Agency: Dreaded citrus disease detected in Calif.

File - In this undated file photo, the Asian citrus psyllid is seen in this University of Florida photo provided by the University of California, Davis. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Friday that citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing, has been discovered in lemon/pummelo tree in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles County. The bacterial disease is carried by the Asian citrus psyllid and attacks the vascular system of trees. (AP Photo/University of Florida, Michael Rogers, file)

File - In this undated file photo, the Asian citrus psyllid is seen in this University of Florida photo provided by the University of California, Davis. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Friday that citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing, has been discovered in lemon/pummelo tree in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles County. The bacterial disease is carried by the Asian citrus psyllid and attacks the vascular system of trees. (AP Photo/University of Florida, Michael Rogers, file)

File - In this Jan. 24, 2012 file photo, Mamoudou Setamou, center, a citrus entomologist for the Texas A&M University Kingsville Citrus Center in Weslaco, walks through the grove where citrus greening disease has been found in San Juan, Texas. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Friday that citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing, has been discovered in lemon/pummelo tree in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles County. The bacterial disease is carried by the Asian citrus psyllid and attacks the vascular system of trees. (AP Photo/The Monitor, Nathan Lambrecht, File)

File - In this Jan. 24, 2012 file photo, citrus entomologist Mamoudou Setamou, holds an orange that is showing signs of citrus greening disease in a grove in San Juan, Texas. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Friday that citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing, has been discovered in lemon/pummelo tree in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles County. The bacterial disease is carried by the Asian citrus psyllid and attacks the vascular system of trees. (AP Photo/The Monitor, Nathan Lambrecht, File) MAGS OUT; TV OUT

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) ? A citrus disease that has killed millions of citrus trees and cost growers billions of dollars across Florida and Brazil has been detected in California, despite the industry's best efforts to keep it at bay.

After a week of testing the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed at noon Friday that citrus greening was detected in a lemon-grapefruit hybrid tree in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles County.

The disease stands to threaten not only California's nearly $2 billion citrus industry, but treasured backyard trees scattered throughout the state.

"Huanlongbing is called the world's worst disease of citrus," said Dr. Robert Leavitt of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. "It had been present until now in all of the world's major citrus producing areas ? except California."

The bacterial disease, also known as huanglongbing, is carried by the Asian citrus psyllid and attacks a tree's vascular system, producing bitter fruit and eventually killing the tree. Sap-sucking pysllids that feed on an infected tree become carriers of the disease.

It is not a threat to humans.

"It's disappointing," said Joel Nelson of California Citrus Mutual. "Now we'll see if this great program that we believe we have in place is going to work."

Detection of the disease has been state citrus growers' fear since the bug first crossed into San Diego County from Mexico in 2008, potentially threatening California's fresh citrus market. Despite 25 years of worldwide research, there still are no biological or genetic controls for the disease that keeps fruit from ripening.

The disease is present in Mexico and across the southern U.S., but nowhere is the problem more severe than in Florida, where the disease first appeared in 2005. The University of Florida estimates it has cost 6,600 jobs, $1.3 billion in lost revenue to growers and $3.6 billion in lost economic activity.

The pest and the disease also are present in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. The states of Arizona, Mississippi and Alabama have detected the pest but not the disease.

California growers and state agricultural officials have been aggressively trapping and testing bugs for the disease since the first sighting four years ago.

"This is the other shoe dropping," said Ted Batkin of the California Citrus Research Board. "We're prepared, and now we'll put our game face on."

The industry group will ramp up trapping efforts and increase testing samples in an effort to keep the disease from crossing into the San Joaquin Valley, where 80 percent of the state's citrus grows. California growers have been contributing $15 million a year to fund efforts to fight both the psyllids and the disease on top of state and federal programs to fight its spread.

"We've been fortunate that we have been able to learn from the experiences of other citrus-growing areas of the world," Leavitt said. "They didn't know they had the psyllid or the disease until it was too late. We have learned from their scientists and have taken a proactive approach."

State officials are making arrangements to remove and dispose of the Los Angeles County tree, which so far is the only one found to be infected. They also will spray all citrus trees for psyllids within a half-mile of the infected tree. Testing on tissue samples from other trees within the half-mile radius is ongoing.

As of Saturday all sales and shipments of citrus trees within a 5-mile radius of the infected site will be suspended. State officials also are working on a larger quarantine that will extend into northern Orange County.

The closest commercial grove is 14 miles away.

State officials are unsure why Los Angeles County has a higher rate of psyllid infestations than areas closer to the Mexican border. But officials are investigating whether the bugs are hitchhiking through airports and seaports.

Associated Press

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Young Syrian activists put life on hold in revolt

FILE-In this March 21, 2012, file photo, anti-Syrian regime activists cover their faces with scarves in the colors of the Syrian revolution flag as they prepare a banner to be held in a protest, in Damascus, Syria. Last year, Abu Bakr Saleh was a 19-year-old Syrian university student whose modest dreams were to land a job and earn enough to marry his girlfriend _ not simple tasks given Syria's weak economy and his lack of connections to the ruling elite. Many youth activists say they had plenty to revolt about as they faced adulthood in societies where decades of autocratic rule left them with limited freedoms and constricted economies. For Saleh and other young Syrian activists, the uprising is about more than toppling a dictator. It's fight for their generation's dreams. (AP Photo, File)

FILE-In this March 21, 2012, file photo, anti-Syrian regime activists cover their faces with scarves in the colors of the Syrian revolution flag as they prepare a banner to be held in a protest, in Damascus, Syria. Last year, Abu Bakr Saleh was a 19-year-old Syrian university student whose modest dreams were to land a job and earn enough to marry his girlfriend _ not simple tasks given Syria's weak economy and his lack of connections to the ruling elite. Many youth activists say they had plenty to revolt about as they faced adulthood in societies where decades of autocratic rule left them with limited freedoms and constricted economies. For Saleh and other young Syrian activists, the uprising is about more than toppling a dictator. It's fight for their generation's dreams. (AP Photo, File)

FILE-In this March 21, 2012, file photo, anti-Syrian regime activists cover their faces with scarves in the colors of the Syrian revolution flag as they prepare a banner to be held in a protest in Damascus, Syria. Last year, Abu Bakr Saleh was a 19-year-old Syrian university student whose modest dreams were to land a job and earn enough to marry his girlfriend _ not simple tasks given Syria's weak economy and his lack of connections to the ruling elite. Many youth activists say they had plenty to revolt about as they faced adulthood in societies where decades of autocratic rule left them with limited freedoms and constricted economies. For Saleh and other young Syrian activists, the uprising is about more than toppling a dictator. It's fight for their generation's dreams. (AP Photo, File)

FILE-In this March 21, 2012, file photo, anti-Syrian regime activists cover their faces with scarves in the colors of the Syrian revolution flag as they prepare an Arabic banner that reads, "how would a mother be happy in the Eid (mother's day) while in each home we have a martyr," to be held in a protest in Damascus, Syria. Last year, Abu Bakr Saleh was a 19-year-old Syrian university student whose modest dreams were to land a job and earn enough to marry his girlfriend _ not simple tasks given Syria's weak economy and his lack of connections to the ruling elite. Many youth activists say they had plenty to revolt about as they faced adulthood in societies where decades of autocratic rule left them with limited freedoms and constricted economies. For Saleh and other young Syrian activists, the uprising is about more than toppling a dictator. It's fight for their generation's dreams. (AP Photo, File)

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) ? Last year, Khalid was a 19-year-old Syrian university student whose modest dreams were to land a job and earn enough to marry his girlfriend ? not simple tasks given Syria's weak economy and his lack of connections to the ruling elite.

Since then, he's become a fugitive activist in the fight to topple President Bashar Assad. Khalid said he has been tortured by security forces and hasn't spoken to his loved ones in months for fear he'll endanger their lives.

Young people like Khalid have manned the front lines in the uprisings across the Arab world, organizing protests, documenting violence and taking up arms against government troops.

Analysts say youth frustration has proven to be a potent force in an area where some 60 percent of people are under 25 ? making it one of the world's youngest regions.

Many youth activists say they had plenty to protest, facing adulthood in societies where decades of autocratic rule left them with limited freedom and constricted economies. For Khalid and other young Syrians, the uprising is about more than just toppling a dictator. It's a fight for their generation's dreams.

"I can't think about my own life now," said Khalid, now 20, after sneaking across the Syrian border into Lebanon. "All I can think about is working to make the revolution succeed because it will have a huge effect on the lives of all youth."

The young have been key players in Syria's uprising since its start in March 2011, when security forces arrested a group of teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall in the southern city of Daraa, generating huge protests.

Assad's security forces violently cracked down, deploying tanks, snipers and thugs to quash the spreading dissent. Later, many civilians took up arms to defend their communities and attack security forces. The U.N. says more than 9,000 people have been killed, including at least 500 children. Hundreds more children have been injured, detained or abused.

As the death toll mounts, young activists acknowledge some naivete in their decision to challenge one of the region's most brutal police states. Their elders often tried to dissuade them, recalling how Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez, killed between 10,000 and 25,000 people while crushing a 1982 rebellion in the city of Hama.

"Many of them were scared. They saw what the regime can do and told us, 'We were there in 1982. You weren't.'" said Mustafa, 24, who fled the coastal city of Banias to Lebanon last year. Like Khalid, he asked only that his first name be used for fear of endangering relatives inside Syria.

Still, many have decided that a chance at better lives was worth dropping their studies, jobs and marriage plans.

Before the uprising, Khalid studied engineering at a university in the central city of Homs, even though he was interested in computers and wasn't sure he'd ever get a job. He dreamed of going to school abroad, but government scholarships went to students in the ruling Baath Party.

He never thought about politics, but began paying close attention when uprisings toppled dictators in Tunisia and Egypt last year. In March, security forces stopped an anti-regime demonstration on campus, then forced students to attend a pro-Assad rally.

In April, security forces killed protesters in his neighborhood, Baba Amr, then posted troops to deter future gatherings.

"That was the first time I got mad and decided I was against the regime," Khalid said.

Anger grew in the neighborhood as the regime crushed more protests and raided homes to arrest activists, sometimes detaining their parents, he said.

Khalid started a Facebook page to commemorate those killed while working with other activists to film protests to post online.

In October, security forces stopped him at a checkpoint and found a photo on his cellphone of a government sniper, Khalid said. At the police station, he was beaten with a mop handle until his back was numb, then locked with six others in a cell so small that only three people could sit down at a time, he added.

For 20 days, he was regularly beaten during interrogations and suspended by plastic strips around his wrists, he said. He finally escaped with the help of a sympathetic security officer.

"After that, I knew I'd never shut up," he said. "I wanted to do the impossible to make the revolution succeed."

But first, he broke up with his girlfriend, worrying that their relationship would endanger her. She cried when he told her.

"I had to do it for her safety," he said. "I have set out on a martyr mission. As soon as you say, 'I'm an activist,' you know you could die."

At that time, Baba Amr was becoming a national symbol of the uprising. Army defectors has flocked to the area, making it harder for troops to come in, protests grew and the youth organized into media, medical and even trash pickup committees.

That defiance drew the regime's wrath, and in early February troops surrounded Baba Amr and shelled it daily. Khalid and the media team kept working, filming and uploading videos and communicating with journalists and other activists via Skype.

Despite the violence, there was youthful mischief. When an explosion near their makeshift media center silenced a rooster often heard in their videos, they commemorated him with his own Facebook page.

On Feb. 22, government rockets hit the media center, killing a number of activists and foreign journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, who had sneaked into Syria. Government troops captured the area on March 1, after armed rebels and activists pulled out.

Khalid says he's seen the bodies of some of his relatives in activist videos from the neighborhood and hasn't spoken to his parents in two months.

None of the activists' claims could be independently verified. The Syrian government bars most media from operating inside the country.

Another Baba Amr activist who also fled to Lebanon said he passed up a chance to study medicine in Germany so he could work to topple Assad.

"I reached a point where I realized that Syria could have a good future," he said, declining to give his name for fear of reprisals against his relatives. "I used to want to go to a developed country, but someday, after Assad falls, Syria will be like that. But we'll build it ourselves."

While international condemnation of Assad has mounted, diplomacy has failed to stop the violence and many activists acknowledge that the conflict is unlikely to end soon.

Most are still driven by the hope of better lives in Syria.

"I want to go back and study, get a job in a company," said Mustafa, the activist from Banias, who was a barber before the uprising and now helps Syrian refugees settle in Lebanon.

He, too, put marriage plans on hold because of the uprising, but is still in touch with his girlfriend whom he hopes to marry someday.

"Perhaps the day after the regime falls," he said, laughing.

Associated Press

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?????? ??????? ????????: Mobile Communications

It?s a war movie clich? that has been repeated in film after film for decades: A group of soldiers is pinned down by enemy gunfire and the radio operator calls in air support, providing coordinates over the radio for aircraft to fly over and take out.

That?s a scenario that once might have been the only means of getting air support, but a host of the latest digital mobile communication equipment allows today?s warfighter to send everything from coordinate-embedded video of a threat to precise position information derived from an enemy?s own communications in near real time.

This can easily be accomplished with the touch of a button from vehicle-mounted terminals, tablet computers and even smartphones that take advantage of latest-generation higher bandwidth, secure military wireless systems. While wireless communication system integration with legacy radio and satellite systems remains a significant issue as the U.S. military attempts to solve equipment interoperability problems on the battlefield, such technology is becoming an increasingly critical part of the sharing intelligence in theater, providing special operations ground units and air support teams a once unthinkable strategic advantage in situational awareness and targeting for the sort of counterinsurgency, high-value target and other operations that dominate contemporary asymmetric warfare.

Logen Thiran, president of the Intelligence, Communications and Avionics Solutions division of Parsippany, N.J.-based DRS Technologies Inc., told Special Operations Technology that there is an unavoidable correlation between communications equipment and intelligence that is all aimed at one goal: ensuring threats are targeted and eliminated with a growing level of assuredness and sophistication.

?What [the warfighters] are looking for is verification before they take action,? said Thiran. ?Communications and intel are an integral part of one another in terms of solving this problem.?

Small Radio, Big Power

AR Modular RF?s AR50 tactical amplifier is one of the smallest and most versatile VHF/UHF amplifiers on the market, offering high power 50W output for both line-of-sight (LOS) and UHF SATCOM communications, with switchable low noise amplifier in a package that can be used in both 24 volt military and 12 volt civilian vehicles or run from a battery.

The unit is designed to be used with handheld radios like the PRC-152 or MBITR PRC 148, as well as traditional ?backpack? radios like the PSC5-D or PRC-117F/G. The 20 Watt KMW1031 provides a simple (no operator controls) backpackable unit to extend the range of communications for operators with low power handheld radios once they leave their vehicles, or to give improved penetration within dense urban environments where LOS communication ranges often fall down to just a few blocks with a normal handheld radio.

It comes with a built-in power supply that can deal with both military and civilian vehicle supplies or run off one battery.

L-3 Interstate Electronics Corp., a San Diego and Anaheim, Calif.- based division of L-3 Communications, is a provider of full motion video RSTA (reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition) and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems for the U.S. military. Its latest offering is the VideoScout system, a softwarebased proprietary system designed to retrieve, disseminate and archive full motion video or infrared sensor data.

Currently used by the Marine Corps in theater, the company recently expanded the mounted and unmounted systems to run on Android smartphones. The family of products includes a network system, laptop and tablet versions. While each provides for robust use, the richness of features does decline the smaller and more portable the unit. Nevertheless, the system not only disseminates video and other sensor information with two-way transmission between the field users and command center, it also can send still images and audio clips along with user notations. It also includes metadata and GPS-based geolocation mapping over moving images that can be used to support targeting and close air support for teams on the ground, including by UAVs while supporting Department of Defense collection tools like the Tactical Ground Reporting System (TIGR) database.

Nicholas Ortyl, vice president and general manager of L-3 IEC?s San Diego-based situational awareness business unit, told SOTECH that the interoperable system is in use on the ground in Afghanistan and adaptable across wireless communication platforms from Wi-Fi and mesh networks to military satellite and commercial cellular data systems, adapting to the bandwidth specifics of each that is secured with AES software encryption.

?There is technology built into all the platforms and all the software so it will appropriately throttle and compress the data so you don?t have any [streaming] issues,? said Ortyl. ?If you said ?What happens when you put 40 users on the system?? we have algorithms and other technologies to manage all that so you don?t get into this situation where you overload the system.?

In terms of the future applications, Ortyl noted that the firm is exploring capabilities for submarines and adopting it with the help of integrators for incorporation into MRAPs or other ground vehicle retrofit efforts, potentially by combining it with other systems into a single video platform. He added that special forces community interest is particular high, such as for mounting on ATVs and other vehicles.

With close to 2,000 in use on the ground in Afghanistan, Ortyl noted that VideoScout had its genesis with special forces and the intelligence community a few years ago.

?We are getting a very nice pull in that direction because our roots are from the SOCOM world for the man-portable systems,? he said. ?It really came out of the intel community. That effort to make it manportable was driven by special forces. They want to be able to push all this information to the tip of spear. That initiative leads us to make a family of portables into a tremendous force multiplier.?

Among the competitors in this sphere, DRS Technologies produces a wealth of communications solutions for the U.S. warfighter, but Thiran pointed to several of its products?specifically in special operations use?including their MAGIC situational awareness systems and manpack COMINT direction finding system tactical signal collection system.

MAGIC (Mobile Mapping of Air and Ground Intelligence Communications) is currently used by special operations in mounted and dismounted avionics configurations in theater. They also provide man-portable versions for use with Windows-based tablets and smartphones.

The scalable, open architecture system provides near real-time geo-located intelligence data on a moving 3-D map display designed for integration with virtually any subsystem including intelligence broadcast receiver, situational awareness data link, MIDS/Link-16, PRC-117F/G, full motion video links, and electronic flight bag data sets. The firm also offers various data storage solutions to combine with a mounted unit and is looking to miniaturize the system further.

?Ultimately it [provides] network interconnectivity of airborne and ground bases, line of sight, non-line-of-sight [wireless communications], all tied together, meeting all those needs in an overarching network,? said Thiran.

DRS?s Manpack system allows a mounted or dismounted solider to collect tactical signal intelligence and geo-location information and share it across a network in theater with the intent of providing a line of bearing on a target to ensure a more rapid threat response.

?Narrowing the kill chain: at the end of the day that is what we are trying to do,? noted Thiran.

Verizon Wireless currently offers a number of component platforms for military use, including the DRS-supplied X10gx and Armor X7 rugged wireless tablets that connect through 3G cellular networks. Laura Cavey, associate director of federal data sales for Verizon Wireless, also pointed to their relationships with several software providers as integral to their effort to provide cellular- based software communications applications for the modern warfighter.

These include Lisle, Ill.-based Lextech Labs for situational awareness video solutions and Tampa, Fla.-based IP Vision Software?s video management solutions. Verizon is also heavily promoting its partnership with Salem, Mass.-based Blueforce Development Corp., which provides the Blueforce Tactical (BTAC) secure information sharing and sensor normalization software for smartphones and PDAs.

Tested and evaluated by Special Operations Command, the BTAC software solution is designed to provide monitoring of real-time soldier biometric sensor information along with video and other information from sensors worn by the soldier, along with location tracking. That test also incorporated perimeter video as well as gas and chemical explosive sensor monitoring.

?They [SOCOM] really want to be able to take care, monitor and understand what is going on with the warfigther in the middle of a mission,? said Cavey.

Cutting Edge

For systems intelligence gathering and dissemination systems to work in theater, they must have access to wireless communications networks. It?s an integral competency in the technology chain on which military suppliers continue to make strides.

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Raytheon Network Centric Systems is currently in the process of upgrading the company?s SMART-T (secure mobile anti-jam reliable tactical terminal) satellite communications systems for the Army from EHF (extremely high frequency) transmission capability to advanced extremely high frequency (AEHF) capability, increasing the data transmission rate by a factor of five and providing for real-time video, mapping and targeting information transmission. The system provides long-haul communications that can connect multiple secure nodes for robust multi-channel non-line-of-sight communications in the field.

The Army just fielded the first of 365 of the updated HMMWV-mounted, generator-powered system to tactical units.

?[SMART-T] really has been a really great program,? Scott Whatmough, vice president of Raytheon Network Centric Systems? Integrated Communications Systems, told SOTECH. ?We?re just waiting to get some satellites up there so we can provide [further] extended bandwidth for folks in the field.? While it is one of Raytheon?s flagship communications programs, given its four-foot antenna, he admitted that a SMART-T is hard to hide, making it ill-suited for special operations use. But Whatmough said the company is looking at reducing the size of the terminal and antennas while investing in next generation modem capabilities.

?I believe that if we can get our collective ducks in a row, we can provide some [special operationscentric] tactical AEHF terminals,? he said. ?It?s going to take a few years but I think special operations will be interested.?

Whatmough also pointed to the company?s MAINGATE (Mobile Ad hoc Interoperability Network GATEway) system as something viewed as a major advance in terms of joint and coalition interoperational radio communications systems for mounted vehicles. Developed with DRS as a partner and under DARPA contract, it can link cell phones, other manufacturers? radio systems, and even incredibly slow analog legacy battlefield radios to provide combined signal throughput, utilizing airborne relay, SATCOM and other infrastructure interfaces for over-the-horizon communications.

Billed as the next generation of the DARPA Network Centric Radio System, the automatic spectrum management mobile solution has a data throughput capability of 10 MB per second, allowing for around 20 simultaneous live video feeds if deployed at full capacity, according to Whatmough. Though not in current operational use, there are 30 systems currently in theater.

Whatmough said Raytheon is working with the military?s spectrum management operations to get the Joint Tactical Radio System compliant with the aim of getting it into the battlespace, adding that Boeing?s Ground Mobile Radio (GMR) for the Army is ?once again under scrutiny.? That program has been plagued with cost overruns after the Army reduced its order from 86,209 to 10,293, boosting unit costs by 50 percent with, according to a Government Accountability Office report, research and development spending increasing by 69 percent from 2002 to 2011.

?[GMR] seems to have nine lives,? said Whatmough. ?It does seem that GMR performance is going to open up that space for alternative solutions and we want to be one of those alternative solutions.? Raytheon is pushing intelligence to the tactical edge. The company has developed new capabilities to put critical, protected information directly in the hands of forward deployed units to enhance mission effectiveness.

Raytheon?s Tactical Hand-Off Using Nearest Database Resource (THUNDR) runs on a standard laptop and allows greater mobility for intelligence collection and dissemination by special operations units and echelons at battalion and below. It provides warfighters ready access to intelligence data, maps, images and video with updated information in near real time.

?THUNDR has a modular and scalable deployment footprint and provides connectivity to a service?s cloud computing environment while having the capacity to function in a stand-alone environment when bandwidth or communications are restricted,? stated Mark Bigham, vice president of business development, DCMS, for Raytheon?s Intelligence and Information Systems business.

?We?ve also developed the Raytheon Advanced Tactical System (RATS), a wireless mobile platform for users in communications-disadvantaged locations to connect to local available networks, providing interactive communications and collaboration.?

According to Bigham, RATS can be rapidly integrated with new data types, communications systems and databases, providing a unique, secure and tailorable interface along with a software development toolkit for creation of new and customized secure apps. ?RATS software allows common mobile devices to be used on the battlefield where ruggedness, battery life and screen visibility are all addressable through various hardware vendors.?

Thiran pointed to the DRS satellite communications on-the-move antenna line that provides continuous K and Ku-Band in-motion satellite communications through a mounted dish platform in multiple configurations, for both ground and sea vehicles, as a key offering in special operations use.

He noted that they are considering expanding the system by lowering the size and footprint to allow for wider airborne use, and making it less physically prominent on ground vehicles. Additionally, they?ve tested the system on X and Ka bands and are hoping to get it certified for use on Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS), which utilizes these spectrum ranges.

?It is a key capability that is needed today and is not widely available in the marketplace,? said Tiran. ?That?s a key driver for us going forward.?

Boeing was awarded an additional $439 million Air Force contract in September for the components for an eighth WGS satellite. This continues the expansion of the fleet of fielded and proposed WGS satellites, three of which are already in orbit over the Pacific, Middle East and Atlantic regions. A fourth is scheduled for launch in January with two more, including one Australian-financed, expected to launch by 2013 and a seventh expected in 2015. All existing delivery options, part of the overall $1.1 billion contract awarded to Boeing, would bring the fleet of military WGS communications satellites to 12.

Satellite, deployable Wi-Fi and other wireless military communication systems are not the only means for special operations soldiers to both deliver and get access to intelligence information in theater with the level of bandwidth required by the latest technological intelligence gathering and dissemination tools. While cellular networks dominate in some parts of the world more than land lines, particularly in many of the less developed regions where special operations soldiers must now operate, cellular solutions are viewed by some as an increasingly viable battlefield communications solution.

Verizon Wireless?s Cavey told SOTECH that their greatest offering for military communications is its low-latency, high-speed 4G LTE network. While currently only deployed domestically, she predicted LTE will probably become the next global cellular standard with its international partner Vodaphone, China Mobile and other global carriers adopting the high speed standard.

?Without that high speed data access, video becomes more difficult to do on networks that can?t support it,? said Cavey.

?The biggest limitation now is that it is only deployed in the United States,? she acknowledged. ?However, that is not permanent. It is just where we are today. Verizon Wireless is on the cusp. We are on the cutting edge of deploying the technology first.? A Navy pilot project testing their MPLS and mobile VPN solutions is currently underway. But while there is interest within DoD in new methods and technologies to secure communications data, that interest varies across the branches and even within them.

For instance, Cavey noted that SOCOM is more open to exploring new network security solutions when compared to Big Army and Big Navy, which are generally interested in sticking to tried and true data security concepts and communications technologies. Nevertheless, she added that the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., maintains a separate network used strictly for testing new products and solutions.

?It really depends on the customer which way we go,? Cavey said, about promoting conceptual tests and new means of securing data for the military end-user. ?Some customers are open to looking at new ways of doing things. Others want to stick with the old handbook. If this pilot does work, that would be a way of rewriting the handbook, so to speak,? she added. Cavey also added that while many in the U.S. military are interested in secure, packaged communications solutions, SOCOM appears mostly interested in custom wireless communications products and is open to exploring cutting edge solutions that companies can provide. ?They don?t want off-the-shelf solutions anymore, but something custom,? said Cavey.

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3-hour firefight: Afghan militants ambush NATO convoy

By msnbc.com news services and NBC News

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents?ambushed a NATO coalition supply convoy in a mountainous area of western Afghanistan, sparking a three-hour firefight in which an Afghan soldier, five security guards and at least 14 attackers were killed, Afghan officials said Thursday.

Najibullah Najibi, a spokesman for the Afghan National Army's western region, told The Associated Press that the battle raged Wednesday along a highway regularly used by coalition supply trucks in Bala Buluk district of Farah province.

---

"The fighting was intense and we sent in extra forces," Najibi said.

Jangir / AFP - Getty Images

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

There were varying estimates of the number of militants killed.?

Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Afghan National Police in the west, said more than 30 militants were killed and 10 others were
wounded.

Suicide vests found in Afghan defense ministry

Sayed Abdul Wahid, an official of the Arya security company, said his workers who were fighting with AK-47s were overpowered by
militants using heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.

Kevin Frayer / AP

In southern Afghanistan, the focus of the U.S. war effort, nearly all the Afghan soldiers are foreigners too. Photographer Kevin Frayer shows these soldiers in a series of portraits.

He said five of his employees were killed and five others were wounded by insurgents who burned three vehicles in the convoy.

US orders more security for troops in Afghanistan

Meanwhile. a service member with the NATO-led?International Security Assistance Force died after a blast caused by an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan, NBC News reported Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.?

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/29/10915471-20-killed-in-intense-firefight-after-nato-convoy-is-ambushed-in-afghan-mountains

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US teen guilty of murdering 2 British tourists

SARASOTA, Florida?? A Florida teenager is facing a life sentence after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting deaths of two young British tourists last April, a case that generated blaring tabloid headlines in the U.K. press.

Shawn Tyson, 17, sat stone-faced as the jury's verdict was read and as two friends of the victims spoke angrily about the crime. The verdict came after two hours of deliberations. Because he is under 18, Tyson is ineligible for the death penalty and is facing a mandatory life sentence.

During the trial witnesses testified that Tyson shot James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, last April 16. The two men were vacationing in Sarasota and spent an evening drinking when they got lost and walked into a housing project where Tyson lived. Details of their deaths have gripped the British news media. Tabloids there have written stories saying the men were "slaughtered" in a Florida "ghetto."

In a statement, the families of Cooper and Kouzaris accused Tyson of being "evil," saying that they had been given "a life sentence when our sons were so brutally and needlessly taken from us. Ours is a life sentence, with no chance of parole from a broken heart, and a shattered soul."

Joe Hallett, a friend of the victims who sat through the entire trial, said the pair befriended people from different walks of life and would have tried with Tyson, as well.

"I have to try to make you understand the pain you brought to so many people," Hallett said to Tyson. "It was through your deadly action that you've taken us all on a journey to hell. Every night before you go to sleep, every morning you wake up, I want you to think of my friends who were murdered."

A prosecutor also read a statement from Cooper's parents and played a video at the request of his parents. The video, which portrayed the young man from the time he was born, was also played at his funeral.

Kouzaris was from Northampton and Cooper was from Hampton Lucy, Warwick. Both were considered fun-loving world travelers by friends -- but also smart and cautious. Authorities said both were drunk when they got lost and wandered just before 3 a.m. into the housing project where Tyson lived.

Witnesses testified that Tyson told them he saw two "crackers" -- his phrase for white people -- walking through the neighborhood and that he intended to rob them. The tourists said they didn't have any money and begged Tyson to let them go home. The men also told Tyson that they were lost.

"Since you ain't got no money, then I have something for your ass," Tyson recounted to a witness, then added that he shot the men several times.

The tourists' bodies were found shirtless on the street and their baggy pants were pulled down to their thighs. Both men still had their wallets and did in fact have money; Cooper also had a cellphone and camera in his pants pocket. Authorities later found that Kouzaris' blood alcohol level was 0.243 and Cooper's was 0.214 -- well past Florida's legal limit for intoxication when driving, which is 0.08.

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'An opportunity to rob and kill'
During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Ed Brodsky told the jury that the case was about "opportunities."

"For James Cooper and James Kouzaris, they had seized an opportunity to travel abroad," Brodsky said. "Shawn Tyson seized upon an opportunity to rob and kill two men."

In the end, Tyson was his own undoing. Several prosecution witnesses said Tyson told friends about the shootings in the hours after the killings, then asked friends to hide the murder weapon and bury bullets. A DNA expert said Tyson's skin cells were found on Cooper's jeans.

Tyson maintained to police that he was at home during the murders. But witnesses spotted him crawling into his window shortly after hearing gunshots.

Tyson did not testify. His attorneys called only one witness, a crime scene technician, and questioned him briefly. Defense attorneys also tried to discredit the witnesses by saying many of them had criminal records and cooperated with detectives to avoid jail time.

The defense also said no one saw Tyson shoot Cooper and Kouzaris.

Authorities say Tyson wasn't alone the night of the shooting; police have not charged the second suspect because they don't have enough evidence. That person is currently in prison on unrelated charges.

Paul Davis, another friend of the men who attended the trial, had another message for Tyson.

"You might think that being a man is about carrying a gun, but it isn't," Davis said. "The stupid thing about what you've done is that you've ended your own life."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46885491/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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U-M Health and Retirement Study adds genetic data to NIH database

Public release date: 28-Mar-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Diane Swanbrow
swanbrow@umich.edu
734-647-4416
University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a 20-year nationwide survey of the health, economic and social status of older Americans conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research, has added genetic information from 12,500 consenting participants to the online genetics database of the National Institutes of Health.

The genetic data was posted today to dbGAP, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes, an online genetic database developed by the NIH.

"This step marks an important milestone in the expansion of traditional social science research to include biometric and biological data, including genetic material," said ISR Director James Jackson.

The Health and Retirement Study genetic data, now available for analysis by qualified researchers, is comprised of approximately 2.5 million genetic markers from each person, obtained from saliva samples. Specific information on the data can be found at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000428.v1.p1 and http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu.

"The addition of genetic data provides a major new dimension for the study and is expected to result in much deeper insights into how we age," said Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging. "With detailed information on genetic background, combined with the wealth of data on important aspects of the lives of older people, researchers will be better able to describe the spectrum of behavioral and environmental risk factors for disease and disability, as well as those that may protect our health."

Data from a total of 20,000 HRS participants is expected to be posted to the database by the end of 2013. This will allow researchers to conduct genome-wide association studies on survivorship, longevity and genetic determinants of aging, along with studies of complex disease traits, physiological measures and functions, biomarkers and physical performance. The longitudinal design of the HRS greatly enhances the power to detect genetic effects and to study determinants of age-dependent changes in health and function.

"When the Health and Retirement Study began collecting DNA in 2006, it was with a firm belief that measuring genetic variation at the population level would someday help to galvanize the integration of social and biological sciences," said David Weir, director of the HRS and principal investigator of the genotyping projects funded under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. "Now technological advances in genotyping, the vision of the National Institute on Aging in supporting the first-of-its kind nationally representative population study of genetics, and the collaboration of leading geneticists at U-M have made this integration a reality."

"Aging is one of life's biggest mysterieswhat speeds it up or slows it down? The HRS finally brings together two separate research worlds into a single large, deep longitudinal study," said U-M geneticist Sharon Kardia. "Now we can finally study how a person's genes interact with their social situation, life choices and beliefs about the world."

Launched in 1992, the HRS today follows more than 35,000 people over age 50. It collects data every two years, from pre-retirement to advanced age, during extensive interviews with participants, who are asked detailed questions about their health, economic status, social factors, cognitive ability and life circumstances. The interviews also include a set of physical performance tests, body measurements, blood and saliva samples, and a psychosocial questionnaire.

"Adding genetic data to this longitudinal study has the potential to revolutionize behavioral and social research," said Richard Suzman, director of the National Institute on Aging Division of Behavioral and Social Research and a co-founder of the study. "The new genetics information will be the largest nationally representative sample in NIH's genetic database."

The NIA renewed its support of the HRS in December 2011. The cooperative agreement between the NIA and the University of Michigan was extended for six years. Funding for the current fiscal year is $13.3 million; funding for the entire renewal period may total about $82 million. The Social Security Administration, which has been a longstanding supporter of the HRS, provided $4.2 million in fiscal year 2011.

"The HRS has also served as the model for similar studies in more than 30 other countries, leading to cross-national comparisons of the health and well-being of older people," Suzman said. "Comparative analyses with global counterparts have led to several surprising discoveries about how older Americans are doing. This information is increasingly significant for national leaders and policymakers as the world's older population continues to grow."

The HRS has helped spur the development of a global community of researchers sharing ideas and collaborating on analyses. Data from the HRS and its sister studies have attracted thousands of new researchers to studying aging, generating more than 2,000 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, dissertations and working papers.

###

NIA press release site: www.nia.nih.gov/newsroom/press-releases

Established in 1949, the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research is the world's largest academic social science survey and research organization, and a world leader in developing and applying social science methodology, and in educating researchers and students from around the world. ISR conducts some of the most widely cited studies in the nation, including the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, the American National Election Studies, the Monitoring the Future Study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the Health and Retirement Study, the Columbia County Longitudinal Study and the National Survey of Black Americans. ISR researchers also collaborate with social scientists in more than 60 nations on the World Values Surveys and other projects, and the institute has established formal ties with universities in Poland, China and South Africa. ISR is also home to the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, the world's largest digital social science data archive. For more information, visit the ISR website at http://www.isr.umich.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Mar-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Diane Swanbrow
swanbrow@umich.edu
734-647-4416
University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a 20-year nationwide survey of the health, economic and social status of older Americans conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research, has added genetic information from 12,500 consenting participants to the online genetics database of the National Institutes of Health.

The genetic data was posted today to dbGAP, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes, an online genetic database developed by the NIH.

"This step marks an important milestone in the expansion of traditional social science research to include biometric and biological data, including genetic material," said ISR Director James Jackson.

The Health and Retirement Study genetic data, now available for analysis by qualified researchers, is comprised of approximately 2.5 million genetic markers from each person, obtained from saliva samples. Specific information on the data can be found at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000428.v1.p1 and http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu.

"The addition of genetic data provides a major new dimension for the study and is expected to result in much deeper insights into how we age," said Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging. "With detailed information on genetic background, combined with the wealth of data on important aspects of the lives of older people, researchers will be better able to describe the spectrum of behavioral and environmental risk factors for disease and disability, as well as those that may protect our health."

Data from a total of 20,000 HRS participants is expected to be posted to the database by the end of 2013. This will allow researchers to conduct genome-wide association studies on survivorship, longevity and genetic determinants of aging, along with studies of complex disease traits, physiological measures and functions, biomarkers and physical performance. The longitudinal design of the HRS greatly enhances the power to detect genetic effects and to study determinants of age-dependent changes in health and function.

"When the Health and Retirement Study began collecting DNA in 2006, it was with a firm belief that measuring genetic variation at the population level would someday help to galvanize the integration of social and biological sciences," said David Weir, director of the HRS and principal investigator of the genotyping projects funded under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. "Now technological advances in genotyping, the vision of the National Institute on Aging in supporting the first-of-its kind nationally representative population study of genetics, and the collaboration of leading geneticists at U-M have made this integration a reality."

"Aging is one of life's biggest mysterieswhat speeds it up or slows it down? The HRS finally brings together two separate research worlds into a single large, deep longitudinal study," said U-M geneticist Sharon Kardia. "Now we can finally study how a person's genes interact with their social situation, life choices and beliefs about the world."

Launched in 1992, the HRS today follows more than 35,000 people over age 50. It collects data every two years, from pre-retirement to advanced age, during extensive interviews with participants, who are asked detailed questions about their health, economic status, social factors, cognitive ability and life circumstances. The interviews also include a set of physical performance tests, body measurements, blood and saliva samples, and a psychosocial questionnaire.

"Adding genetic data to this longitudinal study has the potential to revolutionize behavioral and social research," said Richard Suzman, director of the National Institute on Aging Division of Behavioral and Social Research and a co-founder of the study. "The new genetics information will be the largest nationally representative sample in NIH's genetic database."

The NIA renewed its support of the HRS in December 2011. The cooperative agreement between the NIA and the University of Michigan was extended for six years. Funding for the current fiscal year is $13.3 million; funding for the entire renewal period may total about $82 million. The Social Security Administration, which has been a longstanding supporter of the HRS, provided $4.2 million in fiscal year 2011.

"The HRS has also served as the model for similar studies in more than 30 other countries, leading to cross-national comparisons of the health and well-being of older people," Suzman said. "Comparative analyses with global counterparts have led to several surprising discoveries about how older Americans are doing. This information is increasingly significant for national leaders and policymakers as the world's older population continues to grow."

The HRS has helped spur the development of a global community of researchers sharing ideas and collaborating on analyses. Data from the HRS and its sister studies have attracted thousands of new researchers to studying aging, generating more than 2,000 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, dissertations and working papers.

###

NIA press release site: www.nia.nih.gov/newsroom/press-releases

Established in 1949, the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research is the world's largest academic social science survey and research organization, and a world leader in developing and applying social science methodology, and in educating researchers and students from around the world. ISR conducts some of the most widely cited studies in the nation, including the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, the American National Election Studies, the Monitoring the Future Study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the Health and Retirement Study, the Columbia County Longitudinal Study and the National Survey of Black Americans. ISR researchers also collaborate with social scientists in more than 60 nations on the World Values Surveys and other projects, and the institute has established formal ties with universities in Poland, China and South Africa. ISR is also home to the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, the world's largest digital social science data archive. For more information, visit the ISR website at http://www.isr.umich.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/uom-uha032812.php

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Home Care in Santa Rosa CA - The Elder Care Experts

Recent studies have proven that older drivers are more inclined than any other drivers to be in car accidents.

Several states are now requiring driving tests for elderly or for men and women who have been in three or more collisions in one year, required. This is because older drivers are more prone to either being injured or killed. Statistics show, seniors are more regularly in hazardous or fatal wrecks than any other ages. The best way to safely and effectively ensure that the unsafe drivers are off the roads is for them to be obligated to take a test to see who should and who shouldn?t be driving. Many see this as inequity, while many others see it as a reassurance and a way to know for sure that their loved one will be safe while on the road. Most of the people, especially those with senior family members, are already cognizant of the potential dangers.

A nice solution for keeping your older parent or loved one safe is to use a Home care agency that provides transportation. Home care agencies not only supply transportation but most importantly they offer the prospect for men and women to keep their independence. This also avoids seclusion and allows them to continue to get around to their own doctor appointments as well as run their own errands.

You will find several diverse ways to find out how to get help in your community. Speak with your local Area Agency on Aging. If they do not offer transportation, they can point you in the right direction in order to find someone who does. There are also door-to-door services in most areas and driver volunteers. The door-to-door service do require you to call and give them notice on what your plans are but this may offer the most range of flexibility.

However, if you are interested in paying a fee for each designated stop you should ask about a fixed route. The fees charged are discounted at senior citizen rates and in some cases are actually free. The option available with driver volunteers usually is a great option for people who need to be taken to a specific place at certain times such as doctor appointments or senior centers. For more information you can call the National Transit Hotline Toll Free at 1-800-527-8279, they can provide you with a list of local Home care agencies that can help you find the right alternative to fit your specific needs.

Home care in Santa Rosa counselors at?At Your Service?are available to talk with you about your?in-home care?needs including how to reduce?caregiver?stress while providing better, affordable care. We are an?elder care agency providing?Home care in Santa Rosa.?

Source: http://myeldercareblog.com/at_your_service_home_care/361/home-care-in-santa-rosa-ca-2/

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Magic Johnson group to buy Dodgers for record $2B

Basketball legend turned entrepreneur Magic Johnson tours the Sports Museum of America in New York, Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. A group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten agreed Tuesday night March 27, 2012 to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt for $2 billion. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Basketball legend turned entrepreneur Magic Johnson tours the Sports Museum of America in New York, Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. A group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten agreed Tuesday night March 27, 2012 to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt for $2 billion. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - In this June 8, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt walks by the dugout on the field before the Dodgers' baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Los Angeles. McCourt has announced an agreement Tuesday night, March 27, 2012, to sell the bankrupt team for $2 billion to a group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and former Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)

FILE - In this June 9, 2009, file photo, Stan Kasten, at the time the president of the Washington Nationals, attends a news conference in Washington. Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has announced an agreement Tuesday night, March 27, 2012, to sell the bankrupt team for $2 billion to a group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and former Atlanta Braves and Nationals President Stan Kasten. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - In a file photo provided by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles on July 31, 2007, Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt announces a new official charity in Los Angeles. McCourt announced an agreement Tuesday, March, 27, 2012 to sell the bankrupt baseball team for $2 billion to a group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and former Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten. (AP Photo/Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Bob Riha, Jr., File )

FILE - In this Oct. 3, 1995, file photo, Dodger Stadium stands in Los Angeles. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt announced an agreement Tuesday, March 27, 2012, to sell the bankrupt team for $2 billion to a group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and former Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? One Los Angeles institution is buying another.

A group that includes former Lakers star Magic Johnson and longtime baseball executive Stan Kasten agreed Tuesday night to buy the Dodgers from Frank McCourt for a record $2 billion.

The price would shatter the mark for a sports franchise. Stephen Ross paid $1.1 billion for the NFL's Miami Dolphins in 2009, and in England, Malcolm Glazer and his family took over the Manchester United soccer club in 2005 in a deal then valued at $1.47 billion.

Mark Walter, chief executive officer of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, would become the controlling owner.

The deal, revealed about five hours after Major League Baseball owners approved three finalists for an intended auction, is one of several steps toward a sale of the team by the end of April. It is subject to approval in federal bankruptcy court.

"I am thrilled to be part of the historic Dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by Frank McCourt as we drive the Dodgers back to the front page of the sports section in our wonderful community of Los Angeles," Johnson said in a statement.

As part of the agreement, the Dodgers said McCourt and "certain affiliates of the purchasers" would acquire the land surrounding Dodger Stadium, including its parking lots, for $150 million.

"If they invested that much money, I'm sure they'll invest to get us a winner," said Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers' retired Hall of Fame manager. "I wish them all the luck, and I admire them. I know both of them. I know Magic from the day he came into Los Angeles as a basketball player for the Lakers."

The acquiring group, called Guggenheim Baseball Management, has several other investors, among them Mandalay Entertainment chief executive Peter Guber, Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly and Bobby Patton, who operates oil and gas properties among his investments. Kasten is the former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals.

"I am truly honored to have partnered with such talented individuals and to be associated with the Dodgers organization," said Walter. "We look forward to building upon the legacy of the Dodgers and providing long-term stability to one of the most revered franchises in baseball."

The 52-year-old Johnson played 13 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA championships and three MVP awards in a Hall of Fame career.

He retired from the NBA in 1991 after being diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He briefly came out of retirement during the 1995-96 season and had a short stint coaching the Lakers. Since leaving basketball, he has been very successful in business, investing in movie theaters, a production company and restaurants.

He has also been an activist in the fight against HIV.

"I'm upset he didn't cut me in," current Lakers star Kobe Bryant said. "I'm going to have to talk to him about that."

McCourt paid $430 million in 2004 to buy the team, Dodger Stadium and 250 acres of land that include the parking lots, from the Fox division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., a sale that left the team with about $50 million in cash at the time. The team's debt stood at $579 million as of January, according to a court filing, so McCourt stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars even after a $131 million divorce payment to former wife Jamie, taxes and legal and banking fees.

Kasten is expected to wind up as the team's top day-to-day executive.

The other two finalists were:

? Stan Kroenke, whose family owns the NFL's St. Louis Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids. He also is majority shareholder of Arsenal in the English Premier League.

? Steven Cohen, founder of the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors and a new limited partner of the New York Mets; biotechnology entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong; and agent Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group.

It remains to be seen whether Major League Baseball will challenge the deal in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where the case is before Judge Kevin Gross.

Under an agreement reached by MLB and McCourt in November, a private auction was to be held among the finalists and McCourt was to select the winner by Sunday. The sales agreement is to be submitted to the bankruptcy court by April 6, ahead of a hearing seven days later, and the sale completed by April 30, the day McCourt is to make a divorce settlement payment.

"This agreement with Guggenheim reflects both the strength and future potential of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and assures that the Dodgers will have new ownership with deep local roots, which bodes well for the Dodgers, its fans and the Los Angeles community," McCourt said in a statement.

The acquiring group would gain the ability to sell the Dodgers' local broadcasting rights starting with games in 2014. The Guggenheim group likely would use money gained from the rights sale ? or from the team's own network with outside investment ? and use those funds to pay down the acquisition debt.

"The amount of leverage is a big question," said Marc Ganis, president of the Chicago-based consulting firm Sportscorp, which is not involved. "The likely scenario is that they have a broadcasting deal in mind so that they pay up now and pay themselves down from a big broadcasting upfront payment.

"The problem with this strategy is that the more paid upfront by the broadcast deal, the less money is available for team operations. The more debt they take on, the more debt service is required, the less money that's available for team operations. With the only beneficiary being the man walking out the door. A challenging result that baseball tried to avoid."

The current record for a baseball franchise is the $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in late June, just days before the team was expected to miss payroll. The filing came after baseball Commissioner Bud Selig refused to approve a 17-year agreement between the Dodgers and Fox's Prime Ticket subsidiary that would have been worth $2 billion or more. MLB feared McCourt would use about half of an intended $385 million cash advance to fund his divorce.

Los Angeles finished third in the NL West last season at 82-79, had just three sellouts and fell short of 3 million in home attendance in a full season for the first time since 1992. There was some concern among MLB officials about the financing of the Walter bid because some of the money was coming from insurance companies that are owned by Guggenheim. A person familiar with the baseball owners' teleconference Tuesday said several team owners voiced that during the call. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because MLB did not make any announcements.

"The problem there is a fundamental problem as you go into an auction, and that is the absolute reliance on other people's money," said Ganis. "It means a lot of regulators. It means either shareholders or, depending on which insurance companies it's coming from, the insured themselves."

Kasten was hired as legal counsel of the Braves and the NBA's Hawks in 1976, and three years later became the NBA's youngest general manager at 27. He was promoted to president of the Braves and Hawks in 1986 and also became president of the NHL's Thrashers in 1999. After leaving the Atlanta teams in 2003, he became president of the Washington Nationals from 2006-10.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti recently had dinner with Kasten in Glendale, Ariz., the team's spring training home.

"He's very successful, very driven, relentless in his pursuit of excellence," Colletti said. "He's seen a lot and he's won a lot."

The Dodgers have won six World Series titles but none since 1988, when they were still owned by the O'Malley family that moved the team from Brooklyn to California after the 1957 season. Fox bought the team in 1998, then sold it to McCourt.

Colletti, whose baseball moves appear to have been constricted because of the team's financial problems, says the sale announcement brings "clarity."

"It's time to turn the page and move toward a new chapter in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers," he said.

___

AP Sports Writer Antonio Gonzalez contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-03-28-BBN-Dodgers-Sale/id-9dca0fcd399e4c84a9f9520c44e60730

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Interior Design with Feng Shui | Home Improvement Blog

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March 27th, 2012 by admin | Posted under Interior Design.

Interiors Design with Feng Shui

Thinking about renovating your home? Here are some good tips Interior Design with Feng Shui can be of great help to focus the positive energy at home and make the area look more elegant and graceful.

Interior Design with Feng Shui

There are certain colors can be represented by the Feng Shui so that you use at home, if necessary, since all the colors are different aspects of life such as red and orange for happiness means fame and recognition.

• Green is the color of peace, the walls painted green to go home in peace. You can use yellow as well, because he has good luck. However, any color that is very sensitive and can not bring discomfort and even ruin the look of the house.
• The premises must not be full of decorative elements and to make it look too good, as the article in the space also block the positive energy. The room was spacious and the furniture should have only the right, so that the positive vibrations can enter the room without difficulty.
• People have to ensure that the circulation of air and light is present, as it keeps the room bright and fresh every time.
• The use of natural materials to appeal to both push the negative energy and positive energy. It has hardwood floors and bamboo is a great idea to focus on the positive vibes. Also, using cotton duvet and materials based on organic elements are also a good thing to consider.
• Plants absorb a lot of good energy, absorb carbon dioxide and oxygen and helps increase the positive energy. Put plants in your home is a good idea and also the place look more beautiful and more attractive.
• If people want to buy a carpet, then they should be in bright colors. This type of simple search and make your living space appear larger.
• At the entrance, people should make good storage space for shoes, because it is clean and always attracts positive energy within the home.
• Keep a clean garden with some good flowering plants is an ideal way to enhance positive vibrations. This helps to channel the positive energy around the house, but in forming people should make sure that the bedroom window overlooking the garden.
• In the kitchen, the people on the plains of cleaning and keep it open. The stove should be kept away from the sink, because it makes food look good, comprehensive and better organized. In addition, kitchen lighting is also excellent.
• With an oval dining table in the center of the dining room adds elegance and offers a good energy.
• Position of good painting by Feng Shui increases in the appropriate places, the elegance of the house and helps circulate energy with a good walk from negative energies.
• Positioning brings aquariums, fountains and miniature waterfalls in the house of wealth and elegance.

People need to make sure you put all these elements in place according to feng shui, so that positivity can be used.

Tags: feng shui, interior design, with

Source: http://www.barthcolp.com/interior-design-feng-shui.html

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Kuwait names new central bank governor

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? Kuwait is promoting the central bank's deputy governor to the institution's top spot following the resignation of its long-serving leader last month.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mustafa al-Shimali told state news agency KUNA on Sunday that the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mohammed Yusef al-Hashel as governor of Kuwait's central bank.

Al-Hashel has served as the acting head of the bank since the resignation last month of former governor Sheik Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, a member of the country's ruling family.

Sheik Salem led the bank for more than 25 years. He had expressed concerns about a rapid rise in government spending, including substantial wage increases for oil workers and others.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-03-25-ML-Kuwait-Central-Bank/id-8b5edf8a755a46c19fa6aef57d4dfdea

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The Best Method To Finance Your Real Estate Business | Northland ...

One of the best methods to finance your real estate business is to seek loans for land. Most of the financial institutions provide these loans to their clients at reasonable terms. However, not all loans for land are convenient to service your desired financial needs. You need to determine the ultimate purpose for which you want the financial assistance. The purpose for the land that you want to own determines the kind of loan that you will apply. If your intentions are to buy a piece of land and carry no development projects on it, then you should consider securing a land loan.

However, if your intentions are to buy a land that has existing infrastructure on it, then you should consider securing a mortgage loan. Moreover, the purpose of the land that you want to buy greatly determines the level of the interest rate and the down payment requirements. For instance, the land loans have higher interest rates than the mortgage loans for the reason that the land loans carry higher risk. One can decide to borrow some money to purchase undeveloped land and later fail to repay the loan since the land can be used as collateral. On the other hand, when one borrows a mortgage loan, they cannot walk away since it is the property and not the land that becomes attached to the loan.

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