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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Interactive Mirror Fulfills Your Manimal Fantasies [Video]
Charge Your iPhone With a Book [Desired]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6BI7f6oSSnk/
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Is Facebook really worth $100 billion? (The Week)
New York ? The social network is expected to file its IPO this week in what is seen as a "defining moment" for Silicon Valley. But are analysts overestimating its value?
Facebook is prepping for its long-expected initial public offering and could file the paperwork as soon as this week, reports the Wall Street Journal. The deal would be a "defining moment for the latest Web investing boom," with the company expected to raise as much as $10 billion. Such an IPO would yield the 800-million+ user social network a valuation between $75 and $100 billion, making it one of the largest companies in the world, alongside McDonald's and Amazon. But is that really so surprising, considering Facebook's unprecedented user base and the amount of time networkers spend on the site?
No. Facebook is a rare phenomenon: Five years ago I laughed at the idea that Facebook could be worth even $15 million, says Lance Ulanoff at Mashable. "Man, do I feel silly." With Timeline Apps, frictionless sharing, and close to a billion users, Facebook is "growing effortlessly" ? something MySpace couldn't do. Zuckerberg and his team have transformed the network into more than a place to "reconnect with old friends"; now it's a "platform for doing things" in "real time." Some people will get "very rich," but that money will be used to help the company innovate and grow into a full-blown platform. "I can see it now: The Facebook TV network!"
"Why Facebook Is Really Worth $100 Billion"?
Facebook is "grossly overvalued":?The social network's public offering will be a "non-event," says Peter Cohan at Forbes. Are we really to believe some analysts' forecasts that its shares will trade higher than Apple's or Google's? My prediction: After its "first-day IPO pop," Facebook's stock will experience the "same fate that greeted most of 2011's tech IPOs" and slump. Facebook's IPO won't "unleash corporate investment" or transform Silicon Valley. Rather, Facebook "will remain a niche phenomenon in the grander economic scheme."
"Four Reasons Why Facebook's IPO is Irrelevant"
$100 billion is a deal: Anyone can argue that $85-100 billion is is high, says Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry at Business Insider. "But we don't think it's insane." Facebook's future is "very bright," especially when you look at the precedents. Every new technology cycle is dominated by one company that typically ends up worth about $200 billion. (Microsoft dominated the PC era; Google defined the search era.) "Facebook is going to dominate the social era, and therefore it's going to be worth $200 billion some day. Discount that to today and $100 billion looks like a steal."
"Think Facebook's $100 Billion Valuation Is Nuts? Read This"
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Egypt says it has ended US lobbyists' contract (AP)
CAIRO ? Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Sunday it has ended a contract with three Washington lobbying firms to cut expenses, denying reports that the American companies were the ones to terminate the contract.
The rupture occurred as Cairo faces criticism from Washington for banning at least 10 Americans and Europeans from leaving the country as part of an investigation into foreign-funded civil society organizations. Among those barred was Sam LaHood of the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, who is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The ban sparked anger in the United States, and Washington warned on Tuesday that the campaign raised concerns about Egypt's transition to democracy and could jeopardize American aid that Egypt's battered economy needs badly after a year of political and social unrest.
The travel ban was part of an Egyptian criminal investigation into foreign-funded democracy organizations after soldiers raided the offices of 10 such groups last month, including the IRI and its sister organization, the National Democratic Institute, as well as several Egyptian organizations.
Both the IRI and the NDI, linked to the Republican and Democratic parties, monitored Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.
The Egyptian investigation is closely linked with the political turmoil that has engulfed the country since the fall of Hosni Mubarak nearly a year ago. The generals who took power after Mubarak's fall have accused "foreign hands" of being behind protests against their rule, and they frequently depict the protesters themselves as receiving foreign funds in a plot to destabilize the country.
The December raids have drew sharp U.S. criticism, and President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, to emphasize "the role that these organizations can play in civil society," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Thursday.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement was issued two days after Politico reported that former Republican Rep. Bob Livingston, former Democratic Rep. Toby Moffett and longtime lobbyist Tony Podesta ended their contract with the Egyptian government.
Livingston confirmed to Politico in an email that the three lobbyist firms have ended their contract.
"We hope that Egyptians continue to enjoy the deepening of democracy in their country, and that Egypt remains a strong, stable and vital ally of the United States," the three lobbyists said in a joint statement released on Saturday.
Politico reported earlier that the firms came under criticism after circulating talking points justifying Egyptian security forces' raids on a number of NGOs including American groups.
The lobbying firms could not be reached immediately for comment.
Meanwhile, a delegation from Egypt's Defense Ministry has arrived in New York, Egypt's state news agency reported.
MENA quoted military attache Gen. Mohammed el-Kishki as saying that the visit was aimed at discussing "cooperation between the two countries in military affairs."
Egypt's army, which took power after the February 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak, receives 1.3 billion dollars a year in U.S. foreign assistance.
The country's aid package has come under pressure by members of Congress who want assurances that Egypt will abide by a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and that the military rulers will respect democratic freedoms.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Firing of TV host a victory for Pakistani liberals (AP)
ISLAMABAD ? In a rare victory for Pakistani liberals, a private TV station decided to fire a popular morning show host after she sparked outrage by running around a public park trying to expose young, unmarried couples hanging out, a taboo in this conservative Muslim country.
Pakistani liberals derided host Maya Khan's behavior on Twitter and Facebook, comparing it to the kind of moral policing practiced by the Taliban, and started an online petition asking Samaa TV to end this "irresponsible programming" and apologize.
The company responded Saturday in a letter sent to reporters saying it had decided to fire Khan and her team and cancel her show because she refused to issue an unconditional apology for the Jan. 17 program.
Samaa TV's decision marked an unusual victory for Pakistan's beleaguered liberal minority, which has become more marginalized as the country has shifted to the right and whose members have been killed by Islamist extremists for standing up for what they believe.
Critics of the program also praised the company's decision as a positive example of self-regulation by Pakistan's freewheeling TV industry, which was liberalized in 2000 and has mushroomed from one state-run channel to more than 80 independent ones.
Some shows have been praised for serving the public good by holding powerful officials to account, but many others have been criticized for doing anything that will get ratings, including pandering to populist sentiments at the expense of privacy and sometimes truth.
"Samaa management has set a good example that some others need to follow," said prominent human rights activist and journalist Hussain Naqi.
During the program in question, Khan and around a dozen other men and women chased down young couples in a seaside park in the southern city of Karachi. Several couples raced away from the group. One young man put on a motorcycle helmet to hide his identity, while his female friend covered her face with a veil.
Khan finally accosted one couple sitting on a bench and pestered them with questions about whether they were married and whether their parents knew they were there. The man said the couple was engaged and asked Khan to shut off her cameras and microphone. She lied and said they were off.
"What is the difference between this kind of media vigilantism and that demonstrated by the Taliban?" said Mahnaz Rahman, a director at the Aurat Foundation, an organization that fights for women's rights in Pakistan.
Islamist extremists have been ruthless in targeting liberal Pakistanis who disagree with their hardline views. One of the most prominent examples was in last January, when a bodyguard shot to death the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, because of his criticism of Pakistani laws that mandate the death penalty for criticizing the Prophet Muhammad.
Following Khan's program, one headline in a local paper called the host and the other women who appeared on the show "Vigil-aunties," referring to the South Asian term "aunty" for a bossy older woman.
A petition posted online that criticized Khan's behavior as "highly intrusive, invasive and potentially irresponsible" and demanded an official apology attracted more than 5,000 signatures.
Khan reportedly rejected the criticism at first but eventually issued on apology on TV to anyone she may have offended, saying "it was not my objective to make you cry or hurt you."
This fell short of the apology that Khan's bosses demanded, according to a letter written by the chairman of Samaa TV, Zafar Siddiqi. It said Khan and her team would receive termination notices on Jan. 30 and her show would be canceled.
Siddiqi said the company did not "absolve such behavior irrespective of ratings the show was getting."
Scores of Pakistanis on Twitter praised Samaa TV's decision.
"Journalists must never forget the dividing line between public interest & private freedom," tweeted Najam Sethi, a prominent Pakistani journalist.
___
Khan reported from Karachi. Associated Press writer Zarar Khan contributed to this article.
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Celebrity pot busts put tiny Texas county on map
FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2011 file photo, actor Armie Hammer poses for photographers after the Young Hollywood Panel during AFI FEST 2011 in Los Angeles. The town of Sierra Blanca, Texas, which is losing more and more residents every year, is attracting nationwide attention as a magnet for pot-toting celebrities who have been arrested for possession at a Border Patrol checkpoint outside town. Hammer was arrested Nov. 20, 2011, at a border patrol checkpoint in West Texas after a drug sniffing dog discovered marijuana in his car. The 25-year-old, who starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in "J. Edgar," spent about a day in jail before paying a $1,000 bond. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2011 file photo, actor Armie Hammer poses for photographers after the Young Hollywood Panel during AFI FEST 2011 in Los Angeles. The town of Sierra Blanca, Texas, which is losing more and more residents every year, is attracting nationwide attention as a magnet for pot-toting celebrities who have been arrested for possession at a Border Patrol checkpoint outside town. Hammer was arrested Nov. 20, 2011, at a border patrol checkpoint in West Texas after a drug sniffing dog discovered marijuana in his car. The 25-year-old, who starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in "J. Edgar," spent about a day in jail before paying a $1,000 bond. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
SIERRA BLANCA, Texas (AP) ? Nestled among the few remaining businesses that dot a rundown highway in this dusty West Texas town stands what's become a surprise destination for marijuana-toting celebrities: the Hudspeth County Jail.
Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and actor Armie Hammer have been among the thousands of people busted for possession at a Border Patrol checkpoint outside town in recent years, bringing a bit of notoriety to one of Texas' most sparsely populated counties.
"Once I was in Arizona, and when I said where I was from, they said, 'That's where Willie Nelson was busted,'" said Louise Barantley, manager at the Coyote Sunset souvenir shop in Sierra Blanca.
Hudspeth County cameos aren't only for outlaws: Action movie star Steven Seagal, who's already deputized in Louisiana and Arizona for his reality show "Steven Seagal Lawman" on A&E, has signed on to become a county officer.
Locals already have found ways to rub shoulders with their celebrity guests.
Deputies posed for pictures with Snoop Dogg after authorities said they found several joints on his bus earlier this month. When Nelson was busted here in 2010, the county's lead prosecutor suggested the singer settle his marijuana charges by performing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" for the court. Nelson paid a fine instead, but not before county commissioner Wayne West played one of his own songs for the country music legend.
West acknowledged he's a big fan of Nelson and wanted to capitalize on a golden chance to perform for such a noted "captive audience."
"Willie loved the song, he is a real outgoing individual" he added.
The once-thriving town of Sierra Blanca began to shrink to its current 1,000-person population after the construction of nearby Interstate 10 ? a main artery linking cities from California to Florida ? offered an easy way to bypass the community.
Now the highway is sending thousands of drug bust cases Sierra Blanca's way, courtesy of a Border Patrol checkpoint just outside of town where drug-sniffing dogs inspect more than 17,000 trucks, travelers ? and tour buses ? daily for whiffs of contraband that may have made its wait inland from the border.
Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West, younger brother of the musically inclined commissioner, said his office handled about 2,000 cases last year, most of them having to do with drugs seized at the checkpoint.
Border Patrol agents say people busted with small amounts of pot often say they have medical marijuana licenses from California, Arizona or New Mexico ? three states along I-10 that, unlike Texas, allow for medicinal pot prescriptions ? and claim to believe the licenses were valid nationwide.
Nelson's publicists declined to comment about the specifics of the singer's case. Representatives for Snoop Dogg, who will pay a fine and court costs after being cited for possession of marijuana paraphernalia, did not return several messages seeking comment.
County authorities have not yet decided whether to prosecute or issue a citation for Hammer, who starred in the 2010 film "The Social Network" and more recently played FBI's number two man in "Edgar J." He was arrested in November after authorities said they found marijuana-laced brownies and cookies on his way to his wife's bakery in San Antonio. His attorney Kent Schaffer has called the case a "total non-issue."
Local officials say they're not on a celebrity witch hunt, but some residents are enjoying the publicity from the high-profile arrests. They say the once forgotten town of Sierra Blanca should take pride in not pandering to famous people caught breaking the law.
"We get attention because something is being done right," resident Adolfo Gonzalez said while shopping at a local convenience store. "It'd be worse if we'd let them go because they are celebrities."
That's not expected to change when Segal comes to town. Sheriff West insists the "Under Siege" star hasn't indicated any plans to film his show here ? but the sheriff isn't ruling it out.
"If he wants to, we can do it but that's not what he said this was about," West said.
West's spokesman, Rusty Flemming, said Seagal will patrol the area and train colleagues in martial arts and weapons techniques. The actor is expected to arrive in Hudspeth County within months, once he's done filming a new movie in Canada.
Segal's management agency did not return calls and emails seeking comment about his plans in Texas.
Commissioner West, meanwhile, is keeping his musical skills sharp ? just in case another performer pays a surprise visit to the county jail. The lead guitarist and vocalist of a local band, West said he regrets not having a chance to sing for Snoop Dogg, but wasn't sure if the rapper would have enjoyed the performance anyway.
"Our stuff is laid back," he said. "Mas o menos (more or less) country."
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Weekly Ketchup: Hugo and The Artist Top Oscar Nominees
The entire last week has seen much of Hollywood's movers and shakers in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, and so this was another slow news week, and more than that, it was also one of the most "Rotten Idea" filled weeks this column has ever seen. Given that the lead story is the Academy Awards, that's really saying something, too. The stories that did make the cut include a sequel for The Last Exorcism, two other movies involving ghosts or the supernatural, and new roles for Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Selena Gomez, Ryan Reynolds, Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon.
This Week's Top Story
HUGO AND THE ARTIST ARE THE TOP OSCAR NOMINEES THIS YEAR
This entire week made up the biggest chunk of this year's Sundance Film Festival, and so there was very little movie news of much note. In fact, much of what drove movie site traffic this week was actually re-reporting of earlier news stories, such as Steven Spielberg being in talks for a Moses movie, and the quasi-Monty-Python-reunion movie Absolutely Anything (previously covered in the Ketchup here and here, respectively). Nope, the one really big movie thing that actually did happen this week was the Academy Award nominations on Tuesday morning. As with any year, there were movies that did better than expected (Hugo leading the pack with 11 nominations), movies that did worse than expected (50/50, The Adventures of Tintin, Drive, and Young Adult), and movies that did pretty much as expected (The Artist, Moneyball). A few studios reacted immediately to the results, with the two films with the most nominations (Hugo and The Artist), and one of the films tied for 5th (The Descendants) all getting theatrical expansions today.
Fresh Developments This Week
#1 REESE WITHERSPOON AND RYAN REYNOLDS JOIN BIG EYES
The screenwriting team of Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have been trying to direct a biopic called Big Eyes made since at least 2008, when Kate Hudson was first announced as landing the lead role. Big Eyes will tell the true story of American painter Margaret Keane, whose work became famous for depictions of girls and women with unusually large eyes, but it was actually her husband Walter Keane who took the credit. Tim Burton, who directed the Alexander/Karaszewski movie Ed Wood, recently came aboard the troubled project, and now Big Eyes is back on track, with filming finally scheduled to start this spring. Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds are now signed to star as Margaret and Walter Keane, which makes Big Eyes Reese Witherspoon's second biopic, after playing June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. Celebrity biopics are often made after the inspiration has passed, but such is not the case with Margaret Keane, who is still alive at the age of 84, and it's not yet known if Keane will be involved with the production. Although their first film as co-directors was the Rotten-rated Screwed, all three of Alexander and Karaszewski's previous celebrity biopics (Ed Wood, The People vs Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon) were rated Fresh, and so this story is, too.
#2 THE LAST EXORCISM JOINS FINAL DESTINATION IN THE IRONICALLY TITLED HORROR FRANCHISE GAME
Although many movie fans are not enamored of the current "found footage" horror trend, many of those movies (like, say, the Paranormal Activity franchise) get better RT Tomatometer scores than you might expect, just by gauging the online reactions. Lionsgate's 2010 release The Last Exorcism (73% Fresh) is definitely an example of that. And so, this week's news of a planned sequel to The Last Exorcism lands a spot as a Fresh Development. Ashley Bell will return to reprise her starring role as Nell Sweetzer in an as-yet-to-be-titled sequel which is expected to be produced quickly enough to be released in either late 2012 or early 2013. The sequel will otherwise have mostly new creatives, however, as both the director and screenwriter were not involved with The Last Exorcism. Director Ed Gass-Donnelly (This Beautiful City, Small Town Murder Songs) and screenwriter Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench) also share a background in movies that most people have not yet really heard of, or have seen. One more difference that this sequel will have from The Last Exorcism is its planned MPAA rating, as the sequel will be aiming to be a hard-R-rated horror movie, instead of the PG-13 rating that The Last Exorcism received. Since this writer hasn't actually seen The Last Exorcism to know if that Fresh status is warranted, you can consider this one a borderline Fresh Development... which also sort of tells you exactly what an awful week this has been for movie news.
Rotten Ideas of the Week
#7 THE WEEK IN CAST DEPARTURES: EVIL DEAD, DESPICABLE ME 2, LOVELACE
Perhaps it was the otherwise slow news week, but three different actors/actresses dropped out of prominent movie projects this week. First up was Lily Collins, the star of the upcoming Snow White movie Mirror Mirror, who had recently been announced as starring as the female lead in the reboot of Evil Dead (as basically the female version of Ash, under a different character name). That old stand by of "scheduling issues" was given as the reason for Collins' departure, but it's easy to imagine the negative reactions from Evil Dead fans online could have also been an "issue." Not really that long after dropping out of the Star Trek sequel, Javier Bardem has dropped out of playing the villain in yet another sequel, this time being Despicable Me 2, in which Bardem was to have played a character called "El Macho." Finally, there's Demi Moore. You might have heard something else about her this week... this writer is nearly whipping himself trying to remember what it was. Anyway, Demi Moore has also pulled out of playing Gloria Steinem in Lovelace, the Linda Lovelace biopic starring Amanda Seyfried.
#6 JULIA ROBERTS, ALEC BALDWIN AND OTHERS JOIN THE NORMAL HEART
Julia Roberts, Alec Baldwin, Matt Bomer (TV's White Collar) and Jim Parsons (TV's The Big Bang Theory) have all joined the already cast Mark Ruffalo in the film adaptation of the Tony Award winning play The Normal Heart. The Normal Heart tells the nearly autobiographical story of the founder of a New York HIV advocacy group during the early 1980s, as written by Larry Kramer. Ryan Murphy, who is best known as the creator of the TV shows Nip/Tuck, Glee and American Horror Story, will be directing from Larry Kramer's own adaptation of his play, in what will be his third film as director after Running with Scissors and Eat Pray Love. Mark Ruffalo will be starring in The Normal Heart, with Julia Roberts playing his wheelchair-bound doctor, Alec Baldwin playing his lawyer brother, Matt Bomer playing his boyfriend, and Jim Parsons will play a Southern gay rights activist. It's also worth noting that a movie version of The Normal Heart had long been one of Barbra Streisand's top priorities, but the Glee guy is succeeding where Streisand is not. The Normal Heart is one of the week's Rotten Ideas mostly because both of Ryan Murphy's previous films as director received Rotten scores on the RT Tomatometer.
#5 SOME OF THE INSIDIOUS TEAM REUNITE FOR THE CONJURING
Another recent horror film that did much better on the RT Tomatometer than one might think was the 2011 release Insidious. Indeed, it was the first time that a movie from director James Wan scored a "Fresh" movie after four other movies that weren't simply Rotten; three of them earned Tomatometer scores of less than 21% (Saw IV, Death Sentence, Dead Silence). James Wan's next movie (for New Line Cinema) until very recently had the title The Conjuring (this week, that title got dropped). The now-untitled script was written by Chad and Carey Hayes, who also were responsible for three movies poorly rated on the RT Tomatometer (House of Wax, The Reaping, Whiteout). What's deceptive about The Conjuring, then, is that the four actors who were announced this week all seem like maybe they should be in better movies than these Tomatometers suggest The Conjuring has a chance of being. Patrick Wilson (Little Children, Watchmen) and Vera Farmiga (Source Code, Up in the Air) will play a husband/wife team of "ghost hunters" who investigate a haunted farmhouse in Rhode Island, and Ron Livingston (Office Space, Swingers) and Lili Taylor (High Fidelity, Say Anything...) will play the couple that lives there.
#4 THE SAINT GETTING REBOOTED (AGAIN)
In 1997, Val Kilmer starred in The Saint, an attempt to reboot the Simon Templar character first popularized in a series of novels by Leslie Charteris. The Saint has been the inspiration for 16 movies since 1938, and three different TV series, including the 1962-1969 version that helped launch Roger Moore's career (and land him the James Bond franchise a few years later). The premise behind Simon Templar, AKA The Saint, is that he is a "gentleman thief" who travels around the world, targeting wealthy criminals, politicians and otherwise evil types, in a sort of modern variation on Robin Hood. RKO Pictures was responsible for 9 of those early 1930s-1940s Saint movies, and now the revived RKO Pictures has set its sights on rebooting The Saint in a potential new trilogy of films. RKO Pictures is doing this by hiring screenwriter Travis Wright (cowriter of Eagle Eye) to adapt one of three of the nine Simon Templar movies that RKO produced, although which three they are is currently unknown. This story is one of the week's Rotten Ideas mostly due to the RT Tomatometer scores of the new version of RKO Pictures to date (such as Are We Done Yet? and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt).
#3 SELENA GOMEZ FINDS LOVE WHEN SHE NOTICES THAT THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE
The Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place recently ended its four season run, and the show's star Selena Gomez is as expected turning her attention towards a film career. These plans include having her own production company called July Moon. One of Selena Gomez's first new projects as producer is an adaptation of the Jandy Nelson young adults novel The Sky is Everywhere, in which Gomez is intending also to star. Selena Gomez will play a 17-year-old "bookworm and band geek" whose romantic life is changed drastically following the death of her older sister, whose boyfriend turns to Gomez's character, while she also attracts the interest of a French foreign exchange student. There's no writer or director announced yet for this project. The Sky is Everywhere is one of the week's Rotten Ideas partly because of the mixed RT Tomatometer scores for Selena Gomez's films thus far, but that's only part of the reason. This writer also can't help but think that a movie about how awesome a dead sister can be for one's love life is nearly as creepy as, you know, a teenage girl falling in love with a blood-thirsty zombie (or as some people might call it, a "vampire").
#2 RUSSELL BRAND TAKES ON THE BEETLEJUICE SEQUEL AS THE HAUNTREPRENEUR
Sometimes, the hidden subtext in the announcement of a new movie is not the titles that are mentioned, but the movie that doesn't get mentioned. In this case, it's easy to see the thorough line that connects to Warner Bros' plans for a Beetlejuice sequel. Paramount Pictures has signed Russell Brand to star in a live action "supernatural children's tale" called The Hauntrepreneur, about an expert (Brand) who is hired by a family to build a haunted house in their neighborhood. The concept is also similar to the plans for a movie based upon the British TV series Rentaghost, which Russell Brand was formerly attached to star in (until he was eventually replaced by Ben Stiller). The Hauntrepeneur doesn't have a director yet, and it got its start at Paramount as a spec script sold by screenwriter Scott Rosenberg (Con Air, Gone in Sixty Seconds; cowriter of Kangaroo Jack). The mostly Rotten RT Tomatometer track records of both Scott Rosenberg and Russell Brand are both part of why The Hauntrepreneur is one of this week's Rotten Ideas.
#1 THOR'S LITTLE BROTHER TO PLAY A TIME TRAVEL-INVENTING "SCIENTIST" IN TIMELESS
Australian actor Liam Hemsworth is the little brother of Thor star Chris Hemsworth, and one of the costars of the 2010 film The Last Song and this spring's The Hunger Games. And now, the 22 year old actor has already signed on to play a role that seems a bit old for Hemsworth: a married scientist with enough experience in his given field to invent a working time machine. The movie is called Timeless, and it's about a man who tries to invent a time machine after his wife dies. Timeless will be directed by Phillip Noyce (Salt, The Bone Collector, The Saint) from a script by Bill Kelly (Enchanted, Premonition; cowriter of Blast from the Past). Although Phillip Noyce has directed many "Fresh" rated movies, Timeless is still the week's Most Rotten Idea simply because the just-turned-22 Liam Hemsworth seems entirely too young for this role. Of course, to be fair, Jerry O'Connell was a year younger when he played a grad student who invented an alternate reality portal device in his Mom's basement in Sliders, but... that was also Sliders.
For more Weekly Ketchup columns by Greg Dean Schmitz, check out the WK archive, and you can contact GDS via Facebook or a RT forum message.
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924397/news/1924397/
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Report: Android accounts for 39 pct of tablet market (Digital Trends)
Market analysis firm Strategy Analytics has released its analysis of the worldwide tablet market during the fourth quarter of 2011, and finds that while the Apple iPad continues to dominate with a 58 percent share, Android tablets are catching up, accounting for 39 percent of the market. And even Windows tablets put in an appearance, accounting for roughly one percent of the global market. The figures represent a solid year-on-year improvement for Android, which Strategy Analytics pegged at holding 29 percent of the tablet market a year ago.
?Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous brands such as Amazon, Samsung, Asus, and others have been driving volumes,? said Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston, in a statement. ?Android is so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android?s operating system, user interface, and app store ecosystem.?
Strategy Analytics says some 10.5 million Android tablets were shipped during the fourth quarter of 2011, up from just 3.1 million for the same quarter a year ago. However, the numbers require a little bit of explanation: Strategy Analytics says its figures refer to ?sell-in,? which is when manufacturers sell their devices to retailers and other outlets, who in turn sell them to the public. However, the figures Strategy Analytics is using for the Apple iPad?15.43 million units during the fourth quarter?refer to actual sales to consumers, not just units shipped to be sold. As company?s like RIM know all too well, there can be a tremendous difference between the number of products a company ships to retailers and the number that actually wind up in consumers? hands. For that matter, it?s absolutely certain Apple shipped more than 15.43 million units to its own stores and retailers last quarter, since the iPad 2 was readily available in good supply to anyone who wanted it.
Strategy Analytics says its figures also omit e-readers, something that?s sure to irk Barnes & Noble with its range of Android-powered devices. Previous reports on Android tablets have included the Nook Color as an ?Android tablet.?
Most industry watchers expect Android tablets to begin chipping away at Apple?s lead in the tablet market?particularly with the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire and other low-cost devices. However, the diversity of devices and manufacturers in the Android ecosystem may make it difficult to determine exactly how well Android tablets might be doing against the iPad: Apple reports actual sales, but essentially no other manufacturers are willing to do the same.
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
More from Digital Trends
Survey: iPad set to be pushed aside by Kindle Fire this holiday season
Apple iOS 5: Everything you need to know
Amazon?s tablet will be named the Kindle Fire
WSJ: Amazon tablet due in October
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Why is investment income taxed less than wages? (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Why do Mitt Romney and other wealthy investors pay lower taxes on the income they make from investments than they would if they earned their millions from wages? Because Congress, through the tax code, has long treated investment more favorably than labor, seeing it as an engine for economic growth that benefits everyone.
President Barack Obama and the Occupy Wall Street movement are challenging that value system, raising volatile election-year issues of equity, fairness ? and Romney's tax returns.
Romney, who released his 2010 and 2011 tax returns this week, has been forced to defend the fact that he paid a tax rate of about 15 percent on an annual income of $21 million. His tax rate is comparable to the one paid by most middle-income families. His income, however, is 420 times higher than the typical U.S. household.
The Republican presidential candidate's taxes were so low because the vast majority of his income came from investments. The U.S. has long had a progressive income tax, in which people who make more money pay taxes at a higher rate than those who make less. But for almost as long, the U.S. has taxed capital gains ? the profit from selling an investment ? at a lower rate than wages.
"There are two ways to look at: There is a moral argument and an economic growth argument, and they both point to lower taxes on capital gains," said William McBride, an economist at the conservative Tax Foundation.
McBride says it is unfair to tax income more than once, and capital gains are taxed multiple times. If you got the original investment from wages, that money was taxed. If the stock you own gains value because the company you invested in makes a profit, those profits are taxed through the corporate tax. And if that company issues dividends, those are taxed as well.
Lots of people are double taxed, says Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy for the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Check out your last pay stub: There's income tax and payroll tax, so you're double taxed, too," Marr said.
And, he noted, when you buy something, you probably pay a sales tax.
Under current law, the top tax rate is 15 percent on qualified dividend and long-term capital gains ? the profits from selling assets that have been held for at least a year. The top income tax rate on wages is 35 percent, though that applies only to taxable income above $388,350.
Congress started taxing capital gains at a lower rate than wages following World War I. The concern then was that high taxes on capital gains actually reduced revenue because people would simply hold onto their investments and restrict the flow of capital, according to the Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy.
At the time, however, the top tax rate on wages was a whopping 73 percent. In 1922, Congress lowered the top capital gains rate to 12.5 percent, a rate that lasted until 1934.
For much of the next 70 years, the top tax rate on long-term capital gains hovered between 20 percent and 30 percent, going as high as 39.9 percent in the 1970s but never falling below 20 percent until 2003, when Congress passed a gradual reduction to the current rate.
The 2003 law also started taxing qualified dividends at the same rate as capital gains.
Liberals and some moderates argue that lower taxes on investments are a giveaway to the rich because they are the ones who get the most benefit. Last year, two-thirds of all capital gains went to people making more than $1 million, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the official scorekeeper for Congress.
Only 5 percent of capital gains went to people making less than $100,000, and only 13 percent went to people making less than $200,000.
"I'm a liberal person and I believe strongly that the wealthy should pay more than the working poor," Marr said, regardless of whether the income is from investments or labor.
Obama has taken up this argument, though his budget proposals have called for only small tax increases on capital gains and dividends, to a top rate of 20 percent.
Instead, Obama has developed the "Buffet Rule," named after billionaire investor Warren Buffet, which says rich people shouldn't pay taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries. To impose this rule, Obama said at his State of The Union address Tuesday that people making more than $1 million should pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes.
"Now, you can call this class warfare all you want," Obama said. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."
The proposal has little chance of passing a divided Congress this year, and the Obama administration has released few details on how the tax would work.
Conservatives argue that increasing investment taxes would make it harder to for businesses to raise capital, restricting job growth and hurting financial markets, reducing income for people who rely on pension funds and 401(k) accounts as well as billionaires and millionaires.
"In my view the rationale for taxing capital gains and dividends at a lower rate has nothing to do with what an individual pays versus another individual," said Jim McCrery, who was a senior Republican member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee when the 2003 tax cuts were enacted. "It has everything to do with the creation of jobs in this country."
McCrery now works for the Alliance for Savings and Investment, a coalition of companies and business groups that want to keep the current tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
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Ramiro Garcia Brings 'Grace' To 'American Idol'
Cortez Shaw, Kristine Osorio and Skylar Laine also make an impression on the judges during Texas auditions.
By Adam Graham
Ramiro Garcia auditions on "American Idol" Thursday
Photo: Michael Becker / FOX
The "American Idol" judges have mostly seen eye-to-eye (to eye) so far this season, with the majority of contestants being passed through to Hollywood or sent back home by unanimous vote. But on Thursday's (January 26) episode, we saw several disagreements between the judges, with Jennifer Lopez giving singers a passing grade while Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson flunked them. It was implied but not explicitly spelled out that the boys were voting on looks more than voices, angering Lopez to the point where she mock-stabbed Tyler in the head with a pen.
The dissension continued with contestant Linda Williams, whose version of Alicia Keys' "Fallin' " seemed shaky, though it was good enough — or her looks were — to earn "yes" votes from Tyler and Jackson.
"Wake up! Honestly, I feel like somebody slipped you something," Lopez told Jackson, as she could sense which way he was leaning. It wasn't enough to dissuade the Dawg, and after Williams was passed through to Hollywood, Lopez moaned to her fellow judges, "That was awful. That was awful!" Let the drama begin!
The latest episode did its best to ramp up the drama factor, taking a detour from the happy-go-lucky vibe that has purveyed over the first four episodes of the season. Even though the Galveston, Texas, auditions gave out 54 Golden Tickets — more than any other audition city so far this season — the show highlighted fewer of those winners than any other episode, instead introducing viewers to oddballs and wannabes, in keeping with years past. Is this the producers' way of reacting to the show's slipping ratings?
The night's warmest story belonged to 28-year-old Ramiro Garcia, a worship leader in Houston who was born without ears and was told he would grow up mute. After several surgeries, doctors discovered his ear canal ,and he taught himself to not only speak but to sing. His husky, smoky version of "Amazing Grace" was a standout. Tyler told him, "I like your insides" — a weird compliment, to be sure, but it was enough to give Garcia a pass through to Hollywood.
Another standout was 20-year-old Cortez Shaw of Garland, Texas, who put a warm R&B twist on Adele's "Someone Like You" and instantly won the favor of the judges, who implied they'd heard far too many botched versions of 2011's #1 sob song. Shaw said he grew up bouncing between his friends' homes while his single mother struggled with homelessness, but he put a positive spin on everything and came out ahead. And he's not lacking for confidence: "I'm gonna win 'American Idol,' " he said after earning his Golden Ticket to Hollywood. "OH MY GOD!"
Kristine Osorio also sang an Adele song — "One and Only" — and equally wowed the judges. The 28-year-old mother of three from Amarillo, Texas, was praised by Tyler for her upper register, and her slick hairdo and tattooed upper body give her a strong, unique look.
Also graduating through to Hollywood were 17-year-old Skylar Laine from Brandon, Mississippi, a deer-killin', ATV-ridin' country gal who was more than convincing singing Pistol Annies' "Hell on Heels," and Baylie Brown, a 21-year-old who made it through to Hollywood back in season six and return this year on the strength of her country-fried rendition of Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses."
"American Idol" is back Wednesday to put a bird on it with a trip to Portland, Oregon.
What did you think of Thursday's "American Idol"? Let us know in the comments!
Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678012/american-idol-recap-auditions-ramiro-garcia.jhtml
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Religious Fla prep school a victim in $135M fraud (AP)
MIAMI ? A prominent businessman pleaded guilty Wednesday to fraud in a $135 million real estate scheme that fleeced hundreds of investors, including the Roman Catholic prep school he once attended.
Gaston Cantens, 73, faces up to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to a single count of wire and mail fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams set sentencing for April 4.
Cantens also lured investors from Miami's close-knit Cuban-American community, many of them elderly and some Roman Catholic priests.
One victim, 80-year-old Eduardo Arango, said he lost about $800,000 investing with Cantens. He called the plea agreement "a sweet deal" because Cantens could have faced more charges and a longer prison sentence.
"Most of the victims were people who are very aged. They lost whatever their resources were. They have suffered," Arango said.
Federal prosecutors said Cantens operated his company, Royal West Properties Inc., like a Ponzi scheme in which he paid older investors with money raised from newer ones. The company sold real estate investments in southwest Florida since 1993 but fell on hard times beginning in 2002 and was eventually forced into bankruptcy in 2009, according to court documents.
Before it crashed, Royal West promised rates of return as high as 16 percent for investors who bought properties, which were marketed nationally on Spanish-language networks and through offices in Florida, New York, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
One investor was the Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, which traces its roots to Cuba and from which Cantens graduated when it was still located in Havana. Fidel Castro also is an alumnus from those days.
Eric Bustillo, chief of the SEC field office in Miami, called it a typical "affinity" scam in which the perpetrator uses a position of trust to prey on members of a specific group, in this case people connected to Belen and members of the larger Cuban-American community.
"The Cantens used their prominent standing in a close-knit Cuban-American community to ruthlessly exploit vulnerable elderly investors who trusted them with their life savings," Bustillo said.
Cantens' wife, 75-year-old Teresita Cantens, was named in a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint but was not charged in the criminal case.
Their son, former state Rep. Gaston I. Cantens, was also not implicated in the scheme, but he did co-sign documents allowing his father to remain free until sentencing on $100,000 bail. The younger Cantens is vice president at the Florida Crystals Corp. sugar company.
In all, prosecutors said more than 150 investors lost about $47 million between 2003 and 2008. Of the total, investigators said Cantens and his wife skimmed about $20 million for other business ventures, to pay themselves more than $5 million in salaries and to pay children and grandchildren $1 million in "consulting fees" even though they did no work for Royal West.
Cantens could be ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution, but it's doubtful that he has any means to do so. Royal West is being liquidated in the bankruptcy case and Cantens has been unable to pay a $5.3 million judgment in the SEC case.
Arango said most investors have gotten only about 3 cents on the dollar from the bankruptcy proceeding.
"The anguish, pain and suffering here has been immense," he said.
____
Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
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Nintendo sees first annual loss, cuts 3DS forecast (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? Nintendo Co Ltd posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit and forecast a bigger-than-expected full-year loss, its first at an operating level, as it battles a strong yen and its games devices lose ground to gadgets such as Apple's iPhone.
The creator of the Super Mario franchise dominated the video games industry for years with its DS handheld players and Wii home consoles, but is now struggling to keep up as more versatile smartphone and tablet sales boom.
"To say that (the days of consoles) are over is likely an overstatement, but social network and Internet delivered games are growing and structurally changing the future of the industry, which is a strong wind against Nintendo," said Shigeo Sugawara, senior investment manager at Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Asset Management.
Nintendo now expects an annual operating loss of 45 billion yen ($575 million), dwarfing expectations of a 4.2 billion yen loss, based on the average of 21 analyst forecasts.
"Their time of growth (from consoles) is over, and, while I don't think the company will cease to exist, if they don't move into new categories, they will no doubt lose the great scale they've amassed," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management in Tokyo.
Nintendo cut its forecast for annual sales of its ageing Wii console to 10 million devices from 12 million, and for the 3DS handheld games device to 14 million from 16 million.
"We had higher expectations for the year-end season, but failed to meet them," President Satoru Iwata told reporters in Osaka.
Poor sales forced Nintendo to slash the price of its much-anticipated 3DS handheld games device in August, just six months after its launch.
The move halted its record of making profits on games hardware as well as software, a business model that took operating income to a high of 555 billion yen in 2008/09.
Nintendo also faces tougher competition in the home console market from Sony Corp's Move and Microsoft Corp's Kinect, and Iwata said consumers were more eager than ever to seek out bargains in the harsh economic environment.
The company plans to launch the Wii's successor, the Wii U, in Japan, the United States, Europe and Australia in the year-end season, Iwata told reporters.
But with cloud-based gaming emerging as a potential threat, Nintendo may have trouble generating excitement about its new product, some analysts say. Google is taking steps into gaming with Google TV, while Apple is thought to be preparing a new iPad and possibly a smart TV that could be game-changers for the industry.
"We think we need to consider the possibility that home consoles could become a thing of the past," Citigroup analyst Soichiro Fukuda wrote in a recent report.
"We think the direction taken by marketing trendsetter Apple will be very important and we will be watching the company's announcements at future events with interest."
PROFIT FALLS
Nintendo's profit slumped to 40.9 billion yen for the traditionally strong October-December period, compared with a consensus estimate for 52 billion yen, based on a survey of three analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The results came a day after Apple blew away Wall Street's expectations with its own quarterly earnings.
Shares in Nintendo have halved to below 11,000 yen since the beginning of the financial year in April, hit by weak 3DS sales and market disappointment with the Wii U next-generation home console, unveiled at the E3 games show in June and set to go on sale late this year. At their peak, in late 2007, the shares traded at 73,200 yen.
Last week, the stock dipped to 10,020 yen, the lowest since April 2004, before either the DS or Wii were launched.
($1 = 77.58)
(Reporting by Yoshiyuki Osada in OSAKA and Isabel Reynolds in TOKYO; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Ian Geoghegan)
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Why Online Reputation Matters to Small Business
You?re a small business owner. Most of your customers are the people who live within 25 miles of your storefront. Why does it even matter what the Internet has to say about your brand? That has no impact on your bottom line.
Right?
No. Dangerously wrong.
Weber Shandwick recently released a new report called The Company Behind The Brand: In Reputation We Trust [PDF] that breaks down exactly why business owners should be concerned with the online footprint they?re leaving (or not leaving) behind. One of the most interesting parts of the report for me was the finding that any disconnect between corporate and brand reputation triggers a sharp consumer reaction. That means even if your product or service is excellent?if the image of your brand is less than stellar, it will still hurt you.
According to the report, when a consumer learns that a product they like is made by a company they have a negative relationship with (54 percent of consumers responded they?ve experienced this), 96 percent of consumers took some kind of action.
What kind of action?
?
The most frequent response was that consumers stopped purchasing the product (40 percent). In fact, surprised consumers were twice as likely to STOP buying the product as they were to continue to buy it. And this is a product they originally admitted to liking! That was pretty startling to me. Just as noteworthy ? consumers who didn?t immediately stop buying the product went online to try and learn more about the company.
Both of these statements speak to the importance of creating a positive Web presence.
- Consumers are using social word of mouth, online reviews, and other online content to form a judgment about your company. The judgment they form is then strongly tied to whether or not they decide to purchase your product.
- When consumers are conflicted, they go to the Internet to answer the ?should I trust you? question. They?re then using the information they find about your brand to help them make that decision.
It doesn?t matter if you?re not trying to target a national audience. Local consumers are using the Web to find information about local businesses. It?s up to you to make sure they?re finding the right kind of information.
What should every small business be doing to help build their Web presence?
- Create a Web site: Your brand Facebook profile or Google+ business page is great. But your business still needs a Web site. Some place where you can talk about your product/services, establish credibility, introduce your team, offer resources, and be found for hyper-local keywords.
- Blog: There are few better ways to build industry authority than with an active blog. Producing content on a regular basis also ensures there?s always something you can promote and be found for.
- Get involved in social media: Maybe that means getting active on Twitter or Facebook. Or maybe it means developing a presence on a Q&A site like Quora or participating in a small business networking site like BizSugar. Either way, find out where your audience is engaging online, and set up a satellite community there. Talk to your audience and let them get to know you on a more human level. Just don?t get too human.
- Get involved in your community: Whether it?s sponsoring your town?s little league team, speaking at local events, or putting together an industry-related group at the local high school, by getting involved in the community that you live in you help to build a positive reputation offline, which can then carry online when people write about your efforts, link to sponsors, etc.
- Guest blog on relevant sites: Guest blogging is a great way to build goodwill, establish industry credibility, and introduce your company to people in other networks.
- Solicit & manage online reviews: This is a biggie and it?s only becoming more important. We?re going to sites like Yelp, Google Place Pages, TripAdvisor, etc, to learn how the experiences others had with your brand. Make sure you?re not only doing what you can to encourage customers to leave reviews, but positively responding to any negative or neutral comments that may be there. You not only help save that relationship, but you show everyone else who may find that review in the search results that you?re listening, you care, and that you hear them.
Online reputation management is important for businesses of any size. It?s about creating a positive Web presence to make your brand one that people trust and want to engage with. Because, as the report mentioned above shows, it doesn?t matter how great your product is ? if people don?t trust you, they won?t be interested in it.
About the Author
Lisa Barone is Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer at Outspoken Media, Inc., an SEO consulting firm that specializes in providing clients with online reputation management, social media services, and other Internet services. Connect with Lisa Barone:
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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/01/why-online-reputation-matters-to-small-business.html
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Japan announces first trade deficit since 1980
TOKYO (AP) ? Japan marked its first trade deficit since 1980, a 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) shortfall for 2011 caused in part by last year's tsunami and the rising value of the yen, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Government data released Wednesday said the value of Japan's exports fell 2.7 percent to 65.55 trillion yen ($843 billion) for 2011. The drop was attributed to the economic impact of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the rise in the value of the yen against the U.S. dollar, along with a gloomier outlook in the global economy.
In December, the trade balance was a deficit of 205.1 billion yen, according to the Finance Ministry figures.
The data underscore the growing pressures facing the world's third-largest economy, which relies heavily on exports to drive growth. A persistently strong yen, Europe's debt problems and the recent flooding in Thailand are eroding gains made since the March earthquake in Japan disrupted manufacturing.
The turmoil in Europe and the U.S. has driven up the yen as global investors flock to the currency as a relatively safe haven. The yen hit multiple historic highs against the dollar this year.
A rising yen shrinks the value of overseas earnings when repatriated and makes Japanese products less competitive in overseas markets. The yen has weakened to around 77 to the dollar recently, but exporters say it is still too high.
The currency levels have forced manufacturers including Nissan Motor Co. and Panasonic Corp. to shift some production overseas, a trend that could further undermine Japan's exports.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sage mindful of European woes on customers (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? British accountancy software maker Sage said it was watching the economic situation in Europe and the impact a downturn would have on its small and medium customers, although it said trading was still on track.
The company, which sells software to more than 6 million businesses, said trading since the start of its financial year on October1 2011 was "satisfactory" and in line with its expectations.
Chief Executive Guy Berruyer said on Tuesday that the macro-economic environment remained challenging for Sage's customers, but it was able to cope with the ups and downs of the economic cycle.
"We are confident that the business priorities, on which we are focused to drive growth, will bear fruit as the year progresses but we remain watchful of the European environment in particular," he said.
The group said it had received 200 million pounds ($312 million) from the disposal of Sage Software Healthcare to Vista Equity Partners, and it had net cash of 149.8 million pounds at December 31 against debt of 24.9 million at September 30.
($1 = 0.6412 British pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/tc_nm/us_sage
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Nigerian police say four Boko Haram members killed (Reuters)
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) ? Nigerian police said on Monday they shot dead four members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram in the northeast city of Maiduguri and recovered explosive materials stored in a car, two days after the sect carried out its most deadly attacks.
Bomb attacks and fierce gun battles between the sect and police on Friday in Nigeria's second largest city Kano killed at least 178 people, according to hospital staff. Kano is hundreds of kilometers west of Maiduguri, Boko Haram's home town.
"Four members of Boko Haram sect involved in killings in Maiduguri and environs have been under surveillance of security agencies and have been shot dead in Pomomari area of Maiduguri yesterday (Sunday)," Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, an officer in the joint military task force, said in a statement.
"Various IED (improvised explosive device) materials prepared for detonation were recovered from their car."
Boko Haram, which was formed in Maiduguri in 2002, has killed hundreds of people in the last year, mostly in and around its home state of Borno, though its attacks have been spreading across the north of Africa's most populous nation.
Residents in Kano, a city of more than 10 million people, began to return to work on Monday amid a heavy military presence as soldiers searched vehicles at dozens of checkpoints set up on the city's wide, dusty streets.
President Goodluck Jonathan has been severely criticized for not getting a grip on Boko Haram, a group he says have infiltrated the police, military and all areas of government.
Boko Haram, a Hausa term meaning "Western education is sinful," is loosely modeled on Afghanistan's Taliban.
The sect originally said it wanted sharia, Islamic law, to be applied more widely across Nigeria but its aims appear to have changed.
The sect focuses its attacks mostly on the police, military and government, but has attacked Christians more recently. It says it is fighting enemies who have wronged its members through violence, arrests or economic neglect and corruption.
(Reporting by Ibrahim Mshelizza; Additional reporting by Felix Onuah in Abuja and Mike Oboh in Kano; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Tim Pearce)
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Monday, January 23, 2012
The Case Against Porno Chic
Style and fashion guru Simon Doonan has been railing against what he calls ?porno chic? for some time. And it?s not because he?s a prude. The author of Gay Men Don?t Get Fat tells Slate?s Jacob Weisberg why he has no patience for 6-inch heels, bleach blondes and spray tans.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=98c6e6b29847bd933c53c29b586156cc
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Flaming-horned bull fatally gores man in Spain (AP)
MADRID ? A flaming-horned bull trampled and fatally gored a man early Saturday during a festival in eastern Spain, an official said.
Large balls of flaming wax are traditionally affixed to the beasts' heads before they are let loose to rampage through squares and narrow streets in such festivals.
The mayor of Navajas, population 730, said emergency services in his town were unable to save the life of the 45-year-old man whose name was withheld. Jose Vicente Torres said the accident happened when the man, who had traveled from Alboraia, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the south, tripped just as the bull was released.
Torres said the bull charged the man, gored him and then stamped on his head, causing him "irreversible injuries." He said he had offered his condolences to the man's family, but would not cancel similar events scheduled for early Sunday.
"Although ours is a small town, many people from outside come to visit our feast dedicated to Saint Anton," Torres said, adding that black bows had been tied to town hall flags as a mark of respect and mourning.
Many towns in east and northeastern Spain celebrate feasts with "toros embolados," or "flaming bulls," which feature the animals racing around and shaking their heads as a reaction to flames or fireworks attached to or close to their horns. At these regional festivals, flaming-horned bulls are taunted and teased by rowdy crowds in bullrings, town squares or down streets. Unlike with most other events involving bulls, the animals aren't killed in the end.
The regional parliament of northeastern Catalonia banned bullfighting in July 2010 following a signature-collection campaign by animal rights activists. The ban took effect Jan. 1. But the region then passed other legislation protecting flaming bulls, called "correbous" in the Catalan language. Many critics said banning one act while enshrining the other in law was hypocrisy.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Breast Cancer Treatment Causing Severe Lifestyle Changes ...
The advancements in the medical science have made it possible for the doctors and surgeons to save innocent lives from deadly cancer. But do you know that the women who have been saved from cancer in their earlier periods of life have suffered severe consequences?
Women, who are undergoing chemotherapy surgeries, are at higher risk of getting their reproductive system damaged. They have to plan their dates. Nicole Vazquez, who is one of those women who survived breast cancer in their earlier age, is struggling hard to cop up with her sex life.
While sharing her experience of having chemotherapy, Nicole Vazquez said,? I had a medi-port sticking out of my chest that I had to cover up? I didn?t have a boyfriend and now I would be bald. And after the chemo, I really looked sick. Self-image is a really big deal?.
She shared that soon after going through the chemotherapy she turned depressed and lost her self confidence. There is no doubt that breast cancer treatments have helped many women to live longer. But one also has to believe that the treatment does come with side effects or reactions.
Those women who go for breast cancer treatment before crossing 50 has to deal with a changed life style. Changes in life like, weight gain, reduced physical activity and psychological stress are some of the issues which a woman has to face.
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer has become most common form of cancer among women, which causes death to a large number of women all over the world. It is hoped that with the passage of time, improvement in the breast cancer treatment would be made so that the negative aftermath of the treatment could be reduced.
Source: http://topnews.us/content/245771-breast-cancer-treatment-causing-severe-lifestyle-changes
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Neuchatel Xamax players leave humiliated club
Associated Press Sports
updated 9:24 a.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012
GENEVA (AP) -Neuchatel Xamax players are leaving the humiliated club which faces expulsion from the Swiss Super League because of its Chechen owners' financial mismanagement.
FC Sion says it has signed Sebastian Wuethrich and Vullnet Basha, while Xamax top scorer Kalu Uche is reported to have left the team's training camp in Dubai.
Nigeria international Uche is reportedly a target for Sion and Spanish club Espanyol.
Xamax's probable demise would remove Sion from relegation danger after it lost 36 league points for challenging FIFA, UEFA and Swiss football bodies in court.
The Swiss League withdrew Xamax's license on Wednesday over unpaid wages, missing paperwork and allegedly fraudulent bank documents.
Xamax can appeal to the league by early next week.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsReutersPele: Messi's not me
Pele thinks Lionel Messi still needs to improve at international level before he can be considered the greatest soccer player ever and needs to score more goals to come close to matching the Brazilian great.
Getty ImagesLoyalty
David Beckham considered other offers but decided nothing was better than his adopted home with the L.A. Galaxy.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46070550/ns/sports-soccer/
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Google's 4Q disappoints as advertising prices sink
In this Jan. 17, 2012 photo, a sign for Google is displayed behind the Google android robot, at the National Retail Federation, in New York. Google Inc., releases quarterly financial results Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, after the market close. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Jan. 17, 2012 photo, a sign for Google is displayed behind the Google android robot, at the National Retail Federation, in New York. Google Inc., releases quarterly financial results Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, after the market close. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? What was supposed to be a celebration of the most prosperous quarter in Google's 13-year history instead turned into a major letdown.
The disappointment came with Thursday's release of fourth-quarter earnings that showed the Internet search leader fetched less money per click on its ubiquitous online ads.
That came as an unsettling surprise because investors had assumed a surge in online holiday shopping during November and December would enable Google Inc. to charge more for its ads. Instead, the average price decreased by 8 percent from the same time in 2010.
Google executives traced part of the decline to technical changes aimed at delivering more ads that attract people's interest. Those tweaks apparently paid off as the total clicks on Google's ads increased 34 percent from the previous year.
The lower prices still contributed to a dramatic slowdown in Google's earnings growth. The performance fell well below analyst estimates.
The weakening euro amid Europe's government debt woes also hurt Google as revenue collected on the continent converted into fewer dollars.
Investors weren't in a forgiving mood. Google shares plunged $57.07, or nearly 9 percent, to $582.50 in extended trading after the results were announced.
The showing could renew Wall Street concerns about Google's moneymaking prowess under the direction of co-founder Larry Page, who replaced Eric Schmidt as CEO last April. Page, 38, took the job with a reputation for being more willing to invest in long-term projects at the expense of short-term profits. In the latest quarter, Google's operating expenses rose 34 percent from the previous year, outpacing a 25 percent increase in revenue.
"I am very happy with our results overall in the quarter," Page said during Thursday conference call.
More people probably would have shared in his ebullience if expectations hadn't been set so high.
With more people than ever before shopping for holiday gifts and bargains on computers and mobile device, Google was supposed to scale new financial heights in the October-December period.
Analysts had forecast Google would earn $3 billion for the first time during any three-month period since the company's 1998 inception. Instead, Google made slightly less money than it did a quarter earlier.
The company earned $2.7 billion, or $8.22 per share, in the fourth quarter. That's just a 6 percent increase from $2.5 billion, or $7.81 per share, at the same time in 2010.
If not for certain items, Google said it would have earned $9.50 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected $10.51 per share.
Revenue totaled $10.6 billion, up from $8.4 billion in the previous year. It's the first time Google's quarterly revenue topped $10 billion, but even that figure fell shy of analyst projections.
After subtracting ad commissions, Google's revenue totaled $8.1 billion. That was about $300 million below the average analyst forecast. Revenue would have been about $240 million higher had exchange rates in Europe remained steady with the third quarter's rates, according to Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer.
While investors fixated on Google's falling ad prices, Page hailed the inroads the company is making beyond the Internet search engine that brings in most of its revenue.
The Plus service that Google introduced seven months ago as an alternative to Facebook's social network now has more than 90 million users, Page said. That's more than doubling from about 40 million users three months ago. Facebook still has a big lead with more than 800 million users after nearly eight years in existence.
Google's Gmail service now has 350 million accounts, and the company's Android mobile software is now running on 250 million smartphones and other devices, Page said.
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