Obama cancels stops in Virginia, Colorado because of storm

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San Francisco?s Spectacular Hypocrisy

Hetch Hetchy Valley as it appeared before it was transformed into a reservoir, in Yosemite National Park, California

Photo by Isaiah West Taber/Wikimedia Commons.

In San Francisco, concern for the environment is a dearly held civic virtue. The Sierra Club was founded here 120 years ago; San Francisco?s mayor issued the first Earth Day proclamation in 1970; and, more recently, San Franciscans have embraced everything from organic food and compostable plastics to hybrid cars and bike lanes. But the green city has a dark secret.

For the better part of a century, San Francisco has stored its tap water 180 miles away, in the heart of Yosemite National Park. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which holds 117 billion gallons of water behind a 312-foot dam, drowned a glacial valley that early conservationist John Muir described as ?one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain mansions.? The reservoir has been a sore spot with environmentalists for decades.

On Election Day, the city will vote on whether to take the first step toward draining Hetch Hetchy and restoring the valley. A controversial ballot initiative introduced by a single-issue spin-off of the Sierra Club, called Restore Hetch Hetchy, would force the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to spend $8 million?less than 1 percent of the agency?s annual budget?to study alternatives to the city?s current water system. The ultimate goal is a second ballot initiative, in 2016, that would let voters decide whether to drain the reservoir. In a state as arid as California, giving up water storage is a perilous proposition, but polling earlier this year showed the measure has an even chance among San Francisco voters.

City leaders are a different story.

Local officials are usually open to ambitious, well-intentioned proposals. This is the city, after all, that is fighting childhood obesity by banning Happy Meal toys. San Francisco forbids plastic bags at retail stores; it has tried to place cancer warnings on cellphones; and it has had its own local version of universal health care since 2007. Public nudity is considered a form of free expression.

But considering an alternative to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir seems to be too outrageous for San Francisco. City Hall, local representatives, business groups, and newspapers have lined up against the proposal, calling it ?stupid? and a costly boondoggle. They warn that draining Hetch Hetchy could destroy the Bay Area as we know it.

?As insane as this is, it is, in fact, insane,? sputtered the usually mild-mannered Mayor Ed Lee when the initiative was announced.

But the idea is not crazy. And refusing to discuss it shows a stubborn lack of foresight.

Muir and other early conservationists considered the Hetch Hetchy Valley the ?exact counterpart? of the majestic Yosemite Valley, which is the site of El Capitan and Half Dome. But the Hetch Hetchy Valley?s high granite walls made it an attractive spot for a reservoir. San Francisco lobbied Congress for permission to dam the valley for years and finally succeeded in 1913?in part by capitalizing on sympathy for victims of the 1906 earthquake. Along with rights to the water, the city won a perpetual lease on the land. The decision was controversial then?200 newspapers around the country published screeds against it?but the O?Shaughnessy Dam went up across the Tuolumne River anyway, and the first water was delivered in 1934. Today, Hetch Hetchy is the largest of San Francisco?s nine reservoirs, storing water for the city and other municipalities across the Bay Area.

The gravity-powered system that carries Tuolomne River water from Hetch Hetchy to San Francisco, across two-thirds the width of the state, is a marvel of engineering. But it?s also an artifact of the early 20^th century, an era when taming nature was a national obsession and rapidly growing California municipalities fought over water resources. Los Angeles took its desperate hunt for water all the way to the Owens Valley, more than 200 miles away, famously using subterfuge to acquire water rights from hapless farmers. By setting its sights on Hetch Hetchy, San Francisco was able to remain above such sordid tactics. But over the years, the smug city has come to see the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir not just as a savvy acquisition but as a ?birthright,? to quote former mayor Dianne Feinstein.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=a8f6dd6b8630a84586de855369da8556

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NYPD busts potential cannibal cop

NEW YORK (AP) ? A city police officer was charged Thursday with leading a ghoulish double life by using a law enforcement database and fetish chat rooms to dream up a plot to torture women and then cook and eat their body parts.

Gilberto Valle left a trail of emails, instant messages and computer files detailing the bizarre cannibalism scheme, according to a criminal complaint, which identified two women as Victim 1 and Victim 2.

He catalogued at least 100 women on his computer, federal investigators said, but there was no information that anyone was harmed.

One document found on his computer was titled "Abducting and Cooking (Victim 1): A Blueprint," according to the complaint. The file also had the woman's birth date and other personal information and a list of "materials needed" ? a car, chloroform and rope.

"I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible," Valle allegedly wrote in one exchange in July, the complaint says.

In other online conversations, investigators said, Valle talked about the mechanics of fitting the woman's body into an oven (her legs would have to be bent), said he could make chloroform at home to knock a woman out and discussed how "tasty" one woman looked.

"Her days are numbered," he wrote, according to the complaint.

The woman told the FBI she knew Valle and met him for lunch in July, but that's as far as it went.

The officer's estranged wife had alerted New York authorities to his chilling online activity, triggering the investigation that led to his arrest by the FBI on Wednesday, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Valle, 28, was to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon to face charges of kidnapping conspiracy and unauthorized use of law enforcement records. The name of his attorney was not immediately available, and no one answered the door to his home in a quiet, middle-class Queens neighborhood.

A search of Valle's computer found he had created records of at least 100 women with their names, addresses and photos, the complaint says. Some of the information came from his unauthorized use of a law enforcement database, authorities said. He claimed, according to the complaint, that he knew many of them.

"The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us," said Mary E. Galligan, acting head of the FBI's New York office. "They speak for themselves. It would be an understatement merely to say Valle's own words and actions were shocking."

There was no immediate response to a message left with the NYPD on Thursday.

The complaint alleges that in February, Valle negotiated to kidnap another woman ? Victim 2 ? for someone else, writing, "$5,000 and she's all yours."

He told the buyer he was aspiring to be a professional kidnapper, authorities said.

"I think I would rather not get involved in the rape," according to the complaint. "You paid for her. She is all yours, and I don't want to be tempted the next time I abduct a girl."

It says he added: "I will really get off on knocking her out, tying up her hands and bare feet and gagging her. Then she will be stuffed into a large piece of luggage and wheeled out to my van."

Cellphone data revealed that Valle made calls on the block where the woman lives, the complaint says. An FBI agent interviewed the woman, who told them that she didn't know him well and was never in her home.

Valle had been assigned to a Manhattan precinct before his suspension on Wednesday.

His Facebook page cultivated the image of a very different man. Postings were filled with photos of a smiling wife, a baby girl and an English bulldog puppy named Dudley. A Yankees fan, Valle had more than 600 Facebook friends, including dozens of young women.

Valle respected his colleagues on the force, took the sergeant's exam and spoke out against Occupy Wall Street, cop killers and others who broke the law, according to the page. His current photo was a blue line, a sign of mourning for when an officer is killed, and expressed condolences for the family of a Nassau County officer who was shot to death this week.

"Keep Nassau County police in your prayers what a brutal week," he wrote earlier this week.

The page was taken down Thursday afternoon.

Valle lived in a six-story apartment building with white pillars on a quiet residential street in Queens with a playground on the corner. No one answered his door Thursday.

Raphael Castillo, the superintendent of the building, said he was surprised by the arrest.

"I think it's a normal person and a very good person," he said. "When I talk to him, I never see nothing wrong. I don't think this is the person that I know."

___

Associated Press writer Meghan Barr in New York and researcher Barbara Sambriski contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nyc-officer-arrested-ghoulish-kidnap-plot-152522278.html

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Apple?s CEO Tim Cook: Microsoft?s Surface Is A ?Fairly Compromised And Confusing Product?

During Apple's earnings call today, the company's CEO Time Cook called Microsoft's Surface a "fairly compromised and confusing product," though he also admitted that he hasn't "played with one yet." According to Cook, "you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don't think it would do all of those things very well." According to Cook, people will conclude they will want an iPad, "and I think they will continue to do that."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/NSS6i4S81-Y/

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Insects shape genetic landscape through plant defenses

ScienceDaily (Oct. 4, 2012) ? As restaurant patrons' diverse food preferences give rise to varied menu offerings, so plant-eating insects' preferences play an important role in maintaining and shaping the genetic variation of their host plants in a geographic area, reports an international team of researchers that includes a plant scientist at the University of California, Davis.

The new study, involving aphids and the broccoli-like research plant Arabidopsis thaliana, provides the first measureable evidence that this selective process is driven, in part, by the pressure that multiple natural enemies exert on plants by forcing them to create diverse natural defenses to avoid being eaten.

Findings from the study, conducted with researchers in Switzerland, Denmark and England, will appear in the Oct. 5 issue of the journal Science.

"Our data demonstrate that there is a link between the abundance of two types of aphids and the continental distribution of Arabidopsis plants that are genetically different in terms of the biochemicals they produce to defend against insect feeding," said UC Davis plant scientist Dan Kliebenstein.

His laboratory is examining the naturally occurring chemicals involved with plant defenses to better to understand their role in the environment and to explore their potential for improving human nutrition and fighting cancer.

Ecologists have theorized for decades that genetic change and variation within a plant or animal species is critical to enabling the species to survive such changing environmental conditions as the appearance of a new disease or pest.

They have documented that nonbiological changes, such as variations in climate and soil, can exert pressures that cause genetic variation within plant species. However there has been little evidence that biological forces, including insects feeding on plants or competition between plant species, can lead to genetic variation within a plant species across a large geographic area.

In the new study, the researchers first mapped the distribution of six different chemical profiles within Arabidopsis thaliana plants across Europe, each chemical profile controlled by the variation in three genes.

The mapping revealed a change in the function of one of these key genes across geographic areas; the gene changed from southwest to the northeast.

The researchers theorized that two aphid species -- Brevicoryne brassicae and Lipaphis erysimi -- were the likely causes of the geographic variation. Both are abundant in the regions and feed heavily on Arabidopsis and related plants.

The scientists then tapped data collected by British researchers for nearly 50 years on fluctuations in aphid populations in Europe. They found that distribution of the two aphids species of interest closely mirrored the geographic distribution of the different chemical types of Arabidopsis plants. One aphid preferred the southwestern chemical type while the other aphid preferred the northeastern chemical type.

The next step was to determine whether the similarity between the distribution patterns of the plants and the two aphid species was more than coincidental. To do this, the researchers observed what happened when the different aphids fed on five generations of experimentally raised Arabidopsis thaliana plants.

They confirmed that the plants were genetically adapting to the aphids, with each successive plant generation showing less damage from the feeding insects. A change in the genetic makeup of the plant populations specific to each aphid accompanied this trend -- and the laboratory plants evolved in a way that tracked the geographic distribution of the two aphids and the plant chemical types.

The researchers also found that when faced with feeding by aphids, the faster-growing Arabidopsis plant types fared better in the laboratory, while the slowest-growing plant types actually went experimentally extinct.

"These data make it clear that even functionally similar plant-eating pests can affect the biochemical and genetic makeup of plant populations, playing a major role in shaping and refining the plant defenses in a natural community," Kliebenstein said.

The study was led by Tobias Z?st of the University of Z?rich. Other collaborators were Lindsay Turnbull, Ueli Grossniklaus and Christian Heichinger, all of the University of Z?rich, and Richard Harrington of Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, U.K.

Funding for the study was provided by the University of Z?rich, Swiss National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, European Research Council, and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council of the United Kingdom.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. T. Zust, C. Heichinger, U. Grossniklaus, R. Harrington, D. J. Kliebenstein, L. A. Turnbull. Natural Enemies Drive Geographic Variation in Plant Defenses. Science, 2012; 338 (6103): 116 DOI: 10.1126/science.1226397

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/A1gVM9r0OfE/121004141743.htm

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How Chinese hackers broke into the White House

instead relying on recycled claims already made by private plaintiffs." ? JPMorgan Spokesman Joseph Evangelisti in a statement after the New York attorney general's office has hit JPMorgan Chase & Co. with a civil lawsuit, alleging that investment bank Bear Stearns perpetrated massive fraud in deals involving billions in residential mortgage-backed securities.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/chinese-hackers-broke-white-house-233835939.html

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Private equity deals - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog ... - CNN

Alcom LLC, a Winslow, Maine-based maker of aluminum trailers, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from?Hudson Ferry Capital. Generational Equity advised Alcom on the deal.www.alcomusa.com

American Securities?is in advanced talks to acquire Metaldyne, a Plymouth, Mich.-based auto parts maker, from The Carlyle Group for over $800 million, according to Reuters. Canadian auto parts supplier Linamar Corp. (TSX: LNR) also remains in the running.?www.american-securities.com

American Securities?is in advanced talks to acquire?HHI Group Holdings, a Novi, Mich,-based maker of forged parts and wheel bearings for the North American automotive industry, from KPS Capital Partners for more than $700 million, according to Reuters.?www.american-securities.com

Camden Partners?has completed its previously-announced take-private acquisition of?New Horizons Worldwide Inc., a Conshohocken, Penn.-based IT training company.?www.newhorizons.com

CCMP Capital Advisors?has completed its previously-announced acquisition of Ollie's Bargain Outlet, a Harrisburg, Penn.-based specialty retailer of brand-name closeout merchandise, from an affiliate of Apax Partners. No financial terms were disclosed.?www.olliesbargainoutlet.com

CVC Capital Partners?has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Cunningham Lindsey Group Ltd., a Tampa, Fla.-based loss adjusting and claims management firm, from Stone Point Capital and Fairfax Financial Holdings. No financial terms were disclosed. Allied World Financial Services is investing alongside CVC.www.cunninghamlindsey.com

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.?has agreed to acquire?Acteon Group Ltd., a British offshore oil and gas services group, from?First Reserve Corp. White Deer Energy will invest alongside KKR for a minority stake. No financial terms were disclosed, but Reuters puts the price at between $1.3 billion and $1.45 billion.www.acteon.com

Resilience Capital Partners?has agreed to acquire?CR Brands Inc., a West Chester, Ohio?based maker of branded and private label household cleaning and laundry products, from?Juggernaut Capital Partners. No financial terms were disclosed.?www.crbrandsinc.com

First Reserve Corp.?and?Triangle Petroleum Corp.?(NYSE: TPLM) have formed?Caliber Midstream Partners, a joint venture that will provide a full service pipeline solution to producers for oil, natural gas, flow back and produced water/freshwater in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana. Caliber's initial equity commitment will be $180 million, including $150 million from First Reserve and $30 million from Triangle.?www.firstreserve.com

Roark Capital Partners?said that it has acquired massage and spa chain?Massage Envy?from?Sentinel Capital Partners. Fortune previously reported on the deal, based on an FTC notice. No financial terms were disclosed.

US Joiner, a Crozet, Va.-based provider of marine joiner and furniture solutions for U.S. government and commercial customers, has acquired certain assets of?Maritime Services Corp.?No financial terms were disclosed. US Joiner is a portfolio company of?J.F. Lehman & Co.?www.jflpartners.com

Sign up for Dan's daily email newsletter on deals and deal-makers:?GetTermSheet.com

Source: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/01/private-equity-deals-212/

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Microsoft Needs Windows Phone 7 ? Not WP8 ? To Win Significant Mobile Market Share

Microsoft's rebooted mobile OS, Windows Phone 8, arrives in a matter of weeks -- so it's a case of Windows Phone 7 is dead, long live Windows Phone 8 right? Not so fast. WP8 is certainly Microsoft's new weapon of choice for competing in the smartphone space -- with no further OS updates planned for WP7 beyond the customizable homescreen in the 7.8 release -- but the older of the two WP siblings could still have a vital role to play in helping Redmond gain significant marketshare.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3G42d1029KA/

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