Monthly Archives: September 2012

Astronomy Portfolio Review Recommends Defunding US's Biggest Telescope

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38131601 story Posted by Soulskill on Friday September 28, @11:35AM from the would-rather-by-half-a-jet-plane dept. derekmead writes "Data from the enormous Green Bank Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory has been used to test some of Einstein's theories, discover new molecules in space, and find evidence of the building blocks of life and of the origins of galaxies. With 6,600 hours of observation time a year, the GBT produces massive amounts of data on the makeup of space, and any researchers with reason to use the data are welcome to do so. The eleven-year-old GBT stands as one of the crowning achievements of American big science. But with the National Science Foundation strapped for cash like most other science-minded government agencies, the NRAO's funding is threatened. In August of this year, the Astronomy Portfolio Review, a committee appointed by the NSF, recommended that the GBT be defunded over the next five years. Researchers, along with locals and West Virginia congressmen, are fighting the decision, which puts the nearly $100 million telescope at risk. Unless they succeed, America's giant dish will go silent." You may like to read: Post

Drink Canada Dry! You might not succeed, but it *__is* fun trying.

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Astronomy Portfolio Review Recommends Defunding US's Biggest Telescope

´Aerospace Composites Market to Be Worth $10.3bn in 2012´ Says Visiongain Report

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LONDON, September 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Visiongain [http://www.visiongain.com/Content/3/About-Us ]s analysis indicates that the global aerospace composites market [http://www.visiongain.com/Sector/146/Aviation ] will reach a value of $10.3bn in 2012, as the manufacturing process of composite materials into aircraft is refined and developed and the demand for new fuel efficient aircraft gathers pace.

The aerospace composites market [http://www.visiongain.com/Report/901/The-Aerospace-Composites-Market-2012-2022 ] is expected to record positive and continuous growth over the next decade, in large part due to a better understanding of the physical attributes of composite materials which can be successfully integrated into the design and development process and the increasing demand for lighter and more fuel efficient aircraft.

The Visiongain author of The Aerospace Composites Market 2012-2022 report commented that composite usage in aerospace is a growth market given the potential opportunities arsing from the expansion of air travel, the importance attached to maintaining airline safety and the need by airlines to reduce operational costs.

The report contains 101 tables, charts and graphs that add visual analysis in order to explain developing trends within the aerospace composites market. Visiongain provides forecasts for the period 2012-2022 in terms of value (US$) for the global aerospace composites market, as well as submarket forecasts for 3 material type submarkets (glass fibre, carbon fibres, aramid fibres) and 4 submarket forecasts by aircraft type (commercial, business jets, military and commercial helicopters). In addition, 10 leading national aerospace composites markets are forecast and analysed by visiongain over the period 2012-2022. The report provides profiles of 20 leading companies operating within the market, and includes two interviews providing expert insight alongside visiongain analysis.

The Aerospace Composites Market 2012-2022 report will be of value to current and future potential investors into the aerospace composites market, as well as companies and research centres who wish to broaden their knowledge of the aerospace composites industry.

For sample pages and further information concerning the visiongain report The Aerospace Composites Market 2012-2022 please visit: http://www.visiongain.com/Report/901/The-Aerospace-Composites-Market-2012-2022

Notes for Editors If you are interested in a more detailed overview of this report, please send an e-mail to sara.peerun@visiongainglobal.com[http://sara.peerun@visiongainglobal.com ] or call her on +44 (0) 207 336 6100

About visiongain Visiongain is one of the fastest growing and most innovative independent media companies in Europe. Based in London, UK, visiongain produces a host of business-2-business conferences, newsletters, management reports and e-zines focusing on the Energy, Telecoms, Pharmaceutical, Defence, Aviation, and Materials sectors.

Visiongain publishes reports produced by its in-house analysts, who are qualified experts in their field. Visiongain has firmly established itself as the first port-of-call for the business professional, who needs independent, high quality, original material to rely and depend on.

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´Aerospace Composites Market to Be Worth $10.3bn in 2012´ Says Visiongain Report

NASA calls off space station's dodging of junk

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The International Space Station is safe from two pieces of menacing junk.

NASA said Thursday the orbiting lab does not need to move out of the way of fragments from an Indian rocket and an old Russian satellite. The maneuver had been planned for Thursday morning, but was called off.

Mission Control says there is a high degree of confidence neither object will come too close to the space station and its three occupants. The astronauts and controllers can now turn their attention to Fridays undocking of a European cargo ship. The departure was put off earlier this week because of a communication system error.

The space stations neighborhood 260 miles up is full of potentially damaging debris. Usually, the junk keeps a safe distance.

___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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NASA calls off space station's dodging of junk

NASA offers opportunity to use communications testbed on space station

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) Want to be a part of International Space Station research? Here's your chance. NASA is offering opportunities for academia, industry and government agencies to develop and carry out research and technology demonstrations on the space station using the newly installed Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed.

These opportunities will allow researchers to develop new software according to the Space Telecommunications Radio Standard, or STRS, architecture for radios and reconfigure how radios communicate in space.

The SCaN Testbed is a communications, navigation and networking demonstration platform based on the STRS. The experimental platform began its initial checkout activities on the space station Aug. 13, and will operate for at least three years.

Experiment developers will provide software components to the STRS repository and enable future hardware platforms to use common reusable software modules.

The new testbed is composed of three STRS-compliant, software-defined radios to be operated in space, said Richard Reinhart, principal investigator of the SCaN Testbed at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. "This flexible testbed will allow researchers to develop new software according to the STRS architecture for the radios and reconfigure how the radios communicate on-orbit, to explore new concepts for future missions. Once proven, this new capability will enable greater science return from future NASA missions."

There are two opportunities (http://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/SOPO/SCO/SCaNTestbed/Candidate/) to use the testbed on the station.

The SCaN Testbed Experiment Opportunity invites industry and government agencies to enter into Space Act Agreements with NASA to use the SCaN Testbed on space station. The SCaN Testbed Cooperative Agreement Notice invites academia to develop proposals to use the orbiting laboratory's SCaN Testbed research capabilities. NASA expects these first industry, government agency, and university demonstrations to take place by late 2013 or early 2014.

"These two announcements of opportunity provide industry, academia and government agency experimenters a unique service and facility to develop and field the latest communications, navigation and networking technologies not only in the laboratory, but also in the dynamic space environment," said David Irimies, deputy project manager of the SCaN Testbed at Glenn. "Investigators will gain valuable flight experience, raise the technology maturity level of their applications by operating within the space environment, and demonstrate future mission capabilities for a potentially key role in future NASA missions."

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Space station on alert

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Plans to move the International Space Station to a slightly different orbit were called off on Thursday after controllers determined that two pieces of orbital debris would not pose a collision risk, NASA said.

Mission controllers had been monitoring debris from an old Russian Cosmos satellite and a fragment from an Indian rocket, and said there was a chance that the debris could come close enough to require an adjustment in the station's orbit on Thursday.

Space news from NBCNews.com

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A close look at pebble-filled layers of rock has convinced scientists that NASA's Curiosity rover is driving through an ancient stream bed on Mars.

But NASA said additional tracking of the debris "resulted in a high degree of confidence that neither object would pose any possibility of a conjunction" with the station. As a result, Mission Control in Houston canceled the debris avoidance maneuver. Russian flight controllers endorsed the decision, NASA said.

Space junk moves so fast that it can puncture the station, so engineers try to give debris a wide berth whenever something comes close. Three spacefliers NASA's Sunita Williams, Russia's Yuri Malenchenko and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide are currently living aboard the station.

If the maneuver had been required, the engines of a European cargo ship docked to the station, the Edoardo Amaldi Automated Transfer Vehicle, would have been fired to make the move. A communications glitch kept the unmanned ATV from leaving the station earlier this week, as scheduled.

"Russian engineers told mission managers that they fully understand the nature of the error and are prepared to proceed to a second undocking attempt," NASA said in Thursday's update. The tentative plans for the debris avoidance maneuver meant the next attempt to undock the ATV had to be delayed until Friday at the earliest.

Once the craft is undocked, a pair of engine firings will send it down through the atmosphere to burn up over the Pacific Ocean.

This report includes information from NBC News and The Associated Press.

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Space station on alert

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Invites Media to Attend First-Issue Ceremony of 'Earthscapes' Forever Stamps

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The U.S. Postal Service kicks off National Stamp Collecting Month in October by issuing "Earthscapes" Forever stamps at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Earthscapes" depict America's diverse landscapes in perspectives from several hundred feet to several hundred miles above the ground, from photos taken from ultra-light planes to data obtained by Earth-orbiting satellites.

What: First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony for the Earthscapes Forever stamps. The event is free and open to the public.

When: Mon., Oct. 1, 2012, 10:30 a.m. EDT

Where: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Visitor Center 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, Md. 20771

Two of the stamp images -- Volcanic crater and Center-pivot irrigation -- were taken by the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 7 satellite. The Landsat program celebrates 40 years of observing the Earth this year as Goddard prepares to launch the next satellite in the Landsat series, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). For nearly 50 years, Goddard has been at the forefront of looking at Earth from the vantage point of space. During this unique dedication ceremony, NASA scientists join the U.S. Postal Service in celebrating "Earthscapes" stamps and will discuss why viewing our Earth from above is so valuable for understanding our ever-changing home planet.

Joining NASA and the U.S. Postal Service is Alexandria, Va., photographer Cameron Davidson, who will tell his story of creating the Inland marsh stamp image by photographing the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland's eastern shore near Cambridge, Md.

NASA uses a fleet of satellites to study the Earth and to better understand the changing climate, its interaction with life, and how human activities affect the environment. Through partnerships with national and international agencies, NASA enables the application of this understanding for the well being of society.

To preview the Earthscapes stamps visit: http://beyondtheperf.com/stamp-releases/earthscapes

For more information about the Landsat program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/landsat

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Invites Media to Attend First-Issue Ceremony of 'Earthscapes' Forever Stamps

Streams Of Water Once Flowed On Mars; NASA Says Photos Prove It

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Curiosity, 2012: NASA says that water shaped the rocks on the left, in a photograph taken by the Mars rover Curiosity. For comparison, the agency released an image of rocks from the Earth (right).

NASA

Curiosity 2012: A wider view of the outcrop of a former streambed shows bedrock that scientists believe was likely exposed by meteorites striking the surface of Mars.

NASA

Spirit, 2010: When NASA's Spirit rover got stuck in Martian sand, it proved to be a lucky break: The spinning wheel churned up soil that provided evidence of rocks formed in the presence of water.

NASA

Opportunity, 2004: Opportunity discovered tiny mineral spheres nicknamed blueberries poking out of rocks that were likely formed by water. Researchers using Opportunity's science instruments identified them as concretions rich in the mineral hematite, deposited by water saturating the bedrock.

NASA

Pathfinder, 1997: The first mission to land a rover on Mars, Pathfinder touched down in Ares Vallis, an ancient flood plain in the planet's northern hemisphere. Among the 2.3 billion bits of data sent back by the lander and its rover, Sojourner, were 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil, which suggested Mars had once had liquid water and a thicker atmosphere.

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Streams Of Water Once Flowed On Mars; NASA Says Photos Prove It

Phytel to Present at Stanford's Medicine X Conference

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DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - Sep 27, 2012) - Phytel, the leader in automated, provider-led population health improvement, announced today that it has been chosen to make a presentation at the Stanford School of Medicine's Medicine X conference, which will address "the intersection of medicine and emerging technologies."

Phytel's chief technology officer, Patrick Flynn, and its vice president of product management, Russell Olsen, will give their presentation, entitled "Improving Care Coordination and Patient Outcomes with Next Generation eHealth and Population Health Management Tools," on Saturday, September 29, at 4:20 p.m. They will speak at the Paul Berg Auditorium at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.

Flynn and Olsen will explain how healthcare organizations can apply automation and analytic tools to population health management to improve the health of their patients. A highlight of their talk will be a demonstration of next-generation, web-based applications used by care teams in major healthcare organizations to coordinate and manage care and engage patients more fully in their own healthcare.

Among the tools to be demonstrated in the presentation are:

Success in population health management requires physicians and care teams to strengthen relationships with patients, optimize the services they provide before and during office visits, and extend their reach to remain in contact with patients outside of the office. Along with the use of eHealth, social and mobile technologies, automation tools can help practices achieve these patient intervention goals, while reducing the administrative, clinical and outreach effort that population health management requires of physicians and care teams.

"Phytel's selection as a presenter at this prestigious conference shows the high regard in which our company is held in the medical field," commented Patrick Flynn, CTO of Phytel. "The excellent outcomes of our customers attest to the high quality of our applications and toolsets for population health management. We look forward to telling this story to the attendees at Stanford's Medicine X conference."

About Phytel The premier company empowering physician-led population health improvement, Phytel provides physicians with proven technology to deliver timely, coordinated care to their patients. Phytel's state-of-the-art registry, which now encompasses more than 25 million patients nationwide, uses evidence-based chronic and preventive care protocols to identify and notify patients due for service, while tracking compliance and measuring quality and financial results. For more information, please visit http://www.phytel.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

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Complementary Medicine May Help Soldiers With PTSD: Study

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THURSDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Complementary medicine techniques known as healing touch and guided imagery can help reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in military personnel who have been in combat, a new study says.

The study included 123 active-duty U.S. Marines who had at least one of the following post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms: flashbacks of their traumatic experience, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, emotional numbness, insomnia, irritability, exaggerated startle response, avoidance of people or places that remind them of the traumatic experience, or exaggerated emotional responses to trauma.

The participants were assigned to receive either standard treatment for PTSD or standard treatment plus healing touch and guided imagery. There were six complementary therapy sessions over three weeks.

Healing touch is described as an energy-based treatment meant to restore and balance the human biofield in order to decrease pain and promote healing. It is sometimes used in surgery or other medical procedures to help patients relax and reduce pain and anxiety. Guided imagery uses imagination and visualization to help reduce stress and anxiety and enhance overall well-being.

The study found that patients who received standard treatment plus these complementary therapies had greater improvement in quality of life and lower levels of depression and cynicism than those who received standard treatment alone.

The study, published in the September issue of the journal Military Medicine, was led by the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego. It also involved the Samueli Institute in Alexandria, Va.

"Service members are seeking out non-drug complementary and integrative medicine as part of their overall care and approach to wellness," Dr. Wayne Jonas, president and chief executive officer of Samueli Institute, said in a Scripps news release.

"This treatment pairs deep relaxation with a self-care approach that can be used at home" he said. "The results of this study underscore the need to make effective, non-stigmatizing treatments for PTSD available to all our service members."

Although the study found an association between these complementary techniques and reduced PTSD symptoms, it did not prove that a cause-and-effect relationship exists.

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Watson takes glory, risks on medical school

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State Sen. Kirk Watson has been the architect and the face of a campaign for a medical school and other health projects in Austin for just over a year. But the Austin Democrat worked quietly on a medical school for several years before he thrust himself into the spotlight last September at the urging of other proponents who felt he had the ability and moxie to get it done.

Now Watson has linked his goal of establishing a medical school to winning voter approval of a Travis County-wide property tax increase in November to support the endeavor.

Watson, 54, has taken on other daunting challenges in more than 20 years of off-and-on public life. He fought off testicular cancer, was mayor of Austin during a tech bust that started in 2000 and in 2002 lost a race for state attorney general.

Yet to hear him speak these days, nothing is more important and, perhaps, more career-defining than establishing a medical school at the University of Texas, as well as a new teaching hospital, comprehensive cancer-care center and other elements of what supporters call Watsons 10 in 10 10 health care goals to achieve in 10 years.

We have so many good people ready to do it that success is immensely possible, and to not do it and not get started on the path would be extraordinarily regrettable, Watson said last fall. This is big. Its going to be hard. But it needs to be done.

A watershed moment will come in November, when Travis County voters decide whether to increase their property taxes to help underwrite those goals. That question has been put on the ballot by Central Health, Travis Countys hospital district, at Watsons urging. He proposed the amount of the rate increase, a nickel per $100 of property value, before the districts board had publicly discussed any figures.

Moreover, it was Watson who helped make it possible for Central Health to hold a tax election. He authored 2007 legislation that gave the agency overseeing health care for the needy Travis County residents broader taxing, contracting and other powers than other hospital districts in the state.

Numerous civic, business and other groups have endorsed the proposed tax increase, but it has drawn criticism as well, including from some people who question Watsons ties to Central Health. For one thing, Central Health has paid Watsons law firm, Brown McCarroll LLP, $262,675 since May for legal work on the 10 in 10 plan and other matters. Four ethicists outside of Texas saw no conflict of interest but said Watson and others could have been more transparent.

Other players in the health initiatives, including officials of the University of Texas System and of the Seton Healthcare Family, say they encouraged Watson to take the lead on the medical school. Watson followed up with a speech a year ago this month at the Four Seasons Hotel unveiling his 10 in 10 plan.

Everybody was going off in different directions, said Kenneth Shine, executive vice chancellor of health affairs for the UT System. We said, We ought to create a community-based activity with people brought together from various entities. In the course of that discussion, we said, You know, the person who has the greatest credibility, the best organizational skills and great interest is Kirk Watson.

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Watson takes glory, risks on medical school

Liberty University Press Releases 'Mastering English Vocabulary Foundations'

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Liberty University Press is proud to announce the release of “Mastering English Vocabulary Foundations” by Liberty faculty member Barbara Sherman.Lynchburg, VA (PRWEB) September 27, 2012 Liberty University Press is proud to announce the release of “Mastering English Vocabulary Foundations” by Liberty faculty member Barbara Sherman. For centuries, people have studied the English language and its ...

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Liberty University Press Releases 'Mastering English Vocabulary Foundations'

Liberty Plaza: City leaders look for ways to end crime, vagrancy issues at park

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. Families have been drawn there by performances put on by the Ann Arbor District Library.

But this urban park in downtown Ann Arbor has earned a reputation that contrasts sharply with images of people relaxing at a summertime concert and children enjoying a library program.

Public drinking, drug use and fights arent rare occurrences in the concrete park at the southwest corner of Division and Liberty streets. Set a few steps down from the sidewalk, the two-tiered park has gained a less-than-flattering reputation since it first opened to public use in 1978.

The park has off and on been a problem for years, said John Teeter, property manager at First Martin Corp., the company that built and still maintains the park. Its a wonderful park when theres programming. ... When theres legitimate users in the park visiting, its wonderful.

He pointed to the Thursday Sonic Lunch concerts, sponsored by Bank of Ann Arbor as an example of programming that works. But often, the park doesn't work well, he said.

When you have people drinking, doing drugs, defecating and urinating near buildings or harassing someone trying to eat lunch, its a detriment to the area, he added.

Teeter said Liberty Plaza has had cycles of criminal activities over the years, giving the place a reputation as a hangout for vagrants that may drive other residents away. But, those who use it have cultivated their own community. Many who regularly visit the park play chess, loan money to each other and engage in lively discussions.

Roughly 20 people milled about Liberty Plaza on a recent afternoon and nearly all of them greeted each other with smiles, handshakes and warm words. Some were quietly eating their lunch in the early afternoon sunshine while others skateboarded around benches and trees. The scene was a far cry from Teeters worst-case scenario of people being driven away by unruly park users.

People down here are cool, man, said Jacob Dorsten, a homeless man hanging out in the park. Ive never seen any trouble here.

A problem of design

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Liberty Silver Doubles in Value and Trades over $20 Million Shares in September

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PLANTATION, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Renowned and respected investment advisor and founder of Midas Letter (www.midalsletter.com), a subscriber-driven private investment strategy newsletter, James West, has recently reported his overview of the Trinity Silver Project, a Liberty Silver Corp. (LSL.TO) (OTCBB:LBSV) endeavor.

The Trinity Silver Project is located 25 miles northwest of Lovelock, Nevada (Pershing County) and shares its geographical location with major gold and silver producers including one of the largest silver mines in the United States, the Rochester silver mine owned by Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation, which produced 125 million ounces of silver from 1986 to 2010 and has an estimated 120 million silver ounces in reserves.

As reported by West at http://www.midasletter.com, In the month of September so far, the company has traded over 20 million shares and doubled in value. Silver itself has traded in a similar trajectory, increasing in value by 35% since mid-summer, and outperforming gold smartly. The most respected and experienced traders in precious metals fully expect the ratio of how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold to head towards 16:1 from its current level of over 50:1. That would imply a silver value of $110 per ounce.

If Liberty Silver shares continue to trade at such a high beta to the silver futures price, the premium being awarded Liberty Silver could be substantial, adds West.

Liberty Silver Corp is an advanced stage junior silver mining company focused on developing its flagship property the Trinity Silver Project comprised of 10,600 acres including 5,700 acres of fee land and 240 unpatented mining claims. The Trinity property, previously mined and operated by US Borax, produced 5 million ounces of silver from 1.1 million tons of ore from its open pit oxide resource from 1987 to 1989; mining ceased when sulfide mineralization was encountered in the bottom of the pit and metal prices were too low to support mining the sulfide resource.

Historical drilling and production data, recent surveys and drilling results, as well as independent research reveals the property has potential resources of approximately 120m silver equivalent ounces between the Trinity property and the adjacent Hi Ho silver property of which Liberty recently entered into a mineral rights agreement with.

West cites Liberty Silvers caliber of management and board of directors as a key to the projects success with leadership from Geoffrey Brown, Chairman & CEO, former head of private equity at Merrill Lynch Canada; Bill Tafuri, President, bringing 40 years of diverse mining and exploration experience with such companies as Getty Mining Co., Kennecott Corp. and Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp.; Paul Haggis, an icon in Canadian business circles as Chairman of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, C.A. Bancorp Inc., a Canadian merchant bank and alternative asset manager and Alberta Enterprise Corporation, a venture capital fund overseeing $100 million for early-stage ventures; and the backing of legendary entrepreneur Bobby Genovese, Chairman of BG Capital Group (a venture capital and private equity firm based in Barbados with offices throughout North America with assets of more than $200 million) as one of the biggest shareholders of Liberty Silver Corp. For more information on BG Capital Group visit http://www.bgcpapitalgroup.com.

James West is the portfolio advisor to the Midas Letter Opportunity Fund and an investment advisor to institutional investors and high net worth family offices with expertise in investing in commodities, real estate and energy, and providing access to early stage opportunities to public companies who explore for and produce such commodities. He has spent more than 20 years working in capacities such as corporate finance advisor, corporate development officer, investor relations officer, media relations and business development officer for companies involved in mining, oil and gas, alternative fuels, healthcare, internet technology, transportation, manufacturing, and housing construction. His website, http://www.midasletter.com, receives more than 30,000 unique visits per month.

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Liberty Silver Doubles in Value and Trades over $20 Million Shares in September

Libertarian candidate focuses jobs plan, and hemp production

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HELENA In his low-key race for governor, Libertarian Ron Vandevender says he wants to create more jobs, encourage the formation of more agricultural cooperatives and urge the federal government to legalize hemp.

Vandevender, 53, lives off the power grid in Craig and runs a self-sufficient ranch, raising his own meat and vegetables. He said he barters whatever is left over with other people for other products he needs. He previously managed several fast food restaurants, ran a chain of pawn shops in Mississippi for the owner and ran an Internet retail business.

The candidate, who has a mailing address in Cascade, has lost previous races for the U.S. House and the state House.

Vandevender said in an interview he has a jobs plan.

I want to push more private sector jobs in Montana, built by Montanans and employing Montanans and away from the super-store mentality, he said.

Vandevender said his goal is to create 25,000 to 40,000 jobs in a short while.

One thing wed push for is hemp, he said. Its a legal crop in Montana, but nobody plants it because theyre worried about the feds.

The Montana Legislature voted in 2001 to authorize the production of industrial hemp, but federal law prohibits such activity.

If hemp were grown on 1 percent of Montanas farmlands, Vandevender said the state could reap than $300 million in new income. Hemp has thousands of uses, he said, including rope, material and paper products.

Second, Vandevender wants to push for the formation of more agricultural cooperatives to give smaller landowners a chance to raise cattle and grow vegetables and sell or trade them to other co-op members.

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Libertarian candidate focuses jobs plan, and hemp production

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks at UNLV

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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -

There is another candidate for president on the ballot in Nevada. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson had wanted to secure the Republican nomination, but is now running as the Libertarian candidate.

On Tuesday, he spoke on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Speaking before a few dozen people, Johnson ran down a wide range of topics.

"I am the only candidate that doesn't want to bomb Iran," Johnson said.

"Marijuana is safer than alcohol," he added.

A recent CNN poll indicated about 4 percent of registered voters said they will vote for Johnson. With the race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney so close, Johnson could play the role of spoiler.

"If I spoiled the election for Romney, he has one person to blame for that that would be himself. I get the statement, wasting your vote. I think wasting your vote is voting for someone you don't believe in," Johnson said.

Libertarian supporters at UNLV said Obama and Romney are just too much alike.

"They have the same sponsors, they have the same issues. Romney is the one who (provided) the idea of Obamacare in the first place," said student Adrienne Braganza.

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Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks at UNLV

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson backs Florida ballot drive to legalize medicinal marijuana

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Gary Johnson, whose Libertarian presidential bid has already spooked Republicans, might get a few Democratic voters as well thanks to his support for a sleeper issue in Florida: medical marijuana.

Johnson is expected to endorse the current effort to put a Constitutional Amendment to legalize medicinal marijuana on the Florida ballot in 2014, said Johnsons Florida political advisor, Roger Stone, a one-time GOP operative who lives in Miami Beach.

The marijuana proposal faces a series of tough challenges in Florida. And so does Johnson.

As a third-party candidate, the little-known former Republican governor of New Mexico doesnt have the name recognition or major financial support that Republican Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama enjoy.

Johnsons campaign says the system is rigged against other parties. He filed a federal lawsuit this week that claimed the Federal Election Commission owes the campaign $747,115.34 in public campaign-financing money.

The FEC declined to comment.

In August, the FEC reported that it had awarded Johnsons campaign a total of $303,751.20. The Democratic and Republican parties each received $18,248,300 for their conventions. The two major party candidates are entitled to as much as $92,241,400, Johnsons suit says.

Johnson has fought or is fighting Republicans with legal challenges to get on the ballot in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan and Oklahoma. He also is suing to get into the presidential debates. The first is scheduled for next Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Mirroring Johnsons uphill struggle: The People United for Medical Marijuana committee, called PUFMM, a largely liberal group. It has raised $40,628 and spent $33,470 since 2009 to get medical marijuana on the Florida ballot. It needs 676,811 valid voter signatures but has collected just 100,000 so far, said PUFMMs Florida Chairwoman Kim Russell.

If the measure makes the ballot, it would then face the daunting requirement that it pass with 60 percent of the vote.

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Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson backs Florida ballot drive to legalize medicinal marijuana

History is on China's side in islands dispute

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To China, Japan's move to "nationalise" the uninhabited Diaoyu/Senkaku islands at the centre of an increasingly heated tussle between them is akin to someone seizing possession of something whose legal ownership is still being disputed.

One party's action is sure to trigger a reaction from the other. It did.

Now, for the first time, China is challenging Japan's sovereignty over a group of islands which used to be called Ryukyu islands and which now make up Okinawa prefecture.

Like the Diaoyu islands, the Ryukyus also lie in the East China Sea, between Japan's Kyushu island and Taiwan.

On September 14, a commentary in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily asserted that "even the Ryukyu islands do not belong to Japan, under international laws governing the post-World War II order".

The Ryukyu islands came under the United States' civil administration from 1945 until 1972, when the Americans handed over control to the Japanese.

The PLA Daily's commentary stopped short of saying that the Ryukyus belong to China. But Chinese historical records would appear to support such a claim.

The earliest records of the Ryukyu islands can be found in the Book of Sui, written in AD621 to record the history of the Sui Dynasty (AD581-617). The Ryukyus used to be a tributary state of China. The name Ryukyu, in fact, originates from Liuqiu, also spelt Liuchiu and Lewchew, a name the Chinese gave to the islands.

Ryukyu historical records showed that from 1383 onwards, its kings derived their mandate to rule the islands from the Chinese emperor. This continued for nearly five centuries until 1879, when Japan annexed the islands and called them Okinawa prefecture.

This is well documented in historical records, which is why when the US-led Allied powers held discussions on "restoring territories", referring to Chinese territories that Japan had taken by force, both the Ryukyus and Taiwan were included.

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History is on China's side in islands dispute