Spain's Rajoy, ruling party deny secret payment scheme

MADRID (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Spain's ruling People's Party denied on Thursday that the party passed payments from business donors secretly to the premier and other party leaders after a newspaper published what it said were unofficial party accounts.

El Pais published images of excerpts of almost two decades of handwritten accounts that it said were maintained by People's Party treasurers. El Pais said the accounts showed 11 years of payments to Rajoy of 25,200 euros ($34,200) a year.

The accounts - which the newspaper said amounted to a parallel unofficial bookkeeping system - indicate donations from companies, mostly builders, and regular payments of thousands of euros to a number of party leaders.

The report is the latest twist in a scandal over alleged secret cash payments to PP leaders that has hit Rajoy's popularity amid a deep recession, high unemployment and a fiscal crisis that could push Spain into an international bailout.

"The People's Party only has one set of accounts and it is clean, transparent and submitted to the official accounting authority," PP Secretary General Maria Dolores de Cospedal told a news conference, denying allegations of corruption in El Pais.

"We have absolutely nothing to hide."

Cospedal was one of many top party officials, along with former Economy Minister and IMF chief Rodrigo Rato, named by El Pais as receiving secret payments. Rato did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An earlier statement by the PP said the party's payments to its leaders and staff were always legal and followed tax rules. The party also denied that there were systematic payments to people other than their official paychecks.

A spokeswoman from Rajoy's office told Reuters the prime minister stood by comments he has made recently that he has not engaged in improper conduct.

High Court Judge Pablo Ruz, who is investigating a four-year-old corruption case involving the PP, has asked prosecutors to look into the new allegations and could open another line of investigation, court sources told Reuters.

The party has ordered an external audit of its accounts.

A recent poll by Metroscopia showed that 96 percent of Spaniards believe corruption is widespread in politics in Spain, after dozens of cases have emerged in recent years, most notably an ongoing judicial investigation into alleged embezzlement of public funds by King Juan Carlos' son-in-law.

"This does not help to calm down the difficult moments that we are going through, economically, politically and the climate on the street. This is a time for maximum transparency," Jose Antonio Monago, the president of the region of Extremadura, told reporters at a news conference unrelated to the party scandal.

The alleged payments may not necessarily be illegal if the party leaders declared the income in tax statements.

Until recently, Spanish political parties were allowed to receive anonymous donations. However, it would have been illegal not to book those donations in the book's official, regulated accounts, a People's Party source told Reuters.

BUILDING BOOM

A People's Party source, who asked not to be named, said the allegations raise serious ethical questions about party operations, especially because many of them occurred during Spain's building boom, in which politicians granted large numbers of development contracts.

"It looks like bribes, the nature of the document is very incriminating, if it's true," the source said.

Among the companies named in the El Pais story is builder and infrastructure and energy company FCC. FCC declined to comment. A source close to the company told Reuters that FCC would carry out an internal investigation regarding possible donations.

El Pais also said the president of another builder, OHL, Juan Miguel Villar Mir, was one of the donors. OHL declined to comment.

The accounts published in El Pais were allegedly from two former PP treasurers. One of them is Luis Barcenas, who stepped down as party treasurer in 2009 when judges began to investigate his possible involvement in alleged illegal payments and kickbacks to party officials from builders and other businesses that won government contracts.

The ongoing judicial investigation of Barcenas has revealed recently that he had a Swiss bank account which at one point held as much as 22 million euros. His lawyer has said previously that the money is from legitimate businesses and that Barcenas has now declared taxes on the income.

Press officials from Spain's High Court confirmed that Barcenas' lawyer has provided to the court a document showing that in 2012 his company applied for a tax amnesty on funds in the Swiss bank account.

Barcenas' lawyer was not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.7370 euros)

(Additional reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez, Blanca Rodriguez and Iciar Reinlein; editing by Tracy Rucinski and Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spains-rajoy-ruling-party-deny-secret-payment-scheme-093428059--finance.html

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Exclusive: McConnell holds judgment on Hagel

Will opposition from his fellow Republicans doom Chuck Hagel's nomination to be defense secretary? Maybe not, if you listen closely to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Kentucky lawmaker told Yahoo News in an exclusive interview that Hagel had strong opinions and quite a bit to explain. But McConnell called the former Nebraska senator a "smart, capable guy" who deserved a full hearing before the Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

"He?s had a lot of opinions. He was particularly opposed to much of what the Bush administration was doing in foreign policy. That didn?t mean he wasn?t a capable senator or a forceful advocate," McConnell told Yahoo News Chief Washington Correspondent Olivier Knox. Hagel, who served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009, won two purple hearts in Vietnam, where he served as an enlisted Army infantry officer.

Hagel's years in the Senate haven't endeared him to many Republican lawmakers still smarting over his outspoken criticism of the Iraq war even after he voted to authorize the U.S. invasion. Hagel's position on the war sealed his reputation as a party outsider and led him to lend tacit support to President Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Hagel has been criticized for opposing unilateral U.S. sanctions against Tehran?a position he has since changed. He has also raised questions about his support for Israel and at one point criticized the "Jewish lobby" for holding such sway in Washington.

Some Republican senators have suggested they will try to block Hagel's confirmation, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

McConnell told Yahoo News that he and other GOP senators are reserving judgment on whether to support Hagel to allow the confirmation hearings to play out.

"He has taken some rather controversial positions over the years, he?s going to have an opportunity to explain those views," McConnell said.

Knox read from an interview McConnell gave in 2007 where he called Hagel an "indispensable" Republican whose views on Iraq had largely proven correct.

"He's certainly been an outspoken advocate for his point of view and that?s exactly what I was saying," McConnell said. "That?s a little different from saying it was a point of view I shared or that other people shared."

Despite Democratic control of the Senate, Hagel needs at least some support from Republicans to ward off a potential filibuster.

Olivier Knox's complete interview with Sen. McConnell will be released Friday morning, Feb. 1 on Yahoo News.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/yahoo-news-exclusive-mcconnell-holds-judgment-hagel-calls-010242047--politics.html

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Five Reasons to Use Personal Finance Budgeting Software

With the economic situation we find ourselves in, most people realize they need to have a solid grasp on their finances, yet still don?t budget accordingly. Setting a budget is the easiest way to gain control over your cash flow. While there?s nothing wrong with doing your accounting by hand, you will be on a better (and easier) path once you choose to utilize simple budgeting software. Here are five reasons you should use personal budgeting software.

Motivation

While some have a natural ability when it comes to managing their finances, others need motivation to budget their money and get their finances on track. Often times, people get bored if there isn?t something exciting to keep them on track with their budgets. With budgeting software, you will actually look forward to updating your budget. With this new found excitement, you will find that extra motivation in order to maintain your finances.

Organization

When it comes to your money, it is pertinent to have everything in the right place. The more organized you are, the better you will feel about your financial situation and the direction your finances are headed. With personal budgeting software, you will be able to track your income and expenses with ease, knowing exactly where your money is going.

Confidence

If you?re worried that you don?t know what you?re doing with your money, using personal budget software will give you the confidence to tackle your budget and debts. No longer will you be second-guessing your financial decisions, as your budgeting software will let you know if you can afford a purchase before submitting your credit card information. When you are confident in your financial decisions, you will feel like the world has been lifted from your shoulders.

No More Mistakes

When doing your finances by paper and pencil, you can make some very costly errors, leaving you wondering how you can rebound. By choosing the right budgeting software for you will help you catch mistakes right as you enter new information. The software options available will allow you to review past payments, track your cash flow, and will notify you when there is an error in your budgeting. With many budgeting software programs allowing you to pay your bills directly from your bank account, you can save yourself the headache of tracking down where your money went.

Save for the Future

You may be one of those who knows you?re spending money but don?t know where it went. Instead of living paycheck-to-paycheck, invest in budgeting software that will track your every payroll check, deposit, and expense. Budget software will allow you to track every penny entering and leaving your account, and will tell you exactly where you spent your money.

How do we Choose?

Now that you know the benefits of using budgeting software, how do you choose the right software for you? There are dozens of tax-prep and money-management software programs available. Some come on discs while others are available for direct download. Others still are web-based and keep all of your data online. Before purchasing any software, download a free trial to know if the software is a good fit for you and your financial endeavors.

You?ll want to look for certain elements of the software to make sure it will truly help you. Look to see if the pages are designed logically, that the set up will work for you, and that the software offers all of the features you need to manage your budget. Not all programs are created equal, and some provide more bells and whistles than you may need. Now, you must decide what type of program fits your needs. Go out there and download a few free trials and see which options you enjoy most. Remember, if you aren?t excited about the program, you most likely won?t use it. So have fun and get your financial life back on track.

Source: http://imacify.com/2013/01/five-reasons-to-use-personal-finance-budgeting-software/

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Murray discusses team?s energy, game plan ($$): http://westvirginia.rivals.com/c...

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Murray discusses team?s energy, game plan ($$): http://westvirginia.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1466277

After undergoing a rocky stretch of games this season, the West Virginia Mountaineers found themselves yet again in the national spotlight Monday night, putting the top-ranked Kansas Ja...

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Actor Jim Nabors marries male partner in Seattle

FILE - Jim Nabors is seen in character for his role of Gomer Pyle in this 1966 file photo. Hawaii News Now reports Jim Nabors and his partner, Stan Cadwallader, traveled from their Honolulu home to Seattle to be married Jan. 15, 2013. The couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter. The 82-year-old Nabors says you've got to solidify something when you've been together as long as they have. (AP Photo)

FILE - Jim Nabors is seen in character for his role of Gomer Pyle in this 1966 file photo. Hawaii News Now reports Jim Nabors and his partner, Stan Cadwallader, traveled from their Honolulu home to Seattle to be married Jan. 15, 2013. The couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter. The 82-year-old Nabors says you've got to solidify something when you've been together as long as they have. (AP Photo)

HONOLULU (AP) ? The actor best known for playing the TV character Gomer Pyle in the 1960s has married his male partner of 38 years.

Hawaii News Now (http://bit.ly/14tFM3U) reports Jim Nabors and his partner, Stan Cadwallader, traveled from their Honolulu home to Seattle to be married Jan. 15.

Gay marriage became legal in Washington state last month.

The 82-year-old Nabors says you've got to solidify something when you've been together as long as they have.

They couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter. Cadwallader is 64.

Nabors says he's been open about his homosexuality to co-workers and friends but never acknowledged it to the media before.

Nabors played Gomer Pyle in "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." television shows.

___

Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-30-People-Nabors/id-8f7e49a21087423ab51029571f15acb0

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In beef production, cow-calf phase contributes most greenhouse gases

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Madeline McCurry-Schmidt
madelinems@asas.org
217-689-2435
American Society of Animal Science

Data could help farmers reduce emissions

Jan. 30 2013 - Scientists have long known that cattle produce carbon dioxide and methane throughout their lives, but a new study pinpoints the cow-calf stage as a major contributor of greenhouse gases during beef production.

In a new paper for the Journal of Animal Science, scientists estimate greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle during different stages of life. They show that, depending on which production system farmers used, beef production has a carbon footprint ranging from 10.7 to 22.6 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per kg of hot carcass weight.

According to study co-author Frank Mitloehner, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis, one source of greenhouse gases was surprising.

"If you look at everything that contributes to greenhouse gases through the beef supply chain, then it is the cow-calf that produces the greatest greenhouse gases," Mitloehner said.

In the cow-calf phase, the cow gives birth and nurses the calf until the calf is six to 10 months old. During this time, the cow eats rough plants like hay and grasses. The methane-producing bacteria in the cow's gut thrive on these plants.

"The more roughage is in the diet of the ruminant animal, the more methane is produced by the microbes in the gut of the ruminant, and methane comes out the front end," Mitloehner said.

In feedlots, by contrast, cattle eat mostly corn and grains, which the methane-producing bacteria cannot use as effectively.

Methane is one of the most important greenhouse gases. Methane has a greater capacity to trap heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

The beef industry has been paying close attention to greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.

"We are doing a lot to measure and mitigate our impact," said Chase Adams, director of communications for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

In a 2011 paper for the Journal of Animal Science, researcher Jude Capper showed that the beef industry today uses significantly less water and land than 30 years ago. The industry has also reduced its carbon footprint by 16.3 percent per billion kilograms of beef produced.

According to Mitloehner, beef producers can further reduce their carbon impact by using new technologies like growth promotants. However, consumers are often uncomfortable with these methods, and they choose organic beef or beef with reduced amounts of growth promotants.

"The technologies many consumers are critical of are those that help us receive the greatest environmental gains," Mitloehner said.

###

The study by Mitloehner and his colleagues is titled "Carbon footprint and ammonia emissions of California beef production systems." It can be read in full at journalofanimalscience.org.

Media contact:

Amy Stewart
American Society of Animal Science
amystewart@ucdavis.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Madeline McCurry-Schmidt
madelinems@asas.org
217-689-2435
American Society of Animal Science

Data could help farmers reduce emissions

Jan. 30 2013 - Scientists have long known that cattle produce carbon dioxide and methane throughout their lives, but a new study pinpoints the cow-calf stage as a major contributor of greenhouse gases during beef production.

In a new paper for the Journal of Animal Science, scientists estimate greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle during different stages of life. They show that, depending on which production system farmers used, beef production has a carbon footprint ranging from 10.7 to 22.6 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per kg of hot carcass weight.

According to study co-author Frank Mitloehner, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis, one source of greenhouse gases was surprising.

"If you look at everything that contributes to greenhouse gases through the beef supply chain, then it is the cow-calf that produces the greatest greenhouse gases," Mitloehner said.

In the cow-calf phase, the cow gives birth and nurses the calf until the calf is six to 10 months old. During this time, the cow eats rough plants like hay and grasses. The methane-producing bacteria in the cow's gut thrive on these plants.

"The more roughage is in the diet of the ruminant animal, the more methane is produced by the microbes in the gut of the ruminant, and methane comes out the front end," Mitloehner said.

In feedlots, by contrast, cattle eat mostly corn and grains, which the methane-producing bacteria cannot use as effectively.

Methane is one of the most important greenhouse gases. Methane has a greater capacity to trap heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

The beef industry has been paying close attention to greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.

"We are doing a lot to measure and mitigate our impact," said Chase Adams, director of communications for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

In a 2011 paper for the Journal of Animal Science, researcher Jude Capper showed that the beef industry today uses significantly less water and land than 30 years ago. The industry has also reduced its carbon footprint by 16.3 percent per billion kilograms of beef produced.

According to Mitloehner, beef producers can further reduce their carbon impact by using new technologies like growth promotants. However, consumers are often uncomfortable with these methods, and they choose organic beef or beef with reduced amounts of growth promotants.

"The technologies many consumers are critical of are those that help us receive the greatest environmental gains," Mitloehner said.

###

The study by Mitloehner and his colleagues is titled "Carbon footprint and ammonia emissions of California beef production systems." It can be read in full at journalofanimalscience.org.

Media contact:

Amy Stewart
American Society of Animal Science
amystewart@ucdavis.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/asoa-ibp013013.php

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Brian Schneider is retiring from baseball

Brian Schneider told Mandy Housenick of The Morning Call on Tuesday evening?that he is hanging up his catching equipment for good:

?It hasn?t been an easy decision, but there are a lot of factors,? said the 36-year-old free agent. ?You don?t want to retire, but you think of your family and I think more than anything it?s physically how you feel.?I?d kind of like to leave on my own terms and not have my last impression of baseball be someone telling me I can?t play. But there is a lot going on in my life and I?m very fortunate to have a great family and start being a dad and being around more often and being a good husband.?

Schneider registered a .247/.320/.369 batting line, 781 hits, 67 home runs and 387 RBI over the course of his 13-year major league career. He played for the Expos, Nationals, Mets and Phillies while earning a total of $22.4M.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/29/brian-schneider-is-retiring-from-baseball/

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The #Bachelor Sean Lowe Recap ? January 28, 2013 (ABC) - Your ...

Time to watch some thirsty hoes! #bachelorlor

So how about a gameshow, but instead of money, the prize is a rose and a rocky six week relationship? ? #Bachelor pitch meeting

?I hate drama? ? things people who LOVE drama say #Bachelor

I hate Tierra #Bachelor

?I hope Tierra wins the bachelor!? Said no one ever. #bachelor #sorryimnotsorry

Tierra has her eyes on the prize. She is here to win. #bachelor #golddigger

#Bachelor oh Tierra- I?m looking forward to your upcoming drama lol

?The #Bachelor ? giving false dating hope to guys with RVs since 2002.?

#Bachelor Sean is in his underwear

So far this episode of #Bachelor is going well #ShirtlessSean #PantlessSean

Just because Sean takes his shirt off, it doesn?t make him any less boring. #BoringSean #Bachelor

Dear ladies who say, ?girls don?t like me.? Repeat after me, ?it?s because you?re a bitch.? I would know. #Bachelor

Oh c?mon, Selma is not 110 lbs. One boob is probably 60 lbs. #Bachelor

I thought I liked Selma. But now ? not so sure. She?s not just a pretty face but she?s immediately bragging about her 110 pounds? #Bachelor

Not a big fan of Selma, but not cuz she?s born in Iraq? #bachelor

That girl?s an 8head. Two times bigger than a forehead. #Bachelor

Selma was born in Baghdad, Iraq. A city not much different than Bagdad, Florida. #Bachelor

Why does someone from Iraq pronounce it the same way Sarah Palin does?? #Bachelor #eyeRACK

If you?re gonna take the iraqi girl the desert, you might as well keep it real and launch a drone strike. #Bachelor

Never take me on a sweaty date #Bachelor

I gotta be honest. This date is boring and I?m just staring at Selma?s titties the whole time. #Bachelor

Selma claims she can?t kiss Sean bc her mom will be upset. I think it?s bc she watched Emily?s season and knows what she?s in for. #BachelorTONGUE

Wait, so someone who?s NOT ALLOWED TO KISS is on a TV show where you compete for a fake husband? #Bachelor #Selma

Roller Derby? chicks fall on their asses, over and over. God I love stupid tv! #Bachelor

Uh oh? An athletic date for the one arm girl. Bet we never hear the end of this? #bachelor

?I don?t think having one arm is gonna hold me back today!? *roller derby* ?oh fuck?? #bachelor

The one-armed girl just said she?s gonna show Sean she can roll with the punches. Yep. As long as they all come from one side. #Bachelor

*cough* sympathy rose?

Takes a big man to make a one-armed girl do a roller derby. That?s a metaphor for Ty Corbin making the #Jazz play the Rockets. #bachelor

This is just mean. #bachelor

Oh and Tierra is just another Courtney. #bachelor

The other ladies are calling Tierra ?Tierra-ble.? That is kind of awesome. #bachelor

This girl is crazy #bachelor

tierra, is that weird dimple on your forehead natural, or is it from your fall down the stairs to get sean?s attention? #bachelor

I want to fill Tierra?s forehead dent with onion dip. #bachelor #hungry

Eww, tierra snorts when she cries? #bachelor

Fun fact: Tierra was the last color left out of Crayola?s 1024 ct. box. #Bachelor

Tiera.. would you accept this rose, to keep up our ratings? #bachelor

?Who gets diamond earrings on their first date?!? The random girl the show picked to model the product placement item! #Bachelor

Sorry Leslie?. But ALL of those dresses were on the fugly list?. #bachelor

Leslie H literally has the biggest mouth I have ever seen ever? #bachelor

?Holy Moly!??. ?Super Duper!??.. OH, Leslie. Where did you come from? #Bachelor #CleverBachelor

?holy moly batman!??.. is that a thing? #stufflesliesays #bachelor #thisdateisnotreal

Oh honey, please. Take the diamonds and run. #bachelor

I?m kinda worried that someone is going to kill Leslie for that $500,000 necklace. But also vaguely excited to watch an attempt?#bachelor

It?s the Pretty Woman date ? for every chick who?s ever wanted to be treated like a hooker

?Sean is definitely a young, blond, blue-eyed Richard Gere.? In other words, nothing like Richard Gere. #Bachelor

Leslie has decided that she?s only going to get married once. That?s great. #bachelor

Poor Leslie is already in the friend zone and has no clue #bachelor

He holds the rose in her face? and then doesn?t give it to her. Why didn?t he just kick her chair out from under her? #Bachelor

Is he going to pick up the rose but not give it??? Ack! Then she has to take the necklace off! Ack. Ack. Ack. #bachelor

Gimmee back my diamonds loser. #Bachelor

I have to pick up the check now too? HOLY MOLY! #bachelor

The awkward moment where your boyfriend dumps you & then asks for the jewelry back. #bachelor #leslie

I hope that sofa gets a rose. It?s stunning. #bachelor

Every time I look at the room for the rose ceremony, all I can see is Aladdin and Jasmine having their honeymoon sex. #Bachelor #TackySet

It?s down to the final rose ? will it be the blond girl I don?t know or the girl with the unfortunate make up? #Bachelor

It seems like some of these girls have professional makeup artists and some, y?know? don?t. #Bachelor

Did Amanda make out with a jelly jar just before the rose ceremony? #Bachelor

Bye bye Amanda ? now we?ll never know what a ?Fit Model? is

That?s what you get for wearing black lipstick medusa #BACHELOR

If I were on the #Bachelor I?d throw a rose off the roof of a building & see which one jumps off after it! #TrueLove

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, the #Bachelor is dumb, and now so am I for watching it?

Source: http://tvfoodanddrink.com/2013/01/bachelor-sean-lowe-recap-january-28-2013-abc/

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NJ man in Hudson plane crash called wife, then 911

Christopher Smidt, right, thanks 12-year-old Daniel Higgins Jr. at a ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at City Hall in Yonkers, N.Y. Higgins was among those who rescued Smidt and his flight instructor after they crash-landed in the icy Hudson River Sunday evening. At center is Yonkers Mayor Michael Spano. (AP Photo/Jim Fitzgerald)

Christopher Smidt, right, thanks 12-year-old Daniel Higgins Jr. at a ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at City Hall in Yonkers, N.Y. Higgins was among those who rescued Smidt and his flight instructor after they crash-landed in the icy Hudson River Sunday evening. At center is Yonkers Mayor Michael Spano. (AP Photo/Jim Fitzgerald)

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) ? A man who was plucked from a plane crash in the icy Hudson River said Tuesday that he wasn't sure he'd survive, and he'd contacted 911 only after calling his wife and asking her to "tell the kids I love them."

But thanks to the pilot's skill, a fast-acting corps of policemen and one 12-year-old boy, he said, "the stars were aligned for us" and he and the pilot were rescued.

Christopher Smidt, a correctional sergeant from Colonia, N.J., spoke at a ceremony honoring his rescuers at City Hall in Yonkers. He and the pilot, Denise De Priester of East Windsor, N.J., were released Monday from a New York City hospital, where they were taken after spending 20 to 30 minutes in the frigid water after the Sunday evening crash.

Smidt said he is a student pilot and De Priester is his flight instructor, but on Sunday they were just out for a sightseeing flight in her newly purchased 1967 Piper Cherokee.

He said neither of them knew what went wrong, but at some point around 5:20 p.m., "We knew the plane was going to go down."

De Priester steered the plane over the river and set it down smoothly, he said, off Yonkers just north of New York City.

"Without her skills, this story would be going another way," Smidt said.

Once the plane was in the water, Smidt said, he called his wife, Karen.

"I was hoping we would make it, but I didn't know," he said. "I told her: 'We did crash in the Hudson. Tell the kids I love them.' It was probably not the phone call any wife wants to hear."

The Smidts have a 10-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter.

Smidt then called 911, and a dispatcher told pilot and passenger to get out of the plane in life vests before it sank. Getting into the water, chunky with ice, is "nothing I wish on anybody," Smidt said.

After about 15 minutes, he said, "I knew my body was starting to shut down. ... I couldn't paddle."

But soon he heard the sound of a rescue boat and figured, "This is going to be a happy ending."

Several off-duty or retired Yonkers police officers had been at a boat club on shore, and they commandeered a boat and set out to look for the plane.

Officer Daniel Higgins said they figured the chances of finding passengers alive in the darkness were like finding a needle "in a haystack factory."

He took along his son, Daniel Jr., a seventh-grader who hopes to attend the U.S. Naval Academy.

When Smidt was pulled into the boat, young Higgins said, "His hands were shaking, so I took off my jacket and he wrapped it around his hands so he wouldn't freeze."

Smidt said he remembers thinking, "Wow, this guy looks pretty young to be a cop."

"It feels good that I helped these people and I'm just glad they're alive," the young rescuer said.

Smidt said he has "aches and pains and some numbness in the fingers, but no complaints."

Asked if he'd ever get in a plane again, he said, "Absolutely."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-29-Hudson%20River-Plane/id-3f0fc5d2804d4066905be91fc716eee2

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One dead in Phoenix office shooting

PHOENIX (AP) ? A gunman opened fire at a Phoenix office complex on Wednesday, killing one person, wounding two others and setting off a manhunt. Police warned the public that he was "armed and dangerous."

Authorities identified the suspect as Arthur D. Harmon, who they said opened fire at the end of a mediation session. They identified a man who died hours after the late morning shooting as 48-year-old Steve Singer.

Police said a 43-year-old man was listed in critical condition and a 32-year-old woman suffered non-life threatening injuries.

"We believe the two men were the targets. It was not a random shooting," said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Thompson said authorities believe Harmon acted alone and fled the scene in a car after the 10:30 a.m. shooting.

Harmon allegedly shot at someone who tried to follow him after the shooting in an attempt to get his license plate number, according to authorities.

Police didn't immediately release the names of the wounded. But a Phoenix law firm, Osborn Maledon, said one of its lawyers, Mark Hummels, was among the wounded. The firm said he "was representing a client in a mediation" when he was shot.

According to court documents, Harmon was scheduled to go to a law office in the same building where the shooting took place for a settlement conference in a lawsuit he filed last April against Scottsdale-based Fusion Contact Centers LLC, where Singer was the CEO.

The company had hired him to refurbish office cubicles at two call centers in California, but a contract dispute arose.

Fusion said Harmon was paid nearly $30,000 under the $47,000 contract. But the company asked him to repay much of the money when it discovered that the cubicles could not be refurbished, according to the documents.

Harmon argued Fusion hung him out to dry by telling him to remove and store 206 "worthless" work stations after the mix-up was discovered. Harmon said Fusion then told him that the company decided to use a competitor.

Harmon's lawsuit had sought payment for the remainder of the contract, $20,000 in damages and reimbursement for storage fees and legal costs.

Pro tempore Judge Ira Schwartz, who scheduled the meeting, did not immediately return an email seeking comment. A message left Wednesday at the home of Singer also wasn't immediately returned.

Hummels was representing Fusion in the lawsuit.

As police searched for the shooter, SWAT teams and two armored vehicles surrounded a home about 7 miles from the shooting scene. Police served a search warrant to enter the house, which county property records show was sold by Harmon to his son last year for $26,000.

For a time, officers used a megaphone to ask Harmon to surrender, believing he might be inside the home.

The gunfire at the office complex prompted terrified workers to lock the doors to their offices and hide far from the windows. SWAT officers searched the building.

"Everyone was just scared, honestly, just scared," said Navika Sood, assistant director of nursing at First at Home Health Services who along with her co-workers locked the entrances to their office.

Sood said police evacuated the office about 30 minutes after she first heard the popping noises.

The shooting took place on the same day that hearings on legislation to address gun violence were convened in Washington, with former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords testifying for stricter gun controls.

A gunman shot Giffords in the head during a shooting rampage in Tucson in January 2011.

Around 10:30 a.m., the gunman arrived at the office building and got into a dispute with someone, a conflict that escalated to the point where he drew a gun and shot three people, Thompson said.

Vanessa Brogan, who works in sales support at an insurance business in the three-story complex, said she heard a loud bang that she thought at first was from somebody working in or near the building.

She said others at the business thought they heard multiple loud noises. She said people locked themselves in offices until authorities evacuated the complex that houses insurance, medical and law offices.

Becky Neher, who works for a title company in the building, said the two gunshots she heard sounded like two pieces of metal banging against each other.

Watching from her second-story office, she saw people leaving the building.

"Someone yelled, 'We have a shooter,'" she said. She saw two victims lying on the ground outside the back side of the building. She said health care workers who have offices in the complex came out to help.

Don Jaksa, a software consultant who works in the building, said he was listening to the radio when he suddenly heard "two pops." He said he didn't think they were gunshots.

"My co-worker goes to the range all the time," he said. "He identified it as gunfire."

His co-worker then locked the door. After five minutes, they left and ran into police and someone carrying a stretcher. The police escorted them back to their office and told them to lock the door again.

They were eventually evacuated, and as he sat on a rock outside the complex, his wife called to make sure he was OK after seeing the shooting on the news.

Workers were later allowed to leave the building. Two hugged each other when they got outside.

"You don't expect this when you come to work," worker Lindsa Rincon said.

___

Associated Press writers Paul Davenport, Felicia Fonseca and Terry Tang contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-1-dead-ariz-shooting-suspect-loose-234833738.html

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CCTV footage released of missing US woman

ISTANBUL (AP) ? Turkish police have released security camera footage of a New York City woman who has gone missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul.

Sarai Sierra, 33, has been missing since Jan. 21, when she was supposed to return to New York but was not on her flight back home. She arrived in Istanbul on Jan 7.

CCTV camera footage released Tuesday shows her eating alone at a shopping mall cafeteria near her hostel and walking around the mall. It was not immediately clear when the images were recorded.

The husband and brother of Sierra, a mother of two, were speaking Tuesday with Istanbul police who specialize in missing persons.

Before she went missing, Sierra told relatives she planned to take photographs at a tourist destination.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cctv-footage-released-missing-us-woman-134248267.html

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Vegetative Ariel Sharon Shows 'Significant' Brain Activity

Israel's former prime minister Ariel Sharon has been in what doctors have assumed is a vegetative state since 2006. But in a sign that not all of his critical brain processing has been lost, Sharon showed "significant" neural activity in tests using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a team of scientists said.

During the two-hour test, Sharon was exposed to familiar stimuli, including pictures of his family and his son's voice, and told to imagine himself performing different tasks, such as hitting a tennis ball and walking through the rooms of his home.

The scientists said they found promising signs that external information is being transferred to the right parts of Sharon's brain, though it's not clear that the 84-year-old former leader is aware of it.

"We found faint brain activity indicating that he was complying with the tasks," Martin Monti, a UCLA brain scientist on the team, said in a statement. "He may be minimally conscious, but the results were weak and should be interpreted with caution."

Paul Matthews, who heads the division of brain sciences at London's Imperial College and was not involved in the tests on Sharon, said he thinks the results are encouraging from a clinical standpoint, but added it is hard to predict what they will mean for his future.

"Patients in a vegetative state may have brain function reserved in parts of the brain, yet will always remain in a vegetative state," Matthews told LiveScience in a phone interview. "It is clear that regions of the brain associated with normal perception can respond to stimuli that we are not aware of at a conscious level." [10 Greatest Mysteries of the Mind]

There's no single part of the brain that is alone responsible for consciousness, Matthews added, and scientists don't have a universal guide to tell them which spikes in brain activity (or blood flow, which is measured by fMRIs) in vegetative patients can be interpreted as signs meaningful, conscious activity in the mind. Matthews said that's largely because tests using fMRI are generally not practical and only conducted in special cases.

While Sharon might represent one such special case, Tzvi Ganel, of Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, who initiated the project, stressed that the former prime minister's family hoped the tests would further research efforts and eventually help other families in a similar situation, according to a statement from UCLA.

Matthews noted that more tests on similar patients will be crucial for scientists. Analyzing the brains of enough people early enough in their injury could help researchers determine which flickers of activity might hint at recovery. And more tests on a wider spectrum of patients will help doctors flesh out the range of clinical outcomes for people with brain injuries that render them vegetative.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vegetative-ariel-sharon-shows-significant-brain-activity-225039580.html

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Laser Focus On Your Target Audience With Ppc Advertising | THMG ...

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

Advertising in online media has some definite advantages over offline media in terms of cost, reach, interactivity, targeting the right markets and measuring responses. This is why internet advertising is now becoming hot property for marketers!

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According to The Kelsey Group and ConStat, Inc, small-business PPC advertisers currently allocate on average 23% of their total advertising budget to PPC activities. Of these, 54% expect to increase their PPC spending the next year. Paid search has undoubtedly become the hottest means of online advertising.

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Pay per click campaigns (PPC) are defined as the guaranteed placement of a small ?ad? on the search results page for a specific keyword or keywords. Your PPC ads are displayed when a user searches for your services/products. This means PPC ads are targeting those customers who

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Source: http://www.thmg.com/ppc-tips/laser-focus-on-your-target-audience-with-ppc-advertising/

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FOSS Patents: Judge, unlike jury, finds Samsung's infringement of ...

At close of business on Tuesday, Judge Lucy Koh, the federal judge presiding over two Apple v. Samsung lawsuits in the Northern District of California, entered four more of her long-awaited post-trial orders. The short version is that

• she reversed the finding that Samsung's acts of patent infringement were willful (because Samsung had reasons to believe that what it was doing was legal) and overruled the jury with respect to a patent exhaustion question (which has no effect because the related patent was not deemed infringed by Apple), but otherwise upheld the jury's liability findings against Samsung, denying further modifications as well as a new trial;

• as a result of finding no objective willfulness she denied Apple any damages enhancements for willful infringement (which could have resulted in a tripling of parts of the award); she also denied enhancements of trade dress damages on other grounds;

• with the exception of declaring two Samsung patent claims (which the jury didn't find infringed anyway) invalid, she declined to overrule the jury in Apple's favor or to order a new trial on issues on which Apple didn't prevail last summer; and

• she also ruled against Samsung's claims that one of Apple's multitouch software patents and four of its design patents were indefinite (which is one invalidity theory).

Let me put the Tuesday orders into context before elaborating on them. The jury rendered its verdict on August?24, 2012, and both parties filed a variety of motions to achieve improvements in their favor. A hearing on those motions, as well as on motions relating to remedies, was held on December?6, 2012. On December?17, 2012, Judge Koh adjudged two particularly important post-trial issues: she denied Apple a permanent injunction (a decision that Apple appealed that same week), and threw out Samsung's long-shot demand for a new trial because of alleged jury misconduct. Due to the complexity of this case and the overall caseload of the court it's not surprising that it took a while before any further decision came down, and with Tuesday's rulings we're still not done. The court still has to rule on Samsung's request for adjustments to the damages award (Samsung wants it tossed or reduced). Due to the denial of a permanent injunction, Apple will presumably move at some point for an award of ongoing royalties for future use of its patents by Samsung -- the denial of an injunction does not mean that Samsung is entitled to a freebie. And it's a given that either party will ultimately appeal (from the final district court ruling, to which we're now a lot closer) any unfavorable parts.

I previously assumed that Judge Koh was going to make only limited adjustments to the jury verdict. This prediction has so far been validated.

Now let's look at the Tuesday rulings on an item-by-item basis.

Ruling on Samsung's motion for judgment as a matter of law

1. The most important part of this JMOL ruling is that Judge Koh, unlike the jury, did not find a willful patent infringement by Samsung. In order to prevail on this one, Apple needed to prove both objective and subjective willfulness. "Objective" and "subjective" relate to the likelihood that its actions constituted infringement of a valid patent. The likelihood is objectively high if this is what someone knowing the patents and all other relevant facts (including all of the prior art that could be used to invalidate them) would think; it's subjectively high if the infringer actually knew these facts or if they were so obvious that he should have known. This is all just about patents, not Apple's trade dress claims, which the JMOL ruling addressed separately. The jury had found that Samsung's infringement was subjectively willful for three multitouch software patents and two design patents (in other words, Samsung knowingly and willingly copied Apple's designs and technology), but on this basis Apple still needed to prove an objectively high likelihood, which is for the judge (not the jury) to decide. The jury's findings of subjective willfulness were not addressed because the court found that there was no objective willfulness (so technically the jury wasn't overruled because its findings were only about subjective willfulness, but the result was reversed nevertheless). The order says that "[i]f Samsung had an objectively reasonable defense to infringement, its infringement cannot be said to be objectively willful". The order then looks at each of the five patents the jury found willfully infringed, and finds an objectively reasonable defense in each case:

   • Rubber-banding ('381) patent: Judge Koh concluded that Samsung reasonably relied on its invalidity defense. The related part of the order does not mention the USPTO's first Office action tentatively rejecting all claims of this patent, but that first Office action was notified to the court and may very well have influenced Judge Koh's thinking. In a preliminary injunction decision in December 2011 she had not found this patent likely to be invalid.

   • Tap-to-zoom-and-navigate ('163) patent: even though Judge Koh near-simultaneously denied Samsung's motion to find the asserted claims of this patent indefinite, she felt that this was a close question of law and Samsung was acting reasonably in its reliance on having an invalidity defense to this patent. In other words, the judge didn't find that Samsung was right on this, but it wasn't light years away from being right.

   • Pinch-to-zoom API ('915) patent: here again, Samsung had an invalidity theory (against the asserted claim?8) that failed so far (the jury didn't buy it and Judge Koh declined to overrule the jury in this regard), but the theory was good enough that Samsung could have relied on it when deciding to infringe the patent. Like the rubber-banding ('381) patent, this one has also been tentatively rejected by the patent office, a fact that Judge Koh doesn't mention but which she was aware of.

   • Design patents (D'677 and D'305): Judge Koh believes that infringement was a close question, so Samsung's infringement wasn't objectively willful. Apple would have had to show that Samsung's defenses were unreasonable, which is a higher standard than just being ultimately unsuccessful. Whether Judge Koh's requirements in this respect were too exacting is likely going to be a key issue on appeal.

2. Samsung achieved a partial improvement only in a formal sense with respect to its '516 patent, but not enough to win a liability finding (at least not prior to an appeal). The jury's finding of non-infringement was upheld, but its finding of exhaustion of the asserted claims (claims 15 and 16) of the '516 patent was tossed. Apple's patent exhaustion theory here was (in a simplified form) that Intel had a license to Samsung's patents and Apple's products implement the patented invention only by incorporating Intel baseband chips. Judge Koh agrees with the jury that Intel was licensed. She also concluded that "the authorized sales to Apple occurred in the United States", which is another requirement. But she saw a contradiction in the jury's finding of exhaustion and non-infringement, given that exhaustion would require Intel's baseband chips to substantially embody the patented invention: if Apple used Intel chips in the accused products (Apple's more recent products come with Qualcomm chips) and if those implement the patent, then Apple's products incorporating those Intel chips, by definition, also implement it. So there can only be a finding of exhaustion if there is also one of infringement. Again, this has no consequences: the non-infringement finding stands, and if it was overturned on appeal, then the question of exhaustion would have to be analyzed again.

3. According to Judge Koh, the jury reasonably found Apple's two phone design patents (D'087 and D'677) and its user interface design patent (D'305) to be valid and infringed. The jury finding was not against the clear weight of the evidence, the order says. I would agree with respect to the phone design patents. I do believe that the question of whether user interfaces -- as opposed to designs of physical objects -- can be claimed by design patents (which is what the D'305 start screen design patent is all about) could be a rather interesting one on appeal.

   It's worth noting that Apple succeeded in salvaging the D'677 patent through a terminal disclaimer it filed with the patent office and notified to the court in November?2012. The terminal disclaimer limits the term of this patent so as to avoid double patenting.

4. The registered iPhone trade dress and unregistered iPhone 3G trade dress were found protectable and diluted. Judge Koh found that there is substantial evidence in the record to support the jury's findings.

5. In connection with Apple's multitouch software patents, which were found valid and infringed (and which findings Judge Koh decided to uphold), the most interesting issue is that there was indeed an inconsistency in the jury verdict because the '915 patent was found infringed by multiple Samsung devices running Android 2.2.1 or 2.2.2, but not by the Galaxy Ace (Android 2.2.1), Intercept (2.2.2) and Replenish (2.2.2, too). Samsung argued that at least there should be a new trial as a result of such inconsistency. But under Ninth Circuit law, verdicts are vacated on grounds of inconsistency only if they cannot be "reconciled on any reasonable theory consistent with the evidence". One distinction that is made in this context is the one between two legal conclusions that cannot logically coexist and a "mere inconsistent view of facts". Here, Judge Koh concluded that there is an inconsistency, but it can and must stand.

6. The jury held not only two Samsung U.S. subsidiaries but also Samsung Electronics Corporation, a Korean entity, liable for direct infringement. The Korean parent company was also found liable for inducing infringement by its U.S. subsidiaries. Samsung wanted these findings overturned, but Judge Koh upheld the jury's findings, which makes sense: those U.S. subsidiaries are obviously controlled by the Korean company. They are formally separate legal entities, but for all practical intents and purposes they are just like local offices of the Korean organization, and actually refer to the Korean company as their "headquarters".

7. The jury verdict was a disappointment for Samsung not only because Apple prevailed on most of its claims but also because Samsung's infringement claims against Apple failed in their entirety. After the JMOL rulings (and before the appeal), Samsung still doesn't hold any offensive win against Apple (with respect to this case) in its hands. In fact, things got even worse for Samsung because Apple proved the asserted claims of its '941 patent invalid. Judge Koh declined to find any infringements with respect to the other four Samsung patents-in-suit.

8. The court also disagreed with Samsung's assertion that the trial was manifestly unfair. Samsung had argued that it was prejudiced by

   • the trial time limitation,

   by Apple's references (permitted by the court) to witnesses Samsung did not call (suggesting that they weren't called because they had nothing useful to Samsung to say),

9. by court orders barring its witnesses from making certain arguments and not barring Apple's witnesses from making other arguments,

10. by a requirement to lay foundation for documents while Apple allegedly didn't have to meet such a requirement in some contexts,

11. by being barred from playing advertisements, which Apple was allowed to do, and

12. by not being allowed to use depositions to cross-examine Apple's witnesses while Apple was allowed to do so.

All of this relates to decisions the court made at or before trial, and it's unsurprising that the court still stands by its orders. The JMOL ruling notes that Samsung would have had the option to put its own infringement claims against Apple on a separate track, and that Samsung had to simply manage its allotted time.

Ruling on Apple's motion for judgment as a matter of law

1. The only item on which Judge Koh overruled the jury in Apple's favor is the question of whether the asserted claims (claims 10 and 15) of Samsung's U.S. Patent No. 7,675,941 on a "method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving packet data using pre-defined length indicator in a mobile communication system" are invalid. The jury didn't find any of Apple or Samsung's patent claims invalid, and a few days after the jury verdict came down I described this as the single biggest issue with the verdict, given that a solid majority of all patent claims granted by patent offices ultimately turn out not to be valid as granted (some are entirely invalid while others survive only after being narrowed through amendments). It would be a statistical anomaly for all Apple and Samsung patents-in-suit to be valid as granted. Even though the hurdle is very high for a court to overrule a factual finding by a jury, Judge Koh has now concluded that U.S. Patent No. 6,819,658 on a "method and apparatus for segmentation, reassembly and inverse multiplexing of packets and ATM cells over satellite/wireless networks" anticipated (i.e., renders non-novel and thus invalid) the asserted claims of Samsung's '941 patent. Samsung argued that there were some differences between the two patents, but according to Judge Koh, "Apple has established anticipation by clear and convincing evidence".

   All other items of Apple's JMOL motion, discussed in more detail below, were denied.

2. The jury found that Apple's unregistered iPad/iPad 2 trade dress was not protectable and not famous, and on that basis never addressed the questions of dilution and infringement. Judge Koh determined that the jury's related finding was not unreasonable, and just like the jury, she didn't reach the questions of infringement and dilution.

3. An item on which I once thought Apple had a relatively good chance of prevailing was the iPad design patent (U.S. Design Patent No. D504,889, given that Apple had won a preliminary injunction over that one. Apple wanted the court to find it infringed by the Galaxy Tab?10.1. But Judge Koh noted that the jury was not bound by the preliminary injunction decision and that certain evidence was considered by the jury that was not available at the preliminary injunction stage, including among other things Apple's concession that the original iPad did not implement this design patent.

4. The judge also denied all other request by Apple for additional liability findings, including among other things an inducement theory.

5. The other four Samsung patents-in-suit (than the invalidated '941 patent) were not ruled invalid.

6. Apple brought certain FRAND contract and antitrust counterclaims against Samsung, and the jury ruled against them. Judge Koh did not overrule the jury on those. It's important to consider that even if such counterclaims fail, as they did here (prior to an appeal, at least), FRAND defenses can still succeed. In another post-trial decision (which came down in mid-December) Judge Koh declined to rule on Apple's FRAND defenses because there is no need to address them as long as no standard-essential patent-in-suit is found both valid and infringed. Even after Tuesday's ruling on Samsung's JMOL motion there is no SEP-based liability finding, so the FRAND defenses won't come into play unless and until an appeals court lets Samsung prevail on at least one SEP claim.

Ruling on Samsung's motion to invalidate four Apple patents for indefiniteness

Indefiniteness is an invalidity theory, but it's one for the court, not the jury, to decide, which is why Samsung's related motion attacking four Apple patents (the asserted claim of one software patent, and four design patents) is technically a separate motion from its JMOL ("overrule the jury") motion.

For the four design patents Samsung claimed to be indefinite (D'677, D'087, D'305, D'889) it faced a very high hurdle. It needed to show that a skilled designer would not be able to understand, from looking at the drawings in the patent documents, what kind of design was covered. Samsung failed to meet this high hurdle. Even Samsung's own expert witnesses gave testimony that allowed the court to infer that they had understood the scope of those design patents quite well (for example, if someone says a patent is obvious, he must understand the patent in the first place). There may have been some issues with dotted lines that appeared in one drawing but not another, or with only one of several drawings in one of the design patents having color, but none of this was enough to prove those design patents indefinite.

For the tap-to-zoom-and-navigate ('163) patent, indefiniteness was a closer question. The term that Samsung claimed to be indefinite (meaning that it's not amenable to construction and insolubly ambiguous) is "substantially centered". Without "substantially", the word "centered" would be mathematically precise. But "substantially" is a word of degree. Five pixels to the right of a center location on a screen that is 400 pixels wide is still "substantially centered" in most people's opinion, but how about 20 or 30 pixels? Where must the line be drawn? Samsung raised a legitimate question, but the answer is that a lack of precision does not necessarily render a patent invalid. Even one of Samsung's own witnesses talked about items being "substantially centered" on the screens of certain Samsung devices, suggesting that he was able to apply the term to a particular screen layout.

Ruling on Apple's motions for damages enhancements

In a post-trial motion Apple had asked for the damages award to be increased on different grounds. On the basis of the jury's findings of willful patent infringement, Apple wanted parts of the award to be tripled. It also wanted enhancements for trade dress infringement and dilution. And it asked for supplemental damages relating to the period between the trial and the final ruling. The question of supplemental damages still has to be decided by the court. The requested enhancements for willful patent infringement and for trade dress infringement and dilution have, however, been denied in their entirety.

The part on enhancements for willful patent infringement was simplified by Judge Koh's finding that Samsung's patent infringement was not objectively willful.

The legal basis for enhancements of trade dress damages is the Lanham Act (U.S. trademark law). Judge Koh's order notes that "[t]his type of enhancement is intended only to compensate a plaintiff for additional losses not compensated by the existing award, not to punish a defendant". Simply put, Judge Koh saw no indication that the jury did not consider all of the damages Apple suffered when it determined, on a per-product basis, its damages award. Apple wanted a reasonably straightforward jury questionnaire with total damages per product as opposed to a complex matrix of damages per product and per intellectual property right. While the jury questionnaire still ended up being huge (roughly 700 questions), Apple's wish for reasonably simple damages awards was granted, but as a result, Apple was unable after the trial to disaggregate the jury awards in order to show to the court that the part attributable to trade dress infringement was insufficient to compensate Apple for any losses.

[Update] AppleInsider has uploaded all four orders summarized in this post (link?#1, link?#2). [/Update]

If you'd like to be updated on the smartphone patent disputes and other intellectual property matters I cover, please subscribe to my RSS feed (in the right-hand column) and/or follow me on Twitter @FOSSpatents and Google+.

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Source: http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/01/judge-overrules-jury-finds-samsungs.html

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Video: Brilliant Bus erases digital divide

Boy Scouts close to ending ban on gays

The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation?s largest private youth organizations, is actively considering an end to its decades-long policy of banning gay scouts or scout leaders, according to scouting officials and outsiders familiar with internal discussions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40153870/vp/50621216#50621216

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Teen Mom 2: Cancellation Imminent, Jenelle Evans "Liability" to Blame?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/teen-mom-2-cancellation-imminent-jenelle-evans-liability-to-blam/

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Dutch Queen Beatrix abdicating, son will be king

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) ? The Netherlands' Queen Beatrix announced Monday that she is ending her reign after 33 years and passing the crown to her eldest son, who has long been groomed to be king but who will have to work hard to match his mother's popularity.

The widely expected abdication comes at a time of debate over the future of the largely ceremonial Dutch monarchy, but also as calm has descended upon the Netherlands after a decade of turmoil that saw Beatrix act as the glue that held together an increasingly divided society.

"Responsibility for our country must now lie in the hands of a new generation," Beatrix, one of Europe's longest-serving monarchs, said in the simple, televised speech announcing her abdication.

The queen, who turns 75 in just a few days, said she will step down from the throne on April 30. That same day, her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, will be appointed king at an inauguration in Amsterdam. He will be the Netherlands' first king since Willem III died in 1890.

Willem-Alexander is a 45-year-old father of three young daughters, an International Olympic Committee member, a pilot and a water management expert.

Over the years, he has struggled to win the affection of this nation of 16 million, but his immensely popular wife, the Argentine-born Maxima, has helped him gain more acceptance ever since she brushed away a tear during their wedding in 2002.

They are a hard-working couple: Willem-Alexander regularly gives speeches at water conferences, sharing his low-lying nation's centuries of experience battling to stay dry, while soon-to-be Queen Maxima, a former investment banker, has carved out a career as a microfinance expert.

Together, the pair has often been seen cheering on Dutch sportsmen and women at Olympics from Beijing, to Vancouver and London.

"He's known as 'Mister Water,' isn't he? He seems like a reliable person, just like his mother," said Desiree Hoving, an Amsterdam resident. "I don't really have an emotional response to him, but I do think it's nice that Maxima is going to be queen."

Despite regular public appearances, Willem-Alexander is also fiercely private, giving reporters and photographers brief, choreographed glimpses of his family in return for being left in peace the rest of the time.

"He and Princess Maxima are fully prepared for their future roles," Beatrix said. "They will serve our nation with dedication, faithfully preserve the constitution and bring all their talents to the monarchy."

Despite her popularity, Maxima has always carried an air of controversy because her father was an agriculture minister in the military junta that ruled Argentina with an iron fist in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In a move that may curtail possible protests, the Royal House said that Maxima told Prime Minister Mark Rutte that her parents will not attend the inauguration.

In her brief, prerecorded speech from her Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Beatrix said she was, "deeply grateful for the great faith you have shown in me in the many years that I could be your queen."

The queen's departure is sure to bring about an outpouring of sentimental and patriotic feelings among the Dutch, most of whom adore Beatrix. In everyday conversation, many of her subjects refer to her simply by the nickname "Bea."

Well-wishers immediately gathered outside the palace Monday.

One of them, Laura Dinkshof, took along a homemade orange banner. "We hope the queen will see it," she said. "It says we were very happy with our queen and we wish her a nice retirement and that we have trust in our new king."

Rutte, a staunch monarchist, said that ever since her coronation in 1980, Beatrix ? the nation's oldest-ever monarch ? "applied herself heart and soul for Dutch society."

Beatrix succeeded her mother, Juliana, as head of state, and her reign has been marked by tumultuous shifts in Dutch society and, more recently, by personal tragedy.

Observers believe Beatrix remained on the throne for so long in part because of unrest in Dutch society as the country struggled to assimilate more and more immigrants, mainly Muslims from North Africa, and shifted away from its traditional reputation as one of the world's most tolerant nations.

Beatrix was also thought to be giving time for her son to enjoy fatherhood before taking the throne.

The abdication also comes at a time of trial for Beatrix. A year ago, she was struck by personal tragedy when the second of her three sons, Prince Friso, was left in a coma after being engulfed by an avalanche while skiing in Austria.

And even in a job that is mostly symbolic to begin with, the previous government stripped her of one of her few remaining powers: the ability to name a candidate to begin Cabinet formation after the election of the national parliament.

Beatrix's reign began in difficult economic times and there were riots in Amsterdam at her inauguration, as thousands of demonstrators protesting the city's housing shortages fought pitched battles with police just a few hundred meters (yards) from the downtown palace where she was crowned.

But throughout her tenure she was a calming influence on society, particularly in the aftermath of the 2002 assassination of populist politician Pim Fortuyn and the murder two years later of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist.

Personal tragedies have exposed a softer side of the queen and brought her closer to her subjects.

The 2002 death of her German-born husband, Prince Claus, took a toll on her, and it was apparent how deep her reliance on the quiet man had been: she was filmed leaning heavily, almost hanging, on Prince Friso's arm as they entered the church for her spouse's funeral.

In another blow, a deranged loner tried to slam a car into an open-topped bus carrying members of the royal family as they celebrated the Queens Day national holiday in 2009. The driver killed seven people who had gathered to watch the royals, a brazen attack that shocked the nation.

Friso, who had been such a support after Claus' death, remains in a coma. Late last year, the Royal House said he showed "very minimal" signs of consciousness.

"I think it's a good time for her to leave, with all that happened in her life recently," said 44-year-old Bert Duesenberg of The Hague as he stood at the queen's palace gates. "I also think that Alexander is ready to take over, and he has to do that. It is good news, and it's time for the change."

____

Associated Press writer Toby Sterling contributed from Amsterdam and Alex Furtula contributed from The Hague.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-queen-beatrix-abdicating-son-king-231410038.html

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94% Barbara

All Critics (47) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (3)

[Leaves] you drained and horrified.

Sometimes, the sun shines and the wind blows fresh and the very elements that make for intense hardship also open a window on intense joy.

Hoss is mesmerizing as a woman who holds it all together to the point of losing herself.

It's one terrific film, as smart, thoughtful and emotionally involving as just about anything that's out there.

It's a quiet film built of careful details.

"Barbara" re-visits the quiet, everyday tragedies of the Iron Curtain era, when paranoia ran deep and for very good reasons.

Feels like total immersion into the sights, stresses, and the subtle solidarity among middle-class professionals living in the workers' paradise that Petzold's parents fled.

[R]esides somewhere in an unsatisfying borderland between drama and thriller, never quite catching fire as either...

A superbly crafted low-boil drama that gets its hooks into you the old-fashioned way, through character, and highlights the difficulties and cost of living by principles.

Subtly intriguing and ambiguous, it's filled with suspicion and subterfuge.

Despite the limited scope of its predictable narrative, "Barbara" remains a compelling character study thanks to Nina Hoss's enigmatic performance in the title role.

Christian Petzold's latest thriller threatens to cross over the line from minimalism to nihilism.

Both insightful and poignant, but not mawkish...an intriguing character study set against the backdrop of a dark time in history.

The plotting, the planning and the deepening relationships don't make for kinetic action, but they are the foundation for a smart, engrossing film.

Hoss' acting is a marvel of subtlety; her body language is precisely calibrated to reveal a great deal about the character's inner feelings by the slightest changes of posture and facial expression.

...a slow building character study where looks and actions speak louder than words because of an oppressive political climate.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/barbara_2012/

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