From George Clooney to Brad Pitt, check out photos of the swoonworthy men who hit the Screen Actors Guild Awards this year.
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Gingrich wants panel to look at in vitro clinics (The Arizona Republic)
Why the US won't fund Palestinian 'Sesame Street'
Following a Palestinian appeal for UN recognition, US congressional funding for aid projects including a local version of 'Sesame Street' have been frozen.
? A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
Skip to next paragraphDaoud Kuttab usually produces a Palestinian version of ?Sesame Street? that teaches children how to count. But lately he has had to focus on his own bottom line. Three months after an American funding freeze, his show is so behind schedule that the writers? workshop rooms are empty, the editing studios are dark, and the Muppets have left the West Bank for repairs.
Think you know the Middle East? Take our geography quiz.
Mr. Kuttab says that in October he was expecting to receive $2.5 million from the US Agency for International Development for the next three years. But Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) of Florida froze $192 million in congressional funding to USAID?s programs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations, which the United States opposed.
Each season, Kuttab works with teachers and child psychologists to craft 26 episodes around themes of tolerance, sharing, and friendship. Kuttab said that even if money is restored he will not manage to produce any new episodes in 2012.
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The IDB should not finance the Amaila Falls project unless certain ...
?
?
Dear Editor,
Based on Demerara Waves article of January 24, 2012 ?Amaila Hydropower cost could climb again ? Developer? The IDB should not provide financing unless certain conditions are met.
To anyone who has been involved in the management of capital projects, the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric project started out on the wrong foot and is continuing along that path.
In the first place, the contract for the design and construction should never have been signed without the financing being in place; whatever the final cost turns out to be, it will be saddled on the taxpayers and should be up front knowledge.? Secondly, it is fine to give a design and construction contract but not without project management.
It is project management that is responsible for project control (which includes Scope identification, Schedule and Cost control, Progress monitoring, Problem identification and mitigation, Project Status reporting and Progress payments).
Finally, only specialized human resources that is unavailable in Guyana should be employed on the project (the cost of overseas personnel include transportation, housing, food, base wage plus premium for overseas assignment).? Additionally, the imported labour is exempt from local taxes.? These costs are included in the cost of the project and are not part of contingency costs.
Based on those findings, it would be in IDB?s interest to ensure that it?s funding be protected by project management excellence through incorporation of the above changes to the contract.
In my 48 years and as one of the fathers of modern project management, I have never heard of any utility hiring a developer for a major heavy industrial project.? Furthermore, developers are usually owners of whatever facility they undertake which happens to be either residential or commercial facilities.
Generally, the developer hires a project management firm or has its in-house project management.? In the industrial industry, it is the owner of the utility who contracts out the engineering, procurement, construction and project management (EPCM) for the facility and has a project director who reports back to management.
The hiring of a developer who does not have a stake in a project is an additional cost to the project.? The contract for the Electrification Project in the early 1970s was carried out between the Electricity Corporation and the consulting engineers; there were no developers adding to the cost of the electrification costs.
It is the same way that heavy industrial projects are efficiently managed in developed countries.? As such, it is GPL who should be dealing directly with the IDB, project managers, designers and contractors.
According to Demerara Waves, ?Sithe Global will operate the completed plant for 20 years before it is turned over to GPL. Wrobel said the plant should have another 70 to 80 years in it.?? I don?t know what is the message being conveyed here.
Does Wrobel mean that Sithe will operate the plant for GPL for a fee or Sithe will own the plant for 20 years and determine the price GPL pays per Killowatt Hour?
So far as has been reported in the article, ?The other major financiers of the project are the China Development Bank, China Railway First Group and the Norwegian government under the biodiversity agreement with Guyana.?? Sithe was not mentioned as one of the financiers and if it is being paid for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) its work should be completed after the power station has been commissioned.? Why is necessary for Sithe to operate the plant for 20 years?
During the first 20 years of operation, the power plant will incur very little maintenance but as major parts erode from usage, maintenance will become a major part of operational costs. Furthermore, the possibility exists that Sithe will leave the plant is that same condition that Guyana received the Bauxite plant after it was nationalised.
That the plant will last another 70 ? 80 years is no consolation as anyone who has operated an electricity generating plant is aware that power plant design evolve, materials evolve and parts become difficult to obtain and in many cases have to be custom made at higher prices than would have been the case.? What does Wrobel mean by Savings of hundreds of millions of dollars?
The Road to the project should have been the responsibility of Public Works Department and not a developer.? The works department should either have designed or have the road designed, awarded the contract for its construction and monitored the progress to ensure that it was being constructed to specification and, within schedule and cost.
As I said in my opening statement, the IDB should not partner the financing of this Hydroelectric Plant until proper project management is included in the contract.
Neville Quelch, B.A., PMP
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Up to 10 months to remove capsized cruise ship
Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
View of the bow of the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Italian firefighters approach the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
GIGLIO, Italy (AP) ? The cruise ship that capsized off Italy's coast will take up to 10 months to remove, officials said Sunday, as rough seas off the Tuscan coast forced the suspension of recovery operations.
Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved four centimeters (an inch and a half) over six hours, coupled with waves of more than one meter (three feet).
A 17th body, identified as Peruvian crew member Erika Soria Molina, was found Saturday. Sixteen crew and passengers remain listed as missing, with one body recovered from the ship not yet identified.
Officials have virtually ruled out finding anyone alive more than two weeks after the Costa Concordia hit a reef, but were reluctant to give a final death toll for the Jan. 13 disaster. The crash happened when the captain deviated from his planned route, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship. More than 4,200 people were on board.
"Our first goal was to find people alive," Franco Gabrielli, the national civil protection official in charge of the operation, told a daily briefing. "Now we have a single, big goal, and that is that this does not translate into an environmental disaster."
University of Florence professor Riccardo Fanti said the ship's movements could either be caused by the ship settling on its own weight, slipping deeper into the seabed, or both. He also could not rule out the ship's sliding along the seabed.
Gabrielli noted that the body of a man recovered from the ship remains unidentified, despite efforts to obtain DNA samples from all of the missing, meaning that officials cannot preclude that the deceased is someone unknown to authorities. Costa has said that it runs strict procedures that would preclude the presence of any unregistered passengers.
Experts have said it would take 28 days to remove fuel from 15 tanks accounting for more than 80 percent of all fuel on board the ship. The next job would be to target the engine room, which contains nearly 350 cubic meters of diesel, fuel and other lubricants, Gabrielli said.
Only once the fuel is removed can work begin on removing the ship, either floating it in one piece or cutting it up and towing it away as a wreck. Costa has begun the process for taking bids for the recovery operation, a process that will take two months.
Gabrielli said the actual removal will take from seven to 10 months ? meaning that the wreck will be visible from the coast of the island of Giglio for the entire summer tourism season.
Residents of Giglio have been circulating a petition to demand that officials provide more information on how the full-scale operations can coexist with the important tourism season. At the moment, access to the port for private boats has been banned and all boats must stay at least one mile (1.6 kilometers) from the wrecked ship, affecting access to Giglio's only harbor for fishermen, scuba divers and private boat owners.
"We are really sorry, we would have preferred to save them all. But now other needs and other problems arise," said Franca Melils, a local business owner who is promoting a petition for the tourist season. "It's about us, who work and make a living exclusively from tourism. We don't have factories, we don't have anything else."
___
Colleen Barry reported from Milan.
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Obama to senators: Change the way you do business (AP)
WASHINGTON ? 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.
Obama was referring to Utah GOP. Sen Mike Lee who asserted on Thursday that Obama'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."
On Saturday, Lee issued a statement standing by his decision.
"Sadly, the president has sought to make this a partisan issue; but the Constitution is not partisan," he said. "The Constitution does not allow any president, Republican or Democrat, to circumvent the Senate in making appointments, and I will resist, just as vigorously, members of my own party who would attempt to do the same thing."
In his address, 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
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Welcome customers into your business on Google - Google Small ...
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog.)
When we initially announced the Business Photos pilot program, we wanted to give business owners an easy way to get customers in the door online using interactive, high-quality, 360-degree images of places on Google Maps and on Google Search results. With thousands of businesses under our belt ? from?salons?to gift shops?? we?ve been hearing the same question again and again from both business owners and photographers alike: How can I participate?
Well, with the overwhelming success of the first pilot, we?ve decided to unveil a complementary initiative that will help us reach more interested business owners, more quickly: Trusted Photographers.Click and drag to view the inside of Spice Market, New York City.It?s simple. Visit our new website and search for a Google Trusted Photographer in your area. Either email or call a photographer in your area to schedule a time and agree on a price that you will pay the photographer for a photoshoot of your business. This self-serve model makes for easier scheduling and quicker turnaround, while also supporting the local photographers in your community. During the hour it should take for the shoot, you can collaborate with the photographer about how best to display and capture your business. When finished, the photographer will upload the images to Google, and shortly thereafter, you?ll see 360-degree panoramic views of your business on Google.com, Google Maps and on your Google Places listing.See how Business Photos has helped Toy Joy of Austin, Texas.Trusted Photographers are available in 14 U.S. cities, as well as in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France. Don?t see a photographer in your area? Let us know, as that will help us determine where more Trusted Photographers are needed.
Posted by Gadi Royz, Product Manager, Google Maps
Source: http://googlesmb.blogspot.com/2012/01/welcome-customers-into-your-business-on.html
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Friday, January 27, 2012
China says EU ban on Iran oil not "constructive" (Reuters)
BEIJING (Reuters) ? China on Thursday criticized the European Union for banning oil imports from Iran, Beijing's third biggest crude supplier and a major trading partner.
The European Union agreed on Monday to ban imports of oil from Iran and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at pushing Iran into reining in its nuclear activities that Tehran says are for peaceful purposes.
China, the world's second largest crude consumer, has long opposed unilateral sanctions that target Iran's energy sector and has tried to reduce tensions that could threaten its oil supply.
Last week, Beijing told a visiting Iranian delegation that returning to nuclear talks was a "top priority." During a tour to Arab states earlier this month, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also made a strong statement opposing Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons, but defended China's right to buy Iranian crude oil as normal trade activity.
Asked about the EU embargo, China's Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement: "It is not a constructive approach to simply pile up the pressure and impose sanctions."
"China hopes relevant parties to resort to measures conducive to regional peace and stability," the statement added.
China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, importing 30 percent more from Iran in 2011 compared to the previous year. But China halved its purchases from Iran in January and February, following a dispute over the terms of payment.
(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Tracy Zheng; editing by Miral Fahmy)
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Bucs hire Rutgers' Greg Schiano as new coach
FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2010 file photo, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano listens to a question during a news conference in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the negotiations says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in talks with Schiano to become the team's next coach. The 46-year-old Schiano has been with the Scarlet Knights for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstock to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2010 file photo, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano listens to a question during a news conference in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the negotiations says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in talks with Schiano to become the team's next coach. The 46-year-old Schiano has been with the Scarlet Knights for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstock to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2006 file photo, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano leads his team onto the field before a football game against Syracuse in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the negotiations says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in talks with Schiano to become the team's next coach. The 46-year-old Schiano has been with the Scarlet Knights for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstock to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)
FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2009 file photo, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano reacts to play during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Cincinnati, in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the negotiations says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in talks with Schiano to become the team's next coach. The 46-year-old Schiano has been with the Scarlet Knights for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstock to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)
FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2008 file photo, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano shouts to his players during an NCAA college football game against North Carolina in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the negotiations says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in talks with Schiano to become the team's next coach. The 46-year-old Schiano has been with the Scarlet Knights for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstock to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. (AP Photo/Mel Evans,file)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? The Buccaneers are counting on Greg Schiano to lead them back to respectability and transform Tampa Bay into consistent winners ? much in the same way he made Rutgers matter again.
The 45-year-old former Scarlet Knights coach was hired Thursday, more than three weeks after the Bucs fired Raheem Morris following a 4-12 finish.
The team scheduled a press conference for Friday to introduce Schiano, who inherits a team that allowed the most points in the NFL this season.
"Coach Schiano is a bright, meticulous teacher who knows how to get the most out of his players," general manager Mark Dominik said. "He built and ran a pro-style program at Rutgers, and he's a defensive-minded coach whose teams have always been characterized by toughness and a physical style of play."
Schiano was at Rutgers for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstocks to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. He was an assistant coach in the NFL with Chicago from 1996-98.
The Scarlet Knights appointed offensive line coach Kyle Flood as interim head coach while the school searches for Schiano's replacement.
The Bucs fired Morris on Jan. 2 after Tampa Bay lost 10 straight to end the season, most of them by double-digit margins. The collapse following a promising 4-2 start came only a year after the NFL's youngest team went 10-6 and narrowly missed the playoffs.
The Glazer family that owns the team interviewed at least 10 candidates for the opening, including Oregon's Chip Kelly, who was offered the position before turning it down earlier this week.
The Bucs also talked to former NFL head coaches Mike Sherman, Brad Childress and Marty Schottenheimer; Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski; Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray; Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer; Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements and former Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who accepted the head coaching opening with the Miami Dolphins.
An 11th known candidate, ex-Dallas Cowboys coach and current Houston defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, canceled a scheduled interview with the Bucs that would have taken place while the Texans were in the playoffs.
Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said the club was thrilled to entrust the team's rebuilding project to Schiano.
"During our thorough search, we met with numerous impressive candidates, but coach Schiano surely distinguished himself," Glazer said. "From his leadership skills to his considerable track record, he is, simply put, the right man for the job."
It's not the first exhaustive search the Glazers have conducted for a coach.
The Bucs pursued Steve Spurrier before hiring Tony Dungy in 1996, then tried to lure Bill Parcells and Steve Mariucci to Tampa Bay before trading two first-round draft picks, as well as a pair of second-rounders and $8 million cash to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for the opportunity to negotiate a contract with Jon Gruden after the 2001 season.
Gruden led the Bucs to their only Super Bowl title the following season, but Tampa Bay hasn't won a playoff game since. The Glazers fired him three weeks after the Bucs lost the final four games of 2008 to miss the playoffs, and promoted Morris as his successor.
Tampa Bay went 17-31 under Morris, who served as his own defensive coordinator. The Bucs allowed a franchise-record 494 points in 2011, including 31 of more in seven of the last eight games.
In addition to fixing a defense that's been rebuilt over the past two drafts, getting young quarterback Josh Freeman back on track will be a priority this offseason.
Freeman threw for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2010, his second year in the league and his first as a full-time starter. The 24-year-old passed for 16 TDs vs. 22 interceptions this season.
The timing of the move could put Rutgers in a bind with national signing day less than a week away. This is a pivotal time in the recruiting process, with coaches locking up commitments from high school prospects who make those agreements official by signing national letters of intent starting Wednesday.
Schiano's contract with Rutgers runs through 2016 and pays him around $2.35 million per year.
He played linebacker at Bucknell, but never in the NFL. His first big break in coaching came at Penn State, where Joe Paterno hired him to coach defensive backs in 1991. He was at Penn State through 1995, before being hired by the Bears.
Because of his success at Rutgers, there had often been speculation for years about Schiano possibly replacing Paterno when the Hall of Famer was done coaching. But when Penn State was looking for a replacement after firing Paterno amid a child sex-abuse scandal involving one of his former longtime assistants, the school hired Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.
Schiano has been courted by several other colleges during his time at Rutgers, most notably Miami in 2006 and Michigan in 2007.
"I've had several opportunities over the years and none of them felt right," Schiano told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., as he left Rutgers' football facility Thursday night "This time, this one felt right."
Schiano's first four seasons at Rutgers produced losing seasons, but the program he took over was practically at rock bottom in major college football. Before he was hired, the Scarlet Knights played in only one bowl game in their history.
Schiano brought structure and discipline to a program that sorely lacked both on every level. Not only has Rutgers become a consistent winner in the Big East, but the Scarlet Knights have regularly been among the top teams in the country when it comes to graduating players. He also encouraged the school to secure funding for multimillion dollar upgrades to Rutgers' facilities, including a major stadium renovation.
In 2005, Rutgers went 7-5 and the next season the Scarlet Knights were 11-2. They played in six bowls under Schiano, winning five, including a victory over Iowa state in the Pinstripe Bowl to cap a 9-4 season in 2011.
___
AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo in New York contributed to this report.
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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
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/clGANSmMeW8/story01.htm
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Ashton Kutcher Parties with Supermodels in Brazil
Everyone deals with a breakup in their own way -- as Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have demonstrated this week. While Moore, 49, is seeking professional help to deal with the stress from her divorce, Kutcher, 33, is hanging out with lingerie models in Brazil.
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In Afghanistan, it?s dog-fight-dog world
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Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News
The fight master at a dog fight outside of Kabul, Afghanistan during January 2012.
By Dmitry Solovyov , NBC News cameraman
Reporter's Notebook
KABUL ? Michael Vick would feel right at home here.
Just north of Kabul, on the edge of the mountains, around 1,000 people recently? gathered in the cold for a dog fight. The crowd was basically all men, of all ages, even babies, sharing in a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years.
?
Dog fights are popular all over the country, and in some cases gambling is involved. In this particular case, we were told there was no gambling taking place, although I?m not sure that was true.
?
The dog fight is led by an old man, the fight master,? who stands with a stick. He rules the show and is very powerful and very confident. The crowds gather in a series of circles, and no one steps out of line. Only the dog owners and their dogs are allowed to enter the circle.
At the start of the fight, there is a green cloth between the dogs so they cannot see each other. The dogs are held by their owners without leashes. Then the cloth is dropped, and the dogs run towards each other and start the fight.
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Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News
Some of the dogs were decorated at a recent dog fight outside of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Contrary to common belief, the goal is not for the dogs to kill one another. The winner is the dog that best controls the other ? usually by holding on to the skin that surrounds the dogs? necks ? which is decided by the old man. And once he has made his pronouncement, the fighting stops immediately.
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I know that the notion of dog-fighting is very controversial. I understand this view ? I have had dogs, and love these animals. But at the same time, the dogs do not die and the owners do not want their animals to get hurt.
In fact, the dog owners are very protective of their animals. After all, owning a fighting dog is an expensive proposition for an Afghan. One dog owner told us that the prices for a fighting dog start at $500 and go as high as $10,000 ? a lot of money anywhere, but particularly in Afghanistan.? The owners seemed to care for their dogs and treated them with respect.
.photoblog600.jpg)
Dmitry Solovyov / NBC News
Dogs fight outside of Kabul, Afghanistan on a Friday in January 2012.
That said, Afghans tend not to be concerned about cruelty to animals. Taking care of their fighting dogs is more about protecting a valuable asset.
After the fights were over, the elderly fight master told us that he has been going to fights since he was a 10-year-old, attending at first with his father. This is a part of Afghan tradition, a way of life and a bit of excitement on Fridays, the day of rest here.
NBC News? Kiko Itasaka contributed to this report.
Source: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10218753-in-afghanistan-its-dog-fight-dog-world
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Inmates, guards clash in Sri Lanka prison, 28 hurt (AP)
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka ? Inmates and guards clashed at a Sri Lankan prison Tuesday, injuring at least 28 people before soldiers restored control after five hours, officials said.
Reporters outside heard gunshots from within the compound in Colombo, and police fired tear gas before order was restored. Prisoners also set fire to the records room.
The inmates were protesting a move to curtail drug smuggling into the prison, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said. He said 24 prisoners and four guards were hurt.
Rohana did not describe the anti-drug measures, but a man who lives near the prison who gave only his first name, Kumara, said there had been disturbances for several days after authorities banned food brought by relatives for the inmates.
Some prisoners were seen on the roof shouting slogans and holding a banner demanding the removal of the prison chief. Some threw stones at vehicles on a nearby main road, forcing police to close the road.
Dr. Prasad Ariyawansa of Colombo National Hospital said most of the injured prisoners had gunshot wounds. Three officers were hit by stones and another had a broken leg, he said, adding that the injuries were not life threatening.
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France passes genocide law, faces Turkish reprisals (Reuters)
PARIS (Reuters) ? France approved on Monday a bill making it illegal to deny the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide, sparking angry retaliation from Turkey which threatened a "total rupture" of diplomatic ties.
Lawmakers in the upper house (Senate) voted 127 to 86 in favor of the draft law outlawing genocide denial after almost six hours of debate. The lower house had backed it in December, prompting Ankara to cancel all economic, political and military meetings with Paris and recall its ambassador for consultations.
The bill had been made more general so that it outlawed the denial of any genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing the Turks. But Ankara condemned the bill's approval and said it would take permanent steps against France, a NATO ally.
The bill now goes to President Nicolas Sarkozy to be ratified. 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.
"Turkey is committed to taking all the necessary steps against this unjust disposition which reduces basic human values and public conscience to nothing," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Turkish ambassador in Paris, Tahsin Burcuoglu, said the vote would lead to a "total rupture" of relations between the two countries. Ankara could seek to downgrade its diplomatic presence in Paris.
"When I say total rupture I include things like I can leave definitively," he told reporters.
"You can also expect that now diplomatic relations will be at the level of charges d'affaires not ambassadors anymore."
Charge d'affaires is the lowest rank of diplomatic representative recognized under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
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 after the end of the war, 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.
"This day will be written in gold not only in the history of friendship between the Armenian and French peoples, but also in the annals of the history of the protection of human rights," said Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edward Nalbandian.
Earlier, 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.
Arinc said Turkey could take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.
It 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
About 200 Franco-Turks protested outside 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 a majority in the upper house, and Sarkozy's UMP party, which put forward the bill, backed the legislation.
A non-binding Senate recommendation last week said the law would be unconstitutional and, after weeks of aggressive Turkish lobbying, there were suggestions the outcome would be closer.
Opponents in the Senate said the law would not encourage the Turks to recognize the Armenian genocide and would do nothing to help relations between the two nations.
"It is an unbearable law which calls into question historical research," said centre-left senator Jacques Mezard.
Sarkozy is expected to ratify the bill 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.
European Union candidate Turkey could not impose economic sanctions on France, given its World Trade Organisation 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; editing by Robert Woodward)
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Monday, January 23, 2012
HRW calls on West to accept Islamist rise to power
Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters seen through the Syrian national flag chant slogans during an anti-regime protest in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)
CAIRO (AP) ? The United States and other Western governments must accept the new reality that Islamists have emerged to fill the power vacuum in the Arab world after a wave of popular uprisings, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report Sunday.
The New York-based group also urged Islamist parties, which have emerged as the biggest winners in recent elections in Tunisia and Egypt and are expected to fare well in Libya, to respect the rights of women and religious minorities, saying they cannot "pick and choose" when it comes to human rights.
Islamist parties are "genuinely popular" in the Arab world, said HRW's executive director, Kenneth Roth, warning that "ignoring that popularity would violate democratic principles."
"Being a political Islamic government should not be a reason to turn a government into a pariah," Roth told reporters in Cairo, where the group released its annual report.
The Arab Spring revolts began in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, deposing or challenging authoritarian rulers as citizens who long seemed incapable or unwilling to rise against decades of repression took to the streets in a stunning awakening.
Since the collapse of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia a year ago, Islamist groups once largely confined to the political sidelines, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, have formed parties and contested parliamentary polls, winning the greatest share of seats.
Even the ultraconservative Salafis, who abstained from politics under Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak, have fared well, winning more than 20 percent of the vote in the country's first post-uprising ballot.
Roth was cautious when asked about concerns about potential human rights violations under Islamist rule. He said that so far, Islamists have said "a lot of right things," but said the true test will be how they deal with the full sweep of human rights once in power.
"These are the big questions," he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, has been most interested in political freedoms, but Roth noted that "it is very difficult to secure political freedom if you are not respecting religious and women rights."
In some ways, the unexpected Arab uprisings have amounted to a slap to the United States and other Western governments, which had supported autocratic regimes that served as bulwarks against Islamists hostile to the West and appeared to offer stability in a volatile region.
"The West backed an array of autocrats as long as they, in turn, supported Western interests," Roth said. "The West is still adjusting to this historic transformation."
He added that the wave of uprisings "show that the forced silence of people living under autocrats should never have been mistaken for popular complacency."
Roth acknowledged Western governments were re-evaluating their policies as new governments emerge in the region.
Western nations have been accused of being selective in supporting the protesters, with NATO airstrikes proving key to the ouster of slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Meanwhile, the West has stood largely on the sidelines amid continued crackdowns in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.
"The people driving the Arab Spring deserve strong international support to realize their rights and to build genuine democracies," Roth said in the group's annual report, which covers some 90 countries. He added that the Arab world is in a "transformative moment," and it will not be an easy one.
Human Rights Watch pointed to five main issues that dominated the relationship between Western governments and their Arab autocratic friends: the threat of political Islam, the fight against terrorism, support for Israel, protection of the oil flow and cooperation in stemming immigration.
Even after the leaders of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia were toppled, Western governments remained hesitant to lean too hard on other shaky authoritarian leaders, the group said. China and Russia acted "obstructionist," using their veto power at the U.N. security council to halt pressure on Syria to stop killings of protesters.
The popular uprisings also have alarmed other repressive regimes such as China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan, where rulers were worried about facing similar fates.
"The worst response to the Arab Spring is the dictatorial world who are living in fear of the precedents set in this region," Roth said. "China greatly deepened its repression in an effort to avoid jasmine rallies."
Saudi Arabia also continues to discriminate against its citizens and workers, according to HRW, which said 9 million women, 8 million foreign workers and 2 million Shiite citizens are either suppressed or lacking rights in the country.
The report called on Morocco to change repressive laws, end police violence and reform its judiciary. The chapter on Morocco focused on police harassment of pro-democracy demonstrators, lack of judicial independence and repression of separatist tendencies in the Western Sahara ? a disputed territory held by the North African kingdom.
Outside the Arab world, the last year did not witness significant progress in countries with poor human rights records, including China and North Korea, according to the report.
Corruption, poverty and repression still prevail in Equatorial Guinea, the tiny, oil-rich nation off the western coast of Africa, which has been ruled by Africa's longest-serving ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the group said.
Eritrea continues to be governed by "one of the world's most repressive governments," and its citizens are subjected to torture, detentions and restrictions on freedom of speech, HRW said.
It also cited Colombia, saying armed conflict in the South American country has displaced millions while paramilitary groups with ties to the security apparatus are on the rise.
Cuba, HRW said, remains "the only country in Latin America that represses virtually all forms of political dissent."
The group also claimed that even member states of the European Union have violated human rights through restrictive asylum and migration policies.
___
Additional reporting by Paul Schemm in Rabat, Morocco.
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Poker players sue over online cheating scheme
By Mike Brunker, msnbc.com
Eight American poker players who say they were victims of a cheating scheme?on the popular Ultimate Bet website are suing a Canadian company and unnamed individuals, alleging they violated U.S. laws aimed at combatting organized crime, defrauded players and?negligently offered?crooked card games.
The lawsuit, filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in California, alleges that the defendants?? 6356095 Canada Inc., formerly known as Excapsa Software Inc., and up to 10 Jane or John Does?? violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations?(RICO) Act, committed fraud and exhibited negligence by enabling the theft of at least $20 million from high-stakes poker players who gambled on the Ultimate Bet website.
It seeks compensation of at least $1.73 million and far more in punitive damages on behalf of the plaintiffs: Daniel Ashman, Brad Booth, Thomas Koral, Greg Lavery, Dave Lizmi, Daniel Smith, Joseph Sanders and Dustin Woolf.
Possibly more important in unraveling the longstanding mystery of the largest known case of online poker cheating, the lawsuit seeks documentation?that Ultimate Bet's shadowy parent companies and regulators with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) have never made public.
The KGC, the regulatory agency of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake in southern Ontario, announced in September 2008 that its investigation found that a single individual ? former World Series of Poker champ Russ Hamilton??? was behind the cheating case.?But many players believe that it was the result of a broader conspiracy.
Among them is Haley Hintze, a former writer and editor of PokerNews and now a poker blogger who is working on a book on the cheating scheme due out by summer. In it, she told msnbc.com on Thursday, she will identify at least three others who directly participated in the theft and attempts to cover it up.
Representatives of Excapsa Software could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit. A spokesman for the GC had no comment on the lawsuit or whether it would respond?to any subpoenas.
Ultimate Bet acknowledged that?$20 million was stolen from players at the site between 2003 and 2008, and that the operators of Ultimate Bet refunded most or all of that money. But the suit alleges that the company ?substantially underestimated? the losses by failing to consider money that wasn?t wagered when the cheaters realized their opponent had them beat.
Read 2008 story?about the case: Poker site cheating plot a high-stakes whodunit
?The key to the massive success of the cheating players is not simply that they were able to profit by bluffing when their opponent was weak or betting when they had the best hand, but that they were able to fold and not play ? whenever their hand was strong (but) not the best,? it argues. ?Thus every time a player had a flush, the cheater would fold a lower flush or straight; every time a player had a full house, the cheaters would fold a flush.?
?There are significant doubts about the methodology of the refunds given to players,? said Alan Engle, a partner in the Meador & Engle law firm in Anaheim Hills, Calif., who filed the suit. ?That?s always been a closed process and there are inherent difficulties in calculating the amount of the theft.?
Engle said the early part of the case will probably?focus on jurisdictional issues, but he said he is confident that he can prevail on any challenges because Ultimate Bet focused its marketing on U.S. bettors.
?Anyone victimized by someone in a foreign nation over the Internet is in no way required to bring a case in a foreign nation,? he said.
Excapsa Software, now known as 6356095 Canada Inc., is currently in the midst of liquidation proceedings in Canada.
Sheldon Krakower, who is handling the corporate dismemberment for XMT Liquidations of Montreal, said he would soon seek guidance from the Ontario court overseeing the case before responding to the lawsuit.
?We will be filing our seventh report to the Ontario court specifically addressing this matter imminently,? he told msnbc.com on Thursday. ?? We need direction from the court on that.?
In a report to Excapsa shareholders in May 2011, Krakower indicated that $7 million U.S. had recently been released to shareholders, and that $4.2 million was being held in escrow until the end of the year.?It is not clear whether that money remains in escrow.
Ultimate Bet, which merged with another online gaming site, Absolute Poker, in 2008 to form the Cereus Poker network, was among a handful of online Poker sites that had their U.S. operations shut down in April of last year when the U.S. Justice Department indicted them on charges of violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act?of 2006, money laundering and other charges. The feds also froze bank accounts holding the bankrolls of U.S. players, many of whom have yet to be repaid.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Alesis brings a pair of new musician-friendly iPad docks to NAMM
Continue reading Alesis brings a pair of new musician-friendly iPad docks to NAMM
Alesis brings a pair of new musician-friendly iPad docks to NAMM originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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