News-Digger

Google decouples Gmail from Android

2010-09-22T16:12:00.000+05:30

SOFTWARE COBBLER Google is showing the first signs of frustration with its Android operating system, having removed Gmail from the list of Android's core applications.

In issuing an update for Gmail, Google has made it possible to update the email client without having to wait for a new version of Android to be released.

In the past major updates of Gmail were tied to Android releases. However with the number of Android versions growing and handset manufacturers and mobile operators taking their time releasing updates, Google has started offering the Gmail application as a free download on the Android Market.

The new policy, however, only applies to those who are already running Android 2.2 and this has angered those customers who have been left stranded on old version of the OS. In fact, even some users already on Android 2.2 are complaining that they cannot see the Gmail 2.3 application in the Android Market.

We had no problems finding, downloading and installing Gmail 2.3 on a Nexus One, however, but then that is Google's favoured device.

The update is relatively minor with the most visible change being better navigation through email 'threads'. Though the update itself is minor, Google's decision to treat what is undoubtedly one of the core applications in Android as if it is a third party downloadable application says a lot about the state of fragmentation in Android devices.

Although more handsets are shipping with the latest version of Android, many who purchased handsets even just a year ago are still stuck on Android 1.6 with no updates in sight. As we reported back in March, the fragmentation of Android devices is resulting in users being frustrated with varying user experiences between devices.

The situation has not been helped by manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson and even HTC being slow to release updates to their devices. When coupled with mobile operators' efforts that largely have been to bungle update roll-outs, apparently Google decided it had to take action.

Google's decoupling of applications is a good thing for Android users, who will no longer be reliant on handset manufacturers and mobile operators, the firms that want to flog handsets, to get updates. The only remaining problem for users will be getting Android 2.2 in the first place.

Oracle Growth Plans Worry Rivals and Customers

2010-09-22T16:09:00.000+05:30

SAN FRANCISCO — Each year, Oracle’s presence looms over this city for a week, during the company’s Open World customer conference. About 41,000 people arrived this week to discuss business software in fine detail and talk over beers. Stretches of downtown streets closed and gave way to makeshift tents housing coffee stands, bars, Lego play areas and candy buffets.

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Tony Avelar/Bloomberg News

Lawrence Ellison, Oracle’s chief, says bundling software and hardware improves performance and saves customers money.

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Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Oracle’s Open World conference drew 41,000 people to San Francisco this week to discuss business software and have some fun.

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In hiring Mark Hurd, former chief at H.P., Oracle added an executive who had run a major computer server business.

But Oracle’s annual takeover of San Francisco pales against its larger ambitions — to supply just about all the technology, software and hardware, that businesses might need. This sweeping agenda has rattled the nerves of customers, who fear that Oracle has its own best interests, not theirs, at heart. The worry is that instead of saving money, customers will end up paying more over the long term, and that Oracle, already known for its aggressive tactics, will use its strong position in software to gain even more leverage over a larger array of products.

Companies have long used Oracle’s software to keep track of their most prized information. For Oracle, this resulted in sales of $26.8 billion last year and hints of an annual revenue goal of $100 billion. Over the last five years, Oracle has acquired a staggering 66 companies, most of which were software makers that provided expertise in niche areas.

This year, it bought Sun Microsystems, a hardware maker, signaling its intention to dominate the data centers of businesses by controlling more of their technology purchases. It is a prospect that its traditional partners and, more important, its customers, find unnerving.

“It’s freaking terrifying for some people,” said Jason Carey, a database software developer for a credit services company.

Maureen Miller, who oversees technology infrastructure work for the National Science Foundation, put it this way: “We are becoming an all-Oracle shop, but not by choice. They bought every company we deal with. And we don’t tend to want to put all of our eggs in one basket.”

Lawrence J. Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive, argued that the company’s new strategy would benefit customers. “If you want to go faster and you want a system that is more reliable, you have to be willing to spend less,” he said in his opening pitch at this week’s event, while extolling the virtues of linking hardware and software. But customers are skeptical, and pushing back.

Oracle built its business by dominating the database market, providing the central repositories of crucial information that businesses must maintain and use to complete transactions. This has given it an unrivaled position of power when dealing with customers. Capitalizing on such an edge, Oracle’s sales representatives have earned a fearsome reputation as hard-line negotiators determined to squeeze customers.

But through its acquisition spree, Oracle moved well beyond the database and into business software, buying up the important products that companies use to keep track of their technology infrastructure, employees, sales, inventory and customers.

With Sun, Oracle has found a way to sell customers hardware bundled with all that software in a fashion similar to that of its main database rival, I.B.M. Oracle executives say they can build better, faster, cheaper products this way by engineering complete systems rather than requiring customers to cobble together the parts.

It is akin to the Apple model of limiting choice and controlling the crucial pieces in a computer, as opposed to the PC model, where the Windows software from Microsoft can run on hundreds of different machines.

Later this year, Oracle also plans to give select customers access to a product suite called Fusion. This arrives after five years of work and will unite many of the products Oracle has acquired into a single software platform — one that will combine functions found in rival products from companies like SAP, I.B.M., Microsoft and Salesforce.com.

But customers are objecting to Oracle’s moves. For example, some of Sun’s largest former customers consist of the large Wall Street players, and they pushed back this year when Oracle moved to limit their choices around the Sun technology. Oracle ultimately gave in to their pleas, reaffirming deals that would let Hewlett-Packard and Dell offer prized Sun software on their hardware.

“Customers will always gripe about giving too much control to any one company,” said Israel Hernandez, director of software research at Barclays Capital.

Like it or not, many of the largest technology companies — H.P., I.B.M., Cisco Systems and Oracle — have made their data center conquest plans clear. Oracle now competes directly with its partners H.P. and Dell, as does Cisco, the networking specialist, through its move into computer servers. Meanwhile, H.P., once one of Cisco’s closest allies, has begun a major assault in the networking arena.

“We will see more concentration because that’s where the marketing is going,” Mr. Hernandez said.

At least Oracle has the courtesy to assuage customer’s nerves for one week through its Open World largess.

The downtown tents covering parts of Howard and Mason Streets house alcohol-soaked evenings sponsored by Fujitsu, fully stocked candy bars and Lego playpens where people win prizes from Google for interesting constructions. People also dine inside the tents on 59,000 lunches said to have an eco-friendly touch with 60 percent of the food coming from within 100 miles of the city.

Just outside the tents, show attendees can pick up a Services Serum smoothie at the Dell-sponsored juice bar and then relax on white leather lounges. Or people can look past the white-gloved guards to sneak a peek at the America’s Cup trophy that Mr. Ellison won this year.

But the main party will take place on Wednesday night, when Oracle will bus people to a series of concerts held on Treasure Island, which sits between San Francisco and Oakland. The headlining acts include the Black Eyed Peas, Don Henley and the Steve Miller Band.

Six acts will perform on two stages surrounded by amusement rides, four laser systems, 150,000 cocktail napkins, mounds of food and 12 searchlights beaming into the sky. Typically, a few brave female souls will dance near the music stages, while hundreds of male database gurus sip free drinks and ogle.

“I don’t know if any of the customers or the nerds that show up care that much about the fancy production,” said Christine Stamper, who paid $1,800 to attend the conference and runs her own software consulting business in Portland, Ore. “It’s a little goofy.”

Ms. Stamper said she hoped to learn the latest and greatest about Oracle’s products.

“That they have stayed healthy and grown has meant that I could make an entire career out of this,” she said.

This month, Oracle hired Mark V. Hurd, the former chief executive of H.P., as a co-president. Analysts viewed the hiring as a positive for Oracle as it looks to expand. At H.P., Mr. Hurd oversaw the largest computer server business around and ran the world’s largest technology company.

“As Oracle continues to grow, we need people experienced in operating a $100 billion business,” noted Safra A. Catz, Oracle’s other co-president, at the time of Mr. Hurd’s hiring.

The $100 billion total would put Oracle in the same class as H.P. and I.B.M.

“I read that statement as a signal that Oracle intends to get aggressive and pursue growth,” Mr. Hernandez said. “It implies a step up in mergers and acquisitions.”

Such talk only makes already weary Oracle customers more anxious. And San Francisco officials must wonder if the city could survive the demands of an Oracle four times its current size.

Orphan baby dies on day of parents' funeral

2010-09-22T16:08:00.000+05:30

An 18-day-old premature baby has died on the same day her parents were buried after dying in a car crash.

Justin Schollbach and Leah James died last Tuesday after crashing their ute on Captain Cook Drive at Kurnell, an area near the southern head of Botany Bay in New South Wales.

The couple were driving home from visiting their baby Lucy, who was born 12 weeks premature.

The couple's ute crashed into a pole and split in two, killing them instantly.

Weighing only 1.3kg, Lucy was living in a humidicrib in the neonatal ward at the Royal Hospital for Women in the eastern Sydney suburb of Randwick, where her parents had been visiting her twice a day.

A statement from the hospital says Lucy died from complications associated with her premature birth.

The hospital's clinical director, Dr George Bearham, says she died shortly before 4am (AEST).

"Despite the efforts of doctors and nurses, Lucy passed away from complications associated with her premature birth," he said in a statement.

"This is a very sad time for Lucy's family and all of those who cared for her here."

Family friend India Bent, who grew up with Mr Schollbach, says it has been a tough day for the family, who are doing their best to deal with the grief.

"She passed away this morning, wanted to be with her mum and dad I think," Ms Bent said.

"It's been a very hard day ... the funeral was today for both the parents.

"[Lucy] was Justin's first child, a long-awaited first child."

Ms James had five other children, aged between six and 15, who are struggling to cope with losing their mum.

Doctors had expected Lucy to stay in hospital until November.

Ms Bent says a funeral for Lucy will be arranged at some point.

"We're just trying to deal with this today and trying to deal with the next five minutes," she said.

Microsoft Boosts Dividend to 16 Cents, Gets Debt-Sale Approval

2010-09-22T11:23:00.001+05:30

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. raised its quarterly dividend by 3 cents, or 23 percent, to 16 cents a share and got approval from its board to sell as much as $6 billion in additional debt.

“This higher dividend, combined with our ongoing share repurchase program, reflects our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders and our confidence in the long-term growth of the company,” Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said yesterday in a statement.

Microsoft is planning to sell debt this year to pay for dividends and share repurchases because much of its cash is held overseas, a person familiar with the matter said last week. The company will try to raise as much as possible without jeopardizing its debt rating of AAA, the highest available, said the person, who declined to be named because the plans are confidential and not completed.

The dividend increase was a sign Microsoft is confident in its ability to generate cash, said Brent Thill, an analyst at UBS AG in San Francisco.

“While not as high as some Street expectations, it was a larger incremental increase than the 2-cent dividend hike Microsoft’s board approved in fiscal year 2009,” he said in a note to clients.

‘Meaningful’ Acquisition?

Thill, who recommends buying Microsoft shares, estimates the company will generate $25 billion in free cash flow in the current fiscal year. Based on that, Microsoft could potentially increase its share repurchases beyond his $12 billion estimate for the year or pay for a “meaningful” acquisition, he said.

Bloomberg data had indicated the company would increase its quarterly dividend by 2 cents a share, while Heather Bellini, an analyst at ISI Group, predicted an increase of 4 cents. A quarterly dividend of 16 cents would yield 2.5 percent.

Microsoft fell 28 cents to $25.15 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have dropped 17 percent this year.

A debt offering may come before the end of the company’s fiscal year, which closes next June, and could come as soon as this calendar year, the person familiar with the matter said.

Issuing $6 billion probably wouldn’t put the rating at risk, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company, based in Redmond, Washington, is under pressure to return more cash to shareholders amid declines in its stock price this year.

Cash Hoard

Microsoft reported $36.8 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of last quarter. Much of that is held overseas, forcing the company to pay taxes on the money if it uses it for dividends or stock repurchases. Bellini estimates that about 74 percent of Microsoft’s cash is overseas.

Microsoft said yesterday that in the 10 years through June, it had returned almost $170 billion to investors through dividends and share repurchases. The company began its dividend in 2003 and offered a $3-a-share special dividend in 2004.

Microsoft sold its first debt in May 2009, a $3.75 billion offering, in a bid to diversify its capital structure and add to its cash pile for acquisitions, capital expenses and share buybacks. The sale was comprised of $2 billion of 2.95 percent, 5-year notes; $1 billion of 4.2 percent, 10-year debt; and $750 million of 5.2 percent, 30-year bonds.

In June, Microsoft said it would sell $1.15 billion of convertible senior notes due in 2013 and use the proceeds to retire some of its commercial paper.

Jobless rate rises in Maryland, Virginia, steady in D.C.

2010-09-22T11:21:00.000+05:30

Unemployment rates in Maryland and Virginia rose in August, according to federal government data released Tuesday, signaling a setback for the Washington area's economic recovery and highlighting the fragile state of the U.S. labor market.

In Maryland, the jobless rate jumped to 7.3 percent after holding for two straight months at 7.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state lost a net of 5,700 jobs in August, officials said, even though the number of positions that were added was three times the national average.

Virginia's unemployment rate rose to 7.0 percent, from 6.9 percent in July, reflecting a net loss of 2,700 jobs. The District's jobless rate remained at 9.9 percent even as the city lost thousands of positions from such steady job creators as professional and business services employers.

The jurisdictions' job losses pale in comparison with the tens of thousands of cuts during the peak months of the recession, and the jobless rates in Maryland and Virginia are well below the 9.6 percent national average. Still, the apparent shift in momentum was a discouraging sign for some economists and experts who earlier this year had pointed to falling unemployment rates as evidence that recovery was taking hold.

"That is not the direction we want to be going," said Sara Kline, associate economist at Moody's Analytics. "Overall, I'd say it's not a good report. The contraction is concerning, something to keep an eye on."

The local jobs picture parallels trends in the national unemployment rate, which rose a tenth of a percentage point in August. Similarly, the nation is experiencing a sluggish recovery: Private-sector jobs are being created, but not quickly enough to put a significant number of unemployed people back to work.

Even though the District's unemployment rate didn't rise, the city's data still reflect a troubling trend. The number of employed residents dropped by 2,900, while the number of the unemployed fell by only 200. Labor experts said this suggests that many long-term unemployed people became discouraged, stopped looking for work and were no longer counted in the data - a reversal of a scenario that played out earlier in the year.

In Maryland and Virginia, the rising unemployment levels were not caused by long-term "discouraged" job seekers who were again counted when they resumed their job search, as has been the case at times in the past year. In both states, employment declined while unemployment increased.

The data in all three area jurisdictions reflect the dismissal of temporary workers involved in the federal census and, in the case of the District, the end of the city's summer youth jobs program. But experts say the numbers also reflect decreases in private sector jobs and a possible retrenchment among some employers about increasing their payrolls.

Maryland lost 3,000 jobs in retail, 2,200 in professional and business services, 1,700 in education and health services and 1,700 in government. It gained 2,000 jobs in construction and 1,000 in financial activities.

Virginia lost 6,000 jobs in government, 1,300 in professional and business services and 1,300 in leisure and hospitality. It gained 1,400 in education and health services, and 1,100 in construction.

The District lost 2,000 jobs in professional and business services in August, 1,500 in education and health services and 800 in leisure and hospitality. It gained 400 jobs in construction and 100 in financial activities.

"There's concern about the recovery - it is moving forward but at a much slower pace," said Ann D. Lang, senior economist at the Virginia Employment Commission. "The housing market and labor market are so slow in returning - that worries employers and consumers."

Nationwide, the state with the highest unemployment rate was Nevada, at 14.4 percent, while North Dakota had the lowest rate, at 3.7 percent. North Carolina gained the most jobs in August, adding 18,600. Michigan lost the most, shedding 50,300.

Parents of student get custody of ‘abandoned’ baby

2010-09-21T14:50:00.000+05:30

JITRA: The parents of a 20-year-old student who lied to police about finding a baby behind her house will have custody of the newborn girl.

The Kubang Pasu welfare department said the parents of the student – from a higher education institution in Selangor – have agreed to take care and look after the infant.

The student initially claimed she found the infant, with the umbilical cord still attached, behind her house in Taman Rasa Sayang here on Saturday evening.

She claimed she was bathing when she heard the baby crying and later “rescued” the child.

She and her mother later lodged a police report about finding an abandoned baby.

Police investigators later found that the 2.8kg baby was actually the newborn child of the student.

Police saw through the ruse when she began to make inconsistent statements about finding the baby.

The Jitra Hospital later examined her and confirmed she had just given birth.

Prominent Pakistani politician murdered outside his London home

2010-09-17T13:01:00.000+05:30

Imran Farooq claimed asylum in Britain after spending seven years on the run as one of Pakistan's most wanted fugitives. Photo: GETTY

Dr Farooq, 50, was repeatedly stabbed in the head and neck during the assault in Edgware, north London.

He was a leading member of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party, which is one of the largest in Pakistan.

There were suggestions from Pakistan that he may have known his killer. When police arrived at the scene, they found Dr Farooq’s body outside his house.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said officers attended an address in Green Lane, Edgware, shortly before 5.30pm after reports of a serious assault. “On arrival, officers found a single Asian man aged 50 with multiple stab wounds and head injuries,” the spokesman said.

“Paramedics attended the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Next of kin have been informed and no arrests have been made.

Dr Farooq was expected to attend a birthday celebration at the MQM headquarters on London’s Edgware Road on Thursday night but the event was cancelled at the last minute. Police said it was too early to know if the murder was politically motivated.

The politician claimed asylum in Britain after spending seven years on the run as one of Pakistan’s most wanted fugitives. He was accused of a range of charges, including murder and torture.

He has not returned to Pakistan since his arrival in England in 1992.

He claimed that year that he was wanted “dead or alive”.

“[This gave] licence and impunity to every individual in Pakistan to assassinate me,” he said.

Dr Farooq said he spent more than seven years in hiding in Karachi, southern Pakistan. He continued: “It was impossible for me to remain in Pakistan due to the continued threat on my life and liberty.”

He insisted the claims against him in Pakistan were politically motivated and continued his involvement with the party from Britain.

Last month Raza Haider, another MQM member, was gunned down with his guard as he attended a funeral near the centre of Karachi. The killing triggered violence in which dozens of people were killed and at least 100 wounded.

Azeem Tariq, the former chairman, was murdered in Karachi 13 years ago. Intruders entered his home and shot him as he slept.

MQM, based in Karachi, is the fourth largest party in Pakistan and is part of the ruling coalition government. It has a strong anti-Taliban stance, although rivals accuse it of exaggerating the threat of the Taliban.

The party represents mainly descendants of Urdu-speaking migrants from India who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.

A statement on the MQM website said the party had declared a ten-day period of mourning in Pakistan and around the world.

London has played host to many of Pakistan’s exiled politicians. Gen Pervez Musharraf, the former president, lives in self-imposed exile in London.

Column: Breaking down the Nadal era

2010-09-17T12:57:00.000+05:30

What makes Rafa, Rafa?

What makes a tennis player a tennis champion to the degree that Rafael Nadal has already obtained at the age of 24, and barring injury, should continue to do for many years to come?

Born to an athletic family on the island of Mallorca on June 3 of 1986 to Sebastian and Ana Maria Nadal, Rafael Nadal grew up playing as much soccer as he did tennis.

He father a business partner with two brothers of a restaurant as well as owner of a glass and window company hired one of his brothers, Toni, who was a Spanish tennis professional, to help train his son.

So from the age of four, Uncle Toni has been Rafael's coach, mentor, support system, strategist and emotional anchor - continuing in that vein even today.

At the age of 12 Rafa's father said he had to make the choice of playing tennis or playing soccer because both were taking too much of his time from his studies.

So with his uncle's advice of feeling he could achieve much more playing tennis, that's the direction he went.

At the age of 14 the Spanish Tennis Federation wanted Nadal to train with it in Barcelona, but his father decided otherwise, and took on the full financial obligation to help Rafa reach his potential.

In an exhibition match with Pat Cash that same year, he showed how much promise he had defeating the former Wimbledon champion.

Before his 16th birthday, Rafa won his first ATP match. By 2004 he gained his first win against the No. 1 one player in the world, Roger Federer in straight sets, the beginning of a great rivalry.

By 2005 Rafa was ranked within the top five players in the world. In his first appearance at the French Open he won his first major title, reached the No. 2 position on the ATP tour and captured 11 titles for the year.

Not bad for a teenager.

Fast-forward to 2010, Rafael Nadal has won nine major singles titles at the age of 24, while Federer owns 16 and he's 29.

The latest came this past Monday with his first U.S. Open win, which added the one major he hadn't won. That gave him wins at all four majors an unbelievable accomplishment that few have achieved.

Only seven players have won what's known as a career slam, and only Agassi and Nadal have done that and won Olympic gold medals too.

So back to the original thought: why has Rafael Nadal excelled so well?

Uncle Toni and his family has played a major part in Rafa's development, there can be no mistake in that. Toni has helped teach his student and nephew modesty, how to stay down-to-earth while instilling values and qualities that show with hard work you can achieve your goals, realizing there's always room for improvement.

It's about attitude, discipline and perspective, that help define results and improve motivation.

There is also the question of staying healthy, physically and mentally.

You can put this whole package together and have a bout of severe tendonitis in your knees, a stress fracture affect your ankle, or the divorce of your parents hit your core, all of these things have happened to Nadal, yet he's returned to what could become known as the Nadal Era.

If you've noticed, even though not together as husband and wife, his parents were both in the stands together cheering their son on with his team of coaches, sister, girlfriend and uncle at the Open finals.

In 2007 in a finals defeat at the Australian Open Toni said he cried like an animal in the locker room, yet we've all seen him console Federer with sympathy, respect and sensitivity- playing down the lime light he rightly deserved in major wins against the master.

His game continues to improve.

He has a better serve, with more speed, spin and location.

His number of aces have more than doubled this year from 3.2 per match to 7.5

Federer hits topspin balls that average 2,700 revolutions per minute, while Rafa's are 3,200. The speedy footwork and great court coverage is above reproach, but continually trained on.

Nadal's goal for the rest of the year is simple, to keep improving.

Uncle Toni was asked if he thought Rafa might become the greatest player of all time, his response, "Ask me in five or six years."

Yahoo Again Cuts Into Google's Share Of Search Market

2010-09-17T12:53:00.000+05:30

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) continued to boost its slice of the Web-search market, taking market share from sector giant Google Inc. (GOOG) again in August, according to data released by an industry researcher.

According to monthly data from comScore Inc. (SCOR), Google still sat comfortably atop Web-search rankings, garnering 65.4% of U.S. core searches, down 0.4 percentage points from July. Meanwhile, Yahoo added 0.3 percentage points to its share of the market, bringing it to 17.1%. Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Bing engine added 0.1 percentage point to its cut of the market, bringing its share to 17.1%.

Overall, users made nearly 15.7 billion searches in August.

ComScore has shifted how it reports its data after Yahoo's "contextual searches" skewed results in June. While comScore's definition of a search included the traditional search-box query type of searches, it also included some automatic search results that pop up without a user entering a specific query. Now, the group is measuring U.S. explicit core searches, which exclude contextual searches that don't reflect any intent by users

Review: 'The Town' worth visiting

2010-09-17T12:48:00.001+05:30

The decent-hearted criminal trying to go straight. The beautiful woman who doesn't know whether to love him or turn him in to the authorities. The live-wire partner whose erratic behavior threatens to get them all locked away for life. The dogged FBI agent who won't rest until justice is served.

I know what you're thinking: Isn't that the plot of every third episode of "Cold Case"?

But in the confident, assured hands of director Ben Affleck -- taking a leap beyond his ambitious but muddled debut "Gone Baby Gone" -- these familiar ingredients are transformed into something new. "The Town" is a tough, muscular crime drama with a biting wit. It's like a cup of scalding, acid black coffee after the long slumber of the summer movie season.

Affleck announces his intentions in the opening scenes, with a nervously edited, ruthlessly efficient bank robbery, featuring four men in spooky Skeletor masks. They force their way inside and then force the assistant manager (Rebecca Hall, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona") to open the safe. When the cops show up, the robbers -- led by longtime Boston-born friends Doug MacRay (Affleck) and Jim Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) -- take the bank manager hostage.

But even after they release her, their paranoia becomes hard to shake: Might she be able to identify one of them to the feds? Doug starts trailing her, strikes up a conversation at a laundromat and -- before even realizing the dangers involved -- he's falling in love.

As wildly melodramatic as it might sound, "The Town" -- based on the novel "Prince of Thieves" by Chuck Hogan, and ably adapted by Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard and Affleck -- feels entirely plausible and naturalistic. That's partly because Affleck and cinematographer Robert Elswit ("There Will Be Blood") invest so much in bringing alive the Boston setting.

"The town" refers to the Charlestown neighborhood, a dingy section of south Boston, lorded over by a crime boss who doubles as a florist (Pete Postlethwaite, who could do these roles in his sleep, but still does them better than anyone). Affleck has a terrific eye for the way yuppified condos bump up against crumbling old houses, but more than that, he has a great feel for the sometimes perverse loyalties that develop in any tight-knit, family-centered community.

The bulk of "The Town" concerns Doug's desperate efforts to break free from Charlestown, even as his circumstances become hopelessly complicated: Jim continues to insist they take on new assignments; a wily FBI agent (an effective Jon Hamm) tries to bring them down; and Doug's longtime girlfriend, Jim's sister Krista (Blake Lively), refuses to let him break up with her.

Echoing those other recent Boston-based crime epics, "Mystic River" and "The Departed," "The Town" feels a tad overplotted, and it strains for an operatic anguish it doesn't always earn. The weakest link, in fact, is Affleck's own performance, which never fully captures Doug's fundamental decency, or, for that matter, his strain of sociopathy. (Oddly enough, the Boston-raised Affleck's accent is also the least convincing in the movie.)

But that's a forgivable flaw in a movie that otherwise strikes a deft balance between the cynical and the humane. Much like "The Departed," "The Town" looks upon this dog-eat-dog world of petty criminality with a jaundiced, comic eye. But Affleck never lets the characters devolve into cartoons the way Martin Scorsese did, coaxing tense, nuanced performances from Renner, Hall, Lively and Chris Cooper, who turns up briefly as Doug's incarcerated dad.

He also turns out to be a shockingly good director of action. In addition to that superb opening bank robbery, "The Town" serves up two successively more elaborate heists. The climax, especially, is a beauty, a hailstorm of gunfire and smoke and crunching metal, set at Fenway Park. The result is a purely pleasurable, old-school entertainment that never once insults your intelligence.

Who'da thunk? Ben Affleck has been reborn as one of the most promising young film directors working today.

'The Town'

H*H 1/2

Rating: R (for language, violence
and sexual content)
Cast: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner,
Jon Hamm and Rebecca Hall
Director: Ben Affleck
Running time:
2 hours,
5 minu

Oracle Rises After Corporate Spending Fuels Software, Sun Sales

2010-09-17T12:46:00.000+05:30

Oracle hired Mark Hurd, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., on Sept. 6 as co-president responsible for sales, marketing and customer support. Kimberly White/Bloomberg

Play Video

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Brent Thill, analyst at UBS AG, talks about first-quarter earnings at Oracle Corp. Oracle reported profit and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates as sales of database software and Sun Microsystems server computers helped it capitalize on a recovery in information-technology spending. Thill talks with Carol Massar and Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)

Play Video

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Renny Ponvert, chief executive officer of Management CV, talks about Oracle Corp.'s decision to hire Mark Hurd, who formerly ran Hewlett-Packard Co., as co-president. Ponvert speaks with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television's "Taking Stock." (Source: Bloomberg)

Oracle Corp., the second-largest software maker, rose in late trading yesterday after its first- quarter results and sales forecast topped analysts’ estimates, helped by an expansion into computer hardware.

Excluding acquisition costs and other expenses, earnings climbed to 42 cents a share last quarter, beating the 37-cent average of projections compiled by Bloomberg. Oracle indicated that sales will be at least $8.4 billion in the current period. Analysts had estimated $8.21 billion.

The company is counting on hardware to spur a new wave of growth, underpinned by its acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. this year. Oracle is assembling more prepackaged systems, which combine its software with Sun’s servers. By adding salespeople and engineers and moving away from low-end machines, Oracle aims to squeeze more sales and profit from hardware, which generated $1.7 billion last quarter.

“We can dramatically improve margins and double the top line,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison said on a conference call, without giving a timeframe for the growth.

Oracle rose 4.7 percent to $26.55 in extended trading. The shares, up 3.4 percent this year, had closed at $25.36 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The company, based in Redwood City, California, reports sales that include deferred revenue from acquired businesses and don’t conform to generally accepted accounting principles. On that basis, sales in the period ended Aug. 31 jumped 50 percent to $7.59 billion. Analysts on average predicted $7.32 billion.

Bigger Deals

“Deals seem to be getting a little bigger,” President Safra Catz said on the conference call.

Oracle is capitalizing on a recovery in corporate information-technology spending by offering a range of software products assembled through acquisitions. The hiring this month of Mark Hurd, who formerly ran Hewlett-Packard Co., may help the company manage Sun and expand into new areas of hardware. Oracle bought Sun for $7.3 billion in January.

Oracle’s earnings add evidence that corporate spending has supplanted consumers as the main driver of demand for computers and software.

Intel Corp., the largest supplier of computer chips, said on Aug. 27 that its third-quarter revenue will be below its previous forecast, partly because of weaker-than-expected demand for consumer personal computers. Dell Inc. also cited weakness in U.S. consumer demand for PCs when its second-quarter gross margin fell short of projections.

Profit Forecast

Excluding some costs, profit will be 45 cents to 47 cents a share this quarter, Catz said. Analysts had estimated 45 cents. Sales will grow 43 percent to 47 percent from a year earlier, excluding the effect of currency fluctuations, she said.

“They surprised across the board, line by line,” said Sasa Zorovic, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Boston. He recommends buying the shares and doesn’t own them. “IT spending is recovering, and in the past couple of quarters Oracle has done better than the overall IT environment.”

Oracle is the largest seller of database software, second to SAP AG in business applications, and the No. 2 provider of application-connecting middleware -- after International Business Machines Corp. Its goal for Sun, a money loser at the time of the acquisition, is to contribute $1.5 billion in operating income during its first year in the fold.

Combined Products

The company will unveil “two high-end systems that combine Sun hardware with Oracle software” at next’s weeks Oracle OpenWorld show in San Francisco, Hurd said in a statement.

Investors are looking for clues from Oracle about whether Hurd’s hiring signals more hardware acquisitions, Zorovic said.

“To what extent will Sun be the first of many in hardware?” Zorovic said.

Net income in the fiscal first quarter rose 20 percent to $1.35 billion, or 27 cents a share, from $1.12 billion, or 22 cents, a year earlier. Sales in the year-earlier period were $5.06 billion.

New software license sales, an indicator of future revenue, rose 25 percent to $1.29 billion. David Hilal, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Virginia, predicted $1.12 billion.

Sales of new database and middleware licenses rose 32 percent to $937 million. Business applications license revenue increased 10 percent to $349 million.

Corporate technology spending will increase 2.9 percent this year to more than $2.4 trillion, after a 5.9 percent decline last year, according to market-research firm Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut.

Support Contracts

Ellison has bought more than 65 companies since early 2005. That’s increased the types of programs Oracle can sell and added customers who eventually buy support contracts, providing a stream of profitable revenue.

Oracle hired Hurd on Sept. 6 as a co-president responsible for sales, marketing and customer support. HP filed a lawsuit on Sept. 7 seeking to block Hurd from working at Oracle. Serving as an Oracle president would make it “impossible” for him to avoid using or disclosing HP’s trade secrets and confidential information, according to the state court complaint.

The suit hasn’t prevented Hurd from starting work at Oracle.

“Hurd fits well into Oracle’s next challenge -- competing in the market for integrated hardware and software systems,” FBR’s Hilal said in a note to clients. He rates Oracle “outperform.”

AIDS virus in monkeys much older than thought: study

2010-09-17T12:45:00.000+05:30

WASHINGTON — An HIV-like virus that infects monkeys is thousands of years older than previously thought and its slow evolution could have disturbing implications for humans, according to a new study.

Scientists said the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) -- the ancestor to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS -- is probably between 32,000 and 75,000 years old and may even date back a million years.

"If it took thousands of years for SIV to evolve into a primarily non-lethal state, it would likely take a very long time for HIV to naturally follow the same trajectory," a statement from Tulane University said.

The work led by researchers from Tulane and the University of Arizona included a genetic analysis of SIV strains found in monkeys on Bioko, an island off the coast of what is now Cameroon which split off the continent of Africa after the ice age more than 10,000 years ago.

The study, published in the September 17 issue of the journal Science, calls into question previous DNA sequencing data that estimated the virus's age at only a few hundred years.

"The biology and geography of SIV is such that it goes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean all the way to the tip of Africa," said virologist Preston Marx of the Tulane National Primate Research Center and a co-leader of the research.

"It would take many, many thousands of years to spread that far and couldn't have happened in a couple of hundred years."

Marx tested his theory that SIV had ancient origins by seeking out DNA samples from monkey populations that had been isolated for thousands of years.

The researchers found four different strains of SIV that were genetically divergent from those found on the mainland. They compared DNA sequences of the viruses with the assumption that they were tracking how both evolved over 10,000 years.

The computer modeling showed the rate of mutation to be much slower than previously thought, indicating that virus is between 32,000 and 75,000 years old to have evolved to its current state. These dates set a new minimum age for SIV, although it is likely to be even older, Marx says.

Researcher Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona said this slow evolution from a deadly virus to a relatively harmless suggests AIDS may continue to be a killer.

"If HIV is going to evolve to lower virulence, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon," he said.

But the scientists said the study also raises new questions about how HIV became an epidemic. It remains unclear why, if humans had been exposed to SIV-infected monkeys for thousands of years, the HIV epidemic only began in the 20th century.

"Something happened in the 20th century to change this relatively benign monkey virus into something that was much more potent and could start the epidemic. We don't know what that flashpoint was, but there had to be one," Marx said.

Smoke-Free Laws May Help Kids Breathe Easier

2010-09-16T14:31:00.000+05:30

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Laws that ban smoking in workplaces and public settings seem to show a fringe benefit: Scottish researchers report that such legislation is linked with a decline in hospital admissions for childhood asthma.

Researchers have long known that exposure to tobacco smoke increases the incidence and severity of asthma, and that children are especially vulnerable.

While other studies have looked at the effects of smoking bans on all ages, and have taken into account on-the-job exposure, "ours is the first study to have looked at a subgroup of the population [children], who do not have occupational exposure," said lead researcher Dr. Jill Pell, the Henry Mechan Professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow.

In March of 2006, the Smoking, Health and Social Care Act was passed in Scotland. It banned smoking in all enclosed public places and in workplaces.

For the study, Pell and her colleagues identified all the hospital admissions for asthma among children under the age of 15 from January 2000 through October 2009.

The investigators found a total of 21,415 admissions for asthma. Before the smoking law passed, admissions were increasing, on average, by 5.2 percent per year.

After the law passed, there was a reduction, on average, of 18.2 percent each year, relative to the rate on the day the law went into effect.

"The evidence from Scotland is that legislation has an effect that extends beyond the locations that are covered by the restrictions," Pell said. "In Scotland there has been an increase in voluntary bans in the home and a resultant reduction in exposure to secondhand smoke among children. It is clear that legislation has a more general effect on smoking attitudes and behaviors."

She is confident the same effects are already occurring in the United States as well, as smoking bans have been passed.

In the Scottish study, the decline in admissions for asthma was seen in both preschool and school-age children.

When the legislation was first discussed, some feared that the bans in public and workplaces might cause home smoking to increase. But there's no evidence of that, she said. Instead the laws seem to have been followed by an increase in voluntary restriction of smoking at home.

The study was supported by a grant from NHS Health Scotland.

"The findings are a confirmation of the beneficial effect of reducing the exposure of children to environmental tobacco smoke," said Dr. E. Rand Sutherland, chief of the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at National Jewish Health, in Denver.

"The study also suggests, importantly, that children [and not just adults] can be the beneficiaries of smoke-free policies which target the workplace and public spaces," he added.

In the United States, more than 200,000 episodes of childhood asthma each year have been blamed on parental smoking, some research has found.

Test hope in prostate cancer battle

2010-09-15T11:48:00.001+05:30

A single blood test for men aged 60 could identify those most likely to develop and die from prostate cancer, new research has suggested.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with 35,000 in the UK diagnosed every year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Screening is used in certain countries, but remains open to debate with medical experts weighing up the benefits of screening against the potential harms and costs of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of healthy men.

Prostate cancer can develop when cells in the prostate gland start to grow in an uncontrolled way.

The findings in the British Medical Journal suggested the single test could pinpoint which men needed to be monitored closely and others who needed no further checks.

Professor Philipp Dahm and colleagues at the University of Florida reviewed six previous screening trials involving 387,286 participants. They found routine screening aided the diagnosis of prostate cancer at an earlier stage, but did not have a significant impact on death rates and raised the risk of over-treatment.

A second study by headed by Professor Hans Lilja, showed a single "prostate-specific antigen" (PSA) level test at age 60 strongly predicted a man's risk of diagnosis and death from prostate cancer.

The team found 90% of prostate cancer deaths occurred in men with the highest PSA levels at age 60, while men with average or low PSA levels had negligible rates of prostate cancer or death by age 85.

The findings suggested at least half of men aged 60 and above might be exempted from further prostate cancer screening.

Gerald Andriole, chief of urologic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, suggested PSA testing should be geared to individual risk. He recommended young men at high risk of prostate cancer, for example those with a strong family history, should be monitored closely, while elderly men and those with a low risk of disease could be tested less often.

Japanese Bonds Pare Advance After Government Intervenes in Currency Market

2010-09-15T11:47:00.000+05:30

Japan’s 10-year bonds pared earlier gains as stocks rallied after the nation intervened in the currency market for the first time since 2004.

Ten-year yields climbed from a two-week low as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average surged the most in seven weeks, damping demand for the relative safety of government debt. Bonds rose earlier after Moody’s Investors Service said Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s policy strategy supports the stable outlook on Japan’s debt ratings. Kan defeated Ichiro Ozawa in the ruling party’s leadership election yesterday.

“The currency intervention prompted investors to take profit, weighing on the bond market,” said Kazuya Ito, a fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. “The size of the intervention hasn’t become clear, and there may be a sell-off of the dollar again to test the authorities’ resolve. So, people can’t continue to sell bonds.”

The yield of the benchmark 10-year bond fell 4.5 basis points to 1.06 percent as of 1:38 p.m. in Tokyo at Japan Bond Trading Co., the nation’s largest interdealer debt broker. The 1 percent security due September 2020 rose 0.403 yen to 99.457 yen. The yield earlier dropped as much as 6.5 basis points.

Ten-year bond futures for December delivery gained 0.55 to 141.85 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 gained 2.5 percent, the most since July 28.

The yen weakened to as low as 85.09 per dollar today after earlier appreciating to 82.88, the strongest since May 1995. A stronger yen reduces the value of overseas sales at Japanese companies when repatriated.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda confirmed the intervention and told reporters in Tokyo the move was unilateral. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said the ministry considers 82 per dollar to be the line of defense.

Kan’s Victory

Bonds still gained for the day on speculation Kan’s victory over Ozawa yesterday will allow him to implement measures to trim the nation’s debt levels.

Kan, a former finance minister, has said he will consider doubling the sales tax to tackle the world’s largest public debt. He vows to end Japan’s prolonged struggle with deflation.

Thomas Byrne, senior vice president at Moody’s, said in an e-mail that Kan’s strategy supports the stable outlook on Japan’s Aa2 rating and the focus will be on whether he can follow through on and flesh out his fiscal plans.

Ten-year yields had gained more than 20 basis points since Ozawa expressed his intention on Aug. 26 to challenge Kan. Ozawa, who heads the DPJ’s largest faction, has said the government may have to issue more bonds for spending measures to boost the economy.

Breakeven Rate

The so-called breakeven rate shows investors’ projections for inflation were little changed even after Kan’s victory.

“Intervention alone can’t put the yen in a sustainable depreciation trend,” said Junichi Makino, a senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. in Tokyo. “It worked today, but it doesn’t guarantee it will be effective tomorrow. We can’t really expect effective measures from the government to turn around Japan’s economic stagnation and beat deflation.”

Traders see prices falling an average 0.98 percent over the next five years, as measured by the difference in yields between inflation-linked bonds and conventional debt. The so-called breakeven rate has been negative for at least a year.

The United Nations said in its annual Trade and Development report yesterday a continuation of the global expansionary fiscal stance is necessary to prevent a deflationary spiral. Deflation, a general drop in prices, enhances the purchasing power of the fixed payments from debt.

“It’s very difficult to maintain an economic recovery while restructuring a nation’s finances,” said Koichi Kurose, chief strategist in Tokyo at Resona Bank Ltd., which manages about $57 billion. “It’s desirable to take account of the risk” of a global deflationary spiral.

Major League Soccer expands to a 34-game schedule in 2011

2010-09-15T11:45:00.000+05:30

Major League Soccer will now feature a 34-game season in 2011.

Photo: Photo: Getty Images/Mike Stobe

Major League Soccer has announced that they will expand the regular season from 30 games to 34 games in 2011. MLS is expanding the size of the league from 16 teams to 18 teams with the addition of the Portland Timbers, coached by John Spencer, and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The season will run for 32 straight weeks with no stoppage in play for any tournaments like they did in 2010 for the World Cup. The season will begin on March 19th and run until October 22nd. An MLS committee will meet in October to decide upon the scheduling details.

Hopefully, the home-and-away balanced schedule will continue in 2011. More or less, it makes the league into a single table. This year with a balanced schedule will be the first year where undoubtedly the most deserving eight teams make the MLS Cup playoffs. If the season ended today, six teams from the Western Conference would make the playoffs joining just New York and Columbus from the East. With the addition of two more Western teams in 2011, it may be time that Major League Soccer finally switches to a single table format

Jennifer Lopez: $12 million for `Idol'

2010-09-15T11:44:00.001+05:30

People.Com and The New York Post report Jennifer Lopez has signed on for that sum to plug holes that keep springing on that judge's panel. Simon Cowell -- for many the voice of reason -- bailed in May during the lackluster Season 9 finale that saw Lee DeWyze crowned the ninth (and least) Idol. Cowell plans an American version of his British hit show X Factor for the 2011 fall season.

Shortly after Cowell left, Ellen DeGeneres, who never worked out well as a judge because she'd parrot Randy Jackson's opinion, announced she was leaving the show. This month, Kara DioGuardi, who could give astute advice but often with the personality of a pickle, also announced she was leaving.

A $12 million paycheck means Lopez now approaches host Ryan Seacrest's $15 million pay (why, Fox, why?) and tops Jackson and his $8 million contract.

Bing Beats Yahoo in Search, a Symbolic Win

2010-09-15T11:43:00.001+05:30

Bing's vault over Yahoo in U.S. search volume should come as no surprise to anyone who's been following the horse race, but it's a symbolic milestone for a baby search engine whose prime directive is to take some of Google's advertising pie.

With Yahoo out of the way, according to the latest search share statistics from Nielsen, Bing's goal of becoming a genuine competitor to Google becomes a little more realistic. Bing, along with MSN and Windows Live, now has 13.9 percent of all search share. Yahoo fell to 13.1 percent, and Google still dominates with 65.1 percent. As Search Engine Land points out, Bing is still in third place by other metrics from comScore and Hitwise.

Ultimately, though, the horse race is only interesting in the way it inspires new features and services among the competitors. Look for the battle between Google and Bing to play out in three venues:

Core Search

Google's recent launch of Google Instant, which displays and modifies search results as you type, is the perfect example of how search engines will try to one-up each other and differentiate themselves. Actual search results are somewhat indistinguishable when detached from their interfaces, but there's no mistaking Google from the pack now. A year ago, an independent programmer used Bing APIs to create a similar version of instant search results. Will Bing implement instant search on its own, or decide that it's not an idea worth imitating?

Surrounding Features

Using different search engines for different services is a pain, so it falls upon Google and Bing to create the most attractive overall services, including maps, images and other areas besides traditional search. Lately, Google has beefed up its real-time search engine to provide better results from Twitter and Facebook. Bing has added streaming music (following Google's lead), plus games and movie information to its search results. Bing also updated Maps last month to include a cab fare calculator and support for OpenStreetMap.

Mobile

Google has a strong grip on mobile searches, as the default search engine for iPhone and, of course, Android. But Windows Phone 7 has the chance to give Bing a boost, as do Bing's iPhone and Android apps. Also, the mandatory use of Bing in Verizon's new Fascinate phone may not sit well with Google fans, but it will give Microsoft's search engine another helping hand, albeit by force.

Twitter announces its first redesign

2010-09-15T11:39:00.000+05:30

Twitter cofounders Biz Stone, right, and Evan Williams discuss changes to the social networking site at company headquarters in San Francisco. (Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press / September 15, 2010)

Twitter Inc. has redesigned its website for the first time in its four-year history to draw more users and get them to stay longer as it competes for advertising dollars with Internet rivals Google Inc. and Facebook Inc.

The redesign, which will roll out to the website's 160 million users over the next several weeks, is intended to make the site easier and faster to use and to serve up more relevant content to users, executives said at a news conference at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters.

Company Chief Executive Evan Williams said that the changes would allow users to get "more out of Twitter in a lot less time."

As Twitter's popularity has spread since its 2006 introduction, the website has gotten a reputation for being difficult to use and for crashing too frequently. Twitter has been a victim of its own popularity — 370,000 new users sign up each day.

Twitter has lagged in finding ways to boost revenue. It recently launched new advertising formats and ramped up its sales force. Executives hope the redesign, which will make ads easier to view, will help Twitter better compete with Google and Facebook for advertisers.

Users of the redesigned site will be able to see more information about the authors of Tweets — the Twitter messages that can be no more than 140 characters in length. Also, conversations between users will be able to be viewed, as will photos and videos referenced in updates.

One of the biggest changes to the Twitter site is that users will be able to see two panes instead of a single timeline of updates. They will be able to scroll through the timeline in the left pane without clicking back and forth to see more information about updates or their authors.

Twitter executives said deals had been crafted with 16 photo and video sites, including YouTube and Flickr, to have their visual content embedded on Twitter.com.

Flush with venture capital funding that valued the 250-employee company at $1 billion, top executives have been focusing their efforts on making the Twitter experience simpler and better.

Williams said he had spent much of his time over the last five months on the redesign. "This is a complete revamp," he said.

Twitter's audience growth in the United States has tapered off in the last year, but internationally has continued to grow at a rapid clip, ComScore Inc. analyst Andrew Lipsman said. Twitter also continues to show strong user engagement, Lipsman said.

Forrester Research social media analyst Augie Ray called the announcement a "significant evolution."

"The long-term effects could be substantial as Twitter focuses on powering growth by improving Twitter consumption," Ray said.

Mayer to tweet no more

2010-09-14T18:44:00.000+05:30

(CNN) -- Grammy Award-winning musician John Mayer has gone cold turkey, giving up his Twitter account and its millions of followers.

"With the Battle Studies Tour now at a close and a return to the studio planned, John has discontinued his Twitter account," a representative said Tuesday. "However, he continues to communicate with his fans via his blog as he always has."

The move to de-tweet breaks a pledge Mayer made in an interview with CNN's Denise Quan in the fall of 2009.

"You neuter your own Twitter account, you show fear," Mayer said. "I think you show fear when you delete it."

Mayer had been an avid user of the microblogging site -- posting accounts of everyday life, making apologies for his use of the N-word during a Playboy interview and announcing impromptu concerts at small clubs.

Mayer had an estimated 3.7 million followers when he pulled the plug.

Intel Reveals Sandy Bridge Processor Details

2010-09-14T18:43:00.000+05:30

Intel says laptops and desktops powered by the company's next-generation microarchitecture, which merges graphics and x86 cores on a single die, will be available early next year.

Codenamed Sandy Bridge, the 32-nanometer processor, which goes into production later this year, will also be the first to support new vector graphics. Details of Sandy Bridge were released Monday at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

of virtualization, and why it's good for a CIO to fail.

The Sandy Bridge architecture marks the second generation of Intel's Core processor family, which include the Core i3, i5 and i7 chips. Computer makers are expected to ship laptops and desktops running Sandy Bridge chips early next year, Dadi Perlmutter, executive VP and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, said during his keynote.

"Our upcoming second generation Intel Core processor family represents the biggest advance in computing performance and capabilities over any previous generation," Perlmutter said in a statement. "In addition to offering these features inside Intel-based laptops, we plan to scale these advances across our server data center and embedded computing product portfolio."

Sandy Bridge is the first Intel microarchitecture to combine the graphics processor and x86 cores in a single die. Previous architectures had the graphics chip embedded in the motherboard.

The new design boosts performance by allowing the CPU and graphics to share the same resources, such as cache and memory reservoir, according to Intel. While upping performance, the new architecture also is more energy efficient than previous generations.

Other firsts in Sandy Bridge include Intel's new Advanced Vector Extension to the x86 instruction set. AVX is expected to improve processors' performance in handling floating-point intensive calculations in general applications that process images, video and audio, and in engineering applications that provide 3-D modeling and analysis, scientific simulation, and financial analytics.

Sandy Bridge, which will replace Intel's current 45-nanometer microarchitecture, codenamed Nehalem, will go head-to-head with rival Advanced Micro Devices's new core designs scheduled for release next year. Codenamed Bulldozer and Bobcat, the new architectures also combine the CPU and graphics cores on a single die. Bulldozer is aimed at high-performance desktops, workstations and servers, while Bobcat is targeted at low-power laptops and small-form factor desktops.

Perlmutter on Monday also demonstrated at IDF a dual-core, next-generation Xeon processor running a two-socket server. Chips based on the 32-nanometer architecture are scheduled for production in the second half of next year. Processors built for two-socket servers and workstations will run 8 cores and 16 threads per processo

Nadal's US Open win gives Spain yet another triumph in amazing sporting year

2010-09-14T18:39:00.000+05:30

MADRID — Spain's golden year of sporting success just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter.

Rafael Nadal's victory at the U.S. Open is the latest coup for Spain in a season-long fiesta on the international stage.

Spain won soccer's World Cup in South Africa, Alberto Contador captured his third Tour de France and now Nadal has completed a career Grand Slam.

Nadal followed up his victories at the French Open and Wimbledon this summer by beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the U.S. Open final on Monday for his ninth Grand Slam title. At age 24, the Mallorca native is already being talked about as one of the greatest players of all time.

"He's already a legend," sports daily Marca said of Nadal, describing him as "the best in history" by this stage of his career.

Many newspapers are asking if Nadal could be the greatest Spanish athlete of all-time. Nadal also won Olympic gold in Beijing two years ago and has helped Spain to three of its four Davis Cup titles since 2004.

"History is at his feet," Marca said.

El Pais wrote: "The Spaniard leaves the city that never sleeps with the most pleasant dream possible: champion, myth and, now, a legend."

A quick, unscientific poll done Monday on the website of radio station Cadena Ser said that of roughly 1,700 people who took part, 80 per cent said Nadal could become the best tennis player in history.

Davis Cup teammate Fernando Verdasco, who lost to Nadal beat in the U.S. Open quarter-finals, was also full of praise.

"Congratulations from here to Rafa Nadal for winning the us.open, for the way he played and unbelievable (fourth) set with only 2 errors!" Verdasco wrote on his official Twitter page. "So BIG!"

There was no immediate public reaction from Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero or King Juan Carlos but Spanish opposition leader Mariano Rajoy paid tribute to Nadal.

"He really is something. We have to thank him because he makes us happy without asking for anything in exchange. No one gives as much as he does," Rajoy said.

Nadal's victory also raised the nation's spirits following the only real disappointment this year: Spain's national team failed to defend its world basketball championship title in Turkey, losing to Serbia in the quarter-finals.

But there could be more celebrations to come.

Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday and remains in the hunt for his third Formula One title, which could cap a truly unforgettable year.

India Minister: Hope to Resolve BlackBerry Issue in Two Months

2010-09-14T18:37:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI -- India hopes to resolve the issue of access to Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry services within the two-month time frame provided by the government, the federal communications minister said Tuesday.

"Home Ministry has extended the time frame for RIM. We are periodically reviewing," A. Raja told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

The government had threatened to ban BlackBerry if the Canadian company failed to come up with tools to monitor the services by the end of August.

However, it extended the deadline for another two months from Sept. 1 after RIM provided solutions for local security agencies to monitor the company's BlackBerry corporate email service. RIM had already provided access to other services such as messenger and chat.

On Aug. 30 India said it would start using the solutions from Sept. 1, assess their feasibility and effectiveness, and review the situation in 60 days.

Separately, Mr. Raja said the Telecom Commission--a part of the Department of Telecommunications--will consider moves to offer relief to companies that received licenses to offer second-generation mobile services in early 2008, but haven't been able to roll out services within the mandatory time frame.

"In the last operator's meeting, it was highlighted bailout provisions may be done. It will be discussed in the telecom commission," Mr. Raja said.

Hunt uncovers lost paintings of a wild west art pioneer

2010-09-14T18:34:00.000+05:30

Charles Deas, Sioux Playing Ball, 1843. Lent by the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photograph: courtesy of Denver Art Museum

The forgotten works of one of the greatest painters of the wild west are once again capturing the imagination of the American art world at a major exhibition in Denver with their raw, colourful depictions of Native American warriors, fur trappers, rugged settlers and breathtaking scenery.

Charles Deas, a gifted 19th-century artist who captured the essence of the frontier spirit on canvas, died young, locked away in a mental hospital. His works, which had been the toast of New York, were mostly lost and forgotten. Now the Denver Art Museum exhibition, Charles Deas and 1840s America, which opened last weekend, has launched a treasure hunt to track down dozens of lost Deas paintings that could be worth millions.

Art experts, who have scoured America to bring together 39 Deas paintings for the exhibition, have recovered less than half of his known body of work. Records indicate many others could be hidden away in dusty attics, hanging on living-room walls or being sold for a few dollars at garage sales.

"Probably 50 are missing. I am hopeful more of them will show up. A really important work would be worth about a couple of million dollars," said Carol Clark, an art historian who assembled the exhibition.

Clark has spent decades travelling across the US to track down Deas works and co-ordinating the search with others. Paintings have turned up in a remote Nova Scotia fishing village, under a bed in Minneapolis and even hanging on the wall of a St Louis library – attributed to a different artist.

Clark admits that the hunt has been frustrating at times "and really hard work", but she believes it was worth it to rescue the reputation and work of a man who enjoyed a brief but bright flash of popularity in the 1840s before personal tragedy overtook him.

Deas was born in Philadelphia in 1818 into a prominent East Coast family. In 1840 he headed west, painting nature studies as well as intense portraits of Native Americans and white settlers. His most famous work, Long Jakes, features a rugged fur trapper.

Another, Death Struggle, features a Native American and a trapper locked in mortal combat as they tumble together off a cliff. His style was grand and lush and captured the public imagination at a time when the myth of "the west" was being born.

Fame was short-lived. In 1848 he began to suffer from mental illness. He became convinced that God was speaking to him on the streets of New York City and was taken to a mental asylum, where he died 19 years later aged 48. Having examined his records, Clark says that Deas was suffering from schizoaffective disorder. "He had religious delusions and that also ties in with the age of onset of his condition," she said.

Many of his paintings take on the issue of race and the struggle to make a living in tough times. These themes chime with modern-day concerns. "You can look at these paintings and see in them not just musty old messages from the past, but things that are really relevant today," Clark said. Many of the lost works are known from catalogue references.

In chasing up these cold leads, Clark has employed genealogists to trace the descendants of those who bought a Deas. One in particular, painted after Deas had been confined, featured a naked man suspended over water from which a monster was emerging. It proved so shocking when shown in New York that it caused another artist to faint. "I would love to find that one," Clark said.

Clark half-joked that she and the staff at Denver Art Museum had thought about keeping a space clear in the exhibition in case a missing Deas was rediscovered. "I am hopeful that this publicity will flush out a Deas. We would make a space for any Deas that magically turns up next month," she said.

Autopsy: Penn star had brain disease

2010-09-14T18:33:00.000+05:30

A study of the brain tissue of Owen Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania football captain who committed suicide in April, reportedly revealed the beginning stages of a degenerative disease that is believed to be caused by repeated head trauma.

A brain autopsy of Thomas showed chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the same disease found in more than 20 deceased NFL players, including former Eagles safety Andre Waters, who committed suicide in 2006 and was found to have suffered from late stages of the disease.

Thomas' mother, Kathy Brearley, said she believes that her son never experienced a concussion in all his years playing football. The junior defensive end apparently hanged himself in his off-campus apartment.

"Up to this point, this concern about head concussions was not on my radar," said Brearley, a minister in Allentown. "That Owen had the onset of this disease at the age of 21 should be a concern to everyone."

Brearley said there is not enough evidence to conclude that a brain injury contributed to her son's death. But she believes the issue should be studied further since she had thought the issue was a concern only for NFL players.

"The evidence coming in from Owen - and it will have to be confirmed from much further study - is that this [injury] is not just a question of a person getting big hits and then ignoring them," Brearley said. "This is a person getting many little hits, starting from a young age. Football linebackers might get 1,000 little hits. Now we're thinking these are like teaspoons. A thousand teaspoons of water could be the same as a big jug. It's possible."

Thomas' disease may have developed from subconcussive collisions, or repetitive blows, doctors told the New York Times, which first reported the results of the research at Boston University.

Dr. Daniel Perl, a professor of pathology at the U.S. Defense Department's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, said he was amazed that the disease had manifested itself in a person as young as Thomas.

"It may just be an isolated case, but if it is not, it could be very important," said Perl, who was speaking personally and not on behalf of the government. "I think this broadens the range in which we look for this disease."

Perl said the disease is basically the same that has been reported for years in boxers and is now being reported in hockey players.

However, much more research is needed, said Perl, who is studying traumatic brain injuries sustained in combat.

Perl recently reviewed the slides of the tissue at the request of the doctors at Boston University and confirmed the diagnosis was correct.

"It's clearly this disease," he said.

Brearley made it clear that she is not on an anti-football crusade.

"My father-in-law played for Millersville. My husband played for the University of Virginia. My son Matthew also played for Penn. My son Morgan played for East Stroudsburg," she said. "It's a household that just lives, sleeps, and breathes football. We have the interests of the game at heart. We like a robust game. People can say, 'You don't want these head injuries, just don't play it.' We don't say that. We're very passionate about the sport."

Penn football coach Al Bagnoli said Monday that the school had no record of Thomas, a two-year starter, ever suffering a concussion.

"We've been very proactive for the last four years," Bagnoli said. "Every single kid coming in has to take a baseline neurological test. If he has shown any signs of a concussion, he cannot practice until he gets back to that baseline. It takes the guesswork out of it."

Brearley said she and her husband, Tom Thomas, also a minister, got a call two weeks ago from a researcher at the Boston University School of Medicine informing them of the autopsy result. "When she announced he had this CTE, I was astounded," Brearley said. "It was very bittersweet, to tell you the truth. It adds one missing piece. Maybe there are others.

"Suicide is a very complex issue. It's very painful for everyone involved. There are very subjective factors. It's a huge field of research."

Brearley said she wanted to be careful not to try to presume she had a complete picture of her son's thoughts in his final weeks.

"We had regular contact with Owen," she said. "We did notice that he was a lot more subdued [in the] first part of 2010. He did seem to find his classes overwhelming. Owen set very high standards for himself. I tried to counsel him. . . . He was a normal, energetic outgoing person. That last week, I think he really changed. It's sad. My husband and I feel very sad that we never even thought about this sort of thing."

Brearley said she was surprised when Chris Nowinski, a former professional wrestler who has become an activist on the issue of brain trauma, requested her son's brain for an autopsy. The family expected little to come of it. The BU research team was the same one that recently found pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports is associated with motor neuron disease, which affects voluntary muscle movements.

"One of the things with Owen, it's so bittersweet - he did not have a history of depression in his life," Brearley said. "He was such a vibrant person. The police have never come around to us about Owen. Maybe he's gone off and done stuff. But it never came to our attention. He was never in a car accident. He never fell out of a tree. There's no other head injury. I think you have a clear a clinical subject as you could ever want to have, to ask: Why does this disease start its path? I think it's a gift in some ways."

Thomas was the second Penn player to commit suicide in five years. Running back Kyle Ambrogi killed himself in 2005.

Brearley said these findings do not mean the family holds anybody responsible; it is not considering any legal action. She knows many studies are tracking head trauma at several age levels.

"I think it's a good opportunity for the Ivy League schools to take the initiative," Brearley said. "They care deeply about our brains. I think this is an opportunity to take a leadership role. I'm sure they will."

Nokia Launches New Symbian Smartphones, Software Tools

2010-09-14T18:30:00.000+05:30

Nokia Corp. (NOK) Tuesday launched three new smartphones to join its flagship N8 model, and announced upgrades to its developer tools as it looks to regain ground lost against rivals in the high-end phone market.

The world's biggest handset maker announced details of the E7, C7 and new C6, alongside the N8, at its annual Nokia World event, all based on its new Symbian operating platform, which Nokia said has more than 250 new features and improvements compared with the old system.

"Today our fight back to smartphone leadership shifts into high gear," said Niklas Savander, Nokia's executive vice president for markets.

Nokia has lost ground against rivals like Apple Inc. (AAPL) with its iPhone and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM), as well as smartphones based on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android platform. The new models come just days after Nokia appointed a new chief executive, Stephen Elop, and the head of its mobile solutions unit resigned, adding further uncertainty to the company.

The N8 flagship smartphone, with 12 megapixel camera and High-Definition video capabilities, was described by Nokia as "the ultimate entertainment smartphone and the world's best camera phone." The company said it had received the highest-ever demand for online pre-orders for the device and has signed up 100 operators to offer it, including Vodafone Group PLC (VOD). It will be priced at EUR370, excluding taxes and subsidies.

The E7, priced at EUR495 before taxes and subsidies, is aimed at business users and features a slide-out Qwerty keyboard and a four-inch touchscreen display, as well as enhanced security features. The C7 is a social-networking smartphone with a three-and-a-half-inch screen and will sell for EUR335. The smaller C6 touchscreen phone has social networking and entertainment features and will sell for EUR260.

"Our new family of smartphones introduced today feature the all-new Symbian OS, rewritten to be faster, easier to use, more efficient and more developer friendly," Savander said. "Despite new competition, Symbian remains the most widely used smartphone platform in the world," Savander said.

All the models are expected to be available for delivery in time for the key Christmas period and will have access to Nokia's updated Ovi Store and free access to Ovi Maps, Nokia's navigation application.

At the same time, Nokia said it had improved its software development tools, Nokia Qt Software Development Kit and Series 40 Touch and Type SDK, to make it easier to develop applications for Symbian-based phones and updated its Ovi Store.

"Our announcements will certainly bring more great apps to Nokia products, especially our new family of Symbian smartphones announced today," said Purnima Kochikar, vice president for Forum Nokia. "We have made it much simpler, removed obstacles and made it more lucrative for people to build apps for our phones," Kochikar said.

Student loan defaults are climbing; rate highest at for-profit colleges - 11.6%

2010-09-14T15:35:00.001+05:30

Xanthos/News

Student loan default rates are climbing. The most defaults occur at for-profit colleges, where over 11% of student borrowers defaulted within two years of beginning repayment, as of 2008.

The number of college students defaulting on their federal student loans is climbing, and those who attend for-profit schools remain the most likely group to default, according to new government stats released Monday.

For the year ended Sept. 30, 2008, 7% of federal student loan borrowers defaulted within two years of beginning repayment, up from 6.7% the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The default rate for students at for-profit schools rose to 11.6% from 11% over the same period.

Those default rates are used to determine which schools will remain eligible to participate in student aid programs.

The measures now in use "fall far short of capturing the full range of defaults or distressed borrowers," said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, an advocacy group in Oakland, Calif.

"Right now, there's no information that tells us whether career education programs are delivering quality training for jobs," she said.

Default rates among for-profit college students were almost twice the 6% found at public nonprofit colleges, and almost three times the 4% rate at private nonprofits, officials said.

For-profit colleges, in particular, are fighting proposed Education Department regulations that would cut off federal aid if too many of their students default or don't earn enough after graduation.

"While for-profit schools have profited and prospered thanks to federal dollars, some of their students have not," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. "Far too many for-profit schools are saddling students with debt they cannot afford in exchange for degrees and certificates they cannot use."

The Obama administration is toughening its lending standards with greater scrutiny of defaults, and it's proposing to monitor loan repayment rates and incomes among students who have attended for-profit colleges

Don't push us too far on Kashmir, it is ours: Pakistan warned US

2010-09-14T15:33:00.000+05:30

US had asked Pakistan in 2002 to end infiltration across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir but was instead told not to "push it too far" on the issue with an assertion that "Kashmir should have been ours", according to declassified documents. This communication forms part of a meeting

Richard Haass, the then Director of Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department, had with an unnamed Pakistani military official on October 31, 2002 to discuss US-Pak cooperation a year after the deadly 9/11 attacks in the US.

"On Kashmir, Haass stressed the importance of ending infiltration, but the Pak official warned the US not to push Pakistan too far on Kashmir," classified documents released on Monday said.

According to the document, Haass told the top official that he was pleased about the (Indian) announcement of troop pullback from the border as de-escalation would free resources to be devoted to sealing the Afghan border and counter-terrorism.

"It appeared that India wanted to renew contacts but continued infiltration was a barrier to progress," Haass said.

"The US believed that infiltration was continuing. Stopping it would help Pakistan's cause with the US and India. Infiltration hurts Pakistan's friends efforts to help it," he said, according to the documents.

The Pakistan official agreed that Kashmir was the issue "bedevilling our relations". But Pakistan’s Kashmir position was "based on justice", he argued.

"Kashmir should have been ours. The Pakistani people would not agree to make the LOC (Line of Control) the international border. Kashmir had cost Musharraf a lot, as had his decision to help the CT coalition.

"Musharraf's detractors had hit him on both Kashmir and Afghanistan. India had tried to exploit the political atmosphere after 9/11," the Pak official said.

"Haass relied that he perceived an opportunity to improve the situation in and surrounding Kashmir. India seemed to realize that lack of political and economic opportunity and abuse of human rights created support for insurgency and a better context for diplomacy was now being created.

"Haas said that both improved governance and diplomacy were key to moving forward on Kashmir," the documents said.

At the same meeting, Pakistan pleaded with the US to provide it with an aerial surveillance capability.

Pakistan would have no objection to the same capability being provided to India, the Pakistani official said and proposed that it might be an excellent confidence building measure, as if the two sides could see what was happening across the border to reduce the possibility of misconstruing what the other side was doing, the documents said.

Lifestyle changes 'better than cancer screening'

2010-09-14T08:15:00.000+05:30

MAKING CHANGES to the diet of normal-risk individuals could have a much greater impact on their health and life expectancy than screening for a single condition like colon cancer, according to a UK expert.

Professor of Medicine at Liverpool University, Jonathan Rhodes, said that a screening programme specifically targeting colon cancer won’t increase life expectancy more than four months and usually by only a half or a third of this.

“Many of the risk factors for colon cancer including high calorie intake, low intake of leafy green vegetables and lack of exercise are important risk factors for a lot of other cancers as well as for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. If we could persuade people to address their diet and lifestyle, it would potentially have a much bigger impact on mortality, increasing life expectancy by nearly a year,” he said.

The gastroenterologist will outline his views this evening at the annual De Pazzi lecture, hosted by the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre and the Department of Medicine at University College Cork.

“I think at the moment there is a tendency among the public and media to put an enormous amount of faith into screening with the expectation that people can carry on with their lifestyles in the hope that they will be protected by screening,” said Prof Rhodes.

“Although I do support screening programmes, their impact will never be enormous and we need to be doing more to encourage appropriate lifestyle changes.”

He is somewhat critical of the “five a day” fruit and vegetable message, pointing out that more scientific research is needed to find out exactly which foods protect against which specific diseases.

Along with his team in Liverpool, he is currently involved in researching the potential benefits of soluble fibre. Their recent findings that broccoli and plantain could reduce bouts of the painful bowel disorder, Crohn’s disease, were published in the British Medical Journal.

Cancer of the colon and rectum affects about 6 per cent of western populations and carries a mortality approaching 50 per cent. Approximately 20 per cent of colorectal cancer causation is due to genes and 80 per cent is due to environment, particularly diet.

Prof Rhodes said that while individuals with a strong family history of colorectal cancer were likely to benefit substantially from regular colonoscopic screening, the case for screening the “normal risk” population is less straightforward.

“Screening of stool samples for non-visible [‘occult’] blood reduces mortality from colorectal cancer by about 15 per cent and is cost-effective. Such screening is currently offered for all adults over 60 in England and Wales.

“It is undoubtedly saving some lives, but it is likely that most people greatly overestimate its likely impact on life expectancy,” he said.

Lifestyle Intervention Improves Quality of Life and is Cost Effective

2010-09-14T08:13:00.001+05:30

September 13, 2010 — An intervention delivered in a primary care setting aimed at getting patients at risk for heart disease to increase their physical activity and improve their diet improves quality of life and is highly cost-effective compared with standard care, according to a new study published in the September 13 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Lifestyle interventions reduce cardiovascular risk and risk of diabetes mellitus, but reports on long-term effects on quality of life (QOL) and health care utilization are rare," write Margareta K. Eriksson, PhD, from Björknäs Health Care Center, Boden, and Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, and colleagues.

The authors add: "For a comprehensive assessment of an intervention program it is essential to incorporate the individual's broader perspective of well-being, not only the conventional medical outcomes."

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a primary healthcare-based lifestyle intervention program on QOL and cost-effectiveness over 3 years.

The study included 151 men and women, aged 18 to 65 years (mean age, 54.4 years), who were at moderate to high risk for cardiovascular disease and who were recruited from a primary care center in northern Sweden. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either lifestyle intervention or standard care alone.

Intervention consisted of supervised progressive exercise training 3 times a week and 5 diet counseling sessions during the first 3 months, followed by regular group meetings, held 6 times in the first year, 4 times in the second year, and 2 times in the third year.

The group meetings were small, consisting of 10 to 13 participants, and focused on goal-setting, action planning, and avoiding relapse. Patients were also asked to think about benefits, barriers, and costs of adhering to a healthier lifestyle.

The exercise sessions were led by physiotherapists and consisted of Nordic walking, aqua-aerobics, and interval training on a bicycle ergometer combined with circuit-type resistance training.

The control group received verbal and written information about diet and exercise at a single group meeting.

Both groups were asked to complete activity diaries.

Primary outcomes were change in QOL as measured by the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D), which measured mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression; the EuroQol visual analog scale (EQ-VAS), which recorded perception of overall health status on a modified gradient from 0, meaning the worst imaginable health, to 1, meaning the best imaginable health; the 36-item Short-Form-Health Survey (SF-36), which measures physical functioning, limitations in physical role functioning, body pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, limitations in emotional role functioning, and mental health; and the 6-dimensional Short-Form 6D (SF-6D).

The study found differences between the 2 groups during the 3-year study period for most of the QOL measures. Significant differences between the groups were shown in the EQ-VAS (P = .002), SF-6D (P = .01), and SF-36 physical component (P = .04) scores. However, there was no difference in the EQ-5D (P = .24) or SF-36 mental component (P = .37) scores.

Costs were $337 higher for the intervention group than for the control group. This included $140 that participants paid for their increased physical activity and $197 financed by the healthcare system. However, the mean number of visits to the family physician decreased in the intervention group by 0.28 per half-year compared with baseline and increased by 0.10 in the control group (P = .04), the authors report. This translated to a net savings of $47 per participant in the intervention group compared with the control group.

Gross costs per quality adjusted life-year (QALY) gained were from $1668 to $4813, and this did not include the savings, the authors report. Probabilities of cost-effectiveness were from 89% to 100% when the amount of $50,000 was used as stakeholder's threshold of willingness to pay for a gained QALY.

The main reason for cost-effectiveness was the increase in exercise level that was sustained throughout the 3 years of the study.

"The study was initially powered for anthropometric measurements, not for QOL, and may thus be too small to detect significant improvements in less responsive scales," the authors write, noting a limitation.

" High-intensity and long-lasting interventions can produce sustainable improvements in QOL and can obviously be cost-effective," Dr. Eriksson and colleagues conclude. "Such programs may be a wise use of resources in primary health care for patients with diseases to which inactivity strongly contributes."

Tips For Choosing Good SEO Service

2010-09-13T15:55:00.000+05:30

Getting good SEO service is a perfect tool to market your website. However, the main question is after all what must be done to attract the kind of traffic that is needed to generate super sales. This is where SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, comes into picture. SEO facilitates various search engines, such as Yahoo, Google and others, to find out a particular website and then rank it amongst the top listings when a user or a web surfer seeks information on services and products listed on that website.

Understanding SEO

A SEO company uses various tools, such as SEO submission, to optimize websites and augment the search engine rankings. If the ranking of a website is good, it becomes easy for visitors to locate your website. Let me cite an example to help you understand better. Suppose you deal in healthcare products, and if you search this particular keyword phrase in a good search engine, your website gets the search engine ranking as something like 3,089,000. With such ranking, your website is definitely not going to be in the first few pages. This simply means that your website stands nowhere, commercially.

However unique or common the nature of your service or product may be, effective SEO service is required to get your website to a level where you get desired results for your online business. It is obvious that no user is going to click all results in order to locate your line of products. Generally, visitors click on first few sites that are displayed on results pages. Only if the user does not get satisfactory results, will he or she move to the next page.

What You Must Look For In A SEO Company

Why social marketing is an important part of SEO

2010-09-13T15:52:00.002+05:30

Having a huge network of friends on Facebook or tons of followers on Twitter is just a fraction of the power behind social marketing. Yet the full leveraging of power is often misunderstood. Automatic tweets and links on the Facebook wall end up buried in a stream of constant information. There is certainly a few clicks, but it is hardly an impact.

Understanding why people use specific social networks is important. Twitter is a fine place to post links and even make quick comments towards a follower. In fact, Twitter is often the new way to make a press release and even has replaced RSS feeds for many. However, Facebook is different. It is a hodgepodge of vacation photos, random updates, and sometimes serious thoughts. For every friend made, there is a News Feed of fun, emotional concerns, and life related incidents to compete with. Just posting links on a profile hardly matters in the scheme of things.

In fact, this often leads to being completely focused on using the social network and abandons the real goal, getting people to the website and interacting with the content.

Real world connections matter. Social networks provide great tools for getting people to complete the deal. For instance, on Facebook it is possible to build a Friends List to specifically target information to relevant connections. When providing new content on a website, use the Friend List to send out the information. Messages do not get lost in the constant stream.

Targeting an audience is the marketing. Search Engine Optimization comes from those who follow the link. If the information is relative to their interests, people stick around, even repost, Retweet, or do any number of things to help create more relevant traffic.

This is why so many articles online have conveniently placed ways to Retweet, Like, and any other number of social connection buttons on a post. It is usually a simple click for the reader to create a link to all the rest of the people in their network. This is link building going far beyond the power of one person's own ability.

The importance of social marketing is not the social network. It is the power to target a relevant audience. Understanding this single fact makes it far easier to put together a strategy centered bringing people to a website rather than substituting it with a social network. After all the web itself is the biggest social network out there. Having high quality traffic, the kind that does not bounce, the kind that reads more than one page, can only strengthen search results.

How Will Google Instant Affect SEO?

2010-09-13T15:52:00.001+05:30

Google Instant may be a game-changing technology for the search market, but its impact may roil the waters of the search-engine-optimization (SEO) industry designed to game Google's results.

For SEO professionals, Google Instant's ability to stream results on a keystroke-by-keystroke basis means less room to work, and a higher priority placed on the top few results. It's less likely that users will click through to the second page of results, they said.

That will also place emphasis on the first word users type. For example, a Google user searching the keyword combination "travel deals" will see suggested results for Travelocity and Travelzoo, as they type the word "travel."

The link between URLs and SEO

2010-09-13T15:50:00.000+05:30

Even a shallow look into Search Engine Optimization will point out keywords are important. Put in them in the titles, subheadings, and sprinkle them into the content itself to generate page rank. But it is all a bunch of bologna without the URL.

No, this is not about domain names. you already know this site is focused on computers, the domain name might make one believe it is all about power saws, screwdrivers, and hammers. Having a relevant domain name for a topic or a business can help, but it is the content which really makes a site shine. This is what search engines crawl to index and why URLs are so important. URLs are what a search engine serves up when users make a search.

URLs are one very good reason why content management systems are so widely used today. Once the article is written, it is usually a simple matter to have the title duplicated in the URL. WordPress, for instance, calls this permalinking, meaning the content will forever be available at a specific URL.

Yes, it is a great tip to duplicate the title in the URL, but it is even more important to have the content available at the same URL forever. This does two things. A website is free to change itself over the course of time with new ideas and technology and the page rank can be nurtured to grow over time.

Besides the advantage of having the URL remain static in a search engine as the years roll by, a topic often is not nearly as unchanging. An example would be, "The Basics of PC Security." New operating systems, an ever changing world of security suites, and other related issues would make this a subject worth updating over time.

Keeping the content relative on an URL can only help strengthen the page. Instead of a short lived potentially popular article, a page can be the catalyst for capturing an every growing audience over time. The more users, the greater the likelihood for other content to be viewed.

Older content that is no longer relevant means readers are less likely to stick around. A URL with a "404 page not found" is even worse. In time, the page rank will drop to the point of disappearing.

While it might be impossible to keep a trendy topic fresh, it is not impossible to avoid "404 page not found" errors and nurture good topics into remaining relevant. As search engines index those URLs, their value will only grow over time.

Apple the Most Valuable Company in the World? Bet on It.

2010-09-13T13:52:00.001+05:30

Apple will become the most valuable company in the world. Bet on it. In fact, go out and sell all your personal belongings, liquidate your 401(k), and buy Apple stock with every last dollar you own.

OK … on second thought, I wouldn't advise that -- it's a bit rash. But there are ample reasons to believe that the company's rise is just starting and that Apple will continue blowing past expectations.

Big Oil, meet Big Phone
You've heard the standard "bullish" reasons before: Apple has $45 billion in cash and trades at only 12 times forward earnings when netting out cash.

Yet investors are rightfully nervous about the stock. It went from the brink of irrelevance to the top of the tech world in less than a decade. It built its $236 billion market cap by selling to consumers, a notoriously fickle crowd. Investors have been burned in this area before; they watched Motorola rise to prominence only to be cut down to size as its designs lost favor. People are afraid to hear that "it's different this time." For many, avoiding Apple is the safer play.

This changes everything … again
Well, it truly is different this time. I'll give you four reasons that the iPhone, and smartphones in general, are a whole new ballgame.

1. Software is the new kingmaker
Apple went into one of the most hypercompetitive markets in the world and created a product that was technologically years ahead of all its competitors. It entered a market that everyone knew would have vast potential -- hence the reason telecoms such as Verizon and AT&T built out massive data networks to support smartphones -- and Apple still managed to destroy a powerful group of competitors.

How? By virtue of a sea change within the mobile industry. The only difference between older "feature phones" -- you know, like that old flip phone sitting in your closet -- was hardware. The mobile companies loaded their own software onto the phones and pretty much controlled the software experience.

Natural Cure For Diabetes Creating Panic Within The Pharmaceutical Industry

2010-09-13T13:38:00.000+05:30

Rita Smith

As more people like Rita Smith, 64, from Modesto, discover the natural cure for diabetes, pharmaceutical companies that produce insulin are having to increase their advertising campaigns to keep people from rethinking their dependence on prescription medication, as can be seen all over the web.

“Health care is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, and so long as people stay sick, the better the customer they are. I can't believe more people don't know about [the natural cure for diabetes].” says Rita

Of course, what Rita Smith is referring to is the act of replacing our diets with foods that are dense in phytonutrients, which has been regarded for thousands of years to holistically force your body into cleansing and recovering at a cellular level.

The implications of a natural cure for diabetes being known in the mainstream have the pharmaceutical industry set on damage control, spending millions of dollars on ads which attempt to communicate a connection between the disease that insulin is not natural to your body and that you need to maintain a prescription.

When asked of her battle with diabetes, Rita says,

“I was 50lbs overweight when I was diagnosed with diabetes...and it was simply devastating. After 2 years of injecting myself with insulin, I was desperate to find a way out and stumbled across Matt Traverso's book 'Reverse Diabetes Today!'... In it, I learned the truth about the drug industry and what needed to be done to cure diabetes by changing my lifestyle [and] I ended up losing over 80lbs... I have been free of diabetes for years now.”

Upon further investigation, it appears that the pharmaceutical companies which produce insulin will never advertise a natural cure for diabetes by way of change in lifestyle and diet in an effort to secure profits. However, that goes beyond the scope of this article. If you or someone you love is pre-diabetic, or currently suffering from diabetes, then you can pick up a copy of Matt Traverso's book “Reverse Diabetes Today!” and stand a good chance of becoming a success story just like Rita Smith from Modesto.

Cesareans more likely for women at for-profit hospitals, study finds

2010-09-13T13:36:00.000+05:30

For-profit hospitals across the state are performing cesarean sections at higher rates than nonprofit hospitals, a California Watch analysis has found.

A database compiled from state birthing records revealed that women were at least 17 percent more likely to have a cesarean section at a for-profit hospital than at a nonprofit or public hospital from 2005 to 2007. A surgical birth can bring in twice the revenue of a vaginal delivery.

In addition, some hospitals appear to be performing more C-sections for nonmedical reasons -- including an individual doctor's level of patience and the staffing schedules in maternity wards, according to interviews with health professionals.

The statewide database revealed significant differences among 253 hospitals in California. New mothers with low-risk pregnancies had a 10 percent chance of giving birth by C-section at the public Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, for example, whereas low-risk pregnancies at the for-profit Los Angeles Community Hospital ended in a surgical birth nearly half of the time.

The numbers provide ammunition to those who have long suspected that unnecessary C-sections are performed to help pad the bottom line.

"This data is compelling and strongly suggests, as many childbirth advocates currently suspect, that there may be a provable connection between profit and the cesarean rate," said Desirre Andrews, president of the International Cesarean Awareness Network, a nonprofit group that would like to see C-sections only in cases of medical need.

This was the first independent analysis of C-section rates at the 253 hospitals reporting birth statistics to state health authorities. The data focuses on low-risk pregnancies where cesareans are more likely to be unnecessary -- excluding deliveries by older mothers, women with certain medical conditions and women with previous C-sections.

But some hospital officials dispute the notion that their institutions could be pushing C-sections for money. "Decision-making about C-section versus vaginal birth is between a doctor and the patient, and our goal is to support that decision-making process with evidence-based practices," said Leslie Kelsay, a spokeswoman for Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, which had the highest cesarean rate for low-risk pregnancies in Santa Clara County at 22 percent.

Rick Black of Tenet Healthcare, which owns a number of hospitals in California and elsewhere, agreed. "You don't just come into a hospital and they say, 'We want to give you a C-section so we can drive up profits', he said.

Gene Declercq, professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, agrees

(Click to enlarge)

that hospitals would not explicitly push C-sections for profit. But subtle incentives to increase efficiency could have the same effect.

"It's a lot easier if you can do all your births between seven and 10 in the morning and know exactly how many operating rooms and beds you need," he said. Vaginal births are unpredictable, creating inefficiencies that can hurt the bottom line.

In 2008, more than 180,000 C-sections were performed in California.

Pressure for procedure

Even at some nonprofit hospitals, some women say they feel pressured to have a C-section. Rebecca Zavala, a teacher and makeup artist in Ventura, is one.

Zavala, 29, consented to have her delivery induced a week early because the baby's head seemed large and because the doctor was about to leave for vacation. But complications arose during the procedure, conducted at the nonprofit Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

After several hours, her doctor informed Zavala that her baby was showing signs of distress and recommended a C-section. Zavala agreed.

But Zavala said she felt manipulated. Her doctor hadn't told her that induction increased the likelihood that she'd have a C-section, and that C-sections came with health risks, she said.

"She told me nothing," Zavala said of her doctor, noting that the doctor left for her vacation shortly after the delivery.

Zavala's doctor would not comment. The hospital could not discuss the specifics of the case because of patient privacy but responded with the following statement:

"Our policy requires physicians to obtain informed consent from patients undergoing C-sections. The process, which we followed completely, involves discussing the risks, benefits and alternatives to the procedure, and documenting that the discussion occurred and the patient opted to proceed."

Zavala did sign the consent but said it was impossible for her to interpret and assess the issues laid out in small print. Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center has one of the highest rates of C-section deliveries in the state, ranking 15th out of 253 hospitals, for women whose pregnancies were deemed to be low-risk.

For some, a C-section can have devastating consequences.

Heather Kirwan said her doctor at the for-profit Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta urged her to have a C-section, warning that the baby was too big for her birth canal. She reluctantly agreed.

"She ended up being a 5-pound, 12-ounce baby," said Kirwan, 26, a manager for The Home Depot who lives in Murrieta, and who now believes she could have delivered vaginally.

When Kirwan got pregnant again, doctors discovered the embryo was developing outside the uterus -- a life-threatening condition called an ectopic pregnancy which is more likely to occur after a C-section. The embryo was removed along with one of Kirwan's ovaries and fallopian tubes. She has been unable to conceive since.

Kirwan's doctor and Rancho Springs Medical Center didn't respond to requests for comment. The hospital's C-section rate is among the state's lowest, ranking 207th out of 253 medical centers.

Searching for a link

Medical experts have been unable to pinpoint exactly why some hospitals perform far more C-sections, or "operative deliveries," than other medical facilities.

Yet one important factor has always loomed over the debate about the rise in C-sections: the bottom line. In California, hospitals can increase their revenues by 82 percent on average by performing a C-section instead of a vaginal birth, according to a 2007 analysis by the Pacific Business Group on Health.

The group -- a coalition of business, education and government agencies -- estimated that average hospital profits on an uncomplicated C-section were $2,240, and profits for a comparable vaginal birth were $1,230.

California Watch examined the births least likely to require C-sections, those in which mothers without prior C-sections carry a single fetus -- positioned head down -- at full term, and found that, after adjusting for the age of the mothers, the average weighted C-section rate for nonprofit hospitals was 16 percent, and for-profit hospitals had a rate of 19 percent.

That may seem like a small percentage gap to the casual observer, but medical experts consider it significant. It means women are 17 percent more likely to have a C-section if they give birth at a for-profit hospital.

"That's a decent-sized difference," said Declercq, of Boston University School of Public Health.

Less than one in five maternity hospitals in the state is a for-profit institution, but among the 15 hospitals with the highest rates of C-sections, 10 are for-profit facilities. Among the 15 hospitals with the lowest rates, none are for-profit medical centers.

Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley has one of the lowest C-section rates for low-risk births at 9 percent.

Guillermo Valenzuela, vice chairman of obstetrics at Riverside County Regional, attributes his hospital's low rate to doctors working in shifts. Shift workers have no financial incentive to hurry a delivery along: The doctor is paid the same and can end a shift regardless of whether he or she delivers 10 babies or simply monitors the early stages of labor.

"If I come in in the morning, look over the charts and see that one of the patients just had a C-section without medical indication," Valenzuela said, "you can bet that I'm going to start asking questions."

The Scandals, the Outfits, the Rivalries – Get Up to Speed on the VMAs

2010-09-12T21:51:00.001+05:30

Kanye West and Taylor Swift

Put the queen of snark Chelsea Handler in the same room with Kanye West, Eminem and the cast Jersey Shore and there's bound to be some fireworks.

That's what you can expect at the always unpredictable MTV Video Music Awards, which air Sunday night, with Handler hosting.

The most-talked-about honoree of the night may be Lady Gaga: The Grammy-winning singer, 24, scored 13 nominations, the most ever received by any artist in a single year.

And, of course, look out for Russell Brand to show up and pull off any number of antics with – or without – the help of his fiancée Katy Perry, who's a presenter this year.

The elephant in the room will be Kanye West, who is performing at the show. The big question is, of course: Will he behave? Last year, West cut off Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, grabbed her microphone and announced that fellow nominee Beyoncé had "one of the greatest videos of all time."

West later apologized to Swift, and now says he wants to make it up to her – with a new song he wrote for her. And he may have a chance to apologize in person: Swift is expected to perform at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, one can only hope Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi doesn’t annoy everyone within earshot at L.A.'s Nokia Theater, though that's about as likely as "The Situation" not flashing his abs.

A new generation of caregivers takes control of kids

2010-09-12T21:49:00.000+05:30

The number of children being raised by their grandparents has risen sharply since the start of the recession in 2007, according to a new Pew Research Center study that found one in 10 children in the U.S. now lives with a grandparent.

The trend was most noticeable among whites, Pew said in its analysis of census data. Those whites who were primary caregivers for their grandchildren rose 9 percent from 2007 to 2008, compared with a 2 percent increase among black grandparents and no change among Hispanics. In all, 2.9 million children are being raised mainly by at least one grandparent, or 4 percent of all children.

For most of the decade, the number of children having a grandparent as their primary caretaker rose slowly and steadily, Pew noted. But as the economy soured, the rise was sudden and steep. Three quarters of the 8 percent total increase since 2000 in the number of grandparents raising their children's kids occurred in the year following the official start of the recession in December 2007.

In another study earlier this year, Pew said the number of households composed of multiple generations is higher than it has been in half a century, because of all the job losses and foreclosures that mark this recession.

The economy is not entirely to blame, however.

There has been a nationwide effort to have children from troubled families placed with relatives like grandparents, instead of in foster homes. Montgomery County, for example, has experienced an upswing in grandparents as caregivers, but most of it is from urging them to "step up to the plate" so that their grandchildren don't enter foster care, said Angela English, administrator in the county's Child Welfare Services.

In addition, some military parents facing multiple deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan have entrusted their children to the grandparents.

Nonetheless, advocates for intergenerational families say the recession has dealt multiple blows to grandparents. Some are caring for grandchildren while their own children have gone away to look for another job or get career retraining. Meanwhile, many financially strapped states and counties have cut programs that provided financial and emotional support to so-called kinship families, including respite care and support groups. The families often are dealing with added emotional issues that stem from job loss. And many grandparents have diminished financial resources themselves as their retirement funds have been decimated by the economic downturn.

"If there's been a loss of a house, a loss of a job, the need to retrain for another, you're talking about people whose dreams have changed and whose lives have dramatically changed," said Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, which focuses on intergenerational issues. "They have to come to terms with that, as well as the new roles they all have to assume."

Groups that offer assistance are being sought out by grandparents seeking help for the first time in their lives.

"People who haven't struggled or needed services in the past need it now," said Cathy Tompkins, director of the undergraduate social work program at George Mason University and a researcher in gerentology who is working with Fairfax County to assess needs of people providing kinship care.

One grandmother who attended a recent meeting held by Fairfax County's Family Services agency told officials her granddaughter used to invite her friends over, but as a teenager never entertained at home because all her friends were living with their parents, said Tompkins who attended the session. The grandmother wanted a support group for teens so they would not feel so alone and "different."

Amy Goyer, a family expert with AARP, said anecdotes she has heard suggest the recession-related increase is large.

"That's the thing abut this recession; it's hit so many people at different socioeconomic levels," she said.

According to the Pew study, almost two-thirds of the grandparents who are primarily responsible for their grandchildren are under 60. In the 2000 Census, the average age was 57.

"These are not necessarily grandparents who are retired," said Goyer. "They're preparing for retirement, and a lot of times their retirement savings is going down the drain. They lost it or it was undermined by the economic situation, and now they're spending it on family. It puts the grandparents' generation in jeopardy as well."

Catherine Zeta Jones’ agony over Michael Douglas’s throat cancer

2010-09-12T21:47:00.000+05:30

Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones has opened about her agony over husband Michael Douglas’s throat cancer.

The beauty refuses to accompany Oscar-winner Douglas to the hospital for chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

“I know maybe I should be stronger but emotionally I just don’t want to see the man I love hooked to a chemo IV or lying motionless on a radiation table under a positioning mask,” the Daily Express quoted Jones as saying during in an emotional interview with a US magazine.

Zeta-Jones feared for Douglas, a heavy smoker, before his condition was diagnosed.

“It wasn’t a huge shock, I knew something was up but the one thing that struck me first was: ‘This doesn’t happen to Michael Douglas’. The hardest part is seeing his fatigue because Michael is never tired. I’m 25 years younger than him and he wears me out,” she added.

Immediate chest compressions better cardiac arrest outcomes

2010-09-12T21:46:00.000+05:30

A new study reported in BMC suggests that chest compressions prior to defibrillation are just as good as immediate electrical defibrillation and in some case the chest compression first approach may offer sudden cardiac arrest patients some extra benefits.

The review study showed that there was no difference between the chest compression first and immediate electrical defibrillation in terms of the rate of return of spontaneous circulation, survival to hospital discharge or neurological outcomes in patients who suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Current guidelines recommend patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest should receive immediate electrical defibrillation, according to ABC News. Researchers were cited as saying defibrillation is still important, but the findings may have some impact on future recommendations on how to respond to cardiac arrest.

For the study, Dr. Pascal Meier of the University of Michigan and colleagues reviewed data from four randomized controlled trials involving 1,503 patients to compare the effects of the compression-first approach versus the defibrillation-first approach on outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Dr. Meier et al. did find patients who were treated with the chest compression first approach had a better one-year survival and were more likely to leave the hospital after cardiac arrest than those treated with defibrillation only, 11 percent versus 8.6 percent.

Chest compressions are commonly performed as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

to revive cardiac arrest patients. One early study released in 2007 in The Lancet suggests that chest compression without rescue breaths is better than the conventional CPR method which requires mouth-to-mouth breaths.

The study conducted by Japanese researcher Ken Nagao of Surugadai Nihon University Hospital in Tokyo showed that patients treated with chest compression only were less likely to suffer severe brain damage induced by cardiac arrest. The favorable neurological outcome for chest compression was 19.4 percent compared to 11.2 percent for the traditional CPR.

Another study of about 2000 patients who suffered sudden cardiac arrest showed that chest compression only cardiopulmonary resuscitation saved 12.5% of patients who were able to live to hospital discharge after being resuscitated while the conventional CPR saved 11%.

The study was led by Thomas D. Rea, M.D. at the University of Washington and colleagues and reported in the July 29, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the same issue, Leif Svensson, M.D., Ph.D. at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and colleagues reported that chest compression alone helped 8.7% of patients to survive for 30 days or more while the standard CPR helped just 7% of patients.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating. When the condition is not corrected in a matter of 3 to 5 minutes, the patient would die because of massive brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

Cardiac arrest is often caused by arrhythmias meaning that the heart beats too fast or too slow or with an irregular rhythm. The condition differs from myocardial infarction or heart attack which occurs when blood flow to part of the heart muscle is blocked.

Defibrillation sends an electric shock to the heart to restore its normal rhythm. According to American Heart Association, an estimated 294,851 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the united States each year. Ninety five percent of patients with cardiac arrest can't survive.

The National Lung Heart and Blood Institute says that a beneficial healthy diet should include fruits, vegetables and grains and foods should be low in saturated fat, trans fat, salt, added sugar and cholesterol.

Ghost Caught On Tape.

2010-09-12T21:20:00.001+05:30

Warning: Don't Switch on your Sound system Before watching this video :)

Statue Shoots Hoops

2010-09-12T21:19:00.000+05:30

A perfectly timed picture makes it look like this statue is shooting a little basketball. :)

2010-09-12T19:43:00.002+05:30

Girl Takes Watermelon To Face

This woman is on "The Amazing Race" when she has a crazy accident with a giant sling shot and a watermelon!

Embryonic stem cell research can once again go ahead

2010-09-12T19:04:00.000+05:30

The government

announced Friday that funding for embryonic stem cell research can once again go ahead, at least for the time being. Although research can continue, the fate of human embryonic stem cell research is still very much in limbo.

The three-judge panel said in a brief they would lift the ban while they consider the initial, temporary injunction handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth on August 23. The federal judge last month stopped the use of taxpayer money for the stem cell research. That led the National Institutes of Health to suspend its work to fund new projects and to warn that 22 projects due to get yearly checks in September would have to find other money

to continue.

The temporary ban will allow the National Institute of Health to provide $78 million to 44 scientists awaiting previously approved funds while the agency evaluates new applications from scientists seeking federal funding for stem cell research.

Removing the ban lets the government continue to givie tens of millions of dollars to researchers looking for cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries and genetic conditions. The decision, which has met strong criticism, has given Congress some time to consider whether the ban is needed or not.

Embryonic stem cells can grow into any kind of tissue and could have the potential to speed up an array of research.

US church wants to resume Zimbabwe AIDS work

2010-09-12T17:35:00.000+05:30

OHANNESBURG — A California church wants to get back to helping AIDS orphans in Africa, once it resolves questions over licensing that led to the arrests of six of its workers in impoverished Zimbabwe, a minister said Sunday.

The six — five Americans and a Zimbabwean — were arrested Friday and have been held at Harare Central police station, where conditions in the cells are notoriously grim. They will appear in court Monday on charges of operating without proper medical licenses, according to their lawyer in Zimbabwe.

Theophous Reagans, a minister at the Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, California, said by telephone Sunday the church has been working in Zimbabwe for more than a decade and that this is the first time questions over licensing have been raised. He said one of the Americans lives in Zimbabwe, while the others are among church members who visit three or four times a year, paying their own way to help at a home for AIDS orphans the congregation has adopted.

"Our prayer and our hope is that they will be released," after Monday's hearing, Reagans told The Associated Press.

The church's work in Zimbabwe was started in 2000 by Robert C. Scott, an Allen Temple member, AIDS activist and doctor. Scott died last year.

"Dr. Scott worked diligently for 10 years to build that ministry and serve," Reagans said. "We want to continue."

Reagans said most of Allen Temple Baptist Church members are black, and feel a strong connection to Africa.

In 2008, at the height of a political crisis in Zimbabwe, the government accused independent aid groups of supporting opposition activists and barred them from distributing aid for three months.

Zimbabwe also has clashed with aid groups over funding. In 2007, Zimbabwe's central bank confiscated U.S. dollars being held in local bank accounts, including about $12 million belonging to the Global Fund, a major international supporter of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. When the central bank failed to return its money, the Global Fund threatened to cut off aid. Its funds were eventually returned.

Conditions for international aid workers have eased since longtime ruler Robert Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing agreement with his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister last year. The partnership has been strained. Mugabe's supporters continue to be accused of abusing human rights, but Tsvangirai's party has been praised for its administration of key ministries, including health, education and finance.

Reagans said his church had not been affected by previous problems encountered by international aid workers in Zimbabwe.

"We really believe that for the last nine-10 years, we have been working in consort with the authorities in Zimbabwe," he said.

The Herald, a state-run Zimbabwe newspaper, quoted police as saying the church workers were being questioned about operating an unlicensed clinic and dispensing medicine without a pharmacist's supervision.

"It is our duty to ensure that all clinics and medical institutions are registered for easy monitoring," police spokesman Augustine Zimbili told The Herald. "There is a risk of dispensation of expired drugs. When premises are not licensed, it is difficult to check if (the law) is being complied with."

Jonathan Samukange, the lawyer in Zimbabwe representing the detained church workers, said they have proper licenses and were only supervising a pharmacy that mainly gave out AIDS medications.

The church's Web site said its work in Zimbabwe began when Scott and other church members attended an international AIDS conference in neighboring South Africa.

They made a trip to Zimbabwe alongside the conference, and moved by what they saw at the Mother of Peace Orphanage, persuaded their church to support the home just outside Harare for children who have lost parents to AIDS.

In Scott's obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle, Gloria Cox Crowell, who ran a church AIDS outreach program with Scott and was among those arrested in Zimbabwe last week, was quoted as saying the orphanage cemetery "was the biggest motivation" in the decision to support Mother of Peace.

"We saw the little tiny crosses for the children who had died there, and they had all died of complications from AIDS. He (Scott) wanted to do something about that."

Scott had earlier founded the AIDS Project of the East Bay to support HIV-positive people in Oakland and try to prevent the spread of the virus, and the AIDS program at his church.

Embryonic Stem Cell Funds Resume by U.S. After Ruling

2010-09-12T17:33:00.001+05:30

Lifting the ban allows the government to temporarily continue funneling tens of millions of dollars to scientists seeking cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries and genetic conditions. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Embryonic stem cell research, grants, and funding reviews at the National Institutes of Health have resumed after a U.S. court suspended a ban, the agency said today in a statement.

A U.S. appeals court said yesterday that the government can keep funding embryonic stem cell research, at least during the initial stages of the agency’s challenge to a federal judge’s ban on the financial support. The NIH, the federal government’s health research agency, said today it will temporarily resume its operations that had been suspended.

Lifting the ban allows the government to continue channeling tens of millions of dollars to scientists seeking cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries and genetic conditions. Embryonic stem cells can grow into any kind of tissue and may have the potential to accelerate a range of research. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington ordered funds to be halted on Aug. 23.

“Human embryonic stem cell research holds the potential for generating profound new insights into disease, cell-based therapeutics and novel methods of screening for new drugs,” the NIH said in an e-mail statement. “The suspension of all grants, contracts and applications that involve the use of human embryonic stem cells has been temporarily lifted.”

The agency, based in Bethesda, Maryland, said it will present further arguments supporting the research to the court in coming weeks. Opponents of federal stem-cell funding have until Sept. 14 to file a response, and the U.S. can submit a response on Sept. 20, the appeals court said yesterday.

Technology notebook: Google's doodle leaves users puzzled

2010-09-12T14:36:00.000+05:30

For a dozen years, Google Inc. has been occasionally swapping its everyday logo for a "doodle," a sketch celebrating holidays, inventions, artists and sporting events, and showcasing designs from contest-winning students.

Usually, Google makes it clear what's being celebrated, using the doodle as a lure to teach Web surfers more about the topic -- artist Nam June Paik on his birthday, for example, or the history of China's lantern festival, to pick just two of more than 300 past designs.

But Google had left Tuesday's doodle a mystery, prompting people to speculate about the meaning of this mass of blue, red, yellow and green bouncing balls that skitter across Google.com as if allergic to the mouse pointer before settling into the familiar logo pattern.

Google's official statement says merely that "today's doodle is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be."

Adding to the intrigue, the company also tweeted on Twitter, "Boisterous doodle today. Maybe it's excited about the week ahead."

Football fans flock to video games

Thursday marked the kickoff of the 2010 NFL season, and along with it, a renewed interest in fantasy leagues and video games that let Monday-morning quarterbacks feel as if they're part of the action.

The perennial champ of the genre, Electronic Arts Inc.'s "Madden," has already made its debut this year as a free Facebook application.

An underdog contender, Quick Hit Inc., has joined the fray with "Quick Hit NFL Football." It lets players pick an NFL team and coach it through the season.

Quick Hit's game came out in beta test form last October, but without the official NFL teams, logos, uniforms and other touches. By January it had racked up 1 million users; the company will only say players now number "in the millions."

Both "Quick Hit NFL Football," a standalone game played in a Web browser, and "Madden NFL Superstars," the Facebook game from EA, are part of a growing trend of online games that are free to play but sell extra, optional items for small amounts of money.

Quick Hit's updated game brings color commentary from former longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, plus the ability to pay a few bucks extra to snag famous players or playbook additions. There are only five current NFL players available to add to rosters, the most Quick Hit could include based on its licensing agreements. People can choose among more than 100 past "legends" to round out their teams.

Is there room for 2 top dogs Oracle?

As co-president at Oracle Corp., ousted Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd will have to adapt to a new role playing second fiddle to one of Silicon Valley's most domineering bosses -- Larry Ellison.

Although the two men have been pals for several years, working together may test their friendship given that they have both been accustomed to being the top dog. Ellison, in particular, has never left any doubt who's calling the shots at the business software juggernaut that he co-founded 33 years ago.

"Larry is well-known for his strong personality, and there is always a possibility of a personality clash with Hurd," said Kaushik Roy, an analyst with Wedbush Securities.

Adobe shares jump after Apple decision on Flash

2010-09-12T14:35:00.000+05:30

Shares of Adobe Systems Inc. jumped Thursday after Apple Inc. removed one obstacle keeping developers of mobile software for Apple's app store from using Adobe's technology.

THE SPARK: Apple said that it will lift a ban on third-party software developers using tools that translate code written for other venues. That means app developers will be able to covert programs written with Adobe's Flash technology without having to rewrite them using a competing standard.

THE BIG PICTURE: Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on Apple's mobile gadgets, calling it outdated and unreliable. He favors alternatives such as HTML5.

Because Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad have proven so popular, the company's resistance to Flash threatened to push more software developers away from Adobe's technology.

SHARE ACTION: Adobe shares jumped $3.17, or 11 percent, to $32.48 in morning trading.

Airports Aren't the Only Place to Find Companies Selling X-Ray Scanners

2010-09-12T14:13:00.000+05:30

While debate continues in the United States over whether whole-body imagers now being used at airports to detect weapons violate privacy rights and even create potential health risks, manufacturers of the technology are opening deeper opportunities for themselves elsewhere that could make the controversial machines an even bigger part of everyday life.

A Massachusetts-based company claims that government agencies here and abroad have purchased hundreds of its van-mounted X-ray devices that reveal the contents of passing vehicles without authorities relying on a manual search to find human stowaways, secret compartments full of narcotics or bomb ingredients.

An executive of American Science & Engineering told Forbes privacy writer Andy Greenberg late last month that the X-ray scanners are most popular with the Defense Department, a fact borne out by federal contracting data. Troops face insurgent bomb architects in Iraq and Afghanistan capable of stymieing the world's most powerful armed forces with crude, MacGyver-style explosives, so vehicle X-ray technology in a place like Baghdad makes sense.

But marketing vice president Joe Reiss said they're also being snapped up by law enforcement officials here, another fact supported by public records, which list at least five major federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security as purchasers of the equipment, in addition to the Pentagon. "This product is now the largest selling cargo and vehicle inspection system ever," Reiss boasted to Forbes.

Drilling deeper, the transcript of a February earnings conference call shows that company CEO Anthony Fabiano told investors AS&E had sold its first vehicle X-ray scanner "to a state government for law enforcement applications. That's a U.S. state." Additional details are scant.

The same privacy defenders who refer to full-body airport scanners as "virtual strip searches," like Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, are asking similar questions about whether the common use by law enforcement of so-called Z Backscatter Vans would comply with the Constitution.

Video depicting vehicle X-ray scanners in operation.

Airport scanners see underneath the clothing of travelers, and for that the government needs a warrant, Rotenberg argues. Like other probing surveillance technologies, penetrating vehicles at random regardless of whether the driver and passengers are believed to have done anything wrong turns the legal notion of probable cause on its head. The machines are also able to store images long-term, unlike what the Transportation Security Administration has promised of full-body systems.

According to Forbes:

Even airport scans are typically used only as a secondary measure, [Rotenberg] points out. 'If the scans can only be used in exceptional cases in airports, the idea that they can be used routinely on city streets is a very hard argument to make.' The TSA's official policy dictates that full-body scans must be viewed in a separate room from any guards dealing directly with subjects of the scans, and that the scanners won't save any images. Just what sort of safeguards might be in place for AS&E's scanning vans isn't clear, given that the company won't reveal just which law enforcement agencies, organizations within the [Department of Homeland Security], or foreign governments have purchased the equipment.

Specific privacy protections may indeed be elusive. But it's wrong to suggest no paper trail exists to tell a larger story about how much business AS&E is doing with the U.S. government. Available public records are maddeningly inconsistent and critical information is often missing, such as what the government actually purchased.

What we can say conservatively is that since 2004, AS&E has inked deals with agencies in Washington for its mobile X-ray machines totaling at least $188 million, a figure that includes things like maintenance agreements and technical training. Much of that spending comes from the military. However, the Homeland Security Department in the last two years has signed $33.3 million in contracts covering at least 42 scanners for its U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The exact quantity of machines may be higher.

One $19 million pact for two-dozen vehicle X-ray scanners was made possible with President Obama's economic stimulus program, and homeland security officials planned to use them on the border.

The State Department bought another 30 mobile X-ray vehicles for $26 million, many of which were then deployed in Mexico for drug war and border security purposes, records show. The feds acquired five backscatter vans last year valued at $4.6 million that were donated to the Mexican government as part of the Merida Initiative, an effort launched in 2008 to aid the nation's southern neighbor in combating organized crime and drug traffickers.

There is no equivalent contracting database to view purchases among state and local governments, so it's difficult to tell how vigorously law enforcement officials at that level may be pursuing X-ray vans. But certainly the use of similar technologies by county sheriffs and metro police is growing at a rate that agitates privacy activists, for example, license-plate readers and speed cameras.

It is the case that AS&E shares are publicly traded on Wall Street, which means further details about its earnings are contained in various disclosure forms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its last annual filing shows that the global company's business with U.S. taxpayers has steadily increased over the last three years accounting for 63 percent of total sales during the 2010 fiscal year.

AS&E also markets other products to government officials, such as inspection equipment for mail and cargo in addition to full-body imagers. Purchasing data show that the manufacturer overall has stacked up contracts with federal agencies here since 2000 worth more than $760 million, its other clients ranging from the FBI and the Treasury Department to FEMA and the Secret Service.

Some of its income stems from cash handed out for government-sponsored research into X-ray and inspection technologies, for which AS&E has been awarded nearly $29 million since 2008 alone, according to SEC filings.

The company eschews privacy worries surrounding its vehicle X-ray scanners arguing that they don't detail human forms the way airport imagers do, and the intent is to see what's inside a car or truck, not single out individuals by identity, race or gender. So far, groups like EPIC and the American Civil Liberties Union haven't mounted any significant public campaign against scanner vans and demanded restrictions on their use in the United States. But that may be due to the fact that much of the attention now is focused on airport imagers.

The same goes for Congress where key lawmakers are instructing senior leaders at DHS to consider using alternative airport scanners with enhanced privacy protections and to convene a panel of medical experts who can determine whether radiation emitted by some of the machines threatens human health.

Senators like Republican Susan Collins of Maine, part of a group in Congress pressuring DHS on body imagers, aren't making related demands when it comes to the government looking inside your trunk without opening it.

Mobile Phone Tracking

2010-09-12T14:11:00.000+05:30

A lot οf people out thеrе аrе really against mobile phone tracking аnd tο a сеrtаіn extent I саn understand thаt. thіѕ kind οf technology саn tear lives apart аnd рυt people behind bars, thе second option іѕ a gοοd thing οf course. јυѕt bесаυѕе thеrе аrе negatives іt dοеѕ nοt mean thеrе аrе nοt аlѕο postives.

Criminals

whеn іt comes tο chasing аftеr criminals thе main thing tο thіnk аbουt іѕ chasing thеm down rіght?. Police саn actually talk tο network providers аnd іf thеу know thе numbers thаt thеу аrе using thеу саn very easily track thе phone. a lot οf criminals out thеrе аrе actually nοt very clever аt аll аnd wіll nit thіnk tο drop thеіr οld phone аnd gеt a nеw one, thіѕ іѕ hοw police manage tο catch a lot οf thеm out whісh іѕ grеаt. A lot οf criminals аrе found using thіѕ method, a crazy one tο find thе dumbest οf people.

Cheaters

Although strictly illegal іn many countries οf thе world, things such аѕ mobile phone tracking аnd vehicle tracking аrе used tο hеlр partners find out whаt thе οthеr person іѕ doing behind thеіr backs. thе qυеѕtіοn tο аѕk here іѕ, аrе thеу staying аt work late οr οff wіth someone еlѕе?? One οf thе best ways tο find out іѕ tο actually gο аnd take a look fοr yourself bу inserting tracking devices over thеіr property.

Thе main issue wіth thіѕ method іѕ іf уου аrе found tο bе wrοng аnd уουr partner finds out уου аrе going tο bе putting ѕοmе serious strain οn thе relationship аnd аll οf thаt spy equipment wіll bе thе еnd οf уου. If thеу dο nοt find out аnd уου аrе wrοng thеn уου аrе still going tο hаνе a lot οf guilt οn уου ѕο уου wіll hаνе tο tеll thеm.

All іn аll, mobile phone tracking іѕ something well worth doing bυt уου hаνе tο know уου аrе being rіght аbουt using іt!

Intel will showcase mobile chip, graphics technology at its annual developer forum

2010-09-12T14:07:00.000+05:30

Intel has some explaining to do.

The chip maker surprised and puzzled the tech industry last month with its $7.7 billion purchase of security software company McAfee, then disappointed investors by warning that its third-quarter revenues will come in below expectations.

Despite record financial results last quarter, Intel's stock is sagging near its lowest point of the year. The company's microprocessors have been shut out of the hottest gadgets, notably the iPhone and smart phones based on Google's Android operating system.

Industry watchers wonder whether the venerable tech company, which continues to dominate the chip market for PCs and corporate servers, may be vulnerable in a new era of mobile computing.

Intel will address many -- but not all -- of those questions this week at its Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. Intel uses the annual showcase to tout its new ideas directly to the people who design and build computers, and to promote Intel-led initiatives to steer the future of computing.

Though Intel's headquarters are in the Bay Area, its biggest operating hub is in Oregon, where the company has 15,000 employees, more than any other company.

Two of Intel's top Oregon executives will deliver keynote addresses this week. Software chief Renee James will tout an ecosystem of mobile apps, and Justin Rattner, chief technology officer, will highlight Intel's long-range vision.

"I think Intel is kind of under the gun from the investment community and everyone else to show a new growth path," said Jim McGregor, who follows Intel for the research firm In-Stat.

"You have to have something beyond PCs and servers," he said.

To that end, Intel plans to showcase its Atom microprocessor this week, a low-power, customizable chip now powering a class of ultramobile computers known as netbooks.

Intel will show off other uses for Atom at IDF, notably the forthcoming Google TV.

Apple dumped Intel from its latest version of Apple TV in favor of a design by ARM Holdings. But Google's much-heralded initiative puts Atom at the center of a device that would stream video from across the Web straight into your TV.

It's the biggest consumer electronics win for Intel in years, and the chip giant plans to make the most of it with a series of smart TV workshops and demonstrations at IDF. Intel indicated last week that some versions of the device will start shipping this month.

Other uses for Atom, too, in forthcoming tablet computers, embedded computers inside everything from consumer gadgets to industrial equipment.
Intel boosted its mobile prospects considerably last month with a deal to buy the wireless chip division of Infineon, the German semiconductor company. The $1.4 billion acquisition gives Intel ownership of communications chips in the iPhone and other devices.

Even so, smart phones aren't going to be a focus of Intel's pitches this week. The company hasn't gotten a big win in that space yet and likely will keep its powder dry 'til next year, when it expects several smart phones will hit the market using a new version of Atom.

Neither does Intel expect to say much about its McAfee purchase, the biggest in its history. Intel already has said it plans to incorporate security software in its chips, and won't elaborate until the deal closes and the first chips incorporating new security software appear next year.

One area that Intel says it will emphasize, starting with Chief Executive Paul Otellini's keynote address Monday morning, is a new class of microprocessor called Sandy Bridge due late this year.

Intel researchers in Hillsboro have been steadily crafting smaller, more robust microprocessors. That's made room on the chip for more robust graphics capabilities on the chip itself, instead of as a separate component.

Earlier this year, Intel postponed plans for its own graphics chips after development of a new technology called Larrabee proved disappointing.

The new design isn't as robust as a stand-alone graphics processor, made by rival chip makers AMD and Nvidia. But Intel believes Sandy Bridge's graphics capabilities will be adequate for many computing needs, and the company plans to make its capabilities a centerpiece of IDF

GoDaddy.com Goes on the Auction Block

2010-09-12T14:06:00.002+05:30

GoDaddy.com, the closely held website that registers Internet domain names, has put itself up for sale in an auction that could fetch more than $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Qatalyst Partners, the boutique firm run by veteran technology banker Frank Quattrone, has been hired to shop the Go Daddy Group Inc., which runs the world's largest domain name registrar, these people said. Private-equity firms are expected to bid for the company, which currently has more than 43 million domains under management.

GoDaddy.com and Qatalyst representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., GoDaddy.com is owned by Bob Parsons, who founded the company in 1997 and is its chief executive—a man the company website describes as "not shy to speak his mind." The company is well known for its edgy advertising, including Super Bowl commercials and ads featuring different "Go Daddy Girls," including racing car driver Danica Patrick.

In addition to registering domain names, GoDaddy.com sells e-commerce, security and other services to people and businesses looking to manage their online presence. The company posted revenue between $750 million and $800 million in 2009, according to people familiar with the matter.

Two smaller competitors, Register.com and Network Solutions, have both been in private-equity's hands. Earlier this year, technology-focused buyout firm Vector Capital sold Register.com to another web registration and design provider , Web.com Inc., for $135 million. Network Solutions is owned by General Atlantic Partners.

Private-equity firms are attracted to the business because of the steady cash flow from monthly fee-based subscriptions and the potential for "up-selling" customers additional features to enhance their websites.

Iran ready to free detained American woman on bail

2010-09-12T13:54:00.001+05:30

TEHRAN | Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:34am EDT

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is prepared to release on bail a U.S. woman, one of three Americans it has held for more than a year accused of espionage, Iran's English language Press TV quoted a Tehran prosecutor as saying on Sunday.

"The American spy could be released on $500,000 bail. She is not barred from leaving Iran," the prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said. "The other two detained American hikers will remain in jail."

Sarah Shourd was detained near Iran's border with Iraq at the end of July 2009 along with two males, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. Their families say the three were on a mountain hike in northern Iraq at the time.

Dolatabadi did not say when Shourd would be freed.

Officials had said last week that one of the three might be freed on Saturday, but the release was postponed.

They have not been formally charged, but under Iran's Islamic law, espionage can be punishable by execution. Washington rejects the spying allegations and has demanded their immediate release.

Their case has further complicated relations between Tehran and Washington already fraught over Iran's nuclear activities.

Suspected U.S. drone kills five in Pakistan

2010-09-12T13:51:00.000+05:30

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected U.S. drone strike killed five suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal region on Sunday morning, intelligence officials told CNN.

Two intelligence officials said two missiles were fired on the hideout of suspected militants in the Data Khel area of North Waziristan, one of seven districts in Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The intelligence officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Last week officials said suspected drone strikes killed 29 suspected militants in the region.

While the United States is the only country in the region known to have the ability to launch missiles from drones -- which are controlled remotely -- U.S. officials normally do not comment on suspected drone strikes.

Why a series of Indian actresses have been arrested for prostitution.

2010-09-12T13:01:00.001+05:30

The ultimate Indian male fantasy involves horizontal gymnastics with an actress from Bollywood or the smaller regional film industries such as Tollywood, in the state of Andra Pradesh, or Kollywood, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The fact that Indian actresses also participate in Miss Universe pageants, strutting the stage in bikinis, only heightens their desirability. The recent arrest of two Indian actresses for prostitution, or what the Indian media calls the "flesh business," however, raises the question of whether this fantasy may actually be within reach for men with enough money.

The actresses concerned, who work in Tollywood, were arrested on Aug. 23 in an early-morning raid that took place after a police tip-off in Hyderabad, the polished, squeaky-clean hub of India's booming software industry. Saira Banu, who has played in Telugu films, and Jyoti, an actress who plays supporting roles, were arrested along with women from Uzbekistan and their customers. The arrests took place in the up-market Kundan Bagh neighborhood, a high-security area inhabited by government ministers, bureaucrats, and high-flying IT executives.

This is not the first time Indian actresses have been arrested for prostitution. In 2009, the Tollywood actress Seema was arrested—along with her mother—during a raid in Hyderabad's Tarnaka area. Apart from working as a prostitute, the doe-eyed 27-year-old was also employing other sex workers from Mumbai at a cost of 30,000 rupees (around $650) each per week—higher than what most local executives earn—to run a brothel there.

Demand for sex with actresses is very high in India, for a number of reasons. Indian actresses personify sexual liberation in a socially conservative country that places a high value on modesty and chastity. The gap between female sexuality and behavior on the Indian silver screen and in society is colossal. While in Indian films women are shown scantily dressed and gyrating to catchy pop numbers, their female counterparts in the audience wear modest salwar kameez—long tunics with baggy pajama bottoms—or matronly saris.

Over the years, family-friendly Indian cinema has found many ways to pique the interest of male audiences without being deemed offensive by censors. This is a fine balancing act. For many years, on-screen kisses were a taboo. Actors would dance, frolic, and hold hands, but just as they tilted their heads for a kiss—eyelids gently closing—CUT, to the next shot. In exchange for this compromise, men got "wet sari" scenes, the infamous dance scenes which involve torrential monsoon rain and light-colored saris. Recently though, many of these quaint conventions have been dropped. Indian cinema is racing ahead to include explicit love scenes and more flesh, further increasing the sexuality gap between actresses and the rest of Indian women.

Because of the sexualized roles they play, and the fact that many are in scandalous "live-in relationships"— meaning they move in with boyfriends before marriage—the blanket assumption is that all actresses are available for a price. This is obviously false, but it's an illusion that has been exploited by savvy pimps who have created a market for B-list and C-list "starlets"—often unsuccessful actresses from questionable backgrounds—for men who want to have what's sold as a glamorous sexual experience.

These pimps were able to get a foot into the film industry in the first place because of the historical links between the cinema and the criminal underworld. An embodiment of this connection is the underworld don Abu Salem, who was convicted for masterminding the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 250 people. Before he branched out into terrorism, Salem regularly extorted money from Bollywood personalities and forcibly took over film productions for money laundering and other criminal purposes. Salem threatened to kill an established film director for refusing to give his then-girlfriend, Monica Bedi, a role in his films, despite her miserable lack of talent. The director, Rajiv Rai, ended up giving her a role, but only narrowly escaped a later attempt on his life by Salem's gang. Many, like the Bollywood producer and music baron Gulshan Kumar—who was killed in broad daylight—weren't as lucky.

Until Salem's arrest in 2002 in Lisbon at the behest of Interpol, Bollywood was deeply plagued by murky ties to organized criminal gangs with international networks. One veteran Indian film director, Jag Mundhra, remembers how many lesser-known Bollywood actresses got caught in the underworld after gangsters took a fancy to them. "There was a time when Bollywood actresses would just disappear off the scene only to re-emerge later in Dubai's dance bars," he said in an interview.

While some small-time actresses have become prostitutes, Mundhra, who used to make erotic thrillers in the United States, says that most of the "Bollywood prostitutes" are actually fake actresses. "A very old trick is that a pimp will approach you with a catalogue of famous Bollywood actresses and their prices. After the customer picks the actress he wants, the pimp will call at a very short notice and say the A-list actress of his choice is stuck in a shoot and will suggest an 'upcoming actress,' who is actually a prostitute, as a replacement." Those men then go away believing they actually could have slept with a famous actress, and this perpetuates the Bollywood brothel myth.

The myth is further propped up by prostitutes and their pimps who pay for spurious advertisements of upcoming film releases, in which a certain "actress" is advertised as playing a lead role. The ads for these fake films are then actually printed in film trade magazines. "These films never get made, but the press clippings help elevate the prostitute to the level of an actress, at which point she can charge double," says Mundhra.

The fate of the latest actresses to be caught in between these two intertwined worlds is still unknown. In an industry that encourages endless re-invention, this will likely not be the last we hear of them. Followers of Indian film news may recall how the tides turned for Bhuvaneswari, a Kollywood actress who was arrested twice (in 2002 and 2009) for prostitution. After the first arrest, she managed to convince her fans of her innocence and so continued acting until she was arrested for prostitution a second time. Instead of adopting a lower profile after the arrest, the actress surprised many by accepting a position within the All-India Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam (MMK), a political party whose leadership she was close to.

To the dismay of many, the feisty actress also decided that if her past was going to be exposed, she was going to drag others into the mud, too. She drew up a long list of fellow actresses she claimed were also selling sex, although the veracity of her claims was disputed. Bhuvaneswari also told the media that she was working on an autobiography, expected to blow the lid off the shady dealings of the film industry. Whether the details prove true or not, her story will no doubt only further fuel the fantasies.

'Pregnant woman can't be forced to appear in court' Read more: 'Pregnant woman can't be forced to appear in court'

2010-09-12T12:59:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: A woman who is at an advanced stage of pregnancy cannot be forced to appear in a court, a Delhi court has said.

It came to the help of an expectant mother against whom a non-bailable warrant was issued by a lower court for not appearing in a dowry harassment case.

Additional Sessions Judge R K Gauba expressed the court's displeasure over the lower court judge not exempting the six-month pregnant woman from personally appearing in criminal proceedings.

The court also took exception to the lower court putting a condition as -- either accept the charge or appear before it -- on the lawyer representing the woman seeking exemption from appearance.

"The law does not permit the court to put conditions of the kind indicated in the order. The requirement of the law for appearance of the accused is subject to just exceptions which include physical impossibility," ASJ Gauba said.

"This requirement (of appearance) cannot be used to arm-twist the accused or her counsel to accept the charge. I find the language used to be rather loose," the court said.

Granting relief to 25-year-old Meenakshi, who is facing charges in a dowry case, the ASJ set aside the lower court's order and exempted her from personal appearance in the case.

During the proceedings in the lower court, the woman sought its permission for non-appearance as she was at the advanced stage of pregnancy.

But the lower court issued non-bailable warrant against her. She filed a revision petition before the sessions court challenging the order to issue NBW against her.

"If it was confirmed by proper documents in support, as has been done through the documents in the revision petition indicating the petitioner to be under ante-natal care since January 13 this year, the exemption deserved to be granted," the court said.

Yamuna recedes in Delhi, but still above danger mark

2010-09-12T12:58:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: The water level in the Yamuna started receding Sunday, a day after nearly 2,000 people were evacuated in Delhi as the river was flowing perilously above the danger mark, a flood department official said.

The water level in the Yamuna stood at 206.49 metres Sunday morning, 1.66 metres above the danger mark, but there has been a decline in the discharge from Haryana's Hathnikund barrage, said the official of the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control.

"The water level has started receding slowly, but it is still above the danger mark. The discharge from Haryana is getting low - about 41,748 cuseus of water was discharged till 8 a.m. Sunday," the official told IANS.

"We are expecting the water level to recede to 206.35 metres at 4 p.m. today (Sunday), by late evening the water level should go down to 204.83 metres, but we cannot confirm it now."

The rising Yamuna flooded several parts of the capital Saturday, with over 2,000 people evacuated from east and north Delhi.

Speaking about the iron bridge over the river which was shut down as the water level in the Yamuna river continued to rise dangerously Saturday, the official said, "The bridge is still closed - it will not be opened till the Yamuna water level reaches below 206 metre."

Low-lying areas like Garhi Mandu, Usmanpur Pushta, Jagatpur village and Shastri Nagar were some of the places inundated, officials said.

Around 100 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have been deployed to assist the authorities to tackle the situation, which is similar to the situation in 1978.

In 1978, more than 250,000 people were affected when the Yamuna flooded large areas in the capital's northern and eastern districts through which the river flows.

7 confirmed dead, 6 missing in San Bruno

2010-09-12T12:56:00.000+05:30

At least seven are dead and six missing following a massive explosion in San Bruno Thursday evening, according to police.

Specially trained dogs this evening found three victims, bringing the total to seven fatalities of the explosion, which happened at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday evening near Skyline Boulevard and San Bruno Avenue.

"Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragedy," San Bruno police Chief Neil Telford said in a statement.

A press conference will be held at 8 a.m. Sunday morning to discuss how displaced residents may return to their homes.

Homes that have been completely destroyed will remain off-limits, while other residents whose houses have sustained moderate damage may only be allowed back to collect some belongings, said City Manager Connie Jackson.

Some residents may be allowed to reoccupy their homes, Jackson said.

End of Ramadan Celebrations Canceled, Downgraded

2010-09-11T11:16:00.001+05:30

More than 8,000 people poured through the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md., this morning in shifts for prayer and worship in celebration of Eid ul-Fitr – a celebration marking the end of a month of Ramadan fasting.

Thousands of men, from all walks of life, gathered for community prayer at a mosque in Silver Spring, Md.

(Sandile Ashford/ABC News on Campus)

Clothed in colorful, embroidered robes, families from Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland cheerfully greeted each other, and later, in unison chanted songs of thanksgiving to Allah.

Joyful as they were, Muslims across the country consciously made this Eid celebration somewhat somber to show respect. The date of the holiday, which is determined by the lunar calendar, coincides with the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"Brothers and sisters, now is your opportunity to show our brothers and sisters who are not Muslims, who we really are," said Mohamed Shmohamed, Imam of the Muslim Center in Silver Spring in his Eid sermon. "And the best way we can show them is through our manners, proper etiquett
In the U.S., Muslim leaders have asked congregations to tone down their Eid celebrations in remembrance of the 9/11 victims.

"Family Day at Six Flags" which was originally scheduled for Sept. 11th was moved to Sept. 12th for many congregations, including Muslim centers in Chicago, Ill. and Silver Spring, Md.

The Seattle Times reported that the Imam Center in Kirkland, Wash., has canceled their celebrations, instead choosing to host an interfaith service with the Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church. And in California, the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno canceled the carnival they typically hold on the Saturday after the end of Ramadan, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Rather than gathering for food and fellowship on Sept. 11th, Imams are urging Muslims to spend the day reaching out to other religious communities.

"The true message of Islam is to know and love one another and to build peace, reconciliation and understanding among all people," said Imam Mohamed Erophat, president of the Islamic Affairs Council of Maryland.

"September 11th will be a day for Muslims to get together with [their] Christian friends, Jewish friends -- people from all walks of life in America to emphasize the need for unity in America,"

Muslim women send prayers of thanksgiving to Allah near a mosque that had filled to capacity in Silver Spring, Md.

(ABC News)

In addition to coinciding with the Sept. 11 anniversary, the Eid comes amid controversy over the planned construction of an Islamic center near Ground Zero, and the actions of a small Florida church that earlier this week planned to burn Korans, a threat that attracted international attention.

President Barack Obama and General David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, both spoke out against the now-canceled "Burn a Koran Day," saying that burning Korans would place American troops in harm's way.

"One point five billion Muslims live by the Koran and the Koran had nothing to do with 9/11," said Shmohamed. "Muslims all over the world felt [the proposed Koran burning] was an insult to the faith.

After Ruling on Gay Policy, New Questions for Obama

2010-09-11T11:13:00.000+05:30

don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gay and bisexual members of the military unconstitutional is good news for the Obama administration.

President Obama supports a repeal of the policy, as does his defense secretary, and the House voted to let the Defense Department repeal the ban in May. The Senate has been pondering taking action under increasing pressure from advocates for a policy change.

But things are rarely as straightforward as they seem in Washington, and in other ways the decision presents the White House and Congressional Democrats with a problem.

To begin with, the administration, compelled to defend existing laws, may well appeal the ruling by Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court in California declaring the existing policy unconstitutional. (A similar dynamic occurred when the administration defended the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 statute that puts obstacles in front of legal recognition for same-sex marriages, despite Mr. Obama’s opposition to the act.)

Further, while groups that support a ban are now ratcheting up pressure on members of the Senate to vote on a measure ending the policy, there is a slim chance that the bill will make it to the floor before Congress heads home next month to campaign for the midterm elections.

The Senate has considerable other business to take up over a short period of time, largely bills pertaining to taxes and the economy. Quick enactment of this policy change, which would be made through an amendment to a larger Pentagon authorization bill, seems unlikely, especially given widespread opposition among conservatives.

There is also the political reality that Democrats in competitive states and districts are unlikely to want to engage in a fight over an issue of social policy and risk further energizing conservative voters just seven weeks before Election Day.

The government has 60 days to file any appeal of the ruling, which puts the administration in an awkward position among the liberal base voters who have been pressing for repeal of the policy.

The acting solicitor general, Neal Katyal, must approve any appeal the Justice Department files. A department spokesman said Friday that it was “reviewing the judge’s opinion.”

The issue has barely surfaced in the raucous approach to the midterm elections, in which every imaginable wedge issue is being weighed.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said the policy change remained “an important priority but we need some Republican cooperation.”

One Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, already voted in favor of allowing the military to repeal the current policy when the issue was before the Armed Services Committee. But at least one Democrat, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, has expressed concerns about such a repeal, and it is not clear whether Democrats have the necessary 60 votes to move the legislation.

5 Afghans hurt protesting plan to burn Korans

2010-09-11T10:58:00.003+05:30

Afghans shouted anti-US slogans Friday during a protest in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, against a planned Koran-burning in Florida. (Rahmat Gul/ Associated Press)

By Rod Nordland New York Times / September 11, 2010

Five Afghan protesters were wounded, three of them critically, when hundreds of men tried to force their way onto a NATO reconstruction base at Faisabad, capital of Badakshan Province in northern Afghanistan, according to civilian authorities.

Muhammad Amin, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said four Afghan security officers were also wounded, but he said that earlier reports that a protester had been shot to death proved false.

Aga Noor Kentooz, the provincial police commander in Faisabad, said four people were wounded by shots fired from inside the base when a mob tried to force its way in.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force disputed the reports.

“All of our reporting is saying that no ISAF forces have fired anything,’’ Captain Ryan Donald, a spokesman, said.

He said there were also reports of shots fired at another Koran-burning protest, at Bala Buluk in Farah Province in western Afghanistan, where Polish forces run a Provincial Reconstruction Team base, though again it was not confirmed who had done so.

Both Afghan officials’ accounts said the trouble came after several thousand people left morning prayers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday and attended a peaceful demonstration against the plans for the Koran burning. Although the Florida pastor, Terry Jones, said Thursday that he had canceled plans to stage the event today, in commemoration of 9/11, his subsequent comments left it unclear if he planned to go ahead or not.

After the demonstration in Faisabad broke up, groups of several hundred young men, both on foot and piled into automobiles, stormed toward Airport Road and the NATO reconstruction team base, which is staffed by German soldiers who are part of the NATO-led international force.

After overpowering Afghan security forces on the outer wall of the compound, the crowd, armed with sticks and throwing rocks, tried to storm the inner wall, the Afghan officials said.

Kentooz said “foreign security forces’’ inside the base then fired warning shots, and when that failed to work they fired into the crowd.

The director of the Public Health Hospital in Faisabad, Abdul Mohmin Jalali, said five civilians were admitted there with gunshot wounds; one was treated and released, and three of the four who remained in the hospital were in critical condition.

“We heard reports that there were more casualties and possibly someone killed, but we don’t know as yet,’’ Jalali said.

General David H. Petraeus, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, has warned that plans for the Koran-burning put coalition troops at risk, and President Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates called on the Florida pastor not to go ahead with his planned action.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, there were scattered reports of demonstrations against the Koran-burning in Kabul, as well as in Bamyan and Kapisa, but they were small and mostly peaceful.

President Hamid Karzai, in a message issued for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, called on Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of the Taliban insurgents fighting his government, to join the peace process.

Mullah Omar’s Eid message was uncompromising, boasting that US forces were on the verge of leaving Afghanistan, and ignoring calls for peace talks.

The president’s remarks came after prayers for Eid at the mosque on the presidential palace grounds and a statement from his office said, “The president once again called on Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban, and other angry Afghans, to honor Eid by joining the peace process and stop killing our brothers and harming civilians.’’

Karzai also criticized the plans to burn the Koran.

“Disrespect to this holy book will not harm this book because the Koran is in every Muslim’s heart and mind,’’ he said. “I hope these people will stop this disrespect.’’

'40-Year-Old Virgin' actor: I stabbed girlfriend by mistake

2010-09-11T10:49:00.002+05:30

Shelley Malil played one of Steve Carell's electronics
store coworkers in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin

The "40-Year-Old Virgin" actor Shelley Malil testified Thursday he stabbed his girlfriend 20 times when he wrongly thought that she was somebody else going after him in the dark.

"I'm sorry," Malil, 45, said in a Vista, California, courtroom. "I had no idea. I saw the pictures (of her wounds) for the first time, I was stunned. When I look at those pictures, I still can't believe the knife I was holding was responsible for all those injuries."

Taking the stand in his own defense, the actor insisted he never intended to kill or hurt Kendra Beebe, 38, at her San Diego County house one night in August 2008. But then "chaos" broke out, some of which he says he still can't remember clearly.

Malil, who played one of Steve Carell's electronics store coworkers in the movie, pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and residential burglary. He could get 21 years to life in prison if convicted.

Malil told the jury that when he arrived at Beebe's house, he found her sipping wine with her pal David Maldonado. Malil says he felt threatened because he thought Maldonado was about to come after him.

"I heard the chair behind me backing up," he recalls. "I reach for the knife. ... I grab half the handle and he's pulling my arm, and I'm pulling away from him."

After a tumble, Malil says he realized Maldonado no longer had the knife. "I assume he's going for something else," he says. "I follow him to the kitchen."

But on the way, Malil says Maldonado was headed to his car. "I'm almost positive this guy's got a gun and coming after me," he says. "I come around the corner. It's eerily quiet. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I get hit from the back on the side of the head. It felt like cold granite countertop."

That's when Malil, still carrying a knife at this point, started slashing out in defense in the dark. "It was going crazy," he says. "It seemed like it was going for a minute."

It wasn't until hearing Beebe shout, "Call 911!" that Malil realized she was the one he was stabbing.

Americans are conflicted about the Muslim faith

2010-09-11T10:47:00.000+05:30

Almost a decade after 9/11, Americans remain conflicted about the Muslim faith. A series of roiling controversies this summer has compounded tensions, leaving people in North Texas and beyond particularly on edge about the place of Islam in American life.

"Muslims keep saying we need to understand them, but where is the concern for our feelings?" said Judy Kersh, a 60-year-old Dallas business analyst. "People are tired of having to walk carefully because they may offend someone."

A study last month by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that the share of Americans with a favorable view of Islam has fallen to 30 percent from 41 percent five years ago. A more recent ABC/Washington Post poll found 49 percent with an unfavorable view of Islam, again showing a worsening of feeling over previous surveys.

The ABC poll showed 66 percent of Americans oppose plans to locate an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero.

The debate over the center has turned into a national touch point both politically and culturally. It has been accompanied by a flood of anti-Muslim activity, including an attack on a Muslim cabdriver in New York and the vandalism of mosques in Nashville and Phoenix. A Florida pastor threatened to burn Qurans this week in commemoration of the 2001 terror attacks. Last month, the pastor of Dallas' First Baptist Church called Islam an evil religion that encourages pedophilia.

President Barack Obama addressed bubbling American resentment toward Islam at a news conference Friday.

"At a time when the country is anxious generally, and [has] gone through a tough time, then ... suspicions, divisions can surface," he said. "And so I think that plays a role."

Muslims cautious

This palpable undercurrent has made Muslims like Aisha U-Kiu more cautious. A native of Pakistan who grew up in Irving, she rejiggered a tight SMU law school schedule and took off from work to celebrate the end of Ramadan on Friday. The Eid al-Fitr holiday extends through the Sept. 11 weekend this year.

"We just didn't feel comfortable going out to dinner that night," she said of a group of 60 who planned a feast at an Indian restaurant.

U-Kiu, who considers North Texas a supportive environment for Muslims, attributed the heightened suspicion to news coverage and timing.

"There is overwhelming political change, the withdrawal of troops from Iraq – it's a sensitive time," she said. "Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, and maybe Americans aren't as comfortable with this change."

Religious leaders worry that the fears are boosting a new breed of intolerance.

"We no longer attribute good will to those with another point of view but paint them as evil and deserving of punishment for holding their perspective," said Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas.

The Rev. George Mason, pastor of East Dallas' Wilshire Baptist Church, has spent years working with Christians, Jews and Muslims. But he, like Farrell, sees a deep polarization in American society and worries that interfaith advocates are preaching to the choir.

"My sense is that there haven't been a lot of minds being changed," he said. "Instead, mind-sets have been confirmed."

And then there's politics.

Imam Zia Sheikh of the Islamic Center of Irving blamed some of the current tension on the election year.

"Unfortunately, political opportunists are using the Ground Zero cultural center issue as a hot-button topic to gain votes," he said, "and this has become a challenge, as hate crimes are increasing."

'Pandering to fears'

Some experts believe that Muslims will gain much fuller acceptance as years go on, following a pattern set by other groups. William Lawrence, dean of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, noted that a 19th-century wave of Catholic immigration met with considerable prejudice from Protestants and that Mormons met with outright persecution in that same century.

But time and increased familiarity with individuals of those faiths eased tensions.

"The diversity of the Muslim population is going to become increasingly apparent," Lawrence said. "More Americans will see that not all Muslims look alike, think alike, enjoy the same foods, or anything else."

Short term, though, Lawrence said, relations are bound to be inflamed, especially when a pastor makes national news by threatening to burn Qurans.

"Here's a man who, by any standard, has almost no following," Lawrence said. "He's got a church of 50 members. But we live in a 24/7 news cycle. Not only are we dealing with somebody who is pandering to fears. We're dealing with a person who can create his own market for pandering to fears. That's different."

Things you don't see every day...............(REALLY NICE)

2010-09-09T16:16:00.000+05:30

BMW’s Lifestyle Collection Wraps Up of All Your Holiday Shopping

2010-09-09T14:11:00.000+05:30

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Ok, maybe we’re jumping the gun a little early, but that hasn’t deterred BMW from releasing their Lifestyle Collection for the festive season. Here’s what you can stick under the tree for the BMW lover in your life.

BMW Snow Racer: Race through the snow on this cool sled. Equipped with smooth, replaceable metal runners, this sporty sled offers safe fun in the snow. The Snow Racer also comes outfitted with a precise steering mechanism with suspension, a non-slip wheel, an ergonomic seat, broad runners and a horn on the steering wheel.

BMW Joy Back Pack: Made with a specially ventilated, thickly padded back, this BMW back pack is comfortable to carry. It comes with different sized compartments lined with fleece, premium black coloring, decorated with Joy lettering, and a bag tag and BMW badge.

BMW Classic Ladies’ Watch: Boasting a classical look, this watch’s elegant black dial, with three white hands and date display, is enclosed in a 30 mm stainless steel casing that is water resistant up to 10 atm. It also comes with a fine metal fastener and clasp, a black leather strap, a discrete BMW logo on the dial, and the laser-engraved BMW logo on the back of the precision Swiss Quartz mechanism.

BMW M3 GT2 Toy Convertible: This kid’s racer is a perfect replica of the legendary BMW racing car, from the M logo on the doors to the sponsor’s branding beneath the radiator grill. Available in two versions, there’s a motorized version with a maximum speed of 2.5 m/h, forward and reverse gears, and a 1.5-hour driving time before being recharged, and a pedal version, where your little speed racers can determine the speed and rest periods for themselves.

BMW USB Stick: It may look like a genuine vehicle key but, but it’s really a data-storage device. To open, just click on the trunk-button and out slides out the well-protected USB plug that can store up to 8GB. You can bring it with you in your car to play all your favorite tunes, as it fits perfectly into the BMW USB audio port or the USB port of other modern navigation systems.

GALLERY: BMW Lifestyle Collection

Official release after the jump:

PRESS RELEASE

Festive Joy. The BMW Lifestyle Collection.

Munich. There are surprises for adults and children alike – from Snow Racer sleds to USB sticks, from watches to back packs. The extensive BMW Lifestyle Collection includes gift ideas for both young and old, and it’s available at selected BMW dealerships and on the Internet at www.bmw-shop.com.

Hot on the slopes: the BMW Snow Racer.

Every child who finds this speedster under their Christmas tree will hope that winter never comes to an end. The BMW Snow Racer,with its smooth, replaceable metal runners, is pure winter joy. The sporty sled isn’t just quick off the mark and a stunner on the slopes – it also offers safe fun in the snow. Its precise steering mechanism with suspension soaks up small bumps as you go and the non-slip wheel, which has a limited steering lock, prevents overly risky manoeuvres. An ergonomic seat and broad runners where kids can place their feet ensure a stable sitting position. And the horn on the steering wheel means that you can warn Sunday strollers to get out of the way.

This combination of fun, safety, and high-quality materials (the BMW Snow Racer is made of cold- and UV-resistant plastic) has been safety-approved by TÜV Rheinland. The silver Bobby Bob in BMW Motorsport design is suitable for children from four to ten years old.

Facts and figures:

BMW Snow Racer

Weight: 6 kg

Max. load: 50 kg

A bag that’s full of joy: the BMW Joy back pack.

Santa Claus would be well advised to upgrade to a BMW Joy back pack for Christmas. The specially ventilated, thickly padded back of the BMW Joy back pack makes it exceptionally comfortable to wear. Different sized compartments lined with fleece provide room for documents, drinks, computer equipment, and other travelling items. With premium black coloring, decorated with Joy lettering, and also coming with a bag tag and BMW badge, its outside is as much fun as its inside.

Time to celebrate: the BMW Classic ladies’ watch.

The BMW Classic ladies’ watch shimmers in its classical look. Its elegant black dial, with three white hands and date display, is enclosed in a 30 mm stainless steel casing that is water resistant up to 10 atm. The fastener and clasp are made of the same fine metal and, offset against a black leather strap, a classic look is emphasized. A discrete BMW logo on the dial, and the laser-engraved BMW logo on the back of the precision Swiss Quartz mechanism, complete this decorative piece. The watch is supplied in a high-quality leather case.

Facts and figures:

BMW Classic ladies’ watch

Material: stainless steel, leather

Motorsport for the little ones: the BMW M3 GT2 in toy form.

The BMW M3 GT2 asconvertible version for children – this kid’s racer is a perfect replica of the legendary BMW racing car. Even subtle details like the M logo on the doors and the sponsor’s branding beneath the radiator grill have been reproduced. Little racing car drivers can sit comfortably on their BMW M3 GT2’s adjustable seat.

The BMW M3 GT2 is available for racing drivers from three to five years old – in two versions. There’s a motorized version with a maximum speed of 2.5 m/h, forward and reverse gears, and a 1.5-hour driving time before being recharged. With the pedal version, the diminutive drivers determine the speed and rest periods for themselves.

Facts and figures:

Motorized version

Weight: 12.5 kg

Pedal version

Weight: 8 kg

The key to data storage: the BMW USB stick

Would you like a BMW for Christmas? Wouldn’t it be nice to find a little package containing a BMW key beneath your Christmas tree? The BMW USB stick looks like a genuine vehicle key but, in reality, it’s an original data-storage device for when you’re on the go.

The BMW USB stick boasts exceptional design, functionality, and unique details: a gentle click on the trunk-button slides out the well-protected USB plug, making the stick ready for storing up to 8GB of data. At the risk of mistaking it for your vehicle key, you should nevertheless take the BMW USB stick with you in your car – especially when it’s loaded with your music along with other documents and photos. The stick fits perfectly into the BMW USB audio port or the USB port of other modern navigation systems. Simply plug it in, turn on your audio system, and enjoy your own personal music mix while you drive.

American Jews who live an observant lifestyle struggle with the cost

2010-09-09T13:24:00.000+05:30

It’s amazing the changes we go through between the ages of 14 and 18. In those four years, our high school years, our bodies, minds and spirit transform us from children to young adults. During that time we make decisions and have experiences affecting us for the rest of our lives. Some of us experience love for the first time; some of us experience death. It is a time of coming of age and those closest of friendships which accompany us through this time of transition can last a lifetime. They help in the formation of who we are to become.

I am blessed to have remained close with several of my high school friends, although I have also lost touch with some of my closest friends from that time. Facebook has changed that. Through this online social network, I have been able to reconnect not just with high school friends, but even with friendships going farther back.

Haim and I were classmates at Akiba Hebrew Academy where I went to high school. While each of us was passionate and devoted to our own brands of Judaism, he to Modern Orthodoxy and I to Conservative Judaism, we each respected each other’s commitment. With each of our parents and our school raising us with pluralistic values, we found this common commitment to Judaism and to Israel a foundation for our friendship.

Haim went on to attend Yeshiva University and I to the Joint Program between the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University in New York. Each of us remained embedded in our values, strengthened by our institutions of higher learning, each respectively the center of our movements. Our friendship continued through college, but in an age when email was uncommon and international postage and phone calls were expensive, Haim and I lost touch as we each pursued our dreams—mine to move to Israel and his to become a doctor.

Today a cardiologist on Long Island, married with five children, Haim does not seem to have changed much. After reconnecting and continuing our discussions about the future of American Jewry, the role of women and homosexuals in Judaism, the rabbinate’s role in Israel and more, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised that my Orthodox friend was still pluralistic and accepting in his attitudes within halacha, Jewish law. Perhaps his criticism of those in the Orthodox world who are not so open is one of the traits which endears him to me. I am also impressed at how he continually educates himself about different issues. As a member of the largest Young Israel synagogue in the country, he takes advantage of the multitude of speakers who address his congregation.

Jokingly, one rabbi told him that they are the closest synagogue to Israel, being only a few miles from the airport. The proximity is closer than that. Although the community has about 40 kosher restaurants ranging from Mexican to Chinese (more of a selection than in Jerusalem), something seems to be missing and that “something” draws many of the New Yorkers to the Holy Land each year.

Haim and I reunited this summer when he and his family came for his oldest son’s hanichat t’fillin—a few months before his bar mitzvah, Haim’s son put on t’fillin for the first time at the Western Wall.

There were several other minyanim at the Kotel that morning made up of people from his neighborhood. Each day, Haim told me of someone else he saw from the Five Towns, someone else who was arriving or who had just arrived, of another oleh to Israel or someone who lived here and worked in New York, commuting back and forth. What used to be a world away seems interconnected.

But Haim still longs to live in Jerusalem. He said this over and over on his trip. Although he has tried to come to Israel every couple of years, it is getting more difficult as his family grows and the American economy, especially he tells me the medical profession, is suffering. The cost of being Jewish is high. With five day school tuitions to pay for, Haim told me that six kids is usually the breaking point; that’s when people make aliyah. “I hope to retire here,” Haim said, “but if we can’t make ends meet, we’ll make aliyah.”

I thought it was ironic. I had always thought that if things did not work out economically in Israel, I could always go back to America, and here was my American counterpart, a wealthy Long Island doctor telling me that his back-up plan was to make aliyah!

While both of us agreed we could not make any predictions, listening to Haim’s description of how difficult it is to be an observant Jew in America, even in his idyllic community, concerns me. When considering day school tuition, the cost of synagogue dues and summer camps, being an observant Jew in America is turning into a luxury that most families cannot afford. While the United States government may guarantee the legal right of freedom of religion, Jewish institutions continue to make an observant Jewish lifestyle prohibitive for many.

Some communities are beginning to deal with this by offering alternative models for Jewish communal institutions. There are more inclusive communities ranging from Chabad Lubavitch to alternative postdenominational centers that do not require dues. There are experimental public charter schools that teach Hebrew as part of the curriculum and offer religious studies after official school hours. Even some of the well-established Jewish institutions are aware that cost has become a barrier to being Jewish. Several Jewish Federations and most synagogues in the Conservative Movement are offering free Holiday tickets to young people without a synagogue affiliation this year

Steve May’s Sinful Lifestyle

2010-09-09T13:22:00.000+05:30

When openly gay Republican Steve May was elected to Arizona's state House in 1998, he surely lost the votes of some social conservatives who thought he led a sinful lifestyle. It turns out that these detractors were correct, although it had nothing to do with the politician's sexual orientation.

A New York Times story revealed that May has become a soulless dirty trickster for the Arizona GOP, who is recruiting drifters to run as Green Party candidates in a sleazy effort to siphon away Democratic votes.

One man that May recruited for statewide office is twenty-year-old Benjamin Pearcy. The "candidate" has a faux Mohawk, his campaign headquarters is a Starbucks, and his career is strumming a guitar on the street. He describes himself as the illegitimate son of a stripper.

"I've been homeless," he told the Times, which said that during the interview his eyes darted back and forth.

Another May candidate, Thomas Meadows, 27, is a broke tarot card reader running for state treasurer who wears a court jester's hat.

The Green Party has urged its supporters to avoid voting for the sham candidates. The Democratic Party has filed a formal complaint with local, state, and federal prosecutors.

"These are people who are not serious and who were recruited as part of a cynical manipulation of the process," said Paul Eckstein, a lawyer representing the Democrats. "They don't know Green from red."

Sadly, at one point May was a legitimate hero, serving in the Arizona legislature and fighting the military's Don't Ask/Don't tell policy.

In February 1999, following a legislative debate on domestic partnership legislation, May objected to another legislator's anti-gay remarks. In April 1999, the U.S. Army Reserve called May to active reserve duty during the Kosovo crisis. Shortly after he returned to civilian life, an investigation was launched resulting from May's comments made during the verbal confrontation with the state lawmaker. A military panel recommended that he be discharged - although he fought the panel's recommendation and eventually won.

It is incredibly disappointing that May would lower himself to perform such degrading acts that mock the homeless and undermine democracy. This man of valor has now become a vulture and has transformed from role model to rogue model. Did May really serve his country only to return home and sabotage elections?

May once chided the U.S. government for forcing him to lie in order to serve his country. Ironically, he now claims, with a straight face, that his candidates aren't imposters.

"Did I recruit candidates? Yes," said May, who is himself a Republican candidate for the State Legislature. "Are they fake candidates? No way."

If one is to believe May's fantastical story, the preppy conservative just happened to have been strolling in Tempe's Mill Avenue bohemian district and had the good fortune of meeting Roxie, a one-armed pregnant woman who introduced him to a slew of politically ambitious drifters.

Yeah, right.

In last week's column, I wrote that Republicans "trick the American people into voting against their own interests." May's tawdry campaign to recruit street people vividly proves my point.

One of May's candidates, a pedicab driver nicknamed Grandpa, is running on a platform of opposition to higher taxes and putting God in the classroom. The aforementioned Benjamin Pearcy has bought into the GOP's cheerleading about an opportunity society, even as his fake candidacy will help elect officials who will reduce future opportunities for the poor.

"Anyone can do it. We're all good enough," says Pearcy, apparently unaware of the policies pushed by May and the Republican Party.

I never thought I'd agree with the Religious Right, but Steve May needs to change his wicked lifestyle. His exploitation of these "candidates" and the American political system is truly perverse.

Mallika wants to lock lips with Sean Penn

2010-09-09T13:20:00.000+05:30

The bold and sensuous actress of the Bollywood

industry, Mallika Sherawat, who recently returned to India after spending almost two years in Los Angeles, wants to lock lips with Hollywood biggie Sean Penn.

Reportedly, the actress is crazy about Penn’s passionate acting and lifestyle.

Apart from being a Hollywood actor and filmmaker, Sean Penn is a liberal political activist and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Mallika was tagged as a sex symbol after setting a record of 17 kisses in her debut flick ‘Khwahish’ that took Bollywood industry by a surprise.

Mallika debuts as singer with ‘Hisss’
Actors turning into singers is nothing new in the tinsel town. Priyanka Chopra, Hrithik Roshan are some of the stars, who have sung in their flicks.
Now Mallika has joined the club.

Before coming to India, the actress recorded two tracks for ‘Hisss’. The first track was composed by Julian Lennon, son of the ‘The Beatles’ music maestro John Lennon.

The songs, to be launched in the mid-September, have been composed as a part of ‘Hisss’ soundtrack and promotions.

“I’m so excited about the Hiss soundtrack. We have an amazing background score by German maestro Alexander von Bubenheim, but I am pleased to announce that for the first time ever, I have sung a song for a film. Not only is that incredible for me but the song I sing is composed by Julian Lennon, son of the legendary Beatles singer John Lennon,” Mallika said.

More about ‘Hisss’
Directed by Jennifer Lynch, ‘Hisss’ is based on legend of Naga and revolves around snake woman, whose mate is captured by an American hunter. In return, she decides to take revenge.

‘Hisss’ has been mostly shot in Kerala and other parts of the country because of its Indian centric theme.

The movie also features Irrfan Khan and Divya Dutta, and is expected to release in October. The film contains five tracks and three dance remixes.

Mallika’s rising career
The Bollywood bombshell debuted in Hollywood industry through ‘The Myth’, opposite Jackie Chan.

The actress recently completed her second Hollywood project ‘The Politics of Love’ by William Dear.

Besides, Mallika has been penciled in for Indra Kumar’s ‘Double Dhamaal’.

Moreover, Mallika praised Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ for opening new avenues for B-town actors in Hollywood and vice versa.

Interestingly, Mallika had represented India on Indian Day Parade of Independence Day in Los Angeles.

Chinese women prisoners participate in fashion show

2010-09-09T13:18:00.000+05:30

The inmates of a women's prison in eastern China have presented a fashion show to promote a lifestyle free of pollution, a media report said Monday.

More than 120 inmates walked the ramp in Zhengzhou city, the capital of Henan province, showcasing diverse outfits made of plastic bags and other recyclable waste.

Most of the outfits were designed by the inmates themselves, China News Service reported.

Gu Zhiqing, deputy chief of the prison, said the fashion show will give the talented inmates a sense of direction and help them build their self-confidence.

The inmates of a women's prison in eastern China have presented a fashion show to promote a lifestyle free of pollution, a media report said Monday.

More than 120 inmates walked the ramp in Zhengzhou city, the capital of Henan province, showcasing diverse outfits made of plastic bags and other recyclable waste.

Most of the outfits were designed by the inmates themselves, China News Service reported.

Gu Zhiqing, deputy chief of the prison, said the fashion show will give the talented inmates a sense of direction and help them build their self-confidence.

Florida Education Association Heads To Court Over Class Size Amendment

2010-09-09T13:16:00.000+05:30

A proposal to relax limits on school class sizes should be thrown off the November ballot because voters may not realize the proposed change could change how much money schools will get, a lawyer for the state’s teachers union told a judge on Wednesday.

The union, the Florida Education Association, is asking the circuit court to throw the proposed Amendment 8, a centerpiece of the Republican Legislature’s agenda, off the ballot. The proposal, if it goes before voters and is approved by at least 60 percent of them, would relax the way schools count students in meeting class size caps. Currently, the caps are set at 18 students in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grade, and 25 in high school. Under the amendment, schools would only have to meet an average of that number in each grade.

FEA attorney Ron Meyer told Leon County Circuit Court Judge Charles Francis that voters won’t realize that by tweaking the 2002 constitutional provision that instituted the caps, voters may also alter how much money schools receive from the state. That information is not a part of the ballot summary or title, which is the only information printed on the ballot. Meyer said that puts the proposal in violation of a state requirement that the ballot summary and title be clear and unambiguous.

“They’re making a change in the funding formula,” he said. “And again, people can do that. But the Legislature can’t conceal that.”

Jonathan Glogau, an assistant attorney general, charged that the FEA could not produce any numbers that indicate how the funding will change in the next few years.

“There is no requirement that the Legislature appropriate any particular amount of money,” Glogau said.

The class size issue has been a thorn in the Legislature’s side since voters approved the caps in 2002 because of the associated costs, particularly as tax collections have shrunk.

School administrators say they have had to become creative in order to comply with the law and have voiced concerns about situations where they are at capacity and new students enroll in the district.

Lawmakers debated those concerns over flexibility and passed a proposed constitutional amendment during the spring legislative session over the objections of the teachers’ union and many Democrats. The FEA and Miami teacher Lynette Estrada filed suit in July to knock it off the ballot.

“And as a teacher, and I teach special ed, I see the difference when the class is smaller,” Estrada said after the oral arguments. “As a parent, I see a difference when the classes are smaller. My daughter, who is 12, sees a difference when the classes are smaller.”

Francis said he would try to rule by the end of the week, possibly on Thursday. Regardless of his ruling, it is likely that the Supreme Court will ultimately be the final decider as to whether the issue should be a part of the November ballot.

Back to school with Adobe's Education Exchange

2010-09-09T13:14:00.000+05:30

When I last reported on Adobe’s Education Exchange site, it was a fledgling social learning destination with several lessons that integrated Adobe professional tools posted for teachers to use or modify with their students. I was impressed when Adobe first formally rolled out the beta of the site at ISTE this year, but taking another look this fall left me pleasantly surprised at the richness and breadth of lessons that teachers were sharing. In fact, it has become my go-to site when I want to learn to do something new or interesting with CS5.

I’m no graphics or design guru. My wife, the aesthete, will be happy to tell you that. My own website stinks and is badly in need of a facelift and fresh content (not to mention a better host than an old desktop in my basement, where our miserable DSL service often leaves 6geeks.net dead in the water). I’ve been happy letting Joomla and WordPress handle the layout and content for me (I’ve used both and was planning a full migration to WordPress this summer, but just never got around to it), but since I’m a real live consultant now, it’s time for something a little bit less blog-y and a little more website-y. I need the site to be much more focused and give clients quick access to what I do, how I do it, and my philosophies in Ed Tech. I also need to be able to distribute an e-book I’m working on whenever I manage to get it finished.

And here’s where Adobe and the Education Exchange come in. I’ve been wanting to learn Dreamweaver and really pit it against some of the less expensive tools out there to see if my earlier impressions of CS5 and its potential roles in tech education (and educational technology) continued to ring true, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I’ve used Dreamweaver in the past, but a lot has changed since CS3, so the 6geeks.net redesign gave me an excuse to really dive in.

‘Over 70 million Nigerians are illiterates’

2010-09-09T13:13:00.000+05:30

Gbagi says inadequate infrastructure and poor funding are the bane of education. Photo: NAN

September 9, 2010 04:08AM

About half of the Nigerian population cannot read, according to the minister of state for education on Tuesday in Abuja. Out of these, about 60 per cent are women.

While briefing the press on yesterday’s celebration of International Literacy Day, Kenneth Gbagi attributed this situation to the education sector’s inadequate infrastructure, weak governance and lack of funding.

“Statistics reveal the peculiar nature of illiteracy in Nigeria, which is about 47 per cent of the entire 150 million population,” he said.

He said that attacking illiteracy and poverty has become not only a national, but an international concern. He also called for the reshaping of the informal and formal educational systems, for national development.

Women more affected

This year’s internal literacy day focused on women’s literacy. Irina Bokova, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said that two out of every three of the world’s 796 million illiterate adults were women. Mr Bokova, who was represented by UNESCO country director, Nigeria, Joseph Ngu, said this reflects one of the most persistent injustices of our time.

“There is no justification, be it cultural, economic or social, for denying girls and women an education,” he said. “It is a basic right and an absolute condition for reaching all internationally agreed development goals.” Mr Bokova said illiteracy keeps women marginalized and constitutes one of the leading obstacles to reducing extreme poverty. He also said that investing in women’s literacy carries very high returns, as it improves livelihoods, leads to better child and maternal health, and favours girls’ access to education.

Singapore Exchange and Nanyang Technological University launch new Centre for Financial Education

2010-09-09T13:12:00.000+05:30

Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) today said they are jointly launching the NTU-SGX Centre for Financial Education for capital market professionals in Asia. The Centre will feature a state-of-the-art laboratory with tradingenabled terminals and real-time data.

The establishment of the Centre for Financial Education contributes to SGX’s plan to create an environment ideal for sophisticated market participants and investors in Asia. Other SGX efforts toward this include the $250 million Reach initiative announced on 3 June 2010 encompassing the fastest trading engine, a world-class data centre and local connectivity hubs at global financial centres.

The Centre for Financial Education is led by NTU’s Nanyang Business School and SGX Academy, with RTS Realtime Systems (RTS) as the key technology partner. Nanyang Business School was a natural choice, given its strategic location in Asia and its global standing. The top business school in Singapore, Nanyang Business School is the first and only Singapore business school in the top 30 of the Financial Times’ Global MBA 2010 rankings, and is consistently placed among the top 4 in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The NTU-SGX Centre for Financial Education will take the development of Singapore as a leading regional financial training and R&D hub to a new level, positioning this as the key training centre for capital market professionals in Asia. The Centre offers a compelling learning, training, strategy test bedding, and research environment where Asian trading professionals and investors can raise their level of trading capabilities and sophistication. We are proud to partner NTU to promote innovation and excellence in the capital markets through this collaboration," said Mr Magnus Bocker, CEO of SGX.

"I am very excited by the synergy that the new NTU-SGX Centre for Financial Education will bring to the capital markets. The Centre integrates the strengths of an outstanding exchange in the Asia-Pacific with NTU’s world-renowned business school.

This close partnership will put SGX and NTU at the forefront of innovation in the region’s financial industry by providing capital market professionals with the latest critical skills and opening up new frontiers of understanding and mastery in capital, risk and governance," said Dr Su Guaning, President of NTU.

Professor Low Buen Sin from Nanyang Business School will lead the Centre’s team. Drawing on expertise from academia and industry, the Centre will promote excellence in financial services by facilitating industry-relevant training and thought leadership. Equipped with 80 algorithmic trading-enabled terminals supported by RTS and real-time price feed from SGX, the Centre for Financial Education will run courses for professional traders, financial institutions, NTU students, and the public.

Training programmes will cover algorithmic trading and other subjects relevant to the fast-developing markets of the region, as well as topics which meet the Capital Market & Financial Advisory Service licensing examination requirements and the Financial Industry Competency Standards framework.

The Centre for Financial Education will also support the needs of key market participants through corporate governance training for directors of listed companies, and help start-up companies understand how they can grow their business via Singapore’s capital market. The Centre will offer its inaugural course in algorithmic trading this October.

Core syllabus for Commerce on the cards

2010-09-09T13:10:00.000+05:30

CHENNAI: A core syllabus for Commerce for classes XI and XII is likely to come up in the country with the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) set to meet in Kolkata on September 10 to discuss the issue, CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi said on Wednesday.

"A core curriculum for Science and Maths has been prepared by the COBSE which is a voluntary organisation of various boards of school education including the CBSE and ICSE. Now, a few state boards, like Jammu and Kashmir, for instance, are in the process of adapting the curriculum to their own context. There is no compulsion on anybody to take it up since it was a voluntary activity of the boards to come up with a common syllabus," he added. Now, the COBSE would discuss about replicating the idea for the Commerce subjects too.

Elaborating on the progress of the CBSE's Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), he said, "We are undertaking more teacher-training programmes and telling teachers that CCE just brings evaluation and learning together as the assessment of a student can be done while the child is learning. We are asking teachers to ensure that students do their project work in class, perhaps in a group, instead of taking it home and thereby, giving them excess homework."

Joshi was here to release multimedia-enhanced lesson modules in Physics and Chemistry for classes VI to VIII developed by the Kuruvila Jacob Initiative for Promoting Excellence in School Education and IIT Madras.

The digital lesson modules, prepared with the help of 80 faculty members from 22 city schools, use NCERT publications as primary sources and are intended to provide a supplement for teachers. Along with being available for free download at http://kji.iitm.ac.in, the modules are also available as DVDs which can be used by ICSE, CBSE and state board schools.

Endorsing the advantages of virtual learning, the CBSE chairman said children liked to learn from computers as there was "no fear of getting answers wrong and it gives instant feedback." Joshi said the board could even consider exploring the potential of virtual laboratories as they could prove beneficial to schools which did not have the necessary physical infrastructure.

Commenting on the collaborative venture, he said, "I had an opportunity to see the other material available in the market and found their quality was not good. Teachers can learn [from ventures like this] how to use computers and CDs to give students flexibility of learning. If a student is not in class, this will help them learn from home or the library. The CBSE would be happy to collaborate and take this process forward." S Viji, a representative of the Kuruvila Jacob Initiative, said they hoped to extend it for classes IX and X and develop content for Maths and Biology as well.

Spice Group to enter education sector, set up university

2010-09-09T13:09:00.000+05:30

Sep 8 (IANS) The Spice Group is diversifying into educational services with plans to set up a global university at Modipur in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh by 2012.

Group Chairman B.K. Modi told IANS here Wednesday that the university will help propagate 'holistic education'.

'The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs.1,000 crore, of which Rs.100 crore will initially be pumped in to kickstart the project. The university, we expect, will be complete by 2012,' he said.

To be built on nearly 100 acres at the site of the now defunct Modi Xerox factory, the university will be a part of S. Foundation.

'We feel there is a huge market in India in the education sector. In a country whose 50 percent population is below the age of 25, it makes a good business sense to foray into the education sector. We feel there is more scope in this market segment,' Prakash Nanani, group president at Spice Corp., who is in charge of the project, told IANS.

The Group is also planning to set up a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) unit in Rampur, which will start its operations in the next three months.

Asked about providing reservation to the children of local people in the university, Modi said: 'We already have a school operating here from which brilliant results are showing up. I don't think there's a need to provide reservations to them. However, financial assistance in the form of scholarships will be provided to the deserving candidates.

Education spending here still lowest

2010-09-09T13:07:00.000+05:30

Japan again spent the least on education in 2007 among the 28 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the ratio of such state spending to gross domestic product, according to an OECD report.

The nation's 2007 ratio, 3.3 percent, was the third-lowest, following 2003 and 2005. Japan was also the second-lowest in 2004 and 2006 in the annual OECD studies. For the latest ranking, comparable data were available among the 28 nations out of the OECD's 32 members.

Since the 2007 result was compiled during a Liberal Democratic Party-led government, it does not reflect possible results of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's measures to beef up public education.

The DPJ, which took power last September, said in its annual policy platform for 2009, was issued separately from election campaign pledges, that it was aiming to raise the spending ratio to 5.0 percent or higher. It waived public high school tuition in April.

The latest OECD report showed that the average ratio of such public-spending-to-GDP among the 28 countries was 4.8 percent, with Iceland ranking highest at 7.0 percent, followed by Denmark's 6.6 percent and Sweden's 6.1 percent.

The second-lowest after Japan was Slovakia's 3.4 percent and the third-lowest was Chile's 3.7 percent.

In a press briefing, an OECD official said there is a possibility that Japan's spending ratio may improve, but that it is unclear how far it could rise in the rankings as other countries have also increased their respective public spending.

At the elementary and junior high school levels, Japan's spending-to-GDP ratio came to 2.5 percent — tied for second-lowest with the Czech Republic, while the ratio at the high school levels was 0.5 percent, also the second-lowest.

In terms of the ratio of private investments toward all education expenditures, however, Japan's came to 33.3 percent, the fourth-largest after South Korea, Chile and the United States.

By educational level, Japan's private spending on college education accounted for 67.5 percent, compared with an average 30.9 percent, while spending on kindergarten was 56.2 percent, compared with 20.3 percent.

The result highlighted that Japanese households had to spend more on education due to low public spending.

The OECD also said the number of students per class at Japanese junior high schools was 33.0, the second-largest number among 23 member nations

Goa education minister loses 'face' on Facebook

2010-09-09T13:05:00.000+05:30

Panaji: Interested in 'women' and looking for 'dating', is a succinct introduction to Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate on his Facebook page. Only, the account is fake.

The Panaji police are looking for the imposter who created Monserrate's fake page and used it to hurl a slew of abuses to several persons known to Monserrate, including sitting Curtorim legislator Reginaldo Lourenco, who brought the fake page to Monserrate's notice.

'I am pretty much a computer illiterate. I cannot operate these sites. Somebody must have made an account using my name and has been chatting as well. I was informed about this by Reginaldo, who was abused by the impostor while chatting,' Monserrate told IANS, adding, that all the while Reginaldo thought he was speaking to the education minister.

The imposter, who seems to have a sense of humour besides his abusive streak, has linked Spanish singer Julio Iglesias' YouTube video 'To all the girls I've loved before' on Monserrate's fake page.

When a visitor to his page, Josephine S. Araujo commented on the video, pointing out that it was, in fact, 'Engelbert's (Humperdinck) song', the imposter replied to her in a flirtatious tone: 'But darling, this is Julio Iglesias singing'.

Posing as the education minister, the faker also assured Anthony Viegas, a Muscat-based Goan, that he was trying to re-introduce traditional Goan bull-fighting, 'dhirio', in which two well-bred and trained bulls lock horns and smash their foreheads until one bull emerges victorious and the vanquished scampers away.

'I'm trying my best, I love the dhirio too,' the imposter assures Viegas.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Deu Benualikar confirmed the complaint filed by the Congressman.

'He (Monserrate) came to us with a printout of the Facebook page and filed a complaint. We will find out who the imposter is as he is using the page to malign the minister,' Benaulikar said.

Sibal says he's in no hurry on education reforms Read more: Sibal says he's in no hurry on education reforms

2010-09-09T13:04:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: With memories of deferment of the Educational Tribunals Bill still fresh in his mind, HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday invoked the name of Rajiv Gandhi, in the presence of UPA and National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi, to make the point to his detractors that he was in no hurry to bring in educational reforms.

Speaking at the inauguration of buildings of 31 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, Sibal said, " Rajiv Gandhi had said we need to improve the quality of education and in months. Twenty-five years have elapsed and we are at the same stage. Now people say we are in a hurry. We should be in a hurry."

For Sonia Gandhi herself, 25 years of JNV was a proud moment. Started by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 with two schools there are now 593 JNVs all over the country. Gandhi paid tributes to her late husband for his "vision" that has made JNVs a success story providing quality education to children from economically and socially weaker sections. "It is a matter of great satisfaction that Navodaya Vidyalayas have lived up to expectations," she said.

At the same time, she expressed concern as to why other government schools were not as good as Navodaya Vidyalayas. She pointed out that one-fourth of the teachers are absent in these schools and while children did take admission here, many of them, especially from the weaker sections, dropped out. She said the government is giving scholarships to school students, the information regarding which must reach all. She added that other government schools must learn from JNVs.

In JNVs, at least 75% children are from rural areas and one-third of them are girls. Of the over two lakh students in JNVs, 77.84% are from rural areas, 36.67% are girls and 41.61% belong to SC/ST categories. In 2009-10 alone, 147 students cleared IITs, 3,286 were successful in All India Engineering Entrance Examination and other engineering entrance tests, 345 cleared the medical entrance and 22 the civil services examination.

The 31 recently constructed buildings of JNVs are in states across the country -- Kerala, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Sibal said that in the coming days special Navodaya Vidyalayas are proposed to be opened to encourage children showing aptitude in sports, culture and in vocational streams.

Mind reading computer that translates thought signals is unveiled by scientists

2010-09-09T13:00:00.000+05:30

Breakthrough: The computer could give a voice to paralysed people Stephen Hawking

A computer that can read human minds has been unveiled by scientists.

It translates thought signals into speech through sensors placed on the brain.

Researchers say that in more than eight out of ten cases they were able to work out which word was being thought of without the subject saying it out loud.

They believe the breakthrough could give a voice to paralysed patients who have lost the power of speech.

'We were beside ourselves with excitement when it started working,' said Bradley Greger, a bioengineer who led the research at Utah University.

'It was just one of those moments when everything came together. I would call it brain reading.

'We hope that in two or three years it will be available for use by paralysed patients.'

Currently those with 'locked-in' syndrome - following a stroke, disease or injury - communicate by blinking an eye or twitching a finger to choose letters or words from a list.

KV sacks teacher for forcing porn on girls

2010-09-09T12:58:00.000+05:30

AHMEDABAD: The Kendriya Vidyalaya at Army cantonment in Gandhinagar has sacked a computer teacher after complaints that he was showing pornographic material to girl students in the computer laboratory. There were also allegations of sexual harassment against the teacher.

The school authorities said the girls of class VII had complained that the computer teacher, Ashish Jani, would watch porn in the computer laboratory and also force them to watch along with him.

On Tuesday, father of a girl student alleged that the school authorities had let off the teacher too easily. He accused the teacher of far more serious crime of stripping and molesting the girls. He said that the teacher also went into the changing room of the girls after Independence Day celebrations and messed around with the girls by removing their clothes.

"After the incident, my daughter had become extremely reticent and was afraid of going to the school. On being asked, she narrated how the computer teacher would open porn sites in front of girls, and indulge in sex talks. Once, he closed the doors of the lab and took off the clothes of my daughter and her class mates," the parent alleged.

The parents said they were still waiting for justice and alleged that the teacher has been let off easily because he was a relative of another teacher.

The school authorities, however, refuted the charge, saying they had in fact called the girls, who lodged the complaint three days after the incident, and advised them to bring such things to the notice of the school immediately.

"The teacher was found guilty of misconduct and we have removed him from the school," said Nutan Punj, principal of the school.

Watch Tv On Your Computer With Satellitedirect

2010-09-09T12:55:00.002+05:30

SatelliteDirect

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And if you are concerned about the value you should consider the fact that SatelliteDirect lets you watch satellite TV on your computer on over 3,500 channels. That includes all major networks, TV shows and even movies. So you will be able to enjoy your favorite TV programs no matter where you are.

There are no bandwidth limits or monthly bills with SatelliteDirect. You simply watch satellite TV on your computer however much you want however long you want. The software is available for both Mac and PC so no matter what kind of computer you have, you will be able to reap the benefits of SatelliteDirec

Danish computer expert held in child sex case involving St. Joseph girl

2010-09-09T12:55:00.001+05:30

A 60-year-old Danish computer expert has been charged with enticing a St. Joseph girl to send explicit images of herself, then threatening to distribute them on the Internet.

Immigration authorities Friday arrested Kai Lundstroem Pedersen of Aarhus, Denmark, in Stony Brook, N.Y., where he was vacationing. A federal judge there ordered him held on a charge of distributing child pornography until he could be brought to Kansas City.

According to court records unsealed Wednesday, the case began on Facebook, where the 11-year-old girl met Pedersen using an application that lets users chat with each other regardless of their “friend” status, according to investigators.

“Parents who would never invite a stranger into their child’s bedroom may not realize that Facebook, webcams and online chat rooms can expose their children to sexual predators who take advantage of technology to exploit their victims,” said U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips.

Court records alleged that the girl met Pedersen in July. The conversation moved to an Internet messaging service, where Pedersen disclosed that he lived in Denmark. The girl eventually agreed to masturbate in front of a web camera, according to an affidavit filed by an immigration agent.

After the girl later refused to return to the webcam, Pedersen sent her e-mails containing still images and a video from her initial performance, and threatened to send the images to her Facebook friends and upload them to the Internet, according to court records.

During August, authorities allege, Pedersen sent messages to the girl’s Facebook page, saying other computer users had downloaded her video nearly 900 times.

“You have to realize that you are on the Internet forever,” he allegedly wrote. “Even 10 years from now you can still be found — and enjoyed.”

Authorities began investigating in mid-August and traced the messages to an Internet provider in Denmark. But after Pedersen announced that he was leaving on vacation, authorities noticed the messages were coming from an Internet address in Stony Brook.

Homeland Security records showed that Pedersen on Aug. 23 entered the U.S. and listed the Stony Brook address as his intended temporary residence.

Broadband champion illiterate

2010-09-09T12:52:00.000+05:30

Broadband champion Tony Windsor admits he can't use a personal computer

Independent MP Tony Windsor has papers, fruit and documents on his desk, but no computer. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: The Daily Telegraph

ON Tony Windsor's desk in his NSW Tamworth office yesterday were a carton of apples, a bag of large grapefruit, a CD by C&W singer Graeme Connors, piles of newspapers and documents.

But no computer.

That's because the man who gave Labor government because he backed its plan for a national broadband network, cannot use a computer.

He hasn't really tried since university. A BlackBerry is his limit.

"I can't even operate a computer. I haven't got one on my desk. But I've got people in here who can," he said.

"I did computer programming at university and they were punch cards then, and I used to be fascinated with linear programming in terms of problem solving. But I'm ignorant now."

He said he might have backed the Coalition: "That was the easy path for me. But I've carried on for 19 years now about trying to break this nexus of the small, the remote, and the distant.

And he believed Labor's pledge of a fibre-based network meant it would be easier to boost broadband services later, while the Coalition's wireless option had limitations.

"It was the game breaker. If they stuff it up, I get stuffed too," he said.

Mr Windsor is relaxed for a man who has helped form a government, and amazingly, the 17-day ordeal didn't cost him much sleep.

"A couple of nights it did, but just waking up early. No, I don't think I did too bad," he said.

"Once we established a process, something was going to happen at the end of it. Once it was established it was just hard work then, it was more weariness than stress that got to us.

"But it was a big moment. But life goes on. The end of the world won't happen, we've got a great country, the economy's steaming away."

Only one person knew of his decision before he announced it. He told his wife Lyn, a primary school teacher, on Tuesday morning he was leaning to Labor.

At 2.30pm he rang her at school, told her that was what he would be doing, and suggested she watch it on television.

Goodspeed Analysis: North Korean heir praised for ‘Computer Numerical Control’

2010-09-09T12:47:00.001+05:30

Reuters

North Korean officials commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the country’s founding on Wednesday. One of the gathering’s apparent aims is to prepare the nation for Kim Jong-il’s youngest son, Kim Jong-un.

By Peter Goodspeed

North Korea has never been known for the spellbinding quality of its propaganda. So it is not surprising the latest catch-phrase employed to bolster support for the world’s only communist monarchy is “Computer Numerical Control” or “CNC.”

The phrase, which has been popping up in official news broadcasts and on propaganda posters and factory bulletin boards for more than a year, is a peculiar code for Kim Jong-un, dictator Kim Jong-il’s youngest son and supposed heir.

“CNC” is supposed to be the key to North Korea’s future greatness.

It is meant to convey concepts of youth, modernity and the implementation of cutting-edge technology to transform the Stalinist state’s moribund economy.

It is also supposed to be a reassuring reference to sophisticated duplication and reproduction techniques that use computer-aided design to allow a few workers to mass-produce standardized goods.

The idea is that a new generation of workers can faithfully replicate North Korea’s home-grown Juche ideology of self-reliance by following the dictates of “computer numerical control” under the nearly divine guidance of Kim Jong-un, the country’s new “Young General.”

On Thursday, the phrase will likely be employed to signal a crucial transfer of power as Kim Jong-il is expected to officially designate Kim Jong-un as his successor when he opens the largest political gathering in North Korea in nearly 44 years.

Traffic has already been restricted in and out of Pyongyang, and troops and tanks are deployed just outside the capital for a massive parade. Party delegates have held meetings before the congress to pledge loyalty to Kim Jong-il.

At the same time, the government-controlled media is full of praise for Kim Jong-un.

On Friday, the Korean Central Broadcasting television station aired no fewer than five stories about him and CNC.

In the run -up to today’s conference, squads of junior high school students marched through the capital daily, singing hymns of praise to Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-un, 27, is virtually unknown beyond government reports of his role in supervising the implementation of “computer numerical control,” but has his own special succession anthem. Footsteps declares, “Commander Kim is stepping forward [and] taking over.”

The song was first heard in public last year, when Kim Jong-il was filmed listening to a troop of singing soldiers during his annual birthday celebrations.

Kim Jong-un organized the official fireworks display for his father’s birthday, a feat described in the government-controlled media as an “act of pure loyalty” from the “Young Captain” to the “Great Commander.”

Roving bands of musicians later taught the lyrics of Footsteps to workers on collective farms. The anthem also featured in television coverage of a ceremony marking the founding of North Korea’s People’s Army.

More recently, North Korean soldiers are said to have sung the song spontaneously during one of Kim Jong-il’s inspection tours.

South Korean intelligence officials say a recent North Korean newscast of Kim Jong-il’s on-the-spot guidance tour of a factory in Sinuiju showed posters urging North Koreans to “match footsteps” with their leaders’ “self-sacrifices for CNC.”

“This is an unusual event — nothing like this has happened for decades,” said Andrei Lankov, a North Korean expert at Kookmin University in Seoul.

“If Kim Jong-un is elected to a party position at this conference then it means he is the successor,” added Choi Jin-wook of Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.

10 arrested in European raids on Internet piracy

2010-09-09T12:46:00.000+05:30

BRUSSELS — Belgian police say 10 people have been arrested in raids across Europe against hackers who put illegal copies of movies and television series on the Internet.

Five of the arrests were in Belgium, where the computer crime unit led an operation that fanned out over 12 other nations, including Britain, Germany and France.

Police spokeswoman Tine Hollevoet said the other arrests were made in Poland, Norway and Sweden, where, together with Belgium, the alleged leaders of four computer piracy networks were being held.

Hollevoet said the international raids sought to neutralize 48 servers distributing illegal material.

In Belgium, the suspects were charged with membership in a criminal organization, computer fraud, hacking and piracy.

Computer-based approaches effective in tackling sexual health problems

2010-09-09T12:45:00.000+05:30

Washington, Sep 08 (ANI): A new study by Cochrane researchers has indicated that interactive computer packages are effective in tackling problems such as sexually transmitted infections.

Buzz up!

Computer-based interventions are a promising alternative and have already proved successful in the promotion of HIV-related sexual health, but there is less certainty about whether computer-based interventions can help with other sexual health concerns such as unwanted pregnancy, psychosexual difficulties or relationship problems.

The authors reviewed data from 15 trials which tested interactive computer-based interventions (ICBIs), involving a total of 3,917 people. Interactive packages require input from the user, for instance making choices that result in personalised feedback. The interactive packages in these 15 trials made imaginative use of multimedia capability, for example games, animations, scenarios, simulations and interactive characters.

According to the researchers, ICBIs moderately increased knowledge about sexual health issues and had smaller effects on increasing people's confidence in their actions to protect sexual health, and on actual sexual behaviour.

In one study for instance, condom use in the previous month was increased. They also concluded that ICBIs seem as effective as face-to-face interventions for improving knowledge but were unable to draw clear conclusions about how ICBIs might work.

"This review suggests interactive computer-based interventions are effective tools for learning about sexual health and could be used by people of different ages and sexuality, at least in high-income countries," said lead researcher Julia Bailey from the e-Health Unit at University College London in London, UK. (ANI)