LONDON (AP) ? Anti-war protesters are demonstrating outside a Royal Air Force base used to control drone flights over Afghanistan.
Until this week, British drones were operated only from a U.S. Air Force base in Nevada.
The Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that a new drone-operating squadron had begun operating from RAF Waddington in eastern England.
The ministry says the Reaper drones are used for "intelligence and surveillance missions," but also are equipped with missiles and bombs.
Opponents who are marching Saturday say drones make it too easy to launch deadly attacks from a distance and out of public sight.
The defense ministry says drone operators "adhere strictly to the same laws of armed conflict and are bound by the same clearly defined rules of engagement" as other RAF pilots.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva may stay out of American custody because the US and Russia do not have a bilateral extradition treaty, despite efforts by Moscow to negotiate one.
By Fred Weir,?Correspondent / April 28, 2013
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva at a news conference in Dagestan, Russia, on Thursday. Her sister Maryam, right, is with her.
Musa Sadulayev/AP
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The mother of the two Boston bombing suspects, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, has become a focus of interest after it emerged that her name had been added to a key terrorist watchlist in 2011 and fresh materials, including wiretaps, handed over to the US by the Russians showed her "vaguely discussing" jihad with her elder son two years ago.?
Skip to next paragraph Fred Weir
Correspondent
Fred Weir has been the Monitor's Moscow correspondent, covering Russia and the former Soviet Union, since 1998.?
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Ms. Tsarnaeva, a naturalized US citizen who moved back to Russia a few years ago, has best been known until now as the most passionate defender of her two sons, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, up to the point of insisting that they were "framed" because they were Muslims. Now investigators may want to look into what role she may have played, if any, in the radicalization process that may have led her two sons to carry out the Boston Marathon bombing almost two weeks ago.
Tsarnaeva was reportedly added to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE)?database in 2011 at the request of US intelligence agencies. That list, which held about 750,000 names at the time, is used to compile the consolidated Terrorist Watchlist?used as the main reference tool by airlines and law enforcement agencies. It is believed her name, and that of her son Tamerlan, were appended to the list after the Russian FSB security service appealed for more information about the pair to the FBI and the CIA and warned of their growing radicalization.?
In recent days the Russians have also turned over wiretaps of conversations between Tsarnaeva, who was by that time back living in her native Dagestan, and her son Tamerlan in Boston. In one they reportedly discuss "jihad" in a general way. In another, Tsarnaeva is recorded talking with someone who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case.
In his annual town hall meeting with the Russian public last Thursday, President Vladimir Putin called for stepped up security cooperation?between the US and Russia in the wake of the Boston tragedy. He downplayed any links between Russia and the Boston bombers, and added "to our great regret" Russian security forces lacked any "operative information" that they might have shared with US law enforcement in the run up to the attack.
Tsarnaeva is an ethnic Avar, one of the largest groups in Russia's multi-national, but solidly Muslim, mountain republic of Dagestan?which abuts the Caspian Sea. Dagestan has been wracked for over a decade by a growing Islamist insurgency that has made parts of the republic a no-go zone even for law enforcement.
ATLANTA (AP) ? A few years ago, Georgia was locked in a bidding war with North Carolina over the Disney movie, "The Last Song," starring Miley Cyrus.
Both states wanted the movie to film in their state, and North Carolina was close to sealing the deal with an attractive tax incentive package. But Georgia snapped up the production, largely because it had recently expanded its own tax credit for films.
The state hasn't looked back since. Not only are TV shows like "The Walking Dead" and films like "The Hunger Games" sequel filmed in Georgia, but tens of millions of dollars are being invested to build up critical infrastructure. No fewer than five major studio developments or expansions have been announced in recent months with the goal of luring big-budget blockbusters.
"It really is about the whole package," said Lee Thomas, director of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. "They can do everything here now."
Last fiscal year, productions filmed in Georgia generated an estimated $3.1 billion in economic activity, a 29 percent increase from the year before, according to state estimates. And Thomas said that will only increase with the studio projects in the works that will add large soundstages and back lots to lure big productions, such as "Iron Man 3," which Georgia wasn't able to accommodate. The state didn't have a studio that fit the requirements of the film's production company.
Of the studio projects in the works, one being planned in Fayette County, a short drive south of Atlanta, could be a game changer. British film studio Pinewood Shepperton PLC, home to the James Bond franchise, has reportedly been in talks with a group of investors to manage and operate the facility. It would be Pinewood's first production facility in the U.S. Recent films shot at Pinewood Studios, outside London, include the coming Angelina Jolie film, "Maleficent" and "Jack Ryan," directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The project, once finalized, would underscore how much Georgia has become a film destination and be another sign that California continues to struggle with runaway production.
A survey last year found that California lost $3 billion in wages from 2004 to 2011 because of film and TV production moving to other states and countries, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. Half the wages went to states such as Georgia, North Carolina and Louisiana that offer tax incentives and rebates to the industry.
Representatives of Pinewood declined comment on the plan, and the head of Fayette County's development agency would say only that discussions continue between the company and a group of Georgia-based investors on the state-of-the-art studio complex, which would sit on 288 acres and include at least five soundstages.
"It takes the state to a whole new level," said Matt Forshee, president of the Fayette County Development Authority, who has been closely involved in the project. "When you look at the films that have filmed in Georgia, for the most part, they have been smaller budget films, in the range of $20-25 million. This allows us to open up to larger budget productions, which means more expenditures occurring within the state, which becomes a bigger return on the investment on the state level for the tax credits."
Georgia has come a long way since the 1939 Civil War epic "Gone With The Wind," arguably the most famous movie about the state, was filmed in California. Three decades later, the 1971 Burt Reynolds movie "Deliverance" helped put Georgia on the map as a shooting location. The state created a film commission, and Reynolds returned to the state to shoot hits such as "Smokey and the Bandit" and "The Longest Yard."
Now, Atlanta truly has the feel of Hollywood South. In recent years, the state has been a shooting location for films such as Clint Eastwood's "Trouble With the Curve," the new Jackie Robinson biopic "42" with Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington's Oscar-nominated turn as an alcoholic pilot in "Flight," the Katherine Heigl rom-com "Life as We Know It," the current Reese Witherspoon project "The Good Lie," and comedies such as 2011's "Hall Pass" and the coming "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" starring Will Ferrell.
While studio developers building soundstages are not eligible for Georgia's tax credit program, the production companies making films are. Georgia provides a 20 percent tax credit for companies that spend $500,000 or more on production and post-production in the state, either in a single production or on multiple projects.
Georgia also grants an additional 10 percent tax credit if the finished project includes a state promotional logo. Further, if a company has little or no Georgia tax liability, it can transfer or sell its tax credits.
"The industry follows the dollar," Forshee said. "They are going to go where they can do the best product for the cheapest cost. This tax credit has made Georgia a viable and lucrative place to make films."
The economic benefits have been debated in Georgia, although the state has remained committed to the film incentives. Meanwhile, lawmakers in North Carolina are debating a plan that would place certain limitations on the state's program, with supporters of the effort saying there's no evidence the $30 million in tax breaks in 2011 matches the job growth cited by the industry. In comparison, Georgia handed out $140.6 million in tax credits in 2010.
Gov. Nathan Deal said it's the combination of the tax credits and Georgia's diverse landscape ? from the mountains to the coast ? that has made the state so attractive to filmmakers.
"It is an affirmation of several things, some of which is just the natural beauty of our state," Deal said in a recent interview. "You are seeing ample evidence that the tax credits for the movie and film industry are definitely paying the dividends that we anticipated."
There are a number of ripple effects. The films bring jobs, and the state already has an estimated 5,000 union and non-union professionals associated with the film industry along with more than 1,000 production suppliers and support companies. Major components of the proposed studio projects also include educational programs aimed at training the next generation of industry employees.
This week, Atlanta-based Jacoby Development announced plans to build an estimated $1 billion multiuse project north of downtown Atlanta that will include 12 soundstages as well as production offices and an arts and media school.
Jim Jacoby, chairman of The Jacoby Group, said he expected to have financing lined up quickly and was in Hollywood this week to pitch the project.
"The times are ripe because the demand is there right now. We feel like we have a facility that we can get to market quickly," Jacoby said.
The studio project will be located on 100 acres in Gwinnett County just north of the city, where with an existing 500,000-square-foot building can be remade into 12 soundstages. Plans call for construction to begin by the end of the year.
"The facility that Jacoby is building will be designed to Hollywood standards and will fill quickly," said Gary Bastien, whose architectural firm will be involved in the studio design. Bastien has designed various TV and movie projects for major studios in Southern California.
Other projects include a planned expansion of Tyler Perry's sprawling studio complex that already includes five soundstages, a $100 million project east of the city in Newton County and a $90 million studio planned in Effingham County near Savannah.
The one in Newton County is in the early stages, but Covington-based Triple Horse says it plans a 160-acre studio with multiple soundstages, post-production facilities and a back lot. The one in Effingham County is backed by Medient Studios, which began in India and has expanded with offices in Hollywood and London. Medient's project includes a $90 million studio and entertainment complex with the goal of also becoming a major tourist destination.
Thomas, who heads the state's entertainment office, said another side benefit has been Georgia's burgeoning film tourism industry, with fans planning vacations around visits to film locations. Much of that has centered on the town of Senoia, where AMC's "The Walking Dead" is filmed, with plans to promote Georgia locations in connection with the coming release of the "Hunger Games" sequel. The state also has launched a website, ComeTourGeorgia.com, that lists movie tours and travel tips, pitching an opportunity to "walk in the footsteps of your favorite actors and musicians."
Said Thomas: "We have all the pieces of the puzzle here."
___
Follow Christina Almeida Cassidy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Christina.
For ancient Maya, a hodgepodge of cultural exchangesPublic release date: 25-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Natasha Pinol npinol@aaas.org 202-326-6440 American Association for the Advancement of Science
Study shows that ancient Maya civilization interacted with more than just Olmecs
This release is available in Arabic, Japanese, French, Spanish and Chinese.
The ancient Maya civilization of Mesoamerica may have developed its unique culture and architecture via contact with many other groupsnot just exclusive contact with the Olmec people or on its own, without any outside influences, as researchers have debated. According to a new study, the formal plazas and pyramids at Ceibal, an ancient Maya site in Guatemala, probably arose from broad cultural exchanges that took place across southern Mesoamerica from about 1,000 to 700 BCE.
Until now, two theories have dominated the debate concerning the origin of the Maya civilization: one suggesting that the Maya developed almost entirely on their own in what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, and another suggesting that the older Olmec civilization was the Maya's dominant cultural influence. Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan, a husband-and-wife team from the University of Arizona in Tucson, along with colleagues from the U.S. and Japan, however, found that neither of these theories could tell the full story of the Maya.
"In terms of the origins of lowland Maya civilization, their relationship [with the Olmec] is always a focus of debate," Inomata explained. "We're now saying that it probably wasn't just the Olmec, but a lot of other groupsfor example, those living in central Chiapas and those on the southern Pacific coastthat had a lot of important interactions with the lowland Maya."
The researchers' report appears in the 26 April issue of the journal Science, which is published by AAAS, the science society.
By the time sedentary communities began appearing in the Maya lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize during what's known as the early Middle Preclassic periodfrom about 1,000 to 700 BCEthe Gulf Coast Olmec were already well-established in nearby regions, researchers say. Given this timeline, many anthropologists have viewed the Olmec as a "mother culture," or one that provided cultural innovations, such as art styles and political structure, to other populations.
The coastal Olmec hub of La Venta, for example, hosted architectural styles that were likewise found at Ceibal. But, Inomata and the other researchers now provide radiocarbon dating measurements taken from some of the ceremonial structures at Ceibal, like plazas and platforms, which predate the growth of La Venta as a major center by as much as 200 years. These findings imply that La Venta could not have been the primary influence on Ceibal that researchers once thought it was. Instead, Inomata and his team suggest that both Ceibal and La Venta participated in a broader cultural shift that was taking place in Mesoamerica between about 1,150 and 800 BCE.
"The main complex at Ceibal is made up of a plaza area, a western platform or pyramid and an eastern mound," said Inomata. "This is generally known as an 'E-Group Assemblage,' and they can be found across southern Mesoamerica." Many researchers have resisted using the term to refer to the structures at La Venta, since it was originally coined to describe Mayan architecture. But, Inomata and his team argue that the ceremonial constructions at La Venta should also be classified as such E-Group Assemblages.
"Possibly, their uses were very similar," Inomata continued. "Ritual was very important to these civilizations, and there is a series of ritual deposits in the plaza at Ceibal Such rituals often included greenstone axes, made from jade or other imported, precious stones, which were deposited [in the plaza] as a kind of offering."
Such ritualistic offerings have been found elsewhere in southern Mesoamerica, including two contemporaneous sites in Chiapas, Mexico.
Inomata and his team suggest that E-Group Assemblages at Ceibal began as small structures, just two meters tall. But, with continuous renovation, the ceremonial constructions grew taller and taller, eventually becoming pyramids, which became very important to the later Maya people.
Taken together, the findings do not suggest that the Maya civilization was older than the Olmec culture, nor do they prove that the Maya developed independently. Instead, they show that the Maya actively participated in a major social shift that took place over a wide area.
"We are seeing this new form of architecture, which probably reflects a new form of society and social order," says Inomata. "This new form of social order emerged not from one center, such as the Gulf Coast Olmec, but through broad interactions among diverse groups, including the lowland Maya."
###
The report by Inomata et al. was supported by the National Geographic Society; the National Science Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Alphawood Foundation.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
For ancient Maya, a hodgepodge of cultural exchangesPublic release date: 25-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Natasha Pinol npinol@aaas.org 202-326-6440 American Association for the Advancement of Science
Study shows that ancient Maya civilization interacted with more than just Olmecs
This release is available in Arabic, Japanese, French, Spanish and Chinese.
The ancient Maya civilization of Mesoamerica may have developed its unique culture and architecture via contact with many other groupsnot just exclusive contact with the Olmec people or on its own, without any outside influences, as researchers have debated. According to a new study, the formal plazas and pyramids at Ceibal, an ancient Maya site in Guatemala, probably arose from broad cultural exchanges that took place across southern Mesoamerica from about 1,000 to 700 BCE.
Until now, two theories have dominated the debate concerning the origin of the Maya civilization: one suggesting that the Maya developed almost entirely on their own in what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, and another suggesting that the older Olmec civilization was the Maya's dominant cultural influence. Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan, a husband-and-wife team from the University of Arizona in Tucson, along with colleagues from the U.S. and Japan, however, found that neither of these theories could tell the full story of the Maya.
"In terms of the origins of lowland Maya civilization, their relationship [with the Olmec] is always a focus of debate," Inomata explained. "We're now saying that it probably wasn't just the Olmec, but a lot of other groupsfor example, those living in central Chiapas and those on the southern Pacific coastthat had a lot of important interactions with the lowland Maya."
The researchers' report appears in the 26 April issue of the journal Science, which is published by AAAS, the science society.
By the time sedentary communities began appearing in the Maya lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize during what's known as the early Middle Preclassic periodfrom about 1,000 to 700 BCEthe Gulf Coast Olmec were already well-established in nearby regions, researchers say. Given this timeline, many anthropologists have viewed the Olmec as a "mother culture," or one that provided cultural innovations, such as art styles and political structure, to other populations.
The coastal Olmec hub of La Venta, for example, hosted architectural styles that were likewise found at Ceibal. But, Inomata and the other researchers now provide radiocarbon dating measurements taken from some of the ceremonial structures at Ceibal, like plazas and platforms, which predate the growth of La Venta as a major center by as much as 200 years. These findings imply that La Venta could not have been the primary influence on Ceibal that researchers once thought it was. Instead, Inomata and his team suggest that both Ceibal and La Venta participated in a broader cultural shift that was taking place in Mesoamerica between about 1,150 and 800 BCE.
"The main complex at Ceibal is made up of a plaza area, a western platform or pyramid and an eastern mound," said Inomata. "This is generally known as an 'E-Group Assemblage,' and they can be found across southern Mesoamerica." Many researchers have resisted using the term to refer to the structures at La Venta, since it was originally coined to describe Mayan architecture. But, Inomata and his team argue that the ceremonial constructions at La Venta should also be classified as such E-Group Assemblages.
"Possibly, their uses were very similar," Inomata continued. "Ritual was very important to these civilizations, and there is a series of ritual deposits in the plaza at Ceibal Such rituals often included greenstone axes, made from jade or other imported, precious stones, which were deposited [in the plaza] as a kind of offering."
Such ritualistic offerings have been found elsewhere in southern Mesoamerica, including two contemporaneous sites in Chiapas, Mexico.
Inomata and his team suggest that E-Group Assemblages at Ceibal began as small structures, just two meters tall. But, with continuous renovation, the ceremonial constructions grew taller and taller, eventually becoming pyramids, which became very important to the later Maya people.
Taken together, the findings do not suggest that the Maya civilization was older than the Olmec culture, nor do they prove that the Maya developed independently. Instead, they show that the Maya actively participated in a major social shift that took place over a wide area.
"We are seeing this new form of architecture, which probably reflects a new form of society and social order," says Inomata. "This new form of social order emerged not from one center, such as the Gulf Coast Olmec, but through broad interactions among diverse groups, including the lowland Maya."
###
The report by Inomata et al. was supported by the National Geographic Society; the National Science Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Alphawood Foundation.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LONDON (AP) ? A massive, partly fossilized egg laid by a now-extinct elephant bird has sold for more than double its estimate at a London auction.
Christie's auction house said Wednesday that the foot-long, nearly nine-inches in diameter egg fetched 66,675 pounds ($101,813). It had been valued at 20,000 to 30,000 pounds pre-sale, and was sold to an anonymous buyer over the telephone after about 10 minutes of competitive bidding.
Elephant birds were wiped out several hundred years ago. The oversized ovum, laid on the island of Madagascar, is believed to date back before the 17th century.
Flightless, fruit-gobbling elephant birds resembled giant ostriches and could grow to be 11 feet high (3.4 meters). Christie's says their eggs are 100 times the size of an average chicken's.
16GB models in both White Frost and Black Mist will be available for $199 for eligible customers
Folks looking to pick up a Samsung Galaxy S4 on U.S. Cellular can now start counting down with everyone else. The device will be available Friday April 26 for people purchasing online, and in stores on the shelves Tuesday, April 30. Both the White Frost and Black Mist version in 16GB will be available, and at the cash register, you'll need to part with $199 if you're eligible for an upgrade price.
U.S. Cellular tells us that phones preordered online will start shipping April 26 as well, and include the promotional S View flip cover as part of the preorder promotion.
The Galaxy S4 looks like an incredible phone (see our review) and will surely be a crowd pleaser. It's great that U.S. Cellular can offer their customers access to this one in the same time frame as the bigger carriers. If you're interested, the order page will go live tomorrow right here.
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Public release date: 25-Apr-2013
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