ITT Exelis to supply tactical radios for an undisclosed foreign country ...

ITT Exelis has been awarded a US foreign military sales (FMS) programme contract for delivery of a wide range of communications equipment to an undisclosed foreign military customer.

Awarded by the US Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), the $25m FMS award covers supply of Exelis International's single-channel ground and airborne radio system (SINCGARS) VHF base stations and vehicular systems in single and dual radio configurations.

Additional supplies include Spearhead VHF handheld radios, unit and intermediate level spares, installation services, as well as field service representative support to the customer.

ITT Exelis international night-vision and tactical communications systems business area vice president Ken Harrison said the contract built on the customer's substantial Exelis-installed radio product base in a challenging security environment.

"We will continue to work hard to fulfil US and allied communications requirements with our tactical radio products," Harrison added.

The latest award forms part of an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) FMS contract awarded by CECOM to the company in 2008, and brings the total value of orders received to $451m to date.

Exelis RT-1702 SINCGARS is an advanced software upgradeable radio, designed to provide secure VHF voice and IP data communications capabilities to tactical units in both mounted and dismounted configurations in the 30-88MHz frequency range.

The radio, when combined with available embedded 12 channel GPS receiver option, will also enable the soldier to effectively share GPS data with other tactical systems in the battlefield.

So far, more than 600,000 SINCGARS radios have been delivered by the company the US military and its 30 allies worldwide.

Fully interoperable with RT-1702 SINCGARS radio, the Spearhead VHF is a portable handheld tactical radio capable of offering secure, frequency-hopping voice and packet data with integrated GPS in a small, lightweight package to dismounted soldiers in the 30-88MHz frequency range.

Source: http://www.army-technology.com/news/newsitt-exelis-supply-tactical-radios-undisclosed-foreign-country

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Germany, France to present joint euro reform proposals

BERLIN (Reuters) - The leaders of Germany and France promised to put forward common proposals to deepen Europe's economic and monetary union by May, as they put on a show of unity on the 50th anniversary of the pact that sealed their post-war reconciliation.

Angela Merkel, a conservative, and Francois Hollande, a socialist, have had an uneasy relationship since the French president swept into office eight months ago vowing to reverse German-backed austerity policies aimed at shoring up the euro.

But the two leaders, born less than a month apart in the summer of 1954, rejected the suggestion that ties between Berlin and Paris were difficult, highlighting the steps they have taken together to shore up the single currency bloc.

"It may be our best-kept secret that the chemistry actually works," said Merkel, who refused to meet with Hollande during last year's French election campaign while openly supporting his conservative opponent Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hollande pointed to the fiscal compact on budget discipline, a December deal on banking supervision and the agreement to keep Greece in the euro zone as fruits of the strong relationship between him and Merkel.

"It has not escaped you that we do not belong to the same political family. Despite that, if you look back at the past eight months, I'm very happy with what France and Germany have been able to accomplish to get the euro zone out of its crisis," he said. "If you look at the results, it's clear we're on the same wavelength."

On one of the most divisive issues between the two countries -- deeper economic and fiscal integration -- the two promised to come up with joint proposals before a summit of EU leaders scheduled for June.

Berlin and Paris have a different vision of a closer union, with Merkel favoring tighter central controls over budgets and Hollande seeking more solidarity and risk-sharing, in the form of a big euro zone budget to deal with economic shocks.

"It is about a deeper cooperation in economic policy with the goal of social security, employment, growth and financial stability," Merkel told reporters gathered in the chancellery in Berlin for a joint news conference.

Festivities were being held in Berlin fifty years after Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle signed the Elysee Treaty that sealed the post-war friendship between the former foes.

On Monday evening Merkel and Hollande answered questions from French and German students for over an hour. On Tuesday evening, they will attend a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic.

After their news conference, the two leaders were to speak in the Reichstag building where Adolf Hitler once presided as part of a joint session of parliament.

In a joint declaration, they said they would encourage unions, employers and workers in their countries to establish joint working groups to make proposals on competitiveness.

They also vowed to examine closer cooperation in specific industrial areas, including renewable energy, raw materials and transport, but did not provide any details.

(Reporting by Noah Barkin, Stephen Brown, Andreas Rinks, Emmanuel Jarry, Catherine Bremer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-germany-prepare-plans-deeper-economic-union-merkel-125730553--business.html

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Sundance 2013: Gravitas Ventures acquires three films from Slamdance

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Gravitas Ventures has acquired two documentaries and a comedy from Slamdance, the distributor announced on Monday.

Steven Feinartz's documentary "The Bitter Buddha," Michael Urie's comedy "He's Way More Famous Than You" and Peter Baxter's documentary "Wild in the Streets" will be released on video on demand in the next three months in more than 100 million homes in North America.

"The Bitter Buddha," which profiles alt-comic Eddie Pepitone's quirky lifestyle and imprint on the comedy world, will debut in select theaters February 15 and go to VOD four days later.

Baxter's "Wild in the Streets," which documents a centuries-old sports rivalry between two villages in England on opposite banks of the river Henmore, is set to be released on VOD on April 23. No date was announced for a theatrical release.

And "He's Way More Famous Than You," which premiered at Slamdance, will be released on VOD April 8, followed by a theatrical run on May 10. It follows Halley Feiffer, whom Gravitas described as a "once-up-and-coming indie film starlet," as she strives for Hollywood fame.

"We are thrilled to be working with such an array of talent coming out of Slamdance," Melanie Miller, vice president of acquisitions at Gravitas, said in a statement. "Nobody channels the cultural zeitgeist quite like Eddie Pepitone, no one with a competitive edge would want to be left out of hundreds of years of bloody town tradition in 'Wild In The Streets.' And, who doesn't want to work and co-star in a movie with Halley Feiffer?"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sundance-2013-gravitas-ventures-acquires-three-films-slamdance-022818151.html

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Obama gives unexpected nod to climate as second term priority

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday he will confront climate change in his second term in office, an unexpected vow that puts the politically charged issue among his domestic priorities alongside gun control and immigration reform.

Linking climate change to devastating weather and fires, Obama said the country could grow its economy while protecting itself from the worst effects of a phenomenon scientists say is getting worse due to man-made pollutants.

"We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations," the president said, dedicating more than a minute of his roughly 20-minute address to the issue.

By pointing to the topic in detail in his second Inaugural Address, the Democratic president committed the White House to try to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases - an area where he had uneven success during his first four years in office.

While Obama won a commitment from the auto industry to increase fuel efficiency standards in coming years, a more comprehensive plan to put a price on greenhouse gases fell flat in Congress.

Climate change was a mostly dormant issue during last year's presidential campaign, and environmentalists hoped that Obama would put the topic squarely on his agenda in a second term.

Obama said in his address that the United States should be a leader in sustainable energy and framed the issue as a matter of national security and economic opportunity.

"We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries - we must claim its promise," he said.

Scientists say emissions from cars and coal-fed power plants are among the sources of carbon dioxide warming the planet.

Last year was the hottest on record in the United States, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this month.

Scientists caution that no single weather event can be blamed on climate change, but the force of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of New York and New Jersey in October, and a withering drought in the Midwest, are seen as harbingers.

"Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms," Obama said.

Climate change activists, who say the phenomenon is worsening and will increasingly affect human health and budgets, said they were heartened by the president's words.

"My hope is renewed," Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement. "Confronting climate change is not a cause of a president or a party but an imperative for the American people."

Obama might find it impossible to revive the climate bill while his Republican Party rivals control the House of Representatives, but White House officials have said they plan to use executive power to make progress on the issue.

"I'll tell you what my green dream is: that we finally face up to climate change," Vice President Joe Biden said at a National Wildlife Federation inaugural celebration on Sunday night.

In the coming months, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to outline standards for power plant emissions. If those rules are as strong as environmentalists want, it could go a long way toward curtailing emissions for a source of 40 percent of the country's carbon gas.

(Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-gives-unexpected-nod-climate-second-term-priority-203653111.html

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Did an 8th century gamma ray burst irradiate Earth?

Jan. 21, 2013 ? A nearby short duration gamma-ray burst may be the cause of an intense blast of high-energy radiation that hit the Earth in the 8th century, according to new research led by astronomers Valeri Hambaryan and Ralph Neuh?user.

The two scientists, based at the Astrophysics Institute of the University of Jena in Germany, publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

In 2012 scientist Fusa Miyake announced the detection of high levels of the isotope Carbon-14 and Beryllium-10 in tree rings formed in 775 CE, suggesting that a burst of radiation struck the Earth in the year 774 or 775. Carbon-14 and Beryllium-10 form when radiation from space collides with nitrogen atoms, which then decay to these heavier forms of carbon and beryllium. The earlier research ruled out the nearby explosion of a massive star (a supernova) as nothing was recorded in observations at the time and no remnant has been found.

Prof. Miyake also considered whether a solar flare could have been responsible, but these are not powerful enough to cause the observed excess of carbon-14. Large flares are likely to be accompanied by ejections of material from the Sun?s corona, leading to vivid displays of the northern and southern lights (aurorae), but again no historical records suggest these took place.

Following this announcement, researchers pointed to an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that describes a ?red crucifix? seen after sunset and suggested this might be a supernova. But this dates from 776, too late to account for the carbon-14 data and still does not explain why no remnant has been detected.

Drs. Hambaryan and Neuh?user have another explanation, consistent with both the carbon-14 measurements and the absence of any recorded events in the sky. They suggest that two compact stellar remnants, i.e. black holes, neutron stars or white dwarfs, collided and merged together. When this happens, some energy is released in the form of gamma rays, the most energetic part of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes visible light.

In these mergers, the burst of gamma rays is intense but short, typically lasting less than two seconds. These events are seen in other galaxies many times each year but, in contrast to long duration bursts, without any corresponding visible light. If this is the explanation for the 774 / 775 radiation burst, then the merging stars could not be closer than about 3000 light years, or it would have led to the extinction of some terrestrial life. Based on the carbon-14 measurements, Hambaryan and Neuh?user believe the gamma ray burst originated in a system between 3000 and 12000 light years from the Sun.

If they are right, then this would explain why no records exist of a supernova or auroral display. Other work suggests that some visible light is emitted during short gamma-ray bursts that could be seen in a relatively nearby event. This might only be seen for a few days and be easily missed, but nonetheless it may be worthwhile for historians to look again through contemporary texts.

Astronomers could also look for the merged object, a 1200 year old black hole or neutron star 3000-12000 light years from the Sun but without the characteristic gas and dust of a supernova remnant.

Dr Neuh?user comments: ?If the gamma ray burst had been much closer to the Earth it would have caused significant harm to the biosphere. But even thousands of light years away, a similar event today could cause havoc with the sensitive electronic systems that advanced societies have come to depend on. The challenge now is to establish how rare such Carbon-14 spikes are i.e. how often such radiation bursts hit the Earth. In the last 3000 years, the maximum age of trees alive today, only one such event appears to have taken place."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).

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Journal Reference:

1. V. V. Hambaryan, R. Neuhaeuser. A Galactic short gamma-ray burst as cause for the 14C peak in AD 774/5. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2013 [link]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/lC_HgjtuG2Q/130121083255.htm

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U.S. gives tribute to memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

ATLANTA (Reuters) - America's concern over gun violence became the focus of speeches in Atlanta on Monday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who led a non-violent struggle for civil rights before he was gunned down at age 39.

Crowds gathered at commemorative services across the country on the national holiday in King's honor, the same day as President Barack Obama's second inauguration ceremonies and little more than a month after the Connecticut mass shooting that touched off a national outcry over gun control.

In a ceremony in King's hometown of Atlanta, his daughter Bernice King spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was once a pastor. She recalled her father's reaction after their family home in Montgomery, Alabama, was bombed in 1956 during a boycott of the local bus system.

Some black residents of the city were "armed that day, ready to protect their homes," but King urged them to put away their guns, Bernice King said.

"This apostle of nonviolence perhaps introduced one of the greatest experiences of gun control that we've ever heard of in the history of our nation," said Bernice King, who is chief executive of the King Center in Atlanta.

An assassin's bullet ended King's life on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, human rights activist Elisabeth Omilami reminded the crowd at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"Dr. King was a victim of gun violence," said Omilami, daughter of Hosea Williams, one of King's lieutenants in the civil rights movement.

The church crowd gathered before a giant screen to witness the inauguration ceremony in Washington and hear Obama's speech which touched on King's "I Have a Dream" speech delivered 50 years ago in Washington.

Obama last week proposed a package of measures intended to reduce gun violence following the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting that killed 20 first grade students and six staff members.

In his speech on Monday, Obama recalled King's dream for freedom for all Americans, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or geographic or economic status.

"Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm," said Obama, who used a Bible that belonged to King at his swearing-in ceremony.

King's father, Reverend Martin Luther King Sr., also was a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church. It sits on Atlanta's historic Auburn Avenue near the King Center, established in 1968 by the slain activist's widow Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006. On the avenue not far from the church is King's grandparents' home, where he was born in 1929.

King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Nearly a million people visit the King Center each year, viewing an eternal flame honoring King and crypts holding the remains of King and his wife and attending an array of programs promoting non-violent social change.

Around the country, where Martin Luther King Day has been a federal holiday since 1986, banks, financial markets and government offices were closed.

A march along Auburn Avenue was set for later in the day, and a rally to address such issues as education, housing, peace, justice and voter registration, organizers said.

Also planned was a Day of Service, with an array of community service projects in Atlanta in honor of King.

(Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-gives-tribute-memory-dr-martin-luther-king-161348831.html

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Obama to be sworn in for 2nd term at White House

President Barack Obama listens as first lady Michelle Obama speaks at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, after the first family participated in a community service project for the National Day of Service as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama listens as first lady Michelle Obama speaks at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, after the first family participated in a community service project for the National Day of Service as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2009, file photo, Barack Obama, left, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, not seen, as his wife Michelle, holds the Lincoln Bible and daughters Sasha, right and Malia, watch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Obama's second inauguration is shaping up as a high-energy celebration smaller than his first milestone swearing-in, yet still designed to mark his unprecedented role in American history with plenty of eye-catching glamour. A long list of celebrity performers will give the once-every-four years right of democratic passage the air of a star-studded concert, from the bunting-draped Capitol's west front of the Capitol, where Obama takes the oath Jan. 21, to the Washington Convention Center, which is expected to be packed with 40,000 ball-goers that evening. (AP Photo/Chuck Kennedy, Pool)

The West Front of the Capitol in Washington, is dressed in red, white and blue before the 57th Presidential Inauguration and President Barack Obama's second inauguration, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stain a bookshelf at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, as the the first family participated in a community service project for the National Day of Service, part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Vice President Joe Biden, second from left, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, left, and members of the Biden family, flashes a thumbs up as they joined National Day of Service volunteers as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Formally embarking on his second term, President Barack Obama will take the oath of office Sunday surrounded by family in an intimate inauguration at the White House, 24 hours before re-enacting the ceremony before an excited crowd of hundreds of thousands outdoors at the Capitol.

The subdued swearing-in is a function of the calendar and the Constitution, which says presidents automatically begin their new terms at noon on Jan. 20. Because that date fell this year on a Sunday ? a day on which inaugural ceremonies historically are not held ? organizers scheduled a second, public swearing-in for Monday.

A crowd of up to 800,000 people is expected to gather on the National Mall to witness that event, which will take place on the Capitol's red, white and blue bunting-draped west front. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who famously flubbed the oath of office that Obama took in 2009, will swear the president in both days.

Vice President Joe Biden will also be sworn in Sunday in a small, early morning ceremony at the Naval Observatory, his official residence. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was appointed by Obama during his first term, will administer the oath of office to the vice president.

Once the celebrations are over, Obama will plunge into a second-term agenda still dominated by the economy, which slowly churned out of recession during his first four years in office. The president will also seek to cement his legacy with sweeping domestic changes, pledging to achieve both an immigration overhaul and stricter gun laws despite opposition from a divided Congress.

But for one weekend at least, Washington was putting politics aside. Obama called the nation's inaugural traditions "a symbol of how our democracy works and how we peacefully transfer power."

"But it should also be an affirmation that we're all in this together," he said Saturday, as he opened a weekend of inaugural activities at a Washington elementary school.

Only a small group of family members is expected to attend Obama's Sunday swearing-in, including first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha. A small group of reporters will also be in the room to witness the event.

Roberts will administer the oath of office shortly before noon in the White House Blue Room, an oval space with majestic views of the South Lawn and the Washington Monument. Named for the color of the drapes, upholstery and carpet, the Blue Room is not typically used for ceremonies and instead has primarily been a reception room as well as the site of the only presidential wedding held in the White House, between then-President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsum in 1886.

Later Sunday, Obama and Biden will speak at an inaugural reception attended by supporters.

But the president will save his most expansive remarks for Monday, when he delivers his second inaugural address to the crowd gathered on the Mall and millions more watching across the country and the world. Obama started working on the speech in early December and was still tinkering with it into the weekend, aides said.

The president's address will set the stage for the policy objectives he seeks to achieve in his second term, including speeding up the economic recovery, passing comprehensive immigration and gun control measures and ending the war in Afghanistan. However, aides said Obama would save the specifics of those agenda items for his Feb. 12 State of the Union address.

The president launched a weekend of inaugural activities Saturday by heading up a National Day of Service. Along with his family, Obama helped hundreds of volunteers spruce up a Washington area elementary school.

His shirt sleeves rolled up, Obama donned a pair of rubber gloves, picked up a paint brush and helped volunteers stain a bookshelf.

Obama added the service event to the inaugural schedule in 2009 and is hoping it becomes a tradition followed for future presidents.

Mrs. Obama, speaking to volunteers Sunday, espoused the importance of giving back in the midst of the weekend of pomp, circumstance and celebration.

"The reason why we're here, why we're standing here, why we're able to celebrate this weekend is because a lot of people worked hard and supported us, and we've got a job to do and this is a symbol of the kind of work that we need to be doing the next four years," Michelle Obama said at Burrville Elementary.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-20-Obama-Inauguration/id-f00083791af04f62aebb28c2a398e87e

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