News Inspirasi World

Kim Kardashian Song

2011-03-02T20:56:00.001-08:00

Kim Kardashian Song - The Kim Kardashian song: Go ahead. Find something good to say about it. The New Jersey Nets may have just landed star point guard Deron Williams, but they also have another star associated with the team, and her name is Kim Kardashian.

The girlfriend of Nets forward Kris Humphries, the famous (infamous?) reality TV show star released her debut single on the airwaves recently, titled Jam.

For starters, It's been autotuned so severely that it may have turned Kardashian's actual vocals inside out and back again. Yet she still sounds off key.

For another thing, its lyrics appear to have been penned by a third grader who is writing a short story about what adults do when they go clubbing.

Also, It makes Ke$ha sound like the Bob Dylan of party pop.

Look, I could do this all day. And apparently so could everyone on the Internet, since the song has been blasted online since it made its debut Wednesday on Ryan Seacrest's radio show.

Shahbaz Bhatti

2011-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Shahbaz Bhatti Pakistan minister Shahbaz Bhatti shot dead in Islamabad

Shahbaz Bhatti a Christian critic of Pakistan's blasphemy laws killed by assassins who left leaflets signed 'Taliban al Qaida'

Self described Taliban gunmen have shot dead Pakistan's minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, an advocate of reform of the country's blasphemy laws, as he left his Islamabad home.

Two assassins sprayed the Christian minister's car with gunfire, striking him at least eight times, before scattering pamphlets that described him as a "Christian infidel". The leaflets were signed "Taliban al Qaida Punjab".

Dismayed human rights activists said it was another sign of rising intolerance at hands of violent extremists. "I am sad and upset but not surprised," said the veteran campaigner Tahira Abdullah outside Bhatti's house. "These people have a long list of targets.

Florida wildfire closes portion of I-95

2011-03-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

Florida wildfire closes portion of I-95 Firefighters battling a central Florida blaze were scrambling Wednesday to get ahead of gusty winds that could hamper efforts to battle the fire, which has burned more than 16,000 acres and closed a stretch of Interstate 95 Wednesday.

The fire, which began Monday in northern Brevard and southern Volusia counties, has destroyed a mobile home, several outbuildings and several camp structures, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said.

More than 150 personnel have been deployed to help fight the blaze, called the Iron Horse Fire, according to the Florida Division of Forestry.

The fire is 25% contained, said Cliff Frazier, a wildfire mitigation specialist with the Florida Division of Forestry, and has burned 16,144 acres.

Firefighters were making progress on a second blaze that has burned close to 2,000 acres in St. Johns County, south of State Road 206 on Interstate 95 below St. Augustine, officials said.

Kimberley Prosser of the Brevard County Fire Department said the agency sent two emergency strike teams as a precaution to two communities near the fire, Lake Harney Woods in Volusia County and Blountes Ridge in Brevard County.

A voluntary evacuation in the city of Mims was lifted Tuesday evening and shelters were closed, according to the Brevard County Office of Emergency Management. The agency reported a Brevard firefighter suffered second-degree burns to the face.

The cause of both fires is not yet known.

Kevin O'Brien blazed the fastest century in Cricket World Cup history as Ireland pulled off an astonishing victory ove

2011-03-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Kevin O'Brien blazed the fastest century in Cricket World Cup history as Ireland pulled off an astonishing victory over England in Bangalore.

Ireland won with five balls to spare as they finished on 329 for seven after England, who had made 327 for eight, had been cruising when they reduced non test playing Ireland to 111 for five.

He smashed 113 off 63 balls as Ireland recovered from 111-5 to overhaul their target of 328 with five balls to spare and three wickets in hand. Earlier, fifties from Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell had driven England to an imposing 327-8. But O'Brien's stunning assault powered Ireland to a famous triumph. That meant he'd obliterated former Australia opener Matthew Hayden's previous fastest World Cup century record off 66 balls against South Africa at St Kitts in 2007.

James Levine

2011-03-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

James Levine James Levine steps down as music director of Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The Phoenix has learned that James Levine will step down as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra tonight.

On Monday, Levine withdrew from the remainder of his BSO commitments this season two programs at Symphony Hall, including the world premiere this week of a BSO commissioned violin concerto by British composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and an East Coast tour that included dates at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center citing the ill effects from a recent procedure addressing his ongoing back issues, further complicated by a viral infection.

Levine, 67, was named BSO music director designate in October 2001, and took over the orchestra's artistic leadership in 2004. His tenure has been marked by artistic brilliance and critical acclaim when he was on the podium. Myriad health problems, including a torn rotator cuff suffered in a 2006 on stage fall, 2008 kidney surgery to remove a cancerous cyst, and back surgery, have forced the cancellation of numerous concerts. Last season, he was forced to miss half of the BSO's season, and all of Tanglewood.

Coco Crisp

2011-03-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Coco Crisp Coco Crisp was hauled into jail this morning on suspicion of DUI in Scottsdale, Arizona and was cruising in a vehicle that costs more than $400,000 when the arrest went down.

The statement released by the team: "Coco Crisp was arrested and detained early this morning under the suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was released from the city of Scottsdale jail this morning and arrived at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on time for team pregame drills. The A's are aware of the situation and take such matters seriously. The team and Coco will have no further comment until further details are available."

In his first season with the A's in 2010, Crisp hit .279 with a .342 on-base percentage, eight homers, 38 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. He is a career .277 hitter in his nine major league seasons. Crisp is eligible for free agency following the 2011 season.

Brooke Mueller & Charlie Sheen

2011-03-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Brooke Mueller & Charlie Sheen Charlie Sheen just can’t stop talking, can he? Over the weekend, he invited cameras into his home and introduced them to his two “goddesses” a porn star named “Rach” and a model named “Natty” the two women who are living in his home, which Sheen has now fittingly dubbed the “Sober Valley Lodge.”

Charlie swears. “These women don’t judge me. They don’t lead with opinion. They don’t they don’t they don’t lead with their own needs all the time,” he explained. “Maybe the three of us will get married. I don’t know. It’s a polygamy story. It’s a polygamy story. All my guy friends are gonna like throw tomatoes at me. It’s like an organic union of the hearts.”

Did Charlie Sheen Threathen to Cut Off Brooke Muellers Head?

Charlie Sheen is all sorts of crazy. He’s a tiger blooded, Adonis DNA possessing, frickin’ rockstar from Mars. And with those characteristics apparently also bring along with it a quite a temper, and a violent one at that.

He has a history of alleged domestic violence and several women have spoken out about his physical abuse and threats. And these situations aren’t just from his past drug fueled days. His estranged wife Brooke Mueller has claimed that Charlie threathened to cut off her head! A threat that led to the Charlie Sheen’s children being taken from his home on Tuesday night.

But there is some speculation that Brooke made these claims in order to get a restraining order to get her twins back. Charlie Sheen said her claim was “colorful” and that he did not say that he would cut off her head. She said that Charlie had said he was not going to return their boys to her. This was her way to get them back, my filing for a restraining order. And it’s a move that took Sheen by surprise.

Serena Williams

2011-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

Serena Williams Tennis star Serena Williams underwent emergency treatment for a blood clot in her lungs on Monday, and was recovering Wednesday at Cedars Hospital in Los Angeles, according to People Magazine.

Nicole Chabot, a Williams spokeswoman, said the 29-year-old tennis champion “underwent emergency treatment for a hematoma suffered as a result of treatment for a more critical situation. Last week, Serena suffered from a pulmonary embolism which was discovered upon her return to L.A. She had been in New York for doctor appointments for the ongoing issues with her foot.

Williams has not played a match since winning Wimbledon last July 3. She said she cut her right foot on glass at a restaurant in Germany in the days after Wimbledon, and has since had complications related to the injury and two surgeries one in July and one in October

Serena Williams, the former world no.1 American player, who was out of action due to an foot injury is aiming for a return in the French Open 2011 which is scheduled to be held later in the month of May. Williams, 29, hasn’t played a WTA Tour match since winning Wimbledon last July, and her ranking has dropped to No. 11.

Serena Williams had her walking boot taken off in the past few weeks and hopes to be back on the practice court soon. She has already been withdrawn from the Nike Clash of Champions exhibition which is being held at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oreland on March 8, 2011.

If Serena Williams, who is presently ranked No. 11, might not get into action until Roland Garros, she will be seeing her ranking drop somewhere out of the top 17, as she is shielding points at Rome and Madrid.

She was hoping to return to training in recent weeks, and remains on the entry list for the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, set for March 22 to April 3, but tournament director Adam Barrett said he doesn’t expect her to play.

Apple expected to announce release date of iPad 2

2011-03-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

Apple expected to announce release date of iPad 2 - Apple is expected to announce the much anticipated iPad 2 Wednesday at 11 a.m. after much speculation about the device’s features and release date.

More than a year after the first iPad was announced, the sequel to Apple’s best seller will reportedly be showcased at an event this morning in San Francisco.US retailer Best Buy has reportedly deleted the original iPad from its retail inventory, suggesting that the second gen version will hit shops immediately after it's announced, which has happened previously.

The new iPad is expected to have the same 9.7 inch screen as its predecessor, which sold nearly 15 million copies, but the device will likely feature faster processor speeds.

It is also rumored that Apple will replace the aluminum backing of the first iPad with a lighter carbon fiber casing and lighter profile, significantly faster processors, a nice bump in "memory" (referring to RAM, we assume) and have a "powerful graphics processor", along with a rear camera for photos and a front facing camera for FaceTime.

The iPad 2 – What to expect

Slimmer than original
Higher resolution display
Front and back-facing cameras for Facetime video chats
Lighter than first iPad
9.7 inch screen

Bank of America Online

2011-03-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

Bank of America Online - The Bank of America website was down for nearly an hour on Tuesday morning and is still experiencing problems.

The site, where customers can conduct banking functions, was first down around 9 am Tuesday. The bank's Twitter account had many messages about the problems.

The web site was back up around 10:20 am, but was down again around 11:15 am. and there was a message on the site about an outage.

This recent outage is just 6 weeks after a severe problem hit the website on Jan. 14. Then, the site was down for nearly the entire day and sparked coverage from CNN and the Wall Street Journal.

Customers were also upset in the January outage and there was a torrent of Tweets and comments from customers about the issue.

On Tuesday, the bank acknowledged the issue on the site and responded to various customers on their Twitter "help" page.

The bank said that Merrill Lynch accounts would likely not be affected. They also sent users to a list of Bank of America branch locations.

Donbot botnet generates Bank of America phishing scam
A threat analyst with M86 Security claims that, whilst phishing attacks against bank customers are nothing new, his research team has observed the Donbot botnet generating volumes of spam against Bank of America online account users.

This is one of the first observed cases where a botnet has been used to generate dynamic bank account phishing spam, Infosecurity notes, as whilst low-level botnets have been used to generate so-called pharma spam, the addition of financial scamming to the mix is a new move.

According to Rodel Mendrez, the phishing spam requires recipients to download the attachment and fill out a form for an 'online security measure.'

In the email sample shown in his security blog, Mendrez notes that the attachment - BillingVerification.exe - is a self-extracting WINRAR archive that contains an HTML phishing form.

The M86 Security researcher went on to say that a couple of files on the server contained sensitive information, such as IP addresses, credit card info, social security numbers, challenge questions & answers, online banking IDs and the passwords of those who had been deceived by this phishing campaign.

Ihop Locations

2011-03-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Ihop Locations - Today is National Pancake Day at IHOP locations in West Chester Twp., Springdale and Forest Park. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., diners will receive a free short stack of pancakes and in return will be asked to consider donating to the Children’s Miracle Network, according to the restaurant chain. Donations will benefit Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said Jennifer Pendergrass, an IHOP spokeswoman.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has a location in Liberty Twp.

Customers visiting IHOP locations today in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen and Watertown receive a complimentary short stack of pancakes with a donation to the Children's Miracle Network Hospital benefiting Sanford Children's Hospitals.

Participating restaurants include 3308 E. 10th St. and 4510 W. 41st St. in Sioux Falls, 2402 Sixth Ave. S.E. in Aberdeen and 3313 Ninth Ave. S.E. in Watertown.

National Pancake Day is celebrated at participating IHOPs across the country. The goal is to raise more than $2.3 million this year for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Christina Aguilera & Matt Rutler’s Arrest

2011-03-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

Christina Aguilera & Matt Rutler’s Arrest They were released from custody this morning, and Christina Aguilera and Matt Rutler had quite an evening together.

According to a report, the “Genie in a Bottle” songstress was “severely intoxicated” when the LAPD pulled over the car she was riding in around 2:45am this morning. Rutler was the driver.

The police report stated that Christina “was not able to care for her safety and no one was available to ensure her safety... so she was taken into custody.”

"She (Aguilera) was not involved in any criminal activity and will be released when she can safely care for herself,” the report added.

Seussville: Getting Ready For Dr. Suess’ Birthday!

2011-03-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Seussville: Getting Ready For Dr. Suess’ Birthday! - One of the most beloved child authors would be 107 this Wednesday. March 2nd is a great day for many people who were fans of the great Dr. Suess. The biggest celebration is of course going to be in Suessville.

Seussville has already announced a plethora of activities aimed at celebrating our multi-colored, and faceted friend too.

There is plenty of fun to be had at the site but it is taking a little time to load since there are so many people going to the site. No matter what you are looking for you can find out a lot of different fun and facts. There are even games that you can play on Suessville.

Why not take a little time to play with your kids on the site? They are sure to have fun and it’s free so why not!? There is plenty of rhyming, simplicity and fun just like Dr. Suess would have wanted it. I know he would have loved the Seuessville website.

First Day of Spring 2011

2011-03-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

The official first day of spring 2011 is March 20th. Also known as the Vernal Equinox. And once spring hits, soon to follow will be endless days of bright yellow sunshine, tall glasses of iced tea, sun dresses, frolicking in the park, birds chirping, Farmer’s Markets, blossoms blooming in all shades of pink.

Favorite Spring Jackets

Favorite Spring Shirt

Happy birthday, Dr. Suess

2011-03-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday, Dr. Suess - Children and parents are invited to join the Apache County Library District during the month of March as they celebrate Read Across America and Dr. Seuss' 107th birthday.

Dr. Seuss, whose birthday is celebrated on March 2, is a name that rings a tone of recognition for people across the world. His fanciful depictions of imaginative worlds have endeared his works to millions of children; many of his works have been adapted widely in both television and motion pictures, and bookstores still devote considerable shelf space to his works. Though now well-known for books such as "Horton Hears a Who!" and "The Cat in the Hat," Dr. Seuss was not always recognized for his contributions to children's literature, though that's certainly where his greatest influence lies.

The celebration begins Wednesday, March 2, during story times at the Round Valley and St. Johns Public libraries and continue throughout the month at other locations. Check with your local Apache County Library for days and times of celebrations. There will be games, puzzles, coloring pages, books, and a special visit by a surprise guest.

Jane Russell

2011-03-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Sexy Screen Legend Jane Russell Dies at 89 - Facts about Hollywood actress Jane Russell, who died at her home in Santa Maria, California, on Monday, aged 89.

Known for her voluptuous hourglass figure, the brunette beauty became a pinup queen and movie star in the mold of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and other icons but managed to avoid any major upheaval or scandal in her personal life.

Russell's vampy breakout role was in the 1943 Western The Outlaw, directed by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. WWI soldiers were huge fans of the busty brunette, who wore low-cut costumes and swimsuits in countless photos.

Other Russell hits included comedy western The Paleface ( 1948 ) with Bob Hope, Double Dynamite with Frank Sinatra, and Gentleman Prefer Blondes, a musical in which she went toe to toe ( and sang ) with Monroe. ( Russell also starred in 1955 sequel, Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, without the world famous blond ).

* Howard Hughes discovered Russell when she was participating in theatrical workshops in Hollywood. The billionaire quickly cast her in his 1943 film "The Outlaw," the story of Old West outlaw Billy the Kid.

* Russell became notorious even before "The Outlaw" was released due to her sexy pose in a low-cut blouse in promotional pictures for the movie. While the film was tame by contemporary standards, Hollywood and state censors held up its release for almost three years. The issue ended up in court, with one judge saying Russell's breasts "hung over the picture like a thunderstorm over a landscape. They were everywhere."

* After an abortion at age 18, Russell was unable to have children. She and first husband Bob Waterfield later adopted three children and in the 1950s she founded the World Adoption International Fund, known as WAIF.

* Russell, whose sexpot image conflicted with her Christian faith, helped start the Hollywood Christian Group, a Bible study class. She was proudest of her work for children's causes.

* In order to play Hughes in the 2004 film "The Aviator," Leonardo DiCaprio spent a day talking with Russell about the mogul.

National Pancake Day 2011

2011-03-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

National Pancake Day 2011 Like your breakfast topped with butter and syrup? If so, you're in for a real treat. National Pancake Day 2011 is being celebrated today at International House of Pancakes (IHOP) locations all over the country. The chain is giving away FREE short stacks of pancakes all day today.

The pancake ought to be celebrated. It is a gloriously fattening treat that somehow escaped the dessert menu and wound up as breakfast. Breakfast, of course, is the biggest lie society, the FDA, and whatever co-conspirators you could imagine have going. Ninety-nine percent of breakfast foods are just god awful garbage you really shan’t be pumping into your delicate human system.Pancake Day is also known as Shrove Day, which is the last day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Why pancakes when observing Shrove Day? It's an attempt to cram as much high-fat food in your belly as possible before the fasting of Lent. Techhhhnically, Shrove Day isn't until next Tuesday, but it seems IHOP decided to get a leg up on the holiday today.

Thankfully, IHOP isn't just making it about the food. They're also asking their patrons to make a donation today to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Last year, IHOPs served over 4 million pancakes to mark National Pancake Day and raised more than $2.1 million for children's charities.

Let’s start with cereal. Anytime you need a cartoon character to market something, whether it’s food or life insurance, it’s evil. If your cereal is not already pure sugar on the way in, your body will process it is such rather swiftly, leaving you bloated and tired.

Starbucks loves this because you’ll buy more coffee. You ever wonder why there is an incredible deficit of protein and vegetables at Starbucks, yet an unlimited supply of “breakfast” foods like muffins, bear claws, bagels, croissants, and donuts? They supply you with the refined sugar crash and the pick-me-up. Maybe the most successful companies really do think like drug dealers?

Of muffins, bagels, donuts, et al, the swiftest, tastiest health-destroyer is the pancake. Here are two good rules of thumb:
1) The word “cream” is synonymous with early death
2) If you’re eating something that is shaped like a circle, it is bad for you.

Ides of March filming on Miami University campus

2011-03-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

Ides of March filming on Miami University campus Actor George Clooney and film crew shifted venues today to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio to continue shooting for the new movie “Ides of March.” It is finals week on the Miami campus, but many students are taking a break to be a part of the filming for Clooney’s new movie. Publicist, Tracy Schaefer said the production liked the brick buildings and their architecture, which is reminiscent of a classic New England, Ivy league school.

Security is now at full force while the crew starts to shoot the film in front of the Farmer School of Business on the campus in Oxford. According to Middletown Journal, about 50 people gathered outside the school this morning to watch. Actor Ryan Gosling was also spotted around the set.

he school was transformed Monday from an institution of higher learning to a Hollywood set as crews prepared for this week’s filming. Students lounged in the stairwells outside the building’s two-story atrium, normally an area set up as a lounge, where workers had removed the couches, tables and the grand piano to set up rows of tables covered in gray, reported Dayton Daily News.

Northern Rock to offer 90% mortgages

2011-02-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Northern Rock to offer 90% mortgagesNorthern Rock, the bank nationalised during the credit crisis, is preparing to launch a series of mortgages that offer up to 90 percent of a property's value.

Nationalised lender Northern Rock is poised to launch mortgages that require just a 10% deposit or 90% loan to value as lenders become more willing to take on extra risk.

Higher loan to value mortgages are riskier because they rely on a buoyant housing market because there is less equity there is less cash to defend from a fall in house prices. This is particularly relevant today as property prices are facing downard pressure. However, such mortgages are also more profitable.

Northern Rock has been considering the move since 2009, when it was allowed to resume lending following its nationalisation in February 2008, and will make limited funds available for such deals. Even with lenders resuming these types of loans, the number of products is down 75% from precrisis levels.

Options for Northern Rock include a sale, stock market flotation or "remutualisation" turning Northern Rock into a company owned by its customers, such as UK loans and savings group Nationwide.

Analysts consider that an eventual sale of Northern Rock is the most likely outcome for the business. Virgin Money, supermarket retailer Tesco's (TSCO.L) banking arm and private equity firm JC Flowers have been cited as possible acquirers.

HSBC

2011-02-28T01:42:00.000-08:00

HSBC HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, has reported pre-tax profits of $19bn (£11.8bn) for 2010, more than double the $7.1bn figure for 2009.

HSBC said it has been profitable in every customer group and region for first time since 2006.Unlike rival banks Lloyds and RBS, HSBC survived the financial crisis without receiving direct government support.

HSBC did cut its return on equity target, a measure of profitability, citing tougher capital requirement regulations.Earlier in February rival banking group Barclays reported pre-tax profits of £6.07bn for 2010.

Remember the Tracey Thurman Story?

2011-02-25T03:21:00.000-08:00

Remember the Tracey Thurman Story? Tracey Thurman is known as a Connecticut housewife who suffered domestic violence done by her husband, Charles Buck Thurman. The dreadful abuse came to a climax in one bloody night when Buck Thurman stabbed Tracey 13 times. Buck was then arrested, and Tracey could be saved by doctors.

Tracey Thurman was the inspiration of Thurman Law which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. Thurman Law was resulted from Tracey’s effort when she sued police officers as she failed to get proper protection from the local police force in 1989. A film inspired by Tracey Thurman story was made in 1989, directed by Robert Markowitz.

Raremovies.yolasite.com Click this link to Download the complete A Cry For Help movie.

Plot Summary

Tracy Thurman was married to a man who abused her. But he continues to harass her after she gets a restraining order, and the police do little to help. When he brutally beats her and slashes her throat in front of police, she sues the city and the police department for failing to protect her.

Ministers "too cosy with the alcohol trade as doctors warn extra 250,000 lives are at risk from liver disease"

2011-02-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

Ministers "too cosy with the alcohol trade as doctors warn extra 250,000 lives are at risk from liver disease" -

A group of leading doctors will today brand ministers’ strategy for tackling Britain’s booze culture ‘inconsequential’ and blame ministers for being ‘too close’ to the drinks industry. The liver disease specialists claim up to 250,000 extra lives could be lost in the next 20 years if the Government fails to introduce proper minimum pricing for alcohol.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, past president of the Royal College of Physicians; Nick Sheron, from the University of Southampton; and Chris Hawkey, of the Queen’s Medical Centre, University Hospital, Nottingham, are launching their attack in The Lancet journal. They argue that while stores such as Asda and Tesco are part of Health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s Responsibility Deal Board that is supposed to tackle the issue, UK drinks producers and retailers are ‘reliant on people risking their health to provide profits’. Ministers aim to tackle Britain’s chronic booze culture by banning the sale of alcohol below cost price and increasing duty on high-strength beer.

Professor Gilmore says the plans are ‘inconsequential because of the tiny fraction of sales that fall into either category’. A survey last week found that this minimum price scheme would have affected just one out of 3,600 alcohol offers currently in shops. Under the Government’s plans, a drinker would typically end up paying just over 20p per unit for lager and wine.

But experts are calling for a minimum price of 50p a unit – which would cause a significant dent in alcohol sales. Using figures from the Office for National Statistics, the doctors predict that over the next 20 years between 160,000 and 250,000 extra lives could be lost in England and Wales if the Government fails to act.

Skyrim

2011-02-24T09:44:00.001-08:00

Skyrim - Bethesda is turning the lights down low and playing some Barry White in hopes that Elder Scrolls fans will get to making little Elder Scrolls fans.

With camera swoops and thespian flourish, Bethesda's new Skyrim trailer gives us just what we needed no more of: A whole lotta snow.

Look past that and you'll notice some pretty spectacular reveals. There's the part where the camera's flying over a bunch of pine trees. Yeah, I know that's what dragons do, but how about dragon riding? Just because Bethesda's cautioned not to count on saddling one of these fire-breathing lizards doesn't mean it's off limits to modders, does it?

There's the part where someone's running (you can run in Skyrim, who knew?) and the part where you're sneaking up on a deer. Someone cuts someone else's throat near a fire pit, while another stabs downward in what appears to be one of the battle system's impressive new finishing moves. A bluish orb sparks from a staff, and someone punches the ground Neo style and detonates a fire wave. Cut to bowstrings, incantations, more finishing moves, blood spatter it's a crazy feature-tease smorgasbord. All of that's intercut with scenes of the dragon-born (that'll be you) pounding on a giant hook-winged reptile.

How about that choir half singing, half shouting Oblivion's theme song? You want to dress something up, just add voices. It's cliché because it works.

And cue finish, peeking over the craggy spine of some mountain range, pulling up and over some of the prettiest scenery I've ever seen in a game.

Justin tennison time bandit

2011-02-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

King County Metro

2011-02-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

King County Metro - As Seattle braced for a possible snowstorm Wednesday, transportation officials were asking commuters and transit riders to be prepared and to check on the latest conditions before embarking.

Buses in most parts of King County were expected to be running normal routes Wednesday morning with no chains. But buses could switch to limited snow routes if temperatures drop during the day, which they’re expected to do.

Weather forecasters are predicting cold temperatures and snow will increase during the day on Wednesday. King County Metro Transit advises bus riders to plan ahead for rapidly changing travel conditions on Wednesday, and into Thursday.

Wednesday’s snowfall may start out light in some areas, but transit users should plan ahead for bus trips that could be disrupted, delayed, and on snow routing. Even though weather in the morning may not be bad in your area, you should leave from a bus stop or park-and-ride that also has service when buses are on snow routes in case travel conditions deteriorate by the afternoon commute.

At 4 a.m., SDOT plans to deploy 10 plows in North Seattle and eight plows in South Seattle, the agency said in a news release. At 9 a.m., SDOT will shift to a 24-hour snow response plan, deploying 30 trucks with plows in trouble spots. SDOT also start pre-treating streets Tuesday with salt brine.

Wednesday’s forecast could create challenges for all vehicles, especially if the snow begins to fall during the afternoon commute. Other areas, particularly in the Snohomish-King County convergence zone area, could see snow in the morning. Bus operations could change rapidly depending on traffic and travel conditions.

Here are some tips for bus travel this week:

-. Know the snow routing for your bus route. Check the timetables at Metro Online for snow route maps for each route. Not every bus route has snow routing, but most do;

-. When buses are on snow routing, some streets and bus stops may be missed and there are often delays due to travel conditions. There is new snow routing in many areas that is different from past years, so be sure to check the snow routes for all the routes you use most often;

-. If you haven’t already, sign up for Transit Alerts to keep up with any major changes to bus service. The alerts can be received as email or text messages. Go to www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow to subscribe;

-. Metro is using a new online color-coded map to keep riders informed of the status of its bus service, which can be found online at: www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow. All bus routes are assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County. When there is snow or ice on the roads, the service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on the online map. Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes; yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas); and red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing;

-. People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account;

-. Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office;

-. Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather;

-. Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park and ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and

-. Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.