Britain is safe from natural events similar to those that damaged the Fukushima plant, says report The UK does not need to curtail the operation of nuclear power stations after the crisis at the Fukushima plant in Japan , the nuclear chief inspector, Mike Weightman, said today. In an interim report on the lessons that could be learned from the disaster, which followed a 9-magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that battered the Japanese coast, Weightman said similar natural events would not happen in the UK. He also said existing and planned nuclear power stations in this country were of a different design from those at Fukushima, which were rocked by explosions and damage to the reactors after the tsunami shut down power to the plants, knocking out their cooling facilities. Also, flooding risks were unlikely to prevent the construction of new nuclear power stations at potential development sites in the UK, all of which are on the coast, he said. The government is planning a new suite of nuclear reactors on existing sites to maintain electricity supplies and cut greenhouse gas emissions as power stations of an older generation are shut down. Weightman said there was no need to change the current strategy for siting new nuclear power plants. But he said lessons could still be learned from the nuclear accident in Japan. The executive head of the Office for Nuclear Regulation was asked by the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, to prepare a report into the implications of the nuclear crisis in
Continue reading …Couric Fails at CBS, But Liberals Defend Her ‘Gravitas’ With…Palin-Bashing Interview
May 18, 2011 No Comment
In surveying the wreckage of the Katie Couric experiment at CBS – $75 million flushed away for a distant third-place finish each week – the liberal journalists are blaming elderly viewers for not accepting Sunny Katie. Here’s James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times: A change-averse viewership doubtless greeted the initial formatting changes for Couric's “Evening News” as confirmation that “America's Sweetheart,” straight from her sunny a.m. perch, didn't have the gravitas for the job. Actually, those impressions had little to do with the newscast that emerged over Couric's five-year tenure. And what, pray tell, proves Couric’s gravitas? Bashing Sarah Palin, of course, as uninformed. Rainey didn’t ask how Couric would have performed if the tables were turned and Palin was the one
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The T-Mobile G-Slate may have a jump on the (red and cyan) 3D tablet market, but we can do better, and while strolling past Toshiba’s SID 2011 setup, we may have found the slate of the future’s killer component: an 8-inch, glasses-free 3D display. Tablet sized? Yes, indeed. We couldn’t get a Toshiba representative to admit the depth perceptive display was destined for any upcoming devices, but we were told that the screen certainly “made sense” for a tablet device. The technology seems to be designed with a smaller form factor in mind, as the firm warned that larger versions of the screen, while possible, would suffer a drop in image quality. At 8-inches however, it looks mighty fine — although you’ll still need to look on from a centered sweet-spot to catch the 3D effect, a plague it shares with its glasses-free brethren . Check out our hands-on video (sans 3D, of course) after the break. Gallery: Toshiba’s 8-inch glasses-free 3D display eyes-on at SID 2011 Continue reading Toshiba’s tablet-ready, glasses-free 3D display debuts at SID 2011 (video) Toshiba’s tablet-ready, glasses-free 3D display debuts at SID 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 07:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Police believe taxi driver whose hands and feet were nailed to a cross carried out ordeal alone as a suicide A South Korean taxi driver found dead with his body nailed to a cross in an apparent re-creation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ probably carried out the ordeal on his own as a suicide, police have said. The 58-year-old man was wearing only underwear and a crown of thorns, his hands and feet nailed to the cross, a stab wound on his abdomen and nylon strings tied around his neck when he was found 1 May – one week after Easter – in an abandoned stone quarry in the country’s south. After days of investigation, police said they believe the man, surnamed Kim,took his own life without any assistance. Kim is believed to have nailed his feet to the cross, tied his neck to it and stabbed himself in the side. He is then believed to have drilled holes in his hands and slipped them over nails on the cross, Gyeongbuk provincial police agency officers said, describing the death under condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press. Officials re-enacted some elements of the crucifixion and concluded that an adult male could perform the act on his own, the agency said. The man was a devout Christian, and police speculated that his “deep religious faith” may have helped him endure “immense pain”. Police said they found the man’s notes planning the crucifixion. Before his apparent suicide, Kim closed his bank account and cancelled his mobile phone contract in apparent preparation to end his life, police said. A post-mortem examination showed the man died of bleeding from the stab wound and suffocation, police said. Officers said they had no information on when exactly the man put himself on the cross and how long he might have been there before dying. Popular representations of the death of Jesus Christ depict him crucified between the crosses of two thieves, wearing a crown of thorns, a white cloth over his loins, with a wound on his side from a Roman soldier’s spear. South Korea guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Next Issue Media brings magazine subscriptions to Samsung Galaxy Tabs, but not all of them
May 18, 2011 No Comment
It’s been a busy month in the world of e-publishing. First, Time Inc . inked a deal to bring magazine subscriptions to the iPad, with both Hearst and Conde Nast following suit. And now, a consortium of publishing powerhouses known as Next Issue Media is looking to expand its tablet-based readership to Android users, as well. Beginning tomorrow, people who bought a wireless-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab from Verizon will be able to purchase single copies of, or monthly subscriptions to seven magazines from the so-called “Hulu of Magazines,” which includes Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Time Inc., and News Corp. Users already subscribing to print editions will receive free digital subscriptions, though they won’t be able to purchase both print and digital combo packages (that’s on the way). Publishers, meanwhile, will be able to set their own prices and, according to Next Issue CEO Morgan Guenther, will receive “at least” 70-percent of all transactions — the same percentage that Apple offers. Under this new Android deal, however, all of Next Issue’s members will be able to freely access their subscribers’ credit card information and other personal data — something that Apple has steadfastly denied them. Obviously, it’s far too early to tell whether or not this deal will give publishers more leverage in their negotiations with Cupertino, as the service will only be available to a small slice of Android tablet users. But Guenther says his organization is planning on releasing more titles for more devices this fall, with at least 40 magazines due out by year’s end, along with an app for HP’s WebOS. Next Issue Media brings magazine subscriptions to Samsung Galaxy Tabs, but not all of them originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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• ILO measure shows drop in jobless numbers • Youth unemployment declined • But claimant count rose by 12,400 in April • Average pay up 2.3% Unemployment fell by 36,000 in the first three months of the year despite the economy’s lacklustre rate of growth, official figures show, in a rare piece of good news for George Osborne. The Office for National Statistics said the number of people out of work on the government’s preferred International Labour Organisation measure fell to 2.46m, taking the unemployment rate to 7.7%, from 7.8% in the three months to February. It marks the second successive month of declining joblessness, helping to ease the pain for households facing rising inflation and heavy debts. Youth unemployment – a potential political flashpoint for the coalition – also declined, to 935,000, though that still means one-in-five 16 to 24-year-olds are out of work. There was fresh evidence of the labour market’s continued vulnerability, however, with a 12,400 increase in the more timely claimant count measure for April, with more than three quarters of the rise accounted for by women, who tend to be disproportionately hit by cuts in public sector jobs. The number of women claiming out-of-work benefits, at 474,000, is now at its highest level since 1996. Howard Archer, of consultancy IHS Global Insight, said the jump in the claimant count in March could signal further weakness in the coming months. He pointed out that while 118,000 new jobs were created in the three months to March, most of those were in January, with just 7,000 new hires last month. “We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector that will result from the fiscal squeeze that is now really kicking in. Indeed, we believe that private sector companies will become increasingly careful in their employment plans in the face of a struggling economy and elevated input costs.” There is still little evidence of inflation-busting wage rises, according to the ONS report – average pay rose at an annual rate of 2.3% including bonuses, or a more modest 2.1% when bonuses are excluded. Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said that was good news for the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee as it battles inflation; but bad news for anyone trying to sell goods and services to hard-pressed British consumers. “The advantage of low pay growth is that it will help keep the current high rate of inflation from becoming entrenched. The downside is that, with inflation at 4.5%, this means that real pay is falling at a rate of 2.3% a year, which is going to further stifle consumer spending. This weakness of the household sector may well be a feature of the economy for some time to come,” he said. Unemployment and employment statistics Economics Unemployment Job losses Heather Stewart guardian.co.uk
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Lady Gaga’s relentless, shameless, sledgehammer pop nearly always hits the spot – if you ignore the cheesy saxophones There’s an unnerving moment that occurs when hearing Lady Gaga’s second album, Born This Way, for the first time. It comes as soon as the plodding keyboard chords ring out on opening track Marry the Night and you wonder if the stage is set for this to be the first of several self-indulgent ballads. It will be a fear familiar to anyone who tuned into Radio 1′s Big Weekend expecting a rapid-fire run through her storming pop hits and was met inexplicably with several minutes of jazz trumpet. Among the madness, the Madonna-comparisons and the meat dresses has Lady Gaga lost track of what made her little monsters fall in love with her in the first place? If so, it would certainly fit the most recent narrative – Lady Gaga’s rise to the top of the pop tree has landed on a particularly wobbly branch during this album’s promotional campaign. First fans grumbled that the title track bore remarkable similarity to Madonna’s Express Yourself . Then disapproving voices in the gay community complained that Gaga had hijacked their sexuality as a marketing tool. So intense was the chatter around Born This Way, in fact, there was even a backlash over the artwork . Such fears on the musical front, however, do not last long – Marry the Night’s softer stylings are soon sent packing by what Gaga had always promised would be “sledgehammering dance beats”. It’s a pattern that holds throughout Born This Way. No matter how a song begins – pizzicato strings, operatic vocals, 80s rawk guitar – it’s soon engulfed in buzzsaw synths and robo-precise rhythms. This is shameless, club-orientated pop that aims for instant impact. Gaga has made much of the various themes on offer – religion (Judas, Bloody Mary), freedom (Road to Love), identity (Hair, Born This Way) – and these messages are hammered home rather than hinted at. Nobody expected Born This Way, hyped by Elton John as a “new gay anthem”, to reference post-queer theory texts, but it’s safe to say that subtlety isn’t one of its strong points. Elsewhere, Hair uses follicles as a metaphor for freedom – not exactly a brave new concept for anyone who’s seen the 60s musical Hair (or caught the sermon from Danny in Withnail & I for that matter). Trite lyrics abound (“I just want to be free, I just want to be me”) but these weaknesses can also be strengths, and there’s something admirable about the way the aforementioned trio of tracks address confused teenagers in search of their identity. Bad Kids, in particular, is a Vince Clarke-esque stormer listing a series of flaws (“I’m a jerk”, “I’m a bitch”, “I’m a selfish punk”) that places Gaga, like Pink, as a mainstream pop star addressing outsider America. That said, when the music drops out midway, Gaga could have come back with a slightly more hard-hitting line than “I’m a twit”. Born This Way boasts a pop vision flexible enough to be both serious (Americano embraces Latino sounds to tackle Arizona’s immigration laws) and surreal (Road to Love is Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ only, er, about unicorns) yet it almost always hits its target. Scheiße might be influenced by the decadent Berlin techno scene but, crucially, it has a ridiculously catchy chorus. Indeed, anyone disappointed with the singles from Born This Way, none of which lived up to Bad Romance or Poker Face, can take comfort in the fact that they are by no means the standout tracks here. So relentless is the pace, in fact, that towards the end of this mammoth album (14 songs, plus bonus tracks), when those sledgehammer beats bash you one too many times, you do start to wish for a nice little piano ballad as a breather. That finally comes with the penultimate Yoü and I , which aims for a Hey Jude style singalong but – owing to its determination to have someone playing kitchen sink in the background – ends up as bloated as Oasis’ All Around the World. The occasional drift towards indulgence is not a total surprise. With release dates given away as “gifts” on Twitter, gigs that start out in embryonic eggs and the release of the album as a stream with an arguably bizarre choice of newspaper group , Born This Way is by far the most hyped album of 2011. Clearly one to play this down, Gaga told fans last year: “I promise to give you the greatest album of the decade.” This is not that album, even by the standards of a pop star who thrives on stretching the imagination. Gaga has surrendered her artier leanings in the quest for a pure pop record, the consequences of which are that it occasionally strays too far into cheese territory. The saxophones on Edge of Glory, for instance, are apparently a homage to Bruce Springsteen but would be equally at home on Take That’s Million Love Songs. Marry the Night, meanwhile, doesn’t quite shake off the feeling that its chorus had a previous incarnation as Dr Alban’s It’s My Life . But then this, perhaps, has always been the thrilling paradox of Lady Gaga – that she can be the most exciting, confounding and mind-bogglingly creative artist on planet pop while still sounding like an early-90s Tampax advert. Rating: 4/5 Lady Gaga Pop and rock Tim Jonze guardian.co.uk
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Police in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state found 513 migrants on Tuesday inside two trailer trucks bound for the United States. Police discovered the migrants while using X-ray equipment on the trucks at a checkpoint. (May 18)
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TV network says Dorothy Parvaz is safe and well three weeks after apparently being detained and sent to Iran An al-Jazeera journalist who went missing in Syria three weeks ago has been released after she was apparently detained and sent to Iran, the Qatar-based television channel said. Al-Jazeera assigned Dorothy Parvaz to the capital, Damascus, to cover protests that have posed the boldest challenge yet to 41 years of rule by President Bashar al-Assad and his family. Al-Jazeera posted a statement online regarding Parvaz, who has US, Canadian and Iranian nationality. “On Wednesday morning, the al-Jazeera network confirmed that she had been released and was safe and in good health,” it read. “She landed in Doha, Qatar on 18 May on a flight from Iran.” The company added that Parvaz had not been allowed contact with the outside world after her flight landed in Damascus on 29 April. Her disappearance sparked widespread online calls for her release, including a Twitter hashtag and a Facebook page entitled “Free Dorothy Parvaz”. Al-Jazeera said that Parvaz’s fiance posted on Facebook: “She is safe in Doha and will be coming to Vancouver, BC soon. We can’t wait to see her.” Al-Jazeera Syria Iran Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Television industry TV news guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bill Gates considers Skype ‘a great purchase’ for Microsoft, helped make it happen
May 18, 2011 No Comment
The aftermath of Microsoft’s announcement that it’ll buy Skype for $8.5 billion was filled with speculation about why the price was so high, who Microsoft was bidding against , and who inside Redmond was the driving force behind such a large expenditure. At least one of those queries has been demystified today, thanks to Bill Gates asserting himself as “a strong proponent at the board level for the deal being done.” Microsoft’s Chairman of the Board expressed his enthusiasm for gobbling up Skype in an interview with the BBC — one which UK residents may see in full at the iPlayer link below — and concluded that “it’s a great purchase that a lot of innovation will come out of.” Adding his support to Steve Ballmer’s already public excitement about the Skype takeover, Bill stresses that “the importance of software is higher today than ever,” while also predicting that video conferencing is set to become much better and bigger than we’ve yet seen. We’ve got our webcams at the ready, Bill! Bill Gates considers Skype ‘a great purchase’ for Microsoft, helped make it happen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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