LG Optimus L3 emerges in Sweden, appears to be new entry-level offering

LG has been busy selling various flavors of its high-end Optimus LTE over the past few months, but that doesn't mean it's forgotten about its entry-level line-up. A new budget device, dubbed the LG E400 Optimus L3, has appeared over on Swedish retailer CDON, running Android 2.3 (and LG's Optimus UI) on a 3.2-inch screen. Other specs include a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA and Wifi connectivity and a microSD card slot. There's no information on what CPU you'll find powering this thing, but we wouldn't expect anything beathtakingly fast -- maybe a 1GHz single-core chip, if that. Nevertheless, from the outside the Optimus L3 looks like a stylish little device for anyone on a budget.

But there's some cause for concern regarding that 3.2-inch screen, as according to CDON's spec list, it's a QVGA (320x240) panel. In 2012, that kind of resolution borders on unacceptable, even on a budget device. Last year's Optimus One was fitted with a HVGA (480x320) screen, so we're hoping this is just an error on the part of the retailer.

The Optimus L3 is shown with a pre-order price of 1290 SEK (~£120, $190) off-contract, with stock apparently due to arrive on Feb. 27.

Source: CDON; via: GSMArena

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/7zCKSO74WrE/story01.htm

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Iowa governor open to bill funding nuclear plant (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Gov. Terry Branstad says he's open to legislation allowing MidAmerican Energy to bill customers for the cost of a proposed nuclear power plant before construction is complete.

Speaking Monday at his weekly news conference, Branstad maintained Iowa should consider all kinds of energy sources, including nuclear power.

Branstad also says it's important that the Iowa Utilities Board examine plans to ensure they are in the best interest of the public.

A Senate panel unanimously approved the nuclear legislation last week despite concerns from consumer and environmental groups. It now goes to the Senate Commerce Committee.

The bill requires MidAmerican to apply to the utilities board to construct a nuclear plant. It allows for recovery of permitting, licensing, construction, operation and maintenance costs regardless of whether a plant is completed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_iowa_nuclear_bill_iowa

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Peru: 27 killed in fire at rehab center

LIMA, Peru?? A fire swept through a two-story private rehabilitation center for addicts in a poor part of Peru's capital Saturday, killing 27 people and critically injuring five as firefighters punched holes through walls to rescue residents locked inside.

The "Christ is Love" center for drug and alcohol addicts was unlicensed and overcrowded and its residents were apparently kept inside "like prisoners," Health Minister Alberto Tejada told The Associated Press.

Authorities said 26 people died at the scene, and prosecutors spokesman Raul Sanchez said Saturday night that one of six men hospitalized in critical condition died later.

Peru's fire chief, Antonio Zavala, said most of the victims died of asphyxiation. All the victims appeared to be male.

The local police chief, Clever Zegarra, said the cause of the 9 a.m. fire was under investigation.

"There has been talk of the burning of an object, of a mattress, but also of a fight that resulted in a fire. All of this is speculation," he told the AP. "I've been here at the scene from morning to evening but for the moment the exact cause of the fire is not known."

One resident of the center on a narrow dead-end street in Lima's teeming San Juan de Lurigancho district said he was eating breakfast on the second floor of the center when he saw flames coming from the first floor, where the blaze apparently began.

Gianfranco Huerta told local RPP news radio station that he leaped from a window to safety.

"The doors were locked; there was no way to get out," he told the station.

AP journalists at scene said all the windows of the building they were able to see were barred. Journalists were not allowed inside as police cordoned off the block. By early afternoon, all the dead had been removed from the center.

Most of the bodies seen by reporters were shirtless, their faces blackened. Many were also shoeless.

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"This rehabilitation center wasn't authorized. It was a house that they had taken over ... for patients with addictions and they had the habit of leaving people locked up with no medical supervision," Tejada, the health minister, said.

Authorities said they did not know how many people were inside the center at the time of the fire. They said they were looking for the center's owners and staff, some of whom apparently fled the scene.

The local police chief, Zegarra, identified the owner as Raul Garcia.

'Dantesque proportions'
Zoila Chea, an aunt of one victim, said families paid Garcia $37 to treat an addicted relative and $15 a week thereafter.

She said that neighbors had constantly complained about the center and that it had been closed twice by authorities.

Chea, 45, said relatives were prohibited from seeing interned patients during the first three months of treatment, which she added consisted mainly of reading the Bible.

Her nephew, Luis Chea, was at the center for a month, she said.

Zavala, the national fire chief, said the blaze was of "Dantesque proportions." Firefighters had to punch a hole through a wall with an adjoining building to help people trapped inside the rehabilitation center.

"We've had to use electric saws to cut through the metal bars of the doors to be able to work," Zavala said.

Relatives of residents of the center gathered near the building weeping and seeking word of their loved ones. As the day wore on, nearby sidewalks filled with relatives mourning and trying to console one another.

One of them was Maria Benitez, aunt of 18-year-old Carlos Benitez, who she said was being treated at the center.

"I want to know if he is OK or not," she told ATV television.

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/46174608/ns/world_news-americas/

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The Oil Off Cuba: Washington and Havana Dance at Arms Length Over Spill Prevention (Time.com)

On Christmas Eve, a massive, Chinese-made maritime oil rig, the Scarabeo 9, arrived at Trinidad and Tobago for inspection. The Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, which keeps regional headquarters in Trinidad, ferried it to the Caribbean to perform deep-ocean drilling off Cuba -- whose communist government believes as much as 20 billion barrels of crude may lie near the island's northwest coast. But it wasn't Cuban authorities who came aboard the Scarabeo 9 to give it the once-over: officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and Interior Department did, even though the rig won't be operating in U.S. waters.

On any other occasion that might have raised the ire of the Cubans, who consider Washington their imperialista enemy. But the U.S. examination of the Scarabeo 9, which Repsol agreed to and Cuba abided, was part of an unusual choreography of cooperation between the two countries. Their otherwise bitter cold-war feud (they haven't had diplomatic relations since 1961) is best known for a 50-year-long trade embargo and history's scariest nuclear standoff. Now, Cuba's commitment to offshore oil exploration -- drilling may start this weekend -- raises a specter that haunts both nations: an oil spill in the Florida Straits like the BP calamity that tarred the nearby Gulf of Mexico two years ago and left $40 billion in U.S. damages.

The Straits, an equally vital body of water that's home to some of the world's most precious coral reefs, separates Havana and Key West, Florida, by a mere 90 miles. As a result, the U.S. has tacitly loosened its embargo against Cuba to give firms like Repsol easier access to the U.S. equipment they need to help avoid or contain possible spills. "Preventing drilling off Cuba better protects our interests than preparing for [a disaster] does," U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida tells TIME, noting the U.S. would prefer to stop the Cuban drilling -- but can't. "But the two are not mutually exclusive, and that's why we should aim to do both."

(MORE: Cuba Set to Begin Offshore Drilling: Is Florida In Eco-Straits?)

Cuba meanwhile has tacitly agreed to ensure that its safety measures meet U.S. standards (not that U.S. standards proved all that golden during the 2010 BP disaster) and is letting unofficial U.S. delegations in to discuss the precautions being taken by Havana and the international oil companies it is contracting. No Cuban official would discuss the matter, but Dan Whittle, senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund in New York, who was part of one recent delegation, says the Cubans "seem very motivated to do the right thing."

It's also the right business thing to do. Cuba's threadbare economy -- President Ra?l Castro currently has to lay off more than 500,000 state workers -- is acutely energy-dependent on allies like Venezuela, which ships the island 120,000 barrels of oil per day. So Havana is eager to drill for the major offshore reserves geologists discovered eight years ago (which the U.S. Geological Survey estimates at closer to 10 billion bbl.). Cuba has signed or is negotiating leases with Repsol and companies from eight other nations -- Norway, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Venezuela, Angola and China -- for 59 drilling blocks inside a 43,000-sq.-mile (112,000 sq km) zone. Eventually, the government hopes to extract half a million bpd or more.

A serious oil spill could scuttle those drilling operations -- especially since Cuba hasn't the technology, infrastructure or means, like a clean-up fund similar to the $1 billion the U.S. keeps on reserve, to confront such an emergency. And there is another big economic anxiety: Cuba's $2 billion tourism industry. "The dilemma for Cuba is that as much as they want the oil, they care as much if not more about their ocean resources," says Billy Causey, southeast regional director for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's marine sanctuary program. Cuba's pristine beaches and reefs attract sunbathers and scuba divers the world over, and a quarter of its coastal environment is set aside as protected.

So is much of coastal Florida, where tourism generates $60 billion annually -- which is why the state keeps oil rigs out of its waters. The Florida Keys lie as close as 50 miles from where Repsol is drilling; and they run roughly parallel to the 350-mile-long (560 km) Florida Reef Tract (FRT), the world's third largest barrier reef and one of its most valuable ocean eco-systems. The FRT is already under assault from global warming, ocean acidification and overfishing of symbiotic species like parrotfish that keep coral pruned of corrosive algae. If a spill were to damage the FRT, which draws $2 billion from tourism each year and supports 33,000 jobs, "it would be a catastrophic event," says David Vaughan, director of Florida's private Mote Marine Laboratory.

(MORE: Will BP Spill Lower Risk of Deepwater Drilling?)

Which means America has its own dilemma. As much as the U.S. would like to thwart Cuban petro-profits -- Cuban-American leaders like U.S. Representative and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami say the oil will throw a lifeline to the Castro dictatorship -- it needs to care as much if not more about its own environment. Because fewer than a tenth of the Scarabeo 9's components were made in America, Washington can't wield the embargo cudgel and fine Repsol, which has interests in the U.S., for doing business with Cuba. (Most of the other firms don't have U.S. interests.) Nor can it in good conscience use the embargo in this case to keep U.S. companies from offering spill prevention/containment hardware and services to Repsol and other drilling contractors.

One of those U.S. firms is Helix Energy Solutions in Houston. Amid the Gulf disaster, Helix engineered a "capping stack" to plug damaged blow-out preventers like the one that failed on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig. (It later contained the spill.) Having that technology at hand -- especially since the Cuba rigs will often operate in deeper waters than the Deepwater rig was mining -- will be critical if a spill occurs off Cuba.

Helix has applied to the Treasury Department for a special license to lease its equipment, and speedily deliver it, to Cuba's contractors when needed. The license is still pending, but Helix spokesman Cameron Wallace says the company is confident it will come through since Cuba won't benefit economically from the arrangement. "This is a reasonable approach," says Wallace. "We can't just say we'll figure out what to do if a spill happens. We need this kind of preparation." Eco-advocates like Whittle agree: "It's a no-brainer for the U.S."

(MORE: U.S. Fails to Respond to Cuba's Freeing of Dissidents)

Preparation includes something the U.S.-Cuba cold-war time warp rarely allows: dialogue. Nelson has introduced legislation that would require federal agencies to consult Congress on how to work with countries like Cuba on offshore drilling safety and spill response, but the Administration has already shown some flexibility. Last month U.S. officials and scientists had contact with Cuban counterparts at a regional forum on drilling hazards. That's important because they need to be in synch, for example, about how to attack a spill without exacerbating the damage to coral reefs. Scientists like Vaughan worry that chemical dispersants used to fight the spill in the Gulf, where coral wasn't as prevalent, could be lethal to reefs in the Straits. That would breed more marine catastrophe, since coral reefs, though they make up only 1% of the world's sea bottoms, account for up to 40% of natural fisheries. "They're our underwater oases," says Vaughan, whose tests so far with dispersants and FRT species like Elkhorn coral don't augur well.

A rigid U.S. reluctance to engage communist Cuba is of course only half the problem. Another is Havana's notorious, Soviet-style secrecy -- which some fear "could override the need to immediately pick up the phone," as one environmentalist confides, if and when a spill occurs. As a result, some are also petitioning Washington to fund AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) that marine biologists use to detect red tides, and which could also be used to sniff out oil spills in the Straits.

What experts on both sides of the Straits hope is that sea currents will carry any oil slick directly out into the Atlantic Ocean. But that's wishful thinking. So probably is the notion that U.S.-Cuba cooperation on offshore drilling can be duplicated on other fronts. Among them are the embargo, including the arguably unconstitutional ban on U.S. travel to Cuba, which has utterly failed to dislodge the Castro regime but which Washington keeps in place for fear of offending Cuban-American voters in swing-state Florida; and cases like that of Alan Gross, a U.S. aid worker imprisoned in Cuba since 2009 on what many call questionable spying charges.

U.S. inspectors this month gave the Scarabeo 9 the thumbs-up. Meanwhile, U.S. pols hope they can still dissuade foreign oil companies from operating off Cuba. Last month Nelson and Cuban-American Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey introduced a bill to hold firms financially responsible for spills that affect the U.S. even if they originate outside U.S. waters. (It would also lift a $75 million liability cap.) Others in Congress say Big Oil should be exempted from the embargo to let the U.S. benefit from the Cuba oil find too. Either way, the only thing likely to stop the drilling now would be the discovery that there's not as much crude there as anticipated. That, or a major spill.

PHOTOS: Fidel Castro Steps Down

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Video: Illumina Delays Results as Board Reviews Roche Offer

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HTC Sense 4.0 will bring Beats Audio to third-party apps (Digital Trends)

Following the leak of the HTC Primo earlier this week, our very own Jeffrey Van Camp commented on the presence of Beats Audio on the phone, saying he was disappointed with the feature on the HTC Rezound, as it was only compatible with the standard HTC music player.

He?s surely not alone in his frustration, as the Android Market is filled with third-party music apps, all begging to have some bassy Beats technology applied to them.

It appears this is all about to change though, as PocketNow has had a sneak peak at HTC Sense 4.0, and noted that Beats will become universal in the new version of the company?s Android UI.

Other new features include improved support for landscape orientation, including on the homescreen, an updated email client, an iOS 5-like ?reader? feature in the browser and a ?guest mode? that restricts access to certain apps and private data. Sense 4.0 will also see a revised task switching interface, which uses 3D cards instead of icons to move between open apps.

The last update to Sense, taking it to version 3.5, came with the release of devices including the HTC Rhyme and aforementioned Rezound, and provided some visual polish along with a refreshed browser and some performance tweaks. We must go back to April 2011 for the announcement of 3.0, the last major Sense revision.

With nearly a full year since the last major update, and several new and potentially stunning phones on the horizon, Sense 4.0?s release can?t be far away. Although no date is mentioned, PocketNow says 4.0 will first appear on the HTC Ville and the HTC Edge, devices which could make their debut at the end of next month.

?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/digitalmusic/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120127/tc_digitaltrends/htcsense40willbringbeatsaudiotothirdpartyapps

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Prada phone by LG 3.0 gets VIP treatment from Phones 4u, launches in UK tomorrow

Ready to make heads turn with its monochromatic stylings, LG and Prada's latest baby is presumably putting on a night-mask, ready to be unleashed on well-heeled types in the UK on Friday. Alongside the aforementioned custom Android skin (atop a Gingerbread OS), the Prada Phone by LG 3.0 packs a respectable dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera and LG's NOVA display -- stretching up to 4.3 inches on this fashionista phone. It's set to launch on both Vodafone and O2, free on a £31 two-year contracts, while it'll also be making an appearance on T-Mobile next month. We're planning on getting these unmanicured paws on one for review very soon, but Prada fans will be able to queue up get their assistants to queue up for the handset at Phones 4u stores tomorrow.

Continue reading Prada phone by LG 3.0 gets VIP treatment from Phones 4u, launches in UK tomorrow

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The twisty road to US-Pakistan re-engagement

Pakistan has closed crucial roads used to ferry supplies to U.S and NATO troops in Afghanistan -- leaving Pakistani drivers stranded and driving up the U.S. price tag for the war. NBC's Amna Nawaz reports from Peshawar.

??
PESHAWAR, Pakistan ? The ring road in Peshawar is a rough ride: navigating certain stretches means dodging enormous potholes, steering clear of steep ditches and swerving to avoid the occasional brave soul who darts from one side of the road to the other.

Yet this has been, for the last decade, one of the main arteries on which convoys of trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces have made their way into Afghanistan. Those ground lines of communication that run from Karachi's ports to two border crossings in Pakistan have been a fundamental part of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, as has the air line of communication.

When the U.S.-Pakistan alliance was tested once again in late November after a U.S. cross-border air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan reacted by shutting down the ground supply routes ? a step they've taken before in protest to U.S. actions. The air lines of communication remain open.

But access to those crucial land routes has never been denied to the U.S. for this long, and the two accounts from the U.S. and the Pakistan military of the cross-border strike that prompted their closure are so starkly different that it's hard to see how they can be reconciled.

---

Even though the Americans have reduced their dependence on Pakistan's roads over the last few years by using alternative routes running through Russia and Central Asia, the cost of moving goods via air and on that northern route is much greater ? reportedly six times more a month ? than using Pakistan's routes.

Asif Hassan / AFP - Getty Images

This photograph taken on Dec. 18, 2011 shows a general view of the NATO supply of oil tankers stand parked near oil terminals in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

It now costs about $104 million per month to send supplies through the longer northern route, according to Pentagon figures shown to the Associated Press. That is $87 million more than when the cargo was shipped through Pakistan.

Pakistan's government is conducting its own internal review of the alliance with the U.S., and officials here say no decision will be made about the supply lines until that review is complete and recommendations have been discussed by the government. Already, however, there are forces at work within Pakistan's religious and political parties to prevent the government from reopening those lines and re-engaging on the same level with the U.S.

Issue of nationalism
At a recent rally in Rawalpindi for the Pakistan Defense Council, made up of dozens of religious and political parties, leaders mentioned the NATO supply lines with the same fervor as they did deeply nationalistic issues such as divided Kashmir and the country?s nuclear weapons. The crowd of thousands cheered as speaker after speaker threatened that there could be countrywide protests should the government decide to reopen the supply lines.

"The NATO supply lines should not be restored at any cost," said Mohammad Abdullah Gul, chairman of the National Youth Conference and a member of the Pakistan Defense Council.

"Even if the government restores (them), we are not going to accept it. The people of Pakistan, we are going to mobilize. From Khyber to Karachi, they will be mobilized and they will stop the NATO supply lines," he said.

Retired Col. Nazir Ahmed is the spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an organization which he describes as having a "purely Islamic platform."

He said that the NATO supply lines were "rightly" blocked, and should stay blocked "forever," unless the U.S. "comes to us on the basis of equality."

He was particularly outraged by the recent cross-border attack.

Asif Hassan / AFP - Getty Images

This photograph taken on Dec. 18, 2011 shows NATO's supply of oil tankers stand parked near oil terminals in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

"After the aggression that the Americans committed on the Pakistan Army?? They slaughtered and killed so many Muslim soldiers," said Nazir. "Every country has the right to defend its borders and its ideology."

For this segment of the population ? frustrated by what they see as a decade of subservience to American policy in a deeply unpopular war here ? a decision to reopen the supply lines is tantamount to a decision to put U.S. interests ahead of Pakistan's.

That sentiment felt by a growing number of Pakistanis who think the relationship with the U.S. has not benefitted their own country will make it difficult for Pakistan's leaders to publicly re-engage with the U.S., and reopen the supply lines in the same manner and under the same conditions as before.

Both U.S. and Pakistani officials say they remain committed to their alliance. How the NATO supply routes will fit into that alliance, however, is yet to be seen.

?

Source: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/27/10251855-the-twisty-road-to-us-pakistan-re-engagement

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French police arrest PIP implant boss Mas (Reuters)

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) ? Jean-Claude Mas, whose breast implant firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) has sparked an international health scandal by using substandard silicone, was arrested on Thursday and could be charged with manslaughter, a French police source told Reuters.

He was arrested at around 7 a.m. (1 a.m. ET) at his home in southern France and police searched the premises. He will be held for 48 hours while investigators decide whether to charge him with involuntary manslaughter and causing injury.

A second PIP executive, former chief financial officer Claude Couty, was also arrested under an investigation that was opened in the southern port city of Marseille, close to PIP's former premises, on December 8.

The probe followed the death from cancer in 2010 of a woman with PIP implants, although health authorities in France and elsewhere have stressed the is no proven link to cancer from the PIP implants.

Lawyers for women who have filed complaints over their implants hailed the arrest as excellent news.

"This is a comfort for the victims," said Laurent Gaudon, whose clients accuse PIP and surgeons who used its implants of fraud. "It's the feeling that justice is advancing and they have not been forgotten. It's the assurance that the guilty are at last going to be held accountable."

Philippe Courtois, who represents a group of 1,300 people with PIP implants, said it was vital Mas was not allowed to flee justice. "A degree of provisionary detention is desirable," he said.

Mas, who sold some 300,000 implants around the world, has acknowledged that he had used unapproved silicone but dismissed fears that it constituted a health risk.

Earlier in January, leaks from a police document showing that Mas admitted to willfully lying about the poor quality of PIP's implants and said women filing complaints were just seeking money sparked a furious response in France.

PIP closed down in March 2010 after regulators discovered it was using a non-medical grade silicone, and in December 2011 the French government advised women with PIP implants to have them removed, sparking alarm around the world.

Around 2,700 women in France have filed complaints against Mas, and governments in several other countries such as Britain and Brazil have asked women to visit their doctors for checks.

France has called for tighter European Union regulations on medical devices in wake of the PIP health scare, saying suppliers should be made to carry the same sort of authorization as suppliers of prescription medicine.

Several PIP managers were already due to appear in court in Marseille in October this year following a prior investigation into fraud and deceptive business practices by the company, once the world's third-largest global seller of breast implants.

(Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet; Writing by Catherine Bremer; Edited by Richard Meares)

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A slim race for best original song at the Oscars (AP)

NEW YORK ? The race for the best original song Oscar is a slim one with two songs up for the honor, a first for the Academy Awards.

Sergio Mendes' "Real In Rio" from the animated adventure "Rio" will compete with Bret McKenzie's "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," despite having songs from a bevy of all-star musicians like Elton John, Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and Pink in contention for nomination.

Charles Bernstein, the former chairman of the Academy Awards' music branch, says he "personally was surprised" that only two songs are up for the honor.

In the past, the number of nominees for best original song has ranged from three to 14. Only up to five songs are eligible for nomination.

"I personally felt that there may have been more than two that I personally would have championed," he said in an interview after the Oscars nominations were announced Tuesday. "But it is a majority vote situation."

Blige, who co-wrote a song for the Deep South drama "The Help," said in a tweet Tuesday that she was sad, and felt like the Academy "is being mean" for only nominating two songs for the award.

This year, 39 songs were eligible for nomination for best original song, including tracks from Brad Paisley, Robbie Williams, The National, Zooey Deschanel, Zac Brown, Chris Cornell and others.

Members of the music branch can rank songs using 10, 9.5, 9, 8.5, 8, 7.5, 7, 6.5 or 6, and a song must have at least an average score of 8.25 to be nominated. If only one song gets that score, it and the song receiving the next highest score will be the two nominees.

Since two songs were nominated, it could mean that voters were unimpressed with this year's contenders.

"Each person is voting on a subjective impression ... so you'd have to go into the head of each individual voter to kind of know what it was that made them feel that any given song was or wasn't award-worthy," Bernstein said.

Bernstein also stressed that the songs "have to be written for the picture, and the judgment of its quality has a great deal to do with how it functions in the movie as well as how well written it is."

Bernstein, who did vote in the category, wouldn't say how many people voted this year, but did say that the rules for each Academy Award are carefully observed each year. He says the music branch will most likely take a closer look at the requirements for best original song after this year's results.

"It's very likely because there were two this year that the rules committee will probably take another look at it next year and make sure it wants to continue the same rules," he said.

Madonna's "Masterpiece," which won the Golden Globe for best original song and is from her directorial effort "W.E.," was not eligible for an Academy Award because "the song does not occur either in the body of the film, or as the first song at the end of the film," Bernstein said.

Mendes, who shares his nomination with Siedah Garrett and Carlinhos Brown, says "Rio" director Carlos Saldanha delivered the good news to him.

"I don't know much about the voting process really. I'm not an expert in that, but I'm so happy about me being nominated," Mendes said Tuesday afternoon. "I don't really know the criteria, but I can only think about celebrating."

Winners of the 84th annual Academy Awards will be announced Feb. 26 in a ceremony that will air live on ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

____

Online:

http://oscar.go.com/

____

Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

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

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Scotland's social mind will settle independence vote

Continue reading page |1 |2

Centuries of political union would end dramatically if the Scots voted for independence from the UK. It's not just a political fight: this is also a fascinating social psychological battle for voice and identity that involves multiple political and national groups. When the referendum is held, Scottish identity may prove more crucial than all other factors.

The issue has shot up the British political agenda after David Cameron ? Englishman, prime minister of the UK and leader of the Conservative party ? threw down the gauntlet to Alex Salmond ? Scot, first minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish Nationalist party (SNP) ? to hold a yes/no referendum in Scotland on independence as soon as possible. Salmond, however, wants the referendum to go ahead in 2014 ? possibly with a third option.

Distinctiveness is important in this. The Conservatives are profoundly unionist: they want Scotland to remain part of the UK. Cameron espouses unity through the idea of "one-nation Conservatism", downplaying the distinctions between the English ? who form the majority of the UK population and host the UK's Westminster parliament in London, on their territory ? and the Scots.

The tension between distinctiveness and solidarity is well known in social psychology. Once we label people as belonging to separate groups we tend to perceive the groups as more different from each other than they really are. If we belong to one of those groups, we tend to readily identify with it and value its distinctive culture and way of life.

In this way, the very existence of the geographical, cultural and political border between Scotland and England strengthens and perpetuates the perception of larger differences than really exist between the English and the Scots. What Salmond and the SNP have done spectacularly well is to build an increasingly strong sense for the Scots that Scotland is different and, more importantly, better.

Seeds of support

Our work proposes a relationship between certain social-psychological factors surrounding national identity and support for the SNP. We analysed a 1989 survey of over 1000 16 to 19-year-olds who were then approaching their first opportunity to vote in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. It asked how they felt about the differences between England and Scotland, how strongly they identified with Scotland, their views about Scottish independence and voting intentions at the next election. At the time, the Labour party was the dominant party in Scotland, Scottish devolution was yet to come, and the Conservative ? and English ? Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the UK.

The seeds of support for the SNP were starting to germinate, nourished by two ingredients: a sense of injustice about how Scottish people were being treated by the English ? termed "relative deprivation" by social psychologists ? and identification with Scotland, what we refer to as "social identity". These two factors fuelled the belief that Scotland should manage its own resources and would do perfectly well without England. We found those who held this belief, known as "social change ideology", were significantly more likely to vote for the SNP.

Since 1989 the Scots have experienced Scottish devolution, become less trusting of the Labour party (in part because Labour led the UK into the Iraq war), and have increased their support for the SNP, which is now the majority party within Scotland. Added to the potent, persisting elements of relative deprivation, national identity and social change ideology, the Scots have a further feature vital for independence: political empowerment ? known as "collective efficacy" in social psychology. The SNP has shown the Scots that they can govern and that the Scottish parliament is taken seriously by the English.

The rise of these social-psychological factors explains the current position. But what of the future and the referendum? Currently just under 40 per cent of Scots support independence. How might this change?

Double bind

The SNP might prove more persuasive now, as it can maintain a more distinct and consistent position than the other political parties in a referendum campaign. Social psychological research shows that distinctiveness and consistency can be persuasive because it attracts closer attention. For the Labour and the Liberal Democrats parties, sustaining consistency poses a dilemma. Independence is risky for them: if Scotland becomes independent, these parties will lose all their Scottish members of the Westminster parliament, seriously damaging Labour's prospects of re-election at Westminster and reducing the number of Liberal MPs there. However, if Labour and Liberal Democrat members of the Scottish Parliament argue against independence, they may risk being viewed as serving English rather than Scottish interests.

Research shows very clearly that groups, in this case the Scots, react negatively to disloyalty. If the SNP can successfully depict Labour and the Liberal Democrats as disloyal to Scotland, this could also bolster support for independence.

So the referendum polarises the political scene, effectively pitting the SNP against the rest. As a minority against the undifferentiated mass of other political groups in the UK, the SNP is likely to stand out in voters' minds as the party that most clearly represents Scotland's interests to Scottish people, which we believe will produce a psychologically compelling motivation to vote for independence.

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One day before Apple results, analysts try and peg iBooks textbook sales at 350,000 in 3 days

According to Global Equities Research, Apple's foray into the digital textbook market has been met with initial success, selling through upwards of 350,000 textbooks within the first 3 days. AllThingsD reports.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/P7VvIKgReF4/story01.htm

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Buoyed by 'Islamic Spring,' Hamas considers new direction (The Christian Science Monitor)

Hebron, West Bank ? Hamas? political chief is stepping down after nearly 16 years, leaving the militant Palestinian group with a potential leadership battle just as Islamist allies elsewhere in the Middle East are enjoying momentum from election victories.

Khaled Meshal, who headed Hamas? headquarters in Damascus, recently informed the group?s leadership council that he won?t stand for reelection, said a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza. It is unclear exactly why Mr. Meshal is choosing to step aside and who is likely to succeed him.

Recent upheaval in the Middle East has been a mixed bag for Hamas. On the one hand, it has empowered groups like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which controls nearly half of the new parliament, prompting Hamas leaders to boast about an "Islamic Spring" and emboldening backers in the West Bank. But the very same regional changes have cast it adrift from its headquarters in Syria and prompted Meshal to suggest non-militarized confrontation with Israel, to the chagrin of some in the movement.

Think you know the Middle East? Take our geography quiz.

The outcome of the Hamas leadership change could impact relations with Israel and the US, which consider it a terrorist group, and the rest of the international community.

"It is important to see whether this vacuum will be filled by the moderates or a hawk, because this will affect the future of Hamas and Palestinian politics," says Mohammed Dejani, a political science professor at Al Quds University who believes the Muslim Brotherhood victory will force Hamas to mellow.

Islamic Spring misread?"People are misreading the Islamic movements in Egypt and Tunis. It is an Islamic Spring, but it's not an Islamic Spring Hamas thinks about. There has been a religious revival, but in a sense of moderation and not in a sense of religious fundamentalism."

Meshal was once considered more of a hard-liner compared to Hamas? leaders in the Gaza Strip. However, talk of a shift away from military action and accepting a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have made him look like a pragmatist. He has also been spearheading efforts toward reconciliation with President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, which support talks with Israel and reject military confrontation.

He had ample reason for the apparent shift. In recent months Hamas started moving staff and families out of Damascus because of the fighting in Syria. Observers believe that Hamas is seeking to open a headquarters in Egypt, and wants to signal that it has the potential to recast itself as more moderate. 

Speculation about Mr. Meshal?s departure ranged from losing a power struggle with rivals from the Gaza Strip to a desire to go along with regional trends toward democracy and regime change.

That said, few expect that Hamas? evolution will be as far reaching as recognizing Israel and approving peace talks. That would risk making the organization look like President Abbas? Fatah party, which is faulted by Palestinians for failing to win independence though negotiations.

Hard-liners astonishedEven with the current signs of change, Hamas risks alienating its foot soldiers in the Gaza Strip with conciliatory moves. Meshal raised eyebrows with his comments on non-militarized grassroots resistance in a December interview with The Associated Press in which he said that grassroots "popular" protests have the "power of a tsunami."

"Armed resistance is the only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine. Seriously, I was astonished when I heard" Mr. Meshal?s comment, said Abu Hassan, a member of the Al Qassam military wing in the Gaza Strip. "I really don?t know what is wrong with Hamas?. Many Hamas Qassam commanders will oppose this idea."

Despite the struggles with ideology, Hamas leaders believe that the winds of regional change are at their back as the spread of elections empowers political Islam. They see parallels to their own history: Hamas rose to political prominence among the Palestinians in democratic elections six years ago, capturing a majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament by channeling popular fatigue with an old guard who were willing to deal with the West. 

The recent elections in Egypt gave the Muslim Brotherhood nearly half the seats in the next parliament there, a democratic mandate that is likely to translate into a much more friendly environment for Hamas there compared to the open enmity of former President Hosni Mubarak.

"We as Palestinians paid the price for the Arab dictatorship," says Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesperson in the Gaza Strip. "We believe that this result of the democratic process might mean full support for Palestinian rights and interest, now that [Arab governments?] hearts are with the people."

A Palestinian poll last month found that the approval rating of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip rose 7 percentage points to 41 percent from three months earlier. That said, the Islamic militant party still polls second to the secular Fatah party when Palestinians ask about their electoral preferences.

Elections coming soonThe improved public standing of Hamas has given a push to talks aimed at ending a four-and-a-half-year rift with Fatah. Hamas and Fatah have agreed in principle to holding elections in May of this year, and the sides are discussing confidence building measures like a prisoner release. Still, there?s been little progress on implementation.

Hamas legislator Bassem Zarir contends that the success of Islamic parties elsewhere have given Hamas new international prestige. He claims that European diplomats have sought him out for the first time to pick his brain about Hamas' links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

"We are stronger than at any other time," he boasts.

That sense of momentum has filtered down to the streets of the West Bank, where small groups of Hamas supporters have organized demonstrations calling for the release of Islamists in PA prisons.

A year ago Hamas supporters wouldn?t have dared to hold a public protest in the West Bank for fear of arrest by the Palestinian Authority, dominated by the rival Fatah party. But on a recent day, a group of about two dozen Islamist women ? wearing green sashes and their faces covered ? protested in the central square of Hebron to accuse the PA of holding political prisoners.

"Our feeling is that what is going on in the Arab Spring is in our favor," says Lama Khater, a 34-year old Islamist journalist who comes out to weekly demonstrations. "It has pushed us to come out."

A balancing act That said, the protest turnout at the Hebron city square was modest, a sobering sign that most Islamist backers still fear of a crackdown by the Palestinian Authority security services.

Whether or not political Islam is able to continue to gain momentum among Palestinians may depend on a balancing act between Mehsal?s new efforts at moderation and reaffirming its long held hard-line ideology that sets it apart from Abbas and Fatah.

"We haven?t reached [Fatah?s] level," says legislator Zarir. "We appreciate this flexibility and are happy about it ... as long as it doesn?t infringe on our basic principles."

Ahmed Aldabba contributed reporting from Gaza City, Gaza.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120122/wl_csm/454056

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Factbox: EU sanctions against Iran (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Here is an outline of EU sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. New sanctions were imposed Monday.

MONDAY'S STEPS

A ban on the transport, purchase and import into Europe of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products and related finance and insurance. Contracts already concluded can be executed until July 1 and the measures will be reviewed before May 1.

The sanctions also ban the export of key technology for the energy sector and new investment in Iranian petrochemical firms and joint ventures with these companies.

The EU also froze the assets of the Iran's central bank in the European Union and banned trade in gold, precious metals and diamonds with Iranian public bodies and the central bank.

In addition, the sanctions bar the sale to Iran of more "sensitive dual use" goods -- those that can have a military or security application -- and add three people to a list of those targeted by asset freezes and visa bans and freeze the assets of eight more entities.

Details of the sanctions will be published in the EU's Official Journal Tuesday.

EXISTING SANCTIONS

The EU has gradually imposed sanctions on Iran since 2007 as part of Western efforts to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear work. Sanctions include those agreed by the United Nations and autonomous EU measures. Current EU sanctions include:

- Trade ban on arms and equipment that can be used for repression, and a ban on goods and technology related to nuclear enrichment or nuclear weapons systems, including nuclear materials and facilities, certain chemicals, electronics, sensors and lasers, navigation and avionics;

- Ban on investment by Iranian nationals and entities in uranium mining and production of nuclear material and technology within the EU;

- Ban on trade in dual-use goods and technology, for instance telecommunication systems and equipment; information security systems and equipment; nuclear technology and low-enriched uranium;

- Export ban on key equipment and technology for the oil and gas industries (i.e. exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining and liquefaction of natural gas). Ban on financial and technical assistance for such transactions. This includes geophysical survey equipment, drilling and production platforms for crude oil and natural gas, equipment for shipping terminals of liquefied gas, petrol pumps and storage tanks;

- Ban on investment in the Iranian oil and gas industries (exploration and production of oil and gas, refining and liquefaction of natural gas). This means no credits, loans, new investment in and joint ventures with such companies in Iran;

- Ban on new medium- or long-term commitments by EU member states to financial support for trade with Iran. Restraint on short-term commitments;

- EU governments are banned from extending grants and concessional loans to the Iranian government. Provision of insurance and re-insurance to the Iranian government and Iranian entities (except health and travel insurance) is banned;

- EU financial institutions must report to national authorities any transactions with Iranian banks they suspect concern proliferation of financing; banks must notify transfers above 10,000 euros to national authorities and request prior authorization for transactions above 40,000 euros (with humanitarian exemptions);

- Iranian banks are banned from opening branches and creating joint ventures in the EU; EU financial institutions are banned from opening branches or bank accounts in Iran;

- Ban on the issuance of and trade in Iranian government or public bonds with the Iranian government, central bank and Iranian banks;

- EU governments must require their nationals to exercise vigilance over business with entities incorporated in Iran, including those of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines;

- National customs authorities must require prior information about all cargo to and from Iran. Such cargo can be inspected to ensure trade restrictions are respected;

- Cargo flights operated by Iranian carriers or coming from Iran may not have access to EU airports (except mixed passenger and cargo flights). No maintenance services to Iranian cargo aircraft or servicing to Iranian vessels may be provided if there are suspicions that they carry prohibited goods;

- Visa bans are imposed on persons designated by the UN or associated with or providing support for Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or for the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems, and on senior members of the IRGC; as of January 22, visa bans and asset freezes apply to 113 persons (41 designated by the UN and the rest by the EU);

- Asset freeze on 433 entities associated with Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; and senior members and entities of IRGC and the IRISL (UN designations cover 75 entities); these entities include: companies in banking and insurance sectors, the nuclear technology industry and in the field of aviation, armament, electronics, shipping, chemical industry, metallurgy, the oil and gas industry, and branches and subsidiaries of IRGC and IRISL.

HUMAN RIGHTS

In addition to the nuclear track, the EU has imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 61 Iranians seen as responsible for human rights violations.

ECONOMIC RELATIONS

The EU had a free-trade agreement with Iran until 2005 and Tehran's refusal to cooperate with the IAEA on its nuclear work. Europe remains an important trade partner. Ninety percent of EU imports from Iran are either oil or oil-related products. In 2010, the EU imported 14.5 billion euros worth of goods from Iran and exported 11.3 billion euros of goods to it.

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak and David Brunnstrom; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_iran_eu_factbox

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Italian islanders ache for cruise victims (AP)

GIGLIO, Italy ? Natives of the tiny Italian island of Giglio come from hardy stock whose distant ancestors were accustomed to surviving ruthless raids by pirates and where today many eke out a living from often perilous seas.

But when islanders gaze out on the capsized wreck of the Costa Concordia, lying lifelessly on its side just outside their port like some giant beached creature from the sea, they pray and sigh in sorrow.

"Mamma mia, please excuse me, it makes me so emotional. Mamma mia," said Ornella Monti, whose house on Giglio, near the customs police station at the port, looks squarely out at the shipwreck.

"I had it all in front of my house," a weeping Monti said Sunday, as she lit electric candles in San Lorenzo church. "Dear God, help us."

"Let's give a lot of light for this girl," said Monti, lighting another candle and referring to a 5-year-old Dayana Arlotti, an Italian girl, who along with her father, is among the missing in the Jan. 13 accident.

Many of the 1,500 islanders, a tough breed of fishermen and their families who repair fishing nets by hand in the winter and take tourists out in painted wooden boats after a night of fishing at sea, were still shaken by the tragedy which unfolded in front of their eyes.

Women rushed out with blankets when shivering survivors stepped off lifeboats or staggered up rocks after swimming ashore when the evacuation of the 4,200 passengers and crew turned chaotic. Islanders offered children milk and biscuits, and invited stunned families into their homes to warm and calm themselves.

On a table in the church where Mass was celebrated Sunday were an array of items that surviving passengers had brought into San Lorenzo the night of the shipwreck ? life vests, helmets, pieces of rope ? reminders of the precarious nature of life at sea that islanders, 15 kilometers (11 miles) across from the mainland, know well.

Monti's apology for her tears contrasted sharply with the unabashed gawking of hundreds of mainlanders who hopped ferries in Porto Santo Stefano on the Tuscan coast to visit Giglio, renowned for its crystal clear waters and beauty as far back as ancient Roman times, over the weekend. Clambering over portside rocks, they snapped photos and made videos of the wreck to bring back home with them macabre mementos.

"They called us jackals," said Silvana Pasqualetti, of the islanders after she and her family set foot on the dock to view the wreckage. With her husband, adult son, and the son's girlfriend and niece, the family set out before daybreak from their home in Viterbo north of Rome on the mainland for Giglio.

"It's something you don't see every day," said her son, Massimo Menghini, 29, as the family caught an evening ferry back to the mainland. "Your jaw drops open when you see it in person, because it's history," he said

Pasqualetti added that she didn't "feel like a jackal" because "this macabre tourism brings tourist revenue to the islanders," whom she described as "exquisite" people.

From atop Giglio's highest peak, nearly 500 meters (1,650 feet) above sea level, and aided by binoculars, spectators to the tragedy can spy stacks of lounge chairs, chained together on the deck near the ship's swimming pool and kiddie pool, emptied of their water when the Concordia pitched over some 90 degrees.

On the other side of the Concordia, visible only from those approaching on boats is the gaping, 70-meter (230-foot) long gash, sliced into the hull of the ship when it sailed too close to a reef well known to scuba divers and sailors and near an isolated stretch of coast a few kilometers south of the bustling port.

___

Frances D'Emilio reported from Rome.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_cruise_aground_islanders

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NASA finds 2011 ninth-warmest year on record

Friday, January 20, 2012

The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis that shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92 degrees F (0.51 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.

"We know the planet is absorbing more energy than it is emitting," said GISS Director James E. Hansen. "So we are continuing to see a trend toward higher temperatures. Even with the cooling effects of a strong La Ni?a influence and low solar activity for the past several years, 2011 was one of the 10 warmest years on record."

The difference between 2011 and the warmest year in the GISS record (2010) is 0.22 degrees F (0.12 C). This underscores the emphasis scientists put on the long-term trend of global temperature rise. Because of the large natural variability of climate, scientists do not expect temperatures to rise consistently year after year. However, they do expect a continuing temperature rise over decades.

The first 11 years of the 21st century experienced notably higher temperatures compared to the middle and late 20th century, Hansen said. The only year from the 20th century in the top 10 warmest years on record is 1998.

Higher temperatures today are largely sustained by increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. These gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by Earth and release that energy into the atmosphere rather than allowing it to escape to space. As their atmospheric concentration has increased, the amount of energy "trapped" by these gases has led to higher temperatures.

The carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was about 285 parts per million in 1880, when the GISS global temperature record begins. By 1960, the average concentration had risen to about 315 parts per million. Today it exceeds 390 parts per million and continues to rise at an accelerating pace.

The temperature analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea surface temperature and Antarctic research station measurements. A publicly available computer program is used to calculate the difference between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same place during 1951 to 1980. This three-decade period functions as a baseline for the analysis.

The resulting temperature record is very close to analyses by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Hansen said he expects record-breaking global average temperature in the next two to three years because solar activity is on the upswing and the next El Ni?o will increase tropical Pacific temperatures. The warmest years on record were 2005 and 2010, in a virtual tie.

"It's always dangerous to make predictions about El Ni?o, but it's safe to say we'll see one in the next three years," Hansen said. "It won't take a very strong El Ni?o to push temperatures above 2010."

###

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center: http://www.nasa.gov/goddard

Thanks to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116901/NASA_finds______ninth_warmest_year_on_record

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NW storm cuts power, thousands try to stay warm

A U.S. flag is shown encrusted with ice, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, near Lacey, Wash. Heavy layers of ice brought down trees and power lines across the Northwest Friday, following two days of snow and ice storms. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

A U.S. flag is shown encrusted with ice, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, near Lacey, Wash. Heavy layers of ice brought down trees and power lines across the Northwest Friday, following two days of snow and ice storms. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

A tree branch that feel as a result of a heavy coating of ice is shown resting on a house, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, near Lakewood, Wash. Heavy layers of ice brought down trees and power lines across the Northwest Friday, following two days of snow and ice storms. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

A deep snow pile made things a bit challenging for an Intercity Transit rider while boarding the bus on Friday, Jan. 20,2012 in Olympia, Wash. Thick ice brought down trees and power lines in the region overnight, following two days of snow and ice storms. A powerful Pacific Northwest storm knocked out power to about 250,000 electric customers around Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia after it coated much of Washington in ice and swelled Oregon rivers, killing a child and two adults. Besides the outages, the big concern now is more flooding in both states with warmer temperatures and rain. (AP Photo/The Olympian, Steve Bloom)

A truck drives past downed trees and low-hanging power lines, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, near Lacey, Wash. Heavy layers of ice brought down trees and power lines across the Northwest Friday, following two days of snow and ice storms. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Vehicles drive past downed trees and low-hanging power lines, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, near Lakewood, Wash. Heavy layers of ice brought down trees and power lines across the Northwest Friday, following two days of snow and ice storms. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

SEATTLE (AP) ? Tens of thousands of Pacific Northwest residents faced the prospect of a chilly weekend after a powerful storm brought snow and ice and left a tangle of fallen trees and damaged power lines. Several Oregon counties saw their worst flooding in more than a decade.

The National Weather Service forecast more rain and winds gusting as high as 40 mph Saturday in Western Washington, a combination that could bring down even more snow-laden and ice-damaged trees.

Nearly 230,000 customers were without power late Friday night in Western Washington, about 220,000 of them Puget Sound Energy customers.

The utility has brought in repair crews from across the West and planned to field more than 800 linemen on Saturday, in addition to tree-trimming crews, spokesman Roger Thompson said.

"The wind is a wild card that could set us back," he said, adding PSE hoped to have the majority of the outages restored by Sunday, although some customers will probably be without power into early next week.

The Weather Service predicted weekend lows in the mid-30s.

Several warming shelters have been opened in the area to aid people whose homes are without heat.

Despite warnings from emergency officials, the first cases of possible carbon monoxide poisoning surfaced Friday night. Two families in the Seattle suburb of Kent were taken to hospitals after suffering separate cases of possible poisoning. Both had been using charcoal barbecues indoors for heat.

The storm was already blamed for three deaths. A mother and her 1-year-old son died after torrential rain on Wednesday swept away a car from an Albany, Ore., grocery store parking lot. An elderly man was fatally injured Thursday by a falling tree as he was backing an all-terrain vehicle out of a backyard shed near Seattle.

On Washington's Mount Rainier, a blizzard kept rescuers from searching Friday for two campers and two climbers missing since early this week. Just east of that region, about 200 skiers and workers were able to leave the Crystal Mountain ski resort after transportation officials reopened the area's main highway, closed two days earlier by fallen trees.

Near Tacoma, three people escaped unharmed Friday when a heavy snow and ice load on the roof of an Allied Ice plant caused the building to collapse. West Pierce Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Hallie McCurdy said they heard loud noises and got out just in time.

As floodwaters receded, residents of Oregon's Willamette Valley began taking stock of damage in soaked cities.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber paid a visit Friday to the hard-hit town of Turner, where 100 homes were damaged or still underwater.

Friday's mainly dry streets belied a morning of terror barely 24 hours earlier, when emergency crews conducted 55 boat rescues as water filled streets, homes and businesses.

"You just watch the water rise hour by hour, and there's nothing you can do about it," Mayor Paul Thomas said. "It's a long, slower sort of torture."

Kitzhaber said the state would work with local and federal officials to try and get disaster funding to Turner and other communities hard-hit by flooding.

The governor praised residents' strong sense of community as neighbors helped each other.

Nancy Ko saw that spirit first-hand. From the safety of higher ground, she watched a live feed from a security camera as water rose over the curb and lapped against the front door of the convenience store and cafe she owns just feet from Mill Creek.

Out of the blue, five strangers showed up and plopped sandbags in front of the door, preventing damage that she believes would have otherwise been far more severe.

"Just a godsend," said Ko, a Korean immigrant who has owned the store for six years. "Good person, amazing persons."

Elsewhere in the Willamette Valley, a 35-year-old woman who drove a Ford Mustang into 4 feet of floodwater was plucked from the roof Friday by deputies who arrived by boat to save her. It was one of a number of dramatic rescues in western Oregon, left sodden by as much as 10 inches of rain in a day and a half that has brought region's worst flooding in 15 years.

Interstate 5, the main road connecting Seattle and Portland, was briefly closed near Centralia so crews could remove fallen power lines.

Much of Washington's capital, Olympia, was without power.

Gov. Chris Gregoire's office, legislative buildings and other state agencies in Olympia lost electricity for several hours before power was restored. The governor thanked repair crews late Friday by hand-delivering peanut butter cookies.

The storm was "a constant reminder of who's in charge. Mother Nature is in charge, she gives us a wake-up call every once in a while, this is one of those," Gregoire said.

It was still snowing in the Cascades, with up to 2 feet possible in the mountains over the weekend.

At Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, airlines were trying to accommodate passengers whose flights were canceled Thursday. The airport's largest carrier, Alaska Airlines, canceled 50 of its 120 daily departures Friday. On Thursday, Alaska and sister airline Horizon canceled 310 flights to and from Seattle, affecting 29,000 passengers.

In Seattle, Carly Nelson was negotiating an icy sidewalk on her way to Starbucks. Nelson has been frequenting her neighborhood coffee shop to avoid cabin fever.

"I'm pretty tired of it. It gets old pretty fast. All my friends are stranded in little pockets and you can't get together to go to yoga," she said. "I'm just looking forward to being able to go wherever I want to go."

___

Cooper reported from Oregon. Associated Press writers Doug Esser, Ted Warren, Rachel La Corte, Nigel Duara and Nicholas K. Geranios contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-21-Northwest%20Storm/id-6e081f52ffb44728ad794493051a9717

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While MPAA watches SOPA crumble, digital rentals rise as physical rentals decline (Digital Trends)

According to a decline in Blockbuster as well as flat Netflix growth. Redbox is the only bright spot in the physical rental market as?unit volume increased by 29 percent over 2010, thus increasing Redbox?s share of the rental market to 37 percent.

According to Russ Crupnick,?senior vice president of industry analysis for The NPD Group, he stated ?There?s no doubt that Redbox has been the largest beneficiary of the collapsing brick-and-mortar store rental business, especially with ongoing Blockbuster store closings and the fact that there are also fewer independent stores than the prior year.?The Netflix share erosion may have resulted from their recent well publicized challenges with pricing, and from their now defunct Quikster experiment; however, they are in the process of shifting customers to their Watch Instantly option, so not all of the physical movie rental share drop is a net loss.?

Movie studios have been in a constant struggle with physical delivery systems like Redbox and Netflix due to a general lack of control over pricing. For instance, Warner Brothers recently doubled its 28-day window for Redbox, Blockbuster and Netflix to receive newly released films in addition to halting discounted DVD sales of HBO discs to Netflix in an effort to help preserve falling DVD sales; approximately 15 percent of the studio?s yearly revenue. Studios have also been extremely slow in rolling out support for digital delivery and is currently pinning all hopes on a new technology attached to Blu-ray discs called Ultraviolet. However, the studios have had an?extremely?difficult time educating the public on the?the cloud-based digital locker over the last few months.?

The lack of innovation in regards to developing a studio-owned, industry created platform for purchasing movie rentals has allowed competitors like Apple, Walmart and Amazon to cut into studio profits with user-friendly applications that are compatible across many popular devices like the iPad and Xbox 360. Sony has the strongest grasp on a digital platform to distribute films from Sony Pictures in the form of the PlayStation 3 and possibly the upcoming PlayStation Vita.?

While movie studios stumble through the digital age vastly dependent on Internet companies to distribute its content, the MPAA has turned to piracy as the reason for loss of revenue, hence the support for SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). As SOPA support is currently evaporating due to a massive outcry from Internet users, MPAA?chairman Chris Dodd is calling for a summit between content creators, like movie studios and video game publishers, and Internet companies such as Google. Dodd is seeking a?compromise?on the issue and declared that he had never seen ?an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically? over the past forty years.?

Chairman Dodd is actually barred from attempting to influence any member of Congress regarding SOPA or any future form of the bill due to?legislation that bars any former member of Congress from lobbying current members for two years after leaving office. According to Dodd, he has only been working in a strategic capacity in regards to pushing SOPA and PIPA (PROTECT IP Act)?through Congress. Dodd has partially blamed Hollywood?s actors, directors, writers,?producers and support staff for not mobilizing support against the Internet movement in order to help the two bills pass. ?

One studio that is attempting to innovate the process of digital rentals is Lionsgate. They recently announced the?simultaneous?release of?Taylor Lautner?s Abduction?on Blu-ray and Facebook at the same time. The movie was released on the social network on January 17 and costs $3.99 for a standard definition rental of the film. While Warner Brothers have been streaming previously released, older films on Facebook such as Inception, this marks the first side-by-side release of a physical disc and a streaming counterpart on Facebook.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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