Mars co-operation near collapse

The American space agency looks set to pull the plug on its joint missions to Mars with the European Space Agency.

Nasa has told Esa it is now highly unlikely it will be able to contribute to the endeavours, which envision an orbiting satellite and a big roving robot being sent to the Red Planet.

The US has yet to make a formal statement on the matter but budget woes are thought to lie behind its decision.

Europe is now banking on a Russian partnership to keep the missions alive.

A public announcement by Nasa of its withdrawal from the ExoMars programme, as it is known in Europe, will probably come once President Obama's 2013 Federal Budget Request is submitted.

This request, expected in the coming days, will give the US space agency a much clearer view of how much money it has to implement its various projects.

"The Americans have indicated that the possibility of them participating is now low - very low. It's highly unlikely," said Alvaro Gimenez, Esa's director of science.

"They are interested, they know it's a very good option for them - but they have difficulties putting these missions in the budget," he told BBC News.

"We have to wait for the Americans to have a definitive say, but we also have to study alternatives."

The pull-out by Nasa - if that is confirmed - will be just the latest twist in what has been a long running saga, and it will leave Europe's Mars ambitions in a precarious position.

Continue reading the main story

The 2016 ExoMars orbiter

  • It would study Mars' atmosphere for sources of methane and other trace gases
  • Methane is intriguing because its presence could indicate biological activity
  • 2016 would act as the relay station for the 2018 rover when it arrives at Mars
  • It would also demonstrate some limited European technologies for landing on planets

As currently planned, ExoMars would see an orbiting satellite launched in 2016 to "sniff" for methane and other trace gases in the Martian atmosphere, followed by an autonomous rover in 2018 to drill beneath the planet's surface.

The Americans were supposed to be providing instruments and a communications package for the orbiter, and a great swathe of equipment for the rover, in addition to the rocket to send it on its way and the descent system to get the robot safely down on to the Martian terrain.

Concerns last year in the US about the state of Nasa's Mars budget had already prompted Esa to inquire whether the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) would be interested in entering the ExoMars programme.

But the latest signals from Washington have now pushed Esa into discussing a full bi-lateral agreement, with the intention that Roscosmos pick up many of the responsibilities expected to be dropped by the Americans.

This would include instruments for the orbiter and the provision of two Proton rockets to get both missions to their destination.

It could not be a straight substitution of roles, however, because the Russians do not possess all of the skills that Nasa was proposing to bring to ExoMars.

For Europe, it means returning to an earlier, smaller design for the 2018 rover. It would also have to resurrect ideas it had for vented, or dead-beat, airbags to cushion the vehicle's touch-down.

But the technical challenges of having to reframe the ExoMars missions may pale in comparison to the difficulties of meeting the additional costs involved.

Changes in architecture would inevitably push the budget profile beyond the one billion euros that Esa member states had agreed should be the cap for ExoMars.

"I cannot pretend the situation is not grim," commented Dr David Parker, director of science, technology and exploration at the UK Space Agency (UKSA).

Continue reading the main story

The 2018 ExoMars rover

  • Envisioned as a near one-tonne rover equipped with a suite of science instruments
  • Its design would emulate a rover Nasa launched to Mars in November (above)
  • It would probably cache interesting rocks for return to Earth on a later mission
  • American withdrawal would mean Europe returning to an earlier, smaller design

"It's come as a major surprise to us that the Americans don't want to play. We now have to take some cold, sensible decisions about what we do with public money, and it may be that some national activities will have to be put in the deep freeze until we have a clearer sense of what is going to happen."

ExoMars was formally initiated in Europe by ministers in 2005. Esa has already spent in the region of 200 million euros on technology development, and would be loath to give up on the flagship project.

"ExoMars is really important for Europe and its role in future exploration," said Dr Gimenez.

"It's important for science and it's important for industry. There are a host of reasons to continue with ExoMars and that is why I am working so hard to try to make it happen," he told BBC News.

A Nasa pull-out of ExoMars would be met with dismay by American planetary scientists.

The 2016 and 2018 missions were seen as the first steps in a series of missions that would lead to the eventual return of Martian rocks for study in Earth laboratories.

A recent panel reviewing the future of US planetary science considered this goal to be a top priority.

Withdrawal also has grave implications for transatlantic relations.

The US has already left Europe high and dry on several projects of late. Last year, it walked away from three multi-billion euro missions-in-the-planning, forcing European scientists and engineers to head back to the drawing board after three years of feasibility work.

Asked to comment on developments, Nasa HQ in Washington told the BBC: "Even in these times of fiscal restraint, President Obama has laid out an ambitious plan of exploration and discovery for Nasa that includes robotic missions to Mars as well as the ultimate goal of a human mission. It would not be appropriate to comment on specifics of the president's budget before it is released on 13 February."

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16906740

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Police, some on horseback, clear Occupy DC protesters (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Police removed protesters as they confiscated bedding and most tents on Saturday from an "Occupy" protest site just blocks from the White House, enforcing a no-camping rule for the public McPherson Square they had ignored for months.

Dozens of mounted police and police on foot in riot gear earlier sealed off the square, which is administered by the National Park Service, and moved in before dawn to enforce the no-camping regulation.

Demonstrators have been in the square since early October to target the growing income gap, corporate greed and what they see as an unfair tax structure favoring the richest Americans.

By early evening, police had scuffled with protesters and moved all but one out of the park as they cleared most of the encampment. Police said the move was only an enforcement of park rules but Occupy demonstrators called the action a "full force eviction" and said the police had beaten them with batons and pushed them out so violently that several people were trampled.

Police said there had been eight arrests and one injury to a police officer who was hit in the face with a brick. Protesters said a protester had been beaten unconscious but the police did not confirm the injury.

"They pushed and beat us out." said Sam Jewler, a protester, 23, from the nation's capital who has been camping in the square for months.

The National Park Service has repeatedly warned protesters it would start enforcing a ban against camping in the square alongside K Street, home to many of the powerful lobbyists who seek to influence lawmakers, and at the Occupy movement's site at Freedom Plaza, both a few blocks from the White House.

"They can go back in," said U.S. Park Police Sergeant David Schlosser, who said the police were just moving protesters out in sections while they implemented the no camping rule. Earlier in the day he told reporters the police action was not an eviction but just "nuisance abatement."

Guarded by police, sanitation workers cleared away most tents and heaps of bedding, palettes, crates, tarpaulins, full-sized mattresses, books, clothes, straw and other debris that had accumulated over the four months of occupation.

By evening, only a handful of empty tents remained. The police had also taken down one of the group's most sentimental symbols of resistance, a large blue tarpaulin decorated with moons and stars and the words "Tent of Dreams" in reference to the ban on sleeping in the park.

Many demonstrators had packed up their belongings and left, but a group of about 60 stood in a cold drizzle just feet from police blocking entry into the park and vowed to continue the movement in some form and retake part of the park on Sunday for a meeting to reassess their next move.

'AN EVOLUTION'

Some protesters vowed to sleep on sidewalks in sight of the park and some planned to seek shelter in nearby houses and a local church. While some demonstrators berated the police, others appeared defeated. One woman cried while a nearby protester kept his arm around her.

"The most important thing is to maintain our presence. That is the plan," said Edward Sahadi, 47, a baker from Key West, Florida, who has been at the site for more than three months.

Others hinted the movement could move on beyond the camp.

"This is not an ending. It's just an evolution. ... We occupied spaces. We can occupy more than that. We can occupy ideas," said Sariel Lehyani, 28, of Washington.

The Occupy movement began when protesters set up camp in New York's Zuccotti Park on September 17, sparking demonstrations across the United States and elsewhere in the world. Its message of economic equality has become a recurrent theme in the U.S. presidential race.

But the eviction of Occupy Wall Street protesters and others in public spaces in other U.S. cities in November and December has made the protests less visible and organizers are now struggling to maintain momentum without the physical camps.

Local media in Austin, Texas, reported that police had cleared an Occupy encampment there, with seven arrests. A spokesman for the Austin Police Department was not immediately available to comment.

Demonstrations in the U.S. capital have survived so long because of an unusually warm winter and a permissive approach by federal authorities reluctant to provoke a confrontation.

But the McPherson Square had encampment has drawn increasing complaints from members of Congress and city officials because of the rising costs of policing, squalor and rats. The protest site has also drawn a number of homeless people.

Despite their small numbers, the Washington protesters have received outsized media attention because their camps are near the White House.

The National Park Service forbids camping on federal land not designated as a campground. Park rules allow tents or temporary structures as part of protests but they cannot have bedding and a tent flap or side of the structure must be open.

There was no sign of police activity at the second protest site, Freedom Plaza. Schlosser said: "We'll address Freedom Plaza at a later time."

Jeffrey Light, an attorney advising the Occupy protesters, said police had been removing tents that were in compliance with regulations. The clearing operation "is what has happened in so many other cities and it's going to happen here," he said.

(Additional reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Vicki Allen and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120205/us_nm/us_usa_protest_washington

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It's a Dog Lick Kid World Out There ? BUSINESS ARTICLE ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Nobody wants to do a field nappy change, nonetheless it sure beats pushing a howling baby for the 2 miles home. ... Comments Off Tags: Babies Toddler, baby, jogging, mother, stroller, trailer, workout ... Healthcare Systems (40), Heart Disease ( 10), Heartburn and Acid Reflux (2), Hemorrhoids (10), History (173), Holistic (1), Home and Family (1429), Adoption Foster Care (3), Antiques (2), Babies Toddler (37), Baby Boomer (2), Baby Showers (3), Crafts Hobbies (58) ...

Source: http://businessarticledirectory.biz/2012/02/its-a-dog-lick-kid-world-out-there/

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Skinny Fiber ? Key Benefits ? Article Directory

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Food and Drink Pairings ? What to Drink with Turkey ... Take the right camp cooking supplies the next time you set out for a camp and you will find it very useful for cooking all kinds of meals in the tour. One of the most required ...

Source: http://econorthwest.info/skinny-fiber-key-benefits/

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A Check out to Olumo Rock, Abeokuta in Nigeria | Rock Climbing

To participate in the sport of rock climbing, you don?t have to be a super athlete. What is the allure of rock climbing anyway? Climbing is not only about strength either. Rock climbing is mostly about balance and knowing your body, and how to reposition it in space. You have to be creative when you are rock climbing because you have to adapt to what the rock you are climbing has to offer you.

Rock climbing is about overcoming your fear of the unknown. Rock climbing can be a solo sport or a social sport. Rock climbing comes in many styles. Some basic rock climbing includes bouldering, free rock climbing, traditional rock climbing, indoor climbing, ice climbing, and alpine climbing. You can learn the basics of rock climbing at an indoor climbing gym before you make the move to the great outdoors.

Rock Climbing ? The Sport

On Suday, 4th May, 2008 I took a firm and bold decision to visit Olumo rock in Abeokuta in Ogun state of Nigeria following the much interesting stories I had heard of the rock. I had observed that Abeokuta itself is an ancient hilly town full of rocks. This Olumo rock is incredibly wonderful. Our next mission took us to the very top of the rock. According to our guide some Europeans hoping to find gold invaded the rock, a strike on this middle of the rock caused blood to gush from the rock and the long crack which the rock experienced.

Posted in Uncategorized Tags: abeokuta, bold decision, climbing gym, great outdoors, hilly town, ogun state of nigeria, olumo rock, Rock Climbing, rock climbing sport, social sport, sport rock, top of the rock You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.habitatdugard.org/a-check-out-to-olumo-rock-abeokuta-in-nigeria

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Health and Fitness Articles ? Blog Archive ? Eating Disorders Can ...

An element that has developed into a really serious subject over the past 10 to 20 years is considered the scary rise in eating disorders. While this specific problem just isn?t something new, it has seen a substantial uptick in frequency, in particular amongst the younger people, like students. At Castlewood treatment centers, eating disorders, particularly in the young, are their key focus.

What many individuals do not realize in relation to an eating disorder is it can be quite serious. People without a comprehension of these disorders may possibly dismiss them as simply a phase that a individual is under-going. Nevertheless, there are more intense explanations why an eating disorder could possibly present itself and there are very evident dangers pertaining to people who have these kinds of disorders. Not only can they experience serious medical conditions as a consequence of their disorders, but in some more advanced cases of eating disorders, this condition can end up being deadly.

At the Castlewood treatment center, you will find a wide variety of different treatment programs. The main reason for so many different methods of treatment is because not all people who are encountering eating disorders experience them in the same manner. Some may need a more intense method of treatment while others might not necessarily need such attention.

That is definitely the reason why they offer treatment methods from residential care to outpatient care. Even though residential therapy is fairly straightforward, outpatient therapy delivers many different levels with regards to treating those with eating disorders. Essentially the most common forms of outpatient treatment is intensive outpatient therapy. Nevertheless, there are also support groups that are sanctioned by them and this will represent a less intensive form of outpatient care.

Some people have important questions with regards to the treatment of not only eating disorders but other mental conditions. These questions focus on the various stages of treatment. If a person is in distress due to their eating disorder, it?s advisable to assume that residential treatment is the best option. However, what?s in dispute, in many cases, is how a person will fare when the time comes to change to a much less intensive method of treatment. With treatment centers, this issue is addressed with a pair of quite specific forms of therapy.

The very first form of transitional therapy is identified as stabilization. This specific treatment can be done before residential care begins or immediately after the residential stage of their treatment is over. This treatment allows for monitoring of the patient as well as reinforcing coping skills and allowing them to continue on with their standard schedule of therapy. Another very well liked method of transitioning is referred to as step down therapy. This is generally to acclimate the patient to a newer and less intensive form of therapy that they have grown accustomed to while in residential care.

Not only can eating disorders take a great toll on those that suffer from them, it can also take a great toll on the family members and loved ones of those individuals who are battling this disorder. It?s good to know that treatment centers will take this into account.

While the focus of the attention will go to the person with the eating disorder, Castlewood offers what is known as family members week. This three day long event concentrates not only on the person coping with the disorder but it focuses on the support mechanism that the family can be when the TC phase of treatment is over.

Castlewood treatment centers offer a full spectrum of care. Our Day Treatment program is open to clients who need more than outpatient treatment, but who may be able to achieve their treatment goals without a residential stay or overnight supervision. A Castlewood treatment center offers transitional living for this level of care at no additional cost.

Tags: Castlewood TC, Castlewood treatment centers, eating disorder, eating disorders, Health and Fitness

Source: http://www.healthandfitnessarticlesblog.com/eating-disorders-can-be-treated-at-a-treatment-center/

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Parent Lending Plays Major Role in the Housing Market : Bryan Ellis ...

"What?! You think down payments just grow on trees?" - "Dad" 2012

The ?Bank of Mom and Dad? is open for business, even if more conventional lenders are not. In 2011, one in three first-time home buyers either received a gift or a loan from their families in order to make a home purchase according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR)[1]. And while you might think that parental lending is an informal process, it turns out there is a little more to it than many expect. If the money is a gift, it must remain under federal limits if the children want to avoid paying taxes on that gift. If the money is a loan, mom and dad could owe taxes on the interest as the loan is repaid (though rates on these loans can legally be as low as 0.19 percent or even less in some cases)[2].

If the transaction between parents and children is not structured properly, both parties could suffer when tax season rolls around. Depending on what your financial advisor says you should do ? and whether you want the money to be an outright gift (in which case you can give your offspring up to $26,000 a year before you have to file a gift tax return) or a loan (in which case you need a structured promissory note and clearly-defined, federally-regulated terms) ? there are myriad ways to help your child take advantage of today?s buyers? market.

Would you help your kid buy a house?

Remember, this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal or financial advice! Thank you for reading the Bryan Ellis Investing Letter!

Your comments and questions are welcomed below.


[1] http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/02/02/more-parents-act-kids-mortgage-lender

[2] http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/31/real_estate/mortgage_lending_kids.fortune/index.htm

Category: Real Estate

Source: http://investing.bryanellis.com/633/parent-lending-plays-major-role-in-the-housing-market/

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How to Avoid Anti-Spam Filters in Email Marketing | Internet Guardian

Article by Jeffrey Cheah

Anti-spam filters are the bane of email marketers. In email marketing, you have to pass all content inside your email according to W3 browser standards, as if it?s an HTML document. In a manner of speaking, that?s exactly what it is. HTML design, especially in emails, is a tricky subject and has to be studied with care and patience. Different browsers have conflicting HTML rendering issues, Internet Explorer evidently is the worst of it.

Spam is the equal of junk mail. Anti-spam filters treat overly erroneous emails as spam. To avoid this, you will have to pay attention to certain parts of your email. Typically, an email is divided into three sections; the sender?s address details, the subject line and the content body.

The Header

To prevent your emails getting caught between spam filters, follow some of these advices:

1. Don?t use open relays when sending emails. That is, sending a mail using a different mail server.

2. Don?t send mails through more than one mail servers. Doing so will clutter your email with multiple ?Received headers?.

3. Don?t display the ?Sent to? part, if possible.

4. Also, ?Sent to? field must not have a blank or missing address.

5. Neither should the ?Reply to? header be unsupplied or missing.

6. If possible, avoid using the same email address for ?From:? and ?To:? headers.

7. The excessive use of CC and BCC headers is a red flag for anti-spam filters. Remember that.

8. Speaking of CCs and BCCs, the ?To:? header shouldn?t contain multiple addresses of the same domain or ID.

The Subject Line

The following are a few tips on how to write your subject line and at the same time avoiding spam filters.

1. Always put a subject on the subject line.

2. Create concise, direct to the point and interesting subject lines.

3. Never use the word ?free?. Nor suspicious words like discounts, porn, teen and so on.

4. Avoid using words in ALL CAPS.

5. Steer clear from punctuation marks.

6. Don?t end it with a numeric digit.

7. Don?t use the ?Adv:?

8. Avoid too many gaps or white spaces.

9. In addition, don?t panic. If you follow these advices, your email won?t be trapped by the spam filter.

The Message Body

Before we get to the rules, let?s have a quick look on how anti-spam filters work. Technically, filters try to find certain flagged words and phrases. An email is then evaluated and given a score. Emails containing one flagged word too many will end up getting blocked by the spam filter. Here are some rules:

1. Much like in the subject line, don?t use provocative or perverse words.

2. Drop the word ?free?.

3. Avoid ALL CAPS.

4. Put in substantial amount of text.

5. Avoid clutter words or fluff or rant.

6. Maintain a decent text-to-image ratio.

Lastly and most importantly, think like a spam filter while writing your article!

Jeffrey Cheah is an Online Email Marketing Specialist. Discover how you can make money online as quickly as by visiting http://www.InboxCashToday.com where you can download your FREE copy of ?Inbox Cash Techniques? now. It?s only for a limited time!

Source: http://www.internetguardian.co.uk/how-to-avoid-anti-spam-filters-in-email-marketing/

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Small Business Internet Marketing ? Simple Ways To Promote Local ...

Years back, small business internet marketing was still unavailable for local or small businesses, even SEO Melbourne. With that, local business owners used the Yellow Pages, direct mail, business cards and trade magazines to promote their products and services. These were a few of the effective means utilized then to increase sales. Helpful as they were, these things also needed a quite big investment to start with. And so, some local businesses struggled when there was lack of enough funds for these marketing materials.

Since the arrival of the internet, marketing options for all types of companies has changed. A considerable number of these options have been local. The brilliant thing about them is that they won?t cost business owners an arm and a leg simply to get things rolling. If you are small enterprise businessman who is not yet engaged with local internet marketing, read on the following ideas that might enlighten you how to advertise your products and services thru the web.

Local online directories are the first things for you to try. Signing up for directories like YellowPages.com or SuperPages.com is an ideal opportunity for your business to reach local consumers. It won?t cost you any fees. All you have to do is make sure that you provide updated information about your business. Should there be changes with your SEO company contact details, inform them right away for the modifications needed.

Social networking is another strategy that makes marketing easy for small businesses. Facebook, for one, may be useful for you to locate your old and new friends and promote to them your business. Facebook has the option of creating an official page for your local business through which you can communicate with your present and potential customers. You can localize your official page by simply choosing from city and age restrictions. This is the easiest way you can make your account visible only to your target market.

Next promoting media to try are the local search sites and internet marketing reviews. The top 2 websites for this field are Google and Yahoo. Like how online directories function, they permit your business website to get connected with the local searches they receive. For your business to appear in the local lists of web sites, you need to provide these search websites your accurate business information.

Finally, if you have additional funds to spare, you can also make pay-per-click or PPC a part of your small business internet marketing strategies. This is actually good way to generate traffic to your business website. There are some host sites whose job is to market your ads online. They do that if you pay them a few cents per click made by internet surfers on your ad. Likewise, there are other marketing techniques you could try in exchange for a fee. For one, you could try paid placements in search engine results pages or host sites. When a visitor lands on these sites, they can automatically see your advertisements. With just one click, they will be directed to your site.

Listen To Ken Evoy Interview For Great Insights On Internet Marketing. You Can Also Visit This Website To Know How To Be #1 On Google Today.

Source: http://newblogtips.com/index.php/2012/02/small-business-internet-marketing-simple-ways-to-promote-local-businesses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=small-business-internet-marketing-simple-ways-to-promote-local-businesses

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Researchers who analysed past studies of cancer-related pain reduction have found that psychosocial interventions can have a beneficial effect on cancer patients' pain severity.

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Centre, who teamed with colleagues at five universities around the United States, also found that certain psychosocial interventions provide better pain management and are effective in reducing the degree to which pain related to cancer and its treatment interferes with patients' lives.

"Pain is one of the most common, burdensome and feared symptoms experienced by patients with cancer," said Paul B. Jacobsen, Ph.D., associate centre director for Moffitt''s Division of Population Science.

"Our study looked at randomised, controlled studies of psychosocial interventions for pain published between 1966 and 2010 in which pain was measured as an outcome in adults with cancer, or in adults undergoing procedures to diagnose cancer," he explained.

According to the researchers, cancer-related pain can arise for a variety of reasons, including direct tumor involvement, metastasis to bone or organs, treatment toxicity and diagnostic procedures. Moderate to severe pain - suffered by up to one-third of cancer patients - often interferes with sleep, daily activities, enjoyment of life, and work and social interactions.

When 37 past studies were analysed to assess the effects of psychosocial interventions on patient pain, the researchers found that the most successful psychosocial, non-pharmacological pain interventions were either skill-based interventions or educational.

Skill-based interventions focused on changes in the ways in which patients interpret pain, while educational approaches provided instruction on how to better use medications or helped patients more effectively communicate with clinicians about their unrelieved pain.

The researchers concluded that psychosocial interventions worked equally well in reducing pain across patient demographic characteristics, such as sex and racial/ethnic subgroups.

However, because the majority of the available patient data was on white females, the researchers recommend further study to determine if the same interventions could better manage pain across different subgroups of patients with cancer and in different treatment settings - a strategy also suggested by the IOM.

"In short, we found that psychosocial interventions, including skills instruction and education could improve cancer pain management," concluded Jacobsen.

Their analysis was published in a recent online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
source:agecny

Source: http://www.indiahealthandwellness.com/2012/02/psychosocial-interventions-help-cancer.html

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