Top Senate Republican wants Web bill shelved (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The top Senate Republican urged Democrats on Thursday to set aside a bill aimed at stopping online piracy of movies and music, dealing yet another blow to controversial legislation that has pitted Hollywood against tech companies.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the PROTECT IP Act on Tuesday. That measure, and a similar bill in the House of Representatives, is aimed at curbing access to overseas websites that traffic in pirated content and counterfeit products.

But support for the bills has eroded over fears that legitimate web sites could also end up in legal jeopardy.

"Rather than prematurely bringing the Protect IP Act to the Senate floor, we should first study and resolve the serious issues with this legislation," said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate. "I encourage the Senate majority to reconsider its decision to proceed to this bill."

Democrats have a majority in the Senate but bills need 60 votes to come up for debate so the legislation will need some Republican support to survive.

Earlier on Friday, a senior Senate Democratic aide acknowledged that the bill's backers did not have the votes to bring the measure to the floor to begin debate.

"The momentum now is for killing the bill," the aide said.

But, the aide said, Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was working to craft a proposed compromise that could win Senate approval.

"We should be able to go ahead and try to fix the bill. There is no reason that this bill can't be fixed through the legislative process," the aide said.

Some senators who had co-sponsored the legislation dropped their support on Wednesday as protests blanketed the Internet, turning Wikipedia and other popular web sites dark. Google, Facebook, Twitter and others protested the proposed legislation but did not shut down.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/wr_nm/us_internet_congress

conficker zach braff kevin federline amy smart michael jackson dead michael jackson dead prickly pear

Celeb magazine editors speak at UK ethics inquiry (AP)

LONDON ? After weeks examining the illicit and underhanded practices of sensation-hungry press, Britain's media ethics inquiry shifted its gaze Wednesday to celebrity magazine editors, who painted a kinder, gentler picture of their trade.

The editors of Heat, Hello! and OK! told the inquiry that their glossy pages full of celebrity weddings and stars by the seaside brought not just happiness to readers, but benefit to stars and publishers alike.

"We're a positive magazine," said Hello! editor Rosie Nixon. "A glass-half-full magazine."

She told the inquiry that the publication's Spanish founder had dubbed its philosophy "La spuma de la vida ? the froth of life."

There has been little froth so far at the judge-led inquiry, which has been examining the intrusive and sometimes illegal techniques used by tabloids to get stories.

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the tribunal after the revelation that Rupert Murdoch's News of the World had illegally listened to the mobile phone voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its quest for scoops.

Murdoch shut down the newspaper last July, but the scandal continues to rattle Britain's police, political and media establishments.

Justice Brian Leveson's inquiry has heard from celebrities including J.K. Rowling and Hugh Grant ? as well as non-celebrities trapped in the media spotlight ? who said they had suffered harassment from reporters and paparazzi.

The three editors said they had a cordial relationship with the celebrities featured in their pages ? and their agents, with whom stories were often prearranged.

"They want to share, and they know we will produce a respectful article, and the photos will look lovely," said Hello! editor Nixon. "They know they are safe with us."

Celebrities can also profit financially, she said.

"Sometimes," she acknowledged, "a fee does come into it."

Both Hello! and OK! specialize in cozy domestic photo spreads of celebrities at home, getting married or on holiday. Heat takes a cheekier approach, often poking fun at the boy bands and soap stars that are its stock in trade.

OK! editor Lisa Byrne said her magazine's approach allowed celebrities who were getting married or having a baby to keep the hounds of the tabloid press at bay.

"The sad truth is that there can be almost a bounty on the head of that child for the first photos," she said. "They can make a paparazzo a lot of money. So to work with a magazine such as ours where we can offer a controlled, safe environment means they can take that into their own hands."

The editors all said they had ethical boundaries. Nixon said Hello! would not run pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, shopping or going about her daily life.

But they also acknowledged they sometimes got it wrong, as when Hello! ran snatched photos of the wedding of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas in 2000. The couple had signed an exclusive 1-million pound deal with OK! to cover the lavish event at New York's Plaza Hotel.

Zeta-Jones said she had felt "violated" when Hello! published its "sleazy and unflattering" pictures.

The case sparked a long-running lawsuit, which OK! won.

Nixon called running the unauthorized pictures "a mistake ... a very costly mistake."

All three editors said they avoided publishing pictures of celebrities who were known to value their privacy, filling their pages instead with those who enjoyed the exposure.

Heat's Lucie Cave said the magazine had no problem running paparazzi pictures of Simon Cowell on a yacht because "we know from working with him that he enjoys the lifestyle that goes with his celebrity."

Leveson, who is due to make recommendations on media reform later this year, raised the idea of a celebrity privacy register, in which famous people could indicate how much media coverage they wanted of their lives.

Cave said it could be useful, but Byrne worried it could lead to empty pages if too many celebs opted out.

The judge, who had a copy of Heat amid the legal papers on his desk, acknowledged the world of celebrity glossies was not his usual territory.

Nixon advised him at one point that "you mustn't believe everything you read" about the fees paid to celebrities for exclusive stories.

"Oh," Leveson said. "Should I not?"

___

Online: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk

Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_en_ot/eu_britain_phone_hacking

personhood amendment haynesworth haynesworth ohio issue 2 ohio issue 2 mississippi personhood mississippi personhood

Harvey Karp: No Mom Is an Island

If you're like most moms, while you're reading this you're probably cooking dinner, wiping noses, paying bills, juggling dishes, checking homework, and working an extra job -- all with the phone wedged between your ear and shoulder as you're asking your mom about her back pain.

When you think of what the average mother packs into 24 hours, it's no wonder so many feel just one little wobbly, baby-step away from... total collapse!

Yet, many overworked moms and dads have trouble reaching out for help. They think they're supposed to manage all their family responsibilities on their own. But, is that right... or a big lie? When did having a doula or baby sitter become a sign of being soft and self-indulgent? When did it become taboo to ask for help?

In truth, all parents need support. That's why the ancient adage, "It takes a village to raise a child," has stuck over the years. Whether you live in Turkey or Trinidad -- caring for a child actually does take a village!

Throughout history, parents have always had lots of help: The old-fashioned, hands-on support team of grandparents, aunts, cousins, older siblings, and neighbors -- who lived close by, if not right in the house with us. We could just drop the kids off at the next-door neighbor's for a few hours (even without calling up ahead of time). And, instead of surfing the Web for parenting advice, we'd simply turn to family and friends... society's original search engine.

But about 50 years ago, our parent support team began to unravel putting moms and dads under increasing stress. Increasingly, the neighbors are too busy working to help us, good baby-sitters are hard to find, and our families are spread far and wide.

Added to this burden, American moms have the unhappy distinction (along with moms in Liberia and New Guinea) of living in the only nations without mandatory paid maternity leave to allow them a protected time to nurture their newborns before heading back to the office or factory.

Furthermore, although today's parents may be the most educated in history, they may also be the least experienced when it comes to caring for young children. That means they need lots of information and counsel. Many new parents have never even held an infant before giving birth to their own. (Some feel so unready; they imagine that a shoplifting alarm might suddenly blare when they walk out of the hospital with their new baby!)

So, in order for families to thrive, parents need to reject the myth that asking for help is an extravagance or a sign of weakness. Far from indicating failure, it's actually a sign of courage and strength.

And, when parents ask others for help they actually give their community a chance to help itself because raising happy, healthy children strengthens the entire society.

This is perfectly understood by the Masai of East Africa. When they greet each other, they don't ask "How's business?" or even "How are you?" They ask, "How are the children?" And the correct response is: "All the children are fine." They say, "All the children!" because even these fierce warriors understand that each person must be concerned about the nurturing and protection of all children in order to strengthen the community and create a better future for the entire group.

So please, go ahead and ask for help. Ask a friend to bring over a casserole or ask another mom to watch your tot when you have to work late (and offer to watch hers for a few hours in return). You may be surprised at how willing friends and family are to pitch in.

And, when today's hectic world has you feeling overwhelmed, slow down, and let go of the idea that everything has to be perfect. Take a breath, laugh at how silly life is and don't feel guilty if you need to buy your child's birthday cake at a store rather than making it from scratch. Take the time to focus on what is most important, your child's needs... and your health and sanity!
And, most importantly, remember that no mom is an island unto herself. Seeking help from your own personal village is not only fine, it's one of the smartest things any mother can do.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-karp/parenting-support_b_1212911.html

j.r. martinez snl lance ball lance ball kansas city chiefs chiefs kc chiefs

Maldives military arrests top judge, spark protest (AP)

MALE, Maldives ? The Maldives' military has arrested the chief justice of the country's criminal court after he released an opposition leader who had been detained without a warrant for allegedly defaming the government.

Monday's arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed has prompted all courts in Maldives to boycott sessions Tuesday, in what could become a showdown between the country's first government chosen in free elections and the independent judiciary introduced by former pro-democracy political prisoner President Mohamed Nasheed after coming to power in 2008.

The arrest of a judge by the military is unprecedented in the Maldives, which became a multiparty democracy after 30 years of autocratic rule. It also sparked street protests in the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

At least 200 protesters gathered near the police and military headquarters Tuesday demanding adherence to court orders and release of the arrested judge but police and soldiers used batons to disperse them. One policewoman was injured in the scuffle.

A government statement quoted Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem as saying Tuesday that Mohamed was arrested "for corruption, in particular for allowing his judicial decisions to be determined by political and personal affiliations and interests."

"The government of the Maldives fully supports and will always protect judicial independence," Naseem said. "However, judicial independence does not mean that judges are above the law and can behave as they see fit contrary to the laws of the land. A judge is a citizen of the Maldives no more or less important than any other citizen."

The country's supreme court, the prosecutor general's office and judicial services commission all issued statements calling the judge's arrest illegal and requesting his release.

The prosecutor general's office said that under the constitution a judge can be arrested only after a supreme court decision to do so.

With no positive response to their calls to release the judge, all other judges and court staff announced they are boycotting sessions and not extending detention orders on Tuesday.

Opposition activists said the arrest was in retaliation for the judge's ruling that opposition leader Mohamed Jameel Ahmed's detention a day earlier was illegal.

Police arrested Ahmed for allegedly defaming the government during a television interview in which he accused Nasheed's government of working against the state religion, Islam, with the support of Christians and Jews. Opposition activists say the government is trying to use an old criminal defamation law to persecute them while it is not part of the current democratic law.

Religious debates have gained prominence in this Sunni Muslim nation of 300,000 people where practicing any other faith is forbidden.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_as/as_maldives_politics

pearl harbor day discovery channel lea michele michael buble michael buble teddy roosevelt rita hayworth

Teacher Sexual Misconduct is on the Rise (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Public school teachers in multiple states made headlines on a fairly regular basis in 2011 for all the wrong reasons. Thousands of dedicated and caring educators across America must already be cringing because similar news articles are once again announcing teacher arrests for student sexual assault and abuse charges in the first few weeks of 2012.

California math teacher Marie Johnson of Livermore High School was arrested last week for having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student, according to the Huffington Post. Substitute teacher Steven Royer was arrested for the alleged battery of a third grade student in Indiana, according to WLFL News. Sacramento, Calif., art teacher Ben Horner was arrested for statutory rape and oral copulation of a 16-year-old- student at James Logan High School last week, according to the Sacramento Bee. Alabama elementary school teacher Daniel Acker Jr. was arrested two weeks ago for abusing a fourth grade student, according to the Associated Press.

Although we are less than one month into the new year, students have been placed into the daily care of these alleged abusers for many months. A reasonable person cannot expect any profession to always be free from scandal, but the growing number of teachers indicted for sexual misconduct is cause for concern.

Parents are used to worrying when their children are playing at the park after school, riding with friends who are novice drivers and when they are spending the night away from home; they should not have to cross their fingers and hope they return from school with their innocence still intact.

Perhaps a little bit of a "Big Brother" approach is necessary in America's public schools. Surveillance cameras are no longer uncommon in school hallways and may now also be necessary in the classroom and faculty parking lot. Students in many schools must permit backpack inspections and allow staff to review cellphone messages, texts and call logs while on school grounds.

The invasion of privacy for the sake of safety should be expanded to include all taxpayer-funded employees at the school as well. Reviewing communications activity would not stop all sexual predators posing as teachers, but it would make courting victims a whole lot harder.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120116/cm_ac/10842819_teacher_sexual_misconduct_is_on_the_rise

x factor auditions 2011 redacted redacted banned books 30 rock anna faris amanda knox latest news

Reclaim Your Life After Work by Disabling Internet Access for Smartphones [Attention]

It happens to all of us. We get home from work but continue to check email, waste time on social networking sites, or stare blankly at a computer. It's not healthy, but you can use the same tech that's binding you to help you break your habit.

Recent studies have revealed your smartphone is a source of stress. More specifically, your smartphone's easy access and constant notifications create a stress to keep up with your social networks. If you're the type to constantly check in with Twitter, email, or Facebook, it's easy to block during specific times of the day. None of this methods can stop you from forcing yourself into your Facebook or email if you want to, but they'll at least slow you down and make it a bit of a pain to do so.

Block Social Networks and Email at the Router Level

The easiest way to keep dinner time just about dinner is to block your access at the router level. This comes with a few caveats. If you're trying to block your phone, you can always switch over to over-the-air network to get access, but this requires a few steps that hopefully aren't worth it. In this case, it's about blocking the immediate access during specified time periods.

The first step is to get access to your router. Usually you just need to point your browser to 192.168.1.1, but every router is different. You can check yours by running ipconfig in a Command Prompt in Windows, or heading to System Preferences > Network on a Mac. If you need some help or this address doesn't work, pull out the user's manual for instructions. If you still need some guidance, take a look at our guide to using a router. After you enter in the username and password (again, this info is in your manual if you've never bothered setting it up), you will get access to the setup menu.

Most routers have a tab called "Access Restrictions," or something similar. You can set your router to block website access during certain points of the day. Click the tab and take a look at the settings. These are going to vary from router to router, but the core principle is the same. On my Linksys router I can set up several different policies to block access. Each policy can have different settings and times.

For instance, on my router, I blocked http://www.facebook.com and http://app.facebook.com (this is where the smartphone apps get access) between 5 pm and 8 pm by denying access on select days and entering in the URL for the sites. I also have to click the Edit List button and add an IP address range to block. For my purposes, I just blocked 1-200 to ensure all my bases were covered. If you're sharing access and don't want to block everyone out, you can enter in individual MAC addresses. A MAC address will look something like 00:00:0000:00:00 and is usually found under the settings menu on your phone. Once complete, save the settings and you no longer have access to Facebook during dinnertime. You can apply the same rules to any of your social vices, whether it's Twitter, email, or anything else.

Yes, you can always turn off Wi-Fi on your phone and regain access, but as long as Wi-Fi is enabled, you are blocked and you won't receive notifications. It's not fool proof, but it will hopefully remove that first temptation.

Block Access to the Internet from Your Phone

If your smartphone isn't tapped into your home wireless network, things can start to get a little more tricky for iOS, but they're a breeze on Android.

On Android: On Android, you can automate tasks depending on the time. We've shown you how to automate your Android phone with Tasker before, but you can do this with any automation app, including AutomateIt or Llama. With any of these tools your best bet is to set a time-sensitive context that triggers the Wi-Fi and Mobile Data settings to turn off. If you find yourself particularly addicted to repeatedly checking your email when you walk into your house, you can also set up location-specific lockouts.

On iOS: Unlike Android, iOS doesn't have a lot of options to do this automatically. If you're trying to cut yourself off the above router trick might be the best solution. Alternately, you can add shortcuts to your home screen for quick access to Airplane mode. You should also turn off notifications for your social media apps by tapping Settings > Notifications. With notifications disabled you still have access to an app, but at least it won't ping you every time something happens. As a last resort, follow our guide to set up parental controls and set the restrictions to block access to all apps. This will wreck havoc on a carefully crafted home screen and scatter icons everywhere, but it will temporarily remove them from the screen and require a passcode to use. If your willpower is still not strong enough, delete the apps from your phone and restrict yourself to accessing social networking from a computer.

---

The theory is that if you lock yourself out of your biggest internet distractions on your phone, you can enjoy your time at home more and reduce your stress level. Even if you're not addicted to checking Facebook or your email all the time, it's still nice to get a couple hours (or days) of freedom from them. If your smartphone isn't the problem and it's your computer instead, we've detailed how to use StayFocusd to do the exact same thing from a browser level. None of these options will keep you out if you really want to get in, but they'll at least kill the desire to repeatedly glance at your phone.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/aTgH2P7asVI/reclaim-your-life-after-work-by-disabling-internet-access-for-smartphones

bank of america black eyed peas central park occupy wallstreet occupy wallstreet tony bennett pumpkins pumpkins

Mexico hit by rumors of Indian famine, suicides (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Mexicans are rushing aid to Tarahumara communities in the remote northern mountains after a local official said dozens of the Indians had killed themselves because they couldn't feed their children due to severe cold weather.

The Tarahumara have long been a symbol of fierce pride, strength and self-reliance in Mexico. They are known for running multiday marathon races across the mountains as part of traditional celebrations.

The idea that such a proud people might be losing their spirit stung Mexicans into a flurry of drives to collect food and clothing to the Indians.

Health care and emergency workers in the region said Monday that the mass-suicide rumors are untrue, but that reports of famine are real.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_indian_famine

lacuna paranormal activity 3 trailer paranormal activity 3 trailer oomph oomph cmj olin kreutz