Amazon announces Q4 2011 results: sales jump to $17.43 billion, but profits drop 58 percent

Amazon's just announced its earnings for the fourth quarter of the year, and it's a bit of a mixed bag. While net sales were up 35 percent year-over-year to $17.43 billion, net income dropped a hefty 58 percent to $177 million, or 38 cents a share -- that's off analysts' expectations, who were looking for sales in the neighborhood of $18.3 billion and earnings of 17 cents a share. As always, the company is remaining mum on any specific Kindle sales figures, but it says that sales of all Kindle devices nearly tripled over the holiday shopping season, and that the Kindle Fire remains the bestselling item across all of the products it offers; of course, the loss it's taking on each one is also one of the big reasons for that drop in profits.

Specific figures are equally hard to come by for some of Amazon's other services, but the company says the number of Appstore for Android customers has nearly tripled from the previous quarter (with them downloading more apps in Q4 than all of the previous quarters combined), and that the number of Instant Video customers has more than doubled year-over-year (with the number of streams increasing 300 percent from the previous quarter). Looking at the full year, sales for all of 2011 totaled $48.08 billion, up 41 percent from $34.2 billion in 2010, while net income dropped 45 percent to $631 million (down from $1.15 billion in 2010). And as for the future, Amazon is also lowering expectations somewhat for the first quarter of 2012, projecting that revenue will come in at $12 to $13.4 billion, and that net income could range from a $200 million loss to a gain of $100 million.

Continue reading Amazon announces Q4 2011 results: sales jump to $17.43 billion, but profits drop 58 percent

Amazon announces Q4 2011 results: sales jump to $17.43 billion, but profits drop 58 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/31/amazon-announces-q4-2011-results-sales-jump-to-17-43-billion/

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What makes scientists tick?

Psychologist Greg Feist is trying to find out what drives scientific curiosity, from ways of thinking to personality types

You are championing a new discipline: the psychology of science. What exactly is this?
It's the study of the thought and behaviour of scientists, but it also includes the implicit science done by non-scientists - so, for instance, children and infants who are thinking scientifically, trying to figure out the world and developing cognitive conceptual models of how the world works.

What areas interest you and what discoveries have you made in this field?
My area is personality. I look at the personality characteristics and qualities that distinguish scientists from non-scientists.

The personality characteristic that really stands out for predicting scientific interest is openness to experience: how willing and interested someone is to try new things, to explore, to break out of their habits. Open people get bored with routine. Another thing I've found is that social scientists tend to be higher in extroversion whereas physical scientists tend to be a bit more introverted.

I understand that certain people - Jewish people, for example - are more likely than average to become scientists. Why?
I was brought up Catholic and I married a Jewish woman. I spoke to my wife's rabbi and asked him this question. He said that in Judaism there is no hierarchy. No one person who has more access to the "truth" than anyone else. And there is a healthy tradition of debate. That way of critical thinking and debate is more congruent with the scientific attitude than Catholicism, say, which is based on dogma and hierarchy.

In the US, only 2 per cent of the population is Jewish, yet about 30 per cent of the members of the National Academy of Science and 30 per cent of the Nobel prize recipients are from a Jewish background. That's no coincidence.

What other areas of the psychology of science are ripe for research?
A couple of graduate students and I have started investigating if there is evidence that any kind of mental disorder is associated with scientific thought and behaviour. The general answer is no. In fact, most disorders seem to be screened out to a greater extent in the sciences than in the arts.

Have psychologists looked into the issue of how objective the scientific process really is?
Scientists are human. They're not perfectly objective and rational, but the scientific method tries to limit that as much as possible by having repeatable, observable, empirical methods to minimise the subjective element. The more we understand about the psychology of scientists the more we can mitigate the effect of cognitive bias.

How will this new discipline benefit science?
One of the things it will do is shed light on how and when people become interested in science. And why do some kids, who started out with an interest in science, then leave it? In the US it's a pretty big deal to discover what is lacking in our training and development of young scientists.

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Exxon selling Japanese subsidiary in $3.9B deal (AP)

Exxon Mobil Corp. is selling its Japanese refining and marketing business to partner TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. in a deal valued at $3.9 billion.

TonenGeneral Sekiyu will buy 99 percent of the shares of Exxon Mobil Yugen Kaisha, which refines and sells fuel and lubricants, the Japanese refiner said. Exxon Mobil's stake in TonenGeneral will drop to 22 percent from 50 percent.

Exxon Mobil said the deal, announced Sunday, will result in a refining and marketing business "better positioned to meet Japan's energy needs."

Large oil and gas companies have been shedding refining operations in recent years, especially in developed markets where demand for gasoline and diesel has been weak. Tightening car and truck fuel economy rules are expected to keep demand for fuels low for years to come.

Marathon Oil spun off its refining operations last July. This summer ConocoPhillips also plans to split itself in two, separating its refining operations from its more profitable oil and gas exploration and production business. BP and Shell are selling refineries in the U.S. and Western Europe.

Exploring and producing oil and gas is generally more profitable than refining crude into gasoline and diesel. It offers investors a chance for faster growth. Also, oil prices are high and are expected to remain so, which has helped producer profits and funded a boom in new exploration.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_bi_ge/us_exxon_japan

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Wagner wins 1st title in night of flawed skating

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Ashley Wagner has won her first title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, salvaging what was an otherwise dismal night of skating with a signature performance.

Third after the short program, Wagner needed a dazzling show and some help from others. She did her part, scoring 187.02 points, and then watched as two-time champ Alissa Czisny and Agnes Zawadzki melted down after her. When Wagner saw the final results, tears filled her eyes and she rested a hand on the shoulder of coach John Nicks.

Czisny managed to stay second, finishing seven points behind Wagner. Zawadzki was third.

Earlier Saturday, Meryl Davis and Charlie White won their fourth straight dance title.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-28-US%20Championships/id-aa9d753245f44670b0da98b67f2b2e71

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Behind Obama's financial aid 'shopping sheets' (AP)

NEW YORK ? President Barack Obama wants to make it easier to size up the cost of college.

As part of his broad plans to make college more affordable, Obama said Friday that he would push for financial aid "shopping sheets" that make it easier for families to comparison shop between schools.

Federal education officials say the goal is make adoption of the form mandatory for schools to maintain access to federal aid. That would be a powerful incentive, as the federal government issued more than $140 billion in grants and loans last year.

As it stands, officials say the financial aid award letters that schools mail out to students in the spring can be unclear or even misleading. That can result in students signing up for more debt than they realize.

For example, schools usually state an "out of pocket" cost in award letters after subtracting aid such as grants and scholarships. But some schools also subtract loans from the out-of-pocket cost. That's despite the fact that loans actually push up costs because of interest charges.

Schools also may not spell out the type of loans that's included in the aid package, even though the terms on federal and private loans can differ significantly.

To address the issue, the Department of Education and the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rolled out a model financial aid form in October and asked for the public's comments on how it could be improved. On Friday, the CFPB said feedback indicated the most important figure for students is the amount of debt they would have upon graduation.

The Department of Education was required to develop the model form as part of federal education reforms in 2008. The adoption of such a form has also been widely supported by student advocates.

The push to standardize financial aid award letters comes at a time when students are graduating with more debt than ever before. The Institute for College Access & Success estimates that two-thirds of graduates have student loans, with an average debt of about $24,000.

___

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/us_comparing_college_costs

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VOTE! What Do You Think of Reese Witherspoon's Bangs?

The actress shows off her freshly cut fringe! Check out more star tress-formations and tell us what you think!

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Google Music now lets you download your entire library

Computer meltdown? No backup? Well, at least your tunes are safe. Google Music just gained a new feature that lets you to download your entire library including purchased songs. A simple click in the Music Manager is all it takes to restore your entire collection -- or just your purchased music -- from the cloud. In addition, the web interface now allows you to select and copy multiple tracks to your device of choice. While there are no limitations when using the Music Manager, purchased items are restricted to two downloads each via the web interface. So next time your system crashes go right ahead -- rev up that broadband and fill up those hard drives.

Google Music now lets you download your entire library originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu moves beyond the desktop with new TV interface, menu-killing navigation system (Digital Trends)

Late last year, Ubuntu announced it would bring the open source operating system to mobile devices. Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth said Ubuntu will soon be found on ?tablets, phones, TVs and smart screens from the car to the office kitchen, and it will connect those devices cleanly and seamlessly to the desktop, the server and the cloud.?

Much debate has followed Ubunto?s mobile strategy, the general consensus being that its loyal followers and fans of Linux everywhere are the least interested in testing this technology. Still, doubt over how well it would compete against that other open source, Linux-based option (a little something called Android) remains.

Since the announcement, Ubuntu has been relatively quiet about its mobile and smart device progress, until very recently.

Ubuntu TV: Coming soon? maybe

At CES earlier this month, Canonical introduced the Ubuntu smart TV interface. ?Ubuntu TV is a vision of how TV will work in the future. With no cables, no boxes and no hassles, the goal is to uncomplicated television for the average viewer while delivering to him or her all the services and options that they are becoming used to,? the company said. The system allows you not only to watch broadcast or streaming content, but also to access your own media files as well, via the cloud. It?s built into your TV, not available from a box-top or separate device. Also, there is no browser option, something Ubuntu doesn?t believe belongs in the television.

But like every other company trying to break into the connected TV segment, there are some very big barriers. And like its competitors, Ubuntu is going to have a hard time breaking them down. Content rights holders have become notoriously difficult to strike deals with, and manufacturing partners can be tricky to nail down.

Working in its favor is the fact that Ubuntu wants nothing more than to be the operating system for your TV. It has no plans to get into content production (like Google has done with YouTube), or develop its own app or other content distribution platform (which comes tied to Apple products). Ubuntu?s service steps on fewer toes than some of its major competitors do.

?From a cost perspective as well as a ?make the life of the manufacturer? easy perspective, Ubuntu will be a solid contender,? Ubuntu expert and author of Ubuntu Unleashed?2012 Edition: Covering 11.10 and 12.04 (7th edition)?Matthew Helmke tells us. ?Companies like Vizio, that make smart TVs with pretty cool software and interfaces, could be able to offload some of their development expenses and in-house programming burden.?

Still, Ubuntu TV, for the moment, largely remains conceptual. There isn?t so much of a hint as to a shipping date, and if there are any manufacturing partners, both parties are keeping quiet about it. But in true Ubuntu form, there are instructions on how you can make your own Ubuntu-supported smart TV.

New interface design

While the announcement of Ubuntu TV definitely has a certain flash appeal to it, a new display interface deserves just as much attention. Canonical?s Mark Shuttleworth recently blogged about the change, called the Head-up Display (or HUD) that does away with the menu and tries to better reflect how the human brain works.

?We noticed that [new as well as established] users spent a lot of time, relatively speaking, navigating the menus of their applications, either to learn about the capabilities of the app, or to take a specific action,? he says. ?We were also conscious of the broader theme in Unity design of leading from user intent. And that set us on a course which lead to today?s first public milestone on what we expect will be a long, fruitful and exciting journey.?

In order to execute commands, the HUD interface eliminates the need to scroll through menus, instead giving users immediate control over the applications they are using. Watch the video demo below to get a look at HUD in action.

Now HUD is definitely meant for the desktop in many respects ? Shuttleworth specifically mentions that, saying, ?The desktop remains central to our everyday work and play, despite all the excitement around tablets, TVs and phones.? However, there?s great potential for how this fast and accessible system could translate to Ubuntu for mobile devices. Helmke agrees: ?I think HUD will be wonderful on mobile. It is faster than using menus, which are terrible for mobile devices anyway.?

And the innovation that Ubuntu has planned for mobile will interact seamlessly with this new approach. ?Once the promised voice interface is completely, HUD will be hard to beat.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Ubuntu?s going mobile: Will it survive?

MeeGo killed in favor of Tizen, a new OS backed by Samsung and Intel

Microsoft previews Windows 8 at BUILD

Television and social integration: What exactly do consumers want?

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Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani

Distro is 25... weeks old, today! And to celebrate we're debuting a new page that puts you, our readers, front and center. We've been sending out questions over various social networking channels and collecting your answers for the inaugural run of Snap Analysis. Among other things, you weighed in on RIM's CEO switch up, as did our own Darren Murph in his editorial, "RIM's New CEO Isn't the Shakeup It Needed." We have more editorializing coming your way from the desk of Donald Melanson, who's taking the Ultrabook marketing hype to task. Also in this issue, we test drive the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 and review the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 and Huawei's Honor. Lifehacker's Gina Trapani takes on the Distro Q&A, IRL goes back to CES and Ross Rubin explores Apple's education push. There's a lot to soak up in this issue, so hit the appropriate link below and get to reading!

Continue reading Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani

Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Russell Brand To Star In Michael Bay's 'Hauntrepreneur'

Brand will also perform at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball, along with Coldplay, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
By Jocelyn Vena

Russell Brand has nabbed a starring role in the Michael Bay-produced "The Hauntrepreneur."

The movie will revolve around a "peculiar man" (presumably Brand, given his penchant for those types of roles), who is hired by a family to help them adjust to living in a new town. Calling himself the "Hauntrepreneur," he creates a haunted house full of kooky characters to try to help them get acclimated to their new surroundings, Variety reports.

The studio, Paramount, has yet to comment on the casting. It marks the latest move Brand has made since filing for divorce from Katy Perry over New Year's weekend.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Brand will perform as part of an Amnesty International benefit March 4 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. It marks his first public appearance since news broke of his split from Perry. Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Reggie Watts and others will also appear at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball.

Brand will next be seen in "Rock of Ages," alongside Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige and Alec Baldwin. The big-screen adaptation of Broadway's rock musical will open June 1. He's also attached to Diablo Cody's "Untitled Diablo Cody Project," which also will feature Hough.

Additionally, he's working with the FX network on a series of six half-hour late-night comedy specials that will be filmed in front of a live audience as well as an animated comedy he co-created that will air on the Fox network.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677931/russell-brand-hauntrepreneur-movie.jhtml

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Yogurt dip: Dannon joins Super Bowl party

By Rob Neill, msnbc.com

If turkey is the national dish on Thanksgiving, on Super Bowl Sunday it's pizza, wings, seven-layer dip and beer.

Now Dannon plans to bring yogurt to the party. The company will?debut its?first ever ad during the game Feb. 5?featuring its?Oikos Greek yogurt brand.

The spot, featuring b-list actor John Stamos, comes at a time when popularity of Greek yogurt is soaring. Partially for that reason, the company felt comfortable spending ?in the $3.5 million range? for the 30-second spot, said , Dannon spokesman Michael Neuwirth.

?It?s not to change snacking habits during the Super Bowl obviously,? he said. ?But we?re in a category of food that continues to grow. It?s a long-term trend.?

And for exposure, ?there?s no better way to do that than the Super Bowl.?

The spot, which will debut online in the days before the Super Bowl XLVI, features a woman enjoying Oikos at her breakfast table. The ?alarmingly handsome? (Neuwirth?s words) Stamos enters the kitchen. She offers a bite to Stamos. Then he offers her a bite, but pulls it back at the last second to eat it himself. A few more teases later there is a battle between the two that ? well, Neuwirth said, you?ll have to watch the ad.

It has no dialogue.

Actor John Stamos and a young woman share, and then don't share, some nibbles of Oikos Greek yogurt in the company's first-ever Super Bowl ad.

?

A woman eating yogurt? For breakfast? John Stamos? Isn?t Dannon concerned that?s a bit feminine for the big game?

?The yogurt-buying public is broader than you think,? Neuwirth said. ?More than 80 percent of households have yogurt in the refrigerator at some point during the year.?

?The business environment is right for us. Especially with the sustained interest in Greek yogurt.?

Greek yogurt, which is thicker than ordinary yogurt, with more protein and less fat, now?accounts?for a quarter of U.S. yogurt sales, according to The Associated Press.?Neuwirth said the appetite among male customers is increasing.

In any case the?battle-of-the-sexes theme is a?tired-and-true Super Bowl tradition, as much a part of the game as?the pratfalls and talking animals that dominate ads during the big game.

?Anecdotally we?ve heard (the commercial) has a strong appeal to men, for in some cases the same attributes? as women, he said.

Each year, a few companies take the risky plunge and try advertising for the first time on the nation's biggest televised stage. With a reported cost that has risen this year to as much as?$4 million for 30 seconds plus production costs, it?s a bet that does not always pan out (ask Pets.com).

?We started our company in 1942, Neuwirth said. "We?re not a technology company that?(has)?an untested model. We understand there is a higher expectation of quality and creativity. But this ad is very different from our everyday ads.?

Dannon, based in White Plains, N.Y., is a unit of France's Danone.

Full coverage:

The Super Bowl of Advertising

Super Bowl XLVI on NBC Sports

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10228623-pizza-wings-and-yogurt-dannon-joins-super-bowl-party-for-first-time

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Sen. Rand Paul has run-in with TSA

The Kentucky senator was detained by TSA officials at the Nashville airport after setting off the alarm on a full body metal detector, then refusing to be patted down. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

Updated at 4:25 p.m. ET: Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., clashed with the Transportation Security Administration at a Nashville airport on Monday morning and says that was was "detained" by the government agency.

NBC News reported that he set off a full-body scanning machine while going through airport security. Paul reportedly raised his right pant leg, which may have set off the scanner. Paul, according to aides, said it was ?clearly a glitch? and asked to proceed through the machine a second time. The TSA demanded a full-body pat-down, which Paul refused.

"I was told I couldn't leave, that kind of sounds like you are being detained," Paul told NBC News. "I was put into a small cubicle and told not to leave."

NBC News' Tom Costello reports that, according to sources at the TSA, Paul was not detained, but was escorted by police out of the checkpoint.

In a statement to NBC News, TSA spokesman Greg Soule said, ?When an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport. Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling.?

Paul was eventually permitted through airport security, according to Soule. ?The passenger has since rebooked on another flight and was rescreened without incident,? he said in a statement at about noon on Monday.

Paul, who has previously called for the TSA to be abolished, told NBC News that passengers should not be subjected to pat-downs.

"I really think no American should have to go through all of this," he said. "I think if the screener goes off and you don't want to have a pat down search, you ought to be able to go back through the screener." Paul says he was sent back through the screener when he went to board his re-booked flight.

Related stories:

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216573-sen-rand-paul-has-run-in-with-tsa

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I'm fluffy... and reapery?

RolePlayGateway is proudly powered by obscene amounts of caffeine, duct tape, Wordpress, Moodle, phpBB, AJAX Chat, Mantis, and the efforts of many dedicated writers and roleplayers. It operates under a "don't like it, suggest an improvement" platform, and we gladly take suggestions for improvements or changes.

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Identity theft insurance not always worth the cost ? Maine Business ...

The phrase ?identity theft? has become one of those terms that makes one?s blood run cold. We?ve heard so many stories of financial losses, ruined credit and related horrors that we react emotionally to the subject.

That emotional response has prompted many consumers to buy insurance that kicks in if some form of identity theft strikes the insured. The question before us is, is such insurance worth the cost?

There?s no simple answer, as is usually the case in consumer matters. The quick historical view back to 2006 finds Consumer Reports said such coverage was ?typically not worth the money.? The magazine notes more than half of ID theft protection is sold by banks, and that those premiums amount to a consumer subsidy for federally required loss protection through credit card and bank account fraud. The passing of time hasn?t changed CR?s opinion that you can ? and should ? take more effective steps yourself to protect your credit and good name.

ID theft insurance typically costs $120 to $300 a year. That?s more than victims often incur through the theft and misuse of their credit card numbers, the most frequent type of ID theft. Federal law limits liability in such cases to $50 per card.

Those who sell the coverage point to the time-consuming process of restoring credit and correcting information on their credit histories. The insurers say their policies can help consumers cope with what can be a trying and frustrating process.

Most people in the insurance industry give the same advice they would when buying other types of coverage. Find out what the policy limits are; the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says most ID theft policies have policy limits of $10,000 to $15,000. If the policy covers lost wages, find out how the coverage is triggered and what limits apply. Know if there is a deductible; some policies require the holder to pay as much as $500 toward the cost of reclaiming your financial identity before the insurer pays a penny.

Before buying, check your homeowner?s insurance policy. It may include ID theft coverage, or you might be able to add coverage more affordably than buying separate coverage. If you decide to buy a separate policy, compare the coverage of several companies.

The insurance commissioners warn against becoming a victim of insurance fraud by making sure the agent and company you?re dealing with are licensed to do business in Maine. Find the Bureau of Insurance online ( http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance), by phone (207-624-8475 or TTY 888-577-6690) or by writing to the Bureau at 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

David Leach, principal consumer credit examiner for the Maine?s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, advises people to be their own advocates. Leach says it?s critical for each of us to get one free credit report from one of the reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) every four months. Do this by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com and only that site. That, plus keeping a close watch on all credit card activity, will help keep identity thieves at bay.

As to separate insurance, Leach says, ?Consumers who sign up for these types of services are paying close to $250.00 a year for a service they can essentially run themselves.? He notes that most financial institutions that issue credit cards will waive all losses in cases of identity theft or fraud. Visit the bureau?s website at www.credit.maine.gov.

For a rundown on federal ID theft laws and tips to protect yourself, visit the Federal Trade Commission website, www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine?s membership-funded, nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write: Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, or go to necontact.wordpress.com, or email atcontacexdir@live.com.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/22/business/identity-theft-insurance-not-always-worth-the-cost/

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Amazon may become greenhouse gas emitter

In the struggle against global warming, the Amazon rain forest may be about to switch sides.

Its dense vegetation has long helped cool the planet by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But mass tree deaths brought about by recent droughts and deforestation may be pushing the region to a point at which it will give off more of the greenhouse gas than it absorbs.

?The Amazon might still be a sink for carbon, but if it is it?s definitely moving towards being a source,? says Eric Davidson, director of the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Mass. Reporting in the Jan. 19 Nature, Davidson and 14 other researchers from the United States and Brazil weigh evidence that the world?s largest rain forest has become increasingly vulnerable to change.

Thanks to regular measurements of 100,000 trees, scientists estimate that the Amazon was sucking up about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually at the turn of the century. ?Plants absorb the gas during photosynthesis, storing the carbon component as leaves, wood and roots and injecting it into the soil. The entire rain forest is thought to contain about 100 billion tons of carbon, equivalent to 10 years of global CO₂ emissions from burning fossil fuels.

It?s clear that much of this carbon is now being released at the Amazon?s southern and eastern edges, says Davidson, in places where forests have been cleared by loggers or burned to make room for cattle and crops.

Not only do these bald patches store little carbon, they also threaten remaining trees by reducing the amount of moisture that is released into the air and by pulling rain away from the surrounding forest.

Dry seasons in the southern and eastern fringes of the Amazon have gotten longer. And when the rains do come, precipitation that would have been captured by forest runs off into rivers instead. A 2003 study in the Journal of Hydrology found that water flowing through Tocantins River in southeastern Amazonia increased by nearly 25 percent as croplands spread to encompass almost half of the land draining into the river.

For now, the impact of this deforestation will probably remain confined to parts of the Amazon. One computer simulation suggested that a surge in deforestation that cleared 40 percent of the Amazon basin could trigger a tipping point, a runaway conversion of forest to savanna. But Davidson?s team argues that the uncertainties are too great to make such a prediction.?

Climate change, rather than direct deforestation, may ultimately be the factor that threatens the Amazon as a whole. Rising global temperatures are predicted to warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean and stimulate the El Ni?o weather patterns that influence how much rain falls on the Amazon, making droughts more frequent and more severe.

?Our work suggests that as the planet gets warmer, places like the Amazon are probably going to lose carbon,? says Kevin Gurney, an atmospheric scientist at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Trees in the Amazon?s interior are naturally resilient against drought. Their roots reach far below the surface, tapping deep water sources that provide sustenance during lean times.

But even deep-drinking trees have their limits. In a study reported in 2010 in New Phytologist, scientists channeled away up to half of the rain falling on small plots of land in eastern Amazonia for seven years. By the third year, tree growth had slowed substantially and tree death had nearly doubled.

A severe dry spell in 2005 pushed many trees beyond what they could handle even faster. Rainfall decreased over a third of the Amazon, by as much as 75 percent in some places. At the time, scientists estimated that the forest released more than 1.5 billion tons of carbon as trees died off, and labeled the devastation a once-in-a-century event.

Then an even worse drought hit in 2010, when an even larger area lost even more carbon. An analysis of satellite images reported last April in Geophysical Research Letters showed the forest turning brown.

?We?ve seen two climatologically unusual droughts in the last few years,? says Oliver Phillips, a tropical ecologist at the University of Leeds in England. But while these droughts are consistent with the expected consequences of climate change, Phillips is quick to point out that they could be just a statistical fluke, a couple of bad years brought on by natural variability. ?Distinguishing a trend from a natural cycle is difficult,? he says.?

As scientists continue to grapple with understanding what?s happening to the Amazon?s carbon, progress has been made in curbing deforestation in Brazil. Though setting fires to clear land remains a common practice, logging has decreased to less than a fourth of what it was in 2004. Ultimately, the scientists studying the region hope that human beings and the rainforest can find a way to remain allies.

?Brazil has the potential to move from an emerging-market country to a developed country without having destroyed its forests,? says Davidson. ?That?s not something that most countries, including the United States, can say.?

Found in: Environment

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337827/title/Amazon_may_become_greenhouse_gas_emitter

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French senate backs Armenia genocide bill (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? France's upper house of parliament approved a bill on Monday that would make it a criminal offence to deny genocide, legislation that has caused tension between Paris and Ankara.

The bill, which was approved by the lower house in December, has triggered outrage in Turkey as it would include the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in Ottomon Turkey.

The text will now be put to President Nicolas Sarkozy who should approve it before parliament takes a break at the end of February ahead of the presidential election.

(Reporting By John Irish)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_france_turkey_genocide

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Swag suites abound at the Sundance Film Festival (AP)

PARK CITY, Utah ? Where there are celebrities, there is swag, and the Sundance Film Festival is no exception. Nearly a dozen gift suites opened their doors Friday afternoon along the city's Main Street.

Kate Bosworth, Andy Samberg, Emma Roberts and Rashida Jones are among the famous folks who stopped by the VEVO PowerStation SOREL Suite, where they could indulge in moisturizing facials and lip treatments from Fresh cosmetics and outfit their feet in snow-ready footwear.

"I think we belong here," said Kimberly Barta, global brand director for SOREL snow boots. "It just makes sense."

The company is also offering a 24-hour concierge service that will deliver boots around the clock to stars who can't stop by the suite.

At the Alive Expo Green Pavilion, guests could pick up natural skincare products and handmade handbags by Kenyan artisans from Tembo Trading Co.

The Bertolli Meal Soup Chalet served up bowls of hot soup and handed out sunglasses and Lumene skincare products to visitors. Joe Pastorkovich of Lumene said Sundance is the perfect place to introduce the European brand to an American audience.

"We're expanding into the U.S., and our brand connects well to Park City," he said. "It's a good fit because of the naturalness of the product, and we're unpretentious. This festival is about independent film, and we're an independent brand."

Italian shoe company Carlo Pazolini also exhibited (and gifted) its wares at the Sundance fest as a means of expanding its market reach.

"We're a European company launching in the U.S., so we wanted to get our name out there," company executive Jennifer Damiano said from the Miami Oasis suite, where she gave away high-end leather shoes and handbags. Guests at the suite were also treated to gluten-free snacks, hair styling by got2B, and cocktails from DiSaronno and Patron.

The Miami Oasis is just one part of the brand-heavy T-Mobile Village at the Lift, which includes McDonald's McCafe Lounge, the Puma Social Lounge and a temporary Tao nightclub.

Actress Blythe Danner stopped by the Fender Music Lodge, which offered live music and swag including Bear Paw boots and Park Lane jewelry.

Sundance sponsors HP, Acura, Chase Sapphire and the Sundance Channel also hosted suites along Main Street.

Alex Wilson, who produced the VEVO suite, said brands love Sundance because of the concentrated star power and media presence.

"In one location for five days, you can't get any bigger as far as names and exposure," he said. "With the heat of Park City, word travels fast."

And the number of branded suites keeps growing, too, much to the chagrin of Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford. He lamented that the success of the festival has attracted what he calls "leveragers" who muddle its mission of nurturing and celebrating independent film.

"They come in with their own agendas to use the festival to piggyback their agendas," he said. "It's a free country and there's nothing we can do about that ... but we have to work harder and harder to point to the fact that this is about the filmmakers. This is about their work and showing their work to you."

Many of the gift suites will close by Monday. The Sundance Film Festival continues through Jan. 29.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/APSandy.

___

Online:

http://www.sundance.org/festival

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_en_ot/us_film_sundance_swag

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Turkey investigating extrajudicial killings (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Authorities have exhumed the bodies of three Kurds as part of their investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings by Turkish security forces in the 1990s.

The bodies were found Thursday in a village in southeast Turkey.

Earlier this month, authorities made two other grim discoveries in the region: at least 15 skulls in a suspected mass grave at a military unit and former prison, and bones that appear to be those of humans buried at an operating Turkish military outpost.

The nation's government has vowed to shed light on the alleged extrajudicial killings that occurred at the height of clashes with autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels, mostly in the southeast, in the 1990s.

Human right groups believe many of the hundreds of Kurds and leftists who disappeared in the 1990s were victims of summary executions by government forces, but there have been few prosecutions. Turkey has been excavating alleged mass graves for the past two years, though no bodies have been identified yet.

The fighting between the Kurdish rebels and the Turkish security forces has left tens of thousands of people dead since 1984.

"Extrajudicial killings, which are the shame of an era, are now being seriously investigated," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Thursday. "Some crimes which could not be talked about in the past are now on the way to being solved."

Turkey has conducted reforms as part of its European Union membership bid, clearing the way for families of the disappeared to pursue the cases.

Lawyer Ridvan Dalmis, who witnessed Thursday's excavation of the three bodies near the village of Yagizoymak, said the remains allegedly are those of civilians who were killed by security forces in June 1993 and hastily buried by Kurdish villagers before they were forced to evacuate the area.

"They were buried with their clothes and there were clear signs of bullet holes on their bones," Dalmis said in a telephone interview on Friday. "Their families identified them from their clothing, but still DNA tests will be conducted."

Authorities, meanwhile, were preparing to expand an excavation in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir after unearthing at least 15 skulls and human bones over the past 10 days at the site of a former prison and military unit, said Emin Aktar, head of the Bar Association in Diyarbakir.

The bones were found by workers restoring the prison, said Aktar. The prison, notorious for alleged torture, was closed down in 2009.

"At least 27 families have petitioned authorities, saying they might be the remains of their missing loved ones," Aktar said by telephone on Friday. "We don't know yet whether they were buried in the 1990s or earlier."

Earlier this week, authorities discovered some buried bones near a helicopter landing zone of a military outpost close to the village of Gorumlu near the Iraqi border, but it was not clear if they were human bones, said Nusirevan Elci, head of the Bar Association in the town of Sirnak.

"The excavation in Gorumlu was launched following confessions of a soldier who served there in 1993," Elci said Friday. "The soldier said that he had a guilty conscience for 19 years."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_extrajudicial_killings

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UK Muslims convicted in landmark gay hatred case (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Three British Muslim men were found guilty on Friday of stirring up hatred by distributing leaflets calling for the death of homosexuals in what prosecutors said was a landmark case.

The men, from Derby, had posted and handed out pamphlets near their local mosque with the title "Death Penalty?" featuring a mannequin hanging from a noose and saying gay people would to go to hell.

The leaflets were part of a protest by a group of Muslim men against a forthcoming Gay Pride parade in the city.

Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed became the first people in Britain to be found guilty under a law introduced in 2010 making it an offence to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The jury at Derby Crown Court heard how one witness had felt he was being targeted and feared he would be burned, said Sue Hemming from the Crown Prosecution Service.

"While people are entitled to hold extreme opinions which others may find unpleasant and obnoxious, they are not entitled to distribute those opinions in a threatening manner intending to stir up hatred against gay people," she said in a statement.

"This case was not about curtailing people's religious views or preventing them from educating others about those views; it was that any such views should be expressed in a lawful manner and not incite others to hatred."

Gay rights group Stonewall said the case vindicated their call for specific legislation to protect homosexuals.

"We're satisfied to see these extremists convicted for distributing offensive and inflammatory leaflets that suggested gay people should be burnt or stoned to death," said Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive.

The men will be sentenced on February 10.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/lf_nm_life/us_britain_muslims_gays

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Newt Gingrich, Filled With More Excrement Than Your Average Politician (OliverWillisLikeKryptoniteToStupid)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/188955290?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Stocks edge higher on hopes for IMF cash boost (AP)

NEW YORK ? Wall Street edged higher Wednesday following reports that the International Monetary Fund could get more cash to help countries struggling to manage their debt.

Stocks got another push from a surprisingly strong report on the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders index rose to its highest level since June 2007 as sales jumped. Analysts said it could be a sign the housing market has bottomed out.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78 points at 12,560 as of 1 p.m. Eastern time. That's an increase of 0.6 percent.

"We think things are setting up to be better than last year," said Brad Sorensen, director of market research at Charles Schwab. Sorensen said the recent batch of better U.S. economic reports and moves by the European Central Bank have helped investors set aside some of their fears over Europe's debt crisis.

"The worst-case scenario is off the table," Sorensen said. "The story isn't as dire as people thought it was in the second half of last year."

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. jumped 6.5 percent after the investment bank reported earnings that trumped analysts' expectations. Profit still fell 58 percent in the last three months of 2011, a result of sinking interest rates and volatile financial markets.

Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. led the Dow higher. JPMorgan rose 4.4 percent, BofA 3.8 percent.

Other financial stocks were sharply lower. State Street Corp. plunged 6.4 percent, the largest fall in the S&P 500 index. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. fell 2.3 percent and Northern Trust Corp. slipped 2.2 percent. All three reported earnings Wednesday that missed analysts' estimates.

Christine Lagarde, the IMF's managing director, said Tuesday that the fund was looking at ways to raise another $500 billion to lend to countries. The IMF has put up roughly a third of the money given as rescue loans to European countries struggling with debt payments over the past two years.

In other trading, the S&P 500 index added 10 points to 1,304. The Nasdaq rose 32 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,760.

Yahoo Inc. rose 2.8 percent on news that co-founder Jerry Yang is leaving the struggling Internet company. The departure clears the way for newly hired CEO Scott Thompson to take more radical action to shake up the company.

The Federal Reserve said manufacturing rose 0.9 percent in December, the biggest increase since December 2010. Output surged as companies bought more machines and materials.

Among other stocks making large moves Wednesday:

__ Amphenol Corp. soared 10.3 percent. The manufacturer of fiber-optic cables reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations and said strong orders should push next year's earnings above Wall Street's current forecasts.

__ Linear Technology Corp. jumped 10.8 percent, the largest gain in the S&P 500. The Milpitas, Calif.-based circuit maker said it expects revenue to rise between 4 and 8 percent in its third quarter following strong order increases in December and January. It also raised its dividend by a penny to 25 cents per share.

__ Cash America International Inc. sank 7.6 percent after the payday lender and pawnshop operator cut its earnings forecast.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Video: Herb on the Street: The Rumor Mill

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46028646/

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TSA admits errors in NY searches of elderly women (AP)

NEW YORK ? Security screeners at Kennedy Airport violated procedures this fall when they asked two elderly women to show them medical devices concealed beneath their clothing, senior Homeland Security officials acknowledged in correspondence made public this week.

In a pair of letters to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and state Sen. Michael Gianaris, Transportation Security Administration Administrator John Pistole and Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Betsy Markey said screeners at the airport will get refresher training on how to handle passengers with medical conditions.

The action followed complaints by Lenore Zimmerman, 85, of Long Beach, N.Y., and Ruth Sherman, 88, of Sunrise, Fla., that they were effectively strip-searched while traveling separately through the airport in November.

Zimmerman, who weighs less than 110 pounds and is in a wheelchair, said that after being escorted into a private room she had to raise her shirt and lower her pants for a female TSA agent and remove her back brace, which was put through an X-ray machine.

Sherman said was humiliated when two female screeners made her lower her sweatpants so they could examine her colostomy bag.

In their letters to the New York politicians, Pistole and Markey disputed some of the details of the women's accounts.

They said Zimmerman had raised her shirt voluntarily. "At no point was the passenger asked to remove any items of clothing," the letters said. But in her letter, Markey acknowledged that Zimmerman should have been allowed to leave the brace on.

"It is not standard procedure for TSOs to screen back braces through the X-ray, and TSA apologizes for this employee's action," she wrote.

Likewise, she said Sherman had also initially lowered her pants voluntarily, and was never asked to remove any items of clothing, but added that "it is not standard operating procedure for colostomy devices to be visually inspected, and TSA also apologizes for this employee's action."

Zimmerman and her son didn't immediately return messages Wednesday from The Associated Press, but she told the Daily News that she was upset that federal officials were still insisting that she hadn't been asked to remove clothing.

"They're lying," she said. "I don't have a problem with the back brace. I have a problem with being strip-searched," she said.

Schumer reiterated his call for the TSA to designate a passenger advocate at each airport, "who vulnerable passengers can turn to when they feel they are being asked to undergo overly invasive, embarrassing screening procedures."

"The TSA needs to do a whole lot more than just provide `refresher training' to screening agents," he said.

Gianaris said it was a "positive step" for federal officials to acknowledge mistakes in the way the women were handled, but he said the agency still appeared to be dragging its feet in acknowledging the severity of the problem, and still needs to do more to ensure that passengers "don't have to make a choice between degrading themselves or passing through security."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_re_us/us_elderly_women_airport_searches

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Ness, The Restaurant Discovery App, Adds Crucial Mapping Feature

I made heavy use of Ness's restaurant-finding iOS app during a recent trip through the East Coast, because lots of places are still sadly short on Yelp reviews, and I wanted a quick way to find the best local spots to eat. While I got some good results, I would have been all over a new feature that Ness has just pushed out in an update today: maps. Yeah, another restaurant app with a map. You're not shocked, I'm guessing, but you should take a closer look because of the data that Ness offers. It uses machine learning technology that uses a variety of social signals that you provide it from Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter, as well as your behavior and other data, to figure out which places you'll like the most. The result is often what you're hoping for -- suggestions for great places that you might not have seen on other restaurant discovery apps, or anywhere else for that matter.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/5Yft4gVzXjk/

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Plugged into learning: Computers help students advance

Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nadia Kherif
Nadia.Kherif@concordia.ca
514-848-2424 x4187
Concordia University

4-decade analysis from Concordia finds technology enhances educational experience

This press release is available in French.

Montreal - Technology has grown by leaps and bounds, yet are computers helping students progress in their learning? Absolutely, says a 40-year retrospective on the impact of technology in classrooms.

Published in the journal Review of Educational Research, the findings gathered by Concordia University researchers suggest that technology delivers content and supports student achievement.

Expanded from a doctoral thesis by Rana Tamim, the study's first author, the research brought together data from 60,000 elementary school, high school, and post-secondary students. It compared achievement in classrooms that used computer technology versus those that used little or none.

In those classrooms where computers were used to support teaching, the technology was found to have a small to moderate positive impact on both learning and attitude. "We deduce that the impact would be even greater if observed over a student's entire educational experience," says co-author Richard Schmid, chair of Concordia's Department of Education and a member of the university's Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance.

The research team found technology works best when students are encouraged to think critically and communicate effectively. "A standard PowerPoint presentation will most likely not enhance the learning experience beyond providing content or enhancing teacher-directed lectures or class discussions," says Schmid.

The team now plans to evaluate what technologies work best for what subjects. "Educational technology is not a homogenous intervention, but provides a broad variety of tools and strategies for learning," says Schmid, adding there are few resources available to keep teachers abreast of newer technologies and their potential.

"Teachers across Quebec are not particularly familiar with the use of technology to promote learning," he stresses. "The problem is compounded by the fact that children are increasingly more adept with computers. One of the mandates of Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance at Concordia is to support teachers and provide the tools to facilitate the integration of technology into their classrooms."

###

Partners in research:

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Le Fonds de recherche du Qubec - Socit et culture. Study co-authors include Robert M. Bernard, Eugene Borokhovski and Philip C. Abrami of Concordia.

Related links:

Cited research: http://rer.sagepub.com/content/81/1/4.full

Concordia Department of Education: http://doe.concordia.ca/index.php

Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance: http://doe.concordia.ca/cslp/cslp_cms/index.php

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nadia Kherif
Nadia.Kherif@concordia.ca
514-848-2424 x4187
Concordia University

4-decade analysis from Concordia finds technology enhances educational experience

This press release is available in French.

Montreal - Technology has grown by leaps and bounds, yet are computers helping students progress in their learning? Absolutely, says a 40-year retrospective on the impact of technology in classrooms.

Published in the journal Review of Educational Research, the findings gathered by Concordia University researchers suggest that technology delivers content and supports student achievement.

Expanded from a doctoral thesis by Rana Tamim, the study's first author, the research brought together data from 60,000 elementary school, high school, and post-secondary students. It compared achievement in classrooms that used computer technology versus those that used little or none.

In those classrooms where computers were used to support teaching, the technology was found to have a small to moderate positive impact on both learning and attitude. "We deduce that the impact would be even greater if observed over a student's entire educational experience," says co-author Richard Schmid, chair of Concordia's Department of Education and a member of the university's Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance.

The research team found technology works best when students are encouraged to think critically and communicate effectively. "A standard PowerPoint presentation will most likely not enhance the learning experience beyond providing content or enhancing teacher-directed lectures or class discussions," says Schmid.

The team now plans to evaluate what technologies work best for what subjects. "Educational technology is not a homogenous intervention, but provides a broad variety of tools and strategies for learning," says Schmid, adding there are few resources available to keep teachers abreast of newer technologies and their potential.

"Teachers across Quebec are not particularly familiar with the use of technology to promote learning," he stresses. "The problem is compounded by the fact that children are increasingly more adept with computers. One of the mandates of Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance at Concordia is to support teachers and provide the tools to facilitate the integration of technology into their classrooms."

###

Partners in research:

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Le Fonds de recherche du Qubec - Socit et culture. Study co-authors include Robert M. Bernard, Eugene Borokhovski and Philip C. Abrami of Concordia.

Related links:

Cited research: http://rer.sagepub.com/content/81/1/4.full

Concordia Department of Education: http://doe.concordia.ca/index.php

Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance: http://doe.concordia.ca/cslp/cslp_cms/index.php

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/cu-pil011612.php

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Colbert Super PAC Backs Cain (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/187687312?client_source=feed&format=rss

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