010, but I suppose I wasn't in a rush to review the first releases because the earpieces were designed to look like bullet casings. I'm always skeptical of earphone designs that seem to put such a focus on a visual gimmick, but Munitio has expanded beyond its early models, and the Munitio SV is a $129.99 (list) in-canal model with a simple visual design and solid audio performance. Lovers of deep bass won't be disappointed, as the SV packs plenty of low frequency punch, and does so with zero distortion.

Design
The bullet theme is not entirely abandoned with the SV?the eartips are referred to as "hollow points"?but the overall look lacks any real design gimmicks. The bronze and rubberized black contours of the earpieces are quite simple (they also comes in gray-and-black or all-black), and the clear silicone eartips, regardless of their name, feature an interesting, turbine-like pattern that can be seen through their semi-transparent surface.

A flat, wide black cable descends from both earpieces, with the left ear's cable housing the inline remote and microphone for playback navigation and phone calls on Apple iOS devices, and music control on Android devices. Call clarity is about what you'd expect from an inline mic?you'll understand and be understood, but you're still dealing with cellular audio fidelity and a tiny microphone.

A snazzy, black snap-shut carrying case and three sizes of eartip pairs ship with the SV. One minor complaint about the eartips?I tried all three sizes and had the best luck with the large size, but after a while, the secure fit started to loosen a bit. This happened with all three sizes. They never fell out, but it can effect the bass response and the ear-to-ear consistency of the stereo image.

Performance
On tracks with seriously deep sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the SV does a solid job of conveying the low frequencies with a sense of clarity and power. At top volumes, there is no distortion on this or other tracks with deep bass.

The high-mids and high frequencies seem pretty highly boosted and sculpted. On Bill Callahan's "Drover," his baritone vocals are delivered with a nice lower frequency resonance, but the boosted mids and highs give it plenty of crackly-edge, too. However, sometimes his vocals can sound overly sibilant through the SV, as if the earphones are over-correcting so things don't seem too bass heavy. It never really sounds harsh, but this is definitely a pair that balances big bass with serious brightness?no one will mistake this sound for flat response.

This boosting at both ends of the spectrum lends classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," an added dose of adrenaline?the lower register strings are delivered with a noticeable low-end resonance, and the higher register strings and wooden percussion are crisp and tend to pop out of the mix in certain spots. The larger drum hits towards the end of the song have a nice roundness to them, with a deep thud that's not too over-the-top, but is noticeably boosted. If it's not the most accurate sound you can find, it's at least an exciting one.

In this price range, however, the SV has plenty of competition. One recent favorite (and Editors' Choice), the TDK EB950, has some similar boosting, but manages a more secure fit (thanks to Comply foam eartips) and, as a result, a slightly smoother bass response. If you're looking for a less sculpted sound, or perhaps something approaching flat response, the recent MartinLogan Mikros 70 dials back both the bass and some of the highs.

Moving up in price a bit, the Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones has been a favorite for a while now, delivering rich lows and articulate highs?not flat, but not overly boosted, either. And if all of these seem a bit pricey for earphones and you just want a pair that delivers decent sound for less money, the AKG K 350 is a bargain. At $130, however, the Munitio SV is a solid contender that seems reasonably priced for what it delivers?distortion-free audio with deep bass and (very) crisp highs.?

More Headphone Reviews:
??? Munitio SV
??? TDK BA100
??? Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
??? Jays t-Jays Three
??? Yurbuds Inspire Limited Edition
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/WjRUB6Cb1Xg/0,2817,2414741,00.asp

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25 billion served up: iTunes reaches milestone

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The answer to the trivia question will be: "Monkey Drums (Goskel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch." That's the 25-billionth song purchased on iTunes.

Apple announced the sales milestone in a news release Wednesday. The company says Phillip Lupke of Germany purchased and downloaded Buch's song and will receive an iTunes gift card worth 10,000 euros, or about $13, 500.

It took the Cupertino, Calif., company almost 10 years to reach the milestone. Customers download an average of 15,000 songs a minute from the iTunes music store, which was launched in April 2003. The digital retailer's catalog is 26 million songs deep.

___

Online:

http://apple.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-06-US-Music-iTunes/id-9d5ad96775d44d9ba05ee9f453e5e5dc

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Superdome officials worried about a power outage

Fans and members of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers wait for power to return in the Superdome during an outage in the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Fans and members of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers wait for power to return in the Superdome during an outage in the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A power outage affects about half the lights in the Superdome during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Field judge Craig Wrolstad stands on the field after the lights went out during the second half of NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Baltimore Ravens players look around the Superdome after the lights went out during the second half of NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Fans and members of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers wait for power to return in the Superdome during an outage in the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? The cause of a 34-minute blackout at the Super Bowl remains under investigation, but public records released Monday show that Superdome officials were worried about a power outage several months before the big game.

An Oct. 15 memo released by the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District, which oversees the Superdome, says tests on the dome's electrical feeders showed they had "some decay and a chance of failure."

Entergy New Orleans, the company that supplies the stadium with power, and the structure's engineering staff "had concerns regarding the reliability of the Dome service from Entergy's connection point to the Dome," the memo says. Those concerns were due in part to "circumstances that have previously occurred with the electrical service regarding transient spikes and loads."

The memo also cites 2011 blackouts that struck Candlestick Park, where the San Francisco 49ers were playing a nationally televised Monday night football game, as a reason for ordering the tests.

The board later authorized spending nearly $1 million on Superdome improvements, including more than $600,000 for upgrading the dome's electrical feeder cable system.

"As discussed in previous board meetings, this enhancement is necessary to maintain both the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena as top tier facilities, and to ensure that we do not experience any electrical issues during the Super Bowl," says a LSED document dated Dec. 19.

An attorney for the state board that oversees the Superdome said the blackout did not appear to be related to the replacement in December of electrical equipment connecting the stadium to Entergy. Officials with the utility and the Superdome noted that an NFL game, the Sugar Bowl and another bowl game were played there in recent weeks with no apparent problems.

The exact cause of Sunday night's blackout ? and who's to blame ? remained unclear late Monday, though a couple of potential culprits had been ruled out.

It wasn't Beyonce's electrifying halftime performance, according to Doug Thornton, manager of the state-owned Superdome, since the singer had her own generator. And it apparently wasn't a case of too much demand for power. Meters showed the 76,000-seat stadium was drawing no more electricity than it does during a typical New Orleans Saints game, Thornton said.

The lights-out game Sunday proved an embarrassment for the Big Easy just when it was hoping to show the rest of the world how far it has come since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But many fans and residents were forgiving, and officials expressed confidence that the episode wouldn't hurt the city's hopes of hosting the championship again.

To New Orleans' great relief, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the city did a "terrific" job hosting its first pro football championship in the post-Hurricane Katrina era, and added: "I fully expect that we will be back here for Super Bowls."

Fans watching from their living rooms weren't deterred, either. An estimated 108.4 million television viewers saw the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31, making it the third most-viewed program in television history. Both the 2010 and 2011 games hit the 111 million mark.

The problem that caused the outage was believed to have happened around the spot where a line that feeds current from Entergy New Orleans connects with the Superdome's electrical system, officials said. But whether the fault lay with the utility or with the Superdome was not clear.

Determining the cause will probably take days, according to Dennis Dawsey, a vice president for distribution and transmission for Entergy. He said the makers of some of the switching gear have been brought in to help figure out what happened.

The blackout came after a nearly flawless week of activity for football fans in New Orleans leading up to the big game.

"I hope that's not what they'll remember about this Super Bowl," French Quarter artist Gloria Wallis said. "I hope that what they'll remember is they had a great time here and that they were welcomed here."

Ravens fan Antonio Prezioso, a Baltimore native who went to the game with his 11-year-old son, said the outage just extended the experience.

"The more time we could spend at the game was a good thing, as long as it ended the way it did," he said, laughing.

The city last hosted the Super Bowl in 2002, and officials were hoping this would serve as the ultimate showcase for the city's recovery since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm tore holes in the roof of the Superdome and caused water damage to its electrical systems, and more than $330 million was spent repairing and upgrading the stadium.

Sunday's Super Bowl was New Orleans' 10th as host, and officials plan to make a bid for an 11th in 2018.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu told WWL-AM on Monday that the outage won't hurt the city's chances, and he joked that the game got better after the blackout: "People were leaving and the game was getting boring, so we had to do a little something to spice it up."

The chairwoman of the New Orleans City Council's Utility Committee has called an emergency meeting for Friday to discuss the power outage.

Jarvis DeBerry, a columnist for nola.com and The Times-Picayune, wrote that the power outage gave the media "an opportunity to laugh at the apparent ineptitude or suggest that the ghosts of Hurricane Katrina were haunting the Superdome."

"That's not the kind of attention the city was looking for, obviously," he wrote, "but it's certainly too soon to say if people will remember the power shortage over San Francisco's furious comeback attempt against Baltimore or if this will harm the city's future opportunities to host the Super Bowl."

Bjorn Hanson, dean of New York University's Center for Hospitality and Sports Management, said the episode shouldn't hurt the city's reputation as a big convention destination. "I think people view it for what it was: an unusual event with a near-record power draw," he said. "It was the equivalent of a circuit breaker flipping."

___

Associated Press writers Beth Harpaz, Brett Martel, Stacey Plaisance and Barry Wilner contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-04-Super%20Bowl-Power%20Outage/id-332f8aef355b40c08e675618d507f213

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Video: Tsunami hits Solomon Islands after quake

>>> breaking news this morning, that deadly tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake in the south pacific . al roker is upstairs with the latest. al, good morning.

>> solomon islands , really the epicenter of this, just off the solomon islands at 8.0 magnitude earthquake, triggering two tsunami waves, estimated between three to five feet. of course, as you get that lifting of the earth's plates underneath the water, all that will basically trigger that activity and the wave. and that wave can be moving at 75 to 100 miles per hour, stretching out. we have reports of at least five people killed in at least two communities of the solomon islands , five confirmed deaths. water, electricity completely wiped out. one town of venga, of about 750 people, homes were shifted by the surge of water. two towns completely wiped out. so, we will continue to track this story.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50715638/

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Earth-size planets may be next door, Kepler data suggest

Feb. 6, 2013 ? Using publicly available data from NASA's Kepler space telescope, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, Earth-sized planets. Since red dwarfs are the most common stars in our galaxy, the closest Earth-like planet could be just 13 light-years away.

"We thought we would have to search vast distances to find an Earth-like planet. Now we realize another Earth is probably in our own backyard, waiting to be spotted," said Harvard astronomer and lead author Courtney Dressing (CfA).

Dressing presented her findings today in a press conference at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.

Red dwarf stars are smaller, cooler, and fainter than our Sun. An average red dwarf is only one-third as large and one-thousandth as bright as the Sun. From Earth, no red dwarf is visible to the naked eye.

Despite their dimness, these stars are good places to look for Earth-like planets. Red dwarfs make up three out of every four stars in our galaxy for a total of at least 75 billion. The signal of a transiting planet is larger since the star itself is smaller, so an Earth-sized world blocks more of the star's disk. And since a planet has to orbit a cool star closer in order to be in the habitable zone, it's more likely to transit from our point of view.

Dressing culled the Kepler catalog of 158,000 target stars to identify all the red dwarfs. She then reanalyzed those stars to calculate more accurate sizes and temperatures. She found that almost all of those stars were smaller and cooler than previously thought.

Since the size of a transiting planet is determined relative to the star size, based on how much of the star's disk the planet covers, shrinking the star shrinks the planet. And a cooler star will have a tighter habitable zone.

Dressing identified 95 planetary candidates orbiting red dwarf stars. This implied that at least 60 percent of such stars have planets smaller than Neptune. However, most weren't quite the right size or temperature to be considered truly Earth-like. Three planetary candidates were both warm and approximately Earth-sized. Statistically, this means that six percent of all red dwarf stars should have an Earth-like planet.

"We now know the rate of occurrence of habitable planets around the most common stars in our galaxy," said co-author David Charbonneau (CfA). "That rate implies that it will be significantly easier to search for life beyond the solar system than we previously thought."

Our Sun is surrounded by a swarm of red dwarf stars. About 75 percent of the closest stars are red dwarfs. Since 6 percent of those should host habitable planets, the closest Earth-like world is likely to be just 13 light-years away.

Locating nearby, Earth-like worlds may require a dedicated small space telescope, or a large network of ground-based telescopes. Follow-up studies with instruments like the Giant Magellan Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope could tell us whether any warm, transiting planets have an atmosphere and further probe its chemistry.

Such a world would be different from our own. Orbiting so close to its star, the planet would probably be tidally locked. However, that doesn't prohibit life since a reasonably thick atmosphere or deep ocean could transport heat around the planet. And while young red dwarf stars emit strong flares of ultraviolet light, an atmosphere could protect life on the planet's surface. In fact, such stresses could help life to evolve.

"You don't need an Earth clone to have life," said Dressing.

Since red dwarf stars live much longer than Sun-like stars, this discovery raises the interesting possibility that life on such a planet would be much older and more evolved than life on Earth.

"We might find an Earth that's 10 billion years old," speculated Charbonneau.

The three habitable-zone planetary candidates identified in this study are Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) 1422.02, which is 90 percent the size of Earth in a 20-day orbit; KOI 2626.01, 1.4 times the size of Earth in a 38-day orbit; and KOI 854.01, 1.7 times the size of Earth in a 56-day orbit. All three are located about 300 to 600 light-years away and orbit stars with temperatures between 5,700 and 5,900 degrees Fahrenheit. (For comparison, our Sun's surface is 10,000 degrees F.)

These results will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) is a joint collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory. CfA scientists, organized into six research divisions, study the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/mhHwJpUcfAc/130206110916.htm

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SUPER BOWL WATCH: Super indeed, Baltimore's joy

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Around the Super Bowl and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the game:

___

WHAT A GAME! SUPER BOWL SUPER INDEED

This year's Super Bowl sure lived up to its name.

With a power outage, a record kickoff return, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scoring flurry and the biggest goal-line stand of Ray Lewis' long career, the Baltimore Ravens' 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers was so wacky and thrilling it even made folks briefly forget about the Harbaughs.

Until John shoved a photographer to get to his little brother, that is.

The game had all the makings of a yawner in the first half, as the Ravens steamrolled San Francisco to a 21-6 lead. When Jacoby Jones returned the opening kick of the second half 108 yards for another Baltimore touchdown, most folks at home headed for the kitchen, happy to have seen Beyonce's Destiny's Child reunion and leaving their TVs on just so they could see the commercials. (To recap: Chrysler and the Clydesdale were warm-and-fuzzy, GoDaddy.com was just gross and most of the rest were forgettable ? many were released in advance, anyway.)

Then the power went out. And the game's entire mojo changed. Fitting, considering this is New Orleans.

The 49ers that could only manage two field goals in the first half went on a scoring frenzy, ripping off 23 points in a little over 12 minutes. When they reached the Baltimore 5 yard line just before the two-minute warning, the unprecedented comeback was almost complete.

Right. Like this game was going to get wrapped up that easily.

The Ravens defense stopped quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers not once, not twice, but three times, forcing them to turn the ball over on downs. Then Baltimore tried to run the clock out ? literally. Did you see punter Sam Koch run around the end zone like he was playing a game of keep away? San Francisco wound up with a safety, but did nothing with the final kickoff.

The Ravens ran onto the field, the confetti fell and, just like that, it was done.

Four hours and 14 minutes has never been so much fun.

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

REPEAT? 14-1 ODDS, VEGAS SAYS

So now that the Baltimore Ravens are NFL champs, what are the odds they'll do it again?

According to sports books in Las Vegas, 14 to 1.

Casinos put up lines for next year's championship immediately following the Super Bowl.

The San Francisco 49ers are actually a bigger favorite to win it all next year, 8 to 1, tied with the Denver Broncos. New England is the overall favorite.

? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

___

QUICKQUOTE: VERNON DAVIS

While the Baltimore Ravens can revel in their Super Bowl win for the next few months, the San Francisco 49ers are already looking ahead.

"We've always got next year, we've got next season," tight end Vernon Davis said. "May as well look forward to next season."

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

KAEP: LAST PLAY WAS AUDIBLE

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick came just short of leading the 49ers to an unprecedented Super Bowl comeback.

But with three chances to take the lead needing 5 yards for a touchdown, Kaepernick had three straight incompletions.

All three passes were intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who got tangled up with a defender on the final play. No holding was called ? 49ers coach Harbaugh screamed from the sideline and signaled for a penalty.

Kaepernick's off-balance throw under pressure on fourth down sailed through the end zone. He lowered his head slightly and walked slowly off the field.

"That wasn't the original option," Kaepernick said. "It's something I audibled to at the line based on the look they gave us."

? Janie McCauley ? http://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP

___

QUICKQUOTE: RAY RICE

Ray Rice wants diamonds in his Super Bowl ring. Lots and lots of them.

"I want to light up like a chandelier when I turn off the light," the Baltimore Ravens running back bellowed, urging Ray Lewis to ask Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti for some bling in their rings.

Rice finished with 59 yards on 20 carries in Baltimore's 34-31 victory over San Francisco.

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

DAHLBERG: ADVANTAGE, JOHN

AP national sports columnist Tim Dahlberg just filed his latest dispatch on what he calls "the strangest Super Bowl you will ever see."

An excerpt:

If football is a game of momentum, the San Francisco 49ers probably deserved a better fate. It took a blackout to get them going, only to have some pedestrian play calling with the game on the line finally finish them off.

This wasn't two coaching geniuses at their best, not even close. Their father, Jack, surely saw that from the stands, where he and his wife, Jackie, spent more than four hours trying their hardest not to root either way as their sons went up against each other on the biggest stage in football.

One, though, was better than the other, and in the end that was why the Ravens were holding the Lombardi trophy aloft in celebration while the 49ers filed quietly off the field.

Advantage, John.

Read the whole column here: http://bit.ly/VJYQX4

? Tim Dahlberg ? http://twitter.com/timdahlberg

___

QUICKQUOTE: MICHAEL CRABTREE

With the lead, and the Super Bowl victory, right there in front of them as they lined up on the Baltimore 5 yard line, the San Francisco 49ers could think of only one thing.

"Make a play," receiver Michael Crabtree said. "All we needed to do is get in the end zone. We were that close to the Super Bowl title, and we fell short."

The Baltimore Ravens defense stopped the 49ers for no gain on three straight downs, ending San Francisco's title hopes.

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

POWER SYSTEM 'ABNORMALITY'

Officials say the Superdome power outage during the Super Bowl was triggered by an "abnormality" in the power system.

That triggered an automatic shutdown and forced backup systems to kick in, officials said about two hours after the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.

But officials still aren't sure what caused the initial problem.

A joint statement from Entergy New Orleans, which provides power to the stadium, and Superdome operator SMG gives a chain of events.

The problem started at the spot where Entergy feeds power into the stadium's lines, and occurred shortly after Beyonce's halftime show with extravagant lighting and video effects.

"A piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system," the statement said. "Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. ... Entergy and SMG will continue to investigate the root cause of the abnormality."

The FBI has ruled out terrorism.

The concourses didn't go totally dark thanks to auxiliary power.

? Paul Newberry ? http://twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

BROTHERLY RIVALS

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says he's happy but partly hurting for his brother Jim after beating the 49ers coach in the Super Bowl.

"I just love him, obviously. I think anybody out there who has a brother can understand. I just believe in him and I have so much respect for him. I admire him. I look up to him in so many ways and I am hurting for him in that sense,"

John Harbaugh didn't seem surprised that San Francisco nearly came back after being down big before a power outage delayed the game 34 minutes.

"I just knew with Jim Harbaugh being on the other sideline and all of those years we have been together that game was going to be a dog fight right to the end," John Harbaugh said. "Those guys were coming back. There's no greater competitor and no greater coach in the National Football League or in the world, as far as I'm concerned, than Jim Harbaugh. The way that team played proves it. ... That is who he is and that is who they are. I could not be more proud of him."

John Harbaugh said that after the game he simply told Jim, younger by 18 months, that he loved him, and that Jim congratulated him.

? Brett Martel ? http://twitter.com/brettmartel

___

QUICKQUOTE: PATRICK WILLIS

"The clock hitting zero."

? San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis on the worst part of the 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday night's Super Bowl.

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

STAT CHECK: ATTENDANCE

Attendance at Sunday's Super Bowl: 71,024.

No word if that includes the electricians they had to bring in.

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

SF FANS CALM IN DEFEAT

Fans in San Francisco seem to be relatively calm in Super Bowl defeat.

Not like when the Giants won the World Series in late October. Back then, a city but was set on fire, cars were overturned and bonfires lit up trash containers and streets. About three dozen people were arrested.

But despite a large number of people on sidewalks, most appeared to be well-behaved in the Mission District after the 49ers lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens. Police declined to say how many arrests had been made.

"City-wide, everything seemed to be pretty good," Officer Carlos Manfredi said. "We did have a couple of flare-ups in the Mission District but otherwise everyone seemed to be behaving themselves."

? John S. Marshall

___

M-V-P! M-V-P! FLACCO NO ORDINARY JOE

Joe Flacco won't have to do much negotiating after this.

The Baltimore Ravens' low-key quarterback put off talks on a new contract until after the season. Now when he and the Ravens sit down, all he'll have to do is show off his Super Bowl MVP trophy.

"It's cool," Flacco said after Baltimore's 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. "We just won a Super Bowl. That's the last thing I'm concerned about. But (owner Steve Bisciotti) did let me know that if that day came, I could go beat on his desk and really put it to him.

"So that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Flacco capped a perfect postseason, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half to stake the Ravens to a lead they would never relinquish. When the 49ers made a furious comeback after a power outage interrupted the third quarter for 34 minutes, Flacco was cool and controlled.

Let the Niners make their run, he almost seem to say, we'll hold our own.

"You've seen these guys do it," Flacco said. "They have the ability to score and to score quickly, and that's what they did."

But the Ravens defense made a spectacular stand late in the fourth quarter, stopping San Francisco not once, not twice, but three times on the Baltimore 5. A safety gave San Francisco one last chance, but the Ravens went hard after Colin Kaepernick again, and his last-gasp pass was way off the mark.

Flacco finished 22-of-33 for 287 yards. He didn't throw an interception ? didn't throw one the entire postseason, to be precise. His 11 touchdowns in the postseason matched a record set by Joe Montana.

"That's pretty cool," Flacco said. "Joe Montana is my favorite quarterback so it's pretty cool."

So is being the Super Bowl MVP.

Truth is, the trophy could have gone to a number of the Ravens. But Flacco is happy to have it.

"They have to give it to one guy," Flacco said, laughing. "I'm not going to complain that I got it."

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

BALTIMORE PARADE TUESDAY

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake tells local TV station WBAL-TV that the city will hold a parade Tuesday to honor the NFL champion Ravens.

Rawlings-Blake said Sunday night in a live interview from New Orleans that the parade will start at City Hall and end at the Ravens' stadium.

Right now, she's celebrating ? dancing and singing alongside fans.

"The Baltimore Ravens once again demonstrated strength, poise, and perseverance as they prevailed in Super Bowl XLVII," she said in a statement.

? Jessica Gresko ? http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

___

PANETTA AND HOLDER

Recently seen leaving the Super Bowl: outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Attorney General Eric Holder.

When asked who he was rooting for, Panetta gave an angst smile and said: "The 49ers."

San Francisco lost to Baltimore, 34-31.

? Nekesa Mumbi Moody ? http://twitter.com/nekesamumbi

___

SUPERDOME STAFF APOLOGIZES

Superdome spokesman Eric Eagan is apologizing for the power outage that disrupted the Super Bowl.

He says technical staff were working more than an hour after the outage to determine what caused it, but still didn't know.

"We sincerely apologize for the incident," Eagan said.

The outage was a big glitch for New Orleans in its first Super Bowl since the city has rebuilt from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The 38-year-old Superdome has undergone $336 million in renovations since Katrina ripped its roof in 2005. Billions have been spent sprucing up downtown, the airport, French Quarter and other areas of the city in the past seven years.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the power outage unfortunate in an otherwise smooth week.

"In the coming days, I expect a full after action report from all parties involved. For us, the Super Bowl isn't over until the last visitor leaves town, so we're focused on continuing to show our visitors a good time," Landrieu said.

New Orleans is trying to get back to being a regular stop in the Super Bowl rotation, and has announced it will bid on the 2018 game.

That would coincide with the 300th anniversary of the city's founding.

? Paul Newberry ? http://twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

QUICKQUOTE: JIM HARBAUGH

San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh is taking his team's 34-31 Super Bowl loss to the Baltimore Ravens hard.

He raised several questions about calls and non-calls made by the officials, but said "We want to handle this with class and grace.

"Had several opportunities in the game. Didn't play our best game. Ravens made a lot of plays," he said. "Our guys battled back to get back in it. We competed and battled to win."

? Brett Martel ? http://twitter.com/brettmartel

___

LEWIS CAPS CAREER

Ray Lewis has capped his career as a champion, leaning on teammates in the Super Bowl to but a lovely bow on his 17th NFL season.

As he clutched the Lombardi Trophy, Lewis said: "It's simple: When God is for you, who can be against you?"

"It's no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my teammates. And you looked around this stadium and ... Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!" he said.

Lewis, 37, had only two solo tackles through the first three quarters and struggled covering receivers. But he made two tackles during San Francisco's final drive, and pressured Kaepernick on a blitz on the 49ers' final offensive play.

? David Ginsburg

___

PARTY STARTS IN CHARM CITY

The Super Bowl party has begun in the streets of Baltimore, with fans hugging and cheering to celebrate the Ravens' 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

They're wearing purple-feathered boas and team jerseys, and celebrating a win for team leader Ray Lewis, the linebacker who's the only player who started with the team when it came to Baltimore in 1996.

Darren Love, 40, says the celebration is "90 percent for Ray, 10 percent for the city of Baltimore."

? Jessica Gresko ? http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

___

HARBAUGHS EMBRACE

The brothers' greeting wasn't emotional, and wasn't long. Just a handshake and quick hug.

"He said, 'Congratulations,'" Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of his brother, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

The exchange lasted less than 5 seconds, well under the line set by many offshore casinos taking action on the embrace, according to gambling expert R.J. Bell of Pregame.com.

Sports books ? though not those in Las Vegas, which don't allow these kinds of prop bets ? originally pegged the greeting at 7? seconds but the line was bet down to 5? seconds.

? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

___

QUICKQUOTE: ROGER GOODELL

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had the title trophy in his hands, and immediately congratulated Baltimore's supporters on the Ravens' Super Bowl win over San Francisco.

"OK, Baltimore fans, this is what you're waiting for. Five straight playoffs appearances and now you've reached the mountaintop," Goodell said.

___

IT'S OVER! RAVENS WIN 34-31

The Harbaughs need to host the Super Bowl every year.

John Harbaugh has bragging rights on little brother Jim after his Baltimore Ravens withstood a furious second-half comeback by the San Francisco 49ers in what has to be the wackiest Super Bowl ever. Trailing 28-6 when a power outage interrupted the second half for 34 minutes, the Niners reeled off 23 points in 12 minutes and 20 seconds to make a game of it.

But with the ball on the Baltimore 5 and a chance for the Niners to take their first lead of the night, the Baltimore defense got downright nasty. They blitzed Colin Kaepernick on fourth down, forcing him to throw a bad pass.

A Baltimore safety gave San Francisco one last chance. But Colin Kaepernick's last-gasp pass sailed way over the head of any receiver, and the Ravens rushed the field as confetti began falling from the Superdome ceiling.

John Harbaugh pushed a photographer out of the way to get to his brother, and the two exchanged a quick hug before Jim Harbaugh headed off the field.

? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Super Bowl Watch" shows you the Super Bowl and the events surrounding the game through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across New Orleans and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/super-bowl-watch-super-indeed-baltimores-joy-080706972--spt.html

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Governor Malloy puts children and families first, establishes Office of ...

This afternoon, Governor Malloy announced a proposal that will change the face of early childhood care and education in Connecticut.? The proposal calls for the creation of an Office of Early Childhood (OEC), a new agency focused on providing a comprehensive network of services to families with children ages zero to five.? The OEC will bring together early childhood services currently housed in five different state agencies ? the Department of Education, Department of Social Services, Department of Public Health, Department of Developmental Services and the Board of Regents. This proposal will be included in Governor Malloy?s legislative package, to be announced on February 6.

Said Governor Malloy:

?We are transforming how we address early childhood care and development in Connecticut? Engaging in a comprehensive approach for the delivery of services to children and their parents means better, more focused programming, and is an important addition to the education reforms that are already underway.?? When we improve early childhood education, we set a foundation for our young people that they will build on their entire lives.?

Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, Director of the Office of Early Childhood Planning, echoed this sentiment:

?The Governor has brought a cohesive and unified vision to programs and services for young children and families ? it is bold policy that puts children and families first.? Through the Office of Early Childhood, Connecticut is positioning itself as a policy leader in child development, teacher training, and education.?

We are extremely excited by this announcement, which affirms Connecticut?s commitment to improving outcomes and opportunities for children through more efficient, coordinated, and meaningful programs and services for our state?s youngest children and their parents. All Our Kin?s executive director Jessica Sager was thrilled by today?s announcement, remarking that ?At All Our Kin, we see first-hand that supporting early care and education is a ?triple win? that benefits children, child care providers, and families- as well as communities.? Through the creation of the Office of Early Childhood, Connecticut can at last realize its promise of truly giving children the foundation they need to succeed in school and in life.?

To read the full press release from Governor Malloy?s office, click here.

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Source: http://allourkin.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/governor-malloy-puts-children-and-families-first-establishes-office-of-early-childhood/

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Israel suggests responsibility for Syria airstrike

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gestures during a meeting at the Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The 49th Munich Security Conference started Friday until Sunday with experts from 90 delegations. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gestures during a meeting at the Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The 49th Munich Security Conference started Friday until Sunday with experts from 90 delegations. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Ehud Barak, Defence Minister of Israel, left, gestures next to Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Security Conference, during a meeting at the Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The 49th Munich Security Conference started Friday until Sunday afternoon with experts from 90 delegations. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, center, arrives for a meeting of the Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The 49th Munich Security Conference started Friday until Sunday with experts from 90 delegations. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gestures during a meeting at the Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The 49th Munich Security Conference started Friday until Sunday with experts from 90 delegations. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

MUNICH (AP) ? Israel's defense minister strongly signaled Sunday that his country was behind an airstrike in Syria last week, telling a high profile security conference that Israeli threats to take pre-emptive action against its enemies are not empty. "We mean it," Ehud Barak declared.

Israel has not officially confirmed its planes attacked a site near Damascus, targeting ground-to-air missiles apparently heading for Lebanon, but its intentions have been beyond dispute. During the 22 months of civil war in Syria, Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed concern that high-end weapons could fall into the hands of enemy Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militants.

For years, Israel has been charging that Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iran have been arming Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war against Israel in 2006.

U.S. officials say the target was a convoy of sophisticated Russian SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. Deployed in Lebanon, they could have limited Israel's ability to gather intelligence on its enemies from the air.

Over the weekend, Syrian TV broadcast video of the Wednesday attack site for the first time, showing destroyed vehicles and a damaged building identified as a scientific research center. The U.S. officials said the airstrike hit both the building and the convoy.

Turkey, which seeks the ouster of Assad and supports the opposition that is fighting against his regime, harshly criticized Israel regarding the airstrike in Syria. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Israel engaged in "state terror" and he suggested that its allies have nurtured wrongdoing on the part of the Jewish state.

"Those who have from the very beginning looked in the wrong direction and who have nourished and raised Israel like a spoiled child should always expect such things from Israel," Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News quoted Erdogan as saying.

Erdogan, who also criticized Iran for supporting Syria, is a frequent critic of Israel, a former ally of Turkey. Relations hit a low in 2010 when Israeli troops raided a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship, and nine activists on board were killed. Both sides accused each other of initiating the violence.

In his comments Sunday in Munich, Barak came close to confirming that his country was behind the airstrike.

"I cannot add anything to what you have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria several days ago," Barak told the gathering of top diplomats and defense officials from around the world.

Then he went on to say, "I keep telling frankly that we said ? and that's proof when we said something we mean it ? we say that we don't think it should be allowed to bring advanced weapons systems into Lebanon." He spoke in heavily accented English.

In Syria, Assad said during a meeting with a top Iranian official that his country would confront any aggression, his first comment on the airstrike.

"Syria, with the awareness of its people, the might of its army and its adherence to the path of resistance, is able to face the current challenges and confront any aggression that might target the Syrian people," Assad was quoted as saying by the state news agency SANA.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Saeed Jalili, the head of Iran's National Security Council. Iran is Syria's closest regional ally. Jalili, on a three-day visit to Syria, has pledged Tehran's continued support for Assad's regime.

Jalili, who also serves as his country's top nuclear negotiator, condemned the Israeli raid, stressing that it has proven the "aggressive nature of Israel and its threat of the region's security and stability."

The chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that Tehran also hopes Syria will strike back against Israel.

Syrian opposition leaders and rebels have criticized Assad for not responding to the airstrike, calling it proof of his weakness and acquiescence to the Jewish state.

The Syrian defense minister, Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij, said Israel attacked the center because rebels were unable to capture it. Al-Freij called the rebels Israel's "tools." He told the state TV, "The heroic Syrian Arab Army, that proved to the world that it is a strong army and a trained army, will not be defeated."

Ahmad Ramadan, an opposition leader, said Syria's claim that the rebels are cooperating with Israel "is an attempt by the regime to cover its weakness in defending the country against foreign aggression." He spoke by telephone from Turkey.

While Israel has remained officially silent on the airstrike, there seemed little doubt that Israel carried it out, especially given the confirmation from the U.S., its close ally.

Israel has a powerful air force equipped with U.S.-made warplanes and has a history of carrying out air raids on hostile territory. In recent years, Israel has been blamed for an air raid in Syria in 2007 that apparently struck an unfinished nuclear reactor and an arms convoy in Sudan believed to be delivering weapons to Hamas.

Israel has not confirmed either raid, but military officials routinely talk about a "policy of prevention" meant to disrupt the flow of arms to its enemies.

In the days preceding the airstrike, the Israeli warnings were heightened. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a series of dire comments about the threat posed by Syria's weapons.

Israel considers any transfer of these advanced weapons to be unacceptable "game changers" that would change the balance of power in the region.

Israel has grown increasingly jittery as the Arab Spring has swept through the Middle East, bringing with it a rise of hostile Islamist elements. While Assad is a bitter enemy, Israel's northern front with Syria has remained quiet for most of the past 40 years.

If Assad is toppled, the threat of al-Qaida forces operating along Israel's frontier with Syria would pose a new and unpredictable threat. Israel has been racing to reinforce its fences along its northern frontiers with Lebanon and Syria.

In addition, Israel fears that its archenemy Iran, the close ally of Syria and Hezbollah, is moving closer to developing a nuclear weapon.

Israeli leaders have vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear arms, making veiled threats to use force if international diplomacy and sanctions fail.

Israeli defense officials tried to play down Barak's comments, saying that he was voicing a general policy that Israel is ready to defend its interests and not discussing a specific incident. They also noted that he was not speaking in his native Hebrew.

Even so, it seemed that Barak, a former prime minister, military chief of staff and regular participant on the world stage, was sending a message that Israel's warnings are not hollow and that further military action should not be ruled out.

"There is a real danger now that seriously problematic weapons will reach Hezbollah, and Israel is trying to prevent this," said Reuven Pedatzur, a defense analyst at Tel Aviv University. He said the threat has reached the point "where weapons are actually being loaded on trucks and sent on their way. That is new."

Pedatzur said the decision by Syria to try to move weapons to Lebanon could indicate that Assad's days are numbered. Assad may fear that he won't be able to secure the weapons for much longer, or may be under pressure from Iran to transfer the arms to Hezbollah before he is toppled.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in mid-2006 that ended in a stalemate, and Israeli military planners believe it is just a matter of time before another war breaks out.

Israel says Hezbollah has already restocked its arsenal with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, and that obtaining chemical weapons or the advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles would severely hinder Israel's ability to operate in Lebanon.

In Beirut, the Lebanese military issued a statement saying that six Israeli warplanes flew over different areas of the country on Sunday.

____

Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Ian Deitch in Jerusalem, and Christopher Torchia in Istanbul contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-03-Israel-Syria/id-0a91be2ac7e3413aa99b867b4ebc540f

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