Tuesday 27 December 2011

List of 25 films chosen for Nat'l Registry


Here are the 25 films selected in 2011 by the Library of Congress to be preserved as part of the National Film Registry:
"Allures" (1961)
"Bambi" (1942)
"The Big Heat" (1953)
"A Computer Animated Hand" (1972)
"Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment" (1963)
"The Cry of the Children" (1912)
"A Cure for Pokeritis" (1912)
"El Mariachi" (1992)
"Faces" (1968)
"Fake Fruit Factory" (1986)
"Forrest Gump" (1994)
"Growing Up Female" (1971)
"Hester Street" (1975)
"I, an Actress" (1977)
"The Iron Horse" (1924)
"The Kid" (1921)
"The Lost Weekend" (1945)
"The Negro Soldier" (1944)
"Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies" (1930s-40s)
"Norma Rae" (1979)
"Porgy and Bess" (1959)
"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)
"Stand and Deliver" (1988)
"Twentieth Century" (1934)
"War of the Worlds" (1953)

Live on : Yahoo News

Oil hovers aloft $101 amidst ascent Iran tensions


SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil costs hovered higher than $101 a barrel amid investor concern that rising Middle East tensions may disrupt crude provides.
Benchmark crude for February delivery fell twelve cents to $101.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the ny Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.66 to settle at $101.34 in ny on Tuesday.
In London, Brent crude was up four cents at $109.31 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Tuesday that vp Mohamed Reza Rahimi said his country can shut the Strait of Hormuz, separating oil exports, if Western nations impose sanctions on Iran's oil shipments.

The U.S., the U.K. and alternative nations are mulling additional sanctions against Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, over concern concerning its nuclear power program.
The Strait of Hormuz, the choke purpose of the Persian Gulf, is one among the world's busiest routes for crude shipments with a few sixth of the world's oil production passing through.
If tankers couldn't use the strait, they might got to take longer, costlier routes to their destinations, which might possible boost costs.
"We doubt political posturing can be converted into action, however oil remains higher than $100 regardless," energy consultant and trader The Schork cluster said during a report.
Schork estimates crude would jump to higher than $140 if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Signs the U.S. economy is improving conjointly helped bolster crude. The New York-based Conference Board said its shopper Confidence Index jumped nearly ten points from November, to 64.5, the best since April.
The National Retail Federation said it expects a three.8 % increase in Christmas vacation sales, up from its forecast of two.8 % in September.
In alternative Nymex trading, heating oil fell zero.4 cent to $2.91 per gallon and gasoline futures softened zero.6 cent at $2.68 per gallon. Natural gas was down zero.7 cent to $3.11 per 1,000 cubic feet.

North Korean heir leads funeral of Kim Jong II


SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's next leader is leading a funeral procession for his father Kim Jong Il through Pyongyang's snow-covered streets.

Footage broadcast Wednesday on North Korea's state tv showed Kim Jong Un walking at the aspect of a sedan bearing a vast portrait of Kim Jong Il because it created its method slowly through a chilly, grey Pyongyang.

Tens of thousands of mourners stood within the snow as they gone along. troopers stood in lines with their heads bowed.

Kim died of a heart attack on Dec. 17.

Kim's youngest son and successor has rapidly gained prominence following his father's death.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for more data. AP's earlier story is below.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea tv is showing tens of thousands of mourners gathered within the snow at Kim Jong Il's funeral.

Footage broadcast Wednesday on North Korea's state tv showed a procession led by a sedan bearing a vast portrait of Kim creating its method slowly through Pyonyang. troopers stood in lines with their heads bowed.

Kim died of a heart attack on Dec. 17.

North Korea's state tv station is airing footage showing a stream of wailing folks paying their final respects to the late leader.

Kim's youngest son and successor Kim Jong Un has rapidly gained prominence following his father's death.

Monday 26 December 2011

Sony, Samsung dissolve panel joint venture

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Sony and South Korean rival Samsung are dissolving their joint venture in liquid crystal show panels as Sony tries to stanch years of losses in its TV business.
Samsung Electronics Co. can purchase all of Sony's shares within the joint venture for regarding one.08 trillion Korean won ($935 million) subject to a final agreement, Sony Corp. said Monday.
The joint venture referred to as S-LCD was established in 2004. Sony, that fell behind in flat panel TVs, invested in a very Samsung panel factory to make sure a gradual offer of panels for its LCD TVs.
Sony's TV operation has lost cash for seven straight years and therefore the company is straining to come that key business to profit.
The prices of TVs further as panels are dropping thus it makes a lot of sense to shop for panels at the market rate than to take a position in production.
Sony, that makes Bravia TV sets, doesn't create its own LCD panels.
It said it'll enter a brand new partnership with Samsung to shop for panels, and can additionally continue shopping for panels from alternative makers.
Sony said it'll suffer a loss of sixty six billion yen ($846 million) for the third quarter of this fiscal year, that ends later this month, as a result of the declining worth of investment in S-LCD.
Getting out the assembly venture can manufacture substantial savings when January 2012, when the deal is completed, in step with Sony.
It was still unclear how Sony's profit forecast for the fiscal year through March 2012 are affected, said company spokesman Takashi Uehara.

U.S. guarantees to assist Nigeria notice Bombers Who Killed Dozens on Christmas

The U.S. promised to assist Nigeria realize those chargeable for a wave of Christmas Day bombings that killed dozens within the oil-rich African nation.
“We are involved with Nigerian officers regarding what seem to be terrorist acts and pledge to help them in bringing those accountable to justice,” per a press release by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

Authorities in Africa’s prime oil producer blame the Boko Haram for a surge of violence within the mainly Muslim north and Abuja during which many folks have died this year. Boko Haram, a Muslim sect, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks, 2 of that targeted churches. A year ago, the cluster said it had been behind vacation bombings that killed over ninety.

The first explosion yesterday occurred as services were ending at St. Theresa’s Church close to the capital, Abuja. Yemi Ajayi, a police spokesman, said a minimum of twenty folks were killed. Another blast, at a church within the central town of Jos, capital of Plateau state, killed a policeman, said Pam Ayuba, a spokesman for the state government.
A suspected suicide-bomber rammed a automotive into the doorway of the State Security Service building within the northeastern town of Damaturu, killing four folks and therefore the bomber, Victor Ebhaleme, a spokesman for the military task force responsible of security within the region, said by phone from Maiduguri.
Attacks by the cluster would are worse throughout the vacation amount had it not been for preemptive action by the safety agencies, President Goodluck Jonathan’s security adviser said.
‘Improvised Explosives’
“Out of frustration arising from pro-active measures taken by security agencies against their chosen targets, they set to throw improvised explosive devices from a moving vehicle,” Owoye Azazi, a retired army general, said in a very statement e- mailed nowadays.
Security officers last week recovered 5 improvised explosive devices from 5 churches in Mubi within the northeastern state of Adamawa, he said.
Nigerian security agencies conjointly last week destroyed armoury belonging to the cluster within the northern states of Kaduna, Kano and Yobe, he said.
Boko Haram
The Boko Haram, a bunch that attracts inspiration from Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, claimed responsibility for the Abuja church attack, the Abuja-based Trust newspaper reported, citing a spokesman for the cluster, Abu Qaqa. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.
The Vatican denounced the attacks, saying the church bombings were a proof of “cruelty and absurd blind hatred that shows no respect for human life.
At least seventy two folks are killed in fighting since Dec. twenty two between Nigerian security forces and therefore the militant cluster within the northeastern town of Damaturu, officers said.
Boko Haram, that interprets to ‘‘Western education may be a sin,’’ claimed responsibility for a suicide car-bomb attack on the United Nations building within the capital on Aug. twenty six that killed twenty four folks. The cluster conjointly claimed many Christmas Eve blasts last year in Jos that left eighty folks dead and another blast on New Year’s Eve at an Abuja military barracks that killed a minimum of twelve folks.

Windows Automatic Updates Coming to Internet Explorer in 2012

It seems as if Microsoft doesn't embrace the thought of putting its net Explorer users fully responsible of updating their internet browsers, because the company announced that it'll begin using silent updates in January of next year. though some could worry that automatic updates might spell bother, users can have the choice to opt out of such updates if they opt for.


Silent updating for net Explorer are going to be implemented on a gradual basis, with Australia and Brazil being the primary countries targeted for January. the method can embody users of the Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows seven operating systems. net Explorer eight are going to be the upgrade destination for Windows XP users, whereas Windows Vista and Windows seven users are going to be automatically upgraded to the newer version of net Explorer nine. 


Microsoft’s reasoning behind the move towards automatic updating was explained during a recent post on the Exploring IE blog.  In short, by putting the most recent, most updated version of net Explorer within the hands of users, on-line security would increase, as several attacks round the internet are created to require advantage of vulnerabilities found in outdated software. net Explorer’s GM of business and promoting Ryan Gavin place it just by saying, “The internet overall is better—and safer—when additional folks run the foremost up-to-date browser.”

One of the most changes which will keep company with automatic updating is that the absence of a dialog box to verify an online Explorer update.  Users who favor to enable automatic updates within the past were typically presented with these dialog boxes as notifications, however which will amendment because the new method is slowly rolled out across the world.

Microsoft explained that solely users who have automatic updates enabled for his or her Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows seven operating systems are going to be expertise the changes. the corporate additionally offered 2 choices which will be out there to users who don't want to partake within the transition which will end in updates occurring within the background. the primary choice is to disable automatic updates.  The danger of selecting this selection is that users might miss necessary updates released to patch crucial vulnerabilities, leaving them open to attacks.  The second choice is to uninstall net Explorer altogether, that clearly removes the browser’s functionality fully.  “Customers who have declined previous installations of IE8 or IE9 through Windows Update won't be automatically updated,” Gavin added.

Users browsing with net Explorer ten and any more versions are going to be presented with an opt-out setting which will offer them the ability to disable automatic upgrades.  If a user is running the foremost recent version of net Explorer, they're going to receive the automated updates which will be downloaded and put in minus the requirement for any human interaction. this may clearly be seen by some as a positive, since the interruption issue are going to be diminished.  Others, however, could worry concerning potential issues that might arise from silent updating, and the way hackers can try and exploit such a system.

Since security updates for net Explorer are released separately from browser updates, they're going to not be affected.  Microsoft sometimes packages these updates as a part of its Patch Tuesday ritual that happens each different month.  As for business users, Microsoft noted that its own Blocker Toolkits may be downloaded to automatically disable the delivery of latest versions of net Explorer to assist maintain uniformity and avoid any disruptions.

Microsoft’s implementation of silent, automatic updating isn't an trade 1st.  Google immediately began automatic updates for its Chrome internet browser when it had been introduced 3 years ago.  Mozilla said it plans to launch its Firefox Update Service in April of next year when it releases Firefox twelve which will enable silent updating.  Adobe joined the movement further, saying it'd enable automatic updating for its Reader and Acrobat X programs.  As for why, Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of Qualys, said, “Silent updating is usually seen as a giant improvement to security on the net.”

The fact that net Explorer is thus widely used makes updating even additional of an urgent issue for Microsoft. internet Applications, a market analysis firm, placed net Explorer’s browser market share at fifty two %.  That range has dropped steadily over the years with the growing popularity of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, however it still represents a huge quantity of on-line users. in line with Chester Wisniewski, senior security advisor at Sophos, an excessive quantity of net Explorer loyalists are running older versions of the browser.  He stated that eight.3 % of users across the world are still browsing on the ten-year recent net Explorer vi. whereas a number of those using outdated versions of net Explorer do thus for business functions and compatibility problems, several favor to be left behind, for they feel there's no urgent got to upgrade.

Police craving for motive once seven relatives found fatally shot on Christmas in Texas apartment

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Investigators believe that seven those that were found dead Christmas Day were cleaning up vacation wrapping paper once they were shot within a suburban Fort price apartment, however a motive remained unclear as police worked into Monday morning attempting to piece along what happened.

All of the victims gave the impression to be connected, and Grapevine police said they believe the shooter was among the dead. Investigators were meticulously looking the apartment and 3 vehicles parked outside, and didn’t expect to complete till dawn.

The four ladies and 3 men, aged eighteen to sixty, were found dead in an adjoining kitchen and front room space when police arrived midday Sunday, shortly when receiving a 911 decision within which nobody was on the opposite line, Grapevine Police Sgt. Robert Eberling said. 2 handguns were found close to the bodies, he said.

“It seems that they had simply celebrated Christmas. that they had opened their gifts,” Eberling said, adding that the apartment was embellished for the vacation, as well as a tree.

None of the victims has been identified, however Eberling said it seems all of them died of gunshot wounds. He said authorities still don’t recognize what sparked the incident.

Grapevine Police Lt. Todd Dearing said investigators believe that the victims were connected, though some were visiting and didn’t live within the apartment. He said police are craving for alternative relatives to tell of the deaths.

“Seven folks in one setting in Grapevine, that’s never happened before. Ever,” Dearing said.

Police and firefighters 1st rushed to the Lincoln Vineyards advanced when receiving the open-ended 911 decision at regarding 11:30 a.m., Eberling said.

“There was an open line. nobody was saying something,” he explained.

So police went into the apartment, located within the middle-class neighborhood of Grapevine, not aloof from the upscale Fort price suburb of Colleyville. The apartment was at the rear of the advanced, overlooking the athletic fields of Colleyville Heritage highschool.

But several of the nearby residences are vacant, and police said no neighbors reported hearing something on a quiet Christmas morning when many of us weren't around.

Jose Fernandez, a 35-year-old significant equipment mechanic who moved to the advanced along with his family regarding six months ago, said he forever felt safe within the space, however is currently afraid to let his 10-year-old son play freely outside.

“This is absolutely outrageous particularly on Christmas,” said Fernandez, who was visiting family for the vacation and came back to seek out many police cars parked outside his home.

“This has shocked everyone. it's scared everyone. i suppose one thing like this will happen anywhere, however seven folks dead. It’s simply terribly scary,” he added.

Eberling agreed the world is fairly quiet, noting this may be the primary homicide in Grapevine since 2010.

Christy Posch, a flight attendant who moved to the advanced regarding six months ago thus her son might attend the highschool, said she lives many buildings away and didn't hear any gunshots.

“It’s all families. That’s why I moved here. No burglaries, no nothing,” Posch said.

Mel Gibson In £272m Divorce Settlement

Believed to be biggest payoff in Hollywood history...
Mel Gibson's ex-wife Robyn are having a merrier Christmas than a number of us this year when the actor agreed at hand over £272m in their divorce settlement.

The Hollywood star, 55, are giving Robyn, 51, 1/2 all his £545m assets - that she is entitled to below Californian law.

The settlement, that comes when thirty one years of wedding, is believed to be the most important in Hollywood history.

Lethal Weapon star Mel and Robyn separated back in 2006 when he was placed on probation for a claimed anti-Semitic rant at a traffic cop.

He has since had a baby and split with Oksana Grigorieva, who he's conjointly currently supporting.

Robyn filed for divorce when Mel's relationship with Oksana came to light-weight in 2009, however it's taken till currently for matters to be concluded.

South Korea blocks activists from setting up Kim altar

South Korean police said Monday they'd prevented an endeavor by pro-North Korean activists to line up an altar to mourn the death of leader Kim Jong-Il within the capital Seoul.

The authorities cordoned off the location close to town hall and turned away the activists, who tried to show Kim's photo and flowers. An anti-Pyongyang rally was allowed to travel ahead nearby.

"All South Korean compatriots ought to surely provide deepest sympathy and condolences for the late Kim Jong-Il as partners for eventual reunification," the pro-North Korean cluster said in an exceedingly statement.

It posted a message reading "Rest in peace, Kim Jong-Il" on its web site.

On the campus of Seoul National University within the south of the capital, college members and faculty guards removed an alter found out by pro-North Korean students, police said.

Last week's announcement of Kim's death has prompted a series of rallies by conservative activists and North Korean defectors who referred to as the event "a joy to all or any humanity".

South Korea expressed its sympathies to the North Korean folks however allowed solely Hyundai cluster chairwoman Hyun Jung-Eun and Lee Hee-Ho, the 89-year-old widow these days president Kim Dae-Jung, to go to Pyongyang with their aides.

Kim Dae-Jung and Kim Jong-Il held the first-ever inter-Korea summit in 2000 and Hyundai pioneered cross-border business comes.

Hwang Hye-Ro, a South Korean left-wing activist staying in France, has additionally visited North Korea via Beijing to pay her respects despite Seoul's ban on visits apart from the trip by the previous 1st woman and Hyundai chief.

South Korean prosecutors said Hwang, 35, would be punished beneath the powerful security law banning South Koreans from praising North Korea and its communist regime.

The North on Sunday lashed out at South Korea for its response to Kim's death, warning of "catastrophic consequences" for relations unless Seoul eases restrictions on condolence visits by South Koreans.

The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended solely in an exceedingly ceasefire.

The Relation With Pakistan Is Limited Now : US Report

WASHINGTON: US officers believe the country’s relationship with Pakistan has been seriously broken and a counter terrorism alliance will survive solely during a restricted type, The the big apple Times reported on late Sunday.

Citing unnamed US and Pakistani officers, the newspaper said officers acknowledge this deterioration can complicate the flexibility to launch attacks against extremists primarily based in Pakistan and move provides into Afghanistan.

US-Pakistani relations took a heavy hit last month when a series folks air strikes killed twenty four Pakistani troopers close to the border with Afghanistan.

A joint US-Nato investigation concluded that a disastrous spate of errors and botched communications led to the deaths.

Pakistan has rejected the findings.

The u.  s. are forced to limit drone strikes, limit the amount of its spies and troopers on the bottom and pay additional to move provides through Pakistan to allied troops in Afghanistan, the report said.

United States aid to Pakistan also will be reduced sharply, the paper noted.

“We’ve closed the chapter on the post-9/11 amount,” the days quoted a senior US official as saying.

“Pakistan has told us terribly clearly that they're re-evaluating the whole relationship.”

American officers say the connection can endure in some type, however that the contours won't be clear till Pakistan completes its wide-ranging review of the November incident within the returning weeks, the paper noted.

 
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