Saturday, December 31, 2011

TwiJewelry: 'Twilight' Cast Answer Rapid-Fire Twitter Questions http://t.co/E3JCTJXC and http://t.co/DPHNz3LN

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'Twilight' Cast Answer Rapid-Fire Twitter Questions on.mtv.com/v21ZLh and on.fb.me/rL3rGK TwiJewelry

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Source: http://twitter.com/TwiJewelry/statuses/153074974708613123

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beijing_news: China recalls cooking oil over excessive mildew as milk scandal evolves http://t.co/NZ7flU13

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Japan Gets Wi-Fi Dispensing Vending Machines

1227-2_bIt's no secret that Japan is the country of vending machines (they even have models like this one now), but this is new: Tokyo-based beverage company Asahi Soft Drinks took the wraps off a vending machine [JP] that not only offers drinks but also sends out Wi-Fi signals within a 50m radius. The Wi-Fi will be available for free, is accessible with multiple devices, without registration, and for anyone to use (meaning users won't have to buy any drinks to go online through the machine). It's possible to use the web for about 30 minutes before the machine cuts you off (re-connecting is possible, however).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/a5wyo7-gBiY/

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Once Upon a Time, We Used Radium Condoms For Glow in the Dark Sex [Past Perfect]

It's the same old story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Boy uses radioactive condom for virility. Yeah, romance has a shelf life of forever. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nEQTqOWi08s/once-upon-a-time-we-used-radium-condoms-for-glow-in-the-dark-sex

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Sexual assault reports up at U.S. military academies: report (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The U.S. Department of Defense said on Tuesday that there was a rise in reports of sexual assault at the nation's military academies in the most recent school year and announced new policies to help victims.

The "Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at Military Service Academies" found that during the 2010-11 year there were 65 reports of sexual assaults involving cadets and midshipmen, up from 41 in the prior year.

To help address the jump, the academies are implementing two new policies.

Service members who have been victims of sexual assault will now be able to request an expedited transfer from their units. The military will now also retain records of sexual assaults longer -- in some cases as long as 50 years.

"We know that the military academies are similar to college campuses around the country in that sexual harassment and assault are challenges that all faculty, staff and students need to work to prevent," said Major General Mary Kay Hertog, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

"However, when it does occur, we owe it to those who have been victimized, and to every cadet and midshipman, to do everything possible to provide needed support and to hold those who commit sexual assault appropriately accountable."

As part of the review process, Department of Defense officials visited the U.S. Military Academy, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy and reviewed academy policies and procedures. They also held focus groups.

Officials found most academy programs fulfilled or in some cases surpassed existing policies and directives, but Hertog said they have also identified areas for improvement.

(Reporting by Karin Matz; Editing by James B. Kelleher and Jerry Norton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/us_nm/us_military_schools_assaults

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Turn down the iPod to save your hearing

ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2011) ? Today's ubiquitous MP3 players permit users to listen to crystal-clear tunes at high volume for hours on end -- a marked improvement on the days of the Walkman. But according to Tel Aviv University research, these advances have also turned personal listening devices into a serious health hazard, with teenagers as the most at-risk group.

One in four teens is in danger of early hearing loss as a direct result of these listening habits, says Prof. Chava Muchnik of TAU's Department of Communication Disorders in the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center. With her colleagues Dr. Ricky Kaplan-Neeman, Dr. Noam Amir, and Ester Shabtai, Prof. Muchnik studied teens' music listening habits and took acoustic measurements of preferred listening levels.

The results, published in the International Journal of Audiology, demonstrate clearly that teens have harmful music-listening habits when it comes to iPods and other MP3 devices. "In 10 or 20 years it will be too late to realize that an entire generation of young people is suffering from hearing problems much earlier than expected from natural aging," says Prof. Muchnik.

Hearing loss before middle age

Hearing loss caused by continuous exposure to loud noise is a slow and progressive process. People may not notice the harm they are causing until years of accumulated damage begin to take hold, warns Prof. Muchnik. Those who are misusing MP3 players today might find that their hearing begins to deteriorate as early as their 30's and 40's -- much earlier than past generations.

The first stage of the study included 289 participants aged 13 to 17. They were asked to answer questions about their habits on personal listening devices (PLDs) -- specifically, their preferred listening levels and the duration of their listening. In the second stage, measurements of these listening levels were performed on 74 teens in both quiet and noisy environments. The measured volume levels were used to calculate the potential risk to hearing according to damage risk criteria laid out by industrial health and safety regulations.

The study's findings are worrisome, says Prof. Muchnik. Eighty percent of teens use their PLDs regularly, with 21 percent listening from one to four hours daily, and eight percent listening more than four hours consecutively. Taken together with the acoustic measurement results, the data indicate that a quarter of the participants are at severe risk for hearing loss.

Dangerous decibels

Currently, industry-related health and safety regulations are the only benchmark for measuring the harm caused by continuous exposure to high volume noise. But there is a real need for additional music risk criteria in order to prevent music-induced hearing loss, Prof. Muchnik says. In the meantime, she recommends that manufacturers adopt the European standards that limit the output of PLDs to 100 decibels. Currently, maximum decibel levels can differ from model to model, but some can go up to 129 decibels.

Steps can also be taken by schools and parents, she says. Some school boards are developing programs to increase awareness of hearing health, such as the "Dangerous Decibels" program in Oregon schools, which provides early education on the subject. Teens could also choose over-the-ear headphones instead of the ear buds that commonly come with an iPod.

In the near future, the researchers will focus on the music listening habits of younger children, including pre-teens, and the development of advanced technological solutions to enable the safe use of PLDs.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Chava Muchnik, Noam Amir, Ester Shabtai, Ricky Kaplan-Neeman. Preferred listening levels of personal listening devices in young teenagers: Self reports and physical measurements. International Journal of Audiology, 2011; 1 DOI: 10.3109/14992027.2011.631590

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111228134852.htm

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Jennifer Hudson Rejected Weighty 'Precious' Role

Gabourey Sidibe may want to consider writing Jennifer Hudson a thank-you note! The Dreamgirls star reveals that she turned down the opportunity to star in Precious, because of how much the drama focused on the character's weight.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/jennifer-hudson-rejected-precious-role-because-weight-requirement/1-a-413797?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajennifer-hudson-rejected-precious-role-because-weight-requirement-413797

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GOP presidential hopefuls back in campaign mode

(AP)? DES MOINES, Iowa ? Republicans in search of their party's presidential nomination are returning to campaign mode in Iowa after a brief Christmas respite.

Rick Santorum planned a Monday hunting trip with conservatives in Iowa and Mitt Romney is phoning supporters.

With just a week until Iowa holds its leadoff caucuses and many voters still undecided, the final push ahead of the Jan. 3 contests was heading into a critical time. Campaigns planned new television ads and phone calls to persuade holdout caucusgoers still weighing options.

Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all scheduled bus tours to start this week. Rep. Ron Paul, who has built what may be the strongest political machine in the state, is also set to return later this week.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsTheEarlyShowBoxOffice/~3/b3PagU3diV4/

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

techwhack: Google Plus Search can now search for public hangouts http://t.co/tX0k0IUj

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China: Rotten feed behind toxin in milk

(AP)? BEIJING ? Mildewed feed given to cows caused the high levels of a cancer-causing toxin found in milk from China's biggest dairy company and a smaller one, according to a government safety agency investigating the troubled dairy industry's latest scandal.

An expert review identified the mildewed feed as the cause of the excessive levels of aflatoxin in milk from industry giant Mengniu Dairy Group and the Fujian Changfu Dairy Industry Group, the quality supervision and inspection agency said in a statement posted on its website late Monday.

The agency ordered the dairies to destroy the tainted products, and it advised the public that the contamination will end once the cows stop eating the rotten feed.

Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that commonly grows on grain and legume crops such as peanuts, soybeans, corn and wheat. The toxin turns up in the milk of animals that eat affected crops.

Though at low doses it is not considered harmful to humans, high doses are linked to cancer, especially in the liver.

Both Mengniu and Changfu have issued public apologies. Mengniu said that the tainted products were produced at a subsidiary in Sichuan province and none had entered the market. Changfu said it recalled the affected products immediately after inspectors told the company.

While once a rarity in the Chinese diet, dairy has become a staple as incomes have risen, and the industry's booming growth has been accompanied by persistent quality issues. In the worst scandal, at least six infants died and 300,000 children were sickened in 2008 from drinking infant formula and milk products made with melamine, an industrial chemical that was being added to watered-down milk to elevate protein levels in quality tests.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsGamecore/~3/gAzW7JSDqdg/

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Monday, December 26, 2011

FilmIn.com gibt College Football- und Basketball-Kan?le f?r das Internet bekannt

FilmOn macht den Spitzen-Sport-Networks der Branche durch die Schaffung neuer Paradigmen im Live-Sportfernsehen direkte Konkurrenz

BEVERLY HILLS, Kalifornien--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FilmOn.com Inc., die US-Abteilung des weltgr??ten Internet-basierten HD-Fernsehdiensteshttp://www.FilmOn.com, hat eine Partnerschaft mit XOS Digital, dem f?hrenden Provider von Content-Management-Redaktionssysteml?sungen f?r Colleges und professionelle Sportorganisationen bekannt gegeben. Die Partnerschaft wird zwei neue erstklassige College Sport-Networks f?r FilmOn ins Leben rufen.

"Wir sind h?chst begeistert dar?ber, unserem Sportangebot nunmehr auch NCAA Spiele hinzuzuf?gen. Die Liste wird Football und Basketball der laufenden Saison und Archiv-Spiele in den FilmOn College-Sport Networks anbieten", sagte Gr?nder und Gesch?ftsf?hrer Alki David.

"Fr?her in diesem Jahr starteten wir den ersten Internet-Fu?ballkanal zusammen mit der britischen UK Premiership und der Football Association. Wir erkennen den fantastischen Wert des Sports im Online-Fernsehen, und wir werden 2012 weiterhin wachsende Angebote mit hochaktuellem Sport Live zur Verf?gung stellen. Das beginnt jede Woche mit russischem Live-Fu?ball der russischen Premier League. Wir konkurrieren direkt mit den f?hrenden Sportprogrammen der Branche und schaffen neue Paradigmen im Internet-Fernsehmarkt."

?ber FilmOn.com Inc.

FilmOn.com wurde durch den Medienmogul Alki David als eine Bezahlfernsehplattform mit hochdefiniertem HD IPTV-Streaming f?r Computer, Tablets und mobile Ger?te, einschlie?lich Roku und andere Set Top Boxes gegr?ndet. FilmOn bietet auch schl?sselfertige Internetprovider-L?sungen in der Content- und Technologie-Markenbildung.

FilmO.com Plc. ist ein in Frankfurt ans?ssiges Unternehmen (Firmensymbol ist FMX), betrieben durch US- und britische Managementteams mit B?ros in Beverly Hills und London und mit Datenzentren in Los Angeles, New York, Amsterdam und Genf.

?ber XOS Digital, Inc.

{ut} Gegr?ndet 1999, ist XOS Digital der f?hrende Provider digitaler Aktivmanagementl?sungen f?r Hochschul- und professionelle Sportorganisationen. Offizielle Pers?nlichkeiten der beteiligten Organisationen, Liga-B?ros, Trainings-Expertenst?be und Athletik-Abteilungen verlassen sich auf das Produktangebot und auf Dienste von XOS, um ihre digitalen Aktivposten zu managen, zu analysieren, zu archivieren, zu verteilen, zu sch?tzen und zu Geld zu machen.

Photos/Multimedia?Galerie verf?gbar: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50116471&lang=de

Die Ausgangssprache, in der der?Originaltext ver?ffentlicht wird, ist die offizielle und autorisierte Version. ?bersetzungen werden?zur besseren Verst?ndigung?mitgeliefert.?Nur die Sprachversion, die im Original ver?ffentlicht wurde, ist rechtsg?ltig. Gleichen Sie deshalb ?bersetzungen mit?der originalen Sprachversion der Ver?ffentlichung ab.

Source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111226005042/de

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Tony Romo Injury: Cowboys QB Injures Passing Hand In Opening Series Against Eagles

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo banged his passing hand on a defender's helmet at the end of his first series Saturday, and wasn't likely to play the rest of the game.

X-rays showed no damage. He returned and threw a few wobbly warm-up passes on the sideline, got his hand wrapped and traded his helmet for a baseball cap. His injury was described as a bruise.

Stephen McGee replaced Romo at the start of the second series ? and probably would've soon or later anyway. When the Giants had just won their game, it made this one irrelevant to Dallas, whose postseason chances will be decided in the finale against the Giants in New York next weekend.

Other key players likely were to get the rest of the game off, too.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/24/tony-romo-injury-passing-hand-cowboys-eagles_n_1169015.html

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Has President Obama Been Harboring a Fugitive?

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Source: www.breitbart.com --- Thursday, December 22, 2011
Alleegedly, the President's Uncle has tried to corrupt police and has illegally obtained a social security number. ...

Source: http://feeds09.technorati.com/~r/tr-politics/~3/IkDj4W5vnlA

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Gingrich Says Gay Marriage Supporters Should Vote for Obama (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY| According to the Huffington Post, while GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was at a campaign stop in Oskaloosa, Iowa, an adjunct professor of writing at William Penn University, Scott Arnold, who is a Democrat, asked how Gingrich plans to engage gay Americans.

Gingrich ultimately told the man that if the most important issue for them is the definition of marriage, they should vote for Obama. We already know that Gingrich's own sister, Candace Gingrich-Jones, does not support her brother and will be voting for Obama, though she's just one person. It sounds like he feels comfortable with the amount of supporters he has to alienate gays, and people who are in support of same-sex marriage.

According to ABC News, 4 percent of the population is gay; the percentage of Americans who support gay marriage is 53 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll. Perhaps many of these same people would be voting for our current president regardless of Newt and his views, but it still seems like a large amount of voters to disregard.

No matter how loudly some like to cry about it, the tide is changing in America. LGBTs should not be discriminated against, and should be allowed into legal, committed loving relationships if they so chose. Certainly a man who has cheated on his spouses and has been married three times should be the last to make such a judgment.

On Wednesday, December 21, just a day after Gingrich made the comment that supporters of gay marriage should vote for Obama, a photo and report by the Associated Press documented an historic event. Two female Naval Petty Officers shared the first same-sex kiss at a ship's return.

The repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule led to the two women sailors becoming the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the pier after one of them returned from 80 days at sea. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, Calif., remarked, "It's nice to be able to be myself. It's been a long time coming."

Though many conservatives would like to see our country's progress go in reverse, the majority of Americans don't want that to happen, and are in support of human beings entering a loving relationship whether the person is the same or opposite gender.

This summer, the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York became yet another historic milestone for human rights, proving that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, and some day love will overcome bigotry and hate, despite Mr. Gingrich's so-called values.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111223/pl_ac/10732997_gingrich_says_gay_marriage_supporters_should_vote_for_obama

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

London: Dell Finance and Insurance Event

Our London Account team would like to invite you to an exclusive lunchtime event held at London?s Tower 42.

Finance & Insurance companies face similar challenges around infrastructure performance - demanding low latency, data management, data security and Regulatory Compliance.

Hosted by our Key Account Director, the agenda shares insights on how Dell helps our customers address these challenges, with expert guidance and advice from our technical community & strategic partners.

We are running roundtable discussions over a networking lunch, with opportunity to interact with your industry peers & Dell experts in the Finance & Insurance area.

We hope you can join us and we look forward to meeting you.

Regards,

Dell,
London Account Team

Source: http://content.dell.com/uk/en/business/d/sb360/2012-01-31-seminar.aspx?ref=rss

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China village ends protests after government compromise (Reuters)

WUKAN, China (Reuters) ? A Chinese village protest that tested the ruling Communist Party for over a week ended on Wednesday after officials offered concessions over seized farmland and the death of a village leader, in a rare spectacle of the government backing down to mobilized citizens.

Residents of Wukan, in southern Guangdong province, had fended off police with barricades and held protests over the death in police custody of activist Xue Jinbo, whose family rejects the government's position that he died of natural causes, and against the seizure of farmland for development.

But after talks with officials, village representatives told residents to pull down protest banners and go back to their normal lives -- provided the government keeps to its word.

"Because this matter has been achieved, we won't persist in making noise," village organizer, Yang Semao, told an assembly hall of village representatives and reporters, referring to the protests. He said protest banners would be taken down.

"They've agreed to our initial requests," Yang told Reuters. But he added a caveat: "If the government doesn't meet its commitments, we'll protest again."

Senior officials negotiating with villagers agreed to release three men held over land protests in September, when a government office was trashed, and to re-examine the cause of Xue's death, a village organizer said earlier.

Xue's family and fellow villagers believe he was subjected to abuse that left injuries on his body. But the government said an autopsy showed he died of heart problems. Xue was detained over the land protests that broke out in September.

The concessions showed how eager higher leaders were to avoid the risk of fresh violence and bloodshed, said Ting Wai, political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.

"I think the local government did not want to make concessions, and then of course when time goes on, the people became more and more frustrated, and now it is really like a bomb, so in order to prevent the bomb from exploding the provincial government has to do something," he said.

Underscoring government fears of unrest, in a separate protest on Tuesday in Haimen, a town further east up the coast from Wukan, residents demonstrated in front of government offices and blocked a highway over plans to build a power plant.

State media said on Wednesday the government had agreed to suspend construction, though there was another protest which partially blocked a highway.

Chinese officials sometimes make low-key concessions to local protests, especially after they are over, and also punish protest organizers. But Wukan turned negotiations into a rare public spectacle, watched by foreign reporters and discussed within China -- despite domestic censorship of news.

Under a hot afternoon sun, a thousand villagers gathered to hear an organizer, Lin Zuluan, explain the concessions from the government, which they greeted with loud clapping.

He later told reporters that villagers would not suffer retribution for taking part in the protests.

WARY OF GOVERNMENT PROMISES

Some Wukan residents were wary of the government's promises.

"Our hearts are not at ease," said Zhong Xianmei, a resident in her thirties. "The dead body isn't back, are the detained back in their homes? Will their words count?"

Wang Yang, the Communist Party chief of Guangdong, obliquely acknowledged that the villagers had cause to complain, in comments published on Wednesday in the Southern Daily, the official province newspaper.

"This is the outcome of conflicts that accumulated over a long time in the course of economic and social development," said Wang, seen by many analysts as nursing hopes of a spot in China's next central leadership.

Guangdong is a prosperous part of China. But the upheavals of urbanization and industrialization have fanned discontent among increasingly assertive citizens, who often blame local officials for corruption and abuses.

Rural land in China is usually owned in name by village collectives. But in fact, government officials can mandate seizing land for development in return for compensation, which villagers often say is inadequate.

Protests in China have become relatively common over corruption, pollution, wages, and land grabs that local officials justify in the name of development.

Chinese experts put the number of "mass incidents," as such protests are known, at about 90,000 a year in recent years.

China's leaders, determined to maintain one-party control, worry that such outbursts might turn into broader and more persistent challenges to their power.

But even in Wukan, villagers professed faith in the central government. On Wednesday morning, about 300 of them lined the sides of a road into the village, preparing to welcome Zhu Mingguo, the main official negotiating with them.

Zhu promised an impartial autopsy for the late Xue, and "transparent" disclosure in the media of how the villagers' grievances are addressed, according to a report in the province's official newspaper, the Southern Daily.

Lin Zuluan, the Wukan organizer, told reporters that officials also agreed that the village can hold democratic elections. In China, village committees are in theory elected, but in practice there are many restrictions -- formal and informal -- on votes.

(Writing by Chris Buckley; Additional reporting by Sisi Tang in Hong Kong and Chris Buckley in Beijing; Editing by Ken Wills, Robert Birsel, Alex Richardson and Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/wl_nm/us_china_unrest

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Chael Sonnen unimaginatively takes shot at Chicago Cubs

When touting UFC on Fox 2, Chael Sonnen took a shot at the Chicago Cubs, a team who plays 5.5 miles away from the United Center, where Sonnen will fight Mark Munoz. (He takes the shot at the very beginning of the video.)

What disappoints me about that is it's lack of imagination. Using the Cubs as a punching bag is for amateurs, and Sonnen is a highly regarded professional in the world of trash talk. Dana White called him the Muhammad Ali of MMA for his ability to sell a fight. Ali would never go for such an obvious joke.

C'mon, Chael. Do your research. Learn my city, and make better jokes than that.

Thanks to Chicago's MMA.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Chael-Sonnen-unimaginatively-takes-shot-at-Chica?urn=mma-wp10992

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Heritage site under attack by flowers

ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2011) ? The results of a study conducted by Serbian researchers, in collaboration with the Laboratoire de Dynamique, Interactions et R?activit? (LADIR, CNRS/UPMC), are unequivocal: the Belgrade fortress is not only threatened by the effects of coal burning, as was assumed until now, but also by flower beds! The deterioration of the fortress walls could be partially caused by the large quantities of potassium present in fertilizers used by gardeners and could be responsible for the formation of black crusts on the ramparts. To preserve this heritage, the researchers recommend avoiding excessive use of fertilizers.

Their conclusions are due to be published in the first quarter of 2012 in the Journal of Cultural Heritage and could prove to be of value to other historical sites across the world.

In Belgrade, fortifications were built from the Middle Ages on the Kalemegdan plateau, which stands above the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. Today, the ramparts of the fortress of the Serbian capital have become a vast public park with flowers and shady areas, near the town centre, attracting inhabitants and tourists alike. However, during the last twenty years or so, black crusts have been spreading on its limestone walls. Until now, these crusts were solely attributed to the high levels of sulfur dioxide released by the coal heating used by the inhabitants of Belgrade.

In collaboration with Philippe Colomban, CNRS researcher at LADIR, the University of Belgrade and the Serbian Highway Institute analyzed the black crusts on the "King's Gate" of the fortress. Their objective was to determine the actual deterioration process in order to propose the most appropriate conservation solutions to the authorities. Different samples of the limestone and lime mortars were studied by porometry*, X-ray diffractometry, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy and elementary analysis.

Above a certain concentration of sulfur dioxide in damp air, acid rain or acid fog can form. This leads to the emergence of "black" calcium sulfates and carbonates, giving the outer walls a somewhat unsightly appearance. Surprisingly enough, the researchers detected large amounts of syngenite, a double sulfate of potassium and calcium. This corrosion product normally forms on potassium-containing medieval stained-glass windows, as well as granite constructions or those using a mortar containing potassium. Yet it had never been observed on very pure limestone before.

So where does it come from? After performing a series of analyses, the researchers revealed an abnormal concentration of potassium in the soil, near the rampart walls. Incidently, the latter contain flowerbeds where potassium-rich fertilizers are used. A simulation of the action of acidified potassium-charged water on pieces of limestone confirmed that it triggered the formation of syngenite, as observed on the "King's Gate."

Pretty flowers and monument preservation therefore require a subtle balance in potassium input in order to avoid such pollution. On-site measurements are scheduled to map the extent of the phenomenon.

* Study of the distribution of voids in a porous material.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Vesna Matovi?, Suzana Eri?, Aleksandar Kremenovi?, Philippe Colomban, Danica Sre?kovi?-Bato?anin, Nenad Matovi?. The origin of syngenite in black crusts on the limestone monument King's Gate (Belgrade Fortress, Serbia) ? the role of agriculture fertiliser. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.culher.2011.09.003

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222102915.htm

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Monday, December 19, 2011

ZTE Score (Cricket Wireless)

The ZTE Score ($69.99 direct) is a low-cost, low-end Android smartphone?for Cricket Wireless that supports Cricket's Muve Music plan.

The Score is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7627 processor and is running Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread). It comes with 110MB of free internal memory, along with a 4GB microSD card that can be expanded to 32GB. There's a 3.2-megapixel camera that can record QVGA video.

The phone measure 4.4 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches and weighs 4.5 ounces. The biggest story here is the support for?Muve Music, which is an affordable, unlimited mobile music plan. It includes millions of tracks from Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and EMI. We found it to be a bit buggy, but promising.

The Score runs on Cricket's 3G network, which works on the 850-, 1,900-, and 1,700-MHz bands, depending upon your location. Coverage is somewhat limited, so make sure to check the maps at?www.mycricket.com before buying in.

While the ZTE Score is only an average smartphone, it's worth a look for music lovers that are interested in Muve.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/BSClO2FAnPs/0,2817,2397660,00.asp

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Britney Spears engaged to marry Jason Trawick

FILE - In this May 11, 2011 file photo, singer Britney Spears, right, and Jason Trawick arrive at an Evening of "Southern Style" in Beverly Hills, Calif. Trawick announced Friday, dec. 16, 2011, on ?Access Hollywood? that he and Spears are engaged. The two have been dating since 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

FILE - In this May 11, 2011 file photo, singer Britney Spears, right, and Jason Trawick arrive at an Evening of "Southern Style" in Beverly Hills, Calif. Trawick announced Friday, dec. 16, 2011, on ?Access Hollywood? that he and Spears are engaged. The two have been dating since 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

(AP) ? Britney Spears is ready to walk down the aisle for the third time. The 30-year-old pop star has agreed to marry her longtime boyfriend and former agent Jason Trawick.

Trawick announced Friday on "Access Hollywood" that he and Spears are engaged. The two have been dating since 2009.

Spears hinted at the big news with a tweet Friday morning that read, "OMG. Last night Jason surprised me with the one gift I've been waiting for. Can't wait to show you! SO SO SO excited!!!!"

Spears was previously married to Kevin Federline, with whom she has two sons: 6-year-old Sean Preston and 5-year-old Jayden James. The couple divorced in 2006. Spears also briefly wed childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004, but the marriage was annulled after 55 hours.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-16-People-Britney%20Spears/id-baad04836e8d4058b5416adf1d83317d

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Kikukawa banked on takeover scheme to hide losses: report (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Former Olympus Corp president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa had said in 2008 that taking over three domestic companies would make hidden investment losses "go down by a lot," people familiar with the cover-up told the Nikkei business daily.

Investigators see Kikukawa's comment as a possible link between him and others reportedly involved in the cover-up, the daily said.

Olympus has also established a reform committee with former Asahi Kasei Corp president Shiro Hiruta and two attorneys, the newspaper said.

The panel will have the power to influence board decisions and has been formed as part of the company's plan for strengthening corporate governance, the daily said.

Olympus is alleged to have paid inflated prices for Altis Co, Humalabo Co and News Chef Inc and used the excess money to cover losses on securities investments hidden off its balance sheet, Nikkei said.

In 2003-05, two investment funds set up by Olympus bought stock in the three companies for about 700 million yen ($8.96 million), the daily said.

Subsequently, Olympus bought the funds' holdings, as well as shares owned by other parties for about 60 billion yen and invested 73 million yen in the three companies, the paper said.

Olympus had initially planned to write off the goodwill from these acquisitions over a period of 10 years or so. But after auditors raised doubts, Olympus booked a 55.7 billion yen write-down in the year ended March 2009 and a further 1.3 billion yen charge in the following fiscal year, the daily reported.

($1 = 78.1100 Japanese yen) (Reporting by Sunayan Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/bs_nm/us_olympus

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Former professor, wife donate $150 million to university

By msnbc.com staff

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- A billionaire former professor and his wife are donating $150 million to Stonybrook University, the largest gift ever to any school in the State University of New York system.

The gift announced Wednesday comes from James Simons, a hedge fund manager who taught math at Stony Brook, and Marilyn Simons, an alumna?of the school.

?This gift represents a milestone moment ? a transformational moment ? in the history of our young institution,? Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said. ?Everyone has a reason to celebrate and an opportunity to excel. It provides Stony Brook with infinite possibilities?the financial capacity to fulfill our potential and reach unparalleled heights in the areas of research, education and discovery.?

The money is targeted at three priorities: research excellence in the School of Medicine, faculty hires through new endowed professorships and recruitment of top-level graduate and undergraduate students.

"Stony Brook gave me a wonderful chance in 1968 when I was hired as chair to build up the Department of Mathematics,? said Jim Simons in a statement. ?That worked out remarkably well, and ever since, the university has had a special place in my heart."

Added his wife: "My Stony Brook education and the friendships I developed there as an undergrad and as a graduate student opened so many possibilities to me. We're deeply grateful for all Stony Brook has given to us and very glad to be able to give back to such a great institution."

Jim Simons is founder of Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund management company, and chair of the Simons Foundation. Marilyn Simons is president of the Simons Foundation.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

?

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9449230-former-professor-wife-donate-record-150-million-to-stony-brook-university

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Michael Jackson Doctor Can't Afford Lawyer For Appeal

Conrad Murray asks judge for a court-appointed attorney to appeal his involuntary manslaughter conviction.
By Gil Kaufman


Dr. Conrad Murray
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images

Just weeks after being sent to jail for four years following a conviction on a felony involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of Michael Jackson, cardiologist Conrad Murray is throwing himself on the mercy of the court.

The doctor had been slated to earn up to $150,000 a month to act as Jackson's personal physician before the pop icon's death in June 2009 from an overdose of the Murray-administered surgical anesthetic propofol. But on Tuesday E! News reported that Murray filed a notice of appeal in Los Angeles Superior Court in which he claimed that he is "indigent and respectfully requests the appointment of counsel on appeal."

Murray, 58, is planning to appeal both his conviction and his sentence, but has not yet filed papers with the California Appeals Court. He had hired two lawyers to handle his manslaughter case, but is now seeking attorneys with appeal experience. One of those former lawyers, J. Michael Flanagan, told E! that he was shocked at how his client is being treated in jail.

"It is crazy and unbelievable how [the sheriffs] are treating" Murray in jail, said Flanagan, who claimed he waited over an hour to see Murray, who was brought out in handcuffs and leg chains. Flanagan was further shocked to see Murray handcuffed to the table for their meeting, something the lawyer said he'd never seen before in the case of a low-level, non-violent offender.

Charles Peckham, who is handling civil cases against Murray, told the Associated Press that his client is under tight security and isolation that is more intense than other inmates at the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail.

"Treating him like Hannibal Lecter is offensive," said Peckham. "This man who saved lives made a mistake, and they're going to [make] him pay like a mass-murderer." Sheriff's officials defended the tight security, saying it was for Murray's safety.

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675949/conrad-murray-appeal.jhtml

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Friday, December 2, 2011

Herman Cain 'Hannity' Interview: GOP Presidential Candidate Says 'I Am Going To Reestablish My Character' (VIDEO)

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain appeared Thursday night on Fox News' "Hannity" to discuss allegations made by Georgia businesswoman Ginger White that she and Cain engaged in an affair that lasted for 13 years. Cain also discussed the future of his campaign and told host Sean Hannity, "I am going to reestablish my character."

Cain told his staff on Tuesday that he is reassessing his candidacy. Hannity began Thursday night's interview by asking Cain, "What do you mean by your campaign is reassessing?" Cain said that his family is the "number one priority" in this reassessment. He explained that the "media frenzy" he's been engulfed by "has taken an emotional toll." He reiterated, "I've got to consider family considerations first."

The former Godfather's Pizza CEO also stated that he has to consider "what happens to contributions." Cain went on to explain, "like a businessman, Sean, when you have a bump in the road you reconsider and reevaluate. And it's as if some people in the media don't want to give me that opportunity, but I am gonna take that opportunity to reassess and reevaluate so we can decide: where do we go from here?"

Hannity also brought up text messages that are reported to have been exchanged between White and Cain. When asked by Hannity if there was anything inappropriate in the messages, Cain said, "Absolutely not." The Republican contender stated that White initiated 47 text messages, all of which were "asking for financial help." He continued:

"Sean, unfortunately, I'm a softy, and I feel sorry for people when they get in deep financial trouble, especially given this economy and people being out of work. This isn't the only person I have helped. There are members of my church, members of my family, you know other friends that I have helped all the time in terms of trying to help them during these tough economic times."

Expressing dismay about White's decision to speak to the press, Cain said, "I thought it was a friend that I was trying to help. And so when you get blindsided like that, and you can imagine what it felt like, when in fact, didn't turn out to be a friend at all. And so, that's another aspect of this that was not only hurtful to me, but also hurtful to my wife."

When Hannity brought up the fact that Cain had not previously discussed White with his wife, Cain replied, "That is correct, and she was hurt that she didn't know about this friend that I was helping financially. She was aware of many of the other friends that I have helped."

Cain stated earlier this week that a decision would be made in "several days" about whether or not he would stay in the race. He clarified during the "Hannity" interview, "before Monday we will make a decision."

Perhaps the strangest part of the segment came near the end of the interview. Cain suggested to Hannity that someone was paying off the candidate's accusers:

Cain: "We don't have the source yet, but I and many of my associates and many of my people are convinced that in every case it was financially motivated that somebody somewhere is paying them off to try and smear my character in order to slow me down."

Hannity: "Who do you think might be responsible for that?"

Cain: "Sean, I have no idea. I'm just saying if you look at the circumstance, especially of the lady that Gloria Allred represented, and if you look at this situation, both have very similar situations that suggest dire financial straits. And so, we don't have any evidence yet, but I assure you, we are gonna get to the bottom of it, I've already started that process, and when we come back, it's not gonna be based upon rumors, it's not gonna be based upon he-said-she-said, it's gonna be based upon factual information that we are gonna be able to present in order to show that I had not done many of the things that I have been accused of."

Cain concluded the interview by stating he would fight the allegations against him "no matter what."

Shortly after the interview aired on Fox News, Cain's official Twitter account sent out the following message:


WATCH THE INTERVIEW AT THE TOP OF THIS ARTICLE (via Fox News)

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/herman-cain-hannity-interview_n_1124797.html

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Central banks move to stabilize financial system

The Euro sculpture is reflected in a puddle on the lid of a bin that stands in the Frankfurt Occupy camp at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Nov.30, 2011.(AP Photo/Michael Probst)

The Euro sculpture is reflected in a puddle on the lid of a bin that stands in the Frankfurt Occupy camp at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Nov.30, 2011.(AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A ferret looks out of the jacket of an activist of the Frankfurt Occupy movement at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011.(AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Two ferrets look out of the jacket of an activist of the Frankfurt Occupy movement at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011.(AP Photo/Michael Probst)

(AP) ? The central banks of the wealthiest countries, trying to prevent a debt crisis in Europe from exploding into a global panic, swept in Wednesday to shore up the world financial system by making it easier for banks to borrow American dollars.

Stock markets around the world roared their approval. The Dow Jones industrial average rose almost 500 points, its best day in two and a half years. Stocks climbed 5 percent in Germany and more than 4 percent in France.

Central banks will make it cheaper for commercial banks in their countries to borrow dollars, the dominant currency of trade. It was the most extraordinary coordinated effort by the central banks since they cut interest rates together in October 2008, at the depths of the financial crisis.

But while it should ease borrowing for banks, it does little to solve the underlying problem of mountains of government debt in Europe, leaving markets still waiting for a permanent fix. European leaders gather next week for a summit on the debt crisis.

The European Central Bank, which has been reluctant to intervene to stop the growing crisis on its own continent, was joined in the decision by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland.

"The purpose of these actions is to ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity," the central banks said in a joint statement.

China, which has the largest economy in the world after the European Union and the United States, reduced the amount of money its banks are required to hold in reserve, another attempt to free up cash for lending.

The display of worldwide coordination was meant to restore confidence in the global financial system and to demonstrate that central banks will do what they can to prevent a repeat of 2008.

That fall, fear gripped the financial system after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a storied American investment house. Banks around the world severely restricted lending to each other. The global credit freeze panicked investors and triggered a crash in stock markets.

In October 2008, the ECB, the Fed and other central banks cut interest rates together. That action, like Wednesday's, was a signal from the central banks to the financial markets that they would be players, not spectators.

This year, investors have been nervously watching Europe to see whether they should take the same approach and dump stocks. World stock markets have been unusually volatile since summer.

The European crisis, which six months ago seemed focused on the relatively small economy of Greece, now threatens the existence of the euro, the common currency used by 17 countries in Europe.

There have also been signs, particularly in Europe, that it is becoming more difficult to borrow money, especially as U.S. money market funds lend less money to banks in the euro nations because of perceived risk from the debt crisis.

European banks cut business loans by 16 percent in the third quarter. And no one knows how much European banks will lose on their massive holdings of bonds of heavily indebted countries. Until the damage is clear, banks are reluctant to lend.

Banks are also being pressed by European governments to increase their buffers against possible losses. That helps stabilize the banking system but reduces the amount of money available to lend to businesses.

"European banks are having trouble borrowing in general, including in dollars," said Joseph Gagnon, a former Fed official and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "The Fed did the Europeans a favor."

Foreign central banks are reducing by half a percentage point, to about 0.6 percent, the rate they charge commercial banks for dollar loans. Commercial banks need dollars because it is the No. 1 currency for international trade. The lower rate is designed to get credit flowing again.

To get the dollars to lend, central banks go to the Fed and exchange their currency for dollars under a special swap program. Foreign central banks pay the Fed whatever interest they earn from commercial banks.

The Fed had offered dollar swaps from December 2007, when world financial markets were weakening because of fear about subprime mortgages, until February 2010. It reopened the program in May 2010, as European debt concerns grew, and planned to end it Aug. 1, 2012. On Wednesday, the Fed extended the program to Feb. 1, 2013.

If it all works, the market rates on dollar loans will drop, and stock and bond markets will calm down.

"It shows that policymakers are on the case," said Roberto Perli, managing director at the International Strategy & Investment Group, an investment firm. He said it has symbolic value even if it does not have a big impact on credit markets.

The decision to cut the interest charged on the dollar swaps was taken by the Federal Reserve following a videoconference held by Fed officials on Monday morning. The Fed's policy-setting panel approved it 9-1. The president of the Fed's regional bank in Richmond, Va., voted no.

In New York, the stock market jumped at the opening bell and added to its gains throughout the day. It finished up 490.05 points, its seventh-largest one-day gain and its best since March 23, 2009, two weeks after the stock market's post-meltdown low.

Wednesday's advance also swung the Dow from a loss for the year to a gain. It closed at 12,045.68, its first close above 12,000 since Nov. 15.

Stocks closed 5 percent higher in Germany, 4.2 percent in France and 3.2 percent in Britain. European stocks had posted big gains earlier this week because investors saw hope that countries would settle on an attempted fix for the European debt crisis.

Stock markets in Asia, which closed before the central banks announced their move, finished lower for the day. The statement came out at 8 a.m., in the middle of the European trading day and an hour and a half before the market opened in New York.

Borrowing costs for countries across Europe fell, an encouraging sign. The yield on benchmark 10-year national bonds dropped 0.32 percentage points in Belgium. It also fell in Spain, France and Germany.

The yield on 10-year Italian bonds fell 0.08 points to 7.01 percent. The 7 percent level is significant because it is considered the point at which a country's borrowing costs become unsustainable. Yields above that level forced Ireland, Portugal and Greece to seek bailouts.

In the U.S., the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.08 percent from 2 percent late Tuesday. That showed investors were willing to take money out of assets considered super-safe, such as U.S. government debt, and invest it in riskier assets like stocks.

It is also a sign of increased confidence in the U.S. economy, which is beginning to pick up after it faltered in the spring and summer. It grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in July, August and September, the strongest since late last year.

It will take more than that to bring down unemployment in the U.S., which has been stuck at about 9 percent for more than two years, but the U.S. has added jobs for 13 months in a row. The government's next read on unemployment comes out Friday.

In Europe, countries like Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy overspent for years and racked up annual budget deficits that have left them with backbreaking debt. Italy alone owes ?1.9 trillion, or 120 percent of what its economy produces in a year.

The ECB extends unlimited short-term loans to banks. It cannot lend directly to governments, including by buying their national bonds. It can, however, buy national bonds on the secondary market, lowering borrowing costs for governments.

The ECB has resisted expanding even this indirect support because it believes that would take the pressure off politicians to cut spending and reform government finances, a concern known as moral hazard.

European leaders are considering other options, including creating a fiscal union ? giving a central authority control over the budgets of sovereign nations. That would ease the ECB's concerns.

The ECB has also worried that injecting too much money into the European economy would trigger inflation.

The coordinated action was a demonstration of how interconnected the world financial system is, and that the debt loads of countries like Italy and Greece are everyone else's problem, too.

Germany's economy depends heavily on exports, and if economic output in the rest of Europe collapses, the people of smaller countries couldn't buy as many German goods.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the United States depends on Europe for 20 percent of its own exports. And investors in American banks have worried about their holdings of European debt.

Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, lowered its rating at least one notch Tuesday for the four largest banks in the U.S. ? Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

China, one of the only places in the world where the economy is growing quickly, needs the U.S. and Europe both to stay healthy. Growth in Chinese exports has declined from 36 percent in March compared with the year before to 16 percent in October.

China will reduce the amount of money that its commercial lenders must hold in reserve by 0.5 percentage points of their deposits. It was the first easing of Chinese monetary policy in three years.

___

Wiseman reported from Washington. AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-30-Central%20Banks/id-f1053cc094cc4019b4071c3b71114517

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Monday, November 28, 2011

British film director Ken Russell dies at 84 (AP)

LONDON ? Ken Russell, the British director whose daring and sometimes outrageous films often tested the patience of audiences and critics, has died at age 84.

Russell died in a hospital on Sunday following a series of strokes, his son Alex Verney-Elliott said Monday.

One of Russell's biggest successes came in 1969 with "Women in Love," based on the book by D.H. Lawrence, which earned Academy Award nominations for the director and for writer Larry Kramer, and an Oscar for the star, Glenda Jackson.

Music played a central role in many of Russell's films including "The Music Lovers" in 1970, and "Lisztomania" and "Tommy" in 1975.

"My father died peacefully," Verney-Elliott said. "He had had a series of strokes. He died with a smile on his face."

Russell established himself by making short films for the British Broadcasting Corp., focusing on arts and artists including profiles of the poet John Betjeman, comedian Spike Milligan and playwright Shelagh Delaney, the author of "A Taste of Honey."

"When there were no more live artists left, we turned to making somewhat longer films about dead artists such as Prokofiev," Russell once said.

"At first we were only allowed to use still photographs and newsreel footage of these subjects, but eventually we sneaked in the odd hand playing the piano (in 'Prokofiev') and the odd back walking through a door. By the time a couple of years had gone by, those boring little factual accounts of the artists had evolved into evocative films of an hour or more which used real actors to impersonate the historical figures."

Russell's darker side appeared in "Dante's Inferno" in 1967, about the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Russell played up the differences between Rossetti's idealized view of his wife and her reality as a drug addict.

Russell was even more provocative in his 1970 film, "The Dance of the Seven Veils: A Comic Strip in Seven Episodes." It presents the composer Richard Strauss as a crypto-Nazi, and showed him conducting Rosenkavalier waltzes while SS men tortured a Jew.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_en_mo/eu_britain_obit_russell

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