Saturday, 20 October 2012

Software Engineers Are In Demand, And GitHub Is How You Find Them

Software Engineers Are In Demand, And GitHub Is How You Find Them: GitHub, the social coding service, has been plagued by two days of distributed denial-of-service attacks. No report yet on who is behind the attacks or why, but it must be some sort of geek infighting, because GitHub is the preferred clubhouse of the open source community. Not exactly the enemy of Guy Fawkes. As web designer Freddy Montes put it on Twitter, "DDOS attack to @github is like hiting your mom on Mother's Day."

Coral reefs and food security: Study shows nations at risk

Coral reefs and food security: Study shows nations at risk: New York NY (SPX) Oct 18, 2012



A new study co-authored by the Wildlife Conservation Society identifies countries most vulnerable to declining coral reef fisheries from a food-security perspective while providing a framework to plan for alternative protein sources needed to replace declining fisheries.


Limiting Overconsumption with "Economic Degrowth"

Limiting Overconsumption with "Economic Degrowth": If everyone lived like the average American, according to the Global Footprint Network, the Earth could sustain only 1.7 billion people—a quarter of today's population—without undermining the planet's physical and biological systems. Overconsumption in industrialized societies and among developing world elites causes lasting environmental and human impacts. In his chapter, "The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries," Worldwatch Senior Fellow and State of the World 2012 Project Co-director Erik Assadourian describes the benefits and opportunities of proactive "economic degrowth"—defined as the intentional contraction of overdeveloped economies and more broadly, the redirection of economies away from the perpetual pursuit of growth.

African farmers could soon grow virus-resistant cassava

African farmers could soon grow virus-resistant cassava: Researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, have successfully developed a strain of virus-resistant cassava, and now hope to train scientists in Africa to develop the technology in laboratories on the continent.

Native village defends ocean experiment; Canada launches probe

Native village defends ocean experiment; Canada launches probe: VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Leaders of a tiny, native village off Canada's remote northwest coast on Friday defended their decision to dump 120 tons of iron dust into the ocean as a legal experiment to revive salmon stocks, but Canada said it was investigating a possible breach of environmental law.

Cardiff hit and run rampage kills mother and injures 13 more

Cardiff hit and run rampage kills mother and injures 13 more: Tributes have been paid to a woman killed in a hit and run rampage which saw pedestrians knocked down one after another.

Canada blocks Petronas bid for Progress Energy

Canada blocks Petronas bid for Progress Energy: Move could signal problems for Cnooc’s C$15.1bn offer for oil producer Nexen as well as other Canadian firms hoping for foreign investment to tap their vast energy reserves

Premier libanês oferece deixar cargo, mas desiste após pedido de presidente

Premier libanês oferece deixar cargo, mas desiste após pedido de presidente:
BEIRUTE - Manifestantes e homens armados bloquearam estradas com pneus queimados em Beirute e outras cidades libanesas neste sábado, em protesto contra o assassinato do chefe de inteligência Wisaam al-Hassan, importante figura da oposição anti-Síria no Líbano. Soldados abriram fogo contra um grupo perto do vale de Bekaa, ferindo ao menos duas pessoas. Ainda nesta manhã, o premier Najib Mikati entregou sua carta de demissão ao presidente Michel Suleiman, que pediu que Mikati continuasse no cargo "por um tempo".
- Suspendi minha decisão de renunciar por pedido do presidente Michel Suleiman - disse Mikati. - Isto é um assunto nacional, e estamos interessados na preservação da nação. Não queremos deixar o Líbano no vazio. Peço que políticos se unam, deixem de lado as diferenças, e tornem a formação de um novo governo uma tarefa fácil.
Mikati, que é sunita mas faz parte de uma coalizão de maioria xiita, se viu pressionado a entregar o cargo após o ataque de sexta-feira, que deixou ao menos oito mortos no centro da capital Beirute. O bloco da oposição 14 de Março pediu a dissolução do governo. Questionado sobre a morte de Hassan, o premier disse que designou o caso para um conselho judicial.
O atentado - o primeiro do tipo em Beirute desde 2008 - elevou as tensões sectárias no país. Tropas reforçaram as estradas e prédios oficiais na capital, mas muitas vias - incluindo a que leva ao aeroporto internacional na capital - foram bloqueadas por manifestantes. Nas regiões sunitas de Beirute, carros com alto-falantes pediam a queda de Mikati.
Políticos acusaram o ditador sírio, Bashar al-Assad, por orquestrar o ataque a carro-bomba. O Líbano vive em apreensão, com medo de que o conflito sectário em Damasco ultrapasse suas fronteiras. O major-brigadeiro Wisaam al-Hassan liderou uma investigação que sugeriu o envolvimento da Síria e de seus aliados do Hezbollah na morte do premier Rafiq al-Hariri, em 2005. Hassan também ajudou a desvendar um plano terrorista, levando à prisão de um ex-ministro libanês pró-Assad em agosto passado.
- Ele (Hassan) teve um papel central na revelação de células terroristas desde 2006. Também foi importante na descoberta de um crime contra todo o Líbano e sua unidade (uma referência ao plano terrorista desbaratado este ano) - disse o presidente Michel Suleiman.
As comunidades religiosas no Líbano são divididas entre aquelas que apoiam o regime Assad - formado majoritariamente por alauitas - e os que defendem os rebeldes sunitas.
Segundo testemunhas, dezenas de homens armados tomaram às ruas do país, elevando o clima de tensão. Nas ruas de Trípoli, cidade de maioria sunita no norte do país, também havia homens armados nas ruas. Recentemente, a cidade foi palco de confrontos entre grupos pró e anti-Assad. Na cidade de Sidon, no sul, também houve manifestações. No bairro de Ashrafiyeh, onde aconteceu o atentado de sexta-feira, soldados e policiais vigiavam as ruas.
Os sunitas anunciaram três dias de luto pela morte de Hassan, que será enterrado no domingo. O jornal "Beirut Star" disse que os responsáveis pelo ataque de sexta-feira - que teria deixado mais de 100 feridos - tinham como objetivo incitar uma nova onda de violência no Líbano.
"Se o objetivo era tirar a atenção do que acontece na Síria, o povo deve lembrar bem disso e impedir novas tentativas de arrastar o Líbano para conflitos civis", escreveu o diário.
O filho de Hariri, Saad al-Hariri, acusou Assad de estar por trás da explosão. O chefe das Forças Internas de Segurança libanesas, major-general Ashraf Rifi, descreveu a morte de Hassan como uma "enorme perda" e alertou para a possibilidade de novos ataques similares.
- Nós perdemos um pilar central de segurança - disse o militar ao canal Future Television. - Sem dúvida, nós temos mais sacrifícios pela frente. Nós sabemos disso, mas não vamos ser derrotado.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Meat-Free Product Sales Are Rising as Meat Consumption Falls

Meat-Free Product Sales Are Rising as Meat Consumption Falls: With the annual Food Day approaching, it's hard to overlook the fact that people seem to be thinking more about where their food comes from every day. Food Day, which falls on October 24, is a nationwide celebration and movement for healthy, affordable and sustainable food, and a day of awareness about these issues couldn't be more important.

Boy Scouts brace for release of internal child sex abuse files

Boy Scouts brace for release of internal child sex abuse files: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thousands of pages of internal files from the Boy Scouts of America detailing cases of suspected or confirmed child molestation by Scout leaders and adult volunteers spanning two decades were due to be released on Thursday as part of a civil judgment against the organization.

Google 'may ban' French media from search

Google 'may ban' French media from search: Google has claimed it will remove links to French newspaper websites from its listings unless a proposed tax on content is dropped by the government.

Israel approves more expansion of settlement near Jerusalem

Israel approves more expansion of settlement near Jerusalem: JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel on Thursday issued a detailed plan for the building of some 800 new homes on annexed land in the West Bank that is certain to attract further international condemnation of its settlement policies.

Google surprise results stun Street; shares dive

Google surprise results stun Street; shares dive: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc stunned Wall Street on Thursday with a significant miss on both revenue and earnings, wiping 9 percent off the market value of the Internet search and advertising leader.

Increased Rainfall Causes Drop in Sea Level?

Increased Rainfall Causes Drop in Sea Level?: Current perception of climate change leads us to believe that sea levels are constantly rising due to thermal expansion and melting ice caps. However, from the beginning of 2010 until mid-2011, the average level of the world's oceans dropped by 0.2 inches. According to a recent study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, this sea level decline was due to an increase in the amount of rainfall in Australia, northern South America and Southeast Asia.

Madagascar palms 'are dying out'

Madagascar palms 'are dying out': Close to 85% of Madagascar's 192 palm species face extinction due to land clearing, an environment protection group warns.

Transfusion of young blood could delay onset of diseases like Alzheimer's

Transfusion of young blood could delay onset of diseases like Alzheimer's: Giving middle-aged people a transfusion of young blood could keep their brain healthy in old age and delay the onset of diseases like Alzheimer's, scientists claim.

Monday, 15 October 2012

Iranians plan oil spill to block Hormuz strait: German weekly

Iranians plan oil spill to block Hormuz strait: German weekly: BERLIN (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief has drafted a plan to cause an environmental disaster in the Strait of Hormuz to block seaborne oil exports with the goal of removing economic sanctions imposed on Tehran, the weekly Der Spiegel said in an unsourced report.

Twenty-five primates on brink of extinction, study says

Twenty-five primates on brink of extinction, study says: OSLO (Reuters) - Twenty-five species of humans' closest living relatives - apes, monkeys and lemurs - need urgent protection from extinction, a report by international conservation groups said on Monday.

Food price crisis: What crisis?

Food price crisis: What crisis?: Are we heading for another food price crisis?
Global inventories have fallen sharply since the turn of the century as a result - wheat stocks are down by almost a third, rice by more than 40%, and corn by a half. And these stocks are unlikely to increase. As Mr Sadler says, "even in a good year we just about produce enough food to meet consumption needs".
"The era of cheap food which we take for granted is over. Food will continue to be available, but don't expect the price to go down," he says.
The impact on those living in poverty in the developing world - those who buy the raw ingredients to make their own produce, and who spend a far greater proportion of their income on food - is far, far greater.
"The global population will soon hit nine billion and everyone has to be fed. Making sure they are is the number one challenge of this century. This is not a question of can we, can't we? We have to," says Mr Sadler.

Vatican uproar over screening of Islam scare story video

Vatican uproar over screening of Islam scare story video: Cardinal shows bishops footage featuring alarmist predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe
A Roman Catholic cardinal has caused an uproar at the Vatican by screening a spurious video that makes alarmist predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe.
The seven-minute clip, called Muslim Demographics, was screened by Cardinal Peter Turkson during a free discussion period during an international gathering of 262 bishops.
Turkson, a Ghanaian who is based in the Vatican and is president of its Council for Justice and Peace, sparked consternation among his fellow bishops. One bishop said he would rebut Turkson by presenting a report with contrary data.
At a briefing for journalists, Father Thomas Rosica said the clip had sparked "the most animated" discussion so far at the three-week conference. "Islam is the buzzword," Rosica said.
Turkson could not be reached for comment on why he chose to screen the video during the Vatican meeting, where the bishops are discussing ways of winning back lapsed Roman Catholics in developed countries.
The clip, which has been viewed more than 13m times on YouTube since it was uploaded by an anonymous user in 2009, combines dramatic music with skewed population statistics to make claims about various European countries such as "In just 39 years, France will be an Islamic republic."
Critics have pointed out that the fertility figures used in the video, which claim French women have an average of 1.8 children while French Muslim women have 8.1 children, cannot be genuine as France does not collect statistics by religion.
According to a study by the US-based Pew Research Centre, there were 2.18 billion Christians in 2010, half of whom were Catholics. The total number of Muslims of all denominations was 1.6 billion and forecast to increase 35% to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to the research group.
Yahya Pallavicini, vice president of the Islamic Religious Community of Italy, warned against a numbers war based on scare tactics by any side.
"I think that we should focus, Muslims and Christians, on our common challenges, rather than challenging each other in scary attitudes on who is going to increase or decrease in numbers," Pallavicini told Reuters. "It's our shared responsibility as brothers and believers in the same holy God."

‘Gastamos dinheiro e perdemos vidas por causa das drogas’, diz britânico

‘Gastamos dinheiro e perdemos vidas por causa das drogas’, diz britânico:
LONDRES — Chefe da comunicação da Comissão de Política de Drogas do Reino Unido (UKDPC, na sigla em inglês), Leo Barasi coordenou a campanha de divulgação do estudo que ganhou as capas dos jornais britânicos. Ele explicou os principais objetivos do relatório, que provocou uma ampla discussão sobre a política pública britânica de combate às drogas, em entrevista ao GLOBO.
Qual é o objetivo da comissão ao divulgar o relatório? Qual é a resposta que se espera do governo britânico?
Leo Barasi: Queremos mostrar que é preciso rediscutir a política de drogas no Reino Unido. Está muito claro que temos que mudar. Apesar de o número de usuários estar em declínio nos últimos anos, uma tendência mundial, no Reino Unido ainda são 2 mil mortes a cada ano relacionadas ao uso de drogas. O que o relatório conclui é que estamos gastando dinheiro público e ainda perdendo vidas. E num contexto de crise econômica também é importante saber como e onde o dinheiro público está sendo investido. Dos 3 bilhões de libras (cerca de R$ 9,8 bilhões) gastos anualmente, dois terços são investidos em políticas que não alcançam bons resultados. O custo anual para a Inglaterra e o País de Gales com drogas de classificação A (como heroína, cocaína, ecstasy e LSD) é estimado em 15 bilhões de libras (R$ 49 bilhões).
Há três meses, a ministra do Interior, Theresa May, rejeitou qualquer discussão sobre a descriminalização de drogas. O relatório diz que uma nova abordagem é a descriminalização da posse de drogas, como a maconha, para uso pessoal. Como é possível mudar?
Leo Barasi: Estamos discutindo uma política que está aí há 40 anos. O que é dito no relatório é que o abrandamento da pena para uso de pequenas quantidades de maconha — com multas, por exemplo — não deverá levar ao aumento de usuários. O estudo não traz uma recomendação à descriminalização mais radical. O governo pode entender a importância do documento para o debate, mas não necessariamente respondê-lo. Mas esperamos que alguns pontos levantados pelo relatório possam ser considerados para uma mudança mais imediata. Por exemplo, em grande parte dos países europeus a política de drogas é tratada como um assunto de saúde pública, e no Reino Unido ainda está sob a responsabilidade do Ministério do Interior.
Quais são os próximos passos para o começo de uma nova política para as drogas?
Leo Barasi: A UKDPC espera pela divulgação em seis semanas do relatório sobre drogas da comissão da Câmara dos Comuns. Para este documento, o governo terá que responder detalhadamente a cada questão. E procuramos a Câmara dos Comuns para a apresentação em primeira mão das conclusões da nossa comissão. (Keith Vaz, representante do Partido Trabalhista e presidente da comissão da Câmara dos Comuns elogiou publicamente o documento da UKDPC pelo Twitter ontem).
Alguns jornais e rádios ingleses repetiram ao longo desta segunda que o relatório afirmava que fumar maconha não seria pior que comer junk food ou apostar, um velho hábito inglês. É isso mesmo?
Leo Barasi: Isso foi inventado pela imprensa. O que queremos dizer é que o cigarro, a junk food, as apostas, o álcool têm um nível de aceitação da sociedade. Esse é o caso das drogas. Nós sabemos que estão aí e que vão continuar existindo.

Avião sírio interceptado transportava equipamento militar

Avião sírio interceptado transportava equipamento militar: O primeiro-ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reiterou na segunda-feira que o avião sírio que a força aérea da Turquia intercetou transportava material militar, afastando as alegações russas de que...

Israel votes to dissolve parliament

Israel votes to dissolve parliament: Last week Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu called for early elections in Israel. Now, parliament has responded by dissolving the House and setting January 22 as the election date - nine months ahead of schedule.

Hillary Clinton takes responsibility for Libya embassy attack

Hillary Clinton takes responsibility for Libya embassy attack:
On eve of second presidential debate, secretary of state is seen as trying to deflect criticism from Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton has taken responsibility for the deadly security breach at the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, saying the buck stopped with her and not the White House.
The secretary of state took the blame in an interview to CNN on Monday night in what will be seen as an attempt to deflect Republican attacks on Barack Obama over the affair on the eve of the second presidential debate.
"I take responsibility," she said in Lima, Peru, in her first interview about the 11 September attack that killed the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans.
Mitt Romney's campaign has hammered the administration over the security breach and its different explanations of how it happened. Romney is expected to continue the line of attack in Tuesday's debate.
The issue gained traction during last week's vice-presidential debate when Joe Biden said the White House had been unaware of requests to bolster security at the consulate. That appeared to contradict testimony from state department officials who said requests had been made and rejected.
A diplomatic cable presented to a congressional oversight and government reform committee tasked with investigating the affair showed that Stevens asked the state department for an additional 11 security personnel weeks before the attack. Republicans have demanded the administration reveal who knew what and when, saying there was a lack of transparency and that the attack showed the failure of Obama's Middle East foreign policy.
On Sunday David Axelrod, a key member of the president's inner circle, said Romney was "working hard to exploit the issue" for political gain.
Clinton's remarks on Monday tried to draw the fire by saying neither Obama nor Biden was involved in the decision. "I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha," she said, shortly after arriving in Lima for a conference on women and entrepreneurship.
Commentators said it was an attempt to shield the president. "This was a purely political move to give Obama breathing room tomorrow night. That's it," said therightscoop.com.
The secretary of state rebuffed criticism that administration officials continued to depict the attack as a spontaneous backlash against an anti-Islam film even after evidence emerged showing it was planned beforehand by a radical, well-armed group.
In the immediate aftermath of such events there was always "confusion" and "fog of war", Clinton said. She described an "intense, long ordeal" for staffers at the state department on the night of the attack as they struggled to find out what was happening and respond.
Clinton said her mission now was to make sure such an attack never happened again but that diplomacy, even in perilous parts of the Arab world, must continue. "We can't not engage," she said. "We cannot retreat."