Liberty Newspost Jan-17-2012

Curated News Edition
- 17/01/12
http://www.LibertyNewspost.com
Fuel transfer begins at iced-in Alaska city

(USATODAY.com Feed)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 8:52:05 AM
ANCHORAGE (AP) A Russian tanker and its crew have begun offloading more than a million gallons of fuel to an icedin city along the western coast of Alaska. By Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst, Coast Guard, via AP The Russian tanker Renda sits off Nome's coast Monday with two fuel transfer hoses running to a causeway in a harbor. By Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst, Coast Guard, via AP The Russian tanker Renda sits off Nome's coast Monday with two fuel transfer hoses running to a causeway in a harbor. Two parallel hoses, 700 yards long each, are stretched between the tanker Renda and a pipeline that will deliver the fuel to storage tanks in the city of Nome. One is carrying gasoline, the other diesel fuel. The transfer could be finished within 36 hours or it could take as long as five days. It started near sundown Monday, after crews
laid the hoses along a stretch of Bering Sea ice to the pipeline that begins on a rock causeway 550 yards from the tanker, said Jason Evans, board chairman of the Sitnasuak Native Corp. Sitnasuak owns the local fuel company, Bonanza Fuel, and has been working closely with Vitus Marine, the supplier that arranged for the delivery of the 1.3 million gallons of fuel. State officials said the transfer must start during daylight, but can continue in darkness. Nome has just five hours of daylight this time of year. The city of 3,500 didn't get its last pre-winter barge fuel delivery because of a massive November storm. Without the Renda's delivery, Nome would run out of fuel by March or April, long before the next barge delivery is possible. Alaska has had one of the most severe winters in decades. Snow has piled up 10 feet or higher against the wood-sided buildings in Nome, a former gold rush town that is the final stop on the 1,150mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Smith said the effort is a third of the way over with the arrival of the Renda near Nome. Pumping the fuel from the tanker will be the second part. The third part will be the exiting through ice by the two ships. Personnel will walk the entire length of hosing every 30 minutes The Renda began its journey to check for leaks, Evans said. from Russia in mid-December, E a c h s e g m e n t h a s i t s o w n picking up diesel fuel in South containment area, and extra Korea before heading to Dutch absorbent boom will be on hand. Harbor, Alaska, where it took on The Coast Guard is monitoring unleaded gasoline. It arrived last the effort, working with state, week off Nome on Alaska's west f e d e r a l , l o c a l a n d t r i b a l coast, more than 500 miles from representatives, Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow said. The Anchorage. A Coast Guard icebreaker cleared fuel participants had to submit a a path for the 370-foot tanker plan to state environmental through hundreds of miles of a regulators on how they intended slow journey stalled by thick ice to get the fuel off the Renda, he and strong ocean currents. In said. total, the tanker traveled an "We want to make sure the fuel estimated 5,000 miles, said Rear transfer from the Renda to the A d m . T h o m a s O s t e b o , onshore storage facility is commander of District Seventeen conducted in as safe a manner as possible," he said. with the Coast Guard. "It's just been an absolutely grand Copyright 2012 The Associated collaboration by all parties Press. All rights reserved. This involved," said Stacey Smith of material may not be published, Vitus Marine, the fuel supplier. b r o a d c a s t , r e w r i t t e n o r redistributed. For more
information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Headline/
Fact check: GOP candidates stretch truth in S.C. debate

(USATODAY.com Feed)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 6:56:50 AM
governor Jon Huntsman dropped out of the race earlier in the day, endorsing former Massachusetts By Robert Farley, Lori Robertson governor Mitt Romney. and Eugene Kiely, FactCheck.org Santorum vs. Romney: Felons' Updated voting rights In a spirited debate, Republican In a night filled with debate about candidates variously strained the claims made by super PACs, one facts on President Obama's record of the liveliest came between on trade, tangled with each other Romney and former Pennsylvania over a misleading ad about senator Rick Santorum over a allowing felons to vote, and erred claim involving voting rights for on the history of the federal felons. income tax. Santorum was correct on the facts By Janet Blackmon Morgan, while defending himself against a T h e S u n N e w s , v i a A P misleading ad run by the proR e p u b l i c a n p r e s i d e n t i a l Romney super PAC Restore Our candidates take the stage for Future. The ad claimed Santorum Monday's debate in Myrtle Beach, "even voted to let convicted S.C. From left: Rick Perry, Rick felons vote." Because the ad Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt features a background image of a Gingrich and Ron Paul. man in an orange prison jumpsuit wearing an "I voted" sticker, By Janet Blackmon Morgan, The S a n t o r u m s a i d t h e c l e a r Sun News, via AP implication is that he voted to R e p u b l i c a n p r e s i d e n t i a l allow felons to vote from prison. candidates take the stage for In fact, as Santorum correctly Monday's debate in Myrtle Beach, noted, the amendment he voted S.C. From left: Rick Perry, Rick for in 2002 would have allowed Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt felons to register to vote only after Gingrich and Ron Paul. they had successfully completed Otherwise, the five remaining their probation and parole. GOP presidential candidates Santorum was one of just three pretty much stuck to the facts as Republicans to vote for the they debated Jan. 16 at the Myrtle amendment, which failed 63-31. Beach Convention Center in When Romney said his view is Myrtle Beach, S.C. The event was that "I don't think people who sponsored by Fox News and the have committed violent crimes Wall Street Journal. Former Utah should be allowed to vote again,"
about this claim, he said the three deals we mentioned were negotiated by the Bush administration and only approved by Congress under Obama. But that, too, ignores work by the Obama administration to break a stalemate and win agreement from lawmakers on the deals. The New Santorum replied that, "in the Y o r k T i m e s s a i d t h a t t h e state of Massachusetts when you culmination of the deals "end[ed] were governor, the law was that a political standoff that has not only could violent felons vote s t r e t c h e d a c r o s s t w o a f t e r t h e y e x h a u s t e d t h e i r presidencies," calling the inking sentences, but they could vote of the pacts "a rare moment of while they were on probation and bipartisan accord" and "a victory parole." He's right. Massachusetts for President Obama," who is one of 13 states that allow bucked some in his own party people with felony convictions to who opposed the deals. So it would be accurate to say the vote upon release from prison. president hasn't negotiated any When Santorum asked Romney why he didn't try to change that new trade deals, but Romney goes law when he was governor of too far when he denies the Massachusetts, Romney said it president any credit for opening was "something we discussed" but up new markets. that the Massachusetts Legislature Paul vs. history: Income tax Rep. Ron Paul claimed that the at the time was 85% Democratic. United States had no income tax Romney vs. Obama: No new "up until 1913." Not quite. markets? Romney claimed that "this Congress passed the Revenue Act president has opened up no new of 1861 to help finance the Civil markets for American goods War. around the world in his three During the debate, moderator years," ignoring trade deals Bret Baier asked each candidate Obama signed in October 2011 how high they would set the with South Korea, Colombia and income tax rate. Paul was the only candidate to say "zero" percent, Panama. When we asked Romney's drawing huge applause, and spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, supporting his position with a
bogus history lesson. Paul: Well, we should have the lowest tax that we ever had and up until 1913 it was zero percent. What's so bad about that? Yes, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the explicit power to tax "from whatever source derived." But Congress did impose income taxes prior to that. Library of Congress: The origin of the income tax on individuals is generally cited as the passage of the 16th Amendment, passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913; however, its history actually goes back even further. During the Civil War Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861 which included a tax on personal incomes to help pay war expenses. The tax was repealed ten years later. However, in 1894 Congress enacted a flat rate Federal income tax, which was ruled unconstitutional the following year by the U.S. Supreme Court because it was a direct tax not apportioned according to the population of each state. The 16th amendment, ratified in 1913, removed this objection by allowing the Federal government to tax the income of individuals without regard to the FACT page 4
Headline/ News Wire/
Indonesia cracks down again on train 'surfers'

(USATODAY.com Feed)
Mateta Rizahulhaq, a spokesman for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api. "Maybe JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) this will do it." Indonesia has gone to imaginative Trains that crisscross Indonesia extremes to try to stop commuters on poorly maintained tracks left from illegally riding the roofs of behind by Dutch colonizers six t r a i n s h o s i n g d o w n t h e decades ago usually are packed s c o f f l a w s w i t h r e d p a i n t , with passengers, especially during threatening them with dogs and the rush hour. appealing for help from religious Hundreds seeking to escape the leaders. overcrowded carriages clamor to By Dita Alangkara, AP the top. Some ride high to avoid People ride on top of a crowded paying for a ticket. Others do so c o m m u t e r t r a i n i n J a k a r t a , because despite the dangers, Indonesia, on Tuesday. with dozens killed or injured Now the authorities have an every year "rail surfing" is fun. intimidating and possibly even The first dozen or so balls were deadly new tactic: Suspending installed Tuesday hundreds of rows of grapefruit-sized concrete yards (meters) from the entrance balls to rake over the top of trains of a train station just outside the as they pull out of stations, or capital, Jakarta. Painted silver, the w h e n t h e y g o t h r o u g h r a i l balls hung by chains from what crossings. looked like the frame of a giant Authorities hope the balls soccer goal. which could deliver serious blows But there was a glitch: the chains to the head will be enough to were too short, leaving a gap of deter defiant roof riders. about 16 inches (40 cm) between " W e ' v e t r i e d j u s t a b o u t the balls and the roofs of the everything, even putting rolls of p a s s i n g t r a i n c a r r i a g e s . barbed wire on the roof, but Rizahulhaq said adjustments nothing seems to work," said would be made.
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:41:52 AM
If successful, the project will be expanded, with balls also set up near railway crossings. Asked about worries that the balls could hurt or even kill those who defy the roof-riding ban, he insisted that wasn't really his problem. "They don't have to sit on top," he said. "And we've already told them, if the train is full, go to the office. We will be happy to reimburse their tickets." The commuters, known as "Atappers" or "Roofers," meanwhile are hardcore in their determination to stay on top. "I was really scared when I first heard about these balls," said Mulyanto, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, who rides between his hometown of Bogor and Jakarta almost every day for work. "It sounds like it could be really dangerous." "But I don't think it'll last long," he said. "They've tried everything to keep us from riding in the end we always win." "We like it up there, it's windy, really nice." Many of the roof riders and
regular passengers say the main problem lies with Indonesia's dilapidated railway system. There are not enough trains to meet demand, they say. And there are constant delays in service. "People have jobs! They can't be late," said Parto, a trader at the Jakarta stock exchange, who can usually be found sitting inside. "If the train is late, they'll do whatever they have to." Several years ago, paint guns were set up to spray those riding on the top of carriages so authorities could identify and round up the guilty travelers. But roof riders destroyed the equipment soon after. The exhortations of clerics didn't work. Neither did the dogs. At one point, police decided to do the expected: arrest the culprits. But their officers were pelted with rocks and they gave up. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints &
permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Citigroup profit falls 11 percent, misses Street view

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:05:09 PM
[unable to retrieve full-text content](Reuters) - Citigroup Inc's fourth-quarter profit fell 11
percent and missed Wall Street hurting trading revenue and estimates as the European debt discouraging clients from doing crisis battered capital markets, deals.
Top News/ Policy/ Economy/
FACT
continued from page 2
population of each State. A historian at the National Archives, Cynthia Fox, wrote that Congress in 1862 imposed an income tax of 3% on annual incomes between $600 and $10,000 and 5% on income above $10,000. Taxes went up two years later. "In 1864 the rates increased and the ceiling dropped so that incomes between $600 and $5,000 were taxed at 5%, with a 10% rate on the excess over $5,000," she wrote. The income tax continued until 1872. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our
corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Wall Street After dry start to winter, Southern California could get rallies on China some rain - Los Angeles Times data - Reuters
(Top Stories - Google News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:29:50 AM
After an unseasonably dry and warm winter so far, Southern Californians will be treated to some cooler temperatures this week and maybe even some rain later on, National Weather Service officials said Tuesday. Rain could come as early as Friday and last into the weekend, but the amount hasn't been forecast yet, said Bonnie Bartling, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service. January temperatures have averaged a high of 73 degrees, and one day rose to 86 degrees. The 30-year average for January has been 68 degrees. As cooler temperatures move into the region, frost advisories will be in place for Ventura and southern
Santa Barbara counties, Bartling said. Temperatures should stay in the mid-60s throughout the week, which is normal for this time of year, Bartling said. ALSO: 10-year-old boy suspected in fatal stabbing of 12-year-old Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee arrested on assault warrant Mother smoked meth, took iPad video before killings, police say -- Dalina Castellanos This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
(china - Google News)

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:01:32 PM
AFP Wall Street rallies on China data Reuters By Ryan Vlastelica | NEW YORK (Reuters) - US stocks gained on Tuesday as brighter sentiment about China's growth prospects overshadowed Europe's recent credit downgrades and a mixed bag of big bank earnings. China's economy expanded at the weakest pace... China Data Lift US Stock Futures; Banks In Focus Wall Street Journal Wall Street jumps on China data; Nasdaq up 1.1% Economic Times Wall Street rallies on US, China, Germany data AFP Reuters Africa all 35 news articles [unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content]
China holds key to averting global recession - USA TODAY

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:02:10 PM
USA TODAY China holds key to averting global recession USA TODAY
By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY HONG KONG - China's gross domestic product grew at its slowest pace in more than two years in the fourth quarter, and the worst may be yet to come, as weak exports and government
tightening ripple through the world's... China rethinks 8% rule as growth slows Financial Times China's Growth Engine Declines Wall Street Journal China's Urban Population
Exceeds Countryside for First Time BusinessWeek Reuters- ABC News all 1,040 news articles
Top News/
Senator Jim DeMint says it's 'Now or Never'

(The Front Page)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 3:15:00 AM
Senator Jim DeMints new book, Now or Never: Saving America From Economic Collapse, begins genially enough, with a brief history of American exceptionalism, the philosophies of liberty and capitalism, and a look at the perils facing us. The first three chapters set the stage for Chapter Four. Chapter Four is a battle cry, called No Compromise With Democrats, and here the true flavor of DeMints work emerges. Now or Never is meant as a standard for conservatives to rally around. Some impressive company is already gathered around DeMints banner, as each chapter of the book boasts an introduction from the likes of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and other conservative luminaries. These introductions are rich and substantial essays in their own right. DeMint even got Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, author of the invaluable annual Wastebook, to write the intro for his chapter on cutting government waste. Each chapter ends with a list of action items, called Share the Truth, which summarize the major points of the chapter, and give the reader an idea of how these ideas flow together into
DeMints vision for America. The Senator wants to put this book in your arsenal, not park it on your bookshelf. DeMints tone is urgent, but not angry. His book is a polemic, not a screed. He manages to touch on virtually every major issue to arise during the Obama presidency, with admirable brevity. For example, here is how he presents the outcome of the 2008 financial crisis: President Obama, like many of his predecessors, used the financial crisis and ensuing recession to expand the power of the federal government. The bank bailouts were used as an excuse to pass the Dodd-Frank financial reform package that gave the federal government effective control over Americas banking and financial system. This gave politicians indirect control over all economic activity in America, and things have only gotten worse since, following the same pattern that has been repeating itself since the inception of the progressive movement in America. Hes a sitting Senator from South Carolina, so of course there are partisan arguments made here, but DeMint does not shy from tough criticism of the Republicans. He castigates President George W. Bush for drastically increasing the size of government with the largest entitlement expansion since Johnson, with Medicare Plan D and his doubling of the Department of Education with No
Child Left Behind. He thinks the Republicans set themselves up for electoral heartbreak in 2006 and 2008 by not acting like Republicans. Hes not pleased with the skills his party had demonstrated at the political bargaining table, as in the case of No Child Left Behind: I was opposed to NCLB but believed the opt-out provision would allow some states to demonstrate better ways to improve their schools. But in order to gain Kennedys and his fellow Democrats support, Bush was forced to give up the state flexibility provision. Bush had personally promised me that this provision would be in the final plan, but Democrats would have none of it. The Democrats vowed to fight any plan that would reduce federal control of schools. Bushs compromise with Democrats to pass NCLB resulted in more centralized federal control over public education and, ultimately, more spending to maintain an education system that continues to lose ground and becomes increasingly less competitive with the rest of the world. It should really be called More Children Left Behind. Worse, NCLB doubled the size of the already troublesome Department of Education. Ronald Reagan wanted to abolish the Department of Education. He was right. DeMint makes an interesting point about the dangers of
compromising with the Democrats: compromise depends upon shared goals, and the irreconcilable division between Democrats desire to grow government, and Republicans (nominal) desire to restrain it, have left them with very few specific goals in common. Since the growth of government has become an automatic process with fearful inertia, compromise always ends up meaning more taxes, more spending, more regulation, and less liberty. A Washington Democrats worldview is so federally focused that he will lead you to believe that if he isnt in charge of something, it simply ceases to exist, DeMint warns. In the course of warning fellow Republicans against the dangers of a hopelessly dependent electorate, DeMint points out that even nominally Republican institutions tend to be biased in favor of making the government larger, since they are brokers of political influence, and such influence becomes more valuable as liberty diminishes. He is also well aware that much of the public wants to be told that government debt doesnt matter, and their troubles are caused by shadowy corporate hobgoblins who can only be driven off by the shining knights of the allpowerful, benevolent State. Now or Never is not a fatalistic book, although DeMint was deadly serious when he included
the possibility of never in the title. He has many ideas for conservatives to press their case and overcome the institutional forces arranged against them. He has a very keen understanding of the importance of language in politics, dedicating an entire chapter to the subject. He understands the vital necessity of Tea Party energy, which the Left spends a great deal of time portraying as toxic. DeMint remains firmly committed to the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, and is equally passionate about his distaste for hollow and meaningless reforms like the Budget Control Act of 2011. He advocates education, health care, and economic solutions rooted in liberty and personal responsibility, which always decay in unison. Hes willing to entertain both Fair Tax and Flat Tax reforms, provided the nightmarish current system is cleared away. He sees the Democrat Party, in its current incarnation, as unalterably opposed to all of these ideas, and therefore an obstacle to be defeated. Viewing them any other way is nave, and dishonest to voters who need to understand the fateful choice they will be making when they cast their ballots. DeMint understands the demands of practical politics well enough to devote an entire chapter to SENATOR page 14
Top News/
Gingrich wins debate, receives standing ovation

(The Front Page)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:34:00 AM
Trailing Mitt Romney in the polls in South Carolina and with Rick Santorum in his rear-view mirror before the nations first-in-theSouth primary in South Carolina, which will be held on Saturday, Newt Gingrich needed to bring the house down in South Carolina on Monday during the FOX News /Wall Street Journal debate in Myrtle Beach. And he did. Gingrich received a raucous standing ovation for his back and forth with liberal moderator Juan Williams. Williams asked Gingrich if he could see how his comments about how black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps were viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans, but particularly to black Americans. No, Gingrich curtly said, using Williams as a perfect liberal foil. I dont see that. Gingrich said his daughters first job was doing janitorial work and she liked earning the money and liked learning that if you worked, you got paid. He said only elites despise giving people opportunities to earn money. When Williams pressed Gingrich further, Gingrich said, "the fact is
that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history. Gingrich noted Obamas failures in creating jobs, which has has left many communities even more desolate, and said he believed every American of every background has been endowed by their creator with the right to pursue happiness. And if that makes liberals unhappy, Im going to continue to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn some day to own the job, Gingrich said. Gingrich has said he has to win South Carolina in order for him to be the presidential nominee. Polls have shown Republican voters in South Carolina care most about defeating President Barack Obama, and Gingrich has always argued that he is the best suited to do so because he can take on Obama in the debates while running a campaign of inclusion that appeals to Americans of all backgrounds. His exchange with Williams offered a potential preview of how effective Gingrich can be in taking on the liberal establishment, which will immediately bombard the eventual GOP nominee, in a way
that can galvanize conservatives while being inclusive of and inspirational to all Americans. Such moments can swing voter sentiment and turn elections around, and that is why Obama would probably fear Gingrich the most in a general election. Gingrich was far from a one hit wonder on Monday. When discussing terrorism, Gingrich eviscerated Ron Paul when Paul equated Osama Bin Laden to a Chinese dissident, calling that analogy utterly irrational A Chinese dissident who comes in here a Chinese dissident who comes here seeking freedom is not the same as a terrorist who goes to Pakistan seeking asylum, Gingrich said, noting that a 13year-old named Andrew Jackson was sabred by a British officer during the Revolutionary War in South Carolina and wore that scare his whole life. Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear-cut idea about Americas enemies: Kill them, Gingrich said to another round of raucous applause. And when asked about No Child Left Behind, the Bush Administration law loathed by conservatives, Gingrich emphatically said it was clearly a failure because it has led teachers to be forced into a
bureaucratic system of teaching to the test. I find virtually no teacher who likes it. Gingrich said that "first generation immigrants who dont speak very good English are being tested against a national standard. And a perfectly good school looks bad even though its doing a great job because theres no measurement thats reasonable. Gingrich said he would say to the states that it would be good for them to shrink their Departments of Education and return the power back to the local county boards, and then let parents and teachers and students get back to learning. There were four other debaters on the stage as well. Rick Perry Perry was relaxed and spoke about his record of creating jobs as governor of Texas. He called out the Obama administrations war against organized religion and said South Carolina was at war against the federal government, especially when it came to the National Labor Relations Board trying to prevent Boeing from relocating to the right to work state of South Carolina. When the Washington insiders were squabbling on stage, Perry casted himself as the antiestablishment outsider. But again, Perry could not escape
an oops moment that has plagued him throughout this cycle. Perry said Turkey was being ruled by, what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists. Perry should have explained this statement more to make clear voters knew he may have been referring to how Tukery has not been as reliable an ally as the United States hoped it would be during the last decade's war on terror. His inability to finesse such statements is what has led to voters having doubts about him as a national candidate and why this week may be his last week in the race. Mitt Romney Romney knew he would be attacked, and he had an uneven night. When Perry said, Mitt, we need you to release your income tax so people can see how you made your money because we can't fire our nominee in September, Romney suggested that if he were the nominee that he would release his taxes in April but his answer was less than clear. He did, as usual, show his considerable debating skills. Asked about his flip-flopping, Romney said the main reason he is tagged as such is because of his GINGRICH page 17
Top News/
Gloves Come Off in SC Debate; Romney Targeted

(Christianpost.com > Politics)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 7:27:03 AM
endorsement. Huntsman said he wanted to endorse a business person and Gov. Romney has proved to be a (Photo: Reuters/Jason Reed) job creator, South Carolina Gov. R e p u b l i c a n p r e s i d e n t i a l Nikki Haley told The Christian candidates (L-R) former U.S. Post. Gov. Romney has shown Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), results in both the private and Texas Governor Rick Perry, public sector and he will show the former Massachusetts Governor same results when hes our next Mitt Romney and former House president. Speaker Newt Gingrich talk after Gingrich, who has been pounding a R e p u b l i c a n p r e s i d e n t i a l Romney on his record when he candidates debate in Myrtle led the venture capital firm Bain Beach, South Carolina, January Capital, continued his assault on 16, 2012. the Massachusetts governor, (Photo: REUTERS/Jason Reed) claiming he specialized in buying R e p u b l i c a n p r e s i d e n t i a l companies and then laying off candidates (L-R) Texas Governor employees or driving them into Rick Perry, former U.S. Senator bankruptcy a charge Romney Rick Santorum (R-PA), former adamantly denied. Massachusetts Governor Mitt He also hit the former Romney, former House Speaker Massachusetts governor again, Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Ron saying he could not control the Paul (R-TX), participate in a super PACs that have continued R e p u b l i c a n p r e s i d e n t i a l to attack Gingrich with the former candidates debate in Myrtle s p e a k e r a s k i n g h o w m u c h Beach, South Carolina, January influence Romney could have if 16, 2012. elected president. But Gingrichs best moment of Mondays debate was the first the debate came when he fired since former Utah Gov. Jon back at moderator Juan Williams Huntsman announced his decision for suggesting some of his earlier to exit the race in a hasty fashion statements such as the high on Monday and formally in a mid- propensity of blacks on food morning press conference. His stamps was intended to disparage decision even surprised the those who are less fortunate. Romney camp who was caught Like us on Facebook unprepared for Huntsmans Well, first of all, Juan, the fact is
that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history, said Gingrich. Now, I know among the politically correct youre not supposed to use facts that are uncomfortable. What the debate in Myrtle Beach was short on was any in-depth discussion of social issues. Romney restated his support for traditional marriage, hoping to score points in the conservative state. However, former Congressman Gresham Barrett believes Santorum holds the high ground on social platforms. Personally, I think Rick [Santorum] is doing extremely well in South Carolina despite the fact hes had a lot of negative ads thrown at him. Barrett also expressed his excitement the recent endorsement of Santorum by the nations leading conservative Christian leaders, saying the news has already helped him in the northern portion of the state. Its huge. Over 70 percent of the residents of my former congressional district attend church on a regular basis and theyre going to respond favorably to the news of national evangelical leaders endorsing Santorum. A group of some 150 evangelical and conservative Christian leaders
that includes Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and James Dobson of Family Talk announced on Saturday that Santorum won the support of a supermajority. On Monday, moderator Williams questioned Santorum on his position on gun rights based on the former senators vote of trigger locks and other bills that gun owner deplore. Santorum countered by saying he had an A rating from the National Rifle Association. Romneys jab at Santorum for being the big hunter, also drew a sarcastic laugh from Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Although Perry finds himself in the mid-single digits in recent polls, he too went after Romney by challenging him to release his income tax returns as he and Gingrich are doing. "Mitt, we need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see how you made your money. ... We cannot fire our nominee in September. We need to know now." Like former President George Bush and others, I am inclined to release my returns in April well consider doing so when the time comes, Romney said in an uncomfortable fashion. However, Perrys ease and aggressiveness may be too little
too late. Good things often happen when you have nothing to lose, said Christine ODonnell, a North Carolina native who was backing Perry but is now looking for another candidate. I wish the country could have gotten to know the real Rick Perry but Im afraid its too late for that. Besides the personal jabs each candidate was trying to get in, the issue of lower taxes was where they sought to draw distinctions between themselves. Santorum has proposed a maximum tax rate of 28 percent, compared to Romneys 25 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul, not wanting to be outdone, said he thought zero was a better option. Paul, who has gained a reputation as standing apart from the group, challenged the debates moderators by trying to define the difference between defense and military spending. Paul proudly claimed he was the only candidate left in the race who would make substantial changes to the military. The candidates will take their campaigns inward for the next couple of days before heading back down to Charleston for the CNN debate on Thursday. Post a GLOVES page 12
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Visa Talks With Apple As Part Of Plan To Push Wireless Payments

Kit Eaton (Fast Company)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:26:00 PM
Wireless payments, perhaps powered by NFC technology or something like it, are definitely inbound--for a bunch of reasons that start with consumer convenience and end with dynamic personalized advertising and shopper analytics. Odds are it'll be a billion-dollar industry soon enough--which explains why there's such a complex, layered, and consumer-hostile battle for the tech going on behind the scenes. Fascinating then that Visa, a master of the current plastic card payment paradigm, is so active in its wireless innovations. To wit: Last week Visa chose the very public CES show as a great time to flex a little muscle, and announced that it had certified a bunch of Android-powered phones to be compatible with its PayWave systems. Android is the most ubiquitous smartphone operating system, so this move can only be a good thing. Visa also licenses PayWave royalty free to Google and ISIS, and, says Bill Gajda, the Global Head of Mobile Product, "is in discussions with a number of other mobile operators, handset manufacturers, OS providers on how we can license PayWave as broadly as possible to give our issuers as
broad and flexible an opportunity to participate in NFC payments as possible." That got us thinking: What about Apple? "I can't tell you when Apple is going to put NFC in the next version of the iPhone," Gadja says, "but we've had discussions
with them around the PayWave standard and they've asked to look at our specification and certification process so that when they decide to do something those lines of communication are open." That's very exciting, given Apple's huge power over the
mobile computing paradigm, and its own experiments with very futuristic payment methods. Meanwhile the smartphone certification move is aimed at the mobile operator partners Visa's working with around the world, "so that each issuer doesn't have to look at them seperately. They
can rely on Visa to certify these devices so that the PayWave application is stored and works properly, but also so that the NFC radio, as a connectivity to whatever secure element, works as well. Because they have to be VISA page 14
Top News/
Q&A: George Barna on His Newt Gingrich Endorsement

(Christianpost.com > Politics)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:59:06 AM
(Photo: The Christian Post) George Barna, founder of The Barna Group, shares ideas presented in his latest book, 7 Faith Tribes, on the opening night of the Evangelical Press Association/Associated Church Press Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday, May 6, 2009. It will not be an easy battle for him, but neither will it be easy for the U.S. to regain its way in these challenging times. I believe Newt is the person best poised to lead us into that difficult and uncertain future, Barna wrote on his Facebook page Jan. 11 when he endorsed Gingrich. In an interview with The Christian Post, Barna talks more about his decision and what he will be doing for the Gingrich campaign. CP: Which other candidates were given serious consideration before you decided to endorse Gingrich? Barna: Perry, Santorum, Gingrich, Romney, Bachmann, and Paul. I have not publicly endorsed a political candidate in
more than 25 years so I tried to make sure I did my homework before stepping out on that limb. Having sold the Barna Group several years ago freed me to do this. The current condition of the nation, the limited time left and knowing we have to get things back on track persuaded me that sitting on the sidelines was not a viable option. While I have great respect and admiration for several of the candidates, Mr. Gingrich emerged, based on my explorations and the data I have available to me, as the "best package," so to speak. Like us on Facebook CP: What was your relationship with Gingrich prior to the endorsement? Had you met him? Did you have a personal or professional relationship? Barna: We've been together several times. A couple of our exchanges related to the book I wrote, Master Leaders, in which Newt is one of the leaders whose views are represented in the book. We also connected again in Iowa during the pre-caucus season there. Our conversations have revolved mostly around topics of mutual interest, such as leadership, transformation, faith,
vision, and strategy. He has also provided me with various documents along the way regarding some of those matters. CP: What will you be doing as co -chair of his Faith Leaders Coalition? Barna: I am working with several co-chairmen including Pastor Jim Garlow, (former) Congressman J.C. Watts, and Mat Staver (founder of Liberty Council) to interact with the faith community regarding the presidential race. While we know there are several good candidates in the race, we believe that Mr. Gingrich is the best qualified, reflects our values, and is the most likely to defeat Mr. Obama in November. Among the goals of the coalition are to help Christians understand Speaker Gingrich's strong views about the importance of and means to defending freedom of faith, helping them to know about his positions on social issues that matter so deeply to the Christian community (such as abortion and family), and to enable them to better understand the Speaker's vision for the future of America within its global context. In practical terms, I will be interacting with Christian leaders,
speaking at events, engaging in media exchanges, and making introductions wherever feasible. CP: Given that you have done extensive research on evangelicals in the United States, and Gingrich's next contest is South Carolina, which has a significant evangelical population, what will be your advice to Gingrich to reach out to those South Carolina evangelicals? Barna: One of the best campaign documents I have seen, from any of the campaigns, is the draft of his Presidential Commission on Religious Freedom. It articulates how, from day one of his administration, Newt would develop the means for protecting religious freedom in the United States. It is a terrific document, but is not well-known. I hope we can begin to rectify that in South Carolina. Evangelicals will deeply resonate with his ideas and his plan. Second, stay focused on the issues that matter. Having managed political campaigns in the past, and conducted polling for many others, I know how difficult it is to stay focused on the game plan regardless of what the media and others are seeking from you. He is expert at this, and
I would encourage him to continue to demonstrate that skill. Third, I would suggest that he remain as candid and transparent as possible. We did a conference call with him last week in which he spoke very openly to religious leaders regarding his life, some past choices, and his spiritual and moral perspectives related to those matters. That kind of honest presentation of his failures as well as successes is necessary to maintain people's trust. He is our best chance to see conservative principles returned to the White House. I hope Christians will better understand all the benefits and abilities he brings to the table in this race. C o n t a c t : napp.nazworth@christianpost.co m This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Top News/
Rumored iPad 3 In March, Eric Cantor: House Not Voting On SOPA, Facebook Planning May IPO?, Zappos Accounts Hacked
Nidhi Subbaraman (Fast Company)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:29:37 PM
Breaking news from your editors at Fast Company, with updates all day. Hot iPad Rumor: March Launch. A couple of articles from Bloomberg and Macotakara, sourced from people in Apple's supply chain, are combining to suggest a February press event for a March launch for the iPad 3. It's now thought full production speeds will be reached "by February" meaning Apple could have millions ready for the first week's sale in March. --KE --Updated 11:15 a.m. EST Eric Cantor: House Not Voting On SOPA. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) told House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) that the House of Representatives would not vote on the Stop Online Privacy Act until there was "consensus" on the issue. In a public statement, Issa claimed that "Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build House for a vote." Both houses of consensus prior to any anti-piracy Congress are deeply divided over legislation coming before the SOPA, an online piracy bill
whose provisions will cause significant losses to America's Internet industry. --NU
Apple Targets Samsung Smartphones In Germany. In Germany, Apple has filed a new
suits citing a slew of Samsung RUMORED page 13
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After Prescient Pivot, Aviary Tools Now Seeing 10 Million Photos A Month
Austin Carr (Fast Company)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:17:40 PM
In September, Aviary launched a free suite of photo-editing tools that could be embedded in any iPhone or Android app, enabling developers to transform their apps essentially into mini-mobilePhotoshops. Today, the New York -based startup unveiled the second version of its software development kit, or SDK, complete with new auto-enhance tools, filters, stickers, a fresh redesign--not to mention plans for monetization. When Aviary first took off years ago, however, it looked nothing like the democratized photoediting service of today. Aviary originally launched as a Flashbased web editor, but after a prescient pivot, the changes have paid off: Aviary is now growing unique users by more than 50% each month, and its tools are helping to edit more than 10 million photos per month across 300 mobile and web partners. "Probably the most difficult thing in the world was pivoting," says CEO Avi Muchnick. "We had growth, and we had a rabid, loyal audience. If you switch your direction, you might lose the value you've already created." Aviary's new SDK is beneficial for both users and developers. For
consumers, Aviary's embeddable tools will allow them to add myriad uppgrades to their photos: effects, cropping, rotating, sharpening and blurring, redeye reduction, teeth whitening and blemish removal, adjustment of
color, saturation, and contrast, as well as the ability to add stickers and draw on top of images. For developers, it takes only minutes to bake this functionality into their apps, with a fully customizable UI. Aviary partners
now include startups ranging from Pixable to Picplz to and Pic Stitch. Last year, "pivoting" became on of the biggest buzzwords in Silicon Valley. It seemed every startup was performing near
overnight (miracle) product pivots to find success. But it wasn't until many of these entrepreneurs smacked into a dead-end that they changed direction--Instagram, for AFTER page 17
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Santorum accuses Romney of playing 'dirty politics' - Los Angeles Times

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:13:54 PM
Reporting from Mount Pleasant, S.C. Rick Santorum accused rival Mitt Romney on Tuesday of running a dirty politics robocall campaign in South Carolina to discredit the former Pennsylvania senator and mislead voters in the states fiercely contested Republican presidential primary Saturday. Campaigning at the Yorktown aircraft carrier museum in Charleston Harbor, Santorum slammed the former Massachusetts governor for an automated call that plays a tape of Santorum endorsing Romneys 2008 run for the GOP presidential nomination. Gov. Romney, out there playing a recording from four years ago, and suggesting that Im endorsing him, is another example of Gov. Romney misleading the public about my record and what I believe in, Santorum told reporters as he left a town-hallstyle meeting on the warship.
Its dirty politics, and I expect that from Barack Obama. I dont ever expect it from a Republican. A supporter, state Sen. Larry Grooms, joined Santorum in denouncing Romney. When a man running for the highest office of the nation sanctions a phone call where one of his opponents does a fake endorsement, somethings wrong with that, he said. Unfazed, Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams provided the full text of the robocall. We were very pleased to have Sen. Santorums endorsement of Gov. Romney last campaign and his advocacy of Gov. Romney as the candidate who will stand up for the conservative principles that we hold dear, Williams said in an email. Santorums remarks in the taped phone call clash with his argument -- made as recently as this morning -- that Romneys ideologically mixed record shows that voters cant trust him to govern as an authentic
conservative. If you're a conservative, there really is only one place to go right now, Santorum says in the call that Romneys campaign has placed to thousands of voters. I would even argue farther than that. If you're a Republican, if you're a Republican in the broadest sense, there is only one place to go right now, and that's Mitt Romney." Santorum also assailed Romney for defending an attack TV ad that a "super PAC" has been running in South Carolina and Florida, which will hold its GOP primary Jan. 31. Romney told Fox News on Monday night that he thought the ad, which highlights Santorums support of restoring the right to vote for convicted felons once theyve served their time, was accurate. But by showing an image of a prisoner wearing a jail uniform, Santorum said, the ad, run by the Restore Our Future super PAC, gives the clear impression that it means people serving in prison
should be given the right to vote. Theres ads out there that are absolutely, certifiably false, and he says theyre OK because it gets him political advantage, Santorum said, with a Korean War-era bomber as his backdrop. This is a huge character issue on Mitt Romneys part. He needs to step up and do the right thing and quit playing dirty politics, quit playing dirty dishonest politics. By law, candidates campaigns are barred from communicating directly with super PACs that support them. But Republicans running for president have been expressing opinions publicly about super PAC advertising when critics question the accuracy of a commercial. Hes now saying that what theyre doing, the lie that they are putting out there, is something, a lie that hes going to stand behind, Santorum said of Romney. We dont need someone who supports lies and promotes lies and stands behind those lies in order to get elected president.
Campaigning on Tuesday in Florence, S.C., Romney said he heard that Santorum was very animated that the super PAC ad says that he is in favor of felons voting. Well, he is! Romney said. What's he missing? That's his position. He says, 'Well, it makes it sound like they are people in prison. Well actually, people who have been released from prison are still called felons, if they have committed felonies. So we can all talk about ads or we can talk about what it takes to get Americans working again." A spokeswoman for Restore Our Future declined to comment. michael.finnegan@latimes.com This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Christian job now or browse employment opportunities to get hired fast on ChristianHire.com, your best Christian jobs site. Browse Christian Jobs now
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RUMORED
products for copyright infringement, including 10 smartphones and 5 tablets. After a German court banned the sale of Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 in September, the company created a modified version, the Galaxy 10.1N. Apple's new suits target Samsung's new tablet model as well. --NS Samsung May Sell Bonds And Expand Chip Plant. Samsung has plans in the works to borrow $1 billion towards expanding a chip factory in Austin, Texas. The plant has been operating at maximum capacity since October last year, Bloomberg reports. -NS --Updated 10:50 a.m. Amazon Investing $95 Million In China Distribution Center. Amazon is installing a distribution center in Nanning, China, with an investment of $95 million. The company signed a deal with the Economic and Technological Development Zone on Monday, the Shanghai Daily reports. --NS Apple To Launch E-book Creation Tool? Apple's Thursday announcement regarding digital
publishing could extend to a platform that could let users create their own, possibly interactive, e-books. Such a "GarageBand for e-books," Ars Technica explains, will be consistent with Apple's role as a creator of tools for creating content, akin to the company's other hits like iMovie and Final Cut Pro. --NS Wikipedia To Protest SOPA With Blackout. Internets, brace yourselves. Wikipedia will join Reddit in protesting the SOPA and PIPA legislations by going dark for 24 hours on Wednesday. (Reddit is planning to go silent for a more modest 12 hours.) In an announcement Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales wrote, " we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world." --NS --Updated 8:00 a.m. EST --Updated 8:00 a.m. EST Facebook Planning May IPO? AllThingsD has heard that Facebook's mighty IPO that's
expected this year may be surfacing as early as in the third week of May, with a 10% stake being offered up for a target of $10 billion. That puts the company's total valuation at $100 billion. --NS Netflix Investors File Class Action Suit. A group of vexed investors are suing Netflix for witholding key information that they believe eventually affected the company's stock price last year. They claim that Netflix executives failed to inform them of pending contract renewals for streaming video in the months before Netflix stock prices took a turn, on heels of their price change policy and failed attempts at splitting their DVD-by-mail and streaming businesses. --NS Lovefilm To Stream ABC TV Hits. Amazon's Lovefilm video streaming service in the U.K. has signed a deal with ABC TV that will bring Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, and other well-loved U.S. TV series to the service in the U.K. It's the latest in a string of deals that the service has been
collecting in preparation for competition from Netflix, which launched in the U.K. early this year. --NS Customer Details Leaked In Zappos.com Hack. Hackers attacked online shoe seller Zappos.com over the weekend, accessing account information of its 24 million customers. Chief executive Tony Hseih informed staff and customers of the breach on Sunday night, writing that personal information like addresses and email addresses may have been compromised, but credit card numbers had not been accessed. --NS --Updated 5:30 a.m. EST [Image: Flickr user formatc1] Friday's Fast Feed: "Angry Brides" Game Tackles Dowry In India, iPhone 5 To Run On TMobile?, Facebook Launches "Listen," and more!
Ed Miliband under assault from unions The Independent

(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:18:10 PM
The Guardian Ed Miliband under assault from unions The Independent The latest news from the Atlantic Odyssey Challenge in which a team of six men are attempting to bre... When I was 26 weeks and six days pregnant I went to hospital, completely expecting to be told I was ... Winning the 2011 Galaxy book of the year... Time for Ed Miliband and the unions to kiss and make up The Guardian Miliband cuts stance masterstroke or own goal? BBC News Unions slam Labour's cuts capitulation Morning Star Online Daily Mail- Telegraph.co.uk- The Press Association all 1,152 news articles
US Stocks Rise on China Policy Outlook Bloomberg

Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:43:37 AM
Bloomberg
US Stocks Rise on China Policy Outlook Bloomberg Enlarge image Stocks Advance
on China Policy Outlook Stocks Advance on China Policy Outlook How Hwee/EPA/LANDOV A Chinese factory worker operates a
loom at a textile manufacturing factory in Beijing on Dec. 19, 2011. Play Video Enlarge image The Costa...
and more
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World News/
VISA
as reliable as a plastic card swipe, whether it's the radio range, the connectivity to the SIM, or the other secure element." The company is also working on the trusted services part of the system, where banks have to trust Visa, who have to trust the PayWave installation on handsets and thus the tech of the maker, and trust that everything works in a secure fashion with the tech inside store registers--and so on. Visa's hoping to make itself the go -to point for this solution, so "handset manufacturers don't have to do a deal with 26,000 banks". It all comes down to this, Gajda says: "You need a handset that's enabled, you need a merchant that's enabled, you need a bank that's given their permission, you need a mobile operator who's given their permission to access one or more secure elements, you need a Trusted Service Manager in the middle, and you need a willing consumer" to make NFC payments work. By being open with its tech to everyone in this debate, including conglomerates
like ISIS and individual phone makers like Samsung, Visa is trying to make the process frictionless. Not unlike, perhaps, Visa's existing role in the current payment paradigm--for everything from helping to standardize payment security to developing tech for merchants. To start with Visa's aim is at simply innovating payment from plastic card into NFC payment, but it is sensitive to the immediate future--tech Gajda outlined by using examples like "micropayments, whether it's payments between friends that're maybe cash-based today, or parking meters." But he was careful to point out that the real value in NFC, above pure payments, is "all the other nonpayment actions, which is a much bigger space," things like analytics and loyalty schemes, and related systems like transportation tickets. "We've often said, as it relates to mobile commerce and mobile payments, that it should be open, a level playing field, that people
want to have what they have in their leather wallets and replicate it on their device as they want to. We recognize that it's not just going to be Visa in these [digital] wallets, it's going to be Visa plus all of our traditional competitors plus loyalty cards and private label cards and the other things people have in their wallet. We should facilitate the broad growth of that, and not try to create a semi-closed loop where Visa may for some short time get some proprietary advantage. We just don't think that's the way the ecosystem is, or quite frankly should, evolve." Gajda even hinted that in markets where smartphone devices are heavily subsidized, as in the U.S., the mobile operators may be acting a little less openly because they may perceive other players taking a free ride on their core business offering (and those phone subsidies) to steal a march on a new, enormous financial opportunity--something we've considered before, suggesting NFC may bloom overseas before
it does in the U.S. Hence Visa is Switzerland in all of this, confident in its financial strengths and trying to remain impartial when it's approached by anyone--including the handset makers behind the phones it certified last week--to promote NFC tech. Visa, of course, stands to ultimately profit from all of this. By taking a central role, it's trying to cement its foundation in the next generation of payment systems. And thus it'll build its future billions of dollars of revenue. But it's refreshing to see that a long-established financial institution is being pretty openminded, (not to mention opensystemed) and perhaps innovative, in pushing a tech that'll ultimately benefit us all. [Image: Flickr user danoxster] Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.
Ian Hislop mocks the media's antics - Telegraph.co.uk

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:00:07 PM
BBC News Ian Hislop mocks the media's antics Telegraph.co.uk Private eye editor Ian Hislop takes centre stage at the Leveson Inquiry, with his usual dry wit. Mr Hislop has edited the fortnightly satirical magazine for 25 years, and since 2000 has seen 40 libel actions brought against the magazine,... Leveson inquiry: Ian Hislop, Alan Rusbridger, James Harding live The Guardian Private Eye's Ian Hislop at media ethics inquiry BBC News Leveson Inquiry: Times Reporter Hacked Computer At Newspaper In 2009 Says Tom... Sky News Reuters UK- Daily Mail- Metro all 382 news articles
SENATOR
advice for his readers on Choosing the Right Messengers to America, including a questionnaire for prospective candidates. If candidates are not willing to commit to specific positions on issues before they are elected, DeMint notes, there is little chance they will stand firm on anything after they are elected. No one who reads his
book will have any doubts about what it takes to get on Team DeMint. Has America reached a low point from which we cannot escape? DeMint asks in conclusion. Absolutely not! A bankrupt and declining nation is not our inevitable fate. It will happen only if we choose to ignore the threats and refuse to solve our
problems. It is time for us to confront the threats and solve the problems. We are Americans and we can create a destiny of freedom and prosperity for generations to come but only if we make the right choices now. The immense weight of our bloated and collapsing government will soon begin foreclosing some of those
options. Ask the people of Greece or Italy how many good options they have. Ask them if they wish their parents and grandparents had chosen differently. It really is now or never. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read
the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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15
Mark Levin unmasks the utopian pipe dream

(The Front Page)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 3:41:00 AM
Azerbaijan LNG Deal Boosts Ukraine's Energy Leverage

(World Politics Review: Articles)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 2:59:00 AM
Coming off the heels of his blockbuster bestseller Liberty & Tyranny(which sold more than 1 million copies), Mark Levin is at it again, this time with the release of Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America. HUMAN EVENTS got a sneak peak at Ameritopia, which hits bookstores today, and you wont be disappointed. The book is vintage Levin: hard-hitting, educational, and prescriptive -- a perfect brew to counter the Lefts never-ending assault on the American idea. The hugely popular radio host said that he wrote Ameritopia to probe more deeply into what motivates and animates the tyranny of statism. He told HUMAN EVENTS that when he undertook this project, I got to thinking to myself, weve had a hundred years of an attempt to dumb-down the American people. To [have them] believe that government can do all these things, that government should do all these things, [and] that the Constitution was written by a bunch of slave owners. So he set out to get to the bottom of the utopian proposition put forward
by leftists, whether in the form of the laws introduced by politicians, the musings of academics, the rulings by judges and the myriad cultural influences that seek to destroy the glue of liberty that binds our civil society together. Watch part one of our interview with Mark Levin: Who are these people [utopians] and what is this force [utopia] that is so alluring to tens of millions of our fellow Americans, and yet will destroy them? Levin asks and answers in Part 1 of Ameritopia(On Utopianism). On the other side, he continues, where did the notions of natural law, unalienable rights, representative government, and the additional displays of brilliance from Americas
you can watch the video above to see who says it, is this: If the result of individual liberty did not demonstrate that some manners of living are more successful than others, much of the case for it would vanish. Now wouldn't it be nice for one of our GOP candidates to say that line during a debate? One day, perhaps. More of our interview with Mark Levin throughout this week. Stay tuned. forebears originate, which he Mr. Mattera is the editor-at-large answers in Part 2 of his book (On of HUMAN EVENTS and the author of the New York Times Americanism). As Levin notes, the Founding bestseller Obama Zombies: How Fathers where courageous men for the Liberal Machine Brainwashed forming a nation around the M y G e n e r a t i o n ( S i m o n & aforementioned indelible truths, Schuster). He also hosts The but they did borrow these ideas Jason Mattera Show on News and governing principles from Talk Radio 77WABC. Previously, others. And that's what Levin he was the Spokesman for Young serves up in Ameritopia, a look America's Foundation and a TV into who influenced the Founders correspondent for Michelle as they fashioned our republic. Malkin. Follow Jason on Twitter, For that, he delves into the Facebook, and YouTube. writings of Locke, Montesquieu This entry passed through the and de Tocqueville, and further Full-Text RSS service if this is introduces the reader to some your content and you're reading it cutting quotes that act as a dagger on someone else's site, please read to todays fixation on income the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentredistribution and equality in only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to results. My favorite of those quotes, and Wikileaks.
The perennial standoff between Ukraine and Russia over natural gas prices will be accompanied by an added wrinkle this year, with news that Ukraine plans to ink a deal for a joint venture with energy-rich Azerbaijan for supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The partnership, which will finally introduce unconventional energy sources to Ukraine, underscores the flagging fortunes of Russias pipeline monopoly and the dwindling leverage it commands. According to Vladislav Kaskiv, the head of Ukraines State Agency for Investment and National Projects, the formal announcement between Baku and Kiev for the arrangement will be made later this month at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland. ... This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Top News/ World News/ Technology/
Costa rushes to remove 2400 tons of fuel from stricken ship Washington Post
Congress announces 6th list for Uttar Pradesh - Daily News & Analysis
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:53:09 AM
said. Time is critical to removing the Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:43:36 AM more than 500,000 gallons of fuel Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Carnival as deteriorating weather and shifts Corp.s Italian unit is rushing to in the boats position increase the prevent its crippled cruise liner risk of a spill. Search and rescue from spewing 2,400 tons of fuel operations had to be suspended into Europes biggest marine for four hours yesterday after the park, as the search continues for Costa Concordia moved position 29 missing passengers and crew in rising seas off the Italian island members. of Giglio. Smit Salvage, a unit of Royal Weather Risk B o s k a l i s W e s t m i n s t e r N V , Ill weather is the greatest risk to contracted by Costa Crociere t h e e n v i r o n m e n t r i g h t n o w SpA, owner of the stricken Costa because high waves might move Concordia, is ready to begin or break the ship causing fuel to inspecting the ship as soon as l e a k , A l e s s a n d r o G i a n n i , tomorrow. The company will campaign director of Greenpeace need two to four weeks to take the Italy operations, said in a phone fuel off the ship, executives said interview. Containment barriers on a conference call today. that have been placed around the The vessel is stable and we feel ship dont work in high waves. confident that removal can be Weather conditions since the done in a fairly rapid way, Kees accident have been calm, though a van Essen, Smits manager of storm front is forecast to move operations, said during the call. into the area on Thursday. There have been no leaks so far Smit managers said they will and salvage operations dont have to remove 2,400 tons of fuel increase the chance of leaks, he from the ship, as well as 200 tons
of oil and a small amount of lubricants and other substances. The ship struck a reef off the island of Giglio on Jan. 13 after the captain overrode a preprogrammed route to sail close to the island, hours after the vessel left a port near Rome with 4,000 passengers and crew for a Mediterranean cruise. Six people are confirmed dead and rescue workers are still searching for survivors in the partially submerged cruise liner. Italys foreign ministry said today that 14 Germans, six Italians, four French, one Indian, one Peruvian, one Hungarian and two U.S. States citizens are among the missing. Evacuation Order The captain, who was arrested for abandoning the ship, didnt give the evacuation order until just before the Costa Concordia began listing, making it impossible to lower many of the lifeboats. Video released last night of the rescue operation showed hundreds
of passengers clamoring along the side of the ship to reach ladders that led down to water where they were loaded onto boats that had been sent out to the ship. The ship is lying on its side off Giglio, an island of 1,500 inhabitants in winter who survive on fishing and tourism, located about 14 miles from the Tuscan coast. Giglio lies within the Santuario dei Cetacei, an area of roughly 87,500 square kilometers that in 1999 was declared by the governments of France, Italy and Monaco a sanctuary for marine mammals such as dolphins and whales. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
The Hindu Congress announces 6th list for Uttar Pradesh Daily News & Analysis Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI The Congress today announced its sixth list of candidates for 27 seats in Uttar Pradesh besides two replacements taking the total number of party nominees announced so far for the sevenphase polls to 353.... Priyanka exhorts workers to ensure Cong's success in UP poll IBNLive.com Will do what Rahul wants me to: Priyanka Hindustan Times Will do whatever my brother wants: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra NDTV Economic TimesDaijiworld.com- Times of India all 175 news articles
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AFTER
GINGRICH
example, started as a very different app called Burbn, which dealt with game mechanics and the concept of future check-ins, before cofounder Kevin Systrom realized the power of one-click filters. But for Muchnick and team, the original Aviary Flash-based web editor was seeing strong growth, and boasted more than a million users. "The faster you fail at something, the easier it is to just pick up and do something new," Muchnick says. "But the fact that we had this huge amount of traffic forced us not to pivot as quickly. When you are in this limbo zone, where you actually have some traction, and you're waiting to see if it's going to get better and better, you are really screwing yourself over." It's a longstanding problem for startups and large corporate giants --an issue covered in depth in books such as The Innovator's Dilemma and Only the Paranoid Survive. When is the right time to pivot before it's too late? For Foursquare-competitor Gowalla, which, like Aviary, was seeing jumps in its user base, the pivot was almost an instance of too
little, too late, despite the fact it had millions of users. "It wasn't enough--we were never seeing this hockey stick-like growth you need in a startup," Muchnick says of Aviary's original user base. "We went into the photo-editing business with the assumption our target audience was millions of people because Photoshop had tremendous usage and everyone likes to edit their own photos. But we realized we weren't hitting that consumer market, and we never would with our existing tools." The next step, he says, is figuring out the proper time to implement that pivot. For a company like Netflix, which smartly saw the trend that its future was in digital and not with DVDs, the prescient pivot perhaps came too soon (or was poorly communicated to consumers), with subscriber complaints creating a PR nightmare for the company after it decided to split the DVD-by-mail business into Qwikster. ("Facebook is probably the only company I've ever seen get away with drastic changes and people have to go along with it because they have no choice," Muchnick says. "That's also one of the
benefits of being a free product-Netflix doesn't have that luxury.") But for Aviary, its decision to pivot was not only a result of its user base but of technology: After the iPhone came out, the team realized the days of Flash were numbered. By creating a free SDK that developers could add to their own smartphone apps, Muchnick realized it was a better way to bring "the service to the masses." Soon, it plans to sell premium effects packs and themes, as well as offer brands the chance to create premium content. The pivot, Muchnick says, couldn't have come soon enough. "I probably could've done it in the course of a day if I was a better CEO, but when you have a loyal user base and investors that have invested in your product, you [can get] scared [to pivot]," he says. "We took things slower than we probably should have. If we're growing like crazy now, where would we have been if we started a year earlier?"
past statements on abortion, and he explained how he is pro-life. He then turned the question around into a defense of American exceptionalism and how he is fighting for a meritbased society as opposed to Obamas European-style entitlement society. Asked about the steel companies that did not survive under Bain, Romney said it was hard to keep them in business because the Chinese flooded the market with cheap steal and deflected that criticism into an attack on unfair Chinese trade tactics. Asked about campaign finance in the broader context of SuperPACs, Romney disavowed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation (McCain endorsed Romney just a week ago) and said he would prefer a system in which people can donate however much they want to their preferred candidate. But again, he did not escape some awkward moments. When the subject of hunting came up, Romney awkwardly confused moose with elk and said he was not a great hunter before adding that he enjoys the sport and is delighted to be able to go
hunting when he gets invited. Santorum and Paul Santorum had to fiercely attack Romney or Newt and ended up accomplishing neither. In fact, Santorum spent a lot of time picking fights with Paul. It is something he cannot resist. Likewise, Paul continued veering off his domestic message, which resonates with many primary voters, and could not resist emphasizing his foreign policy views that are anathema to many rank and file Republican voters, especially in South Carolina, with its strong military culture. The next debate is Thursday in Charleston. And if Romney does not stumble, Gingrich will have to take votes away from Santorum, or vice versa, This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Bug Finder listens for the sound of termites chewing

Olivia Solon
Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:05:00 AM
A team of researchers at Edith Cowan University have created a
sensitive acoustic device that can hear termites -- and other boring insects -- chewing. Termites cause a huge amount of damage in the US, South Africa
termites get their little gnashers on 600,000 homes each year, with residents spending $5bn to control the termites and repair the and Australia. In the US alone, damage.
By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Duncan Geere Continue reading...
18
Business/
Jim O'Neill: China Will Contribute More To Global Growth This Decade Than The US And Europe Combined
Mamta Badkar (Business Insider)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:13:22 PM
China reported 8.9% year-overyear Q4 GDP growth, growing at its slowest pace in 2.5 years, but beating analysts expectations. Now Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, who coined the term BRIC, has spoken about Chinese growth and said that those expecting a Chinese hard landing would not be thrilled by today's report. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, O'Neill argued that China is the most important economy in the world. He explained that Chinese property prices are falling because officials are trying to prevent a bubble, and that China creates the equivalent of a new Greek economy every four months: "I am assuming this decade China grows by 7.5%. Translated into dollars, if they do that 7.5%, China will contribute in dollar terms more than the U.S. and Europe put together this decade. And it's higher in that. So it's the most important thing in the world, is what I'm trying to say." Here's an excerpt from the
interview, and the video via Bloomberg TV: ONeill on China's economy growing 8.9% in Q4 and whether a hard landing is off the table: "It's a bit stronger than I thought as well, actually. It is a bit of a blow for the hard landing guys, given inflation has come down so much as well. And policy makers are moving away from restraints and flirting with some sort of stimulus. If I was a hard landing guy, I would not be feeling very excited this morning." "Let me put it in the context of a bigger picture. I am assuming this decade China grows by 7.5%. Translated into dollars, if they do that 7.5%, China will contribute in dollar terms more than the U.S. and Europe put together this decade. And it's higher in that. So it's the most important thing in the world, is what I'm trying to say." On lingering concerns investors have about China such as the property bubble: "All of the concerns that many people have expressed are pretty important issues to consider. There are lots of challenges, as there frequently are with China, but the thing that generally impresses me is that Chinese
anything with this media. So that is definitely amongst the bigger picture issues one has to be really thoughtful about. I would imagine that some democracy a la Chinese style will emerge. It's not going to be one that we embrace and bless. Importantly, from everything I have understood from going there for 20 years, the Chinese do not crave the exact form of democracy that we have and think they should have. They want more freedom and really want more wealth. If the Chinese authorities continue to provide that and it spreads, then I think generally speaking, the Chinese people will be happy. A key part of what is going on right now, policymakers themselves do not t h a t , b u t i t i s t o u g h i n a they are deliberately raising shy away from acknowledging democracy. That is why you get wages significantly, which is that many of these things are the wild housing bubbles in many much ignored in the discussion of issues, and they try to deal with Western economiesIn China's the exchange rate." them. The big one is the property case, they are doing it deliberately On concerns that Greece may issue. Something that many to stop a bubble. I think a default: people in the West, particularly in fundamental point is people got "China creates the equivalent of the U.S. misunderstand about this- the approach wrong about that another new Greek economy -it is not like the U.K. or U.S. topic." every four months. Greece itself is b u b b l e b u r s t i n g . C h i n e s e On how much control Chinese not that important. What is property prices have turned policymakers can expect to important about the European because the Chinese authorities maintain as the economy grows: mess is Italy. How Greece deals have deliberately stop them from "With the growth of technology, with this restructuring or default, going up. That should have been as we of seen throughout the which seems quite possible, and what the Fed should have done in Middle East last year, it is such a JIM page 20 2005 and 2006 and maybe before challenge for anyone to control
Business/ World News/
19
5 Money Habits Guaranteed To Wreck Your Retirement

Phil Taylor (Business Insider)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:14:00 PM
ensure that your long-term care costs will be paid for long before you ever need to use them, saving Its no secret that most of us have you and your family a lot of grief bad habits when it comes to in the future. money management. Taking Social Security too soon. Having a steady income from full You can start drawing Social -time employment tends to offer Security benefits as early as 62. up some forgiveness for these But for every year you forgo transgressions. drawing Social Security benefits But bad money habits can follow you will get a 7 to 8 percent raise us into retirement, long after the in your monthly payments. So, by steady flow of money dries up to waiting until 65 or even 70 to start a dribble, and cause us to run out drawing Social Security, you can of money long before we run out significantly increase your of years. monthly income in retirement, Here are five bad financial habits and these payments will be you should break now in order to adjusted for inflation each year. keep them from breaking you This post originally appeared in during your golden years. U.S. News & World Report. Now able to. Some people will try to relative will bequeath you enough Not contributing to a retirement work longer to make up for not money to live on for the rest of see 7 steps every couple should plan. Procrastination is the biggest saving as much as they should your life. And your relatives could take to prepare for disaster > reason that many seniors dont have earlier on. But delaying end up spending the money Please follow Your Money on have enough savings to cover retirement might not work if you themselves if they live longer than Twitter and Facebook. their total cost of living during are forced into early retirement or expected. Its better to fund your Join the conversation about this retirement. Although we have all sidelined by an illness or injury. own retirement than to count on a story been warned to save now, most of See Also: Save now for retirement so that clause in a will. us can find plenty of reasons to 6 Crucial Steps To Take When you can be prepared no matter Skimping on long-term care put off saving until it becomes when you end up retiring. plans. You need a plan for taking Hiring A Financial Planner more financially feasible. Stop Depending on an inheritance. care of yourself when you are no It's Time To Stop Being Polite procrastinating now and start Whether you have a rich old uncle longer able to do it on your own. And Start Talking About Money saving. or not, you shouldnt count on This means buying insurance that 6 Money Management Lessons Thinking you will work longer. getting an inheritance that will will cover the cost of long-term Y o u C a n L e a r n F r o m ' T h e Many of us would like to think fund your golden years. There is care. By buying an insurance G o d f a t h e r ' that we will retire early in life, but no guarantee that a wealthy policy now, you can help to those who havent saved wont be
Andrew Wilkie folds on pokies threat to PM Julia Gillard NEWS.com.au

Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:17:04 AM
Sydney Morning Herald Andrew Wilkie folds on pokies threat to PM Julia Gillard NEWS.com.au Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has denied that his proposed gambling reforms are dead in the water. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie...giving fresh signals over poker machine reform. Picture: Ray Strange. Source: The Daily Telegraph His promise to... Gillard wins time in poker reform stand-off Business Spectator Wilkie blinks on poker machine deal Herald Sun Julia Gillard prevails in pokies standoff as Andrew Wilkie backs down The Australian BigPond News- Tasmania Mercury all 424 news articles
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Business/ News Wire/ Technology/
JIM
the contagion of that through the rest of Europe, it is extremely important. Who knows with this European stuff, it is a different issue every day. It is very interesting to see the mood of the markets post this downgrade at the weekend. Three months ago the European markets would have traded poorly yesterday and today. But they've short of shrugged it off. Whether that is because people perceive the ECB will do more and more or whether there is some signs of stabilizing of the economy." On the euro and crisis in Europe: "Ultimately I think the euro is more likely to go below 1.20 than
above 1.40. But here, I think it's not worth the energy most people spend on it. I think the yen is more interesting, the Swiss franc, the stock market, and some bond markets.Europe hasn't generated domestic growth that has driven the world for the 30 years of my career - with the odd exception of Spain for a couple of years. A lot of the earnings depend on the rest of the world. So many European equities can perform really well. The German stock market, I think of it as a developed BRIC. German companies are getting enormous growth out of what's going on in China. So it's not all just about
sovereign debt for European equities." Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: These Economies Will Dominate The World In 2050 China's GDP Growth Slowed To 8.9% In The Fourth Quarter China's Inflation Cooled To 4.1% As Food Prices Heated Up to 9.1%
Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News

(Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News)
Five Quick YouTube Videos Of Muhammad Ali Being Awesome In Honor Of His 70th Birthday
Tony Manfred (Business Insider)
Top Stories Friday 13 was indeed a bad luck day for France with the announcement of the Standard & Poors downgrading French sovereign debt from AAA to AA+ along with eight other [...] In an unprecedented visit by Frances foreign minister to Burma this week, Alain Juppe promised that France and the European Union would reward Burma for its recent reforms. Three more people have been rescued more than 24 hours after the cruise ship Costa Concordia hit the rocks and ran aground off Giglio Island in Italy. The ships
captain, [...] The White House responded to two online petitions that seek to end the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), saying it was concerned over the legislation. Police in Thailand said they foiled a terror plot targeting Israelis and Americans in Bangkok and arrested a suspected Hezbollah member believed to be linked to the plot. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
defeated. Never again make me the underdog until I'm about 50 years old."After the Rumble In Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:15:00 PM The Jungle (skip to the 40Muhammad Ali turns 70 today. seconds mark for when it really To celebrate, we pulled five gets going): YouTube videos of Ali in his 4. "I will do to Buster what the heyday that will remind you of Indians did to Custer, I'm gonna why he's the most entertaining wipe him out." Before the Buster athlete sports has ever seen. Mathis fight (good stuff starts 20 1. "I'm so mean I make medicine seconds in): sick." An amazing poem before 5. "Jones like to mix, but he must The Rumble In The Jungle: fall in six." A nervous, young Ali 2. A recipe for life (starts five on the Ed Sullivan Show on 1963: seconds in): Please follow Sports Page on 3. "Never again say I'll be Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story See Also: STEP IT UP! Floyd Mayweather Jr. Just Called Manny Pacquiao A 'Punk' On Twitter And Challenged Him To A Fight Justin Bieber Says He's Just Like Floyd Mayweather Jr. Legendary Base Jumper Jeb Corliss Crashes Into The Face Of A Mountain In His Wingsuit, And Somehow Survives
Practical Parking Navigation Tools The Car Compass by AHHAPROJECT Helps Drivers Find Their Vehicle (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:07:02 PM
( TrendHunter.com) The Car Compass by AHHAPROJECT will save anyone the annoying
task of finding a car in a crowded parking lot. From tall buildings to extensive areas, parking places are getting bigger each day, which is...
News Wire/
21
5 More Found Dead as Cruise's 'Black Box' Found

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:06:55 AM
Five more bodies have been found in the capsized cruise ship off the coast of Italy, Sky News reports, bringing the death toll to 11. Teams have been searching the ship for passengers and crew missing since the Costa Concordia struck rocks Friday evening and capsized. Rescuers exploded four holes in the hull of the ship earlier Tuesday to gain easier access to areas that had not yet been searched. Divers located the five bodies, all of them adults wearing life jackets, in the rear of the ship near an emergency evacuation point, according to Italian Coast Guard Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro. He said they were thought to have been passengers. Before the latest find, 29 people from the cruise ship were still missing. Officials said the missing included 14 Germans, six Italians, four French, two Americans, one Hungarian, one Indian and one Peruvian. Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said divers had recovered the so-called "black box," with the recording of the navigational details, from a compartment now under water. The captain of a grounded cruise
ship is heard in a recording making excuses as an Italian coast guard official repeatedly orders him to get back on his crippled ship. In a telephone conversation, the official berates the captain, who is on a lifeboat and repeatedly says he doesn't want to return to the
ship even as passengers are still being evacuated. The ship struck a rock Friday evening and capsized. The officer tells Francesco Schettino to reboard and assess the needs of passengers: "It is an order. Don't make any more excuses." Schettino has insisted he stayed
aboard until the ship was evacuated, but the recording of his conversation with Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco indicates he fled before all passengers were off -- and then resisted De Falco's repeated orders to return. "You go on board and then you
will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear?" De Falco shouted in the audio tape. Schettino resisted, saying the ship was tipping and that it was dark. At the time, he was in a lifeboat and said he was coordinating the MORE page 23
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News Wire/
Post-Debate Recharge for Gingrich?

(FOXNews.com)
arguments on Monday night. He defended calling Obama the "food stamp president," pointing out that Another chance to make a first the food stamp rolls are at historic impression? highs. Fresh off a rousing debate " N o w , I k n o w a m o n g t h e p e r f o r m a n c e t h a t h a d t h e politically correct, you're not Republican audience giving a supposed to use facts that are standing ovation -- the first in a uncomfortable," Gingrich said. debate since Ronald Reagan in He also took Ron Paul to task for New Hampshire in 1980 -- Newt likening the U.S. raid on Usama Gingrich may be reconsidering bin Laden's Pakistani compound how far he can go in the GOP to a hypothetical China-led raid campaign. on the U.S. to capture a "Chinese Holding a distant second place in dissident." several polls, Gingrich said "Bin Laden plotted deliberately, Tuesday that he could stick it out bombing American embassies, past South Carolina if he performs bombing the USS Cole, and well enough against front-runner killing 3,100 Americans, and his Mitt Romney. only regret was he didn't kill "If (Romney is) at 25 or 30 more. Now, he's not a Chinese (percent), we're still in a serious dissident," Gingrich said, drawing race," Gingrich told CBS' "This applause. "The analogy that Morning." "If he gets up to 40 or Congressman Paul used was 45, you have to be realistic." utterly irrational." The former speaker told Fox Gingrich called for tying all News on Tuesday he thinks unemployment compensation, debate prowess will be a "big which currently lasts 99 weeks, to factor" in Saturday's election, as a job-training requirement. He primary voters look for somebody also won strong support from the who can defeat President Obama audience when he was asked o n t h e d e b a t e s t a g e . T h e whether it was belittling to candidates have one more debate minorities to suggest that poor on Thursday before Election Day. children work as janitors to build But the latest Fox News poll a work ethic. continued to show Mitt Romney Gingrich replied, "No, I don't see faring best against Obama in a that." general election. Unless Gingrich He said dozens of people have or another candidate steps up in reached out to him recalling jobs South Carolina, Romney is poised they got when they were "11, 12, to go three-for-three in the first 13 years of age," and defended the primaries of the season. idea of paying kids to work in Gingrich offered several forceful school.
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:06:55 AM
to transform, fundamentally, America. They're going in the wrong direction, folks." Romney and his supporters have tried to embarrass Gingrich in recent days by tying him to leftwing talking points for his attacks on Romney's days at investment firm Bain Capital. The Bain attack backfired in several conservative circles, though Gingrich on Tuesday defended his right to question his opponent's record. With Jon Huntsman out of the race, Gingrich has to compete "They'd be getting money, which primary, the former front-runner against three other candidates for is a good thing if you're poor. finds himself returning to the the "Not Romney" vote. Rick Only the elites despise earning strategy he relied on earlier in the Perry's numbers are about 6 money," he said, later adding: "I campaign -- using the exposure of percent in South Carolina, though believe every American of every aggressive debate performances to he tried to stress his pitch Monday background has been endowed by recharge his profile. night as the campaign's lone their creator with the right to But while conservative pundits outsider candidate. Ron Paul and pursue happiness. And if that praised the performance, it's Rick Santorum are just a few makes liberals unhappy, I'm going voters on the ground who will points back from Gingrich in an to continue to find ways to help make the decision, and they were average of state polls. A new poor people learn how to get a b e i n g h e a v i l y c o u r t e d b y M o n m o u t h U n i v e r s i t y p o l l job, learn how to get a better job Gingrich's rivals, including front- showed Romney with 33 percent and learn some day to own the runner Romney. and Gingrich with 22 percent -job." The former Massachusetts Santorum and Paul followed with To be sure, the former House governor held an economy- 14 and 12 percent, respectively. speaker said he was surprised by focused rally in Florence, S.C., on Santorum aggressively targeted the audience reaction in Monday Tuesday morning, though he has a Romney at Monday's debate. He night's debate. fundraiser scheduled later in the complained that a political action "We've done 15 debates and never day in New York City. committee supporting Romney is seen anything like it," he said. "I "There are some who think we lying in TV advertisements in frankly was very pleased, but also should try a new path altogether," S o u t h C a r o l i n a a t t a c k i n g more than surprised. I think Romney said Tuesday. "I see the Santorum on several issues, everybody was surprised by it." folks on Wall Street, the Occupy including his support for voting Gingrich is maintaining a busy W a l l S t r e e t p e o p l e , a n g r y , rights for felons. schedule in the Palmetto State as wanting to take a different course. "It is inaccurate," Santorum said he tries to build on any debate They don't know what course it of the ad assailing him, seeking momentum he may have would be, just something accumulated. Four days before the different. I see a president trying POST-DEBATE page 27
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rescue from there. De Falco shouted back: "And so what? You want go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!" "You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared the abandoning of the ship, now I am in charge," De Falco shouted. Schettino is finally heard agreeing to reboard. It is unclear whether he did. Schettino has been jailed for investigation of manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing a shipwreck. Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people onboard were safely evacuated after the vessel capsized Friday night. Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes will help divers enter the wreck more easily. "We are rushing against time," he said. The divers set four microcharges above and below the surface of the water, Busonero said. Television footage showed one hole above the waterline to be less
than 6 feet in diameter. "The hope is that the ship is empty and that the people are somewhere else, or if they are inside that they found a safe place to await rescue," Coast Guard spokesman Filippo Marini told Sky TV 24 The cruiseliner tragedy also has turned into a potential environmental crisis, with rough seas battering the stricken ship raising fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters off Giglio that are part of a sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales. Waters were relatively calm Tuesday with waves of just 30 centimeters, but they were expected to reach 1.8 meters Wednesday, according to meteorological forecasts. The Italian Coast Guard on Monday raised the number of missing to 25 passengers and four crew. The missing appear to include a group of Germans, two Americans and six Italians. Family members have identified the Americans as Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Italian Coast Guard official Marco Brusco said Tuesday there was still "a glimmer of hope" survivors could still be found on parts of the vast cruise liner not yet searched. The last survivor, a
crewman who had broken his leg, was rescued Sunday. The ship is carrying some 500,000 gallons of fuel on board. To date there's been no word of any leaks, but choppy waters that slightly shifted the wreckage on Monday escalated fears of one and suspended rescue operations for several hours. The ship's operator, Costa Crociere SpA, has enlisted one of the world's leading salvagers, Smit of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to handle the removal of the 1,000 -foot cruise liner and extract the fuel safely. The cruise operator has said Capt. Francesco Schettino strayed from the ship's authorized course into waters too close to the perilous reef. The navigational version of a "fly by" was apparently a favor to the chief waiter who is from Giglio and whose parents live on the island, local media reported. A judge is to decide Tuesday if Schettino should stay jailed. Prosecutor Francesco Verusio called Schettino's maneuver "reckless" and "inexcusable." Miami-based Carnival Corp., which owns the Italian operator, estimated that preliminary losses from having the Concordia out of operation at least through 2012 would be between $85 million
and $95 million, along with other costs. The company's share price slumped more than 16 percent Monday. Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the company would provide Schettino with legal assistance, but he disassociated Costa from his behavior, saying it broke rules. "Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct," Foschi said. Foschi didn't respond directly to prosecutors' and passengers' accusations that Schettino abandoned ship before all passengers had been evacuated, but he suggested his conduct wasn't as bad in the hours of the evacuation as has been portrayed. He didn't elaborate. The Coast Guard said Schettino defied their entreaties to return to his ship as the chaotic evacuation of some 4,200 people was in progress. After the ship's tilt put many life rafts out of service, helicopters plucked to safety dozens of people still aboard, hours after Schettino was seen leaving the vessel. The captain has insisted in an interview before his jailing that he stayed with the vessel to the end. He noted that 4,200 people managed to evacuate a listing ship
at night within two hours. In addition, the ship's evacuation procedures had been reviewed last November by an outside firm and port authorities and no faults were found, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Related Stories Does Italian cruise-ship accident give you second thoughts about going on a cruise? U.S. Embassy to Italy requests help in finding Minnesota couple missing in Italian cruise ship disaster Related Slideshow Luxury ship runs aground off Italy, 6 bodies found Five more bodies have been found in the capsized cruise ship off the coast of Italy, bringing the death toll to 11. Teams have been searching the ship for passengers and crew missing since the Costa Concordia struck rocks Friday evening and capsized. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Social savvy pets [infographic]

(Holy Kaw!)
Via eBay Classifieds. (H/T @Britt_Klontz)
A place for pet lovers. Permalink| Leave a comment
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News Wire/ Technology/
Romney unscathed from debate attacks

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 8:10:41 AM
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25
Kraft to cut 1,600 jobs in split

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:59:13 AM
A woman grabs a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese from a shelf at a Walgreens store in Willowbrook, Illinois January 19, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Frank Polich Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:59pm EST (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc said that splitting into two companies would lead it to cut about 1,600 jobs in North America this year and that its 2011 profit should be slightly higher than it had previously forecast. About 40 percent of the job cuts come from the company realigning its U.S. sales division, Kraft said. About 20 percent of the jobs being cut in the United States and Canada are currently open positions, the company said. The planned job cuts do not include any cuts at manufacturing facilities. The 1,600 job cuts represent about 1.26 percent of the company's total workforce. Kraft has about 127,000 employees, including about 46,500 in North America. Kraft also said its 2011 net revenue would be up by about 10 percent, as it ended the year with strong momentum around the world despite a tough operating
environment. It expects to report 2011 operating earnings per share of at least $2.28, including a penny per share hit from currency in the fourth quarter. Previously Kraft had forecast operating earnings per share of at least $2.27, excluding any potential currency impact in the fourth quarter. Analysts, on average, had expected Kraft to earn $2.27 per share this year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Kraft's 2011 organic net revenue -- or revenue excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures, currency and accounting calendar changes -- should be up about 6.5 percent, versus its prior outlook at least 6 percent. The growth was driven by mid-single-digit percentage growth in North America and Europe, and doubledigit percentage growth in developing markets, the company said. Shares of Kraft climbed 1.7 percent to $38.42 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting their highest level since early 2003. MOVING GROCERY UNITS TO CHICAGO AREA Kraft, the largest North American packaged food company, announced plans to break up back in August. Chief Executive Irene
Rosenfeld will lead the snacks business and North America President Anthony Vernon will be CEO of the North American grocery business. The snacks business, with annual sales of $32 billion, operates in high-growth emerging markets with products like Oreo and Lu cookies, Cadbury chocolates and Trident gum. The North American grocery business, with annual sales of $16 billion, is focused in more mature markets with products like Kraft and Velveeta cheeses, Maxwell House coffee and Capri Sun drinks. Once the North American grocery business is spun off it will cut its number of U.S. management center locations from four to two. Beverages, currently in Tarrytown, New York, and Planters, currently in East Hanover, N.J., will move to the Chicago area by December. Most employees affected by those moves will have the option to transfer, Kraft said. Also, Kraft will close its Glenview, Illinois, management center by the end of 2013. The future global snacks company will also be based in the Chicago area, while its North American unit will be based in East Hanover. Kraft, which is based near
Chicago in Northfield, Illinois, said it is still reviewing its manufacturing facilities to consider what will be best for the two companies. Kraft said its snacks business will deliver products directly to stores, with most U.S. retail sales employees moving over to the North American region of the global snacks company. The grocery company will use warehouse distribution, with local retail support contracted out to two companies. Acosta Sales & Marketing will become its partner in grocery stores and mass retail channels and Crossmark will continue to support Kraft in convenience stores. The company plans to report its full 2011 results and give outlook on February 21. (Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Gunna Dickson) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Govt says 2G has become 'political interest litigation' - Livemint

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:08:42 PM
India Today Govt says 2G has become 'political interest litigation' Livemint New Delhi: The Union government defended the law minister and the attorney general in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court while accusing those who have been pursuing cases against alleged wrongdoing in telecom spectrum allocation of seeking to... No interference of minister in 2G probe, Centre tells SC Daily News & Analysis 2G: Govt denies Khurshid 'interfered' in Essar-Loop probe Hindu Business Line Khurshid remark no interference in 2G case, apex court told Northern Voices Online all 12 news articles
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News Wire/
Wikipedia to Go Dark for24 Hours to Protest Bill

(FOXNews.com)
Supporters include the film and music industry, which often sees its products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to Wikipedia protect intellectual property and jobs. Wikipedia will black out the Critics say the legislation could English language version of its hurt the technology industry and website Wednesday to protest anti infringe on free-speech rights. -piracy legislation under Among their concerns are consideration in Congress, the provisions that would weaken foundation behind the popular cyber-security for companies and c o m m u n i t y - b a s e d o n l i n e hinder domain access rights. encyclopedia said in a statement The most controversial provision Monday night. is in the House bill, which would The website will go dark for 24 have enabled federal authorities to hours in an unprecedented move "blacklist" sites that are alleged to that brings added muscle to a distribute pirated content. That growing base of critics of the would essentially cut off portions l e g i s l a t i o n . W i k i p e d i a i s of the Internet to all U.S. users. considered one of the Internet's But congressional leaders appear most popular websites, with to be backing off this provision. millions of visitors daily. Tech companies such as Google, "If passed, this legislation will Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, eBay, harm the free and open Internet AOL and others have spoken out and bring about new tools for against the legislation and said it c e n s o r s h i p o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l threatens the industry's livelihood. websites inside the United States," Several online communities such the Wikimedia foundation said. as Reddit, Boing Boing and others The Stop Online Piracy Act have announced plans to go dark (SOPA) in the U.S. House of in protest as well. Representatives and the Protect The Obama administration also Intellectual Property Act under r a i s e d c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e consideration in the Senate are legislation over the weekend and designed to crack down on sales said it will work with Congress on of pirated U.S. products overseas. legislation to help battle piracy
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:06:55 AM
and counterfeiting while defending free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet. Wikipedia's decision to go dark brings the issue into a much brighter spotlight. A group of Wikipedia users have discussed for more than a month whether it should react to the legislation. Over the past few days, a group of more than 1,800 volunteers who work on the site and other users considered several forms of online protest, including banner ads and a global blackout of the site, the foundation said. Ultimately, the group supported the decision to black out the English version of the site. Jimmy Wales, the founder of
Wikipedia who first announced the move on his Twitter account Monday, said the bills are a threat to the free, open, and secure web. "The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess," Wales said in an email to The Associated Press. Wikipedia is also requesting that readers contact members of Congress about the bill during the blackout. "I am personally asking everyone who cares about freedom and openness on the Internet to contact their Senators and Representative," Wales said. "One of the things we have learned recently during the Arab spring events is that the Internet is a powerfully effective tool for the public to organize and have their
voices heard." Wikipedia will shut down access from midnight Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday night until midnight Wednesday. This is the first time Wikipedia's English version has gone dark. Its Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government; the bill did not advance. "Wikipedia is about being open," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia foundation. "We are not about shutting down and protesting. It's not a muscle that is normally flexed." Related Stories Rep. Lamar Smith removes key provision from SOPA Will Google, Amazon, and Facebook Black Out the Net? On Eve of Net Boycott, Dump GoDaddy Exodus Begins This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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27
POST-DEBATE
the last word. "I would go out and say, 'Stop it, that you're representing me and you're representing my campaign. Stop it.'" And Paul hammered a bring-thetroops-home theme at Monday's debate. As some of his foreign policy views have come under fire from his opponents, Paul tried to make a distinction between military cuts and defense cuts -Paul said he wants to maintain a strong national defense, but cut spending on overseas military operations. "I've never quite understood this. We are supposed to be conservatives. Spend less money," Paul said. Gingrich's supporters squared off against Santorum's supporters over the weekend at a meeting of evangelicals and other conservative leaders who were
trying to settle on a consensus candidate. They ended up choosing Santorum in the third round of balloting, though some complained about the process. Gingrich is nevertheless trying to consolidate the Not Romney vote. He claimed Tuesday that conservatives are starting to close ranks behind him. "It's very clear -- if conservatives in South Carolina decide to be for Newt Gingrich, that in fact I'll win the primary on Saturday," he said, as he also picked up the endorsement of South Carolina Lt. Gov. Ken Ard. The state's governor, Nikki Haley, is backing Romney. On Fox News Tuesday morning, he said voters "need somebody who can go toe-to-toe with Barack Obama and defeat him in
the debates this fall." "And I think once again last night, people had a sense that I was the guy who could best explain conservatism and could best stand there face-to-face with Obama and win the debate," Gingrich said. Related Video Huckabee: Gingrich had 'night of his life' in SC debate But will his strong performance be enough to overtake Romney? This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
BJP may field Uma Bharati in UP - IBNLive.com

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:05:47 PM
The Hindu BJP may field Uma Bharati in UP IBNLive.com PTI | 11:01 PM,Jan 17,2012 New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) Accepting Uma Bharati's hold over OBC votes in Uttar Pradesh, BJP could field her as a candidate in the poll -bound state. Sources in BJP said
party chief Nitin Gadkari was keen on giving nomination to... Rajnath not in race for CM post: Gadkari Indian Express BJP releases vision document for UP, promises one crore new jobs Times of India Congress, SP playing reservation game in UP: Gadkari The Hindu Business Standard- Zee News all 49 news articles
Global Insights: Ahmadinejad's Latin American Tour Highlights Iran's Isolation

(World Politics Review: Articles)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 2:58:00 AM
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads four-country Latin American tour last week was noticeable for its lack of achievements. The trip again underscored the gap between
Tehrans global ambitions and its constrained capabilities. Iran has yet to establish the means to challenge core U.S. economic, security and other interests in Latin America, and there is little likelihood of that changing in the future. In recent years, Iran has sought to
expand its economic ties as well as diplomatic partnerships and influence in Latin America. Thus far, however, Iran has only managed to develop close ties with a few regional governments that share ideological affinity with the current Iranian regime, seek its economic assistance and are
eager to find extra-regional balances to the United States. The Iranian charm offensives disappointing return on investment reflects the fact that Iran has little to offer most Latin American countries. ... This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is
your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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World News/ Technology/
Ripper to stand aside in WA BigPond News

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:15:42 PM
Ali Dizaei's accuser denies being a liar The Guardian

Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:40:01 AM
BigPond News Ripper to stand aside in WA BigPond News Embattled WA Labor leader Eric Rripper is expected to announce he is stepping down as more MPs abandon him. Embattled West Australian Labor leader Eric Rripper is expected to cut short
his holiday today to announce he is stepping down,... Ripper out, McGowan in Crikey (blog) Leadership challenge imminent: retiring MP Sydney Morning Herald Eric Ripper on thin ice as MPs signal change The Australian Ninemsn- ABC Online all 47 news articles
The Guardian Ali Dizaei's accuser denies being a liar The Guardian A man who says a police chief tried to frame him in a row over money has denied being a liar, as he admitted using fake documents
to get into Britain. Waad alBaghdadi claims that Commander Ali Dizaei falsely arrested him in July 2008 outside a west... Ali Dizaei accused of having 'gangster character' The Independent Ali Dizaei trial: Arrested man felt 'scared and threatened' BBC News all 5 news articles
New help for former SA leaders - BigPond News

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:14:30 PM
Christian World Adoption

BigPond News New help for former SA leaders BigPond News Former SA Premier Mike Rann will get a security detail due to the tough stand he took against bikie gang. Former South Australian
premier Mike Rann is to get a security detail and office support under new arrangements for former leaders.... Taxpayers to fork out for Rann's chauffeur ABC Online Chauffeur for P-plater Mike Rann The Australian all 8 news articles
Christian World Adoption is one of the largest international adoption agencies in the United States. Since 1991, Christian World Adoption has placed thousands of children from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. These children now enjoy the love and security of a forever family. Christian World Adoption currently offers
adoption programs in Bulgaria, ready, call our friendly adoption China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, c o u n s e l o r , t o l l f r e e , a t Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia 1 . 8 8 8 . 9 7 A D O P T . and Ukraine. Explore our website to learn more about international adoption. Then, when youre
Technology/
29
RIM should think Type not Touch for the new PlayBook
Chris Davies (SlashGear)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:30:20 PM
2011 wasnt Research In Motions year and 2012 is shaping up to be equally dismal one, with dramatic PlayBook price cuts paving the way for an underwhelming financial quarter. Its easy to see why RIM went down the tablet route: the iPad made slates fashionable, and the Canadian company was stinging from criticism over its underwhelming touchscreen smartphones. The PlayBook was an opportunity to show that RIM could legitimately compete and perhaps even drive some ecosystem shopping in the same manner that iPhone users often pick up an iPad, and vice-versa. Yet in the process RIM managed to forget everything that gave it unique appeal in the mobile segment. Whether from underestimating quite how demanding the tablet segment would turn out to be blame, admittedly, that can be shared among most of Apples rivals or rushing a half-baked OS to market, the PlayBook fell embarrassingly flat. What RIM had perceived as a coy ecosystem boost, making email and calendar functionality dependent on a tethered BlackBerry smartphone, was unsurprisingly perceived as a
significant failing. The overall polish of the iPad was conspicuous by its absence, and RIMs app store felt sparsely populated in comparison to Apples. The ensuing price cuts and eventual $485m write-off are common knowledge now. Yet, had RIM kept its head and stuck
to its existing strengths, the PlayBook debacle couldve gone significantly differently. BlackBerrys reputation has always been about fantastic text entry. The companys smartphones may not have been the best-specd, or the most attractive, but those who spend their days punching out message
after message quickly grew to appreciate the trademark BlackBerry keyboard. RIM itself showed some understanding of that USP, back with its first touchscreen phones, even if the implementation was patchy. The SurePress haptic keyboard technology in the original Storm ended up turning off more typists
than finding favor, but it was at least a sign that RIM recognized what made it special in the increasingly crowded smartphone segment."If youre thinking Palm Folio then youre on the right lines" How, then, might the PlayBook RIM page 33
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Technology/
Samsung Breathes Life Into Tizen By Merging With Bada

Dan Rowinski (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:15:00 PM
The long evolution of Tizen continues and is about to get its biggest boost yet. Samsung is going to merge its Bada platform with the Tizen project, bringing the Linux-based operating system to more smartphones and developers across the world. Tizen is the Linux smartphone operating system that was once called MeeGo that, in turn, was once the confluence of Maemo and Moblin from Nokia and Intel. Nothing tangible has ever really come out of the Tizen/MeeGo project except for a few demo phones and the Nokia N9 and N950. With Samsung throwing its manufacturing weight behind the Tizen development project, that may be about to change. Sponsor A Twisted Road For Tizen The growth path of Tizen has been nothing if not amusing. First, Nokia and Intel got together to merge Linux platforms. MeeGo was born. Nokia then found itself with a serious problem of a "burning platform" and had to jump to Windows Phone and cut its ties with the MeeGo project.
Intel was left to shop MeeGo around looking to gain some traction. It eventually found a home with the Linux Foundation, which subsumed the project under a consortium with a wide array of so-called supporters, Samsung included. Samsung's participation comes through the LiMo group. When we wrote about the purported "Death of MeeGo" last September and the rise of the LiMo group, we pointed out that Samsung would have a great opportunity to build a framework around Bada development with the backing of the Linux developer ecosystem. Near five months later, that is exactly what is happening. According to a report from Forbes, the integration of Bada and Tizen will give developers the same tools to develop for each platform. That would make perfect sense. Call it "streamlining Linux mobile operating systems." Basically, the entire project, from the very beginning, has been to absorb other Linux platforms. Overall, one would think that would give Tizen more functionality and a broader developer base, but that is not what has happened. Every time
Tizen has absorbed and changed its name, the development timeline has been set back. Now that Samsung is bring Bada to the project, will this change? Great For Tizen While Samsung Hedges Its Bets The great thing for Tizen about the Bada integration is that Bada actually exists on smartphones across the world. Bada was built by Samsung to be a low-end smartphone operating system intended to go head-to-head with Nokia's Symbian and S-series devices. Tizen and MeeGo were never really designed for low end devices. Bada integration could give Tizen a wider swath of the smartphone vertical with more apps and developers across smartphones of different hardware
specifications. The irony has the potential to be delicious. Nokia ditched MeeGo and is eventually putting Symbian to bed. MeeGo then turns to Intel and the Linux Foundation that turns to Samsung and Bada. All of a sudden the low-end smartphone market is flooded with Bada/ Tizen smartphones from Samsung competing directly against Nokia. By taking a broader role in Tizen, Samsung is giving itself more options. The company does not shy away from producing smartphone of varying sizes, costs and platforms making everything from flagship Android devices to Windows Phones and bottom of the market devices running both Android and Bada. Tizen and Bada give Samsung its own recourse against the potential Google/Motorola partnership and the rise of other dominant players in the Android ecosystem. According to Forbes, there will be "at least one or two" Tizen devices from Samsung this year. Look for announcements to be made during the summer with release schedules for the end of the year. Discuss
Sweet Tweet rewards employees for gaining Twitter followers

Olivia Solon
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:21:00 AM
Brand communications agency Uniform has created a very tangible way to reward its employees every time the team gets a new Twitter follower -- by giving them sweets. Every time the @uniformtweets account gets a new follower, a hacked cuckoo clock releases a gum ball onto a Heath Robinsonesque contraption, which weaves its way to the desk of a hungry employee. By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Nate Lanxon Continue reading...
Technology/
31
Bionic Panda Builds A Social Gaming Business On Android, Raises Funding From Top Investors HTC Explorer review
Eric Eldon (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:54:02 AM
If youre trying to build a mobile game for the hardcore crowd, youre going to want things like at least moderately elaborate graphics youll probably choose to build on iOS first. But if youre trying to build a casualstyle game that anyone can play easily, that reaches as many people as possible, Android is looking better and better. Thats at least the thesis behind Bionic Panda, the Androidfocused gaming company from veteran entrepreneur Charles Hudson. The company is today announcing some growth numbers and a founding round in other words, its strategy seems to be working out so far. Its first game, Aqua Pets, will be familiar to anyone who has played the many popular aquarium care titles on Facebook over the years. You feed fish, buy pretty new ones, clean your aquarium, etc. Since launching early last year, the title has managed to get 3
million downloads on Android, and is one of the platforms top 100 grossing apps. The company, meanwhile, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Norwest Venture Partners, Google Ventures, 500 Startups, and angels Craig Sherman and Kal Vepuri, as well as from SoftTech VC, where Hudson is a Venture Partner. Were not doing the Kabam/ Kixeye thing, Hudson explains, contrasting Bionic Pandas approach to building social games with the action and violencethemed RPGs and simulations those developers build for hardcore gamers on Facebook. Instead, he says, were focused on casual. The nice thing is that these games tend to have big mass market hits which gives you the ability to benefit from volume and scale on the Android platform. What he means is that the Android operating system now has the most market share of any OS in the US, with the same trend happening around the world. Even
if it offers fewer development possibilities, it offers potentially bigger market opportunities. A big existing issue, of course, is payments. Similar to other free-to -play social games, Aqua Pets relies on users getting hooked (har) on the free play, then deciding on their own to buy fish and accessories. Hudson tells me the company is a believer in Googles payment product, Wallet (which now includes Checkout), even with the relatively lower monetization rates per user versus similar iOS games, because Google is working hard to improve it, and because hes seeing it catch up. The current problem is that Wallet has far fewer credit cards on file than iOS. As of last year, Apple said it had some 200 million credit card-connected iTunes accounts, which it has been accumulating over the past decade, largely through digital music sales. While any of these users can make one-click purchases, Android users who want to pay via Wallet most likely
dont have an account yet, so theyll have to deal with the friction of setting one up. Hudson, who is also a social gaming industry expert hes the co-author of the Inside Virtual Goods reports notes that many developers report two to four times higher revenues per user on iOS versus Android. But this problem, as he said, is allayed by the companys casual focus, by Androids increasingly large market size, and by the gains in its payments systems. But its not only focused on the Google world. Hudson is openly interested in Amazons Kindle implementation of Android, and given his companys overall goal of reaching as many users as possible, hes not opposed to moving on to iOS at some point. Next up are two more games from the company (presumably for Android first): Poker Farm Pets and Angry Zombies.
Dave Oliver
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:06:00 AM
The latest addition to HTC's bulging pockets stuffed with Android smartphones isn't aimed at aficionados or riders at the high-tech gates of mobile internet dawn. The HTC Explorer is designed for the newcomer to the world of "connected everything", who's just starting to realise that modern mobiles are about a lot more than making calls and sending texts. By: Dave Oliver, Edited by: Dan Smith Continue reading...
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Technology/
The Hunt For A Perfect Twitter Chat Client

Dave Copeland (ReadWriteWeb)
Aviary Launches Major Upgrade To SDK, Now Powering 10 Million Photo Edits Per Month
Jason Kincaid (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:06:25 PM
have the client installed. All of the services beg the question "Why?" as it seems there Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:30:00 PM are a slew of chat clients like Last fall ProfNet, the company Skype or social networks like that connects reporters with Facebook that integrate instant sources, asked me to lead a messaging into their core Twitter chat on how journalists offerings. But if you have a can use social media in their hankering for Twitter chat, here work. It was fun, and using a are some other services to hashtag set up for the chat, I was consider: able to disperse little bits of social t.imo.im: Allows you to quickly media wisdom in 140 characters invite people into a private chat as a chat client as its competitors? s p a c e u s i n g T w i t t e r d i r e c t or less. I even got my picture in on Sponsor messages or @ mentions. Both services make similar Simplistic and somehwat clunky, ProfNet's sign in Times Square leading up to the chat, a photo of promises, including the ability to but quick and uses existing which is now a rather cool have group chats and private chats Twitter login credentials. conversation piece in my living with your Twitter followers. Both TodaysMeet: Lets companies services work in real-time, an a n d i n d i v i d u a l s c r e a t e room. The problem is not everyone who improvement over Twitter's direct "disposable" chat rooms around a follows me on Twitter is a message function, which tends to Twitter hash tag. The room journalist, or even cares that much lag and also does not allow for expires after a user-determined about the inside baseball stuff I group chats. length of time. Bills itself as a talked about during the hour The biggest difference between way to solicit comment and allow scheduled for the chat. They the two services is that Bonfire users to participate in a discussion complained that their feed was works within Twitter's interface, at their own convenience, without filled with me sprouting technical while Joint is a desktop app that the clutter of Twitter's public gibberish. Another sent a direct simply using your Twitter login timeline. message asking if a "dork-bot" information. Once the app is Tagch.at: Has the look and feel had hacked into my Twitter laoded, conversations and direct of old-school chat rooms where messages won't be updated in you talked with strangers about a account. Several services are stepping up y o u r T w i t t e r t i m e l i n e , a n d common interest. The only to offer Twitter chat features that conversations can't be continued if difference is chat rooms are built Facebook and Google+ users take you try to access them through around Twitter hash tags. for granted as an integral part of your mobile phone. the service. But questions abound: The other drawback for both Discuss Do services like Bonfire and Joint services is that the people you match up to make Twitter as good want to chat with will also have to
Aviary, the company that makes it easy for mobile developers to integrate image editing into their apps, has a major launch today: theyre introducing an overhauled version of their mobile SDK thats both more powerful and significantly better looking than the previous one, which launched in September. You may associate Aviary with the startups advanced suite of web-based image editing apps, which is what it focused on for years. But last year it shifted toward this developer-facing mobile SDK, which allows thirdparty developers to quickly integrate photo editing, filters, virtual stickers, and other related features into their applications. Its essentially a drop-in photo editor, and given how popular image sharing apps like Instagram are these days, its no surprise that plenty of mobile developers are baking it into their apps. Todays update, which is available for both Android, iOS, and web apps includes additional image effects and a refreshed UI. It also paves the way for Aviarys monetization plans: developers will be able to sell special filters
and stickers via in-app purchases, and Aviary will take a cut of these transactions. These monetization features arent available broadly yet Aviary is currently rolling them out to select partners. The first application to include the SDK (which will let you try it out for yourself) will be Pic Stitch(the updated version of their app is currently pending approval from Apple and should be up soon). Alongside the update, Aviary is also sharing some stats: usage of the SDK is growing 50% a month (measured based on how many users are accessing the editor and editing images). And across the 300 partner web and mobile apps to have integrated the SDK, users are editing over 10 million photos each month. Aviary says that a lot of this growth is concentrated among its top applications (it grows as they grow), but says that its seeing a nice long-tail in usage too. To help reduce confusion over the mobile SDK and their old suite of image editing tools, Aviary recently revamped its homepage at Aviary.com which now focuses on the developerfacing SDK. If youre looking for the old, consumer-facing image editors, youll need to head to advanced.aviary.com.
Technology/
33
RIM
had fared if it was not a tablet, but an ultraportable notebook instead? If youre thinking Palm Folio then youre on the right lines, perhaps, or more recently Motorolas Lapdock range of ultraportable alternatives. Motorola hasnt detailed sales of its various Lapdock options, so its hard to know whether theyve been a runaway success or a slow-burner, but RIM arguably has more of a reputation for polished text entry than Moto every did. RIMs target audience was going to need some serious persuading to ditch its laptop, and the 7-inch PlayBook was never going to do that. The company argued that it offered a more spacious way to triage a bulging inbox and respond to messages, but it could have done better providing a decent-scale physical keyboard paired with all-day battery life and a larger display. Where the Folio and Lapdock are reliant by design on a smartphone, RIM could have given its PlayBook laptop a brain of its own. In fact, a 360-degree hinge
as Lenovo showed on its YOGA concept last week wouldve allowed the company to tick both touchscreen tablet and solid textentry ability boxes. Even as a regular ultraportable, RIM could have positioned it as a legitimate alternative to a full-sized notebook, rather than a third device to carry alongside your PC and your smartphone. Unfortunately, it seems RIM is still driving ahead with its tablet ambitions. According to leaked roadmap information earlier today, the company has an eye on two new PlayBook tablets for 2012, initially a 3G-enabled 7inch model, followed at the tailend of the year with a 10-inch version toting 4G LTE. Is the situation unsalvageable? Not necessarily. Lenovo has already borrowed ASUS batterypacking keyboard dock idea from the Eee Pad Transformer, so RIM may as well strike out with its own homage too. Itll undoubtedly be bulkier than a true ultraportable companion device, but likely still smaller than the
regular notebook the company could legitimately say it replaces. RIM needs to stop trying to mimic Apple wholesale and instead focus on adopting the companys more successful strategies: playing to your strengths, knowing your audience, and launching devices that set out exactly what they can do and deliver on it in a polished manner. The enterprise juggernaut takes a long time to turn around; that gives RIM more time to reposition than, say, a consumercentric company. On the flip-side, though, should its business clients finally abandon it, RIM may discover its all but impossible to coax them back into the fold. RIM should think Type not Touch for the new PlayBook is written by Chris Davies& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Five best matte-screen LCDs for bright rooms (roundup)

David Katzmaier (CNET News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:34:00 AM
Miniaturized Southern Dishes - The Chicken Waffle Wings are Soul Food Without the Guilt (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:18:06 PM
based LCD offers very good picture quality, especially in bright rooms. Read the full We think a matte-screen finish review. offers the best picture quality in Vizio Razor M3D550SR rooms where you can't control The Vizio M3D550SR is a solid ambient light. Here are our edge-lit LED TV with excellent favorite five matte-screen we black levels, although its passive reviewed in 2011, arranged in 3D and Smart Dimming feature descending order of overall creates some issues. Read the full picture quality. review. LG LW5600 series Sony KDL-EX523 series While passive 3D has its flaws, The Sony EX523 series produces the LG LW5600's 2D picture a solid though workmanlike quality is very good for an edge- picture at a price that competes l i t L E D - b a s e d L C D T V , well against similarly featured especially in bright rooms. Read LED TVs. Read the full review. the full review. Looking for specs and pricing? Samsung LND630 series Compare these TVs head-to-head. With image quality every bit as Click through to the reviews for good as that of many expensive additional screen sizes. L E D m o d e l s , t h e S a m s u n g This entry passed through the LND630 is a great choice for a no Full-Text RSS service if this is -frills LCD TV. Read the full your content and you're reading it review. on someone else's site, please read Sharp LC-70LE73U series the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentFor people craving a colossal flat only/faq.php#publishers. Five -screen TV who don't want a Filters recommends: Donate to plasma or a projector, the 70-inch Wikileaks. Sharp LC-70LE73U series LED-
( TrendHunter.com) These
Chicken Waffle Wings are basically a miniaturized version of the classic Chicken and Waffle meal. Although Southern dishes such as this one are in part loved
for their immense size, this mini meal...
34
Technology/ Finance/
Art Lebedev Mini Six and Optimus Popularis launching at last

Chris Burns (SlashGear)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:01:25 PM
The relatively short history of the Art Lebedev line of customizable keyboards is a tragic one when you consider how much weve wanted to get our hands on every single one of these OLED screen per-key boards and their subsequent delays, but now were really getting down to business here in 2012 with not only the Mini Three and the Aux, but the Mini Six and the long-awaited Optimus Popularis as well. The great thing about these boards of keys is that not only are they customizable in their functions, they are each of them their own OLED display*, this allowing you to show yourself whatever you like to tap. While the original Optimux Maximus has been out for some time (2007), weve been waiting for the full expansion for what seems like an eternity. What weve got now is the Mini
Three, it having three lonely keys, the Aux, it having 12 keys to keep you company, and now the Mini Six (with guess how many keys, 6), and the Optimus Popularis, a full-fledged keyboard with all the bells and whistles. The original Maximus cost you something like $10,000 when you picked it up in 2007, while the Popularis is made much more viable to the average
person at closer to $1000 when it comes out soon. The big difference between the original model and these is that OLED per key situation. *Indeed what were seeing with these new models is different solutions to the original OLED per key on the Maximus, with the Popularis having instead a single LCD display across the entirety of
Maximus. Each of these new models goes for a glossy plastic look with a much thinner overall design than the Maxiumus, having a much more viable setup than the original so they can attain a lower price point above all else. They still appear to be quite high quality and ready to hit the market whenever the time is ripe. At the moment, its looking like November 1st is going to be the date. Lebedevs current estimates on price are $1,290 for the Popularis, $600 for the Aux, and $450 for the Mini Six. the board. Over at Anandtech, [ via Anandtech] publisher Jason Inofuentes noted Art Lebedev Mini Six and that he felt that the buttons Optimus Popularis launching at werent as clicky and satisfying last is written by Chris Burns& on these new models as theyd originally posted on SlashGear. been on the original, the key 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All p r e s s e s m o r e t h a n l i k e l y right reserved. activating a capacitive layer between them and the display rather than the press being as mechanical as it was in the
Arctic Animal Libraries - The Iron Joe Polar IKEA should be broken into three, says former CEO Bear Bookshelf Stores Literature with a Richard Tyler (Finance News chief executive of the world's Business news from the UK and number one furniture retailer has Whimsical Twist (TrendHunter.com) world)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:13:03 PM
( TrendHunter.com) For those looking to store their books in an aesthetically playful manner, the Iron Joe Polar Bear Bookshelf by
Benoit Convers is the perfect option. Instead of the standard tall, upright rectangular...
said.
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:35:17 AM
IKEA has become too big and should be broken up, the former
Technology/
35
Windows 8 will adopt new Apple's press resilient file system, but event is getting only on server "overhyped"
Lance Whitney (CNET News)
will be able to read and write to ReFS hard-drive partitions and Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:39:50 AM shares on a server, just as they can Microsoft is switching to the now do with those running NTFS. R e s i l i e n t F i l e S y s t e m f o r But as implied in its name, the Windows 8, but only the server new file system offers greater edition will support the new and resiliency, meaning better data more robust file system. verification, error correction, and ReFS is built on the foundation scalability. of the current and almost 20-year- Beyond its greater resiliency, old NTFS file system. But it's ReFS will also surpass NTFS by been designed from the ground offering larger maximum sizes for floor to offer several advantages, individual files, directories, disk particularly for servers. volumes, and other items, as seen As described in the latest in the table below: Building Windows 8 blog by Trying to address concerns Surendra Verma, a development among server administrators, manager on Microsoft's Storage V e r m a s a i d M i c r o s o f t h a s and File System team, ReFS will conducted tens of thousands of be unveiled and phased in as part tests of the new file system to of Windows Server 8, so IT ensure that it's reliable and that it administrators will be able to give performs as expected. However, it a spin by the end of the year. the company is still cautioning IT Since ReFS uses a subset of departments to tread slowly and features from NTFS, it's designed carefully in deploying ReFS and t o m a i n t a i n b a c k w a r d to adopt their own internal testing compatibility with its older before deployment. counterpart. So Windows 8 clients Microsoft is also ramping up
ReFS in a step-by-step manner. "We will implement ReFS in a staged evolution of the feature: first as a storage system for Windows Server, then as storage for clients, and then ultimately as a boot volume," Verma explained. "This is the same approach we have used with new file systems in the past. Initially, our primary test focus will be running ReFS as a file server. We expect customers to benefit from using it as a file server, especially on a mirrored Storage Space. We also plan to work with our storage partners to integrate it with their storage solutions." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Dave Caolo (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:00:00 PM
As anticipation builds for Apple's January 19 press event, the tech web has latched onto the notion of "GarageBand for iBooks," suggesting that Apple will release iBook creation tools to the public. Ars Technica believes its true, while Philip Elmer-Dewitt does not. Interestingly, both opinions are based on discussions with the same person. Chris Foresman at Ars and Elmer -Dewitt both spoke with Matt MacInnis, CEO of Inkling, a company that's been making interactive textbooks for the iPad for some time. MacInnis does expect Apple to make production tools available, but does not feel that Apple is out to "digitally destroy" textbook publishing, according to Elmer-Dewitt. "Apple is not trying to kill the incumbents," MacInnis told Elmer -Dewitt. "They've learned their lesson from upending the music industry." As for the tools themselves, Elmer-Dewitt suggests we should expect a solution to support the textbook industry. The
GarageBand reference may have been misplaced as well. In his conversation with Elmer-Dewitt, MacInnis referred GarageBand for iPad, and how Apple used it, in part, to demonstrate what was possible on the iPad 2. Expect a similar demonstration from Apple on Thursday. Specifically, "...a sample iPad textbook, produced in-house and packed with pedological bells and whistles" to serve as a model for publishers. Apple's press event is getting "overhyped" originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
36
Technology/ TV/
iPad 3 screen production ramping up strongly, report says

Josh Lowensohn (CNET News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:54:19 AM
Google Launches Good to Know Campaign for Web Safety

Jon Mitchell (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:52:00 AM
Production on the high-resolution displays that will adorn Apple's next-generation tablet is ramping up in the months ahead of the device's official unveiling, says a new report. Taiwanese news site DigiTimes claims that Sharp and LG Display are set to churn out 6 to 7 million 9.7-inch QXGA panels in the next two and a half months, bumping that number up to 10 million during the second quarter. All the while, Apple is said to be scaling back on the volume of iPad 2 displays it's ordering to 7-8 million panels in the first quarter of this year, down sharply from the 10 million it reportedly had on order in the last quarter of 2011. All told, that means more highresolution displays will be in production in the second quarter
than ones for the previous model, but Apple's not going cold turkey-suggesting the iPad 2 may still be around for a while. Digitimes has repeatedly offered the suggestion that Apple will continue to offer the iPad 2 alongside the newer model, expanding its lineup to three different models. For both the first and second-generation iPads, Apple's only differed by color, capacity and cellular connectivity, while retaining core features across the line. Of note, this latest report from Digitimes runs counter to one that appeared last week by Korean industry site Electronic Times Internet News. That one claimed Sharp was out of the running with LG and Samsung to produce the QXGA panels, which will feature 2,048 by 1,536 pixels in the same 9.7-inch screen. There's also no mention of Samsung, a company
that Apple has sourced for multiple components in its products, but also targeted in a sweeping legal battle in courts around the world. A third-generation iPad model is expected to hit in March, bringing the aforementioned higherresolution display and more powerful components. A highprofile report from Bloomberg last week suggested Apple was also planning to make it the first of its devices to feature a 4G LTE mobile chipset, allowing users to hop onto high-speed cellular networks. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Google has launched a consumer education campaign called Good to Know, which is designed to teach new users of high tech about safety, security and data management online. It's a walkthrough with four sections: Stay safe online, Your data on the web, Your data on Google and Manage your data. Each section contains an organized brochure of topics with some instructional diagrams and videos. Google calls Good to Know its "biggest-ever consumer education campaign." It began with ad campaigns in the U.K. and Germany last fall. The ads highlight security tips like using Google's 2-step verification and checking websites for secure HTTPS connections. The campaign will now be extended to the U.S. with print and Web ads, as well as display ads in New
York and Washington D.C. subway stations. Sponsor The campaign supports Google's existing resources, such as the Google Security Center, the Family Safety Center and Teach Parents Tech. By dedicating one chapter of the Good to Know website to Google's services, the rest of the document serves as a good general guide to using the whole Web responsibly. These resources are available at google.com/goodtoknow Discuss
WATCH: Wendy Williams' Campaign Ad

Katherine Fung (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:44:41 PM
Wendy Williams is launching a
campaign to save the Twinkie. Hostess, the company that makes the Twinkie, filed for bankruptcy earlier in January. Williams was clearly distraught by the news.
In a new video, the television host compares the treat to the Statue of Liberty, the bald eagle and the Grand Canyon, calling it "a golden symbol of the American
dream." She rallied viewers to join her Facebook campaign to save the Twinkie. "Let's fight to ensure that our children and our children's
children get to experience the spongy cream-filled flavor of freedom!" she implored. Watch the spot in the clip above.
Technology/ Economy/ Finance/
37
DreamIt Ventures Launches First Israel-U.S. Accelerator

Sarah Perez (TechCrunch)
now capitalize on this trend with the new DreamIt Israel program, Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:18:15 PM which kicks off on April 15th. Startup incubator DreamIt Participating companies will have Ventures is announcing the first access to the U.S. and other global Israel-U.S. accelerator, which will markets through the program, plus help up to five Israeli startups mentorship, guidance, and up to expand into the U.S. market $25,000 in early stage capital. To through DreamIts NYC 2012 qualify, founders must be residing program. The new program, in Israel and holding citizenship called DreamIt Israel, will take or residence. place over four months, with the After the first month in Israel, the first month in Israel followed by startups will work alongside U.S. three months in New York. The companies in DreamIts NYC startups will also participate in 2012 program, which runs from two Demo Day events one in May 14th through August 17th, the U.S. and the other back home 2012. After NYCs Demo Day in with local investors. August, the Israeli startups will Despite some VCs contention return home to present before that entrepreneurs still need to be local investors, too. They will also based in the Valley to succeed, be provided with two more Israel has been pushing out months of workspace (location innovative new web and mobile TBD) following the second Demo startups at a rapid pace, including, Day in Israel. of course, Disrupt winner Shaker. DreamIt Israel joins the DreamIt hopes t o accelerators two other regional
Taylor Wimpey continues upbeat trend for housebuilders

Emma Rowley (Finance News Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:41:29 AM
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey expects a 75pc leap in annual profits, after it hit its target of achieving double-digit margins
efforts, DreamIt New York and DreamIt Philly, which have been home to graduates like SCVNGR, SeatGeek, Take the Interview, CloudMine, Notehall, SupplyHog, Adaptly and 57 others. Says DreamIts founder David Bookspan, for a number of years we have wanted to bring the same benefits to the Israeli startup community and we are glad that now there is the right mix of team and timing. Indeed. Mitchell Golner, who has over 18 years of hi-tech business management experience, will serve as DreamIt Israels Managing Partner. Five companies will be chosen to participate in the inaugural launch Joe Weisenthal (Money Game) of the Israeli program, and Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:54:12 AM applications are open now. The deadline for early acceptance is Quick heads up here. February 22nd. To apply, go to Last week we started talking about this odd divergence in the DreamItVentures.com/Israel. market. "Risk" assets, like stocks, have been surging like crazy. But "Anti-Risk" assets, like Treasuries have been holding up as well. It's a curious conundrum, and nobody has a great explanation for what's up. last year. And it persists! Today the market is almost surging, with the Dow up around 100. 10-year Treasury rates?
There's Still Something Weird About Today's Rally

STILL LOWER. Maybe some nervousness about a slowdown creeping back in? 10-year Treasury yield intraday Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: You Can't Keep This Market Down ROBERT SHILLER: It Looks Like The Bond Market Is A 'Bubble' Asian Markets Aren't Doing Much Tonight
38
Technology/ Economy/ Culture/
Daily Mac App: Slender

Erica Sadun (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:00:00 PM
Be more efficient at work and home with 4 simple programs

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:38:00 AM
New from Dragon Forged Software, Slender(US$9.99, currently on sale for $4.99) is a narrowly-focused utility that will either be exactly the tool you're looking for or one you can safely skip. It helps you nondestructively optimize Xcode projects by allowing you to view, evaluate, and adjust development assets. For example, you can scan multiresolution image collections. Slender detects when you might be missing a @2x asset or have used an incorrect dimension. That's particularly handy when you're working on large projects and may find it hard to otherwise audit your images by hand. Slender also matches assets to source code, so you can automatically remove unused asset items to help save space in your shipping bundle.
You can use Slender to add its extra checking and validation to your normal workflow as a final project cleanup stage. Developer Kyle Richter adds, "This is the perfect app for anyone who is working on large projects with frequent asset changes and anyone trying to keep an active eye on their final bundle size." Slender originated as an internal project. Richter explains, "When
working on client projects, we frequently ran into issues with asset control. Slender was designed as an in-house tool to help us optimize our work flow and cut down on our development time. We found it extremely useful internally, as did the colleagues we shared it with, so we decided to release it on the App Store so we could share the tech with others."
Slender is now available from the Mac App Store. For more details about its features, you can check out this information page. Daily Mac App: Slender originally appeared on TUAW The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Saving money and being more productive are common resolutions, and fortunately, there is technology to help you fulfill those goals, writes Chelsea Hejny. At the office, even small firms can get in the cloud with YourOfficeAnywhere, while Wunderlist can help you stay on task so you can get to your dream list compiled on Evernote. Full story at SmartBlog on Leadership by SmartBrief. More SmartBrief stories. Permalink| Leave a comment
Fed POMO Cancelled Due To "Technical Difficulties"

Tyler Durden
Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:33:34 AM
This is not the first time the Fed has had to delay a POMO due to "technical difficulties." It is
however, the first time this has happened during what at least on the surface is stock market ramp, even if USTs are now higher on the day, and French bonds lower since Friday...
Source: NY Fed Average:
Your rating: None Average: 5( 4 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read
the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Technology/ Culture/ Sports/
39
Inside Apple describes Scott Forstall as Apple's CEO-in-waiting

Steven Sande (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Drew Barrymore Wears Her New Ring in LA With Her Fianc!

Allie Merriam (PopSugar)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:43:03 AM
before moving to Apple, and shares the Jobs obsession with small details. One entrepreneur Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:08:00 AM told Lashinsky that Forstall is "...a Apple CEO Tim Cook is an sharp, down-to-earth, and talented excellent business manager and engineer, and a more-than-decent responsible for much of the presenter. He's the total package." company's success in low-cost Of course, it could be years manufacturing and skinny before Cook decides to step down, inventories. But as we saw with but in the meantime Forstall has Cook's first product time to home his skills and build announcement on October 4, he even more influence inside the lacks a lot of the charisma that company. Considering that he marked the Steve Jobs era. A new runs the highly-successful iOS book is now saying that senior software division, that influence is vice president Scott Forstall is the accumulating quickly. most likely person on the Apple (appropriately during Macworld | Inside Apple describes Scott executive team to become CEO iWorld) and is based on scores of Forstall as Apple's CEO-ininterviews with "collaborators, waiting originally appeared on after Cook's reign ends. The book by Adam Lashinsky, c o m p e t i t o r s , a n d f o r m e r TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Inside Apple: How America's e m p l o y e e s . " Weblog on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 Most Admired -- and Secretive -- Lashinsky notes that Forstall has 11:08:00 EST. Please see our Company Really Works, is a deep many of the traits that would terms for use of feeds. dive inside of the operation of the make him an excellent choice for Source| Permalink| Email this| company by a Fortune magazine t h e n e x t C E O . H e ' s y o u n g Comments columnist. The book is scheduled (currently 43), comfortable on t o b e r e l e a s e d n e x t w e e k stage, worked at Jobs' NeXT
Drew Barrymore sported her new engagement ring while out for a walk in LA yesterday! She and her fianc took their dog out for some fresh air in Hollywood. The couple are hanging out at their West Coast home base after their holiday getaway to Idaho, where Will popped the question in Sun Valley. Drew Barrymore's new ring is a 4-carat sparkler from Graff Diamonds! Aside from her personal excitement, Drew's also gearing up for the release of her movie Big Miracle. It's an inspirational story about saving a group of three California whales trapped in the Arctic Circle, starring Drew and her leading man, John Krasinski. We had a chance to visit them on the Alaskan set last year, when Drew spoke about Big
Miracle's plot. She said, "We all want to be a part of something that makes us believe that good things happen in the world . . . It's just a beautiful story and incredible things happen. And because it's true, we know that it happened; it gives us that hope that we need in life. I need this kind of hope in life. I need movies like this." View Slideshow
Jays sign pitcher Villanueva to one-year deal

(Sports News Headlines Yahoo! News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:26:41 AM
(Reuters) - The Toronto Blue Jays
avoided arbitration with Carlos Villanueva by agreeing to a oneyear contract worth $2.27 million with the right-handed pitcher, the Major League Baseball team said
on Tuesday. Villanueva, 28, posted a 6-4 record with a 4.04 earned run average in 33 games, including 13 starts, last season. The Dominican Republic native
has a career 26-28 record in 263 Editing by Frank Pingue) games, including 40 starts, over six season with Milwaukee and Toronto. (Reporting By Gene Cherry in Salvo North Carolina;
40
Technology/ Culture/
David Beckham Kicks It With Romeo and Cruz

Lauren Turner (PopSugar)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 8:55:33 AM
Samsung Series 7 Gaming Laptop packs 3D in eye-watering case

Chris Davies (SlashGear)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:43:06 AM
i7 quadcore processor paired with up to 2TB of storage space and up to 16GB of memory. All eyes were on Samsungs Theres also a 17.3-inch Full HD ultrabook drive at CES last week, LED-backlit display, and a backlit so attention-grabbing we managed keyboard for those late-night to miss a canary-yellow gaming gaming sessions. Samsung is notebook. The Samsung Series 7 readying both 2D and 3D models, Gaming Laptop wears its abilities and therell be both AMD and on its (brightly colored) sleeve, NVIDIA graphics options too. the lurid shell hiding an Intel Core A 5,900mAh battery probably
cant be expected to last all too long if youre hammering the Series 7 for gaming purposes, but the onboard optical drive and that expansive display means itll probably be a solid multimedia notebook too. Samsung expects it to land at the equivalent of $2,228 for the 2D version and around $200 more for the 3D version in Korea, though US pricing is
tipped to be from $1,799. [ via Sammyhub] Samsung Series 7 Gaming Laptop packs 3D in eye-watering case is written by Chris Davies& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
David Beckham hit the field with his two youngest sons, Romeo and Cruz Beckham, in LA yesterday. The boys kicked around a soccer ball before joining in a game with their teammates. David watched while Romeo and Cruz played, but he also apparently made time to pose with a few fans on the sidelines. Victoria and Harper weren't spotted at the match, as they've been in the UK. Victoria ate at pal Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant, Bread Street Kitchen, in London over the weekend while David lunched with Romeo and Cruz on the West Coast. David will soon make a trip to Northern California, where he'll participate in a live chat with GoogleTalks this Thursday. View Slideshow
Policy/
41
The Iraqi Revolution Well Never Know By Michael Wahid Hanna

MICHAEL WAHID HANNA (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:18:58 AM
Imagine for a moment that the United States never invaded Iraq. Would the Arab Spring have toppled Saddam anyway? BY MICHAEL WAHID HANNA| JANUARY 17, 2012 In a tumultuous year that witnessed the fall of Arab tyrants and the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, proponents of the 2003 invasion, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and conservative academic Fouad Ajami, have sought to portray the decision to topple Saddam Hussein's regime as the hidden driver of the Arab Spring. But rather than revisit history, why not -- on this one-year anniversary of Tunisian strongman Zine elAbidine Ben Ali's downfall -- try our hand at alternate history: If the U.S. had never invaded Iraq, would Saddam's Baathist regime still be standing in today's Middle East? This question, of course, is a bedeviling one. It is difficult to imagine the region absent U.S. military intervention in Iraq. The war itself fueled regional dysfunction -- particularly in reaffirming and expanding pernicious notions of sectarian identity. Clearly, the specter of
enhanced Iranian influence and most obviously with respect to the spillover effects of Iraq's Syria and Bahrain. brutal sectarian civil war in 2006- Still, the admittedly speculative 2007 loom large over the region, answers to this hypothetical
exercise expose the many ways the Middle East has evolved since the days when Saddam brutally crushed the Shiite and Kurdish
uprising of 1991 -- with the Arab world looking on in silence. At IRAQI page 42
42
IRAQI
the same time, Iraq's strategic position and sectarian makeup highlight the geopolitical realities that continue to limit the trajectory of regional transformation. Absent U.S. intervention, it is almost certain that Saddam would have maintained his repressive grip on the country. While his regional ambitions and threatening posture had been contained by devastating sanctions, the opposition to Saddam's rule remained fragmented and ineffective until the U.S.-led intervention. The ambitious efforts to foment internal unrest by the Iraqi National Congress, a purported umbrella organization for the Iraqi opposition in exile, had been an unmitigated disaster. And the internal opposition had not been able to seriously threaten the regime. When Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a venerated and politicized Shiite cleric, was murdered by the regime in February 1999, the short-lived riots that ensued were subdued quickly. The aftermath also exposed longstanding divisions between the external and internal Shiite opposition that would stand in the way of any effort to overthrow the regime. That doesn't mean it never would have happened. W ith festering grievances, a repressed populace, and growing destitution, it is highly likely that Iraq would have been part of this past year's regional wave of uprisings. The wave of revolt has illuminated the
manner in which transnational solidarity, buoyed by a shared media space and political links, still plays an important role in the collective imagination of Arabs -even though the grandiose promises of pan-Arab nationalism have long ago been discredited. This phenomenon would not have bypassed Iraq. Furthermore, while the pre-invasion efforts of both the external and internal Iraqi opposition ultimately failed, they did represent genuine opposition politics. And the existence of a Kurdish safe haven would have provided physical space to plan and coordinate anti-government activities. Much more so than even in Tunisia, the building blocks for an uprising would have been in place in Iraq. Had such an uprising broken out, the surest path for Iraqi regime change would have been a U.S.led military action in support of local actors. Without the bruising legacy of the Iraq debacle, outside intervention, even absent legal authorization, would have been, for better or worse, a serious option for the United States and its allies. As with Muammar alQaddafi in Libya, the United States and its partners would have seen an opportunity to remove a longtime nemesis. The propitious circumstances that created the moral and legal basis for the NATO-led intervention in Libya, however, would probably not have materialized in Iraq. Russia and China would have expressed serious reservations about meddling in Iraq's internal
affairs, and would likely have blocked legal sanction for any military action against the regime. Russian and Chinese aversion to more aggressive multilateral steps against Syrian President Bashar al -Assad's regime, after all, is not simply a fit of pique regarding the expansive nature of the Libya campaign but rather part of a longstanding assertion of strategic priorities and state sovereignty. Regional intervention in Iraq would have been even less likely. While the Iraq war inflamed popular notions of sectarian identity, regional politics had long been shaped by sectarianism and regional rivalry. Saudi Arabia, for example, backed Saddam in his war with Iran in the 1980s because it deemed a revolutionary Iran seeking to export Shiite theocracy as more of a threat than an Iraq bent on regional hegemony. Such balance-ofpower considerations would undoubtedly have counseled caution among America's Gulf allies in the face of a Shiite and Kurdish-led uprising against Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime. The mere prospect of Iran expanding its influence after Saddam's downfall would have foreclosed the possibility of regional consensus on the side of an Iraqi protest movement. Similarly, fears of an independent Kurdistan and the potential revitalization of Kurdish nationalist aspirations within Turkey would certainly have pushed Turkish leaders to oppose foreign intervention.
To be sure, the Arab world is now witnessing the first stirrings of an effort to establish regional norms for combating dictatorial repression and violence. On a popular level, strident stances against Israel and the United States are no longer sufficient cover for the slaughter of one's people, as is clear from regional reaction to Assad's brutal crackdown on protesters. But, in the event of an uprising in Iraq, such considerations would have lost out to strategic concerns. Even in Syria, where the Arab League has unexpectedly sought to intercede by suspending Damascus and sending an observer mission to the country, caution has prevailed despite the benefits the country's Sunni majority would reap from regime change. Similarly, Iraq, Syria's longstanding nemesis, has suddenly mended previously damaged relations with its neighbor and opposed more coercive regional efforts in Syria due to the Shiite-led government's concerns about Sunni Islamist rule on its border. The current struggle between Bahrain's beleaguered Shiite majority and the Sunni Al Khalifa monarchy is a further case in point. Sectarianism has undercut popular notions of solidarity, and many who are otherwise proponents of regional transformation have deemed Bahrain separate and apart from the other Arab uprisings. The prominent Sunni scholar Yusuf alQaradawi, for example, has
expressed support for attempts to overthrow dictators throughout the region but balked at the prospect of a predominantly Shiite -led movement in Bahrain, claiming that "there is no people's revolution in Bahrain but a sectarian one." Sectarian animus would have similarly undercut sympathy and support for an Iraqi uprising that would have empowered the country's Shiite majority. Barring a foreign military intervention, the question of regime change would have been settled by Iraq's internal balance of power and the ability of rebels to topple the government. As is clear from the case of the uprising against Assad's regime, a positive outcome in such circumstances is far from assured absent high-level defections. While silent defections aided the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, a popular revolt in 2011 would have likely resulted in greater regime consolidation. What is certainly clear is that the regime would have used overwhelming and disproportionate force to quell any signs of broad-based dissent. In the face of such indiscriminate violence, Iraq's rebels would have likely failed. In the final analysis, absent the bruising legacy of the Iraq war and the dubious grounds upon which it was launched, the United States and its allies would have most likely taken military action to assist the rebels and topple Saddam Hussein, with or without IRAQI page 44
Policy/
43
The LWOT: Hezbollah Suspect Leads Thai Police to Chemical Stash

JENNIFER ROWLAND (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 7:46:16 AM
Foreign Policy and the New America Foundation bring you a twice weekly brief on the legal war on terror. You can read it on foreignpolicy.com or get it delivered directly to your inbox -just sign up here. BY JENNIFER ROWLAND| JANUARY 17, 2012 The Rack: Cullen Murphy, Todd S. Purham, David Rose, Philippe Sands, "Guantnamo: An Oral History" ( Vanity Fair). Hezbollah suspect leads Thai police to chemical stash Thai police on January 12 arrested a suspected member of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Atris Hussein, and later charged him with illegal weapons possession after receiving a tip from Israeli intelligence sources that Hezbollah operatives were plotting to attack various tourist attractions in the Thai capital of Bangkok ( NYT, CNN, Reuters, AP, AFP). After his arrest Hussein led police on January 16 to a warehouse he had been renting for a year, where he had stockpiled a large amount of ammonium nitrate and urea, both of which can be used to make plot involved the chemicals being explosives, though a police shipped out of Thailand for use in spokesman later said the alleged another country ( BBC).
Radical cleric Abu Qatada on January 17 won his fight against deportation from the United
Kingdom to Jordan, where he has been accused of involvement in two major terrorist plots, because
he risks being tortured and having LWOT: page 44
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LWOT:
IRAQI
evidence obtained through his torture used against him in court ( BBC, AP, Tel) Abu Qatada fled to the U.K. in 1993 after purportedly being tortured by Jordanian security forces, and claims that the accusations against him were derived from evidence obtained by torturing his co-defendants. Four people, including a British citizen who has been detained in Kenya for a year for being in the country illegally, Jermaine Grant, and Kenyans Fouad Ababaker Manswab, Warda Breik Islam and Frank Ngala were charged on January 12 with possessing bombmaking equipment and plotting to detonate an improvised explosive in Kenya in December ( Reuters, BBC, Guardian). Police said they are also questioning Grant about possible links to the Somali militant group al-Shabaab. Spanish judge moves forward with Gitmo torture probe A Spanish judge on January 13 said he is proceeding with an investigation into alleged human rights abuses at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantnamo Bay claimed by four Muslim men who are either residents or citizens of Spain ( AP, McClatchy). The investigation had been paused while Judge Pablo Ruiz waited for Washington to respond to the claims, but after receiving no word from the
United States, he decided to continue the probe. And a Navy defense lawyer, Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, has filed suit before a court of appeals against the prison for failing to protect his client's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial, by mandating that mail he sends to his client be inspected ( Miami Herald). Cmdr. Ruiz said that Guantnamo commander Rear Adm. David Woods is "censoring what he believes the client should get" instead or just searching the incoming mail for physical contraband. Imam sentenced to life in prison A Trinidadian Shi'a Muslim imam, Kareem Ibrahim, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Brooklyn on January 13 for his role in a plot with three other men, Russell M. Defreitas, Abdul Kadir, and Abdel Nur, to blow up fuel tanks at New York City's Kennedy International Airport in 2007 ( NYT, CNN, AP, WSJ, AFP, Bloomberg). Previously, Defreitas and Kadir were also sentenced to life in prison, while Nur received a 15year sentence after he pleaded guilty to the plot, which was uncovered by U.S. officials through a confidential informant. On January 13 in New Bern, North Carolina, Hysen Sherifi received a 45-year prison sentence, Ziyad Yaghi received a
nearly 32-year sentence, and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan received a 15-year sentence for the three men's activities as part of a Raleigh, North Carolina terror cell led by Daniel Patrick Boyd ( AP). Federal investigators say the cell members conspired to attack the U.S. Marine base at Quantico in Virginia as well as U.S. forces serving abroad, and obtained funds, weapons and training in preparation for their attacks. Anthony Falco Jr., who is accused of trying to bring a fake bomb through the security checkpoint at Kansas City International Airport on the 10 th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial by a U.S. District judge last week, and ordered to spend 4 months in a psychiatric facility ( AP). And a federal judge in Manhattan on January 12 denied a new trial for El-Sayyid A. Nosair, who was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to bomb various New York City landmarks and of murdering Rabbi Meir Kahane, rejecting his claims of newly discovered evidence and of misconduct by the prosecution during his original trial ( NYT). Trials and Tribulations The German government on January 16 presented the country's highest civilian award to U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Trevor Brewer
and civilian American airport employee Lamar Connor for chasing Arid Uka after Uka shot and killed two U.S. service members aboard a U.S. Air Force bus last March at the Frankfurt airport ( AP). Venezuela withdrew its staff from the country's consulate in Miami after allegedly receiving threats from Venezuelan exiles with links to terrorism, though President Hugo Chavez had already announced the consulate's closure after the U.S. government expelled a diplomat there ( AP). Iraqi authorities have reportedly arrested hundreds of foreign defense contractors in the past several weeks, detaining them for a few hours to a few weeks because of questions over their visas, weapons permits, and permission to drive on certain roads ( NYT). This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
explicit U.N. sanction. It is, of course, the ultimate irony that the proponents of unchecked American unilateralism and militarism, through their profligacy and poor decisions, have themselves created conditions that now bind and limit the exercise of U.S. power. While the Middle East has begun to change in fundamental ways, it has done so despite the geopolitical constraints and sectarian biases that still guide decision-making in the region. For all the transformation that the Arab Spring has wrought, sadly, an Iraqi uprising in 2011, absent outside intervention, might not have played out much differently than the one that Saddam snuffed out in 1991. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
UK police officer loses Olympic security documents

A British tabloid reported Tuesday that it had been handed documents about security
arrangements for the London Olympics that were left on a train by a police officer, the latest in a
series of embarrassing mishaps involving British authorities misplacing government
documents.
Policy/ Culture/ Sports/
45
Even Better Than the Real Thing

(Foreign Policy)
Gavin, Kingston, and Zuma Celebrate Harlow's Birthday With More Celebrity Kids
Lauren Turner (PopSugar)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:42:56 AM
The bizarro-world Dmitry Medvedev (in Russian), profiled Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:00:44 AM last year by Julia Ioffe The 10 best fake Twitter feeds on "Governors need to have more global politics. JANUARY 17, children so that the country will 2012 have more successful young @RelevantOrgans entrepreneurs." A spot-on parody of Chinese @ArabicObama state propaganda. A skeptical view of the 44th U.S. Sample tweet: " We admit we're president from the Arab world (in no experts at democracy, but we Arabic). s w e a r w e d i d n o t p r o g r a m "A wife has the right to beat her Comrade Huntsman to believe husband two times a week, and that 3rd place equals winning." that's a final decision." @Angela_D_Merkel @Fake_Kissinger The exasperated gripes of The dark side of American Europe's most powerful leader. diplomacy. "Pleasant lunch with the boys. Bit " Help: How do I blog this user embarrassing when Monti had to @IntleCrimCourt? They won't call@Lagarde for permission stop messaging me, asking me to before tipping the waiter." turn on my location settings." @DrunkenPredator @Queen_UK Ramblings of a dipsomaniacal The gin-soaked alter ego of unmanned aerial vehicle. Elizabeth of Windsor. (There's "can't yell at me for violating a even a book tie-in.) strike moratorium if I'm too drunk "Camilla pulled out of this today's to ID the Durand Line.. jk jk reception with the President of CAN'T EVEN SPOT THAT Turkey. Says she'll get enough of DAMN LINE SOBER" turkey at Christmas. Awkward." @KermlinRussia @GingrichIdeas
Out-of-the-box thinking from the former speaker of the House. "Replace stars on American flag with Starfleet emblems." "Go on Morning Joe and distract Joe and Mika with a shiny object so I can talk about moon mining." @foreignhina Pakistan's glamorous foreign minister Hina Rabbani Kar -- with a bit more attitude. "Okay, so I was wrong. Jim Jones was NOT played by Harrison Ford and he is NOT Jughead's father.# memogate" @KimJongNumberUn North Korea's new leader -- and the world's number one Eric Clapton fan. "Does my population make me look fat?" This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Nicole Richie's daughter, Harlow Madden, had a star-studded birthday bash in LA yesterday. They celebrated at the children's play space, The Coop, where Ashlee Simpson's son Bronx partied for his big day last year. Gavin Rossdale brought Kingston and Zuma along for the fun event and Tobey Maguire's wife, Jennifer Meyer, arrived with kids Ruby and Otis. Harlow actually turned four last week, but its been a busy month so far for the Richie-Madden family. Nicole attended the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday and promoted her new reality series, Fashion Star, at the TCAs in Pasadena last weekend. Nicole and Joel didn't miss their
daughter's big day, though, since they honored Harlow on Twitter. Nicole joked, "In case your'e wondering if I had my child born on the same day as Mary J. Blige on purpose, the answer is H*LL TO THE YES" while Joel wrote "Happy Birthday to my little girl. I'm so proud of her. Life is good. :)" View Slideshow
Rangers' Lowe agrees to $1.7 million contract

Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:50:19 AM
(Reuters) - The American League
champion Texas Rangers and reliever Mark Lowe have agreed to a one-year, $1.7 million deal to avoid arbitration, the Major League Baseball team said on
Tuesday. The right-hander, 28, appeared in 52 games out of the bullpen for Texas last season, compiling a 2-3 record and 3.80 earned run average. He was
acquired by Texas in 2010 from Seattle where he spent four-plus seasons. (Reporting By Gene Cherry in Salvo North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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Economy/
$10 TRILLION Liquidity Injection Coming? Credit Suisse Hunkers Down Ahead Of The European Endgame
Tyler Durden
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:03:19 PM
When yesterday we presented the view from CLSA's Chris Wood that the February 29 LTRO could be 1 Trillion (compared to under 500 billion for the December 21 iteration), we snickered, although we knew quite well that the market response, in stocks and gold, today would be precisely as has transpired. However, after reading the report by Credit Suisse's William Porter, we no longer assign a trivial probability to some ridiculous amount hitting the headlines early in the morning on February 29. Why? Because from this moment on, the market will no longer be preoccupied with a 1 trillion LTRO number as the potential headline, one which in itself would be sufficient to send the Euro tumbling, the USD surging, and provoking an immediate in kind response from the Fed. Instead, the new 'possible' number is just a "little" higher, which intuitively would make sense. After all both S&P and now Fitch expect Greece to default on March 20 (just to have the event somewhat "priced in"). Which means that in an attempt to front-run the unprecedented liquidity scramble that will
certainly result as nobody has any
idea what would happen should
$10 page 47
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Greece default in an orderly fashion, let alone disorderly, the only buffer is having cash. Lots of it. A shock and awe liquidity firewall that will leave everyone stunned. How much. According to Credit Suisse the new LTRO number could be up to a gargantuan, and unprecedented, 10 TRILLION! Here is how the strawman is now put in place for what may the biggest liquidity injection in modern history in just under two months. Februarys second 3-year LTRO looks set to be extremely large. Really extravagant claims ( we have heard reports of 10 tn) are probably wide of the mark because this will not be a complete collateral free-for-all (unless NCBs choose to make it so, which for some of them is admittedly an open question; again, see rational player section below). But the idea of pathfinder lightning springs to mind (High-speed cameras reveal that lightning evolves bang BANG, essentially); the last LTRO has removed any stigma, making managements who do not exploit the value on offer arguably careless at best. This is, on the face of it, very cheap protection indeed against any possibility of a liquidity crisis for three years. Naturally, if indeed there is anything even remotely resembling a10 trillion expansion in the ECB's sub 3 trillion balance sheet, all bets will be off as the ratio of the ECB to the Fed assets, a correlation which
would imply a sub parity level on the EURUSD would gut corporate earnings in the US, all merely to prevent the disintegration of the Eurozone. And while this event will be welcomed by the Fed initially as it will send stocks exploding to potentially all time highs (and gold to well over $2000/ounce), it will cripple the US manufacturing model unless the Fed immediately responds in kind, and prints outright, and unsterilized, a non-trivial comparable amount. In other words, the world could very well enter the final round of global coordinated currency devaluation, aka FX war, together. Yes, that means coordinated printing by the SNB, BOE, PBoC, BOJ, etc, etc. Simply in a last ditch attempt to preserve the status quo. Which, unfortunately, after the knee jerk reaction, will fail. CS explains why: But there are many problems, particularly at the systemic level. So, although an eye-catching number may trigger a rally (to be clear: 29 February is an eternity away in the current environment), Greece is a salutary reminder that treating a solvency problem as a liquidity problem, including buying time for solvency to be addressed and other dubious concepts, is a disaster for existing creditors, who are subordinated throughout by the senior rescue funds. It also shows that three years is an eternity and that timescales (such as the possible introduction of resolution regimes) are flexible. It remains
unclear to us where the new capital for the European banking system is going to come from if not from existing bondholders and that, in some cases, that must involve senior, in our view. So the LTRO is another example of reducing idiosyncratic risk at the expense of systematizing risk, in our view. The participating bank needs a plan for refinancing the LTRO; the lack of a plan means that financing will not be forthcoming, in a death spiral. So the massive provision of official liquidity will act as a long-term triage and increases the pressure (albeit over a longer period) to raise capital. It is a free lunch only for stronger banks, in some sense, and at the systemic level is anything but. Rather, it is paid for by those with senior exposure to weaker banks. In fact, Credit Suisse is openly hunkering down as it now see the "endgame taking shape" - " We do not expect the downgrade of France to have an immediate impact, but it highlights very clearly to us the ultimate issue that has to be tested in the euro area. Will Germany hold together the euro as, when and if France becomes part of the periphery?" Here is how the European endgame will look, through the prism of game theory. The Nashing of teeth We continue to analyse the euro area sovereigns in game theoretic terms, with the game looking from outside like a CDO where value allocation is a function of expected losses and of correlation
(distribution of those losses in a tranche structure). In simplistic terms, we have stated that Portugal cannot rescue Greece (i.e., Greece's creditors), Spain cannot rescue Portugal, Italy cannot rescue Spain, France cannot rescue Italy, but Germany can rescue France. In equally simplistic terms, we have stated many times that crises are baked into the cake. With the CDO and game theory analysis, we have formally modelled both statements. In the game theory, we concluded that the most likely outcome is a series of ever-deeper crises and relief rallies culminating in a definitive moment. Before that definitive moment, our analysis suggests that both core and periphery parties playing hard-ball leads to an escalation of the crisis, but not calamity. Only at the decisive moment does a collision in our game of chicken model lead to catastrophe. We remain convinced that the decisive crisis has not been seen yet. What we have not done before is put the two statements together. To do so, it strikes us that each wave of the series of crises represents the transition of a country or countries to the periphery. We started with the Greek crisis, still under way with, at the time of writing, both parties threatening hardball. Then we had the rest of the outer periphery, with Ireland swerving rather spectacularly and Portugal not so clear. This led to a set of rescue plans that made
the implicit assumption that the periphery would broaden no further. But the outer periphery was followed by Italy and Spain as the crisis emerged in the summer as truly systemic. The resulting crises have been forestalled, for now, by ECB action (SMP and 3year LTRO). Now, the (wellflagged) action by S&P hints at the final crisis. Current news on Greece raises the question of whether the (existing) core wants to rescue Greece, amid the usual nonsensical debate about laziness and doctors swimming pools. But our analysis suggests a steady narrowing of the core and broadening of the periphery as we head to the ultimate question. Would Germany want to rescue France? And see the below section on the rationality assumption would France want to be rescued? We are not gong to futurize French politics, but we note that we are already in a situation where it is not impossible that Le Pen eliminates Sarkozy in the first round, according to the polls. By definition, France finding itself on the periphery would damage Frances leadership position in Europe and risk a change in politics. Of course, we think the ultimate answers are yes and yes, but that frisson of doubt, in light of the consequences of the implications, will keep the market well on its toes. $10 page 48
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$10
Putting it all together: the rational national player assumption. News agencies try to reconstruct the internal national debates of the euro area, which are often carried out fairly openly, it has to be said. But a country often has a simple choice to express to the world, and we model this in our game theory as hard or soft. We make, thereby, a key assumption, that a country acts in a way that appears rational when viewed externally as a single entity in that single action. We have complained for years that countries cannot be seen as monoliths. We need to consider the possibility that the outcome of the internal game, since it is not fully transparent to the outside, can superficially seem irrational. Circumstances could be envisioned where a player chooses to play hard in a situation where he knows that it will damage national interests, i.e., playing hard will be worse for it than playing soft. For example, it might be rational for a player within France, lets say le Pen or Sarkozy, to play uncooperatively in the European context, if that is beneficial from a French or individual perspective. Even within the European context, a country playing "irrationally" aggressively can be part of a rational strategy of brinkmanship behaviour. For example, by trying to make a threat look more credible. We could be seeing this in German attitudes to Greece, as we explore below. The corollary
is that this can only work up to the penultimate stage of the crisis, as only that way one can try to force the other player to do the right thing in the final stage. Overall, we see the risk to be vigilant with the rational monolithic player assumption in the euro area. And, of course, flexing it does not invalidate our conclusions, it merely points out that getting it wrong is a key risk in the analysis. This is framed by the historical context, where Europe has achieved disastrous outcomes under the incentives of the time. The risk of the simplification can be highlighted by a simple example. The rational action of the College of Cardinals under the post-13th century papal conclave is collectively to fill the vacant Papacy immediately. Individually, as well, the cardinals have the same incentive; no matter how beautiful the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, they can see it anytime. So any sensible rational expectation of the smoke colour, based on treating the conclave as a single rational entity, is white at all times, including on the first day. That assumption would have led our observer astray by 82 rounds over 50 days between 1830 and 1831. Similarly, as we head into elections in France, already referred to above, and to Germany, the assumption is likely to come under some stress. We think that understanding of the internal game is most central in these two countries, particularly Germany. This is because, in our
view, the periphery playing soft, rationally or irrationally, cannot make the crisis resolve on its own. Or, austerity is not sufficient. The central question, now hoving into view, is whether France and Germany, when the time comes, can co-operate. By then France may be in an embarrassingly inferior position, possibly forcing a Nationalist response that is apparently irrational when viewed externally but rational when viewed in consideration of internal incentives. Between Greece, French elections and the downgrades, the situation remains as deeply uncertain as ever. The effect of the LTRO may last a while longer, buoyed by a negative market, but we are on the alert for a turn. Finally, CS' appendix on why what started with Greece, will likely end with it: We no longer publish views on Greece because the situation is too fluid to permit it, but we would observe that a key is whether sufficient voluntary participation can be induced to enable a CAC to be credibly introduced. In this case, freeloading on anything other than the 20 March bond becomes dangerous if a further restructuring is thought necessary, which we regard as the markets expectation. In a game-theoretic sense, which is still the only way we can look at it, the dominant strategy, if a restructuring on
more burdensome terms is expected with probability 1, is to volunteer now. The exception is the basis holders but, as we have pointed out many times, CDS are a tiny fraction of bond outstandings so basis holders are unlikely to tip the balance. Freeloading on March is a much more subtle game given that there is not time for a second round and the authorities would still like to avoid a hard event. What would they be willing to pay for this? How much 20 March is held outside the ECB and banks which are under official influence? etc. As we write, both parties seem to be playing hard, suggesting a suboptimal outcome of a hard default. As examined above, at this relatively early stage of the game we should expect a swerve, most probably by the core. But continued playing hard might be the outcome of rational behaviour by either party, given the multi-stage nature of the game. What message would paying the 20 March in full on Greeces behalf give to the rest of the periphery? The last bolded sentence is precisely what we warned about last week when we said that should Greece devolve into a full out coercive restructuring, the one real question would be: " who is next?" Needless to say, if Credit Suisse is even 20% correct in its estimates, and the more we think about it, the more plausible it is that 20 days ahead of the Greek
default the ECB will bend over to provide every last penny European banks may need, and then some, to firewall exposure fall out (since none except for UniCredit actually did a capital raise and we all saw what happened then), then all bets are truly off. Should the ECB indeed escalate events to this degree, then we are about to leave the paradigm started with the late 2008 bailout of Lehman, and enter one in which every incremental swing in the global socioeconomic sinewave could well be the last. As such, attempting to predict what happens after becomes futile. Incidentally, those curious what a 10 trillion expansion to the ECB's balance sheet without a proportionate response by the Fed, would do to balance sheet correlation, and implicitly, to the EURUSD pair (the correlation was explained previously here), this presents it vividly. Average: Your rating: None Average: 4.8( 4 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Economy/
49
Jim O'Neill: China Will Contribute More To Global Growth This Decade Than The US And Europe Combined
Mamta Badkar (Money Game)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:13:22 PM
China reported 8.9% year-overyear Q4 GDP growth, growing at its slowest pace in 2.5 years, but beating analysts expectations. Now Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, who coined the term BRIC, has spoken about Chinese growth and said that those expecting a Chinese hard landing would not be thrilled by today's report. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, O'Neill argued that China is the most important economy in the world. He explained that Chinese property prices are falling because officials are trying to prevent a bubble, and that China creates the equivalent of a new Greek economy every four months: "I am assuming this decade China grows by 7.5%. Translated into dollars, if they do that 7.5%, China will contribute in dollar terms more than the U.S. and Europe put together this decade. And it's higher in that. So it's the most important thing in the world, is what I'm trying to say." Here's an excerpt from the interview, and the video via
Bloomberg TV: ONeill on China's economy growing 8.9% in Q4 and whether a hard landing is off the table: "It's a bit stronger than I thought as well, actually. It is a bit of a blow for the hard landing guys, given inflation has come down so much as well. And policy makers are moving away from restraints and flirting with some sort of stimulus. If I was a hard landing guy, I would not be feeling very excited this morning." "Let me put it in the context of a bigger picture. I am assuming this decade China grows by 7.5%. Translated into dollars, if they do that 7.5%, China will contribute in dollar terms more than the U.S. and Europe put together this decade. And it's higher in that. So it's the most important thing in the world, is what I'm trying to say." On lingering concerns investors have about China such as the property bubble: "All of the concerns that many people have expressed are pretty important issues to consider. There are lots of challenges, as there frequently are with China, but the thing that generally impresses me is that Chinese policymakers themselves do not
is definitely amongst the bigger picture issues one has to be really thoughtful about. I would imagine that some democracy a la Chinese style will emerge. It's not going to be one that we embrace and bless. Importantly, from everything I have understood from going there for 20 years, the Chinese do not crave the exact form of democracy that we have and think they should have. They want more freedom and really want more wealth. If the Chinese authorities continue to provide that and it spreads, then I think generally speaking, the Chinese people will be happy. A key part of what is going on right now, they are deliberately raising shy away from acknowledging democracy. That is why you get wages significantly, which is that many of these things are the wild housing bubbles in many much ignored in the discussion of issues, and they try to deal with Western economiesIn China's the exchange rate." them. The big one is the property case, they are doing it deliberately On concerns that Greece may issue. Something that many to stop a bubble. I think a default: people in the West, particularly in fundamental point is people got "China creates the equivalent of the U.S. misunderstand about this- the approach wrong about that another new Greek economy -it is not like the U.K. or U.S. topic." every four months. Greece itself is b u b b l e b u r s t i n g . C h i n e s e On how much control Chinese not that important. What is property prices have turned policymakers can expect to important about the European because the Chinese authorities maintain as the economy grows: mess is Italy. How Greece deals have deliberately stop them from "With the growth of technology, with this restructuring or default, going up. That should have been as we of seen throughout the which seems quite possible, and what the Fed should have done in Middle East last year, it is such a the contagion of that through the 2005 and 2006 and maybe before challenge for anyone to control JIM page 53 t h a t , b u t i t i s t o u g h i n a anything with this media. So that
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Guest Post: You Can't Fool Mother Nature For Long: Financial Markets
Tyler Durden
Thank you, Chad. Let's ask just how real our financial markets really are. We can start our Submitted by Charles Hugh i n q u i r y w i t h t h i s t h o u g h t Smith from Of Two Minds experiment: where would the You Can't Fool Mother Nature stock, bond and commodity For Long: Financial Markets markets be if all Central State and Constant State and Central Bank Central Bank intervention and intervention and manipulation is manipulation were prohibited? not the foundation of a free, Where would the stock market be t r a n s p a r e n t m a r k e t - - i t i s if the Plunge Protection Team perception management in service (PPT) didn't manipulate the stock of Elite control and looting. market via massive purchases of You can fool Mother Nature for ES S&P 500 futures contracts? awhile, but not over the long- These massive purchases are term. That's the theme of the always executed in sparsely week. Every day I will take a look traded pre-markets, maximizing at a segment of American life that the ramp-up effect, which then i s c u r r e n t l y b a s e d o n t h e triggers momentum chasing buys supposition that we can dodge from high-frequency trading reality essentially forever. machines. Correspondent Chad D. recently Voila, ramp-and-camp Mondays, summarized the profound lack of which studies have found account authenticity in the American for the majority of the market's experience: gains last year. Have you noticed that Americans Remove ramp-and-camp often don't experience REAL Mondays triggered by massive things: REAL food, Real water, PPT futures purchases, and where REAL relationships, REAL would the unmanipulated market money, REAL freedom, REAL be? peace of mind, REAL living, What if unemployment statistics REAL leaders, etc. I know you've were unmanipulated, i.e. the gotten flack for your extensive n u m b e r o f p e o p l e i n t h e use of "simulacrum," but it's so w o r k f o r c e d i d n ' t m a g i c a l l y true. Most Americans have no decline by millions every year? idea what REAL is. What if the bogus "Birth-Death
Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:50:58 AM
Model" was banned as mere fantasy job creation? Where would the unmanipulated market be then? Where would bond market yields be if the Federal Reserve were unable to print money to buy hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage and Treasury bonds? We can also shed light on the difference between a real free market and a simulacrum of a "free market" by asking: does anyone seriously believe the stock market would be higher if all market intervention and manipulation by the Central State and Central Bank (and their proxies) ceased? We can extend this by asking: what if public companies were banned from issuing "beat by a penny" pro forma earnings and other accounting tricks? What if the "shadow banking system" was outlawed, and all assets and liabilities were transparent? Does anyone seriously believe the fragile financial system that depends on shadow banking for its dodges and profits would survive transparency and marked-tomarket accounting? Americans have no real experience of free, transparent
financial markets or of rigorously transparent accounting by their Central State, the Federal Reserve, public corporations or the financial sector. They have been presented facsimiles of accurate statistics and accounting, and simulacra of transparent markets. Average Americans are responding to this systemic destruction of truth and fact by exiting the stock market--and that is just the start. As I described in When Belief in the System Fades(March 12, 2008), the Elites benefitting from the Status Quo depend on the active participation and complicity of millions of citizens. When those participants' faith in the Status Quo's fairness and transparency declines below a critical threshold, then they withdraw or limit their participation, and the system enters a self-reinforcing death spiral. To go back to the key question: does anyone seriously believe the stock market would be this high if the Central State and Bank and their proxies weren't constantly intervening in the market and manipulating data? Intervening in supposedly "free
markets" for the purposes of perception management and political spin ("everything's great because the market is up!") is ultimately an attempt to fool Mother Nature. The Powers That Be have succeeded in manipulating markets since 2007, but reality (Mother Nature) eventually shreds the phony facade of perception management. As the European attempts to fool Mother Nature (i.e. unmanipulated markets that are free to discover price and price risk) disintegrate, does anyone seriously think the PPT can prop up the U.S. stock market with its usual pre-market manipulations? When Mother Nature reasserts reality, the frauds, scams and facades will shred like tissue in a hurricane. Maybe that process of reverting to reality is finally about to begin. Average: Your rating: None Average: 4.4( 16 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Economy/
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Graphical Representations of Bernanke's Effort to Stimulate Bank Lending

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
Money Supply Annualized Percent Change in Bank Loans Divided by Base Money Supply Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:57:00 AM Bernanke is trying every way he Loans to GDP can to get banks to lend (printing Loans to GDP Annualized coupled with a multitude of Percent Change l e n d i n g f a c i l i t i e s a n d F e d Loans to Private GDP programs). Loans to Private GDP It's easy enough to prove the Annualized Percent Change printing: Base money supply is up M2 Multiplier: M2 Money about $1.8 trillion since the start Supply Divided by Base Money of the recession. M2 Velocity: GDP Divided by Base Money Supply M2 Money Multiplier Theory The above charts show that it is The Money Multiplier Theory taking more and more money just (an incorrect theory) suggests this to keep the economy afloat. money would be lent out 10 times US deficit spending is $1.4 over causing rampant price- trillion dollars, Bernanke is inflation and GDP growth. flooding banks with cash, interest Alternate (Correct) Bank Lending rates are at record lows, mortgage Theory rates are at record lows, and velocity of money is falling like a Banks do not lend simply rock. because they have the money Excess Reserves Banks lend as long as they have Of the $1.8 trillion Bernanke has credit-worthy customers provided added to base money supply since the banks are not capital impaired the start of the recession, nearly Reserves are not an issue. all of it is sitting parked at the Fed Lending comes first, reserves as excess reserves. follow if needed. Interest Paid on Excess Reserves As you can see, banks have With some charts below created parked close to $1.6 trillion with by my friend "BC" let's take a the Fed earning .25 percent look at Bernanke's efforts to annually. This is free money to stimulate lending. the banks to the tune of Bank Loans Divided by Base $4,000,000,000 per year for doing
nothing. In short, banks would rather have $4 billion in free money at a measly .25 percent than make much more money by lending it out. This indicates two things: Money Multiplier Theory is nonsense Banks are still capital impaired and/or banks have no creditworthy borrowers who wish to borrow money If and when banks do start lending, it will not be because all those excess reserves have tempted them. Rather it will be because banks feel they have credit-worthy borrowers. In the meantime, debt deflation
political event, not a monetary one. Besides, the US has more gold than any other nation. For further discussion, please see Hyperinflation Nonsense in Multiple Places. Yes, the US is going to have a "debt moment", just as Europe is having one now and Japan will have soon enough. However, that moment may be quite a long ways away (or not), but hyperinflation will not be the result when it happens. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / rolls on, distorted of course by globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. global central bank stimulus com everywhere one looks, notably Click Here To Scroll Thru My (the Fed, ECB, China, Bank of Recent Post List Mike England) and coming up shortly, "Mish" Shedlock is a registered the Bank of Japan. investment advisor representative As I have stated before, f o r S i t k a P a c i f i c C a p i t a l competitive global currency Management. Sitka Pacific is an d e b a s e m e n t i s a g o o d asset management firm whose e n v i r o n m e n t f o r g o l d . goal is strong performance and Let's wrap this up with one final low volatility, regardless of chart. market direction. Visit http:// Total Credit Market www.sitkapacific.com/ As you can see the total credit account_management.html to market is well over $50 trillion. l e a r n m o r e a b o u t w e a l t h Yet a large number of misguided m a n a g e m e n t a n d c a p i t a l souls believe printing $1.8 trillion preservation strategies of Sitka of which $1.6 trillion is parked as Pacific. excess reserves will cause hyperinflation. It won't. Hyperinflation is a
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Economy/ Culture/ Finance/
The EU Is Taking Legal Action Against Hungary Over New Constitution

Gavan Reilly (Money Game)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:35:13 AM
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has initiated legal action against Hungary over changes to its constitution which limit the independence of the countrys judges and of its central bank. The Commission today said it had sent three Letters of Formal Notice to Hungary, the first stage in its infringement procedure, and would raise further issues with the Hungarian authorities on whether further action would be needed. Brussels believes Hungary to be in conflict with EU law by questioning the independence of its central bank, its judiciary, and its data protection authorities. Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Hungary was obliged under EU treaties not to infringe the independence of its Central Bank and its Data Protection Authority, and the nondiscrimination of its judges. The Commission is determined
to take any legal steps necessary to ensure that the compatibility with European Union legislation is maintained, he said. EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding said she had raised concerns about the impact of the changes when they were first drafted, and that the Commission was now responsible as guardian
of the Treaties to ensure that EU law is upheld. The legislation introduced by Hungary will force 274 judgements into compulsory retirement, in contradiction to EU rules, while the government also gave itself powers to govern the data protection authority in similar ways.
The new laws passed in Hungary also allow its finance minister to participate in meetings of the Central Banks monetary council, allowing the government to influence the bank from inside and, given that the Hungarian bank governor has a seat on the ECBs board, the ECB itself. Hungary asks EU to explain legal threats over new constitution Hungarian president accused of plagiarising doctoral thesis This post originally appeared at TheJournal.ie Please follow Europe on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: HUNGARY TO EU: Please Explain Your 'Legal Threats' Seven People Have Been Charged With Corruption Over Shale Gas Exploration In Poland Here's Why Italy Should Actually Have The Strongest Economy In Europe
How to Take Wikipedia Offline So You Can Keep Using It During Tomorrow's AntiSOPA Blackout [Sopa]
Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:50:00 AM
As you may know, Wikipedia and several other sites, including Reddit and BoingBoing, are protesting SOPA with a scheduled blackout on January 18th. If you rely on the online encyclopedia for work or study and can't bear to be without it for even a day, don't worry. Several great tools can give you access to that massive information resource even when it goes dark on Wednesday. More
UK inflation drops to 4.2pc as shops cut prices

Telegraph Staff (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
Inflation fell sharply to 4.2pc in December from 4.8pc in November as aggressive
discounting on the high street and lower gas and petrol prices offered some respite to the
embattled British consumer.
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rest of Europe, it is extremely important. Who knows with this European stuff, it is a different issue every day. It is very interesting to see the mood of the markets post this downgrade at the weekend. Three months ago the European markets would have traded poorly yesterday and today. But they've short of shrugged it off. Whether that is because people perceive the ECB will do more and more or whether there is some signs of stabilizing of the economy." On the euro and crisis in Europe: "Ultimately I think the euro is more likely to go below 1.20 than above 1.40. But here, I think it's
not worth the energy most people spend on it. I think the yen is more interesting, the Swiss franc, the stock market, and some bond markets.Europe hasn't generated domestic growth that has driven the world for the 30 years of my career - with the odd exception of Spain for a couple of years. A lot of the earnings depend on the rest of the world. So many European equities can perform really well. The German stock market, I think of it as a developed BRIC. German companies are getting enormous growth out of what's going on in China. So it's not all just about sovereign debt for European
equities." Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: These Economies Will Dominate The World In 2050 China's GDP Growth Slowed To 8.9% In The Fourth Quarter China's Inflation Cooled To 4.1% As Food Prices Heated Up to 9.1%
How Can I Beat My App Addiction and Clean Up My Smartphone? [Ask Lifehacker]
Adam Dachis (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:00:00 AM
Dear Lifehacker, I have too many apps on my smartphone and I can never find what I'm looking for. I know I can just delete them, but I don't want to get rid of an app I might use. How can I reduce the number of apps on my phone and
keep them organized without getting rid of something important? More
'Govan School Transgender' Expelled for Wearing Women's Clothing, Makeup

(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)
to school as a girl but I thought I had the support of the school, the teenager said. The sixth form student, who had School officials say that Jaimies asked his classmates to call him attire wasnt the issue. They claim Keirny, showed up Monday to that the boy had been troublesome Glasgows Govan High with in class, and that the behavior had tights, shorts, makeup, and hair happened more than once. extensions, and was promptly told If [Jaimie] wants to come back to to leave. school he would have to Jaimie claims he spoke to school demonstrate that he is prepared to officials about his plans to show show a high level of commitment up with female clothing on, even to his education, said one school stating to teachers that he felt official. trapped in a boys body, Like us on Facebook according to The Daily Record. Jaimie acknowledged that he was I was very nervous about going d i s r u p t i v e , b u t b l a m e s h i s
disorderly conduct on his confusion regarding his sexuality, not a lack of direction concerning his future. He plans to be a hairdresser after completing his education. Jaimies mother, Alison, insisted that the reason for her sons expulsion that day was because of his decision to dress like a female a choice she wholly encouraged. Jamie has done nothing wrong here. He has every right to express himself the way he wants and I will stand by him, said the 45-year-old. Alison also said Jaimie had
sought guidance from authorities at his school, telling them he planned to come into school dressed as a girl. He has been talking to the pastoral care team at the school about his sexuality and how he feels confused and told them that he planned to dress as a girl on Monday, Alison told The Daily Record. As for the possibility of becoming a transgendered woman, Jaimie remains unsure. Maybe further down the line I will think about a sex change and hormones but it is too early to
make those kind of decisions, said the teenager. Post a Christian job now or browse employment opportunities to get hired fast on ChristianHire.com, your best Christian jobs site. Browse Christian Jobs now This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Culture/
The New Science Classroom Battleground: Climate Change

Ars Technica (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:15:00 AM
By John Timmer, Ars Technica The National Center for Science Education has been defending the teaching of evolution since before Edwards vs. Aguillard, the 1987 Supreme Court decision that declared the teaching of creationism an unconstitutional promotion of religion. Although its primary focus is on supporting teachers and students by helping them handle public controversies caused by science education, the organization played a critical role in the Dover case, which blocked the teaching of creationisms descendent, intelligent design. Although the organizations title refers to science education generally, evolution has been the primary area of science that has been under attack for reasons that have nothing to do with the latest research. But over the last several years, thats changed as more and more bills have been introduced that target both evolution and climate change. With times changing, the NCSE is changing with them. Today, its announcing that its support of students and educators will be broadened to include climate change. We talked with the NCSEs executive director, Eugenie Scott, about the
decision. NEW page 56
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'Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus' Viral Video Sparks Faith Debate
(Photo: YouTube) Jefferson Bethke, a spoken word artist, is seen in his "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" online video, released Jan. 10, 2012. The video, titled Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, was uploaded Jan. 10 and has since become YouTube's most-watched video. The popular, and apparently controversial video, showcases what Jefferson Bethke says was his journey to discover this truth the difference between Jesus and false religion. What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion? the poet asks. If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor? Religion says slave, Jesus says son, he adds. Religion puts you in shackles but Jesus sets you free. Religion makes you blind, but Jesus lets you see. Not unlike many Christians, Bethke says he spent his whole life building this facade of neatness," acting like a church kid yet getting faded and viewing
pornography. He accuses many Christians of also putting on a "fake look. The problem with religion is it never gets to the core, the poet asserts. It's just behavior modification like a long list of chores like let's dress up the outside, make it look nice and neat. Like us on Facebook Church, he says, "is not a museum for good people; it's a hospital for the broken which means I don't have to hide my failure, I don't have to hide my sin because it doesn't depend on me, it depends on Him." Bethke, a self-described messed up dude addicted to grace, claims that Christianity is Gods search for man, while religion is the opposite mans search for God. He explains that this is why salvation is free for the taking forgiveness is his and not something based on effort, but Christs obedience alone. So I know I hate religion, in fact I literally resent it, he states. Because when Jesus cried it is finished, I believe He meant it. Bethke clarifies that he loves the church and the Bible but he wants to expose the hypocrisy and legalism apparent in many houses
of worship. He wrote on his Facebook on Friday, If you are using my video to bash the church be careful. I was in no way intending to do that. The Church is Jesus' bride so be careful how you speak of His wife, he stated. If a normal dude has right to get pissed when you bash His wife, it makes me tremble to think how great the weight is when we do it to Jesus' wife. The church is His vehicle to reach a lost word. A hospital for sinners. Saying you love Jesus but hate the Church, is like a fianc saying he loves his future bride, but hates her kids. We are all under grace. Look to Him. According to the Washington resident, he loves Jesus and is just trying to make Him famous. It's a feat that appears well on its way as the video keeps racking up hits and commentary. The video was produced by CIKProductions(Christ is King Productions) and is run by Christian hip-hop producer Matthew Robertson. Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, has attracted various responses, with some expressing admiration and others disdain with Bethke's spoken word effort
to glorify Christ. The video has garnered over 66,000 comments on the YouTube page alone, and has attracted many more on Facebook pages and Christian and mainstream news websites highlighting Bethke's work. You guys don't get it don't you? We Christians don't consider Christianity as religion, but as an intimate relationship with God, one viewer wrote. Before any of you post false judgments on the video, make sure of it first. More people have turned away from Christianity because of religion. Religion is not what gets you in to heaven, its a relationship with Christ and knowing him as your Lord and Savior, another user wrote. However, one viewer questioned, You love Jesus but don't go to church? Jesus gathered people together. Christianity is about community it is not a one on one relationship but like the Cross it has a vertical line, my relationship with God, and a horizontal line, my relationship with the community." Bethke, currently a member of Mars Hill Church (Federal Way) in St. Auburn, Wash., says he has a heart to carry the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to the inner
city. The 2011 Pacific University graduate is also a contributor to Chisel Season a website that provides spiritual encouragement, education, and conviction. Bethke previously created another viral video, Sexual Healing, which also produced by Robertson's CIKProductions. The poem was originally written for an open mic at Pacific University. According to Bethke, it highlights his discovery that sex as recreation, is unable to satisfy us the way we were meant to be satisfied. Bethke notes that Sexual Healing focuses on anyone who has been deeply affected, hurt, and damaged by sexual sin. The Sexual Healing video can be viewed below: ravelle.mohammed@christianpost .com @ravmo [Twitter] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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NEW
Scott said that the NCSEs work with teachers on evolution made them aware that teaching climate science was becoming controversial. Its been a growing realization of ours that, just as teachers get hammered for teaching evolution, they also are getting hammered for teaching global warming and other climate change topics, she told Ars. Theyll start talking about global warming and a students hand will shoot up, teacher, my dad says global warming is a hoax. Weve had accounts where students would get up and walk out of the room. The NCSE also heard about school boards that enacted policies that would dictate how things would be handled in the classrooms, and noticed the legislation we mentioned above. Scott said that all these events left the NCSE staff thinking we really should look into this. What they found were some clear parallels between evolution and climate science. Just as the controversy over evolution takes place within the public and not among scientists, Scott said, Theres not a debate going on within the science community about whether the climate is getting warm and whether people have a great deal to do with this. There were also parallels in terms of motivation. The basis for antievolution is ideological,
Scott said, pointing to its religious nature. Theres also an idealogical basis for anti-global warming, it just happens to be a political and economic ideology. The details of the arguments differcreationists dont talk a lot about sun spots, Scott jokedbut the NCSE considers the structure of the arguments to be very similar. Ultimately, Both [groups] are making a pedagogical argument, that it is somehow good pedagogy, good critical thinking, for students to learn both. That it is somehow a good pedagogy for students to learn good science and bad science. Because of these similarities, the NCSE has decided that their past experience can be helpful. The anti-climate change controversy is about where the antievolution controversy was 20 years ago, Scott told Ars. Weve learned a lotwe including the scientific communitydealing with the evolution controversy and, with luck, maybe we can get ahead of this. One of the things theyve learned is that the deficit modelthe idea that people dont like the science because they dont understand itdoesnt really apply. Youre not going to be effective if you are talking about only throwing more science at people who hold different views from youyou have to deal with the ideological
component as well, Scott said. Our experience with that will hopefully be useful. As with evolution, most of the focus will be on tracking efforts by state legislators to dictate how science education is handled (Scott says there are already five bills that target evolution active in various states). The NCSE will also continue to advise and support teachers and families that find science education under attack in their communities. Right now, many schools dont teach climate science at all; if they do, its likely to be in middle school earth sciences or high school ecology classes. But that may change, as Scott said national science standards that are in the works are poised to include climate science, and nearly half the states have promised to adopt them. But there will be some distinct challenges. Weve always argued do whats best for the kids, teach good science. The nice thing about evolution is that we can also say and by the way, if you try to teach creationism/intelligent design, you will be sued and you will lose, because all the case law is against you, Scott said. Theres nothing comparable with climate change. Theres no constitutional protection against bad science. What we have to do is persuade people, help them understand what is good science,
and why their kids should learn good science. To help get the organization ready for the challenge of persuading people, the NCSE has hired Mark McCaffrey, a scientist that has focused on climate literacy. Theyve also placed the Pacific Institutes Peter Gleick on their board. For now, Scott doesnt see any other areas that the NCSE would need to handle. She called politically controversial scientific topics the groups ecological niche, since the groups goal is to try to keep the politics out of science education: Our big concern is that science education not be politicized. We see it happening with climate change science. Wed like to do what we can the help teachers from keeping it from getting worse. Image: trancedmoogle/Flickr Source: Ars Technica This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
StartWire Automatically Updates You on the Status of Your Job Applications [Video]
Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:00:00 AM
StartWire is designed to solve one of the most frustrating problems for job seekers: Spending countless hours sending out applications and customizing cover letters then following-up only to never hear back. StartWire tracks your applications so you're not in the dark. More
Culture/ Gaming/
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Did Tim Tebow's 316 Yards Passing Lead 170 to Jesus?

(Photo: Reuters/Mark Leffingwell) Tim Tebow, right, shakes hands with Tom Brady after the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots, Dec. 18, 2011. Falling just short of saying that Tebow, a devout Christian currently riding a media storm, was the reason for the new believers, BGEAs John Cass said that his team of Internet evangelists took advantage of the opportunity to lead people to their Web page created especially because of the frenzy. On Monday, when John 3 16 was at the top of Google Trends Hot Searches for most of the day, Cass said his team launched a special John 3:16 Web page through its Internet site PeaceWithGod.net. Last weeks playoff game launched a viral buzz with millions of people searching for the terms John 3:16, Cass told The Christian Post Friday. The team utilized advertisements to help lead people to a special Web page dedicated to explaining John 3:16 and offering people the opportunity to view a presentation of the Gospel.
This week, there have been more than 9,000 visits to the page, and 170 people have indicated making a decision to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, he said. The custom page, titled John 3:16 What does it mean? has a rather small box of text that begins: Like us on Facebook You might have seen the verse at a football game, but what does it mean? John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. After a few more short paragraphs, the text ends with the question, Would you like assurance that you are going to heaven? Clicking on an icon button then leads to another page with Bible scripture and a chance to learn more about what it means to be a follower of Christ. At the completion, they are then given the opportunity to do so. From there, they go to a section of the site with spiritual help resources, Cass said. For those who give us contact information, we are able to follow up and discuss this with them further and offer additional resources. This is what our SearchforJesus.net Internet evangelism initiative is all about
reaching people where they are, in their moment of need. And, being able to react quickly to current events is essential, he said. When asked specifically about whether Tebow's 316 passing yards led people to Christ, Cass answered, You could say the numbers assisted in creating the buzz online. But, the key is harnessing that and being an instrument that God can use to draw people to Himself. And, thats what we want to do. Be instruments that God uses. And, we feel weve seen that in a powerful way this week. Theres rejoicing in Heaven over these 170 new believers. And, we are excited to see how God will continue to use this page, and Internet evangelism, in the future, he said. In a blog post on the BGEA website, Cass pointed out even more astonishing statistics related to the number 316. He states: And if that wasn't enough Tebow's per-throw average: 31.6 yards. Sunday's overtime TV rating: 31.6. Pittsburgh's time of possession: 31 minutes, 6 seconds. Then he wrote, But there have been other numbers, eternally speaking, surrounding John 3:16 that have also been registered this week on PeacewithGod.net. The initial website launched by the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Internet Evangelism ministry known as Search for Jesus has had a very busy week. The Search for Jesus ministry at BGEA was launched in April 2011 and is a substantial part of the organization, Cass said. Weve seen more than 140,000 people choose Christ. This week, weve seen again how important it is for Christians to be in the world, but not of the world, he explained. By reacting quickly and engaging, Christians can play a substantial role in the conversation, and together we can see more people come to Christ. And, thats what the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is all about using every effective means available to reach the world with the Gospel. Post a Christian job now or browse employment opportunities to get hired fast on ChristianHire.com, your best Christian jobs site. Browse Christian Jobs now This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Starhawk lifts off on May 8, PS Plus beta starts today

Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:45:00 PM
Starhawk will engage in all-out war on May 8, the PlayStation Blog announced today. It also reiterated that the game's " public beta" begins today for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Those who purchased Uncharted 3 can fly into the beta January 31 in the US and February 1 in Europe. Normal ol' PSN accounts can try it out February 21, with Europe receiving access the following day. There are also opportunities to obtain beta codes from GameStop and IGN on February 7 and 14, respectively. Sony also reminds: "a Beta is a real world 'in the wild' test of the core game systems and gameplay. It is NOT a demo. Most of the final game features are not included." Starhawk lifts off on May 8, PS Plus beta starts today originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Culture/ Featured/
Protest SOPA: Blackout Your Website the Google-Friendly Way

Scott Gilbertson (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:23:00 AM
On Wednesday January 18, Reddit, Wikipedia and many other websites will blackout their content in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN). Organizers of the SOPA Strike are asking interested sites to black out their content for 12 hours and display a message encouraging users to contact their congressional representatives and urge them to oppose the legislation. Although it was rumored that Google might join in the protest, that does not appear to be the case. The search giant does, however, have some advice for anyone who would like to black out their site and ensure that doing so doesnt harm their Google search rank or indexed content. Writing on Google+, Googles Pierre Far offers some practical tips in a post entitled, Website Outages and Blackouts the Right Way. The advice mirrors Googles previous best practices for planned downtime, but
myerror503page.php page returns a 503 error. Assuming youre using PHP, something like this will do the trick: header('HTTP/ 1.1 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable'); header('RetryAfter: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT'); For more details, be sure to read up on the HTTP 503 header and see the rest of Fars Google+ post to learn how to handle robots.txt and a few things you should definitely not do (like change your robots.txt file to block Google for the day, which could warrants a closer look from Implementing a 503 header page mean Google will stay away for anyone thinking of taking their isnt too difficult, though the far more than just a day). Even if site offline to protest the SOPA/ details will vary according to you arent planning to participate PIPA/OPEN legislation. which technologies power your i n t h e a n t i - S O P A b l a c k o u t Fars main advice is to make sure site. If youre using WordPress tomorrow, Fars advice holds true that any URLs participating in the theres a SOPA Blackout plugin any time you need to take some or blackout return a HTTP 503 available that can handle the all of your site offline whether header. The 503 header will tell blackout for you. Its also pretty its routine server maintenance, Googles crawlers that your site is easy to create a 503 redirect at the rolling out an upgrade or as part temporarily unavailable. That way server level. If you use Apache of a political protest. your protest and blacked out ensure that you have the Rewrite [Image by SOPAStrike.com] website wont affect your Google module installed and then add This entry passed through the ranking nor will any protest something like the following code Full-Text RSS service if this is content be indexed as part of your to your root .htaccess file: your content and you're reading it s i t e . I f y o u u s e G o o g l e s RewriteRule .* /path/to/file/ on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentWebmaster tools you will see myerror503page.php crawler errors, but thats what you That will redirect your entire only/faq.php#publishers. Five w a n t y o u r s i t e t o b e website to the 503 error page. Filters recommends: Donate to unavailable, causing an error. Now just make sure that your Wikileaks.
Kristol: Let Ron Paul Go

Daniel Halper (The Weekly Standard)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:44:00 AM
This morning on C-SPAN, the boss said he thinks it would be good for the Republican party to part ways with Ron Paul. (Watch the video here.) A lot of people when they criticize Ron Paul have to preface their criticism by saying, you know, hes good guy, he brings a lot to the debate, Bill Kristol said on C-SPAN. I actually dont buy that. I do not think hes a particular good guy . . . I think it would be better for the Republican party, if he left the Republican party.
Culture/ Featured/
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Gaze Longingly at 007 Speedsters at UK Exhibit

bdagosti (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 5:30:00 AM
| Next >> Submersible 1977 Lotus Esprit S1 in The Spy Who Loved Me Lotus : Everett| Next >> View all
Youre being chased by an assassin in a machine-gunstudded helicopteragain. What you need is a Lotus Esprit S1 with a submarine-conversion option and sea-to-air missiles. Good luck scoring one if youre not MI6, Hollywood MI6. But you can lay eyes on this Spy Who Loved Me speedster and other 007 vehicles at the UKs National Motor Museum starting in January. Fifty vehicles from the James Bond throughout 2012 to celebrate the films will be on display as part of 50th anniversary of the spy Bond in Motion, which runs franchise.
Gaze longingly at the Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace(estimated top speed: 191 mph) or the 1937 Phantom lll Rolls-Royce from Goldfinger(only 92 mph18karat bodywork weighs a lot). Roll your eyes at some of the memorable absurdities, like the cello-case sled from The Living Daylights. And if a cat-stroking supervillain shows up and aims a laser at your crotch, grab Scaramangas AMC Matador from The Man With the
Golden Gun. Top land speed is middling, but you can fly it like a plane for a dashing exit. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Racism may harm your health

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:05:00 AM
A new study finds 18 percent of blacks and 4 percent of whites report emotional and/or physical distress due to racial discrimination. Discriminatory behavior very well may be a missing link in the analysis of racial and ethnic
health disparities, Rice University sociologist Jenifer Bratter says. Its important to acknowledge and study its impact on long-term health." This racially comparative focus is important because we examine whether discrimination is equally harmful to the health status of black and white adultsor whether experiencing
co-author and sociologist Bridget Gorman. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink| Leave a comment discrimination is disproportionately harmful to either black or white adults, says
S.C. Poll: Romney 33, Gingrich 22, Santorum 14, Paul 12

Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:47:00 AM
The Hill reports on the latest ahead of this weekend's primary vote in South Carolina: A new Monmouth University
poll of South Carolina voters shows Republican front-runner Mitt Romney maintaining a double-digit lead over the
remainder of the GOP field, p r i m a r y a n d R e p u b l i c a n further increasing the likelihood n o m i n a t i o n . of the Massachusetts governor winning the South Carolina
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Syria rejects Arab troop proposal

(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:43:50 AM
Arab League monitors have met anti-government protesters but not been allowed into 'military zones' [YouTube] Syria has rejected any plans to send Arab troops into the country, saying it will "confront" and "stand firm" against military intervention after the leader of Qatar said in a television interview that Arab countries should step in with force. The state-run SANA news agency quoted a "credible source" at the foreign ministry as saying on Tuesday that the country is "shocked" by the Qatari emir's comments, which "could worsen the conflict and kill the chances of Syria working closely with Arabs". The source warned that it will be "unfortunate to see Arab blood flow on Syrian soil". Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was quoted by an American television programme on Sunday saying that Arab troops should be sent to Syria to stop the deadly violence. It was the first time an Arab leader had called for the deployment of troops inside the country. The United Nations estimated in December that at least 5,000 people have been killed since protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March.
The organisation also believes at least 400 people have been killed since the Arab League first deployed observers - meant to oversee the implementation of a Leage-brokered peace plan - on December 26. Militarised conflict The initially peaceful uprising against Assad was met with
deadly force and mass arrests and has in recent months turned into a militarised conflict between the government on one side and army defectors and armed civilians on the other. Qatar, which once had close relations with Damascus, has been a harsh critic of crackdown and withdrew its ambassador during
the summer. Since revolts began to sweep the Arab world in December 2010, Qatar has aggressively supported opposition movements, most prominently in Libya, where it trained, armed and guided the fighters who overthrew the country's longstanding ruler, Muammar Gaddafi.
Assad and his government say terrorists are behind the uprising and that armed gangs are acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country. The Syrian foreign ministry source told SANA on Tuesday that "it will be SYRIA page 62
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Mubarak trial adjourned until Wednesday

Submitted at 1/17/2012 8:20:36 AM
About 850 people were killed during the 18-day uprising that led to the end of Mubarak's decades-long rule [Reuters] The trial of Hosni Mubarak, the deposed Egyptian president, has been adjourned until Wednesday hours after it began, with defence lawyers putting up their arguments saying the former leader was "a victim of malicious accusations". Farid el-Deeb, Mubarak's chief defence lawyer, portrayed the former Egyptian president on Tuesday as a "clean" leader who placed the law above all else and worked tirelessly for his nation. "Mubarak is neither a tyrant or a bloodthirsty man. He respects the judiciary and its decisions. A clean man who could say no wrong," el-Deeb said. Lawyers for Mubarak have been given five sessions to state their case in defence of the former Egyptian president, facing charges of corruption and unlawfully killing protesters during the 18day uprising that ended his decades-long rule almost one year ago. Mubarak returned to a Cairo courtroom for the resumption of a trial in which his two sons and eight of his former officials are also accused. The prosecutor has called for Mubarak to face the death penalty
if convicted. Both he and the other 10 defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman said at a previous hearing that the ailing 83-year-old must have ordered police to open fire on protesters. Mubarak "must have agreed on the killings", Suleiman told the court on January 5. Corruption charges Mubarak's sons, Gamal and Alaa, also face corruption charges, while Habib al-Adly, a former interior minister and head of
security services, is charged with murder and attempted murder. Six security officials face the same charges. Hussein Salem, a business associate of Mubarak, is charged with corruption. State television showed the ailing Mubarak lying on a stretcher being wheeled into the Police Academy in northern Cairo for Tuesday's session. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said Mubarak's lawyer has one month to try and prove two things. " First, there were no orders given by any of the defendants to
security forces for the killing of protesters," she said. "Secondly, that Mubarak was unaware of the killings that were taking place, and thats why he didnt intervene to stop it." A judge ruled in August that the case against Mubarak should not be televised. Defence lawyers have called for hundreds of witnesses to testify in the case, including the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defence minister for two decades. "It's a big task, and what we have
seen so far in the previous months in this case is that the prosecution has successfully managed to show that there were protesters killed as a result of live ammunition. They did that by showing autopsy reports to the judges," Al Jazeera's Tadros said. "Secondly, the live ammunition was fired by police officers. "Where the prosecution case has faltered is in trying to make that link to Mubarak, his aides and of course, former interior minister Habib al-Adly." MUBARAK page 62
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Death toll rises in Italy cruise shipwreck

Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:08:01 PM
MUBARAK
Italian officials say five more bodies have been found aboard a cruise ship that capsized off the coast of an Italian island, raising the official death toll to 11. Rescue workers found the bodies on Tuesday in a submerged part of the Italian cruise liner which ran aground after hitting rocks near the island of Giglio on Friday. "Scuba divers found five more bodies in the stern of the ship. They entered through holes made earlier in the day" with explosives, Cristiano Pellegrini, a Giglio official told the AFP news agency. "The bodies are being evacuated for the ship now," he said. "We don't know if the are members of the crew or passengers," he added. Before the latest discovery, authorities had said 29 people remained missing among the more than 4,200 people who were on board when the liner went down. 'Abandoning ship' As the rescue efforts continued, the Italian coast guard released an
Mubarak is the first Arab head of state to stand trial in person amid a wave of popular uprisings across the Middle East. His trial opened on August 3, after protesters stepped up a u d i o r e c o r d i n g a p p a r e n t l y Schettino? It is dark and you want process would take at least three demonstrations calling on the revealing how the captain of the to go home? Get on that prow of weeks. ruling military to try him and exs t r i c k e n C o s t a C o n c o r d i a the boat using the pilot ladder and When pumping out diesel oil, regime officials. abandoned ship and refused to go tell me what can be done, how Peter Berdowski told Dutch About 850 people were killed in back. many people there are and what television, "every hour counts the uprising against Mubarak Prosecutors have accused Captain their because if something happens and which culminated in his Francesco Schettino, who is in an needs are. Now!'' that spills and there is damage, resignation from office on Italian jail, of manslaughter, "You go aboard. It is an order. t h e n y o u h a v e a v e r y b i g February 11, 2011. c a u s i n g a s h i p w r e c k a n d Don't make any more excuses. e c o l o g i c a l c a t a s t r o p h e " . This entry passed through the abandoning his ship before all Y o u h a v e d e c l a r e d t h e The ship, one of the biggest Full-Text RSS service if this is passengers were evacuated on abandoning of the ship, now I am passenger vessels ever to be your content and you're reading it Friday night. in charge,'' De Falco shouted. wrecked, foundered after striking on someone else's site, please read Schettino has said he stayed Schettino was finally heard a rock just as dinner was being the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contenta b o a r d u n t i l t h e s h i p w a s agreeing to reboard. It is unclear served on Friday night. only/faq.php#publishers. Five evacuated. whether he did. It quickly rolled on its side, Filters recommends: Donate to However, a recording of his Fuel fears revealing a long gouge below the Wikileaks. conversation with Italian Coast Amid the l a t e s t waterline. Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco developments, officials have Most of the passengers and crew indicates he fled before all voiced concerns that the possible survived, despite hours of chaos passengers were off and then break-up of the stricken vessel as some were rescued from the resisted De Falco's repeated could trigger an environmental ship and others boarded lifeboats SYRIA continued from page 60 orders to return. disaster. or swam to shore. "You go on board and then you S e r g i o O r t e l l i , G i g l i o ' s This entry passed through the unfortunate to see Arab blood will tell me how many people mayor, said on Tuesday that the Full-Text RSS service if this is flow on Syrian territory just for there are. Is that clear?'' De C o s t a C o n c o r d i a w a s a n your content and you're reading it the purpose of serving known Falco said in the audio tape. "ecological timebomb" that could on someone else's site, please read agendas, especially that the Schettino resisted, saying the ship start leaking thousands of tonnes the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- foreign conspiracy against Syria was tipping and that it was dark. of diesel fuel into the surrounding only/faq.php#publishers. Five has become very clear". At the time, he was in a lifeboat sea. Filters recommends: Donate to The statement also called on and said he was co-ordinating the A spokesman for Royal Boskalis Wikileaks. Arab countries to "help prevent rescue from there. Westminster, the Dutch company De Falco shouted back: "And so handling the operation to remove SYRIA page 63 w h a t ? Y o u w a n t g o h o m e , the fuel from the vessel, said the
TED: Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0 - Alain de Botton (2011)

TEDTalks (TEDTalks (video))
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:05:04 AM
What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a
"religion for atheists" -- call it Atheism 2.0 -- that incorporates religious forms and traditions to
satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.
TV/ Featured/
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SYRIA
the infiltration of terrorists and the smuggling of weapons into Syria". The Arab League observer mission is expected to announce this week that Syria has failed to implement a peace plan brokered by the regional bloc. Tug of war at the UN International diplomats at the United Nations Security Council, meanwhile, are debating a new resolution that will call for an end to the violence and is set to come to a vote in two weeks. The United States and European nations are at odds with Russia, which proposed the draft language and opposes intervention in Syria. "Western countries say the resolution isn't tough enough, [the] Russians say it's not the Security Council's place to take sides in civil dispute," said Al Jazeera's Kristin Saloomey, reporting from the United Nations. The Russians do not want to see a
Libya-style military intervention and "are not alone" in that desire, our correspondent said. The draft resolution does not mention sanctioning Syria, which the United States and European Union have done independently, Saloomey said. Mandate to expire The mission's mandate will expire on Thursday, and the Arab League is set to meet on Sunday to discuss next steps, including possibly renewing the mission. "The outcome of the contacts that have taken place over the past week between the Arab League and Syria have affirmed that Syria will not reject the renewal of the Arab monitoring mission for another month ... if the Arab foreign ministers call for this at the coming meeting," an Arab source told the Reuters news agency. Syria will allow the number of monitors, currently fewer than 200, to increase, but will not agree
to give them official fact-finding duties or let them visit off-limits "military zones". The opposition Local Coordination Committees reported that 17 people died in Syria on Tuesday, mostly in the flashpoint city of Homs. SANA reported that an "armed terrorist group" fired rocketpropelled grenades at an army checkpoint 9km southwest of Damascus on Monday, killing an officer and five soldiers. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Marg Helgenberg Is Glad Her 'CSI' Character Used To Be A Stripper

Alex Moaba (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Florida Poll: Romney 41, Gingrich 26, Santorum 11, Paul 10

Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:33:00 AM
Democratic-leaning firm PPP reports its latest Florida poll: Mitt Romney's in a strong position to win this weekend in South Carolina, and he's in an
even stronger position to follow it up with a big win in Florida. Our first Sunshine State poll of 2012 finds Romney with a 15 point lead at 41% to Newt Gingrich's 26% with Rick Santorum at 11%, Ron Paul at 10%, Rick Perry at 4%, and Buddy Roemer at 1% rounding out the field.
for in her next project, the actress revealed that she's on the look-out for a role that would mix things Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:00:52 PM up. "Well, because I'm so Marg Helgenberger is leaving " identified with her after twelve CSI" next week after a twelve- years, I'd like to do something year run playing Catherine that's quite different perhaps." In Willows on the hit procedural jest, King suggested she might drama. Tuesday on " CBS This consider playing a stripper. Morning," (weekdays, 7 a.m. EST Check out the official on CBS) Helgenberger looked description, and photos from back at her tenure on the show H e l g e n b e r g e r ' s f i n a l " C S I " and reflected on her character's episode:"Willows In The Wind" -transformation from stripper to The CSI team says goodbye to forensic scientist. Catherine Willows as she makes a "The character was introduced in life-changing decision, on CSI: the pilot script as Catherine C R I M E S C E N E Willows, CSI-3, single mother, ex INVESTIGATION, Wednesday, -stripper," Helgenberger told Jan. 25 (10:00 - 11:00 p.m., EST/ Charlie Rose and Gayle King. PST) on the CBS Television "Some of the female producers Network. Guest stars include Matt thought about changing that Lauria as FBI Agent Pratt, Titus backstory once we got picked up Welliver as CEO Mark Gabriel and put on the air, and I said, 'No, and Annabeth Gish, as his wife, no, no, this is a woman who, that Laura Gabriel. journey she took is much different TV Replay scours the vast than most people who go into law television landscape to find the -enforcement, and I thought it most interesting, amusing, and, on really informed the character and a good day, amazing moments, the story. So I'm glad I stood up and delivers them right to your for my stripper-dom," she joked. browser. When King asked about what Helgenberger would be looking
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TV/
Joshua Kors: Q&A with Joe Berlinger, Director of West Memphis Three Documentary (VIDEO)
Joshua Kors (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:25:50 PM
In 1993 acclaimed director Joe Berlinger arrived in West Memphis, Arkansas, a community still in shock after three eight-year -old boys disappeared, then were found dead in a nearby ravine. Facing a public that was both enraged and afraid, police scrambled to make an arrest. Soon three local teensDamien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelleyfound themselves in court, accused of the murders. With no physical evidence linking the teens to the crime, prosecutors pointed to their black clothing and interest in heavy metal music, indications, they said, that the teens had formed a devil-worshipping cult and, inspired by the full moon, murdered the boys as a sacrifice to evil spirits. Berlinger and co-director Bruce Sinofsky captured the teens' trials and subsequent convictions on film. In 1996 they released Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, followed in 2000 by Paradise Lost: Revelations, sparking a wave of outrage and legal challenges that
pushed the court to make a stunning about-face. In August 2011, using an Alford pleain which the young men affirmed their innocence but pled guiltythe state of Arkansas let the West Memphis Three walk free, after 17 years behind bars. Berlinger's final film in the series, Paradise Lost: Purgatory, premieres this month on HBO, tracing the stunning developments that led to the release of the West Memphis Three. Purgatory has been shortlisted for this year's Oscar for Best Documentary. The film is more than the best movie of the year: it is also the most important, a legal thriller with enthralling characters and astonishing twists that explores a real-life tragedy and provides an unblinking look at a justice system that can both wreck lives and save them. On a personal level, Purgatory marks Berlinger's transformation from neutral journalist to impassioned advocate. On screen his rapport with Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley shines through. On his website, he urges visitors to sign a petition asking the governor of Arkansas to pardon the three men. And in conversation, asked a single
a front-page story that made Damien, Jason and Jessie look obviously guilty. High school dropouts. Black clothing. Talk of the devil. A confession to murder. We all agreed: this would make a great film, a reallife River's Edge. This was right after the murder of Jamie Bulger in England, a two-year-old boy lured onto the railroad tracks and beaten to death by two 10-yearold boys. In this country, there was a real witchcraft panic going questionhow he first heard about on, news coverage of how devilthe caseBerlinger spoke with worshipping cults were preying passion for half an hour about the on children, although the FBI now West Memphis Three and what says that not a single child was their fight for freedom has meant ever killed in the name of the devil. to him. Berlinger: One of the great We thought, let's take a look at ironies of this three-film, two- this phenomenon. Let's go to decade mission is that we thought Arkansas. we were making a film about bad We got to West Memphis very children, the inside story of why early, long before the trial. So we kids kill. Sheila Nevins, embedded ourselves in the [president of HBO Documentary community for seven or eight Films], sent us a press clipping months. The first months we from the New York Times about spent with the victims' families, three devil-worshipping teens w h i c h m a d e u s e v e n m o r e who had sacrificed children. The convinced that the kids were local press was reporting the story guilty. Then we negotiated access the same way. The Commercial to meet them in prison. And A p p e a l , t h e p r e d o m i n a n t everything we'd heard about them newspaper in West Memphis, ran ... it just didn't feel right. All these red flags were popping up
for me. Jason Baldwin came across as a very nice, very normal kid. The prosecution's theory was that he wielded this massive survival knife. But his arms were so scrawny, and he was so shy. I just couldn't picture it. Then we learn: there was no blood found at the crime scene. You're telling me that three unprofessional killers are going to take three kidskids writhing around, trying to escapekill them in a ravine with a big knife, and there's not going to be any blood? It just wasn't plausible. One and one was not adding up to two. When we realized the prosecution was off, that the kids were innocent, our mindset changed. Now we thought we were doing a story about kids wrongfully charged with murder and how the court would acquit them and set things right. ... Looking back now, I think we were all incredibly naive to think that somehow it would all work itself out. Meanwhile the storm of anger and misinformation that was brewing in that community, it was jaw-dropping to behold. Church leaders and the local press fanning JOSHUA page 65
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the flames of this devilworshipping story. The Commercial Appeal printed Jessie's confession. Not the complete confessionwith all the errors in it, with the police pushing him to change the details four or five times until they fit the factsonly the final version, after it was all cleaned up. As if what they printed just spilled out of his mouth. You know, some have criticized us for including the gruesome crime scene footage that's at the beginning of the film. We did that not to exploit, not to shock, but to show how a community could be scared to death, to show why they wanted to believe so badly that the killers had been caught, that the threat was over. The police had stepped forward to address the question of how sure they were that they had caught the real killers, saying on a scale from 1 to 10, this was an 11. In church, the locals pastors were speaking out against the three teens. This is a highly religious part of the world, a community where pastors are authority figureswhere people believe that angels and demons walk among usand the community had no reason to doubt them. Damien's demeanor didn't make it easier. He was into Wicca and horror movies, an alienated youth who wore all black. He listened
to heavy metal music. He became an easy target. The complete lack of physical evidence almost became an afterthought. We were fortunate in the film to use Metallica's musicthis was the first time they allowed anyone to use their songsand we came to them with that thought: that heavy metal music is on trial here just as much as these kids are. Someone's musical interests should not be part of a trial. Then they threw in that bogus witchcraft expert. And now, with no hard evidence linking these guys to the crime, suddenly they had a case. This was before we learned about the jury tampering. And that the "knife wounds" weren't knife wounds at all but the result of post-mortem animal predation. It was all completely bogus. And it really awakened something in me. An advocacy instinct. That didn't mean we were going to whitewash the case or discard our journalistic role. It was more like, a sense of commitment. We were going to stay with this, make films about them until they were released from prison. I had no idea it was going to take two decades. And I'll tell you, that angers me. I want to know: why does it take three well-funded HBO documentaries, millions of dollars from celebrities, and the advocacy
of thousands of people from all over the world to get justice for three people? It's poor man's justice. The Three were just another set of impoverished defendants, and it took the weight of celebrities and thousands of activists to level the playing field. You know, every time Paradise Lost airs, I get hundreds of letters from convicted criminals saying, "Hey, I'm innocent too." I ask myself: what separates Damien, Jason and Jessie from those men? And the answer, I think, is a series of flukes. First, that we happened to be there in Arkansas to make a movie. There was also Arkansas' new DNA statute, which passed in 2001, allowing convicts to appeal their cases based on DNA evidence, to prove actual innocence. Still, that DNA testing is very expensive, plus the cost of a lawyer who's willing to take on your case. The Innocence Project handles a lot of that, but they don't take on every case. Because of the publicity from our film, the Three had enough support and financing to move forward. There was the editing too. We came back from Arkansas with our haul of footage. This was the old days, back when you had to physically cut the film. The editing took longer, so the film was released in 1996, just as the Internet was taking shape.
Internet 1.0. Like-minded people could find each other; WM3.org got started; people who wanted to help could. If the editing had been faster and the film had been released in 1994, I don't think it would have resonated with the public in that way, not in a way that would have led to action. Coming into Arkansas in 1993, I was ambivalent about the death penalty. I would have said, if a member of my family was a victim of a violent crime, the penalty should be death. After witnessing these trialsand the proceedings that followedmy feelings are very different. I saw firsthand how easy it is to put someone to death in our justice system. The police and prosecution, under public pressure to solve crimes, they act in their own interests, not in the interest of justice. Damien said to me that without the films, without the public support, he'd be dead. And it's true. Right now there are a lot of people in prison who are innocent. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory airs on HBO throughout January. Follow Joshua Kors on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ joshua.kors
Isaiah 1:17 (0117-12)

(Verse of the Day)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 2:00:00 AM
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17(NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse..."A man's got to take care of himself!" Yeah, we do have to be responsible folks. But, part of being responsible, part of being blessed -- at least as God sees it -- is to care for others, to stick up for the disadvantaged, and to intervene when someone else is being exploited. After all, we are our "brother's and sister's keeper!" My Prayer... Remove the heart of selfishness, O God, that keeps me from caring for the downtrodden, abused, forgotten, and broken. Give me your eyes of concern and Jesus' heart of compassion to see them and minister to them. In his name, the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
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HP Envy Dual-Core i5 Notebook w/160GB SSD, WiDi & 14.5 BrightView Infinity LED
Woot (Woot! - One Day, One Deal)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:09:41 PM
Signing off I let my email sig do the talking. To: rick.johnson@mymail.com Subject: Re: Party This Friday Hey Rick, Thanks for the invite, but unfortunately, I cant make it this Friday. Maybe grab lunch next week some time? -Paul Sent from my HP Envy DualCore i5 Notebook with 160GB SSD, WiDi & 14.5 HP BrightView Infinity LED Display. Possibly composed while watching a movie on the stunning, crystal clear display or while enjoying a studio-quality listening experience thanks to Beats audio. Any and all typos should be attributed to either of these distractions. Computer very well might be attached to an HDTV via HDMI output. This means all subsequent replies might also be displayed on HDTV and thus should be written in the voice of a hot shot TV producer for believability. Touch typed on backlit islandstyle keyboard which allows for easy typing even in dim light,
although, honestly, the light probably wasnt dim at all during composition, because unlike some people, I care about my eyes. (See attached image taken on HP TrueVision HD webcam showing me composing email in well-lit, tastefully decorated room). Attached image may not have been taken while writing this exact email. It is meant only to give you an idea of the room in which I generally compose emails. Thus, any discrepancies in my personal appearance should be disregarded. For example, if I was clean shaven when you saw me yesterday or the day before but appear fully-bearded in the photograph, this should be of no concern for you. Sent from my apartment, which has been established, as of 3:48pm today, to be a snake-free environment. I would prefer confirmation of the same on recipients end within 45 minutes or I will have no choice but to call 911. Please note: If you receive any emails from me between the hours of 1am and 4am that are barely comprehensible but seem to indicate that Im stuck outside while it's raining bricks, it means Im sleep-emailing again.
Please reply asking me to wake up and assuring me that it was all a bad dream. Maybe send a GIF of an explosion or an MP3 of a balloon popping or something. Authorized for SquareTrade Extended Warranty Warranty: 1 Year HP Condition: New Features: The 14.5 LED display with BrightView Infinity technology and 1366 x 768 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity Second-generation Intel Core i5 -2410M 2.3GHz processor with TurboBoost Technology delivers extra performance when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you dont The 160GB Solid State Drive Flash Module has no moving parts, resulting in a quiet, cool, rugged storage solution 6GB DDR3 SDRAM for multitasking power, expandable to 16GB Radeon HD 6630 switchable graphics features 1GB memory for lush images. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV Slot-Loading SuperMulti 8X DVDR/RW with Double Layer Support Intel Wireless Display (WiDi)
transmits streamed or downloaded movies, TV shows, music, photos and more from your laptop, network or the Internet to your TV ( adapter not included) Interact more naturally with your desktop through the new HP Imagepad. An HD image sensor enables highly precise multi-touch gesture control Enjoy music the way artists intend with Beats audio. Engineered to let your PC reproduce the quality found in music studios, it lets you hear everythingthe highs, lows, and crystal-clear midranges Thanks to HP CoolSense technology, working on the go is noticeably cooler and more comfortable. From venting to the electronic components, the entire system is engineered with your comfort in mind Backlit island-style keyboard for easy typing, even in dim light Weighs 5.5 lbs and measures just 1.2 thin for easy portability Additional Photos: Top Profile HP Logo Right Profile Left Profile Front Profile Keyboard & ImagePad
Package Contents Specifications: Processor: Intel Core i5-2410M (2.3GHz) Processor Core: Dual-Core Screen Size: 14.5" Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 1366 x 768 Display Type: HD+ BrightView Infinity LED Backlit Graphics: Radeon HD 6630 (1GB DDR3) Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333MHz (max 16GB) Hard Drive: 160GB SSD Flash Module Optical Drive: SlotLoading SuperMulti DVDRW with Double-Layer Support Network: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Bluetooth: 3.0 + HS Card Reader: Multi-Format Digital Media Card Reader (SD, MMC) Battery: 8Cell Lithium-Ion Sound: Beats Audio Keyboard: Backlit IslandStyle Pointing Device: HP Imagepad Webcam: HP TrueVision Microphone: Integrated WiDi Capable: Yes Case: Laser-Etched Aluminum Finish in Carbon Relic I/O Ports: USB 2.0: 2 USB 3.0: 1 HDMI: 1 mini-DisplayPort: 1 RJ-45: 1 Headphone-out / Mic-in Combo Jack 1 Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Dimensions: ENVY page 70
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67
I Lost My Bag Full Of Cash, Man Is Nice Enough To Return It Three Years Later
Mary Beth Quirk (The Consumerist)
dark and anyone still behind this point was not going to make it in. We hurriedly stripped my and the Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:00:00 AM other riders' bikes of all bags and Rebecca lost a bag chock full of water bottles. We threw the bikes cash, credit cards and camera on the roof, hopped in the van, equipment on a dirt road in and hurried to beat the front riders Mississippi three years ago. So into the hotel. It was a day we she was figuring she probably were proud to have finished wouldn't be getting that back, ever without a hitch. after all, who finds a bag of As we got to the manor we cash and returns it to the rightful redistributed all of our guest's owner years after they find it? belongings and I noticed that my Turns out one man is just that bags were missing. My heart sunk kind of good Samaritan. into the pit of my stomach as I Rebecca wrote in with her recalled carelessly throwing them extraordinary tale, which starts in off of my bike and onto the November 2008 while she was ground behind the van. working for an outdoor active Living a life on the road I carry travel company as a trip leader. very few material possessions, She explains that she's often in a and I had just lost them all. In my hurry, trying to pack up a van full Camelback was my wallet: IDs, of cyclists or hikers to get to the personal credit/debit cards, next activity. On the day in corporate credit card, business question, they'd had along 75-mile cards of vendors, petty cash ride, heading toward a historic receipts, and about $800 in cash. plantation. The bike bag held my other most I had been riding on a bike with valuable possessions my bike our guests that day while my t o o l s a n d m y c a m e r a w i t h friend, Courtney, supported us in irreplaceable pictures from the the van. We got to our final last few months. Needless to say, shuttle stop about 20 miles tears began to sting my eyes and outside of town. It was getting my chest grew tight as I fought to
hold them back. I jumped into the van and drove back to our spot trying to hold in the tears by reassuring myself that it would all be there. The bags were gone, I called Courtney and couldn't hold it in anymore, I lost it. I allowed myself to be upset the entire van ride back to the hotel. The next day I filed a report with the park and with the Natchez police. There was nothing else I could do. On the morning of January 10, 2012 I heard my phone ringing from far away. I chose to ignore it since if it had been someone I knew, my phone speaks the caller's name. The message was from Mr. D.T. of Natchez, Miss., something about a package. Having blocked the incident out of my memory, I did not immediately make the connection. After being reminded of it by my boyfriend I anxiously dialed the number. He was right. D.T. had both of my bags. D.T. had driven by them that evening and threw them into his pick-up truck. He knew they must have belonged to "the people driving around with all those
bikes on the roof" and figured he would see us around town. One would assume in a town as small as Natchez you could locate a 15passenger van hauling a large trailer with room for 12 bikes on each, but our season was over and we were off to Salt Lake City two days later. Also living in a small town D.T. figured he would read about it in the police reports. He hadn't found anything of use in the bag (I kept my wallet crammed at the bottom of the camelback underneath my coat and my hydration pack), so he threw it in his "utility" (storage unit) and forgot about it. On the 10th he came across it again and was about to throw it out, but luckily decided he would look inside one last time. With more digging he found my wallet, inside of that he found my business card, and with that my cell phone number. I faxed D.T. a letter with my current address and asked that he also include his so that I could thank him properly and reimburse him for shipping. My package arrived less than a week later with a note from DT apologizing for
not finding me sooner. What an amazingly sweet man, with a good heart. I have not decided how to thank D.T. for returning my bags. Money seems to be the easiest and most obvious answer and from the few conversations I have had with him he does not strike me as the type to expect or possible even accept a reward. To be honest a check feels somewhat cheap compared to the kindness, honesty, and pure heartedness he has shown me. What do you say, fair Consumerist readers? Doing someone else a great kindness can be a reward in itself, and from the sound of it, D.T. is just the kind of person who would only expect the same treatment in a similar situation. But then again, money is money. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Products/
How To Create A Strong National Password And Remember Geographic Mask & Snorkel Set It
consumerist.com (The Consumerist)
Earth is capitalized, and nine is a numeral. In practice, it's best not to use such well-known sayings to Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:45:00 AM generate acronyms. F o l l o w i n g t h e h a c k o f Use a pass phrase. Several words Zappos.com and 6pm.com there m i x e d w i t h n u m b e r s a n d are probably quite a few of you punctuation symbols is known as looking for a way to create strong a pass phrase. For example: passwords and also remember stitch9clock^handsapplausE. The them. Back in December, our longer the pass phrase, the more s a f e t y - c o n s c i o u s f r i e n d s a t secure it is, though you'll be Consumer Reports ran a guide to limited by the maximum length creating strong passwords that are the site allows. also easy... well, easier, to Growing the haystack. remember. Here it is. Developed by security expert You can create strong passwords Steve Gibson, president of that don't make you memorize a C a l i f o r n i a - b a s e d G i b s o n cryptic string of letters, numbers, Research, growing the haystack and punctuation symbols. Here takes advantage of the ways are three techniques: hackers crack passwords. "The Use a sentence. It's easy to first thing they'll try is the wellremember the first letters of the k n o w n d i c t i o n a r y o f m o s t words in a sentence. For example, common passwords," Gibson children have used this sentence s a y s . " T h e n , i f t h e y k n o w to remember the names of the something about you, they will try nine planets: My Very Excellent to guess things from your life." Mother Just Served Us Nine To foil that part of the process, Pickles. You could use the first Gibson suggests starting with a letters of those words to generate phrase that's short but not a this strong 9-character password: common word. That forces the m*Emjsu9p, where Venus (the hacker to resort to the slower morning or evening star) is brute-force approach by trying represented by *, the letter for every combination in existence,
which is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Once you've accomplished that, "the length of the password matters more than its absolute complexity," Gibson says. In other words, make the haystack larger by padding the password with numerous easy-to-remember symbols. For example, the password "c - @T - - 9 - - -" is 10 characters long and is probably not in any dictionary, but it's not very hard to remember. A caveat: Don't use any of the above examples as actual passwords. Now that they have been widely published, hackers might add them to their dictionaries. How to create a strong password and remember it[CR] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Woot (Woot! - One Day, One Deal)
Condition: New Mask Features: Lenses CE tempered glass Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:59:11 AM Frame lightweight Delrin and N e w B e a c h f r o n t P r o p e r t y plastics Available Soon! Mask Skirt feathered edge Hey, laugh all you want. The way seal ocean levels are supposed to rise, Nosepiece pliable and nonIm not taking any chances. feathered for ease of draining Yeah, everybody thinks the guy Mask Strap flexible and walking around in the National replaceable with 3PH (3-Point Geographic Mask & Snorkel is Hold) some kind of fruitcake until Mask Strap Adjustment their cities are underwater. When RQL(Ratchet Quick Lock) the Great Aquaclysm hits, which w o u l d y o u r a t h e r b e : t h e Snorkel Features: eccentric whos actually ready for Mouthpiece orthodontic the New Wet Normal, or the design conformist whose public image Snorkel Tab easy to mount was literally more important than and secure oxygen? If I were you, I wouldnt Breathing Tube wide bore for wait to order your own it wont easy air displacement be long before UPS and FedEx have to delay all their deliveries In the box: so they can retrofit their trucks National Geographic Mask & with pontoons. Snorkel Set Warranty: 90 Day Woot Limited Warranty Discuss this product
Products/
69
Rexall calcium Completely Unfair Comparisons: On Blenders, supplements recalled Meteors, and Self-Confidence for pill mix-up
(Woot! - One Day, One Deal)
terms of Lunch This ones simple: you cant eat Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:00:00 AM self-confidence. Velcro, on the There are plenty of places on other hand, is 100% consumable. Woot where you can find helpful And if you dont believe me, fine. information. This is not one of All that says to me is that youre those places. Every week we will an inside-the-box thinker whose be comparing 3 pairs of things digestive system leads a sheltered that shouldnt be compared using They might not chop well, they and predictable life. Sure, Velcro this formula: Unrelated Thing X may not frappe well, but theyll might not taste good. It might vs. Unrelated Thing Y in terms of be there when you need them. hurt going down. It might not F u n c t i o n Z . F a c t s w i l l b e Advantage: Keys to Your House make you as happy as a heaping misunderstood, overlooked, or 2. A Meteor vs. Wet Naps in plate of self-confidence, but lunch changed for the sake of the terms of What Youd Want To isnt about happiness; lunch is argument. Enjoy. Wake Up And Find On Your about putting something in your 1. A Blender vs. The Keys to Front Porch in the Morning stomach. And Mr. SelfYour House in terms of Smoothie This really depends on how you Confidence, he might not be so -Making Capabilities feel about your front porch. happy in the long run, when he The blender might seem like the Because a meteor wont so much DIES OF STARVATION! obvious choice here, but consider be on your front porch when Advantage: Velcro this: will a blender always be you wake, as it will be among Disagree with any of these? Well easily accessible at the exact the decimated remains of your then, post your reasons why in the m o m e n t t h a t y o u w a n t a front porch. With the Wet Naps, comments; I'll then choose the smoothie? You cant possibly be on the other hand, your front Rebuttal of the Week, which will sure of that, because you never porch will remain intact and be included in next week's post. know when a smoothie craving is virtually unharmed. So, if youd Photos:"House Keys 6-8-091" by going to hit. And if theres not a like to keep your front porch, go flickr user, stevendepolo;"Day 24: blender nearby when one does, with the naps. If you were V e l c r o " b y f l i c k r u s e r , just the the fact that blenders planning on tearing it down, the quinn.anya;"Uncertainty" by exist, in and of itself, cant help meteor will just save you time flickr user, nicubunu.photo. All you. Your keys, though? They and effort. used under a Creative Commons better be with you at all times or Advantage: Its a toss up License. else youre going to have a hard 3. Velcro vs. Self-Confidence in time getting into your own home.
Consumer Reports News (Consumer Reports)

Submitted at 1/17/2012 7:59:59 AM
Rexall calcium supplements recalled for pill mix-up The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Rexall, Inc., of Deerfield Beach, Fla., have issued a recall alert for one lot of the company's calcium supplements. The bottles of Rexall Calcium 1200 mg plus 1000IU Vitamin D3 actually contain tablets of triple strength glucosamine chondroitin, which are derived from crustacean shells and may be harmful to consumers with shellfish allergies. The FDA says the recall affects only one lot of Rexall supplements which were sold exclusively at 9,800 Dollar General stores across 38 states. And while there have been no reports of illness or injuries from the pill mix-up, the FDA and Rexall have pulled all the affected bottles of Rexall calcium supplements from store shelves. Recalled bottles of Rexall Calcium 1200 mg plus 1000IU
Vitamin D3 can be identified by UPC code (3 01220 452113) and Lot number (387651-04) and bear an expiration date of 08/15. Consumers who have the recalled Rexall supplements are advised to return the product to Dollar General for a full refund or call Rexall (toll-free: 888-534-6370) for more information. Rexall Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Shellfish in Calcium 1200mg plus Vitamin D 1000 IU Softgels[FDA] Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
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After Zappos hack, some online shopping safety tips to consider

Submitted at 1/17/2012 7:14:59 AM
Cops: Pregnant Woman Armed With Hairspray Attacks Store Employee While Shoplifting
Mary Beth Quirk (The Consumerist)
After Zappos hack, some online shopping safety tips to consider Online shoe retailer Zappos.com has been targeted by hackers, company CEO Tony Hsieh reported on Sunday. Personal informationincluding e-mail addresses, names, phone numbers, and shipping addressesfor more than 24 million Zappos customers may have been compromised, Hsieh wrote in an e-mail to employees. In an additional and separate email to customers, Hsieh said: The database that stores your critical credit card and other payment data was NOT affected or accessed. The attack against Zappos, a unit of giant online retailer Amazon, is still being investigated. As a safety precaution, Zappos has automatically expired passwords for its customers' accounts, requiring returning users to create new log-in codes to access their accounts.
her and grabbed the purse. Cops say she then smacked the man with the hairspray can, ran out of Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:00:00 PM the store, dropped the purse and Police say a pregnant woman in drove off. numbers for letters might help South Carolina tried to shoplift The woman was later you remember your login a from a beauty supply store, and apprehended, at which time she well"pa55w0rd" instead of w h e n s h e w a s c a u g h t , s h e claimed she was defending "password," for example. Some a l l e g e d l y w h a c k e d t h e herself. She was taken to the websites will allow the use of apprehending employee upside hospital for abdominal pain, and symbols, such as ! and #, as well the head with a can of pilfered was later arrested. as distinguish letter cases. For hairspray. Such an example to set *Thanks for the tip, Harper! more information, see: How to for an unborn child! Pregnant shoplifter attacks create a strong password (and WBTV in Rock Hill says the employee with can of hairspray, Here are some hints for safer remember it!) woman is facing assault charges police say[WBTV] online shopping: for the alleged attack. They say This entry passed through the Never use the same password For more ways on how to protect they arrived on the scene and Full-Text RSS service if this is for multiple sites. Minimize the your information while surfing the spoke with a man with blood your content and you're reading it chance that a hacker can gain Internet, see Consumer Reports' dripping from his head from the on someone else's site, please read access to your other online Guide to online security. hairspray-inflicted wound. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentaccounts from the information Security e-mail sent by Tony Others in the store say the 23- only/faq.php#publishers. Five Hsieh, CEO[Zappos.com] cracked. year-old woman was attempting Filters recommends: Donate to Create and use separate e-mail Password change e-mail sent to to put several items in her purse, Wikileaks. a d d r e s s e s . S p e c i f i c e - m a i l customers[Zappos] when the employee tried to stop accounts for specific shopping Zappos Says Customer Database s i t e s s a y , Hacked[Associated Press via ENVY page 66 continued from "MyAmazonAccount@gmail.com Time's Techland blog] 14.01"(W) x 1.16"(H) x 9.33"(D) Power Cord (Brick to Wall) "will limit the your data Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o Weight: 5.53 lbs exposure if only one particular photo credit: denn ConsumerReports.org for expert In the box: online retailer gets hacked. HP Envy 14-2070 Laptop Discuss this product Never use any part of your Ratings, buying advice and Price: $799.99 I want one! r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f 8-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery name or any other easily guessed products. Update your feed AC Adapter word. HP Envy Laptop Sheath Use a strong password. These preferences (2) Power Cords (Brick to are phrases that are a mixture of Laptop) letters and numbers. Substituting
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71
Scratch Shield: A American Maurice Edu is 'self-healing' iPhone victim of alleged racial case from...Nissan? abuse - USA Today
Submitted at 1/17/2012 8:59:59 AM
(- Bing News)
Scratch Shield: A 'self-healing' iPhone case from...Nissan? There are plenty of cases and accessories designed to protect an Apple iPhone mobile phone. But Japanese car maker Nissan thinks its experience with exterior auto paints could make a smart phone case that heals itself of scratches. The Nissan Scratch Shield is a prototype case for Apple iPhones that is made of the same polymer material which Nissan uses to coat its vehicles, such as the Murano SUV and the 370Z sports car. The unique property of the polyrotaxane material, says Nissan, is:...that when damage occurs to the coating in the form of a fine scratch, the chemical structure is able to react to change back to its original shape and fill the gap - 'healing' the blemish. Nissan's press release says a
batch of prototype Scratch Shield cases have been produced for "testing with selected journalists and customers" and it may produce the smart phone cases later this year if there is demand for a scratch-proof scratch case. World's First Self-Healing iPhone Case[Nissan press release] Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
Convery was granted bail after being charged with racially Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:03:57 AM aggravated harassment. GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) A Edu, who is black, is from Scottish man has been charged Fontana, Calif. A member of the with racially abusing American 2010 U.S. World Cup team, he midfielder Maurice Edu on has been with Rangers since 2008 Twitter. after leaving Major League By Michel Euler, AP Soccer's Toronto FC. France's Jeremy Menez tackles Copyright 2012 The Associated U.S. Maurice Edu (left) during a Press. All rights reserved. This friendly at Parc des Princes material may not be published, stadium in Saint Denis on Nov. b r o a d c a s t , r e w r i t t e n o r 11, 2011. France won 1-0. redistributed. For more Michael Convery of Glasgow is information about reprints & alleged to have sent messages to permissions, visit our FAQ's. To Edu and Rangers teammate r e p o r t c o r r e c t i o n s a n d d e f e n d e r K y l e B a r t l e y l a s t clarifications, contact Standards weekend. Editor Brent Jones. For The 41-year-old Convery entered publication consideration in the no plea or declaration when he newspaper, send comments to appeared in private at Glasgow's letters@usatoday.com. Include sheriff court. name, phone number, city and
state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Lure of cold fusion backfires - The Australian

(andrea rossi e-cat - Google News)
Lure of cold fusion backfires The Australian The mastermind behind the
alleged technology, Italian physicist Andrea Rossi, claims he has managed to achieve cold
fusion by creating a machine that fuses hydrogen and nickel at normal temperatures, producing
almost unlimited energy....
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Rich Hofmann: Trying to make sense of Eagles-Giants differences - Philadelphia Daily News
(- Bing News)
Rodgers, and that it came out of nowhere after their 15-1 regular Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:03:57 AM season, and that the Giants had a FIRST TIM TEBOW lost on lot less to do with it than the Saturday night, then the New Packers did. That isn't to demean York Giants won on Sunday the Giants' defense. It is just what night. In Philadelphia, there really happened. is no God. That failure did, though, provide The worst winner of the NFC the Giants with their opening East in memory, the Giants are and quarterback Eli Manning and nonetheless ticketed for the NFC the New York offense stormed Championship Game Sunday at through it at the end. You look at San Francisco after a 37-20 upset the final score and you might of the Green Bay Packers at forget that it was still a one-score Lambeau Field. That nobody saw game with 8 minutes to go - such it coming goes without saying. is how things unraveled for the The hardest part is figuring out Packers. what it means. Again, though, the point: If With that, on to the questions. Rodgers is as accurate as normal, By the transitive property of if the Packers don't drop six or sports - which, even though it eight passes (depending upon who doesn't work like the transitive is doing the counting) and don't property of mathematics, doesn't turn the ball over four times prevent it from being invoked against a defense that forced only with alacrity - doesn't this mean a middling number of fumbles that the Eagles could just as easily during the season and showed no have found themselves in the hints of being dominant, it's a NFC Championship Game if they total shootout. had managed one more win along In that case, the Giants might not the way? have won it but they would have In a word, no. been in it at the end - because of This isn't about the defense, Eli. The Eagles and Michael Vick either. The truth is that the Green would not necessarily have been Bay offense just played lousy able to take advantage in the same football, led by quarterback Aaron way in 2011. Again, that isn't to
demean anybody. It is just the truth. Which means, well, what? People in Philadelphia love to hate Eli, and they love it when he makes That Face after something goes wrong, and they find it hard to believe that he is an elite quarterback (mostly because they have seen him look bad often enough over the years; mostly because they have seen him twice a season since he was a rookie). But he is an elite quarterback and this is just another example. The Giants' run to the Super Bowl in 2007 is public record - you can look it up online and everything and this is starting to look eerily similar. He has thrown six touchdown passes and only one interception in two playoff games so far this year. His passer rating in the two games is 121.8. There are only eight quarterbacks in history who have finished a postseason with a better rating. Eli could make it nine and Tom Brady (137.6 so far this year) could make it 10. But that's it. It's a funny list. It includes great names such as Joe Montana, Bart Starr, Troy Aikman, Kurt Warner and Phil Simms. It also includes Pat Ryan
and Rodney Peete, who threw up a 124.2 for the Eagles in the 1995 playoffs. Being on the list itself does not transfer elite status. But to make more than one long playoff run as an underdog . . . to win two playoff games at Lambeau Field . . . to excel again and again in the moment . . . put it this way: nobody can consider it a fluke anymore. But haven't the Giants been legendary gaggers at the end of seasons under coach Tom Coughlin? What about your "in the moment" business then? It is a fair question. The Giants should be asking themselves why they aren't better more often. But that doesn't change the notion that they again are seizing their opportunity. Under Andy Reid, the Eagles have been great front-runners (until the NFC Championship Game, when they have won one out of five times, with three of the four losses coming as the betting favorite). But they really have made only one mini underdog run, in 2008, winning as a three-point favorite at Minnesota and as a four-point underdog at the Giants before coughing it up as the favorite at Arizona.
Some people are inclined to blame Donovan McNabb, but it is more complicated than that (including several big defensive failures). For more than a decade under Reid, the Eagles have continued to search for "it," whatever "it" is. They have changed everything except the head coach, and they are going to give it one more shot. But this can no longer be denied: When Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie talks about making the tournament and then anything can happen, he is not talking about his team. He is talking about the Giants. That is what this means. Send email to hofmanr@phillynews.com, or read his blog, The Idle Rich, at www.philly.com/TheIdleRich. For recent columns go to www.philly.com/RichHofmann. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Sports/ Technology/
73
John Elway: Tim Tebow will be Broncos starting QB - Chicago Sun-Times

(- Bing News)
incumbent at a season-ending news conference on Monday. Well, I think Tims earned the By ARNIE STAPLETON AP right to be the starting quarterback Pro Football Writer January 17, g o i n g i n t o t r a i n i n g c a m p , 2012 9:52AM Broncos boss John Elway Denver Broncos quarterback Tim declared at the beginning of a 40T e b o w r u n s o f f t h e f i e l d minute news conference in which following an NFL divisional 24 of the 47 questions were about playoff football game against the Tebow. New England Patriots Saturday, I think he made some good Jan. 14, 2012, in Foxborough, strides this year, Elway said. He Mass. The Patriots defeated the obviously played very well Broncos 45-10. (AP Photo/ against Pittsburgh and played very Stephan Savoia) well in a lot of football games. storyidforme: 24313225 And exceedingly poorly in plenty tmspicid: 8929858 of others. fileheaderid: 4041646 Thats why Elway, the Hall of ENGLEWOOD, Colorado Famer who rejoined the team a The debate over Tim Tebows year ago as chief of football worthiness as an NFL quarterback o p e r a t i o n s , h a s p l e d g e d t o will undeniably continue in the personally work with Tebow this offseason. offseason to polish his passing Whats not in doubt is his status game and help him become a as the Denver Broncos starter. better quarterback. The team sought to curb the He has a willing pupil in Tebow, circus thats sure to surround who said his offseason goal was Tebow over the next several to work pretty hard and try to get months by declaring him the a lot better.
Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:52:22 AM
Tebow took over a 1-4 win-loss team in October and guided the Broncos to their first playoff berth since 2005. But the clunky dualthreat quarterback completed just 46.5 percent of his passes in the regular season and 40.4 percent in the playoffs while compiling an 85 overall record that included five second-half comebacks. His 80-yard touchdown toss on the first play of overtime beat Pittsburgh in the wild-card round and capped his best performance Elway said he wants to show as a pro. Then, he had the worst Tebow what he learned, which completion percentage 34 was this: Mobility is great, but to in a playoff game since 1998 in a compete for a championship, you 35-point loss at New England on have to become a pocket passer. Saturday. Thats what Elway learned late in Tebows growth was stunted by his career, which he capped with the NFL lockout and Kyle Ortons successive Super Bowl titles after status as the starter through losing the big game three times. training camp and the first month Hopefully, I can teach him what of the season. Despite winning I learned over my 16-year career, seven of his first eight starts, the Elway said, to be able to tell him Broncos were unbalanced under what I learned in Year 10, Tebow. They had the leagues hopefully get that to him in year 3 best running game but were or 4. ranked 31st in the 32-team league
in passing. Broncos officials liked the way Tebow handled pressure. Elway said what he went through in his career in this quarterback-crazed city was nothing compared to what Tebow has to endure. Elway said his scrutiny was mostly local, but when you look at Tim Tebow, what he went through was nationally based or maybe even worldwide-based. I mean, you talk about people Tebowing outside the Eiffel Tower, you know, that kind of tells you. Still, Elway said Tebow was unaffected by all the attention. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Lure of cold fusion backfires - The Australian

(Andrea Rossi - Google News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 7:10:55 AM
Lure of cold fusion backfires The Australian The mastermind behind the
alleged technology, Italian physicist Andrea Rossi, claims he has managed to achieve cold
fusion by creating a machine that fuses hydrogen and nickel at normal temperatures, producing
almost unlimited energy....
74
Gaming/ News Photos
Striking photos as sinking cruise ship Costa Concordia lies in shallow waters National Post
(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:17:25 PM
Mad Catz shows off MLG Classic Syndicate infiltrates GOG on Jan. 19, asks how Pro controller at CES, for the discerning button pusher to conquer world firstthe DRM-free yet -- to lead
Mike Schramm (Joystiq)
The analogue sticks and D-pads are fully removable and Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:00:00 PM customizable, and the controller A controller is a controller is a c o m e s w i t h a l l s o r t s o f controller. The most innovative possibilities. With this controller, additions to console controllers you can implement the layout you these days usually involve an want. extra turbo switch, or maybe a fan Continue reading Mad Catz in the handles. shows off MLG Pro controller at Mad Catz' new MLG Pro Circuit CES, for the discerning button Controller stands out, and was pusher first shown off at CES 2012 last Mad Catz shows off MLG Pro week. Mad Catz worked with c o n t r o l l e r a t C E S , f o r t h e Major League Gaming players d i s c e r n i n g b u t t o n p u s h e r and other gamers to figure out just originally appeared on Joystiq on what it is they wanted a controller Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. to do, and rather than just add Please see our terms for use of some new lights (or those fans), feeds. they took a few good steps Permalink| Email this| Comments forward.
Jessica Conditt (Joystiq)
revolution as the world's largest Syndicate. Just drop a description Syndicate, the original title of o f y o u r t e a m i n t h e G O G twisted corporate greed and comments before 7 a.m. EST on cyberpunk inhumanity, is hitting Jan. 19 for a chance to prove GOG on Thursday, Jan. 19 for yourself in the corrupt corporate $5.99. GOG's Syndicate will world. come with the game manual, Classic Syndicate infiltrates GOG artwork and avatars, but until it's on Jan. 19, asks how to conquer officially released GOG is having world first originally appeared on a little dystopian fun. Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 Ten players can win a copy of 13:30:00 EST. Please see our Syndicate by forming the best terms for use of feeds. team of four people -- yourself Permalink| Email this| Comments and three others, real or imaginary, dead, alive or not born
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:30:00 PM
National Post Striking photos as sinking cruise ship Costa Concordia lies in shallow waters National Post Underwater photo taken on January 13, 2012, and released by the Italian Coast Guard on January 16, 2012 shows a view of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, after it ran aground in front of the Isola del Giglio harbor. Underwater photo taken on January 13,... Costa Concordia Almost Submerged: Underwater Views of the Cruise Ship [LATEST... International Business Times First photos from inside doomed cruise ship Costa Concordia The Daily Telegraph Photos, story: Captain's conduct blasted; divers find more dead Appleton Post Crescent Bloomberg all 13,305 news articles
Health/
75
Obesity Epidemic May Have Peaked In U.S.

(Shots - Health Blog)
released Tuesday. Obesity soared in the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s, doubling Toby Talbot/ AP among adults and tripling among People stroll down a street in children. That raised widespread Montpelier, Vt., last summer. In alarm and debate about the causes 1995, 13.4 percent of Vermonters and possible solutions. Obesity were considered obese. The figure can increase the risk for diabetes, climbed to 23.5 percent in 2011. heart disease, cancer and other The latest national data suggest serious health problems. t h e o b e s i t y e p i d e m i c h a s The latest data come from 2009plateaued, however. 2010 installment of the National The nation's obesity epidemic Health and Nutrition Examination appears to have hit a plateau, Survey, which surveys about according to the latest federal data 10,000 adults and children every
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:08:00 PM
two years. The proportion of adult Americans who are obese held steady at about 35 percent, marking the second time that had happened between installments of the survey. And when the researchers examined the surveys over the long-term, they found clear evidence that that overall obesity had leveled off. "These data basically show than we haven't seen any change probably since back to 2003-4 in obesity in any group," said
Cynthia Ogden of the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the latest data and published two papers online in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. One paper focused on adults while the second focused on children. The researchers didn't examine why the stall may be happening. But other experts speculate that at least part of it is all the attention the problem has been getting. "We've seen some very effective
changes that are occurring in schools and at the societal level in terms of food labeling, economic incentives, behavioral strategies," says Penny Gordon-Larsen, an obesity researcher at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. It's also possible that we're reached a kind of new normal, with the proportion of population who is predisposed to obesity having already become obese, OBESITY page 77
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Health/ Politics-Right/
Seeing Doctors' Notes Could Help Patients Change Ways
European Sanctions on Iran Necessary for International Security

Morgan Roach (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
oil sanctions in theory but wants its existing contracts excluded. (Shots - Health Blog) Center in Boston and the study's on someone's health. The United Kingdom, which lead author. "Yet if you have a lab "Someone comes home and says Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:46:22 AM imposed its toughest sanctions to Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:35:00 AM result or a radiology result, the the visit was fine, but the notes As Irans nuclear weapons date last November, is urging EU If patients and doctors both have notes are the information that say their heart failure was a bit program pushes forward, the member states to impose a ban on easy access to the notes the doctor provides context for why this was worse," says Walker. It's not European Union is dragging its all Iranian financial institutions. takes during their office visits, done in the first place." necessarily all good, however. In feet on implementing sanctions H o w e v e r , b y o b j e c t i n g t o will it change their behavior? OpenNotes is funded by the the study, up to a third of that would help cripple the Iranian mechanisms that would reduce T h a t ' s a q u e s t i o n t h a t a n R o b e r t W o o d J o h n s o n participating physicians said regimes progress. Irans capabilities, some of the experiment called OpenNotes Foundation, which also is an opening up their notes might This week, eight U.S. Senators same countries responsible for aims to answer by letting patients underwriter of NPR. change the way they documented sent a letter to Lady Catherine E u r o p e s d e b t c r i s i s a r e of more than 100 primary care Researchers are still analyzing such sensitive topics as obesity, Ashton, the European Unions undermining the security of their doctors in three states see the the results of the year-long study. substance abuse, mental health high representative for foreign own citizens as well. notes online. But Walker says what's beginning problems or cancer. And about the affairs and security policy, urging On January 23, European foreign I n D e c e m b e r , r e s e a r c h e r s to emerge is that the effect of same proportion of the doctors the EU to impose an immediate ministers will meet to decide on a reported the results of surveys seeing physician notes in black surveyed for the project decided oil embargo as well as sanctions course of action against Iran. It is taken before the project started in and white can be huge. A notation not to take part in it. against the Iranian Central Bank. important that Americas allies in 2010 in which patients and describing a patient as " obese," Meanwhile, patients said they D e s p i t e I r a n s i n c r e a s i n g Europe send a clear signal that physicians were asked about their for example, may be much more might withhold information that belligerencetest-firing new Irans drive to become a nuclearattitudes toward making such effective than a physician's verbal they didn't want recorded in the missiles, threatening to shut down armed power is unacceptable. information available. instruction to lose weight at notes. So in some instances, t h e S t r a i t o f H o r m u z , a n d This entry passed through the Published in the Annals of bringing home the seriousness of opening up the communication announcing the production of its Full-Text RSS service if this is Internal Medicine, the study a problem and the need to do process could actually limit what first nuclear-fuel rodGreece, your content and you're reading it found that while patients were something about it. gets communicated. Go figure. Italy, and Spain are reluctant to on someone else's site, please read very gung ho to see the notes "It's very motivating," says This entry passed through the agree to tough sanctions. Iranian the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentmore than 90 percent expected Walker. Seeing the doctor's notes Full-Text RSS service if this is oil makes up 35 percent of only/faq.php#publishers. Five them to be helpful physicians can help remind a patient about your content and you're reading it Greeces oil imports, heightening Filters recommends: Donate to were much likely to think that what was said during a visit that on someone else's site, please read fears that a shock to its oil supply Wikileaks. notes sharing was a potential may have been fraught with the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- would deepen the countrys Pandora's box of trouble. anxiety. Instead of having to rely only/faq.php#publishers. Five economic woes. Italy agrees to the "Notes are the things people never on a patient's vague description of Filters recommends: Donate to see," says Jan Walker, a nurse at the appointment, office visit notes Wikileaks. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical can give caregivers the lowdown
Politics/
77
OBESITY
says Harvard's David Ludwig, a specialist in treating overweight kids. "Obesity prevalence can't keep going up year after year indefinitely. Ultimately we'll reach a state where those individuals who are susceptible to becoming obese for genetic reasons have already developed obesity," Ludwig says. Whatever the cause, the plateau is welcome news, especially if it continues. But it's also far from letting anyone breathe a sigh of relief. "We may be at the end of the beginning. But we're by no means at the beginning of the end," Ludwig says. One-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children are still obese. More than 78 million adults and more than 12 million children are obese, meaning the nation may still be facing a wave of diabetes, heart disease and other ailments because of obesity. "We may have peaked, but we've peaked at levels that have never before occurred for humans," Ludwig said. Ludwig and others wants the
government to launch a more aggressive strategy that would include eliminating some farm subsidies, regulating junk food advertising to kids and mandating better nutrition in schools. "We so far lack anything resembling a comprehensive national strategy," he says. "So while attention has certainly increased the airwaves are full of marketing of fast food and junk food to children and and we continue to have farm subsidies legislation that continue to pump billions of dollars of subsidies into the highest-calorie, poorestquality commodities." But others object to anything they say would increase government intervention in peoples' personal lives. "The notion that the government can save us from ourselves I reject from both a good government perspective but also actually from the perspective of trying to stem the tide of obesity," said J. Justin Wilson of the Center for Consumer Freedom, a Washington-based advocacy group that gets funding from the restaurant and food
industries. Others say the whole idea of an "obesity epidemic" has been overblown and that more emphasis should be put on getting more Americans to become fit rather than fixate on losing weight. "Most people who lose weight will ultimately regain it. If you do this do over and over and over again you develop a nation of weight-cyclers, a yo-yo-dieting society and there are risks associated with yo-yo dieting that are every bit as hazardous as the risks associated with just being fat," Glenn Gaesser of Arizona State University. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
NRCC hits Obama on Keystone with Lean Backwards

Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:10:26 AM
posted at 12:10 pm on January 17, 2012 by Ed Morrissey The NRCC tries its hand at satire today as a weapon against Barack Obama, and it works if you watch MSNBC enough to know its promotions for the cable channels slogan, Lean Forward. This is a takeoff of a Rachel Maddow spot for big government, shot at the Hoover Dam, in which Maddow argues that big projects like the Hoover Dam can only go forward on a national scale. For obvious reasons, Maddow wouldnt make that argument in front of the Big Dig in Boston and the California high-speed rail project, since big government produced big overruns on projects that wont ever recover their costs in value
but I digress. The NRCC uses this as a platform to point out that we have a big project on the drawing board now, ready to go, with bipartisan consensus to proceed and the potential to deliver energy resources to a thirsty US. It may take a nation to get these projects accomplished, but it only takes one man to obstruct it and that man is Barack Obama: For those who dont watch MSNBC on a regular basis, heres the spot the NRCC is spoofing: Id call that a direct hit. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
78
Politics-Right/
Morning Bell: South Carolinians Have a Right to Work

Mike Brownfield (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
employees right to work regardless of their support for unions. In the case of Boeing, the Obama Administration by way Submitted at 1/17/2012 9:01:39 AM This week, all eyes are on South of the NLRB sought to prevent Carolina as the Palmetto State t h e c o m p a n y f r o m m a k i n g votes on Saturday in the next fundamental decisions about Republican presidential primary where to do business, all because contest. Jobs and the economy are it wanted to open a plant in a right rightly being debated by the entire -to-work state. (Ultimately, the political spectrum. NLRB dropped the case after Its not the first time in the past union negotiators reached a deal year that South Carolina has been that benefited their members in a center stage when it comes to jobs union state.) in a country struggling to get back Big labor, of course, abhors righton its feet. Last year, the Obama t o - w o r k l a w s b e c a u s e t h e y Administration took aim at threaten unions ironclad grip on Boeing when the Seattle-based employees along with the dues company sought to build a new they are forced to pay and the assembly plant in Charleston, resulting political buying power South Carolina, in order to the unions amass. (By some produce the 787 Dreamliner. estimates, unions spent some Enter the National Labor $400 million in the last Relations Board (NLRB), which presidential election.) However, filed a complaint against Boeing right-to-work laws have positive alleging that the company decided effects for states where they are to build the plant in South adopted in short, they bring Carolina out of retaliation for m u c h - n e e d e d j o b s a n d union strikes at its Washington investment. James Sherk, senior state facilities. policy analyst in labor economics At the center of the issue was the at The Heritage Foundation, fact that South Carolina is one of explains: 22 right-to-work states, meaning Businesses want to know that, if that workers there have the they treat their workers well, freedom to decide whether to join unions will leave them alone. a union or not. Right-to-work Right-to-work makes that more laws block companies from firing likely and businesses notice. workers for not paying union Studies show right-to-work laws d u e s , t h e r e b y p r o t e c t i n g are a major factor in business
location decisions. It was no accident that Boeing built its new 787 assembly line in right-towork South Carolina. Neither was it coincidence that most new auto plants have been built in right-towork states. More investment means more jobs. Consider two counties that border each other across a state line, one in a right-to-work state and the other not. These counties have similar economic conditions, similar demographics, and similar climates. But the county in the right-to-work state has an average of one-third more manufacturing jobs. Right-to-work laws encourage investment and job creation. Not surprisingly, other states are looking to follow in South Carolinas footsteps. Indianas legislature is debating whether to make its state right-to-work, and legislators in Maine and Michigan have introduced right-to-work bills. They undoubtedly see the benefit of making their states more competitive and freeing employees to make decisions about whether or not to support unions. But that movement flies directly in the face of the Administrations big labor agenda. Earlier this month, the President flagrantly ignored the Constitution by making three illegal appointments
to the NLRB an act that Heritages Edwin Meese III and Todd Gaziano described as a tyrannical abuse of power. Sherk explains that unions are looking to the NLRB to boost their ranks amid flagging support just one in 10 nonunion workers wants to join a union. Given unions decreasing power and the political debt that is owed to them its not surprising that the NLRB took aim at right-to-work South Carolina or that the President flouted the law in order to make pro-labor appointments. Instead of promoting job growth, the left is promoting its political allies. Meanwhile, Americas unemployed workers are suffering the consequences of a ruling class that is putting unions special interests ahead of laborers. Quick Hits: Are you a fan of Wikipedia? The website is shutting down for 24 hours on Wednesday in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act, a measure being considered by Congress that would make the Internet generally less secure for everyone. Opponents of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker say they will turn in more than 540,208 signatures to force a recall election. The movement comes in the wake of Walkers work in
passing legislation ending collective bargaining rights for most public workers. Syrias Bashar al-Assad will not go down without a fight, and his government has an open budget allocated to the crackdown on the popular uprising and revolution, according to a member of parliament who defected to Egypt. Chinas economy has slowed to its lowest growth rate in more than two years, but it still stands at 9.2 percent a very high number by international standards. Heritages Derek Scissors explains why Chinas economic data are still not credible. Is America the most economically free country in the world? You might be surprised by the answer. Find out how others compare in Scribes Chart of the Week. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Politics-Right/
79
Even After Debt Limit Increase, Congress Has Work to Do

Emily Goff (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:10:44 AM
On Thursday, President Obama formally notified Congress that the total federal debt (debt subject to statutory limit) is within $100 billion of the debt limit and requested an increase of $1.2 trillion. The announcement comes as no surprise, because such an increase is the anticipated third and final installment of $2.1 trillion in debt limit increases provided under the Budget Control Act of 2011(BCA), passed at the conclusion of last summers debt ceiling debate. The BCA states that Congress has 15 calendar days from the Presidents notification in which to pass a resolution disapproving the debt limit increase; a House vote is expected on January 18. If the House rejects the Presidents request, it is doubtful that the
Senate will concur. Even if Congress does pass a joint resolution of disapproval, it is not likely to muster enough votes to override a presidential veto. Put simply, the debt limit increase is practically guaranteed. Upon passage of the BCA last August, the debt limit automatically increased by $400 billion, from $14.294 trillion to $14.694 trillion. In late September it was raised again, this time by $500 billion, to the current limit of $15.194 trillion. The Presidents request of a $1.2 trillion increase will bring the debt limit to an astounding $16.394 trillion, which is over 100 percent of U.S. GDP. The Heritage Foundation chart below illustrates these debt limit increases and shows the proportion of new increases compared to the debt limit prior to the BCA.(Article continued below.) While the level of publicly held
debt [debt sold in credit markets] at any one time reflects the extent to which the federal government has engaged in deficit finance,
The Heritage Foundations J. D. Foster wrote ahead of last years debt limit debate, the need to raise the debt limit reflects an intention to continue deficit financing. Raising the limit gives Treasury the legal authority to issue more debt; it does not solve our debt problem. This is like time and again receiving a hypothetical parole card in the game of Monopoly rather than a get-out-of -jail-free card. Passing a debt limit increase should not give the federal government cause to sigh in relief and carry on as usual. Indeed, business as usual for Washington amounts to irresponsible spending, larger annual deficits, and mounting debt. The same fiscal problems that the BCA was intended to address persist, and theyre only growing worse. It is high time that Washingtons leadersfrom Congress to the Presidentstart acting to address
our spending and debt problems. When the President releases his budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 in a few weeks, he has yet another opportunity to propose real spending cuts and entitlement program reforms. Whether he will seize it and begin restoring fiscal discipline in Washington or waste it on populist, campaign rhetoric remains to be seen. Many distractions will plague Washington during this election year, but it must resist the urge to put off addressing these problems. History shows that its promises to fix things later fail to materialize. America is on a dangerous fiscal path, and we must change course. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
80
Politics-Right/ Technology/
Finally! Burger King Trying Home Delivery

(The Feed)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 8:02:43 AM
Via Miami Herald: A Whopper, fries and a shake delivered to the first apartment complex after the mall, please! South Florida-based Burger King is testing door-to-door delivery at four restaurants in the Washington -D.C. area, according to a report in USA Today. If the trial works out, the idea could expand. Burger King, the No. 2, and soon-to-be No. 3, fast-food chain in the nation, has tried other out-of-theburger-box ideas before. In the mid-90s, the chain experimented with table-side dinner service, complete with popcorn appetizers and chopped beefsteak and shrimp main courses. Now the question is whether customers will want Whoppers like they do pizzas over the phone and delivered to
VantagePoint delivers 132 inches of multitouch to HP's business customers

Terrence O'Brien (Engadget)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:33:00 PM
their doors. There are some real food-quality issues here, Ron Paul, president of research firm Technomic, told USA Today. But theres no question that consumer expectation for having things delivered has risen.. . . Although I hate Burger King, I hope it works and then Chipotle and Five Guys have to start
delivering, too. Greg Pollowitz This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
There are those out there that laugh at the idea of a 10-inch multitouch screen, and even some chuckle the thought of settling for a mere 40 inches. For those with such demanding requirements (primarily retailers and businesses), there's HP's VantagePoint. The main point of interaction with the video wall is six 47-inch Ultra-Micro Bezel displays that combine to offer 132 inches of diagonal real estate with a 4098 x 1536 resolution. That rather generous pile of pixels is pushed to the Gorilla Glassfronted panels by a Z800
workstation, while a separate desktop is dedicated to audio and color processing. As you might expect, the set up doesn't come cheap -- businesses will have to cough up around $125,000 for the pleasure of such a beastly interactive installation. Check out the PR and data sheet at the source and some videos of it in action at the more coverage link. VantagePoint delivers 132 inches of multitouch to HP's business customers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink SlashGear| HP| Email this| Comments
Social Media/
81
Where Do SOPA and PIPA Stand Now?

Alex Fitzpatrick (Mashable!)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:20:46 PM
Over the weekend, there was a maelstrom of activity surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act ( SOPA) and the Protect IP Act ( PIPA). With the U.S. House of Representatives reconvening today and the Senate following next week, now is a good time to catch a collective breath and figure out the status of the two bills. They have similar goals: stopping online piracy and protecting copyright holders. However, detractors say theyre both hazardous to Internet stability, security and innovation. SOPA is a House bill, while PIPAs home is the Senate. If both bills were to pass, the minor differences between them would have to be worked out between those two chambers before being sent to White House for President Obamas signature. Stop Online Piracy Act SOPA, introduced in October of last year, currently sits motionless in the House Judiciary Committee. That committee held a hearing on SOPA last November, followed by a markup session in mid-December. (In a markup session, a proposed bill is opened to other committee members for language changes, amendments and general debate). Organizations that support SOPA include media outlets, their lobbying organizations and others.
By and large, the tech community has come out strongly against SOPA. Wikipedia, Reddit and now Imgur (a popular image hosting service) all plan to go dark to protest the bill Wednesday. A public letter to Congress, signed by tech heavyweights such as Google and Facebook, called the bill dangerous to American innovation and cybersecurity, but also acknowledged that digital piracy is a real problem. The White House has also joined in with the anti-SOPA crowd in a blog post. And members of online communities such as Reddit have coalesced around their general disapproval of the bill, often claiming that Congress doesnt possess a thorough enough understanding of the Internet to properly legislate around it. In the House, opinion of SOPA hasnt been neatly divided by party affiliation. Supporters of the bill, including author Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), believe SOPA is a necessary tool to combat online piracy and copyright theft. The bills strongest detractors, including Rep. Darrell Issa (RCA) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), believe the bill to be hazardous to the infrastructure, speed and security of the Internet. Before the House went on its winter recess, SOPA was shelved until the next session (which begins Tuesday). SOPA was originally designed to give copyright holders and the
think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington meets Revenge of the Nerds. That hearing has been postponed because of Cantors no -vote promise and Smiths removal of the DNS provisions. In a statement, Rep. Issa has urged SOPA opponents to turn federal government the right to their attention to the Senate, remove infringing websites from where Majority Leader Reid has the DNS (Domain Name System). announced his intention to try to Tech experts claimed this would move similar legislation in less have had negative consequences than two weeks. for the stability, speed and That similar legislation is the security of the Internet. Protect IP Act. Protect IP Act DNS works as a sort of phone PIPA has been around longer book for the internet. When a t h a n S O P A , h a v i n g b e e n user types a URL into a browser, introduced in May of last year by DNS helps the users computer Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). find and speak with the correct According to GovTrack, the bill server hosting the content the user now has over 40 co-sponsors. As wants to access. If a website is is true with SOPA, Senate opinion taken off the DNS system, it of PIPA doesnt divide neatly becomes more difficult for the down party lines. average Internet user to arrive at PIPA is supported by many of the that site. (For more on DNS, same groups that support SOPA watch this excellent explainer largely media outlets and their video from The Guardian) respective lobbies. O n F r i d a y , R e p . S m i t h SEE ALSO: The White House & announced he would remove the SOPA: Reading Between the DNS removal provision from the Lines bill. Likewise, many of the same The following Monday, it was groups that oppose SOPA also reported that House Majority oppose PIPA. The previously Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) told mentioned open letter from Rep. Issa there would be no vote technology giants and the blog on SOPA without a consensus post from the White House also on the bill. mention PIPA. Rep. Issa, chairman of the House When SOPA was first Committee on Oversight and introduced, it became the primary Government Reform, planned to target of the tech community call top tech industry experts to the bill that was most often talked testify to Congress Wednesday about. But PIPA, considered
SOPAs Senate sister bill, contains largely the same language which opponents have found so unpalatable in SOPA. And PIPA, unlike SOPA, has found its way out of committee. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who considers PIPA a threat to free speech and technological innovation, placed a hold on the bill last May. In a statement, he said that until the many issues that I and others have raised with this legislation are addressed, I will object to a unanimous consent request to proceed to the legislation. However, Sen. Wydens hold only lets the Majority Leader know of that Senators wishes, and Sen. Wyden doesnt have the ability to prevent a vote on PIPA which is happening Jan. 24. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) scheduled a vote on PIPA for mid-January. Six Republicans wrote an open letter to Ried urging him to cancel the vote, saying they believe the process has happened too quickly and the Senate should take more time to hear testimony from digital experts. As with SOPA, the author of PIPA has removed the DNS blocking and redirecting provisions of the bill. While SOPA is, for the moment, stuck in the House, the Senate is still currently planning a Jan. 24 vote on PIPA. WHERE page 82
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Social Media/
Netflix Slammed With ClassAction Suit by Misled Investors

Lauren Indvik (Mashable!)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:56:09 AM
WHERE
A group of investors has filed a class-auction lawsuit against Netflix and several of its executives, alleging that the film and TV subscription service purposely misled the plantiffs about its earnings prospects ahead before the companys stock took a deep dive in the second half of 2011. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California by the City of Royal Oak Retirement System on behalf of all those who purchased stock between Dec. 20, 2010 and Oct. 24, 2011. In addition to Netflix, Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings, CMO David Wells, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt and CMO Leslie Kilgore were named in the complaint. The plantiff claims that Netflix issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the companys business practices and its contracts with content providers and concealed negative trends in Netflixs business. Those actions caused
The MPAA, Hollywoods lobbying group and a strong supporter of SOPA/PIPA, has said that DNS provisions are now off the table. Protest & Discontent Despite SOPAs benched status overvalued does not create a and the DNS provisions being cause of action, the logic being gone from both bills, the tech that even if the stock was community is still fighting to kill overvalued with respect to off SOPA and PIPA permanently. fundamentals, it was nevertheless Wikipedia, Reddit and Imgur trading at that price so the have announced they are going investor could have sold at the dark tomorrow to protest the bills, right time and reaped the benefit. while the President of Twitter All in all the claim looks pretty called such a move foolish for weak, there are a lot of elements his own company (while also to a 10b-5 claim and each one is saying to watch this space). going to be a challenge for The NY Tech Meetup plaintiffs here, the source added. community is planning a public Another source suggested the rally Wednesday at New Yorks complaint might be enough to City Hall to protest the bill. survive summary judgment, Mashable will be reporting from the stock to trade at artificially 2011 earnings forecast, but meaning that the lawsuit could the scene. inflated prices, reaching a high withheld that information from become a financial burden that Images courtesy of iStockphoto, Netflix would opt to settle. of $291.27 per share on July 12, investors. sjlocke; Flickr, DJ Schulte 2011. During that period, Netflix The complaint highlights a A Netflix spokesperson said the More About: internet, PIPA, executives sold 338,661 shares of n u m b e r o f s t a t e m e n t s t h e company does not comment on SOPA, stop online piracy act Netflix stock for proceeds of company made on investors calls, legal matters. $90.2 million. to the media and at conferences Image courtesy of Flickr, Ross Catrow Specifically, investors believe the over the class period. company failed to inform them Speaking off the record, a More About: netflix about the increasing cost of short- securities specialist not involved For more Business coverage: term contracts with content in the case said that the plaintiffs Follow Mashable Business on providers and how coupled would face an uphill battle Twitter with a decline of subscribers after trying to prove that Netflix Become a Fan on Facebook Netflix increased the price of its intentionally misled investors on Subscribe to the Business staple subscription plan by 60% its 2011 guidance. Another issue channel that would hurt margins. They is damage, the source pointed Download our free apps for contend Netflix long knew that it out. How would a judge define Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad was not on track to achieve its them? Typically ones stock being
Social Media/ News Photos
83
Consumers Dont Like Shopping Via Branded Apps [INFOGRAPHIC]

Samantha Murphy (Mashable!)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:09:04 PM
PHOTOS: Taylor Swift's fashion sense - 9NEWS.com

(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:55:50 AM
Companies have long felt the pressure to develop apps for customers carrying tablets and smartphones, but according to a new study consumers show a greater preference by up to 20 times for browsing the Web to shop rather than using branded apps. The findings, by mobile and social media merchandising firm Zmags revealed that only 4% of consumers prefer to shop using mobile apps, while 87% prefer websites and mobile sites. However, another 87% of consumers prefer to browse and buy from websites via PCs or laptops, followed by only 14% that would opt to shop via mobile websites on their smartphones and 9% with their tablets. The survey was conducted by Equation Research, which polled 1,500 male and female consumers over the age of 18 who own a computer, smartphone and/or tablet. Thats not to say that tablet owners dont feel comfortable making purchases from their
9NEWS.com PHOTOS: Taylor Swift's fashion sense 9NEWS.com ( Photo by Larry Busac NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 22:
James Taylor and Taylor Swift perform onstage during the 'Speak Now World Tour' at Madison Square Garden on November 22, 2011 in New York City. Taylor Swift wrapped up the North American leg of her... and more
PHOTOS: Paula Deen and her battle with Type 2 Diabetes - 9NEWS.com
devices. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 tablet owners did some of their holiday shopping this year, spending about $325. In addition, nearly half of owners said they expect to shop even more on their devices this year. While tablet shopping is gaining ground across various retail categories, consumers are starting to show category-specific device preferences. For example, 53% of shoppers for electronics said they often use a tablet to make a purchase, followed by toys (39%), clothing (37%) and travel (26%). Tablet users are flocking to
(news photos - Google News) Facebook too. For retailers and brands contemplating whether or Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:36:35 AM not their marketing initiatives on 9NEWS.com the social networking site are PHOTOS: Paula Deen and her worth the effort, about 34% of battle with Type 2 Diabetes tablet owners said they are 9NEWS.com shopping on a retailers or brands ( Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Facebook page. Do you think branded apps will ever become more popular among consumers? Should retailers continue to reach out to shoppers this way? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. More About: apps, Mobile, smartphones, tablets
Images) LONG BEACH, CA OCTOBER 26: Celebrity chef Paula Deen speaks at the 2009 Women's Conference - Day 1 at the Long Beach Convention Center on October 26, 2009 in Long Beach, California.... and more
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Daily World/
Shipwreck captain 'defied Terrorist wins orders' deportation appeal

(Evening Standard - News)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 3:56:13 AM
according to the timings of the recording. At 9.49pm he was asked by a 17 Jan 2012 port official over the ship radio: Five more bodies have been "Concordia, is everything ok?" recovered from a shipwreck off The response from the ship was Italy as an audio tape appeared to "positive", Il Fatto Quotidiano expose the captain defying orders reported. to return to his vessel. But five minutes later the The discovery of the victims took operations room at Livorno port the death toll from the Costa was said to have contacted the Concordia cruise liner disaster to liner again after a passenger had 11, with 23 still unaccounted for. allegedly reported a problem and As the search for the missing mentioned the word "shipwreck". continued, Italian media published By 12.42am, the captain was said a recording of a conversation to have claimed there were only between Captain Francesco about 40 people missing and said Schettino and the port authorities he was not on board. in which the captain was ordered The recording of his conversation not to abandon his stricken ship with Italian coast guard Captain after it hit rocks on Friday night. Gregorio De Falco indicated his Schettino had begun by claiming response was met with fury and everything was fine, shortly an order that he return to his ship. before the ship keeled over off the "You go on board and then you Tuscan coast with 4,200 on board, will tell me how many people
there are," Captain De Falco reportedly shouted. "Is that clear?" But Schettino resisted, saying the ship was tipping and that it was dark. At the time, he was in a lifeboat and said he was co-ordinating the rescue from there. Captain De Falco shouted back: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
(Evening Standard - News)
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in a "flagrant denial of justice". But former home secretary David Submitted at 1/17/2012 3:33:32 AM Blunkett warned that Qatada was 17 Jan 2012 "extraordinarily dangerous and we A terrorist accused of posing a don't want him on our streets". grave threat to Britain's national "This man has not only justified security cannot be sent back home the September 11 attacks but because it would be a "flagrant advocated Jihad," he told BBC denial of justice", human rights Radio 4's The World At One judges have ruled. programme. Radical cleric Abu Qatada, "I do hope it would be possible to described as "Osama bin Laden's reach an agreement with the right-hand man in Europe", won Jordanian government that they his appeal to the European Court would bring forward alternative of Human Rights (ECHR) against e v i d e n c e t o t h a t o b t a i n e d the UK's efforts to deport him to originally, allegedly, by torture." Jordan with assurances that he Gareth Peirce, Qatada's solicitor, would not be tortured. said it has "always been But Home Secretary Theresa astonishing that this country has May vowed it was "not the end of fought long and hard" to deport the road", saying Qatada would be her client to Jordan. kept behind bars while she "What message would it have sent considered all legal options to to the rest of the world if the send him back. European Court of Human Rights These include an appeal to the had held that it was acceptable to court's Grand Chamber within send a civilian to be tried in a three months or seeking further m i l i t a r y c o u r t o n e v i d e n c e assurances from Jordan that emanating from torture?" she said. evidence gained through torture This entry passed through the would not be used in any trial. Full-Text RSS service if this is The judges ruled that sending your content and you're reading it Qatada back to face terror charges on someone else's site, please read without those assurances could the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentlead to evidence obtained by only/faq.php#publishers. Five torture being used against him, TERRORIST page 84 denying him his right to a fair trial
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TERRORIST
Romney wavering on Florida debates?

Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top Picks)
havent accepted FloridaIts kind of like a cruise thats gone on too long. Submitted at 1/17/2012 11:50:56 AM Given the news this week, Im posted at 12:50 pm on January not sure a cruise analogy is a 17, 2012 by Ed Morrissey good choice. Still, the Romney And here we thought the big camp has a point with this question on debate attendance argument: would be whether CNN lets Rick As part of his complaint against Perry on stage this Thursday. the current debate schedule, Byron York reports that Mitt Stevens expressed lingering Romney has yet to confirm his irritation at the January 7 ABC presence at any of the scheduled News debate in New Hampshire, debates in Florida, and the in which Romney faced a long a campaign says thats no accident: tendentious series of questions A f t e r a d e b a t e i n w h i c h about contraception. (It was Republican frontrunner Mitt such a lousy debate, Stevens Romney faced attacks from all said.) More generally, Stevens sides, the Romney campaign says suggested that in the long course it has not yet accepted invitations of the campaign, this years key to participate in two high-profile issues have been exhausted. debates leading up to the January Were down to the most obscure 31 Florida primary, and a key questions, he said. When more Romney adviser is expressing than ten debates mention Chilean fatigue and frustration over what models, and its not a fashion he sees as a never-ending series of show, then somethings wrong. GOP debates. Bruce McQuain at QandO There are too many of these, sympathizes with this complaint: Romney strategist Stuart Stevens That said, and considering this said after Monday nights Fox was a debate moderated by the News debate at the Myrtle Beach GOP friendly Fox network, where Convention Center. We have to in the world were the questions bring some order to it. We about the economy and the
European crisis? Where were the queries about jobs and how to go about creating them? Instead we got silly race baiting questions from Juan Williams (which, thankfully, were turned on him to the point that the crowd gave Newt Gingrich a standing O for his answer to one of them), questions about tax returns and other ancillary topics that really didnt address the main problem of our time. Certainly, if you watched Twitter during the debate, people had fun scoring the punches and the hits, the dodges and the answers, but in the big primary scheme of things, does any of that matter? If polls are to be believed, Romney is comfortably ahead in both South Carolina and Florida. Im personally tired of the debates. For the most part theyve delivered more entertainment than information. Theyve devolved into scorekeeping about who got the best shot in on Romney. This is something like the 15th Republican debate and were no more enlightened about the serious topics we should be
addressing than we were after the 1st. We have two separate questions on the table, really. Bruce is addressing a question Ive raised throughout this process, which is the absurd format of the media debates. The GOP should have put an end to this format months ago and insisted on a format that would allow for reasoned, robust explanations of policy rather than sound-bite gotchas. But its not just the medias fault, either. Since I was feeling under the weather yesterday (and still do a bit today), I took a break from watching Twitter in last nights debate to focus more on the full answers in the debate, and it was a bit of a relief to not see the gotcha moments amplified and repeated ad infinitum, even if the candidates were still trying to deliver them. Besides, the debate actually improved last night in one key aspect. Since there were fewer people on stage, the debate allowed for longer answers. The candidates ignored the time limits anyway in several instances, Romney included, which made it
more like a debate than a game show, at least at times. The second question is whether to continue holding them, and that is going to be out of Romneys hands. He might not like getting beat up on stage, but at least hes there to defend himself. The media will cover the debates whether Romney is there or not, so the only way he could successfully shut down the debates is if he gets the other Republican candidates to also withdraw. Theyre practically on life support as it is, so they are certainly not going to pass up an opportunity for national and statewide coverage in Florida for free. If they show up, Romney has to participate as well, if for no other reason than to keep playing defense and push back a little himself. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
86
Politics/
Why Liberals Shouldn't Dis Tim Tebow (or Jesus)

Robert Wright (Politics : The Atlantic)
of them as threatening--by, say, seeming to ridicule Jesus, or seeming to ridicule Tebow's faithSubmitted at 1/17/2012 11:30:16 AM -conservatives will be more It took the final, climactic inclined to stay within their walls, weekend of Tebow-mania to draw avoiding engagement with the my attention to the weeks-old secular world. So they'll find it Saturday Night Live skit below. easier to reject the entire liberal The skit ridicules Tim Tebow and agenda, ranging from gay rights to /or Jesus, depending on how you uncensored science education in interpret it. Parts of it made me the public schools. (Don't get me laugh, but I still think this kind of started on the damage that I fear stuff probably hurts the cause of Richard Dawkins is doing to the secular liberals who typically science education in the heartland create it. My two reasons for by embodying a false equation believing this can be found below b e t w e e n D a r w i n i s m a n d a the video player. militant, contemptuous atheism.) 1) Prominent among the political In short, when liberals are seen as adversaries of secular liberals are ridiculing Christianity, they're religious conservatives, the more energizing their adversaries and extreme of whom consider making it harder to turn themselves to be at war with the adversaries into allies, or at least prevailing culture. They may neutral parties, on particular homeschool their kids (though not issues. all homeschoolers share this 2) This American tension attitude) or in other ways try to between secular culture and wall themselves off from this religious conservatism has a culture. When secular liberals counterpart on the global stage. who shape the culture fulfill the There some fundamentalists-religious conservatives' stereotype most famously some Muslim
fundamentalists, but also some Jewish and Christian fundamentalists--are evincing enough discontent with the modern world (and sometimes with each other) that the feared "clash of civilizations" is a notquite-entirely-crazy scenario. American liberals are divided on whether this should make them tread delicately on Muslim sensibilities, but many (including me) think that the answer is yes; that it's ill-advised, for example, to publish cartoons of Muhammad with the aim of provoking a reaction that you can then highmindedly condemn as unenlightened. And if we're going to take that position on insulting Muslims, consistency would seem to dictate that we take the same position toward adherents of other faiths. So don't expect to find me cheering for the play The Book of Mormon--even if I go see it and find it entertaining! I should admit to a factor in my thinking that won't carry weight with other people: My parents,
who brought me up southern Baptist, also brought me up to respect other people's religious beliefs. The southern Baptist part didn't stick, but the other part continues to make sense to me independent of the tactical considerations above. Explaining why would call for a whole 'nother post. [ Pre-emptive postscript: I hope it's obvious that I'm not advocating censorship. If you think I'm raising First Amendment issues, please think again.] This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/01/whyliberals-shouldnt-dis-tim-tebow-or -jesus/251492/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Politics/
87
Gingrich-Santorum 2012: The Only Way to Stop Romney Now

Brian Goldsmith (Politics : The Atlantic)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:04:07 PM
If the two team up, they can unite the conservative vote, capture the press' attention all week, and beat Romney on Saturday. If not, they're headed home. Despite a spectacular debate performance Monday night, Newt Gingrich is on the ropes. Mitt Romney made history as the first non-incumbent Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. According to all the polls, he is now on track to claim South Carolina as well. If the former Massachusetts governor achieves that trifecta, everybody knows that he would become the nominee-to-be. Even before the debate -- when Gingrich served more sizzling red meat than Ruth's Chris -- the former speaker stood the strongest chance of any of the GOP candidates at upsetting Romney in Saturday's primary. Now Gingrich has no choice. If he loses, Romney almost certainly wins. In a move that will appeal to Newt's flair for drama, he should make a deal with Rick Santorum: drop out now and become my running mate -- or we both go back to the speaking circuit and Fox News.
A Gingrich-Santorum ticket would dominate the media from now until Saturday -- marginalize Rick Perry, overshadow Ron Paul, consolidate the conservative antiRomney majority, and reshape the campaign. It would make sense not just for the primaries but also for a general election: Pennsylvania and Georgia, young and old, friendly and ferocious, monogamous and less so. More than that, it would give the two men a prayer of getting to the general election. And I have a hunch that, after his super PAC spent millions pounding them
both, beating Mitt Romney would be even more pleasurable to these guys than accepting the nomination. Newt and Rick, think about how comfortable, how serene, Mitt Romney has become -- how close to winning he is, how much establishment support he assembled over, literally, six years of running for president. Think about how he belittles you two as mere politicians. ("Others have spent their lives in politics -- that's fine -- I have spent my life in the real world of the real economy.") Think about how he's
masqueraded as a true blue rightwinger when real conservatives know what he is: a man who believes in nothing but himself. Think about how much the political press corps would reward you; if the status quo doesn't change, they will have nothing to do for six months but speculate about Romney's VP pick. (Hint: it's not going to be either of you.) Of course, this is a long shot. But so is repealing child labor laws. And that doesn't stop Newt Gingrich from trying. Image: Reuters This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/01/gingrichsantorum-2012-the-only-way-tostop-romney-now/251511/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Politics/
Romney says he probably pays about 15 percent in taxes

Tina Korbe (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:25:29 PM
posted at 1:25 pm on January 17, 2012 by Tina Korbe Why the obsession with Mitt Romneys tax returns? Its not because curious voters are worried they have a flawed candidate, as Rick Perry suggested last night. (a) We already know we do (no matter who we choose!) and (b) Mitt Romney is not a tax evader. No, curious voters want to know two things: (1) Just how high is Romneys annual income? and (2) Does Romney pay more or less in taxes than they do? Romney hinted at the answer to the second question this morning at a press conference in Florence, S.C. Romney said he probably pays only about 15 percent in federal taxes because most of his earnings come from capital gains, which is taxed at a lower rate than traditional income. This means the super wealthy Romney pays a significantly lower tax rate than most middle income Americans.
ThinkProgress, the blog of the liberal Center for American Progress, goes into more detail: As Center for American Progress Director of Fiscal Reform Seth Hanlon has explained, the latest data shows that many middleclass families paid much more[in taxes] than the 17.5 percent average paid by the very rich. When President Obama suggested the Buffett rule, aimed at ensuring that millionaires cant pay lower taxes than middle class families, Romney derided it as class warfare, and the wrong way to go. One of the reasons Romney is able to drive his tax rate down so low is that he is still earning money from his private equity firm, Bain Capital, that is likely subject to a pernicious tax loophole. This loophole lets wealthy money mangers like Romney pay the capital gains tax rate on profits they make investing other peoples money, turning the justification for having a lower capital gains tax rate completely on its head. Such loopholes in the tax code arent Romneys creation,
however, and, honestly, its highly rational of him and of any member of the ultra-rich to obey the incentives created by the tax code. No one argues the tax code is not in need of reform. The question becomes: Do we close loopholes to raise rates or do we close loopholes to lower rates? By all means, lets make the tax code fairer but lets do it in a way that still encourages earning and investment. Meantime, Romneys tax returns matter far less than his policy proposals. May Romneys I probably pay 15 percent quip please suffice to satisfy curiosity about his personal taxes so we can return to the real issues even if one of those issues is itself tax reform? This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Photo of the Day: The Mitt Romney Enthusiasm Gap

David A. Graham (Politics : The Atlantic)
exceeds the total support for Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry in Gallup's national Submitted at 1/17/2012 10:59:34 AM poll. That's an encouraging sign He may look like a sure bet to for the folks in Boston. But if win the Republican nomination, you're looking for proof that but anecdotal evidence suggests Republican primary voters still voters aren't devoted to Romney aren't in love with Romney, check yet. out this photo from a Tuesday Everyone's heard a million times morning rally in Florence, S.C. that Mitt Romney is inevitable: he That's Romney, surrounded by a won Iowa (apparently), he won small group of supporters, and a New Hampshire, and he's on track vast expense of empty space. To to win South Carolina, Florida, put it in perspective, despite the and Nevada. Nationally, he's vast hoopla and large sums of climbing too -- as Dave Weigel PHOTO page 89 points out, his support now
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money being spent in the state, and despite the fact that the primary is just four days away, the presumed victor drew only a few dozen folks in a city that is one of the largest in the state and the center of the Pee Dee region. How bad was it? First, the campaign sectioned off part of the hall; then they removed a ladder set up for video cameras to catch the full sweep of the crowd. Reporters on the scene said they outnumbered actual voters. As BuzzFeed's Zeke Miller asked, "Is this what winning feels like?" Image: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/01/photo-ofthe-day-the-mitt-romneyenthusiasm-gap/251505/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Steve Wozniak loves iOS, except when he doesn't

Joseph Volpe (Engadget)
Submitted at 1/17/2012 1:19:00 PM
a lot to learn from Google's dessert-themed mobile platform. Does word of Woz's wandering We've heard this one before, only thumbs spell doom for Apple's all to have it debunked. Steve but gilded OS? We don't think so. Wozniak sits down with foreign As Kathy Griffin's former, fake press, talks tech and has his words boyfriend put it best, the iPhone misconstrued; hair pulling and 4S is for "users scared of epic fanboy wars ensue. While we computers." Which is to say, were able to deflate that troll bait everyone and your mother. rather quickly, this time it appears Steve Wozniak loves iOS, except the Woz is guilty of an OS crush. when he doesn't originally According to The Daily Beast, the appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apple co-founder (and Jan 2012 13:19:00 EDT. Please connoisseur of Segways) goes on voice command software (sorry see our terms for use of feeds. record as preferring many aspects Siri, but he's looking at you), Permalink Android Community| of Android's fussier-but-deeper UI n a v i g a t i o n a n d c o n s i s t e n t The Daily Beast| Email this| to iOS' one size fits all, simplified performance, this other Steve Comments approach. Citing improvements in seems to believe his company has
Samsung commits to improve smartphone battery life in 2012

Sean Cooper (Engadget)
said in an interview with CNET that Korea's darling has set the lofty goal that smartphones Sure, we all love having the latest coming out this year last an entire and greatest smartphone from the day under average to moderately likes of Samsung, but the power heavy use. Samsung's plans consumption driven by larger include beefing up batteries, but it displays, LTE, and more use is also intends to look at improving making it increasingly harder to energy efficiency by tweaking the get through the day. Samsung's various radios -- LTE, WiFi -- to caught this wave with the RAZR v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f p r o d u c t make them a little less greedy. MAXX-- a slightly chubbier innovation, Kevin Packingham, Motorola has already seemingly Motorola RAZR -- which is
Submitted at 1/17/2012 12:57:00 PM
essentially the same set as the RAZR but with enough juice so you can use it instead of spending
your day looking for an outlet to charge it. Unfortunately, things could get sticky as the definition of "moderately heavy use" is a pretty tough thing to pin down. Would you put up with a huskier phone to get you through the day or is a slim set more important? Feel free to chime in with your comments below. SAMSUNG page 90
90
SAMSUNG
Samsung commits to improve smartphone battery life in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink MobileBurn| CNET| Email this| Comments

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