Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166647860?client_source=feed&format=rss
hunger games trailer hunger games trailer gabrielle giffords austin rivers austin rivers ows kindle fire review
Monday, November 28, 2011
Viewpoint: The Value of Leadership in Latin America (Time.com)
From Brazil to El Salvador, from Uruguay to Ecuador, from Chile to Venezuela, left-of-center or hard-left parties and leaders have recently been voted into office. Some of these have performed splendidly (Chile, Brazil and Uruguay); others, so-so (Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador); while others are making a mess of things (Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and, as always, Cuba).
But there is a new wave emerging, one that is as welcome as the appearance of a modern, moderate, market-oriented democratic and globalized center-left. That is a democratic, socially concerned center-right whose policies can often be mistaken for those of the center-left. The two best examples of sitting governments in this regard are in Chile and Colombia. How they differ from each other is leadership. Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia runs a still partly dysfunctional country ? magnificently. Sebasti?n Pi?era of Chile runs a country that operates like clockwork ? mediocrely. (See photos of industrial fishing threatening Chile's fisherman.)
Chile is Latin America's success story. Its economy is thriving and, in 2010, it finessed a democratic transition from 20 years of center-left government to center-right rule without major mishaps. President Pi?era is a thinking man's businessman and won kudos last year not only for overseeing the rescue of 33 trapped miners but also for using the moment to push overdue labor reform. Yet today Chile is fed up: Pi?era has the lowest approval ratings of any chief executive in the hemisphere.
His governing style too has contributed to his unpopularity: a tendency to micromanage, perhaps born of the hubris of an extraordinarily successful businessman, combined with his technocratic leanings. That has not sat well in a nation where the political elite has traditionally been competent, honest and respected. If copper prices do not continue to fall, Chile should overcome its current travails. Pi?era will then be a fair-to-middling one-term President (consecutive re-election is forbidden by law).
The contrast with Colombia, where Santos was elected President last year, is remarkable. Like Pi?era, Santos was originally a center-right politician. Both men are patrician, with business experience; both hold degrees from the U.S. and speak perfect English. But Colombia and Santos are on a roll. He and his army have had tremendous recent success against the FARC guerrillas, a group that has been fighting the government for 40 years. With the killing of FARC commander Alfonso Cano on Nov. 4, the guerrillas have, for practical purposes, no leadership. Just before his army got Cano, Santos delivered on one of his most controversial campaign promises: dissolving the feared, corrupt and intrusive intelligence service known as DAS, and creating a new security-and-intelligence agency from scratch. How squeaky-clean the new one will actually be is anyone's guess, but getting rid of the old was absolutely necessary. (Watch TIME's video "Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Talks with TIME.")
Colombia also finally got what it had been seeking for more than five years: a free-trade agreement with the U.S. Human-rights activists felt that under former President Alvaro Uribe, the country's record did not warrant a trade deal and opposed awarding it to Bogot?, first under President George W. Bush and during the first three years of the Obama Administration. It has not hurt Santos that he has forged a trustful, though arm's-length, relationship with groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which held its annual board meeting in Colombia in October. Indeed, Santos persuaded his country's legislature to pass the Victims and Land Restitution Law to make amends to the 3 million to 4 million people displaced during Colombia's 40-year war. No one else in Latin America has ever attempted anything on this scale.
Santos' main challenge consists of reducing Colombia's dramatic inequality ? the real root of its wars ? as well as the ramshackle nature of the country's infrastructure and its disastrous education system. While the country has enjoyed sustained economic growth over the past decade, it still lags far behind nations like Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay in almost every social and economic indicator. (See photos of FARC, Colombia's notorious guerilla army.)
But Santos' Colombia is moving in the same direction as those countries: broadening its middle class, consolidating its democracy, growing its economy. And, so far, it seems to have one important advantage: leadership. The countries lucky enough to have it do better than those that don't.
Casta?eda, formerly Mexico's Foreign Minister, is a global distinguished professor at New York University
This article originally appeared in the Nov. 28, 2011 issue of TIME Asia.
Read "In Latin America, Looking at the Positive Side of Child Labor."
See TIME's Pictures of the Week.
View this article on Time.com
Most Popular on Time.com:
shawshank redemption 3 10 to yuma lsu football lsu football lsu west virginia football west virginia football
[OOC] Pens and Pencils {REMAKE}
Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Pens and Pencils {REMAKE}"
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.
Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!
This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Pens and Pencils {REMAKE}?. Anything posted here will also show up there.Topic Tags:
Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Pens and Pencils {REMAKE}"
You may edit this first post as you see fit.
You're just jealous because the voices talk to me. XP
-
KeiraHigurashi - Member for 0 years
reserve female two? the pencils
Last edited by asylumoftears on Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.-melle[darkesthour]
-
asylumoftears - Member for 1 years
Alright, I'll go reserve her for you.
-
KeiraHigurashi - Member for 0 years
Can I reserve INK female 2?
-
Aixulram - Member for 0 years
Can I reserve Male 2 in the Pencils?
-
SolrSurfr3 - Member for 1 years
Can I reserve Male 2 in the INK?
I play trombone as well, so hopefully this character will turn out pretty good. xDD
-
Thadine - Member for 0 years
Sure you can.
And actually, I play trombone too. ^^ That's why the first time I tried this roleplay I got a little sad that no one wanted to pick the trombone player...
-
KeiraHigurashi - Member for 0 years
xD
I'm just learning to play in band, I'm better at Clarinet and Piano, but it's pretty fun.
Anyways, I won't be here tonight or tomorrow, so maybe on Monday I'll work on him.
-
Thadine - Member for 0 years
Return to Out of Character
Post a reply
-
RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.
If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.
Who is online
Registered users: 13lazer31, Adig01, Aika, AiraValkov, Akantha, Alan23, almostinsane, Alucroas*, AmiOfTheRain, AnimeGirl, Annalysa Jones, Arceius*, ArcticFox*, Ark Reahver*, Artik*, asylumoftears, AthenaUndying, Auricambrflaym, Averagebear*, AzricanRepublic*, bananaramma*, Barel, Beta Type Jakuri*, birdguard, BlackBeauty, Blackfridayrule*, Blacx*, Cadav3r, candykitten, CelticCat*, Centraiu, CherryRed, Cienpher*, Coloratura, CreaturesOfTheNight, Cure, Cypher*, Dark Star*, DarkManticoreX2, DarknessToDeath23*, dealing with it*, deathrisesagain, demonpuppluto*, dig17*, Discipline*, drampire, dudedude889, DumbDora, emotionless, Ersatz Creed, Firewind*, Forensic_Anthro, Forget~Me~Not, freakofnature*, freemixer25, FunnyGuy*, Gazimu, gezzygezzy, Gigabot [Bot], Giggles1245*, Gintoki Sakata, gloriousignorance, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, grahamcr@cker, Guardian Angel, guru101, Harlequin Smile, Hazezon*, HeroOfAwesomeness*, Hinasil*, Horseygirl*, ifihavewingstofly*, Imperial Waltz, Irish Wolf, Isra*, Jack Winters, jackrhien, jackrules158*, Jaybt9*, JayZeroSnake, Jedimaster_Dukon*, Jinx911, JokerofSpades*, JustQuit, Kay422, KeiraHigurashi, kelsiikhaos, Kenzi, Kia Tenshi, KumoriRyuu, LeeHitsugaya, lexileigh, Lifecharacter*, LoveHateKindOfGirl, Lovely ?*, LuckyNumber24, Lucy Knox, Mac the Impaler, Magix, Majestic-12 [Bot], masterblade600, MaxStokes*, Midnight's Work*, Mike53210*, Moonscar*, Mr_Doomed, MSNbot Media, Nation, Nemo*, Night Angel, Nightgem*, Nivosity*, niykin, OriginalSin*, Ottoman*, PandoraBox, peachyme123, Pichu-Chan*, PirateofPie, Porecomesis*, Princess Awinita*, projectdarkeden, QueenShibby, QueLights, RainWish, Rarikou, Ravelin, rebal2, RedRaine, Rem?us*, Renmiri, Resoan, Romaneck, Ropeburn*, Ryand-Smith*, Saken, Saltaka13, Scarlet Bullets*, Seerow*, Sehnsucht., SeraphicStar, Serryy, Setsugie*, Shaodow, Shpleem*, SkinnyLove*, Skuld*, SkullJester*, SkullsandSlippers, Skyeblueme3, Smokescreen, SoftDusk*, SolanaNight*, StandardFiend, Tawanos, Team Forwood, The Adversary*, the_judged*, Tigeress, Trickster, Tyliana*, utahann, VampWiz08, Verse*, victim130*, waterbabe1, wednesdaysun, William Krypt, WindOnFire, Winds Of Fate, Winterwolf, wolfKaliegh, Wudgeous*, XMatthewxHitomiX, xXxCryptic-AngelxXx, Yashie, yogitheambrangyl, Yoru-Senpai*, YoshiFTW*, Zenia*, Zetta, ~*NovaleeTehNinja*~
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/FH4c0dGc2Kk/viewtopic.php
cowboys bling ring bling ring melissa mccarthy roddy white roddy white green river killer
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Moroccans choose new parliament after protests
A woman walks past electoral paintings representing political parties in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Moroccans head to polls to elect a new parliament Friday after the king brought forward elections in response to Arab Spring demonstrations over the past nine months. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
A woman walks past electoral paintings representing political parties in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Moroccans head to polls to elect a new parliament Friday after the king brought forward elections in response to Arab Spring demonstrations over the past nine months. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
A man walks past electoral paintings representing political parties in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Moroccans head to polls to elect a new parliament Friday after the king brought forward elections in response to Arab Spring demonstrations over the past nine months. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
A woman walk past electoral paintings representing a political party in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Moroccans head to polls to elect a new parliament Friday after the king brought forward elections in response to Arab Spring demonstrations over the past nine months. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
A man stands next to a publicity panel that reads "We can make a choice" in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. Moroccans head to polls to elect a new parliament Friday after the king brought forward elections in response to Arab Spring demonstrations over the past nine months. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
RABAT, Morocco (AP) ? Moroccans are choosing a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change.
A moderate Islamist party and a pro-palace coalition are expected to do well in the voting, but a key test for the authorities' legitimacy will be how many voters cast ballots.
The result will be watched by Morocco's U.S. and other western allies, as well as European tourists who cherish its beaches and resorts.
Morocco's reputation as a stable democracy in North Africa has taken a hit with this year's protests. And its once-steady economy is creaking from the amount of money the government has pumped into raising salaries and subsidies to keep people calm amid the Arab world turmoil.
The election campaign has been strangely subdued, unlike the lively politicking in nearby Tunisia when it held the first elections prompted by the Arab uprisings last month.
In Morocco, posters and raucous rallies for candidates are absent in the cities and instead there are just stark official banners urging citizens to "do their national duty" and "participate in the change the country is undergoing."
"The parties have presented the same people for the past 30 years, the least they could do is change their candidates," said Hassan Rafiq, a vegetable vendor in the capital Rabat, who said he didn't plan to vote.
Like elsewhere in the Arab world, Moroccans hit the streets in the first half of 2011 calling for more democracy, and King Mohammed VI responded by amending the constitution and bringing forward elections.
But since then the sense of change has dissipated.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said that since Oct. 20 government has taken more than 100 activist in for questioning for advocating a boycott.
"Moroccans feel that aside from the constitutional reform, nothing has really changed, meaning that the elections of 2011 will be a copy of the elections 2007 and that is what will probably keep the participation low," said Abdellah Baha, deputy secretary general of the Islamist Justice and Development Party.
The 2007 elections, the first with widespread international observation, had just 37 percent turnout, and some fear it could be even lower this time around.
The constitutional referendum passed with over 98 percent voting in favor, and a staggering 72 percent turnout, which most observers found hardly credible.
Morocco with its many political parties and regular elections was once the bright star in a region of dictatorships.
But all that has changed with the Arab uprisings that toppled dictators in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Now a political system that holds elections but leaves all powers in the hands of a hereditary king does not look so liberal.
Under the new constitution, the largest party must form the government, which could well be the Islamist party, known by its French initials PJD. But there's uncertainty over whether it can truly change anything.
The Islamists' biggest rival for the top spot is Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar's Rally of Independents, which leads an alliance of seven other pro-palace parties.
Mezouar said he expected his coalition to take a majority of the parliament and ruled out any kind of alliance with the Islamists. He also told The Associated Press that he expected a high turnout.
"I am confident about the level of participation, because during this campaign we've seen how interested the citizens are in this election, enormously more than in 2007," he said.
Associated Pressbaby lisa paranormal activity wvu football meteor shower tonight district 9 district 9 pandaria
Portia De Rossi & Ellen DeGeneres Buying Brad Pitt?s Malibu House
Portia De Rossi & Ellen DeGeneres Buying Brad Pitt’s Malibu House
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi are reportedly purchasing Brad Pitt’s Malibu home. The couple put their $49 million Beverly [...]
Portia De Rossi & Ellen DeGeneres Buying Brad Pitt’s Malibu House Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/uKxjmCR5ke0/
ows kindle fire review community newt gingrich matt schaub fire island fire island
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel and Elite pedals review
If you'll recall, it was back in March that we checked some of this kit out, and now with Forza 4 here, we hooked this mashup of gear up with our Playseat Evolution for a massive amount of virtual spins. So, did this combination help speed past the checkerboard with a respectable feel? Shift past the break find out in our full review.
Continue reading Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel and Elite pedals review
Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel and Elite pedals review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/24/edit-fanatec-forza-motorsort-csr-wheel-and-elite-pedals-review/
richard stallman williston north dakota williston north dakota kody brown transylvania terrell owens terrell owens
Dr. Conrad Murray Prosecutors Lobby For Maximum Possible Sentence
Dr. Conrad Murray will be sentenced next Tuesday, and how much jail time he serves will depend on what a judge decides after hearing arguments from both the defense and prosecution - which will be poles apart as you might expect.
The D.A. wants Michael Jackson's former personal physician to spend the maximum possible four years in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys asked that he only receive probation.
Prosecutors David Walgren and Deborah Brazil told Judge Michael Pastor that Murray showed no remorse for Jackson's death and has blamed others instead.
Moreover, he chose to slander the King of Pop both at trial and in the documentary he filmed during it, making a lenient sentence for the doctor inexcusable.
The film does not portray MJ flatteringly. In one interview for it, Dr. Conrad Murray actually says, "I don't feel guilty because I did not do anything wrong."
The maximum jail sentence isn't the only thing the prosecution is seeking - they're looking for damages of up to $100 million due to Jackson's death.
The defense for Murray, who is on suicide watch, begged to differ.
Defense attorney Nareg Gourjian cited positive letters from Murray's former patients and said, "There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional, accidental and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected."
"Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson."
Funny, his actions don't exactly suggest that, do they?
florida state football fsu football fsu football do a barrelroll bérénice marlohe bérénice marlohe google offers
Friday, November 25, 2011
O Christmas tree, how costly are your branches (Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) ? One Tokyo Christmas tree has a special glow even amid the global economic gloom -- it's made of pure gold, and valued at $2 million.
A jewellery store in Tokyo's posh Ginza district teamed up with flower arrangement artist Shogo Kariyazaki to create the lavish Golden Christmas Tree.
Twelve kg (26 lb) of gold were used to make the 2.4 metre (8 foot) tree, which is adorned with ribbons, hearts and orchids, also made of gold.
The value of the gold is about $700,000 but the total value of the tree is much higher because of labour costs, said Naoto Mizuki, marketing general manager at the store.
"Considering the time it took to make, the designer and hard work put into it, we can assume that the cost of this tree would be approximately 150 million yen ($2 million)," he said.
The gleaming display caught the eyes of passersby.
"When you're looking at the tree, it really jumps out at you," said window-shopping housewife Kisoko Sakabe.
The tree is not for sale.
It will be on display at the store through to Christmas Day.
(Reporting by Mariko Lochridge at Reuters TV; Editing by Elaine Lies)
east river harry shum jr workaholics workaholics new iphone 5 release mary j blige cole hamels
Ruth Stone, award-winning poet, dies in Vt. at 96 (AP)
Ruth Stone, an award-winning poet for whom tragedy halted, then inspired a career that started in middle age and thrived late in life as her sharp insights into love, death and nature received ever-growing acclaim, has died in Vermont. She was 96.
Stone, who for decades lived in a farmhouse in Goshen, died Nov. 19 of natural causes at her home in Ripton, her daughter Phoebe Stone said Thursday. She was surrounded by her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Widowed in her 40s and little known for years after, Ruth Stone became one of the country's most honored poets in her 80s and 90s, winning the National Book Award in 2002 for "In the Next Galaxy" and being named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for "What Love Comes To." She received numerous other citations, including a National Book Critics Circle award, two Guggenheims and a Whiting Award that enabled her to have plumbing installed in her Goshen home.
She was born Ruth McDowell in 1915, the daughter of printer and part-time drummer Roger McDowell. A native of Roanoke, Va., who spent much of her childhood in Indianapolis, Ruth was a creative and precocious girl for whom poetry was almost literally mother's milk; her mother would recite Tennyson while nursing her. A beloved aunt, Aunt Harriette, worked with young Ruth on poetry and illustrations and was later immortalized, with awe and affection, in the poem "How to Catch Aunt Harriette."
By age 19, Stone was married and had moved to Urbana, Ill., studying at the University of Illinois. There, she met Walter Stone, a graduate student and poet who became the love of her life, well after his ended. "You, a young poet working/in the steel mills; me, married, to a dull chemical engineer," she wrote of their early, adulterous courtship, in the poem "Coffee and Sweet Rolls."
She divorced her first husband, married Stone and had two daughters (she also had a daughter from her first marriage). By 1959, he was on the faculty at Vassar and both were set to publish books. But on a sabbatical in England, Walter Stone hung himself, at age 42, a suicide his wife never got over or really understood.
In the poem "Turn Your Eyes Away," she remembered seeing his body, "on the door of a rented room/like an overcoat/like a bathrobe/ hung from a hook." He would recur, ghostlike, in poem after poem. "Actually the widow thinks/he may be/in another country in disguise," she writes in "All Time is Past Time." In "The Widow's Song," she wonders "If he saw her now/would he marry her?/The widow pinches her fat/on her abdomen."
Her first collection, "In an Iridescent Time," came out in 1959. But Stone, depressed and raising three children alone, moving around the country to wherever she could find a teaching job, didn't publish her next book, "Topography and Other Poems," until 1971. Another decade-long gap preceded her 1986 release "American Milk."
Her life stabilized in 1990 when she became a professor of English and creative writing at the State University of New York in Binghamton. Most of her published work, including "American Milk," "The Solution" and "Simplicity," came out after she turned 70.
Her poems were brief, her curiosity boundless, her verse a cataloguing of what she called "that vast/confused library, the female mind." She considered the bottling of milk; her grandmother's hair, "pulled back to a bun"; the random thoughts while hanging laundry (Einstein's mustache, the eyesight of ants).
"I think my work is a natural response to my life," she once said. "What I see and feel changes like a prism, moment to moment; a poem holds and illuminates. It is a small drama. I think, too, my poems are a release, a laughing at the ridiculous and songs of mourning, celebrating marriage and loss, all the sad baggage of our lives. It is so overwhelming, so complex."
Aging and death were steady companions ? confronted, lamented and sometimes kidded, like in "Storage," in which her "old" brain reminds her not to weep for what was lost: "Listen ? I have it all on video/at half the price," the poet is warned.
Stone was not pious ? "I am not one/who God can hope to save by dying twice" ? but she worshipped the world and counted its blessings. In "Yes, Think," she imagines a caterpillar pitying its tiny place in the universe and "getting even smaller." Nature herself smiles and responds:
___
"You are a lovely link
in the great chain of being
Think how lucky it is to be born."
___
Associated Press Writer Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
portia de rossi portia de rossi herman cain for president herman cain for president pumpkin bread pumpkin bread linus pauling
Petition created for Fox News host to drink pepper spray (Reuters)
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? It may be time for Fox News' Megyn Kelly to get a taste of her own medicine.
New Yorker Nick Douglas created an online petition to get Megyn Kelly to "eat or drink a full dose of pepper spray on national television," and it has already attracted more than 15,000 signatures.
Why would anyone want Kelly to do that?
Well, it all started when the anchor made some controversial comments to Bill O'Reilly on Monday's edition of "The O'Reilly Factor." The two Fox hosts were discussing the UC Davis police that pepper-sprayed protesters affiliated with the Occupy movement.
Kelly said that peppery spray is "a food product essentially," sparking a great deal of ire from those who know one thing -- pepper spray is nothing like food.
The incident sent several people to the hospital and caused the school to place Lt. John Pike, another officer and UC Davis police chief Annette Spicuzza on administrative leave.
On the petition's page, Douglas wrote:
Ms. Kelly, on November 21, you told Bill O'Reilly that pepper spray (as used by Lt. John Pike to assault the UC Davis protestors) is "a food product, essentially." That was, of course, ridiculous.
While you allowed that the spray was "abrasive and intrusive", you wondered if it had been diluted (reportedly, it hadn't).
To back up your claim that pepper spray is a food product, please consume as much of it as was sprayed on each protestor's face, in one sitting, on camera at Fox News. You may mix the spray with one serving of food or drink, as I am not a sadist. Then, please relate the effects to your audience.
Think she'll do it?
We're waiting to hear from Fox.
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/tv_nm/us_foxnews
namibia hell on wheels hell on wheels new york city marathon andy williams andy williams nyc marathon
Gates back on stand in Utah in $1B antitrust trial (AP)
SALT LAKE CITY ? Microsoft's Bill Gates returned to the witness stand Tuesday to defend his company against a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit that claims the software giant tricked a competitor into huge losses and soared onto the market with Windows 95.
Utah-based Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004. The company said Gates duped it into thinking he would include its WordPerfect writing program in the new Windows system, then backed out because he feared it was too good.
Novell said it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.
Gates testified Monday that Microsoft was racing to put out Windows 95 when he dropped technical features that would no longer support the rival's word processor because engineers warned it would crash the system.
Windows 95 was a major innovation, and Gates said he had his mind on larger issues.
"We worked super hard. It was the most challenging, trying project we had ever done," the Microsoft co-founder said. "It was a ground-breaking piece of work, and it was very well received when we got it done."
Gates said Novell just couldn't deliver a Windows 95 compatible WordPerfect program in time for rollout, and its own Word program was actually better. He said that by 1994, Microsoft's Word was rated No. 1 in the market above WordPerfect.
WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for computer writing programs, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own Office programs took hold.
Microsoft lawyers said Novell's loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn't develop a Windows compatible WordPerfect program until months after the operating system's rollout.
Gates called it an "important win" in an email to executives.
Attorneys for Novell, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group as a result of a merger earlier this year, concede that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to Windows 95 so Novell could prepare a compatible version. The Redmond, Wash.-based company, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, Novell attorney Jeff Johnson said.
Microsoft lawyer David Tulchin argued that Novell's missed opportunity was its own fault, and that Microsoft had no obligation to give a competitor a leg up.
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz late Monday denied Microsoft's request to dismiss the case. He said Novell's claims appeared thin but that he would let the case continue another month and allow a jury to decide.
Gates was the first witness to testify Monday in his company's defense after a month-long case by Novell. Cross-examination begins Tuesday.
Gates, a billionaire, began by testifying about Microsoft's history. He was just 19 when he helped found the company. Today, Microsoft is one of the world's largest software makers, with a market value of more than $210 billion.
"We thought everybody would have a personal computer on every desk and in every home," Gates said. "We wanted to be there and be the first."
___
Associated Press writer Jennifer Dobner contributed to this report.
yahoo.com/mail david nelson david nelson frank gore frank gore frank miller 60 minutes
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Seals' personalities affect pups
23 November 2011
Last updated at 07:12 ET
Grey seals have different types of personality that affect the extent to which they guard and care for their young, according to new research.
Researchers from the universities of St Andrews and Durham found seal mothers were often unpredictable and adopted a wide variation of mothering styles.
Some were attentive to their pups while others were not, the experts found.
The study shows, for the first time, the extent of personality differences in marine mammals in the wild.
It shows how individual animals have differing behavioural styles, and how they may be limited in their ability to respond to different environments.
The researchers said the findings could have benefits for future conservation policy, habitat management and reveals new information about the process of evolution.
Researchers observed seals on the Scottish island of North Rona during the breeding season between September and November over a two-year period.
Continue reading the main story?Start Quote
End Quote Dr Sean Twiss Durham UniversityOur findings show that there is no such thing as an average seal?
The team targeted the animals in their natural habitat to analyse individual variation and consistency in behavioural response.
Using a remote controlled vehicle with a fitted video camera, the researchers set up tests to assess how seals reacted to external stimuli and potential threats, including wolf calls played from the vehicle.
The seals' reactions ranged from disinterested to aggressive.
The team checked the responses of seal mothers by recording the number of pup checks made (where the mother raises her head off the ground and moves it in the direction of her young to check their well-being) during a specific time period.
Individual patterns on their fur meant the researchers could identify the seals over two years.
Inattentive mothersDr Sean Twiss, of Durham University, said: "Our findings show that there is no such thing as an average seal.
"Individuals behave differently and do so consistently.
"We found that some seal mothers are very watchful when something potentially threatening approaches them, while other mums barely check their pups at all.
"Why female grey seals express individually consistent patterns of pup checking is unknown.
"It might be expected that females should be able to change their behaviour according to the situation but the non-attentive mothers remained inattentive.
"Our results show large differences in response to the same potential dangers."
In both male and female seals, behaviour was not linked to factors such as age or size.
'Strong consistencies'Dr Patrick Pomeroy of the Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, said: "Our results show strong consistencies in behaviour of wild seals.
"If maternal attentiveness contributes to fitness, one would be forced to ask why selection has not favoured a single optimum level of pup checking, or flexibility in terms of the number of checks made.
"Our next task is to find out if personality differences have fitness consequences."
The study is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Esm?e Fairburn Foundation.
The first results are published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-15853505
neville neville heavy d heavy d taser gun patriots vs jets adventureland
Portuguese strike against bailout austerity (Reuters)
LISBON (Reuters) ? Portuguese workers went on strike on Thursday, halting public transport and factories in many parts of the country to protest against harsh austerity measures imposed as the price of an EU/IMF bailout.
The rescue funds are designed to keep Portugal afloat and stem a snowballing euro zone debt crisis, but the painful austerity measures including pay cuts are hugely unpopular and have sent the country into its worst recession in decades.
Highlighting Portugal's economic woes, Fitch Ratings on Thursday cut its credit standing to just below investment grade.
Planes were grounded, trains halted and most public services interrupted as workers across the nation of 11 million protested against job losses, tax hikes and pay cuts agreed between Portugal and the troika of lenders -- the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
"There is a strong sentiment of outrage, which has to make us reflect a lot about the situation," said Manuel Carvalho da Silva, head of the 750,000-strong CGTP union.
He said participation in the strike was strong in the transport sector, including Volkswagen's Autoeuropa, halting production, and there were "different rates of participation in various parts of the country." Still, minimum public services were maintained under court orders.
The Naval Shipyards in Viana do Castelo in northern Portugal ground to a halt as all 700 workers downed tools, the local union leader, Antonio Barbosa, said.
All international flights to and from Lisbon and Porto were canceled for the duration of the 24-hour walkout, according to the website of the airport authority ANA.
"The strike is general, the attack is global!" chanted protesters in a picket line at the Lisbon airport, referring to what unions say is an attack on workers' rights.
BAILOUT CONDITIONS
The center-right government must meet EU conditions for a 78-billion-euro ($100-billion) bailout to rescue Portugal from its worst economic crisis in decades. The previous government collapsed in March after failing to push its own austerity drive through parliament and had to request the bailout.
"With what the troika is doing here, I think we have reasons for the strike. I've paid my social security since 1981, why am I going to be left without part of my Christmas bonus? I think it is wrong," said 45-year-old machinist Carlos Silva.
Portugal was the third country in the euro zone to seek a bailout, after Greece and Ireland, and is now headed for its deepest recession since it returned to democracy in 1974. The economy is set to contract nearly 3 percent next year.
In its drive to cut the budget deficit and debt, the government has ordered cuts in this year's year-end bonus for all workers and canceled holiday and year-end bonuses for civil servants next year.
Its reforms include spending cuts in everything from health services to public television. It is also reforming labor laws and has extended the working day by half an hour.
For weeks, posters have lined the streets of Lisbon urging workers to strike, while the government insists there is no way out of painful austerity.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, who came to power in June, said the country's priority was to beat the debt crisis.
"It is up to me to try to mobilize the Portuguese for action every day to contribute to transform Portugal," he said.
STRONG SUPPORT
Despite the protests, an opinion poll by Marktest pollsters on Thursday showed support for the ruling PSD party rising four percentage points from last month to 45 percent. The government's solid backing has been in contrast to Greece, where a national unity government was formed to push through measures to stave off bankruptcy.
Rallies were planned across the country on Thursday, but analysts note the Portuguese, unlike nations such as Greece, do not have a tradition of violent protest, and labor action in the face of the crisis has so far been low-key.
Authorities reported no serious incidents although police said vandals had smashed the windows of three tax offices in Lisbon.
But the prospect of deep belt-tightening measures, which kick in with full force next year, have fueled support and may make the strike significantly larger than one held a year ago.
Portugal must cut its budget deficit this year to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product from nearly 10 percent in 2010. In 2012, Lisbon has promised to cut the deficit to 4.5 percent of GDP. Workers' fears, especially in state companies that face heavy cuts, have been fed by unemployment, which stands at 12.4 percent and is the highest since the 1980s.
(Additional reporting by Axel Bugge and Miguel Pereira, editing by Rosalind Russell)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/wl_nm/us_portugal
chris christie cnet tampa bay rays netanyahu apple keynote apple keynote seattle news
Climate Change Panel Predicts More Intense Weather Events (ContributorNetwork)
According to NPR, a recent meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which included more than 200 scientists, concluded with a report stating it expects climate change to bring more intense weather events. The panel specifically noted more rainfall, heat waves and other natural disasters are in the forecast as a result of climate change.
The IPCC notes the frequency of heavy rainfall will likely increase this century in many different regions. Additionally, more powerful hurricanes and typhoons are likely to occur, but these events will see a gradual, small increase instead of a steep one. With the debut of this report, here are some facts about climate change:
* Since the industrial revolution, the burning of fuel and constant deforestation has led to the release of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
* These greenhouse gases prevent heat from re-entering space and create a warming effect, also known as global warming or climate change, on the earth.
* The Washington State Department of Ecology notes while climate change can impact weather events, it also has the potential to impact agriculture, human health, water resources, and energy use.
* Despite the fact there is a warming trend, different regions will experience changes differently as well and there is the possibility that a few areas could see temperatures drop instead of increasing.
* In the late 1990s, numerous nations attempted to join together to establish the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty designed to ensure countries would commit to combating climate change.
* The U.S. failed to ratify the treaty over concerns that China and India would not have to follow the outlined changes or commit to reducing their own emissions.
* Nearly a decade later in Copenhagen, Denmark, world leaders met again to discuss and reach agreements on the growing concern of global warming.
* The 2009 summit focused on the dispute between the U.S. and China and if the nations couldn't agree it could have potentially killed any further international agreements at the summit.
* President Barack Obama also attended and spoke at the summit to help work out disagreements over China joining the pledge and although they fell short of expectations, agreements were finally reached.
Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.
sean hannity jose reyes albert haynesworth kroy biermann nene leakes duggars danny woodhead
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
War, then soccer
By BARBARA SURK
Associated Press
Associated Press Sports
updated 2:41 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2011
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -For the first time in decades, football in Libya is just about, well, football.
Gone in the uprising that ousted Moammar Gadhafi is Al-Saadi Gadhafi, who dominated the game and intimidated players during the last years of his father's 42-year rule.
"It's about the ball and kicking the ball without fear and pressure so we can win for our country, for free Libya," said Ali al-Aswad, the manager of the national team and a former player for Tripoli club Al Ahli, the late dictator's favorite team.
Football had been in the shadows in Libya since February, when the revolt against Gadhafi's regime erupted in the North African country. Players either left the country to play for clubs in neighboring countries or joined the rebels.
Just days after anti-Gadhafi forces overran Tripoli in late August, assistant coach Abdul Hafid Arbesh went looking for football players around the chaotic capital. He wanted to put together a national team to take them on an epic journey to Egypt for Libya's first international match under the red, black and green revolutionary flag that has replaced the old regime's green banner.
After a bus ride to neighboring Tunisia, a flight to Libya's eastern city of Benghazi and from there another flight to Cairo, Arbesh's squad was in a stadium in the Egyptian capital, facing Mozambique in an African Cup of Nations qualifying match. Libya won 1-0.
"I brought the men together on the field and I held in my hand the new flag we put together on the bus and said: 'You are just like the rebels. You should fight like the rebels and make the mothers of the martyrs proud,"' Arbesh said.
Fresh from the front line, 25-year-old midfielder Walid al-Katroushi knew what to do.
Al-Katroushi was fighting alongside the rebel forces since April, when he traded football training camp in Tunisia for a war zone in his homeland. He said he couldn't continue playing while so many people were dying in efforts to liberate their country.
"When I joined the rebels, I forgot about football," al-Katroushi said in an interview during a training camp in Dubai. "I changed my clothes. I shaved my hair. I forgot everything, even my family."
As a football player on the front line, al-Katroushi said he was spoiled by the rebels. They respected him for leaving the game and joining the fight against Gadhafi.
"They gave me the best they had," al-Katroushi said. "When there were not enough bulletproof vests, some fighters took off their own and gave them to me.
"They were very afraid for me and afraid that I would get hurt in any way," al-Katroushi said. "They were very kind to me. They said I was too gentle to face the bullets."
Gadhafi's two sons, al-Saadi and Mohammed, dominated Libyan football and - along with their father - terrorized the players. Al-Saadi Gadhafi served as the president of the Libyan football federation until he escaped to Niger in September. He also had ambitions as a player, using his money and influence to play in Libya and even, briefly, in Italy for Perugia.
"All decisions were with them," al-Aswad said. "He would tell us when to play and how to play and if to play at all."
Al-Saadi would pull the national team off the field minutes before a match on the other side of the world, al-Aswad said. He'd bribe star players to score at some matches and threatened them with beatings if they scored at others. He ordered a club in Benghazi leveled.
Al-Aswad even holds al-Saadi responsible for the killing of a famous player, Bashir Riyan, in 2004.
"We suffered a lot," al-Aswad said. "It was like the ball only belonged to him and football players and the national team were his hostages."
Still, Libyan football has survived the regime and last month, the national team beat long odds to qualify for next year's African Cup. The team's new captain - goalkeeper Samir Aboud - is in the running for the African Player of the Year award after Libya defied political upheaval at home to reach Africa's top tournament.
Many players have family members and friends among the revolution's victims. Ahmed al-Sgayer, a defender who also fought alongside rebel forces, was shot in the arm and was hospitalized for weeks before he returned to football. Midfielder Abdullah al-Sharif lost an uncle in a NATO bombing and a cousin, who fought on the rebels' side.
His loyalty was always to football, al-Sharif said.
"There's a different flag and a different anthem, but I will always be proud to play for Libya," al-Sharif said.
The African Cup will kick off on Jan. 21 and will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Libya will be in Group A along with Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Zambia.
Next month, Libya will also play in the Arab Games, hosted by the Gulf country of Qatar, which sent war planes to Libya to help topple the Gadhafi regime. They will face Jordan, Palestine and Sudan in the group stage of Middle East's biggest sports event.
Libya hosted the African Cup of Nations in 1982 and reached the final that year, losing to Ghana. The North African country also reached the continental tournament in 2006 when it was hosted by Egypt.
A good performance in the African Cup is the team's goal, but Arbesh said the players are already dreaming about qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Libya has never qualified, but Arbesh said he's always felt the country had talent that couldn't thrive because of the oppression.
"We needed support, not fear to win," Arbesh said. "Without Gadhafi's shackles, we can go far. Very far."
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
More newsAmerica?needs Beckham back
Trash Talk: Aside from American football, the rest of the public?s attention is up for grabs, which is why it?s an opportune time for soccer to make its move. And an ideal opportunity for the MLS to bring David Beckham back.
War, then soccer
For the first time in decades, football in Libya is just about, well, football.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45387981/ns/sports-soccer/
patriots jets the music man the music man nfl nfl steve smith weather san antonio
Who Won The ?Dancing With The Stars? 2011 Mirrorball Trophy?
Who Won The “Dancing With The Stars” 2011 Mirrorball Trophy?
It’s the finale show of “Dancing With the Stars” and we finally find out what celebrity nabbed the Mirror Ball trophy in Season 13 of [...]
Who Won The “Dancing With The Stars” 2011 Mirrorball Trophy? Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/W42KuQxAu7g/
gene simmons my bloody valentine mario manningham mario manningham holes houston texans houston texans
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)