QLD:Call for Hendra tests on Gold Coast bats

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2011
QLD:Call for Hendra tests on Gold Coast bats

Gold Coast Mayor RON CLARKE is asking authorities to test the city's 28 flying fox
colonies for the potentially deadly Hendra virus.

Southport residents have taken things into their own hands and are using air horns
to drive away the thousands of bats they claim are affecting property values.

They've been threatened with fines of up to 100 thousand dollars and a year in jail,
and one woman's home was raided by wildlife officers last week.

It's not yet known if ROBYN BURGESS will be prosecuted, but she says the noise and
stench from the bats is so bad, she's had to remodel part of her home.

Mr CLARKE says council wants to work with the Department of Environment and Resource
Management on strategies to manage the issue and to ensure residents are safe.

AAP RTV bart/gd/jmt

KEYWORD: BATS (GOLD COAST)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Man killed in car roll

AAP General News (Australia)
02-19-2005
Vic: Man killed in car roll

MELBOURNE, Feb 19 AAP - A 50-year-old man died in Victoria today when his utility rolled over.

The accident at Coonooer Bridge near Charlton is believed to have happened between
2pm and 4pm (AEDT).

Victoria police spokeswoman Wendy Willingham said investigators found the Toyota Hilux,
being driven by the man, veered off the road and then rolled over.

He was the only occupant of the ute and died at the scene.

Police have not released his name.

His death takes the road toll in Victoria to 48, three more than at the same time last year.

AAP jt/arb

KEYWORD: TOLL VIC

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

He heard it from those who heard it from those who were there ; The Civil War - and Portland's role in it - are not distant events for a local historian.

Greg Kesichial writerBy Greg Kesich editorial writer.
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
04-13-2011
He heard it from those who heard it from those who were there ; The Civil War - and Portland's role in it - are not distant events for a local historian.
Byline: Greg Kesichial writerBy Greg Kesich editorial writer.
Edition: FINAL
Section: Editorial
Type: Editorial

It's a good thing that Herb Adams wears a nylon windbreaker, because with his wavy hair, clipped mustache and orator's diction we might forget that he is of our time.

The former state legislator, part-time teacher and full-time Maine history nut is extra busy these days, as the nation marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.
Adams, who was just as interested with the 149th and the 131st and the 127th anniversaries has a lot to offer those of us who just tune in for the round-number years, and he can make the events of a century and a half ago, hundreds of miles away seem quite immediate in some surprising ways.

The most surprising? Did you know that the night Confederates fired on Fort Sumter - 150 years ago Tuesday - some Portland residents were taking in a performance of Hamlet, staring none- other-than John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln's assassin?

Or, in other words, when the first shots of the war rang out, the man who fired one of the war's last shots was right here in town.

"He had been here about a month, performing Hamlet, Macbeth and a whole array of other plays including 'The Corsican Brothers,' about a pair of twins, in which he played both parts," Adams said. "He was very well-regarded. He was very young and what he lacked in subtlety he made up for in swashbuckling. It was blood and thunder, and blood and thunder sold back then, just as it does today. Portlanders liked it fine."

Adams wasn't there. But you may be excused if you sometimes forget that when he is talking. His study of Portland's newspapers of the period - the Democratic-leaning Daily Argus and the emergent Republicans' Portland Advertiser - has put him in contact with plenty of people who were.

"You know, Booth was a great friend, a gallant co-star, very dashing and handsome," Adams said. "He broke hearts where ever he went, including here."

Adams says that it can be proven that Booth had an affair with 19- year-old Helen Western, the theater owners' daughter who played Desdmona to his Othello and Juliet to his Romeo for Portland audiences.

After Booth was hunted down and killed by federal troops following the Lincoln assassination, the contents of his pockets were collected and sent to the National Archives, where they remain today.

"I've seen a picture of them," Adams said. "He carried six pictures of young women in his wallet until the day he died. Some of them are unknown, but I recognized one of them: It was Helen Western of Portland, Maine."

He wrote about Booth in Portland for a piece in the April 17, 1988, Maine Sunday Telegram, and heard little about it until recently when his work was cited in a new biography of Booth by Nora Titone called "My Thoughts Be Bloody."

Booth put on his performances in Deering Hall, a long-gone theater on the corner of Congress and Preble streets, where the Portland Public Library now stands. It looked out on what was then called "Market Square" (no Civil War yet, so no monument.)

It was the brand-new northern terminus of a telegraph link to New Orleans (what Adams calls the "Victorian Internet") which brought news of Fort Sumter to Portland, and sparked a massive pro-union rally in the square.

The crowd joined in "a great eagle scream for war" according to a newspaper account, so a disgusted Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, skipped town, leaving Helen and an unpaid printing bill with the Advertiser.

"Our experience with him shows he lacks the requisites of a gentleman," a blistering editorial read. "He was extremely liberal in his offers and not sparing of promises ... to cut the story short, we have not seen the color of the gentleman's money."

Not much survives of the city Booth would have seen, Adams said. Most of Portland's "old" buildings in the Old Port were put up in the late 1860s, after the Great Fire. The First Parish Church on Congress Street hasn't changed much. He might have seen Fort Gorges in Portland Harbor which was then under construction.

But anniversaries like this one make that past much less remote, Adams said.

"It shows how swift is the passage of time and reminds us of our own mortality. It also show us how young our country really is."

He explained:

"Yes, the Civil War was long ago, yet it is very much alive and still echos today ... When I was a boy, my baby sitter was a woman whose father was in the Civil War ...She would hold my hands and tell me the stories, just as he would hold her hands when she was a girl. And that's where we are, just a few stories away from the actual event.

"I heard it from those who heard it from those who were there."

Greg Kesich is an editorial writer. He can be contacted at 791- 6481, or:

gkesich@pressherald.com

Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer Local historian Herb
Adams takes advantage of the "round number" anniversaries of events
to help more people hear the past's echoes.

Copyright 2009 Blethen Maine Newspapers

FED:Govt defends disability pension scheme

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2010
FED:Govt defends disability pension scheme

By Susanna Dunkerley

CANBERRA, Dec 23 AAP - Labor has defended its reform of the disability support pension,
saying changes will soon help to ease the ballooning number of recipients.

But welfare groups say little will be achieved until the government addresses the $130
a week discrepancy between the disability and unemployment payment.

Outgoing federal families department boss Jeff Harmer has flagged the growing number
of DSP recipients, close to 800,000, as a major policy hurdle for the government.

Dr Harmer told The Australian reform is needed to curb the flow of recipients, which
has tripled since the 1980s, costing taxpayers more than $11 billion this year.

He suggested tougher measures for people to get on the scheme, and greater incentives
for them to get back into the workforce.

Dr Harmer also called for a crack-down on middle-class welfare, noting that 80 per
cent of families with children currently qualify for assistance.

Families Minister Jenny Macklin defended the DSP system, which increased by about 40,000
recipients between 2008-09 and 2009-10.

"The DSP is an essential element of Australia's safety net but it is vital that it
supports the people who need it," a spokeswoman for Ms Macklin told AAP.

"We have made a number of changes to create a fairer and simpler system," she said,
noting that reform would likely cut DSP applications by 10,000 a year from 2012.

Under the changes, new applicants will have to prove they can't work independently,
even with assistance, to receive the pension.

The medical test, that determines a person's ability to work, will be tightened, and
applicants will have to access employment services.

The claims of those clearly eligible for the pension will be fast-tracked, streaming
those who are not out of the system earlier.

The Australian Council of Social Service says little will be achieved until the unemployment
allowance is lifted to the same rate as the DSP.

"Many DSP recipients could be working and would be better off, but worry that if they
lose their job they'll end up on Newstart," ACOSS spokesman Peter Davidson told AAP.

"The government can't, in all conscience, encourage recipients to look for work until
they fix this problem."

The group also backed Dr Harmer's concerns that some welfare payments, including Family
Benefit Part B, are poorly targeted.

Liberal MP Simon Birmingham said that was one area that could be looked at.

"There's a genuine need to look at the interaction of our welfare and tax systems and
make sure that we minimise the churn of payments," he told Sky News.

AAP sld/mm

KEYWORD: DISABILITY

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Greens want changes to advertising

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2010
FED:Greens want changes to advertising

CANBERRA, Aug 15 AAP - The Australian Greens say political players could be tempted
to engage in unethical election advertising in the lead up to the poll.

Party leader Bob Brown says misleading voters on the way to the ballot box should be
made an offence under changes he's proposing to the Electoral Act.

"There's no doubt in the last week of an election campaign the temptation becomes bigger
... to engage in increasingly untrue advertising," Senator Brown told reporters in Canberra.

One example was South Australian Family First candidate Bob Day who is accused of portraying
himself as an independent, Senator Brown said.

"Whether that is truthful or not we should have somebody independently looking at that,"

he said, proposing a new unit at the Australian Electoral Commission.

Senator Brown says the idea is backed by polling undertaken by the party.

The Galaxy poll of more than 1000 people shows more than 90 per cent of respondents
would be in favour of new laws to prevent misleading advertising.

AAP sld/sb/jm/apm

KEYWORD: POLL10 ADVERTISING

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: 14 die on nation's roads during Easter holidays

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2010
Fed: 14 die on nation's roads during Easter holidays

SYDNEY, April 7 AAP - The national Easter road toll has risen to 14 after the death
of a cyclist injured in a collision with a car during the holiday period.

The death of the 66-year-old cyclist lifts Queensland's Easter road toll to two.

The man was riding a bicycle when it was involved in a collision with a utility in
Rockhampton on Sunday night.

He died in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital on Tuesday.

Victoria recorded the highest number of road fatalities for the Easter period, with
four, followed by NSW and South Australia with three deaths each.

Western Australia and the ACT each recorded one death, while Tasmania and the Northern
Territory were fatality free.

Last year the Easter road toll stood at 15.



(EDS: AAP's Easter road toll figures are for the period 0001 April 1 to 2359 April
5. Some states and territories may have different periods.)



AAP mn/jfm

KEYWORD: TOLL NATIONAL (WITH FACTBOX)

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Briefs Australia

AAP General News (Australia)
08-24-2009
Briefs Australia
Briefly in other news this hour:





Diplomat JEAN DUNN will be Australia's next ambassador to Lebanon.





Australia's largest radio network Austereo says its annual profit has fallen 15 per
cent to 41 million dollars due to a decline in advertising.





And .. regional television broadcaster Prime Media has made a 44 million dollar net
loss for last financial year .. compared to a profit of 15 million in the previous year.



AAP RTV ka/

KEYWORD: BRIEFS AUSTRALIA (SYDNEY)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Maritime rescue heroes awarded bravery medals

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2009
Qld: Maritime rescue heroes awarded bravery medals

By Victoria Bruce

BRISBANE, April 15 AAP - The daring night-time rescue of 37 people from a stricken
yacht that ran aground in wild seas off the north Queensland coast has earned the rescuers
bravery medals.

Rescue crews braved three-metre swells and 60-80km/h winds to winch backpackers and
the crew to safety when the twin-masted ketch Romance washed onto rocks off Cape Cove,
at Hook Island in the Whitsundays, on February 12 last year.

It was the largest helicopter rescue operation from a vessel in Australian history.

On Wednesday, Whitsundays water police officer Brett Norris was awarded a silver bravery
medal for what he says was the most rewarding, and biggest, rescue effort in his 22-year
police career.

After receiving the distress call at 2.30am, water police and rescue crews worked through
the night to save 32 passengers, most of whom were foreign backpackers, and five crew
members.

But high swells and strong winds meant the rescue crews in a police boat and two helicopters
were unable to get close enough to the stricken charter vessel.

"After realising we weren't getting anywhere with our vessel, I donned wetsuit and
fins and swam approximately 75 metres out to the island," Senior Constable Norris said.

"At the time, we didn't know if anyone was injured or what their situation was.

"I was only concerned with reaching the crew and, fortunately, no one was injured or killed."

RACQ-CQ Rescue general manager Phil Dowler and Snr Const Norris worked to secure the
vessel, which was wedged on hazardous rocks at a 45 degree angle, and winch the passengers
to the safety of the helicopters.

"I've been with the Queensland Police Service for 22 years, and this was by far the
largest rescue operation I have been involved in," Snr Const Norris said.

Snr Const Norris received the Royal Humane Society of Australia's silver medal while
Mr Dowler and CQ Rescue crew members Heath Scanlon, John Hinder and Daniel Hoare were
presented with bronze medals by Queensland governor Penelope Wensley at a ceremony in
Brisbane on Wednesday.

They were among 31 Queensland residents acknowledged for their bravery at the awards
ceremony at Government House.

AAP student/pjo/mn/cdh

KEYWORD: NORRIS (PIX AVAILABLE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

EUR: Men want intimacy and closeness too: Study

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2008
EUR: Men want intimacy and closeness too: Study

By Danny Rose, Medical Writer

BRUSSELS, Dec 9 AAP - A global study of what people value most in their sex lives has
found "closeness" and "intimacy" are rated higher, universally, by men.

The study took in the views of more than 1,000 committed couples aged in mid-life or
older, drawn from the US, Spain, Japan, Germany and Brazil.

They were quizzed on the importance of their relationship, sexual behaviour and also
the role sex played independently in the health and life satisfaction of the men and women.

Their answers were collated into a scale ranging up to 10 - "very important" - and
men returned stereotype-busting results on the question of what they derived from sex.

"Partnered sexual activity is important to men and women across all countries," the
study, released at the Congress of the European and International Societies for Sexual
Medicine in Brussels, concludes.

"Contrary to cultural stereotypes, across all countries surveyed, men rated the importance
of sex for closeness and intimacy to their partner more highly than did their female partners."

American men rated the importance of having "sex for intimacy" at 8.14, compared to
7.5 for US women, and the other countries continued in the same pattern.

But the results could be skewed by women generally placing less importance on all matters
to do with sex, and it also seems they are generally less interested in having it.

A separate study using the same pool data concluded that men across all nationalities
"reported experiencing desire more frequently than women".

US men reported the highest level of interest in sex, with 13.3 per cent responding
they felt sexual desire more than once a day. This compares to just 1.9 per cent for American
women.

The study found men, generally across the globe, thought about sex either several times
daily through to several times weekly while for women it was a several times weekly or
less frequently.

"The proportion of women in western countries reporting infrequent or absent desire
- once a month or not at all - ranged from 11.68 to 19.91 per cent," the study concludes.

In Japan, almost 70 per cent of women stated they thought about sex at a rate of once
a month or not at all.

AAP dr/tam/maur/

KEYWORD: INTIMACY

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Armed robber jailed for brazen motel attack

AAP General News (Australia)
08-06-2008
Qld: Armed robber jailed for brazen motel attack

By Christine Flatley

BRISBANE, Aug 6 AAP - A man who robbed a motel at gunpoint just hours before his co-offender
shot dead a police officer then turned the gun on himself, has been jailed for nine years.

Steven William Dewey, 39, of Wynnum in Brisbane's east, will be eligible for parole
in four years after already serving one year in pre-sentence custody over the robbery
in July last year.

The Brisbane District Court was told Dewey and Craig Semyraha, then 29, stole more
than $2,700 from the motel in Brisbane's north to raise money to buy drugs.

The court was told the pair - who had become friends while in jail for previous offences
- burst into the hotel and threatened to kill a 68-year-old woman and her 70-year-old
husband who were working at reception.

Defence barrister Paul Smith told the court his client was high on speed at the time.

Later that night police went to Semyraha's house at Keperra to speak to him about breaching
bail conditions, and became involved in a shoot-out.

Semyraha shot dead 29-year-old Constable Brett Irwin before turning the gun on himself.

Semyraha later died in hospital.

During a forensic examination of the gunman's home, police found cheques and bank bags
from the robbery, as well as Dewey's wallet.

Dewey was arrested and made full admissions to police about his involvement in the robbery.

AAP cf/pjo/jt/de

KEYWORD: DEWEY

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: House Adjournment for Tuesday, February 12, 2008

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2008
FED: House Adjournment for Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The House of Representatives adjourned at 0159 AEDT on Wednesday, 13 February, 2008
and will sit again at 0900 AEDT today.

AAP RTV jb/so/ibw

KEYWORD: HOUSE ADJOURNMENT (CANBERRA)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

2100 4BC Brisbane

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2007
2100 4BC Brisbane



- It could be weeks before horse races resume



- Lock-down will cost huge financial losses



- At least 41 people die in Greek forest fires



- Noosa River has peaked .. SES on standby



- Peter Beattie disappointed over Karen Struther's drink-driving



- Sport



AAP RTV wz

KEYWORD: 2100 4BC BRISBANE

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Regional Vics could face water price hikes, Bracks

AAP General News (Australia)
04-11-2007
Vic: Regional Vics could face water price hikes, Bracks

Premier STEVE BRACKS says regional Victorians will have to pay up to 20 per cent more
for water .. unless the federal government puts its hand in its pocket.

Mr BRACKS says water prices will inevitably rise across Australia as more infrastructure
is needed .. but the extent of the increases in Victoria depends on federal funding.

He says the new super pipe in Ballarat and Bendigo is being paid for by his government
and the water authorities .. and prices will need to be rise by 20 per cent unless the
federal government steps in.

A 110 kilometre pipe will connect Ballarat to the Goulburn-Murray river system .. as
part of a 204 million water dollar supply package.

AAP RTV kl/szp/gfr/imc/bart

KEYWORD: WATER VIC (MELBOURNE)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Australia donates $850,000 for human rights projects

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2006
Fed: Australia donates $850,000 for human rights projects

EDS: Embargoed tO 0001 (AEDT) Sunday, December 10.

CANBERRA, Dec 10 AAP - The Australian government will provide $850,000 to support projects
in developing countries to mark International Human Rights Day.

Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Teresa Gambaro said the money would go
to projects aimed to protect and promote human rights at community level.

Ms Gambaro said one project in Cambodia would provide counselling services and raise
awareness of mental health issues for victims and witnesses in the Khmer Rouge trials.

Another project aims to strengthen women's participation in politics and decision making
in Vietnam.

"Australia has a strong track record of promoting and protecting human rights internationally.

Through the aid program, we assist governments in developing countries to protect and
promote human rights," she said in a statement.

Ms Gambaro said the government also funded aid activities that created a public demand
for human rights to be observed.

"In doing so, we recognise that those living in poverty are often denied their basic
human rights such as access to education and health, and an opportunity to participate
in public life. This makes it harder to break the cycle of poverty," she said.

AAP mb/evt/cdh

KEYWORD: AID (EMBARGOED)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Business encourages by Iemma's first year

AAP General News (Australia)
08-03-2006
NSW: Business encourages by Iemma's first year

Peak business group Australian Business Limited says MORRIS IEMMA is getting the New
South Wales economy back on track.

Today Mr IEMMA's celebrating the first anniversary of the day he took over as premier
from BOB CARR .. after his predecessor's retirement from politics.

ABL says in that time business conditions in NSW have improved .. and Mr IEMMA's policy
changes have been directionally correct.

It's praised the IEMMA government's decision to scrap the vendor duty .. audit government
expenditure .. reduce workers compensation costs and launch a red tape review.

But it says the premier's taken the same easy road as his predecessor when it comes
to workplace relations .. including the decision to exempt 320 thousand public servants
from Work Choices.

AAP RTV nr/tm/cp

KEYWORD: IEMMA ABL (SYDNEY)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Man questioned over gun fight with police

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2006
Vic: Man questioned over gun fight with police

MELBOURNE, Feb 13 AAP - A policeman has been shot in a gun fight with a man thought
to have earlier crashed a car into a house in Melbourne's north-west.

The male officer, a senior constable in his 30s from Melton police station, suffered
a superficial leg wound in the incident about 10.20pm (AEDT) yesterday, police said.

The officer and his partner, also in his 30s, had been called to a report of a car
crashing into the front of a house in Meade Way, Sydenham.

Armed offenders squad Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin said the police had stopped
to question a man nearby when he fired on them.

"There was an incident where a number of shots were fired at police," he told reporters today.

"Police returned fire. One of the police officers who attended the incident received
a, thankfully, rather light wound to his leg."

Det Insp Rankin said the officers were lucky not to have been more seriously wounded.

"There were a number of shots fired at them and it was at reasonably close range, so
they're two extremely fortunate young men," he said.

"It was certainly a rather desperate act by a person who obviously has little regard
for human life."

The injured policeman was taken to Sunshine Hospital in a stable condition.

Det Insp Rankin said a man was arrested a short distance away following a search that
included members of the elite special operations group, the dog squad and a police helicopter.

He said police were still questioning the man and had not yet established if he was
connected with the shooting.

He would not comment on reports there was a large amount of cash in the car at the
time it crashed.

Police have not found the offender's weapon nor determined how many shots were fired
by the man and the two officers.

Both officers will receive counselling.

Detectives are seeking witnesses who saw a 2004 silver Hyundai Getz hatchback being
driven at high speed along Dundee Way shortly before it crossed the t-intersection at
Meade Way and crashed into the house.

AAP jrd/ce/rj/de

KEYWORD: SHOOTING LEAD

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Survivors tell harrowing tales of tsunami

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2004
Fed: Survivors tell harrowing tales of tsunami

A Sydneysider has told of his harrowing experience in Phi Phi island when the devastating
tsunami hit the Thai resort island.

28-year-old MLADEN VIDIC, who arrived home from Phuket today, was sailing to Phi Phi
when the giant wave hit.

The boat arrived on the island to find it a rubble-ridden mess.

As it turned back, a fisherman asked the crew to look after a blood-soaked, semi-conscious
woman he had pulled from the water.

Mr VIDIC says he saw she had a rusty-four-inch nail protruding from her throat.

He worked to stop the bleeding for the entire journey, gazing constantly at her face
to monitor the signs of life.

The woman was taken away by hotel officials when the boat arrived back in Phuket, but
Mr VIDIC does not know if she lived.

AAP RTV jb/nf/sh/wz

KEYWORD: QUAKE AUST SURVIVORS (SYDNEY)

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Schrödinger, Erwin

Schrödinger, Erwin (1887–1961) Austrian physicist, who became professor of physics at Berlin University in 1927. He left for Oxford to escape the Nazis in 1933, returned to Graz in Austria in 1936, and then left again in 1938 for Dublin's Institute of Advanced Studies. He finally returned to Austria in 1956. He is best known for the development of wave mechanics and the Schrödinger equation, work that earned him a share of the 1933 Nobel Prize for physics with Paul Dirac.

abD

abD See abdaraf.

EX-EMPLOYEE CLEARED IN COMPUTER PROBE.(Local/Wisconsin)

An investigation into alleged misuse of the Internet by the city's former superintendent of public works has been closed.

Don Schlueter, who resigned his position on March 29, was cleared of any wrongdoing, based on evidence submitted to the state Crime Laboratory, said Mayor Michael Eisenga. ``They went through the hard drive of the computer and they found nothing,'' said Eisenga.

Eisenga said the investigation began when evidence of misuse of the Internet was found in Schlueter's office.

``Supposedly there was somebody cleaning out a recycling bin and they found something incriminating,'' said Eisenga.

AXIOM Studio Wins Philly Gold Awards; Company's Creative Work is Recognized in Four Industry Categories.

PHILADELPHIA, April 18 /PRNewswire/ --

AXIOM STUDIO, INC., the digital design firm, announced that it has won "Best B2B Website Design" and "Best Media Promotion" at the Philly Gold Awards for its work on the Gordon Wahls Executive Search corporate site at www.gwahls.com and the Valens Information Systems corporate brochure, respectively.

"We are honored to have our website recognized by Philly Gold," said Tom Glancey, president of Gordon Wahls Executive Search. "We have worked with Axiom Studio for more than a year on a number of creative projects, including our website, and we are pleased with the high-quality solutions they have delivered."

Donald Fisher, president of Axiom Studio commented, "We are proud to be recognized at this prestigious competition. I am particularly pleased by the opportunity to showcase our award winning work across several industries for companies such as Gordon Wahls, Valens Information Systems and Roxborough Manayunk Bank, a subsidiary of Thistle Group Holdings, Co."

Axiom Studio also received finalist recognition in two other categories: "Website Design: Business-to-Consumer" for its work on Roxborough Manayunk Bank's Internet banking site at www.RMBgo.com and "Website Design: Corporate" for its work on www.axiomstudio.com.

The Philly Gold Awards (http://www.phillygold.com) received over 950 entries this year. There were only 134 winners, highlighting the competitive nature of the field.

About AXIOM STUDIO, INC.

Axiom Studio delivers compelling user interfaces to define and enhance its clients' brands through the use of superior design, in-depth research and advanced technologies. Located in Philadelphia, the firm serves clients on a national and international basis who seek high-quality designs that will span a range of technology platforms. It actively participates in regional and national industry organizations including Eastern Technology Council and e-Philadelphia and is a Macromedia Premier Partner. For further information, contact Axiom Studio at 800-54-AXIOM or on the web at http://www.axiomstudio.com.

Ops Solve One IP Problem, Get Another

Any doubts that cable operators might have about the salability of technology supporting IP-voice services are likely to dissipate soon, although not without being supplanted by another, perhaps more worrisome concern.

The answer to operators' problem: the rollout of high-capacity, "carrier-class" equipment by a wide range of vendors, including some that are new to the IP-voice arena That will answer the question of salability of the gateway servers used in interfacing Internet-protocol telecommunications with the circuit-switched domain.

The bad news? Incumbent telcos and CLECs (competitive local-exchange carriers) represent a driving force behind vendors' plans to introduce big gateways, ensuring that cable operators will have major competition in the IP-telecommunications arena

"We're seeing implementations of gateway servers with capacity into the high 90s to 125 [DS-O] - this year, and going well beyond that level in the future," said Michael Cassin, product manager for IP-voice services at Concentric Network Carp., a Cupertino, Calif.-based Internet-service provider that is part of the global InterLine consortium of IP-voice providers.

Cassin added, "We're seeing servers that are starting to be enabled with the back-end-system APIs [application program interfaces] that are required for carriers to implement this stuff in networks."

While a handful of incumbent carriers have voiced a moderate level of interest in IP-telecommunications services, the activity below the surface signals that a much more aggressive commitment is taking shape throughout the sector.

For example, AT&T Corp. - the WorldNet data-services unit of which has announced plans to test-market IP-voice services in three cities starting this summer - is planning a much broader rollout, even before the tests begin.

"We need carrier-class solutions, and they're not easy to find," said an AT&T source on the carrier side of the business who asked not to be named

As this executive's shopping list suggests, a company the size of AT&T getting into IP telephony spells not only an emerging need for large-scale gateway servers, but for mass-scale implementations of administrative and signaling features that integrate well into the IP-server domain.

Amid ongoing battles with IP-voice providers over the ground rules for service pricing, the incumbent carriers' fear of being underpriced is rapidly being superseded by a more immediate concern; the fear of losing a big piece of high-end business as a result of the merging of IP voice with VPN (virtual-private-network) data-software functionality.

The ability to feed local-office-circuit voice traffic from the PBX (private-branch exchange) into the IP VPN allows commercial customers to bypass the costs of traditional private-line voice networks, while enhancing the overall feature capabilities of their communications systems, said Glenn Ben-Yosef, president of Clear Thinking Research, a Boston based consulting concern.

"Standards-based voice-over-IP is the enabler that allows existing WAN wide-area-network] links to work double-duty," Ben-Yosef said. "Companies can realize significant cost savings by carrying voice/fax traffic over existing data networks."

Response to the emerging demand for carrier-class gateways has been widespread among traditional carrier vendors.

For example, Lucent Technologies, which is already in the market with its own IP-telephony-gateway system, is moving on several other fronts to support the mounting carrier demand. Lucent is even going so far as to bring out a 128-gigabit-per-second IP switch in the third quarter, with an evolutionary track to terabit rates built into the design of its back plane.

The supplier's new gateway system incorporates a variety of large-carrier-specific features with the basic H. 323 voice-gateway functions. including the option to translate circuit signals to either IP or ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), a signaling gateway that allows SS7 (signaling system 7) to be used in managing IP traffic and a feature server supporting direct input of advanced-network services into the IP domain.

Right now, bringing these capabilities into the mix, versus driving die gateway server itself to very high capacity, is the most important thing that the market needs, said Jun Simester, the company's product manager for Internet-telephony solutions.

"Our system supports up to 30 DS-0s [64-kilobit-per-second voice circuits] per gateway and, on top of that, we support 500 PC [personal computed interconnections per gatekeeper zone," Simester said, in reference to the duster of gateway servers that can be served by Lucent's point of centralized-routing address management in the H.323 architecture.

This translates to some 750 circuit gateways per gatekeeper server, which covers 25 gateways, plus the 500 PC connections, Simester noted.

Carrier interest in IP telephony is stirring development activity on the part of traditional gate way suppliers, as well.

"We're seeing long-distance and local telephone companies starting to shift gears and move faster with plans for deployment of IP-telephony services," said Lior Haramaty, vice president of technical marketing at VocalTec Communications Ltd., the pioneer in Internet telephony.

"The next-generation telephone companies are taking advantage of the latest technology advances at a pace that is causing traditional telcos to realize that they don't have much time if they're going to do something to check these newcomers," Haramaty said. Earlier this year, VocalTec and ECI Telecom Ltd. - Israeli based vendors serving IP-voice and telecommunications markets, respectively - said they were teaming up to deliver an Internet to-PSTN (public service telephone network) gateway system capable of serving hundreds of lines per platform, enabling operators to build networks that serve millions of users.

"These new systems must be centrally managed, have very high reliability be scalable to millions of lines, include security and be open and standards-based," said Doron Ziner, president of VocalTec. 'That's our goal and shared vision of the new public network."

Another leader in IP-gateway technology, Vienna Systems Corp. of Kanata, Ontario, plans to introduce a 120-port gateway this month, said Kerry Hawkins, vice president of sales at Vienna.

"We're in the process of building a 1,000-port gateway," he said, noting that Vienna has an unnamed customer that wants two such units this summer.

Probably the first implementation of next-generation IP-telephony gear designed for efficient interfacing with legacy networks involves Delta Three Inc., one of the pioneer ITSPs (Internet-telephony-service providers), which is now a subsidiary of international carrier RSL Communications Ltd.

Delta - which worked with Ericsson Inc. to develop that company's IP-telephony solution for carriers, known as IPTC-is now operating the system in support of international calls between Israel, the U.K. and the United States, with plans to add the system to all 19 of the ITSP's POPs (points of presence) in the near future.

"We have an international IP network that allows us to control latency and other QOS [quality of-service] parameters," said Noam Bardin, vice president of technology and operations at Jerusalem-based Delta Three.

This means that with the implementation of carrier-class gateways, Delta -working with RSL where Delta doesn't have its IP-network facilities in place - will be able to support "everything from electronic commerce, to videoconferencing, to services making use of video and audio streaming," he added.

While ITSPs like Delta Three remain the drivers behind Ericsson's play in IP telephony, incumbent carriers are definitely becoming a force, said Barbara Boyle, global marketing manager for Ericsson.

Along with New Zealand Telecom - which, at press time, was set to become the first incumbent to announce use of Ericsson's IPTC - the vendor sees strong activity from incumbents in Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, China and "some pockets of the United States," Boyle said.

NECO Salutes All 21st Century Patriots of Democracy Who Honor the Words of The Declaration of Independence.

NEW YORK, July 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nasser Kazeminy, Chairman of the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) says those who wrote the Declaration of Independence 235 years ago are finding an audience among those using smartphones and social networks like Twitter to create democracies in the 21st Century.

Mr. Kazeminy notes, "How would the Declaration of Independence read if the Founding Fathers had to write it using the shorthand of today's fast paced social media? We need only look at the events taking place around the globe to gain a measure of insight. How we get our news and how we process that information have been dramatically transformed through 21st Century creations including Facebook and Twitter.

"Entire regimes have fallen or are now teetering, having become road kill alongside these information super highways. Despots are discovering that, despite their best efforts using tanks and troops, citizens are using the Internet to communicate directly among themselves, creating grass roots movements that demand the benefits of democracy. We have only just begun to see the results of this transformative political process propelled by simple tweets and texts that demand freedom," observed the NECO Chairman.

Twitter limited or not, the words written by Thomas Jefferson 235 years ago this summer still speak to us. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Mr. Kazeminy writes, "Many of today's immigrants who arrive on American shores can recite by heart the words and principles that sparked the American Revolution. For them, born under a foreign flag, these are not distant and remote principles recited by rote during an elementary school play. Rather, the Declaration has served as a genuine beacon of hope for many, a living reminder that democracy not only strengthens, improves and celebrates the human condition, but is an 'unalienable Right...'"

In an effort to insert the Declaration of Independence into the Twitter conversation, NECO has challenged social media participants around the world to distill through their own words what this proclamation of freedom means to them. Can they define the Declaration's essential concepts in just 140 characters or less and share their results on Twitter using the hashtag #tweetfrom1776? Far from a tongue in cheek experiment, it is an acknowledgment that the medium helps keep the message alive, relevant and part of an American political debate that has been continuing for 235 years.

NECO's Chairman concludes, "It is equally important to remember that those who signed the Declaration of Independence were well established men of society, with property, wealth and a future that would have only been enhanced by maintaining the status quo. Instead, without the means of Skype, Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, these men met for weeks in a city drenched by heat to sign a document that reminded the signatories that...for the support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor."

About NECO www.neco.org

The creation of NECO, The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, was based on the belief that the diversity of the American people is what makes this nation great. Its mission is to honor and preserve this diversity and to foster tolerance, respect and understanding among religious and ethnic groups.

Additionally, NECO continues the commitment to the restoration and maintenance of Ellis Island, a living tribute to the courage and hope all immigrants who have built America.

Follow NECO on TWITTER

Like NECO on Facebook

SOURCE National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)

Fraudulent Internet lottery, Swindling in UNHCR's name, physical remand extended.

Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Aslam Gondal Saturday extended the physical remand of an accused that defrauded people of millions of dollars usinf UNHCR's name and handed him over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The accused fooled masses into investing in an internet lottery and showed a fake agreement on the letter pad of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), signed by UNHCR Islamabad Engineer General and having a name John Cosmos as a witness.

A First Information Report (FIR) vide 11/09 dated 01-04-2009 was registered against Javed-ur- Rehman, a resident of National Housing Scheme 1, Rawalpindi, under section 7, 8, 9, 15, 19 and 20 of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO) 2007 r/w36, 37 of Electronic Transaction Ordinance (ETO) 2002. The complainant Janas Khan, Peshawar, had lodged the complaint with FIA Crime Circle.

According to FIA, Janas Khan was defrauded in the name of Internet lottery amounting to 1.3' Million $. He was persuaded through e-mail messages sent by "Hanson Terence" and an agreement purportedly signed by 'Teddy Akkson" as UNHCR Islamabad Engineer General, and John Cosmos as a witness on apparently fake letterhead of UNHCR, Islamabad. The accused demanded Khan to pay a 7.5% of the total that is $ 1.3 Million).

Enticed, Khan transferred Rs.183,000/- to the bank account of Maryam Faqir (Bank Account # 02180209, Cress Bank, Islamabad) from Peshawar Cantonment Cress Bank Branch through online banking. Khan allegedly also transferred through online banking Rs.1,399,125 to the bank account of Javed-ur-Rehman (Bank Account # 166-006-0000-895, Faisal Bank, Blue Area, Branch) from Peshawar Cantonment Faisal Bank Branch, paid in cash US $ 20,000 to person namely John Cosmos and sent an amount of 815,29 Pounds and $ 2,700 to Hanson Terence through Western Union.

FIA enquiry found that the account of Maryam Faqir was operated by Javed-ur-Rehman and she knew nothing about the transactions made in her account. Rehman made unauthorized access to bank account of Maryam and to the confidential information of her bank account and got transferred the money into his account in the same bank.

Accordingly, the competent court issued arrest warrants u/s 87 CrPC. FIA arrested Rehman on 24-05-2011.

FIA Saturday produced the accused before the court after his initial physical remand and informed the jury that initial probe has unearthed a cross border ring embroiled in the crime and that the detainee spoke of some of his Nigerian accomplices.

FIA requested a six-day extension in physical remand, which the court extended for three days and ordered to bring the accused back on May 31.ECe

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Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

More than 56,000 join fasting protest against budget cuts.(NATION)

WASHINGTON * In the last days of Lent more than 36,000 Americans joined a liquid-only fast to protest congressional budget cuts that fall most heavily on the backs of the poor, according to organizers.

Leading the protest were the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners and a noted evangelical figure in social justice, and former Ambassador Tony Hall, executive director of the Alliance to End Hunger.

Spokesmen for the U.S. Catholic bishops also warned against "disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons" as Congress tries to hammer out a fiscal 2012 budget agreement.

In a letter April 13 to members of the House of Representatives, Bishops Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., and Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., acknowledged that the government faces tough choices in seeking to reverse the federal deficit, but added: "We also fear the human and social costs of substantial cuts to programs that serve families working to escape poverty, especially food and nutrition, child development and education, and affordable housing."

Blaire is head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Hubbard chairs the bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.

In its continuing resolution on the fiscal 2011 budget, passed at the last minute in early April to avoid a government shutdown, Congress especially targeted programs for the poor at home and abroad in its $38 billion in budget cuts.

Republicans in Congress have been pressing for more of the same in the 2012 budget, including moves to shift a portion of Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly, to private insurance programs.

Wallis and Hall announced the Hunger Fast March 28, as Congress was struggling to pass a fiscal 2011 measure that would avert a government shutdown April 8.

After that measure passed, Wallis said, "The government didn't shut down but the budget crisis has not been averted."

"This compromise represents the interests of all those who make big campaign contributions but betrays the poor and vulnerable," he added. "Our endless military spending has gotten another free pass while those who can least afford it are getting cut. This compromise has only strengthened my resolve to continue fasting, and we call for any person of faith or conscience to keep joining the fast and spreading the word."

As the end of Lent neared, Sojourners said that more than 36,000 activists, including more than two dozen members of Congress, had joined the liquid-only fast.

News and commentary on the fast appears on the Internet at hunger fast.org.

Quote of the week ...(Brief article)

"Consumption of video over the Internet is no longer a millennial-generation phenomenon; it's an activity that crosses all age groups," said Francesco Venturini, Accenture's global broadcast lead. "Video over the Internet is well on its way to becoming a mass medium. Furthermore, it's clear that consumers are ready and, in some instances, may be ahead of the industry in terms of the visions they have for how, when and where they watch and interact with video content."

Speaker to Reveal Mainstream Media Suppression of Only Proven UFO Contactee.

U.S. spokesman for Swiss man claims decades log news blackout on only authentic, still ongoing UFO case orchestrated by government and media

(PRWEB) August 30, 2010 -- With the sudden surge of interest in UFOs, are the government and media deliberately suppressing the one case that would blow the cover-up wide open? Michael Horn, the U.S. spokesman for Swiss UFO contactee, Billy Meier, will present supporting evidence for that theory in two upcoming public appearances.

According to Horn, the whole UFO topic has been turned into little more than entertainment with the media comfortably promoting only anecdotal and inconclusive evidence. "The fact is that while there has been some actual extraterrestrial UFO activity in the past, most sightings are either secret military craft or explained by natural causes. The clear exception, the Meier case, has been the one cause of concern for the CIA and other intelligence agencies for over 35 years. The 21 documented assassination attempts on Meier's life show that someone's been taking it very seriously."

Horn thinks that the governmental powers that be are glad to see people chase what he calls "lights in the sky" but want to make sure that Meier's documented, advance knowledge of hundreds of important scientific discoveries, from black holes, dark matter, water on Mars, to the deadly threat of the Apophis asteroid, don't get their attention.

When asked why they would want to cover up such ironclad evidence, Horn said, "They believe that Meier's proof of still ongoing extraterrestrial contact would overturn our religions, even stop wars and reinforce the oneness of, and need for peace between, all peoples on Earth. They also fear that it would destabilize society to admit that advanced, space traveling human beings operate freely without any terrestrial control. But the Plejaren extraterrestrials emphasize that we, the people of Earth, are the biggest enemies to our own future survival...and they're trying to help us to avoid self-destruction."

Horn feels that those who could have made a real difference failed to do so. "There's no shortage of so-called 'UFO experts', authors and others who've jumped on the UFO bandwagon despite not having any real extraterrestrial related evidence. And they avoid the Meier case for one simple reason - they can't make a profit from it. So they don't mention Meier's contacts in their media appearances, preventing people from benefiting from the information. Those who are most vocal about 'ending the UFO cover-up' are, ironically, most actively perpetuating it because, like the media, they see Meier as...bad for business."

Horn - who says he has personal proof the ET contacts are authentic - claims there's another reason why the Meier case is strictly off limits. "The media and the powers that be know that if people realize just how badly they've been lied to about things like the coming worldwide consequences of the BP Gulf disaster, the anger and frustration could really boil over.

"But they've overlooked one important thing. The internet revolution cannot be undone and now each person who comes upon the Meier information can 'publish', text and tweet it freely and wake up countless others. Initially it's a slow process but it will ultimately overwhelm the media suppression and, in time, the truth will prevail."

Michael Horn will be appearing at the:

ASPE Symposium September 9 - 12, 2010

Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo October 15 - 17, 2010

Press Release Archives

The Michael Horn Show

# # #

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/08/prweb4436884.htm.

Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum to Hold Spotlight Session for Developers.

One-day Educational Conference Set for September 4, 2009 in Oulu, Finland

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- The NFC Forum (http://www.nfc-forum.org), a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced that it is conducting a one-day Spotlight Session for Developers from 9AM to 5PM on Friday, September 4, 2009 at the Lasaretti Hotelli-Ravintolaat in Oulu, Finland. Second in a series of Forum Spotlight Sessions, this event features top NFC experts providing practical knowledge, opportunities to network and hands-on training for NFC application developers.

During the event, attendees will:

* Learn about the market for NFC and sample use cases already deployed in more than 100 projects around the world;

* Get an update on the status of NFC Forum technical specifications from the Forum's Technical Committee Chair and learn how they fit into the overall architecture;

* Preview the compliance program under development;

* Receive a briefing on the tools and certificates needed for secure element programming;

* Learn how to program a secure element applet; and

* Listen to a panel discussion on best practices from recent implementations.

Presenters and panelists include: Peter Preuss of Nokia, NFC Forum Marketing Committee Chair; Jonathan Main of MasterCard, NFC Forum Technical Committee Chair; Matt Ronning of Sony, NFC Forum Compliance Committee Co-Chair; Josef Langer, University of Hagenberg; Heikki Huomo, Center for Internet Excellence, CIE; Holgar Kunkat of SCM Microsystems; Gavin Shenker of Visa; and Hans Reisgies of ViVOtech.

"We're seeing more and more commercially-deployed NFC applications, and as a result, the body of NFC development and deployment knowledge is also growing," said Koichi Tagawa, chairman of the NFC Forum. "By enabling us to share that practical expertise directly, the Spotlight Session will help empower developers to drive the next wave of NFC innovation."

The Spotlight Session takes place during the NFC Forum all-members meeting in Oulu, Finland, August 31-September 6. During the week-long event, representatives from the 140 NFC Forum member organizations converge to advance initiatives focused on bringing Near Field Communication-enabled products and services to market. The face-to-face meeting gives NFC Forum committee, working group and task force members the opportunity to meet in more than 40 working sessions. The NFC Forum holds three all-members meetings a year; the next meeting will be held December 7-11 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Attendance at the NFC Forum Spotlight Session for Developers is open to all NFC application developers. Costs for the event, including lunch, are as follows: US$70 ([euro]50) for NFC Forum members; US$210 ([euro]150) for non-members; and $70 ([euro]50) for students. A 22% VAT is added to the cost of admission.

Detailed information about the Spotlight Session for Developers, including the full agenda, speaker profiles and online registration, is available at the NFC Forum website: http://www.nfc-forum.org/events/oulu_spotlight/.

Gold Sponsors of the Spotlight Session are Innovision Research & Technology plc, INSIDE Contactless and Sony Corporation; the Silver Sponsor is Hansaprint. Lunch is sponsored by WIMA. The Spotlight Session also features exciting, new NFC-based applications showcased by Gold and Silver Sponsors.

About Near Field Communication Technology

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a standards-based, short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables simple and safe two-way interactions between electronic devices. NFC technology allows consumers to perform contactless transactions, access digital content and connect devices with the simplicity of a single touch.

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology provides global interoperability of contactless identification and interconnection technologies. NFC operates in the 13.56 MHz frequency range, over a typical distance of a few centimeters. The underlying layers of NFC technology are based on ISO, ECMA, and ETSI standards. NFC technology is supported by the world's leading communication device manufacturers, semiconductor producers, network operators, IT and services companies, and financial services organizations. NFC is compatible with hundreds of millions of contactless cards and readers already deployed worldwide.

About the NFC Forum

The NFC Forum, http://www.nfc-forum.org, was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor and consumer electronics companies. The Forum's mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum's 140 global member companies currently are developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery and device capability.

The NFC Forum's Sponsor members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor members are: Innovision Research & Technology plc, INSIDE Contactless, MasterCard Worldwide, Microsoft Corp., NEC, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic, Renesas Technology, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics and Visa Inc.

Hands across the ice.(new Arctic Council formed)

OTTAWA

CANADIANS thought of their country stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific when they devised the Latin motto A mari usque ad mare-from sea to sea-for the nation's coat of arms. The third sea, the Arctic Ocean, was beyond their horizon. No longer. In Ottawa on September 19th, the seven countries bordering on that ocean-Canada, Denmark (it owns Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States-plus Finland, signed up to form a new Arctic Council.

The Arctic has been no ocean of brotherly love. In cold-war days, Soviet and American submarines stalked each other beneath its ice. Canada and the United States had diplomatic skirmishes when first a giant American oil tanker, and much later an icebreaker, went without Canadian permission through the Northwest Passage, which Canada considers internal waters. The Americans still do not accept Canada's sovereignty over its northern archipelago, and were wary of multilateral co-operation until recently. Only last year did President Clinton accept the idea of an Arctic Council, while stipulating that military issues should not be on its agenda.

Non-governmental initiative has played a big part in getting the council going. The native peoples in Alaska and Canada made a bridge to those in far- northern Europe with the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in the 1970s. An international council became a serious possibility after a speech by Mikhail Gorbachev at Murmansk talking of the Arctic as a "zone of peace". Canada's then prime minister, Brian Mulroney, visiting Moscow in 1989, pursued the idea. Inuit leaders and northern experts in the Canadian Institute for International Affairs fleshed it out.

The region's indigenous peoples will be fully involved: the Inuit conference, the Sami Council (based in Finland) and the association representing native peoples in the Russian north have the status of permanent participants. Mary Simon, an Inuk-that's the singular of Inuit-from northern Quebec, in 1994 was appointed Canada's ambassador for circumpolar affairs (till then a sideline of the West European desk at the external-affairs ministry). She will play a big part in shaping the new council.

At least at first, it will be built on modest lines. Its secretariat will move from capital to capital; for the first two years it will be housed in Ottawa, and Canada will pay its C$900,000 ($650,000) cost for those years. But its mandate is broad. Officials and scientists will advise governments on regional issues, including environmental protection, economic and social development, and the health, both physical and cultural, of the Arctic's aboriginal peoples.

A broad Arctic environmental-protection programme that began in 1991 and is now based in Norway will be folded into the council's work next year. Its findings exemplify why cross-border cooperation is needed: it has found contaminants that have reached the Arctic sea and coasts from as far away as East Asia. Local food sources, from seal meat to that of caribou and smaller animals, are at risk.

Ms Simon has long preached the gospel of sustainable development. She does not think development can or should be barred, but she foresees a difficult task of balancing oil, mining and industrial ventures with concern for the ecology. Discoveries of a huge diamond deposit in the Canadian Arctic and a fortune in nickel and cobalt in Labrador have pointed up the difficulty. She is also eager to build up trade between Arctic peoples. Cape Dorset, a hamlet on Canada's Baffin Island, boasts a higher proportion of working artists among its 1,200 people than anywhere else in the world. They are mostly stone-carvers. Could they also make traditional clothing for export to other northern peoples? Educational and cultural links offer much promise. Iqaluit, due to be the capital of Nunavut when this predominantly Inuit eastern half of Canada's Northwest Territories becomes a territory on its own in 1999, has launched the first Internet web-site in the Inuktitut language.

Emerson Schedules Webcast For Second-Quarter Results.

ST. LOUIS, April 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Emerson will report its second-quarter fiscal 2006 results prior to market opening on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. Emerson senior management will discuss the results during an investor conference call that same day, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time).

All interested parties may listen to the live conference call via the Internet by going to the Investor Relations area of Emerson's Web site at http://www.gotoemerson.com/financial and completing a brief registration form. A replay of the conference call will be available for the next three months at the same location on the Emerson Web site.

About Emerson

Emerson , based in St. Louis, is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Sales in fiscal 2005 were $17.3 billion. For more information, visit http://www.gotoemerson.com/.

CONTACT: Mark Polzin or John Hastings for Emerson, +1-314-982-1700

Web site: http://www.gotoemerson.com/ http://www.gotoemerson.com/financial