China says 29 abducted in Sudan still being held (AP)

BEIJING ? None of the 29 Chinese workers abducted after an attack in a volatile region of Sudan have been freed, Chinese state media said Tuesday, dismissing reports that some of the workers had been released.

The workers were abducted Saturday by militants in a remote region in the country's south. Sudanese state media reported Monday that 14 of them had been freed, but the official Xinhua News Agency and China Daily newspaper said all 29 were still being held.

China has close political and economic relations with Sudan, especially in the energy sector.

The Chinese ambassador to Sudan, Luo Xiaoguang, told China Central Television in an interview in Khartoum that anti-government rebels attacked the road project the Chinese were working on.

"There are still Chinese workers missing. Some others are still being held by the anti-government armed forces," Luo said.

Xinhua said 47 Chinese workers were caught in the attack in the South Kordofan region of Sudan. It said 29 were captured and the other 18 fled, and that one of those who fled remains missing.

The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that a working group had been sent to Sudan to assist in the rescue work.

"China calls upon relevant parties to maintain calm and exercise restraint, to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, and from a humanitarian point of view, to the release of Chinese personnel as soon as possible," the statement said.

A statement from the workers' company, Sinohydro Corp., said that it and the Chinese Embassy would "spare no effort in ensuring the personal safety of those abducted and rescuing them."

On Monday, Sudan's state-run SUNA news agency quoted South Kordofan provincial governor Ahmed Haroun as saying that 14 workers had been released.

SUNA said the attack took place near Abbasiya town, 390 miles (630 kilometers) south of Khartoum.

Sudanese officials have blamed the attack on the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, a branch of a guerrilla movement that has fought various regimes in Khartoum for decades. Its members hail from a minority ethnic group now in control of much of South Sudan, which became the world's newest country only six months ago in a breakaway from Sudan.

Sudan has accused South Sudan of arming pro-South Sudan groups in South Kordofan. The government of South Sudan says the accusations are a smoke screen intended to justify a future invasion of the South.

China has sent large numbers of workers to potentially unstable regions such as Sudan. Last year it was forced to send ships and planes to help with the emergency evacuation of 30,000 of its citizens from the fighting in Libya.

China has used its diplomatic clout to defend Sudan and its longtime leader, Omar al-Bashir. Recently, it has also sought to build good relations with leaders from the south.

South Sudan and Sudan are in bitter dispute over oil, which is produced primarily in South Sudan but runs through Sudanese pipelines for export.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_sudan

ron artest deion sanders shld 2012 sec football schedule medifast miami heat celtics

Social Media for Business | The Big Picture

Comments

Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

1. egockel Says:
   January 29th, 2012 at 9:46 pm

   I?m sorry, but where in this info graphic does it exactly tell you ?how to harness the power of Social Media?? It?s pretty, but doesn?t exactly tell me how to do this for my business. And, each vertical is different (say, automotive manufacturers vs. financial services)

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Source: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/01/social-media-for-business/

david archuleta hobbit trailer greenhill nj plane crash plane crash new jersey beef o bradys bowl the hobbit

Celebrity Birthdays January 29: Oprah Winfrey, Sara Gilbert, Heather Graham & More!

Happy Sunday, readers! I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend! Sigh, it’s almost over and the work week begins yet again. In today’s edition of celebrity birthdays, “Mrs. Robinson” is 72, “Magnum, P.I.” is 67 and “Mary Ellen Walton” is 54. Guess who? Find out below! Happy Birthday, Oprah Winfrey! The talk show host is 58 years old today. Winfrey, as you can see in the pic above, recently took a trip to India (her first) and visited the Taj Mahal. She was there for five days and shot some scenes for her new show, “Next Chapter”. She took to Twitter yesterday and expressed her sentiments, “Happy Saturday tweeps. Great to travel, but even greater to back in beautiful USA. India experience was AWEsome. Expands your humanity.” In other Oprah news, rumor has it that she has been chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z as their daughter’s godmother. Oh Blue Ivy, what a lucky little girl you are! Happy Birthday, Sara Gilbert! The former “Roseanne” star is 37 years old today. Yep, Darlene Conner is all grown up! You can currently catch her as one of the co-hosts on CBS’ “The Talk”, where she also serves as Executive Producer. [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/J8TnNNqSNlI/

wayne gretzky occupy los angeles occupy los angeles comedian patrice o neal occupy philadelphia occupy philadelphia conrad murray

More Info About Marketing Plan And Communications Plan ...

A part of your marketing plan is your communications plan. A focused strategy you use to get the word out about your business, product or service is called a communications plan.

Public relations, advertising and speaking engagements are the examples of some of the communication tactics that you may use. Yes, it does identify who you are communicating to and what your message is, and where and how you will get that message out, and often has goals or objectives you are trying to achieve.

What exactly is the difference between the two

A marketing plan starts by creating a strong, strategic marketing foundation for your communications plan. Addressing the goals and objectives for your business, not just for your communications activities, is what this will do.

What it does is address how you package, price, and sell your product or service and not just how you talk about it. Another thing it does is take into consideration your competitors and helps you develop a unique selling proposition to ensure your product or service is uniquely positioned in the minds of your prospects and customers.

Making sure that you have a way to track all of your marketing activities to create the greatest possible success for your business is what it does as well.

First and foremost, you need a marketing plan

As for the messaging part of your marketing plan, it comes in from your communications plan. When you are able to create a strong, strategic marketing foundation (which you will do as part of creating a marketing plan), you can then determine a message strategy and tactics and this will be your communications plan. Not only that, but it will most definitely be a part of the same document as well.

The communications plan is part of the marketing plan when you are writing marketing plans. Another thing you need to do is make sure that your business goals and strategy is clear within your marketing plan. That way you are not going back to it and not understand what it is you meant!

The success of your communications plan depends on it!

You are missing an important part of what it takes to make a business successful if all you have is a communications plan. A marketing plan is essential.

Searching for press release submission services that sends your press release to the right people, at the right price? We provide how to write press release tips that work!

Source: http://www.nealcoonertyforsupervisor.com/more-info-about-marketing-plan-and-communications-plan/

camaro zl1 bob sanders evan longoria janeane garofalo janeane garofalo braves braves

Deception Diet: How Optical Illusions Can Trick Your Appetite

Enlarge Michael McCloskey/iStockphoto.com

On a smaller plate, this meal would look larger ? and feel more filling.

Michael McCloskey/iStockphoto.com

On a smaller plate, this meal would look larger ? and feel more filling.

Think you know how to avoid overeating? Think again.

Research suggests that choices, like how much to eat during a meal, are often made subconsciously. Trouble is, our brains are hard-wired to mislead us in lots of little ways, which can have a big impact on our diets.

Take the Delboeuf effect, an optical illusion first documented in 1865. It starts with two dots of equal size. But surround one dot with a large circle and the other dot with a small one, and suddenly the second dot looks bigger.

Washiucho/Wikimedia Commons

The Delboeuf illusion makes one dot appear larger than the other. But they're the same size. Your brain is misled by comparing the dots to the surrounding circles.

Every time you fill your plate, the Delboeuf illusion affects how much food you take, and how much food you think you've taken, Koert Van Ittersum, professor of marketing at Georgia Tech, tells The Salt.

He and Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell, performed a series of experiments to measure the effect of the Delboeuf illusion on serving behavior and perceptions of serving size. Their work recently appeared online in the Journal of Consumer Research.

For one experiment, participants were asked to re-create a "target" serving of soup in bowls of various sizes. In another, they had to compare pre-filled bowls to the target serving. Researchers also measured serving behavior in the real-world atmosphere of a buffet line.

As predicted by the illusion, people underserved and overestimated on small dishes, while the reverse was true for large dishes. People using the smallest dishes undershot the target serving by as much as 12 percent. But people using the largest dishes took up to 13 percent more food than they intended.

"We are oftentimes our own worst enemy. And that's not because we want to overeat," Van Ittersum says. The illusion is embedded so deeply in our brains, he says, it is nearly impossible to overcome. Even telling test subjects about it ahead of time, as they did in another phase of the research, didn't eliminate the bias.

? Enlarge Jason Koski/University Photography/Cornell University

Brian Wansink demonstrates an optical illusion that even fools bartenders. How much should he pour to match the amount in the taller glass?

Jason Koski/University Photography/Cornell University

Brian Wansink demonstrates an optical illusion that even fools bartenders. How much should he pour to match the amount in the taller glass?

The Delboeuf illusion is just one of many subconscious biases influencing our food choices. We may not be able to prevent these kinds of effects, but with a little planning, we could turn them to our advantage. The Salt scoured the literature and came up with these suggestions for eating just enough.

Buy smaller dishes. The average size of an American dinner plate has increased almost 23 percent since 1900, according to Wansink and Van Ittersum. They've shown that people using smaller dishes overestimate the size of their servings, even as they serve themselves less food. Contrasting colors between the food and dish, and between the dish and table, enhance the effect.

Mass. General Hospital Nutrition and Food Service

At Massachusetts General Hospital's cafeteria, moving water and diet beverages to eye level (above the dotted line) increased sales.

Buy taller glasses. Another optical trick, the T-illusion, which you can try for yourself, affects the serving size of liquids. We tend to overestimate vertical lengths, compared with horizontal lengths. In a previous experiment, Wansink and Van Ittersum asked people to pour equal amounts into a short, wide glass and a tall, skinny one. They found that even professional bartenders poured too much into the short, wide glass ? but thought the underfilled tall glass held more.

Put healthy food at eye level in your kitchen. In 2010, the cafeteria at Massachusetts General Hospital adopted a green-yellow-red labeling system to indicate how healthy each food was. A few months later, they rearranged the shelves to place healthier items at eye level. Both changes increased purchases of healthy food.

"We were trying to make the default or the easy choice the one that was healthier," says hospital researcher Anne Thorndike, who led the reorganization.

Color-coding might be overkill at home, but you can rearrange your fridge and cabinets to make healthy foods more visible and accessible, and keep unhealthy foods out of sight.

Avoid food porn. It should be a no-brainer that looking at images of delicious food will make you hungry, but science has finally proved it. Researchers in Germany found that looking at pictures of food increases levels of the hormone ghrelin, which makes us feel hungrier and eat more.

Use food coloring. Color affects taste, as our sister blog Shots reported last year. We expect red things to be sweet, like ripe fruit. Cut a few calories by replacing some of the sugar in your recipes with red dye, a food psychologist recommends.

Eat with men. In October, The Salt reported that college students of both genders ate fewer calories in the presence of men than with women. Researchers speculate that social gender norms are to blame: Women may try to eat daintily around men, while men may feel less inclined to show off by pigging out if no women are around.

Adopt a mindful eating routine. OK, so this one isn't subconscious. But several experts reminded The Salt that subliminal tricks only go so far. So slow down and pay attention to your food ? and your appetite ? as an additional defense against overeating.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/01/28/145865238/deception-diet-how-optical-illusions-can-trick-your-appetite?ft=1&f=1007

weather houston weather houston small business saturday small business saturday hank baskett beyonce dance for you beyonce dance for you

US judge denies bid to block NV mustang roundups (AP)

RENO, Nev. ? A federal judge in Nevada who handed horse protection advocates a rare victory last fall has rejected their latest request to block government roundups of free-roaming mustangs in the West, saying they'll have to go to Congress if they think the animals are being treated inhumanely and need more protection.

U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben granted a temporary restraining order on Aug. 30 that cut short by a day a roundup near the Nevada-Utah line after he determined a helicopter flew too close to a horse in violation of the law.

But he said during a hearing in Reno Thursday that he was denying a new injunction request from the Texas-based Free Wild Horse Federation partly because the Bureau of Land Management has made some positive changes since then. He also said he can't issue injunctions based on speculation about future abuses.

"This court is really not in a position to be the overseer of the BLM," McKibben said. "This court is not going to police all gathers in the U.S. or even all gathers in the district of northern Nevada."

"This Court is not Congress, not an administrative agency. We are not the first branch of government. We are not the second branch. We're here to consider grievances," he said.

His ruling was a disappointment to horse protection advocates who were buoyed by his court order last fall when he took the BLM to task for its actions at the Triple B complex roundup near the Nevada-Utah line northwest of Ely, Nev.

"Your honor, you are the last vestige of hope here," said Gordon Cowan, a lawyer for the group. "Basically, there is no other accountability."

Erik Petersen, a Justice Department lawyer representing BLM, said the agency took McKibben's earlier order seriously and responded with its own internal review of the Triple B roundup "in great part in response to this court's ruling on the temporary restraining order."

The law already dictates the horses be treated humanely but the agency now has "a half dozen specific instructions" or guidelines for roundup contractors to follow, including prohibiting helicopters from flying too close to animals, Petersen said.

The BLM said in a formal review made public in December that some mustangs in the Triple B complex were whipped in the face, kicked in the head, dragged by a rope around the neck, and repeatedly shocked with electrical prods, but the agency concluded none of the mistreatment rose to the level of being inhumane. BLM Director Bob Abbey did, however, determine additional training is needed for the workers and contractors involved.

The government's wild horse program is intended to protect wild horse herds and the rangelands that support them. About 33,000 wild horses live in 10 Western states, of which about half are in Nevada. Under the program, thousands of horses are forced into holding pens, where many are vaccinated or neutered before being placed for adoption or sent to long-term corrals in the Midwest.

Animal rights advocates complain that the roundups are inhumane, but ranchers and other groups say they're needed to protect fragile grazing lands that are used by cattle, Bighorn sheep and other wildlife.

Petersen said the Triple B roundup ended the day after McKibben's previous order on Aug. 30. He said BLM has no plans to resume that roundup ? the only one specifically targeted in the group's original lawsuit filed last year.

But Cowan said he said there's no question BLM eventually will return to the area for another roundup.

"They finished it to avoid your temporary restraining order," Cowan said. "They are coming back whether they say it or not. Triple B is not over," he said.

If that happens, McKibben said the issue will be ripe again for legal challenge. He repeated several times that he couldn't understand why the critics won't acknowledge BLM is taking steps to treat the horses more humanely.

"Is your position that absolutely nothing constructive has happened ... that everything done so far is basically meaningless?" he asked Cowan, who answered "yes" each time.

"I don't happen to agree," the judge said. "I think frankly that hurts your argument."

Cowan said that's the group's position because group Vice President Laura Leigh continues to observe abuse of horses at other gathers.

McKibben said the new BLM guidelines were an improvement.

"While they have not resulted in the embodiment of new rules or regulations, I see some positive things that happened between the time we were in court before and today," he said.

"I would strongly urge the Bureau of Land Management to proceed in that direction. But that's a decision that must be made by the first branch (Congress)."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_wild_horses_lawsuit

meryl streep packages camila alves albrecht durer dan marino david lee roth joe bodolai

President Obama Boosts Al Green's Sales Almost 500 Percent

Obama's 'Let's Stay Together' upped Al Green's sales.
By Gil Kaufman

Al Green performs at President Obama's Victory Fund 2012 Concert
Photo: WireImage

Sure, clean energy, the return of manufacturing, a boost in education spending
 and saving the domestic car industry are awesome ways to revive the American economy. But another tactic President Obama might consider is more singing.

Because a week after the falsetto singer-in-chief unleashed his version of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at an Apollo Theater fundraiser, sales of the good Rev.'s most iconic hit have taken off.

According to Billboard magazine, the viral video of the President singing the first line of the #1 hit from 1972 boosted sales of the song by 490 percent. In fact, the tune had its best week since SoundScan began tracking digital sales in 2003, with 16,000 downloads. The YouTube video of the impromptu recital has been viewed more than 4 million times.

It was likely the second surprise this week for Green, who was present at the Apollo event where Obama acknowledged the soul singer's presence in the room from the stage.

"Those guys didn't think I would do it," Obama laughed while pointing to his staffers at the side of the stage. "I told you I was going to do it. The Sandman did not come out."

Fans also rushed out this week to snatch up music by Etta James, the soul legend who passed on January 20. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James' sales were up 378 percent over the past week. One compilation, The Best of Etta James -- 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection shot up from #162 to #46 on sales of 8,000, giving James her highest chart position ever. For the week ending January 22, James' overall catalog sold 30,000 copies, a jump of nearly 378 percent over the previous week when her collected album sold just over 6,000.

Related Artists

• Al Green

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678013/al-green-lets-stay-together-barack-obama.jhtml

rashard mendenhall rachel zoe penn state football mt rainier national park rose parade mount rainier national park drop dead gorgeous

Police commissioner: NYPD is good with Muslims (AP)

NEW YORK ? New York's police commissioner says a film that critics say paints Muslims in a bad light wasn't officially approved for NYPD training.

At a news conference Friday, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called the movie "The Third Jihad" inflammatory. But he said it was shown by mistake in a side room of a training center.

He also defended the NYPD's record with the city's Muslim community. He called the relationship "excellent."

The movie uses dramatic footage to warn against the dangers of radical Islam. Muslim groups say it teaches Americans to be suspicious of all Muslims.

Kelly appears for about 30 seconds of the 72-minute movie. He originally said he was not involved but later acknowledged giving the filmmakers an interview in 2007 and apologized.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_nypd_intelligence_movie

emergency alert system 21 jump street 19 kids and counting 2011 election results 11/11/11 11 11 11 activision blizzard

Good day, bad day: January 26, 2012 (The Week)

New York ? A high school student saves a busload of kids, while research says iPads may inflict unwanted pain ? and more winners and losers of today's news cycle

GOOD DAY FOR:

Healthier Happy Meals?
McDonald's removes a processed-food ingredient called ammonia hydroxide from its burger patties following pressure from TV chef Jamie Oliver, who dubbed the substance "pink slime." [Opposing Views]

SEE ALSO: The haute coffee-holder

?

Vanity
A Florida woman survives being repeatedly stabbed in the chest after her new breast implants blocked the knife from piercing her heart. [Daily Mail]

Swift action
A 17-year-old high-school student saves a school bus full of kids by taking the wheel after the driver suffered a heart attack. [Newser]

BAD DAY FOR:

SEE ALSO: Good day, bad day: January 18, 2012

?

Beating the super-bug
Researchers discover a type of bacteria off the Antarctic coast that can resist nearly all antibiotics. [New Scientist]

Owning an iPad
A new study says using a tablet strains one's neck muscles far more than using a laptop or desktop computer does. [Los Angeles Times]

SEE ALSO: Unhelpful second helpings?

?

Escapist luxury
Reports spread that bed bugs have been discovered in New York City's Ritz-Carlton. A room in the elite hotel runs anywhere from $695 to $4,500 a night. [Huffington Post]

For more winners and losers see: Good day, bad day: January 25, 2012

View this article on TheWeek.com
Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

Other stories from this section:

Like on Facebook?-?Follow on Twitter?-?Sign-up for Daily Newsletter

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120126/cm_theweek/223747

mt rainier national park rose parade mount rainier national park drop dead gorgeous ticket city bowl 2011 nfl playoff schedule cowboys vs giants

America's next star? Could be anyone (AP)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ? Michael Phelps. Missy Franklin. Jordyn Wieber. Ryan Lochte.

Any of those athletes could be the defining face of the U.S. Olympic team in the run-up to the London Games. So far, though, none stands alone as "The One To Watch" ? at least not according to people who make a living out of watching the Olympics.

With 2012 under way and only six months left before the flame is ignited at opening ceremonies, The Associated Press sent emails to sports agents and executives, public-relations people and others with strong Olympic ties, asking them who America's so-called face of the Olympics would be as the games approach.

Unlike past Olympic cycles, when Phelps or Marion Jones or Bode Miller or Lindsey Vonn were the clear-cut Americans to watch, there was no consensus this time around.

Phelps got the most votes with four, followed by Franklin with three, then Wieber (gymnastics) and Lochte (swimming) with two apiece. The rest of the 16 responses were spread among five athletes: gymnast Nastia Liukin, sprinter Allyson Felix, swimmer Dara Torres and soccer players Abby Wambach and Hope Solo.

That the question produced such a scattered list makes clear that generating buzz for the Olympics will take more this year than simply plastering a single person's face on a 50-foot billboard in Times Square.

"I think we have 10 or 20 athletes who could be that face," said Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "As I sit here today, I don't know who that face is going to be."

The people who received the AP questionnaire were assured their names would be kept confidential, in an attempt to get the most candid answers possible.

They were asked for American athletes only, which precluded them from naming Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who owns world records in the 100 and 200 and could have come close to sweeping the survey if nationality were no factor.

"Clearly, the world will be watching Usain Bolt, for obvious reasons and deserved reasons," said Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, author of "The Complete Book of the Olympics." "Clearly, people will be keeping their eye on Michael Phelps, as a record setter, even if he's not as dominant as he was before."

Phelps already owns more Olympic gold than anyone and needs three more medals of any color to become the most decorated athlete in history. His quest will, of course, be compelling, but it will also be mixed in with his competition against Lochte, who won five gold medals at the 2011 world championships and beat Phelps in their two head-to-head matchups.

If viewing patterns stay similar to what they were in 2008, Phelps vs. anybody in the pool will draw the best ratings. All of NBC's prime time telecasts that drew more than 30 million viewers in 2008 came on nights when swimming was featured. (Track and field didn't fare as well, though most of that coverage was shown on tape delay while most swimming coverage was live.)

"It's an intriguing story," Wallechinsky said of the Phelps-Lochte drama that could develop. "But trying to sell a U.S. versus U.S. rivalry, where the characters don't really hate each other, sometimes that's a little rough. It pains me when, sometimes, you see media pitching a rivalry between two athletes who are actually friends, just for the sake of creating a rivalry."

That's very much the way the 2008 gymnastics competition was fed to the public ? Nastia Liukin vs. Shawn Johnson. They battled back and forth in the years leading up to Beijing, and their head-to-head in the Olympic all-around was high theater, barely won by Liukin.

Both are trying to make the 2012 team, but unlike 2008, this year's star isn't permanently affixed to anyone just yet.

Wieber, the 16-year-old world champion is the front-runner to become America's top all-around gymnast, and she already has an appearance on "Ellen" and a deal with Kellogg's as signs of what some people think of her potential. But the health of Rebecca Bross, who was touted as the "next big thing" before injuries derailed her, could still factor into the big picture.

Of course, the U.S. team can't depend on any single athlete to make the Olympics an overall success, though Phelps' eight golds in 2008 certainly helped matters.

Americans have won the most medals at the past four Summer Olympics, but with China and Russia improving and with smaller countries, such as Brazil, Great Britain and Australia, chipping away from the other side, there's a sense that the United States is under more pressure this time.

"The medal count is going to be the medal count," said Alan Ashley, going into his first Olympics as the USOC chief of sport performance. "To us, it's all about how we support the athletes and coaches and help them put their best foot forward when they get to London. If we do our job, then the medal count will take care of itself."

Key to that medal count will be the fate of the track and field team, which won a disappointing 23 medals in Beijing, but improved to 25 at last year's world championships ? an upward trend team leaders hope will continue.

Yet finding a singular star from that sport has become difficult, in large part because of the numerous drug scandals that have tainted track over the decades and more or less tagged its top sprinters with a "buyer beware" sign, regardless of their history.

Tyson Gay, possibly America's best sprinter, has no doping issues in his past, but has been hampered with injuries and missed both the finals at the Beijing Games and all of last year's world championships; he didn't garner a single vote in the AP survey. Neither did decathlete Bryan Clay, the defending Olympic champion ? a sign of how the clout of the so-called "World's Greatest Athlete" has diminished since the days of Bruce Jenner.

On the women's side, Felix is well-spoken and looks good in magazine shoots, but has been a big factor in her sport for almost a decade now and hasn't connected viscerally with the casual sports fan that makes up a big chunk of the Olympic audience.

"I don't have an explanation for that," Wallechinsky said. "It is a bit odd. There might be some Marion Jones backlash, where they don't want to get burned again, don't want to back a sprinter then have that person test positive at the Olympics. It's one of those things where you can be completely innocent and still be under the shadow of other people's transgressions."

With billions of dollars invested in televising the Olympics, NBC will shape the way most American take in the games. The network, with everything from local affiliates to the web at its disposal, can tell numerous stories on numerous platforms.

Chief Marketing Officer John Miller ? the guy who created the catchphrase "Must See TV" ? said the network learned a lot when it loaded its pre-Games hype into Bode Miller before the 2006 Olympics, only to watch him turn into a bust on the mountain and a source of controversy off of it.

"We put a significant amount of eggs in that basket," Miller said. "As a result of that, instead of going with one athlete, we decided we had to spread it around a little more. Fortunately, in the Summer Games, we have compelling stories to go after. A lot of them."

In addition to track, gymnastics and swimming, NBC also focuses a lot on beach volleyball, where Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will go for their third Olympic gold.

"We have enough bandwidth to go after four or five sports in a big way and cover a lot of angles," Miller said.

NBC, he said, has no need to go with one athlete in the lead up. The network invited about 100 athletes out to its pre-Olympic TV shoot in West Hollywood, "because you never know who's going to come out and turn into something big."

In this case, there's no real consensus on who's big before the games, either. The USOC is accepting that fact ? trying to embrace the idea of promoting an Olympics with no clear-cut star instead of forcing a single story line.

"It's different from other years because there's not one story there that's bubbled to the top yet," Ashley said. "That's one of the things I love about the Olympics, is that you never really know the answer to that question."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_america_s_next_star

i have a dream speech school closures mlk mlk being human being human chicago news

Liam Hemsworth Joins Phillip Noyce's Timeless

We haven?t heard anything about director Phillip Noyce?s time-travel romance, Timeless, since it was announced (back in Fall 2011) that increasingly-popular actor Liam Hemsworth was in negotiations to headline the film.

Jump to the present and we finally have confirmation that not only has Hemsworth officially committed to the project, but that shooting is now slated to begin by July of 2012 ? just a couple of months after the 22-year-old Aussie actor is supposed to begin working alongside Dwayne Johnson on the crime thriller Empire State.

Hemsworth will show up in two hotly-anticipated 2012 movies ? namely, as Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games and as Bill ?The Kid? Timmons in The Expendables 2. In addition to both Empire State and Timeless, Thor/Chris Hemsworth?s younger sibling also remains loosely attached to appear in Arabian Nights, which could still feasibly begin production before the year is done. Suffice it to say, young Liam won?t be in short supply on the big screen, in the foreseeable future.

Timeless will mark a change-in-pace for Hemsworth, seeing how Moviehole (in its scoop on the actor signing on) describes it as a romantic drama that tells the tale of a young widower ? one who is so tormented by ?unresolved issues??between himself and his deceased wife, he actually uses his inheritance to construct a time machine, in order to contact her one more time. Similarly, the film also marks a departure for director Phillips, who likewise specializes in action-thrillers (see: Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Salt).

Phillip Noyce directs Angelina Jolie on the set of 'Salt'

Bill Kelly is responsible for penning Timeless, which seems to sample elements from his previous scripts ? including, the fish-out-of-water (or, rather, time period) plot aspect from Blast from the Past, the fantasy/sci-fi angle from Premonition, and the ?tweaked? fairy tale romance from Enchanted. ?That?s an intriguing mixture of components which could result in a genuinely-passionate fantastical tale of lost love like The Fountain ? or, conversely, something more on the schlocky side, such as? well, Premonition.

Phillips has most recently been directing more character-oriented TV material, including episodes of ABC?s Revenge and HBO?s Luck ? while passing on films that cover (for him) overdone territory, like Hunter Killer. So, in that sense, it sounds like he?s all the more prepped to handle a personal melodrama such as Timeless. Here?s hoping that he can manage to make something worthwhile out of Kelly?s screenplay ? questions about its quality, aside.

-

We will continue to keep you posted on any noteworthy developments concerning Timeless ? including, when it lands an official theatrical release date.

Source: Moviehole

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924366/news/1924366/

office space rawhide bigfoot tony romo twilight zone sandra dee nfl draft 2012

Man convicted in Travolta car theft ordered to pay (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A man who stole John Travolta's vintage 1970 Mercedes-Benz convertible is serving a jail term and been ordered to pay the actor $50,000 in restitution, court records show.

D L Rayford Jr. was sentenced to serve 16 months in jail after pleading no contest to grand theft auto on Jan. 5, nearly three weeks before authorities announced his arrest on Wednesday. Rayford and Michael T. Green were arrested last month on suspicion of taking the car and each was charged with grand theft auto.

Travolta parked the convertible on a residential street in Santa Monica, Calif., for about 10 minutes in September when it was stolen. The Oscar-nominated actor had the car keys with him while he stopped in at a nearby Jaguar dealership and returned to find the car missing.

Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis said Travolta's car had been dismantled by the time it was recovered. Among the pieces recovered by authorities were seats, the speedometer, hubcaps and other assorted parts from the vehicle.

Lewis said authorities waited to announce the arrests because their investigation into Rayford and Green had been ongoing. He said Santa Monica Police were able to clear eight stolen car cases after their arrests.

Police recovered the pieces after arresting Rayford and Green, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of grand theft auto. Robert Conley, a public defender representing him, said he could not comment on the case.

An email message sent to Travolta's publicist Samantha Mast was not immediately returned.

Rayford, 52, has a previous conviction for robbery and Green, 58, have prior convictions, court records show. Green is due back in court on Feb. 8.

___

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_en_ot/us_john_travolta_mercedes_stolen

lance ball kansas city chiefs chiefs kc chiefs kc chiefs judy garland duggars

Senator Mark Kirk hospitalized after suffering stroke (Reuters)

CHICAGO (Reuters) ? Senator Mark Kirk underwent surgery on Monday after suffering a stroke, according to a statement from the Illinois Republican lawmaker's office.

Kirk, 52, remains hospitalized after suffering a stroke over the weekend. He underwent surgery early on Monday to relieve swelling around his brain stemming from the stroke, the statement said.

Kirk checked himself into a hospital in the Chicago suburb Lake Forest on Saturday where doctors discovered an "carotid artery dissection."

Kirk was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Sunday where further tests revealed that he had suffered an ischemic stroke.

"Due to his young age, good health and the nature of the stroke, doctors are very confident in the Senator's recovery over the weeks ahead," the statement said.

Kirk, a native of Champaign, Illinois, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and to the Senate in 2010.

(Reporting By Eric Johnson; editing by Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_senator_kirk_stroke

oregon football lana turner donald glover julio cesar chavez jr jason segel turducken power rangers jungle fury

Texas School Sports Ban: Premont Schools Drop Athletics To Save District

In a desperate effort to boost student performance and save a school system from closure, one Texas school district has made the mid-year decision to eliminate its athletic programs -- in a state where sports are a highly coveted pastime.

The Premont Independent School District in South Texas lost accreditation last year after it had failed to meet adequate yearly progress requirements since 2007 under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Premont ISD was slated to close by this July, but the closure has been suspended to allow the district more time to turn around its student performance and attendance rates.

"A Not Accredited-Revoked status means that the Texas Education Agency no longer recognizes the district as a Texas public school," according to the Houston Elementary Education Examiner.

Threats to closure have already sent many packing, and others are looking to leave the district. Enrollment has fallen to 570 students this year, from 800 five years ago, the Associated Press reports. About 100 students take part in school athletics.

Now, schools Superintendent Ernest Singleton is looking to go door-to-door for truant students, seeking to raise the district's 88 percent attendance rate. The Texas average is 96 percent, according to AP. Student athletics will be suspended at least until next spring.

By cutting sports, Singleton seeks to increase study time for students and save $150,000 over two semesters, to be reinvested into bringing in highly qualified teachers and install two new science labs by August.

Parents and critics are worried that the elimination of athletics will decrease students' opportunities for physical activity and increase chances for bad behavior. Some say that the loss of sports could further demotivate students to go to school, and do well.

The Texas Education Agency, charged with school accreditation, can suspend Singleton's experiment at the agency's discretion if the district is not making sufficient progress.

"The hole is so deep it's going to be very hard for them to dig out of it," TEA spokesperson Debbie Graves Ratcliffe told AP.

Overall, Texas' education policies and curriculum have seen mixed reviews. A report in the fall by University of Texas at El Paso professor Keith Erekson said the state's K-12 standards in history are inadequate, ineffective and "fail to meet the state's college readiness standards."

Texas' failures, as well as the poor national performance, contribute to a low level of college readiness among the state's high school students, to the extent that Erekson's report says college readiness was almost completely ignored in Texas' revised history standards, "Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills" -- presenting history as a series of factual memorization and one-sided analysis.

The report also notes that In 2006, when the College Readiness Standards were created, 40 percent of Texas college students weren't prepared. Last year, 48 percent of those entering community college and 14 percent of incoming college freshmen needed remedial courses in at least one subject, and the gap is only widening.

Texas students' math scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress test have increased, though progress has stalled recently. NAEP reading scores are still relatively low, and Texas leads the country in the number of adults without high school diplomas. And while Texans scored slightly below the national average on the 2011 ACT, few of those students are college-ready.

Groups of school districts in Texas are also putting questions of distribution of funding to the test. In the fall, groups of school districts filed suit against the state, alleging that the system of financing public education is inadequate and unfair to low-income and English-learning students. The plaintiffs argue that the current system of using property taxes for more than half of public school funding is unfair, creating a revenue and funding gap between schools zoned to higher-income neighborhoods and those in lower-income communities -- a gap as large as $1,000 per student.

A separate suit filed by Texas districts accuses the state of inadequately funding schools, and another filed in October claims that the funding system is unfair, inefficient and unconstitutional by taking an "arbitrary hodgepodge" approach, exacerbating flaws in the system by slashing resources for schools but at the same time heightening performance standards.

Also on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/texas-school-sports-ban-p_n_1224155.html

lsu football lsu football bcs jay z glory alabama crimson tide barry larkin at the drive in

Could CBS' Elementary Pilot Lead To Legal Issues Due To ...

published: 2012-01-21 14:35:52

I know I?m not alone in having groaned audibly at the news that CBS had given the green light to a pilot called Elementary, described as a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, set in New York City. Those of us who have seen BBC One?s Sherlock, which airs on this side of the pond on PBS Masterpiece (and is available on Netflix) know that the concept is being done and extremely well, I might add.

It needs to be said that I?m not opposed to remakes in general. As a TV fan, I don?t feel the need to ?choose sides? when it comes to the original British version of The Office and the U.S. version because, despite the similar concept, the shows are different enough that they are both funny and entertaining in their own ways. David Brent and Michael Scott, for example, are both hilarious and there are some personality similarities, but they are not the same men. Michael Scott is not an American David Brent. He?s Michael Scott. And David Brent is David Brent. It's not about better or worse, for me as a viewer. It's about different and funny, which applies to both characters and series. That said, an Americanized Sherlock Holmes would not be Sherlock Holmes. However, it?s possible (even probable) that the assumption that CBS' pilot intends to make Holmes American, is inaccurate. So we might need to put that argument aside for now.

From the reported description for the Elementary pilot, the ?pipe-smoking private eye? is ?now living in New York City.? It doesn?t say he?s American. It sounds like the idea of the series is not only to take Sherlock Holmes and put him into modern times, as BBC One?s Sherlock has already done, but also put him in New York, where his accent and British nature will surely be made to clash dramatically and maybe even comedically with New York?s Finest. In that respect, there is something intriguing, albeit gimmicky about the concept. But it still sounds like a remake that?s pretending not to be a remake.

That brings me to an article The Independent posted today, which quotes Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue as saying that CBS approached them about doing a remake of their series ?a while back.? She went on to say...

At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernised Sherlock Holmes doesn't resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying." She added: "We are very proud of our show and like any proud parent, will protect the interest and wellbeing of our offspring."

As well they should be. If CBS went to the series to talk to them about a remake, why does it sound like they're moving forward with something that's not being reported as a straight-up Sherlock remake? The situation sounds a bit tricky from a legal standpoint, considering Sherlock is also borrowing the character from classic literature. From what the Independent reports, it?s the concept of relocating the character to a modern setting, ?which may closely impinge on the BBC series, which has made laptops and text messaging an important element of its plots.? In other words, moving the character to the future is Sherlock?s thing and that could present legal issues for CBS.

Margaret Tofalides, a copyright specialist at law firm Manches, said: "The concept of a new Sherlock Holmes is unprotectable. But if the unusual elements of the BBC series ? the modern settings, characters, clothes, plots and distinctive visual style ? were closely reproduced in the CBS version, that could form the basis of a potential copyright claim."

This is just speculation here, but attempts to avoid stepping on Sherlock?s toes might present enough limitations on this series that CBS could decide to move away from the Sherlock character entirely. Banking on the popularity of the British series, which has trickled it?s way to the U.S. already, could prove to be an expensive endeavor. Then again, would it be a huge surprise of Elementary is scrapped, and some other procedural landed at the network, centering on a quick-minded, quirky British detective working in New York (possible name suggestion: Sherman Houses)? All kidding (kind of) aside, it?s interesting to know that an eye is being kept on CBS (pun only partially intended).

In the meantime, for those of you who are interested in seeing a great detective show, I highly recommend checking out Sherlock on Netflix or when it re-airs on PBS Masterpiece. ?The Blind Banker? (Episode 2 of Series 1) airs tomorrow night (Sunday, Jan. 22) at 10:00 p.m. ET on PBS Masterpiece.

Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Could-CBS-Elementary-Pilot-Lead-Legal-Issues-Due-Similarities-With-BBC-Sherlock-38840.html

gloria cain gloria cain kandi burruss occupy portland occupy portland the hunger games neil degrasse tyson

Parents Reveal 5-Year-Old???s Gender: Good Excuse or a Form of Abuse? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | A U.K. couple recently revealed their child's gender after keeping it a secret for five years, but it has some people questioning their parenting methods.

While Beck Laxton and Kieran Cooper concealed the gender because they wanted to avoid stereotyping, the jig was up when it was time for Sasha to start school. It was then that school administrators wanted to know: Is it a boy or a girl? (It's a boy.)

In an interview with Cambridge News, Laxton explained why she decided to raise her son "gender- neutral" and said even she didn't check the baby's sex until a half hour after he was born. (After nine months of wondering, what's another 30 minutes?)

The couple kept the child's sex under wraps, bought him gender-neutral toys and refused to let him dress in masculine clothes with skulls or camo prints.

But pink, sparkly clothes weren't on the banned list and neither were dolls.

Some are comparing the family's controversial decision to a lab experiment.

While every parent can raise their child as they see fit, critics think this child's best interests weren't always at heart. Indeed, it almost seems as though Mama Laxton was encouraging the girl play.

A family Christmas card featured a picture of a picture of Sasha dressed as a fairy. "Children like sparkly things," his mom said. Sure they do, but why does Sasha look so unhappy in the picture?

Of course, up until now this method seems to have worked for the family. Sasha sounds to be a happy child who is open to a variety of experiences. But one has to wonder how Sasha will thrive once he gets out from under his mama's wings and into the real world.

Kids are known to tease, and Sasha still sports the "girls" blouse from his school's uniform.

"I don't think I'd do it if I thought it was going to make him unhappy, but at the moment he's not really bothered either way," his mother claims.

As for five years ago when the couple broke the news of their baby's birth to family and close friends -- but neglected to mention the gender-- Laxton said, "There were a couple of people who assumed it was a boy, because that's the default: something's male unless you say it isn't."

Apparently so.

Victoria Leigh Miller is a freelance writer. She has been writing about parenting topics since 2001.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120121/hl_ac/10865253_parents_reveal_5yearolds_gender_good_excuse_or_a_form_of_abuse

national championship game university of alabama bcs game lsu vs alabama college football college football ncaa football

Suddenly 'neck and neck' ? Romney, Gingrich in SC (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? On the eve of a Southern showdown, Mitt Romney conceded Friday he's in a tight race with Newt Gingrich for Saturday's South Carolina primary in a Republican campaign suddenly turned turbulent.

It's "neck and neck," Romney declared, then said later in the day he expects he will win some states while Gingrich takes others in the primaries and caucuses ahead.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, swiped at both men in hopes of springing a South Carolina surprise.

But several days after forecasting a Romney victory in his state, Sen. Jim DeMint said the campaign's first Southern primary was now a two-man race between the former Massachusetts governor, who has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, and Gingrich, the former House speaker who has been surging in polls after a pair of well-received debate performances.

The stakes were high as Republicans sought a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama. Television advertising by the candidates and their supporters exceeded $10 million here, much of it spent in the past two weeks, and mailboxes were stuffed with campaign flyers.

In a bit of home-state boosterism, DeMint said the primary winner was "likely to be the next president of the United States."

Indeed, the winner of the state's primary has gone on to capture the Republican nomination each year since 1980.

A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary on Jan. 31. He and an organization supporting him are already airing television ads in that state, which is one of the country's costliest in which to campaign.

If the former Massachusetts governor stumbles in South Carolina ? as senior aides conceded he might ? it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination stretching well into spring and further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.

Romney sounded anything but confident as he told reporters that in South Carolina, "I realize that I had a lot of ground to make up and Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well known, popular ... and frankly to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."

Left unspoken was that he swept into South Carolina 10 days ago on the strength of a strong victory in the New Hampshire primary and maintained a double-digit lead in the South Carolina polls for much of the week.

Campaigning in Gilbert, S.C., on Friday, Romney demanded that Gingrich release hundreds of supporting documents relating to an ethics committee investigation into his activities while he was speaker of the House in the mid-1990s.

""Of course he should," he told reporters. Referring to the House Democratic leader, he said, "Nancy Pelosi has the full record of that ethics investigation. You know it's going to get out ahead of the general election."

That was an attempt to turn the tables on Gingrich, who has demanded Romney release his income tax returns before the weekend primary so Republicans can know in advance if they contain anything that could compromise the party's chances against Obama this fall.

Gingrich's campaign brushed off Romney's demand, calling it a "panic attack" brought on by sinking poll numbers.

"Don't you love these guys?" the former speaker said in Orangeburg. "He doesn't release anything. He doesn't answer anything and he's even confused about whether he will ever release anything. And then they decide to pick a fight over releasing stuff?"

In January 1997, Gingrich became the first speaker ever reprimanded and fined for ethics violations, slapped with a $300,000 penalty. He said he'd failed to follow legal advice concerning the use of tax-exempt contributions to advance potentially partisan goals, but he was also cleared of numerous other allegations.

At the same time he fended off a demand on one front Friday, Gingrich was less than eager to face further questions made by his second wife, Marianne, who said in an ABC interview broadcast Thursday night that he had once sought an open marriage so he could keep the mistress who later became his current wife.

He denies the ex-wife's account.

On his final lap through the state, Santorum campaigned as the Goldilocks candidate ? just right for the state's conservative voters.

"One candidate is too radioactive, a little too hot," he said, referring to Gingrich. "And we have another candidate who is just too darn cold, who doesn't have bold plans," he added, speaking of Romney.

His campaign also announced endorsements from conservative leaders in the upcounty portion of the state around Greenville, where the heaviest concentration of evangelical voters lives.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, dismissed Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the fourth contender in the race. "There are four, three of whom have a chance to win the nomination," he said, including himself.

Paul, who finished third in the Iowa caucuses and second in the New Hampshire primary, has had a limited presence in South Carolina.

But he flew to six cities on a burst of campaigning on the race's final day, and drew applause for having returned to Washington, D.C., earlier in the week to vote against Obama's requested increase in the debt limit.

"When you hear the word principle, you think of Ron Paul. He's the embodiment of that," said Derek Smith, a 26-year-old engineer for the Navy in Charleston. "If he were to run as a third-party candidate, I would vote for him unconditionally."

Paul has said he has no intention of doing that.

Interviewed on C-SPAN, Santorum said the race "has just transformed itself in the last 24 hours." It was hard for any of the campaigns to argue with that.

In a bewildering series of events on Thursday, Romney was stripped of his victory in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses by state party officials, who said a recount showed Santorum ahead by 34 votes.

Then came an unexpected withdrawal by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who endorsed Gingrich. But Gingrich was suddenly caught in a controversy caused by his ex-wife's accusations.

At a two-hour debate that capped the day, Gingrich drew applause when he strongly attacked ABC and the "liberal news media" in general for injecting the issue into the final days of the South Carolina campaign.

By contrast, Romney faced a round of boos from the audience when he stuck by earlier statements that he would wait until April to release his tax returns.

Romney has stumbled several times in recent days, including once when he said he paid an effective tax rate of about 15 percent. That's half what many middle-income Americans pay, but it's what the law stipulates because his income derives from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than wages.

Gingrich posted his own tax returns online during the Thursday debate, reporting he paid 31.5 percent of his income to the IRS.

___

Associated Press writers Charles Babington, Kasie Hunt, Thomas Beaumont, Philip Elliott, Beth Fouhy and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

malta lulu tanzania setup dart dart progeria

Angry Birds Seasons: Year of the Dragon now available

Following on from last week's announcement, Rovio has released the latest instalment of Angry Birds Seasons. In celebration of the year of the dragon, this latest batch of levels have a Chinese New Year theme, and the mighty eagle has even transformed into the mighty dragon for the occasion. Rovio's also made the mighty dragon free to use throughout this latest chapter, meaning you'll be able to unleash the wrath of the dragon to destroy levels without paying a penny.

If you don't already have Angry Birds Seasons installed, you'll find Android Market links after the jump.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/7Dl6cEczjxM/story01.htm

walter isaacson walter isaacson zodiac killer battlefield 3 review battlefield 3 review real housewives of new jersey coraline

Digital lockers a growing piracy concern (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Digital storage services like Megaupload, which was accused of criminal copyright violations on Thursday, play a small but growing role in a broader piracy problem that continues to evolve and dog the entertainment industry.

Some 3 million Americans every month used Megaupload, which is among the largest digital lockers, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said. Other entertainment executives said that number surged when other sites popular with digital pirates, such as LimeWire, were taken down.

"When we look at piracy behavior and uncompensated theft of music, a significant portion of consumer behavior migrates toward these locker sites" after shutdowns, said Victoria Bassetti, a music industry consultant and former anti-piracy chief at record label EMI.

"Anecdotally, when we have pre-release leaks, the first week there is a massive amount of consumer trade that goes directly to Megaupload's door."

Peer-to-peer systems like BitTorrent, which have little central coordination and are harder to stop, still have about three times as much usage among consumers as digital lockers, said NPD market researcher Russ Crupnick.

Only about 3 percent of the U.S. Internet audience relied on digital storage for legitimate purposes or piracy in the third quarter, he said.

Megaupload and its ilk may be a bigger factor in video piracy because movies take much longer to download via peer-to-peer networks, Crupnick said. Digital lockers allow anyone to upload, store and distribute links to most forms of electronic content.

The U.S. Justice Department released an indictment Thursday accusing Megaupload's founders and other officers of criminal conspiracy, arguing that they encouraged copyright violations and in some cases copied protected content themselves. Four people involved with the site were arrested in New Zealand.

The indictment cited internal emails referring to piracy and Megaupload's policy of rewarding users whose content was downloaded most often, which prosecutors said encouraged the distribution of prime Hollywood fare.

An attorney for the company said Friday that the site merely allowed users to upload material and that it would fight the charges.

RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said that lockers were "generally the fastest growing form of Internet piracy."

Like other shutdowns, the interruption of Megaupload will send some pirates to rivals but should encourage others to buy or rent content legally, Lamy said.

"The realistic objective is not to eliminate piracy but to make it as inconvenient as possible," he said. "Some of the users you peel off."

The takedown enraged some Internet activists, who launched denial-of-service attacks that temporarily rendered websites of the Justice Department, FBI and big entertainment companies unreachable.

Some of them argued that the arrests showed that there was no need for laws like those that were withdrawn from consideration in Congress this week that would have made it much easier to block access to sites accused of fostering piracy.

But entertainment executives said that they would try again to pass such bills because they are aimed more at attacking demand rather than supply. In addition, many file-sharing sites do not have Megaupload's ties to the United States or allied countries.

"It is not hard necessarily to do something in New Zealand, but it is hard to get people in Russia and China," Bassetti said.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/film_nm/us_digital_piracy

scarlett johansson glee project winner kris humphries remember the titans wale wale weather denver

Despite the risks, mephedrone users in the UK are ready to try the next legal high

Despite the risks, mephedrone users in the UK are ready to try the next legal high

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Since mephedrone was made illegal in the UK in 2010, the street price of the drug has risen while the quality has degraded, which in turn may have reduced use of the drug. New research published online today reveals that young people who continued to use mephedrone after it became illegal would switch to a new legal high if it were pure and rated highly by their friends or on the Internet. They would be less deterred by a lack of scientific research on the new drug.

Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant -- a 'designer drug' -- that became widely used in the UK from 2008 to 2010. Its rise in popularity may have been caused by its legality and ready availability (typically sold online as 'plant food'), and also to the reduced purity of street cocaine and ecstasy during the same period. In 2010, because of its similarity to amphetamines and frenzied media reporting of the harmful effects of the drug, mephedrone was made illegal in the UK and scheduled as a Class B drug. The drug is still available through street dealers and online.

Research published online today in the journal Addiction shows that after taking mephedrone, users showed impaired working memory as well as the typical stimulant drug effects of euphoria, self confidence and buzzing.

While intoxicated, they also experienced marked craving for mephedrone and typically binged on the drug, taking it repeatedly for an average of eight hours. When drug-free, this group showed higher levels of depression and poorer long term memory compared to controls using drugs other than mephedrone.

When asked what factors might influence them to try a new legal high, the same users said they would be drawn to a new drug that was pure and had few short-term or long-term harms. While they would be attracted by positive reports from friends and on the Internet, lack of scientific research on the drug and its legal status were less important factors.

Mephedrone has been the most publicized 'legal high' in recent years, but there are many new compounds currently emerging on Internet markets. In 2010, 41 new substances were detected in the EU, compared with 24 in 2009 and 13 in 2008. Of those 41 new substances, 15 are synthetic stimulants, just like mephedrone. One of these may become the new 'legal high' that current mephedrone users want.

Says lead researcher Tom Freeman of University College London, "Drug users today are attracted to new substances that are pure and have few adverse effects. Lack of scientific research on the effects and risks of new legal highs might explain why young people rely on subjective reports from friends or the Internet when deciding whether to try a new substance. Internet reports may be biased and offer an opportunity for drug vendors to promote their products. As well as encouraging new research, an important harm reduction strategy is for the media and advice websites such as FRANK to provide balanced and up-to-date information on these drugs."

###

Wiley-Blackwell: http://www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Thanks to Wiley-Blackwell for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 25 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116812/Despite_the_risks__mephedrone_users_in_the_UK_are_ready_to_try_the_next_legal_high

bears lions terrelle pryor aids walk redskins oyster festival oyster festival

Eli Manning misses practice with stomach illness

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2011 file photo, New York Giants' Eli Manning, right, is congratulated by New England Patriots' Tom Brady after the Giants' 24-20 win in an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass. Brady has three Super Bowl rings, with another taken away by Manning and the Giants in 2008. Both have their teams on course for a reprise of that memorable title game. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2011 file photo, New York Giants' Eli Manning, right, is congratulated by New England Patriots' Tom Brady after the Giants' 24-20 win in an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass. Brady has three Super Bowl rings, with another taken away by Manning and the Giants in 2008. Both have their teams on course for a reprise of that memorable title game. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

New York Giants' Eli Manning reacts following a touchdown during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in Green Bay, Wis. New York won 37-20. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) ? New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning missed part of Wednesday's practice session with an illness that coach Tom Coughlin called "a stomach bug, hopefully a 24-hour deal."

Manning was placed on the Giants' injury report for the first time this season as a limited participant in practice, though he missed the majority of it. The team is preparing to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday for the NFC championship.

"If there is one guy who can miss a practice Wednesday mentally, it's No. 10," guard Chris Snee said of Manning, who has had his best pro season. "He was probably in here on Monday and Tuesday looking at film."

Tight end Jake Ballard figured Manning headed right home to recuperate ? and watch film.

"He's probably going to spend the rest of the day doing that," Ballard said.

Also limited Wednesday were defensive ends Justin Tuck (shoulder) and Osi Umenyiora (ankle, knee), cornerback Corey Webster (hamstring) and rookie linebacker Mark Herzlich (ankle).

Missing practice completely was running back Ahmad Bradshaw with a foot problem. Bradshaw frequently has sat out practices or been limited in recent weeks.

Ballard said it was apparent immediately Wednesday morning that Manning wasn't feeling well.

"You could tell he was hurting bad," Ballard said. "He usually toughs things out like that. You could tell he was dragging, and you don't like to see your Pro Bowl quarterback throwing up or feeling like that. Hopefully he's better tomorrow."

Snee wants to make sure of that, so he offered some help.

"I'm actually going to bring him some soup tomorrow," Snee said. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he is at full strength."

Some home cooking?

"Southern gumbo," Snee joked. "Or whatever they have in the cafeteria."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-18-FBN-Eli-Manning-Illness/id-a82ab4c6ec8e451f965cb905e09ab922

world aids day horse slaughter horse slaughter kristin cavallari world aids day 2011 chester mcglockton chester mcglockton