New Cornell Campus to Cultivate High-Tech Industry in New York City [Slide Show]

Features | Technology

A collaboration with an Israeli University will incubate start-ups from an East River island with a colorful past

By Larry Greenemeier ?| January 31, 2012

TECH TRANSFORMATION: Cornell and Technion plan to build their 18.6-hectare NYC Tech Campus on the site of Goldwater Memorial Hospital (pictured), which operates on Roosevelt Island, a 52-hectare sliver of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. Image: Courtesy of Larry Greenemeier

For years New York City?based universities have been opening satellite campuses worldwide, whether it is New York University's sites in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv or Columbia University's Global Centers in Beijing and Nairobi. Technion?Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa is returning the favor in a big way, partnering with Ithaca, N.Y.?based Cornell University to build a campus on New York City's Roosevelt Island.

The purpose of this high-tech venture is to turn the 52-hectare sliver of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens into a techno island of sorts, an incubator for start-ups akin to what Stanford University has done in Silicon Valley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (M.I.T.) role in the Boston area.

By 2027 Cornell and Technion plan to have built more than half of their 18.6-hectare NYC Tech Campus on the site of Roosevelt Island's Goldwater Memorial Hospital, just south of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. Coursework aimed at cultivating health care, social media and green energy entrepreneurs could begin on site as early as 2017. Cornell and Technion hope to attract 2,500 students and 280 professors learning, teaching and living on the island within two decades.

NYC Tech will offer a dual masters from both Cornell and Technion in applied science. The program will be tailored to students who already have an undergraduate degree in a technology-related discipline?such as computer science or engineering?and add to that the business and entrepreneurial skills needed to develop and commercialize new technologies. Students will have mentors from New York?based businesses and work on projects with real-world applications, says Daniel Huttenlocher, Cornell dean of computing and information science.

The ultimate goal is to initiate student- and faculty-led start-ups that will remain in New York City. The NYCTech Campus plans to establish a $150 million revolving financing fund that will be solely devoted to start-up businesses in the city,.

Cornell alumni have a strong track record in forming successful tech companies but few have remained on the east coast. Irwin Mark Jacobs, who graduated from Cornell in 1956 with an electrical engineering degree, co-founded San Diego-based telecommunications company Qualcomm in 1985. PeopleSoft, Inc., which made human-resource management software before being bought by Oracle in 2005 for $10.3 billion, was co-founded in 1987 in Walnut Creek, Calif., by Cornell alumnus David Duffield.

Huttenlocher attributes some of Cornell's challenge of retaining its homegrown talent to its relatively isolated and rural location. E Ink Corp. (makers of the Amazon Kindle's electronic paper displays) and Harmonix Music Systems (makers of Guitar Hero and other popular video games) emerged out of M.I.T.'s Media Lab but stayed nearby in Cambridge. Carnegie Mellon University has likewise benefited from spin offs Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition (makers of computer vision software) and RedZone Robotics remaining near Pittsburgh.

The challenges NYC Tech graduates will face in New York City are less about isolation than they are about setting up shop given the city's pricey real estate, which is where the $150 million financing fund may come into play. One of Technion's roles will be to lend its experience getting start-ups off the ground near its Haifa campus.

Columbia has since 1982 had a program to help turn entrepreneurial ideas into start-ups through that university's Technology Ventures office, but Huttenlocher says Cornell and Technion are taking a new approach. NYC Tech's applied science program will be organized around three interdisciplinary themes relevant to industries operating in and around the city. One will emphasize the development of technology to promote healthier living, which is of interest to the city's health care institutions and insurance companies. Another theme will focus on ways to make media more interactive?perhaps along the lines of "social TV" or "two-way" programming?that might appeal to the city's more traditional broadcast media companies as well as advertising and marketing firms. The third theme, so-called "smart" technologies, will develop on retrofits for city buildings to make them greener and more energy efficient.

"Each of these three areas brings together technology and non-technology fields such as social science, design, public health and the study of human behavior," Huttenlocher says, adding that, as times change, the NYC Tech curriculum will adapt. "The themes themselves might look different in a few years, but the fundamental approach of the campus will not change."

Cornell wants to initiate classes and labs like those that will be offered at NYC Tech during the 2012?13 school year in rented space in Manhattan. Huttenlocher says they have not yet chosen a location but that the NYC Tech coursework will begin even before Goldwater Memorial is razed and the foundation for the new campus is poured.

Change is nothing new to Roosevelt Island, whose population has swelled to 14,000 in recent years. Native Americans used it as a hunting ground and fishing hole before 17th-century Dutch settlers bought the island to raise hogs. For the past 180 years it has been home to a mental hospital, penitentiary, smallpox hospital, almshouse, nursing school and government rent-subsidized apartment buildings.

The aging Goldwater facilities, which opened in 1939, do not meet NYC Tech's needs for a modern workspace. For example, plans call for the campus to include a solar array that will generate 1.8 megawatts at daily peak and a 400-well geothermal field, which uses the constant temperature of the earth to cool buildings in the summer and heat them in the winter.,

The campus is also expected to include newly constructed classrooms and computer labs as well as open workspaces where students and faculty can design and build projects. Local companies may also have access to some of the space so that mentors can work with students on campus. NYC Tech will also include housing for students and faculty.

View a slide show of the site of New York City's New Cornell High-Tech Campus

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=56524b66a8fcc32c3d3c8082399dba8a

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Happy 30th Birthday, Adam Lambert!

We apologize, Adam Lambert. We're a day late in wishing you a happy 30th birthday.

But the important occasion seems worth calling attention despite our tardiness because the singer isn't asking for presents. Instead, he's asking fans to contribute to a worthwhile cause.

“Today is my birthday, and for my 30th I’d like you all to help me change the world," Adam Tweeted yesterday, including a link to charity:water and asking followers to give what they can.

"Together, I bet we can raise over $1 million and bring thousands more people clean water," he added.

We've already donated. Won't you help Lambert and many others take this simple step toward a better, healthier universe?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/happy-30th-birthday-adam-lambert/

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Macedonia Muslims urge restraint over carnival (AP)

SKOPJE, Macedonia ? Muslim leaders in Macedonia appealed for calm on Monday among community members outraged over a carnival in which Orthodox Christian men mocked Muslims by dressing as Burqa-clad women.

The incident at the Jan. 13 Vevcani festival has prompted angry, sometimes violent demonstrations by Muslims, who make up 33 percent of the country's 2.1 million population and accuse the majority of stoking hatred against them.

On Saturday, some protesters attacked buses and defaced a Macedonian flag and replaced it with a green flag to represent Islam. On the same day, a church was attacked by unknown perpetrators in the nearby village of Labunista.

In a statement Monday, Macedonian Muslim leaders called for restraint but also accused the government of promoting Islamophobia.

"The behavior of Muslims should be restrained, but, unfortunately, we are concerned that Islamophobia in Macedonia is often combined with government propaganda," they said. "Such is the case with this carnival that the government annually subsidizes with...the money of all citizens, including Muslims."

The carnival, said to have been held for some 1,400 years, attracts thousands of visitors. Local resident traditionally wear elaborate, frequently sarcastic masks, with some of the most common costumes including devils and demons.

Muslims in Macedonia are almost all ethnic Albanians. Albanians, in Macedonia and elsewhere, have traditionally been secular, but conservative Islamic schools, especially Wahhabism, have taken a foothold in the years following a brief ethnic Albanian uprising in Macedonia in 2001. This spread has been mainly financed from Saudi Arabia.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_eu/eu_macedonia_religious_tension

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Feisty Gingrich stakes campaign on electability (AP)

SARASOTA, Fla. ? Newt Gingrich has staked his presidential bid on the idea that he's best positioned to defeat President Barack Obama. Yet even some supporters seem to be struggling to buy that claim, an indication that efforts by chief rival Mitt Romney to undercut him may be working.

"Beating Obama is more important than everything else," Patrick Roehl, a 51-year-old computer software engineer, said at a Gingrich rally inside a Sarasota airport hangar this past week. "Can Newt win? I'm not sure. He's got a lot of high negatives. The elections are won and lost in the middle. I'm not sure he appeals to the middle."

John Grainger, a 44-year-old assistant golf pro, doesn't like Romney. But he's having trouble shaking skepticism about Gingrich.

"I want to be a Newt supporter," he said. "This guy's going to have the guts to stand up and speak his piece ? no holds barred." But Grainger said he wasn't quite ready to back the former House speaker.

Interviews with more than a dozen Republican voters at Gingrich's overflowing rallies ahead of Tuesday's primary suggest that many Florida voters love his brash style as they look for someone to take it to Obama. But these voters also have lingering doubts about whether Gingrich really is Obama's most serious threat.

Romney and his allies are working to stoke those doubts, and the GOP's establishment wing has started to help the former Massachusetts governor try to make that case.

Romney and his backers are highlighting what they consider Gingrich's liabilities ? consulting contracts and ethics investigations among them. They're suggesting that more baggage could emerge in the fall in the general election.

"In the case of the speaker, he's got some records which could represent an October surprise," Romney said, referring to Gingrich's consulting work and ethics allegations when he was in the House. "We could see an October surprise a day from Newt Gingrich."

An outside group dedicated to helping Romney has spent almost $9 million on Florida television advertising, including a massive $4 million investment this week alone, to make the case even more explicitly.

"Newt Gingrich's tough talk sounds good, but Newt has tons of baggage. How will he ever beat Obama?" says the new ad from the so-called super PAC, Restore Our Future.

Gingrich is not letting such criticism go unanswered. He's telling everyone that he alone can defeat Obama. He points to his 12 percentage point victory last weekend in the South Carolina primary as proof.

Exit polling there showed that 51 percent of Republican voters said that Gingrich was better suited to defeat the Democratic president.

"Their highest value was beating Obama," Gingrich told evangelical voters this past week. "And if they thought Romney was the only person who could beat Obama, then they would swallow a lie. But the minute they thought there were two people who could beat Obama, they suddenly turned and said, Well, you know, maybe we should be for Newt."

Polls suggest that Gingrich could defeat Romney in Florida, a surge fueled partly by growing support from the tea party movement and continued anti-Romney sentiment.

"He's a fighter. Mitt, I think, is too wishy-washy," said Dominique Boscia, a 43-year-old unemployed woman from Lakewood Ranch. "I like feisty people. I like people who have spunk."

For months, Gingrich has used aggressive debate performances to fuel his underdog candidacy. He has thrilled conservatives by promising to take the fight directly to Obama in a series of free-form debates modeled after the 1860 meetings between Illinois Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Should Obama refuse, Gingrich says he'll follow the president until he agrees.

That gets good applause lines at rallies. But a closer look at polling suggests that a debate beat down doesn't necessarily mean Gingrich can beat the president in an election that will include independents and Democrats.

Gingrich struggled among independents in a recent Washington Post-ABC News national poll, in which 53 percent gave him unfavorable marks and just 22 percent had a favorable opinion of the former House speaker. While Romney has typically polled better among independents, the poll conducted between Jan. 18 and 22 found virtually no difference: 51 percent of independents viewed him unfavorably, compared with 23 with favorable views.

But when all Florida voters, including independents and Democrats, are asked to weigh in, Romney appears to have a strong advantage over Gingrich, according to a poll conducted by Suffolk University-WSVN-TV Miami. Romney would defeat Obama here 47 percent to 42 percent; Gingrich would lose, earning just 40 percent to Obama's 49 percent of likely Florida general election voters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich_electability

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Ukraine's president firm against Tymoshenko (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? Ukraine's president showed no mercy Friday for imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, despite increasing fears that her case will hurt his country's struggling economy and its relations with the European Union.

The gas contract with Russia that was the premise for Tymoshenko's conviction "is Ukraine's biggest problem today," President Viktor Yanukovych said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He added that he foresaw more judicial troubles for the ex-premier.

Tymoshenko, a bitter rival of the current president, is serving a 7-year sentence on charges of abuse of office in a case the West has condemned as politically motivated. Her family accuses prison authorities of denying her proper medical care.

Tymoshenko was found guilty last year of overstepping her authority while negotiating the natural gas import contract with Russia in 2009. Authorities say the contract was not in Ukraine's economic interest. She charges that Yanukovych has ordered her imprisonment in order to bar her from elections.

Yanukovych's presence at the forum in Davos was aimed at attracting investment from international CEOs at the invitation-only event, but his comments about Tymoshenko did little to soothe concerns about doing business in Ukraine.

Ukraine "cannot hope to attract investment if the law doesn't apply," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. He told The Associated Press that a landmark cooperation deal between Ukraine and the EU is "dead in the water" as long as Tymoshenko is jailed.

But Tymoshenko's jailing is a dilemma for the EU. Some experts believe the bloc should not be partners with a government that throws opposition leaders in jail. Others say that snubbing Ukraine would push it back under Russia's influence as Kiev is courting Moscow for cheaper natural gas.

Tymoshenko rose to fame during Ukraine's 2004 popular uprising. She became an opposition leader after losing the premiership in 2010.

Yanukovych has made membership in the 27-nation EU a top priority, but exhibited little sign Friday that he was ready to concede on the Tymoshenko case.

The state security service has launched a slew of new criminal investigations against Tymoshenko since her conviction, probes that Yanukovych defended.

"The Ukrainian part of the crimes committed by people who were in one way or another connected to Tymoshenko have not been fully investigated," he said ? adding that the cases will go to court soon.

Yanukovych was cold to efforts to adopt changes to the criminal code that would allow the former prime minister to be freed. "That is up to the parliament," he said. The parliament is dominated by his supporters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_davos_forum_ukraine

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Poll: Mitt opens up Fla. lead (Politico)

Just four days before the Florida primary, Mitt Romney has opened up a lead over Newt Gingrich, a new poll Friday shows.

Romney now stands at 38 percent support in the Sunshine State, compared with the former House Speaker?s 29 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Continue Reading

Just two days ago, another Quinnipiac poll showed a very close race, with Romney at 36 percent and Gingrich at 34 percent.

One explanation of the shift is the changing views of male voters. Earlier this week they supported Gingrich, 37 percent to Romney?s 33 percent. Now, Romney leads among men 36 percent to 29 percent.

Romney?s support among women, which stands at 40 percent, remains virtually unchanged from Wednesday. Gingrich continues to hold around 30 percent support among female voters.

?Speaker Newt Gingrich?s momentum from his South Carolina victory appears to have stalled and Gov. Mitt Romney seems to be pulling away in Florida,? said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum are far behind the pack, at 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Conducted Jan. 24-26, the Quinnipiac poll surveyed 580 likely Republican voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_72074_html/44325798/SIG=11m9ovbdl/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72074.html

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Newark, NJ, told to produce Facebook pledge log (AP)

NEWARK, N.J. ? The state's largest city must produce a list of documents related to a $100 million pledge to its public schools from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a judge ruled Friday.

The ruling stemmed from of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a group representing Newark schoolchildren that is seeking more transparency about the donation. The Associated Press and other news outlets also have made such requests.

State Superior Court Judge Rachel Davidson's ruling requires the city to produce the list, believed to enumerate about 50 pages of emails pertaining to the donation, by Feb. 10. The city could seek to block the publishing of some of the emails on the list, according to ACLU New Jersey attorney Ed Barocas.

The city, in a response letter to an AP request for the documents in 2010, said that any conversations between Democratic Mayor Cory Booker and Zuckerberg were "not made in the course of the Mayor's official duties" and therefore were exempt from open-records laws.

Were Booker found to have been acting in his capacity as mayor, the letter continued, the city didn't have the records requested. But it added that if the records were found, their release was barred under executive privilege.

The ACLU, in its lawsuit, argued that privilege can be claimed only by the governor, not by a sitting mayor. It argued that the public has a right to know how the grant funds are to be used and who is making the decisions on their allocation.

"We don't want to make it seem that there was necessarily something nefarious going on," Barocas said Friday. "All we ask is for this to be transparent. The public should be aware what, if any, agreements were made prior to or as part of the grant of the money."

City attorney Anna Pereira declined to comment Friday, citing the ongoing litigation.

In court filings, the city has said that the Facebook grant is being administered not by the city but by two not-for-profits that it doesn't fund, operate or exercise any control over. The city's schools were placed under state control in 1995 after instances of waste and mismanagement, including the spending of taxpayer money by school board members on cars and restaurant meals.

Newark's public school system is the state's largest, with 75 schools and a student population of about 40,000, according to its website. The schools have been plagued for years by low test scores, poor graduation rates and crumbling buildings.

The $100 million pledge to the schools was announced in the fall of 2010 by Booker, Zuckerberg and Republican Gov. Chris Christie as they appeared together on Oprah Winfrey's syndicated talk show.

Zuckerberg described the gift as a "challenge grant" to Booker, who has sought to raise $100 million more to match what Zuckerberg promised to contribute over five years. Zuckerberg's social networking website, based in Palo Alto, Calif., is estimated to be worth more than $50 billion.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_hi_te/us_newark_schools_facebook

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Syria violence kills 37, U.N. Security Council to meet (Reuters)

AMMAN (Reuters) ? Security forces killed 37 people in Syria on Friday, activists and residents said, as people in Homs mourned 14 members of a family they said were slain by militiamen in one of the worst sectarian attacks in a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.N. Security Council was to meet later in the day to discuss Syria before a possible vote next week on a new Western-Arab draft resolution aimed at halting 10 months of bloodshed.

Russia, which joined China in vetoing a previous Western draft resolution in October and which has since promoted its own draft, said the Western-Arab version was unacceptable and vowed to block any text calling for Assad's resignation.

There was no let-up in violence on Friday, when anti-Assad protests again erupted after weekly Muslim prayers.

Tank and mortar fire killed 15 people in Hama, a resident said, on the fourth day of an army assault on rebellious districts of the city, where Assad's father crushed an armed Islamist uprising in 1982, killing many thousands.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 22 people killed elsewhere in Syria, including 12 when security forces fired on a funeral march in the southern town of Nowa, five in the normally peaceful city of Aleppo, and four in Homs.

Machinegun fire wounded five people in the Qusour district of Homs, one activist there said, adding that the city was calmer than it was at the height of Thursday's violence, when 16 people were also killed by mortar fire from security forces.

The state news agency SANA said "terrorists" killed a security man in Homs on Friday and a bomb killed a child and wounded several civilians and security personnel in the Damascus district of Midan.

SANA also said a bomb wounded three civilians and three security men in the northeastern town of Albukamal and that a suicide bomber had wounded two security men at a checkpoint in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Arab League observers headed for the Damascus suburb of Douma, where government troops battled rebel fighters the previous day as the struggle to topple Assad rumbled close to the Syrian capital.

TRANSITION PLAN

The Arab League has demanded that the Syrian leader step down as part of a transition to democracy, a call rejected by Damascus. The government says it is fighting foreign-backed armed "terrorists" who have killed 2,000 soldiers and police.

"Any decision about a future political settlement in Syria must be made during the political process without ... preliminary conditions," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying.

He stopped short of saying Moscow would veto a Western-Arab draft if the call for Assad to hand over power was not removed.

The text calls for a "political transition," but not for United Nations sanctions against Assad's government, which Moscow, an old ally and arms supplier of Syria, opposes.

Russia and Iran are among Syria's few remaining allies.

In another sign of Assad's isolation, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has effectively abandoned his headquarters in Damascus, diplomatic and intelligence sources said.

"He's not going back to Syria," a regional intelligence source said of Meshaal, who has long been based in the Syrian capital. He heads the Palestinian Islamist group which rules Gaza and is an armed offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Analysts say Meshaal was embarrassed by Assad's crackdown, in which more than 5,000 people have been killed, many of them Sunni Muslim sympathisers of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Homs, a mostly Sunni city with minority Alawite enclaves, has become a battleground since protests against Assad began in March, inspired by pro-democracy revolts elsewhere in the Arab world. Armed rebels have joined the fray in recent months.

GRISLY FOOTAGE

Residents and activists said militiamen from Assad's Alawite sect had shot or hacked to death 14 members of the Sunni Bahader family in Homs's Karm al-Zaitoun district on Thursday, including eight children, aged eight months to nine years old.

YouTube video footage taken by activists, which could not be verified, showed the bodies of five children with wounds to the head and neck, three women and a man in a house.

There was no comment from Syrian authorities, which enforce tight restrictions on independent media.

At least 384 children have been killed since the uprising began in March and a similar number have been jailed, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.

The British-based Observatory said 43 civilians were killed on Thursday, including 33 in Homs, of whom nine were children.

Hamza, an activist in Homs, said the militiamen who attacked the Sunni family were avenging deaths inflicted on their ranks by army defectors loosely grouped in the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Tit-for-tat sectarian killings began in Homs four months ago. Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, has dominated the political and security apparatus in Syria, a mostly Sunni nation of 23 million, for five decades.

"The Assads are the dirtiest of families," shouted crowds in Deir Balba, on the edge of Homs, according to a YouTube clip that showed people waving pre-Baath party Syrian flags.

In the city's Bab Amro district, demonstrators carried the body of a youth who had been shot in the head. "Bashar, your mother will bury you," they chanted, YouTube footage showed.

It was not possible to verify the footage, which anti-Assad campaigners had posted on the Internet.

The opposition Local Coordination Committees said security forces had fired on an anti-Assad protest by refugees from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights who live in Thiabieh near Damascus. It said several protesters were wounded.

Activists in the Damascus suburb of Irbin said 15,000 people had turned out to demonstrate against Assad.

Several thousand also gathered in the rain in the ancient, eastern desert town of Palmyra, clapping to anti-Assad anthems. "Bashar, God is greater (than you)!" they sang.

(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon and Dominic Evans in Beirut, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_syria

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Vanessa Hudgens, Shailene Woodley, More Reveal Red Carpet Don'ts

'Absolutely do not be drunk or high on anything,' Dame Helen Mirren advises MTV News in latest edition of Don't Do That.
By Christina Garibaldi

Vanessa Hudgens
Photo: MTV News

With awards season is in full swing — Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday, the Screen Actors Guild Awards are set for Sunday — the stars have been stepping up their fashion game in hopes of taking home one of the most important honors: Best Dressed.

But a lot of work goes into making that coveted list. MTV News asked some of the biggest actresses in the business for advice on what not to do on a red carpet.

"Don't wear something that's uncomfortable," said "Descendents" star Shailene Woodley when asked about how to leave a lasting impression. "Wear something that's super comfortable."

Hudgens had some unusual advice for what not to do on the red carpet. "A cartwheel ... in a dress," she said.

Comfort may not have been at the top of the list for Reese Witherspoon and Charlize Theron, who wowed at the 2012 Golden Globes, but they were certainly dazzling. Similarly, young starlets like Demi Lovato and Vanessa Hudgens made daring fashion choices at the People's Choice Awards and came out winners.

"The Help" star Jessica Chastain — who just got her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress — seemed to agree with Woodley.

"You should never wear something that makes you uncomfortable because then you look uncomfortable," Chastain said. "We've all done that, right? We've all been talked into something we didn't love, by our grandmothers, our aunts, my great aunt."

Chastain's fellow Oscar nominee and "Help" co-star, Viola Davis, has a busy red-carpet season ahead of her, but don't expect her to strike a pose. "My big thing, I never do over-the-shoulder shots," Davis told us. "I just don't. I think they're cheesy.

"I think absolutely you should be who you are, it has a huge calming effect as opposed to adding anxiety to yourself and trying to channel another persona; it really doesn't work," the Best Actress nominee continued. "Can you imagine the over-the-shoulder, hair-flip kinda pose for myself?"

Of course, it's not just about the dress or the most flattering pose — viewers keep an eye on carpet etiquette, too. According to Dame Helen Mirren, a star should always be on their best behavior.

"Don't be drunk, absolutely do not be drunk or high on anything," Mirren said. "Don't be nervous and do enjoy it. Think [to yourself], 'This is crazy, this is ridiculous, it's absurd, it has absolutely no place in the modern world. I'm just gonna love it.' "

Share your favorite red-carpet looks of the season so far in the comments!

Stay with MTV Style during awards-show season, and every day!

Related Videos

• Don't Do That!

Related Photos

• MTV Style | 2012 Golden Globes Red Carpet Photos

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677915/red-carpet-fashion-dos-donts.jhtml

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Rihanna to UK fashion newbies: Dress me up

LONDON (AP) ? Rihanna has found a unique way of getting some new stage outfits.

The musical superstar from Barbados will be hunting for undiscovered design talent in Britain on a new TV show ? as yet unnamed ? in which she will be the executive producer and the star.

Sky Living HD announced Thursday it has commissioned media company Twenty Twenty to make the series and say Rihanna will be working mainly behind the scenes.

Hosting duties will go to another pop name, Nicola Roberts from the U.K. group Girls Aloud.

Together they will challenge fashion newcomers to create stage gear for musicians and celebrities ? with the final task to dress Rihanna for her July 8 performance at the Wireless music festival in London's Hyde Park.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-26-Britain-Rihanna/id-d6d9f2b37039421e86a1fc21524bd686

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Livestream: Gov. Dayton on Vikings stadium at 1 p.m. (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Russian liberal says Kremlin bars him from vote (AP)

MOSCOW ? Election officials have refused so far to allow the leader of Russia's leading liberal party to compete in March's presidential election, a move the politician said reflects the government's fear of genuine competition.

Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of Yabloko party, said authorities want to prevent him from challenging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's bid to extend his 12-year rule by reclaiming the presidency. He said other contenders are only nominal rivals who are following the Kremlin's guidance.

"They aren't letting me join the race, because they don't want to allow an alternative ? political, economic and moral," Yavlinsky said at a news conference.

The Central Election Commission said Monday that more than 20 percent of the signatures collected in support of Yavlinsky's candidacy were found to be invalid. It said it would make the final decision on Yavlinsky's candidacy after checking another sample of the more than 2 million signatures required by law for a candidate to qualify.

Massive protests against vote-rigging that favored Putin's party erupted after December's parliamentary election, drawing tens of thousands into the streets in the largest show of public anger since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

The protests have posed a surprise challenge to Putin's plan of easing back into the presidency, a post he held from 2000-2008.

Yavlinsky's party, which failed to clear a 7-percent threshold required to win seats in parliament, fielded thousands of election observers, who documented evidence of official fraud in favor of Putin's United Russia party in December's vote.

Under the law, observers at the polls can only be named by participants in the race. Yavlinsky charged that a decision to bar him from running also was rooted in authorities' reluctance to allow strong monitoring of the March 4 presidential vote.

The election commission already has registered Putin and three other contenders: Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov, ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and socialist Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov. Since their parties are represented in the parliament, their registration is easier than for other potential candidates.

Election officials also signaled Monday they would register billionaire tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, saying that a preliminary check of lists of signatures in his support had shown they correspond to legal norms. Prokhorov owns 80 percent of the New Jersey Nets basketball team.

Yavlinsky said all these candidates represent "different faces of the government" and warned that the refusal to allow him to join the race would undermine the vote's legitimacy and could foment unrest.

"The refusal to allow an alternative ? a choice ? would erode trust in the vote and deal a blow to its legitimacy," he said. "The less trust and legitimacy are there, the more unpredictable and violent the situation in the country will be."

Putin has tried to play down the massive protests against his rule, casting their leaders as Western stooges. He also has sought to portray himself as the indispensable leader who will guarantee his nation's stability, warning that his radical opponents could push Russia into chaos and violence.

Polls show that Putin continues to enjoy a strong public support, but probably not enough to win a first-round victory. Putin needs to win more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Putin has refused to take part in televised debates with other contenders, relying instead on ample coverage of his daily activities as prime minister by state-controlled nationwide television stations. He also has published articles outlining his election platform.

An article published Monday in the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta outlined Putin's views on ethnic issues. Putin suggested, among other things, that Russia should toughen registration rules for migrant workers.

That proposal is likely to please Russian nationalists, who have voiced growing resentment over the influx into Moscow and other cities of dark-skinned Muslim migrants from other ex-Soviet nations and Russia's own North Caucasus region.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_election

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Factbox: List of key Oscar nominations (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominations on Tuesday for the 84th Academy Awards. Winners will be revealed in Hollywood on February 26.

Following is a list of nominees in leading categories.

BEST PICTURE

War Horse

The Artist

Moneyball

The Descendants

Tree of Life

Midnight in Paris

The Help

Hugo

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

BEST ACTOR

Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"

George Clooney, "The Descendants"

Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"

Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

BEST ACTRESS

Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"

Viola Davis, "The Help"

Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"

Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"

BEST DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"

Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"

Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kenneth Branagh, "My Week with Marilyn"

Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"

Nick Nolte, "Warrior"

Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud and Dangerously Close"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"

Jessica Chastain, "The Help"

Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"

Janet McTeer, "Alfred Nobbs"

Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

ANIMATED FILM

A Cat in Paris

Chico & Rita

Kung Fu Panda 2

Puss in Boots

Rango

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

"Bullhead," Belgium

"Footnote," Israel

"In Darkness," Poland

"Monsieur Lazhar," Canada

"A Separation," Iran

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

"The Descendants," by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash

"Hugo," by John Logan

"The Ides of March," by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon

"Moneyball," by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

"The Artist," by Michel Hazanavicius

"Bridesmaids," by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig

"Margin Call," by J.C. Chandor

"Midnight in Paris," by Woody Allen

"A Separation," by Asghar Farhadi

DOCUMENTARY

"Hell and Back Again"

"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"

"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"

"Pina"

"Undefeated"

ORIGINAL SCORE

"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams

"The Artist," Ludovic Bource

"Hugo," Howard Shore

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias

"War Horse," John Williams

ORIGINAL SONG

"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," music and lyric by Bret McKenzie

"Real in Rio" from "Rio," music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, lyric by Siedah Garrett

ART DIRECTION

"The Artist," production design: Laurence Bennett; set decoration: Robert Gould

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," production design: Stuart Craig; set decoration: Stephenie McMillan

"Hugo," production design: Dante Ferretti; set decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo

"Midnight in Paris," production Design: Anne Seibel; set decoration: H?l?ne Dubreuil

"War Horse," production design: Rick Carter; set decoration: Lee Sandales

CINEMATOGRAPHY

"The Artist," Guillaume Schiffman

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Jeff Cronenweth

"Hugo," Robert Richardson

"The Tree of Life," Emmanuel Lubezki

"War Horse," Janusz Kaminski

COSTUME DESIGN

"Anonymous," Lisy Christl

"The Artist," Mark Bridges

"Hugo," Sandy Powell

"Jane Eyre," Michael O'Connor

"W.E.," Arianne Phillips

FILM EDITING

"The Artist," Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius

"The Descendants," Kevin Tent

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

"Hugo," Thelma Schoonmaker

"Moneyball," Christopher Tellefsen

MAKEUP

"Albert Nobbs," Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng

"The Iron Lady," Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

VISUAL EFFECTS

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson

"Hugo," Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning

"Real Steel," Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Will Dunham and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/media_nm/us_oscars_nominees

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Wizards fire coach Saunders after dismal start (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Washington Wizards fired coach Flip Saunders on Tuesday after opening the season with a National Basketball Association-worst 2-15 record.

The Wizards, who started the season with eight consecutive losses, were trounced by the Philadelphia 76ers 103-83 on Monday, for their seventh road loss in as many tries this year.

Assistant Randy Wittman will take over on an interim basis for the remainder of the season beginning with the Wizards hosting the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

"We felt the team had become unresponsive and we will look to Randy to provide a different voice and a change in philosophy moving forward," Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement.

"We were disappointed in the lack of development of our players at this point in our rebuilding plan."

Wittman, 52, was head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01) and later directed the Minnesota Timberwolves for two-plus seasons(2006-09).

He has a 100-207 record as a head coach and served as the Wizards' lead assistant since the 2009-10 season.

"We have struggled as a team at times this season, but we have also seen a great deal of potential from our young players and glimpses of what we can accomplish together as a team," Wittman said. "The coaching staff will look to build on that."

Saunders, 56, coached the Timberwolves for 10 seasons and the Detroit Pistons for three before coming to Washington for the 2009-10 campaign.

The Wizards have not advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2004-05. They were 26-56 in Saunders' first season before slipping to 23-59 a year ago.

(Reporting By Steve Ginsburg and Gene Cherry; editing by Julian Linden)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/sp_nm/us_nba_wizards_saunders

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Unfulfilled promises from previous Obama speeches (AP)

As President Barack Obama prepares to address the nation Tuesday night, promises from his previous two State of the Union addresses remain unfulfilled. Here's a look at some of them:

2011:

_Make a tuition tax credit permanent.

_Eliminate billions in taxpayer dollars to oil companies.

_Overhaul immigration and education laws.

_Reform the tax code to eliminate loopholes and lower corporate rates.

2010:

_Meet monthly with congressional Democratic and Republican leaders.

_Overhaul immigration and education laws.

_Slash tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and give them to companies that create jobs in the U.S.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_the_union_promises_glance

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2 cargo ships sink in Philippines; 32 aboard saved

MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? A cargo ship loaded with cement sank in the central Philippines on Sunday and another vessel carrying iron ore went down off the country's eastern coast, the coast guard said. All 32 crewmen from both ships were rescued.

The ship carrying iron ore, the Panamanian-registered M/V Sun Spirit, began to list Saturday off Catanduanes province and sent a distress signal.

Though coast guard officials immediately deployed three ships and a helicopter for a search and rescue, it was a Philippine cargo ship and a fishing boat that saved the crew of 12 Indonesians and two Koreans, who had abandoned the ship, coast guard Adm. Ramon Liwag said.

It was not immediately clear why the ship sank. It was bound for China after leaving the central Philippine province of Leyte, officials said.

Separately, a Philippine cargo ship with 18 Filipino crewmen sank early Sunday off central Antique province when its hull hit a hard object and took in water. The crewmen were rescued by fishing boats, coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente said.

The M/V Seaford 2 was destined for Antique with about 35,000 sacks of cement. Coast guard and Antique officials were monitoring any possible oil spill from the sunken vessel, which left southern Iligan city with 2,377 gallons (9,000 liters) of oil for fuel, Ricafrente said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-22-AS-Philippines-Rescued-Crewmen/id-7d7a2c321a9047d1b90791b0e75648be

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BBClock's Guide to Explaining Magic

So, throughout my Roleplaying, I have found, not just here, but elsewhere too, that people don't quite understand how magic should work, and they oftentimes argue over it, or make some bull up to try and slide things that aren't capable by the radar. There are other problems too, but I think I have a solution to all of them.

Introducing a Simple Guide to Magic by yours truly, Professor Towers. In this guide, I'll detail the ways I find solve most of the problems we have with magic in Roleplay in general, as well as explain why they are logically sound, and should be endorsed. It is still your call, player, to as to whether or not you endorse it yourself.

We'll start with the first big inconsistency in magic.

Magic is Drawn from an Alternate Plane
Anyone can cast magic. Even the most non-intelligent lifeforms can utilize some magic. That being said, anyone can become a Wizard. The main thing that separates the common folk and a good Wizard however, is their knowledge. The more knowledge of the magical realm that one has, the better they can utilize it to create powerful spells. Focus is just as important, good mental focus can amplify a spell to give a better effect. Both of these must be honed over time. It takes great practice to even cast a simple Fireball, let alone Tempests and whatsits. This is why no one can simply be a good Wizard. Now, onward with the guide!

Mana Determines Stamina in Wielding and Utilizing Magic
Remember Mana? A fun stat in almost every RPG that determines how many spells the Wizard can cast, right? Well, the principle holds here, but in a different light. Mana is the stamina in channeling magic from the alternate plane to power spells. If you're out of Mana, then you're out of energy needed to channel magic sufficiently well, and there's a supremely high chance your spell of awesome will fizzle and accomplish nothing. Don't fret, just rest for a while and regain your energy. Once again, increasing your Mana cannot be done easily. It takes lots of practicing to increase your stamina. Knowledge will not be useful if you tire yourself after a single spell, hence why Mana is so vital as a Wizard. Now, for the next part.

Knowledge Determines the Power, Effects, and Duration of Spells
We all know that knowledge is important for channeling magic well, but it has an even more important use. The level and strength of spells is directly affected by how much magic you can tap into, up to a limit only set by your understanding and Mana. For Wizards, it really holds true that "Knowledge is Power". Knowledge can only be gained through the seeking out of wisdom. Spell Tomes, Magic Books, and other Wizards are all valuable sources of knowledge, and anyone interested in magic should seek them out. Lastly, one more part.

Classes of Magic
So we've established that anyone can casts spells with practice. What are some of the spell types then? Well, all magic can be, at core, traced to one of four overarching types. We'll look at each of these.

Destruction: The most fun magic comes in the School of Destruction. As the name implies, these spells are almost all focused on using magic to immensely damage those around you, or to cause, well, Destruction. It even boasts some magic that damages and stunts your opponent in various ways.

Summoning: The School of Summoning Magic is one of the most versatile schools. Why? It allows for a lot of utility use. You can conjure and alter almost anything within reason and skill.

Light: Light Magic is the most useful supporting school of magic, and it deals mostly with spells that can buff up weak allies, as well as heal pain and suffering caused by curses and battle. Resurrection is possible with enough skill.

Dark: Dark Magic is a school of corrupted arts, looked down upon and feared. Spells here specialize in decay, death, suffering, and pain as their main focus. With their many uses, they can potentially destroy worlds, alongside people and the environment. Many Wizards disdain it's use.

Whatever type of magic you decide to use, it'll require a lot of practice to master any spell from any school. Now, for the next and final part.

Finished!
That's that! Simple right? Magic can be simplified and not be a complete mystery. Many workarounds that are logical and reasonable exist, and if we don't try and pull stunts that make bad impressions, magic can be just as legitimate a tool as a blade, sword, or fist. So everyone, go out there and show people you know your magic better then they think you do! Any questions on any of this, please ask, and I'll attempt to answer them to a satisfying degree.

Happy Spellcasting!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/yVOm8oD0Oj4/viewtopic.php

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Grey's Anatomy's Sarah Drew Welcomes First Child (omg!)

Grey's Anatomy cast member Sarah Drew gave birth to a baby boy Wednesday in Los Angeles, People reports.

Drew, 31, delivered son Micah Emmanuel Lanfer at 6:21 p.m. on Jan. 18, weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. "She and her husband, Peter Lanfer, are in love with him," her rep said in a statement to People.

Grey's Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw expecting third baby

This is the first child for Drew and Lanfer, who wed in 2002.

Drew's Grey's Anatomy co-star, Jessica Capshaw, recently announced she is pregnant with her third child.

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_greys_anatomys_sarah_drew_welcomes_first_child234800232/44237288/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/greys-anatomys-sarah-drew-welcomes-first-child-234800232.html

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MegaUpload shut down by feds: Why do we need SOPA? (Digital Trends)

File-sharing mecca MegaUpload.com is dead, shut down at the hands of the US federal government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested four people, and charged three others, in the anti-piracy sting. The forced closure of MegaUpload comes just one day after a mass online protest against two pieces of legislation that aim to increase the power of copyright holders to block access to websites that illegally distribute intellectual property, like music and movies.

Those arrested include MegaUpload founder Kim ?Dotcom? Schmitz, along with three others related to the site. The group was apprehended in New Zealand, with the help of that country?s authorities. MegaUpload is officially a Hong Kong-based company, though according to the Justice Department, it also has servers in Ashburn, VA, Washington DC, the Netherlands and Canada. Schmidtz is a resident of both Hong Kong and New Zealand.

The indictment against MegaUpload, a site that allowed users to upload anything from a text file to a full feature film, then share a link to the file with others, says the site cost copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue by making their intellectual property free to download. It also says that MegaUpload (aka ?the conspirators?) earned $175 million in profits from advertising and premium memberships. Schmitz alone earned $42 million in 2010 from the site, the indictment claims.

In a statement posted to MegaUpload, before its takedown, the company asserted that the majority of its content was legitimate, and the claims of lost revenue were ???grotesquely overblown.??

?The fact is that the vast majority of Mega?s Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch,? the company said.

MegaUpload boasted ?more than 150 million registered users, 50 million daily visitors and accounting for four percent of the total traffic on the Internet,? according to the Justice Department, whose website was also unable to load, at the start of this writing. According to Twitter user AnonymousIRC, a highly-popular account related to the hacktivist group ?Anonymous,? the DoJ?s website appeared to have been ?besieged by pirates.? It is unclear at this time whether Anonymous had anything to do with the outage, which has since been resolved.

In addition to having been one of the most-widely-used file-sharing sites on the Web, MegaUpload is also unique because of its endorsements from artists like Kanye West, Will.i.am, and Alicia Keys. Kim Kardashian, who is not an artist, also endorsed the site. Renowned rapper, producer, and NYU professor Kaseem ?Swizz Beatz? Dean is listed as MegaUpload?s CEO. (Not coincidentally, Beatz is also Alicia Keys? husband.) Judging by his recent tweets, the last of which came five hours ago, Beatz still appears to be free, and apparently just ate some Chinese food.

Federal authorities say that the timing of MegaUpload?s takedown had nothing to do with Wednesday?s blackout protest against the ?Stop Online Piracy Act? (SOPA) and the ?PROTECT IP Act? (PIPA). And that?s most certainly true; this kind of sting doesn?t just happen overnight. But that doesn?t mean the two will remain unrelated in the minds of the public.

This case clearly proves that our government already has the ability to shutdown a website, whose company is based in Hong Kong, and have its employees arrested by the police of another foreign country. That isn?t exactly a compelling argument for giving copyright holders and the federal government more power to combat piracy from ?foreign rogue websites,? which is the primary aim of both SOPA and PIPA.

Of course, it appears as though MegaUpload isn?t actually considered a ?foreign? rogue site, even though its base of operations is in China, due to the fact that it had servers housed in the US. SOPA and PIPA gives the power to block access to ? but not entirely shut down ? websites that operate exclusively outside the US. After this monstrous display of muscle flexing, however, we doubt many people will have sympathy for that distinction.

That said, combating the piracy of websites that operate outside the rule of US law really isn?t a matter of contention in the SOPA/PIPA debate. It?s all the ?unintended consequences? and ?collateral damage? that educated critics say the bills? loose wording could lead to ? things like the blockage of legitimate free speech, the squashing of online innovation, and the potential damage to the Internet?s infrastructure ? that have the masses seething. The takedown of MegaUpload merely shows that our anti-piracy laws aren?t as weak as some would like us to believe.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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FBI arrests alleged Scarlett Johansson e-mail hacker

AntiSec hackers release data from over 50 law enforcement agencies

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/digitalmusic/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120119/tc_digitaltrends/megauploadshutdownbyfedswhydoweneedsopa

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Man charged in NY Fed Reserve software theft

NEW YORK?? U.S. prosecutors arrested a Chinese computer programmer on charges he stole software code valued at nearly $10 million from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

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Bo Zhang, 32, of Queens, New York, worked as a contract programmer at the bank. He was accused of illegally copying software to an external hard drive, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. district court in Manhattan.

Authorities said the software, owned by the U.S. Treasury Department, cost about $9.5 million to develop.

A New York Fed spokesman said in a statement that the bank immediately investigated the suspected breach when it was uncovered and promptly referred the matter to authorities.

"The New York Fed has further strengthened its already considerable protections as a result of this incident," the spokesman said.

A federal magistrate judge ordered Zhang released on $200,000 bail after a brief court hearing. He was arrested on Wednesday morning, a federal prosecutor told the judge.

An attorney for Zhang, Joseph Grob, confirmed his client was a Chinese citizen but declined to comment on the charges. Grob told the judge that Zhang holds a job in New Jersey.

Zhang was charged with one count of stealing U.S. government property, which carries a maximum 10 year prison term. He is due back in court on Feb. 17.

The complaint, signed by an FBI agent, said Zhang had admitted to copying the code onto a drive and taking it home.

Zhang told investigators he took the code "for private use and in order to ensure that it was available to him in the event that he lost his job," the complaint said.

While U.S. intelligence officials have become increasingly worried about economic espionage by China and Russia, cyber crime experts said the case appeared to be one of simple theft.

"The fact that he was released on bail and charged only with theft is an indication that, at this time, the FBI does not believe that this is connected to international espionage," said a former law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak by his current employer.

Zhang was hired as a contract employee in May by an unnamed technology consulting company used by the Fed to work on its computers, the complaint said.

The code, called the Government-wide Accounting and Reporting Program (GWA), was developed to help track the billions of dollars the United States government transfers daily. The GWA provides federal agencies with a statement of their account balance, the complaint said.

Investigators uncovered the suspected breach only after one of Zhang's colleagues told a supervisor that Zhang had claimed to have lost a hard drive containing the code, the complaint said.

The case is USA v. Bo Zhang, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 12-0108.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46048400/ns/us_news/

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HBT: Pineda-Montero trade held up by issues

The Yankees and Mariners agreed last Friday to a trade sending catcher Jesus Montero and right-hander Hector Noesi to Seattle for right-handers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos. But that deal has not been completely finalized, and might not be made officially?official?for another couple days.

According to FOX Sports? Jon Paul Morosi, Montero is waiting for a visa issue to be resolved in his native Venezuela and hasn?t be able to travel to the United States to take his required physical with the Mariners. On top of that, an ice storm blew threw Seattle on Thursday, cancelling most flights.

Both teams will have to remain patient as Montero?s travel issues are cleared up and the airport conditions in the Great Northwest improve. We?d expect a resolution and official announcement by early next week.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/20/montero-pineda-trade-being-held-up-by-visa-weather-issues/related/

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Scientists Tweak Photosynthesis in Pursuit of a Better Biofuel

Advances | Energy & Sustainability See Inside

By altering how plants turn sunlight into chemical energy, scientists hope to produce biofuels that make economic sense

By David Biello ?| January 13, 2012?|

Image: Chris Stein/Getty Images

For years researchers have been trying to figure out the best ways of making plants produce biofuels. But there is a funda?mental problem: photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into stored chemical energy, is highly inefficient. Plants turn only 1 to 3 percent of sunlight into carbohydrates. That is one reason why so much land has to be devoted to growing corn for ethanol, among other bad biofuel ideas. And yet plants also have many advantages: they absorb carbon dioxide at low concen?trations directly from the atmosphere, and each plant cell can repair itself when damaged.

Scientists have begun a new effort to soup up photosynthesis and help humans make greener fuel. The U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, known as ARPA-e, has funded 10 such projects so far, most of which use genetic engineering to tweak a plant?s DNA-based instruction manual for growth, pigments, and the like. The largest grant?more than $6 million?has gone to the University of Florida to alter pine trees to make more turpentine, a potential fuel. Another project, led by Davis, Calif.?based Arcadia Biosciences, is aimed at inducing fast-growing grasses such as switchgrass to produce vegetable oil for the first time in history.

In the future, engineers might create a black plant that would absorb all incoming sunlight or a plant that uses different wavelengths of light to power the different steps of photo?synthesis; plants now use the same wavelengths for everything. An engineered biofuel-producing plant might even have smaller leaves, re?ducing its own energy demands for growth, or it might no longer store energy as sugar but turn it directly into a hydrocarbon molecule for human use as fuel.

The scientists in the program, dubbed PETRO, for plants engineered to replace oil, will also have to deal with the challenges of increasingly limited water supplies for crops and public skepticism of gen?etic?ally modified organ?isms. And they will face comp?etition from efforts to replace photosynthesis altogether, such as ARPA-e?s own Electrofuels program, which aims to induce microbes to make hydro?carbons, or from efforts to build artificial leaves that use the electricity from solar cells to split water into oxygen and hydro?gen for use as fuel. For plants, simply being green is no longer enough.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=73f7cc44f744c9c54a372bb1bcd6b782

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Iran embargo gathers support in Asia, Europe (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? U.S. allies in Asia and Europe voiced support on Thursday for Washington's drive to cut Iran's oil exports, though fear of self-inflicted economic pain is curbing enthusiasm for an embargo that a defiant Iran says will not halt its nuclear program.

As a newspaper close to the clerical establishment called for retaliatory assassinations of Israeli officials after the latest mystery killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, a former U.N. inspector said a new, almost bomb-proof plant could provide Iran enough enriched uranium for an atom bomb in just a year.

Such timetables, while Iran denies all Western charges that it even wants nuclear weapons, have added to speculation that Israel and the United States could resort to a military adventure against the Islamic Republic - something an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin said was growing more likely.

Threats of disruption to the Gulf oil trade, from war or simply blockades, have kept crude prices firm. Benchmark Brent crude was up 1.5 percent at nearly $114 per barrel.

A day after a motorcycle hitman blew up a 32-year-old engineer during the Tehran rush hour, many Iranians directed anger over the violence, and over painful economic sanctions, at the Western powers, which have hoped to turn popular sentiment against an increasingly divided ruling elite.

"We should retaliate against Israel for the martyring of our young scientist," wrote Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of the Kayhan newspaper, who was appointed by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"These corrupted people are easily identifiable and readily within our reach ... Assassinations of the Zionist regime's military men and officials are very easy.."

While declining comment on allegations it carried out the bombing on Wednesday, Israel has a history of such actions and will be on the alert for possible attacks against it.

Kremlin Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev, close to Putin, was quoted blaming Israel, which says an Iranian bomb would threaten its existence, for pushing for war: "There is a likelihood of military escalation of the conflict, towards which Israel is pushing the Americans," he told Interfax.

Former U.N. nuclear inspection chief Olli Heinonen said this week's announced start of uranium enrichment at a bunker complex could provide Iran with the ability to have enough such material for one nuclear bomb early next year - though it was not clear it would yet have the ability to build one.

ASIAN IMPORTERS

Since President Barack Obama signed laws on New Year's Eve that, by denying buyers access to U.S. dollars, aim to cripple Iran's oil sales until it gives ground on the nuclear issue, major importers have been taking positions, torn between keeping in with Washington and quenching their thirst for Iranian oil.

On Thursday, Japan, whose economy is already deep in the doldrums after cuts in its nuclear power supply following last year's tsunami, pledged to take concrete action to cut its oil imports from Iran in response to an appeal for support from visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

However, Tokyo's support was not without reservations.

Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan buys 10 percent of its oil from Iran. "We would like to take action concretely to further reduce in a planned manner," he said. But he added: "It would cause immense damage if they were cut to zero."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, the government's top spokesman, later tried to soften Azumi's pledge to reduce Iranian oil imports, saying it was just one of many options under consideration. And Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda voiced concern to Geithner about the potential impact of the U.S. sanctions on Japan and the world economy.

The U.S. Treasury chief welcomed Tokyo's cooperation, an encouraging sign for U.S. foreign policy after China rebuffed his arguments for sanctions earlier on his Asian tour.

One issue affecting Asian governments' willingness to follow the U.S. lead is the availability of alternatives to Iran, the second biggest exporter in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. While ready to help, it is not clear how far U.S. ally Riyadh can increase its own output and exports to make up for spurned Iranian crude.

Japan has already sought extra supplies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. China's Premier Wen Jiabao will visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar in a trip beginning this weekend. The prime minister of South Korea, another major buyer of Iranian crude, is due to visit the UAE and Oman from Friday.

Korean minister Hong Suk-woo told Reuters "it was too early to say" if Seoul would reduce oil imports from Iran. "Our basic stance is to cooperate with the U.S.," Hong said.

China, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, gave no hint on Wednesday of giving ground to U.S. demands to curb Tehran's oil revenues.

U.S. officials sounded more optimistic, saying they will focus more on China's actions than on its public statements.

However, China has reduced crude purchases from Iran for January and February in a dispute over contract pricing terms.

India faces pressure to cut crude purchases from Iran, but policymakers and industry officials have sent mixed messages on future plans with one unnamed cabinet minister on Thursday saying the country would continue to do business with Tehran.

EUROPEAN CONCERNS

The European Union is more sympathetic to U.S. pressure on Iran. EU foreign ministers are expected to agree on a ban on imports of Iranian crude oil on January 23.

However, even Europe, whose governments largely share the concern of Israel and Washington over Iran's nuclear ambitions, is looking for ways to limit the pain of an embargo.

"We expect a slow and gradual implementation of what will eventually become a full embargo," said Mike Wittner from Societe Generale. "Europe has the same concerns about its fragile economy and an oil price spike as the U.S., probably even more."

Firms in Iran's three biggest EU oil customers, Italy, Spain and Greece, all suffering acute economic discomfort, have lately extended existing purchase deals in the hope to at least delay the impact of any embargo for months, traders told Reuters.

EU diplomats said a consensus was emerging to grant a grace period before banning new deals with Iran - six months for crude oil purchases and three for petrochemicals. Moreover, companies would be able to go on accepting Iranian oil in payment for outstanding debts - something especially helpful to Italy.

Diplomats and traders say the grace period would give European companies time to find alternative sources of crude, but the process would be far from smooth.

"Some (EU members) are saying: 'help us find alternative suppliers and find a way to sustain the discounts we currently have'," one diplomatic source said.

The problem of replacement supplies to Europe could be partially solved with the help of Saudi Arabia. European diplomats have spoken to the kingdom's leadership who have signaled readiness to fill a supply gap, although concerns mount about the producer's spare capacity nearing its limit.

But there is no reason why Riyadh would agree to supply crude at a discount to a buyer like Greece, traders said. Many in the oil market have already pulled the plug on supplies for fear that Athens might default on its debt.

Greek officials have said their country imports up to 40 percent of its oil from Iran and wants to continue the flow without disruption and on the same funding terms.

The EU is also planning new sanctions on Iran's financial sector but states have been divided over whether to include Iran's central bank in these sanctions. Diplomats said France and Britain backed this but Germany opposed the idea - though a German diplomat denied that was the case.

(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy, Ramin Mostafavi and Mitra Amiri in Tehran, Stanley White and Tetsushi Kajimoto in Tokyo, Ralph Gowling in London, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Gleb Bryansky in Moscow and David Brunnstrom and Julien Toyer in Brussels; Writing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120112/wl_nm/us_iran

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