<div class=MG Rover sold to Nanjing Auto
" />

MG Rover sold to Nanjing Auto

Friday, July 22, 2005

Administrators PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC) have announced that the British car company MG Rover and its engine manufacturer Powertrain Ltd has been sold to Chinese company Nanjing Automobile for an unknown sum of money. The company beat bids from Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), despite being the smaller of the two.

MG Rover collapsed this Spring, after struggling to make a profit for several years.

SAIC had tried to buy only the engine plant and then transfer it to China, but in June Nanjing Automobile approached PWC with a combined bid for both the car manufacturing company and Powertrain. This Monday SAIC bid for both but the offer was inferior to Nanjing’s.

Nanjing has indicated that it too will move the engine production plant to China, along with some car manufacturing. However it also intends to continue building cars in Britain, and establish an engineering research and design centre there in an effort to expand its sales globally. Nanjing intends to start hiring at once.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=MG_Rover_sold_to_Nanjing_Auto&oldid=849156”
Posted in Uncategorized
<div class=Wikipedia founder embroiled in affair and financial allegations
" />

Wikipedia founder embroiled in affair and financial allegations

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

The implosion of a relationship between Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and journalist Rachel Marsden has resulted in controversy and international headlines. Associated Press and ABC News have also reported on questionable activity by Wales involving Wikimedia Foundation expenses. The Wikimedia Foundation is a donor-supported non-profit organization which runs Wikipedia.

Marsden had contacted Wales two years ago about concerns she had over the article about her on Wikipedia, and Wales determined the article was not compliant with Wikipedia’s standards. The tech blog Valleywag revealed Wales had a personal relationship with Marsden, and posted supposed transcripts of their instant message conversations on its site, www.valleywag.com. Wales and Marsden met in February, and The Times reported that “An apparent transcript of their conversations before that meeting suggests that, although Mr Wales had withdrawn from the editing process, he was still influencing the editors.” The Times quoted Wales from the chat logs as having stated to Marsden “The truth is of course a much worse conflict of interest than that; but that will do.” — in reference to his conflict of interest regarding Marsden’s article on Wikipedia.

Wales posted a public statement on Saturday on Wikipedia addressing the matter, and stated that his relationship with Marsden was over: “First, while I find it hard to imagine that anyone really cares about my sex life, the facts are: I am separated from my wife. I considered myself single at the time of my one meeting with Rachel Marsden on Feb. 9, 2008 … I am no longer involved with Rachel Marsden. Gossipy stories suggesting that I have been in a relationship with her ‘since last fall’ are completely false … I care deeply about the integrity of Wikipedia, and take very seriously my responsibilities as a member of the board and as a member of the Wikipedia community. I would never knowingly do anything to compromise that trust.” With regard to the conflict of interest in Marsden’s article, Wales had acknowledged to a team of Wikipedia editors in February 2008 that he and Marsden “became friends … and that we would be meeting about that,” and stated “I recused myself from any further official action with respect to her biography.”

On Sunday, The Canadian Press reported that Marsden had posted photos of herself on Ebay, and was selling items that Wales had left at her New York City apartment. In her Ebay posting, Marsden stated: “Hi, my name is Rachel and my (now ex-) boyfriend, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, just broke up with me via an announcement on Wikipedia … It was such a classy move that I was inspired to do something equally classy myself, so I’m selling a couple of items of clothing he left behind, here in my NYC apartment, on eBay. Jimbo was supposed to come visit me in a couple of weeks and pick up some of his stuff, but obviously that won’t be happening now.” Marsden told The Canadian Press “It didn’t really help matters that Jimmy chose to announce the breakup to the entire world via Wikipedia (which apparently now is an online encyclopedia that doubles as a personal soapbox?) rather than to me directly (which he did much later, in an instant message discussion).”

I care deeply about the integrity of Wikipedia, and take very seriously my responsibilities as a member of the board and as a member of the Wikipedia community. I would never knowingly do anything to compromise that trust.

Marsden placed a t-shirt and sweater which she said were left at her apartment by Wales up on Ebay, and started the bidding for each at ninety-nine cents, with the auctions set to end on March 12. By Monday, bidding on the t-shirt had reached US$300, and by Tuesday the highest bid had reached $12,200. In an email to The Globe and Mail, Marsden stated “My only focus right now, to be really honest, is on my career and finding a way to get back into print, TV, or radio here in NYC,” she wrote. “All of this other personal stuff is just an unfortunate distraction.”

Jay Walsh, the Wikimedia Foundation’s head of communications, told the San Jose Mercury News that Wales’ actions in relaying Marsden’s concerns about her Wikipedia article to a team of trusted editors was within his “routine” role. When asked by the San Jose Mercury News if Wales’ actions regarding the Marsden article could compromise his role with the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia, Walsh responded “No, absolutely not.”

On Tuesday, ABC News carried a story by Wired News reporter Megan McCarthy regarding allegations of “excessive spending” by Wales, and Associated Press also reported on questions involving Wikimedia Foundation expenses. McCarthy reported that former Wikimedia executive Danny Wool, who had left the foundation last year, criticized Wales’ use of Wikimedia Foundation expenses in a blog post. Wool stated that Wales had tried to expense $300 bottles of wine, a $1,300 dinner for four at a Florida steakhouse, and visits to Moscow massage parlors to the foundation, and that the foundation rescinded Wales’ corporate credit card in 2006. Wool also stated that Wales paid the foundation $7,000, after being short $30,000 on receipts for expenses.

Wool told EPICENTER that “There were occasions where he used [the Wikimedia Foundation] for personal advancement under the guide [sic] of the mission. And, as someone who was in there for the mission part of it, I found that rather distressful.” Wool commented in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle: “Originally, it was carelessness … But as things developed, it became more apparent and obvious that he was taking advantage of the foundation credit card. It was almost like his personal piggy bank.”

Jimmy has never used Wikimedia money to subsidize his personal expenditures. Indeed, he has consistently put the foundation’s interests ahead of his own.

In an instant message exchange with Associated Press, Wales denied that the Wikimedia Foundation had taken away his corporate credit card, and asserted that he had made the decision to stop expensing business travel for the foundation. Wales highlighted a statement by the foundation’s executive director Sue Gardner: “Jimmy has never used Wikimedia money to subsidize his personal expenditures. Indeed, he has consistently put the foundation’s interests ahead of his own.” In an email to Associated Press, Brad Patrick, a former attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, stated “Danny seems interested in blogging his way straight to a lawsuit”.

Florence Devouard, who chairs the Wikimedia Foundation, told Associated Press that Wales had been “slow in submitting receipts,” and that the foundation had rejected Wales’ expense at the Florida steakhouse. Devouard told fellow foundation board members in a private email that she had convinced Associated Press that “the money story was a no story,” and told Wales “I find (it) tiring to see how you are constantly trying to rewrite the past. Get a grip!” Wales told Associated Press: “The board, the current executive director, the previous executive director, and independent auditors have reviewed our books and publicly agree that all of my expenses were appropriate and fully accounted for.”

Media reports speculated on how the controversy would end up being represented in Wikipedia itself. On Wednesday, the St. Petersburg Times wrote: “Wales’ Wikipedia page said only this about Marsden: ‘Wales had a brief relationship with Canadian journalist Rachel Marsden.'” An article in The Australian surmised: “History will decide whether Mr Wales broke his own principles, but before that happens there may well be a Wikipedia page devoted to the controversy.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_founder_embroiled_in_affair_and_financial_allegations&oldid=2950225”
Posted in Uncategorized
<div class=‘Electra’-fying competition faces ‘Fockers’
" />

‘Electra’-fying competition faces ‘Fockers’

Friday, January 14, 2005

U.S. and Canada — North American movie box offices were dominated by Universal pictures last weekend as two of its films, a comedy, Meet the Fockers, and a horror flick, White Noise, together raked in a combined $52.6 million, more than half the $98.3 all films made over the Jan. 7 weekend, according to film tracking firm Box Office Mojo.

But Universal’s dominance of the North American box office receipts is in danger as 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Brothers and Sony all have films debuting in wide release Friday.

After a two-week drought of new releases with Noise the only debut, the Jan. 14 weekend is relatively crowded as three new films bow and one Oscar-buzz movie expands into wide release.

  • Elektra (PG-13) [1:37] Among the new entries is the Jennifer Garner star vehicle Elektra a semi-sequel to 2003’s comic-book based Daredevil where Garner reprise a role of anti-hero. Elektra bows in 3,204 theatres.
  • Coach Carter (PG-13) [2:14]: Paramount pictures releases the 134-minute metaphor heavy Coach Carter, a production of MTV Pictures, featuring Samuel L. Jackson in an inspirational inner-city high school sports movie. Coach Carter will debut in 2,524 U.S. and Canadian movie houses.
  • Racing Stripes (PG) [1:24]: Warner Bros. also enters the debut fray with its live-action talking animal family movie, Racing Stripes, featuring the voices from such a diverse cast as Snoop Dogg, Mandy Moore and Dustin Hoffman. Racing Stripes starts its run with 3,185 venues.
  • House of Flying Daggers (PG-13) [1:59]: Sony Pictures Classics is expanding its wire fu Chinese war epic, House of Flying Daggers. The film has made it to several critics best-of-the-year lists and is considered a front runner for Academy Award nominations in several technical categories.
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=%27Electra%27-fying_competition_faces_%27Fockers%27&oldid=433890”
Posted in Uncategorized
3 Top Questions To Ask When Choosing A Real Estate Lawyer

3 Top Questions To Ask When Choosing A Real Estate Lawyer

3 Top Questions To Ask When Choosing A Real Estate Lawyer

by

Chris Harmen

Choosing a legal professional is a very personal decision, and can have a marked impact on the eventual success of your case. You must find someone that you feel you can understand, but there are also technical qualifications that must be met. When you are seeking a real estate lawyer, there are additional qualifications beyond what a regular legal professional should provide. While there is no guaranteed checklist for finding a successful attorney, asking these questions can help you ensure that you choose the best possible real estate attorney for your case.

Question 1: How Long Have You Been Licensed To Practice Law?

This question is among the most basic, yet a surprising number of potential clients forget to ask it. In order to become a real estate lawyer, or to be legally permitted to give legal advice of any kind, the professional must attend law school and pass an exam known as the Bar exam. This exam is specific to each state, and a lawyer who wishes to open up a practice in another state must pass that state’s bar as well before he may practice. Asking your potential advocate how long he has been licensed to practice will give you an idea of his experience while also confirming that he is in fact a technically qualified legal professional and can legally represent you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j_HJDzQWZw[/youtube]

Question #2: How Long Have You Been A Real Estate Lawyer?

Virtually every attorney chooses one specialty, which most will follow throughout their professional career. Some may specialize in two related fields, but it’s rare to find anyone more diversified than that. There is a very good reason for such specificity: legal precedent, a major factor in many court decisions. In order to maintain consistency in court rulings, courts will take into account former rulings when they make decisions in current cases. Thus, in order to support his claims, a real estate attorney may reference these former decisions and use them as part of a current argument. Following these developments in the different courts statewide and even nationwide takes a lot of time, which in addition to the specialized depth of knowledge required creates a practical limit of one specialty per advocate. Some will occasionally switch specialties mid-practice, but asking will easily reveal that.

Question #3: How Many Clients Do You Typically Carry At Once?

A small law office may quickly become overburdened if the caseload is too high, but a larger office may end up shuttling you off to a young, inexperienced real estate attorney or even a caseworker. You want to ensure that whatever size office you choose has the right amount of staff to give you the attention you need. There is no magic number, but a single lawyer handling more than 10 intensive cases is almost certainly overburdened.

The Right Real Estate Attorney For You

Finding a good legal professional requires persistence, perseverance, and a high level of comfort asking tough questions. The right legal professional won’t hesitate to answer, will be knowledgeable, and will be open and honest with you from the beginning. If you find someone who has the necessary legal qualifications and seems to have a strong grasp of property legislation as well, you can find the person who will help you best.

Chris Harmen writes for the Chicago Legal Group, providing a top

Lake County real estate lawyer

for your real estate disputes. A Chicago Legal Group

Chicago real estate attorney

can help you navigate legal proceedings with confidence.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

<div class=Researchers create rat kidneys in a laboratory
" />

Researchers create rat kidneys in a laboratory

Monday, April 15, 2013

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital have created laboratory-grown rat kidneys that function when transplanted into rats according to a study published online yesterday in the medical journal Nature Medicine.

The kidneys were capable of urine production and excretion without blood clots in both the laboratory and inside living rats. The researchers were able to create the functional kidneys by using a donor kidney and using a detergent to remove the rats’ kidney cells, then used new cells to cause the kidney to grow around the remaining “scaffolding,” the natural protein-based structure of the kidney that remained after washing the kidney.

These kidneys would also be of the patient’s tissue avoiding issues of organ rejection and would increase the pool of kidneys available for human transplant.

The researchers incubated the kidneys in a specialized oven for 12 days to mimic the insides of a rat. The researchers reported that these kidneys produced urine at 23% of the normal levels of properly working kidneys.

The lead researcher of the study published in Nature Medicine, Dr. Harald C. Ott, says this partial functionality is enough, saying, “If you’re on haemodialysis then kidney function of 10% to 15% would already make you independent of hemodialysis. It’s not that we have to go all the way.”

The techniques developed by Ott and the team of researchers still have to be further researched before it can be applied for use in humans. When it comes time for use in humans, Ott says that pigs’ kidneys would be used as the templates for making human-usable kidneys.

Ott said, “You’d take a kidney matrix off the shelf. Then in an ideal world, you’d take cells from that patient and create a kidney on demand.”

Roughly 100,000 patients in the United States need an immediate kidney transplant, with 500,000 more on dialysis.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Researchers_create_rat_kidneys_in_a_laboratory&oldid=4629307”
Posted in Uncategorized
<div class=Christchurch can host 2011 Rugby World Cup final
" />

Christchurch can host 2011 Rugby World Cup final

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Christchurch, New Zealand‘s Jade stadium says they can host the 2011 Rugby World Cup final if Auckland can’t make a decision on whether or not they should build a new stadium on the waterfront or upgrade Auckland’s current stadium, Eden Park, costing NZ$500 million and $385 million respectively.

Jade Stadium would be able to host the final if they were to include temporary seating to accommodate 60,000 people, required by the International Rugby Board (IRB).

Gary Moore, mayor of Christchurch, said that if they were selected to host the final then they will ask the government for $80 million. The stadium is already planning for an upgrade, worth $60 million but that money will be funded from private and charitable organisations as well as the local and central governments. The current upgrade will see Jade stadium’s seating capacity grow to 43,000 and if they host a quarter-final or semi-final then temporary seating will increase the seats to 55,000.

Trevor Mallard, the Minister of Sport, said that the Auckland City Council and the Auckland Regional Council have both been given about two weeks to tell the government which decision it supports. If they cannot come to a decision then the final will most likely be given to Jade stadium, Christchurch. The least likeliest of all decisions, an upgrade of Carlaw park, but that is designated for a retirement home and on private land.

Mr Moore said that he and “stadium officials had offered Jade Stadium as a back-up final venue at a recent informal meeting with Mallard because of the continuing Auckland divisions over a site. This is about New Zealand Inc, not about Christchurch versus Auckland. What we have said to Trevor Mallard is we are able to put a stadium into Christchurch that would accommodate the numbers they would need as an insurance policy if Auckland cannot get its act together. The Government knows that when Christchurch or Canterbury puts its hand up it delivers with excellence.”

Bryan Pearson, chief executive of Vbase, the company which manages Jade Stadium, said: “It was not uncommon for major sporting venues to add temporary seating for big events. London had included temporary seating for some stadiums as part of its successful Olympic hosting bid. It was not a low-rent option, and was a commercially prudent way to marry short-term opportunity with long-term legacy.”

Mr Pearson hopes that Jade Stadium will not be used for the final as he understands why the government wants a national stadium, “Let’s hope this gets sorted and we can focus our attentions on playing a very major supporting role. We are only a third the size of Auckland, so what we can sustain post-World Cup is nowhere near what Auckland can.”

Warwick Taylor, former All Black, said it will be great if Christchurch can host the final even though he played in the 1987 final at Eden Park. Though Mr Taylor does say that an Auckland stadium is a better idea as a 60,000 seat stadium is more viable in such a large population city. Mr Taylor said that he “had great memories playing at Eden Park and in some ways would hate to see it lose the final. But I also like the idea of a national stadium.”

The New Zealand Rugby Union said that a waterfront stadium and an upgrade of Eden Park are the only two options being considered, and no other stadiums are being considered.

A lot of people are confirming that Christchurch will be able to cope with the huge amount of visitors that would arrive for the final as Christchurch has the highest per capita amount of restaurants and bars in Australasia. The city also features numerous hotels.

If New Zealand cannot deliver a final in a 60,000 seat World Class stadium then the IRB will allocated the final to another country.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Christchurch_can_host_2011_Rugby_World_Cup_final&oldid=435148”
Posted in Uncategorized
<div class=UK judge reveals gang warfare crimes of policeman
" />

UK judge reveals gang warfare crimes of policeman

Saturday, November 6, 2010

A judge at Liverpool Crown Court in England, UK has allowed the media to report on crimes committed by a serving policeman involved with gang warfare. Salim Razaq, fired from his position as sergeant by Lancashire Constabulary, entered guilty pleas last month but this information was kept from the public pending the outcome of a separate trial.

Five others have also admitted charges in the case, including the officer’s brother Hafiz and mother Gulshan. Salim was caught when police bugged phone calls Hafiz was making from prison on remand awaiting trial for kidnapping and assaulting a rival gang member. The gangs were fighting a ‘turf war’ over drugs sales.

Salim Razaq was nothing short of a criminal in a police uniform

In the conversations the pair discussed intimidation of witnesses in a bid to prevent prosecution of Hafiz, and money laundering. Lancashire Police’s Professional Standards Department then raided Salim’s home in Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, and found £72,000 in cash hidden in the sergeant’s bedroom. Three machine guns — two Uzis and a Sten — were concealed under the stairs. 228 bullets, a bullet-proof jacket, a balaclava, and a knuckle-duster were also confiscated.

Razaq, who became an emergency response officer when he joined the police in 2001 and became a sergeant in January last year, was dismissed in June when the force convened a Special Case Hearing to fast-track the process. He has entered guilty pleas to nine offences: misconduct in a public office, two charges of perverting the course of justice, three charges of possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, conspiracy to transfer criminal property, and conspiracy to acquire or retain criminal property.

Salim and Hafiz’s mother Gulshan admitted perverting the course of justice; her role was to intimidate witnesses. Hafiz entered guilty pleas to money laundering and two counts of perverting the course of justice. Two more gang members — Jason Lawrenson and Daniel Cookson — admitted money laundering, and another man, Louis Bamber, admitted possession of a firearm. The five will be sentenced on November 11.

Details had been kept secret while Salim Razaq faced trial on a charge of fraud by inflating the value of his salary — £33,000 a year — to obtain a mortgage. Judge Henry Globe QC decided he was innocent of that charge and ordered the jury to find him not guilty. He then lifted the restrictions imposed on the media.

Lancashire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cooke spoke to the press outside the court. “Salim Razaq was nothing short of a criminal in a police uniform and I am appalled by the fact that a police officer was involved at the level he was in this criminality. However, I am extremely proud of the Lancashire officers who put this case together, the quality of which is reflected in the guilty pleas. I am sure that the sentences will reflect the seriousness of these crimes.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=UK_judge_reveals_gang_warfare_crimes_of_policeman&oldid=1523217”
Posted in Uncategorized
The Z Boson Mass And Its Formula As Multiple Proofs In One Yummy Bowl Of Pudding

The Z Boson Mass And Its Formula As Multiple Proofs In One Yummy Bowl Of Pudding

By Sean Sheeter

Though its origin is disputed, the phrase ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’ is popularly attributed to Cervantes 1615 comic novel Don Quixote. And while one can talk about a pudding’s ingredients all they want, the saying’s meaning stays intact when shortened to ‘the proof is in the pudding’ – because that is where you will ultimately find it; if you bother to at least taste it – as it’s the results that count.

Which is unlike a ‘mathematical proof’ obtained by logic alone since one’s pallet will sometimes disagree with what one thinks is a delicious recipe. In this sense, the implied dichotomy is akin to Kepler’s contribution to elliptic geometry, which per se is independent of experience in the sense that elliptic theorems can be constructed and proven without appeals to any physical phenomena. But in practice Kepler refined Copernicus’s resurrected heliocentric heresy of planetary orbits in a manner that just as clearly is non-abstractly physical and empirically testable. Which ultimately is the key characteristic of the ‘scientific method’ or ‘revolution,’ soon further cemented by Newton and Galileo’s discoveries expressing physical laws by experimental confirmation of their mathematical formulation.

This report accordingly will further pare the phrase down to a ‘Pudding Proof’ that employs multiple means of what a mathematical formula represents, not only being theoretically correct in multiple senses, but confirmed to be correct by a clear correspondence with the most precisely measured empirical value in high-energy particle physics, specifically the neutral weak or Z-boson mass. For the Z’s present measured mass value (http://pdg.lbl.gov/2007/listings/s044.pdf) of 91187.6 +2.1 MeV (million electron Volts) is what truly represents the operative meaning of this term with respect to being the ultimate result as ‘physical proof’ of the following equation and invariant mass for the Z-boson: Z = 91187.633 MeV = 9u1/8 + ms – mb;

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s71ba_uKo14[/youtube]

though one then doesn’t really need to know the mass m of the strange and bottom quarks, or the Higgs vacuum minimum u1.

Likewise, how we obtained these other, presently (grossly) ‘unknown,’ values isn’t at issue either, though obviously it was not achieved by empirical measure nor is related to this equation. Which isn’t meant to squelch natural curiosity, as anyone interested in a history of these discoveries is directed to a preceding article (ezinearticles.com/?The-Meaning-of-a-Precise-Dimensionless-Fundamental-Physical-Constant&id=725742) describing the dimensionless scaling system of physics that generates the gamete of such fundamental physical constants. In any case, assuming I’m not lying (which is just as provable – if any chumps want to make a bet?), these ‘unknown masses’ contribute to this equation to give the above Z-mass that corresponds precisely with its measured mass average. But then this ‘pudding proof’ basically refers not just directly to the Z-mass, but more importantly empirically implies that these three ‘non-given’ or `ill-measured’ fundamental masses are just as precisely determined and confirmed as proven mass values as the Z itself!

And though this empirical pudding proof seems unprecedented with regard to the implication of the validity the precision of a parameter such as a strange or bottom quark mass (that can’t be directly measured anyway), it certainly remains an outstanding example of the validity of empirical measure as the bedrock of scientific method. For the ultimate strength of the dimensionless numerical scaling system that sets it apart from all other modern theoretical ‘models’ is evident from the raft of confirmable predictions it makes – and largely are presently accessible in well-tested standard contexts (such as the Z) that require no greater experimentally contrived studies to ‘test’ whether some ‘theoretical interpretation’ is ‘correct.’

Yet in a related regard, the equation for the Z-mass itself represents multiple theoretical proofs that strengthen the outstanding empirical correspondence with the pudding of its measured mass. The first matter in this regard straddles both spheres in that the predominant observed or theoretical decay products of a weak neutral boson are admixtures of bottom with strange and/or down quarks in heavy mesons, and practically is the only known particle that can directly decay to a strange Bs-meson. Which according to our equation consists of a -e/3-charged b-quark with a +e/3-charged strange antiquark – which thus assures the charge neutrality of a Bs-meson. Then over and above these confirmed theoretical considerations with respect to the equation’s quarks, there looms the fundamental observations of Peter Higgs concerning the origin of mass in general, and specifically with respect to electroweak symmetry breaking by which the weak Z and W gauge bosons acquire a mass from some mechanism while leaving photons massless. The above equation employs the appropriate Higgs field mechanism best called the vacuum minima u1, which is again generically associated with the ‘3rd generation’ bottom of the -1e/3 ‘down quark family,’ in the same sense that the heavier ‘Higgs vacuum doublet’ u2 represents a neutral pair of tops of the +2e/3 ‘up quark family.’ (Incidentally cognoscenti, they saw evidence of the ‘light Higgs boson’ before CERN replaced the lepton collider with the Large Hadron over five years ago, which thankfully will generate the far more fundamental Heavy Higgs scalar – when that pudding is ready to take out of their oven. [So it’s a big deal for them, but it’s just the basic, strongest set parameter in a real system of numeric Planck-scaling – so knowing its mass is no big whoop, I’d say the Nobel should go to the machine itself – i.e. it should be a bigger deal for everyone and God when they witness baryogenesis {creation of nuclear matter over antimatter}]!)

Actually the above equation is one of two expressions for the Z-mass, as the other naturally involves its relation to the charged W-boson mass. The W itself is the predominant decay product from the heavier ‘Higgs vacuum doublet’ of a top/antitop pair where convention has the +2e/3 top imparting its +charge to the W in mediating a transformation to a -1e/3 bottom. So once again the Higgs fields impart their mass to quarks and gauge bosons, where each theoretical argument reinforces others (there being further supporting pudding proofs that involve equations for neutral and charged pairs of B-mesons that reinforce the basic equation for Z-mass, for example.) And each theoretical nuance is of course supported by the latest measures of these mass values. But the mathematical form of these equations give insights into theoretical and predictive empirical realms that are unavailable in any other standard theoretical scheme. Example: I’ll give a hundred dollars (I’d make it more but care too much to be going broke) to anyone who can find a reference containing the above equation for the Z-mass.

Having established that theoretically it’s a perfectly good equation, there should be some possibility it’s not unique. But I highly doubt it would ever have been published, especially without any knowledge of these other parameters; that I can safely assume are within my copyrights if just because of the strength of this Pudding Proof demands it. Which brings us back to the basic meaning of this old saying – the results are in the tasting and eating of the pudding. And the bottom line test of this principle after the above equation has been posted for six years on this web of the so-called information highway is this – I’ve yet to find an individual who is capable of appreciating a pudding full of yummy plums and proofs, let alone anyone who wants to eat any and taste the results for themselves. But real pudding isn’t intended for foolish authorities who only remember how to speak with forked tongue, it’s made for the likes of you and I who experience the joys of eating or speaking with one tongue – yum!

About the Author: Sean Sheeter is an independent theorist, geometer, author of 241-Mumbers: The Definitive Data for Fundamental Physics and Cosmology, and founder of

241mumbers.com

. The Z-boson equation is one of four examples of our Sample Data and Proofs at

241mumbers.com/page2.html

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=190170&ca=Education

<div class=Wikinews holds a follow-up interview with Kevin Baugh, president of the Republic of Molossia
" />

Wikinews holds a follow-up interview with Kevin Baugh, president of the Republic of Molossia

Thursday, May 1, 2008

In March, Wikinews reporter Joseph Ford held an exclusive interview with Kevin Baugh, president of the Republic of Molossia, a micronation located near Dayton, Nevada. Due to the interest the article gained, both online and off, a follow-up interview was held this week.

Molossia’s capital city, Espera, is situated on little over an acre of land in Western Nevada, within driving distance of Reno. Another territory, Desert Homestead Province, is located in Southern California. Unlike most of today’s micronations, Molossia allows visitors and has its own economy. It also has its own time zone and holidays as well as a few tourist attractions.

When asked about the culture of his country Baugh replied, “Molossian culture is a mix of several sources. Above all, we value the lifestyle of the western U.S., especially as it pertains to living in a wide-open place such as we do. Life here is fairly relaxed and easygoing.”

He also said that Molossia and the United States “generally ignore each other” and that there haven’t been “any altercations” between the two, despite claiming each other’s land. He went on to tell us much more about his tiny nation, which can be read in the interview below.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_holds_a_follow-up_interview_with_Kevin_Baugh,_president_of_the_Republic_of_Molossia&oldid=4467283”
Posted in Uncategorized
<div class=Wikinews interviews Paúl M. Velazco about new yellow-shouldered bat species
" />

Wikinews interviews Paúl M. Velazco about new yellow-shouldered bat species

Monday, April 21, 2014

Scientists at Chicago’s Field Museum and New York’s American Museum of Natural History have discovered three new species of yellow-shouldered bats, genus Sturnira, in the Neotropics. On Wednesday open-access journal ZooKeys published their paper on two of the new species, Sturnira bakeri and Sturnira burtonlimi. The two new species were previously confused with S. ludovici, and S. lilium and S. luisi, respectively. With the discovery, genus Sturnira now has the most species of any genus in family Phyllostomidae, the leaf-nosed bats.

Species S. bakeri was named after Dr. Robert J. Baker, who “has made enormous contributions to our [Authors of the ZooKey paper] understanding of bats, particularly to the evolution of Neotropical phyllostomids”; and S. burtonlimi after Dr. Burton K. Lim, who “collected the type series of this species and has made many other important collections throughout the Neotropics and beyond”, the authors noted in the paper.

Within the New World tropics, the distribution range of the genus, the new species’ known living areas are in Costa Rica and Panama for S. burtonlimi, and Western Ecuador for S. bakeri. The researchers identified differences between different specimens, including those in their teeth, skull shapes, and DNA sequences.

Wikinews interviewed one of the chiropterologists, Paúl M. Velazco of the American Museum of Natural History, about the study.

((Wikinews)) The Sturnira genus now has 22 species, over 1.5 times larger than it was a year ago (14 species). Who contributed to this change? Did you participate throughout the entire process, or only the discovery of the last 2 species?

Paúl M. Velazco: The last Mammal Species of the World (Simmons, 2005) recognized 14 species for Sturnira. Since then three new species have been described [S. sorianoi Sánchez-Hernández et al., 2005; S. koopmanhilli McCarthy et al., 2006; and S. perla Jarrín-V. and Kunz, 2011] and one subspecies was elevated to the species level (S. hondurensis) by Gardner (2008). This brought the number of species of Sturnira to 18 by 2011. Along with my coauthor Bruce Patterson, we generated the most comprehensive phylogeny of the genus. For this we sequenced two nuclear and three mitochondrial genes from the liver or muscle tissue that had been frozen or preserved from each bat specimen, isolating nearly 5,000 base pairs of DNA. These sequences were obtained from specimens we have collected in the past (38) and from tissues we borrowed from different natural history collections. We published this phylogeny last year in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Results of this study found that two subspecies of Sturnira lilium should be recognized as valid species (S. parvidens and S. paulsoni). Additionally we found three new species, two of them described in the ZooKeys paper. The third one hopefully will be published later this year.

((WN)) The genus is called Sturnira Gray in the paper. I’ve not seen extra adjectives in genus names, before. What is the context for such name?

PMV: Usually in papers that deal with taxonomy and nomenclature, the first time that a genus or species is mentioned in text is accompanied by the authority that describes that taxon. In the case of Sturnira, it was Gray in 1842 that named the genus.

((WN)) What caused your initial interest in the question in the genus? When did you become interested?

PMV: I have been studying bats for the past eighteen years and I am especially interested in the family Phyllostomidae that is endemic to the Neotropics. This family includes more than 160 species. It is the most diverse family of bats in the Neotropics, which together exhibits more variation in morphological features and feeding ecology than any other family-level group of mammals. Phyllostomid bats exploit an unusually diverse array of feeding habits including sanguivory, insectivory, carnivory, omnivory, nectarivory, pollennivory, and frugivory. Because of all mentioned before, phyllostomids are a really interesting group to work with. Sturnira and Platyrrhinus are members of this family.

((WN)) The paper mentions that the genus is now the most speciose genus in the Neotropical family Phyllostomidae. What genus did it beat? How many species does it include?

PMV: The other genus with the most species in the family is Platyrrhinus. Currently, it has 20 species, but soon it will increase to 21. Along with another colleague, Burton Lim, we have a paper in press describing a new species based on molecular and morphological data from the Guianan Shield.

((WN)) What equipment did you use?

PMV: For the ZooKeys paper, we examined several specimens under the stereoscope. The molecular phylogeny gave us the separation between species, from there our job was to focus on finding morphological differences between these groups.

((WN)) Did you conduct field study to identify the species’ habits? If so, where and how did you do that?

PMV: I have done fieldwork in Belize and Peru, and my coauthor did field work in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, where we collected several specimens of Sturnira (including the third species that has not been described yet). But the two species that were described in the ZooKeys paper are based on specimens collected by our colleagues Dr. Robert Baker from Texas Tech University and Dr. Burton Lim from the Royal Ontario Museum.

((WN)) How do you isolate of the living area of the new species from the living area of the old species?

PMV: We used the phylogeny of Velazco and Patterson 2013 (Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution) as a framework for this.

((WN)) How long did the study take? What has been the most time-consuming activity?

PMV: It took almost a year. The most time consuming part was spending several hours behind the stereoscope looking for the diagnostic characters.

((WN)) Who participated in the study? What were their roles?

PMV: Dr. Bruce Patterson from the [American] Museum of Natural History and I. I was the one in charge of finding the diagnostic characters and together we both worked on the manuscript.

((WN)) Who do you collaborate with internationally about your study?

PMV: For this study I collaborated directly with Dr. Bruce Patterson from the Field Museum of Natural History, but studies like this cannot be completed without the contribution of scientific collections. We used specimens from the American Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Louisiana State University, Museum of Southwestern Biology, Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional de San Marcos, Museo de Zoología of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at Berkeley, Royal Ontario Museum, Texas Tech University, and the National Museum of Natural History.

((WN)) What future research do you plan?

PMV: To keep doing what I love, which is going to the field, working at collections, and collaborating with the wonderful collaborators I have, all of this is an effort to try to understand bat diversity and evolution in the Neotropics, especially why phyllostomid bats are so successful at this. There is still much to discover, and hopefully we could, in time, implement conservation actions for species that have small distributions.
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_interviews_Paúl_M._Velazco_about_new_yellow-shouldered_bat_species&oldid=4567507”
Posted in Uncategorized