eFax (for Android)

One would think that e-mail, FTP, instant messaging, and other methods of transferring files would have killed the fax machine, but the antiquated tool is still alive and kicking, especially in the business sector. Fortunately, you no longer need a dedicated fax machine (and the associated phone line and ink) to send and receive paperwork. eFax (Various prices 4 stars), an Internet-based fax service available in over 3,500 cities and 46 countries worldwide, gives you a real fax number that you can use to send and receive faxes?using your smartphone. The electronic faxing service's new Android app keeps most of the desktop version's functionality by letting the business-minded send messages from their Google-powered smartphones. ?You may not be able to apply digital signatures as you can with the desktop version, but it's a competent and capable business-friendly mobile app.

Simple Setup
eFax' Android app has a simple set up process for those who are new to the service. You simply input your name, email address, area code, phone number, check the Customer Agreement box, and tap Start Faxing. I inputted it into the app so that I could log in after receiving the fax number and pin in an email. I then arrived at the home screen that featured four main sections: "View Inbox," "View Folders," "Search Faxes," and "Send A Fax." Each section's function is self-explanatory. Naturally, existing eFax users can simply log in with their credentials.

Cost
There are three different types of eFax accounts: Free, Plus, and Pro. The free account lets you receive (not send) just 10 faxes per month, so it's a good match for those who very rarely fax. Next up the ladder is eFax Plus ($16.95 per month), which includes 150 pages of incoming and outbound faxes, and a 10-cent per page coverage fee (there's also a $10 one-time set up charge). eFax also offers a Pro model ($19.95 per month, $220 per year) designed for large businesses and individuals with heavy faxing needs. There's a $19.95 one-time set up fee, but with the higher cost comes 200 pages of incoming faxes and a cool voicemail feature that sends left messages to your inbox. There's also a 10-cent per page overage charge, which is five cents cheaper than the basic plan.

The Plus and Pro accounts are relatively expensive compared to Send2Fax' Home Office and Small Business plans which are $8.95 per month and $12.95 per month, respectively. MyFax has three plans, one of which starts of $10 per month for 100 faxes sent and 200 received.

The eFax Experience
Firing off a fax required that I tap "Send A Fax," key a phone number into the address field, and optionally fill in cover letter information. At the moment, eFax for Android only allows you to send photos snapped with the phone's camera or stored within the image gallery?no other file types. So, if you want to send a document, you'd have to shoot it with your phone's camera and then send it (which is what I did to test the service). You can, however, use eFax' email-to-fax capabilities (outside of the mobile app) to send files of any type.

The recipient contacted me stating that he received the fax five minutes after it was sent. When he responded with a fax of his own, it arrived in my inbox seven minutes later?not bad considering the money I saved on a dedicated machine, ink, and paper. Faxes can be tagged and archived, or forwarded as faxes or email messages, but you can?t add digital signatures as you can with the desktop version. Note: Fax quality may vary depending on your phone's camera.

Should You Subscribe to eFax?
eFax for Android works because it makes the fax process simple?you don't need to own a machine or visit Kinkos. All that's needed is a Web connection, which means you can fax from nearly any location. eFax for Android may only let you fax photos , and it doesn't support digital signatures, but there's an extremely high convenience factor. All in all, eFax is a solid companion for the for business customers who want to save on paper and ink.

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Debt Relief In America ? How To Use A Legal Settlement Process to Get Out Of Debt

Over the years thousands of us have had to deal with debt in some way or another. For some of us it can get to the point where the debts you currently have, outweigh the income you have coming in. This is called being insolvent.

For years people have been seeking solutions and debt relief options that would help them get themselves out from under the weight of their debt and back onto a track of financial freedom and responsibility.

For many years Bankruptcy was the fix all for debt. People would rack up large amounts of debt then file for a chapter 7 bankruptcy and have those debt wiped away, only to start the process up again. The banks lobbied and finally got stricter regulations in place to prevent this from happening. In 2005 the bankruptcy abuse act was passes making it very difficult for people to qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy but instead pushed people into a chapter 13 bankruptcy whereby people are forced into a repayment program, sometimes for 100% of the debt that they owe.

Next came the era of Consumer Credit Counseling as a debt relief program. These agencies popped up everywhere offering assistance to people looking to deal with mounting credit card debt. The process was simple because in many cases the credit card companies themselves either owned or had back room deals with the agencies who were ?supposedly? working for you. As a result the programs came under scrutiny and the FTC passed guidelines that prohibited the way they could operate. The typical person who is looking for debt relief, is looking to lower their monthly expenses but with CCC you typically pay the same as your paying right now which does not help the person who cannot afford their monthly payments as it is.

This not being an option for most people, individuals turned to debt consolidation loans whereby they attempted to lower their payments by bundling all of their debt into one loan with a low interest rate. In many cases people had too much debt or too low of a credit score to qualify for another unsecure loan, so the banks wanted a security. In many cases this took the form of a Home Equity loan, or a remortgage. Most of us today are still feeling the repercussions from this. People were bundling all of their unsecure debt into secure loans and then realizing not too long after that they no longer could afford those payments, or they got themselves mixed up with a balloon loan or a variable APR loan. Now these people run the risk of not falling behind on their credit card debt, but losing their homes.

People then began to turn to an age old practice of debt relief called debt settlement. This is a process that a person attempts to negotiate with the credit card companies and agrees on a lower payoff to settle out the debt. Since this process is both time consuming and required a lot of experience in the art of negotiations, often times requiring long standing relationships with the creditors, people turned to companies who specialize in this process. A company that does this for the consumer is known as a debt settlement company.

What happed next was that many people from the failing mortgage and real-estate industry, seeing the amount of people turning to debt settlement, decided to jump on the bandwagon in the hopes to make a quick buck. This created a boom in the amount of debt settlement companies out there. What is also did was cause a number of scam companies to pop up, offering what looked like legitimate debt settlement but in actuality were scamming the people out of their hard earned money. Many of these debt settlement companies were charging the majority of their fees up front before any settlements or in many cases before any services were provided at all.

Seeing the amount of people that had horror stories of dealing with a debt settlement company that took them for a ride, the FTC decided to pass debt settlement laws on how a debt settlement company can operate and charge its fees. First of all, if a company is charging its fees before a settlement had been reached, they do not have the client?s best interest in mind. It also shows that they do not have confidence in their own abilities.

No company should be charging you a penny until they reach a settlement. This ensures you that you know what you are paying for, and gives them the motivation to work hard on your behalf to save you the most they can. Any debt settlement company that is charging upfront fees are not only no doing you any justice, but may not be in compliance with the FTC guidelines.

If your looking for debt relief and are considering going with a debt settlement company, make sure you are choosing one where you don?t pay anything until you settle!

For more information on credit card debt help and to go over all of your options, click the link and speak to a debt analyst who can review your case and let you know which options might be best in your situation.

Source: http://www.resolveyourdebtonline.com/?p=8373

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Venezuela to remove breast implants for free

EDITORS NOTE NUDITY - FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2007 file photo, a plastic surgeon performs breast implant surgery in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela is offering free surgeries for women to remove faulty French-made breast implants, the country's top health official said on Tuesday Dec. 27, 2011. France's health system has recommended that women with the PIP implants get them replaced, and has agreed to pay for surgeries. In Brazil and Argentina, however, health officials just recommend checkups. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)

EDITORS NOTE NUDITY - FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2007 file photo, a plastic surgeon performs breast implant surgery in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela is offering free surgeries for women to remove faulty French-made breast implants, the country's top health official said on Tuesday Dec. 27, 2011. France's health system has recommended that women with the PIP implants get them replaced, and has agreed to pay for surgeries. In Brazil and Argentina, however, health officials just recommend checkups. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Venezuela is offering free surgeries for women to remove faulty French-made breast implants, the country's top health official said.

Health Minister Eugenia Sader said women with implants made by the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese may go to hospitals that carry out plastic surgery to have the implants removed, the state-run Venezuelan News Agency reported.

Sader said Tuesday that the free procedure will simply be to remove the implants and will not include replacing them.

"Those patients are running a risk," Sader said. However, she said, women need not seek emergency care and instead may visit hospitals at their convenience.

France's health system has recommended that women with the PIP implants get them replaced, and has agreed to pay for surgeries. In Brazil and Argentina, however, health officials just recommend checkups.

The president of Brazil's Plastic Surgeons Association, Jose Horacio Aboudib, said "I'd remove them from any patient that wants to, but I don't see the need for everyone to go into surgery."

"In France, the government pays for the surgery. Here it is not considered a public health risk, and so the patient would have to pay for it," Aboudib said, noting that his association will create a breast implant registry in January, so that doctors can register information on surgeries and the implant material used in a database aimed at improving patient safety and care.

On Tuesday, a group of 50 women in Argentina threatened to sue their plastic surgeons if they don't get free replacements of the faulty French breast implants.

The group is led by attorney Virginia Luna, who herself has the "PIP" silicone gel packs implanted in her breasts. She said five of her clients have obtained out-of-court agreements to provide free replacements, and if the rest don't get them as well, her group will sue.

Argentine clinics say they'll replace leaky implants, but the symptoms aren't always detectable, and Luna says any woman with the faulty implants can suffer psychological damage.

It's unclear how many women have the PIP implants in Venezuela, where breast enlargement surgery is popular and doctors say the French implants used to be widely used.

An estimated 35,000 to 40,000 women in the country have breast enlargement surgery each year, said Dr. Marisol Graterol, president of the Venezuelan Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has criticized the widespread popularity of breast surgery, saying women shouldn't be sold on an image that big bosoms are attractive.

The plastic surgery society recommended last week that women with PIP breast implants see a doctor to have them checked. Graterol said doctors should decide depending on each patient's situation whether or not the implants need to be removed.

Sales of PIP implants were halted in Venezuela in April 2010, Graterol said.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Henry Saud said he removed ruptured PIP implants from more than 10 patients during the past year.

In some cases, his patients hadn't noticed anything wrong and the leaking implants were detected during imaging exams, Saud said. In other cases, "they felt discomfort and had swelling."

"It used to be one of the most-used brands," Saud said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-28-LT-Venezuela-Breast-Implants/id-60d408b6a171425caee5e4a6e1587ce3

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'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo': Why It Didn't Dominate

Experts explain to MTV News why the best-selling book didn't translate to a box-office #1.
By Eric Ditzian

Rooney Mara in "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Photo: Sony Pictures

Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" trilogy of crime thrillers has sold about 17 million copies in the United States alone. The first novel in the series, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," is the first book ever to sell a million digital copies. The books have become nothing short of cultural touchstones, the collective response of devoted fans to the uninitiated being something along the lines of "You haven't read 'Dragon Tattoo'? What's wrong with you?"

That's the entertainment scene onto which David Fincher's American adaptation of "Dragon Tattoo" came last week. What's more, the movie received strong critical reviews, Sony's marketing campaign was lauded by industry insiders and MTV named it the Best Movie of 2011. Yet "Dragon Tattoo" wound up with a six-day gross of just $27.8 million — the highest total of any new release but good for just fourth place overall and undoubtedly disappointing given its lofty pedigree.

So what happened?

"Maybe fans of the Stieg Larsson novel were satisfied by last year's Swedish film and weren't feeling David Fincher's Hollywood version," writes Deadline editor in chief Nikki Finke, who notes the weak opening is especially surprising given the film was the only rated-R wide-release over the Christmas season and that "adults are flocking to specialty box-office hits like Fox Searchlight's 'The Descendants' and the Weinstein Co's 'The Artist.' "

The release date could also have been a factor, even as Sony positioned "Dragon Tattoo" as the "feel-bad movie of Christmas." "The dark and violent subject matter coupled with intense competition for the attention of mature adults led to an underwhelming result over the happy and cheery yuletide holiday," says Gitesh Pandya, editor of Box Office Guru.

With no wide releases slated for the upcoming weekend, however, "Dragon Tattoo" could see its box-office haul grow significantly. Sony's distribution chief, Rory Bruer, told TheWrap that the film "is off to a good start and it's just going to get better with every day through the rest of the holiday season and well into the new year."

Finke, too, expects the film's B.O. numbers to pick up this week, and Pandya suggests "a domestic final of $100 million cannot be ruled out this early in the run as moviegoers continue to catch up on films they are interested in."

That's good news for fans of the series and of Fincher's film, who have their fingers crossed that the Oscar-nominated director gets the go-ahead to make the final two pictures in Larsson's series. As Fincher told us recently, he hopes that the first film is received well enough that he's able to revisit, in journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander, "two fascinating characters who I have really come to care about."

In the end, though, the chance to see Fincher's adaptations of "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" might be entirely out of the hands — or, rather, the wallets — of American moviegoers. "Ironically, the biggest factor in this sequelizing or not will come down to how well it does in foreign market — a place where the Swedish version of the film already made nearly $100 million just a couple years ago," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "Do overseas audiences really want to see the Hollywood version after the original is so fresh in their minds and was equally well-received?"

Check out everything we've got on "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Videos

• MTV Rough Cut: 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'
• 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Clips

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676485/girl-dragon-tattoo-box-office.jhtml

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10 Best Sports Games for iPhone (Mashable)

It may be mid-winter, but sports are still in full-swing. The NBA is coming back, the NFL playoff races are in high gear, and even soccer and hockey fans are in the middle of their seasons.

SEE ALSO: 10 Stunning iPhone Sports Photographs [GALLERY]

[More from Mashable: So You Got an iPad 2? Try These 10 Hip Accessories]

For those who want to get in on the action virtually, look to iOS for plenty of sporting entertainment. No matter your sport, check out the top 10 iOS games for sports fans.

[More from Mashable: Air Jordans Did Not Cause Death, Despite Twitter Rumors]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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What is a 'gamer' in 2011? ? GeekOut - CNN.com Blogs

The word "gamer" was more prevalent than ever in our lexicon this year.

Zachary Levi recently chimed in with his theory that everyone is a gamer at some level.

CNN Geek Out recently spoke to hardcore gamer Morgan Webb, host of ?X-Play? on G4, and asked her what it means to be a gamer and about the state of gaming in 2011.

?Unfortunately, it is a more confusing word now because there are so many different types of games and so many people playing games from on their cell phones, or on Facebook, or on many other things," she said.

"The word encompasses so many different groups, so it doesn?t really mean as much as it used to. I call myself a gamer, but someone?s mom who plays ?Farmville? all the time, maybe she calls herself a gamer too, and she should, because she is. I think we need words to start differentiating the subgroups.?

Webb got into gaming well before "Farmville," of course. Her first console was an Atari 2600, where she played ?Combat? and ?Plaque Attack? for hours on end. She is also an avowed fanatic when it comes to the ?Centipede? arcade game.
Below, more of our chat with Webb about the year in gaming.

CNN Geek Out: This was a year for sequels. Every major title that came out had a number after it. Why is that?

Webb: We?re nearly at the end of a console cycle, so series that have begun at the beginning of the console cycle, they?re starting to finish up the series. People have made the investment in the franchise and they?ve got the art together and they don?t want to create something completely new when new consoles are starting to be on the horizon.

CNN Geek Out: Were there any games that surprised you this year?

Webb: "LA Noire" from Rockstar. Rockstar traditionally makes very good games, but we were surprised and delighted that the game had a very different perspective on the traditional "Grand Theft Auto"-style open world game. That was a great surprise and a great game.

Geek Out: What?s going to be different in the next generation of consoles?

Webb: I think they are going to have a lot of cloud functionality. You?ll be able to play games on the cloud. You?ll definitely be able to have saves on the cloud. They?re going to start transitioning people off of discs. That doesn?t mean they aren?t going to have disc drives because they are. But we?re going to start having consoles with big hard drives that you can gather those games because you?re going to have much better bandwidth. You?re going to be able to download those games more often. They?re going to want to start that transition and start cutting out the actual game stores just like how book stores have been cut out from books. On the gaming side, we going to see very powerful graphics cards and we?re going to see very powerful processors. They?re going to be very powerful computers that are going to sit next to your television and they?re going to be very good prices for what you are going to get.

CNN Geek Out: With the Wii U and the PlayStation Vita coming out next year, is this where we are headed with more motion controls and less button pushing in gaming?

Webb: I think there is room for both. Core gamers - the hardcore gamers who play games like "Gears of War," "Call of Duty," "Assassin's Creed" and Skyrim" - that gamer is definitely more interested in using a controller for a lot of their experiences. The problem is that [with] the [PlayStation] Move, these motion experiences aren?t nuanced enough to actually give the player as much control as they would have with a [regular] controller. For example, if you are swinging a sword on a Wii game, you slash to the right and it does a right slash or slash to the left and it does a left slash, but it doesn?t really track or there is no skill involved. Now you are just standing up there making slashing motions for three hours.

CNN Geek Out: Are the console wars still alive or has the battle moved to specific game titles?

Webb: I think there are people on the Internet who sit there and decide that everything on the PlayStation is awesome and everything on the Xbox is awful and people who think that everything on the Xbox is great and everything on the PS3 is terrible. We call those people trolls. People become emotionally invested in the console they purchase, so that?s the reason they get so attached to it. I think in general most people are saying, "Hey, I have an Xbox and I like it, and lots of good games come out for both consoles." Each console has their exclusives and they are great exclusives on each. The Wii tends to have fewer rabid proponents because it tends to aim for a more casual audience.

While Webb would not name her 2011 Game of the Year, she did have some recommendations that players should pick up if they can:

?The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? ? ?You have adventures in this world that is very living and you have hundreds and thousands of choices you make and it all seamlessly works together.?

?Uncharted 3? ? ?This is what we want the ?Indiana Jones? movies to be. You are living and playing that ?Indiana Jones? treasure hunting experience.?

?Resistance 3? ? ?A little off the beaten path. It has funky, over-the-top weapons, but funny weapons, weird crazy weapons that you aren?t going to see anywhere else.?

?Saints Row The Third? ? ?A GTA style game that is hilarious and over-the-top and crazy. Not for kids!?

?Portal 2? ? ?There are some great puzzles in there.?

Click here for more of CNN's coverage of gaming in 2011.

Source: http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/27/what-is-a-gamer-in-2011/

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eurogamerPT: Escolha dos Leitores 2011 - Top 40-31: Dez jogos j? l? v?o, e agora come?a verdadeiramente a aquecer o nosso to... http://t.co/fUxkskaG

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Escolha dos Leitores 2011 - Top 40-31: Dez jogos j? l? v?o, e agora come?a verdadeiramente a aquecer o nosso to... tinyurl.com/6n6wgun Il y a environ 12 heures via twitterfeed Retweeted by 1 person

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Struggle of Israel?s Channel 10 Tied to Political Wars - New York Times : International

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We are looking for EBAY SELLERS from USA, UK, CANADA, EUROPE by appleauction

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We are marketing company having partnership with some brand company and we are looking honest and hardworking sellers to sell our items online sites like ebay .

all we need is a hardworking seller who can work honestly.who can spare a 3 to 4 hours a day to do this work only.

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MarketingWeekEd: Apple smartphone only fully embraced in UK http://t.co/xNZ5BK26

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Hundreds pack Bethlehem church for Christmas Mass

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal carries the statuette of baby Jesus during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal carries the statuette of baby Jesus during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Nuns read prayers during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Christian pilgrim prays during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal leads the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) ? Hundreds of Christian faithful, defying lashing rains and wind, celebrated Christmas Mass at Jesus' traditional birthplace on Sunday, spirits high despite the gloomy weather.

Worshippers dressed in their holiday best rushed under cover of umbrellas into St. Catherine's Church on Manger Square, leaving the plaza, with its 50-foot-tall (15-meter-tall) Christmas tree, deserted. The church was packed, and the overflow crowd waited eagerly in an arched corridor for a chance to enter.

Inside, supplicants, some dressed in the traditional attire of foreign lands, raised their voices in prayer, kissed a plaster statue of a baby Jesus and took communion. St. Catherine's is attached to the smaller Church of the Nativity, which is built over a grotto where devout Christians believe Jesus was born.

"Lots of pilgrims from around the world are coming to be here on Christmas," said Don Moore, 41, a psychology professor from Berkeley, Calif., who came to Bethlehem with his family. "We wanted to be part of the action. This is the place, this is where it all started. It doesn't get any more special than that."

With turnout at its highest in more than a decade, proud Palestinian officials said they were praying the celebrations would bring them closer to their dream of independence.

Bethlehem, like the rest of the West Bank, had fallen onto hard times after the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out in late 2000.

Although civil affairs in the biblical town on Jerusalem's southeastern outskirts are run by Palestinian authorities, security control remains in the hands of Israel, which built a barrier around three sides of the town to keep Palestinian attackers out.

Palestinians say the barrier has badly hurt its economy, which depends heavily on tourism, by severely restricting movement in and out of the town.

But as the violence has subsided, tourists have returned in large numbers. An estimated 100,000 visitors streamed into Manger Square on Christmas Eve, up from 70,000 the previous year, according to the Israeli military's count.

With the barrier looming large over the celebrations in Bethlehem, Palestinians have tried to draw attention to their quest for an independent state with this year's Christmas slogan, "Palestine celebrating hope."

Late Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told a meeting of Christian leaders that he is committed to reaching peace with Israel.

"I hope they will come back to their senses and understand that we are seekers of peace, not seekers of war or terrorism," said Abbas, a Muslim like most Palestinians. "The mosque, church and synagogue stand side by side in this Holy Land."

Israel had allowed about 500 members of Gaza's tiny Christian minority to travel through its territory to the West Bank to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem. Most of Gaza's 3,000 Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox denomination, which celebrates Christmas next month.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-25-ML-Holy-Land-Christmas/id-57403cdac5d24e88bc4580ff8e71d5fd

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College Sports: Pac-12 Conference: Updates on the league’s business affairs

No thunderbolts here, but a few developments that I hadn?t been able to address prior to this point:

*** The conference announced late last week that it has found a home for its broadcast center: Downtown San Francisco, in the same Third Street building that houses Comcast?s Bay Area operations.

This should come as no surprise:

The league wanted to base its TV and Digital networks in the Bay Area (near the administrative office in Walnut Creek), and it has a distribution partnership with Comcast for the Pac-12 Networks.

I?m sure that placing the broadcast center in the Comcast building will result in 1) some level of cost savings, or 2) more efficient operations in advance of the network launch in Aug. ?12, or 3) both.

*** The conference named Leon Schweir as the Senior VP for Production and Operations for the Pac-12 Networks.

Schweir, who was on the Big Ten Network?s launch team, will oversee the studio and remote operations for the national and six regional networks ? and there will be plenty of remote operations.

My understanding is that each campus will have a mini-studio ? most likely housed in the athletic department, but those logistics are TBD ? from which it will broadcast content for its dedicated regional network (and, to a lesser extent, the national network).

There will also be broadcast locations in each school?s main athletic facilities.

*** Along those lines, the league named Bob Keyser as the VP for University Relations for Pac-12 Enterprises.

He?ll work with the schools to make sure the above-mentioned campus infrastructure delivers the necessary content to the networks. He?s?also charged with coordinating the live events.

Keyser spent the past two years as a consultant on the league?s digital strategy, so he has a familiarity with the league?s plan and fledgling network operation.

If it seems like Keyser and Schweir are tackling some of the same issues, they are. To coordinate, produce and broadcast 850 live events from 12 campuses requires a massive undertaking ? and, when all the hiring is said and done, 100s of people.

*** Lastly ? and in case you missed it ?

Commissioner Larry Scott told Bloomberg Businessweek recently that the conference is seriously considering moving its basketball tournaments to Las Vegas.

Specifically, to the MGM Grand.

The Hotline?s position on the subject is this:

The conference cannot continue to have the basketball tournaments in Los Angeles. The empty seats in Staples Center ? not to mention general lack of interest in Southern California ? has become an embarrassment.

My vote would be to rotate the basketball tournaments in NBA-caliber arenas: Seattle one year, Phoenix the next, then Salt Lake City, for example.

Las Vegas, as a permanent site, is a close second on my list.

And please note: I?m not privy to the bids submitted by the relevant western cities, so it?s possible that Vegas stands as by far the league?s best option.

* Follow me @WilnerHotline on Twitter.

* Download the Bay Area News Group?s new iPad app for more college sports and other news, or check out college sports coverage on MercuryNews.com.

?

Source: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2011/12/22/pac-12-conference-updates-on-the-leagues-business-affairs/

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Best U.S. hotels for the holidays

Courtesy of Bedford Village Inn

Occupying the site of a former farm in New Hampshire's Green Hills, Bedford's 14-suite luxury inn looks like it came straight out of a holiday print by Currier and Ives.

By Laura Kiniry , Travel+Leisure

After sipping wine by the fireplace and tree, you sit down to a seven-course Christmas Eve dinner. It all sounds just about perfect ? and it gets better. There are no dishes to clean and no unexpected relatives dropping in. Why? You?re celebrating at Seattle?s chic Hotel Vintage Park.

Slideshow: See the best hotels for the holidays

Getting away for the holidays can be the best gift of all. And while it?s not always easy ? you?ve got to contend with potential foul weather and crowds ? once you arrive, there?s nothing to do but soak up the festive atmosphere and experience how another place celebrates. From Charleston to Yosemite National Park, we?ve found appealing lodges, hotels and historic inns with holiday goings-on to suit any personality.

If you love the cool bite of frost, head to New Hampshire?s quaint Bedford Village Inn, where local designers work their magic annually to deck the halls, and chefs concoct the prix fixe menu and mom-daughter teas. But if what your family really wants for Christmas is sand and sun, check in to Honolulu?s Outrigger Reef on the Beach, where kids can dine with Santa himself (even Kris Kringle needs to defrost a little) and pose for photos. Root for staff as they compete in a gingerbread-house-making contest.

Christmas gets a more grown-up, southwestern treatment at the landmark Taos Inn, decorated with old-world furnishings and farolitos, lovely paper lanterns traditional to the area. Guests can belly up to the Adobe Bar for killer margaritas and Yuletide Salsa nights with live music.

For others, Christmas is merriest at its most traditional, with the trappings of gingerbread, candles in the window, and the kind of Victorian-era traditions associated with Charles Dickens?s "A Christmas Carol." Madrona Manor in California wine country brings those visions to life with its annual Dickens Dinners, hearty feasts complete with carolers dressed in 19th-century garb.

Like it or not, Dickens?s classic helped popularize the holiday as a secular time to enjoy with loved ones, let the wine flow, and seek inspiration and new beginnings in the dark days of winter.

Here?s hoping that even the Scrooges among us find the perfect place to spend the holidays.

More from Travel+Leisure

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Source: http://itineraries.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/12/9395295-best-us-hotels-for-the-holidays

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12 energy-related predictions for 2012 in Canada - Stephen Koch, Executive Director, NAIMA Canada

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Dec 22nd, 2011 5:28 PM

Does Canada need more energy supply or more insulation?

Clearly, this is a gross simplification but it is estimated that almost a third of Canada's current energy consumption is used for heating and cooling buildings and homes. This number could be cut in half with proper conservation initiatives.??

This is the context for my 2012 Canadian energy conservation predictions - within an insulation context.

1. Rising energy costs will make the payback period for installing insulation even quicker.?? Despite a slower new home construction market and a slowing of insulation for these applications - it will be a record year for insulation used for home and industrial retrofits to deal not only with new homes but to upgrade the vast amount of under insulated existing homes.

2. More Canadian communities will adopt "solar ready" new home construction regulations like Campbell River B.C.??This will make the future installation of solar hot water appliances, for instance, easier and less expensive.??

3. More real estate agents will increasingly educate themselves on energy efficiency.??Take the Calgary Real Estate Board who has an on-line directory on its Go Green website listing agents who have passed a series of courses to help inform consumers of choices and rebates offered by governments.

4. A record year for homes to meet higher energy efficiency standards in Canada than ever before. This is in large part because the new Ontario Building Code, coming into effect January 1, 2012.??But we also see across Canada more and more home builders are adopting ever higher standards of green building.??One of the easiest ways to meet this standard is through the intelligent application of various cost effective insulation products.

5. As companies faced with flat sales results will be forced to focus more on cost controls, reviews of energy efficiency practices will become more frequent. Expect more utilities and provincial governments to expand incentive programs for the commercial and industrial sectors especially where they can be demonstrated to reduce peak period electricity load.

6. White or reflective roofs and green roofs (which have seen widespread use in warmer climates to reduce cooling costs) will be increasingly embraced across the country to combat summer cooling bills.

7. Adoptions of technologies (the evolution of the programmable thermostat) used to remotely control energy consumption when demand is highest, while at the same time allowing customers to individually manage their electricity costs in real-time. The speed of adoption will be dependent on smart meter deployment and will be controlled by phone based applications.

8. Banks and financial institutions will see the reduced operating costs for more energy efficient homes and buildings. These incentives will help offset the upfront costs of retrofits and help provide more disposable income for the building or home owner.??"Green" mortgages can be expected to proliferate.

9. A rise in small businesses doing customized installations of weatherization, insulation and caulking.??An evolution of the local "handyman".

10. Discussions about "energy independence" or "energy security" at the community, provincial and national level will become more prevalent.

11. Building Codes - In 2012 for the first time, we expect the national building code to include energy efficiency measures for homes. This will make it much easier for provinces to adopt a building code that will help reduce operating costs for the home owner.

12. An increased profile for energy conservation in the public policy debate. It will shift from thrift to how conservation can offset demand and reduce the need for investment in new generation and peak consumption.

-30-

For further information, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Stephen Koch, Executive Director, NAIMA Canada, 613-232-8093, cell 613-292-8772

Details about NAIMA Canada are available at: www.naimacanada.ca

NAIMA Canada is the association for North American manufacturers of fibre glass, rock wool, and slag wool insulation products doing business in Canada.??Its role is to promote energy efficiency and environmental preservation through the use of fibre glass, rock wool, and slag wool insulation, and to encourage the safe production and use of these materials. NAIMA Canada is a sister organization to the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA).

Source: http://huffstrategy.com/MediaManager/release/NAIMA-Canada/31-12-69/12-energy-related-predictions-for-2012-in-Canada---Stephen-Koch-E/2436.html

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Clinical research: Cancer drug could treat Angelman syndrome

Light the way: Using a fluorescent assay, researchers screened for compounds that activate a silent version of the Angelman syndrome gene.

A cancer drug shows promise as a treatment for Angelman syndrome, according to a study published today in Nature¹.

Angelman syndrome is a developmental disorder related to autism that is characterized by developmental delay, lack of speech, and seizures. It is caused by mutations in UBE3A, a protein that targets other proteins for degradation. As a result of a process dubbed imprinting, the paternal copy of UBE3A is normally silenced in neurons, and the protein is only expressed from the maternally inherited copy.

At the 2011 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C., researchers described an assay to identify drugs that can activate the functional but silent paternal copy of UBE3A and potentially treat Angelman syndrome.

Using their assay, the researchers identified a compound called topotecan that activates the expression of the paternal copy of UBE3A. UBE3A expression in spinal cord neurons persists for up to three months after drug treatment, they found.

Topotecan is approved for treating ovarian, small-cell lung and cervical cancers. It inhibits topoisomerases, molecules that assist in the winding and unwinding of the DNA helix.

Transforming effect: Bathing neurons in a series of compounds helped identify a potential treatment for Angelman syndrome.

The drug is one of 16 topoisomerase inhibitors that rescue UBE3A paternal gene expression, but does so at low doses, the study found.

When injected for two weeks into the brains of mice lacking the maternal copy of UBE3A, a nanomolar dose of topotecan induces UBE3A expression from the paternal copy in the hippocampus, striatum and the cerebral cortex, the study found. Only higher doses of the drug induce expression in the cerebellum, however, suggesting that more work is required to ensure that UBE3A expression is restored evenly throughout the brain.

Also, because topotecan may alter the expression of other imprinted genes, the researchers caution, it should not be used to treat Angelman syndrome until it undergoes rigorous clinical testing.

1: Huang H-S. et al. Nature Epub ahead of print (2011) Abstract

Source: http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/in-brief/2011/clinical-research-cancer-drug-could-treat-angelman-syndrome

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Chinese Internet video firms tussle over copyright (Reuters)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? China's top online video firm, Youku.com, said on Friday it has initiated legal proceedings against rival Tudou Holdings for allegedly infringing on the copyright of its videos.

Tudou also said late on Thursday that it would take legal action against Youku for allegedly reposting episodes of a popular variety program on Youku's platform.

Cti TV, the legal copyright holder of "Kangxi is Coming," signed an exclusive agreement with Tudou in November to distribute the episodes of the program on its platform, Tudou said in an emailed statement.

Tudou and Cti TV allege that the episodes were then copied by Youku and uploaded onto Youku's platform.

Youku subsequently countered on Friday that Tudou had allegedly pirated more than 60 television serials from Youku and that the firm had initiated court proceedings against Tudou in Shanghai.

Youku said in a statement that legal mediation between the two sides had failed.

The battle for content in China's online video space has heated up this year with costs for programs rising significantly as online video players scramble for eyeballs to lure advertisers.

Advertising revenue in the domestic online video market, which was virtually non-existent five years ago, is now estimated to be worth 1 billion yuan ($156.90 million). This is expected to grow at a double-digit rate.

Many online video players have also signed deals with Hollywood studios to boost viewership.

Shares of Tudou closed 2.51 percent lower on the Nasdaq on Thursday, while Youku fell 3.75 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

($1 = 6.3735 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Matt Driskill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/wr_nm/us_tudou_youku

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Bieber stages concert at low-income Vegas school

In this photo released by Warner Bros, performer Justin Bieber poses with Principal Sherrie Gahn of Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nev. on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Justin presented a check for $100,000 to Principal Sherrie Gahn of Whitney Elementary School and performed a holiday concert for the students. This segment will air on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Wednesday, Jan. 4. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Michael Rozman)

In this photo released by Warner Bros, performer Justin Bieber poses with Principal Sherrie Gahn of Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nev. on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Justin presented a check for $100,000 to Principal Sherrie Gahn of Whitney Elementary School and performed a holiday concert for the students. This segment will air on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Wednesday, Jan. 4. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Michael Rozman)

In this photo released by Warner Bros., Justin Bieber hands out toys to the students of Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nev. on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Bieber and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" presented the students with a $100,000 in toys for the holidays. This segment will air on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Wednesday, Jan. 4. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Michael Rozman)

In this May 10, 2011 photo, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber performs during his "My World Tour" concert in Manila, Philippines. Bieber is performing a private concert for an east Las Vegas elementary school that's gained publicity for services it provides for low-income families. Bieber's concert is set for Friday morning, Dec. 16, 2011, at Whitney Elementary School and comes after the singer pledged to donate $100,000 to the school. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Fifth-grader Jolie Leach says she "was gonna explode" with excitement when Justin Bieber performed a concert at her Las Vegas school, and vowed she'd never wash her hand after he gave her a high-five.

Leach was one of hundreds who showed clear symptoms of Bieber fever after the 17-year-old teen pop sensation staged a private show Friday at low-income Whitney Elementary School. The concert was filmed for an episode of "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and came two months after Bieber promised the school's 650 students a $100,000 donation.

"He really came for us. I'm so glad that he really came for us," said fourth-grader Kynedi Harris, holding a fluffy white stuffed dog picked from a truckload of toys Bieber distributed at his show.

Tucked in a downtrodden neighborhood on the east side of Las Vegas, Whitney Elementary has garnered publicity, including a September segment on Degeneres' show, for providing needy students' families with food, clothes, money for utility bills ? and just about everything in between.

Principal Sherrie Gahn said more than 85 percent of the school's 600-plus students receive free or reduced-price lunch. The school also has one of the highest homeless student populations in the Clark County School District.

Gahn, who said she used to see students pocketing ketchup packets from the cafeteria in hopes of having dinner at night, told "The Ellen Degeneres Show" she made a pact with families after she arrived about eight years ago.

"I'll pay your electrical bill, your utilities, I'll give you food or clothes, whatever you need, as long as you give me your child and then help raise that child as a person of character," she said.

Families at the school told the show Gahn has stayed true to her promise. One girl said Gahn provided her with a bed. A mother said the principal bought her son glasses. Another mother said the school provided her children with Christmas presents when she planned to skip the gift-giving.

Gahn said most of the donations come from individuals or businesses, and she said the show has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and an outpouring of support from across the country. The school also posts a "wish list" on its website, asking for granola bars, pop-top cans of soup and other non-perishable foods that homeless students can eat for dinner or over the weekend.

Bieber's gift matches a $100,000 donation from Target that was announced on the September TV special about the school. Most of the money will be used to continue basic support ? such as rent assistance ? to keep families off the street and children coming to class.

"My biggest motivator for the kids and the thought and the hope that they don't have to live in this existence when they grow up ? that they break the cycle," Gahn said.

Inside the closed event, Gahn said Bieber toured the campus and told students the story of his family's own financial struggles, including visits to a food bank when he was young. He performed songs from his Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe," and invited the crowd to dance along to his hit "Baby."

Outside, dozens of squealing high school girls with camera phones jockeyed for a glimpse of the star as he was rushed into the building. Brittany Ellis, 14, had pulled out a scrap of paper just in time for a mobbed Bieber to autograph, and was showing her friends an indecipherable pencil scrawl.

Another girl, 17-year-old Kiersten Umberger, said she nearly cried when she saw Bieber.

"It was the best moment of my life," she said.

Teens from the neighborhood say the worn area is quiet, and certainly not the typical Vegas haunt for celebrities.

But parents and school officials said they were as grateful for the gifts from Bieber and Degeneres as the children were starstruck.

"In a world where these kids live in that things are not always their own or they're taken away," Gahn said, "they gave them memories that no one can ever take."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-16-People-Justin%20Bieber/id-e6a5e6aecfcf4feb994d834168947a47

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Matchups if NFL playoffs started today

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Cowboys beat Bucs, improve playoff hopes

Tony Romo threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score Saturday night, helping the Dallas Cowboys stop a two-game losing streak with a 31-15 victory over the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

When athletes and celebrities come together

From Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe to Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, athletes and celebrities have been linked together. Take a look at some of the more well-known "couples".

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45690407/ns/sports-nfl/

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Bahrain police crack down on march outside capital (AP)

MANAMA, Bahrain ? Bahraini security forces have used tear gas and stun grenades to try to disperse anti-government protesters marching along a highway toward the island kingdom's capital.

Associated Press journalists witnessed the clashes Thursday near the town of Diraz and other opposition stronghold villages west of the capital, Manama.

Hundreds of marchers, some waving red and white Bahraini flags, were seen marching along the Budaiya Highway toward the capital when the clashes broke out.

Opposition groups in recent days have issued online calls for marchers to occupy the highway.

The protest follows 10 months of unrest in the Gulf nation between the Sunni monarchy and an opposition movement led by the country's majority Shiites.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain

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Commentary: Seasons in a Turbulent Year (Time.com)

"To every thing there is a season," proclaims the Book of Ecclesiastes. Using that biblical verse as a prism, 2011 achieves, if not quite a scriptural vision, then a poetic imperative. We have had the Arab Spring; the Summer of Europe's Indignation; Autumn was Occupied across the globe; and now, perhaps there is the onset of a long Russian Winter. Regime change swayed to the same rhythms as the seasons.

The meteorology of 2011 extended to an Indian Summer (the height of Anna Hazare's anticorruption campaign, which paralyzed New Delhi) and a yearlong Chinese deep freeze -- though it's always icy weather when it comes to democracy in the People's Republic. The only real warming Beijing has had recently was way back in 1989, when it was Spring in Tiananmen Square. (See "TIME's Person of the Year: The Protester.")

These designations, of course, do not strictly follow equinox and solstice. The Arab Spring began at the tail end of the fall of 2010, with the self-immolation of the Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi on Dec. 17, four days before the official beginning of winter, a full season away from spring. The indignados first put their outrage on display in Spain on May 15, with Europe fully warming to their sentiments only later in the summer as tear gas wafted across central Athens and riots broke out in disparate districts of London. The beginning of the Occupy movement almost coincided with the start of the fall -- but it was mostly evicted a month before the season ended. As for the Russian winter, well ... it's still technically autumn.

But there is resonance when we associate certain revolutions with specific seasons. Spring, for example, cast an optimistic light on the Arab revolts. Indeed, the Arab Spring is known in its own region as the Arab Awakening. But is that not what spring is -- an awakening, a rebirth? And does not the word uprising, almost pictographically, bring to the mind's eye a germinating seed? Spring is hoping that the best is yet to come. (See photos of the Occupy Wall Street movement.)

As bright as it is, summer is ambivalent, with an abundance of both light and fire. Perhaps it was the right time of year for Europe's down-and-out youth to see things for what they were, leading to boiling-hot outrage and indignation. Summer is the season of torpor in the continent. But the heat can kill.

The cooling down that comes with autumn signals transition and suited the fate of the Occupy movement, at least in its first manifestation. While there were moments of peppery confrontation over territory, the Occupiers from Wall Street to Oakland, Calif., and from Los Angeles to London seemed impermanent. Even as many fretted about the rigors of January in the parks and squares they occupied, their lack of philosophical cohesion contributed to their melting away weeks before the arrival of winter.

As for winter, it is the knee-jerk metaphor for anything Russian. But in this case, perhaps reflecting the cycle that began with the Arab Awakening, an omen of hope can be detected. For spring must follow winter, even in the Russia of Vladimir Putin. (See photos of protests and counterprotests in Russia.)

But hold on. These are animistic projections, born of our pathetic fallacy that somehow the cosmos reflects and echoes what humanity feels. Definitions meld into one another when they shouldn't. Reality, however, quickly disabuses us of these notions -- and not just through equinoctial calculations. Occupy has transformed not transitioned away with the fall. And the Arab Spring is now the Arab Year. It has outlasted its schedule by many months. Libya's internal brawl extended it into the summer and fall; and Syria is dragging it into a bloody winter. Meanwhile, Egypt has realized that its revolution is incomplete. The awakening has lost its spring. In 2012, we will need a clutch of fresh metaphors.

Perhaps the significance of the seasons of 2011 will be gnawed away by think tanks and historians. But, right now, as it comes to an end, 2011 continues to resound like an epic. It was a year in which the cataclysms were more than political, with tsunamis and floods and earthquakes. But when men and women decide that it is time to brave revolution, are they not manifesting some cosmic imperative as powerful as those acts of God? Their deeds should be commemorated for all seasons.

See TIME's complete coverage of "The Middle East in Revolt."

See TIME's top 10 everything of 2011.

View this article on Time.com

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20111217/wl_time/09171210251000

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House backs tough sanctions on Iran (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The House on Wednesday endorsed harsher sanctions on Iran as it seeks to weaken Tehran economically and derail its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The overwhelming votes of 410-11 and 418-2 were largely symbolic, however, as the Senate was not expected to act on the legislation in the few remaining days of the congressional session.

Separately, Congress was poised to back a sweeping defense bill that already included crippling sanctions on foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's Central Bank, a provision that the Senate backed unanimously last week.

Determined to show their hawkish stand on Iran and pro-Israel credentials, House lawmakers voted for two bills that would strengthen current sanctions while expanding the list of companies and individuals subject to penalties.

The legislation builds on sanctions that Congress overwhelmingly passed ? and President Barack Obama signed ? last year. Those penalties targeted exports of gasoline and other refined petroleum products to Iran and banned U.S. banks from doing business with foreign banks providing services to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The United Nations and the European Union have also imposed sanctions on Iran.

"Our fundamental strategic objective must be to stop Iran before it obtains nuclear weapons capabilities and to compel it to permanently dismantle its pursuit of such weapons," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The United States has tried repeatedly to coax Iran into international negotiations with the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany over its nuclear program. Iran contends that its program is designed to generate electricity, not build weapons.

Among the new provisions, the House bills would restrict foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies from doing business with Iran. Bartering is included among the activities that could be sanctioned, and Americans would be prohibited from conducting commercial or financial transactions with the Revolutionary Guard.

Directing its ire at Syria and North Korea as well, one provision would strengthen the prohibition on granting landing rights in the United States to vessels that have visited Iran, North Korea or Syria in the last two years.

The defense bill would impose tough new penalties on Iran, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank in Tehran. The legislation requires the president to prohibit or impose strict conditions on that financial institution and its ability to maintain corresponding accounts in the United States.

The sanctions appear to be taking a toll in Tehran. Last month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad acknowledged that the current penalties were impeding Iran's financial institutions, saying, "our banks cannot make international transactions anymore."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_go_co/us_iran_sanctions

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Android 4.0.2 is so yesterday -- say hello to Android 4.0.3!

Know that Android 4.0.2 update the Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners were so proud of yesterday? It's old news today. Google just announced Android 4.0.3 and an increase in API level (it's now 15). So what's new? Google gives us the big strokes:

• Social stream API in Contacts provider: Applications that use social stream data such as status updates and check-ins can now sync that data with each of the user’s contacts, providing items in a stream along with photos for each. This new API lets apps show users what the people they know are doing or saying, in addition to their photos and contact information.
• Calendar provider enhancements. Apps can now add color to events, for easier tracking, and new attendee types and states are now available.
• New camera capabilities. Apps can now check and manage video stabilization and use QVGA resolution profiles where needed.
• Accessibility refinements. Improved content access for screen readers and new status and error reporting for text-to-speech engines.
• Incremental improvements in graphics, database, spell-checking, Bluetooth, and more.

So the next question is when will we start seeing it on the Galaxy Nexus? Time to start those fingers a'tappin'.

Source: Android Developers Blog; more: Platform Highlights

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

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