James, Heat escape with 97-93 win over Bulls (AP)

MIAMI ? LeBron James scored 35 points, while reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose wasted two chances in the final 23 seconds and the Miami Heat escaped with a 97-93 win Sunday over the Chicago Bulls.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points and added 12 rebounds for the Heat, who never trailed ? but this win in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals was not easy. Dwyane Wade added 15 points for Miami.

Rose scored 34 points for Chicago, but missed a pair of foul shots that would have given Chicago the lead with 22.7 seconds left. He had made all 29 of his free throws in the fourth quarter this season.

And Rose had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but his short jumper bounced off the rim.

Bosh sealed it with two free throws with 0.1 seconds left for Miami, which has now won five straight over the Bulls ? counting the last four games of last season's East title series.

Both sides said this game was supposed to be just another regular-season matchup, one without extra meaning.

So not true.

The Bulls erased what was a 12-point deficit and tied the game at 84 on a brilliant layup by Rose with 6:55 left. The Heat answered with a 10-2 run, before Rose's three-point play with 49.1 seconds left cut the lead to 94-93.

Rose then lost the ball on a drive, but drew contact from Miami's Udonis Haslem and went to the line with Chicago down one with 22.7 seconds left. Rose's first hit the front of the rim and bounced away, and his second rimmed out. James grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Joakim Noah ? only to miss both free throws himself.

After the second miss, Bosh appeared to emerge with the rebound, but an inadvertent whistle led to a jump ball. James outleaped Taj Gibson, getting the ball to Mario Chalmers, who made one free throw for a two-point lead.

Chicago wound up getting one last chance with 9.9 seconds left, calling time-out. Naturally, it went to Rose, who weaved his way into the lane ? but came up short. Bosh got the rebound, and Miami began celebrating.

Rip Hamilton and Noah each scored 11 for Chicago, which got 10 apiece from Ronnie Brewer and Carlos Boozer.

The Bulls played without forward Luol Deng and guard C.J. Watson, both sidelined with wrist injuries. Watson may be back in Chicago's lineup as early as Monday, and Deng ? who has a torn ligament in his left, non-shooting, wrist ? is "very close" to a return, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Miami took an 11-point lead early in the fourth on back-to-back 3-pointers from Shane Battier and James. The Bulls roared back, as they did for most of the day whenever the Heat seemed on the cusp of taking control.

They just never got the lead, despite Rose's best efforts.

"Two sick moves by D-Rose," Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant tweeted as he watched the game, marveling at two layups by Rose that knotted the game at 84.

Insistence that this was "just another game" notwithstanding, Miami started quickly. Wade appeared a bit more emotionally charged than usual after joining his teammates in the pregame huddle, and the Heat ran out to a fast early edge.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say they "jumped" out to that lead.

Wade set James up for three dunks in the first 7 minutes, the last of which is probably going to be replayed for quite a while. James appeared to be forgotten as he hovered on the weak side of the floor, so he darted toward the basket. Wade tossed a lob his way ? and the two-time MVP leapfrogged the 5-foot-11 John Lucas for a dunk that put Miami up 16-7.

Even the NBA took notice of that one: Within minutes, replays of the James dunk were sent out on the league's Twitter feed.

Chicago quickly settled down, getting within 24-22 at the end of the first quarter. But Miami scored 11 straight early in the second, the last seven of those coming with Wade and James both on the bench, to open a 35-24 edge. Wade's first points came with 6:14 left in the half, two free throws that gave Miami what was its biggest lead at 42-30.

The Bulls chipped away again, and by halftime Miami's edge was only 56-51.

Wade missed eight of nine shots in the first half and an airball dropped him to 1 for 10 early in the third quarter.

Chicago had a chance for its first lead when Rose attacked the rim moments later. But his layup was blocked by Joel Anthony, and James threw about a 65-foot pass to Wade for a dunk. James found Wade again for another transition slam less than a minute later for a 63-58 advantage.

The lead was still five entering the fourth. James made a 20-footer over Brewer with 0.2 left in the third to push Miami's edge to 76-71.

Notes: James had a large icepack strapped to his right shoulder during a first-half stint of rest. He was grabbing at the shoulder in pain early in the first quarter after a collision, but did not appear to have a serious issue. ... Boozer said he needed more than 20 tickets for the game. He's been spending part of his offseasons in Miami for several years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bkn_bulls_heat

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Carpooling Parents Less Vigilant About Booster Seats (LiveScience.com)

While the majority of parents report using booster seats for their 4- to 8-year-old children, booster seat use among children who carpool is inconsistent, a new study suggests.

In a national survey, University of Michigan researchers asked 681 parents about their use of booster seats. Of those, 64 percent reported carpooling with children.

Of the carpooling parents, "we found that they were using booster seats less often for their own children, and they were also less likely to ask another parent to use a booster seat for their child," said study co-author Dr. Michelle Macy, a lecturer in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Michigan.

Parents said they used a booster seat 76 percent of the time when driving their own children in the family car. But of these, only half said their child always uses a booster seat when riding with friends who do not use booster seats.

Further, one in five parents doesn't always ask other parents to use a booster seat for their child, the study showed.

The study is published online today (Jan. 30) in the journal Pediatrics.

States without booster seat laws

Most states have laws requiring booster seats for children, but in the three states without those laws ? Arizona, Florida and South Dakota ? reported use of booster seats was lower, especially as children got older, the researchers found. While 79 percent of parents reported using booster seats for 7- to 8-year olds in states with applicable laws, only 37 percent in states without corresponding laws reported doing so.

For carpooling parents, more than 90 percent reported using booster seats in states with child-restraint laws, while fewer than 50 percent reported using the seats in states without the laws.

National guidelines suggest using booster seats for children under 4 feet 9 inches tall, the height of an average 11-year-old, Macy said. No states specify height as the basis of their laws, she said.

One of the best ways to reduce injuries to children involved in traffic accidents is to make state laws consistent with these national height guidelines, Macy said. "Most of the state laws are set [so parents] use a booster seat until the child is eight," she said. ??

The researchers gathered their data from 12 questions about booster-seat use and carpooling inserted into the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, an ongoing study at the University of Michigan.

Booster seat hassle

For car poolers, one problem is the hassle involved with moving a booster seat from one car to another. Researchers could work with safety-seat or automobile manufacturers "to see if they can come up with some options that would be more portable for families," Macy said.

The study does a good job investigating an important issue, said Dr. Mark Zonfrillo, leader of Child Passenger Safety Research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"It was interesting to see that, although overall use in the family car was high, the rates for car pooling were lower," Zonfrillosaid.

Both Zonfrillo and Macy said a strength of the study was its national sample of parents, but that self-reporting on surveys can sometimes be inaccurate. "We have no real way to verify if the parents do what they say they're doing," Macy said. "They might report ? more safety-seat use than they actually do."

Healthcare workers need to help parents recognize the importance of booster seats for their children's safety, Macy said.

"We've come a long way, and the injuries and deaths have really gone down," Macy said. "[Parents] should really consider the importance of being consistent with the way they're approaching safety with their kids, and not let [booster seats] become a point of conversation or compromise."

Pass it on: While many parents are using booster seats for their 4- to 8-year olds, fewer parents use the seats in carpooling situations. Parents should insist that children use the seats in the family car and in other people's vehicles.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. Find us on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120130/sc_livescience/carpoolingparentslessvigilantaboutboosterseats

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At least 9 killed, 18 hurt?in Fla. highway pile-ups

GAINESVILLE, Fla.?? At least nine people died in crashes overnight apparently caused by fog and smoke from a wildfire along Interstate 75 in north Florida, authorities said Sunday.

A local hospital was treating 18 people for injuries. Their conditions were unclear.

At least four to five large commercial vehicles and 10 passenger vehicles were involved. Many were badly mangled.

"That's a very scary thing when you can't see anything and hear the squealing of tires and don't know if 2,000 pounds of metal is coming at you," The Gainesville Sun quoted Alachua County Sheriff's Sgt. Todd Kelly as saying.

"We just hit it, and you couldn't see anything," added Donna Henry, who was driving with friends when her car hit a guardrail and ended up sideways.

From the side of the road she heard more crashes. "Like 15 times somebody hit, from this side and that, north and south. It was bad."

In one crash, a pickup truck was left sitting atop a passenger car and both were up against the rear end of a FedEx tractor-trailer. All vehicles were burned out.

The pile-ups, on both north- and southbound lanes, happened around 3:45 a.m. Sunday on both sides of I-75 south of Gainesville.

All lanes of the interstate remained closed as investigators began their work examining the vehicles, many of them just burned shells.

The Florida Highway Patrol had closed the highway briefly earlier overnight because of a mixture of fog and smoke from a marsh fire in the Paynes Prairie area south of Gainesville.

The agency had several troopers driving along the stretch of I-75 to access the situation early Sunday.

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"When the visibility cleared, we reopened the road," said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Patrick Riordan.

He said he was not sure how much time passed between the reopening of the highway and the first crash.

Riordan said this is the worst accident he's seen in his 27-year career with FHP.

Heavy fog and smoke were blamed for a deadly string of accidents four years ago. In January 2008, four people were killed and 38 injured similar crashes on Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa, about 125 miles south of Sunday's crash. More than 70 vehicles were involved in those crashes caused by fog and smoke, including one pile-up that involved 40 vehicles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46181122/ns/us_news-life/

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Arrests in Oakland protests rise to more than 400 (Reuters)

OAKLAND, Calif (Reuters) ? More than 400 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested in Oakland during a night of skirmishes in which police fired tear gas and bean bag projectiles, the city said on Sunday, marking one of the biggest mass arrests since nationwide economic protests began last year.

Earlier on Sunday, authorities had said that the arrest figure was between 200 and 300. But the Oakland emergency operations center said in a statement that revised that up to more than 400, and said that Oakland Police were expected to announce a more precise number later on Sunday.

Riot police on Saturday night fought running skirmishes with protesters, injuring three officers and at least one demonstrator.

The scuffles erupted in the afternoon as activists sought to take over a shuttered downtown convention center, sparking cat-and-mouse battles that lasted well into the night in a city that has seen tensions between police and protesters boil over repeatedly.

Oakland has become an unlikely flashpoint of the national "Occupy" protests against economic inequality that began last year in New York's financial district and have spread to dozens of cities across the country.

The protests in most cities have been peaceful and sparked a national debate over how much of the country's wealth is held by the richest 1 percent of the population. President Barack Obama has sought to capitalize on the attention by calling for higher taxes on the richest Americans.

Protests focused on Oakland after a former Marine, Scott Olsen, was critically injured during a demonstration in October. Protesters said he was hit in the head by a tear gas canister but authorities have never said exactly how he was hurt.

The Occupy movement appeared to lose momentum late last year as police cleared protest camps in cities across the country.

Violence erupted again in Oakland on Saturday when protesters attempted to take over the apparently empty downtown convention center to establish a new headquarters and draw attention to the problem of homelessness.

Police in riot gear moved in, firing smoke grenades, tear gas and bean-bag projectiles to drive the crowd back.

"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "Oakland Police Department deployed smoke and tear gas."

Some activists, carrying shields made of plastic garbage cans and corrugated metal, tried to circumvent the police line, and surged toward police on another side of the building as more smoke canisters were fired.

Oakland city officials said "extremists" were fomenting the demonstrations and using the city as a playground for the movement. Protesters have accused the city of overreacting and using heavy-handed tactics.

Across the country in New York, police said four people were arrested on Saturday night after protesters clashed with police at what demonstrators had called an "OccuParty" inside an abandoned building in the borough of Brooklyn. Protesters knocked over garbage pails and hurled objects at police, slightly injuring six officers, a police spokesman said. The four people were charged with a variety of crimes including inciting a riot.

Tension was rising in Washington as well, where the National Park Service has said it will bar Occupy protesters in the nation's capital from camping in two parks near the White House where they have been living since October.

That order, if carried out as promised on Monday, could be a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement.

(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York and Kim Dixon and Rachelle Younglai in Washington; Editing by Greg McCune and Corrie MacLaggan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/us_nm/us_oakland_protests

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Student charged in Utah school bomb plot (AP)

ROY, Utah ? The two teens had a detailed plot, blueprints of the school and security systems, but no explosives. They had hours of flight simulator training on a home computer and a plan to flee the country, but no plane.

Still, the police chief in this small Utah town said, the plot was real.

"It wasn't like they were hanging out playing video games," Roy Police Chief Gregory Whinham said Friday. "They put a lot of effort into it."

Dallin Morgan, 18, and a 16-year-old friend were arrested Wednesday at Roy High School, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, after a fellow student reported that she received ominous text messages from one of the suspects.

"If I tell you one day not to go to school, make damn sure you and your brother are not there," one message read, according to court records. "We ain't gonna crash it, we're just gonna kill and fly our way to a country that won't send us back to the U.S.," read another message.

While police don't have a motive, one text message noted they sought "revenge on the world."

The suspects say they were inspired by the deadly 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo., and the younger suspect even visited the school last month to interview the principal about the shootings and security measures.

However, one suspect told authorities it was offensive to be compared to the Columbine shooters because "those killers only completed 1 percent of their plan," according to a probable cause statement.

The teens had so studied their own school's security system that they knew how to avoid being seen on the facility's surveillance cameras, authorities said.

Whinham said the "very smart kids" had spent at least hundreds of dollars on flight simulator programs, books and manuals, studying them in anticipation of carrying out their plan to bomb an assembly at the 1,500-student high school.

While authorities said the suspects believed they could pull it off, experts said, it would have been a long shot.

Royal Eccles, manager at the Ogden-Hinckley Airport, about a mile from the school, said it would have been nearly impossible for the students to steal a plane or get the knowledge to fly one using flight simulator programs.

"It's highly improbable," Eccles said. "That's how naive these kids are."

Whinham said authorities searched two homes and two cars and found no explosives, but added that police continue to search other locations. The chief said it appeared that "a key component of their plan was not developed."

"I wouldn't want to say that they don't have it or that they weren't ready for it," he said. "I'm just saying that we haven't found anything that says they were ready for it yet."

Whinham said it appeared the suspects, who have no criminal history, also had prepared alternate attack plans, but he declined to elaborate. He also declined to say whether any firearms were found during their searches.

"Most houses have firearms in them," he said. "This is the state of Utah."

While authorities have said they have not found any explosives, they charged Morgan on Friday with possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

The basis for the charge wasn't immediately clear, though one of the elements of that offense is conspiracy to use a weapon, not necessarily possessing one. Prosecutors say they are considering additional charges.

Morgan has been released on bond, pending a court hearing Wednesday. The 16-year-old, whom The Associated Press isn't naming because he's a minor, remained held pending further court hearings.

Whinham said he knew both suspects personally, given the small size of the suburban Utah town of roughly 36,000 people. He said he had met with both of the suspects' parents and they were "devastated."

The 16-year-old suspect's father declined comment Friday, and no one answered the door at Morgan's home.

The plot "was months in planning," said Whinham, who also noted Morgan told investigators the 16-year-old had previously made a pipe bomb using gun powder and rocket fuel.

In Colorado, Columbine Principal Frank DeAngelis confirmed Friday he met with the 16-year-old suspect on Dec. 12 after the teenager told him he was doing a story for his school newspaper on the shootings.

DeAngelis said he frequently gets requests from students doing research on the shootings, and the request from this one wasn't unusual.

"He asked the same questions I get from many callers and visitors asking about the shooting," DeAngelis said. He said the student wanted details about the shooting, the aftermath and the steps taken since then to protect the school.

Police said the student told them Roy school officials would not allow him to write the story.

DeAngelis said he was shocked when he got a call from Utah police on Wednesday asking if he had met with the youth. He said the interview raised no red flags but that he would do things differently with future requests.

"This was definitely a wake-up call. This is the first time this has happened," DeAngelis said.

Police credit the suspects' schoolmate with helping foil their plan, though Whinham said the school didn't have any assemblies set, and the suspects revealed no specific dates to pull off the attack.

Sophomore Bailey Gerhardt told The Salt Lake Tribune she received alarming text messages from one of the suspects and alerted school administrators.

"I get the feeling you know what I'm planning," read one of the messages, according to court records. "Explosives, airport, airplane."

___

Associated Press writer Steven K. Paulson in Denver contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_us/us_school_bomb_plot

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Nintendo news, as re-told via Taiwanese CGI

New Media Animation

New Media Animation, the Taiwanese-based news crew that presents headlines via somewhat crudely assembled, yet still very much impressive due to their timeliness (as well as charming) CGI vignettes, has filed another video game-centered report.

It's latest recounts Nintendo's somewhat fall from grace, and the company's hopes that the Wii U will turn things around (when, as reported yesterday, it officially hits stores this holiday season). NMA rarely disappoints, and its latest is another home run:

Not to state the obvious, but among the reasons why NMA's retelling of the news is so compelling is its use of symbolism ? like Mario so desperate to get the attention of someone who is so entranced by "Angry Birds," that he's?willing to wear an?"Angry Birds" hat, only to be?crushed by the weight of a giant Game Boy. The exact meaning of this is open for interpretation.

Meanwhile, there's little analysis necessary when watching the head of Nintendo being bludgeoned by representatives from Sony and Microsoft, using a giant Dual Shock and giant Kinect respectively.

My favorite part? The look on the boy's face when his GameCube is punted like a football. Somewhere up there, Walt Disney has to be impressed, even just a tiny bit.

Okay, maybe not.

Related stories:

Matthew Hawkins is a NYC based game journalist who has also written for EGM, GameSetWatch, Gamasutra, Giant Robot, and numerous others. He also self-publishes his own game culture zine, is part of Attract Mode, and co-hosts of The Fangamer Podcast. You can keep tabs on him via?Twitter,?or his personal home-base,?FORT90.com.

Source: http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/27/10252570-nintendo-news-as-re-told-via-taiwanese-cgi

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NY inmate guilty of seeking $890M in tax refunds

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) ? A jury has convicted a New York prison inmate of falsely filing tax returns seeking $890 million in refunds.

Prosecutors say the man filed the bogus returns from 2006 to 2010 while at various state prisons. They say he even was issued a refund for $327,000 ? but prison officials intercepted the check and returned it to the Internal Revenue Service, which led the investigation.

The man was convicted Thursday of 11 counts of filing false claims and one count of helping another inmate file bogus returns.

He was serving two to four years for possession of stolen property when he was charged last February. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count when he's sentenced in May.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-27-Inmate-Tax%20Fraud/id-dc7d6ad7032749e484df9a85639d90f9

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German scientists shoot world's fastest movie: gone in 50 femtoseconds

No, it's not another Fast & Furious sequel, it's something much quicker -- 800 billion times quicker, to be precise. Scientists at DESY (Germany's largest particle physics center) are premiering the Guinness World Record-holding fastest "movie" to a select audience at its light sources users' meeting. The film was shot using an X-ray Laser, and splitting the light in two. By firing one beam off on a minuscule detour (0.015 millimeters) and delaying its arrival by 50 femtoseconds, two separate images are captured. Okay, so two frames isn't exactly Lord of the Rings, but it's still the smallest interval ever recorded. This technique won't be popping up in Hollywood any time soon -- instead, it's actually used for snapping subatomic glimpses of ultra-fast molecular processes and chemical reactions. Despite the brevity of this record-breaking flick, the plot is apparently still more complex than Tokyo Drift.

German scientists shoot world's fastest movie: gone in 50 femtoseconds originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bruce Jenner: My teens don't need college

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

?

By Us Weekly

Who needs a college degree when fame and fortune awaits?

Since their first appearance on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" in 2007, Kendall and Kylie Jenner have become stars in their own right, thanks to lucrative modeling campaigns and a thriving teen fashion empire.

PHOTOS: Kardashians as kids

When Us Weekly spoke to their father Bruce Jenner at the Performance 3D demonstration in NYC Monday, the 62-year-old Olympian admitted his girls' careers are so busy they may not pursue higher education.

"If they want to go to college, certainly, I think it's a good idea. But I'm not the advocate of, 'You've got to go to college!'" Bruce said. "I think by the time they graduate from high school, they will probably be in a position to go right to working."

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bruce defends Kendall's racy bikini photo shoot

Like their older sisters Kourtney, 32, Kim, 31, and Khloe, 27, Kendall and Kylie are becoming branded businesswomen, Bruce explained. "They've just developing their clothing line for Sears -- it's a little more teen-oriented, the clothing line. And they're working all the time on the show."

With two magazine covers under her belt (American Cheerleader and Teen Prom), Kendall, 16, is poised to become the next big supermodel, Bruce added.

VIDEO: Bruce freaks out when he finds out Kendall is on birth control

"She'll probably have a career by the time she's out of high school," Bruce told Us. "If that's what she wants to do, that's good. I don't know if college is going to be that important for her."

Do you agree the girls don't need college? Vote in our poll, and tell us on Facebook.

{"contentId":"10235644","totalVotes":"14443"}

Bruce Jenner's teens have millions. Do they need college?

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Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10235644-bruce-jenner-my-teens-dont-need-college

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Even without Hormuz blockade, Iran has options (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Under pressure over its nuclear ambitions, Iran might never act on its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz but could retain enough tricks in its playbook to keep its enemies, shippers and global markets on edge.

As Western states tighten sanctions and its enemies wage an apparent covert war against its uranium enrichment program, Tehran has warned several times it may seal off the waterway, choking the supply of Gulf crude and gas.

Few intelligence, military and security experts contacted by Reuters either in or outside government, however, believe that is genuinely likely. Instead, they say, Iran's leaders will be looking for ways to harass enemies and cause disruption while falling short of triggering a massive U.S.-led retaliation.

Possible Iranian gambits could include harrying tanker traffic in the Gulf with fast attack boats, seizing uninhabited Gulf islands claimed by other states, grabbing hostages from passing civilian or military ships, stoking trouble in Sunni Muslim-ruled Arab states with restive Shi'ite Muslim communities and orchestrating attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere using militant "proxies" such as Hezbollah.

The risk inherent in all this, however, is that someone on either side miscalculates and triggers a full-blown conflict.

"These scenarios make sense as likely actions falling short of actively blocking the Strait -- but they will certainly raise tensions," says Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island.

"Iran's goal in raising tensions in the Gulf may be to get other countries to put pressure on the United States to show restraint (and) as a way to create some breathing room for Tehran to maneuver."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard plans more military exercises for February, sending more swarms of gunboats into international waters and showing off its anti-ship missile arsenal.

That in itself could close some areas of the Gulf to shipping, as well is rattling neighbors and shipping firms.

Iran's 2007 capture of 15 British naval personnel proved hugely embarrassing for London. Tehran may be looking for similar ways success in humbling Western powers without inflicting physical harm.

Already, U.S. and allied naval officers say their vessels are often shadowed by Iranian gunboats, and some worry that if matters escalate further those confrontations could intensify.

"They could easily keep it coming and make it more harassing," said one Western naval officer with considerable experience in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

"But short of an Iranian small boat actually attacking one of our ships, our responses will be within the letter of the law and non-lethal in nature."

HEAVY POSTURING

Beyond the waters of the Gulf, many analysts expect Iran to further raise its support for regional proxies, from militants attacking U.S. forces in Afghanistan to Shi'ite protesters and militants in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

It could add to the growing sense of regional confrontation arising from Iran's defiance of several U.N. resolutions demanding that it suspend its atomic energy program, seen in the West as a camouflaged bid for nuclear weapons capability, and engage in negotiations with world powers on a solution.

Washington seems keen to stress its resolve and showcase its military strength. This week, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln passed through Hormuz flanked by British and French warships - in open defiance of Tehran's warning earlier this month that Washington should keep its carriers out of the Gulf.

In reality, naval sources say the move was likely planned months or longer in advance - every time a giant U.S. carrier docks anywhere, dozens of contracts need to be in place for it to be serviced and supplied.

But this time, given the Iranian threat and the heightened tension, the warships' entry would have been approved at the highest level and deliberately publicized to an unusual degree.

"Both sides are engaged in heavy posturing right now," said Reva Bhalla, director of strategic intelligence for U.S.-based consultancy Stratfor. "Iran is focused right now on highlighting its deterrence tools in the Persian Gulf ... This, of course, increases the risk of miscalculation."

Whilst some analysts believe the Islamic Republic may already worry it has overreached itself, others worry that pulling back may become increasingly difficult politically.

The conventional military mismatch between Iran and its enemies remains colossal.

As well as the Abraham Lincoln, the United States routinely retains a second carrier in the Indian Ocean - currently the USS Carl Vinson - within easy striking distance.

Between them, the two battle groups have the capacity to carry well over 120 aircraft, while escort ships will be carrying dozens if not hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles. Then there are U.S. combat aircraft based in the Gulf and Afghanistan, together with other well-equipped local air forces, particularly that of Saudi Arabia, not to mention Israel.

Long-range stealth and other bombers based either in the continental United States or the British Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia could also hit Iranian targets with virtual impunity.

"Closing Hormuz is a myth. Iran tried to do that for eight years during the (1980s) Iran-Iraq war, and it wasn't successful even for one hour," said Mustafa Alani, head of Security and Terrorism Studies at the Gulf Research Center.

"They put mines, hit ships, but traffic through the strait continued. They were hit very hard and learned their lesson when they hit an American ship. The U.S. president ordered the U.S. navy to attack, and two-thirds of the Iranian navy was destroyed in one day. We saw that and we know their limitations," he said.

"This is why there are clear statements coming from Saudi Arabia and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) saying, indirectly, that they will replace Iran's oil."

"ASYMMETRIC WARFARE" THREAT

Iran's functional air force is limited to perhaps as few as a few dozen strike aircraft, either Russian or aging U.S. models acquired before the 1979 Iranian revolution and for which Tehran has long struggled to find spare parts.

The conventional Iranian Navy (IRIN) is also weak by modern standards. In any war, its corvettes and relatively advanced three Russian-built Kilo diesel electric submarines -- the pride of its navy -- would almost certainly be destroyed.

Its missile, torpedo and sea mine-equipped mini submarines are also seen as likely to be sunk within days.

More of a worry to Western strategists and shippers are the hardline Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Naval Forces (IRGCNF) with their focus on "asymmetric warfare" designed to work around Tehran's conventional military inferiority.

Firing their truck-mounted missiles directly at a warship or commercial vessel would be swiftly judged an act of war and prompt the immediate U.S. destruction of coastal batteries. But hundreds of Iranian small boats - believed to include suicide craft modeled on those once used by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers -would offer more options.

Operating in international waters, they can perform threatening passes of both commercial and military shipping, perhaps even firing warning shots and essentially daring international forces to respond. Individual craft could even conduct damaging and perhaps deniable attacks.

For many -- including the insurance companies nervously watching Gulf waters as they determine premiums -- the key question is whether such forces are under responsible control.

"Whereas the IRIN (Iran's mainstream navy) is a conventional military force and likely to be under tight control, the same is not true of the IRGCN," said John Cochrane, senior global risk forecaster at Exclusive Analysis, a London-based consultancy advising foreign firms in the region, including insurers.

"We assess there is a higher risk of a low-level IRGC small boat commander taking unsanctioned action - or just making a mistake - that would result in an incident in which lethal force was used by one side or the other."

Many of the commercial ships passing through Hormuz now carry their own often heavily armed private security details to protect against Somali pirates in the wider Indian Ocean.

Already accused of sometimes shooting unnecessarily at fishing boats, some worry that private security units could spark wider confrontation by inadvertently firing the first shots against Iranian forces.

But ultimately, many believe, wiser heads would probably prevail before matters spiraled out of control.

Such action would not be without precedent.

After frigate USS Samuel B Roberts was heavily damaged by an Iranian mine during the so-called "tanker war" in 1988, the U.S. military launched a limited retaliatory strike that wiped out much of Iran's navy.

But outright war was avoided, as it was again a month later after the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner, killing 290 in what Washington said was a tragic accident.

"I think it's unlikely to escalate -- Iran has too much to lose... and our forces are too professional to let any kind of a localized event blow up into a larger conflict," said the senior Western naval officer.

"If there is an incident, we will quickly get our forces into our respective corner, establish a defensive posture - albeit ready to go on the offensive if directed... - and wait to see what Iran's next move on the chessboard will be."

(Additional reporting by William Maclean in London and Joseph Logan in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wl_nm/us_iran

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Dan Kovalik: U.S. Fueling Human Rights Abuses in Colombia in Violation of Its Own Laws

As Noam Chomsky has often cautioned, when considering foreign relations, and especially military intervention, states should always heed the primary Hippocratic oath -- "First, do no harm." The U.S. has certainly disregarded this admonition with reckless abandon in Latin America, and Colombia is the foremost example of this, at least at the present time. Human Rights Watch appears to concur with this judgment.

Thus, Human Rights Watch (HRW) just released its annual human rights report on Colombia, and it is not pretty. The punch line of the report is most damning of the United States and its role in that country's abysmal practices -- undoubtedly, the very worst of this hemisphere.

As HRW concludes, after its litany of atrocities being committed by the Colombian state and its paramilitary (death squad) allies,

The U.S. remains the most influential foreign actor in Colombia. In 2011 it provided approximately US $562 million in aid, about 61 percent of which was military and police aid. Thirty percent of US military aid is subject to human rights conditions, which the US Department of State has not enforced. In September 2011 the State Department certified that Colombia was meeting human rights conditions.

In other words, the U.S. is acting in direct contravention of the Leahy Amendment, which forbids the funding of military units which fail to honor basic human rights norms. Sadly, the Leahy Amendment appears to be a dead letter.

HRW explains in detail that the human rights violations the U.S. is aiding and abetting in Colombia are indeed the worst imaginable. As HRW explains, in Colombia

paramilitary successor groups continue to grow, maintain extensive ties with public security force members and local officials, and commit widespread atrocities. There has also been ongoing violence against rights defenders, community leaders, and trade unionists.

According to the HRW report, the paramilitary death squads, whose power flows from "[t]oleration of the groups by public security forces," actively "engage in drug trafficking; actively recruit members, including children; and commit widespread abuses against civilians, including massacres, killings, rapes and other forms of sexual violence, threats and forced displacement." HRW notes that, "[i]n January 2011 Colombia's national police chief publicly stated that such groups are the largest source of violence in Colombia." This is a significant admission because the U.S., to justify its continued military support for Colombia, would have the public believe that it is the left-wing guerillas who are most responsible for the violence in Colombia. In fact, this is not true. Rather, it is the paramilitary death squads who bear this responsibility, and it is these death squads, allied as they are with the official Colombian security forces, which are being supported by the military aid the U.S. is sending to that country.

Moreover, while the U.S. attempts with a straight face to portray Colombia as a "democracy," contrasting this with countries such as Cuba or Venezuela which the U.S claims lack democratic values, the recent HRW report makes it clear that Colombia is not recognizable as a democracy in any real sense. Thus, HRW explains that

Candidates campaigning for the nationwide and local elections in October 2011 were also frequently killed amid reports of alleged links between candidates and armed groups. According to the Colombian NGO Mision de Observacion Electoral, 40 candidates were killed in 2011, representing a 48 percent increase in such crimes reported during the 2007 local elections.

If the murder of political candidates were not bad enough, HRW explains that there is "ongoing infiltration of the political system by paramilitaries and their successor groups. . . . Colombia's Ombudsman's Office reported that 119 municipalities faced a high risk of electoral violence or interference by paramilitary successor groups during the October 2011 local elections."

In addition, as HRW explains, the Colombian military has been guilty of more than 3,000 extrajudicial killings of civilians in what is known as the "false positive" scandal wherein "army personnel murdered civilians and reported them as combatants killed in action, apparently in response to pressure to boost body counts." This "pressure to boost body counts," moreover, is coming ultimately from the U.S. which is pursuing an aggressive anti-insurgency policy which rewards the Colombian military for its killing of guerillas.

Meanwhile, and of special concern to the labor movement in the U.S., HRW confirms that Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists with 28 unionists killed in 2011. And, this year has gotten off to a horrible start. Thus, in recent days, three (3) trade unionists have been killed in Colombia -- at least one (Victor Manuel Hilarion Palacios) by the Colombian armed forces themselves. In another instance, Mauricio Redondo, a leader of the USO union (the oil union of Colombia and that country's oldest union) was murdered along with his wife, leaving five children orphaned. Again, such killings do nothing to slow down U.S. aid to the Colombian regime.

Much is to be learned from the case of Colombia. For one, it puts a lie to the U.S.'s claim, often used to justify U.S. military intervention, of supporting democracy and human rights abroad. In the case of Colombia, the U.S. is indeed fueling massive human and labor rights abuses by supporting a regime that it is literally at war with its own people.

This brings us to the next and most important lesson -- violence is not working in Colombia to end the insurgency or to bring about positive change. And yet, it is violence that the U.S. is choosing to use ostensibly to advance such ends. Apparently, the U.S. (the proverbial hammer seeing nails everywhere) does so because violence has become the only tool the U.S. knows to solve problems, despite the fact that this violence almost invariably exacerbates these problems and indeed creates many others. It is clear that in Colombia the only viable solution for a lasting peace, and for real prosperity, is a negotiated settlement to the armed conflict. Tragically, it is such a settlement which the U.S. has refused to support over the years.

Indeed, as Colombia Reports explained, the U.S. has actually put out a call in recent days for countries throughout the region to step up concerted, violent assaults on the guerillas in Colombia. Meanwhile, as Colombia Reports also explained, it is Cuba which is hosting secret peace talks between insurgents and the Colombian government. As in the case of Haiti where the Cubans have sent doctors to fight cholera and the U.S. sent soldiers to fight the population, it is Cuba which is playing a positive, peaceful role in our hemisphere; not the U.S. This fact should be humbling to our leaders in the U.S. if they indeed know humility or shame.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/colombia-human-rights_b_1228349.html

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Can Low Birth Weight Raise Autism Risk? (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- After studying data on more than 3,700 pairs of identical twins, researchers from Northwestern University found that low birth weight was associated with more than triple the risk for autism spectrum disorder among twins in which autism only affected one of the children.

"That only one twin is affected by ASD [autism spectrum disorder] in some identical twin pairs suggests that environmental factors may play a role either independently or in interaction with autism risk genes," study author Molly Losh, director of Northwestern's Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Laboratory, said in a university news release.

"Our study of discordant twins -- twin pairs in which only one twin was affected by ASD -- found birth weight to be a very strong predictor of autism spectrum disorder," she added.

The study, which was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Psychological Medicine, used data from the Swedish Twin Registry's Child and Adolescent Twin Study.

In analyzing twins in which one baby was more than 14 ounces, or at least 15 percent heavier at birth than the other, the researchers found the risk for autism rose 13 percent for every 3.5 ounce drop in birth weight.

The study results suggested that birth weight could play a role in the complex causes of autism by interacting with a child's underlying genetic predisposition, or likelihood, of developing the condition, the researchers said.

Losh added that because autism is a developmental disorder involving early brain development, prenatal and perinatal environmental factors, such as birth weight, may be especially important.

The researchers noted, however, their findings may not apply to children who are not part of a multiple-birth pregnancy.

While the study found an association between birth weight and autism risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about autism.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120125/hl_hsn/canlowbirthweightraiseautismrisk

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News Corp hacking tabloid misled UK police (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Journalists from the News of the World tabloid misled police after hacking the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, action which sparked a scandal engulfing News Corp, a letter from police published on Monday said.

Surrey Police said reporters had lied to police after hacking into Dowler's voicemail messages in 2002 and put pressure on detectives working on her case.

The paper, part of News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, had demanded answers after claiming it had information Dowler had contacted a recruitment agency, the force said.

One of its reporters had claimed the tabloid had got Dowler's mobile phone details from school children, while the letter discloses someone had called the agency pretending to be Dowler's mother.

It later emerged a message from the agency had mistakenly been left on Dowler's phone because they had the wrong number on their files.

The force dismissed speculation that information published by the News of the World (NOTW) had come from collusion between detectives and the paper.

"The NOTW obtained that information by accessing Milly Dowler's phone," Surrey's Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Kirkby wrote in a letter to lawmakers investigating phone-hacking.

It was the revelation by the Guardian newspaper last July that the tabloid's reporters had illegally accessed the voicemail of missing Dowler, who was later found murdered, which caused the phone-hacking to hit the headlines amid widespread public revulsion.

News Corp took the drastic step of shutting down the 168-year-old paper, pulled its plan to take full control of Britain's highly profitable satellite broadcaster BSkyB and Murdoch also personally donated 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to charities nominated by the Dowler family.

News International also paid the family a further 2 million pounds for behavior Murdoch described as "abhorrent."

"The interception of Milly Dowler's phone was shocking and totally unacceptable," a News International spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"The abhorrent nature of what was discovered to have happened at the News of the World ultimately led to its closure last year," she added.

In a twist to the Dowler story last December, police said there was no evidence about a central claim in the original Guardian story that News of the World journalists had deleted voicemails, which had given her parents false hope she was still alive.

An inquiry set up by Prime Minister David Cameron into newspaper practices in the wake of the furor heard that the most likely explanation was that the voicemails had been automatically removed after a 72-hour limit.

NO ACTION

The letter from Surrey Police to parliament's Culture, Media, and Sport Committee made no reference to this or why the police had not taken action earlier if it knew her phone had been hacked by the paper.

Instead, Kirkby merely provided details of police dealings with the News of the World in early 2002 during the search for teenager Dowler.

Murdoch's News International had claimed for years that the hacking of voicemails to generate stories was limited to a single "rogue" reporter who went to jail for the crime in 2007.

"Surrey Police have not explained why they did not investigate that deception in 2002," Mark Lewis, the Dowler family lawyer said. "No thought seems to have been given to the effect on the Dowler family."

Names of those on the paper involved were redacted as London police are conducting three criminal investigations into phone-hacking, but the letter implied several reporters could have been involved.

Kirkby said his letter detailed Surrey Police's "present understanding" and a full internal probe into the hacking of Dowler's phone was not yet complete.

Last Thursday, News International settled a string of legal claims from 36 people including celebrities and politicians over phone-hacking, although it said the payouts were not an admission its management knew about the practice or covered it up.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Keith Weir and Tim Castle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/media_nm/us_newscorp_hacking_dowler

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Stocks edge higher on euro optimism

By msnbc.com news services

U.S. stocks edged higher Monday after equities posted their best week in a month as the euro zone debt crisis and the U.S. economy showed signs of stabilizing.

Euro zone finance ministers will decide Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept for a second bailout package after private creditors said they could not improve their offer to potentially take a real loss of 65 percent to 70 percent on their Greek bonds.

U.S. stocks are up nearly 5 percent this year after a four-day rally last year, with investors particularly emboldened by a turnaround in U.S. banking stocks that have helped lead the rally after an abysmal 2011.

A solid showing in fourth-quarter earnings during the current reporting season has also put a floor in the market.

"If earnings come in decently I don't see any type of a big plunge," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. But he added: "I'm still concerned about when we get towards the end of earnings season."

"[The market] has had a positive tone since the year began. The turn in the financial stocks has provided a good underpinning for the market," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.

"What you're really starting to see is a decrease in volatility and a market where individual stock earnings are staring to become more important and the correlation is starting to decrease for all stocks."

Halliburton Co, the world's second-largest oilfield services company, posted quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates, helped by improved activity in North America. The stock, which has rallied 18 percent since late December, fell.

Research In Motion Ltd's co-chief executives bowed to investor pressure and resigned over the weekend, handing the top job to an insider with four years at the struggling BlackBerry maker.

The fourth-quarter earnings season has not been as good as previous ones. Of about 70 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 60 percent exceeded estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Chesapeake Energy Corp will reduce dry gas drilling and cut production in response to natural gas prices falling below "economically unattractive levels."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216250-stocks-edge-higher-on-euro-optimism

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Audyssey Audio Dock Air

The past year brought us the first AirPlay speaker systems?speaker docks that stream audio wirelessly from Apple iOS products and some computers via a Wi-Fi signal. After the Editors' Choice Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air ($599.95, 4 stars) debuted Apple's integrated streaming audio technology, only a few offerings have actually been released. Joining the Zeppelin Air and the significantly less successful JBL On Air Wireless ($349.95, 2.5 stars) is the Audyssey Audio Dock Air, at $399.99. Deep bass lovers will enjoy the exaggerated low-end response of the Audyssey Dock; audiophiles will want to steer clear. Unfortunately, the dock suffers from some stream interruption issues that no one will enjoy, and this knocks its rating down a bit. However, an update to iOS will reportedly contain a fix for the streaming issue, so we will revisit this review when and if that occurs.

Design
Measuring 8.3 by 4.8 by 8.5 inches (HWD), the Audyssey Audio Dock resembles an upright square. Like most AirPlay docks, it has very few buttons and uses black felt to cover its drivers. It's almost as if Apple has specific design rules for AirPlay docks, so that they will all resemble a family of Apple-esque products. (If you detect sarcasm, it's because, in all likelihood, Apple is very much involved in the streamlined designs of all of these docks). The unadorned black felt speaker panels face in opposite directions, spreading the reach of the audio, for sure, but not necessarily increasing the width of the stereo field much, since both left and right channels originate from essentially the same spot once you're a foot or so away. That said, the opposite directions of the speakers can benefit from reflections off of walls in your room, and that can certainly have an effect on your perception of the stereo image, although it may not be one audio engineers will be pleased with?more on that in a bit. A matte black plastic band separates the two speaker panels. On the back end of the band, there's a connection for the included power supply, as well as a Pairing button (for initial setup) and a 3.5mm Aux input. The band's front side has a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the top panel houses a Volume control dial and two LEDs that indicate when the unit is powered up and when it is connected for AirPlay. The system ships with a 3.5mm audio cable for connecting devices to the Aux input.

Performance
Setting up the Audio Dock Air is not difficult, as the instructions are simple and laid out explicitly in the included manual. You will need a Wi-Fi connection, however, and a bit of patience, as the pairing process between devices, and the connection process to the Wi-Fi signal itself, can take a few minutes. Once complete, you are able to stream from any PC or Mac with a recent version of iTunes (beyond 10.1), and any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch).

AirPlay's sound quality is actually pretty impressive, with strong bass performance. The Audio Air Dock only adds to the bass experience; Even at low-to-moderate volumes, one might say it sounds "thunderous." As you boost the volume louder and louder, however, the bass signal becomes more and more compressed. Why does Audyssey do this? Well, first off, it's a process often referred to as Digital Signal Processing (DSP), and Audyssey is not alone in employing it. Bowers & Wilkins has utilized some signal processing on its consumer line as well. The basic goal is to eliminate any distortion or possibility of blowing a speaker. Deep bass frequencies at high volumes are usually the culprit when speakers distort, so the signal processing basically limits the volume of the bass as you raise the system's overall volume. At maximum volume on Bowers & Wilkins' PC speaker set, the MM-1 ($499.95, 4 stars), this ends up sounding like some serious dynamic compression, where the range of transient sounds like drum hits are squashed lower to be roughly the same volume as everything else in the mix. You've heard this before when a loud song comes on the radio and suddenly the overall volume of the song seems to dip as the heavily distorted guitars kick in.

On the Audio Dock Air speakers, however, this processing is quite noticeable, primarily because at lower-to-mid volume settings, the bass is already so boosted, that when you raise the volume high, it sounds like you're listening to a different speaker system because the bass frequencies have been so dramatically cut to prevent distortion. The good news is, this system sounds excellent?for bass enthusiasts, at least?at moderate volumes. Even when it's not really that loud, it feels loud. The bad news is, when you blast it, the signal processing steals some of the bass thunder and squashes the overall signal pretty intensely. Simply put, if you're into deep bass and listening at moderate levels, this system won't disappoint you sonically. It never really distorts, even on deep bass tracks at maximum volume, but the processing is intense enough that it can sound as if it's about to distort?a common characteristic of signal limiting at its most extreme.

Because of the placement of the speakers at opposite sides of the dock, projecting in opposite directions, the stereo image is altered a bit in a way that casual listening may not suffer from, but one channel will often appear louder than the other. Simply put, it definitely helps fill the room with sound, but this is not how records are mixed.

Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I actually like the audio performance enough that it would have had a higher rating. Not every system needs to be made for audiophiles craving flat response?there's room enough in the world for those of you who really dig thumping bass. The Audio Dock Air is made with these listeners in mind, and it brings an extra bottom end to everything from hip hop and rock to even classical music, making the lower strings in John Adams' "The Chairman Dances" sound downright ominous and intense. But we have a different issue to deal with.

Tested on a home Wi-Fi network that regularly streams audio, via AirPlay, from a iPhone and a laptop to a stereo receiver with an AirPort express connected to it, the Audio Dock Air fared differently than the aforementioned setup. This is possibly because the AirPort Express uses 802.11n wireless signal, while Apple's AirPlay and the docks that have it built-in use 802.11g. Where the AirPort Express only seems to stutter when its sound source gets out of range?say, you take your iPhone too far into the kitchen, away from the router?the Audio Dock Air stutters more often, even, at times, in close proximity to the router and the sound source. Often, the stuttering seems to occur when the Wi-Fi network performs routine tasks at the same time?say, sending an email or loading a webpage while streaming music. Occasionally, the stream would halt altogether, and the system would need to be rebooted or the phone disconnected and reconnected to the network in order to re-pair the device with the speakers. The recent Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air($549.99, 3.5 stars), another AirPlay speaker dock, also suffers from the same streaming issues.

Given that Airplay is still in its infancy, some hiccups are to be expected. When you plug your device into the aux input directly, the Audyssey system offers up a bass lover's dream, but as a streaming system, it's got some issues to iron out. For you bass fiends out there waiting for a wireless system, let's hope this is an issue updates can solve and not a permanent limitation of the system or AirPlay's abilities. If you'd rather go the Bluetooth route, check out the fantastic JBL OnBeat Xtreme ($499.95, 4.5 stars), which appears as an AirPlay device on iOS devices despite using Bluetooth, and the portable Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker ($299.95, 4 stars), Both of them recent Editors' Choice winners for wireless speaker systems.

More Speaker reviews:
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??? Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air
??? Samsung HW-D450
??? Logitech Mini Boombox
??? Audioengine 5+
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/WQ0QxrGA6YU/0,2817,2398128,00.asp

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House, Senate leaders pull plug on Internet piracy bills (Washington Bureau)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/189084724?client_source=feed&format=rss

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US Internet piracy case brings New Zealand arrests

Megaupload.com employees Bram van der Kolk, also known as Bramos, left, Finn Batato,second from left, Mathias Ortmann and founder, former CEO and current chief innovation officer of Megaupload.com Kim Dotcom (also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor), right, appear in North Shore District Court in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. The four appeared in court in relation to arrests made to Megaupload.com, which is linked to a U.S. investigation into international copyright infringement and money laundering. (AP Photo/Greg Bowker, New Zealand Herald) NEW ZEALAND OUT, AUSTRALIA OUT

Megaupload.com employees Bram van der Kolk, also known as Bramos, left, Finn Batato,second from left, Mathias Ortmann and founder, former CEO and current chief innovation officer of Megaupload.com Kim Dotcom (also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor), right, appear in North Shore District Court in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. The four appeared in court in relation to arrests made to Megaupload.com, which is linked to a U.S. investigation into international copyright infringement and money laundering. (AP Photo/Greg Bowker, New Zealand Herald) NEW ZEALAND OUT, AUSTRALIA OUT

This undated image obtained by The Associated Press shows the homepage of the website Megaupload.com. Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws. (AP Photo)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? With 150 million registered users, about 50 million hits daily and endorsements from music superstars, Megaupload.com was among the world's biggest file-sharing sites. Big enough, according to a U.S. indictment, that it earned founder Kim Dotcom $42 million last year alone.

The movie industry howled that the site was making money off pirated material. Though the company is based in Hong Kong and Dotcom was living in New Zealand, some of the alleged pirated content was hosted on leased servers in Virginia, and that was enough for U.S. prosecutors to act.

The site was shut down Thursday, and Dotcom and three Megaupload employees were arrested in New Zealand on U.S. accusations that they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue.

New Zealand Police also seized guns, artwork, more than $8 million in cash and luxury cars valued at nearly $5 million after serving 10 search warrants at several businesses and homes around the city of Auckland.

News of the shutdown seemed to bring retaliation from hackers who claimed credit for attacking the Justice Department's website. Federal officials confirmed it was down for hours Thursday evening and that the disruption was being "treated as a malicious act."

A loose affiliation of hackers known as "Anonymous" claimed credit for the attack. Also hacked was the site for the Motion Picture Association of America.

On Friday, New Zealand's Fairfax Media reported that the four defendants stood together in an Auckland courtroom in the first step of extradition proceedings that could last a year or more.

Dotcom's lawyer raised objections to a media request to take photographs and video, but then Dotcom spoke out from the dock, saying he didn't mind photos or video "because we have nothing to hide." The judge granted the media access, and ruled that the four would remain in custody until a second hearing Monday.

Dotcom, Megaupload's former CEO and current chief innovation officer, is a resident of Hong Kong and New Zealand and a dual citizen of Finland and Germany who had his name legally changed. The 37-year-old was previously known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor.

Two other German citizens and one Dutch citizen also were arrested and three other defendants ? another German, a Slovakian and an Estonian ? remain at large.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that the arrests set "a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?"

The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers.

Before Megaupload was taken down, the company posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were "grotesquely overblown."

"The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch," the statement said.

Several sister sites were also shut down, including one dedicated to sharing pornography files.

The $8 million in cash seized had been invested in various New Zealand financial institutions, and has been placed in a trust pending the outcome of the cases.

Police spokesman Grant Ogilvie said the seized cars include a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe worth more than $400,000. Two short-barreled shotguns and a number of valuable artworks were also confiscated, he added.

According to the indictment, Megaupload was estimated at one point to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the Internet. Current estimates by companies that monitor Web traffic place it in the top 100.

Megaupload is considered a "cyberlocker," in which users can upload and transfer files that are too large to send by email. Such sites can have perfectly legitimate uses. But the Motion Picture Association of America, which has campaigned for a crackdown on piracy, estimated that the vast majority of content being shared on Megaupload was in violation of copyright laws.

The website allowed users to download some content for free, but made money by charging subscriptions to people who wanted access to faster download speeds or extra content. The website also sold advertising.

Megaupload was unique not only because of its massive size and the volume of downloaded content, but also because it had high-profile support from celebrities, musicians and other content producers who are most often the victims of copyright infringement and piracy. Before the website was taken down, it contained endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Kanye West, among others.

The company listed Swizz Beatz, a musician who married Keys in 2010, as its CEO. He was not named in the indictment and declined to comment through a representative.

The five-count indictment, which alleges copyright infringement as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering, described a site designed specifically to reward users who uploaded pirated content for sharing, and turned a blind eye to requests from copyright holders to remove copyright-protected files.

For instance, users received cash bonuses if they uploaded content popular enough to generate massive numbers of downloads, according to the indictment. Such content was almost always copyright protected, the indictment said.

The Justice Department said it was illegal for anyone to download pirated content, but their investigation focused on the leaders of the company, not end users who may have downloaded a few movies for personal viewing.

A lawyer who represented the company in a lawsuit last year declined to comment Thursday. Efforts to reach an attorney representing Dotcom were unsuccessful.

Although Megaupload is based in Hong Kong, the size of its operation in the southern Chinese city was unclear. The administrative contact listed in its domain registration, Bonnie Lam, did not respond immediately for a request for comment sent to a fax number and email address listed.

The indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, which claimed jurisdiction in part because some of the alleged pirated materials were hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Virginia. Prosecutors there have pursued multiple piracy investigations.

The Justice Department also was investigating the "significant increase in activity" that disrupted its website. It said in a statement that it was working to "investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause."

The site appeared to be working again late Thursday. A spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America said in an emailed statement that the group's site also had been hacked, but it too appeared to be working later in the evening.

"The motion picture and television industry has always been a strong supporter of free speech," the spokesman said. "We strongly condemn any attempts to silence any groups or individuals."

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Matthew Barakat reported from McLean, Virginia.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-20-Internet-Piracy-Indictment/id-8bffdc71b52a40fab1ac9723869de3d8

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