Park Chan-wook Talks Stoker

ROTTERDAM -- Ever since his international breakthrough,?Oldboy -- which won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2004, and is now being given a U.S. makeover by Spike Lee -- Park Chan-wook has been a regular on the global festival circuit. But touring with?Stoker,?which finally opens in the U.S. on March 1, represents a new adventure, as he's been presenting his first English-language film, and one based on material he didn't write.

The first script written by British actor Wentworth Miller, the story revolves around the change in 18-year-old India (Mia Wasikowska) as she comes to terms with her father?s death, the reaction of his widowed mother (Nicole Kidman) and then the arrival of a mysterious uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode).

VIDEO: Nicole Kidman Gets Creepy in 'Stoker' Trailer

Stoker premiered at Sundance, and?then screened as the closing film to the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Before the curtain came up in Rotterdam, Park spoke with?The Hollywood Reporter about discovering the soft spots in even the most seasoned Hollywood?A-lister, commissioning Philip Glass to write a piano duet that serves as a musical metaphor for sex, and getting pleasure from audiences? misguided reception of the film as a horror movie.

The Hollywood Reporter: What was it like for you working on your first U.S. production, with American actors?

Park Chan-wook: Actors, I think, are all the same. Both Korean actors and American actors are all very sensitive people, and they are all curious to know what the director thinks of them and how they are evaluated, and they try to satisfy the director. And they like it if you listen carefully to their opinions and accept them. I?m used to working with those kinds of actors. It was just that I was working within the boundary of Korea, but the actors I was working with there are the hugest stars there. So I felt all actors are similar, especially excellent ones, who are intelligent. It?s not because they are from good colleges or anything, but they are very bright in their thinking. They think a lot about human emotion. As for the system, in a word, the biggest difference is that there were too few shooting days. I had to shoot twice the speed as I shot in Korea; I had only 40 days, and there wasn?t enough time for additional shooting.

REVIEW:?Stoker

THR: How did you work with Wentworth Miller on his screenplay?

Park: Wentworth I had just one long conversation, and after that I just worked on it. I worked with Erin Cressida Wilson, an excellent screenwriter who helped me. We didn?t get writing credits, but from the beginning to end we had a lot of small and tiny revisions. Let me put it this way: If we?re talking about food, the ingredients are the same, but the cooking method is a little bit different. So the taste in the end is probably a bit different. But once it?s in your stomach it?s all the same.

THR: But you certainly brought your trademark visual style and musical choices.

Park: Visual elements are, of course, the director?s job. As for the music, there?s a bit where the two of them are playing the piano together. In Wentworth?s screenplay, I believe it?s described as Eric Satie-esque. But I changed that to Philip Glass, and so it is newly composed.

So if a different director had worked with Wentworth?s script, visually or aurally what kind of result would come out of it? It would be an interesting thing to imagine that. It would have been a very different result. But that has something to do with why I chose the script -- there?s a lot of space in there, there?s not a lot of dialogue, and any director taking it on could breathe their own style into the film.

STORY:?Park Chan-wook on Hollywood Debut 'Stoker': I Wish I Had More Time With the Actors

THR: And there?s a lot of sexually-charged symbolism in the film, such as the piano duet you mentioned.

Park: The piano duet wasn?t in the script, and it wasn?t even my idea! When I first went to New York to meet with Philip Glass I asked him to create a song [India and Charlie] could play together for that scene. And he said, ?Well, I got to know what kind of scene it is for me to write it.? So we?re saying, it?s a piano performance, but it?s actually sex. And he said, ?Oh, I got it. I once made a piece called Four Hands, a married couple were playing it and one day the husband said, while we can play it like this, we can also play it like this' [mimes the man putting his arm around the woman to reach the other side of the keyboard]. Right away that night, I changed the script to have Charlie?s arm going around India.

Sex is part of the whole process of courting or being in love. And in this scene, it is expressed in stages: a A woman is alone and the man approaches quietly; she ignores him and plays the piece alone; he gets tired of waiting and suddenly boldly gets into it. At first she?s shy but then she reacts, and it escalates to more excitement and then climax. That?s the point of a woman feeling enough satisfaction and that the man, having taken care of her needs, just disappears. That?s what?s being shown in that scene.

THR: Is Stoker supposed to be the second installment of a trilogy about girls going through their rites of passage, with the first one being 2006?s I?m A Cyborg That?s OK?

Park: Before I got the script I hadn't been thinking any more about that sort of film. I looked through so many different scripts, but in the end I chose this one. And there's also the fact that I decided to focus on those themes more so than is in Wentworth?s original script. I think that must mean I hoped to make another film like I?m A Cyborg But That?s OK. I?m a father who?s raising a daughter, and it?s an interest I?ve naturally taken. As I grow older I spend more time with my wife and gradually my interest in the woman?s world is growing. I feel like there are comparatively less films that deal with this view. That?s why I became more interested in it.

Q&A: Park Chan-wook

THR: The film?s title reminds one of Bram Stoker, and there are quite a few visual devices common to horror films there. But the film doesn't exactly fit into that genre, does it?

Park: The title was Wentworth?s, so I can?t say anything about that. Idioms of horror films are there for sure. I didn?t have any idea of making a horror film. I think this kind of result is desirable -- me making a film with the presumption that I'm making a thriller, and the audience taking it as almost a horror film because they are so scared. Officially we define it as a psychological thriller, but in Sundance people just called it a horror film straight out. I find that an interesting outcome.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926928/news/1926928/

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Obama's divide-and-conquer strategy: Is it really about destroying GOP?

The day after Obama's inauguration, Boehner accused him of trying to 'annihilate' the Republicans. Indeed, the party's struggles since have only grown. But weakening the GOP may not be all Obama wants.

By Linda Feldmann,?Staff writer / February 27, 2013

In this Feb. 26 photo, President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks about automatic defense budget cuts during a visit to Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Va.

Charles Dharapak/AP

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There?s no doubt about it, things aren?t going well for the Republicans.

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The latest polls show President Obama and the Democrats beating Republicans on just about every issue, from the economy and health care to immigration, Medicare, and gun violence. Overall, 45 percent of Americans agree with most of what the president is doing, 40 percent agree with the congressional Democrats, and only 29 percent agree with the congressional Republicans, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey released Wednesday.

Ouch.

So here?s a question: What role (if any) has Mr. Obama played in the Republicans? travails? Some Republicans ? hello, Eric Cantor ? say there?s nothing wrong with the party?s positions, and their problem is marketing. Others, in a hint to hard-line tea partyers, say the party has to become more pragmatic and open to compromise even while still hewing to its core principles.

But there?s a case to be made that Obama has helped exacerbate the GOP?s internal divisions by highlighting wedge issues. Gay marriage, the expansion of Medicaid, immigration reform, even the ?sequester? ? all have splintered the Republicans and at times forced them into debate among themselves as much as with Democrats.

?Obama?s doing a good job of exploiting internal discord,? says Ford O?Connell, president of the conservative Civic Forum PAC.

The Republicans, of course, damaged themselves in the last election. The party is still digging out from Mitt Romney?s rich-guy gaffes, starting with his disparaging comments about the ?47 percent.? Obama continues to crush the Republicans on the issue of who understands the concerns of the middle class. Then there were the off-key comments on rape that cost the Republicans two Senate seats and untold embarrassment nationally, especially among women voters.

But it was Obama?s unabashedly liberal speech at his second inaugural that fueled the notion that he is actively trying to splinter the opposition. He went after climate-change skeptics when he bashed those who ?may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science.? He took an indirect slap at the GOP?s vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, when he dismissed the idea that the social safety net ? Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security ? makes us ?a nation of takers.?

Obama went in for the kill with this comment: ?We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.?

House Speaker John Boehner got the message. The next day, in a speech to the moderate-Republican Ripon Society, he accused Obama of trying to ?annihilate the Republican Party.?

The speaker argued that because Obama laid out an agenda that can?t get through the Republican-controlled House, the administration?s real aim must be to destroy the GOP.

?Let me just tell you,? Speaker Boehner said, driving the point home, ?I do believe that is their goal ? to just shove us into the dustbin of history.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/39Kr3Fjx9Jw/Obama-s-divide-and-conquer-strategy-Is-it-really-about-destroying-GOP

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Music, movie industry to warn copyright infringers

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slow-down for 48 hours. Those who claim they're innocent can protest ? for a fee.

For the first time since a spate of aggressive and unpopular lawsuits almost a decade ago, the music and movie industries are going after Internet users they accuse of swapping copyrighted files online. But unlike the lawsuits from the mid-2000s ? which swept up everyone from young kids to the elderly with sometimes ruinous financial penalties and court costs ? the latest effort is aimed at educating casual Internet pirates and convincing them to stop. There are multiple chances to make amends and no immediate legal consequences under the program if they don't.

"There's a bunch of questions that need to be answered because there are ways that this could end up causing problems for Internet users," such as the bureaucratic headache of being falsely accused, said David Sohn, general counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based civil liberties group. But he added: "There's also the potential for this to have an impact in reducing piracy in ways that don't carry a lot of collateral damage."

The Copyright Alert System was put into effect this week by the nation's five biggest Internet service providers ? Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cablevision ? and the two major associations representing industry ? the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.

Under the new program, the industry will monitor "peer-to-peer" software services for evidence of copyrighted files being shared. Each complaint will prompt a customer's Internet provider to notify the customer that their Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally. Depending on the service provider, the first couple of alerts will likely be an email warning. Subsequent alerts might require a person to acknowledge receipt or review educational materials. If a final warning is ignored, a person could be subject to speed-throttling for 48 hours or another similar "mitigation measure."

After five or six "strikes," however, the person won't face any repercussions under the program and is likely to be ignored. It's unclear whether such repeat offenders would be more likely at that point to face an expensive lawsuit. While proponents say it's not the intention of the program, it's possible the alert system will be used to initiate lawsuits.

The number of Internet users subject to the new system is a sizable chunk of the U.S. population. Verizon and AT&T alone supply more than 23 million customers.

For the recording industry, which blames online piracy for contributing to a dramatic drop in profits and sales during the past decade, the new alert system is a better alternative than lawsuits. In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America announced it had discontinued that practice ? which had been deeply unpopular with the American public ? and would begin working with the Internet providers on the alert system instead.

"We think there is a positive impact of (alert) programs like this, and that they can put money in the pocket of artists and labels," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the trade group.

The Motion Picture Association of America estimates some 29 million people have downloaded or watched unauthorized movies or TV shows online, mostly using technology such as BitTorrent, a popular peer-to-peer protocol. Like its counterparts in the music industry, the MPAA says it believes people will stop when they understand it's illegal and are redirected to legal ways of paying for downloads.

The alert system "will help ensure an Internet that works for everyone by alerting families of illegal activity that has occurred over peer-to-peer networks using their Internet accounts and educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening again," Michael O'Leary, an executive for the MPAA, said in a statement Tuesday.

A primary question is whether the system will generate a significant number of "false positives," or cases in which people are accused of sharing illegal content but aren't. One scenario is if a person doesn't encrypt their wireless connection, leaving it open to a neighbor or malicious hacker that swaps illegal files. Another example might be if a person uploads a "mashup" of songs or brief scenes from a movie ? content that wouldn't necessarily violate the law but could get flagged by the system.

The Center for Copyright Information, which created the alert system, is responsible for producing the methods that companies will be allowed to use to catch pirates, but it said Tuesday it won't release those details publicly. It said the system will rely on humans to review the entire content of every file to make sure it qualifies as material protected under copyright laws.

"This is an imperfect science," said Yoshi Kohno, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. "The likelihood of a false positive depends on the diligence of the party doing the investigation."

Bartees Cox, a spokesman for the consumer watchdog group Public Knowledge, says it will watching to ensure the program doesn't evolve into imposing harsher punishments by Internet providers, such as terminating a person's Internet access altogether if they are accused of being a prolific violator.

If a person believes they've been wrongly accused, they will have multiple chances to delete the material and move on without any repercussion. If the problem is chronic, they can pay $35 to appeal ? a charge intended to deter frivolous appeals but also one that can be waived. The center says it won't require proof that a person is financially strapped.

The center's director, Jill Lesser, said the goal is to educate the average Internet user, rather than punish them, and no one will see their Internet access cut off.

"This is the first time the focus has been on education and awareness and redirection to legal and authorized services and not on punitive measures or a carrot-and-stick approach," she said.

Sohn said the effort will be a significant test whether voluntary measures can reduce copyright infringement.

"The long-term challenge here is getting users to change their attitudes and behaviors and views toward copyright infringement, because the technology that enables infringement ? computers, digital technology and the Internet ? that stuff isn't going away," he said.

___

Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty

___

Online:

http://www.copyrightinformation.org/the-copyright-alert-system

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-26-Internet%20Piracy/id-ccf2d1d17968430aa7260431e694211b

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Silver nanoparticles may adversely affect environment

Feb. 27, 2013 ? In experiments mimicking a natural environment, Duke University researchers have demonstrated that the silver nanoparticles used in many consumer products can have an adverse effect on plants and microorganisms.

Fifty days after scientists applied a single low dose of silver nanoparticles, the experimental environments produced about a third less biomass in some plants and microbes.

These preliminary findings are important, the researchers said, because little is known about the environmental effects of silver nanoparticles, which are found in textiles, clothing, children's toys and pacifiers, disinfectants and toothpaste.

"No one really knows what the effects of these particles are in the environment," said Benjamin Colman, a post-doctoral fellow in Duke's biology department and a member of the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT).

"We're trying to come up with the data that can be used to help regulators determine the risks to the environment from silver nanoparticle exposures," Colman said.

Previous studies have involved high concentrations of the nanoparticles in a laboratory setting, which the researchers point out, doesn't represent "real-world" conditions.

"Results from laboratory studies are difficult to extrapolate to ecosystems, where exposures likely will be at low concentrations and there is a diversity of organisms," Colman said.

Silver nanoparticles are used in consumer products because they can kill bacteria, inhibiting unwanted odors. They work through a variety of mechanisms, including generating free radicals of oxygen which can cause DNA damage to microbial membranes without harming human cells.

The main route by which these particles enter the environment is as a by-product of sewage treatment plants. The nanoparticles are too small to be filtered out, so they and other materials end up in the resulting wastewater treatment "sludge," which is then spread on the land surface as a fertilizer.

For their studies, the researchers created mesocosms, which are small, human-made structures containing different plants and microorganisms meant to represent the environment. They applied sludge with low doses of silver nanoparticles in some of the mesocosms, then compared plants and microorganisms from treated and untreated mesocosms after 50 days.

The study appeared online Feb. 27 in the journal PLOS One.

The researchers found that one of the plants studied, a common annual grass known as Microstegium vimeneum, had 32 percent less biomass in the mesocosms treated with the nanoparticles. Microbes were also affected by the nanoparticles, Colman said. One enzyme associated with helping microbes deal with external stresses was 52 percent less active, while another enzyme that helps regulate processes within the cell was 27 percent less active. The overall biomass of the microbes was also 35 percent lower, he said.

"Our field studies show adverse responses of plants and microorganisms following a single low dose of silver nanoparticles applied by a sewage biosolid," Colman said. "An estimated 60 percent of the average 5.6 million tons of biosolids produced each year is applied to the land for various reasons, and this practice represents an important and understudied route of exposure of natural ecosystems to engineered nanoparticles."

"Our results show that silver nanoparticles in the biosolids, added at concentrations that would be expected, caused ecosystem-level impacts," Colman said. "Specifically, the nanoparticles led to an increase in nitrous oxide fluxes, changes in microbial community composition, biomass, and extracellular enzyme activity, as well as species-specific effects on the above-ground vegetation."

The researchers plan to continue to study longer-term effects of silver nanoparticles and to examine another ubiquitous nanoparticle -- titanium dioxide.

CEINT's research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University. The original article was written by Richard Merritt.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Benjamin P. Colman, Christina L. Arnaout, Sarah Anciaux, Claudia K. Gunsch, Michael F. Hochella, Bojeong Kim, Gregory V. Lowry, Bonnie M. McGill, Brian C. Reinsch, Curtis J. Richardson, Jason M. Unrine, Justin P. Wright, Liyan Yin, Emily S. Bernhardt. Low Concentrations of Silver Nanoparticles in Biosolids Cause Adverse Ecosystem Responses under Realistic Field Scenario. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e57189 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057189

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/EctQTz5Sylw/130227183528.htm

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Airbus parent EADS sees Q4 earnings halve

BERLIN (AP) ? Airbus parent company EADS NV posted a 47 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit Wednesday after taking costly charges at its helicopter and defense electronics divisions.

The aerospace giant recorded a ?325 million ($425 million) net profit in the October-December period, down from the previous year's ?612 million. But for the full year, its net earnings were up 19 percent at ?1.23 billion from ?1.03 billion in 2011.

"There's still some way to go to meet our profitability targets," said chief executive Tom Enders.

Revenues rose 17 percent during the fourth quarter to ?19.22 billion, with the core Airbus division posting a 21 percent increase to almost ?13 billion.

But EADS took a ?198 million hit during the quarter at its defense electronics contractor Cassidian, in part reflecting restructuring costs.

Renegotiating contracts with government customers resulted in a ?100 million charge at helicopter maker Eurocopter.

The company's core business, aircraft maker Airbus, posted a 36 percent increase in operating profit during the final three months, rising to ?393 million from ?289 million in 2011. Of that, orders for civilian aircraft brought in ?309 million while military planes garnered ?85 million during the quarter.

Spaceflight division Astrium reported operating profits of ?121 million, an increase of 19 percent from ?102 million in the same period the previous year.

EADS said it expects to sell more commercial aircraft ? about 700 ? in 2013. Revenues will grow modestly, it said, but results will be affected by stuttering sales of the giant A380, which has suffered problems with its wings.

"We would love to sell more of the big birds," said Enders. "We need to sell more, and we will."

Another headache for Airbus are the production delays for its new A350 Extra Wide Body model ? intended to challenge Boeing's 787 "Dreamliner." The 787 program has itself run into difficulties with the entire fleet grounded due to problems with its lithium batteries. Enders was diplomatic about his rival's woes, saying there was "definitely no schadenfreude" about the 787's grounding.

In its earnings report EADS repeated its warning that the A350 XWB program "remains challenging."

"Any schedule change could lead to increasingly higher impact on provisions," the company said.

EADS also said it was pushing back delivery of the first A400 M military transport planes from the first to the second quarter of the year.

With defense spending being cut in many industrialized countries, Enders said EADS was satisfied with the current share of defense in its business.

"Maybe it's not a bad time to have a smaller rather than larger defense business," he told reporters in Berlin, adding that the company planned to look forward after its failed bid to merge with Britain's BAE Systems last year.

Investors had also expected to receive an update Wednesday on the company's internal probe into allegations of bribery in the sale of fighter jets to Austria.

Enders said the results of the investigation ? which runs parallel to a probe by Austrian authorities ? would be presented at a later date as its scope had been widened.

"It's too early to jump to any conclusions," he said. But the company isn't currently making any provisions for legal repercussions in the case. "I have no reason to assume that employees of the company have engaged in misconduct or any criminal behavior."

The company said it is inviting shareholders to an extraordinary meeting March 27 to approve its new governance structure and a share buyback program for up to 15 percent of its stock. EADS last year announced sweeping governance changes that will see influence by state shareholders France and Germany shrink.

The company board is proposing a ?0.60 increase in dividend at its annual general meeting in June.

EADS shares rose 5 percent to ?36.60 on the NYSE Euronext exchange in Paris.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/airbus-parent-eads-sees-q4-earnings-halve-093709844--finance.html

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Powers hope for Iranian "feedback" on nuclear offer

ALMATY (Reuters) - World powers presented Iran with an updated offer during negotiations on its nuclear program in Almaty on Tuesday, and hope for "more detailed feedback" from the Iranian side when talks resume as scheduled on Wednesday, an EU spokesman said.

"We had a useful meeting today," Michael Mann, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, told reporters after the first day of the talks.

"Hopefully the Iranians will be able to reflect overnight and will come back and view our proposal positively," he said, declining to give details of the powers' proposal.

Western officials have said it includes an offer to ease sanctions on trade in gold and other precious metals if Iran agrees to halt its most sensitive nuclear activity, which the West suspects has a military dimension - something Iran denies.

Mann said the proposal by the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - had been discussed during Tuesday's talks, but he did not elaborate.

"The proposal was set out in a relatively clear fashion," he said. "The Iranians went away to consider our proposal (and) there were further discussions in the course of the afternoon and the evening ... the ball is in their court."

The talks in Kazakhstan were the first in eight months between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany - the "P5+1" - on a decade-old dispute that threatens to trigger another war in the Middle East.

Iran has used the time since the last meeting in June to further expand activity that the West suspects is aimed at enabling it to build a nuclear bomb, something that Israel has suggested it will prevent by force if diplomacy fails.

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak, Yeganeh Torbati and Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powers-hope-iranian-feedback-nuclear-offer-165849494.html

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Suspect in custody for dismemberment of NYC woman

Aerial view of area where body parts were found in bags strewn on a Bronx street early Tuesday.

By NBC News staff

A suspect is in custody for the dismemberment of a New York City woman whose body parts were found early Tuesday morning scattered throughout suitcases and plastic bags in a Bronx neighborhood.

Police believe the victim is a 45-year-old woman who has been missing since the weekend, NBCNewYork.com has learned.

The woman?s son, who called police to report her missing Tuesday morning, was being questioned, according to NBCNewYork.com.

A man walking his dog with his 12-year-old son in the neighborhood found a woman?s severed shoulder and two hands in a plastic bag and the rest of the body turned out to be scattered in suitcases and another bag elsewhere in the neighborhood.

The man first thought the bag was full of books, law enforcement officials told NBCNewYork.com. They said he moved to open it but noticed an SUV circling the block, so he took the bag around the corner and then found the body parts.

The man sent his son, who was along for the walk, to call police while the man kept walking the dog. Two blocks later, he found a suitcase and the dog sat next to it, and when the man opened it he found a woman?s torso, wearing a bra, law enforcement officials said.

Police later found a plastic bag with a leg and a foot inside, and nearby another suitcase with a leg and the woman?s head.

Law enforcement officials tell NBC 4 New York they found an empty box in her apartment that they believe contained a power saw. The apartment also smelled of bleach and was littered with latex gloves.

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:02 PM EST

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17101708-womans-body-parts-found-scattered-in-suitcases-and-bags-in-nyc?lite

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Gun control fight entering final round in Senate (cbsnews)

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South Dakota legislator calls MMA ?Child porn of sports,? while governor says it?s too violent

A bill to create an athletic commission in South Dakota is going nowhere fast, largely thanks to the ignorance of Gov. Dennis Daugaard and state house Rep. Steve Hickey.

Their primary objective is to ban sanctioned mixed martial arts in the state. In a blog post, Hickey writes that, "MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports."

The lack of knowledge and the lack of research both Daugaard and Hickey showed about MMA has to be frightening for persons who live in South Dakota. If they can't be bothered to do the minimal research required to learn that MMA is far safer than other "mainstream" sports, including football, it's scary to think about the laws they'll pass in the state regarding education, health care and budgets.

The UFC is the largest MMA promoter in the world. No fighter has ever suffered traumatic brain injury, let alone died, in the UFC's 20-year history. A 2006 study done by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and which appeared in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found MMA has far less traumatic brain injury than other sports.

Mixed Martial Arts competitions have changed dramatically since the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. The overall injury rate in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports, including boxing. Knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing. This suggests a reduced risk of TBI [traumatic brain injury] in MMA competitions when compared to other events involving striking.

MMA events must continue to be properly supervised by trained referees and ringside physicians, and the rules implemented by state sanctioning?including weight classes, limited rounds per match, proper safety gear, and banning of the most devastating attacks? must be strictly enforced. Further research is necessary to continue to improve safety in this developing new sport.

A 2008 study released by the British Journal of Sports Medicine reached the same conclusions. After a five-year study, its authors wrote:

Injury rates in regulated professional MMA competition are similar to other combat sports; the overall risk of critical sports-related injury appears low. Additional study is warranted to achieve a better understanding of injury trends and ways to further lower injury risk in MMA.

The simple fact is that a random NFL player is at far greater risk of a serious brain injury than is a random MMA fighter. Sadly, neither Gov. Daugaard nor Rep. Hickey bothered to do much investigation or educate themselves before speaking out.

South Dakota state house Rep. Mark Johnston introduced a bill to create an athletic commission in the state for the express purpose of making the sport safer. According to the Argus Leader, Johnston said his goal is to prevent unregulated events where tragedies could possibly occur.

A state athletic commission's job is, at the core, to protect the fighters. It makes sure the proposed matches are fair and that promoters have doctors and an ambulance at all events. The commissions also require qualified referees, who stop fights when one fighter is in danger. It also requires fighters to undergo extensive medical examinations before fighting to make certain they are fit to compete. States such as Nevada, California and New York, with strong commissions, have discovered injuries fighters didn't know they had and prevented them from competing. That wouldn't be the case in South Dakota, with no commission to require those tests.

A fear of many states with strong commissions is that promoters will travel across state lines to put on shows in states such as South Dakota, where there is no regulation and where, as a result, costs are less. But the result is that it is far less safe for the competitors.

Sadly, neither Daugaard nor Hickey recognize that. Hickey told the Argus Leader he was angered by the thought of his state sanctioning MMA.

I'm offended that the state would legitimize cage-fighting and the bloody violence that those kinds of spectacles create. I think it's interesting that we declare that it is a crime for one human being to strike another, and yet the state now proceeds to legitimize, and label a sport, cage-fighting.

With all due respect, Gov. Daugaard, a few points:

? It is a crime for one human to strike another outside of the bounds of athletic competition. But it is no crime to strike another in the context of sport and when doctors and referees are available to protect the athletes and where the athletes have signed a contract to compete against each other.

? MMA fights sometimes get bloody. But no fighter to my knowledge has ever suffered anything worse than scarring as a result of being cut. It is important to note that a lot of the cuts are on the forehead above the eyes, where they mix with sweat and make them seem far worse than they are.

? States that have athletic commissions ban fighters who have sustained head injuries from competing again for several months. And before even being allowed to practice in a gym, the fighter needs to be cleared by a doctor.

? MMA is a combination of sports, many of which are already legal in South Dakota, including boxing, wrestling, karate, jiu-jitsu and judo.

Octopus Suckers Are Moving Off Of Tentacles And Onto Robots

Octopus tentacles are pretty great looking, and they're functional, too. Everyone wants a piece of this creepily awesome natural design. But the coolest part of an octopus tentacle, its suction cups, has been difficult to replicate in robotic models. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hhQCnJozukY/octopus-suckers-are-moving-off-of-tentacles-and-onto-robots

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TokBox?s WebRTC-Based Video Chat Platform Now Supports Firefox Nightly And Aurora

TokBox, the live video chat platform that was acquired by Spain’s Telef?nica in 2012, was one of the first companies to fully bet on WebRTC (the Web Real-Time Communication API), the quickly developing standard for plugin-free in-browser video, audio and text chat. After launching its Chrome integration earlier this year, TokBox today launched its support for Mozilla’s Firefox – starting with the bleeding edge Aurora and Nightly editions of the popular browser. Now that TokBox supports Firefox, developers using its WebRTC-based?OpenTok platform can write video-enabled apps that allow for chats between users on iOS, Chrome and Firefox. With WebRTC now being part of Firefox’s early release?versions, users can expect to see it in the stable version of Firefox somewhere around version 21 or 22 (the stable channel is currently on version 19). As TokBox CEO Ian Small told me last week, his company started working with Mozilla sometime around last November. His team got early access to Mozilla’s WebRTC implementations and worked closely with the team there as Mozilla stabilized its own implementations of the standard. TokBox’s OpenTok platform ensures that developers don’t have to worry about the different WebRTC implementations on different browsers and the platform will also provides numerous additional services that a native WebRTC app doesn’t have provide, including, for example, broadcasting to a large group of viewers and video recording. OpenTok, the company says, is currently being used by more than 70,000 organizations, including the likes of Major League Baseball, Ford, Bridgestone and the remote presence startup Double Robotics. “Between Firefox 21 and Chrome 25,” Small told me, “we now have what appears to be a reasonably stable interop situation.” WebRTC, he argued is still “in its infancy.” The native version in the browser can be used to connect two people, but the standard doesn’t offer features like letting developers connect more than two people at a time or even record sessions. Based on TokBox’s experience with WebRTC, Small also believes that the spec should accommodate alternative video codecs besides the Google-backed VP8 format. In addition, he argues that bandwidth allocation, which would allow apps to devote more bandwidth to the speaker, for example, should be part of the standard. Despite these issues, however, Small believes that WebRTC will see “serious pickup” in the second half of this year, especially now that most of the key mobile and desktop platforms support it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VFApXVe796I/

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Fallout from Olympic wrestling takedown ? a mother's protest

There's been a furor over the decision not to guarantee wrestling a spot in the 2020 Olympics. Rightly so. I know first-hand what the sport does for young men (including my three sons) and an increasing number of young women. Fortunately, the decision is not final. It's time to speak out.

By Michele Weldon / February 25, 2013

Noel Torres celebrates a victory at the state wrestling meet in Wichita, Kan. Feb. 23. Op-ed contributor Michele Weldon the decision to drop wrestling's guaranteed spot in the 2020 Olympics 'not only kills [the Olympic] dream for American wrestlers, it dissolves the recognized importance of a sport that changes, enhances, and saves lives around the world' and 'could also decrease participation.'

Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle/AP

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I?m the mom of a wrestling family. Last August, two of my sons ? both former high school wrestlers ? went to the London Olympics to root for our local star, Ellis Coleman, a.k.a., the ?flying squirrel,? who wrestled Greco Roman. He didn?t win ? in fact, he lost early in the match. But he sure was planning on winning in 2016, 2020, and perhaps beyond.

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All that has changed.

The governing board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted by secret ballot Feb. 19 to exclude wrestling from its guaranteed slot in the 2020 summer games, reportedly to ?modernize? the Olympics. If the decision is not overturned, wrestling will have to compete with seven other sports ? from baseball to karate ? for a berth in 2020.

The IOC expunged the sport that has been a mainstay of the Olympics since 1896, maintaining it wanted to focus on 25 core sports. IOC documents indicate that?wrestling's popularity apparently doesn't rank that well based on 39 criteria including TV ratings, ticket sales, and global participation. But while the committee dropped wrestling, it preserved the modern pentathalon ? a five-sport combination of fencing, shooting, horse jumping, swimming, and running.

During last summer's Olympic games, 58.5 million viewers watched Olympic wrestling on television at its highest point, with an average of 23 million viewers. Compare that to the 33.5 million people who watched the pentathalon at its highest viewership, with an average of 12.5 million viewers. As former wrestler John Irving points out in a Feb. 15 New York Times op-ed, there were 29 countries that produced medalists in wrestling at the 2012 games. Only 26 countries even participated in the pentathlon.

The International Olympic Committee's decision has been met globally with repugnance, disbelief, anger, and vigorous advocacy for a sport that goes back to the ancient games in Greece. As a result of the decision, the head of the international wrestling federation was fired, and 10 countries ? including the United States and Russia ? met in Iran last week to strategize on influencing the IOC at a meeting in May. A final decision will be made in September.

The fallout from the takedown of wrestling is a shock not only for the 344 Olympic wrestlers who competed in 2012 (including wrestlers from 29 countries who took home medals), but millions of young athletes, coaches, parents, and fans of amateur wrestling around the world.

More than 56,000 people have signed a petition on change.org. The Save Wrestling Facebook page has close to 41,000 members. My oldest son, Weldon, created a Facebook page, Olympic Wrestling Forever. While none of my sons made it to the Olympics, I know what amateur wrestling does for a young man and an increasing number of young women.

In the US, 272,000 young men and 8,200 young women compete on the high school level in wrestling, according to the National Federation of High Schools. Many of them dream of the Olympics. Eliminating the sport from the Olympics not only kills that dream for American wrestlers, it dissolves the recognized importance of a sport that changes, enhances, and saves lives around the world. Dropping the sport from the Olympics could also decrease participation, which, in the US, has expanded by 40,000 wresters over the past decade.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Mpp873X8Z0k/Fallout-from-Olympic-wrestling-takedown-a-mother-s-protest

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UFC 157?s Three Stars: Ronda Rousey, Robbie Lawler and Dennis Bermudez shine

UFC 157 completed the rare trick of living up to its intense hype. Who stood out as stars?

No. 1 star ? Ronda Rousey: Is there any better word to describe Rousey than star? After months of Rousey appearing on television, in magazines and on every site on the internet, she showed she's more than a media darling. Rousey not only escaped a submission attempt by Liz Carmouche, but also finished the fight with just 11 seconds to go in the first round. That's a star.

No. 2 star ? Robbie Lawler: Looking at this fight card, would you ever have guessed that Lawler would emerge as a star? Before returning to the UFC on Saturday, he lost three of his last five bouts. He was up against Josh Koscheck, who was eager to get a big win after losing to Johny Hendricks. But the power in Lawler's hands knocked Koscheck out in the first round, and earned Lawler a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.

No. 3 star ? Dennis Bermudez: When the preliminary fights started, the Honda Center wasn't even half full. The UFC's tailgate was still going strong in the parking lot. But as Bermudez's bout with Matt Grice wore on, I noticed the stands filling up. Perhaps they heard about the Fight of the Year candidate happening inside, with Bermudez throwing everything he had at Grice, and Grice not only withstanding the punches but coming back with big punches of his own. They each took home a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.

Who were your three stars from the night? Tell in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-157-three-stars-ronda-rousey-robbie-lawler-143258534--mma.html

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'Argo,' Lawrence win on slow Oscar night

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY

Ben Affleck's revenge? Maybe. Despite the "Argo" director's much-talked-about snub on the best director nomination list, his film took home the best picture Oscar Sunday night, the final award of an evening that seemed even more ploddingly paced than usual.

Affleck seemed genuinely thrilled and touched as he speed-shouted out his thanks, including expressing gratitude to Canada, a near-necessity after that country's ambassador said he felt his nation's contributions to the 1980 rescue depicted in the film were underplayed.

AP

The Ben Affleck-directed film "Argo," Jennifer Lawrence and Daniel Day-Lewis were major winners at Sunday night's Oscars.

"I was here 15 years ago and I had no idea what I was doing," Affleck said, referring to his 1997 original screenplay Oscar win for "Good Will Hunting." "I never thought I'd be back here."

In a surprise twist, the win for "Argo" was read not by presenter Jack Nicholson, but by first lady Michelle Obama, via a live satellite presentation from the White House.

Obama praised the importance of the arts in the lives of young people, saying "every day, through engagement in the arts, our children learn to open their imaginations, to dream just a little bigger and to strive every day to reach those dreams."

/

"Argo" beat out eight other best-picture contenders, including Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," which was expected by many to dominate the night. But helped in part by publicity from the Affleck snub, "Argo" came on strong and by Oscar night, was considered by many to be a best-picture favorite.

"Lincoln" didn't follow through on its early best picture hopes, but for months, star Daniel Day-Lewis had been the overwhelming favorite. He didn't disappoint -- he took home his third best actor Oscar, making him the first actor to claim three wins in that category. He was quick to joke with presenter Meryl Streep, saying, "before we agreed to a straight swap, I had been commissioned to play Margaret Thatcher." Streep won an Oscar for playing Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" in 2011.

Jennifer Lawrence surprised many by claiming the best actress honor for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook," then surprised them again by tripping as she walked up to accept the award. She put her hands down on the stairs leading to the stage, steadied herself, and continued on to the microphone.

Director Ben Affleck says he was confident that "Argo" would win the best picture Oscar, once he had the award in his hand. Clip Courtesy A.M.P.A.S.? 2013.

"You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell," Lawrence said, looking out at the standing ovation that greeted her.

Christoph Waltz won the night's first statuette, for "Django Unchained," 15 minutes into the show, kicking off a long slog of musical numbers and minor awards until Anne Hathaway's ?best supporting actress award an hour and a half later.

In his speech, Waltz gave special thanks to Quentin Tarantino, the film's director, saying "you climbed the mountain ... because you were not afraid."

Hathaway won as expected for her role as the desperate prostitute Fantine in the big-screen version of "Les Miserables," a part her own mother once played on a national tour.

"It came true," Hathaway said while holding her trophy. She closed her speech with the hope that in the future, "the misfortunes of Fantine will be found only in stories and never again in real life."

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Anne Hathaway accepts the award for best supporting actress for her role in "Les Miserables.

The best director category became controversial back when the nominees were announced, with Affleck and "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow left off the list. Many awards-watchers felt Steven Spielberg would claim the honor for "Lincoln," but it was Taiwanese director Ang Lee who won the Oscar for his work on "Life of Pi."

"Family Guy" host Seth MacFarlane began the show with a lengthy song, dance and humor segment that included an appearance by William Shatner, appearing as "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk, and chastising MacFarlane for a supposed poor performance that Kirk came back from the future to correct.

MacFarlane's humor is often risque, and a few lines from his opening segment and throughout the show earned gasps from the audience. He joked that "Django Unchained's" near-constant use of the n-word was because the film was "loosely based on Mel Gibson's voicemails."

Later in the show, MacFarlane complimented Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in "Lincoln," and said that "the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth." The reference to Lincoln's assassin didn't go over well, leaving MacFarlane to crack, "Really? 150 years and it's still too soon?"

The show's theme was?music in film, which was spotlighted in numerous segments.

The always-popular "In Memoriam" montage showing photos of those in the industry who died in the past year ended with an image of Marvin Hamlisch. As his image scrolled away, Barbra Streisand strolled on stage to sing Hamlisch's "The Way We Were," which won the best original song Oscar in 1973.

A montage of dramatic scenes from James Bond films was shown to celebrate that film franchise's 50th anniversary, with Bond girl Halle Berry introducing the footage. Singer Shirley Bassey, who sang three of the Bond theme songs, sang "Goldfinger" as part of the tribute.

It was a timely nod, because later in the show, singer Adele and co-writer Paul Epworth won the Oscar for best original song for "Skyfall," the theme to the latest Bond film.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Adele accepts the Oscar for best original song for "Skyfall."

A tribute to movie musicals featured Catherine Zeta-Jones singing "All That Jazz" from "Chicago," and Jennifer Hudson bringing down the house with "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from "Dreamgirls." Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks, Russell Crowe and other cast members from "Les Miserables" capped off the performances with a medley from their musical.

Both screenplay awards went to best picture nominees. Quentin Tarantino won the original screenplay award for "Django Unchained," the slavery drama that had already won Waltz his supporting-actor honor. Praising the strong work of current screenwriters, including his competition, Tarantino announced, "This will be the writer's year!"

"Argo," adapted from an article in Wired magazine,?won the award for best adapted screenplay, with writer Chris Terrio dedicating the honor to CIA employee Tony Mendez, who was instrumental in the 1980 rescue of American embassy employees from Iran that forms the center of the film.

"33 years ago, Tony, using nothing but his creativity and his intelligence ... got six people out of a bad situation," Terrio said.

ABC

The best sound editing award ended in an Oscar rarity ? a tie. Presenter Mark Wahlberg announced the Academy had come to a split decision, and gave the award to both "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall."

"Life of Pi" won the most Oscars of the night. In addition to Lee's best director honor, the film claimed awards for cinematography, original score and visual effects. The winners of the visual effects award were cut off by the ominous theme from "Jaws" as their speech ran over ? a musical choice that was revisited later when?"Searching for Sugar Man," a documentary about little-known American singer Rodriguez and his unexpected popularity in South Africa, won the Oscar for best documentary feature and the film's director began to ramble.

"Brave," the story of a Scottish princess who battled to establish an adult relationship with her mother the queen, won the Oscar for best animated feature. "Paperman" won the award for best animated short.

"Anna Karenina" won for best costume direction, and "Les Miserables" for makeup and hair.

"Curfew" won the award for live-action short film, and "Inocente" for documentary short subject.

"Les Miserables" won the Oscar for best sound mixing.

"Lincoln" won for production design.

Austria's "Amour," which was also nominated for best picture, won the award for best foreign-language film. The film, set in France, stars French actress Emmanuelle Riva, who turned 86 on Oscar night and was a best actress nominee.

Related content:

This story was originally published on Sun Feb 24, 2013 8:58 PM EST

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/02/24/17078280-day-lewis-lawrence-hathaway-adele-are-winners-on-sluggish-oscar-night?lite

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Pope's last blessing from window draws crowd

Osservatore Romano / AFP - Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI's leads the Angelus prayer from the window of his apartments on Sunday in the Vatican. The pontiff celebrates his last Angelus prayer at the end of a week-long spiritual retreat, ahead of his resignation on Thursday.

By Frances D'Emilio, The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer.

The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.?

But while he has lately looked tired and frail, the crowd filling the cobblestone square seemed to energize him, and he spoke in a clear, strong voice, repeatedly thanking the faithful for their closeness and affection as they interrupted him, again and again, with applause and cheers. Police estimated some 100,000 people turned out.?

Benedict told the crowd that God is calling him to dedicate himself "even more to prayer and meditation," which he will do in a secluded monastery being renovated for him on the grounds behind Vatican City's ancient walls.?

As cardinals gather for the election of a new pope, the Vatican was sharply critical of a wave of reports in the Italian media. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

"But this doesn't mean abandoning the church," he said, as many in the crowd looked sad at his departure from regular view. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it (the church) with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."?

The phrase "tried to" was the pope's adlibbed addition to his prepared text.?

Benedict has one more public appearance, a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square.?

Benedict smiled at the crowd after an aide parted the white curtain at his window, telling the people, "thank you for your affection."?

Heavy rain had been forecast for Rome, and some drizzle dampened the square earlier in the morning. But when Benedict appeared, to the peal of church bells as the clock struck noon, blue sky crept through the clouds.?

"We thank God for the sun he has given us," the pope said, sounding cheerful.?

As cheers continued in the crowd, the pontiff simply turned away from the window and stepped back down into apartment, which he will leave on Thursday, taking a helicopter to the Vatican summer residence in the hills outside Rome while he waits for the monastery to be ready.?

A child in the crowd held up a sign on a yellow placard, written in Italian, "You are not alone, I'm with you." Other admirers held homemade signs, saying "Grazie."?

No date has yet been set for the start of the conclave of cardinals, who will vote in secret to elect Benedict's successor.?

One Italian in the crowd seemed to be doing a little campaigning, hoisting a sign which mentioned the name of two Italian cardinals considered by observers to be potential contenders in the selection of the next pontiff.?

Flags in the crowd represented many nations, with a large number from Brazil.?

The cardinals in the conclave will have to decide whether it's time to look outside of Europe for a pope.

Related:

Vatican blasts Italian media for 'false and damaging' reports

LA's Cardinal Mahony calls himself 'scapegoat' ahead of deposition, conclave

US Catholics like Pope Benedict but many ready for new direction, married priests

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/24/17074856-thank-you-for-your-affection-popes-last-blessing-from-window-draws-crowd?lite

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Network Infrastructure Company BTI Systems Raises $10M From Bain Capital And Others

Enterprise network infrastructure company BTI Systems has raised $10 million in new capital led by Bain Capital Ventures and existing investors BDC, Covington Capital and GrowthWorks. The company has raised more than $33 million since 2011.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/mklMPeBDVi4/

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Japan seen nominating "deflation basher" as BOJ head: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's prime minister is likely to nominate an advocate of aggressive monetary easing - Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda - as the next central bank governor to step up his fight to finally rid the country of deflation.

Shinzo Abe won a big election victory in December promising to revive the fortunes of an economy stuck in the doldrums for most of the past two decades. He has repeatedly called for a more aggressive central bank willing to take radical steps.

The yen fell on the nomination news to a 33-month low and the yield on five-year government bonds hit a record low as markets moved to factor in bolder monetary policy.

"Kuroda is a fan of a weaker yen and of deflation bashing," said Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale in London.

Sources said the government is likely to nominate Kuroda and two deputies this week for parliamentary approval.

It is also lining up Kikuo Iwata, an academic who advocates unorthodox monetary easing steps, and BOJ Executive Director Hiroshi Nakaso, who now oversees the central bank's international operations, as deputy governors, a source familiar with the process said. Iwata told reporters he had been offered the job and he would accept it.

Like the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan has cut interest rates close to zero. Since then it has adopted unorthodox measures to inject cash into the economy, currently in its fourth recession since 2000, to try to stimulate growth.

But Kuroda has long criticized the BOJ as too slow to expand stimulus, and is expected to push for more radical efforts to achieve a 2 percent inflation target set in January.

"Kuroda's nomination won't change the course that has been dictated by Abe in recent months - that is aggressive monetary policy, but perhaps thanks to the inclusion of Iwata the market will expect more eye-catching bold easing measures," said Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities in Tokyo.

The nominations must be approved by both houses of parliament, which means Abe will need opposition support because his ruling-bloc lacks a majority in the upper house. The incumbents leave March 19.

Officials in the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) - whose votes could be enough to confirm nominees - have said the DPJ was likely to support Kuroda, although some members may oppose Iwata on grounds that his reflationary views are too extreme.

Iwata has argued the BOJ is mostly to blame for prolonging deflation by not being aggressive enough in easing policy.

In the absence of DPJ support, the smaller Your Party will be key for the government securing approval for its nominees. However, party head Yoshimi Watanabe - an advocate of unorthodox easing steps - criticized the overall line-up as an ill-considered attempt at "balanced personnel".

"Prime Minister Abe's administration took power promising 'regime change' (at the BOJ) but I don't think this will lead to regime change," Watanabe told reporters.

If approved, the nominations increase the chances that the BOJ will ease monetary policy on April 3-4, the first rate review under the new leadership, say officials with knowledge of the central bank's thinking.

"Monetary easing is pretty much a given. The question is what specifically the BOJ will do," said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The BOJ has already pledged to pump 101 trillion yen ($1 trillion) into the economy by the end of this year by buying assets and through a lending program and to shift to open-ended purchases from next year.

To underline a more aggressive policy in April, the most likely options include starting the open-ended buying sooner than planned and increasing the amount of monthly asset purchases, the officials said.

Extending government bond purchases to maturities beyond the current three-years or buying more risky assets, such as exchange traded funds, are also options.

A drastic overhaul in the way the BOJ buys assets could take some time to materialize, while foreign bond purchases are also unlikely as Kuroda has ruled it out as an option, they say.

YEN SLIDE

Kuroda, 68, has been considered a strong candidate to replace current BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa because of his extensive experience in international policy and his calls for more aggressive monetary easing that matched the views of Abe.

As Japan's top financial diplomat from 1999 to 2003, he aggressively intervened in the exchange-rate market to weaken the yen to support the country's export-reliant economy.

This time, Kuroda - a fluent English speaker with a masters degree from Oxford - may have to mobilize his international contacts to fend off criticism that Japan's monetary policy is aimed at weakening the yen to help exporters.

Kuroda has called for the BOJ to achieve its 2 percent inflation target in two years by pumping money into the economy through unorthodox steps, such as expanding government bond purchases and buying shares. Inflation in Japan has rarely reached 2 percent since the early 1990s.

There are several hundred trillion yen worth of domestic financial assets that the BOJ could buy to expand its quantitative easing, he said on February 11.

The yen has weakened nearly 20 percent against the dollar since November, when Abe began calling for bolder monetary easing.

The cheaper yen has helped improve profits at Japanese exporters, notably carmakers like Mazda Motor Corp, which raised its operating profit outlook for the year ending in March by 80 percent.

Shirakawa's last rate review will be on March 6-7. The BOJ meets twice in April, once on April 3-4 and then on April 26.

Abe has stressed the need for the new governor to have international contacts, suggesting he prefers someone with experience in financial diplomacy, like Kuroda who, as president of the 67-member ADB rubs shoulders with policymakers around the world.

In nominating a BOJ governor, the premier usually respects the views of the finance minister and the ministry's bureaucrats because they work closely with the central bank on economic policy.

The finance ministry lobbied for former financial bureaucrat Toshiro Muto, but was likely turned down by Abe and his aides who saw him as lacking international contacts and less willing to experiment with untried monetary easing steps.

(Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kaori Kaneko.; Editing by Dean Yates and Neil Fullick)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-likely-nominate-adbs-kuroda-bank-japan-head-020805489--business.html

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Paint It Black: Post-Mortem on a Sort-Of Race Riot (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Patriots baseball strong against top-three teams

Published: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 11:45 p.m.

The College of Central Florida baseball team has been more than up to the challenge of playing tough competition this week.

The Patriots (12-8) improved to 2-1 this weekend against teams ranked among the top three in the state, as they downed No. 2 Gulf Coast State 11-5 on Saturday afternoon at Goodlett Field.

?We?re calling this our February State Tournament,? CF coach Marty Smith said. ?We want to win five, before we lose two (the format needed to win the state title).

?We?ve faced some very good competition and we are going to need this when we get to conference and have to play five tough games in a row.?

CF, which split a pair of games this weekend with No. 3 Miami Dade (that included a 14-5 loss Saturday), scored the go-ahead run in the fifth on a RBI single by Enderson Velsasquez, who added a three-run double that sparked a five-run sixth.

For the game, Velasquez was 3-for-3 with six RBIs and a run.

Travis Richardson (2-1) retired seven of the eight hitters he faced and earned the win.

Jason Lombardozzi was 4-for-4 with two doubles, four runs scored and one RBI for CF in the win over Gulf Coast.

Over the course of the doubleheader, Lombardozzi (6-for-8, four runs scored, two doubles, three RBIs), Ryan Smith (3-for-6, two runs scored), David Lugo (2-for-6, double, triple, RBI, run scored), Kevin Games (2-for-7, RBI, triple, two runs scored), Velasquez (3-for-6, six RBIs, run scored, double) and Mario Urdaneta (2-for-7, double, two runs scored, RBI) led the way for the Patriots.

CF, winner of seven of its last nine games, hosts Gulf Coast (13-5) today at noon.

CF Men?s Basketball 98, FSC-Jacksonville 79: At Jacksonville, the Patriots (27-3, 8-1), ranked 10th in the nation and third in the state, clinched the best single-season winning percentage in school history with their 18th win in the last 20 meetings dating back to 2007.

CF will now await the Suncoast Conference runner-up in the opening round of the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Men?s Basketball Tournament on March 7 in Marianna.

The Patriots led by seven at halftime and upped their edge to as many as 23 in the second half, as they won for the third time in as many tries this season against the Blue Wave (14-15, 4-5).

Eugene McCrory and Rodell Wigginton led CF with 16 points each, while Will Saunders added 15.

Rasham Suarez chipped in 14 points and Jeremiah Eason scored 13.

Source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20130222/articles/130229827

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