Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/290478733?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, March 10, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
LG Optimus G Pro mini review
Better than the Galaxy Note 2? Is that even possible? Yes, it is. And it is. (But for how long?)
The LG Optimus G Pro is, shall we say, inspired by the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Let's just get that part over with. There's absolutely no way not to see it, nor has LG really done anything to make us want to think otherwise. One begat the other. End of story.
And I don't care.
I've never been a huge fan of the larger Android smartphones. That's not to say there's not a place for them (there is), and that's not to say they haven't sold well (in Samsung's case, they've sold very well). But they've always been just too wide for me. And the display resolution never did it for me, given the size of the screen itself. (We'll save the whole pen input thing for another time.) But after getting an intimate, sit-down look at the Optimus G Pro in a restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, well away from the bustle of the show floor, it started to grow on me. Maybe it was the wine (I don't think so). Maybe it was meat (possible). Maybe it was the flashing neon ringing the home button. (OBEY.)
More: The Optimus G Pro at Mobile World Congress
But, no. There's something about the Optimus G Pro that didn't make me want to put it down like other oversized phones of similar design.
What follows is a sort of mini review of the Optimus G Pro. We've got a Korean version here. That means we can't really test real-world battery use. Or data speeds and network connectivity. (Suffice to say, if you're in Korea, it'll be fast.) One of those things directly affects the other, of course. The other thing is that we have absolutely no idea if and when the Optimus G Pro will ever come to the United States. The official line is yes, sometime in the second quarter. Until we hear it from a mobile operator's lips, however ...
But I'd love to see it here.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/DGiG483jaAk/story01.htm
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Myanmar opposition holds first party congress
Pedestrians walk under the National League for Democracy (NLD) flags flying outside the venue of the party's congress Thursday, March 7, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country's biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country's former capital from Friday. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
Pedestrians walk under the National League for Democracy (NLD) flags flying outside the venue of the party's congress Thursday, March 7, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country's biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country's former capital from Friday. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
A member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) arranges chairs as he prepares for the party congress at Royal Rose restaurant Thursday, March 7, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country's biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country's former capital from Friday. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
Members of National League for Democracy (NLD) arrange chairs as they prepare for their congress at Royal Rose restaurant Thursday, March 7, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country's biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country's former capital from Friday. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
Members of the National League for Democracy register for their congress at the party headquarters Thursday, March 7, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country's biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country's former capital from Friday. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) ? Nearly 900 representatives from Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party gathered Friday in Myanmar's main city to elect their leadership for the first time in the group's 25-year history.
It is a sign of how far Myanmar has come with political reforms that the gathering, which runs through Sunday in Yangon, is allowed at all. It's also a test for the National League for Democracy, which is working to transform itself from a party of one into a structurally viable political opposition in time for national elections in 2015.
NLD officials hope the first all-party congress will make the structure and operations of the party more reflective of its democratic ideals and infuse its aging ranks with youth, diversity and new expertise.
"Our party must be renewed and reformed," said Tin Oo, 86, who helped found the NLD and is overseeing the organization of the all-party congress. "We are going to advocate for democracy, so our party must be based on democratization."
Forged under authoritarian rule, the NLD has been, in some ways, a mirror image of the country's ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. Unable to convene party meetings, with its leaders often jailed and the party itself officially banned for much of its existence, the NLD could not hold elections. Leaders had to be appointed. Secret and summary decisions had to be made. And in the unforgiving narrative of repression which has long governed Myanmar there were heroes who were not to be questioned any more than the villains they fought.
"Our party was a democratic party and the party was run by people not elected but selected; individuals like myself and Aung San Suu Kyi," said Win Tin, 83, a journalist and one of the NLD's three surviving founders.
In November 1988, within two months of the NLD's founding, the party's top leadership began planning an all-party congress to elect local and national level leaders, but was only able to hold a few township elections.
"Then all of us were sent to jail and kept there for a long time," said Win Tin.
On Friday morning, representatives from across the country stood in neat lines outside the Taw Win restaurant, waiting to be screened for entry. Above them a row of red NLD party flags, decorated with yellow fighting peacocks, fluttered in the early light. The mood was ebullient and hopeful, as people greeted old friends and colleagues.
"I am very excited to be here," said Nan, a 46-year old from a ruby-rich area of the northern Mandalay region, who goes by one name. "This is a step in the right direction and we hope to see the NLD transforming into a more democratic structure, in line with the changes taking place in the country."
In addition to electing leadership committees and a party chairman at the congress, the party aims to decide on a coherent policy platform this weekend. Win Tin hopes a new, younger generation of leaders who better reflect the country's ethnic diversity will emerge.
"At least we will have picked some people capable of leadership," he said. "We hope. We don't know yet."
The structure of democracy is one thing, its culture another. Most members of the NLD, like the people of Myanmar itself, understand the contours of democracy only through its absence. This lack of a developed political culture, some party members say, contributed to infighting and irregularities that marred some of the more than 17,000 local elections the party has convened since mid-2012 in preparation for the congress.
The years of repression and Suu Kyi's unique, iconic stature ? she is greeted by villagers with cries of "Long live mother!" ? have also centralized decision-making, which critics say is bad for the broader project of democracy in the country and could weaken the NLD in upcoming elections.
"All the party decisions are dependent on just Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and became a burden to her," said Yan Myo Thein, a 43-year-old former student activist and political analyst, who is not a member of the NLD. "The decisions are made only by one person and this is bad for the future of the country and the country's reforms. If the party goes on like this, the support of the people on NLD will waver."
These days, the tables outside the NLD's Yangon headquarters are littered with the junk of celebrity. There are Aung San Suu Kyi mugs, key chains, postcards, posters, photos, pins, fans and even a few corporate day planners. All are for sale.
Inside, the tight, two-story space is plastered with her image ? ever beautiful and poised ? and that of her father, General Aung San, who is regarded as the founder of independent Myanmar.
One could be forgiven for mistaking the place a shrine, except for the general dishevelment and buzz of activity.
Some argue that the NLD needs a single, strong leader in order to tackle their formidable opponents from the ruling USDP party ? men who come from the military and understand the power of hierarchy and loyalty ? but others fear that the party is not currently strong enough to survive without Suu Kyi.
Phyu Phyu Thin, an HIV activist and an NLD parliamentarian, doesn't want to speculate on a future without her.
"We pray for her good health," she said.
Associated PressJob growth beats expectations, rate falls to 7.7%
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers stepped up hiring in February, pushing the unemployment rate to a four year-low and suggesting the economy has enough momentum to withstand the blow from higher taxes and deep government spending cuts.
Nonfarm payrolls surged 236,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, handily beating economists' expectations for a gain of 160,000.
The jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008, from 7.9 percent in January. The decline reflected gains in employment as well as people leaving the labor force.
Although December and January's employment data was revised to show 15,000 fewer jobs added than previously reported, details of the report were solid, with construction adding the most jobs since March 2007 and increased hours for all workers.
It was another sign of the economy's fundamental health, which has already propelled the Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> to record highs. The sturdy gains in February also offered hope the economy would be able to absorb the fiscal austerity.
A 2 percent payroll tax cut ended and tax rates went up for wealthy Americans on January 1. In addition, $85 billion in federal budget cuts that could slice as much as 0.6 percentage point from growth this year started on March 1.
FED STILL IN PLAY
But the pace of gains is still below the roughly 250,000 jobs per month over a sustained period that economists say is needed to significantly reduce unemployment. The Federal Reserve will likely maintain its very accommodative monetary policy.
The U.S. central bank is buying $85 billion in bonds per month and has said it would keep up asset purchases until it sees a substantial improvement in the labor market outlook, a message that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke drove home in congressional testimony last week.
Since the 2007-09 recession ended, the economy has struggled to grow above a 2 percent annual pace. In the fourth quarter, output barely expanded.
February's employment report showed broad-based gains, with construction the star. The sector added 48,000 jobs and in January construction payrolls increased 25,000.
A decisive turnaround in the housing market and rebuilding on the East Coast after the destruction wrought by Superstorm Sandy in late October is boosting jobs at construction sites.
Manufacturers stepped up hiring in February, although the pace was still well below early last year because of lackluster domestic demand and cooling growth overseas. Factory jobs increased 14,000 last month after rising 12,000 in January.
Retail employment increased 23,700 jobs, rising for an eighth straight month, and defying a recent slowdown in sales.
Healthcare and social assistance saw another month of solid job gains. The same was the case for leisure and hospitality.
Government continued to shed jobs, with payrolls dropping 10,000 last month after falling 21,000 in January.
The sustained steady job gains are lending some stability to wages. Average hourly earnings rose four cents last month.
The length of the average workweek increased to 34.5 hours from 34.4 hours in January.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/steady-job-gains-seen-bolstering-economy-050326902--business.html
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
Trips to the moon and Mars are catching on
Golden Spike
An artist's conception from the Golden Spike Company shows a lunar lander in the foreground, and a moonwalking astronaut in the background.
By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News
Selling trips to the moon? Sending astronauts to Mars and back? These sound like 1960s-era science fiction adventures, but they're actually in the works for later this decade. Will these privately backed projects get off the ground? That's the billion-dollar question.
The Golden Spike Company says it's in talks with one corporation and more than one space agency about sending a two-person expedition to the moon in the 2020 time frame, at a cost of $1.4 billion per mission. Meanwhile, the Inspiration Mars Foundation is getting ready to launch a man and a woman, preferably a middle-aged married couple, on a round-trip flyby past Mars in 2018.
The two ventures are the focus of Wednesday night's installment of "Virtually Speaking Science," a talk show that airs online via BlogTalkRadio with a live audience in the Second Life virtual world. I'm your host, and my guests are Taber MacCallum, Inspiration Mars' chief technology officer; and Doug Griffith, general counsel for Golden Spike.
The hour-long show starts at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), but if you miss the live program, never fear: You can always download the podcast from BlogTalkRadio's archive or iTunes.
Both Golden Spike and Inspiration Mars are getting advice and moral support from NASA, but the financial support is coming from elsewhere. The lunar venture expects to bootstrap its way to profitability by selling its services ??and initially through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign aimed at raising $240,000 (one dollar for each mile to the moon) by late April. So far, more than $7,500 has been contributed.
To Mars and back
Inspiration Mars is relying on seed money from California millionaire Dennis Tito, who became the first tourist to visit the International Space Station in 2001. Tito said his effort to send a spacecraft zooming past Mars during a favorable planetary alignment in 2018 is purely philanthropic, with the goal of inspiring future generations of Americans.
MacCallum, who took part in the Biosphere 2 experiment in 1991-1992 and went on to become a co-founder of Paragon Space Development Corp., said he's already noticed the inspirational effect.
"I keep hearing people say, 'This is the kind of thing America used to do, and maybe now we can do it again.' It's like we touched on a sore spot, and the reaction has been ... almost too positive," MacCallum said.
He said Tito's aim was merely to get some introductory exposure for the concept, in hopes that all the kinks can be worked out in time to make the 2018 deadline. Tito has committed to supporting the venture for its first two years, but he needs to raise the rest of the money for what's rumored to be a billion-dollar mission.
The team hasn't yet worked out the procedure for selecting the crew, but MacCallum said more than 100 applications have already been sent in ? including some candidates with jaw-dropping credentials. "There are some where you say to yourself, 'Oh, my gosh!'" MacCallum told me. "Hey, listen, it's suddenly cool to be a middle-aged couple."
To the moon
Unlike Inspiration Mars, Golden Spike is set up as a business, which will ultimately have to be supported by paying customers. The idea is to provide two-person trips to the moon for roughly the same cost as today's robotic missions to the moon. Golden Spike aims to do that by employing high-tech, low-cost hardware as well as a relatively low-risk mission architecture. The company plans to pre-position a lander in lunar orbit, and only then send the crew and their moon-and-back booster on a subsequent pair of launches.
"Before it even launches, we know that the lander is working," said Griffith, who is drawing upon years of experience in space and aviation law.
Griffith said Golden Spike will serve as the outer-space analog of, say, United Airlines, contracting with other companies for flight hardware. The company is working on design studies for launch vehicles, landers and other equipment. It's also talking with potential customers???and trying to convince the skeptics that it's really possible to put people on the moon, almost half a century after NASA did it in 1969.
"The consensus seems to be that it's doable within the prices we're talking about," Griffith said. "All of the skepticism seems to be about whether there are space agencies or billionaires who are willing to pay the price. That is the big unknown. ... I think we'll know in fairly short order whether the skeptics are right or wrong."
Griffith said Golden Spike's game plan calls for signing up its first customers for "right of first refusal" deals by the middle of the year, and getting its first flight contract by the end of this year.
"Our operating premise is not that we keep sliding things back," Griffith told me. "Our operating premise for now is, it's go time."
Are Golden Spike and Inspiration Mars ready for takeoff, or will we have to wait for NASA to send astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid in the mid-2020s, and to Mars and its moons in the mid-2030s? Listen in to "Virtually Speaking Science" and feel free to weigh in with your own views, either by taking part in the live show or by leaving your comments below.
'Virtually Speaking Science' podcasts:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
"Virtually Speaking Science"?airs on Wednesdays on BlogTalkRadio, with a live audience in the Exploratorium's Second Life auditorium. In addition to Alan Boyle, the hosts include Tom Levenson, director of MIT's graduate program in science writing; and Jennifer Ouellette, science writer and "Cocktail Party Physics" blogger.
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Proposed lifeline for polar bears rejected at UN conference
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