মঙ্গলবার, ৩১ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

Japanese carmaker Honda's Q3 seen hit by disasters, yen (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Honda Motor Co (7267.T) is expected to report a double-digit slide in quarterly operating profit on Tuesday and forecast a still larger drop for the full year, as natural disasters in Japan and Thailand hit it harder than rivals.

Japan's No.3 automaker was the slowest to recover from supply-chain disruptions after the earthquake and tsunami in March, while it was alone in having a car factory inundated by the historic floods in Thailand, Southeast Asia's export hub.

That is expected to push Honda's October-December operating profit down 35 percent to 81 billion yen ($1.06 billion), according to a poll of nine analysts by Reuters.

Honda's announcement is being closely watched after the company withdrew its guidance in October citing uncertainty over when production could resume in Thailand. Honda is the first Japanese automaker to report third-quarter earnings, and is also expected to provide an update on Thai production on Tuesday.

In 2011, Honda's global output dropped by a fifth to 2.909 million cars, slipping below 3 million for the first time in eight years. All other Japanese automakers, except Nissan Motor Co (7201.T), built fewer cars also, but the falls were much smaller than at Honda.

For the year to March 31, 2012, forecasts from 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S put Honda's annual operating profit at 283 billion yen, down 50 percent from 2010-11 when it was hit by the yen's rise against the dollar and euro.

The consensus forecast is slightly higher than the 270 billion yen Honda projected in August.

With production steadily recovering in the final months of 2011, investors have turned their attention to an anticipated jump in sales as Honda restocks its depleted inventory.

So far this year, its shares are the best performer among Japanese automakers, rising 14.2 percent as of Monday. Tokyo's auto sector index (.ITEQP.T) has gained 8.9 percent.

LONGER-TERM WORRIES

Still, concern has lingered over whether Honda might be losing its edge after a new version of its top-selling Civic was heavily criticized for its styling and interior in the United States, its biggest market, last year.

Competition in the United States is set to heat up this year as resurgent local giants Ford Motor Co (F.N) and General Motors Co (GM.N) and South Korea's fast-rising Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) flex their muscles in the sedan segment previously dominated by Honda and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T).

While acknowledging the criticisms of the revamped Civic, Honda Chief Executive Takanobu Ito stressed this month that the car had topped the country's compact sedan segment in the latest quarter, outselling Toyota's Corolla.

Honda is targeting a 25 percent jump in its U.S. sales this calendar year. To this aim, it is shoring up its struggling Acura premium brand.

Honda is scheduled to announce its results at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) in Tokyo.

Domestic rivals Toyota and Nissan are scheduled to announce third-quarter earnings on February 7 and 8, respectively. ($1 = 76.7350 Japanese yen)

(Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_honda

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T-Mobile UK launches 'truly unlimited' Full Monty contract, wants to give you everything

T-Mobile launches 'truly unlimited' Full Monty contract, wants to give you everything
While beans were vaguely spilled ahead of its official launch, T-Mobile UK today unveiled its latest attempt to differentiate itself from the competitive world of British carriers with a new no-holds-barred tariff. From the network that previously nixed its fair use policy around this time last year, the Full Monty offers up truly -- yes, truly; we checked -- unlimited data alongside unlimited cross network calls and text messages. While the entry-level £36 contract limits calls to 2,000 per month, unlimited calling starts at £41 per month, reaching the dizzying heights of £61 if you're shopping for the latest iPhone. New phones will similarly be absorbed into what is now T-Mob's premier contract. It'll join mobile carrier Three, which was previously the only other major operator to offer unlimited data. Alongside the above package, which includes tethering, T-Mobile phones will also nab access to BT Openzone, the UK's largest WiFi hotspot network.

When the Fully Monty launches on February 1st, it'll be accompanied by a new Android and iOS app that adds one-click connectivity to those WiFi networks. The deal isn't available SIM-only, although T-Mobile UK's Head of Propositions, Ben Fritsch, told us that the new deal is pitched at users looking to take the smartphone plunge. Its existing collection of tariffs will also see a similar refresh -- but there's no details on those just yet. American readers can gaze with envy at the full release below.

Update: Electricpig reports that there may be traffic control in effect if users (somehow) hit above 80GB.

Continue reading T-Mobile UK launches 'truly unlimited' Full Monty contract, wants to give you everything

T-Mobile UK launches 'truly unlimited' Full Monty contract, wants to give you everything originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/t7na8l9T4Ck/

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সোমবার, ৩০ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

Clothing made with recycled coffee beans warms you up without caffeine (Yahoo! News)

Everyone's favorite bean can now keep you warm inside and out

When the?weather turns cold, it's not uncommon for folks to warm up with a nice steaming cup of coffee. But who would have thought that everyone's favorite bean could help keep you warm on the outside as well as in? Californian high-tech sports apparel company Virus apparently did, because their?Stay Warm line of cold-weather clothing is made from recycled coffee beans.

Called coffee charcoal, the fabric has incredible natural insulating properties. Virus says that their studies show that wearing this fabric next to the skin can raise surface temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Moisture wicking and quick-dry properties also go a long way towards keeping you comfortable in cold weather.

The Stay Warm line is meant to be worn as an underlayer; since the fabric isn't wind-resistant, you'll need something else on top of it to keep the cold winter wind out. The garments start at $30.50 for a pair of "performance boxers" and go up from there?? but the cost might be worth it if you can have your coffee and wear it, too!

[via?Gizmag]

This article was written by Katherine Gray and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120130/tc_yblog_technews/clothing-made-with-recycled-coffee-beans-warms-you-up-without-caffeine

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Egypt says it has ended US lobbyists' contract (AP)

CAIRO ? Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Sunday it has ended a contract with three Washington lobbying firms to cut expenses, denying reports that the American companies were the ones to terminate the contract.

The rupture occurred as Cairo faces criticism from Washington for banning at least 10 Americans and Europeans from leaving the country as part of an investigation into foreign-funded civil society organizations. Among those barred was Sam LaHood of the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, who is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The ban sparked anger in the United States, and Washington warned on Tuesday that the campaign raised concerns about Egypt's transition to democracy and could jeopardize American aid that Egypt's battered economy needs badly after a year of political and social unrest.

The travel ban was part of an Egyptian criminal investigation into foreign-funded democracy organizations after soldiers raided the offices of 10 such groups last month, including the IRI and its sister organization, the National Democratic Institute, as well as several Egyptian organizations.

Both the IRI and the NDI, linked to the Republican and Democratic parties, monitored Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.

The Egyptian investigation is closely linked with the political turmoil that has engulfed the country since the fall of Hosni Mubarak nearly a year ago. The generals who took power after Mubarak's fall have accused "foreign hands" of being behind protests against their rule, and they frequently depict the protesters themselves as receiving foreign funds in a plot to destabilize the country.

The December raids have drew sharp U.S. criticism, and President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, to emphasize "the role that these organizations can play in civil society," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Thursday.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement was issued two days after Politico reported that former Republican Rep. Bob Livingston, former Democratic Rep. Toby Moffett and longtime lobbyist Tony Podesta ended their contract with the Egyptian government.

Livingston confirmed to Politico in an email that the three lobbyist firms have ended their contract.

"We hope that Egyptians continue to enjoy the deepening of democracy in their country, and that Egypt remains a strong, stable and vital ally of the United States," the three lobbyists said in a joint statement released on Saturday.

Politico reported earlier that the firms came under criticism after circulating talking points justifying Egyptian security forces' raids on a number of NGOs including American groups.

The lobbying firms could not be reached immediately for comment.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Egypt's Defense Ministry has arrived in New York, Egypt's state news agency reported.

MENA quoted military attache Gen. Mohammed el-Kishki as saying that the visit was aimed at discussing "cooperation between the two countries in military affairs."

Egypt's army, which took power after the February 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak, receives 1.3 billion dollars a year in U.S. foreign assistance.

The country's aid package has come under pressure by members of Congress who want assurances that Egypt will abide by a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and that the military rulers will respect democratic freedoms.

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

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রবিবার, ২৯ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

US weapons for future include key relics of past (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The lineup of weapons the Pentagon has picked to fit President Barack Obama's new forward-looking defense strategy, called "Priorities for 21st Century Defense," features relics of the past.

They include the Air Force's venerable B-52 bomber, whose current model entered service shortly before Obama was born. There is the even older U-2 spy plane, which began flying in 1955 and burst into the spotlight in May 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union.

When Obama went to the Pentagon on Jan. 5 to announce his new defense strategy he said that as the U.S. shifts from a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan it will "get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems." He was not specific. But when the first details of the Pentagon's 2013 budget plan were announced Thursday, it was clear that some prominent remaining Cold War-era "systems" will live on.

That includes not just the B-52 bomber and the U-2 spy plane, but also the foundation of U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy: a "triad" of nuclear weapons that can be launched from land, sea, and air. That concept, credited by many for preventing nuclear conflict throughout the Cold War, is now seen by some arms control experts as the kind of outdated structure that the United States can afford to get rid of.

Some think the U.S. should do away with at least one leg of that "triad," perhaps the bomber role. That would not just save money and clear the way for larger reductions in the number of U.S. nuclear weapons ? an Obama goal in line with his April 2009 pledge to seek the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said recently that maintaining the current structure of American nuclear forces was "not in keeping with the modern world." He and like-minded lawmakers argue that nuclear weapons play no role in deterring threats such as global terrorists.

The U.S. now has about 5,000 operational nuclear weapons, about half as many as a decade ago. They can be launched from ballistic missile submarines, from underground silos housing intercontinental ballistic missiles, and from B-52 and B-2 bombers at air bases in Louisiana, North Dakota and Missouri.

The Air Force, which provides the land and air legs of the triad, argues for preserving that Cold War-era configuration.

"It remains our conviction that as you go down (in numbers of nuclear weapons), the triad actually becomes more important," Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, told reporters Friday. "The diversity, the variety, the attributes associated with each leg of the triad reinforce each other to a greater degree."

Both the B-52 and the B-2 are capable of doing more than carrying nuclear weapons. The B-52 has been modernized many times and is now used in a variety of roles, including close-air support of troops in conflict and can carry missiles, bombs and mines. The first of the current H models entered service in May 1961.

The land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force dates to 1959. Ballistic missile subs, known as "boomers," were first launched in 1960; the current Ohio-class fleet dates to 1981.

The administration is nearing completion of an internal review of how many nuclear weapons are required to meet today's security needs; that process will lead to decisions on whether to reshape the nuclear arsenal. That effort is linked to consultations with NATO allies on whether to withdraw the remaining U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe, an arrangement that also is rooted in the Cold War. Also at play is how to set the stage for a new round of nuclear reduction talks with Russia.

The only move the Pentagon is making on the nuclear weapons front in the 2013 budget is a proposed two-year delay in development of a new generation of submarines to replace those how equipped with Trident nuclear missiles.

The Arms Control Association, which favors cutting nuclear weapons, estimates that the new fleet of ballistic missile submarines would cost $350 billion to build and would last for 50 years. It advocates shrinking the number of subs to eight, which is says would save $27 billion over 10 years.

Laicie Olson, senior policy analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said in an interview Friday that she was surprised, given Obama's commitment to reducing the number of nuclear weapons, that the administration is not using its 2013 defense budget to take substantial steps in that direction.

"All of these things are sticking around," she said, referring also to the U-2 spy plane, which was to have been retired in 2015 and replaced by a high-tech successor, the Global Hawk, which is flown without a pilot aboard.

Preserving such Cold War-era weapons "actually seems like the opposite of what the president set out to do," she said.

The Pentagon announced Thursday that the Global Hawk turned out to be a disappointment and no cheaper to use, so it is being canceled. As a result, the Air Force is extending the lifespan of the U-2, nicknamed "Angel" by Kelly Johnson, the Lockheed engineer who helped design the high-altitude spy plane.

Since 1994 the Air Force has spent $1.7 billion to modernize the U-2, whose claims to fame include the October 1962 flights over Cuba that confirmed the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles, touching off the Cuban missile crisis.

___

Online:

Pentagon: http://tinyurl.com/84ouz2u

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: http://armscontrolcenter.org/

Arms Control Association: http://www.armscontrol.org

___

Robert Burns can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP

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

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Matt Yglesias Is Wrong About Copyright

Oh, but Caleb, you will say. A lunch is different than an electronic copy of a work of art. And I would answer, Yes, that's true, but that's a separate issue, which I'll get to in a moment. The rationale quoted above depends in no way on the nature of what is taken. It's merely a claim that the economy-boosting spending potential of a thief is not necessarily impaired by his theft, and it can justify, or at least minimize the harm of, the theft of anything, abstract or concrete. It depends in no way on the nature of what is taken. Let's try taking Yglesias' laptop, for example. Here we go. ... Great! Now I have a new laptop. And the money that I was going to spend upgrading mine, I'm now free to spend on a new bicycle! Somebody in Portland will hand-make it, probably. A hipster has been given a job! Yglesias' laptop is my new bicycle! The Internet is so much fun.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6b9eac2a08a3a776ab52169e99705405

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শনিবার, ২৮ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

Dow slips to first losing week of 2012 (AP)

NEW YORK ? The stock market closed mostly lower Friday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its first losing week of 2012, after the government reported that economic growth was slower at the end of last year than economists expected.

The Dow spent the whole day in the red. It ended down 74 points, or 0.6 percent, at 12,660.46. The loss snapped a three-week winning streak for the Dow, which fell 60 points for the week but is still up 3.6 percent for the year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 struggled above even with an hour to go in trading, but it lost the gains and finished down 2.10 points at 1,316.33. The S&P finished the week up a sliver ? 0.95 points.

The Nasdaq composite, which has more than doubled the Dow's gain for the year, edged up 11.27 to 2,816.55. It rose about 30 points this week.

Economic growth for October through December came in at an annual rate of 2.8 percent. That was the fastest of 2011 but lower than the 3 percent that economists were looking for.

Utility companies led the way down with a fall of 1.3 percent. Most of the other nine industries in the S&P also fell, but only slightly, continuing a curious trading pattern this year: Trading has been calm in the past four weeks, a big change from the violent moves up and down that marked much of 2011.

Friday was the 17th day in a row of moves of less than 100 points up or down for the Dow. The last time the index had a longer period of such small moves was a 34-day stretch that started Dec. 3, 2010.

Despite the drift lower, investors displayed some bullishness.

Roughly two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. And the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose nearly 2 percent for the week. Investors tend to sell stocks in the Russell when they're worried, not buy them, because smaller firms often don't have much cash and other resources when times get tough.

"Risk-taking is picking up," says Jeff Schwarte, a portfolio manager at Principal Global Equities. He says his firm has been buying small firms since late last year. "We're still finding attractive stocks."

Next week, investors will turn their attention to Facebook, the powerhouse social network, which appears headed for the most anticipated initial public offering of stock in years.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Friday that Facebook could raise as much as $10 billion in an offering that would value the company at $75 billion to $100 billion.

That would vault Facebook into the largest public companies in the world, on par with the likes of McDonald's, Amazon.com and Visa. The Journal said Facebook could file IPO papers as early as Wednesday.

Investors earlier in the week had plenty of reason to hope the indexes would keep moving higher.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced it would likely keep benchmark interest rates near zero through late 2014, more than a year longer than it previously indicated. That helped send the Dow to its highest close since May.

Also lifting spirits: Apple had its best quarter for profits, trouncing expectations.

On Thursday, the Dow kept rising, briefly passing its highest close since the financial crisis three years ago. But the rally faded after news that new home sales in December had dropped, capping a year that ranked the worst for home sales since record-keeping began in 1963.

Among stocks making big moves Friday:

? Chevron fell more than 2 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow average, after its quarterly profit and revenue came in well below what analysts were expecting. Oil and natural gas production declined.

? Ford fell 4 percent after reporting disappointing earnings because of weak sales in Europe. The company said its results were also hurt by problems at parts suppliers in Thailand because of flooding there.

? Starbucks fell 1 percent after reporting late Thursday that that full-year results were likely to come in less than expectations.

? Procter & Gamble, which makes Tide, Crest and other consumer products, fell less than 1 percent after cutting its earnings outlook.

? Legg Mason dropped 5 percent after the investment management company's earnings fell by half as clients pulled money out. Legg Mason posted earnings of 20 cents per share. Analysts expected 25 cents, according to FactSet.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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[OOC] Mutant Rivalry

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We are all like fireworks. We climb, shine, and always go our separate ways and become further apart. But even if that time comes, let's not disappear like a firework, and continue to shine forever.
Capt. Hitsugaya Toushiro

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I like that you added Echo in. I am looking forward to seeing how she'll fit into our new world.

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শুক্রবার, ২৭ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

Minnesota laying groundwork for gray wolf hunt (Reuters)

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) ? Minnesota officials on Thursday outlined plans to permit a hunting season for the gray wolf this year following its removal from federal endangered species protections, prompting opponents of the plan to consider a court challenge.

Minnesota is home to the largest population of gray wolves in the lower 48 states, about 2,900, and could become the first upper Midwest state to set a hunting season for the animals as they are stripped of federal protections.

Federal officials have withdrawn safeguards under the Endangered Species Act effective Friday, allowing states to decide whether or not to allow the gray wolf to be hunted.

There are about 4,000 gray wolves in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and adjacent states losing protections. Hunting seasons have not yet been proposed in Wisconsin or Michigan.

Federal court challenges brought by the Humane Society and other groups overturned de-listing bids by the fish and wildlife service in 2007 and 2009.

The Humane Society opposed the latest de-listing, opposes the hunting season and is considering another court challenge, Howard Goldman, the Minnesota state director of the Humane Society, said Thursday in a telephone interview.

"We are looking at the legal side and the biology," Goldman said. "We don't believe the wolf has recovered nationally. It only occupies 5 percent of its historic range."

Wolves were hunted to the edge of extinction nationwide, but populations have recovered to the point of conflict between ranchers, farmers and hunters who see them as a threat to livestock and big-game animals such as deer.

A separate population of about 1,200 wolves in Montana and Idaho were removed from the endangered species list last year under an unprecedented act of Congress.

There were fewer than 750 gray wolves in Minnesota in the 1950s. The population had grown to about 2,900 by the late 1990s, a level that has not changed significantly since, according to state natural resources department estimates.

Minnesota state officials plan to allow 400 gray wolves to be killed in a hunting season in late November and believe the population could sustain a higher quota. They discussed the plans with state lawmakers in committee hearings on Thursday.

(Reporting By David Bailey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/us_nm/us_minnesota_wolves_hunting

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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৬ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

Economy gains as businesses spend more, fire less

JIn this Jan. 6, 2012 photo, John Deere farm tractors are displayed at Sloan's Implement John Deere Dealership, in Virden, Ill. Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December after business stepped up spending on machinery and other capital goods. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

JIn this Jan. 6, 2012 photo, John Deere farm tractors are displayed at Sloan's Implement John Deere Dealership, in Virden, Ill. Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December after business stepped up spending on machinery and other capital goods. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Eva Sikora, left, an administrator at the Real Estate Education Center, discusses job opportunities with attendees at JobEXPO's job fair on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, after falling to a nearly four-year low the previous week. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

This Jan. 18, 2012 photo shows a new home in a development in Pleasant Hills, Pa. Fewer people bought new homes in December, making 2011 the worst sales year on record. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Graphic shows durable goods, new home sales and weekly jobless claims

Jason Weinstein, an account manager for Workforce1 Healthcare, discusses job opportunities with attendees at JobEXPO's job fair on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, after falling to a nearly four-year low the previous week. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

(AP) ? Businesses are growing more confident in the economy, investing in more equipment and laying off fewer workers.

Government figures on manufacturing and unemployment claims released Thursday raised hopes on the eve of a report on how much the economy grew in the October-December quarter.

Still, 2011 ended up as the worst year on record for new-home sales, a reminder that the economy has a long way to go.

"Business optimism seems to be picking up, which is critical to the growth and competitiveness of the U.S. economy over the long haul," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial.

Orders for manufactured goods expected to last at least three years rose 3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. And demand for goods that indicate business investment plans hit an all-time high.

A tax break that expired in December for large equipment purchases may have helped boost orders. Still, many economists said most companies are likely buying equipment simply because business is improving.

Manufacturers "have a real need to ramp up their spending on capital improvements ... because the economy is growing and industrial capacity has not kept up," said Carl Riccadonna, an economist at Deutsche Bank.

That growth was evident after Caterpillar said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 percent. The world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment also issued 2012 guidance above Wall Street predictions.

And 3M Co., which makes everything from Post-It Notes to Scotch tape, said sales in its industrial and transportation unit rose 14 percent in the fourth-quarter. The increase was driven by parts for cars and planes.

Factories are busier in large part because businesses are ordering more communication equipment, industrial machinery and autos. Economists pay close attention to demand for such core capital goods, which are considered a good proxy for business investment plans.

In December, orders for core capital goods rose to a record $68.9 billion. That's more than 45 percent higher than the recession low hit in April 2009.

The increase offered some reassurance about the status of the recovery, especially after core capital goods fell in October and November. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve cited the decline while warning that the economy remains vulnerable.

After seeing the government's report, some economists said those concerns may have been premature.

"With big-ticket spending rising and the labor market firming, the economy is a lot better than some central bankers think," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.

Companies are also laying off fewer workers, which has some economists optimistic about job growth in January.

Weekly applications rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. But that followed a week in which they fell to near a four-year low. And the longer-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market.

The four-week average has declined to 377,500. When applications fall consistently below 375,000, it tends to signal that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The nation has added at least 100,000 jobs for six straight months. And the unemployment rate has declined to 8.5 percent ? the lowest rate in almost three years.

Some economists worry that businesses are investing in heavy equipment so they don't need to hire as many workers. But Riccadonna said that recent data show otherwise. Companies spent more in the first half of the year, and hiring picked up several months later.

"You need workers to produce the equipment and you need workers to operate it once it's put it in place," he said.

Growth likely accelerated in the final three months of the year to a 3 percent annual pace, according to a survey of economists by Factset. That would be an improvement over the 1.8 percent pace in July-September quarter, and a relief after seeing 0.9 percent growth in the first half of last year.

The Commerce Department will report the actual figure Friday.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the decline in business investment during October and November will be reflected in fourth-quarter growth. He predicts just 2.4 percent growth, even though business investment probably was stagnant during that period.

"The good news is that the growth rate of business investment should accelerate again in the first quarter," Ashworth said. That will help to offset a projected slowdown in consumer spending. He estimates growth in the current quarter at around 2 percent.

In another sign the economy is gaining strength, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose in December for the fourth straight month.

Housing remains the weakest part of the economy. New-home sales fell last month, and total sales for 2011 were the lowest on records dating back to 1963.

Still, sales of new homes rose in the final quarter of 2011, supporting other signs of a slow turnaround that began at the end of the year.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose in December for a third straight month. Mortgage rates have never been lower. Homebuilders are slightly more hopeful because more people are saying they might consider buying this year. And home construction picked up in the final quarter of last year.

"A sustained rise in new-home sales is imminent," Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. "Homebuilders say so too, and they should know."

___

AP Real Estate Writer Derek Kravitz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-26-US-Economy/id-fd035db0183242c6b694205ace78e1fb

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School lunches to have more veggies, whole grains (AP)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. ? The first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in more than 15 years means most offerings ? including the always popular pizza ? will come with less sodium, more whole grains and a wider selection of fruits and vegetables on the side.

First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new guidelines during a visit Wednesday with elementary students. Mrs. Obama, also joined by celebrity chef Rachael Ray, said youngsters will learn better if they don't have growling stomachs at school.

"As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat, and ensure they have a reasonably balanced diet," Mrs. Obama said. "And when we're putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria."

After the announcement, the three went through the line with students and ate turkey tacos with brown rice, black bean and corn salad and fruit ? all Ray's recipes ? with the children in the Parklawn Elementary lunchroom.

Under the new rules, pizza won't disappear from lunch lines, but will be made with healthier ingredients. Entire meals will have calorie caps for the first time and most trans fats will be banned. Sodium will gradually decrease over a 10 year period. Milk will have to be low in fat and flavored milks will have to be nonfat.

Despite the improvements, the new rules aren't as aggressive as the Obama administration had hoped. Congress last year blocked the Agriculture Department from making some of the desired changes, including limiting french fries and pizzas.

A bill passed in November would require the department to allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The initial draft of the department's guidelines, released a year ago, would have prevented that. Congress also blocked the department from limiting servings of potatoes to two servings a week. The final rules have incorporated those directions from Congress.

Among those who had sought the changes were potato growers and food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools. Conservatives in Congress called the guidelines an overreach and said the government shouldn't tell children what to eat. School districts also objected to some of the requirements, saying they go too far and would cost too much.

The guidelines apply to lunches subsidized by the federal government. A child nutrition bill signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 will help school districts pay for some of the increased costs. Some of the changes will take place as soon as this September; others will be phased in over time.

While many schools are improving meals already, others still serve children meals high in fat, salt and calories. The guidelines are designed to combat childhood obesity and are based on 2009 recommendations by the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vilsack said food companies are reformulating many of the foods they sell to schools in anticipation of the changes.

"The food industry is already responding," he said. "This is a movement that has started, it's gaining momentum."

Diane Pratt-Heavner of the School Nutrition Association, which represents school lunch workers, said that many schools won't count pizza as a vegetable even though they can. Students qualifying for subsidized meals must have a certain number of vegetables and other nutritious foods on their lunch trays.

"Most schools are serving fruit or vegetables next to their pizza and some schools are even allowing unlimited servings of fruit or vegetables," Pratt-Heavner said.

Celebrity chef Ray said she thinks too much has been made of the availability of pizza and French fries. The new rules will make kids' lunch plates much more nutrient dense, she said.

"The overall picture is really good," she said. "This is a big deal."

The subsidized meals that would fall under the guidelines are served as free and low-cost meals to low-income children and long have been subject to government nutrition standards. The 2010 law will extend, for the first time, nutrition standards to other foods sold in schools that aren't subsidized by the federal government. That includes "a la carte" foods on the lunch line and snacks in vending machines.

Those standards, while expected to be similar, will be written separately and have not yet been proposed by the department.

___

Online:

USDA school lunch rules: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/nutritionstandards.htm

___

Find Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_healthier_school_lunches

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বুধবার, ২৫ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

APNewsBreak: Ark. teen charged in sister's death (AP)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? Prosecutors filed a formal murder charge Wednesday against a 15-year-old Arkansas boy who authorities say confessed to killing his older sister.

The formal paperwork charging Colton Harvey with first-degree murder in the death of his 16-year-old sister, Candace, was filed more than a week after authorities said he showed up at the Franklin County Sheriff's office and told investigators he shot his sister at their family's home near Ozark.

The court filings obtained by The Associated Press also order Harvey not to communicate or be around his parents unless they initiate the conversation. His family didn't return a phone message left at their home in rural western Arkansas on Wednesday.

A judge appointed a public defender to represent Harvey, but no lawyer was listed in the court papers. A public defender responsible for appointing attorneys didn't immediately return a phone message, and prosecutor David Gibbons said he didn't know who would be representing Harvey.

Gibbons has said he planned to charge the boy as an adult "because of the nature of the crime."

Sheriff Anthony Boen said Harvey showed up at his office the morning of Jan. 15 with tears in his eyes and confessed to killing his sister in their home near Ozark, a town of about 3,600 residents roughly 120 miles northwest of Little Rock.

"He just said that he had just shot and killed his sister," Boen said. "... He didn't give a motive."

Investigators believe Harvey killed his sister between 8 a.m., when their parents left to go grocery shopping about 40 miles away, and 9:30 a.m., when he turned himself in at the sheriff's department, Boen said.

Authorities confiscated multiple guns from the family's home and vehicle, and were trying to determine which weapon had been used. The sheriff said the boy and his father were avid hunters.

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_teen_sister_shot

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Researchers report fundamental malaria discovery

Monday, January 23, 2012

A team of researchers led by Kasturi Haldar and Souvik Bhattacharjee of the University of Notre Dame's Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases has made a fundamental discovery in understanding how malaria parasites cause deadly disease.

The researchers show how parasites target proteins to the surface of the red blood cell that enables sticking to and blocking blood vessels. Strategies that prevent this host-targeting process will block disease.

The research findings appear in the Jan. 20 edition of the journal Cell, the leading journal in the life sciences. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Malaria is a blood disease that kills nearly 1 million people each year. It is caused by a parasite that infects red cells in the blood. Once inside the cell, the parasite exports proteins beyond its own plasma membrane border into the blood cell. These proteins function as adhesins that help the infected red blood cells stick to the walls of blood vessels in the brain and cause cerebral malaria, a deadly form of the disease that kills over half a million children each year.

In all cells, proteins are made in a specialized cell compartment called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) from where they are delivered to other parts of the cell. Haldar and Bhattacharjee and collaborators Robert Stahelin at the Indiana University School of Medicine- South Bend (who also is an adjunct faculty member in Notre Dame's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry), and David and Kaye Speicher at the University of Pennsylvania's Wistar Institute discovered that for host-targeted malaria proteins the very first step is binding to the lipid phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, PI(3)P, in the ER.

This was surprising for two reasons. Previous studies suggested an enzyme called Plasmepsin V that released the proteins into the ER was also the export mechanism. However, Haldar, Bhattacharjee and colleagues discovered that binding to PI(3)P lipid which occurs first is the gate keeper to control export and that export can occur without Plasmepsin V action. Further, in higher eukaryotic cells (such as in humans), the lipid PI(3)P is not usually found within the ER membrane but rather is exposed to the cellular cytoplasm.

Haldar and Bhattacharjee are experts in malaria parasite biology and pathogenesis. Stahelin is an expert in PI(3)P lipid biology, and David and Kaye Speicher are experts in proteomics and a method called mass spectrometry.

###

University of Notre Dame: http://www.nd.edu

Thanks to University of Notre Dame 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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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116919/Researchers_report_fundamental_malaria_discovery

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মঙ্গলবার, ২৪ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

French parliament passes Armenian 'genocide' bill

Turkish citizens from France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, to protest against a law that would make it a crime to deny "genocide" in Armenia. Thousands of Turks have marched through Paris denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. Turks waving their country's red flag marched on Saturday to the Senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday after passage in December in the lower house.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Turkish citizens from France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, to protest against a law that would make it a crime to deny "genocide" in Armenia. Thousands of Turks have marched through Paris denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. Turks waving their country's red flag marched on Saturday to the Senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday after passage in December in the lower house.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Turkish citizens from France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, to protest against a law that would make it a crime to deny "genocide" in Armenia. Thousands of Turks have marched through Paris denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. Turks waving their country's red flag marched on Saturday to the Senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday after passage in December in the lower house.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

(AP) ? France's parliament voted Monday to make it a crime to deny that the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted a genocide, risking more sanctions from Turkey and complicating an already delicate relationship with the rising power.

Turkey, which sees the allegations of genocide as a threat to its national honor, suspended military, economic and political ties and briefly recalled its ambassador last month when the lower house of parliament approved the same bill.

Before Monday's Senate vote, Turkey threatened more measures if the bill passed, though did not specify them. President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose party supported the bill, still needs to sign it into law, but that is largely considered a formality.

The debate surrounding the measure comes in the highly charged run-up to France's presidential elections this spring, and critics have called the move a ploy to the garner votes of the some 500,000 Armenians who live in France.

Valerie Boyer, the lawmaker from Sarkozy's conservative UMP party who wrote the bill, did not deny that, saying that politicians are supposed to pass laws that they think their constituents want.

"That's democracy," she said.

But this domestic gamble could have major international consequences. France's relations with Turkey are already strained, in large part because Sarkozy opposes Turkey's entry into the European Union. The law will no doubt further sour relations with a NATO member that is playing an increasingly important role in the international community's response to the violence in Syria, the standoff over Iran's nuclear program and peace negotiations in the Middle East.

"It is null and void for us," Turkey's Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said on live TV immediately after the bill's passage Monday. "It is a great disgrace and injustice against Turkey. I want to tell to France that you have no value for us in the slightest degree, we don't care."

The bill has also drawn massive protests in Paris, with thousands of Turks converging on the city this weekend to denounce it. On Monday, smaller rival demonstrations, separated by a substantial police presence, gathered outside the Senate.

The Senate voted 127 to 86 to pass the bill late Monday. Twenty-four people abstained. The measure sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of euro45,000 ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the killings.

Despite the potentially serious consequences, many senators did not show up for the vote, instead allowing colleagues to serve as proxies. Those in the Senate chamber, however, fiercely debated the measure over several hours.

For some in France, the bill is part of a tradition of legislation in some European countries, born of the agonies of the Holocaust, that criminalizes the denial of genocides. Denying the Holocaust is already a punishable crime in France.

Most historians contend that the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians as the Ottoman Empire broke up was the 20th century's first genocide, and several European countries recognize the massacres as such. Switzerland has convicted people of racism for denying the genocide.

But Turkey says that there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks also died during the chaotic disintegration of the empire. It also says that death toll is inflated.

Boyer, the bill's author, said Monday that it seeks to protect the very human rights that France first defined during its revolution.

Others warn that it threatens those same rights, especially freedom of expression. A Senate commission, in fact, recommended against the passage of the law, saying it raised constitutional questions, and the law could still face constitutional challenges.

"It's not up to parliament to define history," said Jean-Jacques Pignard, a senator who spoke against the measure in an hourslong debate. "We can't impose repentance. Repentance is a long personal journey."

But the senators who spoke for it on Monday said it was their duty to fight against those who would deny settled history.

"Once it's written, isn't it up to us to take notice?" asked Yannick Vaugrenard, a Socialist senator. "The truth is not always strong enough to conquer lies."

While senators debated the law Monday afternoon, about 150 pro-Armenian protesters and the same number of pro-Turkish demonstrators gathered outside the building.

Those in the pro-Turkish camp held banners declaring, "Liberty, Equality, Stupidity" and "It's not up to politicians to invent history."

Turkey's ambassador to France later lamented the vote.

"Everyone is going to suffer (from this). France, Turkey, Armenia of course. There will be unfortunately a radicalization of positions of all sides," said Tahsin Burcuoglu.

But Alexis Govciyan, national president of the Council of Coordination of Armenian Organizations in France, said that the law that would protect "the memory of the victims of the genocide, and the dignity of their descendants like us will be respected."

___

Associated Press writers Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, and Jeffrey Schaeffer and Nicolas Garriga in Paris also contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-23-EU-France-Turkey-Genocide/id-ecedc06405c54a8f8f59c5ce031a2382

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Teen ends globe-circling voyage in St. Maarten (AP)

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten ? Laura Dekker set a steady foot aboard a dock in St. Maarten on Saturday, ending a yearlong voyage aboard a sailboat named "Guppy" that apparently made her the youngest person ever to sail alone around the globe, though her trip was interrupted at several points.

Dozens of people jumped and cheered as Decker waved, wept and then walked across the dock accompanied by her mother, father, sister and grandparents, who had greeted her at sea earlier.

Dekker arrived in St. Maarten after struggling against high seas and heavy winds on a final leg from Cape Town, South Africa,

Dekker claims she is the youngest sailor to complete a round-the-world voyage, but Guinness World Records and the World Sailing Speed Record Council did not verify the claim, saying they no longer recognize records for youngest sailors to discourage dangerous attempts.

Dutch authorities tried to block Dekker's trip, arguing she was too young to risk her life, while school officials complained she should be in a classroom.

Dekker said she was born aboard a yacht off the coast of New Zealand and said she first sailed solo at 6 years old. At 10, she said, she began dreaming about crossing the globe. She celebrated her 16th birthday during the trip, eating doughnuts for breakfast after spending time at port with her father and friends the night before.

The teenager covered more than 27,000 nautical miles on a trip with stops that sound like a skim through a travel magazine: the Canary Islands, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Bora Bora, Australia, South Africa and now, St. Maarten, from which she set out on Jan. 20, 2011.

"Her story is just amazing," said one of Dekker's fans, 10-year-old Jody Bell of Connecticut. "I can't imagine someone her age going out on sea all by herself."

Bell was in St. Maarten on a work trip with her mother, Deena Merlen, an attorney in Manhattan, who wanted to see Dekker complete her journey. The two wore T-shirts that read: "Guppy rocks my world."

"My daughter and I have been following Laura's story, and we think it's amazing and inspiring," Merlen said.

Unlike other young sailors who recently crossed the globe, Dekker repeatedly anchored at ports along the way to sleep, study and repair her 38-foot (11.5-meter) sailboat.

During her trip, she went surfing, scuba diving, cliff diving and discovered a new hobby: playing the flute, which she said in her weblog was easier to play than a guitar in bad weather.

Dekker also complained about custom clearings, boat inspections, ripped sails, heavy squalls, a wet and salty bed, a near-collision with two cargo ships and the presence of some persistent stowaways: cockroaches.

Highlights of her trip include 47 days of sailing the Indian Ocean, which left her with unsteady legs when she docked in Durban, South Africa, where she walked up and down the pier several times for practice.

Dekker launched her trip two months after Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old U.S. sailor, was rescued in the middle of the Indian Ocean during a similar attempt. Jessica Watson of Australia completed a 210-day solo voyage at age 16, a few months older than Dekker.

Dekker has said she plans to move there after her voyage, but it is unclear is she still plans to do so.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_st_maarten_young_sailor

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সোমবার, ২৩ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

Is Democratic Socialism the Next Step in Our Political Evolution? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The last few months have seen some of the most prominent symbols of authoritarian communism falling. Protests have fired up in Russia against the almost dictatorial rule of Vladimir Putin (a former KGB officer and Communist Party of the Soviet Union elite). Allegations of election fraud and ballot-stuffing abound, and the people of Russia are now clamoring for real democracy.

Kim Jong-il has passed away and signals a change in regime of what USA Today calls "the world's last hardline communist state." While nobody is expecting a fair and free election in North Korea, the regime is changing. And the Glorious Successor Kim Jong-Un is reportedly "a whiz at computing and technology," which may open the door for freedom of information and communication in that country.

Finally, Cuba has slowly and quietly been instituting a number of free-market reforms, including privatizing real estate and allowing loans for private entrepreneurs. The anti-U.S. rhetoric of Fidel Castro has faded as he has, and Cuba is moving slowly toward a capitalist system. It is true that capitalism and democracy won the fight for world dominance decades ago in the intellectual and political trenches of the Cold War. But the fading historical bastions of communism must force us to consider this: What is the next step of human political evolution?

What is the next step?

This is what we must ask ourselves. Amid the chronic corruption and inequality that the current systems have promoted, and the subsequent economic collapses and global protests that they have inspired, there are any number of choices. Disciples of Ayn Rand would argue for a more capitalistic society (and would insist that the economic failures of the past century are due to the mixing of capitalism and socialism). However, there is another option.

Unfortunately, the words "socialism" and "communism" carry such a stigma these days that they are synonyms for unpatriotic and akin to treason (look no farther than the House Un-American Activities Committee which prosecuted members of the Communist Party at the height of the Cold War). But it cannot be ignored that all of the major communist societies in the past have also been authoritarian regimes. Communism equals authoritarian and capitalism equals democratic. This has been the norm, and thus the triumph of democracy has meant the triumph of capitalism. What has never been tried in any real way is a democratic socialist society, though it has existed in theory in the writings of various political philosophers like Erich Fromm and John Stuart Mill in his later writings.

What the collapse of the symbols of the last authoritarian communist regimes in the world should force us to consider is, are democracy and socialism incompatible? And if not, would a democratic socialist state thrive on the global stage?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120123/pl_ac/10718195_is_democratic_socialism_the_next_step_in_our_political_evolution

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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/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_en_ot/us_music_vivica_genaux

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রবিবার, ২২ জানুয়ারী, ২০১২

South Carolina GOP primary races to dramatic close (AP)

COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Republicans Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are not ceding one inch of South Carolina as the unpredictable campaign for the South's first presidential primary concludes ? and certainly not Tommy's Ham House.

Romney is fighting a suddenly surging Gingrich, while rivals Rick Santorum and Ron Paul look to surprise in a four-man race that has spun wildly in its last 48 hours.

Seen as Romney's to lose just days ago, South Carolina's primary has become a close contest between Romney, the former Massachusetts governor portraying himself as the best able to beat President Barack Obama, and Gingrich, the confrontational former House speaker and former Georgia congressman.

Both were scheduled to hold dueling campaign events at Tommy's, in Republican-rich Greenville, late Saturday morning. And neither campaign was stepping back from a primary day showdown.

It's "neck and neck," Romney declared Friday, moving to lower expectations for a race he led by double digits as of midweek.

Even as Romney was touting his electability in November, he continued to try to stoke doubt about Gingrich's ethics.

Gingrich, buoyed by the endorsement of Texas Gov. Rick Perry as he left the race Thursday, called Romney's suggestion that his chief rival release documents relating to an ethics investigation from the 1990s a "panic attack" brought on by sinking poll numbers.

Romney's demand was turnabout from Gingrich's that Romney release his income tax returns before the weekend primary. Gingrich argues that GOP voters need to know whether the wealthy former venture capital executive's records contain anything that could hurt the party's chances against Obama.

The stakes were high for Saturday's vote. The primary winner has gone on to win the Republican nomination in every election since 1980. And voters were faced with stamping Romney, who has led in national polls since December, as the party's front-runner, or reshuffle the contest.

Romney won the New Hampshire primary by a wide marign on Jan. 10, and was thought to have edged Santorum in a photo-finish in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. However, the certified count from Iowa on Thursday showed Santorum had received more votes, although a handful of precincts remained uncertain and no winner was declared.

Romney, Gingrich and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator vying to be the preferred conservative, all planned to campaign in South Carolina's conservative upstate as the voting got under way. Paul, the Texas congressman who has campaigned lightly here, had no campaign appearances scheduled but was expected to visit campaign volunteers.

Behind the flurry of public events around the state Friday, telephones and televisions crackled with attack messages. Some of South Carolina's notorious 11th-hour devilry ? fake reports in the form of emails targeting Gingrich and his ex-wife Marianne ? emerged in a race known as much for its nastiness as for its late-game twists.

"Unfortunately, we are now living up to our reputation," said South Carolina GOP strategist Chip Felkel.

State Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson ordered a preliminary review of the phony messages to see if any laws had been broken.

Gingrich's ex-wife burst into the campaign this week when she alleged in an ABC News interview that her former husband had asked her for an "open marriage," a potentially damaging claim in a state where the Republican primary electorate includes a potent segment of Christian conservatives. The thrice-married Gingrich, who has admitted to marital infidelities, angrily denied her accusation.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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