DA Davidson Lowers Target to $4 on Frontier Communications ...

DA Davidson remains Neutral rated on Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR) and reduces its price target to $4 from $6, on the expectation of a dividend reduction from the company.

DA Davidson comments, "We think the board will reduce the dividend to $0.50 to conserve cash and speed up deleveraging. We are cutting our price target to $4 from $6, which equates to 5.3x our 2012 EV/EBITDA estimate. We could become more positive on the stock once management completes the transition off of Verizon's systems and if they can reinvigorate DSL subscriber growth."

FTR closed at $4.32 a share on Friday.

(c) 2011 Benzinga.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published in its entirety or redistributed without the approval of Benzinga.

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Source: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/12/01/2300142/da-davidson-lowers-target-to-4-on-frontier-communication

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The worst game of the season?

Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus has done the dirty work: he has sifted through the 2,400+ major league games of the 2011 season and has determined which of those games was the absolute worst.

Maybe the picture here spoils it, at least for Tigers and Giants fans who might remember it, but the real value of this article is (a) how he describes the game; and (b) the methodology he employed to identify it. ?Can?t agree more with Sam regarding what makes a bad game a bad game and what can redeem an otherwise bad game, saving it from consideration for the worst or the worst.

I?m just sort of bummed that the game took place on a Saturday. Kept me from saying something pithy about it in an ?And That Happened? post. Because as you all know, ugly games are way more fun to riff on.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/30/the-worst-game-of-the-2011-season-has-been-identified/related/

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Streep's Thatcher, Williams' Monroe star at SAG

Actress Regina King, second left, poses with workers as they roll out the red carpet and setup for the SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Actress Regina King, second left, poses with workers as they roll out the red carpet and setup for the SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

A worker sweeps the stage as setup for the SAG Awards is under way at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Seating cards for actor George Clooney and his date Stacy Keibler are at the table for the film "The Descendants" as set up for the SAG Awards continues at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? What a cast the Screen Actors Guild Awards have lined up: Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Margaret Thatcher and J. Edgar Hoover.

Actors playing illustrious real-life figures factor into the 18th annual honors given by Hollywood's main acting union Sunday.

The best-actress category features Meryl Streep as Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" and Michelle Williams as Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn." Leonardo DiCaprio is up for best actor as FBI boss in "J. Edgar," while "My Week with Marilyn" co-stars supporting-actor nominee Kenneth Branagh as Olivier.

Streep won a Golden Globe for "The Iron Lady" and is considered a favorite for the SAG prize and for her third win at the Academy Awards, which are set for Feb. 26.

The front-runners for the other SAG awards are actors in fictional roles, though, among them George Clooney as a dad in crisis in "The Descendants" and Jean Dujardin as a silent-film star fallen on hard times in "The Artist." Both are up for best actor, and both won Globes ? Clooney as dramatic actor, Dujardin as musical or comedy actor.

Octavia Spencer as a brassy Mississippi maid in "The Help" and Christopher Plummer as an elderly dad who comes out as gay in "Beginners" won Globes for supporting performances and have strong prospects for the same honors at the SAG Awards.

The winners at the SAG ceremony typically go on to earn Oscars. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

The same generally holds true for the weekend's other big Hollywood honors, the Directors Guild of America Awards, where Michel Hazanavicius won the feature-film prize Saturday for "The Artist." The Directors Guild winner has gone on to earn the best-director Oscar 57 times in the 63-year history of the union's awards show.

SAG also presents an award for overall cast performance, a prize that's loosely considered the ceremony's equivalent of a best-picture honor. However, the cast award has a spotty record at predicting what will win best picture at the Oscars.

While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG cast recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

The SAG ceremony also includes an award for stunt ensemble, whose nominees include such hits as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "X-Men: First Class."

Airing live on TNT and TBS, the show features nine television categories, as well.

Receiving the guild's life-achievement award is Mary Tyler Moore. The prize will be presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-29-SAG%20Awards/id-c30b38f107a7497baeca8153e26de389

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Australia's navy told to be more visible near resource projects (Reuters)

CANBERRA (Reuters) ? Defense planners urged Australia's military on Monday to maintain a stronger presence in the country's north and northwest to guard the booming resource industry and be better placed to respond to challenges from Asia and the Indian Ocean.

An interim report of Australia's defense posture review said

a more visible military presence could counter perceptions that offshore oil and gas projects could be easy targets.

The recommendation could see more navy exercises and new amphibious assault ships off the northwest coast, home to the iron ore industry and around A$200 billion ($212 billion) worth of liquefied natural gas projects, and a stronger navy presence around the coal and gas-rich Queensland state.

"The review makes the point that there is a perception in the north and north west of Australia of a lack of visibility, which undermines the notion of the defend Australia policy," Defence Minister Stephen Smith told reporters.

Smith set up the posture review last June and will receive its final report in March. Final decisions will be made with a wider review of the nation's defense strategy to 2030.

The United States, Australia's top strategic ally, also plans to increase its Asia Pacific presence and U.S. President Barack Obama has announced plans to position 2,500 marines in a de facto base in northern Australia.

China is also expanding its military and modernizing its navy, moves that have alarmed other countries in the region, especially Taiwan and Japan, while India is building a blue-water navy to extend its strategic reach.

The Philippines is considering a U.S. proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft temporarily to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea.

The posture review said that sea remained a potential flashpoint, while the risk of a major conflict on the Korean peninsula posed significant regional security challenges.

"Securing sea lines of communication and energy supplies will be a strategic driver for both competition and cooperation in the Indian Ocean region to 2030, and Australia's defense posture will need to place greater emphasis on the Indian Ocean," the review said.

TERRORIST ATTACKS

But it said the likelihood of a direct military attack on Australia remained remote and Australia's resource and energy assets were unlikely to face threats from specific states.

"The potential for terrorist attacks against oil, gas and other resource industry infrastructure in the North West is also an important consideration, but the level of vulnerability to such attacks can be exaggerated," it said.

Offshore oil and gas projects, it said, would not be easy to access.

The resource state of Western Australia has a major navy base near the capital Perth, and is home to the elite Special Air Service forces, but there are no major military bases in the state's north, facing Asia.

The review said industry had expressed concern that the current presence in northern Western Australia was not in line with the importance of the resource sector to the economy.

The region includes the Gorgon oil and gas fields, operated by Chevron, Woodside's northwest shelf oil and gas fields, the Browse basin targeted by Royal Dutch Shell and Woodside's Sunrise oil and gas fields.

The review said Pilbara region alone provided 29 percent of merchandise exports and 60 percent of exports to China.

It said Australia should consider more navy exercises in the region, including the use of army landing forces, and more simulated war games. The navy should also seek more access to commercial ports at Exmouth, Dampier, Port Hedland and Broome.

In Queensland, the report said Australia should consider basing more large ships and submarines in Brisbane to ease pressures on the main eastern fleet base in Sydney.

Australia is considering building up to 12 new long-range submarines and has committed $7.6 billion for three powerful air warfare destroyers, due in service from 2015.

Australia is also aiming to buy 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, to complement the fleet of F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets, based in Queensland, New South Wales and the remote Northern Territory.

($1 = 0.9409 Australian dollars)

(Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oceania/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_australia_defence

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Friend says on 911 call Demi Moore was convulsing (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Demi Moore smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and was convulsing and "semi-conscious, barely," according to a caller on a frantic 911 recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.

The woman tells emergency operators that Moore, 49, had been "having issues lately."

"Is she breathing normal?" the operator asks.

"No, not so normal. More kind of shaking, convulsing, burning up," the friend says as she hurries to Moore's side, on the edge of panic.

The recording captures the 10 minutes it took paramedics to arrive as friends gather around the collapsed star and try to comfort her as she trembles and shakes.

Another woman is next to Moore as the dispatcher asks if she's responsive.

"Demi, can you hear me?" she asks. "Yes, she's squeezing hands. ... She can't speak."

When the operator asks what Moore ingested or smoked, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.

"Some form of ... and then she smoked something. I didn't really see. She's been having some issues lately with some other stuff. So I don't know what she's been taking or not," the friend says.

The city attorney's office advised the fire department to redact details about medical conditions and substances to comply with federal medical privacy rules.

"She smoked something. It's not marijuana. It's similar to incense," the friend says to the 911 operator.

While Moore's friends don't say exactly what she smoked, an increasingly popular drug known as Spice is sometimes labeled as "herbal incense."

Spice is a synthetic cannabis drug and also called K2. It's sold in small packets over the Internet, in smoke shops and at convenience stores. The packaging sometimes reads "not for human consumption" to conceal its purpose.

In 2011, there were twice as many spice-related calls to Poison Control Centers nationwide as in the previous year, according to the National Office of Drug Control Policy.

The adverse health effects associated with synthetic marijuana include anxiety, vomiting, racing heartbeat, seizures, hallucinations, and paranoid behavior.

Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally or not, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose but the reaction was accidental.

"Whatever she took, make sure you have it out for the paramedics," the operator says.

The operator asks the friend if this has happened before.

"I don't know," she says. "There's been some stuff recently that we're all just finding out."

Moore's publicist, Carrie Gordon, said previously that the actress sought professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. She would not comment further on the emergency call or provide details about the nature or location of Moore's treatment.

The past few months have been rocky for Moore.

She released a statement in November announcing she had decided to end her marriage to fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, 33, following news of alleged infidelity. The two were known to publicly share their affection for one another via Twitter.

Moore still has a Twitter account under the name mrskutcher but has not posted any messages since Jan. 7.

During the call, the woman caller says the group of friends had turned Moore's head to the side and was holding her down. The dispatcher tells her not to hold her down but to wipe her mouth and nose and watch her closely until paramedics arrive.

"Make sure that we keep an airway open," the dispatcher says. "Even if she passes out completely, that's OK. Stay right with her."

The phone is passed around by four people, including a woman who gives directions to the gate and another who recounts details about what Moore smoked or ingested. Finally, the phone is given to a man named James, so one of the women can hold Moore's head.

There was some confusion at the beginning of the call. The emergency response was delayed by nearly two minutes as Los Angeles and Beverly Hills dispatchers sorted out which city had jurisdiction over the street where Moore lives.

As the call is transferred to Beverly Hills, the frantic woman at Moore's house raises her voice and said, "Why is an ambulance not on its way right now?"

"Ma'am, instead of arguing with me why an ambulance is not on the way, can you spell (the street name) for me?" the Beverly Hills dispatcher says.

Although the estate is located in the 90210 ZIP code above Benedict Canyon, the response was eventually handled by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

By the end of the call, Moore has improved.

"She seems to have calmed down now. She's speaking," the male caller told the operator.

Moore and Kutcher were wed in September 2005.

Kutcher became a stepfather to Moore's three daughters ? Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle ? from her 13-year marriage to actor Bruce Willis. Moore and Willis divorced in 2000 but remained friendly.

Moore and Kutcher created the DNA Foundation, also known as the Demi and Ashton Foundation, in 2010 to combat the organized sexual exploitation of girls around the globe. They later lent their support to the United Nations' efforts to fight human trafficking, a scourge the international organization estimates affects about 2.5 million people worldwide.

Meanwhile, Millennium Films announced Friday that Sarah Jessica Parker will replace Moore in the role of feminist Gloria Steinem in its production of "Lovelace," a biopic about the late porn star Linda Lovelace. A statement gave no reason for the change. The production, starring Amanda Seyfried, has been shooting in Los Angeles since Dec. 20.

Moore can be seen on screen in the recent films "Margin Call" and "Another Happy Day." Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen on TV's "Two and a Half Men" and is part of the ensemble film "New Year's Eve."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_en_ot/us_people_demi_moore

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What is open source? [Android A to Z]

What is open source? Open-source software is software that makes the source code freely available, for anyone to see and use. There are different open-source licenses that have different use conditions, from the GPL (GNU General Public License) -- which allows "free distribution under the condition that further developments and applications are put under the same license" -- to more liberal licenses like the Apache License, which doesn't require modifications to be open and have the source code available.  Android uses both of these licenses, and we'll have a look at them in turn.

The Linux kernel that is used in the OS is covered under the GPL.  This means that any changes made to the source code must be made available when a binary (geek-speak for a compiled, executable piece of software) is released to the public.  This means manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, Motorola and the rest must release the kernel source-code for any devices they sell at the same time they begin selling them.  For the most part, hardware manufacturers are pretty good about doing so, but they often miss the time frame and release the source code a little later than we would like.  These are the code releases you see us mention -- the kernel and other open-source "bits" that are covered under the GPL.

The Android OS source code is released mostly under the Apache License.  Anybody is allowed to download the source code and change it however they like, but they are not required to make their changes available in source code form to the public.  This is why we can't change and recompile things like HTC Sense or MotoBlur -- the changes to the base Android source code aren't available to us.  While many folks (myself included) don't like this situation very much, it does make sense from a business standpoint.  If manufacturers had to share all of their secrets, there wouldn't be as much monetary incentive to innovate, so the source was offered with a far more liberal license.  It certainly worked, as we see devices from many major players in the electronics world.

Previously on Android A to Z: What is NFC?; Find more in the Android Dictionary

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/wBwcHYL7XT4/story01.htm

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Obama to speak at Alfalfa Club dinner (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama will address the 99th annual Alfalfa Club dinner in Washington Saturday evening.

First lady Michelle Obama will join the president at the prestigious event for Washington's movers and shakers being held at the Capital Hilton.

The dinner traditionally is closed to the media but is known for its jokes and speeches. The president usually is invited to deliver remarks.

The Alfalfa Club exists solely to put on the annual dinner.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_preview

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AG: Record number of voting rights inquiries

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday the Justice Department opened a record number of more than 100 new investigations into possible voting rights discrimination across the country last year.

During an appearance at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Holder praised the federal government's aggressive enforcement efforts while vowing to defend a landmark voting rights law that is increasingly under attack in this presidential election year.

On Thursday, Holder said that nowhere is the Justice Department's commitment to equal opportunity clearer than in efforts to expand access to voting nationwide.

It was the attorney general's third speech in little more than a month focusing on voting rights, coming amid a flurry of activity by states, largely those controlled by Republicans, to redraw political boundaries and impose requirements that could reduce voting by minorities who enthusiastically supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

"The reality is that ? in jurisdictions across the country ? both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common ? and have not yet been relegated to the pages of history," Holder told the audience.

Pointing to some of the Justice Department's efforts, Holder cited as success stories the cases of two Ohio counties ? Cuyahoga and Lorain ? which agreed to ensure that bilingual ballots are available on county voting machines and that bilingual poll workers are on hand to help. In another positive outcome, said Holder, a northeast Ohio school board let a federal court determine how to structure elections to give blacks a greater chance of being elected.

In December in Austin, Texas, Holder urged the country to "call on our political parties to resist the temptation to suppress certain votes in the hope of attaining electoral success."

Earlier this month in Columbia, S.C., Holder told thousands of people commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday that in his travels "I've heard a consistent drumbeat of concern from citizens, who ? often for the first time in their lives ? now have reason to believe that we are failing to live up to one of our nation's most noble ideals."

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires all or parts of 16 states to obtain advance approval from either the Justice Department's civil rights division or a federal court in Washington before carrying out changes in elections. The states are mostly in the South and all the jurisdictions have a history of discriminating against blacks, American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaskan Natives or Hispanics.

Despite congressional reauthorization in 2006 of Section 5 for 25 years, its future has come under constitutional challenges in federal courts by Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Shelby County, Ala., and some voters in Kinston, N.C.

As of last week, there were 833 Section 5 submissions for proposed electoral changes awaiting approval at the Justice Department from state, county and local units of government.

In one Section 5 action, the civil rights division in December rejected a new South Carolina law that requires voters to present a photo ID when they go to the polls. It was the first time in nearly two decades the Justice Department had reached such a conclusion about a voter ID law.

A pending Section 5 review involves Texas, where the Justice Department has raised questions over a new photo ID requirement. The state reacted by taking its case for the new law to a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., where lawyers from the Justice Department and the state will square off. The Justice Department's civil rights division also is immersed in a court battle with Texas over allegedly discriminatory boundaries drawn by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

The challenges to Section 5's constitutionality followed a 2009 Supreme Court opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts which seemed to raise doubts about whether the provision was still needed.

Section 5 "imposes current burdens and must be justified by current needs," Roberts wrote. "Today, the registration gap between white and black voters is in single digits" in the states covered by the act's preclearance provision and "in some of those states, blacks now register and vote at higher rates than whites."

The stakes would be enormous if the Supreme Court got involved.

In 2006, Congress held hearings and created a 15,000-page record to justify renewing Section 5. Congress found that the Justice Department protected the interests of some 663,503 minority voters from 2000 to May 2006 by refusing to approve changes in political boundaries drawn by states, counties and local units of government. The Justice Department filed over 700 objections to proposed voting changes from 1982 to 2006 in states and counties covered by Section 5. From 1982 to 2003, states and local entities withdrew more than 200 proposed voting changes when the Justice Department started asking questions about them.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-26-Holder-Civil%20Rights/id-e1ca714760da440ba0c61342488ac975

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Finance / Administrative Associate Job at United Nations ...

Job Title: Finance / Administrative Associate

Job Code: 27767
Location: Abuja, NIGERIA
Type of Contract: Service Contract
Post Level: SB-3
Languages Required: English
Starting Date (date when the selected candidate is expected to start): 26-Mar-2012
Duration of Initial Contract: Initial period of one year
Organisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Sector: Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)

Background:
? Under the direct supervision of the International Project Co-ordinator (TIP and SOM) and UNODC Finance Officer and the overall guidance of the UNODC Country Representative for Nigeria, this individual will be responsible for ensuring effective execution of financial services and processes with respect to the project in a transparent and accountable manner in accordance with UN rule and regulations, financial requirements, as well as the applicable EU and UNDP rules and practices.
? S/he will work in close collaboration with the Finance Officer and project personnel and will liaise with the EU, UNDP, and UNODC HQs personnel, as appropriate, to ensure full compliance with applicable rules and regulations and to resolve any quagmires that arise.
? S/he will also be responsible for providing overall operational and administrative support to the project, including managing correspondence, organizing travel, events, workshops, and meetings, and preparing and disseminating documents.

Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Provide overall financial support to the project, including preparing budgets and financial reports
2. Undertake finance business process mapping and ensure proper accounting for project expenditures
3. Adapt and implement processes and procedures to ensure full compliance with UN, UNODC, UNDP and EU rules, regulations, financial records, reports, audit requirements, and internal controls
4. Ensure effective and efficient administration of budget and functioning of the optimal cost-recovery system
5. Ensure proper cash management, including assistance to the Finance Officer in managing and disbursing project related cash
6. Process payment requests and documents in a timely manner for execution
7. Assist in the preparation, monitoring, and management of technical contracts for the provision of goods and services
8. Initiate activities leading to procurement, maintenance, and disposal of items
9. Assist in ensuring that internal control systems are observed and all relevant records and files are maintained
10. Carry out various administrative tasks in support of the project, including managing correspondence, keeping appointments, arranging various meetings, ordering for supplies, and other related tasks

Education:
1. University degree in accounting, finance, business or public administration, or finance, law or relevant disciplines is required.
2. An internationally recognized professional certificate in accountancy and/or finance may be considered in lieu of a university degree when one has 2 more additional work experience.

Experience:
1. A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in finance, administration, budget, business administration or related field is required.
2. Experience in budget preparation, budget monitoring and analysis are required.
3. Experience in UN/UNDP financial procedures is an asset.
4. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Access, Power Point MS Publisher, etc) is also required.
5. Experience in the UN ATLAS and ProFi systems will be considered a plus.

Language: Fluency in any UN (preferably English) and national language of the duty station.

Other Skills: Up-to-date knowledge and/or practical experience of auditing approaches and practices is desirable.
Interested candidates should apply online through the website by clicking on the Apply now button. The system will prompt you to upload a CV on the next page.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates should apply online through the website by clicking on the Apply now button. The system will prompt you to upload a CV on the next page.

Please note that instead of a CV you're required to download the UNDP Personnel History Form (P11). Complete it and upload when prompted.

Applications without a fully completed P11 form will not be considered. Only applicants that are shortlisted will be contacted.

The system will only allow for one attachment.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Deadline: 07 February 2012.

NB: Do not pay for job recruitment. In case, you are requested to pay, please post in the Scam Alert Discussion Forum.

Source: http://www.jobnavy.com/job/1143/finance-administrative-associate-job-at-united-nations-development-programme-undpnigeria/

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Activists: Syrian troops shell central city

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaks during a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012. Al-Moallem said that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country and that the government will take any steps to defend against chaos, signaling that Damascus will continue its 10-month crackdown on dissent despite mounting pressure from Arab countries.(AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaks during a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012. Al-Moallem said that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country and that the government will take any steps to defend against chaos, signaling that Damascus will continue its 10-month crackdown on dissent despite mounting pressure from Arab countries.(AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaks during a press conference, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2012. Al-Moallem said that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country and that the government will take any steps to defend against chaos, signaling that Damascus will continue its 10-month crackdown on dissent despite mounting pressure from Arab countries. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Activists say Syrian security forces are shelling and assaulting neighborhoods in a city in the center of the country, and at least one person has been killed.

The activists say troops backed by military vehicles and tanks are trying to storm the Bab Qebli area of the city of Hama, and are firing mortar shells targeting several nearby districts.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say one person was killed by sniper fire in the Sheik Anbar district.

An activist near the area reported hearing explosions throughout the night and on Wednesday.

Soldiers who sided with a group of anti-regime army defectors known as the Free Syrian Army are known to be active in Hama, which has witnessed large anti-government protests.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) ? With Arab pressure mounting to end 10 months of bloodshed, the Syrian regime vowed Tuesday to solve its own problems even if "half the universe" is conspiring against it.

The remarks signaled that Arab League efforts to stem the violence are collapsing ? something that could pave the way for the U.N. Security Council to step in, even though Russia is firmly opposed to punitive measures against its longtime ally.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem brushed off the threat of referring the issue to the Security Council ? a move that could lead to tougher sanctions ? rather than trying to resolve it regionally. The prospect of U.N. involvement has raised fears in Syria that an international intervention could be next.

"If they go to (U.N. headquarters in) New York or the moon, as long as we don't pay their tickets, this is their business," al-Moallem said at a news conference in Damascus.

He was reacting to an appeal by the Gulf Cooperation Council for the U.N. Security Council to take all "necessary measures" to force Syria to implement an Arab League's ambitious peace plan announced Sunday to create a national unity government in two months. Damascus has rejected the plan as a violation of national sovereignty.

"The decision was made after careful and thorough monitoring of events in Syria and the conviction by the GCC that the bloodshed and the killing of innocent people there is continuing," the statement by the six-nation GCC said.

It also announced its six member nations ? Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates ? were withdrawing the 52 monitors they had contributed to an Arab League observer mission that has been heavily criticized for failing to stop the crackdown since it entered the country in late December. That would leave only about 110 observers on the ground, League officials said, a major blow to an effort that many see as the only hope for a regional solution to the crisis.

Several members of the 15-member council agreed Tuesday that it was time for the full group to take action.

"This council should fully support the Arab League's efforts to broker an end to the bloodshed and a peaceful transition to democracy in Syria," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said during the council's monthly debate on the Middle East.

British Ambassador to the U.N. Mark Lyall Grant expressed concern about weapons proliferation via sales to the Syrian government or illegal smuggling to the regime or opposition.

But the potential for U.N. involvement is a highly charged issue. Any resolution would have to get past veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China, which already rejected one Western-backed draft that threatened an arms embargo. The two countries argued that NATO misused a previous U.N. mandate authorizing use of force in Libya.

The U.N. estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began in March, inspired by the wave of revolutions sweeping the Arab world. The conflict has turned more violent in recent months, as army defectors and some protesters take up arms to fight the regime's forces.

Syria has a volatile sectarian divide, making civil unrest one of the most dire scenarios. The Assad regime is dominated by the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, but the country is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

Violence continued Tuesday, with an overall death toll that ranged from 15 to more than 43, based on reports from the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Local Coordination Committees and other activists on the ground.

Syria's powerful allies in Russia, China and Iran have shielded Damascus in some ways from a slew of condemnation and sanctions by the U.S., the European Union, Turkey and others.

Russia reportedly has signed a contract to sell combat jets to Syria, according to a Monday report in the business daily Kommersant. The $550-million deal is for 36 Yak-130 aircraft, according to an unidentified source close to Russia's Rosoboronexport state arms trader.

Asked about the report, Russian Middle East envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said he was not up to date on the issue but insisted that Russia is not violating any international conventions.

"There are no kinds of international sanctions on this count. When sanctions were taken regarding Libya, we fully observed them," he said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russia has been a strong ally of Syria since Soviet times, when the country was led by the president's father, Hafez Assad. It has supplied Syria with aircraft, missiles, tanks and other modern weapons.

"No one can doubt the strength of Syria's relationship with Russia," al-Moallem said Tuesday, confident that Moscow will use its veto power at the Security Council to protect Damascus. "International intervention in Syria is a red line for Russia."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday the U.S. respected the Gulf countries' decision to pull out of the Arab League monitoring mission, noting it would leave a "big hole in the operation," since the GCC provided the bulk of financial support as well.

Later Tuesday, the state-run news agency SANA said al-Moallem sent a letter to Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby saying Damascus agreed to allow the mission to be extended for one month, until Feb. 23.

Al-Moallem also signaled the crackdown will continue, saying the government must deal firmly with armed groups.

Syria has consistently blamed armed gangs carrying out a foreign conspiracy for the revolt, not protesters seeking change in one of the most authoritarian states in the Middle East.

"It is the duty of the Syrian government to take what it sees as necessary measures to deal with those armed groups that spread chaos," al-Moallem said. "The security solution is a popular demand by the Syrian people who want salvation."

___

Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Anita Snow at the United Nations and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-25-ML-Syria/id-ef8ef6d03ca040e9b79b274cd0176471

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As Obama Touts Common Core, The State Standards Spread Slowly Across U.S.: Study

Amy Bednarz, an English as a second language teacher in a Massachusetts elementary school, is confused. She doesn't know exactly what to teach.

For years, she'd been told that the state standardized tests were a make-or-break aspect of her teaching and should drive her instruction. Then came the professional development meetings this summer where she was told to teach the Common Core State Standards, a new set of academic benchmarks now being adopted by the majority of U.S. states. She got a worksheet, a binder and little guidance.

But while exams that test the Common Core are still in development, her kids will be taking the same old state tests. And then there are the emails her principal sends the school every morning: the state tests are 30, 29, now 28 days away.

"It feels like another initiative that's being thrown at us, a latest and greatest tool to solve problems in education," she said of the Common Core.

The piled-on reform she refers to received top billing in Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

"For less than 1 percent of what our nation spends on education each year, we?ve convinced nearly every state in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning -- the first time that?s happened in a generation," said Obama, referencing the Common Core.

What Obama made sound like a revolution seems more like a slog, such accounts and recent reports indicate. The Common Core State Standards in math and English Language Arts are beginning their slow creep into America's classrooms in 46 states and Washington, D.C., according to a new report released Wednesday by the Center on Education Policy. The standards pepper the conversations of teachers and school administers, shaping instruction -- or not -- in various ways.

The CEP report surveyed 35 CC-adopting states, finding that while the "vast majority" are familiarizing school officials with the new materials, states don't expect to implement the new standards until 2014-15 or later. And while they're staying the course, 21 states cited challenges in gathering the adequate resources to implement the standards, and 20 states indicated that they are concerned about having the right number of computers required to handle the new tests.

The Obama administration incentivized these national standards, which came to fruition through the collaboration of governors, state schools' chiefs and Gates Foundation cash. Substancewise, they focus on teaching fewer things, in greater depth. Their development included the input of teachers, unions, university administrators and the influence of international assessments. The standards themselves came out last year. The assessments that test the standards are still in development: two consortia are working off of $360 million in federal Race to the Top money, having outside companies develop test items. The tests, which will be administered on computers, are currently scheduled to be operational by the 2014-2015 school year.

While the new benchmarks are often described as a method for both ensuring that students are "college-and-career ready" and that school standards are comparable across state borders, there's no way to guarantee to they're being taught.

As it turns out, in this transitional period, teachers like Bednarz are teaching one set of standards while being tested on another.

Jack Jennings, CEP's president, said people shouldn't worry about these differences. "Right now, the Common Core is just being introduced to teachers, in the sense that they're being told what it means and why it's different from what they're doing now," Jennings said.

Other teachers are having an easier time. Darren Burris, who teaches high-school math in Boston Collegiate Charter School, volunteered to coach other teachers on implementation and sees the standards as an "opportunity."

"We have a narrow mission: to prepare each kid for college," he said. "And that's the goal of these standards."

The Common Core's focus on depth over breadth, he said, has allowed him to experiment in the classroom -- and in the hallway. One day's Common Core standard was to "construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others," so he brought that lesson to life by writing out math prompts on big post-its in the corridor. Pairs of students circulated between them, scrawling their answers on the post-its, while commenting on the solutions of their peers.

"Why didn't we do this before?" a student asked.

Yet especially with Republicans taking office in statehouses and governorships since the commitments were made, the standards have been perceived by some as a political liability: a potentially big-government-seeming program that appears to standardize education across the country when state control has long been Conservative currency. For that reason, proponents are careful to couch it in state, not federal, terms.

The CEP study says that at this point, states' concerns are more practical than political. "The thing that I found most arresting was the clarity with which the report puts forward that it's the view that the political risk is secondary to the implementation risk," David Coleman, an author of the literacy standards, told The Huffington Post.

But recent headlines show that may not be the full story. A few months ago, Alabama launched an unsuccessful bid to pull out of the standards. Just Wednesday, Indiana's state senate voted down a measure to leave the new standards behind. But its sponsors -- which count Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) among its ranks -- are vowing to revive the push.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/common-core-state-standards-center-on-education-policy_n_1233181.html

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Black NJ leaders: No public vote on civil rights (AP)

TRENTON, N.J. ? Two of New Jersey's most influential black leaders blasted Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday for proposing gay marriage be put to a popular vote in November, but the Republican governor insisted he's offering a reasonable compromise amid his personal opposition to same-sex nuptials.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Newark Mayor Cory Booker said in separate forums that civil rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and don't belong on the ballot.

Booker said baseball great Jackie Robinson would not have had the opportunity to break the sport's color barrier had the matter been put to a vote, and the mayor himself would not have had the opportunity, years later, to be elected to lead New Jersey's largest city. Oliver said in a statement she was offended by Christie's comment Tuesday that bloodshed may have been avoided in the South, and people would have been happier, if the civil rights issues of the 1960s were settled by public referendum.

"Governor, people were fighting and dying in the streets of the South because the majority refused to grant minorities equal rights by any method," Oliver said. "It took legislative action to bring justice to all Americans, just as legislative action is the right way to bring marriage equality to all New Jerseyans."

Booker said during a news conference in Newark: "Dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote, to be subject to the sentiments, the passions of the day. No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and the sentiments of the majority. This is the fundamental bedrock of what our nation stands for."

Christie defended himself at a Statehouse news conference, saying he's offering a compromise on gay marriage.

"I'm in divided government and I'm trying to find a way for people ... to find another pathway where everybody can have a chance to get what they want," he said. "My view is a public referendum on a constitutional amendment regarding same-sex marriage is a way to get to that result."

Six states and Washington, D.C. permit gay marriages. Thirty-one states have adopted constitutional amendments defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The effort to legalize same-sex marriage gained new momentum this month when the Democratic-controlled Senate declared the issue a priority for the new legislative session. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the measure in an 8-4 party-line vote following a three-hour hearing on Tuesday, but Christie upended their efforts by announcing that he would veto any gay marriage bill that made it to his desk. He previously said he would consider the bill but was unlikely to change his mind.

A gay marriage bill failed in the Senate two years ago.

Christie said during the 2009 campaign that the issue should be put to a public vote because of its significance, and he reiterated that call on Tuesday, likely derailing any Republican legislators from supporting gay marriage legislation.

A day earlier, the governor, who is Catholic, surprised almost everyone by nominating an openly gay black Republican and a Korean-born immigrant to the state Supreme Court.

With Christie seeking a referendum on gay marriage and Democratic leaders issuing a resounding "no way'" a protracted political standoff seemed inevitable.

Christie acknowledged that eventuality Wednesday, saying: "We all know how this movie is going to end. If they pass the bill, it's going to be vetoed. If they attempt to override the veto, it will be sustained. So, I'm trying to give them an alternative movie."

Other black Democrats weighed in later in the day.

"If the governor was hoping to defend his reprehensible stance on marriage equality by suggesting that those who fought and died for civil rights in this county would have preferred a referendum, that by all historical accounts would have been most likely defeated, he failed miserably," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman, former Assembly majority leader.

___

Associated Press Writer Samantha Henry in Newark contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_gay_marriage_nj

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Okla. hospital must pay $1M to Garth Brooks (AP)

CLAREMORE, Okla. ? An Oklahoma hospital that failed to build a women's health center in honor of Garth Brooks' late mother must pay the country singer $1 million, a jury has ruled.

Jurors on Tuesday evening ruled that the hospital must return Brooks' $500,000 donation plus pay him $500,000 in punitive damages. The decision came in Brooks' breach-of-contract lawsuit against Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon. Brooks said he thought he'd reached a deal in 2005 with the hospital's president, James Moore, but sued after learning the hospital wanted to use the money for other construction projects.

Jury member Beverly Lacy said she voted in favor of Brooks because she thought the hospital went back on its word. As far as the punitive damages, she said: "We wanted to show them not to do that anymore to anyone else."

The hospital argued that Brooks gave it unrestricted access to the $500,000 donation and only later asked that it build a women's center and name it after his mother, Colleen Brooks, who died of cancer in 1999.

"Obviously we are disappointed, particularly with the jury's decision to award damages above and beyond the $500,000," Integris spokesman Hardy Watkins said. "We're just glad to see the case come to a resolution."

Brooks called the jurors "heroes" and said he felt vindicated by their verdict.

"I no longer feel like I'm crazy," he said.

During the trial, Brooks testified that he thought he had a solid agreement with Moore. Brooks said the hospital president initially suggested putting his mother's name on an intensive care unit, and when Brooks said that wouldn't fit her image, Moore suggested a women's center.

"I jumped all over it," Brooks told jurors in tearful testimony. "It's my mom. My mom was pregnant as a teenager. She had a rough start. She wanted to help every kid out there."

His attorney told the jury during closing arguments that Brooks kept his end of the agreement.

"This case is about promises: promises made and promises broken," lawyer John Hickey told jurors shortly before they started deliberating. "Mr. Brooks kept his promise. Integris never intended to keep their promise and never built a new women's center."

But hospital attorney Terry Thomas said Brooks' gift initially came in anonymously and unrestricted in 2005. He also noted that Brooks couldn't remember key details of negotiations with the hospital's president ? including what he'd been promised ? when questioned during a deposition after filing his lawsuit in 2009.

"At most, it was a misunderstanding between these two," Thomas told jurors during his closing argument. "Am I calling Mr. Brooks a liar? Absolutely not. It's perfectly understandable that he does not remember these events."

The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon in Rogers County District Court, and the judge told jurors she wanted them to work as late as midnight to come to a decision.

Before the verdict was read, Brooks said the day had been emotional. The country music star said he was simply trying to honor his mother.

"This little pistol, she deserves nothing but good," Brooks said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_en_mu/us_people_garth_brooks

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EU raises stakes with Iran oil embargo (AP)

BRUSSELS ? The European Union and Iran raised the stakes Monday in their test of wills over the Islamic republic's nuclear program, with the bloc banning the purchase of Iranian oil and Iran threatening to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude is transported.

The escalating confrontation is fraught with risks ? of rising energy prices, global financial instability, and potential military activity to keep the strait open.

The EU's 27 foreign ministers, meeting Monday in Brussels, imposed an oil embargo against Iran and froze the assets of its central bank, ramping up sanctions designed to pressure Iranian officials into resuming talks on the country's nuclear program.

EU officials say the tighter sanctions are part of a carrot-and-stick approach, an effort to increase pressure while at the same time emphasizing their willingness to talk.

In Washington, Department of State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Department of the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner welcomed the EU decision, calling it "another strong step in the international effort to dramatically increase the pressure on Iran." In their joint statement, they said the EU sanctions, combined with earlier ones imposed by the U.S. and the international community, `will sharpen the choice for Iran's leaders and increase their cost of defiance of basic international obligations."

But the initial response out of Tehran, the Iranian capital, was harsh.

Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, called the economic sanctions "illogical and unfair" saying: "It is only understandable in the framework of propaganda and psychological war."

Mehmanparast was quoted by website of state broadcasting company as saying, "Pressure and sanctions against a nation that has a strong logic and reason for its policy is a failed method."

He said due to the world's long-term need for energy, "It is not possible to impose sanctions on Iran," which has huge resources of oil and gas.

And two Iranian lawmakers threatened that their country would close the strait in retaliation for the EU embargo.

Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran's influential committee on national security, said Monday the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way."

The strait ? just 34 miles (54 kilometers) wide at its narrowest point ? runs alongside Iran and is the only way to get from the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Tensions over the potential impact its closure would have on global oil supplies and the price of crude have weighed heavily on consumers and traders. The U.S. and Britain both have warned Iran not to disrupt the world's oil supply.

After news of the EU move, benchmark crude for March delivery rose 90 cents on the day to $99.23 a barrel in early morning European time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude was down 35 cents at $109.51 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

Many analysts doubt that Iran would maintain a blockade for long, but any supply shortages would cause world oil supplies to tighten temporarily. But Kowsari said that, in case of the strait's closure, the U.S. and its allies would not be able to reopen the route, and warned America not to attempt any "military adventurism."

An American aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf on Sunday without incident to conduct scheduled maritime security operations, and U.S. warships frequently operate in the Gulf. But when the carrier USS John Stennis departed the Gulf in late December, Iranian officials warned the U.S. not to return. The British Ministry of Defense said British and French warships joined the U.S. carrier group transiting through the Strait of Hormuz "to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the sanctions are a severe mistake likely to worsen tensions. "It's apparent that in this case there is open pressure and diktat, aimed at 'punishing' Iran for uncooperative behavior. This is a deeply mistaken policy, as we have told our European partners more than once," the ministry said in a statement. "Under pressure of this sort, Iran will not make any concessions or any corrections to its policies," it said.

The EU sanctions include an include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products. Existing contracts with Iran will be allowed to run until July.

Last month, the U.S. enacted new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad, but it has delayed implementing the sanctions for at least six months, worried about sending the price of oil higher at a time when the global economy is struggling.

Other countries are steering clear of such measures altogether. China also does not support an embargo, and Japan's finance minister, Jun Azumi, has expressed concern about the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on Iran ? not to mention their potential impact on Japanese banks.

Some 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenue comes from oil exports and any sanctions that affect its ability to export oil would hit its economy hard. With about 4 million barrels per day, Iran is the second largest producer in OPEC.

"It means that we will paralyze, bit by bit, Iran's economic activity and keep the country from using a major part of its resources," said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. "You can be skeptical, but it is better than making war."

At the heart of the dispute is international unease about Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but the United States and other nations suspect it is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran is now under several rounds of U.N. sanctions for not being more forthcoming about its nuclear program.

Late Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a joint statement urging Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities.

"Our message is clear," the statement said. "We have no quarrel with the Iranian people. But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon."

Iran's denials of military intent have utterly failed to convince EU officials.

"The recent start of operations of enrichment of uranium to a level of up to 20 percent in the deeply buried underground facility in Fordo near Qom further aggravates concerns about the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the foreign ministers said in a statement Monday.

That accelerated enrichment is in violation of six U.N. Security Council resolutions and 11 resolutions by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, "and contributes to rising tensions in the region," the statement said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the embargo part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions."

"I think this shows the resolve of the European Union on this issue," Hague said.

The EU also decided to freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank. Together, the two measures are intended not only to pressure Iran to agree to talks but also to choke off funding for its nuclear activities.

Before Monday's decision, negotiators worked hard to try to ensure that the embargo would punish only Iran ? and not EU member Greece, which is in dire financial trouble and relies heavily on low-priced Iranian oil.

The foreign ministers agreed to a review of the effects of the sanctions, to be completed by May 1. And they agreed in principle to make up the costs Greece incurs as a result of the embargo.

___

Raf Casert in Brussels, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Matthew Pennington in Washington, and Gregory Katz in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_eu_iran

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Gaming Everything ? Blog Archive ? Detective Conan: Prelude from ...

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Source: http://gamingeverything.com/14259/detective-conan-prelude-from-the-past-teaser-trailer/

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MediaFire CEO: Unlike Megaupload, our business model isn't built ...

As the strange case of file-sharing site Megaupload continues to unfold, many wonder if the federal government will begin to clamp down on similar sites that function like Megaupload, with easy sharing and hosting of copyrighted files.

Already, two well-known file-sharing services, Uploaded.to and Filesonic have disabled several features of their sites this weekend because of the Megaupload scandal. Others are sure to follow.

But Derek Labian, CEO of popular cloud-based file-hosting site MediaFire, told VentureBeat in an interview today that he isn?t too concerned about the government going after his company because, unlike Megaupload, MediaFire doesn?t incentivize piracy.

?We don?t have a business built on copyright infringement.? Labain said. ?Like many other cloud-based sharing services like Box.net and Dropbox, we?re a legitimate business targeting professionals.?

When it comes to Megaupload, Labian described Kim Dotcom and his organization as ?shady? and said the $175 million in revenues the company made should give people pause. He noted that Megaupload?s structure gave users monetary rewards for uploading pirated content. Users of the service could upload without a cap but users who want to download a large file (or download it faster) would have to pay for it. Those who uploaded the best files would be given free account upgrades or even cash.

?Megaupload was making a ridiculous amount of money with a ridiculously bad service,? Labian said. ?We frankly don?t see ourselves in the same space.?

A little more background on MediaFire: The privately funded company out of Woodlands, Tex. was founded in 2006 and has steadily offered better ways to host and share large files. Because it offers an incredibly easy to way to share 200MB files for free with other people, the company has attracted employees at 86 percent of the Fortune 500 for sending files that are too large for e-mail. It offers unlimited downloads and file storage, and if you want to upload larger files with long-term storage, you can pay $9 a month for a Pro account or $49 a month for a Business account.

But the company?s free file-sharing solution can also be used easily for sharing copyrighted files, especially music, with friends, relatives or anyone on the web. A Google search for a song name, an artist name and ?MediaFire,? for example, will likely bring you to a copy of that file that can easily be downloaded from a MediaFire page.

When asked about the Googling issue, Labian said that MediaFire is a ?private service? and the only reason Google indexes a MediaFire page is when it has been shared by a user on a third-party site. He said MediaFire isn?t at fault for this and said Google should look into the issue.

?We try to steer clear of things that would attract scrutiny,? Labian said. ?If people are pirating on our service, we don?t want those people to use it.?

Another reason Labian said he wasn?t worried about the government stepping in is because the company maintains a ?good relationship? with various government bodies, including ?Homeland Security, ICE, and the FBI.? Following DMCA protocols, whenever MediaFire is notified of a copyrighted file being shared inappropriately, the company immediately takes it down.

As for the future, MediaFire is optimistic about what?s to come. Labian said the company has been working for a year on its next set of products, which will emphasize collaboration and focus on business users. He teased what was coming by saying that cloud storage providers Box.net and Dropbox significantly disrupted the cloud storage space, but MediaFire would do it next.

?This is a tough market to be in, but we?re constantly looking to innovate,? Labian said. ?Sharing will always be important, but it?s not the only important aspect for our customers.?

Next Story: RIM co-CEOs will step down Monday?what took them so?long?
Previous Story: Ex-con looking to fund over 15,000 inventions designed while incarcerated?(exclusive)

Tags: cybercrime, cybercriminals, file hosting, file sharing, piracy, poptop

Companies: Filesonic, MediaFire, megaupload, Uploaded.to

People: Kim Dotcom

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/22/mediafire-megaupload-business-model-piracy/

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Romney?s lowered expectations. (Americablog)

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Canada looks at alternatives to nixed US pipeline (AP)

TORONTO ? Canada is looking at alternatives for exporting its oil since U.S. President Barack Obama announced he was blocking a pipeline from Alberta to Texas.

A pipeline executive said Thursday that the company was weighing whether to build a segment of the line ? from Oklahoma to Texas ? that wouldn't require U.S. State Department approval. And government officials said Canada would push harder for a pipeline to the Pacific Coast, where oil could be shipped to China.

At the same time, Canadian officials said, they are hopeful the 1,700-mile (2,740-kilometer) Keystone XL pipeline will be built.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford, the leader of the Canadian province that has the world's third-largest reserves of oil, said that while Canada is disappointed at Obama's decision, the government believes Obama has made it clear the U.S. would consider a new Keystone XL pipeline application with a new routing.

Obama called Prime Minister Stephen Harper to explain that the decision on Wednesday was not on the merits of the pipeline but rather on the "arbitrary nature" of a Feb. 21 deadline set by Republican legislators as part of a tax measure he signed, Harper's office said.

"The fact that the president has said that the decision was not based on the merits we take as a signal that there is an opportunity to make a decision that is in the national interest that allows the project to go ahead," Redford told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., which proposed the pipeline, said Thursday it was considering building the pipeline in segments, with the first connecting an existing pipeline in Oklahoma to refineries in Texas.

The Obama administration had suggested development of an Oklahoma-to-Texas line to alleviate an oil glut at a Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub.

"If our shippers are interested in building that portion of the pipeline (first), we would look at that," TransCanada President and CEO Russ Girling told The Associated Press in an interview.

Obama's rejection of Keystone XL "clearly gives flexibility to do that," Girling said. He emphasized that the company had made no decisions.

U.S. officials have said that building the pipeline in sections could speed up the process since the U.S. State Department would not be involved if the pipeline does not cross the U.S.-Canada border.

Girling's remarks were in contrast to a statement TransCanada issued on Wednesday declaring it would reapply for a presidential permit to build the full pipeline. Girling said the company still expects to reapply, but "will take our time for how to refile it."

He said a new route that avoids environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska should be made public in a matter of weeks

In Washington, the proposed $7 billion pipeline has become a political hot potato.

Republicans ? who earlier put the president in the awkward position of having to make a decision on it before Feb. 21 ? now hope to force Obama to deal with it yet again before next November's presidential election. He wants to put it off beyond that.

Republicans are looking to drive a wedge between Obama and two key Democratic constituencies. Some labor unions support the pipeline as a job creator, while environmentalists fear it could lead to an oil spill disaster.

The Alberta-to-Texas pipeline proposed by TransCanada would carry 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta across six U.S. states to the Texas Gulf Coast, which has numerous refineries.

Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said it's clear the process is not yet over and said Canada is hopeful the pipeline will be accepted on its merits.

Redford said Obama's decision adds urgency to Enbridge's proposed pipeline to the Pacific Coast of British Columbia that would allow Canadian oil to be shipped to Asia for the first time.

The project is undergoing a regulatory review in Canada.

"Asian markets are a very viable alternative. I say alternative, I probably shouldn't. It's not an either or situation. There's an opportunity here for us to grow our markets in both directions and we'd like to be able to do that," Redford said.

Canadian officials see the pipeline to the Pacific coast as critical as Canada seeks to diversify its energy customer base beyond the United States, which Canada relies on for 97 percent of its energy exports.

Alberta has more than 170 billion barrels of oil reserves. Daily production of 1.5 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to increase to 3.7 million in 2025. Only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have more reserves.

Sinopec, a Chinese state-controlled oil company, has a stake in Enbridge's proposed $5.5 billion Northern Gateway Pipeline. Chinese state-owned companies also have invested more than $16 billion in the oil sands in the last two years.

Tens of billions more are expected to be invested in Canada's oil sands if the Pacific pipeline is built.

There is fierce environmental and aboriginal opposition to the Pacific pipeline, but Harper's government has called it a nation-building project that is crucial to the country's goal of becoming an energy super power.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this story from Washington, D.C.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_bi_ge/us_oil_pipeline

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