Tiny autonomous sensors could lay hidden for years

13 hrs.

Defense research companies are working hard at improving their "unattended ground sensor" technology: tiny, camouflaged devices that can be left alone for months or years to listen for and report events like footsteps and vehicles. The military has been using them for years, but previous versions didn't last nearly as long enough, and weren't effective enough, to justify their cost. The latest models improve on every aspect.

When troops clear an area and move on, they still have to monitor that area for enemy presence. Usually this means sending a patrol -- possibly a single jeep or a few soldiers on foot. These patrols are vulnerable to attack and can't cover every bit of ground. But if troops could drop sensors behind them that would report back every footfall and engine noise, they would know whether they needed to risk sending men out, and get some idea of the location of the threat.

The idea goes back as far as Vietnam, when bulky acoustic sensors were dropped to report back on Viet Cong movements,?but it's only in recent years that the devices have become a contender for mass deployment. Wired has an extended look at the technology with comment from some military and research officials.

The usual advances have contributed to the new models: smaller and faster microchips for detecting and interpreting signals, better batteries and solar cells for keeping those batteries charged, and more intelligent wireless capabilities that let dozens of the sensors share information with each other or their users.

One from Lockheed Martin, pictured, looks just like a rock and can stay active for years -- possibly decades, according to their creator. It listens for footsteps and vehicle noises (the devices can even determine the number of cylinders by certain distinctive measures), puts nearby sensors on alert, and relays the information to the commander.?Another, made by the far smaller Camgian Microsystems, uses a sort of micro-radar to actually watch for movement.

With such a long lifespan, such devices could remain in areas like Afghanistan long after American troops have been withdrawn, providing a basic level of intelligence on movement in areas of interest. Of course, one of?these smart rocks could also be sitting outside a local building or house and no one would be the wiser. In a few years it might be prudent?to check nearby suspicious rocks before whispering?sensitive information.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

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Police: Seattle cafe gunman may have shot self

Police approach a house in the University district in Seattle close to where a gunman killed two people and critically wounded three others at a cafe Wednesday, May 30, 2012. They left shortly after. Not long after a gunman opened fire at the cafe in the north Seattle neighborhood, a woman was shot to death in downtown Seattle and her car taken and later abandoned in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were connected. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Police approach a house in the University district in Seattle close to where a gunman killed two people and critically wounded three others at a cafe Wednesday, May 30, 2012. They left shortly after. Not long after a gunman opened fire at the cafe in the north Seattle neighborhood, a woman was shot to death in downtown Seattle and her car taken and later abandoned in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were connected. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A police officer runs across a street in the University district in Seattle close to where a gunman killed two people and critically wounded three others at a cafe Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Not long after a gunman opened fire at the cafe in the north Seattle neighborhood, a woman was shot to death in downtown Seattle and her car taken and later abandoned in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were connected. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Police block a street in the University district in Seattle near where a gunman killed two people and critically wounded three others at a cafe Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Not long after the cafe shooting, a woman was shot to death in downtown Seattle and her car taken and later abandoned in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were connected. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

(AP) ? A gunman killed four people in Seattle on Wednesday ? three at a cafe and another in a carjacking ? before he apparently shot himself as officers closed in following a citywide manhunt, authorities said.

He was listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

Police searching for the suspect in the first shooting near the University of Washington also had to respond to another fatal attack near the city's downtown. They say a man killed a woman in an apparent carjacking and fled in a black SUV. Authorities later said they believe one man was responsible for both attacks.

"At this time, we feel pretty confident that we have the suspect," said Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz.

The latest spasm of deadly gun violence to hit the city worried Seattle's leaders and prompted police to consider increasing patrols in high-crime areas. The three deaths bring the number of homicides so far this year to 19, compared with 21 in all of last year.

Police said residents could expect a heightened police presence in the city for the time being.

Gunfire erupted late Wednesday morning at Cafe Racer, a restaurant and music venue north of the University of Washington. The gunman was described as a man in his 30s wearing dark clothes. Police have not released a suspect's name.

Police released two photos from inside the cafe, apparently taken from a security camera. One shows a man walking into the establishment, with a woman nearby reading a book. Another photo shows stools overturned, and the man standing and holding what appears to be a handgun.

Two men died at the scene. A woman from the cafe died at a hospital.

Evan Hill, who lives above the building where the shooting happened, said the cafe was an artists' collective and performance space.

"It's the strangest place to think of a shooting," said Hill, who heard four to five shots. He said he ran to his balcony and called 911, but didn't see a suspect.

On a street corner across from the cafe, friends of the victims gathered by the ivy-covered wall of an apartment building. Some collapsed in grief. The cafe's owner hugged them and commiserated.

Units of police officers marched by with rifles and shotguns, knocking on doors and checking driveways and yards in the neighborhood of single-family, bungalow-style homes, restaurants and businesses.

Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said late Wednesday afternoon that a plain-clothes detective spotted the cafe suspect in the southwestern part of the city and called for unformed officers and a SWAT team. As those officers arrived, the man put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, Pugel said.

During the manhunt, Roosevelt High School, Eckstein Middle School and Greenlake Elementary were locked down, according to the school district.

In the second shooting, the SUV that the gunman used to flee was found abandoned later. The suspect shot himself not far from where the SUV was found, authorities said.

In the last month, there have been two random killings in the city.

Last week, a man died when a stray bullet struck him as he and his family drove down a Seattle street. In late April, a woman died of injuries suffered in an apparently random drive-by shooting near downtown.

No arrests have been made in either of those fatalities.

On Saturday, a bystander was wounded near the iconic Space Needle when he was struck by a bullet allegedly fired by a gang member involved in a dispute with another man, authorities said.

Later that night, about 60 shots were fired in drive-by shootings at four houses. No one was hit.

Besides the plan to increase the number of officers on patrol in high-crime areas, police are urging people with information about shootings to come forward.

At a news conference, Mayor Mike McGinn said the spate of violence had "shaken" the city.

"It's going to take our political leaders, coming together, to give our police officers the support and tools they need to do their jobs," McGinn said.

City Councilman Bruce Harrell said leaders needed to consider everything - from changing laws to addressing the culture of violence.

"If we are to be honest, there's no easy fix," he said.

Associated Press

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Get Your Bottom Back into Your Bikini?and Keep It There! ? The ...

Get Your Bottom Back into Your Bikini?and Keep It?There!

It?s almost summer,?and I recently had a moment of panic: will I still fit into that bikini that?s lain crumpled in the back of my dresser drawer all winter long??I know I?m not the only one hoping the answer is ?yes.? But if it?s not, I know that I?m not looking for a quick-shrink kind of diet; I want the plan that will get me back in bikini shape, and keep me there (until I decide to go bonkers at the buffet this Christmas). A tested and approved plan that cares about weight maintenance as much about weight loss is Volumetrics. Originally pioneered over ten years ago by Dr. Barbara Rolls, it?s been updated with new science and new recipes in The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet. Here, Dr. Rolls explains many of the myths and misconceptions about weight loss and diet ?tricks.? Her partner in research and recipe developer, Mindy, chimes in with her own insights, too.

Can you gain weight on healthy food? How can eating healthy foods help you to lose weight?

?Barbara:? A calorie is a calorie when it comes to body weight, so if you eat more calories than your body needs ? even if those calories come from healthy foods such as fruits ? you will gain weight. However, you can lose weight by eating bigger portions of lower calorie density foods like vegetables in place of those that are more dense in calories.? When volunteers in my lab were served extra vegetables without any change in the amount of meat and grain on their plate, their meal calories didn?t change. Their total calories went down only when we substituted veggies for other foods on the plate, and we got an even bigger drop in calories when we decreased the calorie density of the vegetables by eliminating butter or sauce.

?Mindy: Many of our recipes show how to reengineer a dish by increasing the amount of low calorie density ingredients such as veggies and cutting back in other places. One of my favorites is the Fajita Breakfast Burrito, where we filled the burrito with lots of vegetables instead of breakfast meat and cheese.

?Is there anything wrong with sneaking veggies into foods?

?Barbara: Sneaking in vegetables gets a bad rap in some circles, but I think it?s a great strategy for not only adding more vegetables but also lowering calories. I think of it as recipe improvement. And research in my lab shows that you can sneak in a lot of vegetables without kids or adults knowing they?re there. When we hid four to five times the usual amount of veggies in entr?es served to preschoolers, the kids doubled their daily vegetable intake. Of course, kids need to learn about whole vegetables and parents need to keep offering them. In adults, sneaking four and a half times the usual amount of vegetables into recipes for carrot bread, macaroni and cheese, and chicken-rice casserole increased daily vegetable intake by 80 percent and helped reduce daily calorie intake by 360 calories.

?Mindy: To try this stealth approach at home, start with about 1/4 cup of extra vegetables or fruit for each serving in a recipe, for example, a cup of vegetables is a dish to serve four. Hide vegetables where they blend in easily and are not noticeable such as in mixed dishes, pastas, stews, and soups. Remember to cut down on ingredients that are calorie-dense in order to trim total calories.

?Does it matter whether you eat or drink your calories?

?Barbara: I suggest keeping drink calories in check. Beverages don?t affect hunger and fullness the same way that food does, and you could drink a lot of beverage calories without making a difference to how hungry you are. For example, if you have a large regular soft drink, are you full or do you still have room for food? Studies show that you will likely eat just as much food when you have the soda as when you don?t. The beverage calories add on to the calories from food.

?How can you lose weight if you eat a lot of meals at restaurants?

?Barbara: While people who eat out frequently eat more calories and tend to be heavier than people who have most of their meals at home, it is possible to make choices that can help you lose weight. It is essential to manage portion sizes. When we surveyed chefs, about three-quarters thought they serve regular-size portions. But they reported serving up to eight times as much meat and pasta as the government recommends and barely half a cup of vegetables, which is too small a portion. One of the smartest strategies is to pick a restaurant that has plenty of lower-calorie-density options such as soups, salads, and vegetable side dishes on the menu.

?Mindy: Don?t be afraid to ask questions before ordering. Find out how a dish is prepared and ask if it can be made in a more healthful way, for example, grilled with a small amount of butter or oil instead of pan-fried. Request that high-fat, high-calorie ingredients can be reduced or eliminated. Request smaller portions, or pack half your meal to bring home.

?Is it really possible to keep weight off?

?Barbara: Yes. It is important to make lasting changes in your diet and lifestyle rather than looking at weight loss as a short-term goal. Your daily meals should include plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, lean protein, and fat-free dairy products. Limit extra calories from fat, sugar, and beverages. Incorporate daily physical activity to improve your health, help you feel more energetic, boost feelings of well-being, and reduce stress. Importantly, being active reinforces your commitment to a healthy lifestyle for maintaining your weight loss. Also maintain a record of your eating and activity; it?s one of the most important ways to improve your chances of success.

For more, visit The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet on Facebook.

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User:LevineKilby773 - LibraryCloud Wiki

From LibraryCloud Wiki

Write and Speak(?) for the Ear


You and I may possibly not aspire to write great books or make excellent speeches. But practically all of us want some thing to take place when we write or speak. And, the a lot more we tailor our words for the ears of readers and listeners, the greater our probabilities of finding the outcomes we want.

By writing for the ear, I mean that spoken words can have a lot more power than written words. Following all, when we have important messages, we favor to deliver them verbally and personally, rather than by sending a written message.

Of course, it's not practical or feasible to deliver every message verbally. But, if we can capture some of the nuances of the spoken word we can boost the power of our messages. When we write for the ear, our writing undergoes some subtle but crucial modifications. Our words, sentences, and paragraphs adjust in many critical ways.

Consider the number of pauses that occur when we speak. Most of us pause typically, more frequently than when we write. To capture these pauses, use commas or a single of the other 'slowing' punctuation marks, such as colons and semicolons.

Writing for the ear also indicates shorter sentences. And even fragments of sentences. As you can picture, speech tends to higher spontaneity than written expression, which means shorter sentences and much more fragments.

Several of the exact same principles hold when we make formal speeches or presentations. Specially if we speak from prepared notes.

Whatever we say, when we speak publicly, has to go in by means of listeners' ears. And so, if you are going to permit me to belabor the apparent, we require to write speeches for listeners' ears, not our mouths.

You can call on many fast and straightforward methods. wordpress theme generator . For example, use brief words whenever possible. Words such as 'many' rather than 'numerous' 'use' rather than 'utilize' and 'need' rather than 'require'.

You can also speak for the ear by utilizing widespread words rather than jargon or technical words. Step back from your speech, following writing it, and ask oneself if you use words that a youngster will comprehend.

We also want vivid words, words that fire up our imagination, that paint new pictures on the canvases of readers' minds. Descriptive words that convey action and emotion, words that drive ideas into our heads.

Use active verbs and not passive verbs. Banish words like 'is', and 'are'. Also, verify for the word 'being' and rewrite to get rid of it. Bring in verbs that do some thing.

Now that you've got the words you want, put them into short sentences. A single short sentence. Followed by yet another brief sentence. But, each and every the moment in although add a longer sentence for selection and to lessen the chances of boring your audience. And, maintain the suggestions basic inside those long sentences.

I am biased, I know. Immediately after spending the far better portion of a decade writing and reading radio news copy, I think it is a good thought to write for the ear.

Attempt it for oneself. Write something, read it out loud, and ask yourself about the effect it really is most likely to have on readers. Re-write as necessary, and read it aloud once more. Repeat the approach a couple of instances. By the time you finish you really should have a effectively-crafted piece of writing, even if no a single ever reads it aloud or hears it spoken.

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Eagle Scout to challenge anti-gay policy

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Ken Evoy's Site Build It Product Review ? Happy Mom Works at Home

Building a successful website is a major obstacle for
anyone wishing to earn a part or full-time income
from the Internet. Ken Evoy?s comprehensive SBI system
tackles this problem and presents a step-by-step solution
for anyone wishing to build a web business.

This product review takes a critical look at SBI and
presents a valid evaluation of this well-known site
building program. This is part one of the review
where we use SBI to build an actual site. Part two
of this review will come months later when we examine
how well this SBI site has done.

Reviewer

First, you should know this review is coming not from a
newbie but from an online professional who is making
a full time living from the web. I approached SBI from
this angle, there was nothing in the whole site building
process that was new to me. However, I wanted to take a
closer look at the SBI system so I purchased it to build
my next site. There is no substitute for first hand
experience in evaluating a product. Here are my findings
and comments on SBI.

Site Build It was founded by Ken Evoy, a Canadian doctor
who formerly practiced and taught emergency medicine at
McGill University located in Montreal, Canada. Montreal
is still the home base for all SBI and SiteSell operations.

Ken Evoy?s SBI is more than just a site building system,
it?s a complete Internet marketing business rolled into
one neat (if over stuffed) package. It gives you all the
tools and knowledge you need to start and run your own
web business.

I mentioned over-stuffed because the first impression
is one of total overwhelmment. I have been in web
marketing for over 5 or 6 years and the amount of
information/resources here were overwhelming for
me; can?t imagine what it would be like for someone
starting from scratch.

Thank Goodness for Videos!

All this information and presentation of the step-by-step
instructions, I believe would be a minor hindrance if not
for the videos. Listening and viewing the instructions
from videos in the 10 Day process of building a website
makes it much easier to understand. Granted, I did all
the steps in a few days since all the material was very
familiar ground. This system is meant to be taken
slow, (Tortoise It!) and gradually absorbed as you work
through each well-defined step.

But if you use the videos for instructions, pick the
female voice ? I found the male voice had a somewhat
irritating accent and it was hard to pick out some of
the words. I am very tolerant of accents as I come from
a remote part of the globe where we are often teased for
having funny sounding accents!

SBI not only gives you the tools to build a website
but also gives you a sound education in how the whole
Internet marketing process works from the ground up.
It starts you off on the right foundation and gives
you all the tools and knowledge you need to build a
web business. It helps you discover your niche or site
concept if you don?t have one before you start building
your site or rather web business. It?s this emphasis on
creating a web business rather than just building a
website which separates SBI from all the other cheaper
web hosts out there!

It uses a C-T-P-M (Content-Traffic-PreSell-Monetize)
model which will be familiar to any successful online
marketer. Most already have some version of this format
on their content sites: basically you start with providing
valuable ?in-demand? quality content which brings in targeted
traffic/visitors to your site. Next you have to pre-sell to
these visitors in ordet to get that all important click which
will monetize your site or content. This click could be to
an affiliate product, Google Adsense, or even your own product.

I found several of SBI?s tools to be very effective,
mainly the BrainStorm It keyword research software tool.
BrainStorm It will help you find the right keywords for
your site or online business; these keywords are the
building blocks that you must get right or it?s game
over before you even start.

I normally use Brad Callen?s excellent ?Keyword Elite?
software to find my keywords but BrainStorm It is
comparative and just as good. BrainStorm It has to be
a major plus if you?re trying to build a successful website.
It will quickly give you your Master Keyword list that
will be the foundation of your web business.

Actual Site Building

You have several ways to build your actual site in SBI
? you can use the Templates and customize your header,
nav buttons, background and footer. SBI even gives you
online graphical tools to customize your graphics and
images. These are fairly straight-forward and easy to
use even for someone with no online experience.

If you?re a professional web designer or simply know
what you?re doing, you can upload your own site?s html
files and skip the online site builder altogether.

Unlike many web hosts and site building programs,
SBI doesn?t stop after you have designed your site.
Included in your purchase price are what makes SBI
somewhat unique, you get the tools and marketing
resources to actually build your newly created
site into a profitable online business!

You get SEO help: your site is submitted to all the
major search engines, you get a Sitemap for Google
and Yahoo, you get a Blog/RSS feed to attract visitors,
you get a contact/list building system or ezine, you
get visitor analysis tools to help you improve your site.

SBI also places an important emphasis on monetizing
your site. After you have built a ongoing site, it
helps you with ways to monetize your traffic or site.
After all your main objective is not only to build a
successful site but to build a successful web business.

Please, don?t get the wrong picture, SBI is not perfect.
It is not for everyone, it may be too structured and
formatted for seasoned site builders. Too limiting in
its design, I couldn?t help but notice that I myself
have many different site design models/layouts that work
and operate perfectly well outside of the SBI?s model.

SBI instructions and resources may be too overwhelming
and confusing for a complete novice. Some may even
come away scratching their heads and wondering what
all this online stuff is about. I believe the videos
help in solving this problem but a more streamlined
presentation would prove to be more helpful for the
complete beginner.

The main problem is that SBI over delivers with
a whole gamut of resources and information that
a beginner may find it hard to absorb all the
information and get turned off in the process.
However, even the complete novice, if they take
the instructions slowly and work at their own pace,
will be greatly rewarded with one of the best
online web marketing educations available anywhere.

Online Community

Perhaps, in my opinion, what makes SBI worth the
price of admission is the online forum community.
Ken Evoy has gathered and nurtured a whole army of
like-minded webmasters and online marketers with
his ?Pay-it-Forward? attitude that has resulted in
one of the best online communities on the web.

A wealth of online helpful information and people
just ready to guide you whether you?re a complete
newbie or a seasoned pro. The true strength and power
of SBI can be found in this ever increasing community
of like-minded webmasters and marketers.

Moreover, along with all the tools and resources,
it is this online community that truly turns Ken Evoy?s
comprehensive SBI website building system into
?Ecommerce for the rest of us.?

Click here for ?more information about Site Build It?

?
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous niche websites, including two sites on Internet Marketing. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools If you?re trying to start a web business and don?t know where to begin, why not try these excellent free training manuals and videos: Free Marketing Courses Copyright ? 2007 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Author: Titus Hoskins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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el-mundo-report-on-30-billion-euro-spanish-bank ... - Business Insider

Spanish markets got clubbed today, as PM Mariano Rajoy was announcing a new nationalization scheme for Bankia.

But that was mostly expected.

What freaked out investors was a new report in El Mundo that suggested a new, much-more expensive fire needed to be put out.

In its latest Euro Areas: Sovereign Debt Crisis Update note, Citi summarizes the report:

Reports suggest Spain may need an extra ?30bn for banks - Spain may need another ?30bn to clean up its banking system on top of the ?19bn required by Bankia according to El Mundo. The money would be split along the following lines: ?10bn for a balance sheet cleanup and ?20bn to raise capital levels, citing
government sources. The newspaper argues that the ?30bn would go mainly to CatalunyaCaixa, Novagalicia and Banco de Valencia. The newspaper also quoted government sources suggesting that, should the Greece crisis continue and Spanish 10-yr bond spread remain around 500bps, Spain could seek aid from European funds.

And for more on today's big Spanish market selloff, click here >

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What You Should Know About Coaching | Found Useful

Coaching is gaining popularity the past few years as people are becoming aware of its benefits. Coaching is a teaching or a training process in which an individual gets support while he or she learns to achieve a specific personal or professional result or goal. Coaches help clients explore needs, motivations, skills, and though processes and assists the latter to make real, beneficial, and lasting changes in their life. Instead of taking a wholly directive approach, coaches use various questioning techniques to assist the client in identifying solutions and actions.

Although therapy and coaching share some key theoretical underpinnings, they are different in that the latter does not seek to resolve the underlying issues that contribute to the current problems of the client such as poor motivation. Rather, coaching concerns itself with issues with regards to setting objectives, planning actions, and evaluating results. Coaching has branched off into several specializations. Nowadays, it is possible to find a life coach, career coach, and a leadership coach, too.

Life coaching is a practice that helps people identify and achieve personal goals. This area of coaching draws inspiration from several disciplines like sociology, positive adult development, and neuro-linguistic programming. A career coach can help you if you are contemplating a change in career or if you are feeling stagnant in your job. Typically, people who come for career coaching know exactly what they want to get out of the process, but are unsure about how to achieve it or how it may work. A leadership coach can help an everyday leader become an effective leader. The coach can teach the mentee on motivation, goal setting, and progress chasing.

How to Find the Right Coach

Coaching can do more harm than good if the coach does not have the right training or if he does not follow the industry?s best practices when dealing with clients. Hence, it is necessary to do your homework to find a coach who is reputable. Get referrals from people close to you so you can find reliable coaches in your own or city. A good number of coaches have set up their own websites so you can learn about them and their services conveniently.

Determine if the coach you are contemplating on working with is licensed and is accredited by a local, regional, or national trade association. Remember that a coach?s credentials and experience can impact the pricing structure. Your objective is to find a reasonably priced coaching package provided by a professional with years of experience under his belt. Do not forget to schedule a consultation before making any decisions though. The best coach to get is a person who you feel at ease and safe with.

Today, there are several coaching methods you can sign up for and some of the most common are life coaching, career coaching, and leadership coaching. Go here for more info on coaching and tips on choosing a coach: Career coaching

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China's energy investment push only for the brave

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Private investors with the money and technology to unlock China's vast pools of shale and coal seam gas will need strong stomachs to brave the unpredictable, unsupported and unregulated sector.

China, the world's largest energy user, signaled last week it wanted to draw more private investment into its energy sector as part of a plan to fast-track infrastructure investment to shore up economic growth.

It is drafting detailed guidelines to encourage private investment across industries, with a special focus on heavily state-controlled electricity, oil and natural gas, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Conventional oil, gas and coal production is highly profitable in China but is dominated by state firms. Subsidies, state monopolies and government control on energy prices have made refining and power generation money-losing businesses.

Downstream segments such as gas storage, which produce steady returns, is an area that could attract private money. Gas distribution is another possibility because of strong earnings prospects, but state firms are already muscling in. Arguably, the sector in most need of new investment is unconventional energy, such as shale gas, which could potentially curb China's reliance on foreign oil and gas.

Still, without detailed rules and incentives, China may find few takers from the private sector in any area, let alone unconventional energy.

"It is not sufficient to say the energy sector will be open to private capital. The power generation industry has been open to private enterprises for more than 20 years, but who would have the guts to put money in the business?" said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Centre of Energy Economics at Xiamen University in southeast China.

"If China wants to make a material breakthrough in attracting private capital, it has to come up with some incentives to protect returns," he said.

EMPTY PROMISE?

It is not the first time that senior policymakers have tried to draw private capital to areas dominated by state firms. Sources told Reuters last month that China's reformers sensed an opportunity to push through a series of changes before President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao step down early next year, so that view could be behind the latest push.

State giants such as PetroChina , Sinopec Corp and CNOOC Ltd dominate the conventional oil-and-gas sector from production, through refining, marketing and pipelines.

PetroChina Chairman Jiang Jiemin told a media briefing last week that private firms will be welcomed as investors in the country's third cross-country West-East gas pipeline, although others say such a prospect is a difficult sell.

"It's hard for private capital to participate in this giant pipeline project because gas prices are controlled by the government, the investment is huge and it usually takes more than a decade to get the return," said Xu Bo, a researcher with China National Petroleum Corp, the parent of PetroChina.

Private investors may also be wary of the risk of nationalization. Beijing forced private owners to sell to the government when it nationalized the oil industry in northern Shaanxi in 2005 and the coal mining sector in Shanxi province in 2009. It set off protests that made international headlines.

SHALE CHALLENGE

China is examining interest in shale gas exploration, an area with huge potential, but which is also a big challenge.

"Surprisingly, the first to show interest are those outside our vision... Many are private companies," Li Yuxi, researcher at the strategic research centre of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said in an industry conference last week.

The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates China holds 36.1 trillion cubic meters (1,275 trillion cubic feet) of technically recoverable shale gas reserves -- significantly higher than the 24.4 tcm (862 trillion cubic feet) in the United States, which has the second-largest supply.

The National Energy Administration of China has targeted production of 6.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of shale gas by 2015, or roughly 6 percent of China's current total gas production. It aims to boost output to 60-100 bcm in 2020, a level many experts say is over-ambitious given the technological, environmental and geological challenges.

China has yet to build and lay all the pipelines needed to transport shale gas, most of which is believed to be located in mountainous areas or places far from markets, or to build sufficient plants to process and store the gas.

"It seems to me that the government very badly underestimates the time and the cost. In particular, they underestimate the need to build ... processing plants and pipeline infrastructure," said Al Troner, president of Houston-based Asia Pacific Energy Consulting.

Added to which, without subsidies, tax breaks, and a regulatory framework governing their interest in shale gas discoveries, private investors may stay away, analysts say.

"You need to incentivize private investment and more development of the oil service sector to improve efficiency and develop technology to access and develop the shale gas," said Scott Darling, head of Asia Oil and Gas at Barclays Capital.

Without that, it may take some years before China develops the shale gas sector at all.

Zhou Jiping, vice chairman of PetroChina, the country's dominant oil-and-gas producer, has said the state company will prioritize tight gas and coal seam gas over shale gas because the latter is more costly to extract.

"Shale gas is a long-term story for China. You are not going to see much progress in the next five years," said a source close to PetroChina's shale gas strategy, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the public.

(Additional reporting by Xu Wan and Su Dan; Editing by Emily Kaiser and Neil Fullick)

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