Thursday, February 18, 2010

PleaseRobMe website reveals dangers of social networks


A website called PleaseRobMe claims to reveal the location of empty homes based on what people post online.

The Dutch developers told BBC News the site was designed to prove a point about the dangers of sharing precise location information on the internet.

The site scrutinises players of online game Foursquare, which is based on a person's location in the real world.

PleaseRobMe extracts information from players who have chosen to post their whereabouts automatically onto Twitter.

"It started with me and a friend looking at our Twitter feeds and seeing more and more Foursquare posts," said Boy Van Amstel, one of PleaseRobMe's developers.

"People were checking in at their house, or their girlfriend's or friend's house, and sharing the address - I don't think they were aware of how much they were sharing."

Mr Van Amstel, Frank Groeneveld and Barry Borsboom realised that not only were people sharing detailed location information about themselves and their friends, they were also by default broadcasting when they were away from their own home.

Simple search

The website took just four hours to create.

"It's basically a Twitter search - nothing new," said Mr Van Amstel. "Anyone who can do HTML and javascript can do this. You could almost laugh at how easy it is."

He said that the site would remain live but stressed it was not created to encourage crime.

"The website is not a tool for burglary," he said. "The point we're getting at is that not long ago it was questionable to share your full name on the internet. We've gone past that point by 1000 miles."

Mr Van Amstel added that in practice it would be "very difficult" to use the information on the website to carry out a burglary.

Charity Crimestoppers advises people to think carefully about the information they choose to share on the internet.

"We urge users of Twitter, Facebook or other social networks to stop and think before posting personal details online that could leave them vulnerable to crimes including burglary and identity theft," said a spokesperson.

"Details posted online are available for the world to see; you wouldn't hang a sign on your door saying you're out, so why would you post it online?"

Happiness wards off heart disease, study suggests

Happy couple
Happiness has been linked to improve health before

Being happy and staying positive may help ward off heart disease, a study suggests.

US researchers monitored the health of 1,700 people over 10 years, finding the most anxious and depressed were at the highest risk of the disease.

They could not categorically prove happiness was protective, but said people should try to enjoy themselves.

But experts suggested the findings may be of limited use as an individual's approach to life was often ingrained.

At the start of the study, which was published in the European Heart Journal, participants were assessed for emotions ranging from hostility and anxiousness to joy, enthusiasm and contentment.

They were given a rating on a five-point scale to score their level of positive emotions.

By the end of the analysis, some 145 had developed heart disease - fewer than one in 10.

But for each rise in the happiness scale there was a 22% lower risk of developing heart disease.

The team believes happier people may have better sleeping patterns, be less liable to suffer stress and be more able to move on from upsetting experiences - all of which can put physical strain on the body.

Lead researcher Dr Karina Davidson admitted more research was needed into the link, but said she would still recommend that people try to develop a more positive outlook.

She said all too often people just waited for their "two weeks of vacation to have fun" when instead they should seek enjoyment each day.

"If you enjoy reading novels, but never get around to it, commit to getting 15 minutes or so of reading in.

"If walking or listening to music improves you mood, get those activities in your schedule.

"Essentially spending a few minutes each day truly relaxed and enjoying yourself is certainly good for your mental health and may improve your physical health as well."

It is not the first study to suggest there is a link between happiness and health.

But Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, suggested such an association may be of limited value anyway.

"We know that improving your mood isn't always easy - so we don't know if it's possible to change our natural levels of positivity."

Cardiologist Iain Simpson, of the British Cardiovascular Society, added: "Things like reducing cholesterol and diabetes are more important when it comes to reducing heart disease.

"But at the end of the day it heart disease is still the biggest killer in the UK so anything you can do to help should not be ignored."

UFO sightings revealed in UK archive files from 1990s

UFO drawing
The files contain verbal and drawn accounts of UFO encounters

Thousands of UFOs have been spotted in the last 20 years around the UK, according to newly released documents.

More than 6,000 pages of reports describe people's experiences with unidentified flying objects between 1994 and 2000.

They include reported sightings over Chelsea Football Club and former home secretary Michael Howard's Kent home.

Details have been released under a three-year project between the Ministry of Defence and The National Archives.

The fifth instalment to be released consists of 24 files of sightings, letters and Parliamentary questions, which are available to view online.

The reports detail how objects of various shapes and sizes have been witnessed flying over a range of locations.

Some drawings by witnesses have also been released.

One man told police he was physically sick and developed a "skin condition" after an eerie "tube of light" enveloped his car in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, on 27 January, 1997.

In another case, a UFO sighted by Boston and Skegness police, in Lincolnshire, was captured on film.

The police reported the sighting to the coastguard, which in turn alerted ships in the North Sea, where a crew reported seeing more UFOs.

Simultaneously, an unidentified blip was picked up on radar over Boston.

Also included in the latest release is a letter from senior MoD official Ralph Noyes, in which he describes seeing a film of UFOs captured by RAF fighter pilots in 1956.

Mr Noyes claims the footage was shown at a secret underground screening arranged for air defence staff at the MoD in 1970.

And a memo reveals how former prime minister Winston Churchill expressed curiosity in "flying saucers" and requested a briefing from his ministers.

He was told in reply that following an intelligence study conducted in 1951, the "flying saucers" could be explained by "one or other" of four causes.

These were known astronomical or meteorological phenomena, mistaken identification of conventional aircraft, optical illusions and psychological delusions, or deliberate hoaxes.

Yvo de Boer resigns as top UN climate official

Yvo de Boer (Getty Images)
Mr de Boer is now set to become a consultant

Yvo de Boer, the UN's top climate change official, says he will resign after nearly four years in the post.

His departure takes effect from 1 July, five months before 193 countries are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt at a global deal on climate.

Nations failed to reach a binding deal at the Copenhagen meeting in December.

Mr de Boer said he was announcing his departure now so that a successor could be found well before the Mexico meeting later this year.

The former Dutch civil servant was appointed as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2006. As the UN's climate negotiator, he was widely credited with raising the profile of climate change issues.

But suspicions and distrust between developing and industrial countries barred the way to a binding accord at the UN's climate change summit in Copenhagen in December.

In a statement, Mr de Boer said: "It was a difficult decision to make, but I believe the time is ripe for me to take on a new challenge."

Mr De Boer said he would become a consultant on climate and sustainability issues for KPMG, a global accounting firm, and would be associated with several universities.

'Deeply disappointed'

Mr de Boer is said to be deeply disappointed with outcome of the last summit in Copenhagen, which drew 120 world leaders but failed to reach a binding global accord.

But he said the failure to secure a treaty at Copenhagen was unrelated to his decision to quit, and that he had begun looking for a new job last year, before the summit.

He told the Associated Press news agency that he believed talks were "on track", although it was uncertain whether a full treaty could be finalised at the next high-level conference which starts in November.

Mr de Boer said the accord reached in Copenhagen, brokered by US President Barack Obama, "was very significant".

But he acknowledged frustration that the deal fell short of the consensus and was merely "noted" rather than formally adopted by all countries.

"We were about an inch away from a formal agreement. It was basically in our grasp, but it didn't happen... so that was a pity," he said.

Fifty-five countries submitted pledges for curbing greenhouse gas emissions by the 31 January deadline in the "Copenhagen Accord", the document produced at the UN climate summit in the Danish capital.

At the time, Mr de Boer said the pledges would invigorate the UN process, but several environment groups said they did not go far enough. In some cases the pledges were weaker than those made before the summit.

Track record

According to AP, people who know Mr de Boer said he was more disheartened by the slow pace of negotiations than he was ready to admit.

"I saw him at the airport after Copenhagen," said Jake Schmidt, a climate expert for the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, "He was tired, worn out."

Mr Schmidt said that the summit "clearly took a toll on him."

In 2007, during exhausting negotiations at the Bali conference, Mr de Boer left the stage in tears after being accused by China of procedural irregularities.

Before he took up his post with the UNFCCC, Mr de Boer was involved in European Union environmental policy in his role with the Dutch Environment Ministry. He also served as vice-chair of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

A different UN climate body - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which reviews climate science - has come under fire in recent months for a mistake on the melting of Himalayan glaciers and for referencing "grey literature" - a WWF report which had not been peer-reviewed.

The head of the IPCC, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, has rejected calls for his resignation.

In November, hundreds of e-mails from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, UK, appeared on the web.

CRU maintains one of the world's most important datasets on how global temperatures have changed.

An inquiry is underway to consider whether the e-mail exchanges between researchers show an attempt to manipulate or suppress data "at odds" with scientific practice.

Toyota faces new US investigation

Toyota Corolla
Toyota sold nearly 1.3 million Corollas last year

Japanese carmaker Toyota is facing a new US investigation into complaints of steering problems in its Corolla model.

The investigation is expected to be opened on Thursday and will involve an estimated 500,000 vehicles.

It is already facing an investigation into whether it was quick enough in recalling cars over problems involving accelerator and braking systems.

Toyota said on Wednesday that it was looking into complaints of power steering problems with the Corolla.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it has received more than 150 complaints about possible steering problems in the 2009-2010 Corolla.

Toyota sold nearly 1.3 million of the models worldwide last year, including about 300,000 in the US.

Toyota is facing another US investigation into whether it was quick enough in recalling millions of cars over problems involving accelerator pedals and braking systems.

It has denied any cover-up and says it will "co-operate to provide all the information they have requested" on the US inquiry.

The saga began in the US with reports that accelerator pedals were getting caught under the floor mats.

The Japanese car giant began recalling vehicles potentially affected by that problem in October last year and Toyota then redesigned the mats.

The floor mat issue affected a number of vehicles in the US, but not in the UK.

Later, separate acceleration problems were found to be caused by the pedal sticking.

This was then followed by the recall of about 436,000 hybrid vehicles, including the Prius model, over brake concerns
Toyota Corolla
Toyota sold nearly 1.3 million Corollas last year

Japanese carmaker Toyota is facing a new US investigation into complaints of steering problems in its Corolla model.

The investigation is expected to be opened on Thursday and will involve an estimated 500,000 vehicles.

It is already facing an investigation into whether it was quick enough in recalling cars over problems involving accelerator and braking systems.

Toyota said on Wednesday that it was looking into complaints of power steering problems with the Corolla.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it has received more than 150 complaints about possible steering problems in the 2009-2010 Corolla.

Toyota sold nearly 1.3 million of the models worldwide last year, including about 300,000 in the US.

Toyota is facing another US investigation into whether it was quick enough in recalling millions of cars over problems involving accelerator pedals and braking systems.

It has denied any cover-up and says it will "co-operate to provide all the information they have requested" on the US inquiry.

The saga began in the US with reports that accelerator pedals were getting caught under the floor mats.

The Japanese car giant began recalling vehicles potentially affected by that problem in October last year and Toyota then redesigned the mats.

The floor mat issue affected a number of vehicles in the US, but not in the UK.

Later, separate acceleration problems were found to be caused by the pedal sticking.

This was then followed by the recall of about 436,000 hybrid vehicles, including the Prius model, over brake concerns

Dubai Hamas killing pledge by UK foreign secretary

Britain is determined to "get to the bottom of" how fake UK passports were used by the alleged killers of a Hamas commander, the foreign secretary says.

David Miliband described the use of six British passports as an "outrage".

Dubai's police chief has said he is 99% sure of the involvement of Israeli agents in Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's death, but Israel says there is no proof.

Its UK ambassador said he was "unable to add additional information" after he met the UK diplomatic service's head.

Mr Miliband said he "hoped and expected" that Tel Aviv would co-operate fully with the investigation into the "outrage", which comes amid accusations that Israel's secret service, Mossad, was involved in the killing in Dubai on 20 January.

The meeting followed the announcement of an inquiry by Prime Minister Gordon Brown into the use of passports bearing the names of six British-Israelis who are not the men pictured.

Mr Miliband refused to reveal what was said in the 20-minute meeting between Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor and Sir Peter Ricketts, the head of the UK's diplomatic service.

He said: "It's very very important that we don't make accusations until we know that they're well founded."

But Mr Miliband said the case was being taken "extremely seriously" and the integrity of the British system was "critical".

Mr Prosor told journalists after his meeting that it is "not the usual way to talk about what happens in those meetings".

The Irish Republic also called in Israeli ambassador Zion Evrony, who also insisted he knew nothing about the killing of the Hamas commander.

British Conservative leader David Cameron had called for Israel's ambassador to the UK to be asked "some pretty tough questions".

Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary William Hague has urged the Foreign Office to confirm when it first knew about the fake passport claims.

UK diplomats said they had received details of the British passports a few hours before Dubai released details on Monday.

However Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "entirely possible" the government had been alerted to their use in January.

"There have been reports in the Gulf, including one in the Gulf News, right at the end of January, that the head of police in Dubai had contacted consulates and embassies for assistance with this investigation into the suspects," he said.

Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor on the Dubai murder

The BBC's Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen said if there was proof Israel had used British passports "for some nefarious uses of its Mossad service - as they have in the past with Canadian and New Zealand ones", then relations between the UK and Israel would be "in a crisis".

The Serious Organised Crime Agency has confirmed photographs and signatures on the passports used in Dubai do not match those on passports issued by the UK.

The men whose names appeared on the passports have dual British and Israeli citizenship.

They are Melvyn Adam Mildiner, Paul John Keeley, James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Michael Lawrence Barney and Jonathan Lewis Graham. They all deny involvement in the killing.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

chloe dufour lapointe

The most fretted-over patch of hill in the Pacific time zone is hosting actual Olympic competition.

The women’s freestyle moguls event is underway at Cypress Mountain, and no, there aren’t any brown patches for the skiers to avoid as they bounce down the hill. They’re pretty much everywhere else around the hill. It took 20 minutes to see any patch of white from the time my shuttle bus reached the mountain’s base. But the seemingly Sysiphean task of choppering powder in to battle the warm, wet conditions appears to have paid off, at least early.

That’s not to say those conditions are ideal. The weather is as Vancouver-ish as anywhere else around here: temps are in the mid-40s with rain.

It didn’t stop American Hannah Kearney from a successful first run during qualifying. Asked about the conditions, she replied, “The moisture in the snow is making it a little slick, so it’s faster than it was at training.”

(Speaking of Kearney, the WSJ’s Reed Albergotti did a great segment with her for his “The Olympics: How Hard Can it Be?” series where she gave him a crash course in her sport.)

Despite the general unpleasantness of the weather, the house was already crowded at the start of qualifying with loooooong lines for hot chocolate and anything else to keep the cold away.

Those moguls are already looking kind of mushy. It’ll be interesting to see how battered they are by the end of the competition.

cheryl miller married

Cheryl Miller Married, Basketball player, University of Southern California (USC), 1982-86; U.S. Olympic Team member, 1984; USC, assistant coach, women’s basketball, 1987-91; ABC television network, basketball announcer, 1987–; USC, head coach, women’s basketball, 1993–.

During her playing career, Cheryl Miller was arguably the best woman basketball player of all time. A four-time All-American, Miller led her University of Southern California (USC) team to successive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in 1983 and 1984. She went on to anchor the U.S. Olympic team that captured the 1984 gold medal in women’s basketball. A charismatic and outspoken figure, Miller has parlayed her triumphs on the court into a successful broadcasting career as a television basketball announcer for ABC-TV. Miller launched her coaching career in 1993, when she accepted the women’s head coaching position at her alma mater. In 1995 Miller was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in recognition of her contribution to the game.
Miller was born and raised in Riverside, California, the third of five children. Her father, Saul Miller, was a stern taskmaster who instilled a competitive spirit in all of his children. A jazz saxophonist turned military man turned computer professional, the senior Miller demanded top performances from his kids in sports and in the classroom. Saul, Jr., the eldest son of Saul and his wife, Carrie, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a sax player in the Air Force jazz band. Second son Darrell played baseball for five years with the California Angels. Cheryl and younger brother Reggie became basketball stars. Tammy, the youngest, was a successful college volleyball player.
For Cheryl, pickup games on the family’s backyard court provided much tougher competition than she generally faced from her peers. Playing against her brothers, all excellent athletes, Miller developed basketball skills at an early age that exceeded by far those of other girls in the neighborhood. By the time she was in high school, Miller had grown to six feet two inches, towering over most of her opponents in both stature and talent. In her four years at Riverside Polytechnic High, she scored a total of 3,405 points for an overall average of nearly 37 points a game. In one 1982 game, Miller scored 105 points, a California high school record. She also performed what are thought to be the first two dunks by a woman in organized competition. The Riverside team rode Miller’s coattails to four consecutive state titles during her high school career, compiling a four-year record of 132 wins and only four losses.
Of all her siblings, Miller has always been closest to brother Reggie, now starring for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In a 1982 interview in People magazine, she described a hustle that she and Reggie pulled regularly on neighborhood courts. While Cheryl hid nearby, Reggie would challenge a pair of boys to play against him and his sister. Not knowing Cheryl, they would usually accept the offer eagerly. She would then come out from hiding and proceed to dominate the game. Reggie has always maintained that it was his childhood one-on-one games against his sister that enabled him to develop his trademark rainbow jump shot; he claims that trying to shoot over Cheryl while growing up has made shooting over NBA seven-footers seem like child’s play.
Miller’s high school feats made her the most heavily recruited female athlete of all time. Out of over 250 scholarship offers, she chose to attend USC, which already had a strong team. Miller was nearly as dominant at USC as she was at Riverside. Joining a squad that included such talented players as the McGee twins, Pam and Paula, Miller led USC to back-to-back NCAA titles, picking up Final Four Most Valuable Player honors after both tournaments. She also developed a reputation as a show-off and trash-talker. By the time her college career had ended, Miller had broken the NCAA women’s career records for scoring, free throws, and steals, and was named All-American each of her four years at USC. Miller’s charm helped USC break a variety of attendance records as well, as women’s basketball attained a level of popularity it had never before approached.

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 While she was setting a new standard for women’s collegiate basketball in the United States, Miller was also tearing up courts in international competition. In 1983 she played for teams representing the U.S. in the Pan Am Games and the World University Games, where her 37 points in the finals helped the U.S. team bring home the championship.
Miller’s popularity reached its peak in 1984 when she was the standout player for the U.S. Olympic team, considered by many to be the finest collection of women basketball players ever assembled. Her gold medal performance at the Olympics was so compelling that for a short time afterward, Miller may have been the most famous basketball player in the world–of either gender. In 1985 Sports Illustrated named her National Player of the Year. Miller became an international celebrity, gracing magazine covers in Asia, meeting heads of state, and making television appearances varying from interviews with newswoman Barbara Walters to guest spots on the television drama Cagney and Lacey.
During her college career, Miller averaged 23 points and 11.9 rebounds a game. When she was done, she held almost every important USC school record. While statistics of that magnitude would have meant a multi-million-dollar NBA contract for a man, for a woman they meant virtually nothing. The sport remained as much a dead end for the person who had brought women’s basketball into the spotlight as it was for the most mediocre players.
After graduating from USC with a degree in communications, Miller was offered jobs playing basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters, an exhibition team, and in a European women’s league. Neither of those opportunities appealed to her, however, since neither represented a serious competitive challenge. Miller missed the chance to repeat her Olympic glory in 1988 when an injury forced her off the U.S. squad. Although she remained a darling of the sports media, it eventually became clear that her competitive playing days were over. The articulate and outspoken Miller then turned to broadcasting, landing a job with ABC-TV as a college basketball commentator. She also served as a part-time assistant coach at USC for a few years in the late 1980s.
In 1993 Miller was hired by USC as head coach of women’s basketball. In accepting the job, she placed herself squarely in the middle of a boiling controversy. Miller’s predecessor, Marianne Stanley, had been extremely successful. When her contract expired, Stanley had insisted that she be paid a salary comparable to that of men’s coach George Raveling. The university balked at her demand, and her contract was not renewed. Stanley then filed an $8 million sex discrimination suit against USC and its athletic director. Miller became something of a pariah among other women’s basketball coaches when she replaced Stanley. Several of them publicly criticized her for accepting the job, and many neglected the common courtesy of sending scouting videotapes of their teams to USC. Many of these hostile coaches remembered Miller’s showboating style as a player, which may have contributed to their animosity.
In spite of the intense pressure, Miller’s first year in the head coaching ranks was fairly successful. She led the Women of Troy to the Mideast regional finals in the NCAA tournament in the spring of 1994. In February of 1995 Miller was one of seven individuals voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. On hearing of her election, Miller was uncharacteristically modest. “I wasn’t the greatest athlete and I couldn’t jump out of the gym and I wasn’t an extraordinary ballhandler,” Miller was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times. “I was just someone who loved the game so very much and had a passion for sport and life.” The second half of that statement, at least, rings true.

child abduction emergency


There is a Child Abduction Emergency, currently in action, in Maryland.

The child, Karina Elizabeth Garcia, is an eleven year old Hispanic female who is in the company of Elmer Velaya, a 30-37 year old Hispanic male.

They were last seen at Prince Georges County MD, in a Orange 18 wheel tractor with flatbed trailer, with Virginia tags (Freight-liner.)

The police have instructed anyone who sees the pair, to not attempt to take action or approach the pair, but to dial 911 or #77.

At the request of Prince George’s County PD, the Maryland State Police have issued a Maryland Child Amber Alert.

Karina is described as 4 feet ten inches tall, and around 110 pounds. She was last seen wearing a red shirt with yellow stars, and blue jeans. She also has long black hair.

She is believed to have been abducted around 2.00 pm, in the Prince Georges County area, by Elmer Velaya.

Velaya is described as being five feet 5 inches tall and one seventy five pounds. It has been reported he may have barbwire tattoos on both biceps and also the letter Z on his ring finger.

Anyone who thinks they may see the suspect or child, or have information to contact Prince George’s County PD on 301-772-4901 or to call 911.

720 dunk

When I think of All-Star Weekend, the one event that truly excites me is the Dunk Contest. No offense to the the All-Star Game–which is too far from a real basketball game to be considered meaningful–but the Dunk Contest always offers at least one or two memorable throwdowns, even in years when the overall competition is weak. Many people think the event’s grown stale since there’s only so much creativity an individual can come up with while slamming the rock, and I get that. In light of this, here are five dunks I’ve come up with that would be guaranteed 50’s and have never been attempted before (I think). Obviously I tried to stay away from anything too ridiculous or impossibly difficult, but these should be feasible:

1 ) The CrossBoard

How it’s executed: The dunker has a ball in each hand. As he’s running up to the basket, he throws the ball in his right hand off the backboard, and then immediately throws the ball in his left off the backboard. He needs to throw the first ball low and second ball high so they don’t hit each other, but he then has to catch the first ball with his left hand (threw it with his right) and the second ball with his right hand (threw it with his left) and dunk them one after another. A bang bang double dunk.

Ideal Dunker: Dwight Howard. He’s got huge hands, which is important since the dunker has to catch each ball with one hand. Howard also possesses incredible height to his jump and the dunker’s going to need to stay in the air for a while to complete this difficult attempt.

2 ) The Post-Script Windmill

How it’s executed: The dunker goes up for a big one-handed windmill and he grabs the rim as he throws it down….while hanging onto the rim with that hand, he catches the ball as it goes through the bottom of the net and windmills it with the other hand. The dunker finishes with both hands clutching the rim.

A possible variation: Instead of catching the ball at the net, he needs to dunk it so hard the first time that it bounces off the floor back to this other hand and then windmills it. This would probably be much harder.

Ideal Dunker: Vince Carter. He has the arm strength to hold onto the rim long enough. See the 2000 elbow dunk.

3 ) The Precision

How it’s executed: The dunker starts on the opposite baseline. He has a teammate or passer standing 10-15 rows behind the backboard. The following is just an art of precision timing. The dunker takes off at full speed and as he’s crossing halfcourt, his teammate will need to throw a perfect pass over the backboard so that the dunker can jump from just inside the free throw line and throw it down.

This is the type of dunk if attempted too many times, it’ll lose it’s edge. If executed on the first try, fireworks.

Ideal Combo: LeBron James would actually be perfect for either role since he’s a tall, phenomenal passer. I’d love to see him dish it to Josh Smith. Both could be the dunker since they are tall and fast so they can catch up to the pass and have the prowess to finish the dunk with authority.

4 ) “Cheeeeeeeeese”

How it’s executed: A teammate is sitting on a ladder to the side of the basket. The dunker goes up for an attempt, and as he’s in mid-air, the teammate whips out a polaroid. The dunker needs to turn his upper body so that he’s fully facing the camera and can make a hilarious face/pose (maybe the Heisman?) at the height of his jump before dunking the ball . Obviously, the picture needs to come out clearly and fully capture the dunker’s pose in order to receive a perfect score.

Ideal Dunker: Someone with a personality. Shaq, LeBron, Nate, Birdman…any others?

5 ) 720

How it’s executed: If you can’t figure it out, stop reading now. No. Really.

I didn’t come up with this as the 720 dunk is well known, but could you imagine seeing one in the NBA Dunk Contest? The roof would come down.

Ideal Dunker: I can’t imagine who in the League could actually do this and make it look pretty and powerful, but I’ll go with Jason Richardson.

Feel free to comment and make up your own dunks you’d want to see…easier said than done, though.

————–

Let’s finish off the Dime with some games:

6 ) Mavericks at Thunder: Tues, 2/16, 8:00 (ET)

When the NFL season was coming to a close, I found myself rooting for the Houston Texans to make the postseason for the first time in their franchise history. I have nothing against them, and they possess a young, exciting offense to watch. So why not?

That’s how I feel about the Oklahoma City Thunder this year, only they seem poised to actually clinch a Playoff spot which the Texans fell short of. There’s still a lot of season left, and the Thunder (30-21) are only one game ahead of Portland, currently the 8th seed, but Kevin Durant is playing out of his mind and there’s no reason to think that will stop. Durant goes into All-Star Weekend riding a streak of 25 straight games with at least 25 points, only the third player in history to accomplish that feat (Iverson and Jordan), but moreover he is leading his team to victories. And they are quality victories at that, as Oklahoma City’s current six game winning streak includes W’s against Denver, Atlanta, New Orleans, Portland and the high-octane Warriors, twice.

The Southwest-leading Mavericks beat the Thunder, 99-98, on January 15th at American Airlines Center, despite 30 points and 13 boards from Durant. So it’s obvious that Oklahoma City is for real, because they’re competing night in and night out against the best teams in the league. The Mavs have gone cold since that matchup, winning only two of their last seven games (both against Golden State), but are fortunate since the rest of the division hasn’t taken advantage. Dallas goes into the break following an embarrassing 36-point loss to the Nuggets, so they’ll probably come out fired up for their first game following All-Star Weekend.

Prediction: Go with the hot hand. I’ll take Durant and his Thunder by 8.

7 ) Nuggets at Cavaliers: Thurs, 2/18, 8:00(ET), National TV: TNT

With ‘Melo now healthy, this is a fantastic game between two of the NBA’s best. Whenever Anthony, Kobe, LeBron, Wade or Durant go up against each other, it’s always fun to watch but my favorite will always be LeBron-‘Melo. Anthony looked like he was a serious candidate for MVP in December, and still could be, but his injury combined with LeBron’s phenomenal season really hurt Melo’s chances. That being said, both teams are playing very well, especially the Cavs who have cemented their title as the best team in the East this season.

Cleveland is on a 12 game winning streak and have only lost thrice since 2010 began, but one of those losses came in Denver back on January 8th when Anthony wasn’t even playing. LeBron has historically struggled a bit when playing the Nuggets, winning only four in 13 career games against Denver, so LeBron will certainly come out firing at home to even the season series. The Nuggets held their own in Anthony’s 8-game absence, going 5-3 in that stretch, and then proceeded to blow out the Mavericks, 127-91, when Carmelo returned to the lineup on Tuesday. Denver and Cleveland have been two of the most consistent teams all year, so this should be an exciting showdown.

Prediction: I want to say Denver, but going against the Cavs at home, where they are 23-3, is just stupid. Cleveland by 4.

8 ) Celtics at Lakers: Thurs, 2/18, 10:30 (ET), National TV: TNT

What a Thursday night for TNT. There’s a good chance the four teams playing on national TV this night will be the last four standing in the playoffs as well.

Like the Cavs, the Lakers (41-13) are sitting pretty atop their conference with a five game lead on the second-place Nuggets, and they just spanked the red-hot Jazz in Utah without Kobe. So, its safe to say the Lakers should coast the rest of the way.

Boston, on the other hand, is in serious trouble. I watched the entire Celts-Magic game, and Boston looked tired and sluggish after an early big lead, especially in the third quarter where they were outscored 36-11 in front of their own fans. Garnett is just not the same since the knee injury and Ray Allen has struggled this year overall, only putting up 16 a night while shooting a career low 33.8% from beyond the arc. The team is 8-13 in their last 21 games but Danny Ainge insists that he will not blow the team up. Trading Allen or Big Baby might help in my opinion, but either way Boston has a tough stretch ahead. Following the All-Star break, they immediately go on the road for four straight against the Kings, Lakers, Blazers and Nuggets and they lead Toronto by a mere four games for the Atlantic. This will be a huge game and road trip for the C’s.

Prediction: Too tough for the Celtics. Lakers by 9.

9 ) Hawks at Suns: Fri, 2/19, 9:00 (ET)

Who knows what the Phoenix Suns will look like when the Hawks come to town. Amar’e’s name is really heating up on the trading block, and although the Suns have played better recently, I don’t see them making a run for the title. Trading Stoudemire for high value and other expiring contracts is the smart move instead of letting him walk this summer, but that could seriously damage their current season as well. Phoenix is in a tough spot.

The Hawks continue to play well despite a thorough beating at the hands of the Heat on Wednesday, where they were without Jamal Crawford. However, the Magic have taken back control of the division after their recent 10-2 surge, so Atlanta will need to come out of the break on fire if they want to stay in the race for the division and the second seed.

Prediction: Atlanta gets the road victory.

10 ) Mavericks at Magic: Fri, 2/19, 8:00 (ET)

Before February is over, the Mavs will have to play the Thunder, Suns, Magic, Lakers and Hawks. Tough stretch for a team that is only in first because the rest of division has performed equally poor the last two weeks. Dallas is another team that could look very different after the February 18th trade deadline, so the rest of the month should give us an idea of how good this team really is.

Orlando, meanwhile, is finally playing up to expectations after starting off 2010 with a 3-7 record. It seems that Vince Carter has put his horrible month of January behind him, as he’s shooting 53.7% in February so far, up from 28.4% last month. The Magic needed all of Carter’s 48 points to secure a 123-117 victory against the Hornets on Monday, and it was the first time since January 15th that Orlando allowed 100 points to an opposing team. Dwight is still shooting the ball at a 60% clip and has 14 straight double-doubles, but it’s his anchor defense that makes this team special.

how tall is nate robinson


Reporting from Dallas - Nate Robinson tends to give fans a little something extra.

He has vaulted over 6-foot-11 Dwight Howard and donned an all-green New York Knicks uniform with green shoes as part of his All-Star dunk contest routines.

So it should have come as no surprise when he grabbed a pair of blue pompons from a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Saturday night inside American Airlines Center and thrust them into the air to celebrate his final dunk.

Robinson's pass off the backboard for a double-pump reverse dunk helped the 5-foot-9 dynamo defend his title and become the first three-time dunk contest champion after edging Toronto's DeMar DeRozan with 51% of fan voting via text messaging and the Internet.

"I knew I had to try to do dunks I haven't done before and try and spice it up a little bit," Robinson said in an on-court interview.

Did he consider dunking over the cheerleaders?

"They were way too beautiful for that," said Robinson, who said he didn't anticipate going for a fourth title.

DeRozan thrilled the crowd in the final round when he leaped over Toronto teammate Sonny Weems and took a pass off the backboard for a one-handed dunk. The former Compton High and USC star's other attempt in the final was a two-handed windmill.

"Going up against somebody like Nate who's small and doing the things he's doing, it's hard to beat that," DeRozan said.

DeRozan earned a perfect score from the judges in the first round when he took a pass from Weems off the side of the backboard, caught the ball on one side of the rim and dunked on the other.

Even an assist from Kobe Bryant wasn't enough to propel Lakers guard Shannon Brown past the first round. Bryant fed Brown with an alley-oop pass for a one-handed, left-handed jam that earned Brown 41 points from the judges.

"I think I could have done better," Brown said, "but if you look at the replay I was up in the air pretty high."

Boston forward Paul Pierce won the three-point shooting competition when he made 15 of 25 shots in the final round, including all five "money balls," to finish with 20 points. Golden State's Stephen Curry had 17 points and Denver's Chauncey Billups had 14 points in the final round.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant defended his title in the H-O-R-S-E competition after defeating Boston guard Rajon Rondo in a three-point shootout.

Less than 24 hours after participating in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Phoenix guard Steve Nash won the skills challenge with a time of 29.9 seconds in the final round, edging Utah's Deron Williams.

Alluding to his lack of sleep, Nash quipped that "it makes it OK when you win a resume-builder like this."

In the shooting stars competition, the Team Texas contingent of Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, former Houston guard Kenny Smith and Becky Hammon of the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars beat Team Los Angeles when Nowitzki made a shot from near midcourt 34.3 seconds into the final round

luge crash death video


Luger Slider Dead. Luger killed in crash it is now a sad Olympics news. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili has died following an horrific crash during practice, just hours before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games were due to open in Vancouver. You can see here the pathetic Nodar Kumaritashvili Crash video.

Luge crash online video available? an Olympic video pulled from YouTube is creating a stir. The luge crash at today’s Vancouver winter Olympics training event claimed the life of an Olympic luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili. now that word is leaking out about his untimely death, a very predictable reaction has happened.
People are looking for the crash video.

For some reason or another, people like to see crash videos. In some instances, such as the Shaun White X Games crash video, watching the event occur on YouTube is harmless. Shaun walked away okay. He wasn’t hurt.

On the other hand, when you are dealing with the death of someone, you have to consider the possibility that someone in his family will come across the video.

Would you really want to see your son, husband, or brother die in such a horrific way? I didn’t think so.
Chances are, the Luge crash video will surface again and people will watch it just to see what happens. It’s no different than when we rubberneck to see that horrific car accident that has left us caught in traffic for hours.

Our thoughts go out to the family of the luger who died during today’s event. He is the third ever to die during training. The first two died in 1964 during the event’s inaugural year.

food network mexican made easy

A hot and sexy chef enters Food Network today. Marcela Valladolid debuts on Food Network with her own show 'Mexican Made Easy.' Chef Marcela Valladolid placed fourth on 'The Apprentice: Martha Stewart' contest before. Watch the show as it premieres at 9:30 EST on January 23, 2010.

About Mexican Made Easy Show:

Professional chef and cookbook author Marcela Valladolid prepares a fresh take on Mexican food and shares simple and authentic recipes in her series, Mexican Made Easy. Marcela, inspired by her dual Mexican and Southern California upbringing, transforms stereotypes of the cuisine into healthy and easy-to-prepare Mexican meals. Whether serving home-cooked dinner for her son or entertaining friends and family, Marcela brings to the table fresh flavor that fits all tastes.


Download:
FLVMP43GP
blogged by talksmart

olympics tv schedule

Vancouver Olympics TV schedule: All you need to know about Winter 2010 games. The Vancouver Winter Olympics will be shown on NBC. For details on the opening ceremony, be sure to click here.

For those that are excited to watch the games, the Olympic TV schedule is very important. It will tell you when your favorite events will be available to watch from the comfort (and warmth) of your own home.

A great tool for those interested in seeing their local listings is the NBC Official Web site. Here, you can enter in your ZIP code and find out what’s playing where you are.

Once you enter your zip, you will be taken to a menu where you can select your TV provider. This is very helpful, as channels can vary based on whether you have cable or satellite TV.

Tonight, the main TV event at the Vancouver Winter Olympics is the opening ceremony. The fanfare begins at 7:30 PM EST.

If you would rather search for TV listings by sport, the NBC Web site will also allow you to do that. This is how I will make sure that I don’t miss my favorite figure skating and snowboarding events.

Even though the televised events won’t occur right away, there are many qualifying events as we speak. Stay tuned to find out the latest Olympic updates.

India restaurant bomb blast kills eight in Pune

Scene of blast
The restaurant was packed with diners at the time of the blast

At least eight people have been killed and 33 others wounded in a bomb attack on a restaurant in India's western city of Pune, officials say.

The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.

Maharashtra state officials said the blast was caused by a bomb.

The nationalities of the dead are not known. At least four foreigners are among the injured, Maharashtra's home affairs minister said.

The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.

"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters news agency.

Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.

"There has been a bomb blast," senior police official Rajendra Sonawane said.

"There was an abandoned bag which seems to have contained some IED [improvised explosive device]."

Initial reports suggested a gas cylinder had exploded.

The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Tight security as Khan film opens in Mumbai amid row

Police in front of a poster of the film starring Shah Rukh Khan
Posters advertising the film have been defaced in Mumbai

A Bollywood film featuring star Shah Rukh Khan has opened amid tight security in a few cinemas in the Indian city of Mumbai.

More than 1,800 people have been arrested at protests against My Name is Khan, which will be shown at 63 venues.

Khan angered the hardline Hindu party, Shiv Sena, by saying he regretted that no Pakistani cricketers had been picked for next month's Indian Premier League.

Two small cinemas have already been attacked in Mumbai and posters burned.

The BBC's Prachi Pinglay in Mumbai says multiplex cinema owners have decided on a "limited release" of the film.

Most single-screen cinemas have refused to release the film, fearing trouble, our correspondent says.

Reports said most of the morning shows had been cancelled, and it was unclear whether the cinemas would release the film in the subsequent shows.

'Nothing to fear'

One multiplex reported a full house for the film, leaving actress Pooja Bedi and her father, Kabir Bedi, without tickets.

"I am very happy that the film is getting a full house. Police are doing a fabulous job. People need not fear at all," Ms Bedi told reporters.

The authorities have announced that 21,000 police officers will be deployed to protect cinemagoers, frisking patrons before entering. Night-vision cameras may also be used to spot troublemakers inside.

Shah Rukh Khan comments on the protests

Despite the promise of protection, a number of cinema chains stopped taking advance bookings for My Name is Khan this week.

One cinema-goer in Mumbai told the AFP news agency that she found the controversy over Khan "alarming and disturbing".

"I'm not going to be deterred by these kind of threats," said the woman, who asked not to be named.

Khan, part-owner of Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders, spoke out last month after no players from Pakistan were selected for the IPL Twenty20 competition.

The 44-year-old Muslim has stood firm over his remarks, but apologised to his collaborators in My Name is Khan.

"I request everybody to leave the film alone and deal with what I have said as an individual," he told reporters in London last week.

In the film, Khan plays a Muslim with Asperger's syndrome whose life in the US changes after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Shiv Sena, a regional party which backs the cause of local Hindus in Maharashtra state, has pledged to continue its protests.

The organisation, often described as anti-Muslim, regards itself as a defender of what it sees as traditional Hindu moral values.

Khan is one of the biggest stars of India's film industry and has hosted the local version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

The eight-team IPL Twenty20 competition starts on 12 March and is staged over 45 days.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Obituary: US Congressman Charlie Wilson

Charlie Wilson (on white horse) in Afghanistan in July 1987
Charlie Wilson remained proud of his role helping Afghan fighters

Charlie Wilson, the former member of the US House of Representatives, who has died at the age of 76 from a heart attack, played a key role in channelling US funds to the Afghan mujahideen when it fought Soviet forces in the 1980s.

In the popular mind, however, the Texan politician was equally famous for his drinking and womanising.

This was brought to the screen memorably in the 2007 Hollywood film Charlie Wilson's War, which opens with Tom Hanks portraying him in a hot tub flanked by two Las Vegas strippers.

A diehard anti-communist, Wilson was nonetheless a Democrat known for his liberal voting record on social issues, earning himself the nickname the "Liberal from Lufkin" - the town in mostly conservative east Texas where he lived, and died on 10 February.

'By the throat'

Born in Trinity, Texas, on 1 June 1933, Wilson attended state schools and university at Huntsville, from which he moved on to the US Naval Academy.

After four years in the navy as a lieutenant, he moved into the lumber business, according to his official biography at the US Congress.

Elected to the Texan state house of representatives in 1960, he entered Congress in 1973, where he served a total of 12 consecutive terms.

His interest in Afghanistan was reportedly aroused in 1980, the year after the Soviet invasion, when he read about refugees from the conflict.

As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, the body responsible for funding CIA operations, he asked for massive increases to its Afghan budget.

Tens of millions of dollars are believed to have been spent on supporting Afghan militants, equipping them with Stinger missiles they could use to shoot down Soviet helicopter gunships.

Retired CIA officer Michael F Scheuer encountered Wilson at meetings in the 1980s.

"He saw Afghanistan as a way to exact a pound of flesh from the Soviets for [the US defeat in] Vietnam," Mr Scheuer told BBC World Service.

Wilson himself told the Dallas Morning News in a 2007 interview: "I just saw the opportunity to grab the sons o' bitches by the throat."

After the Soviets left in 1989, Wilson expressed concern about the reduction in US Congressional funding for Afghanistan.

Some of the warlords he helped arm are today fighting US and other foreign troops in Afghanistan, but Wilson showed no regret for his actions in the 1980s.

"Who the hell had ever heard of the Taliban then?" he said in a Time magazine interview in 2007.

'Oversized life'

"Charlie Wilson led a life that was oversized even by Hollywood's standards," Texas Governor Rick Perry said on news of his death.

Wilson's biographer, George Crile, recounts how the congressman would recruit beautiful women to work in his Washington office, nicknaming them Charlie's Angels after the TV show.

Wilson would reportedly bring glamorous girlfriends on trips to Pakistan and the Middle East, and once called former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder "Babycakes".

A lover of whisky, Wilson was dogged by allegations that he snorted cocaine though he was never prosecuted.

Speaking to the Associated Press news agency after his biography was published in 2003, he said he did not mind being portrayed as someone with a wild side.

"I would remind you that I was not married at the time," he said. "I'm in a different place than I was in at the time and I don't apologise about that."

Mr Scheuer believes that there are "very few creatures in Congress like Mr Wilson".

"He was utterly confident that what he was doing was the right thing for America and he was willing to take risks and put his reputation on the line," he said.

"The people in Congress today are meek and milk toast compared to what Mr Wilson was."

Charlie Wilson is survived by his second wife, Barbara, whom he married in 1999, and a sister.

Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, goes back to work

Dr Conrad Murray arrives in court, 08 Feb
Dr Murray has denied he caused Michael Jackson's death

Michael Jackson's former doctor, who is facing a manslaughter charge following the singer's death last June, has returned to work in Nevada.

Dr Conrad Murray was bailed for $75,000 (£48,000) after pleading not guilty to "unlawfully" killing the star, at a court in Los Angeles earlier this week.

If convicted he may face four years in jail. He is due back in court in April.

Dr Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, has stressed the 56-year-old intends "to keep practising medicine".

Miranda Sevcik, a spokeswoman for Dr Murray and Mr Chernoff, said the doctor was making arrangements to work out of another physician's office in Las Vegas, having closed his own premises in the city last August.

"We're not sharing the location because the doctor's primary concern is for his patients' privacy," said Sevcik.

Under the terms of his bail, Dr Murray is allowed to continue to practise medicine, but cannot use certain drugs.

Judge Keith Schwartz told Dr Murray on Monday: "You may not under any circumstances use any anaesthetic agents, specifically Propofol.

Dr Murray, a cardiologist, continues to operate his other practice in Houston, having resumed work there in November.

He is licensed to practise medicine in Nevada, Texas and California, although the California Medical Board is preparing to seek removal of his licence there.

Insomnia

Jackson died at his home on 25 June last year at the age of 50. His death was ruled as homicide, mainly caused by the anaesthetic Propofol.

Dr Murray had been hired to be Jackson's personal physician last spring as the singer prepared for his comeback concerts in London.

He told police he had been giving Jackson Propofol as part of his treatment for insomnia, according to an affidavit made public in August.

But he has always maintained he neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed the singer.

Prosecutors had filed one count of involuntary manslaughter.

A hearing has been set for 5 April in Los Angeles.

Indonesia jails former corruption chief over murder

Antasari Azhar arrives at court in Jakarta, Indonesia (11 Feb 2010)
Antasari Azhar said the case was revenge for his anti-corruption work

Former Indonesian corruption chief Antasari Azhar has been jailed for 18 years for murder.

Azhar was convicted of ordering the murder of wealthy businessman Nasrudin Zulkarnaen last year over an alleged love triangle with a female golf caddy.

Prosecutors had called for the death sentence for Azhar in a trial that gripped the country.

Azhar said he was innocent and the charge had been revenge for his work unveiling corruption among officials.

Judge Herri Swantoro told the packed Jakarta court room Azhar was guilty of "participating in persuading the carrying out of a premeditated murder".

He said the sentence was "not intended as revenge, but to make the defendant aware of his mistakes".

Azhar, 56, said he respected the court's verdict but that "as a citizen and law-enforcer" he intended to appeal against it, the AFP news agency reported.

Azhar's lawyer said the court had ignored evidence and based the verdict on police documents alone.

"The verdict did not touch on the evidence. For us, this trial was just a formality," the Associated Press news agency quoted Juniver Girsang as saying.

In a separate trial on Thursday, senior police officer Williardi Wizar was jailed for 12 years for recruiting the five men who carried out the killing - currently serving sentences of up to 18 years each - and businessman Sigit Haryo Wibisono was sentenced to 15 years for financing the operation.

Election promise

The trial became known in Indonesia as the "sex, lies and golf scandal".

Protesters demanding inquiry into the Bank Century scandal - 6 December 2009

The BBC's Karishma Vaswani said few people were surprised by the guilty verdict, but that the jail term was unexpected, given the prosecution's call for the death sentence.

The sentence is being seeing by many as another example of how Indonesia's judiciary favours some but punishes others, says our correspondent.

But it is longer than those given to other prominent figures convicted of similar charges.

Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of former President Suharto, was sentenced to 15 years in jail for the murder of a supreme court judge.

He served less than a third of the sentence before being released in 2006.

Azhar was head of the country's anti-corruption commission, or KPK, until he was suspended on his arrest last May.

As Indonesia's top corruption fighter, he oversaw a number of successful investigations into government officials.

Reducing the country's widespread corruption was a key promise of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election campaign last year.

Corruption is seen as a major impediment to foreign investment in Indonesia and is a major source of discontent among ordinary citizens.

Alec Baldwin 'fine' after being rushed to hospital after daughter called 911


The "30 Rock" star's spokesman is calling an early morning trip to the hospital a simple "misunderstanding."

WNBC News reported that Alec Baldwin was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital early Thursday after his daughter, Ireland, called 911.

She described him as unresponsive, and when medics arrived, he agreed to be taken to the hospital.

He was examined and released an hour later.

"This was a misunderstanding on one person's part," Baldwin's spokesman told WNBC. "Alec was quickly released from the hospital, he's completely fine."

Baldwin's relationship with his daughter, Ireland, was tabloid fodder in 2007 when a voice mail was leaked of him calling her a "thoughtless little pig."

He is expected to host he upcoming Academy Awards show on March 7 with funnyman Steve Martin.

Rio carnival parade to have dancing queen aged seven

Julia Lira with her father Marco in Rio, 10 February
Julia Lira will be the youngest ever drum corps queen

A Brazilian judge has overruled objections from a child rights agency and allowed a seven-year-old girl to lead a Rio de Janeiro carnival parade.

The Viradouro carnival drum corps queen is a coveted role normally reserved for sultry models, correspondents say.

The artistic director of Julia Lira's samba school said there was no question of "turning her into a woman" and her costume would emphasise her innocence.

Rio's state child protection agency is to lodge an appeal against the ruling.

According to Brazilian media reports, the judge handling child welfare matters in Rio found no objection to Julia becoming the youngest dancing queen ever to appear in the parades.

She is now scheduled to lead the Viradouro samba parade in the packed Sambadrome stadium in Rio on Sunday night, with millions of people around the country watching her on live TV.

Child's rights advocates have argued it is inappropriate for a young girl to be put in what has been an erotically charged role.

Marco Lira, the girl's father and president of Viradouro, said concerns about Julia's well-being were being exaggerated.

He said his daughter would wear a costume that was not too skimpy for a seven-year-old, and that both he and his wife would watch her closely to make sure she did not get too tired during the 80-minute parade.

"She is my daughter, any father knows what I'm talking about," he added.

"No one wants to exploit their child, she does not need that and I don't need that."

Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state council for the defence of children and adolescents, said the court ruling set a "negative precedent" for Brazil.

He asked what message the decision sent to a nation that has long had a problem with sexual exploitation of children.

EU deal 'agreed' on Greece debt woes

EU leaders have reached a deal on helping Greece tackle its debt crisis, EU President Herman Van Rompuy says.

He gave no further details, but all 27 EU leaders are now set to discuss it.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece "will not be left on its own, but there are rules and these rules must be adhered to".

It is an important signal to the markets that France and Germany are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Greece, a BBC correspondent says.

Greece's debt crisis has put pressure on the euro, and it will dominate the EU summit now under way in Brussels.

There was an instant reaction on the markets, where traders welcomed news of the deal. Major European markets rebounded from earlier falls and the euro rose against the US dollar.

Mr Van Rompuy, the new President of the European Council, said the 16 eurozone countries "will take determined and coordinated action if needed to safeguard stability in the eurozone as a whole".

He also stressed that Greece had not asked for financial aid, and added that the EU was expecting "rigorous" action from the Greek government.

The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says the details of the EU help for Greece may not emerge until Monday, when eurozone finance ministers will meet.

It is the first big test for Mr Van Rompuy, who wanted the summit to focus on a new strategy for jobs and growth - a blueprint for the next 10 years. But defending the euro is now a more pressing issue.

EU rules prevent the eurozone from collectively bailing out Greece, but the debt crisis has forced EU leaders to seek ways to help nevertheless.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed that "the discussions at the moment are within the euro area," when asked if UK taxpayers' money would be part of any EU aid.

Eurozone contagion fears

The markets remain sceptical that Greece will be able to pay its debts.

Any EU budget support for Greece is likely to come with stringent conditions, to ensure that Athens fulfils its austerity plans and to reassure European voters that their taxes will not be diverted to propping up Greece.

Thursday's talks are all the more urgent coming just hours after a public sector strike brought many services to a standstill in Greece.

The government's decision to freeze public sector salaries and raise the retirement age are among the austerity measures that have angered Greek trade unions.

Other eurozone countries with big deficits, such as Portugal and Spain, are seen as vulnerable if Greece's budget crisis is not tackled resolutely.

Greece's deficit is, at 12.7%, more than four times higher than eurozone rules allow. For years Greek spending has ballooned while tax revenue has diminished.

Its debt is about 300bn euros ($419bn; £259bn), and the government estimates it will need to borrow about 53bn euros this year to cover budget shortfalls.

Debt servicing is now costing Greece 11.6% of its gross domestic product and it has to pay more interest on loans now because its credit rating has been downgraded.

Wary of IMF help

Analysts say that powerful eurozone members such as Germany may be able to help by buying Greek government debt or by providing loan guarantees.

In addition, the European Commission may decide to disburse regional aid to Greece earlier than planned.

But EU leaders appear reluctant to call on the International Monetary Fund to shore up the Greek economy. That would be a big blow to pride in the single currency.

Secluded setting

Mr Van Rompuy chose a quiet old wood-panelled library, Bibliotheque Solvay, as the secluded setting for his first summit as EU president. He wanted a relaxed, informal meeting - not crisis talks.

o far the decline of the euro has been substantial - about 9% since early December - but not disorderly, he says.

The European Commission is working on a blueprint for the EU's long-term recovery and growth, called Europe 2020, which is expected by early March.

It will replace the Lisbon Strategy, launched in 2000, which became a victim of the global financial crisis and of fiscal rule-breaking by EU governments.

Mr Van Rompuy is reported to favour tighter EU co-ordination of economic policy and enhanced EU surveillance of member states' budgets.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Flickr co-founder unveils online game Glitch


Glitch screenshot
The game is initially set in a surreal and utopian future

One of the co-founders of popular photo-sharing site Flickr has taken the wraps off his latest web venture, a multiplayer online game called Glitch.

Stewart Butterfield's creation will launch in autumn 2010 but gamers can register to test the game now.

The 2D platform game is initially set in a surreal, utopian future and allows gamers to collaborate to solve puzzles.

It will be free to play, but the firm intends to make money by selling virtual items and premium accounts.

"We want to reach as large an audience as possible," Mr Butterfield told BBC News.

"We want to do for online gaming what the Wii did for consoles."

Bizarre twists

The game is a return to Mr Butterfield's roots, who started Flickr as an online game - called Game Neverending - with his wife Caterina Fake in the 1990s.

"The game allowed you to drag and drop photos into conversations," explained Mr Butterfield.

Over time the pair noticed that most players used the platform to share photographs, and it morphed into Flickr.

Stewart Butterfield
I find bureaucracy funny
Stewart Butterfield

The site was sold to Yahoo in 2005 for $35 million (£22 million) and now hosts billions of photographs.

Mr Butterfield's new venture has been developed by his firm Tiny Speck.

Glitch is set in a perfect future one billion years from now.

However, the world begins to fall apart when scientists notice glitches.

"The only solution is to go to the past and fix it," said Mr Butterfield.

The player journeys back in time - travelling "through the minds of 14 giants" who created the world - trying to fix the problems.

He said the firm had intentionally stayed away from "heavily trod genres" such as "men in tights, fighting dragons".

"There's no fighting in the game," said Mr Butterfield.

Instead, the game is heavily stylised with bizarre and fantastic twists. For example, gamers earn points and progress by taking on tasks such as "animal kinship, gardening, alchemy and bureaucratic arts".

"I find bureaucracy funny," said Mr Butterfield.

Gamers can also unlock powers such as meditation, he said.

"You get to stay very still for a small amount of time and can heal people around you."

Gamers will be able to band together into groups in the game and interact with the it through SMS, widgets and possibly social networks, he said.

Mr Butterfield said that so far, most of the development had focused on the game's engine and underlying technology.

The story line and game play would now be refined in the coming months, he said.

The game will begin limited testing "in the next week or so" and will begin to roll out in a limited form in the summer. The finished game is intended to launch in autumn 2010.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Philippines charges 196 over Maguindanao massacre

Police inspect the bodies in hillside grave in Ampatuan, Maguindanao province
The massacre has cast a shadow over the 2010 elections

The Philippines has charged 196 more people with murder over a pre-election massacre in Maguindanao province in November which left 57 dead.

Those charged include Andal Ampatuan Snr, formerly a provincial governor and ally of President Gloria Arroyo.

Mr Ampatuan's son of the same name has already been charged with murder over the attack on a rival political family and journalists travelling with them.

The charges come as campaigning opened for the presidential elections.

Prosecutor Leo Dacera of the Department of Justice said those charged had been positively identified as "direct participants in the commission of the crime of murder", the AFP news agency reported.

The agency quoted justice department papers as saying that all the accused were "answerable as co-principals regardless of the extent or degree of their participation".

It was unclear how many of the accused were already in police custody, but all are expected to seek bail.

Lawyers representing the journalists killed told the BBC the case would now become a logistical nightmare, as bail hearings would delay the start of the trial.

Mass grave

The victims were part of a group on their way to file the candidacy of one of their leaders, Ismael Mangudadatu, for the May elections.

Several women were among the group, including Mr Mangudadatu's wife and pregnant sister.

They were ambushed and shot by around 100 armed men - their bodies were found in a mass grave in a secluded mountainous area of the province.

Ampatuan family mansion

Mr Ampatuan Snr is the head of the powerful Ampatuan clan that controlled local politics in Maguindanao and ran a private army.

He has served in the Philippines Congress and won the governorship of Maguindanao unopposed for several terms.

His son, Andal Ampatuan Jr, was reportedly planning a similarly unopposed run to replace his father, but then Mr Mangudadatu decided to run as well.

He denies the charges and is currently awaiting a bail hearing.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent Alastair Leithead says all those in custody are also expected to lodge bail applications - all of which have to be heard before the trial can begin.

Lawyer Harry Roque, who represents families of the journalists killed, said that as Mr Ampatuan Jr's bail hearing had already taken so long, he was concerned that so many people had been added to the charge.

"The fact that the system is moving does not necessarily mean that the system is, in fact, healthy," he told the BBC.

"What we need right now are convictions, because the obligation of the state is not just to indict but to successfully prosecute the perpetrators of this act."

Officials said the next step was for all the accused to be transferred from the southern Philippines to Manila for the court proceedings.

Iran 'starts enriching nuclear fuel to 20%' at Natanz

President Ahmadinejad visits Natanz plant - April 2008
Western powers have urged further sanctions over Iran's nuclear activity

Iran has started the process of enriching uranium to 20% in defiance of the West, Iranian state media says.

It said the process, which experts estimate would take about a year, began at the Natanz plant in the presence of international inspectors.

The move came as Western powers stepped up pressure on Iran, with the US saying it wanted UN sanctions within "weeks".

China, a UN Security Council member, called for further talks over Iran's nuclear programme.

The US and its western allies say Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon - a charge Iran denies.

Iran's top nuclear official, Ali Akbar Salehi, was quoted by state news agency Irna as saying Iran "had started the 20% enrichment in a separate cascade in Natanz" for use in a Tehran research reactor.

He said the cascade contained 164 centrifuges and had a production capacity of 3-5kg (6-11lb) a month - more than the 1.5kg (3.3lb) needed for the research reactor.

A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that its inspectors were at Natanz on Tuesday, but said that they were not expected to report on activities there until next week.

The BBC's Jon Leyne says Tuesday's announcement is designed to stress Iran's view that it is only acting within its rights.

Iran currently enriches uranium to a level of 3.5% but requires 20% enriched uranium for its research reactor, which is meant to produce medical isotopes. A bomb would require uranium enriched to at least 90%.

Enriching to 20% would take about one year, using the 2,000 centrifuges at the underground Natanz facility, experts say.

But moving from 20% to 90% would take only six months and only require between 500 and 1,000 centrifuges.

Asked if Iran was capable of enriching uranium to 20% and processing it as fuel, Mr Salehi told state news agency Isna: "We have the technical knowledge for this task. However, since it is our first experience we will move more cautiously."

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and designed to provide civilian power.

It had already announced on Sunday that it aimed to start producing uranium enriched to 20% for its Tehran reactor.

Pressure for sanctions

Mr Salehi also said the government would build 10 new enrichment plants next year, despite the fact that it still had problems with its first one.

The US and France reacted by saying that the time had come "for the adoption of strong sanctions", while the British government described Iran's new position as deeply worrying.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said on Tuesday that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates wanted to see UN sanctions against Iran in "weeks, not months", and that Mr Gates "clearly thinks time is of the essence".

The UN Security Council has already imposed three rounds of sanctions against Iran in an effort to make it cease all uranium enrichment activities and heavy-water projects, which could produce plutonium suitable for use in weapons.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu refused to comment directly on sanctions at a press conference on Tuesday, the Associated Press news agency reported.

"I hope the relevant parties will step up efforts and push for progress in the dialogue and negotiations," he was quoted as saying.

As a UN Security Council member, China's support would be needed for any new round of sanctions against Iran.

Russia, another Security Council member which has been uncertain over backing new sanctions, signalled its disapproval of Iran's move.

"Actions such as starting to enrich low-enriched uranium up to 20% raise doubts in other countries and these doubts are fairly well-grounded," Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia's security council, was quoted as saying.

"Political-diplomatic methods are important for a resolution, but there is a limit to everything," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for "tough action" from the international community.

"This means crippling sanctions and these sanctions must be applied right now," he said.

In October, a deal brokered by the IAEA was thought to have been struck for Iran to send its uranium to Russia and France for enrichment.

But last month, diplomats said Iran had told the IAEA that it did not accept the terms of the deal - though there have since been other, conflicting messages.

Mr Salehi has said that enriched uranium production would be halted if Iran received fuel enriched to 20% from abroad.