Newt Gingrich's Moon Base by 2020: Can It Be Done? (SPACE.com)

GOP presidential primary candidate Newt Gingrich has promised a manned moon base by 2020 if he is elected, yet such a plan will face some serious budgetary and practical hurdles, experts say.

Gingrich is in Florida competing for that state's nomination for the Republican candidacy against Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Ambitious plans for America's space program are likely to generate enthusiasm among those in Florida's space industry, hard-hit by the retirement of the space shuttle last year.

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be American," Gingrich promised during a speech in the city of Cocoa, on Florida's Space Coast, Jan. 25.

Yet experts question whether a plan to send people to live on the moon can so quickly be achieved. [50 Years of Presidential Space Visions]

For one thing, the United States does not currently posses a vehicle capable of flying to the moon.

"When we are not expecting a U.S. crewed launch to the [International Space Station] until 2016-2017 and are just getting started on a lunar-class launch vehicle, establishing a lunar outpost by 2020 is a fantasy," space-policy expert John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University, told SPACE.com in an email.

Furthermore, experts question whether the country has sufficient motivation for such a trip.

"Without either economic justification or national security concerns to sustain such grand activities, I do not envision a confluence of support from the various political, social, and economic interests in the United States for a significant expenditure of national effort, human capital, and treasure to undertake a human mission to return to the moon," Roger Launius, space history senior curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., wrote in an email. "I would like to be proven wrong because I would dearly love to see humans on the moon again in my lifetime, but I must question whether or not a sufficiently compelling reason for humans to return to the moon will emerge in the near term."

Gingrich didn't elaborate on how much his vision for the future would cost. But a 2009 independent analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a foreign policy think tank, estimated that establishing a manned international lunar base would cost about $35 billion, with an additional price tag of $7.35 billion per year to keep the base operating.

These tallies do not include the costs of designing and building the heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule required to make the journey to the moon.

"All supplies (O2, H2, food, etc.) would be supplied from Earth and recycled to the maximum extent possible," according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies report. "If useable water ice is found near the base, or oxygen-rich minerals can be utilized, operating costs will decrease significantly."

Yet Gingrich also said that, if elected, he would slim down NASA's bureaucracy, reduce the agency's budget and devote 10 percent of its funds to prizes aimed at spurring commercial investment in space exploration.

Staff writer Denise Chow (@denisechow) contributed to this story.?You can follow assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120130/sc_space/newtgingrichsmoonbaseby2020canitbedone

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Winter cold snap kills 36 in eastern Europe (AP)

BELGRADE, Serbia ? Heavy snow and a severe cold snap have killed at least 36 people across eastern Europe and many areas were under emergency measures Monday as schools closed down, roads became impassible and power supplies were cut off.

As temperatures dropped to around minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit), authorities opened hundreds of emergency shelters across the region and urged people to be careful and stay indoors. Police went searching for homeless people to make sure they didn't freeze to death.

Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said 18 people died of hypothermia and nearly 500 people sought medical help for frostbites and hypothermia in just three days last week. Twelve of the dead were homeless people whose bodies were discovered on the streets.

Temperatures in parts of Ukraine plunged to minus 16 C (3 F) during the day and minus 23 C (minus 10 F) during the night. Authorities opened 1,500 shelters to provide food and heat and shut down schools and nurseries.

At least 10 people froze to death in Poland as the cold reached minus 26 C (minus 15 F) on Monday.

Malgorzata Wozniak, a spokeswoman for Poland's Interior Ministry, told The Associated Press that elderly people and the homeless were among the dead and police were checking unheated empty buildings to corral the homeless into shelters.

Until now, Poland had been having a mild winter with little snow and temperatures just below freezing.

In central Serbia, three people died and two more were missing and 14 municipalities were operating under emergency decrees. Efforts to clear roads of snow were hampered by strong winds and dozens of towns faced power outages.

Police said one woman froze to death in a snowstorm in a central Serbian village, while two elderly men were found dead, one in the snow outside his home. Further south, emergency crews are searching for two men in their 70s who are feared dead.

In Romania, local media reported four people had died due to the frigid weather. Hungry dogs and puppies near the Romanian capital of Bucharest got a helping hand after a dozen prison inmates shoveled snow Monday to unblock paths to a stray dog shelter housing 300 dogs.

The strays had been frozen in after snowstorms and icy weather swept Romania. Bucharest is home to some 50,000 stray dogs.

In neighboring Bulgaria, a 57-year-old man froze to death in a northwestern village and emergency decrees were declared in 25 of the country's 28 districts. In the capital of Sofia, authorities handed out hot tea and placed homeless people in emergency shelters.

Strong winds also closed down Bulgaria's main Black Sea port of Varna.

In the Czech capital of Prague, city authorities worked to set up tents for an estimated 3,000 homeless people. Freezing temperatures also damaged train tracks, slowing railway traffic.

_____

Associated Press writers Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, Karel Janicek in Prague, Czech Republic, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Maria Danilova in Kiev and Alison Mutler in Bucharest contributed.

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

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Belkin ScreenCast

More and more laptops equipped with Intel's second-generation Core processors offer a nifty perk for presentation givers and multimedia buffs: Wireless Display or WiDi, which beams the laptop's display and audio to a living-room HDTV or conference-room monitor with no cords or cables required. What is required, however, is a WiDi adapter or receiver connected to the TV, and Belkin has a fine example in the ScreenCast TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display ($129.99 list). It's one of the most effective and easiest-to-use accessories we've seen, and as such, it's our Editors' Choice for WiDi adapters.

An alternative to the arguably better-known (or at least more promoted by Best Buy and, mea culpa, more often mentioned by PCMag) Netgear Push2TV HD (4 stars, $99.99 list), the ScreenCast is a similar black plastic box about the size of a trade paperback. It plugs into a TV or monitor using an HDMI cable (supplied) or three-pronged RCA cable (not supplied), and also into an AC outlet using a provided adapter.

Setup takes under a minute if you dawdle; the Belkin device even shaves a few seconds off the Netgear Push2TV setup time by shipping with its HDMI and power cables already connected. Once you've plugged the ScreenCast in, tune your TV to the proper video input (such as HDMI 2 or HDMI 3); after a few seconds, a "Ready for connection" screen will tell you to launch the WiDi software on your laptop. The latter will scan for adapters and find the ScreenCast. Double-click on it, and you'll be prompted for one-time entry of a four-digit security code that appears on the TV screen. Then you can rename the adapter to something descriptive such as "Living Room" or "Conference Room C."

Pressing the Windows key and P, as with a projector or other external monitor, lets you choose whether to duplicate the notebook's display on the TV or extend the desktop across both so you can, say, drag a Windows Media Player or WinDVD movie to the big screen while checking e-mail on the laptop.

The only thing that might be a little daunting for nontechnical users is keeping up with Intel's updates. Our test unit automatically noticed and installed a firmware update, and Belkin suggests making sure you've got the latest WiFi and graphics drivers and WiDi software to enjoy the latest capabilities.

Those capabilities include HDCP support for copy-protected as well as unprotected video content, meaning you can stream a DVD or Blu-ray title across the room at full 1080p resolution with 5.1 surround sound. PC Labs' Blu-ray of Ghostbusters, popped into a Toshiba Satellite P745-S4320 notebook, looked and sounded great on a 75-inch Sharp HDTV, as did 1080p video clips from YouTube and the Labs' collection. There were no latency problems or stutters at distances ranging from 5 to 15 feet, apart from a couple of buffering moments with the YouTube clips that were almost certainly ordinary cases of WiFi rather than WiDi latency.

Indeed, whereas our reviewer noticed some slight mouse and keyboard lag with the Push2TV, I couldn't make that complaint about the ScreenCast: Rather than "typing on the laptop's keyboard and watching the letters appear a millisecond (or two) later," text on the TV kept up with my utmost typing speed. Credit probably goes to driver updates since that June 2011 review (or your being a slower typist?Ed.), but it's another way the Belkin proved trouble-free. Actually, the only improvement the ScreenCast could use is a small price cut: At $129.99, its list price is $30 higher than its Netgear rival's, though we easily found online resellers offering it for around $100.

Just as the number of laptops with WiDi 2.1 is growing, it seems likely that more and more HDTVs will soon have WiDi receivers built in; Intel and LG announced last month that the latter's Cinema 3D Smart TVs will be so equipped in 2012. Even then, the Belkin ScreenCast earns an Editors' Choice nod as a sensational way to stream content to or just enjoy working on a big screen from the comfort of your couch.

More Media Hub & Receiver reviews:
??? Belkin ScreenCast
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??? Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player (NSZ-GT1)
??? Roku LT
??? Grace Digital Victoria Nostalgic Internet Radio
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/UNRJqBFJqWY/0,2817,2399461,00.asp

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Dolphin, seal deaths plague New England

BOSTON?? Whether they got lost, sick or swam astray chasing food, 77 dolphins that beached on Cape Cod in recent weeks have died, the second time in three months New England has seen a mass of marine mammal deaths.

Now, scientists are trying to figure out why.

They're also researching whether there's any connection to a die-off this fall of 162 harbor seals, whose carcasses were found between northern Massachusetts and Maine.

Scientists later determined the seal deaths were linked to an influenza virus similar to one found in birds but never before seen in seals. In a letter earlier this month, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Rep. William Keating asked Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to investigate "any common cause" between the dolphin and seal deaths.

"That is a big question," said Mendy Garron, regional marine mammal stranding coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of NOAA. The initial indications are that there is no link, she said, but it's too early for a definitive answer. Necropsies are under way to determine the causes of death, and that can take a few weeks.

The strandings stretch along 25-mile stretch of Cape Cod from Wellfleet, approaching the tip of the cape, south around the curve of Cape Cod Bay to Dennis.

The first was reported in Wellfleet on Jan. 12. Five more reports followed the next day. On Jan. 14, 30 more animals got stuck on Wellfeet and reports remained steady, then trailed off in the past week.

As of Saturday, 63 of the dolphins have been found dead and 11 died later, included at least one that was euthanized. Another 24 were released into the ocean, though three of those have died, said A.J. Cady of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The group is leading the rescue efforts.

The total strandings are unprecedented, and two and half times the annual average of 37 common dolphin strandings over the past 12 years, Cady said.

Wellfleet harbormaster Michael Flanagan said he's seen several pods of more than 100 animals in his 14 years on the job. "But you never really see that many strandings," he said.

The affected dolphins appear to be linked by little besides their species. Their conditions range from healthy to sick, and they aren't all a particular age or sex.

"Nobody really knows for sure yet whether it's one particular thing," Cady said.

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There are several possibilities. For instance, the dolphins are social animals, and some could be following a sick fellow animal to shore, researchers theorize. Changes in water temperature are a possible factor leading them into the bay, but it's unclear how.

Some dolphins could be chasing prey into Cape Cod Bay, and essentially getting lost in the geographic features of Cape Cod's inner coastline. For instance, dolphins headed north along the inner Cape's coastline looking for open ocean can get trapped in Wellfleet, which juts out like a tiny hook. Then, the area's quickly receding tides can beach them in local marshes.

Rescuers try to guide lost animals to open water, either by keeping a boat between them and the coastline, or repelling them from land with unpleasant sounds, Cady said.

Once stranded, a dolphin's own weight can damage its organs. Hypothermia and sunburn are also a danger, and Flanagan said seagulls looking for a meal turn savage and pick at the mammal's eyes and organs.

After rescuers reach a dolphin, often through major muck, they quickly assess whether it's strong enough to be moved. If so, workers slip a stretcher underneath and carry the 8-foot-long, 300-pound animals into rescue trailers for a trip to the Cape's outer coastline for release. On the way, scientists perform tests to better assess the health of the animals.

Just a few years ago, it was commonly believed to be too risky to move the stranded animals, Cady said. But, he said, tracking devices placed on some rescued dolphins have shown them moving far from where they were released.

The effort and expense is considerable ? the dolphin strandings have cost between $50,000 and $60,000, Cady said. But it's well worth the cost on several levels, he added. Their health tells us about the health of the ocean, which affects everyone, Cady said. It's also simply the humane things to do, he said.

People don't have to be prodded to assist dolphins. Flanagan said he gets "a million" volunteers every time an animal is stranded.

"People can relate to these mammals, because they go and see them at Sea World. ... They can see how intelligent they are," he said. "They're such gentle animals, you can't help but feel sorry for them when they're stranded and they're out of their element and there's nothing you can really do for them."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46175315/ns/us_news-environment/

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Senegal opposition leads cortege to police station (AP)

DAKAR, Senegal ? The leaders of Senegal's opposition led a long cortege of cars to the capital's central police commissariat to protest the detention of a human rights activist.

Alioune Tine, the organizer of the anti-government protest Friday which turned violent after the country's top legal body validated President Abdoulaye Wade's bid for a third term, was detained Saturday.

The constitution was revised after the 85-year-old Wade took office in 2000 to limit the number of terms to two. Wade argues the law is not retroactive and so cannot be applied to him since he took office before it took effect.

Late on Sunday, the constitutional council was meeting to consider the appeals submitted by opposition leaders who are calling into question the legality of Wade's candidacy. They are also considering an appeal submitted by music icon Youssou Ndour, whose application was disqualified because he allegedly did not turn in enough legal signatures on his petition to run for president.

The procession of cars descended along the capital's coastal highway, and surrounded the police station, located in a narrow side street in the downtown Plateau district near the presidential palace. On Saturday, the 52-year-old Ndour had tried to enter the building where Tine was being held, and a scuffle ensued when the police refused to let him in.

"We need to go get Alioune Tine," said El Hadj Diouf, an opposition leader who is a member of parliament. "If we don't react, those in power will prevent us from being at the forefront of our revolutionary battle."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_af/af_senegal_election

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Police search News International offices, arrest four (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Police said on Saturday they were searching the London offices of Rupert Murdoch's News International and had arrested four people, including a policeman, in an investigation into suspected payments to police officers for information.

The probe is linked to a continuing investigation into phone hacking at the now-closed News of the World tabloid, published by News International, the British arm of Murdoch's News Corp media empire.

Saturday's operation was the result of information passed to police by News Corp's Management and Standards Committee, set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, London's Metropolitan Police said.

One of those being questioned on suspicion of corruption was a 29-year-old police officer serving with the Met Police's Territorial Policing Command, who was arrested at the central London police station where he worked.

The others, all arrested at their homes, were a 48-year-old man from north London and two men from Essex, east of the capital, aged 48 and 56.

Searches at News International's offices in Wapping, east London, and at the arrested men's homes, were expected to continue until the afternoon, police said.

The operation takes to 12 the number of arrests in a probe into allegations journalists paid police in return for information, known as Operation Elveden, one of three criminal investigations into the news-gathering practices of the News of the World.

Last week, News International settled a string of legal claims after it admitted that people working for the tabloid had hacked in to the private phones of celebrities and others to generate stories.

The phone hacking scandal drew attention to the level of political influence held by editors and executives at News International, and other newspapers in Britain.

It embarrassed British politicians for their close ties with newspaper executives and also the police, who repeatedly failed to investigate allegations of illegal phone hacking.

News International had no immediate comment on Saturday's police operation, a spokeswoman for the media group said.

(Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_newscorp_arrests

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Graphene Membranes Superpermeable to Water

Water is formed from hydrogen and oxygen. It is not inert, it decomposes and reforms constantly. So, no, water molecules are not at least 4.5 billion years old.

The hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up water, or at least most of them, may well be much older than that. Particularly the hydrogen, which may be over 13 billion years old.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/E21m-Z9ngQ4/graphene-membranes-superpermeable-to-water

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'Tartan Butler' helps visitors trace their roots

Courtesy of Rocco Forte Hotels

The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland, stands behind Andy Fraser, its recently anointed "Tartan Butler" who helps guests learn about their family history.

By Tanya Mohn, msnbc.com contributor

America may be a diverse nation, but one thing most of us share is that our ancestors came from other countries.?And many of us share a?curiosity to learn more about those long-lost relatives.

The Rocco Forte?s Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland,?recently announced its newly anointed "Tartan Butler," a concierge named Andy Fraser who helps guests learn about their family history during visits to Scotland.

"It?s something I quite enjoy,? said Fraser, a Scotsman and longtime fan of Scottish and clan history, who has been informally assisting guests for some time on how to track down their Scottish ancestry. ?Before I knew it, it really took off,? said Fraser.?Both the position and title were recently formalized by the hotel.?

Many Americans have Scottish surnames, and when they come to Scotland, wish to?research their clan?s history, Fraser said. ?We?ll sit down and have coffee. I plan itineraries to where their clan originally was from, where they ended up; I help with accommodations,? he said. ?I just give whatever information I can.?

Sometimes it?s as simple as walking guests across the street from the hotel to the ScotlandsPeople Centre, where digitized copies of birth and death records as well as ?coats of arms are archived ? going back almost 500 years. Fraser also arranges drivers and tour guides, organizes customized tours, and helps guests identify family tartans and arrange to have kilts made with the traditional clan designs.

Fraser?s interest in genealogy began when he researched his own Scottish ancestors, which?he traced back to 11^th century France. Such research can unearth some surprising results, he said. Two of Scotland?s more popular surnames ? the MacDonalds and the Mackenzies ??originate from ?clans who were at war with each other over land,? he said.

Americans who share those surnames often want to visit Morar, in the Scottish Highlands, where a famous massacre took place in the 17th century between the two clans, a picturesque region of remote villages, where public transportation is limited. ?It?s such a long drive there,? Fraser said, ?but it is spectacularly beautiful to walk through the munros,? or mountains.

Prices vary depending on guests? needs. Once, he chartered a helicopter, Fraser said. And some guests are particularly fond of including whiskey distilleries in their touring plans. ?That?s the one thing I always get from Americans,? he said.

For travelers interested in tracing their own roots,?Paul Nauta, public affairs manager for FamilySearch.org, a free, nonprofit, volunteer-driven?website sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offered some?tips to get started:?

• Begin with your own family. ?The number one thing to do is to contact your oldest living relatives,? Nauta said, and also talk to other relatives. "Write down everything they know about family history. And gather family documents, like birth certificates, marriage records.? As you start asking around, it isn?t unusual to find relatives who have informally been family historians, he said. ?They often have the proverbial shoebox with a lot of information and old photos in it.?
• Contact local groups. FamilySearch Centers, FamilySearch?s network of 4,500 facilities that offer public access to genealogical records, are located in more than 80 countries, Nauta said. And many communities have history and genealogy organizations and local libraries that are excellent sources for research. Many of them ?have people who love to help you,? Nauta said, people who have done their own searches and ?love to pay it forward.?
• Use online resources.?The Internet has made family history search so much simpler and faster, Nauta said. On Facebook, for example, people can easily search others with the same surname globally. Other sites, like FamilySearch.org, offer more than 500 free courses and online ask-a-question forums to connect with a community of people worldwide who can help you with your personal research for free, Nauta said. Other sites he recommends include: RootsWeb, ancestry.com, archives.com, findmypast.com and myheritage.com. The site deadfred.com helps to identify old photos, such as the date and region of origin.
• Contact archives abroad before you travel. If you plan to visit archives in another country, get in touch in advance of your trip. In many countries, the record custodians or archivists do not like drop-ins and require appointments, Nauta said. ?Elsewhere in the world, there is not necessarily open access and it is not so public-service oriented.?
• First and foremost, have fun. ?Stay organized, be patient and realize it's going to take time,? Nauta said. ?Realize that less than 20 percent?of the U.S.'s genealogical records are searchable online today, and less than 5 percent?of the world's,? but millions are being added online weekly, he said.

Cheryl Hargrove, president of HTC? Partners, a consultancy specializing in cultural heritage tourism, said obtaining legal documents is important, as they ?can verify original spelling of names and locations, which may have been altered over the years,? and that it?is also a good idea to take copies when traveling to ancestral homelands for validation and further research.

Hargrove also suggests checking family Bibles, scrapbooks, wills and photographs for?information, and?recommends the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

?You can also hire a professional genealogist to help with your search. Ancestry.com can connect you, or you can also contact www.globalgenealogists.com for accredited professional researchers,? she said.

But perhaps Nauta?s best advice is this: ?Beware,? he said. ?You?ll get hooked.? His own family research began in the early 2000s when some preliminary digging began a journey that ended in a small Bari region town in southeast Italy called Cagnano Varano, where his grandfather was born and raised before coming to America in the early 20^th century. ?Like millions of people, I had an innate yearning to know my roots,? he said.

A younger-generation Italian relative had seen Nauta?s genealogy posted?on FamilySearch.org and contacted him. ?He had my last name and told me, ?We're related.? He put me in touch with the town archivist who contacted me and said, ?You and I are second cousins, and you?ve got first cousins still living in town, who would love to meet you,?? Nauta recounted. ?It was such a great emotional experience for all of us.??

Soon afterward, Nauta spoke on the phone with a number of relatives and later traveled to Italy. ?It was like we had never not known each other,? said Nauta, who has since been?back many times and has taken several family members. ?Our family has become so much bigger and closer; it?s given us a legacy to live up to,? he said.

More on Itineraries

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Source: http://itineraries.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10244949-tartan-bulter-helps-visitors-trace-their-roots

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Chevron profit falls as refineries, output suffer (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Chevron Corp reported lower quarterly earnings on Friday, missing Wall Street forecasts, as rising spending on oil and gas projects and losses at its U.S. refinery business offset gains from higher crude oil prices.

Its shares were down 2.2 percent at $104.21 by midday, nearly $7 short of the record high they hit early this month.

Oil and gas production at the No. 2 U.S. oil company declined to 2.64 million barrels per day (BPD) from 2.79 million BPD a year-before, while average benchmark oil prices rose about 25 percent over the same period.

The company said the major factors behind the 2011 output shortfall were the effect of higher prices on production sharing contracts, lower-than-expected performance at large new offshore projects in the Gulf of Mexico and Angola, and a third-party pipeline rupture and decreased demand in Thailand.

Chevron had said earlier this month its refinery business would about break even for the quarter, but U.S. losses pulled the entire segment into the red, and the company's profits from oil and gas sales also appeared weaker than expected.

"It was a miss on some non-controllable factors," said Pavel Molchanov, analyst with Raymond James in Houston, citing the timings of sales and global pricing differences as the likely reason oil and gas profits fell about $500 million below his forecast.

Still, Chevron added 1.67 billion barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves last year, 171 percent of its 2011 output, which was a very strong performance, Molchanov said.

The company is embroiled in some huge legal battles in South America, including one in Brazil where a prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against it and some of its local managers.

Chevron also faces an $11 billion lawsuit in Brazil related to an offshore spill in November. Chief Executive John Watson said the company's people in Brazil had responded in "textbook fashion" even if it did not put its "best foot forward" in its communications.

The San Ramon, California-based company also remains locked in a legal war against plaintiffs in Ecuador, who won an $18 billion judgment against it in a court there.

Watson cited the many defenses Chevron can still pursue, and said an arbitration tribunal on Wednesday strengthened its hand by converting previous interim measures to an "interim award" obligating Ecuador, under a treaty with the United States, to prevent enforcement worldwide pending a full review of the case.

"That makes it have more standing in the international community," Watson said. "This award is helpful to us in preventing enforcement outside of Ecuador."

In Nigeria, where a natural gas well just off the coast is burning after an accident this month, Watson said it expected to start a relief well within the next week or so.

PROFIT DIP

Fourth-quarter profit slipped to $5.1 billion, or $2.58 per share, from $5.3 billion, or $2.64 per share, a year earlier. That fell short of the $2.84 per share analysts had expected, according to the average on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, which was already 17 cents down in response to Chevron's warning.

Among other U.S. oil companies, the quarterly profits from ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp earlier this week topped Wall Street estimates, though Hess Corp fell short.

Chevron is spending piles of money on production growth that will not kick in until 2014. Its 2012 capital budget of $32.7 billion compares with $29.1 billion in 2011 - $3 billion above than previous 2011 guidance due to increased spending related to its Atlas shale gas acquisition and in response to higher oil prices.

In the fourth quarter, Chevron's spending on U.S. oil and gas projects nearly doubled from a year ago to $2 billion, while outside the U.S. it grew by more than a quarter to $5.1 billion.

Watson said 2013 and 2014 would also be high capital spending years as it completes work on Australian liquefied natural gas projects and new Gulf of Mexico developments.

Its $9 billion Angola LNG project is due to start up later this year, and Watson said the company was working to find new buyers for gas that had originally been intended for the now-glutted North American market.

Partly offsetting that new output would be the first major maintenance work at its plant in Tengiz in Kazakhstan since its startup in 2008, which would last around six weeks in the third quarter of this year.

(Reporting by Matt Daily in New York and Braden Reddall in San Francisco, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/bs_nm/us_chevron

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Bridge Bank Launches Renewable Energy Project Finance Group

Bridge Capital Holdings announced the launch of its Energy and Infrastructure Group (EIG), which will offer specialized financing for clients with proven sustainable alternative energy projects located in the United States. EIG will operate from the bank?s Silicon Valley headquarters.

?Bridge Bank was founded to serve all sectors of Silicon Valley and the broader technology business community, which is continuously being reshaped by new innovation,? said Daniel P. Myers, president and CEO of Bridge Bank. ?The creation of our new Energy and Infrastructure Group is reinforcement of the bank?s commitment to serving the changing needs of businesses and support the nation?s goal of greater energy independence with economically sound alternative energy ventures.?

Many clean-tech supply chain and development companies, in addition to contractors and other small- to mid-sized firms that are focused on renewable energy projects, remain largely underserved by financial institutions and other debt providers. Bridge Bank expects to be a provider in specialized debt financing required by developers and solar companies, and to be a valuable advisor to the firms seeking entry into this emerging market.

The new Energy and Infrastructure Group will be led by Scott Reising, senior vice president at Bridge Bank. Reising, who joined the bank in August 2011, has an extensive background in energy project design, development, implementation, and finance, and has been involved in over $20 billion of structured finance transactions in various sectors, including solar, wind, bio-fuels and hydro-power. Reising has also been involved in large infrastructure projects for local governments, and most recently worked for several major European banks in New York City.

?Well-established developers working on large scale projects have many choices for financing, but for developers who are working on smaller projects in the one to five megawatt range, there are very few options,? said Reising. ?We are providing the kind of advisory services and structuring expertise that is typically found only at the larger multi-national banks. For clients, especially those new to this market, Bridge Bank offers a unique and extraordinary value.? EIG will lend to companies with projects in the installation phase, and provide liquidity options for government incentives in addition to permanent phase financing.

Over the past five years, Bridge Bank has built a presence in the alternative energy sector. Nearly $85 million in loans and credit commitments has been extended by the bank to firms engaging in renewable energy and solar projects. Dan Pistone, senior vice president and manager of the bank?s Technology Banking Group added, ?We believe that the segment EIG will serve represents a $5 billion market, with annual growth projected at about 20%. If the federal government intensifies its effort to reach energy independence, those numbers are likely to increase substantially.?

Other Recent Headlines...

Source: http://www.monitordaily.com/bridge-bank-launches-renewable-energy-project-finance-group/

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Maryland man pleads guilty in U.S. military bomb plot (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A Baltimore man angry about American policy toward Muslims pleaded guilty on Thursday as part of a plot to bomb a U.S. military recruitment center in Maryland and faces a 25-year prison sentence, the Justice Department said.

It said Antonio Martinez, also known as Muhammad Hussain, pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, a car bomb, in what had been an FBI sting operation.

Martinez admitted in court that the bomb was intended to kill military service members who worked in the building in Catonsville, Maryland. But agents investigating him made sure the bomb was inert and there never was danger to the public.

Martinez was arrested in December of 2010. As part of his plea agreement, Martinez admitted that he talked about attacking military targets with an FBI confidential source, according to court documents.

In recorded conversations with the source and an FBI undercover agent, Martinez spoke about his anger toward America, his belief that Muslims were being unjustly killed by the U.S. military and his desire to send a message that soldiers would be killed unless the United States stopped its "war" against Islam.

Martinez had recently converted to Islam. Several people he initially attempted to recruit to join in the operation all declined and one of them attempted to persuade him to drop the idea, the Justice Department said.

It said Martinez then met with the source's "Afghani brother," who was really an undercover FBI agent. Before and during the investigation, Martinez stated his militant beliefs on his Facebook page, according to court documents.

The arrest of Martinez was one of a series of FBI sting operations involving terrorism plots. Around the same time, an Oregon man was arrested on charges he tried to detonate a car bomb near a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland.

Martinez, 22, faces sentencing on April 8 in federal court in Baltimore. Both prosecutors and the defense have agreed as part of the deal that a 25-year prison sentence would be appropriate.

(Reporting By James Vicini; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/us_nm/us_usa_security_maryland

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Tim Cook on Android, big screens, LTE, and not counting Microsoft out of mobile

While Apple CEO Tim Cook had a lot to say during the Apple Q1 2012 conference call, when asked about 4G LTE, bigger screen, and whether or not the mobile market had become a two-horse race between Android and iOS, Cook played his cards close to his chest.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/cAVEjEKuicU/story01.htm

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Compare a handful of general liability insurance before you buy just ...

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Source: http://www.fcsafekids.org/2012/01/24/compare-a-handful-of-general-liability-insurance-before-you-buy-just-one/

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Chip Solar House is powered by the sun and controlled through Xbox Kinect (Digital Trends)

There is a lot that goes into making a house green, and we don?t mean just slapping a coat of paint on it. Building an energy efficient home is hard enough, let alone maintaining a home that doesn?t harm the environment by wasting resources and over consuming energy. Little things like switching off the lights and adjusting the thermostat go a long way in conserving energy, but it isn?t always easy, and it can be difficult fiddling with all of that on a day to day basis. Enter the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arch) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their easy-to-use CHIP Solar House, a cutting-edge solar home you control with a wave of your hands and the help of Xbox Kinect.

CHIP, which stands for Compact, Hyper-Insulated Prototype Solar House utilizes an Xbox Kinect as its means of control. Tasks like turning off the lights or turning down the thermostat can now be accessed through gesture controls. Wave your arm or flick your wrist, it doesn?t matter. CHIP was designed to make maintaining an energy neutral home as streamlined as possible. The house even features a 3-D camera that can go a step further by tracking your movements and auto-switching off a light when you leave a room. Who said being green wasn?t easy?

Of course besides being unique on the inside, the CHIP Solar House also carries with it a distinct look with its insulation stretched around the exterior of the house (resembling the material found on the inside of a padded cell). The house measures 750-square feet and took over two years, more than 100 students, and $1 million to build?however according to SCI-Arch and Caltech, the house could be replicated for as little as $300,000. So while being green might be easy, it isn?t exactly cheap.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120124/tc_digitaltrends/chipsolarhouseispoweredbythesunandcontrolledthroughxboxkinect

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Shannen Doherty: "My Heart Goes Out" to Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian's brief marriage to Kris Humphries has been the topic of much public ridicule, but former Beverly Hills, 90210 actress Shannen Doherty completely empathizes with the Keeping Up the Kardashians star. Doherty, 40, has experienced two short-lived marriages, and she praises Kardashian for having the strength to extricate herself from a failing relationship.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/shannen-doherty-empathizes-kim-kardashian/1-a-421222?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ashannen-doherty-empathizes-kim-kardashian-421222

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Vivica Genaux offers rare vocal 'Pyrotechnics' (AP)

NEW YORK ? Sometimes Vivica Genaux loves to sing with the precision and breakneck speed of an athlete ? in "techno rhythm."

Other times, the tunes are achingly slow, but still bursting with passion.

The common thread of most of the songs she performs is that they come from obscure archives, silent for centuries.

The four-time Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano is now taking some of the forgotten works by Vivaldi and others on a U.S. tour, in a program called "Pyrotechnics," after one of her albums.

"It represents fireworks, both the flashy, really fast-moving ones, and also the more delicate ones that glitter and fall like golden fronds," says Genaux, who is featured on Vivaldi's "Ercole sul Termodonte" ("Hercules in Thermodon"), which is up for a Grammy next month for best opera recording.

The tour, with Fabio Biondi leading his Europa Galante ensemble, starts Wednesday at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles a includes Las Vegas and Denver.

On Feb. 2 in New York, Genaux appears at Carnegie's Zankel Hall with the ensemble based in Parma, Italy ? a few hours from the home near Venice she shares with her husband.

It's far from Genaux's native Fairbanks, Alaska, where she learned to drive her family's husky-drawn dog sled, and to change a car tire in 40 degrees below zero.

She's equally at ease in a Venetian palazzo, trying on a designer stage gown.

"In Italy, I learned how to be a girl," she jokes.

In Spain, where she sang a "pants" role ? a woman singing a male part ? "I learned how to be a boy."

And this fall in France, she'll tackle the ultimate "girl" part ? Bizet's seductive 19th century "Carmen."

The 42-year-old singer is not as well known as her amazingly agile voice and musicianship deserve, perhaps because she has focused on the "Early Music" of the 1700s, with its special, smaller audience ? for pieces often so fiendishly difficult that very few can pull them off technically.

But there's much more to it.

Works like Vivaldi's "Ercole" are "very modern, really," she says in an interview at the Manhattan home of her publicist. "The songs are about relationships between people, about personal contact, and that's the same now as it was 300 years ago, as it was 1,200 years ago!"

Vivaldi wrote "The Four Seasons," now heard in everything from ringtones to car ads. But many of his other compositions might have remained voiceless if it weren't for Genaux. With the help of musicologists, she's resurrected them along with forgotten pieces by Handel, Rossini and German-born composer Johann Adolph Hasse.

Leafing through his long-lost operas, "I got goose bumps just touching these manuscripts that were there since the 1700s," she says. "That's about 95 percent of what I do ? pieces that haven't been performed since then."

It took years of soul-searching and experimenting for Genaux to figure out where her voice truly belonged.

At the University of Rochester in upstate New York, she majored in genetics, simply because she'd been surrounded by science as a child; her father was a biochemistry professor and her mother a teacher.

Music was a hobby.

Genaux played Eliza Doolittle in a high school production of "My Fair Lady," listened to ABBA's rock music and enjoyed Fairbanks' "sing-it-yourself `Messiah' where you sang the whole bloody `Messiah' ? not just two pages of the `Hallelujah'!"

Halfway through college, she switched to singing, transferring to the University of Indiana's arts school in Bloomington as a soprano, eventually becoming more comfortable as a mezzo.

In 2002 came her breakthrough ? the Grammy-nominated album "Arias for Farinelli," the infamous "castrato" who was the rock star of his time, improvising on melodies as one does in jazz.

Farinelli's voice was a force of nature. And so is Genaux's, critics says.

"Onstage, she's a powerhouse," says David Shengold, a music critic who writes for New York-based Opera News and London's Opera, the world's leading magazines on the subject. "Her florid work ? fast coloratura with clean runs, trills and wide, accurate skips ? makes for bold, astonishing vocalism."

There's one quality that Genaux lacks, though: the elitism many people associate with classical music.

"Come, wear jeans, rip holes in the jeans, put on the worst pair of tennis shoes," she says. "But come and see ... come experience something new!"

____

Online:

http://vivicagenaux.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_en_mu/us_music_vivica_genaux

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Obama honors Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins

President Barak Obama honors the 2010-2011Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hockey team, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barak Obama honors the 2010-2011Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hockey team, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barak Obama holds up a Boston Bruins hockey jersey during a ceremony where he honored the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hockey team, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barak Obama honors the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hockey team, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama honors the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hockey team, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Team owner Jeremy Jacobs is at left.(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama honors the 2010-2011Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hockey team, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama saluted the NHL's Boston Bruins for their 2011 Stanley Cup championship on Monday, citing the city's run of professional team championships in recent years.

The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup title in 39 years last June after a bruising seven-game final series against the Vancouver Canucks.

It was the latest in a string of Boston sports championships, including the Celtics in 2008, the Red Sox in 2007 and the New England Patriots in 2005. The Patriots play in next month's Super Bowl.

"The Bruins, the Sox, the Celtics, now the Patriots. Enough already, Boston," Obama said during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. "What's going on, huh?"

Obama also jokingly invoked some New England slang in welcoming the Bruins, along with the Stanley Cup, to the White House.

"I know you are all wicked happy to be here," he said.

The president said there was no better image of the Bruins' dominance than when Zdeno Chara, the team's 6-foot-9 defenseman, hoisted the Stanley Cup above his head in Vancouver in celebration last spring.

"Which is, I'm sure, the highest that the Stanley Cup had ever been," he said.

Obama drew laughter from the crowd when he cited the scrappy play of Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who emerged as a star with five goals in the last five games of the finals against Vancouver.

"'The 'Little Ball of Hate' shrugged off the rookie jitters," said Obama, adding "What's up with that nickname, man?"

There was a notable no-show. Goalie Tim Thomas, who was the playoff MVP last year, chose not to attend the event, a team spokesman said.

Obama praised the teamwork of the six-time champions.

"Together, these players proved that teamwork is everything," he said. "It can overcome injuries, it can overcome long odds."

Obama praised the team for its work off the ice as well, noting the Boston Bruins Foundation has donated more than $7 million to charities in New England.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-23-Obama-Bruins/id-a4c1676755b140b8ac26b8a25168bd54

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Iraq risks slipping into authoritarianism: rights group (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? Iraq risks sliding back towards authoritarian rule with Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's security forces cracking down on protests, harassing opponents and torturing detainees, a U.S.-based human rights monitor said on Sunday.

In its annual world report, New York-based Human Rights Watch said Iraqi authorities had suppressed freedom of expression and assembly, beaten and detained anti-government protesters and run a secret prison where suspects are tortured.

The report was issued a month after the last U.S. troops left Iraq nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and allowed the country's Shi'ite majority to rise to power in an elected government.

"Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism as its security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, and torture detainees," Sarah Leah Whitson from Human Rights Watch said in a statement released with the annual report.

"Despite U.S. government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy, the reality is that it left behind a budding police state."

A government spokesman did not have any immediate comment on the report.

Early last year, thousands protested across Iraq about a lack of basic services in demonstrations prompted in part by the Arab Spring against authoritarian rulers in the region.

At least 10 people were killed in one day of protests after security forces clamped down on protesters trying to storm government buildings. The most violent clashes were in the northern city of Mosul and Basra in the south.

The report also said journalists were often harassed.

It said authorities had raided a press freedom organization and journalists reporting on the protests had been arrested and beaten. In semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, the regional government had suppressed local journalists by using death threats and beatings, it said.

In February, Human Rights Watch said it had uncovered a secret detention facility controlled by Iraqi security forces, where detainees said they had been tortured, the report said. No officials were prosecuted for the abuses, it added.

Maliki, whose Shi'ite coalition dominates parliament, triggered a political crisis in December when his government ordered the arrest of a Sunni vice president and sought to oust one of his Sunni deputies.

The Shi'ite leader says the moves were not politically motivated. But some minority Sunnis fear they are increasingly sidelined from political power-sharing and that Maliki is trying to consolidate his own authority.

(Reporting by Patrick Markey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120122/wl_nm/us_iraq_rights

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House panel: Prosecutor intends to take 5th (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A House committee says a federal prosecutor in Arizona intends to remain silent if called for questioning in a congressional probe of a problem-plagued gun smuggling investigation.

Patrick Cunningham's decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious comes after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed him.

Republican committee Chairman Darrell Issa says congressional investigators have information that Cunningham played a role in approving a controversial law enforcement tactic, resulting in federal agents losing track of weapons that later turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S.

Cunningham, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, is resigning his government post effective a week from now to take a job in the private sector.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_go_co/us_fast_and_furious

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Kathy Griffin Strips For Letterman (Video)

Comedian Kathy Griffin loves shocking people and she did just that when she stripped down to her skivvies for David Letterman on his show last night. It was highly entertaining to say the least and you can see the video clip right here. Griffin was a guest on Dave?s show last night and they began chit chatting about her hosting New Years Eve for CNN with Anderson Cooper. If you watched the NYE special then you know that at one point Kathy just started taking off her clothes until she was only in her undies and a bra of course. Poor Anderson was like WTF as his co-host stood there trying to justify why she pulled such a prank. Anyway so while appearing on Letterman, Dave of course asked her about this little prank that she pulled, so of course being the I don?t give a you know what about what anyone thinks I will do what the heck I want, kind of gal that she is Kathy informs the talk show host that she will take it all off right there. The look on Letterman?s face is priceless, like he was really going to say ?no don?t do that? [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/7-RP6sozpQg/

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Taliban: We recruited French troops' killer

PESHAWAR, Pakistan?? The Afghan Taliban said on Saturday they had recruited an Afghan soldier who shot dead four French soldiers in the country's east a day earlier, prompting France to threaten an early pullout from the NATO-led war.

The claim of responsibility raises serious concerns about handing control of security over to the Afghan army and police, which NATO-led forces are currently in the process of doing before all foreign combat troops leave by the end of 2014.

Using another name the Islamist group call themselves, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone: "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has recruited people in important positions. Some of them have already accomplished their missions," he said adding that the four died on the spot.

The killings in Kapisa province were the latest in a string of such attacks in which Afghan troops turn on their Western allies and mentors. While NATO has blamed Taliban infiltration in the past, it has also said stress, indiscipline and divided loyalties within the hastily traded ranks played a role.

Friday's brazen attack also comes weeks after an offer from the Taliban to open a political office in Qatar as a prelude to possible peace talks with the United States and other nations.

After the shooting ? which took the French death toll to 82 since the war began in 2001 ? President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered all French military operations on the ground to be suspended and Defense Minister Gerard Longuet jetted into Kabul on Saturday.

A regional Taliban commander added that incidents such as a video showing U.S. Marines urinating on corpses were boosting support for the group among Afghans and threatened more attacks.

Video: Pentagon fears fallout from Marine video (on this page)

"Our missions have become easier because of incidents like the video," he said.

Despite the presence of more than 100,000 foreign troops, violence across Afghanistan remains at its worst levels since the Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, according to the United Nations.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46080829/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Protest exposes Silicon Valley-Hollywood rivalry

This screen shot shows the blacked-out Wikipedia website, announcing a 24-hour protest against proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress, intended to protect intellectual property that critics say could facilitate censorship, referred to as the "Stop Online Piracy Act," or "SOPA," and the "Protect IP Act," or "PIPA." (AP Photo/Wikipedia)

This screen shot shows the blacked-out Wikipedia website, announcing a 24-hour protest against proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress, intended to protect intellectual property that critics say could facilitate censorship, referred to as the "Stop Online Piracy Act," or "SOPA," and the "Protect IP Act," or "PIPA." (AP Photo/Wikipedia)

This screen shot shows the home page Google.com. A campaign whose backers include tech heavyweights like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. has successfully portrayed the bills _ the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act _ as an attack on a free and open Internet rather than a way to protect the jobs of Americans in the movie and music industries, in a protest Wenesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Google.com)

Demonstrators protest in front of the building housing the New York offices of U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gilliband, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as Wikipedia started a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, joining other sites in a protest of pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian addresses a protest in front of the building housing the New York offices of U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gilliband, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as Wikipedia started a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, joining other sites in a protest of pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content. Reddit.com shut down its social news service for 12 hours. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Demonstrators protest in front of the building housing the New York offices of U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gilliband, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as Wikipedia started a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, joining other sites in a protest of pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? In a move that heightens the growing tension between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Wikipedia and other websites went dark Wednesday in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.

The web-based encyclopedia is part of a loose coalition of dot-coms and large technology companies that fear Congress is prepared to side with Hollywood and enact extreme measures ? possibly including the blocking of entire websites? to stop the online sharing and unauthorized use of Hollywood productions.

The fight will test which California-based industry has the most sway in Washington.

For now, Silicon Valley appears to have the upper hand. Supporters of the legislation ? called the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate ? say the bills are aimed at protecting jobs in the movie and music industries. But a campaign including tech heavyweights such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. has successfully portrayed the bills as an attack on a free and open Internet.

"It has nothing to do with stolen songs or movies," said Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org, which is participating in the blackout. Ruben says tougher legislation ? even directed overseas ? could make domestic cultural commentators more prone to legal attack.

Rather than showing encyclopedia articles, Wikipedia displayed a blacked-out page describing the protest and offering more information on the bills. Many articles were still viewable on cached pages.

Reddit.com shut down its social news service for 12 hours. Other sites made their views clear without cutting off services. Google blacked out the logo on its home page, directing people to a page where they could add their names to a petition.

The one-day outage was timed to coincide with key House and Senate committee hearings as they prepare to send the bills to the full floor for debate.

However, sponsor Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, sought last week to remove a controversial provision from the House bill that could force Internet service providers to interfere with the way Web addresses work for foreign sites deemed dedicated to piracy. He postponed work on the measure until February.

Critics believe such tinkering with core Internet technology treads into dangerous territory that could lead to online censorship. It might also give hackers a new way to wreak havoc.

The White House raised concerns that the bills could stifle innovation. Over the weekend, the Obama administration reacted to two online petitions, saying it "will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."

At the same time, the administration called on all sides to "pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders."

That nuanced stance is President Barack Obama's attempt at "threading the needle" between two important constituencies as he seeks re-election in November, said Jeffrey Silva, a technology policy analyst at Medley Global Advisors in Washington.

On the one hand, his administration has defended a free, open Internet as it watched repressive regimes fall in the Middle East with help from social media such as Twitter. It has also been a proponent of the concept of "net neutrality," which prevents Internet service providers from slowing online traffic that comes from file-sharing sites known to trade in pirated content.

On the other hand, Obama and other Democrats have gone to Hollywood dozens of times to raise campaign funds over the years.

"The administration is trying to fight to protect the Internet space," Silva said. "But at the same time, it doesn't want to disenfranchise Hollywood and the business community."

Indeed, behind the protests and public posturing, both Hollywood and Silicon Valley spend generously to lobby causes in Washington. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the movie, television and music industries spent a combined $91.7 million on lobbying efforts in 2011, compared with the computer and Internet industry's $93 million.

In the 2012 election cycle, the movie, television and music industry offered up $7.7 million in direct campaign contributions to congressional candidates. The computer and Internet industry contributed $6.6 million.

Despite the uproar on websites and blogs, PIPA remains firmly in play. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said Tuesday that he intends to push the bill toward a floor vote on Jan. 24. He said much of the criticism of the bill is "flatly wrong."

It remains to be seen whether the two industries can come to the table and negotiate a compromise.

"There are good companies, and then there are companies simply out to preserve the Wild West, free-to-steal business model," said Recording Industry Association of America CEO Cary Sherman. He expects to know "within the next few weeks" whether the legislation can survive.

Lawmakers may have a personal incentive to keep online piracy on the nation's political radar, said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a non-partisan government-accountability watchdog. If the issue stays alive through the current election cycle, it may help bring in campaign contributions from high-tech donors and Hollywood later this year.

The issue "becomes an opportunity for raising more money from these groups," Wertheimer said. "If you're into an important issue and money is flowing in on both sides, then both sides can up the ante."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-18-US-Wikipedia-Silicon-Valley-Versus-Hollywood/id-60186b2958594e6e8f67e0e0c6bc6cae

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