HTC Ville gets hands-on en Francais, is presumably practicing its Spanish for MWC (video)

While we're still a few weeks away from annual phone festival, MWC, it's these weeks in the run-up that often draw out blurrycam appetizers of what we'll see over in Barcelona. This time, it's no other than the HTC Edge Ville, that rumored divergent mix of quad-core processing bulk and slimline form-factor: something we don't typically see the unibody-armored HTC family. In the leaked video, you'll be getting a look at a heavily disguised version of Ice Cream Sandwich, covered in contentious (but new!) Sense sauce. The mysterious handset mole is also kind enough to pay a visit to the phone's specification list, confirming, at least if this is the finished article, an eight megapixel camera, 4.3-inch qHD display and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Alas, it looks like this isn't going to be the rumored quad-core debut from the Taiwanese phone maker, although going on past form, it won't shock us if the company reveals a whole line-up of handsets for us to meddle with next month. Take the tour yourself -- it's right after the break.

Update: Looks like the original video has been unceremoniously switched to private. Fortunately, we managed to grab a copy beforehand.

Continue reading HTC Ville gets hands-on en Francais, is presumably practicing its Spanish for MWC (video)

HTC Ville gets hands-on en Francais, is presumably practicing its Spanish for MWC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  HTC-Hub  | Email this | Comments

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

lori berenson lori berenson the incredibles jon bon jovi dead new jersey plane crash ohio state kobe bryant wife

Rotblat's pursuit of nuclear peace

Edwin Lyman, contributor

NOBEL laureate and eminent scientist Joseph Rotblat was a man of inexhaustible energy, optimism and dedication. In this new biography, author and radiation oncologist Andrew Brown faithfully captures his character. Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience chronicles Rotblat's journey from his beginnings in a prosperous Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland, before the first world war, to his rapid rise from electrician to internationally prominent nuclear physicist, and ultimately his committed opposition to nuclear weapons.

A prot?g? of neutron discoverer James Chadwick, Rotblat had been one of the scientists on the Manhattan Project. Yet he left in 1944, and after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945, his concern about the misuse of nuclear science drove him to become a vocal opponent of nuclear weapons. He went on to pursue a career in medical physics, and with the like-minded Bertrand Russell, organised the first Pugwash conference in 1957 in Canada.

Even as cold war mistrust reached fever pitch, this path-breaking and audacious event brought together Soviet and western scientists to discuss risks from weapons of mass destruction. Its success led to a series of conferences, continuing to this day, that helped lay the groundwork for a number of arms control agreements, including the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. Rotblat and the Pugwash conferences were jointly awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1995.

Brown's great respect for his subject is apparent, but this is no hagiography. He hints at a personality that could be prickly and arrogant, and also takes a closer look at Rotblat's famous resignation from the Manhattan Project. By Rotblat's own account, he lost interest when Allied intelligence was convinced the Nazis had abandoned their own atomic bomb project. Although his moral qualms clearly were a major motivating factor, Brown presents a more complex story.

Whatever his motivations, Rotblat's departure from the Manhattan Project sealed his fate as an outsider: he learned about its "success" from a news report. Still, he was determined to play a major role in establishing policies to control the bomb that he had helped to develop.

His stature as a nuclear physicist enabled him to provide high-level expert advice and his public warnings about the dangers of fallout from hydrogen bomb tests soon rankled with the US and UK nuclear weapons establishments.

At times, Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience seems as much a history of the Pugwash conferences as a biography of Rotblat. Yet Brown makes a convincing case that the two were so closely intertwined that Rotblat deserves some credit for all its accomplishments.

Beyond its successes, the book also details Pugwash's many internecine conflicts - such as whether the organisation should pursue Rotblat's vision of an internationally verified nuclear weapon-free world or a more pragmatic, incremental approach to arms control. Rotblat, who periodically flirted with the idea of world government, was long concerned that the concept of national sovereignty enshrined in the UN charter hindered the international inspection and enforcement necessary to abolish nuclear weapons, and ultimately war itself. Today, when many nations routinely invoke "national sovereignty" to block international initiatives to slow the proliferation of sensitive nuclear facilities, increase the security of nuclear materials and strengthen the safety of nuclear power plants, it is hard to deny that Rotblat had a point.

Though he could do without so much speculation about the feelings of various players, Brown's use of numerous interviews, including one with Rotblat himself, make for compelling reading. Overall, Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience is a fine work that lucidly depicts the challenges faced by Rotblat and his Pugwash colleagues as they relentlessly pursued a more peaceful world.

Edwin Lyman us a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, DC.

Book Information
Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience: The life and work of Joseph Rotblat
by Andrew Brown
Published by: Oxford University Press
?18.99/$29.95

Follow @CultureLabNS on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1c406915/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cculturelab0C20A120C0A10Crotblats0Epursuit0Eof0Enuclear0Epeace0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

obama state of the union 2012 demi moore hospitalized james farentino somali pirates navy seals navy seal team 6 tim gunn

Man arrested in slayings of SC officer, Ga. woman

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) ? A man accused of killing his girlfriend in Georgia and then gunning down a police officer in South Carolina had been dealing with mental problems before the slayings, the man's father said.

Police in South Carolina said Joshua Tremaine Jones, 26, faces charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in the death of Aiken police Master Cpl. Sandra Rogers. He is expected to appear in court in Aiken on Monday, according to Magistrate Judge Tracey Carroll.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said that Rogers was shot Saturday morning while responding to a report of suspicious activity. The 49-year-old had spent nearly 28 years with the Aiken Public Safety department.

Jones was arrested hours later in Batesburg.

James Jones, the suspect's father, told reporters that his son had past run-ins with the law and "was going through some mental problems," though he didn't elaborate on those problems. Jones said his son had run away from home and moved in with his girlfriend. He said his son is from North Augusta and briefly lived in Atlanta.

In neighboring Georgia, The Augusta Chronicle reported Jones also faces murder charges in the death of his girlfriend, 21-year-old Cayce Vice. Police found her body in her apartment Saturday morning after she didn't show up for work at a Five Guys restaurant. She had been shot in the head.

Richmond County sheriff's Capt. Scott Peebles told the newspaper (http://bit.ly/yO5JS7) that the agency had obtained warrants for Jones for murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Peebles confirmed that Vice had filed a complaint against Jones for assault earlier this month.

A phone message left late Saturday for the Richmond County Sheriff's Office was not immediately returned.

Jones said that when he returned from work Friday, his son had taken his blue BMW without permission and left. Jones said he and his other son drove around searching but couldn't locate him.

Jones said his heart goes out to the victim' families, and that he's devastated as a father.

"I just went straight to God and said, 'I cannot believe this.' After all that I have taught him, I just never thought that my family would have to deal with something like this," Jones said.

The Aiken public safety department issued a statement Saturday evening praising Rogers as "an invaluable street cop who exemplified the model of a Public Safety Officer," according to WLTX-TV in Columbia, S.C.

Last month, hundreds of people gathered to mourn another Aiken police officer killed in the line of duty. Officer Scotty Richardson, 33, died in the early hours of Dec. 21 after being shot in the head during a traffic stop at an apartment complex the night before. Aiken is a city of 30,000 that's located about 20 miles northwest of Augusta.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-29-Multi-State%20Slayings/id-84708dbb956a4a3e94370b553ae646c5

teddy roosevelt rita hayworth rita hayworth lakers rumors alfa romeo giulietta alfa romeo giulietta xbox update

Regina Weinreich: Wit's Wit

A conceit, an ironic barb, wit can be searing and funny. In the case of Margaret Edson's Wit, the Tony-winning play now in a Manhattan Theatre Club revival at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre under the fine direction of Lynne Meadow, Wit follows the journey of Vivian Bearing, a name that loosely translates to "enduring life," a college professor specializing in 17th century metaphysical poetry, in the verse of John Donne to be specific, author of Death Be Not Proud. As performed by Sex & the City's Cynthia Nixon, she is a brainy Everyman/woman, precious in what she knows and does, vital in knowledge, commitment, and contribution to life, devastating to lose. And lose her we do. Sorry for the spoiler: She dies at Wit's end.

Those passionate about Wit when it was first produced off Broadway in 1999 with Kathleen Chalfant in the gutsy role were skeptical about the casting of Cynthia Nixon. Slightly younger than Vivian as written, Nixon's bone thin skull, sculptural and cadaverous, and large blue eyes bring a great poignancy, the irony of cancer as an equal opportunity killer ravaging the still prime body, what William Burroughs called "the soft machine." Stage four ovarian cancer kills quickly foiling the medical team from using her for their research. Vivian's doctor (Greg Keller) is a onetime student in her poetry class; his procedures seem slightly less perfunctory, even as he administers her morphine drip.

Vivian's brave resistance is meshed with flashbacks to her lectures, Vivian delivering Donne's smart words ("Death, Thou shalt die!"), while she wears a hospital gown and baseball cap covering hairless head. The hat is a bright orange that matches the color of an ice pop she shares with her nurse (Carra Patterson). Brilliant as she was prior to illness, her academic supervisor (Suzanne Bertish), a sole visitor reads to her from that children's classic, Runaway Bunny, before Vivian -- to paraphrase another poet, Dylan Thomas, goes gently into that good night.

The loss is heartbreaking, of her and of her erudition, and in this small beautifully wrought chamber piece, epic.

A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/regina-weinreich/wit-play-review_b_1238979.html

krzyzewski childish gambino sandusky interview with bob costas sandusky interview with bob costas live oak mark kelly mark kelly

Colicky Edinburgh Zoo pandas removed from display (AP)

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

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

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

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

Yang Guang is expected to be back on view Monday.

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

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

megatron richard simmons war of 1812 war of 1812 jeffrey eugenides jeffrey eugenides volcker rule

Virus outbreak in Riverside, Orange counties worries horse owners

An outbreak of a deadly virus has horse trainers and owners in Riverside and Orange counties fearful for the health of their animals.

On Tuesday, a horse at the Empire Polo Club in Indio was euthanized because of complications from equine herpes virus-1. At Rancho Sierra Vista in San Juan Capistrano, 16 cases of the disease have been identified since Jan. 11 and one horse had to be euthanized.

Both sites have been placed under quarantine by state veterinarians. No horses are allowed to leave or enter, and caretakers must take sanitary precautions.

EHV-1 causes cold-like symptoms and a high fever, then progresses to inflammation of blood vessels in the spinal cord and brain, resulting in muscle weakness and, in severe cases, paralysis of the hind limbs. The prognosis is usually good for horses that can remain standing but very poor for those that can't. Some horses can carry the virus without getting sick, while others can die in as little as 24 hours.

The disease, which is spread by close contact and contaminated equipment, sent equestrians into a flurry last May, when it spread from an event in Utah to nine other states, including California.

Managers at Rancho Sierra Vista declined to comment about the outbreak, but David Provence, a manager at Sycamore Trails Stables next door, said his facility canceled a show last weekend because of the outbreak.

"Nobody would want to come to a horse show with that disease that close by," he said.

Provence is worried that the horses at his stable could get the virus, which has an incubation period of about two to 10 days. "Luckily, so far no one has shown any symptoms," he said. "It's still a knocking-on-wood type of deal."

The polo club has suspended all events, and state animal health officials put the club, stables and surrounding horse properties under a 21-day quarantine.

In the nearby town of Thermal, a weeks-long international hunter-jumper show sponsored by Horse Shows in the Sun has not been affected, said office manager Amanda Lambert.

"We're totally clean here, and we've been in constant contact with" the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she said. Organizers have, however, have instituted several sanitary precautions.

Patricia Aiken, owner of Dressage Getaway Inc., has been monitoring state updates since the death of the horse at the polo grounds. Aiken has a 27-acre ranch near the grounds and is holding a three-day dressage competition next month at the Thermal show grounds. If officials quarantine the area, she will be forced to cancel the prestigious event.

"All of my life I've been into horses and never had this situation happened before," Aiken said.

Cindy Hale of Norco, where the town motto is "Horsetown USA," said she is taking no chances with her two horses, Wally and Danny, even though she lives miles away from either outbreak. Now she prefers to ride alone rather than in groups. "You always have to be a little bit vigilant," she said.

Hale, who is also a contributing editor for Horse Illustrated magazine, said she is concerned because of how horses are kept in Southern California, especially at the big equestrian centers.

"Horses are in corrals and stalls side by side," she said. "It's very easy for disease to spread."

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

ruben.vives@latimes.com

Los Angeles Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/xeoHcyKJF9o/la-me-horse-virus-20120127,0,1531487.story

michigan state capital one bowl 2012 nfl draft order georgia bulldogs football winter classic 2012 rashard mendenhall rachel zoe

Can Too Much Information Harm Patients? [Excerpt]

Features | Health

In his new book, cardiologist Eric Topol explores the ways in which the digital age is transforming medicine

By Eric Topol ?| January 27, 2012

CLICKS AND TRICKS: To what extent are consumers empowered? Eric Topol's new book The Creative Destruction of Medicine examines how the latest innovations in medicine and communication are changing the landscape of health care. Image: Basic Books

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care (Basic Books, 2012), by Eric Topol, a professor of innovative medicine and the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute.

Nearly 7 Billion people on the planet

Over 3 million doctors

Tens of thousands of hospitals

6000 prescription medicines, 4000 procedures and operations

Countless supplements, herbs, alternative treatments

Who gets what, when, where, why and how?

When a 58 year old, active, lean, intelligent financier from Florida came to see me for a second opinion, I should not have been surprised. For Valentine's Day the prior year, his wife's present was a computed tomography (CT) scan for his heart. She heard about it on the radio and also saw heart scan billboards on the highway. There was even a special deal of $100 off for Valentine's.

But her husband didn't have any symptoms of heart disease, didn't take any medications, and played at least two rounds of golf a week. On the other days, he worked out on an elliptical machine for 30 to 40 minutes. Until he got the heart scan.

My patient was told that he had a score of 710?a high calcium score?and his physician had told him that he would need to undergo a coronary angiogram, a roadmap movie of the coronary anatomy, as soon as possible. He did that and was found to have several blockages in two of the three arteries serving his heart. His cardiologists in Florida immediately put in five stents (even though no stress-test or other symptoms had suggested they were necessary), and put him on a regimen of Lipitor, a beta-blocker, aspirin and Plavix.

Now, in my office four months later, this patient is not doing well at all. He is worried that he might have a heart attack if one of the stents becomes clotted. He feels profoundly tired and has muscle aches that are so disturbing he can neither play golf nor do his usual exercise. He complains of marked depression and an inability to have or sustain an erection. A fit individual, who had taken good care of himself and was enjoying his life, was now debilitated and depressed. The cardiology trainee who saw this patient with me asked, "How could this have happened?"

Unfortunately, this individual's story is not so uncommon. Think predator and prey: the physicians and hospital advertise, leading to a high volume of heart scans, billed directly to the patients at some $500 each. Then, should an abnormal score come up, the patient may be quickly referred for first a diagnostic procedure, and then one to implant metal stents in the arteries on the surface of the heart. Naturally the cardiologist who put in multiple stents feels gratified to have saved the patient's life with unsuspected, advanced coronary disease. Overall, however these cases are like riding a train to the last stop, regardless of the most logical destination. All procedures are performed, as likely as not, the outcome is not a saved life but a "cardiac cripple."

I didn't enjoy telling the patient that he should probably not have ever had the stents. I could see the cholesterol buildup in the two arteries on an angiogram he brought with him, but the case was not severe. Of course, it was too late to do anything about the stents, which can't be removed, except to reassure him that he was not in any imminent or real danger, but I could get him off some of his medications, which would help his current symptoms and get him back to golf and exercise.

Mark Twain said, "To a man with a hammer, a lot of things looks like nails that need pounding." Surgeons are notorious for a similar bias: "When it doubt, cut it out." My patient was the victim of the same tendency. As badly as he got pounded, it could have been worse: in 2010 the "Olympic record" of stenting was published. One patient had sixty-seven stents placed throughout his coronary arteries and bypass grafts, in the course of twenty-eight coronary angiograms over a ten-year period.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=296437e988cb56d39523680fe895787e

harry belafonte harry belafonte batman arkham city weather orlando winston churchill winston churchill arkham city

Newt Gingrich: Space visionary and future Geek-in-Chief?

Newt Gingrich proposed a US moon base and $1.8 billion in prize money for space innovations. Gingrich spoke Wednesday at Cocoa, Fla., near the Kennedy Space Center.

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich called on Wednesday for a base on the moon and an expanded federal purse for prize money to stimulate private-sector space projects.

Skip to next paragraph

"We want Americans to think boldly about the future," Gingrich said during a campaign rally in Florida, where he outlined a space policy initiative that would cut NASA's bureaucracy and expand on private-sector space programs championed by President Barack Obama.

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American," Gingrich said.

RECOMMENDED: Are you a true Geek? Take the quiz.

"We will have commercial near-Earth activities that include science, tourism and manufacturing, because it is in our interest to acquire so much experience in space that we clearly have a capacity that the Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to matching," he said.

Gingrich is locked in a close battle with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as Florida prepares to vote on Tuesday in the Republican presidential primary. Republicans are seeking a nominee to challenge Democrat Obama in the November election. The rally in Cocoa was just down the road from the Kennedy Space Center.

With the retirement of the space shuttles last year, the United States is dependent on Russia to fly its astronauts to the International Space Station, a service that costs NASA about $60 million per person. China, the only other country that has flown people in space, is not a member of the station partnership.

In addition to supporting the station, a $100 billion laboratory owned by the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, NASA is working on a spaceship and heavy-lift rocket that could carry astronauts to asteroids and other destinations beyond the station's 240-mile-high (385-km) orbit.

The Obama administration also backs the development of privately owned space taxis to break Russia's monopoly on transportation to the station.

Congress allotted $406 million for the program for the year that began on Oct. 1.

Gingrich said he wanted to spend 10 percent of NASA's $18 billion budget on prize money for competitions that spur innovation and technological breakthroughs in space.

"I'm prepared to invest the prestige of the presidency in communicating and building a nationwide movement in favor of space," Gingrich said at a meeting of aerospace executives and community leaders after the rally.

"If we do it right, it'll be wild and it will be just the most fun you've ever seen," he said.

During a debate in Florida on Monday, Romney said he believed space should be a priority.

"What we have right now is a president who does not have a vision or a mission for NASA. I happen to believe our space program is important not only for science, but also for commercial development and for military development," he said.

(Editing by Jane Sutton and Peter Cooney)

RECOMMENDED: Are you a true Geek? Take the quiz

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/A_GJAYN31VM/Newt-Gingrich-Space-visionary-and-future-Geek-in-Chief

tether lana peters lana peters jennifer nettles jennifer nettles giants vs saints suh

Asia stocks rise amid hopes for US growth, Greece (AP)

BANGKOK ? Asian stocks edged higher Friday, setting aside weaker-than-expected U.S. home sales amid hopes for an agreement on debt relief for Greece and stronger growth in the world's No. 1 economy

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4 percent to 8,885.09. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,963.82 and Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 1 percent to 4,312.40. Benchmarks in Singapore and New Zealand also rose, while Indonesia fell.

Sentiment was positive ahead of the release of fourth-quarter gross domestic product figures by the U.S. Commerce Department later Friday. GDP measures the economy's total output of goods and services.

Economists predict growth will strengthen to around 3 percent in the October-December quarter from about 2 percent in the third quarter. Analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said the reading was expected to "look healthy."

The resumption of talks on a crucial Greek debt relief deal also heartened traders. Greece and its bailout rescuers ? other countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund ? are asking private creditors to swap their Greek bonds for new ones with a lower value and interest rate.

The two sides have disagreed over what interest rate the new bonds should take and the hope is they will find a compromise shortly. The creditors' representatives have said they aim to get a deal by Monday, when European leaders meet in Brussels.

In the U.S., stocks slipped Thursday after the government reported an unexpected drop in new home sales in December, capping the worst year for home sales since record-keeping began in 1963.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.2 percent at 12,734.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down 0.6 percent at 1,318.43. The Nasdaq shed 0.5 percent to close at 2,805.28.

But there were some bright spots. Orders to factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December for the second straight month, and a key measure of business investment rose solidly.

Caterpillar Inc., the world's biggest heavy equipment maker, rose 2.1 percent, the most of the 30 companies in the Dow, after beating analysts' estimates last quarter. The company expects to do the same this year as global demand remains high.

That helped Asian industry counterparts. Japan's Komatsu Ltd. rose 2.3 percent. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. rose 0.8 percent.

Benchmark oil for March delivery was up 29 cents to $99.99 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 30 cents to finish at $99.70 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro was unchanged from $1.3104 late Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 77.40 yen from 77.49 yen.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

its a wonderful life rajon rondo ham recipes rex ryan yule log adrian peterson darlene love

93% Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

All Critics (191) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (178) | Rotten (13)

Brad Bird passe his audition for a career as a live-action director. And "Ghost Protocol" more than makes its bones as an argument for why Tom Cruise should continue in this role as long as his knees, and his nerves, hold up.

Brad Bird passes his audition for a career as a live-action director. And "Ghost Protocol" more than makes its bones as an argument for why Tom Cruise should continue in this role as long as his knees, and his nerves, hold up.

"Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol" is sheer hurtling mechanism-and it's great silly fun.

As usual with the series, the movie combines a plot line a toddler could understand with gadgets that would baffle an engineering Ph.D.

I'm thinking it, so I might as well say it: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is no Fast Five.

...it's pretty much state-of-the-art.

... a good-size barrel of fun.

still does not have the hang of what made the TV show so good.

Cruises on the WOW! factor.

Snagging Oscar-winning animation director Brad Bird to fill the director's chair proves to be an inspired choice--and, upon thought, a bit of a no-brainer.

The screenplay doesn't rely too much on gimmicks to advance the plot. Instead, the plot is also character-driven to an extent. There are interesting dynamics going on in the Mission Impossible team.

Director Brad Bird juices and gooses the whole affair with edge and excitement, new energy, humor and heartbeat, and a terrific feel for big, bold, audaciously daring sequences that beg for the biggest screen available.

Great stunts and not a dull moment,

Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol could very well be the series' best installment.

It has a few very good ideas, and then, the rest of it is totally lackluster.

Watching Tom leap from a hospital window on to a passing truck, I couldn't help but worry: Tom, those knees won't last forever.

Succeeds in dishing up exactly what you would expect: State of the arts stunts, non-stop action, and a series of clearly laid-out heists and chases that go awry in all kinds of creative ways.

Bird manages the escalations from the preposterous through the more preposterous to the most preposterous with skill and wit...

...great cinematic entertainment.

Better than the tower climb is the scene in which Hunt infiltrates the Kremlin with, essentially, a high-tech magic trick; the playfulness of the effect demonstrates the usefulness of Bird's background in the astonish-the-audience culture of animation.

So exciting you have to remind yourself to breathe.

Ghost pulls off the impossible.

Film number four has found its optimum screen display, its best director for the job and its sense of humour while increasing the gadgets and death-defying stunts.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_ghost_protocol/

diaspora social network diaspora breaking dawn premiere rock center nbpa itunes match itunes match

Tim Cook: ?There Will Come A Day When The Tablet Market Is Larger Than The PC Market?

One of the big questions hanging over Apple this quarter was whether or not iPad sales would continue its rapid growth. Last quarter Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire at $200 (well below the iPAd's entry-level $500 price) and there was concern that even Apple diehard fans might delay their purchase of a tablet until the iPad 3 comes out?rumored for later this year. But iPad sales came in well above expectations at 15.4 million units. During the conference call today, Tim Cook predicted: "I think there will come a day that the tablet market is larger than the PC market."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/kuqvX0KH7_Q/

wvu football district 9 district 9 pandaria pandaria artie lange baby lisa irwin

No Evil Dead Remake for Lily Collins

It's back to square one for the Sam Raimi-produced "Evil Dead" remake. According to Variety's Jeff Sneider (via indieWIRE), actress Lily Collins has dropped out as the lead of the upcoming horror reboot due to scheduling issues.

Depending on where you land on the "Let's remake an '80s horror film!" scale, this could be either really good or really bad news. For those who prefer to keep the original "Evil Dead" untainted, rest assured that Collins leaving does not mean the end of the project; the movie still has an April 12, 2013 release date.

As for Lily, you can see her -- sans-evil spirits -- as Snow White in the upcoming "Mirror Mirror," out March 16.

[via @TheInSneider]

Earlier 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.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924367/news/1924367/

constitution james carville james carville rimm brad pitt brad pitt us constitution

Lagarde urges Europe to boost growth and firewalls

BERLIN (AP) ? Europe's stronger economies should do more to boost growth and beef up the defenses against the continent's debt crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

After meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Christine Lagarde urged the leaders of the 17 countries that use the euro to deal with a crisis that's threatening the public finances of a number of countries and raising fears of another recession in the eurozone.

"There are three imperatives ? stronger growth, larger firewalls, and deeper integration," she said in a prepared text of her speech to the German Council on Foreign Relations. "Resorting to across-the-board, across-the continent, budgetary cuts will only add to recessionary pressures."

Lagarde, a former French finance minister, suggested that some of the stronger economies in the eurozone could deal with their own debts in a less aggressive way so they can shore up economic growth.

"Several countries have no choice but to tighten public finances, sharply and quickly," she acknowledged. "But this is not true everywhere. There is a large core where fiscal adjustment can be more gradual."

Germany, which has had to foot a large chunk of Europe's bailouts, has put austerity at the heart of the eurozone rescue effort and is reluctant to put more money into rescue funds.

Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have both stressed this month that boosting growth in the 17-nation eurozone is a priority ? though Germany, the region's biggest and strongest economy, still insists on strict budget discipline.

Like Merkel, Lagarde underlined the importance of countries pushing through structural reforms to boost their competitiveness and growth potential.

But she was outspoken on the need for a larger eurozone firewall, pointing to the risk that Italy or Spain "could potentially be forced into a solvency crisis by abnormal financing costs." Those two countries are far bigger than Portugal, Ireland and Greece, which already have received bailouts, and are considered too big for the eurozone's already-planned firewalls to handle.

Lagarde advocated increasing the size of the eurozone's permanent rescue fund, the euro500 billion ($650 billion) European Stability Mechanism, which is supposed to start work in July.

She called for "adding substantial real resources," in part by folding into the ESM what remains of the current, temporary euro440 billion ($570 billion) European Financial Stability Facility. That isn't currently planned.

Lagarde also said action by the European Central Bank "to provide the necessary liquidity support to stabilize bank funding and sovereign debt markets would also be essential."

The ECB has provided huge long-term loans to the eurozone's banks, but has been extremely reluctant to step up its limited program to buy government bonds, a program already viewed with suspicion by many in Germany.

Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters that Germany does not currently see the need to increase ESM funding, but did say that the chancellor was "prepared to talk about whatever our European partners bring to the negotiating table in Brussels."

On Sunday, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble brushed aside a question about the possibility of beefing up the ESM.

Schaeuble pointed to decisions made by eurozone leaders at a summit in early December.

"They said that we will reappraise it (the fund) in March, and we are going to take that time," he told ARD television.

Eurozone countries are currently thrashing out details of a budget-discipline pact, or "fiscal compact," championed by Berlin. Lagarde identified a need for it to go further.

"To complement its 'fiscal compact,' the area needs some form of fiscal risk-sharing," she said, pointing to "a number of financing options" such as jointly issued eurobonds or a debt redemption fund.

"Political agreement on a joint bond to underpin risk sharing would help convince markets of the future viability of European economic and monetary union," Lagarde added.

Merkel has fiercely resisted eurobonds, which are deeply unpopular in her center-right coalition, because they could drive up Germany's borrowing costs.

Lagarde said that she understands both the pain felt by those in European countries that have to make deep cuts and the feelings of those in countries that have been thrifty and are now being asked to help.

"But what we must all understand is that this is a defining moment," she said.

"It is not about saving any one country or region. It is about saving the world from a downward economic spiral. It is about avoiding a 1930s moment, in which inaction, insularity, and rigid ideology combine to cause a collapse in global demand."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-23-EU-Germany-IMF/id-27dded184567412686071f43a66c3e88

colorado weather alcohol poisoning alcohol poisoning mark ingram mark ingram between two ferns joe the plumber

Drake Wrestles Tiger, Wows Fans In South Africa

'I went on a safari — I got tackled by a tiger!' Drake tells MTV News of his recent trip overseas.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sam Hendrick

Drake
Photo: MTV News

Drake's Club Paradise Tour doesn't kick off until next month, but that hasn't stopped Drizzy from getting in some show dates. On Saturday, the Young Money soldier rocked the Bing Bar in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival, and in December, he took a couple of dates in South Africa. During his trip, Drake learned not to underestimate his overseas fans and ... to beware of tigers.

"Africa was amazing, man. Africa was amazing because I went, like, OK, I'm gonna have to do Rihanna 'What's My Name,' I'm gonna have to do 'Bedrock,' I'm gonna have to do 'Every Girl,' " Drake told MTV News of his planned playlist. "I went out there and I did the music that I thought they wanted to hear and all they were screaming was, like, they wanted to hear Take Care. They wanted to hear the new stuff."

Of course, Drizzy has a ton of solo hits like "Best I Ever Had," "Successful," "Over" and "Find Your Love." When you add in his high-powered collaborations with Rihanna, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, it all makes for a pretty impressive set list. Going into his African show dates, Drake didn't even consider the impact that his material from the November-released Take Care would have on fans.

"I started performing the new stuff and they knew it word for word," he said. "It was incredible. It was like 5,000 people."

Apparently people aren't the only ones to go crazy over the Toronto MC either: He has quite the effect on animals. "I went on a safari — I got tackled by a tiger!" he said. "It was crazy!"

We bet!

Related Videos

• Sundance 2012: Interviews From Park City

Related Artists

• Drake

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677719/drake-sundance.jhtml

jack del rio fired jack del rio fired made in america made in america icam patrice o neal. osteopathy

BMW Is Making Cars That Drive Themselves [Video]

Everybody's working on self-driving cars! Google, Ford, Volvo and now even the ultimate driving machine, BMW, is trying their hand at hands free driving. BMW's self-autonomous system uses four types of sensors, radar, cameras, laser scanners and ultrasound distance sensors and can even change lanes to zoom past a slowpoke car. BMW. The ultimate lazy driving machine. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/JNeO3oSh0EI/bmw-is-making-cars-that-drive-themselves

richard cordray shannon de lima joe torre west virginia university michele bachmann jessica biel west virginia

Organic Milk vs. Regular Milk: Which Tastes Better?

Milk, it does a body good. At least that is what the ads have been telling us since the 80s and 90s, if not earlier. And this is still ingrained in most of our minds as being true. But when those commercials first aired there were not as many options for milk as there are today.

Twenty years ago your choices were predominately regular, a reduced fat variety or nonfat. But today picking a gallon of milk from the plethora of choices can stop you in your tracks and make you wonder: which milk will do your body good?

Making that milk selection is not just about being calorie conscious anymore; the choice also deals with allergy or dietary considerations and can even come down to an ethical decision for some. One of the more predominant choices available now is the option for organic milk. And while we know that there is a real difference between organic and regular, we also know there is a pretty steep hike in price? And so, we at Kitchen Daily wanted to know: is the difference between organic and regular milk one you can taste? And if so, which tastes better? Our team of editors conducted a taste test to find out.

Before we get to the results, here are some regulation differences between organic and regular milk:

Organic vs. Regular

Antibiotics. If an organic dairy cow needs to be treated with an antibiotic, they are not allowed back into the herd until after 12 months of being certified as antibiotic free. Non-organic dairy cows can be returned back to the herd as soon as they get those results.

Pasture feeding. According to regulations, organic cows must have access to pasture feeding. The terms for this are vague; the amount of time a dairy cow spends on the pasture is unknown and most likely varies according to the size of the farm.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). Organic cows are not allowed rBGH injections. This hormone is commonly used to enhance milk production in regular dairy cows. The worry with BGH is that cows injected with this hormone will produce additional Insulin Growth factor, which may cause illnesses in humans if ingested excessively

Pesticides. While regular dairy cows do not have regulations on whether their feed can be treated with pesticides, organic cows do.

The Verdict:

Twenty four editors blind-tasted the two milks, side by side, and...

• 53 percent of our tasters were able to clearly identify which milk was organic.
• 56 percent of our tasters preferred organic milk to regular milk

Here's what our tasters thought:

Organic Milk: "Has a neutral, thirst-quenching flavor." "Has a richer flavor." "Tasted thicker." "Sweeter." "Has an odd taste." "Tastes smoother, creamier."

Regular Milk: "Has a bit richer taste." "Tastes more watery." "Has a more complex flavor." "Has a slightly plastic taste." "Slightly less sour." "Waterier."

Both: "Both Good." "Milky Tasting." "Organic doesn't have as strong of a flavor as regular." "I can't tell the difference." "Yup, they both taste like milk." "They taste more or less exactly the same."

In Summary: There is not a huge taste difference between organic milk compared to regular milk -- though there was a slight preference toward organic. One could assume that those who spend the extra bucks for organic milk do so because of the regulations surrounding it -- more so than for its flavor.

Which milk do you prefer? Organic or regular? Leave a comment below.

As always, our taste tests are in no way influenced by or sponsored by the brands included.

WATCH: An iconic milk does a body good commercial from the early 90s.

"; 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/2012/01/20/milk-taste-test_n_1213895.html

whats your number melissa gorga melissa gorga pueblo co pueblo co pineapple express martyn

UFC on FX 1 picks, Vegas-style: Could Guillard?s size be the difference?

Explosiveness against technique. It's a solid way to describe the main event tonight at UFC on FX 1.

Melvin Guillard can overwhelm his opponents, while Jim Miller can slowly pick you apart with his overall game. But there may be one other factor that determines the outcomes of this one. Guillard may simply be too big for Miller, one of the smaller fighters in the lightweight division.

Guillard tweeted this morning that he'll actually be over the welterweight limit as he steps into the Octagon tonight (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) for this 155-pound tilt.

Kevin Iole and Frank Trigg joined myself on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas to make our picks using the Sin City betting odds. Iole likes Guillard and Trigg thinks the size disparity won't make a difference. He's worried about Guillard surviving if he doesn't finish the fight in the first few minutes.

UFC on FX 1 betting odds:
Best bets in bold

Melvin Guillard (+150) vs. Jim Miller (-170)
Duane Ludwig (-105) vs. Josh Neer (-115)
Mike Easton (-345) vs. Jared Papazian (+285)
Pat Barry (-155) vs. Christian Morecraft (+135)
Jorge Rivera (+130) vs. Eric Schafer (-150)
Kamal Shalorus (-140) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (+120)
Daniel Roberts (+265) vs. Charlie Brenneman (-325)
Daniel Pineda (-135) vs. Pat Schilling (+115)
Nick Denis (-255) vs. Joseph Sandoval (+215)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-fx-1-picks-vegas-style-could-guillard-195512972.html

jon huntsman huntsman bit coin episodes christopher plummer w.e. katharine mcphee

Gina Carano compares sex and MMA on ?Conan?

We've had a lot of Gina Carano coverage lately, as the onetime Strikeforce title contender has been making the rounds to promote her movie "Haywire." This might be considered piling on, but during her appearance on Conan O'Brien's show, she talked about why she got into MMA and how fighting is like sex. It's not quite NSFW, but definitely PG.

[Yahoo! speaks with Gina Carano about Haywire]

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/gina-carano-compares-sex-mma-conan-180940511.html

dead sea scrolls new jersey nets all my children online all my children online sly and the family stone sly stone the bling ring

Djokovic rebounds from early break at Aussie Open (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? It was early in Novak Djokovic's second-round match at the Australian Open and the world's top-ranked player was looking more like a journeyman.

Playing against Santiago Giraldo, ranked 55 places behind him, Djokovic made four straight unforced errors in the fifth game to hand the Colombian the first service break of the match. But Djokovic quickly broke Giraldo to love in the next game and went on to win the next seven on his way to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory at Melbourne Park, playing much more like the man who won three Grand Slam singles titles and 41 matches in a row last year.

"I maybe started a little too defensive because he was hitting the ball very strong," Djokovic said. "But then after, it was the other way around."

A title this month would put him in select company. Only four players ? Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ? have won three straight Grand Slam singles tournaments, and Djokovic could join them following his wins at last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

Second-seeded Nadal and third-seeded Federer, who are in the other half of the draw here, play back-to-back matches at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who lost to Djokovic in the final here last year, also advanced Thursday, beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Later, players who could give both Djokovic and Murray some competition in their half of the draw ? former finalist Lleyton Hewitt and American Andy Roddick ? had a night match at Rod Laver Arena.

Murray is playing his first Grand Slam tournament since hiring eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl as his coach.

"It's been good, he's obviously one of the greatest players ever," Murray said. "He's got so much experience and he's very funny guy. You wouldn't probably expect it by the way he was on the court, similar to myself."

Earlier, five-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams notched her 500th career singles victory when she beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4 to advance to the third round. The left ankle she badly sprained two weeks ago wasn't an issue.

"It's totally fine. It was my good ankle, so I'm good," she said.

Williams won the Australian Open in 2009 and 2010, but didn't defend her title in 2011 because she was injured.

Her older sister, Venus, has a win-loss record of 589-147, but is missing the Australian Open to recover from illness.

"I knew I had to get there too, because I do everything she does," said Williams, "It's great, it's like the ultimate."

Not quite. Martina Navratilova had a career record 1,442-219, and Chris Evert retired with a 1,309-146 win-loss mark.

"I never will get there either, but it's really cool," Williams said. "Five hundred is a lot of matches to play, let alone to win."

With top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki on an off-day, No. 2 Petra Kvitova moved into the third round with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Carla Suarez Navarro. Kvitova, who lost in the first round at the U.S. Open in the first major after winning Wimbledon, was down a service break in the third before recovering to beat the Spaniard.

"In the beginning it was OK, but I made many, many, many mistakes," Kvitova said of her 48 unforced errors. "It's part of my game but it's too many. It was very tough to get back in the third set."

Maria Sharapova, one of the three former champions in the women's draw, reached the third round after just two hours on court in two matches. The 2008 champion had a 6-0, 6-1 second-round win over U.S. qualifier Jamie Hampton in 64 minutes.

Sharapova did not play in any warmup events and spent nearly two weeks in Melbourne ahead of the season's first major while she rested an injured left ankle.

"It was more about getting my feet going ... worrying about myself," Sharapova said. "Yeah, started my preparations in the offseason a little late, took a bit of extra time in practice instead of rushing into a tournament."

She'll meet No. 30 Angelique Kerber, who beat Canada's Stephanie Dubois 7-5, 6-1.

Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva, a two-time semifinalist at Melbourne Park, had a 6-1, 7-6 (3) over Lucie Hradecka. No. 21 Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating Dutch player Michaella Krajicek 6-2, 6-3.

Ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli beat local hope and former quarterfinalist Jelena Dokic 6-3, 6-3 and No. 27 Maria Kirilenko of Russia topped Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Dokic double-faulted on break point in the seventh game of the second set, then Bartoli closed with ace.

Three seeded players were beaten: No. 23 Roberta Vinci lost to China's Zheng Jie, No. 29 Nadia Petrova fell to Sara Errani and No. 25 Kaia Kanepi lost to Ekaterina Makarova.

In the men's draw, sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost the 2008 final to Djokovic, advanced 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 over Ricardo Mello of Brazil, while No. 5 David Ferrer struggled early against American Ryan Sweeting before coming back to win 6-7 (4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 23 Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 24 Kei Nishikori of Japan and No. 27 Juan Ignacio Chela also progressed. Frenchman Michael Llodra beat No. 32 Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4 and Portugal's Frederico Gil beat No. 26 Marcel Granollers in four sets.

Djokovic, for all his success at Rod Laver Arena ? his first Grand Slam title in 2008 and then again last year ? doesn't have any feeling of superiority on the tournament's center court.

"I don't think anybody is invincible," he said. "It's a matter of the confidence that you have, self-belief on the court, qualities as a player, being out there physically, mentally fit, being able to perform your best on a day-to-day basis.

"It is true, from one side, that when I step in there I feel that I belong there, that I know what to do. I feel more confident maybe than the other courts around the world."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

sopa and pipa joe flacco sopa bill ed reed piracy paula deen marco rubio

Jobs, re-election frame Obama's State of the Union

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at the Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at the Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Vilified on the campaign trail by Republicans, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night with a State of the Union address designed to reframe the election-year debate on his terms, suggesting a stark contrast with his opponents on the economy and promising fairness and help for hurting families.

Obama is expected to offer new proposals to make college more affordable, to ease the housing crisis still slowing the economy, and to boost American manufacturing, according to people familiar with the speech. He will also promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut soon to expire.

In essence, this State of the Union is not so much about the year ahead as the four more years Obama wants after that.

Obama's splash of policy proposals will be less important than what he hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security. Obama will try to politically position himself as the one leading that fight for the middle class, with an overt call for help from Congress, and an implicit request for a second term from the public.

The timing comes as the nation is split about Obama's overall job performance. More people than not disapprove of his handling of the economy, he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election, and most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

So his mission will be to show leadership and ideas on topics that matter to people: jobs, housing, college, retirement security.

The White House sees the speech as a clear chance to outline a vision for re-election, yet carefully, without turning a national tradition into an overt campaign event.

On national security, Obama will defend his foreign policies but is not expected to announce new ones on Iran or any other front. He will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests of peoples clamoring for freedom.

But it will all be secondary to jobs at home.

In a winter season of politics dominated by his Republican competition, Obama will have a grand stage to himself, in a window between Republican primaries. He will try to use the moment to refocus the debate as he sees it: where the country has come, and where he wants to take it.

In doing so, Obama will come before a divided Congress with a burst of hope because the economy ? by far the most important issue to voters ? is showing life.

The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up. Obama will use that as a springboard.

The president will try to draw a contrast of economic visions with Republicans, both his antagonists in Congress and the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.

The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was a make-or-break moment and railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.

That speech spelled out the values of Obama's election-year agenda. The State of the Union will be the blueprint to back it up.

Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress. His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.

Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with mounting school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to provide billions in federal loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.

For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March. An Obama spokesman called that the "last must-do item of business" on Obama's congressional agenda, but the White House insists the president will make the case for more this year.

If anything, Republicans say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.

Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.

The State of the Union atmosphere offered a bit of comity last year, following the assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And yet 2011 was a year of utter dysfunction in Washington, with the partisanship getting so bad that the government nearly defaulted as the world watched in embarrassment.

The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising graphics and other bonuses for people who watch it there, plus a panel of administration officials afterward with questions coming in through Twitter and Facebook.

__

AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-21-Obama-State%20of%20the%20Union/id-98a57cd809d54ed2955e09cf799fa001

hyundai equus nissan leaf entourage entourage empire state of mind lyrics rex grossman carolina panthers

IBM achieves breakthrough in data storage technology, creates world's smallest storage device (Digital Trends)

There has been some pretty neat stuff coming out of the IBM camp as of late. Earlier this week we got a glimpse of the company?s plans to further develop battery technology in electric cars. Now it looks like another research and development division at IBM is hard at work pushing the envelope, and expanding computer storage space on an atomic level.

IBM is calling it Atomic-scale magnetic memory, and it could very well revolutionize the amount of data we are able to store. According to IBM, at its current state, the computer you are working on stores about one bit of data in about 1 million atoms. With IBM research efforts into atomic-scale magnetic memory, one bit of data could only require an array of 12 atoms.

It all has to do with data density. Being able to increase data density translates directly to how much data can be stored within a given space; in this case we are measuring space in atoms. IBM uses the example of being able to house your entire music and movie collection on a charm-sized pendant around your neck. That?s pretty impressive even by today?s standards when you consider the average size of USB and hard drives ? even the smaller ones.

While the technology isn?t entirely new, IBM has been investigating nanotechnology for over two decades now. The fact that the company is turning its attention towards storage capacity isn?t entirely surprising considering there would be a wide demand both among businesses and consumers.

How does it work, though? And how were scientists from IBM?s research team able to accomplish such a task? Well it isn?t as confusing as you might imagine. The team at IBM started by creating a tiny storage device by arranging two rows of six iron atoms on a copper nitride surface, by utilizing antiferromagnetism, which occurs when atoms of an opposing magnetic orientation are positioned near one another, researchers were able to program and store IBM?s motto ?Think? on the tiny array. The experiment took place at a temperature of absolute zero, but according to IBM would also be viable at room temperatures, which would bump the up the atom count to 150 ? still a far cry from 1 million.

It?s still unclear as to how far off it will be before IBM can successfully offer its technology commercially to consumers, if at all, but it?s still impressive nonetheless. As we delve further into the HD era and the distribution of purely digital content, technology like IBM?s atomic-scale magnetic memory will prove to be quite useful. Besides, how else are we going to store all our favorite Star Trek episodes??

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Infographic: The science of speech technology

Man Infects Himself With Computer Virus

Haier invades the West with a new range of connected products

Sharp?s 80-inch Aquos Board replaces dry erase markers with fingers

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120118/tc_digitaltrends/ibmachievesbreakthroughindatastoragetechnologycreatesworldssmalleststoragedevice

pacquiao marquez penn state game radiohead tour cbsnews ufc on fox fight card florida marlins ncaa basketball

How to access Wikipedia during the SOPA blackout

Wikimedia

Screenshot of Wikipedia Mobile for iOS devices

By Athima Chansanchai

Those wondering how to get around the Wikipedia SOPA blackout can breathe a little easier:?the crowd-sourced encyclopedia?is still available through mobile versions, disabling Javascript or translating another language's version of it.

So really folks, there's no need to panic. You?can still look up every little curiosity that crosses your mind if you try to following options (it helps if you have a smartphone or tablet):

• Download an app that can access Wikipedia, such as?Wikidroid?for Android, or Wikipedia Mobile?for the iOS devices. I have Wikidroid on my Samsung Droid Charge and it was working fine this morning. (The apps also work while offline, too.)?
• You can pull up the mobile version of the site, that seems to be functioning normally as well.?
• For those who really want to see it on their laptops and desktops, you can disable Javascript. (Thanks to NewScientist for that resource.) You can pull up the main Wikipedia page and choose a different country to access, because only the English version is doing the blackout in protest today. If you are on the Chrome browser, it will ask you if you want the page translated. Answer oui. (Yes.) and voila?(here), you have Wikipedia again. (I picked the French version because it's the second largest repository of articles, about 1.2 million, next to the English version, which has 3.8 million.)
• If this ever happens again, you can also go to the cached version on Google. (Open the preview and click on the cached link.) But let's hope Google isn't going through a blackout at the same time. (Heaven forbid.)

Some people, though, have become even more creative in the wake of the one day that people can't seem to live without Wikipedia. Just look at former "Jeopardy" champ and human encyclopedia?@KenJennings?and what he is willing to do to help people out:

Twitter

Ok, ok, maybe that's not the way to go, but you've got to applaud the guy for some effort, right?

Live Poll

Did it annoy you that Wikipedia was harder to get to today?

• 173694

  YES. What the heck does SOPA have to do with my insatiable need to know?

  19%

• 173695

  NO. I understand why they're protesting, and I can find alternatives for a day.

  81%

VoteTotal Votes: 1334

You can also turn to Twitter for help. The Guardian?says it'll try to answer questions posted with the #altwiki hashtag, conscripting journalists from the Washington Post and National Public Radio to help, too. The Guardian is going?old school as well via Guardipedia, with?editor Patrick Kingsley using Encyclopaedia Britannica and Who's Who to help folks who long ago ditched their volumes (or never had them).

Of course, you can go the old school route too, locally, and call your public library for help. Librarians are amazing resources and I'm sure they'd be glad to be of service since sites like Wikipedia have largely eliminated the questions that used to go their way.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast/NBC Universal. Microsoft publicly opposes SOPA in its current form, while?Comcast/NBC Universal is listed as a supporter of SOPA?on the House Judiciary Committee website.)

My mistake?? the German version is the second biggest, not the French!

More SOPA protest/blackout stories:

Check out Technolog on?Facebook, and on Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10181429-how-to-access-wikipedia-during-the-sopa-blackout

ohio state basketball annie annie zuccotti park leymah gbowee gabby giffords gabby giffords