Click here to view this media At least one Republican presidential contender isn’t running from his past. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was proud of his past as a “lobbyist, a politician and a lawyer” when he was asked about it Sunday. “You said last year, you’re the governor of a poor state, you have a distinct drawl, and you have been — were a big time Washington lobbyist for a decade, Fox News’ Chris Wallace noted. “You said, some people would consider those handicaps for running for president, you don’t. Why not?” “I’m a lobbyist,” Barbour admitted. “The guy who gets elected or the lady who gets elected will immediately be lobbying. They’ll be advocating to the Congress, they’ll be lobbying our allies and our adversaries overseas, they’ll be asking the business community, the labor unions. You just — that’s just what presidents do for a living.” “You were one of Washington’s biggest most successful lobbyists for more than a decade,” Wallace pressed. “Let me just make this very plain. I’m a lobbyist, a politician and a lawyer,” Barbour replied. “That’s the trifecta and I’m willing to have my record in front of everybody.” If Barbour does decide to try for the Republican presidential nomination, he may have an uphill battle. Only 3 percent gave the Mississippi governor their vote in the this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll .
Continue reading …Sony Ericsson touts Xperia Play multiplayer gaming, promises 50 titles at launch
February 13, 2011 No Comment
A gaming phone’s not very special without some games to back it up, and Sony Ericsson has thankfully filled in at least a few new details about that part of the equation at its MWC press conference today. That includes a hint of some mobile hotspot-based multiplayer gaming, and a promise of “over 50 titles” that will be available at launch, including Guitar Hero , Assassin’s Creed , Dead Space and Reckless Racing . Unfortunately, it’s not clear how many of those will actually be exclusive to the Xperia Play as opposed to Android phones in general, although it seems that Dungeon Defenders Wave 2 will be one non-PlayStation exclusive to the platform (along with some extra levels for Reckless Racing ). Stay tuned for more details as we get them. Update: Head on past the break for a video that gives a glimpse of a few more games. Continue reading Sony Ericsson touts Xperia Play multiplayer gaming, promises 50 titles at launch Sony Ericsson touts Xperia Play multiplayer gaming, promises 50 titles at launch originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The fall of the regime in Egypt has raised hopes in the Gaza Strip, as Palestinians look for an easing of restrictions at the border. Before Egypt’s mass demonstrations began, it would allow up to 500 Gazans a day to enter Egypt. But only patients, foreign passport holders and people who had special co-ordination with Egyptian intelligence. The Rafah crossing has been closed for the last few weeks and patients can not get out of Gaza for treatment. Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports from Gaza
Continue reading …Russell Brand bounded across the Atlantic to host Saturday Night Live last night, and not everyone is glad he made the trip. Some reactions from around the blogosphere: Brand’s presence “(begat) a gaggle of English-themed content, and not one but two period sketches. (Sort of.) We just can’t get…
Continue reading …Sony Ericsson Xperia Play available in March, on Verizon in ‘early spring’
February 13, 2011 No Comment
The phone itself was hardly a surprise, but one of the details we didn’t know about the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play was release date. We still don’t have a specific day, but we do at least have a month: March. The phone is said to be coming to the US first, and Verizon will be the exclusive carrier domestically. Things are even more vague about when it’ll be coming to VZW, nothing beyond “early spring,” but March certainly falls in that window. Lots more details in our Sony Ericsson MWC liveblog . Sony Ericsson Xperia Play available in March, on Verizon in ‘early spring’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The Guardian has an excellent report on the state of water in China when it comes to wheat production. “Local newspapers have been filled with stories of the drought’s impact on the “wheat basket” provinces of Henan, Anhui and Hunan. About 2.6 million people and 2.8 million livestock are affected. To induce precipitation, the army and metereological officials have fired cloud-seeding chemicals into the sky.” Get a better understanding of the depth and extent of the drought, and what it means for food production. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …The royal love story has been chronicled in speech bubbles and sketches. A comic book telling the story of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s romance is due to be published in April, joining a host of other memorabilia ahead of their wedding. (Feb. 13)
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SANA, Yemen — Young protesters in Yemen squared off against security forces on Sunday, and some marched on the presidential palace in Sana, witnesses said, as a third day of demonstrations sought to emulate the revolution in Egypt. The protests, organized largely via text message, were the largest yet by young Yemenis, with more than 1,000 marching. And it appeared to mark a rift with opposition groups who had organized previous demonstrations that wrested significant concessions from President Ali Abdullah Saleh, including the promise that he would give up power in 2013. Those established opposition groups did not join the crowd on Sunday, who were calling for the immediate ouster of…
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We’ll forgive you if you thought the Xperia Play was eons before. Let’s quickly run through its short-yet-illustrious history: we published first details in August last year, followed by the very first pictures in late October. More and more details emerged throughout the remainder of the year. By the time 2011 hit, a prototype was making the Chinese media rounds ( teardown included), and then we managed to get our own Xperia Play prototype for preview . It’s at this point that Sony Ericsson joins in on the fun with its creepy Super Bowl ad reveal. But after months of detailed leaks, early hands-on previews, and numerous executive non – denials , the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is finally 100 percent official. As we’ve heard for ages now, it’ll run Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with Qualcomm Adreno 205 graphics and display those games on a sizable 4-inch, 854 x 480 multi-touch LCD screen, the combination of which Sony says will provide 60 frames per second playback and manage up to 5 hours, 35 minutes of battery life in a single game session with the slide-out PlayStation Certified controller. Gaming credentials aside, you’re looking at either a quad-band GSM or CDMA and EV-DO smartphone with a 5-megapixel autofocus camera, LED flash, stereo speakers, Bluetooth and WiFi functionality baked in, as well as Sony Ericsson’s Timescape UI layer. The phone comes preloaded with a “legendary” PSone game of the undisclosed variety, as well as a bevy of popular Android games including Asphalt 6 , The Sims 3 and Tetris , and Sony Ericsson promises a library of 50 additional titles available at launch from 20 publishing partners. Some games ported from existing smartphone platforms (like Reckless Racing ) will have bonus content on Xperia Play, too. Local area multiplayer gaming is a go, as you’ll be able to host a WiFi hotspot on one device and join the game with another. It’s launching in March, and will be available on Verizon (a US timed exclusive) in “early spring,” suggesting that we’ll see the European launch before it hits the States. Update: Press release, full, gigantic spec sheet and loads of video after the break! Update 2: A brand new Xperia Play hands-on with games! Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play official pics Continue reading The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: video and full spec sheet!) The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: video and full spec sheet!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …We’ll forgive you if you thought the Xperia Play was eons before. Let’s quickly run through its short-yet-illustrious history: we published first details in August last year, followed by the very first pictures in late October. More and more details emerged throughout the remainder of the year. By the time 2011 hit, a prototype was making the Chinese media rounds ( teardown included), and then we managed to get our own Xperia Play prototype for preview . It’s at this point that Sony Ericsson joins in on the fun with its creepy Super Bowl ad reveal. But after months of detailed leaks, early hands-on previews, and numerous executive non – denials , the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is finally 100 percent official. As we’ve heard for ages now, it’ll run Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with Qualcomm Adreno 205 graphics and display those games on a sizable 4-inch, 854 x 480 multi-touch LCD screen, the combination of which Sony says will provide 60 frames per second playback and manage up to 5 hours, 35 minutes of battery life in a single game session with the slide-out PlayStation Certified controller. Gaming credentials aside, you’re looking at either a quad-band GSM or CDMA and EV-DO smartphone with a 5-megapixel autofocus camera, LED flash, stereo speakers, Bluetooth and WiFi functionality baked in, as well as Sony Ericsson’s Timescape UI layer. The phone comes preloaded with a “legendary” PSone game of the undisclosed variety, as well as a bevy of popular Android games including Asphalt 6 , The Sims 3 and Tetris , and Sony Ericsson promises a library of 50 additional titles available at launch from 20 publishing partners. Some games ported from existing smartphone platforms (like Reckless Racing ) will have bonus content on Xperia Play, too. Local area multiplayer gaming is a go, as you’ll be able to host a WiFi hotspot on one device and join the game with another. It’s launching in March, and will be available on Verizon (a US timed exclusive) in “early spring,” suggesting that we’ll see the European launch before it hits the States. Update: Press release, full, gigantic spec sheet and loads of video after the break! Update 2: A brand new Xperia Play hands-on with games! Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play official pics Continue reading The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: video and full spec sheet!) The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: video and full spec sheet!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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