Flying People Spotted Over New York City?Film At Nine

In a recent publicity venture for their new movie "Chronicle", 20th Century Fox enlisted the help of viral marketing agency Thinkmodo to design and execute a rather unique campaign element that surely caused several doubletakes over the New York City skyline. If you thought you saw some flying humans in the sky over parts of New York City and New Jersey in the last couple of weeks you are, in fact, not crazy. You were merely exposed to a new kind of avant garde marketing technique brought to you by the same folks that unleashed the iPad Head Girl a few months back.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/sRvDlapRSE0/

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I Was Attacked at Game Night

What I can?t get over is the utter lack of concern shown for me by the other members of the group, three of whom I was friends with before Theresa and Ken ever entered our circle. No one came outside when I screamed for help, or called me later that night to see if I made it home safely. One of my old friends, ?Cathy,? did call the following day. But when I asked her why no one responded to my screams, she said they didn?t want to get involved in case they made things worse. She also seemed oddly lacking in any sense of outrage toward Ken. Three days later, another member contacted me through Gchat to see how I was doing since I?d ?seemed pretty upset on Friday.? At that point I was still discussing the attack with the prosecutor's office, so I told her that the bureaucratic wheels of the case were turning. There was a long pause. Then she typed, ?I don't understand. What case? We thought that since no one was hurt and no one was arrested that it was no big deal.? After I explained otherwise, she started discussing how much she hated lima beans.

That was the last I heard from any of them. I assume the Friday sessions have been continuing without me. I have no desire to return to my attacker?s home. But none of the members of the group have invited me to any social outings, either. I made tentative inquiries at one point to see if Cathy and her husband would like to come to my place, but they replied that they were too busy with school and work and it was too far. Do I write off these people as bad friends? Do I assume they never really liked me and are glad to see the back of me now? Maybe it was unrealistic of me to have expected that they?d ostracize Ken, but I would have liked to hear someone say, ?We think Ken's a total bastard for doing that to you,? or, ?We understand why you aren't coming to Friday nights anymore, but we're sorry about what happened and we miss you.? Instead, the message I've gotten is, ?Ken clearly lost his mind that night and we don't know why, but let's all just try to put this unpleasantness behind us?it just wasn't that big a deal." But it was to me! Even so, I could possibly?possibly?even accept an apology from Ken if it was offered. But nothing of that sort has happened, either.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=4de6044000e46ba9f7a0b78428fa951f

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Calculated Risk: Morning Greece: Euro Zone Finance Ministers ...

by CalculatedRisk on 1/23/2012 09:09:00 AM

The new goal is to have a deal by next Monday, January 30th, when the EU leaders meet in Brussls.

From Reuters: Euro Zone Finance Ministers to Rule on Glacial Greek Debt Talks

Euro zone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer.
...
"We will listen to the report on the negotiations, see how far they have gotten and have the ministers say what is acceptable and what is not in terms of outcome of the negotiations," one Eurogroup official said.

Once the guidance from the finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, is clear, talks on the restructuring could be finalized later in the week.

Here are a few key dates in Europe:
Jan 30th: European Union leaders meet in Brussels on debt crisis.

Feb 9th: ECB holds rate meeting.
Feb 20th: Euro-area finance ministers meet in Brussels.
Feb 29th to March 1st: Italy redeems 46.5 billion euros of bonds.

March 1st and 2nd: EU leaders meet in Brussels.
March 8th: ECB holds rate meeting
March 12th: Euro-area finance ministers meet in Brussels
March 20th: Greece redeems 14.4 billion euros of bonds.
March 30th: Euro-area finance ministers meet in Copenhagen.

Late April: Proposed date for Greek general election.
April 22nd: France holds a presidential election.

Weekend:
? Summary for Week ending January 20th
? Schedule for Week of Jan 22nd
? FOMC Meeting Preview

Source: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/01/morning-greece-euro-zone-finance.html

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A Case of Mistaken Citizenship: How Does an American Prove He's Legal? (Time.com)

Antonio Montejano was born and raised in Los Angeles. He lives in an apartment building in a middle-class area sandwiched between Beverly Hills, the L.A. Country Club and UCLA. He is a law-abiding citizen who labors as a construction worker and comes home to a wife and four kids. But last month he was detained for four days under suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. He says local police officers and jail officials didn't listen when he pleaded repeatedly that he was a U.S. citizen. They eventually realized he was right, but not before he was transferred to L.A. County Jail, where he was kept in a cell without a bed or mattress. "I told them, If you give me the opportunity to call, I can tell my wife to get my passport and my birth certificate," says Montejano, 40. "But they never paid attention to what I was telling them."

Montejano's case is one of several recent incidents in Southern California in which incorrect government information has led authorities to detain U.S. citizens for investigation and possible deportation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has reported three similar cases in the area and says four others have occurred even more recently. "A lot of calls are coming in," says Jennie Pasquarella, a lawyer for the group.

The incidents are worrisome for immigration lawyers and rights groups, who underscore that it is illegal for immigration agents to hold Americans for investigation for deportation proceedings. The ACLU, which helped Montejano and others get out of jail, says the problem lies in the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities program, or S-Comm, which checks FBI fingerprint records against immigration databases to see if people are lawfully present in the country. It says officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, rely too heavily on the S-Comm program, which is electronic, instead of doing investigative spadework like checking local records and documents.

(MORE: A Phony War on Deportation?)

Pasquarella says another reason this is happening is that there isn't an adequate way for people to protest their detention. Those detained locally find themselves in a sort of catch-22 in which local authorities say they can't help because they're acting under orders from federal officials and the feds say they can't do anything because the individuals aren't yet under their custody, Pasquarella explains. The problem is compounded by officials' failure to correct their records after erroneous detentions, she says. "It's a basic Fourth Amendment problem," she says, referring to the right against unreasonable search and seizure. "They're essentially detaining someone and investigating later."

Montejano's troubles began when he went Christmas shopping with his family. After a couple of hours at Sears, the family left the store and forgot to pay for a $10 bottle of cologne that Montejano had put in their shopping cart for his son. He offered to pay for it when he realized his error, he says, but the store called the police, and he was taken to the station. Even though officers told him he would be there for four hours, he was put in a cell on an immigration hold. Montejano remained detained even after an immigration judge ordered the police to let him go, he says. He later found out that he triggered the government's database because immigration officials had mistakenly deported him to Mexico in 1996 ? and didn't fix their records to show that he is indeed a citizen.

Federal immigration officials say they don't have statistics readily available on how many U.S. citizens are detained at any time. Northwestern University professor Jacqueline Stevens estimates that "a low but persistent" number of people placed on immigration holds are citizens. One study she conducted found that 82 of around 8,000 people detained on immigration holds in Arizona from 2006 to 2008 ended up being citizens. Many of them aren't detained under the S-Comm program but are identified by jail officials while serving time for misdemeanors, Stevens says. "One percent may seem low, but if we think of the total number of people being snagged by the ICE dragnet, it's actually quite alarming," she says.

(MORE: California Dreaming: Will the State Give Scholarships to Its Undocumented Youths?)

ICE officials say they haven't seen Stevens' study but find it "hard to believe." "The cases that are cited represent highly unusual fact patterns," says an ICE official who spoke on background. "We're constantly worried about this issue. We don't believe it's a widespread issue." In a bid to prevent U.S. citizens from being erroneously detained, ICE recently announced a new 24-hour toll-free hotline that people can call if they are or believe they are U.S. citizens. "This is a very important safeguard," the official said. ICE also established that authorities may not detain a person for longer than 48 hours on an immigration hold. Officials say they are working to clean up records so that previous mistaken detentions like Montejano's are noted in their databases. As for that case, they said they caught the problem "very quickly." "Secure Communities is not designed and should not be used to detain U.S. citizens and we work hand-in-hand with our state and local partners to ensure that it is used appropriately," ICE said in a statement.

It didn't feel very quick to Montejano and his family. Most troubling to him was his perception that he was detained because he looked Mexican. He says his 8-year-old son is now worried he might be detained because he looks Mexican too. "He told me, 'Daddy, can they detain me too because I look like you?' " he says. ICE officials deny that racial profiling is involved in their detention processes, stressing that the S-Comm program is electronic. Still, that's not so comforting for the construction worker. "They didn't believe me because of the color of my skin," he says. "But what can you do when things happen like that? You feel powerless when you're inside the jail. You're nothing in there when nobody believes you."

MORE: Census Update: What the World Will Look like in 2050

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpwwwtimecomtimenationarticle08599210465400htmlxidrssnationyahoo/44254349/SIG=12lhj86qd/*http%3A//www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2104654,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

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"The Artist" wins over producers at Guild Awards (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? "The Artist" continued its love affair with American cinema after winning best-produced film on Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards (PGA), boosting its chances for an Oscar nod ahead of the Academy Award nominations next week.

The silent black-and-white French comedy, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, is a homage to the pre-talkie era of Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s and tells the story of a fading silent movie star as sound began entering the world of cinema.

"When Michel Hazanavicius and I dreamed of making "The Artist," we knew we were dreaming of writing a love letter to American cinema. We never knew in return we would get a taste of the American dream," Thomas Langmann, the film's producer, said in his acceptance speech in Beverly Hills.

The film has been sweeping awards ceremonies in the run up to the Oscars, winning best picture at the Critics Choice and Golden Globes earlier this month.

It was up against nine other films in contention for best-produced film on Saturday, including female-led comedy "Bridesmaids," civil rights drama "The Help," and Steven Spielberg's epic tale "War Horse."

"The Adventures of Tintin," produced by Spielberg, picked up best-produced animated film.

The Producers Guild awards are significant in the race to the Academy Awards on February 26, as many of the 5,000-plus members of the PGA, are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote for the Oscars.

For the last four years, the producers' best-produced film picks have gone on to win the best picture Oscar, with "No Country For Old Men" in 2008, "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2009, "The Hurt Locker" in 2010 and "The King's Speech" in 2011.

Other PGA award winners on Saturday included "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest" for best-produced documentary, which explores the journey of influential hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest.

Angelina Jolie received the Stanley Kramer award for "In the Land of Blood and Honey," which she wrote, directed and produced, an accolade reserved for contributions that highlight provocative social issues.

The Oscar-winning actress delivered a sober acceptance speech, noting that when war-film "Schindler's List" won a PGA in 1994 during the Bosnian war, "the world turned a blind eye" to the atrocities happening in Eastern Europe at the time.

Spielberg was awarded the coveted David O'Selznick achievement award and comic-book legend Stan Lee received the Vanguard award, presented by "Spiderman" actor Tobey Maguire. Both received standing ovations as they took the stage.

ABC's "Modern Family" was named best-produced television comedy for the second year running, while HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" was named best-produced TV drama. PBS' British period drama "Downtown Abbey" was named best-produced long-form television series.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120122/film_nm/us_producersguild

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Snakes improve search-and-rescue robots

Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jason Maderer
maderer@gatech.edu
404-385-2966
Georgia Institute of Technology

New robot is designed to use less energy

Designing an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue missions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough to move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it's restricted from tight spaces. It might also be required to climb slopes of varying inclines. Existing robots can do many of these things, but the majority require large amounts of energy and are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine by studying the locomotion of a certain type of flexible, efficient animal.

"By using their scales to control frictional properties, snakes are able to move large distances while exerting very little energy," said Hamid Marvi, a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Tech.

While studying and videotaping the movements of 20 different species at Zoo Atlanta, Marvi developed Scalybot 2, a robot that replicates rectilinear locomotion of snakes. He unveiled the robot this month at the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology (SICB) annual meeting in Charleston, S.C.

"During rectilinear locomotion, a snake doesn't have to bend its body laterally to move," explained Marvi. "Snakes lift their ventral scales and pull themselves forward by sending a muscular traveling wave from head to tail. Rectilinear locomotion is very efficient and is especially useful for crawling within crevices, an invaluable benefit for search-and-rescue robots."

Scalybot 2 can automatically change the angle of its scales when it encounters different terrains and slopes. This adjustment allows the robot to either fight or generate friction. The two-link robot is controlled by a remote-controlled joystick and can move forward and backward using four motors.

"Snakes are highly maligned creatures," said Joe Mendelson, curator of herpetology at Zoo Atlanta. "I really like that Hamid's research is showing the public that snakes can help people."

Marvi's advisor is David Hu, an assistant professor in the Schools of Mechanical Engineering and Biology. Hu and his research team are primarily focused on animal locomotion. They've studied how dogs and other animals shake water off their bodies and how mosquitos fly through rainstorms.

This isn't the first time Hu's lab has looked at snake locomotion. Last summer the team developed Scalybot 1, a two-link climbing robot that replicates concertina locomotion. The push-and-pull, accordion-style movement features alternating scale activity.

###

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. PHY-0848894). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.

---

[ | 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: 19-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jason Maderer
maderer@gatech.edu
404-385-2966
Georgia Institute of Technology

New robot is designed to use less energy

Designing an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue missions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough to move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it's restricted from tight spaces. It might also be required to climb slopes of varying inclines. Existing robots can do many of these things, but the majority require large amounts of energy and are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine by studying the locomotion of a certain type of flexible, efficient animal.

"By using their scales to control frictional properties, snakes are able to move large distances while exerting very little energy," said Hamid Marvi, a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Tech.

While studying and videotaping the movements of 20 different species at Zoo Atlanta, Marvi developed Scalybot 2, a robot that replicates rectilinear locomotion of snakes. He unveiled the robot this month at the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology (SICB) annual meeting in Charleston, S.C.

"During rectilinear locomotion, a snake doesn't have to bend its body laterally to move," explained Marvi. "Snakes lift their ventral scales and pull themselves forward by sending a muscular traveling wave from head to tail. Rectilinear locomotion is very efficient and is especially useful for crawling within crevices, an invaluable benefit for search-and-rescue robots."

Scalybot 2 can automatically change the angle of its scales when it encounters different terrains and slopes. This adjustment allows the robot to either fight or generate friction. The two-link robot is controlled by a remote-controlled joystick and can move forward and backward using four motors.

"Snakes are highly maligned creatures," said Joe Mendelson, curator of herpetology at Zoo Atlanta. "I really like that Hamid's research is showing the public that snakes can help people."

Marvi's advisor is David Hu, an assistant professor in the Schools of Mechanical Engineering and Biology. Hu and his research team are primarily focused on animal locomotion. They've studied how dogs and other animals shake water off their bodies and how mosquitos fly through rainstorms.

This isn't the first time Hu's lab has looked at snake locomotion. Last summer the team developed Scalybot 1, a two-link climbing robot that replicates concertina locomotion. The push-and-pull, accordion-style movement features alternating scale activity.

###

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. PHY-0848894). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.

---

[ | 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/giot-sis011912.php

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IBM 4Q earnings beat estimates, revenue falls shy (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? IBM Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings handily beat Wall Street's expectations on Thursday, helped by higher revenue and profit margins in the technology icon's lucrative software and services segments.

The results and IBM's stronger-than-expected outlook for this year sent IBM's stock up more than 2 percent after hours. The company offered a welcome sign of stability amid the global economic turmoil that's prompting worries about a slowdown in technology spending by businesses and governments, who are IBM's customers.

One sore spot was revenue, which fell short of analyst expectations; the rise in software and services revenue wasn't enough to offset a decline in hardware. Also, the stronger dollar is squeezing overseas revenue.

IBM earned $5.49 billion, or $4.62 per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That's up 4 percent from $5.26 billion, or $4.25 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $4.71 per share, easily surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.61 per share.

Revenue grew 2 percent to $29.49 billion from $29.02 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected slightly higher revenue of $29.7 billion.

IBM said currency shifts since its last quarterly report in October lowered fourth-quarter revenue by about $300 million. The deepening economic crisis in Europe, along with the continuing weakness in the U.S. economy and signs of a slowdown in emerging markets are prompting worries about global companies like IBM.

But IBM has long said its long-term contracts insulate it from economic swings, and its full-year forecast is bright. IBM expects adjusted earnings of at least $14.85 per share, above the $14.77 per share that analysts are predicting.

New CEO Ginni Rometty said IBM is "well on track" toward its long-term goal of hitting at least $20 per share in adjusted earnings in 2015 ? a rare example of a long-term earnings target disclosed publicly by a such a large company.

Revenue rose at two of IBM's three largest divisions ? software by 9 percent and services by 3 percent. Hardware revenue fell 8 percent. In the third quarter, IBM's services revenue grew 8 percent, its software revenue climbed 13 percent and its hardware revenue rose 4 percent.

By geography, IBM said revenue from the Americas grew 3 percent in the fourth quarter. Revenue from Europe, the Middle East and Africa combined was up 1 percent and revenue from Asia increased 2 percent.

IBM said its new contract signings were $20.4 billion in the fourth quarter, slightly above analysts' expectations. The company's services backlog at the end of the year was $141 billion, up by $4 billion from the end of the third quarter. Services backlog refers measures the value of work under contract that the company expects to book as revenue in future quarters.

For all of 2011, IBM earned $15.86 billion, or $13.06 per share, up 7 percent from $14.83 billion, or 11.52 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $13.44 per share, above analysts' expectations of $13.36 per share.

Revenue was $106.92 billion, up 7 percent from $99.87 billion in 2010. Wall Street was expecting $107.08 billion.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based company's stock rose $4.53, or 2.5 percent, to $185.05 after hours. The stock had closed down 55 cents at $180.52.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_ibm

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Zondra Hughes: Free at Last! Leaving a Bad Job to Launch a New Business

Life is a dream when you love your job and it's a nightmare when you hate it.

So what can you do if you are living a nightmare? Leave that job behind, according to two young entrepreneurs who found their passions in their second careers.

Shatoia Starks left her job as a pharmaceutical sales exec to operate a food truck, Mama Green's Gourmet Goodies. Shatoia's cookies are sold in Whole Foods and she now plans to open a bakery.

Jeremiah Bishop was the general manager at a bill collection agency in his former life. However, "When the economy crashed and tanked, nobody was paying bills, so I had to find something else to do." Five years later, Bishop is an in-demand fashion photographer and owner of Phinally Phocused Photography.

Here Shatoia and Jeremiah discuss three ways they've mentally prepared to leave bad job situations and launch profitable new businesses.

1. Be open to explore new possibilities -- or old passions.

"Inspiration can come at any time; you must be open to receive it," says Shatoia. "I was in pharmaceutical sales for about 10 years, and I really started to dislike it a lot."

While visiting her mother for the holidays, "I started organizing my great -- grandmother's recipes, and as I sat there, a lot of memories were coming back. And I always loved food a lot and I enjoyed serving food. I always loved sales, so I combined those two and started a food truck. I am 100 percent happier now than ever before."

2. Find a mentor and educate yourself.

"My friend, Charan Ingram, is a great Web designer, and he had gotten into photography, and Adobe Photoshop," says Jeremiah Bishop. "Charan took me under his wing, and... I studied lighting techniques, makeup techniques, the kind of photography that I wanted to do, which is mostly high fashion."

You must also do the research to find needed resources.

"Try to use as much of the free help that's out there as possible," Shatoia states. "SCORE, the Small Business Association, here in Chicago, the Women's Business Development Center; try to use as much free info as the city offers, because these people are former executives and they've done this before."

3. Get a solid support system.

Having a solid support system will also help you to keep the faith when launching your business, advises Shatoia.

"The challenging part has been just taking the leap," Shatoia says. "Believing in myself and saying, OK, I'm going to do this, and the support that I got from my husband and my mom really encouraged me to believe that I can do it and not turn back."

Last, but not least, you should never give up, adds Jeremiah.

"You only can be knocked down for so long; nobody gives up permanently," Jeremiah states. "As long as you have a great work ethic and you're willing to work hard at it, I believe anybody can be successful in this country."

Your turn, if you've left a bad job situation to launch a business, how did you mentally prepare to strike out on your own?

?

Follow Zondra Hughes on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ZondraHughes

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zondra-hughes/career-change-advice_b_1208025.html

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Public Enemy Block Party In Skid Row Makes A Statement On MLK Jr. Day (VIDEO)

As home to the largest homeless population in the country, Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles really is the most appropriate venue for hip-hop artists to make some noise about inequality.

And that's just what they did on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the free music festival organized by Chuck D, lead man of the political eighties hip-hop group Public Enemy.

In addition to Public Enemy, performing old-school and new-school hip-hop heads included Kurupt, Ronnie Hudson, Freestyle Fellowship, Lady of Rage, King Tee, Kid Frost, Yo-Yo, Egyptian Lover, L.A. Possee and others. With a couple hundred attendees, the 1 p.m. show continued into the dark, lasting almost five hours.

Public Enemy spit OG hits "Fight the Power," "Shut 'Em Down" and "Can't Truss It," and, according to the Los Angeles Times, Chuck D walked through the audience after his performance for about 15 minutes, posing with and hugging fans.

In between each two to three-song set, social activists and poets filled interludes with discussion of economic and racial justice, police profiling and brutality, immigration reform and other issues.

Only a handful of attendees were actual Skid Row residents, according to KPCC, with more having driven in from Oakland, Santa Monica and elsewhere. Christine Petit of LA CAN, which was one of the organizations handing out free food and goods at the event, told KPCC, "I mean, it's a festival for the residents [of Skid Row]. We were sort of hoping to keep it, you know, down. But word gets out."

Perhaps one of the most powerful moments, depicted in the video below, was when rapper Flava Flav shared that he started smoking cigarettes when he was just 6, drinking at 8, smoking marijuana at 10 and smoking crack and cocaine at 23 years-old. He was proud to say that he's been off crack and cocaine for six years now, and this year he's completely sober except for cigarettes. He had the audience repeat after him, "I am!" ("I am!"), "Somebody!" ("Somebody!")

"Hip-hop has to make a statement," Chuck D told the Ventura County Reporter. Even though the event had no official Occupy connection, he continued, "We cannot have Skid Row be obscured. We have a moral obligation down there. This statement marks our [Public Enemy's] 25th year. Occupy Skid Row is a peaceful protest of power, and hip-hop is trying to make the situation better."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/public-enemy-skid-row_n_1211214.html

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All About PIPA and SOPA, the Bills That Wants to Censor Your Internet [Video]

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are two bills that sound like they have a mildly positive aim but, in reality, have serious potential to negatively change the internet as we know it. While the Obama administration has come out against SOPA, effectively shelving it indefinitely, the very similar PIPA bill is still alive and well. Both SOPA and PIPA put power in the hands of the entertainment industry to censor sites that allegedly "engage in, enable or facilitate" copyright infringement. This language is vague enough to target sites you use every day, like Facebook and Google, making these bills a serious problem. Here's what you need to know about the bills and what you can do about them.

Due to the recent opposition of the Obama administration and focus changing to PIPA, we decided to make an update to this post to make it a bit more relevant. While SOPA is likely dead, we're explaining both bills as they're very similar.

What Are SOPA and PIPA All ABout, and Why Should I Care?

The idea behind these bills sounds reasonable. They came about in order to try and snuff out piracy online, as the entertainment industry is obviously not excited that many people are downloading their products without payment or permission. The issue is, however, that it doesn't really matter whether you're in support of piracy, against it, or just don't care. The methods are ineffective. Here's what they are and why they're problematic.

SOPA and PIPA were initially designed to do two things. The first was to make it possible for companies to block the domain names of web sites that are simply capable of, or seem to encourage copyright infringement. This would have been bad for everyone because such a measure doesn't actually prevent piracy. The reason that blocking a domain name isn't effective is because any blocked site can still be accessed via its numeric IP address. For example, if lifehacker.com were blocked, you could still find it by visiting a number-based address. In fact, before the bills were even supposed to come to a vote, tools were created to automatically route domain names to their IP addresses to completely render this measure of SOPA and PIPA useless. As a result, the IP-blocking provisions have been removed from both bills.

The other, still-active measure present in the SOPA and PIPA bills would allow rights holders to cut of the source of funding of any potentially infringing web site. This means any other companies doing business with this site would have to stop. Whether that means advertising, links in search engines, or any other listings would have to be removed.

There is, however, an important difference between SOPA and PIPA. SOPA targeted any site that contributed to copyright infringement, even if it was simply facilitating the act by providing a tool that could be used for illegal purposes (regardless of intention). PIPA, on the other hand, requires the targeted site to have no significant use beyond copyright infringement. Basically, PIPA can only be used to censor a site if it's more likely to be a source of illegal content than not. This is still problematic because a tool designed to accept user-generated content is, to some extent, at the whims of its users. If infringing content is found, rights holders already have the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) to help them request the legal removal of that content. They also have the ability to sue infringers for damages, as we've previously seen with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) when they, for example, sued a 12-year-old for downloading music. SOPA and PIPA provide a means to censor the tool that provided a means for the infringing content to exist on the internet rather than the content itself. This puts a lot of power in the hands of rights holders and has significant potential for abuse.

This is, of course, our interpretation of these bills. Because we love the internet and oppose censorship, we have an obvious bias. While we believe the right thing to do is to oppose these bills, you should make an informed decision on your own. For more information, please read the exact content of both the SOPA and PIPA bills.

What Can I Do About SOPA and PIPA?

Currently Twitter, Google, Reddit, Kickstarter, Tumblr, Mozilla, Yahoo, AOL, eBay, Zynga, Facebook, and several other sites have spoken out in opposition of SOPA and PIPA. In fact, many sites are censoring their logos (e.g. Google) or completely taking down their sites (e.g. Wikipedia) in protest on January 18th, 2012. There is incredible opposition to these bills because they don't just affect users like you, or small startups, but even very large companies with a large stake in the great things the internet and modern technology have to offer. If you'd like to join in your protest, there are a few things you can do.

First, call your congressperson on the phone. This is especially important if you live in a state with SOPA and/or PIPA supports or sponsors. Nonetheless, if your congresspeople do not support these bills you should still contact them to voice your support for their position.

Second, get the word out. Post this article, the American Censorship Day web site, or any other information about SOPA/PIPA on your social media accounts. Send emails to friends and family. If you oppose the bill, help others to understand why you believe they should oppose and encourage them to read more so they can make an informed choice.

Let's End the Fight and Start a Discussion

Finally, if you know a supporter or person in favor of SOPA and/or PIPA, have an open discussion. Myself and many others believe that the root of this problem stems from a lack of communication on both sides. Despite what my articles may suggest, I'm not a supporter of piracy. I do believe there is a compromise that both sides can reach with enough discussion, education, and understanding. It's important to remember that both the supporters and opposers of SOPA and PIPA have legitimate concerns. This should not be a fight but rather a cooperative discussion to find a solution. Whichever side you're on, please encourage a conversation that will move us towards change that is good for everyone rather than extreme measures that won't help anyone.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/J3bhMduQXK0/all-about-sopa-the-bill-thats-going-to-cripple-your-internet

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Still Hunting for a Straight Answer (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/187748634?client_source=feed&format=rss

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'Twilight: The Musical' Vamps In New York

Harry, Ron and Hermione make 'Twilight' debut in the off-Broadway parody.
By Amy Wilkinson

The cast of "Twilight: The Musical"
Photo: Dreamcatcher Entertainment

NEW YORK — When "Dreamgirls" helmer Bill Condon took over direction of "The Twilight Saga," more than a few cheeky journalists wondered if he'd treat fans to a bloodsucking song-and-dance extravaganza. Alas, vogueing Volturi weren't meant to be — at least on the big screen. They have, however, found a temporary home on the New York City stage in the form of "Twilight: The Musical." The off-Broadway parody production premiered Monday night at the New World Stages, raising money for the charity Blessings in a Backpack.

Written by Ashley Griffin and directed by Gabriel Barre, "Twilight: The Musical" is, for now, staged as a concert reading, meaning that the actors hold scripts throughout the show. But the cheat sheets did little to diminish the enthusiasm of the oft-hilarious production.

A group of eight actors play more than 30 roles, with some pulling quadruple and even quintuple duty (such as standouts Lauren Lopez and Jenna Leigh Green). With her bobbing ponytail, zip-up hoodie, skinny jeans and sullen expression, Meghann Fahy ("Next to Normal") is a dead ringer for Bella Swan (or, at the very least, Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Bella Swan), while "Wicked" actor Colin Hanlon looks perfectly pained as Edward Cullen. Jared Zirilli ("Wicked") spends the entire second act shirtless, portraying Jacob with the kind of earnestness that's made Taylor Lautner the object of many a teen's fever dreams.

The show opens much as the "Twilight" movie does, with Bella's monologue about her impending death followed by the cafeteria scene and the upbeat track "Looking for Something." (Sample lyrics: "I think I see a Fork stuck in my road," "We're standing on the twilight of something good.") The first act hems closely with its source material, including all the requisite scenes: Edward's biology class freak-out, Bella's car accident and the bookstore gang-up. Much of the dialogue comes straight from screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg's script, too, albeit with much-welcomed embellishments. (Charlie to Bella: "I know it's awkward starting in the middle of a semester, so I got you a truck!")

But things take a canon-twisting turn about two-thirds of the way through the first act when Hermione, Ron and Harry show up. Yes, someone got "Harry Potter" in our "Twilight." Instead of Victoria, James and Laurent, Hogwarts' finest play the villains here. The meta levels reach 11 when the wizards mistakes Edward for Cedric Diggory. And so it is that Ron tracks Bella down in her old ballet studio and is done in by the Cullen coven, leaving Hermione to avenge the death of her beloved. The first act closes on Bella's birthday — the surprisingly bloody scene from "New Moon."

The second act opens with a freshly shorn Jacob (his wig somehow even mangier than Lautner's) singing with his pack. From there, the production speeds through the last three books of Meyer's series, compressing much of the story in favor of cramming it all in. Despite the odd pacing, the production sang thanks to details only a true fanatic could relish. Edward's sparkling-in-the-sun effect is achieved with a glittery bodysuit hidden underneath the actor's button-down like Superman's spandex. The iconic apple from the book's cover hangs limply (and obviously) from a springing wire gizmo as Edward tries to suavely hand it to Bella. Not to mention the actors muster plenty of fourth-wall-breaking furtive glances, letting the audience know they are in on the joke.

But the tongue-in-cheek vibe is abandoned late in the second act for a sobering bit of moralizing from Harry, who comes to Bella in a dream sequence asking if it was all worth it. "You were willing to sacrifice everything to get a boyfriend," he says. "In the end, you destroyed yourself." Point taken, Harry Potter. But what a buzzkill.

If you weren't able to make the one-night-only charity benefit, don't fret: Work is being done to bring the production to the New York stage for good.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677398/twilight-the-musical.jhtml

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INTERACTIVE CHART: The Rise Of The European Government Debt

My wise beyond her years webmaster just told me about Google Public Data Explorer, which allows you to build interactive charts of public data. This is no doubt going to be my new favorite toy.

Check out the below graphic which shows General Goverment Deficit/Surplus as % of GDP on the Y axis, Goverment Debt as % of GDP on the X axis, and the Goverment Debt in Euros as the size of the bubble. Pretty cool!

Read more posts on Marc to Market ?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/great-graphic-government-debt-in-europe-2012-1

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Black church in South Carolina declared landlord of KKK gift shop

A judge in South Carolina has declared a black church to be the lawful owner of a building that is home to a store that peddles Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia -- although it isn't quite clear if the ruling will impede the sale of the racist stuff anytime soon.

The latest chapter in this long, weird and disturbing tale out of Laurens, S.C. -- about an hour northwest of the capital city of Columbia -- comes courtesy of Meg Kinnard of the Associated Press, who reports that Rev. David Kennedy and his New Beginnings church have been declared the rightful owners of an old theater building that houses the Redneck Shop, which trades in Klan robes, T-shirts with ethnic slurs and, according to its website, "bumperstickers, belts, mens and womens [sic] swimsuits, one or two piece, cotton or nylon flags, bird houses, and you name it..."

The ruling will apparently allow Kennedy to inspect the building, something he had been unable to do for years. But Kinnard reports that it isn't clear if the judge's ruling means the shop will be closed.

If it remains open, it will be difficult to imagine a more awkward landlord-tenant relationship.

Kennedy and his church had ownership of the building transferred to them in 1997 after the previous owner, a Klansman, quarreled with his fellow Klan members, particularly the store proprietor. The Klansman gave the building to?Kennedy's church after the two developed a "spiritual relationship," according to the judge in the case.

The intra-Klan argument did not concern the more esoteric points of Southern nationalism, nor whether keeping bird houses in stock at a racist tchotchke shop fit with the overall theme. Rather, it was a dispute over a woman.

ALSO:

Don't disrespect?the national anthem in Indiana?

Alleged 'Handsome Guy' bandit not looking?good in Mississippi

New York firebomb attacks: Man admits hurling Molotov cocktails

-- Richard Fausset in Atlanta

Photo: The Rev. David Kennedy, pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church, stands outside the Redneck Shop in Laurens, S.C., in 2008. Credit: Patrick Collard / Associated Press

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/01/racist_gift_store.html

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WATCH: Khloe Kardashian Gets 'Punk'd' by Miley Cyrus!

Khloe Kardashian probably won't be hanging out with Miley Cyrus and Kelly Osbourne anytime soon. In a new preview clip for MTV's relaunch of the hit series Punk'd (debuting March 19), pals Cyrus and Osbourne make Kardashian one of the new show's first victims.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/punkd-preview-khloe-kardashian-miley-cyrus/1-a-415175?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Apunkd-preview-khloe-kardashian-miley-cyrus-415175

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Henry Brown commented on Dr. GovLoop's group 'Google for Gov'

RE:?Any suggestions on what people would like to see from our G+ page? ?It's still rough but were thinking that on G+ people like more infographics, analysis,

?

YES Steve, something on your Google+ post. You can share post from other GovLoop members, an intro to GovLoop.com, etc. Just checked out your G+ and nothing was there, no pics, no post, just logo and link. So I recomend you share something. :>)

Source: http://www.govloop.com/xn/detail/1154385%3AComment%3A2065204?xg_source=activity

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Toxic homebrew kills 16 in India

Added At: ?2012-01-02 10:47 AM??

Last Updated At: 2012-01-02 10:47 AM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW DELHI :An official says at least 16 people have died after drinking a toxic home-brewed liquor over the weekend in southern India.

Gaurav Uppal, a top district administrator, says another 24 poor villagers are being treated in hospitals in the Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh state.

Seven people died soon after drinking the illegally brewed alcohol on Saturday and another nine lost their lives on Sunday, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Uppal as saying. Uppal could not be reached immediately for comment. The region is nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) south of New Delhi.

The victims were poor laborers looking for a cheap means of intoxication. Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India since the poor cannot afford licensed liquor. The illicit liquor is often spiked with pesticides or chemicals to increase its potency.

Source: http://thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?id=MzE0ODc2

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Google wants to know where your Android has been

We aren't saying that Google got the idea on this one from our picture contest to win the Verizon HTC Merge, but it is pretty similar, except for the fact that it's lacking the sweet prize we gave away.

Anywho, Google took to its +Android account on Google + asking the coolest place you have taken your Android. Think you have taken your Android to the coolest place? Does the coolest place even exist outside your mind? And know that they are talking about the little green guy here, not your phone or anything, so if you don't already have one they have provided one you can download and cut out to get you on your way. So, get to showing them off, will ya?

Source: +Android

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/5Qu4AVs9xcY/story01.htm

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Debate over who needs a thyroid check in pregnancy (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Check-ups during pregnancy tend to focus around the waist. But there's growing debate about which mothers-to-be should have a gland in their neck tested, too.

Numerous studies since 1999 have found that an underactive thyroid can raise a woman's risk of miscarriage, premature birth, or a lower IQ for her baby ? even if it's so mildly sluggish that she feels no symptoms.

The problem: While serious cases are treated with a hormone pill, so far there's little evidence that treating the milder cases makes a difference. So guidelines about who should be tested vary widely.

Now a peek at prenatal testing from one of the country's largest medical labs suggests that nearly a quarter of pregnant women are getting the simple thyroid blood test regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Researchers at Quest Diagnostics examined records for half a million pregnant women. Of those who got tested, a higher-than-expected number ? 15 percent ? had an underactive thyroid. That's five-fold higher than some previous estimates, partly because the way in which the condition is diagnosed has changed recently, says the study published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The vast majority of those women were in the gray zone, with milder cases where no one knows for sure if a diagnosis helps or wastes money on testing and thyroid medication.

The finding adds pressure for science to settle this long-running controversy.

"We still don't have perfect answers," says Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, a well-known endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center, where a recent survey found widespread prenatal thyroid testing. But, "if it's my patient in my office, or it's me or my family member, I'm going to treat every time."

Obstetricians seem more wary.

"There are studies on both sides of the fence," says Dr. Dena Goffman of New York's Montefiore Medical Center, which tests only women at high risk. "If you don't know what to do with the results, you probably shouldn't order the test," she said.

The unassuming thyroid ? a small bow tie-shaped gland nestled in the front of the neck ? plays a big role in good health for everyone. It produces hormones that regulate metabolism and can affect almost every type of tissue in the body. About 20 million Americans are estimated to have a malfunctioning thyroid that, if serious enough, can contribute to heart disease, bone-thinning osteoporosis and infertility.

An overactive thyroid, called hyperthyroidism, speeds up bodily functions, causing such symptoms as weight loss, nervousness, anxiety and increased heart rate and vision problems.

Much more common is an underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism. It slows body functions, causing such problems as fatigue, weight gain, depression, constipation and dry skin. It even can contribute to high cholesterol, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Thyroid problems increase with age, but they affect far more women than men ? and pregnancy puts extra stress on the gland.

Having enough thyroid hormones is important for fetal brain development, especially during the first trimester, when the fetus depends solely on the mother for them. The hormones also play a role in avoiding miscarriage or premature birth.

Mothers also may harbor immune system cells called antibodies that subtly attack the gland and likewise are linked to miscarriage and prematurity. Italian researchers found that treating those women lowered their risk of encountering this problem.

There is broad agreement that women with overt hypothyroidism ? a seriously underactive gland ? should be treated, most likely given a once-a-day hormone pill long known to be safe in pregnancy. But it takes blood testing to diagnose overt disease because even those women don't always report the vague symptoms.

Those $25 blood tests are sure to uncover women with mild hypothyroidism, too, the people in the so-called gray zone. Some research has raised questions about whether mild cases really pose a pregnancy risk, and preliminary results from a large British study recently found no overall IQ benefit to the resulting children if their mothers had been treated.

But the damage might already have been done by the time treatment began late in the first trimester, notes Boston's Pearce. In the U.S., doctors are anxiously awaiting a similar National Institutes of Health study; results aren't expected until 2015.

What's the advice until then? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends testing only pregnant women who have thyroid symptoms, have had previous thyroid problems, or have similar autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes ? those considered at risk for overt disease.

The American Thyroid Association goes further. Last summer it advised also testing all pregnant women age 30 and older, and those with enlarged thyroids, previous pregnancy problems or those who are obese, says Pearce, who co-authored the guidelines.

Most guidelines cite the lack of evidence for treating mild cases. The thyroid association does urge treatment if those women harbor the worrisome antibodies.

A final tip: Pregnant women should check that their prenatal vitamins contain iodine, important for proper thyroid function, Pearce says. Not all do. Most Americans get enough iodine from dairy products, bread, seafood and iodized table salt. But women need extra during pregnancy.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_he_me/us_med_healthbeat_thyroid_pregnancy

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MidtownNate: .@Raekwon Ft. Mobb Deep - Chinese Marines http://t.co/rdzaxw4W via @TheSource

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Hundreds of Iraqis cheer departure of US forces (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Hundreds of Sunni Muslims gathered in Baghdad Friday to celebrate the withdrawal of American forces, but in a sign of the sectarian divisions that re-emerged immediately after their departure, Shiite Muslims did not join the event.

The celebration took place near the Abu Hanifa mosque, the main house of worship in the primarily Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah in northern Baghdad. To secure the event, Iraqi troops blocked traffic on roads leading to the mosque and searched people approaching the area.

During the rally, men and children waved Iraqi flags and raised banners praising those who resisted the U.S. presence in Iraq.

"Baghdad is the castle of resistance," one banner read. "The deeds of the heroes are stronger than the weapons of the occupiers," read another banner. Women threw chocolates to the crowd as a sign of joy.

In his sermon, the mosque's preacher, Sheik Ahmed al-Taha, accused the Americans of stirring up sectarian tension among Iraqis.

"The occupiers created the sectarian conflict as an exit from the quagmire they found themselves in when they were facing 200 military operations against them every day. By dividing Iraqis, the Americans made Iraqis attack each other instead of attacking them," al-Taha told worshippers.

The preacher also called on the government to demand compensation from the Americans for the loss of lives and damage caused during the occupation.

The lingering sectarian divisions Iraq faces was clear during the prayer service and rally, which was almost entirely Sunni. Shiites had been invited to join the celebration but did not show up.

Shiites have even given the departure of the U.S. forces a different name than the Sunnis have. Sunnis generally call it the "evacuation day," whereas Shiites often refer to it as the "fulfillment day" as a way to show that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who leads a Shiite-dominated government, fulfilled his promise to get all the troops out of the country.

Tensions between Sunnis and Shiites have deepened since al-Maliki's government issued an arrest warrant for the country's top Sunni politician. The government is also trying to push out another member of his government, leaving many Sunnis to question whether they will ever have a place in the Iraqi power structure.

In spite of the problems, some Sunnis were optimistic.

Omar Abdul-Aziz, 28, said the sectarian conflicts Iraq experienced just a few years ago "won't be repeated because Iraqis now understand that sectarianism was planned by the occupiers."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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