monicaclee says: RT @HuffingtonPost : 6-year-old beauty queen retires : http://huff.to/otB8qI
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India says it has no immediate leads regarding who carried out bomb attacks Wednesday evening in Mumbai, which killed at least 17 people and injured more than 130. (July 14)
Continue reading …New Videos: Asher Roth “Summertime”, plus Theophilus London, Skyzoo, & More….
July 14, 2011 No Comment
Until we get Asher Roth’s forthcoming sophomore LP, he takes a break and gives us a visual for the Nottz-produced “Summertime” which also features VA crooner Quan. Catch the song here. More from Theophilus London, Skyzoo, Jon Connor, Tyga Feat. Chris Brown, Trouble Feat. Future, and Juicy J Feat 2 Chainz after the jump….. Vulture premieres the newest Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : MissInfo.tv Discovery Date : 13/07/2011 19:59 Number of articles : 4
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The UK government will withhold £19m of aid to Malawi because of failures in economic management Britain has indefinitely suspended part of its aid programme, worth £19m, for Malawi over the country’s repeated failure to address concerns over economic management and governance. The money is used for general budget support, which helps governments deliver their own national strategies for poverty reduction against an agreed set of targets. The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) said the decision is in line with international concern over Malawi’s current position. The World Bank, the EU, the African Development Bank, Germany and Norway have all suspended or ended general budget support to Malawi. “The UK provides development assistance in order to help communities lift themselves out of grinding poverty, whether that’s through getting children into school, ensuring women survive childbirth or helping farmers grow enough food to feed their families and communities,” said Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary. “But poor people in Malawi and British taxpayers alike have been let down. In these circumstances I cannot justify the provision of general budget support for Malawi.” DfID said demonstrations in Malawi have been suppressed, civil society organisations intimidated and an injunctions bill passed that would make it easier for the government to place restrictions on opponents without legal challenge. The department, which has made aid effectiveness a priority, also expressed concern over Malawi’s overvalued exchange rate, which has created chronic foreign exchange shortages and which has badly hit the Malawian private sector. “There are now daily fuel queues, tobacco exports have deteriorated and Malawi is off-track with its IMF programme,” said DfID. Britain – Malawi’s main bilateral donor – is expected to spend £90m on aid on the landlocked country this year and an average of £93m a year in Malawi until 2015. The largest portion of Britain’s aid – 39% – goes on health . Malawi has enjoyed economic growth of about 7% in the last five years, with a peak of 9.7% in 2008, thanks to several bumper tobacco harvests. But Malawi remains one of Africa’s poorest countries, with 72% of Malawians on less than $2 a day. The decision to suspend aid for general budget support comes at a time of rocky relations between Britain and Malawi. In April, the former British colony expelled the British ambassador after he called the Malawian government autocratic in a leaked diplomatic cable. Fergus Cochrane-Dyet was quoted in a leaked message to London describing Malawi’s president Bingu wa Mutharika as “ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism”. Cochrane-Dyet wrote to the foreign secretary, William Hague, saying that in Malawi the “governance situation continues to deteriorate in terms of media freedom, freedom of speech and minority rights”. The ambassador was summoned to Malawi’s foreign ministry in Lilongwe and ordered to leave the country within days. At the time, the Foreign Office insisted that declaring its man “persona non grata” would be unacceptable and warned that any such action would have “consequences”. Britain cut aid to Malawi by £3m last year after the purchase of a presidential jet that cost more than £8m. British officials said they had concerns about the purchase given the impoverished state of the nation and the fact that it relies on donor support for up to 40% of its development budget and the salaries of its 169,000 civil servants. Mutharika defended the new jet, saying it was cheaper to run it than hire an aircraft each time he wanted to travel abroad. Experts said the aid decision will hit the country hard at a time when it is short of foreign exchange and experiencing serious energy shortages. The country’s sole electricity provider, Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (Escom), recently announced planned power cuts in its ageing power system that will see the whole of Malawi in darkness every day from 4pm to 10pm for the rest of this year. Aid Malawi Africa Mark Tran guardian.co.uk
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News International chief to face Commons committee, but Rupert Murdoch and James ‘not available’ for 19 July hearing Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, urged all three senior executives to “do the decent thing” and face MPs. “If they have any shred of sense of responsibility or accountability for their position of power then they should come and explain themselves to the select committee,” said Clegg. Rupert Murdoch wrote a letter to the committee, declining to give evidence in person to the evidence -giving session on 19 July. “Unfortunately, I am not available to attend the session you have planned next Tuesday,” he wrote. “However, I am fully prepared to give evidence to the forthcoming judge-led public inquiry and I will be taking steps to notify those conducting the inquiry of my willingness to do so. Having done this, I would be happy to discuss with you how best to give evidence to your committee.” His son James wrote a separate letter in which he said would not be available to attend the session planned for July 19, but would be “pleased” to give evidence to the committee on either the 10 or 11 August. “Naturally, if neither of these proves suitable I would be willing to consider any alternative dates you suggest,” he wrote. Only Brooks, a British citizen, bowed to pressure from parliament to take responsibility by attending the parliamentary committee to account for events that took place under her watch. In a letter confirming her attendance, she wrote: “As you are well aware, the Metropolitan police investigation into illegal voicemail interception continues and we are fully cooperating with that. Aspects of the work to which your committee may wish to refer are likely to be relevant to that investigation. Indeed, the police have already asked us specifically to provide information about those matters.” She went on: “I understand that various select committees have approached the police over time in relation to this and other cases. The police’s position has been to co-operate where this did not directly impact on the investigation in question. In those cases where it did potentially impact, the police have historically declined to comment at that stage. Our understanding is that this approach has not been challenged. Given that we are in the midst of an investigation, and we do not want to prejudice it, I hope you will understand why we feel it would not be appropriate to respond to such questions at present in order to be consistent with [the] police’s approach, and that as a result this may prevent me from discussing these matters in detail.” Rebekah Brooks Phone hacking Rupert Murdoch James Murdoch News International Nick Clegg Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Date of Birth : 25 March 1989 (22 years old) Place of Birth : Kalifornien, USA Alyson Michalka is a young American actress/singer Alyson Michalka loves sushi and tacos. Alyson and her sister Amanda Michalka make up the popduo Aly & AJ. She plays Keely Teslow on the Disney show Phil of the Future. Alyson Michalka Photo’s :
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Netflix jacked up its prices yesterday, and it appears from your comments that many of you are ready to storm Netflix HQ with pitchforks and fiery torches. It makes me wonder if perhaps there is a Netflixodus coming, a mass desertion, and if there is, where all of the abandoners will flee to. The good news is, you have options. Your first option is never watching TV or movies again — but let’s assume you are not going to give them up. Here are some alternatives to the old Netflix pricing plans for you to mull over as the flames of your outrage cool: THE NEW NETFLIX Okay, this isn’t what you want to hear, but you could just stick with Netflix and find an extra $6 per month in your couch cushions. Look, you can’t get unlimited DVD rental and unlimited streaming for $9.99 anymore. Kiss that goodbye, as my colleague Catharine Smith eloquently put it. Seemingly overnight, Netflix has gone from “Can you believe we get this for $10?” to “Can you believe we have to pay $16 for this?” Your cheapest options, should you stick with the ‘Flix, are streaming-only for $7.99 per month, or DVD-only starting at $7.99 per month (it’s more expensive if you want to be able to order two DVDs at once). You can combine the plans for $15.98, saving you approximately $0 a month. The changes go into effect immediately for new customers; existing customers have until September to choose a plan. But really, is $72 more per year such a huge expenditure for the convenience and familiarity of the Netflix infrastructure? It depends on your price sensitivity, and — again, judging from the general outrage — Netflix users are very price-sensitive. If you can’t spare to cut out one McDonald’s Big Mac meal from your monthly budget, you do have alternative services that I’m sure will be happy to rescue you from Netflix’s shores. HULU PLUS For $7.99 a month (same as either Netflix streaming or Netflix one DVD at a time), a subscription to Hulu Plus is yours. Hulu is best known for its television offerings, of course, but it has also added “hundreds” of movies, including many from the excellent, artsy Criterion Collection. Setting up your Hulu Plus to stream on your PlayStation 3, Roku, or Xbox 360 is easy, and it means HD-quality streaming classics and shows on your TV. The major downfall of Hulu Plus, of course, is that even though you’re paying 8 bucks a month, you still have to sit through those commercials that air on non-subscriber Hulu shows. You also lose the mail-in DVD option, so this one is for those with access to zippy Internet access only. PROS: Large TV show database; entire Criterion Collection catalogue; HD-streaming; compatibility with several gaming systems, smartphones, and other devices. CONS: Commercials, commercials, commercials; movie selection still lags badly in comparison to Netflix; no physical DVDs; in heavy talks to be sold to Yahoo, or Google, or Microsoft, or someone else. APPLE TV & ITUNES Is now the time to make the investment in an Apple TV? The little black box can be yours for $99, which allows you to rent TV shows and movies from the iTunes store and stream them straight onto your traditional television set. Though the selection is incredible and extensive, there is no “all-you-can-eat” option that made Netflix Streaming such a steal — most HD movie rentals are $3.99, and most single episode TV show rentals are $0.99. You lose out on the frantic, free-flowing play-pause-play-pause enjoyment that is the Netflix/Hulu experience. Another downside to Apple TV for many is that you have to own, you know, a TV. You can of course watch anything you rent or buy from iTunes on your mobile device or laptop or tablet or smartphone, but for the product to really pay off, you need a nice flatscreen that can hook up to the Apple black box. PROS: Huge selection available for stream; compatibility across many devices; dependable HD streaming. CONS: No all-you-can-stream option; no physical DVDs; need a fairly new television. AMAZON PRIME Most people don’t think “video streaming” when they think “Amazon.com” — heck, most people don’t even think “video streaming” when they think “Amazon Prime,” which is probably best known as the expedited shipping service for the Internet marketplace. But the $79 per year (about $6.50 per month) subscription to Prime also comes with its Instant Video service. Again, no physical DVDs, but there’s a good number of streaming movies and TV shows available to Prime members. No, the quality of selection isn’t what it is on Netflix (“not even close,” Ian Paul of PCWorld opines). The top 10 freebies on Prime Instant Video currently include the first season of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 80s space drama The Right Stuff, and a documentary about swinger’s clubs in the 1970s called American Swing. The really attractive films are all available to rent on-demand at an extra pay-per-view fee, generally $3.99 for new releases. PROS: All-you-can-watch streaming; cheaper than Netflix; comes with Amazon’s expedited shipping for heavy Amazon shoppers. CONS: Selection is not yet great; no physical DVDs. BLOCKBUSTER Don’t laugh. Yes, I know the traditionally brick-and-mortar video rental store threatens to implode into a puddle of blue-and-yellow goo at any moment. But could its acquisition by Dish Network mean an opportunity for the two to take the lead in movie and television services? Dish and Blockbuster have yet to team up to combine satellite TV and video rental in any meaningful way. But Blockbuster By Mail by itself isn’t such a bad deal or a bad model. One DVD (or Blu-Ray!) at-a-time plans start at $11.99 per month. This is five dollars more expensive than the Netflix plan, but it comes with the ability to actually go to a store and rent movies there, meaning that if you want a movie on Friday night, you can go get it on Friday night. Blockbuster By Mail also comes with video games at no extra charge, and it supplements its physical DVD plan with an On-Demand option, where you can stream new releases starting at $2.99 (28 days earlier than most titles on Netflix, as the ads say). Unfortunately, what you get in physical selection from Blockbuster you lose in streaming. Their free on-demand section is so pathetic it may as well not even exist. It consists mostly of promotional cast interviews and trailers (seriously, Blockbuster? You’re featuring trailers?). But if you’re considering the by-mail option on Netflix, and you live near a Blockbuster, it may be worth it to spend an additional $50 a year for the added convenience. PROS: Huge selection of physical DVDs and Blu-Rays; comes with video games; brick-and-mortar rentals and returns included (while brick-and-mortar stores still exist). CONS: Still more expensive than Netflix; awful, practically non-existent streaming service. WRAP-UP There is no service quite like Netflix, which is perhaps why the company felt comfortable raising its prices. But if you’re a current Netflix patron, you are going to have to consider where your movie-watching priorities lie. Really think about your watching habits: Are you a habitual streamer or do you like your movies on DVD? How much time do you spend on Netflix every month? Do you consume enough DVDs and streaming programs to justify the leap to the more expensive combo pricing plan? Or can you just go to Redbox and pop in a dollar bill for your weekly movie night fix? I coined the term “Netflixodus” above, and it will certainly be interesting to see just how much effect this price hike has on the company’s users. Whether any of the above options prove more enticing, or a new service takes the torch, is yet to be seen. I also wonder whether illegal streaming sites like Tudou.com or the use of torrents will increase — if they do, Hollywood will likely go begging Netflix to shave a couple of bucks off the combo deal. I got a panicked email from my mother this morning informing me that she and my father certainly didn’t need both streaming AND DVDs, and that they would not be paying $16 for both. They will be opting for Streaming-Only — so there’s two dollars per month down the drain for Netflix already. I assume several of you sent or received similar emails in the past 24 hours as well, as Netflix holds its breath and hopes that it is still attractive at its new price points. Let the Netflixodus begin, folks, to whatever Promised Land you will.
Continue reading …Apple actually not looking for additional iPad manufacturers, still BFFs with Foxconn?
July 14, 2011 No Comment
Earlier this week, DigiTimes alleged that Apple was considering an additional manufacturer to produce the supposedly looming — but really more mythical — next generation iPad. Fast forward to now, and the Taiwanese publication reports that Cupertino has had a sudden change of heart. Foxconn — who is currently the sole producer of the slate — has reportedly convinced Apple to keep its manufacturing exclusive until the end of this calendar year. All isn’t lost for Foxconn’s competition though: the rumormonger suggests Pegatron still has a shot at a ten million production run for the next iPhone , and whatever iPad’s 2012 will bring. Unmentioned in the report, however, is whether enough salt exists in the world to cover the next round of claims, later this week. Apple actually not looking for additional iPad manufacturers, still BFFs with Foxconn? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Russia reveals plan for capital to absorb woodland and holiday towns but critics warn of impending environmental disaster Russian officials have announced plans to more than double Moscow’s territory in a bid to alleviate the city’s crippling traffic and overcrowding, but critics worry the move could prove to be an environmental fiasco and leave thousands displaced. The plan to increase Moscow’s size from the current 264,000 acres to 620,000 acres was given initial approval on Monday by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, in a meeting with the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, and Boris Gromov, governor of the surrounding Moscow region. The plan will see Moscow expanding to the south and south-west, taking in forestland, small communities and dachas or summerhouses. It foresees much of the heart of Moscow – its government offices and big businesses – moving to the new neighbourhood, forever changing the spirit of the city’s historic centre. The first to move are due to be the offices of the prime minister and cabinet, as well as the presidential administration, Sobyanin said in a meeting with the editors of Russia’s leading newspapers this week. Russian officials are looking at a 20-year timeline to complete the city’s growth. They have yet to announce a budget for the venture. The move is Moscow’s boldest attempt yet to deal with the notorious bottlenecks that often bring movement in the city to a standstill. It is part of Medvedev’s vision to turn Moscow into a global financial centre as the country seeks to attract investment and boost its international standing. He first floated the expansion idea during a speech to foreign investors during an international forum in St Petersburg last month. The plan, published on the Moscow city government website , says the city’s southern and south-western outskirts were chosen in part because they comprise “a relatively weakly urbanised sector of the Moscow region,” counting some 250,000 people. Alexei Yaroshenko, of Greenpeace Russia, said he believed the number was much higher. It also does not include those who maintain dachas in the region. “We don’t know the exact borders yet,” Yaroshenko said. “If it is moved this way or that, hundreds of thousands of people will be added.” The concern comes from precedent – locals in and around the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the site of the Winter Olympics, have protested over forced relocation as the government takes over prime real estate in the region. Five years ago residents of Butovo, a village on the outskirts of southern Moscow, had a face off with authorities for weeks as they attempted to fight the razing of houses to make way for construction. Residents of Khimki, in northern Moscow, continue to battle controversial plans to build a road through their forest. “They don’t care at all about the people,” Yaroshenko said. “The officials decide and then start to build and what people think makes no difference to them.” He worried that the lush forestland in the region would be the first affected, since it is federal property. Yet even critics like Yaroshenko admit something has to be done. Moscow’s population has grown by 200,000 a year since 2002, he noted, citing census results. Aside from the potential effects on residents and the forests that line Moscow’s southern outskirts, Yaroshenko worries that the expansion – which city officials say will add housing for 2 million Muscovites and more than 1m jobs – will only increase Moscow’s dominance over the country. While preliminary results from a 2010 census showed that the overall population of the country decreased by 1.2%, Moscow’s population increased from 10.4 million to 11.5 million. “The country is emptying and Moscow is growing,” he said. “All resources are going to Moscow – first money and then people follow.” Russia Miriam Elder guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Date of Birth : 26 February 1985 (26 years old) Place of Birth : New York, USA Ally Hilfiger is daughter to the famous designer Tommy Hilfiger. She gratduated from Professional Children’s School and seems to follow her father’s footsteps. She attended the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New york City and has her own vintage-accessories business. Ally Hilfiger Photo’s :
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