Friday, January 27, 2012

Michael Jackson's legacy cemented by children (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Late pop star Michael Jackson was immortalized in cement on Thursday when his three children stamped the "Thriller" singer's glove and shoe prints in the hallowed concrete courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Well over a hundred fans of the King of Pop and celebrities including Justin Bieber and Jackson family members watched the song and dance spectacle and listened to the three children talk about the legacy of their father.

"My dad won the lifetime achievement award. It was an award he strived and worked the hardest to get but for me, and I think for him as well, this right here is his lifetime achievement award. This is what he strived to get and this is what we are giving him now today," said Prince Michael, 14, Jackson's eldest son.

Jackson's daughter Paris, 13, imprinted her father's iconic silver sequined glove and scrawled his name into the cement, adding a heart in between Michael and Jackson. Prince Michael and his brother Blanket, 9, put their father's shoe into the cement, and all three left their own handprints next to dad's.

The hour-long ceremony included spoken tributes and musical performances from Jackson's friends and family, including his brothers Tito and Jackie, who were part of the Jackson 5, and mother Katherine who called the event "a very very solemn occasion for my son."

"Michael, we miss you, that's for sure. There's hardly a day that goes by without him going on in my mind somehow, some way, and I know he is here today with us," said Tito Jackson.

Musical producer Quincy Jones, who worked with Jackson on one his most successful album, "Thriller," Motown singer Smokey Robinson and comedian Chris Tucker, a friend of Jackson's, shared their personal memories of Jackson while Canadian pop sensation Bieber called him "an inspiration."

"People are going to remember him for his dancing and his singing, but people need to remember him for who he was," said Bieber.

"Everything I do, I look at Michael and I want to be as good as he was," said Bieber, 17, whose rise to fame was compared to the late singer by Paris as she introduced him.

Jackson gained success with songs such as "ABC" and "I'll Be There" as a child singer with his brothers, and later pursued a solo career that earned him worldwide fame and fans with hits such as "Rock With You," "Bad," and "Beat It."

His sudden death from a drug overdose in 2009 aged 50, sent shockwaves around the world. Late last year, Jackson's doctor at the time was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering a surgical anesthetic to Jackson as a sleep aid.

Jackson's glove and shoe imprints will be placed alongside Hollywood screen legends such as Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Sidney Poitier outside the iconic Hollywood theater that has been a tourist attraction for decades.

Notably absent from the ceremony were Jackson's sisters Janet and LaToya as well as brothers Jermaine and Randy.

The event, hosted by the late singer's estate, showcased dancers from Cirque du Soleil's Jackson tribute show and featured "Glee" cast member Harry Shum, Jr. ahead of the show's Jackson tribute episode next week.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/people_nm/us_michaeljackson_imprint

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Upcoming Speaking Gigs in Nashville, D.C. (Theagitator)

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Twittelator Neue now offers push notifications

The gorgeous twitter client, Twittelator Neue for iPhone, now offers notifications as an in-app purchase. For $1.99/year, you get native push alerts for mentions, direct messages, new followers, retweets, and


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/clGANSmMeW8/story01.htm

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Report: Amanda Knox 'loves Italy' and might return

Elaine Thompson / AP

Amanda Knox, left, is comforted by her sister, Deanna Knox, during a news conference shortly after her return to the US on Oct. 4, 2011, in Seattle.

By msnbc.com staff

Amanda Knox "loves Italy" and would like to return despite having spent four years in a prison there before a murder conviction was overturned last year, her lawyer reportedly said.

The 24-year-old may go back to Italy as early as September because her parents are charged with slandering the Perugia police, according to?an ABC News report,?citing the Italian news service ANSA.


Carlo Dalla Vedova, one of Knox's lawyers, told ANSA that Knox "loves Italy and likes Perugia" and would like to return to the country "as a tourist, but if necessary she will return to testify in the trials against her parents," ABC News said.

The Italian appeals court that overturned the murder conviction of American student Amanda Knox is now explaining its ruling in a newly-released report. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

Knox's mother and father face a prison sentence if found guilty of slandering police officers in a 2009 interview with London's Sunday Times newspaper in which they?alleged?their daughter?was physically abused and threatened while being questioned.

Knox spent four years of a 26-year sentence in a Perugia prison on charges that she killed her British roommate Meredith Kercher.

  • STORY: Amanda Knox hires attorney for possible book deal
  • ?

    Her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted. A third person, Rudy Guede, was convicted of taking part in the murder in a separate trial.

    Knox and Sollecito were cleared of the murder last year, but Knox was convicted of a separate charge of slandering her former boss by saying he was involved in the murder.

    More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

    Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

    Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10232054-report-amanda-knox-loves-italy-and-might-return

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    Wednesday, January 25, 2012

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    Tuesday, January 24, 2012

    Video: Donald Trump's South Carolina Reaction

    Donald Trump, Chairman & President, Trump Organization, offers insight on the GOP candidates that are left standing.

    Related Links:

    Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

    Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46099935/

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    [OOC] Group 4 intro: Tasha and Rowan

    Forum rules
    This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

    Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

    Topic Tags:

    Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
    This group will be starting in Estes Park, Colorado -- Southwest of Fort Collins along 36.

    Places of Interest:
    - Estes Park Medical Center
    - Lake Estes
    - Rocky Mountain Pharmacy
    - Safeway
    - Estes Park Pharmacy
    - Rexall Drug
    - Timberline Medical
    - Family Medical Clinic
    - Estes Park Specialty Clinic
    - Country Market
    - Buckwheat Organic Market
    - Famous Eastside Food Store
    - Numerous hunting and sporting outlets (Big Red of the Rockies, The Hiking Hut, Outdoor World)

    Environment:
    The population of Estes Park is approximately 5,858.
    It is largely mountainous, with a few heavily populated "settlements".
    The mountains grow steeper the further west you travel and grow less steep the further east you travel.
    To the north and south, it is largely similar.

    ~*Do not frown, you never know who is falling in love with your smile*~

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    Monday, January 23, 2012

    Video: Post Show Thoughts: The race after South Carolina

    A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

    Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/46090998#46090998

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    Arab League Syria Monitors May Extend Mission One Month


    By Tom Pfeiffer and Ayman Samir
    CAIRO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - An Arab League committee on Syria will ask Arab foreign ministers on Sunday to extend a peace mission in the country by one month, an Arab government source said.
    Hundreds of Syrians have been killed since the monitoring mission began its work in late December and political opponents of President Bashar al-Assad are demanding the League refer Syria to the United Nations Security Council.
    "The committee will recommend an expansion of the monitoring mission for an extra month," said the source, who was attending the committee's meeting in Cairo and asked not to be named.
    The foreign ministers are due to meet later on Sunday to debate the findings of the month-long monitoring mission, whose mandate expired on Thursday, and must decide whether to extend, withdraw or strengthen it.
    Arab states are divided over how to handle the crisis in Syria and critics say the monitoring mission is handing Assad more time to kill opponents of his rule.
    Some want to crank up pressure on Assad to end a 10-month-old crackdown on a popular revolt in which, according to the United Nations, more than 5,000 people have died.
    Others worry that weakening Assad could tip Syria, with its potent mix of religious and ethnic allegiances, into a deeper conflict that would destabilise the entire region, and some may fear the threat from their own populations if he were toppled.
    The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) says the observers lack the resources and clout to truly judge Assad's compliance with an Arab peace plan that Syria signed up to in November and has called upon the Arab League to refer the Syrian crisis to the United Nations Security Council.
    But Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia told the head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, that they would oppose such a move, a League source said on Sunday.
    "The three states support solving the Syrian crisis inside the Arab League," the source told Reuters.
    The head of the monitoring effort, Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi, was presenting his findings to the League's Syria committee and the foreign ministers of the 22-member regional body will decide their response later on Sunday.
    Syrian opposition activists said Assad's forces killed 35 civilians on Saturday and 30 unidentified corpses were found at a hospital in Idlib. The state news agency SANA said bombs killed at least 14 prisoners and two security personnel in a security vehicle in Idlib province.

    STRONGER MISSION?
    Maintaining the 165 monitors, and perhaps giving them a broader remit, could give Arab states more time to find a way out of the crisis.
    The Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, citing an unnamed source, said Dabi planned to tell ministers that the Syrian government had not done enough to respect the peace protocol and to request that the mission be extended.
    Elaraby met several Arab officials on Saturday and another source close to the League said the ministers could decide both to extend the mission and to offer it additional support in the form of U.N. or military experts.
    Qatar and Saudi Arabia, regional rivals of Syria and its ally Iran, are impatient for decisive action against Assad and Qatar has suggested sending Arab troops to Syria.
    The League is due to discuss the idea but military action against Assad would need unanimous backing and several countries still believe in a negotiated solution, League sources say.
    The Security Council is also split on how to address the crisis, with Western powers demanding tougher sanctions and a weapons embargo and Assad's ally Russia preferring to leave the Arabs to negotiate a peaceful outcome.
    Suggestions to send in U.N. experts to support the Arab observers made little headway at the last meeting earlier this month and Damascus has said it would accept an extension of the observer mission but not an expansion in its scope.
    Syria, keen to avoid tougher foreign action, has tried to show it is complying with the Arab peace plan, which demanded a halt to killings, a military pullout from the streets, the release of detainees, access for the monitors and the media, and a political dialogue with opposition groups.
    This month the Syrian authorities have freed hundreds of detainees, announced an amnesty, struck a ceasefire deal with armed rebels in one town, allowed the Arab observers into some troublespots and admitted some foreign journalists.
    Assad also promised political reforms, while vowing iron-fisted treatment of the "terrorists" trying to topple him. (Reporting by Ayman Samir, Yasmine Saleh and Lin Noueihed; editing by Diana Abdallah)

    Also on HuffPost:

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    Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/arab-league-syria-monitors_n_1221830.html

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    Sunday, January 22, 2012

    Giants lead 49ers 10-7 at half in NFC title game

    San Francisco 49ers' Anthony Davis (76) loses his helmet as he scuffles with New York Giants' Michael Boley (59) during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

    San Francisco 49ers' Anthony Davis (76) loses his helmet as he scuffles with New York Giants' Michael Boley (59) during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

    New York Giants tight end Bear Pascoe, right, celebrates with tight end Jake Ballard after scoring on a six-yard touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

    New York Giants' Henry Hynoski (45) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers' Tarell Brown (25) during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

    (AP) ? Eli Manning threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Bear Pascoe and expertly led New York to a field goal in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Giants a 10-7 lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game Sunday.

    Pascoe, a former 49ers draft pick and practice squad player, caught his first career TD pass to cap a 69-yard drive early in the second quarter that included a 36-yard reception by Victor Cruz.

    Cruz then caught four passes for 56 yards after New York took over at its 36 with 1:36 to go to set up Lawrence Tynes' 31-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining.

    Manning was 16 for 27 for 181 yards in the first half, while Cruz had eight receptions for 125 yards.

    Vernon Davis caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith midway through the first quarter to give the Niners the early lead. But Smith didn't complete another pass in the half.

    The game was played in a steady rain and with strong winds, and each team fumbled once in a first half that was controlled mostly by the defenses. New York offensive lineman Kareem McKenzie recovered a fumble by Manning, and San Francisco receiver Kyle Williams recovered his own fumble later in the quarter on a reverse.

    Davis gained more than half of San Francisco's first-half yardage total on his one big play. Smith completed only one other pass the entire half, a 6-yarder to Frank Gore on the second play from scrimmage.

    Davis picked up where he left off last week, when he set a playoff record for tight ends with 180 yards receiving and caught two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 9 seconds remaining in a 36-32 victory over New Orleans.

    On the second play of San Francisco's second drive, Davis beat safety Antrel Rolle and got loose down the sideline. He pulled down the pass from Smith and raced into the end zone. He then jumped up onto a camera stage and posed, drawing a personal foul for excessive celebration.

    Davis appeared as if he might have stepped on the sideline, but after a review, referee Ed Hochuli said there was not indisputable evidence and ruled that the touchdown would stand.

    Davis got called for another personal foul in the second quarter for unnecessary roughness for jumping on Deon Grant's back after a skirmish between New York's Michael Boley and San Francisco's Anthony Davis.

    After the 49ers scored, the Giants drove to the San Francisco 34 before stalling. Manning threw incomplete on third-and-1, then linebacker NaVorro Bowman stuffed Brandon Jacobs on fourth down.

    The Niners were looking to make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in 17 seasons. Under rookie coach Jim Harbaugh, they won the NFC West with a 13-3 regular-season record to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

    The Giants won their final two regular-season games to clinch the NFC East, then knocked off Atlanta at home and won at top-seeded Green Bay last week to make it to the conference title game.

    The day got off to a bad start for the Harbaugh family, who had been hoping for a "Superbaugh" in two weeks in Indianapolis. John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens lost the AFC championship game 23-20 to the New England Patriots.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-22-FBN-NFC-Championship/id-837ff911bfa544a5870579f4a57d190f

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    Summary Box: Home building weak in 2011 (AP)

    POOR YEAR: December capped a third straight year of depressed home building and the worst on record for single-family construction. Builders started just 606,900 homes, about half the number that economists equate with healthy markets.

    WEAKER MONTH: Builders broke ground last month on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Thursday. A third straight increase in single-family home building was offset by a drop in volatile apartment construction.

    OUTLOOK: Modest improvement at the end of the year lifted hopes for an eventual recovery. But the housing market still appears years away from full health.

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_bi_ge/us_housing_starts_summary_box

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    Saturday, January 21, 2012

    Romney says he doesn't expect to win every contest

    Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Saw Mill at Larkin's in Greenville, S.C., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

    Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Saw Mill at Larkin's in Greenville, S.C., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

    Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Saw Mill at Larkin's in Greenville, S.C., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

    (AP) ? Working to fend off a surging Newt Gingrich in what's become an unexpectedly tight race in South Carolina, presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday he expects he will lose some state contests to Gingrich during a prolonged fight for the GOP nomination.

    "I expect that Newt will win some primaries and contests and I expect I will as well," Romney said on the Laura Ingraham radio show a day before voting begins in the critical South Carolina primary. "I'm not expecting to win them all."

    Romney didn't directly say he expects to lose in South Carolina, and in a separate appearance Friday described the contest as "neck-and-neck." But senior aides acknowledged they wouldn't be surprised if he lost the primary.

    Romney's comments were his most blunt acknowledgement yet of the trouble his campaign faced amid a reality much changed from 10 days ago when he won the New Hampshire primary in a landslide. They also recognized the possibility that Gingrich could take a South Carolina victory on to other states and win again.

    Romney's campaign appeared visibly rattled the day before voting began. His standing in polls had tumbled after a week of constant attack ads and self-made problems. Senior advisers and campaign hands were preparing for a long fight.

    "He will win. It's a question of when," said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who campaigned with Romney on Friday.

    Romney came to South Carolina after twin victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, only to see his Iowa victory thrown into question because of problems with the count. He then spent a week trying to answer questions about his personal wealth and when he will release his tax returns.

    Romney tried to change the subject from his unreleased tax returns to the ethics investigation Gingrich faced 15 years ago.

    Gingrich's House reprimand in 1997 presented an opportunity to talk about something else. When asked if Gingrich should release the Ethics Committee report that resulted in the first such action against a House speaker, Romney replied, "Of course he should."

    "Nancy Pelosi has the full record of that ethics investigation," he said. "You know it's going to get out ahead of the general election."

    In fact, the 1,280-page committee report on Gingrich is already public. Campaign officials said Romney was referring to other documents that Gingrich has referenced and that Pelosi has also mentioned.

    "Given Speaker Gingrich's newfound interest in disclosure and transparency, and his concern about an 'October surprise,' he should authorize the release of the complete record of the ethics proceedings against him," Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said.

    Romney's campaign was calling South Carolina voters with a recording attacking Gingrich's ethics record and calling on him to release any documents related to the inquiry.

    In December, Pelosi told Talking Points Memo that she had served on the committee that conducted the investigation and implied that more information about the investigation could come to light. At the time Gingrich said the House should retaliate against Pelosi if she released any additional information.

    "We turned over 1 million pages of material," Gingrich said then. "We had a huge report."

    Gingrich's campaign said Romney's criticism represented a "panic attack" on the part of his campaign.

    Romney on Friday said again that he wouldn't release his tax returns until April, which would probably be after Republicans choose their nominee.

    "I realize that I had a lot of ground to make up and Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well-known, popular in the state," Romney said as he campaigned in Gilbert. "Frankly, to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."

    Romney's campaign has rolled out endorsement after endorsement this week as he has tried to build a case that he is the most electable nominee. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman joined him on Thursday and McDonnell was with Romney on Friday.

    McDonnell said he had been in touch with Romney's campaign for several weeks as they discussed the timing for the endorsement and decided it was most needed now, even as Romney looks ahead to a long campaign.

    "It's the first Southern primary. I'm a Southern governor. I thought I could help," McDonnell said.

    The campaign's attack message jumped from rival to rival and topic to topic as Romney fought to stay afloat here.

    At the beginning of the week, Romney attacked rival Rick Santorum over voting rights for felons. Then he went after Gingrich's claims that he created jobs under President Ronald Reagan, saying Gingrich was living in "fantasyland." Meanwhile, his surrogates held a series of conference calls attacking his rivals, first calling Gingrich an unreliable leader and then pivoting to attack his ethics record.

    In Thursday night's GOP debate, Romney continued his string of off-message remarks about his wealth, saying he has lived "in the real streets of America." A multimillionaire, he has three homes, one each in Massachusetts, California and New Hampshire.

    Romney held three campaign events Friday in his last-ditch push to stem Gingrich's momentum. After stopping in Gilbert, he held a rally in North Charleston and flew to Greenville in the conservative upstate for a nighttime rally and a stop at his campaign headquarters before an evening event in Columbia, the state capital.

    On a plane between events Friday night, Romney was outwardly cheerful in spite of a difficult day ahead, gamely bantering with reporters as he served pastries from Panera Bread.

    "Pain au chocolat, smart move!" he said to one, proferring the box and a pair of tongs to take the desserts.

    As he moved farther back into the plane, though, he dispensed with the tongs.

    "Just use your fingers," he said. "To heck with it!"

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-20-Romney/id-ffd433fe3f8f407ab45aafe5221f6622

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    Shooting Challenge: Heirlooms [Shooting Challenge]

    Maybe there is something you own that's very special to you, passed on from someone who was also special t you—but maybe you don't appreciate this object very often. For this week's Shooting Challenge, you'll photograph an heirloom. More »


    Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/S05vG1pmxeE/shooting-challenge-heirlooms

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    Friday, January 20, 2012

    Blowing bubbles to make ships more fuel-efficient

    YouTune / Damen Shipyard Group

    This is a screen shot from an video on how Dutch company Damen Shipyards Group has incorporated the concept of air lubrication to its ships.

    By John Roach

    Blowing a lot of bubbles under cargo ships turns out to be a good way to cut down on fuel costs, according to ongoing research on so-called air lubrication technology.

    "The basic idea is that if you could somehow have air close to the hull, it would help the hull slip through the water better by reducing the skin friction," Steven Ceccio, a professor of naval architecture and mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, explained to me Wednesday.

    That works, he added, because air is about 1,000 times less dense than water, which has a corresponding reduction in friction around the hull.

    "So the potential is really good," he said.

    The caveat is that the air has to be pumped beneath the hull and kept there. The pumping takes energy and keeping it beneath the hull is a combination of physics and architecture.

    In research over the past decade largely funded by the U.S. Navy, Ceccio has found if just a little air is pumped down, the bubbles just flow away and do little good.

    "But if you get to a critical amount, if you put enough in, the bubbles coalesce together and they form a film and then it works really well," he said.

    "It was one of those circumstances where half measures would not do the trick. You have to persevere, put a bunch of air in, and then things get better."

    At least, things get better if the ship has a flat-bottomed hull, like most cargo ships. On V-shaped hulls, like those found on most Navy destroyers, "the bubbles may not form these layers and therefore your ability to lubricate with air is reduced," Ceccio noted.

    Most recently, he applied air lubrication modeling to the typical type of flat-bottomed cargo ships that ply the Great Lakes region and found the technology could increase fuel efficiency by 5 to 20 percent.

    Since fuel costs are often more than half of a cargo ship's total operating expenses, these types of savings could be huge, notes an Economist story on the technology.?

    What Ceccio's study for the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute?failed to consider is what it costs to install a bubble maker on existing ships and payback time.

    "Of course," he noted, "that's what business people care about."

    Businesses, especially in Europe and Asia, are making a go at the technology.

    Dutch firm Damen Shipyards Group, for example, has patented an air lubrication ship design that results in about 15 percent fuel savings on an annual basis. (See this video to learn more.)?

    In general, more savings are found with slower-moving ships, the company notes.

    As for Ceccio, he and his colleagues have yet to be approached by any shipping companies, though he hopes "we could find some folks in the U.S. who might say that's something we would like to do."

    More on shipping technology:

    ?


    John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

    Next-gen nuclear plants could provide carbon-free energy, but the painfully slow process of approving better, safer reactors ? not to mention real anxiety over meltdowns and waste ? threaten to derail projects before they can be built.

    ?

    ?

    Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10185000-blowing-bubbles-to-make-ships-more-fuel-efficient

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    Wikipedia blackout: Site to protest SOPA

    Wikipedia blackout is scheduled to occur Wednesday and last for 24 hours. A Wikipedia blackout would add heft to protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act.

    Wikipedia?will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community-based online encyclopedia said in a statement Monday night.

    Skip to next paragraph

    The website will go dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that brings added muscle to a growing base of critics of the legislation.?Wikipedia?is considered one of the Internet's most popular websites, with millions of visitors daily.

    "If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States," the Wikimedia foundation said.

    The Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas.

    Supporters include the film and music industry, which often sees its products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs.

    Critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights. Among their concerns are provisions that would weaken cyber-security for companies and hinder domain access rights.

    The most controversial provision is in the House bill, which would have enabled federal authorities to "blacklist" sites that are alleged to distribute pirated content. That would essentially cut off portions of the Internet to all U.S. users. But congressional leaders appear to be backing off this provision.

    Tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, eBay, AOL and others have spoken out against the legislation and said it threatens the industry's livelihood. Several online communities such as Reddit, Boing Boing and others have announced plans to go dark in protest as well.

    The Obama administration also raised concerns about the legislation over the weekend and said it will work with Congress on legislation to help battle piracy and counterfeiting while defending free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet.

    Wikipedia's?decision to go dark brings the issue into a much brighter spotlight. A group of?Wikipedia?users have discussed for more than a month whether it should react to the legislation.

    Over the past few days, a group of more than 1,800 volunteers who work on the site and other users considered several forms of online protest, including banner ads and a global blackout of the site, the foundation said. Ultimately, the group supported the decision to black out the English version of the site.

    Jimmy Wales, the founder of?Wikipedia?who first announced the move on his Twitter account Monday, said the bills are a threat to the free, open, and secure web.

    "The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess," Wales said in an email to The Associated Press.

    Wikipedia?is also requesting that readers contact members of Congress about the bill during the blackout.

    "I am personally asking everyone who cares about freedom and openness on the Internet to contact their Senators and Representative," Wales said. "One of the things we have learned recently during the Arab Spring events is that the Internet is a powerfully effective tool for the public to organize and have their voices heard."

    Wikipedia?will shut down access from midnight Eastern Standard Time (0500 GMT) on Tuesday night until midnight Wednesday.

    This is the first time?Wikipedia's?English version has gone dark. Its Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government; the bill did not advance.

    "Wikipedia?is about being open," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia foundation. "We are not about shutting down and protesting. It's not a muscle that is normally flexed."

    Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6y3oJa_VabM/Wikipedia-blackout-Site-to-protest-SOPA

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    Thursday, January 19, 2012

    Merkel returns to AC Milan after Boateng injury

    Associated Press Sports

    updated 8:58 a.m. ET Jan. 18, 2012

    MILAN (AP) -AC Milan has brought back German midfielder Alexander Merkel on loan after losing Kevin Prince Boateng for a month with a torn left thigh muscle.

    Milan made the announcement on its website on Wednesday, saying the move is a temporary loan since Merkel's rights are jointly shared by Milan and Genoa.

    The 19-year-old Merkel made 10 appearances and scored one goal in all competitions for Milan last season. During the first half of this season, he played 14 times for Genoa.

    Milan announced Boateng's injury late Tuesday, adding that goalkeeper Christian Abbiati has a mild left calf problem.

    Milan trails Serie A leader Juventus by one point.

    ? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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    'Saved by our yoga session'

    Police say a man was shot and killed at the hotel hosting the U.S. women's soccer team during the Olympic qualifying tournament.

    Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46038415/ns/sports-soccer/

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    GOP maps strategy in wake of payroll tax debacle

    Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, front right, shakes hands with a boy during a visit to the Vidigal slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Boehner toured a Rio de Janeiro shantytown that has recently been taken over from drug traffickers by police. Boehner is leading a seven-member congressional delegation to Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

    Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, front right, shakes hands with a boy during a visit to the Vidigal slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Boehner toured a Rio de Janeiro shantytown that has recently been taken over from drug traffickers by police. Boehner is leading a seven-member congressional delegation to Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

    FILE - In this photo taken Nov. 16, 2011, astronaut and former Ohio Sen. John Glenn, center, poses with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a ceremony where Glenn received a Congressional Gold Medal. Glenn says he believes an "unattractive" elections process discourages the best people from pursuing public service. The 90-year-old Democrat is optimistic that good people will run for office but understands some might shy from opening their lives to intense public scrutiny, he told The Columbus Dispatch in a wide-ranging interview published Sunday, Jan. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

    (AP) ? When last seen in Washington, House Republicans were furious with their own leader, Speaker John Boehner, and angry with their Senate Republican brethren over how the showdown over the Social Security tax cut turned into a year-end political debacle.

    The holidays and three weeks away from the Capitol have tempered some of the bad feelings, but several GOP lawmakers' emotions are still raw as Congress returns for a 2012 session certain to be driven by election-year politics and fierce fights over the size and scope of government and its taxing, spending and borrowing practices.

    In the week before Christmas, House Republicans revolted against the Senate-passed deal to extend the payroll tax cut for two months for 160 million workers and ensure jobless benefits for millions more long-term unemployed. Facing intense political pressure, Boehner, R-Ohio, caved, daring tea partyers and other dissenters to challenge his decision to pass the short-term plan without a roll-call vote. None stepped forward to stop him.

    "A lot of us who went into battle turned around and no one was behind us," freshman Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., said last week, sounding like the fight was still fresh and insistent that leadership had abandoned them.

    "A lot of us are still smarting," he added.

    The two-month extension that Senate Republican and Democratic leaders Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid had characterized as a draw ended up as a big victory for President Barack Obama at the end of a year in which Republicans had forced him to accept a series of spending cuts.

    Grievances are certain to be aired at a House GOP retreat in Baltimore later this week. The strategy and agenda session also will be a gripe session for some of the 242 House Republicans.

    "It might be a little more spunky than normal," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

    Senators come back to Capitol Hill on Jan. 23.

    The wave of Republicans who lifted the GOP to the House majority in the 2010 elections emerged from their first year frustrated by the limitations of divided government and the recurring, down-to-the-wire fights over spending ? in April, the squabble was over keeping the government operating, and in August lawmakers dueled over increasing the nation's borrowing authority. And at year's end, there was another rhetorical shoot-out over keeping the government running.

    Tea partyers who came to Washington intent on deep cuts to counter the growing deficit railed against the budget numbers and the all-too-frequent fights.

    "There was a Groundhog Day quality to 2011," said freshman Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y.

    Boehner, who frequently had to rally the disparate elements of his caucus, was a bit bruised by the year's final act. Still, he remains well in control of his caucus, with Republicans recognizing that any leadership challenge or internal strife now would be politically disastrous.

    In the coming year, House Republicans remain doubtful about accomplishing anything more than the must-do spending bills and a year-long extension of the Social Security tax cuts, unemployment benefits and a reprieve in the cuts to doctors for Medicare payments. Congress faces a Feb. 29 deadline to agree on a new extension, no easy task after last year's deep divisions but politically inevitable as lawmakers would be loath to raise taxes in an election year.

    Uncertain is the fate of a highway bill and reauthorization of a farm bill, legislation that could mean jobs in a struggling economy but measures also likely to get caught up in the typical fight over how to pay for the programs.

    Republicans are pinning their hopes on November's elections and the tantalizing possibility that the GOP holds the House, wins four or more of the Senate seats needed to seize control and the party's nominee ousts Obama. Controlling both the presidency and Congress would be a mandate for significant change.

    Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., bemoaned the failure last summer of the so-called "grand bargain" between Obama and Boehner for massive spending cuts, the promise of overhauling the tax code and reductions in entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The bipartisan deficit-reduction supercommittee fared no better in the fall.

    "It's hard to see us getting out of the mess we're in until there's another election," Rooney said.

    The year of brinksmanship produced little legislation that became law while approval ratings for Congress dropped to single digits. The House passed 384 measures in 2011, the Senate 402, according to the Congressional Record. The Senate had 24 bills enacted into law, the House 56 in one of the least productive years in history.

    Republicans are gearing up for Obama campaign attacks on a "do-nothing Congress," ready to counter that many of their bills went nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Top on the list: The House completed a budget last year and the Senate did not.

    Last April, the House passed a $1.019 trillion budget plan that would have sharply cut spending, changed Medicaid into a block grant program and transformed Medicare by providing voucher-style federal payments to buy private insurance coverage instead of direct government payments to health care providers. Democrats vilified the plan by Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and warned of the impact the Medicare changes would have on seniors.

    Ryan is expected to unveil another budget this spring. Mulvaney said the GOP is eager to push for changes in the budget process, beginning with requiring Congress to pass a budget.

    Adding to the uncertainty in a volatile election year are the dozen or so House Republicans whose tea party purity about reducing the government's reach often outweighs re-election concerns, making other Republicans nervous as the party looks to hold onto its 50-seat edge.

    Some have dubbed the tea partiers the "Braveheart caucus" for their affection for the 1995 Mel Gibson movie about William Wallace, who led the fight for Scotland's independence. Wallace was hanged and quartered.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-16-Smarting%20Republicans/id-5dbc3cb5295944a8b3de415ddb922f76

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    Wednesday, January 18, 2012

    Video: Christie: VP run not out of the question



    >>> new jersey's governor chris christie campaigned for mitt romney in iowa and new hampshire. he's with us this morning exclusively.

    >> good to be back, matt.

    >> you're a full disclosure guy. you like it when politicians reveal their financial situations and tax returns . is mitt romney missing the boat?

    >> i don't think he's going to. i think he'll release the taxes.

    >> why wait?

    >> the most relevant information is the most recent. he'll release when he files in april. that's going to be up to him. my practice all along is i release my tax returns every year as soon as they are filed.

    >> the appearance here is you wait until april, the nomination would be secured by that time and you don't have to worry about fallout in the primaries.

    >> he already started to speak yesterday about the rate he pays. i would say if you have tax returns to put out, you know, you should put them out sooner rather than later because it's always better in my view to have complete disclosure, especially as the front-runner.

    >> for five years he's been talking about his trump card which he says is his business resum?, his ability to turn around companies to handle the economy. as you know his opponents are using what he sees as the trump card and making his achilles heel , attacking his days at bain capital . is it fair?

    >> no. they're missing the boat. at the end of the day what governor romney did as the head of bain capital was help create jobs and turn around businesses. it's stunning to me somebody like newt gingrich would come out with the attacks he did. somebody who says he's in favor of american capitalism would come out with those attacks he's come out with.

    >> to separate mitt romney and say he's part of the 11 1%, a wall street guy, a financial tycoon you think is unfair.

    >> from a guy with a half million credit line at tiffany? that's a problem.

    >> in 2009 you ran for governor against then governor john corzine with ads that labeled him a gordon gecco guy during his days at goldman sachs . isn't that a play out of your playbook?

    >> no. he spent money to buy -- police call office. this is attacking the core of the way we try to build and turn around companies in a capitalist system . if the other candidates are so desperate they have no other message other than to attack somebody who created over 100,000 jobs in his career, their campaigns are bankrupt.

    >> let's go to your state of the state address . you borrowed a phrase from mitt romney . you said, quote, the politics of envy have overtaken the imperative of opportunity. talk to me about that word "envy." i asked governor romney as well. why choose that word?

    >> i chose that word because i have been using another word for a long time which is the politics of division. yesterday i used the politics of envy. the reason i did it is because what we are setting up is people don't want to feel badly about other people who are successful. they want the same success themselves. we need to set up a system like we are in new jersey where people can be just as successful as people already are.

    >> why envy as opposed to unfairness?

    >> this is what the president is setting up. he's saying the american pie is finite. if you don't like the size of the piece you have, only government can take more pie away from somebody else and give you a little bit and government keeps the rest.

    >> as people raise questions about wall street , financial institutions and practices and the division of power and money in this country, you do not think it's about envy. you think it's about fairness?

    >> if they raise questions about practices under the law which i spent a lot of time as u.s. attorney going after people in corporate america not acting within the law that's fair. that's not what you are talking about with mitt romney . the attack with mitt romney is somehow his concept of capitalism at bain was wrong and destructive when the facts show he created jobs at bain capital .

    >> at your state of the state in new jersey you said, together we have done something trenton hasn't seen in a long time. we work together. we achieved compromise. talking about compromise and achieving it are two different things. we are in a climate where congress is as politically divided as it ever has been. americans seem to want people to get their act together. what you accomplish in new jersey, how can it be accomplished nationally?

    >> only through presidential leadership. in the end what i have done as governor is bring the democrats into the room and say, they are not leaving until we come to a solution. there is a boulevard between getting what you want and compromising your principles. no one should compromise principles. but you will never get everything you want.

    >> you don't think president obama tried to compromise?

    >> listen, i don't think the president has showed leadership. simpson-bowles, he put it on the shelf. stimulus plan, turned it over to congress. the super committee, never got involved to make shg something happen. that's the tough part of leadership. giving speeches in the oval office is easy. getting in a room with mitch mcconnell , john boehner and other leaders of congress and saying, we are not leaving here until we get solutions. that's leadership and the president hasn't done it.

    >> i hate to get into this subject because you're a good dancer and you danced over the presidential thing on the other of whether you would run as a vice president yal candidate to mitt romney , will you tell me now it is out of the question, it will not happen?

    >> no. no, i won't. no matter how much you want me to. stop, matt. i have said all along i want to be governor of new jersey . if you're a betting guy, bet on me being governor of new jersey after 2012 . i think it is rude and wrong to say you wouldn't do something you haven't been asked to do.

    >> have you had discussions with governor romney about it?

    >> zero. my job is to help him become president of the united states . i don't want anything in return except for a better country.

    >> if you can be part of achieving that as a running mate for mitt romney you would do it?

    >> i could be a better part of doing it by leading new jersey to a rejuvenation of america. that's what we are trying to do. cut income taxes , reform education and bring people together. what we have done in new jersey more than anything else is you have seen the divided government can work. republicans and democrats can work together if there is strong executive leadership.

    >> chris christie , always good to see you here.

    Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46037671/

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    Tuesday, January 17, 2012

    Brady leads prolific Patriots to AFC title game (AP)

    FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ? Next up to try and stop the seemingly unstoppable Tom Brady and the New England Patriots' offense: the Baltimore Ravens.

    Good luck.

    How do you cover powerful Rob Gronkowski and versatile Aaron Hernandez and still have a defender left to deal with Wes Welker, the NFL's leading receiver?

    Can you generate enough of a pass rush to foil Brady's quick release? If you don't, the master of analyzing defenses and firing precise passes can stand comfortably in the pocket, calmly searching for his best option and the quickest route to the end zone.

    And don't forget the ground game while you're focused on all those aerial stars.

    Get ready, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. Your dominant defense is about to get its toughest test.

    Baltimore's reward for beating the Houston Texans 20-13 on Sunday is a date with the prolific Patriots, who got there with a 45-10 win Saturday night over the Denver Broncos that turned Tebowmania into a passing phenomenon while its central character, Tim Tebow, kept passing poorly.

    The Ravens play at Foxborough on Sunday with a defense much better than the one the overwhelmed Broncos displayed. Baltimore's unit is the third-stingiest in the NFL, but it has never seen anything like this. Not with Brady at the top of his game after his decade of greatness.

    "The team revolves around him," Hernandez said. "When he comes to play, which he mostly does every game, then we're going to be on fire, and when he's ready, we're all ready."

    Brady's performance rivals _and surpasses in some ways ? his 2007 MVP season when he set an NFL record with 50 touchdown passes and established a team mark of 4,806 yards passing. This season, he beat that by more than 400 with 5,235, second-most in NFL history to Drew Brees' 5,476.

    The Patriots went 18-0 in 2007, then lost the Super Bowl 17-14 to the New York Giants on a last-minute touchdown. Now they're 14-3.

    One more win gets them to the championship game thanks to Brady's six scoring passes against Denver, tying the NFL record held by Daryle Lamonica and Steve Young. By halftime, Brady already had thrown for five touchdowns while Tebow had just three completions.

    The victory helped ease the lingering pain of three straight playoffs losses ? 33-14 to Baltimore and 28-21 to the New York Jets after the Super Bowl disappointment.

    "You lose a few playoff games and it's a very bitter way to end the season and it sits on your mind for quite a long time," Brady said. "For us to come out and play the way we did, have a very solid performance in the most important game of the year is very gratifying.

    "From this point on, everyone will be focused on what we need to do to be better next week and, hopefully, come out and play for another championship."

    Brady has been brilliant all season, starting with a total of 940 yards passing and seven touchdown throws in his first two games. And in his last nine ? all wins ? he's thrown for 25 scores and just three interceptions.

    "We never look at the individual. We all try and do our job," defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. "If (Brady) plays well, everyone else plays well. When he has an off day, we try to rally around him as a team to help Tom and the offense. We aren't going to get 20-30 points all the time."

    Of course not. There was that one game, back on Oct. 30, when they scored only 17.

    Brady's six scoring passes Saturday matched his career high. He completed 26 of 34 passes for 363 yards, a team record for a postseason game. He wasn't sacked, hardly even pressured, all game.

    "That's Tom, week-in-and-week-out," running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis said, "so I don't think anyone else in this locker room or in this country would expect anything else from him."

    It wasn't always that promising.

    The Patriots were just 5-3 and had lost two consecutive games for just the third time in nine seasons. Their defense, last in the league at the time, was getting pushed around.

    It was time for Brady's bunch to turn things around.

    They beat the Jets in New York 37-16 to start the nine-game winning streak. In three of the last four games, they've scored more than 41 points. The only other time that happened since Brady arrived in 2000 was in 2007 when they did it in three consecutive games and four of five.

    That team had Randy Moss, the deep threat who caught an NFL-record 23 touchdowns.

    This one has Gronkowski and Hernandez, the short, middle and deep targets who combined for 24 in the regular season and, in just one playoff game, another four.

    "These two are changing the game," guard Brian Waters said. "If you decide to take away one, that opens things up for the other. You add the fact that we have receiving threats and some good guys at the running back position. It limits the things you can do defensively as far as trying to take one person out of the game. That's something that we are able to take advantage of."

    The danger doesn't end when they get their hands on the ball. Often, it's just starting.

    On the Patriots third play against the Broncos, Gronkowski caught a 7-yard pass and ran for another nine. On the fourth, Hernandez tricked the defense by lining up at running back and rambling 43 yards. And on the next play, Brady found Welker for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

    Three plays, three ballhandlers, one impressive drive against a befuddled defense.

    "Everybody makes big plays on this team," Hernandez said. "That's why our offense is real dangerous. We've got so many weapons they don't know who to cover."

    The Ravens have a week to figure that out.

    "I think that we are just coming together as a team and realizing that this is our time and we need to really play well," Welker said. "With all of our weapons and the guys that we have, we should always be able to move the ball."

    Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_prolific_patriots

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