Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/156023129?client_source=feed&format=rss
posted by fernandejackson @ 11:24 PM
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MELBOURNE (Reuters) ? Qantas Airways and its unions appeared before a labor tribunal on Sunday with Australia's prime minister urging an end to the industrial dispute that grounded the airline's entire fleet, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
Qantas said it had canceled 447 flights affecting more than 68,000 passengers since grounding over 100 aircraft around the world on Saturday.
The airline is seeking to bring to a head a prolonged and increasingly bitter battle with its unions over pay, working conditions and plans to set up two new airlines in Asia.
Qantas plans to cut 1,000 jobs and order $9 billion of new Airbus aircraft as part of a makeover to salvage its loss-making international business.
The abrupt escalation in the dispute angered the government and came as an embarrassment for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was hosting a summit of Commonwealth leaders in the western city of Perth, 17 of them booked to fly out on Sunday with Qantas.
"There is no case for this radical overreaction," Assistant Treasurer and former senior union official Bill Shorten told the Australia Broadcasting Corp.
"Sixty-eight thousand Australians and the tourism industry has been grossly inconvenienced by this high-handed ambush of the passenger."
Gillard, criticized for not intervening earlier in the dispute, said the tribunal hearing in Melbourne was needed to quickly resolve the impasse.
"We took this action because we were concerned about the damage to the economy," she told reporters in Perth.
"The government is arguing for an end to the industrial action," she said, adding that most leaders had made alternate flight plans.
BOLD, UNBELIEVABLE DECISION
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce estimated the "bold decision, an unbelievable decision" to lock out workers and ground the fleet would cost the company A$20 million ($21.4 million) a day.
He said the special labor tribunal, which reconvened after a late-night meeting on Saturday, would have to terminate all industrial action before the airline could resume flying.
"We're hoping a determination is made today and that will give us certainty about what we can do and start planning to get the airline back in the air," Joyce told Australia's Sky News.
He indicated Qantas could be flying again on Monday if the Fair Work Australia tribunal ordered the termination of industrial action on Sunday.
Qantas and the unions would then have 21 days to negotiate a settlement before binding arbitration would be imposed.
The lockout is the latest in a rising tide of industrial unrest in Australia as unions increase pressure for a greater share of profits amid tight labor markets and a boom in resource prices.
It threatens to become the most significant disruption to Australian aviation since a dispute in 1989 that lasted for six months and had a significant impact on tourism and other business. Industrial action by engineers cost Qantas around A$130 million in 2008.
Qantas faced angry shareholders and workers at a shareholders' meeting on Friday when the company said the labor dispute since September had caused a dive in forward bookings and was costing it A$15 million a week.
The shareholders backed hefty pay rises to senior Qantas executives, including a A$5 million package for Joyce.
The action sparked an angry response from Australia's Transport Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday.
"I'm extremely disappointed. What's more, I indicated very clearly to Mr Joyce that I was disturbed by the fact that we've had a number of discussions and at no stage has Mr Joyce indicated to me that this was an action under consideration," he said.
Tony Sheldon of the Transport Workers Union said the lockout was cynical and pre-planned.
"It's a company strategy that shareholders should have been told about, that the Australian community should have been told about, not ambushed in the dead of night," he said.
The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) was flabbergasted at the move to ground the fleet, describing it as "brinkmanship in the extreme".
"Alan Joyce is holding a knife to the nation's throat," said Richard Woodward, vice-president of AIPA.
MASSIVE DISRUPTIONS
Qantas check-in desks across Australia were empty on Sunday morning as customers scrambled for alternative travel arrangements. The airline usually flies more than 60,000 people a day.
Australian rival Virgin Blue said it was adding an extra 3,000 seats on its domestic network on Sunday to assist Qantas passengers.
Qantas's decision left many passengers venting their anger after they were stranded in 22 cities around the globe.
"To resolve this at the expense of paying customers on one of the biggest flying days in Australia is quite frankly ... bizarre, unwarranted and unfair to the loyal customers that Australia has," a businessman, who gave his name only as Barry, told Sky TV at Melbourne airport.
This weekend is one of Australia's busiest for travel, with tens of thousands traveling to the hugely popular Melbourne Cup horse race on Tuesday, dubbed "the race that stops the nation".
Shares in the airline have fallen almost 40 percent this year, underperforming the 8 percent fall in the benchmark index.
($1 = 0.933 Australian Dollars)
(Additional reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram and Ed Davies in SYDNEY, Rebekah Kebede and Michael Perry in PERTH, James Grubel in CANBERRA; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
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posted by fernandejackson @ 4:30 PM
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About a year ago, The Wall Street Journal ran an article describing the plight of Americans struggling to rebuild after bankruptcy. The article highlighted Linda Frakes, who filed for bankruptcy after accumulating over $300,000 in credit card debt.
"Ms. Frakes is now unemployed, living on $330 a week of unemployment benefits and odd jobs," the Journal wrote. Frakes "struggled to rent a home and buy a car after bankruptcy. A used-car dealer ultimately gave her financing on a Jaguar."
No one's hardship should be belittled. Becoming unemployed or losing a home aren't just financial problems. They're social and emotional problems that strike at people's sense of being.
But things always need to be kept in perspective. Only in America, I thought to myself after reading the article, can someone be driving a Jaguar and portrayed as living in an impoverished underclass. Context is crucial with these issues.
The recent Occupy Wall Street protests have aimed their message at the income disparity between the 1% richest Americans and the rest of the country. But what happens when you expand that and look at the 1% richest of the entire world? Some really interesting numbers emerge. If there were a global Occupy Wall Street protest, people as well off as Linda Frakes might actually be the target.
In America, the top 1% earn more than $380,000 per year. We are, however, among the richest nations on Earth. How much do you need to earn to be among the top 1% of the world?
$34,000.
That was the finding World Bank economist Branko Milanovic presented in his 2010 book The Haves and the Have-Nots. Going down the distribution ladder may be just as surprising. To be in the top half of the globe, you need to earn just $1,225 a year. For the top 20%, it's $5,000 per year. Enter the top 10% with $12,000 a year. To be included in the top 0.1% requires an annual income of $70,000.
Of course, goods and services cost different amounts in different countries. These numbers only apply to those living in the U.S. To adjust for purchasing power parity, those living in Western Europe should discount their dollar-denominated incomes by 10%-20%, Milanovic says. Those in China and Africa should increase their incomes by 2.5-fold. India, by threefold.
The global distribution figures may seem incomprehensibly low, but consider a couple of statistics you're likely familiar with: According to the U.N., "Nearly half the world's population, 2.8 billion people, earn less than $2 a day." According to the World Bank, 95% of those living in the developing world earn less than $10 a day.
Those numbers are so shocking that you might only think about them in the abstract. But when you consider them in the context of the entire globe, including yourself, the skewing effects they have on the distribution of income is simply massive. It means that Americans we consider poor are among some of the world's most well-off. As Milanovic notes, "the poorest [5%] of Americans are better off than more than two-thirds of the world population." Furthermore, "only about 3 percent of the Indian population have incomes higher than the bottom (the very poorest) U.S. percentile."
In short, most of those protesting in the Occupy Wall Street movement would be considered wealthy -- perhaps extraordinarily wealthy -- by much of the world. Many of those protesting the 1% are, ironically, the 1%.
This isn't to disparage the Occupiers' message. Protestors are, I think, upset because so many of America's top 1% are perceived to have earned their income unjustifiably -- think bankers and bailouts. Most are not against inequality of wealth; they're against inequality of opportunity. As they should be.
But take a step back and put things in perspective. As Milanovic notes, "One's income ... crucially depends on citizenship, which in turn ... means place of birth. All people born in rich countries thus receive a location premium ... all those born in poor countries get a location penalty. It is easy to see that in such a world, most of one's lifetime income will be determined at birth." He continues, "it turns out that place of birth explains more than 60 percent of variability in global incomes." And there are few better places to be born than America -- even if you end up poor by American standards. If there is inequality in opportunity, those born in America are the ones with the unfair advantage.
As author Matt Ridley put it, "Today, of Americans officially designated as 'poor,' 99 percent have electricity, running water, flush toilets, and a refrigerator; 95 percent have a television, 88 percent a telephone, 71 percent a car and 70 percent air conditioning. Cornelius Vanderbilt had none of these." Nor does much of the world.
Food for thought.
Check back every Tuesday and Friday for Morgan Housel's columns on finance and economics.
Fool contributor TMFHousel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
posted by fernandejackson @ 8:31 AM
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MUMBAI?? First, Lady Gaga wore a dress made of meat. Now, how about one made of lettuce?
Indian animal rights activists have asked pop star Lady Gaga to pose in a lettuce dress and embrace vegetarianism during her visit to India this weekend, where she will be part of the star-studded unveiling of the country's first Formula 1 race.
Story: Gaga channels Marilyn Monroe at Clinton's concertLady Gaga, who famously wore a meat dress at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, will be performing at an invitation-only show in a five-star hotel in New Delhi after the race on Sunday.
Updated 53 minutes ago 10/28/2011 9:40:22 PM +00:00 Fans of the show from back when it originally aired were excited for the return of the duo, but there's possibly some more good news.
In a letter to the singer's publicist, PETA India said it hoped she would honor India's reverence for animals by turning vegetarian for the duration of her visit and posing for photos in a lettuce gown to promote the importance of not eating meat.
Story: Bette Midler to Lady Gaga: Take my clothes"If she agrees, we'll make her a dress entirely of lettuce and held together by pins and threads. It will be a full length gown, and we'll make sure it looks sexy," said Sachin Bangera of PETA India.
Updated 53 minutes ago 10/28/2011 9:40:22 PM +00:00 Fans of the show from back when it originally aired were excited for the return of the duo, but there's possibly some more good news.
The dress would be constructed leaf by leaf on the singer's body, taking some five to six hours.
"Someone will be on hand to spray the lettuce with water so that it doesn't wilt," Bangera added.
Story: Angry Birds, Black Swan fly high as Halloween favesEarlier this year, in an interview with Indian chat show host Simi Garewal, Lady Gaga said she would like to soak up the local culture by taking an Indian cooking class.
Excitement has been bubbling all week about the country's first Formula 1 Grand Prix, which is seen as a symbol of India's growing global clout while also highlighting its enormous disparities in wealth.
Which would you rather wear -- a meat dress, or a lettuce dress? Tell us on Facebook.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45075944/ns/today-entertainment/
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posted by fernandejackson @ 1:36 AM
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Appearing on reality shows, it does a body good!
A day after Ricki Lake showed off her newly-trim figure, courtesy of a stint on Dancing with the Stars, American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina has opened up about the steps she's taken to shed 25 pounds in just a couple months.
What's the secret?
It looks like Lauren Alaina's debut album is not the only thing doing well!
"Changing my diet was the big thing," Alaina tells Us Weekly. "I had to learn correct portion control... I eat an egg-white omelet for breakfast, shrimp and veggies for lunch and chicken with asparagus for dinner."
Exercise is also key. Alaina enjoys daily workouts that include crunches, pushups and squats. She's down to a size two and she has 10 more pounds to go until she reaches her goal.
Go get 'em, girl!
[Photos: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via AP Images; Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Paramount]
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/lauren-alaina-weight-loss-pics-before-and-after/
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posted by fernandejackson @ 5:37 PM
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Dr. Paul White, an anesthesiologist and Propofol expert, holds a bottle of Propofol during Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical licenses if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)
Dr. Paul White, an anesthesiologist and Propofol expert, holds a bottle of Propofol during Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical licenses if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)
Dr. Conrad Murray listens as defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan (not pictured) questions witness Dr. Paul White, during Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical licenses if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)
Dr. Conrad Murray listens as defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan (not pictured) questions witness Dr. Paul White, during Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical licenses if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)
Dr. Paul White, an anesthesiologist and Propofol expert, holds up an IV drip during Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical licenses if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)
Dr. Paul White, right, an anesthesiologist and Propofol expert, demonstrates an IV drip with the assistance of defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan during Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical licenses if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Attorneys for Michael Jackson's doctor dropped the bombshell Friday they've been hinting at for months ? an expert opinion accusing the legendary singer of causing his own death.
Dr. Paul White, the defense team's star scientific witness, said Jackson injected himself with a dose of propofol after an initial dose by Dr. Conrad Murray wore off. He also calculated that Jackson gave himself another sedative, lorazepam, by taking pills after an infusion of that drug and others by Murray failed to put him to sleep.
That combination of drugs could have had "lethal consequences," the researcher said.
White showed jurors a series of charts and simulations he created in the past two days to support the defense theory. He also did a courtroom demonstration of how the milky white anesthetic propofol could have entered Jackson's veins in the small dose that Murray claimed he gave the insomniac star.
White said he accepted Murray's statement to police that he administered only 25 milligrams of propofol after a night-long struggle to get Jackson to sleep with infusions of other sedatives.
"How long would that (propofol) have had an effect on Mr. Jackson?" asked defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan.
"If you're talking effect on the central nervous system, 10 to 15 minutes max," White said.
He then said Jackson could have injected himself with another 25 milligrams during the time Murray has said he left the singer's room.
"So you think it was self-injected propofol between 11:30 and 12?" asked Flanagan.
"In my opinion, yes," White said.
The witness, one of the early researchers of the anesthetic, contradicted testimony by Dr. Steven Shafer, his longtime colleague and collaborator. Shafer earlier testified Jackson would have been groggy from all the medications he was administered during the night and could not have given himself the drug in the two minutes Murray said he was gone.
"He can't give himself an injection if he's asleep," Shafer told jurors last week. He called the defense theory of self-administration "crazy."
White's testimony belied no animosity between the two experts, who have worked together for 30 years. Although White was called out by the judge one day for making derogatory comments to a TV reporter about the prosecution case, White was respectful and soft spoken on the witness stand.
When Flanagan made a mistake and called him "Dr. Shafer" a few times, White said, "I'm honored."
The prosecution asked for more time to study the computer program White used before cross-examining him. Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor granted the request, saying he too was baffled by the complicated simulations of Jackson's fatal dose. He recessed court early and gave prosecutors the weekend to catch up before questioning White on Monday.
The surprise disclosure of White's new theory caused a disruption of the court schedule, and the judge had worried aloud that jurors, who expected the trial to be over this week, were being inconvenienced. But the seven men and five women appeared engaged in the testimony and offered no complaints when the judge apologized for the delay.
Prosecutors could call Shafer back during their rebuttal case to answer White's assertions.
Among the key issues is how White calculated that a large residue of propofol in Jackson's body could have come from the small dose that Murray says he administered. Shafer assumed Murray had lied, and he estimated Jackson actually was given 1,000 milligrams of the drug by Murray, who he said left the bottle running into an IV tube under the pull of gravity. White disputed that, saying an extra 25 milligrams self-administered by Jackson would be enough to reach the levels found in his blood and urine.
White also said a minuscule residue of the sedative lorazepam in Jackson's stomach convinced him the singer took some pills from a prescription bottle found in his room. He suggested the combination of lorazepam, another sedative, midazolam, plus the propofol could have killed Jackson.
"It potentially could have lethal consequences," said White. "... I think the combination effect would be very, very profound."
White's testimony was expected to end Murray's defense case after 16 witnesses. It likely will be vigorously challenged by prosecutors, who spent four weeks laying out their case that Murray is a greedy, inept and reckless doctor who was giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid in the singer's bedroom. Experts including Shafer have said propofol is not intended to treat insomnia and should not be given in a home.
White's theory was based on urine and blood levels in Jackson's autopsy, evidence found in Jackson's bedroom and Murray's long interview with police detectives two days after Jackson died while in his care.
While accepting Murray's account of drugs he gave Jackson, the expert's calculations hinged on the invisible quotient: Jackson's possible movements while his doctor was out of the room. With no witnesses and contradictory physical evidence, that has become the key question hanging over the case.
Those who knew the entertainer in his final days offered a portrait of a man gripped by fear that he would not live up to big plans for his comeback concert and worried about his ability to perform if he didn't get sleep. He was plagued by insomnia, and other medical professionals told of his quest for the one drug he believed could help him. He called it his "milk," and it was propofol.
Jurors have now seen it up close as both Shafer and White demonstrated its potential use as an IV infusion.
With White's testimony, the defense sought to answer strong scientific evidence by the prosecution. But they did not address other questions such as allegations that Murray was negligent and acting below the standard of care for a physician.
Flanagan, the defense attorney, produced a certificate from Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas showing Murray was certified to administer moderate anesthesia, referred to as "conscious sedation." However, the document showed several requirements including that the physician "monitor the patient carefully" and "provide adequate oxygenation and ventilation for a patient that stops breathing."
Medical witnesses noted that Murray left his patient alone under anesthesia and did not have adequate equipment to revive him when he found him not breathing.
The coroner attributed Jackson's June 25, 2009, death to "acute propofol intoxication" complicated by other sedatives.
Murray, who had been hired as the singer's personal physician for his "This Is It" tour, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
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posted by fernandejackson @ 10:40 AM
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LONDON (Reuters) ? Spanish singer Placido Domingo marked his 40th anniversary at London's Royal Opera House with a gala concert late Thursday that was greeted with one of the longest and loudest curtain calls the venue has seen in years.
Yet amid the celebrations for the 70-year-old's distinguished career, there came warnings that his like may not be seen again in a time when finding the "next big thing" could deny singers the time to develop into genuine greats.
For one, unlike many other members of the opera royalty, Domingo does not do hissy fits, tantrums and last-minute cancellations.
Instead, it seems, the man with the golden voice and acting abilities appears to be loved just as much for his professionalism and generosity on and off stage.
"You'll never hear anyone in the industry say a bad word about him," said veteran opera photographer Rob Moore, who was at Covent Garden in 1971 when Domingo made his debut there.
The sellout crowd paying up to 225 pounds ($360) a seat saw Domingo perform the final acts of three of his favorite Verdi operas.
In "Otello," he sang the title role written for a tenor, the register that made him one of the most famous singers of his generation with Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras.
Domingo recently switched to baritone, and performed the title roles in the closing scenes of "Rigoletto" and "Simon Boccanegra."
Adrian Hamilton of the Independent newspaper said in his four-star review that Domingo "may have lost the full throat of youth," but argued his dramatic powers were at their height.
"No-one dies like Placido Domingo," he wrote of his on-stage demise in Simon Boccanegra.
"They don't make them like that any more," he added. "And more's the pity. Domingo belongs to Grand Opera in a way that few male singers do today. He's also a real trouper in a way that virtually none are."
"IMPATIENCE" THREATENS FUTURE
Antonio Pappano, music director at the Royal Opera House, who conducted Domingo, said the experience was less nerve-racking than some might expect.
"It's incredibly comforting because ... in his voice there's history and there's time," he said backstage after the performance.
But he also voiced concerns that future Domingos may not be given space to develop.
"We live in a world where everybody is, you know, 'the next young thing' and 'the next prodigy' and the 'next superstar kid', and now you see what a real career is about. It's built over time.
"There's a great impatience in careers. If you've got a beautiful lyrical voice, your voice can grow over time, but if you push it too soon into heavier roles this takes a toll on the voice. We've seen it happen over and over and over again."
DON'T CLAP TOO MUCH
For Domingo, the Royal Opera House was in some ways "unbeatable," not least because audiences did not applaud for too long.
"This house has always been enormous, I mean the warmth of the public, the company like a family," he told Reuters and London's Evening Standard in a backstage interview.
Still dressed in the long gowns of his Simon Boccanegra costume and surrounded by fans and colleagues, he added: "I think the public in London is amazing because you know in some theatres maybe you have anything between half and hour and 40 minutes of curtain calls.
"In London I think what's so absolutely amazing is the way they react and they kind of respect the artist ... 10 minutes of London applause, it is equivalent of any other house's half an hour or 40 minutes because it's really like an explosion."
Sharing the stage with Domingo at the concert were four Covent Garden debutants, underlining the singer's engagement with discovering new talent.
"This is my big thing, to be able to create new artists with my competition and with my young artist programs," Domingo said, speaking in English. "It's really the future when you see these people."
Asked whether he was optimistic about opera's future, he replied: "I believe opera is forever, as long as there is sensibility in people."
And addressing the economic crisis that has put the notoriously expensive art form out of the reach of many fans, he said: "Always there have been crises and this is of course one of the most difficult times.
"I think it's possible to encourage people to work more with co-productions and sometimes you have to cut a little bit the repertoire and the performances, but it is going to be back."
(Editing by Steve Addison)
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posted by fernandejackson @ 7:43 PM
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She just goes by her first name now. But, following a slow, restrained version of "What a Feeling," Drew Ryniewicz can go by anything she pleases.
In a few weeks, it might even be the following title: first-ever X Factor champion.
This 14-year old made one of the best impressions on last night's two-and-a-half hour extravaganza, showing off talent and maturity far beyond her age and prompting mentor Simon Cowell to gush: "This is why I wanted to be back on American TV, to find someone like you."
Watch one of the top 12 perform now:
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/drew-ryniewicz-drops-last-name-blows-away-judges/
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posted by fernandejackson @ 4:44 AM
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Media conglomerate Viacom, the company that owns both Spike TV and MTV, has jumped into the MMA game with the purchase of Bellator Fighting championships. USA Today reports that Viacom now has a majority stake in Bellator, and their fights will start airing on Spike in 2013, moving from MTV2.
Spike had a longtime relationship with the UFC, beginning with "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2005. That will end this December when the 14th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" comes to a close, and the UFC jumps to Fox networks. Spike will have rights to the UFC library until the end of 2012. When that agreement ends, Spike will have Bellator and its tournament-based fights in place.
Bellator began airing preliminary fights on Spike's website earlier this year, and CEO Bjorn Rebney told Cagewriter in a previous interview that he was excited to work with Spike because they already understand MMA.
"We're a great position in that our deal is with MTV networks, so it's that larger corporate umbrella. They control Spike, MTV, MTV2. You never know what the future will bring. The foreseeable future will be what it is, which is MTV2 and Spike.com for the prelims, but Spike is better than anyone in this space. They get it better than anyone."
This is nothing but good news for fans. It ensures that Bellator will be viable for years to come, giving fans more choices for MMA. With the UFC on Fox networks and Bellator with Viacom, there will be a greater volume of fights. Though the move to Spike is more than a year away, it will also give fans the option to watch in HD, a choice that doesn't exist with MTV2.
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? World Series ratings don't reflect quality of match
? Mike Shanahan stumbling after wrong decisions at QB for Redskins
? Video: Stanford primed for run to BCS title game
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posted by fernandejackson @ 1:41 PM
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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/153992731?client_source=feed&format=rss
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posted by fernandejackson @ 9:25 AM
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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/153572645?client_source=feed&format=rss
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posted by fernandejackson @ 10:39 PM
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UPDATE: It?s official, as the Twins announced that they?ve declined Nathan?s option and hope to re-sign him at a lesser salary.
==========
No surprise, but Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that ?all signs point to the Twins declining Joe Nathan?s $12.5 million option for 2012.?
Nathan missed all of 2010 following Tommy John elbow surgery and struggled upon returning this year, but pitched very well down the stretch after a stint on the disabled list.
However, the decision between a $12.5 million option or $2 million buyout is a no-brainer for the Twins even if they?re interested in having Nathan back in 2012.
He threw 29 innings with a 3.38 ERA and 28/5 K/BB ratio from late June through the end of the season, but Nathan?s velocity was below his pre-surgery levels and he?s a 37-year-old entering a market saturated with veteran closers.
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posted by fernandejackson @ 6:15 PM
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SAN FRANCISCO ? IBM Corp. ushered in Virginia Rometty as the company's first-ever female CEO on Tuesday, as Sam Palmisano stepped down from the position.
Palmisano, who turned 60 this year, has been CEO for nearly a decade. He will stay on as chairman. Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, 54, is in charge of IBM's sales and marketing, and has long been whispered about by industry watchers as Palmisano's likely heir.
With Rometty's appointment, effective Jan. 1, women will be in charge of two of the world's largest technology companies.
Last month, Meg Whitman was named CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. Whitman joined eBay Inc. when it was a fledgling startup during the dot-com boom and guided it to become an Internet auction powerhouse and later ran for California governor.
While Whitman's HP is a sprawling company in disarray, Rometty will inherit a finely tuned IBM whose focus on the high-margin businesses of technology services and software has helped it thrive.
IBM's move was unexpected. Palmisano had tamped down earlier talk of his retirement, insisting that he wanted to stay on as chief. In rare public comments, he said last year that he was "not going anywhere" and that there's no formal policy at IBM dictating when a CEO should retire.
Palmisano in a statement said that Rometty has led some of IBM's most important businesses, and was instrumental in the formation of IBM's business services division. She oversaw IBM's $3.5 billion purchase of PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting business in 2002, which is a key element of a strategy that has made IBM a heavily copied company. She is "more than a superb operational executive," Palmisano said.
"She brings to the role of CEO a unique combination of vision, client focus, unrelenting drive, and passion for IBMers and the company's future," Palmisano said. "I know the board agrees with me that Ginni is the ideal CEO to lead IBM into its second century."
Investors had liked the idea of Palmisano staying at the helm.
IBM shares fell $1.59, or 0.9 percent, to $178.77 in extended trading, after the change was announced.
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posted by fernandejackson @ 7:31 AM
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? NCAA President Mark Emmert says he supports a proposal to allow conferences to increase grants to student athletes by $2,000, "to more closely approach" the full cost of attending college, beyond the athletic scholarships athletes receive for tuition, fees, room, board and books.
Emmert told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics on Monday that the proposal will be finalized this week and he'll ask the NCAA Division I Board of Directors to support it. He noted that student athletes have limited opportunities to work outside the classroom and playing fields, and that the current model of athletic scholarship hasn't changed for 40 years.
Emmert says he'll also ask the board to allow colleges and universities to provide multiyear grants, instead of year-to-year scholarships.
"This week, I'll be asking the board to support a proposal to allow conferences ? not mandate anyone, but allow conferences, not individual institutions ? to increase the value of an athletic grant in aid to more closely approach the full cost of attendance," Emmert said.
"We are going to create a model that would allow ? probably ... up to $2,000 in addition to" tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies.
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posted by fernandejackson @ 3:05 AM
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For decades computer scientists have strived to build machines that can calculate faster than the human brain and store more information. The contraptions have won. The world?s most powerful supercomputer, the K from Fujitsu, computes four times faster and holds 10 times as much data. And of course, many more bits are coursing through the Internet at any moment. Yet the Internet?s servers worldwide would fill a small city, and the K sucks up enough electricity to power 10,000 homes. The incredibly efficient brain consumes less juice than a dim lightbulb and fits nicely inside our head. Biology does a lot with a little: the human genome, which grows our body and directs us through years of complex life, requires less data than a laptop operating system. Even a cat?s brain smokes the newest iPad?1,000 times more data storage and a million times quicker to act on it.?
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=cb35475c1eba715a10093ca60164ad18
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posted by fernandejackson @ 4:18 PM
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posted by fernandejackson @ 11:50 AM
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NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Lawyers for the Brooklyn man accused of butchering an 8-year-old boy on his first walk home alone from an Orthodox Jewish day camp said on Monday they believe his signed confession was coerced and will pursue an insanity defense.
Levi Aron, 35, is charged with kidnapping, suffocating and dismembering Leiby Kletzky in July. His lawyers say he is insane and should therefore be found not guilty.
"My opinion is you could get this guy to admit he shot (John F.) Kennedy if you spent a little bit of time with him," Howard Greenberg, a lawyer defending Aron, told reporters after a brief hearing at the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York.
Greenberg in a later interview told Reuters that he thought his client was "crazy." Re recounted a meeting in which Aron "sat in a chair and didn't move a muscle for about 30 minutes," and said he found Aron's signed confession dubious, noting it was written in "police Mandarin and lingo."
Aron appeared at Monday's hearing via a video feed, which showed him sitting virtually motionless in jail. He spoke only to confirm that he could hear the audio feed from the courtroom.
Aron was arrested on July 13 after a search by police and members of the local Orthodox community led to his apartment in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, where parts of Kletzky's dismembered body were found in the freezer, according to prosecutors.
He has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation ruled that Aron was fit to stand trial. At the time, Aron's lawyers said they were considering an insanity defense and on Monday, they confirmed that was the defense they would pursue.
Arom has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held without bail.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's office declined to comment on the defense strategy.
Dov Hikind, an assemblyman whose district includes Borough Park and who attended the court hearing, said the Kletzky family was upset at the thought Aron might be found not guilty.
"The message to the family and to everyone else is, 'Don't hold it against Levi Aron, it wasn't him, it was the devil that did it,' -- that kind of thing is extremely painful," he said in an interview.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111024/us_nm/us_crime_boy
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posted by fernandejackson @ 1:10 AM
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NAIROBI, Kenya?? Gunmen abducted a 32-year-old female American aid worker in northern Somalia on Tuesday along with a Danish and a Somali colleague as their convoy headed to the airport. The kidnappings come only weeks after four Europeans were seized by suspected Somali gunmen in neighboring Kenya.
A self-proclaimed Somali pirate said that pirates had captured the three. The captors would not harm the three but will want a ransom for their release, he said. The claim could not be independently verified.
The three employees work for the Danish Demining Group, whose experts have been clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.
"As a first priority, we have been concentrating on the ongoing investigations. We are keeping close contact with the family members, who are deeply concerned, just as we are," said Ann Mary Olsen, head of the Danish Refugee Council's international department.
Activities of the Danish Refugee Council, which runs the Danish Demining Group, have been suspended in the area. The group provided no other details and asked media outlets "to respect the need for confidentiality as investigations are ongoing."
A Nairobi-based security official said the demining group was traveling in a three-car convoy, including one vehicle of armed guards, but that the guards did not resist the kidnapping.
The three are believed to be on their way to a former pirate stronghold on the Somali coast, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Ahmed Mohamed, a police officer in the Somali town of Galkayo, said the aid workers had been heading to the airport when they crossed into a southern section of the city that is under clan control. The northern section of Galkayo is under the control of the semiautonomous region of Puntland.
Two Nairobi-based officials said the American woman is 32 and the Danish man is 60. The woman is a former school teacher, one official said.
Bile Hussein, the self-proclaimed pirate, said the three were abducted with the help of "insiders." Hussein has provided reliable information about pirate activities in Somalia to The Associated Press in the past. He said that capturing ships off East Africa is becoming harder ? ships are using stronger self-defense measures ? so pirates are looking for other ways to earn ransoms.
"They are now on the way to Gan town, and we shall treat them humanely and kindly. Our aim is all about a ransom, not harming them," Hussein said.
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Christian Friis Bach, Denmark's minister for development cooperation, told Danish broadcaster DR that the demining group was working to help Somalis.
"That's why it's both sad and tragic that they have been struck by this kidnapping, and I hope their strong network and a collected effort also by the Foreign Ministry can resolve the situation quickly.," he said.
The kidnapping comes only weeks after the seizure of two women working for Doctors Without Borders from a refugee camp in neighboring Kenya, as well as the kidnappings of two European tourists from Kenya's coast ? one of whom later died. Somali gunmen were suspected in those attacks.
Kenya has sent at least 1,600 forces into southern Somalia to attack al-Qaida-linked militants in response to those kidnappings, though it's not clear whether the al-Shabab fighters were responsible for the abductions.
The northern semiautonomous province of Puntland is generally considered more stable than most of the rest of Somalia, which is riven between pirate gangs, Islamist insurgents and militias and the weak U.N.-backed government in the capital. It has not had a functioning central government for the last 20 years.
___
Associated Press writers Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia and Karl Ritter in Stockholm, Sweden contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45030663/ns/world_news-africa/
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posted by fernandejackson @ 8:40 PM
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Let?s face it; most of us have spent a decent amount of money on our car. Protecting it to ensure that it lasts as long as possible and stays looking like new should be a top priority. But not everyone is fortunate enough to have a garage or carport to keep his or her car, truck, SUV, or van protected while it?s parked. If you?re not protecting your car from damaging elements like rain, snow, sun, bird droppings, or tree sap then you?re neglecting your vehicle.
One of the easiest ways to ensure that your vehicle is always protected is by using a car cover. Many people don?t realize that car covers are not only available for cars. Many companies create and sell truck covers, SUV covers, and van covers in addition to car covers. This form of protection is a small investment to make for the level of protection you receive. Auto covers come in many different types, sizes, cuts, and prices and each one protects differently. Multi-layer one?s provide the most protection while single-layer one?s are great for vehicles that are often stored indoors. Waterproof one?s are typically manufactured with ultrasonically welded seams to prevent moisture from penetrating the barrier. Reflective one?s are a great option for vehicles in desert regions that see a lot of sun.
For people who have spent lots of money on their vehicles, you might want to consider purchasing a custom-fit auto cover from a company like Covercraft. Custom auto covers are manufactured to a vehicle?s exact specifications. If your budget doesn?t allow for the higher prices associated with custom vehicle covers, consider a semi-custom vehicle cover. Semi-custom vehicle covers are less expensive than custom-fit vehicle covers but still offer the same great protection while sacrificing fit slightly. Finally, if you?re looking for a truly inexpensive solution, consider a universal or ready-fit auto cover. Universal ready-fit auto covers are typically ?one size fits all? so you might experience pooling around the base of your vehicle. But at the end of the day, even a universal ready-fit car cover is better than no car cover at all.
So no matter what type of element you?re trying to protect against, one thing is certain. Investing in a car cover, truck cover, SUV cover, or van cover is an easy and affordable way to begin protecting your vehicle from the damaging elements it?s exposed to every day.
Curtis Phillips is an automotive industry veteran and the current VP of Sales for Select Covers. Select Covers owns and operates a network of online stores including BuyAutoCovers.com which is a leading online retailer of custom and semi-custom car covers, truck covers, SUV covers, and van covers.
Article source: http://goarticles.com/article/Automotive-Essentials-How-to-Protect-Your-Car-With-a-Car-Cover/5554179/
Source: http://www.articles-digest.com/automotive-essentials/
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posted by fernandejackson @ 10:09 AM
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LOS ANGELES ? CBS News correspondent Robert C. Pierpoint ? who covered six presidents, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination and the Iranian hostage crisis in a career that spanned more than four decades ? died Saturday in California, his daughter said. He was 86.
Pierpoint, who retired in 1990, died of complications from surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Marta Pierpoint told The Associated Press. He had broken his hip Oct. 12 at the Santa Barbara Retirement Community where he lived with his wife Patricia.
After making his name covering the Korean War ? a role he reprised when he provided his radio voice for the widely watched final episode of "MASH" in 1983 ? Pierpoint became a White House correspondent during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, a position he would hold through the Jimmy Carter administration.
"He lived quite an amazing life," said Marta Pierpoint. She said her father was most proud of his coverage of the Korean War, Watergate and most of all the Kennedy assassination, an event that would still bring him to tears in an interview with his hometown paper three weeks before his death.
"I didn't like what the priest said about a time to live and a time to die," Robert Pierpoint told the Santa Barbara News-Press in an Oct. 2 story. "It was not Kennedy's time to die."
Pierpoint said his "one bad mistake" the day of the assassination was not revealing that Jacqueline Kennedy had blood on her pink suit when she walked out of her husband's hospital room.
"I didn't describe the blood, and I should have," he said. "I was in shock."
Pierpoint said of the six administrations he covered, Kennedy's was the most fun.
"He was not afraid of the press," Pierpoint told the News-Press. "He had been a reporter. He knew everyone in the White House press corps by name and reputation and joked with us. He was comfortable in his own skin."
Pierpoint said his first White House assignment, the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration starting in 1957, was not as easy. He said Eisenhower was "a relatively good president, but he wasn't a good communicator. I didn't feel that I did a good job, but they kept me on."
CBS certainly did keep Pierpoint on at the White House, for 23 years, a period he chronicled in his 1981 memoir, "At the White House."
He moved to covering the State Department in 1980, and ended his career on the show "Sunday Morning" with Charles Kuralt.
Born May 16, 1925, in Redondo Beach, Calif., Pierpoint joined the Navy in 1943 but didn't see action. He graduated from the University of Redlands, where his papers and archives are now kept, in 1948.
While a graduate student at the University of Stockholm he began work as a stringer for CBS, and found his calling. His coverage of an attempted Communist coup in Finland won him attention, and he was sent to Tokyo as a full-time correspondent, which led to his coverage of the entire Korean War.
Pierpoint shifted as the news business did from radio to television, and appeared on the first episode of Edward R. Murrow's "See It Now" in 1951, eventually becoming one of the close Murrow associates known as "Murrow's Boys."
Before his career was over he had won two Emmys with other reporters, including one for his work on a 1989 banking scandal just before his retirement.
During retirement he was a frequent speaker and frequently went fishing in Montana.
He also didn't hesitate to give his opinion on the directions the White House went after he left, saying recently that he was not impressed with President Obama.
"He's not a fighter. He surrenders to Congress before it's necessary," Pierpoint told the News-Press. "Lyndon Johnson was a fighter. He fought for what he believed in. He was wrong on Vietnam, but right on civil rights."
In addition to Patricia, he is survived by four children, including actor Eric Pierpoint, who has appeared "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," and "Liar, Liar" with Jim Carrey.
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posted by fernandejackson @ 6:44 PM
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