Skype Competitor Viber Hits 175 Million Users, Up From 140 Million+ In December

Messaging startup Viber, which lets users of most smartphone platforms send free texts, calls and messages via its app, is continuing to ramp up its user-base. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona today, CEO Talmon Marco announced ?the startup now has 175 million users. Viber?has been around since early 2011, but growing rapidly in the past 12 months. In December it passed 140 million users, saying it was adding new users at a rate of 400,000 per day. Back in September, it?hit 100 million users, after hitting 70 million users in May and?50 million in February. Viber’s app supports iOS, Android,?S40, Symbian, Windows Phone and?BlackBerry. The messaging space is very fragmented globally, but for some context, Line — a messaging app popular in Japan — passed the 100 million user mark last month. Whatsapp, popular in Europe, is estimated to have around 250 million users. And Skype — the grand-daddy of the space — is thought to have around 800 million users, with some 280 million monthly users as of November last year. “Sometimes services take off because of pure luck… sometimes it’s timing. It’s the soul that you put into this. The proof is in the pudding,” said Marco. Also today, Marco said Viber has signed a partnership with Indonesian carrier Axis to offer reduced price packages for consumers in that market using Viber’s free messaging services. Carriers have an uneasy relationship with so-called OTT (over-the-top) players like Viber — accusing them of stealing the value by luring customers away from carrier services but Marco said carriers and OTT players can work together to the benefit of both, arguing that the consumer who signs up for the lower cost Viber package with Axis will end up upgrading to more expensive data services. Billing services could be another area where OTT players could partner with carriers, Marco added. Discussing Viber’s user-base, he said the app is now being used by 90 per cent of the population of Monaco — a wealthy city-state and tax haven — which he argued shows that it’s not the reduced price that lures consumers to OTT players, it’s the novelty of the services.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/gcpym7cW99g/

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@Zermin_Zele sent us this photo on Twitter of a rollover crash he says occurred...

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I represent Israel, not Netanyahu, ?Gatekeepers? director says

An Israeli Oscar-nominated filmmaker on Friday rebuffed criticism of his controversial documentary about Israel?s internal security by a senior Likud official, and said he was representing Israel, not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the prestigious awards ceremony.

Dror Moreh, director of ?The Gatekeepers,? spoke to Israel?s Channel 2 about his acclaimed film in which he interviews six former Shin Bet directors about the complexities of running Israel?s internal security agency, and the reception his film has had abroad.

Moreh dismissed claims that his criticism of Netanyahu on international television was a publicity stunt to ?campaign for an Oscar.?

?I don?t live in a dictatorship, I don?t have to bow to the prime minister,? he said. ?With my nomination [for the Oscar] I represent the state of Israel and not the prime minister.?

He told Channel 2 that in each of the 500 or so appearances he?s had on foreign television interviews, he?s had to explain how each of the former intelligence bosses arrived at the conclusion that Israel must end its occupation of the West Bank ? an issue that has garnered severe criticism from senior Likud party members.

Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya?alon, a former IDF chief of staff, accused Moreh of selectively editing the statements of the former Shin Bet chiefs in order to convey a ?Palestinian narrative.?

?What was presented there was presented in a really one-sided manner, and therefore the film is slanted,? Ya?alon said on Army Radio this week. ?[Moreh] took parts of long interviews and presented the clips that served his narrative.?

Moreh struck back at Ya?alon?s charge, noting that the film has been in theaters for months and not one of the men he interviewed stepped forward and said he was misrepresented.

?To the contrary, they all stand completely behind the message and what is said in the film,? he said. ?Ya?alon needs to deal with this.?

Responding to a New York Times report from January in which?Netanyahu?s spokesman said the prime minister hadn?t seen ?The Gatekeepers? and wasn?t planning to make time to see the film either, Moreh said such pronouncements reflected poorly on Israel?s leadership.

?If the prime minister of Israel doesn?t want to see a film in which six former Shin Bet chiefs ? people who he worked with during two terms in office ? are talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from their perspectives, [then] it says more about him than the movie,? Moreh told Channel 2.

The 2013 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, February 24.

Source: http://www.timesofisrael.com/i-represent-israel-not-netanyahu-gatekeepers-director-says/

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Howell school board remembers teacher, union leader

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Source: http://www.app.com/article/20130222/NJNEWS15/302220102/1004/NEWS01&source=rss

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Florida Friday: Woman shot by oven while trying to make waffles

By now, we?re all familiar with the ubiquitous ?Florida Man? stories. But for today?s Florida Friday, we bring you news of Florida Man?s lesser-known feminine (sorta) counterpart, Florida Woman. Faster than meth high, dumber than a flying cinder block, she fights sanity in an invisible trailer and lassos decorum with a python she won in a bug-eating contest. Florida Woman this week took the form of 18-year-old Aalaya Walker. Walker was in St. Petersburg visiting her friend JJ, and at some point, they both got hungry, so she decided to warm up the oven to make some waffles. That?s when she found out JJ keeps his bullets in the oven, because one exploded and shot her. So I guess technically, this is all Florida Man?s fault after all.

A few moments after Walker, 18, preheated the oven in the apartment, at 218 24th St. N., there was an explosion. Walker was peppered with shell casing fragments though technically not shot.

I like that they use ?peppered.? Because in Florida, shell-casing fragments are the spice of life.

Her friend, Jarvarski Sandy, 25, told police he had left his Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun in the oven drawer but had put the magazine, with four rounds in it, in the oven itself, the police report says.

The magazine exploded about 9 p.m. ET, spraying casing fragments at high speed and striking Walker. She managed to pick some of the fragments out of her leg and chest and then took a bus to the hospital, where she was treated and released.

?She took a bus to the hospital.?

Sandy ?stated that he does not have a temperature gauge on the oven so he estimates the temperature based on how far the knob is turned,? according to the police report, which was obtained by the Times. ?I observed that the inside of the oven was damaged.?

Hold on, you mean to tell me these two captains of industry had an oven with no temperature gauge?

No charges were filed. Sandy, who works at a Wal-Mart store, has no criminal record and a concealed weapons permit.

Look, I don?t want to make a gun-control argument here, but let?s just point out that the guy who works at Wal-Mart and stores his guns in the oven HAS A CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT.

And after all that, the most shocking part of this story to me is that you can cook waffles in an oven. Seriously though, how the f*ck does that work? Is there a type of waffle iron that you have to heat in the oven first?

?.Wait, wait, no, I just pieced it together. I will bet you a thousand dollars that she was trying to make FROZEN waffles in the oven because Chef Boyardon?t over here doesn?t have a toaster. Aaaand suddenly the world makes sense again. Nice work, team.

It?d make a good Naked Gun bit if she?d tried to warm up the oven, gotten shot, and then put the waffles in the toaster oven, only to discover he?d stashed a Derringer in there. In any case, apt story, because when a Florida woman gets pregnant, it?s commonly said that she ?has a gun in the oven.?

[via TampaBayOnline, MSNBC]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uproxx/filmdrunk/~3/Btlb8lBxaoI/florida-friday-florida-woman-shot-by-oven-while-trying-to-make-waffles

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Papay's all set for the third annual Gyro Nights festival - The Orcadian

The 2013 Papay Gyro Nights arts festival kicks off today, Thursday and promises a unique line-up, for this, the third outing of the event.

Around 20 artists and participants, from all over the globe, will be travelling to Papay for the eight-day event.

Artists Ivanov and Chan are at the helm of the event.

They explained: ?The main part of the festival is video art and experimental film, but we are also presenting sound art, music, storytelling and architecture. This year our festival residencies programme is also covering the fields of philosophy, anthropology and archaeology.

?It will be good entertainment, but also a great learning opportunity?

For full details, see www.papaygyronights.papawestray.org.

Source: http://www.orcadian.co.uk/2013/02/papays-all-set-for-the-third-annual-gyro-nights-festival/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=papays-all-set-for-the-third-annual-gyro-nights-festival

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Video: Biden on violence debate: "It is about guns" (cbsnews)

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1006 stellar blast, brightest ever, gives up secrets

X-ray: NASA / CXC / Rutgers ; Radio: NRAO / AUI / NSF / GBT / VLA / Dyer, Maddalena & Cornwell;

A composite image of the SN 1006 supernova remnant, which is located about 7,100 light-years from Earth.

By Charles Q. Choi
Space.com

The shock wave from the brightest stellar explosion ever seen with the naked eye in recorded history is revealing secrets about the origins of mysterious cosmic rays.

That explosion was seen all over Earth in the spring of 1006. At its peak, supernova SN 1006, which occurred some 7,100 light-years away, was about one-quarter the brightness of the moon, bright enough to cast shadows during the day and for people to read by its light at midnight.?It was seen above the southern horizon of the night sky, in the constellation Lupus, the Wolf.

Two new studies find that the shock waves from such supernovas are responsible for cosmic rays.

Cosmic rays strike Earth with giant amounts of energy dwarfing anything humans currently are capable of, and they are of growing concern as humans plan manned space missions far from the protection of Earth's atmosphere. Such radiation could, for instance, harm the brains of astronauts in deep space by accelerating the development of Alzheimer's disease. [Photos: Cosmic Rays and Supernovas]

Sladjana Nikolic, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, and fellow researchers used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to examine the remnant of SN 1006 in detail in 133 locations in the sky. They employed a technique called integral-field unit spectroscopy that allowed them to see both what kind of radiation the shock waves there emitted, as well as where they came from, in high-resolution. Their observations yielded a "data cube."

"The idea (of) working on something new and something you never know what to expect from is already exciting and interesting, even without any further results," Nikolic told Space.com. "The instrument we used has a high spatial resolution, an order-of-magnitude level higher than the instruments used in all previous studies of optical shock emission. Such a precision gives a more detailed look at the processes happening in the shock."

The scientists focused on the northwestern rim of the remnant, which had the brightest visible shock wave radiation. Their data suggest the presence there of protons that may be potential seeds for high-energy cosmic rays. These protons are called "suprathermal," as they are moving much quicker than expected simply from the temperature of the material.

The shells of gas from these outbursts, known as supernova remnants, travel at speeds of about 2.2 million mph (3.6 million km/h), producing shock waves that make interstellar gas glow.

"Supernova remnants are thought to be laboratories for producing cosmic rays," said Nikolic, lead author of the study unveiled Thursday.

In a separate study also unveiled Thursday, a different team of scientists announced conclusive proof that cosmic ray protons were created in supernova shock waves.

The scientists detailed their findings online in the journal Science.

Follow Space.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.?

Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16965293-1006-stellar-blast-brightest-ever-gives-up-secrets?lite

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'Mob Wives' star planning 500-person wedding but groom is in jail

?Mob Wives? princess Ramona Rizzo is engaged to be married, even though her betrothed is behind bars, according to The New York Post.

The VH1 star and granddaughter of Benjamin ?Lefty Guns? Ruggiero says she?ll tie the knot with Joseph ?Joe Boy? Sclafani ? a reputed Gambino family soldier currently cooling his heels at Brooklyn?s Metropolitan Detention Center.

Romantic Rizzo says her future husband faces more than a decade in prison, but she?s planning a 500-guest June wedding even though she?s not expecting the groom to be present.

?We?ve known each other since we were kids,? Rizzo told us. ?It?s not the normal love story because he?s incarcerated. But if you?re in love, you can make it work.? The union would bring together Rizzo, a Bonanno family descendant, with an alleged Gambino man, but Rizzo says, ?My family?s just happy he?s Italian.??

Rizzo says they?ll ?pass around the phone? at the wedding for Sclafani to speak to her and friends. She says her ?Mob Wives? co-stars Karen Gravano and Renee Graziano will be there, and her four kids have been supportive of the relationship.

Click here for more on the wedding from The New York Post.

Source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/entertainment/~3/fdnsejuKESI/

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San Diego ex-mayor used charity funds to cover gambling debts

SAN DIEGO ? She married a fabulously wealthy man decades her elder, and became the first female mayor of San Diego. But when Maureen O'Connor left public life, she spent countless hours seated in front of video-poker machines.

Over a nine-year period, she wagered an estimated $1 billion, including millions from a charity set up by her late husband, who founded Jack in the Box.

That was the portrait that emerged in court Thursday as the frail former mayor tearfully acknowledged she skimmed more than $2 million from a charity founded by her late husband, Robert O. Peterson.

O'Connor, 66, admitted in a plea deal that she had a gambling addiction and is nearly destitute. Her lawyer, prominent defense attorney Eugene Iredale, suggested that a brain tumor may have impaired her reasoning; he gave reporters copies of her brain scan from a 2011 surgery.

O'Connor's rapidly declining medical condition "renders it highly improbable ? if not impossible ? that she could be brought to trial," according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors.

"This is a sad day for the city of San Diego," said Assistant U.S. Atty. Phillip Halpern. "Maureen O'Connor was born and raised in this town. She rose from humble origins.... She dedicated much of her life, personal and professional, to improving this city."

The $1-billion gambling binge stretched from 2000 to 2009, according to court documents. In 2008 and 2009, when the fortune she had inherited was not enough, she began taking from the R.P. Foundation to cover her losses.

Despite being ahead more than $1 billion at one point, O'Connor "suffered even larger gambling losses," according to prosecutors. Her net loss, Iredale said, was about $13 million.

She was considered such a high-roller that Las Vegas casinos would send a private jet to pick her up in San Diego. Records show that O'Connor won $100,000 at the Barona casino in San Diego County, while at roughly the same time she needed to cash a $100,000 check at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Those who knew the former political doyenne said she had become a recluse, inscrutable even to those she counted as friends.

"I considered myself one of her closest friends, but I would call her and she wouldn't return my call," said lawyer Louis Wolfsheimer. "I didn't want anything from her, just to know how she was. But it looked like she was becoming reclusive."

In a bargain with prosecutors, O'Connor agreed to repay $2,088,000 to the R.P. Foundation started by Peterson, which supported charities such as City of Hope, San Diego Hospice, and the Alzheimer's Assn., and was driven into insolvency in 2009 by O'Connor's misappropriation of funds, prosecutors said.

"I never meant to hurt the city," an emotional O'Connor told reporters gathered at a restaurant close to the federal courthouse. She promised to repay the foundation but declined to answer questions.

Prosecutors agreed to defer prosecution for two years. If O'Connor violates no further laws and makes restitution, the charge of making illegal financial transactions may be dismissed. Under the agreement, O'Connor acknowledged her guilt but was allowed to plead not guilty.

If convicted, O'Connor could have faced a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000.

The daughter of a boxer who made his living as a cabbie and sometime bookie, O'Connor, a Democrat, rocketed to political prominence in 1971 when she was elected to the City Council at age 25. A onetime champion swimmer, O'Connor was working as a physical education teacher at a Catholic school and was pushed into politics when a group of students she took to a City Council meeting was treated rudely.

She met Peterson, 30 years her senior, when the Republican known for supporting liberal candidates and liberal causes offered to contribute to her council campaign. Political reform was in the air, and once elected, O'Connor helped persuade the council to adopt contribution limits, a reform later emulated by the state.

A close ally of then-Mayor Pete Wilson, O'Connor served two terms on the council and later was appointed to the Port Commission.

After marrying Peterson, O'Connor became a political anomaly in San Diego: although wealthy, she cultivated a base of political support in lower-income neighborhoods south of Interstate 8, the traditional dividing line of San Diego politics. When she traveled in minority neighborhoods, adults would come from their homes to wave at her; to all, she was known merely as Maureen.

As mayor, O'Connor organized a Russian arts festival and prowled the streets with the police chief, talking to prostitutes as she and Chief Bob Burgreen looked for information about a string of killings targeting streetwalkers. She went incognito as a homeless person to see how the homeless were treated in San Diego; she worked on a city garbage truck to experience the day-to-day life of blue-collar city workers.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/latimes/news/local/~3/RXSAVZQcPYE/story01.htm

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What Mitt Romney Can Teach Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio didn't turn water into whine

Photo Courtesy of PBS NewsHour/PBS

What's worse for your political ambitions, being?labeled?a?wimp?by?Newsweek?or a savior by Time? Marco Rubio, the freshman senator from Florida, has been stuck with the savior label and it has several disadvantages. It makes allies suspicious, irritates your rivals, and perhaps worst of all: When you're a savior, people expect you to perform miracles.?

After Rubio delivered the?Republican?response to President Obama?s State of the Union Address,?commentators said he had simply mouthed standard GOP talking points. How was he going to expand the Republican electorate by doing that??A particularly damning charge was that he?sounded too much like Mitt Romney. As Jonathan Martin pointed out, Rubio's speech?thick with references to his humble origins and common touch?was designed to send the signal that he was the polar opposite of Mitt Romney.

The story of Rubio, his ambitions, and how they play out is about more than just the fortunes of one charismatic Republican. Rubio is one of the architects of the Republican future. Like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Rep. Paul Ryan, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, his ambitions are linked to his party in a way that is different than figures with greater power like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. Every day Rubio is taking soundings about what the GOP will allow and what the larger electorate will allow. The risks he takes and the reactions they provoke from his fellow-travelers will tell us something about where the party is headed.

Still, the criticism of Rubio?s State of the Union response asks too much too soon. The GOP is not ready to announce a sweeping new direction, (it may never be ready) and Rubio isn't in a position to launch a thorough?rebranding?right now anyway. Even if he was, 10 minutes after the State of the Union would be the wrong time to do it. Still, if Rubio is going to add new energy to the GOP, he'll have to find a venue where he can make a much more compelling case for the party's signature principle: the promise and glory of smaller government.?

For many conservatives, the criticism of Rubio?s message on Tuesday night? is meaningless. The media apply labels in part to then remove them. So build up Rubio and then take him down.?It?s meaningless for another reason too: They don?t think the party needs much tinkering. So when Rubio reads from the traditional GOP script it sounds good to them.

Rubio and his team care about this parlor game though. The senator tweeted out a response to the Time cover: ?There is only one savior, and it's not me. #Jesus.? Rubio cares because he buys into the notion that the Republican Party needs to change and he wants to be the voice to lead that change. But a freshman senator can't just determine what the new direction of the party should be. Smart substance is helpful to the GOP?that is the type of differentiation they need right now, especially when the president's State of the Union message is the equivalent of an only child's Christmas list. But Rubio and his party aren?t there yet. The precise amplitude of that new change is still being triangulated?by both Rubio and other Republicans like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Whoever the transformational figure is, he or she is going to have to build a bridge between the old and the new. That requires at least two tasks: challenging orthodoxy and giving special voice to it. If you can sing the song of American exceptionalism and free enterprise in a way that pleases your party base, then you can push the envelope on immigration without fear of being called a RINO or consorting with Karl Rove. Rubio's task Tuesday night was to sing the Republican anthem. It was a time for team spirit. The party was going up against Obama. The script was pre-written. Plus, Rubio is already clashing with conservatives over his immigration reform plans. To the extent he has other provocative ideas (and he may not), it doesn't make sense to create more tumult while you're trying to make rocky progress on immigration.?

But here's where Rubio has work to do. His address wasn't that thrilling on the signature question at issue: the size of government. It was, like Mitt Romney's entire campaign, a list of assertions rather than a compelling case about how the middle class benefits from smaller government. There are also policy critiques about Rubio's vision of smaller government (critics say he was wrong about private investment, the?cause of the housing crisis, and other issues), but let's leave aside policy for the moment. There is one thing that Republicans of any incarnation?past or present are going to put at the center of their platform: Smaller is better. Whoever can make the best case for that essential principle wins the day.?

Rubio's case wasn't that nearly savior-worthy. It affirmed the bounties of the free market, but he spent most of the time explaining why Obama's big government was bad. An amazing story about the wonders that would flow from smaller government would be more appealing and persuasive. Bromides about unleashing sectors and removing regulations are tired and threadbare. For conservatives, progress flows naturally from smaller government; you don?t have to do a lot of explaining at the Lincoln Day dinners, but Rubio and his party have to do more than convince conservatives. There are people who might distrust?government?but also rely on it, and there are those who worry that when the government shrinks they won't share in the new arrangement. Arguments about how big government is bad don't speak to those fears.

There's also perhaps a lesson Rubio can take from something Mitt Romney did well. For much of the campaign, Romney portrayed Obama as a guy who cared and was trying to do the right thing but who was just in over his head. The Romney campaign didn't want to spook those voters who had backed Obama in 2008 but were having second thoughts. No reason to make them feel bad or defensive about their initial decision. But there was another benefit to this approach; it kept the focus on a clash of policies. It suggested you wanted to help the middle class as much as the bleeding heart liberal, you just had a different way of doing it. It also undermined the idea that the GOP attack was driven by bitterness, a siege mentality, or pique. Romney was never able to convey this shared concern for the middle class, but a senator who lives in the same working-class neighborhood he grew up in probably could.

Finally, there is Rubio's aqua lunge, as Politico's Martin put it. While it was natural for some performance conservatives to get into a righteous wind about the Twitter traffic making sport of Rubio?s awkward pause to take a drink of water, Rubio was smarter than that.?He didn't turn water into whine, complaining that people were making too much of his emergency gulp. He made sport of the episode, which allowed him to show humility, good spirit, and his light-on-his-feet instincts. It's a small thing, but those were never words applied to Mitt Romney. That?s a start.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=a4e857f760b79c3586513c76ef081035

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7 Must-Have Legal Resources for Freelancers and Independent ...

This is a guest post by Leon Harris.

Working as a freelancer sounds pretty great in the beginning: you get to set your own hours, choose clients, and virtually be the boss. And while this is definitely awesome, there are some potential drawbacks, as well, like hustling for work, juggling multiple clients, and having to pay for your own health insurance. Like any type of work, there are both challenges and rewards.

But when it comes to the legal aspects of running your business you may not know where to begin. Do you need legal services? What laws pertain specifically to independent contractors? And what kinds of legal issues could you face in the course of your work?

These are all valid questions and there are plenty of resources to help you find the answers (and services) you seek. Here are a few that every freelancer should check out.

1. SBA

The Small Business Administration is a great place to begin your search for legal advice because the site provides you with information on laws pertaining to small businesses, which technically includes the army of self-employed citizens and LLCs operating out of a home or shared office. If you?re seeking facts about licenses, permits, registering a business name, estimated taxes, W-9 forms, legal documents (contracts for work, NDAs, etc.), and more, this is like one-stop shopping that will help you to develop a base of knowledge and point you in the right direction.

2. Docracy

Acquiring legal documents can be a pricy affair if you have to have them drawn up by a lawyer. Luckily, Docracy can provide you with a number of useful document templates for you line of work ? for free. Whether you need a basic contract for work or a non-disclosure agreement of some sort (if you hire subcontractors, for example) this site can help you get them, gratis.

3. Copyright.gov

Many freelancers work for a slew of clients, but they also spend time working on their own projects (blogging, web design, etc.). If you need any information on how to copyright your work, there is no better place to get the 4-1-1 than from the source, Copyright.gov.

4. LawGuru

Because of the way billing works, a simple legal question could end up costing you beaucoup bucks if you call a lawyer. So try posting your query on LawGuru, a site run by lawyers, to see what kind of response you can get for free. If you need more information, they also offer paid services.

5. LawDepot

LawDepot has a number of contracts that you can create by filling in your own information. You?ll provide the relevant details of your contract and it will produce the legal document.

6. CPA

Although a certified public accountant is not an actual legal expert, that doesn?t mean your accountant or tax prep specialist can?t help you when it comes to figuring out what you can legally deduct on your taxes, for example. Seek out a CPA that is well versed in tax laws pertaining to freelancers and you?ll have a much better chance of saving money and avoiding an audit. If you?re doing taxes on your own, you can also call or email the IRS for information.

7. Contract Lawyer

Depending on your type of business, you may need specific legal documents in order to protect yourself. In this case you should consider spending some money up front and hire a contract lawyer to ensure that you?ve got your legal ducks in a row. It could save you a lot down the road.

What legal resources do you have for your freelance or contract business?

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Source: http://kikolani.com/must-have-legal-resources-for-freelancers-and-independent-contractors.html

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Sonos Raises the Soundbar Bar

Those who like to cut the cords but still get the best sounding audio with every note and chord will soon have a new mid-priced option, as Sonos has officially unveiled its long rumored soundbar. The Sonos Playbar, which will be available in March for around $700, is designed to provide all of a listener's audio needs in a single sleek package that can even be wall-mounted beneath a TV.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2886b4c0/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C772890Bhtml/story01.htm

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Woman falls out of SUV, hit by truck, car on Bishop Ford, police say

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE February 12, 2013 5:35AM

Updated: February 12, 2013 5:36AM

A woman died early Tuesday after she somehow fell out of a sport utility vehicle traveling on the Bishop Ford Freeway and was hit by a semi truck and a car in south suburban Dolton, authorities said.

Jennifer Mitchell, 27, was struck sometime before 1 a.m. near 154th Street by at least two vehicles, authorities said. Mitchell, of the 9200 block of South Paxton in Chicago, was dead at the scene, authorities said.

After Mitchell fell, the white SUV she rode in continued to travel north on the Bishop Ford, Illinois State Police said. Authorities broadcasted a description of the SUV, state police said, and a trooper spotted the vehicle and followed it until the SUV crashed after exiting near 127th Street.

The 28-year-old man behind the wheel of the SUV was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for minor injuries, state police said. After being treated at the hospital, the man was taken into custody and was being questioned by investigators Tuesday morning, state police said.

Authorities said they have not determined how or why the woman ended up outside of the SUV.

The southbound lanes of the Bishop Ford were closed as investigators collected details, state police said, but all lanes are expected to be open by 5:15 a.m.

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/18175905-418/woman-falls-out-of-suv-hit-by-truck-car-on-bishop-ford-police-say.html

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Foursquare adds tips and photos to shared mobile links for non-members

In a continuing effort to be more of a discovery and recommendation engine, Foursquare has updated the mobile version of its place pages with more information for non-members. In the past, whenever users of the location-based app shared info about a place via Twitter, Facebook, email or text, friends without the app would be led to a relatively barebones link with details like the address, phone number and not much else. Now that mobile-friendly page is spruced up with all-important tips and photos, which makes that sharing function infinitely more useful for would-be shoppers and diners who aren't into the whole Foursquare thing just yet. Of course, there's that not-so-subtle "Download the App" hint at the top right to nudge them that direction, but that's entirely unnecessary if all your friends want are suggestions on which kind of nigiri they should get at that hot new sushi bar.

Filed under: Internet, Mobile

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Source: Foursquare Blog

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/12/foursquare-places-shared-nonmembers/

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Report: Brother says Pope's doctor told him not to take transatlantic trips for health reasons

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-brother-says-popes-doctor-told-him-not-114705615.html

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Red Frog Blog ? Blog Archive ? Real estate investing

5 tricks to create it big with real estate investing

Property investing is one of the most attractive methods for making good money (that?s if you do it proper). Furthermore, real-estate investing is also a lot of fun. A lot of people practice property investing as their core occupation and, in reality, create a lot of money like that.

Real estate investing is truly an and, like any art, it will take time for you to master the art of real estate investing. The key, of course, would be to buy at a lowered price and market at higher price and produce a profit despite spending all the costs active in the two (buy/sell) orders. Usually, people are of the opinion that property investing is sensible only once the rates are on the rise. However, real estate investing for profits is possible just about any moment (and when I just mentioned, real estate investing is an art). Here is a listing of techniques real estate can be made by that investing lucrative for you:

1) Search for public auctions, divorce settlements and foreclosures (bank/FHA/VA ): Since rapid settlement is the preference here (and not price), you could get yourself a house at a price that?s lower compared to the prevailing market price. After that you can make arrangements to offer it at the market price over a brief period of time. Nevertheless, be sure that the home is worth the price you are paying.

2) Searching for old listings: The old entries that are still unsold may possibly provide you with good real estate investing opportunities. Just acquire a vintage paper and contact the suppliers. They may have given up hope of trying to sell that property at all and with a bit of negotiation you will get the property for a real good deal.

3) buyers may be scared off by The hidden treasure: A really old ( and dirty ) looking house. But this might be your chance for real-estate investing that may produce great profits. So, discover such houses and check if paying a little on them will make them shine. You can create a big gain in a short while and get these at really low rates.

4) Form teams with attorneys: There are certainly a number of property sales is handled by attorneys who for suppliers or in special situations (like the death of the property owner). They may sometimes be looking to dispose off the house quickly and thus at a low price. Function as first someone to grab such real estate investing opportunities and enjoy the profits.

5) Keep tab on the magazine announcements: Property provide offs as a result of deaths, divorce agreements, other reason and immediate cash needs are generally reported in local papers. Record such real-estate investing ways. home page

Source: http://www.getyourfrogon.com/blog/?p=1194

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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lead U.S. science team for dark energy mission

Feb. 12, 2013 ? The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected three NASA-nominated science teams to participate in their planned Euclid mission, including one team led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

NASA is a partner in the Euclid mission, a space telescope designed to probe the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter. Euclid is currently scheduled to launch in 2020.

JPL will provide 16 advanced infrared detectors and four spare detectors for one of two instruments planned for the mission. In addition, JPL will contribute to science planning and data analysis with the help of its 43-member science team, the largest of the three U.S. teams. This team, led by JPL scientist Jason Rhodes, is composed of 29 scientists recently nominated by NASA, and 14 U.S. scientists who are already part of Euclid.

The other two U.S. science teams are led by Ranga-Ram Chary of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; and Alexander Kashlinsky of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; with three and seven members, respectively.

Rhodes also was appointed by NASA to be a member of ESA's principal 12-member Euclid Science Team and the U.S. representative for the Euclid Consortium's governing body. The Euclid Consortium is an international body of 1,000 members, including the U.S. science team members, and will build the instruments and analyze the science data jointly.

"Understanding the hidden contents of the universe and the nature of the dark energy will require the collaboration of astronomers and engineers around the world," said Rhodes.

Euclid will observe up to two billion galaxies occupying more than one-third of the sky with the goal of better understanding the contents of our universe. Everyday matter that we see around us, for example in tables and chairs, people and even stars, makes up only a few percent of everything in our cosmos. If you could fill a bucket with the mass and energy contents of our universe, this everyday matter would fill only a small fraction. A larger amount, about 24 percent, would consist of dark matter, an invisible substance that does not reflect or emit any light, but exerts a gravitational tug on other matter.

The majority of our universal bucket, about 73 percent, is thought to be filled with dark energy, something even more mysterious than dark matter. Whereas dark matter pulls through its gravity, dark energy is thought to be a repulsive force pushing matter apart. Scientists think dark energy may be responsible for stretching our universe apart at ever-increasing speeds, an observation that earned the Nobel Prize in 2011.

Euclid scientists will use two methods to make the most precise measurements yet of our "dark" universe. The first method, called weak lensing, involves analyzing the shapes of billions of galaxies across more than half the age of the universe. When dark matter lies in front of galaxies, it can't be seen, but its gravity distorts the light from the galaxies behind it. More dark matter will lead to slightly larger distortions. By measuring these minute distortions, scientists can understand the amount and distribution of the dark matter between these galaxies and us.

Changes in these dark matter structures over time are governed by interplay between the attractive force of gravity and the repulsive dark energy. Thus, studying galaxy shapes reveals information about both dark matter and dark energy.

The second method, called galaxy clustering or baryon acoustic oscillations, will serve as an independent measurement of dark energy. Early in the universe, galaxies were imprinted with a standard distance between them. This distance -- referred to as a standard ruler -- expands as the universe itself expands. By making precise measurements of the distances between tens of millions of galaxies, the scientists will be able to chart this expansion and learn more about the dark energy driving it. Observations of how the galaxies are clustered will also further probe dark matter.

The JPL-led U.S. science team will employ both of these methods and work together with the rest of the Euclid scientists to shine light on the darkest riddles of our cosmos. Of the 43 team members, six are based at JPL. They are: Olivier Dor?, Peter Eisenhardt, Alina Kiessling, Leonidas Moustakas, Jason Rhodes and Daniel Stern. Two additional team members, Peter Capak and Harry Teplitz, are based at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.

Mike Seiffert is the U.S. project scientist for Euclid at JPL, and Ulf Israelsson is the U.S. project manager at JPL.

Euclid is a European Space Agency mission with science instruments and data analysis provided by the Euclid consortium with important participation from NASA. NASA's Euclid Project Office is based at JPL. JPL will contribute the infrared flight detectors for one of Euclid's two science instruments. NASA Goddard will assist with infrared detector characterization and will perform detailed testing on flight detectors prior to delivery. Three U.S. science teams, led by JPL, Goddard and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech, will contribute to science planning and data analysis. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

More information is online at http://www.nasa.gov/euclid and http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=102 .

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/P0WP4nKYl3s/130212140107.htm

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Pope Benedict surprises world, steps down citing frailty

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict surprised the world on Monday by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with the demands of his ministry, becoming the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages and leaving his aides "incredulous".

The 85-year-old German-born Pope, hailed as a hero by conservative Catholics and viewed with suspicion by liberals, said he had noticed that his strength had deteriorated over recent months.

A Vatican spokesman said the Pope had not resigned because of "difficulties in the papacy" and the decision had been a surprise, indicating that even his closest aides were unaware that he was about to quit. The Pope does not fear schism in the Church after his resignation, the spokesman said.

The Pope's leadership of 1.2 billion Catholics has been beset by a child sexual abuse crisis that tarnished the Church, one address in which he upset Muslims and a scandal over the leaking of his private papers by his personal butler.

In a statement, the pope said in order to govern "...both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter."

Before he was elected Pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was known by such critical epithets as "God's rottweiler" because of his stern stand on theological issues.

But after several years into his new job he showed that he not only did not bite but barely even barked.

In recent months, the Pope has looked increasingly frail in public sometimes being helped to walk by those around him.

A Vatican spokesman said the pontiff would step down from 2 p.m. ET on February 28, leaving the office vacant until a successor was chosen to Benedict who succeeded John Paul, one of history's most popular pontiffs.

MEEK DEMEANOUR, STEELY INTELLECT

A spokesman for the German government said he was "moved" by the news while Israel's chief rabbi praised Benedict's inter-faith outreach and wished him good health.

Elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005 when he was 78 -- 20 years older than John Paul was when he was elected -- he ruled over a slower-paced, more cerebral and less impulsive Vatican.

But while conservatives cheered him for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity, his critics accused him of turning back the clock on reforms by nearly half a century and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.

Under the German's meek demeanor lay a steely intellect ready to dissect theological works for their dogmatic purity and debate fiercely against dissenters.

After appearing uncomfortable in the limelight at the start, he began feeling at home with his new job and showed that he intended to be Pope in his way.

Despite great reverence for his charismatic, globe-trotting predecessor -- whom he put on the fast track to sainthood and whom he beatified in 2011 -- aides said he was determined not to change his quiet manner to imitate John Paul's style.

A quiet, professorial type who relaxed by playing the piano, he managed to show the world the gentle side of the man who was the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer for nearly a quarter of a century.

The first German pope for some 1,000 years and the second non-Italian in a row, he traveled regularly, making about four foreign trips a year, but never managed to draw the oceanic crowds of his predecessor.

STRING OF SCANDALS

The child abuse scandals hounded most of his papacy. He ordered an official inquiry into abuse in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops.

Scandal from a source much closer to home hit in 2012 when the pontiff's butler, responsible for dressing him and bringing him meals, was found to be the source of leaked documents alleging corruption in the Vatican's business dealings, causing an international furor.

He confronted his own country's past when he visited the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Calling himself "a son of Germany", he prayed and asked why God was silent when 1.5 million victims, most of them Jews, died there during World War Two.

Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth during World War Two when membership was compulsory. He was never a member of the Nazi party and his family opposed Adolf Hitler's regime.

But his trip to Germany also prompted the first major crisis of his pontificate. In a university lecture he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor as saying Islam had only brought evil to the world and that it was spread by the sword.

After protests that included attacks on churches in the Middle East and the killing of a nun in Somalia, the Pope later said he regretted any misunderstanding the speech caused.

In a move that was widely seen as conciliatory, in late 2006 he made a historic trip to predominantly Muslim Turkey and prayed in Istanbul's Blue Mosque with a Turkish Mufti.

But months later, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami met the Pope and said wounds between Christians and Muslims were still "very deep" as a result of the Regensburg speech.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)

(Writing by Peter Millership,; editing by Janet McBride)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-resigns-saying-no-longer-strength-fulfill-ministry-112923467.html

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Video Saturday ? Robert McKee's 10 Problems to Avoid with Dialogue

I have Robert McKee?s ?Story.?? Actually, to be honest, I used to have it.? I loaned it out and it was never returned.? That would be my second copy.?

Robert McKee, is a creative writing instructor who is widely known for his?influential ?Story Seminar? and his book ?Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting? which is sometimes thought of as the ?screenwriters bible.?? It?s a great if THICK and analytical tome.? As described in Wikipedia (the font of all Internet knowledge?when you?re in a hurry), it describes the book thusly: ?Rather than simply handling ?mechanical? aspects of fiction technique such as plot or dialogue taken individually, McKee examines the narrative structure of a work and what makes the story compelling or not. This works equally as well as an analysis of other genres or forms of narrative, whether as a screenplay, or short story, or novel, or even non-fiction as long as they attempt to ?tell a story?.?

For those of you who may be skeptical, McKee?s former students include 36 Academy Award winners, 164 Emmy Award winners, 19 WGA (Writers Guild of America) Award winners and 16 DGA (Directors Guild of America) Award winners.

About the author

Day Al-Mohamed currently serves as a Senior Policy Advisor with the U.S. Depatment of Labor. Prior to that she spent many years as a lobbyist and policy expert both domestically and internationally. After so many much time spent writing for work-related issues, she thought it would be rewarding (and fun) to try writing fiction. She is currently one of the hosts of Unleaded - Fuel for Writers and general "blogs-body."

Related posts:

1. My Latest Epiphany ? Dialogue and Character
2. Top 5 dialogue tips?
3. Video Saturday ? Advice to Writers: #Editing #writing

Source: http://unleadedwriting.com/2013/02/09/video-saturday-robert-mckees-10-problems-to-avoid-with-dialogue/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=video-saturday-robert-mckees-10-problems-to-avoid-with-dialogue

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Senator vows to delay Obama's nominees over Libya

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A leading Republican senator said Sunday he would hold up Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominees to head the Pentagon and the CIA until the White House provided more answers about the Sept. 11 attack against a U.S. installation in Benghazi, Libya.

The White House took aim at South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a persistent critic of Obama's response to the terrorist assault, by urging quick approval of the president's second-term national security team and scolding any lawmakers trying to "play politics" with critical nominations.

Graham accused the White House of "stonewalling" requests to release more information about the attack that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. "We're going to get to the bottom of Benghazi," he told CBS' "Face the Nation."

A Democratic colleague branded Graham's threat to stall the nominations of former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to be defense secretary and John Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, to be CIA director as "unprecedented and unwarranted." Senators should have the chance to vote on the fate of those nominees, said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

The White House did not address Graham's demand for more information, but did note that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified Thursday before Congress about the chaotic day of the Sept. 11 attack.

Republicans have accused the Obama administration of an election-year cover-up of the attack and at the hearing several suggested the commander in chief was disengaged as Americans died.

"We know nothing about what the president did on the night of September 11th during a time of national crisis, and the American people need to know what their commander in chief did, if anything, during this eight-hour attack," Graham said on CBS.

Graham contended that a six-person rescue team was delayed from leaving the Benghazi airport because of problems "with the militias releasing them and a lot of bureaucratic snafus," and he said he wants to know whether Obama called any Libyan officials to expedite their mission.

"I don't think we should allow Brennan to go forward for the CIA directorship, Hagel to be confirmed to secretary of defense until the White House gives us an accounting," Graham said, adding, "What did he do that night? That's not unfair. The families need to know, the American people need to know."

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said, "We believe the Senate should act swiftly to confirm John Brennan and Sen. Hagel. These are critical national security positions and individual members shouldn't play politics with their nominations."

Reed said that "to dwell on a tragic incident and use that to block people is not appropriate. To try to find information, to ask legitimate questions, as Senator Graham is doing is completely appropriate. But then to turn around and say, 'I'm going to disrupt, essentially, the nomination of two key members of the President's Cabinet,' I don't think that's appropriate, I don't think it's warranted, I think it is an overreaction that is not going to serve the best interest going forward of the national security of the United States."

Graham would have none of it.

"In a constitutional democracy, we need to know what our commander in chief was doing at a time of great crisis, and this White House has been stonewalling the Congress, and I'm going to do everything I can to get to the bottom of this so we'll learn from our mistakes and hold this president accountable for what I think is tremendous disengagement at a time of national security crisis," he said.

At the Senate hearing, Panetta testified that he and Dempsey were meeting with Obama when they first learned of the Libya assault. He said the president told them to deploy forces as quickly as possible. Graham asked whether Panetta spoke again to Obama after that first meeting. Panetta said no, but that the White House was in touch with military officials and aware of what was happening. At one point, Graham asked Panetta if he knew what time Obama went to sleep that night. The Pentagon chief said he did not.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senator-vows-delay-obamas-nominees-over-libya-160555227--politics.html

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5 reported dead in small plane crash in Belgium

CHARLEROI, Belgium (AP) ? A small private plane crashed south of Brussels on Saturday, killing five members of a family including three small children, according to Belgian news reports.

The plane had a problem on takeoff, immediately tried to return to the airport in Charleroi, but crashed beside the runway, the website of the newspaper Le Soir reported.

According to the news website sudinfo.be, the victims were a 68-year-old grandfather, his 39-year-old daughter-in-law, and his three grandchildren, aged 7, 6 and 3. The victims were from Brussels, and the children's father was on his way to the airport, news reports said.

The accident is reported to have taken place around 10 a.m. local time, 0900GMT. The airport has been closed until further notice, its website says. Photographs showed the plane to be partially disintegrated.

Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo expressed his condolences on Twitter, as did Didier Reynders, the country's foreign minister.

David Gering, a spokesman for Brussels South Airport, told the broadcaster RTBF that an investigation into the cause of the crash was under way. Charleroi is about 35 miles (60 kms) south of Brussels.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-reported-dead-small-plane-crash-belgium-115233881.html

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North Korea video: Welcome to theater of the bizzare

North Korea posted a strange video about an attack on New York City, accompanied by the tune 'We are the World.' Why you shouldn't worry.

By David Clark Scott,?Staff writer / February 5, 2013

North Korea posted this propaganda video of an attack on the US on its YouTube channel.

A propaganda video released by North Korea showing New York City being bombed is pure fantasy ? and just another weird window on the Hermit Kingdom's propaganda machine.

Skip to next paragraph David Clark Scott

Online Director

David Clark Scott leads a small team at CSMonitor.com that?s part Skunkworks, part tech-training, part journalism.

Recent posts

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First, North Korea doesn't have a space shuttle (or the capability to launch one), as the video portrays in a boy's dream.

Second, North Korean doesn't yet have the capability to reach the US with one of their Unha rockets, let alone New York City.

As The Christian Science Monitor reported recently: "Concerns about their missile tests are overblown, according to RAND analyst Markus Schiller in a lengthy 2012 report on North Korea?s missile programs.

?Every launch further depletes the limited North Korean arsenals, and North Korea gains no real experience from these events. Since the purpose of the launches seems to be political, the United States and other nations should downplay or even ignore them,? he writes.

But this is classic North Korean propaganda, a sort of geopolitical WWE. All bluff and bluster. This latest video, like many before it, ignores copyrights and rips off from others.

Exhibit A of both weird and stolen: The theme music to this attack is "We are the World" by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. Really.

Exhibit B: The scenes of the New York attack are literally pulled directly from the video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3." according to the blogger Kotaku. Apparently, Activision agrees. They complained and YouTube took down the North Korean video.

Remember, this video is a North Korean boy's dream sequence, and it may be an apt metaphor for North Korea's ambition to be taken seriously around the world. That isn't to say that the leadership's nuclear ambitions aren't real and don't present a threat, especially to its neighbors.

"North Korea is likely to carry out multiple nuclear tests at two places or more simultaneously" to maximize scientific gains from the event, said South Korea?s outgoing President Lee Myung-bak in an interview with the Choson Ilbo newspaper today, according to Agence France-Presse. And the UN voted last month to increase the sanctions on North Korea.

But don't confuse North Korea's silly propaganda with reality.

If you peruse the North Korea YouTube channel, you will find Disney characters and an homage to North Korea's fantasy world. You will find North Korean soldiers in a kazoo orchestra, a brand new (and completely empty) bowling alley, and 40 minutes of synchronized swimming, according to Business Insider.

You can't make this stuff up. Oh, wait, yes you can if you're in North Korea.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/3_uu04MtflA/North-Korea-video-Welcome-to-theater-of-the-bizzare

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Airbus studies dropping Li-Ion batteries for A350: sources

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus is considering dropping Lithium-Ion batteries and switching back to traditional units on its new A350 aircraft as safety investigators probe battery incidents on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, several people familiar with the matter said.

The move comes amid a wider rethink in the aerospace industry on whether the powerful but delicate backup energy systems are technically "mature," they said.

An Airbus spokesman said the company would study and evaluate the outcome of the ongoing U.S. battery investigation. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said.

Airbus said last week it had a plan B and time to respond to any rule changes.

France's Saft, which makes both the new and old generation of batteries for Airbus, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/airbus-studies-dropping-li-ion-batteries-a350-sources-125343267--finance.html

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