Is there anyone out there in Skybar World know if BHP Billiton will move to the new CitySquare building in Perth once it is complete in a couple of years? It probably makes sense to move closer to where the real action is occuring (at least in their field). Will be interesting to see what happens.
Category: News
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Adam Lambert “Glee” Guest Star
American Idol alum Adam Lambert just signed on for a special guest appearance on FOX’s musical breakout hit Glee, if a report featured in this week’s issue of The National Enquirer is to be believed. Word is the openly-gay glam rock star will be playing a mentor to closeted character Kurt on an episode airing this April.
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Biogen Idec CEO Stepping Down, Ambrx Focuses on Empowered Antibodies, Intellikine Testing First Drug Candidate, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:
San Diego’s biotech community got busy in the first week of 2010, with a flurry of news falling as heavily as a New England snowstorm. Better get your snow shovel.
—James Mullen announced his plans to retire June 8 (at the tender age of 51) as CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB). Mullen was promoted to head Biogen in 2000 and assumed command of the combined companies following the 2003 merger of Biogen with San Diego-based Idec Pharmaceuticals. In recent years, however, Mullen became a lightning rod for criticism among activist shareholders (including billionaire Carl Icahn), who complained that Biogen Idec shares were underperforming in comparison with biotech peers.
—San Diego-based Ambrx CEO Steve Kaldor told Luke that about one-third of the biotech firm’s staff—and half of its resources—are now focused on building on recent breakthroughs in the development of antibody drug conjugates, a class of protein drugs also known as “empowered antibodies.” For example, Ambrx is developing a new anti-cancer drug, called T-DM1, that combines the ability of an antibody to seek out cancerous cells with a potent toxin that gives the treatment extra tumor-killing kick.
—San Diego’s Intellikine is still on a fast track to develop drug candidates that block a hot cancer target known as the PI3 kinase. Kinases are a type of enzyme that control complex cellular processes, usually by transferring phosphate molecules to specific places in the cells. Intellikine is developing a portfolio of drug candidates designed to disrupt the processes controlled by the PI3 kinase. Intellikine, which was founded a little more than two years ago, is now testing its first drug candidate in humans.
—San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM) settled a dispute with Michigan-based SensiGen by issuing about $1.5 million worth of Sequenom shares. After the value of Sequenom shares plunged last year, a lawyer for SensiGen asserted claims that Sequenom had breached representations made when Sequenom acquired SensiGen’s molecular diagnostic tests.
—San Diego’s Adventrx Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: ANX) said it has submitted a new drug application for a new formulation of the anti-cancer drug vinorelbine that Adventrx says has fewer side effects. The application represents an extraordinary comeback for the biotech, which announced plans last March to substantially end its operations. Adventrx also said it was raising $19 million through a private placement of its convertible preferred shares.
—With technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Carlsbad, CA-based Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) has developed a new type of flow cytometer, used to count and catalog large numbers of cells in a biological sample. The new design uses sound waves to measure the size and type of certain cells flowing through a tube.
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The Secret Life of Charles Krauthammer
The Secret Life of Charles Krauthammer
Click below for the stirring conclusion! -
Fox News Contributor Goes Off on Anti-Gay Rant
Fox News Contributor Goes Off on Anti-Gay Rant
This gets weirder and weirder as it goes on.This gets weirder and weirder as it goes on.
Are Progressives Depressed or Too Privileged to Produce Social Change? Or Are We Just Failing to Organize Effectively?
Real change seems almost impossible. What are we doing wrong?Real change seems almost impossible. What are we doing wrong?
Is an Anti-Semite Overseeing the Holocaust Museum?
Labeled an anti-Semite by at least one fellow professor, historian Marek Jan Chodakiewicz is a board member with oversight of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.Labeled an anti-Semite by at least one fellow professor, historian Marek Jan Chodakiewicz is a board member with oversight of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Does Atheism Offer As Much Comfort in Death As Religion?
The comfort of religion doesn’t eradicate grief. And many people would much rather believe in no afterlife at all than an afterlife determined by a sadistic god.The comfort of religion doesn't eradicate grief. And many people would much rather believe in no afterlife at all than an afterlife determined by a sadistic god.
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Does Liquor Ever Expire? Straight Up Cocktails and Spirits
Q: True or False? Spirits are completely shelf stable. Unlike wine, which can sometimes develop an off taste during storage, or rapidly go downhill once it’s been opened, liquor will keep indefinitely.A: Well, yes and no. Read on to learn how to get the most out of your favorite bottle.
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Economic Sea-Change
Economic Sea-Change
I don’t want to rain on Wall Street’s parade, but I’m a bit suspicious of the current economic recovery boomlet. When 20% of U.S. personal income (chart above) is coming from Government transfer payments (social security, unemployment compensation, etc),…
Wall Street – United States – Social security – Unemployment benefits – Economic
ANTI-SEMITISM ALERT: C-SPAN Features Israel Hating Michael Scheuer While COMMENTARY Condemns Jews For Disliking Palin
Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer really, really hates Israel. No, he is not opposed to its policies. He seems to hate the whole idea of Israel and, as in days of yore, blames Israelis and pro-Israel Jews for his, and…
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Fox News chyron cast Dorgan and Dodd as ?defecting Democrats.?
Fox News chyron cast Dorgan and Dodd as ?defecting Democrats.?
This morning, Fox and Friends hosted a segment on the retirements of Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), both of whom will not be running for re-election in 2010. Fox News, however, cast the retirements as defections: Dodd and Dorgan are not “defecting” from the Democratic Party. They are retiring. Rep. Parker Griffith […]This morning, Fox and Friends hosted a segment on the retirements of Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), both of whom will not be running for re-election in 2010. Fox News, however, cast the retirements as defections:
Dodd and Dorgan are not “defecting” from the Democratic Party. They are retiring. Rep. Parker Griffith (AL) recently announced that he was switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, but no one else has joined him. (HT: TP Reader AC)
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Travelodge Hotel | Strand Street/Red Cross Street | 10 storeys
From the Planning Explorer –Application Number – 10F/0029
Site Address – Strand Street/Red Cross Street Liverpool L1
Proposal – To erect new 10 storey hotel with separate ground floor unit for use classes A1, A2, A3 A5 and B1
Applicant – FT Patten (Holdings) Ltd / Travelodge Hotels LtdThis is either the surface car park adjacent to Kingston House, or the site of the Doll’s House. Whichever one it is, it’ll finally see a site being addressed that has needed it for a long time. Although Travelodge’s can vary in terms of architectural quality, presumably with this being such a prominent site, the planners will ensure this isn’t some cheap nonsense, and has a certain quality about it. I think though, with One Park West nearby, Mann Island over the road, and previous proposals for the Kingston House site suggesting something in the order of 14 storeys or so, they could have got another couple of floors out of it, but still, this sounds like a promising development.
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Dorgan to leave Senate, giving Republicans chance to win North Dakota seat
Dorgan to leave Senate, giving Republicans chance to win North Dakota seat
Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) will not run for reelection this year, he said Tuesday, providing Republicans with a major opportunity to pick up a Senate seat in the November midterm elections.
Democrats’ announcements change 2010 landscape
While most Americans spent the holidays relaxing with their families and recharging for 2010, a trio of veteran Democrats apparently had visions of retirement dancing in their heads.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd’s retirement improves Democrats’ chances for seat
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) announced his retirement from Congress on Wednesday, bringing an end to an illustrious political career and, in so doing, bolstering his party’s chances of holding his seat.
Pharmacy benefit managers and the rising drug costs for federal workers
When Uncle Sam arranges prescription drug coverage for millions of federal employees and their dependents, you’d expect him to have enough muscle to keep those prices low.
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Millions of app store downloads everywhere
Filed under: Software, iPhone, iPod touch
Last year was a big one for mobile downloads, according to a number of sources. A Quantcast mobile trends report says that mobile web activity grew 110% in the US throughout 2009, and of course Apple was responsible for most of that, with a 65% market share, 41% from the iPhone and the rest from the iPod touch. Apple’s market share slightly dropped in 2009 (due to increasing competition), but it’s still head and shoulders above everyone else.
App downloads are huge as well. Not only did Apple announce that three billion downloads, but Gameloft says they’ve reached 10 million paid downloads of apps by themselves, and developer Lima Sky (makers of Doodle Jump, one of our favorite games of 2009), says downloads skyrocketed after Christmas, with over 500,000 downloads of their app in December of 2009 alone.
The App Store is doing big business lately — it’s probably a safe bet to say that 2009 kicked off a golden age of mobile web activity. And all indications are that 2010 will be even more interesting.
TUAWMillions of app store downloads everywhere originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Fiat também terá seu câmbio de dupla embreagem
Para fazer frente às suas rivais Volkswagen e Ford, a Fiat informou nesta quarta-feira (06) que está desenvolvendo uma nova caixa de câmbio de dupla embreagem. Segundo a própria montadora ela irá produzir uma nova gama de câmbios, chamada de C635, sob a responsabilidade da FPT (Fiat Powertrain Technologies). Primeiramente ela irá produzir uma caixa de câmbio manual de 6 marchas.Logo em seguida ela fará em cima dessa nova caixa, uma transmissão de dupla embreagem, chamada por ela de DDCT ou Dual Dry Clutch Transmission. Segundo a Fiat já foram investidos cerca de 500 milhões de euros entre pesquisas e desenvolvimento dessa nova caixa de câmbio.
Para fabricar essa nova transmissão a Fiat irá utilizar a planta de Verrone, na região de Piemonte, planta essa que tem 35 mil metros quadrados e tem produção anual de 400 mil transmissões. Com a chegada dessa nova caixa a Fiat pretende dobrar a produção nesta unidade. É bem provável que esta nova transmissão venha a estrear nos novos modelos da Lancia em 2011 ou 2012 , equipando em seguida os modelos pequenos e médios da Fiat, da Alfa Romeo e da Abarth e também modelos do grupo Chrysler, nos EUA.
Fonte: Auto Diário
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The New Two Party System
The New Two Party System
Dick Morris, The Hill
The very public way in which the existence of a center-right in the Democratic Party proved to be a mirage has done more to undermine the party's chances for victory in 2010 than any other aspect of the healthcare debate.When liberal Republicans failed to rally to Bill Clinton's 1993-1994 agenda – including his failed healthcare proposal – they laid the basis for their total demise in subsequent years. Sens. Jeffords, Chaffee, D'Amato, Packwood, Hatfield and Specter (as a Republican) are gone. Sens. Snowe and Collins are all that remain of the once-dominant Rockefeller wing of…Stillbirth of a Progressive Era
Harold Meyerson, Washington Post
Every Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — has raised the hope that he would bring with him a new era of progressive reform. The legislative torrents of the New Deal and the Great Society — a few brief years in the 1930s and the '60s that fundamentally reshaped the nation's economy and society — are the templates that fire the liberal imagination.Two great liberal historians — the Arthur Schlesingers, senior and junior — posited a cyclical theory of American political history, in which periods of progressive advance…If Fed Missed This Bubble, Will It See a New One?
David Leonhardt, NYT
If only we’d had more power, we could have kept the financial crisis from getting so bad.Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, has said it is difficult “to know in real time if an asset price is appropriate or not.” That has been the position of Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and other regulators. It explains why Mr. Bernanke and the Obama administration are pushing Congress to give the Fed more authority over financial firms. So let’s consider what an empowered Fed might have done during the housing bubble, based on the words of the people who…Dodd Exits, Gracefully
Steve Kornacki, New York ObserverA Case for Presidential Power on Terrorism
Ruth Marcus, Washington Post -
Mini Sony Xperia X10 Spotted
The Xperia X10 was just announced for Canadian wireless carrier Rogers, but already we are being introduced to its smaller sibling, codenamed “Robyn”. Described as “compact and clever”, it looks similar to the X10 although little is known about physical specs. Like the X10, Robyn will also have the Timescape interface (you can catch a video of Timescape in action here).Features which can be verified from the pictures are that it sports a camera and will be available in multiple colors. Se-blog claims the camera will be 5-megapixels with autofocus, and that the Robyn will also feature a 3.5 mm audio jack, USB connector, and will support HSPA and WLAN.
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Agriculture News and Developments
I think we need a 3rd subsection for Business and Economic Issues, in the meantime though, I’ll start a thread on Agriculture. We can compile articles and other noteworthy pieces on investments in agriculture and its various components (like irrigation projects, laws and regulations, foreign investment, etc).Simple water capturing methods succeed in Ethiopia’s Tigray region
Quote:
By Laurie Goering
COPENHAGEN (AlertNet) – Plenty of challenges stand in the way of building successful ways to adapt to climate change — from a lack of money to a deep-seated desire by many governments to spend on big infrastructure projects and little else, experts at the Copenhagen climate change talks said this week.
But in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, one of the driest and most hunger-prone parts of the country, the home-grown Relief Society of Tigray has managed to slash vulnerability to drought by trying out a variety of simple techniques to capture, hold and then efficiently use water.
Tigray on average suffers a drought every three years. Almost all of its agricultural production relies on rain. In 2002 and 2003, a severe drought left 1.4 million people in the region without enough food and dependent on international aid handouts, said Mulugeta Berehanu, head of environmental rehabilitation and agricultural development for the relief society.
Aware that climate change was likely to make things even worse, the Relief Society began investigating water capture methods used around the world – particularly in Tunisia and India – and trying them out in Tigray.
Farmers hand-dug trenches to collect rainwater. They created ponds to recharge the underground water table. They built small concrete dams across gullies to try to turn them into reservoirs and experimented with diverting rivers and burying underground water tanks. They tried drip irrigation.Just as important, they worked to build the skills of local government officials, development agents, village council members and community leaders to manage and fine-tune the projects.
Many of the ideas worked. Using them, farmers have managed to boost the amount of irrigated land in Tigray from 4,000 hectares to 50,000 hectares. Within two years, irrigation will reach 300,000 hectares, Berehanu said.
Today half of the region’s farmland benefits from some type of rain capture system, which means the next drought should have a lower toll in crop losses, hunger and need for foreign aid.
Best of all, farmers who had been deeply shaken by the increasing unpredictability of the weather — to the point that many had stopped investing in their land to curb losses — are now regaining confidence.
"There’s a huge possibility for scaling up" the effort to more of Ethiopia and perhaps other parts of the world, Berehanu said.
What are the key lessons from the project? Ideas which are generated from the start at the community level, rather than being handed down from a higher authority, have the best chance of working, Berehanu said.
Breaking down water users into groups by watershed also makes sense, he said. And integrating adaptation efforts into existing development plans allows for a faster scaling up of successes.
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Ayuda a un forastero
¡Hola!En primer lugar saludar y pedir disculpas si este post no lo he puesto en el lugar correcto, pero no he visto ningun hilo especifico para estos temas.
A ver os cuento, tengo que hacer un viaje a Madrid, no he estado nunca y estoy buscando hotel, la cuestión que llevo un rato mirando cosas por internet y no me aclaro :nuts: prque no sé si las zonas que miro son tranquilas por la noche o hay mucho jaelo. Yo busco un sitio tranquilo, y que las calles no sean muy "raras" por la noche. El hotel lo busco por Atocha o Chamartin, no sé si alguien pude decirme si esas zonas son tranquilas, si tendría que evitar alguna calle en concreto, o bueno si conoce directamente algún hotel que recomendarme, seria de agradecer.
Y otra cosa en cuanto al transporte, creo que tendré que hacer como unos 6 viajes en total entre metro y bus en unos 2 días, cada día 3 ¿me sale mejor un abono o pagar viaje por viaje? ¿Existe algún billete con el que puedas subir y bajar de varios transportes en un tiempo determinado, 1 hora o asi, pero pagando un solo billete, vamos un billete que lleve transbordo?
Gracias
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Nicollette Sheridan Hospitalized After Falling Off Horse
Rumor: Former Desperate Housewives siren Nicollette Sheridan was rushed to a California hospital after a horsebacking riding accident left her with a head injury.
Celebrity informants tell The National Enquirer’s Mike Waker that the blonde sought emergency medical treatment for a head wound after she was “bucked off” her horse while riding without a helmet last month.
“Nicolette galloped bareback near her San Fernando Valley estate in pouring rain – and suddenly got bucked off by her not-so-gallant steed, slamming head-first into the top rail of a fence,” says a tipster. “Instantly knocked silly because she wasn’t wearing a riding helmet… and barely able to move as she lay in thick mud about 100 feet from her stable.”
The 46-year-old Sheridan was soon found by her boyfriend, businessman Steve Pate, who rushed her to the ER after noticing that the actress was bleeding heavily from a gash on her head, the spy adds.
“After tests for possible internal injuries, docs stapled up the gash and sent Nicolette home.”
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Garmin Launches the zumo 665 Motorcycle GPS Unit
Garmin has introduced the zumo 665 motorcycle navigator featuring a new fully touchscreen that includes an antenna for XM Satellite Radio, real-time XM NavWeather and real-time XM NavTraffic. The new device which comes to meet the requirements of motorcycle enthusiasts everywhere will become available in the first quarter of 2010.From back roads to rallies, you can listen to the radio, check the weather and move ahead of traffic as you travel down the road," said Dan Bartel,… (read more)
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The Nexus One Gets Spotlighted on the Google Homepage
As expected, Google is firing on all cylinders promoting its first mobile phone, the Nexus One. The phone will only be sold online, so it will need all the marketing it can get and so far Google seems to be delivering. If you want proof, look no further than the Google homepage which now prominently features an ad for the Nexus One, by all appearances only in the US, where the phone is actually available.This isn’t the first time that Google used the homepage to promote one of its products, but it is something it does very rarely and with serious consideration. The homepage features an online ad below the main elements, similar to what it has done before, saying “experience Nexus One, the new Android phone from Google.” It links to the Google phone page, has a small image of the Nexus One and that’s pretty much it, not that it needed anything else.
The Google homepage is one of the most visited pages on the web and Google treats it with an almost idolizing respect. The lengths to which the company goes to keep it as simple and as clutter free as possible are well documented. Most recently, it introduced a completely stripped-down version featuring just the logo the search bar and the buttons. In fact, this is the first ad since the fading home page was introduced and it shows up even before the res… (read more)
