Monday, January 31, 2011

GDP of fourth quarter surges

A couple of the major IT companies in the world will be forming fifteen jobs under the study in Northern Ireland worth multi-million pounds. Around £1.7m worth of money has been put in by Invest NI into the virgin physical joint collaboration of SAP UK with Intel Corporation.

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Kindle books reach milestone

indle books reach milestone

The book industry had anticipated reaching a milestone soon, but not many had expected it to happen so early. Just three years following the launching of the Kindle electronic reading device by Amazon, the largest online book industry spilled out that it was at present making sales of more Kindle books than paper books.

 

Sue de Beer

But given the nature of her work and especially her most recent creation — a lush, frankly mystical video piece called “The Ghosts” that will have its debut Thursday in an unlikely place, one of the stately period rooms at the Park Avenue Armory — it is tempting to imagine the Holy Ghost himself at work up there in an old warehouse on the Red Hook flatlands, not far from a dingy bus depot, an Ikea and a discount store called 99 Cent Dreams.

The Dutchman Flies Right Off the Wall

The audience in a park at the New World Center in Miami Beach, where the New World Symphony presented its first Wallcast concert through 167 speakers projected onto a 7,000-square-foot wall.
The New World Symphony presented its first Wallcast concert at the New World Center in Miami Beach.

Shannon Tavarez, Nala in ‘Lion King’, Dies at 11

In August she had an umbilical-cord blood transplant, a procedure in which stem cells harvested from a donated umbilical cord are injected into the patient to encourage the formation of a new, healthy blood system.
“It has a good survival rate and it’s the next best thing” to a marrow transplant, said Katharina Harf, a co-founder and executive vice president of DKMS Americas, a bone marrow donor center.
Minorities are vastly underrepresented in the bone marrow donor registry, which makes suitable donors for minority patients difficult to locate. In addition, blacks and Hispanics have many more different tissue types than whites, Ms. Harf said, which makes the process of matching donor to patient more complex, especially for patients of mixed race or ethnicity. Shannon’s father is Hispanic and her mother, Odiney Brown, is black.
Shannon Skye Tavarez was born on Jan. 20, 1999. In “The Lion King” she played young Nala, a lion cub who was the best friend of Simba, the show’s lead character. She was chosen for the part after auditioning along with hundreds of other children at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in December 2008 and made her debut in September 2009.
“She was fearless, as a performer and as a young woman,” Ron Vodicka, the production stage manager for “The Lion King,” said in an interview on Tuesday. “She was never intimidated and she was constantly happy. After she was diagnosed, all she talked about was when she could come back.”

CNN

Combined snow totals from the Monday afternoon through Wednesday may exceed a foot and a half across much of northern Illinois and far northwest Indiana," the National Weather Service said. "Snowfall rates up to 3 inches per hour will be probable at the height of the storm Tuesday night."
Some of the coldest air of the season will plummet southward and combine with another storm developing over the southern Plains, according to CNN meteorologist Sean Morris, before moving toward the northeast.
An intense surface low will develop over north Texas and pull abundant warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico into the frigid Arctic air diving southward into the Plains. In addition to blizzard conditions, the storm system is expected to spin off heavy snow, ice storms and tornadoes.
This storm appears to be one for the record books.
It could be one of the top 10 biggest snowstorms ever in the Windy City. The biggest snow storm in Chicago's history occurred from January 26-27, 1967 when 23 inches of snow fell on the city.
According to the National Weather Service, snowstorms that drop over 15 inches of snow occur once in about every 19 years. The last time this happened was in January of 1999 when 21.6 inches of snow was recorded in Chicago.
The storm will likely extend from Oklahoma City to Caribou, Maine, by late week, said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
The National Weather Service said the "dangerous storm" will begin to affect Missouri and Illinois, which were under storm warnings, as early as Monday.
Snowfall, primarily on Tuesday, could be over 12 inches in parts of both states, the agency said.
CNN St. Louis affiliate KSDK indicated the storm could be "historic," saying it could rival a 1982 system that left 13.9 inches of snow in St. Louis and some areas with more than 2 feet.
Very heavy snow will fall from Oklahoma northeastward through Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Snow accumulations there will be measured in feet, not in inches.

Blizzard or near-blizzard conditions are expected as far south as Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The National Weather Service forecast office in Norman, Oklahoma, warns that a "potentially dangerous winter situation" is developing with travel becoming extremely dangerous or impossible across the state by Tuesday morning.
Accumulations of 16 to 24 inches are possible in a narrow band from Illinois into Ohio, and perhaps through St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit, Hennen said, adding it was not yet possible to pinpoint the exact location.
The peak of the storm in the Midwest should be from Tuesday into Wednesday morning, Hennen said. Snow will affect Oklahoma City; Kansas City, Missouri; St. Louis; Chicago; and into Detroit. Other cities likely to be affected during the week include Milwaukee, Cleveland, Boston and the New York cities of Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany.

the web

Early on in the televised ceremony, the SAG award for best female supporting actor in a film went to Melissa Leo for "The Fighter." Leo also won the Golden Globe and is nominated for an Oscar.
"I'm much better when I have my words written for me," Leo said, as she tried to hold back tears. When she was finally able to control her emotions, she said, "This has been an extraordinary season for me."
The Oscar nominations announced last Tuesday closely track the comparable SAG actor categories, which also proved predictive in last year's competition.
The 15 SAG categories -- the only industry honors that solely recognize performers -- include both television and film actors. The two-hour show in Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles aired on TNT and TBS. Both TNT and TBS are units of Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.

the latest breaking news

Los Angeles (CNN) -- "The King's Speech" actor Geoffrey Rush joked that the SAG awards should be called the "Uplift" awards because of the boost it gave his movie just four weeks before the Academy Awards.
The awards season rivalry between "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network" took a sharp turn Sunday night toward the film about a stuttering British monarch and away from the story of Facebook's founder.
"The Social Network" cast left the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards empty-handed, while Colin Firth won the best actor trophy for his portrayal of Britain's King George VI in "The King's Speech."
"The King's Speech" cast was also chosen as the best movie ensemble, positioning it as the front-runner for the best picture Oscar.

SBI chairman to go ahead with teaser loans

as the State Bank of India Chairman Om Prakash Bhatt prepares to step down in March after a five-year term, has expressed his support of the 8 percent teaser loan scheme. The scheme is said to come with no risk for the bank and its customers despite the RBI seeking higher provisioning from such loans.
However in Bhatt’s opinion the scheme is entirely transparent and finds it logical as opposed to the RBI’s concerns that it would reap adverse effects on the bank’s bottom line and share prices.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

new york times

Washington and Mr. Mubarak
President Hosni Mubarak doesn’t get it. The people of Egypt are right to demand more from their government.  
nd do we really need a new Sarah Palin? Shouldn’t the first one be made to go away before we start considering replacements?
Bachmann, the superconservative member of Congress from Minnesota, made a big splash on Tuesday night with her Tea Party response to the State of the Union address. True, the placement of the cameras made her look as if she was talking to an invisible friend, and her eye makeup had a peculiar zombie aspect to it. But the next day all the attention was on her and not the official Republican response by Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman.

Demonstrators Gather in Central Cairo

Shots were heard near Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and there seemed no early end in sight to civil conflict between Egyptians and the authorities. The government also was expected to submit its resignation.

Cables show close US ties with Mubarik

WASHINGTON: Secret US embassy cables sent from Cairo in the past two years reveal that the Obama administration wanted to maintain a close political and military relationship with the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, who is now facing a popular uprising.

A frank briefing note in May 2009 ahead of Mubarak's trip to Washington, leaked by WikiLeaks, reported that the Egyptian president had a dismal opinion of Obama's predecessor, George Bush.

"The Egyptians want the visit to demonstrate that Egypt remains America's 'indispensable Arab ally', and that bilateral tensions have abated. President Mubarak is the proud leader of a proud nation ... Mubarak is 81 years old and in reasonably good health; his most notable problem is a hearing deficit in his left ear. He responds well to respect for Egypt and for his position, but is not swayed by personal flattery," the cable said.

"Mubarak peppers his observations with anecdotes that demonstrate both his long experience and his sense of humor ... During his 28-year tenure, he survived at least three assassination attempts, maintained peace with Israel, weathered two wars in Iraq and post-2003 regional instability, intermittent economic downturns, and a manageable but chronic internal terrorist threat.

"He is a tried and true realist, innately cautious and conservative, and has little time for idealistic goals. Mubarak viewed President Bush as naive, controlled by subordinates, and totally unprepared for dealing with post-Saddam Iraq, especially the rise of Iran's regional influence."

It predicted that if Mubarak were still alive for Egypt's next presidential election in 2011, "it is likely he will run again and, inevitably, win". The most likely contender to succeed him was his son Gamal, the cable suggested.

Another cable, dated 23 February 2009, described a meeting between Gamal and the maverick US senator Joe Lieberman. Lieberman is said to have listened as the president's son expounded on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Iran's growing regional influence and how Saddam Hussein – for all his flaws – was a bulwark against Iranian ambitions.

Another cable, from March 2009, shows the US's astonishingly intimate military relationship with Egypt. Washington provides Cairo $1.3bn annually in foreign military finance (FMF) to purchase US weapons and defence equipment, and the cable said. "President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance programme as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the $1.3bn in annual FMF as 'untouchable compensation' for making and maintaining peace with Israel.

"The tangible benefits to our mil-mil relationship are clear: Egypt remains at peace with Israel, and the US military enjoys priority access to the Suez canal and Egyptian airspace."

geo news

Huge blast hits Quetta, injures several

QUETTA: A huge bomb explosion struck Alamdar Road in Quetta, injuring seven people including three children on Saturday, Geo News reported.According to the initial report, the bomb was planted in a car, stood on busy Alamdar Road injuring various people.Police officials and rescue teams reached the site soon after the incident. Injured have been taken to Civil Hospital Quetta.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 3rd ODI Highlights Christchurch 2011

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Hafeez, Afridi star in series-levelling win
 A solid maiden ODI century from Mohammad Hafeez, a monstrous assault in the death overs led by Shahid Afridi and a spirited performance in the field were features of a roaring comeback by Pakistan in the ODI series, which they leveled 1-1 with a 43-run win at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Hafeez counter-attacked after Pakistan had been dented in their start and dropped anchor in the middle overs to set up a launching pad for Afridi and Umar Akmal to smash 126 runs in the last ten overs. Faced with a stiff chase, New Zealand fought hard but timely breakthroughs meant they were always struggling to measure up to the asking rate, eventually leading to their downfall.

The greenish appearance of the track proved deceptive as the movement off the seam that Ross Taylor had banked on when opting to field proved negligible. At the same time, conditions weren't too easy for the batsmen early on either as the pitch played slow and low and the ball didn't come on. Hafeez, who has often squandered starts since his promotion to the top of the order, lost two partners, Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal, to deliveries that appeared to stop on the batsmen. But New Zealand's seamers lacked discipline and failed to apply pressure consistently, which allowed Hafeez to wrest the initiative.

The short square boundaries at the AMI Stadium were inevitably favoured as the bowlers didn't help their cause by consistently pitching short. Not long after he had nipped out two wickets, Tim Southee was pulled for consecutive boundaries by Hafeez; Hamish Bennett, struggling to bowl into the wind and dropping significantly in pace, was welcomed with a swipe to fine leg and six over long-on while Jacob Oram, in the very over he dismissed Younis Khan, was dispatched over midwicket.

New Zealand had a few chances to limit the damage. Hafeez was dropped on 49 by Brendon McCullum, diving full length to his right and failing to hold on to a difficult catch; Misbah-ul-Haq, who added 94 with Hafeez, was given a reprieve through a missed stumping by McCullum, and Bennett dropped a relatively simple catch off Afridi that, otherwise, could have checked the one-way traffic towards the end of the innings.

Even as Pakistan tried to rebuild their innings, Hafeez was at ease, displaying an excellent ability to adapt, rotating the strike with Misbah and threading the gaps with adept footwork and timing. He stepped out to smash debutant Luke Woodcock for a straight boundary, lofted Oram over the in-field and, after securing his century and taking the batting Powerplay, scooped and slogged Southee for successive fours before signing off by heaving Kyle Mills for a six.

By the time he fell, Umar had warmed up with a couple of meaty hits and Afridi only had to join in. He targeted Oram, who was struggling with his lengths, in the 46th over, hammering him for two sixes on the leg side and a boundary through cover. The seamers either bowled too full or dragged the ball too short and Afridi, paddling, swatting and slapping, collected sixes over fine leg, cover point and long-on on his way to equalling the fastest half-century - off 19 balls - by a batsman in New Zealand, a record also held by McCullum.

New Zealand began brightly in their reply with Martin Guptill and Jamie How capitalising on the short boundaries to add 44 in quick time. But Pakistan's seamers, unlike the New Zealand bowlers, relied more on variations in pace with Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul ensuring the pressure of a big chase never diminished. How holed out to deep midwicket, failing to pick the slower ball; Ross Taylor, after a watchful start, stabbed at a good-length delivery to be caught at slip by Younis and Guptill, after four boundary-less overs in the second Powerplay, punched Riaz to point where Shehzad clung on to a low chance.

The hosts were in the hunt when Scott Styris and Kane Williamsom preserved their wickets, picked out the gaps to ensure a steady flow of ones and twos and accumulated 81 runs for the fourth wicket to stage a recovery. But while the seamers had picked up the wickets and restrained the batsmen, the slow bowlers, too, proved difficult to step up against, adding to the pressure on New Zealand. Afridi and Hafeez got through their overs quickly and gave little away. Hafeez eventually broke the stand as Styris failed to clear deep midwicket and when Williamson and McCullum departed within three runs of each other - bowled by Riaz and run out by Umar respectively - the game was all but sealed.



Pakistan's approach to their innings was reminiscent of the strategy they had adopted in the 1999 World Cup, progressing slowly with wickets in hand in the middle overs to set the stage for a violent surge in the last ten. Not a bad thing to prepare for the 2011 edition in much the same way.

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Charlie Sheen Puts 'Two And A Half Men' On An Indefinite Halt
For Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, the week started with a sudden raid at her residence and office by the Income Tax officials. Since then, a news was doing the rounds that the officials have recovered a huge amount unaccounted assets of Rs 6 crore during that raid.