Rover roams Chile desert to prepare for life hunt on Mars

By Katia Moskvitch
Space.com

A solar-powered rover is searching for microbes beneath the parched surface of Chile's Atacama Desert on a mission that could aid the Mars life hunt down the road.

The four-wheeled rover, named Zoe, began a two-week field campaign in the Atacama on June 17. Its work could help NASA decide how best to equip its next Mars rover, which is set to launch toward the Red Planet in 2020, scientists say.

"Scientifically, the study helps us understand how life survives in extreme environments with implications to both Earth and Mars," said David Wettergreen, research professor in Carnegie Mellon?s Robotics Institute and principal investigator for the Life in the Atacama project. "Technologically, we are learning about the mechanisms and the algorithms that will enable us to explore the subsurface of other planets." [The Search for Life on Mars (A Photo Timeline)]

Drilling deep
Two NASA rovers ? Opportunity and its bigger, younger cousin Curiosity ? are currently active on the surface of Mars. While both are investigating the Red Planet's past and present ability to host life, neither robot was designed to hunt for evidence of microbes.

But future rovers may well do so, and Zoe ? which measures 9 feet long by 6 feet wide (2.7 by 1.8 meters) ? could help scientists and engineers map out an action plan.

Zoe is part of a NASA astrobiology mission that's led by Carnegie Mellon University and the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute and supported by a $3 million grant from the space agency.

NASA often tests its rovers in the bone-dry Atacama, which is perhaps the best Mars analog here on Earth. Zoe has been there before, back in 2005. This time around, though, it has an extra tool ? a 3.3-foot (1 m) drill made by Honeybee Robotics to hunt for subsurface life.

Zoe is also outfitted with a soil-analyzing instrument called the Mars Microbeam Raman Spectrometer, which could be part of a future Red Planet rover.

Understanding whether or not there could be life underneath the Martian surface depends on a variety of factors, and the Atacama offers "one of the Earth?s harshest climates" for such a study, said planetary geologist Nathalie Cabrol, senior research scientist at the SETI Institute's Carl Sagan Center and the science lead for the Life in the Atacama project.

Zoe is expected to cover 19 to 31 miles (30 to 50 kilometers) during its two-week field campaign and perform one or two drilling operations every day, researchers said.

Independent robot
The current mission started in 2012, when the team went to the Atacama without the robot. Researchers drilled numerous holes and took various measurements, such as hydrogen abundance to quantify moisture and soil composition.

The scientists detected microorganisms in the Atacama ? and now those findings will be compared with what Zoe can do on its own.

"Zoe is more autonomous that previous rovers and able to operate for days, finding its way from one goal to the next and automatically detecting features of interest that it should examine along the way," said Wettergreen, adding that the robot will work completely independently for several days at a time.

Zoe will have to follow a set of pre-determined instructions about the area to cover and the data to collect each day, taking a break at night and automatically resuming work at dawn. This will allow the researchers to verify whether Zoe is indeed ready to be left all alone, Wettergreen said.

"The greatest challenge is in the integration of robot, mechanisms, instrument and software," he said. "Each piece may individually work, but to have everything cooperating and functioning unaided in the field requires significant effort and continuous refinement and improvement."

Follow Katia Moskvitch on Twitter. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Settlement of a Georgia Workers' Compensation Case | Perkins Law ...

This is the second in our series of blog articles about what to consider when you are thinking about settling your Georgia Workers? Compensation case.? If you have not already, we recommend that you start by reading the first article in this series?that will help give you a general understanding of what settlement is.

It is important to understand about settlement of your worker? compensation case is that it is final.? Once you have settled your case, signed the paperwork, and the settlement has been approved by the Georgia State Board of Workers? Compensation, there is probably nothing that you can do to change it.? This means that if you need more medical treatment or miss more time from work than expected after settlement of your case, you cannot come back and ask for more money.

You can settle your case at any time.? However, because settlement is final, you want to have a good understanding of what future benefits you will probably receive from the workers? compensation insurance company before deciding what you should accept to settle your case.? Some of the factors that you want to consider in deciding what to settle for include the following:

• Temporary total disability or temporary partial disability benefits (commonly known as TTD and TPD) ? these are benefits that the insurance company owes you when you are out of work because of your injury or working but earning less money because of your injury.
• Medical benefits ? the insurance company is responsible for paying for medical treatment needed as a result of your injury.? Some medical costs that are most common in workers? compensation claim are surgery, physical therapy, pain medication, MRIs, x-rays, and other forms of medical treatment and testing.
• Permanent partial disability benefits ? these are benefits that the insurance company pays when the doctor says that you have some permanent impairment as a result of your injury.? Georgia law currently requires the doctor to use the American Medical Association?s Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5^th edition, when determining the percentage of permanent impairment.
• Whether the insurance company owes you any past due benefits
• How long you will draw workers? compensation benefits in the future

These are just a few of the factors that are important to consider when you are considering settlement.? Every workers? compensation case is unique.? The evaluation of a case for settlement is a very complex process and requires a good understanding of what is likely to happen under Georgia law in the future if you do not settle your case.

You are not required to have an attorney to settle your case, but I believe it is very difficult to make the right decision about settlement without consulting an attorney.? Because of this, I would at least recommend that you talk to an attorney who specializes in Georgia workers? compensation cases before making any decisions about settlement.? Our firm is happy to provide a free consultation with one of our three attorneys who specialize in workers? compensation cases.? To get a free consultation, simply call the phone number listed at the upper right of this page or complete the ?Need Help? form on the right side of this page.

Our next blog post in this series will cover when it might be a good time to settle your workers? compensation case.

Source: http://westgeorgiainjuryexperts.com/blog/what-is-my-workers-compensation-case-worth/

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Inside the Supreme Court's affirmative action case (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Chinese workers holding U.S. boss say wages unpaid

BEIJING (AP) ? Chinese workers keeping an American executive confined in his Beijing medical supply plant said Tuesday that they had not been paid in two months in a compensation dispute that highlights tensions in China's labor market.

The executive, Chip Starnes of Specialty Medical Supplies, denied the workers' allegations of unpaid wages as he endured a fifth day of captivity at the plant in the capital's northeastern suburbs, peering out from behind the bars of his office window.

About 100 workers are demanding generous severance packages identical to those offered 30 workers being laid off from the Coral Springs, Florida-based company's plastics division. The demands followed rumors that the entire plant was being closed, despite Starnes' assertion that the company doesn't plan to fire the others.

A worker, Gao Ping, told reporters inside an administrative office in the plant that she wanted to quit because she hadn't been paid for two months.

Dressed in blue overalls and sitting at a desk, Gao said that her division ? which makes alcohol prep pads, used for cleaning skin before injections ? had not been doing well and that she wanted her salary and compensation.

Workers in other divisions saw how badly her division was doing, thought the whole company was faring poorly and also wanted to quit and get compensation, said Gao, who had been working for the company for six years.

Starnes denied that they were owed unpaid salary.

"They are demanding full severance pay, but they still have a job. That's the problem," he said, still in the clothes he wore when he went to work Friday morning.

Chu Lixiang, a local union official representing the workers in talks with Starnes, said the workers were demanding the portion of their salaries yet to be paid and a "reasonable" level of compensation before leaving their jobs. Neither gave details on the amounts demanded.

Chu said Starnes hadn't paid the workers for two months. She said they feared the plant was closing and that he would run away without paying severance.

Starnes' attorney arrived Tuesday afternoon. Chu later told reporters that there would be no negotiations for the rest of the day.

Starnes said that since Saturday morning, about 80 workers had been blocking every exit around the clock and depriving him of sleep by shining bright lights and banging on windows of his office.

The standoff points to long-ingrained habits among Chinese workers who are sometimes left unprotected when factories close without severance or wages owed.

Such incidents have been rarer as labor protections improve, although disputes still occur and local governments have at times barred foreign executives from leaving until they are resolved.

Starnes, 42, previously said he'd been coerced into agreeing to meet workers' demands by Tuesday.

Starnes said the company had gradually been winding down its plastics division, planning to move it to Mumbai, India. He arrived in Beijing a week ago to lay off the last 30 people. Some had been working there for up to nine years, so their compensation packages were "pretty nice," he said.

Some of the workers in the other divisions got wind of this, and, coupled with rumors that the whole plant was moving to India, started demanding similar severance packages on Friday, Starnes said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-workers-holding-us-boss-wages-unpaid-081903204.html

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Israel appoints new central bank chief

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel has appointed respected banker Jacob Frenkel as the next governor of the Bank of Israel.

It will be Frenkel's second term in the position. The current governor, Stanley Fischer, will be leaving the position at the end of this month after eight years in office.

The appointment must be approved by Israel's Cabinet, but significant opposition is unlikely.

Frenkel won praise for his role as central bank chief from 1991 to 2000 for his part in reducing inflation, liberalizing financial markets and integrating Israel's economy into the global financial system.

He has since worked in international finance. Frenkel, 70, is currently chairman of JPMorgan Chase International.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the decision Sunday in a statement sent to news media.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-appoints-central-bank-chief-203511430.html

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Prosecutor opens with Zimmerman's obscenity

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A prosecutor began opening statements in George Zimmerman's trial with obscene words the neighborhood watch volunteer whispered under his breath while following 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Prosecutor John Guy's first words to jurors Monday were the "f-word" followed by "punks." He was quoting from a call Zimmerman made to a police dispatcher as he followed Martin through the gated community where he lived.

Guy then recounted how Zimmerman followed Martin, a confrontation ensued and Martin was fatally shot in the chest.

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-opens-zimmermans-obscenity-135419217.html

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Ecuador confirms Snowden seeking asylum there

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? Ecuador's foreign minister said Monday his country will act not on its interests but on its principles as it considers an asylum request from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, wanted for revealing classified U.S. secrets.

Speaking to reporters in Hanoi, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said he could not comment on Snowden's location after the U.S. fugitive did not board a flight from Moscow to Cuba on which he was booked.

"I cannot give information with respect to that ... we cannot offer specific information about the specific situation of Mr. Snowden at this moment," he said.

Patino did not say how long it would take Ecuador to decide on Snowden's asylum request, which he said "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world."

Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks after revealing the spy programs. He flew to Moscow on Sunday and was booked on an Aeroflot flight to Cuba on Monday, but an airline representative said he didn't board the plane and AP reporters on the flight couldn't see him.

Patino said Ecuador was in touch with the highest authorities of Russia about the case.

"The government of Ecuador has maintained a respectful diplomatic contact with the government of Russia and has informed it that Ecuador is considering the petition for asylum on the part of Mr. Snowden," he said.

Patino read a letter from Snowden to Ecuador's president in which he asked for asylum "due to the risk of persecution by the government of the United States and its agents."

Snowden said in the letter that he revealed the information about the highly classified spy programs because the U.S. "is intercepting the majority of communications of the world."

"I have been accused of being a traitor" and "there have been calls for me to be executed or imprisoned," the letter said. He said it was unlikely that he could receive a fair trial.

Patino said Ecuador would not base its asylum decision on its potential to damage the country's relationship with the United States.

"There are some governments that act more upon their own interests, but we do not," Patino said. "We act upon our principles."

He added, "We take care of the human rights of the people."

Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks earlier said Snowden was bound for Ecuador "via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks." The organization's founder, Julian Assange, was granted asylum by Ecuador last year and has been staying at the country's embassy in the United Kingdom to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex crime allegations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-confirms-snowden-seeking-asylum-135822013.html

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