Dairy farms and cattle ranches are a major source of greenhouse gases, especially methane. It's primarily released from both ends of cows as they chew their cud, but some is also emitted from their manure. Researchers from the University of Helskinki have found that dung beetles living in these so-called cow patties may reduce those emissions.

Head researcher Tomas Roslin explains that the carbon dioxide in the plants eaten and expelled by cattle is converted to methane in anaerobic conditions. There is not much oxygen in a dense cow patty. However, by tunneling and digging around in the patties, dung beetles aerate them, exposing more surface area to the air, thereby reducing methane production. Carbon dioxide is still released, but it is not as potent as greenhouse gas.

While researchers say the beetles could have a major impact on how carbon escapes from cow pastures, they also raise concerns about the steep declines in many dung beetle species. In an article in the journal PLOS One, they warn that with the growing appetite for meat around the world overall emissions from cattle farming can only increase.



U.S. spied on U.N., reports
leading German newspaper


A leading German news magazine says the U.S. National Security Agency, NSA, has eavesdropped on the United Nations, penetrating the world body's internal video conference system to decode data.

Der Spiegel, in a report Sunday, linked its latest U.S. spy claim to secret files released by fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The report did not say when the magazine acquired the information, or whether it came directly from Snowden. It alleges the spying took place in mid-2012.

The report quotes an NSA document in which the writer boasts of having gained access to the U.N.'s internal video teleconferencing. Der Spiegel says that within the next three weeks, the number of decoded U.N. documents rose from 12 to 458.

The magazine also quotes NSA documents saying the presence of eavesdropping devices in embassies and consulates should be kept secret at all costs to avoid causing serious damage with the affected countries.

There was no immediate U.S. comment on the Der Spiegel report.

Der Spiegel also says the documents show the NSA at one point discovered Chinese intelligence services spying on the United Nations.

In late June, the magazine touched off controversy when it reported the NSA had placed listening devices inside European Union offices in Washington, Brussels and the United Nations.

That report said the NSA also infiltrated EU computers to monitor telephone conversations, e-mails and other documents.

The revelations prompted telephone talks between President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and an emergency meeting of high-level U.S. and German security officials. French President Francois Hollande and EU Parliament President Martin Schulz also were critical.

Former NSA contractor Snowden fled the United States in June, and then provided troves of classified material about NSA surveillance practices to U.S. and foreign media, including Der Spiegel. He currently resides in Russia, which early this month granted him temporary asylum.

He faces U.S. federal charges of espionage, and the theft and conversion of government property.



New York Times will join
with Guardian on NSA data
 

The Guardian has agreed with the New York Times to give the U.S. newspaper access to some classified documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, both papers said Friday.
   
In a brief story posted on its Web site, the Guardian said it struck a partnership with the Times after the British government threatened the Guardian with legal action unless it either surrendered or destroyed files it received from Snowden about Government Communications Headquarters, Britain's equivalent of NSA.
   
"In a climate of intense pressure from the U.K. government, the Guardian decided to bring in a U.S. partner to work on the GCHQ documents provided by Edward Snowden. We are working in partnership with the NYT and others to continue reporting these stories," the British newspaper said in a statement.
   
The Times' executive editor, Jill Abramson, confirmed the collaboration.
   
"We don't usually comment on our reporting before publication, but in this case we will make an exception since it is already public. The Times is reporting on material from the Guardian as well as other matters related to Edward Snowden," the Times quoted her as saying.
   
A source familiar with the matter said the partnership deal had been struck several weeks ago and that Ms. Abramson was personally involved in negotiating it.
   
The Web site Buzzfeed reported that Scott Shane, a Times reporter who covers national security and intelligence, was working on a series of stories expected to be published next month jointly with the Guardian.
   
The Guardian said in its story that its partnership with the Times would enable it to "continue exposing mass surveillance by putting the Snowden documents on GCHQ beyond government reach."
   
It said Snowden, who disclosed documents on U.S. Internet and phone surveillance programs in June and has obtained asylum in Russia, was aware of the deal.
   
The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, revealed earlier this week that under the supervision of representatives of GCHQ, Guardian staffers had destroyed computer equipment containing Snowden files after the newspaper was threatened with possible legal action by senior British government officials.
   
Rusbridger said he had put British officials on notice that copies of material which had been destroyed had been sent outside British government jurisdiction.
   
British authorities say they launched a criminal investigation this week following the temporary detention and questioning at London's Heathrow Airport of David Miranda, domestic partner of Glenn Greenwald, a Brazil-based Guardian writer who has led coverage of leaks from Snowden and communicated directly with the former NSA contractor.
   
British officials have said that Snowden's leaks have gravely damaged national security and could put lives in jeopardy if more secrets are disclosed.
   
The Times and the Guardian previously collaborated on stories related to alleged phone hacking by British tabloid newspapers and on coverage of secret U.S. military and diplomatic documents made available by U.S. Army soldier Bradley Manning to the WikiLeaks Web site.

 

Thousands gather in D.C.
marking dream speech's 50th


Tens of thousands of people have rallied near Washington's Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech 50 years ago. 

Some people cheered and waved banners Saturday as speakers urged them to take up causes ranging from civil and women's rights to immigration reform and ending gun violence.

A host of speakers paid tribute to the civil rights leader who was assassinated nearly five years after delivering his famous speech.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia, spoke at the original March on Washington in 1963.  On Saturday, he recalled the hardships that he had endured as an African American fighting for equality.

"I got arrested 40 times during the '60s, beaten and left bloody and unconscious.  But, I am not tired.  I am not weary.  I am not prepared to sit down and give up.  I am ready to fight and to continue to fight," he said.

The large, multi-racial crowd also heard from the wife of another slain civil rights leader, Medgar Evers.  Myrlie Evers-Williams questioned if the nation had made progress on racial equality.

"As I look out at the crowd," Ms. Evers-Williams said, "I find myself asking, 'What are we doing today?  Where have we come from?  What has been accomplished?  And, where do we go from this point forward?'" 

Another speaker, U.s. Rep. Steny Hoyer,  a Democrat from Maryland, suggested the United States had moved forward.

"The historic election of President [Barack] Obama testifies to the progress we have made which would not have been possible except for the millions who sacrificed and raised their voices for change," he said.

The King commemoration included African Americans, Asian Americans, immigrants and youth.

Nine-year-old Asean Johnson lobbied for improvements in schools.

"Every child deserves a great education.  Every school deserves equal funding and resources," said Ms. Johnson.

Janet Murguia heads the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group.  She said Hispanics consider themselves part of King's dream.

"Millions of Latinos were watching that day in 1963.  When we heard Dr. King proclaim, 'I have a dream,' we knew he was talking to us too," said Ms. Murguia.

The son of the slain civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, III, said some of the causes his father fought for remain troubling issues today.

"Today with 12 percent unemployment rates in the African American community and 38 percent of all children of color in this country living below the level of poverty, we know that the dream is far from being realized," said King.

King said while his father's vision has not been realized fully, he is not going to be dissuaded from pushing for change.

"We ain't going to let nobody turn us around.  We are going to keep on walking.  We are going to keep on talking.  We are going to keep on voting.  We are going to keep on job building,"  he said.

King said if people do their part to advance the cause of freedom at home, in school, on the job and in organizations, then change will come.



Sensitive issues like tobacco
still left hanging in trade talks


The United States and 11 other countries in the Asia-Pacific have begun a final push to reach a landmark trade deal this year and hope for significant progress by an October meeting of leaders in Bali, the top U.S. trade official said Friday.
 
It's not surprising that at the final stage of negotiation, as negotiators enter the end game, the most sensitive issues are left on the agenda, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters on his way back from a meeting in Brunei with his counterparts involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
 
“But I was impressed by the dedication, the workmanlike attitude of all the delegations and their commitment to work through these issues in order to achieve a comprehensive, ambitious, high-standard 21st-century agreement,” he said.
 
Froman left open the possibility that the agreement might not eliminate all tariffs between the 12 countries, which include the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
 
He said a Japanese offer to eliminate 85 percent of tariffs was “a good initial step ... toward a comprehensive agreement.”
 
Negotiators in Brunei Friday began their 19th round of talks on the proposed pact following the meeting between Froman and other trade ministers.
 
The United States is under pressure in the talks to eliminate import restrictions on politically-sensitive products like sugar, dairy, footwear and clothing.
 
In exchange, its partners would adopt new rules on digital trade and the operations of state-owned enterprises, and bolster protections for workers and the environment.
 
Froman said the ministers laid out a path for smaller group negotiations leading up to a gathering in Bali in early October, where President Barack Obama will meet with the heads of the other Partnership countries.
 
“It'll be a good opportunity for leaders to get together and ... give direction for any remaining issues to their negotiators,” Froman said.
 
Officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a leading business group, said they welcomed the push to finish the talks after more than three years of negotiations.
 
But they warned that the United States should not give ground on priorities like removing barriers to the free flow of digital data across borders, and ensuring that state-owned enterprises operate on a level playing field with private firms, they said.
 
“We just cannot afford to take the easy way out this time,” said Tami Overby, vice president for Asia at the business group. “If the Asia-Pacific is going to live up to the opportunities that we have in front of us, our governments are going to have to roll up their sleeves and do some very hard work.”
 
Froman told reporters the United States had not lowered its hopes for the pact.
 
But he gave few clues how much the Obama administration was willing to dismantle 20th century protections for products like dairy, sugar, footwear and clothing to achieve its goal of negotiating a deal that sets trade rules for this century.
 
Meanwhile, the White House was facing heat this week for a tobacco trade proposal it is making in the talks.
 
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Friday joined public health advocates in complaining that the proposal was not strong enough to prevent tobacco companies from using the pact to challenge anti-smoking measures in the 12 Partnership countries.
 
On the other side, business groups like the U.S. Chamber and the American Farm Bureau Federation said the plan went too far by explicitly stating that nothing in the pact would bar countries from regulating tobacco for public health reasons, instead of relying on a more general protection for regulations that has been used in trade agreements since 1947.
 
Froman said the proposal strikes “the right balance” between trade and public health interests.
 
He said it makes clear that countries have the right to regulate tobacco for public health reasons and would not establish a precedent that could hurt exports of other U.S. agricultural products.



Colombia peace talks resuming
after rebels changed minds


Colombia says it will resume peace talks with the Fuerzas ARmadas Revolucionarias deColombia, or FARC.  

Colombian government lead negotiator Humberto De la Calle said the talks with the rebels will re-open today in Havana. 

"After a meeting, it was carefully noted that the FARC had made the decision to return on Monday at half past eight in the morning to the talks table to continue deliberations as normal," De La Calle said. "Because of that, after noting it, the president has instructed us on the decision to return tomorrow to Havana to continue talks on a search for an end to the conflict."

The negotiations were suspended Friday when FARC said it would need time to study the government's draft bill that would require any peace deal with the guerrillas to be put to a popular vote.

De la Calle defended the referendum, saying that it should be the Colombian people who make the final decision on the agreements reached from the talks.

He said however, that FARC has acknowledged the pain suffered by their victims and the need for reparations.

"The FARC have acknowledged how they have caused pain in Colombia and there is an attitude for reparations to victims.  That is an issue that is very important for us," De La Calle said. "And therefore, after all these considerations, we will return to Havana".

The FARC, the oldest active guerrilla army in the Western Hemisphere, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.