Republican U.S. congressional leaders urged President Barack Obama to work with them to win approval of long-stalled free trade pacts with Colombia, P

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. congressional leaders urged President Barack Obama to work with them to win approval of long-stalled free trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea as early as possible in 2010.

Barack Obama

"We agree with you that these trade agreements provide important new commercial opportunities that will benefit our economy and create jobs without adding to our nation's staggering budget deficit," House of Representatives Republican leader John Boehner and three other top Republicans said in a letter to Obama sent late on Thursday.

"We ask that you jump-start the implementation process through your leadership, particularly by promoting all three of these pending trade agreements when you speak to the nation in your State of the Union address," they said, referring to an annual speech to Congress usually in late January.

The letter followed a meeting between Obama and lawmakers on Wednesday in which Obama spoke favorably about wanting to move on the stalled agreements, according to Republican congressional aides.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

A House Democratic aide said Obama told the bipartisan group of lawmakers that he supports expanded trade and that his November trip to Asia reinforced that support.

"But he promised no timetable for action, nor did the speaker," the aide said, referring to Nancy Pelosi, the House of Representative's top Democrat.

All three agreements have been stalled for a number of years, mainly because of concerns raised by Democrats.

Supporters see a window of opportunity for Congress to approve one or more of the trade deals in the first half of 2010, before the November congressional elections make that too politically difficult.

Obama opposed the Colombia and South Korean pacts during last year's presidential campaign. But since taking office, he has pledged to work with both countries and Congress to resolve concerns blocking approval of the deals.

"We offer our full support for your efforts and look forward to an opportunity to work steadfastly with you to implement each of these agreements as close to the start of next year as possible," the senior Republican lawmakers said.

MANY HOUSE DEMOCRATS OPPOSE PACTS

Since a large bloc of House Democrats oppose the free trade agreements, Obama will likely need strong support from Republicans to win approval of the pacts.

With the U.S. unemployment rate at 10 percent, the White House has been looking for ways to create new jobs without adding to the already huge budget deficit.

Proponents say approval of the free trade pacts would help do that. But many Democrats are skeptical and believe trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement are to blame for U.S. manufacturing jobs moving overseas.

U.S. trade officials have been working to resolve labor and tax haven issues blocking the Panama agreement, the smallest and least controversial of the three pacts.

Opponents of the Colombia deal say that country must take stronger action to stop violence against trade unionists and punish those responsible for thousands of killings.

The main stumbling block to the South Korean pact is concern over the agreement's auto provisions.

Critics say it is a one-sided deal that will open the U.S. market to more South Korean-made cars, without tearing down hidden barriers that block U.S. auto sales to that country.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Brain study patients use thoughts to run computer

Brain study patients use
thoughts to run computer


By the Mayo Clinic news service


Neuroscientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Florida, have demonstrated how brain waves can be used to type alphanumerical characters on a computer screen. By merely focusing on the "q" in a matrix of letters, for example, that "q" appears on the monitor.

Researchers say these findings, presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, represent concrete progress toward a mind-machine interface that may, one day, help people with a variety of disorders control devices, such as prosthetic arms and legs. These disorders include Lou Gehrig's disease and spinal cord injuries, among many others.

"Over 2 million people in the United States may benefit from assistive devices controlled by a brain-computer interface," says the study's lead investigator, neurologist Jerry Shih. "This study constitutes a baby step on the road toward that future, but it represents tangible progress in using brain waves to do certain tasks."

Shih and other Mayo Clinic researchers worked with Dean Krusienski from the University of North Florida on this study, which was conducted in two patients with epilepsy. These patients were already being monitored for seizure activity using electrocorticography in which electrodes are placed directly on the surface of the brain to record electrical activity produced by the firing of nerve cells. This kind of procedure requires a craniotomy, a surgical incision into the skull.

Shih wanted to study a mind-machine interface in these patients because he hypothesized that feedback from electrodes placed directly on the brain would be much more specific than data collected from electroencephalography in which electrodes are placed on the scalp. Most studies of mind-machine interaction have occurred with EEG, Shih says.

"There is a big difference in the quality of information you get from ECoG compared to EEG. The scalp and bony skull diffuses and distorts the signal, rather like how the Earth's atmosphere blurs the light from stars," he says. "That's why progress to date on developing these kind of mind interfaces has been slow."

Because these patients already had electrodes implanted in their brains to find the area where seizures originated, the researchers could test their fledgling brain-computer interface.

In the study, the two patients sat in front of a monitor that was hooked to a computer running the researchers' software, which was designed to interpret electrical signals coming from the electrodes.

The patients were asked to look at the screen, which contained a 6-by-6 matrix with a single alphanumeric character inside each square. Every time the square with a certain letter flashed, and the patient focused on it, the computer recorded the brain's response to the flashing letter. The patients were then asked to focus on specific letters, and the computer software recorded the information. The computer then calibrated the system with the individual patient's specific brain wave, and when the patient then focused on a letter, the letter appeared on the screen.

"We were able to consistently predict the desired letters for our patients at or near 100 percent accuracy," Shih says.

Once the technique is perfected, its use will require patients to have a craniotomy, although it isn't yet known how many electrodes would have to be implanted. And software would have to calibrate each person's brain waves to the action that is desired, such as movement of a prosthetic arm, Shih says. "These patients would have to use a computer to interpret their brain waves, but these devices are getting so small, there is a possibility that they could be implanted at some point," he says.

Venezuela gets set for war with arms shipment

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« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryPublished Date: 08 December 2009
Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez said his country had received thousands of Russian-made missiles and rocket launchers to prepare for a possible armed conflict with Colombia. "They are preparing a war against us," Mr Chavez said. "Preparing is one of the best ways to neutralise it."

Am Costa Rica News

Arias to meet with Lobo,
Honduran president-elect


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


President Óscar Arias Sánchez is scheduled to meet today with the president-elect of Honduras in a session that may contribute to ending the Honduran political crisis.

Arias has said that his government will recognize the election of Porfirio Lobo in part to spare the people of Honduras more political woes. Many governments have blacklisted the country because the elected leader, José Manuel Zelaya, was ousted last June 28.

Arias served a major role in trying to negotiate a settlement to the crisis, but the negotiations were overtaken by the presidential elections, which had been planned for a long time.

Some countries like Brazil and Venezuela say they will not recognize the Lobo regime. The meeting will be at 3 p.m. at the Rohrmoser home of Arias, the same place he held discussions with Zelaya.

Bum check was fraud key
for building materials gang


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The trick was pretty simple. The crooks would order construction material and promise to pay for the order at a bank. They used a bum check at the bank but then changed the deposit slip to look like they paid in cash.

When the crooks faxed the doctored deposit slip to the supplier, the delivery was scheduled or they were allowed to pick up the goods.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said that a gang of fraudsters stole about 500 million colons in material using this technique. That's about $880,000.

The Judicial Investigating Organization made 12 raids Monday and detained eight men they said were linked to the ring. The agency also said that the gang had been operating in the country for a long time and that some of the members of the band were arrested previously but set free. One man has been referred to prosecutors 58 times and another 78 times, the agency said.

The raids Monday were in San José, Tibás, Heredia, Los Guidos, Los Cuadros and other points in the valley. Agents also located two warehouses, one in Hatillo and the other in Barrio Cuba. They said they found material that may have been the result of recent frauds.

Two die in separate mishaps


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


Two men died in separate accidents Monday. A man identified by the last name of Arias tried to pass a truck at the Villa Bonita de Alajuela bridge, but his passenger car was struck in the front by an oncoming semi and crushed in the rear by the cab of the truck he had just passed. His vehicle was mangled beyond recognition.

In Tejar de Guarco in Cartago a motorcyclist collided with a utility pole about 3:45 a.m. and died a short time later at Hospitalal Max Peralta in Cartago. He was identified by the last name of Granados by the Judicial Investigating Organization.

Boy, 15, detained in murder


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


A case of mistaken identity led to the shooting death of a man Saturday, and a 15 year old is being held as the gunman.

Dead is Roy Quirós Piñar, a 36-year-old agricultural worker. The death happened in El Precario de La Unión. Quirós appears to have lost a bicycle to a thief and incorrectly accused the boy and hit him in the back with a machete. The youth responded by shooting the man twice in the chest. The Poder Judicial said that the action was self defense, but said that a judge placed the boy in provisional detention for two months.

Koreans lose three weeks work


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


A group of Korean photographers spent three weeks in Costa Rica filming the wonders of the country. The work was for a television show.

But thieves got there first. The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo reported that someone took 37 rolls of the photographic work while the Koreans' car was parked Saturday in a Rohrmoser restaurant.