Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Mad Catz Cyborg M.M.O.7 gaming mouse now on sale, F.R.E.Q 5 headset hits pre-order

Mad Catz Cyborg M.M.O.7 gaming mouse now on sale, F.R.E.Q 5 headset hits pre-order

Gamers looking for some hardware assistance can breathe a sigh of relief; Mad Catz's latest eye-catching forays into gaming mice and headsets are almost, if not already, upon us. The Cyborg M.M.O.7 mouse (£130) manages to offer up 78 definable commands beneath those eye-catching metallic hues and is available to buy now, while its F.R.E.Q 5 headset ($150) has hit pre-order on the manufacturer's site. Acronym-loving thrill-seekers can check out both at the source below.

Mad Catz Cyborg M.M.O.7 gaming mouse now on sale, F.R.E.Q 5 headset hits pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceMad Catz (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/mad-catz-cyborg-m-m-o-7-gaming-mouse-now-on-sale-f-r-e-q-5-head/

fiddler on the roof rally squirrel rally squirrel scumbag steve scumbag steve day of the dead rocksmith

Notebak Anti-Theft


When your laptop goes missing, your first reaction may be blind, unreasoning panic. If the laptop has Notebak Anti-Theft ($29.95/year direct) installed, though, you can relax a bit. That is, as long as you've configured the product correctly for maximum security. Notebak offers a wide variety of features to help you protect and recover your laptop and the data that it holds.

During installation you define a password for connecting with the Notebak Web portal, along with a separate secret key which can't be the same as the password. To make remote requests of the client installed on the laptop you'll need to enter this secret key.

To open the local Notebak client on the laptop itself you can either double-click its icon or press Shift+Ctrl+V. If desired you can set Notebak for stealth mode, hiding the icon. In that case, the special keystroke becomes the only way to open Notebak.

Lock and Alarm
Any time you have to leave your laptop unattended, you really should lock Windows, so nobody can even look at what you've been doing. Notebak can't do that for you, since it can't tell that you've walked away. However, it can lock automatically if a thief closes the lid or unplugs the power in preparation for running off with the laptop.

From the local client you can choose several alarm and lock options. Just setting it to sound the alarm if the laptop is unplugged or the lid closed won't help you much, since the thief can just click a big on-screen button to turn Notebak off. Instead, set it to sound the alarm and lock the computer. You can choose from a dozen alarm sounds.

As with Laptop Superhero ($29.99/year direct, 2.5 stars) and LaptopSentry 3.1 ($9.99 direct, 2.5 stars), Notebak's alarm could be silenced by plugging headphones (or even a simple audio jack) into the headphone socket. The startled thief probably won't think of this ploy.

Serious Lockdown
The DigitaLabel feature goes way beyond merely invoking Windows's computer lock. When active, it displays a big notice on the laptop screen before Windows ever boots, saying "REWARD FOR RETURN." The notice contains a unique identifier along with Notebak's Web address. An honest user can report the find using the unique ID, without ever receiving your personal connection information. As the owner, you can bypass that screen by typing in a four-digit code that you'll find by logging in to the Notebak Web portal.

Naturally I tried to break through this protection, to somehow gain access without entering the four-digit code. I couldn't do it. The product includes advice to foil a thief who wants to reformat the drive, though of course there's no hope if the thief physically extracts the drive and installs it in another computer.

When a good Samaritan reports finding a lost laptop, the recovery process is flexible. If you want to pay a reward, Notebak will negotiate with the finder. They can set up a meeting or have the finder ship them the laptop (at your expense). You (and the finder) can remain anonymous. The point is to give you the best a chance at recovery.

For maximum security, you can set DigitaLabel so it's always active. That means each time you restart or unlock the computer for your own use, you'll need to enter that four-digit code. You can also set it to activate any time the laptop's location is outside a user-defined geofence (more about geofencing shortly).

At a minimum, the company recommends you set DigiaLabel to turn on automatically if the laptop hasn't connected to the Internet for a full day. Like the offline lock feature in Laptop Superhero, this helps ensure that a thief can't totally foil Notebak by isolating it from your remote commands.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/NnEnW6uOuJA/0,2817,2399391,00.asp

i don t know how she does it katamari roatan bobby fischer the lion king john cabot john cabot

Monday, January 30, 2012

Writers wanted: HLS Office of Communications | HLS Administrative ...

HLS Communications seeks law students with reporting experience to write for Harvard Law School publications and the web and assist with editorial research. Please contact: ?lgrant at law.harvard.edu or call 617-495-3118.

This entry was posted in Jobs by adup. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/adup/2012/01/30/writers-wanted-hls-office-of-communications-2/

cleveland cavaliers war horse k cups best buy we bought a zoo we bought a zoo ipad accessories

AnonOps Communications: Turning the internet back on in Egypt ...

"you want to shut down the internet?

Fine, the people of the internet will show you how to turn it back on."

Don't know if that's true or not but :

"you want to censor the internet?

Fine, the people of the internet will show you how to uncensor it".

Amiright? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16367042?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Source: http://anonops.blogspot.com/2012/01/turning-internet-back-on-in-egypt-we.html

jimmer fredette mall of america mennonite gordon hayward smokey robinson smokey robinson close encounters of the third kind

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Neeson's 'The Grey' tops box office with $20M (AP)

NEW YORK ? Beware the Liam in Winter.

Liam Neeson's "The Grey" topped the weekend box office with $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, continuing the actor's success as an action star in the winter months.

The Alaskan survivalist thriller opened above expectations with a performance on par with previous Neeson thrillers "Taken" and "Unknown." Those films, both January-February releases, opened with $24.7 million and $21.9 million, respectively.

But the R-rated "The Grey," which has received good reviews, drove home the strong appeal of Neeson, action star. It's an unlikely turn for the 59-year-old Neeson, previously better known for his dramatic performances, like those in "Schindler's List" and "Kinsey."

"Liam is a true movie star, period," said Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. It's the second release for the newly formed distributor, created by theater chains AMC and Regal.

"My guess is that Liam Neeson in action thrillers would work just about any time of year."

January is often a dumping ground for less-stellar releases, a tradition held up by two badly reviewed new wide releases: "Man on Ledge," with Sam Worthington, and "One for the Money" with Katherine Heigl.

"One for the Money" fared better, earning $11.8 million, while "Man on Ledge" opened with $8.3 million.

Those were reasonably solid returns, and, in an unusual twist, were both ultimately for Lions Gate Entertainment. Its film studio, Lionsgate, released the romantic comedy "One for the Money." The action thriller "Man on Ledge" was released by Summit Entertainment, which Lions Gate bought for $412.5 million earlier this month.

"One for the Money" was helped by a promotion with Groupon, the Internet discount site, with which Lionsgate previously partnered for "The Lincoln Lawyer." David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said the large number of older, female subscribers of Groupon matched well with the audience of "One for the Money."

Groupon email blasts, he said, had a significant promotional effect.

Last week's box-office leader, "Underworld: Awakenings," Sony's Screen Gem's latest installment in its vampire series, came in second with $12.5 million, bringing its cumulative total to $45.1 million.

The unexpectedly large haul for "The Grey," strong holdovers (such as the George Lucas-produced World War II action film "Red Tails," which earned $10.4 million in its second week) and the bump for Oscar contending films following Tuesday's nominations added up to a good weekend for Hollywood. The box office was up about 15 percent on the corresponding weekend last year.

So far, every weekend this year has been an "up" weekend, after a somewhat dismal fourth quarter in 2011.

"`Mission: Impossible,' I think, really helped reinvigorate the marketplace, and that's carried over into the first part of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That's good news for Hollywood after the down-trending box office of 2011."

Oscar favorites "The Descendants," Hugo" and "The Artist" sought to capitalize on their recent Academy Awards nominations. Each expanded to more theaters and saw an uptick in business.

Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants," which is nominated for five Oscars including best picture, added 1,441 screens in its 11th week of release. It added $6.6 million and has now made $58.8 million, making it one of Fox Searchlight's most successful releases.

Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution for Fox Searchlight, said the film's nominations and its recent Golden Globes wins (for best drama and best actor, George Clooney) "played a big role" in its weekend box office.

Paramount's "Hugo," which led Oscar nominations with 11 including best picture, saw a 143 percent jump in business over its last weekend. In its tenth week of release, it earned $2.3 million, bringing its total to $58.7 million.

The Weinstein Co.'s "The Artist," with 10 Oscar nominations including best picture, expanded a modest 235 screens to bring it to a total of 897 screens in its 10th week of release. It earned $3.3 million, with a total of $16.7 million.

The Weinstein Co. is being careful with the black-and-white, largely silent film. Thus far, it has appealed particularly to older audiences.

"It's not the same type of picture as any other picture in the marketplace," said Erik Loomis, head of distribution for the Weinstein Co. "Now that the nominations are out, we're going to look to capitalize on it as best we can. ... We're being very, very meticulous with it. We're not throwing it out there and grabbing every theater we can. At some point, we'll open the floodgates on the movie, maybe closer to the awards."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Grey," $20 million.

2. "Underworld: Awakening," $12.5 million.

3. "One for the Money," $11.8 million.

4. "Red Tails," $10.4 million.

5. "Man on Ledge," $8.3 million.

6. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," $7.1 million.

7. "The Descendants," $6.6 million.

8. "Contraband," $6.5 million.

9. "Beauty and the Beast," $5.3 million.

10. "Haywire," $4 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_ot/us_box_office

david beckham tyche tyche jejune jejune who won the glee project who won the glee project

A confident Dana White defends policy of confidentiality on fighter pay and welcomes government scrutiny

CHICAGO -- Dana White has his mind made up. You're never going to know what UFC fighters truly make and that's just the way it has to be.

"So just because you don't know everything, you don't have to know anything, and to be honest with you? It's none of your [expletive] business how much these guys are making. They're making a lot of money. [...] How much money is none of your business. I'm not asking how much money you're making," said White (3:10 mark).

White believes that the salary information, so readily available in the other pro sports has ruined things for the athletes. He pointed to the recent $214 million megadeal inked by Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder.

"His whole life is going to change. He thought it was bad before with the (expletive) he had going on in his life? Everybody and their mother is coming after that 214," White said (2:10 mark). "Believe me when I tell you. Mark my words, Prince Fielder talk to me in five years and tell me what it was like when the news put out there that you were making $214 million dollars. I'm not going to do that to my guys."

The UFC often gets a bad rap for fighter pay because the only numbers revealed are those given to state commissions. The promotion beefs up the pay with behind-the-scenes discretionary and pay-per-view bonuses. White is often asked if all the complaints about pay would go away if Zuffa simply revealed all the details.

"Even when we sat down and had that first FOX meeting, the guys at FOX were like, holy [expletive]! They're like, 'Why don't you plaster this everywhere? This is the thing that will put you guys over the top. This is the thing that people love to see and talk about. Look at Mike Tyson.' And I said, 'Yeah, look at Mike Tyson,'" White said. "I've had these conversations with Mike. Mike said that when his money was reported, his [expletive] life was miserable. I'm not doing it."

Some believe the UFC's reluctance to be more transparent prompted the Federal Trade Commission to open an anti-trust violation investigation to look into Zuffa's practices.

"My understanding is that yes [the FTC has] opened a non-public investigation based on the acquisition we made of Strikeforce," said UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel said this is a sign of awful things to come for the UFC.

The FTC vs. the UFC? That's a heavyweight fight. That's Dana White's worst nightmare. The FTC looks for antitrust violations, picking apart monopolies as the unfair bullies they are -- and as far as I'm concerned, the UFC is guilty as charged.

The story set off White.

"There was guy yesterday, he wrote this story and you could tell this thing was like 'I want some attention. I want some attention. Maybe he'll get mad and say some [expletive].' [...] When we get stories written about us like that, I know it seems like I get crazy and come off too personal ... well, [expletive] yeah it's personal! What you're saying is untrue," said White (0:51 mark).

White said everything about the promotion is on the up and up.

"If the government wants to come in and look inside and take a peak and look around, they're more than welcome," White said. "Many of you have heard stories and all kinds of things ... mark my [expletive] words right here, right now, today ... we're not going anywhere. And everything we say is true."

As far as we know the FTC is still looking at Zuffa. White certainly came off sounding very confident nothing will come from the investigation.

White pointed out that there is no sport that has been more heavily scrutinized by governments all levels. The promotion has survived and thrived to become what White called the best sports story of the last 50 years.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/confident-dana-white-defends-policy-confidentiality-fighter-pay-175442433.html

lettuce recall zanesville ohio zanesville ohio light field camera world series game 1 exotic animals exotic animals

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Colicky Edinburgh Zoo pandas removed from display (AP)

LONDON ? Two giant pandas on loan to a Scottish zoo have been removed from display while being treated for colic.

Edinburgh Zoo officials say female panda Tian Tian was treated by a veterinarian for the illness on Saturday, just as her male companion Yang Guang is recovering from a bout diagnosed earlier this month.

Officials say the illness is not serious, but can cause discomfort and requires medication.

The zoo said Tian Tian would be allowed "to relax privately away from public view" over the weekend.

Yang Guang is expected to be back on view Monday.

The 8-year-old pair are the first pandas to live in Britain in nearly two decades. They arrived from China in December and are expected to draw huge crowds of visitors to the zoo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_sick_pandas

raiders news raiders news ice cream sandwich android ice cream sandwich android harry belafonte harry belafonte batman arkham city

Vonn wins World Cup super-combined event

Lindsey Vonn of USA speeds down the course during the downhill portion of a women's alpine skiing super-combined World Cup race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone, Urs Flueeler)

Lindsey Vonn of USA speeds down the course during the downhill portion of a women's alpine skiing super-combined World Cup race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone, Urs Flueeler)

Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, reacts at finish line after clocking the fastest time in the downhill portion of an alpine ski, women's World Cup supercombined, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Armando Trovati)

Lindsey Vonn of United States reacts in the finish area after winning the downhill portion of a women's alpine skiing super-combined World Cup race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone, Arno Balzarini)

Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, speeds down the course on her way to win the downhill portion of an alpine ski, women's World Cup supercombined, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Slovenia's Tina Maze speeds down the course on her way to take sixth place in the downhill portion of an alpine ski, women's World Cup supercombined, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

(AP) ? Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup super-combined event Friday to extend her lead in the overall standings against second-place Tina Maze.

The American defended her lead from the morning downhill with a solid slalom leg to clock a combined two-run time of 2 minutes, 28.35 seconds.

"It was a really satisfying win. I was happy with my downhill run but I knew it was going to be tough to hang on," Vonn said.

Maze of Slovenia was 0.41 seconds back and third-place Nicole Hosp of Austria trailed Vonn by 0.58.

Vonn earned 100 World Cup points for her 48th career World Cup victory and leads Maze by 302.

Vonn won the super-combined title the past two years. She has seven victories this season in her quest to regain the overall crown.

"It was really important today," Vonn said. "If I were to go out (in slalom), I knew that Tina would be within striking distance, so I had to stay on the podium. I tried to ski smart."

Maze trailed Vonn by 1.41 seconds in downhill.

"I tried to be fast and be close to Lindsey," she said. "I lost too much time. Super-combined is like that, and if you don't do well in one (discipline), you lose."

Vonn held her nerve when Maze and Hosp put down the two fastest slalom runs after they finished the downhill sixth and seventh, respectively.

"It definitely wasn't pretty skiing, but I made it," Vonn said. "There aren't many parts of slalom I'm good at, but on the flats is one of them."

Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was second in downhill, 0.61 behind Vonn, but skied out in the slalom.

Defending overall champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany had a big mistake midway down the slalom and hiked up the mountain to resume her run. She finished 21st, more than five seconds behind the leader.

The Olympic champion in super-combined was third after the morning run.

Hoefl-Riesch is winless this season after denying Vonn a fourth straight giant crystal globe last year.

Hosp won the overall crown in 2006-07 before Vonn's winning streak began, but has sustained a series of injuries since. The 28-year-old Austrian got her first podium finish this season, and just her second since March 2009.

American teammates Leanne Smith and Julia Mancuso dropped in the standings after being fourth- and fifth-fastest in downhill.

Mancuso, the Olympic silver medalist in super-combined, finished 13th, 3.82 behind Vonn. Smith placed 18th, 4.74 back.

Both were upbeat about their prospects in Saturday's marquee downhill race.

"I tried to push it today to see where I can be perfect for (Saturday)," said Mancuso, who is seventh in the overall standings. "I'm happy with where I am."

Smith said her form was heading "definitely in the right direction."

"I know I have the speed, but there's still a few things to fix," Smith said. "I just need to be cleaner in a couple of places."

The St. Moritz event ends Sunday with the second of the season's three scheduled super-combined events. The super-G and slalom legs are a makeup for a canceled race last month at Val d'Isere, France.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-27-SKI-Women's-World-Cup/id-14ffdf54392444138d975a0a9375f678

maria shriver andy irons ethan zohn jeremy mayfield occupy oakland general strike occupy oakland general strike mike quade

Friday, January 27, 2012

NM immigrant driver's license debate intensifies

In this Jan. 24, 2012 photo, immigrant advocates use an image of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on a mock state driver's license during a rally in Santa Fe to protest her proposal to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.?An Associated Press investigation has found that found that a handful of addresses are being used over and over again by immigrants to get licenses in a pattern that suggests potential fraud.?(AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

In this Jan. 24, 2012 photo, immigrant advocates use an image of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on a mock state driver's license during a rally in Santa Fe to protest her proposal to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.?An Associated Press investigation has found that found that a handful of addresses are being used over and over again by immigrants to get licenses in a pattern that suggests potential fraud.?(AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

(AP) ? Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration told lawmakers Thursday that New Mexico has become a magnet for illegal immigrants coming from other states to obtain a driver's license and officials urged repeal of the license law.

State law enforcement officials told a legislative committee that the New Mexico licensing law poses a security risk to the state and rest of the country.

"This has never been an immigration issue. It's not about immigration. It's simply about public safety and security," said Keith Gardner, the governor's chief of staff.

But church leaders and immigrant rights advocates disagreed, saying a driver's license is critical for immigrants living and working in New Mexico, many with U.S.-born children. The push to repeal New Mexico's law is stirring an anti-immigrant sentiment, they said.

"I think it is about immigration ... it is about divisiveness," said Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. "We should stop calling people in our community illegal aliens."

The House Labor and Human Resources Committee plans to vote later Thursday, and the governor's proposal faces strong opposition.

The panel's five Democrats, who account for a majority of the votes, opposed a similar bill last year that passed the House but failed later in the Senate.

The legislation will prohibit the state from granting licenses to illegal immigrants. However, it continues to allow licenses for foreign nationals in the country legally, such as students with visa.

New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver's license as a U.S. citizen. Utah grants immigrants a driving permit that can't be used for identification, unlike a driver's license that helps people open bank accounts and make financial transactions or board a commercial airliner.

Martinez contends that New Mexico's license system is subject to widespread fraud. The state has brought charges against several fraud rings, in which brokers were paid to supplement fraudulent documents for foreign nationals from Poland, China, Mexico and other countries.

A review of license data by The Associated Press found that dozens of addresses ? including some for businesses such as a smoke shop ? have been used over and over again by immigrants to get a driver's license. The pattern suggests people are abusing the state's licensing system.

"Only two states in the country offer a driver's license to illegal immigrants, and this has generated an industry of fraud, trafficking, and organized crime in New Mexico, as people from all throughout the world have come to our state for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining our government-issued ID and leaving the state ? to places, and for purposes, that are unknown," Scott Darnell, a spokesman for the governor, said before the hearing.

Supporters of the current policy contend the state doesn't need to repeal its law to deal with potential fraud and they say a driver's license is vital to the immigrant community living and working in New Mexico, some of whom have been here for years and have U.S.-born children.

"It is important the state is enforcing the law. When the law is enforced, the law works," said Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The AP identified 170 addresses in New Mexico at which 10 or more licenses have been issued to different foreign nationals from 2003 through August 2011. Those account for 2,662 licenses ? representing nearly 3 percent of the total issued to foreign nationals during that period. The AP limited its analysis to addresses with a high number of licenses to try to get an indication of the extent of possible fraud. Large families or frequent tenant turnover at rental property are among the legitimate reasons why there are addresses with fewer than 10 licenses over a period of time.

Democrats who oppose the governor's proposal are pushing alternatives. The Senate approved a Democratic-backed measure last year that would have increased penalties on license fraud, required fingerprinting of immigrants seeking a license and canceled current licenses of foreign nationals that weren't renewed within two years ? allowing the state to verify whether a foreign national remained a New Mexico resident.

New Mexico changed its law in 2003 to grant driver's licenses to anyone without a Social Security number, which are unavailable to people living illegally in the country. More than 90,000 licenses have been issued to immigrants, and state officials speculate that most of those have gone to illegal immigrants. However, it's impossible to know for certain because license applicants aren't asked about their immigration status.

___

Follow Barry Massey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmasseyAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-26-Immigrant%20Licenses/id-8e04d89a34104ab3922b27b53bed1ce9

whitney cummings larry the cable guy miracle on 34th street santa tracker patrice oneal monkey bread letter from santa

Morgan Stanley CEO sees better markets in 2012 (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Capital markets in 2012 are better than they were in 2011, Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman said on Wednesday, adding that his bank is in a "very good position for Basel III standards."

Gorman, speaking to CNBC from Davos, Switzerland, said confidence will rise after euro zone stability improves, while stressing that Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is in a very solid position. "If you had all sovereigns, all corporates and all financial institutions blow up in Europe at the same time, Morgan Stanley would still be fine," he said.

Gorman also said Morgan Stanley would not need to raise capital in the near term. Morgan Stanley's capital levels have been a concern for investors because it will need to comply with new, stricter rules set by the Basel Committee and U.S. regulators.

The Basel III accord, agreed to by the Basel Committee, an international group of regulators, will require banks to hold at least 7 percent of core Tier 1 capital in the form of retained earnings or pure equity.

There are also concerns because Morgan Stanley may need a big chunk of cash to purchase the next stake of its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney venture from Citigroup Inc (C.N).

Morgan Stanley currently owns 51 percent of the wealth management business and has the option to buy another 14 percent in May at fair market value. Gorman reiterated his commitment to buy the business on Wednesday, a purchase he said will take a priority over stock buybacks or dividends in the near-term.

(Reporting by Sam Forgione and Lauren LaCapra; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_euro_zone_banks

50/50 50/50 dreamhouse pan am susan g komen whats your number whats your number

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Advertisement:

We were unable to forward you to the advertisement you clicked on.

The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.

  • If you're using Internet Explorer, make sure your privacy setting is at medium or below.
    • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
    • Click the Privacy tab
    • Adjust your privacy setting if necessary
      ?
  • If you're using a reader that embeds Internet Explorer (examples: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Feed Demon), you'll also need to select Internet Explorer as your default web browser.
    • Open Internet Explorer
    • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
    • Click the 'Programs' tab and check the box for Internet Explorer to check if it is the default browser and save your change
    • Close your browser, re-open it, and when prompted, select Internet Explorer as your default
    • You can then click on an ad in your newsletter and visit the site you wish to view

Source: http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=157f07c8feaf414d7cdd08101a1c4469&p=4

nba lockout news nba lockout news gifts for mom gifts for mom pepper spray storage auctions storage auctions

Illinois attorney general sues Standard & Poor's (AP)

CHICAGO ? The Illinois attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Standard & Poor's of misleading investors by assigning its highest ratings to risky mortgage-backed investments during the years leading up to the crash of the housing market.

The lawsuit from Lisa Madigan's office alleges the agency compromised its independence by issuing high ratings for unworthy or risky investments as part of a strategy to boost revenue and market share. The lawsuit cites internal emails and conversations, including an instant messenger exchange in April 2007 in which an employee tells another that an investment "could be structured by cows and we would rate it."

"Publically, S&P took every opportunity to proclaim their analyses and ratings as independent, objective and free from its desire for revenue," Madigan said. "Yet privately, S&P abandoned its principles and instead used every trick possible to give deals high ratings in order to retain clients and generate revenue."

Madigan's lawsuit singled out mortgage-backed securities, saying Standard & Poor's misrepresented the risks by giving the investments its highest rating of AAA.

A spokesman for Standard and Poor's rejected the claims.

"The case is without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously," said David Wargin.

A spokeswoman for Madigan, Robyn Ziegler, said the attorney general began investigating Standard & Poor's in early 2010. The probe is continuing, but Madigan determined that it had progressed enough to file the suit, Ziegler said. Madigan previously had been involved in discriminatory-lending lawsuits against Bank of America subsidiary Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo.

The financial products singled out in the Standard & Poor's lawsuit involve the bundling of a pool of mortgages that are then sold as securities. They are backed by residential mortgages, including the subprime mortgages that have been blamed for much of the economic turmoil set off by the housing crash in 2007 and 2008.

Madigan's lawsuit said the S&P ignored the risks of those securities in giving them ratings that were favorable to the agency's investment bank clients and its own profits.

The performance of those investments had a significant impact on institutional investors in Illinois, including pension funds and 401(k) managers, the lawsuit said.

"The mortgage-backed securities that helped our market soar ? and ultimately crash ? could not have been purchased by most investors without S&P's seal of approval," Madigan said.

The lawsuit also cites testimony before Congress by a former managing director of the ratings agency who said "profits were running the show."

Madigan has also targeted mortgage lenders she accuses of having preyed on home owners.

Her office filed suit against Bank of America subsidiary Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2010. In that suit, Madigan accused Countrywide of consistently selling African-American and Hispanic borrowers riskier loans at a higher cost than it sold to white borrowers with similar credit ratings.

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement of $335 million with Bank of America that stemmed from that lawsuit.

Madigan is pursuing a similar lawsuit against Wells Fargo, which she also accuses of discriminatory lending.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_standard___poor_s_lawsuit_illinois

steven tyler national anthem mary tyler moore paterno penn state newt gingrich joe paterno dead joe pa

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Safety regulator: 'We pulled no punches' on Volt

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, during the House Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending subcommittee hearing about the safety of the all-electric car, the Chevy Volt. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, during the House Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending subcommittee hearing about the safety of the all-electric car, the Chevy Volt. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, before the House Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending subcommittee hearing on the safety of the all-electric car, the Chevy Volt. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, second from left, listens as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland, right, fields testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, before the House Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending subcommittee hearing about the safety of the all-electric car, the Chevy Volt. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, center, flanked by GM staff , listens to opening statements by the House Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending subcommittee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, as it held a hearing on the safety of the all-electric car, the Chevy Volt. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, before the House Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending subcommittee hearing entitled, "Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?" (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(AP) ? The government "pulled no punches" in investigating battery fires in the Volt, General Motors' prized electric car, the head of the federal auto safety agency told Congress on Wednesday.

At a combative House hearing, Republicans questioned whether the government's partial ownership in the automaker created a conflict of interest for the Obama administration in the Chevrolet probe, which began after a test car caught fire in June, three weeks after a side-impact test.

The government still owns 26.5 percent of GM's shares.

"We pulled no punches" during the investigation, said David Strickland, who heads the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Then asked if the company got a pass from his agency, he replied, "No, absolutely not."

But Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who led the hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, said he found it "deeply troubling" that the agency waited until November to notify the public about the fire.

Strickland said he would have gone public immediately if there were an imminent safety risk. He said it would have been irresponsible to tell people that something was wrong with the Volt while experts looked into the cause of the fire.

In response, the committee chairman, Republican Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said, "I hear you, I don't believe you."

Issa added: "The fact is, your administration is not up to speed to maintain safety in an electric age."

Republicans questioned whether the delay was because of new mileage standards that were negotiated last year. Strickland insisted there was no connection and said he had not been pressured by anyone from the administration on the investigation.

After the first fire, two others occurred later related to separate safety tests, and the agency opened an official investigation on Nov. 25. That ended last week, with the government concluding that the Volt and other electric cars don't pose a greater fire risk than gasoline-powered cars. The agency and General Motors know of no fires in real-world crashes.

GM chairman and CEO Daniel F. Akerson said sarcastically that while the company designed the Volt to be a great car, "unfortunately, there is one thing we did not engineer. Although we loaded the Volt with state-of-the-art safety features, we did not engineer the Volt to be a political punching bag. And that, sadly, is what the Volt has become.

"For all of the loose talk about fires, we are here today because tests by regulators resulted in battery fires under lab conditions that no driver would experience in the real world."

But the Republicans' aim was on the safety agency, as Issa told Strickland, "You guys screwed up by keeping a secret."

Democrats came to the administration's defense.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said there was no evidence that politics played a role in NHTSA's handling of the case, and he was concerned that the hearing could undermine electric car technology.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the committee's top Democrat, told Strickland he believed him.

"Your integrity has been questioned, your honesty has been questioned," Cummings said. "And then the question becomes, what is that all about?" He accused Republicans of "swatting" at things to make a political point.

Jordan took exception. "That's not what this hearing's about."

Cummings responded: "This hearing is not about safety. This hearing is about an attack" on the Obama administration's support for GM and the electric car industry.

At first, GM blamed the safety agency for the June fire, saying NHTSA should have drained the battery to prevent any fires after the test. But the company quickly retreated and said it never told the agency to drain the battery. GM executives also said there was no formal procedure in place to drain batteries after crashes involving owners.

Now the company sends out a team to drain the batteries after being notified of a crash by its OnStar safety system.

The Volt has a T-shaped, 400 pound battery pack that can power the car for about 35 miles. After that, a small gasoline generator kicks in to run the electric motor. The car has a base price of about $40,000.

Issa told reporters that the committee will continue its investigation.

"It won't be on General Motors," he said. " It will be primarily on the government that we oversee that has once again been less than as good they should have been in public safety on automobiles."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-25-Volt%20Fires/id-6f3a4223ccae445595734c711fadeb08

gardasil usnews new york special election windows 8 2pac kabul build

Alec Baldwin Drops 30 Pounds In Four Months!

Alec Baldwin Drops 30 Pounds In Four Months!

“30 Rock” actor Alec Baldwin has lost quite a bit of weight recently after cutting sugar from his diet. Baldwin lost a total of 30 [...]

Alec Baldwin Drops 30 Pounds In Four Months! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/QgyXUcbyOu0/

squirrel appreciation day south carolina primary 10 minute trainer billy beane shark tank kirkwood kathy griffin

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

New Zealand whale stranding kills 36, threatens 40 (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A mass-stranding of whales on a New Zealand beach has left 36 of the creatures dead and threatens 40 more.

Department of Conservation area manager John Mason says that 99 pilot whales stranded themselves Monday on Farewell Spit on the South Island. By Tuesday, 36 whales had died and another 40 were still in danger after remaining in shallow water.

Mason said conservation staff and volunteers had successfully refloated the other whales, which had swum out to deeper water.

Pilot whales grow to about 20 feet (6 meters) and regularly strand themselves in large numbers during the New Zealand summer months.

Experts describe Farewell Spit as a whale trap due to the way its shallow waters seem to confuse whales' ability to navigate.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_stranded_whales

bobolink breeders cup hamilton park brian wilson freedom writers lemony snicket lemony snicket

Fired Penn State coach Joe Paterno dead at 85

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2011 file photo, Penn State coach Joe Paterno stands on the field before his team's NCAA college football game against Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill. Paterno's doctors say that the former Penn State coach's condition has become "serious," following complications from lung cancer in recent days. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2011 file photo, Penn State coach Joe Paterno stands on the field before his team's NCAA college football game against Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill. Paterno's doctors say that the former Penn State coach's condition has become "serious," following complications from lung cancer in recent days. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 1983 file photo, Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno takes a victory ride from his players after defeating Georgia 27-23 in the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game at the Supderdome in New Orleans, to win the national championship. On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, family says Paterno, winningest coach in major college football, has died. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 1987 file photo, Penn State coach Joe Paterno is carried off after defeating Miami, 14-10, in the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game to win the national championship, in Tempe, Ariz. On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, family says Paterno, winningest coach in major college football, has died. (AP Photo/Jim Gerberich, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno arrives home in State College, Pa. On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, family says Paterno, winningest coach in major college football, has died. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, people gather around a statue of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on the Penn State campus in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Paterno's doctors say the former coach's condition has become "serious" after he experienced complications from lung cancer in recent days. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

(AP) ? Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity, died Sunday. He was 85.

His family released a statement Sunday morning to announce his death: "His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled."

"He died as he lived," the statement said. "He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community."

Paterno built his program on the credo "Success with Honor," and he found both. The man known as "JoePa" won 409 games and took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. More than 250 of the players he coached went on to the National Football League.

"He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after his former team, the Florida Gators, beat Penn State 37-24 in the 2011 Outback Bowl.

Paterno's son Scott said on Nov. 18 that his father was being treated for lung cancer. The cancer was diagnosed during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness. A few weeks after that revelation, Paterno also broke his pelvis after a fall but did not need surgery.

Paterno had been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from his cancer treatments. Not long before that, he conducted his only interview since losing his job, with The Washington Post. Paterno was described as frail then, speaking mostly in a whisper and wearing a wig. The second half of the two-day interview was conducted at his bedside.

"As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact," said the statement from the family. "That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched. It is evident also in the thousands of successful student athletes who have gone on to multiply that impact as they spread out across the country."

The final days of Paterno's Penn State career were easily the toughest in his 61 years with the university and 46 seasons as head football coach.

It was because Paterno was a such a sainted figure ? more memorable than any of his players and one of the best-known coaches in all of sports ? that his downfall was so startling. During one breathtaking week in early November, Paterno was engulfed by a scandal and forced from his job, because he failed to go to the police in 2002 when told that a young boy was molested inside the university football complex.

"I didn't know which way to go ... and rather than get in there and make a mistake," he said in the Post interview.

Jerry Sandusky, the former defensive coordinator expected to succeed Paterno before retiring in 1999, was charged with sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. Two university officials stepped down after they were charged with perjury following a grand jury investigation of Sandusky. But attention quickly focused on an alleged rape that took place in a shower in the football building, witnessed by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant at the time.

McQueary testified that he had seen Sandusky attacking the child and that he had told Paterno, who waited a day before alerting school authorities. Police were never called and the state's top cop later said Paterno failed to execute his moral responsibility by not contacting police.

"You know, (McQueary) didn't want to get specific," Paterno said in the Post interview. "And to be frank with you I don't know that it would have done any good, because I never heard of, of, rape and a man. So I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it."

On the morning of Nov. 9, Paterno said he would retire following the 2011 season. He also said he was "absolutely devastated" by the abuse case.

"This is a tragedy," the coach said. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

But the university trustees faced a crisis, and in an emergency meeting that night, they fired Paterno, effective immediately. Graham Spanier, one of the longest-serving university presidents in the U.S., also was dismissed.

According to Lanny Davis, an attorney retained by the trustees as an adviser, board vice chairman John Surma regretted having to tell Paterno the decision over the phone.

The university handed the football team to one of Paterno's assistants, Tom Bradley, who said Paterno "will go down in history as one of the greatest men, who maybe most of you know as a great football coach."

Thick, smoky-lens glasses, rolled up khakis, jet-black sneakers, blue windbreaker ? Paterno was easy to spot on the sidelines. His teams were just as easy to spot on the field; their white helmets and classic blue and white uniforms had the same old-school look as the coach.

Paterno believed success was not measured entirely on the field. From his idealistic early days, he had implemented what he called a "grand experiment" ? to graduate more players while maintaining success on the field.

He was a frequent speaker on ethics in sports, a conscience for a world often infiltrated by scandal and shady characters.

His teams consistently ranked among the best in the Big Ten conference for graduating players. As of 2011, it had 49 academic All-Americans, the third-highest among schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. All but two played under Paterno.

"He teaches us about really just growing up and being a man," former linebacker Paul Posluszny, now with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, once said. "Besides the football, he's preparing us to be good men in life."

Paterno certainly had detractors, as well. One former Penn State professor called his high-minded words on academics a farce. He was criticized for making broad critiques about the wrongs in college football without providing specifics. A former administrator said his players often got special treatment compared to non-athletes. His coaching style often was considered too conservative. Some thought he held on to his job too long. There was a push to move him out in 2004 but it failed.

But the critics were in the minority, and his program was never cited for major violations by the college football's governing body. However, the child sexual abuse scandal prompted separate investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Collegiate Athletic Association into the school's handling.

Paterno played quarterback and cornerback for Brown University and set a defensive record with 14 career interceptions, a distinction he boasted about to his teams all the way into his 80s. He graduated in 1950 with plans to go to law school. He said his father hoped he would someday be president.

When he was 23, a former coach at Brown was moving to Penn State to become the head coach and persuaded Paterno to come with him as an assistant.

"I had no intention to coach when I got out of Brown," Paterno said in 2007 at Beaver Stadium in an interview before being inducted into the Hall of Fame. "Come to this hick town? From Brooklyn?"

In 1963, he was offered a job by the late Al Davis ? $18,000, triple his salary at Penn State, plus a car to become general manager and coach of the American Football League's Oakland Raiders. He said no. Rip Engle retired as Penn State head coach three years later, and Paterno took over.

At the time, the Lions were considered "Eastern football" ? inferior ? and Paterno courted newspaper coverage to raise the team's profile. In 1967, PSU began a 30-0-1 streak.

But Penn State couldn't get to the top of the polls. The Lions finished second in 1968 and 1969 despite perfect records. They went 12-0 in 1973 and finished fifth. Texas edged them in 1969 after President Richard Nixon, impressed with the Longhorns' bowl performance, declared them No. 1.

"I'd like to know," Paterno said later, "how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973, and so much about college football in 1969?"

A national title finally came in 1982, in a 27-23 win over Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. Penn State won another title in 1986 after the Lions picked off Vinny Testaverde five times and beat Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl.

They have made several title runs since then, including a 2005 run to the Orange Bowl and an 11-1 campaign in 2008 that earned them a berth in the Rose Bowl, where they lost 37-23 to Southern California.

In his later years, physical ailments wore the old coach down. Paterno was run over on the sideline during a game at Wisconsin in November 2006 and underwent knee surgery. He hurt his hip in 2008 demonstrating an onside kick.

An intestinal illness and a bad reaction to antibiotics prescribed for dental work slowed him for most of the 2010 season. Paterno began scaling back his speaking engagements that year, ending his summer caravan of speeches to alumni across the state.

Then a receiver bowled over Paterno at practice in August, sending him to the hospital with shoulder and pelvis injuries and consigning him to coach much of the season from the press box.

"The fact that we've won a lot of games is that the good Lord kept me healthy, not because I'm better than anybody else," Paterno said two days before he won his 409th game and passed Eddie Robinson of Grambling State for the most in Division I. "It's because I've been around a lot longer than anybody else."

Paterno could be conservative on the field, especially in big games, relying on the tried-and-true formula of defense, the running game and field position.

"They've been playing great defense for 45 years," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said in November.

Paterno and his wife, Sue, raised five children in State College. Anybody could telephone him at his modest ranch home ? the same one he appeared in front of on the night he was fired ? by looking up "Paterno, Joseph V." in the phone book.

He walked to home games and was greeted and wished good luck by fans on the street. Former players paraded through his living room for the chance to say hello. But for the most part, he stayed out of the spotlight.

He could be abrasive and stubborn, and had his share of run-ins with his bosses or administrators. And as his legend grew, so did the attention to his on-field decisions, and the questions about when he would retire.

Calls for his retirement reached a crescendo in 2004. The next year, Penn State went 11-1 and won the Big Ten. In the Orange Bowl, PSU beat Florida State, whose coach, Bobby Bowden, left the Seminoles after the 2009 season after 34 years and 389 wins.

Like many others, he was outlasted by "JoePa."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-22-Obit-Joe%20Paterno/id-9301860fabfa45c9b537321af741946e

man up man up wayne newton naomi wolf social security increase menagerie columbus dispatch

Monday, January 23, 2012

Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way

Ahead of any possible Ultrabook announcements, Sony's looking to give its existing VAIO catalogue a (relatively underwhelming) shot in the arm with a bundle of hardware retweaks. The Z series looks to gain the most out of the Spring refresh, with a new off-white Carbon Fiber Silver color option set to be offered up alongside an optional LTE modem. The series also gets a processor step-up, with new Intel Core i5 and i7 options rounded off with the choice of SSD storage. Including the connectable drive, prices for the series refresh will start from $1,950. Meanwhile, both the S (13-inch, $800, 15-inch, $980)and E series will get a similar bump to Core i7 processors, with both the S and aforementioned Z series able to lock into an extended sheet battery accessory. If minor processor improvements, more battery options and LTE connectivity enough to fork over your cash, you can expect the revitalized units to arrive early next month.

Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/WeznJduN1k8/

meredith kercher waxahachie waxahachie erin burnett four loko michael savage aj burnett

Michael Hais and Morley Winograd: Crowdsourcing the Congress: Wikipedia's Blackout Bomb

The debate over legislation to stop online piracy revealed not only the threat that a new generation of consumers presents to the entertainment industry's traditional business model, but the equally shaky future of the way Congress currently conducts its business. The high tech, Internet-based companies that Hollywood most fears used their clout with America's most coveted customers, young Millennials, to stop a rush to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and its Senate twin, Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).

The success of the Wikipedia-led Internet blackout demonstrated the way Congress goes about its business is as susceptible as the entertainment industry's business model is to disruption from the energy and attitudes of a new, digitally native generation, Millennials (born 1982-2003). The film and television industry's foundation, built on the notion that content will triumph ?ber alles, was shown to be just as prone to destruction by the Napster virus as its cousin in the recording industry was a decade ago. It turns out that consumers like companies that distribute content, such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon, more than they like the companies who produce and package the content and insist on being paid for it.

But the fact that many in Congress suddenly abandoned their support of SOPA or PIPA in the face of this consumer revolt also sent a clear warning to those pushing the bills, using traditional methods of high-priced lobbying and closed-door decision making, that their way of doing business is equally in jeopardy. Wikipedia's blackout Facebook page was liked or shared around 1.2 million times on the Wednesday that the site was unavailable to potential visitors. A petition organized by Google in opposition gained over seven million signatures. When Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced on Facebook that he was withdrawing his support for PIPA, his action generated 4,700 likes. Between midnight and 4 p.m. on the day of the "blackout bomb", Twitter recorded over 2.4 million tweets on the subject. The Internet community's insistence on a more open decision making process forced the Congress to ultimately abandon its confrontational, large-contributor approach to the problem. If Congress actually learns a larger lesson from this experience and adopts a process that incorporates the Millennial Generation's desire for win-win solutions derived from bottom up participation designed to forge a consensus, it might finally reverse the continuing decline in popularity with their customers -- the American electorate.

Today, all national surveys show approval of Congress at historically low levels. Since the Republic was conceived, communication technologies have evolved to reduce the time and distance that separate Congress from the public, but most of Congress's procedures and practices have remained trapped in a time warp of its own traditions. Creating a new connection between citizens and their representatives by using Millennials' favorite technologies to build a more transparent, open and participatory legislative process is the essential first step in reversing this decline in Congress's credibility
This alternative approach to the legislative process was actually utilized by Democrat Senator Ron Wyden (Oregon) and Republican U.S. Representative Darrell Issa (California) in drafting their alternative to SOPA/PIPA. The two lawmakers published a draft of their approach last year on the web at www.KeepTheWebOpen.com and asked for comments from interested parties. Based on the suggestions of those who visited the site, they proposed a bi-partisan alternative -- the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, or OPEN Act -- that uses a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer to address the problem. It empowers the U.S. International Trade Commission to cut off the money supply of the several dozen foreign piracy sites that do most of the damage to content creators.

Although Internet companies and online activists liked both the process and the outcome, organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) continued to insist that the danger presented by those sites to their business model is so great that they can't wait for the niceties of legalities and due process that the Wyden/Issa solution would involve. The fact that the entertainment industry's solution is perceived to be so threatening to the freedom of users of the Internet that it united libertarians on both the left and right in opposition to SOPA/PIPA has not dissuaded those wedded to the old ways of doing business in Congress that they need to change their tactics. Their stubbornness is reminiscent of the attempt by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to halt the proliferation of peer-to-peer music sharing sites by suing its teenage customers, before RIAA finally gave up and acquiesced in a new business model for the industry built around Apple's iPod.

It's time for Congressional leaders to use the learning experience of the SOPA/PIPA debate to throw off their generational blinders and find a way to concede power gracefully to a new generation with new ideas. To restore its credibility, Congress will have to use new tools to fully involve Millennials and older generations in the decision-making process. It should make a new bargain with the American people, built on an increased level of citizen participation in the process of governing, rather than upon the current trade of access and constituency service in return for campaign contributions.

Only when Congress embraces this new way of doing business will the legitimacy of the country's legislative process begin to be restored and Congress's approval ratings start to rise again. Until then the electoral fate of Senators and U.S. Representatives will be as uncertain and as subject to disruption as the future of the entertainment moguls they sought to please by backing SOPA/PIPA.

?

Follow Michael Hais and Morley Winograd on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeandmorley

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-hais-and-morley-winograd/sopa-blackout_b_1222318.html

ncaa bowl games bowls brooke mueller herman cain harry potter and the half blood prince city of ember city of ember

Sunday, January 22, 2012

NASA Rover Spends Martian Winter Probing Inside Red Planet (SPACE.com)

After roaming the surface of Mars for nearly eight years, a stalwart NASA rover is allowing scientists to begin investigating the mysterious interior of the Red Planet.

The work is the chief component of the rover Opportunity's winter science campaign on Mars, which is now under way. But instead of drilling deep into the bowels of the planet (which Opportunity is not equipped to do), the rover is sitting quite still and beaming radio signals home to Earth.

By analyzing these signals, researchers hope to get "a handle on the structure of the interior of the planet ? the distribution of mass, and perhaps how large the core might be," said John Callas, Opportunity's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Waiting out the winter

The golf-cart-size Opportunity landed in Mars' southern hemisphere Jan. 25, 2004, about three weeks after its twin, Spirit, touched down. The two robots were expected to spend 90 days searching for signs of past water activity. [Mars Photos by Spirit and Opportunity]

They found plenty of such evidence at their disparate landing sites, fundamentally reshaping scientists' understanding of the Red Planet and its history. And the two rovers kept chugging along, far exceeding their warranties; NASA declared Spirit dead just last year, and Opportunity is still going strong.

Opportunity arrived at the 14-mile-wide (22 kilometers) Endeavour Crater last August and spent a few months poking along its rim. But with a long and frigid winter looming, Opportunity had to find a good spot on the crater's rim to wait out the weather.

Opportunity rolled into that location, informally called Greeley Haven, about a month ago, Callas said. In that spot (named after a late planetary geology professor), the rover is able to tilt its solar panels northward at about 15 degrees, maximizing the power it can draw from the sun to stay warm, active and healthy.

The measure is necessary this winter because Opportunity's solar panels are heavily coated with dust, researchers have said.

But the rover won't sleep the season away. While relatively stationary, it will investigate the rocks at Greeley Haven, take panoramic photos of its surroundings and ? most important ? send radio signals back to Earth.

Looking beneath the surface

The mission team will track those signals, using Opportunity's motion relative to Earth as a proxy for the rotation of Mars, Callas said. Scientists should thus be able to get very precise measurements of the planet's spin.

They're particularly interested in learning how Mars' spin axis has changed, or precessed, since NASA's Viking mission made similar measurements back in the mid-1970s. Knowing the precession rate should allow scientists to get a much better handle on the Red Planet's interior structure, Callas said.

Researchers are also keen to study Mars' nutation, which is a smaller-period variation in the planet's rotation. Such information might help reveal whether the Red Planet's core is solid or liquid.

Callas compared the methodology to spinning an egg to see whether it's hard-boiled or raw.

"If it spins freely, you know it's hard-boiled. If it sloshes, you know that it's raw," Callas told SPACE.com. "And planets do the same thing. If they have a fluid core, the planet tends to slosh, and you get this effect we call nutation. If it's a solid core, it's rigid, then that effect is much smaller."

The mission team will be tracking Opportunity's radio signals almost daily. After three to six months, researchers expect to have enough data to start getting an in-depth picture of the Martian interior, Callas said.

A spring migration

The winter solstice in the Martian southern hemisphere comes in late March; afterward, solar energy will be on the rise at Greeley Haven and the rest of Endeavour Crater.

Opportunity should be able to resume its roving by late May or thereabouts ? perhaps sooner if a windstorm blows much of the dust off its solar panels, Callas said. Then the six-wheeled robot would head south and explore more of Endeavour Crater.

Despite an arthritic joint in its robotic arm, Opportunity is still in good health, so there's no reason to think it won't hit the ground running. But Callas and the rest of the team take nothing for granted with an 8-year-old rover, even one as accomplished as Opportunity.

"Every day is like a gift," Callas said. "We approach every day like it's our last."

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120119/sc_space/nasaroverspendsmartianwinterprobinginsideredplanet

ucla vs usc rich rodriguez rich rodriguez the muppet movie the muppet movie mars rover mars rover