Saturday, December 31, 2011

Turkey airstrike: mourners pummel local official

In this Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 photo, women cry over the coffins of victims in a mosque as thousands of mourners gathered in Gulyazi village at the border with Iraq, southeast Turkey, for the funerals of 35 Kurdish civilians who were killed in a botched raid by Turkish military jets that mistook the group for Kurdish rebels based in Iraq. Turkish television footage showed people, many weeping and lamenting the dead, as they gathered after the air strikes Wednesday that killed a group of smugglers along the border, one of the deadliest episodes in the conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who took up arms in 1984. (AP Photo)

In this Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 photo, women cry over the coffins of victims in a mosque as thousands of mourners gathered in Gulyazi village at the border with Iraq, southeast Turkey, for the funerals of 35 Kurdish civilians who were killed in a botched raid by Turkish military jets that mistook the group for Kurdish rebels based in Iraq. Turkish television footage showed people, many weeping and lamenting the dead, as they gathered after the air strikes Wednesday that killed a group of smugglers along the border, one of the deadliest episodes in the conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who took up arms in 1984. (AP Photo)

In this Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 photo, thousands of mourners gathered around coffins on a hillside in Gulyazi village, on the border with Iraq, southeast Turkey, for the funerals of 35 Kurdish civilians who were killed in a botched raid by Turkish military jets that mistook the group for Kurdish rebels based in Iraq. Turkish television footage showed people, many weeping and lamenting the dead, as they gathered after the air strikes Wednesday that killed a group of smugglers along the border, one of the deadliest episodes in the conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who took up arms in 1984.(AP Photo)

People carry the coffins of victims as thousands of mourners gathered in Gulyazi village at the border with Iraq, southeast Turkey, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 for the funerals of 35 Kurdish civilians who were killed in a botched raid by Turkish military jets that mistook the group for Kurdish rebels based in Iraq. Turkish television footage showed people, many weeping and lamenting the dead, as they gathered after the air strikes Wednesday that killed a group of smugglers along the border, one of the deadliest episodes in the conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who took up arms in 1984.(AP Photo)

(AP) ? Angry Kurds on Saturday assaulted a local official who sought to offer condolences in a village in Turkey where 35 civilians were mistakenly killed in a military airstrike meant to target Kurdish rebels.

The televised spectacle of men throwing punches and stones at Naif Yavuz, a district governor, was the latest eruption of fury over Wednesday's airstrikes, and it highlighted the deep gulf of trust between the Turkish state and large segments of its ethnic Kurd minority.

Clashes also broke out for a third day between police and protesters in several cities in the mainly Kurdish southeast, the state-run Anadolu agency reported. Thirty-six people were detained in the city of Sanliurfa. There were peaceful protests in several other cities.

The strikes by F-16 jets, guided by intelligence from drones, hit a group of Kurdish smugglers and resulted in one of the highest single-day civilian death tolls in Turkey's decades-old war with Kurdish rebels, setting off several days of violent demonstrations in mostly Kurdish cities.

The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, labeled a terrorist group by Turkey and the West, threatened retaliation and urged protesters to mobilize. The group, however, is considerably weakened since the peak of its military powers in the 1990s and its influence is largely confined to the poor southeast, where calls for autonomy and an end to discrimination resonate most strongly.

"No one should have any doubt that their blood will be avenged. The Kurdistan freedom movement will make sure that this massacre is accounted for," Firat, a pro-Kurdish news agency, quoted rebel commander Murat Karayilan as saying.

"If the Kurdish people do not want their children to die, they must now say 'enough' and they must rise up everywhere and go out in the streets," said Karayilan, who is based in the mountains of northern Iraq.

Kurdish rebels have routinely used the border region to launch attacks on Turkish targets, slipping into Turkey on some of the same rugged paths used by fuel and cigarette smugglers for years.

Turkish officials have promised a full investigation into the botched airstrike, and said those responsible will be held to account. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned the families of the victims in the village of Gulyazi in Sirnak province to express condolences, and his voice was broadcast through a loudspeaker.

"We share your grief, your pain is our pain," the Anadolu agency quoted Erdogan as saying. "Everyone must rest assured that all kind of work is under way in relation to the issue."

The Show TV channel showed one man telling Erdogan on the telephone: "They didn't deserve to die in this way."

Erdogan replies: "The issue is not that they were smugglers. You know the area, it is a very sensitive area, it is not possible for them (the military) to recognize each and every person."

Footage from the Dogan news agency of the visit of Yavuz, the district governor, revealed the bitter feeling toward figures representing the state in a province where the conflict has long disrupted life.

The images show men booing, lunging forward and pummeling Yavuz as his aides try to hustle him down a road lined with parked cars and bleak, snow-covered slopes. At one point, dazed and disheveled, he runs down an embankment to get away from the crowd. Yavuz was taken to a hospital for a checkup, according to reports.

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay visited bereaved families in a house and told Anadolu that members of a "party," an apparent reference to political activists, provoked the attack on Yavuz and that the families were disturbed by the incident and apologized for it.

Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who plans to visit the region on Sunday, said the government has yet to explain how the intelligence that led to the airstrike was compiled, and who exactly was involved.

"It seems that the incident was caused by incorrect intelligence," he said. "Who provided this intelligence to the military headquarters? They say no country would bomb its own people, but it has. Who will account for this?"

Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, has denied reports it provided the information that led to the airstrike.

The United States recently deployed four Predator drones to Turkey from Iraq to aid Ankara in its fight against the rebels.

Also Saturday, Turkish media reported that two suspected Kurdish rebels were killed in a police raid in Diyarbakir, the main city in southeastern Turkey. The Anadolu agency said the rebels ignored calls to surrender and threw hand grenades at police surrounding their hideout. A firefight ensued, and the suspects died after jumping out of the building.

The Turkish government has sought to reconcile with disaffected Kurds, allowing Kurdish-language institutes and private Kurdish courses as well as Kurdish television broadcasts. But Kurdish activists cite police roundups of Kurdish politicians, journalists and others suspected of rebel links as a sign of intolerance toward the minority.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-31-EU-Turkey-Airstrikes/id-84bfbab7632a415f83e85a784a2c68db

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Newt Gingrich's Soft, Fuzzy Side: PetsWithNewt.com (Little green footballs)

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Chris Brown and Rihanna: The (Possible) Secret Love Tweets!


Chris Brown. Rihanna.

Fairly or not, these two music stars will be forever linked by a hot romance that ended in a highly publicized 2009 assault that Chris later pleaded guilty to.

In the nearly three years since, regardless of what the public thinks, the two are on good terms - or at least neutral terms - and putting it behind them.

Both have nothing but supportive words, seeking to downplay the incident and move on. But has the tumultuous relationship now struck up again?

Chris and Rihanna

Yesterday, Breezy posted, "Love U more than u know!"

Two minutes later, Ri said, "I'll always love you #1love."

Coincidence? Maybe, but two minutes later?

Rihanna has defended why she even follows Brown on Twitter and has shared that she's still a "fan" of his and "excited" for his comeback, which we can see.

But it makes you wonder. Are they rekindling a romance or are they just unrelated? If they were directed at someone else, why not Tweet at them? So odd.

Then there's this:

Earlier, Brown's mom tweeted, "HELLO LADY I MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU!!!!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!!" Rihanna tweeted shortly after, "Miss+Love u 2"

Weigh in with your comments and theories below.

Chris Tweet @ RihannaRihanna Tweet @ Chris

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/chris-brown-and-rihanna-rekindling-the-romance-on-twitter/

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Perry shifts views on abortion, opposes exceptions (AP)

OSCEOLA, Iowa ? Republican Rick Perry is shifting his opposition to abortion, saying he opposes it even after rape or incest.

Perry on Tuesday told potential caucus-goers in Iowa that he has changed his mind.

Previously, he believed abortion was acceptable in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is at risk. Now, he says abortion in all forms should be prohibited.

Perry told a pastor who asked him about his views that, in his words, "you're seeing a transformation."

Perry says he recently watched former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's documentary about abortion. He says he met a woman in the film and that she told him she was the result of rape and that her life has worth.

Perry says that encounter led him to rethink his position.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_el_pr/us_perry_abortion

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Free, legal Siri port now available for iPhone - BGR

News of a new untethered jailbreak solution for all iOS 5.0.1 devices other than Apple?s iPhone 4S and iPad 2 emerged this morning, and iOS users now have another reason to take advantage of the hack. IOS developer?chpwn announced on his blog on Tuesday that a free Siri port dubbed ?Spire? that does not violate any copyright laws is now available for jailbroken iOS 5 devices. This is not the first Siri port available for the iPhone 4 and other devices, but it is the first legal option and it also allows users to input their own proxy server since Apple?s servers cannot be used by devices other than the iPhone 4S. Spire is now available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad and third and fourth-generation iPod touch devices, and it can be downloaded from Cydia.

Read


Source: http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/27/free-legal-siri-port-now-available-for-iphone-4-and-other-ios-5-devices/

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Kylie and Kendall Jenner to Design New Jewelry Line

Watch out, world! The youngest in the Jenner-Kardashian clan are making their big-business debut. Kylie and Kendall Jenner will be following in the footsteps of big sister Kim Kardashian when they start their new jewelry line for designer Pascal Mouawad.

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Paul's surge prompting a new look from GOP voters

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Chris Noth, a Ron Paul supporter, holds up a sign outside Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign stop in Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Traffic passes a campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, at an instersection in Ankeny, Iowa Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) ? Ron Paul wants to legalize pot and shut down the Federal Reserve. He thinks the federal government has no authority to outlaw abortion, no business bombing Iran to keep it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and no justification to print money unless it's backed up by gold bars.

And he might win the Iowa caucuses.

The closer the first votes of the 2012 presidential campaign get, the more competitive the Texas congressman has become. It's a moment his famously fervent supporters have longed for. Plenty of others are asking: What's Ron Paul about, again?

As in his two prior quixotic campaigns for president, Paul has toiled for months as a fringe candidate best known for staking out libertarian positions. As every other Republican candidate lined up to attack President Barack Obama's health care law and to promise tax cuts, Paul again demanded audits of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard.

Leading in some state polls, Paul is getting a look from mainstream voters in Iowa, where the 76-year-old obstetrician has emerged as a serious contender in the Jan. 3 caucuses ? and in other early voting states, should he pull off a victory.

The sudden rush of attention to Paul's resume hasn't been kind. He's spent the past week disowning racist and homophobic screeds in newsletters he published decades ago, including one following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles that read, "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to collect their welfare checks three days after rioting began."

"Everybody knows I didn't write them and they're not my sentiments, so it's sort of politics as usual," Paul said during a recent Iowa campaign stop.

Looking to cut into Paul's support, rivals laid into him on Tuesday.

In an interview on CNN, Newt Gingrich said Paul holds "views totally outside the mainstream of virtually every decent American." And Rick Santorum chided, "The things most Iowans like about Ron Paul are the things he's least likely to accomplish and the things most Iowans are worried about about Ron Paul are the things he can accomplish."

Paul returns to Iowa on Wednesday, giving his impressive grass-roots organization in the state a last chance to present, and perhaps defend, positions he's staked out over a long political career and reiterated during the 13 Republican debates held this year.

Paul has served a dozen terms in Congress as a Republican, but he espouses views that have made him the face of libertarianism in the U.S. He blames both Republicans and Democrats for running up the federal debt and opposes any U.S. military involvement overseas. He wants to bring home all troops from all U.S. bases abroad.

He vows to do away with five Cabinet-level departments ? Commerce, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior ? and repeal the amendment to the Constitution that created the federal income tax. He opposes federal flood insurance and farm subsidies and wants to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances while allowing states to decide how to regulate it.

He says he'll cut $1 trillion out of the first budget he offers as president. He doesn't believe in a border fence but says illegal immigrants shouldn't get a free education in public schools.

He's reliably described by political pundits as non-establishment, quirky, unorthodox. During a Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier this month, Paul defended his views and rejected the idea that they make him unelectable.

"The important thing is, the philosophy I'm talking about is the Constitution and freedom, and that brings people together," Paul said. "It brings independents in the fold and it brings Democrats over on some of these issues."

Paul doesn't always side with the most extreme conservative proposals. When it comes to Gingrich's suggestion that judges could be hauled before Congress to explain their rulings, Paul joined other Republicans in dismissing the idea.

Paul's recent surge in Iowa isn't the first time the GOP establishment has been forced to pay attention to him. A fundraising blitz that netted $5 million in one day in 2008 led Republican operatives to weigh whether he was a bigger threat to siphon votes than previously thought.

Now he may be in his best position yet to do more than just steal votes.

"I see this philosophy as being very electable, because it's an American philosophy, it's the rule of law," Paul said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-28-Paul's%20Positions/id-0798f63bd31c4cae9bf21799b50e986d

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

[OOC] Burning Bridges

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Brianna Nicola

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The Truth About Warren Buffett And 'Forever Investing' - Seeking Alpha

One thing that Warren Buffett's name has come to be interchangeable with is "long-term investing." After all, the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) CEO and Chairman is famous for saying that his "favorite holding period is forever," and his pedigree includes investments in American Express (AXP) and The Washington Post (WPO) that he made over forty years ago and still holds to this day. But I think that it's important to understand these investments within the larger context of Buffett's investment story.

When Warren Buffett first graduated from the University of Nebraska, he moved back into his parents' house and launched an investment partnership with the capital that he raised from his parents, other family members, friends of the family, and local doctors. Buffett would calculate the intrinsic value of a company, find stocks that were trading very low in relation to the intrinsic value, wait for the price gain to be realized, sell the stock, and then do it all over again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. This was Buffett's methodology during the early years of the partnership and the first few years of when he began running Berkshire Hathaway that enabled him to earn 25-35% annual returns.

The true "proof" of Buffett's buy-and-hold forever investments generally pertains to the operating companies that Buffett bought during the 1960s and 1970s and owns to this day. For instance, between 1970 and 1987, Buffett added these operating companies to the Berkshire umbrella: Buffalo News, Fechheimer, Kirby, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Scott Fetzer Manufacturing Group, See's Candies, Wesco (partial subsidiary), and The World Book. In particular, See's Candies and Nebraska Furniture Mart have supplied Buffett with quarterly profits for decades which he can then in turn put towards new investments which can generate profits of their own for Berkshire shareholders. The operating companies owned by Berkshire probably provide the best testament to Buffett's buy-and-hold approach, but of course, this does investors looking for ideas little good since they only way they can own See's Candies would be indirectly through Berkshire Hathaway.

I've included a chart that compares Berkshire's investment portfolio between 1990 and 2010 as noted in Buffett's Annual Letter to Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett still owns his stake in The Washington Post and Coca-Cola (KO) , bought GEICO outright, and added to his position in Wells Fargo (WFC). He sold part of his American Express holdings to the point that it did not qualify for top-tier status in the 1990 Letter to Shareholders, because the position was not large enough for Buffett to consider it material knowledge for investors.

So what is the takeaway lesson in understanding the relationship between Buffett and his "buy-and-hold forever" quote? Well, in the early years, Buffett did not hesitate to sell investments if he thought that there was a greater opportunity cost elsewhere. Most likely, he probably followed Benjamin Graham's advice in regard to selling: Only sell to buy a security that is a third cheaper than the stock you currently own. That way, you allow room for frictional expenses (trading fees) and taxes which can eat up your investment, while allowing yourself a margin of safety as you switch investments. For the first half of Buffett's investing career, he did not hesitate to sell a stock once it reached its intrinsic value, and if he believed that the company offered a durable competitive advantage that would generate cash for the long haul, then he would purchase the company outright, such as in the case of See's Candies and GEICO Insurance.

It was not until the later part of Buffett's career-once Berkshire had grown so large that the possibility of moving into and out of large investments became logistically infeasible-that he began to add publicly traded securities to the "permanent" section of his portfolio. Looking at the holdings over $10 billion (companies like Coke, Wells Fargo, and IBM), Buffett most likely will hold them for quite some time since they would be difficult to subtract from the investment portfolio (and plus, Buffett would have to think that he could do something significantly better with the cash, which is unlikely).

Of course, none of this is meant to knock long-term investing, but rather, to get a more nuanced view of what Buffett's record reveals in the buy-and-hold department. At the time of the last shareholder letter, Buffett's $1.3 billion investment turned into $13 billion, and the $1.2 billion investment in American Express has turned into $6.5 billion. And most importantly, Buffett does not reinvest the dividends in these companies. For instance, Coca-Cola currently pays Berkshire an annual dividend in the hundreds of millions of dollars that does not accrue towards the performance of Coca-Cola on Berkshire's balance sheet, yet it has been a significant source of funds for Buffett's subsequent investments. Buffett has done quite well with his very long-term holdings, but to think that tells the entirety of the Berkshire story would ignore the early years and some of the smaller investments in the portfolio which are regarded as exchangeable upon reaching intrinsic value.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/315898-the-truth-about-warren-buffett-and-forever-investing

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Just How Important Is Value Investing? - Finance

Posted by publisher on December 26th, 2011

A price-driven discipline that seeks companies whose shares are selling at a discount to their true or intrinsic value is value investing and its roots date back to the 1930s.

Value investors seek companies that are temporarily out of favor while growth-oriented investors focus on firms whose earnings are growing at a rapid pace, a quality that makes them highly sought after. Due to factors ranging from company-specific issues to shifting investor sentiment, cyclical trends, poor economic conditions, or an overall market decline, their shares may be depressed. For no good reason, they are sometimes being ignored by the market.

There are three factors that have amply made the case for the value style of investing over the past 25 years and these are performance, diversification and risk control.

When it comes to performance. Value investing is first and foremost a strategy that has done well over time and it rewards investors with strong risk-adjusted performance. This has actually been true over the past quarter-century.

Another important thing you need to remember is that dividends, particularly those of value stocks, have and continued to be a significant component of the stock market?s total returns.

Diversification. Over time, value and growth stocks have tended to move in different cycles. When growth stocks are in favor, they tend to outperform value shares, and vice versa. Encouraging many investors to construct portfolios employing both value and growth strategies and helping to ensure that they have equity investment with the potential to perform in changing market environments is that kind of knowledge.

The value strategy has more than held its own against its growth counterpart and this is something you should keep in mind. Value?s outperformance has been particularly pronounced in recent years.

Risk control. By their nature, generally tending to be less volatile than their growth counterparts are value stocks. Their shares are typically selling at depressed prices which is why value firms are better positioned to withstand market declines. But normally having higher earning expectations that are built into their prices are shares of growth companies which means that they are subject to wider price swings as those expectations change.

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Source: http://www.thefinanceanalysis.com/2011/12/26/just-how-important-is-value-investing/

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They Blame Gay Marriage (Theagitator)

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

CSI globalVCard


I've been very excited over the past few months to watch virtual payment systems mature. As a technology, virtual payment systems and other kinds of "smart" payment systems (like near-field communication chips) have been available to us for a much longer time than we've been available to them, due to lack of infrastructure and other adoption stoppers. It feels like it's all starting to fall into place, though. CSI globalVCard (free for apps; requires account) is one of the services that makes me optimistic about wider adoption of smart payment systems. CSI globalVCard is a virtual credit card service designed to help businesses make their accounting systems much simpler?although the potential for personal and family use is at the front of my mind, too.

You have to have a specific corporate credit card account (CSI Corporate Card, issued in this case by Regions Bank) to use the free globalVCard app for iOS (both iPhone and iPad), Android, and BlackBerry. Those apps let you issue individual virtual credit cards from the corporate account to specific employees. Each card has a specified amount, and can include restrictions such as types of purchases allowed and number of uses allowed. The globalVCard system provides a much easier and simpler process for expense reports than reimbursement?because there is no expense report! The purchases are, in effect, approved before they happen.

As enthusiastic as I am about the prospects for the CSI globalVCard system, having tested it, I do think it needs a few more iterations to mature fully. Data visibility, reports from the system, and a few other features should get better over time, but for now, they are a little rudimentary. CSI globalVCard offers an amazing service, and if I had a small business, I would gladly sign up now to get the benefits of what is offered while awaiting new features that will hopefully be added soon.

The Name Explained: CSI globalVCard
"CSI globalVCard" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but the name is easier to remember once you realize that the "VCard" part stands for "virtual credit card."

The first half the name is trickier. "CSI" comes from Corporate Spending Innovations,?which operates the globalVCard mobile apps and website. GlobalVCard is the part to remember, though, as it's the keyword you'll need to search for the free app for iOS (both iPhone and iPad), Android, and BlackBerry. With an account, you can also manage the service via the globalVCard website.

What You Need
To use CSI globalVCard, you need a CSI Corporate Card credit line or prefund account.?That requirement alone may make the service sound pretty restrictive, but it's no more restrictive than what's required for Google Wallet (NFC) (4 stars, free with account)?a Nexus 4G phone with Sprint service and a Google Wallet account or Citi MasterCard account. As I mentioned previously, a lack of infrastructure still holds back virtual payment and NFC services, and limits their reach.

Once you have the credit card account, you can sign up for a free account with globalVCard, which takes only a moment. You'll also want to download the app you intend to use and set a four-digit PIN.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/fGPkS5mfWEw/0,2817,2398016,00.asp

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

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The New Buffy Needs a New Screenwriter

Fans who hate the idea of a big-screen revamp (ha!) of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' that doesn't involve creator Joss Whedon, will be pleased to hear that the project has hit a major roadblock: First-time screenwriter Whit Anderson's script "fell far short of expectations," the LA Times is reporting, and it now has been "rejected completely." The Times' Geoff Boucher says that a new writer is being sought, but the remake of a remake "may have lost some steam."

As one insider told him, "If you're going to bring it back, you have to do it right. [Anderson] came in with some great ideas and she had reinvented some of the lore and it was pretty cool, but in the end there just wasn't enough on the page."

Whedon, who's now busy shooting 'The Avengers,' commented last November, "This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths." Being Whedon, he still had a sense of humor, of course, adding, "just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself."

As if we need to tell you, 'Buffy' started life as a panned '90s movie starring Kristy Swanson, then -- with Whedon calling the shots -- became a critical and cult favorite TV series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar.

[via LA Times]

[Photo: Fox]



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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924194/news/1924194/

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Verizon data network in the midst of major outage

Looks like the Verizon, the network that prides itself on the reliability and coverage of it’s network, is having a major network outage this morning. A lot of you are telling us your 3G data is down, and our sibling site, Android Central can’t seem to jump on...


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/HknUdKaZDD4/story01.htm

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Democrats turn tables on GOP as Boehner relents on payroll-tax deal (The Christian Science Monitor)

Washington ? In a stunning reversal, House Speaker John Boehner late Thursday abandoned a bid to force Senate Democrats to the bargaining table to resolve an impasse over the expiring payroll tax cut ? a strategy that had risked tax hike for some 160 million American workers.

In the end, carrying on the fight was a losing proposition for a party that took back the House in 2011 on a pledge never to raise taxes. And ??? in a new development ??? Democrats learned to say, "No."

The deal marks a capitulation by the speaker, who appeared at the podium alone to announce the agreement, worked out with Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada and endorsed by President Obama.

RECOMMENDED: Why 'temporary' tax cuts never die: Payroll tax and 3 other examples

It also marks a breakthrough for Senate Democrats and Mr. Obama, who said "no" from the start of this impasse ? and stuck with it.

As a result, near empty chambers in the House and Senate on Friday will pass by unanimous consent a slightly modified version of a Senate bill that extends by two months the payroll-tax cut and other expiring measures, congressional leaders hope.

newslook

If the bill passes Friday, Obama will sign it before joining his family for vacation in Hawaii. If any member objects, the next step would be to call the full House or Senate back into session next week, when the measure is all but certain to pass. 

This agreement means that the payroll tax cut, worth about $40 on the average paycheck, will remain in effect through February. Federal jobless benefits up to 99 weeks will also continue, and a proposed 27.4 percent payment cut for physicians serving Medicare patients will not take place on Jan. 1.

For five days, House Republicans struggled for traction to get the Senate to the negotiating table to take up the House version of that bill, which extended expiring provisions for a full year, and the so-called ?doc fix? by two years. But by midweek, they found themselves isolated and fighting alone.

In contrast with previous standoffs, this time the White House and Senate majority leader Harry Reid didn?t budge or even blink.

?Democrats learned to say, 'no,' and it worked for them,? says Stan Collender, a longtime federal budget analyst now with Qorvis Communications in Washington.

When Speaker Boehner on Thursday renewed calls for the Senate to appoint conferees to work out a one-year bill, Senator Reid declined. ?Once the House passes the Senate?s bipartisan compromise to hold middle-class families harmless while we work out our differences, I will be happy to restart the negotiating process to forge a year-long extension,? Reid said.

When Boehner rang up Obama, requesting that he send advisers to Capitol Hill to discuss flaws in the Senate plan, the president declined. ?Enough is enough,? he said at a rally with Americans concerned about a payroll tax hike. ?The people standing with me today can?t afford any more games.?

???The House needs to pass a short-term version of this compromise, and then we should negotiate an agreement as quickly as possible to extend the payroll-tax cut and unemployment insurance for the rest of 2012,??

In a final blow, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday broke silence to urge Republicans to accept the Senate plan and for Democrats to name negotiators to an eventual conference over a one-year extension. That proposal became, in effect, the compromise that broke the impasse.

Up until this week, House Republicans, backed by a strong freshmen class stared down Senate Democrats and the Obama White House in one clash after another. With the new GOP House majority, the conversation on Capitol Hill shifted from stimulus spending to deficit cutting, from new green energy to fossil fuels. Deficit was cutting in. Tax hikes, including for the highest income taxpayers, was out.

The president tried to compromise with the new majority and Senate Democrats capitulated, dismaying elements of the Democratic base. Republicans won every encounter.

House Republicans threatened to shut down the government over unfinished spending bills for fiscal year 2011 ? a standoff that was settled after Democrats agreed to billions in spending cuts.

Boehner announced a new rule for raising the national debt limit ? that any hike in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by at least equal spending cuts ? and took the nation to the brink of a first-ever default on the national debt to hold that line. Negotiations between Boehner and Obama broke down after GOP conservatives rebelled at reports that the Speaker had agreed to $800 billion in revenue hikes.

Until now, House Republicans had stopped the Democratic agenda cold. Obama?s fiscal year 2012 budget and jobs program were blocked in the House, and his legacy from the last Congress ? health-care and Wall Street reforms ? placed under permanent siege.

But by late August, Democrats were weary of appearing rolled the by the tea-party wing of the House Republican caucus ? and heartened by signs that the public mood was turning against them.

The debt-ceiling debacle, which produced the first-ever downgrade of the US credit rating, battered the reputation of Congress, now at record low levels. It also battered public perception of the tea-party movement and of House Republicans, who were especially blamed for the brinkmanship in Congress.

?Our data shows that Americans want compromise in Washington more than sticking to principle,? says Frank Newport, editor of the Gallup Poll.  

After the debt-ceiling crisis in August, ?We saw a big drop in several measures,? he adds. ?Economic confidence dropped nearly 20 points. Faith in Congress is so low now it?s discouraging in a democracy.? In a survey of the perceived honesty of various professions, Congress ranked dead last with lobbyists and car salesmen.

Boehner appeared to recognize that shift in public mood. In a two-hour conference call on Saturday, Boehner called the Senate bill to extend expiring measures a victory. But conservatives strongly objected. They called on Boehner to reject the Senate?s two-month extension and hold the line for the one-year House extension, including approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and a reduction of unemployment benefits from 99 to 59 weeks.

The House on Tuesday voted, 229 to 193, to reject the Senate bill and hold out for a new negotiation with the Senate over a one-year extension. But this time, Senate Democrats had resolved not to cave.  

?Republicans and Democrats already negotiated an agreement and there is no time and no need to haggle over this any further,? says Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

Even the editorial board of conservative-leaning The Wall Street Journal turned against them, dubbing GOP strategy over the expiring payroll-tax cuts ?a fiasco.? Provoking a crisis over an expiring tax cut affecting 160 million Americans was a tough sell. Most Americans supported extending the payroll-tax cut. By rejecting a Senate bill to extend those cuts, House Republicans, for the first time, appeared to be on the side of a tax hike.    

Democrats saw the payroll tax clash as an opportunity to end a disappointing year on offense."It was opportunistic," says analyst Mr. Collender. ?Shortly after the debt-ceiling fight in August was the point at which 'no' for Democrats started to be an acceptable answer."

Until that point, Democrats were ?reflecting the president,? he adds. ?The president was trying to compromise, but each time they found that House Republicans kept raising the bar, and they were getting hurt with their base by appearing to be weak.? 

But with the sharp turn in public-approval ratings after the debt-ceiling debacle, Democrats grew bolder in opposition and, in the end, left House GOP leaders no place to go but over a cliff.

?Support for Congress in general is close to its lowest point ever. Republicans are generally getting blamed for that, and support for the tea party is at its lowest point since the 2010 election. Put that together, and what?s the down side for Democrats in taking a strong position?? Collender adds.

RECOMMENDED: Why 'temporary' tax cuts never die: Payroll tax and 3 other examples

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111223/ts_csm/441460

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Video: Luxury Car Battle: Mercedes vs. BMW

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Video: College student owns $88 million mansion

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Seagate shores up its hard drive business, finalizes Samsung ...

Seagate Completes Acquisition of Samsung's Hard Disk Drive Business

Strategic Agreement Including Extensive Supply and Cross-Licensing Arrangements Now Fully Operational

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ:STX), a world leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions, today announced the closing of the transaction to acquire the hard disk drive (HDD) business of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology.

"Together, Seagate and Samsung have aligned our current and future product development efforts and roadmaps in order to accelerate time-to-market efficiency for new products and position us to better address the increasing demands for storage"

Under the terms of the transaction, Seagate has gained select elements of Samsung's HDD business, including assets, infrastructure and employees that enable Seagate to drive scale and innovation. These assets include Samsung's leading M8 product line of high-capacity, 2.5-inch HDDs. Samsung employees joining Seagate include a number of senior managers and design-engineering employees from Samsung's Korea facility, who will focus on development of small form-factor products for the mobile compute market. N.Y. Park, senior vice president and general manager, will oversee Seagate's product development activities in Korea and serve as country manager of the Korea design center, reporting to Bob Whitmore, Seagate's executive vice president and CTO.

"Together, Seagate and Samsung have aligned our current and future product development efforts and roadmaps in order to accelerate time-to-market efficiency for new products and position us to better address the increasing demands for storage," said Steve Luczo, Seagate chairman, president and CEO. "It is an exciting time in the industry with rapidly evolving opportunities in many markets including mobile computing, cloud computing, and solid state storage."

This transaction was announced in April 2011 along with a series of other agreements between Seagate and Samsung. Seagate is supplying disk drives to Samsung for PCs, notebooks and consumer electronics devices. Samsung is supplying its market-leading semiconductor products for use in Seagate's enterprise solid state drives (SSDs), solid-state hybrid drives and other products. The companies have also extended and enhanced their existing patent cross-license agreement and have expanded cooperation to co-develop enterprise storage solutions.

"The strategic relationship will open new opportunities for the two companies by mutually complementing each other's creative technology solutions for a broad diversity of IT applications," said Oh-Hyun Kwon, vice chairman of Device Solutions of Samsung Electronics.

The transactions and agreements substantially expand Seagate's customer access in China, Southeast Asia, Brazil, Germany and the Russian Federation. Seagate and Samsung also have been working together to ensure that customers continue to receive a high level of service, support and innovation, including activities to align the two companies' supply bases and delivery infrastructure. To ease the transition of products and technologies, Seagate will retain certain Samsung HDD products under the Samsung brand name for 12 months, and maintain or establish a number of independent operations including sales staff, key production lines and R&D. Customers can find more information at www.seagate.com/samsung.

The combined value of these transactions and agreements is approximately US $1.4 billion, consisting of 45,239,490 Seagate Ordinary Shares and the remaining balance settled in cash. In addition, Samsung will designate a nominee to join Seagate's Board of Directors.

Seagate does not presently expect significant restructuring costs and expects to achieve considerable reductions in overall operating expenses for the combined business while minimizing the integration costs. As previously stated, Seagate expects that the transactions and agreements will be meaningfully accretive to non-GAAP diluted earnings per share and cash flow in the first full year following the closing. Seagate will provide additional financial information for the combined company on its fiscal second quarter conference call in late January.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/20/seagate-shores-up-its-hard-drive-business-finalizes-samsung-pur/

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Russia holds key to raising pressure on Assad: UK (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Britain will look into imposing new financial, energy and transport sanctions on Syria over its harsh crackdown on protests but Russia may hold the key to increasing pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, a British minister said on Thursday.

European Union countries, including Britain, have slapped several rounds of sanctions on Assad's government since May over its violent suppression of unrest, including an embargo on Syrian oil and a ban on new investment in the energy sector.

"We will continue to look for new ways in energy, in transport, as well as financial restrictions, to put pressure on the Syrian regime," British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Britain would look at these possible new sanctions through the EU, and "if we get the chance" through the United Nations as well, said Burt, the Foreign Office minister responsible for the Middle East and North Africa.

"One of the triggers though may be Russia. Russia, I think, is getting increasingly isolated in its reluctance to use its leverage against Syria," he said.

Russia and China used their veto power as permanent U.N. Security Council members in October to block passage of a Western-drafted resolution that would have condemned Syria's government over the crackdown.

"We continue to talk with them (Russia) about what more they can do. If they are not willing to back U.N. sanctions, what are they willing to do? We will continue to use whatever leverage we can because the killing must stop," Burt said.

Russia, a major arms supplier to Syria, has called Western criticism of its actions against Damascus in the U.N. Security Council "immoral."

Navi Pillay, the U.N. human rights chief, said this week that the death toll in nine months of unrest in Syria had exceeded 5,000.

NEW IRAN SANCTIONS LIKELY

Burt also said he expected EU foreign ministers to agree to impose new sanctions on Iran at their next meeting in late January, but that he did not know whether they would agree to an embargo on Iranian oil. Britain is "supportive" of an EU ban on imports of Iranian oil, he said.

Iran faces increasing international isolation over its nuclear energy program the West believes is aimed at yielding atomic bombs. Tehran says the program is wholly peaceful.

"I think the sanctions to date are proving to be successful. We know Iran is becoming increasingly desperate to finance its nuclear program. The banking and financial restrictions are having an impact but we believe that more could and should be done and we will be pressing for this," Burt said.

Britain shut Iran's embassy in London and expelled all its staff after the British Embassy in Tehran was attacked last month by a crowd angry at sanctions imposed by Britain. Britain closed the Tehran embassy and evacuated its staff.

Burt said it was too early for Britain to set any conditions for re-establishing normal diplomatic relations with Iran.

"We genuinely feel this is not up to us. It was them who ransacked and destroyed our embassy ... I don't think it is for the United Kingdom to start making overtures to Iran and we have no intention to do so," he said.

Although Britain was not discussing bilateral issues with Iran at present, it wanted to keep channels open for participating in multilateral talks with Iran, particularly on the nuclear issue, he said.

He said he hoped talks between Iran and six major powers, including Britain, on Tehran's nuclear program could resume "but the ball is in the Iranians' court." The last round of talks, in January, failed even to agree on an agenda.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/wl_nm/us_britain_syria

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