sputter tripadvisor: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Marmite Spill Closes Major British Highway

LONDON -- It was not your typical road accident.

A tanker carrying yeast extract ? the key ingredient in that uniquely British spread Marmite ? overturned on a major British highway, spilling the pungent-smelling liquid onto the road.

The liquid has the same unique smell of Marmite and was being transported to the Marmite factory in Burton-on-Trent in central England to be turned into the black sticky paste that generations of Britons have spread on hot buttered toast.

South Yorkshire Police said the accident happened Monday evening after the tanker collided with a motorhome on the M1 highway that links London with north England. Marmite is a widely popular British food that provokes strong feelings. Those who dislike it cannot bear to even smell the contents of a jar.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/marmite-spill-highway_n_1118435.html

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Hebrew University researchers discover molecular machinery for bacterial cell death

Public release date: 30-Nov-2011
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Contact: Jerry Barach
jerryb@savion.huji.ac.il
972-258-82904
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Nov. 29, 2011 Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Vienna have revealed for the first time a stress-induced machinery of protein synthesis that is involved in bringing about cell death in bacteria.

Their work opens a new chapter in the understanding of protein synthesis under stress conditions, which are the conditions bacteria usually are faced with, both in humans and otherwise in nature, and could pave the way for the design of novel, new antibiotics that would help to overcome serious public health problems, the researchers believe.

In the last 50 years, the biological machinery responsible for protein synthesis has been extensively studied, in particular in the gastric bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli). The machinery of protein synthesis operates primarily through ribosomes -- small particle present in large numbers in every living cell whose function is to convert genetic information into protein molecules -- and messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which transfer the genetic information from the genome to the ribosomes and thereby direct the synthesis of cell proteins.

In an article in a recent issue of the journal Cell, Prof Hanna Engelberg-Kulka of the Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada (IMRIC) at the Hebrew UniversityHadassah Medical School and her students describe the discovery of a novel molecular machinery for protein synthesis that is generated and operates under stress conditions in E. coli.. The work described in the Cell article was done in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Isabella Moll of the University of Vienna.

Their study represents is a breakthrough since it shows, for the first time, that under stress conditions, such as nutrient starvation and antibiotics, the synthesis of a specific toxic protein is induced that causes a change in the protein-synthesizing machinery of the bacteria. This toxic protein cleaves parts of the ribosome and the mRNAs, thereby preventing the usual interaction between these two components.

As a result, an alternative protein-synthesizing machinery is generated. It includes a specialized sub-class of ribosomes, called "stress ribosomes," which is involved in the selective synthesis of proteins that are directed by the sliced mRNAs, and is responsible for bacterial cell death.

Practically speaking, the discovery of a "stress-induced protein synthesizing machinery" may offer a new way for the design of improved, novel antibiotics that would effectively utilize the stress-inducing mechanism process in order to more efficiently cripple pathogenic bacteria.

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Hebrew University researchers discover molecular machinery for bacterial cell death Public release date: 30-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jerry Barach
jerryb@savion.huji.ac.il
972-258-82904
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Nov. 29, 2011 Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Vienna have revealed for the first time a stress-induced machinery of protein synthesis that is involved in bringing about cell death in bacteria.

Their work opens a new chapter in the understanding of protein synthesis under stress conditions, which are the conditions bacteria usually are faced with, both in humans and otherwise in nature, and could pave the way for the design of novel, new antibiotics that would help to overcome serious public health problems, the researchers believe.

In the last 50 years, the biological machinery responsible for protein synthesis has been extensively studied, in particular in the gastric bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli). The machinery of protein synthesis operates primarily through ribosomes -- small particle present in large numbers in every living cell whose function is to convert genetic information into protein molecules -- and messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which transfer the genetic information from the genome to the ribosomes and thereby direct the synthesis of cell proteins.

In an article in a recent issue of the journal Cell, Prof Hanna Engelberg-Kulka of the Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada (IMRIC) at the Hebrew UniversityHadassah Medical School and her students describe the discovery of a novel molecular machinery for protein synthesis that is generated and operates under stress conditions in E. coli.. The work described in the Cell article was done in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Isabella Moll of the University of Vienna.

Their study represents is a breakthrough since it shows, for the first time, that under stress conditions, such as nutrient starvation and antibiotics, the synthesis of a specific toxic protein is induced that causes a change in the protein-synthesizing machinery of the bacteria. This toxic protein cleaves parts of the ribosome and the mRNAs, thereby preventing the usual interaction between these two components.

As a result, an alternative protein-synthesizing machinery is generated. It includes a specialized sub-class of ribosomes, called "stress ribosomes," which is involved in the selective synthesis of proteins that are directed by the sliced mRNAs, and is responsible for bacterial cell death.

Practically speaking, the discovery of a "stress-induced protein synthesizing machinery" may offer a new way for the design of improved, novel antibiotics that would effectively utilize the stress-inducing mechanism process in order to more efficiently cripple pathogenic bacteria.

###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/thuo-hur113011.php
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Struggling to stay above water (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The world economy is on a slippery slope. The euro zone appears to have tipped into a mild recession and the rest of the global economy is struggling to hold onto firm ground.

China is slowing, Japan's exports are tumbling. Eastern European countries are wobbling as credit dries up from a pullback in lending by euro-zone banks.

In the United States, the improving economic picture has clouded somewhat after a mixed batch of economic data and downward revision to third-quarter growth to 2.0 percent doused some of the optimism for a strong fourth quarter. Consumer spending slowed in October and business investment weakened, showing a recovery that remains weak and vulnerable to shocks.

Against this uncertain backdrop, financial markets are volatile as European leaders fail to deliver any credible solutions to the sovereign debt crisis and U.S. lawmakers hit gridlock on slashing the budget deficit, further eroding business and consumer confidence and damaging growth prospects.

The U.S. labor market epitomizes these problems.

Two years into a recovery in which corporate profits are robust, hiring should be rebounding sharply. But U.S. employment numbers due on Friday are expected to show an economy treading water, with 120,000 new hires in November, up from 80,000 the prior month but way below the level needed to improve the outlook.

"The trend has been fairly stable over the last five months, stuck at a level just about strong enough to absorb new entrants into the labor force, but not to reduce the unemployment rate significantly," said Jeoff Hall, economist at IFR Markets, a Thomson Reuters company.

In fact, large U.S, companies are showing new caution.

Boeing Co announced plans last week to shutter a Kansas factory that employs 2,100 as it prepares for U.S. federal budget cuts that will hit defense spending hard. Bank of America began sending lay-off notices last week to technology staff as part of plans to cut 30,000 positions over the next few years, and Wells Fargo & Co also began job cuts.

Whirlpool Corp, the world's largest maker of household appliances, reports softening demand worldwide, including fast-growing emerging Asia and Latin America, and is cutting about 5,000 jobs in North America and Europe.

Srinivas Thiruvadanthai, director of research at the Jerome Levy Forecasting Center, also is concerned that fiscal tightening in the United States -- from the roll-off of 2009 stimulus projects, cutbacks to city and state budgets and possible expiration of the payroll tax cut -- will further weaken the U.S. consumer, who accounts for the bulk of growth.

"Clearly Europe is in bad shape, and the global economic conditions are worsening too. If the U.S. consumer tires, the chances for recession are met," he said.

Since late September, the Levy Center has forecast that Europe's debt crisis will hit the United States through financial markets, its banks, weakened exports, lowered corporate profits and drag the United States into recession in 2012. Thiruvadanthai sees nothing to alter that picture.

EUROPEAN MIRE

European finance ministers meet again on Tuesday to review strengthening the region's bailout fund, seen only a month ago as the centerpiece for halting its debt crisis. But the sharp deterioration in euro-zone debt prices, which sucked in Germany last week in a failed bund auction, has undercut how much the fund can be leveraged, leaving investors highly skeptical that politicians can use it to stem contagion.

Italy issues 8 billion euros in longer term debt on Tuesday. Two-year Italian paper already is priced a 8 percent, one full point above the yield considered affordable by a nation with a stalled economy. Belgium, downgraded from AA-plus to AA by S&P on Friday, raises cash a day earlier, with the cost of insuring its debt having hit a record level.

Goldman Sachs warned on Friday that the public sector funding problems, which are hurting bank profits, are restricting household and corporate credit in Europe. This "could turn the moderate recession we are forecasting into something more akin to the 2008/09 experience."

Ripples from the slowdown are felt as far away as Brazil. Its central bank is expected to lower interest rates on Wednesday for third time since August, by a hefty 50 basis points, to 11 percent.

For the United States, recession remains a minority view, though forecasts are being revised downward for 2012. The Institute of International Finance, for instance, noted near-term resilience in its latest forecast but storm clouds ahead.

"Prospects are much less benign for early 2012, when the combination of a large fiscal contraction and rising spillovers from a recession in the euro area are likely to torpedo the U.S. economy," said Philip Suttle, IIF chief economist.

The ISM manufacturing index for the United States, due on Thursday, may show a slight improvement, to 51.5 in November from 50.8 in October, possibly reflecting inventory rebuilding after a tight third quarter. But grim PMI factory indices that showed worsening contractions in Europe and China last week cast some doubt on U.S. resiliency. Vehicle sales, also due on Thursday, are seen holding around the 13.3 million level, up slightly from the prior month.

From Europe, economic sentiment data due on Tuesday is likely to show further deterioration after financing problems worsened for Italy, Spain and even Germany over the past week. Fears of a sovereign ratings downgrade for France spread as its banking problems festered. Consumer sentiment is forecast to decline to minus 21 from minus 19.9 in October - which usually would portend further economic shrinkage ahead.

As long as European leaders delay in delivering a fiscal union that can rescue the common currency, financial markets will remain in the driving seat and the growth picture shaky.

"The world is struggling along, with downside risks from a bust-up of the euro-zone, or Greece, Italy and Spain leaving. It might be that Europe just runs out of time to fix its problems," said Paul Ashworth, economist at Capital Economics.

(Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/bs_nm/us_economy_global

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Oil prices rise on holiday sales, Europe hopes

NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil prices are up more than 2 percent after shoppers pumped up holiday retail sales in the U.S., and investors bet that Europe would find a last-minute solution to its financial crisis.

Benchmark crude rose $2, or 2.1 percent, to $98.77 per barrel in morning trading in New York. Brent crude rose $2.28, or 2.1 percent, to $108.04 a barrel in London.

Oil surged following strong holiday sales in the U.S. Shoppers spent nearly $1 billion more on Black Friday than they did a year ago. Meanwhile, European leaders are considering a series of new solutions to their credit problems with little time to spare. Some analysts say the euro could collapse in days, unless action is taken.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-28-Oil%20Prices/id-56020015e9154f78acbea93ee0a8d196

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Germany and France examine push for euro zone integration (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Germany and France are exploring radical methods of securing deeper and more rapid fiscal integration among euro zone countries, aware that getting broad backing for the necessary treaty changes may not be possible, EU officials say.

Germany's original plan was to try to secure agreement among all 27 EU countries for a limited change to the Lisbon Treaty by the end of 2012, making it possible to impose much tighter budget controls over the 17 euro zone countries -- a way of shoring up the region's defenses against the debt crisis.

But in meetings with EU leaders in recent weeks, it has become clear to both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy that it may not be possible to get all 27 countries on board, EU sources say.

Even if that were possible, it could take a year or more to finally secure the changes while market attacks on Italy, Spain and now France suggest bold measures are needed within weeks.

As a result, senior French and German civil servants have been exploring other ways of achieving the goal, either via an agreement among just the euro zone countries, or a separate agreement outside the EU treaty that could involve a core of around 8-10 euro zone countries, officials say.

No firm decisions have yet been reached.

Reuters exclusively reported on November 9 that French and German officials were discussing plans for a radical overhaul of the European Union to establish a more fiscally integrated and possibly smaller euro zone.

"The Germans have made up their minds. They want treaty change and they are doing everything they can to push for it as rapidly as possible," one senior EU official involved in the negotiations told Reuters. "Senior German officials are on the phone at all hours of the day to every European capital."

While Germany and France are convinced that moving toward fiscal union - which could pave the way for jointly issued euro zone bonds and may provide more leeway for the European Central Bank to act forcefully - is the only way to get on top of the debt crisis, some other euro zone countries are unable or unwilling to move so rapidly toward that goal.

Not only Greece, Ireland and Portugal, which are receiving EU/IMF aid, but also Italy and Spain and some east European countries such as Slovakia, would either find it difficult under current economic conditions to meet the budget constraints Germany wants, or simply do not agree with the aim.

Consequently, the French and German negotiators are exploring at least two models for more rapid integration among a limited number of euro zone countries, with the possibility of folding that agreement into the EU treaty at a later stage.

TWO MODELS

One is based on the Pruem Convention of 2005, also known as Schengen III, a treaty signed among 7 countries outside the EU treaty but which was open to any member state to join and was later acceded to by 5 more EU states plus Norway.

Another option would be to have a purely Franco-German mini-agreement along the lines of the Elysee treaty of 1963 that other euro zone countries could also sign up to, officials say.

"The options are being actively discussed as we speak and things are moving very, very quickly," a European Commission official briefed on the discussions told Reuters.

One source said the aim was to have the outline of an agreement set out before December 9, when EU leaders will meet for their final summit of the year in Brussels.

Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, which represents EU member states, is supposed to deliver a preliminary report on treaty change at the summit. He has held extensive talks with EU leaders in recent weeks to gauge the feasibility of bringing about rapid treaty changes.

Sarkozy, who has made two speeches in the past two weeks highlighting the need for more rapid fiscal integration in the euro zone, and has acknowledged that it may be inevitable that a 'two-speed Europe' emerges, is due to make another keynote address on December 1 which could provide a platform for laying out in more detail the ideas that he and Merkel are developing.

A senior German government official denied there were any secret Franco-German negotiations, but emphasized that both countries saw the need for treaty change as pressing and were exploring how to achieve that in the best way possible.

"Germany and France are continuing to focus on proposals for a limited treaty change that can be presented at the EU summit in December," the official said, emphasizing that there was a need to act quickly to get changes in place.

Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday that Merkel and Sarkozy were working on a new Stability Pact, setting out national debt limits, that could be signed up to by a number of euro zone countries and which would allow the ECB to act more decisively in the crisis.

"If the politicians can agree to a comprehensive step, the ECB will jump in and help," the paper quoted a central banker as saying.

The ECB has bought the bonds of euro zone strugglers in intermittent fashion when they have reached crisis point. Economists say it has to act much more radically to turn the market tide but the central bank, and Germany, has opposed any such move. Commitments to binding fiscal rules by euro zone governments may be the cover it needs to change tack.

"It would be a real disaster if this strategy which is in fact no strategy, this muddling through, were to continue for some months," Peter Bofinger, one of the five "wise men" who formally advise the German government on the economy, told Irish state broadcaster RTE.

"If this bond run is not stopped it will really endanger the stability of the European and even the global financial system. Bold action by the ECB is definitely needed."

Reuters reported a similar possibility on Friday, with euro zone officials saying that if much tighter fiscal integration could be achieved among euro zone states, it would give the ECB more room to maneuver and buy sovereign bonds.

BARGAINING PLOY?

While EU officials are clear about the determination of France and Germany to push for more rapid euro zone integration, some caution that the idea of doing so with fewer than 17 countries via a sideline agreement may be more about applying pressure on the remainder to act.

By threatening that some countries could be left behind if they don't sign up to deeper integration, it may be impossible for a country to say no, fearing that doing so could leave it even more exposed to market pressures.

"Some of this is just part of the posturing you hear -- it's pressure from Germany to go for treaty change as quickly as possible," the official involved in the negotiations said.

"To some extent you have to see these ideas as part of the bargaining chips that are being put on the table."

The risk for Merkel and Sarkozy is that if they do ultimately decide to push for a sideline agreement involving only 8-10 euro zone states, it would send a clear signal to the markets that the euro zone is split and that some countries are not seen as full members of the currency union.

That could either mean that some countries in the euro zone are left with fewer voting rights, even if they still use the euro, or it could mean that some countries decide, ultimately, that they would be better off without the euro -- a camp that officials say Greece, the crucible of the debt crisis, could fall into.

(Reporting by Luke Baker, Julien Toyer in Brussels, Carmel Crimmins in Dublin and Andreas Rinke and Gernot Heller in Berlin; Writing by Luke Baker, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/bs_nm/us_eurozone_crisis

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

On Cyber Monday, Feds Shut ... - The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Federal authorities on Monday announced the seizure of 150 domain names for Web sites that featured alleged knock-offs of authentic jerseys, handbags, sports equipment and other items.

The results of the undercover operation "In Our Sites" top last year's crackdown, when investigators shut down 82 web sites.

In most cases, the person or people operating the commercial sites do not challenge the domain name seizure in court, Lanny Breuer, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department?s criminal division, told reporters.

?The sale of counterfeit goods cheats consumers and robs legitimate businesses ? both large and small ? of the fruits of their hard-earned work,? Breuer said in a statement today. ?We will not tolerate those who seek to profit by abusing the Internet and stealing intellectual property at the expense of authors, artists and inventors.?

John Morton, who heads the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, told reporters on a conference call: ?We want to promote a lawful online environment as much as we can and that means going after the small but significant number of Web sites that are engaged in frauds on consumers.?

Morton and Breuer said law enforcement officers worked with copyright holders in an undercover sting to determine whether any targeted Web site was offering counterfeit goods for sale. Investigators bought sports jerseys, golf equipment, DVDs, shoes, sunglasses and other items.

DOJ officials said in most of the cases the goods were shipped to the United States from a supplier in another country. China was a main source for much of the goods, according to law enforcement officials.

The domain name becomes the property of the federal government if no person challenges the seizure. Since 2010, federal authorities have shut down 350 domain names through ?Operation In Our Sites.? Of the 350, 116 sites are now the property of the government.

The authorities post a banner on any site the government has seized. ?MyJerseyShop.com,? for instance, is no longer up and running. The banner on the site notifies the visitor of the seizure and provides the penalties for willful copyright infringement.

Click here for a list of the web sites the authorities seized. A sampling form the list: louisvuitton-bags-forcheap.com, mlbjerseyswell.com, texansjerseystore.com and shopsbag.com.

Source: http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/11/on-cyber-monday-feds-shut-down-150-web-sites-1.html

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Google offers its own brief history of search (video)

Wondering how we got from there to here? It's not the most exhaustive or objective history, but Google has released a new video today that it describes as the "evolution of search in six minutes." It includes contributions from the likes of Google's Ben Gomes, Amit Singhal and Marissa Mayer, and it traces the company's search history from its beginnings as a research project in 1996 to its current technologies like instant results and search by image or voice. While specifics are expectedly light, it does also offer a few hints of what Google sees as the future of search, including Amit Singhal's dream to build a "Star Trek computer." See the whole thing for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Google offers its own brief history of search (video)

Google offers its own brief history of search (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/28/google-offers-its-own-brief-history-of-search-video/

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Prince William Conducts Irish Sea Rescue Mission

Prince William is kind of the man.

Not only is he rich, famous, intelligent, married to a lovely young woman and the heir to the British throne, he's an accomplished pilot in the UK's armed forces - as evidenced during a daring rescue mission he took part in this morning.

William helped save the lives of Russian seamen whose cargo vessel sank into the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales early today, according to various reports.

Known simply as Flight Lt. William Wales in the Royal Air Force, he was co-pilot in a four-man rescue helicopter crew that responded to a mayday call around 2 a.m.

At that point, the vessel Swanland's hull apparently cracked in bad weather.

He and fellow military servicemen saved two men, airlifting them to safety at William's base on the Welsh island of Anglesey, where he lives with Kate Middleton.

The body of one of Swanland's crew has been recovered; five are still missing.

"We know at least some of [the missing] are wearing immersion suits and have strobe lighting with them," Jim Green, a coast guard spokesman, said Sunday. "However, sea conditions are challenging at best."

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/prince-william-conducts-irish-sea-rescue-mission/

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Singer Charlotte Church: Press destroyed my career (AP)

LONDON ? She was just 13 when Rupert Murdoch asked her to sing at his wedding.

Charlotte Church was given a choice: a 100,000 pound fee, or a chance to generate good will with the media magnate by performing for free. She wanted the cash, but her record company and manager said no, it was better to make friends with Murdoch, head of a global news and entertainment empire.

"Despite my teenage business head screaming 'Think how many tamagotchies you could buy!' I was pressured into taking the latter option," she told Britain's press ethics committee. "This strategy failed ... for me."

Church, 25, told Britain's media ethics inquiry Monday that the Murdoch press, and other British tabloids, had ruthlessly tormented her since she was a child singing sensation, blowing her credibility "to bits" and badly damaging her career.

She said press intrusion had a devastating impact on her family life and particularly on her mother. Church said her mother had tried to kill herself in part because she knew a newspaper was planning to expose her husband's extramarital affair.

The former teenage singing sensation told the inquiry in calm, measured tones how cameramen tried to take photos up her skirt and down her blouse and published "intimate" details about her sex life when she was just 17.

"I couldn't get my head around that," said Church, 25, who blamed tabloid phone hacking for much of her lost privacy.

"I've been made a caricature for so long, and this person portrayed in the tabloids really isn't me," she said. "It's not the person I am, and it's had a massive impact on my career. As an artist, I find it hard to be taken seriously because my credibility has been blown to bits."

Church also described how one newspaper had a countdown before her 16th birthday to mark the moment when she would reach the age of consent and be old enough to legally have sex.

"It just felt horrible," she said.

Church, a pop and opera singer with a spectacular voice, was the latest prominent person to tell the committee how Britain's unscrupulous press has invaded their privacy and damaged their lives. She said she suspected her closest family members of leaking secrets when in fact the media were getting details about her life from illegal phone hacking.

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry in response to the scandal that began with illegal eavesdropping by the News of the World tabloid.

Murdoch closed the newspaper in July after evidence emerged that it had illegally accessed the mobile phone voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its search for scoops.

More than a dozen News of the World journalists and editors have been arrested, and two top London police officers, along with Cameron's media adviser and several senior Murdoch executives, have resigned.

The inquiry, led by Judge Brian Leveson, plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to Britain's system of media self regulation. In its first two weeks, the committee has heard a stunning litany of press abuse.

Church told the inquiry how impressed she had been with Murdoch's power when she went to sing at his wedding in the United States ? and how her effort to gain his favor was a dismal failure.

"He flew us on his private jet to New York, which was amazing, then we went onto his boat, which had a grand piano on it, which I was amazed by, and I sang at the ceremony," she said.

Before Church testified, a man who had been arrested on murder charges and then cleared told the committee that tabloids had destroyed his reputation with false front-page stories.

Christopher Jefferies said the negative coverage of him was so widespread that some people still assume he is a "weird character" who should be avoided, even though he was cleared of wrongdoing.

He was arrested last year by police investigating the murder of his tenant, Joanna Yeates. Another man has since been convicted of the crime.

Jefferies said he felt he could not go out in public because of the smears.

Broadcast journalist Anne Diamond told the committee that the Murdoch press had waged a vendetta against her ? even sending a reporter impersonating a doctor to the hospital when she was giving birth.

Last week, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller all testified about the devastating impact that unscrupulous British media have had on their lives, along with the parents of murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler and missing 3-year-old Madeleine McCann.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_phone_hacking

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[OOC] Power Levels

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Brutal Food Chain?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
Seeing as characters and monsters have insane power, allow us to debate Kyoudo (how strong a character is) here. This will change as they get stronger. The numbers do not determine a battle's outcome entirely however?

They will be determined by the destructive capability, strength, etc techniques and such of a character. Oh, and most importantly, In-Story Feats.

Beginning Power Lvls go from 0-10,000. We'll generally have Skyscraper/City Busters. Thankfully I can haxorz the island to be HUUUUGE.

1. Maddy: ??? -To be discussed-

2. Emmalee: ??? -To be discussed-

3. Jack: ??? -To be discussed-

4. Jaime: ??? -W/Gear- -To be discussed-

"Go To Hell, D.W.!"

JayZeroSnake: Member for 1 years

At the moment, Emmalee is particularly weak because she doesn't really even know she has power yet, let alone know how to control her power yet, let alone have it be powerful. I would say that she is more powerful with her emotions, so her starting power should be pretty low.

She kinda sucks unless she's pissed. Heh. Hehe... >.>

*shot*

**Edit- after much observation, I realize I should have posted this huhrrrr.

*shot again*

AthenaUndying: Member for 0 years

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Europe scrambles to save euro, markets surge (AP)

PARIS ? The euro could be days away from collapsing, analysts warned Monday at the start of a critically busy money-raising week for eurozone countries. Markets surged anyway on hopes that European leaders, with their backs to the wall, are readying an overdue solution to the crisis.

In the run-up to the next European summit on Dec. 9, a raft of new ideas circulated on how Europe could once and for all cap the financial contagion that began in Greece two years ago and has now spread to bigger economies, notably Italy.

Among the ideas floated was a plan for the eurozone's six triple A rated nations to pool their resources via a joint bond to provide assistance to some of the single currency bloc's most indebted members and a fast-track move to a fiscal union between the 17 countries that Germany wants in return for its money.

Whatever materializes and however many denials, the euro project is in grave danger.

Evolution Securities economist Gary Jenkins said the series of government bond auctions this week "may determine the future of the EU."

Financial Times columnist Wolfgang Munchau wrote Monday that the common currency "has 10 days at most" to avoid collapse.

The latest bout of turmoil to afflict the eurozone came last week after Germany failed to raise all the money it wanted in a bond auction and Italy had to pay through the roof to get investors to part with their cash.

If a busy bond schedule this week meets with an equally-poor reception, then the euro's countries will be in real danger of being locked out of international markets and facing the devastating prospect of defaulting on their debts.

As governments nervously tap bond markets, Germany looks like it's getting ready to ask its eurozone partners to back measures for a deeper fiscal union.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said late Sunday that Germany is pushing the EU parliament to allow the 17 eurozone members to draw up treaties that would grant outside powers the right to reject national budgets in eurozone nations that breach EU regulations. Such a move would allow for stiffer new regulations to be enacted more swiftly.

"At the moment, we have a very low level of trust in the eurozone, that is our problem," Schaeuble said in an interview with public broadcaster ARD. "We must now achieve what we failed to 10 years ago through a stability union."

The prospect of a deeper fiscal union, where in effect Berlin will have a greater say on developments in Athens, Rome and Lisbon, has been greeted positively in the markets. But it's likely to take a long time to come to fruition.

"We do seem to be moving slowly towards more of a fiscal union but at a pace that may result in all the components being put in place after a complete meltdown of the financial system," Evolution Securities' Jenkins said.

Many think the ECB is the only institution capable of calming frayed market nerves and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's continued dismissal of a greater ECB role has frayed market nerves.

Potentially, the ECB has unlimited financial firepower through its ability to print money. However, Germany finds the idea of monetizing debts unappealing, warning that it lets the more profligate countries off the hook for their bad practices. In addition, it conjures up bad memories of hyperinflation in Germany in the 1920s.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Monday, November 28, 2011

How Steve Jobs Made It Okay To Be an Asshole [Steve Jobs]

Click here to read How Steve Jobs Made It Okay To Be an Asshole

There are many, many things to recommend Steve Jobs: his brilliance. His commitment to excellence. His marketing savvy. And apparently, among a whole swath of CEOs, the fact that he could be a colossal jerk. But not so fast! More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/oo9qd9U_v_U/how-steve-jobs-made-it-okay-to-be-an-asshole

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In unprecedented step, Arab League sanctions Syria

A Syrian immigrant shows a V-sign decorated as the revolutionary Syrian flag during a rally against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in front of the Syrian embassy in Sofia, on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. More than 3,500 people have died in months of anti-government protests in Syria, according to the UN. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

A protester walks under revolutionary Syrian flag during a rally against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in front of the Syrian embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. More than 3,500 people have died in months of anti-government protests in Syria, according to the UN. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, Syrian army officers carry the coffin of one of the 17 army members, including six elite pilots and four technical officers who the military said were killed in an ambush on Thursday during their funeral procession, in Homs province, Syria, on Saturday Nov. 26, 2011. The military blamed terrorists for the ambush and has vowed to "cut every evil hand" that targets the country's security. Syria is facing mounting international pressure to end a bloody crackdown on an uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad that the U.N. says has killed more than 3,500 people. The Arab League was meeting Saturday to consider the possibility of sweeping economic sanctions. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

BEIRUT (AP) ? In an unprecedented move against an Arab nation, the Arab League on Sunday approved economic sanctions on Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.

But even as world leaders abandon Assad, the regime has refused to ease a military assault on dissent that already has killed more than 3,500 people. On Sunday, Damascus slammed the sanctions as a betrayal of Arab solidarity and insisted a foreign conspiracy was behind the revolt, all but assuring more bloodshed will follow.

The sanctions are among the clearest signs yet of the isolation Syria is suffering because of the crackdown. Damascus has long boasted of being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism, but Assad has been abandoned by some of his closest allies and now his Arab neighbors. The growing movement against his regime could transform some of the most enduring alliances in the Middle East and beyond.

At a news conference in Cairo, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 19 of the League's 22 member nations approved a series of tough punishments that include cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank, halting Arab government funding for projects in Syria and freezing government assets. Those sanctions are to take effect immediately.

Other steps, including halting flights and imposing travel bans on some, as-yet unnamed Syrian officials, will come later after a committee reviews them.

"The Syrian people are being killed but we don't want this. Every Syrian official should not accept killing even one person," bin Jassim said. "Power is worth nothing while you stand as an enemy to your people."

He added that the League aims to "to avoid any suffering for the Syrian people."

Iraq and Lebanon ? important trading partners for Syria ? abstained from the vote, which came after Damascus missed an Arab League deadline to agree to allow hundreds of observers into the country as part of a peace deal Syria agreed to early this month to end the crisis.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said the bloc will reconsider the sanctions if Syria carries out the Arab-brokered plan, which includes pulling tanks from the streets and ending violence against civilians.

The regime, however, has shown no signs of easing its crackdown, and activist groups said more than 30 people were killed Sunday. The death toll was impossible to confirm. Syria has banned most foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting inside the country.

The Local Coordinating Committees, a coalition of Syrian activist groups, praised the sanctions but called for a mechanism to ensure compliance.

"The sanctions leave open the opportunity for the regime to commit fraud and strip the sanctions of any substance, thereby prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of an oppressive and brutal regime," the group said.

The Arab League move is the latest in a growing wave of international pressure pushing Damascus to end its crackdown. The European Union and the United States already have imposed sanctions, the League has suspended Syria's membership and world leaders increasingly are calling on Assad to go. But as the crisis drags on, the violence appears to be spiraling out of control as attacks by army defectors increase and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves.

Syria has seen the bloodiest crackdown against the Arab Spring's eruption of protests, and has descended into a deadly grind. Though internationally isolated, Assad appears to have a firm grip on power with the loyalty of most of the armed forces, which in the past months have moved from city to city to put down uprisings. In each place, however, protests have resumed.

The escalating bloodshed has raised fears of civil war ? a worst-case scenario in a country that is a geographical and political keystone in the heart of the Middle East.

Syria borders five countries with whom it shares religious and ethnic minorities and, in Israel's case, a fragile truce. Its web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. Chaos in Syria could send unsettling ripples across the region.

For now, Assad still has a strong bulwark to prevent his meeting the same fate as the leaders of Egypt, Tunisia or Libya anytime soon. His key advantages are the support of Russia and China, fear among many Syrians about a future without Assad, and the near-certainty that foreign militaries will stay away.

But the unrest is eviscerating the economy, threatening the business community and prosperous merchant classes that are key to propping up the regime. An influential bloc, the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges.

The opposition has tried to rally these largely silent, but hugely important, sectors of society. But Assad's opponents have failed so far to galvanize support in Damascus and Aleppo ? the two economic centers in Syria.

Sunday's sanctions, however, could chip away at their resolve.

Since the revolt began, the regime has blamed the bloodshed on terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to divide and undermine Syria. The bloodshed has laid bare Syria's long-simmering sectarian tensions, with disturbing reports of Iraq-style sectarian killings.

Syria is an overwhelmingly Sunni country of 22 million, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect. Assad, and his father before him, stacked key military posts with Alawites to meld the fates of the army and the regime ? a tactic aimed at compelling the army to fight to the death to protect the Assad family dynasty.

Until recently, most of the bloodshed was caused by security forces firing on mainly peaceful protests. Lately, there have been growing reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting Assad's forces ? a development that some say plays into the regime's hands by giving government troops a pretext to crack down with overwhelming force.

___

Youssef reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Adam Schreck contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-27-Syria/id-e6189864dc2d4bbe9bfbd1ba4bb0765d

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