A new version of a system that allows grades and lesson plans to be viewed online has drawn criticism from parents who say the old system was scratched unnecessarily.

In particular, parents have pointed out that the new ekool.ee interface unveiled by a commercial developer has not been fully translated into Estonian yet.

In a country where parents of parents shoulder a significant part of the parenting load, the Grandparents Association joined the fray, calling for a number of practical improvements on September 9, such as an Estonian-language help documentation and being able to view grades with the click of a mouse.

"We wanted the best, but it came out as it always does," said Andres Ergma of the Grandparents Association on the decision to switch to a private company as developer.

Although some aspects of the interface may be a matter of taste, as an FAQ on the front page of ekool.ee suggests, Jaak Anton, information technology adviser at the Ministry of Education and Research said in Postimees on September 6 that the situation with the popular interface was "an unpleasant surprise."

Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas summoned the developer, Koolitööde Ltd., for consultations on September 7.

Although some schools, including a few top ones, say they prefer direct face-to-face contact with parents, the e-school system has caught on in the past four years, with 440 schools joining the program. It is estimated that 350,000 people use the system.
http://news.err.ee/education/7a4276e6-2b80-423d-baa3-3f1a8a4c4c99

Eight years later, researchers from the University of Tartu, who discovered the lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus fermentum ME-3, received a patent in Europe for its use as a food ingredient in 24 countries.

Known in Estonia for the Hellus product line, which includes yogurts and kefirs, the bacterium has already become the university’s most profitable national patent, said Aktuaalne Kaamera. Russia and the US already have patent-holders for the bacterium.

An EU patent could mean a breakthrough in the drug industry. The University of Tartu is already discussing the bacterium’s medicinal potential with a company.

“This is a sign of quality, which shows that the scientific achievement, now recognized with a patent, is unique; it is truly one-of-a-kind in Europe,” said one of the bacterium’s discoverers, head researcher in microbiology, Marika Mikelsaar. “It is also a protected investment.”

The university’s medical biochemistry professor, Mihkel Zilmer, is also one of the bacterium’s discoverers.

“Until now, there hasn’t been a single application, in which a bacterium would act as an antioxidant. Lately, antioxidants have come to have a pretty significant role as supplements and medicines, but until now they have only been found in various plant products, such as rosehip tea, nettle tea and everything of that sort," said Zilmer.
http://news.err.ee/sci-tech/2723bb08-9f02-4523-94c2-d6498bb80aa7

Wood chip use at heating plants is approaching the limit and Estonia should not look to build new large co-generation plants at the current supply levels, according to an energy specialist from the Tallinn University of Technology.

Head of the university's thermal energy department Aadu Paist said that although Estonia has ample forest resources, the amount of wood waste generated annually is still only 4-5 million cubic meters. A large CHP plant requires a million per year. "The situation is tight," he said in an interview on Terevisioon.
"The ceiling is within reach. If discussions result in an understanding that we can use more resources, then it will be a different matter," he said.

By 2020, 20 percent of electricity in Estonia is expected to come from a handful of CHP plants that mainly burn waste wood and peat to generate heat and power.

Paist supported the use of wood for heating due to the lack of carbon tax, the low amount of ash and sulfur generated. "It is ideal for saunas, fireplaces and stoves," he said.

Denmark, for one, makes extensive use of straw, but Paist says this form of biomass would require more infrastructure - storage and several years of reserves.

As for short-rotation energy forests, such plantations would take many times more money to establish than harvesting existing forests, said Paist. "We have free space, but it will definitely end up being more expensive."
http://news.err.ee/economy/0e2eda44-2819-4418-af46-f8bac2a2a9f3

The head of the Orthodox Church of Estonia, Metropolitan Stephanos, said that public speeches by the visiting Metropolitan Hilarion, of the Moscow Patriarchate, contained a “tone of disdain” toward Estonian history and inhabitants.

Metropolitan Hilarion recently visited Estonia and raised the issue of local church property with the foreign minister. The Orthodox Church of Estonia, an autonomous church committed to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, claimed that property issues have already been solved in agreements with the government.

“Any new agreement would presuppose recognition of the autonomy of the local Metropolitan by the Moscow Patriarchate,” wrote a statement by the Orthodox Church of Estonia. “The aim of one Orthodox Church on the Estonian territory is our common goal, but it should not mean engulfing of the local Church as in 1945.”

The statement also claimed that Metropolitan Kornili, head of the Russian Orthodox Diocese in Estonia, had misled the public, claiming that he invited Metropolitan Stephanos to the celebration of his 20th anniversary as a Bishop and a meeting with Metropolitan Hilarion.

At the same time, the local diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate invited a priest from a Finnish seminary which is also loyal to Constantinople. “This is a typical attempt to cause troubles between two autonomous churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” the statement wrote.

Founded in 1923, the Orthodox Church of Estonia was suppressed in 1945 and regained its autonomy in 1996. It has a following of 27,000.
http://news.err.ee/culture/bed44207-80fe-4117-b17f-72a21f7d7c1f

A California consumer-advocacy group is hoping to rally the left before the November election with an ad on a Times Square video screen that labels the tea party movement as "insane."

The 30-second spot by Consumer Watchdog, which began airing Tuesday, flashes phrases such as "home foreclosures" and "Wall Street greed" across a 520-square-foot screen as flames burn in the background.

It asks viewers, "Are you mad as hell but think the tea party is insane?"

The Santa Monica-based nonprofit wants to provide voters with an alternative to the tea party and help channel their frustration in productive ways, said its president, Jamie Court.

"Popular anger can be such a force for change, and people who support progress can't allow the tea party to use that anger for their ends, which is to get control of the reins of government and then do away with it," Court said in a phone interview Wednesday.

The ad directs viewers to the Consumer Watchdog website and to Court's recently published book, "The Progressive's Guide to Raising Hell."

Representatives for the Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots, two of the country's largest tea party organizations, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The spot will air 18 times a day until Oct. 15, according to Neutron Media, the Toronto-based company that sells ad space for the CBS-owned screen.

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Paris Hilton was denied entry to Japan today, two days after she pleaded guilty to a drug charge in Las Vegas.

A Japanese immigration official said she was denied entry Wednesday after six hours of questioning.
Japan has strict immigration laws that bar entry to those convicted of drug offences, although exceptions are occasionally granted. The country has taken a tough line with famous figures in the past, although it also grants occasional exceptions.

The socialite appeared unmoved by the decision. "I'm going back home, and I look forward to coming back to Japan in the future," a smiling Hilton told reporters at Tokyo's airport.
The 29-year-old celebrity was supposed to promote her fashion and fragrance lines at a news conference Wednesday morning in Tokyo. She arrived Tuesday evening but was stopped at the airport and spent the night at a hotel there after being questioned by officials.
Soccer icon Diego Maradona was initially banned from entering the country during the 2002 World Cup finals for his past drug offences, but was eventually given a 30-day visa as a "special delegate." The Rolling Stones struggled for years to gain entry to the country but were eventually allowed in despite its members' drug convictions. In January 1980, former Beatles member Paul McCartney was arrested for marijuana possession upon arrival at Narita airport. He was deported without carrying out a planned concert tour by his rock group Wings.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1313999/Paris-Hilton-denied-access-Japan-cocaine-arrest.html

Washington, DC -- Nevada Senator Harry Reid issued the following statement following more news that national Republicans, including House Republican Leader John Boehner and politicians in South Carolina, are calling for shipping the nation's nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.

"Hell no, that won't happen. Nevada is not the nation's dumping ground and it never will be as long as I have something to say about it. This project was ill-conceived from the beginning. It makes no sense to haul 77,000 tons of the most dangerous substance known to man across the country and into Nevada. Further, at a time when our state is already suffering economically, I'm not willing to risk our state's top industry--tourism--just because politicians in other states that produce the waste don't want it in their back yards."

http://reid.senate.gov/newsroom/pr_091710_nonukegop.cfm

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►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)05:59 No.254660     >>254642 Just make sure it's shot away from earth, I don't want thousands of tons of nuclear waste circling over my head.

►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)07:46 No.254672     >NIMBY faggot opposes the best solution we have to the energy problem. I'd rather a Democratic Senate, but Reid has got to go.

►	University Academic Professional 09/22/10(Wed)11:41 No.254685     >>254672 Getting rid of Reid and Pelosi is the best thing the Democratic party could do for themselves right now. And for the nation.

Nine 'profoundly wrong' claims made by Ukip deputy leader refuted by climate experts in a document filed with US Congress

A coalition of leading climate scientists yesterday filed a 48-page document to the US Congress refuting an attack on climate science made earlier this year by the Ukip deputy leader, Lord Christopher Monckton.

The detailed rebuttal addresses nine key scientific claims made by Monckton, a prominent climate sceptic, to a house select committee hearing in May. It includes the responses of 21 climate scientists who variously conclude that Monckton's assertions are "very misleading", "profoundly wrong", "simply false", "chemical nonsense", and "cannot be supported by climate physics".

Monckton, a former journalist and policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher, who has been the deputy leader of the UK Independence party (Ukip) since June, was invited by the Republican party to give evidence to the house select committee on energy independence and global warming.

His testimony included claims that increasing ocean acidification is not due to rising CO2 levels, that recent decades of warming were due to global brightening as opposed to rising CO2 levels, and that there is nothing unusual about recent rises in global temperatures. He concluded his testimony by stating that anthropogenic climate change is a "non-problem" and that the correct policy response was "to do nothing".

"For those without some familiarity with climate science, [Monckton's] testimony may appear to have scientific validity," said yesterday's response to Monckton's claims . "We have therefore undertaken the task of soliciting responses from highly qualified climate scientists in each of the areas touched upon in Monckton's testimony … In all cases, Monckton's assertions are shown to be without merit – they are based on a thorough misunderstanding of the science of climate change."

In response to the document, Monckton today told the Guardian: "It is unlikely that Congress will pay much attention to this. It displays a lamentable absence of quant

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►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)07:53 No.254673     File: 128516723635.jpg-(93.13KB, 562x453, AtomicFFFFFF.jpg) >His testimony included claims that increasing ocean acidification is not due to rising CO2 level OH MY GOD THE RAGE

A woman convicted of two hired killings is scheduled to die by injection Thursday and become the first woman put to death in Virginia in nearly a century, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block her execution.

Teresa Lewis, 41, was sentenced to death for providing sex and money to two men to kill her husband and stepson in October 2002 so she could collect on a quarter-million dollar insurance pay out. The nation's high court refused Tuesday to intervene.

Two of the three women on the court, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, voted to stop the execution. The court did not otherwise comment on its order.

The court's decision followed Gov. Bob McDonnell's refusal to reconsider a clemency request, which he rejected Friday.

"A good and decent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken," said attorney James E. Rocap III, who represents Lewis. He said he was referring to the decision by the Supreme Court and McDonnell's rejection of clemency.

Rocap appealed Monday to McDonnell to reconsider his decision to deny clemency to Lewis, claiming new evidence should spare Lewis the death penalty.

Rocap argued that one of the gunmen later claimed he manipulated Lewis, who is borderline mentally retarded, "to dupe her into believing he loved her so that he could achieve his own selfish goals."

McDonnell's legal counsel said the governor's decision would stand.

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[embedded video]

"Long before America was even an idea, this land of plenty was home to many peoples. The British and French, the Dutch and Spanish, to Mexicans, to countless Indian tribes. We all shared the same land," President Obama told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810. It was recognized on September 27, 1821.

The United States of America declared its independence in 1776.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/09/21/obama_mexicans_were_here_long_before_america_was_even_an_idea.html

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►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)07:35 No.254668     >>254666 The Texas revolt happened three hundred years after the founding of New Spain

►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)07:40 No.254669     >>254666 >MESTIZO >share NO BLOOD with the indians ... do you even know what a Mestizo is?

►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)07:40 No.254670     I don't see what is false about his statement... And this doesn't mean he's planning to let Mexico take over the Southern part of the country. I think McCain's original immigration bill (before the Arizona primary challenge made him go hard line) was an honest and fair solution.

The U.S. has fallen behind emerging markets in Brazil, China and India as the preferred place to invest, a Bloomberg survey shows, though the world’s largest economy still ranks highest of all major developed countries.

The U.S. ranked first three months ago in the last quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. Along with the slipping perceptions of the U.S. markets in the most recent survey, conducted Sept. 16-17, poll respondents say the Federal Reserve is likely to take further steps to try to bolster the economy.

In the September poll of 1,408 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers, respondents rate the U.S. fourth for potential returns over the next year, behind Brazil and China, tied for first, and India, in third place.

The U.S. economic situation “is obviously unsustainable, and the concerted attempt to suspend disbelief is playing increasingly poorly abroad,” says poll respondent Eric Kraus, chief strategist for Otkritie Brokerage House in Moscow. “One can delay, but no one can forestall the unwind of a multidecade credit bubble.”

Economic reports released since the June poll show U.S. GDP growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the second quarter from 3.7 percent in the first quarter. In the final quarter of last year, GDP grew at a 5.0 percent annual rate.

Expectations for U.S. GDP growth next year have dropped to a median forecast of 2.5 percent in September from 2.9 percent in June, according to Bloomberg’s monthly survey of economists.

S&P Rise

Since the June survey, U.S. stock markets have been on the rise. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 3.62 percent since the last investor poll was completed June 3. That’s not as much as Brazil’s Bovespa Index, which is up 10.56 percent and India’s Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, which is up 10.44 percent. The U.S. stocks still did better than China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which has risen 1.41 percent since June 3.

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Scientist explains how Omega-3 could give you more than a natural high

WE ARE told that Omega-3 is good for our health but a researcher has found it has another effect – boosting the impact of cannabis in those who use it.

Prof Roger Pertwee of the University of Aberdeen has also discovered a way to dial, either up or down, the body’s response to cannabis and other substances that chemically act the same way in the body. His work represents just one of about 250 scientific events and presentations taking place this week in Birmingham at Aston University during the British Science Festival 2010.

It will bring 350 leading scientists from around the world to Birmingham where they will meet the public and explain their varied research work.

Always entertaining and eclectic, the festival is one of the biggest “public understanding of science” events in the world. Its organisers in the British Science Association expect up to 75,000 people between today and the festival’s close next Sunday 19th September.

There is also a separate schools programme that will see about 3,000 students attending events during the festival.

“Better lives through science” is the theme chosen for the 2010 event and this theme was addressed at the press launch by the president of British Science Association, Lord Sainsbury.

He stressed the importance of helping the public to understand the issues surrounding scientific research. He mentioned as an example the controversy sparked by genetically modified foods despite the benefits this technology could deliver in terms of world hunger.

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3 posts and 1 image omitted. Click Reply to view.

►	Anonymous 09/21/10(Tue)23:06 No.254639     stoners think that smoking weed will prevent mental illnesses lol

►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)01:06 No.254650     >>254639 I've known schizophrenics whose symptoms abate when they get high. >Of the 23 studies that were found, 14 reported that the cannabis users had better cognitive performance than the schizophrenia non-users. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2786315/ Of course, its also a major risk factor for developing sz in the first place...

►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)01:31 No.254651     >>254650 it's also solved by killing yourself.

Block-I chant portrays ‘neither patriotism nor remembrance’
David Green, University Academic Professional
Posted: September 15th, 2010 - 10:29 PM
Updated: September 20th, 2010 - 9:51 AM

The vast majority of 9/11 observances in this country cannot be seen as politically neutral events. Implicit in their nature are the notions that lives lost at the World Trade Center are more valuable than lives lost in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and elsewhere; that the motives of the 9/11 attackers had nothing to do with genuine grievances in the Islamic world regarding American imperialism; and that the U.S. has been justified in the subsequent killing of hundreds of thousands in so-called retaliation.

The observance at Saturday’s football game was no different. A moment of silence was followed by a military airplane flyover; in between, Block-I students chanted “USA, USA.” This was neither patriotism nor remembrance in any justifiable sense, but politicization, militarism, propaganda and bellicosity. The University is a public institution that encompasses the political views of all, not just the most (falsely) “patriotic.” Athletic planners should cease such exploitation for political purposes. They might at least consider how most Muslim students, American or otherwise, would respond to this nativist display; or better, Muslims and others that live their lives under the threat of our planes, drones and soldiers.

The overwhelmingly white, privileged, Block-I students should be ashamed of their obnoxious, fake-macho, chicken-hawk chant, while poverty-drafted members of their cohort fight and die in illegal and immoral wars for the control of oil. University administrators need to eliminate from all events such “patriotic” observances, which in this country cannot be separated from implicit justifications for state-sponsored killing.

http://www.dailyillini.com/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/2010/09/15/block-i-chant-portrays-neither-patriotism-nor-remembrance

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►	Anonymous 09/21/10(Tue)19:08 No.254623     Other countries sing songs at sports events. Americans just shout the same three letters.

►

Anonymous 09/21/10(Tue)23:13 No.254641     >>254613 >While there are exceptions such as great scientists and other exemplary people, the average countryman is worth more than the average foreigner. this is what liberals actually believe, they truly believe that borders are meaningless and that race and nationality and even gender are just social constructs! >They might at least consider how most Muslim students, American or otherwise, would respond to this nativist display; or better, Muslims and others that live their lives under the threat of our planes, drones and soldiers. I don't understand the style of thinking where everytime you do something you need to think "oh my might i be offending someone" ??? > cohort fight and die in illegal and immoral wars for the control of oil. Funny how liberals approve of wars to slaughter europeans, like the civil war or WW1 and 2. But oh no those poor non-whites! Oil oil!! It's not like USA wasn't the biggest recipient of oil for food from saddam. >The overwhelmingly white, privileged, Block-I students should be ashamed The only people who should be ashamed are you filthy fucking leftist vermin.

►	Anonymous 09/22/10(Wed)02:51 No.254656     >Man says something not news

At least 280 crocodiles have escaped from a Mexican refuge near the Gulf of Mexico after heavy flooding caused by Hurricane Karl, Mexican media said on Tuesday.

The endangered Morelet crocodiles were on the roam in six coastal areas in the Mexican state of Veracruz and residents were told not to try to capture or kill them, El Economista reported.
The governor of Veracruz told reporters about 280 crocodiles were missing from the reserve in La Antigua, although some media put the number of reptiles at closer to 400.

Morelet crocodiles can grow to nearly 10 feet and are found in freshwater swamps, lakes and rivers, and the brackish coastal waters of eastern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.
Federal authorities from the agency charged with environmental protection said crocodile experts would be sent to the region to try to recapture the animals.
At least 15 people were killed and thousands displaced by the hurricane, which ripped through the Yucatan peninsula and slammed into Mexico's Gulf coast this past weekend.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/8017321/Hundreds-of-crocodiles-on-the-loose-in-Mexico-after-Hurricane-K
arl-flooding.html?

BEAUMONT - Figuring out how a rice crop was faring used to be a head-scratching exercise with predictably unpredictable results.

But now a few punches on a keyboard can yield a pretty close forecast for a rice crop and tell a farmer what changes could improve the outcome at harvest.

The program, Rice Development Advisory, stems from extensive data collected over the years by researchers at the Texas AgriLife Research Center in Beaumont. They methodically accumulated reams of data in the course of studying and creating improved varieties of rice.

As technology improved, the researchers have been able to recrank the data into computerized programs useful to farmers in decision-making.

"It's a fairly old idea," said Dr. Ted Wilson, center director. "What we are doing now is a logical extension of previous methods where information had to be entered into a computer by hand. "We do a lot of work on how crops grow and how pests develop. The problem is that if you are compiling numbers for one location, it is not too hard. But when one has several locations, it's a logistical problem to keep track."

The team of rice researchers at the Beaumont center work with rice farmers in more than 20 Texas counties and collaborate with their counterparts in many other rice-producing countries.

Combining the collected data in a usable format has been the bailiwick of Dr. Yubin Yang, AgriLife Research biological systems analyst at Beaumont. He and the team of researchers have spent years building climatic and soil databases and devising programs to accurately predict rice development. He's done the same to develop other cropping system applications, such as a post-harvest grain management program and a rice water conservation analyzer.

Farmers are increasingly using the modeling software online and researchers around the world have drawn on the components pertaining to the climate, soil and weather, Yang said. He calls the databases collectively iAIMS, Integrated Agricultural Information and Management System. The entire package, including the cropping system software, can be found at http://beaumont.tamu.edu/eTools/eTools_default

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