After new leak, climatologist takes case to public

University of East Anglia climatologist Phil Jones, left, and University of East Anglia vice-chancellor Edward Acton address the media during a news conference, London, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. The British climatologist ensnared in a major new email leak took his case to the public Wednesday, arguing that he and his colleagues' comments have again been taken out of context. (AP Photo/Raphael Satter)

University of East Anglia climatologist Phil Jones, left, and University of East Anglia vice-chancellor Edward Acton address the media during a news conference, London, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. The British climatologist ensnared in a major new email leak took his case to the public Wednesday, arguing that he and his colleagues' comments have again been taken out of context. (AP Photo/Raphael Satter)

LONDON (AP) ? The British climatologist ensnared in a major new email leak took his case to the public Wednesday, arguing that his and his colleagues' comments have again been taken out of context.

The University of East Anglia's Phil Jones was one of the major players in the controversy that erupted two years ago over the publication of emails which caught prominent scientists stonewalling critics and attacking them in sometimes vitriolic terms.

The University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit is one of the world's leading centers for the study of how world temperatures have varied over time, and Jones came under particular scrutiny following the 2009 disclosures ? even receiving death threats over allegations that he was a leading a conspiracy to hype the dangers of climate change.

Jones and his colleagues have since been vindicated by a series of independent investigations, but the university's reputation has been dented by criticism that it refused to share data with skeptics.

Jones said that his "heart did sink a bit" when he heard about the most recent leak, which apparently consists of old messages held back the first time around.

The university and other climate scientists believe the leak was delayed until now "to cause maximum disruption" to the imminent U.N. climate talks next week in Durban, South Africa.

When quizzed about emails that captured him and other researchers disparaging each others' work or raising pointed questions about the accuracy of climate models, Jones framed it as part of "the cut-and-thrust of scientific debate."

Several excerpts also seemed to be aimed at how best to present scientific findings to the public, but Jones said it was "foolish to think that scientists don't think about the how their message is received."

Jones also was asked about a message he wrote suggesting that emails could be deleted to dodge freedom of information requests. Both he and his university have been criticized for obstructionist attitudes toward Britain's right-to-know law, and the university now says it's far more open about sharing its data.

In his response, Jones appeared to suggest that the public need not interest itself in the inner workings of groups such as the International Panel on Climate Change, which produces authoritative reports on the future of the world's weather.

"Why do people need to know who wrote what individual paragraph?" Jones said.

Other excerpts from the 5,000-odd emails being circulated seemed to cover some of the same ground as the 2009 release, which unleashed an international furor over allegations that scientists were working behind the scenes to manipulate the science behind climate change. Several inquiries have since refuted the charges.

University of East Anglia's Vice chancellor Edward Acton, who flanked Jones as he addressed journalists, predicted less of a storm this time around.

"There's is so much deja vu about it," Acton said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-11-24-EU-Climate-Leaked-Emails/id-f43cf633b6044a648681cd44cf5ea029

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Sound of Music comes to Salzburg (AP)

SALZBURG, Austria ? Move over Mozart. Toes in Salzburg are tapping to a new beat as residents finally embrace the Hollywood musical that put them on the map nearly half a century ago.

Playing for the first time in this haughty town of opera lovers, "The Sound of Music," has been met with surprisingly positive reactions in what is commonly considered a last bulwark of resistance to the iconic show.

"A wonderful performance," enthused Johann Fink as he waited at the coat check at the end of a recent performance at the ornate Salzburg State Theater.

Such a reception in Salzburg is hardly a given despite the global popularity of the musical that was based on a true story and immortalized by the 1965 multiple Academy Award winning movie.

Fans around the world may know every word of every song performed by Julie Andrews as the governess of seven children who charms ? then weds ? their widowed father Baron von Trapp, before the singing family flees the Nazis.

But this city resonates to another sound of music ? the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms.

And it has a different concept of culture.

While residents earn millions each year from the tourists who come for sing-along tours of sites featured in the film, they traditionally view the visitors with benign disdain ? and occasionally as pests.

Residents of the upscale Salzburg neighborhood where the von Trapp home is located tried ? and failed ? to block attempts to turn the edifice into a hotel, fearing tourists would tie up traffic and make a nuisance of themselves. A museum dedicated to the film is still looking for a home after more than 600 residents in another neighborhood signed a petition three years ago against it, telling the city council they feared that local streets would be jammed with tour buses.

Resistance persists even though the city would literally be poorer without the musical's magnet effect.

Peter Proetzner, who guides daily bus-fulls of tourists on pilgrimages of the sites immortalized by the film, cites a poll showing the Sound of Music as the city's second biggest draw ? right after the dozens of classical music events that resonate through its cobblestoned alleys.

"The Sound of Music is better known than Mozart worldwide," he asserts.

South Koreans learn the songs as part of their English lessons. Some foreigners think "Edelweiss" ? composed for the musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein ? is Austria's national anthem. And Austrian tourism surveys show that three out of four American visitors to Salzburg come because of the musical.

Australian Dianne Cole says she knows "absolutely nothing" about Austria ? and will probably go home still ignorant of the country's cultural, scenic and culinary delights.

"This is why I came to Austria," she said recently, as her Sound of Music tour bus set out for its first stop ? Leopoldskron Lake (where Maria and the children capsized their boat). "The sole reason is to do this tour."

In contrast, most Salzburgers don't even know the musical. In a city that traditionally raps American culture as trashy, residents prefer to be associated with Mozart, Salzburg's favorite son, instead of a film many write off as Hollywood kitsch.

And then there is the troubling Nazi component of The Sound of Music ? a reminder, reinforced by the Swastika flag and storm troopers on stage, that not only Mozart, but Hitler, too, was Austrian.

Austria has long shed its self-fabricated myth that it was a victim of Nazi atrocities instead of one of its most fervent supporters. Restitution panels have returned homes and precious artworks. Millions of euros (dollars) have been doled out to Holocaust victims and their descendants, and schoolbooks now deal in depth with this nation's complicity in the crimes of the Nazi dictator, born just 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Salzburg.

"I think that this is truly the right moment in time, when Austrians are actually ready to deal with their past," says Andreas Gergen, who directed the German-language production.

Still, anti-Semitic sentiment remains. A survey of 1,070 Austrians conducted earlier this year showed that 12 percent want their country "free of Jews." Backed by the country's neo-Nazi fringe, the country's rightist FPO party is the second-strongest in the country ? although it now exploits Islamophobia instead of anti-Jewish sentiment.

And the sight of Nazis on stage may remind some older audience members of uncomfortable historical facts. Over 99 percent of Austrians voted in favor of their country becoming part of the Third Reich in 1938; proportionally more Austrians than Germans were Nazi party members, and many of Hitler's closest henchmen were Austrians.

Like the Salzburg version, the first full Austrian showing in Vienna in 2005 featured actors dressed as Nazi storm troopers standing guard at exits and a theater box filled with mock Nazi dignitaries ? clearly too painful for some. Back then, some elderly audience members who last witnessed brown-shirted men wearing swastika arm bands as children were so troubled they hastily left the theater without watching the performance.

Six years later, reactions to the Nazi theme are mixed.

"Of course it's not so pleasant for us Salzburgers to be confronted with it," said Judith Herbst. But the smartly dressed woman in her mid 60s said that as far as she was concerned the role of Austria in Hitler's crimes was no longer debatable.

For others, though, the sight of men in forbidden Nazi garb entering the theater remains traumatic.

"It was horrible for a moment ? almost unbelievable," said theatergoer Fink. "Thank God this era is in the past!"

But there were no gasps of dismay regarding the rest of the show.

Some hummed its ear-candy melodies at the coat check after the performance.

"Kitsch? I was afraid that would be the case," said Helmi Popeter. "But once you see it, you realize that's not so."

___

George Jahn can be reached at http://twitter.com/georgejahn

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_en_mu/eu_austria_sound_of_music

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World's first night-blooming orchid discovered

A "nocturnal" orchid that blooms only under the cover of darkness has been discovered on a tropical island in the South Pacific ? a first for the orchid world, scientists say.

The new night-flowering species, Bulbophyllum nocturnum, was described by researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in England, and the Center for Biodiversity Naturalis in the Netherlands.

Dutch researcher Ed de Vogel collected specimens of the mysterious plant from a logging site while conducting fieldwork in New Britain, a large, volcanic island that is part of Papua New Guinea.

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However, the plant's surprising nighttime habits weren't discovered until much later.

De Vogel and his colleagues cultivated the plants back in the Netherlands, and the orchids appeared to thrive in their new greenhouse home. Soon, one plant produced buds.

The researchers had established the orchids belonged to a particularly rare and bizarre group of the genus Bulbophyllum, and eagerly awaited the strange showing that would surely come when the plant bloomed.

However, much to the researchers' disappointment, the buds withered and died without opening.

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Perplexed, de Vogel took a plant home with him one evening. Two hours before midnight, a bud began to open, revealing an exotic bloom as yet unknown to science.

Subsequent observations revealed that the other orchids bloomed at 10 p.m. and, the next morning, about 12 hours later, the flowers withered and died.

Other plant species bloom at night ? the aptly named corpse flower, whose massive bloom stinks of rotting flesh, typically begins its malodorous display around midnight. Yet once opened, the plant stays that way for about a day.

In addition, other plant species, such as the queen of the night cactus (Selenicereus grandiflorus) and the midnight horror tree (Oroxylum indicum) open in the dark and close shortly before or after sunrise.

However, the newly identified Bulbophyllum nocturnum is the only orchid known to open at night and close when daylight returns.

It's not clear why the plant flowers in the dark, and researchers say more investigation is needed. However, the scientists said it could be that midge flies that forage at night pollinate the orchids.

The discovery is published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook.??

? 2011 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45394895/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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GOP's Romney defends ad's use of Obama 2008 line (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is defending a TV ad that quotes President Barack Obama out of context, signaling he's ready for bare-knuckled campaigning despite sharp complaints from Democrats and some neutral observers.

Romney said while campaigning in Iowa Wednesday that the ad is fair game, and underscores how the former Massachusetts governor stressing his decades in the private sector intends to confront the president if Romney is the GOP nominee next year.

The ad which began airing in New Hampshire Tuesday uses audio of then-Sen. Obama campaigning in the state in 2008, saying: "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.

The ad omits any acknowledgement that Obama was quoting the campaign of his opponent, 2008 GOP nominee John McCain. Instead, the ad leaves the impression that it is Obama who does not want to discuss the economy.

Romney told reporters in Des Moines his campaign distributed the ad with a press release noting the words were originally from Obama's opponent.

"There was no hidden effort on the part of our campaign. It was instead to point out that what's sauce for the goose is now sauce for the gander," Romney said, after addressing more than 300 employees of a downtown insurance company. "This ad points out, now, guess what, it's your turn. The same lines used on John McCain are now going to be used on you, which is that this economy is going to be your albatross."

It's a more aggressive tone for Romney, who all along in his second bid for the GOP nomination has cast himself as the field's most prepared candidate to tackle the economy. Now, he is signaling that he'll pull no punches with Obama.

"How we will beat President Obama is by speaking day in and day out about the one topic he does not want to talk about. And that's the economy," Romney said, with U.S. Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who endorsed him Wednesday, by his side. "If I'm the nominee, he'll be trying to take me apart."

Democrats roundly criticized the ad as misleading.

PolitiFact, a non-partisan campaign watchdog, referred to the ad's use of Obama's past comment as "ridiculously misleading," and noted the campaign could have conveyed the point that the tables had turned on Obama "without distorting Obama's words."

Romney's appearances in Iowa Wednesday reflect his recent stepped-up his activity in the state that will hold the first caucuses on Jan 3.

While just his fifth visit to the state this year, it was his third in about a month.

In the meantime, his small campaign staff has grown modestly, been in regular touch with the statewide network of supporters he has held onto since his second-place finish in the 2008 caucuses. He is organizing a series of telephone question-and-answer sessions with thousands of Iowans, and is planning to unveil campaign ads in Iowa soon.

He still has not appeared with his Republican competitors in the state, having skipped three events over the past month.

Romney has said he plans to debate his GOP rivals in Iowa. There are debates scheduled December 10 in Des Moines and five days later in Sioux City.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney2012

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Nervous smiles as Tunisia begins democratic era

Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images

New Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, left, of the Congress for the Republic Party, smiles on November 22 during the opening of the first session of the constituent elected assembly in Tunis.

msnbc.com news services report:

Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images

Deputies stand before interim President Fouad Mbazaa's speech during the inaugural session of the elected constituent assembly on November 22.

Tunisia entered a new era of democracy on November 22 with the inaugural session of its democratically elected constituent assembly, 10 months after a popular uprising ended years of dictatorship.?

As the country that set off the wave of pro-democracy movements that engulfed the Arab region, Tunisia's efforts to build a democracy are being closely watched around the world.

The Islamist Ennahda Party won the most seats in elections on October 25 and partnered with the liberal Congress for the Republic and the left-of-center Ettakatol Party to form a ruling coalition and divide up the top posts between them.

The mother of Mohamed Bouazizi, the fruitseller whose self-immolation sparked the revolution, attended the opening session of the assembly.

"I'm an optimist. I wish success for my country and I hope that the parties will work together and avoid problems," Manoubia Bouazizi told?Reuters last month.?"That's my message to them."

"I hope they are worthy of the loss that I suffered."

Fethi Belaid / AFP - Getty Images

Manoubia Bouazizi, left, the mother of Mohamed Bouazizi, the fruitseller whose self-immolation sparked the revolution that ousted a dictator and ignited the Arab Spring, attends the opening of the first session of the constituent elected assembly in Tunis.

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Source: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/22/8950824-nervous-smiles-as-tunisia-enters-new-democratic-era

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Syrian forces kill 4 villagers near Homs: activists (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) ? Syrian forces killed four villagers in the central province of Homs on Tuesday in a crackdown on the most defiant center of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in an eight-month-old uprising, activists said.

Two children, aged around ten, were among those killed when tanks fired machineguns at villagers in the main street of Tal Dao in the Houla region, 22 km (14 miles) northwest of the Homs, the provincial capital, who had ignored a curfew announced by loudspeakers from tanks, they said.

"There was a strike in Tel Dao today and most shops were closed after two people were killed yesterday. But there were still people in the street. This is a rural region and people are not used to curfews," said one of the activists, who gave his name as Abu Raed.

An Arab League deadline for Assad to pull the military out of urban centers, free political prisoners and start a dialogue under the 22-member group's initiative to end the bloodshed in Syria expired at the weekend.

Assad said in an interview published on Sunday he would not bow to international pressure to stop the crackdown on the protests against his rule in which the United Nations says 3,500 people have been killed.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111122/wl_nm/us_syria

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Better Pop Up Blocker Stops Javascript Pop-Ups in Chrome [Google Chrome]

Chrome: Google Chrome's built in pop up blocker is very good, but on occasion a pop up gets through, mostly Javascript pop ups from photo and video hosting sites or online poker sites. The free extension Better Pop Up Blocker stops these easily.

To see if your current pop up blocking solution will handle these intrusions, go to this test page and follow the instructions. Better Pop Up Blocker can of course allow pop ups from a "whitelist" you can customize. I rarely bother with supplemental pop up blockers since Chrome itself does a good job of filtering out 95% of pop ups, but now that I have Better Pop Up Blocker installed I've noticed that a few pop ups that got through Chrome are being stopped by Better Pop Up Blocker. This extension looks like a keeper.

Better Pop Up Blocker is a free extension available in the Chrome Web Store.

Better Pop Up Blocker | via TechDows

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Me0LKxKSLI8/better-pop-up-blocker-stops-javascript-pop+ups-in-chrome

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