Saturday, December 31, 2011

At least 13 killed in Venezuela tanker truck fire

A tanker truck filled with gasoline crashed and burst into flames on Thursday in Venezuela, engulfing several cars and a bus and killing at least 13 people.

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The tanker truck tipped over and spilled gasoline, which ignited and burned seven vehicles, Caracas fire chief William Martinez said.

Rescue workers pulled victims' bodies from the blackened vehicles.

Martinez said the tanker truck driver apparently lost control on the highway in Caracas but the cause of the accident was unclear.

At least 16 people were injured in the accident, national police chief Luis Fernandez said.

The 30-year-old truck driver, Tulio Estenique, was unhurt and was arrested, prosecutors said in a statement. He is to be arraigned and is under investigation for his responsibility in causing the accident.

Prosecutors said that according to witnesses the truck was speeding.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45819416/ns/world_news-americas/

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Video: Rick Santorum one-on-one with Chuck Todd

NBC?s Chuck Todd sat down with Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum at his Iowa headquarters where they discussed his rise in the Iowa polls, his GOP rivals, his positions on social issues, and his knowledge of Iowa trivia.

Related Links:

http://twitter.com/nbcnightlynews

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45829898/

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Chicago Bulls vs Golden State Warriors live coverage NBA online streaming on pc

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Source: http://www.sportsviews.com/blog/89966/Chicago_Bulls_vs_Golden_State_Warriors_live_coverage_NBA_online_streaming_on_pc

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Venezuela to remove breast implants for free

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It used to be one of the most-used brands," Saud said. Most of the women opted to replace the PIP implants with those of other brands, he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-28-LT-Venezuela-Breast-Implants/id-f7425cc5d13b466caffc98d67cf243c7

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College students sharpen focus on 2012 election

Every four years, the Democratic and Republican Parties gear up to face each other in an always-heated race for the presidency. The 2012 elections are no different.

The Republican Party is in the midst of preparing for the primaries, but it currently remains very unclear who will be attempting to remove President Obama from the White House.

?This is going to be a long Republican primary season and it is sure to produce more dirty laundry than any fraternity row in the country,? said Josh Berman, who studied political science at Emory University and now writes his own political blog, Berman Briefing.

According to USA TODAY?s Presidential Poll Tracker, Newt Gringrich, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul are the GOP front-runners.

What remains to be seen is whether or not college students will play as large a role in the 2012 elections as they did in 2008 ? a groundbreaking election that saw the third-highest showing of young voters in the country?s history.

?Will it be the same influence? Who knows,? said Gideon Porter, a political science major at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. ?But college students will definitely have a large influence in 2012.?

Berman agrees.

?Students will undoubtedly play a role in 2012 because they are driven to elect President Obama to a second term,? Berman said.

Those who supported Obama in 2008 have grown up in the last four years, and their needs have shifted. In 2008, students were motivated by their desire for change. Now, students seem to be more concerned with having a job when they graduate.

?The 2012 election is all about jobs and what direction we want the country to go in,? Porter said. ?College students graduate with a lot of debt, so we need jobs right away to start paying back that debt.?

George Washington University junior Michelle Hayon, who identifies herself as a Republican, said that the current unemployment rate is one of the key issues that will influence her vote.

?I?m concerned, because I always thought the accounting department was more stable because accountants are always in demand,? Hayon ? who, yes, is an accounting major ? said. ?However, my older friends that have graduated with CPA degrees are having a hard time finding well paid jobs. I?m at a well-respected private institution and a few years ago, that almost guaranteed having a job upon graduation. Now, it certainly doesn?t, and that?s an issue and a major concern.?

Aside from the high unemployment rate, the most important issues for Hayon are the candidates? views on Israel and taxes.

The 2012 election will address some very serious, controversial issues, from the economy and health care to gay marriage and abortion.

?For the direction of the country, do we want to be a country that invests in our people whether in say, health care, or do we want to be a country that leaves many people behind and left out?? Porter asked. ?Do we want to be a country that begins to close the huge gap between the one percent and the rest of us, or do we want more tax cuts for the rich? Do we believe in fighting climate change or are we a country that denies climate change? In other words, what type of country do we want to be in the 21st century??

You might also be interested in:

  1. Growing independence among college voters could shift dynamic of 2012 election
  2. Election 2012: What role will religion play in the GOP nomination?
  3. Yes We Can? College progressives hold on to hope
  4. Election 2012: From the classroom to the campaign
  5. College vote 2012: Which political ?cluster? do you belong to?

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY.

Source: http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/election2012/college-students-sharpen-focus-on-2012-election

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Northern Nigerian Christians warn of religious war (Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) ? Northern Nigerian Christians said on Tuesday they feared that a spate of Chrtistmas Day bombings by Islamist militants that killed over two dozen people could lead to a religious war in Africa's most populous country.

The warning was made in a statement by the northern branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), an umbrella organization comprising various denominations including Catholics, Protestant and Pentecostal churches.

The Boko Haram Islamist sect, which aims to impose sharia Islamic law across Nigeria, claimed responsibility for the blasts, the second Christmas in a row it has caused carnage at Christian churches.

Saidu Dogo, secretary general for the organization in Nigeria's 19 northern provinces called on Muslim leaders to control their faithful, saying Christians will be forced to defend themselves against further attacks.

"We fear that the situation may degenerate to a religious war and Nigeria may not be able to survive one. Once again, 'enough is enough!'," Dogo said.

The attacks risk reviving tit-for-tat sectarian violence between the mostly Muslim north and the largely Christian south, which has claimed thousands of lives in the past decade.

Dogo said the CAN was calling on all Christians to continue respecting the law but to defend themselves when needed.

"We shall henceforth in the midst of these provocations and wanton destruction of innocent lives and property be compelled to make our own efforts and arrangements to protect the lives of innocent Christians and peace-loving citizens of this country," Dogo said.

The most deadly attack killed at least 27 people in the St Theresa Catholic church in Madalla, a town on the edge of the capital Abuja, and devastated surrounding buildings and cars as faithful poured out of the church after Christmas mass.

Security forces also blamed the sect for two explosions in the north targeting their facilities. Officials have confirmed 32 people died in the wave of attacks across Nigeria, though local media have put the number higher.

But the church bombs are more worrying because they raise fears that Boko Haram is trying to ignite a sectarian civil war in the nearly 160 million nation split evenly between Christians and Muslims, who for the most part co-exist in peace.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has come under pressure to do more fight the growing security threat which risks derailing economic gains in the OPEC member and Africa's top oil-producing nation.

Nigeria's main opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner and former military ruler who lost a presidential election in April to Jonathan, accused the government of incompetence on Monday, saying government was slow to respond and had shown indifference to the bombings.

The CAN said in the statement that it was concerned that the perpetrators and their sponsors "are well-known to government and no serious or decisive actions have been taken to stem their nefarious activities."

(Writing by Bate Felix)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/wl_nm/us_nigeria_blast

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Mass protests in Syrian city as monitors arrive (AP)

BEIRUT ? Tens of thousands of defiant Syrian protesters thronged the streets of Homs Tuesday, calling for the execution of President Bashar Assad shortly after his army pulled its tanks back and allowed Arab League monitors in for the first time to the city at the heart of the anti-government uprising.

The pullback was the first sign the regime was complying with the League's plan to end the 9-month-old crackdown on mostly unarmed and peaceful protesters.

Yet amateur video released by activists showed forces firing on protesters even while the monitors were inside the city. One of the observers walked with an elderly man who pointed with his cane to a fresh pool of blood on the street that he said had been shed by his son, killed a day earlier.

The man, wearing a red-and-white checkered headdress, then called for the monitor to walk ahead to "see the blood of my second son" also killed in the onslaught.

"Where is justice? Where are the Arabs?" the old man shouted in pain.

Syrian tanks had been heavily shelling Homs for days, residents and activists said, killing dozens even after Assad signed on early last week to the Arab League plan, which demands the government remove its security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country.

But a few hours before the arrival of the monitors, who began work Tuesday to ensure Syria complies with the League's plan, the army stopped the bombardment and pulled some of its tanks back.

The British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that government forces fired on protesters while the monitors were inside Homs and said at two people were killed from the fire.

About 60 monitors arrived in Syria Monday night ? the first foreign observers Syria has allowed in since March, when the uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule began. The League said a team of 12 visited Homs.

After agreeing to the League's pullback plan on Dec. 19, the regime intensified its crackdown on dissent; government troops killed hundreds in the past week and Syria was condemned internationally for flouting the spirit of the agreement.

On Monday alone, security forces killed at least 42 people, most of them in Homs. Activists said security forces killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including six in Homs.

One group put Tuesday's toll at 30, including 13 in Homs province. Different groups often give varying tolls. With foreign journalists and human rights groups barred from the country, they are virtually impossible to verify.

Amateur videos show residents of Homs pleading with the visiting monitors for protection.

"We are unarmed people who are dying," one resident shouts to one observer. Seconds later, shooting is heard from a distance as someone else screams: "We are being slaughtered here."

Given the intensified crackdown over the past week, the opposition has viewed Syria's agreement to the Arab League plan as a farce. Some even accuse the organization of 22 states of complicity in the killings. Activists say the regime is trying to buy time and forestall more international condemnation and sanctions.

"The Syrian government will cooperate symbolically enough in order not to completely alienate the Arab League," said Bilal Saab, a Middle East expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. "But make no mistake about it, its survival strategy is to keep kicking the can down the road, until domestic and international circumstances change in its favor."

Opponents of Assad doubt the Arab League can budge the autocratic leader at the head of one of the Middle East's most repressive regimes. Syria's top opposition leader, Burhan Ghalioun, called Sunday for the League to bring the U.N. Security Council into the effort. The U.N. says more than 5,000 people have been killed since March in the political violence.

Shortly after the tanks pulled back and stopped shelling, the videos showed tens of thousands flooding into the streets and marching defiantly in a funeral. They carried the open casket overhead with the exposed face of an 80-year-old man with a white beard.

"Listen Bashar: If you fire bullets, grenades or shells at us, we will not be scared," one person shouted to the crowd through loudspeakers. Many were waving Syria's independence flag, which predates the 1963 ascendancy of Assad's Baath party to power.

"The people want to execute Bashar," chanted a group as they walked side-by-side with monitors through one of Homs' streets. "Long live the Free Syrian Army," they chanted, referring to the force of army defectors fighting Assad's troops.

The amateur video also showed a man picking up the remains of a mortar round and showing it to the observers.

In another exchange, a resident tells a monitor: "You should say what you just told the head of the mission. You said you cannot cross to the other side of the street because of sniper fire."

The monitor points to the head of the team and says: "He will make a statement." The resident then repeats his demand, and the monitor, smoking a cigarette, nods in approval.

The Observatory for Human Rights said as the monitors visited Homs, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in some neighborhoods to "reveal the crimes committed by the regime."

Later, the Observatory said some 70,000 protesters tried to enter the tightly secured Clock Square but were pushed back by security forces that fired tear gas and later live bullets, killing at least two, to prevent them from reaching the city's largest square. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said security forces were shooting at protesters trying to reach the central square.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has a population of 800,000 and is at the epicenter of the revolt against Assad. It is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the capital, Damascus. Many Syrians refer to it as the "Capital of the Revolution."

Opposition activist Mohammed Saleh said four days of heavy bombardment in Homs stopped in the morning on Tuesday and tanks were seen pulling out. Another Homs activist said he saw armored vehicles leaving early on a highway leading to the eastern city of Palmyra. He asked that his name not be made public for fear of retribution.

"Today is calm, unlike previous days," Saleh said. "The shelling went on for days, but yesterday was terrible."

The Observatory said some army vehicles pulled out of Homs while other relocated in government compounds "where (they) can deploy again within five minutes."

A local official in Homs told The Associated Press the team of monitors, headed by Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, met with Ghassan Abdul-Aal, the governor of Homs province. After the meeting, the monitors headed to several tense districts including Baba Amr and Inshaat, sites of the most intense crackdowns since Friday.

The official later said that most members of the Arab team headed back to Damascus, while three will spend the night in Homs. The official refused to give details about where the observers will stay for security reasons.

In addition to the deaths reported by activist groups Tuesday, Syrian state-run news agency SANA said two roadside bombs targeted a bus carrying employees of a state company in Idlib, killing six and wounding four.

Also Tuesday, a Lebanese-based al-Qaida-linked group, Abdullah Azzam Brigades, claimed that two suicide attacks against Damascus security offices that killed at least 66 Friday were the work of the Syrian regime, and not al-Qaida as Syrian authorities said.

And in Lebanon, security officials said Syrian troops opened fire at a car that crossed illegally into northern Lebanon, killing three Lebanese men. Some Syrians have fled to Lebanon to escape the fighting, and Syria has complained that weapons are smuggled across its borders. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was related to the uprising in Syria.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.

___

Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Day bomb hits church in Nigeria, agency says

Smoke rises from the scene of bombing Sunday at a Catholic church in Madala, west of the Nigerian capital.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • NEW: People are killed in a Catholic church bombing, a local priest says
  • NEW: Police exchange gunfire with attackers who bomb a second church
  • NEW: Locals blame the attacks on Boko Haram but no one claims responsibility
  • The blasts follow attacks on five churches in Nigeria during last year's Christmas season

(CNN) -- Bomb blasts struck two churches in Nigeria on Sunday as worshippers were attending Christmas Day services, stirring memories of strikes against Nigerian churches during last year's Christmas season.

The first explosion struck near a Catholic church in Madala, west of Abuja, Nigeria's capital, the National Emergency Management Agency said.

A second attack struck the Mountain of Fire Ministries church in the city of Jos, northeast of the capital, said journalist Hassan John, who witnessed the aftermath of the two blasts that targeted the church.

The emergency agency did not immediately provide details about the bombings, including the number of dead or wounded.

"Lives have been lost but we do not have the details," said the Rev. Michael Ekpenyong, speaking about the first bombing. "The area has been cordoned off. I tried to call the priest but I couldn't get through."

Ekpenyong, the secretary general of the country's Catholic Secretariat, said the church that was bombed was "not a big church, but lots of people attend."

Photos from the scene showed burned-out cars and at least three bodies lying on the ground, one covered with a blanket, at the rural church.

Usman Abdallah Baba, who witnessed the bombing, said there were at least 15 or 16 casualties and that authorities were still counting the toll.

He said local people were already blaming the violent extremist Muslim Boko Haram sect, which has targeted Christians as well as Muslims its members consider insufficiently Islamic.

The second church, in Jos, was hit by two explosions when young men threw bombs, said John, the journalist at the scene.

Police responded quickly and exchanged gunfire with the attackers, who injured at least one of the police officers, he said.

The injured officer has been rushed to the Jos University teaching hospital for medical attention.

There were about five attackers, one with an AK-47. They fled into the crowd and disappeared after the attack, John said.

Sunday's attacks follow bombings at five churches in Jos last year that occurred while residents were celebrating Christmas Eve. The blasts killed dozens in Jos, which lies on a faith-based fault line between the Muslim-dominated north and the mainly Christian south.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation. It has the world's sixth largest Christian population -- about 80.5 million people as of 2010, according to a report published this month by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington. That makes the country just over 50% Christian, according to the Pew figures.

The latest attacks follow two days of clashes between militants and security forces in northern Nigeria, an army commander said.

Chief of Army Staff Azubuike Ihejirika said the clashes left three soldiers dead and several more wounded.

The fighting began Thursday between Boko Haram militants and the military in the Yobe state town of Damaturu, Ihejirika said.

"There was a major encounter with the Boko Haram in Damaturu," Ihejirika said Friday. "We lost three of our soldiers, seven were wounded. But we killed over 50 of their members."

Boko Haram translates from the local Hausa as "Western education is outlawed." The group has morphed into an insurgency responsible for dozens of attacks in Nigeria in the last two years.

Boko Haram's targets include police outposts and churches as well as places associated with "Western influence."

CNN's Esprit Smith and Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/25/world/africa/nigeria-church-bombing/index.html?eref=rss_world

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Daily Tip: How to personalize your new iPhone or iPad to make it your own

Posted on : 12-26-2011 | By : Jared DiPane | In : TiPB

iPhone Home Screen

New to iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and curious how to set up a new ringtone, change a wallpaper, or arrange your app icons and folders, and otherwise personalize it and make it your own? Luckily these tasks can be completed quite simply, so let?s take a look at how they are done.

While this only covers some of the basics, it gives you a way to personalize your device and begin the process of making it your very own. Be sure to hop into the forums and show off your Home screen as well!


This post was written by Jared DiPane from TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Source: http://allappnews.com/tipb/daily-tip-how-to-personalize-your-new-iphone-or-ipad-to-make-it-your-own/

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Apple's late boss Steve Jobs to receive Grammy

Published: Dec 22, 2011 at 3:16 PM PST
In this June 7, 2010, file photo, Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds a new iPhone at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is receiving a posthumous Grammy for his technological innovations in the arts.

Jobs is among a dozen people, music groups or companies receiving honorary awards Feb. 11, the day before the Grammys. He died of cancer in October.

The Grammys are honoring Jobs with one of the group's Trustees Awards, citing the late Apple boss' advancements that "transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books."

Grammy organizers called him a "creative visionary" for Apple Inc. innovations that include the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Others receiving honorary awards the day before the Grammys include Diana Ross, the Allman Brothers, Glen Campbell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, George Jones, the Memphis Horns and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

Source: http://www.katu.com/news/entertainment/Apples-late-boss-Steve-Jobs-to-receive-Grammy-136108658.html

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

The challenging new spin on Rubik?s Cube (Yahoo! News)

IQ Cube adds uneven blocks to the mix, comes in two difficulties

It's a little late to make a?Christmas or Hanukkah gift, but the IQ Cube might be a suitable New Year's present for the puzzle-obsessed people in your life. You know, the ones that are always telling you that their?Rubik's Cube is just way too easy?

By eschewing the traditional 3x3x3 layout of cubes that comprise the iconic 1980s era toy, this unofficial successor features either?3x3x7 or?3x3x9 pieces, depending on how much of a challenge you want. While apparently the same physical size as a standard Rubik's Cube, these puzzles feature more rows of blocks that are very thin, thus creating many times the number of possible solutions.

The two "super cubes" are a bit pricey at $27 each, but there could always be some endorsement money for becoming the world record holder in solving one of these devious devices. Just do expect to be as fast as?Feliks Zemdegs, the current Rubik's Cube world record holder ? he can solve the traditional 3x3x3 puzzle in just 5.66 seconds.

[via?Gizmodo]

(Source)

This article was written by Randy Nelson and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111223/tc_yblog_technews/the-challenging-new-spin-on-rubiks-cube

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iamwandasykes: Merry Christmas to my tweeple in South Africa! @the_sivutshefu Peace and Love

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Pa.'s rhyming justice pens insurance fraud opinion (AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. ? This judge's rulings, for better or worse, are poetic justice because they're in verse.

A state Supreme Court justice known for opinions written in rhyme has done it again, producing six pages of verse Thursday in the case of whether the maker of a forged check also had committed insurance fraud.

Justice J. Michael Eakin, writing for a 4-2 majority, concluded in six-line stanzas that a man's attempt to deposit a forged check appearing to be from State Farm didn't constitute insurance fraud.

"Sentenced on the other crimes, he surely won't go free, but we find he can't be guilty of this final felony," Eakin wrote. "Convictions for the forgery and theft are approbated ? the sentence for insurance fraud, however, is vacated. The case must be remanded for resentencing, we find, so the trial judge may impose the result he originally had in mind."

A dissenting three-page opinion by Justice Thomas G. Saylor didn't rhyme.

Eakin was first elected to the high court in 2001 after earning a reputation as the "rhyming judge" by issuing some opinions entirely in verse while sitting on an intermediate state appellate court in the late 1990s. Two former state Supreme Court justices, Stephen A. Zappala and the late Ralph J. Cappy, had expressed concern in the past that the practice could reflect poorly on the court.

The 63-year-old Eakin was re-elected in November to an additional 10-year term, although under the state constitution, justices must retire on the last day of the calendar year in which they turn 70, which for Eakin will be in 2018.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_us/us_rhyming_judge

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Lockerbie bomber insists he was wrongly convicted (AP)

LONDON ? The convicted Lockerbie bomber claimed Thursday to have new evidence about the 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 that he said could clear his name.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 over the attack that killed 270 people, most of them American, when the aircraft exploded over the Scottish town. He was freed from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds in August 2009 after doctors estimated he had only three months to live due to cancer.

In an interview published in several British newspapers, which they reported had been carried out by al-Megrahi's friend George Thomson on Saturday, the former Libyan intelligence officer protested his innocence and claimed he was on the brink of death.

"I am an innocent man," al-Megrahi was quoted as saying. "I am about to die and I ask now to be left in peace with my family."

Since the fall of ex-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Scotland has asked Libya's new authorities to help track down others responsible for the Lockerbie bombing.

In the interview, al-Megrahi said he had collaborated on a new book about the case, which he claimed would present new evidence. He insisted that a key prosecution point against him at his trial was flawed.

Prosecutors said al-Megrahi had bought clothes in Malta that were later packed around the bomb. A key witness, shopkeeper Tony Gauci, identified al-Megrahi during the trial.

"I never ever in my entire life bought clothes from his shop, I have never bought clothes from him. He dealt with me very wrongly. I have never seen him in my life before he came to court," al-Megrahi was quoted as saying.

Al-Megrahi said the interview, which was filmed by Thomson for a documentary scheduled for release in February, would be his final comment on the case.

"I will not be giving any more interviews, and no more cameras will be allowed into my home," he was quoted as saying.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_lockerbie

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Why is John Cena in Kane's crosshairs

The WWE Universe was shocked when Kane made his return on Raw SuperShow several weeks ago. They were even more surprised when The Big Red Monster, wearing a terrifying new mask, attacked John Cena instead of Mark Henry, who was responsible for injuring Kane over the summer.

This past Monday, The Devil?s Favorite Demon once again went after the leader of the Cenation instead of The World?s Strongest Man. Cena tried to put up a fight, knocking the monster out of the ring, but Kane eventually overpowered him and tossed the former WWE Champion around ringside like a ragdoll, leaving him in a heap on the announcers? table.

The Big Red Monster?s vicious actions left everyone wondering one thing: why is Kane going after John Cena instead of Mark Henry?

Kane?s motives could be simple. The former World Heavyweight Champion has been out of action since July after Henry inducted him into his Hall of Pain. The Big Red Monster could want to make his case as a top contender to the WWE Championship. What better way to get noticed than taking out a 10-time WWE Champion?

1336458205001|08:23It could also be a case of opposites attracting. Kane is a tormented monster. He bares mental scars from his tortured upbringing after a fire, allegedly started by his half-brother The Undertaker, burned down the home he was raised in. He has been unleashing a lifetime of pent-up rage on the WWE for more than a decade, picking up WWE and World Heavyweight Championships in the wake of his destruction. There is no Superstar with a blacker heart than The Devil?s Favorite Demon.

On the other hand, John Cena has been battling portions of the WWE Universe that boo him relentlessly. They chant ?Cena sucks!? from the moment he enters the ring to the moment he steps back through the curtain. His WrestleMania XXVIII opponent, The Rock, is cheered unabashedly, even though he shows up once in a blue moon.

Yet Cena lets the jeers go in one ear and out the other. He says it?s the WWE Universe?s right to cheer and boo whoever they please. Night in and night out, the leader of the Cenation refuses to give into the hate, approaching every match with a smile and a salute. Cena?s easy-going approach to his detractors has to eat away at The Big Red Monster.? After all, Kane has shown how easy it is to let the torment consume him.

Will we find out Kane?s true motivations? It?s hard to say, as he has yet to speak since his return. If the past few weeks are any indication, John Cena will have to keep his head on a swivel this Monday on Raw SuperShow, because there will almost certainly be a monster lurking, waiting for a chance to attack.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/why-is-kane-attacking-cena

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newsoxy: Lady Gaga To Give Fans Free Song On Christmas Via Twitter - http://t.co/ev39tZ7n

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Source: http://twitter.com/newsoxy/statuses/149993907621605377

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Lady Gaga Is Our Top Newsmaker Of 2011!

From Parisian fashion shows to presidential powwows, Gaga was everywhere in 2011 — and MTV News followed her every step of the way.
By James Montgomery


Lady Gaga
Photo: Getty Images

As 2011 draws to a close, it's difficult to look back over the past 12 months and not remember all the headlines made by one Lady Gaga.

Unlike some of her pop contemporaries, Gaga never seemed to take a day off. Hers was an unending, 365-day news cycle, a constant stream of tabloid speculation, Twitter missives, high-gloss fashion shoots, globe-spanning promotional appearances, red-carpet escapades, super-secret video projects, television specials and political stunts. On top of all that, she somehow also found time to release Born This Way, not only the year's most anticipated album, but one of its most thought-provoking and forward-thinking too. At the end of the third year of her reign, it's no longer a question of when she sleeps, but if she does at all.

So it's little wonder that, as MTV News counts down our Top Newsmakers of 2011, Lady Gaga sits at #1. Bringing you every aspect of her every whim was practically a full-time job, one requiring its own team of tireless reporters, editors and producers ("MTV News: Special Gaga Unit"). And they were in overdrive from the very beginning of the year, when Gaga premiered the first Born This Way track at a Thierry Mugler fashion show in January, then followed that up by debuting the album's title track and arriving at the Grammys "Born This Way" and "Judas"), both of which were prologue to the release of the BTW album itself, a massive, multi-pronged promotional masterstroke that saw her appear everywhere from "Oprah" to "Ellen" and partner with everyone from Amazon to Zynga. She also guest-edited several publications, premiered an in-depth documentary, "Inside the Outside," live on MTV and greeted fans on the eve of BTW's debut in New York City.

In short, she was everywhere, and her hard work (and 99-cent Amazon pricing plan) paid off, as Born This Way sold 1.1 million copies in its first week, the most of any album since 50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005. The album held on to #1 on the Billboard albums chart in its second week, too, making it one of the only releases this year to (temporarily) displace Adele's 21 from the top spot.

Once her album was out, if anything, Gaga only ramped up her schedule, premiering even more music videos, announcing a photo book and opening the 2011 Video Music Awards as her alter ego, Jo Calderone. As 2011 entered the home stretch, she met with President Obama to discuss the bullying epidemic, announced she was already working on the follow-up to Born This Way and basked in the glow of her three Grammy nominations, including a nod for Album of the Year, and plotted a massive 2012 world tour.

And, with that last bit of news, she basically assured that she very well be next year's Top Newsmaker too. Don't worry, we're already clearing our schedules.

Over the past 12 months, Gaga not only continued her rule as the most-famous person on the planet, she expanded her empire. Her fame was hard-earned, and she doesn't show any signs of relinquishing it anytime soon. Because above all else, Gaga is our most tireless superstar.

MTV continues our Best of 2011 coverage by looking back at the biggest pop-culture stories of the year. As we count down the newsmakers that mattered to you most, also check out our Best Artists, Best Songs, Best MTV Live Performances and Best EDM Artists of 2011.

Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676271/top-newsmaker-2011-lady-gaga.jhtml

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Monday, December 19, 2011

ABC under fire for cross-dressing comedy "Work It" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? The ABC comedy "Work It" doesn't even premiere until Jan, 3, and already it's invoking ire from rights groups.

The series has sparked anger from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Human Rights Campaign, who argue that the series could prove harmful to transgendered individuals.

The series stars Ben Koldyke ("How I Met Your Mother") and Amaury Nolasco ("Prison Break") as two friends and former coworkers who, unemployed and desperate, take to cross-dressing in order to get hired by a pharmaceutical company that's looking for female sales reps.

The concept spurred an angry message from GLAAD, which argued that, while the show "does not explicitly address transgender people, many home viewers unfamiliar with the realities of being transgender will still make the connection. 'Work It' invites the audience to laugh at images of men trying to adopt a feminine appearance, thereby also making it easier to mock people whose gender identity and expression are different than the one they were assigned at birth."

GLAAD took particular offense to a print ad for the series, in which the two main characters stand side-by-side at a pair of urinals, while dressed as women.

"Not only does it inadvertently further notions that transgender identities are humorous or artificial, but imagery like this are one of the first things anti-LGBT activists resort to when trying to deny transgender people protections against discrimination," GLAAD argues.

The organization asks that the network not circulate the urinal ad, and to "consider whether airing this show is worth the damage it has the potential to do."

Human Rights Campaign is going one step further, and urging the public to boycott the series.

The HRC has set up a write-in campaign which urges supporters to send a message to ABC reading, "It is never appropriate to belittle or mock those who do not adhere to society's gender norms or the struggles they face ... As an ABC viewer, I urge you not to air a show that reinforces negative and damaging stereotypes about transgender people."

Shouldn't they be more offended that the series sounds like an almost complete ripoff of "Bosom Buddies"?

ABC did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111217/tv_nm/us_crossdressing

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

RIM: BlackBerry 10 smartphones won't arrive until end of 2012

Some unfortunate news was revealed for those BlackBerry addicts who've waited patiently for a QNX-based smartphone from RIM. The company's co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, reports that, due to a critical chipset that's not expected to be available in production quantity until mid-next year, we're unlikely to see a BlackBerry 10 device emerge until late in 2012. We know, ouch. When asked during today's conference call about the delay, the company leaders defended the decision and reiterated that a suitable alternative wouldn't be available that delivers a sufficient balance of processing power and battery longevity. As RIM's fans cope with the latest news, the firm promises that it's continuing to work on delivering a high-quality user experience and industrial design for its upcoming lineup. With the farm riding on this release, we can only hope so.

RIM: BlackBerry 10 smartphones won't arrive until end of 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/15/rim-blackberry-10-smartphones-wont-arrive-until-end-of-2012/

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PFT: Bears' Hurd's clients reportedly NFL players

Jacksonville Jaguars v Atlanta FalconsGetty Images

WR Roscoe Parrish is set to be an unrestricted free agent, but he wants to return to the Bills.

Two Dolphins fans plan to take to the sky with a plea for owner Stephen Ross to fire G.M. Jeff Ireland.

LB Tracy White has become a mainstay in the Patriots defense.

S Brodney Pool isn?t daunted by having to step into a starting spot on the Jets defense.

It looks like Ravens CB Jimmy Smith will be in the starting lineup in his return to Southern California this weekend.

Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap feels good about his chances of getting back on the field this week.

RB Peyton Hillis? future with the Browns remains unclear.

If C Maurkice Pouncey can?t play, Trai Essex would move into the starting lineup for the Steelers.

Texans QB T.J. Yates is the first quarterback to lead his team to victories in the fourth quarter and overtime in his first two starts since 1968.

A look into the perpetual optimism of Colts offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen.

Through three quarters on Thursday night, Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert had been sacked more often than he?d completed a pass.

The Titans believe that a key to beating the Colts is keeping the quarterback in the pocket.

Preparing for the no-huddle offense has been a big part of the Broncos defensive focus this week.

Delving into the buzz surrounding Josh McDaniels and the Chiefs coaching job.

Snap counts have proven to be a problem for the Raiders this season.

The Chargers have seen improvement from their young defensive linemen over the course of the season.

Cowboys QB Tony Romo said that he isn?t feeling more pressure to carry the offense with RB DeMarco Murray out of the lineup.

C Kevin Boothe?s shaky shotgun snaps have the Giants a little concerned despite his strong overall play.

Red zone defense will be crucial to the Eagles? chances.

Injuries got in the way of a safety duo the Redskins thought would do well this year.

The Bears are expected to promote DE Thaddeus Gibson from the practice squad.

The Lions insist they aren?t using WR Calvin Johnson as a decoy.

WR Tori Gurley opted to stay on the Packers practice squad when the Vikings offered him a chance to join their active roster.

Vikings DT Remi Ayodele has no regrets about his decision to leave the Saints as a free agent.

Falcons WR Roddy White went over the 1,000-yard mark for the fifth straight season on Thursday night.

If Panthers coach Ron Rivera got to decide, QB Cam Newton would go to the Pro Bowl.

The Saints are scaling back their practices as the end of the season approaches.

Chad Pennington and Ron Jaworski each believe Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman can bounce back from a disappointing season.

Third down efficiency is an area where the Cardinals could stand to improve offensively.

DE Chris Long has been a bright spot in the wreckage of the Rams season.

K David Akers is the only member of the 49ers who benefits from their red zone issues.

Thanks to LB K.J. Wright, the Seahawks have nothing to regret about trading LB Aaron Curry.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/15/report-hurds-drug-clients-included-many-nfl-players/related/

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Israeli changes name to Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, meet your Israeli doppelganger: Mark Zuckerberg.

Israeli entrepreneur Rotem Guez says he has legally changed his name to that of Facebook's chief executive officer, a gimmick meant to persuade the social networking site to back down from what he says are threats to take legal action against him.

He's telling Facebook: "If you want to sue me, you're going to have to sue Mark Zuckerberg."

He says a lawyer for Facebook pressed him this week to close his online business Like Store, calling it illegal. Like Store promises to enhance companies' online reputations by offering Facebook users free content only accessible by clicking "like" on the companies' profiles.

The Israeli acknowledged on Saturday his company violates Facebook's terms of use, but says many U.S. companies offer similar services.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45700772/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

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Book Review : Book Review: Time Travel and Warp Drives by Allen Everett and Thomas Roman and How to Build a Time Machine by Brian Clegg

Review by Alexandra Witze

By Allen Everett and Thomas Roman and How to Build a Time Machine

As any fan of Doctor Who or Marty McFly can attest, few areas of science excite quite as much public interest as time travel. Step into a police box or a DeLorean, flip a switch, and you?re off to change the world ? or perhaps save it.

Would-be time travelers now have two new relevant guides to the promise of time machines. Which you might prefer depends on just how much you want to understand the mathematics underlying a machine like the TARDIS.

Surprisingly, time travel is not that difficult in principle; nothing in the known laws of physics prohibits it. The problem is with today?s technology.

Take Ronald Mallett, the University of Connecticut physicist who has been trying to build a time machine to visit his father, who died when Mallett was 10 years old. Using a ring laser, he hopes to generate ?closed timelike curves? in which particles can return to the past. Mallett has realized that his machine could take him no further than the time when it was switched on ? making a visit with his late father impossible.

Everett and Roman are physicists who have probed the theoretical possibilities of time travel. Their expertise shines as they talk the reader through the underlying math of time travel, much like an introductory college course. These are writers who don?t shy away from introducing Lorentz transformations in the third chapter.

In contrast, Clegg?s book is more like chatting with fellow students after a professorial lecture. Its breezy summary glosses over some of the finer points of time travel, but allows an excellent entry point for readers less willing to slog through grim mathematical details.

Fascination with time travel is itself timeless; witness the recent excitement over neutrinos possibly moving faster than light. If true, this would also permit the particles to travel backward in time. If that happens, you?ll need a handy reference guide. ? Alexandra Witze

Everett and Roman: Univ. of Chicago, 268 p., 2011, $30; Clegg: St. Martin?s, 320 p., 2011, $25.99


Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336973/title/Book_Review__Book_Review_Time_Travel_and_Warp_Drives_by_Allen_Everett_and_Thomas_Roman_and_How_to_Build_a_Time_Machine_by_Brian_Clegg_

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Friday, December 16, 2011

'Historic drop' in death sentences, executions, report says

Erik S. Lesser / AFP - Getty Images file

A Georgia State Patrol trooper watches over demonstrators calling for Georgia state officials to halt the scheduled execution of Troy Davis on Sept. 21. The protests were unsuccessful.

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

The number of death sentences imposed in the U.S. has taken an ?historic drop? -- about 75 percent -- over the last 15 years, accompanied by a nearly 60 percent decline in the number of executions, a death penalty awareness group reported Thursday. ?

The release of the annual report by the Death Penalty Information Center follows?recent polls showing a withering of support for capital punishment over controversial cases like that of Troy Davis, who was executed in Georgia in September. The decline in the use of the death penalty also has likely been influenced by states? worsening financial conditions, said Richard Dieter, the center?s executive director.


Capital punishment was imposed in 78 cases this year, down from 315 in 1996 -- the first time that number was below 100 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the report said. There were also 43 executions -- including that of Davis -- in 13 states, down from 98 in 1999, according to the report.

?

?

Untitled Document

Executions by state

?

State

2011

2010

? Texas

13

17

? Alabama

6

5

? Ohio

5

8

? Georgia

4

2

? Arizona

4

1

? Oklahoma

2

3

? Mississippi

2

3

? Florida

2

1

? Virginia

1

3

? South Carolina

1

0

? Missouri

1

0

? Delaware

1

0

? Idaho

1

0

? Louisiana

0

1

? Utah

0

1

? Washington

0

1

? Total

43

46

msnbc.com

"This is a historic drop in death sentences and I think it?s indicative of deep concerns about the death penalty in the public and it?s mirrored in falling executions, falling support in polls and even in legislation which has abolished the death penalty in a number of states," Dieter said.

Dieter was referring to the abandonment of the death penalty?in Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey and New York in recent years. Three other states ? California, Connecticut and Maryland ? are considering doing away with capital punishment, he said, and Oregon's governor recently declared a moratorium on executions during his tenure.

Dieter said that the legislative action and decline in public support is the result of people being freed from death row because of DNA testing, investigative work by the media and the international outcry over the Davis case, in which seven of the nine eyewitnesses changed their stories.

?I think that shook the confidence that some people had about the death penalty, that it really does risk innocent lives -- even though many are guilty -- there?s still the danger and so juries are returning less death sentences, prosecutors are seeking it less,? he said. ?Courts are looking at these cases more closely and governors are sometimes granting clemency, all because of the doubts and disfavor of the death penalty as it has been applied in the past 10 years.?

Texas led the way in executions in 2011 with 13, followed by Alabama at six, Ohio, 5, and Georgia and Arizona each with four. The South and West accounted for 87 percent of the death sentences, while the Midwest and Northeast made up 12 percent. Meanwhile, many death penalty states, such as Indiana, Maryland and South Carolina, did not impose it during the year, the center said.

A Gallup poll released in mid-October showed that 61 percent of Americans approve of capital punishment as a sentence for those convicted of murder -- the lowest level of support since 1972, when the Supreme Court voided state death penalty laws since they were seen as "being infrequently applied in an unpredictable and arbitrary way," the center said. (The court allowed executions to restart in 1976 after some states revised their death penalty statutes to "limit the haphazardness of the death penalty," the center said.)

Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association, said Wednesday that he ?strongly? disagreed that public sentiment against the death penalty was growing.

?I think that the numbers show that the majority of the public still believe that in those rare and outrageous cases that the death penalty is an appropriate sanction,? he said, noting that murders were down about 50 percent nationwide in the last 20 years. ?One of the reasons for that, I believe, is because ? the criminal justice system has done a good job at targeting those violent offenders nationwide? and handing out ?long and stiff sentences.?

?It hasn?t been a revolving door for the last 20 years, they?re out of commission and as such, crime in every category has gone down,? he added.

Burns also noted that the number of life-without-parole sentences imposed began to grow in the late 1990s, which could account for any decrease in death sentences.

?There were a number of states that passed ? for lack of a better term, a ?truth in sentencing? (law), which said life or life without parole really does mean life without parole,? he said. So in those states,?that "could also be a reason as (to) why we are seeing fewer death penalties. Frankly, there are some people that think it?s a more severe penalty to have somebody sit in prison for?their entire life?than be executed.?

Dollars and cents were another factor contributing to states shuttering their death penalty program, Dieter said. In California, the state?s former prison director and the?former prosecutor who penned California's current death penalty statute are pushing to end it, with a citizens? initiative?expected to be on the ballot next year. A recent study there found that the state?has spent more?than $4 billion?on its capital punishment system since 1978, under which?there have been 13 executions.

?All of the states are facing the questions of cutting back on schools, libraries, even police forces and so they?re trying to find programs that are expensive and aren?t really serving the public well or aren?t working, and I think the death penalty fits into that category,? Dieter said. ?This is not a system that ...?makes practical sense and it?s still costly.?

The problems with the death penalty could lead to attempts to fix the system or to abandon it entirely, said Dieter, noting his group is not necessarily opposed to capital punishment, only to what he termed its unfair and inaccurate application in the U.S. As for its future, he noted: ?I think we?ll see ... not any one grand move, but probably a continuation in 2012 of declining use of the death penalty.?

?

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9444627-death-sentences-executions-take-historic-drop-report-says

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Small Business Software Trends for 2012

Are you confused by the terms SaaS and cloud computing? In their simplest forms, software as a service (SaaS) is the application, and the cloud is the place where you store the data from that app (and in most cases the application itself). Many of the latest technology announcements have implications for SaaS and cloud development that will serve small businesses everywhere.

tablet cloud

Note:? This is not a ?predictions? post. I?m simply sharing what I?m seeing in the software marketplace.

  • Pricing:?Most readers of Small Business Trends know that it is my pet peeve to visit a software site and not find transparent pricing details. The market seems to have echoed this sentiment (unrelated to my little rants) and I see more companies making it easy for customers and prospects to uncover pricing. Susan Payton recently did a piece on how we are afraid to talk pricing because we think we need to talk about and prove value first.??
  • Two new categories of mission critical applications: Business intelligence and scheduling. Social data continues to mushroom, leading small business owners to need better business intelligence (BI) tools. One of my favorites is Tableau Software, which has a paid desktop version (yes, I know that isn?t SaaS) and a public version for bloggers. Tableau allows you to visualize your data in powerful ways. Of course, many of us are still using spreadsheets to mine data into intelligence. It is possible, but a lot more work. Zoho Reports is another small business BI tool I recommend; so is Bime Analytics, which has an affordable small business offering.

Scheduling staff and workers is increasingly important to business owners, but so is letting customers set appointments based on openings in your schedule. Back in 2009, I wrote about Shiftboard for staff scheduling. For appointment setting, I would suggest Tungle or BookFresh.? Large companies may care about being able to access software from anywhere more than the smaller company, but given that small business is the lifeblood of the economy, remote access to applications is rapidly becoming mission-critical.

  • Cloud security gets talked about fairly often, and may be a concern for small business owners. I?m not sure it is any more of a risk to be in the cloud or accessing apps from a SaaS provider than to be on your own local desktop connected to the Internet. Life is risky. There are plenty of tools to mitigate this risk, whether in the cloud or anchored to your desktop.
  • Online storage and backup as a category appears to be like coffee in the morning: Everyone has it. You can find it cheaply just about anywhere and if you want a special gourmet flavor, a premium level provider can serve it up.
  • Ease of use improves daily or often. SaaS, like traditional software, gets easier to use each day and the best part is that as the development team makes a change, you benefit. There are downsides to SaaS, but for the most part, the benefit of ?always upgraded? holds true. The feedback loop on SaaS development is near instant, so the development teams have learned to create a user experience that was not possible in traditional development cycles.
  • More hardware tools.??If you take a mobile device and create a useful gadget like a credit card reader, you can make the small business owner?s life a lot easier and win new customers. Witness the growth of SquareUp, which makes the Square credit/debit card reader. Elegant, small, simple and no monthly fee. Without easy and fast SaaS development and broadband access, these tools would not be possible. If you are looking for a payment processing device, also look at Intuit?s GoPayment or NetSecure?s Kudos Payment. The music industry is another great example of mobile apps and hardware; check out the Tascam iM2 recording device.
  • Mobile SaaS is growing. This is slightly redundant, but my view of mobile app development rests on a software-as-a-service philosophy. Some may argue that the mobile app is not necessarily in the cloud nor SaaS, but many are or will be.
  • Tablets are creating cloud comfort. In a Starbucks the other day, I counted four iPad or tablet devices (they looked sort of iPad-ish) and only two regular laptops. I?ve noticed the same thing at every other mobile warrior spot I frequent. The people using the tablets are often remote workers, not just college students listening to music while they study and surf. The point is that the iPad has kicked off a whole new expectation of what a machine can and should do, and often the apps that are needed to run these devices are SaaS-based.
  • Collaboration is routinely getting bolted onto most SaaS offerings. Naturally, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions were the first to offer this. But many other types of applications are thinking social, which is increasingly synonymous with collaboration today. Even if you?re not collaborating in a public social network (few are), teams form around a document or process and share.
  • HTML5 is shifting how we look at apps and software. Right now, the browser is central to how we use SaaS solutions, but as more users operate remotely and via mobile devices, there is solid evidence that the browser could go away, or at least become dramatically different from what we experience today. Again, this is not a prediction, but HTML5 makes it possible to add functionality to the browsing experience. If Adobe?s recent decision is any indication of the trend, they terminated their mobile Flash development work to migrate to HTML5. Apple and Steve Jobs have long refused to work with Adobe?s Flash. Dan Rowinski at ReadWriteWeb does the best job I?ve seen of explaining what HTML5 means and six trends around it.
  • Landline telephone use is declining. Companies like Twilio and Tropo that offer simple Web services APIs for telephony are enabling developers to build SaaS telephony products much more easily than before. For example, ZenDesk recently released an inbound phone support feature built on Twilio. Hat tip to Michael Kaiser-Nyman, CEO of Impact Dialing, which lets you send voice recordings from your browser.
  • Amazon?s Infrastructure as a Service will increase adoption of custom SaaS. Amazon is the master of figuring out efficiencies in technology and passing them on to customers. You can rent storage space, processing power and network servers to grow your business. If you don?t find a SaaS solution that fits your needs (hard to imagine, frankly), you could find developers fluent in infrastructures like Amazon or Rackspace.

All in all, SaaS is still on fire and growing fast. According to Forrester Research data, SaaS total revenues will reach $21.2 billion in 2011 and more than quadruple to $92.8 billion by 2016. This is 26 percent of the entire packaged software market. However, Forrester predicts SaaS will?reach a saturation point in five years, and growth will slow between 2016 and 2020. Hat tip to CMS Wire for their summary of this report.


Tablet Cloud Photo via Shutterstock

About the Author

TJ McCue TJ publishes Tech Biz Talk, a site that reviews business apps of all types and provides how-to posts and tutorials. Share your application or service at his Facebook page and share details about your company/app in the comments below. TJ actively studies all searching for new apps to write about. Learn more about TJ.

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/12/small-business-software-trends-2012.html

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