Andrew Cuomo has been sworn into office as New York’s 56th governor, effective at midnight. The Friday night ceremony was a private family swearing-in, with his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, at his side.
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Strikes and rallies have been staged across Pakistan against proposed changes to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Protests were staged in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi against a move to amend a law which permits death sentences for those found to have committed blasphemy. The law received attention in November when Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of defaming the Prophet Muhammad. Pope Benedict XVI has called for the release of Bibi, a mother-of-five, who is now in jail pending an appeal. Human rights campaigners say the existing law encourages Islamic extremism. Demonstrations turned violent in Karachi as angry protesters…
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Fireworks lit up the skies in capitals from Athens to London as Europeans ushered in a new year, hoping for better economic times. 2010 was a grim year for the European Union, with a number of countries experiencing deep financial trouble. (Dec. 31)
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Image credit: Stuart Pilbrow , used under Creative Commons license. Earlier this week I reported on how more Brits die from cold than Siberians , and the Government has previously faced court action for not tackling the issue of fuel poverty . Now a coalition of campaigners is stepping up the fight—calling on dan… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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enlarge Lyndon Johnson – somewhat imposing at times. Click here to view this media Since we’re coming to the end of a year and the end of a decade, I thought taking a look at the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson and the turbulent times surrounding it might be a good idea. Here is a look back at the Johnson years, as presented by NBC Radio and their Second Sunday series, broadcast on January 1969, as Richard Nixon assumed the White House. Opinions on Johnson as President were sharply divided as much as everything else in the country at the time. In that respect, there are striking similarities between then and now with very little in the way of “middle-ground” opinions it seems. So in case you were wondering if the country has always been divided over a leader and an administration’s policies. I’m here to tell you it’s always been that way. I guess we just have to get used to it. Happy New Year.
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By Nomi Prins There are two potential ways to measure the economic performance of a political leader. One is by the profitability, stock prices and executive bonuses of a nation’s corporations. The other is by the financial condition of the majority of its population. Related Entries December 31, 2010 Obama’s Two-Year Economic Report Card December 29, 2010 Will Liberals Learn From Adversity?
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What are you doing tonight? How about………………listening to all 100 minutes of the 2010 wrap-up edition of the Engadget Podcast? The Engadget Podcasters reminisce and predict as we peer into the void of yet another year of exciting and flawed technology. They just keep coming, and rest assured — we’ll just keep podcasting. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: 99 Luftballoons 14:30 – Engadget’s biggest stories of 2010 Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget Engadget Podcast 223 – 12.31.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Over the past two weeks we’ve been incorporating a lightweight flexible technology into our workflow. Usually, of course, just about everything we write is routed through a processor, operating system and application and immediately reflected on an LCD using some multitasking user interface. However, we have been seeking a way to organize to-do lists on a separate display so that they are not lost in the course of a day’s work or taking up undue screen real estate. As it happens, we were invited to an exclusive press event extolling the latest version of paper. Paper is a thin, foldable substance that can accommodate a wide array of styli to produce words and graphics. The catch is that, much like printer cartridges, these styli must be refilled with ink or replaced. But there is a wide ecosystem of these devices that are broadly available. The developers of paper have really put a lot of forethought into a wide array of uses. The tool has almost no learning curve and data entry is so simple that young children will have no problems mastering its basics. Paper yields high contrast when used with the appropriate ink and consumes no power. And, simply put, there is no display on the market that can fold as flexibly as paper, allowing us to slip a small sheet imperceptibly into a shirt pocket or wallet. Continue reading Reserve Power: Paper 2010, The Inkgadget Review Reserve Power: Paper 2010, The Inkgadget Review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Click here to view this media I’m probably not qualified to talk about the year’s best movies, because — being the father of a 9-year-old — I made it to relatively few of them that did not feature talking animals. However, thanks to the graces of Blu-Ray, I did get my eyes popped out by Inception, one of the best movies I’ve seen in many moons. Now I just need to wait for the discs to come out on the other grown-up films. So, which were your favorites? Speaking of talking animals, one of the best-looking movies I’ve ever seen — both in the 3D version in the theater and the Blu-Ray at home — was Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole . I know everyone else loved How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3 (justifiably), but for sheer visuals I’ve never quite had my socks knocked off as I did with Ga’Hoole . It lags the other two in writing, though it’s still a strong enough story — but holy cow, this kind of animation is really stunning, and most grown-ups will never see it. For the parents out there … what were your favorite kids’ movies? Click here to view this media
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