Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/nokia-c2-new-three-urgent-london-25/93785517
fred davis fracking fracking drosselmeyer drosselmeyer pacific standard time local time
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Verizon to begin charging $2 fee for online and phone payments
Our sibling site Android Central has confirmed that, beginning January 15th of 2012, Verizon Wireless will start charging a $2 fee for bills paid online or over the...
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/bZBZzWOoS8Q/story01.htm
latkes ohio state football kathy griffin how to make it in america how to make it in america schweddy balls schweddy balls
Mitt Romney In Iowa: 'Why Don't We Just Caucus Right Now?'
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa -- Mitt Romney wrapped up the last of three events in Iowa Wednesday by permitting himself a rare moment of giddiness.
"This is going to be so much fun," he told an audience of roughly 600 Iowans in a warehouse. "Why don't we just caucus right now?"
Wednesday was a very good day for Romney, and his comment reflected both excitement about a growing sense of enthusiasm for his candidacy as well as potential anxiety about whether there is enough time between now and Jan. 3 for Iowa Republicans to change their minds and disappoint him like they did in 2008.
It appears, however, that the former Massachusetts governor is not likely to be embarrassed here the way he was four years ago. Instead, the state may be a major stepping stone to Romney clinching the Republican nomination. A CNN/Time poll out Wednesday afternoon showed Romney leading the field with 25 percent in Iowa, up from 20 percent a month ago.
The primary process has chewed up Romney's rivals one by one, leaving him perched at the head of the pack with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who may still do very well in Iowa but who will likely never be accepted by the majority of Republicans because of his views on foreign policy. Paul has also come under fire recently for racist comments that appeared in newsletters that bore his name in the '80s and '90s.
Romney was greeted by large crowds at his stops on Wednesday. Romney aides said they expected 150 people at an event on Tuesday night in Davenport only to see 500 people show up, and that each event has been bigger than they expected. A 7 a.m. breakfast in Muscatine was attended by roughly 300 people, a lunch time visit to Clinton had to be split into two venues because 400 people came to see Romney and his wife Ann, and then his evening town hall was standing-room only.
"We can feel the enthusiasm," Ann Romney said in Clinton.
After Romney's appearance in a North Liberty plastics molding factory, Pat Novak, a 56-year-old process engineer, said he was going to caucus for Romney after going back and forth between him and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
"I'm a big Perry fan," Novak said. "But I think Mitt is now ready to be president and Mr. Perry needs a little more time."
Novak said he was "confident now that [Romney] is a conservative."
Doug Vincent, a 57-year-old logistics manager, said he also had been on the fence, but that seeing Romney in person "pushed it over the edge."
"I feel much better about him. I can get behind him now," Vincent said. "I just feel like when he speaks he's speaking from the heart. It's not BS."
Romney was originally scheduled to leave Iowa before the weekend, and it was thought he might not return even for the caucuses. But now he will go to New Hampshire on Friday and return to Iowa on Saturday, and then stay in the state all the way through Tuesday.
Romney was asked Wednesday whether he felt there was any danger in allowing expectations to grow for him to win Iowa. He dismissed the thought.
"We're pretty late in the process," Romney said, appearing to argue that there is not much time for Iowans to turn on him.
"I'm not predicting a win here," he said. "I feel like it's going to be a good strong showing."
Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom echoed his boss, and reminded of the continued possibility of a drawn-out primary lasting all the way to the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida, next August.
"We hope to do well in Iowa but we are not projecting how we're going to finish," Fehrnstrom told The Huffington Post. "We understand the road to Tampa is a long one. We will win some contests, and lose some. At the end of the day, we expect to have the 1,144 delegates we need to win the nomination."
Romney has waited until very late in the process to go all-out for a win in Iowa. If he were not leading in the polls, and if former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was still surging, then Romney would not be spending much time here. The Romney campaign has never seen Iowa as a likely success for them given the state's very conservative base, made up in large part by evangelical Christians who have shown some uneasiness with Romney's Mormon faith in the past.
Romney is expected to win New Hampshire on Jan. 10, and his campaign has prepared to make that their firewall in the event that Romney was eclipsed in Iowa by a surging conservative. But as of now, the candidate surging from the right flank is former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who could do very well here in Iowa but would have a very long way to go to convince most Republicans he is ready for a showdown with President Obama.
As Iowa is now within reach, however, Romney could end the presidential primary election quickly with back-to-back wins, provided he does very well in South Carolina on Jan. 21, or wins it outright.
Romney tried to keep himself in reserve, calling the idea of successive Iowa and New Hampshire wins "delightful but not necessarily realistic."
"I can't possibly allow myself to think in such optimistic terms," he said.
Quite soon, he may not have to use such self-restraint.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/mitt-romney-iowa-caucus_n_1173705.html
online black friday deals nfl scores nfl scores college football scores arkansas razorbacks arkansas football maggie daley
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Stevie Wonder Driving Golf Cart & Brooke Burns Bikini Bonanza [Afternoon Dump]
Speak Your Mind
Tell us what you're thinking...and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar! Click here to cancel reply.
veteran aircraft carrier apocalypse now happy veterans day happy veterans day brian eno tomb of the unknown soldier
Programe Microsoft Excel con Visual Basic para Aplicaciones
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
snapdragon snapdragon kim jong ill dead wedding crashers next iron chef next iron chef aquamarine
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sony Exits LCD Joint Venture With Samsung
S-LCD Co., the joint venture for making LCDs for TVs between Sony and Samsung, will soon be history. The Japanese company today announced it will exit the 50-50 venture by selling its share to the Korean rival for US$940 million, after seven years of collaboration. After inking a final agreement, Samsung is ready to absorb the South Korea-based joint venture into its existing LCD business and turn it into a 100% subsidiary. Samsung's LCD business will then be the second-largest in the world by revenue, trailing only LG Display.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/18WnEa1MBPw/
super committee walmart black friday ad 2011 nl mvp nl mvp verlander verlander justin verlander
[WTS] Wedding/Baby Shower Website - 100% Unique Articles - $1 Start - NO RESERVE....
Hello Everyone,
I'm selling my Wedding/Baby Shower Website....the articles were written by my girlfriend and are 100% unique. The site wasn't really developed or completed, so thus we are selling it with no Reserve.
Auction Starts at $1, Good Luck Everyone!~
URL: http://www.showersbysofia.com
Source: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=2360667&goto=newpost&r=3f37
barney frank 2012 grammy nominations stephen sondheim los angeles news grammys 2011 mike leach mike leach
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Analysis: China investment wave unlikely to swamp EU (Reuters)
VENICE (Reuters) ? The sign in a boutique selling glass hand-crafted on the Venetian island of Murano betrays an uncertain grasp of English. But the owner is very sure who is to blame for the tough times confronting the 700-year-old local glassmaking industry.
"Everything in this shop is not made in China," it proclaims. A few doors away, imported Murano lookalikes sell for much less. To the untrained eye, they appear identical.
With Europe drowning in debt and flirting with recession, China's influence can only rise further. Euro zone governments would love Beijing to plough more of its $3.2 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves into their bonds.
China is also likely to chip in with a loan to the International Monetary Fund to provide a financing backstop in case Italy and Spain are shut out of the bond markets.
Last week's $3.5 billion acquisition by China Three Gorges Corp of the Portuguese government's stake in utility EDP (EDP.LS) is also a sign of things to come.
Financiers turn instinctively to fast-growing China as they try to flush out buyers for assets that are going on the block as European governments, banks and companies pay down debt.
But, despite Chinese leaders' expressing interest in diversifying the country's overseas asset base away from government paper, analysts do not expect a sea change in China's traditionally cautious approach to expanding in Western markets. Africa and Asia are likely to remain China's top targets for now.
"There are going to be opportunities, but we're not going to see China buying up Europe," said Thilo Hanemann, research director at the Rhodium Group, an investment advisory and strategic planning firm in New York.
TREADING SOFTLY
There are many reasons for the wariness.
Lengthy delays in obtaining the approval of regulators in Beijing put Chinese companies at a disadvantage in mergers and acquisitions when the seller wants a quick deal. Companies lack the management skills to integrate overseas acquisitions. And, perhaps most importantly, prospects are much brighter at home than they are in Europe.
"If you compare the rates of growth in China and in Europe, are you sensible buying into a brand that's seen its best years of growth? said Edward Radcliffe, a partner in Shanghai with Vermillion, an M&A advisory boutique that focuses on cross-border China deals.
Still, he said some larger Chinese groups, both state-owned and private, had started to explore opportunities in Europe and the United States.
The 27-member European Union is China's biggest export market. But foreign direct investment (FDI) has badly lagged, totaling $8 billion by the EU's reckoning or $12 billion on China's count - less than 0.2 percent of total FDI in the EU, according to Rhodium.
The firm has kept its own tally since 2003, but its total of $15 billion through mid-2011, though greater than the official data, is still small.
Hanemann said he was sure 2012 would see deals in Europe in technology and consumer products to enable Chinese firms to climb the value ladder and build their domestic market share.
"Ultimately, Chinese companies have to become true multinationals, like Japanese and Korean firms before them," he said. "Over the longer term, there's no reason to believe that China is going to take a different path."
But he was skeptical whether most Chinese companies would be able to seize the opportunities that were likely to crop up in the coming year. To do so, they would have to manage public perceptions in Europe and obtain quick regulatory approval at home.
"There are a lot of deals that the Chinese cannot take on. If the Chinese government sees a company making a bid for troubled assets that risks provoking a political backlash in Europe, I think they'd step in to make sure there's no embarrassment for the Chinese side."
POLITICAL OVERLAY
The failure of Chinese firms to buy Saab, the Swedish car maker that was declared bankrupt last week, was a telling example of the difficulties facing Chinese investors, Hanemann said.
But the picture is not black and white. After all, Volvo, another Swedish car maker, was successfully acquired by a Chinese rival from Ford Motor Co in 2010.
Christine Lambert-Goue, managing director in Beijing at Invest Securities China, said companies were not looking mainly for outright acquisitions but for brands, patents and technology that would bolster their position at home.
"Companies are only ready to pay for assets from Europe that will enable them to gain market share in China," she said.
Investment in Europe will take off eventually, but a deteriorating political climate represents an obstacle in the short term, said Jonathan Holslag of the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies.
The EU, like the United States, is talking tough about Chinese "state capitalism" and is crafting a more assertive trade policy to counter what it sees as a playing field tilted against foreign companies.
For its part, Beijing smells protectionism in the air in response to its growing economic clout.
"The European Union is disappointed with the reluctance of Beijing to open its economy further, whereas Beijing complains about Europe being too reluctant to share its knowledge or to allow Chinese investors to expand their presence in important sectors like infrastructure," Holslag said.
And if Europe fails to snap out of its economic malaise, the risk is that a super-competitive China will be made a scapegoat.
"The more governments are confronted with high unemployment figures, the more we will start to see China as a challenger rather than as a savior," Holslag said.
college football bowl schedule bcs double mastectomy 2011 bowl schedule bcs games kennedy center honors bcs championship
Mexico extradites suspect in US consulate slaying (AP)
MEXICO CITY ? Mexico says it has extradited another suspect in the 2010 killing of a U.S. consulate employee, her husband and another man to the United States.
Suspect Joel Abraham Caudillo faces charges of racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
Caudillo is alleged a member of the Barrio Azteca gang, which allegedly killed consular employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton and her husband in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.
The Attorney General's Office said Monday that Caudillo was extradited Dec. 20.
It said he allegedly helped cover up or destroy evidence in the killings.
A U.S. grand jury indicted a total of 35 gang members in the crime, almost all of whom have been arrested.
bj penn roasted pumpkin seeds roasted pumpkin seeds pumpkin seed recipe mark madoff disturbia ufc results
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Musical Oasis: Christmas Eve NFL Action
The Musical Oasis: Christmas Eve NFL Action
SOP Radio Network is known for its original programming that blends a mix of music, mentoring and magic. Djelloul Marbrook`s Hot Copy is among the Network`s hottest destinations for advice and insight into the field of journalism. Need a personal trainer? Check into John Basedow`s Fitness Tips and you`ll find inspiration and motivation mixed with sanity and support. Just for fun, visit Crazy World Now where you can escape to a world of irresistible nonsense.
Playlist:
1- `Isolation` Alterbridge
2-` Public Enemy No.1` Megadeth
3- `Face to the Floor` Chevelle
4- `Born to Kill` Airbourne
5- `Hell of a Time` Hellyeah
6- `War is the Answer` Five Finger Deathpunch
?
Source: http://thesop.org/story/20111224/the-musical-oasis-christmas-eve-nfl-action.html
“do a barrel roll†oakland texas judge texas judge tom brokaw maria shriver andy irons
Educational Consulting Job Opportunities posted an update: Educational Consulting Job Opportunities Jobs 1 to 25 of 2236th Educational Consultant looking for job? See [...]
Educational Consulting Job Opportunities posted an update: ? 4 hours, 31 minutes ago ? View
Educational Consulting Job Opportunities
Jobs 1 to 25 of 2236th Educational Consultant looking for job? See updated.. We are looking for behavioral specialist consultant to our team as an independent.. .. IECA is an Association of educational consultants, students and families to assist with educational decisions.. . c0ffeded1d
Summer opportunities .. Looking for jobs education jobs employment career in education? Search job training career employment as Education Consultant Jobs, education .. Superior clinical research education and training advice, since 1979.. Barnett supports its customers the best of their research and development .. Jobs 1 to 10 of 181815th Hobbies: Educational consultant, clinical educator ? EDUCATION ? SAN.. Education Sales Consultants are to be in the situation.. .. Job Description We are seeking an experienced Sungard Higher Education Banner Consultant looking for a 3-6 month contract opportunity in Chicago.. The Sungard Banner .
Educational Consulting Job Opportunities
Jobs in Lebanon, in the MENA region and internationally over several fields.. Meet the top talent and see how you?re connected member of LinkedIn to see upwards Educational counseling professionals, and groups like these.. Search Skills \\ \\ u0026 .. kdctrs in Peoria, Arizona.. Updated 1 month.. Are educational consulting jobs growing or declining? ? 2 replies .. Jobs in higher education research and consulting .. If you are a very experienced teacher or a highly skilled entrepreneurs or managers in education, you can use your skills as an educational work .. For people who are interested in education and training Jobs Education Consulting can be an exciting career opportunity.. Education Consultants can work in .. The main task Educational Consultant designed.. The dynamic world of educational consulting has become increasingly important, and opens up new career opportunities.. .. Vacancies Department of Elementary and Education Directorate is to recruit qualified candidates.. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary .. December 17, 2009.
entry level testing jobsmanager in training jobsjob outlook elementary teacherspierce county washington jobstop 10 worst jobs in americaharrison ar jobs availableprayers for a jobbuilding surveyors job opportunities
Source: http://jupaco.com/activity/p/4249/
saints tim hightower tim hightower waldorf school waldorf school world series game 4 world series game 4
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Researchers identify previously unknown gene fusion event in lung cancer
Smoking is a well-known risk factor for lung cancer, but nearly 25% of all lung cancer patients have never smoked. In a study published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have identified a previously unknown gene fusion event that could explain a significant proportion of lung cancer cases in never-smokers, and might serve as a target for new therapies.
Recent strides have been made to identify gene mutation events driving cases of lung adenocarcinoma in never-smokers, but the underlying genetic events leading to these lung cancers still remain unknown in a large number of cases. In this report, using a combination of genome sequencing and RNA sequencing, a team of researchers in South Korea has characterized a previously unknown gene fusion event in a case of lung adenocarcinoma striking a 33-year-old Korean male with no history of smoking or cancer within his family.
The group sequenced and compared the genome of the patient's cancer and normal tissue (blood), but they found no mutations in known-cancer related genes, such as EGFR, KRAS, and EML4-ALK mutations, that were likely to explain this case. Delving deeper, they also sequenced RNA isolated from the cancer cells, which when analyzed, can reveal gene rearrangement events that are difficult to detect by genome sequencing and may be driving the cancer.
eddie long ncaa bowl schedule ncaa bowl schedule occupy dc trisomy 18 oklahoma state new orleans saints
South Central Kansas Medical Center board takes no debt action
The South Central Kansas Medical Center Board of Trustees took no action Thursday on the issue of the remaining debt from a $1.4 million general obligation bond project 10 years ago to upgrade the former hospital facility.
South Central Kansas Medical Center left roughly $98,000 in unpaid debt when it abandoned the former hospital building and terminated its lease agreement with the city to occupy the facility.
SCKMC has paid the city about $940,000 in bond and interest on the project since 2002, hospital officials have said.
As for the remaining debt, the city has made arrangements to pay it off by the end of the year, according to City Manager Nick Hernandez.
For more of this story, see Friday's Traveler or subscribe to the e-edition.The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of arkcity.net.
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
Source: http://www.arkcity.net/articles/2011/12/24/news/city_news/doc4ef4016d00fef125116969.txt
bernie fine matt leinart cyber monday 2011 cyber monday 2011 turkey pot pie turkey pot pie southern university
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Samsung's Korean blog explains why the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab didn't make the ICS cut
And so begins the long list of Android devices that won't officially be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung's "Samsung Tomorrow" blog, in Korean, has explained why two of 2010's top devices, the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab, won't be getting official updates to ICS. The short version: older hardware and a slew of customizations, including Samsung's own TouchWiz.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, folks, seeing as how Samsung just announced its initial round of ICS updates, and neither the Galaxy S nor the Galaxy Tab were on it. And neither device made our list of ICS update predictions, either. It sucks, but not every phone will receive and official update.
Your best bet will be the custom ROM route, and we guarantee you, you will see them.
Source: Samsung Tomorrow (translated)
| |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/3jwVgNfibgo/story01.htm
costco kmart urban meyer ohio state traffic report traffic report opensky dia frampton
How to Jump Ship from GoDaddy to a Better Web Host and Registrar [Web Hosting]
ron paul 2012 extremely loud and incredibly close zynga stock zynga stock sam houston state university sam houston state university bradley manning
Friday, December 23, 2011
Neuroscientists demonstrate crucial advances in 'brain reading'
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
At UCLA's Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology, researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity. They then employ computerized machine learning (ML) methods to study these patterns and identify the cognitive state ? or sometimes the thought process ? of human subjects. The technique is called "brain reading" or "brain decoding."
In a new study, the UCLA research team describes several crucial advances in this field, using fMRI and machine learning methods to perform "brain reading" on smokers experiencing nicotine cravings.
The research, presented last week at the Neural Information Processing Systems' Machine Learning and Interpretation in Neuroimaging workshop in Spain, was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is interested in using these method to help people control drug cravings.
In this study on addiction and cravings, the team classified data taken from cigarette smokers who were scanned while watching videos meant to induce nicotine cravings. The aim was to understand in detail which regions of the brain and which neural networks are responsible for resisting nicotine addiction specifically, and cravings in general, said Dr. Ariana Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow in the Integrative Neuroimaging Technology lab and the study's lead author.
"We are interested in exploring the relationships between structure and function in the human brain, particularly as related to higher-level cognition, such as mental imagery," Anderson said. "The lab is engaged in the active exploration of modern data-analysis approaches, such as machine learning, with special attention to methods that reveal systems-level neural organization."
For the study, smokers sometimes watched videos meant to induce cravings, sometimes watched "neutral" videos and at sometimes watched no video at all. They were instructed to attempt to fight nicotine cravings when they arose.
The data from fMRI scans taken of the study participants was then analyzed. Traditional machine learning methods were augmented by Markov processes, which use past history to predict future states. By measuring the brain networks active over time during the scans, the resulting machine learning algorithms were able to anticipate changes in subjects' underlying neurocognitive structure, predicting with a high degree of accuracy (90 percent for some of the models tested) what they were watching and, as far as cravings were concerned, how they were reacting to what they viewed.
"We detected whether people were watching and resisting cravings, indulging in them, or watching videos that were unrelated to smoking or cravings," said Anderson, who completed her Ph.D. in statistics at UCLA. "Essentially, we were predicting and detecting what kind of videos people were watching and whether they were resisting their cravings."
In essence, the algorithm was able to complete or "predict" the subjects' mental states and thought processes in much the same way that Internet search engines or texting programs on cell phones anticipate and complete a sentence or request before the user is finished typing. And this machine learning method based on Markov processes demonstrated a large improvement in accuracy over traditional approaches, the researchers said.
Machine learning methods, in general, create a "decision layer" ? essentially a boundary separating the different classes one needs to distinguish. For example, values on one side of the boundary might indicate that a subject believes various test statements and, on the other, that a subject disbelieves these statements. Researchers have found they can detect these believe?disbelieve differences with high accuracy, in effect creating a lie detector. An innovation described in the new study is a means of making these boundaries interpretable by neuroscientists, rather than an often obscure boundary created by more traditional methods, like support vector machine learning.
"In our study, these boundaries are designed to reflect the contributed activity of a variety of brain sub-systems or networks whose functions are identifiable ? for example, a visual network, an emotional-regulation network or a conflict-monitoring network," said study co-author Mark S. Cohen, a professor of neurology, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA's Staglin Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and a researcher at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.
"By projecting our problem of isolating specific networks associated with cravings into the domain of neurology, the technique does more than classify brain states ? it actually helps us to better understand the way the brain resists cravings," added Cohen, who also directs UCLA's Neuroengineering Training Program.
Remarkably, by placing this problem into neurological terms, the decoding process becomes significantly more reliable and accurate, the researchers said. This is especially significant, they said, because it is unusual to use prior outcomes and states in order to inform the machine learning algorithms, and it is particularly challenging in the brain because so much is unknown about how the brain works.
Machine learning typically involves two steps: a "training phase" in which the computer evaluates a set of known outcomes ? say, a bunch of trials in which a subject indicated belief or disbelief ? and a second, "prediction" phase in which the computer builds a boundary based on that knowledge.
In future research, the neuroscientists said, they will be using these machine learning methods in a biofeedback context, showing subjects real-time brain readouts to let them know when they are experiencing cravings and how intense those cravings are, in the hopes of training them to control and suppress those cravings.
But since this clearly changes the process and cognitive state for the subject, the researchers said, they may face special challenges in trying to decode a "moving target" and in separating the "training" phase from the "prediction" phase.
###
University of California - Los Angeles: http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu
Thanks to University of California - Los Angeles for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 69 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116234/Neuroscientists_demonstrate_crucial_advances_in__brain_reading_
power rangers jungle fury ufc 139 fight card houston nutt houston nutt peter marshall peter marshall zombie boy
Twitter Takes TextSecure, Texting App for Dissidents, Open Source (Mashable)
A technology that helped start a global movement is now being put into the hands of the people. TextSecure, an Android app that encrypts text messages and is popular among activists in many countries, is now open source, thanks to Twitter. Twitter acquired the company that makes TextSecure, Whisper Systems, last month. In countries where governments have more strict control over wireless networks, Whisper Systems' apps have been extremely helpful to dissidents wanting to communicate and organize securely.
[More from Mashable: Stephen Baldwin to Brother Alec: When Are You Coming Back to Twitter? [VIDEO]]
Now Twitter has just turned TextSecure into open-source software, meaning those same dissidents can engineer new features and adapt the software for their own purposes, potentially making them even more secure.
Whisper also has another app, RedPhone, which encrypts voice calls on Android devices, though that one hasn't been made open source yet. Twitter says it's going to open up Whisper's products slowly, saying in a blog post that it needs to "make sure it meets legal requirements and is consumable by the open source community."
[More from Mashable: Study: Happiness Is Trending Down on Twitter [VIDEO]]
Both TextSecure and RedPhone were unavailable when Mashable tried to download them from the Android Market earlier today. (See the clarification below.)
The apps certainly had their fans. Movements.org, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting "grassroots digital activists," cites Whisper Systems' apps in a how-to on securing Android devices. The company's transition to Twitter wasn't smooth for the users of its apps, though -- the company had to take RedPhone offline right when Egypt's elections were happening last month, leading to many complaints.
Clarification: After publication, Twitter told us that Whisper Systems "removed both services from the market, coinciding with their acquisition (and in anticipation of today's news)."
This story originally published on Mashable here.
heavy d taser gun patriots vs jets adventureland sean hannity kroy biermann nene leakes
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Young Jeezy Recruits 'Rapper' Jill Scott For 'Trapped'
Working with Jeezy 'made sense in a nonsensical way,' soul singer tells MTV News.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Jocelyn Vena
Young Jeezy
Photo: Prince Williams/ FilmMagic
When recruiting guests for his long-awaited TM:103 - Hustlerz Ambition, Young Jeezy called upon rap's heaviest hitters. Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, T.I., Andre 3000 and Fabolous all show up for the Snowman's latest LP, which was released in stores on Tuesday. One collaboration, however, stands out among the rest, so if "Trapped" featuring Jill Scott makes you hit the rewind button, don't worry, it was by design.
"I've been doing quote-unquote unusual pairings lately," Scott told MTV News on the red carpet at the "VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul" show on Sunday night. "I've worked with Paul Wall, I've worked with Eve and now with Jeezy."
Scott and Paul Wall's "So Gone" from her The Light of the Sun LP is slow and sultry, while her collaboration with Eve, "Shame," is an upbeat yet soulful affair. Jeezy's J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced "Trapped" takes a drastically different direction.
At the song's open, Scott begins to rap over a building sound bed of lush strings. "Yo they still be grindin' or runnin'/ Tryin' to get into somethin' or nothin'," Scott begins her verse.
Together the Snowman and the soul singer warn against the pitfalls of street business. By the time the drums drop and the full instrumentation takes shape, it becomes crystal clear that Jeezy is once again playing the role of thug motivator. Cautionary but real, Young uses a real-life narrative to illustrate his point. "Gotcha spendin' all your money on lawyer fees/ Judge throwin' numbers at ya like he speakin' Japanese/ All because a n---a out chea playin' bakery/ I'm out chea tryin' get this bread somebody pray for me," he spits in the song's second verse.
It's not unfamiliar territory for Jeezy, who has been mixing street tales with a hustler's sympathy since his debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101. It's just this time out he approached it with a new twist.
"It just made sense in a nonsensical kind of way, like why not? This is music, have fun, stretch it out as much as possible," Scott said. "Jeezy is an MC that I respect. I like his content, that voice is really hard, so yeah, why not?"
What do you think of Young Jeezy's TM:103 - Hustlerz Ambition? Tell us in the comments.
Related Videos Related Artists
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676335/young-jeezy-jil-scott-tm-103-hustlerz-ambition.jhtml
st. nicholas st. nicholas heisman finalists heisman finalists kepler 22 b kepler 22 b rosie o donnell
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Exclusive: CME Group cuts charitable giving, citing MF Global (Reuters)
CHICAGO (Reuters) ? CME Group Inc, which has given $22 million to Chicago-area schools and charities over the past five years, has stopped making grants through its main foundation, citing the collapse of MF Global Holdings Inc.
Investigators are still searching for hundreds of millions of dollars of customer funds that CME says were improperly siphoned off Pin the brokerage's final days to plug its escalating liquidity needs.
Last month, the exchange operator said it would give former MF Global customers the entire $50 million held by CME Trust, which was originally designed to help traders caught out by a broker default but that in recent years has been a mainstay of the CME's charitable giving.
"CME Group will continue to honor some previous Trust commitments going forward - even after the $50 million is paid out," CME spokeswoman Laurie Bischel said. "Though the CME Trust will be used to help customers of MF Global, CME Group remains committed to our communities and will continue to provide support to charitable organizations as possible through our other programs and corporate foundations."
CME Trust was established in 1969 to provide financial assistance to customers if a brokerage became insolvent.
Federal rules requiring brokers to keep client money separate from their own made the prospect of customers actually losing money in a broker default seem so remote that the CME's board in 2005 voted to turn the Trust into a charitable foundation.
In 2008, after giving millions of dollars to local institutions, the Trust launched CME Group Foundation with a $16 million grant, and pledged to make annual donations to support the Foundation's grant-making. The Foundation has become the exchange operator's biggest charitable giver, doling out more than $6 million last year alone.
But in the early hours of October 31, the day MF Global filed for bankruptcy, the brokers' executives made what regulators have since said was a shocking disclosure - that money had been moved from customer accounts to the firm's accounts, and was now missing.
In mid-November, CME's board voted to turn CME Trust back to its original purpose.
It is now clear that decision will mean less money for Chicago-area universities, charter schools and institutions aimed at early childhood education, a look at CME Group Foundation's recent record of charitable giving shows.
"All new CME Group Foundation grant proposals will be put on hold until further notice," the Foundation now says on its website. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause grant applicants."
The news comes a day after CME won a months-long battle for a tax break from the state, which had hiked the corporate tax rate in January in an effort to plug a budget shortfall.
The legislation, signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Friday, will reduce CME's tax bill compared to what it was before the tax hike, shaving off about $77 million annually when it takes full effect in 2014.
CME operates the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the New York Mercantile Exchange, and only its own customers will be eligible for reimbursements.
Funds would be paid out after the bankruptcy trustee determines the money is really gone. CME Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy this month estimated the shortfall at $700 million to $900 million.
Among the biggest beneficiaries of CME Group Foundation largess in recent years are the Renaissance Schools Fund, which supports charter schools and has received $3.1 million since 2006; the University of Chicago, which has received $2.5 million since 2006; and the Erikson Institute, which specializes in early childhood education and has received $1.625 million.
Other big recipients include several Chicago-area universities, the Big Shoulders Fund and the Ounce of Prevention Fund, which focuses on early childhood intervention in at-risk populations.
"We have been assured that the CME Group Foundation will honor its existing multiyear commitment to the Ounce," a spokeswoman for the organization, which received a $1 million four-year grant this year, told Reuters.
The Foundation also supports dozens of charities with smaller grants funding pediatric medical and cardiovascular research, cancer care, and a variety of educational services.
Two smaller charitable arms, the CME Group Community Foundation and the CBOT Foundation, are not affected by the MF Global debacle. Their donations last year totaled just over $1 million.
All grants previously approved will be honored, CME Group Foundation said on its website.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Eric Walsh)
clay matthews kenny chesney matt kemp derek fisher rumpelstiltskin rumpelstiltskin occupy oakland
Sprint says it is disabling Carrier IQ software
By Suzanne Choney
Sprint, under fire along with AT&T and T-Mobile for using Carrier IQ's controversial key-logging software, says it is "disabling the use" of software from customers' phones.?
"We have weighed customer concerns and we have disabled use of the tool so that diagnostic information and data is no longer being collected," said Sprint spokeswoman Stephanie Vinge in a statement. "We are further evaluating options regarding this diagnostic software as well as Sprint?s diagnostic needs."
Carrier IQ
Carrier IQ, which says its software is used only to help with network diagnostics, has been under fire for several weeks after an independent researcher discovered the software can track the activities of phone users, including text messages.
The company, whose software is on 141 million cellphones around the country, has said that is not the case, that its software "does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS (text) messages, email, photographs, audio or video. For example, we understand whether an SMS was sent accurately, but do not record or transmit the content of the SMS. We know which applications are draining your battery, but do not capture the screen."
The use of the software has already resulted in some lawsuits over alleged violation of federal wiretap laws and government attention on privacy violations. On Dec. 2, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Carrier IQ for violating the privacy rights of millions of mobile phone users. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who is chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on privacy, also has similar concerns and has asked for more detailed information about Carrier IQ's software from the company, as well as from Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. Verizon Wireless says it does not use Carrier IQ software.
And, earlier this week, a Carrier IQ executive told the Associated Press that the FBI previously approached the company about using its technology, but was turned away. The disclosure came a day after FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that agents "neither sought nor obtained any information" from Carrier IQ.
A national class action lawsuit has been filed in connection with software on at least 140 million smart phones. Many experts claim the software, manufactured by Carrier IQ, tracks and stores the data of a user's activity. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Related stories:
Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on?Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
zynga free shipping free shipping esophageal cancer extreme makeover home edition marfan syndrome marfan syndrome
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Guiliana Rancic?s Double Mastectomy & Reconstructive Surgery A Success
Guiliana Rancic’s Double Mastectomy & Reconstructive Surgery A Success
E! news host Giuliana Rancic has undergone successful double mastectomy surgery and reconstructive surgery on Tuesday. Guiliana decided to have her breasts removed to get [...]
Guiliana Rancic’s Double Mastectomy & Reconstructive Surgery A Success Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/_z-y6EDyVO4/
ecu john wooden mirror mirror tanuki mirror mirror trailer bob knight bob knight
Swedish House Mafia Set To Take Over Madison Square Garden
'It's one of those moments you're never going to forget as long as you live,' Steve Angello says about MSG one-night stand.
By Adam Stewart, with additional reporting by Akshay Bhansali
Axwell and Steve Angello of Swedish House Mafia
Photo: MTV News
The boys are back in town — and this time they've gone big. In fact, it doesn't get much bigger. Just two years shy of the anniversary of their New York City debut at M2 nightclub, Swedish House Mafia is revved up and ready to rock Madison Square Garden on Friday (December 16) with their high-energy, heart-pounding sight-and-sound spectacular. Group members Steve Angello and Axwell took time out of their jam-packed schedule on Thursday to sit down with MTV News and share their excitement for the night that the dance music world can't stop talking about.
"It's just pretty unbelievable," Axwell gushed. "We were obviously scared when we decided to do it because it's such a big place, it's such an expensive place to rent and it's hard to fill. But so many people bought tickets and it sold out in 10 minutes, and just, Wow! you know? It's really amazing that we have that sort of appreciation this side of the Atlantic."
"[Madison Square Garden] is great. It's a beautiful place," said Angello. "Since we were kids, we've always seen the hockey and basketball [games]. It's one of those places — it's the Garden. It's everyone in basketball's favorite place to play, and it's just magic — it's New York!"
Their presence at one of the world's most iconic venues is certainly reflective of the exploding EDM scene here in the States as well as one of the world's most important music cities. The Swedes have been an integral factor in cultivating the sonic palette of cool culture in America. "New York is one of those places where you're always shocked when you leave a show here because of the energy and the crowd," Angello said. "I know how I'm going to feel tomorrow after the show. It's one of those moments you're never going to forget as long as you live — one of those key moments in your career"
This moment has been so massive in the Big Apple that the trio decided to add a second show, in what's being dubbed an afterparty, just up the street at the Roseland Ballroom. All of the action is paired with the highly anticipated digital release of their latest single, "Antidote," a collaboration brought forth by Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen of Pendulum, under their dubstep-infused production moniker, Knife Party.
"Steve was in the tour in Australia, [he] met up with Knife Party and started out with the idea there," Axwell said. "[But] we wanted the track to have some sort of identity, we wanted to have the instrumental and all, but it would be nice with some identity, [so] we started working with a guy named Klas Åhlund, a great writer, and he wrote the little top line hook that you hear."
"But you know, it's a collaboration," Angello went on to say. "I've read some comments that are like, 'It's not the typical Swedish House Mafia sound,' but at the same time it is! We've done what, three or four records? I think we should keep it like that — it's more fun. We have to enjoy coming together and working and doing something that sounds different from what we do solo — so I think that's what Swedish House Mafia is."
Planning on being one of the thousands who share the Swedish House Mafia experience in person or tuning in live to watch on Swedishhousemafia.com? Let us know in the comments below! You can pick up "Antidote" on iTunes or Beatport along the way!
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676140/swedish-house-mafia-msg.jhtml
tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby credit unions tower heist reviews recursion amy schumer
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thai activist gets 15 years for insulting monarchy
BANGKOK (AP) ? A political activist was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison on charges of insulting Thailand's king, the third person to be imprisoned in a month under the country's strict lese majeste law.
The law, which forbids defamation of the monarchy, is being increasingly criticized as an infringement of free speech and an instrument of political persecution.
Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, nicknamed "Da Torpedo" for her aggressive speaking style, has been detained without bail since July 2008 after speaking at rally using impolite language.
The Criminal Court found Daranee guilty of violating the lese majeste law, which provides for a jail term of three to 15 years for anyone who "defames, insults, or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent, or the regent."
Daranee, a journalist, became an activist after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed in a 2006 coup and delivered fiery speeches at rallies organized by Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters.
Daranee said she would not appeal Thursday's sentence. "I have no will to keep fighting and I will neither lodge an appeal nor seek a royal pardon," she said.
Criticism of the lese majeste law increased last month after a 61-year-old grandfather received a 20-year sentence for four text messages sent from his phone to a government official.
The sentence given Amphon Tangnoppakul was believed to be the heaviest ever received in a lese majeste case because of additional penalties issued under a related law, the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. He denied sending the messages and said he didn't even know how to use the SMS function on his telephone.
The plight of "Uncle SMS," as he became known, has drawn international attention as well to the lese majeste law.
So did the sentencing earlier his month of Thai-born American Joe Gordon to 2 1/2 years in prison for translating excerpts of a banned biography of Thailand's king published by Yale University Press and placing them online. Gordon was in Colorado when the alleged offense occurred and was arrested when he later visited Thailand.
A U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Darragh Paradiso, said the United States has utmost respect for the Thai monarchy, but is "troubled by recent prosecutions and court decisions that are not consistent with international standards of freedom of expression."
The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, issued a statement of concern, saying "Such harsh criminal sanctions are neither necessary nor proportionate and violate the country's international human rights obligations."
Lese majeste prosecutions used to be rare in Thailand, and were mostly used for partisan political purposes as a means of smearing opponents.
But the number of high-profile cases has risen in recent years as nervousness about the eventual succession to 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej has increased, with the previously taboo subject of the monarchy's proper role starting to become a matter of public discussion.
However, loyalty to the monarch is still a touchstone of Thai politics, and frank discussion is difficult.
Earlier this year, a movement led by intellectuals and academics began a public campaign for reform of the lese majeste law, officially Article 112 of the Criminal Code.
This was Daranee's second trial. She received an 18-year term in her first trial, but was granted a new trial after courts ruled that her petition against having the first trial closed was not heard in a timely way.
Associated Presswar in iraq barbara walters government shutdown sofia vergara jacksonville jaguars jacksonville jaguars gpa calculator
New Nazi-hunting drive launched (AP)
BERLIN ? The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Wednesday launched an 11th-hour drive to find and prosecute Nazi war criminals while they are still alive, saying a new legal precedent in Germany could make it possible to bring dozens of suspects to trial.
Efraim Zuroff, the center's top Nazi-hunter, told reporters in Berlin that "Operation Last Chance II" would provide up to euro25,000 ($32,900) in reward money for information that leads to the investigation and prosecution of war criminals.
"Whatever can be done has to be done very promptly and as quickly as possible because time is running out," Zuroff said.
The effort comes after German prosecutors said in October the successful conviction of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk had set a precedent that allowed them to reopen hundreds of dormant investigations.
Demjanjuk, 91, was convicted in May of thousands of counts of accessory to murder after a Munich court found he served as a death camp guard ? the first time a suspect had been found guilty without evidence of a specific crime. The court ruled that any guard at a Nazi camp whose sole purpose was to kill people could be convicted of accessory to murder.
Demjanjuk denies having ever served as a guard and is appealing the verdict.
"What this conviction does is set a legal precedent that should pave the way for the prosecution of many people who were on a daily basis over a prolonged period of time involved in mass murder but who had been ignored," Zuroff said.
About 4,000 people were either guards at the four Nazi camps used only for killings ? Belzec, Sobibor, Chelmno and Treblinka ? or members of the Einsatzgruppen death squads responsible for mass killings, particularly early in the war before the death camps were established.
Zuroff said he did not know how many were still alive ? the youngest would now be in their 80s ? but that he guessed conservatively there could be 80 or more.
"I think it's not a gross exaggeration to assume that 2 percent are still probably alive," he said.
He said the precedent set in the Demjanjuk case could also be applied to other units known to have been involved in war crimes, noting that prosecutors in Dortmund are currently investigating six former members of an SS armored division that was responsible for the largest massacre in Nazi-occupied France under the same theory.
The Wiesenthal Center is asking for tips to be called in to a new hotline in Germany with as much information as possible. Though the focus of the investigation is Germany, Zuroff said suspects could live anywhere in the world.
A reward of euro5,000 will be paid for the information upon the indictment of a suspect, another euro5,000 upon conviction, and a further euro100 euros per day spent in prison ? up to 150 days ? for a total of euro25,000, Zuroff said.
The center's original "Operation Last Chance" was launched in 2002 and targeted primarily eastern European countries, and ended up with 102 suspects' names being turned over to prosecutors. Of those only a handful were ever indicted or tried, Zuroff said.
At this late stage, with few witnesses left and suspects' health often preventing them from being brought to trial, Zuroff said he measures success in six stages: exposure; official investigation; indictment; trial; conviction; and punishment.
"It's very hard today to get to stage six," he said.
But he said the effort was still a worthy one.
"The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the killers," he said.
___
Online: http://www.operationlastchance.org
uppity uppity stuffing brandon mcinerney brandon mcinerney black friday 2011 deals nfl power rankings week 12
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)