95% Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

"They fatten up the pig, now we gonna roast it."After a prison riot, Captain Nascimiento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups. REVIEWElite Squad 2 works because it grows from the first one. The first movie introduced BOPE to the world and had to spend time explaining its methods, philosophy, code of honour and recruitment process. The sequel doesn't suffer from the burden of exposition, and instead of rehashing the plot of the first - the bane of most sequels - it lets the characters' personalities lead the story.Brazilian cinema has been very good since City of God exploded in the world like a hand grenade. Because of it Brazilian cinema has become synonymous with crime movies, even if that's a gross generalization. A subgenre of crime movies defined by graphic violence, social criticism and inventive camera work has prospered in its wake: My Name Ain't Johnny, The Man Who Copied, City of Men, Bus 174, and the Elite Squad movies. At the heart of this Renaissance is the movie's screenwriter, Br?ulio Mantovani. For better or for worse all these movies take inspiration from the style he established in City of God. Directors and actors come and go, but everyone still copies the dark humour, the political irreverence, the non-linear narratives, and the clever voice-over that earned Mantovani an Oscar nomination almost a decade ago.Editor Daniel Rezende, who also worked in City of God, puts the movie together with the force of a tornado. Complementing director of photography Lula Carvalho's documentary-like style, the fast editing and the dizzying camera work go as far as cinema outside of 3D can go in immersing the viewer in the middle of the action.

November 26, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/elite_squad_the_enemy_within/

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TiVo Premiere Elite

The TiVo Premiere Elite ($499.99 list) is the souped-up version of the TiVo Premiere DVR ($299.99, 3.5 stars), with a 300-hour HD video capacity and two more TV tuners for the ability to record four simultaneous programs. Like the TiVo Premiere XL, the Premiere Elite is THX certified and comes with an upgraded remote (but not the slide-out QWERTY model). It?s a definite upgrade for current TiVo users, but is it compelling enough to bring more TiVo users into the fold? The outlook isn't so good, compared to DVRs from cable companies, which continue to improve over time.

Design and Features
The TiVo Premiere Elite looks almost identical to the previous TiVo Premiere, built into the same style chassis as the previous model. There are a few differences from the previous version, though. There are four lights, which glow red to show that each of the four tuners are recording a program. You can record up to four programs simultaneously, which are decoded by the mutli-stream CableCARD the TiVo Premiere Elite now requires. Previous models allowed you to record over the air HDTV broadcasts in addition to digital cable, but the Premiere Elite is a strictly digital cable-only model; TiVo has removed the RF tuner and its connector to make room for the added digital tuners. Over-the-air HDTV viewers will want the regular Premiere or Premiere XL.

If you?ve set up a TiVo HD or previous TiVo Premiere before, you know the drill: Call your cable company to get a multi-stream CableCARD, either wait for the tech to show up or install the CableCARD yourself, and hope it pairs up successfully. Once activated in your TiVo Premiere Elite and once the DVR is hooked up to your home Internet connection, the DVR will download the program guide and take you through the rest of the setup. The TiVo Premiere Elite has an Ethernet port, but you?ll need to buy a TiVo WiFi adapter ($60-$90) if you don?t have a wired connection in your TV room. All the same features are here: TiVo Search; links to Netflix, Blockbuster, Hulu Plus, Pandora, You Tube, and Amazon Instant Video; and the trademark beeps and boops from the TiVo interface. Think of the current group of TiVo DVRs as a mash-up of a cable DVR and the sort of streaming media set top box like the Apple TV ?($99, 4 stars) or the Roku LT ($49, 4 stars).

The TiVo Premiere Elite comes with a 2TB hard drive, which is good for up to 300 hours of HD video, which is an increase from 45 hours for the TiVo Premiere, and 150 hours for the TiVo Premiere XL. Like the TiVo Premiere XL, the Premiere Elite comes with the TiVo Glo remote, not the keyboard-equipped TiVo Slide ($60). The TiVo Slide is a better fit for the DVR junkie who needs to search for programming with the on-screen interface. Truly hardcore TiVo users can download the free TiVo app for their handheld device like an iPad, iPhone, or Android phone: The app replicates the search and remote functions on your handheld, including managing the recorded programs list on your TiVo Premiere Elite. The touch-screen keyboard on your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S II will be handier than using the on-screen keyboard and TiVo Glo remote on your HDTV. However, you can?t view live TV or the recordings from your TiVo on your iPad/iPhone/Android device. You?ll still need to use a separate place-shifting device for remote viewing over WiFi or 3G.

Competitors From the Cable Company and Elsewhere
The cable companies have caught up to and some cases surpassed TiVo. TiVo?s interface now mostly takes advantage of the extra real estate and resolution of a HDTV screen, though there are still elements in standard definition. The user interface screens on digital cable DVRs like those from Verizon FIOS are fully HD optimized.

More pressing are features like FIOS? DVR apps and Cablevision/Time Warner?s viewing apps on devices like the iPad and Android smartphones. On the FIOS side, the DVR Manager app gives you listings of what?s scheduled and already recorded on your home DVRs, regardless if you?re home or on a 3G network. Need more room to record the next American Idol on your home DVR, but you?re in Des Moines? No problem with FIOS or the other cable companies, just delete those old episodes of Pan Am. In the TiVo app, you have to be physically in range of your home Wi-Fi network to see the recorded list and manage recordings, which means you can only schedule future recordings remotely, not delete existing programs. On the Time Warner and Cablevision side, things are even better when you consider that the TWC app and Optimum app allow you to view live TV as well as on-demand videos on your iPad on your home network. TiVo users need a place-shifting device like a Slingbox to do the same thing, even in your own home. Multi-room viewing was once unique to TiVo, but Cable DVRs now support multi-room viewing, letting you view programs recorded in the living room while you?re in the bedroom.? And with TiVo, there are issues with multi-room viewing and copy-protected content, which could apply to many of the programs you're recording.

Last I checked, most cable companies even let you exchange a broken DVR for free even if the DVR itself is 5 years old. Unfortunately, the TiVo DVR warranty only lasts one year for parts, 90 days for labor, with an option for 2-years parts/labor for $30 and 3 years for $40.? Last, but not least, you?ll still need to subscribe to TiVo, which added to the monthly rental for the CableCARD, equals or surpasses the monthly rental fee for a cable company DVR. TiVo curently charges $19.95 a month, so if you add the $2-5 monthly rate for the CabelCARD, you may pay less in fees on a cable company DVR. Sure, you can purchase a lifetime subscription for $499.99, but that's per TiVo DVR, and is subject to the continued good health of TiVo Inc. If you want Netflix or You Tube on your HDTV as well and your HDTV doesn't already support it, check if there?s a free HDMI port on your TV, then get an Apple TV or Roku; it?s less than $100, and you won?t need to pay a monthly fee to Apple.

The TiVo Premiere Elite is an improved device for an ultimately shrinking market: the hardcore TiVo user. It will give the TiVo fan a lot to crow about while recording 300 hours of HD on four channels simultaneously, but the DVR is unlikely to add brand new customers to the TiVo fold. It's so tied to digital cable that it is unlikely to sway the non-TiVo user from renting a much more convenient and similar HD DVR for much less money. Why buy a TiVo DVR when the cable company DVR is the same amount of money or less, and lets you better manage it with your smartphone or tablet? Five years ago, TiVo had a perceptibly insurmountable lead on the competition. Now that gap is bridgeable by a toddler in brand new shoes.

More Digital Video Recorder reviews:
??? TiVo Premiere Elite
??? TiVo (for iPad)
??? Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano
??? Dish Network ViP922 SlingLoaded DVR
??? TiVo Premiere
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/g2xpcMjtWhg/0,2817,2399349,00.asp

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Peru: 27 killed in fire at rehabilitation center (AP)

LIMA, Peru ? A fire swept through a two-story private rehabilitation center for addicts in a poor part of Peru's capital Saturday, killing 27 people and critically injuring five as firefighters punched holes through walls to rescue residents locked inside.

The "Christ is Love" center for drug and alcohol addicts was unlicensed and overcrowded and its residents were apparently kept inside "like prisoners," Health Minister Alberto Tejada told The Associated Press.

Authorities said 26 people died at the scene, and prosecutors spokesman Raul Sanchez said Saturday night that one of six men hospitalized in critical condition died later.

Peru's fire chief, Antonio Zavala, said most of the victims died of asphyxiation. All the victims appeared to be male.

The local police chief, Clever Zegarra, said the cause of the 9 a.m. fire was under investigation.

"There has been talk of the burning of an object, of a mattress, but also of a fight that resulted in a fire. All of this is speculation," he told the AP. "I've been here at the scene from morning to evening but for the moment the exact cause of the fire is not known."

One resident of the center on a narrow dead-end street in Lima's teeming San Juan de Lurigancho district said he was eating breakfast on the second floor of the center when he saw flames coming from the first floor, where the blaze apparently began.

Gianfranco Huerta told local RPP news radio station that he leaped from a window to safety.

"The doors were locked; there was no way to get out," he told the station.

AP journalists at scene said all the windows of the building they were able to see were barred. Journalists were not allowed inside as police cordoned off the block. By early afternoon, all the dead had been removed from the center.

Most of the bodies seen by reporters were shirtless, their faces blackened. Many were also shoeless.

"This rehabilitation center wasn't authorized. It was a house that they had taken over ... for patients with addictions and they had the habit of leaving people locked up with no medical supervision," Tejada, the health minister, said.

Authorities said they did not know how many people were inside the center at the time of the fire. They said they were looking for the center's owners and staff, some of whom apparently fled the scene.

The local police chief, Zegarra, identified the owner as Raul Garcia.

Zoila Chea, an aunt of one victim, said families paid Garcia $37 to treat an addicted relative and $15 a week thereafter.

She said that neighbors had constantly complained about the center and that it had been closed twice by authorities.

Chea, 45, said relatives were prohibited from seeing interned patients during the first three months of treatment, which she added consisted mainly of reading the Bible.

Her nephew, Luis Chea, was at the center for a month, she said.

Zavala, the national fire chief, said the blaze was of "Dantesque proportions." Firefighters had to punch a hole through a wall with an adjoining building to help people trapped inside the rehabilitation center.

"We've had to use electric saws to cut through the metal bars of the doors to be able to work," Zavala said.

Relatives of residents of the center gathered near the building weeping and seeking word of their loved ones. As the day wore on, nearby sidewalks filled with relatives mourning and trying to console one another.

One of them was Maria Benitez, aunt of 18-year-old Carlos Benitez, who she said was being treated at the center.

"I want to know if he is OK or not," she told ATV television.

___

Associated Press journalists Mauricio Munoz, Cesar Barreto and Frank Bajak contributed to this report.

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

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Coverbond-4 Motor vehicle Cover ? Safeguard Your Automotive ...

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Source: http://www.delaflores.com/coverbond-4-motor-vehicle-cover-safeguard-your-automotive-with-customized-motor-vehicle-equipment/

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Hazanavicius wins at Directors Guild for 'Artist' (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Michel Hazanavicius has won the top film honor at the Directors Guild of America Awards for his silent movie "The Artist," giving him the inside track for the best-director prize at the Academy Awards.

French filmmaker Hazanavicius, whose credits include the "OSS 117" spy spoofs, had been a virtual unknown in Hollywood until "The Artist," his black-and-white throwback to early cinema that has been a favorite at earlier film honors.

The Directors Guild honors are one of the most-accurate forecasts for who might go on to take home an Oscar. Only six times in the 63-year history of the guild awards has the winner failed to win the Oscar for best director. And more often than not, whichever film earns the directing Oscar also wins best picture.

___

Online:

http://www.dga.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_tv/us_directors_awards

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Curebit Apologizes for Copying 37Signals: ?Stupid, Lazy, and Disrespectful?

That's awkward: Just as it was announcing a $1.2 million round of funding, online referral startup Curebit was caught lifting designs and code from 37Signals, the company behind popular collaboration tools Basecamp, Highrise, and others. The copying was called out on Twitter by 37Signals partner David Heinemeier Hansson, who, after an exchange with Curebit co-founder Allan Grant, called the Curebit team "fucking scumbags." It probably didn't help that Grant's initial responses didn't seem particularly contrite ? he defended the copying as a "quick test" and at one point told Heinemeier Hansson, "Chill dude :)" (VentureBeat has a great blow-by-blow account of the initial controversy.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9DnB4ozkuKY/

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Danny Boyle offers sneak peek at opening ceremony (AP)

LONDON ? Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle offered a sneak peek Friday of his vision for the 2012 London Olympics: A massive bell that will ring in the opening ceremony along with a segment on one of Britain's most maligned institutions, the National Health Service.

His comments were unusual, as details about Olympic ceremonies are typically closely guarded secrets. But Boyle seemed almost giddy as he offered two small hints during a news conference to mark the six month-anniversary to the July 27 opening of the games.

His attitude was a cross between 'I have a secret' and 'you will love it!'

"It's an enormous bloody thing," he said to chuckles at 3 Mills Studio, where the production is being shaped.

Boyle said he was fully aware of the pressures to produce the first Summer Games ceremony since Beijing enchanted the world in 2008. And while he had praise for other spectacles, he offered a clue to the feeling he hopes to invoke in London by citing the 2000 ceremony at the Sydney games, calling that "the people's games."

The "Slumdog Millionaire" director outlined his vision of the ceremony with the theme "Isles of Wonder," a nod to the British Isles.

He has ordered up a 27-ton bell to ring in the games, playing on a custom from the time of William Shakespeare, when a theatrical performance was started with a proper clang.

The bell, which was cast Friday by a foundry in operation for centuries ? will be inscribed with a line from Act 3, Scene 2 of "The Tempest," in which Caliban says "Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises."

"We want people to be able to hear those noises," Boyle said.

And then there's that segment involving the health service ? not a typical subject for a sports ceremony. Boyle described the British system, which offers universal health care to all, as "something unique about our country." Organizers have recruited real nurses and other medical workers to take part in the segment.

Boyle's films and plays have both tremendous energy and visual flair. Though he's had success in fusing cultural influences, the creation of a spectacle that appeals to an audience in the billions around the world is a daunting challenge.

He seems to be having fun with it, though.

Boyle bounced up from his chair at the presentation, and introduced a "behind the scenes" film about the ceremony that featured shots of trapeze artists and dancers, seamstresses sewing costumes and an improbable immense clear ball in which a person appeared to be rolling.

____

AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_london2012_olympics

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Google Music now lets you download your entire library

Computer meltdown? No backup? Well, at least your tunes are safe. Google Music just gained a new feature that lets you to download your entire library including purchased songs. A simple click in the Music Manager is all it takes to restore your entire collection -- or just your purchased music -- from the cloud. In addition, the web interface now allows you to select and copy multiple tracks to your device of choice. While there are no limitations when using the Music Manager, purchased items are restricted to two downloads each via the web interface. So next time your system crashes go right ahead -- rev up that broadband and fill up those hard drives.

Google Music now lets you download your entire library originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/google-music-now-lets-you-download-your-entire-library/

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Detecting detrimental change in coral reefs

ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2012) ? Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover's Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustan -- a young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsula -- found this difficult to believe. It was December 1974.

But Cousteau was right. During the following three-plus decades, Dustan, an ocean ecologist and biology professor at the University of Charleston in South Carolina, has witnessed widespread coral reef degradation and bleaching from up close. In the late 1970s Dustan helped build a handheld spectrometer, a tool to measure light given off by the coral. Using his spectrometer, Dustan could look at light reflected and made by the different organisms that comprised the living reefs. Since then, he has watched reefs deteriorate at an alarming rate. Recently he has found that Landsat offers a way to evaluate these changes globally. Using an innovative way to map how coral reefs are changing over time, Dustan now can find 'hotspots' where conservation efforts should be focused to protect these delicate communities.

A Role for Remote Sensing

Situated in shallow clear water, most coral reefs are visible to satellites that use passive remote sensing to observe Earth's surface. But coral reefs are complex ecosystems with coincident coral species, sand, and water all reflecting light. Dustan found that currently orbiting satellites do not offer the spatial or spectral resolution needed to distinguish between them and specifically classify coral reef composition. So instead of attempting to classify the inherently complex coral ecosystem to monitor their health, Dustan has instead started to look for change -- how overall reflectance for a geographic location varies over time.

Dustan uses a time series of Landsat data to calculate something called temporal texture? -- basically a map showing where change has occurred based on statistical analysis of reflectance information. While Dustan cannot diagnosis the type of change with temporal texture he can establish where serious changes have occurred. Coral communities have seasonal rhythms and periodicities, but larger, significant changes show up as statistical outliers in temporal texture maps and often correlate with reef decline.

A Case Study

Carysfort reef -- named for the HMS Carysfort, an eighteenth century British warship that ran aground on the reef in 1770 -- is considered the most ecologically diverse on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's northern seaward edge, but today it is in a state of ecological collapse.

Dustan and colleagues conducted the first quantitative field study of coral health at Carysfort in 1974. After a quarter century their studies showed that coral had declined 92 percent. The coral had succumbed to an array of stressors culminating with deadly diseases.

Using the well-characterized Carysfort reef as his control, Dustan calculated the temporal texture for the reef using a series of 20 Landsat images collected between 1982 and 1996. The resulting temporal texture maps correlated with the known areas of significant coral loss (where coral communities have turned into algal-dominated substrates) and they correctly showed that the seaward shallow regions have had the most detrimental change.

This novel approach to change detection is only possible because the long-term calibration of Landsat data assures that data from year-to-year is consistent. Dustin needs at least 6 to 8 Landsat images to create a reliable temporal texture map, but the more data that is available, the finer the results.

Dustan tested this work in the U.S. because he had a robust study site and because prior to 1999 coverage of reefs outside of the U.S. was spotty. With the Landsat 7 launch in 1999 a new global data acquisition strategy was established and for the first time the planet's coral reefs were systematically and regularly imaged, greatly increasing our knowledge of reefs. The Landsat archive enabled the completing of the first exhaustive global survey of reefs (Millennium Global Coral Reef Mapping Project, http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/news-archive/news_0031.html). Efforts are currently underway to receive and ingest Landsat data collected and housed by international ground-receiving stations. International partners often downlink Landsat scenes of their countries that the U.S. does not, so it is very likely that historic reef images will be added the U.S. Landsat archive during this process.

Carrying on Outside of Carysfort

Temporal texture gives scientists an entirely new way to look at coral reefs. A worldwide study could help managers locate change 'hotspots' and could better inform conservation efforts.

Ideally, after more testing, Dustan would like to see an automatic change detection system implemented to follow major worldwide reef systems. "There is no reason that a form of temporal texture monitoring could not be implemented with current satellites in orbit," Dustan says.

Because reefs are underwater it is difficult to grasp the extensive devastation being exacted upon them. Global temporal texture mapping could bring the ravages into focus.

The Landsat Program is a series of Earth observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat satellites have been consistently gathering data about our planet since 1972. They continue to improve and expand this unparalleled record of Earth's changing landscapes for the benefit of all.

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Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126224515.htm

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Royal Ballet star's resignation shocks dance world

LONDON (AP) ? The ballet world is spinning after one of the art's brightest stars walked away from Britain's Royal Ballet without explanation, days before he was due to take the lead in a new production.

Ukrainian dancer Sergei Polunin announced this week that he is quitting immediately. He had been due to open as Oberon in "The Dream" next week.

The 21-year-old studied dance in Kiev before attending the Royal Ballet School in London from the age of 13.

He has thrilled audiences since he became the company's youngest-ever male principal dancer at the age of 19. His poise, muscularity and gravity-defying leaps have brought comparisons with the young Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Royal Ballet director Monica Mason said Polunin's resignation had "come as a huge shock."

"Sergei is a wonderful dancer and I have enjoyed watching him tremendously, both on stage and in the studio, over the past few years," she said in a statement. "I wish him every success in the future."

Ballet websites swirled with speculation about the motive for Polunin's sudden departure. Some suggested the dancer ? who co-owns a London tattoo parlor ? might have grown frustrated with the strict discipline of the ballet life.

In an interview last year, he referred to the pressure he felt to succeed.

"I would have liked to behave badly, to play football. I loved sport," he told The Guardian. "But all my family were working for me to succeed. My mother had moved to Kiev to be with me. There was no chance of me failing."

Others suggested Polunin might have been poached by a rival company, there was no word from the dancer.

His Twitter biography on Thursday read "principal dancer of ?"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-26-EU-Britain-Dancer-Departs/id-b54648eaa1aa4b5db503b892c6ea3a61

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Garth Brooks awarded $1 million in suit against hospital (omg!)

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - An Oklahoma jury decided in favor of native son superstar singer Garth Brooks on Tuesday, saying a hospital company defrauded him by accepting a $500,000 donation and failing to honor his request to name a building for his late mother.

The jury decided on Tuesday evening to award Brooks $1 million, according to Hardy Watkins, vice president of marketing and communications for the hospital company, Integris Health.

The total includes Brooks's original donation as actual damages plus another $500,000 in punitive damages.

Brooks made the donation in 2005 and said in the lawsuit he had a verbal deal with the president of Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital to have a women's center named after his mother, Colleen, who died of cancer in 1999.

Integris is the largest health care system in Oklahoma.

According to court documents, James Moore, the hospital president, said that no promises were ever made to Brooks but that discussions were held about the possibilities.

Brooks had an anonymous $500,000 check sent to the hospital in December 2005, but it wasn't until a few weeks later, after Brooks called the hospital, that hospital officials said they knew the check was sent by the country music legend.

Brooks sued Integris Rural Health Inc. in 2009 after the hospital refused to return his donation.

Watkins said Integris tried to return the $500,000 to Brooks after the singer filed his lawsuit, but the offer was turned down. Integris had not offered to return the money before the lawsuit was filed because it was hopeful an agreement could be reached with Brooks, he said.

Brooks and his attorneys argued that Moore "lured" the singer into making the donation.

The hospital, located on Garth Brooks Boulevard in Yukon, Oklahoma, where the singer grew up and where his name adorns the town's water tower, never built the women's center and never spent the $500,000 donation, court testimony showed.

Because of Brooks' fame and reputation, hospital officials acknowledged before the trial that their side of the case would not be popular. "In the court of public opinion, we're not going to win," said Watkins.

On Tuesday, however, Watkins declined to attribute the jury's decision to Brooks's popularity.

"We are very disappointed the jury awarded dollars above the original donation," he said, calling the verdict "surprising and disturbing."

Brooks, 49, and his wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, who live on a ranch near the Tulsa suburb of Owasso, signed autographs and chatted with fans after each court session of the week-long trial.

Brooks, now semi-retired, was named the world's top-selling solo artist in 2007 by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 123 million albums sold.

(Reporting By Steve Olafson; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Peter Bohan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_garth_brooks_awarded1_million_suit_against_hospital_052326530/44295359/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/garth-brooks-awarded-1-million-suit-against-hospital-052326530.html

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Forums: Positives and negatives about jailbreaking, Email security on WiFi

We’re now fully into 2012 and already, we’ve been hearing about some great things to come from Apple. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what turns out...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/8QM3G1pW570/story01.htm

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Apple & Google Dominate Smartphone Market During 2011

Posted on January 2, 2012 10:50 AM by Rob Williams

We've been talking about smartphone trends quite a bit lately, but with 2011 behind us, there's no better time to take a look at the overall growth (or losses) experienced by some companies through the year. It's of little surprise that both Apple and Google dominated the share, but it comes at the expense of RIM and Microsoft. Palm? Non-existent, as far as comScore is concerned.

Over the course of the past 18 months, Apple's marketshare increase was 4.5% while Google's was a mind-blowing 27.3% - that's more than one-fourth of the entire market captured in a mere 18 months. While Apple's 4.5% seems pale in comparison, its marketshare has already remained impressive for some time, so growth has naturally slowed. Combined, Apple and Google command 75.6% of the smartphone market.

During the same period, RIM has experienced a constant decline, starting off with a 37.6% share but since dropping down to 19.7%. Ouch. Likewise, Microsoft's already paltry 10.8% share dropped to 5.7%.

Given these numbers, 2012 should be an interesting year for the smartphone market because it's hard to predict where things can go from here. Will Android continue to dominate while taking share away from Apple? Will Microsoft finally strike back and see its first increase in at least 18 months? Will we ever see a webOS phone added to the list? We'll have answers to all of these questions in roughly 365 days!

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13 killed, 41 injured in central China crash (AP)

BEIJING ? Thirteen people died and 41 others were injured when a truck collided with a bus in central China.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident occurred Tuesday morning on a highway in Hunan province after the truck went through a road divider and crashed into the bus that was on the opposite side.

The report cites a local government spokesman as saying nine people were killed at the scene while the other four died on the way to the hospital.

Road safety is a serious problem in China, with many accidents caused by poorly maintained roads and bad driving habits.

Badly maintained school transport has been the focus of public anger in recent weeks after a series of accidents in which schoolchildren were killed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120103/ap_on_re_as/as_china_highway_crash

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Palestinians don't expect much in Israel talks (AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank ? The Palestinians are downplaying expectations ahead of their first meeting with Israelis in more than a year.

The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and Israeli envoy Yitzhak Molcho are set to meet in Jordan on Tuesday in a bid to get peace talks restarted. Negotiations have been stalled since September 2010.

Erekat told reporters in the West Bank on Monday that he doesn't expect any breakthroughs unless Israel agrees to halt settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. He also says Israel must accept its 1967 lines as the basis for a future border.

Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel rejects the Palestinian demands and says peace talks should resume without preconditions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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