Arch Coal

Company eyes coal on Montana's Crow reservation

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A mining company plans to start exploratory work this spring on an estimated 400 million tons of coal beneath Montana's Crow Indian Reservation, adding to a spate of recent interest in the region's huge coal reserves despite flagging domestic demand for the fuel.

Signal Peak Energy is eying a future mine on private property within the reservation's boundaries known as the Hope Ranch.

The exploration area covers more than 7,000 acres and is just a few miles from the neighboring Northern Cheyenne Reservation, according to an analysis of the project by federal officials. The site is about 30 miles north of the Wyoming border.

Signal Peak operates the Bull Mountain mine north of Billings and exports much of its coal to customers in Asia.

Its pursuit of coal on the reservation follows a January deal signed by Crow leaders including tribal Chairman Darrin Old Coyote that gave another company rights to lease an estimated 1.4 billion tons of coal. Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy agreed to pay the tribe $2.25 million up front and additional payments in coming years could add up to $10 million.

Before any decision is made on a mine at Hope Ranch, Signal Peak President John DeMichiei said the company will need to analyze drilling samples. Those will be collected in coming months to gauge the coal's quality and more accurately define how much is there.

The 400-million-ton figure is only an initial estimate, he said.

"Obviously there's a lot of potential in Montana," DeMichiei said. "We've developed a world-class operation in Signal Peak, and we have the opportunity to do that elsewhere in Montana on a similar level."

The only coal mine now on the reservation is Westmoreland Resources' Absaloka mine, which opened in 1974 and produces about 6 million tons annually.

Crow Tribe attorney Bill Watt said there have been preliminary discussions with Signal Peak, but offered no further comment.

Hope Ranch is among several sites Signal Peak is investigating, DeMichiei said. He declined to reveal details on the others and said they were not as far along.

The tribe's 2.2-million-acre reservation sits atop an estimated 9 billion coal reserve. It's located at the north end of the Powder River Basin, an arid region along the Montana-Wyoming border that produces more coal than any other part of the country.

The tribe's reserves would be enough to satisfy U.S. power plant needs for almost a decade based on current consumption rates. Yet domestic demand for the fuel has fallen off sharply over the last several years, primarily due to competition from cheap natural gas.

To offset those declines, companies including Signal Peak and Cloud Peak have stepped up sales in Asia, where demand remains strong among developing countries and industrialized nations including Japan and South Korea.

Exports last year hit record high levels.

The industry's aspirations for further growth have been challenged by environmentalists and some public officials lined up against several proposed new coal ports on the West Coast. In Montana, the industry's detractors have raised concerns that increased mining could hurt agricultural water supplies and cause congestion on rail lines used to ship the coal out of state.

Supporters say increased coal exports would spur new jobs in mining, shipping and construction.

Federal officials have given initial approval for Signal Peak's work at Hope Ranch, although the decision remains subject to appeal through March 22, said Phil Perlewitz with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The agency has authority over the project as part of the government's Indian trust responsibilities because the site is within the reservation's boundaries, said Perlewitz.

Even though the work is being done on private land, it's expected that the company would need cooperation from the tribe to pursue a mine.

Another major player in the industry, Arch Coal, Inc., has leased a large reserve of state-owned coal just east of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. That mine, which would require a new railroad, is encountering opposition from some members of the Northern Cheyenne who fear that it will disrupt their traditional culture and increase air pollution.

Combined, the Arch and Cloud Peak proposals entail mining of 30 million tons of coal annually. If Signal Peak also pursues a mine, the three projects have the potential to roughly double Montana's annual production levels.

It's unclear how the company would get the coal off the reservation. There's little infrastructure in the area, and the exploratory work is planned about 10 miles east of the nearest rail line, owned by BNSF Railway.

DiMichiei said it was too early to discuss transportation options. At Bull Mountain, the company built a 36-mile rail spur for $105 million to connect to nearest BNSF line.

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director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. "However

China becomes world's fifth largest arms exporter

STOCKHOLM (AP) — China has bypassed Britain as the world's fifth largest arms exporter, a Swedish think tank said Monday.

The volume of Chinese weapons exports rose by 162 percent in the five years 2008-2012, compared to the previous five-year period, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its report. That means China's share of all international arms exports increased to 5 percent from 2 percent, and the country climbed to fifth from eighth in the rankings.

The largest buyer of Chinese weapons was Pakistan, which accounted for 55 percent of the country's exports, followed by Myanmar with 8 percent and Bangladesh with 7 percent, SIPRI said.

"China's rise has been driven primarily by large-scale arms acquisitions by Pakistan," said Paul Holtom, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. "However, a number of recent deals indicate that China is establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states."

Such deals include the sale of three frigates to Algeria, eight transport aircraft to Venezuela and 54 tanks to Morocco, SIPRI said.

The U.S. remains the world's top arms exporter during the 2008-2012 period, with 30 percent of the global volume. Russia is second with 26 percent, Germany third with 7 percent, and France fourth with 6 percent, SIPRI said.

China's move into the top-five means Britain (now in sixth place) dropped off the list of the top five for the first time since at least 1950, the earliest year covered by SIPRI data.

The institute said Asia dominated the global imports of weapons, with the top five importers all located in that region.

Here's SIPRI's list of the top 5 arms exporters in 2008-2012 (share of international exports in parenthesis):

1. United States (30 percent).

2. Russia (26).

3. Germany (7).

4. France (6).

5. China (5).

The top 5 arms importers in 2008-2012 (share of international imports in parenthesis):

1. India (12 percent).

2. China (6).

3. Pakistan (5).

4. South Korea (5).

5. Singapore (4).

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pulled to edges

Column: Reaching for middle, pulled to edges

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It was a bipartisan spectacle, one served up for Americans craving cooperation in an era of divided government and persistent gridlock.

From one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other, President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress made what seemed like an attempt to work together. Republicans dined at and a few blocks from the White House and the president visited Capitol Hill, each side essentially on the other's home turf. Talk — in public at least — focused on areas of possible collaboration. The phrase "grand bargain" was tossed around as if big, across-the-aisle deals were in the works.

If only it actually had meant a sea change. But in reality, the past few weeks simply shone the spotlight on the tension of this nation's say-one-thing-do-the-other politics.

Both Obama and House Speaker John Boehner tempered expectations — and put the onus on others to find common ground.

"We've had good conversations. But ultimately it's a matter of the House and Senate, both caucuses, getting together and being willing to compromise," Obama said, a measured prod as he left Capitol Hill after three days of meetings last week that, like the bipartisan meals of the week before, he had initiated.

Boehner was blunt: "This is going to take more than dinner dates and phone calls. It's going to take the president and Senate Democrats rolling up their sleeves, making tough choices about how we solve our nation's problems."

At the same time, Republicans and Democrats did the very opposite of reach for the middle. Each side offered up competing budget proposals filled with ideas drawn narrowly from their ideological wings. Both sides dug in on their positions.

Obama also spent time bucking up his biggest backers, who had huddled to plot how to help his agenda through Congress. Fighting for the middle class was the phrase of choice — as they gathered for two days in the posh St. Regis hotel. Organizers sought to appear nonpartisan, promising to work with people of all political stripes, albeit those who wanted to help enact "a progressive agenda." That's essentially code for Democrats who back Obama's proposals.

"What we want is to make sure that the voices of the people who put me here continue to be heard," Obama told the gathering.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party's leaders of yesterday and tomorrow courted conservative activists during an annual conference that was both a pep rally for the GOP's most ardent backers and a three-day skewering of Democrats even as questions about the party's direction hung heavy. So-called red meat — sound bites, refrains and slogans served up to energize supporters and demonize opponents — topped the menu.

"Don't tell me Republicans are out of ideas when the entire Democrat agenda was articulated during the Truman administration," the top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, said. "Don't tell me Democrats are the party of the future, when their presidential ticket for 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of the 'Golden Girls.' We've got Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan and a slew of smart, young and energetic governors ready to take America into the future. They've got Hillary and Joe Biden."

The lesson: The pressures of a system dominated by the far wings of their political parties — where liberals hold the power among Democrats and conservatives hold the power among Republicans — cause leaders to speak out of both sides of their mouths. This has become the case all too often, even though the general public says it wants collaboration and some politicians truly want to collaborate.

So is the system itself preventing it?

For both sides, the mirage of bipartisanship is a political necessity. Polls show that Americans are deeply sour on the Republican Party. Now people are turning on Obama, too; he has lost his postelection bump in surveys. So, with their actions of comity, they're both trying to send a message: We get that you want us to work together.

But, as is usually the case in politics, the show obscures the truth.

Both sides feel intense pressure to rile up their core supporters, perhaps even more than the pressure they feel to address the nation's problems. Here's why: Those who are the most polarized in America are also the most passionate, motivated to raise money, knock on doors and spread the message of their favored candidates. That means those are the people who wield the most influence over politicians — the ideological and the involved.

Not so much for the rest of the country. Centrist America is not at all homogenous in its views. It's certainly not passionate about the middle of the road. And because of that, it's much less willing to spend its time working for it. Nobody in this group marches en masse to chant, fervently, "We want common ground" — which by definition means all sides bending a bit in their beliefs.

This is not a new phenomenon.

In May 1968, Richard Nixon spoke of a "silent center" — "the millions of people in the middle of the American political spectrum who do not demonstrate, who do not picket or protest loudly."

With polarization and disgust with Washington at a high level — common wisdom in recent years has suggested that the public's appetite was ripe for supporting politicians focused on the middle ground. Yet even when conditions are ripe for compromise, and people are willing to compromise, our nation struggles with it.

Even when the center of the electorate does get a burst of passion, often there's nothing for it to stick to because — in this system, at least — no candidate who takes the middle ground makes it very far. Efforts to draft like-minded candidates, through groups called Unity08 and Americans Elect, fizzled. And No Labels — described as Democrats, Republicans and "everything in between dedicated to the politics of problem-solving" — has generated little, if any, traction.

Despite this cantankerous environment, recent weeks have brought moments of true compromise.

Three times in as many months, Congress passed laws with bipartisan support: expanding the Violence Against Women Act, extending Superstorm Sandy aid and avoiding a "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that economists said would have set back the slow-growing economy. Democrats drove the train on all three; Boehner, recognizing the perilous politics for his party should he block votes, agreed to break his usual stance that he wouldn't bring a measure to the floor without most Republicans supporting it.

What's more, Republicans and Democrats also are showing signs of coming together to overhaul the immigration system, if not other matters like cybersecurity.

Such developments may suggest the starting point of a period of increased compromise — the conflicting images of the past few weeks, and Washington's history of speaking out of both sides of its mouth, aside. Silent though it may be, the center still pulls.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Liz Sidoti is the national politics editor for The Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lsidoti

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February は Two years ago the same month

1 to February の China の trade, 対 Japan だ け year before cutting れ "anti-Ri" の impact 続 く Chinese tax collector 総 Department は 8 Ri 1 to February の Japan-China trade 総 amount が the previous year over the same period by 8.2% less だ っ た と 発 table し た,15075. China の plenary の trade 総 amount は 14.2% 増 と stretch び meters countries や European Link (EU) と の trade も Sweatshirts large し た が,iphone5 ケース シリコン 成田市取香、総支配人　辻田耕一, the main trading phase hand で は Japan だ け が year before cutting れ だ っ た. The Senkaku Islands of Okinawa Prefecture · the を め ぐ ru relationship 悪 で 経 済 ga cold え 込 ん だ impact が 続 い た. January の Japan-China trade 総 amount は this year と yester year で Spring Festival (older first month) with Hugh の period が ず れ て い た impact で 8 カ ぶ ri に A primer su ni 転 じ た が, February は Two years ago the same month, more than 24.3% less だ っ た. The か ら の, Japan Input ha of 36.0% the の significantly less. 1 to 2 months の the Chinese all の output は mechanical や clothes, furniture the na ど が good tune で than 23.6% over the same period the year before 増 と the high the い stretch び を shows し external demand の Reply を う か が わ せ たDomestic demand the の potential い the は weak ku, enter は 5% 増 に っ た to と ど ma. In radiolabeling month February the の trade black word は 152 150 million ド Hikaru (about 1 trillion 450 billion yen) the output が prior year 21.8% 増, enter が 15.2% Less. (Common)

フェンディ 店舗 東京・ディファ有明で行われる『REBELS.17

【レベルス】5・6初代王者は誰だ!?ライト級トーナメントがスタート5月6日（月・祝）東京・新宿FACEで開催される『REBELS.16』の一部対戦カードが発表された。

　ムエタイルール（ヒジ打ちあり、首相撲無制限など）に準ずるREBELS-MUAYTHAIルール、さらにREBELS-MUAYTHAIランキングとタイトルが制定され、今大会からREBELS-MUAYTHAIライト級の王座決定トーナメントがスタートする。トーナメント出場者は4人となり、準決勝の組み合わせは黒田アキヒロ（フォルティス渋谷）vsMIDORI（習志野ジム）、ハチマキ（PHOENIX）vs稲葉竜太（team OJ）となった。

　黒田とハチマキは、今年1月27日に対戦しドロー,ダウン コート メンズ 同社の売り上げは拡大しているが利益は伸びず、その成功には疑問の声もある。その2人が別ブロックに分かれて、MA日本ランカーのMIDORI、APKFライト級王者・稲葉竜太と対戦する,フェンディ バック ドミニカ共和国。誰が勝ち上がるか予想困難なハイレベルのトーナメントとなりそうだ。

なお、この2試合の勝者が7月21日（日）東京・ディファ有明で行われる『REBELS.17（仮称）』で初代王者のベルトを争うこととなる。

＜追加決定カード＞

▼REBELS-MUAYTHAIライト級王座決定トーナメント準決勝戦　3分5R
黒田アキヒロ（フォルティス渋谷/前J-NETWORKライト級王者、J-NETWORKライト級1位、WPMF日本ライト級5位）
vs
MIDORI（習志野ジム/MA日本ライト級4位、WPMF日本ライト級3位）

▼REBELS-MUAYTHAIライト級王座決定トーナメント準決勝戦　3分5R
ハチマキ（PHOENIX/WPMF日本ライト級2位）
vs
稲葉竜太（team OJ/APKFライト級王者、元NKBライト級1位）【関連記事】 長島☆自演乙も日本人キラーに敗れる！ カリスマキックボクサー立嶋篤史が参戦！ムエタイの神様の弟子と対戦 日菜太と初代王座を争うトーナメント開催 クローズアップ－キックボクシング特集

r4ds 初回は２死無走者からフェルナンデスが、二塁手のグラブをはじく強烈な打球の右前打で出塁

【ＷＢＣ】豪快４発＆１４点！キューバが猛打で台湾を下す「ＷＢＣ２次ラウンド敗者復活１回戦、キューバ14‐０台湾」（９日・東京ドーム）

　キューバ打線が初回から火を噴いた。初回は２死無走者からフェルナンデスが、二塁手のグラブをはじく強烈な打球の右前打で出塁,東証＝始値　１万１６９５円４５銭 株式。セペダはカウント３‐１から豪快に振り抜き、先制の右越え２ランだ,2013年2月26日読売新聞。

　四回にはソフトバンクの陽耀勲に対し、無死一塁から５番・アブレウが投前バントを試みた。長距離打者の小技を予測していなかったのか、二塁手のカバーが遅れ、陽耀勲の送球が悪送球（ヒットと失策）とって無死二、三塁。ここでＡ・デスパイネが中前適時打。

　さらに１次ラウンドの日本戦でも特大アーチを放っていたトマスが、試合を決定づける右越え３ランを放った。

　それでもキューバは攻撃の手を一切緩めない。オランダ戦５併殺の拙攻のうっぷんを晴らすかのように、打ちまくった。六回はアブレウの２ラン、Ａ・デスパイネのソロなどで大量８点を加えたキューバが結局、七回表終了コールドで圧勝した。

　キューバは米サンフランシスコで行われる準決勝進出をかけて、11日に、オランダ‐日本の敗者と敗者復活２回戦を行う。そこで勝利を収めれば、準決勝進出が決まる。

　前夜８日に日本と死闘の末に敗れた台湾は２次ラウンドでの敗退が決まった。【関連記事】 ホットパンツで生脚まぶしく…マエケンの新妻、キャンプに手料理持参でラブ注入 WBC・韓国敗退に地元紙は「台中の惨事」「恥辱の日」と失望隠せず 不倫報道で罰金の杉内、本業は“フライデー登板”で気迫の火消し イタリア番狂わせ！メキシコに逆転勝ち 陽耀勲 、 サンフランシスコ 、 ソフトバンク を調べる

Acekard2i の公開を記念して制作されたもの

東京都・汐留に巨大な3Dトリックアート作品が出現『ジャックと天空の巨人』(マイナビニュース)世界的3Dトリック・アーティスト「3D Joe & Max」が描いた3Dトリック・アートが11日、東京・汐留日テレプラザ ゼロスタ広場にて期間限定で公開された。公開期間は3月17日まで。同アート作品は、世界的不朽の名作「ジャックと豆の木」をブライアン・シンガー監督が映像化した映画『ジャックと天空の巨人』(3月22日公開予定)の公開を記念して制作されたもの。現場には「3D Joe & Max」のジョー・ヒルが来日し、上空1万メートルの巨大な豆の木をイメージした3Dトリック・アートを完成させた。日本で3Dトリックアートを描くことが長年の夢だったと話すジョー・ヒルは「デザイン案が決まってからは約7日間くらいで(この作品は)完成したよ」と今回の作品の製作期間についてコメント。制作の際に使う道具については、作品によって違うとのことだが、この作品の場合はまずベースコートを絵の具で行い、チョークでアウトラインを描き、アクリル絵の具で仕上げていったという。また、この作品をどう楽しんでもらいたいかと尋ねられると「制作しているとき、いつも観客の人たちが"この位置に立って、こういうポーズをとってくれるだろうな"と想像しながら描くんだ,　しかし、完成した作品については「そんなに違和感ないなと思った」と満足している様子。だけど、いつも自分がまったく想像できなかった驚くようなポージングをする人が出てくるんだよ(笑),グッチ バック 元副会長で、東京が名乗りを上げている２０２０年夏季五輪の開催都市選定で投票権を持つＩＯＣ委員のアニタ・デフランツさん。だから日本の方にも、僕がビックリするようなポージングをしてもらたら嬉しいな」と語った。さらに、ジョー・ヒルは3Dトリックアートを描くコツについて「こんなに秘密を打ち明かしたら次回以降の日本での仕事がなくなっちゃうよ」と冗談を交えつつ「まずカメラをセットアップして、作業中は何度もそのカメラでちゃんと3Dに見えるのかをチェックすることだね。初めて挑戦する場合はリンゴひとつとか、シンプルな物から始めればいいと思うよ。色も最初からあまり多くしないこともポイントかな」とアドバイス。そのほか、将来的には様々な映画をテーマとした3Dトリック・アート作品を約10点ほど一堂に展示し、お酒を飲みながらアート作品を楽しめるような空間を作ってみたいと明かしてくれた。○3Dトリック・アーティスト「3D Joe & Max」の作品一覧(C)Joe Hill of 3D Joe and Max