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Tuesday 31 January 2012
TrialPay Raises $40 Million From Visa, Greylock, T.Rowe Price
Offers are a booming form of advertising in which consumers are presented with offers to try or buy products. It is particularly popular in social games where players receive virtual currency in return for looking at the offers. One of the leaders in this form of ecommerce advertising is TrialPay, which just raised $40 million from Greylock Partners, Visa, T. Rowe Price, DAG Ventures, DFJ Growth and QuestMark Partners. The series C round brings TrialPay's total funding to $56 million.
Monday 30 January 2012
U.S. urges UN council to end "neglect," act on Syria (Reuters)
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) ? The United States together with its allies and a Syrian opposition group all urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to end its "neglect" of the violence raging in Syria and rapidly endorse an Arab League plan for a political transition there.
"We have seen the consequences of neglect and inaction by this council over the course of the last 10 months, not because the majority of the council isn't eager to act - it has been," said Washington's U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.
"But there have been a couple of very powerful members who have not been willing to see that action take place," she told reporters. "That may yet still be the case."
Western officials were discussing the issue on the eve of a meeting by the 15-nation Security Council to consider the Arab plan in the face of reluctance by Russia, an ally of the Syrian government and a veto-holder on the council, which has demanded changes to the proposed resolution.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby and Qatar's prime minister are due to plead with the council on Tuesday to back the plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transfer powers to his deputy to prepare for elections.
Western countries are deploying their big guns to try to overcome Russian objections, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, British Foreign Secretary William Hague and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe due to attend the session.
Rice's complaint about some countries reluctance to act referred to Russia and China, which vetoed a Security Council resolution in October that would have condemned Syria for its bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and threatened it with possible sanctions.
Rice added that there was no need for "an extended negotiation" on the new European-Arab draft resolution endorsing the Arab plan aimed at ending the crisis, which has led to thousands of civilian deaths.
Clinton also urged the council to act swiftly.
"The Security Council must act and make clear to the Syrian regime that the world community views its actions as a threat to peace and security," she said in a statement. "The violence must end, so that a new period of democratic transition can begin."
In Paris, a French diplomatic source said what Juppe wanted "is that this visit at least speeds up negotiations."
LAVROV NOT ANSWERING PHONE
The head of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, said he had met with Russian officials in New York and would meet with Rice later on Monday. Germany's U.N. mission said Ghalioun also met with Ambassador Peter Wittig in New York.
"Clearly the Russians are not happy with our position asking for Assad to step down before any negotiation, but our position is based on the will of the Syrian people," he said.
Ghalioun also urged the council to support the European-Arab draft, saying it was high time for it to act. "The inaction of the international community has only encouraged the Assad regime to continue killing innocent protesters," he said.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said last week that he was willing to engage on the European-Arab draft, which Morocco submitted to the council. But while he did not explicitly threaten to use his veto, he said the text was unacceptable in its current form.
Diplomats said Elaraby would be meeting with Churkin in New York to explain to him that vetoing the draft resolution would be tantamount to vetoing the Arab world.
A vote on the draft resolution is unlikely before Thursday or Friday, Western diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
Russia sought on Monday to avert a swift council vote, saying it wanted to study recommendations from Arab observers in Syria before discussing the league's plan. Russia also said Damascus had agreed to take part in talks in Moscow, but a senior figure in the Syrian opposition said it would not attend.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton had been trying unsuccessfully to connect with Lavrov.
"The secretary, frankly, has been trying to get Foreign Minister Lavrov on the phone for about 24 hours," she said in Washington. "That's proven difficult."
As street battles rage in Syria, Nuland said the suspension of an Arab League monitoring mission over the weekend due to the worsening security climate may have negative consequences.
"We are gravely concerned that as these Arab League monitors have pulled out, the Syrian regime has taken this as an excuse to just let loose in horrific ways against innocents," she said.
Rice said the resolution was "quite straightforward" and made no reference to the use or threat of force. Russia has said NATO countries distorted a March 2011 council resolution on Libya to help rebels topple the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
While few expect Russia to support the Syria resolution, Western officials said they were hopeful Moscow might be persuaded to abstain, allowing it to pass. The question was what changes would be needed in the text to secure that outcome.
It was widely expected that Russia would insist at least that language in the draft explicitly calling on Assad to transfer power to his deputy be dropped, as well as criticism of arms sales to Syria that is clearly aimed at Moscow.
(Writing by Louis Charbonneau and Patrick Worsnip; additional reporting by John Irish in Paris and Ashad Mohammed in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham and Christopher Wilson)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_syria_un
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James, Heat escape with 97-93 win over Bulls
Miami Heat forward LeBron James holds his shoulder during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Miami Heat forward LeBron James holds his shoulder during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh goes up for a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, second from right, looks for an opening past Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh, left, guard Norris Cole, second from left, and forward Shane Battier (31) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) goes up for a shot against Chicago Bulls shooting guard Richard Hamilton during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Miami Heat small forward LeBron James dunks the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
MIAMI (AP) ? LeBron James scored 35 points, while reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose wasted two chances in the final 23 seconds and the Miami Heat escaped with a 97-93 win Sunday over the Chicago Bulls.
Chris Bosh scored 24 points and added 12 rebounds for the Heat, who never trailed ? but this win in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals was not easy. Dwyane Wade added 15 points for Miami.
Rose scored 34 points for Chicago, but missed a pair of foul shots that would have given Chicago the lead with 22.7 seconds left. He had made all 28 of his free throws in the fourth quarter this season.
And Rose had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but his short jumper bounced off the rim.
Bosh sealed it with two free throws with 0.1 seconds left for Miami, which has now won five straight over the Bulls ? counting the last four games of last season's East title series.
Both sides said this game was supposed to be just another regular-season matchup, one without extra meaning.
So not true.
The Bulls erased what was a 12-point deficit and tied the game at 84 on a brilliant layup by Rose with 6:55 left. The Heat answered with a 10-2 run, before Rose's three-point play with 49.1 seconds left cut the lead to 94-93.
Rose then lost the ball on a drive, but drew contact from Miami's Udonis Haslem and went to the line with Chicago down one with 22.7 seconds left. Rose's first hit the front of the rim and bounced away, and his second rimmed out. James grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Joakim Noah ? only to miss both free throws himself.
After the second miss, Bosh appeared to emerge with the rebound, but an inadvertent whistle led to a jump ball. James outleaped Taj Gibson, getting the ball to Mario Chalmers, who made one free throw for a two-point lead.
Chicago wound up getting one last chance with 9.9 seconds left, calling time-out. Naturally, it went to Rose, who weaved his way into the lane ? but came up short. Bosh got the rebound, and Miami began celebrating.
Rip Hamilton and Noah each scored 11 for Chicago, which got 10 apiece from Ronnie Brewer and Carlos Boozer.
The Bulls played without forward Luol Deng and guard C.J. Watson, both sidelined with wrist injuries. Watson may be back in Chicago's lineup as early as Monday, and Deng ? who has a torn ligament in his left, non-shooting, wrist ? is "very close" to a return, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Miami took an 11-point lead early in the fourth on back-to-back 3-pointers from Shane Battier and James. The Bulls roared back, as they did for most of the day whenever the Heat seemed on the cusp of taking control.
They just never got the lead, despite Rose's best efforts.
"Two sick moves by D-Rose," Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant tweeted as he watched the game, marveling at two layups by Rose that knotted the game at 84.
Insistence that this was "just another game" notwithstanding, Miami started quickly. Wade appeared a bit more emotionally charged than usual after joining his teammates in the pregame huddle, and the Heat ran out to a fast early edge.
Maybe it would be more accurate to say they "jumped" out to that lead.
Wade set James up for three dunks in the first 7 minutes, the last of which is probably going to be replayed for quite a while. James appeared to be forgotten as he hovered on the weak side of the floor, so he darted toward the basket. Wade tossed a lob his way ? and the two-time MVP leapfrogged the 5-foot-11 John Lucas for a dunk that put Miami up 16-7.
Even the NBA took notice of that one: Within minutes, replays of the James dunk were sent out on the league's Twitter feed.
Chicago quickly settled down, getting within 24-22 at the end of the first quarter. But Miami scored 11 straight early in the second, the last seven of those coming with Wade and James both on the bench, to open a 35-24 edge. Wade's first points came with 6:14 left in the half, two free throws that gave Miami what was its biggest lead at 42-30.
The Bulls chipped away again, and by halftime Miami's edge was only 56-51.
Wade missed eight of nine shots in the first half and an airball dropped him to 1 for 10 early in the third quarter.
Chicago had a chance for its first lead when Rose attacked the rim moments later. But his layup was blocked by Joel Anthony, and James threw about a 65-foot pass to Wade for a dunk. James found Wade again for another transition slam less than a minute later for a 63-58 advantage.
The lead was still five entering the fourth. James made a 20-footer over Brewer with 0.2 left in the third to push Miami's edge to 76-71.
Notes: James had a large icepack strapped to his right shoulder during a first-half stint of rest. He was grabbing at the shoulder in pain early in the first quarter after a collision, but did not appear to have a serious issue. ... Boozer said he needed more than 20 tickets for the game. He's been spending part of his offseasons in Miami for several years.
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Sunday 29 January 2012
Iran upbeat on nuclear visit, delays EU bill (Reuters)
TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran Sunday declared itself optimistic about a U.N. experts' visit aimed at probing suspected military aspects of its nuclear work and lawmakers postponed debate on a proposed halt to oil flows to the European Union watched closely in energy markets.
A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors began a three-day visit to try to advance efforts to resolve a row about nuclear work which Iran says is for making electricity but the West suspects is aimed at seeking a nuclear weapon.
Tensions with the West rose this month when Washington and the European Union imposed the toughest sanctions yet in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear program. The measures take direct aim at the ability of OPEC's second biggest oil exporter to sell its crude.
The Mehr news agency quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying during a trip to Ethiopia: "We are very optimistic about the outcome of the IAEA delegation's visit to Iran ... Their questions will be answered during this visit,"
"We have nothing to hide and Iran has no clandestine (nuclear) activities."
Striking a sterner tone, Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned the IAEA team to carry out a "logical, professional and technical" job or suffer the consequences.
"This visit is a test for the IAEA. The route for further cooperation will be open if the team carries out its duties professionally," said Larijani, state media reported.
"Otherwise, if the IAEA turns into a tool (for major powers to pressure Iran), then Iran will have no choice but to consider a new framework in its ties with the agency."
Iran's parliament in the past has approved bills to oblige the government to review its level of cooperation with the IAEA. However, Iran's top officials have always underlined the importance of preserving ties with the watchdog body.
Before departing from Vienna, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts said he hoped the Islamic state would tackle the watchdog's concerns "regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program."
PARLIAMENT DEBATE
Less than one week after the EU's 27 member states agreed to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1, Iranian lawmakers were due to debate a bill later Sunday that would cut off oil supplies to the European Union (EU) in a matter of days.
Iranian lawmakers postponed discussing the bill.
"No such draft bill has yet been drawn up and nothing has been submitted to the parliament. What exists is a notion by the deputies which is being seriously pursued to bring it to a conclusive end," Emad Hosseini, spokesman for parliament's Energy Committee, told Mehr.
"Some MPs had an idea that should be studied by the energy committee before being drafted as a bill. We hope our discussions will be finished by Friday."
REFINERS
By turning the sanctions back on the EU, lawmakers hope to deny the bloc a six-month window it had planned to give those of its members most dependent on Iranian oil - including some of the most economically fragile in southern Europe - to adapt.
The head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said late Saturday that the export embargo would hit European refiners, such as Italy's Eni, that are owed oil from Iran as part of long-standing buy-back contracts under which they take payment for past oilfield projects in crude.
"The decision must be made at high echelons of power and we at the NIOC will act as the executioner of the policies of the government," Ahmad Qalebani told the ISNA news agency.
"The European companies will have to abide by the provisions of the buyback contracts," he said. "If they act otherwise, they will be the parties to incur the relevant losses and will subject the repatriation of their capital to problems."
"Generally, the parties to incur damage from the EU's recent decision will be European companies with pending contracts with Iran."
Italy's Eni is owed $1.4-1.5 billion in oil for contracts it executed in Iran in 2000 and 2001 and has been assured by EU policymakers its buyback contracts will not be part of the European embargo, but the prospect of Iran acting first may put that into doubt.
Eni declined to comment Saturday.
The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011. However, analysts say the global oil market will not be overly disrupted if parliament votes for the bill that would turn off the oil tap for Europe.
"The Saudis have made it clear that they'll step in to fill the void," said Robert Smith, a consultant at Facts Global Energy. "It would not pose any serious threat to oil market stability. Meanwhile Asians, predominantly the Chinese and Indians, stand to benefit from more Iranian crude flowing east and at potential discounts."
Potentially more disruptive to the world oil market and global security is the risk of Iran's standoff with the West escalating into military conflict.
Iran has repeatedly said it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate.
"CONSTRUCTIVE SPIRIT"
The IAEA's visit may be an opportunity to defuse some of the tension. Director General Yukiya Amano has called on Iran to show a "constructive spirit" and Tehran has said it is willing to discuss "any issues" of interest to the U.N. agency, including the military-linked concerns.
But Western diplomats, who have often accused Iran of using such offers of dialogue as a stalling tactic while it presses ahead with its nuclear program, say they doubt Tehran will show the kind of concrete cooperation the IAEA wants.
They say Iran may offer limited concessions and transparency to try to ease intensifying international pressure, but that this is unlikely to amount to the full cooperation required.
The outcome could determine whether Iran will face further isolation or whether there are prospects for resuming wider talks between Tehran and the major powers on the nuclear row.
Salehi said Iran "soon" would write a letter to the E.U.'s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to discuss "a date and venue" for fresh nuclear talks.
"Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in this letter, which may be sent in the coming days, also may mention other issues as well," Salehi said, without elaborating.
The last round of talks in January 2011 between Jalili and Ashton, who represents major powers, failed over Iran's refusal to halt its sensitive nuclear work.
"The talks will be successful as the other party seems interested in finding a way out of this deadlock," Salehi said.
(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari, Robin Pomeroy and Hossein Jaseb in Tehran, Svetlana Kovalyova in Milan and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Parisa Hafezi and Robin Pomeroy; Editing by William Maclean)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_iran
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Detroit Symphony offering series of free webcasts (AP)
DETROIT ? The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has launched a webcast player that will allow music lovers to enjoy an upcoming performance of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4 and other concerts online for free in the comfort of their homes.
People in about 40 countries are expected to view Saturday's high-definition "Live from Orchestra Hall" webcast, and the orchestra expects its webcast series to surpass 30,000 views with this weekend's episode.
The orchestra said the webcast player will make online viewers feel as if they are sitting in Detroit's Orchestra Hall.
The Symphony said it is the only U.S. orchestra to offer a free series of webcasts, which are made possible through contributions from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Ford Motor Co. Fund.
The new viewing environment mimics the interior of Orchestra Hall, giving audiences across the world the same view as local music lovers.
The webcast player also features dimming controls so that viewers at home can control their own version of the house lights.
Audience members now will be able to view a full schedule of upcoming webcasts and add them their online calendars. Viewers also can tweet directly from the webcast player page and follow the feed in the same browser window, allowing audience members to interact with fellow concertgoers while watching the concert at the same time.
The piece being played at any moment will be highlighted on a live repertoire tracker, and live program notes will post below the viewing window with trivia about the piece and the artists.
The "Live From Orchestra Hall" series is one of three new digital initiatives the DSO is introducing this season. Also new to the orchestra's digital repertoire are DSO To Go, a free mobile app, and the Symphony's first downloadable, digital album produced in-house.
___
Online:
Detroit Symphony Orchestra: http://www.dso.org/
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Saturday 28 January 2012
New Communications Director, Kate Keune
Today, I am very pleased to announce that Kate Keune has accepted the leadership position within the Office of the CIO, as Director of OCIO Communications, effective February 1, 2012.? In this role, she will be responsible for leadership of the communications team and creation of the strategic direction for communications, both internal and external to the OCIO.? The focus of our communications team is to influence OSU leadership and the general community to more favorably recognize the OCIO organization as leaders in technology.
Kate is a seasoned leader within the Office of the CIO with over 10 years of service. Her broad experience with training and development, culture, project management, organizational change management, and communications provides the correct balance of technical and strategic skills required to excel in this position.
Kate earned a Bachelor of Arts, Speech Communication, from Augustana College and Master of Arts, Communication Studies, from Northern Illinois University.
As the Director of OCIO Communications, Kate will join the Customer Experience Leadership Team, reporting directly to me.? Richard Wofford, Lisa Calcara, Ric Hunter, Robyn Ness, Margo Garcia-Hunter, and Lucy Ramos will be her direct reports.
Kate can be reached at?Keune.1@osu.edu?or (614) 946-0676 and her permanent office will be located in Baker Systems Engineering.
Please join me in extending a warm OCIO Congratulations to Kate!
Bob Corbin
This entry was posted in Announcements and tagged personnel. Bookmark the permalink. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.Source: http://ocio.osu.edu/blog/team/2012/01/26/new-communications-director-kate-keune/
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Economy gains as businesses spend more, fire less
JIn this Jan. 6, 2012 photo, John Deere farm tractors are displayed at Sloan's Implement John Deere Dealership, in Virden, Ill. Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December after business stepped up spending on machinery and other capital goods. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
JIn this Jan. 6, 2012 photo, John Deere farm tractors are displayed at Sloan's Implement John Deere Dealership, in Virden, Ill. Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December after business stepped up spending on machinery and other capital goods. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
Eva Sikora, left, an administrator at the Real Estate Education Center, discusses job opportunities with attendees at JobEXPO's job fair on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, after falling to a nearly four-year low the previous week. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
This Jan. 18, 2012 photo shows a new home in a development in Pleasant Hills, Pa. Fewer people bought new homes in December, making 2011 the worst sales year on record. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Graphic shows durable goods, new home sales and weekly jobless claims
Jason Weinstein, an account manager for Workforce1 Healthcare, discusses job opportunities with attendees at JobEXPO's job fair on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, after falling to a nearly four-year low the previous week. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Businesses are growing more confident in the economy, investing in more equipment and laying off fewer workers.
Government figures on manufacturing and unemployment claims released Thursday raised hopes on the eve of a report on how much the economy grew in the October-December quarter.
Still, 2011 ended up as the worst year on record for new-home sales, a reminder that the economy has a long way to go.
"Business optimism seems to be picking up, which is critical to the growth and competitiveness of the U.S. economy over the long haul," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial.
Orders for manufactured goods expected to last at least three years rose 3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. And demand for goods that indicate business investment plans hit an all-time high.
A tax break that expired in December for large equipment purchases may have helped boost orders. Still, many economists said most companies are likely buying equipment simply because business is improving.
Manufacturers "have a real need to ramp up their spending on capital improvements ... because the economy is growing and industrial capacity has not kept up," said Carl Riccadonna, an economist at Deutsche Bank.
That growth was evident after Caterpillar said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 percent. The world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment also issued 2012 guidance above Wall Street predictions.
And 3M Co., which makes everything from Post-It Notes to Scotch tape, said sales in its industrial and transportation unit rose 14 percent in the fourth-quarter. The increase was driven by parts for cars and planes.
Factories are busier in large part because businesses are ordering more communication equipment, industrial machinery and autos. Economists pay close attention to demand for such core capital goods, which are considered a good proxy for business investment plans.
In December, orders for core capital goods rose to a record $68.9 billion. That's more than 45 percent higher than the recession low hit in April 2009.
The increase offered some reassurance about the status of the recovery, especially after core capital goods fell in October and November. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve cited the decline while warning that the economy remains vulnerable.
After seeing the government's report, some economists said those concerns may have been premature.
"With big-ticket spending rising and the labor market firming, the economy is a lot better than some central bankers think," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.
Companies are also laying off fewer workers, which has some economists optimistic about job growth in January.
Weekly applications rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. But that followed a week in which they fell to near a four-year low. And the longer-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market.
The four-week average has declined to 377,500. When applications fall consistently below 375,000, it tends to signal that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
The nation has added at least 100,000 jobs for six straight months. And the unemployment rate has declined to 8.5 percent ? the lowest rate in almost three years.
Some economists worry that businesses are investing in heavy equipment so they don't need to hire as many workers. But Riccadonna said that recent data show otherwise. Companies spent more in the first half of the year, and hiring picked up several months later.
"You need workers to produce the equipment and you need workers to operate it once it's put it in place," he said.
Growth likely accelerated in the final three months of the year to a 3 percent annual pace, according to a survey of economists by Factset. That would be an improvement over the 1.8 percent pace in July-September quarter, and a relief after seeing 0.9 percent growth in the first half of last year.
The Commerce Department will report the actual figure Friday.
Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the decline in business investment during October and November will be reflected in fourth-quarter growth. He predicts just 2.4 percent growth, even though business investment probably was stagnant during that period.
"The good news is that the growth rate of business investment should accelerate again in the first quarter," Ashworth said. That will help to offset a projected slowdown in consumer spending. He estimates growth in the current quarter at around 2 percent.
In another sign the economy is gaining strength, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose in December for the fourth straight month.
Housing remains the weakest part of the economy. New-home sales fell last month, and total sales for 2011 were the lowest on records dating back to 1963.
Still, sales of new homes rose in the final quarter of 2011, supporting other signs of a slow turnaround that began at the end of the year.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose in December for a third straight month. Mortgage rates have never been lower. Homebuilders are slightly more hopeful because more people are saying they might consider buying this year. And home construction picked up in the final quarter of last year.
"A sustained rise in new-home sales is imminent," Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. "Homebuilders say so too, and they should know."
___
AP Real Estate Writer Derek Kravitz contributed to this report.
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Friday 27 January 2012
Home Bancorp boosts 4Q profit (AP)
LAFAYETTE, La. ? Home Bancorp Inc., which recently expanded into the New Orleans and Baton Rouge banking markets, sharply increased its fourth-quarter profit.
Lafayette-based Home Bancorp said Thursday that it earned $2.1 million, or 30 cents per share, in the quarter ending Dec. 31. In the fourth quarter of 2010, the company earned $1.5 million, or 20 cents per share.
The company said expenses tied to its acquisition of GS Financial Corp. knocked down fourth-quarter profit by $400,000.
Due to the acquisition, Home Bancorp now has 23 Louisiana banking offices.
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Video: Rep. Giffords says farewell to the House
Surprising 30 percent rise in home births
A small, but growing trend of women in the US are choosing home births, a new government report finds. These mostly over 35, non-Hispanic white women are "consciously rejecting the system" of hospital deliveries, says the researcher.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46138701#46138701
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Thursday 26 January 2012
Avastin, Sutent increase breast cancer stem cells
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Cancer treatments designed to block the growth of blood vessels were found to increase the number of cancer stem cells in breast tumors in mice, suggesting a possible explanation for why these drugs don't lead to longer survival, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The drugs Avastin and Sutent have been looked at as potential breast cancer treatments. But while they do shrink tumors and slow the time till the cancer progresses, the effect does not last, and the cancer eventually regrows and spreads.
"This study provides an explanation for the clinical trial results demonstrating that in women with breast cancer antiangiogenic agents such as Avastin delay the time to tumor recurrence but do not affect patient survival. If our results apply to the clinic, it suggests that in order to be effective, these agents will need to be combined with cancer stem cell inhibitors, an approach now being explored in the laboratory," says study author Max S. Wicha, M.D., director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The researchers treated mice with breast cancer using Avastin (bevacizumab) and Sutent (sunitinib), both of which work by stopping the growth and formation of blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. The researchers found that tumors treated with these drugs developed more cancer stem cells, the small number of cells within a tumor that fuel a cancer's growth and spread and that are often resistant to standard treatment. Both the number of cancer stem cells and the percentage of cancer stem cells that make up the tumor increased after being treated with each of these therapies.
The researchers found that the cancer stem cells increased because of a cellular response to low oxygen, a condition called hypoxia. And they were able to determine the specific pathways involved in hypoxia that activate the cancer stem cells.
Results of the study appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently revoked approval of Avastin for treating breast cancer, although the drug is approved for use in other types of cancer. The reversal was in response to clinical trials showing that the drug's benefit was short-lived, with breast cancer patients quickly relapsing and the cancer becoming more invasive and spreading further throughout the body. Overall, the drug did not help patients live any longer.
The current study suggests the possibility of combining anti-angiogenesis drugs with a cancer stem cell inhibitor to enhance the benefit of this treatment. The researchers are testing this approach in mice and preliminary data looks promising.
Breast cancer statistics: 209,060 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 40,230 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society
###
University of Michigan Health System: http://www.med.umich.edu
Thanks to University of Michigan Health System for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117049/Avastin__Sutent_increase_breast_cancer_stem_cells
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'American Idol' Introduces Shelby Tweten And ... Magic Cyclops
Haley Smith, Angie Zeiderman and Jairon Jackson also stand out during Aspen, Colorado, auditions.
By Adam Graham
Jennifer Lopez on "American Idol"
Photo: FOX
The change in direction in this year's "American Idol" — focusing on actual contestants rather than the humiliating auditions that result in YouTube infamy — has, thus far, deprived viewers of any great-bad moments. That changed Wednesday (January 25) during the "Idol" auditions from Aspen, Colorado, when viewers were introduced to "professional air guitarist" Magic Cyclops, who showed up in front of Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson in an American-flag T-shirt, a red-white-and-blue bandana and a faux-British accent he said he picked up in Davenport, Iowa, from watching the BBC.
The long-haired, facial-hair-sporting Cyclops refused to give his age — "it's not polite to ask a lady her age," he told Jackson — and claimed to be the proud owner of 11,000 air guitars. "I know there's a guy in Belgium that has, I think, five more than me," he said. When it came time to sing, Cyclops offered the judges their choice between Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie" and Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" and ended up singing them both in a kind of metalhead growl.
Jackson was already on his way out of the room when Cyclops hit his grand finale — a burst of confetti shooting out of a cannon he had tucked into the back of his pants — but by that time, season 11 had finally given us someone to include alongside William Hung, Renaldo Lapuz and others in the "Idol" Bad Audition Hall of Fame.
Cyclops aside, Aspen had a solid crop of talent to offer, with 31 singers earning Golden Tickets to Hollywood. Perhaps the most unique contestant was 25-year-old Angie Zeiderman of Delray Beach, Florida, a would-be Lady Gaga in a floral-print minidress, pearls and a purple hairdo who rolled around the audition stage while performing "When You've Got It, Flaunt It" from "The Producers." She followed it with a measured take on Roy Orbison's "Blue Bayou," leading Jackson to tell her, "You're in your own little world." Lopez complimented her strong voice and her tone, while Tyler told her she had a "great little voice." Zeiderman herself told the cameras, "It is time for a vintage glitter queen on 'American Idol,' " and it seems as though she's right, as she sailed through to the next round of auditions.
Viewers were also told the story of Shelby Tweten, 17, of North Mankato, Minnesota, who was diagnosed bipolar last year but who said "American Idol" keeps her balanced and gives her a reason to stay on her medication. Her version of Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" brought a tear to Lopez's eye and inspired Jackson to give her a "big, huge yes!" to Hollywood.
Haley Smith, meanwhile, doesn't have just one job she has to leave to head to Hollywood, but three. The hardworking 18-year-old from Orem, Utah, brought a little flower power to Wednesday's show, as her throwback hippie vibe gave Steven Tyler flashbacks. "I love your voice so much. You're right out of my era, and I'm honored to be here listening to your voice," he told the Janis Joplin-like Smith, following her earthy version of Rufus and Chaka Kahn's "Tell Me Something Good."
Then there was 19-year-old Jairon Jackson of Denver, Colorado, whose original song "So Hard" inspired Lopez to exclaim, "That kid is a real artist!" and also provided enough of a tie-in for producers to play will.i.am.'s Lopez-assisted "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)." Cross-promotion is key, kids.
Other singers ushered through to Hollywood on Wednesday's episode included elementary school teacher Jenni Schick, 24, of Sterling, Virginia, who managed to steal a kiss on the lips from Tyler before leaving the judge's room; Curtis Gray, 28, of Spring Hill, Florida, who was called a "major talent" after his version of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday"; Scotty McCreery sound-alike Richie Law, 19, of Centennial, Colorado; Devan Jones, 26, of Aurora, Colorado, a hotel clerk who moved the judges with his version of the Script's "The Man Who Can't Be Moved"; and 25-year-old Mathenee Reco of Centennial, Colorado, a dance instructor who gave an animated version of the Beatles' "Hey Jude."
On Thursday, "Idol" is off to Galveston, Texas, to find out if everything really is bigger in Texas.
What did you think of Magic Cyclops and the rest of Wednesday's "Idol" contestants? Let us know in the comments!
Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677926/american-idol-shelby-tweten-magical-cyclops.jhtml
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Wednesday 25 January 2012
PFT: 49er Williams gets death threats after fumbles
Getty ImagesRavens quarterback Joe Flacco has just completed the fourth year of a five-year rookie contract.? He thinks he?s done enough to merit additional security.
?Definitely,? Flacco said Monday, via the team?s official website. ?We?ll see how it goes; if it goes, it goes, if it doesn?t, it doesn?t.?
So far, it hasn?t been going anywhere.? Per a source with knowledge of the situation, there have been no talks toward a new contract.
Why does Flacco think he has earned an extension?? ?I think I?m the quarterback that I am,? Flacco said.? ?I think the first four years that I?ve played here we?ve gone to the playoffs every time [and] won a game. I think the last two years that I?ve played in the playoffs, I?ve played well in the playoffs.?
I think.? I get.? The point.
But he wasn?t done.? ?And like I said earlier, I think when you watch the film and you?re a guy in this organization, I think that you can say, ?Hey, he?s played pretty damn good for us,?? Flacco added.? ?But like I said, you never know what?s going to happen.
Though owner Steve Bisciotti said last year that he envisioned negotiations beginning in 2012, there?s a chance that, once the two sides start talking, they?ll realize that there?s a significant disconnect between what the Ravens want to pay and what Flacco wants to be paid.? On one hand, Flacco?s camp surely will point to performances like the one he put together on Sunday in the AFC title game.? On the other hand, the team surely will point to his consistent pattern of inconsistency.
In the end, both sides would be wise to work something out.? While the Ravens could do a lot better at the position, they could do ? and have done ? a lot worse in the past.
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China vice president to visit White House Feb. 14 (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Vice President Xi (shee) Jinping who is expected to succeed Hu Jintao as the next president of China will visit the White House on Feb. 14.
The White House made the announcement Monday. It reciprocates Vice President Joe Biden's visit to China last August.
Xi will meet with President Barack Obama, Biden and other senior administration officials to discuss a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
He also will travel to Iowa and California.
The trip is an opportunity for Xi to meet U.S. leaders ahead of his own elevation, as Hu nears the end of his 10 years as China's Communist Party chief.
U.S.-China relations have deepened in recent years but remain troubled by economic and trade disputes and an emerging military rivalry.
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Tuesday 24 January 2012
Researchers quantify muscle soreness
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Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Katherine Scott
katherine.scott@jove.com
617-765-4367 x301
The Journal of Visualized Experiments
Quantifying how sore a person is after a long workout is a challenge for doctors and researchers, but scientists from Loma Linda and Asuza Pacific Universities think they may have figured it out. Their research article describing a new technique to measure muscle soreness will be published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is one of the most common sports injuries, but without a reliable method of quantifying muscle soreness, assessing treatments is difficult.
Traditionally, muscle soreness has been measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Participants mark their level of agreement to a statement along a continuous line. Rather than measuring soreness subjectively, the researchers used thermal imaging to detect subtle changes in the temperature of the skin above exercised muscles.
"The main advantage of this technique," said paper author Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky, "is that unlike visual scales, which are kind of a subjective measure of whether someone is sore or not, this technique gives you quantifiable, absolute data."
"There is no gold standard for measuring DOMS and other techniques, such as needle biopsies, are invasive and painful for patients," said JoVE Editor, Leiam Colbert. "The technique presented here allows for earlier diagnosis and quicker treatment of soreness."
###
The very visual technique was published yesterday in JoVE, the world's only peer reviewed, PubMed indexed science video journal.
About The Journal of Visualized Experiments:
The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is the first and only Pubmed and Medline indexed academic journal devoted to publishing research in the biological sciences in video format. Using an international network of videographers, JoVE films and edits videos of researchers performing new experimental techniques at top universities, allowing students and scientists to learn them much more quickly. As of January 2012 JoVE has released 59 monthly issues including over 1500 video-protocols on experimental approaches in developmental biology, neuroscience, microbiology and other fields.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Katherine Scott
katherine.scott@jove.com
617-765-4367 x301
The Journal of Visualized Experiments
Quantifying how sore a person is after a long workout is a challenge for doctors and researchers, but scientists from Loma Linda and Asuza Pacific Universities think they may have figured it out. Their research article describing a new technique to measure muscle soreness will be published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is one of the most common sports injuries, but without a reliable method of quantifying muscle soreness, assessing treatments is difficult.
Traditionally, muscle soreness has been measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Participants mark their level of agreement to a statement along a continuous line. Rather than measuring soreness subjectively, the researchers used thermal imaging to detect subtle changes in the temperature of the skin above exercised muscles.
"The main advantage of this technique," said paper author Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky, "is that unlike visual scales, which are kind of a subjective measure of whether someone is sore or not, this technique gives you quantifiable, absolute data."
"There is no gold standard for measuring DOMS and other techniques, such as needle biopsies, are invasive and painful for patients," said JoVE Editor, Leiam Colbert. "The technique presented here allows for earlier diagnosis and quicker treatment of soreness."
###
The very visual technique was published yesterday in JoVE, the world's only peer reviewed, PubMed indexed science video journal.
About The Journal of Visualized Experiments:
The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is the first and only Pubmed and Medline indexed academic journal devoted to publishing research in the biological sciences in video format. Using an international network of videographers, JoVE films and edits videos of researchers performing new experimental techniques at top universities, allowing students and scientists to learn them much more quickly. As of January 2012 JoVE has released 59 monthly issues including over 1500 video-protocols on experimental approaches in developmental biology, neuroscience, microbiology and other fields.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/tjov-rqm012312.php
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Monday 23 January 2012
Super Bowl first: Social media command center
By Athima Chansanchai
It'll probably take the rest of winter for Niners and Ravens fans to get over what happened yesterday that knocked their respective teams out of Super Bowl XLVI (that would be 46 for all of you who don't read Roman numerals). But for Patriots and Giants fans, the fun is just beginning. Through a newly installed social media command center, visitors to the big game in Indianapolis will be able to ask questions and receive answers leading up to the Feb. 5 showdown.
For the next two weeks until?the NFL's most important game, an Indianapolis-based?team (no, not the Colts) is operating out of a 2,800-square-foot space to read and respond to fans who are one of 100,000 to 150,000 lucky souls who will be in Indianapolis for the game, posting about the Super Bowl and their beloved teams. (This includes those who are traveling to the city for pre/during/post-game festivities, or watching from places other than the about 70,000-capacity stadium, but still in and around the city.)
This social media super team will provide directions, to-do around town suggestions and other important information (such as what to do in case of an emergency at the stadium).
Indianapolis digital marketing firm Raidious is in charge of the operation, with CEO Taulbee Jackson at the helm. Jackson sits on the Super Bowl host committee and was asked to help with social media strategy. I reached to Jackson by phone this morning and he shared more details on this Superbowl first.
"It's the first time any facility like this has been built to manage social media for such a large event," Jackson said. "We were outgrowing our second office in 18 months at the same time the Host Committee asked for our help, so we designed and built the space with the express intention of using it as the Super Bowl Social Media Command Center, then taking over the space afterwards."?
The team ??which includes about 50 people, led by?Raidious' staff of 16 and students and journalism/telecommunications students from Ball State University, Butler University and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis?? will work in the command center 15 hours a day. (Not all at once!)
One team will focus on social media management and moderation, while the other (most likely the students) will work?on content development for posts on all the events and activities that surround the game, as well as things to do in Indianapolis since a big part of the team's mandate will be promoting the city to newcomers. "It's?Hoosier hopsitality for the 21st century," Jackson said.
Given that the two league championship teams are from New York and New England, it's a good bet there will be first-timers in the zone. While most visitors are expected to arrive in the city next Wednesday or Thursday (Feb. 1 and Feb. 2), the social media command center will swing into high gear starting this week.
As we've already seen, sports fans are some of the most rabid in social media posts, with record-setting tweets about Tim Tebow?(9,420 tweets per second), as well as the 7,196 tweets per second during the Women's World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan last summer. And have you ever looked at your Facebook on football Sundays, much less the playoffs? It's one sure way to see who's a fan, and how intense they are about it. (On my Facebook, the Bears, Ravens, Raiders and Niners fans are definitely the most vocal.)
In fact, every time the Super Bowl comes around, it's a proven magnet for the millions who are active on Facebook, Twitter and now, Google+. In 2011, the only Facebook status update topic in the world, amongst 800 million users?that bested the Packers winning Super Bowl 45 was the death of Osama bin Laden.?
For those who will be in Indy, there will be plenty to write home about, but they'll also be in company with the millions glued to their sets that Sunday watching with them. ?
The Super Bowl social media command center will concentrate on key word-based monitoring, but because they're geo-targeting the Indianapolis/Indiana area and those coming to town for the game, they won't be as overwhelmed as they would be if they tried to deal with all the online traffic the event generates.
"One of the reasons we've staffed it the way we have, and put in all this technology, is to deal with the high levels of volume, even limiting that to the Indianapolis, Indiana area," Jackson said.
Safety is another priority, using Twitter to get any emergency instructions and information out quickly if necessary.?
From the main Super Bowl XLVI site, fans can access the social media command center's activity through its management of the Super Bowl Facebook page, Flickr and Twitter accounts and the site's blog.
More stories:
Check out Technolog on?Facebook, and on Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.
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Why bats, rats and cats store different amounts of fat
Friday, January 20, 2012
Animals differ in the amount of fat they carry around depending on their species, status and sex. However, the causes of much of this variation have been a mystery. The Bristol study shows that many differences can be understood by considering the strategies animals employ to avoid two causes of death: starvation and being killed by predators.
These causes of death often exert opposite pressures on animals, for example, storing lots of fat helps animals survive periods without food but also slows their running and so makes getting caught by a predator more likely. Animals can be stronger to compensate, but the energetic costs of extra muscle mean that the animal would starve quicker during a food shortage.
Led by Dr Andrew Higginson of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences, the researchers used mathematical models to explore how much muscle and fat animals should have in their body to give themselves the best chance of survival. They showed that an important consideration was how much carrying fat increases the energetic costs of movement. The models revealed that the size of this cost influenced whether larger animals should have more fat than smaller animals, or vice versa.
Dr Higginson said: "Our results explain differences between different families of mammal. For example, larger bats carry proportionally less fat than small bats but larger carnivores carry more fat than small carnivores. Among rodents, it's the medium-sized species that carry around the most fat! These differences agree with the models predictions if you consider the costs of carrying fat for these three groups. Bats fly and so have high costs of carrying extra weight, whilst carnivores spend much of their time resting and so will use less energy than busy scurrying rodents."
The work, published in The American Naturalist, also shows that much of the variation between animals in their amounts of fat and muscle can be explained by differences between the sexes, how much animals have to fight to get food, and the climate in which they live.
The researchers plan to put the theory to the test by looking in more detail at the amounts of fat stored by different animals. If their theory is correct, much of the mystery in how species and sexes differ in their amount of fat will have been solved.
###
University of Bristol: http://www.bristol.ac.uk
Thanks to University of Bristol for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116911/Why_bats__rats_and_cats_store_different_amounts_of_fat
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Sunday 22 January 2012
Narisetti leaves DC to join Wall Street Journal (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Wall Street Journal says it has hired the managing editor of The Washington Post to head its online news properties.
Raju Narisetti joined the Post three years ago in a reorganization of the newspaper's top management. The announcement Friday marks a return to the Journal for the 45-year-old Narisetti. He had been deputy managing editor at the newspaper and editor of its Europe edition.
He leaves the Post on Feb. 1 and starts at the WSJ on Feb. 15. In a newsroom announcement, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli credits Narisetti with building a team that increased the Post's online traffic.
In his new role, Narisetti will become managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network and deputy managing editor.
Before joining the Post, Narisetti was founding editor of the India-based Mint business newspaper.
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After protest, Congress puts off movie piracy bill (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Caving to a massive campaign by Internet services and their millions of users, Congress indefinitely postponed legislation Friday to stop online piracy of movies and music costing U.S. companies billions of dollars every year. Critics said the bills would result in censorship and stifle Internet innovation.
The demise, at least for the time being, of the anti-piracy bills was a clear victory for Silicon Valley over Hollywood, which has campaigned for a tougher response to online piracy. The legislation also would cover the counterfeiting of drugs and car parts.
Congress' qualms underscored how Internet users can use their collective might to block those who want to change the system.
The battle over the future of the Internet also played out on a different front Thursday when a loose affiliation of hackers known as "Anonymous" shut down Justice Department websites for several hours and hacked the site of the Motion Picture Association of America after federal officials issued an indictment against Megaupload.com, one of the world's biggest file-sharing sites.
The site of the Hong Kong-based company was shut down, and the founder and three employees were arrested in New Zealand on U.S. accusations that they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. New Zealand police raided homes and businesses linked to the founder, Kim Dotcom, on Friday and seized guns, millions of dollars and nearly $5 million in luxury cars, officials there said.
In the U.S., momentum against the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act and the House's Stop Online Piracy Act, known popularly as PIPA and SOPA, grew quickly on Wednesday when the online encyclopedia Wikipedia and other Web giants staged a one-day blackout and Google organized a petition drive that attracted more than 7 million participants.
That day alone, at least six senators who had co-sponsored the Senate legislation reversed their positions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in statements at the time and again on Friday, stressed that more consensus-building was needed before the legislation would be ready for a vote.
On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was postponing a test vote set for Tuesday "in light of recent events." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, followed suit, saying consideration of a similar House bill would be postponed "until there is wider agreement on a solution."
With opposition mounting, it was unlikely that Reid would have received the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation to the Senate floor.
The two bills would allow the Justice Department, and copyright holders, to seek court orders against foreign websites accused of copyright infringement. The legislation would bar online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as credit card companies from doing business with an alleged violator. They also would forbid search engines from linking to such sites.
The chief Senate sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., cited estimates that copyright piracy costs the American economy more than $50 billion annually and that global sales of counterfeit goods via the Internet reached $135 billion in 2010. He and Smith insist that their bills target only foreign criminals and that there is nothing in them to require websites, Internet service providers, search engines or others to monitor their networks.
That didn't satisfy critics who said the legislation could force Internet companies to pre-screen user comments or videos, burden new and smaller websites with huge litigation costs and impede new investments.
The White House, while not taking a specific stand on the bills, last week said it would "not support any legislation that reduces freedom of expression ... or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." On Friday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said online piracy is an issue that has to be addressed, "but everybody has to be in on it for it to work and get through Congress."
The scuttling, for now, of PIPA and SOPA frustrates what might have been one of the few opportunities to move significant legislation in an election year where the two parties have little motivation to cooperate.
Until recently "you would have thought this bill was teed up," with backing from key Senate leaders and support from powerful interest groups, said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., who cosponsored the original bill but quickly dropped his backing on the grounds the bill could undermine innovation and Internet freedom.
Moran said the "uprising" of so many people with similar concerns was a "major turnaround, and in my experience it is something that has happened very rarely."
Moran said PIPA and SOPA now have "such a black eye" that it will be difficult to amend them. Reid, however, said that there had been progress in recent talks among the various stakeholders and "there is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved."
Jeff Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy, a consumer protection and privacy advocacy group, said Google and Facebook and their supporters "have delivered a powerful blow to the Hollywood lobby." He predicted a compromise that doesn't include what many see as overreaching provisions in the current legislation.
"It's been framed as an Internet freedom issue, but at the end of the day it will be decided on the narrow interests of the old and new media companies," he said. The big questions involve who should or shouldn't pay ? or be paid ? for Internet content.
Leahy said he respected Reid's decision to postpone the vote but lamented the Senate's unwillingness to debate his bill.
"The day will come when the senators who forced this move will look back and realize they made a knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem," Leahy said. Criminals in China, Russia and other countries "who do nothing but peddle in counterfeit products and stolen American content are smugly watching how the United States Senate decided" it was not worth taking up the bill, he said.
In the House, Smith said he had "heard from the critics" and resolved that it was "clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products." Smith had planned on holding further committee votes on his bill next month.
The bill's opponents were relieved it was put on hold.
Markham Erickson, executive director of NetCoalition, commended Congress for "recognizing the serious collateral damage this bill could inflict on the Internet."
The group represents Internet and technology companies including Google, Yahoo and Amazon.com. Erickson said they would work with Congress "to address the problem of piracy without compromising innovation and free expression."
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who has joined Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Moran in proposing an alternative anti-piracy bill, credited opponents with forcing lawmakers "to back away from an effort to ram through controversial legislation."
But the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, former Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, warned, "As a consequence of failing to act, there will continue to be a safe haven for foreign thieves." The MPAA, which represents such companies as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., is a leading advocate for the anti-piracy legislation.
Saturday 21 January 2012
Peter Jackson Explains 'Hobbit'/'Lord Of The Rings' Link
Director tells MTV News at Sundance how he plans to keep his latest journey to Middle-earth consistent with the 'Rings' trilogy.
By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Joshua Horowitz
Peter Jackson at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday
Photo: MTV News
The first trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" made it quite clear that Middle-earth hasn't changed much in the years since Peter Jackson concluded his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. That's not a complaint, mind you — fans have come to know and love Jackson's interpretation of the J. R. R. Tolkien fantasy epic with the same passion they have for the source material. When it comes to "The Hobbit," in other words, change is not necessarily welcome.
Speaking with MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival, Jackson explained that it was always his intention to keep "The Hobbit" tonally and visually consistent with the "Lord of the Rings" films.
"We wanted it to be a part of the five-film series," he explained. "Fortunately, Tolkien wrote a lot of extra material in the appendices of 'The Lord of the Rings,' where he himself kind of tied the two stories together, 20 or 30 years after the publication of 'The Hobbit.' So we've been able to use some of that material."
But even though Jackson's "Hobbit" isn't "as much of a children's story as the original book was," he's worked hard to make sure the films still "have some humor" to them. For example, Jackson promised that "some of the songs [from the novel] have made their way in there." Fans can get their first taste of those tunes in the "Hobbit" trailer, when the dwarves gather in Bilbo Baggins' humble abode to sing a somber song.
Finding that balance between staying true to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy while allowing the "Hobbit" films to stand on their own has been an enjoyable challenge for Jackson, who is more than thrilled to once again be dabbling in dwarves and dragons.
"I'm enjoying the movie [as much as the fans], which is the thing that I'm really excited about," he said. "I love going to work every day. I love shooting it. In February, we start another 100 days of shooting, so by about July, we're done. We will have shot both movies by that stage."
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" storms into theaters December 14.
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance.
Related Videos Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677640/sundance-peter-jackson-hobbit-lord-rings.jhtml
The Military?s Push To Green Our Explosives
On the surface, greening weapons of war sounds like a project that we might dismiss as benign, even beneficial, if a little incongruous. But this application treads a step closer to the line drawn by the BWC in 1975 and reaffirmed by the U.S. government many times since. Article 1 of the BWC states that signatories must never produce or possess microbial or other biological agents "that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes." Because explosives-producing microbes in themselves would not be weapons, they would not appear to violate the convention. That said, as part of the production chain and a means for making weapons components, they wouldn't qualify as having ?peaceful purposes,? either.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=8c449a49a90f2b90b696fb8e8743ba19
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Friday 20 January 2012
AP source: All 6 killed in crash were Marines
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A senior U.S. defense official says all six reported killed in the crash of a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan were U.S. Marines.
The helicopter crashed Thursday in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.
The defense official who said all six were Marines spoke on condition of anonymity because the U.S. command in Afghanistan had not yet publicly released details, including the nationalities of the dead.
The official says there is no indication that the helicopter was hit by enemy fire.
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