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Disclaimer: TV18 Broadcast Limited is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, an offer of its equity shares on rights basis and has filed a Draft Letter of Offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The Draft Letter of Offer is available on the website of SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in and the websites of the Lead Managers at www.icicisecurities.com and www.rbs.in Investors should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and are requested to refer to "Risk Factors" in the Draft Letter of Offer. The Equity Shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"), or any state securities laws in the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, "U.S. persons" (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act) except in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and in accordance with any applicable U.S. state securities laws.
In this Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012 photo, Jennifer Garcia, 23, of Hartford, Conn., stands in front of Hartford Family Court after a child visitation hearing.
By Dave Collins, The Associated Press
?
HARTFORD, Conn. -?Jennifer Garcia stood alone before a judge with a stack of legal papers in her hands, answering questions about her personal life.
She has acted as her own lawyer in state Family Court in a paternity, child support and visitation case on and off for three years, but representing herself in a courtroom full of strangers still makes her nervous.
"Sometimes I get this gut feeling because you never know what the judge is going to say," said the 23-year-old single mother of two from Hartford.
Garcia is part of a crush of people who are representing themselves in the nation's civil courts because they can't afford lawyers, who typically charge $200 to $500 an hour. The boom has overwhelmed courts and sparked new efforts to get attorneys to meet what the American Bar Association says is its professional responsibility to offer free legal services to people in need.
The increase in self-represented parties stems from a recession that has left fewer people able to afford lawyers and created new waves of foreclosure, debt collection and bankruptcy cases, judges and lawyers say. Judges say self-represented people are slowing down court dockets because they typically don't know what legal points to argue or what motions to file.
"There's a crisis in this country," said John Levi, board chairman of Washington, D.C.-based Legal Services Corp., the nation's largest funder of civil legal aid for the poor. "Courthouses are being filled with people just showing up, trying to figure out what their rights are. If you're a low-income person and you have a legal need, it is not easy to get it addressed."
Legal Services has a 58-member pro bono task force comprising judges, attorneys, law school deans and other legal experts working on recommendations due out next month on how to get more lawyers to provide free services.
At a time of rising demand, LSC has been dealing with funding cuts. Federal government funding for LSC dropped 17 percent to $348 million this year, compared with $420 million in 2010. LSC funds 135 legal aid groups across the country and serves about 900,000 clients a year, but it has to turn away about the same number of people seeking help because of a lack of staff.
Less than 20 percent of the legal needs of low-income people are addressed with the help of a private or legal aid lawyer, LSC says.
And the number of Americans with incomes at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level ? the income limit for qualifying for legal aid ? is expected to reach an all-time high of 66 million this year. A family of four earning 125 percent of the federal poverty level makes about $28,800 a year, government figures show.
Several states report high percentages of civil and family cases with at least one self-represented person. In Connecticut, 85 percent of the more than 45,000 family law cases in the 2011 fiscal year had at least one self-represented party.
Pro bono declines Pro bono work by large law firms has declined in the past few years amid downsizing because of the economy, according to the July and August issue of ALM's The American Lawyer magazine. Average pro bono hours per lawyer in large firms dropped to about 54 last year, a 12 percent decrease from a 2009 peak, the magazine reported.
Laurel Bellows, a Chicago attorney and president of the American Bar Association, said the magazine's findings conflict with an increasing pro bono trend that she sees. The ABA has several pro bono programs including one that helps military families.
"The need is extraordinary," Bellows said about pro bono services. "You not only have the poverty level community, but also the middle class community. We're really very proud of our lawyers because they're stepping up to the plate and helping more people who need assistance."
An ABA survey last year said 75 percent of lawyers believe that people who represent themselves are more likely to lose their cases.
Court officials say the recession from 2007 to 2009 and its aftermath sparked new waves of foreclosure, debt collection and bankruptcy cases and left fewer people able to afford a lawyer.
Garcia, the Hartford mother, said she can't afford an attorney. After several court appearances, she said she is beginning to feel more comfortable representing herself.
State judicial systems have taken steps to deal with self-represented parties, including offering legal forms and help online and setting up court service centers to answer questions. Some states, including Illinois, Georgia and Arkansas, even have pro bono cellphone apps to help lawyers find volunteer opportunities.
But state officials are trying to increase pro bono work to help meet demand.
New York will become the first state in the country to require lawyers to do pro bono work ? 50 hours ? as a prerequisite for obtaining a law license starting next year. The state of Washington's Supreme Court in June approved a landmark rule allowing non-lawyers to offer pro bono help in some cases after they receive training.
In June, Connecticut Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers urged members of the Connecticut Bar Association to help address what she called her No. 1 concern: the increase in self-represented parties. Judicial officials also held a pro bono summit for lawyers and judges last fall.
"Our feeling was that we needed the lawyers, the legal community, to understand the problem. It was getting worse and worse," said Judge William H. Bright Jr., chairman of the Connecticut Judicial Branch's Pro Bono Committee, referring to people representing themselves.
Sharonne Martin believes Connecticut should provide public defenders for civil cases like it does for criminal ones. She's been representing herself for two years in Family Court in Hartford and is now fighting an attempt by the father of two of her three children to gain full custody of them.
"The pressure is overwhelming," Martin, 28, of New Britain, said about representing herself. "Just keeping up with the paperwork and being organized, it's nerve-racking. It's been hard because ... you're on your own."
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Jonathan Dunning's path from being CEO of a pioneering nonprofit health clinic system in Birmingham to being its landlord began in 2008, when he and three other Birmingham Health Care employees bought a building on the city's Southside.
It wasn't just any building. It was Birmingham Health Care's largest asset -- bought by its top employees in a sale ap?proved by members of the board of direc?tors.
Birmingham Health Care board member and treasurer Terry Burney said the board approved the sale of BHC's South Medical Plaza building at 1600 20th St. South. But he said he couldn't recall whether it was dis?closed to the board that the buyers were then-current BHC employees in a company run by Dunning called Synergy Real Estate Holdings.
"The board did approve based on what we saw," Burney said. "When we allow attorneys to handle things, we often leave it in their hands . . . . As I recall, it was a win-win thing for all involved."
[READ MORE: Follow Mike Oliver's Birmingham Health Care reports here]
For a time in 2008, Dunning was at the helm of BHC as it paid rent to his for-profit company. In 2009, a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Agency (HRSA) awarded BHC more than $100,000 for construction work in its clinics and pav?ing the parking lot, plus more than $350,000 to buy new equipment for the Synergy-owned building. The grant writer was BHC clinical psychologist Sharon Waltz, one of the part owners of the building. BHC Chief Operating Officer Patricia Osborne, another part owner in the building, oversaw the construction and renovation projects.
HRSA -- Birmingham Health Care's chief source of funds -- has a policy prohibiting conflicts of interest where federal money is at stake -- "such as when the employee, officer, or agent . . . has a financial or other interest in the firm selected for an award." The agency also has a policy requiring explicit justification for "lack of competition when competitive bids or offers are not obtained."
In a written response to questions, a HRSA spokesman pointed out the policies and said all grantees must adhere to them -- but did not comment on whether BHC was in violation.
"At this time, HRSA has not taken enforcement actions related to the sale or lease of the building," wrote spokesman Martin Kramer.
Birmingham Health Care lawyer Ken Dowdy said BHC pays fair market rent to Dunning's company and that the $2.8 million sale was "a substantial profit" to BHC.
But BHC originally bought the building in 2002 for at least $2.6 million. That's the size of the mortgage it took out on the building, known then as the McCollough Facial Surgery Clinic, according to probate records.
Burney, who also is chief administrative analyst for Birmingham Mayor William Bell, said he remembered that the deal allowed the clinic to retire debt, get some cash for operations and "focus on why we started in the beginning -- to deliver health care to the underserved."
Waltz said she remembered the building sale was pitched by Dunning as a good deal for BHC.
She said that, to the best of her recollection, she received a small percentage interest in the company -- 1.5 percent. She said COO Osborne also received 1.5 percent; and CFO Terri Mollica received 5 percent, with the remaining portion going to Dunning and the company.
Dunning, Osborne and Mollica -- all listed along with Waltz on the incorporating papers for the Synergy company -- did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment.
"Most of this was Dunning's decision," Waltz said. "I didn't know very much about the infrastructure of the company (Synergy)."
Waltz said she has sent a letter asking that her share of the company be re-distributed to other owners of the company, but she said she has not heard back.
Real estate
For Dunning, the $2.8 million real estate sale marked the beginning of another avenue of business connected to the health clinic system for the poor and homeless.
Earlier, The Birmingham News reported that Dunning formed for-profit companies in 2006 while CEO of both Birmingham Health Care and Central Alabama Comprehensive Care, a community health center in Tuskegee and that did business with the organizations he was running. From 2007 through 2010, the Birmingham and Tuskegee health centers paid more than $2 million to Dunning's companies for various services such as billing and management, The News reported.
Already CEO and primary private contractor for BHC, Dunning added another title with the 2008 Southside building purchase -- landlord. The next year, after leaving his CEO position, he began expanding that role.
In 2009, he formed another real estate company, bought a building in north Birmingham and began renting more space to Birmingham Health Care for a clinic.
The new company, Synergy Real Estate Holdings II, which lists only Dunning as a member in its incorporation papers, on Dec. 23, 2009, bought for $1.08 million a clinic building that was associated with the old Physician's Medical Center Carraway.
In 2010, Dunning's companies were billing BHC at least $1.2 million in rents and other management and service contracts, according to an independent audit of BHC. That represents more than 10 percent of BHC's revenue of $11.3 million for that year.
The same year, Dunning formed another real estate company, Synergy Real Estate Holdings III, which included Birmingham Health Care as a partner. Synergy III borrowed $839,236 from Citizens Trust to purchase the abandoned New City Church/Urban Missions building at 2030 First Ave. North, according to probate records. Plans for the building included renting more space to Birmingham Health Care, in addition to a restaurant, wine shop and other office space.
The 2030 building is empty and being renovated.
In 2011, Dunning jointly refinanced the South Plaza and the old Carraway property for $5.18 million -- a $1.3 million gain over Dunning's combined purchase prices for those two properties, according to probate records.
Taxes
While it is not unheard of for nonprofits form relationships with, or even create, for-profit companies, the question becomes, how do those arrangements benefit the nonprofit and its mission, and are the arrangements properly disclosed on the Internal Revenue Service Form 990, said Allison Black Cornelius, principal consultant of Blackfish, a consulting firm serving as the int erim management contractor for the Alabama Association of Nonprofits.
The role of Dunning and BHC employees in the $2.8 million purchase of the South Medical Plaza was not reported on BHC's 2009 tax forms. Nor was his role as landlord to BHC's North Birmingham clinic in the old Carraway property.
On the 2008 990 tax form signed by CFO Mollica, the organization was asked whether "a current or former officer, director, trustee or key employee have a direct business relationship with the organization." "No' is the answer on the form.
On the 2009 tax form, signed by Dunning's replacement as CEO, Jimmy Lacey, the same question also was answered "no."
Cornelius said that, in the past five years, the nonprofit sector has seen an increase in the creation of for-profit or taxable subsidiaries for many reasons, including generating income, protecting the nonprofit's tax exempt status or finding untapped sources of funding.
"Nonprofits are allowed to generate surpluses or net revenue, which are the equivalent of profits, as long as they don't distribute them to board members or employees," she said. "If they do, it is known as private inurement. We recommend to nonprofits that the keys to success in creating these kinds of arrangements are public transparency of the structure, a clear relation to the nonprofit's purpose, and most important -- profits generated must benefit no individuals other than clients served through the mission."
Birmingham Health Care was founded in 1985 as Birmingham Health Care for the Homeless, part of a 19-city pilot program funded by private foundation money but that now runs mostly on public money, the majority coming from federal grants.
Board member Burney said the board is looking into some of the issues raised about BHC's con-tracts, real estate and rental arrangements.
"We are going to look back and see what's in the best interest of the organization and see about getting the best bang for our buck . . . all of those things will be reviewed," Burney said. "It's kind of hard to say things were done wrong if you don't have all the details. We have to look at things. (The Birmingham News) did that part, so now it's up to the board to do our part. We are not sitting still.
"At the end of the day our desire is for this whole thing to be resolved, to go away, so we can continue to provide health care services -- because there is a big need for it in the area."
HRSA -- Birmingham Health Care's chief source of funds -- has a policy prohibiting conflicts of interest where federal money is at stake -- "such as when the employee, officer, or agent . . . has a financial or other interest in the firm selected for an award." The agency also has a policy requiring explicit justification for "lack of competition when competitive bids or offers are not obtained."?
To cope with the rising tide of iOS devices trying to use?Apple's Bonjour discovery protocol on enterprise networks,?Cisco?recently announced that it is building a Bonjour gateway for its?wireless?LAN controllers. The company replied to nine follow-up questions after an online webinar for IT professionals about the product.
The gateway is intended to make Bonjour-based technologies like AirPlay and AirPrint better-behaved on enterprise networks. Some webinar attendees came away with some unasked or unanswered questions. Jameson Blandford, a technical marketing engineer with the gateway's product management group, replies via email below.
The behavior of Apple products on corporate networks is an urgent issue for many IT groups. Historically, Apple products used to be relegated to niches in big companies. But with the advent of the?iPhone?and now the?iPad, most large U.S. companies have become Apple customers on a scale never before imagined.
To learn more and to read the entire article at its source, please refer to the following page, Cisco answers user questions about upcoming Apple Bonjour Gateway- NetworkWorld.com
Mistakes Are Costing You! Learn To Stop?Making ALL 189 Of Them!
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Article marketing is an effective tool to utilize for your online business. With a high-quality article and include relevant keywords; you will soon see plenty of traffic on your web page. Read our tips to see how you can be successful at article marketing.
Figure out the rules of the article directory you are working with. Different directories have different submission guidelines.
To entice an audience to your articles, write about debatable topics. This is something that the media has down pat. If you write about controversial topics such as politics and sports, people will flock to your articles en masse.
TIP! Your articles main purpose is to get readers to do what you want them to by progressing them to the next action. Most readers know that one article can?t provide all the answers, even if it claims to give the answer in a few steps.
A good opening statement is crucial for grabbing your readers? attention and stoking their interest in what you are selling. The closing of an article seals the deal and must be just as interesting as the very beginning. If the article is successful, the reader will be genuinely interested in your company and follow the links that lead to your webpage.
On average, people searching for items or services online will study websites for under a minute. It is therefore important that your article?s main points are easily and quickly digestible. Keep your writing at an easy reading level. Make sure not to ramble on. Bullet points, as well as lists, are also a good way to make information easier to scan.
Prepare goals for yourself pertaining to the number of articles you plan to submit for certain amounts of time, as well as, the amount of attention you would like your article to receive. Everyone feels more motivated to complete a project or list of projects when they see them written down. It makes it feel more concrete and like you?d be letting someone down if you didn?t finish them. Regular submissions will increase your view count.
TIP! It is possible to write your own content if you are using article marketing for your website. It takes talent to be able to write.
Make sure you post new articles on a regular basis. Search engines have scheduling bots that determine how often to return to your site to re-index the content. The more often you provide new content, the more often your site will be indexed, and the more quickly you will reach new customers.
Provide content that is approachable and unique. When your visitors know you are being truthful, it will help your reputation with them. This relationship could become a trusted source for you.
You must be aware of article directory rules, by site, in an effort to avoid issues. You should make sure you stay on good terms with the article directories by following the rules.
TIP! Put some work into choosing interesting, writeable topics that will grab the attention of your target audience. As you become an expert in your field, you may forget to stress the basics.
Make sure your readers know your article is helpful from the second they look at it. Make you title pithy. Your title should instantly let the reader know what benefit they will get from reading the information that you want to share.
There are numerous tools online that will help you write better articles. When writing articles for money, there are many new products and services that will save you time and energy. Use all the tools you have at your disposal. Article marketing can make you money!
Generally speaking, your articles are accessible on the web for an indefinite amount of time. Consequently, there is always the possibility that they will continue to drive traffic to some degree. You can even use articles to promote your other articles in order to greatly expand your network and readership.
TIP! Find ways to make your work more visible through social networks and sharing. Articles that are accepted by social sites that let visitors express their approval by ?liking? them are very popular.
Keywords are an important element when it comes to successful article marketing. It?s important to choose the right ones. You can get a free keyword tool from Google as opposed to some companies that sell them for 100 to 500 dollars. Don?t ever stop researching, because keyword values constantly change based on a variety of factors.
Vary the articles that you write. This will help keep your readers interested, and you interested as well. Publish some how-to articles along with glossaries of specific niche terms for novices. You can write some articles that answer specific questions that are asked at the beginning of the article.
These are just some of the things you should do to make sure you will be successful with your articles. Just one good article can have a significant impact on your site traffic and resulting sales for the long run. You will be on the right track if you follow these tips
TIP! Pack your author box with information your readers will find interesting, useful and relevant to your subject. Tell your readers a bit about yourself and how the subject plays a part in why you write about it.
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By Daniel Lehman | Posted Aug. 17, 2012, 2:45 p.m.
Photo Source: Shutterstock
As movie studios push to replace all film prints with digital projection at movie theaters nationwide, The Wrap reports that independent theater owners across the country are facing extinction if they can't afford to upgrade their facilities in time.
The day is imminent when 35mm film prints will no longer be provided at all, meaning theaters will have to go fully digital or die. The shift has been coming for almost a decade, but theater owners suddenly find themselves running out of time.
"The date is fast approaching when 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight will adopt the digital format as the only format in which it will theatrically distribute its films," 20th Century Fox wrote in a note to theater owners last November. "We strongly advise those exhibitors that have not yet done so to take immediate steps to convert their theaters to digital projection systems."
3,447 of the 5,700 theaters in the U.S. have already converted to digital, according to The Wrap. But the National Association of Theater Owners estimates that 10 to 20 percent of theaters may choose to close their doors rather than convert.
The cost of conversion can reach as much as $150,000 or more per screen, The Wrap reports. NATO and the studios have offered some cost-saving incentives to encourage the switch. But upfront financing is still the responsibility of the theater owners, who have resorted to bank loans, customer donations, Kickstarter campaigns, assistance from local economic development organizations, and even requests for non-profit status to bridge the gap.
"In the last 10-plus years, there's been a slow and steady decline in theater attendance," Gary Pollard, who owns the Empire Theatre on Block Island, R.I., told The Wrap. "It's not encouraging to want to invest money in building a business that is diminishing."
But other theater owners recognize the inevitability of technological advancement, and are preparing for the future. Digital distribution allows the studios to save thousands of dollars in print fees, while offering exhibitors and moviegoers a product with better picture and sound quality and the ability to show screenings in 3D, a format that can command higher ticket prices.
"When I bought my theater, there were no DVDs, no Internet, no cell phones, and no Netflix," Michael Hurley, owner of two Maine movie theaters, told The Wrap. "The movies have been counted out since radio, but the industry has just made the biggest investment in new technology since the birth of film and it's not doing that for a business that's on its way out."
SANAA (Reuters) - Three people were killed and nine wounded in clashes in Sanaa on Tuesday between Yemeni troops and members of the elite Republican Guards in a direct challenge to a presidential reorganization of the military, an army source said.
"Three were killed and nine were wounded in the clash, and now the Yemeni troops have gained control of the area again," the source said without specifying whether the casualties were members of the security forces.
The fighting happened near the defense ministry after extra government troops were sent to defend the building, and shooting started after Republican Guard soldiers then surrounded the ministry in central Sanaa.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Nature study highlights many paths to ocean healthPublic release date: 15-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gail Gallessich gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-7220 University of California - Santa Barbara
Ocean health index provides first global assessment combining natural and human dimensions of sustainability
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Using a new comprehensive index designed to assess the benefits to people of healthy oceans, scientists have evaluated the ecological, social, economic, and political conditions for every coastal country in the world. Their findings, published today in the journal Nature, show that the global ocean scores 60 out of 100 overall on the Ocean Health Index. Individual country scores range widely, from 36 to 86. The highest-scoring locations included densely populated, highly developed nations such as Germany, as well as uninhabited islands, such as Jarvis Island in the Pacific.
Determining whether a score of 60 is better or worse than one would expect is less about analysis and more about perspective. "Is the score far from perfect with ample room for improvement, or more than half way to perfect with plenty of reason to applaud success? I think it's both," said lead author Ben Halpern, an ecologist at UC Santa Barbara. "What the Index does is help us separate our gut feelings about good and bad from the measurement of what's happening."
The Ocean Health Index is the first broad, quantitative assessment of the critical relationships between the ocean and people, framed in terms of the many benefits we derive from the ocean. Instead of simply assuming any human presence is negative, it asks what our impacts mean for the things we care about.
"Several years ago I led a project that mapped the cumulative impact of human activities on the world's ocean, which was essentially an ocean pristine-ness index," said Halpern, who is a researcher at UCSB's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), as well as UCSB's Marine Science Institute. He also directs UCSB's Center for Marine Assessment and Planning. "That was and is a useful perspective to have, but it's not enough. We tend to forget that people are part of all ecosystems from the most remote deserts to the depths of the ocean. The Ocean Health Index is unique because it embraces people as part of the ocean ecosystem. So we're not just the problem, but a major part of the solution, too."
In all, more than 30 collaborators from universities, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, led by NCEAS and Conservation International, pulled together data on the current status and likely future condition for factors such as seafood, coastal livelihoods, and biodiversity. All together, 10 "shared goals" define the health of the ocean as its ability to provide such benefits now and in the future.
The Index emphasizes sustainability, penalizing practices that benefit people today at the expense of the ocean's ability to deliver those benefits in the future. "Sustainability tends to be issue-specific, focused on sustainable agriculture, fisheries, or tourism, for example," said Karen McLeod, one of the lead authors who is affiliated with COMPASS, a team of science-based communication professionals. "The Index challenges us to consider what sustainability looks like across all of our many uses of the ocean, simultaneously. It may not make our choices any easier, but it greatly improves our understanding of the available options and their potential consequences."
By re-envisioning ocean health as a portfolio of benefits, the Ocean Health Index highlights the many different ways in which a place can be healthy. Just like a diversified stock portfolio can perform equally well in a variety of market conditions, many different combinations of goals can lead to a high Index score. In short, the Ocean Health Index highlights the variety of options for strategic action to improve ocean health.
"To many it may seem uncomfortable to focus on benefits to people as the definition of a healthy ocean," said Steve Katona, another of the study's lead authors, who is with Conservation International. "Yet, policy and management initiatives around the world are embracing exactly this philosophy. Whether we like it or not, people are key. If thoughtful, sustainable use of the oceans benefits human well-being, the oceans and their web of life will also benefit. The bottom line is 'healthy ocean, healthy people, healthy planet.'"
Around the world, ocean policy lacks a shared definition of what exactly "health" means, and has no agreed-upon set of tools to measure status and progress. "The Index transforms the powerful metaphor of health into something concrete, transparent, and quantitative," said McLeod. "This understanding of the whole, not just the parts, is necessary to conserve and restore ocean ecosystems. We can't manage what we don't measure."
This first global assessment of the health of the ocean provides an important baseline against which future change can be measured. Without such a baseline, there is no way to know if things are actually getting better in response to management and conservation actions.
"The Index can provide strategic guidance for ocean policy," said Andrew Rosenberg, another of the lead authors and a former member of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. "Because the Index includes current status, trends, and factors affecting sustainability for 10 broadly shared goals, it enables managers to focus on key actions that can really make a difference in improving the health of the ocean and benefits we derive from a healthier ocean."
Jake Rice, with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada, who was not involved in the study, said: "No index, by itself, can be a sufficient guide to case-by-case decision-making. However, the Index can inform the public policy dialogue that is essential to sound governance. Moreover, the Index will improve and adapt with use and experience. All who care about the health of the oceans and the well-being of human societies that depend on them, should be looking forward to both the near-term benefits we can take from this work, and to the evolution of the Index as we gain experience with it."
The authors readily acknowledge methodological challenges in calculating the Index, but emphasize that it represents a critical step forward. "We recognize the Index is a bit audacious," said Halpern. "With policy-makers and managers needing tools to actually measure ocean health and with no time to waste we felt it was audacious by necessity."
###
Other co-authors from NCEAS are Catherine Longo, Darren Hardy, Jennifer O'Leary, Marla Ranelletti, Courtney Scarborough, and Ben Best. Co-authors from Conservation International are Elizabeth Selig, Leah Karrer, and Greg Stone. Jameal Samhouri and Mike Fogarty are from NOAA. Sarah Lester, Steve Gaines, Kelsey Jacobsen, and Cris Elfes are from UCSB. Kristin Kleisner, Daniel Pauly, Rashid Sumaila, and Dirk Zeller are from the University of British Columbia. Other co-authors are Dan Brumbaugh from the American Museum of Natural History; F. Stuart (Terry) Chapin from the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Larry Crowder from Stanford University; Kendra Daly from the University of South Florida; Scott Doney from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Heather Leslie from Brown University; Elizabeth Neely from COMPASS; Steve Polasky from the University of Minnesota; Bud Ris from the New England Aquarium; and Kevin St. Martin from Rutgers University.
The founding partners of the Ocean Health Index are Conservation International, National Geographic, and New England Aquarium. The founding presenting sponsor of the Ocean Health Index was Pacific Life Foundation and a founding grant was provided by Beau and Heather Wrigley.
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Nature study highlights many paths to ocean healthPublic release date: 15-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gail Gallessich gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-7220 University of California - Santa Barbara
Ocean health index provides first global assessment combining natural and human dimensions of sustainability
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Using a new comprehensive index designed to assess the benefits to people of healthy oceans, scientists have evaluated the ecological, social, economic, and political conditions for every coastal country in the world. Their findings, published today in the journal Nature, show that the global ocean scores 60 out of 100 overall on the Ocean Health Index. Individual country scores range widely, from 36 to 86. The highest-scoring locations included densely populated, highly developed nations such as Germany, as well as uninhabited islands, such as Jarvis Island in the Pacific.
Determining whether a score of 60 is better or worse than one would expect is less about analysis and more about perspective. "Is the score far from perfect with ample room for improvement, or more than half way to perfect with plenty of reason to applaud success? I think it's both," said lead author Ben Halpern, an ecologist at UC Santa Barbara. "What the Index does is help us separate our gut feelings about good and bad from the measurement of what's happening."
The Ocean Health Index is the first broad, quantitative assessment of the critical relationships between the ocean and people, framed in terms of the many benefits we derive from the ocean. Instead of simply assuming any human presence is negative, it asks what our impacts mean for the things we care about.
"Several years ago I led a project that mapped the cumulative impact of human activities on the world's ocean, which was essentially an ocean pristine-ness index," said Halpern, who is a researcher at UCSB's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), as well as UCSB's Marine Science Institute. He also directs UCSB's Center for Marine Assessment and Planning. "That was and is a useful perspective to have, but it's not enough. We tend to forget that people are part of all ecosystems from the most remote deserts to the depths of the ocean. The Ocean Health Index is unique because it embraces people as part of the ocean ecosystem. So we're not just the problem, but a major part of the solution, too."
In all, more than 30 collaborators from universities, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, led by NCEAS and Conservation International, pulled together data on the current status and likely future condition for factors such as seafood, coastal livelihoods, and biodiversity. All together, 10 "shared goals" define the health of the ocean as its ability to provide such benefits now and in the future.
The Index emphasizes sustainability, penalizing practices that benefit people today at the expense of the ocean's ability to deliver those benefits in the future. "Sustainability tends to be issue-specific, focused on sustainable agriculture, fisheries, or tourism, for example," said Karen McLeod, one of the lead authors who is affiliated with COMPASS, a team of science-based communication professionals. "The Index challenges us to consider what sustainability looks like across all of our many uses of the ocean, simultaneously. It may not make our choices any easier, but it greatly improves our understanding of the available options and their potential consequences."
By re-envisioning ocean health as a portfolio of benefits, the Ocean Health Index highlights the many different ways in which a place can be healthy. Just like a diversified stock portfolio can perform equally well in a variety of market conditions, many different combinations of goals can lead to a high Index score. In short, the Ocean Health Index highlights the variety of options for strategic action to improve ocean health.
"To many it may seem uncomfortable to focus on benefits to people as the definition of a healthy ocean," said Steve Katona, another of the study's lead authors, who is with Conservation International. "Yet, policy and management initiatives around the world are embracing exactly this philosophy. Whether we like it or not, people are key. If thoughtful, sustainable use of the oceans benefits human well-being, the oceans and their web of life will also benefit. The bottom line is 'healthy ocean, healthy people, healthy planet.'"
Around the world, ocean policy lacks a shared definition of what exactly "health" means, and has no agreed-upon set of tools to measure status and progress. "The Index transforms the powerful metaphor of health into something concrete, transparent, and quantitative," said McLeod. "This understanding of the whole, not just the parts, is necessary to conserve and restore ocean ecosystems. We can't manage what we don't measure."
This first global assessment of the health of the ocean provides an important baseline against which future change can be measured. Without such a baseline, there is no way to know if things are actually getting better in response to management and conservation actions.
"The Index can provide strategic guidance for ocean policy," said Andrew Rosenberg, another of the lead authors and a former member of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. "Because the Index includes current status, trends, and factors affecting sustainability for 10 broadly shared goals, it enables managers to focus on key actions that can really make a difference in improving the health of the ocean and benefits we derive from a healthier ocean."
Jake Rice, with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada, who was not involved in the study, said: "No index, by itself, can be a sufficient guide to case-by-case decision-making. However, the Index can inform the public policy dialogue that is essential to sound governance. Moreover, the Index will improve and adapt with use and experience. All who care about the health of the oceans and the well-being of human societies that depend on them, should be looking forward to both the near-term benefits we can take from this work, and to the evolution of the Index as we gain experience with it."
The authors readily acknowledge methodological challenges in calculating the Index, but emphasize that it represents a critical step forward. "We recognize the Index is a bit audacious," said Halpern. "With policy-makers and managers needing tools to actually measure ocean health and with no time to waste we felt it was audacious by necessity."
###
Other co-authors from NCEAS are Catherine Longo, Darren Hardy, Jennifer O'Leary, Marla Ranelletti, Courtney Scarborough, and Ben Best. Co-authors from Conservation International are Elizabeth Selig, Leah Karrer, and Greg Stone. Jameal Samhouri and Mike Fogarty are from NOAA. Sarah Lester, Steve Gaines, Kelsey Jacobsen, and Cris Elfes are from UCSB. Kristin Kleisner, Daniel Pauly, Rashid Sumaila, and Dirk Zeller are from the University of British Columbia. Other co-authors are Dan Brumbaugh from the American Museum of Natural History; F. Stuart (Terry) Chapin from the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Larry Crowder from Stanford University; Kendra Daly from the University of South Florida; Scott Doney from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Heather Leslie from Brown University; Elizabeth Neely from COMPASS; Steve Polasky from the University of Minnesota; Bud Ris from the New England Aquarium; and Kevin St. Martin from Rutgers University.
The founding partners of the Ocean Health Index are Conservation International, National Geographic, and New England Aquarium. The founding presenting sponsor of the Ocean Health Index was Pacific Life Foundation and a founding grant was provided by Beau and Heather Wrigley.
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BEIRUT (AP) ? Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group is denying that one of its members was captured by Syrian rebels in Damascus.
The group said Tuesday that a report by Arab satellite TV Al-Arabiya purporting the Free Syrian Army captured a Hezbollah member was not true.
The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime. The Syrian opposition has repeatedly accused it of sending fighters to Syria, which Hezbollah denies.
In May, Syrian rebels captured 11 Lebanese Shiites shortly after crossing from Turkey on their way to Lebanon.
The Lebanese are apparently held to try to pressure the government in Beirut to show greater support for the rebels ? which is unlikely because of Hezbollah's strong influence.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 13, 2012) ? On July 23, 2012, a massive cloud of solar material erupted off the sun's right side, zooming out into space, passing one of NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft along the way. Using the STEREO data, scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. clocked this giant cloud, known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME, as traveling between 1,800 and 2,200 miles per second as it left the sun.
Conversations began to buzz and the emails to fly: this was the fastest CME ever observed by STEREO, which since its launch in 2006 has helped make CME speed measurements much more precise. Such an unusually strong bout of space weather gives scientists an opportunity to observe how these events affect the space around the sun, as well as to improve their understanding of what causes them.
"Between 1,800 and 2,200 miles per second puts it without question as one of the top five CMEs ever measured by any spacecraft," says solar scientist Alex Young at Goddard. "And if it's at the top of that velocity range it's probably the fastest."
The STEREO mission consists of two spacecraft with orbits that for most of their journey give them views of the sun that cannot be had from Earth. Watching the sun from all sides helps improve our understanding of how events around the sun are connected, as well as gives us glimpses of activity we might not otherwise see. On July 23, STEREO-A lay -- from Earth's perspective -- to the right side and a little behind the sun, the perfect place for seeing this CME, which would otherwise have been hard to measure from Earth. The Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), an ESA and NASA mission, also observed the CME. It is the combination of observations from both missions that helps make scientists confident in the large velocities they measured for this event.
Measuring a CME at this speed, traveling in a direction safely away from Earth, represents a fantastic opportunity for researchers studying the sun's effects. Rebekah Evans is a space scientist working at Goddard's Space Weather Lab, which works to improve models that could some day be used to improve predictions of space weather and its effects. She says that the team categorizes CMEs for their research in terms of their speed, with the fastest ones -- such as this one -- labeled "ER" for Extremely Rare.
"Seeing a CME this fast, really is so unusual," says Evans. "And now we have this great chance to study this powerful space weather, to better understand what causes these great explosions, and to improve our models to incorporate what happens during events as rare as these."
Orbiting the sun some 89,000,000 miles away, STEREO-A could observe the speed of the CME as it burst from the sun, and it provided even more data some 17 hours later as the CME physically swept by -- having slowed down by then to about 750 miles per second. STEREO has instruments to measure the magnetic field strength, which in this case was four times as strong as the most common CMEs. When a CME with strong magnetic fields arrives near Earth, it can cause something called a geomagnetic storm that disrupts Earth's own magnetic environment and can potentially affect satellite operations or in worst-case scenarios induce electric currents in the ground that can affect power grids.
"We measure magnetic fields in 'Tesla' and this CME was 80 nanoTesla," says Antti Pulkkinen, who is also a space weather scientist at Goddard. "This magnetic field is substantially larger even than the CMEs that caused large geomagnetic storms near Earth in October 2003. We call those storms the Halloween storms and scientists still study them to this day."
While large, this measurement of the magnetic field is still smaller than one of the greatest space weather events on record, the Carrington Event of 1859, during which the magnetic fields at Earth measured 110 nanoTesla.
When the CME passes over one of the STEREO spacecraft, the instruments can also measure the direction in which the magnetic field points -- a crucial data point since it is the southward pointing magnetic fields in a CME that travel in the opposite direction of Earth's own magnetic fields and thus can cause the most disruption. This CME traveled with an unusually large southward magnetic field of 40 nanoTesla that stayed steady for several hours.
The event also pushed a burst of fast protons out from the sun. The number of charged particles near STEREO jumped 100,000 times within an hour of the CME's start. When such bursts of solar particles invade Earth's magnetic field they are referred to as a solar radiation storm, and they can block high frequency radio communications as used, for example, by airline pilots. Like the CME, this solar energetic particle (SEP) event is also the most intense ever measured by STEREO. While the CME was not directed toward Earth, the SEP did -- at a much lower intensity than at STEREO -- affect Earth as well, offering scientists a chance to study how such events can widen so dramatically as they travel through space.
Evans points out that all of this solar activity was produced by a specific active region that NASA's space weather scientists had been watching for three weeks before the super fast eruption on July 23.
"That active region was called AR 1520, and it produced four fairly fast CME's in Earth's direction before it rotated out of sight off the right limb of the sun," says Evans. "So even though the region had released multiple CMEs and even had an X-class flare, its strength kept increasing over time to eventually produce this giant explosion. To try to understand how that change happens makes for very exciting research."
STEREO is but one of several missions that observe the sun constantly, and the data is always interesting as there is much to be learned from observing the quiet sun as well as an active one. But the sun displays an activity cycle during which it gets more active approximately every 11 years as it heads toward what's called "solar maximum." The next solar maximum is currently predicted for 2013. We can expect more and more space weather events until then, and each one will help scientists better understand the sun and how its effects can permeate the entire solar system.
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Are white supremacists recruiting from within the ranks of the US military?
That question ? revived by killings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin this week ? has been the fear of civil rights groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, who have warned that hate groups encourage their members to join up for training and experience that they can later use to perpetrate crimes in the United States.
A former white supremacist who now trains the US military on how to recognize racism within its ranks, T.J. Leyden says he has been brought to military installations to educate service members who are concerned about troops becoming involved with gangs and neo-Nazi activities. ?They want to know how to combat it,? he says, ?and what they should be looking for.?
Mr. Leyden says he was encouraged to join the US Marines after becoming a skinhead. ?The older guys in the white supremacy world were talking about it all the time,? he said. ?They say, ?This is a great option ? you get some training.? ?
IN PICTURES: Sikhs around the world
They also recruit from among the US military. ?A lot of the major white supremacy groups, they have chapters right outside military installations,? Leyden says. ?They want people with military backgrounds.?
There is little known about Page's views on race while he was in the military. An Army spokesperson said that the service is not commenting on the reasons for his dismissal from the service. ?At one time he was a sergeant and did leave the service as a specialist,? says Lt. Col. Lisa Garcia. ?You can generally presume there was some kind of Article 15 action that reduced him in rank.? An Article 15 is an administrative punishment less severe than a court martial.US military officials have expressed concern in the past about extremism within its ranks.The Army's Criminal Investigation Division conducts a threat assessment of extremist and gang activity among Army personnel. "Every year, they come back with 'minimal activity,' which is inaccurate," Scott Barfield, a former gang investigator for the Department of Defense, told the Southern Poverty Law Center in its 2006 report "A Few Bad Men." "It's not epidemic, but there's plenty of evidence we're talking numbers well into the thousands, just in the Army."
They are prized recruits because they have a number of traits that make them valuable in the eyes of white supremacists, Leyden says. ?They follow orders, they know how to take instructions.?
They also have valuable leadership experience. ?They are leaders, they think outside the box ? they?re doers,? he adds. ?You?re getting some of these guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and they?re combat vets. They know what combat?s like. You get them in and bring them in and that gives your group structure ? that?s powerful.?
When he was in the Marines from 1988 to 1990, Leyden says, he recruited roughly half-a-dozen hate-group members. He told his new recruits to keep a low profile. ?I?d tell them don?t get tattoos ? get your training, then get out.?
He?d also tell them, ?If you really don?t like it, then you can get yourself tatted up and discharged. After they got the training, ?I?d say, then who cares if you get a bad conduct discharge? We?re going to overthrow the US government anyway.? ?
Leyden didn?t follow his own advice. He got an ?SS? tattoo on his neck and later hung a Nazi flag in his room. ?The only thing my commander would say was, ?Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you take that flag down when the CG [commanding general] comes through [for inspection]??
He said it was not because commanders supported his racist views, but rather because they did not want to be disciplined by their own higher-ups for command failures like having a neo-Nazi in their ranks.
Leyden, who now works with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says some of his fellow Marines back in his days in the service told him to his face that they thought his extremism was "pretty horrible.?
Today, he says, he advises commanders to remove skinheads from their ranks immediately. ?I tell them, get them out, don?t give them further training,? he says. ?Do not give them opportunities to become better at what they do.?
Alaska Communications Brings The Greatest State Together
When you?re born and raised in a place you get to know its charms, idiosyncrasies and most importantly, the people. For Alaskans, that means covering a lot of ground ? they live in America?s largest state. But no matter where they are, Alaska Communications keeps Alaskans connected. That?s what spurred the creation of ?Great Alaska?, the newest spot from VITRO and Alaska Communications, with the help of tilt-shift phenom Sam O?Hare.
Shot across Alaska in Anchorage, Girdwood, Juneau, Kenai and Homer, this new spot shares the company?s mission ? to keep the great state of Alaska connected, in effect making it smaller for families, friends, businesses and the like. VITRO helped deliver on that message with this visually appealing ad ? made possible by O?Hare and his incredible use of still and motion photography.
In fact, more than 70,000 still images were captured, and a Cineflex camera was employed ? as were various tools for getting the crew high enough off the ground to get just the right shots.
Work like this isn?t really work, it?s an opportunity to use art to tell a story and deliver a message. It?s the best kind of advertising because it opens the brand up to do more. In Alaska Communications? case, they?ve been doing more since they opened for business, and ?Great Alaska? is the latest reminder of their commitment. We?re equally committed to them, and couldn?t be happier with this spot.
If you?d like to see earlier work we?ve done for Alaska Communications, click here and here and here!
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will take a first procedural step toward seeking U.N. recognition of a state of Palestine when he addresses the General Assembly in late September, but has not decided when to ask for a vote on his request, the Palestinian foreign minister said Saturday.
Timing is seen as crucial in the Palestinian bid to be recognized as a non-member observer state by the U.N. General Assembly, an upgrade they hope will firmly establish the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as Palestinian territories in the eyes of the world.
Some Abbas aides are pushing for quick action, while Abbas is said to be leaning toward waiting until after the U.S. presidential election in November. An earlier Palestinian U.N. bid could add unwelcome complications to President Barack Obama's re-election efforts.
Palestinian officials have not taken sides publicly in the U.S. presidential race. Although they have expressed disappointment over what they perceive as Obama's failure to pressure Israel, they hope that ? if re-elected ? he will be more decisive in seeking a Mideast deal and freed from some of the domestic political shackles that hinder first-term presidents.
The United States and Israel oppose the Palestinian bid and could take possible punitive steps.
Abbas will address the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 27, and then file the application for observer state recognition with the world body, said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki.
"The application will be deposited and then we will be in touch with the members of the General Assembly, consulting with them on the proper timing for applying," the minister added.
Such a two-step approach gives Abbas flexibility, including the option of playing for time, while satisfying those at home who are eager for a diplomatic initiative.
The United States and Israel argue that a Palestinian state can only be established in negotiations with Israel. However, Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in 2008, with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now deeply at odds over the terms for restarting them. The Palestinians say U.N. recognition is meant to give them more leverage vis-a-vis Israel and not to replace negotiations.
A Palestinian bid last year for full U.N. membership ran aground in the U.N. Security Council because of lack of support. However, the Palestinians expect an overwhelming majority at the General Assembly, which can grant a lesser status of non-member observer state.
This weekend, the Palestinians expect a diplomatic boost, with the arrival in the West Bank city of Ramallah of top officials representing 11 countries in the Non-Aligned Movement, a grouping of mostly Asian, African and Latin American countries. The movement has 120 members, or nearly two-thirds of the states represented in the General Assembly. Palestinian officials say they expect most non-aligned countries to back them.
The officials are part of the Non-Aligned Movement's Palestine Committee and are to issue a declaration in support of a U.N. upgrade for "Palestine" during a two-day meeting that begins Sunday, said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki.
The countries sending top officials are Indonesia, South Africa, Malaysia, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Senegal, Colombia, India, Cuba and Bangladesh. Six of these countries, including Egypt, are sending foreign ministers, Malki said. In the group, Indonesia, Cuba, Malaysia and Bangladesh don't have ties with Israel.
Israel controls all crossings in and out of the West Bank, and Malki said Israel has not yet given final approval for the transit of the foreign dignitaries. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment on the Jewish Sabbath.
Malki said the heads of each delegation are to fly to the West Bank in Jordanian helicopters, while other delegation members are to enter the West Bank by land, through an Israeli-controlled border crossing. He said Algeria, also a member of the Palestine Committee, decided not to attend the gathering because it has no ties with Israel and does not want its officials to go through Israeli crossings.
Jordan, though not a member of the Palestine Committee, is sending its foreign minister, he said.
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Public release date: 15-Aug-2012
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