Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Report: Iranian students protest UN nuclear team (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? Iranian students staged a silent gathering Tuesday to protest a visit by U.N. nuclear inspectors on their first visit in two years, the semiofficial Isna news agency reported.

The report said a group of students gathered at the gate of the country's atomic agency. It did not say how many participated in the brief protest.

The findings from the visit could influence Western efforts to enact further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies charge that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons by using its uranium enrichment facilities to produce weapons-grade material.

Iran has declined to abandon its enrichment labs, saying it seeks to operate the reactors only for energy and medical purposes.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that negotiations between the inspectors and Iran ended in a "positive and constructive atmosphere" and there would be more talks in the future. On Monday, Iran indicated the visit could be extended if necessary, but the Fars report indicated the three-day mission was ending Tuesday on schedule.

The demonstrating students said they're worried the visit would lead to assassination of Iranian nuclear experts.

They charged that U.S. and Israeli agents used information leaked by the U.N. agency to target Iranian nuclear scientists.

On Sunday about a dozen Iranian hard-liners carrying pictures of slain nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan gathered at Tehran airport to protest the visit. Roshan was killed by blast earlier in this month.

Also Tuesday, Mohammad Karamirad, a member of the influential parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, told Isna that the visit by the three-member International Atomic Energy Agency team showed Iran has had "comprehensive and honest cooperation with the agency."

Karamirad said, "The visit can be beginning of new round of talks with the West, and it proves the peacefulness of Iran's nuclear activities."

Iran has been trying to display cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency team and downplay expectations of a confrontational atmosphere during the visit, which began Sunday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

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iVillage Woman of the Week!

Each week iVillage celebrates a woman who makes us proud. See who we're highlighting this week.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/woman-week-1/1-b-211957?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Awoman-week-1-211957

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Euro zone confidence improves, highlights divergence (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Confidence in the euro zone's economy strengthened in January for the first time since early 2011, EU data showed on Monday, but a recovery in Germany masked a deterioration in France and Italy, highlighting the bloc's diverging fortunes.

Germany has shown more resilience to the euro zone's troubles than many of its neighbors, helped by fiscal prudence, a competitive edge and good demand for its high quality goods.

France and Italy have struggled to keep up, facing questions about the sustainability of their own finances as Greece tries to agree a debt restructuring and Portugal comes under fresh scrutiny in financial markets.

The divergence complicates the task of EU leaders who are meeting in Brussels on Monday to try and sketch a path out of the economic slump.

The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator rose by 0.6 points in the euro zone to 93.4, the first improvement in sentiment since March last year as some confidence returned to services, consumers and construction.

"We're seeing a slight stabilization and we expect the recession the euro zone will end in the spring," said Christoph Weil, an economist at Commerzbank.

"But we can also see that the divergence in the euro zone is increasing and that is of great concern," he said.

The European Central Bank's decision in December to provide 3-year loans to banks averted a credit freeze, while the U.S. economy expanded strongly in the last quarter of 2011 and China has remained robust, maintaining demand for Europe's goods.

But budget austerity and political divisions over how to solve the two-year debt crisis continue to depress business in the euro zone and the wider European Union, with non-euro zone country Britain heading for a recession in early 2011.

The rising optimism is still tempered by EU leaders' inability to resolve the euro zone debt crisis and the sentiment indicator was slightly lower than forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Following last week's surprisingly positive purchasing managers' indices, or PMIs, business climate rose for the second month in a row to -0.21, in line with economists' expectations.

But factory managers saw a deterioration in the view of their order books and although this was offset by a positive assessment of stocks, it confirmed the mixed economic picture.

Industrial confidence remained at the lowest level since April 2010 while confidence in services rebounded by 2 points in the euro zone and construction was up 0.6 points.

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For a graphic on the data: http://link.reuters.com/bas36s

For full multimedia coverage: http://r.reuters.com/xyt94s

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GERMAN RENEWAL, GREEK PAIN

The European Commission forecasts 2012 economic growth of just 0.5 percent for the 17 nations in the euro zone, which generates 16 percent of global economic output.

The International Monetary Fund is more pessimistic, forecasting a 0.5 percent contraction in 2012 that it says could drag the world into recession.

EU leaders face a tough task at Monday's summit as they try and bridge the divergence in economic performance among the 27-nation bloc's economies and reconcile austerity with growth.

Recent data suggests Germany will avoid a recession, while non-euro zone member Britain, as well as euro states Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, are likely to see their economies contract in 2012. Belgium and the Netherlands, also members of the single currency, will struggle to grow at all.

The Commission's data also supported that view, as economic sentiment improved in Germany by 2.3 points, the second consecutive monthly rise, but fell in France, Italy and the Netherlands.

While large economies such as France and the Netherlands will likely benefit from Germany's recovery, Italy and Greece must confront falling productivity and high debts to avoid years of stagnation.

"Weakened domestic economic activity, intensified fiscal tightening in many countries and still serious uncertainties and concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis continue to limit an improvement in sentiment," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight.

(Reporting By Robin Emmott; editing by Rex Merrifield/Anna Willard)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_eurozone_sentiment

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James, Heat escape with 97-93 win over Bulls (AP)

MIAMI ? LeBron James scored 35 points, while reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose wasted two chances in the final 23 seconds and the Miami Heat escaped with a 97-93 win Sunday over the Chicago Bulls.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points and added 12 rebounds for the Heat, who never trailed ? but this win in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals was not easy. Dwyane Wade added 15 points for Miami.

Rose scored 34 points for Chicago, but missed a pair of foul shots that would have given Chicago the lead with 22.7 seconds left. He had made all 29 of his free throws in the fourth quarter this season.

And Rose had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but his short jumper bounced off the rim.

Bosh sealed it with two free throws with 0.1 seconds left for Miami, which has now won five straight over the Bulls ? counting the last four games of last season's East title series.

Both sides said this game was supposed to be just another regular-season matchup, one without extra meaning.

So not true.

The Bulls erased what was a 12-point deficit and tied the game at 84 on a brilliant layup by Rose with 6:55 left. The Heat answered with a 10-2 run, before Rose's three-point play with 49.1 seconds left cut the lead to 94-93.

Rose then lost the ball on a drive, but drew contact from Miami's Udonis Haslem and went to the line with Chicago down one with 22.7 seconds left. Rose's first hit the front of the rim and bounced away, and his second rimmed out. James grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Joakim Noah ? only to miss both free throws himself.

After the second miss, Bosh appeared to emerge with the rebound, but an inadvertent whistle led to a jump ball. James outleaped Taj Gibson, getting the ball to Mario Chalmers, who made one free throw for a two-point lead.

Chicago wound up getting one last chance with 9.9 seconds left, calling time-out. Naturally, it went to Rose, who weaved his way into the lane ? but came up short. Bosh got the rebound, and Miami began celebrating.

Rip Hamilton and Noah each scored 11 for Chicago, which got 10 apiece from Ronnie Brewer and Carlos Boozer.

The Bulls played without forward Luol Deng and guard C.J. Watson, both sidelined with wrist injuries. Watson may be back in Chicago's lineup as early as Monday, and Deng ? who has a torn ligament in his left, non-shooting, wrist ? is "very close" to a return, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Miami took an 11-point lead early in the fourth on back-to-back 3-pointers from Shane Battier and James. The Bulls roared back, as they did for most of the day whenever the Heat seemed on the cusp of taking control.

They just never got the lead, despite Rose's best efforts.

"Two sick moves by D-Rose," Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant tweeted as he watched the game, marveling at two layups by Rose that knotted the game at 84.

Insistence that this was "just another game" notwithstanding, Miami started quickly. Wade appeared a bit more emotionally charged than usual after joining his teammates in the pregame huddle, and the Heat ran out to a fast early edge.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say they "jumped" out to that lead.

Wade set James up for three dunks in the first 7 minutes, the last of which is probably going to be replayed for quite a while. James appeared to be forgotten as he hovered on the weak side of the floor, so he darted toward the basket. Wade tossed a lob his way ? and the two-time MVP leapfrogged the 5-foot-11 John Lucas for a dunk that put Miami up 16-7.

Even the NBA took notice of that one: Within minutes, replays of the James dunk were sent out on the league's Twitter feed.

Chicago quickly settled down, getting within 24-22 at the end of the first quarter. But Miami scored 11 straight early in the second, the last seven of those coming with Wade and James both on the bench, to open a 35-24 edge. Wade's first points came with 6:14 left in the half, two free throws that gave Miami what was its biggest lead at 42-30.

The Bulls chipped away again, and by halftime Miami's edge was only 56-51.

Wade missed eight of nine shots in the first half and an airball dropped him to 1 for 10 early in the third quarter.

Chicago had a chance for its first lead when Rose attacked the rim moments later. But his layup was blocked by Joel Anthony, and James threw about a 65-foot pass to Wade for a dunk. James found Wade again for another transition slam less than a minute later for a 63-58 advantage.

The lead was still five entering the fourth. James made a 20-footer over Brewer with 0.2 left in the third to push Miami's edge to 76-71.

Notes: James had a large icepack strapped to his right shoulder during a first-half stint of rest. He was grabbing at the shoulder in pain early in the first quarter after a collision, but did not appear to have a serious issue. ... Boozer said he needed more than 20 tickets for the game. He's been spending part of his offseasons in Miami for several years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bkn_bulls_heat

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Positive Reinforcement May Help Patients Take Their Meds (HealthDay)

FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Positive reinforcement, such as receiving small, unexpected gifts and introducing upbeat thoughts into daily routines, seems to help patients with high blood pressure take their medication as directed, according to a new study of black Americans.

The findings are significant because poor blood pressure control can lead to heart problems and death, the researchers from the Center for Healthful Behavior Change at NYU School of Medicine noted in the report published online Jan. 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

For the study, Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe and colleagues examined 256 black patients with high blood pressure (also called hypertension) to determine if positive reinforcement in addition to patient education would help them follow their treatment plans and take their medication correctly.

The researchers divided the patients into two groups: those who only received patient education; and those who received positive reinforcement as well as patient education.

Both groups received educational materials, including a self-management workbook, a behavioral contract and two phone calls each month.

However, patients who received additional positive reinforcement were given an extra chapter in their workbook that discussed how positive moments could be used to help them stick to their treatment plans.

In addition, during their semi-monthly phone calls, these patients were asked to remember positive moments in their lives and use those optimistic feelings to help them overcome any challenges that made it hard to take their medicine. This group was also given token, unexpected gifts in the mail before their phone calls.

The investigators found that medication adherence at one year was higher in the positive reinforcement plus education group (42 percent) than in the education-only group (36 percent).

"Our findings suggest that [patient education] enhanced with behavioral constructs drawn from positive psychology and designed to foster [self-affirmation] produced significantly greater medication adherence in hypertensive African Americans than [patient education] alone," the authors wrote in a journal news release.

The study authors noted that more research is needed to determine if incorporating positive reinforcement into treatment for high blood pressure would be cost-effective.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about hypertension.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120127/hl_hsn/positivereinforcementmayhelppatientstaketheirmeds

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Ukraine's president firm against Tymoshenko (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? Ukraine's president showed no mercy Friday for imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, despite increasing fears that her case will hurt his country's struggling economy and its relations with the European Union.

The gas contract with Russia that was the premise for Tymoshenko's conviction "is Ukraine's biggest problem today," President Viktor Yanukovych said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He added that he foresaw more judicial troubles for the ex-premier.

Tymoshenko, a bitter rival of the current president, is serving a 7-year sentence on charges of abuse of office in a case the West has condemned as politically motivated. Her family accuses prison authorities of denying her proper medical care.

Tymoshenko was found guilty last year of overstepping her authority while negotiating the natural gas import contract with Russia in 2009. Authorities say the contract was not in Ukraine's economic interest. She charges that Yanukovych has ordered her imprisonment in order to bar her from elections.

Yanukovych's presence at the forum in Davos was aimed at attracting investment from international CEOs at the invitation-only event, but his comments about Tymoshenko did little to soothe concerns about doing business in Ukraine.

Ukraine "cannot hope to attract investment if the law doesn't apply," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. He told The Associated Press that a landmark cooperation deal between Ukraine and the EU is "dead in the water" as long as Tymoshenko is jailed.

But Tymoshenko's jailing is a dilemma for the EU. Some experts believe the bloc should not be partners with a government that throws opposition leaders in jail. Others say that snubbing Ukraine would push it back under Russia's influence as Kiev is courting Moscow for cheaper natural gas.

Tymoshenko rose to fame during Ukraine's 2004 popular uprising. She became an opposition leader after losing the premiership in 2010.

Yanukovych has made membership in the 27-nation EU a top priority, but exhibited little sign Friday that he was ready to concede on the Tymoshenko case.

The state security service has launched a slew of new criminal investigations against Tymoshenko since her conviction, probes that Yanukovych defended.

"The Ukrainian part of the crimes committed by people who were in one way or another connected to Tymoshenko have not been fully investigated," he said ? adding that the cases will go to court soon.

Yanukovych was cold to efforts to adopt changes to the criminal code that would allow the former prime minister to be freed. "That is up to the parliament," he said. The parliament is dominated by his supporters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_davos_forum_ukraine

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Smartphones drive record Samsung profit (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? Samsung Electronics Co posted a record $4.7 billion quarterly operating profit, driven by booming smartphone sales, and will spend $22 billion this year to boost production of chips and flat screens to pull further ahead of smaller rivals.

The South Korean firm, the world's top technology firm by revenue, is locked in breakneck competition with Apple Inc in the red-hot smartphone market. Apple, overtaken by Samsung in the third quarter, regained its crown as the world's biggest maker of smartphones in the fourth quarter, with record sales of 37.04 million iPhones.

Samsung didn't give its own sales volume data, but research firm Strategy Analytics put sales at 36.5 million smartphones in October-December, with 3rd-ranked Nokia on 19.6 million. Smartphones account for around 40 percent of all Samsung's handset shipments.

Samsung's telecoms business earned a record 2.64 trillion won ($2.35 billion) profit in October-December on increased sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphones.

"The battle of the two big smartphone powers, Apple versus Samsung, will go on," said Baik Jae-yer, fund manager at Korea Investment Management, which has around 9 percent of its portfolio in Samsung stock, according to end-September filings.

"The smartphone market will expand this year to more mid-and low-end models that are affordable to the wider public," Baik said. "Rather than focus on market share, I'd point out the strong contribution of Samsung's handset business to earnings growth and margins."

Samsung's October-December operating profit of 5.3 trillion won ($4.72 billion) was broadly in line with its earlier estimate and topped the previous record of 5 trillion won in the second quarter of 2010. Profit rose 76 percent from a year ago and 25 percent from the third quarter.

Samsung will increase spending this year by 9 percent to 25 trillion won - more than the GDP of leading cocoa producer Ivory Coast - with 15 trillion won going to the chips division, 6.6 trillion won to flat screens and the rest to boosting overseas production capacity and new research and development centers.

The record investment dwarfs a combined 1.3 trillion yen ($16.6 billion) that leading Japanese technology companies - Sony Corp, Toshiba Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Sharp Corp - have planned for the current year to end-March.

Samsung competes with Sony and LG Electronics Inc in televisions, Toshiba and Hynix in chips and LG Display in displays.

LG Display posted a narrower quarterly loss on Friday on demand from smartphone and tablet makers and as falling TV panel prices stabilize.

Samsung, which only entered the smartphone market in earnest in 2010 - some three years after the introduction of the iPhone with the touchscreen template - has adopted Apple's breakthrough concept probably better than others - and now seeks to offer the Apple experience at a better price, with better functionality.

Apple is Samsung's biggest client, buying mainly chips and displays, and the two firms are locked in a bruising patent battle in some 10 countries from the United States to Europe, Japan and Australia as they jostle for smartphone and tablet supremacy. In the latest legal skirmish, a German court ruled against Samsung in the second of three patent suits. The Mannheim court will decide on a third patent on March 2.

Apple, though, is streets ahead in profitability. It generates half its revenue from the iPhone, boasts a 37.4 percent operating margin, versus Samsung's 11 percent, and its $17.3 billion operating profit is almost four times what Samsung earned from selling phones, chips, flat screens and TVs combined.

"Apple had good sales, but it's very unlikely this will be a trend that will overwhelm Samsung later," said Kim Young-chan, analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, noting the likely boost to Apple sales from year-end promotions and the death of founder Steve Jobs.

"It's unlikely Samsung and Apple will fight over each other's market share, but they will eat up the market share of smaller companies like HTC and RIM," Kim said.

Samsung forecast its strong momentum in mobiles would continue this year and it aimed for 15 percent margins from the business, though it could come under renewed consumer pressure if and when Apple brings out next-generation iPads and iPhones.

"Samsung is playing catch-up with Apple in smartphone sales volume, but it's tougher to catch up in terms of margins," said Lee Yong-jik, fund manager at PineBridge Investment, which owns nearly 2.5 million Samsung shares, according to an end-November filing. Lee forecast Samsung would ship 150-170 million smartphones this year, from below 100 million last year.

"But price competition will intensify, putting its handset margins under pressure," added Kim.

CHIPS, FLAT SCREENS UNDER PRESSURE

Samsung faces headwinds this year, however, as global PC growth slows, likely denting sales of its core computer memory chips.

The company is looking to weather a squeeze on memory chips through new revenue sources such as mobile processing chips and high-end OLED displays. Rivals are increasingly turning to Samsung for components to power their tablets and smartphones.

Samsung makes mobile processors that power Apple's iPhone and iPad as well as its own Galaxy mobile products.

The company has warned that oversupply in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips will continue this quarter due to slack computer sales, while demand for flat screens is likely to remain subdued at least until March.

Yet Samsung is the only profitable DRAM chipmaker and is likely to fare better than rivals, as it invests heavily to cut production costs with finer processing technology.

Shares in Samsung, also the world's top maker of memory chips and TVs, have risen by a fifth in the past three months and added 1.1 percent on Friday to a record high close of 1.125 million won. The KOSPI share index, up 3 percent in the past 3 months, rose 0.4 percent on Friday.

($1 = 1121.9000 Korean won)

(Additional reporting by Seoul newsroom; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/bs_nm/us_samsung

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Baby on the Way for Simon Helberg

Simon Helberg, who plays Howard Wolowitz on the hit sitcom, and wife Jocelyn Towne are expecting their first child this spring, their rep confirms to PEOPLE.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/Kaw6jT_pvEw/

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Obama pitches tax, jobs ideas on campaign-style tour (Reuters)

CHANDLER, Arizona (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama took his State of the Union tax and job ideas on the road on Wednesday, striking a populist tone in the 2012 swing states Iowa and Arizona to make his case for a second White House term.

Starting a three-day tour that will also take him to Nevada, Colorado and Michigan, all crucial to his re-election chances, Obama amplified his proposals to help companies that keep jobs at home and eliminate tax breaks for those that outsource.

"Let's stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas," he said outside an Intel computer chip facility under construction in Arizona, standing in front of a giant crane.

"What we should do is subsidize and give help and tax breaks to companies that are investing here, that are bringing jobs back to the United States," the president said, also pressing his argument for higher taxes on the rich as a way to heal the U.S. economy and reduce the deficit.

On Tuesday night, Obama used his last State of the Union speech before November's election to cast himself as a champion of the middle class. But with most Americans unhappy with his economic leadership, he faces a tough re-election challenge.

In Iowa, the president defended his record and sought to turn up the heat on Republicans in Congress he has accused of obstructing his economic recovery efforts, especially moves to close tax loopholes on big companies and the very wealthy.

"There are people in Washington who seem to have collective amnesia. They seem to have forgotten how we got into this mess," Obama told workers at a conveyor belt factory there. "They want to go back to the very same policies ... that have stacked the deck against middle-class Americans for years."

Republicans have accused Obama of promoting the "politics of envy" and pursuing policies that kill jobs and hinder growth. They argue tax hikes would hurt small businesses and suppress job creation, a top concern of voters this year.

ON THE BIG STAGE

In his Tuesday night address that afforded him one of his biggest political stages of the year, Obama set as a central campaign theme a populist call for greater economic fairness.

He mentioned taxes 34 times and jobs 32 times during his hourlong speech, emphasizing the two issues at the heart of this year's presidential campaign. But Obama seemed to put no blame on himself for a fragile economic recovery and high unemployment that could trip up his re-election bid.

A highlight of the State of the Union was a call to set a 30 percent minimum tax on millionaires, known as the "Buffet rule" because it is favored by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

While the principal proposals in the speech were considered unlikely to gain traction in a divided Congress, the White House believes the ideas can appeal to voters who are frustrated with Wall Street excesses and dysfunction in Washington.

Obama's tax message got extra legs from the release of tax records by Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential contender who is one of the richest men ever to run for the White House. He pays a lower effective tax rate than many top wage-earners.

Romney, campaigning in Florida for next Tuesday's party primary, accused the Democratic president of being "detached from reality" in his appeals to voters who have suffered economic hardship under his tenure.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in December, several percentage points higher than the normal rate for the United States. No president in the modern era has won re-election with the jobless rate that high.

(Additional reporting by Alister Bull and Steve Holland; Writing by Laura MacInnis and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/ts_nm/us_usa_obama_speech

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Library Writer's Blog: CFP: Library Communications Journal - a ...

CFP: Library Communications Journal - a new journal for library communications professionals

As part of the formation of The Association of Library Communications and Outreach Professionals (ALCOP) which is scheduled to be announced on or before February 15th, a new online journal focused on library communications has been established, and we are now seeking articles for the first issue.

Library Communications Journal will be an online quarterly publication available to ALCOP members and will feature practical articles on a diverse range of issues of concern to library communications professionals today. At the helm of the new journal will be Ms. Jordan Strohl, an experienced journalist who has been a contributor to many professional journals focused on communications. Jordan will serve as the Managing Editor and Assistant to the Publisher.

We are seeking articles on such topics as:

???????? using social media to promote libraries
???????? ideas for outreach to underserved populations
???????? innovative program ideas and how to promote them
???????? how to motivate the library staff
???????? using technology in promoting the library
???????? how to plan a great special event
???????? best practices for working with the media
???????? fostering student engagement with the academic library

???? ... and many other issues relevant to you and how you do your job

We also seek all kinds of ?how to? articles as well as book reviews on new texts focusing on library marketing and public relations.

The journal will welcome articles directed at a general audience or specifically for practitioners serving public, academic, or special libraries.

We are seeking articles no more than 2,000 words in length and book reviews should not be more than 400 words. LCJ allows all authors to retain copyright privileges to their work.

To be considered for the inaugural issue of Library Communications Journal, please submit your articles in Word format to Jordan Strohl at librarycomm@yahoo.com no later than February 15, 2012. Please address any questions to Jordan at that same email address.

We hope you will be part of our first issue schedule to be published in the early Spring.

Source: http://librarywriting.blogspot.com/2012/01/cfp-library-communications-journal-new.html

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South Africa: Madagascar leaders "irresponsible" (AP)

PRETORIA, South Africa ? Regional heavyweight South Africa says efforts to mediate a solution to Madagascar's political crisis have been frustrated by the irresponsible behavior of the Indian Ocean island nation's rival leaders.

South African deputy foreign minister Marius Fransman gave his blunt assessment before heading into a meeting Tuesday with factions from Madagascar, which has been in turmoil since President Marc Ravalomanana was toppled in 2009 in a coup led by Andry Rajoelina.

Fransman says a weekend attempt by Ravalomanana to fly home from his South African exile was premature, "unfortunate and it was irresponsible."

Fransman also says Rajoelina, who blocked Ravalomanana's journey mid-flight Saturday, was irresponsible for threatening to arrest Ravalomanana.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_af/af_madagascar

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Public spending fuels Ecuador leader's popularity (AP)

QUITO, Ecuador ? Amparo Martinez's universe is two small, tidy rooms in a poor Quito neighborhood that she shares with her 83-year-old mother and a severely handicapped daughter.

Her predicament makes holding a job impossible, so the three depend on a $240-a-month government stipend introduced by President Rafael Correa under a program for the disabled.

Martinez adores Correa.

"I hope he's re-elected many times," she says.

Correa is regularly assailed by human rights, press freedom and business groups as intemperate, autocratic and intolerant of dissent. Yet he is popular among millions of Ecuadoreans for programs which, like the initiative for the disabled, have improved their lives.

An array of state-funded programs implemented or broadened since Correa's 2006 election have brought stability to this traditionally unruly South American nation that previously churned through six presidents in 10 years.

A doubling in public spending under Correa adheres to a formula that has also aided the political longevity of his leftist allies Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Cristina Fernandez of Argentina and Evo Morales of Bolivia.

But Ecuador devotes a greater share of its economy to public investment than any other nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, spending 10 percent of gross domestic product.

The main strategic ally of this tall, pugnacious U.S.- and European-trained economist has been the high price of oil, currently at $99.50 per barrel, which helped fuel 8.9 percent economic growth last year. Oil accounts for about a third of government revenues in this OPEC member nation.

Straying from Latin American custom, Correa has also engineered a vertiginous rise in income tax collection, boosting compliance by businesses and professionals. From $4.9 billion in 2007, income tax receipts rose to $8.4 billion last year.

He has exhibited uncanny resolve in coaxing higher numbers into the revenue columns of the balance sheet in a country that made the U.S. dollar its national currency in 2000.

That included rewriting oil extraction contracts with multinationals to radically boost the state's share of windfall profits. Some multinationals left, others stayed.

The government is now on the verge of reaping more raw material royalties. It is set to shortly sign contracts designed to yield the state $3 billion annually from the mining of gold, copper and other metals.

Correa has been coy on whether he'll run for re-election in balloting that could come as early as a year from now. If voting were held today, he'd be difficult to beat. Never in five years in office has Correa's approval rating dipped below 50 percent. It currently stands around 70 percent.

Critics accuse Correa of building castles in the air by creating expectations on the uncertain promise of continued high oil prices. If oil drops below $73 a barrel, they say, his ambitious public spending will need to be curbed.

"It's not sustainable as an economic model over time," said Xavier Ordenana, an economist with the Escuela Politecnica del Litoral in Guayaquil. "It can last for some years but not forever."

Ordenana says the government realizes the private sector must also grow or it risks insolvency. Heavy industry, export-oriented manufacturing and high-tech work remain scarce in Ecuador.

In all, 5 million of Ecuador's total population of 14 million have personally benefited in some measure from government largesse, researchers at the FLACSO graduate school calculate. Under Correa, the state has built homes for 30,000 families, plowed $8.5 billion into education and $5.3 billion into health care. It has rebuilt or improved nearly 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) of roads, nearly two-thirds of Ecuador's highway system, spending $4.5 billion.

Other programs have zeroed in on helping individuals and families.

The government says the program for the disabled, a flagship Correa initiative, has benefited 300,000 people. They receive medical attention, welfare payments and equipment including wheelchairs. Some have even been given housing. Public wheelchair access is improving.

Another popular program provides a $35 monthly boost to 1.6 million poor people, chiefly homemakers with no other formal income.

"My husband died many years ago but now I have the president as a spouse because he gives me a little money every month," said Maria Pillajo, a stooped 67-year-old who scrapes by washing clothes and loading baskets in the market of Quito's poor southern district of El Camal.

"Until poverty is eliminated it's a good measure," Correa said of the program when asked about it during a recent meeting with foreign correspondents. The government says the poverty rate stands at 29 percent, down nine percentage points from when Correa took office. Meanwhile, unemployment is officially at 5.1 percent.

It's not just the poor for whom the government is writing checks.

Some 100,000 middle-class first-time home buyers have received a $5,000 one-time "housing subsidy" grant that enable them to afford down payments.

"The payments have a direct bearing on the president's image. In political terms, they have the excellent effect of sustaining his political project," said Simon Pachano, a FLACSO political scientist.

Correa has also plowed millions into education, giving free uniforms to a million students, texts to 3 million and regularly feeding 1.6 million breakfast.

"It's a great relief because sometimes we just don't have the money," said Francisco Carvajal, a 28-year-old father of three who said he earns $750 a month from his job as a construction material sales company.

His children got free uniforms and texts as well as English and computing classes free of charge.

Correa is far from Ecuador's first populist leader. Yet he has been hounded by none of the accusations of corruption that drove previous presidents from office.

His popularity is anything but universal, however.

In striving for what he and Chavez call "21st-century socialism," Correa has alienated bankers, industrialists, the Roman Catholic Church and even indigenous groups. Initially backing him, the latter now object to his insistence that the state can extract minerals from their traditional lands without their consent.

Many business leaders are angry with Correa over his chumminess with Iran, fearing that he is distancing Ecuador from Washington, still the country's top trading partner.

On no adversary has Correa unleashed such bile as on the opposition news media, which he claims "oligarchs" have used to seek to discredit him.

Correa has had a columnist and three directors of the opposition newspaper El Universo successfully prosecuted for criminal defamation. They have been sentenced to three years in prison each and a collective total of $40 million in fines, though the sentence is on appeal.

Human Rights Watch has decried how Correa used a May referendum to obtain a popular mandate for reforms that could "constrain media and influence the appointment and dismissal of judges."

It also complained that people involved in protests where violence occurs "may be prosecuted on inflated and inappropriate terrorism charges."

___

Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report from Lima, Peru.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_ecuador_correa_s_popularity

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Landslide hits Papua New Guinea, deaths reported (AP)

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea ? A landslide struck villages in mountainous central Papua New Guinea with local media reporting Wednesday 40 bodies recovered and 20 people missing.

The South Pacific island nation's National Disaster Center director Martin Mosi said several villages are close to where the landslide occurred near the town of Mendi early Tuesday and that fatalities are likely but unconfirmed.

Three National Disaster Center officials were headed to Mendi on Wednesday, where they will be flown by helicopter to join police at the disaster site.

"Most likely lives have been lost. We cannot tell how many," Mosi said.

Local lawmaker Francis Potape told Radio Australia's indigenous language service that the landslide completely covered two villages while people slept.

"There are people buried underneath and a number of them are, from what I have heard, children," The National newspaper reported Potape as saying.

The Post Courier newspaper reported that Prime Minister Peter O'Neill would fly to the state later Wednesday.

Local media reports that the destruction extended more than one mile (2 kilometers), leaving roads to villages cut off.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_as/as_papua_new_guinea_landslide

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Sundance, Women In Film promote female filmmakers (omg!)

CORRECTS SPELLING OF LAST NAME TO PUTNAM - Sundance Institute president and founder Robert Redford, right, speaks as Festival Director John Cooper, left, and Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam, center, look on during a press conference at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ? The Sundance Institute and Women In Film are working together to track female filmmakers who are showing their work at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and plan to use the data to increase women's presence in all areas of filmmaking.

The aim of the joint effort, announced Monday, is to "initiate a real hard look at why this constant lack of parity seems to exist in terms of the amount of women working in film and media and the amount of men," said Cathy Shulman, president of Women in Film. "What does it really mean and why is it happening, and instead of talking about it every year as a fact, start to see if we could be part of a solution."

Keri Putnam, president of the Sundance Institute, said the organizations were motivated by statistics that show that only 5 percent of the top 250 films last year were directed by women. That figure hasn't changed since 1998.

Female filmmakers are better represented at Sundance, where 27 percent of the films presented were made by women.

Catherine Hardwicke, who made her directorial debut at Sundance in 2003 with "Thirteen" and went on to direct the first "Twilight" installment, said that despite the $400 million success of that film, "it still was not easy for me to get meetings on movies."

"It still took me about a year and half to get my next movie made, and I had to take a salary cut," she said.

By tracking the progress and challenges of female filmmakers participating in Sundance programs this year, the Sundance Institute and Women In Film hope to discover the pitfalls that prevent gender parity in film and television and devise means of overcoming them.

"We're going to get real-life data," Shulman said, "and we are going to formulate a vision ultimately to support, within the scope of both institutes, programs this challenge to change these, at this point, boring lack of positive statistics and make a difference."

Women In Film and the Sundance Channel are holding events at the festival to discuss the work of female filmmakers. Lauren Greenfield, whose documentary "The Queen of Versailles," opened the festival, will appear at the panels on Tuesday and Wednesday.___AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Online:

http://www.sundance.org

http://www.wif.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_sundance_women_film_promote_female_filmmakers222602736/44278353/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/sundance-women-film-promote-female-filmmakers-222602736.html

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Small Business Lending Rises At Chase, Citi

(Reuters) - Global lending giants Chase (JPM.N) and Citi (C.N) said they substantially increased loans to U.S. small businesses last year, both exceeding previous commitments.

Chase said its small business loans rose to $17 billion in 2011, up 52 percent from 2010.

Citi said it lent $7.9 billion to small companies last year, an increase of more than 30 percent from the prior year and exceeding its previous commitment of $7 billion. Since the start of the economic downturn in late 2008, many small businesses have been struggling to get loans, lines of credit and other financing.

But a monthly poll of small business sentiment released Jan. 10 by the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade group, said small businesses' access to credit ranked at the bottom of respondents' concerns, with only 4 percent of owners reporting financing as their primary business problem.

Chase, which says it leads in U.S. Small Business Administration loans by volume, provided nearly 400,000 new loans and lines to small companies last year. For the past three years, the company exceeded annual small business lending commitments.

Last fall it pledged to maintain elevated lending volumes through at least 2013.

"Since 2009, we have provided more than $35 billion in working capital, term loans for expansion, commercial mortgages, lines of credit and business credit cards to small businesses," said Scott Geller, Chase's CEO of business banking, in a statement accompanying the lending figures Jan. 19.

In September 2011, Citi committed to lending $24 billion to small businesses over the course of three years. Its progressive increases call for lending to reach $9 billion annually in 2013.

"We made it easier for customers to apply for credit by offering less paperwork and an improved customer experience," said Raj Seshadri, Citi's head of U.S. Small Business, in the company's prepared statement, also released Jan. 19.

"Over the last year we tripled originations and increased credit application approvals substantially."

(Reporting by Deborah L. Cohen; Editing by Carla Tonelli)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/small-business-lending-ri_n_1223745.html

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Adafruit Flora lets you wear your open-source love on your sleeve

Let's face it, not every occasion calls for pulsating cufflinks, so Adafruit is offering up a little more diversity in its wearable line with Flora, an open-source electronics platform that you can wear on your person. The 1.75-inch board is not quite available for sale, but it's currently being put through some real-world testing. The platform features built-in USB support and will offer up modules for Bluetooth, GPS, OLED and a bunch more. No word on an exact date, though Adafruit has a page you can visit to sign up for shipping notifications, which has the timeframe at around 15 to 20 business days -- check that out in the source links below. As for cost, the company has promised "great pricing" for hackerspaces, resellers and educators. Video of the Flora in action after the break.

Continue reading Adafruit Flora lets you wear your open-source love on your sleeve

Adafruit Flora lets you wear your open-source love on your sleeve originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/adafruit-flora-lets-you-wear-your-open-source-love-on-your-sleev/

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Paul Wilkes: The Art of Confession: What is Confession and Why is it Good For You?

Deep within every human heart, there is the desire to be good. We all want to find and be our best selves, to go to bed each night at peace with who we are and how we acted that day. We want to be the kind of person we ourselves would want as a friend: trustworthy, dependable, fair. Yet often we fail -- ourselves and others -- in ways both small and significant.

What can lift this burden and restore our humanity is confession, a word that I use often in my new book, "The Art of Confession." In my own religious tradition, Catholicism, the word "Confession" has a very specific meaning. That is not what I am talking about here. Instead, I'd like you to consider confession with a small c .Religious confession is directed to a higher power, but it is first and foremost a conversation with ourselves.

When we take an honest look at confession, we quickly see that it is a pillar not only of religious belief, but mental health. It demands something for which there is no substitute: that we be honest with ourselves. Confession strips away the veil that we often cast over our actions, realigning our souls with what is best and truest in our natures. I use the word "align," because when we betray ourselves (some would define this as sinning), we fall out of alignment. Until we acknowledge -- confess -- our souls remain confused and fragmented.

This kind of confession, which demands self-reflection and change, has little to do with the flood of confessional disclosures that characterize our age -- on tell-all TV talk shows and social networking sites, even via an iPhone app for confession. In this time of Internet connectivity, amid the din of oversharing, we mistake spasms of self-revelation for honesty. Our inner voice is not so easily found and cannot be parsed into ten-second bursts. That voice needs time to find the right words to say and the right place to say them.

As Thomas Merton, a monk and mystic, wrote:

We are at liberty to be real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear now one mask and now another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own true face. But we cannot make these choices with impunity. Causes have effects, and if we lie to ourselves and to others, then we cannot expect to find truth and reality whenever we happen to want them. If we have chosen the way of falsity we must not be surprised that truth eludes us when we finally come to need it!

Because it has been so trivialized, confession has lost its power and vitality. In our society today to confess is often considered foolish, weak, even corrosive to our self-esteem, unnecessary. "Such an antiquated notion," some might say, "of right and wrong. What a naive understanding of how things really work, what people are really like."

The truth is that confession, as I seek to redefine it in my book and in this series, is wise and strong and necessary, unburdening both the soul and the psyche to live a forthright, productive, and fuller life. Confession is not only for those who have committed some great public or private "sin." For most of us, our "little murders" -- our duplicities, the daily hurts,
neglects, and carelessness we inflict upon others and upon ourselves -- need to be confronted and acknowledged.

When confession becomes a practice, a daily reevaluation of one's actions -- an art -- its power continues to grow, instilling a new sense of confidence, a vision of what life truly can be and hold. Something as simple as a short, nightly reflection, which I present in a later blog, can sort out the chaff from the wheat of the day just past, clearing the mind right then, and setting the tone for the days to come.

Using confession to live honestly and consciously -- the goal in this book -- is an art to be learned and a skill to be practiced. It is neither an easy fix nor a heal-all. Our brash modern optimism assumes that all can be made well if we only will it to be so, but human behavior is complex, requiring deeper thought and actual, sometimes painful recalibration.

Confession is, quite simply, an attitude. It is the cornerstone of the intentional life, not merely a clearing out of the debris, that which is bad or wrong in us, but a realignment of what is best in us, an intention to live a better life. When confession becomes a practice, a daily reevaluation
of one's actions -- an art -- its power continues to grow, instilling a new sense of confidence, a vision of what life truly can be and hold. It is building upon something strong and sure and
ultimately reliable. Confession is about truth, and as Thomas Merton advises us, what follows from an attitude of truth will not fail us.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-wilkes/the-art-of-confession-what-is-confession_b_1202633.html

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Morgan Stanley posts Q4 loss but beats Street (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? A special charge pushed Morgan Stanley (MS.N) into the red in the fourth quarter, but the Wall Street bank still posted better-than-expected results by cutting non- compensation costs, sending its shares higher.

Morgan Stanley lost $275 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with earnings of $600 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier. The results included a loss of $1.7 billion, or 59 cents per share, related to a settlement with MBIA Inc (MBI.N), announced previously.

The loss from continuing operations came to 14 cents a share, far better than the loss of 57 cents a share that Wall Street analysts had expected, on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Morgan Stanley shares were up 4.8 percent in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Morgan Stanley vs Goldman Sachs share price performance: http://link.reuters.com/cuh26s

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Like its Wall Street rivals, Morgan Stanley's top-line performance showed the impact of the European sovereign debt crisis. Overall revenue dropped 26 percent, to $5.7 billion, the weakest figure since the second quarter of 2009.

Despite the revenue decline, Morgan Stanley did less to cut down on pay than its Wall Street rivals.

For the full year, the bank's $16.4 billion in compensation represented 51 percent of net revenue. That compares with a 42 percent compensation-to-revenue ratio for Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and a 34 percent ratio for JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) investment bank.

Morgan Stanley's large wealth management business contributed to the hefty payouts. The bank paid its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney employees more than trading and banking employees combined, both in dollar terms and as a portion of the revenue of the respective businesses. Goldman and JPMorgan do not have significant brokerage operations, while Morgan Stanley Smith Barney boasted 17,156 financial advisers at year-end.

The wealth management payout ratio was 62 percent of revenue, while for the trading and investment banking areas the ratio was 42 percent, excluding the MBIA settlement.

In a conference call with analysts, CEO James Gorman said the higher payout ratio reflected deferrals of pay from previous years.

In an interview, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said Morgan Stanley tried to cut costs aggressively in some areas last year while making investments in others to build market share.

Areas targeted for cost-cutting included trading businesses that will require more capital under new Basel 3 regulations. Areas of market-share growth for Morgan Stanley included equity derivatives, rates trading and foreign exchange trading.

"It is a painful environment; there's no question it's a painful environment, and therefore you've seen us continue to invest in the areas we think are important for growth, while at the same time being very meticulous about cost management," Porat said.

She said Morgan Stanley maintains its long-term target of cutting $1.4 billion in costs per year from the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney wealth management joint venture it shares with Citigroup Inc (C.N). The bank expects to reach $500 million in savings per year by the end of 2012.

Porat said other types of cost cuts helped bring down non-compensation expenses in the fourth quarter, even though it is a seasonally high quarter for those kind of expenses. Non-comensation expenses fell 7 percent during the quarter to $2.34 billion.

"We're hitting costs very vigorously wherever we can -- wherever it makes sense without impeding the investment decisions we're making, so we still have growth for the future," she said.

(Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by Alwyn Scott and John Wallace)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/bs_nm/us_morganstanley

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

A year later, Egypt activists seek more revolution (AP)

CAIRO ? A crowd of anti-military activists suddenly converged on a bustling Cairo boulevard, erecting makeshift screens and showing videos of soldiers beating protesters, dragging women on the ground, partially stripping one and stomping on her chest. Their message: The generals ruling Egypt have to go.

The activists who led the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year have been holding hundreds of so-called flash mobs around the country, in a campaign they call "Liars." By showing people recent abuses by the military, they say they have injected new public support for their demand that the generals quickly surrender power.

But it also raises questions.

"What do they want?" one passer-by, Mohammed Ali, asked at one such gathering this week.

"Even if (the military) are liars... we are going to get power transferred to civilians in six months. That is not bad," the 30-year-old said. "It doesn't deserve all this noise. Let's wait and see."

Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the start of the 18-day wave of protests that toppled Mubarak. Activists are trying to turn public discontent over lack of change into support for continuing revolutionary protests. But they face the task of explaining to Egyptians who are sick of turmoil: Revolution for what?

The revolution's second year, the activists say, must pressure both the ruling military, which they maintain is as authoritarian as Mubarak, and the Muslim Brotherhood, which dominates the new parliament and which they fear is allying itself with the generals.

The anniversary shows the tensions. Each of the country's power brokers has its own plans to mark the day, underlining the stark differences over the very meaning of the revolution and raising the potential for a clash. State and pro-military media blare warnings that the protesters aim to "burn the country," raising concerns over a crackdown.

The activists are organizing new nationwide protests for the occasion. Thousands rallied in Tahrir Square on Friday, kicking off what they say will be several days of demonstrations, including Monday when parliament convenes and on the Wednesday anniversary.

The military has put together its own elaborate Jan. 25 celebrations, declaring the day a national holiday. It plans a nationwide air show, including flyovers by warplanes that it boasts will be bigger than those it holds for anniversaries of the 1952 coup that first brought the generals to the helm of Egyptian politics. Other planes will drop gift coupons to the public. Officers will be decorated for their role helping the anti-Mubarak protests.

The military's message is that it supported the anti-Mubarak uprising, but the time for revolution is over.

"Stability is the first goal," said Maj. General Ismail Etman, a member of the military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 fall. "If there is tension between the people and the armed forces, it must be removed ... We want the big family to enjoy love and stability."

For the activists and many others in Egypt, the army celebrations aim to co-opt their movement.

"We are not going down to celebrate, we are going to finish our revolution," activist Ahmed Imam said at a news conference by youth movements this week. "We will not celebrate while the blood of martyrs is shed without retribution. ... We will not celebrate, because they are liars."

Critics say the military is keeping the status quo with a slight reshuffle of the cards but with the same authoritarianism and abuses by security forces, if not worse. They point to almost 100 protesters killed in military crackdowns since Mubarak's fall, some run over by armored vehicles. Nearly 12,000 civilians have been tried by military tribunals, and female protesters have been subjected to humiliating "virginity tests."

They say the revolution's vision of "freedom, social justice and dignity" has been aborted in favor of an emerging ruling coalition between the Islamists and the military.

The difficulty for the activists is that a transition plan is in place, set by the generals and backed by the Brotherhood.

The military promises to transfer power to an elected civilian president by the end of June. Before that, a constitution is to be written by a committee chosen by the Islamist-controlled parliament while the generals are still in charge.

Brotherhood officials deny any alliance with the military. They say they want the army to step down, but maintain parliament not protests can ensure they do so. They warn protesters endanger the process by creating turmoil.

Ahmed Abou Baraka, a leading Brotherhood member, said the revolution against Mubarak aimed "to grant the people sovereignty and build a state based on the rule of law."

Protests must be "within the law and ...uphold the higher interests of the state," he said.

The "Liars" campaign ? "Kazeboon" in Arabic ? has been a new way for revolutionaries to reach out to a skeptical public.

Hundreds of impromptu street shows highlighting military abuses have been put on around the country in past weeks, sometimes more than 10 a day. The campaign has mobilized thousands of volunteers, a sign of the activists' increasing reach, said Rasha Azab, an organizer.

"Kazeboon is a bridge between the street and the square ... They are now seeing that Tahrir is no longer the only expression of the revolution," she said. "They cornered us in the square. Now there are 50 squares."

Many of the gatherings have been harassed by hecklers the activists believe are hired. At this week's flash mob in Cairo's Mohandessin district, young men tried to disrupt the show. One shouted that the screen and video projectors had to be packed up in five minutes. Across the street, another yelled, "Down with revolution."

Still, the activists' plan for the future remains hazy. They want the military to step aside, but are divided about whether it should hand executive powers to the parliament, a president or to a council of civilians.

Some fear handing power to the parliament would further strengthen the Brotherhood.

"We would replace a tyrant with no popularity and a corrupt majority, with a tyrant supported by religious legitimacy and an organized majority," said Abdel-Gelil el-Sharnoubi, a former Brotherhood member who since last year's revolution has become a fervent opponent.

Ahmed Maher, of the April 6 activist movement, counters that it is the best tactic to draw the Brotherhood away from the military.

"They are civilians. We will argue with them, negotiate, fight, whatever," said Maher. "But with the military council, they will drive over us with armored vehicles."

Despite disagreements, the activists' main intention remains to use street pressure for the long haul.

"It is hard ... (but) we are creating a new country, we are creating the future," said Lobna Darwish, an activist with Mosireen, a media collective that produces most Kazeboon videos. "It is not even a choice ? when you see people die ... you feel this is a commitment to go on."

At the Kazeboon rally, Mostafa Abou-el-Wafa parked his motorcycle and joined the crowd. He intends to attend the activists' anniversary rallies, his first ever protest.

Nothing has changed under the military, the 26-year-old delivery man said, pointing to a recent bribe he had to pay to get his motorcycle licensed.

"The military council has no shame," he said. "I will go with what these people are saying."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_revolution_s_second_year

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Monday, January 16, 2012

Two pets rescued in Lake Ridge house fire | InsideNova

Firefighters saved two pets in a house fire on Greenhall Drive in Lake Ridge late Friday.

Crews from the Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department were called to a home at 12709 Greenhall Drive about 6:40 p.m. and found fire in the basement of the house, said OWL spokeswoman Rebecca Barnes.

Firefighters had the blaze extinguished within 20 minutes.

Fire investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the blaze. Damage estimates were not available Saturday morning.

Source: http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2012/jan/14/two-pets-rescued-lake-ridge-house-fire-ar-1611495/

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Spielberg Discusses Lincoln, Robopocalypse, Tintin, and More

steven-spielberg-slice-01

?You want me to speak French to you? That wouldn?t be a good career choice for me. I got a lot of fans here. I don?t want to lose them with one bad accent!? Steven Spielberg joked when the French media asked him to say a few words in their language at a press conference in Paris this week, where he was promoting War Horse.? All kidding aside however, the legendary director does not like to talk about uncompleted projects.? Yet he did offer some insight into four of his upcoming movies.

While he spent much of the 45 minutes answering questions about his new film, he also discussed Lincoln, Robopocalypse, the Adventures of Tintin sequels and Jurassic Park 4.? Hit the jump for more.

adventures-of-tintin-movie-poster-01After the success of The Adventures of Tintin in French theaters last fall, the sequel, to be helmed by Peter Jackson, is generating much curiosity. Given Tintin?s cultural importance in France, everyone wants to know which books part deux will be based on.

?I?m not going to say which stories have been chosen for Peter Jackson?s sequel because Peter and I agreed that we weren?t going to let that information out yet. The script is now being written. It?s more than one book, but it?s not three books, so that means it?s two books. It?s two and a half books that we?re combining with The Secret of the Unicorn. And Peter will start working on the film this year. When he?s done shooting The Hobbit, he?ll begin his performance capture work with the actors later in 2012, which I?m very excited about. And of course, I?m hoping I?ll be able to direct the third one. I?d love to do the third one because I had so much fun on the first one.?

robopocalypse-book-cover-imageHis next movie, Lincoln, is scheduled to hit US theaters next December, but as long as it?s still in the editing room, the legendary director refuses to go into specifics. Suffice it to say that he?s a busy man with many projects, including the dark sci-fi Robopocalypse, a popcorn flick that should begin filming this fall.

?I just finished shooting a movie about Abraham Lincoln staring Daniel Day-Lewis which I am so deeply proud of. But because I am right in the middle of the editing of Lincoln, I?m not really going to speak and talk very much about that until the time is right to talk about it. And I?m making a science fiction movie probably in September called Robopocalypse based on Daniel Wilson?s book. It?s a cautionary tale about war between human beings and robots. It?s a big crowd pleaser, I think, a big action popcorn movie with a message. The message is actually in the popcorn! You have to get the popcorn, dig down deep in the bottom and they?ll be a message about what Robopocalypse is really about! And I have a couple of other plans which I don?t want to go into because they?re too far out of the horizon. But there?s a lot of work ahead, a lot of television my company is producing for some of the networks and some of the cable outlets. So I?m busy!?

steven-spielberg-image-1Since no questions about Jurassic Park 4 came up, I caught up with Spielberg after the conference, in case he had finally decided to reveal something.

?I don?t want to talk about Jurassic Park 4 yet ? it?s too early ? but I can tell you that I?m not directing it. I?m producing it though.?

One more attempt to coax more out of the director: Will Jurassic Park 4 be a reboot or a sequel and will it be released to mark the 20th anniversary of Jurassic Park?

?I can?t say. I will when the time is right, but for now I can?t talk about it.?

Producer Kathleen Kennedy hinted to Steve last month that the long-awaited fourth installment may be in 3D. But when I asked Spielberg, he refused to confirm. But come on, dinosaurs in 3D? It was so meant to be.

Mondo Jurassic Park Print Number Two

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924318/news/1924318/

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Wing City: Skyfall

Academia Everia

(Post co-written by RedRaine, Arrow and Ylanne)


Lucas let out a long drawn breath as the platform of earth underneath him slowed to crawl; although the Everian mage had plenty of magical reserves to draw from, the extensive travel to and from the Academy was starting to show its effects on him. Reaching the massive gate that seperated Everia from the rest of the world, Lucas allowed his earthen method of travel to finally sink back into the ground as he pushed himself off the ground.

The guards at said gate, recognizing Lucas, waved him to pass on through. In response however, the young man raised his hand, revealing the note Van had given to him just an hour before.

"Have either of you seen Scarlet of Celestia? I have a message." He said loudly, addressing the pair of guards in question. With a mention that Scarlet should be in her main tent, Lucas nodded towards the guards and briskly walked over to her main tent.

Pushing aside one of the tent flaps, Lucas was slightly surprised to find Scarlet talking to a rather familiar looking girl. Despite closer inspection, he just wasn't able to pinpoint where he met her before.

Striding up to the main desk of it, Lucas stood before Scarlet with his arms crossed, the note clutched between his index and middle fingers.

"I've got a message for you." He spoke rather carefully, keeping an eye on the girl standing beside him.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow as Lucas swept into the tent unannounced, meeting his eyes quizzically as the young man folded his arms. "Lucas..?" she began before he spoke, shooting Amira - who was there in conversation with her - an apologetic glance.

When Lucas did speak, Scarlet's eyes fell on the note in his hand. "I trust this is important, considering you didn't knock." Knocking on tent flaps was hardly effective, but 'knocking' had become a pseudonym for the various methods the mages had developed for announcing their presence less feebly than flapping their hands against fabric, ranging from hanging little bells outside the tents to using magic to simulate a proper knocking noise.

"Can't promise that it is, but considering it was passed on in secret, I'm willing to bet on it." Lucas said as he places the note onto Scarlet's desk and sliding it towards her.

Scarlet glanced over the message with a furrowing brow, her eyes narrowing as she examined Van's crude drawing at the bottom. "I recognise that mark," she said, "It was on everything .. at the battle, shit."

Stuffing the note in her pocket, Scarlet grabbed her scepter from beside her desk, "Lucas, meet me at the front gates in five." she instructed, before turning to Amira, "Silviana told me you wanted to help us. Here's your chance. I'm going to round up any soldiers I can quickly, and head out. You with me?"

With a curt nod Lucas set out from the tent, sighing as soon as he felt the cool winter breeze hit him as he left. Clenching a small fist, Lucas made his way quickly to the front gates despite having a five minute window before he was needed.

Amira's hesitation lasted less than a second before she gave Scarlet a quick nod. "As long as you explain on the way," she said with a somber expression. "I'd rather not head into the unknown, if possible." Her fingers fumbled to find the familiar shape of her own wand beneath her clothing, and the tension in her shoulders lessened slightly upon resting her fingers over it.

Scarlet nodded, waving a hand to gesture for Amira to follow. She pointed to one of the mages outside, "You, get me Rose and Kiriel, and ask Kiriel to bring any of her troops she can spare. Tell them that it's an urgent matter of grave importance, and to meet me at the front gate. If you see any of our other new arrivals, let them know too. Quickly now!" she instructed sharply, sending the man running off at top speed.

As she and Amira made their way towards the gates, Scarlet explained the reason for their abrupt departure. "One of my ex-students, a young man named Van, sent a message with Lucas. Apparently they've found a young woman with the mark of the Orsa upon her body. He doesn't know what the mark is though, so he doesn't know the danger he's in. We need to get there as fast as we can to help him. Once again, I find myself the cavalry."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/tdYwtoN1bKU/viewtopic.php

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