Blackberry maker Research in Motion is aiming to give itself an edge in the smartphone market with a new music service designed to run on its instant messaging system. The new service, to be called BBM Music, will allow users to access and share up to 50 songs at a…
Continue reading …Evolution has joined global warming on the list of things Rick Perry is skeptical about. Evolution is “a theory that’s out there—and it’s got some gaps in it,” the Texas governor told a little boy during a campaign stop in New Hampshire yesterday, the Huffington Post reports. “In Texas,…
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What’s the difference between Sony’s PlayStation Vita and the PS3 ? About 256MB of RAM, apparently. In a recent interview with Eurogamer , Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that the forthcoming handheld will boast a full 512MB of RAM (compared to the PS3′s 256MB), allowing the Vita to support cross-game voice chat via its Party feature. Yoshida’s confirmation effectively debunks earlier rumors that Sony would be halving the Vita’s RAM, in order to compete with the 3DS’ lower price, though the console does feature comparatively less V-RAM (just 128MB, versus the PS3′s 256MB). According to the executive, however, that disparity won’t make too much of a difference on the gaming experience, due to changes in the Vita’s display resolution. “The resolution on the PS Vita screen is much lower,” Yoshida said. “Even though it’s four times the resolution of PSP, compared to the console, the amount of data you have to push is much smaller.” The proof, of course, is in the pudding, but unfortunately, we probably won’t be tasting it for a while . PS Vita to pack 512MB of RAM, support cross-game voice chat originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …A 6.8 earthquake jolted the northeast coast of Japan just 50 miles south of the massive March shaker. A tsunami advisory was issued but withdrawn some 35 minutes later when waves did not materialize, reports Reuters . Tokyo Electric Power Co officials said no new damage was detected at the…
Continue reading …At least four people were killed and nearly 70 others injured after a heavy storm hit Belgium’s Pukkelpop music festival yesterday. One stage was completely destroyed after trees blown over in strong winds crashed into rigging, the Guardian reports. The Chicago-based band Smith Westerns was playing at the time, but…
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Former leader and his wife charged with economic crimes, including theft, embezzlement of public funds and pillage Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, have been formally charged with “economic crimes”, the first legal proceedings against the couple since they were ousted from power and put under house arrest in April . Legal experts in the west African state say they expect further charges related to alleged “blood crimes” and possible human rights abuses against the couple. As President Alassane Ouattara’s government closes the net around former regime members suspected of using violence to hold on to power and looting the public treasury, there is growing criticism of the new administration, which has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial executions and arrests. Gbagbo’s refusal to relinquish power after he was defeated in a general election in November 2010 by Ouattara sparked four months of conflict and two weeks of civil war that left an estimated 3,000 people dead. Since being ousted by Ouattara’s forces, helped by troops from France and the United Nations, Gbagbo, 66, and his wife, 62, have been under house arrest separately. At a press conference on Thursday, the Ivorian state prosecutor Simplice Kouadia Koffi said the couple were accused of “aggravated theft, attacks on the national economy, embezzlement of public funds and pillage”. They were taken into custody and transported to a prison at Odiénné, in the north of the country. Their arrest brings to 80 the number of supporters of the former regime detained since the end of the conflict, including Gbagbo’s French-born son, Michel, 41, a professor at Abidjan University. Ivorian authorities arrested 57 pro-Gbagbo soldiers and charged them with crimes including murder, kidnapping, attacking state security and buying illegal arms, in the past week. Ouattara’s government hopes that the international criminal court in The Hague will open an official inquiry into the unrest and try the former presidential couple for crimes against humanity. However, several international NGOs have accused the current government of enforcing the “justice of the victorious”. Last week the UN mission in the country claimed members of the ruling government’s security forces, the FRCI, had carried out “extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions”. Amnesty International has also accused government forces of carrying out reprisals against those seen as pro-Gbagbo. Laurent Gbagbo Ivory Coast Africa Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Former leader and his wife charged with economic crimes, including theft, embezzlement of public funds and pillage Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, have been formally charged with “economic crimes”, the first legal proceedings against the couple since they were ousted from power and put under house arrest in April . Legal experts in the west African state say they expect further charges related to alleged “blood crimes” and possible human rights abuses against the couple. As President Alassane Ouattara’s government closes the net around former regime members suspected of using violence to hold on to power and looting the public treasury, there is growing criticism of the new administration, which has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial executions and arrests. Gbagbo’s refusal to relinquish power after he was defeated in a general election in November 2010 by Ouattara sparked four months of conflict and two weeks of civil war that left an estimated 3,000 people dead. Since being ousted by Ouattara’s forces, helped by troops from France and the United Nations, Gbagbo, 66, and his wife, 62, have been under house arrest separately. At a press conference on Thursday, the Ivorian state prosecutor Simplice Kouadia Koffi said the couple were accused of “aggravated theft, attacks on the national economy, embezzlement of public funds and pillage”. They were taken into custody and transported to a prison at Odiénné, in the north of the country. Their arrest brings to 80 the number of supporters of the former regime detained since the end of the conflict, including Gbagbo’s French-born son, Michel, 41, a professor at Abidjan University. Ivorian authorities arrested 57 pro-Gbagbo soldiers and charged them with crimes including murder, kidnapping, attacking state security and buying illegal arms, in the past week. Ouattara’s government hopes that the international criminal court in The Hague will open an official inquiry into the unrest and try the former presidential couple for crimes against humanity. However, several international NGOs have accused the current government of enforcing the “justice of the victorious”. Last week the UN mission in the country claimed members of the ruling government’s security forces, the FRCI, had carried out “extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions”. Amnesty International has also accused government forces of carrying out reprisals against those seen as pro-Gbagbo. Laurent Gbagbo Ivory Coast Africa Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
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Growth in prison population following riots means parts of the system are becoming ‘human warehouses’, experts warn The prison population in England and Wales has hit a record high of 86,654 following the courts decision to remand hundreds charged with rioting and looting in custody. The Ministry of Justice said the prison population had risen by 723 over the past week. Officials are making contingency plans to accelerate the opening of new prison buildings and bring mothballed accommodation back into use. There are currently only 1,439 spare useable places left in the jail system, but prison chiefs say they remain confident they have enough to cope with those being imprisoned by the courts in relation to the recent riots. “We are developing contingencies to increase useable capacity should further pressure be placed on the prison estate,” a prison service spokesperson said. It is thought the plans include opening accommodation at the newIsis prison next to Belmarsh in east London earlier than expected, and bringing back into use a wing at Lewes prison, east Sussex, which had been closed for refurbishment, back into use. The prison service said that they currently have no plans to reverse the decision to close two prisons – Latchmere House in London, and Brockhill in Redditch – next month. “We are managing an unprecedented situation and all the staff involved should be commended for their dedication and hard work during this difficult time,” said a prison service spokesperson. “We currently have enough prison places for those being remanded and sentenced to custody as a result of public disorder.” The use of emergency police cells known as Operation Safeguard is the normal safety valve when the prison service is running out of space, but this is not currently a possibility as police forces need to keep holding capacity on standby to deal with further possible disturbances. The pressure is particulary acute in London, where current inmates are being moved out of the capital to other institutions in order to free up space. Geoff Dobson, the deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the rapid increase in prison numbers meant that some parts of the system were “becoming human warehouses, doing little more than banging people up in overcrowded conditions, with regimes that are hard pressed to offer any employment or education. The likelihood is that for some first time offenders that will provide a fast-track to a criminal career”. His concerns were shared by Paul McDowell, the chief executive of Nacro, the crime reduction charity, and former governor of Brixton prison, who also warned that rehabilitation work to tackle reoffending would simply go by the board as jails try to cope with the rapid rise in prisoner numbers. Labour’s prison spokesperson, Helen Goodman, said she was becoming increasingly concerned about the level of remaining capacity. “The violence that was seen on the streets of Britain last week must be punished, but the Tory-led government also have a responsibility to ensure that the sentences handed down are being served safely,” she said. “Since May last year this Tory-led government has scrapped the prison building programme and closed four prisons, which has reduced prison capacity even further. “The prison population has reached a record high and prison and probation officers are being increasingly overstretched. It is vital for public safety and for security in our prisons and the youth secure estate that prison and probation staff get the resources and support they need,” she said. Prisons and probation Police UK riots Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Growth in prison population following riots means parts of the system are becoming ‘human warehouses’, experts warn The prison population in England and Wales has hit a record high of 86,654 following the courts decision to remand hundreds charged with rioting and looting in custody. The Ministry of Justice said the prison population had risen by 723 over the past week. Officials are making contingency plans to accelerate the opening of new prison buildings and bring mothballed accommodation back into use. There are currently only 1,439 spare useable places left in the jail system, but prison chiefs say they remain confident they have enough to cope with those being imprisoned by the courts in relation to the recent riots. “We are developing contingencies to increase useable capacity should further pressure be placed on the prison estate,” a prison service spokesperson said. It is thought the plans include opening accommodation at the newIsis prison next to Belmarsh in east London earlier than expected, and bringing back into use a wing at Lewes prison, east Sussex, which had been closed for refurbishment, back into use. The prison service said that they currently have no plans to reverse the decision to close two prisons – Latchmere House in London, and Brockhill in Redditch – next month. “We are managing an unprecedented situation and all the staff involved should be commended for their dedication and hard work during this difficult time,” said a prison service spokesperson. “We currently have enough prison places for those being remanded and sentenced to custody as a result of public disorder.” The use of emergency police cells known as Operation Safeguard is the normal safety valve when the prison service is running out of space, but this is not currently a possibility as police forces need to keep holding capacity on standby to deal with further possible disturbances. The pressure is particulary acute in London, where current inmates are being moved out of the capital to other institutions in order to free up space. Geoff Dobson, the deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the rapid increase in prison numbers meant that some parts of the system were “becoming human warehouses, doing little more than banging people up in overcrowded conditions, with regimes that are hard pressed to offer any employment or education. The likelihood is that for some first time offenders that will provide a fast-track to a criminal career”. His concerns were shared by Paul McDowell, the chief executive of Nacro, the crime reduction charity, and former governor of Brixton prison, who also warned that rehabilitation work to tackle reoffending would simply go by the board as jails try to cope with the rapid rise in prisoner numbers. Labour’s prison spokesperson, Helen Goodman, said she was becoming increasingly concerned about the level of remaining capacity. “The violence that was seen on the streets of Britain last week must be punished, but the Tory-led government also have a responsibility to ensure that the sentences handed down are being served safely,” she said. “Since May last year this Tory-led government has scrapped the prison building programme and closed four prisons, which has reduced prison capacity even further. “The prison population has reached a record high and prison and probation officers are being increasingly overstretched. It is vital for public safety and for security in our prisons and the youth secure estate that prison and probation staff get the resources and support they need,” she said. Prisons and probation Police UK riots Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Goldman Sachs VP Changes His Name, Goes To Work For Issa Protecting…Goldman Sachs!
August 19, 2011 No Comment
Is there no end to the perfidy of Wall Street and their enablers? Even for Darrell Issa, who’s been known to boost a car or two, this is truly outrageous : enlarge Peter Haller Simonyi. Has Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) turned the House Oversight Committee into a bank lobbying firm with the power to subpoena and pressure government regulators? ThinkProgress has found that a Goldman Sachs vice president changed his name, then later went to work for Issa to coordinate his effort to thwart regulations that affect Goldman Sachs’ bottom line. In July, Issa sent a letter to top government regulators demanding that they back off and provide more justification for new margin requirements for financial firms dealing in derivatives. A standard practice on Capitol Hill is to end a letter to a government agency with contact information for the congressional staffer responsible for working on the issue for the committee. In most cases, the contact staffer is the one who actually writes such letters. With this in mind, it is important to note that the Issa letter ended with contact information for Peter Haller, a staffer hired this year to work for Issa on the Oversight Committee.Issa’s demand to regulators is exactly what banks have been wishing for. Indeed, Goldman Sachs has spent millions this year trying to slow down the implementation of the new rules. In the letter, Issa explicitly mentions that the new derivative regulations might hurt brokers “such as Goldman Sachs .”Haller, as he is now known, went by the name Peter Simonyi until three years ago. Simonyi adopted his mother’s maiden name Haller in 2008 shortly after leaving Goldman Sachs as a vice president of the bank’s commodity compliance group. In a few short years, Haller went from being in charge of dealing with regulators for Goldman Sachs to working for Congress in a position where he made official demands from regulators overseeing his old firm. It’s not the first time Haller has worked the revolving door to help out Goldman Sachs. According to a report by the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, Haller — then known as Peter Simonyi — left the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2005 to work for Goldman Sachs, then quickly began lobbying his colleagues at the SEC on behalf of his new firm. At one point, Haller was requiring to issue a letter to the SEC stating that he did not violate ethics rules and the SEC agreed.
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