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Monday, January 30, 2012
Study Finds Growing Up WIth Gadgets Has a Downside: Social Skill Impairment
PolygamousRanchKid writes with this excerpt from a CNN story:"Tween girls who spend much of their waking hours switching frantically between YouTube, Facebook, television and text messaging are more likely to develop social problems, says a Stanford University study published in a scientific journal on Wednesday. Young girls who spend the most time multitasking between various digital devices, communicating online or watching video are the least likely to develop normal social tendencies, according to the survey of 3,461 American girls aged 8 to 12 who volunteered responses. The study only included girls who responded to a survey in Discovery Girls magazine, but results should apply to boys, too, Clifford Nass, a Stanford professor of communications who worked on the study, said in a phone interview. Boys' emotional development is more difficult to analyze because male social development varies widely and over a longer time period, he said."
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Record-Setting Astronaut Retires from NASA (SPACE.com)
NASA astronaut Jerry Ross, the first person ever to fly seven space missions, is hanging up his spacesuit.
After three decades as an astronaut, including almost 1,400 hours spent in orbit, Ross is retiring from NASA and plans to take some time off.
"Jerry has been instrumental in the success of many of NASA's human spaceflight missions and numerous spacewalks," said NASA's Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson in a statement. "Not only were his skills and operational excellence key in major spaceflight activities but his expertise and vigilance also helped all those who followed in his footsteps. We are the better for his years of dedication to the corps and NASA."
During his seven flights, Ross spent 58 hours and 18 minutes on nine spacewalks ? enough to rank third on the list of people who've accumulated the most time floating outside a spacecraft. [Biggest Human Spaceflight Records of All Time]
?"As one of the most experienced astronauts? ??not just by number of launches, but by time spent outside during spacewalks ??Jerry Ross made long-lasting and important contributions to U.S. space history," said space history and artifacts expert Robert Pearlman, editor of SPACE.com sister site collectSPACE.com.?"I understand that he plans to release his autobiography, titled 'Space Walker,' in next couple of years. I, along with a good number of space history enthusiasts, will be eager to read his insights into the shuttle and space station programs."
Ross, now 64, plans to explore a bit closer to home in his retirement.
"Ross and his wife of 42 years, Karen, are looking forward to continued travels, especially visiting New Zealand and Australia," his hometown local newspaper Northwest Indiana Times reported. "Ross will have time for his many hobbies, including genealogy, woodworking, photography and model rocketry."
Ross, a retired Air Force colonel, joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1980. He flew on three different space shuttles ??Endeavour, Columbia and Atlantis ??during his spaceflight career.
Ross' first flight into space was on Atlantis' STS-61B mission to deploy three communications satellites in 1985. Ross' last mission was the STS-110 flight of Atlantis in 2002, which delivered the S-Zero truss segment to the backbone of the International Space Station.
Ross' daughter Amy Ross is an engineer who designed space gloves for NASA. Her father wore the first pair she designed during a spacewalk on the STS-88 mission to the space station in December 1998.
In addition to flying in space, as an astronaut Ross managed NASA's Vehicle Integration Test Office.
"Jerry was equally invaluable leading this critical team, especially through space station assembly, the transition to the space shuttle retirement, and during the initial phases of our future programs," said Janet Kavandi, director of Flight Crew Operations at NASA, in a statement. "He was considered a mentor to many he worked with there. We wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement."
You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Cruise ship fuel removal stalled due to rough seas
Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
View of the bow of the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Italian firefighters approach the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
GIGLIO, Italy (AP) ? Rough seas off Italy's Tuscan coast forced a delay in the planned Saturday start of the operation to remove a half-million gallons of fuel from the grounded Costa Concordia, and officials said pumping may now not begin until midweek.
Recovery operations continued, however, and on Saturday yielded a 17th body: The woman who wasn't wearing a life jacket was found by divers on the submerged sixth floor deck, civil protection officials said.
The Concordia ran aground on Jan. 13 off the port of the island of Giglio port after the captain deviated from his planned route and gashed the hull of the ship on a reef. Some 4,200 passengers and crew endured a panicked evacuation after the abandon ship alarm didn't sound until the ship had capsized so much that some life boats couldn't be lowered.
Some 16 people remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead.
On Saturday, the body found on the ship's deck on Jan. 28 was identified as Erika Soria Molina, 25, of Peru by Doris Sotomayor, Peru's consul general in Florence.
Sotomayor told The Associated Press that the body was found in a submerged part of the deck. Soria, who was wearing a service uniform, studied tourism in Peru and was born in the Andean city of Cuzco, southeast of Lima.
The removal of the fuel aboard the Concordia is a key concern since the seas around Giglio form part of a protected marine sanctuary and are a favorite destination for scuba divers. So far, no leakage has been detected.
Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit has been contracted by the Concordia's owner Costa Crociere SpA, a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., to remove the fuel. Smit's divers have made the necessary preparations to begin pumping out fuel from six outer tanks that hold more than half of the 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of heavy fuel oil that are aboard the ship.
The rest of the fuel is contained in inner tanks that are harder to access.
So far, divers have drilled into four of the six outer tanks and fixed valves on them: one on top, one on bottom. Hoses will then be attached to the valves and as the oil ? which must be warmed to make it less gooey ? is sucked out of the upper hose, sea water is pumped in to fill the vacuum via the lower hose.
Smit spokesman Martijn Schuttevaer told reporters Saturday that the pumping operation may not begin now until midweek since the poor weather is forecast at least through Tuesday. Officials don't want to risk the possibility that a battering of the hoses caused by rough seas might lead to leakage.
On Saturday, the choppy waters partially dislodged Smit's barge that was hitched to the Concordia's hull and had served as a staging platform for the fuel removal operation. Smit brought it back into port, where it will stay until the weather improves, Schuttevaer said.
The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, remains under house arrest, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before its passengers had evacuated. He has admitted he took the ship on "tourist navigation" to bring it close to Giglio but said the reef he hit wasn't marked on his nautical charts.
___
Winfield reported from Rome. Franklin Briceno contributed in Lima, Peru.
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A Picture Collage of Life After Cancer - NYTimes.com
By TARA PARKER-POPE
In April 2010, we asked Well readers to share their stories of cancer survival. Over the following weeks and months, more than 1,150 people submitted their photos and stories, creating an inspiring collage of the life that is possible after cancer.
Now we?ve updated the feature to make it easier to learn more about the lives of those who have been touched by cancer. You can search for stories on a particular type of cancer. Just type a word like ?brain? or ?prostate? or ?breast? into the search box. Or if you?d like to learn more about people in your area, you can search by location. Type ?Austin? in the search box, and you?ll find nine stories; type ?Seattle? and you?ll find 30.
?I feel that I am playing the hand that I was dealt and playing it quite well, with the complete intention of winning,? writes Seana Smith of Burbank, Calif., who submitted a photo of her bald head painted in pink and purple.
?My Four Letter Word,? writes Paula K., of Chicago, displaying a stone painted with the word ?Hope.?
Jeff Peters, pictured in Paris, keeps it simple. ?Less talk, more action,? he writes.
Once you?ve explored the site, you?ll find it?s easy to join the Picture Your Life community. Just click on the link to submit your own story and photo.
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/a-picture-collage-of-life-after-cancer/
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Turkish state TV airs Holocaust film (AP)
ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkey has marked the international Holocaust Remembrance Day by airing a French epic documentary about the Holocaust.
TRT television's documentary channel showed filmmaker Claude Lanzmann's "Shoah" late on Thursday, on the eve of the remembrance day.
The filmaker said this is the first time the film was broadcast on state television in a Muslim country.
The documentary was aired as part of a campaign to promote understanding between Jews and Muslims and to fight Holocaust denial.
In March, a Los Angeles-based Farsi satellite channel had also broadcast the 9-plus-hour documentary in Iran, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned historical accounts of the Holocaust.
Lanzmann worked for 11 years on the film, which was released in 1985.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Secret hostage rescue played out as Obama spoke
This handout photo provided by the White House shows President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, during a phone call from the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, immediately after his State of the Union Address, informing John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia. (AP Photo/Pete Souza, White House)
This handout photo provided by the White House shows President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, during a phone call from the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, immediately after his State of the Union Address, informing John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia. (AP Photo/Pete Souza, White House)
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)
Cabinet members, from left, Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner listen to President Barack Obama's the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows American Jessica Buchanan from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)
This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows Dane Poul Hagen Thisted from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The secret was still intact when President Barack Obama, entering the House chamber Tuesday evening to deliver his State of the Union speech, pointed at his Pentagon chief and said, "Good job tonight."
Unknown to a global television audience watching the annual Capitol Hill ritual, a bold U.S. raid was still playing out half a world away with an elite Navy SEAL team's rescue of two hostages in Somalia, one of them an American. It was the same unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Publicly, Obama did not tip his hand during his speech, though microphones picked up his congratulation to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the House chamber. Obama pointed his index finger to Panetta and said, "Good job tonight. Good job." Panetta smiled broadly.
Obama had learned shortly before that American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, were safely in U.S. military hands. Immediately after the speech, Obama telephoned Buchanan's father from the Capitol to tell him that she was safe and "on her way home," according to the White House.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said that although the two hostages were safe by the time Obama gestured to Panetta, the secretive rescue mission had not yet been completed.
Kirby and other Pentagon officials declined to reveal details of how the rescue was conducted, although they said the Americans originally intended to capture alive and detain the kidnappers. Instead, for reasons that have not been explained publicly, they killed all nine of them.
Panetta's press secretary, George Little, said the kidnappers were heavily armed, with explosives "nearby." He said neither the two hostages nor any members of the U.S. assault team were injured.
Little said one factor in deciding to go ahead with the rescue was that Buchanan's medical condition had been deteriorating. He said it was believed that her condition could be life-threatening. Neither Kirby nor Little would say more about her medical problem or say how the U.S. learned of it getting worse.
In his State of the Union speech the president did not mention the rescue, though he did refer to another successful military operation ? the May 2011 killing of bin Laden in Pakistan by Navy SEAL Team 6.
"One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden," Obama said in his speech.
Tuesday's rescue was carried out by the same SEAL unit that carried out the bin Laden operation, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. The unit is the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team 6. The members of the unit who carried out the rescue operation were not the same personnel as those who killed bin Laden, the U.S. officials said.
In a predawn White House statement, Obama praised U.S. Special Operations Forces who rescued Buchanan and the Dane, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint by Somali pirates in October.
"As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement.
A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the top secret operation, said the SEAL team parachuted into the area and got to the rescue site on foot. The official said U.S. Air Force special operations planes carried the SEALs to the parachute drop zone, and Army special operations helicopters carried the raiders and their hostages to safety.
Panetta, in a statement, said Buchanan and Hagen Thisted "have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home." He said the two hostages were not harmed during the operation, and no U.S. troops were killed or injured.
"This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Panetta said.
On NBC's "Today," Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. decided to move after determining that Buchanan's health "was beginning to decline."
"We wanted to act," Biden said.
Obama approved the mission Monday. On Tuesday, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, gave the president half a dozen updates on the movement of forces and the progression of rescue operation.
About two hours before Obama was scheduled to begin delivering his State of the Union address, Brennan told him Buchanan and Thisted were safe and in U.S. hands.
After delivering his address, Obama called Buchanan's father. In his statement Wednesday, Obama said he told John Buchanan "that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."
"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice," Obama said. "This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."
Biden had high praise for the special forces. "It takes your breath away, their capacity and their bravery," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." ''These guys and women are amazing."
___
Associated Press writers Julie Pace and Robert Burns contributed to this report.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: AT&T, Verizon Communications ...
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL ? January 24, 2012 ? Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include AT&T Inc. ( T), Verizon Communications Inc. ( VZ), Apple Inc. ( AAPL), Google Inc. ( GOOG) and 3M Company Inc. ( MMM).
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513
Here are highlights from Monday?s Analyst Blog:
Earnings Preview: AT&T
The second-largest U.S. mobile service provider AT&T Inc. ( T) is slated to release its fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 earnings on January 26, before the opening bell. The current Zacks Consensus Estimates for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 are 45 cents and $2.24, respectively, representing substantial year-over-year decline of 18.62% and 2.15%.
Looking at surprises, AT&T had average positive surprise of 1.77% in the past four quarters.
The company did not release any financial forecast for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 at its third quarter conference call.
Third Quarter Flashback
In the third quarter, AT&T?s adjusted earnings matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate but improved substantially from the year-ago earnings. Revenue, however, slipped from the year-ago level and also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Wireless revenue improved on the heels of robust mobile broadband growth, higher smartphone sales and an upswing in branded computing subscribers. Wireline revenue, which was impacted by declining traditional voice access lines, was a spoiler. On the other side, wireline U-verse TV and bundled satellite subscribers remained healthy during the third quarter on continued high-speed Internet attach rates.
Agreement of Analysts
Estimates have been trending downward for both the fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 over the last 7 and 30 days. For the fourth quarter, 3 and 8 analysts out of 25 analysts made downward revisions in the last 7 and 30 days, respectively. For fiscal 2011, out of the 29 analysts, respective 2 and 7 made downward revisions in the last 7 and 30 days.
None of the analysts made positive revisions for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2011.
The analysts have turned negative following the unsuccessful outcome of the T-Mobile merger story. Last month, AT&T dropped its $39 billion bid to purchase T-Mobile, announced in March last year. The company agreed to pay T-Mobile $3 billion in cash and $1 billion for spectrum access for dropping the deal.
As a result, AT&T is expected to incur charges of around $4 billion in the fourth quarter due to the failure of the proposed takeover, which will negatively hurt its profits.
With the termination of the deal, AT&T?s hopes of becoming the largest U.S. wireless carrier, dethroning Verizon Communications Inc. ( VZ) are shattered. Now, the company is in need for additional airwaves to expand its advanced high-speed 4G services given its exponential growth in mobile broadband traffic.
Already criticized for dropped calls and poor network coverage, AT&T will face more constraints in its capacity deployment compared to Verizon, hurting subscriber growth.
Coming to the most popular device - Apple Inc.?s ( AAPL) iPhone, AT&T saw an astounding demand for the new iPhone 4S and activated more than one million iPhone 4S during the first six days of launch (October 7). This marks the best order ever received by AT&T for the device. We expect the new iPhone 4S, lower pricing on iPhone 4, new Google Inc.?s ( GOOG) Android handsets as well as new Long-Term Evolution ("LTE") handsets would drive smartphone sales upward, making it the best ever fourth quarter. Despite this, high marketing or subsidy cost associated with the iPhone is restricting its bottom line.
AT&T is currently paying a hefty subsidy of approximately $300 per phone to Apple, which is dilutive to the company?s earnings. Hence, the analysts are concerned regarding the failure of the T-Mobile transaction and lofty subsidies, which will hurt AT&T profitability. Further, they will be watching the movements of AT&T for acquiring additional airwaves, which can help the company to increase its capacity networks.
Magnitude ? Consensus Estimate Trend
The magnitude of the fourth quarter estimate revisions remained unchanged at 45 cents over the last 7 days but was down by 2 cents over the last 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.24 for fiscal 2011 was revised downward from $2.25 in the last 7 days and $2.27 in the last 30 days.
Our Recommendation
We believe AT&T will generate strong growth on the back of healthy iPhone and smartphone sales coupled with growth in tablets and connected devices that will accelerate subscriber gains while reducing churn rate. The launch of 4G LTE networks, expanding U-verse services, and entry into cloud computing and hotel WiFi businesses would boost the company?s profitability.
In addition, AT&T was the first wireless carrier to provide mobile social gaming options on its smartphones and tablets, which differentiates and makes it superior from other operators. However, persistent declines in traditional voice access lines; aggressive pricing plans by rivals and the loss of iPhone exclusivity in February last year keep us cautious on the stock.
We are currently maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on AT&T. The stock retains a Zacks #3 (Hold) Rank for the short term (1-3 months).
Earnings Preview: 3M Company
3M Company Inc. ( MMM) is slated to release its fourth-quarter 2011 earnings result on Thursday, January 26, 2011. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) is $1.31, representing an annualized growth of 3.15%. For full-year 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is $5.93, representing an annualized growth of 3.18%.
3M?s earnings were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last quarter while the number was in line with the estimate in the second quarter of 2011. Moreover, in the first quarter of 2011 and fourth quarter 2010, earnings per share were above and in line with estimates, respectively. The company outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate with an average negative surprise of 0.02%.
Agreement of Estimate Revisions??
In the last 30 days, of the analysts providing estimates on the stock, none changed their estimates for the fourth quarter or for full-year 2011 and 2012.
Magnitude of Estimate Revisions??
In the last 7 days, earnings estimate for the fourth quarter decreased from $1.32 to $1.31, it dropped from $5.94 to $5.93 in 2011 and for 2012 from $6.30 to $6.29.??????????????????
The company's estimate for fourth quarter, 30 days ago, was $1.32. From last 30 days, estimate for 2011 remain unchanged at $5.93 and for 2012 decreased from $6.34 to $6.29.
Our Take??
The company expects to see a continued slow growth till the end of 2011, as weakening economies continues to challenge business growth. Lower demand from the customers will be mitigated by the company through fully fledged cost management and a regulated operation in developed economies. Developing markets are seen as the prime benefactors.
3M is globally recognized for its innovations, which is supported by some of its well-known brands, such as Nexcare, Post-it, Scotch, Scotch-Brite, and Scotchgard leading the market. We believe that continued capital expenditure with new product launches should bolster its prospects across most end markets.
However, the company?s growth objectives are largely dependent on timing and market acceptance of its new product offerings, including its ability to continually renew its pipeline of new offerings and bring those to the market at acceptable price points.
Further, the results have been impacted by worldwide economic and capital market conditions. Negative consumer sentiment is affecting the retail store traffic. On the corporate side, lower employment levels are negatively reducing office supply purchases in most companies.
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Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Verizon Posts A Net Loss Of $2.02B In Q4 2011
Ever since the AT&T/T-Mobile saga came to a grinding halt, you'd think that Verizon would be enjoying its reign in peace. But it would seem that the company has posted a net loss of $2.02 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. At the same time a year earlier, Verizon was seeing a profit of $2.64 billion.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VgNieqsldVM/
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Israel seeks to turn gas to gold (AP)
JERUSALEM ? Israel is putting together a plan for a national investment fund that would put to work an anticipated natural gas bonanza to fuel both an export-geared economy and provide a nest egg of $10 billion in under a decade for future generations.
The proposed Israeli sovereign wealth fund is still in the planning phase, but officials have said some of the revenues would be invested in critical areas such as education and health.
Also being discussed are using some of the proceeds to endow a new set of export-oriented, technology-based industries that would build on what has traditionally been the country's greatest resource: human capital.
The fund would mark the beginning of a strategic development for the Jewish state in an oil-rich region where it has few friends and has had to rely on its own industry and outside aid for economic growth. It would also make it the latest member of a club whose members have typically been energy exporting titans such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Norway.
Israel would become "a role model of a developing economy that moved into developed economy status," said Glenn Yago, senior director at the Milken Institute economic think tank. The institute was enlisted by the Israeli government to map out alternative structure for such a fund, drawing on the experiences of other nations with similar investment vehicles.
The driving force behind the fund was the 2009 discovery of two large offshore natural gas fields with estimated reserves of 25 trillion cubic meters of gas. The fields were a boon for resource-poor Israel. The late Prime Minister Golda Meir famously lamented that Moses had picked as the Jewish homeland "the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil."
A consortium headed by U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. has said it will begin extracting gas from the deepwater fields in about a year, with the production expected to far exceed Israel's domestic gas needs.
Even before the first gas has been extracted, Israeli officials are working on what to do with the proceeds from its sale. Officials estimated that gas receipts will bring in between $2 billion to $3 billion per year.
Based on Bank of Israel and Finance Ministry assessments, the fund could be managing $10 billion by 2021, with revenues starting to accumulate by 2015, said Yago.
Recommendations for the fund's possible structure were recently submitted to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but no decision has yet been taken on who will manage the fund and where the investments will go, officials said.
Once a proposal had been finalized, it would need parliamentary approval. A Finance Ministry official noted it would likely take until the end of the decade for the fund to start building a critical mass. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal decisions had yet been taken.
"We are looking at sharing this wealth with future generations and at the same time creating a safety cushion," Eugene Kandel, the head of Israel's national economic council, told reporters last year.
In comparison to its regional neighbors, Israel's sovereign wealth fund would be minuscule. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has reserves of over $500 billion while even civil war-scarred Libya has an investment fund and reserves estimated at anywhere from $70 billion to $110 billion.
Given those kinds of limitations, Israel appears to be setting modest goals for the fund.
To avoid typical pitfalls like inflation that face countries when large amounts of cash are injected into their economies, the Israeli fund would likely invest most of its revenues abroad. The returns from those investments ? not the principal ? would then be channeled into the local economy for purposes like education.
It would also further stimulate an economy that was able to weather the worst of the global financial crisis in 2009, but must also grow much more rapidly if it is to narrow income gaps that helped to stoke mass protests across the country last summer.
Some senior Israeli officials have proposed using some of the money to develop new industries rich in intellectual property, like life sciences, water and alternative energy.
That sector has helped boost the broader economy, which has seen per capita GDP nearly triple over the past 20 years to roughly $30,000 ? near the European Union's average.
Milken's Yago estimates economic growth would have to double its projected 2012 rate of 2.8 percent to bridge income divides that have strained Israel's social fabric.
"You can only do that if you increase the level of growth by increasing the level of exports," not only in existing industries but new, knowledge-based ones, he said.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Albania: Security official charged with murder (AP)
TIRANA, Albania ? A senior Albanian security official was charged with murder on Monday and placed under house arrest regarding the deaths of four opposition supporters who where shot during an anti-government demonstration a year ago.
The action was taken against Ndrea Prendi, head of a state security service for government institutions and officials, after reviewing the results of an inquiry assisted by the FBI, said Prosecutor General Ina Rama. Two other officials ? Prendi's driver, Margarit Kume, and an IT technician for the prime minister, Armando Kasaj ? were arrested and charged with concealing evidence in the murder case, Rama said.
Last year, six other lower-ranking security officers were charged with murder in the case and remain under investigation.
Rama also has requested that Albania's Parliament lift the immunity of three opposition lawmakers under investigation for allegedly organizing the mass protest and inciting violence.
The four protesters were killed in January in 2011 during a mass anti-government rally organized by the opposition against alleged corruption and vote rigging by Albania's conservative government.
The violence during the Jan. 21, 2011, rally was the worst seen in the politically volatile country in more than a decade. More than 20,000 protesters gathered outside the country's main government building throwing stones and other objects at police. Scores of protesters and security officers were wounded as police mounted baton charges and used bullets, tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. At least 15 police vehicles were overturned and burned.
The violence was an embarrassment for Albania, a NATO member that is seeking European Union membership and improvement of its internationally criticized election record.
Prendi, who is accused of shooting dead one of the four protesters, heads an Interior Ministry security service known as Guard of the Republic. Kume, his driver, is accused of trying to help Prendi suppress evidence of his alleged role in the protesters' shooting deaths. Kasaj, the government technician, is accused of deleting evidence from an 11-camera security computer.
The Socialist-led opposition maintains that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha is personally responsible for the protest deaths, while the government argues that its opponents tried to use violence to force their way into office.
Berisha, who has suspended Prendi from his position, claimed the prosecutor general has sided with those who tried to bring down his government.
"The prime minister believes that with her stance toward those who organized, sponsored and carried out the five-hour violent attack against the Cabinet Office, the Prosecutor General has shown herself to be a core element of the Jan. 21, 2011 events," a statement from the prime minister's office said.
Albania's opposition staged protests for more than a year following Albania's 2009 general election, but tensions rose sharply when then-Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta resigned amid allegations of corruption. Last week the Supreme Court acquitted him of the charge.
Speaking at the news conference on Monday alongside the prosecutor general, U.S. Ambassador to Albania Alexander Arvizu said the FBI "agreed to provide assistance in the form of the forensic examination, technical assistance" following "a direct and specific request" from prosecutor general.
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Obama puts Keystone pipeline on hold, decries 'rushed and arbitrary' deadline
Speaker Boehner accuses Obama of 'selling out American jobs for politics,' but Keystone pipeline operator TransCanada says it will submit plans for a rerouted project later this year.
President Obama announced Wednesday he is putting the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline expansion project on hold, saying a decision can?t be made by the February deadline imposed by Congress. While environmental groups cheered the news, the setback is temporary and the pipeline operator says it will resubmit plans to have the pipeline running in 2014.
Skip to next paragraphThe decision to deny the company its permit, issued through the US State Department, is considered a political risk by the president with Republican leaders saying that preventing the pipeline ? proposed to be the largest of its kind in North American ? is harmful to the national interest by limiting energy security and preventing job creation.
The Obama administration was first expected to rule on the permit, sought by operator TransCanada of Alberta, Canada, by late December. However, the administration sought a one-year extension, saying a more thorough environmental assessment was needed, including further exploration of alternate routes.
Republicans in Congress, in return for their support for an extension of the payroll tax holiday, forced the new Feb. 21 deadline, a date that Mr. Obama on Wednesday called ?rushed and arbitrary.?
His statement stressed the decision was not a ruling on the merits of the pipeline, but on the action of Congress, which he said, ?prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people.?
?I?m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my administration?s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil,? he said.
House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio reacted quickly to news of Obama's decision, characterizing it as ?selling out American jobs for politics? and saying TransCanada would be forced to rely further on China as a consumer of its exported oil.
?The president was given the authority to block this project only ? and only ? if he believes it?s not in the national interest of the United States. Is it not in the national interest to create tens of thousands of jobs here in America with private investment?? Speaker Boehner said. ?The president has said he?ll do anything that he can to create jobs. Today that promise was broken.?
The Keystone XL project is far from resolved, as TransCanada is allowed to resubmit its permitting application, which the company says it will have ready by September or October.
Following Obama?s decision, the company announced it will work with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to determine a possible new route to avoid running the pipeline over portions of the Ogallala Aquifer, a major source of fresh water for drinking and agriculture that runs under several states in the US heartland.
Last year, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, asked Obama to block the pipeline as outlined in its current proposal, but said he would support the project if a new route were developed to avoid such sensitive agricultural terrain.
Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer of TransCanada, said in a statement that while he disappointed with the decision, he expects the pipeline to start operations in 2014.
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Stocks edge higher as unemployment claims decline (AP)
NEW YORK ? U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Thursday following strong bank earnings and a decline in applications for unemployment benefits.
The Standard & Poor's 500 is up a point to 1,309 shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite is up 12 points to 2,781. The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 10 points to 12,589.
The government reported early Thursday that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in more than three years. France and Spain also held successful bond auctions, easing worries about that region's two-year-old debt crisis.
Bank of America and Morgan Stanley rose after reporting results that were better than analysts had expected. BofA returned to profit in the fourth quarter while Morgan Stanley's loss was less than forecast. Both stocks rose more than 5 percent.
Trading was halted in shares of photography icon Eastman Kodak after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The ailing company failed to find a buyer for its trove of 1,100 digital imaging patents.
Among other stocks making large moves:
? eBay Inc. rose more than 2 percent after the online auction company beat analysts' earnings forecasts and provided a healthy outlook for the year.
? Southwest Airlines Co. rose more than 2 percent after it said its fourth-quarter net income and revenue jumped. Southwest said it expects strong revenue in the first quarter too, based on passenger-booking trends.
? Johnson Controls Inc., an auto parts and building equipment maker, fell 8 percent. The Milwaukee-based company reported earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. It also cut its estimate for its fiscal year earnings, blaming weaker auto production in Europe, a lower euro and poor demand for batteries.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Microcassette Records Messages Without a Recorder [Audio]
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
Ghana should invest oil and gas revenue in Domestic Economy-Prof Collier
Ghana has been advised to channel its oil and gas investment into its domestic economy and focus on building capacities to handle such investments rather, than seeking to investment abroad and overspending on public infrastructure.
Professor Paul Collier, who is the Director for the Centre for the Study of African Economics, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, gave the advice at the opening of the 63rd Annual New Year School and Conference in Accra on Monday.
Addressing the theme for the event, ?One year of Oil and Gas Production: emerging Issues?, he indicated that the oil and gas sector was time bound and therefore it was critical for the managers of the resource to use proceeds from the sector judiciously to finance the future of the country.
Prof. Collier who is also a world renowned economist and an oil and gas expert, said by appropriately saving and investing the revenues from oil, the economy could rectify its initial shortage of capital, in the process enjoying a phase of growth in excess of global rates.
He called for strong institutions with highly dedicated managers who would accept the enormous challenge of high savings for future generations, adding, investment in education and skills enhancement of the younger generation to manage the sector was also important, stressing that the ?temporality? of the source of revenue makes it more critical for proper utilization.
?The proportion of savings must rise as the asset gets depleted,? stating that the rise in the current prices of crude oil in recent times had led to several new discoveries of oil and gas in various countries and this makes it even more important to ensure high level of management for the benefit of future generations.
He cited strategies such as hedging, which is a form of insurance guarantee and liquidity to lower inflation and recommended the establishment of stringent rules to manage the asset.
Prof. Collier also recommended the establishment of two funds; the Sovereign Resilience Fund to ensure smooth spending and a Sovereign Development Fund to ensure spending on domestic assets.
He said investment in education infrastructure would ensure that at the end of the depletion of the oil asset, Ghana could count its profits.
?It is critical for Ghana to either repeat history or learn from the history of others?, he said.
Based on the submissions of Prof. Collier, Professor Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi, Director, Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE) indicated that to position Ghana in competitive posture ,required bold steps to confront the challenges of the current educational system to eliminate the mismatch between the skills demanded by the labour market and what the current educational and training programmes could supply.
He said the Institute had shown commitment in running the University?s Distance Education programmes despite some challenges and had continued to train and supervise course-writers leading to the development of 270 course modules for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree in Administration in the Accounting and Management option; B.A degree in Economics, Geography and Resource Development, History, Information Studies, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Social work and Sociology.
He said the Institute had also received new proposals from four departments to mount the Distance modes in B.Sc Botany and Animal Conservation Sciences, Bachelor of Science (B .Sc) in General Agriculture, B.Sc in Statistics and B.A in Archaeology and Heritage Studies and had trained 77 tutors to add up to the 514 tutors who provided student counseling and support services throughout the country.
He said the Institutes had a current students? population of about 8,400 in the 2011/2012 academic year which was a nine-fold increase from a modest number of 906 pioneering students registered for the 2007/2008 Academic year.
He said the Institute desired in the near future to change its status from an Institute to a College to correspond with the growth in distance learning enrollment in degree programmes, occupational and continuing education programmes as well as courses leading to the award of Diplomas, B.A, M.A/M.Phil and Ph.D. GNA
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5724952707
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Samsung Media Hub extends on-demand streaming from phones and tablets to TV
For over a year, Media Hub has offered owners of Samsung smartphones and tablets access to on-demand streaming of TV shows and movies. Today at their CES 2012 press conference, Samsung announced that they would be expanding the service to their selection of smart TVs, so if you buy your show on one device, it would be available on others. NBC Universal is one of the premiere partners in this endeavor, and they'll be showcasing Battlestar Galactica through Media Hub.
It's a sensible move to include TVs in Media Hub, considering the breadth of Samsung's business, and a great way to get people on the hook to buy other Samsung products if they already own one. While I'm sure the selection isn't quite up to snuff with Netflix, if you're just interested in renting titles a la carte rather than signing up for a subscription service, Samsung Media Hub might be for you.
Samsung had a few more interesting announcements in their press conference that at least indirectly effected smartphones, in addition to the AT&T LTE handsets and the Verizon Galaxy Tab 7.7 announced earlier today. Stick around for all the rest of our CES 2012 coverage! Remember kids, the show hasn't even technically started yet...
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/hQtgtmtHwZI/story01.htm
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Chandra finds largest galaxy cluster in early universe
Officially known as ACT-CL J0102-4915, the galaxy cluster has been nicknamed "El Gordo" ("the big one" or "the fat one" in Spanish) by the researchers who discovered it. The name, in a nod to the Chilean connection, describes just one of the remarkable qualities of the cluster, which is located more than seven billion light years from Earth. This large distance means that it is being observed at a young age.
"This cluster is the most massive, the hottest, and gives off the most X-rays of any known cluster at this distance or beyond," said Felipe Menanteau of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., who led the study.
Galaxy clusters, the largest objects in the universe that are held together by gravity, form through the merger of smaller groups or sub-clusters of galaxies. Because the formation process depends on the amount of dark matter and dark energy in the universe, clusters can be used to study these mysterious phenomena.
Dark matter is material that can be inferred to exist through its gravitational effects, but does not emit and absorb detectable amounts of light. Dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all space and exerts a negative pressure that causes the universe to expand at an ever-increasing rate.
"Gigantic galaxy clusters like this are just what we were aiming to find," said team member Jack Hughes, also of Rutgers. "We want to see if we understand how these extreme objects form using the best models of cosmology that are currently available."
Although a cluster of El Gordo's size and distance is extremely rare, it is likely that its formation can be understood in terms of the standard Big Bang model of cosmology. In this model, the universe is composed predominantly of dark matter and dark energy, and began with a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago.
The team of scientists found El Gordo using ACT thanks to the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. In this phenomenon, photons in the cosmic microwave background interact with electrons in the hot gas that pervades these enormous galaxy clusters. The photons acquire energy from this interaction, which distorts the signal from the microwave background in the direction of the clusters. The magnitude of this distortion depends on the density and temperature of the hot electrons and the physical size of the cluster.
X-ray data from Chandra and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, an 8-meter optical observatory in Chile, show that El Gordo is, in fact, the site of two galaxy clusters running into one another at several million miles per hour. This and other characteristics make El Gordo akin to the well-known object called the Bullet Cluster, which is located almost 4 billion light years closer to Earth.
As with the Bullet Cluster, there is evidence that normal matter, mainly composed of hot, X-ray bright gas, has been wrenched apart from the dark matter in El Gordo. The hot gas in each cluster was slowed down by the collision, but the dark matter was not.
"This is the first time we've found a system like the Bullet Cluster at such a large distance," said Cristobal Sifon of Pontificia Universidad de Catolica de Chile (PUC) in Santiago. "It's like the expression says: if you want to understand where you're going, you have to know where you've been."
These results on El Gordo are being announced at the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas. A paper describing these results has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
More information: These results on El Gordo are being announced on 10 January 2012 at the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas. A paper, "The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: ACT-CL J0102?4915 'El Gordo', A Massive Merging Cluster at Redshift 0.87" by Felipe Menanteau et al, describing these results has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
Provided by JPL/NASA (news : web)
Source: http://www.physorg.com/news245420023.html
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NBA: Los Angeles Clippers 92, Milwaukee 86
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Blake Griffin registered a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds Saturday, elevating the Los Angeles Clippers to a 92-86 win over Milwaukee.
The Clippers took their third straight with the help of Caron Butler, who pumped in 20 points.
Chauncey Billups provided 19 points, and Chris Paul contributed nine, seven assists and four steals as Los Angeles bested the Bucks for the 11th time in 12 meetings at Staples Center.
Milwaukee dropped its fourth in a row despite Brandon Jennings' 21 points.
Drew Gooden donated 18 and 13 rebounds for the Bucks.
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5717150620
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Monday, January 9, 2012
How to ?clean up the mess?? McLaren?s first community chat
January 8, 2012 at 6:05 pm | In West Seattle news, West Seattle schools | No Comments
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Toward the start of Marty McLaren?s first community-conversation meeting since her election as West Seattle?s representative on the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors, there was a sudden wave of suspense.
Three days before the Saturday morning meeting, McLaren had told her fellow board members (WSB coverage here) she would seek to amend the district?s recommendation for short-term school-crowding relief (aka ?capacity management?) by removing the plan to open the ex-Boren Junior High (5915 Delridge Way SW) as temporary home for an ?option? elementary school focused on STEM (science/tech/engineering/math).
But suddenly on Saturday morning, there she was, saying, ?Personally, (a STEM option school) really resonates with me.?
Was she about to say she had changed her mind? You could almost hear a few people holding their breath. Then: ?In spite of how enthusiastic I happen to be, I think it?s premature, I think we need a master plan, especially after all this turmoil.?
Moments earlier, McLaren, a Puget Ridge resident, had actually apologized for that ?turmoil? ? though it predated her board tenure, now in its second month.
For most of the 2-hour meeting, she listened, as the 17 attendees took turns speaking, often with passion and emotion. She led the meeting humbly, relinquishing timekeeping control to the attendee who proved most dexterous with the timer used to ensure everyone got a turn, apologizing when she couldn?t find a letter she had wanted to read to the group.
She began with her backstory (much of which we detailed in our post-election interview, here), time as a classroom teacher, involvement in the school system as a parent, and then an epiphany about the math program?s inadequacies ? the issue that brought her some measure of semi-fame before she ran.
And then, after asking for self-introductions from the attendees, who sat in a wide circle in the Southwest Library?s upstairs meeting room, there was that apology.
?We have to clean up the mess that was made a couple of years ago,? with two West Seattle campuses closed in two years (Fairmount Park and Genesee Hill), and one elementary program ended (Cooper), with assignment of its campus to one of the programs moved from a closed campus, followed by the implementation of a ?neighborhood schools? philosophy that came with attendance boundaries many saw as illogical, and beyond. ?It?s a real mess because of the boundary issues and the pain that has been caused to so many families and students.?
That pain took many forms ? the pain of being ousted from a closing school, or the pain of being vilified by members of other school communities who claimed certain schools were throwing others under the bus, or the pain of living yards or blocks from a school your child couldn?t attend because of a seemingly bizarre boundary, and now, the pain of overcrowded schools with oversized classes.
The introductions at Saturday morning?s meeting included mentions of affiliations with many of the district?s schools in the area, including Arbor Heights, Gatewood, Lafayette, Sanislo, Schmitz Park, West Seattle elementaries. One woman with a preschooler, looking toward her child?s future as an SPS student, said her family ?can see Fairmount Park (Elementary) from our house? but is in the Gatewood assignment area.
The future of Fairmount Park ? closed in 2007, a candidate for reopening next year or later ? loomed as a subject of concern and curiosity, particularly in connection with the proposed STEM elementary at Boren, and where it might be permanently housed once the district has a few more years for bigger renovation and construction projects ? would FP be its permanent home, or become a neighborhood school?
No answers yet.
But many tried to turn the talk to logic. A strong sentiment: Don?t create one new school for a science/tech/engineering/math focus, strengthen the science/math curriculum at all schools.
This sentiment intensified after the group heard from Schmitz Park Elementary teacher Craig Parsley, who strenuously advocated creation of the new school. He spoke of Schmitz Park?s now-famous rise to exceptional student success in math and science by refusing to settle for the district?s curriculum mandates, particularly the ?Everyday Math? coursework that SP has replaced with rigorous, traditional ?Singapore Math.?
Imagine an entire school focused on math and science excellence, finally preparing the next generation for the jobs that require such expertise, he said.
He was so compelling, McLaren had even said that after talking to Parsley about his interest in and advocacy for that kind of school, she grew more excited about it. But ? not immediately, since, she said, ?the root issue is the siting of more neighborhood schools and the boundaries for them ? option programs might start out in neighborhood schools.?
Again, her dilemma was right out there in the open: She acknowledged hearing from people ?who have been working on this for a long time,? who believe that doing something ? launching a STEM option elementary at Boren ? ?will show some forward motion among the chaos. ? I can see both sides.?
?But we don?t,? interjected an attendee.
Here are highlights from what was said in the first turn around the room:
*?Every kid can get a quality education if we invest in the schools we have,? said a mom who?s also a teacher. If ?best practices? are used, she said, ?all of our schools will rise up together.? She declared the option school to be a ?bad idea.?
*A mother who said her child?s kindergarten class has 30 students said she does support opening an option school now, because ?something needs to be done now.? She predicted it would draw better than school officials think, saying her child had been #30 on the waitlist for Pathfinder K-8, West Seattle?s only option school (and did not get in). Asked whether she would send her child to the Boren option school if it?s opened next year, she could not say ?yes? for sure because she and her child are fond of their neighborhood school, and because she doesn?t know where the option school eventually would be housed.
*A father was one of several to express intense concern over the issue of attendance boundaries. He said he had moved from another part of the city because of them. He advocated drawing up ?a long-term plan? so that families will know where the boundaries will be in one year, two years, three years, and so on down the road ? including the longer-term decisions to be made about building new schools. ?Show me a plan and execute it.?
*The next participant to speak picked up where that left off. ?To introduce something like Boren without a long-term plan is just (unthinkable),? he said. ?People have made decisions based on boundaries? as they stand now.
After him, two women both took the stand that instead of creating a new school, resources should be channeled to the ones that are in the system now. ?Fix the math and science in the schools that are failing! The math and science curricula are horrible ??
Teacher Parsley?s first turn was after that. He declared Schmitz Park ?the closest thing (West Seattle has) to a STEM school,? but added that the crowding ? 475 students now, a more than 50 percent increase from the 315-student population of just a few years ago ? is giving the staff trouble ?maintaining the focus we started with.? If the math program is not ?text-based like Everyday Math is,? he said, ?we have no achievement gap when it comes to mathematics,? neither economic nor ethnic. ?We don?t have an achievement gap in science either ? staff works together on a focused, articulated program.? Math and science excellence is the only way to ensure ?an economically viable future? for today?s kids, he said. After an anecdote about employers having to seek qualified, math/science-capable people outside of this area, he said, ?If we wait on STEM and let (it) just happen somewhere down the road, there?s another 10,000 jobs down the road we are not going to have.? He insisted that a STEM-focused option school ?will be the #1 elementary school in Washington State? within five years. (Schmitz Park, he said, is currently #3, after two schools outside this area that are focused on gifted students.)
?Living in Seattle, nobody would argue that math and science are not important,? the next person began. ?But the point is that we have a huge capacity problem, and STEM does not address capacity for two or three more years. Meantime, the surge of enrollment will continue ? at some point we have to stop the building.? Her preferred solution: Reopen Fairmount Park as a neighborhood school.
Expanding and enriching neighborhood schools were what the next person wanted to do see, too. He was the first to suggest that West Seattle could be a ?lab? for developing a better math and science curriculum.
Parsley and McLaren both pointed out along the way that Schmitz Park had offered to coach other schools, but the concept always gets bogged down in the district?s central bureaucracy (McLaren at one point went so far as to say ?district ideologues? blocked prospective curriculum changes; the board currently is considering a policy meant to spell out how schools can get ?waivers? to use different materials, as did Schmitz Park four years ago).
That led in turn to a suggestion that Schmitz Park should be analyzed to ?understand why the program is working, to make sure that the things that are right about it are right at? any new school opened with that kind of a focus.
Another Schmitz Park parent spoke next, saying that while her daughter is at SP now, the most recent boundary changes left her family ?jerked around,? and they?re now in ?the Alki (Elementary zone) lip that is close to The Junction.? She echoed the sentiments of those who want to get on with the long-term planning, and the boundary changes expected to come with it, so they know where things will be in a few years.
Next, another boundary-change supporter: ?I fought against closing Cooper, I saw this coming ? I fought against the boundaries because they don?t make sense, we have people two blocks from schools who can?t go there any more.? She voiced skepticism that a STEM school would be opened next year and then a new neighborhood school in 2013-2014. ?We need time to figure this out together.?
Boundary changes can?t be done for next year, said the next speaker, identifying himself as a Schmitz Park PTA board member, since they are inevitable a few years down the line: ?We want to have to avoid redrawing them twice.? The SP PTA, he said, supports adding more portables at this point ?because we love our community.?
A Gatewood parent who is now in the Roxhill attendance zone said she had just heard about Singapore Math, looking it up after seeing it mentioned on WSB, and wondered: ?Why can?t everyone have it??, perhaps with the funding currently earmarked for fixing up Boren.
McLaren explained that money ?is operations money, and would not be available to propagate (a new curriculum).?
The last person to speak in the first round was a visitor from outside West Seattle, who had words of caution about pushing the potential option school back a year: ?Every year you allow a school to be overcrowded, you are welcoming in a large group of kindergarteners who expect to be there for six years. It?s not a one-year problem, really, at all.?
What our excerpts above don?t adequately reflect is the undercurrent of skepticism and distrust that the district could deliver on promises; there were a few side mentions, for example, of what were supposed to be STEM programs elsewhere that apparently hadn?t turned out the way they were described or envisioned. McLaren, responding to some of the voiced concerns after the first go-round, spoke directly to ?the fact that there is so much distrust of the district,? and asked people to give her, fellow newly elected board member Sharon Peaslee, and newer board members Kay Smith-Blum and Betty Patu a chance: ?We have the possibility of people who are sympathetic and tuned in.? She declared emphatically that ?redraw(ing) the boundaries twice is not anybody?s plan.? And regarding Pathfinder K-8, of which someone had asked ?Why is it ?immune??? she pointed out that it?s West Seattle?s only option school, saying she had visited it on Friday. ?It is a beautiful school ? and yet how unfair, how unfair.?
A woman who yielded her speaking turn in the first go-round suggested Pathfinder be moved to Boren ? where it had been years ago ? and that Cooper return to being a neighborhood school for northeast West Seattle.
And then there was one observation regarding the potential Boren STEM school that hadn?t been voiced previously: If despite the crowding, families at Schmitz Park and Lafayette were likely to stay at those schools because of their academic success, then who would attend the new option school ? students from schools that did not have much if any capacity trouble right now? (The district had said in the last round of community meetings on the topic that, in the south end, Arbor Heights, Roxhill, and West Seattle elementaries all needed more homerooms.)
After the questions and the concerns, McLaren asked the group to ?see what we all agree on.?
There were two main points of agreement: ?Strong math and science? at all schools; new schools for West Seattle.
And with that, McLaren had two more things to say: One ? ?My vote and my recommendations to the rest of the board about West Seattle are going to be informed by these conversations.? Not just the conversation on Saturday, but also the two others coming up tomorrow and next Saturday, as well as online conversation (including this recent WSB comment thread) and what she?s heard directly from constituents. She says she hopes to set up an e-mail list soon, as well as an online place for ongoing conversation (so far, you can find her website here, her Facebook page here). Two ? If you want to address the entire board, don?t wait till the January 18th meeting at which they are scheduled to make the short-term capacity-management decision, amended or not. But don?t unleash a barrage of e-mail, either: ?I encourage you to think about ways to have your input be organized concise and compelling.? (If you do want to speak at the board meeting, signups are usually the preceding Monday ? January 16th, in this case.)
Source: http://westseattleblog.com/2012/01/how-to-clean-up-the-mess-mclarens-first-community-chat
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