Wednesday, March 20, 2013

UCF attack plotter wanted to 'give them hell'

In this mug shot released by the Florida Highway Patrol shows James Seevakumaran on October 30, 2006. University of Central Florida police have identified Seevakumaran as the student that killed himself in a dorm at UCF in Orlando, Fla. ,early Monday March 18, 2013. Seevakumara was found with several fire arms and a homemade device in a backpack. The incident caused the evacuation of a dorm building. (AP Photo/Florida Highway Patrol)

In this mug shot released by the Florida Highway Patrol shows James Seevakumaran on October 30, 2006. University of Central Florida police have identified Seevakumaran as the student that killed himself in a dorm at UCF in Orlando, Fla. ,early Monday March 18, 2013. Seevakumara was found with several fire arms and a homemade device in a backpack. The incident caused the evacuation of a dorm building. (AP Photo/Florida Highway Patrol)

Various police agencies are seen during an investigation at the University of Central Florida, Monday, March 18, 2013, in Orlando, Fla., after explosive devices were found by authorities investigating the apparent suicide of a college student in the dorm. Hundreds of students were evacuated, though the school said there was no immediate threat. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Members of the Orange County Sheriff's office walk by the entrance to the Tower 1 dorm at the University of Central Florida during an investigation Monday, March 18, 2013, in Orlando, Fla. University police investigating the apparent suicide of a student at the dorm discovered the explosives in his room. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

University of Central Florida students, from left, Antoinette Bennett, Stephanie Graham, Nathalie Fils-Aime and Stephanie Hintz, wait outside the college sports arena after they were evacuated from their nearby dorm when explosive devices were found, Monday, March 18, 2013, in Orlando, Fla. University police investigating the apparent suicide of a student at the Tower 1 dorm discovered the explosives in his room. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

University of Central Florida police Chief Richard Beary, right, shows an example of the assault rifle, along with explosive devices, found in the dorm room of James Oliver Seevakumaran, who died of an apparent suicide in the room, Monday, March 18, 2013, in Orlando, Fla. Watching are UCF president John Hitt, left, and Grant Heston, UCF associate vice-president of communications and public affairs. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

(AP) ? The former student behind an aborted attack plot at a Florida university was working off a checklist that included plans to get drunk, pull a fire alarm and then "give them hell," authorities said Tuesday.

James Oliver Seevakumaran was crossing items off his list ahead of his planned attack on classmates with guns and homemade explosives, University of Central Florida Police Chief Richard Beary said at a news conference.

The list found along with his dead body early Monday included drinking at a bar near campus and pulling the fire alarm ? which investigators believe was meant to flush out victims. Beary says the final item was "give them hell."

Instead, Seevakumaran shot and killed himself as police officers arrived in response to the fire alarm and a 911 call from a roommate. Beary says authorities confirmed he had gone earlier to the bar and drank.

At the time of the attack, packages were waiting for Seevakumaran at a campus mailroom containing two 22-round magazines and a sling for his rifle and a firearms training DVD, officials said Tuesday.

Investigators have also said that they found an assault rifle, handgun, high capacity ammunition drums, hundreds of bullets and four makeshift explosives in a backpack near his body.

Beary said authorities still aren't aware of a motive or significant circumstance that led Seevakumaran to plan for an attack. The chief said no written explanation was left.

More details emerged Tuesday about Seevakumaran's solitary lifestyle. Seevakumaran's family said he was a loner who didn't have a history of violence in a brief statement released by authorities. Beary told the news conference that he acted alone and didn't have any friends.

"He didn't like to talk to people," Beary said.

The roommate who called 911 said Seevakumaran rarely left the dorm apartment, according to a dispatcher's notes. The caller also said Seevakumaran had pulled a gun on him.

In an interview with student publication Knightly News, Arabo "BK" Babakhani identified himself as the roommate who called 911. He said he slammed the door on Seevakumaran after seeing the gun and hid behind furniture.

Babakhani said Seevakumaran avoided eye contact, never had visitors to the dorm and never was seen talking to anyone on a cellphone.

"Instead of walking by me, sometimes he'll walk around me," the roommate said in an interview posted on the Knightly News website. "The only time he made solid eye contact with me is when he was pointing the gun at me."

Babakhani didn't immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

AP reporters have also knocked on the doors of his mother and sister's homes, but no one answered.

Freshman mechanical engineer student Spencer Renfrow said when he would see Seevakumaran in the dorm's hallways and elevator, he would wave and Seevakumaran would wave back.

"Everything would seem fine," Renfrow said.

The business major, who held a job at an on-campus sushi restaurant, had never been seen by university counselors and had no disciplinary problems with other students, said university spokesman Grant Heston. Heston said that the school had been in the process of removing Seevakumaran from the dormitory because he hadn't enrolled for the current semester. He had attended the university from 2010 through the fall semester.

Some 500 students were evacuated from the dorm just after midnight Monday, and morning classes were canceled at the 51,000-student campus.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-19-Explosive%20Device-College/id-7c1e58b4dcf744f6864f34c2c4e5dc05

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When The Going Gets Tough, Why Do We Ditch Our Faith?Freefall ...

I launched my first 1 Day Empowerment Workshop in America last week and in the process of 8 hours of live facilitation I was present to the amount of people hurting out there with life circumstances that have just robbed them of any freedom. ?What is alarming to me, and this is not an American thing, it is a human thing, is the amount of people who write off their faith (whatever that is for them) at a time when they need it most. ?So I thought I would focus todays blog on speaking into some preconceptions around faith/spirituality/religion/woo woo from my perspective and would love to generate discussion on this subject.

As a generalization the term Woo Woo, has adverse reaction. ?Someone who talks their faith but does not walk it. ?Someone who is not grounded, abdicating responsibility to some ethereal being outside of themselves, expecting miracles to occur. ?I do not discredit why woo woo gets a bad rap. ?To me we are spiritual beings having a human experience. ?To be spiritual is to be woo woo, but in my context, someone who has transcended their ego and walks their faith. ?To do this means to live a fearless existence.

Faith, even, seems to for some, to have a connotation of meaning ?religion?. ?I am not discrediting those that are religious. ?There are many paths to the mountain, what you call your faith, is a personal choice in my opinion. ?All I question is the authenticity of those who state that they have a faith but do not walk it in their lives; this is the height of hypocrisy from my perspective.

So what?s all the fuss about? ?Is it easier to completely and utterly discount the possibility of something because one cannot tangibly comprehend it than trust it implicitly and in so doing experience the unquantifiable evidence of ROI. ?The more you trust it the more you gain the validation you need.

We cannot evolve as a race if we do not trust the unknown. ?That is a fact. ?If we stay in the known realm we will stagnate as a species and that serves no one. ?Growing spiritually means to evolve to new levels of consciousness. ? We seem to complicate the hell out of something that is our inherent birthright. ?I have written before on this subject, and I will say it again here today ? we were born intuitive, born connected, born fearless, that too is a fact. ?Then we learnt to not trust from a very young age. ?To re-experience the authentic self, and come home to experiencing being fearless, being connected and living intuitively takes one to heal that which severed them in the first place.

Being someone who specializes in the area of linguistics, language as a coach intuitive, I am intrigued how words relating to spirituality and or religion can evoke such a strong response from people. ?I appreciate evolving to new levels of consciousness is not everyone?s trip but why the need to denigrate what others choose to believe? ?There is a lot of hypocrisy in the area of religion and or spirituality, I am the first to admit, however, there are those that walk it and for those who do they lead the way for what?s possible.

People tend to fall into 4 categories where spirituality/religion is concerned:-

  1. Do not believe in anything
  2. Believe in it but do not walk it ? espouse the virtues of their faith/religion but avoid at all costs living it
  3. Believe in it, do their version of walking it when it suits, getting their version of results
  4. Believe in it, walk it and experience a transcended existence as a result

I believe, and again this is only my belief based on my own life journey and those that I have had the privilege to coach, we have a choice to lead a connected existence or a disconnected existence. ?Life as a result will be experienced differently. ?Just because something is not tangible does not mean it does not exist. ?The disconnected realm is limited by design. ?The connected realm, which we were born into, is limitless in design.

Back to my opening statement. ?Why does ones faith/religion automatically, at a time of trauma in ones life bare the brunt of being written off? ?It is at these times that it is needed more than any other. ?Why, because we as human beings fundamentally feel justified to be a victim, feeling powerless to change a situation and have to blame somebody/something to abdicate taking responsibility for viewing things from a higher perspective. ?All of human suffering comes from the place of disconnection. ?Disconnection from self, disconnection from source. ?I completely understand why people do not wish to re-associate ? why would someone want to revisit the pain of what had them disassociate in the first place ? why, because until one does, one cannot lead an empowered life.

I will leave you in the inquiry today about what your resistance is to the terms ?spirituality and or religion?. ?I personally am not religious, however I respect those who walk their religion. ?I am however spiritual and I know what it takes to walk it, which is even more reason why people would shun even conceiving believing in it given what it would call you to do in this lifetime?

Source: http://www.freefallselfimprovement.com/when-the-going-gets-tough-why-do-we-ditch-our-faith/

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House Speaker urges for scrutiny on rights violations in Tindouf camps

Madrid -March 19, 2013 (MAP)

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Karim Ghellab, called for emergently scrutinizing human rights violations perpetrated by the Polisario against the population it is sequestering in the Tindouf camps (southern Algeria).

In an interview published Tuesday by the electronic site of Spanish daily ?La Razon?, the official stressed ?the emergency of examining the Polisario?s abuses and embezzlement of humanitarian aid sent to the population held forcibly in the camps.

He also called the UNHCR to conduct a population census and guarantee freedom of movement in these camps, stressing that Morocco has always been for dialogue to settle the artificial conflict around the Moroccan Sahara.

Morocco has spared no effort to reach a political consensus-based solution, he went on citing the Moroccan proposal to grant a large autonomy to the southern provinces that was labeled by the United Nations as a ?serious and credible? proposal.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/03/83158/house-speaker-urges-for-scrutiny-on-rights-violations-in-tindouf-camps-2/

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ALMA telescope, the world's largest, will go deeper and farther than ever before

Scientists and politicians inaugurated a new telescope array, known as ALMA, on Wednesday. The equipment should shed light on planet formation, according to researchers. It is located in Chile where skies are clean and dry, optimal for astronomy.

By Clara Moskowitz,?SPACE.com / March 13, 2013

ALMA, a new radio telescope array, is built high up in the Chilean Atacama desert, at an altitude of 16,400 feet (5,000 meters).

Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com

Enlarge

SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, Chile

High up in the Chilean desert, on a plateau so dry and red it looks like it could be Mars, dozens of giant telescope antennas stare at the sky in unison.

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They are?ALMA radio telescope???the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ? and together they can see deeper and farther in long-wavelength millimeter light than any instrument before. The $1.3 billion observatory, the product of 30 years of planning and 10 years of construction, is already sighting new planets in the process of forming around stars, and some of the most distant, ancient galaxies known.

To celebrate the?inauguration of ALMA, officials and scientists gathered today (March 13) here at the observatory's Operations Support Facility, base camp for the telescope, which, at 5,000 meters (16,400 feet), is so high that scientists must breathe supplemental oxygen to work there.

"We are very proud to inaugurate this great project in which so many people have worked so hard for so long," said the president of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, who visited ALMA for the occasion. "ALMA will allow us to get deeper into the universe, but also into our own nature and our own lives."

To close the ceremony, Pinera gave an ALMA scientist permission to direct all of the radio dishes to rotate in unison to face the center of the galaxy. The great white bowls swiveled together in a huge arc, against a backdrop of swelling music, to the applause and cheers of the scientists watching via video from the Operations Support Facility. [8 Cool Facts About the ALMA Telescope]

Earlier, astronauts Tom Marshburn of NASA and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency called into the ceremony from the International Space Station to wish the ALMA project good luck. "Enjoy your new discoveries!" Hadfield told the scientists.

Telescope teamwork

ALMA is an array of 66 radio dishes ? most 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter ? that work together to create images as detailed as if they were made by a single telescope 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide.

"At the end we will have a telescope that has an angular resolution better than the Hubble Space Telescope, but now at millimeter/submillimeter wavelengths," said ALMA's director, Thijs de Graauw.

By observing in this wavelength range of light, ALMA can probe cosmic phenomena that are invisible in optical light because they are shrouded in gas and dust. Dust particles in space absorb visual light and re-emit it in the millimeter and submillimeter range, so ALMA can see into, for example, the clouds of gas and dust where new stars are born, and the disks of debris that enshroud stars, from which planets are formed.

"ALMA will really unravel the physics of?how stars are born?and how they die," said Ewine van Dishoeck, an astronomer at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands who is a member of the ALMA board. "ALMA will see planet formation in action, and it sees it at the locations also where terrestrial planets are made."

The project is a collaboration between North America, Europe and East Asia, with the cooperation of Chile. The three contributing regions each built about a third of ALMA's antennas, and split the other work as well. Scientists from the three partner regions will be awarded most of the telescope's observing time, with 10 percent being reserved for Chilean astronomers.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/jxfTZw9Rj9A/ALMA-telescope-the-world-s-largest-will-go-deeper-and-farther-than-ever-before

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Why you shouldn't tell stores your ZIP code

When it comes to paying with plastic at the cash register, you know the drill. A quick swipe, a signature and the contents of your shopping cart are yours. But sometimes the cashier asks for one more thing:

?May I have your ZIP code, please??

You may think it?s necessary to complete the transaction or it may seem like a harmless piece of information to give out, so you go ahead and reveal it.

But that simple decision can result in more junk mail heading your way and more telemarketers disrupting your day, said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit watchdog group based in San Diego, Calif.

So what?s a credit card customer to do when a merchant asks for a ZIP code at the cash register?

?Just say no,? Stephens advised.

Two states have now declared that the practice violates their privacy laws. Last week, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that a ZIP code amounts to ?personal identification information.? The California Supreme Court made a similar ruling in 2011.

Here?s why privacy advocates are concerned.

Some stores gather ZIP codes for benign reasons, like trying to figure out where to open a new location based on where their customers live, but the overall trend is for companies to use the data to find out more about you and market directly to you, Stephens said.

When you swipe a credit card at the cash register, the merchant receives your name, card number and expiration date, but little else, Stephens said. Give the store your ZIP code, however, and you?re providing a valuable piece of the puzzle.

When paired with your name, it can help the merchant figure out your mailing address, phone number and specific demographic information, Stephens noted.

Now, the store can send you a catalog or even sell your profile to a data broker. It happens all the time, but most people have no idea of the implications of revealing their ZIP, he said.

?Obviously, if I go into a store and I make a purchase, I don?t expect ? unless I sign up for a mailing list ? that I?m going to start receiving catalogs from the store,? Stephens said.

The Massachusetts ruling last week followed a complaint brought against Michaels Stores by a customer who said she received marketing materials from the craft store chain after employees asked her to provide her ZIP code during purchases.

The California decision involved a Williams-Sonoma customer who alleged the company used her ZIP code to locate her home address.

Merchant trade associations counter that collecting such data is beneficial to consumers.

?Asking for generic information helps retailers tailor merchandise, customize advertising and marketing -- promotions, deals and coupons -- and individualizes services,? said Stephen Schatz, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, in a statement .

?Thus, retailers may ask for general info such as ZIP codes in order to better know and serve their customers.?

In a brief filed in the Massachusetts case, the Retail Litigation Center also argued that stores collect ZIP codes for important business purposes, like analyzing demographics.

Still, Stephens said there should be no need to provide a ZIP code when asked by a clerk in a brick-and-mortar store.

But be aware that a credit card issuer sometimes asks for that information. American Express, for example, may prompt you to key in your ZIP code at some stores for security purposes. The information is not kept by the merchant and not used for marketing, the company says.

And you do still need to provide your ZIP when shopping online, whether to indicate where to ship your stuff or as part of the Address Verification System (AVS) online merchants use to fight fraud. Many gas stations use a similar method during pay-at-the-pump purchases.

In all other cases, proceed with caution.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/should-you-tell-stores-your-zip-code-privacy-advocates-say-1C8912007

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Louisville top overall seed in NCAA tournament

Louisville earned the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament Sunday, while Kansas, Indiana and Gonzaga also received No. 1s after a topsy-turvy regular season and another round of weekend upsets.

Then there's that other team from the Bluegrass State. Kentucky won't even get a chance to defend its 2012 national title, denied a spot in the 68-team field when the brackets came out thanks to an up-and-down season.

The selection committee had its work cut out after five teams swapped the top ranking in The Associated Press poll, capped by the West Coast Conference champion Zags (30-2) moving to the lead spot for the first time in school history. Committee chairman Mike Bobinski said last week he thought as many as seven teams could be in the running for No. 1 seeds.

Of course, only four spots were available. It was No. 4-ranked Louisville (29-5) that was picked to lead the field after sharing the Big East regular-season title, then pulling off a stunning turnaround to beat Syracuse in the final of the conference tournament for its 10th straight victory. The Cardinals came back from a 16-point deficit early in the second half for a 78-61 romp.

No. 7 Kansas (29-5) moved up to take the second overall seed after an impressive run through the Big 12 tournament, capped by a 70-54 victory over rival Kansas State in the title game. No. 3 Indiana (28-6) is third overall in the field despite falling to Wisconsin in the Big Ten semifinals. The Zags claimed the last of the coveted No. 1 seeds, edging out Atlantic Coast Conference champion Miami.

The Hurricanes, who became the first ACC team to be denied a top seed after winning both the regular season and the conference tournament, were among the No. 2 seeds with ACC rival Duke, Georgetown from the Big East, and Big Ten tournament champion Ohio State.

"Miami had a tremendous year. They are a great basketball team," Bobinski said. "If we had five spots, Miami would be there with us. We have great appreciation for the year Miami has had. In the final analysis, we put Gonzaga just ahead of them. But it was very, very close."

The tournament begins Tuesday with a pair of games in Dayton. Everyone is trying to get to Atlanta for the Final Four, which begins April 6 at the Georgia Dome.

On Thursday in the Midwest Regional, Louisville gets to rub salt in Kentucky's wounds by playing at Rupp Arena against either Liberty or North Carolina A&T, who meet in one of the "First Four" games in Dayton. That same day, Gonzaga takes on Southern in the second round of the West Regional at Salt Lake City.

On Friday, Kansas will stay close to home in Kansas City, Mo., to face Western Kentucky in a South Regional second-round game. Indiana, meanwhile, opens in Dayton, Ohio, at the East Regional against either LIU Brooklyn or James Madison, another of the First Four contests.

One thing is for sure in this most uncertain season: There won't be a repeat champion.

A year after taking its eighth national title ? only UCLA has won more ? Kentucky's success in restocking each year with the best one-and-done prospects hit a roadblock. The Wildcats never meshed as a unit, then lost the best of the freshmen when Nerlens Noel went down with a season-ending knee injury.

An upset over Florida boosted their stock heading to the SEC tournament. But the Wildcats turned in a miserable performance in Nashville, Tenn., losing to Vanderbilt 64-48 in the quarterfinals, and will have to settle for a bid from the second-tier National Invitation Tournament.

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/louisville-top-overall-seed-ncaa-tournament-221559842--spt.html

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Solar storm near Earth caused by fast CME

Solar storm near Earth caused by fast CME [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Mar-2013
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Contact: Susan Hendrix
Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

On March 17, 2013, at 1:28 a.m. EDT, the coronal mass ejection (CME) from March 15 passed by NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) as it approached Earth. Upon interacting with the giant magnetic bubble surrounding Earth, the magnetosphere, the CME caused a kind of solar storm known as a geomagnetic storm. The storm initially caused a mild storm rated on NOAA's geomagnetic storm scales as a G2 on a scale from G1 to G5, and subsequently subsided to a G1. In the past, storms of this strength have caused auroras near the poles but have not disrupted electrical systems on Earth or interfered with GPS or satellite-based communications systems.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (http://swpc.noaa.gov) is the United States Government official source for space weather forecasts. For this storm, they predict:

  • "Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 60 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
  • Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur.
  • Spacecraft - Minor impact on satellite operations possible.
  • Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, i.e., northern tier of the U.S. such as northern Michigan and Maine."

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/nsfc-ssn031813.php

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