Police focus on SUV in fatal N. Calif. train crash (AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Investigators on Sunday were trying to determine what motivated the driver of a sport utility vehicle to ignore a downed crossing arm and flashing lights and pull the vehicle into the path of an oncoming commuter train in Sacramento.

Three died after the Saturday afternoon collision south of downtown, including a 21-month-old boy.

One of the four people inside the Nissan Pathfinder remained in the hospital Sunday at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she was being treated for serious injuries.

Authorities also were trying to sort out the relationships of those involved and were not releasing their identifications.

In addition to the toddler, the dead included a 25-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man, who was ejected from the Pathfinder when it was struck by the southbound light rail train traveling at 55 mph shortly after 4 p.m. The impact pushed the SUV about 30 yards down the track and flipped it.

Officer Laura Peck, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Police Department, said the woman taken to the hospital was the man's wife.

Investigators and officials with the Sacramento Regional Transit District said video from cameras mounted on the intersection showed the SUV drive around the crossing arms just before impact. That video and other pictures captured by a camera mounted on the train are part of the investigation and were not being released publicly, Peck said.

Witness accounts appear to support the video evidence that the crossing arms were down and warning lights were flashing when the SUV tried to get across the tracks.

Davis resident Ravin Pratab, 42, was in a car that was waiting to cross the tracks when he said he heard a loud bang and then "saw a light-rail train heading south with a big truck smashed on it."

Authorities said six of the roughly 50 passengers on the light rail train were taken to local hospitals but had only minor injuries.

On Sunday, the tracks were cleared and the intersection was open, with no sign of the previous day's collision. A white teddy bear was placed at the base of the pole holding the crossing arm, on the same side of the tracks where the SUV had been before it attempted to cross.

Regional transit officials said trains were operating on their regular schedule after a section of track was repaired Saturday night.

One question investigators are trying to answer is the length of time the crossing arms were down. The light rail train passed through the intersection after two Union Pacific freight trains, going in opposite directions and using different tracks, had passed by.

Neither Peck nor a spokeswoman for the transit district said they knew the length of the interval between the time the freight trains cleared the intersection and the commuter line came through. The light rail system has its own dedicated tracks.

Drivers in Sacramento often can wait up to 10 minutes for a freight train to pass, then might have to wait several minutes more because of an approaching light rail train. The extended wait times can be a source of irritation ? and missed appointments ? in California's capital.

Alane Masui, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Regional Transit District, said Sunday that determining the length of time the crossing arms were down and the interval between the trains was part of the ongoing investigation.

Sacramento's light rail system, started in 1987, carries an average of 50,000 passengers a day. On weekdays, it's packed with those commuting between the suburbs and state government jobs downtown.

Masui could not immediately say whether Saturday's collision was the deadliest in the system's history or how many collisions between light rail trains and vehicles had occurred in the past.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_suv_light_rail_crash

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Occupy protest resurfaces in Oakland after lull

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan surveys damage to City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Oakland, Calif., following an Occupy Oakland protest Saturday. After a confrontation with police, demonstrators gained entrance to City Hall where they burned an American flag, broke glass and toppled a model of City Hall. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan surveys damage to City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Oakland, Calif., following an Occupy Oakland protest Saturday. After a confrontation with police, demonstrators gained entrance to City Hall where they burned an American flag, broke glass and toppled a model of City Hall. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Occupy Oakland protestors burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest on the steps of City Hall, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

A defaced bust of former city councilmember Frank Ogawa sits outside Oakland, Calif., City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, following an Occupy Oakland protest Saturday. After a confrontation with police, demonstrators gained entrance to City Hall where they burned an American flag, broke glass and toppled a model of City Hall. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Police officers stand near graffiti while guarding Oakland, Calif., City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, following an Occupy Oakland protest Saturday. After a confrontation with police, demonstrators gained entrance to City Hall where they burned an American flag, broke glass and toppled a model of City Hall. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Police move in on Occupy Oakland protesters on Oak Street and 12th Street as tear gas gets blown back on them in Oakland, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. An unlawful assembly was declared as occupiers planned to take over an undisclosed building. (AP Photo/The Tribune, Bay Area News Group) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) ? It started peacefully enough: A midday rally at City Hall and a march. But as the day wore on, Oakland was hit by the most turbulent protests in weeks as Occupy demonstrators clashed repeatedly with police, leaving more than 400 people arrested.

The demonstrations in downtown Oakland broke a lull that had seen just a smattering of people taking to Oakland's streets in recent weeks for occasional marches that bore little resemblance to the headline-grabbing Occupy demonstrations of last fall.

That all changed Saturday with clashes punctuated by rock and bottle throwing by protesters and volleys of tear gas from police, and a City Hall break-in that left glass cases smashed, graffiti spray-painted on walls and an American flag burned.

AP photos showing the flag burning ? including images of masked protesters touching off the blaze, a woman urging protesters not to burn it, and another of an officer stomping out the fire ? drew attention on social networking sites.

At least three officers and one protester were injured. Police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Thomason said there were more than 400 arrests on charges ranging from failure to disperse to vandalism,

On Sunday, Oakland officials vowed to be ready if Occupy protesters try to mount another large-scale demonstration. Protesters, meanwhile, decried Saturday's police tactics as illegal and threatened to sue.

Mayor Jean Quan personally inspected damage caused by dozens of people who broke into City Hall. She said she wants a court order to keep Occupy protesters who have been arrested several times out of Oakland, which has been hit repeatedly by demonstrations that have cost the financially troubled city about $5 million.

Quan also called on the loosely organized movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," she said.

Saturday's protests ? the most convulsive since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November ? came just days after the announcement of a new round of actions. The group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the Port of Oakland for a third time, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.

After the mass arrests, the Occupy Oakland Media Committee criticized the police's conduct, saying that most of the arrests were made illegally because police failed to allow protesters to disperse. It threatened legal action.

"Contrary to their own policy, the OPD gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class action lawsuit against the OPD," a release from the group said.

Deputy Police Chief Jeff Israel told reporters late Saturday that protesters gathered unlawfully and police gave them multiple verbal warnings to disband.

Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included "serious concerns" about the department's handling of the Occupy protests. Police officials say they were in "close contact" with the federal monitor during the protests.

The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately. Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.

Caitlin Manning, an Occupy Oakland member, believes that Saturday's protest caught the world's attention.

"The Occupy movement is back on the map," Manning said Sunday. "We think those who have been involved in movements elsewhere should be heartened."

In Oakland, social activism and civic unrest have long marked this rough-edged city of nearly 400,000 across the bay from San Francisco. Beset by poverty, crime and a decades-long tense relationship between the police and the community, its streets have seen clashes between officers and protesters, including anti-draft protests in the 1960s that spilled into town from neighboring Berkeley.

Dozens of officers, who maintained guard at City Hall overnight, were also on the scene Sunday.

"They were never able to occupy a building outside of City Hall," Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said Sunday. "We suspect they will try to go to the convention center again. They will not get in."

Jordan defended his officers' response to the protesters on Saturday.

"No we have not changed our tactics," Jordan said. "The demonstrators have changed their tactics, which forces us to respond differently."

Quan, who faces two mayoral recall attempts, has been criticized for past police tear-gassing, though she said she was not aware of the plans. On Saturday, she thought the police response was measured.

She also said she hopes prosecutors will seek a stay-away order against protesters who have been arrested multiple times.

"It appears that most of them constantly come from outside of Oakland," Quan said. "I think a lot of the young people who come to these demonstrations think they're being revolutionary when they're really hurting the people they claim that they are representing."

Saturday's events began when a group assembled outside City Hall and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over a vacant convention center.

The protesters then walked to the convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said. The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging up to 2,000 people, although city leaders say that figure was much closer to several hundred.

A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, Thomason said.

One of those taken into custody at the facility was KGO radio reporter Kristin Hanes.

Though she was released after about 25 minutes, Hanes said she was "angry that they put a reporter in zip-tie handcuffs."

Oakland police didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about her arrest.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-30-Occupy%20Oakland/id-c86aa202319041168d3a3e917d44b4c7

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Scorsese, Hazanavicius lead Directors Guild rolls (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Directors Guild of America Awards regular Martin Scorsese and first-timer Michel Hazanavicius are the favorites as Hollywood's top filmmaker group prepares to hand out prizes.

Past winner Scorsese is nominated again for the guild's feature-film honor for his Paris adventure "Hugo," while Hazanavicius scored his first nomination for his silent-movie "The Artist."

Also in the running are Woody Allen for his romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris"; David Fincher for his thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; and Alexander Payne for his family drama "The Descendants."

The Directors Guild Awards are one of Hollywood's most accurate forecasts for who will win at the industry's top honors, the Academy Awards, which will be handed out Feb. 26. Only six times in the 63-year history of the guild awards has the winner failed to take home the Oscar for best director, and more often than not, the film winning the best director Oscar is voted best picture.

Fincher had been the favorite going into the Directors Guild ceremony last year for "The Social Network," but Tom Hooper came away the winner for "The King's Speech." Hooper went on to win the Oscar, too, and his film also earned best picture.

This time, Fincher's the odd man out at the Directors Guild show. The other four guild nominees made the best-director cut at Tuesday's Oscar nominations, but Fincher missed out. The fifth Oscar slot went to Terrence Malick for the family chronicle "The Tree of Life."

French filmmaker Hazanavicius, whose credits include the spy spoofs "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" and "OSS 117: Lost in Rio," 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 Artist" won the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy and is considered a best-picture front-runner for the Oscars.

But Scorsese won the Globes' singular directing prize over Hazanavicius.

Unlike Hazanavicius, the other nominees all have competed for Directors Guild honors before. Scorsese earned his ninth and 10th guild nominations this season; besides feature-film, he's nominated for documentary directing for "George Harrison: Living in the Material World."

Scorsese is a past feature-film winner for 2006's "The Departed," as well as a TV drama winner a year ago for an episode of "Boardwalk Empire." The family film "Hugo" was a departure for Scorsese, known for dark crime tales, and the movie also was his first shot in 3-D.

Allen has been nominated five times and won for 1977's "Annie Hall." He had not been nominated since his 1989 "Crimes and Misdemeanors" but has been on a critical and commercial resurgence for "Midnight in Paris," his biggest hit in decades.

This was the third nomination for Fincher. Payne was nominated one time previously, for 2004's "Sideways."

Kelsey Grammer is the host for the guild ceremony, which is not televised. Awards presenters include Oscar nominees George Clooney ("The Descendants"), Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn"), Gary Oldman ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo ("The Artist"), and Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain ("The Help").

___

Online:

http://www.dga.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_en_mo/us_directors_awards

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Don't forget your lint trap!

It's a small thing, but forgetting to to clean out your lint trap after a load of laundry will cost you dearly when it comes to your energy bill. But a few further steps will help your dryer run even more efficiently.

This seems like such a simple thing. Most of us do this as a matter of course whenever we dry a load of laundry in our dryer.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

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Forgetting to do it, however, adds up to a significant cost. Not only does it make your dryer run less efficiently (depending on the level of lint and your specific type of dryer, it can reduce the efficiency by 75%), it also forces your dryer to work harder and can contribute to a shorter lifespan for your dryer.

One key step to making sure that your dryer is free of lint is cleaning out your lint trap. Whenever you?re about to run a load of clothes, simply remove the lint from the lint trap with your fingers and toss it in the trash.

However, that?s just one step in the process. There are additional steps you can take which will maximize the airflow into and out of your dryer, making it run more efficiently. A more efficient dryer is a dryer that costs less to run per load and has a longer lifespan, saving you money both now and later.

First, make sure the external opening for your dryer vent is clear. If you don?t know where your dryer vent is, spend some time tracing the vent that goes out of the back of your dryer. One method is to simply inspect the outside of your house, particularly on a very cold day, when the dryer is running. At my home, if the temperature is below freezing, there is obvious steam coming out of the dryer vent.

Cleaning it is easy. Just lift up whatever is guarding the trap and remove any lint or debris that is filling the exit. Ours tends to fill with debris about every six months or so and it makes our dryer run much less efficiently.

Next, once a year or so, clean out your dryer vent completely. This is a straightforward process, but it does take a bit of time and requires you to move your dryer. eHow has a great step-by-step guide for the process.

Many people tend to do this only when they install (or have someone install) a new dryer ? and they?re often shocked as to the incredible level of lint and other materials that have built up in the vent. Quite often, that material has caused the person?s dryer to work much harder than it otherwise would have, bringing on a dryer replacement much sooner than would otherwise have been needed and also using more energy per load, adding to the usage cost of the dryer.

A final tip: occasionally wash your lint filter. That?s right, pull out that lint filter wash it with soap and water.

Why does that make a difference? As Snopes explains it, ?[j]ust removing the lint from the lint filter isn?t always enough ? the fine mesh of most dryer filters can be clogged in ways that aren?t obvious at a casual glance.? A quick scrube and rinse in warm soapy water will do the trick.

We try to wash our lint filter once every three months or so. Honestly, we?d probably do it more often if the lint filter wasn?t on the other end of the house from our primary sink for washing dishes.

What will all of this accomplish? For one, it will make your dryer run efficiently. While it?s hard to find exact data on this, simple observation bears this to be true. If our vents are clogged, it can take twice as long or longer to dry a load of clothes. More efficiency when the dryer is running means more savings for you.

For another, it will extend the life of your dryer. The heating element will receive less stress, as will the fan. The less stress you put on these key components, the longer they will last.

Simply removing lint from your dryer?s exhaust system is a double win. You save now by using less electricity per load, reducing your electric bill, and you save later by not having to replace your dryer as often.

This post is part of a yearlong series called ?365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),? in which I?m revisiting the entries from my book ?365 Ways to Live Cheap,? which is available at Amazon and at bookstores everywhere.?

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on www.thesimpledollar.com.

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Azarenka routs Sharapova to win Australian title

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hold the trophy during the awarding ceremony after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in their women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hold the trophy during the awarding ceremony after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in their women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus kisses the trophy during the awarding ceremony after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in their women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reacts after winning a point against Russia's Maria Sharapova during the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Victoria Azarenka started celebrating, then suddenly did a double-take to ask her coach, "What happened?"

The answer: She had just produced one of the most lopsided Australian Open final victories to capture a Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking for the first time.

Azarenka routed three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in 1 hour, 22 minutes on Saturday night, winning 12 of the last 13 games after dropping her first service game and falling behind 2-0.

"It's a dream come true," she said. "I have been dreaming and working so hard to win the Grand Slam, and being No. 1 is pretty good bonus. Just the perfect ending and the perfect position to be in."

Azarenka had won 11 straight matches, including a run to the Sydney International title, and reached her first Grand Slam final. Her previous best performance at a major was a semifinal loss to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year. Sharapova had all the experience, being in her sixth major final and having won three ? dating to her 2004 Wimbledon title.

But it didn't unnerve the 22-year-old Azarenka, the first woman from Belarus to win a singles major. She's also the seventh different woman to win a Grand Slam since Francesca Schiavone won the 2010 French Open, and the fifth different winner in as many majors.

Azarenka became only the third woman to earn the No. 1 spot after winning her first major title. She moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the rankings, helped by Caroline Wozniacki's loss in the quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Azarenka set up championship point with a stunning forehand, her 14th clean winner, and sealed it when Sharapova netted a backhand.

She dropped to her knees at the baseline with her hands over her face. She got up, held her hands up and jogged over to her coach, Sam Sumyk, in the stands to celebrate.

"The best feeling, for sure," Azarenka said. "I don't know about the game. I don't know what I was doing out there. It's just pure joy what happened. I can't believe it's over."

And she paid special credit to her grandmother, "the person who inspires me the most in my life."

Azarenka has been a distinctive presence at Melbourne Park as much for her shrieks and hoots with each shot and seemingly boundless energy as for her white shorts, blue singlet and lime green head and wrist bands.

Against Sharapova, she maintained the frenetic movement that has been the hallmark of her performance in Australia, her 25th consecutive major. She won the Sydney International title last weekend and is on a 12-match winning streak ? the first player since 2004 to win a WTA tour event the week before winning a major.

"She did everything better than I did today. I had a good first couple of games, and that was about it," Sharapova said. "Then she was the one that was taking the first ball and hitting it deep and aggressive. I was always the one running around like a rabbit, you know, trying to play catch-up all the time."

Sharapova also won only three games in a 2007 final loss to Serena Williams, who also conceded only three games in the 2009 final against Dinara Safina.

When Sharapova won the first two games, there was no indication of how lopsided the match would be. Azarenka took control after holding for the first time, breaking Sharapova at love and then holding again on a three-game roll.

Sharapova held, finishing off with an ace, to level the score at 3-3 in the first set but then didn't win another game.

Azarenka started dictating the points, coming to the net at times, hitting winners from the baseline and forcing the 24-year-old Russian to the extremes on both sides of the court. Sharapova seemed barely able to move by comparison, and had 30 unforced errors in the match.

The second set was completely lopsided and lasted only 36 minutes, with Sharapova winning only 12 points.

"As in any sport, you have your good days, you have your tough days and you have days where things just don't work out," said Sharapova, who has now been on the losing end of two of the most lopsided scorelines in a final at Melbourne Park.

In the men's doubles final, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied Bob and Mike Bryan their record 12th Grand Slam title, beating the American twins 7-6 (1), 6-2.

The 33-year-old Bryans were attempting to secure their place as the most decorated doubles team since the Open Era began in 1968. They remain tied at 11 major titles with Australian duo Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

On Sunday, defending champion Novak Djokovic takes on Rafael Nadal in a men's singles final featuring the top two players in the rankings. Djokovic won three of the four majors last year and beat Nadal in six finals in 2011 among his 70 match wins for the season.

Azarenka had her best season in 2011, winning 55 of 72 matches to finish the year at No. 3.

There was a time when she'd momentarily flirted with the idea of quitting the sport during a quick trip home to Minsk after a loss at Doha. But she was quickly set straight by her family, including her grandmother, who had reportedly worked three jobs until the age of 71.

She couldn't get through to her family immediately "because my phone is freaking out right now," but she texted them from the court.

"I made a pretty smart decision, not walking out, right? That was pretty special," she said. "There's always ups and downs, now I'm up."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-28-TEN-Australian-Open/id-be05ef7643e540a291718e74f37d3494

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In State of the Union, Obama Says American Dream in Peril (Time.com)

(WASHINGTON) -- Declaring the American dream under siege, President Barack Obama called Tuesday night for a flurry of help for a hurting middle class and higher taxes on millionaires, delivering a State of the Union address packed with re-election themes. Restoring a fair shot for all, Obama said, is "the defining issue of our time."

Obama outlined a vastly different vision for fixing the country than the one pressed by the Republicans challenging him in Congress and fighting to take his job in the November election. He pleaded for an active government that ensures economic fairness for everyone, just as his opponents demand that the government back off and let the free market rule.

Obama offered steps to help students afford college, a plan for more struggling homeowners to refinance their homes and tax cuts for manufacturers. He threw in politically appealing references to accountability, including warning universities they will lose federal aid if they don't stop tuition from soaring. (More on what the government could do to help housing.)

Standing in front of a divided Congress, with bleak hope this election year for much of his legislative agenda, Obama spoke with voters in mind.

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama said. "Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."

A rare wave of unity splashed over the House chamber at the start. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survivor of an assassination attempt one year ago, received sustained applause from her peers and cheers of "Gabby, Gabby, Gabby." She blew a kiss to the podium. Obama embraced her.

Lawmakers leapt to their feet when Obama said near the start of his speech that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, killed by a raid authorized by the president, will no longer threaten America.

At the core of Obama's address was the improving but deeply wounded economy -- the matter still driving Americans' anxiety and the one likely to determine the next presidency.

"The state of our union is getting stronger," Obama said, calibrating his words as millions remain unemployed. Implicit in his declaration that the American dream is "within our reach" was the recognition that, after three years of an Obama presidency, the country is not there yet. (More on Obama's refinance program.)

He spoke of restoring basic goals: owning a home, earning enough to raise a family, putting a little money away for retirement.

"We can do this," Obama said. "I know we can." He said Americans are convinced that "Washington is broken," but he also said it wasn't too late to cooperate on important matters.

Republicans were not impressed. They applauded infrequently, though they did cheer when the president quoted "Republican Abraham Lincoln" as saying: "That government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves -- and no more."

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, offering the formal GOP response, called Obama's policies "pro-poverty" and his tactics divisive.

"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Daniels said in excerpts released before the address.

In a signature swipe at the nation's growing income gap, Obama called for a new minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent on anyone making over $1 million. Many millionaires -- including one of his chief rivals, Republican Mitt Romney -- pay a rate less than that because they get most of their income from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate.

"Now you can call this class warfare all you want," Obama said, responding to a frequent criticism from the GOP presidential field. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."

Obama calls this the "Buffett rule," named for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said it's unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Emphasizing the point, Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, attended the address in first lady Michelle Obama's box.

Obama underlined every proposal with the idea that hard work and responsibility still count. He was targeting independent voters who helped seal his election in 2008 and the frustrated masses in a nation pessimistic about its course.

In a flag-waving defense of American power and influence abroad, Obama said the U.S. will safeguard its own security "against those who threaten our citizens, our friends and our interests." On Iran, he said that while all options are on the table to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon -- an implied threat to use military force -- "a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible."

With Congress almost universally held in low regard, Obama went after an easy target in calling for reforms to keep legislators from engaging in insider trading and holding them to the same conflict-of-interest standards as those that apply to the executive branch.

With the foreclosure crisis on ongoing sore spot despite a number of administration housing initiatives over the past three years, Obama proposed a new program to allow homeowners with privately held mortgages to refinance at lower interest rates. Administration officials offered few details but estimated savings at $3,000 a year for average borrowers.

Obama proposed steps to crack down on fraud in the financial sector and mortgage industry, with a Financial Crimes Unit to monitor bankers and financial service professionals, and a separate special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into abusive lending that led to the housing crisis.

At a time of tight federal budgets and heavy national debt, Obama found a ready source of money to finance his ideas: He proposed to devote half of the money no longer being spent on the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan to "do some nation-building right here at home," to help create more jobs and increase competitiveness. The other half, he said, would go to help pay down the national debt.

Obama also offered a defense of regulations that protect the American consumer -- regulations often criticized by Republicans as job-killing obstacles.

"Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same," Obama said. "It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody."

Obama will follow up Tuesday night's address with a three-day tour of five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he'll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he'll discuss energy, and in Michigan on Friday he'll talk about college affordability, education and training.

Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama's overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.

The speech Tuesday night comes just one week before the Florida Republican primary that could help set the trajectory for the rest of the race.

Romney, caught up in a tight contest with a resurgent Newt Gingrich, commented in advance to Obama's speech.

"Tonight will mark another chapter in the misguided policies of the last three years -- and the failed leadership of one man," Romney said from Florida.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120127/us_time/08599210529100

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Insurance against sunsets: Munich Re steps in if your solar panel ...

With solar panel manufacturers dropping like Arkansas blackbirds, Germany?s Munich Re is coming to the rescue.?It is now selling insurance that protects solar park operators in the event that their panel provider goes bankrupt.

In partnership with Deustsche Bank, Munich Re will?indemnify the operator after the manufacturer tanks, should panels deteriorate below guaranteed performance. It will also ?provide the financing to compensate for the reduced output,? according to a press release announcing the product.

The insurance in effect picks up where the manufacturer?s warranty leaves off after bankruptcy voids it. The optional coverage applies to utility scale solar projects, or anything over 20 megawatts. It is not available for the average home installation.

Without such insurance, banks may refuse to lend the capital necessary to build solar farms, Munich Re notes in the release.?Solar panel output is key to investors calculating rates of return on large scale projects.

?Our aim in developing and marketing the optional coverage was to further facilitate solar park investment by assuming the risk of the module manufacturer?s insolvency,? says Munich Re board member Thomas Blunck. ?Coverage of such risks makes it easier to calculate stable, secured cash flows for solar parks.?

Munich Re has sold the optional coverage to a solar park in southern Italy, financed jointly by Deutsche Bank and Rabobank, according to the release which did not name the operator.

A raft of solar manufactures have filed for insolvency in recent months, victimized by among other factors pricing pressure applied in part by low cost Chinese suppliers. Solon, Solar Millennium, SpectraWatt, Evergreen, Solyndra and others have all gone under.

For insurance companies like Munich Re, there?s an extra incentive to support renewables. Insurers face large pay outs after natural disasters like the floods and hurricanes that are on the increase amid global warming.

Munich Re believes that renewable energy like solar will cut CO2 emissions associated with fossil fuels and help mitigate man-made climate change.?It has an active presence in renewables. For instance, it?s a charter member of the Desertec Industrial Initiative, the group that aspires to furnish 15 percent of Europe?s electricity by 2050 using solar power from northern Africa and the Middle East.

For solar to remain in flight as a large scale alternative to fossil fuels, more companies like Munich Re will have to take risks beyond the nest of their normal milieu.

Photo by MarkHalperJournalist

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Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/insurance-against-sunsets-munich-re-steps-in-if-your-solar-panel-provider-goes-bust/12537

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Obama's State of the Union Just Another Speech (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Barack Obama's State of the Union speech was a flashback to 2008 when he roamed the country preaching "hope and change." It was a campaign speech. It was an answer to every ad he's seen on TV so far this campaign season. It was full of subtle jabs and bites at his adversaries surrounded by support and hope for our troops. After all, who's going to say a negative word about our armed forces?

President Obama stated in the opening moments of his speech that "for the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home." The idea Obama wanted to convey was one of teamwork and togetherness because his very next line was, "Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example."

Yes. Imagine what we could do, but also imagine the rigorous training regiments of our military. The men and women in the U.S. military are told what to wear, when to eat, when to wake, when to sleep, and how to perform their jobs down to the absolute minutest of details. Everything is black and white. Most Americans would revolt. The statement reminded me of the Apple workers in China. A last minute revamp of iPhone screens prompted an Apple factory in China to immediately go back to work. The screens arrived at the factory around midnight. "A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company's dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day," writes Thomas Friedman in The New York Times.

For an American to do the same thing, we would have to be under attack. There would have to be a greater cause associated with the work, but then maybe there is a greater cause associated with the work. The U.S.A is no longer No. 1. The middle class is dying. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Goods made in the U.S.A are not on our store shelves so consumers can't automatically support their country by going to the store. Consumers have to vigilantly look for products made in the U.S.A. That's un-American.

Unfortunately, all Obama gave us was a speech. He outlined no plan, and a lot of his statements were questionable at best. It was more wishes and dreams for a better U.S.A. surrounded by a call to support our troops and a decree to lower taxes for businesses that bring jobs back. While I liked the words, I know Obama cannot deliver on those promises.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/pl_ac/10882791_obamas_state_of_the_union_just_another_speech

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Extraordinary Gingrich comeback also vindication (The Arizona Republic)

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Video: Biotech Earnings Preview

A preview of what to expect from major biotech firms like Johnson & Johnson, Celgene and Amgen, with CNBC's Seema Mody.

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Hydro petition faces campaign finance questions | Aspen Daily ...

The backers of a petition seeking a ballot referendum to stop the city?s Castle Creek hydroelectric project may have to disclose who has been funding an advertising blitz aimed at collecting signatures from Aspen voters.

Thousands of dollars have been spent on a print, radio and direct-mail campaign that questions the hydro proposal and encourages people to sign a petition that will likely lead to a public vote on the project. But the main proponents of the referendum drive say they have no idea how much money has been spent or raised in the effort, and some people behind the petition drive have been contributing with the understanding that they will remain anonymous.

The state?s Fair Campaign Practices Act, however, says that once Aspen residents Ward Hauenstein and Maurice Emmer submitted paperwork to City Clerk Kathryn Koch seeking to refer to voters a council-approved ordinance on the hydro plant?s land-use plans, they became an issue committee. Any issue committee that has raised or spent more than $200 must comply with campaign finance rules that require the itemized reporting of contributions and expenditures, according to state law.

Aspen, which is a ?home rule? city with its own charter, adopts some state laws. Emmer questions whether the provisions of the Fair Campaign Practices Act apply to this situation. He said the city?s law also could be interpreted to mean that he could wait until days before the election to register as an issue committee.

However, he said he?s willing to work with the city to figure out what the group is required to do.

?We want to comply with all applicable laws,? said Emmer, a former tax attorney who practiced in California, Illinois and New York.

According to the Fair Campaign Practices Act, which is referenced in the city?s election code, an issue committee must be formed once ?the matter has been submitted for format approval in accordance with law.?

According to Aspen city attorneys, campaign finance rules were triggered when Emmer and Hauenstein submitted their referendum intentions for ?format approval? to Koch on Dec. 20. A few days later, Koch confirmed that the matter was legally referable.

Koch and Jim True, special counsel for the city of Aspen, sent Emmer and Hauenstein a letter Wednesday informing them they need to register as an issue committee.

?Since it appears that registration is overdue, it is mandatory that your group register immediately,? the letter says.

The state statute also says that an issue committee needs to be formed once ?a petition concerning the matter has been circulated and signed by at least one person.?

Emmer said he spoke with an expert in election law when the petition drive started, who informed him his group did not have to comply with campaign finance reporting laws because no election has been set yet. Emmer declines to name the attorney.

The election would only go forward if enough of the signatures Emmer and Hauenstein submitted to the city clerk?s office on Tuesday are from registered Aspen voters. City Council could also avoid the election by rescinding the ordinance that approved the 1,700-square-foot building that would house the hydroelectric turbine.

The petition containing 953 signatures was turned in Tuesday. Koch has 30 days to determine if 594 of the signatures are from valid, registered Aspen voters, which is the threshold to get an issue on the ballot.

Emmer said he doesn?t know who has been paying for the ads ? $3,000 worth of which appeared in the full-page, color variety in the Aspen Daily News over a six-day span recently. Hauenstein, however, noted that he and Emmer were given the opportunity to review the ad copy, but he stuck to his claim that he does not know who is paying for the ads.

There are ?four or five? people working on the petition drive who are doing so on the basis that their anonymity is maintained, Emmer said.

A direct-mail piece also went out to registered Aspen voters in recent weeks, and radio spots have been running encouraging people to sign the petition.

Considering that contribution and expenditure reports have not been kept, Emmer said he?s unsure what his group would do if it had to turn over campaign finance data.

The city?s election code allows the municipal government ? or any person residing within the city ? to seek civil penalties ?for an amount not more than the amount or value not properly reported? if provisions of the law are violated. Other potential civil penalties also may apply, according the city?s election code.

curtis@aspendailynews.com

Source: http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/151381

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Japan's Elpida to seek equity tie with Micron: report (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Elpida Memory will seek an equity tie-up with U.S. rival Micron Technology, a newspaper said on Wednesday, as the Japanese firm confronts mounting pressure from approaching debt repayments and a deteriorating memory chip market.

Analysts said a deal with Micron, one of several potential partners to emerge in media speculation about Japan's last remaining player in PC memory chips, would be a sensible choice as Elpida struggles to survive in competition with South Korean giants.

"I believe Micron has the superior technology," said Damian Thong, analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities in Tokyo.

"It would be good for the industry, because it would lead to coordination between the two and therefore effectively consolidation into three major groupings in the DRAM space."

Elpida has informed its main bank that it aims to establish an alliance with Micron that will secure a combined DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) market share of more than 20 percent, allowing it to better compete with market leader Samsung Electronics, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

The report sparked a 7 percent rise in Elpida's shares by mid-afternoon trade to 325 yen, helping it to recover from a record low last week of 297 yen.

Elpida reiterated that it was in talks with banks about refinancing loans and with clients about investments and prepayments, but declined further comment on the Yomiuri report. Micron had no comment.

LOOMING REDEMPTION

Elpida needs to redeem 45 billion yen ($587 million) in bonds by late March and repay about 77 billion yen borrowed under a government-backed rescue package in early April.

The Yomiuri report said Elpida's bank had called on it to produce a plan by Wednesday for improving its financial position.

The slump in the DRAM chip market, spurred by a sluggish global economy and consumers' growing preference for tablet devices that use flash memory instead of DRAM, has delivered a heavy blow to producers throughout the sector, including the smaller players in Taiwan's crowded market.

Micron Chief Executive Steve Appleton said last month that consolidation in the DRAM sector was inevitable as weak prices sap chipmakers' cash.

"A number of those companies continue to weaken and as they do ... they're going to figure out what they're going to do, so I think that will drive some further consolidation, I think that's inevitable," Appleton said after the Boise, Idaho-based company reported worse-than-expected quarterly results.

Micron purchased Toshiba Corp's DRAM facilities in the United States a decade ago when Japan's top chipmaker abandoned that increasingly tough sector once and for all.

Elpida, which combined the DRAM operations of other big Japanese chipmakers, was eventually left as Japan's only player still willing to brave the volatile market.

Recent media reports have pointed to Taiwan's Nanya Technology, which already has ties with Micron, and Toshiba as possible partners for Elpida, although both companies have rejected or played down the possibility.

Speculation about possible rescue deals has buffeted Elpida's share price, which at its all-time low of 297 a week ago was less than one-third its value at the start of last year.

Macquarie's Thong also raised the possibility that Elpida might raise cash by selling rights to its technology -- essentially parting with the family jewels.

He added that he expected the company to win a bank loan refinancing, putting the spotlight on its 45 billion yen in corporate bonds.

"The debt situation is the key focusing point," he said.

"If the objective is primarily a financial investment in exchange for technology and the partnership, the pool of possible partners is fairly wide," he added.

The possibilities for a strategic partner would be limited, however. With South Korean producers Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor unlikely options, Micron would be the only possible candidate, he said.

(Additional reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo in Tokyo, Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Writing by Edmund Klamann; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/tc_nm/us_elpida

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Jill Biden writes kids' book, a tribute to troops (AP)

NEW YORK ? Jill Biden, after years of teaching English to college and high school students, has written a book of her own.

The wife of Vice President Joe Biden has completed a children's story, "Don't Forget, Nana, God Bless Our Troops," told from the point of view of granddaughter Natalie Biden and a tribute to soldiers and their families. Biden, called Nana by her granddaughter, has met with many military families and said she thought of doing the book as she realized how many people did not understand their experiences. The story is especially personal because son Beau Biden, Delaware's attorney general and a major in the state's Army National Guard, spent a year in Iraq.

"I really feel that you write your best about what you know best," Jill Biden, who taught in Delaware before moving to Washington, said Tuesday during a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press. "That's what I teach to my students, so I thought using my own experience would have a little more meaning and a little more heart to it."

The book will be published June 5 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and will be illustrated by Raul Colon, who has worked on stories by Frank McCourt and Libba Moore Gray. According to Simon & Schuster, "Readers will follow Natalie's experience as she learns to cope with missing her father and finds comfort in the kindness of members of her community, including teachers and neighbors and the strength and pride that she and her mother and brother felt from being part of a military family. The book will also include resources about what readers can do to support military service members and their families serving at home and abroad."

Biden said she came up with the title after putting Natalie to bed one night. They read some stories and said their prayers, and Biden got up to say goodnight. As she was leaving, Natalie said, "Don't forget, Nana, God bless our troops."

"It just shows how ingrained it is in them, that it is part of our family life," Biden said.

Biden is receiving no advance. She and the publisher said all net author proceeds are being donated to charities, to be determined, for military families. Biden was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who has handled book deals for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

"Don't Forget" is the latest children's story from the Obama administration and the latest by a vice president's wife. Biden's immediate predecessor, Lynne Cheney, has written several books for young people about American history. President Obama's picture book "Of Thee I Sing," finished before he took office, came out in 2010.

Biden said she worked on her story for "a couple of months," discussing it with Natalie and even taping their conversations as she put together each scene. The vice president has pitched in, reading the book "several times," she said.

Jill Biden and Michelle Obama have made military families a special priority, co-founding the Joining Forces initiative that encourages support for families and even trying out some television acting. Obama appeared as herself on this week's episode of Nickelodeon's "iCarly," in which she praised the show's teen star, played by Miranda Cosgrove, for making a video for her father serving overseas. In 2010, Biden made a cameo on the Lifetime network's "Army Wives."

"It was a little daunting, something I've never done before," she said of "Army Wives," calling her TV work even more difficult than writing a book. "When I came into this job, I knew I had a platform. I said to my husband, `I will never waste that platform for one day.' I think issues come up that affect all Americans, and I think it's important that they hear from me."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_en_ot/us_books_jill_biden

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Yes, Google Will Protest SOPA on its Homepage

Tomorrow, Google's US homepage will include a link declaring its opposition to the Stop Online Privacy Act and the Protect IP Act. The news was reported on CNET and confirmed by Google in a statement emailed to TechCrunch.

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

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Motorola pledges to use Intel chips in smartphones

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Motorola Mobility and Lenovo on Tuesday said they will use Intel processors in smartphones and other devices, giving the chipmaker its first entry into a market it has long coveted.

Intel Corp. has struggled to bring down the power consumption of its chips so that they can be used in phones without draining the battery in a matter of hours. Meanwhile, phone-style chips from other manufacturers are starting to encroach on Intel's PC chips, by becoming the chips of choice for tablet computers.

Lenovo Group Ltd. will be first out the gate, with a smartphone called K800 for the Chinese carrier Unicom in the second quarter, according to Liu Jun, a senior vice president at the company. The phone will have a 4.5-inch (11.4-centimeter) touch screen, will use Google Inc.'s Android software for smartphones and tablets and will be able to stream video to TV sets equipped with Intel's Wireless Display technology.

Jun spoke as the guest of Intel CEO Paul Otellini, who was making a keynote speech at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He was joined on stage by Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. CEO Sanjay Jha, who said he will have Intel-powered phones in testing this summer and ready for consumer hands a few months later.

Jha didn't provide any details about the Intel-powered devices, except to say that they would use Android. Motorola Mobility is set to be acquired by Google.

Intel said the phones will be able to run most applications straight from Google's Android Market. Usually, switching to another processor family means applications won't run, but Intel said it has a way around that obstacle.

Otellini demonstrated an Intel-made prototype phone, running Android, that he said could get eight hours of talk time and six hours of movie playback from its battery, comparable to smartphones with standard processors. At the same time, Otellini said, the greater processing capability of Intel's Atom chip means the phones can run more programs at the same time.

Microsoft Corp. dealt Intel a blow last year by announcing that it would release its new operating system, Windows 8, in one version for Intel-style chips and other for phone-style chips that are based on designs from Britain's ARM Holdings PLC. Windows has run exclusively on Intel-type chips since the mid-90s. Analysts expect ARM Windows to be used mainly for tablets when Windows 8 goes on sale late this year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-11-Gadget%20Show-Intel-Phones/id-b4d9617d9c9146329be2d5a991dca9f8

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Nokia Lumia 900: A Decent Start Against iPhone 4S and Android Phones

Mobile phone makers Nokia Corp, who found themselves unable to challenge their smartphone rivals without a good handset, has unveiled its first 4G LTE Windows phone, at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

The Nokia Lumia 900 is a bigger version of the Lumia 800 and has all the required specifications to counter all the top-notch smartphones in today's market. While segment leaders are still Apple, Samsung, HTC and Motorola, Nokia seems to be slowly re-asserting itself in the world of mobile phones.

The Lumia 900 has a 4.3-inch display with an AMOLED capacitive touch-screen... the same one found on the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Motorola Droid Razr and the HTC Rezound. In addition, the Lumia 900 boasts of a larger screen than the iPhone 4S (3.5-inches).

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Meanwhile, internal storage capacities are comparable, at 16GB, to those found in major Android-based smartphones, while the 512MB of RAM is the same amount in the iPhone 4S.

The handset comes with a 1.4GHz Scorpion single-core processor which could be deemed comparable to a dual-core Android device, both in terms of user experience and optimized battery life supported with a smoother User Interface (UI). The phone runs the very well-reviewed Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS which, although has yet to truly worry either the iOS or the Android, is making steady ground on those two. In fact, some reports suggest it may even have surpassed them, so far as functionality is concerned.

The Lumia 900 has an 8 megapixel camera with support for a dual-LED flash and 720p HD video capture capability. Interestingly, very few smartphones in the market today have both a dual-LED flash and 720p HD support; the iPhone 4S, for example, has only support for an LED flash. Additionally, the camera has a Carl Zeiss optics lens (a F2.2 aperture lens with a 28mm focal length). This makes for sharper and clearer photographs.

However, the Lumia 900's main highlight is its 4G LTE capability. The smartphone is expected to allow data downloads at speeds up to 50Mbps on AT&T's 4G LTE network. Moreover, consumers who cannot access the LTE network can tap in to the HSPA+ network with speeds, theoretically, up to 21Mbps.

Finally, there is a 1800mAh battery at the back of all these features, which can provide up to 7 hours of talk time and up to 300 hours of stand-by time.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/279267/20120110/nokia-lumia-900-decent-start-against-iphone.htm

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Pioneer Gets All Up in Your Dash With its Android-Ready App Radio 2 [Cars]

Pioneer is one of the kings of car stereo, but the company has been looking for new ways to enhance how you and your car interact—and how your car interacts with your gadgets and specifically your smartphone. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/h34h0Ixet7c/pioneer-gets-all-up-in-your-dash-with-its-android+ready-app-radio-2

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Video game streaming service OnLive launching a Windows desktop cloud app for iPad

OnLive has announced that it is getting into the cloud storage and remote desktop hosting business. OnLive Desktop will offer anyone free streaming access to their own Windows 7 desktop, complete with Microsoft Office and other vital apps.

OnLive, which is most easily described as a Netflix for video games, is getting into a new business today: remote Windows desktops and cloud storage. Beginning with the iPad and then expanding to Macs, PCs, iPhone, Android, TV, and Google TV (with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse), OnLive will offer streaming access to a Windows 7 desktop with Microsoft Office apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Working in much the same way as the company?s streaming game service, users of the service will be able to access their desktop from any device. Better, it will have a free version and files stored in the cloud will be accessible from any Web browser.?

Surprised? We are too, but the way OnLive CEO Steve Perlmann describes it, the move into productivity cloud software makes a lot of sense for OnLive. During a phone interview he told us that streaming video games is a lot more demanding than a Windows desktop and that most of the streaming technology OnLive has been perfecting for the last few years can be easily applied to this new business. Better, since peak usage times for desktops is from about 8am to 5pm on a weekday, there is virtually no overlap with peak usage times for OnLive?s video game streaming service, which doesn?t start heating up until after 6pm on a typical day. This lets the company use the same servers for dual-services.

Here?s how it will work: The OnLive Desktop will be available for the iPad App Store tonight. Once installed, you have to register for a free OnLive account (unless you have one already) and login. There is a free version which comes with a Windows 7 desktop, 2GB of cloud storage, and three basic Office apps (Excel, Word, PowerPoint). You can use this as much as you want, but you can?t browse the net on it or install applications. Also, the free service is on a first-come, first-serve basis, meaning if OnLive?s servers are packed, you may have to wait to get access.?

The ?Onlive Desktop Pro? pack fixes most of these limitations. For a $10/month fee, you get priority access, 50GB of cloud storage, can browse the Web and install apps on your virtual Windows 7 desktop, and get other ?OnLive-unique? features. An Enterprise version will also be available that will offer business owners even greater flexibility and control.?

The iPad version of the app, launching today, also supports touch-based controls for Windows. You should be able to find it in the App Store tonight in the US and UK. The question is, how threatening is this to cloud storage services like Dropbox and remote desktop software like Citrix? By offering users a completely new desktop environment, OnLive seems to be carving out a new category. Would you use a streaming service for access to Microsoft Office apps? ?

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/video-game-streaming-service-onlive-launching-a-windows-desktop-cloud-app-for-ipad/

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Video: Report: Economy continues to improve

Donating your body to science? Better diet

??Some whole-body donation programs are turning away corpses too fat for scientific study, while others find that would-be donors simply don't sign up because they're surprised by weight limits as low as 170 pounds.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45905733#45905733

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Myanmar's Suu Kyi, UK's Hague in tune on sanctions (Reuters)

YANGON (Reuters) ? British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Myanmar's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, set out similar conditions for the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country under the previous military regime at an historic meeting on Friday.

Western countries are cautiously renewing ties with the civilian government in place since last March and Hague, in the former Burma for a two-day visit, has set out four conditions for the easing of sanctions.

Those are the release of hundreds of political detainees, an end to human rights abuses by the army, an effort to resolve ethnic conflicts and the holding of free and fair elections.

Asked at a news conference what she wanted to see before sanctions should be lifted, Suu Kyi referred to what Hague, standing beside her, had said the day before.

"All political prisoners should be released and there should be all efforts made to put an end to all ethnic conflict within our country. Certainly we would want to see free and fair by-elections," she said.

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Myanmar Special Report: http://link.reuters.com/jaz65s

Graphic factbox on Myanmar: http://link.reuters.com/dyf65s

Timeline on Aung San Suu Kyi: http://link.reuters.com/cyf65s

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The news conference was held on the lawn of Suu Kyi's lakeside home, where she spent years under house arrest until her release days after a general election in November 2010.

Scores of foreign and domestic journalists were in attendance, photographers and television crews scrambling to get shots of Suu Kyi and Hague as they strolled around the grounds after their talks.

"I hope we're at a stage where we can say a long-held dream now has a chance of being realized, but there's so much work to be done. The long darkness in which the people of this country have lived may be coming to an end," Hague said.

He is the first foreign minister from the former colonial power to visit Myanmar since 1955. The army seized power in a 1962 coup.

BALANCING ACT

The new civilian administration quickly embarked on political and economic reforms last year, to the surprise of many, given the number of former junta officials in its ranks.

Other developed countries are cautiously seeking to engage with Myanmar's new rulers, keen to improve living conditions in the country but also to let their companies invest in its rich natural resources, which are already being exploited by Asian countries such as China, Thailand and India.

Two Yangon-based sources said on Friday Myanmar had awarded 10 onshore oil and gas blocks to eight firms in its biggest energy tender in years and was offering nine offshore blocks.

The winning firms were mostly from Asia, the sources, with direct knowledge of the deals, told Reuters.

Hague is in a tricky situation, wanting to encourage the reformers led by President Thein Sein but liable to face criticism at home if he seems to be cozying up to former junta members, including Thein Sein, still pulling the strings.

"I think they're sincere, particularly the president," Hague

told the news conference.

"The risk of how foreign governments engage with this is that we assume it's all done and forget that this is only part way through," he added. "We must not relax our efforts prematurely. That's the risk we must guard against."

Suu Kyi, the daughter of the leader of the campaign for independence from Britain, is important because of her influence at home and abroad.

Analysts and diplomats say that if she withdrew her long-standing support for sanctions, that would make it easier for Britain and others to scale down the embargoes.

"She's crucial to driving this process," said a British diplomat. "She has a lot of sway."

Suu Kyi has recently shown a willingness to compromise and plans to run for parliament in by-elections on April 1.

The new government may be happy to see her there: Suu Kyi and her party will give the assembly more legitimacy but it will still be controlled by an army-dominated party plus military representatives who have a quarter of the seats.

The authorities formally registered her National League for Democracy (NLD) as an authorized party on Thursday.

Parliamentary speaker Thura Shwe Mann, a powerful member of the former junta, made it clear to Hague he wanted Suu Kyi on board. He said laws had been amended to allow the NLD to contest the by-elections, which would be fair, according to prepared comments seen by Reuters.

Hague met him and other members of the former junta now running the nominally civilian administration in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Thursday, urging them to release all remaining political prisoners and ensure the by-elections were fair.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a landmark visit to Myanmar late last year, seeking the same reforms and offering similar concessions.

On Thursday, the European Union said it planned to open a representative office in the main city, Yangon.

Britain expressed guarded optimism after the release of 230 political prisoners last October but as many as 600 may remain behind bars.

About 900 prisoners were freed as an Independence Day gesture this week but only 22 political detainees were among them, according to the latest estimate by NLD official Naing Naing.

(Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun, and Niluksi Koswanage in Kuala Lumpur; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120106/wl_nm/us_myanmar_britain

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