75% of Japanese companies oppose nuclear power

In a poll just released on Friday, almost three-quarters of the companies in Japan stated that they are in support of abandoning nuclear power after looking at the meltdown disaster that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant last year. The majority with those feelings said that alternative sources of energy must be found first, however. Conducted by Reuters, this poll reveals the feelings of distrust the public has right now for nuclear power.


Before the last year Fukushima disaster, 30% of Japan’s electricity was generated by nuclear power. As of May 5th, all the nation’s reactors have been shut down for inspections and maintenance, with no planed date of re-activation.

Taro Saito, of Tokyo’s NLI Research Institute, has said that companies have already began coping with lack of nuclear power, and have agreed to take part in energy conservation. If the country chooses to live without nuclear power, they will have to rely on thermal power until alternatives are found, which means higher costs and less growth. Saito believes that Japan shouldn’t be thinking about it as a single choice with only two options, either keeping nuclear power or abandoning it.

At this point, even the national government has struggled with how much of a role nuclear energy should play in Japan. They don’t want to force its use on the people of Japan, yet there are strong concerns over whether there will be enough of an energy supply for the coming summer months.

Bring Up the Bodies (Wolf Hall #2)

The sequel to Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and New York Times bestseller, Wolf Hall delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn

Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice.

At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne's head?

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Men in Black 3 is an upcoming 3D science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. It will be released as the sequel to the 2002 film Men in Black II on May 25, 2012, ten years after the release of its predecessor and fifteen years after the release of the original Men in Black. It will also star Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Jemaine Clement, with Barry Sonnenfeld returning as director, and Steven Spielberg returning as executive producer. The film is the third installment in the Men in Black film series which is based on the Malibu / Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. Principal photography began in Watford on November 16, 2010.

Synopsis: The MIB duo of Agent Jay (Will Smith) and Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) are back in action. When the world is threatened by an evil alien, Agent Jay travels back in time to 1969, where he teams up with the younger Agent Kay to stop an evil villain named Boris (Jemaine Clement) from destroying the world in the future. Emma Thompson will play take-charge MIB operative Agent Oh, who is monitoring a prison breakout.

Hedi Slimane keeping first YSL resort line for buyers' eyes only

In stark contrast to designers such as Oscar de la Renta, who live-pinned his resort 2013 collection on Pinterest earlier this week, newly appointed Yves Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane will present his upcoming women's resort line to selected buyers only.

Since it was announced back in March that Slimane, who was ready-to-wear director of menswear at Yves Saint Laurent in the 90s, would be returning to the label by replacing Stefano Pilati as creative director, fashionistas have been eager to catch a glimpse of his new creations for the house.

But it has been reported that Slimane is taking an exclusive approach to his presentations, with a spokesperson telling WWD this week Slimane's "transitional" women's cruise and spring menswear collections will only go on show to buyers.

This secrecy is in a similar vein to one of Slimane's Yves Saint Laurent predecessors Tom Ford, who famously keeps his signature collections closely guarded -- fashion fans were finally given the chance to see his Fall 2012 collection only when a leaked video surfaced on the internet back in March.

Slimane won't be keeping all his designs too closely guarded though, as the creator is set to make his first major impression as Yves Saint Laurent creative director with a catwalk show during Paris Fashion Week in September.

Nations 'wasting time' on climate

The latest round of UN climate talks has made little progress, observers say.

The meeting in Bonn, Germany saw angry exchanges between rich nations, fast-industrialising ones and those prone to climate impacts.

Campaigners spoke of a "coalition of the unwilling" including the US, China, India and several Gulf states.

Developing countries are also concerned about the lack of firm pledges on finance beyond the end of this year.

"Some of the world's largest emitters have wasted too much energy in trying to move backwards rather than in securing progress,” said Connie Hedegaard, EU Climate Commissioner.

Station astronauts enjoy 'new car smell' of SpaceX cargo craft

(Cnet News)Running well ahead of schedule,the International Space Station's crew opened hatches between the Harmony module and the newly arrived SpaceX Dragon cargo ship early Saturday to kick off a busy few days of work to unload about a half ton of supplies and equipment.

Wearing goggles and filter masks to protect against any floating contaminants that might be present -- a routine precaution when visiting cargo craft arrive -- flight engineer Donald Pettit and Expedition 31 commander Oleg Kononenko cracked open the hatch and floated inside at 5:53 a.m. EDT (GMT-4).

The Dragon cargo ship, making the second of two planned test flights, arrived at the space station Friday, four days after launch from Cape Canaveral. It is the first U.S. spacecraft to visit the International Space Station since the shuttle was retired last summer and the first commercially developed vehicle to attempt a linkup with the orbital lab complex.

"There was no sign of any kind of FOD (foreign object debris) floating around in the atmosphere inside," Pettit radioed mission control in Houston a few minutes after completing an initial inspection. "It kind of reminds me of the cargo capability that I could put in the back of my pickup truck. And the smell inside smells like a brand new car."

SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion contract to launch at least 12 Dragon missions to the space station to deliver some 44,000 pounds of equipment and supplies. Another company, Orbital Sciences, holds a $1.9 billion contract for eight missions using that company's Cygnus spacecraft, scheduled for its first test flight later this year.

For its space station test flight, the Dragon carried a relatively light load of lower-priority items, including 674 pounds of food and crew provisions; 46 pounds of science hardware and equipment; 271 pounds of cargo bags needed for future flights; and 22 pounds of computer equipment. For routine space station delivery missions, the spacecraft will be able to carry six-and-a-half tons of pressurized and unpressurized cargo.

The station fliers will have less than a week to unload the Dragon before the always changing angle between the sun and the space station's orbit results in higher-than-allowable temperatures. The Dragon spacecraft will be detached from the station May 31.

Unlike Russian, Japanese, and European Space Agency cargo craft, the SpaceX Dragon is equipped with a heat shield and parachutes for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of California. Since the shuttle's retirement, NASA has not had a way to get experiment samples, broken equipment, and other gear back to Earth. The Dragon spacecraft will restore that lost capability.

For its first return from space, the capsule will be carrying 315 pounds of crew items, 205 pounds of experiment hardware, 760 pounds of space station system components, and 86 pounds of spacewalk hardware. For routine resupply missions, the Dragon can return more than two-and-a-half tons of material.

Deaf Child retains hearing

A 10-year-old girl has is able to hear thanks to a 'bionic ear', ABC News reports.

Sammie Hicks had her life changed after she learned that her insurance would cover the cost of a cochlear implant -- a device that would help her hear again.

In the hope that her story might inspire others, the Texas girl started keeping a video diary to document the whole process.

After undergoing a successful implant surgery in April, Sammie finally got her 'bionic ear' activated earlier this month.

Queen look alike gets greets Chinese shoppers

(Telegraph)A Queen Elizabeth lookalike was specially flown into Shanghai to greet Chinese shoppers at a local shopping mall, the Daning International Plaza, ahead of the Diamond Jubilee.

The "Queen" took time off to greet the Chinese crowd as part of a tea party to celebrate the real Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and to promote tourism to Britain in 2012.

To complete the British feel, the Union Jack waving throng were also treated to a concert featuring music from a Beatles tribute band as part of the festivities.

Her Majesty will celebrate 60 years on the throne in June, with huge crowds expected for a concert at Buckingham Palace, a grand procession through the streets of London and a 1,000-strong flotilla along the River Thames.

Of course London will also be hosting the Olympics this summer, and Chinese tour agents are aggressively marketing flights and packages to Britain for the Games.

World's Most Expensive Burger

New York's Serendipity 3 restaurant has invented the world's most expensive burger according the Guinness Book of World Records, clocking in at a shocking $295.

The burger, invented in honor of National Hamburger Month (otherwise known as May), features a patty of Japanese Waygu beef infused with 10-herb white truffle butter and seasoned with Salish Alderwood smoked Pacific sea salt. It's topped with cheddar cheese, hand-made and cave-aged for 18 months by famed cheesemaker James Montgomery of Somerset, England. There are also shaved black truffles, a fried quail egg, a blini, creme fraiche, Kaluga caviar and a white truffle-buttered Campagna roll.

The final touch? Wait for it -- a solid gold "Fleur de Lis" toothpick, encrusted with diamonds, designed by world-renowned jeweler Euphoria New York. Seriously.

Serendipity isn't trying to cash out; they're donating all profits to the Bowery Mission, which serves homeless and hungry New Yorkers.

"Today" co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb have already tried the burger, racking up a nearly $600 tab in the process. After one bite, Kotbe exclaimed, "I just ate eighty dollars."

The burger joins the ranks of other seriously expensive fare at Serendipity, which to date has included an opulent $1,000 sundae and a $69 hot dog.   (Huffingtonpost.com)

Starting School at Seven 'Can Boost Pupils' Reading Skills'

Pupils kept out of formal schooling until the age of seven perform just as well those subjected to normal lessons at five, it was revealed. In some assessments of reading skills, those with a later start actually overtook their peers by the age of 10, figures show.

Academics suggested that infants given more time to naturally develop their language skills in the early years had a better foundation when they started conventional tuition at seven. The disclosure – based on an analysis of pupils in New Zealand – will raise fresh concerns over Government reforms to pre-school education which appear to place a greater focus on the three-Rs at an increasingly early age.

This includes subjecting all pupils to a new-style reading test at six to identify those lagging behind. It comes after a major US study showed that bright children actually benefited from being slowed down in the early years, suggesting that they risked growing up in an “intellectually unbalanced” way by being pushed too far, too soon.

Most British schoolchildren already start classes earlier than their peers in many other European nations. Children are normally expected to be in lessons by five, although most are enrolled in reception classes aged four. But the latest study – published in the journal Early Childhood Research Quarterly – found that children who begin decoding words later than their peers can “eventually achieve equally in reading fluency”.

Original source here.

5 Receive Nation’s 1st Undergraduate Degrees in Philanthropic Studies

As a sophomore studying anthropology at a college in southern Indiana, Mark Lighthizer took a spring-break trip to build houses in the Dominican Republic. He saw a lot of needy people, but he didn’t know how he could help them.

Back at school, it gnawed at him until he discovered a new major starting in the fall of 2010 at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, in Indianapolis. He was one of the first to apply.

In May, the 22-year-old became one of the first five graduates of what is believed to be the first-ever bachelor’s degree in philanthropic studies, a liberal-arts program based at the center. The program, say its organizers, is intended to produce future nonprofit leaders who are not only well-versed in the nuts and bolts of nonprofit management but also comfortable weighing the philosophical questions they will encounter on the job.

During the degree program’s first two years, 21 students have declared philanthropic studies as a major. By 2015, Indiana expects that number to reach 75. “This is part of an explosion of undergraduate nonprofit programs,” says Ben Nemenoff, an official at the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (formerly American Humanics), in Kansas City, Mo., which offers a nonprofit certificate at about 50 colleges and universities nationwide, designed to prepare students for careers at social-service and youth organizations.

He points to other academic programs in nonprofit studies around the country as evidence of the trend, as academic institutions are stepping up to meet charities’ demand for more trained professionals.

Read details here.

UWI Professor Appointed Chair of UN Working Group of Experts

Professor Verene A. Shepherd, University Director of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at The University of the West Indies (UWI) is the newly appointed Chairperson of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (WGPAD).


The announcement of her appointment came at the recently concluded 11th Annual Meeting of the Working Group in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent operates within the United Nations system and is tasked with strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe, as well as addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. The WGPAD is specifically mandated to examine the problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent, to collaborate with respective countries to devise policies aimed at eradicating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance; as well as to propose measures to ensure access to justice for all persons of African Descent.

It was established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/68 of 25 April 2002 in direct response to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban in 2001 and the subsequent Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which both advocated for consideration to be given to “establishing a working group or other mechanism of the United Nations to study the problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent living in the African Diaspora and make proposals for the elimination of racial discrimination against people of African descent".

Originally named a mandate holder to the WGPAD in 2010, in her current capacity as Chairperson, Professor Shepherd will now assume stewardship of the Group in its obligation to realize the principles of equality and non-discrimination and address all the issues concerning the well-being of Africans and people of African descent contained in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

In accepting the position, Professor Shepherd urged the international community to envision and craft new futures, moving towards the end of all expressions of intolerance.

Original source here.

Bucknell University : Toward Justice And Human Dignity

LEWISBURG, Pa. — For Amanda Roy, it's the prosecution of war crimes and abuses of human rights. For J.J. Parker, it's medical relief in developing countries. For Sithanda Ntuka, it's economic development and the status of women. And for Kirby Thomas, it's individual rights and civil liberties.

After they graduate from Bucknell University on Sunday, these four members of the Class of 2012 will live in different parts of the world, but they'll be working toward a shared goal: achieving justice and human dignity.

Peace Corps work in Tanzania
Amanda Roy is headed to Tanzania, where she'll live in either a rural village or a larger banking town and teach secondary school mathematics. She'll also conduct HIV outreach and education. The two projects are connected.

"Part of the issue with education in Tanzania is that many of the people who are of career age and teaching have been impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region, so the nation is desperately in need of science and mathematics teachers," said Roy.

Roy eventually plans to earn a graduate degree in human rights or international law so that she can prosecute war crimes and human rights abuses. She sees her Peace Corps experience as a fitting launching point for her career.

"I realized this could be the only time in my life that I'd have the opportunity to live and integrate into the life of a developing country, learn the language — Swahili — and give back," said Roy. "This is about a lot more than sending Americans to developing countries to teach English or education local populations. It's about what we can learn from each other on a person-to-person level."

Humanitarian aid in Nicaragua

Like Roy, neuroscience major J.J. Parker will perform humanitarian work before he enrolls in professional school. The future physician has signed up to volunteer in Nicaragua as a program director with Manna Project International, a nonprofit organization that empowers developing communities through collaborative, community-based approaches at sites in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Ecuador.

Parker will teach English and work alongside community members to address community needs in Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.

"I want to use my energy and passion for service to give back to a developing country, while at the same time I will learn many lessons about humanity and myself," said Parker. "I think next year will be a great opportunity for me to grow as a person and will be an important step for me in meeting my goal of becoming a doctor in the U.S. and providing medical relief in the developing world."

Professional preparation at Harvard Law and PricewaterhouseCoopers
According to Pam Keiser, executive director of Bucknell's Career Development Center, Roy and Parker are part of a small number of students — about three to five percent in each graduating class — who volunteer full-time for a year or two before pursuing employment or enrolling in graduate or professional school. Other young alumni choose to first enter the job market or graduate school and may plan to focus on some aspect of humanitarian work later in their careers.

Take Kirby Thomas. The English and political science major has been accepted to Harvard Law School, where she'll focus on constitutional law. "My dream job is to work for the Institute for Justice, a civil liberties law firm dedicated to defending individuals and businesses whose rights have been violated by the government," she said.

Thomas said her varied academic experiences, internships and work for a campus newspaper helped her develop her writing and critical thinking skills — skills she believes will serve her well in law school.

Sithanda Ntuka also credits her broad academic background as an accounting and women's and gender studies double major, along with several internships, with preparing her to fulfill her goals. After graduation, Ntuka will work as an assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers. But she doesn't plan to spend her career in the finance sector. Instead, like Roy, Parker and Thomas, she has plans to become a humanitarian with global reach.

"In a few years, I want to go to graduate school for a master's in diplomacy and law," she said. "I will hopefully work for an international organization such as the United Nations or the African Development Bank on issues such as economic development, humanitarian issues and improvement of women's status around the world. Eventually, I want to become the Secretary of State of Botswana, my home country."

Original source here.

Pupils' Exam Results 'Closely Linked' to Parents' Education

Pupils with bright mothers and fathers are more likely to exceed national averages in this country than those educated in nations such as Canada and Australia, it was revealed. Just days before teenagers prepare to take their GCSEs, the study underlined the extent to which social mobility has now ground to a halt.

Academics from the Institute for Social and Economic Research, based at Essex University, found that parents’ success at a young age meant they could afford to live in areas with easy access to the best schools – giving their own children the best start in life. In a controversial move, researchers suggested that more state secondary schools should adopt lottery-style admissions systems – when all applicants’ names are effectively placed in a hat and picked at random – to break the middle-class stranglehold on places.

It comes just days after Elizabeth Sidwell, the Schools Commissioner, endorsed the move, saying it was undesirable for schools to draw pupils from small affluent catchment areas.

Prof John Ermisch, one of the report’s authors, said: “The educational system is likely to be the most widely used and most acceptable policy tool we have for equalising life chances. Our analysis of England suggests that more equal access to good secondary schools – eg. through lottery allocation – could make a contribution.

“But as long as there is such a wide variation in school quality, such a policy would be resisted by better-off parents, because some would be forced to send their children to inferior schools.” The study analysed exam results – and the outcomes of interviews – for around 16,000 schoolchildren born in 1989 and 1990. It checked pupils' progress at 11, 14 and 16. The study found a “steep gradient” in the achievement of children with well-educated parents during adolescence. This rise “becomes steeper between the end of primary school and part-way through secondary school”, it was revealed.

“It appears to be related to the sorting of children into secondary schools, with more educated parents sending their children to better quality schools,” said the study. Researchers analysed similar data in the US and found that the “parental education gradient when the child is aged around 14 was similar if not steeper than in England”.

But in Canada and Australia children’s achievements in test scores at 15 were “less strongly related to parents’ highest education”, suggesting these countries were much more socially mobile.

The conclusions come just days after Nick Clegg warned that snobbery is being turned into a national “religion” in Britain as millions of children from poor homes are denied good jobs because of class attitudes.

The Deputy Prime Minister said a privileged few had a “sense of entitlement”.

Original source here.

Facebook in talks to buy browser company Opera, report

Is Facebook planning to jump on the browser bandwagon?

Tech blog Pocket-lint says one of its "trusted sources" revealed that Facebook is trying to buy Opera Software, the company behind the Opera Web browser, a sign that the social-networking company might be looking to launch its own browser.

The move would put Facebook in competition with other tech companies in the browser game -- including Yahoo, which recently launched Axis, and Google, which has already released extensions to integrate its social-networking component, Google +, into its browser.

Pocket-lint speculates that a Facebook browser "would allow you keep up to date with your social life from in-built plug-ins and features on the menu bar."

Facebook knows it isn't monetizing its mobile users though advertising, so it has been using its IPO money to make several acquisitions in an attempt to address its weak mobile strategy.

The Next Web's sources say that Opera is in a hiring freeze and talking to potential buyers.

Opera says it has about 200 million users across all of its platforms.

Source

Headline May 26, 2012 / The Philosophic Sweep

THE PHILOSOPHIC SWEEP 

Respectful dedication to the students of France

The court accepted Arno's version of the truth. Touvier was sentenced to life in prison. In the wake of Touvier case a number of things happened. The first being that Arno became a media glow in France. He has become a true celebrity adorned high, far and wide. 

The Touvier case was published the World over and Arno went to write a book ; TOUVIER ON CRIME FRANCAIS, and he then began working on his novel. A transformation in his life took place and he now considers himself a writer more than a lawyer. 

There is another, more serious consequence of the Touvier trial the French judiciary now accepts that Frenchmen could and did commit crimes against humanity on their own initiative. In addition, the French public now appears eager for anyone who has been accused of crimes during the occupation to be brought to justice - the desire for explanation and probably , expiation, may be welcome after the myopia that prevented in the years after the war, but it is a little too late. 

All the worst offenders are now dead. In the new climate called "LYNCH MOB ATMOSPHERE" A NEW TARGET EMERGED, Maurice Papon, a past war prefect of police in Paris and a minister under President GIscard d'Estaing. Maurrice Papon holds the distinction of being the only Frenchmen, both to have been decorated for his work with the resistance and charged with crimes against humanity. 

But Papons lawyers argued that he was simply a bureaucratic stamp in a system that he did not control. Arno has no doubts though: "It's not just shedding a light on the past" he says emphatically.  "It's shedding a light on the future. I don't want the France of 2044 to be a country in which Touvier had not been condemned and Papon had not been condemned. It shouldn't be a France in which I would be happy to live. It's an example : It shows that the arm of the law can go back 50 years and prosecute those responsible for crime. If we as a society do not condemn those who commit crimes against humanity when we have a chance to do so, then that society is not worth living in." 

A dark avenging angel his black judicial robes sweeping behind him. 

Good bless and Good night !

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless!

Apple TV slated to debut in December?

Apple could unveil its highly anticipated take on the television in December and ship it next year, according to a research note today from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Munster said he expects the Apple TV product line to cost between $1,500 and $2,000 and range in size from 42 to 55 inches. That's a considerable premium over typical televisions of that size, which have a range closer to $700 to $1,400.

The iPhone 5, which Munster said he believes will make its debut in October, will be the biggest consumer product launch this year and drive the biggest device upgrade cycle, he said.

These products figure prominently into the perception that Apple still has enough innovation swagger to continue to lead the consumer technology industry. The company has largely been given a pass for the incremental upgrades to the iPhone and iPad, even if sales have been impressive. But the next few products, including a refresh of its Mac line, could set the tone for how Apple under CEO Tim Cook will be perceived in the coming years.

"We believe Apple's product road map for the remainder for the year will include meaningful updates to core product lines including the iPhone and Mac," he said in the research note.

Even if the next iPhone isn't out yet, it's already plagued by concerns that it will suffer from shortages in chip supply. But Munster believes that Apple's leadership status should allow it to secure enough chips to drive production, even if comes at the expense of other companies.

There is an 80 percent chance that Apple hits his 49 million target for the iPhone 5 in the final quarter of the year, Munster said.

Munster is equally as bullish on the tablet market, which he said has the potential to surpass the PC market. He likewise believes Apple will continue to dominate the area, selling 176 million iPads out of a total of 301 million tablets by 2015. He said tablets could overtake PCs before 2020.

Source

Yahoo discontinues Livestand

Though Yahoo's Livestand digital newsstand app has been up and running for less than a year, the company has decided to pull the plug on it.The company announced its decision in a blog post today, saying it has learned a lot about what works and doesn't work with Livestand and is "actively applying those insights toward the development of future products that are better aligned with Yahoo!'s holistic mobile strategy."

The app has earned four stars in the App Store and is one of the first products the company plans to discontinue this year.

The blog says the company is "pivoting to a mobile products-first development model," and points to Yahoo's recently released Axis browser as proof.

"There's no doubt that one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, priorities for us is to innovate for the mobile user, whether they're using feature phones, smartphones, or tablets -- or iOS apps, Android apps, or mobile Web browsers, for that matter," the post reads.

Yahoo debuted Livestand in November, despite some uncertainty over the future of management at the company. Yahoo's recent management shakeup resulted in the appointment of interim CEO Ross Levinsohn.

Source

Facebook Camera app really, really wants to know your location

Facebook's slick new camera app goes on strike if you don't give it access to your location. Here's why.

Since Facebook released its new "Camera" mobile app yesterday, there's been speculation as to why the social network would buy Instagram and then release its own very similar app. There's been even more curiosity about why the new app has such an interest in where you are while using it.

As users have noticed, the Camera app requires iOS' Location Services to be turned on so it can access your locally stored photos, and the app won't let you upload a shot if you simply deny it location access from the get-go.

According to software developer Joshua Debner, who pinged BuzzFeed, about the behavior, the location services requirement is "an iOS limitation in order to be able to multiselect. Otherwise you would have had to pick one photo at a time..."

That feature is what currently separates the Facebook Camera app from the photo uploading feature in Facebook's usual iPhone and iPad app. There you can only upload one shot at a time.

iOS and Android app Gifboom uses the same API, and has its own explainer on the matter:

GifBoom uses a special photo/video picker to enable you to select multiple photos at the same time. The iOS API that enables this functionality requires permissions to Location Service, presumably because photos in iOS have location information attached. GifBoom just needs to access the image itself, so we do not read or write any location information.

In Facebook's case, the standalone Camera app can use that location information to let other users know where you were when you took the photo, but it isn't on by default.

CNET's Bridget Carey received confirmation that you can use the app even if you're concerned by giving it access to your location. The work around: Just make sure that when you take photos with the iPhone camera, you've turned off location permissions. No GPS data is then attached to your photos. Then you can go into Facebook Camera and upload them location-free.

iOS Location Services is turned on by default, but it can be disabled in the device settings, and users can choose which apps are allowed to access Location Settings. Also, while it will be little comfort to those truly paranoid about location privacy, users of the app can choose whether to share a photo's location data when posting it to Facebook. (CNET)

Microsoft asks Google to remove 500,000 links

The majority of the links direct people to websites selling pirated Microsoft software, according to Google’s data.

Google has decided to reveal the requests and data as part of its transparency push around what dictates its search results.

However, interestingly some of the links which Microsoft has requested that Google removes, are still live via its own search engine Bing.

Google made the announcement via a blog post: “Today we’re expanding the Transparency Report with a new section on copyright. Specifically, we’re disclosing the number of requests we get from copyright owners (and the organizations that represent them) to remove Google Search results because they allegedly link to infringing content.

“We’re starting with search because we remove more results in response to copyright removal notices than for any other reason. So we’re providing information about who sends us copyright removal notices, how often, on behalf of which copyright owners and for which websites. As policymakers and Internet users around the world consider the pros and cons of different proposals to address the problem of online copyright infringement, we hope this data will contribute to the discussion.”

Google has been criticised in the past for not removing links to copyright material in the past with enough speed.

However, it now claims that a removal takes on average 11 hours to complete.

Microsoft’s removal requests significantly outnumbered those registered by the British Phonographic Institute which represents record labels. Music body the BPI and the media company NBC Universal respectively made the second and third largest number of requests in the last four weeks.

Google’s transparency report shows that the number of requests to remove links has risen steeply over the last 12 months.

In July 2011, Google was asked to remove 129,063 links every week and as of May 2012, the number of requests has risen to 284,850.

"This data shows that placing all of the burden on copyright owners to deal with infringement is unworkable," said Geoff Taylor, the head of the BPI. "It's wrong for Google to be wilfully blind to the clear data it has that particular sites are massive copyright infringers."

"When Google has been told 100,000 times that sites like The Pirate Bay and beemp3 distribute music illegally, why do they come top - above Amazon and iTunes - when I search for 'download music'?" he asked. "It's irresponsible, it misleads consumers and if Google won't sort it out voluntarily, Government should get on with doing something about it."

Google said it grants 97 per cent of link take down requests and the majority of requests pertain to copyright issues. (Telegraph)

Samsung Galaxy S3: Android's new flagship

Next Tuesday the most important mobile phone of the year will go on sale. Nine million pre-orders have already been placed for the Samsung Galaxy S3, and its predecessor, the S2, has sold 20m so far in the year it has been on sale.

While Apple may get the lion’s share of the publicity, Samsung is already the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones, and of much more lucrative smartphones as well. The iPhone has sold more than 90m globally since the 4S launched in October, but Samsung’s combined sales make it a far larger concern.

On Tuesday, however, the company’s challenge will be to match the excitement that Apple generates. The S3 has new features that mean the screen knows if you’re looking at it and automatically stays on, while it also offers a 4.8in screen that is the best and brightest on the market. Plus there is voice assistant software that is like Apple’s popular Siri personal assistant.

Samsung adverts overtly mock Apple fans, and the Korean manufacturer is setting up special pop-up shops in various London locations. It will need to make the launch, of what Carphone Warehouse calls the year’s fastest-selling phone, feel like an event. It is unlikely, however, to have fans queuing round the block quite as they do for iPhones or iPads.

Yet analysts and critics have been enthusiastic about the S3 already: “Samsung has built its reputation on producing the 'must-have’ Android smartphone and in the process has become the poster child for the Android platform,” said Adam Leach of Ovum, the analysts.

“Samsung’s Galaxy S3 not only needs to stand out amongst a plethora of other Android-based smartphones it will also go head-to-head with the next iteration of Apple’s iPhone.”

What is clear, however, is that smartphones are having more of an impact on everybody’s daily lives than ever before – whether that’s for maps, email or for the hundreds of thousands of apps available to help people plan everything from cab journeys home to fertility. This week, an app was launched to help women deal with the pain of childbirth. Increasingly, it is Samsung and Apple that dominate that space.

Rival manufacturer HTC has produced the excellent One X, but it is currently prevented from selling it in America by legal wrangles over patents, and LG and Sony’s share of the market continues to decline.Nokia and BlackBerry are, for now at least, concentrating on competing away from the very top end.

So, this week will mark the next phase of a battle between two giant companies – the more expensive iPhone will no doubt retain an army of loyal fans, and the forthcoming iPhone 5 will garner acres of publicity. But Samsung is continuing its relentless march forward, adding new features that consumers feel is, for now at least, the future of Google’s attempt to dominate the mobile phone that is in all our pockets.

Harnessing social media in the fight to save the tigers

Things could be looking up for Wakeeta. Smaller than average and an orphan, she belongs to a species 45 per cent of which die from unnatural causes and lives in perpetual danger of being slaughtered by poachers for her skin.

Wakeeta is a five-year-old tigress. She lives in Bandhavgargh, one of India’s most famous tiger reserves. Until now she has lived in anonymity, recognised only by wardens, guides and a few regular tiger watchers. But this week she and 24 other tigers in Bandhavgargh have been introduced to a potential audience of millions by a new website.

Tiger Nation (www.tigernation.org) uses the tools of social media to follow individual tigers. So far it is watching 50 in two reserves: Ranthambhore, in Rajasthan, and Bandhavgarh, in the so-called “tiger state” of Madhya Pradesh. The ultimate intention is to monitor the life of every tiger in India. With so few left in the wild – about 1,700 – that ambition is not unfeasible.

The site has not been set up with any overt political purpose. Yet its global exposure of the fortunes of so many individual animals hardly chimes with the traditional diffidence, if not outright secretiveness, of the Indian government when it comes to having its management of tiger reserves examined.

Two years ago the Indian National Tiger Conservation Authority declared that “tiger tourism” was to be phased out and visitors barred from tiger reserves. After an international outcry the idea was abandoned. A conservationist told me then: “The Forest Department does not want tourism because tourism imposes an inconvenient monitoring of its activities.” Now tourists are one of the main groups being mobilised to submit their observations to the Tiger Nation website. India’s tigers will be more publicly monitored than ever before.

One of the chief architects of Tiger Nation is Julian Matthews, who 10 years ago founded TOFT (Tour Operators for Tigers), a campaign to develop responsible tourism as a weapon in tiger conservation. “The Indian authorities just haven’t got a handle on how to use tourism as a conservation tool,“ he said this week. “It’s incredibly powerful. It’s the one thing that is saving wildlife across Africa. The problem at the moment is that India is where countries like Kenya were in the 1970s....To some extent Tiger Nation is an answer to that, saying let’s show you how tourism can build a powerful conservation tool. It is people-powered conservation.”

Significantly, Tiger Nation has not yet been able to set up webcams in the national parks or have access to footage from official camera traps. “We would really like to work with the government and we are talking to scientists who have been developing a camera tracking project,” Mr Matthews said.” But we have to get [government] permission to do it. It’s very difficult.”

As it is, the website is an example of fashionable “citizen science”. It uses software that can immediately identify a tiger from its stripes so that contributors’ photographs and observations of particular animals can be added to a database. The information is then available to park field directors, border and intelligence agencies, NGOs and scientific organisations to help keep regular tabs on tigers and their movements.

The site is also seeking information about three dozen tigers in the two parks of which there have been no recent sightings.

On another level it’s a tiger soap opera. “It’s a bit like watching the BBC’s Big Cat Diaries online,” Mr Matthews explained. “It’s storytelling, so people can watch a cat from when it’s a few months old to when it’s 15 and king of its domain.”

One immediate task is to come up with more names for the tigers being profiled. “You call something T41 and it disappears and no one cares. You call it Sita and then it’s 'Where’s Sita gone?’ and you’ve suddenly got a story,” Mr Matthews told me.

The site will be funded mainly by subscription. Basic entry is free but access to the full site costs £14.99 a year.

In the meantime Wakeeta is rearing a family of her own: three healthy male cubs. They were seen with her, drinking at a waterhole, earlier this month. Someone reported it to Tiger Nation: Wakeeta now has the world watching out for her. If nothing else, that means that, whatever befalls her, she will never be a mere statistic. And who knows? She might even be about to play a part in the story of the dramatic survival of one of the most magnificent species on the planet. Things could indeed be looking up for Wakeeta. (telegraph)

US actress Andie McDowell puts accent on beauty

LOS ANGELES: You wouldn't think that Andie McDowell would have confidence problems. But the US actress and long-time face of cosmetic giant L'Oreal insists she is like any other woman getting older.

The 54-year-old star, whose latest film "Mighty Fine" is just out -- to mixed reviews -- also still recalls an early humiliation.

McDowell teams up with her daughter Rainey Qualley on the new comedy, and is clearly relishing the experience.

The blue-eyed 23-year-old also enjoyed making a film with her mother. "It was nice because on set it was just like we were working together, but we would go back to the hotel and she could be my mum," said Qualley, who also sings.

"Mighty Fine" tells the story of Joe Fine (played by Chazz Palminteri) who moves his Jewish family from Brooklyn to New Orleans. McDowell plays the 1970s housewife, and Qualley one of their two daughters, Maddie.

"She auditioned. ... I was cast, but I hadn't said anything about my daughter, because I don't like to do that," explained McDowell, sitting beside her daughter in a Hollywood hotel.

"But definitely she just did a really good audition, she wouldn't have got the job because of me, I would never ask someone to hire my daughter," she told AFP.

Qualley has something of the beauty of her mother, who has been the face of L'Oreal for 25 years but still blushes when reminded that People magazine named her among the 50 most beautiful women in the world -- twice.

"Oh gosh - that People magazine thing," she said.

But she then launches into why she thinks she has more responsibility as she grows older, and promotes anti-wrinkle cream among other products, in reflecting older women's beauty.

"It means more to me to represent women at 54 and to continue to say 'Look, you're beautiful, you have value, you have worth," than it did when I was 30," she said.

"Because I think it's easy for our culture to accept young people as beautiful. I think it's harder for our culture to accept women as they get older as beautiful."

And she added: "Like anybody, you have moments when you question yourself and you're insecure.

"One of the things that I had to do is psychologically look at my mindset and look how my thoughts are about myself, because if I'm going to stand as the woman who says 'you're worth it', then I have to feel worth it too.

"But I'm human, so of course all of the struggle is something that you do day by day."

McDowell is quite open about challenges she faced starting out, as a model and actress: when she was 23 and starred opposite Christopher Lambert in "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan," in 1984.

Her accent as Miss Jane Porter was deemed too strong, and had to be dubbed by Glenn Close -- as a result she had difficulty getting jobs, and took an enormous knock to her confidence.

"That was huge. Can you imagine? It's hard to make it in this business, period. But to overcome that is a miracle. It is, truly was. Because that should have killed me," she said.

How did she overcome it? "I started taking classes. It was really a mindset. I did not want that to be the end of my story, I didn't want that to be me saying to my kids 'Well, I try to act, and this is what happened'.

"I had to change it. It took a long time and it didn't happen easy," said McDowell -- whose accent in "Mighty Fine," it must be said, has raised eyebrows among some critics.

Her breakthrough came when Joel Schumacher gave her a job in "St. Elmo's Fire" in 1985. "I owe him everything, I owe him my life. He saved my live, he saved my career. Because I was untouchable," she said.

"It was a miracle that I got the job ... I had to audition many times to keep proving it to the producers, because they were sort of like 'What? You want who?' But Steven (Soderbergh) wanted me.

Then came "Green Card" in 1990 with Gerard Depardieu, "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray in 1993, and "Four Weddings" with Hugh Grant in 1994, which established her as a major Hollywood star.

"And then I didn't have to audition. It was amazing. Overnight," she said.

"Here's the thing with the business, is that when people like your work, and you make them money, you're set. When the critics like you and you make the studios money, doors opened," she said, sighing. (AFP)

Blatter seeks to end the 'tragedy' of penalties

Bayren Munich players after Champions League defeat
 against Chelsea

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has called on Germany's World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer and his panel of soccer experts to try to come up with an alternative to penalty shootouts to settle drawn matches.

Blatter was speaking to delegates at the Fifa Congress on Friday less than a week after Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties to win the Champions League final.
"Football can be a tragedy when you go to penalty kicks. Football is a team game, when it goes to one against one football loses its essence," Blatter said.
"Perhaps Franz Beckenbauer, with his Football 2014 group, can show us a solution, perhaps not today but in the future."
Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup with Germany as both a player and manager was among the delegates at the congress, was not immediately available for comment but his views are well known on the matter.
The German has said he would rather have penalties than either a golden or silver goal which were used briefly to determine matches.

Bolt mystified by worst run 'since 2009'

Usain Bolt admitted he could not explain a disappointing performance in his first race of the track season in Ostrava.

The world-record holder clocked 10.04sec in the 100m after what he dubbed a "very bad day at the starting blocks" in the Czech Republic.
The double sprint gold medallist from the 2008 Beijing Games Olympic suffered a dreadful start and grimaced his way from the 50m mark into a -0.8m/s headwind, while also opening up a lead on his rivals to the line. Veteran Kim Collins, of St Kitts and St Nevis, finished second in 10.19sec, with American Darivs Patton third in 10.22sec.

Bolt said he he had not run as badly since a race in Canada in 2009. "I don't really know what went on," he said. "At the start, I didn't feel as explosive as I normally feel. If you don't get that first start, well, that's where my power comes from for the transition and everything comes together.
"That's reality, a very bad day at the starting blocks. I don't know exactly where it went wrong. I was looking forward to coming here and doing a good time. I guess it's just one of those days."
Bolt said he had not managed to generate his crucial "drive" phase of his race from 50m. "When I was warming up, I did some starts and I was flying," he said. "I ran out and didn't get going, couldn't generate speed up in middle of race so I had to work hard to get some speed up."
Bolt added: "I'll go back, look at the replay, talk to my coach and he can explain what I need to do and then I can go to Rome and improve on my time."

Federer: Nadal will make history, not Djokovic

Roger Federer has backed six-time champion Rafael Nadal to shatter Novak Djokovic's historic bid to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four Grand Slam titles.

World No 1 Djokovic already has the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open crowns in his possession and a first French Open triumph in two weeks's time would make him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the sweep.
But Federer believes that it is Nadal, chasing an unprecedented seventh Roland Garros title, who will be making history here, and not the Serb.

"Rafa is the favourite for me," Federer, the 2009 champion in Paris, said. "I think he lost only two sets between Rome, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona, so that's a pretty good start.
"Then he's playing for his seventh title, so no discussion. We're crazy to even talk about this. Some people might say he's not the favourite, but to me he's the favourite.
"I played him so many times here. I know how incredible he can be here in Roland Garros.
"As for Novak, with all his results lately, he's one of the big favourites. Likewise for me with everything I accomplished. But for me it would be Rafa, Novak, and me in third position."
CAP:   Rafael Nadal drew the women's half of the draw in Paris this morning

Kebab seller gets 3,333 years to pay off tax bill

A German court has given a man who cooked his kebab shop bills more than 3,000 years to pay off a huge tax bill, because he now lives on unemployment benefit.

The 37-year-old man, identified only as Mustaffer C., admitted faking his kebab shop receipts so it looked as if more than half of what he sold had been cancelled, and thus immensely reducing his tax bill over six years.

But tax investigators caught up with him and handed him a bill for €400,000, the Express newspaper reported on Friday.

Because he could not pay the bill, he was looking at two years in prison, but the court in Wupperthal said this would not be necessary if Mustaffer C. did 500 hours of community service, and paid back the money he owed the tax man.

And as he had already sold the kebab shop, and signed on for the most basic unemployment support, the judge said he could pay off his tax debts at a rate of €10 a month – which will take around 3,333 years.

The Local/hc

Student protests revive debate over Quebec independence

Hundreds of students were arrested in Quebec this week as the protests that have gripped the francophone region for over three months turned violent. As the movement grows, it is breathing life into the contentious issue of independence for Quebec.

When thousands gathered in Montreal this week to commemorate 100 days of student protests events soon turned ugly.

As the day wore on, demonstrators began hurling rocks at riot police who in return charged at protesters. Hundreds were arrested.

Despite the best efforts of Quebec Premier Jean Charest to quell the ongoing unrest, it was clear the movement was gaining momentum.

What had started as a minority student protest against a projected 82 percent hike in university tuition fees back in February has escalated into a popular movement, bringing together anti-capitalists and environmentalists under the same umbrella.
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