All Critics (174) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (161) | Rotten (12)
As usual with the series, the movie combines a plot line a toddler could understand with gadgets that would baffle an engineering Ph.D.
I'm thinking it, so I might as well say it: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is no Fast Five.
...it's pretty much state-of-the-art.
[Bird's] fresh touch gives breathless energy, tremendous excitement and, above all, humor to what could have been a wearying genre exercise.
Powered by Cruise's moxie, Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol proves that in a Hollywood action-ride culture drenched in fake adrenaline, it's cathartic to encounter the real thing.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is top-notch popcorn entertainment, chock-full of dazzling stunts and heroic moments, played out at a near-hysterical pitch.
Ghost pulls off the impossible.
Film number four has found its optimum screen display, its best director for the job and its sense of humour while increasing the gadgets and death-defying stunts.
Something goes wrong and the entire Kremlin blows up. 'The wattage of my smile has overpowered the antiquated Russian electrical grid,' explained Tom.
The cinematography is rewarding enough for a travelogue. The good guy vs. the world with a hateful bad guy is involving. This is another film where you should just leave your brain at home, relax, and enjoy it.
Welcome to the post-Pixar action movie.
Best line of 2011 delivered by Jeremy Renner: "That's it. Next time I get to seduce the rich guy." Why is MI4 so terrific? I screamed out in the theater: "The pants are gonna rip!"
o Bird energa daneisthke kai merikes selides apo to skhnothetiko biblio toy Nolan, me pio ofthalmofanh kai dhlwmenh, th pisth pws to IMAX, kai oxi to S3D, mporei na epanaferei ayth thn apostomwtikh kallitexnikh flasia
It's actually pretty entertaining... but a certain genericness is creeping in.
A mature Tom Cruise is in top form here, displaying a relatively-sophisticated savoir faire in lieu of the easy boyish charm that's served him so well in the past.
It's a great mix that feeds an action junkie's need for death defying stunts but reminds us how dangerous it all really is so that we remain engaged in the tension of the scene.
Exhilarating, nerve-wracking, vertigo-inducing, action-packed popcorn picture, filled with spectacular feats of derring-do.
This is some Star Trek level techno-nonsense, but the locations, stunts, and ambient batsh*ttedness of the entire endeavor provide ample distraction.
Could be the poster boy for disposable films.
By turns eye-watering, knee trembling, heart-pounding and rib-tickling, this gravity-defying blockbuster is what popcorn was invented for. Chomp away!
...a perfectly watchable (yet undeniably overlong) entry in an almost remarkably consistent series...
This franchise has never dazzled with brilliance but it certainly baffles with something else. Mostly it's video game-style violence... occasionally pausing for necessary exposition that at home would be times to rest your thumbs.
Perhaps we shouldn't expect too much in the way of character in this kind of thing - but action always seems more fun when it's done by real people.
What the script lacks in plausibility - almost everything - it compensates with all-guns-blazing fun.
M:I4 proves to be a sugar rush of pure, unadulterated entertainment. Even with a running time of two-plus hours, there's not an ounce of fat.
It's a big business year for illegal African ivory. A record number of ivory seizures were made globally this year, produced by an enormous surge in elephant poaching.
Central Africa is most brutally affected, with most of the illegal African ivory collected for China or Thailand where most of the tusks are made into jewelry and art carvings. Tom Milliken in Zimbabwe manages Traffic, which operates an Elephant Trade Information System. He says
"A conservative estimate of the weight of ivory seized in the 13 largest seizures in 2011 puts the figure at more than 23 tonnes, a figure that probably represents some 2,500 elephants, possibly more."
The Guardian reports that Millliken also says that the 13 large-scale seizures of over 800kg of ivory recorded in 2011, compares with just six seized in 2010. He notes that's the largest amount of seizures in the more than two decades since he's been operating his database. The increased poaching and illegal trade are the result of China's decision to make an investment drive into Africa to obtain the mineral and energy resources it needs to fuel its economic growth. Milliken comments,
"We've reached a point in Africa's history where there are more Asian nationals on the continent than ever before. They have contacts with the end-use market and now they are at the source in Africa. This is all adding up to an unprecedented assault on elephants and other wildlife.".
He concedes it is possible that some of the ivory getting into illegal markets could be coming from African government stockpiles from old seizures. But Milliken points out that trade figures and wildlife monitors show a rise in elephant killings. Most of the kilings he notes are occurring in the Congo, but poaching is also going on in Zimbabwe, Zambia, northern Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. In 1989, a global ban placed on the ivory trade was credited with stemming the unstoppable slaughter of African elephants in Africa's central region. Since then, African governments have sanctioned occasional auctions from its stockpiles. It's believed Africa's elephant population varies widely from 400,000 to 700,000. Some southern African states like Botswana have large and growing populations and in South Africa burgeoning elephant populations are raising concerns that they are damaging the environment.
"They all like going skating and they definitely like people clapping for them," explains Kerrigan. "They say, 'Watch me' and I try to give them tips, but they don't necessarily listen to me."
Oakland, California-The Fighting Illini have arrived in California to begin preparations for the Fight Hunter Bowl in San Francisco.? The game will be played Saturday.? The 6-6 Illini will face the 6-7 UCLA Bruins.
Tuesday the Illini held their first workout in California at tiny Laney College.
A victory for the Illini would take some of the sting out of their second half collapse this season.? They've lost six straight games and head coach Ron Zook was fired.
A victory would also make Illinois history because it would be the first time the Illini have won bowl games in back-to-back years.
Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is looking forward to that opportunity.? To hear his comments click on the media player.
Dec. 25: Actress Hanna Schygulla is 68. Singer John Edwards of The Spinners is 67. Actor Gary Sandy ("WKRP in Cincinnati") is 66. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 65. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 63. Actress Sissy Spacek is 62. Actress CCH Pounder is 59. Singer Annie Lennox is 57. Singer Steve Wariner is 57. Guitarist Robin Campbell of UB40 is 57. Singer Shane McGowan (The Popes, the Pogues) is 54. Guitarist Noel Hogan of The Cranberries is 40. Singer Dido is 40. Singer Mac Powell of Third Day is 39. Country singer Alecia Elliott is 29. Singer Jess and Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas are 27.
Dec. 26: Actor Donald Moffat ("Clear and Present Danger") is 81. Actor Caroll Spinney (Big Bird on "Sesame Street") is 78. Singer Abdul "Duke" Fakir of The Four Tops is 76. Record producer Phil Spector is 72. "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh is 66. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 65. Humorist David Sedaris is 55. Drummer James Kottak of Scorpions is 49. Country drummer Brian Westrum of Sons of the Desert is 49. Drummer Lars Ulrich of Metallica is 48. Country singer Audrey Wiggins is 44. Guitarist J (White Zombie) is 44. Guitarist Peter Klett of Candlebox is 42. Singer James Mercer of The Shins is 41. Actor Jared Leto is 40. Singer Chris Daughtry is 32.
Dec. 27: Guitarist Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley's band) is 80. Actor John Amos ("Men in Trees," "The West Wing") is 72. Actress Charmian Carr (Liesl in "The Sound of Music") is 69. Guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner is 67. Singer Tracy Nelson is 67. Actor Gerard Depardieu is 63. Singer Karla Bonoff is 60. Actress Tovah Feldshuh is 59. Guitarist David Knopfler of Dire Straits is 59. Drummer Jeff Bryant (Ricochet) is 49. Actor Ian Gomez ("Felicity," "The Drew Carey Show") is 47. Actress Eva LaRue is 45. Guitarist Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer is 39. Actor Wilson Cruz ("My So-Called Life") is 38. Actor Masi Oka ("Hawaii Five-O," "Heroes") is 37. Actress Emilie de Ravin ("Lost") is 30. Singer Hayley Williams of Paramore is 23.
Dec. 28: Comic book creator Stan Lee ("Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk") is 89. Actor Martin Milner ("Adam 12," "Route 66") is 80. Actress Nichelle Nichols ("Star Trek") is 79. Actress Maggie Smith ("Harry Potter") is 77. Saxophonist Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers is 73. Singer-keyboardist Edgar Winter is 65. Actor Denzel Washington is 57. Country singer Joe Diffie is 53. Drummer Mike McGuire of Shenandoah is 53. Country singer-guitarist Marty Roe of Diamond Rio is 51. Comedian Seth Meyers ("Saturday Night Live") is 38. Actor Brendan Hines ("Lie to Me") is 35. Singer John Legend is 33. Actress Sienna Miller is 30. Actress Mackenzie Rosman ("7th Heaven") is 22. "American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta is 21.
Dec. 29: Actress Inga Swenson ("Benson") is 79. Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 75. Actor Jon Voight is 73. Country singer Ed Bruce is 72. Flutist Ray Thomas (Moody Blues) is 70. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 65. Actor Ted Danson is 64. Singer-actress Yvonne Elliman is 60. Actress Patricia Clarkson is 52. Comedian Paula Poundstone is 52. Guitarist-singer Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain is 50. Singer Dexter Holland of The Offspring is 46. Actor Jason Gould is 45. Singer-guitarist Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 41. Actor Kevin Weisman ("Alias") is 41. Actor Jude Law is 39. Actor Mekhi Phifer ("ER") is 37. Actor Shawn Hatosy ("The Cooler," "The Faculty") is 36. Country singer Jessica Andrews is 28.
Dec. 30: Actor Joseph Bologna is 77. Actor Russ Tamblyn is 77. Singer Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary is 74. Director James Burrows ("Cheers," "Taxi") is 71. Actor Fred Ward ("The Right Stuff") is 69. Singer Mike Nesmith of The Monkees is 69. Singer Davy Jones of The Monkees is 66. Singer Patti Smith is 65. Musician Jeff Lynne is 64. TV host Meredith Vieira is 58. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph ("Moesha") is 56. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 55. Actress Patricia Kalember ("Sisters") is 55. "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer is 54. Actress-comedian Tracey Ullman is 52. TV host Sean Hannity ("Hannity and Colmes") is 50. Singer Jay Kay of Jamiroquai is 42. Drummer Byron McMackin of Pennywise is 42. Actress Meredith Monroe ("Dawson's Creek") is 42. Actor Jason Behr ("The Grudge," "Roswell") is 38. Singer-actor Tyrese is 33. Actress Eliza Dushku ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Tru Calling") is 31. Guitarist Tim Lopez of Plain White T's is 31. Actress Kristin Kreuk ("Smallville") is 29. Drummer Jamie Follese of Hot Chelle Rae is 20.
Dec. 31: Actor Anthony Hopkins is 74. Actor Tim Considine ("My Three Sons") is 71. Actress Sarah Miles is 70. Guitarist Andy Summers of The Police is 69. Actor Ben Kingsley is 68. Actor Tim Matheson is 64. Singer Burton Cummings of The Guess Who is 64. Singer Donna Summer is 63. Bassist Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith is 60. Actor James Remar ("Dexter") is 58. Actress Bebe Neuwirth ("Cheers") is 53. Singer Paul Westerberg is 52. Actor Val Kilmer is 52. Guitarist Ric Ivanisevich of Oleander is 49. Guitarist Scott Ian of Anthrax is 48. Singer-actor Joe McIntyre of New Kids on the Block is 39. Cellist Mikko Siren of Apocalyptica is 36.
I could recall that fifth bottle of wine in Tuzla, Bosnia. Or Hitch still arguing furiously about the Falklands War sometime around 3 a.m. at the poet James Fenton's kitchen table in Oxford. (?Christopher,? said James, raising his head from the table, ?you sound like a bishop.? It was the ultimate insult.) But what pops entirely unbidden into my mind is the leg of lamb he cooked, English-style, with boiled vegetables and mint sauce, for us to eat by the poolside in a high Californian summer. It was parody of parody, like something out of the opening pages of Evelyn Waugh?s The Loved One, and of course he knew it?but at the same time, I think he actually liked it. That was Sunday Lunch, cap S, L.
?I did not always agree with the political positions he took?and they did not always agree with each other?but his company was irresistible. Nowhere was he more genial than at the poolside house in Atherton, arguing, arguing, arguing, while the automatic swimming pool cleaner went about its ceaseless submarine work, hoovering, hoovering, hoovering. Where other people furtively Google it on their iPhones, he had extraordinary natural powers of recall. Detail, anecdote, biography, and quotation would flow almost as fast as the whisky.
Writers and activists from the 17th to the 21st century were brought conversationally into the same room, to argue with each other?a conjuring act he shared with Isaiah Berlin, whom he attacked mercilessly soon after the liberal philosopher's death. In his verbal salon, Tom Paine crossed swords with Edward Said, Thomas Jefferson met P.G. Wodehouse. Yes, Wodehouse?that superficially unlikely hero for a political writer who spent much of his life on the more or less militant left. Last time we met, we traded Wodehouse-isms. (Roderick Spode, leader of Britain's fascist Black Shorts, with ?the sort of eye that can open an oyster at 60 paces.?)
It is this literary, English Hitch that I remember with most affection. The American citizenship he took after the 9/11 attacks on his adopted country meant a great deal to him. In many ways, it defined what we must now call his last decade. But culturally, we can say of him that in spite of all temptations to belong to other nations, he remained an Englishman. Never more so than when dishing up roast lamb, with mint sauce and added Wodehouse, by the poolside on a California summer Sunday.
See Slate?s full tribute to the life of Christopher Hitchens. Read Slate?s complete collection of Christopher Hitchens' columns.
Child?s Play Communications Appoints Jennifer Krosche as Vice President
NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ? Child?s Play Communications, the first public relations agency to specialize exclusively in reaching moms, announced today that Jennifer Krosche has joined the agency as Vice President.
?We are thrilled to have Jennifer as a member of the Child?s Play team,? said Stephanie Azzarone, president. ?As a seasoned public relations professional and a mom herself, she brings the industry experience and the parent perspective that will serve our clients well.?
For more than 20 years, Child?s Play has focused on connecting companies with moms, and currently does so through traditional public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications. Clients have included Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Hewlett Packard, Sylvan Learning Center, Music Together, Parents magazine, Spin Master, MEGA Brands and MAM, among other companies targeting the influential mom market.
Prior to joining Child?s Play, Jennifer was president of her own company, JYK Public Relations, where she specialized in online parenting and women?s media and mom blogger/influencer initiatives. She had worked or consulted for agencies including Marina Maher Communications, 5W Public Relations, Pollock Communications and others, as well as for American Media, Inc.
Jennifer has represented a broad array of clients from infant and juvenile products to beauty, wellness and food, including BornFree, Summer Infant, Children?s Advil, Clairol, CoverGirl, Thomas?, First Juice, Oneida, JOON, The Tea Council USA and more.
A pro at both traditional and social media relations, Jennifer?s placements have appeared in leading traditional media, including top consumer and business publications and programs such as The New York Times, USA Today, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, Parents, Parenting, Family Circle, People, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, FOX, The Daily News, Crain?s New York, Woman?s Day, Associated Press, Good Housekeeping, E! News, Extra and EntertainmentTonight. In addition, she has secured regular coverage on top online/social media sites such as AOL Parent Dish, She Knows, People.com, Modern Mom, iVillage, Examiner.com and hundreds of mom blogger sites.
Leaders in Marketing to Moms In her new position, Jennifer will oversee many of the agency?s programs and services, including celebrity seeding and talent acquisition, expert-spokesperson development and mom-blogger initiatives. Child?s Play is particularly well recognized for its mom-blogger expertise, having won the 2010 Bulldog Reporter Social Media Innovator of the Year Award, among other accolades. It is perhaps best known for Team Mom(TM), its well established and proprietary network of mom review-bloggers, and also offers services that include social media crisis communications plans, the Parkbench Panel mom-blogger focus group, the Bloggers Brunch event series, social media ambassador programs and online-marketing blogger referral services. Child?s Play recently expanded its client programs to include Social Savvy, an online research panel of mom bloggers nationwide.
In addition, the agency?s Child?s Play Party! grassroots brand-immersion events staged in moms? homes have successfully driven word-of-mouth about participating brands. Other recent staff hires have added sophisticated analytic capabilities and affiliate marketing management to the company?s extensive list of services.
Child?s Play CommunicationsChild?s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom(TM), the agency?s own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included Bulldog?s PR Innovation of the Year and Social Media Innovator of the Year. For additional information, please visit our Web site, our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
Procter & Gamble has agreed to never again run an ad for its CoverGirl mascara because it used "enhanced post-production" and "photoshopping" to make eyelashes look thicker than they were in real life. P&G agreed to the ban even though it disclosed in the ad that the image was enhanced.
The move is the latest in a series of baby steps that U.S. and international advertising regulators have taken to ban the use of Photoshop in advertising when it is misleading to consumers.
The company's decision was described in a ruling by the National Advertising Division, the U.S. industry watchdog that imposes self-regulation on the advertising business. NAD is part of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Its rulings are respected and followed by most advertisers because it enjoys a close relationship with the FTC, from which it has historically drawn some of its senior staff. Recalcitrant advertisers who refuse to withdraw or amend misleading ads are referred by the NAD to the FTC, which has the power to fine, sue or bring injunctions against companies.
When asked whether this was a de facto ban on Photoshop, NAD director Andrea Levine told us:
"You can?t use a photograph to demonstrate how a cosmetic will look after it is applied to a woman?s face and then ? in the mice type ? have a disclosure that says ?okay, not really.??
The ad in question was for CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara, which promised ?2X more volume? on women's lashes. After reviewing the ad, P&G agreed to yank it. (A different CoverGirl ad is shown here.) The NAD ruling said:
"? [P&G] advised NAD it has permanently discontinued all of the challenged claims and the photograph in its advertisement. NAD was particularly troubled by the photograph of the model ? which serves clearly to demonstrate (i.e., let consumers see for themselves) the length and volume they can achieve when they apply the advertised mascara to their eyelashes. This picture is accompanied by a disclosure that the model?s eyelashes had been enhanced post production."
In a footnote, the NAD said it was following the lead of its sister body in the U.K., the Advertising Standards Authority, which in July banned cosmetics ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington because they used Photoshop. The NAD said:
"Advertising self-regulatory authorities recognize the need to avoid photoshopping in cosmetics advertisements where there is a clear exaggeration of potential product benefits."
"... the picture of Ms. Roberts had been altered using post production techniques (in addition to professional styling, make-up, photography and the product?s inherent covering and smoothing nature which are to be expected), exaggerating what consumers could expect to achieve through product use."
The U.K. ruling found the use of photo retouching misleading per se.
In the U.S., the FTC has has also tightened rules to hold celebrities accountable if they make claims in ads they know cannot be true.
And in France, in 2009, 50 politicians asked for health warnings to be imposed on fashion ads if they showed retouched models' bodies.
SEE ALSO:Ryanair: 'We Will Continue To Support The Right Of Our Crew To Take Their Clothes Off'
WASHINGTON ? Newt Gingrich overlooked a couple of years of red ink when he asserted Thursday night that he balanced the budget for four years as House speaker. And in claiming sole credit for the achievement, he glossed over the fact that budgets are not a one-man show: There was a Democratic president in town, too.
In the last debate before the leadoff Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, Gingrich persisted in repeating a claim he has made often in the campaign, sometimes more accurately than others. Here and there, other candidates, too, reprised misstatements or partial truths from the string of debates and from the stump. Mitt Romney once again declared he has spent his life in the private sector, ignoring his years as governor and political candidate.
A look at some of the claims in the debate and how they compare with the facts:
GINGRICH: "I balanced the budget for four straight years, paid off $405 billion in debt ? pretty conservative."
THE FACTS: In the 1996 and 1997 budget years, the first two years he served as speaker of the House of Representatives, the government actually ran deficits. In 1998 and 1999, the government ran surpluses. Two more years of surpluses followed, but Gingrich was gone from politics by then and had nothing to do with them.
Moreover, the national debt went up during the four years Gingrich was speaker. In January 1995, when he became speaker, the gross national debt was $4.8 trillion. When he left four years later, it was $5.6 trillion, an increase of $800 billion.
To be sure, Gingrich did not single-handedly deepen America's debt, just as he didn't balance any budgets on his own. He was a driving force, along with Democratic President Bill Clinton and figures in both houses of Congress, in the economic setbacks and advancements of that time.
___
ROMNEY: "I spent my life, my career, in the private sector."
THE FACTS: This is true ? except for four years as Massachusetts governor, recent years running for president in the 2008 and 2012 elections, a few years running the Olympics and the time he put into his failed run for a Senate seat in 1994.
In essence, Romney has devoted himself to political endeavors since his successful run for governor in 2002, and has been pursuing the presidency for five years.
A month after his term as governor ended in 2007, he announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. After John McCain defeated him for the nomination, Romney devoted himself to building a political network, helping Republican candidates raise money, and writing a book that set the stage for his second run for president.
Indeed, Romney, who made his fortune as founder of the investment firm Bain Capital, has not held a private-sector job with a regular paycheck for more than a decade.
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MICHELE BACHMANN: "We have an IAEA report that just recently came out that said literally Iran is within just months of being able to obtain that (a nuclear) weapon."
RON PAUL: "There is no U.N. report that said that. It's totally wrong, what you just said."
Bachmann: "It's the IAEA report."
THE FACTS: As Paul said, the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency does not state that Iran is within months of having nuclear arms. The U.N. agency report does suggest that Iran conducted secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear weapons but did not put a time frame on when Iran might succeed in building a bomb, and it made no final conclusion on Tehran's intent.
Bachmann also erred by arguing that Iran has "stated they will use it (a nuclear weapon) against the United States."
Iran vehemently rejects that it is developing a nuclear bomb, let alone that it plans to drop one on the U.S.
___
ROMNEY: "I'm firmly in support of people not being discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation. At the same time, I oppose same-sex marriage. That's been my position from the beginning."
THE FACTS: In large measure, Romney has been consistent in those two positions, despite accusations of flip-flopping on gay rights.
He walked a fine line back in his failed 1994 Senate campaign, vowing to fight for equality but stopping short of endorsing gay marriage. That's the same line he walked Thursday night.
He has changed, though, on whether gay marriage should be addressed at the state or federal level. He has favored a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage at least since the beginning of his 2008 presidential bid, when he was the only major Republican candidate to do so. In 1994, he had said the matter should be decided by individual states. That was before the idea of a constitutional ban had gained traction in politics.
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BACHMANN: "After the debates that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true."
THE FACTS: False.
For the second debate in a row, Gingrich complained that Bachmann wasn't getting her facts straight, this time when she went after him for the big money he made from Freddie Mac. In her own defense, Bachmann cited ratings from PolitiFact, a fact-checking organization that ranks statements on a scale from true to false, with the worst offender being "Pants on Fire" false.
PolitiFact rated two Bachmann statements from last week's debate. One, claiming Gingrich once believed in an individual health care mandate, was ranked mostly true. The other, that Romney introduced "socialized medicine" in his state, was judged "Pants on Fire" false.
Indeed, Bachmann has the worst record of accuracy in the Republican field, as rated by that organization and traced by others. Fully 73 percent of her statements checked by PolitiFact were judged mostly false or worse. Gingrich was wrong the next most often, 59 percent of the time.
___
Associated Press writers Steve Peoples, Bradley Klapper, Douglass K. Daniel and Jim Drinkard contributed to this report.
After weeks of waiting, rumoured launches and even a few accidental sales, the elusive Verizon Wireless Galaxy Nexus is finally here. We dropped by a New York City retail store to try out Google's first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone in the flesh, before bringing one home for a proper unboxing and LTE performance test. As expected, the production version that we finally got our hands on today is virtually identical to the sample that popped up at the Samsung Experience earlier this month, but with one major exception: there's a Micro SIM installed, letting us try out core functionality, such as placing phone calls and accessing data without a WiFi network in range.
The Verizon Nexus arrived with Android 4.0.1 pre-installed, but prompted us to update to 4.0.2 just a few minutes after we added a Google account. It is noticeably thicker and heavier than its HSPA+ counterpart, but this thing is fast when it comes to transfer speeds -- not quite as speedy as we've seen with some LTE devices on AT&T's budding 4G network, but it's definitely in line with competing handsets from Verizon, and the MiFi we used for a comparison speed test. Our salesperson wasn't willing to let us leave without first confirming that the phone was in fact working, so he had the honor of first peeling back the phone's plastic cover. Ready to check it out? Roll up your sleeves and join us after the break for our unboxing and speed test.
The new iBooks 1.5 is out. It's great. It has a nighttime mode to make reading books in the dark easier on the eyes and full-screen layout with none of the stupidly gimmicky backdrop. Just beautiful typography. More useful features: More »
Oh, how we love the demands of celebrities, especially when they're spelled out in their backstage riders. As far as these things go, the Smoking Gun's newly obtained rider for singer Adele actually isn't that bad. She asks for people receiving comped tickets to donate a minimum of $20 for charity upon pickup, and this is non-negotiable. ?There will be no exception to this rule,? according to the document. The cash that comes from donations is earmarked for UK-based charity Sands, which aims to support "anyone affected by the death of a baby and promoting research to reduce the loss of babies? lives.?
But, for as charitable as Adele may be, there's one area where she's not to be messed with: beer. For after the show, the singer requests 12 bottles of ?best quality European lager beer. ie Becks, Stella Artois, Peroni etc. North American beer is NOT acceptable.? What did North American beer ever do to Adele?
Mitt Romney?s vulnerabilities as a candidate are well known, yet a seemingly new one surfaced last week: his unusual brittleness in the face of media questions.
With one prickly interview with Fox?s Bret Baier on Tuesday ? in which the candidate appeared uncomfortable and even angry fielding basic questions about his record ? the former Massachusetts governor set off a round of speculation about his ability to operate outside hermetically sealed campaign events, reminding both his rivals and the media of the extreme lengths to which he has gone to evade the national press.
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On a Fox panel that night, Juan Williams called the interview ?disastrous;? Jonah Goldberg said Romney appeared ?uncomfortable? and Baier himself said people thought Romney seemed ?irritated and tense? ? sentiments that were echoed across the other networks that night and in print the next morning.
For a candidate who has been in the national spotlight as long as Romney, his discomfort with Baier was telling. And it reflected a deliberate and long-standing strategy of dodging tough questions and questioners. Romney is inaccessible even by the tightly scripted standards of the contemporary campaign bubble: Not only is the candidate kept at arms length from reporters, the campaign typically responds to the news media only when it feel it is in its interest. Inconvenient questions are met with silence.
?Romney?s team made the calculation that politicians try to make from time to time, that you can avoid the mainstream media,? Joe Klein, who recently profiled Romney for Time magazine and was not granted an interview, told POLITICO. ?In certain circumstances, you can shoot over or under us, but to try to avoid us completely is foolish, because the pressure is going to build.?
?This is a very poor media operation,? one political director for a leading cable news network complained to POLITICO. ?The lack of response to any media request is very frustrating. At least you should acknowledge calls and emails ? in their case, it?s like a black hole.?
On Fox, his party?s network of choice, Romney has put in fewer than 20 appearances in the past six months ? far fewer than most other candidates, including Newt Gingrich, who has done more than 50. And while Romney has allowed himself to be questioned by the accommodating Sean Hannity, he has not agreed to cooperate with any potentially tough or uncomfortable mainstream-media stories about him. (For this story, Romney advisers Andrea Saul and Eric Fehrnstrom did not respond.)
The Romney team?s M.O. has been to pursue softball coverage in lieu of potentially dangerous interviews. He agreed to interviews with soft-lens magazines like Parade and People, but not with newsmagazines or websites, or even with the Boston Globe reporters who are writing a biography of the candidate. He has avoided The New York Times as well, and his only policy-oriented interview ? foreign policy, exclusively ? with The Washington Post was granted to blogger Jennifer Rubin, who holds similar views.
Romney also avoids reporters? questions on the trail. When confronted by a Times reporter about this, he countered that he had press avails ?almost every day? ? a preposterous stretch of the word ?almost.? (In fact, the reporter noted, Romney?s most recent press avail had been nearly a week earlier.)
Extinct hominids may have been first to build with bones
Web edition : Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Neandertals are stumping for bragging rights as the first builders of mammoth-bone structures, an accomplishment usually attributed to Stone Age people.
Humanity?s extinct cousins constructed a large, ring-shaped enclosure out of 116 mammoth bones and tusks at least 44,000 years ago in West Asia, say archaeologist La?titia Demay of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and her colleagues. The bone edifice, which encircles a 40-square-meter area in which mammoths and other animals were butchered, cooked and eaten, served either to keep out cold winds or as a base for a wooden building, the scientists propose in a paper published online November 26 in Quaternary International.
Mammoth-bone huts previously discovered at Homo sapiens sites in West Asia date to between 27,500 and 15,000 years ago. The new discovery comes from Molodova, a Ukrainian site first excavated in the 1950s. There, Neandertals erected a mammoth-bone structure that?s unlike later mammoth-bone huts, suggesting that the two Homo species developed these practices independently, says study coauthor St?phane P?an, also of France?s National Museum of Natural History.
Researchers have argued for decades about whether Molodova Neandertals left mammoth bones scattered about or built something out of them.
?My own inclination is to assume that some type of mammoth-bone structure, maybe a wind break, was present at Molodova,? remarks archaeologist John Hoffecker of the University of Colorado Boulder. A Czech Republic site of comparable age contains a similar circle of mammoth bones, Hoffecker says.
It?s hard to know whether Neandertals or modern humans occupied Molodova, he cautions. African Homo sapiens reached Europe by 45,000 years ago (SN Online: 11/2/11), and discoveries in the last few years indicate that those early migrants made stone tools much like those found at Molodova and traditionally attributed to Neandertals, Hoffecker says. No fossils have been unearthed at the Ukrainian site, leaving the identity of its occupants uncertain, in his view.
Demay?s team regards Molodova stone tools as typical of Neandertals that lived in Europe and West Asia before modern humans showed up.
Neandertals assembled the circular Molodova structure out of the largest and strongest parts of mammoth skeletons ? mainly tusks, shoulders, ribs and hips, the scientists say. Weathering and water damage on the bones indicate that they were placed in a shallow trench.
Remains of at least 15 mammoths, all bearing stone-tool marks but few signs of chewing by nonhuman animals, were uncovered inside the bone enclosure. Excavations also produced bones of red deer, bison and other animals that contained butchery marks. Meat from these animals was cooked in 15 fire pits arrayed throughout the site.
Neandertal groups consisting of no more than around 30 individuals, P?an proposes, periodically camped at Molodova while cutting up and consuming mammoth and other prey.
It's Cyber Monday all month long, at least according to Amazon, which announced its new holiday deals vertical this morning, residing at www.amazon.com/flurrydeals. The site currently features decently discounted items as an extension of the Cyber Monday promotion. But starting this Sunday, Amazon will begin offering category-specific daily deals. It's even providing an email sign-up form so shoppers won't miss the sales.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 1, 2011) ? They should prove a challenge for the athletes, but not put them in danger: bobsled runs have to be simulated before being built. This simulation is based on the friction levels of the runners on the ice. Now it has become possible to measure these levels accurately. These results will help build the run for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Lightning fast, the sled bolts down the icy run. Will the team make it to the finish faster than their competitors? The tension in the crowd depends partly on the run itself: the faster the sleds can travel on the run, the more thrilling the race. But the track mustn't be too fast: the crew still needs to be able to reach the bottom safely. So engineers have to calculate and simulate exactly how fast a sled can travel on specific sections of the track. The calculations are based on the friction levels between the runners and the ice. Up to now, the problem has been the difficulty of measuring these levels at such high speeds, and the data collected have been rather far from reality. This meant that the speed of the sleds was often estimated too high or too low, which could lead to accidents.
In future tracks are set to become safer. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM at the Microtribology Center ?TC in Pfinztal have now developed a method of measuring the friction levels accurately. In so doing, they are able to provide their colleagues from Gurgel+Partner, consulting engineers responsible for design and construction of the bobsled track for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, with a solid basis for their calculations. "This measuring device allows us to ascertain the precise level of friction between the sled and the ice at high speeds -- from which we can calculate the maximum speed a team can reach," explains Prof. Dr. Matthias Scherge, business unit manager at the IWM. Our "bobsled track" is in fact a large drum, similar to that of a washing machine, which is 3.8 meters in diameter and open on one side, situated in a bunker that has been chilled to -4?C. On the inside of the drum is a layer of ice, on which the test runners slide. A hydraulic cylinder presses each runner to the ice, simulating the weight of the sled and the crew. Whenever the drum rotates, the ice moves out from under the runner, slightly displacing both it and the attached friction force sensor. So instead of remaining at the lowest point, the runner is carried along a little by the rotating drum. Just how far depends on the amount of friction between the runner and the ice.
In their experiments with this apparatus and with other test rigs, the researchers take into account numerous factors, such as the nature of the ice itself. Ice at Whistler ski resort in Canada, for example, has different friction qualities than ice in Krasnaya Polyana near Sochi. Atmospheric humidity is significantly higher at Whistler because of its proximity to the Pacific, so ice accumulates faster there. The scientists can adjust the climatic conditions in the lab accordingly. They are also looking into the effect on runners of having a good finish. To what degree does a professional finish affect the speed of a bobsled weighing up to 630 kilograms? Researchers also recreate the steering movements of the racing vehicle: the runners on the glide body can be set at an angle to simulate cornering. The minimal friction level -- which is to say the fastest possible speed the sled can achieve on any particular track under various ice conditions, providing the team does everything right -- is taken by Gurgel+Partner engineers as the basis for their calculations. In the meantime, construction is underway in Sochi.
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60 Responses to Sage Investing Advice from a Fictitious Television Mobster
alf44 says:
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SHORTER ? than Verne Troyer !!!
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alf44 says:
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SHORT tha bumps ? COVER tha dumps ? Don?t ?diddle in tha middle? !!!
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alf44 says:
YAWN !!!
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STFU
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alf44 says:
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alf44 says:
uhhh ? wash, rinse, repeat !!!
Just sayin? !!!
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alf44 says:
?SHORTER ? Than Verne Troyer? !
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That IS of course ? original !
Should I seek ?copyright? protection ?
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So many questions ?
SIGH !!!
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SUBCOMANDANTE CHINCHILLLLLA!!! says:
You should seek medical attention.
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TJWP says:
I love this show. Will be the next HBO legacy series. Stands up in comparison to other amazing HBO shows like The Wire, Sapranos and Rome.
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Po Pimp says:
The Wire will be tough to beat. Greatest show in television history.
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I am mixed and partial to Rome. However, wire was fantastic.
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T-Bird says:
Any chance we can have a Omar Little or Chalky White background? Michael Kenneth Williams plays an amazing gangster, his work transcends decades.
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pjdempsey says:
I would throw Carnivale out there too ? was a great show, underrated, and ended too soon. Sopranos and Wire are tops for me.
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my fav was Carnivale. At my old firm, they?d call me Brother Justin.
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pjdempsey says:
Yeah Brother Justin is up there with Agent Van Alden from Boardwalk for interesting character studies. I downloaded the entire series a while back and have been meaning to watch it.
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Don?t forget Deadwood ?
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Rob T says:
I was waiting for someone to say it? also not a poor depiction of the gold mining industry, even relevant today. Al Swearengen is my hero.
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djmarcus says:
great find senor tropicana. was looking for this clip.
also, props on todays trading. had a sick day too ? - going to rep my ibankcoin shirt tomorrow at class in honor.
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Po Pimp says:
I?m glad you fuckers didn?t shake me out.
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Kenai says:
ROFL
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pedro says:
Fly,
Been busy all day but would feel like an ungrateful bastard if I didn?t stop in and thank you. You nailed this tape to the fucking T like no one else. Your conviction last week gave me the courage to hold firm, and it paid off. Saved my year, as I made all my money back and MORE with this rally. It?s hilarious to see ZH and SH reveling in how right they are only to see the tide turn and swallow them whole. Again. God bless!
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dave says:
ZH is a doom a gloom, goldbug site. You can?t play the markets with a biased mentality. It is a risk on/off market on an overnight basis for the foreseeable future. Anyone who can time this is clairvoyant and obviously acting in cocncert with sub-devils via human sacrifice and voodoo magic.
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The_Real_Hmmm says:
During the last few seconds of that clip there?s a command shouted in the background and when I was watching the show I knew I heard it before but couldn?t quite place it. I just figured it out; it?s from an old computer game- Command and Conquer: Red Alert. The sound clip is from an effects bank.
Seeing as how they?re in Atlantic City in that scene it?s rather odd that the actual command is from a Nazi General/Hitler/whomever, but the phrase is ?Die Waffen Legt An!? Translation is ?ready your weapons? or ?aim your weapons!?
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Yabollox says:
I don?t think it?s from that game. The scene takes place in a room in an armory in NJ where soldiers are drilling outside. It?s where Nucky eventually gets the surplus Thompson sub-machine guns that he trades to the IRA for Irish whiskey. So I think it?s National guard soldiers drilling outside, a sergeant barking out orders or some such, but in English.
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The_Real_Hmmm says:
No. nein. NIET!
It?s a generic sound clip from some cd or database that their sound guy decided to use for the scene in Boardwalk Empire. It?s exactly the same, and it?s German. Click on the youtube clip I posted below and go to 2:08.
QED
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Ha. I played that game too.
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The_Real_Hmmm says:
I know.
Classic. The opening video brings back memories: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABDm2JcnTPs&feature=related
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hmmm. How exactly do you know?
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The_Real_Hmmm says:
Tanya showed me the fingerprints. Let?s just say ?X? wis the spot.
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Anyway, I was better than you.
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The_Real_Hmmm says:
My navy ships would bury you and your militia of 20 into the depths of hell more grotesque than a 4chan comments section. ShOcKz!
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Also, in addition to N. African and Romanian compounds, Estonia would an excellent location for IBc members.
? howzabout you post a fuckin? ACTUAL TRADE ? and contribute to tha dialogue ? you pathetic ?wannabe? !!!
Maybe THEN ? YOUR PATHETIC Fuckin? sorry excuse for a ?trader? ? might garner the attention that I receive !!!
I AM REAL !!!
I PUT IT OUT THERE FOR ALL TO SEE !!!
YOU ? on the other hand ? are nothing more than a chimpanzee ? throwing it?s own SHIT ? at the gallery !!!
FUCK YOU !!!
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ROFL.
Alf has gone postal. It took you long enough, short in a +500 ?fuck you, you?re dead? assassination tape.
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alf44 says:
Postal ???
REALLY ???
Are you fuckin? HIGH ? FLY ???
?
I?m playin? on the ?House?s Money? !
Lest you ?forgit? ? I was LONG some TNA last Friday and banked over 13% on Monday !
HELLO !!!
I then rolled SHORT !
Did today come as a surprise ?
Well ? sorta !
Did I panic ?
NO !
Did I manage my SHORT position ?
Yes !
Am I worried ?
ROFL !!!
What do YOU think ?
THIS IS WHAT I DO !!!
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You people become so emotional !
Prisoners of the moment !
Truly comical !!!
Truly comical indeed !!!
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Hovis says:
What?s it like back on Melmac?
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Mad_Scientist says:
You conveniently disappeared between October 4th and early November, didn?t you? Did your account also blow up in that span, and now you?ve started a new one?
listen close to the last 5 seconds; F Youuuuu F youuuuuu F youuuuuu?.. Hahaha!!!!
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alf44 says:
Sadly ? there are prolly about 10 actual traders that post here !
The other 10,000 or so ? are rude fuckin? degenerates that should ALL be SUMMARILY ? BANNED !!!
Fuckin? Pathetic !!!
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rogue wave says:
Marc Faber currently suggests 25% equities 25% gold 25% real estate 25% cash
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alf44 says:
? a nice orderly ?diversified portfolio? !
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?The Group Mind? ..Dr. W. DougalL, excessively emotional, impulsive, violent , extremely suggestable, careless?incapable of anything but the simpler & imperfect forms of reasoning?like an unRuly child !
0 0
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Dr Funk says:
What? No. Deflation in Japan
Japan?s October CPI signals deflation Japan?s core consumer-price index fell in October, signaling the return of deflation after four months of price gains, and raising fresh doubts about the Bank of Japan?s claim of a trend change in the price environment.
I don?t agree. The yen is easing a bit here which should help but more importantly GDP numbers were good, retail sales were up sharply, household spending is up, industrial production rebounded, and auto factories ramping should help them soon. Motor vehicles have been strong this year. They did open and make available swap lines today too with other central banks although that may have a negligible effect. Unemployment did tick up last reading but hopefully that is residual tsunami destruction.
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OEW Daily Recap:
?? for now we can state the uptrend from SPX 1075 to 1293 looked impulsive, and the downtrend from 1293-1159 looks corrective. Impulsive uptrends and corrective downtrends occur in bull markets, not bear. As soon as we get an uptrend confirmation, confirming the downtrend was corrective, we will shift to long term bullish.?
I may be discarding my bear suit for something more optimistic shortly ? All hale The Clam aka The Pusher Man!
?Short term support is at the 1240 and 1222 pivots. Short term resistance is at the 1261 pivot and upper 1270s. Short term momentum remains quite overbought, and may be setting up a negative RSI divergence. Tomorrow?s opening should be important short term.?
alf44 could go the way of the horse, buggy & VegasTraderII very soon if he doesn?t respect The Pusher Man.
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Just an FYI ? Arnold Rothstein was a real dude.
Bad motherfucker. I think he fixed the 1919 World Series, if I recall correctly.
It all ended in blood for him.
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Rob T says:
Purportedly taught Lucky Luciano how to dress. When the Feds finally took Luciano down, they all remarked that he was the best dressed, most well-mannered gangster they had ever met. He credited Rothstein with having influenced him.
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Hovis says:
Rothstein, by the way, is not fictitious. He was a real life gangster/businessman/gambler.
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5:00 PM says:
True, but the Boardwalk character (so far, anyway) is based only on Rothstein?s ?good characteristics.? He was brilliant and pretty much invented modern organized crime, but was also completely addicted to gambling and ended up being murdered for failing to pay up losses at cards.
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bunny says:
And the opportunity for the bears will be next week. Keep planning. Your time is coming.
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In case you retards are unaware, the man playing Rothstein is not a real mobster. Therefore, it goes without saying, he is fictitious.
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The man is an actor playing a non-fictional historical character role. The man is not fictitious, but it?s quite likely the role is fictionalized.
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moolahheaven says:
I posted this EXACT clip on my twits a couple of weeks back. Arnold Rothstien is the most ruthless, brilliant TV villian ever, but one scarey thing, he is NOT fictional?
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SUBCOMANDANTE CHINCHILLLLLA!!! says:
Ace Rothstein from Scorcese?s Casino was another great character also based on a real person ? an oddsmaker, I think.
I didn?t like that flick the first time I saw it (in a theatre), then, on DVD, I saw it about 8 times.
It's Cyber Monday all month long, at least according to Amazon, which announced its new holiday deals vertical this morning, residing at 
