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[JURIST] Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said Wednesday that his government will seek the extradition of former military leader Manuel Noriega, currently being held in France on money laundering charges. Noriega faces charges of human rights violations in Panama for crimes allegedly committed during his 1981-1989 rule. He was convicted on three counts of human rights violations in absentia, and each count carries a 20-year prison sentence. Panama’s Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Carlos Varela said Wednesday that his office will write to the judicial branch, which must make the extradition request.
Earlier this week, a French judge ruled that Noriega must remain in custody until his trial. Noriega arrived in France Tuesday morning after being extradited from the US, where he had served a 17-year sentence on drug charges. He had fought extradition from the US since 2007. Last month, the US Supreme Court declined to reconsider Noriega’s petition to stop the extradition process. His lawyers filed the petition in February after the Supreme Court denied certiorari on the case in January. Noriega, who has been declared a prisoner of war, sought to enforce a provision of the Geneva Convention that requires repatriation at the end of confinement. Noriega and his wife were sentenced in absentia to 10 years in jail by a French court in 1999, but France agreed to hold a new trial if he was extradited.

What better place exists than the middle of the ocean for a good breeze, strong enough too turn the blades of a wind turbine. And that’s exactly what the Obama administration realized while approving the offshore project, Cape Wind. This is just one of the projects that will line up around the Atlantic coast.

At a cost of around $1 billion, 130 wind turbines will be hoisted off the Cape Cod coast. The project will produce enough energy with the help of the wind to power up 75 percent of the electricity demand of the Cape and islands nearby like Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Like always, every rose has a few thorns, and these are being pointed out by local opponents who claim that a project like this would disrupt marine environment. A handful of European countries are already using power sources like these with few complaints. U.S. has a lot of catching up to do.

[Gris]

WASHINGTON — Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was shown a PowerPoint slide in Kabul last summer that was meant to portray the complexity of American military strategy, but looked more like a bowl of spaghetti.

“When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war,” General McChrystal dryly remarked, one of his advisers recalled, as the room erupted in laughter.

The slide has since bounced around the Internet as an example of a military tool that has spun out of control. Like an insurgency, PowerPoint has crept into the daily lives of military commanders and reached the level of near obsession. The amount of time expended on PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation program of computer-generated charts, graphs and bullet points, has made it a running joke in the Pentagon and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“PowerPoint makes us stupid,” Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander, said this month at a military conference in North Carolina. (He spoke without PowerPoint.) Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who banned PowerPoint presentations when he led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005, followed up at the same conference by likening PowerPoint to an internal threat.

“It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” General McMaster said in a telephone interview afterward. “Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.”

…

via Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War – PowerPoint – NYTimes.com.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) may be overvalued at US$40 per share based an updated sum-of-the-parts analysis that reflected recent developments by Andrew Kligerman at UBS. The analyst arrived at a fair value of US$31 based on changes in insurance sector multiples, pending sales of AIGs Asian unit (AIA) and its Alico foreign life insurance business, as well as other revisions.

However, Mr. Kligerman feels there are several potential catalysts that could provide upside to his valuation, including a restructuring of the government’s equity stake at favourable terms for AIG common shareholders. While the analyst does not think this is a highly probable outcome, multiple expansion in the life insurance or property and casualty space would boost the value of AIG’s insurance operations and the equity-linked securities received from selling Alico and AIA.

“Current management has been disciplined in its asset sales, optimizing returns on asset disposals (not seen in the prior leadership),” Mr. Kligerman said in a research note. “Abating credit losses and successful debt offerings by subs suggest less reliance on the Fed Credit Facility.”

In addition to the sum-of-the-parts analysis that signals potential downside risk, the analyst also warned that AIG shares could see significant earnings per share and return on equity erosion if the non-cumulative series E/F preferreds were replaced by common shares or cumulative public preferreds.

“AIG’s earnings power will be materially weaker (post the sales of key foreign life subsidiaries) and there are some concerns around the adequacy of its P&C loss reserves,” he added.

Jonathan Ratner

Air pollution isn’t something we can ignore anymore. Did you know that six in ten Americans live in places with dangerous levels of air pollution? That’s around 175 million people in America. Currently, Los Angeles has the worst ozone pollution. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area of Arizona has the worst year-round particle pollution while Bakersfield, California has the worst short term particle pollution.

A report based on 2006 to 2008 claimed that cleaner diesel engines and controlled coal-fired power plants has led to a decrease in pollution though around 30 million people still live in highly polluted areas. These pollution levels can lead to diseases like asthma, lung damage and premature death. Fargo, N.D., Wahpeton, N.D., and Lincoln, Neb. are currently the cleanest cities in the United States. You should probably consider moving there for some cleaner air.

[Physorg]

On Friday at our Harvard Kennedy School event, I’m going to be giving my rather pessimistic take–already laid out in Unscientific America, and only amplified by “ClimateGate” and other events since then–on the science blogosphere. I’ll talk about how in comparison with the old media, the Internet fragments and narrows the audience for science information, even as there aren’t really any norms for responsible conduct–and thus, misinformation, innuendo, and general nastiness abound. I’m sure, however, that others will have a different view. Perhaps Joe Romm will; he has just joined our roster for the event. Certainly, his blog has been a major success and demonstrates many of the upsides of science blogging. Such debate is all to the good; it’s why we’re having the event in the first place. Indeed, I myself will point out some clear positives when it comes to blogging about science (I’m sure you can guess many of them). But taken as a whole, are blogs broadening the conversation about science by reaching new audiences, replacing what has been lost in terms of science coverage in the old media, or elevating our general science discourse? I have to say, I’m skeptical. There is no going back from this new world, but …

The tech world was taken by surprise by the news that computer giant HP had initiated a purchase of beleaguered Palm for $1.2 billion. Palm has been in trouble for a while, and had been actively shopping for a buyer to bail them out. A few companies had been mentioned in the press as interested in Palm, but no one gave HP a thought. The merger of HP and Palm is probably the best possible scenario for Palm, and it will be fun to watch the process. HP has the resources to make the most of Palm’s technology, and experience at taking over innovative companies (remember Compaq?). Here’s what I think will happen with the merger, along with my thoughts on what better happen to make this work.

HP is in a unique position to take advantage of the Palm takeover. It is in the phone business, but not really. HP was big in the PDA segment for years, but never made a successful transition into the smartphone age. There are good people in this area with HP, but they’ve never been allowed to innovate. The absorption of Palm into the HP Personal Systems Group will be an infusion of talent and know-how that HP can leverage immediately.

That is first and foremost what the new HP/Palm team must do — release a new webOS phone that blows Palm’s past phones out of the water. Take HP’s great skill at producing top-notch hardware, and pair it with webOS to make a smartphone that will take the segment by storm. I have no doubt it can be done, and it must be done quickly to create the buzz needed to make people watch HP’s phones going forward. Make a webOS phone with hardware that rivals anything in the Android segment. Prove that webOS, coupled with outstanding hardware, is the best smartphone platform available.

HP must focus on the Palm/webOS effort in its phone business after the merger is complete. Drop Windows Phone 7 and work solely with webOS; no dilution of effort in the phone business. Palm’s OS is as good as anything on the market, so take it and run with it. Continue to innovate and grow the OS with the help of the Palm team. Send a clear message to the smartphone community and market that this is your product.

Throw a lot of resources into the Palm developer community. This is crucial to the success of the platform, and HP has the muscle and money to make it a vital part of the equation. Get developers to embrace the platform, no matter what it takes. Bring back those developers who have dropped webOS due to Palm’s problems. Make this a priority within HP and the phone group. Throw a boatload of money at developers if you must, it is crucial to the future of the platform.

Drop the Palm brand. This is not something I say lightly, I am nostalgic about Palm and the brand. But I believe it is vital that HP send a clear message to the industry that it is behind the webOS platform 100%. A clear way to do that is to bring it into the HP branding scheme, and quickly. Go all in with Palm by bringing it totally into the HP family. On every front it is important to send a clear message — Palm is HP now, and we are going to run with it.

Produce a webOS tablet that rivals the iPad. I firmly believe the webOS platform is a good one for such a product, and HP’s expertise in making mobile computers can be leveraged to full advantage in such a device. This will create a new product line that has amazing potential for HP, and all of the pieces are already in place with the merger to make this happen. HP can still go with the HP Slate, although that is just a netbook without a keyboard. What will be better is a thinner, lighter tablet with a mobile OS. That will truly compete with the iPad.

An HP tablet with webOS opens up the possibility for an ecosystem that can take on the Apple/iTunes/App Store. HP has the clout and expertise to use the webOS phone and slate lines to add apps, music and video to the mix in such a way that eventually HP can take on Cupertino.

The merger of Palm and HP will not be without cost cutting, and that means losing good people. It is inevitable given the high price paid for Palm. HP must do this intelligently, and without hampering the Palm team too severely. Make the combined team work well together after the merger. The priority should be fast release of new products that make a difference.

Just because your cell phone doesn’t and give out CO2, it doesn’t mean that your phone doesn’t indirectly cause a whole lot of pollution. Think again! Here’s an infographic that tells you just how polluting that Blackberry or iPhone in your pocket could be. Here’s a reality check on how mobile phones can actually pollute.

61% of the world’s population uses a cell phone. That’s around 4.1 billion mobile phones. These phones use around 4,221 mega joules of energy, equivalent to 32 gallons of gas emitting 112 kilograms of CO2. If every charger was left plugged in the whole day, it would waste enough energy to power up 28,000 homes. And to top it all, 140,000,000 cell phones will land up in landfills this year. That’s about 4 phones per second. Recycling all these phones would save enough power to light up 272,000 homes. About time we switch to good old pigeons for communicating.

Via – [Newlaunches]

Madonna just sent the cast of Glee soaring to the top of the charts.

Glee took the number one spot on the charts this week with the its popular Madge-themed compilation album, The Power of Madonna, moving almost 100K copies last week.

Over 13.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the FOX series pay musical tribute to The Queen of Pop on an episode which aired April 20.

Lexus has announced details of the innovative Hybrid Bicycle Concept we first spied tucked away at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Headed for a UK debut at the Great British Bike Ride this weekend, the full-carbon fiber frame hybrid (electric+human) concept includes a 240W electric motor at the front hub, eight-speed transmission, a 25.9V Lithium-ion battery and regenerative braking. Head on through for more images plus our video overview…
Continue Reading Lexus details hybrid two wheeler concept

Tags: Bicycle,
Electric Bicycle,
Lexus,
Tokyo Motor Show

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Hey, kids… have you heard of this Facebook thing that’s been hitting the internet? Amazon did! And they’re integrating it, along with some newfangled Twitter thing, in their Kindle 2.5 software update—along with some other, less-belated goodies. More »

theodp writes “Having already been burned by Amazon’s 1-Click patent, one imagines Barnes & Noble will be fuming to learn that the USPTO granted Amazon a patent Tuesday covering the use of Barnes and Noble’s physical stores to fulfill orders placed for used goods on Amazon. The e-tailer was awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,702,545 for its System and Method for Facilitating Exchanges Between Buyers and Sellers, legal-speak for arranging a place to meet to exchange cash for used goods ordered online. From the patent: ‘In an exemplary embodiment, buyers and sellers are permitted to designate exchange locations in the system 100. An exchange location may be a location that the user regularly visits. For example, users may designate locations such as health clubs, schools, coffee shops, book stores, and so on, as acceptable exchange locations.’”

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There are several varieties of heather in England and also in New Zealand where they were introduced. In certain places they have even overgrown native species and are considered pests. Most varieties are differentiated on the basis of habitat or appearance namely colour.

cliff1066™

One variety is Calluna, and the other types include bell heather or Erica cinerea, which is found in well-drained soils, whereas crossed-leave heather or Erica tetralix preferring wetter soil types. Bell heathers belonging to either Erica cinera or Erica tetralix are known as carline heather. This is also commonly known as French heather. There is ling heather which is also referred to as dog heather as opposed to cat heather, which includes types of Erica cinerea/tetralix or even Calluna vulgaris. Bell heather (Erica cinerea), berry heath (Erica baccans), tree heath (Erica arborea) and hedge heath (Erica caffra) are varieties of heather found in New Zealand.

A few months ago I touted ProOnGo Expense as an excellent personal finance manager. Not only does it take care of routine budgetary matters, but it also features a receipt readers. Using your camera you can snap a picture of a receipt, and the application would convert it, cutting out the manual entering process. Their new application, Business Card Reader, uses the came concept. All you have to do is snap a picture of a business card and you’ll get the information necessary to create a BlackBerry contact.

(more…)

Trouble sleeping? Partner snoring? The SleepPhones System is the first headphones for sleeping in all night long! They deliver excellent sound quality through thin speakers within a fleece headband. While wearing these headphones, you can listen to our nature sounds CD with binaural beats – a technology that scientifically guides your brain to sleep! SleepPhones may be used for binaural beats (on included CD), music, sleep learning, biofeedback, meditation, or private/personal alarm clock. SleepPhones can plug into iPods, CD players, and most audio devices. Use SleepPhones to reduce noise from snoring, relieve anxiety, and deepen your sleep.
Specifications: 100% all new polyester fleece, 45″ cord, 1/8″ stereo plug, 32 Ohms, Frequency 0-20kHz, 300/500 mW, RoHS compliant, Velcro tie. Satisfaction guaranteed, 6 month manufacturer’s warranty.

View SleepPhones System: Sleep Headphones with Binaural Beats CD Details

Today is the day that many Verizon-toting Android fans have been waiting for for a long time.  If you already ordered the HTC DROID Incredible (and weren’t one of the lucky few to receive it early) you should be receiving your shiny, feature-packed new device today.  If you are one of those people who like to try before you buy, feel free to head on down to your local Verizon store and check it out for yourself.  I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed.

In other good news, it looks as if Verizon has launched a new microsite dedicated specifically to their new phone.  It looks very similar to the site Verizon dedicated to their first Android phone, the DROID.  The site has an interactive 360 degree view of the device smack in the middle of the page and is surrounded by a gallery of pictures, an overview of the phone along with links to features, specs, dimensions (apparently its slightly taller than a deck of cards) and accessories that you can purchase for the phone.  Verizon really wants you to get well acquainted with this phone.

Oh, and one more thing, if you haven’t already made your purchase and you’ve been patient thus far, I’d recommend heading on down to DroidDog and considering purchasing the Incredible there.  You’ll save $50, get free standard shipping, and only have to wait a few extra days – hey, you’ve waited this, long right? What’s a few extra days?

Who’s going out to get their Incredible today?  Sound off below!

Via DroidDog

The iPad 3G may require a micro SIM—a lilliputian SIM card incompatible with anything else you own—but AT&T will be selling each bundled with a full SIM card adapter—meaning you could potentially use your data plan elsewhere. [Engadget] More »

While something may have happened yesterday, things must still carry on at Palm. So in that spirit, we shall carry on as well, and thankfully there are still new apps to discuss. Yes, life does indeed go on. So what have we in this App Catalog? Well, there’s a sale going on in the Glu Mobile section, so if you’re interested in picking up some PDK gaming goodness, now’s your chance. Of course, there’s other stuff happening the in the App Catalog, but I’m not going to spoil it for you. That is, unless you want me to, in which case you should give serious consideration to clicking the “Read the rest of this entry »” link.

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