Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/181166195?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Iranian exiles in Iraq agree to move camps (AP)
BAGHDAD ? The head of an Iranian exile group holed up at a camp in Iraq said Wednesday that the first of the camp's residents are ready to move to a new location picked by the Iraqi government, solving a potential crisis.
The announcement Wednesday by Maryam Rajavi, the Paris-based leader of the group, averted what could have been a bloody showdown with Iraqi authorities if the residents had refused to move.
"After receiving assurances ... and as a sign of goodwill, 400 Ashraf residents are ready to go to Camp Liberty with their moveable property and vehicles at first opportunity," read the statement. Camp Liberty is the former American military base in Baghdad that has been chosen as the group's new home.
The agreement comes as militants this week twice tried to target the camp with rockets. No one was injured.
The Iraqi government vowed to close Camp Ashraf, home to about 3,400 Iranian exiles, by the end of this year. The exiles, members of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, one-time allies of Saddam Hussein in a common fight against Iran, favor the overthrow of the Iranian government.
But since the ouster of Saddam they have become an irritant to an Iraqi government that is trying to establish good ties with Iran and sees the group as an affront to Iraqi sovereignty. At least 34 people were killed in April during an Iraqi government raid on the camp.
The United Nations on Sunday announced an agreement to move the residents of Camp Ashraf to a temporary location, but until Wednesday, the exiles had not said whether they would go.
Rajavi said 400 residents are ready to move first as a sign of goodwill. The statement made no mention of when the other residents would go, but the group's residents are believed to want to stay together. If the first move is successful and safe, it's likely the rest would be relocated soon.
"The transfer of the first group of residents is a test of the Iraqi Government's attitude in respecting obligations as professed to the U.N. and U.S.," Rajavi said.
At Camp Liberty, the U.N.'s refugee agency will interview the residents to determine their eligibility for refugee status, before they can eventually be resettled in third countries. Returning to Iran is ruled out because of their opposition to the regime.
Rajavi's statement also gave rare insight into a camp that was built during the 1980s and has largely been closed off to the outside world. The group's residents have not left the camp for years, and the little contact they have with outsiders is through the Iraqi military, visiting diplomats and aid agencies. They do have extensive communications equipment that allows them to communicate with the outside world.
The group's leader said residents had taken a piece of land in the desert and transformed it into a "modern city with their labor and extensive cost."
"It has a university, library, museum, hospital, power station, cemetery, mosque, parks, lake, sports and recreation facilities, and underground bomb shelters," she said.
The group carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran's clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam's forces in the Iran-Iraq war. The group says it renounced violence in 2001. U.S. soldiers disarmed them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Under the agreement outlined by the U.N., the international organization will monitor the relocation process, and then a team from the U.N.'s refugee agency will be deployed at the new location to process the refugee claims. The U.S. has said that its embassy personnel will also frequently check on the camp's residents.
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Chinese lawyer goes on trial in dissent crackdown (AP)
BEIJING ? A former lawyer and veteran activist left disabled by past police mistreatment went on trial Thursday, the third dissident in a week to be prosecuted as China presses a sweeping crackdown to deter popular uprisings like the ones that shook the Arab world.
Looking thin and frail, Ni Yulan lay on a bed and used an oxygen machine to help her breathe during the hearing, her daughter, Dong Xuan, said afterward. Dong said she told the court about her mother's run-ins with police since 2002 and how police beatings left her crippled.
"Seeing my mother lying on that bed, it made my heart ache," Dong said.
Ni is charged with fraud, accused of falsifying facts to steal property. She is also charged, along with her husband, with causing a disturbance at a hotel where they had been detained by police.
Ni and her supporters deny the charges and say she is being punished for her years of activism, especially her advocacy for people forced from their homes to make way for the fast-paced real estate development that remade Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Her outspoken defense earned her the enmity of officials and developers. Her family's house in an old neighborhood in the capital's center was also razed, and the couple became homeless.
The couple's trial comes near the end of a year that has seen Chinese authorities use disappearances, house arrest, lengthy prison terms and other means to prevent activists from drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring protests that unseated autocrats in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
In the past week, two longtime democracy and rights activists, Chen Wei and Chen Xi, were separately sentenced by courts in southern and central China to nine and 10 years in prison for posting essays on the Internet that the government deemed subversive.
Referring to the two cases, an editorial published in China's state-run Global Times newspaper on Thursday expressed support for the convictions.
"To firmly convict and punish a handful of people who instigate subversion of state power is a must. It is a safeguard for state security and a safeguard for a normal environment for public opinion," the newspaper said.
Like those two campaigners, the 51-year-old Ni has been previously jailed, twice in her case. In a June 2010 interview with The Associated Press, Ni described abuse she suffered at the hands of police, saying that guards have beaten her, insulted her and urinated on her face. While in detention in 2002, police pinned her down and kicked her knees until she was unable to walk, she said.
While serving the second prison term of two years, Ni said she was deprived of her crutches and had to crawl up and down five stories and across the prison yard every day for months.
Ni said the authorities were trying to silence her because in trying to defend those who had been wrongly evicted from their homes, she had found evidence of wrongdoing by Beijing officials in lucrative land deals.
"When they were making me crawl in prison, they were basically trying to kill me so that they can silence me," Ni said in the 2010 interview. "Isn't it just because I'm trying to tell the truth?"
In a sign of the government's sensitivity over the case, Thursday's trial took place under heavy security. Dozens of uniformed police sealed off and patrolled roads around the courthouse, rounding up journalists and about a dozen diplomats from the United States and Europe and taking them to a small office across from the building.
Ni told the court she was not guilty, said her lawyer Cheng Hai, outside the courthouse. Cheng spoke only briefly as he was being pushed away from reporters by plainclothes men who did not identify themselves.
Dong said she was happy to see her parents for the first time in the nearly nine months but she was not optimistic about the outcome of the trial, citing the couple's lengthy detention and the heavy security presence at the courthouse.
"This is definitely not a normal trial procedure, so I feel the risk of conviction is high," she said.
___
Follow Gillian Wong on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gillianwong
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
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Source: http://community.coastalcourier.com/blogs/detail/13816/
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Christmas gift to America 20 years ago ? a Russia to be thankful for
When the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago on Christmas, doomsayers had a field day. But seen strictly from the perspective of what matters most to Americans, the good news is that the nightmares that experts realistically expected about Russia have not happened.
In a Christmas gift on Dec. 25, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. The ?evil empire,? as Ronald Reagan rightly called it, was erased from the map. On its territory, Russia and 14 newly independent states emerged.?
Skip to next paragraphIn the rush of the past two decades, ?things have changed so fast we have not yet taken time to be astonished,? the late Czech President Vaclav Havel once observed. The tendency of bad news to drive out the good is well known. How often does a story about positive developments lead television coverage or make the front page? Vladimir Putin?s recent announcement that he will run again for the presidency (and undoubtedly win) casts a cloud that accentuates the negative.?
Nonetheless, as Americans pause during this holiday season to give thanks and reflect, it is appropriate to review what has happened in the new Russia?s first 20 years.?Assessed strictly from the perspective of what matters most to Americans, the good news is that the nightmares that experts realistically expected at the time have not happened.?
Who imagined the Evil Empire disappearing ? without war?
Who imagined US victory over its cold war rival ? with a whimper rather than a bang?
Who imagined a revolution that buried communism ? without blood?
Who imagined that 20 years on, not one single nuclear bomb from the entire Soviet arsenal would have been found loose outside Russia? (Recall that in December 1991, on ?Meet the Press,? then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney forecast: ?If the Soviets do an excellent job at retaining control over their stockpile of nuclear weapons ? and they are 99 percent successful, that would mean you could still have as many as 250 [warheads] they were not able to control.?)
Who imagined that the nation that would do more than any other over these two decades to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional states would be Russia? (Russia took the lead, with a significant American assist, in preventing Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus from inheriting major strategic nuclear arsenals.)
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Bengals Baseball Club to host Winterfest banquet
The Bengals Baseball Club is hosting the Fuquay-Varina Baseball Winterfest on Saturday, January 7th, at Bentwinds Golf and Country Club. The banquet will honor accomplishments of Fuquay-Varina baseball players ? past and present ? and will serve as the induction ceremony for the Fuquay-Varina Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition, the high school team of 2002 will be recognized on the tenth anniversary of their state championship season.
The inductees for the Hall of Fame?s third class are: Dusty Cook, a long time resident of Fuquay-Varina who played in the major leagues from 1930 to 1938; and three members of the FVHS class of 2003: Harris Honeycutt who played at University of South Carolina and Caleb Mangum and Adam McLaurin who both played at NC State University.
In addition to the Hall of Fame enshrinement, the Bengals Baseball Club will honor Cameron Conner (FVHS Class of 2008) as the Alumnus of the Year for his performance at NC State. The club also will honor umpire Aaron Jordan of the FVAA as the Alumnus of the Year for Community Service.
Billy Best of the Atlanta Braves organization is scheduled to be the featured speaker. Mayor John Byrne will give the introductory remarks.
The public and all FVHS baseball alumni are invited to attend the festivities. The banquet starts at 7 p.m., preceded by a social gathering at 6 p.m. Tickets are available for $50 each and can be purchased by contacting Tom Hayes at the Hit and Run training facility (919-552-5445) or via e-mail at thayes@hitandrunfv.com.
The Bengals Baseball Club is an organization that promotes baseball in the Fuquay-Varina community. The club provides aid to people who help children develop by playing baseball, and it gives recognition to those in the community who have excelled at coaching and playing the game.
For updates on the club, search for Bengals Baseball Club on Facebook.com.
Source: http://theapexherald.com/bookmark/16846892
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A Few Chinese Bad News Bears To Spoil A Happy New Year
Goldman's Jim O'Neill noted in a recent interview that the world's future prosperity depends on China's growth. While we don't totally agree with that assessment as we see China as one of the many contributory factors towards world's future, there are some recent bad news bears coming out of China that could spell troubles for markets, at least in 2012.
FDI Sees Its First YoY Drop in 28 Months?
Manufacturing Tanks To Near Three-Year Low
PBOC Reversing Course - How Bad Is The Economy??
Export Growth Could Drop to Zero in 2012?
The General Administration of Customs released November trade figures showing export growth continued to decelerate and was at their most sluggish in two years. ?At a news conference, China's Commerce Ministry spokesperson warned,
"The overall trade environment next year for China will be complicated, partly due to the economic uncertainties in the European countries, and I should say that?the export situation in the first quarter of next year will be very severe."Wang Tao, an economist at UBS Securities noted China's export growth is expected to "drop to zero in 2012," which will have a "sizable negative impact on the economy," and that the export figures underline "shifts in the export structure - some traditional lower-end and labor-intensive sectors may be losing market share to cheaper producers." (See Chart Below)
FDI Sees Its First YoY Drop in 28 Months?
Part of China's recent explosive growth has to do with foreign investments pouring into the country to capitalize on the expected burgeoning middle class income growth. But in November, China experienced its first year-on-year dip of 9.76% ?in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 28 months primarily from a sharp drop in inflows from the United States, while investments from the European Union -- China's single largest trading partner -- were essentially flat.??(See Chart Below).
Moreover, this drop came on top of the first net capital outflow from China in four years in October, as investors fled emerging markets due to Europe's festering debt crisis.
Manufacturing Tanks To Near Three-Year Low
China's manufacturing contracted for the first time since February 2009 with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in November from 50.4 in October. (Read: China Manufacturing Tanks To Near 3-year Low)
The December number did not bode well either as?the?HSBC flash manufacturing PMI,?an early indicator of China's industrial activity, showed China's factory output shrank again in December after new orders fell. (See Chart Below)
PBOC Reversing Course - How Bad Is The Economy??
In early December, PBOC (The People's Bank of China), China's central bank, announced the first cut in banks' reserve requirements since 2008, just two hours before the U.S. Federal Reserve led a global dollar liquidity injection?to ease Europe's sovereign debt crisis. ?And there could be more easing on the way, as Reuters?reported that data showed Chinese banks made 562 billion yuan of new loans in November, a shade more than forecast as Beijing gently eases tight credit conditions.
China has made controlling prices a top priority this year and implemented a series of tightening measures. ??Inflation fell from a three-year high of 6.5% in July to 4.2% in November, which is?still above Beijing's current inflation target of 4%. ?And?China's inflation battle is far from over as?rising?labor costs?and higher input prices are among the factors that will continue to push up consumer price levels.
So?the more interesting question is:
How bad is the real economy for China to reverse course taking on the risk of re-surging inflation pressures?Escalating Social Unrest
Inflation and social unrest goes hand-in-hand and has toppled quite a few governments in the history book. ?Judging from the recent?Wukan Siege, the social unrest in China (due to disputes in wages, land grab, etc.) seems to have escalated in both scale and duration. ?This could suggest a more serious mid-to-long-term undercurrent?that would be challenging and delicate to handle for the central government.
Conclusion
From what we discussed so far, it is evident a pronounced China slowdown in the next year or so is inevitable with the nation's export-centric economy struggling with waning global demand, while undergoing domestic structural economic and demographic shifts. ?Moreover, there could be some hidden debt bombs as a recent Bloomberg finding?suggests?that China's banks may be understating their exposure to runaway local borrowing by possibly billions of dollars that is raising fears of a government bailout.
How Beijing steers its economic and monetary policies in the next 2-3 years will be key to balance the country's inflation, growth and stability. ?While we see a very low probability of a hard landing case for China, but based on the rationale of Jim O'Neill about how much the world depends on China's growth, then don't count on that much world prosperity, at least in 2012.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Japan probe finds nuclear disaster response failed (AP)
TOKYO ? Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks, a report revealed Monday.
The disturbing picture of harried and bumbling workers and government officials scrambling to respond to the problems at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was depicted in the report detailing a government investigation.
The 507-page interim report, compiled by interviewing more than 400 people, including utility workers and government officials, found authorities had grossly underestimated tsunami risks, assuming the highest wave would be 6 meters (20 feet). The tsunami hit at more than double those levels.
The report criticized the use of the term "soteigai," meaning "outside our imagination," which it said implied authorities were shirking responsibility for what had happened. It said by labeling the events as beyond what could have been expected, officials had invited public distrust.
"This accident has taught us an important lesson on how we must be ready for soteigai," it said.
The report, set to be finished by mid-2012, found workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that ran Fukushima Dai-ichi, were untrained to handle emergencies like the power shutdown that struck when the tsunami destroyed backup generators ? setting off the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
There was no clear manual to follow, and the workers failed to communicate, not only with the government but also among themselves, it said.
Finding alternative ways to bring sorely needed water to the reactors was delayed for hours because of the mishandling of an emergency cooling system, the report said. Workers assumed the system was working, despite several warning signs it had failed and was sending the nuclear core into meltdown.
The report acknowledged that even if the system had kicked in properly, the tsunami damage may have been so great that meltdowns would have happened anyway.
But a better response might have reduced the core damage, radiation leaks and the hydrogen explosions that followed at two reactors and sent plumes of radiation into the air, according to the report.
Sadder still was how the government dallied in relaying information to the public, such as using evasive language to avoid admitting serious meltdowns at the reactors, the report said.
The government also delayed disclosure of radiation data in the area, unnecessarily exposing entire towns to radiation when they could have evacuated, the report found.
The government recommended changes so utilities will respond properly to serious accidents.
It recommended separating the nuclear regulators from the unit that promotes atomic energy, echoing frequent criticism since the disaster.
Japan's nuclear regulators were in the same ministry that promotes the industry, but they will be moved to the environment ministry next year to ensure more independence.
The report acknowledged people were still living in fear of radiation spewed into the air and water, as well as radiation in the food they eat. Thousands have been forced to evacuate and have suffered monetary damage from radiation contamination, it said.
"The nuclear disaster is far from over," the report said.
The earthquake and tsunami left 20,000 people dead or missing.
___
Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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Why Is Value Investing Essential? - Stock Market
The roots of value investing date back to the 1930s and it is a price-driven discipline that seeks companies whose shares are selling at a discount to their true, or intrinsic, value.
Investors that are growth-oriented focus on firms whose earnings are growing at a rapid pace which is a quality that makes them highly sought after but for value investors, what they seek are companies that are temporarily out of favor. Their shares may be depressed due to factors ranging from company-specific issues to shifting investor sentiment, poor economic conditions, cyclical trends or an overall market decline. Sometimes they?re being ignored by the market for no good reason.
Over the past 25 years, performance, diversification and risk control are the three factors that have amply made the case for the value style of investing.
Performance. First and foremost, value investing as a strategy has done well over time, rewarding investors with strong risk-adjusted performance. This has actually been true over the past quarter-century.
Additionally, it is important to note that dividends have and continue to be a significant component of the stock market?s total returns ? and particularly those of value stocks.
Diversification. Over time, value and growth stocks have tended to move in different cycles. Tending to outperform value shares and vice versa are growth stocks when they are in favor. That knowledge encourages many investors to construct portfolios employing both value and growth strategies, helping to ensure that they have equity investment with the potential to perform in changing market environments.
More to the point, the value strategy has more than held its own against its growth counterpart. In recent years, the outperformance of value has been particularly pronounced.
Risk control. By their nature, generally tending to be less volatile than their growth counterparts are value stocks. Value firms are better positioned to withstand market declines as well because their shares are typically selling at depressed prices. But normally having higher earning expectations that are built into their prices are shares of growth companies which means that they are subject to wider price swings as those expectations change.
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Source: http://www.thebestfinancialinvestment.com/2011/12/26/why-is-value-investing-essential/
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Aircraft wreck found off Florida's Atlantic coast
JUPITER, Fla. -- A scuba diver in Florida says he's found the remains of a WWII-era aircraft on the ocean floor.
Randy Jordan of Emerald Charters tells The Palm Beach Post ( http://bit.ly/s1iacg) that he was diving at a depth of around 200 feet four miles off Jupiter last week when he spotted the remains of an aircraft. The plane was upside down but still mostly intact.
Jordan says he believes the plane is a Curtiss Helldiver SB2C.
If he's right, it would be the second Helldiver wreck found underwater in two years. One of the planes was found off Hawaii in January 2010.
Jordan says he has plans to take more divers to the site, but they have to proceed cautiously because the plane still could contain live ammunition or human remains.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/25/2561401/aircraft-wreck-found-off-floridas.html
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Kid band Vazquez Sounds takes Mexico by storm (AP)
vaz MEXICO CITY ? Ten-year-old Angie Vazquez has become an Internet phenom belting out a soulful cover of Brit pop star Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." In an online video seemingly shot at home, her teenage brothers Abelardo and Gustavo play the keyboard, guitar and drums.
The video drew almost 18 million views, interviews on Mexico's major television networks and a mention on Good Morning America. Within weeks of its Nov. 11 posting, the so-called Vazquez Sounds signed a contract with Sony Music Mexico. They released their first album this week that includes another Internet smash cover, of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."
Their nearly overnight success online evokes the now legendary saga of Canadian 'tween idol Justin Bieber, who was discovered after his mother posted online amateur footage of him crooning and strumming.
"We make a lot of videos of a lot of things, but my son Abelardo wanted to record this song and share it with friends and family," said father Abelardo Vazquez in a telephone interview from the family's hometown of Mexicali, on the California border. "We really didn't expect the cover to become such a phenomenon on the Web."
Before you call the Vazquez clan Mexico's version of Bieber-mania, consider this: The elder Abelardo Vazquez is a professional music producer instrumental in creating the sound of well-known Mexican bands such as Reik and Nikki Clan, also from the border.
The videos of Angie and her brothers in their home studio are also professionally produced, mixed and lighted, with slick camera work.
Abelardo Vazquez says he's not driving his kids into the music business, though he acknowledges they've had a leg up.
"My kids have had a musical education since they were very young, because I have worked producing groups for many years," the father said.
When the video sparked interest in a few million people beyond the Vazquez's immediate circle, the decision to cut a CD was natural, Vazquez said.
He added that he retains total control over the project, and Sony music is working as a distributor.
"The contract with Sony isn't the traditional type," Vazquez said. "It isn't the typical contract with record companies, in which they used to control the artists' career. This is a family project."
Although Vazquez has had an eight-year relationship with Sony, Roberto Lopez, president of the label, said he and his team were unaware of the Vazquez Sounds and first heard the group like everyone else ? on the Internet.
Working with such a young group poses special challenges and "very strong personal care," Lopez said.
"It is something special because they are children, and we want them to stay in school," he said. "The agreement was that their involvement in music, which has been going on for years now, would continue without affecting their lifestyle."
Vazquez said other record companies had expressed interest, but Sony was the only one that met his conditions for the kids. Cynics note that Sony is also the label that signed some of Vazquez's other acts.
The CD includes the original cover of "Rolling in the Deep," a remix of that crowd pleaser and, at least in its online version, a more wobbly cover of the Mariah Carey song. Coincidentally, it's the same song Bieber included in his holiday season "Under the Mistletoe" disc.
In the meantime, the Vazquez Sounds have been invited to perform on television programs in the United States, Italy and England.
But they can pick and choose.
"The kids are not obligated to do promotional work like other acts," said the elder Vazquez. "We want them to live a life like any other child their age."
___
Online:
http://bit.ly/seOgxp
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan setting the wrong tone
One of a mayor's most critical roles is to set the tone for a city. Which brings us to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and her oddly passive acceptance of the prospect that just "one person with a bike getting through a fence" could shut down the city's engine of commerce, the Port of Oakland.
Equally puzzling was Quan's assessment of what it would take to keep the port open against a future demonstration: At least 500 officers would need to be deployed - "and if the port wants to pay for that, we can do that," she said. On top of that, the mayor told Chronicle editors in a meeting Wednesday that it was "absolutely" impossible to promise that the port could be kept open in future protests.
What a dispiriting message to send businesses that depend on the port for shipping and receiving of goods.
What they want to hear - what they deserve to hear - is a mayor who will invoke any legal means necessary to keep the port operating. They deserve to hear a mayor who believes that free speech rights end at water's edge when they usurp the rights of hardworking people whose livelihoods depend on goods flowing freely through the port.
Quan should be outraged that a faction of the City Council blocked consideration of a resolution calling on the city to do what was necessary "to prevent future shutdowns or disruptions." Oaklanders should be outraged that a resolution was even necessary; the mayor should be sending that unequivocal message. But she isn't.
At the meeting, Quan expressed frustration at negative stereotypes about Oakland, and bemoaned what she perceived as shrinking local news coverage. But she acknowledged that she may have missed some stories, because she reads the local newspapers' online versions: She subscribes only to the New York Times print edition.
She also veered back and forth between accepting accountability for the Occupy Oakland fiascos and dissociating herself from tactical decisions that proved controversial, such as whether a sufficient number of cops were deployed during the Dec. 12 demonstration.
Oakland's image as a place that's well run and open for business would be helped immensely if the city showed its seriousness about choosing commerce over a handful of protesters who are determined to disrupt it.
To borrow a phrase, it only takes one person to send that message. That person is the mayor.
This article appeared on page A - 13 of the San?Francisco?Chronicle
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5659079131&f=378
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ESPNU: Biggest #CBB upset of the year? Wagner College has knocked off #13 Pittsburgh. Final score: 59-54
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Biggest #CBB upset of the year? Wagner College has knocked off #13 Pittsburgh. Final score: 59-54 
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Colbert offering $500K to pay for SC GOP primary (omg!)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Comedian Stephen Colbert is offering to pay half a million dollars to help subsidize South Carolina's first-in-the-South GOP presidential primary, as state officials struggle to pay for it, but there's doubt whether it would even be legal.
The Charleston native wrote in an op-ed Thursday in The State newspaper in Columbia that Colbert Super PAC ? a type of political action committee that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and individuals ? will bridge the gap after state Republicans refused to contribute anything above $180,000 collected in candidates' filing fees.
The state Election Commission, which administers South Carolina's voting, has said it has $1 million on hand for the primary but is short of the total $1.5 million price tag. Spokesman Chris Whitmire says the Commission has notified budget officials the state may need to seek permission to run a deficit to fund the primary.
Colbert wrote that he offered make up that $500,000 funding gap after state Republicans ultimately turned down his proposal to pay them $400,000 if they'd name the contest after him. Party officials have confirmed meeting with Colbert earlier this year to discuss a deal that would have renamed the balloting "The Colbert Super PAC South Carolina Republican Primary" in exchange for a check from the comedian.
Colbert says he also wanted to put a question about "corporate personhood" on the January ballot. He seized on the issue after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling eased restrictions on campaign spending by corporations.
Ultimately rebuffed by the GOP, Colbert says he started working with Democrats to get the issue on the ballot, but state Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian said Thursday that effort also fell through.
State GOP executive director Matt Moore said party officials were skeptical of Colbert from the beginning but entertained his early communications before turning him down.
"Despite our repeatedly saying 'no,' Stephen Colbert, the comedian, seems intent on being involved," Moore said. "It's exactly why we were wary in the first place."
Regardless of the party's position, it would be up to the state whether to accept or reject any offer.
Whitmire said the question of whether a PAC can fund a South Carolina primary is a new one. If the Election Commission were presented with the money and decided to accept it, he said, they would have to ask state Attorney General Alan Wilson to decide if state law permits a political action committee to fund a primary.
Colbert, who did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, wrote that he will be spending the holidays in his native state and is open to discussions.
"The counties need the money, and Colbert Super PAC wants to give it to you; call it a Christmas Miracle," he wrote. "I'm going to be home in South Carolina over the holidays, so just give me a call. Both state parties have my contact info."
___
Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
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What's the best Christmas movie?
Live Poll
What's your favorite Christmas movie?
171461
'A Christmas Story'
26%
171462
'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'
18%
171463
'Die Hard'
2%
171464
'It's a Wonderful Life'
17%
171465
'Elf'
5%
171466
'Love Actually'
5%
171467
'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'
2%
171468
'A Charlie Brown Christmas'
4%
171469
'Nightmare Before Christmas'
1%
171470
'White Christmas'
8%
171471
'Miracle on 34th Street'
6%
171472
Other
6%
VoteTotal Votes: 11389
MGM via Everett Collection
There aren't that many holidays that get a ton of their own movies. You're not going to see an "Arbor Day" comedy, and outside of the creepy "Leprechaun" horror series, there aren't a lot of St. Patrick's Day films either.
But Christmas movies are as abundant as snowflakes at the North Pole. From the old?classics ("It's a Wonderful Life") to the gut-busters ("National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation") to the delightful surprises ("The Nightmare Before Christmas"), there's truly something for everyone.
We've got a slideshow of great Christmas movies, and here are a few of our staff favorites. You're encouraged to share your favorite in the comments, and by voting in our poll.
'A Christmas Story'
The classic. The great Jean Shepherd not only wrote the story, he offers the narration as adult Ralphie. It's so quotable, so memorable, so much a part of our culture.?"I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle!" "?You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" "Only I didn't say 'Fudge.'" "It's a major award!" "A crummy commercial?" "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian." The tongue stuck to the pole, the leg lamp -- the movie is about none of that as much as it's about family. I'll take a 24-hour marathon of the Parker clan over any time spent with the Kardashians any day.??? -- Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'
"Christmas Vacation" is often overlooked due to all the attention given the original "Vacation," but it's just as much of a classic. Clark Griswold is every person who's ever longed to recreate a wonderful family Christmas with all the perfect trimmings, even if that dream was forever out of reach and it never really happened that way in the past, either. And the lines rival "Christmas Story" for humor. Some of my favorites involve doofus cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid). When he asks Clark if he's surprised to see him, Clark's classic response is: "Oh, Eddie... If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."??? --G.F.C.
?
'Die Hard'
This one's for the less-traditional holiday movie watcher in all of us. But 1988's introduction of John McClane (Bruce Willis) and his oft-quoted catch phrase that begins "Yippie-ki-yay" is sure to warm the cockles of your heart. It kicks off at a holiday party, introducing the gloriously Scroogey Alan Rickman in one of his earliest American roles as the greedy Hans Gruber. Then there's the careful slaying of Gruber's gun-toting elves by McClane (who adds a little "ho ho ho" to a sign he tapes to a robber's body that also reads "Now I have a gun"), and the most creative use of holiday packing tape in all of cinema (who knew it could strap a piece to a sweaty, oily cop's bare back?) Ultimately, this is a film about family, about a guy who flies all the way across the country to be with his wife and children, and discovers he's going to have to jump off the top of a building with just a fire hose strapped to his waist to be able to hold them in his arms again. There's even snow, of a sort, in the form of negotiable bearer bonds twinkling in the night sky. Spike your egg nog and punch a reporter in the face: It's showtime!? -- Randee Dawn
?
What's your favorite Christmas movie? Tell us in the comments, and vote in our poll.
Related content:
Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/20/9589577-whats-the-best-christmas-movie
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Friday, December 23, 2011
No Holiday Spirit: Girl Fight Breaks Out During Christmas Parade! [Video]
The season for joy and sharing turned violent at the San Benito Christmas parade on Monday evening.
San Benito Police said at least nine teenage girls got into a fight with each other as the Parade was wrapping up.
It happened at about 7 p.m. on Sam Houston Blvd, between Robertson and Rowson Streets.
Police detained two of the underage girls and took them into custody.
There is no word on what punishment, if any, they will face.
Action 4 News will post more information as it becomes available.
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Vanessa Vs. The World: How Does The Former Mrs. Bryant Stack Up Against His Alleged Mistresses
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Strong earthquakes rattle NZ's Christchurch (AP)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A series of strong earthquakes struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, rattling buildings, sending goods tumbling from shelves and prompting terrified holiday shoppers to flee into the streets. There was no tsunami alert issued and the city appeared to have been spared major damage.
One person was injured at a city mall and was taken to a hospital, and four people had to be rescued after being trapped by a rock fall, Christchurch police said in a statement. But there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or widespread damage in the city, which is still recovering from a devastating February earthquake that killed 182 people and destroyed much of the downtown area.
The first 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon, 16 miles (26 kilometers) north of Christchurch and 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Minutes later, a 5.3-magnitude aftershock hit. About an hour after that, the city was shaken by another 5.8-magnitude temblor, the U.S.G.S. said, though New Zealand's geological agency GNS Science recorded that aftershock as a magnitude-6.0. Both aftershocks were less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) deep.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert.
The city's airport was evacuated after the first quake and all city malls shut down as a precaution.
About 60 people were treated for minor injuries, including fractures, injuries sustained in falls and people with "emotional difficulties," Christchurch St. John Ambulance operations manager Tony Dowell told The Associated Press.
"We have had no significant injuries reported as a result of the earthquakes today," he said.
Warwick Isaacs, demolitions manager for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, said most buildings had been evacuated "as an emergency measure." The area has recorded more than 7,000 earthquakes since a magnitude-7.0 quake rocked the city on Sept. 4, 2010. That quake did not cause any deaths.
Rock falls had occurred in one area and there was liquefaction ? when an earthquake forces underground water up through loose soil ? in several places, Isaacs told New Zealand's National Radio.
"There has been quite a lot of stuff falling out of cupboards, off shelves in shops and that sort of thing, again," he said.
Isaacs said his immediate concern was for demolition workers involved in tearing down buildings wrecked in previous quakes.
"It ... started slow then really got going. It was a big swaying one but not as jolting or as violent as in February," Christchurch resident Rita Langley said. "Everyone seems fairly chilled, though the traffic buildup sounds like a beehive that has just been kicked as everyone leaves (the) town (center)."
The shaking was severe in the nearby port town of Lyttelton, the epicenter of the Feb. 22 quake.
"We stayed inside until the shaking stopped. Then most people went out into the street outside," resident Andrew Turner said. "People are emotionally shocked by what happened this afternoon."
Around 26,000 homes were without power in Christchurch, after the shaking tripped switches that cut supplies, Orion energy company CEO Rob Jamieson said.
"We don't seem to have damage to our equipment," he said. "We hope to have power back on to those customers by nightfall."
Hundreds of miles of sewer and fresh water lines have been repaired in the city since the February quake.
One partly demolished building and a vacant house collapsed after Friday's quakes, police said.
Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale said the quakes came at the worst possible time for retailers, with people rushing to finish their Christmas shopping.
Despite the sizable quakes, there was no visible damage in the central business district, where 28 stores have reopened in shipping containers after their buildings were wrecked by the February quake, he said.
"Hopefully tomorrow we'll be feeling a little bit better again and restoring our faith in the will to live and to stay in Christchurch," the city's deputy mayor, Ngaire Button, told National Radio.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Bond manager Gundlach sees debt crescendo: report (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? Expectations of a swift economic recovery in 2012 are premature, with the sovereign debt crisis in Europe likely to reach a "crescendo" in 2012, DoubleLine Capital chief executive Jeffrey Gundlach said in an interview published on Thursday.
"I've a really hard time with the argument the economy's about to go into some wonderful land of 5 percent GDP growth", Gundlach said according to the Financial Times.
Gundlach pointed to Europe with "its banking system and obviously unserviceable debt" and U.S. government finances as "twin towers of risk," the newspaper reported.
"People who are looking for an explosion in bond yields on a better economy are thinking that somehow the world is still in 1995, where we have moderate economic growth, low inflation, stable tax policy and people getting along," the paper reported Gundlach as saying.
Dubbed "King of Bonds" by Barron's weekly earlier this year, Gundlach is chief executive of U.S. asset management firm DoubleLine Capital, which has amassed about $16 billion since Gundlach started the firm in January 2010.
(Reporting By Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Gary Hill)
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Monday, December 19, 2011
What Is Anonymous? [VIDEO] (Mashable)
[brightcove video="1331714623001" /] Every now and again, the Internet gets all flustered about the latest hack attack by the mysterious group known as Anonymous.
[More from Mashable: Which Republican Debate Got the Most Social Media Buzz? [CHART]]
The media reports it, online communities take sides, but it's hard to get a handle on exactly what Anon is, and where their ultimate agenda lies. How do they pick their targets? Who's in charge? Can anyone join?
In an effort the alleviate some of these burning questions, our friend Jeremiah Warren put together this explainer video that dissects the origins of the hacker collective and their increasing blip on the radar of law enforcement and public attention.
[More from Mashable: Why Recognizing Your Employees on Social Media Is Great for Business]
Where do you stand? Does Anonymous fight for a free and open Internet, or are they destructive hacker trolls? Have your say in the comments below.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Teens choose water when calorie count of sugary beverages is easier to understand
Teens choose water when calorie count of sugary beverages is easier to understand
Friday, December 16, 2011Thirsty? You may be more inclined to reach for plain old H2O if you knew how many calories are in sugar-sweetened beverages; this is according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They examined the effect of providing clear and visible caloric information about sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda and fruit juice on the number of sugar-sweetened beverage purchases at neighborhood stores, and found that providing easily understandable caloric information, specifically in the form of a physical activity equivalent, may reduce the likelihood of sugar-sweetened beverage purchases among adolescents by as much as half. The results are featured in a recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
"People generally underestimate the number of calories in the foods and beverages they consume," said Sara Bleich, PhD, assistant professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management. "Providing easily understandable caloric information?particularly in the form of a physical activity equivalent, such as running?may reduce calorie intake from sugar-sweetened beverages and increase water consumption among low-income black adolescents."
Researchers conducted the study at four corner stores located in low-income, predominately black neighborhoods in Baltimore, Md. For the intervention, one of three caloric information signs were randomly posted with the following information: "Did you know that a bottle of soda or fruit juice has about 250 calories?" (absolute caloric count); "Did you know that a bottle of soda or fruit juice has about 10 percent of your daily calories?" (percentage of total recommended daily intake); and "Did you know that working off a bottle of soda or fruit juice takes about 50 minutes of running?" (physical activity equivalent). They collected data for 1,600 beverage sales to black adolescents, aged 12-18 years, including 400 during a baseline period and 400 for each of the 3 caloric-condition interventions. Researchers found that providing participants with any caloric information significantly reduced the odds of sugar-sweetened beverage purchases by 40 percent relative to the baseline of no information. Of the three caloric-condition interventions, the physical activity equivalent was most effective, reducing the odds of black adolescents purchasing a sugar-sweetened beverage by 50 percent.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, sport drinks, energy drinks and fruit drinks has been associated with obesity and is highest among minority and lower income adolescents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one third of U.S. adults and 17 percent of U.S children are obese. Obesity increases the risk of many adverse health conditions including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.
"Because of the inclusion of mandatory calorie labeling in the recent health reform bill, it is critical to explore the most effective strategies for presenting caloric information to consumers on fast food restaurant menu boards," suggest the study's authors.
###
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health: http://www.jhsph.edu
Thanks to Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Video: Gingrich, Romney avoid attacks in GOP debate
>>> chuck todd is our political director and chief white house correspondent. good morning.
>> good morning. the candidates attacked each other and turned into most negative week of the campaign. final debate lacked that same negative energy . instead the front-runners played iowa nice.
>> today i think it is a big step forward and i think governor romney deserves some of the credit.
>> governor romney , you want to respond to that compliment?
>> yes, thank you.
>> reporter: so went the final debate. the two leading candidates, mitt romney and newt gingrich , choosing to avoid any clashes. the only veiled reference to their feud, gingrich poking fun at himself for being zany.
>> zany is great.
>> reporter: a word used by romney at "the new york times."
>> i get accused of using language too strong so i've been standing here editing. i'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany, and --
>> reporter: each time romney and gingrich got a question designed to get them to spar with each other, they shifted the focus often to president obama .
>> this president doesn't know how the economy works. to create jobs it helps to have created jobs.
>> i think in seven debates barack obama will not have a leg to stand on.
>> reporter: the positive debate is a marked contrast from most of the tv ads airing in iowa .
>> -- beginning witch was fined $300,000 for ethics violations.
>> it's about serial hypocrisy.
>> $10,000 bet?
>> not too many of us in iowa place $10,000 bets.
>> reporter: the latest ads stay most mostly positive.
>> others seem to be focused on attacks rather than move the country forward. that's up to them.
>> reporter: they got hit repeat repeatedly by the other candidates.
>> he personally as governor issued gay marriage licenses.
>> i want to make it very clear, i have been a champion of protecting traditional marriage .
>> reporter: michele bachmann and the former speaker questions about freddie mac .
>> he was taking out $1.6 million to influence senior republicans to keep the scams going.
>> sometimes people ought to have facts before they make wild allegations.
>> reporter: bachmann one time iowa front-runner now trailing badly was the most aggressive, even tangling with ron paul over the issue of nuclear weapons in iran.
>> we ought to sit back and not jump the gun and believe we aren't going to be attacked.
>> i believe i've never heard a more dangerous answer for american security than the one we just heard.
>> i think this wild goal to have another war in the name of defense is the dangerous thing.
>> reporter: but for the most part the debate was more kumbaya than contentious w a focus on president obama .
>> it's president obama we've got to talk about. he's unveiled himself as the president, not the right person to lead this country.
>> our only opponent is barack obama and we need to come out of this process beating him is collectively what we have to do.
>> the romney campaign is trying to show they have momentum again. they've nabbed a pretty big endorsement, south carolina governor nicki hayley, and they hope that momentum campaigns to him in the season.
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45695191/
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Israeli lawmakers move to annex West Bank, one museum at a time (The Christian Science Monitor)
Kedumim, West Bank ? As Rachel Slonim shows a visitor around the modest, unheated archeological museum in this West Bank settlement, she becomes animated when she reaches a display case with artifacts from the biblical Israelite period.
''The Israelite period was the most beautiful period in the history of Samaria,'' says Ms. Slonim, referring to the 600-year era that she says climaxed with the reign of King Omri, who built his capital near the area where she lives today. ''Settlement is very important in our eyes and the eyes of the Holy One Blessed Be He, who gave us this land.''
Slonim and her husband, Zvi, who helped found the Kedumim settlement more than three decades ago, are among more than 300,000 Israelis with homes outside the borders of Israel proper. Technically they live under military rule, established after Israel conquered the West Bank in the 1967 war.
Five largest Israeli settlements: Who lives there and why
But the trappings of civilian Israeli government and the implied annexation that comes with it have been accumulating in the area in recent years. Now a new bill in Israel's parliament would give unusually high-profile endorsement for the expansion of Israeli government in the disputed territory, which settlers see as the biblical cradle of Jewish civilization but Palestinians consider to be the heartland of their future state.
Legislator Uri Ariel of the far-right National Union party says the first step, outlined in this bill, would be securing government funding for museums in settlements, like the one in Kadumim. With backing from Israeli Culture Minister Limor Livnat, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, the bill passed its first reading last week and looks likely to become law.
While the bill itself appears modest, critics say it amounts to declaring an annexation policy that boosts right-wing settlers and their supporters at the expense of Palestinians and Israelis who are uncomfortable with the notion that the West Bank ? and its majority Palestinian population ? will become part of Israel someday.
''The policy has been to continue Israeli rule and extend Israeli law in bits and pieces, gradually to Israelis living in the West Bank while keeping Palestinians living under military occupation or a mix of military occupation and Palestinian Authority autonomous rule,'' says Gershom Gorenberg, a prominent historian of the settler movement. He says what is new about Mr. Ariel's bill is that the annexing is being done brazenly.
''He is saying, I don't want to do it like thieves in the night, I want to do it publicly, I'm proud of this. Ariel wants public recognition of what he is doing," says Mr. Gorenberg, author of The Unmaking of Israel. "The goal is to take the long process of applying Knesset [parliamentary] legislation and military orders to settlers, which blurs Israel's borders and who lives in Israel and who doesn't, and make it a declared policy.''
Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi termed the museum bill ''the death knell of any chances of peace.''
''It is ensuring that settlements remain part of Israel and it exposes a very dangerous policy,'' she added. ''Israel keeps talking about a two state solution, but in reality, it is working for a one state solution.''
Equality for settlersAriel says the bill is needed to ensure that the right to culture of settlers is equal to that of other Israelis, something he says has not been the case until now. ''First of all there will be equality,'' he says. ''They can get orderly budgets and it will definitely bring more visitors, more culture, more everything."
If approved, the bill would make museums in the settlements eligible for the first time to apply for a share of the 40 million shekels ($10.5 million) in government funding currently allocated only to museums inside Israel proper.
Slonim, who works on a voluntary basis and is nearly an octogenarian, says the bill could enable the hiring of a salaried successor to her as guide and curator.
''I hope this law will help us to do things we could only dream about,'' including seminars on archeological preservation and the holding of temporary exhibits, she says.
The museum displays mostly objects garnered from excavations at Kedumim, located near the Palestinian city of Nablus, as well as some finds from elsewhere in the vicinity. There are also displays aimed at making the link to modern Israel, with one of them showing David Ben-Gurion's declaration of the state in 1948.
Poetry books of the late right-wing writer and politician Moshe Shamir ? a founder of the Whole Land of Israel movement, which lobbied for settling the West Bank after its capture ? are on sale and there is a display of posters, including one from before Israel's establishment, of a muscular man with a shovel. ''Help him build Palestine,'' it says in Hebrew.
What's different this timeBut Ariel, and critics, say the law is not just about the museums, but rather about applying Knesset legislation to the settlers, despite their being beyond Israel's internationally recognized boundaries.
In a departure from past practice where the intent to apply Israeli law in the West Bank is buried in the text, if mentioned at all, Ariel says he has this time put it in the title of a bill. Indeed, the bill is called ''The Museums Proposed Law (Amendment-Application of the Law to Judea and Samaria).''
''There are other laws that apply in Judea and Samaria, but this one is outstanding in the sense that it is right there in the name. This is a bit of an innovation,'' Ariel says. He added that he intends to do the same thing in the future with further bills addressing realms where Israeli law is not being applied to settlers, but declined to specify those topics.
In his Knesset remarks, Ariel said the museum law ''constitutes the realization of the voters desire to strengthen settlement and Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,'' using the biblical names for the West Bank.
Decades-old debate In a sense, the application of Knesset law to the settlers is almost as old as the occupation itself.
While in the immediate aftermath of Israel's stunning victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, Theodor Meron, the legal counsel of the Israeli foreign ministry, advised the government that it was illegal to settle civilians in occupied territory, he was disregarded. (The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 bars an occupying power from transferring its citizens into the occupied territory.)
A month after the war ended, a military order was issued in July 1967 specifying that Israelis who committed offenses in the West Bank could be tried in Israel as if the offense was committed in Israel.
This order has been re-ratified by the Knesset at various intervals ever since, with riders tacked on, including that Israelis can register nonprofit organizations in settlements, that settlement residents would have the same tax obligations as other Israelis, and that Israel's National Health Insurance Law applies to Israeli residents of settlements.
In Kadumim, Slonim harkens back to King Omri, casting him as a hero for his settlement efforts even though scripture says he "was evil in the sight of the Lord and dealt wickedly above all that were before him."
"He was an idol worshiper, but he engaged in settling the land of Israel so his other sins are forgiven," she says.
Five largest Israeli settlements: Who lives there and why
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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fossils/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111216/wl_csm/437476
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GOP candidates to debate in Sioux City, Iowa (AP)
Some of the Republican presidential candidates are squeezing in campaign events before participating in a televised debate in Sioux City, Iowa. It's their last debate before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.
The debate, scheduled for 9 p.m. EST Thursday, is sponsored by Fox News and the Iowa Republican Party.
Earlier Thursday, Rick Santorum is set to meet with voters in Rockwell City, Sac City and Holstein, Iowa.
Newt Gingrich will be in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Rick Perry will be in the Iowa town of Le Mars.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Today's Takeaway: President Obama Marks End of Iraq War
Report: Half of the Nation's Schools Are Failing; How Religious 'Outsiders' Gain Acceptance in the US; US Citizens Caught in Immigration Crackdown; A Closer Look at the Decline in Marriage Rates; Listener Responses: Driver Cell Phone Ban; After Big Black Friday, Retail Sales Drop; Teenage Birth Rate Lowest in Decades; Obama Marks End of Iraq War
Source: http://www.thetakeaway.org/2011/dec/15/
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Alexander Graham Bell speaks from the 1880s
WASHINGTON?? Alexander Graham Bell foresaw many things, including that people could someday talk over a telephone. But the inventor certainly never could have anticipated that his audio-recording experiments in a Washington lab could be recovered 130 years later and played for a gathering of scientists, curators and journalists.
"To be or not to be..." a man's voice can be heard saying in one recording as it was played on a computer at the Library of Congress on Tuesday. The speaker from the 1880s recites a portion of Hamlet's Soliloquy as a green wax disc crackles to life from computer speakers.
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The early audio recordings ? which revealed recitations of Shakespeare, numbers and other familiar lines ? had been packed away and deemed obsolete at the Smithsonian Institution for more than a century. But new technology has allowed them to be recovered and played.
The technology reads the sound from tiny grooves with light and a 3D camera.
The recordings offer a glimpse into the dawn of the information age, when inventors were scrambling to make new discoveries and secure patents for the first telephones and phonographs, even early fiber optics.
A second recording, on a copper negative disc, reveals a trill of the tongue and someone reciting the numbers 1-2-3-4-5-6.
A third recording catches perhaps the first sound of disappointment as Bell's recording device seemed to hit a technical glitch.
"Mary had a little lamb and its fleece was white as snow," a voice says. "Everywhere that Mary went ... Oh no!"
On Nov. 17, 1884, Bell's lab recorded the word "barometer" several times on a glass disc with a beam of light. It and about 200 other experimental records were packed up and given to the Smithsonian, seemingly never to be played again.
Hotbed of innovation
The recordings date back to the 1880s. Bell had moved from Boston to Washington after obtaining a patent on March 10, 1876, for his invention of the telephone, which occurred when his employee Thomas Watson heard him shouting over a wire in the next room. He joined a growing group of scientists who made the nation's capital a hotbed for innovations.
Bell partnered with his cousin Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter to create Volta Laboratory Associates in Washington in the early 1880s.
During this time, Bell sent the first wireless telephone message on a beam of light from the roof of a downtown Washington building ? a forerunner to modern fiber optics. He and other inventors also were scrambling to record sound on anything they could find, including glass, rubber and metal. One early sound record looks like a smashed soup can.
Inventors at the time were in intense competition. Bell, Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison, who invented the phonograph to record sound on tin foil in 1877, each left objects and documentation with the Smithsonian to help prove their innovations were first.
Bell went so far as to seal some devices in tin boxes for safe keeping at the Smithsonian. Edison's earliest recordings are thought to be lost.
"This stuff makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck," said Curator Carlene Stephens of the National Museum of American History before Bell's recordings were played Tuesday. "It's the past speaking directly to us in a way we haven't heard before."
Key resource for research
The museum's collection of about 400 of the earliest audio recordings, including 200 from Bell's lab, will likely become a key resource for new research on communications and early technology now that they can be played back, Stephens said.
"These materials have been in a cupboard and virtually unknown for decades," she said. "The collection has been silent."
The Library of Congress partnered with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley to offer the first listen of these early recordings on Tuesday. Scientists have spent the past 10 years and about $1 million to develop the technology to create high-resolution digital scans of the sound discs.
This year, scholars from the Library of Congress, the Berkeley Lab and the Smithsonian gathered in a new preservation lab at the Library of Congress and recovered sound from those early Bell recordings. A $600,000 three-year grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Sciences funded the pilot project, and the Smithsonian hopes to continue the work if future grants can be secured.
Computers make it easier
Advances in computer technology made it possible to play back the recordings, Haber said, noting that 10 years ago specialists would have struggled with computer speeds and storage issues. The digital images that now can be processed into sound within minutes would have taken days to process a decade ago.
Many of the recordings are fragile, and until recently it had not been possible to listen to them without damaging the discs or cylinders.
So far, the sounds of six discs have been successfully recovered through the process, which creates a high-resolution digital map of the disc or cylinder. The map is processed to remove scratches and skips, and software reproduces the audio content to create a standard digital sound file.
Carl Haber, senior scientist at the Berkeley Lab, said Bell's recordings and others in the fierce competition of the 1880s marked the start of the information age as we know it.
"The whole idea that you could capture the world as it exists" in a recording, he said, "they got that in this period."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45661873/ns/technology_and_science/
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