Beetles, wildfire: Double threat in warming world

HAINES JUNCTION, Yukon Territory – A veil of smoke settled over the forest in the shadow of the St. Elias Mountains, in a wilderness whose spruce trees stood tall and gray, a deathly gray even in the greenest heart of a Yukon summer.

"As far as the eye can see, it's all infested," forester Rob Legare said, looking out over the thick woods of the Alsek River valley.

Beetles and fire, twin plagues, are consuming northern forests in what scientists say is a preview of the future, in a century growing warmer, as the land grows drier, trees grow weaker and pests, abetted by milder winters, grow stronger.

Dying, burning forests would then only add to the warming.

It's here in the sub-Arctic and Arctic — in Alaska, across Siberia, in northernmost Europe, and in the Yukon and elsewhere in northern Canada — that Earth's climate is changing most rapidly. While average temperatures globally rose 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.3 degrees Fahrenheit) in the past century, the far north experienced warming at twice that rate or greater.

In Russia's frigid east, some average temperatures have risen more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with midwinter mercury spiking even higher. And "eight of the last 10 summers have been extreme wildfire seasons in Siberia," American researcher Amber J. Soja pointed out by telephone from central Siberia.

Along with shrinking the polar ice cap and thawing permafrost, scientists say, the warming of the Arctic threatens to turn boreal forest — the vast cover of spruce, pine and other conifers blanketing these high latitudes — into less of a crucial "sink" absorbing carbon dioxide and more of a source, as megatons of that greenhouse gas rise from dead, burning and decaying wood.

American forest ecologist Scott Green worries about a "domino effect."

"These things may occur simultaneously," said the researcher from the University of Northern British Columbia. "If the bark beetles kill the trees, you'll have lots of dead, dry wood that will create a really, really hot fire, and then sometimes you don't get trees regenerating on the site."

Dominoes may already be falling in western North America.

From Colorado to Washington state, an unprecedented, years-long epidemic of mountain pine beetle has killed 2.6 million hectares (6.5 million acres) of forest. The insect has struck even more devastatingly to the north, in British Columbia, where clouds of beetles have laid waste to 14 million hectares (35 million acres) — twice the area of Ireland. It is expected to kill 80 percent of the Canadian province's lodgepole pines before it's finished.

Farther north, in the Yukon, the pine beetle isn't endemic — yet. Here it's the spruce bark beetle that has eaten its way through 400,000 hectares (1 million acres) of woodland, and even more in neighboring Alaska, in a 15-year-old epidemic unmatched in its longevity and extent.

"It's a fingerprint of climate change," Aynslie Ogden, senior researcher for the Yukon Forest Management Branch, said in Whitehorse, the territorial capital. "The intensity and severity and magnitude of the infestation is outside the normal."

Hiking through the wild and beetle-ravaged Alsek valley, Legare, the Yukon agency's forest health expert, explained how the 6-millimeter (quarter-inch) insect does its damage.

"Usually the female bores into the tree first, followed by the male, and then they mate and they both excavate a main egg gallery which runs parallel to the wood grain," he said.

The hatched larvae, just beneath the outer bark, then feed via perpendicular galleries they bore around the tree, cutting off nutrients moving through the phloem and killing the plant. Its needles turn reddish, later gray, and eventually wind topples the dead wood.

Winter spells of minus-40-Celsius (minus-40-Fahrenheit) temperatures once killed off larvae, but those deep freezes now occur less often. And warmer summers enable some beetles to complete their reproductive cycle in one year instead of two, speeding up population growth.

Years of summer drought, meanwhile, weakened the spruces' ability to extrude sticky pitch, to trap and expel beetles. Because the snow-streaked peaks of the 5,000-meter-high (15,000-foot-high) St. Elias range block moisture from the Pacific, a mere 250 millimeters (10 inches) of precipitation falls each year. Even a slight shortfall stresses the trees.

The Yukon has experienced smaller, briefer beetle outbreaks in the past, fed by patches of fallen trees left by road construction. But "what makes this infestation different" is that climate change is a primary cause, said Legare.

As he spoke, smoke from dozens of fires, some nearby in the Yukon, some in distant Alaska, wafted over a landscape already bleak with dead forest.

In an authoritative 2007 assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.N.-sponsored scientific network, cited multiple studies linking the spread of wildfires to warmer, drier conditions.

This June, in the latest such study, as early flames flared in California's wildfire season, Harvard scientists said the area burned in the western United States could increase by 50 percent by the 2050s, even under the best-case warming scenario projected by the IPCC.

In Siberia, "fire has been increasing, and there's an earlier fire season," Soja, of the US National Institute of Aerospace, reported from the Sukachev Institute of Forestry in Krasnoyarsk. Her research this summer found that a warmer, drier climate appears to be stifling regrowth of burned-out areas on the Siberian forest's southern edge, turning them to grasslands.

In Canada, area burned is double what it was in the 1970s, despite greater firefighting capacity and some recent favorable weather, said Mike Flannigan, a fire researcher for the Canadian Forest Service.

He cited three key reasons: warmer temperatures are drying the forests, lengthening the fire season and generating more lightning, cause of the worst wilderness fires.

Flannigan worries, too, that future fires smoldering through the carbon-heavy peatlands that undergird much of the boreal region would pour unparalleled amounts of carbon dioxide, the main global-warming gas, into the skies, feeding an unstoppable cycle.

"The bottom line is if you get more fire, you get more emissions, which contributes to further warming, which contributes to more fires," he said in an interview from Ontario.

"The concern is that things may happen more rapidly than we anticipate. Even our most pessimistic scenarios may not be pessimistic enough."

Back here in smoky gray southwest Yukon, where things are happening, the 1,400 native Champagne-Aishihik people feel it most. The stricken forest's fallen trees are keeping them from traditional fur-trapping rounds, the streams seem warmer without thick cover overhead, and the fishing is off.

Their oral tradition tells of great change in the past, said the group's land manager, Graham Boyd. "They're now wondering what changed to have had this happen."

What's changed extends beyond Champagne-Aishihik lands to the rest of the Yukon, where forester Legare in his travels finds other insects — the northern spruce engraver, the aspen leaf miner, the willow miner — gaining an upper hand in unusual places in unexpected ways.

"Weird things, unprecedented things are happening," he said.

Over the top of the world in Siberia, they're girding for a surge in the highly destructive Siberian moth, a caterpillar that devours forests of pine, spruce, fir and larch.

"The moth loves warm and dry, and that's what's happening," said Nadezda M. Tchebakova, Soja's Siberian research partner. At the same time, she said from Krasnoyarsk, "the frequency and severity of fires should increase."

As the Yukon warms and burns, its foresters hope for at least an early warning on one immediate threat, the mountain pine beetle. They have set traps at the British Columbia border to alert them if the non-native insect moves northward.

"The Yukon pines probably don't have natural defenses. They may be uniquely susceptible to this pest," said ecologist Green. "Then you'll have the potential for fires in large areas of dead trees. With the needles still on them, they literally explode with fire."

Of her Yukon woodlands, Ogden said, "It's the right forest, the right climate type, and we expect the climate to warm. My sense is it" — the pine beetle — "is almost inevitable." - AP
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/170538/beetles-wildfire-double-threat-in-warming-world

UAAP hoops: Eagles tame Tigers, claw Final Four berth

Ateneo’s top slotman Rabeh Al-Hussaini teamed up with American defensive specialist Kirk Long in stopping Santo Tomas, 80-70, and giving the Blue Eagles their ninth win and a Final Four berth in the 72nd UAAP men's basketball tournament on Sunday at the Big Dome.

"We're happy to be in the Final Four, but our goal is to finish in the top two spots," said Ateneo coach Norman Black after the match that saw Ateneo needing a big push down the stretch before taming the Growling Tigers.

"We'll have to win more games to reach our goal," added Black, whose wards dealt the Growling Tigers their fifth defeat in 10 matches that sent the Espana-based squad to solo fourth spot.

It was also Blue Eagles’ six consecutive win over the Tigers dating back to the 2007 season.

Burdened by foul trouble early on, Al-Hussaini scored just four points in the first half but made up for that so-so performance by leading the Eagles’ attack in the final quarter where he scored 10 of Ateneo's 22 markers.

After giving Ateneo a 63-62 lead with a jumper, Al-Hussaini scored his next eight points on the free throw line en route to a 71-66 cushion going into the last 1:32.

Long, known more for his defense, then scored his fifth triple of the day in the next Ateneo possession to completely shut the door on the Growling Tigers.

"I don't have to go for shots," said the 21-year-old Long, who’s been living in the country since 1991 with his missionary parents and attended Faith Academy before suiting up for Ateneo.

"But when Rabeh was double-teamed, I have to do it," added Long who also plays for Ateneo's baseball team.

Scores:

Ateneo 80 - Long 21, Al-Hussaini 14, Salva 11, Reyes 11, Salamat 10, Austria 5, Golla 1, Tiongson 0, Monfort 0, De Chavez 0, Chua 0, Buenafe 0.

UST 70 - Ababou 19, Mirza 18, Maliksi 11, Camus 8, Teng 4, Aytona 3, Aguang 3, Fortune 2, Baustista 2, Ungria 0, Green 0.

Quarterscores: 20-17; 36-39; 58-60; 80-70.

Black said that he’s glad that Long (21 points) made up for Ateneo's dismal performance in the first three quarters, where the Growling Tigers, behind the inspired games of Dylan Ababou, Khasim Mirza and Allein Maliksi, kept the game close and even took the command.

The three Santo Tomas players combined for UST's 48 markers and put the Growling Tigers in front, 60-58, going into the last canto.

"Long's role in the team is to defend against the best scorer in our opponent's team. That is why we recruited him. He is our defender," Black said.

And Black just could not hide his elation that Long delivered on the scoring end and together with Nico Salva and Jai Reyes, kept his team afloat during the first three periods.

"My second team kept us in the game until Rabeh could come back in the game," said Black. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/170513/uaap-hoops-eagles-tame-tigers-claw-final-four-berth

Listahan ng 'hot jobs' inilabas ng DOLE

Information technology, nursing, sales, at skilled labor ang ilan sa tinaguriang “hot jobs" sa katatapos lamang na survey ng Department of Labor and Employment.

Sa pahayag ng DOLE sa website nito (www.dole.gov.ph), ang mga malalaking kumpanya ay nakararanas ng kakulangan sa mga manggagawa na mayroong parehong kakayanan ng high-end at blue-collar type.

"Occupations in the talent shortage list which appeared common across industries were as follows: accountant, computer programmer, engineer, financial analyst, HRD manager, IT technician, lawyer, manager, nurse, and sales/marketing representative," ayon sa pahayag ng DOLE.

"Hot jobs" ang tawag sa trabahong in-demand at mahirap mahanapan ng manggagawa dahil sa kakulangan o kawalan ng mga kwalipikadong aplikante.

Ilan sa mga mga nabibilang na 'hot jobs' at ang industriyang kinabibilangan nila ay:

* Mining and quarrying - geologist, at mining engineer

* Manufacturing - assembler, autocad designer, engineer, machinist, welder, safety officer

* Electricity, gas, and water - electrical engineer, lineman, plant operator

* Construction - engineer, fitter, plumber, skilled laborer, TIG pipe/place welder, tinsmith

* Wholesale, retail - administrative assistant, artist, baking technician, pharmacist, sales clothing technician, product planning at pricing officer, technical support specialist
* Hotels, restaurants - HR manager, operation board position, restaurant manager
* Transport, storage, communications -account manager, mechanics, IT specialist
* Financial intermediation - actuarian, auditor, bookkeeper, programmer, underwriter
* Real estate, renting, business services - architect, engineer, environmental scientist, trainer
* Education - clinical instructor
* Health, social work - medical technician, nurse, technician, respiratory therapist
* Iba pang komunidad, social, personal service - post-production editor

Lumabas sa nasabing survey na umaabot ng isang buwan bago mapunan ng mga aplikante ang mga bakanteng trabaho.

Ayon kay Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, ang mga bilang mula sa survey ng Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) ay nagpapakita na ilang malalaking kumpanya sa Metro Manila ay humarap sa kakulangan ng kwalipikadong aplikante sa loob ng tatlong taon.

Iginiit ng kalihim na hindi na ito bago, sapagkat noong March 2006 Jobs Summit at 2007 National Human Resource Conference, naging matumal din ang naging resulta ng pagpuno sa mga kinakailangang trabahador.

Pinayuhan niya ang mga estudyante at mga baguhang manggagawa na ituon ang kanilang pansin sa pagkuha ng mga nararapat na kakayanan at kwalipikasyon upang mapunan ang mga ‘hot jobs,’ hindi lamang para sa kanila kundi maging para sa ekonomiya.

Sakop ng BLES survey ang 448 na malalaking negosyo sa buong Kamaynilaan. Ang mga samples ay kinuha sa listahan ng nangungunang 5,000 negosyo sa bansa. Ang pagkuha ng datos ay nagsimula noong Enero hanggang Marso bilang rider questionnaire sa ika-apat na kwarter ng 2006 labor turn over survey.

Ipinakita ng survey na isa sa bawat tatlong kumpanya ay nakaranas ng skills shortage. Sa nakalipas na tatlong taon, 136 o 30.3 porsiyento ng 448 na respondents ang nakaranas ng kakulangan ng kwalipikadong manggagawa sa mga piling trabaho. Karamihan sa kanila ay nasa negosyo ng wholesale at retail (31.1 porsiyento) at manufacturing (28.2 porsiyento). Samantalang ang natira ay sa iba pang sector.

Samantala, iniulat ni Brion na ang DOLE ay kasalukyang nasa “supply side" na taon at sinusuri nila ang kakayanan at ang available manpower sa mga lugar na tinagurian nila bilang “key employment generators." - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/49567/Listahan-ng-hot-jobs-inilabas-ng-DOLE

K hot mama

She didn’t believe FHM would get her to pose on its inside pages. And when K Brosas learned she was doing a pictorial for the men’s magazine, she was dumbfounded. She was at a loss with words. During the pictorial, “my body was trembling, but my spirit was willing. Pangarap ko ito,” she enthused.

A very sexy K is seen on the July issue of FHM magazine. She is proud of this. And she has not done this before. Sometime ago, she called herself manang. In her live shows, she maybe risqué when doing her comic spiels, but K is a typical schoolmarm on the inside. Why pose for FHM? “It’s a personal thing. I am a comedienne and I refuse to be boxed. This is outside my comfort zone and the thought of my posing for FHM has always been seductive,” K explained.

Some people, during her teenage years, have encouraged her to join beauty contests. After all, she has the height and the stance. Kris Aquino in fact, calls her statuesque. “I did once, pero ayoko na.” And to her the FHM story is like winning a beauty title.

“During the pictorial, I told everyone on the set not to laugh at me because it was my first time to pose for a men’s magazine. It was my first time to pose sexy. I don’t even wear a two-piece bikini on the beach. With FHM, I want people to know na hindi lang ako marunong magpatawa pero kaya ko ring magpa-sexy,” she said.

She extensively prepared for her FHM pictorial. “I went on a diet because I gained weight during my short stay in the US.”

What did her 11-year-old daughter Crystal say, when she saw her photos in FHM? “Sabi niya ‘You’re a hot mama!’ Crystal is very mature for her age!”

July is a great month for K. Aside from FHM, she has two upcoming series on ABS-CBN and a birthday concert. “God is good! I have no reason to complain because my cup runneth over,” she said.

The two new ABS-CBN shows come after her remarkable performance on the top-rating series My Girl. These are the primetime teleserye Lovers in Paris starring Piolo Pascual and KC Concepcion and the afternoon light drama Pat is Tin topbilled by Valerie Concepcion.

On July 15, K will turn 34. “I don’t lie about my age. I am happy to have reached this age.” And what are her birthday wishes? “I have big dreams as an artist. Hindi naman masama ang mangarap, di ba? I want to stage a concert at the Araneta Coliseum, to be on the cover of FHM, to have my own show, magkaroon ng sariling pelikula. Gusto kong sumunod sa yapak ni Ms. Ai-Ai delas Alas because she is my idol!”

A birthday concert is also scheduled titled, Ohhh K! at Zirkoh Greenhills on July 18, 9 p.m. Katrina Halili and Lloyd Zaragoza join her onstage as special guests.

“I prepared for this concert kaya lahat ng production numbers ay bago. I want to show audiences that I am evolving as an artist. The concert will have around 15 to 17 production numbers. May tinatawag akong baklang-baklang medley na gusto kong kantahin during my concert. Ito yong Ako Lang Siguro Ang Mahal and Kung Alam Mo Lang. Tuwing kinakanta ko kasi ang mga ito ay nakaka-relate ang mga gays.”

Looking back in her almost two decades in the business, K said, “Ang dami ko talagang dapat ipagpasalamat sa Diyos. Hindi Niya ako pinababayaan dahil lagi akong may projects. I would always pray noong nagsisimula pa lang ako bilang sing-along master na sana dumating ang araw na makilala rin ako bilang isang mahusay na entertainer. I want to make my birthday more memorable with this concert at Zirkoh.”

Beautiful and radiant at 5’8”, K admitted she is dating someone. “It has been four years that I was not in a relationship. I am seeing someone pero nandoon pa lang kami sa getting-to-know-you stage. He’s a businessman. Siya ay guwapo, mayaman, sweet at tanggap ako ng kanyang pamilya. I hope he’s the one.”

The concert’s presentors are La Carmela de Boracay, Café La Carmela and Calayan Surgicentre. Major sponsor is Live Artists Production. Tickets at P500 on a first come, first serve basis are available at Zirkoh Greenhills.

For details, call Joel Valdivia at 0915-7844558 or Liza Faraon of Backroom at 435-1098.

DIRECTLINE By Boy Abunda

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=486284&publicationSubCategoryId=70

Poll chief says no to partial automation

MANILA -- Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo rejected Sunday the idea of partial automation for the coming political exercises next year.

Melo said while it is full “speculation” that the Supreme Court (SC) might rule on partial automation on the motion for nullification of the contract filed by the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), conducting partial automation would be impossible.

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“Right now our preparation is for full automation and I doubt if we would still have time to prepare for partial automation,” he said Sunday.

He added that the law mandates the full automation next year.

“I don’t know if the law would allow that (partial automation) since the law states that it should be fully automated,” he explained.

But Melo said they would still have to wait for the decision of the SC to finally determine what method would be used for the May 2010 polls.

He said if the Comelec will implement partial automation, they would have to conduct another bidding and prepare a new set of terms of reference (TOR).

“Because that would be an entirely contract and at this time, I say we cannot do it,” he said.

The CCM led by University of the Philippines (UP) Professor Harry Roque asked the High Court to junk the P7.2-billion contract entered by the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM joint venture due to irregularities.

No enough time

With barely eight months left before the May 10, 2010 elections, Melo noted that their remaining time would have to be concentrated on the full automation preparation.

So far, he said the consortium of Smartmatic Corporation and Total Information Management (TIM) has been on track based on what was agreed upon in the contract signed last July 10.

“They have already made progress and based on the timeline, they are still on track,” he said.

Under the contract, Smartmatic and TIM should set up first the Project Management Team and project systems, including all SW licenses and firmware to get the first payment.

Cyber security

With the preparations for the automated elections ongoing, several experts floated the possibility Sunday of “hacking” to the Comelec’s internal data system.

Thus, computer expert Dante Mara cited the need for the poll body to adopt cyber security as the country is set to go for poll automation next year.

Speaking at the Balitaan sa Tinapayan news forum held in Sampaloc, Manila, Mara said while it is expensive to adopt cyber security, the Comelec needs to adopt the measure because the Smartmatic-TIM will be using a global network and not closed loop network.

“We raised the concern of hacking because the system to be used by consortium of Smartmatic may be susceptible to hacking of internal data system and we believe that it is better if we use closed loop network, which is not open to outside influences,” he said.

The Smartmatic-TIM will supply the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that the Comelec will use in automating the 2010 national elections.

The first batch of 12,000 PCOS units will be delivered on November and another 30,000 will be on December of this year where Comelec will pay 17.5 percent.

The second batch covering 30,000 machines and 10,200 units will be delivered on January and February 2010, respectively, where the Comelec will again release 17.5 percent payment.

Mara also cited that Smartmatic and Comelec did not give a full assurance that there will be no problem to the mode of connectivity with the system to be used by the consortium.

“The Smartmatic will be using overlaying network using satellite so the data will be transmitted to the main from regional and provincial. The system is good but many factors can affect the transmittal like the clouds, the rains and most importantly, the power supply. What if they encounter powers supply interruption?” he asked.

“This is the reason why the Comelec should adopt cyber security and come up with a system for auditing,” he said.

Retired police general Virtus Gil, former Western Police District (WPD) director and is now into cyber security agency, echoed Mara’s concerns, saying he read the contract of Smartmatic with the Comelec and it did not touch much of the system’s cyber security.

Mara said the Congress needs to allocate additional P7.2 billion for the cyber security.

“This is also for the future of the government. In fact, the system to be used should be owned by the government to avoid outside influences,” he said. (MSN/PNA/Sunnex)

2009 ATLANTIC HURRICANE NAMES

1.Ana
2.Bill
3.Claudette
4.Danny
5.Erika
6.Fred
7.Grace
8.Henri
9.Ida
10.Joaquin
11.Kate
12.Larry
13.Mindy
14.Nicholas
15.Odette
16.Peter
17.Rose
18.Sam
19.Teresa
20.Victor
21.Wanda

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/hurricanes/hurricane-graphic.htm

2009 Atlantic hurricane season underway

In the early August update to the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 7 to 11 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, of which 3 to 6 could become hurricanes, including 1 to 2 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5).

Colorado State University's research team, the nation's most well-known hurricane forecasters, also revised their seasonal forecast in early August. They now predict that 10 tropical storms this year, of which 4 will become hurricanes. Of those 4, they said that 2 would be major hurricanes.

The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and runs until November 30. Most hurricane activity occurs from mid-August to mid-October.

By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/hurricanes/hurricane-graphic.htm

Cotto vows to counter Pacman‘s hand speed

WORLD Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto said that the speed of world’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao will be his only concern.

In an interview with Primera Hora, Cotto was quoted by boxing writer Mark Vester as saying: “The only thing I have to take care of is his [Pacquiao’s] speed.”

Cotto said he was confident that by using a good defense, he can counteract Pacquiao’s speed even as there were reports that he may use WBO light flyweight champion Ivan Calderon as a sparring partner in an effort to work on countering the Pacman’s hand speed. The little Calderon is a southpaw, whose asset is his speed and his ability to get out of trouble.

In an exclusive interview with Filipino ring physician Dr. Allan Recto, Calderon said that nothing is sure yet.

“It was just an idea we gave to Miguel Cotto that I could spar with him after my fight with [Rodel] Mayol,” said Calderon, who battles the Filipino in a rematch for the WBO title on Sept. 12 in Puerto Rico. “I am also a fast southpaw just like Manny Pacquiao. We are just entertaining that as a possibility, but nothing’s definite yet.”

The undefeated champion, who salvaged a controversial sixth-round technical draw in his last title defense against Mayol, predicted the Cotto-Pacquiao “Fire Power” showdown at the MGM Grand on Nov. 14 is going to be a hard fight for both.

“But I think, it will be Miguel Cotto,” said Calderon, adding that the Puerto Rican champion “still got the energy, he’s young, he has the spirit and his boxing skills are better. Cotto has the heart of a true champion.”

Cotto for the first time confirmed that his WBO welterweight belt will be on the line at the 145-pound catchweight.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said both Cotto and Pacquiao were crazy about the newly-minted WBC Diamond Belt, which will also be at stake.

Cotto revealed that he reached an agreement last week to stake his WBO title even at a catchweight which is two pounds under the 147 welterweight limit.

Cotto disclosed that they were offered “additional guarantees and benefits [to defend the title]. He said “ever since the fight was signed, I have the mindset of victory. After the [Pacquiao fight], we will see what is out there” indicating that he “did not believe Pacquiao who is physical enough to make it a fight” could overcome the advantage he [Cotto] has over him which he said “ will carry me to victory.” Ronnie Nathanielsz

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideSports.htm?f=/2009/august/22/sports2.isx&d=2009/august/22

Surfline Catching waves in the palm of the hand.

With 150 live-streaming cameras positioned at key surf spots around the globe and a sophisticated software system designed to predict wave conditions even a week in advance, Surfline.com is a surfer’s paradise. That’s why 1.5 million unique web users—and 500,000 more on mobile—use the site every month.

To help keep Surfline functioning glitch-free, nonstop, Scientific Product Manager Graeme Rae uses iPhone.

“The surf doesn’t stop,” he says. “And with iPhone, I can reboot a server from the beach. I can reboot a server from bed. I can even reboot it from work.”

Minding the store, away from the store

iPhone has given Rae mobility and agility, two qualities he needs in a company that runs around the clock. “Safari means I can browse our website,” he says. “So if I get a call or an email saying that a particular page is broken or a service is down, I don’t need a computer. I can bring it up on Safari and see the same things they’re seeing.”

And Rae can usually fix the problem right from iPhone. “A lot of the tools we use to run our site are web-based. There are admin pages, and we have a powerful content management system that we can access from our iPhones. So if it’s as simple as going in and correcting a typo, or if it’s as complex as using our version control system to send up some new software, I can pretty much do all of that through Safari.”

In addition to Safari, Rae has a tech-heavy lineup of apps on his iPhone home screen. TouchTerm gives him access to Surfline’s servers. SiteCatalyst provides a quick overview of Surfline’s page views and visitors at any given time. Zendesk, the internal support ticket system at Surfline, has an iPhone app that offers access to new trouble tickets as they come in.

For Rae, there’s no doubt about the impact iPhone has had on his work experience. “My job is easier,” he says. “I’m not tied to a desk. No matter where I go, people can reach me. And I can do almost anything I need to with iPhone.”

Surf news goes mobile

Surfline’s users are passionate people. As soon as iPhone came out, they wanted an app. Surfline was already on top of it, working together with sunglasses-and-apparel giant Oakley to develop Surf Report, one of the most popular sports apps for iPhone.

Surfline developed Surf Report with the goal of extending the website’s reach, and results have been overwhelmingly positive. “About half of our mobile traffic comes from iPhone users,” CEO Jonno Wells says. “And that’s not really reflective of the mobile market. So our customers on iPhone are rabid users.”

Vice President of Sales Robin Walker should know. He whips out iPhone whenever he gets the urge to hop on a board. “I had my first iPhone epiphany when I found myself not even rolling out of bed to turn on my computer, but grabbing my iPhone and navigating to the camera at 56th Street in Newport to see the waves.”

Jonno does the same thing. “Because iPhone is always with me, I can check the conditions right from my hand,” he says. “So it’s a perfect marriage of our product and the accessibility that iPhone provides.”

Exchange, VPN, and an office in sync

Director of Technology Brian Mezger is responsible for helping deploy iPhone with new employees at Surfline. It’s a pretty quick job. “It takes five minutes to set up iPhone on Exchange and the VPN client,” he says. “Basically, you enter the Exchange server, username, and password. Then away you go.”

With Exchange support on iPhone, Surfline’s employees sync all their email, calendars, and contacts with iPhone. And the VPN client native to iPhone has been “critical,” according to Mezger. “It allows us to access our data center—our servers and databases—from outside the office.”

All of this accessibility has led to an increase in productivity. Mezger sees it in the office, with the tech team, and in the field, maintaining Surfline’s impressive network of cameras. Previously, technicians had to carry a laptop and try to find a wireless Internet connection, often from the top of a building. Now, as they service any camera, they can whip out their iPhones and check its status over the 3G network.

That’s another big leap in efficiency for Surfline, which makes Rae very satisfied. “I’ve used every phone under the sun in as technical a manner as I possibly can,” Rae says. “And iPhone is by far the best.”

http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/profiles/surfline/

Large Texas bank shut down by federal regulators

WASHINGTON – Guaranty Bank became the second-largest U.S. bank to fail this year after the Texas lender was shut down by regulators and most of its operations sold at a loss of billions of dollars for the U.S. government to a major Spanish bank.

The transaction approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. marked the first time a foreign bank has bought a failed U.S. bank.

The bank failure, the 10th largest in U.S. history, is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $3 billion.

The FDIC seized Austin-based Guaranty Bank, with about $13 billion in assets and $12 billion in deposits, and on Friday sold all of its deposits and $12 billion of its assets to BBVA Compass, the U.S. division of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain's second-largest bank. In addition, the FDIC agreed to share losses with BBVA on about $11 billion of Guaranty Bank's loans and other assets.

Guaranty Bank, with 162 branches in Texas and California, saw its investments in real estate lending and mortgage-backed securities bought from other banks sour and had been teetering near collapse for weeks. Its parent, Guaranty Financial Group Inc., reaffirmed Monday in a regulatory filing that the company was critically short of capital and didn't believe it could stay in business.

In April, the federal Office of Thrift Supervision said the company had engaged in "unsafe and unsound" banking practices and ordered it to raise fresh capital, find a buyer or face a takeover by the government.

Guaranty's failure, along with those of three small banks in Georgia and Alabama Friday, brought to 81 the number of U.S. bank failures this year amid rising loan defaults spurred by tumbling home prices and spiking unemployment. That is the highest number in a year since 1992 at the height of the savings and loan crisis; it compares with 25 last year and three in 2007.

Last week the FDIC seized Colonial Bank, a big lender in real estate development, and sold its $20 billion in deposits, 346 branches in five states and about $22 billion of its assets to BB&T Corp. It was the biggest bank failure so far this year, and the sixth-largest in U.S. history.

Birmingham, Ala.-based BBVA Compass, with 600 branches from Florida to California, said its acquisition of Guaranty creates the 15th-largest commercial bank in the U.S., with about $49 billion in deposits. "This compelling transaction makes excellent strategic sense and represents an exciting growth opportunity for BBVA Compass as we continue to build the leading banking franchise in the high-growth Sunbelt region," Jose Maria Garcia Meyer, chairman of BBVA Compass, said in a statement.

Like Spain's biggest bank, Banco Santander, BBVA has managed to skirt the turmoil that swept the industry worldwide by staying away from toxic assets such as mortgage-backed securities.

Instead, BBVA and other big Spanish lenders stuck to their nuts-and-bolts business of lending to consumers and businesses, relying on it for the bulk of their revenue, Nuria Alvarez, an analyst with Madrid-based brokerage firm Renta 4, said earlier this week.

With its strong presence in the American South through BBVA Compass, the bank had made no secret that it was open to expanding.

"It is no surprise. BBVA had never ruled out buying assets or banks, so long as attractive opportunities arose," Alvarez said. The deal is especially attractive because it enables BBVA to expand in Texas, she said.

The financial crisis is giving Spanish banks "the opportunity to make acquisitions and keep expanding their international presence at much more affordable prices than they would have if this crisis had not emerged," Alvarez said.

The FDIC also announced Friday the closures of Internet-based ebank, located in Atlanta, with $143 million in assets and $130 million in deposits; First Coweta, based in Newnan, Ga., with $167 million in assets and $155 million in deposits; and CapitalSouth Bank, based in Birmingham, Ala., with $617 million in assets and $546 million in deposits.

Stearns Bank, based in St. Cloud, Minn., agreed to buy the assets and deposits of ebank. United Bank, based in Zebulon, Ga., is assuming the deposits and $155 million of the assets of First Coweta; the FDIC will retain the rest for eventual sale. IberiaBank, based in Lafayette, La., is assuming the deposits and $589 million of the assets of CapitalSouth Bank.

Those failures are expected to cost the insurance fund an estimated $63 million for ebank, $48 million for First Coweta and $151 million for CapitalSouth Bank.

By MARCY GORDON,

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090822/ap_on_bi_ge/us_guaranty_bank_failure

13 Easy Ways to Save 200 Calories a Day

Substitute Yogurt for Mayo

“When making tuna salad, use 2-percent Greek yogurt, about 75 calories for half a cup, instead of mayonnaise, about 450 calories for half a cup. Greek yogurt has the same texture and creaminess as mayonnaise but far less fat and calories. I use the tangy Greek yogurt as a lower-cal replacement anywhere I’d regularly use sour cream or mayo.”
— Leah Sipher-Mann,

Skip the Cheese

“Build a healthier sandwich: Hold the cheese because two slices can add up to well over 200 calories. Load your sammie with low-calorie veggies or go gourmet with slices of apple and pear.”
—Susi May, FitSugar

Make Over Your Milkshake

“I love milk shakes, but at 420 calories for a small strawberry fast-food shake, they can be a real diet breaker. So when I’m in the mood for one, I blend a cup of 1-percent milk with a cup of unthawed, unsweetened frozen strawberries and a teaspoon of agave nectar for a delicious and satisfying cold treat. It’s only about 170 calories, which is a savings of 240 calories.”
—Diana Swallow, Scale Junkie

Save Your Salad with Salsa

“When ordering salad out, ask for salsa or pico de gallo instead of dressing. Many restaurant-size servings of dressing have around 300 to 500 calories. Using salsa, even half a cup of it, will likely save you hundreds of calories and dozens of fat grams—half a cup has 35 calories and almost no fat. And salsa rocks on salads.”
—Lisa Lillien, HungryGirl

Beware the evil salad! Don't make these salad mistake!

Beat the Office Munchies

“Every afternoon at work, I tend to want a snack. With small chocolates in my coworker’s nearby office—five mini chocolate bars are 210 calories!—and a vending machine down the hall that’s calling my name, I avoid the temptation by chewing a piece of fruit-flavored sugar-free gum. Sugar-free gum comes in all kinds of fun, tropical flavors these days like sangria and pina colada, so I feel like I’m indulging even though I’m not.”
—Jenn, Fit Bottomed Girls

Embrace Water

“Many people forget that calories you drink count too, so I try to be aware of what I consume in liquid form and drink as much zero-calorie water as possible. Simply cutting out a 20-ounce bottle of regular soda saves more than 200 calories. Plus, when I’m hydrated, I can more accurately tell whether I’m actually hungry.”
—Erin, Fit Bottomed Girls

Pop Your Own Corn

“Next time you go to the movies, bring your own popcorn. Microwave kernels in a brown paper bag and use a little nonstick spray. Season them to suit your mood: savory with garlic powder and sea salt, sweet with cinnamon and a few dark chocolate chips, or ‘cheesy’ with sea salt, chili powder and nutritional yeast. It’s delicious and tastes just like cheese with fewer calories!”
—Gina Harney, Fitnessista

Here's exactly what to eat at the movies!

A Breakfast of Champions

“Instead of the average 450-calorie cream-cheese bagel, I have a Thomas’ English muffin with two tablespoons of fat-free cream cheese for a similar taste that saves about 300 calories.”
—Karolina Starczak, NeverSayDiet

Invest in a Steamer

“Food steamers save calories and your time. Before I got my steamer, which has multiple layers, so you can cook your entire meal at once, I would usually pan-fry salmon in oil or butter or cover it in sugary teriyaki sauce and bake it. Both of those methods add so many unnecessary calories. Now when I get home from work, I throw veggies, brown rice and salmon with a lemon slice and some fresh parsley in the steamer. It absorbs all the flavor, and it tastes so fresh that way. It takes 15 minutes, so I avoid fatty takeout.”
—Lara Baldwin, Thinspired

Slim Down Your Strawberry Shortcake

“In the summer, I particularly love strawberry shortcake at a barbecue. I bake my own angel-food cake, slice it thin and throw it on the grill for a few minutes instead of using a biscuit—that cuts about 100 calories right there. Then I use a balsamic reduction—cook the vinegar down slowly until it’s about half the volume it was originally—and drizzle it over the strawberries and cake. The flavors are so elegant, and no one misses the whipped cream, which would usually tack another 100 calories onto the dessert.”
—Katherine Tweed, That’s Fit

Check out these summer dessert dos and don’ts!

Give Mashed Potatoes a Healthy Twist

“For me, mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. To make your potatoes healthier, try using equal amounts of potato and another mashable vegetable, like cauliflower or turnips. Not only is this reducing the calorie content, but you’re also adding extra nutrients to your plate. To add even more flavor, replace butter and whole milk with a small amount of tahini and some fat-free yogurt.”
—Melanie Thomassian, Dietriffic

Create Your Own Chips

“Instead of snacking on tortilla chips and salsa, I make my own pita chips in the toaster oven. I cut a whole-wheat pita into small triangles, spray them with no-calorie cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and toast for about two minutes. They taste just as good as regular tortilla chips but without the added calories and fat. You can even add garlic salt, cinnamon or paprika to jazz them up.”
—Tina Haupert, Carrots ‘N’ Cake

Coffee, Hold the Milk

“Instead of a latte, order your coffee drink Americano style, which is espresso with water instead of milk. A 12-ouce Americano is 10 calories versus the same-size latte made with whole milk, which comes in at 180 calories. Nix the sugar—two packets are 30 calories—and you’ve saved yourself 200 calories.”
—Stephanie Quilao, Noshtopia

by Glamour Magazine,

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/13-easy-ways-to-save-200-calories-a-day-501889/

Hurricane Bill blamed in deaths in Maine, Fla.

EDGARTOWN, Mass. – A large wave fueled by Hurricane Bill swept spectators out to sea at a Maine park Sunday as the storm-churned surf attracted onlookers and daredevils along the Eastern Seaboard.

A 7-year-old girl who was pulled from the sea near Acadia National Park later died, and a 54-year-old swimmer died after washing ashore unconscious Saturday in Florida, authorities said.

The girl, her father and a 12-year-old girl were all plucked from the water by rescuers. The man and his daughter are from New York City, Acadia National Park Chief Ranger Stuart West said. The other girl is from Belfast, Maine, and is not related to them, West said. He would not release their names.

The man and the 12-year-old were hospitalized.

The three were part of an early afternoon crowd of thousands who lined the national park's rocky shoreline to watch the high surf and crashing waves, which were "absolutely the effects of Hurricane Bill" coupled with the effect of high tide, park ranger Sonya Berger said.

The hurricane was also blamed for the death of a 54-year-old swimmer Saturday in Florida. Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said Angel Rosa of Orlando was found ashore near rough waves fueled by Bill at New Smyrna Beach, along the central Florida coast. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Lifeguards there also rescued a handful of other swimmers believed to have suffered spinal injuries.

The center of the hurricane was about 230 miles west of Newfoundland on Sunday night, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, and it was moving northeast at 35 mph. The storm is expected to continue to lose strength as it moves over cooler waters.

At Acadia National Park, the waves swept over 20 people, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Sansoucie said. West said 11 people were taken to the hospital, mainly for broken bones after being slammed onto the rocks.

West said people occasionally slip on the park's rocks into the ocean, but it's unusual for them to be swept away by waves.

James Kaiser of Bar Harbor was taking photographs when he heard shouts that people had been swept into the 55-degree water at the park's Thunder Hole, a popular tourist attraction where waves often crash into a crevasse and make a thundering sound while splashing high in the air.

"I could see two people's heads bobbing in the water," Kaiser said. He said he thought they would be bounced back to shore because the waves were coming in so hard but that instead the current took them away from shore.

Kaiser said many people didn't even move when they were splashed by the waves and instead seemed to laugh it off.

Along Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast, the storm delivered steady downpours and fierce winds, forcing flight cancellations and temporary road closings. Bill ripped branches from trees in Halifax and elsewhere, and there was some localized flooding. Some 40,000 Nova Scotia Power customers lost power, but it was gradually being restored Sunday.

Craig MacLaughlan, CEO of Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office, said no major damage has been reported in the province.

The storm drew onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of crashing waves as it marched through Atlantic Canada.

Despite repeated warnings, people gathered in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, and along the boardwalk in downtown Halifax as swells grew steadily in strength and size.

"So far, it's pretty wild," said Heather Wright, who was walking along the Halifax harbor.

In Massachusetts, President Barack Obama and his family arrived in Martha's Vineyard on Sunday afternoon for vacation after the storm had passed well to the east.

Several people had to be rescued from the water in Massachusetts, including a couple of kayakers who got stranded in the heavy seas off Plymouth, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

He said strong rip tides and beach erosion were the biggest concerns Sunday.

"Our biggest thing right now is just the rough surf," he said.

Dozens of people showed up at South Beach on Martha's Vineyard with their cameras and camcorders to watch the big waves and churning Atlantic.

Tony Dorsey of Goffstown, N.H., has a camp on the Vineyard. He said the waves came up to the top of the dunes at South Beach during high tide, and included "good-size rollers.

"It overwhelmed the beach," he said. "It reformed the beach. It's not destroyed a lot, but it's going to reshape the beach."

The storm delayed or halted ferry services from New York to Maine, and kept many beaches closed.

In Montauk, N.Y., swimmers weren't allowed in the water, but surfers were out riding the waves. State parks spokesman George Gorman said almost 2,000 surfers showed up at Montauk on Sunday — the most ever counted there. They enjoyed waves that reached as high as 16 feet.

By JASON BRONIS

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tropical_weather