Left Hand Brewing teams up on beer aiding military veterans

(Steven Freeman, The Denver Post)

Longmont-based Left Hand Brewing is collaborating with eight other U.S. craft brewers on a special beer to benefit military veterans, but a bad batch delayed a planned Memorial Day weekend release.

Homefront IPA is an American India Pale Ale brewed with orange zest and aged with a very American kind of wood ? Louisville Slugger maple bats, which are specially engraved and added to the tank.

All proceeds will go to Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides emergency assistance to veterans and their families.

The swing and a miss on the first brewing attempt means Left Hand is now aiming for a release date the first week of June.

"Our first batch did not meet our quality standards, and in the interest of doing the right thing, especially for Operation Homefront, we are re-brewing and releasing at a later date," brewery spokeswoman Emily Armstrong said.

The collaboration originated in 2011 with Chris Ray, then a Seattle Mariners pitcher and co-founder of Center of the Universe Brewing Co. in Ashland, Va. Seattle-based Fremont Brewing Co. was on board, too.

This year the list of participating breweries includes Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, Fla., Sly Fox Brewing Co. in Pottstown, Pa., Perennial Artisan Ales in St. Louis, 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco, the Phoenix Ale Brewery in Phoenix and Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, Calif. All used the same recipe.

"It's all about putting egos aside and doing something that's good and right for your country," Armstrong said.

Left Hand will brew 55 barrels of the beer, and it will be available on draft and in 22-ounce bottles nationwide.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dp-business/~3/EqFFY3l0H44/left-hand-brewing-teams-up-beer-aiding-military

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The Tyee ? Harper's Global Austerity Agenda

Conservatives' response to EU debt crisis? Block bank taxes, cut social services.

Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

If the Harper government were honest about its policies, it would proclaim for all to hear: "Our goal is to make the rich richer."

Many Canadians would agree that has been the effect of Conservative domestic policies, but may be surprised to learn it is also true in international affairs.

"Austerity should not be abandoned, says Canada's finance minister," blared a headline in London's Financial Times earlier this month. Before recent G7 meetings Jim Flaherty told the international business paper he was worried that some officials were "pulling back" from slashing public spending and pursuing deficit targets.

"What I worry about is those that suggest that austerity should be abandoned," noted Canada's long-serving finance minister. "I think that's the road to ruin quite frankly."

Austerity = social spending cuts

Flaherty's comment was a response to growing challenges to austerity, notably the European Commission's move to give France and Spain more time to meet EU-mandated deficit targets. It was also a reminder of the Conservatives' banker-friendly response to the worst economic crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

Even with youth unemployment rates in a number of countries at 25 to 50 per cent or higher, Ottawa has repeatedly supported the German-led push for European governments to cut social spending.

The Conservatives have backed this thinly veiled ruling-class effort to weaken labour's bargaining position and roll back the European welfare state.

During a June 2011 visit to Athens Harper forcefully backed austerity measures bitterly resisted by much of the Greek population.

"I certainly admire the determination of Prime Minister Papandreou, and the very difficult actions he's had to undertake in response to problems his government did not create. So we are very much all on his side."

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ottawa in August of last year Harper reiterated his support for austerity measures. "There are additional things that have to be done" by European governments to end the continent's economic troubles, he said.

"One of the things I appreciate about Chancellor Merkel's leadership is the willingness, including at times of urgency and stress, to not just find any solution but to find correct and good solutions," Harper added.

Harper blocked banker tax

While supporting austerity measures, the Conservatives have publicly opposed efforts to tax and regulate the banks largely responsible for the economic collapse.

The Conservatives denounced efforts to better regulate speculation in international financial markets. In November 2009 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposed a tiny (ranging from .005 per cent to one per cent) tax on international financial transactions. Worried about the plight of investment bankers, Flaherty immediately dismissed the idea of a global 'Tobin Tax'.

"That's not something that we would want to do. We're not in the business of raising taxes," said Flaherty.

For his part, Harper admitted to blocking the G20's bid for an international banking tax.

"Whether it's taking strong and clear positions, for instance, at the G20 on something like a global financial regulation and a banking tax, we don't just say, 'Well, a consensus is developing for that. We'll go along with it.' It was not in our interest. It actually happens to be bad policy as well," the prime minister was quoted as saying in the July 2011 issue of Maclean's.

The Conservatives also spoke out against Washington's late 2011 move to restrict some of the high-risk/high-return banking activities that led to the 2008 economic collapse (the so-called "Volcker rule"). Flaherty and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney both sent letters to U.S. decision-makers criticizing the reforms.

"I am writing to express my concerns regarding the proposed Volcker rule, which could have material adverse effects on Canadian financial institutions and markets," wrote Flaherty in February 2012.

Flaherty and Carney intervened following a bid by U.S. bankers to spark international opposition to the reforms. That combined with Canadian banks owning major assets in the United States helps explain the Conservatives' position.

The Harper government has consistently supported Canada's banks and the global-investor class. In fact, their entire foreign policy is largely designed around the question: How can we make the world's richest 0.1 per cent even richer?

Source: http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/05/25/Harpers-Global-Austerity-Agenda/

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Richard DeCoatsworth, Former Cop, Once Hailed As Hero Now Faces Rape Charges

PHILADELPHIA ? A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to the first lady at a speech by President Obama has been arrested and charged with rape and other crimes.

Authorities allege that former officer Richard DeCoatsworth left a party with two females early Thursday and took them to another location, where they allege that he produced a handgun and "forced the two females to engage in the use of narcotics and sexual acts."

A police spokeswoman said the two called police after he left, and 27-year-old DeCoatsworth was later arrested. According to court records, DeCoatsworth was arraigned Saturday night on charges including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, trafficking of persons, false imprisonment and aggravated assault. His bail was set at $60 million.

DeCoatsworth was hailed as a hero after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop in September 2007 but still managed to chase after his attacker, who was later sentenced to 36 to 72 years in prison.

DeCoatsworth was invited by Vice President Joe Biden to attend the president's televised February 2009 address to Congress and sat with first lady Michelle Obama. He said he didn't know why he had been singled out, but being in the presence of the nation's leaders was an honor "that I will keep with me for the rest of my life."

WCAU-TV, which first reported his arrest, said DeCoatsworth retired from the department on disability in December 2011.

Police said no other information on the alleged attack would be released Saturday to protect the victims and the integrity of the ongoing investigation. Authorities declined to say give even general locations for the party and alleged crime scene and also wouldn't say when DeCoatsworth was arrested.

A listed number for DeCoatsworth has been disconnected and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told a Philadelphia Daily News columnist in February of last year that he believed he had made a mistake in granting the former officer's request to go back to work too soon after he was shot.

"God bless him for still wanting to get out there and do police work, but did I act in his best interest? In hindsight, I would say probably not," Ramsey told columnist Sty Bykofsky.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/19/richard-decoatsworth-cop-hero-rape_n_3302163.html

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Pastor Timothy Murphy On Hunger Strike In Solidarity With Guantanamo Inmates

By Jerry Campbell
Religion News Service

CLAREMONT, Calif. (RNS) Last Sunday (May 12), Timothy Murphy began a fast of solidarity with the Guantanamo inmates who are on a hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention. As one of our Ph.D. students and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Timothy felt spiritually called to the hunger strike. He is drinking water and nothing else.

Timothy intends to continue as long as he is able, or until the Obama administration begins taking action to address the prisoners? legitimate grievances, including deliberate steps to find homes for the 86 prisoners who have been cleared for release. Timothy says he would be happy to stop the fast tomorrow if the administration indicated that it was taking steps to do this.

I, like Timothy, believe this is a basic human rights issue for the prisoners. I also believe that it is critical for the health of our nation?s collective soul and integrity to get it resolved. Timothy?s deep commitment inspired me, so I decided to join him, but in a more limited fast: I am fasting three days this week, and every Thursday hereafter, until steps are taken to resolve the Guantanamo issues.

?Many Americans,? Timothy recently told me, ?tend to think of the Guantanamo prisoners as ?the worst of the worst.? It?s easy to not pay attention to their plight, regardless of whether they die of hunger, have tubes shoved down their esophagus for force feeding, or languish in Guantanamo permanently ? even the prisoners who have already been determined not to have been enemy combatants.?

His hope, which is now mine as well, is that enough Americans will join us to make people think twice about their assumptions and to pressure Congress and the White House to address the detainee situation conclusively.

Each day of his fast, Timothy calls his senators and representatives on Capitol Hill, and the White House to express concern over the Guantanamo situation, to tell them of his fast, and ask if any steps have been taken. He is encouraging everyone he knows to contact them as well.

Timothy has also emailed Carlos Warner, an attorney who represents some of the detainees, saying, ?I don?t know for how long I will do this,? he told Warner, ?but if nothing else, I want the men in Guantanamo to know that myself and others care about their situation enough to act in support of them so that the Obama administration responds to their grievances.?

Timothy has already lost more than 7 percent of his body weight and feels dizzy when he stands. He has consulted a doctor, because he doesn?t intend to fast to the death, unlike the 100 prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo. Those men are so depressed about their situation that many of them would be relieved to end it all.

What happened to the ideals of due process and innocent until proven guilty? What about no unjust imprisonment, and no cruel and unusual punishment? How can America claim to be a beacon of justice and democracy for the world, when after more than 11 years, we continue to let this situation fester?

Timothy tells me that by the time he?s burned up his remaining fat, he has read that his body will start eating away his muscles, a feeling he is not looking forward to. But he?s taking it one day at a time, praying for a resolution.

I urge you to join Timothy and me, in whatever capacity you are able, to pray, fast, and contact your representatives. We need to close Guantanamo.

(Jerry Campbell is the president of Claremont Lincoln University and Claremont School of Theology.)

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/pastor-timothy-murphy-on-hunger-strike-in-solidarity-with-guantanamo-inmates_n_3296365.html

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Sommet turns sports-feed back on for Kiwis | Stuff.co.nz

On air: Aussie rules football will soon be free-to-air in New Zealand.

Peter Meecham/Fairfax NZ

BROADCAST: General Manager of Sommet Sports Mark Cathie says trial broadcasts will be made this week.

Free-to-air sports?are about to make a comeback on New Zealand TV screens, with the soft launch of Sommet Sports on Freeview at the end of this week.

And with Sommet Sports will come some new-look advertising designed to minimise disruption and viewers' enjoyment - including internet-style banner ads.

Sommet Sports promises to offer Australian Rules Football (AFL) as well as the beautiful game, including the Scottish, German and Chinese FA cups and the Argentinian league and German Bundesliga. On top of that is world snooker, the New York and Melbourne marathons, San Francisco's Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, kickboxing, extreme sports and more.

Once testing is complete the station will go live on Freeview channel 14.

In the meantime it would be making trial broadcasts, checking its systems and building its content, general manager Mark Cathie said.

Sommet Sports is an independent broadcaster that came to exist when, two years ago, a few friends were lamenting the loss of free-to-air sports in New Zealand. It plans to deliver a range of sports from around the world and from within New Zealand, 24 hours a day.

"As we grow we hope to increase our New Zealand content in local codes," its material says.

"As we are a cost-efficient entity we would be seeking to partner with these codes to determine creative ways that we can bring them to a free-to-air arena at costs that are manageable without compromising reasonable broadcasting quality."

Cheekily, they say they have no competition.

"Kiwis have no other free to air fully dedicated sports channels in New Zealand, and subscription-based service providers offer a wide mix of content genres, not just sports."

The business will be funded solely through commercials, but with a twist. Sponsors will be offered internet-style banner advertising to increase their visibility and to reduce ad breaks.

"We're very much up for experimenting," Cathie said. "We want to be able to keep the viewer engaged in ways they haven't been able to on free-to-air."

That met a mixed reaction from ad agencies last week with Colenso BBDO's Nick Garret describing the plan as "insulting, invasive and stupid".

More positive was Todd Mcleay, Whybin\TBWA CEO.

"If internet-style banner advertising is going to give Kiwis access to a genuinely new sports TV format with great content, and free of charge, then it's likely the advertising will be tolerated by consumers," he said.

"The key will be to find a balance that ensures advertisers still derive value, without Sommet Sports creating the very interruptions to broadcasts they're hoping to avoid.

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Comments

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/8661666/Sommet-turns-sports-feed-back-on-for-Kiwis

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Improving materials that convert heat to electricity and vice-versa: Turning waste heat into electricity

May 5, 2013 ? Thermoelectric materials can be used to turn waste heat into electricity or to provide refrigeration without any liquid coolants, and a research team from the University of Michigan has found a way to nearly double the efficiency of a particular class of them that's made with organic semiconductors.

Organic semiconductors are carbon-rich compounds that are relatively cheap, abundant, lightweight and tough. But they haven't traditionally been considered candidate thermoelectric materials because they have been inefficient in carrying out the essential heat-to-electricity conversion process.

Today's most efficient thermoelectric materials are made of relatively rare inorganic semiconductors such as bismuth, tellurium and selenium that are expensive, brittle and often toxic. Still, they manage to convert heat into electricity more than four times as efficiently as the organic semiconductors created to date.

This greater efficiency is reflected in a metric known by researchers as the thermoelectric "figure of merit." This metric is approximately 1 near room temperature for state-of-the-art inorganic thermoelectric materials, but only 0.25 for organic semiconductors.

U-M researchers improved upon the state-of-the-art in organic semiconductors by nearly 70 percent, achieving a figure-of-merit of 0.42 in a compound known as PEDOT:PSS.

"That's about half as efficient as current inorganic semiconductors," said project leader Kevin Pipe, an associate professor of mechanical engineering as well as electrical engineering and computer science. Pipe is a co-author of a paper on the research published in Nature Materials on May 5, 2013.

PEDOT:PSS is a mixture of two polymers: the conjugated polymer PEDOT and the polyelectrolyte PSS. It has previously been used as a transparent electrode for devices such as organic LEDs and solar cells, as well as an antistatic agent for materials such as photographic films.

One of the ways scientists and engineers increase a material's capacity for conducting electricity is to add impurities to it in a process known as doping. When these added ingredients, called dopants, bond to the host material, they give it an electrical carrier. Each of these additional carriers enhances the material's electrical conductivity.

In PEDOT doped by PSS, however, only small fraction of the PSS molecules actually bond to the host PEDOT; the rest of the PSS molecules do not become ionized and are inactive. The researchers found that these excess PSS molecules dramatically inhibit both the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric performance of the material.

"The trouble is that the inactive PSS molecules push the PEDOT molecules further apart, making it harder for electrons to jump between PEDOT molecules," Pipe said. "While ionized PSS molecules improve electrical conductivity, non-ionized PSS molecules reduce it."

To improve its thermoelectric efficiency, the researchers restructured the material at the nanoscale. Pipe and his team figured out how to use certain solvents to remove some of these non-ionized PSS dopant molecules from the mixture, leading to large increases in both the electrical conductivity and the thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency.

This particular organic thermoelectric material would be effective at temperatures up to about 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Eventually this technology could allow us to create a flexible sheet -- think of Saran Wrap -- that can be rolled out or wrapped around a hot object to generate electricity or provide cooling," Pipe said.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/N7MPWBy3_MQ/130505145941.htm

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Syrian rebels shoot down regime helicopter in east

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels shot down a military helicopter in the country's east, killing eight government troops on board a day after opposition forces entered a sprawling military air base in the north, activists said Monday.

In the past months, rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad have frequently targeted military aircraft and air bases in an attempt to deprive his regime of a key weapon used to target opposition strongholds and reverse rebel gains in the 2-year-old conflict.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday posted a video online showing several armed men standing in front of the wreckage. One of the fighters in the footage says it's a helicopter that the rebels shot down late Sunday in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, along Syria's border with Iraq.

As the man speaks, the camera shifts to a pickup truck piled with bodies. The fighter is then heard saying that all of Assad's troops who were aboard the helicopter were killed in the downing. He says Islamic fighters of the Abu Bakr Sadiqq brigade brought down the helicopter as it was taking off from a nearby air base in the provincial capital of Deir el-Zour.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said eight troops were killed.

On Sunday, rebels occupied parts of a military air base in northern Syria after days of fighting with government troops who were defending the sprawling facility near the border with Turkey for months, the Observatory said.

Assad's warplanes were pounding rebel positions inside the Mannagh air base Monday as clashes between rebels and government forces raged on, the Observatory said, adding there was an unknown number of casualties on both sides.

The day before, rebels moved deep into the air base despite fire from government warplanes, capturing a tank unit inside the base and killing the base's commander, Brig. Gen. Ali Salim Mahmoud, according to another activists group, the Aleppo Media Center.

The fighting came hours after Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, officials and activists said.

The attack, the second in three days and the third this year, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's civil war. Syrian state media reported that Israeli missiles on Sunday struck a military and scientific research center near Damascus and caused casualties.

The Syrian conflict started with largely peaceful protests against President Bashar Assad's regime in March 2011, but eventually turned into a civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people according to the United Nations.

More than one million Syrians have fled their homes during the fighting and sought shelter in the neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Millions of others have been displaced inside Syria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-shoot-down-regime-helicopter-east-054433904.html

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