Tuesday, January 31, 2012

ThyssenKrupp selling stainless steel unit (AP)

BERLIN ? German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG said Tuesday it is selling its stainless steel unit Inoxum to Finland's Outokumpu Oyj in a euro2.7 billion ($3.54 billion) deal.

The German company said an agreement in principle had been reached between the two companies and that ThyssenKrupp's management board had already approved the deal.

Essen-based ThyssenKrupp will get euro1 billion in cash from Outokumpu and would keep a minority stake of 29.9 percent in the new company.

The Finnish firm would take over Inoxum's pension liabilities from ThyssenKrupp, as well as assuming other liabilities to third parties.

The company said an agreement was also reached early Tuesday with union representatives on site and employment protection. The company agreed to keep its facility for melting scrap metal in Krefeld, Germany running through the end of 2013 and a similiar one in Bochum through 2016. The deal excludes forced layoffs through 2015, and foresees the loss of 850 jobs in Germany. ThyssenKrupp would offer alternative jobs within Thyssen for up to 600 Inoxum employees.

ThyssenKrupp's shares closed 2.14 percent higher at euro21.68 in Frankfurt, while investors dumped Outokumpu's shares, sending them 15 percent lower to close at euro6.27 ($8.26) in Helsinki.

Companies belonging to the Inoxum group employ 11,500 people in Germany, Italy, Mexico, China and the U.S.

In October, Outokumpu announced 1,300 layoffs worldwide to cut costs and improve profitability as its third-quarter net loss doubled to euro135 million ($186 million).

Hit by weakening demand, the world's second largest stainless steel maker said the job cuts and streamlining operations were aimed at saving $140 million by 2012. Most of the layoffs will be in Sweden and Finland.

Based in Espoo near the Finnish capital, Outokumpu employs 8,000 people in more than 30 countries. It has stainless steel plants in Finland, Sweden, Britain and the United States.

In recent years, the Finnish company has increasingly divested other production in a move to reach a declared goal of becoming the world's No. 1 stainless steel maker.

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

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Santorum heads west (Politico)

MIAMI, Fla. ? While his rivals will be here for Tuesday?s primary, Rick Santorum is heading west.

Trailing far behind Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in the polls here, Santorum won?t even be in Florida on primary day as he doesn?t want to waste time in a state he seems to know he cannot win.

Continue Reading

Even if he finishes in the back of the pack in Florida, Santorum says he will continue to run, hitting Nevada, Missouri, Colorado, and maybe Arizona ? cheaper states where delegates are claimed proportionally. And then he says he will go on to super Tuesday on March 6.

?This race is changing every few weeks,? Santorum says in his stump speech. ?It?s going to change again. And what we need to do is to be out there sounding a very strong, consistent message, compete in every state, and that?s what we?re doing.?

?You keep out there, you keep your name out, and lots of things can happen between now and August and we?re going to be in a position to take advantage of that,? he says.

Santorum?s schedule is in flux after his young daughter was hospitalized Saturday night in Philadelphia, and he canceled a Florida campaign appearance scheduled for Sunday morning. But he?s likely to be back in Florida before Tuesday.

After winning the Iowa caucuses, Santorum?s decision to spend time in New Hampshire instead of heading straight to South Carolina, where voters were considered more receptive to his message, puzzled many. But his advisers say there?s a method to such madness. Without the kind of money of some of his competitors, he can still gain earned media in the early primary states and turn in strong debate performances. If he wins delegates in the caucus states and stays focused on his message, eventually Santorum ? not Gingrich ? will prove the stronger alternative to Romney, his advisers hope.

John Brabender, Santorum?s chief strategist, explained the campaign wants a ?clear shot at Romney.?

?That?s ultimately what we?re looking for,? Brabender said.

Brabender said it would have been disastrous to not play in Florida, even if it seemed obvious they couldn?t win the important state. The media would have written Santorum off as unable to run or win a national campaign.

The campaign initially planned to buy advertising time here, but decided to reroute the cash to Nevada instead. Santorum?s first commercial aired in Nevada during Thursday night?s debate.

?If we would have bet the ranch on Florida?and hadn?t won, then we wouldn?t have had very many options,? Brabender said. ?We wanted to be [in Florida] so we were in the dialogue. Instead of targeting by voters, we wanted to target by how much press we could get.?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_72116_html/44347304/SIG=11mgsoh2r/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72116.html

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Lambert postpones US show after friend's death

(AP) ? Miranda Lambert has rescheduled her Friday concert in Tallahassee, Florida, to attend the funeral of a close friend.

A news release Sunday says Lambert's childhood friend Mark "Tex" Adams was killed in a traffic accident in Florida this week. He was sideswiped by a vehicle after he had pulled over to help another driver. It's the second loss of a close friend in recent weeks for Lambert, whose father-in-law, Dick Shelton, died Jan. 17.

Lambert said in a tweet Thursday: "I have lost a friend I've had since 3rd grade today in a tragic accident. When will this pain end. Please pray for peace."

Lambert's "On Fire" tour will now stop in Tallahassee on May 17.

___

Online:

http://www.mirandalambert.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-29-People-Miranda%20Lambert/id-2ed137a90b2f48c89877cba8899982e2

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Obama to senators: Change the way you do business

President Barack Obama waves as he walks off of Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama waves as he walks off of Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama greets supporters after his speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama is pressing his case for changes in how the Senate does business, hoping to ease the partisan gridlock, and he wants to bar lawmakers from profiting from their service.

In his radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said many people he met during his five-state tour after his State of the Union address were optimistic but remained unsure "that the right thing will get done in Washington this year, or next year, or the year after that."

"And frankly, when you look at some of the things that go on in this town, who could blame them for being a little cynical?" Obama said.

The president reiterated his calls for government reform made in Tuesday's address, saying he wants the Senate to pass a rule that requires a yes-or-no vote for judicial and public service nominations after 90 days. Many of the nominees, he said, carry bipartisan support but get held up in Congress for political reasons.

Obama noted that "a senator from Utah" said he would hold up nominations because he opposed the recess appointment of the head of the new consumer protection agency and three members of the National Labor Relations Board. Obama put the officials in their post during the Senate's holiday break; many Republicans have called that move unconstitutional. Obama said the American people deserve "better than gridlock and games."

"One senator gumming up the works for the whole country is certainly not what our founding fathers envisioned," the president said.

While Obama did not name the lawmaker, Utah GOP. Sen Mike Lee said Thursday that because of the president's "blatant and egregious disregard both for proper constitutional procedures and the Senate's unquestioned role in such appointments, I find myself duty-bound to resist the consideration and approval of additional nominations until the president takes steps to remedy the situation."

Obama said he also wants Congress to pass legislation to ban insider trading by lawmakers and prohibit lawmakers from owning securities in companies that have business before their committees.

In addition, the president is seeking to prohibit people who "bundle" campaign contributions from other donors for members of Congress from lobbying Congress. Obama urged the public to contact their member of Congress and tell them "that it's time to end the gridlock and start tackling the issues that really matter."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., delivering the GOP address, said Obama's address to Congress lacked much discussion of the president's achievements "because there isn't much."

"This president didn't talk about his record for one simple reason," Rubio said. "He doesn't want you to know about it. But you do know about it, because you feel the failure of his leadership every single day of your life."

Rubio accused the president of driving up the national debt, failing to reduce high unemployment across the country and offering divisive economic policies.

The Florida senator said there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor but the best way to solve the problem is by embracing the American free enterprise system. Rubio said he hopes 2012 "will be the beginning of our work toward a new and prosperous American century."

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-28-Obama/id-2dba09403d564c59bbfec3fae31af81a

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Populist, combative Obama gets love from Democratic lawmakers (Reuters)

CAMBRIDGE, Maryland (Reuters) ? Congressional Democrats have complained in the past that they have not felt the love from President Barack Obama and accuse the White House of not consulting them on key policies. But when Obama addressed them on Friday it was a love-fest.

Democratic members of the House of Representatives gave him a standing ovation and a compact disc in which they all sang "I'm So In Love With You," the first line of Al Green's hit song "Let's Stay Together."

Just three months ago some lawmakers talked privately of keeping their distance from Obama in 2012 because they feared voters' unhappiness with his economic stewardship would hurt their election campaigns.

Relations between Obama and congressional Democrats deteriorated after Republicans won the House in 2010. Democrats complained Obama was too willing to compromise at the expense of Democratic principles.

But ties have improved as Obama has become more combative toward Republicans over taxes and jobs and sought to draw a sharp contrast with Republican presidential hopefuls vying to face him in the November 6 election.

Wrapping up a cross-country tour to promote a populist agenda laid out in this week's State of the Union address, Obama hammered home a re-election campaign appeal for greater economic fairness and called on fellow Democrats to close ranks with him.

Obama used his speech to the Democratic lawmakers' retreat in Maryland to turn up the heat on Republicans, who have accused him of pursuing class warfare and assailed his State of the Union proposals, including higher taxes on wealthier Americans.

"Where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country ... then we've got to call them out on it," Obama said to loud applause. "We've got to push them. We can't wait. We can't be held back."

'RISE OR FALL TOGETHER'

Obama called on congressional Democrats to close ranks with him as he seeks to persuade voters to give him a second term despite a fragile economy and high unemployment.

Obama is campaigning against a "do-nothing" Congress, highlighting the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed decision-making on job creation and tackling record deficits. "Congress" is White House code for Republicans, but some Democratic lawmakers worry that distinction may be lost on voters, who already have a low opinion of the polarized legislature.

"We are going to rise or fall together," Representative Henry Waxman said of the Democrats' bid to retain the Senate, keep the presidency and take back the House.

Waxman's comments were echoed by other lawmakers at the retreat who signaled that the tensions that bedeviled relations with the White House in 2011 were in the past.

"There is always some tension between the legislative and executive branches of government," said Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. "But we are a team, and we want to head in the same direction."

While Congress's approval ratings are at record lows, Obama's have edged up to nearly 50 percent.

"The president is running a lot stronger than we are," said Representative Jim Moran. "His train is moving in the right direction. We ought to get on," said Moran, who just months ago questioned how vigorously Democrats would campaign for Obama.

Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report said the Democrats' warmer embrace of Obama underscored that "you always reach a point in an election cycle, and I think we are now there, where you realize it's hard not to run with the president, it's hard to walk away from the head of the ticket."

The retreat in the waterfront town of Cambridge featured a number of private sessions to ready Democrats for the campaign, including one entitled: "How to run when the president is running against Congress."

Obama first tested his anti-Congress strategy late last year, upsetting Democrats over what they saw as his failure to differentiate between Democrats and Republicans.

"The president upset a lot of us with the attacks," said a top Democratic aide. "It showed White House arrogance. They didn't even bother to consult with us on it."

Obama has since soothed hard feelings by being more discriminate in his attacks, although he still frequently refers to his willingness to act when Congress will not.

Most Democratic lawmakers figure Obama will be more of a help than a hindrance to their own re-elections, particularly in raising money and rallying the party's liberal base, lawmakers and analysts say.

Yet many, particularly those in conservative states, are likely to run away from his 2010 overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, which drew Republican fire and a public backlash.

Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at the retreat on Friday, predicted Democrats would win the House and jokingly acknowledged that the White House could help or hurt members, depending on the politics of their respective districts.

"I'm prepared to row or ski anywhere and campaign for you. (But) if it helps to be against you, I'll be against you," Biden quipped.

Opinion polls show that voters have a slightly higher opinion of Democrats in Congress than their Republican counterparts, but pollsters say Democrats will struggle to pick up the 25 House seats they need to regain control of the 435-seat chamber.

(Additional reporting by Alister Bull and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, writing by Thomas Ferraro, editing by Ross Colvin and Marilyn Thompson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/pl_nm/us_usa_campaign_obama_democrats

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

California orders hike in number of super clean cars

California, long a national leader in cutting auto pollution, pushed the envelope further Friday as state regulators approved rules to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and put significantly more pollution-free vehicles on the road in coming years.

The package of Air Resources Board regulations would require auto manufacturers to offer more zero- or very low-emission cars such as battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles in California starting with model year 2018.

By 2025, one in seven new autos sold in California, or roughly 1.4 million, must be ultra-clean, moving what is now a driving novelty into the mainstream.

The board also strengthened future emission standards for all new cars, making them the toughest in the nation. The rules are intended by 2025 to slash smog-forming pollutants from new vehicles by 75 percent and reduce by a third their emissions that contribute to global warming.

"Today's vote ? represents a new chapter for clean cars in California and in the nation as a whole," said Air Resources Board chairwoman Mary Nichols.

Auto manufacturers are uneasy with some of the provisions but generally support the package, which took three years to develop. "We know the board wants to push the automakers," said Mike Love, national regulatory affairs manager for Toyota Motor Sales. "We said we're willing to go along with you and do our best."

The requirements are expected to drive up car prices. The board staff predicts that the advanced technologies needed to meet the new standards will add $1,900 to the price of a new car in 2025. But that would be more than offset by $6,000 in estimated fuel savings over the life of the vehicle, according to the board's staff.

Zero-emission autos now make up a minuscule portion of the more than 26 million cars in California, with just a few hundred fuel cell cars and about 34,000 battery electric autos on the road.

"The fact that we are going to change what consumers can buy is one of the most important things we can do," board member Ken Yeager said before the panel, at the end of a two-day hearing in Los Angeles, voted 9 to 0 to approve the rules.

Manufacturers are poised to introduce a number of new electric and plug-in hybrid models. "This year, two dozen or more new vehicles are going to come out in the market," Love said. "Everyone is trying their idea for EVs (electric vehicles), plug-ins."

Nichols said she has seen "a real change in attitudes on the part of auto companies that have seen the handwriting on the wall.... The reality is that companies see the future is going to be in electric drivetrain vehicles. They're moving there as fast they can."

But automakers do still have concerns, particularly whether consumers will buy the ultra-clean cars.

"Automakers are mandated to build products that consumers are not mandated to buy," said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which includes Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. "If the electric vehicle infrastructure is not in place, consumers may be reluctant to buy these technologies."

Jack Nerad, Kelley Blue Book market analyst, predicted that "the added expense and lesser versatility of the 'environmental' vehicles" will continue to make them less desirable to consumers. Manufacturers might have to sell clean cars at a loss to meet the requirements, and "buyers of conventional cars will pick up the remainder of the tab," he said. One of the most disputed elements of the rules centered on a clause that in the early years of the mandate gives credits to automakers who reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their fleets more than required. Those credits would cut the number of electric, fuel cell and plug-in hybrids the companies had to offer in California.

Jay Friedland, legislative director of Plug In America, called it "a loophole you can drive a truck through" that will undermine the 2025 goal of having ultra-clean cars make up 15% of the new vehicles sold in the state.

A zero-emission mandate is not new in California. It dates from 1990 but was progressively watered down over the years.

The state's ambitious goals to slash its greenhouse gas production renewed focus on the role that super clean cars could play.

"The steady drumbeat of the need to get off the dependence on petroleum is really what is driving this," Nichols said. "It's taken longer than we've hoped."

Starting with model year 2015, automakers will have to meet tougher standards for smog-forming emissions and, in 2017, greater limits on pollutants that contribute to global warming.

By 2025, the standards are designed to reduce the average smog-forming emissions of new cars and light trucks by 75% compared with those sold today.

The greenhouse gas limits, which would be the same as the federal government has proposed for vehicles nationally, should cut those auto emissions by a third more in 2025 than required under current standards. To meet the new limits, the board staff anticipates the auto industry will make greater use of advanced hybrid technology, stronger and lighter materials and improved emission control equipment.

If oil companies don't reach an agreement with the state to voluntarily install alternative fueling stations, such as for hydrogen fuel cells, the new rules will also require them to do so when a certain number of cars using that fuel is reached. The outlets could be placed at an existing gasoline station or a free-standing site.

"I hope the oil industry will get on board rather than dragging its feet," said board member Hector De La Torre.

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/Wtx2mj-IKg4/la-me-clean-car-20120127,0,7155961.story

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Panasonic Lumix GX1 Review: This Is Why Micro Four Thirds Cameras Exist [Cameras]

The Panasonic GF1 helped convince a lot of photographers that a compact shooter could feel delightfully professional. The Lumix DMC-GX1 is Panasonic's most evolved Micro Four Thirds camera yet, and it delivers huge on that promise—but is it enough? More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vdAeViEklEY/panasonic-lumix-gx1-review

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Apple iPad now has 58% market share

Android powers on with added steam from the Kindle and Nook

iPad 2

The latest figures for the tablet market have been published by Strategy Analytics.

And the analyst firm has recorded more slippage in slate market share for Apple. The figures are for Q4 2011 market share, and show that the iPad has dropped to 58% from 68% in the final quarter of 2010.

That?s a considerable chunk of the market to lose to Android, which now holds 39%, up 10% year-on-year. The 40% mark is a figure that, earlier last year, some analysts were predicting Android would only reach in 2014.

Apparently the Kindle Fire and Nook budget Android slates represent some 40% of the Android slate share, so are currently driving the droid tablet world in the catch-up stakes, as anticipated.

Of course, these are estimates for tablets shipped, and how many are actually sold to consumers is another matter which is entirely more difficult to quantify.

Apple does tend to keep its inventory moving tightly with demand, and of course, the iPad 3 is just around the corner which could ? and very likely will ? change the market again.

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, commented: ?Android captured a record 39 percent share of global tablet shipments in Q4 2011, rising from 29 percent a year earlier. Global Android tablet shipments tripled annually to 10.5 million units.?

?Android is so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android?s operating system, user-interface and app store ecosystem.?

Global tablet shipments were 67 million units for 2011, up 260% on the previous year. The analyst firm noted consumers were increasingly purchasing tablets rather than laptops or even entry-level desktops.

Source: http://www.techwatch.co.uk/2012/01/27/apple-ipad-now-has-58-market-share/

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North Korea's Western Fans Mourn Kim Jong Il's Death (Time.com)

The day before Kim Jong Il's funeral last month, George Hadjipateras, 36, put on a black suit and tie and drove to the North Korean embassy in west London. Beneath a portrait of the Dear Leader, the office clerk laid a floral tribute, red carnations arranged in the shape of a star. He shook the hand of the first secretary lengthily as he pressed upon him that Kim was "a shining light, not just for his people, but for revolutionaries worldwide."

"I mentioned to him I had lost my own father in September, and so this was doubly tragic for me," Hadjipateras says. "My voice broke a bit then." He had been closely monitoring Kim's health since his 2008 stroke and was blindsided by the death. "It's tragic; he should have been getting better," he told TIME. "I was as upset as the English were when the Queen Mother died." (See photos of Kim Jong Il's state funeral.)

Kim's passing did not exactly move Hadjipateras' fellow Britons to similar displays of grief. Viewed outside his homeland as a crackpot dictator, his death was taken mostly as an opportunity to snicker at his excesses. But despite a scarcity of flowers at the embassy, Kim did not go unmourned in the West. For a decade, Hadjipateras has belonged to the Korean Friendship Association (KFA), an international fan club for the isolated, nuclear-armed neo-Stalinist regime. Its founder is Alejandro Cao de Ben?s, 37, a Spaniard sometimes known by his adopted Korean name Zo Sun Il, meaning Korea Is One.

Cao de Ben?s was an idealistic, revolutionary-minded teenager when he first struck up a relationship with North Korean delegates at an international tourism fair in Madrid. On subsequent trips to Pyongyang, he cultivated sufficiently influential connections that by 2000, he was able to convince the regime to allow him to set up the country's first Web page, the only fixed, widely accessible line of communication between the Hermit Kingdom and the wider world. Site traffic from foreigners curious to know more about the mysterious country prompted him to set up the KFA the same year, and he claims it now has 15,000 members in 120 countries.

Cao de Ben?s, who spends about six months of every year in Pyongyang, has since been recognized with honorary citizenship and a government position as a "special delegate" to its Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. (The latter position is unpaid, although Cao de Ben?s profits by brokering transactions between North Korea and foreign filmmakers, tourists, corporations and other interested parties.) (See photos of Kim Jong Il's busy life.)

North Korea, Cao de Ben?s says, was surprised to learn it had friends abroad, and part of his work had been to encourage the regime to show a more open face to its sympathizers. "The country has been under attack, which has made the DPRK [Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, the North's official name] so wary," he says. "I tell them, If you close the doors completely, nothing bad will enter, but nothing good will enter, either. We can't shut out our friends."

Those friends are typically drawn to North Korea by a sense of ideological solidarity with one of the last keepers of the Communist flame, but even more so by a powerful curiosity about the enigmatic society. Through the KFA, members can study juche, the state ideology of self-reliance, or buy obscure recordings of military parades or songs. Those seeking more active engagement can travel to North Korea on solidarity tours, or participate in pickets of the U.S. embassy. Frank Martin, a Parisian banker and KFA member, wrote to French newspaper editors in the days after Kim's death, chastising them for their mocking tone. "I read some [headlines] like: 'A Buffoon Who Composed Operas While His People Were Starving,'" he told TIME in an e-mail.

Read "North Korea's Runaway Sushi Chef Remembers Kim Jong Un."

Last November, about 20 of North Korea's friends gathered in a London community center for the KFA's annual international meeting. During a question-and-answer session, a man in a Chairman Mao cap and dark glasses complained of his experiences with local-council housing, and probed how someone in his situation might fare in Pyongyang. Cao de Ben?s told him he didn't know how good he had it, given the substandard shelter faced by millions. Besides, while moving to the DPRK was theoretically an option on the table for long-serving, senior KFA members, it was wisest to visit first. Even the staunchest friends of the North, Cao de Ben?s said, could find the rhythms of life there difficult to adjust to. "Every day I receive e-mails requesting to live in the DPRK," Cao de Ben?s said afterward. "Some because they lost their jobs, but many of them are tired of this Westernized life of artifice, criminality, consumerism."

The appeal of a country known for its food shortages, prison camps and repressive personality cult may be difficult to grasp, but for KFA members it exerts an undeniable pull. Its mystique centers on the impression it belongs to a simpler, more innocent time; members marvel at the way that it cannot be seen from the air at night because its lights are off. In a globalized world, it remains the only country truly off the grid. (See photos of North Koreans mourning the death of the Dear Leader.)

Hadjipateras put it this way. "People in the DPRK aren't wandering around with iPhones listening to Jay-Z. They can't stand in the middle of the street abusing their leaders. But where in the world can you avoid being constantly bombarded by Coca-Cola, McDonald's, the sexualization of children on TV, the Big Brother reality shows?" To those who suggest North Korea is a Big Brother reality show with 24 million unwitting participants, Hadjipateras is dismissive, although he's never been there to judge for himself. He would "be there in an instant," he says, but travel does not agree with him.

Cao de Ben?s also chooses to spend only half the year in the "workers' paradise," claiming he can better serve the republic by spending the rest of his time in the West, where he frequently acts as an unofficial regime spokesman in international media. His critics point to this as an indication that Cao de Ben?s is motivated by the rewards of his role as gatekeeper to the regime, rather than by genuine ideological conviction.

Leonid Petrov, a Korea specialist at the University of Sydney, has had dealings with Cao de Ben?s for more than a decade. He understands North Korea's unlikely charm and feels a warm sense of nostalgia for the Soviet Union of his youth whenever he visits. But, essentially, that appeal is contingent on being able to leave. "Crossing the border is the exciting thing," he says. "But you don't want to stay there -- the place is horrible. Alejandro enjoys acting as a guide who links the two worlds. He's obviously not a defector." (Read about North Korea's plan to preserve and display Kim Jong Il's body.)

While Hadjipateras mourned an icon he had never met, Cao de Ben?s had personally encountered Kim on numerous occasions in ceremonial capacities. None of the KFA members knows more about his mysterious son and successor Kim Jong Un than the general public: that he has a military background, is Swiss educated, resembles his grandfather, the state founder Kim Il Sung, and is young and inexperienced. Despite the latter, they hold no concerns about the stability of the regime. "Nothing will change," said Martin, via e-mail. "The DPRK has the bomb."

As far as Hadjipateras is concerned, life in the "workers' paradise" will continue as usual, despite dark days in recent months for his fellow revolutionaries. First Muammar Gaddafi, he laments, then the Dear Leader. "I don't know how I'll react when Fidel Castro dies," he says. "I don't even want to imagine."

See the top 10 pictures of 2011.

See TIME's 2011 Person of the Year: The Protester

View this article on Time.com

Most Popular on Time.com:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120125/wl_time/08599210505300

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Microsoft paid Nokia $250 million to adopt Windows Phone, Q4 earnings report reveals

Microsoft and Nokia have historically been pretty tight-lipped about the value of their Windows Phone partnership, but the cat leapt out of the bag this morning, courtesy of Espoo's Q4 2011 earnings report. As SlashGear's Chris Davies noticed, Nokia received about $250 million from Redmond during the fourth quarter of 2011, as part of the companies' "broad strategic agreement." Under the agreement, the manufacturer receives so-called "platform support payments" from Microsoft -- which, in turn, receives software licensing payments from Nokia. The $250 million Microsoft doled out last quarter is the first of these transactions. All told, Nokia expects the payments both to and from Microsoft to total "in the billions of US Dollars."

Microsoft paid Nokia $250 million to adopt Windows Phone, Q4 earnings report reveals originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/o7JPapAmu8U/

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Reaction to Academy Awards nominations (AP)

Reaction to the nominations announced Tuesday for the 84th annual Academy Awards:

___

"I was pleasantly sleeping and someone had the audacity to wake me up." ? Christopher Plummer, joking about learning about best supporting actor nomination for "Beginners."

___

"I thought it may elude me. I've always wondered what it was like. I've always peered through the curtain to the front cabin. I feel like I've been invited up. It's a great thing." ? Gary Oldman, who received his first Oscar nomination for his lead role in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

___

"There was an excitement to do a film that's a bit forbidden because in 2011, nobody does a silent, black and white film: `It doesn't fit the economy, it's not possible.' Well yes, it is possible. Apparently it's possible." ? Jean Dujardin, who received a best actor nomination for "The Artist," which collected 10 nominations.

___

"A nomination helps. I feel a lot better already." ? Demi?n Bichir, who went to bed with the flu and woke up as a best actor nominee for "A Better Life."

___

"I was slightly surprised, I confess. I bounced. Gently." ? Janet McTeer, who was nominated for best supporting actress for "Albert Nobbs."

___

"I know I've made pictures in the past that are tougher. So, despite my name on the picture, believe me, it's OK to come in the theater I think. Bring the kids! Bring the grandparents ? it's OK. I'll be good. I'm not kidding." ? Martin Scorsese, whose film "Hugo" was nominated for 11 awards, including best film and director.

___

"I don't care how sugared up they get for school." ? Brad Pitt, who learned about his best actor nomination for "Moneyball" before fixing a pancake breakfast with all the fixings for his children.

___

"I don't think I've processed it. It probably won't hit me until next week. Last year at this time, I was asleep." ? Best Supporting Actress nominee Octavia Spencer, who celebrated with co-stars the night before Oscar nominations in case the film wasn't nominated. It received four nominations.

___

"I wasn't nervous until people started asking me if I was nervous." ? best supporting actor nominee Jonah Hill, who couldn't' sleep the night before nominations were announced

___

"It's great, especially at this age to still be in the ballgame playing. I don't want to retire, anyway. Never have. I don't know what the hell I'd do. There's not much I can do. I've been at this for 50 years." ? Nick Nolte, who was nominated for best supporting actor in "Warrior." Just don't expect too much celebration from Nolte. "I'm 70. I'm going to go to bed."

___

"I feel very honored and special really. You can't imagine, to arrive at the Oscars when you arrive so low, and you can't go further than the Oscars." ? Berenice Bejo, who received a supporting actress nomination for her role in "The Artist."

___

"I'm so talked out. There's just so many ways to describe real happiness." ? "Footnote" director Joseph Cedar, who learned about his nomination while in Israel on a break from helping his son with his homework.

___

"People of the world, no matter what language they speak, it seems like art has become the common language all over the world." ? Writer-director Asghar Farhadi, whose Iranian film "A Separation" was nominated for best foreign film and original screenplay.

___

"It almost feels like movie production because we seem to be working nights instead of early mornings. You think you're just going to go have a chicken dinner, but you end up talking to people until 1 a.m." ? "The Help" producer Brunson Green.

___

"We've emailed. It's too damn early (to talk on the phone). There's a lot of emailing and texting going on." ? "The Descendants" producer Jim Burke on communicating with best actor nominee George Clooney and other collaborators.

___

AP Entertainment Writers Anthony McCartney, Derrik J. Lang, Mark Kennedy in New York and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this package.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_en_mo/oscar_nominations_quotes

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Gaming Nexus - Hector - Review - by Cyril Lachel

[unable to retrieve full-text content]He's the very definition of a lovable loser; the type of classic game character we used to see a lot of in adventure games of the 1980s and 90s. He's a breath of fresh air at a time when Telltale Games needs it the most.

Source: http://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/Hector/Item3195.aspx

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

This Logitech Portable Mouse Is Your Rodent Loving Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

Ever since I got a laptop, I can't use a mouse anymore. It feels so foreign to have the damn thing so far away from the keyboard, you know? Like if you were eating a burger but the fries were across the table. Or if you were having a drink but your friends were across the room. Or if you were sleeping but the pillows were on your feet! Or if the toilet paper wasn't within arm's reach! Or if the soap was on the prison floor! Or if the prison was in your home! Or if your home was a prison! Or if you were in prison! Or if prison was in YOU. Inconvenient. That's what I think a mouse is in a laptop living age. If you don't think so, just buy this Logitech?2.4?GHz Wireless Portable Mouse M305 for $5. -CC More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LTNRULc1qeI/this-logitech-portable-mouse-is-your-rodent-loving-deal-of-the-day

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Summify Shutdown Means Big Gains for News.me

news meWhen social news startup Summify announced Thursday that it was being acquired by Twitter, it looked like the Summify's existing users were out-of-luck ? the company said the current version of the service would be shut down. Enter News.me. The company is best-known for its iPad newsreading app (which was developed at The New York Times, then commercialized by incubator betaworks) but it also offers an email digest of news from your Twitter stream, similar to Summify. It sounds like jilted Summify users jumped on News.me as an alternative, so the company published a blog post telling Summify users, "We're here for you," outlining upcoming features like Facebook integration, and asking for feedback.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/A0jmAbsaiFA/

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Monday, January 23, 2012

France votes on genocide law, faces Turkish reprisals (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? French senators vote later Monday on a bill to make it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide, raising the prospect of a major diplomatic rift between two NATO allies.

Lawmakers in the lower-house National Assembly voted overwhelmingly in December for the draft law outlawing genocide denial, prompting Ankara to cancel all economic, political and military meetings with Paris and recall its ambassador for consultations.

The bill, which has been made more general so that it outlaws the denial of any genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing the Turks, will be voted on around 7 p.m. (1800 GMT).

Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government.

The Ottoman empire was dissolved soon after the end of World War One, but successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of genocide is a direct insult to their nation. Ankara argues there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that Ankara would take new and permanent measures unless the bill was rejected and compared it to the Inquisition in the Middle Ages which was created by the Catholic Church to stamp out heresy.

"If the law is voted (through), it will hurt French and Turkish relations." Arinc said Turkey could take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.

Turkey says the bill is a bid by Sarkozy to win the votes of 500,000 ethnic Armenians in France in the two-round presidential vote on April 22 and May 6.

The bill mandates a maximum 45,000-euro ($58,000) fine and a year in jail for offenders. France passed a law recognizing the killing of Armenians as genocide in 2001.

WAVING VOTING CARDS

Thousands of Turks from across Europe demonstrated in central Paris at the weekend and about 200 Franco-Turks protested Monday in front of the Senate. They waved their French voting cards and banners with slogans including: "It's not up to politicians to invent history."

The Socialist Party, which has had a majority in the Senate since elections in the upper house late last year, and the Senate leader of President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party, which put forward the bill, have said they will back the legislation.

But a non-binding Senate recommendation last week said the law would be unconstitutional and, after weeks of aggressive Turkish lobbying, there are suggestions the outcome will be closer than anticipated.

If adopted, Sarkozy should then ratify the bill with the process to be completed before parliament is suspended in February ahead of the presidential election.

It could still be rejected if some 60 lawmakers agree to appeal the decision at the country's highest court and that body considers the text unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council would have one month to make its decision.

Sarkozy wrote to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last week saying the bill did not single out any country and that Paris was aware of the "suffering endured by the Turkish people" during the final years of the Ottoman empire.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero called on Turkey not to overreact and said Paris considered Ankara a "very important ally."

Engin Solakoglu, first secretary at the Turkish embassy in Paris, said: "France can't continue to say that Turkey is an important ally when it votes laws against it."

European Union candidate Turkey could not impose economic sanctions on France, given its World Trade Organization membership and customs union accord with Europe.

But the row could cost France state-to-state contracts and would create diplomatic tension as Turkey takes an increasingly influential role in the Middle East.

(Additional reporting by Lucien Libert in Paris, Gilbert Reilhac in Strasbourg and Daren Butler in Istanbul)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_france_turkey_genocide

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Beijing caves to public, releases pollution data

Caving to public pressure, Beijing environmental authorities started releasing more detailed air quality data Saturday that may better reflect how bad the Chinese capital's air pollution is.

The initial measurements were low on a day where you could see blue sky. After a week of smothering smog, the skies over the city were being cleared by a north wind.

The readings of PM2.5 ? particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size or about 1/30th the average width of a human hair ? were being posted on Beijing's environmental monitoring center's website. Such small particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs, so measuring them is considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other methods.

It is the first time Beijing has publicly revealed PM2.5 data and follows a clamor of calls by citizens on social networking sites tired of breathing in gray and yellow air. The U.S. Embassy measures PM2.5 from a device on its rooftop and releases the results, and some residents have even tested the air around their neighborhoods and posted the results online.

Beijing is releasing hourly readings of PM2.5 that are taken from one monitoring site about 4 miles west of Tiananmen Square, the monitoring center's website said Saturday. It said the data was for research purposes and the public should only use it as a reference.

The reading at noon Saturday was 0.015 mg/m3, which would be classed as "good" for a 24-hour exposure at that level, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. The U.S. Embassy reading taken from its site on the eastern edge of downtown Beijing said its noon reading was "moderate."

The U.S. Embassy began publishing its hourly readings on Twitter in 2008.

'Already a bit suspicious'
Steven Andrews, an environmental consultant who has studied Beijing's pollution data since 2006, said he was "already a bit suspicious" of Beijing's PM2.5 data. Within the 24-hour period to noon Saturday, Beijing reported seven hourly figures "at the very low level" of 0.003 milligrams per cubic meter.

"In all of 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Embassy reported values at or below that level only 18 times out of over 15,000 hourly values or about 0.1 percent of the time," said Andrews. "PM2.5 concentrations vary by area so a direct comparison between sites isn't possible, but the numbers being reported during some hours seem surpisingly low."

The Beijing center had promised to release PM2.5 data by the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Monday. It has six sites that can test for PM2.5 and 27 that can test for the larger, coarser PM10 particles that are considered less hazardous. The center is expected to buy equipment and build more monitoring sites to enable PM2.5 testing.

Beijing wasn't expected to include PM2.5 in its daily roundups of the air quality anytime soon. Those disclosures, for example "light" or "serious," are based on the amount of PM10, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air.

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Video: Persistent smog blankets China (on this page)

Beijing interprets air quality using less stringent standards than the U.S. Embassy, so often when the government says pollution is "light," the embassy terms it "hazardous."

"There has been tremendous amounts of attention in the Chinese media ? whichever newspaper you pick up, whichever radio station you listen to, channel you watch ? they are all talking about PM2.5 and how levels are so high," said Andrews.

"What has been so powerful is that people are skeptical, and I think rightly skeptical," about the government's descriptions of data, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46080896/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

South Carolina Primary Election 2012 Speeches: Candidates Address Supporters After Results (VIDEOS)

"We want to run not a Republican campaign; we want to run an American campaign," said Newt Gingrich after winning the critical primary in South Carolina.

In his patriotic speech the former Speaker of the House said he believed he would become the party's nominee. He delivered fierce attacks against President Barack Obama but had kind words for his Republican opponents.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/south-carolina-primary-election-2012-speeches_n_1221123.html

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African Union troops reach outskirts of Mogadishu

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, a displaced Somali woman walks past an armored vehicle of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force that was transporting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday as the African Union peacekeeping force encountered resistance as it pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, a displaced Somali woman walks past an armored vehicle of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force that was transporting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday as the African Union peacekeeping force encountered resistance as it pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, a soldier from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force mans the gun turret of an armored vehicle while transporting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday as the African Union peacekeeping force encountered resistance as it pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, a displaced Somali man pushes a wheelbarrow past an armored vehicle of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force that was transporting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday as the African Union peacekeeping force encountered resistance as it pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, displaced Somali boys wave, seen through the plate glass window of an armored vehicle of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force that was transporting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday as the African Union peacekeeping force encountered resistance as it pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, a displaced Somali boy gestures towards a soldier from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force providing security for visiting journalists in Mogadishu, Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday as the African Union peacekeeping force encountered resistance as it pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

(AP) ? Heavy fighting broke out in Somalia's capital on Friday with African Union peacekeepers encountering resistance as they pushed to Mogadishu's outskirts for the first time, the latest move in an offensive against Islamist insurgents.

Hundreds of residents fled a northern Mogadishu neighborhood after waking to the sound of mortars and gunfire. AU troops have largely pushed al-Shabab militants out of the city over the last year, but pockets of resistance remain.

Resident Abdirahman Ahmed said he was awakened by "noisy mortars" on Friday, said that al-Shabab fighters appeared to be moving back into the northern neighborhood of Heliwa.

"We want to flee now," he said, adding: "People are nervous."

Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, the spokesman for the AU force that is known as AMISOM, said Friday was the first time that AU forces moved outside of Mogadishu.

"We are moving out of the city now so we can defend the city from outside now. Our troops have captured strategic bases from al-Shabab," Ankunda said.

The nearly 10,000-strong AU force was confined in previous years to small slices of Mogadishu, but the push to expand their zones of control over the last year have been largely successful. The AU force is working side by side with Somali troops, but most of the gains have been made by the better trained and equipped troops from Uganda and Burundi.

Al-Shabab is also being pressured by Kenyan military forces in Somalia's south and Ethiopian forces in the west.

East African nations want the U.N. Security Council to authorize an increase in the number of troops inside AMISOM to 17,000. Kenya has also asked the U.N. for its forces inside Somalia to be integrated into the AU.

Militants continue to carry out suicide and roadside bomb attacks in Mogadishu. At least six bombs were found or exploded in the capital since Wednesday, including a blast on Thursday that killed six people.

Meanwhile, the AU force commander, Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha, said that around 3,000 Somali troops had not received their wages for the past four months. The AU is supposed to pay them with money donated by Italy, but Mugisha said the Italians had not yet sent the cash. The delay in payment had caused some soldiers to desert their posts, he said.

"It will have an impact on morale," he said.

Around 7,000 other Somali soldiers are paid by the U.S. through a separate program.

Somalia hasn't had a functioning government in more than 20 years. The current transitional government, whose mandate ends in August, is paralyzed by political infighting. The U.N. is pressing government leaders to resolve their differences and expand the areas in the country the government provides services to.

Somalia has also been dealing with a famine the last six months that is estimated to have killed between 50,000 and 100,000 people. Friday was the six-month mark since the U.N. declared famine in Somalia on July 20.

___

Associated Press reporter Katharine Houreld contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-01-20-AF-Somalia/id-77764a0695af4b9ca4a8fc057e789b03

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

World's coolest skating rinks

Courtesy of The Hotel Del Coronado

The Hotel del Coronado in San Diego has a 10,000-square-foot skating rink by the Pacific. A spin around the synthetic ice offers a view of palm trees and the sound of surf.

?

By Jessica Adamiak, Travel+Leisure

Imagine skating hand-in-hand on a crisp winter night. A few stars may be visible above, but the really breathtaking view is of Paris? twinkling lights ? 188 feet below your skates.

Slideshow: See the 13 coolest skating rinks

You don?t need to be on the Eiffel Tower?s observation deck, one of the world?s coolest rinks, to appreciate the romantic appeal of skating. It?s a fun, invigorating way to experience a destination in winter and to, yes, break the ice, whether you?re doing figure eights together or taking in the view with a cup of hot cocoa on the sidelines.

After all, skating rinks typically place you in a picture-perfect location. It could be a pristine wonderland like the Canadian Rockies or the center of a major city decked out for the season. Some of the coolest can be found where you?d least expect them ? say, in the desert. The Venetian Hotel debuted a rink in 2011, complete with a holiday-theme light show. It now touts a package deal that combines a skating session with an outdoor gondola ride ? only in Vegas, indeed.

It?s more fitting that the world?s largest ice-skating surface is found in Canada, where Ontario?s 4.8-mile?long Rideau Canal freezes over each winter. You can skate the entire length, connecting the cities of Ottawa and Kingston, and break at snack stands and an outdoor art gallery along the way.

Some locals even use the Rideau Canal to commute to work or school, much like the earliest skaters, who simply needed a way to get around. According to a study at the University of Oxford, ice skating got its start in present-day Finland, with blades fashioned from animal bones.

Steel blades, introduced in the 13th century, aren?t the only subsequent improvement. Synthetic ice allows for year-round gliding by palm trees in southern California, while other rinks keep skaters toasty with bonfires or stands that sell mulled wine. (A few glasses can do wonders for any frustration with the likely crowds or aching muscles.)

Whether you?re looking for a little romance, some thrills and spills with kids, or a kitschy night out with friends, you can find it on ice.

More from Travel+Leisure

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Source: http://itineraries.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/10/10099061-worlds-coolest-skating-rinks

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Monday, January 16, 2012

String theorists squeeze nine dimensions into three

Simulation suggests extra spatial directions failed to thrive

Web edition : Friday, January 13th, 2012

A simulation of the early universe using string theory may explain why space has three observable spatial dimensions instead of nine.

The leading mathematical explanation of physics goes beyond modern particle theory by positing tiny bits of vibrating string as the fundamental basis of matter and forces. String theory also requires that the universe have six or more spatial dimensions in addition to the ones observed in everyday life. Explaining how those extra dimensions are hidden is a central challenge for string theorists.

?This new paper demonstrates, for the first time, that our 3-D space appears naturally ? from the 9-D space that string theory originally has,? says Jun Nishimura of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Tsukuba, Japan. He and his colleagues will publish their findings in an upcoming issue of Physical Review Letters.

In the simulation, the universe starts off as a tiny blob of strings that is symmetric in nine different dimensions. As the strings interact, a random energy fluctuation ? provided by the quantum laws that govern these small scales ? breaks the symmetry. Three dimensions balloon outward, leaving the other six stunted at a billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a centimeter, far too small to be detected.

Applying string theory to the beginning of the universe in this way has long proven difficult. That?s because the math included in traditional versions of the theory can be solved only when strings interact weakly at low temperatures, not in the seething maelstrom that existed moments after the Big Bang.

To tackle the extreme energies of the Big Bang, Nishimura and his team had to recast one version of string theory, called IIB, as grids of equations that could be fed into a supercomputer. Limited by the power of this computer, the researchers could track the interactions of no more than 32 strings for the first split second of history.

For some physicists, this way of approximating string theory is too oversimplified to be believable. ?Frameworks like the one they're using ? lack a lot of other stuff that goes into trying to make a realistic model,? says Shamit Kachru, a theoretical physicist at Stanford University.

To prove the usefulness of the new approach, Nishimura?s team will need to study times much later in the universe?s history, comparing their results against real observations of how matter is distributed across the universe.


Found in: Atom & Cosmos and Physics

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337626/title/String_theorists_squeeze_nine_dimensions_into_three

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

DiCaprio, Streep celebrate at pre-Globes tea party (omg!)

Actress Viola Davis arrives at the 18th Annual BAFTA Los Angeles Tea Party in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Before the Golden Globes Champagne, there is the BAFTA tea.

The Los Angeles branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts held its 18th annual Awards Season Tea Party Saturday, where a slew of Golden Globe nominees sipped Earl Grey and nibbled on finger sandwiches and scones with jam and cream.

Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep and Charlize Theron ? all up for best actress Sunday ? mingled with fellow filmmakers and nominees at the afternoon affair at the Four Seasons Hotel, also home to a gift suite and beauty lounge leading up to the Golden Globes.

The place was alight with stars. While the BAFTA tea party was going on in the hotel ballroom, Gilles Marini and Anne Heche collected swag at the HBO Luxury Lounge upstairs and Malin Ackerman and her stepmom got dolled up at the InStyle Beauty Lounge on a private outdoor patio.

Theron was already picture perfect when she arrived at the BAFTA party ? so perfect, in fact, that supporting actress nominee Octavia Spencer was afraid to get too close.

"I don't want to mess up your face," Spencer said as she embraced Theron on the red carpet.

"Mess me up, honey. Mess me up," the "Young Adult" star said as she gave Spencer a squeeze.

Spencer, a working actress for 15 years before her breakout role in "The Help," said the response to the film and ensuing awards journey has been "surreal."

"Steven Spielberg had a conversation with me and when he walked away from the table, I started crying, because it's (meeting) people who've inspired me," she said. "The fact that I am, for these next couple weeks, getting to rub elbows with them ? This coach is going to turn into a pumpkin in the next couple weeks, so I am living it up."

Spencer sat with her co-stars inside as BAFTA/LA chairman Neil Stiles implored guests to raise their glasses and wish "the best of British luck" to the various nominees. Also toasting were "The Artist" stars Berenice Bejo and Jean Dujardin, "Hugo" stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz, "Ides of March" star Evan Rachel Wood and Emily Watson of "War Horse."

Supporting actor contender Kenneth Branagh (for "My Week With Marilyn") said the BAFTA tea is part of the road to the Golden Globes.

"You enjoy every little bit of the journey that marks the way," he said. "There's a little ritual getting ready for tomorrow night.

"The day is one long preparation, so by the time you get inside that room, you can't help but be swept up with the adrenaline ? not only for the involvement with your own movie if you're lucky enough to be nominated, but just everyone else. You see amazing people across a crowded room, and the sense of celebrating the good things the movie business does is what it's all about."

The 69th annual Golden Globe Awards will be presented Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and broadcast live on NBC.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Online:

www.goldenglobes.org

http://www.bafta.org/

Actress Charlize Theron arrives at the 18th Annual BAFTA Los Angeles Tea Party in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_dicaprio_streep_celebrate_pre_globes_tea_party064207771/44183831/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/dicaprio-streep-celebrate-pre-globes-tea-party-064207771.html

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