Wednesday 30 January 2013

Entourage Movie Officially in the Works

Entourage ended its HBO run in 2011 and like Sex and the City, the next logical step is to make the jump to the big screen. It took nearly two years, but the movie is finally going to happen. Deadline reports that Warner Bros has give the movie the green light.

Series creator Doug Ellin will direct from a script he wrote. The cast members from the series are in the process of being gathered for the movie, so expect Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jeremy Piven, et al to return to reprise their roles.

According to Ellin, the movie will take place six months after the events in the series' finale.

Mark Wahlberg, one of the show's executive producer, revealed late last year that Ellin had completed the script and hoped to shoot the movie this spring. He may be right about the schedule even though no start date has been announced.

"It's going to get back to the basics, kind of like the beginning of the series. We had very strong female characters, but we want the guys to get back to just being guys. I think they were all weighed down by these strong women towards the end of the series, so we are going to get them going crazy. Everyone wants to see them get nuts again," Wahlberg said.

If the movie is anything like the TV series, expect lots of celebrity cameos and, hopefully, it won't turned into anything like Movie 43.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926755/news/1926755/

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Raw results: The Rock brings the reign and Brock Lesnar brings the pain on Raw Roulette night

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2013-01-28/wwe-raw-results

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India cuts key interest rate by quarter point

NEW DELHI (AP) ? India's central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 7.75 percent Tuesday, aiming to boost flagging growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

The Reserve Bank of India also lowered its cash reserve ratio for banks by a quarter point to 4 percent, which means commercial banks can lend more.

India's economic growth has slowed for several quarters amid high inflation and delays to economic reforms that chilled investment.

The central bank cut its economic growth forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2013 to 5.5 percent from 5.8 percent.

It said the lower cash reserve ratio would release an extra 180 billion rupees ($3.3 billion) into the banking system.

The RBI has held off cutting rates at previous monetary policy meetings because of high inflation. Its last rate cut was in April 2012.

In its latest monetary policy review, the bank said headline inflation had peaked and with a decline in prices of non-food manufactured products, it was likely that inflation would stabilize at its current levels in the coming year.

"This provides space, albeit limited, for monetary policy to give greater emphasis to growth risks," it said.

The bank said it expected the interest rate cut to encourage investment and support growth.

Steps taken by the government including liberalization of foreign investment in retail, aviation, broadcasting and insurance should help return the economy to a higher growth trajectory, the RBI said.

Analysts cautioned that with India scheduled to hold general elections in 2014, there was a likelihood of further government sops leading to increased inflation and spending blowouts.

Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank, said the funding situation of banks is very tight and there is a limit to which they could pass on the central bank's lower interest rate.

"The cut in the cash reserve ratio helps the situation only at the margins. Coupled with policy rate cuts, we might see small changes in consumer borrowing costs over the next few months," he said. "Nothing dramatic will happen unless the RBI follows through with a series of cuts and adds more liquidity to the system."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/india-cuts-key-interest-rate-quarter-point-073259610--finance.html

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Tuesday 29 January 2013

In Communist China, Even the Cargo Jets Are Knock-offs

In 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake decimated China's Sichuan province, killing nearly 70,000. The disaster which was compounded by the country's lack of large cargo aircraft, which are essential vehicles for humanitarian missions, brought on by the military's unyielding focus on fighter jets. In response to this logistical shortfall (and the disgrace of having to accept a pair of loaner C-17s, from the Americans of all people), China's military kicked a languishing strategic air freighter project into gear and have debuted the results: a C-17, minus the performance capabilities. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/sILJc1qhKTw/in-communist-china-even-the-cargo-jets-are-knock+offs

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Work-in-Progress: Do Writers Need an MFA?

While busy with something else, I ended up re-reading this post I wrote in?January 2011, about whether a writer needs an MFA. It seemed surprisingly smart to me and still relevant, so I'm reposting it:

I'm often asked, do you need an MFA to be a writer? Of course you don?t; to be a writer, you need to write. That?s misleadingly simple. I like to answer the question with a list (naturally) that also includes some questions to ponder and some unsolicited advice. So, here goes:

What to think about when you think about a graduate program in writing:
--I had some amazing teachers that saved me a lot of time by showing me a path through the thicket of writing. Not all of those teachers were in my MFA workshops, so there are excellent teachers everywhere. But, yes, teachers really can teach you quite a bit!

--While many graduate programs have ?famous? writers you revere and admire on the faculty, being a ?famous? writer doesn?t automatically make one a good teacher. So when you?re considering plunking down the $$ to go to a graduate program, do your homework and check out the faculty.

--Doing your homework means:
A) Reading the work by the core faculty. If everyone on the faculty is writing in a traditional style and your writing is more experimental, it probably isn?t a good match.
B) Speaking to students who are in the program or who recently graduated. This is how you can find out about the teaching. Facebook can be a good resource for finding students, or you can ask the program director for some students to chat with.
C) Show up, if you can. Go to a reading sponsored by the program and get a feel for the place: is the atmosphere friendly and welcoming? Do the faculty attend the reading? Are the questions in the Q&A lively? Or, if you?re at a conference, talk to the writers who teach and ask them about their schools.

--Don?t expect that you?ll automatically get a teaching job after you graduate. If you want to teach?and be sure that you really do want to; it?s not a requirement to being a writer, and may even be a detriment!?you will need a graduate degree. But, to teach creative writing, you will most likely also need a published book (or some amazing, New Yorker-like publications). The degree is no guarantee, and don?t make a mistake imagining that it is. (If you want to teach, try to get some experience while you?re in school. And expect that you?ll be teaching mostly comp while a TA and probably after you graduate and perhaps even for the rest of your life.)

--Think about money. Will attending graduate school put you in debt for the rest of your life? Are you okay with that? There's value to the idea of devoting time/energy/resources to learning to be a better writer--good teachers can help you leapfrog ahead of yourself in terms of writing progress. Will knowing that you?re spending all this money (and time and making the other sacrifices needed) make you take your writing more seriously? There is always going to be a higher standard for critique and study in a graduate program?not to mention the more rigorous reading requirements. Do you want/need someone else to impose those standards upon you; at what price?

--Perhaps the greatest benefit of a graduate writing program is the community, during and after. Maybe you will meet people who will be friends for life, or who will read and comment on your work for life, or who will become high-powered editors/writers who can help you. Maybe. At the least, you?ll be surrounded by a group of people who care deeply about writing/literature and who want to follow the same path of artful pursuit you do.

--Probably this should be a whole separate discussion because I won?t do it justice here, but think about what you want to write. If all you want to write is science fiction (or romance) or some other genre, you WILL learn to be a better writer in a graduate writing program. But your path may be rougher and more challenging than if your interests were more literary. Again, do your homework: How does the program feel about less ?literary? writing?

Unsolicited advice I have for all MFA students:
--Read the books your teachers have written. Ask your teachers questions about their work: how did you handle dialogue? Why did you decide to give the main character 6 brothers? Etc. Talk!

--Make the most of every opportunity. If your teacher offers individual meetings/office hours, go. If your teacher/peers hang out after class for booze or coffee, and it?s within your realm to attend, go. If your teachers/peers are reading their work, go. If the ?famous? visiting writer needs a ride somewhere and you can offer one, go. In short, just go-go-GO!

--Write things down. If your teacher mentions a book/journal/article that was influential to him/her, write it down. Look it up. Think seriously about reading it, if not immediately, at some point. Teachers don?t say these things for no reason, you know!

--Be organized and timely. Get your work done. Try not to be a problem.

--Don?t suck up. Instead, be a nice, interested, interesting person, and you won?t need to suck up. Ask questions instead, and don?t talk only about yourself and your own projects. Be involved in the larger world.

--Be the person in your program who organizes, whether it?s a potluck or a new online literary journal or a fun night bowling. It takes effort to keep your community connected, so pull an oar.

--Thank your teachers at the end of the semester, even the teachers you didn?t like. You probably learned more from them than you think you did.

--Don?t race your way through the program. This is probably the only time in your life where you have all these smart people devoted to you and your writing?take your time and enjoy it.

What about the Low-Res MFA?
Unique advantages to the low-res:
--You don?t need to move and/or uproot your life to go to school.
--There?s a nice mix between workshop interaction and individual, devoted attention to your work.
--Speaking as a fiction teacher, I think it's easier to work on the novel form since you have one mentor for a solid chunk of time who can read a good amount of your work in a sustained way.
--The residency location can be a plus: i.e. if you like the mountains, choose a low-res program located in/near the mountains!
--The reading list can be self-directed so you're reading materials that resonate with you.

Disadvantages to the low-res:
--That word above, "self-directed": this type of program would be a disaster for a certain type of person, who's a totally disorganized procrastinator. In the low-res, you really have to make yourself do the work.
--Things are changing, but typically there are fewer fellowship and funding opportunities available at low-res programs, so the onus of finding a way to pay for the program comes from the student: savings, student loans
--There may be limited TA opportunities.

Disclosure: I teach at the Converse College Low-Residency MFA Program and at the more traditional Johns Hopkins Master of Arts in Writing Program.

Source: http://www.workinprogressinprogress.com/2013/01/do-writers-need-mfa.html

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Monday 28 January 2013

Shakira Leaves Hospital With Baby Milan And Boyfriend Gerard Pique (PHOTO)

Colombian pop star Shakira and footballer Gerard Piqu? left the hospital Sunday and headed home with their newborn baby Milan, HuffPost Voces reports.

The couple tried to make a break for it without getting spotted, but the hospital was surrounded by press and photographers hoping to catch a glimpse of them as they departed. For now, the new mother will stay in a luxury apartment that belongs to Piqu? along with close family members, while Piqu? gets back to work for Bar?a.

Shak gave birth to her baby boy by caesarean section at Teknon Hospital in Barcelona on Jan. 22.

But curious fans will have to keep waiting to see what the baby looks like -- the throngs of photographers didn't manage to snap an image of him. Piqu? tweeted the first picture of baby Milan's feet on Thursday.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/27/shakira-leaves-hospital-baby-milan-gerard-pique_n_2562665.html

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Egyptian president calls for dialogue with political forces to resolve latest crisis

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egyptian-president-calls-dialogue-political-forces-resolve-latest-195911823--spt.html

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Sunday 27 January 2013

Lawmakers require VA to track effects of burn pits

WASHINGTON (AP) ? J.D. Williams didn't think much about the smoke cloud that often shrouded his air base in Iraq. Not when it covered everything he owned with black soot or when his wheezing and coughing made it difficult to sleep at night.

"We just went about our business because there was a war going on," said Williams, a retired chief warrant officer who was responsible for maintaining some 250 aircraft for the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.

He returned home from that second stint in Iraq in 2006 and subsequently was diagnosed with an irreversible lung disease that his doctor suspects could be related to smoke from one of the hundreds of burn pits that dotted Iraq and Afghanistan during the course of the two wars. The pits were used to burn off the garbage that accumulates at military bases, everything from Styrofoam and metal to paints, solvents, human waste and medical waste.

A new Department of Veterans Affairs registry, mandated by Congress, will be used to try to determine if there is a link between the burn pits and long-term health problems.

Military personnel who were stationed near an open burn pit can sign up. Researchers will use the database to monitor health trends in participants, and the VA will alert them to major problems detected.

Over the long term, the findings could make it easier for veterans who served near burn pits to obtain disability payments.

Williams, 56, of Huntsville, Ala., was initially told that he would have to prove that his illness, diagnosed as constrictive bronchiolitis, was service-related. He walked out of the room. Eventually, after he traveled to Washington and met with members of Congress, the VA increased his disability rating 10 percent.

He said he's hoping the registry will pave the way for other soldiers to avoid a similarly exasperating process. If researchers find certain illnesses are linked to exposure to burn pits, then the VA would be more likely to declare those illnesses a presumptive condition, eliminating the need for a veteran to prove that his or her illness is service-related.

Sixty-three burn pits were still being used in Afghanistan as of Dec. 26; those in Iraq were closed by December 2010. Camps with fewer than 100 people are not required to report the use of a burn pit, so there could be more, but generally much smaller ones. Proponents say the burn pits were so widespread that the large majority of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan could participate in the registry.

In 2009, the military updated its policies on burn pits to prohibit the burning of hazardous materials such as certain medical waste, batteries and tires, and whenever possible, to situate them where the smoke would not blow over work and living quarters.

"When our service members voice concerns about burn pit exposures as well as other health issues, we take our responsibility seriously to investigate these exposures and possible health risks, and to implement any protective measure that are indicated and feasible," said Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith.

The creation of the burn pit registry has been several years in the making.

Air Force Lt. Col Darrin Curtis said in a memo disclosed by the Army Times in 2008 that he believed a particularly large burn pit at Joint Base Balad, one of the largest air bases in Iraq, was an acute health hazard, and he was amazed that it was allowed to operate without restrictions.

Congressional hearings followed that featured sick veterans, contractors and family members who had lost a loved one from illnesses they attributed to burn pits. The Pentagon said that none of the monitoring conducted at Balad identified an increased risk for long-term health problems. It has maintained that position over the years but also acknowledges that some personnel have persistent symptoms, possibly as a result of elevated exposures to the smoke, existing health conditions or other unknown factors.

An Institute of Medicine study requested by the VA and made public in 2011 concluded there was insufficient data to determine whether burn pit emissions had long-term health consequences. The study found the pollutants measured at Balad were generally present at a concentration so low that it would not be expected to cause any harm, even if a person was exposed to that concentration for a lifetime. The two exceptions were particulate matter and acrolein.

Particulate matter is a mixture of small particles and liquid droplets that can lead to acute respiratory problems. But the high concentrations at Joint Base Balad came primarily from local sources such as traffic and dust storms, rather than the burn pit, according to the institute, which advises the government on health issues.

Acrolein is a liquid primarily used as a herbicide and in making other chemicals. Exposure can lead to eye, nose and throat irritation. Although the concentration exceeded precautionary levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency, it was still far below the concentration that led to nasal and lung damage in laboratory animals, the study said.

The Pentagon said it is continuing to study the potential hazards of burn pit exposure.

The VA opposed the legislation setting up the burn pit registry even though it has registries for those exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and for those who served during the Gulf War. The department did not oppose trying to track potential burn pit-related illnesses, just the mechanism proposed.

"We said it was not the best scientific approach for learning about long-term health outcomes and it really wasn't necessary for outreach because we have other programs in place," said Dr. Paul Ciminera, director of the VA's Post-9/11 Era Environmental Health Program.

As to whether the burn pits lead to health problems in soldiers, Ciminera cited the Institute of Medicine report. "We need to do further research to see what the long-term effects could be," he said.

Democratic Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, the lead Senate sponsor of the registry legislation, said he pushed ahead despite VA objections because the department seems to instinctively reject concerns that veterans are harmed by their surrounding environment. He cited Agent Orange as an example and said the VA initially resisted a link between the defoliant and the health of soldiers who served in Vietnam.

Many supporters of the registry, including Williams, are also participants in a class-action lawsuit filed against KBR Inc., which contracted with the government to operate several of the burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some 50 lawsuits were consolidated into one case in a Maryland federal court. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for various injuries, emotional distress and fear of future disease. KBR is seeking to dismiss the lawsuits on grounds it deserves the same immunity that prevents the plaintiffs from suing the federal government.

"Every type of waste imaginable was and is burned in these pits," the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit.

Veterans groups were big backers of the registry, and an often-divided Congress overwhelmingly sides with them rather than the VA.

"You've been told since you're a little kid: 'Don't put a Styrofoam cup in a fire and breathe it because it's bad for you," said Ray Kelley, national legislative director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "They do that all day long on these stops along with Lord knows what else, from human waste to all sorts of garbage. You're inhaling that on a daily basis. It can't be good for you."

___

Online:

Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/burnpits/index.asp

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-require-va-track-effects-burn-pits-085359722.html

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Technology kills jobs for middle class | TribLIVE


By The Associated Press

Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 12:01?a.m.
Updated 13 hours ago

NEW YORK ? Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over.

And the situation is even worse than it appears.

Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say experts who study the labor market. What?s more, these jobs aren?t just being lost to China and other developing countries, and they aren?t just factory work. Increasingly, jobs are disappearing in the service sector, home to two-thirds of all workers.

They?re being obliterated by technology.

Year after year, the software that runs computers and an array of other machines and devices becomes more sophisticated and powerful and capable of doing more efficiently tasks that humans have always done. For decades, science fiction warned of a future when we would be architects of our own obsolescence, replaced by our machines; an Associated Press analysis finds that the future has arrived.

?The jobs that are going away aren?t coming back,? says Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of ?Race Against the Machine.? ??I have never seen a period where computers demonstrated as many skills and abilities as they have over the past seven years.?

The global economy is being reshaped by machines that generate and analyze vast amounts of data; by devices such as smartphones and tablet computers that let people work just about anywhere; by smarter, nimbler robots; and by services that let businesses rent computing power when they need it, instead of installing expensive equipment and hiring IT staffs to run it. Whole employment categories, from secretaries to travel agents, are starting to disappear.

?There?s no sector of the economy that?s going to get a pass,? says Martin Ford, who runs a software company and wrote ?The Lights in the Tunnel,? a book predicting widespread job losses. ?It?s everywhere.?

The numbers startle labor economists. In the United States, half the 7.5 million jobs lost during the Great Recession were in industries that pay middle-class wages, ranging from $38,000 to $68,000. But only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are in midpay industries. Nearly 70 percent are in low-pay industries, 29 percent in industries that pay well.

In the 17 European countries that use the euro as their currency, the numbers are worse. Almost 4.3 million low-pay jobs have been gained since mid-2009, but the loss of midpay jobs has never stopped. A total of 7.6 million disappeared from January 2008 through last June.

Experts warn that this ?hollowing out? of the middle-class workforce is far from over. They predict the loss of millions more jobs as technology becomes even more sophisticated and reaches deeper into our lives. Maarten Goos, an economist at the University of Leuven in Belgium, says Europe could double its middle-class job losses.

Some occupations are beneficiaries of the march of technology, such as software engineers and app designers for smartphones and tablet computers. Overall, though, technology is eliminating far more jobs than it is creating.

To understand the impact technology is having on middle-class jobs in developed countries, the AP analyzed employment data from 20 countries; tracked changes in hiring by industry, pay and task; compared job losses and gains during recessions and expansions over the past four decades; and interviewed economists, technology experts, robot manufacturers, software developers, entrepreneurs and people in the labor force who ranged from CEOs to the unemployed.

The AP?s key findings:

? For more than three decades, technology has reduced the number of jobs in manufacturing. Robots and other machines controlled by computer programs work faster and make fewer mistakes than humans. Now, that same efficiency is being unleashed in the service economy, which employs more than two-thirds of the workforce in developed countries. Technology is eliminating jobs in office buildings, retail establishments and other businesses consumers deal with every day.

? Technology is being adopted by every kind of organization that employs people. It?s replacing workers in large corporations and small businesses, established companies and start-ups. It?s being used by schools, colleges and universities; hospitals and other medical facilities; nonprofit organizations and the military.

? The most vulnerable workers are doing repetitive tasks that programmers can write software for ? an accountant checking a list of numbers, an office manager filing forms, a paralegal reviewing documents for key words to help in a case. As software becomes even more sophisticated, victims are expected to include those who juggle tasks, such as supervisors and managers ? workers who thought they were protected by a college degree.

? Thanks to technology, companies in the Standard & Poor?s 500 stock index reported one-third more profit the past year than they earned the year before the Great Recession. They?ve also expanded their businesses, but total employment, at 21.1 million, has declined by a half-million.

? Start-ups account for much of the job growth in developed economies, but software is allowing entrepreneurs to launch businesses with a third fewer employees than in the 1990s. There is less need for administrative support and back-office jobs that handle accounting, payroll and benefits.

? It?s becoming a self-serve world. Instead of relying on someone else in the workplace or our personal lives, we use technology to do tasks ourselves. Some find this frustrating; others like the feeling of control. Either way, this trend will only grow as software permeates our lives.

? Technology is replacing workers in developed countries regardless of their politics, policies and laws. Union rules and labor laws may slow the dismissal of employees, but no country is attempting to prohibit organizations from using technology that allows them to operate more efficiently ? and with fewer employees.

Technological innovations have been throwing people out of jobs for centuries. But they eventually created more work, and greater wealth, than they destroyed. Ford, the author and software engineer, thinks there is reason to believe that this time will be different. He sees virtually no end to the inroads of computers into the workplace. Eventually, he says, software will threaten the livelihoods of doctors, lawyers and other highly skilled professionals.

Many economists are encouraged by history and think the gains eventually will outweigh the losses. But even they have doubts.

?What?s different this time is that digital technologies show up in every corner of the economy,? McAfee says.

Peter Lindert, an economist at the University of California, Davis, says the computer is more destructive than innovations in the Industrial Revolution because the pace at which it is upending industries makes it hard for people to adapt.

Occupations that provided middle-class lifestyles for generations can disappear in a few years. Utility meter readers are just one example. As power companies began installing so-called smart readers outside homes, the number of meter readers in the United States plunged from 56,000 in 2001 to 36,000 in 2010, according to the Labor Department.

In 10 years? That number is expected to be zero.

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Source: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/3351101-74/jobs-technology-software

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Saturday 26 January 2013

RI gay marriage bill faces uncertain future

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? Legislation that would make Rhode Island the 10th state to allow gays and lesbians to marry still faces an uncertain future despite being overwhelmingly approved by the state House on Thursday night.

It could be weeks or even months before the Senate takes up the bill that would make the Ocean State the last in New England to recognize same-sex marriage, but supporters still celebrated the House vote.

Ken Fish, a gay man from Warwick, showed up at the Statehouse hours before the vote to ensure he got a seat in the crowded viewing gallery.

"I wanted to be here to see it," said Fish, 70, "Go back 10 years, even five years, and I wasn't sure we'd ever get here. We're not done yet, but this is a big one."

While the House has a gay marriage champion in Speaker Gordon Fox, who is gay, Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed opposes the legislation.

The 51-19 House vote came after an often emotional debate that touched on civil rights, religion and the nature of marriage.

"This has been a long journey," Fox said after the vote. Fox supported same-sex legislation when it was first introduced in 1997. "Today is a great day. Today ... we stand for equality, we stand for justice."

Nine states and the District of Columbia now allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who supports gay marriage, urged quick action on the bill in the Senate. The governor, an independent, argues gay marriage is an issue of civil rights and the state's quality of life, and said some people may choose other New England states over the Ocean State because of its stance on marriage.

"Now that the House has swiftly acted, I urge Senate leadership to 'call the roll' ? for our economy, for our gay and lesbian friends and neighbors, and for history," he said in a statement.

Advocacy groups on both sides of the issue will now turn their attention to the 38-member Senate, which has never voted on gay marriage legislation.

Chris Plante, director of the state chapter of the National Institute for Marriage, said he's optimistic senators will vote to preserve the state's current marriage laws. He said leaders like Fox and Chafee don't reflect public sentiment.

"Rhode Islanders care about marriage, and they don't want to see it redefined," he said.

Some opponents have suggested placing gay marriage on the ballot as a referendum, but the idea is a nonstarter with Fox and Chafee.

A handful of lawmakers rose during Thursday's debate to criticize gay marriage as a dangerous social experiment. Rep. Arthur Corvese, D-North Providence, warned lawmakers that same-sex marriage was an "irrevocable societal game-changer" that would redefine "the fundamental building block of our community" and could lead to the legalization of polygamy or plural marriages.

"Truth must not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness," he said. "Is this the vision you want for Rhode Island's future? Is this the future you want for America?"

Supporters in Rhode Island are hoping to build on national momentum after votes to approve gay marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have prohibited gay marriage, the first time such a ballot question has failed in the United States.

Lawmakers who argued in favor of allowing gays to marry warned their colleagues they could wind up on the wrong side of history if they cast a no vote.

"Your grandchildren someday will ask you... 'How did you vote on marriage equality?'" said Rep. John Edwards, D-Tiverton. "Hopefully you'll be able to say the right thing."

Two years ago, Fox dropped gay marriage legislation after he concluded the bill would not pass the Senate. Instead, lawmakers passed civil unions for same-sex couples. But there has been little interest in the state. In the year since civil unions were first offered, only 68 couples obtained civil union licenses.

Last year, Chafee signed an executive order recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ri-gay-marriage-bill-faces-uncertain-future-072514044.html

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Hackers take over sentencing commission website

This screen shot shows the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission after it was hijacked by the hacker-activist group Anonymous, early Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide. The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed." (AP Photo)

This screen shot shows the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission after it was hijacked by the hacker-activist group Anonymous, early Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide. The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed." (AP Photo)

(AP) ? The hacker-activist group Anonymous says it hijacked the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide.

The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was taken over early Saturday and replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed."

The hackers say they've infiltrated several government computer systems and copied secret information that they now threaten to make public.

Family and friends of Swartz, who helped create Reddit and RSS, say he killed himself after he was hounded by federal prosecutors. Officials say he helped post millions of court documents for free online and that he illegally downloaded millions of academic articles from an online clearinghouse.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-26-Commission%20Website%20Hacked/id-76eed7229be440479f84a4d53b936d7c

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Friday 25 January 2013

Bank Of America: A Flood Of Retail Investors And ... - Business Insider

Earlie we brought to you Bank of America's call that the "Great Rotation" from bonds into equities was taking place.

In the note, analyst Michael Hartnett describes would could cause a bigger market melt-up from where we are right now.

What could cause a ?melt-up?? Retail inflows into equity markets have started to pick up (more inflows are expected to be reported in the weekly numbers) and individual investors are still lightly positioned in equities relative to history. Further, both the EPS and GDP ?bars? are low in early 2013. The three-month suspension of the US debt ceiling renders DC uneventful in the near term. And it is too early to argue the policy is not working to stimulate growth. Q2 is crucial in this respect.

An LBO boom would be a good fundamental reason for a re-rating of stock markets. The environment is ripe for a pick-up in deal flow, with Dell as the latest target of speculation. The global demand for yield has driven debt costs to ever- lower levels, and the cost of capital for buyout firms has fallen to some of the cheapest levels in history. Banks have also repaired their balance sheets and are once again in a position to provide deal financing.

For BofA's whole note, see here >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/bank-of-america-a-flood-of-retail-investors-and-an-lbo-boom-could-cause-a-market-melt-up-2013-1

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Hypersonic 'SpaceLiner': Europe to Australia in 90 minutes?

A hypersonic "SpaceLiner" would whisk up to 50 passengers from Europe to Australia in 90 minutes. The futuristic vehicle would do so by riding a rocket into Earth's upper atmosphere, reaching 24 times the speed of sound before gliding in for a landing.

Many challenges still remain, including finding the right shape for the vehicle, said Martin Sippel, project coordinator for SpaceLiner at the German Aerospace Center. But he suggested the project could make enough progress to begin attracting private funding in another 10 years and aim for full operations by 2050.

The current concept includes a rocket booster stage for launch and a separate orbiter stage to carry passengers halfway around the world without ever making it to space. Flight times between the U.S. and Europe could fall to just over an hour if the SpaceLiner takes off ? that is, if passengers don't mind paying the equivalent of space tourism prices around several hundred thousand dollars.

"Maybe we can best characterize the SpaceLiner by saying it's a kind of second-generation space shuttle, but with a completely different task," Sippel said.

SpaceLiner passengers would have eight minutes to experience the rocket launch before they reached an altitude of about 47 to 50 miles (75 to 80 kilometers). That falls short of the 62-mile (100-km) boundary considered the edge of space, but even a suborbital flight would allow SpaceLiner to glide back to Earth at hypersonic speeds of more than 15,000 mph (25,200 kph).

Relying on rocket power

The rocket-powered design stands out compared with other proposed hypersonic jets, which feature new air-breathing engine concepts. European aerospace giant EADS previously unveiled a hypersonic jet concept that would rely mainly upon air-breathing ramjets to reach cruising speeds of Mach 4 ? faster than the supersonic Concorde's Mach 2 performances but far slower than the SpaceLiner's Mach 24 goal.

SpaceLiner's European project planners say their reliance upon proven rocket technology could allow their vehicle to fly sooner rather than later. They plan to use liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket propellants so that the rocket engines leave only water vapor and hydrogen in the atmosphere. [Video: How DARPA's HTV-2 Hypersonic Bomber Test Works]

"We will not try to improve the performance of the engine but would like to have it more reusable," Sippel told TechNewsDaily.

The empty rocket stage from SpaceLiner would return to Earth immediately after launch in preparation for reuse. An aircraft could grab the rocket stage in midair, tow it toward an airfield and release it for an autonomous gliding landing.

Chances of survival

But big challenges remain before SpaceLiner can take off. Researchers first must finalize a design shape capable of surviving the intense heat created by gliding at hypersonic speeds through the upper atmosphere. New cooling technologies and improved heat shielding for SpaceLiner's wing "leading edge" could help in that case.

Launching like a rocket rather than taking off like an aircraft means SpaceLiner would remain restricted to suitable launch sites with uninhabited areas down range. The SpaceLiner also would need a careful flight path during its final landing approach ? the "sonic boom" shock that accompanies aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound can damage buildings on the ground at low altitudes.

"The profile of the vehicle is very similar to a rocket-propelled vehicle," Sippel explained. "We only have a small corridor in which we can fly safely and economically."

SpaceLiner's design will make use of study results from a FAST20XX (Future High-Altitude High-Speed Transport 20XX) project funded by the European Union and backed by researchers from Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Sweden. It can also draw lessons from upcoming efforts such as Project ALPHA by Aerospace Innovation GmbH ? a space plane that aims to launch in midair from an Airbus A330 aircraft.

But future success ultimately depends upon the success of space tourism efforts by companies such as Virgin Galactic. If enough people prove willing to pay top dollar for suborbital flights as part of their travels around the world, Sippel envisions a fleet of SpaceLiners eventually making 10 to 15 flights per day.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, sister site to SPACE.com. You can follow TechNewsDaily Senior Writer Jeremy Hsu on Twitter @jeremyhsu. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hypersonic-spaceliner-aims-fly-passengers-2050-180537395.html

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Kellogg's Family Rewards Program? - Motherhood on a Dime



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Source: http://www.motherhoodonadime.com/deals/kelloggs-family-rewards-program/

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Thursday 24 January 2013

Adele to perform Bond theme 'Skyfall' at Oscars

NEW YORK (AP) ? Adele will perform the James Bond theme "Skyfall" at the Oscars, her first U.S. performance since last year's Grammy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday that Adele will sing the Oscar-nominated song at the 85th annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24. She and producer Paul Epworth are nominated for best original song for "Skyfall."

The announcement isn't much of a surprise considering Adele's award show ubiquity. She recently won a Golden Globe for the Bond theme.

Adele hasn't previously sung "Skyfall" live for an audience. She says in a statement that she's honored to be singing in front of people who've captured her imagination. The Oscars will also present a tribute to James Bond, marking the 50th anniversary of the franchise.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/adele-perform-bond-theme-skyfall-oscars-183131930.html

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The Little Book Club Sends Busy Parents Quality Kids Books Every Month

Boxes and BooksOne of the most valuable things parents can do is read to their kids, but keeping a steady supply of quality books in the house is still a challenge. Today, a startup called The Little Book Club is launching to address that problem with a subscription-based service for kids' books. The service, designed for busy parents who can't stomach the idea of reading "Goodnight Moon" every night for the next five years, offers an age-appropriate selection of educational books shipped monthly, centered around different themes.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/sv4Npu7AK3c/

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Carbs were key in wolves' evolution into dogs

Long ago, some brazen wolves started hanging around human settlements, jump-starting events that ultimately led to today's domesticated dogs. Now geneticists say they have identified one of the key changes that turned wolves into the tame, tail-wagging creatures well-suited to living by our sides ? the ability to digest carbohydrates with ease.

The report, published online Wednesday by the journal Nature, found signs that dogs can break down starch into sugar, and then transport those sugars from the gut into the bloodstream, more efficiently than can wolves. Comparing dog and wolf DNA, the authors pinpointed several changes in starch and sugar-processing genes that would have made early dogs better able to digest the scraps they scavenged from dumps in early farming villages, helping them to thrive as they gave up the independent life of the pack to entwine their lives with ours.

"That food was obviously the same kind of food that we were eating," most likely a mix of roots, porridge and possibly bread along with bones containing meat and marrow, said study leader Erik Axelsson, an evolutionary geneticist at Uppsala University in Sweden.

No one knows for sure when or where the first dogs came to be, but most evolutionary biologists agree that the wolf probably made the first move and that the draw was the food humans discarded. Only much later did people intensively mate dogs of different shapes and temperaments to create today's hundreds of breeds and varieties, from the hulking and noble to the tiny and yapping.

The new analysis by Axelsson and his colleagues examined a mix of DNA from 12 gray wolves and compared it with DNA collected from 60 domestic dogs, including cocker spaniels, giant schnauzers, golden retrievers and 11 other breeds.

The scientists sequenced the dog and wolf DNA and searched for tiny differences. Because they were seeking features that cropped up early in dog evolution, they focused on genetic variations that dogs shared but wolves lacked. They also looked for variations that all, or most, of the dogs had in common.

From this analysis, the team identified 36 places in the genome, containing 122 genes, that seemed to have been important in dog evolution. Ten of the genes are involved in starch or fat metabolism, including three that carry instructions for making a protein that is pivotal to digestion of starch.

One of them makes alpha amylase, an enzyme that breaks starch into the sugar maltose and shorter carbohydrate strands. Dogs carry many more copies of this gene than wolves, the scientists found ? and the alpha amylase activity in their tissues is five times greater.

Another gene makes an enzyme for the next step in carb digestion: turning maltose into glucose. This gene is 12 times more active in dogs than wolves, and blood tests showed that maltose is processed into glucose twice as quickly in dogs.

The third gene makes a protein that moves glucose from the gut into the bloodstream. The scientists saw several dog-specific alterations in this gene that suggest the glucose transporter may work more efficiently in dog guts than wolf guts.

Taken together, the data fit with the fact that dogs eat more starch than wolves, Axelsson said. He added that this adaptation would have allowed the first dogs to get more goodness out of the waste food they were drawn to at early farming settlements.

"It makes perfect sense that the most efficient scavengers were the wolves that could cope with this starch-rich diet," he said.

Still, dog domestication may have happened long before humans adopted an agrarian life about 10,000 years ago, said Robert Wayne, an evolutionary biologist at UCLA who wasn't involved in the Nature study.

Perhaps dogs evolved through hanging around hunter-gatherers so they could feed on leftover carcasses of the mammoths and mastodons our ancestors killed, Wayne said. In that scenario, the starch-tolerant changes would have cropped up only after dogs were domesticated, just as genetic changes that help break down starch evolved in human beings after we adopted a farming life.

Part of the reason why the timing of dog domestication is debated is that the fossil record is confusing. The oldest broadly agreed-upon dog fossil is 12,000 years old, of a pup buried with its human in modern-day Israel. More recently, scientists have discovered far older dog-like fossils, including one in Siberia that dates back 33,000 years.

Those remains have skulls that are smaller than wolf skulls but teeth that are wolf-sized, and they are often found alongside specimens that were clearly wolves, said evolutionary biologist Susan Crockford of the University of Victoria in Canada. It will take more study of fossils and ancient DNA to sort out whether these were wolves that had started down the road toward domestication or were merely examples of the natural variation that existed in wolves, she said.

In addition to the starch genes, Axelsson's team found others involved in brain and nervous system development that appear to have been important in the transition from wolf to dog.

That isn't surprising, said Adam Boyko, an evolutionary geneticist at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who wasn't involved in the study. Dogs differ behaviorally from wolves in myriad ways, he said ? in tameness, curiosity, social structure, tail-wagging, novelty-seeking behavior and their penchant to bark (and bark) well into adulthood.

The next step is to study that list of genes to figure out how they affect behavior and development to make dogs distinct, Boyko said.

Oscar Chavez, director of the veterinary technician program at Cal Poly Pomona, said the findings served as a reminder that dogs don't eat like wolves. He said he and his colleagues were befuddled by the trend toward pricey low-carb dog foods and raw diets, which could stress dogs' kidneys with their extra protein load.

"Dogs are dogs ? they're more reliant on starches and grains," he said, which is why commercial dog foods are formulated to contain about 20% to 30% protein and 40% to 50% carbs. "I don't know any veterinarian in my circle of colleagues that would recommend a low-grain diet."

rosie.mestel@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/cJWezWLREY8/la-sci-how-dogs-evolved-20130124,0,1620029.story

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Johnny's Physical Therapy Success Story

The bicycle program at Gospel Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina

A few of the bicycles painted and repaired by Johnny

Johnny is no stranger to hard work or physical labor. He spent four years as an airplane mechanic in the Navy,?stationed on the USS Independence. After that, he owned his own business, repairing and rebuilding printing equipment. Since retiring, Johnny has worked for his church, maintaining the building.?Through his church, Johnny also manages a?program to paint, repair and distribute bicycles to underprivileged kids.?Johnny explains, ?A couple of years ago, my wife came home from a yard sale with a kid?s bike. She said, ?Fix this up, and maybe we can find a kid to who needs it.? Before I knew it, I had to pull my car out of the garage to have room to fit all of the bikes in there.?

Johnny takes pride in painting and repairing bikes so that they are ?like new? when they are given away. ?Over the past two years, Johnny has helped his church give over 50 bikes to underprivileged kids in Guilford County, Rockingham County, and surrounding areas. ?Johnny says, ?We give a helmet with every bike, and we ask the parents first.?

Meanwhile, over the past few years, Johnny?s ability to handle his daily activities became more and more limited by his knee, due to a combination of arthritis, bone spurs, and an old injury. He had to stop taking walks with a friend. Going from sitting to standing became difficult. Just standing became painful. ?He could no longer handle the stairs at the church.

Johnny put off the knee replacement surgery for as long as possible. He walked with a cane, wore a knee brace, and had cortizone shots.?But when managing the bicycle program became hard, the decision to finally have the knee replacement surgery became easy.

After surgery, Johnny received physical therapy through a local home health agency.?He was already walking without a cane when he began?outpatient physical therapy, but he still had a long journey ahead of him. ?He says, ?When I first sat down on the exercise bike, I thought I would never make a revolution, but it got easier.?

Staff and Patient at TheraSport Physical Therapy in Summerfield, North Carolina

Johnny with the staff at TheraSport Physical Therapy

Johnny chose to receive outpatient physical therapy at TheraSport Physical Therapy?in Summerfield, North Carolina because it was convenient to his home. Johnny says, ?From the first time I came, the staff was genuinely interested in helping me get better. And I have!?

Johnny now walks with no assistive device, is able to manage stairs, bend his leg to cross his legs, stand in church? and work on bicycles!

After meeting his goals and being discharged from physical therapy, Johnny joined the Alumni Program so that he could continue his routine in a safe environment. He enjoys the Alumni Program because, as he says, ?Everyone here has something in common. It?s like going to the gym with a friend? You?ll get to talking, and you?ll go a lot farther without even realizing it.?

To learn more about the bike program, contact Johnny by calling Gospel Baptist Church of Greensboro at (336) 644-1932.

Source: http://doarpt.com/johnnys-physical-therapy-success-story/

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Wednesday 23 January 2013

Obamas surprising White House tour groups

Visitors to the White House Tuesday are in for a surprise Tuesday.

First Lady Michelle Obama revealed on Twitter that she and her husband are personally surprising unsuspecting visitors to the White House:

Audiences tuning in to the livestream will find the first couple holding somewhat of a receiving line for tour groups as well as some interactions with the president's dog, Bo. "He just doesn't know where to sit," Michelle Obama explained to one guest.

"Have fun this week!" President Barack Obama said to one visitor from out of town.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/barack-michelle-obama-surprise-white-house-tour-groups-192041312--politics.html

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Twitter and Vine combine to enable embedded video tweeting

Twitter and Vine combine, enable embedded video tweeting

Twitter took Vine under its wing late last year, and it looks like that new relationship is bearing its first fruit. Earlier today, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo revealed Vine's new capabilities with a single tweet earlier today with a Vine video embedded. Like Twitter's card implementation, the video appears as a link in the tweet, and users need only click the "View media" (instead of "Show summary") link underneath for that tweet to expand and show the embedded vid. Once played, the clip loops until you tell it to stop. The video Costolo shared is only a few seconds long, so we don't know if there's a time limit for embedded Vine videos, nor can we say when the rest of us will be able to start using Vine. However, we can surely point you to the source to see the service in action.

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Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Dick Costolo (Twitter)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/23/twitter-vine-embedded-video-tweeti/

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Tuesday 22 January 2013

Video: Running a gauntlet of gunfire to bring back bread

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50535573/

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Video: Matthews: Obama's inaugural address was a 'statement of hope'

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50542035/

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European shares test two-year highs, yen volatile before BOJ

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares inched towards two-year highs and German Bund futures dipped on Monday, as a political attempt to break a budget impasse in the United States revived appetite for shares and dented demand for safe-haven assets.

U.S. House Republican leaders said on Friday they would seek to pass a three-month extension of federal borrowing authority in the coming days to buy time for the Democrat-controlled Senate to pass a plan to shrink budget deficits.

European shares <.fteu3> were supported by the news <.eu>, but with no clear response from the Democrats and a thin session expected due to a market holiday in the United States, the impact on other assets such as Bunds is likely to be limited.

An early morning push by London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> was beginning to fade by mid-morning, leaving the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.1 percent and MSCI's world index <.miwd00000pus> steady at a 20-month high. <.l><.eu/>

"There's a bit of encouragement coming out of the U.S.," said Toby Campbell-Gray, head of trading at Tavira Securities in Monaco.

He added that equity markets had remained resilient in the face of an uncertain economic outlook as many investors had stepped in to buy "on the dip" on days when shares had fallen.

Ahead of the region's first finance ministers' meeting of the year, the euro was down slightly at just over $1.33 against the dollar, while the yen firmed after touching a new low, ahead of a Bank of Japan decision expected to deliver bold monetary easing.

According to sources familiar with the Bank of Japan's thinking, the government of new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the central bank have agreed to set 2 percent inflation as a new target, supplanting a softer 1 percent 'goal'.

The dollar rose to as high as 90.25 yen earlier on Monday, its highest since June 2010. It later slipped 0.7 percent on the day to 89.39 yen, as traders cut short positions given the BOJ has often fallen short of market expectations.

"Investors are being mindful that the moves we have seen over the course of the last month or two are just worth locking in at least until we understand how the BOJ are really going to play in the future," said Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at CIBC World Markets.

CURRENCY WAR

Japanese equities have surged in recent weeks in anticipation of a more aggressive monetary policy stance, but not everyone is happy.

The slump in the yen has prompted Russia's deputy central bank governor to warn of a new round of 'currency wars' and the medium-term risk of running ultra-loose monetary policies is likely to be a theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which opens on Wednesday.

With little in the way of economic data or debt issuance and U.S. markets shut for the Martin Luther King public holiday, the rest of the day was expected to be a fairly quite day for investors.

In bond markets, German Bund yields rose close to the top of this year's 30 basis points range, after Republican lawmakers' efforts to give the U.S. government leeway to pay its bills for another three months. Most other euro zone bonds were trading virtually flat.

The U.S. Treasury needs congressional authorisation to raise the current $16.4 trillion limit on U.S. debt sometime between mid-February and early March. A failure to achieve that could lead to a debt default.

"This is part of the political game, it remains to be seen whether the Democrats will accept it," KBC strategist Piet Lammens said, adding that investors' working scenario was that a solution to raise the ceiling would be eventually found anyway.

OIL OVERSUPPLY

German markets showed no reaction after the country's centre-left opposition party edged Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives from power in a regional election on Sunday, reviving its flagging hopes for September's national election.

Oil prices took their cues from a report in the United States at the end of last week that showed consumer sentiment at its weakest in a year as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the country's debt crisis.

Concerns about demand overshadowed supply disruption fears reinforced by the Islamist militant attack and hostage-taking at a gas plant in Algeria, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Brent futures were down by 17 cents to $111.72 per barrel by 1030 GMT. U.S. crude shed 40 cents to $95.16 per barrel after touching a four-month high last week.

"The over-riding fundamental feeling in the market is that crude oil is over-supplied in 2013," said Tony Nunan, an oil risk manager at Mitsubishi.

Last week's data showing a pick-up in the Chinese economy helped keep growth-sensitive copper prices steady at roughly $8,058 an ounce. Gold, meanwhile, reversed Friday's losses to stand at $1,688 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Marious Zaharia and Anooja Debnath; Editing by Will Waterman and Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-edge-down-yen-eases-boj-meeting-004401195--finance.html

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Monday 21 January 2013

Minister: Somber Newtown needs MLK's words of hope

A young woman wears a green and white bow, the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, in her hair with the initials of the victims names from the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting during an interfaith a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking at the church to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A young woman wears a green and white bow, the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, in her hair with the initials of the victims names from the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting during an interfaith a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking at the church to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A child sits with her family in a pew during an interfaith a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking at the church to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. is interviewed before a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Forbes, who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking in Newtown to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Parishioners reach for each other's hands as they sing the song "We Shall Overcome" at the end of an interfaith service at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, spoke at the service to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Parishioners hold hands as they sing the song "We Shall Overcome" at the end of an interfaith service at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, spoke at the service to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? A former leader of one of the nation's most prominent liberal Protestant churches told residents still grieving one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history that Martin Luther King Jr.'s words of healing and nonviolence "are needed now more than ever."

The Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., the first black minister to lead New York's historic Riverside Church, spoke Sunday night at the Newtown Congregational Church in a service honoring King and the elementary school shooting victims.

About 300 residents filled the church for the community worship service, called For the Healing of Newtown, on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Forbes delivered a sermon calling for a transformation and healing of communities.

"The saddest face I ever saw on Martin Luther King was at the funeral of the four little girls slain in Birmingham, Ala.," he said. "We ask today, as King did then, 'Lord, what can come out of this that will honor those lost in this tragedy?'"

Twenty Sandy Hook Elementary School first-graders and six school officials died in the Newtown shooting last month. The gunman who attacked them had killed his mother at home before going to the school and later committed suicide.

Forbes' message of transformation was delivered to the Newtown community a day before the federal holiday honoring King's legacy and a little more than a month after the Dec. 14 school shooting.

The senior minister of the Newtown Congregational Church, the Rev. Matt Crebbin, welcomed the congregation and spoke of the long journey ahead.

"Though we are all interconnected, our destiny lies in our ability to be one, as a community and as a nation," he said. "Tonight we gather to heal and mend hearts."

As the congregation sang the hymn "When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love," many fought back tears and others simply wept.

Forbes told the congregation his message would be one of hope and healing.

With great passion, he spoke of his experiences during the civil rights movement and the struggles and challenges along the way. But, he said, one way to get encouragement is to recognize when progress is made.

"As a community, overcoming a tragedy will take time, but progress will be made," he said.

Forbes said that King believed in the power of community and faith and the need for good to come from tragedy. He stepped down from the pulpit to be closer to the congregation as he raised his voice to finalize his message.

"We have seen that violence can strike anywhere," Forbes bellowed. "Yes, King talked about violence, but he also talked about transformation and healing in the wake of violence."

He then asked people in the church to consider something: "What if history records what happened in Newtown and that leads to a new America?"

"Maybe if we listen to the Spirit, we as a town will be able to stay out of the depths of despair," he said. "If we listen to the Spirit, there will emerge a beacon of light that can lead an entire nation."

Crebbin said this was a fitting time for Forbes, who was leader of the Riverside Church on Sept. 11, 2001, but retired in 2007, to visit Newtown, which is about 60 miles northeast of New York City.

"He's been able to share his insight about grief through his experience with 9/11," Crebbin said. "In the midst of the grieving, we can't try to fix the grief. We need to help with the grieving. It won't be the same life."

Everyone stood to sing "We Shall Overcome" as the service ended. Forbes, founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, walked down into the congregation to take the hands of those sitting across the aisle from each other and connected the crowd into one.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-21-School%20Shooting-Community%20Service/id-e482501065de4027a26e98109d8cf715

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