The Tilden Regional Parks Botanic Garden, an enchanted, not-so-secret garden, is a magical place for visitors of all ages at no cost. The garden is full of California native plants, rare and endangered including flowers, ferns, trees and even flowering cactus.
You don?t have to be a botanist to enjoy the space, just a lover of peaceful and serene environments. This 10-acre treasure is only moments from the Caldecott tunnel and a leap from University Ave. The Botanic Garden sits at the foot of the Brazil Room (our beloved wedding venue) and 5 minutes past the classically coveted Steam Train. ?This is a perfect outing for your family to get a nature fix just minutes from home. My 18-month old loves it.
What to expect There are small mythical like stone bridges, quaint meadows, a curving creek and gentle flowing waterfalls. The meadows are well-suited for picnicking and taking in the pleasant surroundings. We always pack snacks and a blanket. The paths are safe and gentle, perfect for little feet and the inexperienced hiker. The landscape and perfectly placed benches are reminiscent of illustrations in childhood storybooks. The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is not to be overlooked, but enjoyed just as much if not more then Tilden Parks other child friendly destinations.
See the hours and rules on their website.
Here?s a map of the gardens to plan your adventure.
What it costs ZERO
How to find it The Botanic Garden is located at the intersection of Wildcat Canyon Road and South Park Drive within Tilden Regional Park in the hills above Berkeley, California. Street parking only.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department's criminal division, plans to step down on March 1, according to an internal memo.
"As I wrote to the President, and want to tell you, serving as the head of this remarkable Division has been the greatest privilege of my professional life," Breuer said in a memo to criminal division employees dated Tuesday.
Breuer, who previously worked as a defense lawyer and in the Clinton White House, has led the division since 2009.
He faced much criticism for the department's failure to bring major prosecutions against companies and individuals who played a role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis, but also led the division in several record-breaking settlements.
BP Plc agreed in November to pay $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties, the largest in history, on charges related to the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
The London-based bank HSBC Holdings plc also agreed to the largest forfeiture ever in December - $1.25 billion - to resolve charges that it failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and let itself be used by major Mexican drug cartels.
(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
Bakersfield-Leah Cleveland says her son Bowe was moved out of the intensive care unit at Kern Medical Center, but still faces a battery of tests on his liver that is riddled with lead shotgun pellets.
Cleveland says she heard reports accused shooter Bryan Oliver may have targeted her son and other students in a hit list last year.? She's filing a legal claim to see if that's true. "I feel that what happened should have never happened. I did not know anything about this young man, at all, nothing or I would have pulled him out a year ago."
Leah Cleveland said she was just about to start working out that morning when she received an urgent call from Taft Union High her son Bowe had been injured and to report to the science building.? She thought it might be a chemistry experiment gone wrong. When she rushed to the school she streets blocked off with yellow crime scene tape and deputies flooding the street.? Her son already had been driven to an air ambulance.
Several students have reported Bowe had been targeted in a hit list by the accused shooter because he was a bully. On Wednesday Bowe's mom flatly denied that claim through her attorney, Daniel Rodriguez.? "So far as we know, some people have said that, but when we drill down and say who said this, when did they say this, what is the basis, it is a big goose egg." ? School district officials have declined to say whether accused shooter Bryan Oliver was suspended for two days last year for creating a hit list.? They cite state privacy laws.? Rodriguez says they will fight to make that information public.
And he says the Cleveland family plans to sue if the district didn't do anything to inform parents about a list or prevent Oliver from accessing a gun.
The district said it does not comment on legal matters.
>>>we'll begin this half hour with that new
super bowl ad
from
volkswagen
.
>>and the car company has had, of course,
big hits
during the
big game
in recent years. this year's "get happy" spot is already getting a lot of attention.
>>i hate mondays.
>>yeah. they're the worst.
>>no worries, man. everything will be all right. yeah, man. don't fret.
sticky bun
comes soon. yeah. wicked coffee, mr. james. julia, turn the frown the other way around.
>>you're from minnesota, right?
>>yes, the
land of 10,000 lakes
. the
gopher state
.
>>so in conclusion, things are pretty dismal.
>>do you know what this room needs? a smile. who wants to come with i? traveling along there's a song that we're singing come on get happy yeah
>>you are three minutes late.
>>don't be no cloud on a
sunny day
.
>>yeah, chill.
>>sir?
>>that's the power of german engineering.
>>and, by the way, from
volkswagen
's marketing, officer
tim mahoney
said we obviously did our homework to make sure we weren't offensive, we did some research to make sure we weren't going in a direction we didn't want to go and
volkswagen
had consulted about 100 jamaicans and hired a speech coach.
>>some think the ad is funny and effective, others think it is a little offensive. another network executive said i don't like it at all. it's like
black face
with voices.
>>barbara lipman. first reaction when you see the ad?
>>i was shocked. didn't anyone look at this? this is so racist. there's no link to
volkswagen
. and maybe jamaicans didn't find it offensive, but it's just saying that
black people
are happy.
>>i take a completely different view of it. i have to be honest with you. i thought if you buy this car, it puts you in a
happy place
and what's happier than all the memories we have on being on beautiful islands on island time? that's the way i took it.
>>some people said it had that
jar jar
banks from
star wars
effect, it doesn't make any sense.
>>my son graduated from college. he thought it was hilarious,
cool runnings
, to put that voice in stern minnesotans.
>>the
ad agency
, i guess, anticipating that there may be controversy, has a couple of other back-up options in case vw pulls the ad. sometimes controversy is good for a company.
>>right.
>>is this the kind of controversy that you think --
>>this is where
social media
saved their lives. i would bet that they're going to run the other ad. last time, it was fantastic, ate up the internet, most popular ad ever. this one is clearly a mistake in judgment. they'll have another really funny ad that they're going to tell you this was just a teaser and they love the other one.
>>they have german accents. you will enjoy it!
>>the teaser was wonderful. it just showed people in a parody of the coke ad running up in the mountains, being happy. it was all the people famous from the internet.
>>if you are you're a betting woman, you say that ad will never see the
light of day
on the
super bowl
?
>>that's what i will bet.
>>i'm officially neutral.
>>switzerland!
>>switzerland.
>>controversy, i think, sometimes can be good.
>>barbara, thank you. appreciate it. so what do you think? does the jamaican flavor of this ad go too far? go to today.com and give us your opinion. we'll tell you what our polling has to say.
Crippling inflation in Zimbabwe led the government to issue a 100 trillion-dollar note in 2009, leading to reforms that have tamed the cost of living but left the country with almost no cash.
Before you get depressed about the state of your finances, spare a thought for the nation of Zimbabwe, which as of Tuesday had exactly $217 in the bank.
That's 217 dollars, not $217 million or $217 billion.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Tuesday that that was all that was left in the country's public accounts after it paid its civil servants last week, the South African Press Association reported. He told reporters in the capital, Harare, that some of them were probably better off than the state.
After a decade of inflation hit 500 billion percent in 2008 ? leading to the issuance of 100 trillion-dollar bills in Zimbabwean currency ? the country switched to the U.S. dollar and formed a coalition government in 2009, which the International Monetary Fund credited?in September with taming inflation and stabilizing the economy.
But the debt the country built up during those years of nationalist rule by President Robert Mugabe left it with a minimal tax base and few cash reserves, the IMF said, leaving Zimbabwe vulnerable to economic "shocks."
One of those would appear to be the regular wage bill for civil servants ? which accounts for 73 percent of the national budget.
Biti, an opposition member of Mugabe's coalition, said the lack of cash threatened elections that are expected some time after a March referendum on a new constitution.
Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com
"The government finances are in a paralysis state at the present moment," he said, adding that the country might have to seek donations to stay afloat.
Study shows potential of differentiated iPS cells in cell therapy without immune rejection
Monday, January 28, 2013
A new study from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in an experimental model were not rejected when transplanted back into genetically identical recipients. The study, published online in Cell Stem Cell, demonstrates the potential of utilizing iPS cells to develop cell types that could offer treatment for a wide range of conditions, including diabetes, liver and lung diseases, without the barrier of immune rejection.
Ashleigh Boyd, DPhil, and Neil Rodrigues, DPhil, the study's senior authors, are assistant professors of dermatology at BUSM and researchers at the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) at Boston University and Boston Medical Center (BMC). They also are lead investigators at the National Institutes of Health's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at Roger Williams Medical Center, a clinical and research affiliate of BUSM.
iPS cells can be developed from adult cell types, such as skin or blood, by returning them to a stem cell state using genetic manipulation. iPS cells are capable of maturing (differentiating) into all the specific cell types in the body, making them a powerful tool for biological research and a source of tissues for transplantation based therapies. Given that iPS cells can be made in a patient-specific manner, there should be great potential for them to be transplanted back into the same patient without rejection. Yet a study published in Nature in 2011 demonstrated that iPS cells transplanted in the stem cell state were rejected in genetically identical recipients.
"The Nature study provocatively suggested that tissues derived from patient-specific iPS cells may be immunogenic after transplantation. However, it never directly assessed the immunogenicity of the therapeutically relevant cell types that could be utilized in regenerative medicine and transplantation," said Rodrigues.
The BUSM researchers evaluated this matter by taking adult cells from an experimental model and deriving iPS cells from them. They then differentiated the iPS cells into three cell types: neuronal (nerve); hepatocytes (liver); and endothelial (blood vessel lining) cells. These three cell types represent each of the three germ layers present during embryonic development ? mesoderm, ectoderm and endoderm. Cells from these layers differentiate and ultimately develop into the body's tissue and organ systems. Using experiments to mirror the potential clinical use of patient-specific iPS cells in cell therapy, the team transplanted each of the differentiated cells into a genetically identical experimental model and found no signs of an elevated immune response or indications of rejection.
The study results suggest that using patient-specific iPS cells should overcome issues of immune rejection in transplantation, which will be a significant problem for potential embryonic stem cell-derived therapies. Immune rejection in transplantation is treated clinically by immunosuppressive drugs but they can have serious side-effects, including the risk of developing cancer.
"If the use of immunosuppressive drugs can be avoided, as may be the case for patient-specific iPS cell based therapies, it would be preferable. Our results are very promising and future work should be directed at assessing whether tissues derived from human iPS cells will similarly lack immunogenicity," said Boyd.
###
Boston University Medical Center: http://www.bmc.org
Thanks to Boston University Medical Center for this article.
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SANTA ROSA ? Santa Rosa Junior College is embarking on a multi-year strategic planning process that participants say is of unprecedented scope in the college?s 95-year history, with hope that widespread community participation will strengthen a longstanding spirit of collaboration between the college, the regional business community and other stakeholders throughout the North Bay.
Dr. Frank Chong
Currently in its early stages, the process will result in a series of specific goals that college President Frank Chong, Ed.D. called a guiding ?North Star? for accomplishing the best possible outcomes for students and others at a time of historic budgetary challenge. The outcome will address multiple facets of the institution?s historic mission, and how to sustain those elements in the coming years.
?We have spent almost the entirety of the fall semester laying the groundwork of a strategic plan that is all-inclusive,? he said. Compared to accreditation self-studies conducted every five-to-six years, ?this will be a deeper process. It will be much broader, looking inward and outward, on how to meet the educational needs of our community.?
The effort was an early priority for Dr. Chong, who began his role as president in January 2012. Having served as the president of two community colleges and most recently as deputy secretary for community colleges under the administration of President Barack Obama, Dr. Chong said that the nation?s community colleges have been forced to be increasingly strategic in accomplishing their goals amid reductions in public funding.
?We?re facing declining funding from the state and increasing demand from our industry partners for well-trained workers,? he said. ?We have excellence in teaching. That?s what sets our college apart. But do we have the equipment? Do we have the faculty? It?s not rocket science, but it is daunting.?
Amid those budgetary challenges, as well as new state mandates, many community colleges have been forced to change registration priority and restrict class offerings to focus on the ?core mission? of helping students graduate from a certificate program or transfer to a four-year institution, said Dr. Robin Fautley, president of the college?s academic senate.
?In the past, we were all things to all people,? said Dr. Faultley, noting high levels of community participation in theater and other courses. ?Part of the strategic planning process will be ? ?What will our new face be like? How will we be the community college that best serves our community???
While specific goals will be determined in the coming months, the plan could describe pathways for achieving greater rates of student completion, offering training for skills demanded by regional employers and nurturing the role of the two-campus college district as a resource to the broader community.
Dr. Faultley joins Dr. Jane Salda?a-Talley, vice president overseeing the college?s Petaluma campus, in heading the committee charged with developing the underpinnings of the planning process.
The plan includes six overlapping phases, stretching to the ultimate implementation of the plan in late 2014 or early 2015, and lasting through 2019. With the preliminary phase complete, participants are now assembling data to support the process and forming six work groups that will focus on elements that include communication with outside stakeholders and review of the college?s mission.
Leaders in the process have avoided hiring outside consultants as a cost-saving measure, instead drawing inspiration from other strategic planning initiatives for community colleges and leveraging the college?s existing staff. The approach has inspired widespread enthusiasm, with around 130 college employees volunteering to serve on committees or otherwise support the initiative, Dr. Salda?a-Talley said.
Approximately 75 individuals are now directly enlisted in the planning process, with further input expected from regional groups representing education, business, culture and public safety.
?We?ve spent a lot of time developing the process,? Dr. Salda?a-Talley said. ?By engaging our broader community, we will create an expectation of collaboration. If the process is right, the product will be excellent.?
While the outreach effort to groups outside the college has just begun, some of those groups, like the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, have long expressed support for the college and acknowledged its role in the broader economy.
It was the Chamber, nearly one century ago, that was instrumental in the gift of the land that now hosts the college?s Santa Rosa campus, said Jonathan Coe, chamber president and chief executive officer.
?Our involvement with the JC goes back to its inception,? he said. ?The business community knows the value of supporting the institution, and the role it plays in supporting our local economy.?
Santa Rosa Junior College has created a website for its strategic plan initiative, with further information available at libguides.santarosa.edu/strategicplanning.
Study finds significant microorganism populations in middle and upper tropospherePublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: John Toon jtoon@gatech.edu 404-894-6986 Georgia Institute of Technology
Bugs in the Atmosphere
In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms principally bacteria in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above the Earth's surface.
Whether the microorganisms routinely inhabit this portion of the atmosphere perhaps living on carbon compounds also found there or whether they were simply lofted there from the Earth's surface isn't yet known. The finding is of interest to atmospheric scientists, because the microorganisms could play a role in forming ice that may impact weather and climate. Long-distance transport of the bacteria could also be of interest for disease transmission models.
The microorganisms were documented in air samples taken as part of NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) program to study low- and high-altitude air masses associated with tropical storms. The sampling was done from a DC-8 aircraft over both land and ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and portions of the Atlantic Ocean. The sampling took place before, during and after two major tropical hurricanes Earl and Karl in 2010.
The research, which has been supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation, was scheduled to be published online January 28th by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We did not expect to find so many microorganisms in the troposphere, which is considered a difficult environment for life," said Kostas Konstantinidis, an assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "There seems to be quite a diversity of species, but not all bacteria make it into the upper troposphere."
Aboard the aircraft, a filter system designed by the research team collected particles including the microorganisms from outside air entering the aircraft's sampling probes. The filters were analyzed using genomic techniques including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing, which allowed the researchers to detect the microorganisms and estimate their quantities without using conventional cell-culture techniques.
When the air masses studied originated over the ocean, the sampling found mostly marine bacteria. Air masses that originated over land had mostly terrestrial bacteria. The researchers also saw strong evidence that the hurricanes had a significant impact on the distribution and dynamics of microorganism populations.
The study showed that viable bacterial cells represented, on average, around 20 percent of the total particles detected in the size range of 0.25 to 1 microns in diameter. By at least one order of magnitude, bacteria outnumbered fungi in the samples, and the researchers detected 17 different bacteria taxa including some that are capable of metabolizing the carbon compounds that are ubiquitous in the atmosphere such as oxalic acid.
The microorganisms could have a previously-unidentified impact on cloud formation by supplementing (or replacing) the abiotic particles that normally serve as nuclei for forming ice crystals, said Athanasios Nenes, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
"In the absence of dust or other materials that could provide a good nucleus for ice formation, just having a small number of these microorganisms around could facilitate the formation of ice at these altitudes and attract surrounding moisture," Nenes said. "If they are the right size for forming ice, they could affect the clouds around them."
The microorganisms likely reach the troposphere through the same processes that launch dust and sea salt skyward. "When sea spray is generated, it can carry bacteria because there are a lot of bacteria and organic materials on the surface of the ocean," Nenes said.
The research brought together microbiologists, atmospheric modelers and environmental researchers using the latest technologies for studying DNA. For the future, the researchers would like to know if certain types of bacteria are more suited than others for surviving at these altitudes. The researchers also want to understand the role played by the microorganisms and determine whether or not they are carrying on metabolic functions in the troposphere.
"For these organisms, perhaps, the conditions may not be that harsh," said Konstantinidis. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is active life and growth in clouds, but this is something we cannot say for sure now."
Other researchers have gathered biological samples from atop mountains or from snow samples, but gathering biological material from a jet aircraft required a novel experimental setup. The researchers also had to optimize protocols for extracting DNA from levels of biomass far lower than what they typically study in soils or lakes.
"We have demonstrated that our technique works, and that we can get some interesting information," Nenes said. "A big fraction of the atmospheric particles that traditionally would have been expected to be dust or sea salt may actually be bacteria. At this point we are just seeing what's up there, so this is just the beginning of what we hope to do."
###
The Georgia Tech team also included Natasha DeLeon-Rodriguez and Luis-Miguel Rodriguez-R from the Georgia Tech School of Biology, Terry Lathem from the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and James Barazesh and Michael Bergin from the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The Georgia Tech team received assistance from researchers Bruce Anderson, Andreas Beyersdorf, and Luke Ziemba with the Chemistry and Dynamics Branch/Science Directorate at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.
This research was supported, in part, by NASA grant number NNX10AM63G, by a GAANN Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education, a NASA-NESSF fellowship, and by a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NASA, the Department of Education or the NSF.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study finds significant microorganism populations in middle and upper tropospherePublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: John Toon jtoon@gatech.edu 404-894-6986 Georgia Institute of Technology
Bugs in the Atmosphere
In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms principally bacteria in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above the Earth's surface.
Whether the microorganisms routinely inhabit this portion of the atmosphere perhaps living on carbon compounds also found there or whether they were simply lofted there from the Earth's surface isn't yet known. The finding is of interest to atmospheric scientists, because the microorganisms could play a role in forming ice that may impact weather and climate. Long-distance transport of the bacteria could also be of interest for disease transmission models.
The microorganisms were documented in air samples taken as part of NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) program to study low- and high-altitude air masses associated with tropical storms. The sampling was done from a DC-8 aircraft over both land and ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and portions of the Atlantic Ocean. The sampling took place before, during and after two major tropical hurricanes Earl and Karl in 2010.
The research, which has been supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation, was scheduled to be published online January 28th by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We did not expect to find so many microorganisms in the troposphere, which is considered a difficult environment for life," said Kostas Konstantinidis, an assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "There seems to be quite a diversity of species, but not all bacteria make it into the upper troposphere."
Aboard the aircraft, a filter system designed by the research team collected particles including the microorganisms from outside air entering the aircraft's sampling probes. The filters were analyzed using genomic techniques including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing, which allowed the researchers to detect the microorganisms and estimate their quantities without using conventional cell-culture techniques.
When the air masses studied originated over the ocean, the sampling found mostly marine bacteria. Air masses that originated over land had mostly terrestrial bacteria. The researchers also saw strong evidence that the hurricanes had a significant impact on the distribution and dynamics of microorganism populations.
The study showed that viable bacterial cells represented, on average, around 20 percent of the total particles detected in the size range of 0.25 to 1 microns in diameter. By at least one order of magnitude, bacteria outnumbered fungi in the samples, and the researchers detected 17 different bacteria taxa including some that are capable of metabolizing the carbon compounds that are ubiquitous in the atmosphere such as oxalic acid.
The microorganisms could have a previously-unidentified impact on cloud formation by supplementing (or replacing) the abiotic particles that normally serve as nuclei for forming ice crystals, said Athanasios Nenes, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
"In the absence of dust or other materials that could provide a good nucleus for ice formation, just having a small number of these microorganisms around could facilitate the formation of ice at these altitudes and attract surrounding moisture," Nenes said. "If they are the right size for forming ice, they could affect the clouds around them."
The microorganisms likely reach the troposphere through the same processes that launch dust and sea salt skyward. "When sea spray is generated, it can carry bacteria because there are a lot of bacteria and organic materials on the surface of the ocean," Nenes said.
The research brought together microbiologists, atmospheric modelers and environmental researchers using the latest technologies for studying DNA. For the future, the researchers would like to know if certain types of bacteria are more suited than others for surviving at these altitudes. The researchers also want to understand the role played by the microorganisms and determine whether or not they are carrying on metabolic functions in the troposphere.
"For these organisms, perhaps, the conditions may not be that harsh," said Konstantinidis. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is active life and growth in clouds, but this is something we cannot say for sure now."
Other researchers have gathered biological samples from atop mountains or from snow samples, but gathering biological material from a jet aircraft required a novel experimental setup. The researchers also had to optimize protocols for extracting DNA from levels of biomass far lower than what they typically study in soils or lakes.
"We have demonstrated that our technique works, and that we can get some interesting information," Nenes said. "A big fraction of the atmospheric particles that traditionally would have been expected to be dust or sea salt may actually be bacteria. At this point we are just seeing what's up there, so this is just the beginning of what we hope to do."
###
The Georgia Tech team also included Natasha DeLeon-Rodriguez and Luis-Miguel Rodriguez-R from the Georgia Tech School of Biology, Terry Lathem from the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and James Barazesh and Michael Bergin from the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The Georgia Tech team received assistance from researchers Bruce Anderson, Andreas Beyersdorf, and Luke Ziemba with the Chemistry and Dynamics Branch/Science Directorate at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.
This research was supported, in part, by NASA grant number NNX10AM63G, by a GAANN Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education, a NASA-NESSF fellowship, and by a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NASA, the Department of Education or the NSF.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Email marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways of promotion and client retention. In an exclusive interaction, Kalpit Jain, COO, Netcore, tells Sohini Bagchi of CXOtoday why email marketing is becoming a powerful medium for businesses to connect and engage customers and what leads to its success.
What are the key trends you are observing in the e-mail marketing space? Email marketing has evolved over the past couple of years, however it is only recently that this form of marketing is been understood as a marketing tool ? both by companies and their customers. The phenomenal growth of mobile devices is currently helping in the growth and development of mobile internet and this is a game changer. Today a good number of people are reading email on their smartphones and other mobile devices. The other trend is engagement. It is increasingly playing a greater role in email marketing making the tool more targeted and consolidated. In the past, email marketers sent bulk emails to customers resulting in spam emails that did not serve the purpose. Today a lot of attention is paid to analytics and customer intelligence. It has become essential to collect data about the existing and potential customers and to use the data for targeted, dynamic content as part of the entire email marketing program.
In India, which verticals are driving the adoption of email marketing? What are the challenges in the current scenario? In India, the retail and e-commerce segment has shown maximum adoption in email marketing. With SMS costs going up, a lot more sectors especially, the SMB segment is heavily relying on this tool. Going forward, we will see more of targeted email marketing activities from the BFSI, hospitality, insurance and healthcare industries. From an enterprise perspective, not understanding the tool well often becomes the biggest challenge for businesses. Marketers often deliver emails - a large portion of which gets delivered in the spam folder and from there to the trash bin. So, selecting the right mailing list is often a challenge as most firms do not conduct proper research and analytics before sending marketing emails. The level of engagement is often missing in email marketing. Contents are often boring and that does not inspire the audience to open the email, leave alone connecting to your message. Moreover, many believe that email marketing is a direct competitor to social media marketing which is wrong. Unless companies learn to use social media in conjunction with email marketing, a gap will always remain.
Today video email is turning out to a big thing. What are your thoughts about it? Yes, video email is a hot trend today and attracts a lot of customers. However, it is still in the nascent stage in terms of growth and adoption. It can be powerful when used with the right set of audience and with the right content and graphics. It can in fact boost a company?s selling experience if the video is engaging, specific and meaningful as it is more like story telling. Video email however has a way to go to reach maturity.
What should companies keep in mind for conducting an effective email marketing campaign? The most important point is to focus on the subscriber. There should be a careful and targeted list to send out each email. The message should be engaging, customized based to the audiences? need, demographics and sentiment. The email marketing message should be simple and relevant and integrated into social networking platforms. For example, the email should include links to your Facebook, LinkedIn profile and other social network sites. This will encourage subscribers to ?Like? and ?Share? by offering some call to action. It is also important to partner with a leading email marketing provider to ensure your email marketing campaign is a success. It is important to avoid high frequency, generic and HTML messages. Email on mobile devices has to be designed carefully with fewer links and images.
What is the Future of email marketing? The next generation email marketing platform is mobile. With email marketing getting closer to mobile platform, the lines between mobile and email marketing are blurring. Email marketing will go through a lot of consolidation with the emergence of newer technologies in cloud, big data and mobility alongside greater data consumption. Analytics and BI will also play a major role in email marketing. There has to be a greater stability in telecom regulation as well. Flexible, open platforms can help content creators, aggregators and service providers to increase revenue share in this segment. As internet consumption through mobile or smartphones grow and companies find newer ways to engage customers, email marketing will witness a phenomenal change in the way it is adopted and consumed.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. demand for long-lasting manufactured goods rose sharply in December on strong gains in volatile aircraft orders. But companies slowed their orders of goods that signal investment plans, indicating manufacturing could stay choppy in 2013.
The Commerce Department said Monday that overall orders for durable goods increased 4.6 percent in December compared with November. The gains were led by a 56.4 percent increase in military aircraft orders and a 10.1 percent increase in commercial aircraft orders.
Orders rose in other major categories, including machinery, communications equipment and primary metals.
A more closely watched gauge of business investment plans increased just 0.2 percent. Economists were encouraged that orders for so-called capital goods kept rising in December after gains of 3 percent in both November and October.
Still, the increases followed a weak stretch in demand for those goods that had raised concerns about companies' confidence in the economy. And with Americans paying higher Social Security payroll taxes this year without much gain in their wages, most economists predict consumer spending to suffer. That could dampen demand for big-ticket items and slow overall economic growth.
"The strength in durable goods orders for December is a most welcome development," said Dan Greenhaus, an analyst at BTIG. "Going forward though, despite the better numbers, we still expect business investment ... to slow yet again in 2013. This is a trend that remains in place given the weaker demand environment."
Orders for durable goods, which are expected to last at least three years, can fluctuate from month to month. For all of 2012, durable goods orders rose 4.1 percent. Demand for core capital goods fell 0.3 percent last year.
Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the growth rate of business investment in equipment and software in the October-December quarter should come in close to 5 percent, an encouraging sign.
Ashworth, however, is also worried about the increase in Social Security payroll taxes. That could make businesses nervous and further slow economic growth.
The economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in the April-June quarter. The government will provide its first look at overall economic growth in the October-December quarter on Wednesday. Many analysts believe growth slowed in the final three months of last year to less than 2 percent.
The government releases its first estimate of economic growth for the fourth quarter on Wednesday.
BRUSSELS (AP) ? The first of six Patriot missile batteries being deployed to Turkey to protect against attack from Syria was declared operational Saturday and placed under Turkish command, NATO said.
The battery, provided by the Netherlands, is meant to protect the city of Adana by shooting down missiles that could come over the Syrian border. Turkey has become a harsh critic of the regime in Syria, where a vicious civil war has left at least 60,000 people dead.
The United States, Germany and the Netherlands are providing two batteries each of the latest version of the U.S.-made Patriots. The other five Patriot batteries are expected to be in place and operational in the coming days in Adana, Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.
"This is a clear demonstration of the agility and flexibility of NATO forces and of our willingness to defend Allies who face threats in an unstable world," Admiral James Stavridis, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, said in a statement.
NATO reiterated Saturday that the Patriots are for defensive purposes only. Syria has not fired any of its surface-to-surface missiles at Turkey during its nearly two-year civil war and its government has described the NATO deployment as a provocation.
NATO also deployed Patriot batteries to Turkey during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq 10 years ago. They were never used and were withdrawn a few months later.
David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, wrongly deployed to that key role by Welshman Ncube?s MDC, just does not get it. His not-so-cleverly-hidden commitment to the Rhodesian racist cause has finally come out of the bag, leaving his human rights and rule of law charade up in stinking smoke.
Jonathan Moyo
The irrefutable evidence is now there for all to see from Coltart?s manifestly racist, illegal and even barbaric ministerial directive which he has fraudulently issued in the false name of the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) to the effect that from February 1 no person shall be appointed as a selector by any national sport association for a national team unless they have represented Zimbabwe in that particular sport.
The fact that Coltart?s directive smacks of sickening and intolerable racism last seen in Rhodesia has already been made beyond rational disputation not least by Givemore Makoni, a true son of the soil who is currently Zimbabwe Cricket?s Convenor of Selectors with a solid 26 years of professional experience in the troubled sport of cricket behind him. Indeed, well experienced and respected sports journalists such as Robson Sharuko, Lawrence Moyo and Kevin Mapasure, among others, have made telling media interventions that have raised questions which Coltart has failed to convincingly answer about the racist implications of his misplaced directive.
While the racism behind Coltart?s directive is now common cause, there are three equally damning aspects of the directive that have not been sufficiently interrogated yet each and all of them expose Coltart for the fake human rights and rule of law activist that he is.
In the first place Coltart issued his directive in a fraudulent manner under the false name of the SRC.
This is because the commission does not have a board to formulate and implement the purported directive. A perusal of the record shows that the term of the previous board of the commission expired on October 31 2012 and there has been no replacement. Where there?s no board there can be no directive.
In an emotionally charged response to an article written by Kevin Mapasure last Friday Coltart revealingly wrote that, ?The SRC directive by Col Nhemachena I sent to him last week states clearly that my proposal to the SRC was sent by me to the SRC on December 3 last year?.
This shows that, in the absence of an SRC Board, Coltart has been abusing Col Nhemachena by making him do unlawful things that he has no power or authority to do in terms of the law.
The fact that Nhemachena has obliged is a total shame. As such, the purported directive sent on January 8 in Col Nhemachena?s name and under his signature on Coltart?s instruction is a fraudulent piece of paper not worth the ink printed on it.
David Coltart
In the second place, the fraudulent directive issued by Coltart through Col Nhemachena is barbaric in that it targets incumbents like Givemore Makoni and seeks to use the backdoor to remove them from their legal, legitimate and contractual roles and obligations by the stroke of a racist pen through a fraudulent decree purporting to be coming from a board that does not in fact exist at law. That is jungle stuff typical of Rhodie antics with no basis in the rule of law.
It is an established human rights principle and a tenet of international best practice that the effect of a change of law or rule must not be retroactive.
Givemore Makoni was legally and thus contractually appointed as Convenor of Selectors on November 2 2012 by Zimbabwe Cricket well before Coltart sent his fraudulent directive to Col Nhemachena on December 3 2012 and it is barbaric for Coltart or anyone else to seek to shamelessly nullify that appointment through a racist decree which is intended to take effect from February 1 for a specific hidden reason that is too apparent.
In the third place, and above everything else, Coltart?s directive fraudulently issued through Col Nhemachena in the absence of an SRC Board in order to unleash barbaric consequences on targeted individuals such as Givemore Makoni is patently illegal. There is absolutely nothing in the Sports and Recreation Commission Act (Chapter 25:15) that gives either Coltart as the Minister or the SRC Board the power to do what Coltart?s racist directive seeks to do.
In simple terms, while the SRC has the policy duty and responsibility to oversee the affairs of sporting associations in order to co-ordinate and develop sport at the national level, it has no legal right whatsoever to run the affairs of the associations or to make or amend their constitutions through directives.
As a matter of fact, in all situations where the law gives a minister or board any ?power?, that power is always specifically defined and is always exercised in statutory terms by first being gazetted in the Government Gazette. In terms of the law, power cannot be exercised arbitrarily or in general and nebulous terms at the whim and caprice of a minister without reference to a specific section of the enabling law and without gazetting the desired action on the basis of that law.
The fact that Coltart is a lawyer and therefore should know this is enough to prove his sinister intentions because no self-respecting lawyer would seek to implement an arbitrary directive that has no legal basis and that does not even have Cabinet authority.
What is particularly shocking in this case is that Coltart is seeking to use an ungazetted and fraudulent directive to amend the constitutions of sport associations such as Zimbabwe Cricket that are legally registered with the SRC.
This alone shows that Coltart is a fake human rights activist and the noises he always makes ? especially at international fora where he is now seeking a job at some international anti-nuclear proliferation agency ? are hollow and self-serving.
Against this background the position taken by Zimbabwe Cricket should be commended and supported by all Zimbabweans beyond cricket because it is legally and morally correct and is in the national interest.
Instructively, the fact that there?s a not-so-hidden racist agenda in Coltart?s directive has been exposed by his outrageous response to the decision by Zimbabwe Cricket not to implement the illegal directive. Upon learning of the Zimbabwe Cricket decision last Friday, Coltart took to the social media with a post that made this shocking claim:
?I see that one of the reasons for defiance advanced by Zimbabwe Cricket is the following: ?Further, the actions of the Commission, in that regard, would be in violation of Article 2.9(B) of the ICC Articles of Association which prohibit government interference in the management of the affairs of the member associations?. This is one of the most disingenuous arguments I have seen. I wonder how Zimbabwe Cricket reconciles this statement with the following article published yesterday regarding Sri Lanka?s selection procedures where the Sri Lankan Minister of Sport chooses the selectors?.
It is bad for Coltart to base his response on a secondary reason used by Zimbabwe Cricket and worse for him to misrepresent that reason in a manner that clearly shows that he takes Zimbabweans for fools.
Zimbabwe Cricket?s rejection of Coltart?s directive is primarily and essentially based on the law of the land and Coltart knows that because it is in black and white in the five-page letter Zimbabwe Cricket sent to the Col Nhemachena on January 24. Except for only one paragraph in its conclusion, the entire five-page letter is based on the Sports and Recreation Commission Act (Chapter 25:15) and painstakingly shows how and why Coltart?s directive is illegal in terms of this law and this alone.
Coltart?s failure to respond to the detailed legal issues raised by Zimbabwe Cricket in terms of the Sports and Recreation Commission Act and his uninformed reference to a useless newspaper article about how the Sri Lankan Minister of Sport chooses selectors show how childish and irresponsible he has become in defence of his racism in sport.
Zimbabwe Cricket?s reference to Article 2.9(B) of the ICC Articles of Association which prohibit government interference in the management of the affairs of member associations is an important and relevant secondary and not primary reason for rejecting Coltart?s illegal directive. The primary reason is the Zimbabwean law.
What is as shocking as it is revealing is that Coltart, who is a lawyer, wants Zimbabweans to ignore the fact that Article 2.9(B) of the ICC Articles of Association does indeed exist and wants them to focus instead on the fact that Sri Lankan and Pakistan cricket are in violation of this ICC Article 2.9(b) of Association and that this violation somehow justifies his illegal directive.
In other words, Coltart is saying ?if Sri Lanka and Pakistan are doing it illegally, then we must also did it illegally?. This is utter crap which shows that Coltart does not get it and is an enemy of the rule of law. His shocking irrationality is equivalent to a stupid lawyer who defends a client accused of murder by submitting that his client must be left alone to murder some more because there are other murderers out there going scot free.
The fact is that the ICC stands by Article 2.9(b) of its Articles of Association and has given Sri Lanka and Pakistan a reprieve and is closely working with them to comply while Zimbabwe Cricket is already in compliance which partly explains why it has rejected Coltart?s illegal directive.
Another example of Coltart?s failure to understand the compelling legal issues raised by Zimbabwe Cricket was exposed last Friday in his Facebook exchange with Darlington Tendai Majonga whom he sought to confuse if not smear by rhetorically asking: ?Can you ever imagine Zimbabwe Cricket adopting this attitude if it was a Zanu-PF minister involved??
Again and because he has no case besides his racist agenda, Coltart failed to give Majonga the legal basis or reasons why Zimbabwe Cricket should comply with his racist directive and instead ? and rather foolishly ? decided to go political in very personalised terms by claiming that ?Zimbabwe Cricket would not insist on following the law if it was a Zanu-PF minister involved?.
This again shows that Coltart does not get it. No Zanu-PF minister would treacherously dare seek to reverse the gains of our hard-won and heroic independence by giving a directive intended to disempower the indigenous population in favour of erstwhile Rhodesian interests. That is unthinkable.
It appears from the record that Coltart suffers from an acute case of delusions of the grandeur.
He imagines himself to be a champion of human rights and the rule of law only by dint of the white colour of his skin simply because his race easily and readily connects him to Western interests and that gives him an exaggerated sense of a superiority complex.
By his own admission posted on his personal website, Coltart claims to have become a human rights activist for the first time in his life in 1983 yet he was born in 1957. But interestingly he claims in his curriculum vitae that he was ?conscripted into the British South African Police Force stationed in Mashonaland, Matabeleland South and Masvingo Provinces? during the height of Zimbabwe?s liberation struggle between 1975 and 1978. Although he claims that he was ?conscripted? into the Rhodesian Selous Scouts network under the BSAP he boasts in his curriculum vitae that he was judged to be the ?best recruit? in July 1975. Best recruit!
It is unthinkable that an unwilling soldier of conscience in Rhodesia could have been the best recruit. There?s clearly more to Coltart?s Rhodesian history than the people have known and his recent racist directive is a telling window into his dark past.
This perhaps explains why there?s nothing in Coltart?s history that locates him in support of Zimbabwe?s liberation struggle or its legacy. Nothing!
According to his own curriculum vitae posted on his personal Website he became a human rights activist not by choice or God?s calling as he would have the uninitiated among us believe but after he was ?instructed by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace to record affidavits from people who had suffered at the hands of the Fifth Brigade, affidavits subsequently submitted to the Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry?.
Coltart prepared these affidavits not as a human rights activist ? which he has never been ? but as a hired lawyer under instruction from Rhodesian interests! The same is true with his legal defence of the likes of the late Sydney Malunga, Edward Ndlovu, Stephen Nkomo and other members of the then PF-Zapu Central Committee. Coltart defended them as a hired lawyer and not as a human rights activist not least because he did not support their heroic liberation history or role in that struggle.
He just supported their unfortunate misunderstanding with their nationalist colleagues in Government. And to this day Coltart does not support the liberation struggle or its gains. This is because to him human rights and the rule of law are the antithesis of the liberation struggle and its gains.
It is for this reason that Coltart cannot stand the likes of Givemore Makoni whose rise in cricket is an expression of the gains of the liberation struggle.
Indeed, Coltart?s opposition to the liberation struggle and its gains also explains why more often than not on a given day in his Government ministerial office, he is wont to be found surrounded by hordes of Rhodies. In the same vein, his policy thrust as education minister is run by a so-called Education Transition Trust which meets once a month at his ministerial offices and whose composition is 70 percent white with the 30 percent remainder made up of the black employees of the same 70 percent white bloc that runs the trust plus a sprinkling of a few ministry officials.
Under Coltart, the last four years have seen a concerted effort to kill the very system of public education that has been Zimbabwe?s national pride by not only privatising it but also by creating white colonies within it that are reminiscent of the Rhodesian ?Group A? schools that are now once again springing up as colonies in our country.
As part of Coltart?s racist initiative in education, these schools are running their own foreign syllabi and have become apartheid islands that are not relating to the rest of the schools in the public educational system even in sports and recreational activities.
Coltart has a dangerous racist agenda which he is pursuing with his racist cabal of Rhodies in a fraudulent manner with no legal basis. He must be stopped by any and all means necessary.
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The Connery Ice Rink, operated by recreational facility management company, FMC Ice Sports, announces the 2013 FMC Ice Sports Skaters Scholarship. Developed in 1993 to assist students who demonstrate excellence on and off the ice, the Skaters Scholarship has since awarded over $300,000 to 360 well deserving high school seniors who are active in ice hockey, figure skating or recreational skating.
?The scholarship program is an extension of FMC?s commitment to the communities we serve,? states FMC Ice Sports President, Robert McBride. ?Keeping the ice sports participation cost as affordable as possible, offering quality programs that focus on development, and helping in some small way to defray the cost of higher education are just some of the ways toward that goal.?
The 2013 Skaters Scholarship is open to all graduating high school seniors who plan to attend college this fall. The scholarship application is available at the Connery Ice Rink, 182 Shepard Street, Lynn, MA, as well as online at www.fmcicesports.com. Scholarships will be awarded to twenty students this June based on demonstrated leadership qualities, strong academic performances and extensive extracurricular and community activities.
The Skaters Scholarship application deadline is May 15th, 2013. For additional information and to download a copy of the application, please visit www.fmcicesports.com or email knicholls@fmcicesports.com.
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About FMC Ice Sports:
Facility Management Corporation is an innovative leader of public recreational facility management, specializing in ice arena operations. FMC has been operating community ice arenas since its inception in 1992. The primary focus of the company is the development and expansion of affordable skating opportunities and the extension of the operating season at the ice arenas, providing year-round programming to local skating enthusiasts. For more information, please go to www.fmcicesports.com or call 1-888-74-SKATE.
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Gun rights and gun control advocates demonstrate in the Pennsylvania Capital building Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, in Harrisburg, Pa. As a boycott continued to grow over a ban on assault weapons at next month's Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, gun rights supporters and gun control supporters held rallies at the state Capitol.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke);
Gun rights and gun control advocates demonstrate in the Pennsylvania Capital building Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, in Harrisburg, Pa. As a boycott continued to grow over a ban on assault weapons at next month's Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, gun rights supporters and gun control supporters held rallies at the state Capitol.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke);
People walk from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, during a march on Washington for gun control. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
People walk from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, during a march on Washington for gun control. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
People walk from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, during a march on Washington for gun control. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
People walk from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, during a march on Washington for gun control. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Thousands of people, many holding signs with names of gun violence victims and messages such as "Ban Assault Weapons Now," joined a rally for gun control on Saturday, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.
Participants were led by Mayor Vincent Gray and other officials Saturday morning, and the crowd stretched for about two blocks along Constitution Avenue. Police blocked off half the road.
Participants held signs reading "Gun Control Now" and "Stop NRA," among other messages. Other signs were simple and white, with the names of victims of gun violence.
About 100 residents were expected from Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six teachers at a school in December. The rally was organized in response to that shooting.
Once the crowd arrived at the monument, speakers called for a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the crowd it's not about taking away Second Amendment gun rights, but about gun safety and saving lives. He said he and President Barack Obama would do everything they could to enact gun control policies.
"We must act, we must act, we must act," Duncan said.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting representative in Congress, said the gun lobby can be stopped. The crowd chanted back, "Yes, we can."
Norton said the nation didn't act after previous mass killings, but she said "we the people," won't give up this time.
"We are all culpable if we do nothing now," Norton said
Participant Kara Baekey of Norwalk, Conn., said that when she heard about the Newtown shooting, she immediately thought of her two young children. She said she decided she must take action, and that's why she joined the march.
"I wanted to make sure this never happens at my kids' school or any other school," Baekey said. "It just can't happen again."
James Agenbroad, 78, of Garrett Park, Md., carried a handwritten sign on cardboard that read "Repeal the 2nd Amendment." He called it the only way to stop mass killings because he thinks the Supreme Court will strike down any other restrictions on guns.
"You can repeal it," he said. "We repealed prohibition."
Molly Smith, the artistic director of Washington's Arena Stage, and her partner organized the march. Organizers said that in addition to the 100 from Newtown, they expected buses of participants from New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. Others are flying in from Seattle, San Francisco and even Alaska.
While she's never organized a political march before, Smith said she was compelled to press for a change in the law. The march organizers support President Barack Obama's call for a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines as well as for universal background checks for gun sales. They also want lawmakers to require gun safety training for all buyers of firearms.
"With the drum roll, the consistency of the mass murders and the shock of it, it is always something that is moving and devastating to me. And then, it's as if I move on," Smith said. "And in this moment, I can't move on. I can't move on.
"I think it's because it was children, babies," she said. "I was horrified by it."
After the Connecticut shootings, Smith posted something on Facebook and drew more support to do something. The group One Million Moms for Gun Control, the Washington National Cathedral and two other churches eventually signed on to co-sponsor the march. Organizers have raised more than $46,000 online to pay for equipment and fees to stage the rally.
Lawmakers from the District of Columbia and Maryland were scheduled to speak Saturday. Actress Kathleen Turner was expected to appear, along with Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund and Colin Goddard, a survivor from the Virginia Tech massacre.
Smith said she supports a comprehensive look at mental health and violence in video games and films. But she said the mass killings at Virginia Tech and Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., all start with guns.
"The issue is guns. The Second Amendment gives us the right to own guns, but it's not the right to own any gun," she said. "These are assault weapons, made for killing people."
___
March on Washington for Gun Control: http://www.guncontrolmarch.com/
A plane carrying three Canadians has gone missing in Antarctica. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News
Howling winds and snow grounded an effort Thursday to find a small plane missing in a mountainous area of Antarctica for more than two days, rescuers said.
The twin-engine plane, carrying three Canadian crew members, was about an hour into a flight from the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to an Italian research station at Terra Nova Bay, when its emergency beacon was heard by rescue officials in New Zealand at about 4 a.m. ET Tuesday.
The company that owns the plane,?Kenn Borek Air Ltd.?of Calgary, Alberta, said it was ?maintaining a respectful silence? until the fate of the plane and its crew was known.
The?Calgary Sun?newspaper identified one of those aboard the plane as Bob Heath of the Northwest Territories, calling him a ?star pilot? for Kenn Borek Air.
The newspaper quoted Heath?s wife Lucy Heath as saying she was ?worried? and ?waiting for news.?
A search plane spent about five hours circling over the site of the beacon, which is in a mountainous area, but heavy cloud cover hampered the search and then the weather got worse, officials said.
Winds have topped 100 mph and it was also snowing, Michael Flyger, spokesman for New Zealand?s?Rescue Coordination Center, said.
He added he hoped the next weather forecast "will bring good news,? enabling the search to continue.
Five-day water supply The beacon?s signal is coming from an area about 11,000 feet above sea level, Flyger said.
?It?s pretty mountainous terrain. It?s impossible to say whether it crashed or made an emergency landing or they had a mechanical problem and had to ditch the plane,? he said. ?At the moment we have a plane that?s not where it should be and a locator beacon is going off.?
The beacon can be switched on manually, but it also would begin transmitting if sensors detected a crash, Flyger said.
Despite the conditions in the area, there may be reason for optimism, he added.
?We do know that onboard the aircraft there was a significant amount of survival equipment -- heavy-duty mountain tents, enough water for three people for five days,? he said. ?They?ve certainly got the equipment to look after themselves.?
The National Science Foundation, which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, said the plane was flying in support of Italian Antarctic research.
Searchers from the United States, Italy and Canada are assisting in New Zealand's efforts and have helicopters and airplanes ready to return to the site, Flyger said, adding that the the ideal scenario would be for a helicopter to either land or use a winch to bring up survivors.
?If conditions are good enough, hopefully we can land a short distance away and the team will walk to the crash site,? he said. ??There?s some frustration that the weather has been the way it?s been. The searchers are very keen to get in and crack on with the job."
?We?re very aware that not only are there people out there who need our help, but there are people ... wanting to know what?s going on. We hope to be able to give some good news.?
?We?re facing declining funding from the state and increasing demand from our industry partners for well-trained workers,? he said. ?We have excellence in teaching. That?s what sets our college apart. But do we have the equipment? Do we have the faculty? It?s not rocket science, but it is daunting.?![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_skjSzLW9h8ebQWNmmx8C3qXgFMD_8CZJDrcIp9YJMDcD1lutjKgzUwRmEaDcj2VShxfCmSwfGX-LmvbMT8LAU6NEdIGb7UII8nCk1AMfQ=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
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Facility Management Corporation is an innovative leader of public recreational facility management, specializing in ice arena operations. FMC has been operating community ice arenas since its inception in 1992. The primary focus of the company is the development and expansion of affordable skating opportunities and the extension of the operating season at the ice arenas, providing year-round programming to local skating enthusiasts. For more information, please go to www.fmcicesports.com or call 1-888-74-SKATE.
