PFT: Freeman out, Johnson in at QB for Bucs

AP

Nearly a third of all NFL head-coaching jobs could become vacant after the 2011 season.? In addition to the Jaguars, teams that could (emphasis ?could?) make a change presently include, in no particular order other than the order in which I scan through the league?s eight divisions, the Dolphins, Colts, Chiefs, Chargers, Giants, Eagles, Vikings, Buccaneers, and Rams.

So who will replace these coaches?? Beyond Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, and Jeff Fisher, there aren?t many (any) obvious candidates.

Let?s consider the three categories from which head coaches typically emerge:? former NFL head coaches, current NFL assistant coaches, and college head coaches.

Former NFL head coaches:? In the hopes of not omitting anyone (a sentiment that applies to all three categories), the list of former NFL coaches who could return ? and who currently are coaching ? includes Cowher (whose ?plan? to not coach in 2012 could change dramatically if the Giants job opens up), Jon Gruden, Fisher, Tony Dungy (who consistently has said he?s not coming back), Brian Billick, Jim Fassel, Dennis Green, Marty Schottenheimer, Eric Mangini, Jim Mora, Steve Mariucci, Brad Childress, Jack Del Rio, and Herm Edwards.

Of those, Cowher, Jon Gruden, and Fisher seem to constitute the ?A? list.? Billick wants back in, but he recently said he thinks Jacksonville will look to go younger and cheaper, which means he won?t be cheap.? (Or young.)? Edwards could be a surprise choice in Miami, if Carl Peterson takes over the football operations.? Mangini also has been linked to the Dolphins, although reports that he has been consulting with owner Stephen Ross are erroneous.

There?s another group of former NFL head coaches to consider ? those who aren?t yet former NFL head coaches.? Though it?s unusual for a newly-fired coach to get an NFL job right away, John Fox did it last year when jumping from Carolina to Denver.? The fact that Fox has instantly made the Broncos into a contender could make other former head coaches instantly attractive.? That list could (emphasis ?could?) include Tony Sparano, Jim Caldwell, Todd Haley, Norv Turner, Tom Coughlin, Andy Reid, Leslie Frazier, Raheem Morris, and Steve Spagnuolo.

Of those, Reid would be the most likely to land somewhere else right away, if he?s fired in Philly (or if he decides it?s time to walk away).? Also, a return by Coughlin to Jacksonville could be intriguing.? Spagnuolo also could get consideration elsewhere in 2012 as a head coach, although if Reid stays in Philly it makes sense for Reid to lure the team?s former linebackers coach back to town to run the defense.

Current NFL assistant coaches:? For starters, plenty of former NFL head coaches currently are working for other NFL teams.? The list includes Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron, Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, Chiefs quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn, Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, Vikings linebackers coach Mike Singletary, Dolphins defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice, Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers, Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, and Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.

Of that group, Phillips and Haslett are the most intriguing.? Phillips has been a head coach three prior times, but his immediate transformation of a historically bad Texans defense merits consideration for a fourth opportunity, as linebacker Connor Barwin told NBC SportsTalk on Friday.? In Washington, the performance of Haslett?s stout defense has been overshadowed by a continuously struggling offense.

McDaniels already has been linked to the Chiefs, but that will be a difficult sell, given McDaniels? performance in Denver and, more recently, St. Louis.

The universe of assistant NFL coaches who have never worked as NFL head coaches yields a smaller range of relatively obvious choices.? Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, the fraternal twin of Jets coach Rex Ryan, badly wants to make the next step.? Unlike Rex, who successfully kept a sock in it until he became a head coach, Rob arguably is talking a bit too much for a guy who isn?t a head coach.? (Rob also needs to visit the barber.)

Beyond Rob Ryan, there aren?t many/any hot names, which typically come from the staffs of the hottest teams.? In Green Bay, there?s a perception that Mike McCarthy is primarily responsible for the success of the franchise, which undermines the contributions of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements.? On defense, assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach Winston Moss could get some consideration, as could outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene (who also would benefit from a trip to the salon).

The 9-2 49ers also should generate some candidates, starting (and perhaps ending) with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.? With head coach Jim Harbaugh getting nearly all of the credit for the team?s performance, Fangio is really the only name that currently stands out.

Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano may not get much buzz given that it?s his first year on the job, but that assignment has become a launching pad for head coaches.? If the Ravens play deep into the postseason, Pagano could get consideration.

Another first-year coordinator seems to be the perfect fit for the one vacancy that already exists.? In a Wednesday visit to PFT Live, Mike Dempsey of 1010XL suggested Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden as the next coach of the Jaguars.? It makes sense, on every level.? Gruden fits Brian Billick?s ?young and cheap? demographic, but Gruden also brings name recognition of his older and more expensive brother.? The name carries the most weight in northern Florida, where Jon won a Super Bowl and where Jay was a mainstay in the Arena League.? Then there?s the fact that Jay Gruden has gotten the most out of rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, who was drafted one round behind Blaine Gabbert.

(As a reader has pointed out in the comments, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer could end up being considered for one of the various vacancies.? Ditto for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, who served as the interim coach in Buffalo and who has gotten some consideration for prior vacancies.)

College head coaches:? The instant success of Jim Harbaugh after stints with Stanford and the University of San Diego (not to be confused with, as I have in the past, San Diego State University) could reverse the perception that college coaches can?t get it done in the NFL.? It shouldn?t.? Harbaugh is the exception to the rule that the most important skills possessed by college head coaches ? recruiting ? are largely wasted at the NFL level.

Iowa?s Kirk Ferentz periodically is mentioned as a candidate to coach at the NFL level, and he?ll again be linked to Kansas City if Haley is fired.? Beyond Ferentz, the list currently is short to nonexistent.

UPDATE 10:00 a.m. ET:? I deliberately omitted former Packers coach Mike Sherman from the list of former NFL head coaches who could return, since he hasn?t coached in the NFL since 2005 and he has generated little or no buzz since being fired by the Packers.? But Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports that the Jaguars contacted Sherman even before firing Jack Del Rio.? If true, it means that Brian Billick?s ?younger and cheaper? description of the Jags? job requirements perhaps should be reduced to simply ?cheaper.?

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/04/josh-freeman-inactive-josh-johnson-to-start-for-bucs/related/

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Boeing's Plan to Return to the Moon by 2022 (ContributorNetwork)

NASA Space Flight is reporting that Boeing made a presentation at the latest Global Exploration Workshop of a plan to return Americans to the moon by 2022, 50 years after the last astronauts walked on the moon.

The Boeing plan, which uses a "way station" located at the L1 point where the gravities of the Earth and moon cancel one another out as well as a reusable lunar lander is the first detailed approach to a return to the moon.

What would the way station look like?

The way station would be constructed at the International Space Station, using the remote manipulator arm. It would consist of a "Node4/DHS (Docking Hub System), an orbiter external air lock, a MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics Module) habitat module, and an international module." The various modules would be launched to the ISS with commercial rockets such as the Atlas V. Once assembled, a "space tug" would convey the way station to the L1 point.

How would the reusable lunar lander work?

A Space Launch System Heavy Lift launcher would deliver a fuel depot to the way station. Then a second SLS would deliver an Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle and a reusable lunar lander. The lunar lander would take on fuel at the depot and then proceed on to the moon with the crew delivered by the Orion. The crew would conduct lunar surface operations, then return to the way station, transfer to the Orion, and return to Earth. Commercial launchers would top off the fuel depot as needed for subsequent lunar missions.

There is also a secondary plan that involves deploying the reusable lunar lander at the way station while it is built at the ISS. The SLS would launch an Orion MPCV and a Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS) to the way station. The DCSS would transfer fuel to the lander and then would boost it to the moon. As in the first scenario, the crew conducts lunar surface operations, then returns to the way station, transfers to the Orion, and returns to Earth.

The advantage of the second scenario over the first is that the long term storage of fuel is not necessary. The problem of preventing "boil off" of cryogenic fuel is one that would have to be solved before long term, space based depots become practicable.

What are the advantages of the Boeing plan?

Billions of dollars would be saved with a reusable lunar and one launch of an SLS per lunar mission. The way station could also be used as a base for running tele-operated robots on the lunar surface and deploying lunar surface infrastructure such as habitats.

What are some show stoppers?

The official plan, as articulated by President Obama, is still to bypass the moon and go to an Earth approaching asteroid. Also some analysts, such as Clark Lindsey, claim that there will be no money available for a way station and a reusable lunar lander and a heavy lift Space Launch System. But Lindsey's prediction of what the fiscal and political situation of 2018-2022 when this hardware would be developed and deployed remains idle conjecture, projecting the current situation into the future without changes that might be brought about by an election of a new administration.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker . He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the LA Times, and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111203/sc_ac/10589081_boeings_plan_to_return_to_the_moon_by2022

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Dump truck hits bus in Haiti, 5 die (AP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti ? A Haitian mayor says a dump truck has slammed into a bus in a western coastal town, killing at least five people.

Mayor Santos Alexis of Leogane says the dump truck rear-ended the bus as it was letting off passengers at an intersection. The collision propelled the bus forward and it struck several motorcycle riders. Three of them died.

Two pedestrians also died, one because the bus struck a utility pole, snapping an electric cable that fell and electrocuted him.

At least 11 others were injured.

The accident happened just after 9 am Friday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_dump_truck_crash

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Mohamed Mohamud: Terrorism Case Comes Together Against Muslim-American 'Wannabomber'

By Bryan Denson
Religion News Service

PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) A year ago, a tall, skinny teen named Mohamed Mohamud stepped out of an SUV just north of Portland's Union Station. There, according to the FBI, the Somali-born American punched 10 digits into a cell phone believing it would ignite a vanload of explosives 16 blocks away.

The van was parked on the southeast corner of Pioneer Courthouse Square on the night of Nov. 26, 2010. Out on the wet bricks, thousands of bundled-up revelers waited for the lighting of the city's 75-foot Christmas tree.

Twenty minutes before the lights sparkled to life, the teen known to friends as "Mo" pushed the phone's send button to detonate the explosives, the FBI alleges. Mohamud heard no blast, only the sudden footsteps of federal agents.

The 19-year-old became one of America's accused "wannabombers." The bomb he allegedly tried to ignite was a harmless fake rigged by the FBI and presented to him by undercover operatives posing as Islamic terrorists. Their suspect, charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, was part of a series of FBI terrorism stings since 9/11.

Government officials have praised the stings as a means of preventing terrorists from harming people on U.S. soil. In some cases, the FBI has supplied suspects with money, transportation and realistic weapons -- including surface-to-air missiles.

Defense lawyers, including Mohamud's, argue that the operations amount to illegal entrapment. Mohamud became the 14th and youngest suspect to mount an entrapment defense in one of the FBI's stings. The 13 men who previously argued entrapment have been tried, found guilty and sent to prison for terms ranging from six years to life.

Mohamud's trial is set for May 15.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers haven't talked publicly about the Mohamud case since a few days after his arrest. But their arguments over the release of thousands of pages of evidence -- some classified -- and surveillance files foreshadow a lively trial.

Mohamud's lawyers accuse the FBI of tailing their client, a vulnerable teen with no criminal record, perhaps before he turned 18. Then, they say, the bureau loosed sophisticated operatives on their client and coaxed him into a crime he never would have committed on his own.

Defense lawyers allege that the operatives, well-versed in psychological techniques to gain Mohamud's "compliance," cozied up to him with a plan. The operatives, they wrote, told Mohamud he'd been hand-picked, and they gave him $2,810 to buy bomb parts and rent a hideout. They also assured him they would sneak him out of the country after the bombing.

Prosecutors say the FBI grew suspicious of Mohamud after learning that a friend of his in the northwest frontier of Pakistan -- a known training ground for terrorists -- had emailed him an apparent invitation to join him. Their court filings also allege that Mohamud wrote articles advocating holy war, which were published in the online publication Jihad Recollections.

They argue that Mohamud was the first to bring up the idea of a bombing, picked Pioneer Courthouse Square as the target and gave a pre-bombing speech in which he criticized his parents for holding him back from jihad. Finally, prosecutors allege, Mohamud eagerly dialed a cell phone number hoping for bloodshed.

Mohamud was in his late teens when his dad, Intel engineer Osman Barre, took concerns about his son to the FBI. But that meeting -- and the year it occurred -- haven't been disclosed in a public case file now 558 pages thick.

Mohamud's defense team has suggested that the FBI might have begun eavesdropping on their client in March 2008, when he was 17.

The defense also pointed out that FBI agents were listening in when state police questioned him in 2009 about a Halloween date-rape accusation at Oregon State University. To prove his innocence (he was soon exonerated), Mohamud took a polygraph exam and let police copy data from his computer and cell phone.

FBI agents weren't involved in the campus case. But they obtained a copy of Mohamud's computer hard drive and three pages of information from his cell phone, court records show. One week later, according to the defense, an undercover FBI agent identified in court papers as "Bill Smith" emailed Mohamud and solicited his participation in violence against the West.

Government prosecutors say the FBI's sting took form in June 2010, when Mohamud tried to board a flight to Alaska for a summer job and learned he was on the no-fly list. The FBI soon interviewed Mohamud, who told agents he had previously planned to fly to Yemen to visit a friend, who later turned up in Pakistan.

A little more than a week later, an FBI operative posing as an associate of Mohamud's friend, sent him an email. The two men agreed to meet in Portland on July 30. There, prosecutors allege, Mohamud first brought up the subject of a car bombing.

Mohamud's defense strategy might be broader than entrapment.

Jail visitation records obtained by The Oregonian show that three potential defense experts have met with Mohamud. Each could offer unique insights about his Muslim identity and childhood in war-torn Somalia.

Dr. Dave Kinzie, an Oregon Health & Science University psychiatrist, began meeting with Mohamud last May. Kinzie, an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder, has studied refugees struggling with memories of war in such countries as Somalia, where Mohamud was born in 1991. He declined to discuss his visits with Mohamud.

Dirgham H. Sbait, a Portland State University professor who holds a Ph.D. in Arabic literature, began visiting Mohamud in July. Sbait acknowledged he's helping Mohamud's defense with Arabic language assistance, but he declined to elaborate.

A man identified as Jeff Eamon met with Mohamud in September. Eamon could not be reached for comment. But online citations credited to a man by that name show he published papers on the impact of anti-terrorist financing policies on Islamic charities and the reshaping of Muslim identity.

Mohamud moved last June from a corner cell on the fourth floor of the Justice Center Jail, where he spent nearly seven months being protected from other inmates. He now lives in a less restrictive unit, where he socializes with fellow prisoners, takes walks and watches TV.

"For his long-term health, I needed to get him out of there," said Mike Shults, chief deputy of corrections for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. "It's never good to isolate somebody for such a long period."

Mohamud's new cell sits about 400 yards from Pioneer Courthouse Square.

(Bryan Denson writes for The Oregonian in Portland, Ore.)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/03/mohamed-mohamud-terrorism-case_n_1126568.html

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Fetus in trash, NYC woman accused of self-abortion (Providence Journal)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/168733849?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Instant nanodots grow on silicon to form sensing array

Public release date: 2-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer

New methods for creating 3-D nanostructures deposited on an array of regularly spaced indentations on the surface of silicon films opens the door for innovative nanosensors

Scientists have shown that it is now possible to simultaneously create highly reproductive three-dimensional silicon oxide nanodots on micrometric scale silicon films in only a few seconds. Xavier Landreau and his colleagues at the University of Limoges, France, demonstrated in their paper to be published in EPJD that they were able to create a square array of such nanodots, using regularly spaced nanoindents on the deposition layer, that could ultimately find applications as biosensors for genomics or bio-diagnostics.

They used a process called atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. This approach is a much faster alternative to methods such as nanoscale lithography, which only permits the deposition of one nanodot at a time. It also improves upon other silicon oxide growth processes that do not make it possible to precisely order the nanodots into an array. In addition, it can be carried out at atmospheric pressure, which decreases its costs compared to low-pressure deposition processes.

One of the authors' goals was to understand the self-organization mechanisms leading to a preferential deposition of the nanodots in the indents. By varying the indents' interspacing, they made it comparable to the average distance travelled by the silicon oxide particles of the deposited material. Thus, by adapting both the indents' spacing and the silicon substrate temperature, they observed optimum self-ordering inside the indents using atomic force microscopy.

The next step in their research will be to investigate how such nanoarrays could be used as nanosensors. They plan to develop similar square arrays on metallic substrates in order to better control the driving forces that produce the highly ordered self-organisation of nanodots. Further research will be needed to give sensing ability to individual nanodots by associating them with probe molecules designed to recognise target molecules to be detected.

###

Reference
1. Landreau X, Lanfant B, Merle T, Laborde E, Dublanche-Tixier C, Tristant P (2011). Ordering of SiOxHyCz islands deposited by atmospheric pressure microwave plasma torch on Si(100) substrates patterned by nanoindentation. European Physical Journal D (EPJ D). DOI 10.1140/epjd/e2011-20503-7

For more information, please visit www.epj.org.

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 2-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer

New methods for creating 3-D nanostructures deposited on an array of regularly spaced indentations on the surface of silicon films opens the door for innovative nanosensors

Scientists have shown that it is now possible to simultaneously create highly reproductive three-dimensional silicon oxide nanodots on micrometric scale silicon films in only a few seconds. Xavier Landreau and his colleagues at the University of Limoges, France, demonstrated in their paper to be published in EPJD that they were able to create a square array of such nanodots, using regularly spaced nanoindents on the deposition layer, that could ultimately find applications as biosensors for genomics or bio-diagnostics.

They used a process called atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. This approach is a much faster alternative to methods such as nanoscale lithography, which only permits the deposition of one nanodot at a time. It also improves upon other silicon oxide growth processes that do not make it possible to precisely order the nanodots into an array. In addition, it can be carried out at atmospheric pressure, which decreases its costs compared to low-pressure deposition processes.

One of the authors' goals was to understand the self-organization mechanisms leading to a preferential deposition of the nanodots in the indents. By varying the indents' interspacing, they made it comparable to the average distance travelled by the silicon oxide particles of the deposited material. Thus, by adapting both the indents' spacing and the silicon substrate temperature, they observed optimum self-ordering inside the indents using atomic force microscopy.

The next step in their research will be to investigate how such nanoarrays could be used as nanosensors. They plan to develop similar square arrays on metallic substrates in order to better control the driving forces that produce the highly ordered self-organisation of nanodots. Further research will be needed to give sensing ability to individual nanodots by associating them with probe molecules designed to recognise target molecules to be detected.

###

Reference
1. Landreau X, Lanfant B, Merle T, Laborde E, Dublanche-Tixier C, Tristant P (2011). Ordering of SiOxHyCz islands deposited by atmospheric pressure microwave plasma torch on Si(100) substrates patterned by nanoindentation. European Physical Journal D (EPJ D). DOI 10.1140/epjd/e2011-20503-7

For more information, please visit www.epj.org.

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/s-ing120211.php

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Michele Bachmann-Donald Trump Ticket in 2012?

GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann will not be her party's nominee.

Sorry, hardcore believers out there. It's not personal, it's just not happening. But why let that stop her from speculating on who she'd pick as her Vice President in 2012?

"I have just the highest respect for Rick Santorum. He's a very sharp guy, and I could easily see making him attorney general," Bachmann tells the Des Moines Register.

Another name on the Minnesota Congresswoman's short list: The Donald!

Who are three Republicans who will not be the next President?

"We've got a lot of wonderful candidates who would fit that bill. Easily comes to mind I think would be Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Marco Rubio of Florida," she told CNN.

"There's a lot of great people out there. And Donald Trump is someone that I think a lot of people would be intrigued with, too," added Bachmann, hilariously.

Trump, of course, toyed with the idea of running for U.S. President himself this year, then backed down, implying he could've won if he tried, but wasn't up for it.

He's the best.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/michele-bachmann-donald-trump-ticket-in-2012/

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