Author: Serkadis

The highway to the danger zone will soon lead over to the PlayStation Network and the skies will be your playground. In other words, Top Gun is getting another release and it will soon be available for

Lindsay Lohan, after missing her mandatory court hearing which stemming from her DUI case in 2007, received a warrant of arrest issued by Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel. Shawn Chapman Holley, Lohan’s lawyer, said that she had a good reason for not showing up to court. The reason was that she was stuck at the Cannes Film Festival where her passport was stolen. “She has filled out police reports in Cannes,” Holley said. “She intends to fly back form Cannes at the earliest time.” However Revel was not receptive to any excuses. “She has a history of, from her prior alcohol program, not attending. Last time she was supposed to report at 8:30, she didn’t come until 10 or 10:30. She should have made sure that she either didn’t go to Cannes or if she went there, that she would be back two days before the hearing. If she wanted to be here, she could have been here. There’s really no valid excuse,” Revel replied.

The actress Lindsay Lohan, 23 years old, is currently on her third year of probation. She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine, no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and one count of reckless driving last August 2007. A judge had extended her probation for another year in October, and a prosecutor warned the actress that she will be facing jail time if she violated her probation.

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Filed under: Europe, Technology, Videos, BMW

BMW has an Environment Test Center (ETC) that can test a car in a variety of environments – sun, ice, snow, rain – all of them indoors. As great as that would be for parties, they appear to put it to actual work, testing the engine and cooling systems in roadsters like the Z4 in 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The facility can also get down to 14 degrees, conjure wind up to 150 miles per hour, and even mix it up with snow and wind and rain.

Icemistress Katarina Witt dropped by to take a tour, and while they did make a bit of ice and snow for her, they also took a lot of simulated sunny day pics and made a little movie. Follow the jump to watch the video (auf Deutsch), and have a look at the photos in our high-res gallery below.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading Ice skating beauty Katarina Witt checks out BMW test center [w/video]

Ice skating beauty Katarina Witt checks out BMW test center [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EUR/USD (short term):  The pair has fail to break resistance. Sell under 1.2445. TP 1.2260 and 1.2150. Key levels:  1.2100, 1.2150, 1.2260, 1.2310, 1.2445, 1.2520, 1.2605

GBP/USD (short term):  The pair is under pressure. Sell under 1.4355. TP 1.4235 and 1.4175. Key levels:  1.4090, 1.4175, 1.4235, 1.4258, 1.4355, 1.4440, 1.4510

EUR/JPY (short term): The pair is capped by medium-term bearish channel. Sell under 112.00. TP 109.50 and 108.20. Key levels:  106.50, 108.20 ,109.50, 110.13, 112.00, 113.50, 114.80

GBP/JPY (short term): Support has been broken. Sell under 129.00. TP 126.00 and 124.50. Key levels:  123.00, 124.50, 126.00, 127.00, 129.00, 130.00, 131.50

Click for Economic Calendar

Source: Forexyard

Related posts:

1. Technical Analysis /11:35 GMT/ (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY) 20.05.2010.
2. Technical Analysis /16:15 GMT/ (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY) 22.04.2010.
3. Technical Analysis /17:20 GMT/ (EUR/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/USD, GBP/JPY, USD/JPY) 21.04.2010.

A fire that damaged the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society caused a dozen of cats; however, a woman, who lives above the animal shelter, thanks her pit bull boxer mix dog who woke her up which saved her life. Assistant Fire Chief Sabina Imrie said that a dryer that was running almost at midnight had caused the fire at 2700 Ninth Street in west Berkeley. The blaze killed twelve cats who were not yet adopted. The estimated damage costs up to $500,000. When word came out that there was fire, 10 shelter volunteers went to the scene and together with the firefighters, they were able to save about 10 cats and 14 dogs at the facility. Imrie added, “It was an immediate response by the volunteers, who worked side by side with fire and evacuated animals.”

Johanna White, who lived in the apartment above the shelter, was sleeping when her dog began barking after the fire broke out. The woman had been sick and was unable to hear the smoke detectors in her home. Her dog, Baby, a pit bull  boxer mix started whimpering and jumping on her. White said, “I’m just so grateful that my dog woke me up. I’m just so lucky that I have a good dog. I was not a dog fan, either. She’s my husband’s and my daughter’s dog. I might have to re-evaluate my stance.”

Fire Department Fire Chief Donna McCraken said, “I had to make the determination we could not risk ourselves to save the animals. We assessed where they were in the building and attempted a shelter in place. Most of them fared very well. But it was a hard decision to make.” “It started in an unattended dryer. We don’t know what ignited the fire. We don’t know if there was lint inside or some kind of electrical failure,” she added.

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Christos Kortzidi is the stud mayor of Elliniko who went on a hunger strike in 2007 to protect free access to local beaches.

His new strike to protest Greek austerity measures started on April 29 — and by all reports it’s still going.

Greek newspaper HAYGH (translated) profiled the mayor on Saturday in the 17th day of his hunger strike. Chances are he’s still going today — on the 22nd day — as in his last strike Kortzidi made it to 24 days, before claiming victory.

Elliniko City Council President Bill Vassio may also be taking part in the strike, based on this translation of the city council website.

It’s easy to lose track of exactly what the Greeks are protesting. While the crowds on the street today are protesting pension cuts, Kortzidi and others want to block a plan to re-draw municipal boundaries known as Kallikratis:

Kathimerini:

Protests by local authority officials against Kallikratis, an ambitious government plan to redraw administrative boundaries and overhaul local government, continued yesterday with the resignation of the entire council of a municipality in the Peloponnese. Meanwhile, residents of the small town of Siatista, near Kozani in northern Greece, blocked the Egnatia Highway for the fourth day in a row, complaining that their town has not been made the capital of Voios municipality.

The leader of the main opposition conservative New Democracy party, Antonis Samaras, appeared to take advantage of the mood, calling on local government officials affiliated to ND to encourage residents in their areas to oppose the bill, due to be submitted in Parliament soon. “If the government persists with this choice, it will incur a heavy cost,” Samaras said.

Ultimately, every protest in Greece and around Europe is about raising money for the government on the back of the people.

Have we seen the worst?

Check Out: Craziest Photos Yet — War On The Streets Of Athens

Join the conversation about this story »

Who knows how much time and money you spent on all those collectibles and costumes in the first LittleBigPlanet? Fear not, when LittleBigPlanet 2 comes along, you’ll still be able to make use of them in the

H2 Technologies Group out of Reno, Nevada is betting on a hydrogen fueled lawnmower engine it is developing and which is due out this summer.

According to NNBW, “Small engines powered by hydrogen would produce no emissions. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency says one gas-powered lawnmower produces as much pollution as 11 cars. If their technology works – and that’s where the lawnmower engine test comes in – H2 Technologies Group’s founders think they can make a compelling case to small engine manufacturers who face strict emissions standards. Over the next couple of years, emissions from lawn mowers and similar equipment will need to be cut by about 35 percent.”

Now, I’ve talked about hydrogen lawnmowers in the past, but this statement above has gotten me to think about hydrogen fueled engines in general, both the internal combustion types and fuel cells. It looks like the market for hydrogen vehicles is developing all around hydrogen cars, starting from the periphery and moving inwards with H2 cars at the center.

The market will implode before it explodes with hydrogen cars, so to speak. As hydrogen forklifts, UAVs, lawnmowers, boats, motor scooters, bicycles, motorcycles, robots, military bionic enhanced legs, golf carts, wheelchairs, shuttle buses, submarines, mining vehicles, military all terrain vehicles and other such technology take off in the market, public acceptance will grow and the reasons to stall on hydrogen car infrastructure will decrease.

Proof of concept will already be there with the commercialization of other hydrogen vehicles outside of the car market. Buses, car fleets, trains, trucks at shipping ports are other examples that will be circling the wagons, so to speak, around mass marketed consumer oriented hydrogen cars.

Telecommunications power backups, residential power backups, corporate power backups, hotel power backups, utility companies using wind, solar and other renewable with hydrogen storage, home hydrogen CHP stations, manufacturing plants such as beer and candy production facilities, data centers, waste water treatment plants, police and fire stations, high schools, universities, airport baggage carts all will most likely develop ahead of a hydrogen car fueling infrastructure. And, this is Okay.

Normalizing hydrogen vehicles in everyday use will serve to mainstream this technology, which will lead to public acceptance. Just as this generation of kids has grown up with PC’s, the Internet, cell phones and Xbox’s, the next generation will grow up with hydrogen vehicles and stationary hydrogen fuel cells.

Even though I’m impatient for hydrogen cars now, I also see the signs that commercialization outside of the H2 car market is happening at a rapid pace. And this commercialization is breaking ground for thousands if not millions of hydrogen cars to follow.

Late last week, of course, Google ‘fessed up to the fact that it was accidentally collecting some data being transmitted over open WiFi connections with its Google Street View mapping cars. As we noted at the time, it was bad that Google was doing this and worse that they didn’t realize it. However, it wasn’t nearly as bad as some have made it out to be. First of all, anyone on those networks could have done the exact same thing. As a user on a network, it’s your responsibility to secure your connection. Second, at best, Google was getting a tiny fraction of any data, in that it only got a quick snippet as it drove by. Third, it seemed clear that Google had not done anything with that collected data. So, yes, it was not a good thing that this was done, but the actual harm was somewhat minimal — and, again, anyone else could have easily done the same thing (or much worse).

That said, given the irrational fear over Google collecting any sort of information in some governments, this particular bit of news has quickly snowballed into investigations across Europe and calls for the FTC to get involved in the US. While one hopes that any investigation will quickly realize that this is not as big a deal as it’s being made out to be, my guess is that, at least in Europe, regulators will come down hard on Google.

However, going to an even more ridiculous level, the class action lawyers are jumping into the game. Eric Goldman points us to a hastily filed class action lawsuit filed against Google over this issue. Basically, it looks like the lawyers found two people who kept open WiFi networks, and they’re now suing Google, claiming that its Street View operations “harmed” them. For the life of me, I can’t see how that argument makes any sense at all. Here’s the filing:

Basically, you have two people who could have easily secured their WiFi connection or, barring that, secured their own traffic over their open WiFi network, and chose to do neither. Then, you have a vague claim, with no evidence, that Google somehow got their traffic when its Street View cars photographed the streets where they live. As for what kind of harm it did? Well, there’s nothing there either.

My favorite part, frankly, is that one of the two people involved in bringing the lawsuit, Vicki Van Valin, effectively admits that she failed to secure confidential information as per her own employment requirements. Yes, this is in her own lawsuit filing:

Van Valin works in the high technology field, and works from her home over her internet-connect computer a substantial amount of time. In connection with her work and home life, Van Valin transmits and receives a substantial amount of data from and to her computer over her wireless connection (“wireless data”). A significant amount of the wireless data is also subject to her employer’s non-disclosure and security regulations.

Ok. So your company has non-disclosure and security regulations… and you access that data unencrypted over an unencrypted WiFi connection… and then want to blame someone else for it? How’s that work now? Basically, this woman appears to be admitting that she has violated her own company’s rules in a lawsuit she’s filed on her behalf. Wow.

While there’s nothing illegal about setting up an open WiFi network — and, in fact, it’s often a very sensible thing to do — if you’re using an open WiFi network, it is your responsibility to recognize that it is open and any unencrypted data you send over that network can be seen by anyone else on the same access point.

This is clearly nothing more than a money grab by some people, and hopefully the courts toss it out quickly, though I imagine there will be more lawsuits like this one.

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The actor Kevin Costner provided to the BP oil centrifuges with technology developed by him and a group of scientists to separate the oil from the water to try to clean the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, informed the press John Houghtaling, Costner’s partner.

Costner is a passionate environmentalist and fisherman in his spare time, he traveled to New Orleans to present the invention in society and propose its use to save the fragile ecosystem and, above all, to avoid another disaster of the magnitude of the spill of 37,000 tonnes of hydrocarbon in March 1989 caused the tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska.

It was this ecological tragedy that prompted the actor, 55, to invest in technology that can mitigate the effects of other similar discharge without knowing that this time would come this year, 21 years later.

For 15 years the actor has overseen the construction of machines that separate oil from water, he invested $ 24 million of his own money on private sector development.

Costner, who traveled to New Orleans with Houghtaling said he was “saddened” by the spill caused by the collapse of the rig Deepwater Horizon, operated by British Petroleum (BP), exactly one month ago, but also hopeful because, he said, “That’s why we have developed” machines.

Doug Suttles said that BP has authorized the use of six of the 32 machines that have Ocean Therapy Solutions for testing. These devices are able to purify 97 percent of contaminated water and John Houghtaling told reporters that the company is working to develop technology to also separate the remaining 3 percent.

The machines, Costner said, “are ready to be used and solve problems and not talk about them” only. The technology was ready for use ten years ago, but nobody was interested in those machines, said Houghtaling.

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In light of the videogame-linked crimes committed in Germany, Bundestag ministers proposed a national banhammer (psp/news/national-banhammer-german-ministers-propose-total-ban-for-violent-games.html) back in June to rid the nation of the purchase and development of violent video games. Thanks largely to a

As I announced in yesterday’s newsletter, The Primal Blueprint Cookbook is now shipping.

The Primal Blueprint team is furiously packing to get all pre-orders out the door and into your hands as soon as possible. All pre-orders should be in the mail in the next few business days. Shipped USPS Media Mail the books should begin arriving at your doorsteps in the next week or so.

I’m absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. Take a look at the photos below for a taste of what’s headed your way, and if you haven’t grabbed a copy yet order one today and you’ll still get the free Primal Blueprint Poster and free S&H.

Stay tuned for today’s regularly scheduled blog post.

If you’re ready to begin eating like Grok pick up a copy today and start getting Primal!

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The popular belief that a specific diet can improve symptoms of children with autism has not been demonstrated. Eliminating gluten and casein from their diet does not produce any impact on behavior, sleep quality or bowel functions. The finding, which is the most comprehensive so far, will be presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Philadelphia (USA).

About one in every 110 U.S. children  has ASD, which include classic autism and Asperger syndrome and other forms marked by difficulties in social interaction and communication.

The diet of autism has become based on the popular theory that some children have insufficient enzyme activity in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in incomplete digestion of casein, a protein found in milk and other dairy products and gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and other grains. The use of so-called autism diet has become popular, with up to 27% of parents reporting their use and anecdotal reports praising. In the small group of children studied, “we have not seen a demonstrable improvement,” says study researcher Susan Hyman, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY.

The study was done on children who participated in at least 10 hours a week of intensive early intervention designed to make the group’s behavior as similar as possible. Children were placed on a strict gluten-free, casein-free diet. The method does not seem to improve the neurodevelopmental disorders symptoms.

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Word on the street is that Red Dead Redemption is banned in the UAE (qjnet/rumors/red-dead-redemption-banned-in-uae.html). Word from another, more specific street has it that the United Arab Emirates is not the only country scorning the game.

South Korea formally accused North Korea yesterday of torpedoing the Cheonan, after two months of pussyfoot investigations and diplomacy.

North Korea responded with more denials and counter-accusations (e.g. blaming the attack on friendly fire from the US) and this time threatened that “any retaliation would lead to an all-out war,” according to Global Times.

Kim Jong-il is playing this poker hand ruthlessly. His adversary Lee Myung-bak has already announced that retaliations would be limited to a ban on imports of sand and fish and would involve no military action.

Now war seems unlikely and sanctions may be off the table. What that means is that South Korea has a parasite problem.

Here’s What You Need To Know About The South Korea Economy >

Join the conversation about this story »

Filed under: Coupe, Opel, Vauxhall, Rumormill

As CAR magazine tells it, Opel (and Vauxhall) Calibra might be in line for a successor based on the Opel Insignia, better known as the Buick Regal in North America. Said to be operating under the project name New Calibra for the moment, there is much to be acquired and decided before such a couple has any chance of becoming a reality, but Calibra fans should at least be heartened by the discussion.

One of the first decisions would be to figure out if the car is really a new Calibra or better thought of as an Insignia Coupe. The Insignia is more than 13 inches longer than the last Calibra (which ended production in 1997), and as a proper four-seater, a two-door Insignia would probably appeal to a very different crowd than the Calibra. The Insignia is already offered in sedan, liftback and wagon formats.

Then there’s the matter of money: it’s said that Opel/Vauxhall would need to sell 30,000 every year before making money on the cars. With fewer in-house avenues for platform sharing, General Motors’ financial situation still requiring babysitting, and Opel probably about to be refused a loan from the German government, throwing another coupe into the mix might not be the go-to strategy. That said, leveraging the cost of such an endeavor while helping to augment Buick’s increasingly youthful image with a Regal coupe might not be such a bad move, right?

[Source: CAR]

Vauxhall Calibra coupe successor mooted – could a Buick follow? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The UAW was informed by General Motors Co. that union employees will no longer be paid to leave the company, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Officials who attended a recent meeting with UAW leaders told the paper that the company doesn’t intend to use such a program. Notably, GM has used up billions of dollars to urge the workers to quit. The WSJ reported that the UAW has been encouraging GM to mull another set of buyouts and retirement incentives that are comparable to programs that have pushed 66,000 hourly workers to leave since 2006. GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said that aside from launching a new buyout program, GM will use flexibility permitted under its UAW contract to adjust the volume of its manpower. GM has the ability to freely transfer workers from plant to plant as well as to hire temporary labor for short-term needs.

[via autonews – sub. required]

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots

Noted free marketer Larry Kudlow is now on record demanding European leaders straight-up guarantee all sovereign bank debt now.

Others are talking about a new Plaza Accord so that global governments can systematically step in to help the euro, and devalue their own currencies against it.

Whatever it is, the market is pushing European leaders to the test again today, a day ahead of the weekend.

So do we get some great meeting of the minds this weekend?

Use the comments to share your thoughts.

Join the conversation about this story »

The Infiniti Essence concept was one of the most dramatic show cars to come from the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, and it looks as though the radical two-door’s styling will be making the transition to production car.

According to Autocar, Infiniti will style its next-generation G37 Coupe after the Essence show car. Inside sources say a “sizeable” amount of the Essence’s design will make it into the next G Coupe, including the concept’s bold wheel arches and crisp lines.

The Essence was powered by a twin-turbo 3.7L V6 mated to a hybrid drivetrain — developing a very un-hybrid like 590 horsepower — but that configuration will likely be toned down for the next G37. Instead, expect a hybrid system derived from the unit earmarked for the M35 hybrid. The means the G Coupe will likely come packing a 3.5L V6 and an electric motor generating a total of 360 horsepower.

A diesel-hybrid is also said to be under consideration, but the idea is quickly losing favor. The United States in Infiniti’s largest market and has proven to be largely opposed to diesel-powered vehicles. Still, the idea could gain traction for the European market.

References
1. ‘Infiniti Essence to…’ view

   

Source: Leftlane

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Hybrid, Europe, Porsche, Racing

Porsche made an impressive showing at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring this year with its 911 GT3 R Hybrid. But don’t think for even one power-boosted second that its hybrid initiative was a one-time affair for the Stuttgart-based automaker. Not, at least, if the latest reports from Germany prove accurate.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, mere days after the conclusion of this year’s race, Porsche is already preparing to campaign a competition-spec version of the 918 Spyder at the Ring next year. The 918 Spyder concept debuted just a few months ago at the Geneva Motor Show to rave reviews. Derived from the same program that gave birth to the 917, 911 GT1 and RS Spyder, the 918 Spyder packs 718 horsepower of combined output, 90 miles per gallon and a simulated Nordschleife lap time of 7:30, making it an ideal machine to contest the grueling endurance race. We’ll just have to wait a year to find out whether it lives up to its promise or falls victim to arch-rival BMW.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport (translated)]

Report: Porsche 918 Spyder to contest 2011 Nürburgring 24 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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