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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Robert Wagner not interviewed in new Wood inquiry

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Robert Wagner has declined to be interviewed by detectives in a renewed inquiry into the drowning death of his wife Natalie Wood three decades ago, an investigator said Thursday.

Wagner was interviewed by authorities soon after Wood's drowning in 1981, but the e actor is the only person who was on the yacht the night Wood died who has not spoken to detectives as part of the latest inquiry, despite repeated requests and attempts, sheriff's Lt. John Corina said.

Blair Berk, an attorney for Wagner and his family, said the actor had cooperated with authorities since his wife died.

Detectives began re-investigating the case in November 2011. Since then investigators have interviewed more than 100 people, but Wagner has refused and Corina said the actor's representatives have not given any reason for his silence.

The detective's remarks provided new insight into the case that has remained one of Hollywood's enduring mysteries. Earlier this week, coroner's officials released an updated autopsy report that had been under a security hold. It detailed why Wood's death had been reclassified from an accidental drowning to an drowning caused by "undetermined factors."

"Mr. Wagner has fully cooperated over the last 30 years in the investigation of the accidental drowning of his wife in 1981," Berk said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Wagner has been interviewed on multiple occasions by the Los Angeles sheriff's department and answered every single question asked of him by detectives during those interviews."

After 30 years, Berk said, neither Wagner nor his daughters have any new information to add. She said the latest investigation was prompted by people seeking to exploit and sensationalize the 30th anniversary of the death.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/robert-wagner-not-interviewed-wood-inquiry-235940521.html

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Friday, January 18, 2013

Global plant diversity still hinges on local battles against invasives, study suggests

Jan. 17, 2013 ? In Missouri forests, dense thickets of invasive honeysuckle decrease the light available to other plants, hog the attention of pollinators, and offer nutrient-stingy berries to migrating birds. They even release toxins to make it less likely native plants will germinate near them.

Why, then, are recent popular science articles recommending a recalibration of the traditional no-tolerance attitude toward non-native species, suggesting that we've been "unfair" to invasives and should stop "persecuting" them?

Kristin Powell, a graduate student in the lab of Tiffany Knight, associate professor of biology and director of the Environmental Studies Program in Arts & Sciences, together with consulting ecologist Jon Chase, think they've located one source of misunderstanding.

Most scientific studies of the effects of invasive plants are done at a single "scale." Some studies scrutinize biodiversity in meter-square "quadrats" and others scan biodiversity in entire islands or regions.

The problem, the scientists say in the January 18 issue of Science, is that the effect of invasive plants on species richness depends on scale. Invasives decrease species richness at small but not at large scales.

The recognition that findings are scale dependent reconciles at least some dueling scientific studies. "I won't say we've resolved the debate, but I think we've made an important contribution," Knight says.

Whether it will stop journalists from interpreting a quarrel over nuance as a complete reversal of opinion is another question, given the powerful editorial attraction to man-bites-dog stories.

Probing for scale dependence

The three scientists had long suspected that studies of invasive species came to different conclusions because of scale dependence. To test this notion, they analyzed 57 previous invasive studies and confirmed a pattern: invasive plants cause a large loss in species richness at small scales, but this effect diminishes at larger scales.

To test for scale dependence in the field, they then chose three study sites from very different ecosystems across the United States, each straddling an invasion front: a hammock forest in central Florida; an oak-hickory forest in eastern Missouri; and a tropical forest on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

The hammock forest, a mix of live oak, cabbage palm, sweet gum and pignut hickory, is being invaded by the flax lily (Dianella ensifolia). Native to Africa and Asia, the lily forms dense mats on the forest floor.

Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), a mid-story shrub introduced from East Asia as an ornamental and to provide bird habitat, is the black hat in the oak-hickory forests.

The fire tree (Morella faya), a canopy tree from Macaronesia that boosts nitrogen levels in the soil, making it inhospitable to native species and more suitable for other invasives, is the troublemaker in the Hawaiian forest.

Invasives don't just sweep the board

"We counted the number of species per unit area in plots that varied in size from one meter square to 500 meters square -- a quarter the size of a football field -- on either side of the invasion front, and then plotted the number of species against the size of the plot," Powell says.

"At small scales, invaded plots had many fewer species than uninvaded plots, but they picked up species more rapidly, and at broad scales the invasives' effect on diversity virtually disappeared," Powell says.

The main reason for this "scale effect" is just probability, says Powell. "Invasives reduce the sheer number of individual plants in a plot and if there are fewer plants, you'll find fewer species," she says.

The invaded sites can catch up with uninvaded ones, Knight adds, because the number of species does not increase indefinitely.

"At any site, if you sample larger and larger areas, the number of species will eventually plateau. You can keep sampling all you want and you're not going to find any new species because you've found every species that's present in that ecosystem type," Knight says.

At an invaded site, you reach that plateau later, but you do reach it eventually.

What it means for gardeners

The research helps to explain seemingly contradictory findings in the scientific literature, but what does it mean for people who have been hacking down honeysuckle in their backyards and brushing their boots before entering conservation areas to avoid bringing in garlic mustard?

Is it worth whacking invasives or not?

"Emphatically yes," Knight says. "Invasive species are a serious threat," Knight says, "and if we're going to deal with them we need the cooperation of the public. Invasive plants have negative impacts on plant communities at smaller scales -- the scales that are crucial for necessary ecosystem services, like water management and nutrient cycling."

Take that bush honeysuckle choking Missouri's natural areas, for example. It was seeded by birds carrying honeysuckle berries from backyards. To prevent it from turning beloved nature preserves into shrub monocultures, people must remove it from their yards or choose not to plant it in the first place.

While the small scale justifies the fight, the large scale offers hope.

"Invasive plant species are reducing the abundance of native plant species, but most species are still present when we search for them at broad spatial scales. That is to say, they haven't gone extinct yet," Knight says.

"This means it is not too late to restore the habitat and increase the abundances of these native species so that they can contribute to critical ecosystem services and are less vulnerable to extinction in the future," she says.

This research was funded by National Science Foundation grant DEB 1110629.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University in St. Louis. The original article was written by Diana Lutz.

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

Journal Reference:

K. I. Powell, J. M. Chase, T. M. Knight. Invasive Plants Have Scale-Dependent Effects on Diversity by Altering Species-Area Relationships. Science, 2013; 339 (6117): 316 DOI: 10.1126/science.1226817

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/UyWz4QiNwjU/130117142500.htm

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Algeria: Army rescues hostages, toll unclear

In this undated image released Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013, by BP petroleum company, showing the Amenas natural gas field in the eastern central region of Algeria, where Islamist militants raided and took hostages Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013. Islamist militants from Mali attacked the Amenas natural gas field partly operated by BP in Algeria early on Wednesday, killing a security guard and kidnapping at least eight people, including English, Norwegian and Japanese nationals, an Algerian security official and local media reported. Algerian forces, later caught up with and surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, officials said.(AP Photo/BP)

In this undated image released Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013, by BP petroleum company, showing the Amenas natural gas field in the eastern central region of Algeria, where Islamist militants raided and took hostages Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013. Islamist militants from Mali attacked a natural gas field partly operated by BP in southern Algeria early on Wednesday, killing a security guard and kidnapping at least eight people, including English, Norwegian and Japanese nationals, an Algerian security official and local media reported. Algerian forces, later caught up with and surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, officials said.(AP Photo/BP)

Map locates Ain Amenas, Algeria where American hostages were taken

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) ? Algerian special forces launched a rescue operation Thursday at a natural gas plant in the Sahara Desert and freed foreign hostages held by al-Qaida-linked militants, but estimates for the number of dead varied wildly from four to dozens.

Militants claiming revenge for France's intervention against rebels in Mali seized the Ain Amenas natural gas complex on Wednesday, taking dozens of foreign workers hostage.

Algerian state television said Thursday that four captives, two Britons and two Filipinos, had died. But the militants said at least 35 hostages had died in the state's rescue attempt. There was no way to independently verify the toll in the remote location, 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from Algiers.

The reports of high casualties have deeply disturbed foreign governments, prompting a number to criticize Algeria's operation. Britain's Foreign Office attempted to prepare the British public by saying, "We should be under no illusion that there will be some bad and distressing news to follow from this terrorist attack."

Oil prices rose $1.08 on the news to $95.32 on the New York Mercantile Exchange and prompted energy companies like BP PLC and Spain's Compania Espanola de Petroleos SA to try to relocate energy workers at other Algerian plants.

The Algerian government said it was forced to intervene due to the militants' stubbornness and their desire to escape with the hostages.

"An important number of hostages were freed and an important number of terrorists were eliminated, and we regret the few dead and wounded," Algerian Communications Minister Mohand Said Oubelaid told national media, adding that the "terrorists are multinational," coming from several different countries with the goal of "destabilizing Algeria, embroiling it in the Mali conflict and damaging its natural gas infrastructure."

Islamists from the Masked Brigade, a Mali-based al-Qaida offshoot, who have been speaking through a Mauritanian news outlet, said Algerian helicopters opened fire as the militants tried to leave the vast energy complex with their hostages. They claimed that 35 hostages and 15 militants died in the attack and only seven hostages survived.

Algeria's official news service, meanwhile, earlier claimed that 600 local workers were freed in the raid and half of the foreigners being held were rescued. Many of those locals were reportedly released on Wednesday, however, by the militants themselves.

One Irish hostage was confirmed safe: supervising electrician Stephen McFaul, whose mother said he would not be returning to Algeria.

"He phoned me at 9 o'clock to say al-Qaida were holding him, kidnapped, and to contact the Irish government, for they wanted publicity. Nightmare, so it was. Never want to do it again. He'll not be back! He'll take a job here in Belfast like the rest of us," said his mother, Marie.

Dylan, McFaul's 13-year-old son, started crying as he talked to Ulster Television. "I feel over the moon, just really excited. I just can't wait for him to get home," he said.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration was "concerned about reports of loss of life and are seeking clarity from the government of Algeria."

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe protested the military raid as an act that "threatened the lives of the hostages," according to a spokesman.

Jean-Christophe Gray, a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, said Britain was not informed in advance of the raid but described the situation as "very grave and serious." French President Francois Hollande called it a "dramatic" situation involving dozens of hostages.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg would not criticize the Algerian operation but said he wished the Norwegian government would have been notified before it started. He added that while Algeria has declined medical help, Norway will send a plane with medical equipment and personnel.

An unarmed American surveillance drone soared overhead as the Algerian forces closed in, U.S. officials said. The U.S. offered military assistance Wednesday to help rescue the hostages ? whose numbers varied wildly from dozens to hundreds ? but the Algerian government refused, a U.S. official said in Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the offer.

Algerian forces who had ringed the Ain Amenas complex in a tense standoff had vowed not to negotiate with the kidnappers, who reportedly were seeking safe passage. Security experts said the end of the two-day standoff was in keeping with the North African country's tough approach to terrorism.

"I would not be surprised if the death toll was has high as the militants put it, it's a well-known fact that the Algerians never had problems causing a blood bath to respond to terrorist attacks," said Riccardo Fabiani, North Africa analyst for the Eurasia group, who expressed doubt over Algeria's claims that mediation was abandoned in the face of the kidnappers' intransigence. "I wonder whether really in 24 hours you can establish some kind of negotiations with terrorists, I don't think they really tried."

The kidnapping is one of the largest ever attempted by a militant group in North Africa. The militants phoned a Mauritanian news outlet to demand that France end its intervention in neighboring Mali to ensure the safety of the hostages in the isolated plant, located 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of the capital of Algiers.

Phone contacts with the militants were severed as government forces closed in, according to the Mauritanian agency, which often carries reports from al-Qaida-linked extremist groups in North Africa.

A 58-year-old Norwegian engineer who made it to the safety of a nearby Algerian military camp told his wife how militants attacked a bus Wednesday before being fended off by a military escort.

"Bullets were flying over their heads as they hid on the floor of the bus," Vigdis Sletten told The Associated Press in a phone interview from her home in Bokn, on Norway's west coast.

Her husband and the other bus passengers climbed out of a window and were transported to a nearby military camp, she said.

"He is among the lucky ones, and he has confirmed he is not injured," she said, declining to give his name for security reasons.

It was then that the militants went after the living quarters of the plant instead of disappearing back into the desert.

Information about the 41 foreign hostages the militants claimed to have ? which allegedly included seven Americans ? was scarce and conflicting. All were reportedly workers at the plant.

A spokesman for the Masked Brigade told the Nouakchott Information Agency in Mauritania that the seven surviving hostages included three Belgians, two Americans, a Briton and a Japanese citizen.

Earlier in the day before the raid, an Algerian security official said that 20 foreign hostages had escaped. He did not return phone calls after the raid.

The Norwegian energy company Statoil had said three Algerian employees who had been held hostage were safe but the fate of nine Norwegian workers was unclear. Japanese media reported at least 3 Japanese citizens among the hostages and Malaysia confirmed two.

Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the roughly 20 well-armed gunmen operating under orders from Moktar Belmoktar, al-Qaida's strongman in the Sahara, who is now based in Mali.

It is certainly the largest haul of hostages since 2003, when the radical group that later evolved into al-Qaida in North Africa snatched 32 Western tourists in southern Algeria. This is also the first time Americans have been involved.

BP, the Norwegian company Statoil and the Algerian state oil company Sonatrach, operate the gas field and a Japanese company, JGC Corp, provides services for the facility.

Mali and al-Qaida specialist Mathieu Guidere said Algeria's refusal to accept help was also normal.

"They never accept any military help," he said. "They want to do it their way."

___

Associated Press writers Karim Kabir in Algiers, Kimberly Dozier and Robert Burns in Washington, Lori Hinnant and Elaine Ganley in Paris, Bjoern H. Amland in Oslo, Norway, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Cassie Vinograd and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-17-Algeria-Kidnapping/id-fdaace0196f3407ba326e2db765717b9

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Ting announces $100,000 ETF payout fund, will reimburse switchers up to $350 per line

If the only thing keeping you from making a switch to low-cost mobile provider Ting is the pain of early termination fees, we've got a bit of good news: come February 1st, you can tell your current carrier to get lost. Ting has just announced that it's set aside $100,000 for all those willing to call it quits with their current provider. For every cancelled line, Ting will reimburse switchers with up to $350 in non-expiring credits, which will be applied to all future service with the contract-free provider. This means that, depending on your usage -- and the amount of your ETF -- you could effectively score more than a year of free mobile service from Ting.

You'll find all the details at the source link, but here's the important bit to commit to memory: "Anyone that activates within the month of February and that submits their final bill within 30 days of their activation date is eligible for the ETF payout." Now, the only question that remains is whether you're willing to tell your current provider, "It's not me. It's you."

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Ting

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/16/ting-announces-100000-etf-payout-fund/

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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Craft Supplies On A Budget | Home and Family Life - mattipaulgia& ...

When times attain tough our own hobbies are normally first to be able to suffer this specific cutbacks . This kind of list recently a handful of good ideas , save a craft things and you may at the same time find yourself another creative run by giving them a shot . Crafts under no circumstances always have for getting so high priced and it is compelling to improvise.

Wood

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Nature

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Sometimes small lumber stores or possibly hardware distributors have a trash can of offcuts which might fit a lot of uses . Help you save yards and even secondhand stores can be an added source of authentic wood and also outdated furnishings that could be capable of being re-cycled too .

Mother Our mother earth has an infinite bounty with regards to craft products for free . In addition to you get much needed oxygen and exercise in case you are beach finding , walking and fossicking. Shells , off-road , driftwood, seedpods, pebbles , translates into and very low herbage are just things that work well in many hand made projects .

Paper and also card

Op shops besides flea markets

Making your own own

Fabric as well as wool : Employed clothes seen in opportunity outlets and local variety stores can often be an awesome resource of material while you don?t want a lot . Regardless if clothing is very ancient there are actually commonly components which aren?t washed out or perhaps utilized .

Bears and actual dolls : Pieces intended for real life dolls along with carries might be obtained in opshop toys and games .

Scrapbooking papers and credit card : If you are searching out of scrapbook suppliers too expensive see in newsagents, company deliver shops plus department shops pertaining to report as well as unit card . They will not get exactly the same assortment as well as good quality but the truth is will find one thing to assist your own flow of far better papers last a lot more .

Mosaic

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from your own site.

Source: http://www.techwea.com/crafts-hobbies/craft-supplies-on-a-budget.html

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Sony BRAVIA 50" 120Hz 1080p WiFi LED LCD HDTV for $848 + free shipping

TigerDirect offers the Sony BRAVIA 50" 120Hz 1080p LED-Backlit LCD HD Television, model no. KDL-50EX645, for an in-cart price of $977.99. Coupon code "OZT81235" cuts it to $847.99. With free shipping, that's $150 under last week's mention and the lowest total price we could find, also by $150. Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include a 1920x1080 (1080p) native resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, edge-lit LED backlight, BRAVIA Internet Video with Netflix, Hulu Plus, Facebook, YouTube, and Pandora content streaming apps, WiFi, Ethernet, USB, four HDMI inputs, and more.

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Facebook Used as Tool to Con Grandparents

no_scam Online scammers and con men aren?t known for their tact, but a recent scam in the New York tri-state area that?s targeting grandparents is more malicious than most. Con artists are reportedly using Facebook to find out location info about both grandparents and their grandchildren, and then exploiting that information to get money out of concerned grandparents. One popular scam, for instance, has con artists contacting grandparents and telling them that their beloved grandchildren are in some kind of trouble that, of course, requires a little money to get out of, like jail.

?I got a telephone call, and a man was on, and he said that my grandson was in jail, and that I should pay money to get him out on bail or he was going to stay there,? said Ruth Winter, a recent victim of such a scam. ?And instead of thinking, my grandma emotion overcame me.?

These con men are often overseas, making it virtually impossible to track them down and prosecute them for their crimes. However, there are steps families can take to prevent such crimes from occurring. Acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Eric Kanefsky advises families to agree on a secret code word for when they?re in trouble, but not to reveal it on Facebook. He also suggests that people who receive calls telling them that their family members are in trouble should ask pointed questions of the person to determine if they?re telling the truth. Of course, people of all ages should maintain a healthy skepticism of any stranger on the web making strange claims. As it becomes easier for scammers to obtain information on social media, Facebook users have to increase their online privacy knowledge to keep up.