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Monday, April 8, 2013
Is the Vacuum Of Space Strong Enough to Suck Up the Earth's Oceans?
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Good Reads: Christian Middle East exodus, online ed, drone strikes, and Japan's prisons
The round-up of Good Reads for this week includes a look at the plight of Christians in the Middle East, how online classes are faring, a visual timeline of US drone attacks, and why Japan's crime rate is so low.
Iraqi Christians pray during a mass in Baghdad.
Khalid Mohammed/AP/File
EnlargeThe post-Arab Spring climate in the Middle East has accelerated a ?Christian exodus? from the region, says Hassan Mneimneh of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in a piece on RealClearWorld.com. He sees ?[t]he fate of the Christians in the Middle East? as ?inseparable from the region?s transformation into a viable, prosperous, and progressive home for all of its inhabitants.?
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Christian populations in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian territories have shrunk dramatically in recent years. In Syria, Christians face increased Islamic radicalization. In Egypt, they are being denied basic civic rights and protection. Even in Jordan, the Christian community eyes political and demographic developments within the kingdom warily.
In response, Christians have emigrated from the region en masse. Some have sought alliances with other minorities, including the Alawites of the Assad regime in Syria and Hezbollah (Shiites) in Lebanon. And Mr. Mneimneh says efforts by Christian leaders in Lebanon to gain disproportionate political representation set a ?dangerous precedent.?
Is online ed here to stay?
Massive open online courses, also known as MOOCs, have drawn plenty of attention ? and hundreds of thousands of students. Several elite colleges have joined with companies such as Coursera, edX, and Udacity to offer free online courses, though not for credit, that can have tens of thousands of students at once.
Proponents laud the popular courses for ?democratizing? access to knowledge and for their potential to educate future innovators. Critics who worry about ?the McDonaldization of higher education? deplore a lack of accountability for plagiarism and cheating, and question the quality of the student experience.
What do the professors who create and teach the MOOCs say? According to a survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education, 79 percent believe the courses ?are worth the hype.? Steve Kolowich says the findings signal ?a change of heart that could indicate a bigger shake-up in the higher-education landscape.?
Nearly half of the professors said their MOOCs were as academically rigorous as their in-class versions. The majority (72 percent) felt successful students should be given credit at their institution. And an overwhelming majority believe free online courses will drive down the cost of college generally.
But a majority (55 percent) also said that MOOCs diverted time away from research and traditional teaching. And the average pass rate for their online courses (with a median enrollment of 30,000) was just 7.5 percent.
Professors cited a variety of motivations for teaching MOOCs, both altruistic and professional. But most saw online education as the inevitable wave of the future.
Visualizing drone strikes
According to a recent Gallup poll, 65 percent of Americans support US drone attacks on terrorists abroad, but less than half are closely following news on drones. That?s an awareness gap California media company Pitch Interactive seeks to bridge with its newly launched interactive Web visualization of the US drone strikes that have taken place in Pakistan since 2004. The animated visualization (drones.pitchinteractive.com) charts the chronology, frequency and volume, and victims of the attacks.
Using data primarily from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, New America Foundation, and ?Living Under Drones? (a Stanford/NYU report), Pitch groups victims into four categories: children, civilians, other (?a very grey area?), and high-profile targets, which represent just 1.5 percent of total victims. Civilians and children account for 22.8 percent.
Slate blogger Emma Roller says the data should be taken with a grain of salt. For perspective, she also notes that the Iraq Body Count project estimates 60 percent of those killed in Iraq since 2003 were civilians. And though Pitch says its aim is not ?to speak for or against [drones], but to inform,? Ms. Roller feels the group presents data ?in a way that fits nicely into the ?against? column.?
Why Japan has a low crime rate
In the French daily Le Monde, Phillipe Pons takes a critical look at the harsh conditions of Japanese prisons and high rates of capital punishment. The piece can be read in English (translated by Carolina Saracho) at Worldcrunch, a site that translates and edits content from top foreign-language outlets.
The article describes draconian prisons and a criminal-justice system in which those arrested can be held in detention for 23 days without being charged or having access to a lawyer and in which ?[a]lmost all convictions are obtained thanks to ?confessions.? ? During Prime Minister Shinzo Abe?s 2006-07 term in office, 10 people were hanged in less than a year.
But Japan also has the lowest incarceration and recidivism rates of developed nations. The government says Japan?s relatively low crime rate justifies the tough penalties. And polls show that the majority of Japanese support the death penalty. But criminologists debate ?the deterrent effect? and note other factors at play, such as strict gun laws. On balance, Mr. Pons worries that ?Public order comes at a high price in Japan ? the price of prisoner rights and the presumption of innocence.?
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New St. Thomas Twp. Family Dollar to offer 8-10 jobs
By MARCUS RAUHUT
@MarcusRauhutPO
A new Family Dollar store in St. Thomas Township is on schedule to open this summer. Company spokeswoman Bryn Winburn said an official opening date will be announced six to eight weeks prior to the opening.
The 8,300-square-foot store is under construction at 3835 Lincoln Way West, adjacent to Laurich Building Supply. Family Dollar will lease the property.
Winburn said a typical store employs eight to 10 people, and the company looks to hire from within the community. Hiring will also take place about six to eight weeks before the opening. Apply online at http://corporate.familydollar.com/pages/careers.aspx.
Family Dollar carries a mix of groceries, auto and hardware, clothing, health and beauty, home decor, household and pet products.
Winburn said the company's real estate team uses modeling software to determine locations for stores. Family Dollar also has locations at Southgate Shopping Center, Chambersburg, and in Fayetteville, Greencastle and McConnellsburg.
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Marcus Rauhut can be reached at mrauhut@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4752, or follow him on Twitter @MarcusRauhutPO.
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LPB gets grant for educational programming
By Mark Lamport-Stokes April 4 (Reuters) - Once again, the eyes of the golfing world will be firmly fixed on Augusta National, the spiritual home of the American game and the only permanent venue for any of the four majors, as it stages the 77th Masters in Augusta, Georgia, next week. The immaculate, par-72 layout, affectionately regarded as the 'Cathedral of Pines,' was originally designed by Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones and it has hosted the opening major of the season since 1934. The current 7,435-yard set-up ranks as the ninth longest to hold a major. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lpb-gets-grant-educational-programming-170414678.html
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Online Intelligence Degree: A Path To An Intelligence Profession
The intelligence profession is a very competitive field with employers looking for professionals with practical experience and specialized training and degrees of various emphases. An online intelligence degree can provide the added advantage for young professionals interested in a career in intelligence, or the experienced professional looking for career advancement or to make a career change. Distance or online education courses have been on the rise since 2000. The National Center for Education Statistics latest report on distance learning stated that during 2007-2008 about twenty percent of all undergraduates or 4.3 million students took at least one distance education course. Additionally, approximately 770,000 students, or four percent, were taking their entire undergraduate program through online colleges. The percentage increases to nine percent, or 302,000 students who are taking their entire post baccalaureate education online. Technology allows students to maintain a family and a career while continuing their education online.
The primary employers of intelligence professionals are members of the Intelligence Community (IC). There are seventeen member agencies within the IC focused on threats from terrorism, proliferation, chemical and biological warfare, information infrastructure attack, narcotics trafficking, and counterintelligence. It is important to note that these agencies are at the Federal level. Additionally, the intelligence profession can be expanded to law enforcement intelligence, which is not necessarily a new phenomenon, but has received significant focus in the last decade. Many law enforcement agencies employ an intelligence unit to assist their force in the prevention of crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism. The increased focused in the last decade can be attributed to the 9/11 Commission Report, which identified the growing role for state and local law enforcement agencies in support of National Security. Not only did this report spark new initiatives at the federal level, but also at the state and local level. The report identified that domestic terrorism is a local event that requires critical involvement of state and local government in prevention and response. The gap was filled with increased capabilities to collaborate and share information through several new groups consisting of Federal and state level officials.
There are seven primary categories of intelligence work: analysis, science and technology, information technology, intelligence collection, language, security, and acquisitions and financial management. Skills that are beneficial include strong oral and written communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills. Online intelligence degrees have evolved to meet this demand and develop future intelligence professionals. There are now degree programs for undergraduates and graduates in areas such as strategic security, counterterrorism, and intelligence management. These programs offer courses that cover a wide area of the intelligence profession such as intelligence operations, analysis, cyber terrorism, and corporate security. These programs also allow the student to communicate directly with professionals with vast amounts of experience in the intelligence field.
National Security will always be a priority in the U.S. Almost daily, there is a news article dealing with National Security, whether in the U.S. or abroad. For those looking to become an intelligence professional, an online intelligence degree offers the flexibility to study in intelligence while continuing to gain the practical and professional experience needed to be competitive in this field.
Dan Sommer works for Henley Putnam University, a leading educational institution in the field of Strategic Security. For more info on Henley Putnam University, intelligence profession, online intelligence degree, visit us online at www.Henley-Putnam.edu
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Fisker fires most of its rank-and-file employees
About 75 percent of the workforce at troubled battery-car start-up Fisker Automotive has been laid off, a move forced by the firm?s increasing weak financial situation and the mounting fears that without new investors or partners Fisker could be forced into bankruptcy, numerous sources have confirmed.
The move comes only days after U.S. employees reported back after a week-long, unpaid furlough, and less than a month after founder and former Chairman Henrik Fisker resigned over ?several major disagreements? with members of the small carmaker?s senior management team over its ongoing business strategy.
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"Unfortunately we have reached a point where a significant reduction in our workforce has become necessary," the company said, adding that it was still searching for a strategic partner.
According to sources, the firm is effectively being run by the big gun among its investors, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, which has been pressing Fisker to ?conserve cash? and try to line up new investors, partners or buyers.
But efforts to do so have collapsed, according to sources. Several Chinese partners were talking to Fisker as recently as last month, including Dongfeng Motor Corp., based in Wuhan, China, which reportedly had considered purchasing 85% of the U.S. company. Also reportedly in talks was Zheijangg Geely, the Chinese firm that owns Swedish automaker Volvo.
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Both Chinese firms have pulled out of the discussions ? though one insider cautioned, ?The Chinese play hardball and may be taking advantage of the situation to get their best deal.?
At this point it is not clear what position is being taken by law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which has been brought in to advise on a possible bankruptcy filing.
Calling the layoffs ?a necessary strategic step in our efforts to maximize the value of Fisker's core assets," just 53 managers were asked to remain with the company following the mass firing of 160 employees on Friday morning at its headquarters in Anaheim, California. The company reportedly will provide no severance payments.
The Detroit Bureau: Battery Cars Suddenly Sparking Consumer Interest
Focusing on the plug-in hybrid niche in the nascent electric vehicle market, the company was founded by two industry veterans, Bernard Koehler and the eponymous Henrik Fisker, a Danish designer who was perhaps best known for his work at Aston Martin. Fisker himself tendered his resignation just last month. He had been increasingly isolated from a management team headed by CEO Tony Posawatz who joined the firm last year after leading the development of General Motors? own plug-in, the Chevrolet Volt.
Even before the official launch of the Fisker Karma in early 2012 the company was running into problems that led the U.S. Department of Energy to freeze most of a $529 million loan intended to help Fisker develop its second, more mass-market model, the Atlantic.
The situation contined to worse as the Karma became subject to several recalls for a variety of problems including a defective fan system that caused one vehicle to burn up. Meanwhile, production of the battery-car at a plant in Finland has been on hold since last autumn.
The Detroit Bureau: Ford Reveals Secret Concepts Behind Next F-Series Pickup
Despite having raised an estimated $1.2 billion from private investors ? and having tapped $193 million before the DoE loan was frozen, Fisker reportedly has just $30 million in available cash at this point. It also is expected to get a settlement of $15 million from its bankrupt battery supplier, the former A123, which was recently sold to a Chinese bidder.
Fisker also faces a $10 payment to the DoE on the outstanding portion of its loan that would be due on April 22.
The Energy Department has come under heat for problems with that program which has seen several other loan recipients, including A123, run into trouble as sales of electric vehicles have lagged well behind early, optimistic forecasts.
In a statement, however, DoE spokeswoman Aoife McCarthy contended that, "Despite Fisker's difficulties, our overall loan portfolio of more than 30 projects continues to perform very well, and more than 90 percent of the $10 billion loan loss reserve that Congress set aside for these programs remains intact.?
Barely a week after U.S. employees were put on a 5-day unpaid furlough, troubled Fisker Automotive has apparently given termination notices to as much as half or more of its staff ? including its entire communications department, several well-placed sources have told TheDetroitBureau.com.
While the latest move appears to be part of a desperate move to conserve dwindling cash resources while searching for new investors or a complete outside acquisition, the situation could be even more dire.
?I would not be surprised to see this leading up to the possibility of a bankruptcy filing,? cautioned a well-connected source with long connections to the battery-car maker. Other Fisker sources said such a move would come as no surprise to them, either.
The mass job cuts are just the latest setback to a once-promising company that had hoped to become a major player in the nascent electric vehicle market. It was founded by two industry veterans, Bernard Koehler and the eponymous Henrik Fisker, a Danish designer who was perhaps best known for his work at Aston Martin.
Copyright ? 2009-2013, The Detroit Bureau
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Oil slide continues on jobs report
NEW YORK (AP) ? The price of oil dipped below $93 a barrel Friday after a weak U.S. jobs report cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economy.
U.S. benchmark oil fell 78 cents to $92.48 in midday trading in New York. Brent Crude, which sets the price of oil used by many U.S. refineries to make gasoline, fell $1.64 to $104.70.
It is the third straight day of declines for oil. U.S. benchmark oil has fallen 5 percent since closing Tuesday at $97.19.
Oil fell earlier in the week after the Energy Department reported that storage levels were at their highest levels since 1990 even though refiners had begun to ramp up gasoline production to get ready for the summer driving season.
Now the economy looks like it might not grow fast enough to churn through the nation's high supplies.
The Labor Department reported Friday the economy added 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months and half as many as analysts expected. The slowdown may signal the economy will weaken this spring.
When the economy slows, shippers and travelers burn less gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, reducing demand for crude oil needed to make those fuels.
Oil analyst Jim Ritterbusch said that he expects oil prices to remain weak in the coming weeks. Along with what could be a slower U.S. economy, economic growth in developing markets seems to be slowing slightly and the European economy continues to struggle. At the same time, oil supplies in the U.S. and Europe are high.
U.S. retail gasoline prices inched lower Friday, falling by a penny to $3.63 per gallon, according to AAA, OPIS and Wright Express. Pump prices have been slowly declining since reaching a winter peak of $3.79 on Feb. 27. Last year at this time, U.S. gasoline prices hit their high for the year of $3.94 per gallon.
Natural gas prices have been rising quickly in recent months as cold weather blanketed the country through March and into early April. Half of U.S. homes use natural gas for heating.
Natural gas rose 3.9 percent Friday to $4.10 per thousand cubic feet. That's double the price at this time last year, when the nation was emerging from the warmest winter on record.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
? Heating oil fell 2 cents to $2.94 per gallon.
? Wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $2.88 per gallon.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-slide-continues-jobs-report-162225748--finance.html
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