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Beckham shows off undies in TV ad
Labels: LifestyleiPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.In letter, Sue Paterno defends late husband
Labels: HealthSTATE COLLEGE, Pa. Breaking more than a year of silence, Sue Paterno is defending her late husband as a "moral, disciplined" man who never twisted the truth to avoid bad publicity.
The wife of the former Penn State coach is fighting back against the accusations against Joe Paterno that followed the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Her campaign started with a letter sent Friday to former Penn State players.
She wrote that the family's exhaustive response to former FBI director Louis Freeh's report for the university on the Sandusky child sex abuse case will officially be released to the public at 9 a.m. Sunday on paterno.com.
Freeh in July accused Joe Paterno and three university officials of covering up allegations against Sandusky, a retired defensive coordinator. Less than two weeks later, the NCAA levied unprecedented sanctions on the program that Joe Paterno built into one of the most well-known in college football.
"When the Freeh report was released last July, I was as shocked as anyone by the findings and by Mr. Freeh's extraordinary attack on Joe's character and integrity. I did not recognize the man Mr. Freeh described," Sue Paterno wrote. "I am here to tell you as definitively and forcefully as I know how that Mr. Freeh could not have been more wrong in his assessment of Joe."
The family directed its attorney, Washington lawyer Wick Sollers, to assemble experts to review Freeh's findings and Joe Paterno's actions, Sue Paterno wrote.
She did not offer details on findings in the letter, "except to say that they unreservedly and forcefully confirm my beliefs about Joe's conduct.
"In addition, they present a passionate and persuasive critique of the Freeh report as a total disservice to the victims of Sandusky and the cause of preventing child sex offenses," Sue Paterno wrote.
Sue Paterno said neither Freeh's report, nor the NCAA's actions, should "close the book" on the scandal.
"This cannot happen," she wrote. "The Freeh report failed and if it is not challenged and corrected, nothing worthwhile will have come from these tragic events."
In a statement released through a spokesman, Penn State called Sue Paterno "an important and valued member of the Penn State community.
Joe Paterno, 1926-2012
"We have and continue to appreciate all of her work on behalf of the university," the school said. "She has touched many lives and continues to be an inspiration to many Penn Staters."
The Associated Press left messages Friday for representatives for Freeh.
Sandusky's arrest in November 2011, triggered the sweeping scandal, including the firing of Paterno and the departure under pressure of Graham Spanier as president days later. Prosecutors filed perjury and failure to report charges against former athletic director Tim Curley and retired vice president Gary Schultz.
Sandusky, 69, was sentenced last fall to at least 30 years in prison in after being convicted in June on 45 criminal counts. Prosecutors said allegations occurred on and off campus.
"The crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky are heartbreaking," Sue Paterno, who has five children and 17 grandchildren, wrote. "It is incomprehensible to me that anyone could intentionally harm a child. I think of the victims daily and I pray that God will heal their wounds and comfort their souls."
Freeh released his findings the following month. His team conducted 430 interviews and analyzed over 3.5 million emails and documents, his report said.
"Taking into account the available witness statements and evidence, it is more reasonable to conclude that, in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at Penn State University — Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley — repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse" from authorities, trustees and the university community, Freeh wrote in releasing the report.
Less than two weeks later, Penn State hastily took down the bronze statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium. The next day, the NCAA said Freeh's report presented "an unprecedented failure of institutional integrity leading to a culture in which a football program was held in higher esteem."
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Blizzard Drops 2 Feet of Snow on Northeast
Labels: Business
A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force wind gusts and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast overnight, where more than 650,000 homes and businesses in the densely populated region lost power and New Englanders awoke Saturday to more than 2 feet of snow.
More than 34 inches of snow fell in Hamden in central Connecticut, and an 82-mph wind gust was recorded down the coastline in Westport. Areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched at least 2 feet — with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and the three major airports serving New York City as well as Boston's Logan Airport closed.
Flooding was also a concern along the coast, and the possibility led to the evacuation of two neighborhoods in Quincy, Mass., said Fire Deputy Gary Smith.
All roads were ordered closed Saturday in Connecticut, where the storm made travel nearly impossible even for emergency responders who found themselves stuck on highways. In Maine, officials said numerous vehicles, including several state police cars, were also stuck in deep snow and warned stranded drivers to expect long waits for tow trucks or other assistance.
Even the U.S. Postal Service closed post offices and suspended mail delivery Saturday in New England.
Blizzard 2013: Boston Families Brace for Extreme Weather Watch Video
The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, it also could mean a weekend cooped up indoors.
A little more than 11 inches fell in New York City, where carpenter Kevin Byrne was using a scraper to dig out his car Saturday and was relieved the storm hadn't hit the city more strongly. He said he'd taken his shovel out of his car and left it at home.
"I wasn't prepared. ... But was anybody prepared? The last two winters have been so mild," he said. "I've been meaning to buy a salt spreader all winter long, but I just kept putting it off."
Nearly 22 inches of snow fell in Boston and up to 3 feet was expected, the National Weather Service said, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches. In the heavily Catholic city, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent and reminded them that, under church law, the requirement to attend Sunday Mass "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."
Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup Friday in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars got stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday, and dozens remained disabled early Saturday as police worked to free them.
About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.
At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shoveling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.
Life savings: Inside London's brain bank
Labels: WorldNew Scientist visits the lab where brains are sliced in search of the underlying mechanisms of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's
FOR 12 years, the man in front of me lived with Parkinson's: he had a stammer; he dragged his left foot. At 79, his mental faculties were slowing - but strangely, he didn't have the tremors we normally associate with the disease.
When I say he is in front of me, what I mean to say is that his central nervous system - his brain and spinal column - is laid out before me. I am in a dissection room at the Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London.
Neuropathologist Steve Gentleman rotates the man's brain in his gloved hands. With a scalpel he removes the olfactory bulb at the base - sometimes this is smaller in Parkinson's patients, and if it is, they lose their sense of smell. Gentleman points out a slight thickening in the cranial carotid artery, one of the main blood supplies to the brain. "A bit of atherosclerotic build-up, to be expected in a man of this age."
Next, Gentleman locates a couple of bits of tissue under the brain called the mammillary bodies. Using them as a kind of grid reference, he slices the brain in two with what resembles a large bread knife. It opens like a walnut.
"Straight away I can see that the ventricles are very wide," says Gentleman, who has dissected around 1000 brains in his career. "It is consistent with the long progression of the disease."
In the laboratories around us is a small but valuable bank into which about 900 people have made a deposit - one might say the ultimate deposit. The UK Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Tissue Bank contains more than 100,000 individual samples of frozen brain tissue. Some 9000 people have pledged to donate their central nervous systems when they die. The bodies are returned to families for funerals; even an open casket funeral is possible as the brain and spinal cord are removed from the back.
Neuroscientists from around the world apply to the bank for samples, and if successful, they only have to pay for postage. "There's a growing demand, as animal models aren't mirroring the diseases too well," says David Dexter, director of the bank.
Parkinson's disease affects 1 in 1000 people, and in the over-60s, 1 in 100. Multiple sclerosis on the other hand is more likely in younger adults, affecting between 2 and 150 people per 100,000. Both are debilitating neurodegenerative disorders. Drugs can treat the symptoms but in both cases the underlying trigger is unknown. Damage to the insulating cell sheaths in MS cannot be halted or reversed, nor can the death of dopamine-producing cells that are a hallmark of Parkinson's. "The holy grail is to develop neuroprotection," says Dexter.
That is what Dexter is working towards. In his latest publication, he and colleagues examined brain bank tissue and found that the X chromosome is less active in the brains of people with neurological disorders (Frontiers in Neuroscience, doi.org/j8p). Dexter also wants to look at links between epigenetic factors and disease. These chemical modifications of DNA play an important part in controlling how genes are expressed. From donated brain tissue, Dexter has found that part of the epigenetic modification system can inhibit the tightening of the coils of DNA. This seems to protect against Parkinson's.
"As we live longer, more and more of us are going to be affected," Dexter says. "If you look at the 'normal' brains that come into the bank, about 15 per cent actually aren't normal - they've got early stages of a neurodegenerative disease."
Thirty minutes or so later, Gentleman has finished the dissection. Brain tissue is spread out over the table in neat 10 millimetre slices, like some kind of macabre deli counter. "The convolutions of the brain are like fingerprints - no two are the same," he says. "These were individuals. I still see it as a privilege to dissect them. But I have to have a practical disconnect, and I still have no idea how a pile of fat - a lot of lipid membranes - can represent a person."
This article appeared in print under the headline "Your brain in their hands"
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54 SAF servicemen awarded Overseas Service Medal
Labels: Technology
SINGAPORE: Fifty-four servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) were awarded the Overseas Service Medal at Pasir Laba Camp on Friday.
The award was given in recognition of the servicemen's contributions to the SAF's overseas operations in Afghanistan and Timor-Leste.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who presented the medals, praised the men for demonstrating a high level of skill, professionalism and resilience while carrying out their duties.
Dr Ng said the servicemen helped establish the SAF's reputation as an operationally-ready, reliable and professional partner among the international community.
He added that SAF will be concluding its deployments in Afghanistan in June this year.
- CNA/al
LA police search for ex-cop who says he's out to get them
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Winter storm moving into area where the search for the suspect is concentrated
- Police believe Christopher Jordan Dorner shot three other officers, killing one
- This was days after he allegedly killed two people, one a retired LAPD officer's daughter
- In an 11-page manifesto, Dorner promises "war" on police and their families
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Police continued the massive manhunt for Christopher Dorner early Friday in a Southern California mountain town as a severe winter storm that may help cover the tracks of the suspected cop killer moved in.
As quickly as Dorner emerged on the scene with his guns, bravado and bitter manifesto, the burly man, who is a suspect in three murders, disappeared, it seemed.
Investigators suspect him of killing a police officer, and another officer's daughter and fiance, to settle a score for what he called an unjust firing.
Early Friday, it seemed for a while that the focus of the search had shifted to the San Diego area, where a caller told authorities that Dorner may have been spotted near the Barona Indian Reservation. Officers were searching that area, said Sgt. Jason Rothlein of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. He later said the phone call was probably a hoax.
Police on Thursday afternoon found the military-trained marksman's torched pickup truck near Big Bear Lake, about 100 miles east of the Los Angeles area where the killings took place.
Despite hundreds of officers, helicopters and door-to-door searches, everybody was still looking for Dorner on Friday morning.
If Dorner is still in the mountains, an approaching snowstorm could make the search for him more difficult. Early Friday, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area, with up to 10 inches of snow possible. Paired with gusty winds up to 50 mph, visibility could be reduced to a quarter-mile and temperatures could plunge to 6 degrees Fahrenheit, the weather service said.
He wants revenge
Dorner, authorities said, is bent on vengeance against Los Angeles Police Department officers he claims ruined his life by forcing him out of his dream job. The 270-pound former Navy lieutenant detailed his rage in an 11-page manifesto. In that letter -- provided to CNN by an LAPD source -- he vowed to violently target police officers and their families, whoever and wherever they are.
"I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," Dorner wrote.
"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours."
Authorities believe he followed through on his threats early Thursday by shooting three people, including a Riverside, California, police officer who died and two others who were injured.
A day earlier, Irvine police named Dorner a suspect in the slayings Sunday of a woman -- identified by Los Angeles police as the daughter of a retired LAPD officer -- and her fiance.
Mood 'tense' among officers
"My opinion of the suspect is unprintable," Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz said, hours after one of his officers was killed. "The manifesto, I think, speaks for itself (as) evidence of a depraved and abandoned mind and heart."
The violence, as well as Dorner's background as a police officer and military-trained marksman, left police on edge around Southern California.
In Torrance, LAPD officers guarding one of Dorner's alleged targets mistakenly opened fire on a blue pickup truck that resembled one Dorner was thought to be driving, Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck said.
The gunfire wounded two people, he said. Torrance police also fired on another blue pickup, but no one was injured in that incident, a senior law enforcement source said.
Targeting police
It all started Sunday when Dorner allegedly killed two people in Irvine, police said.
Police identified the victims as Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence.
Quan, 27, was the daughter of retired Los Angeles police Officer Randal Quan, LAPD Officer Tenesha Dobine told CNN. In his manifesto, Dorner said Quan handled his appeal.
On Tuesday, Dorner checked into the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites on San Diego's large naval base, Cmdr. Brad Fagan said.
Dorner probably had access to the hotel because he'd been honorably discharged from the Navy Reserve, the Navy spokesman said. Dorner retired on February 1 as a lieutenant, having worked with mobile inshore undersea warfare units and having provided security on oil platforms in Iraq, according to Pentagon records. He was rated as a rifle marksman and pistol expert.
"He did not physically check out," Wednesday as expected, Fagan told reporters.
Police in San Diego say a man who could have been Dorner tried to hijack a boat there Wednesday. Someone later found a wallet containing Dorner's identification and an LAPD detective's badge near the San Diego airport, police said. It was unclear whether the badge was legitimate.
Timeline in manhunt for former L.A. officer
By about 1 a.m. Thursday, the scene had shifted about 100 miles north to Corona, California.
There, a pair of LAPD officers on a protection detail were flagged down by a citizen who reported seeing the suspect's vehicle, LAPD Deputy Chief Jose Perez said.
The officers chased the vehicle and caught up to it on an Interstate 15 off-ramp.
"The officers were fired upon with a shoulder weapon," Perez said, with one of them suffering a "graze wound" to his head. The police returned fire, and the suspect set off once again.
About 20 minutes later, two police officers were in their car at a stoplight in Riverside when Dorner allegedly pulled up beside them.
That driver unleashed "multiple rounds" from a rifle at the officers, riddling the police car with bullets and killing a 34-year-old officer who had been on the Riverside force for 11 years, said Diaz, the Riverside police chief. The other officer, 27, was "seriously wounded but we expect a full recovery," he said.
A message to the media
In addition to posting his manifesto online, Dorner reached out directly to CNN, mailing a parcel to AC360 anchor Anderson Cooper's office at CNN in New York.
The package arrived on February 1 and was opened by Cooper's assistant. Inside was a hand-labeled DVD, accompanied by a yellow Post-it note reading, in part, "I never lied" -- apparently in reference to his 2008 dismissal from the LAPD.
The package also contained a coin wrapped in duct tape. The tape bears the hand-written inscription: "Thanks, but no thanks, Will Bratton." It also had letters that may be read as "IMOA," which could be a commonly used Internet abbreviation for "Imagine a More Open America," or possibly "1 MOA," which means one minute of angle, perhaps implying Dorner was notably accurate with a firearm.
The coin is a souvenir medallion from former LAPD Chief William Bratton, of a type often given out as keepsakes. This one, though, was shot through with bullet holes: three bullet holes to the center and on that nicked off the top.
The editorial staff of AC360 and CNN management were made aware of the package Thursday. Upon learning of its existence, they alerted Bratton and law enforcement.
Bratton headed the LAPD at the time Dorner was dismissed.
2007 arrest incident
The dispute centers on a 2007 incident in San Pedro involving a man's arrest at a DoubleTree hotel. Two weeks later, Dorner accused his training officer of kicking the man after he'd given up.
The investigators' report said "the delay in reporting the alleged misconduct coupled with the witness' statements irreparably destroy Dorner's credibility." The report cited contradictory accounts from the arrested man and his father and denials by the accused officer and three hotel employees that the arrested man had been kicked. Dorner claims he was wrongly ousted for blowing the whistle on what he insists was police abuse.
Suspect's grudge dates back to 2007 complaint
Dorner challenged his firing for years, losing at every turn. First, the police department's Board of Rights rejected his appeal. Then, in October 2011, a judge ruled against his appeal, according to court records.
Beck, the Los Angeles police chief, said Thursday that Dorner's case had been "thoroughly reviewed" and said the department would not apologize to Dorner or clear his name.
But as his manifesto shows, Dorner is showing no sign of relenting.
Authorities locked down the Big Bear area Thursday after Dorner's truck was found. But late in the evening, after a fruitless search and no sightings or tips about Dorner's whereabouts, San Bernardino sheriff officials announced that schools and the local ski resort would open Friday.
The announcement fueled speculation that Dorner may have escaped the area.
"He could be anywhere at this point," San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said.
CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton, Sara Weisfeldt, Barbara Starr, Pete Janos, Mallory Simon, Brad Lendon and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.
Bratton on "chilling" memento ex-LAPD cop sent to CNN
Labels: Health(CBS News) More than a dozen local, state, and federal authorities have joined the three-state manhunt for Christopher Dorner, the ex-LAPD officer suspected of killing three people in a vendetta against the police force.
Thursday afternoon, the search shifted to the snowy mountains around Big Bear Lake, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, where police found his burned-out pickup truck and tracks leading away from the vehicle.
Bill Bratton, Los Angeles Police Chief while Dorner served on the force said Friday that the truck was "possibly a diversionary tactic to just draw people up into that area when he's actually heading south."
Bratton said that despite the increasingly complex search, "the LAPD is superbly equipped for" the hunt.
"The Southern California police community is incredibly well networked with each other," Bratton said. "The manhunt that is underway is coordinated, sophisticated, and very complicated."
This undated photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows suspect Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles officer with former Police Chief William Bratton.
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AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department
Bratton does not remember Dorner personally but did pose for a photo with him before he was deployed to serve in the Navy. Referencing the photo, Bratton said "chances are this is when he was being deployed into the military. I bring them up into my office and wish them well ... and give them a good luck charm."
The good luck charm -- a ceremonial coin -- was one of the props Dorner used, along with a lengthy manifesto, to indicate his targets. Dorner mailed CNN a package and the manifesto referencing Bratton. The package included the ceremonial coin, with Bratton's name on it and three bullet holes in it.
"[It's] very chilling when you see that," Bratton said. "It's a custom that you give as a sign of respect, a good luck charm for those who are going overseas. When you see that that a coin that was given in friendship and respect has three bullet holes, it's certainly very chilling."
Bratton also added that he was "very surprised" the news network -- which recently faced criticism for not handing over the personal journal of slain American ambassador Christopher Stevens to his family or the State Department -- didn't turn over the coin to authorities when they received it.
Turning to the tactical elements of Dorner's rampage, John Miller -- CBS News senior correspondent and former head of the LAPD Major Crimes Division -- said the attacks likely took a "remarkable amount of pre-staging" and added that "somebody who put that much pre-staging planning into a series of events ... it's doubtful that they didn't put the same amount of planning into the end game ... It makes you wonder what his plan is for the end game."
Bratton said he found it "very surprising that now with all this attention he has brought onto himself, he has not started to reach out to the media to exploit it ... it's very interesting that he has stayed quiet."
Miller explained that Dorner "cut off all his cell phones and other connections" on Jan. 31 and Bratton said, "he's aware that anything he uses electronically can be immediately zeroed in on so he's possibly staying quiet because of that understanding.
As they look to bring the manhunt to an end, "the police are certainly on edge," Bratton said, emphasizing that Dorner is "an incredibly dangerous individual."
Miller added, "He has brought this to a certain pinnacle. It seems like he is going to be moving towards however he wants this to wrap up.
For more with Bratton and Miller on "CTM," watch the video above.
Door-to-Door Search for Suspected Cop Killer
Labels: Business
More than 100 police officers were going door-to-door and searching for new tracks in the snow in hopes of catching suspected cop-killer Christopher Dorner overnight in Big Bear Lake, Calif., before he strikes again, as laid out in his rambling online manifesto.
Police late Thursday night alerted the residents near Big Bear Lake that Dorner was still on the loose after finding his truck burning earlier in the day.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said authorities can't say for certain that he's not in the area. More than half of the 400 homes in the area had been searched by police as of late Thursday. Police traveled in two-man teams.
Bachman urged people in the area not to answer the door, unless they know the person or see a law enforcement officer in uniform.
After discovering Dorner's burning truck near a Bear Mountain ski resort, police discovered tracks in the snow leading away from the vehicle. The truck has been taken to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs' crime lab.
Read More About Chris Dorner's Allegations Against the LAPD
Bachman would not comment on Dorner's motive for leaving the car or its contents, citing the ongoing investigation. Police are not aware of Dorner's having any ties to others in the area.
Chris Dorner: Ex-LA Cop Wanted in Killing Spree Watch Video
Los Angeles Manhunt: Ex-Cop Christopher Dorner Sought for Killing Spree Watch Video
She added that the search in the area would continue as long as the weather cooperates. About three choppers were being used overnight, but weather conditions were deteriorating, according to Bachman.
"He could be anywhere at this point," said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, who is expected to address the media later this morning.
Dorner, 33, a former Los Angeles police officer and Navy reservist, is suspected of killing one police officer and injured two others Thursday morning in Riverside, Calif. He was also accused of killing two civilians Sunday. And he allegedly released an angry "manifesto" airing grievances against police and warning of coming violence toward cops.
In the manifesto Dorner published online, he threatened at least 12 people by name, along with their families.
"Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over. Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you and your family," Dorner wrote in his manifesto.
One passage from the manifesto read, "I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty."
"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own," it read. "I'm terminating yours."
Hours after the extensive manhunt dragged police to Big Bear Lake, CNN's Anderson Cooper said Dorner had sent him a package at his New York office that arrived Feb. 1, although Cooper said he never knew about the package until Thursday. It contained a DVD of court testimony, with a Post-It note signed by Dorner claiming, "I never lied! Here is my vindication."
PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings
It also contained a keepsake coin bearing the name of former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton that came wrapped in duct tape, Cooper said. The duct tape bore the note, "Thanks, but no thanks Will Bratton."
Bratton told Cooper on his program, "Anderson Cooper 360," that he believed he gave Dorner the coin as he was headed overseas for the Navy, Bratton's practice when officers got deployed abroad. Though a picture has surfaced of Bratton, in uniform, and Dorner, in fatigues, shaking hands, Bratton told Cooper he didn't recall Dorner or the meeting.
Parcel sensor knows your delivery has been dropped
Labels: WorldPaul Marks, chief technology correspondent
(Image: C.WisHisSoc/Everett/Rex)
When I was a Christmas postman, many years ago, some of the bored guys in the sorting office's loading bay liked to play a boisterous game of "catch" when parcels marked "video recorder" and "fragile" arrived. How they guffawed when one landed in the bottom of a skip with a sickening crunch, ruining somebody's Christmas.
I was reminded of those days when a bargain iPod dock, bought online, arrived recently - dead to the world. Was it dead out of the factory gate? Or had the parcel suffered some physical abuse in transit? Now a British invention company called Cambridge Consultants has developed a sticky radio tag that will spill the beans on dodgy delivery firms.
Called DropTag, the gadget combines a battery, a low-energy Bluetooth transmitter, an accelerometer and a memory chip. Stuck on a parcel as it leaves an e-commerce warehouse, it logs any g-forces above a set risky shock level that it experiences. The idea is that when the courier puts it in your hands, you turn on Bluetooth on a smartphone running a DropTag app and scan it before you sign for it.
A readout then shows what's happened to the parcel in transit, with the option of a graph that shows you if the box has been mistreated - and when. If it has clearly been beaten up, you don't sign and refuse delivery. The $2 tag will run on a coin battery for "many weeks", the inventors say, and there may be incentives for the parcel deliverer to reuse it after scanning. DropTag comes from Cambridge Consultants' wireless group, which last year unveiled a Bluetooth-powered automatic gear changer for a bike.
At the moment DropTag is a solution in search of a user. British patents are already filed, but Cambridge Consultants hopes a major delivery chain or e-commerce firm will buy into the tech at the massive Hannover Messe tech fair in Germany in April.
Bank of England holds record-low rates despite recession threat
Labels: Technology
LONDON - The Bank of England voted on Thursday to freeze its key interest rate at a record low 0.50 per cent and maintain the level of its quantitative easing cash stimulus, despite the threat of a triple-dip recession in Britain.
The central bank said in an unexpectedly long statement that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had voted to maintain its emergency QE stimulus at £375 billion ($589 billion, 434 billion euros).
The BoE added that overall economic activity in Britain had been "broadly flat" over the past year, despite worries that the economy could be heading for the third recession in five years.
The stimulus has been used to try and help boost economic output, which unexpectedly shrank by 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2012. However, the economy flatlined over the entire year with zero growth.
Across in Frankfurt, the European Central Bank also opted to maintain its main interest rate at a record-low level of 0.75 per cent, amid ongoing debt strains in the crisis-hit eurozone.
"Over the past year, there has been considerable volatility in quarterly output growth," the Bank of England said in Thursday's statement.
"Looking through the influence of temporary factors, overall output appears to have been broadly flat. In large part that reflects sharp falls in particular sectors of the economy that are unlikely to be repeated in 2013.
"In contrast, the combined output of the manufacturing and services sectors has grown modestly. Business surveys suggest the pace of expansion is likely to remain muted in the near term," the BoE added.
The central bank said 12-month inflation would rise further in the near-term and could remain above its 2.0-per cent target for the next two years. However, it was then forecast to return to "around" the target as price pressures fade.
Policymakers also mulled withdrawing QE stimulus, in order to pull inflation lower, but decided that it would risk endangering any recovery. QE can risk stoking inflation as it is tantamount to printing money.
"The Committee discussed the appropriate policy response to the combination of the weakness in the economy and the prospect of a further prolonged period of above-target inflation," it said, adding it was necessary to look beyond the period of above-target inflation.
"Attempting to bring inflation back to target sooner by removing the current policy stimulus more quickly than currently anticipated by financial markets would risk derailing the recovery and undershooting the inflation target in the medium term."
Thursday's decisions were in line with expectations and came as incoming BoE governor Mark Carney called for the bank to ready plans for a smooth eventual withdrawal of QE stimulus to avoid major disruption on markets.
Canadian central bank chief Carney -- who takes the helm from current BoE boss Mervyn King in July -- set out his views on QE before a group of cross-party lawmakers on parliament's Treasury Select Committee.
"The bank will need to design, implement and ultimately (manage an) exit from unconventional monetary policy measure in a manner that reinforces public confidence," Carney said in written testimony to the committee.
"The exit needs to be achieved without disrupting the gilts (bonds) market," he added ahead of the latest decision.
Quantitative easing (QE) involves a central bank creating cash to buy assets like government and corporate bonds, with the aim of boosting lending by retail banks and stimulating economic activity.
The BoE's main lending rate has stood at the record-low 0.50 per cent since March 2009, when it also embarked upon its radical stimulus policy.
- AFP/ck
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