tomcruisese

Thursday, 7 March 2013

Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE)

Google is a company that will never let you forget that it's built upon experimentation. In that regard, the company has released the Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) to a world of believers and doubters. In a nutshell, the Chrombook Pixel is essentially a thin client notebook with a brilliant screen. Like all thin clients, it works well when connected to the Internet, where it can take advantage of the massive infrastructure that Google has built up over the past fifteen years. Away from the Internet, the Chromebook Pixel is somewhat diminished. Take it at face value?as a halo product for a category that Google wants to flesh out over the next few years?and you'll be okay. In early 2013, the Chromebook Pixel is a luxurious experiment that shows potential, but is definitely first-generation hardware that is dependent on omnipresent Internet access.

Design and Display
The Chromebook Pixel feels as solidly built as a bank vault door. It measures about 0.64 by 12 by 9 inches (HWD) and weighs about 3.36 pounds, so it's squarely in the ultraportable and ultrabook chassis category. The dark-silver-colored anodized aluminum case is sharply rectangular, evoking the image of high-end laptops from the early-mid 2000s rather than the tapered and rounded shapes you see today. If you were presented this in a design meeting, you'd think of it as squarely retro, with no visible screws and that vaunted piano hinge with the Chrome name etched in a Sans Serif font on it. Those 3.36 pounds make the Chromebook Pixel feel heavy for its size, even though it is balanced well. This gives you that solid feeling of quality that Steve Jobs used to crow about when talking about the first all-metal Apple PowerBooks in the early 2000s.

The 12.85-inch IPS (In-Plane Switching) screen is the thing that gives the Chromebook Pixel its name. It has a 3:2 aspect ratio, which a throwback to the mid-2000s when everything wasn't 16:9 widescreen yet. A 3:2 aspect ratio is taller overall compared widescreen a 16:9 widescreen, which makes the Chromebook Pixel well suited to the Web apps that it is designed to run. The screen resolution is 2,560 by 1,700 at 239 pixels per inch (ppi), which is imperceptibly denser than the 220 ppi on the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Retina Display) and the 227 ppi on the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Retina Display). On all three screens, video and photos look amazing, with the ability to zoom in and view multi megapixel images clearly without any distortion or blockiness. Streaming videos from HBO Go, Max Go, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix looked spectacular on the Pixel's display, as did the pre-loaded demo video. HBO Go in particular looked like a movie theater screen when viewed at a two-foot distance. Older SD videos were a little blockier, but still looked nice on the Pixel's screen. The screen has a wide viewing angle, so you can share videos with a few close friends.

Touch-Screen Functionality
The Chromebook Pixel comes with a backlit chiclet style keyboard, which was moderately comfortable to use. The keys are a bit slick, but the key feel was similar to other keyboards like the one on the MacBook Pros, the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15-4010nr, and the Editors' Choice for high-end ultrabooks, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. The Chromebook Pixel's multi-touch glass trackpad is very responsive, so much so that you're likely to use that instead of the system's built-in touch screen.

The touch screen is responsive, but the system doesn't come with pinch-to-zoom active by default. You have to go into some hidden settings (Google them) to enable pinch-to-zoom in the Chrome environment. There's also the fact that the Google Chrome OS interface uses traditional UI elements like the launch bar at the bottom of the screen and menu bars at the top of browser windows, so for most users, the trackpad is the way to go.

Speaking of the Chrome browser, Chrome is really the main interface for using this laptop. We've seen it before on Chrome OS systems like the Samsung Chromebook Series 3 (XE303C12) and Acer C7 Chromebook (C710-2847). After you log into any Chromebook, it brings you a screen where the options are to launch the Chrome browser or Web apps that run in the Chrome browser. It's really useful if you have bought into Google's suite of services (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Maps, etc.). If you want to run Web apps in Chrome, there's a link to the Chrome Web Store with thousands of games and apps that work fine, or at least as well or better than those on Windows RT, Android, and iOS devices. All of these apps and websites load very quickly and run well on the system's Intel Core i5-3427U processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000. Wake and boot times were measured in seconds, and Web apps loaded just as quickly on our corporate Internet connection.

One plus for the Chrome OS model is that it is self-updating. As long as Google stays on the game, it will be a very secure haven against malware and viruses. Chrome OS won't be affected by the majority of Windows or Mac OS malware, though you will still have to guard against identity theft and phishing attacks. Since you're mainly working in the cloud with Google Drive, your documents, emails, and other work are saved automatically and are accessible from other PCs and Macs.

Basically, the Chromebook Pixel is a thin client, and while thin clients work great in corporate environments where network access is assured, network access cannot be guaranteed for consumer products. The real issue is that, at this point in time, Internet access outside of the home or work doesn't support a product like this. WWAN, whether tethered, using the built in 4G LTE modem, or on a mobile hotspot, is still too expensive to use all the time. Wi-Fi on trains, planes, and automobiles is spotty at best. Those who live where satellite Internet is the norm or in counties where the Internet runs at DSL speeds are likely to have a poor experience with cloud computing. Early adopter users will forgive spotty Internet access in a $200 laptop. On a $1,450 laptop? Not so much.

Fast and Hot
Most of the time the system is quiet, but when there is a lot of processing happening in the Web browser, like when playing back videos or when you're loading multiple tabs with lots of Flash or HTML5, the fans make themselves heard. Essentially the fans will spool up on the same sorts of sites that spin up the fans on your PC or Mac laptop. The problem is that on a Mac or PC, you can switch to local apps that let the processor cool and let the fans spool down. On the Chromebook Pixel, you're using Flash and HTML5 all the time; thus, active Web apps and rich websites will make the fan run loud more often. When the system is working hard, the keyboard deck near the ESC key starts to get quite warm. It's not an area that most touch typists rest fingers on, but it's worth noting.

Speakers
Other noise concerns involve the internal speakers. They're mounted under the keyboard so that there aren't any unsightly external openings, but that also means that the keys reverberate when you listen to videos and music at high volume levels. Playing test tracks like The Knife's Silent Shout and Daft Punk's Tron Legacy soundtrack made the keyboard buzz with the beat at high volume levels. On the one hand, the Chromebook Pixel pumps out enough sound that you won't need external speakers. On the other, they're not good sounds when the volume is turned up all the way. Audio using the headset jack was fine.

Connectivity
We looked at the LTE-equipped Chromebook Pixel, which is a good model for connectivity. The Chromebook Pixel comes with two USB 2.0 ports for connecting modems, mice, and more. It's a shame that the ports aren't USB 3.0, which would be faster for local storage on USB sticks and hard drives. The Core i5 processor in the Chromebook Pixel will certainly interface fine with USB 3.0. There's also a SD card slot for additional storage, and a mini-DisplayPort for external monitors. The built-in 4G LTE WWAN module on our configuration works on Verizon's network and comes with 100MB per month free (like other Chromebooks with WWAN). However, you're going to burn through that in a short session, so consider upgrading to one of Verizon's larger data plans if you want to use the Chromebook Pixel away from home, the office, or coffee shop hotspots. Because of the limited data plan, you'll likely use the system primarily on Wi-Fi, and it can connect via both 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n. Bluetooth 3.0 is included so you can tether to your phone if you have service for that. Google includes 12 free sessions on GoGo Inflight Internet, but make sure you're on short flights or reserve a seat with a power plug: the Chromebook Pixel with its 59 WHr battery only lasted 4 hour, 11 minutes on our rundown test. This is several hours less than systems like the MacBook Pro 13-inch (74WHr, 7:10 battery life) and the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A (50 WHr, 6:38 battery life). You'll need to keep the Chromebook Pixel near a power plug if you want to continuously use it all day.

Storage
The Chromebook Pixel comes with 64GB of storage, which seems small compared with the 128GB in the MacBook Pro 13-inch and other portables like the Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro, but the Chromebook Pixel comes with 1TB of Google Drive service free for three years. Professionals and Chrome users alike have pointed out that 1TB of Google Drive cloud storage service alone would cost $1,800 over three years, and that you can use Google Drive on your other PCs and Macs. However, there is a 10GB file size limit on Google Drive, and it's less useful to you if you're away from stable Internet service. You can use the SD card reader or external USB drives to supplement the 64GB internal SSD. We were able to copy an MP4 video file to the onboard storage and play it without a connection to the Internet, but other files like spreadsheets are read-only without Google Docs on an Internet connection. Sure, you can set up Google Docs to work offline, but it's not set up that way by default. And even if you set it up, you can only edit word documents and presentations, other documents like spreadsheets and drawings can't be edited offline.

A premium product like the Chromebook Pixel really should be set up to use all of the basic functions like Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive offline by default. That initial setup should automatically be part of the extra services you're paying for. You'll also need to manually download and install your Chrome browser apps that are capable of being used offline. We realize that most of the time you will be connected to Wi-Fi or WWAN, but if you regularly find yourself travelling where your Internet access is spotty or slow (like on a safari, plane, train, ship, or automobile), then you better have a backup like a 4G portable hotspot, tethered phone, or satellite Internet device.

So with all that, what's the verdict? The Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) is appealing in the same way that $150 chopsticks made of carbon fiber are appealing. Yes, they will do all the things that chopsticks are expected do, like lift sushi off of a plate, and they have the luster and feel of expensive material. The question is, why would you get one, when $5 lacquered wood chopsticks will do the same thing for pocket change?

The problem is, aside from the perceived status, screen, and the added extra services, there really aren't a lot of reasons to recommend the Chromebook Pixel over, say, the 13-inch MacBook Pro (with or without Retina Display) or the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. If wireless Internet were cheap, fast, unlimited, everywhere, and reliable, then the Chromebook Pixel with its included Google Drive subscription would be a decent buy at $1,450. However, since wireless Internet is not cheap and everywhere, and since the Chromebook Pixel's battery isn't all day capable, we can't recommend it over any Mac or Windows-based laptop in its price range.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) with several other laptops side by side.

More laptop reviews:
??? Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE)
??? HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15z-b000
??? HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15-4010nr
??? Sony VAIO T15 Touch (SVT15112CXS)
??? Samsung ATIV SmartPC Pro 700T (XE700T1C-A01US)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/s-EbSZTFTuA/0,2817,2416245,00.asp

fletcher cox charlotte bobcats new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island michael brockers lisa marie presley

'State Department' Keystone XL Report Actually Written By

The State Department's "don't worry" environmental impact statement for the proposed Keystone XL tarsands pipeline, released late Friday afternoon, was written not by government officials but by a private company in the pay of the pipeline's owner. The "sustainability consultancy" Environmental Resources Management (ERM) was paid an undisclosed amount under contract to TransCanada to write the statement, which is now an official government document. The statement estimates, and then dismisses, the pipeline's massive carbon footprint and other environmental impacts, because, it asserts, the mining and burning of the tar sands is unstoppable.

The department's contractor-written Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement even says the pipeline will be safe from the climate impacts to which it will contribute.

The documents from the ERM-TransCanada agreement are on the State Department's website, but payment amounts and other clients and past work of ERM are redacted. In the contract documents, ERM partner Steven J. Koster certifies that his company has no conflicts of interest. He also certifies that ERM has no business relationship with TransCanada or "any business entity that could be affected in any way by the proposed work" (notwithstanding the impact statement contract itself). In a cover letter, Koster promises State Department NEPA Coordinator Genevieve Walker that ERM understands "the need for an efficient and expedited process to meet the demands of the desired project schedule."

An investigation by Inside Climate News finds that ERM's report draws from work done by other oil industry contractors, Ensys Energy and ICF International.

Because the impact statement was written by a TransCanada contractor, not by State Department officials, it should come as no surprise that it presents a worldview of a global economy inevitably dependent on dirty fossil fuels that is entirely at odds with the expressed views of Secretary of State John Kerry.

As Secretary of State John Kerry said six years ago, "we're on an urgent clock" to confront fossil-fueled climate change, which he compared to the threat of nuclear weaponry as a "man-made" and "uncontrolled" weapon with "the ability to change life as we know it on this Earth." Kerry's recognition of the scientific necessity to keep global concentrations of carbon dioxide below 450 ppm should preclude the possibility of building a pipeline designed to pump seven gigatons of carbon dioxide worth of tar sands crude over decades.

According to TransCanada's paid report, "production of WCSB and Bakken crude oil will proceed with or without the proposed Project."

As Kerry said last month, "We need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy."

Brad Johnson is the campaign manager of Forecast the Facts. He was previously the editor for ThinkProgress Green. Brad holds a bachelor's degree in math and physics from Amherst College and master's degree in geosciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This post was originally published on grist.org.

Follow Brad Johnson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/climatebrad

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-johnson/keystone-xl-pipeline-report_b_2825044.html

dwight howard Olympics closing ceremony PGA Championship 2012 John Witherspoon george michael usain bolt Closing Ceremony London 2012

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Did you know colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States?but it doesn?t have to be. Statistics show that barely half of New Yorkers over 50 have had a colonoscopy.

A colonoscopy doesn?t just detect cancer, it prevents it.

News10NBC wants to make sure you know how to keep yourself healthy. We have teamed up with the Wilmot Cancer Center to host a phone bank where you can call in and ask Wilmot doctors questions about colorectal cancer, screenings and prevention. The event will be on Wednesday, March 6 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

If you have questions for the Wilmot doctors, e-mail us at news10@whec.com and we will ask them for you or call the doctors directly at 585-275-8762.

Did you know....

90% - The percentage of colorectal cancers that are completely curable when diagnosed early
30% - The percentage of Americans over 50 who have had a colonoscopy
40% - The percentage of colorectal cancers that are found in early stage
10% - The survival rate of colorectal cancer when detected in late stage
51,000 - The number of lives colorectal cancer claimed in 2010

Wilmot Cancer Center will be mailing a Facts & Fallacies brochure to anyone who calls in that would like a copy to learn more about colorectal cancer.

For more informations about colorectal cancer, please visit www.coloncancer.urmc.edu.

Source: http://fairport-eastrochester-perinton.whec.com/news/health/98871-march-colorectal-cancer-awareness-month

jim marshall died 2013 toyota avalon the secret life of bees full moon aubrey o day masters live johan santana

Syrian rebels seize U.N. peacekeepers near Golan Heights

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have seized a convoy of U.N. peacekeepers near the Golan Heights and say they will hold them captive until President Bashar al-Assad's forces pull back from a rebel-held village which has seen heavy recent fighting.

The capture was announced in rebel videos posted on the Internet and confirmed on Wednesday by the United Nations, which said about 20 peacekeepers had been detained.

The seizure is the most direct threat to U.N. personnel in the nearly two-year-old uprising against Assad, and Human Rights Watch said it was investigating the same brigade for past executions.

It came on the day Britain said it would increase aid to the opposition forces and the Arab League gave a green light to member states to arm the rebels.

The Arab League also invited the opposition Syrian coalition to take Syria's seat at a meeting of the regional body in Doha later this month. Syria was suspended in November 2011 in response to its crackdown on protests which has since spiraled into civil war.

In the latest attack by the Syrian military, warplanes bombarded the northeastern provincial capital of Raqqa for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people, opposition activists said. Video footage showed fighters putting dismembered bodies in an ambulance.

The peacekeepers of the UNDOF mission have been monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, captured by the Jewish state in a 1967 war, for nearly four decades.

Israel has warned that it will not "stand idle" as Syria's civil war spills over into the Golan region.

The United Nations in New York said its peacekeepers had been detained by around 30 fighters in the Golan Heights. The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the seizure of U.N. observers and demanded their immediate release.

"The U.N. observers were on a regular supply mission and were stopped near Observation Post 58, which had sustained damage and was evacuated this past weekend following heavy combat in close proximity at Al Jamla," the United Nations said, referring to a village which saw fierce clashes on Sunday.

It did not mention the nationality of the observers, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which is in contact with the rebel brigade, said they were Filipino.

In one rebel video, a young man saying he was from the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade stood surrounded by several rebel fighters with assault rifles in front of two white armored vehicles and a truck with "UN" markings.

"The command of the Martyrs of Yarmouk ... is holding forces of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force until the withdrawal of forces of the regime of Bashar al-Assad from the outskirts of the village of Jamla," said the man, who was wearing civilian clothes.

At least five people could be seen sitting in the vehicles wearing light blue U.N. helmets and bulletproof vests.

"If no withdrawal is made within 24 hours we will treat them as prisoners," the man said, accusing them of collaborating with Assad's forces to push the rebels out of Jamla.

Nearly two years after the uprising started, rebels are distrustful of the United Nations, which they say has failed to support their cause.

MILITARY AID

Earlier on Wednesday, the United Nations said the number of refugees who have fled Syria had reached 1 million, part of an accelerating exodus from a conflict which is approaching its second anniversary with no prospect of an end to the bloodshed.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, pledging support for Assad's opponents, said the civil war had reached catastrophic proportions and that international efforts to stem the violence had been an abject failure.

Senior U.S. and Russian diplomats will discuss the conflict at a meeting in London on Thursday, Russia said, the latest in a series of meetings aimed at seeking an end to the fighting.

But Hague said the chances of getting an immediate political solution to the crisis were slim and that diplomacy was taking too long.

"If a political solution to the crisis in Syria is not found and the conflict continues, we and the rest of the European Union will have to be ready to move further, and we should not rule out any option for saving lives," he said.

However, Hague played down the prospect of direct Western military intervention.

While Moscow has been one of Assad's main protectors, members of an Islamist insurgency involved in daily clashes in Russia's predominantly Muslim North Caucasus and their compatriots have trickled into Syria to fight on the rebels' side.

A Syrian rebel leader sought to persuade European governments to lift an arms embargo for the rebels, saying any weapons provided would be accounted for and possibly returned.

"The weapons are registered on lists with numbers on each weapon. We distribute those weapons. And we know precisely who has received them," Brigadier Selim Idris told a news conference in Brussels.

ONE MILLION REFUGEES

At a registration center for Syrians in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a 19-year-old mother of two registered on Wednesday as the millionth refugee to flee her country.

"The situation is very bad for us. We can't find work," said the teenage mother, wearing a green headscarf and holding her daughter as she spoke to reporters.

"I live with 20 people in one room. We can't find any other house as it is too expensive. We want to return to Syria. We wish for the crisis to be resolved."

Syrians started trickling out of the country 23 months ago when Assad's forces shot at pro-democracy protests inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.

The uprising has since turned into an increasingly sectarian struggle between armed rebels and government soldiers and militias. An estimated 70,000 people have been killed.

Around half the refugees are children, most of them aged under 11, and the numbers leaving are mounting every week, the United Nations refugee agency said in statement.

"With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally, and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiraling towards full-scale disaster," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ant?nio Guterres said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Jonathon Burch in Anakara; Editing by Michael Roddy and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-seize-u-n-peacekeepers-near-golan-181448065.html

Missouri Election Results Amendment 64 marijuana huffington post elizabeth warren puerto rico diane sawyer

Dow closes at record high, soaring past 14,200

JeeYeon Park , CNBC ? ? ? 2 hrs.

Riding a wave of optimism, the Dow Jones industrial average closed Tuesday above levels not seen since before the financial crisis and before the Great Recession.

It was a journey more than five years in the making, as investors slowly and then with greater urgency over that time, plowed money into stocks, mainly because there were few other places in the economy in which to make more money.

The blue-chip index, the best known and most widely followed measure of stock prices, rose 125.95 points, or 0.89 percent, to end at 14,253.77, led by Boeing and United Technologies. The Dow Jones Transportation Average also touched a record high.

More than 100 companies ranging from retailers to Internet giants, food makers and industrial companies rose to annual, multiyear or all-time highs. Since the Dow's last all-time high in 2007, Home Depot and IBM have been the biggest gainers, while Alcoa and Bank of America have been the worst performers.

So far, the Dow is up nearly 9 percent in 2013, surpassing the 7.3 percent gain for all of 2012.

The broader S&P 500 index closed up 14.59 points, or .96 percent, to 1,539.79. The tech-laden Nasdaq jumped 42.10 points, or 1.32 percent, to 3,224.13.

Stocks got a big boost Tuesday from upbeat economic data from Europe. China helped too, pledging to meet its growth targets.

But the main fuel for the record-setting climb has been near-zero interest rates from the Federal Reserve, which have spurred the housing market, but also made it difficult to make money buying bonds or holding money in savings accounts.

But what does the new high mean for the economy?

"It's meaningful in the sense it obviously has a lot of media potential - it's likely to move stories about the stock market to the front page from the financial section," said investor Hugh Johnson. "From that point of view it is good news in that it tends to lift spirits or raise confidence. There is the wealth effect of the fact that when you start to lift confidence it leads to stronger consumer spending. From that point of view it will have positive feedback on the economy," he added.

In Johnson's view, the gridlock in the nation's capital is unlikely to bring the market down.

"The question it is going to raise - which this market has raised continuously - is how is it this market is doing so well in the face of meaningful spending cuts coming out of Washington with the sequester? The message of the markets is although the sequester is likely to impact gross domestic product, it is not likely to end the current stock market business cycle, or the bull market expansion. It is not likely to interrupt the current cycle."

(Read More: Cramer: Near All-Time Highs, Should You Buy?)

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) non-manufacturing index, which tracks monthly changes in the services sector, said the pace of growth in the vast U.S. services sector accelerated to its fastest pace in a year in February, helped by a rise in new orders and demand for exports.

ISM said its services index rose to 56 from 55.2 in January, exceeding economists' forecasts for 55. It was the highest level since February 2012. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

The new orders index jumped to 58.2 from 54.4, while orders for exports rose to their highest level since May 2007 with that gauge at 60.5, up from January's 55.5.

"This was no question a positive number," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon. "It reflects improvement in reinforces the view that the economy continues to improve and should contribute to gains that have driven the stock market to a new record."

European shares were boosted by the news that euro zone finance ministers have struck an agreement to bail out Cyprus by the end of March, although they have yet to work out the details of the 17 billion euro ($22.1 billion) financial aid package.

Shares in mainland China recovered 2 percent after hitting a six-week closing low in the previous session, as outgoing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao set out a reform plan at the National People's Congress in order to achieve a 2013 growth target of 7.5 percent.

(Read More: Why China's Property Market Is Getting Scary)

The Senate Budget Committee is meeting to discuss reducing the fiscal deficit by eliminating wasteful spending in the tax code.

"We are seeing money going into the asset class," said Shawn Matthews, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, but at some time investors can expect a "pause," he added.

House Speaker John Boehner said President Barack Obama and he had made no headway on a deal to avoid sequestration over the weekend. Meanwhile, House Republicans are expected to introduce a bill to extend government funding through September, to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month.

While stocks so far have largely ignored sequester concerns, analysts say signs the cuts are beginning to impact the economy could eventually move markets.

On Monday afternoon, Stephen King, chief global economist at HSBC, said that the U.S. was living in "a fantasy world" over the impact sequestration would have on growth.

"If you look at the projections from the Congressional Budget Office, they assume that growth goes back to between four to five percent in real terms between 2014 and 2018. Their numbers suggest that the U.S. will post the fastest rate of productivity growth of any decade in the last 50 or 60 years," King told CNBC Europe. "Even allowing for the fact that there's some debt reduction, coming through sequestration, there's still a degree of wishful thinking with regard to the economy which probably isn't going to come true."

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/dow-skyrockets-sets-record-highest-close-1C8685444

Chase.com Talk Like a Pirate Day raiders Demi Lovato iOS 6 Features big brother Shakira

Mining lobby dismisses claims of power grab in RMA reforms ...

The mining lobby group Straterra says the government is right to try and improve the operation of the Resource Management Act and dismisses environmental groups' claims of a Ministerial power grab as "rubbish."

"We all want the same thing, a robust framework for assessing development proposals against economic, environmental, social and cultural criteria," Straterra chief executive Chris Baker said in a statement. "But we want that to be a workable framework, not a frustrating framework, and that's what we have now."

Environment Minister Amy Adams hit out at criticisms from the Environmental Defence Society, New Zealand Forest & Bird Protection Society, the New Zealand Fish and Game Council and others, accusing them of making misleading statements about the proposed reforms, which were published last week for public submissions.

"Contrary to claims, core environmental protections have been maintained in the RMA and will, in many cases, be strengthened by the Government's proposals," she saoid.

Straterra's Baker said "accusations of a central government power grab are rubbish when it is considered that councils will still be in charge of writing plans, with public input, from the ground up.

"The government already has the power of intervention at the local level - what this reform package does is provide criteria around when that is or is not appropriate," Baker said. "Who would argue with that?"

Adams will take the stage this Saturday with EDS director Gary Taylor in a discussion of the RMA proposals at the annual conference of the National Party's Blue-Greens, a grouping within the party that seeks to promote environmental sustainability in the party's policy-making.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Related News

Brierley cashes in more GPG shares, chairman Campbell builds up stake
Fulton Hogan irons out Pacific Highway problems, says 1H sales and profit 'performed soundly'
Snakk Media almost doubles on NZAX listing debut, signals share purchase plan in 2Q
NZ building activity expands for 5th quarter in December, residential construction slows
NZX cash trading value jumps by 58 percent in February from a year earlier
Minister Guy extends North Island drought zone
Blue Star snaps up Geon labels unit out of receivership
SkyCity-Brookfield consortium short-listed for Gold Coast mega-development
NZ dollar climbs above 83 US cts as local dairy prices surge at Fonterra auction
While you were sleeping Dow climbs to record

Previous News

Stock Quote

Today's Market Numbers

Venus sparkles in new views from Saturn

NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI

The planet Venus sparkles as a bright point of light, seen through the rings of Saturn, in this image from NASA's Cassini orbiter. Venus is the speck just above and to the right of the image's center. The picture was captured on Nov. 10, 2012.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has been sending us eye-filling pictures of the giant planet Saturn for almost nine years, but every so often, the camera also sees the small fry of the solar system?? such as Venus, which shines in the two latest offerings from the Cassini imaging team.

One of the photos, captured last November, shows Venus as seen through Saturn's gossamer rings, from a distance of 884 million miles (1.42 billion kilometers, or 9.51 AU). The other picture highlights Venus as a "morning star," hanging just beyond Saturn's edge and next to the giant planet's G ring. Venus was 849 million miles (1.37 billion kilometers, or 9.13 AU) away when that picture was taken in January, according to the imaging team.?

From such a distance, Venus looks like nothing more than a bright speck. Which isn't surprising, considering that Earth takes on pretty much the same appearance from Saturn, even though it's slightly bigger. The mind-boggling perspectives involved in space vistas led the late astronomer Carl Sagan to call our home planet a "pale blue dot," and I guess that makes Venus a pale yellow dot.

Venus looks lovely from millions of miles away, but it's not a place you'd want to visit, Carolyn Porco, the leader of the imaging team at the Colorado-based Space Science Institute, said in an email:

"Along with Mercury, Earth, and Mars, Venus is one of the rocky 'terrestrial' planets in the solar system that orbit relatively close to the sun," she wrote. "It has an atmosphere of carbon dioxide that reaches nearly 900 degrees Fahrenheit (500 degrees Celsius), a surface pressure 100 times that of Earth's, and is covered in thick, white sulfuric acid clouds, making it very bright. Despite a thoroughly hellish environment that would melt lead, Venus is considered a twin of our planet because of their similar sizes, masses, rocky compositions and close orbits.

"Think about Venus the next time you find yourself reveling in the thriving flora, balmy breezes, and temperate climate of a lovely day on Earth, and remember: You could be somewhere else!"

NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI

Dawn on Saturn is greeted across the vastness of interplanetary space by the morning star, Venus, in this image from Cassini. Venus appears just off the edge of the planet, in the upper part of the image, directly above the white streak of Saturn's G ring. Lower down, Saturn's E ring makes an appearance. A bright spot near the E ring is a distant star. This picture was captured on Jan. 4, at a distance of about 371,000 miles (597,000 kilometers) from Saturn.

The Cassini spacecraft is sending back unprecedented imagery of Saturn, its rings and its moons. Click "Launch" to see some of the greatest hits from the Cassini mission.

More about Saturn and Venus:

Slideshow: Month in Space

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/04/17182725-venus-sparkles-in-views-from-saturn?lite

orange bowl Rose Parade 2013 rex ryan PNC Bank Louisville football Fidelity pnc