Divers begin Lake Michigan search for Griffin ship

ON LAKE MICHIGAN NEAR POVERTY ISLAND, Mich. (AP) ? Divers began opening an underwater pit Saturday at a remote site in northern Lake Michigan that they say could be the resting place of the Griffin, a ship commanded by the 17th century French explorer La Salle.

U.S. and French archaeologists examined sediment removed from a hole dug near a timber slab that expedition leader Steve Libert discovered wedged in the lakebed in 2001. They found a 15-inch slab of blackened wood that might have been a human-fashioned "cultural artifact," although more analysis will be required to determine whether it was part of a vessel, project manager Ken Vrana said.

Libert, who has spent about three decades searching for the Griffin (also known by its French equivalent Le Griffon), said he hoped that by Sunday, the excavation would reach what sonar readings indicate is a distinct shape beneath several feet of sediment. The object is over 40 feet long and about 18 feet wide ? dimensions similar to those the Griffin is believed to have had, Vrana said.

But he said it was too early to declare the site a shipwreck, let alone the object of their quest.

"Soon we will find out whether our assumption is correct or not," Vrana said aboard the Proud Maid, a 45-foot commercial fishing boat that ferried journalists and crew members to the search area near Poverty Island in Michigan waters north of the entrance to Green Bay. "We've got to get those test pits dug and hit (the) structure, because anything else is pure speculation."

After meeting with team members Saturday night, he told reporters that "within a couple of days we should know" whether a ship graveyard lies beneath the surface.

Although Libert and his associates have dived at the site numerous times and conducted several surveys with remote sensing equipment, they hadn't conducted archaeological excavations until receiving a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources this month after years of legal squabbles. The agency claims ownership over all Great Lakes shipwrecks in the state's waters, although it acknowledges France would have rights to the Griffin because it was sailing under the authority of King Louis XIV.

Taking part in the dive Saturday were Michel L'Hour, director of the Department of Underwater Archaeological Research in the French Ministry of Culture and a noted authority on shipwrecks, and associate Olivia Hulot. The U.S. leaders said they hoped the visitors, with their knowledge of design and construction features of French ships from the 17th and 18th century, could help confirm whether the Griffin had been found.

"The Griffin is very important to the early history of America," L'Hour said in an interview before taking his first look at the site. "If this is the Griffin, it will teach us many things."

Rene Robert Cavelier de la Salle ordered the Griffin built near Niagara Falls in 1679 to support his quest for what was widely ? but erroneously ? believed to be a passageway to China and Japan. It was the first European-style vessel to traverse the upper Great Lakes, crossing Lake Erie and venturing northward to Lake Huron, then across Lake Michigan to the eastern shore of modern-day Wisconsin.

La Salle ordered the ship to return for more supplies and to deliver a load of furs, while he continued his journey by canoe. The Griffin was never heard from again. There are various theories about its fate, but none that have been proven. Libert, who spent years studying the writings of La Salle and a companion, believes it sank in a fierce storm only a few miles after setting sail.

Libert said Saturday the recovery of the slab of wood and prospects for reaching what may be the ship's hull shortly were promising signs.

"Right now I'm pretty excited, from what I know so far," he said, but added: "Scientific (proof) is 100 percent. It's not 99.9 percent."

___

Follow John Flesher on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JohnFlesher

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/divers-begin-lake-michigan-search-griffin-ship-224824646.html

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Putin, Cameron still hopeful on Syria peace talks

LONDON (AP) ? The leaders of Britain and Russia said Sunday they're hopeful that Syria's warring factions can hammer out their differences at upcoming peace talks tentatively planned for next month in Geneva.

Speaking at British Prime Minister's David Cameron's Downing Street office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said both nations are still pressing for talks between representatives of Syrian ruler Bashar Assad and the disparate rebel movement that seeks to drive him from power.

Asked whether the proposed introduction of a "no fly zone" over parts of Syria or moves by Western powers to funnel weapons to Syria's rebels had sabotaged the peace talks, Putin said no.

"I don't think that the idea of the conference is buried for good," he said. "This is one of the most reasonable and acceptable ways of solving this problem. Only by joint efforts is it possible to definitively settle the problem and persuade the warring sides to sit down for talks."

Last week, the White House announced the Obama administration has agreed, after months of hesitation, to start supplying the rebels with upgraded military aid. Russia and European powers, including Britain and France, are at loggerheads over the issue of supplying arms to the different sides of the Syrian conflict, with Russia sending weapons to Assad's military, while reacting angrily to any move on the part of Western nations to do the same to his opponents.

Putin defended the distinction Sunday, saying that Russia was providing arms "to the legitimate government of Syria in full conformity with the norms of international law."

Cameron acknowledged that Russia and Britain are in opposition but told journalists there is still common ground.

"It is no secret that President Putin and I have had our disagreements on some of these issues, but what I take from our conversation today is that we can overcome these differences if we recognize that we share some fundamental aims: to end this conflict; to stop Syria breaking apart; to let the Syrian choose who governs them; and to take the fight to the extremists and defeat them."

Although Britain was one of the leaders in the push to lift the European arms embargo on Syrian rebel forces, Cameron's government faces a considerable amount of opposition should it move to arm the revolutionaries.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum have expressed unease with the idea of sending weapons to Syria, with many warning they could end up in the hands of Muslim extremists loyal to al-Qaida.

Julian Lewis, from Cameron's Conservative Party, said earlier Sunday that sending weapons to the rebels would be "suicidal."

"In the past we have gone to war because we feared that weapons of mass destruction might fall into the hands of al-Qaida, and it would be absolutely crazy to assist al-Qaida to get their hands on the very sorts of weapons we must keep away from them at all costs," he told BBC radio.

Putin was in London ahead of the G8 summit of world leaders in Northern Ireland, which begins next week. The topic of Syria ? and what to do end the conflict there ? is not on the official agenda but is expected to be discussed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-cameron-still-hopeful-syria-peace-talks-172619163.html

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Carbon Trading with Chinese Characteristics

To control greenhouse gases the Chinese government is experimenting with pilot programs in seven cities and regions that use markets

By Mark Nicholls

NEW CITY: On June 18, companies in Shenzhen will have to meet greenhouse gas emission targets as part of a new cap and trade market experiment. Image: Courtesy of Discover Shenzhen

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On June 18 China?s pioneering city of Shenzhen is set to notch up another first. From that day 635 companies in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone?which in 1979 became the vanguard for China?s capitalist revolution?will start using the markets to help meet greenhouse gas emissions targets.

This year, alongside the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing as well as the regions of Guangdong and Hubei, Shenzhen is imposing greenhouse gas targets on hundreds of companies, ranging from power plants to airport operators. The goal is to develop a national carbon market over the next decade that could help put the brakes on the world?s largest carbon dioxide emitter.

?China has internationally pledged 2020 climate targets,? observes Chai Hongliang, an analyst at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, an Oslo-based information-provider specializing in carbon markets. He is referring to a commitment first made by China ahead of the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks to reduce its economy?s overall carbon emissions per unit of GDP to 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. ?It has two ways to reach the target: shut down factories in the last months of 2020 or use more market-based approaches like emissions trading,? Chai adds.

As with emission-trading programs elsewhere, polluters in China?s pilots have two options: First, they can meet their targets by reducing their own emissions?by investing in energy efficiency, say, or curbing production. Alternatively, they can buy carbon allowances or credits from companies that have spare allowances or from projects elsewhere in China.

Shenzhen faces the toughest target. The companies in its pilot emitted the equivalent of 31 million metric tons (Mt) of CO2 in 2010. They will be allocated around 100 Mt of allowances for the duration of the three-year trial, although expected economic growth means they will have to reduce their carbon intensity by an estimated 30 percent by 2015 compared with 2010.

Balancing the need for economic growth with carbon control is a challenge. Emissions in China are expected to rise for years, given the importance China?s political elite continue to place on economic growth. Some observers question how much pressure China?s planners are prepared to put on its big emitters. The pilots set emission limits from January 2013 through the end of 2015. ?I think the emissions caps will be relatively lenient,? Chai says.

Certainly the regulators will be eager to avoid any ?carbon leakage??that is, driving industry out of their jurisdictions through imposing too stringent targets ahead of any national program. But at this point Chai can only speculate about their stringency. Limited information is available about participating companies, their historical emissions?and even the rules under which the pilots will operate. And part of the reason is that some of these data do not exist.

The problem with data
To run effectively markets rely on an unimpeded flow of information, clear rules and rigorous oversight. China could both benefit from the lessons of earlier efforts, such as Europe?s flagship carbon market?the world?s largest, known as the European Union Emissions Trading System, or ETS. It is under fire from some environmentalists because of its relatively lax targets and low carbon prices, along with its vulnerability to fraud and abuse.

For the regulators drawing up targets, ?there are existing processes and mechanisms on energy consumption which could be drawn on, as well as local exercises in creating GHG [greenhouse gas] inventories,? says Lina Li, a Beijing-based carbon markets expert at Netherlands-based consultancy Ecofys. Her firm has advised local regulators and international donors on creating carbon market regulations and infrastructure in China. ?But there are still challenges regarding emissions data at the company level.?

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-trading-experiments-in-china

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PFT: Banks' accuser ordered to repay settlement

AP

Hines Ward is used to training, and he?s used to competing.

What he can?t get used to is the inevitability of losing.

The former Steelers wideout has struggled with that concept, as he prepares for the Ironman Triathlon.

?The realization is having never done it before, I can?t go in thinking I?m going to go out and win the Ironman,? Ward said, via Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ?That?s the battle I have, . . . I have to know what my body?s capable of doing and I have to run my pace. I can?t run a pace that?s someone else?s or I won?t make it at the end.?

By the time the race in Kona, Hawaii begins in October, he will have been in serious training for nearly a year.

Even for an elite athlete, the challenge of swimming 2.4 miles in the Pacific Ocean, biking 112 miles and then running 26.2 miles is a different kind of challenge than playing football or ?Dancing with the Stars.?

Ward has been training with eight-time Ironman champion Paula Newby-Fraser, who had to teach him how to ride a road bike with clip-in pedals, and teaching him the correct strokes in a pool to give him a chance.

?I think he thought it might be a bit of a challenge, but he had no idea how hard it was going to be, . . .? Newby-Fraser said. ?He gets incredibly frustrated. He melts down with frustration just because he wants to be good at it and wants to perform. He?s having to balance the reality of where he is with where he wants to be. When things don?t go exactly right he gets so mad.?

Ward has gradually built up from shorter races, and he did a half-Ironman last week.?He trains three hours a day, six days a week, logging on average 150 miles combined per week. As a result, he?s dropped 30 pounds since he started training, down to 195.

?I love challenges, and this will by far be my toughest challenge,? Ward said. ?It?s just me versus myself on the course. You have to continue to push through the pain and hopefully after 140 miles I can cross the finish line and what great satisfaction it will be to hear, ?Hines Ward, you?re an Ironman.? When that day comes, if I can cross that finish line, that will probably be one of my greatest accomplishments throughout my life.?

For a guy who has accomplished so much already, that?s saying something.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/16/brian-banks-accuser-ordered-to-pay-back-lawsuit-settlement/related/

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Syrian troops capture Damascus suburb near airport

Protesters demonstrate against western intervention in Syria, outside the US embassy in central London, Saturday, June 15, 2013.(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Protesters demonstrate against western intervention in Syria, outside the US embassy in central London, Saturday, June 15, 2013.(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Activists take part in a rally to support the Syrian government headed by President Bashar Assad, in Rome, Saturday, June 15, 2013. The Obama administration hopes its decision to give lethal aid to Syrian rebels will prompt other nations to increase assistance, now that the U.S. has cited evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people. But the international reaction ranged from flat-out disbelief of the U.S. intelligence assessments to calls for negotiation before more weapons pour into the vicious civil war. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

U.N.-Arab League international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, left, meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 15, 2013. Syrians are being killed at an average rate of 5,000 per month, the United Nation said Thursday as it raised the overall death toll in the civil war to nearly 93,000, with civilians bearing the brunt of the attacks. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian troops pushed forward with their offensive against rebels Saturday, capturing a suburb near the Damascus international airport as the U.S. warned that the alleged use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad's forces and the involvement of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in the civil war threaten to put a proposed political settlement out of reach.

The U.S. and Russia have been pressing for a peace conference to end Syria's civil war in Geneva, but prospects for that have been dampened after a series of regime battlefield victories and hardened positions by both sides as the death toll from the more than 2-year-old conflict has surged to nearly 93,000.

President Barack Obama's decision this week to send lethal aid to Syrian rebels and the deepening involvement of trained Shiite fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group also has raised the stakes, setting up a proxy fight between Iran and the West that threatens to engulf more of the Middle East.

The U.S. reversal after months of saying it would not intervene in the conflict militarily came after Washington said it had conclusive evidence the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons, something Obama had said would be a "red line."

Syria has denied the accusations, saying Obama was lying about the evidence to justify his decision to arm the rebels. Syria's ally Russia also suggested Saturday that the evidence put forth by the United States of the use of chemical weapons doesn't meet stringent criteria for reliability.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was quoted in a statement as saying the United States continues to work aggressively for a political solution with the goal of a second Geneva meeting. But "the use of chemical weapons and increasing involvement of Hezbollah demonstrates the regime's lack of commitment to negotiations and threatens to put a political settlement out of reach," he said in a telephone conversation Friday with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the U.S. evidence does not include guarantees that it meets the requirements of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He said the organization specifies that samples taken from blood, urine and clothing can be considered reliable evidence only if supervised by organization experts from the time they are taken up to delivery to a laboratory.

The OPCW is the autonomous body for implementing the international Chemical Weapons Convention that went into effect in 1997. Its website says Syria is one of six countries that have not signed or acceded to the convention.

Lavrov, after meeting with his Italian counterpart Emma Bonino, scoffed at suggestions that Assad's regime would use chemical weapons in light of its apparent growing advantage against the rebels.

"The regime doesn't have its back to the wall. What would be the sense of the regime using chemical weapons, moreover at such a small quantity?" he said.

Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime in March 2011 but eventually turned into a civil war.

Russia has blocked proposed U.N. sanctions against Assad's regime and acknowledged last month that it has contracted to supply advanced S-300 air-defense missiles to Syria. But President Vladimir Putin and other officials say the policies do not constitute overt support for Assad.

The statements by Moscow and Washington came days before a summit in Northern Ireland among the Group of Eight leading industrial powers. Obama is expected to push Britain and France to take similar action to arm the rebels when talks open in Northern Ireland. The U.S., Britain and France also will urge Putin to drop his political and military support for Assad, still in power after more than two years of fighting.

In fighting Saturday, Syrian government forces captured the rebel-held suburb of Ahmadiyeh near the Damascus international airport two days after a mortar round landed near the airport's runway and briefly disrupted flights, according to the state news agency. SANA said government forces killed several rebels and destroyed their hideouts in the area.

Ahmadiyeh is part of a region known as Eastern Ghouta, where government forces have been on the offensive for weeks in a move aiming to secure Assad's seat of power in the capital.

A local rebel commander who identified himself only by his nickname, Abu Hareth, for fear of government reprisals, said rebels have been firing mortar shells at the airport from Ahmadiyeh area and came under attack by the regime late Friday. He said two rebel fighters have been killed.

He added that rebels destroyed three tanks in the battle, claiming that they have acquired a small number of anti-tank missiles recently.

"A large regime force is attacking the area today," Abu Hareth said via Skype on Saturday.

Intense clashes also continued in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists around the county. It said regime forces tried to storm the northern neighborhoods of Achrafieh and Bani Zeid after heavy shelling with mortar rounds and tanks but failed to advance after facing resistance from rebels.

The city has been witnessing some of the worst violence in months in recent days.

The Observatory also reported air raids and shelling of Jobar, a key district on the edge of Damascus.

Rebels, who are outgunned by Assad's Hezbollah-backed army, have been urging the world to send sophisticated arms, particularly anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry. The West, particularly the U.S., had been reluctant to arm the rebels, in part because of concerns the weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida.

The situation changed in recent months and alarm was raised after government forces with Hezbollah's help captured the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanese border. On Friday, Hezbollah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said his militants would keep fighting in Syria "wherever needed."

U.S. officials said the administration could provide the rebels with a range of weapons, including small arms, ammunition, assault rifles and a variety of anti-tank weaponry such as shoulder-fired remote-propelled grenades and other missiles.

Meanwhile, Syria's main opposition group called on Iran's new president-elect Hasan Rowhani to end his country's strong alliance with Assad, saying he should "know the mistakes of the Iranian leadership and change his country's stance before it's too late." The Syrian National Coalition said Iranian authorities have backed "Assad's criminal regime with all political, military and economic means."

___

Associated Press writer Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-15-ML-Syria/id-493b18e23c824113b69574756bf8cbb5

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Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka secures semi-final berth at Indonesia ...

Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka secures semi-final berth at Indonesia Open 2013 ? Badminton news

Indonesia?s spirited player, Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, made his home fans happy as he, for the first time, reached into Men?s Singles semi-final of Djarum Indonesia Open 2013, which is in progress at Jakarta.

In the quarter-final clash, the in-form Rumbaka played with impressive precision and stunned the third seed, Du Pengyu of China, on Friday, June 14.

Indonesian shuttler was probably at his best as he displayed his remarkable skills on court and remained successful in winning this quarter-final match in a convincing manner in 55 minutes with a 21-15, 15-21 and 21-9 score on the board.

On the contrary, the higher ranked Pengyu who was the favourite to win this contest, failed to maintain his aggression. He played well particularly in second set but could not find any way out in the final game and lost the match with a reasonable score.

The starting game was interesting when both men took the bird early from all areas and employed their attacking skills effectively. However, it was the local player who started to create the different by dominating the game at net.

Rumbaka played beautifully at net area and he forced his experienced Chinese opponent to stay in a defensive position. He set up a considerable gap on the board until the one-minute break.

After the interval, Indonesian shuttler maintained his lead by playing positive and attacking badminton and won the set with a comfortable margin of 21-15.

It was a different scenario in the following set when Pengyu also showed his brilliance. He changed his tactics and took a reasonable lead until the mid-game interval.

After the break, the underdog Rumbaka tried to bridge the gap by playing with aggression but failed to create any impact. He lost the second set with a 15-21 score on the board.

However, the Indonesian shuttler played flawless badminton in the deciding set when he geared up his speed and easily managed a spectacular lead until the end of first half.

After the break, Rumbaka stayed on track without facing any considerable problem and easily won the set with a stunning 21-9 total on the score board.

In the semi-final clash, Rumbaka will be up against the top seeded Malaysian shuttler, Lee Chong Wei, who outplayed Thailand?s Boonsak Ponsana in another quarter-final clash.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Dionysius-Hayom-Rumbaka-secures-semi-final-berth-at-Indonesia-Open-2013-Badminton-news-a216677

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Renzo Piano's Building Workshop 'Fragments' Grace Gagosian Gallery (PHOTOS)

How do you become one of the world's most desired museum architects? Gagosian Gallery in New York intends to provide some clues with an upcoming exhibition examining the building workshop of iconic Italian architect Renzo Piano.

The architect was born in Genoa to a family of builders, and was able to open the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 1981. Today 150 people work with the legendary architect in offices located in Paris, Genoa, and New York. The architect's innovative spaces include Paris' contentious yet groundbreaking Centre Pompidou, which one critic called an "oil refinery."

In an interview with Architectural Record, Piano said of his field:

"Real architecture, real painting, real poetry, real music is never detached from physicality... Architecture is at the edge, between art and anthropology, between society and science, technology and history... Architecture is about illusion and symbolism, semantics, and the art of telling stories."

The upcoming exhibition at Gagosian is part library reading room, part classroom, and part natural history gallery; it explores the inspirational evolution of 24 Piano buildings from their initial conception to their final, living forms.

Renzo Piano's "Fragments" will show at Gagosian Gallery from June 27 until August 2 in New York. Let us know your favorite Piano structures in the comments.

• "IBM Traveling Pavilion"1983-1986 ? Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Stefano Goldberg

• "Jean-Marie-Tjibaou Cultural Center", 1991-1998 ? Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Pantz Pierre-Alain"

• "Parco della Musica" Auditorium", 1994-2004 ? Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Maggi Moreno

• "IBM Traveling Pavilion", 1983-1986 ? Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Stefano Goldberg

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/14/renzo-piano-workshop-gagosian-gallery-photos_n_3442297.html

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