Thursday, January 3, 2013

St. Louis Police Chief In Favor Of Stronger Gun Laws | FOX2now ...

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)? The new St. Louis city police chief says he?s in favor of much stronger gun control laws.

St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch has said he favors armed guards and guns in schools after the Connecticut school massacre.?

But Chief Sam Dotson, who took over the police chief?s job in the city Tuesday, is in favor of much tougher gun laws.

?More guns is never the answer. We have to find ways to take guns off of the street. There?s no room in society for assault rifles. There?s no room in society for high-capacity magazines. I understand the second amendment issues, but we have to find ways to get guns off of the streets and out of the hands of criminals,? said Chief Dotson.

Chief Dotson also says he favors a civilian review board, where a panel of civilians could review and question police disciplinary decisions.

Source: http://fox2now.com/2013/01/02/st-louis-police-chief-in-favor-of-stronger-gun-laws/

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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Holiday Week 2012 Sees New iOS And Android Device Activations Rise To 50M Total, A 150% Increase

Flurry_appDownloads_Christmas_toNewYears2012-resized-600App analytics platform Flurry has released its annual look at how many new mobile devices came online during the holiday season, and the results show a dramatic change from the situation a year ago. Over 50 million iOS and Android devices were activated during the period between December 25 to December 31, versus just over 20 million devices last year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ZnEulhb7a4E/

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Egypt's pound slips further against dollar

Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil talks during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Kandil says his country will resume talks in January with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan, after they were suspended during this month's political turmoil over the now-adopted constitution. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil talks during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Kandil says his country will resume talks in January with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan, after they were suspended during this month's political turmoil over the now-adopted constitution. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

CAIRO (AP) ? The Egyptian pound slipped further against the dollar on Monday, a downward plunge on the first two days of trading under a new system, as the president tried to assure a worried public that the crisis atmosphere will end soon.

The pound slid nearly 1 percent on Monday from the previous day, bringing the exchange rate at banks to 6.42 pounds to the dollar. It marked a cumulative loss of nearly 4 percent this week, after Egypt's central bank took steps in what bankers believe is an attempt to control the devaluation of the currency.

In an effort to instill confidence among people who have been rushing to sell Egyptian pounds for dollars, President Mohammed Morsi said the pound's fall "does not worry or scare us, and matters will balance out within a matter of days."

His remarks to Arab journalists, carried by the official news agency MENA, come as Egypt grapples with a crippling deficit that the planning minister said Monday is likely to reach 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($31.5 billion) by mid-2013.

Monday's slide of the Egyptian pound came on the second day of trading under a new dollar auction system aimed at regulating the devaluation.

The Central Bank of Egypt sold $75 million on Monday for the second straight day under the new system, according to state news media.

Under the auction, banks bid for dollars and know how much the central bank is selling that day. In the past, the banks used to buy through two private intermediary banks, according to a banker familiar with the trades.

He said that not all of the banks that submitted requests to trade were approved. Banks that joined the auction received just 66 percent of what they were bidding on, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters ? indicating continued pressure on the pound.

The bank appears to be trying to avert a sharp devaluation of the Egyptian currency in a nation where half of its 85 million people live just at or below the poverty line of $2 per person a day.

Foreign reserves have fallen to around $15 billion from $36 billion in January 2011, before the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and the political turmoil that followed, which battered key foreign currency earners such as tourism and foreign investment.

To boost investor confidence and the country's foreign reserves, Egypt is negotiating a series of large loans.

Egypt has requested a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. The loan has been delayed because of political turmoil over Egypt's new constitution, approved in a referendum this month.

Egypt is also in talks for a $900 million loan from the European Union, $500 million from the African Development Bank and $450 million from the United States. It has already received transfers from Qatar that have propped up its reserves and is expecting another $2 billion from the oil-rich Gulf country. It is finalizing talks for $1 billion from Turkey, according to Planning Minister Ashraf el-Arabi.

Economists estimate that the Egyptian pound is overvalued. They believe the current devaluation and planned austerity measures to cut subsidies and raise taxes are part of a package of conditions put forth by the IMF. Neither party has confirmed the contents of the proposed deal.

Now that the new constitution has been approved, the government has again turned its attention to economic reforms that are likely to include wide-ranging tax hikes.

An IMF official told The Associated Press in an email that they are in "continuous contact" with Egyptian authorities and "look forward to learn about the status of the government's economic program." The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the organization's regulations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-31-Egypt-Economy/id-41d745712565471a806b4387980a03c7

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NORTH CAROLINA OPERA TO PERFORM WAGNER CONCERT ...

NC Opera tickets

Photo courtesy of Cory Weaver

North Carolina Opera will open its 2012-2013 season on Jan. 27, 2013 at 3 p.m., with a concert of the music of Richard Wagner , in honor of the bicentennial of the composer?s birth, in Meymandi Concert Hall in Duke Energy Center in Raleigh. The concert will include favorite selections from several of Wagner?s most popular operas, including Act I of Die Walk?re, in what is thought to be the first performance from Wagner?s Ring Cycle in the Triangle, Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walk?re, as well as excerpts from Die Meistersinger, Tristan und Isolde and The Flying Dutchman.

Internationally acclaimed talent will perform, including tenor Jay Hunter Morris, who sings the famously difficult role of Siegfried in Wagner?s Ring Cycle with the Metropolitan Opera; Elizabeth Bishop, who has sung leading Wagner roles at the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera, as Sieglinde; and Metropolitan Opera bass Peter Volpe as Hunding. NCO Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Timothy Myers will lead 80 members of the North Carolina Opera Orchestra. The two-hour performance will be sung in German with English supertitles.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was one of the most important composers of the nineteenth century. Over a twenty-five year period he created the epic four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, based on Germanic and Norse mythology. The Ring tells the story of the struggle of redemptive love against lust for power, played out over no less a backdrop than the creation and destruction of the world. To tell the story Wagner created a new musical language and even designed a new theater and new instruments. NCO?s performance will include these ?Wagner tubas? in the complete first act of The Valkyrie, the second opera of the cycle.

?North Carolina Opera is excited to perform this amazing collection of Wagner opera in concert, not only because it will be an incredible musical feast of some of opera?s most important and beautiful music on the occasion of the bicentennial of the composer?s birth, but also because it will feature some of opera?s top talents.? said Eric Mitchko, General Director of North Carolina Opera.

With an expansive repertoire of symphonic, ensemble and operatic works, Timothy Myers has proven himself as a conductor of exceptional diversity. His recent engagements include the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Africa, Houston Grand Opera, the North Carolina and Milwaukee symphony orchestras, the Wolf Trap and Central City festivals, and numerous other projects spanning four continents. In 2009 Myers was appointed by Lorin Maazel as the first ever Associate Conductor of the Castleton Festival, where during his two year tenure he was entrusted with multiple symphonic and opera performances. As the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of North Carolina Opera, Timothy is one of the youngest artistic leaders in American opera. His artistic vision has broadened the company?s repertoire to include a wider variety ranging from Handel to Glass, as well as the creation of innovative and stimulating productions of the classic repertoire. Myers has been engaged for assistant/associate positions with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, London BBC Symphony, as well as principal guest conductor and artistic advisor of the Palm Beach Symphony. He has conducted the Jerusalem Symphony, American Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, the opera companies of Palm Beach, Anchorage and Asheville, the Bard Festival, and Music Academy of the West.

Jay Hunter Morris began the 2012-13 season with his appearance in the principal role of Captain Ahab in Jake Heggie?s celebrated opera, Moby Dick, at San Francisco Opera.? He performed in Florence as Siegmund inDie Walk?re and perform with the Los Angeles Opera as Erik Die Fliegende H?llander. Mr. Morris returns to The Metropolitan Opera for revival performances of The Ring as Siegfried and continues to Glimmerglass Festival for Erik. He makes his debut at Vienna Konzerthaus under the baton of Kent Nagano for performances of Schoenberg?s Gurrelieder. Recent successes include concert performances of Tristan Tristan und Isolde at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia and his appearance in the role of Siegfried in the Metropolitan Opera?s new production of the complete Ring Cycle which was broadcast worldwide. Mr Morris embarked on his Ring career when he covered Siegfried Siegfried and G?tterd?mmerung at Seattle Opera in 2009, and the following season at Los Angeles Opera. He also covered the role of Siegmund Die Walk?re during LA Opera?s Ring Cycle in 2010.? In 2011, he made his debut as Siegfried at San Francisco Opera with great success under the baton of Donald Runnicles. One of the hallmarks of Mr. Morris? career is his participation in some of the most noted new work in contemporary opera.? He has created many roles in world premieres, among them the role of Captain James NolanDoctor Atomic at San Francisco Opera, a role he reprised with the Netherlands Opera the following season;? the role of Markyin Cronenburg?s The Fly (Howard Shore) at Th??tre du Ch?telet in Paris, (which he revived at Los Angeles Opera under the baton of Placido Domingo); the role of Unferth in Elliott Goldenthal and Julie Taymor?s Grendel, a performance he repeated in the 2006 Lincoln Center Festival.?

Elizabeth Bishop has been praised by Opera News for her ?gorgeous voice? and is in equal demand for both opera and concert performances across the country. Her 2012-13 season engagements include her first Azucena in Il trovatore with Utah Opera, her first Sieglinde in Die Walk?re with North Carolina Opera, and her return to the Metropolitan Opera for M?re Marie in Dialogues des Carm?lites. Her other Met roles have included Venus in Tannh?user, the title role in Gluck?s Iphig?nie en Tauride, Fenena in Nabucco, and Second Norn in the worldwide Live in HD cinecast of G?tterd?mmerung. Ms. Bishop sings regularly with Washington National Opera, where her roles have included Gertrude in Hamlet, Eboli in Don Carlo, and the Marquise de Merteuil in Conrad Susa?s The Dangerous Liaisons. With Washington Concert Opera she has sung Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and the Princess Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur. She has enjoyed a long relationship with San Francisco Opera, appearing there most recently as Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walk?re. She has sung Waltraute in G?tterd?mmerung with the Dallas Opera, M?re Marie with both Deutsche Oper Berlin and Pittsburgh Opera, Eboli with the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony, Amneris in Aida with the Atlanta Opera, and Offred in Poul Ruders?s The Handmaid?s Tale with Minnesota Opera. Elizabeth Bishop has appeared as soloist with Amsterdam?s Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Malaysian Philharmonic.

Bass Peter Volpe continually receives critical and popular acclaim on four continents. Possessing a vast and ever-expanding repertoire of over 80 roles in six languages, his captivating style and interpretive skill embraces the depth of historical and fictional characters. Of a recentportrayal as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Opera News said he ?managed to create in his single aria and scene an impressive dignity. His full-bodied bass and great candor of tone, together with his intelligent interpretation, won him a well-deserved ovation.? In the current season, performances include Ramfis in Aida at Michigan Opera Theatre, Sparafucile in Rigolettoat Manitoba Opera, Ferrando inIl Trovatoreat Arizona Opera, Zuniga in Carmen at the Florentine Opera, the bass soloist in Verdi?s Requiem with the Chattanooga Symphony, and his role debut as Daland in The Flying Dutchman with Glimmerglass Opera.? In addition he will perform Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoorwith Portland Opera and Philip II in Don Carlo at Austin Lyric Opera.

The Wagner program will include the following, in the order in which they will be presented: Prelude to Die Meistersinger, ?M?gst du, mein Kind? from The Flying Dutchman, ?Fanget an!? from Die Meistersinger, Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walk?re, ?Mild und leise? from Tristan Und Isolde, Intermission and Act I of Die Walk?re.

Ms. Crocetto holds degrees from Siena Heights University in acting performance and Moody Bible Institute in vocal studies. She is a former member of the Sarasota Opera Apprentice Artists Program She was a member of San Francisco Opera?s Merola Opera Program. San Francisco Chronicle said Crocetto has a ?powerful Verdi voice and formidable precision technique, and intensity that amplifies an already huge voice, and an innate, irresistible musicality.? San Francisco Classical voice said, ?In thirty years of exciting discoveries, listening to each group of Merolini for the first time, I have never experienced a singer as complete and awesome as Crocetto.?Tickets are $27 to $85, and are on sale now by calling the North Carolina Opera Box Office at 919-792-3850, filling out the form available at www.ncopera.orgor going to www.ticketmaster.com.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA OPERA

North Carolina Opera was formed in 2010 from the merger of Capital Opera Raleigh and The Opera Company of North Carolina. It is dedicated to presenting operatic performances at the highest level throughout the Triangle. We also have a robust education program that brings opera to schools across Wake County and surrounding counties. North Carolina Opera brings international level artists to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, and also engages the best in local Triangle talent.

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

NORTH CAROLINA OPERA TO PERFORM WAGNER CONCERT FEATURING METROPOLITAN OPERA TALENT, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

Source: http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/event/north-carolina-opera-to-perform-wagner-concert-featuring-metropolitan-opera-talent/

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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Ethiopian court finds 10 guilty of terror charges

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) ? An Ethiopian court has found 10 men guilty of charges of plotting terror attacks with neighboring Somalia's Islamist extremist rebels.

Judge Bahiru Darecha said Tuesday the group was making plans and getting supplies to attack politica and economic targets in Ethiopia. Eleven men were originally charged with the terror-related crimes but the judge acquitted one person. Six of the men found guilty were charged in absentia. Sentencing will be carried out on Jan 15.

Prosecutors said the suspects, who include one Kenyan national, formed a cell that worked with Somalia's Islamist radicals, al-Shabab. Al-Shabab is affiliated with al-Qaida.

The verdicts come amid signs of increasing militancy in the East African nation. Ethiopian troops moved into Somalia last year to fight al-Shabab.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ethiopian-court-finds-10-guilty-terror-charges-123234838.html

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Brace for an Avalanche of Unfunded Debt

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Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/12/30/brace_for_an_avalanche_of_unfunded_debt_298793.html

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Child Abuse Images Discovered by Hackers Force Twitter to Close Down Over Half a Dozen Accounts


According to a Children charity group, NSPCC, the graphic pictures were apparently made public after hacking groups claimed to have broken into private accounts to expose their indecent content.

The charity said it received a 'flurry' of reports overnight relating to at least half a dozen Twitter accounts which were later disabled.

According to the Guardian, the accounts will now be probed in the US, where the micro-blogging site is based.

The charity group said that the hackers apparently opened up a number of private accounts, which were previously kept hidden from public view

It remains unclear whether any of the images were uploaded by a British user or a user based abroad, the paper said.

Source-ANI

Source: http://www.medindia.net/news/child-abuse-images-discovered-by-hackers-force-twitter-to-close-down-over-half-a-dozen-accounts-112200-1.htm

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