Environmentalists can't corral Palin
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3EH5jd_uyWAFtvLAUaky_bDGBhgD93011S81
By DINA CAPPIELLO – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — At the National Governors Association conference where she first met John McCain, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had other business: making her case to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne against classifying the polar bear as a threatened species.
Months later she sued Kempthorne, arguing that the Bush administration didn't use the best science in concluding that without further protection, the polar bear faces eventual extinction because of disappearing sea ice as the result of global warming.
Palin, McCain's vice presidential running mate, has had frequent run-ins with environmentalists.
In her 20 months as governor, Palin has questioned the conclusions of federal marine scientists who say the Cook Inlet beluga whale needs protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.
She has defended Alaska's right to shoot down wolves from the air to boost caribou and moose herds for hunters, and — contrary to a view held by McCain — is not convinced that global warming is the result of human activity.
Environmentalists have nicknamed Palin the "killa from Wasilla," a reference to the small town where she formerly was mayor.
"Her philosophy from our perspective is cut, kill, dig and drill," said John Toppenberg, director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, maintaining she is "in the Stone Age of wildlife management and is very opposed to utilizing accepted science."
While acknowledging the climate is changing, Palin expresses doubt as to whether emissions from human activities are causing it. McCain, on the other hand, supports legislation to reduce heat-trapping pollutants, primarily from the burning of oil and coal.
"John McCain was all about global warming and the integrity of the science. The selection of Sarah Palin is a complete reversal from that position," said Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., who traveled to the South Pole with McCain in 2006 to visit with scientists studying climate change. "She is disturbingly part of the pattern of the Bush administration in their approach to science generally and the science of the environment in particular."
The McCain campaign Wednesday characterized Palin as a leader on climate change, noting she set up a sub-cabinet office to map out state response strategies and sought $1.1 million in federal funds to help communities threatened by coastal erosion and other effects.
Palin's administration relied in part on research from scientists funded by the oil industry to fight against the polar bear's listing, arguing that the impact of global warming on the bear 20 years from now can't be predicted. But e-mails obtained by a University of Alaska professor show that the state's marine mammal experts supported the federal government's conclusions on the bear.
On Thursday, the federal government announced that there was enough scientific evidence to consider listing three ice seal species that inhabit the waters of Alaska as threatened and endangered species because of melting sea ice. The seals use the ice to give birth and raise their pups.
Doug Vincent-Lang, Alaska's endangered species coordinator, said the state had not yet taken a position on the ice seals' status.
But he stressed that while there were differences in opinion about the science, the state has supported the protection of other endangered species and its position on the polar bear "was not a decision to protect resource development in the state."
Supporters say Palin, a self-described hockey mom who knows how to handle a gun and dress a moose and once worked as a commercial fisherman, is simply a reflection of her home state, where the extraction of oil, natural gas, gold, zinc, fish and other natural resources is the primary source of state income and jobs.
The polar bear isn't the only wildlife issue where Palin's administration is at odds with environmentalists and at times with the Bush administration and members of Congress.
For example:
_Her administration disputes conclusions by the federal National Marine Fisheries Service and its science advisers that the beluga whale population is in critical danger. The state argues that 2007 data shows the whale rebounding.
_Palin opposed a state ballot initiative to increase protection of salmon streams from mining operations. It was defeated.
_She also opposed a ballot initiative barring the shooting of wolves and bears from aircraft except in biological emergencies. It was also defeated.
Under Palin, the state Board of Game authorized for the first time in 20 years the shooting of wolves by state wildlife officials from helicopters. The order resulted in the controversial shooting this summer of 14 one-month-old wolf pups taken from dens on a remote peninsula 800 miles southwest of Anchorage — an act that environmentalists claim was illegal.
State officials characterized the killings as humanitarian, saying the pups would have suffered and eventually died without the care of their parents. Environmentalists argued they were killed to boost caribou populations to the benefit of hunters.
Like many other Alaska officials, Palin argues her critics don't understand the North Country.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who has complained Alaska is killing more wolves than necessary and has pushed a bill that would put additional restrictions on the aerial killing of predators, has been among Palin's targets.
Miller "doesn't understand rural Alaska, doesn't comprehend wildlife management in the North, and doesn't appreciate the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that gives states the right to manage their own affairs," Palin said in a press release a year ago.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Marijuana smoking in Japan: Sumo world in turmoil
Russian sumo wrestler Hakurozan and his brother Roho at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya. Photograph: Kyodo News/AP
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/03/japan?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews
The head of Japan's embattled national sport of sumo faced calls to resign today after two wrestlers, including one of his proteges, tested positive for marijuana.
The Japan sumo association said urine tests conducted at several stables yesterday revealed marijuana use by the Russian siblings Roho and Hakurozan.
The revelation of drug use among sportsmen known for their Spartan training methods and supposedly disciplined lifestyle is a huge embarrassment for the sumo authorities.
It comes a fortnight after another Russian, Wakanoho, became the first sumo wrestler to be expelled in the sport's 2,000-year-history. Police found a marijuana cigarette in his wallet, which had been handed in after he dropped it on the street.
Wakanoho, 20, was arrested after admitting he had bought a small quantity of the drug in Roppongi, a notorious entertainment district in Tokyo. A pipe used for smoking cannabis was found in his apartment.
Today's revelations managed to knock the political fallout from prime minister Yasuo Fukuda's sudden resignation off the top of the TV news agenda.
The sumo association said it had carried out surprise tests on all 69 wrestlers in sumo's top two divisions. Only Roho, 28, whose real name the association gave as Boradzov Soslan Feliksovich, and Hakurozan, 26, tested positive, officials said.
"It is possible that they inhaled very recently, probably within the last two days," said Shohei Onishi, a sumo anti-doping official.
Hakurozan, whose real name is Baradzov Batraz Feliksovich, is coached by Kitanoumi, a retired grand champion who now heads the sumo association.
Both wrestlers denied smoking marijuana. "I have never used or even touched the stuff," Roho told reporters. "I want another test to be conducted at a hospital I can trust."
His younger brother said he was confident that further tests would clear his name. "I don't mind of they investigate me or test me," Hakurozan said. "I'm confident that I definitely won't test positive."
Although possession of marijuana is punishable by up to five years in prison, Japanese law carries no penalty for simply smoking it.
Sumo authorities are under mounting pressure to show zero tolerance towards drug use as it battles to salvage its already tarnished reputation.
The ancient sport was rocked earlier this year by the arrest of Junichi Yamamoto, a stable master, on assault charges following accusations that he had ordered the beating by three of his wrestlers of a 17-year-old trainee in June last year. The victim collapsed and died the following day.
Sumo elders have also had to fend off accusations of match fixing and have been ordered to clamp down on the widespread physical abuse of younger wrestlers.
Last year the association banned Asashoryu, one of two reigning "yokozuna" - grand champions - for two tournaments after he was filmed playing in a charity football match in his native Mongolia, despite pulling out of a goodwill sumo claiming to be injured.
Even so, sumo authorities will find it hard to resist charges that it singles out foreign wrestlers for harsh punishments for what many consider minor misdemeanours.
While Asashoryu was forced to sit on the sidelines for three months, Toki, a Japanese wrestler who struck and killed a pedestrian while driving in Osaka in 2000, was banned for just one tournament.
Police said they would examine further test samples from Roho and Hakurozan. The results are expected within the next few days. A second positive result would make it almost impossible for Kitanoumi to stay in his post.
Mitsuru Yaku, a fellow sumo association member, told a TV interviewer that it was "natural" that Kitanoumi would be sacked, adding that he believed more damaging revelations were on the way. "I don't think for a moment that all of the puss has come out," he said.
Kitanoumi, 55, still holds the record as the youngest wrestler to attain the vaunted yokozuna status, at the age of 21 years and two months
More Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes than earlier
Strongest Storms Grow Stronger Yet, Study Says
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/science/04cyclone.html
By KENNETH CHANG
Published: September 3, 2008
A new study finds that the strongest of hurricanes and typhoons have become even stronger over the last two and a half decades, adding grist to the contentious debate over whether global warming has already made storms more destructive.
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Strongest Cyclones Growing Stronger
Related
Dot Earth: Hurricane Expert Reassesses Link to Warming (April 12, 2008)
THE OUTLOOK: Storms Vary With Cycles, Experts Say (August 30, 2005)
A Conversation with Kerry Emanuel: With Findings on Storms, Centrist Recasts Warming Debate (January 10, 2006)
2 Studies Link Global Warming to Greater Power of Hurricanes (May 31, 2006)
Will Warming Lead to a Rise in Hurricanes? (May 29, 2007)
Times Topics: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
Web Link
The increasing intensity of the strongest tropical cyclones (Nature)
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“I think we do see a climate signal here,” said James B. Elsner, a professor of geography at Florida State University who is the lead author of the paper, being published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.
The study, which also found that more typical, less powerful tropical storms had not become stronger over the 26-year period studied, is consistent with other researchers’ hurricane models, Dr. Elsner said.
With oceans expected to continue warming, “one would expect more 4s and 5s,” he said of Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes, those with maximum sustained winds of at least 131 miles per hour.
About 90 tropical cyclone storms form each year around the world. In the Atlantic, the stronger ones, with winds of at least 74 m.p.h., are hurricanes; the equivalents in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are typhoons. Ten named storms have formed in the Atlantic this hurricane season, which continues to the end of November.
Heat from the warming oceans will provide more energy to spin up hurricanes and typhoons, but the changing climate could also heighten conditions like wind shear — winds blowing at different speeds and different directions at different altitudes — that tend to tear a storm apart.
Because of these environmental factors, most storms fall far short of their maximum possible intensity. But Dr. Elsner, along with Thomas H. Jagger, a postdoctoral researcher at Florida State, and James P. Kossin, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reasoned that warmer waters increased the possible intensity and that storms that develop in ideal conditions might have become stronger.
Having examined satellite data from 1981 through 2006, a period in which sea surface temperature rose to 83.3 degrees Fahrenheit from 82.8 degrees, they concluded that the highest wind speeds of the strongest storms averaged 156 m.p.h. in 2006, up from 140 m.p.h. hour in 1981. The increases in cyclone intensity were greatest in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Because the data came from one set of satellites, the scientists avoided some of the calibration difficulties that had troubled earlier studies.
“This study offers definitive evidence that there are more of the very strongest hurricanes around the world, even though the total number of storms globally shows hardly any trend,” said Kerry A. Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who suggested in 2005 that global warming had already intensified cyclones.
Christopher W. Landsea, science and operations manager at the National Hurricane Center, who has been skeptical of the connection, said the statistical methodology in the new study was excellent. But Dr. Landsea questioned the underlying data, particularly corrections for data taken from the Indian Ocean before 1997, when there were fewer satellites observing the storms.
He also said that the conclusions might have been skewed because the starting point of the data, 1981, coincided with a relatively quiet period of Atlantic hurricane activity, whereas the ending point, 2006, coincided with an active period that began around 1995.
“The paper has some elegantly calculated statistics, but these are generated on data that are not, in my opinion, reliable for examining how the strongest tropical cyclones have changed around the world,” Dr. Landsea said.
Thomas R. Knutson of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton said the data involved too short a period to draw long-term conclusions.
“One is left with a very suggestive result and a very interesting result,” Dr. Knutson said, “but it’s not a definitive smoking gun for a greenhouse warming signal on hurricanes.”
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/science/04cyclone.html
By KENNETH CHANG
Published: September 3, 2008
A new study finds that the strongest of hurricanes and typhoons have become even stronger over the last two and a half decades, adding grist to the contentious debate over whether global warming has already made storms more destructive.
Skip to next paragraph
Multimedia
Graphic
Strongest Cyclones Growing Stronger
Related
Dot Earth: Hurricane Expert Reassesses Link to Warming (April 12, 2008)
THE OUTLOOK: Storms Vary With Cycles, Experts Say (August 30, 2005)
A Conversation with Kerry Emanuel: With Findings on Storms, Centrist Recasts Warming Debate (January 10, 2006)
2 Studies Link Global Warming to Greater Power of Hurricanes (May 31, 2006)
Will Warming Lead to a Rise in Hurricanes? (May 29, 2007)
Times Topics: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
Web Link
The increasing intensity of the strongest tropical cyclones (Nature)
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“I think we do see a climate signal here,” said James B. Elsner, a professor of geography at Florida State University who is the lead author of the paper, being published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.
The study, which also found that more typical, less powerful tropical storms had not become stronger over the 26-year period studied, is consistent with other researchers’ hurricane models, Dr. Elsner said.
With oceans expected to continue warming, “one would expect more 4s and 5s,” he said of Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes, those with maximum sustained winds of at least 131 miles per hour.
About 90 tropical cyclone storms form each year around the world. In the Atlantic, the stronger ones, with winds of at least 74 m.p.h., are hurricanes; the equivalents in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are typhoons. Ten named storms have formed in the Atlantic this hurricane season, which continues to the end of November.
Heat from the warming oceans will provide more energy to spin up hurricanes and typhoons, but the changing climate could also heighten conditions like wind shear — winds blowing at different speeds and different directions at different altitudes — that tend to tear a storm apart.
Because of these environmental factors, most storms fall far short of their maximum possible intensity. But Dr. Elsner, along with Thomas H. Jagger, a postdoctoral researcher at Florida State, and James P. Kossin, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reasoned that warmer waters increased the possible intensity and that storms that develop in ideal conditions might have become stronger.
Having examined satellite data from 1981 through 2006, a period in which sea surface temperature rose to 83.3 degrees Fahrenheit from 82.8 degrees, they concluded that the highest wind speeds of the strongest storms averaged 156 m.p.h. in 2006, up from 140 m.p.h. hour in 1981. The increases in cyclone intensity were greatest in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Because the data came from one set of satellites, the scientists avoided some of the calibration difficulties that had troubled earlier studies.
“This study offers definitive evidence that there are more of the very strongest hurricanes around the world, even though the total number of storms globally shows hardly any trend,” said Kerry A. Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who suggested in 2005 that global warming had already intensified cyclones.
Christopher W. Landsea, science and operations manager at the National Hurricane Center, who has been skeptical of the connection, said the statistical methodology in the new study was excellent. But Dr. Landsea questioned the underlying data, particularly corrections for data taken from the Indian Ocean before 1997, when there were fewer satellites observing the storms.
He also said that the conclusions might have been skewed because the starting point of the data, 1981, coincided with a relatively quiet period of Atlantic hurricane activity, whereas the ending point, 2006, coincided with an active period that began around 1995.
“The paper has some elegantly calculated statistics, but these are generated on data that are not, in my opinion, reliable for examining how the strongest tropical cyclones have changed around the world,” Dr. Landsea said.
Thomas R. Knutson of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton said the data involved too short a period to draw long-term conclusions.
“One is left with a very suggestive result and a very interesting result,” Dr. Knutson said, “but it’s not a definitive smoking gun for a greenhouse warming signal on hurricanes.”
Tall sleek 4G nano
Gadgets IPod Nano 4G, iPod Touch 2G to Launch at Press Event September 9iPod nano 4G Rendering (Source: Engadget)
iPod 4G Renderings (Source: iLounge)4G iPod line expected to be announced at event
We haven't heard much from the Apple camp in respect to new products since it launched the iPhone 3G that is currently doing well in the marketplace. Apple is the number one brand in MP3 players with the iPod line sitting far above its competitors on the sales charts.
Rumors have been circulating for a while now that Apple would soon introduce new iPod models. Renderings have been surfacing showing the possible design of the new iPod nano and iPod touch players. Engadget has a rendering of the new iPod nano that is advertising some sort of screen protector for the device.
The 4G nano ditches the short, fat design that was not popular with the 3G nano and returns back to a tall, slim design much closer to the design of previous generation nano players. The 4G nano has a flat screen, but the player itself is rounded on the edges.
Renderings of a new iPod touch have surfaced as well that show it to be in a case very similar to that of the new iPhone 3G. The design change is really no surprise considering the old touch used the same chassis as the original iPhone. According to iLounge, the new iPod nano will measure 38.75mm x 90.75mm x 6.08mm. Those dimensions -- if accurate -- would make the 4G nano slightly taller and thinner than previous nanos.
The rendering also gives the supposed dimensions of the touch as well. The touch is reported to measure 111mm x 61.8mm x 8.4mm -- making it roughly the same size as the original iPod touch.
MacRumors reports that a September 9 press event from Apple has been confirmed. It is assumed the 4G iPod nano and 2G iPod touch will be introduced at this event. Other possible upcoming announcements include updated MacBook and MacBook pro systems.
MacRumors, however, believes that updates to the MacBook won’t come until October though.
iPod 4G Renderings (Source: iLounge)4G iPod line expected to be announced at event
We haven't heard much from the Apple camp in respect to new products since it launched the iPhone 3G that is currently doing well in the marketplace. Apple is the number one brand in MP3 players with the iPod line sitting far above its competitors on the sales charts.
Rumors have been circulating for a while now that Apple would soon introduce new iPod models. Renderings have been surfacing showing the possible design of the new iPod nano and iPod touch players. Engadget has a rendering of the new iPod nano that is advertising some sort of screen protector for the device.
The 4G nano ditches the short, fat design that was not popular with the 3G nano and returns back to a tall, slim design much closer to the design of previous generation nano players. The 4G nano has a flat screen, but the player itself is rounded on the edges.
Renderings of a new iPod touch have surfaced as well that show it to be in a case very similar to that of the new iPhone 3G. The design change is really no surprise considering the old touch used the same chassis as the original iPhone. According to iLounge, the new iPod nano will measure 38.75mm x 90.75mm x 6.08mm. Those dimensions -- if accurate -- would make the 4G nano slightly taller and thinner than previous nanos.
The rendering also gives the supposed dimensions of the touch as well. The touch is reported to measure 111mm x 61.8mm x 8.4mm -- making it roughly the same size as the original iPod touch.
MacRumors reports that a September 9 press event from Apple has been confirmed. It is assumed the 4G iPod nano and 2G iPod touch will be introduced at this event. Other possible upcoming announcements include updated MacBook and MacBook pro systems.
MacRumors, however, believes that updates to the MacBook won’t come until October though.
Hurricanes Hanna and Ike threaten US coasts
Hanna May Reach Hurricane Force; Ike Looms Out at Sea (Update2)
By Demian McLean
Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Hanna skirted the Bahamas after killing dozens in Haiti and threatened to strike the U.S. Southeast as a hurricane.
Farther out to sea, the ``extremely dangerous'' Hurricane Ike was packing 140-mph (225-kph) winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Hanna's eye was about 245 miles (400 kilometers) east of Nassau in the Bahamas and 720 miles south-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, the Hurricane Center said at 11 a.m. Miami time. Winds had weakened slightly to 65 miles per hour.
``The U.S. is getting pounded this season -- the gloves are off,'' said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ``The Carolinas will see winds near hurricane strength from Hanna. And Ike looks troubling, especially for Florida.''
Ike may be over the Bahamas in five days, heading toward southern Florida, NHC forecasts show.
From there, it's unclear whether the Category 4 storm would head northward along the eastern seaboard or into the Gulf of Mexico, Masters said.
The Gulf is home to more than a quarter of U.S. oil production. Crude oil for October delivery fell $2.23, or 2 percent, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reversing an earlier increase.
`Sprawling' Hanna
Hanna is forecast to pass just east of the Bahamas today and head for the Southeast coast of the U.S. tomorrow, possibly with hurricane-force winds, of at least 74 mph. The system is ``sprawling,'' the center said, with tropical-storm force winds, from 39 to 73 mph, extending 290 miles from the eye.
Hanna roared off Hispaniola's northern coast for two days, flooding the island, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, and the Dominican Republic have been hit by Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav in the past three weeks.
Hanna has already killed at least 61 people in Haiti, where rains inundated Gonaives, a city of 300,000 north of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, according to the Associated Press.
A hurricane watch was issued for the U.S. East Coast from Surf City, North Carolina, to the vicinity of Edisto Beach, South Carolina. A tropical-storm watch stretched southward from Edisto Beach to Altamaha Sound, Georgia.
Storm Swells
``Swells from Hanna are expected to increase the risk of dangerous rip currents along portions of the southeastern United States coast during the next couple of days,'' the hurricane center said in its advisory.
Residents in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina should develop emergency plans and prepare emergency kits including medicine, food, water and batteries to support themselves for 72 hours, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a statement on its Web Site.
Virginia declared a state of emergency today and warned of heavy rain and tropical-storm winds from Hanna.
Ike strengthened into the third major hurricane of the June 1-Nov. 1 Atlantic season.
Ike is a Category 4 storm, the second-strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the center said. The hurricane's eye was 525 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest. The system may weaken over the next day or two.
To the east of Ike, Tropical Storm Josephine weakened, with sustained winds at 50 mph. It was about 520 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde islands and moving west-northwest.
By Demian McLean
Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Hanna skirted the Bahamas after killing dozens in Haiti and threatened to strike the U.S. Southeast as a hurricane.
Farther out to sea, the ``extremely dangerous'' Hurricane Ike was packing 140-mph (225-kph) winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Hanna's eye was about 245 miles (400 kilometers) east of Nassau in the Bahamas and 720 miles south-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, the Hurricane Center said at 11 a.m. Miami time. Winds had weakened slightly to 65 miles per hour.
``The U.S. is getting pounded this season -- the gloves are off,'' said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ``The Carolinas will see winds near hurricane strength from Hanna. And Ike looks troubling, especially for Florida.''
Ike may be over the Bahamas in five days, heading toward southern Florida, NHC forecasts show.
From there, it's unclear whether the Category 4 storm would head northward along the eastern seaboard or into the Gulf of Mexico, Masters said.
The Gulf is home to more than a quarter of U.S. oil production. Crude oil for October delivery fell $2.23, or 2 percent, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reversing an earlier increase.
`Sprawling' Hanna
Hanna is forecast to pass just east of the Bahamas today and head for the Southeast coast of the U.S. tomorrow, possibly with hurricane-force winds, of at least 74 mph. The system is ``sprawling,'' the center said, with tropical-storm force winds, from 39 to 73 mph, extending 290 miles from the eye.
Hanna roared off Hispaniola's northern coast for two days, flooding the island, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, and the Dominican Republic have been hit by Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav in the past three weeks.
Hanna has already killed at least 61 people in Haiti, where rains inundated Gonaives, a city of 300,000 north of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, according to the Associated Press.
A hurricane watch was issued for the U.S. East Coast from Surf City, North Carolina, to the vicinity of Edisto Beach, South Carolina. A tropical-storm watch stretched southward from Edisto Beach to Altamaha Sound, Georgia.
Storm Swells
``Swells from Hanna are expected to increase the risk of dangerous rip currents along portions of the southeastern United States coast during the next couple of days,'' the hurricane center said in its advisory.
Residents in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina should develop emergency plans and prepare emergency kits including medicine, food, water and batteries to support themselves for 72 hours, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a statement on its Web Site.
Virginia declared a state of emergency today and warned of heavy rain and tropical-storm winds from Hanna.
Ike strengthened into the third major hurricane of the June 1-Nov. 1 Atlantic season.
Ike is a Category 4 storm, the second-strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the center said. The hurricane's eye was 525 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest. The system may weaken over the next day or two.
To the east of Ike, Tropical Storm Josephine weakened, with sustained winds at 50 mph. It was about 520 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde islands and moving west-northwest.
Motorcycle club The Mongols
San Francisco police are investigating a shooting that took place Wednesday night that claimed the life of the city’s Hells Angels president Mark Guardado.
Guardado, 46, who headed up the Hells Angels chapter in San Francisco, had been outside a bar in the city’s Mission District when he was gunned down.
Suspicion for Guardado’s murder has already been cast on rival motorcycle club The Mongols who have a history of violent encounters with the Hells Angels. The Mongols are based in Southern California but have chapters in the north of the state as well.
Police now fear a reprisal; they have bumped up their presence in the area to protect the safety of residents.
Guardado, 46, who headed up the Hells Angels chapter in San Francisco, had been outside a bar in the city’s Mission District when he was gunned down.
Suspicion for Guardado’s murder has already been cast on rival motorcycle club The Mongols who have a history of violent encounters with the Hells Angels. The Mongols are based in Southern California but have chapters in the north of the state as well.
Police now fear a reprisal; they have bumped up their presence in the area to protect the safety of residents.
Motorcycle club "The Mongols "
Mark Guardado, President of San Francisco’s Hells Angels Branch, Killed in Shooting
Atlanta, Ga. 9/04/2008 04:11 PM GMT (TransWorldNews)
San Francisco police are investigating a shooting that took place Wednesday night that claimed the life of the city’s Hells Angels president Mark Guardado.
Guardado, 46, who headed up the Hells Angels chapter in San Francisco, had been outside a bar in the city’s Mission District when he was gunned down.
Suspicion for Guardado’s murder has already been cast on rival motorcycle club The Mongols who have a history of violent encounters with the Hells Angels. The Mongols are based in Southern California but have chapters in the north of the state as well.
Police now fear a reprisal; they have bumped up their presence in the area to protect the safety of residents
Atlanta, Ga. 9/04/2008 04:11 PM GMT (TransWorldNews)
San Francisco police are investigating a shooting that took place Wednesday night that claimed the life of the city’s Hells Angels president Mark Guardado.
Guardado, 46, who headed up the Hells Angels chapter in San Francisco, had been outside a bar in the city’s Mission District when he was gunned down.
Suspicion for Guardado’s murder has already been cast on rival motorcycle club The Mongols who have a history of violent encounters with the Hells Angels. The Mongols are based in Southern California but have chapters in the north of the state as well.
Police now fear a reprisal; they have bumped up their presence in the area to protect the safety of residents
VAIO recall : Important Notification for the Sony VAIO® TZ Series
To find out if your VAIO notebook is one of the affected units, please visit this link: http://esupport.sony.com/fixmypc. You will be prompted to input your product code and serial number located on the bottom of the notebook. It will be checked automatically against the range of affected units. If you find that your PC is one of the affected models, follow the instructions on the website and make arrangements for an inspection. You may also call our VAIO TZ customer hotline at 1-888-526-6219 to determine whether your notebook computer is affected by this issue and whether service is required.
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?template_id=1&news_id=272
Dear Valued Sony VAIO Customer, Sony takes pride in the quality of its products. Recently, we became aware of a potential issue affecting the following notebook PC models:
VGN-TZ100 series
VGN-TZ200 series
VGN-TZ300 series
VGN-TZ2000 series
The issue involves a small number of units which may overheat due to a wiring problem. Sony has initiated a voluntary program to perform a free inspection and, if necessary, a repair to ensure these units meet our high quality standards.
At no charge, Sony will provide an inspection and, if necessary, on-site repair at your home or office. Alternatively, you can ship your notebook to our service center. The satisfaction of our customers is our number one concern, and we will work diligently to ensure that your VAIO notebook is in top working order. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your support in this matter. Sincerely, Mike Abary,Senior Vice President, VAIOSony Electronics Inc.
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?template_id=1&news_id=272
Dear Valued Sony VAIO Customer, Sony takes pride in the quality of its products. Recently, we became aware of a potential issue affecting the following notebook PC models:
VGN-TZ100 series
VGN-TZ200 series
VGN-TZ300 series
VGN-TZ2000 series
The issue involves a small number of units which may overheat due to a wiring problem. Sony has initiated a voluntary program to perform a free inspection and, if necessary, a repair to ensure these units meet our high quality standards.
At no charge, Sony will provide an inspection and, if necessary, on-site repair at your home or office. Alternatively, you can ship your notebook to our service center. The satisfaction of our customers is our number one concern, and we will work diligently to ensure that your VAIO notebook is in top working order. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your support in this matter. Sincerely, Mike Abary,Senior Vice President, VAIOSony Electronics Inc.
Sarah Palin: Republicans lied about the teleprompter problem
Palin's teleprompter broke: speech was from memory
Halfway through Sarah Palin's speech tonight at the RNC, people following the speech noticed she was deviating from the prepared text.According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks. As a result, half way through the speech, the speech had scrolled significantly from where Governor Palin was in the speech. The malfunction also occurred during Rudy Giuliani's speech, explaining his significant deviations from his speech.Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory, to deliver her speech without the teleprompter cued to the appropriate point in her speech.Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved.Palin's teleprompter broke: speech was from memory: According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks. As a result, half way through the speech, the speech had scrolled significantly from where Governor Palin was in the speech. The malfunction also occurred during Rudy Giuliani's speech, explaining his significant deviations from his speech.Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory, to deliver her speech without the teleprompter cued to the appropriate point in her speech.Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved."________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pasadena Jewish Temple: Come hear Roz Rothstein, founder and Executive Director of Stand With Us speak at Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center on September 10, 2008 at 7:30 pm, 1434 North Altadena Drive, Pasadena CA, 91107 on The New Anti-Semitism on Campus, on the Internet, and in Churches. Question & Answer session after talk. Refreshments to follow. The opinions expressed in From the Exile are not the opinions of Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center or PJTC
Halfway through Sarah Palin's speech tonight at the RNC, people following the speech noticed she was deviating from the prepared text.According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks. As a result, half way through the speech, the speech had scrolled significantly from where Governor Palin was in the speech. The malfunction also occurred during Rudy Giuliani's speech, explaining his significant deviations from his speech.Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory, to deliver her speech without the teleprompter cued to the appropriate point in her speech.Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved.Palin's teleprompter broke: speech was from memory: According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks. As a result, half way through the speech, the speech had scrolled significantly from where Governor Palin was in the speech. The malfunction also occurred during Rudy Giuliani's speech, explaining his significant deviations from his speech.Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory, to deliver her speech without the teleprompter cued to the appropriate point in her speech.Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved."________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pasadena Jewish Temple: Come hear Roz Rothstein, founder and Executive Director of Stand With Us speak at Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center on September 10, 2008 at 7:30 pm, 1434 North Altadena Drive, Pasadena CA, 91107 on The New Anti-Semitism on Campus, on the Internet, and in Churches. Question & Answer session after talk. Refreshments to follow. The opinions expressed in From the Exile are not the opinions of Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center or PJTC
NSG waiver? Countries oppose India's entry into Nuclear club
Vienna (PTI): A number of countries on Thursday raised questions over grant of waiver to India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting here as the US pushed New Delhi's case hoping for an early consensus on the issue. The NSG, which opened its two-day meetingon Thursday to consider whether or not to allow India to have civil nuclear trade with international community, saw countries having reservations over the waiver raise "important questions that need to be addressed". "The US believes firmly that the steps we are considering for India will strengthen non-proliferation and help to welcome one of the world's largest economies and biggest democracies more fully into the global fold," US Under Secretary of State William Burns told reporters. "I believe they are making steady progress in this process and we will continue to make progress," he said. Burns, who is leading the US delegation at the crucial meeting, said a number of countries raised "important questions that need to be addressed". Sceptic countries including New Zealand, Austria, Ireland and Switzerland are not satisfied even with the revised text that has a provision for regular information by the NSG head about New Delhi's adherence to its guidelines on global atomic trade, a move aimed at mollifying the critics. These countries want certain "elements" added in it saying it would be beneficial for the international non-proliferation architecture. The US official, who presented a revised draft waiver at the meeting, said the discussions have been "constructive and clearly aimed at reaching an early consensus." Underlining that there was a "historic opportunity" to end India's three decades of isolation in the nuclear field, Burns said "that opportunity warrants extraordinary efforts we are making." He said the US is determined to continue to do "all we can by working with NSG partners and India to realise that opportunity." Ahead of the meeting of the 45-nation grouping, an official of one of the sceptic countries told PTI "it is clear that the package which is before us (NSG) still needs some work to achieve the outcome which can be the net gain to the quality of international security architecture." India is keeping its "fingers crossed" and hoping that the US would be able to convince the nuclear cartel for clearing the way for nuclear commerce. Signalling difficulties for the draft proposal, the sceptic countries on Wednesday held a strategy session here to discuss how to approach the meeting. These countries "exchanged ideas" over the matter, an official said. "We recognise the energy needs of India. We recognise importance India attaches to the (Indo-US) agreement. Everybody respects that. But we need to achieve results that would mean net gain for the international non-proliferation structure," he said. "We are going to approach the meeting with a constructive and positive spirit because we are interested in reaching the agreement, but one which strengthens the international nuclear structure," he said. "NPT is one of the pillars of this architecture and nothing should undermine this. Reaching an agreement which will benefit everybody concerned will require imagination and creativity." The US prepared the revised draft after at least 15 countries sought amendments in the text during the last meeting of the grouping on August 21-22.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Woman kills infant son, hangs self
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Woman_kills_infant_son_hangs_self_/articleshow/3439072.cms
Mohana married Murugan (40), her mother's brother, 11 years ago. They stayed with their children - 9-year-old Bharath and one-and-a-halfyear-old Saipavan - at Bashyamnagar in Srirampura . Mohana taught at a nearby school for a while but quit to look after the second child.
At 7 pm on Monday, Murugan returned home and asked his elder son about Mohana. Bharath said she had locked herself in the bedroom. When she did not open despite several knocks, Murugan broke the door with the help of neighbours , to find his wife and son dead. Their bodies were taken to Victoria Hospital.
Her four-page suicide note said she was tired of life and wanted more comforts. As her husband's income wasn't enough, she resolved to kill herself as well as her younger son.
But police suspect the suicide has more to do with an affair she reportedly had with a person who frequented the house. Her family apparently knew about this but kept mum.
Woman succumbs to burns
Uma (32) of Chandra Layout, who was admitted to Victoria Hospital on Saturday with 80% burns, succumbed on Monday.
While she claimed her sari caught fire while she was cooking, police suspect it was a suicide attempt.
She worked in a garment factory and has an 8-year-old daughter.
Wife, paramour among 8 held for plotting husband's murder
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Wife_paramour_among_8_held_for_plotting_husbands_murder/articleshow/3441432.cms
BANGALORE: The wife of the owner of a men's parlour and her paramour were among the eight arrested by the local police on charges of plotting the murder of her husband.
Prabhavati and her paramour Biresh had hired six persons to lure her husband Vasu, the owner of OK Men's parlour, on August 17 to Mandya under the pretext of showing him some land to be purchased.
On reaching the place, the six strangled him to death with wires and subsequently burnt his body.
The police had registered a man missing case after his disappearance.
However, following investigation, police cracked the case and stumbled upon clues that led to Prabhavati, her paramour and six others being arrested for the murder.
Police also recovered the vehicle, the petrol can, the wires used to commit the crime.
Prabhavati and her paramour Biresh had hired six persons to lure her husband Vasu, the owner of OK Men's parlour, on August 17 to Mandya under the pretext of showing him some land to be purchased.
On reaching the place, the six strangled him to death with wires and subsequently burnt his body.
The police had registered a man missing case after his disappearance.
However, following investigation, police cracked the case and stumbled upon clues that led to Prabhavati, her paramour and six others being arrested for the murder.
Police also recovered the vehicle, the petrol can, the wires used to commit the crime.
Sarah Palin and India
Sarah Palin is defined by feminists as role model despite her daughter having a teen pregnancy. The methodology of role models in India is different. Such mothers like Sarah Palin are looked as bad parent, woman parent or male parent.
If this were accepted in India, it would tantamount to accepting child marriage on pregnancy effect.
Another things it tells people around the world, that good person for world politics is not 100% successful family person,
Sarah Palin has five children and she was once a beauty queen. Her aspiration to go for VP supersedes her traditional womanly role to help her daughter. It is useless to blame the media to create focus when mothers like Sarah are greedy and selfish to the outside core of human realms.
The Republicans have shown that they win at any cost , even the cost of th grandchild of their VP. Shame on the VP and not to forget , she needs additional attention on the child with down Syndrome.
Understandably, this prospect is making many Americans — including some from the Republican Party — jittery.
Palin has two years as governor of Alaska and two terms as mayor of Wasilla, a suburb with a population of a little over 5,000 people according to the 2000 census, to show for political experience. The vice-president in America, unlike in India, has a substantial stake in governance. Consider, for instance, the enormous influence wielded by Dick Cheney in the George W Bush administration. Palin, critics point out, is not equipped to play the part. Her grasp over national security and foreign affairs — two issues that are at the heart of America’s current concerns — is unproven and that’s fuelling fears among voters who do not know what to expect should she have to step into McCain’s shoes at some point.
Her nomination is also calling into question, once more, McCain’s judgment and ability to take crucial decisions. He has been criticised on both counts by his detractors in the past and throughout this campaign. Known to be somewhat of a maverick and at times intemperate, he’s not particularly popular with the evangelical crowd — a vital Republican constituency — and has been trying to bridge the divide. This could explain, in part, his choice of Palin. She’s militantly pro-life, proven by her decision to have a child even when she knew it was going to be born with Down’s syndrome, and is supporting her 17-year-old pregnant daughter’s decision to keep the baby.
In many ways, Palin is the conservative right’s poster girl. She is committed to oil drilling, backs teaching of intelligent design in schools, supports the rights of citizens to own guns and is an accomplished hunter herself. Some observers believe McCain might have chosen her to woo women voters who were disappointed that Hillary Clinton lost out to Barack Obama. That might not work because Palin and Clinton represent very different values and it’s cynical to assume that identity politics, and not issues, determines how women vote.
Beta Chrome, sweet or not set to fight IE in India
http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/3441195.cms
Having launched its browser on Tuesday, Google will now go all out in a war against Microsoft's Internet Explorer by sewing up distribution agreements for its browser Chrome beta with cyber cafe owners in countries like India to take on Microsoft's OEM bundling strength.
This was stated by Sundar Pichai, Google's vice-president for product development and incharge of Chrome development. In a chat with Indiatimes Infotech over video-conferencing from Google's Mountain View headquarters late on Tuesday night (US time), Pichai said Google recognised Microsoft's strength in the browser space as it is the browser of choice for most desktop vendors worldwide.
The company will also work pro-actively with the enterprise users and developers alike.
http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2008/09/chrome_sweet_ch.html
Chrome sweet Chrome?
It's all Chrome, all the time, here on the InterWeb. Does Google's browser beta live up to the hype? Well, yes and no. Cringely has more.
Google finally enters the browser business (finally fulfilling years of rumors), and you'd think there was nothing else going on in the world -- no political conventions starring pistol-packing ex-beauty queens with pregnant teenage daughters, no hurricanes turning the weather over the southeast into the world's biggest daiquiri machine. Nope, nothing but all browsers all the time.
Everyone and their dog is doing back flips trying to review the browser before anyone else. So there's a lot of Chrome out there on the Web today, some of it more polished than others.
But first, a question. Before it made the Chrome beta available, Google felt compelled to publish a comic book describing its many technical wonderments. So: Why is it everyone feels the need to generate comic books to explain things to us? (Or, for that matter, why Hollywood would be dead without Marvel or DC Comics?) Have Americans grown into such dim bulbs that we need pictures to understand anything?
Having watched two weeks of political conventions on TV, I'm thinking the answer might be yes.
Now, the browser. I spent the first 10 minutes using Chrome feeling rather dim myself because I could not locate the friggin' "home" icon. Then I discovered why: Google hid it. You have to go to Chrome's Options menu to turn it on. So it seems the wattage coming out of Google isn't as high as it used to be either.
Otherwise, though, Chrome is amazingly nimble and stable, page loads are lightning fast, and it runs rings around Firefox and IE in terms of system resources. I opened 25 tabs at a time, trying to see when it would hit the wall. It didn't. And total memory usage was still under 100MB, though it's hard to tell exactly since Chrome seems to open separate executables for each tab. That also means if one page crashes, it doesn't take your whole browser with it (at least, theoretically).
I've never managed to open more than 10 tabs or windows inside IE without it bringing my system to its knees. I can do more than 20 in Firefox, but then it starts to waddle like Rosie O'Donnell carrying a 30-pound Butterball between her thighs. So Chrome lives up to the hype in that regard.
Now for the downside. As Infoworld's Paul Venezia notes, it still lacks plug ins for Java and Shockwave. Technologizer's Harry McCracken also notes that Chrome is innovative and impressive, but woefully incomplete: It doesn't support RSS or even the Google Toolbar (hmm, shades of Microsoft there). The always list-happy PC World offers up seven reasons to love Chrome and seven reasons to hate it -- with the biggie being #5 on the hate list: by using Chrome, you're handing yet another slice of your privacy over to Google. And once they finally turn evil -- fahgeddaboutit.
Of course, Chrome is an early beta that will add plug ins and features over time. I'm sure the warts will also grow more obvious.
Some analysts are saying Chrome is the dagger that will strike Microsoft in the heart. (Though I'm pretty sure you need to kill vampires with a wooden stake.) I think they got the plot right but the characters wrong. If any one is going to get thrown under Google's Chrome wheels, it will be Firefox. Internet Explorer is still protected by Newton's Third Law of User Inertia: As long as it still works, most people will be unmotivated to change. It's why AOL is still around after all these years.
Those who seek alternatives like Firefox will naturally be attracted to the open source Chrome, which bears more than a fair resemblance to it. And Mozilla gets nearly all of its revenues from a search deal with Google. I can't imagine the G-men continuing to do that once Chrome comes out of beta (my prediction: 2012). After that, well, buh-bye Firefox, it's been nice knowin' ya.
Now: When they start selling 2-pound notebooks with just Chrome on them as an OS and everything in the cloud, that's when Microsoft needs to worry. I'd certainly line up to buy one. Wouldn't you?
Is Chrome a Windows killer? Or are we all suffering from browser fatigue? Post your thoughts below or email them to me: cringe (at) infoworld (dot) com.
Posted by Robert X. Cringely on September 3, 2008 07:40 AM
Google Chrome Browser 0.2.149.27
http://evilfingers.com/advisory/google_chrome_poc.php?tag=mncol;txt lists the first security flaw of google chrome
Bush letter creates panic ahead of NSG meet
New Delhi/Washington, Sep 3 (IANS) A 'secret letter' reportedly written by the Bush administration assuring the US Congress that Washington will terminate nuclear trade with India if New Delhi conducted a nuclear test has created a fresh row with opposition parties accusing the Manmohan Singh government of misleading the country on the nuclear deal.
The Bush administration told this to Congress in correspondence that remained secret for nine months but was made public only Tuesday by Representative Howard L. Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The dramatic disclosure comes just a day ahead of the second special meeting of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna. The two-day conclave from Thursday will consider a revised draft to grant India a clean waiver from the existing rules of global nuclear commerce.
A list of 45 questions on the nuclear deal was submitted to the State Department by Berman's predecessor Tom Lantos way back in October 2007 and answers were sent on Jan 16, 2008.
'The answers were considered so sensitive, particularly because the debate over the agreement in India could have toppled the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the State Department requested they remain secret even though they were not classified,' according to the Washington Post which quoted a spokesman for Berman as saying he had made the answers public because the US Congress must have 'relevant information'.
The disclosure seemed to contradict the Bush administration's stated intention to push for a clean waiver in the NSG.
US ambassador to India David Mulford, however, clarified in New Delhi that there was nothing secretive about the Jan 16, 2008 letter by the State Department, which runs into 26 pages.
The letter 'contains no new conditions and there is no data in this letter which has not already been shared in an open and transparent way with members of the Congress and with the government of India,' Mulford said.
The letter says the US would help India deal only with 'disruptions in supply to India that may result through no fault of its own,' such as a trade war or market disruptions.
'The fuel supply assurances are not, however, meant to insulate India against the consequences of a nuclear explosive test or a violation of non-proliferation commitments,' the letter said.
The report may embolden sceptics in the NSG to demand the inclusion of a reference to testing in the India-specific waiver.
New Delhi has made it clear that it will not accept a waiver from the NSG if it contained prescriptive provisions like testing, periodic review of India's compliance with non-proliferation norms and curbs on export of reprocessing and enrichment technologies.
Manmohan Singh has assured parliament many a time that India has not sacrificed its strategic deterrence and right to test a nuclear device in the 123 bilateral nuclear agreement it has signed with the US.
Leading opposition parties in India and critics of the nuclear deal have predictably seized on the report to attack the government over what it called 'misrepresentation' of the nuclear deal.
'With this revelation it has become clear that the Congress party has misled the nation since beginning. We will go to public about this and would renegotiate the deal if we come in power,' Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) spokesman Prakash Javadekar told IANS.
The Communist parties, which withdrew their support to the Congress-led ruling coalition over the nuclear deal, touted the 'secret letter' as clear evidence of their 'worst suspicions coming true'.
'It contradicts what the prime minister has said. The prime minister has misrepresented facts to parliament,' D. Raja, a leader of the Communist Party of India, told reporters.
'This agreement is not in India's interest as it will reduce India to a junior military ally of US imperialism,' he charged.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said in a statement: 'The Manmohan Singh government stands thoroughly exposed before the country for compromising India's vital security interests.
'Proceeding with this deal will mortgage India's sovereignty and make India's civilian nuclear programme vulnerable to US blackmail for the next forty years.'
The CPI-M demanded that the Congress-led government 'suspend all further moves to operationalise the anti-national nuclear deal'.
The United Progressive Alliance government, however, quickly went on a damage-control exercise and assured that India is only bound by the 123 bilateral agreement it has finalized with the US.
'India is only bound by the 123 bilateral agreement which is an international agreement,' Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
'There is nothing to get worried about. We don't need to re-look and re-examine the agreement,' he added.
Despite it putting on a brave front, there is considerable concern in the government about the likely negative fallout of such disclosure on discussions in the NSG. Sceptics may seize on this and confront the US with charges of double standards saying it was asking them to do things which Washington will never allow.
Department of Atomic Energy chief Anil Kakodkar, a key interlocutor on the nuclear deal, has been called by the political leadership to New Delhi for consultations on how to counter the likely negative repercussions of such disclosures in the NSG.
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