In Britain, floods persist and anger rises

Mobilization was visible Wednesday, February 12, to fight against the floods that hit the UK for several weeks and may even worsen. Prime Minister David Cameron has been criticized for the slow pace of relief.

While part of the south-west of England has his feet in the water for the new year and the flood front has advanced to the gates of London, rains and winds up to 160 km / h let fear a further worsening of the situation.

Fourteen alerts severe flooding, that is to say, that may pose a risk of death, were maintained in Berkshire and Surrey, two areas to the west of London.

  
Nearly two thousand soldiers were deployed to build dikes with sandbags and disaster relief, according to General Patrick Sanders, responsible for coordinating the military effort. "Thousands of others" will be mobilized when needed, has he added.

  
Flooding of the Thames threatens more than a thousand homes, about twenty miles above the capital. Several people had to be evacuated in the night in Staines, near Heathrow Airport. In total, nearly six thousand homes were flooded across the country since the beginning of winter the wettest two hundred and fifty years in some parts of the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who called a new inter-ministerial crisis meeting on Wednesday morning, warned that things were likely to "get worse before it gets better" and that the waiting time before a return to normal could be "depressing".

In areas of the Southwest, where several villages are cut off from the world for more than a month already, people complain that it took floods are approaching London for Westminster finally responds.  

Visiting Dorset and Devon (South West), David Cameron gave the example by canceling the Council of Ministers and by forgoing a visit to the Middle East. The government, the watchword is to occupy the field, may be attacked by the population or be ridiculed by the media. Wednesday, newspapers were having a heart joy to mock parade politicians of all, rubber boots on his feet.

  
"Dave and Co, the flood tourists" ridicules the Daily Mail, who believes that "the appearance of pristine boots and policies at the forefront of fashion was an unbearable vision" in the eyes of many victims, disgusted by the slow relief and the reluctance of authorities.

  
The crisis of the honey populist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), whose leader, Nigel Farage, has called Sunday from waders to the navel, the country spends part of its international assistance to flood victims. Capturing the idea, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday "a" that "one hundred thousand people in one day" had already signed a petition advocating for this solution.

  
But David Cameron rejected this track, arguing that Britain, as a "rich country with a growing economy," had the ability to juggle both fights.

Ukraine: the confession of impotence of the United Nations

The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Samantha Powers and his British counterpart, Lyall Grant, February 22, at the United Nations in New York. | AP / Bebeto Matthews

A sentence with the mission to go to the Crimea, the Special Envoy of the UN in Ukraine, Robert Serry, turned around. After contact with the authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, said in a statement the Dutch diplomat, he quickly concluded "a visit to Crimea today is impossible." His announcement came shortly before the Russian President Vladimir Putin gets the green light from the Council of the Federation for a military intervention in Ukraine.

Mandated by the UN chief Ban Ki-moon to "make contact" Serry - who was the first ambassador of his country stationed in Kiev - was formally charged with "convey a message" for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the "need to reduce tension" and return to dialogue.

The escalation of the situation, its mission lasted only a few days. It is expected to Geneva where he must report this Sunday, his visit to Mr. Ban. Will he invested with a new mission, and brought back to Ukraine just returned? Everything will depend on the outcome of the consultations of the Security Council of the UN in New York, called Saturday afternoon for an emergency meeting on Ukraine. The second two days.

"LOWERING TENSION"

During the first closed consultations, Friday, February 28, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power had requested urgent dispatch of an "international mediation mission", "independent and credible" Crimea "to begin to lower the tension and facilitate a peaceful and productive political dialogue between all Ukrainian parties. "An idea immediately rejected by his Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin, recalling that Moscow had "principle not to accept mediation imposed."

The United States is " very concerned about a Russian military deployment in Crimea " and they " ask Russia to withdraw military forces were gathered " for Ukrainians can " decide their own destiny," insisted Ms. Power told reporters after consultations . At no time , however , the 15 member countries will have even described the deployment of "aggression ," as claimed by the authorities in Kiev. "We have an agreement with Ukraine on the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and act within the framework of this agreement," stated Mr. Churkin , referring to the agreement of Budapest 1994. 

Moscow was opposed to the holding of the first emergency meeting requested by Ukraine , after taking control of airports in the Crimea by armed men , and sought to obtain a postponement.  

The Russian Ambassador had called for a postponement of 24 hours, to gather more information about the reality of the situation , judging the media reports " exaggerated" . "We observed separatism in Crimea , which comes largely from Russia ," said Ukrainian envoy to UN Yuriy Sergeyev , before concluding : "I think we are strong enough to defend ourselves. We have a strong feeling that we are acting properly . "  

Google suspected of wiretapping in Gmail Analysis

 

Wiretapping is often the things of spy dramas and shady criminal escapades. But now, one in all the world’s biggest internet corporations, Google, should defend itself against accusations that it's lawlessly wiretapping within the course of its everyday business — gathering knowledge regarding web users and showing them connected ads.

The accusations, revamped many years in numerous lawsuits that are united into 2 separate cases, raise whether or not Google went too way in collection user knowledge in Gmail and Street read, its mapping project. 2 federal judges have dominated, over Google’s protests, that each cases will move forward.

The wiretapping rulings area unit the newest example of judges and regulators encouragement Google over privacy violations. the corporate is on the defensive, troubled to influence overseers and its users that it protects shopper knowledge, whereas tilt that the law is stuck within the past and has didn't sustain with new technologies.

“It’s been a nasty month for Google,” aforesaid Alan pantryman, a professional at the Electronic Privacy info Center. “What’s at stake may be a core digital privacy issue for shoppers at once, that is that the extent to that their digital communications area unit protected against use by third parties.” For the foremost half, Google has managed to avoid major privacy penalties.

The Gmail case may have broad effects, though, as a result of nearly a billion individuals worldwide use the service, and since if it's, of course, certified as a category action, the fines can be monumental. At identical time, the case may have long consequences for all e-mail services — as well as those from Yahoo and Microsoft — and for the difficulty of however confidential is on-line knowledge.

“This ruling has the potential to essentially reshape the complete e-mail trade,” aforesaid Eric Emma Goldman, director of the High technical school Law Institute at city University college of Law.

The Gmail case involves Google’s follow of mechanically scanning e-mail messages and showing ads supported the contents of the e-mails. The plaintiffs embrace voluntary Gmail users, those that ought to use Gmail as a part of an academic establishment and non-Gmail users whose messages were received by a Gmail user. they assert the scanning of the messages violates state and federal antiwiretapping laws.

The case revives a transient uproar over Gmail ads once Google introduced them in 2004. Microsoft has recently tried to show to the follow as a part of its Scroogled campaign, as well as a video that shows a supposed Gmail man reading people’s e-mail. Google has continued  to point out new forms of ads in Gmail, as well as ads that appear as if e-mails.

“Google uses Gmail as its own secret data-mining machine, that intercepts, warehouses, and uses, while not consent, the personal thoughts and concepts of countless unsuspecting Americans United Nations agency transmit e-mail messages through Gmail,” lawyers for the plaintiffs argued on Gregorian calendar month eleven, opposing Google’s motion to dismiss the case. On Th, decide Australopithecus afarensis H. Koh of administrative district Court denied Google’s motion in an exceedingly 43-page order that fought the corporate at nearly each flip.

Judge Koh is very revered in geographic area, with a name for being fearless. throughout the Apple-Samsung patent trial, she created headlines for asking associate Apple professional if he was “smoking crack.” In this case, she diminished arduous on Google.

 

Judge Lucy Koh denied a motion by Google for dismissal.

In the Gregorian calendar month thirteen motion to dismiss the suit, Google aforesaid the plaintiffs were attempting to “criminalize normal business practices.” It argued that the scanning of Gmail messages was machine-controlled, with no human review, and was no completely different from the processes it uses to find spam or viruses, provide in-box looking or filter messages into folders. It aforesaid users had consented to that by agreeing to Google’s terms of service and privacy policy.

In a section of the motion that was wide noted, Google conjointly argued that non-Gmail users had no expectation of privacy once corresponding with Gmail users.

“Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague can not be shocked that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, those that use Web-based e-mail nowadays can not be shocked if their communications area unit processed by the recipient’s” e-mail supplier, the lawyers wrote.

Federal wiretap law exempts interception of communication if it's necessary in an exceedingly service provider’s “ordinary course of business,” that Google aforesaid enclosed scanning e-mail. That argument failed to fly with decide Koh.

“In fact, Google’s alleged interception of e-mail content is primarily accustomed produce user profiles and to produce targeted advertising — neither of that is expounded to the transmission of e-mails,” she wrote in last week’s ruling.

 

Judge Koh conjointly pink-slipped Google’s argument that Gmail users consented to the interception which non-Gmail users United Nations agency communicated with Gmail users conjointly knew that their messages can be browse.

“Accepting Google’s theory of understood consent — that by simply causing e-mails to or receiving e-mails from a Gmail user, a non-Gmail user has consented to Google’s interception of such e-mails for any functions — would eviscerate the rule against interception,” she wrote.

A Google spokesperson, Leslie Miller, and a professional for the corporate, Michael G. Rhodes of the firm Cooley, declined to discuss the case on the far side an organization statement. “We’re thwarted during this call and area unit considering our choices,” it said. “Automated scanning lets US give Gmail users with security and spam protection, in addition as nice options like Priority Inbox.”

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Sean F. Desert Fox|Desert Fox|field marshal} of Wyly Rommel and F. Saint Jerome Tapley of Cory Watson, failed to reply to requests for comment.

Also last week, Google asked the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to rethink a Sept. ten ruling that a separate wiretapping legal proceeding may proceed. That one involves Google Street read vehicles that in secret collected personal info from unencrypted electronic computer networks.

The federal antiwiretapping law at the guts of each cases is an element of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, a 1986 law that has been under attack for years for not taking into consideration modern technology like e-mail.

“It’s not stunning we’re seeing courts struggle with applying the E.C.P.A.,” Mr. Emma Goldman of city aforesaid.

Shutdown cost the U.S. a minimum of $300 million daily

A partial shutdown of the federal government can cost the U.S. a minimum of $300 million daily in lost economic output at the beginning, in line with IHS inc.

While that's a little fraction of the country’s $15.7 trillion economy, the daily impact of a shutdown is probably going to accelerate if it continues because it depresses confidence and outlay by businesses and shoppers.

Lexington, Massachusetts-based IHS, a worldwide marketing research firm, estimates that its forecast for two.2 % annualized growth within the fourth quarter are reduced zero.2 mathematical notation during a long conclusion. A 21-day closing just like the one in 1995-96 may cut growth by zero.9 to 1.4 mathematical notation, consistent with Guy LeBas, chief mounted financial gain strategian at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in city.

“Government outlay touches each facet of the economy, and disruption of paying, over the direct loss of financial gain, threatens to break capitalist and business confidence in ways in which will seriously hurt economic process,” LeBas aforesaid yesterday in associate degree interview.

The gobbled Sept. eighteen unexpectedly evaded reducing the $85 billion pace of bond purchases meant to spice up growth, expression it wants longer to assess the economy’s progress. central bank Bank of latest royal family President William C. Dudley aforesaid last week the budget disagreement in Washington is among the risks to the outlook.

Funding Extension

The U.S. government began its 1st partial conclusion in seventeen years these days as Republicans and Democrats remained at odds over whether or not to tie any changes to the 2010 reasonable Care Act to a short extension of presidency funding.

Failing to fund government operations “would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy,” President Barack Obama aforesaid yesterday at the White House. “The plan of putt the yankee people’s hard-earned progress in danger is that the height of untrustiness, and it doesn’t have to be compelled to happen.”

U.S. stocks fluctuated, once the quality & Poor’s five hundred Index fell to a three-week low, as investors weighed the economic effects of the conclusion. The S&P five hundred rose zero.4 % to one,689.46 at 10:21 a.m. in the big apple. The yield on the 10-year Treasury obligations multiplied two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 2.63 percent.

Furloughed employees

A conclusion can at the start slow the growth as a result of output lost once employees ar furloughed subtracts from gross domestic product. Economists estimate that 800,000 to one million of the over two million civilian government employees would be furloughed.

While federal workers were repaid when the 1995-1996 furlough, a extended conclusion might prompt them to begin paring their outlay.

“Each day the conclusion drags on, the a lot of federal workers can discount the chance that they won’t come back to to figure any time before long, and that they can pull back on their outlay,” Mark Zandi, chief social scientist at Moody’s Analytics opposition., aforesaid in associate degree e-mail.

Teresa Johnson, who works for the Transportation Security Administration, was already involved yesterday.

“The conclusion affects Maine greatly.” aforesaid Johnson, 47, who was obtaining lunch at Pentagon town, a mall in urban centre, Virginia. “I have a mortgage, and I’m the only supplier for my 2 daughters, one in all whom is in school.”

Consumer Confidence

If a conclusion drags on, it might begin to shake shopper and business confidence a lot of generally, economists aforesaid. unit outlay accounts for seventy % of the economy.

Bank of America Merrill house. comes that a two-week closing would curb fourth-quarter growth by zero.5 percentage point, whereas closing for all of October would shave two proportion points from GDP, Ethan Harris, co-head of worldwide political economy analysis, wrote during a note to purchasers.

A conclusion can in all probability boost the deficit as a result of it “is pricey to prevent and begin programs,” Harris wrote.

Congress conjointly with the White House also can bully off over raising the nation’s $16.7 trillion debt limit. The Treasury has aforesaid its ability to borrow can endways concerning Gregorian calendar month. seventeen unless the limit is multiplied. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew has aforesaid that failing to lift the limit would risk putt the U.S. into default and will be “catastrophic.”

“The longer the conclusion, the a lot of harm can accrue to business and shopper confidence,” Eric inexperienced, New York-based world head of interchange, rates and commodities at TD Securities USA LLC, wrote during a note. “A longer conclusion stretching into period of time, once the Treasury calculable that the debt limit can ought to be raised, would seemingly amplify the hit to economic activity by raising the danger of a nasty outcome on the debt limit.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeanna Smialek in Washington at jsmialek1@bloomberg.net; Ian Katz in Washington at ikatz2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net

Dolphins are dumber than we predict !

For decades, it has been public knowledge that dolphins ar among the world's smartest species. currently some researchers -- and a brand new book -- argue the supposed underwater geniuses are not so special in spite of everything.

 

Their social lives square measure advanced, and that they will congregate in massive teams. Their heart rates increase once they notice a loved one suffering. They sound the alarm once they discover food or a possible threat. And experiments have shown they even anticipate future events.

Chickens, says Gregg, "are not as simple as public opinion would have North American country believe." He adds, "Some of those advanced behaviours have additionally been ascertained in dolphins."

Really? square measure chickens as good as dolphins? Or, to place it differently: "Are dolphins extremely smart?" this is often the question Gregg, a animal scientist with the US-based Dolphin Communication Project, asks in his new book of a similar name. And he is not the just one finding fault with Flipper's learning ability.

For quite fifty years, the dolphin has been viewed as associate particularly intelligent creature, sorted beside citizenry and nice apes. however currently a dispute on the topic has erupted among scientists, and also the wisenheimer of the seas might find yourself being simply a median craniate. "We place them on a pedestal for no reason and projected lots of our needs and needs on them," says neuroethologist Paul trough of the University of the part in African country. per the prof, the claims that dolphins have a very advanced brain, use a classy language, square measure self-conscious and might use tools square measure nonsense.

In some cases, says trough, dolphins -- that square measure little whales -- square measure even outdone by Carassius auratus. once Carassius auratus square measure placed in a very bowl, he explains, they a minimum of try and escape by with boldness jumping out, whereas dolphins that are captured in nets will not even think about jumping to freedom. "The plan of the exceptionally intelligent dolphin may be a story," trough concludes.

 

Origins of the Dolphin myth
In the Fifties, medical man and neurobiologist John Lilly contend the crucial role within the elevation of dolphins from the standing of stupid, fish-like creatures with wonderful swimming skills to it of underwater know-all. In eerie-sounding experiments, Lilly connected electrodes to the brains of living dolphins to stimulate neurons. One day, a dolphin attached to his instrumentality began creating loud noises because it approached its frightful death. once Lilly stalled and contend back the audio recordings, he over the dolphin was making an attempt to speak with its tormenters.

After additional experiments, Lilly became convinced dolphins had a human-like school of speech and tried to determine contact with the marine mammals. His need to speak was thus nice he administered hallucinogen to himself and also the dolphins within the hopes of stimulating oral communication.

He before long rapt to the yankee geographical region, wherever he became a leader of the reformer generation and wrote books within which he combined New Age ideology with half-baked dolphin analysis. The animals, Lilly gushed, were "more intelligent than any man or lady." He even attributed them philosophy, ethics associated an "ancient vocal history."

Lilly's befuddled bequest shapes our image of dolphins to the current day. Artists paint watercolors of the animals swimming through location. In widespread traditional knowledge, dolphins function ambassadors of peace and unconditional love, and, the additional out-there believe they possess miraculous healing powers and might transport space-age settlers to Mars. behavioural scientists, together with most cheap individuals, agree this is often all nonsense. Still, the dimensions of dolphins' intellect remains a matter of dispute.

 

What's a giant Brain Worth?
One live scientists use to work out a creature's intelligence is brain size -- given the idea that the additional a brain weighs relative to the body, the smarter the animal. an individual's brain, that weighs regarding one,300 grams (46 oz.), makes up regarding a pair of % of weight. A chimpanzee's brain contains zero.9 % of its weight, whereas the corresponding variety in elephants, with their brains advisement in at quite four.5 kilograms (9.9 lbs.), is 0.2 percent. Dolphins act by comparison. The brain of a bottlenose, as an example, weighs quite one,800 grams, or 0.9 % of its average weight.

It appears logical that dolphins need to be enclosed within the animal Mensa Society. however will an outsized brain mean a similar in marine mammals because it will in terrestrial animals? In 2006, Paul trough noted that whales developed an outsized brain so as to stay the organ from changing into physiological state, and thereby useless, in cold water.

Manger delineated  a strangely high density of supposed interstitial tissue cells within the animals' brain matter. He explained that these cells act like small ovens to stay the brain heat. Besides, he added, dolphins have a comparatively easy brain structure, and noted: "The essential options of advanced neural process of knowledge, as ascertained in different mammals, square measure missing or poorly developed."

 

No higher Than Mealworms?
Manger has currently upped the ante with a brand new paper within which he claims behavioural studies involving dolphins square measure blemished and thus not terribly informative. as an example, whereas zoologists have ascertained that dolphins will distinguish between the ideas "many" and "few," trough notes: "This has additionally been incontestible in yellow mealworms."

On the opposite hand, some bottle-nosed dolphins on Australia's geographical region have learned to carry sponges over their snouts whereas they root around on the sea bottom. is that this a case of tool-use, indicating a high level of intelligence? trough is skeptical. "Exactly what the dolphins do with the sponges remains unknown," he says, noting that the proof they use them as tools is "flimsy."

Another example is dolphins' alleged talent for language. In one experiment, researchers were ready to teach bottle-nosed dolphins forty symbols. The animals were even capable of properly decoding mixtures of the symbols, trough admits, however African gray parrots and American state ocean lions may also learn this kind of symbol-based language.

The scientific community is equally divided over what animal scientist Gregg calls "Dolphinese." it's far-famed that each dolphin will establish itself with its own "signature whistle." The marine mammals use several different acoustic signals, he adds. however is that this actually special? The tail-wagging dance of bees is additionally terribly advanced, says Gregg. "It's in all probability not the case that dolphins have their own language, that is as advanced as human language," says the skilled in signaling.

 

Dolphin Defenders
So is that the dolphin really the dummy of the seas? Most dolphin researchers square measure displeased by such remarks. "To place it flat out, most of that's bullshit," says Karsten Brensing, a marine man of science with the organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC). trough and Gregg square measure losing sight of the "total package" once they compare the marine mammals' individual skills with those of mealworms or bees, he says. "You will use similar arguments to prove that folks are not intelligent."

Lori Giambattista Marino, a neurobiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, additionally has sturdy objections to trough and Gregg's conclusions. "We should not dismiss decades of peer-reviewed scientific work," she says, noting there square measure overwhelming indications that dolphins possess a high degree of intelligence. as an example, scientists have ascertained however the animals work along to encircle colleges of fish. To cultivate relationships, they spoil one another with their own kind of "petting" behavior. And in a very struggle for power, males can be part of along to create networks.

Marino even believes that dolphins will acknowledge themselves. in a very far-famed experiment, she and man of science Diana Reiss player markings on the bodies of 2 dolphins. Then they delayed a mirror to the animals. They were fascinated to watch the animals turning around like divas before of the mirror, presumptively to look at their new body decorations.

For Marino, this is often proof of self-recognition, almost like what has been ascertained among nice apes. She and different scientists even need to examine the animals given the status of persons and granted "some basic rights," like the correct to bodily integrity.

None of this convinces trough, WHO includes a low opinion of Marino's mirror experiment. "The sharp-sightedness of dolphins is really not ok to be ready to without delay understand such marks," he says, and is crucial of what he calls "serious deficiencies" within the style of the experiment.

Gregg's primary objective is additionally to ridicule the parable. "We got to stop describing them as 'special'," says Gregg.

Translated from the German by christopher sultan

Christian teams sue to prevent Kansas faculties from adopting science standards

Christian teams filed a combine of lawsuits in territorial division Court difficult the Kansas state Board of Education’s call to implement a state-wide set of science standards. On June 11, the Kansas state Board of Education adopted a universal set of science standards to be instructed in lecture rooms across the state from preschool to grade twelve.

Religion teams are up in arms that their beliefs aren't being given a lot of credence in science categories.

According to an announcement on the Pacific Justice Institute’s web site, the teaching of science all told of the state’s public faculties may produce “a hostile learning surroundings for those of religion.”

The institute — that purports to defend “religious freedom, parental rights and different civil liberties” — is difficult the very fact that the new science standards don't provide equal weight to the Christian creation story.

The suit alleges that the new standards can “promote non secular beliefs that ar inconsistent with the religion non secular beliefs of plaintiffs, thereby depriving them of the proper to be free from government that favors one non secular read over another.” The cluster asked the court to put AN injunction on the implementation of Next Generation Science Standards and therefore the corresponding lesson set up reference book, Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting ideas and Core ideas.

Another cluster, the voters for Objective Public Education (COPE, Inc.) filed suit on Sep. twenty six hard that the new curricula not be instituted. in a very promulgation, CORE same that the science standards would “will have the result of inflicting Kansas public faculties to determine and endorse a non-theistic non secular worldview,” that the cluster same could be a violation of the primary and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Brad Dachus of Pacific Justice complained that's a violation of a child’s rights to show them that ism isn’t the reality.

“It’s a flagrant violation of the rights of American citizens to subject students — as young as 5 — to an authoritative figure like a lecturer World Health Organization primarily tells them that their religion is wrong,” he said.

He maintained that to show science “that is empty of any different that aligns with the assumption of individuals of religion is simply wrong.”

“The Orthodoxy isn't non secularly neutral because it permits solely materialistic/atheistic answers to final religious queries,” same the group’s statement. The cluster maintained that queries like “Where will we come back from?” will solely be answered honestly by non secular dogma.

The statement went on to mention that “teaching the materialistic/atheistic ideas to elementary school youngsters whose minds are vulnerable to blindly acceptive them as true” is unconstitutional and dangerous, and so the new science standards should be stopped.