London Officers in 'waterboarding' claim

The Six London Metropolitan Police officers accused of "torturing" suspects through the use of "waterboarding" have been suspended.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirmed it is investigating the conduct of the officers during drugs raids in the borough of Enfield on November 4 last year when the 5 people were arrested.

Neither the IPCC nor Scotland Yard would comment on the nature of the allegations but sources have said the officers are accused of pushing drug suspects' heads into buckets of water during searches of two properties.

Waterboarding is when a suspect's head is covered by a wet cloth as water is poured over, giving the sensation of drowning. It was used by the US on terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay but has since been banned by President Barack Obama.

In February, Scotland Yard said 10 police officers from Enfield's crime squad were suspended and another 2 had been placed on restricted duties after an anti-corruption probe into the alleged mishandling of property.

Eight - one of them a detective sergeant - remain suspended and two remain on restricted duties. The 6 suspended over the conduct allegations are among them.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) received information from a London Metropolitan Police Service employee which raised concerns about the conduct of a small number of officers on Enfield borough.

"The Met's DPS then initiated a thorough investigation and as part of this made a referral to the IPCC in April 2009. The IPCC is independently investigating the actions of 6 officers during the arrests of 5 people in November 2008."

He added: "Whilst the investigation is ongoing it is not appropriate to make assumptions. That said, these are serious allegations that do raise real concern.

"The Met does not tolerate conduct which falls below the standards that the public and the many outstanding Met officers and staff expect. Any allegations of such behaviour are treated very seriously, as this case illustrates, and if found true the strongest possible action will be taken."

The claims are a huge embarrassment fore the force which is currently investigating the case of former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed who alleges he was tortured by US agents.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/06/09/uk.waterboarding.probe/

Intel invests $43 million for mobile WiMax effort in Japan

The venture capital arm of chipmaker Intel has announced an investment in Japanese WiMax company UQ Communications, which intends to provide coverage to most of Japan by 2012.

Intel Capital announced the $43 million investment on Sunday. Intel has long been a prime backer of the wide-range wireless technology, which it says has been deployed to varying extents in 135 countries.

"Intel Capital's investment in UQ Communications is one of our most significant commitments in developing the WiMax ecosystem around the globe," Intel Capital president Arvind Sodhani said in a statement. "UQ's WiMax deployment in Japan is a spectacular example of technology innovation being put to work."

UQ, whose network went live in February, is deploying the mobile variant of WiMax. The fixed version is already being offered in some areas of the U.K., but deployment of the mobile version--a candidate for the title of "4G"--is being held up by a lack of available spectrum.

When it goes to auction, the bulk of this spectrum--in the so-called "3G expansion band" around 2.6GHz--is expected to go to providers of rival technology LTE, but it is possible that some will be bought by a provider of mobile WiMax.

LTE has the backing of most of the incumbent mobile industry, but deployments are expected to lag behind mobile WiMax by a year or two.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10259504-94.html

Plane crash at Rochester International airport

The pilot involved in Saturday's plane crash at the Greater Rochester International Airport is out of the hospital.

Peter Treichler, 40, of East Aurora, had taken off in a vintage 1947 Vampire jet when airport officials say the plane had engine trouble five minutes into the flight.

It was heading back to Batavia when something went wrong.

Treichler tried to turn back and came up 100 feet short of the runway, hitting the ground twice before coming to a stop.

The plane was in town for an air show when the crash happened.

"It had engine failure five minutes into the flight. It tried to turn back, came about 100 feet short of the runway, touched down first. The force of hitting the ground forced it to lose total control of the plane and it did end up crashing about 250 yards farther adjacent to our main runway,” said David Damelio, airport director.

Treichler was taken to Strong Hospital with minor injuries and was released Sunday evening.

The jet was restored and previously owned by actor John Travolta and still bears Travolta's name, but has changed hands over the years. It is currently owned by the Wings of Flight aircraft club in Batavia.

Treichler is a member of that club, but is also a flight instructor with the Classic Jet Aircraft Association based in Maryland.

The Federal Aviation Administration continues to investigate the crash.

source: http://www.rnews.com/content/top_stories/474019/pilot-released-from-hospital-after-small-jet-crash/?RegionCookie=2004

Intel to Buy Wind River System to Extend Chip Market

The Intel Corporation said Thursday that it had agreed to buy Wind River Systems, a software company, for about $884 million in a bid to put its chips into more consumer electronics and wireless devices.

Intel said it had agreed to pay $11.50 a share for Wind River, a 44% premium over its closing price on Wednesday.

Wind River makes operating systems for platforms as diverse as autos and mobile phones, serving customers like Sony and Boeing.

Intel, whose processors run about 80% of the world’s personal computers, is expanding into new markets, including chips for televisions and mobile devices. Wind River’s software and customer list will pave the way for Intel to win more chip contracts, said Cody Acree, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Company in Dallas.

“If you have a chip you want to put in a lot of things other than a PC, you need code,” Mr. Acree said. “Wind River brings that, and it brings customers.”

Shares of Wind River, which is based in Alameda, Calif., rose $3.76, or 47 percent, to $11.76 a share. Shares of Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., rose 19 cents, to $16.13 a share.

It is Intel's first major acquisition since Paul S. Otellini took over as chief executive in 2005.

Intel expects chips for so-called embedded systems, like the electronics in car navigation systems, to generate billions of dollars in annual sales, said Bill Kircos, a company spokesman. Intel already supplies chips to BMW for car stereos that use Wind River software.

"It's trying to get our chips into new systems in your car, into new meters that let you monitor how you use electricity," Mr. Kircos said. "It's about getting into new consumer electronics, smartphones and health care."

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/technology/companies/05chip.html

Welcome to Xtreme Eating Awards 2009

WASHINGTON—Xtreme appetizers, entrées, and desserts at America's chain restaurants are making Americans fatter and sicker, and the trendy thing for chains to do is to make already bad foods even worse, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Bacon cheeseburgers come nestled inside quesadillas. Half racks of ribs are promoted as side orders to steak. Golf-ball-size blobs of macaroni and cheese are tossed in the deep-fryer and served with creamy marinara sauce and even more cheese.

Welcome to the Xtreme Eating Awards for 2009. Welcome back, actually. CSPI's first Xtreme Eating report shocked the nation in 2007 with nutritional train wrecks like Uno Chicago Grill's 2,000-calorie Pizza Skins. Since the restaurant industry is showing few signs of restraint or responsibility in the face of America's epidemic of obesity and diet-related disease, Nutrition Action will make these awards an annual affair.

The Cheesecake Factory's Fried Macaroni and Cheese. With 1,570 calories and 69 grams of saturated fat, you'd be better off eating an entire stick of butter.

"Would you like an entrée with your entrée?" is how CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley imagines the logic behind items like Olive Garden's Tour of Italy, where diners can pile Lasagna, Chicken Parmigiana, and Fettuccine Alfredo onto one very large dinner plate. "It's a race to the bottom, and there's no end in sight."

Keep in mind that most people should limit themselves to about 2,000 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, and 1,500 mg of sodium per day. And the envelopes please…

* Red Lobster Ultimate Fondue: This retro item is also making comebacks at Olive Garden, Uno Chicago Grill, and at a chain that sells nothing but fondues, The Melting Pot. Red Lobster’s Ultimate version, "shrimp and crabmeat in a creamy lobster cheese sauce served in a warm crispy sourdough bowl," is crammed with 1,490 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, and 3,580 mg of sodium. That's two days' worth of both artery-clogging fat and blood-pressure-spiking sodium.

* Applebee's Quesadilla Burger: Here Applebee's inserts a bacon cheeseburger into a quesadilla. Two flour tortillas, two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, and a previously unknown condiment called Mexi-ranch sauce, plus fries, gives this monstrous marriage 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat, and 4,410 mg of sodium. Bonus heart-stopper: Applebee's actually invites customers to top the fries with chili and still more cheese.

* Chili's Big Mouth Bites: This is four mini-bacon-cheeseburgers served on a plate with fries, onion strings, and jalapeno ranch dipping sauce. ("Mini" is relative: each one is like a Quarter Pounder.) Like the "sliders" available at other chains, Chili's Big Mouth Bites can be an appetizer or an entrée (these numbers are for the latter). 2,350 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, and 3,940 milligrams of sodium.

* The Cheesecake Factory Chicken and Biscuits: Nutrition Action calls it "discomfort food." If you wouldn't eat an entire 8-piece bucket of KFC Original Recipe plus 5 biscuits, you shouldn’t order this. But unless you live in a city with menu labeling, you wouldn’t know that this dish has 2,500 calories. The rest of the winning—or rather, losing—appetizers, entrées, and desserts are in the June issue of Nutrition Action.

According to CSPI, 2009 should be the year that Congress clues diners in by passing a menu labeling measure similar to the ones enacted in Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, OR, California, Massachusetts, and several counties. Bills in Oregon and Connecticut have passed and are awaiting Governors' signatures. And two weeks ago, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, which would require big restaurant chains to post calories on menu boards and list calories, saturated plus trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium on printed menus. It would apply to the standardized items at restaurants with more than 20 outlets, and not to custom orders or daily specials.

"Ultimately, Americans bear personal responsibility for their dining choices," said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. "But you can’t exercise personal responsibility if you don’t have nutrition information when you order. Who would expect 2,800 calories in a dessert?"

Menu labeling has proven popular and useful in the jurisdictions that have implemented it, according to CSPI. In a survey of New Yorkers, 82 percent of respondents said that seeing the numbers affected their choices. Though the industry tried to challenge New York's menu labeling law in court, it lost, and its prospects for challenging other laws may become dimmer still: One of the federal appellate judges that let the New York law stand is Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court.

source: http://cspinet.org/new/200906021.html

Chinese researchers create stem cells from pigs

PARIS (AFP) - Chinese researchers said on Wednesday they had created versatile stem cells from pigs, a ground-breaking achievement that could open up new paths for combatting human disease.

Doctors led by Lei Xiao, of the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, took adult cells taken from a pig's ear and bone marrow and reprogrammed them so that they became so-called pluripotent stem cells.

These are cells that, like the coveted stem cells found in embryos, can differentiate into any type of cell in the body.

It's a technical exploit because until now, no-one has been able to achieve reprogramming using somatic cells - cells that don't come from sperm or eggs - from a hooved animal.

But the main interest lies in fundamental medical research, as it offers the hope of using the pig as a test bench for disease and a source of transplant material, Xiao said.

The pig is close to the human in many biological functions and with some organs that are similar in size.

"We could use embryonic stem cells or induced stem cells to modify the immune-related genes in the pig to make the pig organ compatible to the human immune system," he said in a press release.

"Then we could use these pigs as organ donors to provide organs for patients that won't trigger an adverse reaction from the patient?s own immune system."

Another possibility would be to modify genes in lines of pig stem cells so that they replicate flaws in human genes that cause diabetes and other diseases, he suggested.

The modified stem cells could then be used to generate pigs with the same disorder, thus providing researchers with a model on which to test new therapies.

The Chinese team tucked a basket of reprogramming genes inside a virus to infect the adult cells and return them to their naive, versatile state.

Tests on the cells showed they were capable of differentiating into the three fundamental layers of tissue in an early embryo.

The paper is published in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology.

Work on similar lines is being carried out on human cells, first achieved in 2007 by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University.

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gY2OyMJhdvBwZG4CfwaY7srY8bgw

Atlantic hurricane season begins quiet

MIAMI (AP) - The "skinny black line," long a staple of forecasts showing a hurricane's projected path, could be a casualty of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season that began Monday.

While urging preparedness, the director of the nation's hurricane center said he's on a crusade against the line, which forecasters have long called misleading.

Bill Read said this year, people who go to the hurricane center's Web site to track an approaching storm won't see that line, just a graphic that shows a cone representing the projected path of its center. He'll also urge local weather offices to use a line-less graphic.

Read said that over the last year he realized just how many people mistakenly use the line to determine how they'll respond to the storm - like whether to evacuate or make other preparations.

"This way you don't have that option. You have to think about it or assume that it's somewhere in that swath, which is the correct way to think about it," said Read, who is starting his second season as the center's director.

The line could be interpreted as the storm narrowing in on a town or city while three days out from land it could really be targeting a whole section of coast.

Hurricane season runs from June to November and is typically busiest in August and September. On Monday afternoon, the center's Web site showed the Atlantic Ocean quiet. A tropical depression formed last week but quickly dissipated.

Federal forecasters predicted a near-normal hurricane season with nine to 14 named tropical storms. The season is expected to include four to seven hurricanes with one to three likely to be major - Category 3 or higher, with winds more than 111 miles per hour. There were five major hurricanes last year.

Of particular concern this year is whether economic problems will make people less willing to purchase emergency supplies they may never use or leave their homes if a hurricane threatens.

In New Orleans, officials last year helped about 20,000 people who didn't have transportation or otherwise needed help evacuate ahead of Hurricane Gustav. The state is planning for 50,000 people needing to leave on government-secured buses, trains or planes if a mass evacuation is ordered, a worst-case scenario number would be about 10,000 more than needed help leaving ahead of Hurricane Gustav last summer.

In Miami, emergency managers for the first time prepared a sheet, "Hurricane Preparedness on a Budget," with tips like shopping with 2-for-1 coupons, putting one item in the pantry and the second in a disaster kit. Gov. Charlie Crist, who visited a Home Depot in Tallahassee, released a statement saying, "Floridians can protect their families and support their local economy by purchasing disaster supplies at area retailers."

The last few years have been particularly rough for the nation's Gulf coast, hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Ike and Gustav last year. Damage from Ike was estimated at $19.3, making it the fourth costliest storm after Katrina (2005), Andrew (1992) and Wilma (2005).

"After the last four or five years I don't know what else can happen to them," Read said, adding a caution to coastal residents, "don't let your guard down."

Louisiana officials are hoping to avoid some of the problems with last year's Gustav evacuation, when residents were stuck in miserable shelters far from home, many unsure when they might be allowed to return and wishing they'd just stayed put and waited out the storm.

Officials are promising that this year shelters will be stocked with more food and supplies. They're also taking steps to better coordinate evacuations, including an electronic system to track buses and who's on them.

New Orleans residents who will need government help to leave are being urged to sign up now.

The state of Louisiana is stepping up its outreach efforts, revamping its readiness Web site and planning to release updates via the social networking tool Twitter. Mississippi officials also plan to use Twitter for evacuation route updates. New Orleans officials plan to use e-mail blasts.

In Miami, emergency managers tested their readiness for a major storm Monday as part of an annual statewide exercise. The hurricane drill, part of the state's preparations since 1993, has been going on since last week and was this year based on the track and intensity of the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, a Category 4 storm that hit the city and killed more than 350 people.

Unlike in a real storm, however, the drill was over in time for lunch.

Associated Press writers Bill Kaczor in Tallahassee and Becky Bohrer in New Orleans contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.klewtv.com/news/national/46673272.html