China urges tighter Internet security after series of data leaks

SHANGHAI | Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:43am EST

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The Chinese government is working with domestic Internet search engines like Baidu Inc and Sohu.com and financial institutions to prevent phishing attacks on unsuspecting Chinese web users.

The Ministry of Public Security said on Friday it would work with 10 Chinese search engines to protect the website rankings of financial institutions to lessen the chances that Internet users will be duped by phishing websites.

A phishing attack occurs when the user is persuaded to part with his or her username and password via a fake webpage that closely resembles the original.

Through the collaboration, the official websites of several Chinese banks, such as Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank will be ranked first in the search engine when a user searches for the related keywords, reducing the risk of such attacks, the Ministry said in an online circular on Friday.

The move comes after China urged tighter Internet security on Wednesday following a spate of personal data leaks that alarmed the online community and prompted calls for tougher scrutiny of who has access to online information.

On Thursday, the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department confirmed a technical vulnerability on the website of the Division of Exit and Entry Administrative Department of Public Security for Guangdong had left the personal data of 4.4 million users exposed.

According to Chinese media, the loophole was first reported by a microblogger on Thursday and has been around since June this year.

The province's public security department said the loophole had been fixed.

China claims the most Internet users in the world at 485 million, state media reported last month. Despite widespread censorship and monitoring online, many users have been up in arms about the reported data leaks and their implications.

The user IDs, passwords and email addresses of more than 6 million accounts registered on CSDN -- a site for programmers -- were leaked, Xinhua news agency reported last week, citing an anti-virus software provider that discovered the problem. The popular social-networking site Tianya was also hit.

The Global Times newspaper on Friday described the state of Internet security in China as "very dangerous," saying the leaks had "struck Chinese society's alarm bells."

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday it would investigate the hacking incidents.

"The department believes the recent leak of user information is a serious infringement of the rights of Internet users and threatens Internet safety. The department strongly condemns such behavior," the ministry said in the statement.

China is widely suspected of being the origin of many hacking attacks on government and commercial websites abroad, but officials have repeatedly dismissed reports that the government or military could be behind such attacks.

China bans numerous overseas websites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and some foreign media outlets, fearing the uncensored sharing of images and information could cause social instability and harm national security.

(Reporting By Sisi Tang in HONG KONG and Melanie Lee in SHANGHAI; Editing by Chris Lewis and Paul Tait)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKInternetNews/~3/3PDpyq8Fw1M/us-china-internet-idUSTRE7BT07M20111230

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Stuxnet weapon has at least 4 cousins: researchers (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The Stuxnet virus that last year damaged Iran's nuclear program was likely one of at least five cyber weapons developed on a single platform whose roots trace back to 2007, according to new research from Russian computer security firm Kaspersky Lab.

Security experts widely believe that the United States and Israel were behind Stuxnet, though the two nations have officially declined to comment on the matter.

A Pentagon spokesman on Wednesday declined comment on Kaspersky's research, which did not address who was behind Stuxnet.

Stuxnet has already been linked to another virus, the Duqu data-stealing trojan, but Kaspersky's research suggests the cyber weapons program that targeted Iran may be far more sophisticated than previously known.

Kaspersky's director of global research & analysis, Costin Raiu, told Reuters on Wednesday that his team has gathered evidence that shows the same platform that was used to build Stuxnet and Duqu was also used to create at least three other pieces of malware.

Raiu said the platform is comprised of a group of compatible software modules designed to fit together, each with different functions. Its developers can build new cyber weapons by simply adding and removing modules.

"It's like a Lego set. You can assemble the components into anything: a robot or a house or a tank," he said.

Kaspersky named the platform "Tilded" because many of the files in Duqu and Stuxnet have names beginning with the tilde symbol "~" and the letter "d."

Researchers with Kaspersky have not found any new types of malware built on the Tilded platform, Raiu said, but they are fairly certain that they exist because shared components of Stuxnet and Duqu appear to be searching for their kin.

When a machine becomes infected with Duqu or Stuxnet, the shared components on the platform search for two unique registry keys on the PC linked to Duqu and Stuxnet that are then used to load the main piece of malware onto the computer, he said.

Kaspersky recently discovered new shared components that search for at least three other unique registry keys, which suggests that the developers of Stuxnet and Duqu also built at least three other pieces of malware using the same platform, he added.

Those modules handle tasks including delivering the malware to a PC, installing it, communicating with its operators, stealing data and replicating itself.

Makers of anti-virus software including Kaspersky, U.S. firm Symantec Corp and Japan's Trend Micro Inc have already incorporated technology into their products to protect computers from getting infected with Stuxnet and Duqu.

Yet it would be relatively easy for the developers of those highly sophisticated viruses to create other weapons that can evade detection by those anti-virus programs by the modules in the Tilded platform, he said.

Kaspersky believes that Tilded traces back to at least 2007 because specific code installed by Duqu was compiled from a device running a Windows operating system on August 31, 2007.

(Reporting By Jim Finkle; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/security/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/wr_nm/us_cybersecurity_stuxnet

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1981 Files: Fears that Royal Wedding would be spoiled by riots, strikes and economic misery

* Ministers blamed television for the outbreak of the 1981 riots, much in the way that social media websites were blamed this year.

On July 8, Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher?s famously gruff press secretary gathered his team from across the economic departments to consider the next few months.

?The consensus can be summarised in two words: ?Deeply worried,?? he told the prime minister in a memo marked ?secret?.

Summer unrest by backbench MPs was compounded by riots in Southall in West London, Wood Green in North London, Toxteth in Liverpool, and Moss Side in Manchester, he said ? adding plaintively in brackets ?Where next??

The answer was Handsworth in Birmingham and Chapeltown in Leeds, along with a second outbreak of riots in Brixton, South London.

Mr Ingham worried about ?the certainty of much worse unemployment figures, and very much worse youth unemployment? aggravated by stagnant growth and public sector strikes.

He even feared that ?what the Royal Wedding will bring to unrelieved gloom will be reduced by industrial action and the national atmosphere soured.?

The twin issues of riots and the threat of public sector strikes had become major concerns for the government.

John Hoskyns, head of the Downing Street Policy Unit, wrote to Geoffrey Howe on July 9 telling him: ?We should try ? implicitly and subtly, not very obviously ? to link in people?s minds the moral similarity between high pay claims demanded with menaces and other forms of anti-social behaviour, including rioting and looting.?

Michael Hestletine, the Environment Secretary, lobbied for a ?100m boost for Liverpool following the Toxteth riots, and planned to make a two week visit to draw up a rescue plan.

But Mr Howe wrote to the prime minister warning her of the ?need to be careful not to over-commit scarce resources to Liverpool.?

?We do not want to find ourselves concentrating all the limited cash that may have to be made available into Liverpool and having nothing left for possibly more promising areas such as the West Midlands or, even, the North East,? he added.

?It would be regrettable if some of the brighter ideas for renewing economic activity were to be sown only on relatively stony ground on the banks of the Mersey.?

He referred to a study by the Central Policy Review Staff, the original Cabinet Office ?think tank? and added: ?I cannot help feeling that the option of managed decline, which the CPRS rejected in its study of Merseyside, is one which we should not forget altogether. We must not expend all our resources in making water flow uphill.?

Minutes from a Cabinet meeting on July 9 1981 recorded a discussion of the underlying causes of the disturbances and said ?attention was drawn to the number of young people, many West Indians, who felt no loyalty to society and resorted to crime.?

But ministers also spoke of how many had taken advantage of the riots to go on looting sprees.

?The riots and their aftermath had revealed an alarmingly widespread lack of moral sense; much of the large-scale looting in Toxteth, for example, had been carried out by middle-aged white residents who had had no part in the riots themselves,? the minutes said.

They added: ?Much responsibility also lay with the parents who failed to exercise adequate control over their children.?

In place of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and the dangers of Blackberry instant messenger, ministers in 1981 laid the blame for the disturbances on television.

?The fact was that the generation of young people now growing up were habituated to watching television for many hours every day, and there was good reason to fear that television had undermined the traditional disciplines of family life, and had given prominence to violence in both news and entertainment programmes,? the memo read.

The government even laid the blame at the feet of ?some left-wing members of the legal profession? who had allegedly ?sought to persuade young people who came before the courts that their convictions were the result of calculated social injustice.?

In a parallel to the riots of 2011, ministers pointed out that the ?difficulties of identification might be diminished if the wearing of masks were of itself to be made a criminal offence? and called for special sittings of magistrates courts to deal with offenders.

The following week, July 16, Cabinet minutes reported that police were to be provided with new helmets, fire-proofed clothing, protected vehicles and possibly armoured cars ? painted blue rather than army grey - and Mr Whitelaw told the House of Commons that water cannons, CS gas and rubber bullets would be made available to be used on the authority of the chief constables or their immediate deputies ?when all other methods had failed.?

?Chief constables were anxious to preserve as much as possible of the traditional methods of British policing and fully shared his reluctance to see these weapons used except as a last resort: some had said to him privately that they would not in any circumstances deploy them, though they had agreed not to say to publicly,? the minutes said.

The Secretary of State for Defence, John Nott, agreed to make army camps in Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire and Shropshire available to hold prisoners.

?It might have been necessary in any event to use such camps because of the extreme pressures on the prison system,? the minutes said. ?But he thought it good tactics to make the decision known in the context of the riots.?

However notes of a telephone conversation between Mrs Thatcher and Mr Whitelaw said: ?The use of troops could not be contemplated: if necessary the police should be properly equipped, and even armed, before such a step was taken.?

As it happened the Royal Wedding between the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer proved to the morale boost Bernard Ingham had been seeking.

Three weeks after his first memo, he wrote again to the Prime Minister telling her: ?The triumph of the Royal Wedding has been a national tonic. Contrary to all our expectation, we have ended July ? and entered recess ? on a higher rather than lower note. That is gratifying.?

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568387/s/1b61cb5a/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Cpolitics0C89738960C19810EFiles0EFears0Ethat0ERoyal0EWedding0Ewould0Ebe0Espoiled0Eby0Eriots0Estrikes0Eand0Eeconomic0Emisery0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Bargain hunters divided shopping season into two

NEW YORK?? The holiday shopping season turned out to be two seasons: the Black Friday binge and a last-minute surge.

Together, they added up to decent sales gains for retailers. And the doldrums in between showed how shoppers have learned to wait for the discounts they know will come.

"The days that the American consumer gets excited about 25 percent off are over," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group. "Shoppers are keeping their eye on the ball for the big sales events."

In November, spending rose 4.1 percent. And from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24, it rose 4.7 percent compared with the same period last year, according to research firm ShopperTrak. A 4 percent increase is considered a healthy season.

The higher sales are good news for the economy, because they show shoppers were willing to fund a holiday splurge despite high unemployment and other lingering economic woes. Consumer spending, including major items such as health care, accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

Still, plenty of people are pinched for cash in the slow economic recovery, and they were seeking the best deals, which could squeeze stores' profits for the fourth quarter, says Hana Ben-Shabat, a partner in the retail practice of A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm.

Stores have trained even shoppers who are primed to spend to look for a discount.

Heading into the season, stores were nervous that shoppers would be tight-fisted. Many officially opened the season with discounts on TVs and toys that started as early as Thanksgiving Day. Consumers came out in droves, resulting in record spending.

Then the frenzy tapered off. A mild winter and the fact that Christmas fell on a Sunday encouraged people to wait until the last minute and accentuated the peaks and valleys of spending.

Stores started to push more discounts to get shoppers to spend in the finale. In fact, retailers' promotional e-mails from Sunday, Dec. 18, to Thursday, Dec. 22, spiked 34 percent, compared with the same period a year ago, according to Responsys, which tracks e-mail activity from more than 100 merchants.

According to Beemer's consumer surveys, 60 percent of shoppers polled were looking for discounts of more than 50 percent to get them to buy. That's up from last year's 51 percent of shoppers polled.

Tracey Spears of Locust Grove, Ga., who was shopping Wednesday at Atlanta's Lenox Square Mall, said she got 75 percent of her holiday shopping done on Black Friday or the day after Thanksgiving. She took advantage of deals, including a Keurig coffee pot from Target and clothes from Hollister on sale.

"I had more money because I got a better bonus this year, but sales are important. You always want to buy stuff cheaper," she said.

Spears and others helped to create pronounced waves in spending.

"The downs and ups were much more accentuated," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. "It just shows how cautious the consumer is. Consumers are bargain hunters more today than ever before."

In the week before Christmas, last-minute shoppers gave retailers a 4.5 percent increase in revenue over the same week last year at stores open at least a year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. The index estimates sales at 24 major stores including Macy's Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp.

Revenue at stores open at least a year is an important measurement of a retailer's performance because it excludes the effects of stores that open or close during the year.

Total retail revenue for the week ended Saturday rose 14.8 percent compared with the year ago, ShopperTrak estimates.

For the week that ended Nov. 26, which included the traditional start of holiday shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, stores had the biggest sales surge from the week before since 1993, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index.

The post-Black Friday lull was deeper than usual. The two weeks after Thanksgiving weekend showed the biggest percentage sales decline since 2000.

Then, during the final two weeks before Christmas, sales surged again, by the highest rate since 2005, Niemira said.

The season "was good but uneven," he said.

Stores are expected to benefit when shoppers come back to spend gift cards, because people often spend more than the cards' value. In addition, gift card sales are recorded only when shoppers redeem them.

People have more money on their cards to spend. According to an ICSC-Goldman Sachs survey of shoppers conducted Sunday, 18 percent of holiday spending went toward gift cards, up from 14.6 percent last year.

A total sales figure for the whole season won't be available until after Dec. 31. And a fuller holiday spending picture will come Jan. 5, when stores including Target Corp. and Macy's release December sales figures. Government retail sales data will be released in mid-January.

ICSC said it expects holiday sales for November and December to rise in line with its forecast of 3.5 percent. The National Retail Federation expects total retail sales for November and December combined to increase by 3.8 percent, up from its earlier forecast of 2.8 percent issued back in October. That's still below the 5.2 percent holiday sales increase in 2010 from the previous year.

As proof that consumers are timing their spending to seek the best bargains, Black Friday was the biggest sales day, as expected, generating sales of $11.4 billion, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, according to ShopperTrak.

But based on preliminary data, Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 were the second- and third-heaviest spending days of the season, according to ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.

He had originally expected Saturday, Dec. 17, to be the second-largest spending day. And Christmas Eve wasn't even forecast to be among the top 10 holiday shopping days.

ShopperTrak measures foot traffic in 25,000 stores in the U.S. and blends those figures with economic data along with proprietary sales figures from merchants. The data excludes sales from auto dealers, gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores.

"Shoppers are willing to spend when they know the biggest discounts are available," Martin said.

Brooks Brothers, the upscale men's and women's clothier that doesn't discount before Christmas, learned that this year. The Monday after Christmas, when the company offered discounts up to 40 percent, was a record spending day at its stores and its website.

"The first three weeks leading up to holiday were soft," Lou Amendola, chief merchandising officer, wrote in an email. "But customers really partook in the after-Christmas sales."

___

AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson in Atlanta contributed to the report.

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/45804100/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

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Video: Did spanking book lead to children?s deaths?

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45803746#45803746

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Kate Middleton Earrings Become Latest Must-Have

As she strolled to and from church services Sunday, Kate Middleton's Christmas fashion turned heads as expected - but not just for her magenta hat and coat.

Adding some holiday sparkle to her already fashionable display was a pair of stunning earrings just visible underneath the Duchess' (Jane Corbett designed) hat.

They are from Kiki McDonough, and were bought from the designer's store in London. Retail price: $3,000. A Christmas gift from Prince William, perhaps?

The designer, who also made jewelry for Prince William's mother Diana, Princess of Wales, did not want to comment at length but confirmed the pieces are hers - and that the stones are "green amethysts surrounded by diamonds on a diamond hoop."

It's not the first time Kate has worn McDonough's jewelry, either.

She has two other pairs of earrings from the store: pear shaped citrines hanging from an 18-carat gold hoops and white topaz studs surrounded by diamonds.

The 29-year-old Kate Middleton wore them both on her summer tour trip to Canada and the States. All pieces are from the aptly-named "Grace collection."

[Photo: Fame Pictures]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/kate-middleton-earrings-become-latest-must-have/

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San Francisco turns Christmas trees into energy source

December 28, 2011 11:09 AM

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? San Francisco officials are encouraging residents to put their old Christmas trees out with the trash, so they can be recycled and turned into an energy source.

Department of Environment spokesman Kevin Danaher says the trees will be ground into wood chips that will be sent to power facilities in Woodland and Tracy.

The trees can be left out on regular trash collection days in the two weeks after New Year's Day. They should be stripped of all decorations, stands and wires and set outside, not placed in the regular trash bins.

Officials say the city last year turned Christmas trees into 514 tons of wood chips. The chips are sold by Recology, the city's trash provider, which uses the money to offset the costs of collecting the trees.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RecordnetLatestHeadlines/~3/5r_mIIgZZ3k/article

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Emerging Markets Report: Japan pact raises Chinese yuan’s status

By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (left) and China's Premier Wen Jiabao meet Sunday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The two leaders agreed to a historic currency agreement that includes the Japanese purchase of Chinese sovereign bonds.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) ? An agreement reached this week that will see Japan hold Chinese bonds as part of its foreign-exchange reserves may herald the emergence of China?s yuan as a new global reserve currency, according to analysts.

In adding the yuan-denominated bonds to Tokyo?s holdings, most of which are currently believed to be held in U.S. dollars, Japan joins a club that is so far believed to include only Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand and Chile, according to Societe Generale.

The move ? which will see Tokyo purchase about $500 million worth of Chinese government bonds next year ? helps confer ?hard-currency? status to the Chinese currency, lifting it into the league of the U.S. dollar, Swiss franc and British pound sterling as stores of value, the French bank said.

?Markets seem not to have made much of the news, but this is an important step toward wider diversification of the foreign-exchange reserves away from the U.S. dollar, not just for Japan, but also for other nations,? said Societe Generale chief Japan economist Takuji Okubo, referring to the weekend announcements between China and Japan that have been referred to as a currency pact.

Inflation slowing after 2011 surge

U.S. inflation appears to be leveling off in the fourth quarter, as November's rate comes in at 2.5%, compared to October's 2.7%. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Okubo said it?s likely Japan?s Ministry of Finance will slowly add yuan to its forex reserve over time, building to a base of around $10 billion worth over the next five years.

Still, he said the pace of accumulation would be limited by the relatively small size of the Chinese bond market, making it hard to meaningfully diversify forex holdings in which the U.S. currency is thought to make up 80% to 90%.

He said Japan?s decision significantly raised the yuan?s international profile, calling it was a ?starting point? in a diversification trend that would likely be adopted by other nations.

Private Japanese investors such as pension funds and insurance companies could also emerge as buyers of Chinese government bonds following the government?s announcement, Okubo said.

The move also raises the prospect that currencies of other emerging Asian nations could be lifted into the realm of investable assets in the near term, he said.

Positive spin-offs for Japan could include a shot in the arm for Tokyo as a foreign-exchange trading hub, the status of which has been on the decline in recent years, according to Okubo.

Marc Chandler of London-based Brown Brothers Harriman described the currency deal as the ?main financial development? over the Christmas holidays, though he saw it more as a strategic shift in relations between the two economic rivals.

He estimate the size of China?s so-called ?dim sum? bond market ? yuan-denominated bonds issued in Hong Kong for foreign buyers ? at around $30 billion, dominated by issuance from government entities and real-estate developers.

That level is far too small to pose any threat to the status of the dollar and euro, he said, adding that the market also lacked the necessary diversity to prove a force in international reserves.

Still, the currency pact could help soothe concerns of Japanese policy markers who worry about the fairness of Chinese access to Japanese markets at a time of a rapid and destabilizing appreciation of the Japanese yen.

?Japan also wants access to China?s capital markets because China has access to Japan?s capital markets,? Chandler said.

He said Japan might also be seeking to influence Beijing policies and gain insight into China.

?Japan wants market intelligence. It can achieve this by quite modest investments of a couple hundred millions dollars, not billions or tens of billions,? Chandler said.

Japanese exports to China totalled 10.8 trillion yen ($138.79 billion) in January through November, while about ?12 trillion of Chinese goods were shipped to Japan, with an estimated 60% of the combined trade settled in U.S. dollars, Chandler said.

Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B0A071CE6-3079-11E1-80DF-002128040CF6%7D&siteid=rss

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Amy Winehouse: We Bid Farewell To A Titanic Talent In 2011

Singer's death at age 27 and the comeback that never was is our #10 Newsmaker of the year.
By Gil Kaufman

Amy Winehouse
Photo: Getty Images

If I had gone to journalism school, I'm sure one of the first things they would have taught me would have been to remain objective in my reporting and not get too emotionally involved in the subjects I cover.

But, just like the deaths of Kurt Cobain, Aaliyah and Sublime's Brad Nowell, I cared more than was probably professionally prudent when I found out that Amy Winehouse had died.

I didn't personally know Winehouse, had never interviewed her and had only seen her perform a few times. But something about her titanic talent spoke to me, almost as much as the fascination I (and all of us, I suspect) had about her madcap, edge-of-a-knife life. We love reading (and writing) about the chaos of stars' lives because it allows us to live vicariously through the insanity they reap from the safety and security of our by-comparison tame lives.

We shook our heads when she had that disastrous show in Belgrade in June, fearing that it meant we would have to wait even longer for her forever-gestating follow-up to her 2006 breakthrough second album, Back to Black.

The news Winehouse had made since her 2008 Back to Black Grammy triumph was mostly bad — arrests, drug possession, punch-ups, divorce, rehab, canceled shows — but her pugnacious attitude and promise kept us interested. I was pulling for her because I know all too well from experience how this one usually ends. There was a part of me that couldn't wait for Winehouse to defy the critics and stage a triumphant comeback that would surprise and delight us all over again.

Once she passed, though, we paid tribute the only way we know how, with essays about her importance to music, shout-outs from contemporary acolytes like Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj (and the cast of "Glee"), a look back at her career highlights on MTV and as much information as we could give you about the details of her death. (That enduring interest in Winehouse's legacy became the #10 Top Newsmaker of 2011.)

We wondered if there would be more music from the singer who'd only managed two studio albums before her death, measured her influence beyond "Rehab" and dug up every bit of tape we had to shed more light on her creative process.

Because I wondered it myself, we also asked experts if sudden fame had crushed the fragile, troubled singer. And we told you everything we could about the VMA tribute to her featuring Bruno Mars and Russell Brand.

Once her cause of death was revealed, the first question that needed to be answered was, "how is that even possible?" And when details were revealed about her first posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, we spoke to everyone we could about the tracks, fearing it might be the last we'd hear from this suddenly silenced voice.

We were as sad as you were, but we kept it together to bring you the news. Well, almost.

In a Newsroom post, I reminisced about the first time I saw Winehouse perform, at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2007. I dug through the tens of thousands of pictures in my iPhoto folder to find the series of shots I'd snapped of her from just a few feet away at her Stateside debut. I remembered how blown away I was by the enormous, tear-stained sound coming from this tiny woman.

I wrote about how I sometimes reveled in reporting on her bad behavior. But mostly, I admitted that like a lot of you, I'm just sad we won't have Amy around anymore.

How did Amy Winehouse's death affect you? Share your thoughts below.

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

• Amy Winehouse Remembered

Related Artists

• Amy Winehouse

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676472/amy-winehouse-dead-news-2011.jhtml

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If Ron Paul Wins Iowa Caucus, We Will Lose First-in-the-Nation Status? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | I wish I was kidding. I really do. But, honestly, if Ron Paul pulls in a win for the Iowa Caucus, we can kiss our first-in-the nation status goodbye. As a political nerd and Iowa lover, I cherish our first-in-the-nation status. If Iowans GOP voters pick Paul, the party may penalize the state.

The good news is the weather looks fair. Not only is that good news overall, but fair weather means non-Ron Paul supporters will go out. If it was snowy/icy/super cold, some supporters of other candidates might opt to stay home. But the Paul supporters? They're rabid. They'd hitch up their dogs to a sled if they had to, just to make it to the caucus location. Again, I wish I was kidding. But I'm not.

Here's the deal, Iowans. The rest of the nation thinks we're all a bunch of goobers. And we're not. We're quite a variety of people, religions, ethnicity, etc. We're smart, educated, common-sense people. And we have to get this right (no pun intended).

Ron Paul would not beat Barack Obama in the general election. It's as simple as that. If Paul ends up being the nominee (it won't happen but, hey, stranger things have happened), I can see a third-party candidate thus ensuring a win for Obama in 2012. Republicans, have we forgot what happened to Bush H.W. Bush in 1992? Ross Perot ran as a third candidate and Bill Clinton ended up winning. We cannot have four more years of Obama.

Paul has been a congressman from Texas since 1976... before I was even born... before my parents even met. And yet, he claims that "Washington is the problem?" He is Washington and has been my entire life! Also, he ran as a libertarian in the 1988 presidential election. Not a Republican, but a libertarian. And now he's back to claiming to be a Republican. Again, he cannot defeat Obama. It's just not possible.

I understand the Paul supporters are passionate. I understand that they believe in the Ron Paul "Revolution." I also understand they drank the Kool-aid, ate the brownies (no, really Ron Paul's campaign served brownies at the Iowa Straw Poll).

We must keep in mind, if we value our freedom, our nation, our military and our first-in-the-nation status, we need to vote for someone other than Ron Paul.

I'm voting for Rick Santorum in the caucus. You can vote for him or Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann or Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney or even Jon Huntsman... but please. Be serious. Don't vote for Ron Paul.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111227/pl_ac/10737321_if_ron_paul_wins_iowa_caucus_we_will_lose_firstinthenation_status

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Pope condemns Nigeria attacks, prays for them to stop (Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) ? Pope Benedict on Monday condemned the Christmas Day bomb attacks by Islamist militants in Nigeria as an "absurd gesture" and prayed that "the hands of the violent be stopped."

The pope, speaking from his window overlooking St Peter's Square in Rome, said such violence brought only pain, destruction and death.

Militants of the Boko Haram sect said they had set off the bombs, raising fears that they are trying to ignite sectarian civil war. Three of the five bombs hit churches and one killed at least 27 people at a Catholic church.

"Holy Christmas inspires us in a particularly strong way to pray to God so that the hands of the violent are stopped, (hands) that sow death in the world ..." the pope said.

He said news of the bombings in Nigeria had brought him "profound sadness" and he wanted to assure Nigeria's Christian community, hit by "this absurd gesture," that he was close to them.

"At this moment, I want to repeat once more forcefully: violence is a path that leads only to pain, destruction and death. Respect, reconciliation and love are the only ways to achieve peace," he said.

He appealed to all sectors of Nigerian society to work together to rediscover security and tranquility.

The pope did not say that the attacks had been carried out by the Boko Haram, which aims to impose sharia, Islamic law, across Africa's most populous country.

But he has in the past firmly condemned the concept of violence in God's name.

Conflict between Christians and Muslims in the developing world, mostly in Asia and Africa, is one of the Vatican's greatest worries.

Clashes have also taken place in Egypt between Muslims and minority Coptic Christians, who have their own pope but have mostly good relations with Rome.

Last month the pope chose a visit to the African country of Benin to issue a document on the future of the Catholic Church on the continent because the Vatican considers Benin a model for good relations between Christians and Muslims.

In Nigeria, on the other hand, there is a growing fear that Boko Haram is trying to ignite a sectarian civil war in a country split evenly between Christians and Muslims who for the most part coexist in peace.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111226/ts_nm/us_pope_nigeria

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich coming to Sony Tablets

Sony has announced that its tablets, the Tablet S and Tablet P, will receive upgrades to Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

The tech giant, however, isn't yet saying when Ice Cream Sandwich will hit its tablets, of which only the Tablet S is on sale.

The Tablet S, which features a tapered shape resembling a rolled-back magazine and a 9.4-inch touch screen, went on sale in September at a price of $500.

Meanwhile, the Tablet P -- a clamshell device with two 5.5-inch touchscreens and a hinge running through the middle of the displays that allows it to close on itself, screen to screen -- was announced in April but has yet to hit stores or even get a solid release date.

Both devices currently run Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but that will soon change, Sony said in a forum posting on its website, as first reported by PCMag.com.

"We're happy to confirm that an update to Android 4.0 will be available for Sony Tablet," Sony said in a statement posted to its company forums. "Details including timing will be announced in due course, so please stay tuned."

Sony also said in the forum posting that it recently released a software development kit for the dual-screen Tablet P to help aid developers looking to create apps specifically for that device.

The company has previously stated that Ice Cream Sandwich, the first version of Android designed for use on both phones and tablets, will be heading to 11 Sony Ericsson smartphones next year as well.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

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Twitter.com/nateog

Image: Sony's Tablet S, left, and Tablet P. Credit: Sony

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/TheTechnologyBlog/~3/1QbBdc79Tzw/android-ice-cream-sandwich-coming-to-sony-tablets.html

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AP survey: Economy to pick up but still vulnerable

In this Dec. 13, 2011 photo, Jerry Clay of Chicago, shops at the Macy's on State Street store, in Chicago. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Dec. 13, 2011 photo, Jerry Clay of Chicago, shops at the Macy's on State Street store, in Chicago. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Dec. 14, 2011 photo, a line worker assembles an engine for a Ford Focus at the Ford Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Mich. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

In this Dec. 14,2011 photo, Nathan Nettler polishes a tank JV Northwest, in Canby, Ore. JV Northwest manufactures stainless steel vessels. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 ? if it isn't knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists.

Unemployment will barely fall from the current 8.6 percent rate, though, by the time President Barack Obama runs for re-election in November, the economists say.

The three dozen private, corporate and academic economists expect the economy to grow 2.4 percent next year. In 2011, it likely grew less than 2 percent.

The year is ending on an upswing. The economy has generated at least 100,000 new jobs for five months in a row ? the longest such streak since 2006.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits has dropped to the lowest level since April 2008. The trend suggests that layoffs have all but stopped and hiring could pick up.

And the economy avoided a setback when Obama signed legislation Friday extending a Social Security payroll tax cut that was to expire at year's end. But Congress could agree only on a two-month extension.

The economists surveyed Dec. 14-20 expect the country to create 177,000 jobs a month through Election Day 2012. That would be up from an average 132,000 jobs a month so far in 2011.

Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital, says the U.S. economy remains vulnerable to an outside shock. A big threat is the risk that Europe's debt crisis will trigger a worldwide credit freeze like the one that hit Wall Street in late 2008.

A shock to the U.S. economy, he says, might not be as dangerous if it were growing at a healthier 4 percent to 5 percent annual pace. But when growth is stuck at 2 percent or 3 percent, a major global crisis could stall job creation and raise unemployment.

Beyond Europe, troubles in other areas could also upset the U.S. economy next year, the economists say. Congressional gridlock ahead of the 2012 elections and unforeseen global events, like this year's Arab Spring protests, could slow the U.S. economy. Three economists said rising nuclear tensions with Iran are a concern.

Even without an outside jolt, the economists expect barely enough job creation in 2012 to stay ahead of population growth and the return of discouraged workers into the labor force.

"I just don't know if it's going to be enough to bring the unemployment rate down," says Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.

The AP economists expect the unemployment rate to be stuck at a recession-level 8.4 percent when voters go to the polls in November. Unemployment was 8.6 percent in November.

A majority (56 percent) of the economists say the economy will get a lift from Federal Reserve policies. The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates near zero through at least mid-2013 if the economy remains weak. The central bank also has begun a campaign to try to push down mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates through next June.

Those surveyed also think the economy is strong enough to withstand higher oil prices. At near $100 a barrel, oil prices are up 10 percent from a year ago. But only two of the economists AP surveyed expect the higher prices to slow the economy "a lot."

The economists expect the European economy to shrink 0.5 percent in 2011 ? and fall into a recession. Europe is slowing as heavily indebted countries slash spending and banks exposed to government debt curtail lending.

Among the gravest fears is that a major country like Italy will default on its debt, wiping out some banks with large holdings of European government bonds. A worldwide credit crunch like the one that followed the 2008 failure of Lehman Bros could follow.

Twenty-one of the economists listed Europe as a threat to the U.S. economy next year.

"If it were a big enough downturn, given the size of Europe, it could bring the world economy down into recession," says Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics.

But overall, the economists see only an 18 percent chance that Europe's debt troubles will cause a recession in the United States.

The economists are divided over which one step European policymakers should take now to bolster the 17-country eurozone.

More than one-fourth say the European Central Bank should aggressively try to lower the borrowing costs of the Italian and Spanish governments by buying their bonds.

Nearly one-fifth say European countries should jointly issue "Eurobonds" to help finance weaker countries.

And 17 percent say European governments should slash spending.

Still, the economists expect European policymakers to find a way to prevent the crisis from escalating into a global financial panic.

If Europe can stabilize its economies, the U.S. stock markets would rally sharply, economists say, and prospects for U.S. economic growth would brighten.

"Europe appears to be the only real impediment to keeping this recovery from happening," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-27-US-AP-Economy-Survey/id-a8317f4dc5cf44359e161b097ee7bdf5

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India get past Greece on the back of Harika`s victory

Harika defeated Marina Makropoulou while Koneru HumpyKoneru Humpy, Tania Sachdev and Padmini Rout all settled for draws. On the top board for India, Grand Master Humpy in fact stood slightly worse against top Greek Yelina Dembo and on the other boards the forms of the Indians was found wanting as both... FULL ARTICLE AT Zee News

Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5664020042

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A Christian on Hitchens' Atheism and Lowe's Muslim Problem (Time.com)

David Caton owes me one. I interviewed the head of the Florida Family Association last week during his bigoted but successful crusade to get companies like Lowe's to pull ads from All-American Muslim, the Learning Channel reality show about a community of Muslim Americans. Before Caton hung up on me -- he gets angry when you question his complaint that the show presents Muslims in too positive a light and not as crazed radicals plotting to impose Islamic shari'a law from Maine to Monterey -- I corrected his pronunciation of imam, a Muslim cleric, from Eye-mam to the proper Ee-mawm. Later that day, I heard him say it properly on CNN.

But that's all he got right. I concern myself with Caton -- who also likes to hire small planes to haul banners over Orlando warning people that homosexuals visit Disney World -- only for two reasons. One is that a major corporation like Lowe's actually caved to the Evangelical's ugly Islamophobia. The other is that he got his 15 minutes of fame at about the same time that Christopher Hitchens died, on Dec. 15. Hitchens was best known as one of the "angry atheists" for his 2007 best seller God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and narrow-minded fundamentalists like Caton made his work a lot easier. So of course did extremist Muslims, as well as extremist Roman Catholics, Jews, Hindus and all the fanatics who ruin religion the way drunks ruin driving. Which is why Hitchens' attacks on faith, while brilliantly written, could also feel gratuitous. (See "Christopher Hitchens, RIP.")

So it's fitting, at least for the silent majority of Christians who aren't hatemongering zealots but who derive hope and humane inspiration from our beliefs, that Caton and Hitchens should both be in the news during the Christmas season. The holiday's anticommercialization critics are right to argue that Christians spend too much time on outdoor lights at the expense of the inner light kindled by the story of God's incarnation in a manger. I'm as guilty as anyone in that regard. But Caton and Hitchens at least give us Christians a convenient place to start. They prod us on the one hand to assess what isn't Christian -- like demonizing gays and Muslims -- and on the other hand to reaffirm why Christianity and religion itself are a positive and not always poisonous influence in the world.

The crux of the Florida Family Association's campaign is Caton's preposterous claim, as he told me, that "every Eye-mam in this country wants to put the U.S. under shari'a law." Every imam I know here in Miami rejects the idea. "Muslims are only 6 million out of 300 million in this country," one reminds me. "We rely on U.S. law to protect our rights as a minority." They're also a minority who wish Christians well at Christmas: the Koran reverently mentions Jesus and the Virgin Mary almost 60 times. (See "Do Shari'a Courts Have a Role in British Life?")

One way, then, that Christians can practice Jesus' teachings of love, tolerance and charity this yuletide is by resolving to reassure folks like Muslims that we're not like the Florida Family Association. That we're committed to the code of Christmas -- "Peace on earth to people of goodwill" -- trumpeted by the same angels we place atop the trees in our living rooms.

That's also one of the best ways to answer Hitchens as well as other angry atheists like Richard Dawkins and quite a few members of my own hypersecular profession. It's a fairly widely accepted maxim that atheist fundamentalists, as I call them, can be just as intolerant as religious fundamentalists. And the problem they share is that both take religion way too literally. Just as Christian fundamentalists insist on a literal reading of the Bible, angry atheists tend to insist that belief in God qualifies you as a raving creationist. (See "Why Christopher Hitchens Is Wrong About Billy Graham.")

Here's what they refuse to get: Yes, Christians believe that Jesus' nativity was a virgin birth and that he rose from the dead on Easter. But if you were to show most Christians incontrovertible scientific proof that those miracles didn't occur, they would shrug -- because their faith means more to them than that. Because in the end, what they have faith in is the redemptive power of the story. In Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited, an agnostic says to his Catholic friend, "You can't seriously believe it all ... I mean about Christmas and the star and the three kings and the ox and the ass."

"Oh yes, I believe that. It's a lovely idea."

"But you can't believe things simply because they're a lovely idea."

"But I do. That's how I believe."

I'm willing to bet it's how most believers believe. Before Hitchens died at 62 from esophageal cancer, he made a point of declaring he was certain no heaven awaited him. But that swipe at the faithful always misses the point. Most of us don't believe in God because we think it's a ticket to heaven. Rather, our belief in God -- our belief in the living ideal of ourselves, which is something even atheists ponder -- instills in us a faith that in the end, light always defeats darkness (which is how people get through the wars and natural disasters I cover). That does make us open to the possibility of the hereafter -- but more important, it gives us purposeful inspiration to make the here and now better.

With all due respect to the memory of Christopher Hitchens, making the here and now better would be difficult without religion. But it's also hard enough without the un-Christian antics of people like David Caton. As Christmas ought to remind us.

See TIME's 2011 Person of the Year.

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View this article on Time.com

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20111227/us_time/08599210292700

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Sign up for Breaking News E-newsletter for a chance to WIN a Samsung Galaxy Tabl...

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Merry Christmas!

To all and to all a good night!

Circ wrote:When I first joined RolePlayGateway, it was a place where positive conflict fostered creativity and friendships were formed rather than cliques. Honesty and transparency were valued, new people were incorporated into the community rather than judged based on what style of writing they preferred, and despite the youthfulness and zeal of the population there prevailed a reasonable degree of common sense.

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QuizMantra: Business Communications Quiz - 2

1. There are many ways in which organizational communication flows. In which of the following, communication flows between the units or individuals of the same hierarchical level?
[A]Lateral communication
[B]Informal communication
[C]Upward communication
[D]Downward communication

2. The term used to refer to factors that interfere with the exchange of messages
[A]Grapevine
[B]Noise
[C]Network
[D]Encoding

3. Which of the following statements are true regarding nonverbal communication?
I. Meaning of nonverbal cues is different in different cultures.
II. Meaning of nonverbal cues is same in every culture.
III. Nonverbal communication doesn?t use words to convey message.
[A]Only (I) above
[B]Only (II) above
[C]Both (I) and (III) above
[D]Both (II) and (III) above

4. Proxemics is the study of how people use the physical space around them and what this use says about them. In which of the following zones most business is transacted?
[A]Intimate distance zone
[B]Personal distance zone
[C]Public distance zone
[D]Social distance zone

5. Many people are poor listeners, because they are overly concerned with themselves. This concern, a barrier to listening is termed as
[A]Casual attitude
[B]Egocentrism
[C]Prejudice
[D]Discriminative listening

6. In the communication process the receiver of the message is also called the
[A]Decoder
[B]Encoder
[C]Recorder
[D]Receptor

7. In an interview, most questions fall along a continuum of openness. Depending on the purpose you want to achieve you can frame a question as either close ended or open ended. Identify the close-ended question from the following
[A]Tell me about yourself
[B]Did you graduate from college?
[C]Why are you absent from work so frequently?
[D]What do you know about our smoking policy?

8. In which of the following stages, in-group decision making, the group members get to know each other?
[A]The conflict stage
[B]The reinforcement stage
[C]The orientation stage
[D]The emergence stage

9. Which of the following visual aids will be helpful to depict changes in quantitative data over time and illustrate trends?
[A]Bar charts
[B]Pie charts
[C]Gantt charts
[D]Line charts

10. Reports have been classified in numerous ways, accounting reports, marketing reports, financial reports etc. Such reports are termed as
[A]Formal reports
[B]Short reports
[C]Informational reports
[D]Functional reports

11. In which of the following sections of your application letter, you ask the reader for a specific action.
[A]Closing section
[B]Middle section
[C]Opening section
[D]Formal section

12. Which of the following is the phase in the communication process that allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your message
[A]Transmittal
[B]Feedback
[C]Reception
[D]Decoding

13. An illustration is the narration of a happening or incident which amplifies, proves, or clarifies the point under consideration. In which of the following types of illustration, real life characters are usually mentioned.
[A]Parable
[B]Fable
[C]Anecdote
[D]Analogies

14. Which of the following statements are true regarding deductive structure?
I. In the deductive structure the proposal is stated first and then arguments that support the proposal are presented.
II. Deductive structure is advisable when we want to say good news.
III. In the deductive structure the arguments are presented first in a way that leads to the proposition.
[A]Only (I) above
[B]Only (II) above
[C]Only (III) above
[D]Both (I) and (II) above

15. There are many barriers to free flow of communication. Egotism, defensiveness, hostility, preoccupation, fear are some of the examples of
[A]Psychological noise
[B]Physiological noise
[C]Normal noise
[D]Grimacing

Source: http://www.quizmantra.com/2011/12/business-communications-quiz-2.html

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Iranian woman to face death by stoning or hanging

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2011 file photo, Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, speaks to the media in a news briefing, in the northwestern city of Tabriz, Iran. On Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, a local judiciary official says Ashtiani will be executed either by stoning or hanging. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2011 file photo, Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, speaks to the media in a news briefing, in the northwestern city of Tabriz, Iran. On Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, a local judiciary official says Ashtiani will be executed either by stoning or hanging. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Authorities in Iran said Sunday they are again moving ahead with plans to execute a woman sentenced to death by stoning on an adultery conviction in a case that sparked an international outcry, but are considering whether to carry out the punishment by hanging instead.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is already behind bars, serving a 10-year sentence on a separate conviction in the murder of her husband. Amid the international outrage her case generated, Iran in July 2010 suspended plans to carry out her death sentence on the adultery conviction.

On Sunday, a senior judiciary official said experts were studying whether the punishment of stoning could be changed to hanging.

"There is no haste. ... We are waiting to see whether we can carry out the execution of a person sentenced to stoning by hanging or not," said Malek Ajdar Sharifi, the head of justice department of East Azerbaijan province, where Ashtiani is jailed.

"As soon as the result (of the investigation) is obtained, we will carry out the sentence," he said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

The charge of a married woman having an illicit relationship requires a punishment of stoning, he said.

He said judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani ordered a halt to stoning in order to allow Islamic experts to investigate whether the punishment can be altered in Ashtiani's case.

Ashtiani was convicted of adultery in 2006 after the murder of her husband.

She was later convicted of being an accessory to her husband's murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-25-Iran-Stoning/id-a4b6dfc21d324aedb36aa5c27e7bb970

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Newest Walt Disney World iPhone App Makes Going to the Parks Easy

[prMac.com] Portland, Oregon - TimeStream Software announces the release of Version 1.4 of its innovative "Walt Disney World Pro" app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

With accurate Wait Times, interactive Maps, Restaurants, Menus, Park Hours, Attractions, Hotel Information, Phone Numbers, Tips and more, complete with more than 500 exclusive high-quality photos, the new "Walt Disney World Pro" iPhone app is one of the most comprehensive mobile vacation planners and in-park guides available for Walt Disney World Resort today, covering nearly every aspect of the entire resort and all four theme parks, including the Magic Kingdom(R), Epcot(R), Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

"The new 'Walt Disney World Pro' iPhone app is one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive mobile apps available for Walt Disney World Resort today." said Mike Westby of TimeStream Software. "In fact, USAToday calls it 'impressive, well-organized and particularly comprehensive and useful.' It's not only a powerful trip-planning and in-park resource, but with its over 500 fun photos, it's also a great way to have all of Walt Disney World right in the palm of your hand."

Available now from the iTunes App Store, the new Walt Disney World Pro app contains an complete array of valuable resources, including:

* Over 120 Walt Disney World Attractions, Parades & Events
* Exciting Highly Detailed Interactive Maps - Look great on the iPad!
* Accurate Wait Times with Multiple Displays
* Daily Park Hours
* Parade & Event Hours, Descriptions and Photos
* Walt Disney World Restaurants with Menu Items
* Over 500 High-Quality Photos
* Multiple Photos per Attraction
* "On-Ride" Photos
* Walt Disney World Attractions "Tips & Strategies"
* Walt Disney World Hotels & Resorts
* One-Touch "My Favorites" Tagging
* Walt Disney World Tickets

In addition, the New "Walt Disney World Pro" is the Only Leading Walt Disney World App With:

* Over 500 Large Photos (No thumbnails)
* Complete Attraction Descriptions with Multiple Photos
* Walt Disney World Hotel Information
* Multiple Photos per WDW Hotel
* "Quick Find" tabs for Attractions, Dining and Hotels
* Tips & Strategies for Each Attraction
* Parade Descriptions with Multiple Photos
* Event Descriptions with Multiple Photos
* Walt Disney World - Annual Events
* Walt Disney World - What's New
* Walt Disney World - What's Coming
* Walt Disney World - Phone Numbers
* Walt Disney World - Hotel Phone Numbers
* Walt Disney World - Tips
* Walt Disney World - Toddler Tips
* Walt Disney World - Tours
* All About Disney's FASTPASS
* How to Plan Your Vacation
* Guests with Disabilities Information
* Vacation Planning Tips
* And more...all with photos!

The new "Walt Disney World Pro" app is native to the iPhone and iPod touch, so users always have access to the content and do not have to rely on a Wi-Fi or cell signal. As a result, it works throughout all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Additional Disney Notescasts:
Part of the Walt Disney World Mobile series. Other TimeStream Software apps for Walt Disney World include:

* "Walt Disney World Notescast"
* "Walt Disney World Secrets"
* "Walt Disney World Secrets Gold!"
* "Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys"
* "Walt Disney World Main Street, U.S.A. Windows"
* "Disneyland Park"
* "Disneyland Secrets"
* "Disneyland Secrets Gold!"
* "Disney at Work: Magic Kingdom"
* "Disney at Work: Epcot"
* "Disney at Work: Disneyland"

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* 19.8 MB

Pricing And Availability:
Walt Disney World Pro 1.4 is $3.99 USD and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Travel category.

Founded in 2001, TimeStream Software produces top-ranked travel apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, as well as Android powered smartphones. Copyright (C) 2001-2011 TimeStream Software. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

###

Source: http://prmac.com/release-id-36374.htm

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USDA reverses decision to cut agriculture reports

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Agriculture Department is reinstating several reports that it had targeted for elimination two months ago in a cost-cutting move.

The department says that it will reinstate reports for industries such as catfish and trout, hops, fruits and vegetables, and bees and honey.

In October, the USDA had said that eliminating or reducing the frequency of 14 crop and livestock reports would save about $10 million.

But some farmers complained that without the reports, they would be left guessing how much to produce and when to sell.

The reports influence the price and supply of many products that people wind up consuming.

The USDA said this month that several improvements to its operations have allowed the department to find money to reinstate several key reports.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-25-USDA%20Cutbacks-Reversals/id-6586e28a2c8e473fa7ac0f85aff10767

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Video: Mass protests in Russia

Protesters massing in Moscow get a big boost from Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who urges Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resign. NBC?s Jim Maceda reports.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45785260/

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Libyans clash with former regime loyalists, 2 dead (AP)

TRIPOLI, Libya ? A resident of a city in western Libya says at least two people were killed after gunmen ransacked a home in search of a regime figure once loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.

Basem al-Tarhoni says angry residents in Tarhouna retaliated by torching the headquarters of some 100 fighters who helped topple the longtime leader from power.

Tarhouna was widely seen as a Gadhafi favorite, and its dominant tribe, also called Tarhouna, held many positions in the Libyan military. The city's residents are viewed with suspicion by former rebels.

Such clashes are a major challenge for Libya's new rulers.

The clashes took place on the same day security ministers announced a program for integrating former rebels in civil institutions. The ministers gave few details and offered no timetable for disarming fighters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_libya

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