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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/1N7T4aoh96o/story01.htm
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Saturday 28 January 2012
Celebrity iPhone and iPad sightings: Olivia Wilde, Vanilla Ice, Megan Massacre, Jake Gyllenhaal, and more!
Hello everyone and welcome to iMore?s weekly celebrity iPhone and iPad sightings roundup! Time to take a little break from your daily routine and relax with some gossip from the
Friday 27 January 2012
"Welcome Back, Kotter" star Robert Hegyes dies at age 60 (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? Robert Hegyes, who played the Jewish Puerto Rican wisecracking student Juan Epstein in 1970s comedy "Welcome Back, Kotter," died on Thursday at age 60, a hospital official said.
Paramedics brought Hegyes to John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, from nearby Metuchen, hospital spokesman Steven Weiss said.
Hegyes, who grew up in New Jersey and reportedly had a home in Metuchen, was in cardiac arrest when he arrived and he was pronounced dead at the hospital, Weiss said.
The actor appeared alongside John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan in the high school comedy "Welcome Back, Kotter" from 1975 until 1979. Hegyes' character, Juan Epstein, was short with big hair, and sported a tough demeanor and pride in his Jewish and Puerto Rican heritage.
Hegyes, who was of Italian and Hungarian descent, said on his website that he modeled his character Epstein on Chico Marx, of the famous Marx Brothers.
After "Welcome Back, Kotter," he went on to have a recurring role as Detective Manny Esposito in the 1980s police series "Cagney & Lacey." In all, Hegyes had over 20 television and film acting credits during his career, and was also active in theater.
(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
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Dorian de Wind: Afghanistan: "Goal" Accomplished
On September 11, 2001, I along with virtually every American wanted to see the perpetrators of that heinous attack on Americans, on American soil, brought to justice.
One month later, America did the right thing and launched Operation Enduring Freedom to "drive [the terrorists] out and bring them to justice."
In his address to the nation on that occasion, President Bush said:
To all the men and women in our military -- every sailor, every soldier, every airman, every coastguardsman, every Marine -- I say this: Your mission is defined; your objectives are clear; your goal is just.
Through the years, as the war continued unabated and claimed more and more young American lives without any measurable progress; as the financial costs of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars caused enormous damage to our economy and national psyche; as the end of the tunnel seemed as far away as ever, I resisted criticizing the war itself and mainly lamented our casualties.
Today, as our stay in Afghanistan exceeds a decade and has already surpassed the duration of the Soviet occupation of that country, our mission remains muddled, our objectives remain befuddled, our goal to bring Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts to justice still just, but accomplished.
You may call me a flip-flopper, but after supporting our efforts in Afghanistan for so many years, and in view of recent developments, I now have some serious concerns about that war.
Most recently, I referred to some of those "developments," including corruption and backstabbing at the highest levels in the Afghanistan government, incompetence of and disloyalty among its military and police and continuing human rights violations.
While examples of corruption among Afghan government officials are numerous, the most recent and most grievous example of backstabbing at the highest levels occurred only three months ago when Afghan President Hamid Karzai said: "God forbid, if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan."
Karzai also said:
"Afghanistan will never forget the welcome, the hospitality, the respect, and the brotherhood showed by the Pakistani people towards the Afghan people... Pakistan will never betray their brother."
Two weeks ago, Karzai denounced alleged abuses at the main American prison in Afghanistan -- a prison that, according to the New York Times, "plays a key role in the war effort, housing almost all the detainees that forces from the American-led coalition deem 'high value,' including Taliban operatives" -- and demanded that Americans cede control of the site within a month. ("The prison, at Bagram Air Base, is one of the few in the country where Afghan and Western rights advocates say that conditions are relatively humane.")
The Times:
... the Afghan commission that documented the abuses appears to have focused mainly on the side of the prison run by Afghan authorities, not the American-run part, according to interviews with American and Afghan officials.
Mr. Karzai was, in essence, demanding that the Americans cede control of a prison to Afghan authorities to stop abuses being committed by Afghan authorities.
The $60 million prison was built and paid for by the United States.
A recent Wall Street Journal article describes how the Afghan "Police Undermine [the] Fight Against [the] Taliban" with the lead-in, "In the American war against the Taliban, on whose side are the Afghan police? For many U.S. soldiers serving in the insurgent heartland, the answer is: both."
And:
They smile to our face when we're here, giving them money and building them buildings," says U.S. Army Capt. Cory Brown, a provost marshal officer helping to oversee Afghan security forces here in volatile Paktika province. "But they've given insurgents money, food and even rides in Afghan police cars.
Worse, he says, some policemen are also suspected of selling their U.S.-provided weapons to the Taliban.
More recently and more insidious, the Salt Lake Tribune reports:
U.S. and other coalition forces [in Afghanistan] are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces, according to U.S. and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report obtained by The New York Times.
A decade into the war in Afghanistan, the report makes clear that these killings have become the most visible symptom of a far deeper ailment plaguing the war effort: the contempt each side holds for the other, never mind the Taliban. The ill will and mistrust run deep among civilians and militaries on both sides, raising questions about what future role the United States and its allies can expect to play in Afghanistan.
The Tribune continues:
The violence, and the failure by coalition commanders to address it, casts a harsh spotlight on the shortcomings of U.S. efforts to build a functional Afghan army, a pillar of the Obama administration's strategy for extricating the United States from the war in Afghanistan, said the officers and experts who helped shape the strategy.
The above attests to the increasingly difficult and dangerous task our brave troops face in Afghanistan.
As a matter of fact, a recently released Marine Corps guidebook, "Afghanistan, Operational Culture for Deploying Personnel," written for our troops serving or preparing to serve in Afghanistan warns them:
For centuries, this has been the paradox of warfare in Afghanistan: "The more enemies you kill, the faster you lose. Because of badal (revenge), the Pashtun have a saying: 'Kill one enemy, make ten.'"
According to the Washington Post, "the 112-page, 'for official use only' manual gives a clear description of the complicated Taliban enemy against whom U.S. troops have been fighting and the Afghans who are fighting alongside U.S. forces," and warns "In neither case is the picture reassuring. Nor do the manual's recollections of the U.S. experience in Vietnam ease current concerns of those who lived through that war, that history may be repeating itself ...The Taliban insurgent is certain that it is God's will that he fight to eliminate the Afghan infidels in Kabul and drive the foreign infidels (you) from Afghanistan."
The manual also warns of corruption among officers and such being especially "endemic" in the police.
While questions and concerns about our policy and strategy in Afghanistan abound in my mind, there is absolutely no question about the bravery and dedication of our troops serving there -- notwithstanding some recently much-publicized aberrations. More about these heroes, later.
?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dorian-de-wind/afghanistan-goal-accompli_b_1228513.html
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Sunday 22 January 2012
96% The Muppets
All Critics (166) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (159) | Rotten (6)
It may not entirely work as a movie, but The Muppets shines as a piece of touching pop nostalgia.
The purity of the nostalgia turns this franchise film into a love letter to childhood.
You can rest easy - if you have previously loved the Muppets, you will likely currently love The Muppets.
The chorus of one of the songs declares, 'I've got everything that I need, right in front of me.' For 120 minutes, that's precisely how I felt.
[Filmmakers] hew close to the essential innocence informing the Muppets' silliness.
The Muppets is a triumph of simplicity, innocence and goofy jokes. It's a triumph of felt.
The innocence is slightly twisted, the harmonious camaraderie is slightly corrosive and the characters are slightly eccentric
I smiled throughout this madcap joyous adventure in which the Muppets are funny, silly, colourful and totally endearing in what must be the happiest film of the New Year
MY inner child - the one who loved The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper - really wants to give this film five stars.
By focusing on the Muppets of The Muppet Show (1976-1981) rather than the independent Muppets of prior films, the writers open up an unexplored aspect of Muppet lore ripe for revival.
A nice throwback to the good old days of the Muppets.
Under James Bobin's direction, however, the outing feels cheap and strangely small-screen.
An altogether charming, smart and strangely moving little movie.
The Muppets may be one of the best films of the year, not judged as a children's film, or a family film, but instead, simply as a film.
The Muppets is really two movies. And one of those movies is quite good, albeit awfully similar to previous films.
Even balcony critics Waldorf and Statler would have a hard time faulting this Wonkaful delight.
I am a fan of The Muppets and I'm glad to see them making a comeback. Maybe if this movie is a hit, they'll make a sequel where they'll actually get to be the stars of their own film.
A good imitation of the Muppet style.
The Muppets is a celebration of all things Muppets -- filled with fun, laughter and moments of pure joy.
The Muppets heralds the return of Jim Henson's beloved furry creations, resurrected from pop-culture irrelevance and lovingly restored to their former greatness in a vibrant comedy-musical.
The film's success is owed to the fact that the living, breathing actors understand the show belongs to the Muppets. In their capable paws, claws, and flippers, the fun, kindness, and total, unadulterated wackiness of The Muppet Show is finally back.
The Muppets is a joyful mix of the nostalgic past and a vibrant present. It tops the list of family movies for the holidays. The movie asks the question, "Do you have what it takes to be one of the Muppets?" Of course, we do.
The new muppet movie, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, is a total delight. Any fears that the muppets may have been unwisely thrust into something that is outside of their inherent character can be safely allayed.
A return to form for Kermit and company.
More Critic ReviewsSource: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_muppets/
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Thursday 19 January 2012
Syria's 'Big Brother' looms over a tense capital
Sana/Handout / EPA
An image of President Bashir al-Assad watches over the scene of a pro-government rally at Sabe Bahrat square in Damascus in December.
Editor's note: Cairo-based NBC News correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin is reporting from Syria this week. Follow his updates on Twitter @Aymanm
By Ayman Mohyeldin , NBC News correspondent
Update at 8:18 a.m. ET Wednesday: Police in #damascus have let us go after about an hour and deleting our video of long petrol lines #syria
Update at 8 a.m. ET Wednesday: Ayman Mohyeldin says in a message on Twitter?that he was "Taken to police station in #damascus. Despite having permits we were forced to delete video of people waiting in line."
Published at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday: Inside Syria, Day 1
DAMASCUS -- To say that Damascus suffers from a cult of personality is an understatement. Arriving in Damascus airport, there is no mistaking who runs Syria: "Doctor Bashar al-Assad."
In the short walk from the airplane to the car, I counted more than 200 posters plastered on the walls, columns, doors and pretty much everywhere my eye turned. All I could see were pictures carrying the image of Assad. From planting olive trees to donning full military dress, Assad is everywhere. Even customs officials processing our paperwork were humming pro-Assad songs.
A few hours later, at a dinner with old and new friends in a Damascus restaurant, I am told it's not just the president's image that is ubiquitous, it?s the entire security apparatus that's keeping a watchful eye on what is happening in Damascus. "Be careful what you say and when you say it," a friend tells me. "Never speak freely with a taxi driver or start a random conversation about what is going on," I am advised.
But despite the warning, there is a certain ease by which the current crisis comes to the surface of any discussion. Criticism of the government is rampant at?one restaurant where conversations flow from table to table. An occasional silence interrupts the chats as diners peek over the shoulders to ensure no one is paying attention too closely. "It's OK, don?t worry, the regime has bigger problems right now than to worry what is being said on every table. We know everyone here," my friend says, nudging me to keep on eating.
Over the course of the next several hours, I hear about "Syria's uprising" from those living it daily, including?its pitfalls, its weaknesses, its strengths. Lessons learned and gains made. In the background, a TV plays Arab music songs, and then a red ticker on the screen flashes a breaking news bulletin.?In unison, heads across the restaurant turn: An explosion has been reported in the Damascus neighborhood of Nahr El Aisha. People turn back to their meals.
Damascus is a city on edge. There is an uneasy nervousness in the city. Yes, shops are open, and restaurants and caf?s bustle with patrons. But that?s up to a certain time, and for those?who know Damascus, it?s a few hours less than normal, and a few hours less than what it was just a few months ago. There is an unofficial curfew, imposed by residents who are?weary of a different city?after dark. There are parts of the city where the risks of travel are too dangerous at night. As we drive around one roundabout in the city, we veer on to a side street. "This side of the circle is?safe. If you drive a kilometer in the other side, there are tensions between the residents and the security," my friend tells me.
Syrian President Bassar Al-Assad vowed to crack down against those he blamed for trying to topple his regime. His forces shot at protestors and in a speech, he attacked the Arab League who've sent monitors into Syria. ITN's John Ray reports.
The government says "armed gangs" have inched closer to the capital, frequently attacking security checkpoints at night. Several attacks have already happened in the heart of the capital. And even government employees concede certain routes in and out of the city have become too dangerous to traverse. Anti-government activists say momentum is on their side as pressure mounts on the government, with political and military defections increasing. When?night falls,?security forces?crack down on neighborhoods close to the capital where anti-government sentiment runs high.
Along one of the capital's main streets, one side of the street is well lit. The other is dark. Local residents tell me power outages are?becoming more?frequent across the city. There are rolling blackouts and increasing shortages?of?fuel and gas. Factories are shutting down, exports are halting. The value of the Syrian currency is plummeting and inflation is skyrocketing as a result of international and Arab sanctions that are aimed at punishing Assad's government. But the sanctions are clearly taking a toll on the daily lives of Syrians.
But their daily lives go on, it seems for now, as routine as?they can be in the middle of a 10-month uprising against the rule of the man seen everywhere in Damascus.
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Analysis: Presidential races flummox GOP's right (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Republican Party's steadily rightward drift, exemplified by the tea party movement's muscle, keeps hitting a quadrennial paradox that frustrates social conservatives: presidential primaries.
For all its success in congressional races, the GOP's right wing repeatedly has failed to unite behind a "movement conservative" to be the party's White House nominee. It happened in 2008 with John McCain, and in 1996 with Bob Dole.
Now social conservatives fear it's happening again in, of all places, South Carolina, virtually the heartland of the tea party. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is running strong in polls there, threatening to sweep the year's first three GOP contests and all but lock up the nomination in Saturday's primary.
More than 100 evangelical and social conservative leaders convened last week in Texas, hoping to slow Romney's march by backing former Sen. Rick Santorum. But they were far from unanimous, and many party activists feel the effort was too puny and too late.
The loose-knit group's lack of cohesion ? underscored Monday when some members announced their strong support for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ? illustrates the hard right's historic difficulty in coalescing early behind one strong contender.
Romney, meanwhile, caught a break Monday. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, widely seen as competing with Romney for moderate-conservatives' votes, dropped out and endorsed the front-runner.
Romney began the contest as the GOP establishment's favorite, running a steady but unspectacular campaign while rivals on his right soared and crashed. Rep. Michele Bachmann and businessman Herman Cain eventually dropped out. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin never got in. Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are hanging on, but they have fallen dramatically from their respective high points of last year.
Santorum, virtually an afterthought in the race until Christmas, may have the best chance of becoming the non-Romney candidate. But he lags far behind Romney in money, organization and experience.
There are several explanations, perhaps none of which will satisfy people who want an unabashed, down-the-line social and fiscal conservative as president.
The most benign explanation is that Republicans are so intent on ousting President Barack Obama that they will settle for a far-from-pure conservative nominee and rally around him this fall. Indeed, GOP polls show Romney's perceived "electability" as one his greatest assets.
Tony Perkins, who attended the Texas gathering as head of the conservative Family Research Council, says social conservatism is "choking on its own success" by attracting so many presidential hopefuls.
"The field is so inviting for socially conservative candidates to get in," Perkins said, "they slice up the vote."
But Dan Schnur, a former campaign and policy adviser for Republicans, says conservative activists keep getting outmaneuvered by the party's more pragmatic and mainstream operatives who know how to run campaigns.
Among national Republicans, "a balance of power has shifted from the establishment to the grassroots," said Schnur, who teaches politics at the University of Southern California. "That said, the thing about establishments is: They are established, and they are organized."
Social conservative crusader Pat Buchanan and flat-tax champion Steve Forbes ran in 1996, but the establishment backed Dole, a longtime Senate leader and an uninspiring campaigner.
In 2008, many on the Republican right disliked McCain, the Arizona senator who championed campaign finance limits and thumbed his nose at other conservative orthodoxies. But he easily passed Baptist minister and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses.
George W. Bush ran as a "compassionate conservative" in 2000, although he governed more to the right, especially on military matters.
If any state would reject Romney's moderate style and history of supporting abortion rights and gun control, South Carolina would near the top. The state's congressional delegation includes some of the nation's most prominent tea party advocates: Sen. Jim DeMint and Reps. Trey Gowdy, Tim Scott and Joe Wilson, made famous for shouting at Obama, "You lie!"
Yet Romney appears to be coasting, wooing another tea party favorite, Gov. Nikki Haley, to his side. Haley constantly emphasizes the need to oust Obama. Romney, she tells South Carolina Republicans, is the man to do it.
In Monday's debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Romney again focused much of his fire on Obama, doing his best to avoid his rivals' efforts to draw him into tit-for-tat arguments.
Those rivals have practically begged voters to reject Romney, or not "to settle" for a quasi-conservative, as Bachmann often put it.
Santorum says Romney disqualified himself, as governor, by insisting that all Massachusetts residents obtain health insurance. Nominating Romney would amount to political "malpractice," he says, because it would undermine efforts to attack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul.
Gingrich has veered from topic to topic at times, but he too has portrayed himself as an uncompromising conservative.
When a New Hampshire voter asked how he could govern without being willing to raise taxes to help close budget deficits, Gingrich replied: "I'm happy to cooperate. I'm not willing to compromise. Compromise in Washington means sell out."
Some conservative activists see an unhappy scenario playing out again.
South Carolina state Rep. Larry Grooms has withdrawn his support of Perry.
"There are a lot of conservatives who were happy to see him get in, and now who would be happy to see him get out," Grooms told The Associated Press. "When conservatives have split in the past, we end up nominating a moderate, and that's not good for our party."
His plea may be coming too late.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE ? Charles Babington covers politics for The Associated Press.
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Wednesday 18 January 2012
Bahrain: Activists defy ban on downtown protest (AP)
MANAMA, Bahrain ? Witnesses say Bahraini riot police have chased anti-government protesters out of the center of the island kingdom's capital.
The scuffles Wednesday came a day after authorities denied the country's main Shiite-backed opposition party, Al Wefaq, permission to hold protests in central Manama.
Witnesses say hundreds of protesters were scattered throughout the old city and diplomatic area, and police used stun grenades to disperse some of them.
Bahrain's majority Shiites have been the driving force behind widespread protests inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings over the past year.
Wednesday's protests erupted a day before Bahrain hosts an air show that runs through Saturday.
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After long hiatus, Valiant Comics returning in May
In this image provided by Valiant Entertainment, Valiant Comic ?X-O Manowar? is shown. Valiant Comics is bringing its premiere hero back to the pages of comics after a nearly decade-long absence, debuting X-O Manowar in May promising a hero that long-time fans will know but with new adventures that will carry him to new heights. (AP Photo/Valiant Entertainment)
In this image provided by Valiant Entertainment, Valiant Comic ?X-O Manowar? is shown. Valiant Comics is bringing its premiere hero back to the pages of comics after a nearly decade-long absence, debuting X-O Manowar in May promising a hero that long-time fans will know but with new adventures that will carry him to new heights. (AP Photo/Valiant Entertainment)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Valiant Comics is bringing its premiere hero back to the pages of comics after a nearly decade-long absence, debuting X-O Manowar in May and promising a hero that longtime fans will know but with new adventures that will carry him to new heights.
"Plenty of foundation was laid in the original X-O Manowar run, and when I went back and read those stories, the possibilities leapt out at me," writer Robert Venditti told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said his goal is to "build upon the foundation that has already been laid. Of course, new characters and story elements will be introduced, but it will always be done with the aim of staying true to what has made X-O such a beloved character."
An X-O Manowar book was last on store shelves in 2002, which capped a decade-long run for the fifth century Visigoth who was ultimately kidnapped by aliens and taken into space. After donning a suit of sentient armor, he returned to 20th century earth where he became a hero.
Created by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton and Jon Hartz, X-O Manowar debuted in 1992. The character was paired with Marvel Comics' Iron Man for a video game in 1996.
Valiant Executive Editor Warren Simons said the launch of the new title, illustrated by Cary Nord, will spearhead more books and characters ? including Harbinger, Bloodshot, Ninjak, Archer & Armstrong and Shadowman ? later this year as the publisher brings them back to a new audience, with nods, but not direct ties, to the original Valiant continuity.
"By modernizing the characters while also being faithful to the core concepts that drive them," Simons said. "Valiant fans have been waiting for a new take on these characters for years."
Valiant Entertainment planted the seeds for the comic imprint's return last year, putting together a new management team and lining up writers and artists after it got financial backing from Cuneo & Co. LLC, a private investment firm focused on consumer products, media and entertainment.
During its heyday, Valiant, founded in 1989, sold 80 million comics with characters such as Shadowman, Armorines and Ninjak. It was later acquired by videogame maker Acclaim Entertainment, which used the characters for its games before it went out of business in 2005.
Dinesh Shamdasani, the company's chief creative officer, said Valiant aims to recapture the appeal of the previous incarnation for existing and new audiences.
"What the original Valiant did so well and we're working hard to do again is embrace the super-hero aspects of our universe, but we also push our characters to be more than just men and women in capes and tights," Dinesh said. "We aim to give the reader an adrenaline-fueled super-hero comic book the likes of which they can't get anywhere else."
As for keeping X-O Manowar fresh, but rooted, Shamdasani said the idea is to balance those attributes and pursuits.
"We've looked at many examples of characters being successful modernized from Marvel's Ultimate line and DC's New 52 to 'Casino Royale' and 'Batman Begins' and found that in almost every case what worked was to stay true to the core conventions and iconography of the concept and put everything else up for examination," he said.
Venditti said it would come down to creating a vibrant, eye-catching story, too.
"The audience will always respond positively to good stories about compelling characters facing intense situations," he said. "This is what the original incarnation of Valiant is known for, and it's certainly what Cary and I are striving for with the new X-O Manowar."
___
Follow Matt Moore at www.twitter.com/mattmooreap.
___
Online:
http://www.valiantentertainment.com
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Tuesday 17 January 2012
China's growth ebbs in final quarter of 2011
Chinese workers load packages with Chinese words reading, "All the Best," for sale for the coming Lunar New Year outside a shop in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. China's economic growth slowed in the final quarter of 2011 to its lowest rate in two and a half years as export demand weakened and Beijing fought inflation. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Chinese workers load packages with Chinese words reading, "All the Best," for sale for the coming Lunar New Year outside a shop in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. China's economic growth slowed in the final quarter of 2011 to its lowest rate in two and a half years as export demand weakened and Beijing fought inflation. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
BEIJING (AP) ? China's economic growth slowed in the final quarter of 2011 to its lowest rate in 2 1/2 years as U.S. and European demand plunged and Beijing fought inflation.
The world's second-largest economy grew by 8.9 percent in the three months ending in December, data showed Tuesday. It was the slowest expansion since the second quarter of 2009, when the economy grew 7.9 percent.
China appears on track to avoid the "hard landing" of an abrupt slowdown but needs to do more to reduce reliance on exports and investment-driven growth by boosting consumer spending, analysts said.
"Today's outcome seems to confirm a 'soft landing' scenario," said Frances Cheung of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.
Slower Chinese growth could have global repercussions if its cuts demand for oil, iron ore, industrial components and other imports and hurts suppliers such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
In 2012, China faces "complexity and challenges" due to global malaise and domestic pressure for prices to rise, said Ma Jiantang, commissioner of the National Statistics Bureau.
"We will face a number of risks that affect the steady growth of the Chinese economy," Ma said at a news conference.
For the full year, the economy grew 9.2 percent, down from 2010's blistering 10.3 percent after communist leaders repeatedly hiked interest rates and tightened investment curbs to prevent overheating and inflation.
Hit by an abrupt plunge in Western consumer demand, regulators reversed course in late 2011 and tried to prop up growth by promising more bank lending to help struggling exporters and avert job losses and the threat of unrest.
The plunge in global demand, coupled with lending curbs, drove thousands of small Chinese exporters out of business and forced others to cut jobs, raising the threat of unrest.
Analysts expect Beijing to try to stimulate growth this year with an interest rate cut or other measures to free up money for lending.
Consumer inflation edged down in December to 4.1 percent, below July's 37-month high of 6.5 percent. That could give the government more leeway to stimulate the economy but it still was above the official 4 percent target for the year.
The central bank last week promised pro-growth efforts to support Chinese entrepreneurs and small companies, though its governor warned conditions were uncertain.
Also in 2011, China's urban population exceeded the number of rural dwellers for the first time, rising to 51.3 percent of the nation's 1.3 billion people, the National Bureau of Statistics announced.
The slowdown was in line with government plans to cool China's overheated economy, Ma said. He said the "ideal situation" would be to keep growth between 8.5 and 9 percent and to keep inflation low.
China's economic growth fell steadily over the course of the year, declining from 9.7 percent in the first quarter. Industrial surveys show manufacturing and exports contracted in November and December. A slowdown in real estate sales as the government tries to cool surging home prices has sparked concern about the impact on the overall economy.
In a positive sign, growth in retail sales rebounded to 18.1 percent in December from November's 17.1 percent.
"If we can rely more on domestic consumption, that will help the economy to sail through all these headwinds," said Credit Agricole CIB's Cheung. "In retail sales, there is quite an obvious pickup in growth, so that is where I think the comfort will come from."
Also in December, growth in factory output edged up to 12.8 percent from November's 12.4 percent.
"This all reaffirms our outlook on China for a soft landing in the second half of 2011 and in opening six months of 2012," said Moody's Analytics economist Glenn Levine in a report. "Export demand has cooled, but domestic demand is still running strong, led by public investment in housing and other infrastructure."
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National Bureau of Statistics (in Chinese): www.stats.gov.cn
Associated Pressclemson nick cannon pellet gun clay aiken zambrano orange bowl jonbenet ramsey
Monday 16 January 2012
Video: In down economy, sharing takes off
>>> now to a sign of the times and this tough economy. though we're beginning to see some flickers of life in the job market , millions of americans still can't find a job and that's leading some of them to come up with creative ways to get by. we get the story from nbc's craig melvin.
>> reporter: eileen and mike beard made $20,000 last year, sharing their d.c. area home with strangers.
>> makes a big difference for us.
>> reporter: especially now. six days after christmas, mike lost his job, the beards have a mortgage and a blendedamily with ten children.
>> now we have all these rooms and this house that is valued at less than we paid for it, so this is a good way to --
>> make the house pay for itself.
>> reporter: they use a website called airbnb which connects travelers with people who open their homes. the san francisco startup has become a symbol of a growing trend called collaborative consumption.
>> they use digital technology to help people share stuff in the real world . and one of the key concepts is that access trumps ownership.
>> reporter: companies like airbnb and zipcar are joined by a slew of personal online communities . you can share, swap and rent everything from name brand clothes to bikes to children's toys. perhaps it is not surprising that in a down economy many like the beards have found sharing as a way to make some extra money. but for others, it's about something else. re-establishing a sense of community .
>> this is perfect.
>> reporter: in los angeles , chris needed a rake for weekend landscaping work and found jewelry on neighborgoods.net.
>> the first time i borrowed something, now we have similar groups of friends and we hang out.
>> reporter: nicky helped launch the site less than two years ago and now has more than 20,000 users.
>> we learned we weren't really building a marketplace. what we were building was a tool for neighbors to help each other and build relationships.
>> reporter: back at the beards, guest emily gets a bargain and all the comforts of home.
>> it is important to me to think frugally but also at the same time i enjoy meeting new people.
>> reporter: collectively building a new economy with a timeless concept, sharing. craig melvin, nbc news, silver spring , maryland.
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46007468/
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Android integration for car stereos and rear-view mirrors, hands-on (video)
Continue reading Android integration for car stereos and rear-view mirrors, hands-on (video)
Android integration for car stereos and rear-view mirrors, hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/15/android-integration-for-cars-hands-on-video/
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Sunday 15 January 2012
SOPA Supporters On The Run
Support in Washington for the SOPA anti-piracy bill in Congress (and its Senate equivalent, PIPA), is waning. After weeks of mounting uproar online, Congressional leaders started backpedaling last week and the Obama Administration weighed in on Saturday in response to online petitions to stop the bills. The White House issued a clear rejection of some of the main principles of SOPA. While the White House supports the major goal of the bills to stop international online piracy, the growing chorus of complaints about the ham-fisted way the law is going to be implemented may finally be acting a s a counterweight to all the media-company lobbying which is trying to push the bills through. In fact, the White house blog on the subject almost amounts to a pre-veto of the bills as they now stand (and which have yet to be voted on, much less approved, by either house of Congress).Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ZoAy4ubEgEk/
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Scientists discover a real-life Tatooine orbiting two suns
But there are probably no jawas, moisture farmers, sand people, banthas, dewbacks, womp rats, sandcrawlers, a Pit of Carkoon, nor a strange old hermit who lives beyond the Dune Sea.?
Astronomers have found more real-life versions of Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine from "Star Wars" ? alien worlds that see two suns rise and set each day instead of one. And these two newfound worlds are also extremely close to the habitable zones of their parent stars, scientists say.
Skip to next paragraphThe discovery cements what appears to be a new class of?twin sun alien planets?and may help astronomers estimate how many of such binary stars possess planets. The finding also suggests that many planets might lie in the habitable zones of such systems, researchers said.
Astronomers used NASA's?Kepler space telescope?to identify the two so-called "circumbinary planets" amid 750 systems they sampled. Their discovery brings the total number of confirmed double-sun worlds up to three.
Both newfound twin-sun planets are low-density gas giants located around distant star pairs. [Gallery: "Tatooine" Planets With 2 Suns Found]
The first, called Kepler-34 b, is about 22 percent of the mass of Jupiter (the largest gas giant in our solar system) and 76 percent the width of Jupiter. Kepler-34 b orbits two sunlike stars once every 289 days at about the same distance as Earth is from the sun. The planet is located about 4,900 light-years from Earth.
The second planet, called Kepler-35 b, orbits two stars that are 5,400 light-years from Earth. It has about 13 percent the mass of Jupiter and is 73 percent as wide. It and orbits its parent stars, which are slightly smaller than the sun, once every 131 days from a distance about 60 percent that between Earth and our sun.
These orbits place these planets very near the?habitable zones of these stars?? that is to say, it is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to form on a planet's surface in these regions, meaning that life as we know it could in principle gain a foothold there.
"With only three circumbinary planets known, we are already very close to that special 'Goldilocks' zone," study lead author William Welsh, an astronomer at San Diego State University, told SPACE.com "It is my opinion that circumbinary planets in the habitable zone will turn out to be fairly common, and that is exciting."
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Saturday 14 January 2012
Survey finds business ethics worst when market climbs | The Raw ...
By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, January 12, 2012
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A business ethics survey published this week reveals a startling trend: workers and management report more unethical behavior when the market climbs, and less as times get tough.
And perhaps more startling yet, the number of respondents who reported witnessing illegal corporate political donations has risen by 400 percent since the last survey just two years ago, even as reports of misconduct hit an all-time low.
Just 1 percent of survey takers said in 2009 that they?d witnessed illegal political donations. That number jumped to 4 percent in 2011, according to the National Business Ethics Survey (NBES), sponsored by companies like Walmart, Altria, BP, Raytheon, Aetna and Lockheed Martin, among others.
On the plus side, the survey also found that the number of employees who said they witnessed misconduct on the job has reached an all-time low of 45 percent. That number was 10 points higher in the group?s 2007 survey.
On the other hand, the NBES also found that the number of companies described as having ?weak ethics cultures? has shot up, going from 35 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2011.
And that one plus, might not actually be a plus at all: the survey also compared historical rates of observed business misconduct with the average monthly S&P 500 index score, going all the way back to 2000. It found that when observed misconduct goes up, so does the market, and vice-versa.
It?s not clear what that correlation means exactly, but the historical trend does not go unnoticed in the 2011 NBES.
?Historically, when the economy is good, workplace ethics tend to suffer: profit takes precedence over proper behavior,? the survey explained. ?While the economy has improved since the 2009 NBES, the recovery has been uneven. Many Americans have seen encouraging signs of recovery at their workplaces, but they have not necessarily felt that improvement personally. That uneven quality is reflected in the 2011 NBES results.?
That might also explain why researchers noticed a disconnect in 2009, when the market roared back but observed misconduct continued to fall.
Another possible explanation is that companies are placing more emphasis on ethics training that ever before, according to Patricia Harned, president of the Ethics Resource Center, who spoke to Roll Call about the survey.
It could also be that more misconduct is being reported by employees, which was at a record high in the 2011 survey at 65 percent, up 12 points since 2005.
But that too is not without a backlash. With more workers calling out misconduct, there are more whistleblowers to retaliate against ? and that too is up sharply, going from 12 percent in 2007 to 22 percent in 2011.
The types of relatiation most often reported in 2011 were being excluded from decisions or workplace activities, being ignored by fellow employees, being verbally abused by management, nearly being fired or being passed over for promotions.
?As the economy gets better ? and companies and employees become more optimistic about their financial futures ? it seems likely that misconduct will rise and reporting will drop, mirroring the growth in pressure and retaliation that have already taken place and conforming to historic patterns,? the NBES noted.
Stephen C. Webster
Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement?s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.
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After encampment ends, NYC Occupiers become nomads (AP)
NEW YORK ? It was only a few nights after the Occupy protesters began sleeping in his church sanctuary when the Rev. Bob Brashear realized that his laptop was missing.
The refugees from Manhattan's Zuccotti Park had found their way to his cavernous Presbyterian church on a cold winter evening, hoping to stay for a few nights, maybe longer. It was the latest stopover for the nomadic group, which has been living in a rotating series of churches since the city shut down its camp in November.
"There was a sense of shock and sadness that it had happened," said Brashear, whose laptop will soon be replaced by Occupy organizers. "And there's a common understanding that if there's one more theft in the church, that's it."
This is what the Occupy encampment has become: a band of homeless protesters with no place to go. Amid accusations of drug use and sporadic theft, they've been sleeping on church pews for weeks, consuming at least $20,000 of the donations that Occupy Wall Street still has in its coffers. Their existence is being hotly debated at Occupy meetings: Are these people truly "Occupiers" who deserve free food and a roof over their heads?
"We don't do this out of charity," said 34-year-old Ravi Ahmad, who works for Columbia University and volunteers with Occupy in her spare time. "We do this so that whoever wants to work in the movement can work in the movement. This is a meritocracy."
But money is draining rapidly from Occupy's various bank accounts, which currently amount to about $344,000. Including church maintenance costs and meals, living expenses are more than $2,000 per week.
"We are all aware that the NYPD destroyed the tent homes of many Occupiers in just one night," someone recently wrote on http://www.nycga.net, Occupy's General Assembly website for New York City. "However, where were they living before Zuccotti Park? Are we paying for housing for homeless people who may be relocated to City shelters?"
The movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, has been fighting to stay afloat in the city where it began. Media attention and donations have dropped off. And although protesters regularly meet to plan demonstrations, recent marches have had none of the spectacle that captivated New Yorkers and watchers worldwide.
On Monday, the metal barricades surrounding Zuccotti Park were removed for the first time since the November raid. But protesters still can't set up tents to camp overnight ? and they don't have a long-term solution to the housing problem.
Their current home is Brashear's West-Park Presbyterian Church, a stately 100-year-old house of worship on the Upper West Side that badly needs renovation. Occupy organizers see the cracks in the ceiling as an opportunity to repay the favor by helping to fix the place up.
There are about 70 Occupiers staying there and another 30 or so at Park Slope United Methodist Church in Brooklyn.
"Everybody tries to get along, make things work," said Donna Marinelli, 52, of New Britain, Conn., who was sitting on the floor in a sleeping bag alongside her cousin, David Monarca. "We were in the park in tents until they raided us. We wanted to stay for the movement. We didn't want to leave when we just got here."
During the daylight hours, Marinelli attends Occupy events and volunteers at an Occupy kitchen in Brooklyn. Nobody is allowed to stay in the church during the day. At night, the place is patrolled by an Occupy security team led by Marine Corps Sgt. Halo Showzah, a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran from the Bronx.
"We walk around the church with flashlights, making noise to wake these people up and making sure they're good," he said. "No sex in the church, no drinking, no smoking, no shooting, no sniffing."
The church was quiet and cozy Wednesday night as about two dozen people staked out their respective corners of the room. Some prefer the balcony; others like to curl up by the door. Someone fiddled around on the piano and sang a few songs as a cat watched from a pew. Showzah wandered around and chatted with everyone, making jokes and doling out advice to the singer.
The security threat is very real here. At least 30 percent of the crowd is a mix of chronically homeless, drug-addicted people, some of whom suffer from "psychological issues," as several protesters put it. Among other rules, the pastor has demanded that the Occupiers station at least one mental health expert "within easy reach" of the church every night.
Even some of the church dwellers themselves are fed up with their fellow pew mates. Chris Allen, 36, is working on a backup plan in case they get kicked out.
"I feel people are messing up the church and we're not going to have it much longer, so I'm worried about putting money in my pocket," said Allen, an unemployed construction worker from Long Island who lives here with his wife. "Because when it snows and I have nowhere to go, I'm not going to be stuck on the streets like everyone else for being idiots."
Who is allowed to stay at the church is a source of contention and perpetual infighting. If you're not on the official list kept by Occupy organizers, you're not allowed inside. But it's unclear what distinguishes the general populace from an Occupier.
One night in December, police officers were called to the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew when people who weren't on the list came to the door and refused to leave.
"I was turned away one night in the cold and rain," said David Everitt-Carlson, a 55-year-old unemployed former advertising executive who lived in a teepee at Zuccotti Park. "And I slept at Grand Central Station. I found a place behind a Christmas decoration."
About a month ago, a telephone hotline was set up so people could call and request a spot at one of the churches. But space is limited. And each church sojourn has an expiration date.
Some churches willingly opened their doors to provide temporary shelter after the police raid. None of them are equipped to house protesters forever.
"It's a lot of wear and tear on the space," said Michael Ellick, a minister at Judson Memorial Church, which housed protesters for several nights in November. "We're broke, so we don't have a custodial staff. We can't be a full-time housing unit."
During daylight hours, some people migrate down to Occupy's atrium at 60 Wall St., while others head off to hunt for jobs or disappear into the city. At night, there are often counselors on hand for emotional support.
Typical arguments are reminiscent of life at Zuccotti, which had its own share of criminal activity. A frequent complaint, for example, involves a man who apparently never takes showers.
"No fistfights, no weapons involved," said Jeff Brewer, 34, an Occupy organizer. "I believe there was a shampoo bottle that was thrown one time."
Meals are donations from food pantries and leftovers dropped off by nearby restaurants. Occupy's financial donations mostly come in small amounts from private donors, who can funnel money through a myriad of online payment services.
The debate over providing food and shelter for the church Occupiers plays into a larger one that has divided New York's protesters ever since the police raid. While some are determined to occupy another space somewhere in the city, others say an encampment is unnecessary and, at its worst, a burden.
The church dwellers believe they are carrying the torch for the lost encampment ? and that, someday, they will form the foundation of a new one.
"We really have been calling it the `Occupiers army' that we are building," explained protester Jason Harris, a teacher from Massachusetts.
First, though, they'll have to find a way to survive the winter. Brashear hasn't yet decided whether he will allow the protesters to stay at West-Park beyond next week. If they are truly dedicated to forming a community ? and not simply seeking shelter within the church's walls ? he'll be more willing to extend their unspoken lease.
"It's a sort of sink or swim situation," he said. "I think, long-term, they have to make a decision about what, exactly, their movement is about."
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Friday 13 January 2012
Tim Tebow Lifs Broncos To Fast OT Victory Over Steelers With TD Pass To Demaryius Thomas (VIDEO)
DENVER ? The Drive. The Fumble. And now, The Blink of an Eye.
With a quick flick of the wrist and a mad dash to the end zone, Tim Tebow, Demaryius Thomas and the Denver Broncos put a sudden end to their playoff game against Pittsburgh ? an 11-second throw, catch and run that accounted for the quickest overtime in NFL history.
On the first play of the extra period Sunday, Tebow threw a crossing pattern to Thomas, who stiff-armed Ike Taylor and won the race to the end zone for an 80-yard score that lifted the Broncos to a 29-23 playoff victory over the stunned Steelers.
All in 11 ticks of the clock ? the quickest overtime ever, regular season or playoffs.
It will be talked about for much longer, destined to earn a spot in Denver's colorful playoff history, somewhere up there with The Drive, The Fumble and the franchise's two Super Bowl titles.
John Elway, the quarterback who was around for those magic moments, was like every other Broncos fan for this one ? he could only watch and hope. When Thomas crossed the goal line, ol' No. 7 raised his arms and celebrated like a kid on the sideline.
And Tebow?
"When I saw him scoring, first of all, I just thought, `Thank you, Lord,'" he said. "Then, I was running pretty fast, chasing him."
A few moments later, he was Tebowing in the end zone ? down on one knee, resting one hand against his forehead, while he punched his other fist in the turf. After that, he did victory laps and jumped into the stands at a stadium that has been thirsting for something special for a while now. Denver's last turn in the playoffs was the 2006 AFC title game, a 34-17 loss to the Steelers, five seasons before Tebow arrived.
And boy has this unorthodox, often divisive but very clutch quarterback made a difference.
"Definitely a special memory. One that will always be very special," Tebow said of his fourth overtime win of the season, against no losses.
The Tebow-to-Thomas connection denied fans a good look at the NFL's new postseason overtime rule. Under the new format, put into play for the first time in this game, each team was guaranteed a possession in overtime ? unless, that is, the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown.
"They said, `We're going to run this play, all you have to do is cross the safety's face,'" Thomas said. "I was walking to the line and saw the safety come down and I knew, at that time, the play we had called, the only person I had to beat was the corner."
After Denver's third straight loss last week in which Tebow threw for 60 yards and logged a quarterback rating of 20.8, Elway ? now the team's executive vice president of football operations ? urged him to be more aggressive with the ball. He wanted his quarterback to step up and take more chances ? run when he saw daylight, throw during that split second when he saw a receiver open.
Message received. Tebow did that all game, softening the Steelers with gains of 51, 58, 30 and 40 yards, all in the first half.
"I think it's just a mentality, being aggressive," Tebow said. "Whether it's in the pocket, when I was stepping up and I start to scramble ... or whether it's when I'm stepping up and giving a receiver an opportunity on a deep ball."
Though the Steelers rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half, Tebow, Thomas and the rest kept their defense off-balance most of the game. They were clearly caught unaware on first-and-10 from the 20 when Tebow took the snap and safety Ryan Mundy bit on the quarterback's play-action fake and charged toward the line. That left Thomas in the man-to-man coverage against Taylor he knew he was going to get.
After catching the ball and shedding Taylor, Thomas had only Mundy to beat to the goal line.
"We knew they were capable of big plays," Mundy said. "They didn't' make the playoffs for no reason."
They're moving on in the playoffs, as well. Thanks to the first play of overtime. Which also turned out to be the last.
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SA university stampede kills one
10 January 2012
Last updated at 04:19 ET
One person has died after a stampede broke out among crowds of people trying to enrol at a university in the South African city of Johannesburg.
"There was a person that was deceased," University of Johannesburg (UJ) spokesman Herman Esterhuizen said.
The victim was said to be the mother of a prospective student.
More than 180,000 high school graduates are expected to be turned away from South Africa's nine top universities this year, said the Times newspaper.
It said about 74,000 students would fail to win a place at the University of Johannesburg alone.
Tuesday's incident occurred as students queued for last-minute places at the university, registrar Marie Muller told eNews channel.
Applicants waited through the night and the stampede apparently happened just after the main gate was opened at 07:30 local time (05:30 GMT), emergency services spokeswoman Nana Radebe was quoted as saying.
Continue reading the main story?Start Quote
End Quote Wilson Matiba Prospective student 'People fell'We need education. We need to register. We needed to get inside?
Wilson Matiba was present when the stampede occurred.
"Things got out of hand," he said, according to the Mail & Guardian Online.
"We rushed the gates and people fell. We couldn't stop," said Mr Matiba, who was trying to enrol for a BSc degree in Zoology.
Mr Matiba said prospective students were desperate and felt left without any alternative other than storming the entrance.
"We need education. We need to register. We needed to get inside," he said.
The University of Johannesburg is reported to be one of few which accept last-minute applications in January.
On Monday, the normally quiet streets around the university's Bunting Road campus entrance were packed with traffic and a kilometre-long line of applicants had formed at the main gate.
A media briefing on the incident was scheduled for 08:00 GMT.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-16482147
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Thursday 12 January 2012
LN: Havel's former secretary wants former president's statue on Wenceslas Square
?TK |
10 January 2012
Prague, Jan 9 (CTK) - Sabina Tancevova, secretary of the late former Czech president Vaclav Havel, would like his statue to be raised on Wenceslas Square in Prague centre, she told yesterday's issue of Lidove noviny (LN), in reaction to Czech artists' proposals for Havel's monument published in LN on Saturday.
She said she would particularly prefer sculptor Stefan Milkov's idea of Havel's monument in the lower part of Wenceslas Square in Prague centre as an antipole to St Wenceslas statue in the upper part.
Havel, former dissident, playwright and the last Czechoslovak and the first Czech president (1989-2003), died in his country house in Hradecek, east Bohemia, on December 18, 2011, aged 75 years.
"I rather have an idea of a figural monument of Vaclav Havel in a relaxed posture with his hands in pockets, with a smile and a scarf around his neck," Tancevova told LN.
Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) expressed a more reserved stance on Havel's statue.
"A possible monument must be the result of a public competition assessed by an expert jury. Politicians' individual taste should not play any role in it," Necas said.
According to Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS), considerations about Havel's monument are premature.
"I would postpone this decision by five, ten years," Svoboda told LN, adding that shortly after Havel's death, no one is able to assess what "Havel meant for this world."
Transport Minister Pavel Dobes (Public Affairs, VV) shares this view.
However, he said he would welcome the form of a monument drafted by artist Jiri David. He proposed a 3D phonetic recording of Havel's voice pronouncing his famous slogan "Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred" that would resonate from two concrete panels at a courtyard of Prague Castle, the presidential seat.
"Such a monument emphasises the power of the word. Moreover, it corresponds to the 21st century. There is no need to build bronze statues. I think that president Havel would probably not wish such a monument either," Dobes said.
A debate on Havel's monument was launched by Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09) who said he could imagine a monument to commemorate Havel rather than the idea of the Prague Ruzyne international airport bearing his name.
A petition in support of this idea, initiated by film director Fero Fenic, has been signed by over 80,000 people.
Tancevova said she personally liked the idea.
"Vaclav Havel was an international personality, he was open to the whole world and the progressive world was open to him. He spent much time aboard a plane," Tancevova told LN.
LN's commentator Martin Zverina is rather sceptical about the intentions to celebrate Havel "as quickly and monumentally as possible."
"The admirers of Vaclav Havel's ideas can be saturated in his library and with his work. Worshippers of majestic gestures should sober up in order to at least seemingly harmonise their notion with Vaclav Havel," Zverina writes.
Copyright 2011 by the Czech News Agency (?TK). All rights reserved.
Copying, dissemination or other publication of this article or parts thereof without the prior written consent of ?TK is expressly forbidden. The Prague Daily Monitor and Monitor CE are not responsible for its content.
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AcerCloud unveiled, bringing free cloud connectivity to all future Acer PCs
For more, check out the full PR after the break.
Continue reading AcerCloud unveiled, bringing free cloud connectivity to all future Acer PCs
AcerCloud unveiled, bringing free cloud connectivity to all future Acer PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Acer | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/08/acercloud-unveiled/
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