In separating gun-control bills, Democrats reveal strategy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats in the Senate have spread his gun-control proposals across four bills in an effort to get at least some of the less controversial measures - such as expanded background checks for gun buyers - passed into law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote as early as Thursday on the bills, which together amount to an acknowledgement by Democrats that a ban on military-style "assault" weapons is unlikely to clear Congress.

The proposed ban on assault weapons makes up one of the four gun-control bills, all of which are likely to be approved by the Democrat-led Judiciary Committee and be considered by the full Senate, congressional aides said Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, will decide how to package the measures for a vote on the Senate floor.

By breaking Obama's gun-control agenda into pieces, supporters hope to avoid having a less popular proposal such as the assault weapons ban contribute to the rejection of other proposals, aides said.

The proposed ban, introduced by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, has drawn opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. It will be the focus of a Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.

"We are taking a pragmatic approach that is designed to maximize our options," a senior Democratic aide said.

The four bills now before the Judiciary Committee include one introduced by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the panel's chairman, that would crack down on illegal gun trafficking.

Another bill, by California Senator Barbara Boxer, is designed to increase school safety.

A bill, still being finalized, would call for "universal" background checks for all prospective gun buyers. Currently, only about 40 percent of buyers are screened for previous crimes or mental illness.

Feinstein's proposal, targets assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips like those used in the December 14 massacre at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six adults dead - and inspired the current action on gun control.

'NO WAY' ON ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

Wednesday's hearing is likely be the latest in a series of dramatic Capitol Hill hearings to reflect the passion surrounding the debate over gun control.

Those scheduled to testify include the father of one of the students killed in Newtown, and a doctor who was in a local emergency room when victims of the shootings were brought in.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Democrats "are trying to create political theater" with the hearing, and that there is no way an assault weapons ban will become law.

"It faces bipartisan opposition," he said.

Even so, all four of the gun-control bills are widely expected to sent to the full Senate on party-line votes of 10-8, Senate aides said.

But to clear procedural roadblocks from Republicans on the Senate floor, the measures will need 60 votes in the 100-member Senate, where Democrats and independents who support them account for 55 seats and Republicans hold 45.

There have been calls from those in both parties for expanded background checks in an effort to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted criminals and the mentally ill.

But a bipartisan deal has not yet been struck despite weeks of talks among four senators - Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republicans Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Mark Kirk of Illinois.

"It is the one thing we think can really pass, and we don't yet have an agreement on it," a Senate aide said.

On Tuesday, Coburn said, "We're still talking."

(Editing by David Lindsey and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/separating-gun-control-bills-democrats-reveal-strategy-233554019.html

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Highest Bidder Will Get DNA Pioneer's Nobel Medal

Francis Crick in 2003, the year before his death, at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego.

Denis Poroy/AP

Francis Crick in 2003, the year before his death, at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego.

Denis Poroy/AP

This is no ordinary family heirloom.

The granddaughter of English scientist Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who passed away in 2004, is putting his Nobel Prize medal up on the auction block.

"It had been tucked away for so long," said Kindra Crick, 36, of the medal. "We really were interested in finding someone who could look after it, and possibly put it on display so it could inspire the next generation of scientists."

In 1953, Crick and his collaborator, James Watson, published their research into the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for all living things. Nine years later, in 1962, the pair (along with Maurice Wilkins, a New Zealand-born physicist and molecular biologist) shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the achievement.

According to the website LiveScience, there is little precedent for the sale.

"Nobel medals appear to have changed hands publicly in only a couple of instances. This particular medal, like others made before 1980, is struck in 23-carat gold, and recognizes a particularly high-profile accomplishment in biology, one fundamental to modern genetics."

While the medal itself will clearly be the centerpiece of the April 10-11 sale at Heritage Auctions in New York City, other items will also be offered to the highest bidder, including a Nobel Prize diploma, the check from the Nobel Foundation for prize money in the amount of 85,739.88 Swedish krona (endorsed on the back by "Doctor Francis Crick"), a soiled lab coat worn by the famous scientist (embossed with a stylized DNA helix on the pocket), and a model of the DNA molecule built by Crick and Watson in 1953.

Heritage Auctions' Sandra Palomino has valued the medal and the diploma at $500,000, which she says is "an educated guesstimate."

The Crick family plans for a portion of the proceeds of the sale to benefit research institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Francis Crick Institute, scheduled to open in London in 2015.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/02/27/173058399/highest-bidder-will-get-dna-pioneers-nobel-medal?ft=1&f=1007

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Mali: 6 killed in bomb as fighting rages in north

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) ? A suicide car bombing killed six government allies in the northern city of Kidal, as French confirm that they are engaged in heavy fighting in northern Mali.

The suicide bomber exploded his vehicle Tuesday evening at a checkpoint at an entrance to Kidal, said Ag Alghabas Intalla, a leader of the Islamic Movement of Azawad, or MIA, reached by phone in Kidal. He said he counted six dead and others wounded. The MIA group is fighting with the Malian army and French troops against Islamic extremists.

Responsibility for the suicide attack has not been claimed, but it is suspected to be the work of the Islamic extremists of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO.

French troops are involved in "very violent fighting" in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains of northeastern Mali, said France's defense minister Tuesday. Jean-Yves Le Drian said that it's too early to talk about a quick French pullout from Mali, despite the growing cost of the intervention.

The French intervention in Mali has cost more than ?100 million ($133 million) since it started Jan. 11, said Le Drian on France's RTL radio.

"We are now at the heart of the conflict," in protracted fighting against Islamic extremist rebels in the Ifoghas mountains, Le Drian said.

While some expected the 4,000-strong French force to pull out next month, Le Drian said he couldn't talk about a quick withdrawal while the mountain fighting goes on. A clash in the area killed 23 soldiers from neighboring Chad last week, according to French President Francois Hollande, who expressed condolences to his Chadian counterpart.

Soldiers from Chad and a few other African countries have joined the French-led operation to help Mali's weak military push back the Islamic extremists who had imposed harsh rule on northern Mali and started moving southward toward the capital, Bamako, last month.

Ag Ghali's armed extremists conquered much of northern Mali after a military coup in Mali's capital, aided by al-Qaida's North Africa wing. In Timbuktu, they imposed strict Shariah law and forced thousands to flee; others were tortured and executed. But the French-led intervention in January brought the Islamic radicals to quit the northern cities of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal and retreat to mountainous hideouts near the Algeria border.

In the first weeks of the campaign, French and Malian forces easily took back cities in northern Mali. But the fighting is rougher now that it has reached more remote terrain in the mountains of the southern Sahara.

At the United Nations in New York, a top U.N. humanitarian official said Tuesday that as security improves in Mali, the world must seize the moment to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid.

John Ging, a senior humanitarian affairs official who just visited Mali, said that country's northern region is stabilizing but needs help re-opening schools, markets and health clinics. The U.N. is appealing for $373 million in aid, but has only received $17 million.

Even before fighting erupted last year among government forces, Taureg rebels and radical Islamists, Ging said Mali was suffering from the severe food crisis that has hit Africa's arid Sahel region.

Ging said more than 430,000 Malians have been displaced.

On Tuesday, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on an Islamic rebel leader whose extremist group seized much of northern Mali last year and prompted the French military intervention. The United States State Department designated Iyad Ag Ghali, head of the Islamic group Ansar Dine, a global terrorist. The action blocks any assets he holds in the U.S. and prohibits Americans from doing business with him.

The United Nations also added Ag Ghali to its global sanctions list.

___

Charlton reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper contributed from Washington and Ron DePasquale from the United Nations in New York.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mali-6-killed-bomb-fighting-rages-north-113402308.html

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German Scientists Develop New Range Extending System For ...

Just about every car manufacturer has some version of an electric car on the market, whether it is a hybrid or 100% electric powered. ?To this day the full electric vehicles have not been able to offer the distance per charge necessary to make them practical for regular use, so hybrid seems to be sticking around for the next several years. ?While hybrid vehicles are more energy-efficient than those that are not, scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stuttgart want to do a better job at extending these semi-electric cars with their free-piston linear generator.

Not unlike your typical range extenders, this new device would allow the car to run on an electric charge for distances up to about 50 kilometers and then utilize an internal combustion engine to recharge as you drive longer distances. ?What makes the?free-piston linear generator stand out from the rest is that instead of solely relying on gasoline to power the combustion engine, drivers can opt to use a range of alternative fuel sources such as hydrogen or natural gas.

During the public unveiling, Director of the DLR Institute of Vehicle Concepts, Horst E. Friedrich, commented that?their range extender will eventually make it possible for people to ?drive as efficiently as possible and in the most environment-friendly manner?.

Now that the technology has been demonstrated and shown to work, the next phase is to further develop and build a prototype that can be one day be used in a vehicle. ?That process can take some time so don?t expect to see the?free-piston linear generator listed among the specs of 2014 or 2015 car models. ?If your interested in the more technical details of the project, head on over to the source link to get the full rundown.

?

Source: DLR

About Stephen Fuchs

Stephen Fuchs is the founder of German Pulse and is actively working to bring new life to the German-American community by reaching out to all generations. He also works full-time editing commercials for Feld Entertainment.

Source: http://www.germanpulse.com/2013/02/26/german-scientists-develop-new-range-extending-system-for-electric-cars/

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Blueprint for an artificial brain

Public release date: 26-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andy Thomas
andy.thomas@uni-bielefeld.de
49-521-106-2540
University of Bielefeld

Bielefeld physicist Andy Thomas takes nature as his model

This press release is available in German.

Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Privatdozent [senior lecturer] Dr. Andy Thomas from Bielefeld University's Faculty of Physics is experimenting with memristors electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves. Thomas and his colleagues proved that they could do this a year ago. They constructed a memristor that is capable of learning. Andy Thomas is now using his memristors as key components in a blueprint for an artificial brain. He will be presenting his results at the beginning of March in the print edition of the prestigious Journal of Physics published by the Institute of Physics in London.

Memristors are made of fine nanolayers and can be used to connect electric circuits. For several years now, the memristor has been considered to be the electronic equivalent of the synapse. Synapses are, so to speak, the bridges across which nerve cells (neurons) contact each other. Their connections increase in strength the more often they are used. Usually, one nerve cell is connected to other nerve cells across thousands of synapses.

Like synapses, memristors learn from earlier impulses. In their case, these are electrical impulses that (as yet) do not come from nerve cells but from the electric circuits to which they are connected. The amount of current a memristor allows to pass depends on how strong the current was that flowed through it in the past and how long it was exposed to it.

Andy Thomas explains that because of their similarity to synapses, memristors are particularly suitable for building an artificial brain a new generation of computers. 'They allow us to construct extremely energy-efficient and robust processors that are able to learn by themselves.' Based on his own experiments and research findings from biology and physics, his article is the first to summarize which principles taken from nature need to be transferred to technological systems if such a neuromorphic (nerve like) computer is to function. Such principles are that memristors, just like synapses, have to 'note' earlier impulses, and that neurons react to an impulse only when it passes a certain threshold.

Thanks to these properties, synapses can be used to reconstruct the brain process responsible for learning, says Andy Thomas. He takes the classic psychological experiment with Pavlov's dog as an example. The experiment shows how you can link the natural reaction to a stimulus that elicits a reflex response with what is initially a neutral stimulus this is how learning takes place. If the dog sees food, it reacts by salivating. If the dog hears a bell ring every time it sees food, this neutral stimulus will become linked to the stimulus eliciting a reflex response. As a result, the dog will also salivate when it hears only the bell ringing and no food is in sight. The reason for this is that the nerve cells in the brain that transport the stimulus eliciting a reflex response have strong synaptic links with the nerve cells that trigger the reaction.

If the neutral bell-ringing stimulus is introduced at the same time as the food stimulus, the dog will learn. The control mechanism in the brain now assumes that the nerve cells transporting the neutral stimulus (bell ringing) are also responsible for the reaction the link between the actually 'neutral' nerve cell and the 'salivation' nerve cell also becomes stronger. This link can be trained by repeatedly bringing together the stimulus eliciting a reflex response and the neutral stimulus. 'You can also construct such a circuit with memristors this is a first step towards a neuromorphic processor,' says Andy Thomas.

'This is all possible because a memristor can store information more precisely than the bits on which previous computer processors have been based,' says Thomas. Both a memristor and a bit work with electrical impulses. However, a bit does not allow any fine adjustment it can only work with 'on' and 'off'. In contrast, a memristor can raise or lower its resistance continuously. 'This is how memristors deliver a basis for the gradual learning and forgetting of an artificial brain,' explains Thomas.

###

Original publication:

Andy Thomas, 'Memristor-based neural networks', Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/9/093001, released online on 5 February 2013, published in print on 6 March 2013.

For further information in the Internet, go to: www.spinelectronics.de.

---

[ | 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: 26-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andy Thomas
andy.thomas@uni-bielefeld.de
49-521-106-2540
University of Bielefeld

Bielefeld physicist Andy Thomas takes nature as his model

This press release is available in German.

Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Privatdozent [senior lecturer] Dr. Andy Thomas from Bielefeld University's Faculty of Physics is experimenting with memristors electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves. Thomas and his colleagues proved that they could do this a year ago. They constructed a memristor that is capable of learning. Andy Thomas is now using his memristors as key components in a blueprint for an artificial brain. He will be presenting his results at the beginning of March in the print edition of the prestigious Journal of Physics published by the Institute of Physics in London.

Memristors are made of fine nanolayers and can be used to connect electric circuits. For several years now, the memristor has been considered to be the electronic equivalent of the synapse. Synapses are, so to speak, the bridges across which nerve cells (neurons) contact each other. Their connections increase in strength the more often they are used. Usually, one nerve cell is connected to other nerve cells across thousands of synapses.

Like synapses, memristors learn from earlier impulses. In their case, these are electrical impulses that (as yet) do not come from nerve cells but from the electric circuits to which they are connected. The amount of current a memristor allows to pass depends on how strong the current was that flowed through it in the past and how long it was exposed to it.

Andy Thomas explains that because of their similarity to synapses, memristors are particularly suitable for building an artificial brain a new generation of computers. 'They allow us to construct extremely energy-efficient and robust processors that are able to learn by themselves.' Based on his own experiments and research findings from biology and physics, his article is the first to summarize which principles taken from nature need to be transferred to technological systems if such a neuromorphic (nerve like) computer is to function. Such principles are that memristors, just like synapses, have to 'note' earlier impulses, and that neurons react to an impulse only when it passes a certain threshold.

Thanks to these properties, synapses can be used to reconstruct the brain process responsible for learning, says Andy Thomas. He takes the classic psychological experiment with Pavlov's dog as an example. The experiment shows how you can link the natural reaction to a stimulus that elicits a reflex response with what is initially a neutral stimulus this is how learning takes place. If the dog sees food, it reacts by salivating. If the dog hears a bell ring every time it sees food, this neutral stimulus will become linked to the stimulus eliciting a reflex response. As a result, the dog will also salivate when it hears only the bell ringing and no food is in sight. The reason for this is that the nerve cells in the brain that transport the stimulus eliciting a reflex response have strong synaptic links with the nerve cells that trigger the reaction.

If the neutral bell-ringing stimulus is introduced at the same time as the food stimulus, the dog will learn. The control mechanism in the brain now assumes that the nerve cells transporting the neutral stimulus (bell ringing) are also responsible for the reaction the link between the actually 'neutral' nerve cell and the 'salivation' nerve cell also becomes stronger. This link can be trained by repeatedly bringing together the stimulus eliciting a reflex response and the neutral stimulus. 'You can also construct such a circuit with memristors this is a first step towards a neuromorphic processor,' says Andy Thomas.

'This is all possible because a memristor can store information more precisely than the bits on which previous computer processors have been based,' says Thomas. Both a memristor and a bit work with electrical impulses. However, a bit does not allow any fine adjustment it can only work with 'on' and 'off'. In contrast, a memristor can raise or lower its resistance continuously. 'This is how memristors deliver a basis for the gradual learning and forgetting of an artificial brain,' explains Thomas.

###

Original publication:

Andy Thomas, 'Memristor-based neural networks', Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/9/093001, released online on 5 February 2013, published in print on 6 March 2013.

For further information in the Internet, go to: www.spinelectronics.de.

---

[ | 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/2013-02/uob-bfa022613.php

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Senate ends filibuster of Hagel's Defense Department nomination

Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel testifies at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Jan.??The Senate on Tuesday agreed to end debate over Chuck Hagel's nomination to lead the Defense Department, clearing the way for a final vote on the Republican former Nebraska senator. He is expected to be confirmed.

The measure to halt debate, which required at least 60 votes, was approved with bipartisan support by a vote of 71-27. The final vote will take place at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Democrats can count on at least 55 votes?four more than the 51 needed to confirm Hagel.

Tuesday's vote to end the debate is the beginning of the end of a long and tumultuous confirmation process for President Barack Obama's nominee. The first attempt to end debate fell short in the face of an unprecedented GOP filibuster two weeks ago, with Democrats just one vote shy of the 60 needed to proceed to confirm Hagel. (The tally showed 58 votes in favor, but Reid changed his vote to ?no? as it was needed to secure the right under parliamentary rules to bring up Tuesday?s vote.)

Last week 15 Republicans sent a letter to Obama urging him to withdraw Hagel's nomination, citing his record and comments he made in the past about Iran's nuclear weapons program. The White House dismissed the request and vowed to proceed with Hagel through the nomination process.

It remains unclear clear how the sustained battering would affect Hagel's tenure at the Pentagon. But the rough handling he got from his fellow Republicans and former colleagues shows one thing for sure: The former lawmaker cannot count on getting the benefit of the doubt from Congress as he moves to deal with spending cuts that start coming into force on Friday, or takes on challenges overseas like the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/defense-secretary-nominee-hagel-faces-big-step-confirmation-114702931--politics.html

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Racism's link to conservatism and/or group dominance - moving ...

After reading through many different articles on social dominance theory (SDT), a common theme that ubiquitously appeared is conservatism.? The relationship between social dominance orientation (SDO) and conservatism is explored in the article: "Racism, conservatism, Affirmative Action, and intellectual sophistication: A matter of principled conservatism or group dominance?" by Sidanius, Pratto, and Bobo (1996).?

This article is relevant to our study because vast majority of Americans align with the principles and ideas of the two major political parties: democratic and republican. Democrats have more liberal values while republicans have more conservative values. Many of the articles I have read implicitly implied that conservatism and racism are of the same thing. Of course many conservatives disagree because being racist today is socially unacceptable in most places in America. ? The question here is whether conservatism in itself is racist? A theory call 'principled conservatism model' says no because conservatism is driven by fighting for equality, fairness, and establishing a color-blind society (Sidanius et al., 1996). Furthermore, the model posits that conservatism's link to racism is due to a lack of education and that correlation between the educated and conservative is weak. Lastly, the model suggests that political conservatism is not related to racism (Sidanius et al., 1996).?

The study surveyed almost four thousand Euro-American students at the University of Texas asking about their educational level, political views, affirmative action attitudes, and racism. The findings are mostly non-conclusive. "Opposition to affirmative action among Whites cannot be exclusively understood in terms of either anti-Black affect, classical racism, or SDO" (Sidanius, et al., 1996). However, one strong conclusion is that racism declines with education is not only unfound, but rather, the opposite is true (Sidanius, et al., 1996).? Another key finding is that he social dominance theory gives the best explanation as to why racism and political conservatism are so often linked. The reason is that both racism and SDO has the mutual desire for non-egalitarian, or unfairness, and hierarchically structured social classes.?

After all, what is considered racism? Is it the attitude towards a certain group? A certain political views? Being against affirmative action? It appears that the idea of racism itself is a vague term and in linking it to political conservatism makes it even more vague. It is no doubt that conservatism has negative affect towards blacks and other ethnic groups, but it is unclear if it is directly linked to racism. The common ground here is that both racism and SDO have a similar direction and, thus, SDO give the best perspective amongst all that is extremely unclear. Studies on racism can be very difficult, especially today. Surveys can only give so much insight because it is unknown how truthful the participants are.?

Reference

Sidanius, J., Pratto, F., & Bobo, L. (1996). Racism, conservatism, Affirmative Action, and intellectual sophistication: A matter of principled conservatism or group dominance?. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 70(3), 476-490. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.476

Source: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bfr3/blogs/moving_psychology/2013/02/racisms-link-to-conservatism-andor-group-dominance.html

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Southeast Asian margin squeeze snags Singapore Inc

(Reuters) - The most widespread margin squeeze in at least a decade is pushing some Singapore companies out of the city state as rising costs and slow growth sap profitability.

A Reuters study of 268 listed Singapore companies showed that 57 percent reported a year-on-year drop in operating profit margin for the first three quarters of 2012. That was the biggest percentage for the nine-month period on record, according to Thomson Reuters data going back to 2002. Full-year data for 2012 was not yet available.

A severe labor shortage is hobbling businesses in Singapore as the government tightens its immigration policies, while growth has been hard to come by as exports languish in a dull global economy.

Across Southeast Asia, 54 percent of companies reported shrinking margins, equaling the percentage recorded in 2009, when the global economy had tipped into a recession following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.

In all, Reuters examined the balance sheets of nearly 1,000 companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines with a market value of at least S$100 million ($80.8 million).

The pain is particularly acute in Singapore, a smaller and more mature market lacking the burgeoning consumer classes of its emerging market neighbors. Inflation has heated up, with the consumer price index, due on Monday, expected to show a 4.0 percent rise in January, according to a Reuters poll.

The head of a Singapore business association is among those moving their corporate headquarters elsewhere, in search of lower costs and a larger market.

Chan Chong Beng, head of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Singapore and chairman of Goodrich Global, a carpet and wallcoverings company with a presence in eight countries, said he planned to move his firm's headquarters and operations such as product development to Wujiang, China, near Shanghai. Sales and marketing will stay in Singapore, he said.

"Businesses today face a very awkward situation," Chan said. "The worst is we can't find the workers."

"Potentially there's a lot of room to grow in China. Over here, no matter how much I can push, there's a limit to my growth," he added.

PACKING UP

Singapore, a major financial and trading centre known for its business-friendly policies, faces a tightening labor market as authorities curb the influx of foreign workers, spurred by public grumbling about overcrowding and soaring property prices.

A survey conducted late last year by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore found 15 percent of respondents - U.S. businesses which are members of the chamber - were considering moving operations away, while 5 percent had already done so.

Andrew Tjioe, president of the Restaurant Association of Singapore which has more than 300 members, said the pressure from rising costs and a shortage of labor was unprecedented.

"I have gone through so many rounds of recessions - the 1997 recession, SARS and then 2008," said Tjioe, who has been in the food and beverage industry for three decades. "I can feel the pressure right now. I believe this has got to be the worst."

At Chan's Goodrich Global, sales growth in Singapore has been slow in the past two or three years while rents have shot up around 30 percent and labor costs have risen as much as 20 percent.

Small and medium-sized businesses like Chan's have been among the hardest hit. These companies collectively contribute more than half of Singapore's gross domestic product and employ seven out of every 10 workers.

Last month, the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and eight other business organizations sent a joint letter to the city state's government highlighting concerns about tighter limits on foreign workers.

"While Singapore continues to attract significant foreign investment we nevertheless fear current implementation of revised labor policy risks negatively impacting Singapore's economy and reputation as an open economy," the letter said.

Singapore's Economic Development Board has acknowledged the impact of tighter immigration measures on industry and has taken steps including helping companies to boost productivity, the board's managing director Yeoh Keat Chuan said.

Some companies will be reluctant to move completely out of Singapore, which offers a strong record in safety, regulation and transparency, although their expansion efforts will likely focus on neighboring countries with faster growth.

That expansion can help them to weather some of the pressures at home.

Electronics and furniture retailer Courts Asia Ltd , which has 72 stores in Singapore and Malaysia, is setting up a 140,000 square-foot (13,000 square-meter) megastore in eastern Jakarta, which will be the group's largest when it opens in 2014.

"We don't want to discount Singapore in terms of growth potential," said Courts Asia Chief Executive Terry O'Connor. "But of course Indonesia and Malaysia have more greenfield territories, there are more options. We go to Indonesia, we can be 'big box' from day one."

Singapore bakery and restaurant chain BreadTalk Group Ltd , which aims to boost revenue to S$1 billion in the next few years, is expanding regionally - particularly in China and Thailand - to balance out cost pressures at home.

"In Singapore's retail environment, rising costs are largely attributed to rent and labor," said BreadTalk Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Yeo. "In response, we've had to fine tune our business model."

($1 = 1.2382 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore and Tripti Kalro in Bangalore; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Emily Kaiser and Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/southeast-asian-margin-squeeze-snags-singapore-inc-003229409--finance.html

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The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop at MWC 2013

Nokia just launched the stylish Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 Windows Phones plus a pair of affordable candy bar handsets (Nokia 301 and 105) here at MWC 2013. We spent a few brief minutes with CEO Stephen Elop to discuss the announcement -- chatting about the common design language and the incredible price points for these devices (€15 / $20 for the Nokia 105 and €139 / $184 for the Lumia 520). I also quizzed Mr. Elop about the Lumia 920's ongoing camera woes and what's being done to address them we discussed the company's recent focus on entry-level smartphones like the delightful Lumia 620 and what it means in terms of strategy. Hit the break to watch our video interview.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/the-engadget-interview-nokia-ceo-stephen-elop-at-mwc-2013/

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Asian stocks fall amid unease about US budget

BEIJING (AP) ? Asian stock markets fell Tuesday amid anxiety about impending U.S. government spending cuts and the uncertain outcome of Italy's general election.

Oil dropped below $93 a barrel on concern about possible setbacks in all the major economic regions.

Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 1.4 percent to 11,502.30 while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 2,329.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.6 percent to 22,693.86 and Taipei, Seoul and Sydney also suffered declines.

Investors were spooked by the specter of automatic U.S. spending cuts that hit this week and political instability in Italy following a general election.

In Asia, Chinese markets have drifted after Beijing ordered new efforts to cool housing prices, prompting fears of tighter monetary policy that might slow a gradual economic recovery. Investors also were dismayed by a survey that showed February factory activity slowing.

"As all three major economic areas face uncertainty, risk aversion has returned," said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk in a report.

Markets were volatile Monday amid uncertainty about the outcome of Italy's election. Exit polls suggested a center-left coalition might be able to form a government. But later polls showed a center-right group led by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi might win control of the upper house ? a scenario that might produce political deadlock and force new elections.

Berlusconi has promised to roll back some of the austerity measures introduced by technocrat prime minister Mario Monti. Heavily indebted Italy's stability is considered crucial to the future of the euro currency bloc and European leaders want Rome to enforce Monti's spending controls.

On Wall Street, the Dow fell 216.40 points, or 1.6 percent, to 13,784.17, its biggest drop since Nov. 7. The S&P 500 fell 27.75 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,487.85, falling below 1,500 for the first time in three weeks. The Nasdaq composite dropped 45.57 points, or 1.4 percent, to 3,116.25

In China, investors were dismayed when HSBC Corp. said Monday a preliminary version of its purchasing managers index showed Chinese manufacturing unexpectedly fell in February to a four-month low and export orders declined.

China is recovering from its deepest slowdown since the 2008 but analysts say the rebound will be gradual and could be jeopardized if trade or investment falls.

Investors also are awaiting new U.S. data and remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

Last week, minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting showed concern over monetary stimulus, stoking jitters in the markets.

In currency markets, the dollar weakened to 92.55 yen from the previous day's 92.59.

The yen has fallen by about 20 percent in recent weeks, helping to boost the Nikkei on hopes of stronger exports.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 57 cents to $92.54 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled Monday at $93.11.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-stocks-fall-amid-unease-us-budget-032758966--finance.html

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Kerry begins first overseas trip as secretary of state

Pool / Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) is greeted by U.S. Ambassador Louis Susman, upon his arrival for his first official trip overseas as Secretary, at the Stansted Airport, east of London, February 24, 2013.

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

Secretary of State John Kerry landed in London, England on Sunday, using his first overseas trip as America's chief diplomat to introduce himself to some of the United State's top allies.

Kerry will visit nine countries over the course of his ten-day trip, meant to be an introductory tour but also with a focus on ending the violence in Syria.

NBC's Andrea Mitchell joins Lester Holt to preview John Kerry's first overseas trip as America's chief diplomat.

Along with the United Kingdom, Kerry will visit Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

While in Rome, Kerry will participate in the Friends of Syria Conference, an international meeting to address the nearly two years of violence that have ravaged the country since it plunged into civil war.

Leaders of the Syrian opposition, however, have expressed skepticism about the meeting and have indicated they may not attend, despite urgings from the international community.

"The Syrian Opposition leadership is under severe pressure now from its membership, from the Syrian people, to get more support from the international community. And in that context, there is quite a bit of internal discussion about the value of going to international conferences," a senior Obama administration official told reporters traveling with Kerry.

"The point that we're trying to make, and what we are stressing in all of our conversations with them ... is that they have an opportunity in Rome with the meeting that the Italians have offered to host to see the very countries that have been their greatest supporters, and to come and present to all of us how they see the situation on the ground both in security terms, humanitarian terms, and in political terms and economic terms and to make their case for where they are in terms of the support," the official said.

Catherine Chomiak contributed to this report

Source: http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/24/17077486-john-kerry-begins-first-overseas-trip-as-secretary-of-state?lite

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Pediatricians Urged To Treat Ear Infections More Cautiously

Giancario Gemignani-Hernandez, 2, of Pittsburgh has his ear examined by Dr. Alejandro Hoberman.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

Giancario Gemignani-Hernandez, 2, of Pittsburgh has his ear examined by Dr. Alejandro Hoberman.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

Hoping to reduce unnecessary antibiotics use, the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday issued new guidelines for how doctors should diagnose and treat ear infections.

Every year, millions of parents take their children to the pediatrician for ear infections, and most of them end up going home with antibiotics. In fact, ear infections are one of the most common reasons kids see doctors and the leading reason kids get antibiotics.

"Parents, if their child is up all night screaming and tugging the ear, they want something to make the child feel better," says Dr. Richard Rosenfeld of the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, who helped write the new guidelines.

But about 70 percent of children get better on their own within two or three days, and about 80 percent are better within a week to 10 days, he says.

And he says there are some real downsides to using antibiotics when they're not necessary: They can cause upset stomachs, allergic reactions and other problems. And they can contribute to the development of superbugs ? infections that are getting harder and harder to cure.

"The bacteria that do survive the antibiotic get tough, and next time you get an ear infection or any other type of infection, they're harder to manage," Rosenfeld says.

The first thing the new guidelines say is: Make sure the child really has an ear infection.

"There are dozens of reasons an ear can hurt," Rosenfeld says. "In this guideline we say, 'Listen, if you're not sure of the diagnosis, don't even think about giving an antibiotic. Please, don't even think about it.' "

The only way to know for sure is to take a close look at the eardrum and see if it is clearly bulging.

"If it's pushed outward ? looks like it wants to pop ? that is a very, very accurate sign of an ear infection," Rosenfeld says.

But even kids who really do have ear infections don't necessarily need antibiotics. The guidelines say doctors have the option of just watching kids who don't have intense pain, a high fever or other symptoms of a severe infection.

"You don't have to freak out as a parent. [Ear infections] tend to go away on their own quite often with just some pain medicine," Rosenfeld says.

But there are some kids who definitely should get antibiotics, such as those ages 6 months to 2 years who have infections in both ears or any child who has severe symptoms, such as severe pain for several days and a fever of at least 102.2 degrees. Any child who has a ruptured eardrum should also get antibiotics, according to the guidelines.

"If you have a severe infection, no point discussing it further. Those children are going to get antibiotics. And the reason is they'll get the most benefit," Rosenfeld says.

Other experts praised the guidelines. But some worry they might make some doctors a little too hesitant to use antibiotics.

"When the diagnosis is correct, then antibiotic treatment is never wrong," says Dr. Ellen Wald of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. "Kids tend to recover more often and they recover more quickly if they're treated appropriately with antibiotics."

That's especially important for working parents, Wald notes.

"We live in a society where there is so much pressure for both parents to be working outside the home and it's just complicated when our child is sick. Besides which, there's always parental anxiety and concern when their child is sick," she says.

Rosenfeld stresses that doctors are free to figure out the best way to treat each child. In many cases, they can give parents a "safety net" or "wait and see" prescription and say: "Hold on to this antibiotic. Give some pain medicine the first day or two. And if they're not better after two days, then we do want you to let us know and start the antibiotic," Rosenfeld says. "But if they are better, just throw it out and they'll do fine."

The new guidelines also recommend ways parents can protect their kids from ear infections in the first place, such as by breast-feeding and keeping kids away from cigarette smoke.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/25/172588359/pediatricians-urged-to-treat-ear-infections-more-cautiously?ft=1&f=1007

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Monarchs by the millions flock to Mexico's drug country

ZITACUARO, Mexico (AP) ? He found the love of his life 2,000 miles from home in a chance encounter that gave him butterflies, and she moved west to be with him. So of course, Jason Skipton told me, there could be no better place to propose marriage than in a swirl of orange and black butterflies that had migrated thousands of miles to mate.

Never mind that that the stunning monarch butterfly sanctuary was in an area of central Mexico contested by drug cartels. When Samantha Goldberger set up her camera and darted to Skipton's side for a Valentine's Day picture, he dropped to one knee and asked for her hand.

"This place is like a miracle. And it is a miraculous thing that took place with us," Skipton said. "No one knows why the monarchs travel so far, or come here to find each other. It is inexplicable."

Indeed, every year, millions of monarchs migrate from the eastern United States and Canada to central Mexico, a journey of 2,000 miles and more into a wooded land under attack by loggers in a region bloodied by drug traffickers. The tiger-striped butterflies arrive in late October and early November to hibernate in fir trees, clinging together like great clusters of fall leaves. Come February, they start to awaken in the warm sun, turn glittering somersaults in search of their mates, and begin to couple.

I had long wanted to see this magical sight, and to hear the delicate music the butterflies make with the fluttering of their wings. As I boarded the bus from Mexico City to Michoacan with my husband and a friend, I wondered what tourists we might encounter in a place both beautiful and beastly. Who had the appetite for travel to central Mexico after the U.S. government warned against non-essential travel to most of the state of Michoacan, where we were headed?

There didn't appear to be other foreigners making the bus trip, a two-hour ride out the Toluca highway and along winding country roads as a subtitled version of the movie "Abduction" aired on TV screens overhead. Our hosts and hoteliers, Pablo and Lisette Span, had told us to buy a ticket at the taxi stand in the Zitacuaro bus station for the 10-minute ride to their Rancho San Cayetano. We did, arriving safe and sound.

Friends told us San Cayetano was one of the nicest and most charming places to stay in butterfly country. It's also one of the priciest, but the manicured grounds are lush and the rooms are cozy, each with a fireplace and woodpile ready to light at night. Although there are individual dining tables, guests naturally mingle and chat so that dinners and breakfasts become rather communal affairs. Pablo Span ate with us the first night and, in his gentlemanly way, tried to set us straight on the violence in Michoacan.

"Around the world, Mexico is synonymous with violence. But the violence is between the cartels fighting each other over territory, or between the cartels and the police and military. It's not against us. Not a single national or foreign tourist has died in the violence," he said.

The U.S. travel advisory makes a similar point that "attacks on Mexican government officials, law enforcement and military personnel ... have occurred throughout Michoacan."

Added Span: "The reality is ? touch wood ? we live exactly as we always have."

Touch wood? Really, that's our security policy?

But like Skipton and Goldberger, the guests we met were not only unfazed by the warnings, they were utterly captivated by the landscape. Another visiting couple, Michael Marez and Grace Buckley of Denver, Colorado, own a vacation house in Mazatlan, have been travelling throughout Mexico for years, and see no reason to stop now. They appeared to subscribe to the idea that violence is relative, noting that more than 1,700 people had been shot to death in the United States since the Newtown school massacre.

"People in the United States are desensitized to what happens in the United States and think what happens in Mexico is so much worse," said Marez. "We hope to avoid being collateral damage anywhere."

"You pay attention," added Buckley. "Sure Mexico has problems. They're sad and awful. But it's a wonderful country."

Rounding out the foreign crowd was a group of Intel employees and their families up from Mexico City. So it seemed the tourist pool, in this corner of Michoacan at least, was made up of expats, old Mexico hands, and hardy adventurers who consider witnessing the miracle of the monarch butterfly migration essential travel. (Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, also made the pilgrimage to see butterflies that weekend, but to the Piedra Herrada sanctuary near Valle de Bravo, in the state of Mexico.)

We opted to go to the reserve closest to San Cayetano called El Capulin, which is technically across the border from Michoacan in the state of Mexico. It is about half an hour's car ride from the hotel to the stables, where we rented some pretty scrawny horses and hired guides for the 1 ? hour trek uphill to the reserve at a place called Cerro Pelon. It was a rocky, dusty trip and there apparently are easier trails to the Sierra Chincua and the larger El Rosario sanctuaries in Michoacan, but it was well worth the saddle pain.

For here in the forest, I learned the great mystery of the monarchs, which is this: Most monarchs live only four or five weeks, but the generations that make the long migratory journey to Mexico live four or five months. They breed, the females lay their eggs on the road north, and die along with the males. Then, a year and five butterfly generations later, their descendants rely on some kind of instinctive GPS system to migrate south again, returning to exactly the same forest in central Mexico.

How cool is that?

Experts say the numbers of monarchs have been dwindling in recent years thanks to logging, insecticide use and other environmental pressures. We encountered a team of scientists from the World Wildlife Fund of Mexico and the Universities of Georgia and Wisconsin testing butterflies for parasites that attach themselves to the wings like excess baggage and drag the insects down. They found the ophryocystis elektroscirrha parasites on about 10 percent of the butterflies, which only weigh about a half-gram to begin with.

And yet, there are millions of them, flying, diving, sucking nectar from yellow and purple wildflowers, and seeking, like Skipton and Goldberger, the mates of their lives.

Recalling his romantic proposal, Goldberger said she remembers running to Skipton for the picture when "all of the sudden he was down on one knee." It took her a moment to realize what was happening. "It was incredible," she said.

And what did she respond?

"Yes."

___

If You Go...

BUTTERFLY MIGRATION IN MICHOACAN, MEXICO: http://www.visitmexico.com/en_us/VisitMexico30/Michocans_Billion_Monarch_Butterfly_Migration. Butterfly reserves are open mid-November through March. UNESCO World Heritage site: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1290. Reserves include El Capulin, over the border from the state of Michoacan to the state of Mexico. Entry fee at El Capulin, 35 pesos ($2.75). Horseback riding, 200 pesos ($16.50) and fee for guide, 200 pesos ($16.50) plus tip.

RANCHO SAN CAYETANO: Zitacuaro, Michoacan, http://ranchosancayetano.com/. Nightly rates, $130 plus 18 percent tax. Can be paid in dollars or pesos but quoted in dollars. Dinner at San Cayetano, 350 pesos ($27.45) plus 15 percent tip. Breakfast, 170 pesos ($13.30) plus 15 percent tip. They also will arrange box lunch tours to the sanctuaries.

GETTING THERE: Two-hour bus ride from Mexico City to Zitacuaro, Michoacan, on La Linea, 170 pesos ($13.30). Taxi from bus station to lodging, 35 pesos ($2.75).

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-butterfly-country-monarchs-million-150254523.html

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Alcatel announces the 1080p One Touch Idol X

Alcatel kicks of their presence at Mobile World Congress 2013 with an unexpectedly high-end offering, the 1080p One Touch Idol X. Don't let the Nokia style colored cases fool you, this one is all Android and a refreshing step up from what we've seen from Alcatel in the past.

Running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on a 5-inch LCD, the Idol X has a beautiful edge-to-edge design. Powered by a quad-core MediaTek 6589 CPU with 16GB of internal storage, a 13MP camera (subject to change based on location) and a 2000mAh battery, the One Touch Idol X looks like something we'll want to take a second look at.

No word of pricing or availability dates were supplied. 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/zqddTsbNCQk/story01.htm

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PS4: The Last of the Game Consoles?

1. PS4: The Last of the Game Consoles?

   An article by Wired.

   Wired: 'Sony is attempting to define itself as the anti-Xbox. If that won't work, the game console for gaming gamers is done.'

   

   
   On Wednesday, Sony announced its new upcoming PlayStation 4.

   At the long two-hour event in NYC attended by over 1,000 journalists and fans, the company spent the time talking up its philosophy behind the system and reiterated that it was for 'true gamers': sick new graphics, ungodly amounts of RAM and cool new gaming-centric features like the ability to stream gameplay videos in real time.

   However, according to Wired, there?s an excellent chance the PS4 will be the last videogame console ever (at least as we understand the term).

   Here are some extracts from the article:

   ?We?re focusing on that core gamer, the gamer who wants the ultimate experience and lives for gaming,? Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton told Wired contributor Steven Levy after the event. ?If you?re not a gamer, I don?t think you get it.?

   Not a gamer? Beat it, loser. We don?t even want you buying PlayStation 4. So what is all this, then? Why is Sony rallying the gamer troops under its banner? PlayStation 4?s reveal preceded the as-yet-unscheduled announcement of the next Xbox. And it?s clear that Sony is attempting to preemptively define itself against Microsoft.

   Over the last few years, Microsoft has been attempting to change the way people think about its Xbox 360. It launched it in 2005 as a game console, the same way Sony is talking up the PlayStation 4 today. But now it wants you to think of it as an ecumenical home entertainment system, capable of streaming television, movies, music and everything else. Depending on your cable provider, you can use Xbox to control your live TV experience too.

   With all this in mind, there should be no question that Microsoft?s pitch for its eventual new console, right from the off, will be: This plays games, but it?s not for gamers any more than an iPad is just for gamers. Everybody watches TV, so everybody wants an Xbox to give them a heightened experience. If someday you find yourself caught in a downpour and duck into the nearest doorway and thereby accidentally enter a Microsoft store, you would be able to buy an Xbox on a cellphone-style plan, paying $99 for the box if you subscribe to two years of the Xbox Live service. That?s today. What if that?s the whole pitch for the next Xbox? What if Sony?s machine is $500 and Microsoft?s is $100? That would be the Bambi vs. Godzilla of console wars.

   [...]

   But the big mistake Sony seems to be making is the assumption that this is a zero-sum equation, in which a lack of other entertainment options means you are by default better at games. There?s no reason the next Xbox can?t be an awesome gaming device even if Microsoft achieves its goal of broadening the scope of the product. It?s so costly to make videogames today that none of the handful of publishers that are not yet bankrupt would fail to put their games on both platforms. Hardcore gamers are not hard to please, at the macro level. They are insanely expensive to please, but not hard: They want shooters with 1080p graphics, the same controller they?ve been using for the last decade, and seamless online play. It is not within the realm of possibility that Microsoft fails to deliver that.

   Sony does make better platform-exclusive games than Microsoft. It doesn?t have a shooter as popular as Halo, but Microsoft doesn?t have an Uncharted, a Heavy Rain, a Journey or an Infamous. Sony is killing it with first-party content. But ask Nintendo how that works out for you. It?s not a sufficient condition for success.

   [...]

   Who knows ? maybe it?ll pay off. But if gamers don?t flock to Sony?s rallying cry, what then? There?s a good chance Sony may realize all too late that it was Microsoft that got it right, and that you actually can sell far more game machines into people?s homes by broadening the appeal of the device beyond ?the gamer? who lives for gaming.? Sony might find itself having to change course and play catch-up again, like it did when PlayStation 3 showed up empty-handed to the online-gaming party that Xbox Live was throwing in 2006.

   And if that does happen, and the future is all-in-one entertainment boxes, then PlayStation 4 might be the last traditional gaming console ever released.

   So, what do you think? You can read the full article below!

   NEWS SOURCE: PS4 Analysis (via) Wired

   Our thanks to 'Gauss' for this news item!

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   ''Microsoft doesn?t have an Uncharted, a Heavy Rain, a Journey or an Infamous''

   I don't think those games are reason enough to make people choose PS4 Or not , If thats what they are relying on on , God help them, They are going to need an awful lot more than that.

   You never know , Maybe the next Gran Turismo wont take 40 years to produce or suck monkey nuts when it ships , Games like that might help.

   Last edited by somenutter; Yesterday at 03:04 AM.

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4. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to somenutter For This Useful Post:

   gDrive?(Yesterday), TomatOsaUce?(Yesterday)

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   I think somebody just had an intensive Microsoft butt kissing session.
   PS3 was a better quality piece of hardware than xbox360 and this is hardly going to change with PS4 vs xbox720.

   Oh, and PSN is free, thanks for 2 year subscription plan. (this might change to microsoft style though =/)

   Sony is opting for more expensive and faster memory than Microsoft and AMDs APU benefit A LOT from it, so Sony's console is also going to be faster.
   Sony has announced hard to implement features to be built in.

   Now, consuming some video service (doesn't PS3 already support amazon video? I saw the icon but never used it) is a piece of cake. "OMG controlling video provider", since when does XBox support DVB-C pretty please? Is it about video streaming only? That's oh so 2005...

   Last edited by medi01; Yesterday at 07:47 AM.

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   I think all people in Wired are Xbox fanboy.

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    Sony is opting for more expensive and faster memory than Microsoft and AMDs APU benefit A LOT from it, so Sony's console is also going to be faster.
    Sony has announced hard to implement features to be built in.

    Its true they are using fast memory , But we don't know for sure if Microsoft is using slower ddr3 ram or not, Its only rumors we have heard , Ive also heard a rumor Microsoft is putting a dedicated GPU Into the console along with the APU They already have, So don't count all our chickens just yet.

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13. wired just doing some junk journalism to get hits / thread

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    Its true they are using fast memory , But we don't know for sure if Microsoft is using slower ddr3 ram or not, Its only rumors we have heard , Ive also heard a rumor Microsoft is putting a dedicated GPU Into the console along with the APU They already have, So don't count all our chickens just yet.

    It's leaks not rumors and the guy who leaked it was raided by police.
    While Microsoft might bump memory, dedicated GPU on top of AMDs APU makes so little sense:
    1) much more expensive
    2) nearly doubles power consumption => problems with cooling
    3) cross-platform games (which are what, 99.9%?) could benefit from slightly more power (say better anti-aliasing, anysotropic filtering) but could hardly put twice as powerful GPU to a good use (lots of effort for only half of the market)

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    I don't think that's what Sony means by "We?re focusing on that core gamer... If you?re not a gamer, I don?t think you get it" and by "War against Reality".

    I think what they mean by "not gamer" is hacker and what they mean by "Reality" is Piracy. In other words, they are saying the PS4 is just for gamers not for hackers (to install linux, homebrew and such) and with it they are fighting agains Piracy and to win, they don't need to fight (as they were fighting with the PS3 scene), they need to Play.

    Afterall, the PS3 being completely hacked was the main reason they pushed the release of the PS4, you can see they stopped the fight against the scene because they haven't released a new FW in a long time now, so they are saying we're not going to fight anymore, we're going to leave the PS3 for hackers and release the PS4 for gamers.

    That's how I see it.

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Source: http://www.ps3crunch.net/forum/threads/6646-PS4-The-Last-of-the-Game-Consoles

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Creepy Art on Cat Body | Hi5ing

While tattooing may be thousands of years old the ancient art has certainly has come a long way. Everyone seems to be rushing to get tats and there is a definite following for people who are into body art. The tattoo has blessed some of today?s biggest names in entertainment.

The Sphinx cat is known for naturally being hairless and, despite the fact that they look like? lets just say they are not the prettier of all cats, have always been sought after for people who love cats, but have allergies.

Some women and men came up with the craziest ideas for their tattoos with their pet. See the artistic, bizarre and outrageous tattoos that cat adorn their bodies with. I?ve never seen such unusual tattoos before. Some people express themselves in the creepiness way with their pets. A lot of these crazy tattoos and piercings look really gross.

Tattoos have been around for as long as anyone can remember. It is hard to imagine how most of these people are able to eke out a living. The p###y cat is not as dumb as it used to be. It has groomed its outer appearance with the fast pacing world.

Inside this post, you will see the results of such weird body art on cat body. We have added some fun by attaching some wild, and crazed ink shots of those body parts.

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Source: http://www.hi5ing.us/2013/02/24/creepy-art-on-cat-body/

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