Noticias Nacionales | National News

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FDA outlines rules for nanotech in food

By : The Associated Press



WASHINGTON — Regulators are proposing that food companies that want to use tiny engineered particles in their packaging will have to provide extra testing data to show the products are safe.The Food and Drug Administration issued tentative guidelines Friday for food and cosmetic companies interested in using nanoparticles, which are measured in billionths of a meter. Nanoscale materials are generally less than 100 nanometers in diameter. A sheet of paper, in comparison, is 100,000 nanometers thick. A human hair is 80,000 nanometers thick.
The submicroscopic particles are increasingly showing up in FDA-regulated products like sunscreens, skin lotions and glare-reducing eyeglass coatings. Some scientists believe the technology will one day be used in medicine, but the FDA’s announcement did not address that use.
The draft guidance suggests the FDA will require food companies to prove the safety of any packaging using nanotechnology.
Under longstanding regulations, companies aren’t required to seek regulatory approval before launching products containing established ingredients and materials, such as caffeine, spices and various preservatives.
But FDA officials said Friday that foods and packaging containing nanoparticles would require more scrutiny.
“At this point, in terms of the science, we think it’s likely the exemption does not apply and we would encourage folks to come in and talk to us,” said Dennis Keefe, director of FDA’s office of food additive safety.
Keefe said companies are studying whether nanoparticles can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination in certain foods. He said the agency is aware of just one food package currently on the market that uses nanoparticles but did not identify it. He said more are expected in coming years.
The FDA has previously stated its position that nanotechnology is not inherently unsafe; however, materials at the nano scale can pose different safety issues than do things that are far larger.
“This is an emerging, evolving technology and we’re trying to get ahead of the curb to ensure the ingredients and substances are safe,” Keefe said.
In a separate guidance, the FDA laid out suggestions for the use of nanotechnology in cosmetics, a practice which has been in use since the 1990s. Nanoparticles are used in skin moisturizer, mineral make up and other cosmetics.
The FDA has less authority over cosmetics than food additives. Generally, the FDA does not review cosmetics before they launch, and companies are responsible for assuring the safety of their products.
The FDA will take comments on both proposals for 90 days. There is no deadline for finalizing the documents.


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Net Migration from Mexico
Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less



The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill. After four decades that brought 12 million current immigrants—more than half of whom came illegally—the net migration flow from Mexico to the U.S. has stopped and may have reversed. The standstill appears to result from the weakened U.S. job market, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings, and changing economic and demographic conditions in Mexico.

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Fed forecast: More growth, lower unemployment; no policy changes

By CB Online Staff
cbnews@caribbeanbusinesspr.com



WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve says the economy is growing moderately while cautioning that risks from Europe remain. It’s holding off on taking any further steps to boost the recovery.The Federal Reserve has boosted its outlook for U.S. economic growth this year and is slightly more optimistic about the unemployment rate, reflecting improvements in recent months.
In an updated forecast Wednesday, the Fed predicted that the economy will grow between 2.4 percent and 2.9 percent in 2012. That compares with its forecast in January, when it estimated growth this year between 2.2 percent and 2.7 percent.
The Fed is estimating that unemployment, now at a three-year low of 8.2 percent, will be between 7.8 percent and 8 percent at year’s end. That compares with its forecast in January, when it estimated an unemployment rate as high as 8.5 percent at the end of 2012.
The Fed has slightly increased its estimate for inflation by year’s end: between 1.9 percent and 2 percent. In January, it predicted inflation in a lower range: 1.4 percent to 1.8 percent.
Still, the higher inflation forecast is still lower than the Fed’s official 2 percent target for inflation. And in its statement, the Fed said it expected higher oil and gasoline prices this year to result in only a temporary boost in inflation.
In January, the Fed for the first time included forecasts for where Fed officials saw its key policy lever, the federal funds rate, headed.
In the new forecast, 11 Fed officials expect the first interest rate hike will not occur until 2014 or later, the same number who said so in January. But no official is looking for the first rate hike to occur as late as 2016; in January, two Fed officials had put the first rate hike that far out.
The number of Fed officials who expect a rate increase to occur this year remained the same at three. And the number who expect the first increase in 2013 also remained at three.
All Fed officials saw the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge on overnight loans, below 3 percent at the end of 2014. And 10 saw the funds rate below 2 percent at the end of 2014.
In a statement after a two-day meeting, the Fed said Wednesday that the job market has improved slightly but that unemployment remains elevated. It said the housing market has improved somewhat but remains depressed. It also pointed to a pickup in inflation but said it should be only temporary.
The Fed stuck with its plan to keep a key short-term interest rate near zero through at least late 2014. It announced no new plans for further bond buying after a current program ends in June.
Its decision to leave policy unchanged had been widely expected and had little impact on financial markets.
The Fed’s stay-the-course decision was approved on a 9-1 vote of the central bank’s key policy panel, the Federal Open Market Committee, composed of Fed board members in Washington and five regional bank presidents.
As he has at the past two meetings, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Fed, opposed the late-2014 target date. The statement said Lacker didn’t think economic conditions will warrant a record low rate late that long.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will meet with reporters later Wednesday, marking a year since he began holding quarterly news conferences as a way of providing more openness about the Fed’s decision-making process.
After their policy meeting in January, Bernanke and his colleagues had hinted that they were edging closer to a third round of bond buying. The Fed’s bond purchases have been intended to drive down long-term rates to encourage borrowing and spending.
But since then, signs have suggested that the U.S. economy has strengthened. Those developments make a further round of Fed bond buying less likely, many economists say.
The Fed first set its late 2014 target at the January meeting. That target date represented a move from last August when it announced a mid-2013 target for the first Fed rate move.
The Fed’s benchmark funds rate has been kept near zero since December 2008. That means consumer and business loans tied to that rate have also remained at super-low levels. The lower those loan rates, the more likely people and companies are to borrow and spend and invigorate the economy.
With the federal funds rate as low as the Fed can set it, the central bank has resorted to other unconventional steps to keep long-term rates down. Those rates, such as those for home loans, are set by financial markets.
The Fed has pursued two rounds of purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Those efforts have expanded its asset holdings by more than $2 trillion.
In September, the Fed began a $400 billion bond program dubbed Operation Twist. Under this program, the Fed is not expanding its portfolio but instead selling shorter-term securities it owns and buying longer-term bonds. The goal is to push down long-term rates. That program is scheduled to end in June.
At his previous quarterly news conference in January, Bernanke said a third round of bond buying, known as quantitative easing, was an option that was “certainly on the table.”
But more recently, Bernanke and other Fed officials have sounded less inclined to pursue further bond purchases. Private economists had expected the Fed to keep more bond buying as at least an option. They pointed to the cloudy state of the economy in light of Europe’s debt crisis, a potential new spike in oil prices and still-high unemployment.
On Friday, the government will issue its first estimate of economic growth for the January-March quarter. Many economists are predicting an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent — better than they had expected when the year began. But analysts are concerned that growth could weaken in the current quarter, reflecting payback from an unusually warm winter that boosted economic activity in the first quarter.

Comparing the Fed’s views on US inflation, jobs

A comparison of the Federal Reserve’s statements from its meeting two-day meeting that ended Wednesday and its March 13 meeting:
INFLATION:
March: “Inflation has been subdued in recent months, although prices of crude oil and gasoline have increased lately. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.”
April: Fed policymakers acknowledge recent price increases: “Inflation has picked up somewhat, mainly reflecting higher prices of crude oil and gasoline. However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.”
UNEMPLOYMENT:
Then: “Labor market conditions have improved further; the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains elevated.”
Now: Fed policymakers seem slightly less optimistic: “Labor market conditions have improved in recent months; the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated.”
EUROPEAN DEBT CRISIS:
Then: “Strains in global financial markets have eased, though they continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”
Now: The Fed’s assessment is more pessimistic: “Strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”
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Supreme Court takes up Arizona immigration law

By : The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices strongly suggested Wednesday that they are ready to allow Arizona to enforce part of a controversial state law requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people they think are in the country illegally. Liberal and conservative justices reacted skeptically to the Obama administration's argument that the state exceeded its authority when it made the records check, and another provision allowing suspected illegal immigrants to be arrested without a warrant, part of the Arizona law aimed at driving illegal immigrants elsewhere.
"You can see it's not selling very well," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Obama administration Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.
It was unclear what the court would do with other aspects of the law that have been put on hold by lower federal courts. The other blocked provisions make it a state crime for immigrants not to have immigration registration papers and for illegal immigrants to seek work or hold a job.
Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the law two years ago, was on hand for the final argument of the court's term.
The latest high court clash between the administration and states turns on the extent of states' role in immigration policy, which is essentially under the federal government's control.
Verrilli tried to persuade the justices that they should view the law in its entirety and inconsistent with federal immigration policy. He said the records check would allow the state to "engage effectively in mass incarceration" of undocumented immigrants.
But Chief Justice John Roberts was among those on the court who took issue with Verrilli's characterization of the check of immigration status, saying the state merely wants to notify federal authorities it has someone in custody who may be in the U.S. illegally. "It seems to me that the federal government just doesn't want to know who's here illegally and who's not," Roberts said.
Outside the courthouse, more than 200 protesters gathered. The law's opponents made up a clear majority of the crowd, chanting and carrying signs like "Do I Look Illegal To You?" Some shouted "shame" at Brewer when she emerged from the building after the argument.
Brewer told reporters she was "very, very encouraged" by the justices' questions.
The administration challenged the law in federal court. Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah passed similar laws, parts of which also are on hold pending the high court's decision.
The court argument took place as presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney is trying to find a way to cut President Barack Obama's strong support among Latino voters. Romney was drawn to the right on issues like immigration as he fought off other Republicans in state GOP primary elections. On Monday, Romney signaled he was considering a wide range of immigration policies, including a proposal from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., that would allow some of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants a chance at visas to stay in the U.S.
A decision in the high-profile immigration case is expected in late June as both camps will be gearing up for the general election.
Arizona argues that with its 370-mile border with Mexico, it has paid a disproportionate price for illegal immigration. It says its 2010 law is consistent with federal immigration policy.
The administration says the law, and Arizona's approach of maximum enforcement, conflict with a more nuanced federal immigration policy that seeks to balance national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, human rights and the rights of law-abiding citizens and immigrants.
Civil rights groups that back the administration say Arizona's and the other states' measures encourage racial profiling and ethnic stereotyping. California, New York and nine other states with significant immigrant populations support the Obama administration.
Florida, Michigan and 14 other states, many of which also are challenging Obama's health care overhaul, argue that Arizona's law does not conflict with federal law.
Justice Elena Kagan, who was Obama's first solicitor general, is not taking part in the case, presumably because she worked on it while in the Justice Department.
The case is Arizona v. U.S., 11-182.


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US stamp honors legendary PR actor

By CB Online Staff
cbnews@caribbeanbusinesspr.com



Legendary Puerto Rican actor José Ferrer is being honored with a first-class stamp released Thursday by the U.S. Postal Service. The multi-talented actor, director, writer, musician and producer Jose Ferrer’s life and accomplishments were commemorated on a First-Class Forever stamp as part of the Distinguished Americans stamp series. The stamps, available nationwide starting Thursday, can be purchased online at usps.com/shop, by calling 1-800-STAMP-24 or by visiting Post Offices.
The portrait featured on the stamp is an oil painting by New York artist Daniel Adel based on a photograph of Ferrer. The stamp was designed by Antonio Alcala of Virginia.
Ferrer, whose career spanned the worlds of theater, film, television and music, is considered to be one of the most accomplished talents of his generation and the first Latino to win the Oscar for Best Actor.
Ferrer (1912-1992) won several Tony Awards for his work on stage and performed in more than 60 movies, garnering three Academy Award nominations. Arguably his most famous role was that of Cyrano de Bergerac for which he won both a Tony Award for Best Actor (1947) and the Oscar for Best Actor (1950) for his film portrayal of the same role. He remains one of the few actors to ever win both awards for playing the same character on stage and on film.
“Today, the Postal Service is pleased and proud to bestow upon José Ferrer ― a groundbreaking Latino movie, theater and television performer and the first Puerto Rican actor to succeed in Hollywood — a new commemorative Forever stamp,” said Marie Therese Domínguez, vice president of government relations and public policy for the U.S. Postal Service.
“Throughout an acting career that spanned more than half a century, Ferrer played a wide range of roles on both Broadway and on the silver screen. His accomplishments extended to many other genres of entertainment. He acted on radio, performed as an opera singer; co-authored a libretto and was a composer,” Domínguez said. “And, as if all this weren’t enough, Ferrer wrote for theater and television, and directed and produced numerous plays, both on and off Broadway.”
Joining Domínguez to dedicate the stamp were his wife Stella Ferrer; Rafael Ferrer, voice over artist; Theodore Chapin, chairman of the board of trustees, American Theatre Wing; John Martello, executive director of The Players; Harold Smith Prince, Broadway producer-director; actors Frances Sternhagen and Christopher Lloyd; and Stephen Kearney, manager for stamp services at U.S. Postal Service.
The Players serves primarily as a social club but is also a repository of American and British theater history, memorabilia and theatrical artifacts. Ferrer was a longtime member and received the organization’s prestigious “Edwin Booth Life Achievement Award.”
Ferrer’s family moved the family to New York City when Ferrer was six from Puerto Rico. Always an excellent student, he passed the Princeton University entrance exam at age 15, but was considered too young to attend and spent a year in a boarding school in Switzerland. He entered Princeton at age 16 and graduated with the class of 1933. He conducted postgraduate work at Columbia University with the intention of becoming a language teacher.
However, he had discovered his love of acting while in college, and in 1935, made his first appearance on Broadway, a one-line part in the play, “A Slight Case of Murder.”



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EPA honors PR environmental leaders

By CB Online Staff
cbnews@caribbeanbusinesspr.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it has honored an environmental educational project, a media organization and a business in Puerto Rico with Environmental Quality Awards for their achievements in protecting public health and the environment. EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck presented the awards to this year’s recipients at a ceremony at EPA’s offices in Manhattan.
“Change that will create a healthier and more sustainable future begins with people like those the EPA is honoring today,” Enck said. “They give of themselves and set a high bar in their actions to protect public health and the environment.”
EPA presents Environmental Quality Awards annually during Earth Week to individuals, businesses, government agencies, environmental and community-based organizations and members of the media in EPA Region 2, which covers New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eight federally-recognized Indian Nations. The awards recognize significant contributions to improving the environment and public health in the previous calendar year.

2012 Environmental Quality Award winners
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

Green Way Express

Green Way Express has established initiatives in the fields of emissions control, technology, education and community relations in Puerto Rico. By reducing energy use, Green Way Express has reduced CO2 emissions by 27%. The group implemented a recycling program, which in a year, diverted 3,276 pounds of waste from landfills. Currently, Green Way Express recycles 91% of all waste produced. They provide unique supply chain solutions that have the least possible impact on the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONAL
Proyecto Recinto Verde
Proyecto Recinto Verde (Green Campus Project) is an initiative of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. The project promotes awareness of environmental protection and conservation through environmental education in various academic and community settings, and in several categories including administration, recycling, reforestation, health education and conservation. It has had a positive impact on the ecosystems of Puerto Rico, while striving to achieve a better quality of life for the university and its community.

PRESS AND MEDIA


Miprv.com

At the start of 2011, Mi Puerto Rico Verde (“My Green Puerto Rico), a website dedicated to offering information about how to lead a green lifestyle, changed its editorial section to include news and events related to themes like energy and the environment in Puerto Rico. The coverage provided on mipuertoricoverde.com has educated the public about the proposed Vía Verde pipeline project, solar energy, windmills and other environmental news and advancements on the island. The site also teaches Puerto Ricans about the importance of conserving aquatic resources.


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Blind Chinese activist under U.S. protection, group says

April 28, 2012


WASHINGTON — A blind Chinese dissident who escaped from house arrest is under U.S. protection, his supporters said Saturday, creating a dilemma for Washington ahead of a visit next week by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Chen Guangcheng, a civil rights activist who has exposed forced abortions and sterilizations in rural areas, escaped a week ago from his heavily guarded home in Shandong province in eastern China.
U.S. officials declined to comment Saturday and have not confirmed reports that he sought protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
But a Texas-based activist group that has promoted Chen's case said the 40-year-old dissident is "under U.S. protection."
"High-level talks are currently underway between U.S. and Chinese officials regarding Chen's status," said a statement from the ChinaAid Assn., citing a source close to the situation.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer who was blinded by fever during infancy, served four years in prison for exposing forced abortions and sterilizations in his and nearby villages. Since his release in September 2010, local officials had confined him to his home, despite a lack of legal grounds for doing so, and beating him on several occasions, activists said.
Chen set off a frantic police search for him and those who helped him escape from his village Sunday, and he made his way to Beijing on Friday, activists said.
In a video he recorded that was put on YouTube, Chen accused local party officials of abuse, giving names.
Between 90 and 100 people were involved in his illegal detention, he said.
People who tried to visit him, including lawyers, journalists and the actor Christian Bale, were typically surrounded by security officers and forced away.
In one instance, Chen said, more than 10 men had pinned him to the ground and beat and kicked him for four hours.
Activist Hu Jia met with Chen after his escape and said the people with Chen later called him. "They said, 'He is in a 100% safe place,'" Hu said. "If they say that, I know where that place is. There's only one 100% [safe] place in China, and that's the U.S. Embassy."
The case poses a delicate problem for American officials ahead of a high-level visit led by Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
In February, U.S. officials faced a similar quandary when the police chief in the city of Chongqing, Wang Lijun, fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu and claimed his life was at risk because of his investigation into the death of a British businessman, allegedly implicating the wife of Bo Xilai, a senior government official.
After a 36-hour standoff during which Chinese security personnel surrounded the consulate,Wang was turned over to a Chinese official from Beijing -- safeguarding him from Bo's reach. American officials reportedly debriefed him extensively about the Bo Xilai affair, which has become a major scandal in China. He asked informally for asylum, but the U.S. ruled that out, officials have said.
But unlike Wang, a security official caught up in a local scandal, Chen is a renowned dissident whose case has been addressed publicly by Clinton on several occasions. He would be a strong candidate for asylum, experts say.

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Puerto Rican engineer in lead role as budget woes force NASA to redraw plans to Mars

By CB Online Staff
cbnews@caribbeanbusinesspr.com



Know how to go to Mars cheaply? NASA can use your help. The space agency this month put out a call for ideas for the next Mars mission in 2018. The fine print: The cost can’t be astronomical and the idea has to move the country closer to landing humans on the red planet in the 2030s.
“This is the kickoff,” said NASA sciences chief John Grunsfeld.
The race to redraw a new, cheaper road map comes two months after NASA pulled out of a partnership with the European Space Agency on two missions targeted for 2016 and 2018, a move that angered scientists. The 2018 mission represented the first step toward hauling Martian soil and rocks back to Earth for detailed study — something many researchers say is essential in determining whether microbial life once existed there.
Agency officials said returning samples is still a priority, but a reboot was necessary given the financial reality.
In the past decade, NASA has spent $6.1 billion exploring Earth’s closest planetary neighbor. President Barack Obama’s latest proposed budget slashed spending for solar system exploration by 21 percent, making the collaboration with the Europeans unaffordable.
A newly formed team headed by Puerto Rican engineer Orlando Figueroa will cull through the ideas and come up with options by summer around the time when NASA’s latest mission, a $2.5 billion car-sized rover Curiosity, will land near the equator on Mars. NASA headquarters is the ultimate decider of which future projects to fund.
Whatever mission flies in 2018, it will be vastly cheaper than Curiosity and will be capped at $700 million.
NASA is mainly seeking suggestions from scientists and engineers around the world, but you don’t have to have a Ph.D. Anyone can submit a proposal online and go through a lengthy process.
“Check all the boxes and you may be considered,” said NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown.
Scientists welcomed the chance to offer input but worried about the budget uncertainty.
“It will be extremely difficult to plan and implement the next specific steps that will lead to Mars sample return,” Arizona State University scientist Jim Bell said in an email. He is part of the rover Curiosity team.
Figueroa was tapped by NASA in late February to lead a newly established task force to remap the federal space agency’s Mars exploration program amid federal belt-tightening that poses a new obstacle to putting humans on the “Red Planet.”
Figueroa, a NASA veteran, was pulled out of retirement for the important new mission, which is a homecoming of sorts for the former “Mars Czar” whose long career at the space agency including a turn as director for Mars Exploration. He was serving as deputy center director for science and technology at the Goddard Space Flight Center when he retired in 2010.
Figueroa earned his bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 1978, and completed advanced courses in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. He is the author of several technical publications in the field of cryogenics, the SMEX missions, and the Mars Exploration Program.
Figueroa, a consultant with more than 30 years of aerospace experience, will lead the scientific and technical team to develop an integrated strategy for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program in light of current funding constraints.


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World Trade Center back on top in NYC

By : The Associated Press



NEW YORK — One World Trade Center, the monolith being built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, claimed the title of New York City’s tallest skyscraper on Monday, as workers erected steel columns that made its unfinished skeleton a little over 1,250 feet high, just enough to peek over the roof of the observation deck on the Empire State Building. The milestone is a preliminary one. Workers are still adding floors to the building once called the Freedom Tower. It isn’t expected to reach its full height for at least another year, at which point it is likely to be declared the tallest building in the U.S., and third tallest in the world.
Those bragging rights, though, will carry an asterisk.
Crowning the world’s tallest buildings is a little like picking the heavyweight champion in boxing. There is often disagreement about who deserves the belt.
In this case, the issue involves the 408-foot-tall needle that will sit on the tower’s roof.
Count it, and the World Trade Center is back on top. Otherwise, it will have to settle for No. 2, after the Willis Tower in Chicago.
“Height is complicated,” said Nathaniel Hollister, a spokesman for The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, a Chicago-based organization considered an authority on such records.
Experts and architects have long disagreed about where to stop measuring super-tall buildings outfitted with masts, spires and antennas that extend far above the roof.
Consider the case of the Empire State Building: Measured from the sidewalk to the tip of its needle-like antenna, the granddaddy of all skyscrapers actually stands 1,454 feet high, well above the mark reached by One World Trade Center on Monday.
Purists, though, say antennas shouldn’t count when determining building height.
An antenna, they say, is more like furniture than a piece of architecture. Like a chair sitting on a rooftop, an antenna can be attached or removed. The Empire State Building didn’t even get its distinctive antenna until 1952. The record books, as the argument goes, shouldn’t change every time someone installs a new satellite dish.
Excluding the antenna brings the Empire State Building’s total height to 1,250 feet. That was still high enough to make the skyscraper the world’s tallest from 1931 until 1972.
From that height, the Empire State seems to tower over the second tallest completed building in New York, the Bank of America Tower.
Yet, in many record books, the two skyscrapers are separated by just 50 feet.
That’s because the tall, thin mast on top of the Bank of America building isn’t an antenna but a decorative spire.
Unlike antennas, record-keepers like spires. It’s a tradition that harkens back to a time when the tallest buildings in many European cities were cathedrals. Groups like the Council on Tall Buildings, and Emporis, a building data provider in Germany, both count spires when measuring the total height of a building, even if that spire happens to look exactly like an antenna.
This quirk in the record books has benefited buildings like Chicago’s recently opened Trump International Hotel and Tower. It is routinely listed as being between 119 to 139 feet taller than the Empire State Building, thanks to the antenna-like mast that sits on its roof, even though the average person, looking at the two buildings side by side, would probably judge the New York skyscraper to be taller.
The same factors apply to measuring the height of One World Trade Center.
Designs call for the tower’s roof to stand at 1,368 feet — the same height as the north tower of the original World Trade Center. The building’s roof will be topped with a 408-foot, cable-stayed mast, making the total height of the structure a symbolic 1,776 feet.
So is that needle an antenna or a spire?
“Not sure,” wrote Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the building.
The needle will, indeed, function as a broadcast antenna. It is described on the Port Authority’s website as an antenna. On the other hand, the structure will have more meat to it than your average antenna, with external cladding encasing the broadcast mast.
Without that spire, One World Trade Center would still be smaller than the Willis Tower in Chicago, formerly known as the Sears Tower, which tops out at 1,451 feet (not including its own antennas).
Debate over which of those buildings can truly claim to be the tallest in the U.S. has been raging for years on Internet message boards frequented by skyscraper enthusiasts.
As for the Council on Tall Buildings, it is leaning toward giving One World Trade the benefit of the doubt.
“This is something we have discussed with the architect,” Hollister said. “As we understand it, the needle is an architectural spire which happens to enclose an antenna. We would thus count it as part of the architectural height.”
But, he noted, the organization has also chosen to sidestep these types of disputes, somewhat, by recognizing three types of height records: tallest occupied floor, architectural top and height to the tip.
Hollister also pointed out that, technically speaking, One World Trade Center isn’t a record-holder in any category yet, as it is still unfinished.
“A project is not considered a building until it is topped out, fully clad, and open for business or at least occupiable,” he said.
The debate doesn’t quite end there.
Neither the Willis Tower nor One World Trade are as high as the CN Tower, in Toronto, which stands at 1,815 feet. That structure, however, isn’t considered a building at all by most record-keepers, because it is predominantly a television broadcast antenna and observation platform with very little interior space. The tallest manmade structure in the Western Hemisphere will continue to be the 2,063-foot-tall KVLY-TV antenna in Blanchard, N.D.



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US manufacturing grows at fastest pace since June

By : The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturing grew last month at the fastest pace in nearly a year. New orders, production and a measure of employment all rose. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its index of manufacturing activity increased to 54.8 in April. That's the highest level since June and up from 53.4 the previous month. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
Solid growth in manufacturing suggests the slowdown in hiring and factory output in March may have been a temporary lull. Economists have noted that a mild winter may have accelerated some economic activity at the start of the year, making March's data weaker.
The report exceeded analysts' expectations, prompting investors to shift money out of bonds and into stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 80 points in morning trading.
A measure of employment rose to a 10-month high, an indication that factories are still hiring at a healthy clip. That's a good sign ahead of Friday's April jobs report.
A measure of new orders jumped to its highest level in a year. That could point to faster production in the coming months. New export orders also rose, which could offset worries that Europe and China could drag on exports.
Factories have been a key source of jobs and growth since the recession ended almost three years ago. The sector has expanded for 33 straight months, according to the ISM's index.
Manufacturing has also been a big source of hiring. Factories account for only about 9 percent of total payrolls but added 13 percent of the new jobs last year. Manufacturers have added 120,000 jobs in the past three months, about one-fifth of all net gains.
Other reports on manufacturing have been negative. Factory output fell in March, the Federal Reserve said last week. Companies made fewer electronic products and cut back on steel and other metals.
Even so, the decline came after three months of strong gains and economists said the slight downturn wasn't enough to suggest a major slowdown.
Last month, consumers cut back on their purchases of big-ticket items such as automobiles and appliances. And while the job market is improving, incomes are barely growing. That could weigh on consumer spending in the coming months.
Business investment is also slowing. Companies increased their spending on equipment and software at the slowest pace in nearly three years in the January-March quarter, the government said last week.
Even so, economists expect most of the challenges will be temporary. Companies may be ordering less heavy equipment because an investment tax credit expired at the beginning of the year. Orders are likely to rebound later this year, economists say.


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Casa Blanca anuncia cerca de 300.000 nuevos empleos

VOA | 05/03/2012

VOA está conformada por un grupo de talentosos profesionales al servicio de la información. Somos un equipo de reporteros, productores y presentadores, colocados estratégicamente a lo largo y ancho de Estados Unidos, así como en las principales capitales de la región Latinoamericana, que producen y ofrecen diariamente noticias e información para nuestros servicios de radio, televisión e internet.



La iniciativa se enfoca en vacantes de verano y otras oportunidades laborales para los jóvenes, además de una nueva herramienta digital para facilitar el acceso a las oportunidades.



Cerca de 95 compañías y empresas sin ánimo de lucro, tres ciudades, dos agencias federales y la Casa Blanca se unieron para proveer al menos 110.000 nuevos empleos de verano y otras oportunidades para los jóvenes de bajos ingresos y desconectados este año.
Así lo anunció la Secretaria del Trabajo, Hilda Solís, quien presentó la iniciativa de Empleos de Verano+,afirmando que habrá cerca de 300.000 nuevas oportunidades que incluyen 90.000 empleos remunerados, miles de tutorías y pasantías, entre otras oportunidades de capacitación.
“En enero, les solicitamos a los sectores público y privado que nos ayudaran a hacer frente al desempleo sin precedentes entre los jóvenes de EE.UU. Hoy, nos sentimos orgullosos de anunciar que las ciudades, las agencias federales, las empresas sin fines de lucro, y las compañías de todo el país han unido fuerzas para proveer cientos de miles de empleos de verano y oportunidades de empleo para nuestros jóvenes”, resaltó el presidente Barack Obama.
Esta nueva herramienta de búsqueda digital en línea que se llamará Banco de Empleos de Verano+ y funcionará en convenio con 10 sitios web que publican empleos y con empleadores en todo el país, proporcionando un recurso auto-contenido para que los jóvenes que buscan trabajo accedan y encuentren oportunidades laborales en sus comunidades.

El modelo funciona bajo una nueva norma abierta en Internet, el esquema JobPosting, diseñado por una red voluntaria de compañías de búsqueda de empleos y tecnología y respaldado por schema.org, siguiendo el modelo del Banco de Empleos para Veteranos.
Por su parte, la Secretaria del Trabajo, Hilda Solís, afirmó que esta iniciativa es una respuesta de las organizaciones al reto de garantizar que próxima generación sea una fuerza laboral americana.
“No existe nada que pueda ser más importante que la dignidad que se siente cuando uno gana su primer cheque de cobro e, independientemente de si los jóvenes están buscando un trabajo en el almacén de ventas al por menor al doblar de la esquina o en un parque nacional en otro estado, ahora ellos tienen un lugar donde pueden comenzar su búsqueda”, señaló Solís.
Además de la herramienta de búsqueda, la Administración le presentó el reto a la comunidad de desarrollo de crear aplicaciones que conecten a un mayor número de jóvenes con las oportunidades de empleo en su área. En respuesta a ese reto, se crearon muchas aplicaciones en varias de las plataformas principales, incluyendo a Facebook, Google Android, Apple iOS, Windows Phone, y navegadores de Internet.
Los jóvenes de hoy en día están experimentando dificultades para obtener la experiencia de trabajo que necesitan para los empleos del futuro: el verano pasado, el índice de desempleo entre los jóvenes entre las edades de 16 y 24 estableció un alto nivel casi sin precedentes, y sólo 21 de 100 jóvenes de bajos ingresos tenían un empleo.
Según un informe reciente, sólo en el año 2011, los contribuyentes asumieron más de $93 mil millones en costos directos e ingreso por impuestos no recaudados para mantener a los jóvenes desconectados de la escuela y del trabajo.


http://yasta.pr/casa-blanca-anuncia-...nuevos-empleos

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Salud mundial favorece economía de EE.UU.

VOA | 05/05/2012

VOA está conformada por un grupo de talentosos profesionales al servicio de la información. Somos un equipo de reporteros, productores y presentadores, colocados estratégicamente a lo largo y ancho de Estados Unidos, así como en las principales capitales de la región Latinoamericana, que producen y ofrecen diariamente noticias e información para nuestros servicios de radio, televisión e internet.

Los cuantiosos fondos destinados por el país a investigaciones médicas globales también ayudan a crear un buen número de empleos.



Siendo el país que más apoya las investigaciones sobre salud en el mundo Estados Unidos no sólo ayuda a combatir las enfermedades sino que con ello también favorece su propia economía.
Esa es la conclusión de un nuevo informe elaborado por una coalición de grupos dedicados al cuidado de la salud, según el cual el proyecto para desarrollar una vacuna contra la tuberculosis es un buen ejemplo.
De acuerdo con el reporte, EE.UU. contribuyó con $12.700 millones de dólares para investigaciones médicas globales entre los años 2000 y 2010, fondos que ayudaron a desarrollar mejores medicamentos, vacunas y tratamientos clínicos.
“Estados Unidos ayudó a invertir en más de la mitad de casi 45 productos médicos que recibieron licencias para ser usados en países en vías de desarrollo”, según Kaitlin Christenson, directora de la coalición Global Health Technologies.
La agrupación, integrada por 40 organizaciones privadas de salud y el grupo de investigaciones independientes Policy Cures, fueron los autores del informe sobre el impacto de los fondos que EE.UU. destina en favor de la salud mundial.
El doctor Javier Guzmán, director de Policy Cures, dice que no se trata sólo de la ayuda que se presta para combatir enfermedades en países en vías de desarrollo, sino también de la propia economía estadounidense.
“El informe muestra que 64 centavos de cada dólar va destinado realmente a investigadores radicados en EE.UU., lo que crea una gran cantidad de empleos” en el país, señala.
Profesionales de la salud también destacan que tiene sentido combatir globalmente las enfermedades infecciosas porque estas no conocen de fronteras.
Christenson dijo que por primera vez en muchas décadas existe ahora una robusta línea de desarrollo de nuevas medicinas y vacunas contra enfermedades mortales como la malaria, la meningitis, el HIV y la tuberculosis.
Según ella, se puede esperar grandes pasos de avance en lo que respecta a varias enfermedades, por lo que expertos de Global Health afirman que cualquier disminución en los fondos actuales pondría en peligro muchos importantes medicamentos ahora en fase de desarrollo.


http://yasta.pr/salud-mundial-favore...nomia-de-ee-uu

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Five myths about America’s decline

By Ian Bremmer

Drawn-out wars, economic struggles, exploding debt — it’s easy to point to these signs and conclude that America is in an irreversible decline; that after a good run, it’s time to hand the superpower baton to China or some other up-and-comer. Certainly, America faces big challenges, and it’s true that, economically, the United States was better off a decade ago.But those seeing decline as inevitable do not just ignore the nation’s history of resilience, they also misread the facts on the ground. America’s decline is a myth — and here are five common misconceptions worth dispelling.

1. The United States is no longer a superpower.

Certainly, countries such as China and Russia have more power than ever to obstruct U.S. foreign policy goals; their United Nations veto against intervention in Syria is one recent example. And the United States is increasingly unwilling to play the role of global cop, as it pares back its presence in the Middle East and fights over significant possible cuts to its defense budget because of Capitol Hill’s failure to reach a debt deal.

Gallery


Even so, the United States is still the world’s only superpower, and so it will remain for the foreseeable future. Its economy is more than twice the size of second-place China’s. Only America can project military power in every region of the globe: It has a military presence in more than three-quarters of the world’s countries and spends more each year on defense than the next 17 nations combined. This security role lets Europe and Japan spend less on defense and more on other priorities. The U.S. Navy safeguards important trade routes, enabling global commerce, while American aid bolsters poor and disaster-stricken states.

2. America’s economic future is bleak.

Part of the reason the United States is less willing to engage abroad is because it has its hands full with economic concerns at home: spiraling federal debt, high unemployment, lower wages and a growing disparity of wealth.
But while the U.S. economic outlook may not shine as bright as it once did, it is hardly grim. America’s higher education system is unparalleled, with a record 725,000 foreign students enrolled at U.S. universities last year. No country has a greater capacity for technological breakthroughs: The United States is the destination of choice for aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s the research and development center of the world, and Silicon Valley’s start-ups and venture capitalism are exemplary.
On energy, innovation in unconventional oil and gas resources has been the biggest game-changer of the past decade, with U.S.-based companies leading the charge. The United States is now the largest natural gas producer in the world. It is also the world’s largest food exporter, giving America some leverage against food price shocks or shortages.
Demographically, the United States is better off than other large economies. The U.S. population is expected to rise by more than 100 million by 2050, and the labor force should grow by 40 percent. Compare that with Europe, where the population is slated to shrink by as much as 100 million people over the same span, or to China, where the labor force is already contracting.

3. America’s political system is broken.

Gridlock in Washington makes all of America’s problems seem even more intractable. Many believe that Congress is too divided to ever pass meaningful legislation again. But let’s not forget that the first two years of the Obama administration saw more significant legislation passed — such as the stimulus, the health-care overhaul and the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reforms — than any period since the mid-1960s. Whether or not you like the direction in which Obama took the country, the system is hardly broken.

Nor did the debt-ceiling debacle prove that U.S. politics is fractured for the long term. In fact, it showed the opposite. After the nation’s credit rating was downgraded, markets flocked to the U.S. dollar and Treasury bills, confirming America’s role as the world’s true safe haven — even if the crisis was caused by America itself. Economic uncertainty seems to only strengthen the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
We see political theater on Capitol Hill precisely because America is not in decline; unlike Europe, our back is not against the wall. Unfortunately, it often takes a crisis for the political system to fire on all cylinders, but if that time comes, politicians will rise to the task. And the markets know it.

4. The United States will give way to a rising China.

For all its progress in recent decades, China has to undergo daunting reforms to set itself on a path to becoming a modern, middle-class power. Even Premier Wen Jiabao has admitted that his country’s growth model is “unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable.”
Here’s why: China, despite its increasing clout, is still a relatively poor economy, its growth fueled by plentiful cheap labor. This resource is problematic. As China continues to grow and moves up the value chain to produce higher-end goods, wages will not remain low. And labor will not just be costlier — it will also be scarcer. As a result of the Mao-era birth rate spike in the 1960s, followed by the one-child policy starting in the 1970s, China faces the double-edged sword of a growing senior population and a shrinking labor force to support the elderly. The ratio of Chinese workers to retirees is around 6 to 1 today, but by 2040, that number is expected to shrink to 2 to 1.
Finally, imagine a world in which a poorer country such as China becomes the world’s largest economy. The Chinese government’s willingness to lead on issues such as climate change and nuclear non-proliferation would probably pale in comparison with the leadership America provides today — yet one more reason Beijing will not supplant Washington anytime soon.

5. The world no longer needs U.S. leadership.

America’s global role is changing, and Washington, while still the lone superpower, has less clout. But ironically, the emergence of other contenders has made demand for U.S. leadership even stronger. This is clearest in Asia, where nearly all of China’s neighbors are reaching out to Washington for closer political and security ties.
After all, where else can they look? China’s growth is unpredictable, and Europe will be busy saving its single currency and the euro zone for years.
We are entering what I call the G-Zero: a period when global leadership goes by the wayside. It’s a less productive, more crisis-prone world, but it’s less painful for the United States than for everybody else. If America can engage the world with a narrower, self-interested focus, it will reap rewards. It will have the luxury of applying cost-benefit analysis before intervening abroad. It’s a downsized role, but don’t mistake this for decline.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...T_story_1.html

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PR gets $565K for re-employment

By CB Online Staff
cbnews@caribbeanbusinesspr.com

Puerto Rico will get nearly $565,000 out of U.S. Department of grants totaling $65.5 million for 40 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to implement and/or continue re-employment and eligibility assessments for unemployment insurance beneficiaries. “Today’s grant announcement will allow states to provide personalized assessments for recipients of Unemployment Insurance to help them get back on their feet faster,” said Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis.
The funds will be used to conduct in-person assessments in one-stop career centers. The assessments include the development of a re-employment plan for claimants, the provision of labor market information that is appropriate to the claimants’ locations and employment prospects, a complete review of claimants’ eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits, and a referral to re-employment services and/or training provided by the one-stop career centers separate that is from the UI program.
This is the eighth year that the Labor Department has awarded grants through its Re-employment and Eligibility Assessment initiative. Recent evaluations of REA programs have shown that REAs reduce the number of weeks UI benefits are claimed by expediting the re-employment of the UI claimants. This evidence justifies expanding the use of REAs as provided for in the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which is authorized by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
“These grants allow us to bring UI beneficiaries into the one-stop career center where they are introduced to all of the re-employment services that are available. REA participants get the best available help needed to find good jobs,” said Jane Oates, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training.



http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/n...id=1&ct_name=1

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No, no nos quieren.

May 10, 2012
Census Bureau: Foreign-Born Population in US Reaches Record 40 Million
Jerome Socolovsky

The U.S. Census Bureau released data on Thursday showing that America's foreign-born population has risen to an all-time high of 40 million. The data also shows that people who have come to live in the U.S. tend to reside in larger households with more children and grandparents, compared to native households.

The Census Bureau defines a "foreign born" as a person living in the United States who was not an American citizen at birth - regardless of whether the individual is now a citizen or legal resident.

Elizabeth Grieco, head of the bureau's Foreign-Born Population Branch, said the total number has grown from just under 10 million in 1970 to a record 40 million two years ago. "Now while the number of foreign born in 2010 does represent a historical high, the proportion of the total population was lower than during the great migration wave of the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the proportion fluctuated between 13 and 15 percent," she said.

She said most of the increase was in the early part of the decade, before 2006.

The data in the report comes from the 2010 American Community Survey. It is a set of questions posed yearly to a sampling of the population. And it goes into much more detail than the nationwide decennial census.

The report found that foreign-born households on average had more children and grandparents, and Grieco said they were not as likely to be led by a single parent. "A higher proportion of foreign born than native-born households were maintained by a married couple," she said.

The data also showed that the fertility rate among foreign women was 35 percent higher than among native-born women.

Foreign-born households earned on average a little more than $46,000 a year, compared to just over $50,000 for native households.

And Grieco said that while foreign-born residents live in every state, more than half are concentrated in just four states: California, New York, Texas and Florida.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/...151024205.html

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Teléfonos inteligentes son indispensables en EE.UU.

Un estudio revela cómo los llamados ‘smart-phones’ cada día se vuelven más necesarios en la comunidad.


Apple - Los ingresos del gigante tecnológico aumentaron en los últimos tres meses gracias a la demanda de sus populares iPhone.

Los estadounidenses parecen depender cada vez más de sus teléfonos inteligentes.
Un estudio revela el creciente uso de estos dispositivos móviles para resolver una disputa, coordinar una reunión, elegir un restaurante o simplemente ‘surfear’ en la web.

El Proyecto Pew de Internet y ‘Vida estadounidense’ indicó que el 70% de los propietarios de teléfonos móviles, y el 86% de los propietarios de teléfonos inteligentes, utilizaron sus aparatos para una de siete actividades principales.

Las actividades, según el estudio, incluían la solución de un problema inesperado, recibir instrucciones para llegar a algún lado o enterarse del resultado de un evento deportivo.

Los usuarios más jóvenes son aún más dependientes de sus dispositivos móviles.

El estudio arrojó que el 88% de entre 18 y 29 años había realizado una o más de estas actividades en los últimos 30 días, en comparación con el 76% de los de entre 30 y 49 años, el 57% de los de 50 y 64 años, y el 46% de los propietarios de 65 años o más.

http://www.voanoticias.com/content/s...es/369784.html

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Dolly, Liza, Janet, Ellen, Other Celebs React To Death of Donna Summer

BY Jeremy Kinser

May 17 2012 5:04 PM ET



Janet Jackson says the late Donna Summer "changed the world of music with her beautiful voice and incredible talent," while Dolly Parton says Summer had "one of the greatest voices ever."
"We will miss Donna Summer! She changed the world of music with her beautiful voice and incredible talent," Jackson says in a statement released to the media.
Parton also released a public statement about the singer who died of lung cancer at age 63. "I can't believe we've lost another wonderful singer. Donna, like Whitney, had one of the greatest voices ever. I loved her records. She was the disco queen, and will remain so. I knew her and found her to be one of the most likable and fun people ever. She will be missed and remembered."
Liza Minnelli, who was friends with the singer, says, "When you lose a friend you feel like they are gone forever. That is not true with my dear friend Donna. She was a queen, THE Queen of Disco, and we will be dancing to her music forever."
Ellen DeGeneres commented via Twitter, saying, "I'm so sad about the news that Donna Summer died this morning. I was a big fan. I even used one of her songs in my show that airs today."
A statement from Aretha Franklin reads, "So shocking to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. In the '70s, she reigned over the disco era and kept the disco jumping. Who will forget "Last Dance." A fine performer and a very nice person."
Gloria Estefan noted the late singer's impact, saying, "Few singers have impacted music & the world like Donna Summer! It's the end of an era. Peace & prayers 2 all who loved her."
Gloria Gaynor, another performer who found fame during the disco era, says, "She not only made her mark in my heart as well as others, but she forever changed the way of how America danced and enjoyed themselves. She may have had her 'Last Dance' here on earth, but 'Heaven Knows' it is dancing with joy for her arrival."
Hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj was also saddened by Summer's passing, saying, "Wow, another legend gone. Rest in peace to the beautiful disco queen Donna Summer."

The impact of Summer's musical legacy is so strong that even President Barack Obama released a statement, saying, "Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Donna truly was the "Queen of Disco." Her voice was unforgettable, and the music industry has lost a legend far too soon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Donna's family and her dedicated fans."



http://www.advocate.com/arts-enterta...h-donna-summer

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America expands once again — digitally, this time

By : The Associated Press



NEW YORK — The metaphor is an easy one, overused and perhaps even a bit overwrought. We are forging forward into a digital frontier, leaving convention behind, traveling without guides into an uncharted virtual land where progress and profits are forever around the next bend. Sound familiar?

In the 19th century, Americans expanded into a physical frontier — a geographic edge of society brimming with opportunities and dangers and challenges and setbacks. So began the notion of manifest destiny: the idea that, no matter what, the United States pushes outward to the farthest edge of the most distant place possible.
Today, almost two centuries after that term was coined, American expansionism is playing out vigorously at society's latest cutting edge: the social space of the Internet. Friday's high-octane, $16 billion IPO of the global juggernaut that is Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook is, for better or worse, the most recent example of how the new frontier has been cultivated, colonized and commanded by entrepreneurial Americans.

As the manufacturing economy reconfigures, you often hear the lament that "America doesn't make anything anymore." But then there's this: Most of the world's digital centers of gravity have been, and remain, American. Apple and Microsoft. Google and Yahoo. YouTube and Amazon and eBay. Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. Kickstarter. Netflix. PayPal. Akamai, the content-delivery behemoth. Intel, the internal combustion engine of the whole shebang. And for that matter, the Internet itself and the organization that regulates its domain names were both born and raised in (you guessed it) America.

A digital manifest destiny is playing out, built upon the notion that the United States' outward expansion continues apace on the virtual frontier. What the self-defined sense of American exceptionalism built in the physical world, it is now building in the digital one.
"It's a projection of American values — what international experts would call soft power," says Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project.
Look at what the digital space disseminates, he says: freedom of the press, of information and of assembly; knowledge and scientific advancement; free-market mechanisms and entrepreneurialism. "It's hard to think of a cluster of ideas and architectures that would more allow basic American cultural values to propagate," says Rainie, co-author of the new book, "Networked: The New Social Operating System."

Technological progress has always walked hand in hand with American expansion. Where would the settlement of the West have been without Robert Fulton's steamboat, Samuel F.B. Morse's work in telegraphy and, later, the inventions of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford? Not to mention the old-time data pipelines themselves — the postal system, the railroads and eventually the interstate highways?
In those cases, innovation helped drive development and physically shape the frontier; now innovation itself is the frontier. And the American tendency to glorify the inventor's spirit remains a key engine. As Alexander Graham Bell went, so goes Mark Zuckerberg.
"In this country, you're a hero if you invent something. To be an inventor in America, that's as good as being an explorer," says Julie Fenster, author of "The Spirit of Invention: The Story of the Thinkers, Creators and Dreamers who Formed Our Nation."
"The notion that 'I can invent my way out of problems' — that always fueled a sense of hope and expansion in this country," she says.
That parallel between the frontiers of the road and the mind has not gone unnoticed by politicians and leaders looking to cast America's newest progress in the context of the old. President Barack Obama, speaking to Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center last year, called for tech innovation this way: "That's the kind of adventurous, pioneering spirit that we need right now. That's the spirit that's given us the tools and toughness to overcome every obstacle and adapt to every circumstance."

The nation's digital innovators have been placing virtual progress into the context of American expansionism for years. Sometimes they're oblique about it, sometimes they're explicit. "There is never a reliable map for unexplored territory," wrote Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who in 1995 likened the early Internet to the Oregon Trail. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs put it this way in 1985: "In a society where information and innovation are going to be pivotal, there really is the possibility that America can become a second-rate industrial nation if we lose the technical momentum and leadership we have now."
Manifest destiny and its first cousin, American exceptionalism, aren't popular notions everywhere. The idea of U.S. domination in everything from cultural frontiers (Hollywood) to geographic ones (outer space) can set the world on edge. Just as irritatingly to some, America's ability to occupy these spaces rests upon not only actual innovation but the oomph to amplify it on a global level — in effect, to shout the loudest in a crowded, if now virtual, room.
"Manifest destiny justifies a certain behavior. One could call it rapaciousness on one end, but someone else could call it being an entrepreneur, being a founder," says John Baick, a historian at Western New England University in Massachusetts. That reflects back upon the original manifest destiny imperative to push outward at all costs; expansion, on any frontier, can also mean overrunning the people who are already there.
What has helped this dominance along? Is it the American penchant for R&D, which fuels innovation? The rise of venture capital over the past half-century, particularly in places like Silicon Valley? Is it the combination of creativity and Barnum-style snake oil that matured into the marketing culture that helps define America today? Is it the nation's higher-education system, which has vigorously pushed the relationship between technological innovation and entrepreneurialism?
Or — and this is where it really gets interesting — is it the ability and willingness of an increasingly connected planet to adopt American innovation and take it to a global level, encouraging U.S. digital expansion in the process?
"We might look at our contributions . and fail to see that what really helped them to take off in many cases was the participation of other people globally," says Joel Kline, an internet developer and digital strategist who teaches business technology at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania.
Last year in southwestern China, long a hotbed of brand-name electronics knockoffs, a fake Apple Store turned up — an entire store. A blogger's photos depicted an elaborate lookalike operation complete with Genius Bar, hardwood floors, Helvetica-typefaced signage and sales associates in blue T-shirts who apparently actually thought they were working at the real thing.
Think about that. It wasn't enough to fake the gadgets. The counterfeiters wanted to fake the FEEL of innovation that Apple markets so adeptly. The entire process, exported by an American digital company, had been swallowed whole. It was the idea that was being sold. Something intangible, but very real — the foundation of the virtual economy.
"People say, 'Oh, you've got to invest in the tangible things — land, gold and silver, other precious metals.' They're solid," says Rich Cooper, vice president for research and emerging issues at the National Chamber Foundation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's think tank.
But, he says, "In this new era of exceptionalism, you're now on an entirely different plane. You're not holding dirt. You're not holding a piece of real estate in your hands. You can't touch it and taste it. It's an entirely different medium, and that's hard for people to understand and accept."
The American frontier's most renowned historian, Frederick Jackson Turner, made his name writing about the end of it. In 1893, he proclaimed the frontier closed, finished, conquered, settled. But he hardly thought that meant the end of manifest destiny.
"He would be a rash prophet who should assert that the expansive character of American life has now entirely ceased," Turner wrote. "Movement has been its dominant fact, and, unless this training has no effect upon a people, the American energy will continually demand a wider field for its exercise."
That remains the case, even if that field is now composed of an endless stream of ones and zeroes and Zuckerbergs that, to Americans, represent the latest evidence of the old story of exceptionalism — the desire to lead the world, now from a shining SimCity upon a hill.
"People seem to think there are no other frontiers for America to explore and that America's sitting on the bench now," Cooper says. "But there are a whole set of frontiers we don't even know about yet."


http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/n...=71843&ct_id=3

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Encuentran 113 indocumentados en vivienda de Texas

La mayoría de los inmigrantes indocumentados son originarios de Centroamérica. Las autoridades investigan quiénes son los responsables de transportarlos y alojarlos.


Agentes de la patrulla fronteriza interrogan a un inmigrante indocumentado en Texas, cerca de la frontera con México.

Voz de América - Redacción
23.05.2012

Más de un centenar de inmigrantes indocumentados, en su mayoría originarios de Centroamérica, fueron encontrados en una vivienda en el pueblo fronterizo de Alton, estado de Texas.

La portavoz del Servicio de Inmigración y Aduanas Nina Pruneda dijo al diario The Monitor de McAllen que la vivienda fue descubierta el martes por la tarde como parte de una investigación.

Pruneda indicó que la vivienda, que está situada a 13 kilómetros (8 millas) de McAllen en el pueblo de Alton, tenía servicios, electricidad y que las personas contaban con alimentos, por lo que ninguno de los indocumentados necesitó tratamiento médico.

“Los investigadores de la Seguridad Nacional van a estar entrevistado a todos para determinar quiénes son los responsables del transporte y alojamiento de estos individuos”, dijo Pruneda.

http://www.voanoticias.com/content/i...ca/920398.html

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SpaceX Capsule Closing in on ISS - Watch Docking Live


The Canadarm 2 on the International Space Station (ISS) is visible as the SpaceX Dragon Capsule approaches for docking, May 25, 2012.

VOA News
May 25, 2012

The privately-built and owned SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is heading to the International Space Station for Friday's historic docking with the orbital outpost.

Ground controllers fired the engines on the unmanned cargo ship early Friday morning to place it on a course towards the ISS. Once it is in position, two of the space ship crew members will use the station's robotic arm to capture the Dragon and attach it to a docking port.

Ground controllers with the U.S. space agency NASA and the SpaceX company successfully tested the Dragon's on-board flight systems as it flew within 2.5 kilometers of the ISS.

The Dragon is to remain linked with the ISS for a week so the station's crew can unload more than 500 kilograms of supplies and reload it with used equipment to be sent back to Earth.


The SpaceX Dragon Capsule as seen from the International Space Station (ISS) as it approaches for docking,

​​This is the first time a private company has launched a cargo ship to the space station, beginning a new phase in the U.S. space program.

NASA is turning to SpaceX and other companies to ferry supplies, and eventually astronauts, to the space station, taking over for the now-retired space shuttle fleet.

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