Japan Cabinet OKs bill to cap nuke reactor life

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Jozef Misak, third from right, and Charles Casto, second from right, walk past an emergency air-cooled power generator as they inspect the Ohi nuclear power plant in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, western Japan. Japan's Cabinet approved bills Tuesday, Jan. 31, aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year's Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear reactors as IAEA experts generally endorsed "stress test" results following their inspection tour to the plant. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Jozef Misak, third from right, and Charles Casto, second from right, walk past an emergency air-cooled power generator as they inspect the Ohi nuclear power plant in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, western Japan. Japan's Cabinet approved bills Tuesday, Jan. 31, aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year's Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear reactors as IAEA experts generally endorsed "stress test" results following their inspection tour to the plant. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi nuclear power plant No. 3, right, and No. 4 reactors are seen in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, western Japan, as experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency conduct their first inspection of the Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests," a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. Japan's Cabinet approved bills Tuesday, Jan. 31, aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year's Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear reactors, as an IAEA experts generally endorsed "stress test" results. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

James Lyons, right , director of the Nuclear Installation Safety Division of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), shakes hands with Hiroyuki Fukano, director-general for nuclear power of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency during a meeting with Japanese nuclear officials on the IAEA's safety assessment review mission of the Ohi nuclear power plant with regards to the latest stress tests in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

James Lyons, left, director of the Nuclear Installation Safety Division of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks to Hiroyuki Fukano, director-general for Nuclear Power of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency during a meeting with Japanese nuclear officials on the IAEA's safety assessment review mission of the Ohi nuclear power plant with regards to the latest stress tests in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's Cabinet approved bills Tuesday aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year's Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear reactors.

The approval came as International Atomic Energy Agency experts generally endorsed "stress test" results at two idled reactors in western Japan, bolstering the Tokyo government's efforts to restart the facility, though the IAEA team said some safety measures needed clarification.

Japan currently has no legal limit on the operational lifespan of its 54 reactors, many of which will reach the 40-year mark in coming years. One reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had been in use 40 years when the tsunami struck last March.

The legislation, which still needs parliamentary approval to take effect, does allow for an extension of up to 20 years. Critics have blasted that exception as a loophole, but officials have said extensions will be rare and require strict safety standards.

Also Tuesday, the chief of Kawauchi village, which straddles the exclusion zone around the Fukushima plant, told more than 2,500 residents that returning to the town areas outside the no-go zone was safe, following extensive decontamination of radiation fallout.

Most residents whose homes were outside the exclusion zone chose to leave when the Kawauchi town hall moved to Koriyama City, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.

Mayor Yuko Endo said offices, schools and other public facilities will restart in April. Kawauchi is the first of nine townships whose administrative functions shifted elsewhere to make such an announcement.

"I encourage you to go home," Endo told a televised news conference from the Fukushima government office. "Those of you who can return now, please do so. If you are still worried, you can wait a little until you feel comfortable."

About one-third of Kawauchi village lies within the 12-mile (20-kilometer) exclusion zone and remains off-limits.

Since the government announced in December that the Fukushima plant was stable, guidelines have been made for affected towns that would allow residents to return to areas with contamination levels below 20 millisieverts per year, which it says is safe, though further reduction is recommended.

Another bill approved by the Cabinet would create a new nuclear regulatory agency under the Environment Ministry that would unify nuclear safety and regulatory bodies. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is currently under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ? which also promotes nuclear energy. Critics say that placement has contributed to lax supervision of the industry.

After the Fukushima accident, Japan reversed its nuclear energy policy and now aims to reduce its dependency on atomic power. Officials say capping the lives of reactors at 40 years is consistent with that policy.

Still, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has said Japan must rely on nuclear energy during the transition and idled reactors deemed safe after inspections need to be restarted.

The government has ordered reactors shut down since the meltdowns at Fukushima to undergo "stress tests" before they can be restarted. But passing the tests may not lead to a quick startup because of deep safety concerns in local communities hosting the reactors.

With only three of the country's 54 reactors online, officials are desperately trying to avoid a power crunch. One of the three operating reactors will go offline for regular checks next month, and Japan will have no operating reactors by the end of April.

Last week, a 10-member IAEA delegation inspected the Ohi No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at a nuclear plant in Fukui prefecture ? a rural area where 13 reactors are clustered around a bay. The reactors have undergone stress tests, which are supposed to assess whether they can withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, loss of power or other emergencies, and to suggest changes to improve safety.

The IAEA team was invited by Tokyo to visit the plant in a step seen as an attempt to drum up support for the government's safety campaign.

In a preliminary assessment Tuesday, the team said that Japanese nuclear safety officials' instructions to their operator, Kansai Electric Power Co., and the review process for the tests were "generally consistent" with IAEA safety standards.

However, the team said authorities should clarify the stress tests' goals and better define what constitutes the safety margins within which plants would be able to tolerate disasters. It also said the nuclear safety agency, or NISA, still needs to confirm certain improvements to safety before allowing the facility to resume operation.

Mission leader James Lyons said that the team was "satisfied with the work they had done as part of their primary assessment" but that there was room for improvement.

NISA chief Hiroyuki Fukano welcomed the IAEA review, saying authorities were "encouraged" that stress tests were deemed valid.

Critics, however, say the tests are meaningless because they have no clear criteria, and view the IAEA as biased toward the nuclear industry.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-31-AS-Japan-Nuclear/id-48450834de40445eba6b43bf026f79f8

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Top senators agree on tough penalties on Iran (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Determined to weaken Iran economically, a top Senate Democrat and Republican on Monday unveiled a bill to impose sweeping new penalties on Tehran and thwart its nuclear ambitions.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the panel's top Republican, said they had agreed on the measure that would target Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, require companies that trade on the U.S. stock exchange to disclose any Iran-related business to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and expand penalties for energy and uranium mining joint ventures with Tehran.

The bill also would deny visas and freeze assets on individuals and companies that supply Iran with technology that could be used to crack down on its citizens, such as tear gas, rubber bullets and surveillance equipment.

Johnson and Shelby said their committee would consider the legislation on Thursday.

"A nuclear-armed Iran would represent a grave threat to regional peace and international security," Johnson said in a joint statement with Shelby. "Iran's continuing defiance of its international legal obligations and refusal to come clean on its nuclear program underscore the need to further isolate Iran and its leaders."

Shelby said the bill "sends a clear signal through strong measures that Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons program and its designs for the spread of international terror."

A report in November suggested that some of the Islamic Republic's alleged experiments could have no other purpose than developing nuclear weapons. Iran contends that its program is designed to generate electricity, not build weapons. A U.N. inspection team currently is in the country.

Both the Obama administration and the international community have imposed tough sanctions on Iran. Johnson and Shelby said those penalties have been insufficient in deterring Tehran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Among the provisions of the legislation is an expansion of U.S. sanctions to include companies involved in joint energy ventures anywhere in the world in which Tehran is a significant partner or investor. The penalties also would apply if Iran receives energy technology or information that wasn't previously available to the government.

Penalties also would be imposed on companies involved in a joint venture with Iran in the mining, production or transportation of uranium. Individuals who agree to abandon such projects within six months would be exempt from the penalties.

The legislation would require the president to identify and designate officials, affiliates and agents of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. These individuals would be subject to sanctions and barred from the United States. Individuals or companies that engage in transactions with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, even through bartering, also would be subject to sanctions.

Penalties also would be mandatory for shippers or insurers who knowingly aid the shipment of materials that contribute to Iran's weapons of mass destruction or terrorism-related activities.

The bill is likely to garner strong bipartisan support. Last year, the Senate voted 100-0 for a measure sponsored by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to the annual defense bill that targeted financial institutions that do business with Iran's Central Bank. President Barack Obama signed the wide-ranging defense bill on Dec. 31.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_iran_sanctions

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Jury finds Afghan family guilty in honor killings

Mohammad Shafia, centre, Tooba Yahya, right, and Hamed Shafia, left, arrive at the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ontario, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A jury took 15 hours to find Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case so shocking it has riveted Canadians from coast to coast. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Mohammad Shafia, centre, Tooba Yahya, right, and Hamed Shafia, left, arrive at the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ontario, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A jury took 15 hours to find Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case so shocking it has riveted Canadians from coast to coast. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Mohammad Shafia, center, Tooba Yahya, right, and Hamed Shafia, left, arrive at the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ontario, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A jury took 15 hours to find each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case so shocking it has riveted Canadians from coast to coast. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Tooba Yahya is led away from the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ontario, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, after being found guilty of first degree murder. A jury took 15 hours to find Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case so shocking it has riveted Canadians from coast to coast. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Mohammad Shafia, front,Tooba Yahya, center and Hamed Shafia arrive at the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ont., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A jury took 15 hours to find Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder of Mohammad Shafia's three daughters and childless first wife. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Mohammad Shafia reacts as he his led away from the Frontenac County courthouse in Kingston, Ont., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, after being found guilty of first degree murder of his three daughters and childless first wife. A jury took 15 hours to find Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case so shocking it has riveted Canadians from coast to coast. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

KINGSTON, Ontario (AP) ? A jury on Sunday found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor."

The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case that shocked and riveted Canadians from coast to coast. First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

After the verdict was read, the three defendants again declared their innocence in the killings of sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, Shafia's childless first wife in a polygamous marriage.

Their bodies were found June 30, 2009, in a car submerged in a canal in Kingston, Ontario, where the family had stopped for the night on their way home to Montreal from Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly killed the three teenage sisters because they dishonored the family by defying its disciplinarian rules on dress, dating, socializing and going online. Shafia's first wife was living with him and his second wife. The polygamous relationship, if revealed, could have resulted in their deportation.

The prosecution alleged it was a case of premeditated murder, staged to look like an accident after it was carried out. Prosecutors said the defendants drowned their victims elsewhere on the site, placed their bodies in the car and pushed it into the canal.

Defense lawyers said the deaths were accidental. They said the Nissan car accidentally plunged into the canal after the eldest daughter, Zainab, took it for a joy ride with her sisters and her father's first wife. Hamed said he watched the accident, although he didn't call police from the scene.

After the jury returned the verdicts, Mohammad Shafia, speaking through a translator, said, "We are not criminal, we are not murderer, we didn't commit the murder and this is unjust."

His weeping wife, Tooba, also declared the verdict unjust, saying, "I am not a murderer, and I am a mother, a mother."

Their son, Hamed, speaking in English said, "I did not drown my sisters anywhere."

But Judge Robert Maranger was unmoved, saying the evidence clearly supported their conviction for "the planned and deliberate murder of four members of your family."

"It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime ... the apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honor ... that has absolutely no place in any civilized society."

Hamed's lawyer, Patrick McCann, said he was disappointed with the verdict, but said his client will appeal and he believes the other two defendants will as well.

But prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis welcomed the verdict.

"This jury found that four strong, vivacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family in the most troubling of circumstances," Laarhuis said outside court.

"This verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles in a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy," he said to cheers of approval from onlookers.

The family had left Afghanistan in 1992 and lived in Pakistan, Australia and Dubai before settling in Canada in 2007. Shafia, a wealthy businessman, married Yahya because his first wife could not have children.

The prosecution painted a picture of a household controlled by a domineering Shafia, with Hamed keeping his sisters in line and doling out discipline when his father was away on frequent business trips to Dubai.

The months leading up to the deaths were not happy ones in the Shafia household, according to evidence presented at trial. Zainab, the oldest daughter, was forbidden to attend school for a year because she had a young Pakistani-Canadian boyfriend, and she fled to a shelter, terrified of her father, the court was told.

The prosecution said her parents found condoms in Sahar's room as well as photos of her wearing short skirts and hugging her Christian boyfriend, a relationship she had kept secret. Geeti was becoming almost impossible to control: skipping school, failing classes, being sent home for wearing revealing clothes and stealing, while declaring to authority figures that she wanted to be placed in foster care, according to the prosecution.

Shafia's first wife wrote in a diary that her husband beat her and "made life a torture," while his second wife called her a servant.

The prosecution presented wire taps and cell phone records from the Shafia family in court to support their honor killing theory. The wiretaps, which capture Shafia spewing vitriol about his dead daughters, calling them treacherous and whores and invoking the devil to defecate on their graves, were a focal point of the trial.

"There can be no betrayal, no treachery, no violation more than this," Shafia said on one recording. "Even if they hoist me up onto the gallows ... nothing is more dear to me than my honor."

Defense lawyers argued that at no point in the intercepts do the accused say they drowned the victims.

Shafia's lawyer, Peter Kemp, said after the verdicts that he believes the comments his client made on the wiretaps may have weighed more heavily on the jury's minds than the physical evidence in the case.

"He wasn't convicted for what he did," Kemp said. "He was convicted for what he said."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-29-CN-Canada-Honor-Killing/id-2393824308a8466e8e9dca4d88f75406

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Yemeni president heads to U.S (Politico)

The embattled president of Yemen has arrived in the United States for medical treatment.

Yemen's foreign press office says that President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived at an unspecified location in the United States, after a journey that took him from Oman, through London.

Continue Reading

His staff has said he is in the United States to be treated for injuries suffered during an assassination attempt in June.

Saleh's travel plans in the United States have not been disclosed for security reasons.

After months of unrest, Saleh agreed in November to relinquish power.

The U.S. and its allies have pressured Saleh to leave Yemen permanently, but it is unclear how long he will remain in the U.S.

In a speech before he left for Oman, he promised to return home before Feb. 21 presidential elections.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_72106_html/44338378/SIG=11md41mr6/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72106.html

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Tibet protester tells China cops: Come get me

BEIJING?? A young man posts his photo with a leaflet demanding freedom for Tibet and telling Chinese police, come and get me. Protesters rise up to defend him, and demonstrations break out in two other Tibetan areas of western China to support the same cause.

Each time, police respond with bullets.

The three clashes, all in the past week, killed several Tibetans and injured dozens. They mark an escalation of a protest movement that for months expressed itself mainly through scattered individual self-immolations.

It's the result of growing desperation among Tibetans and a harsh crackdown by security forces that scholars and pro-Tibet activists contend only breeds more rage and despair.

That leaves authorities with the stark choice of either cracking down even harder or meeting Tibetan demands for greater freedom and a return of their Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama ? something Beijing has shown zero willingness to do.

"By not responding constructively when it was faced with peaceful one-person protests, the (Communist) party has created the conditions for violent, large-scale protests," Robbie Barnett, head of modern Tibetan studies at New York's Columbia University, said.

China to again close Tibet during sensitive period

This is the region's most violent period since 2008, when deadly rioting in Tibet's capital Lhasa spread to Tibetan areas in adjoining provinces.

Flooded with troops
China responded by flooding the area with troops and closing Tibetan regions entirely to foreigners for about a year. Special permission is still required for non-Chinese visitors to Tibet, and the Himalayan region remains closed off entirely for the weeks surrounding the March 14 anniversary of the riots that left 22 people dead.

Video smuggled out by activists shows paramilitary troops equipped with assault rifles and armored cars making pre-dawn arrests.

Video: Dalai Lama to US: ?Keep your spirit? (on this page)

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Huge convoys of heavily armored troops are seen driving along mountain roads and monks accused of sedition being frog-marched to waiting trucks.

For the past year, self-immolations have become a striking form of protest in the region. At least 16 monks, nuns and former clergy set themselves on fire after chanting for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Report: Body paraded afer China self-immolation

China, fiercely critical of the Dalai Lama, says Tibet has been under its rule for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for most of that time.

In a change from the individual protests, several thousand Tibetans marched to government offices Monday in Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province.

Police opened fire into the crowd, killing up to three people, witnesses and activist groups said.

On Tuesday, security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters in another area of Ganzi, killing two Tibetans and wounding several more, according to the group Free Tibet.

Slideshow: The Dalai Lama (on this page)

On Thursday in southwestern Sichuan province's Aba prefecture, a youth named Tarpa posted a leaflet saying that self-immolations wouldn't stop until Tibet is free, the London-based International Campaign for Tibet said.

He wrote his name on the leaflet and included a photo of himself, saying that Chinese authorities could come and arrest him if they wished, group spokeswoman Kate Saunders said in an email.

Too sensitive to discuss
Security forces did so about two hours later. Area residents blocked their way, shouting slogans and warning of bigger protests if Tarpa wasn't released, Saunders said. Police then fired into the crowd, killing a a 20-year-old friend of Tarpa's, a student named Urgen, and wounding several others.

The incident, as with most reported clashes in Tibetan areas, could not be independently verified and exact numbers of casualties were unclear because of the heavy security presence and lack of access. The topic is so sensitive that even government-backed scholars claim ignorance of it and refuse to comment.

The government, however, acknowledged Tuesday's unrest, saying that a "mob" charged a police station and injured 14 officers, forcing police to open fire on them. The official Xinhua News Agency said police killed one rioter and injured another.

Q&A: The Dalai Lama, China and Tibet

"The Chinese government will, as always, fight all crimes and be resolute in maintaining social order," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in comments on the incident.

The harsh response points to a deep anxiety about the self-immolations, said Youdon Aukatsang, a New Delhi-based member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.

"They're worried that there is an underground movement in Tibet that is coming to the surface," she said.

Slideshow: The dance of two giants (on this page)

Tibetan desperation has been fed both by the harsh crackdown ? security agents reportedly outnumber monks in some monasteries ? along with a deep fear that the Dalai Lama, probably the most potent symbol of Tibet's separate identity, will never return.

The 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate handed his political powers to an elected assembly last year.

That was intended to ensure the Tibetan cause would live on after him, but was met with considerable anxiety among many Tibetans who saw it as a sign he was giving up his role as leader of their struggle.

Dibyesh Anand, a Tibet expert at London's University of Westminster, said resistance to Chinese rule is likely to grow more fierce.

"Protests will get more radicalized since the Tibetans in the region see no concession, no offer of compromise, no flexibility coming from the government," he said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46172845/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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Margaret Paul, Ph.D.: Beauty, Gratitude and the Open Heart

"... beauty on your earth is a shadow of the beauty of our heaven, and it's a bitter thing to have a blindness for beauty on earth, for it makes a longer teaching to see the beauties of heaven." -- Spoken by an Irish spirit in the book "The Boy who Saw True" (anonymous author).

I have always loved beauty. Since I've been a small child, I've collect beautiful things -- shells, rocks and wood. My home is filled with these, as well as with works of art and beautiful plants. There is nowhere in my environment where there is not something beautiful to look at, both inside and outside in nature. When I walk through my home and the land around it, my heart fills with awe and love as I appreciate the beauty around me. I've done this so automatically throughout my life that it never occurred to me that many people do not open to beauty nor create beauty around them.

In working with some of my clients struggling to keep their heart open, I've mentioned focusing on an object of beauty, and have been surprised to find that many of them have no beauty around them -- no plants, flowers, works of art or objects of nature. When they look around they see walls, appliances, computers and other buildings. Their left-brain functions just fine in this environment, but what about the right -- the creative, intuitive, spiritually-connected aspect?

I encourage you to consider feeding your soul with beauty. There is nothing like awe and gratitude for something beautiful, to open the heart to gratitude in general. If you can love the intricate design in the bark of a tree, or the vibrancy of a flower, or the balance of a beautifully thrown piece of pottery -- that might lead you into loving and appreciating the beauty of your soul and the souls of others. It might open you to feeling gratitude for your life and the sacred privilege of experiencing your journey on this planet.

How much of your thinking time is spent being upset or unhappy about something? What if all that time was spent in gratitude for what you have and for the beauty around you? What if you were present enough in this moment to revel in the fact that you can turn on a faucet and have hot water come out? That you have food to eat and a bed to sleep on? If you are reading this, it is likely that you have a computer, which means you have more than most of the people on this planet.

Try this little experiment: find something of beauty -- it can be as simple as a leaf, a flower, a photograph, a small work of art or the top of a tree out your window. Now let yourself completely open to the thing of beauty. Let yourself feel the beauty in your body -- in your heart, your solar plexus, in your stomach, arms and legs, in your forehead. Let the beauty enliven your body and fill it with vitality. Breathe in the beauty and feel your body's reaction to it. Open to gratitude, thanking God for this experience of beauty.

Notice the peace and joy it gives you to be in this moment with this simple object of beauty. What would life be like if you spent more moments like this, in the present with beauty and with all you have? How much of your waking time is spent in this way?

Beauty and gratitude are soul foods. When you choose to open to them, you extend an invitation to love, peace and joy. This opens the door to your spiritual connection. Your spiritual guidance is always here for you, helping you on your soul's journey -- learning to love yourself and share your love with others.

For more by Margaret Paul, Ph.D., click here.

For more on mindfulness, click here.

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Follow Margaret Paul, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/innerbonding

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-paul-phd/beauty-gratitude_b_1192909.html

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SwitchMe brings makeshift guest account to Android root users

Wouldn't it be absolutely splendid if you could hand your phone over to a friend (or complete stranger) without fear of them mucking up your system or digging into your personal bits? Yes, we'd absolutely love to see guest accounts become standard issue on all handsets, but until that day arrives, a new application called SwitchMe will work in a pinch. Word of caution, this app requires root privileges, which may deter many folks.

Rather than allowing multiple sessions to run simultaneously, as you'd expect on a desktop computer, SwitchMe lets users to easily jump between different installations of Android -- they exist separately and don't talk to each other. Naturally, this also allows hobbyists to easily jump between their favorite ROMs, and gives developers clean sandboxes for app testing. The first hit is free, but if you want to manage more than two installations, you'll need to buy the unlock key for $1.98. Still, those who find the SwitchMe useful should consider tossing the developer a few bones.

Update: As a commenter pointed out, multiple ROMs are not supported at this time. The developer has verified this, stating that any content inside /system cannot be changed. Bummer.

[Thanks, Alan]

SwitchMe brings makeshift guest account to Android root users originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/switchme-brings-makeshift-guest-account-to-android-root-users/

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Unemployment rates decreasing in most Ky. counties (AP)

FRANKFORT, Ky. ? Most Kentucky counties are reporting a decrease in unemployment.

The Kentucky Office of Employment and Training says 114 counties reported that jobless rates fell from December 2010 to December 2011. Six counties reported an increase in unemployment during the same time period.

Woodford County had the lowest unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, followed by Fayette County at 6.5 percent and Boone County at 6.9 percent.

Jackson County had the highest jobless rate at 15.2 percent, followed by Fulton County at 14.9 percent at Magoffin County at 14.4 percent.

The statistics are based on estimates and don't include people who haven't looked for a job in the last four weeks.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_jobless_rates_kentucky

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Garth Brooks Wins $1 Million Settlement (omg!)

Garth Brooks received justice in a lawsuit against an Oklahoma hospital that the court ruled had failed to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother, the AP reports.

The ruling, which was reached on Tuesday evening, states that the hospital must pay Brooks a total of $1 million ($ 500,000 to reimburse Brooks' original donation to the hospital and $500,000 in "punitive damages").

Brooks initially sued Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon after he had learned that the hospital wanted to use his donation money to fund construction projects unrelated to a deal he believed to have reached with the hospital's president in 2005.

A jury member spoke out about why she voted in Brooks' favor, asserting that she believed the hospital went back on its word.

As for the punitive damages, the jury member stated, "We wanted to show them not to do that anymore to anyone else."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_garth_brooks_wins1_million_settlement_115800978/44298461/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/garth-brooks-wins-1-million-settlement-115800978.html

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Azarenka into women's final at Australian Open (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Victoria Azarenka reached her first Grand Slam final and staked a claim for the No. 1 ranking when she beat defending champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday.

The third-seeded Azarenka recovered her composure twice in periods when a resurgent Clijsters seemed to have the upper hand, breaking the veteran Belgian's serve three times in the third set to secure victory in only her second appearance in a major semifinal.

The 22-year-old Belarusian will play either Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova or 2008 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova in the Saturday night final. Azarenka, Kvitova and Sharapova can all finish the tournament with the No. 1 ranking.

After a strong start, Azarenka's serve deserted her in the second set and Clijsters dictated play with her solid groundstrokes and some amazing defense.

But after getting the momentum back, it was Clijsters who blinked first in the third set, dropping serve in the second game and again in the fourth. She got two of those service games back, including one when she rallied from 40-0 down to win a game to get the score back to 4-3.

But Azarenka rallied immediately again, breaking serve. She got triple match point trying to serve out the match and, after a double-fault on her first, she clinched it on a Clijsters' error.

Azarenka threw her racket on the court and sank to her knees, bent over with her hands covering her face. Clijsters came around the net to congratulate her.

"I felt like my hand is about 200 kilograms and my body is about 1,000 and everything is shaking, but that feeling when you finally win is such a relief. My God I cannot believe it's over. I just want to cry," Azarenka said as she choked back tears, then buried her face in the towel.

"It was just trying to stay in the moment. Kim really took over the second set and I felt there was nothing I could do. I just tried to regroup."

Clijsters is a popular player in Australia, where she's widely known as "Aussie Kim." The four-time major winner had most of the backing from the crowd on the national holiday in what is likely to be her last Australian Open.

Azarenka held her nerve despite the crowd.

"I guess before you all thought I was a mental case. I was just young and emotional," she said in a courtside interview. "I'm really glad the way I fight, that's the most thing I'm really proud of. I fight for every ball."

The Sharapova-Kvitova semifinal was next match on Rod Laver Arena.

On Wednesday night, top-ranked Novak Djokovic held off No. 5 David Ferrer in a second-set tiebreaker and then raced through the third set for a 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1 win, setting up a rematch of last year's final against fourth-ranked Andy Murray and ensuring the 'Big 4' reached the semifinals for the third time in the last four majors.

With Nos. 2-4 already in the semis, Djokovic looked to be in trouble in the second set when he clutched at his left hamstring and had trouble breathing.

"No, I don't have any physical issues," Djokovic later said, playing down any health concerns. "I feel very fit and I feel mentally, as well, very fresh.

"It's just today I found it very difficult after a long time to breathe because I felt the whole day my nose was closed a little bit. I just wasn't able to get enough oxygen."

Murray beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 earlier Wednesday, while second-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Roger Federer were already preparing for their semifinal showdown on Thursday, their 10th clash at a major but their first meeting at that stage of a Grand Slam since 2005.

Doubts about Djokovic's temperament surfaced after he won his first major at the 2008 Australian Open and didn't reach another final for 11 Grand Slam tournaments. In his first title defense in 2009, he struggled with breathing problems and the heat and had to retire from his quarterfinal match against Andy Roddick.

Trying again to defend the Australian title, and again in the quarterfinals, Djokovic was leading by a set and a break when he dropped serve against Ferrer.

At break point, he scrambled to hit a lob on his backhand and didn't even wait for it to land out before turning to face the back of the court, grabbing at the back of his left leg. He leaned over and rested his head on the top of his racket. Ferrer was back in contention.

At times Djokovic looked exhausted and sore at times in the second set, but he pulled through.

"In these conditions, at this stage of the tournament, when you're playing somebody like David ... your physical strength and endurance comes into question," Djokovic calmly explained of his on-court demeanor. "Actually I'm not concerned about that at all."

That may not be how Murray's new coach, Ivan Lendl, sees it. Lendl has been working with Murray this month, trying to help him break his Grand Slam title drought ? he has lost three major finals, including the last two in Australia.

He was doing some scouting Wednesday night at Rod Laver Arena, sitting about 15 rows behind the Djokovic group, surrounded by people waving Serbian flags. He couldn't have missed the sideways glances Djokovic sneaked at his support crew. Murray and Djokovic know each other well, but haven't been on the same side of a Grand Slam draw for a while.

Murray said he's growing in confidence because he's "just more used to being in this position."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Video: GOP Battle for the Sunshine State

I think the momentum is back on Mitt Romney's side in Florida, says former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who adds Mitt Romney is the most capable candidate.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Top of page

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46146584/

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Obama challenges: Shrink gap between rich, poor (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Declaring the American dream under siege, President Barack Obama delivered a populist challenge Tuesday night to shrink the gap between rich and poor, promising to tax the wealthy more and help jobless Americans get work and hang onto their homes. Seeking re-election and needing results, the president invited Republicans to join him but warned, "I intend to fight."

In an emphatic State of the Union address, Obama said ensuring a fair shot for all Americans is "the defining issue of our time." He said the economy is finally recovering from a deep and painful recession and he will fight any effort to return to policies that brought it low.

"We've come too far to turn back now," he declared.

Obama outlined a vastly different vision for fixing the country than the one pressed by the Republicans confronting him in Congress and fighting to take his job in the November election. He pleaded for an active government that ensures economic fairness for everyone, just as his opponents demand that the government back off and let the free market rule.

Obama offered steps to help students afford college, a plan for more struggling homeowners to refinance their homes and tax cuts for manufacturers. He threw in politically appealing references to accountability, including warning universities they will lose federal aid if they don't stop tuition from soaring.

Standing in front of a divided Congress, with bleak hope this election year for much of his legislative agenda, Obama spoke with voters in mind.

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama said. "Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."

A rare wave of unity splashed over the House chamber at the start. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survivor of an assassination attempt one year ago, received sustained applause from her peers and cheers of "Gabby, Gabby, Gabby." She blew a kiss to the podium. Obama embraced her.

Lawmakers leapt to their feet when Obama said near the start of his speech that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, killed by a raid authorized by the president, will no longer threaten America.

At the core of Obama's address was the improving but deeply wounded economy ? the matter still driving Americans' anxiety and the one likely to determine the next presidency.

"The state of our union is getting stronger," Obama said, calibrating his words as millions remain unemployed. Implicit in his declaration that the American dream is "within our reach" was the recognition that, after three years of an Obama presidency, the country is not there yet.

He spoke of restoring basic goals: owning a home, earning enough to raise a family, putting a little money away for retirement.

"We can do this," Obama said. "I know we can." He said Americans are convinced that "Washington is broken," but he also said it wasn't too late to cooperate on important matters.

Republicans were not impressed. They applauded infrequently, though they did cheer when the president quoted "Republican Abraham Lincoln" as saying: "That government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves ? and no more."

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, offering the formal GOP response, called Obama's policies "pro-poverty" and his tactics divisive.

"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Daniels said after the president's address.

In a signature swipe at the nation's growing income gap, Obama called for a new minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent on anyone making over $1 million. Many millionaires ? including one of his chief rivals, Republican Mitt Romney ? pay a rate less than that because they get most of their income from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate.

"Now you can call this class warfare all you want," Obama said, responding to a frequent criticism from the GOP presidential field. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."

Obama calls this the "Buffett rule," named for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said it's unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Emphasizing the point, Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, attended the address in first lady Michelle Obama's box.

Obama underlined every proposal with the idea that hard work and responsibility still count. He was targeting independent voters who helped seal his election in 2008 and the frustrated masses in a nation pessimistic about its course.

In a flag-waving defense of American power and influence abroad, Obama said the U.S. will safeguard its own security "against those who threaten our citizens, our friends and our interests." On Iran, he said that while all options are on the table to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon ? an implied threat to use military force ? "a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible."

With Congress almost universally held in low regard, Obama went after an easy target in calling for reforms to keep legislators from engaging in insider trading and holding them to the same conflict-of-interest standards as those that apply to the executive branch.

With the foreclosure crisis on ongoing sore spot despite a number of administration housing initiatives over the past three years, Obama proposed a new program to allow homeowners with privately held mortgages to refinance at lower interest rates. Administration officials offered few details but estimated savings at $3,000 a year for average borrowers.

Obama proposed steps to crack down on fraud in the financial sector and mortgage industry, with a Financial Crimes Unit to monitor bankers and financial service professionals, and a separate special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into abusive lending that led to the housing crisis.

At a time of tight federal budgets and heavy national debt, Obama found a ready source of money to finance his ideas: He proposed to devote half of the money no longer being spent on the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan to "do some nation-building right here at home," to help create more jobs and increase competitiveness. The other half, he said, would go to help pay down the national debt.

Obama also offered a defense of regulations that protect the American consumer ? regulations often criticized by Republicans as job-killing obstacles.

"Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same," Obama said. "It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts and no cop-outs. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody."

Obama will follow up Tuesday night's address with a three-day tour of five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he'll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he'll discuss energy, and in Michigan on Friday he'll talk about college affordability, education and training.

Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama's overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.

The speech Tuesday night comes just one week before the Florida Republican primary that could help set the trajectory for the rest of the race.

Romney, caught up in a tight contest with a resurgent Newt Gingrich, commented in advance to Obama's speech.

"Tonight will mark another chapter in the misguided policies of the last three years ? and the failed leadership of one man," Romney said from Florida.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_the_union

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BlackBerry Burst: RIM's Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie Step Down [BlackBerry]

RIM's co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie—aka the keyboard-loving odd couple—are finally realizing they're running BlackBerry into the ground and jumping ship before it's too late. That is, Lazaridis and Balsillie are stepping down at RIM. Done. Gone. Bye bye. The new CEO of RIM will be former COO Thorsten Heins. He has quite the job ahead of him, to say the least. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/F7EaRO3lRJc/rims-ceos-finally-step-down

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Geoengineered Food? Climate Fix Could Boost Crop Yields, But With Risks

Enlarge iStockphoto

Altering the upper atmosphere could block enough sunlight to offset the warming effects of climate change and protect food crops. But what are the risks?

iStockphoto

Altering the upper atmosphere could block enough sunlight to offset the warming effects of climate change and protect food crops. But what are the risks?

For a few years now, a handful of scientists have been proposing grandiose technological fixes for the world's climate to combat the effects of global warming ? schemes called geoengineering.

Climate change has the potential to wreak all kinds of havoc on the planet, including the food system. Scientists predict that two variables farmers depend on heavily ? temperature and precipitation ? are already changing and affecting food production in some arid parts of the world where there isn't a lot of room for error. And if the problem worsens on a larger scale, it could do a lot of damage to agricultural yields and food security.

At some point, governments may decide "to do something desperate to protect our food and our people," Ken Caldeira, an environmental scientist at Stanford University, tells The Salt. And that "something desperate" could be geoengineering.

?

One proposal scientists are batting around is to fill the upper atmosphere with tiny particles that could scatter sunlight before it reaches, and warms, the Earth's surface. Sulfate droplets inside volcanic ash clouds already do this naturally. So the idea is that a few million tons of sulfates, sprayed into the stratosphere by airplanes, could produce the same effect artificially.

Scientists have been messing with local weather for decades. China does it all the time, most infamously during the 2008 Olympics. But around 2006, the notion of doing it on a global scale got more traction, especially when Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen got behind it. A backlash ensued, as many pointed out that tampering with such a complex system was far too risky.

Caldeira began studying geoengineering with the intent of proving that it's a bad idea. But his new research suggests that manipulating the climate could actually produce benefits, at least for food production. For instance: a study from his lab, published Sunday in Nature Climate Change, compares the effect on the global food supply of unmitigated global warming versus geoengineering.

The result? Crop yields of wheat, rice and corn would actually get a boost from geoengineering.

Julia Pongratz, a post-doc researcher, led the study. She used computer climate models to simulate a doubling of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Plants like CO₂, but the models showed that the resulting temperature increase would lead to an overall decrease in crop yields.

When she added the cooling effects of geoengineering, however, the model showed crop yields increasing as much as 20 percent. Without the stress of higher temperatures, plants would be able to take full advantage of the extra CO₂.

So, does this mean we should start geoengineering today?

"Definitely not," Pongratz says.

For one thing, her simulation only studied the average global temperature ? not the localized effects of geoengineering. Even if the global average remained the same, some regions might get hotter while others get colder. That could cause drastic local or regional changes in climate and weather patterns.

Also, geoengineering wouldn't prevent other harmful effects of higher CO₂ levels, such as ocean acidification, she says.

And both of those problems would threaten local food security, especially in areas where people already have trouble getting enough to eat.

Until researchers learn more about the specific consequences of geoengineering, neither Pongratz nor Caldeira is endorsing the idea.

"Tinkering with planetary-scale processes is a very risky business, and one that I think most people would not want to undertake lightly," Caldeira says. "I think it's the sort of thing that people wouldn't consider unless our backs are against the wall.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/01/20/145535536/geoengineered-food-climate-fix-could-boost-crop-yields-but-with-risks?ft=1&f=1007

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Video: The Bathtub Mystery, Part 4

Dateline NBC

'Dateline NBC,' the signature broadcast for NBC News in primetime, premiered in 1992. Since then, it has been pioneering a new approach to primetime news programming. The multi-night franchise, supplemented by frequent specials, allows NBC to consistently and comprehensively present the highest-quality reporting, investigative features, breaking news coverage and newsmaker profiles.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/vp/46057809#46057809

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Report: Spain doubtful on 2012 deficit target (AP)

BERLIN ? Spain's new government quickly sought to downplay remarks by its finance minister that raised doubts Friday over whether Madrid could deliver its goal of cutting its budget deficit.

Cristobal Montoro said in an interview with The Financial Times Deutschland that the target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product this year was based on "outdated" growth forecasts by the previous government of 2.3 percent growth in 2012. The new government expects Spain to go into recession this quarter.

Montoro said of the 4.4 percent figure that "it is desirable, and it would be good to manage this," according to the report. It said he didn't want to make promises ahead of EU growth forecasts.

Hours later, the Spanish government scrambled to nuance the comments, which appeared to deviate from what has been a strict policy of deficit-cutting.

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said the government was determined to meet the 4.4 percent goal and if "more reforms and greater rigor" were needed to achieve it, they would be enacted.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government says the 2011 deficit hit at least 8 percent of GDP, rather than 6 as forecast by the last government. Rajoy meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin next Thursday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_germany_spain_financial_crisis

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Jorge Rivera goes out a winner in retirement fight at UFC on FX 1

He doesn't rank up there with the likes of Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, but Jorge Rivera certainly did his part as one of the building blocks for the UFC.

A long-time card filler since 2003, Rivera announced earlier in the day that he was retiring following his fight tonight. He seized the opportunity to shine in his final trip to the Octagon by wearing down and eventually punching out Eric Schafer at the 1:31 mark of the second round of the final fight on the FUEL TV portion of the UFC on FX 1 card.

"I want to thank Zuffa. I want to thank Dana White, the Fertitta brothers, Burt Watson, whose voice I'm going to miss dearly in the back," Rivera told UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik.

Rivera then turned his attention to thanking his family and training partners. That's when he got a bit emotional.

It was nice to see the near 40-year-old make it to the cage tonight for his 15th career fight with the promotion. He nearly retired back in 2009 after the tragic passing of his daughter Jessica.

Rivera (19-9) turned pro back in 2001. He finishes with an 8-7 record in the UFC. He rose near the top of the division facing former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin at UFC 50. He also lost to current contender Michael Bisping. He had to overcome some rough times in his personal life when Jessica, 17, passed away after a fatal reaction to birth control medication.

"I'm grateful I fought here in front of a lot of people. It's been a real nice trip. It's been real good to me," said Rivera.

Rivera's seen the sport come a long way. In 2003, UFC pay-per-views had trouble eclipsing 50,000 buys. Tonight, between FUEL TV and FX, all 11 fights are being televised to a nationwide audience.

The victory was typical Rivera. He never panics in the cage, so even when he was getting dominated in the grappling game, Rivera stayed composed in the first round. Schafer, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, had top control for much of the opening round, but never threatened with a submission.

Schafer (12-7-2, 3-6 UFC) is a new entry to the middleweight division. His stamina was an issue in his UFC debut fight at 185 pounds against Aaron Simpson and it happened again tonight.

"He's a strong guy. I was watching him in the back. He had a real tough [weight] cut, so I knew the longer the fight would go, he would have a harder time. And I could feel him breathing harder and harder," said Rivera.

Rivera escaped one final takedown attempt with 4:10 left in the second. With Schafer on his hands and knees, Rivera stunned him with a right uppercut. He eventually faded to the cage where he ate 23 unanswered shots. After several requests from referee Herb Dean to defend himself, Schafer didn't respond and the fight was stopped.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/jorge-rivera-goes-winner-retirement-fight-ufc-fx-020509572.html

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Intel does the executive shuffle

Time to update your Intel executive playing cards. The chipmaker is doing some serious reshuffling high up in its ranks. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that SVP Brian Krzanich and EVP Dadi Perlmutter will be taking on the roles of chief operating officer and chief product officer, respectively. The big moves come on the heels of some positive looking financial results. The Journal suggests that the decision may be part of the company's attempt to line up a successor for current Intel CEO, Paul Otellini.

Intel does the executive shuffle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/kniBE1SbLCE/

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Will Interactive iBooks Be The Next Big Booty For Pirates?

With the shift from print books to digital books come a few nasty side effects. Sure, it's much easier much easier to acquire and read books when you don't even have to get out of your chair, but those digital copies can be cracked and disseminated for free with only a little more effort. As ebook sales expand, so does ebook piracy, so I have to wonder if Apple's concerted efforts in creating a new kind of iBook experience will open them up to unwanted attention from digital pirates.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/LcEJDOE0wf0/

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Life goes on for Iranians

AP

At schools, in shops, and on the streets of big cities and small towns, daily life plays out in Iran.

As international tension with Iran mounts over sanctions creating a chokehold on the oil-rich nation's economy, life goes on for Iranians.

U.S. lawmakers crafted Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 to reduce Iran's oil revenue as punishment for what the United States says is a program to develop a nuclear-weapon capability. Among other things, it prohibits financial institutions from dealing with Iran's central bank, which acts as the clearinghouse for OPEC's second-largest oil exporter.?

Iranian officials earlier this month bluntly warned a U.S. carrier not to return to the Gulf and have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, spooking oil markets and raising the specter of a U.S.-Iranian confrontation.

The West accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but government officials claim the research is for peaceful purposes.

In Iranian cities,?international affairs seem to go on far away as students still take music?lessons,?fishermen go out for their daily catches and canine lovers?volunteer at?local animal shelters.

These are a few of the activities shown in an msnbc.om slide show on slices of life in Iran.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10202706-slices-of-life-in-iran-where-international-tension-may-appear-far-off

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Apparently, British Airways Loves To Torture Its Passengers [Airplanes]

Passengers flying on a British Airways' airplane from Miami to London thought they were going to die last Friday, when a recorded voice announced: "This is an emergency, we will shortly be making an emergency landing on water." More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9xeqUvsdcdY/apparently-british-airways-loves-to-torture-their-passengers

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