WordPress.com parent company Automattic has acquired Simperium, the startup that runs a data syncing platform and is also well-known for Simplenote, the personal note-keeping app that's been described as "a lightweight version of Evernote."Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/_wVygnQKFUk/
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Customers take photos while waiting on line to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 outside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale in September 2012
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.
On Wednesday afternoon, Apple announced that during the last three months of 2012, it earned more money than any other non-oil company has ever earned in a single quarter. (Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, and ExxonMobil have each topped Apple?s earnings one time.) What?s more, during all of 2012, Apple?s profits topped $41.7 billion, which is also a record for any firm outside the oil industry. (ExxonMobil earned a few billion more in 2006, 2007, and 2008.)
The superlatives didn?t end there. Apple sold nearly 48 million iPhones over the holidays. It didn?t specify how many of them were iPhone 5s, but it?s likely that most were the latest model, which would also be a record for the smartphone business?the iPhone 5?s closest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy SIII, took seven months to sell just 40 million units. Then there?s the iPad: Apple sold 23 million in three months, which is about 50 percent more than it sold during the holidays last year, and also a record. No other company has ever come close to selling as many tablets in so short a time.
To sum up, the world?s most valuable company posted one of the most stunning quarterly earnings reports in corporate history. Sales of its most important products were through the roof. So investors were thrilled, right? Nope. Apple?s stock began to swoon in after-hours trading, and today it?s down 12 percent. Commentators are saying that Apple has ?hit a wall,? that it is ?slowing down,? that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of Apple?s ?magic.?
All of that is totally bogus. It?s wrong in the specifics?if you dive into the details of Apple?s quarter, it?s hard to find a single sign that consumers are sick of its products?and it?s wrong with regard to the larger storyline. Rather than paint a picture of a company in decline, Apple?s earnings in 2012 show just the opposite. In a year of stiff competition, Apple managed to do something that none of its rivals could: make tons and tons of money by selling lots and lots of products at premium prices.
If I headed up any of Apple?s competitors, I would look at its quarterly earnings with a mix of dejection and awe. In 2012, Samsung, Apple?s most worthy rival, released dozens of phones across a range of prices and screen sizes, and it spent an order of magnitude more on marketing those devices. Even so, its flagship phone couldn?t even come close to outselling the iPhone, and its overall corporate profits didn?t match what Apple made from the iPhone alone. Apple?s dominance of the tablet business is even starker. This year several of Apple?s rivals put out great iPad competitors like the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD that are selling at cost. And yet not only did iPad sales grow, they grew faster than the industry average. In other words, Apple?s rivals threw everything they could at the firm and still couldn?t dent its sales records. If that?s hitting a wall, every one of Apple?s rivals wishes it were lucky enough to hit that wall, too.
If Apple did so well, why is Wall Street shellacking it? There are a few small problems and one big worry. First, Apple didn?t sell as many products as Wall Street analysts had predicted. Analysts expected 50 million iPhone sales and 5 million Mac sales?about 2 million phones and 1 million Macs more than Apple reported selling. Second, its growth rate is slowing, especially its growth in profits. In the holiday quarter between 2010 and 2011, Apple?s profits almost doubled, and between 2011 and 2012 profits more than doubled. In the last year, though, profits were basically flat?yes, they were flat at near-record levels, but flat is flat. And that gets us to problem No. 3: Apple?s profitability is declining?for every dollar in sales during the holidays in 2012, Apple made less than it did during the holidays in 2011.
None of those problems, though, justifies the stock slide we?ve seen today. Let?s look at the small shortfall in sales: As CEO Tim Cook explained in a conference call with investors on Wednesday, one of the main reasons that Apple didn?t sell more iPhones, iPads, and Macs during the holidays is that it couldn?t make them fast enough. Throughout the holidays, supplies of the iPhone 5, iPhone 4, iPad Mini, and the company?s latest iMac were extremely tight. You couldn?t just go into a store and buy Apple?s newest products (as you could for any other phone, tablet, or PC on the market)?instead, the only way to get one was to order it days or weeks in advance of delivery.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=95d99615ed40249ffcd33227cd282f80
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Paul Bhatti (R) speaks as Irish journalist John Waters looks on. Photo by Nicholas Erickson, Courtesy of New York Encounter.
.- Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's Minister of Minority Affairs, called religious liberty a Christian value that can enhance life in the country and impart stability to society at large.
?With religious freedom societies are more likely to flourish, because people can express their deepest belief and highest ideas, so societies are more stable,? he said in a Jan. 19 interview with CNA.
?It's the wrong concept that religious freedom leads to instability, but actually it leads to more public order and more economic empowerment, so this is the Christian teaching.?
Christianity can also offer to Pakistani culture its emphasis on compassion and the works of mercy, Bhatti observed.
?John Paul II said that Christian teaching...should be some kind of assistance to the human being. We don't assist only (one) who is Christian, we have to assist a human being who is suffering, who needs your help, who should be honored and respected for his dignity, for this is the teaching of Christianity.?
?So if we follow the teaching of our Gospels, that will bring...the real message of freedom,? he noted.
Bhatti made his remarks at the New York Encounter, a three-day cultural festival in the city ? sponsored by the Catholic ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation ? which explored the theme of ?Experiencing Freedom.?
He discussed ?Freedom in Politics,? reflecting on his brother Shahbaz who was killed in 2011 for his support of Pakistani Christians and his opposition to the country's blasphemy laws, which are chiefly used to persecute non-Muslims.
After Shahbaz' death, Paul was appointed to his brother's post as Minister of National Harmony and Minority Affairs, again the only Christian in the Pakistani government. He said it was a ?challenge? to take on this position.
?I found myself in a situation, though it was very difficult to accept it, because before I was living a very routine, normal life,? he said. As minister of minority affairs Bhatti at times must travel with a security entourage and suffers threats to his life.
?But next to that, if you feel you can make some difference and change this culture or at least give your small contribution to this culture, which can grow and can extend on a wider basis in society, I think I must dedicate my life for this.?
He offered a hopeful vision for Pakistan, saying ?this is the encouragement I get from this kind of situation, and I feel there is space for change, there is a possibility that this culture can become a tolerant culture, we can bring harmony in this society, but we have to start from somewhere.?
On the current movement to have his brother Shahbaz canonized, Bhatti said he has ?no doubt he is a martyr, because his whole life was dedicated to the teaching of the bible and he was a strong believer of Our Lord Jesus Christ...we are getting help from him.?
?He never negotiated his faith, and he expressed his faith openly everywhere, even when he knew he could be killed. So in that context, I think he has all the possibilities? of being a saint, Bhatti said.
The Pakistani minister recounted going into his brother's room after his martyrdom and described it as ?very small? with ?a corner where he used to pray every morning, and there was only a simple carpet, a rosary, a statue, and a bible.?
?He believed so strongly that he laid down his life for his Christian principles and for Jesus Christ.?
Bhatti said his experience of freedom has been shaped by having lived in both Pakistan and in the western world. He is by training a surgeon, and studied in both Belgium and Italy.
?You appreciate the value of freedom when you see a country like Pakistan where freedom of expression and faith is violated, and people are living under oppression, so then you start realizing the value of freedom, what freedom means.?
He said it is important to promote freedom in Pakistan because without it, people can get involved in such problems as terrorism and sectarian violence.
Bhatti pointed to illiteracy and poverty, as well as ?instability in government and politics? as factors which contribute to a lack of freedom in such places as Pakistan.
?What I can do now is only the analysis, and the next step will be how to get that real kind of freedom which a human being must have, in a society where it is violated.?
In Pakistan, these violations come often from blasphemy laws, which strictly prohibit defamation of Muhammad and the Koran. The laws are often used to settle personal scores or to persecute minorities.
Bhatti was able to assist a Christian girl who in August was accused of blasphemy. Rimsha Masih is a 14-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was arrested Aug. 16 after she was accused of burning pages of the Koran.
It later emerged that an imam from her neighborhood planted pages of the Koran among burnt pages in Masih's bag.
Bhatti said that he was informed of the case soon after by local Christian families, because after such an accusation is made, mob violence will often flare up against minorities in the neighborhood.
?They had a clash between Muslims and Christians...they were wanting to get them out from that community, and they found this solution, blaming somebody, accusing them of blasphemy; this is a tool often used in Pakistan, some people use it for personal benefit, as it happened in this case.?
Bhatti said that as soon as he was told of the situation, he phoned ?all those involved in security? to ensure protection of Masih and local Christians, but ?they were not sure if they were able to control the mob.?
?I went to the mosques, I talked to the imams,? he said, asking them not to encourage violence against the local Christians.
?They understood and...it was quite amazing, the first time that they promised they would not do this, to support me.?
The Islamabad High Court dismissed the charges against Masih Nov. 20, and on Jan. 15 the Pakistani Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by her accuser.
Many hope that Masih's suit might lead to a relaxation of the blasphemy laws. ?I was lucky, and am honored to be part of this case,? Bhatti reflected.
Tags: Religious freedom, Pakistan
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Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pakistani-official-society-flourishes-with-religious-freedom/
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The sexual assault scandal at Lackland Air Force Base, the subject of a House hearing Wednesday, is prompting the service to grapple with the need for change. Here's an inside look at how the Air Force is going about it.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III (l.) and Air Force Gen. Edward Rice, Jr., testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on sexual misconduct by basic training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
EnlargeIn the days before Congress held Wednesday's hearing on the now-infamous sexual assaults at Lackland Air Force Base, senior Air Force officials and advisers met at the Pentagon to hash out just how to tackle the problem within the ranks.
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Their discussion closely mirrored the questions that lawmakers raised during Wednesday's hearing, including, ?How could there have been such a systematic breakdown of leadership?? and ?Is the US military inadvertently creating an environment more conducive to sexual harassment??
On this point, the Air Force?s highest ranking officer, Gen. Mark Welsh III, was candid about what he sees as the keys to solving the problem.?
?Why, on what was undoubtedly the worst day of a victim?s life, did they not turn to us for help?? he asked.??We are missing something fundamental in human-to-human interaction that will allow them to feel safe enough to come to us and report and let us put our arms around them and help them through this horrible event in your life,? he added in his testimony Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.??That?s at the heart of the problem.??
At Lackland, the Air Force identified 59 victims of sexual assault and misconduct. In a wide-ranging investigation that involved ?at least 7,700 interviews by 550 investigators, the Air Force has begun disciplinary proceedings against 32 instructors, roughly 4 percent of the instructors who have served in basic military training over the past three years.
Combing through the last year of sexual assault statistics, US military officials found a statistic that particularly troubled them: Nearly one-third of victims who agreed to participate in the prosecutions of their alleged offenders changed their minds before the trials, and decided not to cooperate with the prosecution.
On a recent winter day in a classified meeting room deep in the Pentagon, representatives from the Air Force?s education programs, from basic training to ROTC, are trying to pinpoint how to make sure the newest members of the Air Force get the message that leadership actually wants to know if they have been hurt ? and that those preying on their fellow troops will be found and prosecuted with new tools that the force has not used in the past.
?It?s not just ?Don?t sexually assault people.? This is a piece of respect ? how do you weave that in? It?s about how you lead people, how you treat people," says Brig. Gen. Eden Murrie, director of Air Force Services, the meeting leader. ?That?s what we?re doing today. We?re looking at everything. Does it need to be radically changed? Do we just tweak it around the edges??
On dry erase boards and PowerPoint slides around the room are names of programs that the Air Force is using to try to impart the unacceptability of assault and disrespect to its troops.?They run the spectrum from ?Frank: The Undetected Rapist? to ?Street Smarts: You Deserve to be Here? to ?Sex Offenders, Service Members, and You: Leadership Beyond the Obvious.??
Conversation turns to ?hunting season? at the Air Force Academy, the time when underclassmen have completed their first year of schooling and are then allowed to date upperclassmen.?
?That would offer a really good opportunity for conversation: ?What do you think of that term?? Let?s talk about maybe why we don?t want that in our culture anymore,? says Anne Munch, an attorney and sexual assault prevention consultant for the Pentagon.
?That?s a really good idea,? says Murrie.
?And how does this idea coincide with the idea of being a wingman?? adds another meeting attendee. The Air Force has been emphasizing the notion of bystander intervention, the idea that when a fellow airman is being harassed, someone should step in and stop it.
?Or being a leader? You can?t be a hunter on a base, either,? says Murrie. ?How do you recognize the hunters that key in on new people on a base??
A few days later, at the House Armed Services Committee, these same questions came from lawmakers, who recounted stories of new Air Force recruits being directed to meet their trainers in laundry rooms and broom closets, where they were sexually assaulted and raped.
Welsh told lawmakers he is combing through programs to try to figure out what works, and what doesn?t.
He testified that he has asked staff to ?bring in something new? every week. ?Something we haven?t tried, some idea they found somewhere else from a member of Congress, from an advocacy group, from a university or another service that tried something that seemed to work at a certain base or a certain demographic group,? he said.
On Friday, the Air Force announced that it had conducted a sweep of more than 100 installations for pornography and other offensive materials, from videos and calendars to coffee mugs and song lyrics.?
?While these things may or may not directly relate to sexual assault, they certainly do create an environment more conducive to sexual harassment and unprofessional relationships, and I personally believe that both of those are leading indicators for sexual assault,? Walsh said Wednesday.
?We have to do everything possible to prevent this. We can?t accept this,? he added. ?It?s horrible, and we all know that.?
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READING, Pa. (AP) ? Everyone knows soda can be bad for your teeth. Sometimes, it can apparently threaten the morning commute, too.
Police say two tractor-trailers collided on U.S. Route 422 outside Reading, Pa., around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday. The Reading Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/10mYCVv ) one of the trucks was carrying 2-liter bottles of soda.
Hundreds of gallons of sugary drink spilled onto the highway and froze in the frigid early morning temperatures. Those slick conditions from the crash ended up shutting down the roadway in Exeter Township for more than five hours.
Traffic was detoured until the road reopened shortly after 6 a.m.
___
Information from: Reading Eagle, http://www.readingeagle.com/
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is likely to rely mostly on existing rules and on flexing executive power to execute its second-term environmental agenda, sidestepping Congress as it sets about radically reducing greenhouse gases generated by major polluters.
Just a day after President Barack Obama said in his inaugural address that for the United States not to respond to the threat of climate change would "betray our children and future generations," White House spokesman Jay Carney tamped down expectations for bold new moves.
Carney declined to define specific policies, suggesting the White House will expand its current strategy to regulate and reduce carbon emissions.
"The president will build on, when it comes to climate change, the progress that was achieved in his first term," Carney said at a press briefing.
More details on climate initiatives could come out of the president's State of the Union address on February 12.
Environmentalists have judged Obama as too timid in his first term, especially after a congressional stalemate ended legislative efforts.
The White House has pointed to its drafting of emissions standards for the construction of new power plants and, along with the auto industry, setting stringent fuel efficiency standards for new cars.
The United States is undergoing a boom in domestic energy production, from the oilfields of North Dakota to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that has unlocked massive gas reserves in several states. Taking strong environmental steps while still supporting aggressive drilling and exploration will be a balancing act.
Fracking is a mixed blessing, prompting local protests over concerns about possible water pollution but also lowering emissions by displacing coal at power plants.
CLEAN AIR CLOUT
Obama is expected to name an entirely new energy policy team in the next few weeks. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar are departing. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is widely expected to leave soon.
Carol Browner, Obama's former White House climate and energy czar, said whoever steps in for Jackson and the others would be following a "path has already been charted by the president.
"I think it's an agenda that has been set under presidential leadership and I think that will continue," Browner said.
Climate analysts guess that the EPA could soon announce a move to use its authority under the federal Clean Air Act to regulate heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
By April the agency is expected to complete carbon emission standards for building new power plants that would effectively prevent any new coal-fired facilities from being built. Next would come a more controversial effort, setting standards for existing coal-fired plants, which account for 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases. The measure is sure to provoke industry lawsuits.
"The most likely area for the administration to pursue, in light of what the president said, would be using the New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) for existing power plants under the Clean Air Act," said Dina Kruger, a former director of the Climate Change Division at the EPA.
The NSPS is a program under the Clean Air Act that sets a limit on the rate at which a facility can emit using the best available emission controls.
The EPA is required to produce greenhouse gas standards for existing sources following a 2010 settlement with environmental groups and some states. It has not yet set a deadline.
Ed Whitfield, chair of the House subcommittee on energy and environment, told reporters that Republicans would not be able to curb legislatively any rules the EPA proposes.
"The reality is, I doubt the Senate would pass anything we would pass to repeal them," said the Kentucky representative. "I know there have been court challenges already and I expect that there will be more."
Recent court decisions that have touched on the legal basis for the EPA to regulate carbon have mostly come down in its favor.
David Doniger, policy director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate and Clean Air Program, said this could embolden the EPA as it tackles rules that may be more aggressive than those rolled out under Jackson.
"The agency has a very good batting record on the clean air side. Carbon and climate (regulations) have come through completely unscathed," he said.
Green groups and certain states may sue the EPA to force it to regulate carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions from other unregulated sources such as oil refineries and methane released by fracking.
While the agency is used to being sued by both green and industry groups, the number of cases is apt to increase.
"This is shaping up to be four years of litigation," Christopher Guith, vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Energy Institute, told Reuters this month.
Kruger said the EPA would be wise to prioritize just a handful of new rules to tackle as it faces a constrained budget in the coming years.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS AHEAD?
Browner, who was Clinton's EPA administrator, said Obama could use executive orders to direct vast federal agencies to adopt measures that could limit their own energy use, a significant reduction of emissions.
A 2009 executive order required federal agencies to develop and implement sustainable energy plans and review them annually to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy, water and waste.
The Department of Energy has issued 16 new or updated energy efficiency standards for home appliances, commercial buildings and industrial facilities that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 6.5 billion tons - the equivalent of taking 1.4 billion cars off the road for a year - by 2030.
Agencies with heavy carbon footprints, such as the Department of Defense, have launched a number of initiatives, such as buying a fleet of electric vehicles and investing in renewable energy.
But market forces more than regulations could have the biggest impact on carbon emissions in the coming years, with cleaner natural gas from fracking continuing to displace coal as a source of electricity.
"When it comes to carbon, the market has actually done a lot of things that you would hope policy would do. I don't think you need a whole lot of policy to increase gas use (to replace coal) in power generation," said Nikos Tsafos, analyst at PFC Energy in Washington.
(Additional reporting by Tim Gardner, Ayesha Rascoe; editing by Ros Krasny and Prudence Crowther)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-obamas-next-climate-steps-apt-temperate-034002789.html
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined CBS News as a contributor.
CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and president David Rhodes say Rice "will use her insight and vast experience to explore issues facing America at home and abroad."
Rice served as secretary of state during President George W. Bush's second term. She was the first African-American woman to hold the post.
Rice was Bush's national security adviser during his first term and worked on the National Security Council under President George H.W. Bush.
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A young woman wears a green and white bow, the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, in her hair with the initials of the victims names from the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting during an interfaith a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking at the church to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
A young woman wears a green and white bow, the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, in her hair with the initials of the victims names from the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting during an interfaith a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking at the church to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
A child sits with her family in a pew during an interfaith a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking at the church to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
The Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. is interviewed before a sermon at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Forbes, who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, is speaking in Newtown to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Parishioners reach for each other's hands as they sing the song "We Shall Overcome" at the end of an interfaith service at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, spoke at the service to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Parishioners hold hands as they sing the song "We Shall Overcome" at the end of an interfaith service at Newtown Congregational Church in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The Rev. James A Forbes, Jr., who led one of the country?s most prominent liberal Protestant churches, spoke at the service to honor the victims of last month?s school shooting and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? A former leader of one of the country's most prominent liberal Protestant churches told residents on Sunday, weeks after one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words "are needed now more than ever before."
The Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., the first black minister to lead New York's historic Riverside Church, spoke Sunday night at the Newtown Congregational Church in a service honoring King and the school shooting victims.
About 300 residents filled the church for the community worship service, called "For the Healing of Newtown." Forbes delivered a sermon calling for a transformation and healing of communities.
"The saddest face I ever saw on Martin Luther King was at the funeral of the four little girls slain in Birmingham, Alabama," he said. "We ask today, as King did then, 'Lord, what can come out of this that will honor those lost in this tragedy?'"
Twenty Sandy Hook Elementary School first-graders and six school officials died in the Newtown shooting last month. The gunman who killed them had killed his mother at home before going to the school and later committed suicide.
Forbes' message of transformation was delivered to the Newtown community a day before the federal holiday honoring King's legacy and a little more than a month after the Dec. 14 school shooting.
The senior minister of the Newtown Congregational Church, the Rev. Matt Crebbin, welcomed the congregation and spoke of the long journey ahead.
"Though we are all interconnected, our destiny lies in our ability to be one, as a community and as a nation," he said. "Tonight we gather to heal and mend hearts."
As the congregation sang the hymn "When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love," many fought back tears and others simply wept.
Forbes told the congregation his message would be one of hope and healing.
With great passion, he spoke of his experiences during the civil rights movement and the struggles and challenges along the way. But, he said, one way to get encouragement is to recognize when progress is made.
"As a community, overcoming a tragedy will take time, but progress will be made," he said.
Forbes said that King believed in the power of community and faith and the need for good to come from tragedy. He stepped down from the pulpit to be closer to the congregation as he raised his voice to finalize his message.
"We have seen that violence can strike anywhere," Forbes bellowed. "Yes, King talked about violence, but he also talked about transformation and healing in the wake of violence."
He then asked people in the church to consider something: "What if history records what happened in Newtown and that leads to a new America?"
"Maybe if we listen to the Spirit, we as a town will be able to stay out of the depths of despair," he said. "If we listen to the Spirit, there will emerge a beacon of light that can lead an entire nation."
Crebbin said this was a fitting time for Forbes, who was leader of the Riverside Church on Sept. 11, 2001, but retired in 2007, to visit Newtown, which is about 60 miles northeast of New York City.
"He's been able to share his insight about grief through his experience with 9/11," Crebbin said. "In the midst of the grieving, we can't try to fix the grief. We need to help with the grieving. It won't be the same life."
Everyone stood to sing "We Shall Overcome" as the service ended. Forbes, founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, walked down into the congregation to take the hands of those sitting across the aisle from each other and connected the crowd into one.
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Jan. 21, 2013 ? A team of researchers based at Johns Hopkins has decoded a system that makes certain types of immune cells impervious to HIV infection. The system's two vital components are high levels of a molecule that becomes embedded in viral DNA like a code written in invisible ink, and an enzyme that, when it reads the code, switches from repairing the DNA to chopping it up into unusable pieces. The researchers, who report the find in the Jan. 21 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say the discovery points toward a new approach to eradicating HIV from the body.
"For decades, we've seen conflicting reports on whether each of these components helped protect cells from viruses," says James Stivers, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences. "By plotting how much of each are found in different types of cells, as well as the cells' response to HIV, we learned that both are needed to get the protective effect."
Researchers have long known that DNA's code is made up of four building blocks called nucleotides, commonly abbreviated A, T, G, and C. Before a cell divides, DNA-copying enzymes string these nucleotides together based on existing templates, so that each of the new cells gets its own copy of the genome. But because the T nucleotide, dTTP, is very similar to dUTP, a fifth nucleotide that doesn't belong in DNA, the copying enzyme sometimes mistakenly puts in a U where there should be a T.
To prevent this, says Stivers, most human cell types have an enzyme whose job is to break down dUTP, keeping its levels very low. Another quality control measure is the enzyme hUNG2, which snips stray Us out of newly copied DNA strands, leaving the resulting holes to be filled by a different repair enzyme. Certain immune cells called resting cells lack the first quality-control mechanism because, Stivers explains, "They're not replicating their DNA and dividing, so they couldn't care less if they have a lot of dUTP."
This is a critical piece of information, Stivers says, because when a retrovirus like HIV invades a cell, its first order of business is to make a DNA copy of its own genome, then insert that copy into the host cell's genome. If there are many dUTPs floating around in the cell, they will likely make their way into the new viral DNA, and, potentially, later be snipped out by hUNG2. The question, Stivers says, left open by the conflicting results of previous studies, was what effect, if any, this process has on HIV and other viruses.
To address this question, Amy Weil, a graduate student in Stivers' laboratory, measured dUTP levels and hUNG2 activity in a variety of human cells grown in the laboratory, then exposed them to HIV. Cells with high dUTP but little hUNG2 activity succumbed easily to the virus, which appeared to function just fine with a U-ridden genome. Similarly, cells with low dUTP levels but high hUNG2 activity were susceptible to HIV. For these cells, it seemed, hUNG2 would snip out the few stray Us, but the resulting holes would be repaired, leaving the viral DNA as good as new.
But in cells with both high dUTP and vigilant hUNG2, the repair process turned into a hack job, Stivers says, leaving the viral DNA so riddled with holes that it was beyond repair. "It's like dropping a nuclear bomb on the viral genome," he says.
By showing how dUTP and hUNG2 work together to protect resting cells from infection, Stivers says, the study identifies a new pathway that could restrict HIV infection in non-dividing cells. Current anti-retroviral drugs effectively suppress the virus, but, Stivers explains, they miss copies of the virus that hide out in non-dividing cells, and "the minute you stop taking anti-retrovirals, it starts replicating again." He suggests that drug strategies could be devised to target this pathway in affected cells, possibly lessening the pool of viruses hiding out in non-dividing cells. The principle could also be applied to other retroviruses, he says, since they, like HIV, all make DNA copies of their genomes as part of the infection process.
Other authors on the paper were Devlina Ghosh, Yan Zhou, Lauren Seiple and Robert F. Siliciano of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Moira A. McMahon of the University of California, San Diego; and Adam M. Spivak of the University of Utah School of Medicine.
The study was funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (grant number GM056834) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Extramural Activities (grant number AI081600).
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/DC3IVg5qJY4/130121161751.htm
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SYDNEY (AP) ? Indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom launched a new file-sharing website that promises users greater privacy and defies the U.S. prosecutors who accuse him of facilitating massive online piracy.
The colorful entrepreneur unveiled the "Mega" site ahead of a lavish gala and news conference at his New Zealand mansion on Sunday night, the anniversary of his arrest on racketeering charges related to his now-shuttered Megaupload file-sharing site. The site Dotcom started in 2005 was one of the most popular sites on the Web until U.S. prosecutors shut it down and accused him and several company officials of facilitating millions of illegal downloads.
In Dotcom's typical grandiose style, the launch party featured a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the dramatic raid on his home a year earlier, when New Zealand police swooped down in helicopters onto the mansion grounds and nabbed him in a safe room where he was hiding.
"Mega is going to be huge, and nothing will stop Mega ? whoo!" a gleeful Dotcom bellowed from a giant stage set up in his yard, seconds before a helicopter roared overhead and faux police agents rappelled down the side of his mansion. Dotcom eventually ordered everyone to "stop this madness!" before breaking out into a dance alongside miniskirt-clad "guards" as music boomed.
Bravado aside, interest in the site was certainly high. Dotcom said half a million users registered for Mega in its first 14 hours.
U.S. authorities are trying to extradite the German-born Internet tycoon from New Zealand, where he is free on bail. Prosecutors say Dotcom made tens of millions of dollars while filmmakers and songwriters lost around $500 million in copyright revenue.
U.S. prosecutors declined to comment on the new site, referring only to a court document that cites several promises Dotcom made while seeking bail that he would not ? and could not ? start a Megaupload-style business until the criminal case was resolved.
"I can assure the Court that I have no intention and there is no risk of my reactivating the Megaupload.com website or establishing a similar Internet-based business during the period until the resolution of the extradition proceedings," Dotcom said in a Feb. 15, 2012, affidavit.
Dotcom argues that he can't be held responsible for copyright infringement committed by others and insists Megaupload complied with copyrights by removing links to pirated material when asked.
"Our company and assets were taken away from us without a hearing," Dotcom said. "The privacy of our users was intruded on, communications were taken offline and free speech was attacked. Let me be clear to those who use copyright law as a weapon to drown innovation and stifle competition: You will be left on the side of the road of history."
Mega, like Megaupload, allows users to store and share large files. It offers 50 gigabytes of free storage, much more than similar sites such as Dropbox and Google Drive, and features a drag-and-drop upload tool.
The key difference is an encryption and decryption feature for data transfers that Dotcom says will protect him from the legal drama that has entangled Megaupload and threatened to put him behind bars.
The decryption keys for uploaded files are held by the users, not Mega, which means the company can't see what's in the files being shared. Dotcom argues that Mega ? which bills itself as "the privacy company" ? therefore can't be held liable for content it cannot see.
"What he's trying to do is give himself a second-string argument: 'Even if I was wrong before, this one's all right because how can I control something if I don't know that it's there?'" said Sydney attorney Charles Alexander, who specializes in intellectual property law. "I can understand the argument; whether it would be successful or not is another matter."
To Dotcom, the concept is very simple.
"If someone sends something illegal in an envelope through your postal service," he says, "you don't shut down the post office."
The Motion Picture Association of America, which filed complaints about alleged copyright infringement by Megaupload, was not impressed.
"We are still reviewing how this new project will operate, but we do know that Kim Dotcom has built his career and his fortune on stealing creative works," the MPAA said in a statement. "We'll reserve final judgment until we have a chance to take a closer look, but given Kim Dotcom's history of damaging the consumer experience by pushing stolen, illegitimate content into the marketplace, count us as skeptical."
Still, as much as Dotcom's new venture might enrage prosecutors and entertainment executives, it shouldn't have any impact on the Megaupload case.
"All it might do is annoy them enough to say, 'We're going to redouble our efforts in prosecuting them'," said Alexander, the attorney. "But I don't think it makes any practical difference to the outcome."
Dotcom denied the new site was designed to provoke authorities, but got in plenty of digs at their expense, saying that their campaign to shutter Megaupload simply forced him to create a new and improved site.
"Sometimes good things come out of terrible events," Dotcom said. "For example, if it wasn't for a giant comet hitting earth, we would still be surrounded by angry dinosaurs ? hungry, too. If it wasn't for that iceberg, we wouldn't have a great Titanic movie which makes me cry every time I see it. And if it wasn't for the raid, we wouldn't have Mega."
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat contributed to this report from McLean, Virginia.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indicted-megaupload-founder-opens-sharing-004242442--finance.html
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By Paul Newberry
updated 10:45 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2013
ATLANTA - The clutch quarterback. The genius coach. The big-play defense.
The San Francisco 49ers are ready to start a new dynasty with a familiar formula. Next stop, the Big Easy.
Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore led San Francisco to a record comeback in the NFC championship game Sunday, overcoming an early 17-0 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 and send the 49ers to their first Super Bowl since 1995.
Gore scored a pair of touchdowns, including the winner with 8:23 remaining for San Francisco's first lead of the day, and the 49ers defense made it stand up. A fourth-down stop at the 10-yard line denied Atlanta another stirring comeback after blowing a big lead."Everybody does a little," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said, "and it adds up to be a lot."
San Francisco (13-4-1) moves on to face Baltimore at New Orleans in two weeks, looking to join Pittsburgh as the only franchises with six Super Bowl titles. It'll be a brother-vs.-brother matchup, too, since John Harbaugh coaches the Ravens.
Joe Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl wins and Steve Young took them to No. 5. It's up to Kaepernick and Co. to get No. 6.
"He just competes like a maniac all the time," said Harbaugh, whose much-debated decision to bench Alex Smith at midseason now looks like the best move of the year.
Harbaugh was hoppin' mad when a disputed call went against the 49ers on Atlanta's potential winning drive. He leaped in the air, screamed at the officials and had to be restrained by his staff from charging the field.
No complaints when it was over."We rose up there at the end," Harbaugh said.
His second-year quarterback, who runs like a track star, didn't get a chance to show off his touchdown celebration - flexing his right arm and kissing his bicep, a move that quickly became a social media sensation known as Kaepernicking.
But he shredded the Falcons through the air by completing 16 of 21 for 233 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to Vernon Davis, and had them so worried about his running ability out of the spread option that Gore and LaMichael James had plenty of room.
Gore scored a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner with 8:23 remaining for San Francisco's first lead of the day. Davis scored the first TD for the 49ers on a 15-yard run.
"I take my hat off to Atlanta. They played hard. They've got a great team," Gore said. "But we fought, man. We fought and we deserved it."
The 49ers pulled off the biggest comeback victory in an NFC championship game, according to STATS. The previous NFC record was 13 points - Atlanta's victory over Minnesota in the 1999 title game, which sent the Falcons to what remains the only Super Bowl in franchise history.
The AFC championship game record is 18 points, when Indianapolis rallied past New England in 2007.Harbaugh is hardly cool and collected like the 49ers' first Super Bowl-winning coach, Bill Walsh, but has pulled off a similar turnaround in San Francisco. The 49ers had eight straight years without a winning record before their new coach arrived from Stanford in 2011.
He immediately led San Francisco to the cusp of the Super Bowl, losing to the eventual champion New York Giants in overtime in last year's NFC title game, a bitter defeat at home set up by a fumbled return.
This time, the 49ers were the ones winning on the road to set up another celebration in the city by the bay, which is rapidly becoming the new Titletown USA. They'll try to follow the lead of the baseball Giants, who won the World Series in October.
"We've come full circle," said Denise DeBartolo York, part of the family that has owned the 49ers since their championship days, "and the dynasty will prevail."
Kaepernick guided San Francisco on a pair of second-half scoring drives that wiped out Atlanta's 24-14 lead at the break. Gore scored on a 5-yard run early in the third quarter, then sprinted in from 9 yards out for the winning score with 8:23 remaining after each team made crucial mistakes to ruin potential scoring drives.
On both of Gore's TDs, the Falcons had to worry about Kaepernick running it in himself. They barely even touched the running back on either play, and James scored pretty much the same way."I kind of figured that coming in and they showed that on film, so I assumed Frank and LaMichael were going to have a big day," Kaepernick said. "Frank ran hard today, and I can't say enough about him."
The top-seeded Falcons (14-4), in what appeared to be the final game for Hall of Famer-to-be Tony Gonzalez, tried to pull off another season-extending drive. But, unlike the week before against Seattle, they needed a touchdown this time.
They came up 10 yards short.
On fourth down, Matt Ryan attempted a pass over the middle to Roddy White that would have been enough to keep the drive going. But linebacker NaVorro Bowman stuck a hand in to knock it away with 1:13 remaining.
The 49ers ran off all but the final 6 seconds, not nearly enough time for Ryan to pull off his greatest comeback yet.
In the divisional playoffs, the Falcons blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. But Ryan completed two long passes, setting up Matt Bryant's 49-yard field goal for 30-28 victory.The Falcons came up short of their second Super Bowl, leaving the 1995 Braves as the city's only major sports champions. This one figures to hurt for a while.
"We didn't make the plays when we had the opportunity," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "There were five or six plays, like in most hard-fought games, that make a difference. There were ebbs and flows and changes in momentum, and they made more plays than we did."
Kaepernick, who ran for 181 yards against the Packers the week before to set an NFL playoff record for a quarterback, didn't have much chance to use his legs against the Falcons. He broke off a 23-yard gain, but was thrown for a 2-yard loss the only other time he carried the ball.
But Kaepernick showed he's more than a runner. His favorite receiver was Davis, who hauled in five passes for 106 yards.
Gore carried 21 times for 90 yards, while James added 34 yards on five carries.
Ryan finished 30 of 42 for 396 yards, by far the best performance of his playoff career. But his postseason record dropped to 1-4, done in by two big miscues - an interception and a fumble - in the second half.
Julio Jones was Ryan's leading target most of the day, finishing with 11 catches for 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He hauled in a 46-yarder less than 4 minutes into the game, then made a dazzling grab in the left corner of the end zone for a 20-yard score. He got his left foot down, then planted his right foot about an inch inside the line - while cornerback Tarell Brown was all over him.Ryan threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez with 25 seconds remaining in the first half after the 49ers had cut the deficit to 17-14. It seemed the home team had reclaimed the momentum heading to the locker room, but, amazingly, that would be its final score of the day. The 49ers quickly seized control on the opening possession of the second half, driving 82 yards in just seven plays for Gore's first TD.
After a nearly perfect first half, in which Ryan was 18 of 24 for 271 yards and those three TDs, the quarterback known as Matty Ice made a couple of crucial blunders.
First, he tossed a pass that was picked off by Chris Culliver, halting a drive in 49ers territory. Ryan ripped off his chinstrap in disgust.
Then, with the Falcons in scoring range for at least a field goal, Ryan failed to grab a shotgun snap, appearing to take his eyes off the ball before he caught it. The ball squirted away and Aldon Smith recovered for the 49ers at their own 37.
"Against a good team, you can't have those kind of mistakes," Ryan said.
San Francisco also squandered some chances. Struggling kicker David Akers clanked a 38-yard field goal try off the upright, and Michael Crabtree fumbled just short of the goal line, the ball stripped away by Dunta Robinson and recovered by Stephen Nicholas. But, after that big defensive stop with 13 1-2 minutes remaining, the Falcons went three-and-out.
The 49ers drove for the winning touchdown.
Atlanta took the ensuing kickoff and used up nearly all the clock while going 70 yards. The Falcons might have reclaimed the lead if Harry Douglas had been able to stay on his feet while hauling in a 22-yard pass.
The defender slipped, and so did Douglas, but he held on to the ball. Harbaugh thought it touched the turf and challenged the call, then launched into his tirade when the officials let it stand. It all worked out, though.
As for the 36-year-old Gonzalez, who said all year he was all but certain this would be his final season, it sure sounded like the end.
"I've had such a great life," he said. "I wish it would've culminated with the Super Bowl, but it didn't."
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsGetty ImagesPFT: You'll get sick of hearing about it long before kickoff, but appreciate it: the 49ers' Jim Harbaugh coaching against the Ravens' John Harbaugh on the biggest stage in American sports.
Getty ImagesJoe Flacco outdueled Tom Brady, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half and leading the Baltimore Ravens to their first Super Bowl in 12 years with a 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday for the AFC championship.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50528580/ns/sports-nfl/
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Charles Sykes / AP file
Barbara Walters fell at an inauguration party in Washington and has been hospitalized, according to an ABC News spokesman.
By Brandi Fowler, E! Online
Barbara Walters is on the mend. The 83-year-old "View" co-host is recovering after falling and cutting her forehead while visiting the British Ambassador's residence Saturday night in Washington, D.C.?
Check out Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2012!
"Barbara Walters fell on a stair last evening while visiting the British Ambassador's residence and the fall left her with a cut on her forehead," a rep for ABC News tells E! News. "Out of an abundance of caution, she went to the hospital to have her cut tended to, have a full examination and remains there for observation. Barbara is alert (and telling everyone what to do), which we all take as a very positive sign."
Walters was scheduled to contribute to the network's coverage of the inauguration events, but will not be on-air Monday and possibly several more days after that, according to TV Newser.
Barbara Walters isn't the only celeb who has taken a tumble.?
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Do some research ahead of time and look for dining credits and coupons for your destination. You can also save a lot of money by getting advice about where to eat before you depart. This is better than asking for recommendations when you are already hungry and in a strange place.
Try using the roll technique for packing clothes into your bags for your trips. This generally saves more space and time than with traditionally folding the clothes. You can even fit more clothes in your bag this way. By rolling the clothes up in tissue paper, you can also prevent them from getting too many wrinkles.
If you are leaving the country, make a copy of your passport to take with you. If you happen to misplace your original passport, it will make getting a new one a much simpler process. The two minutes that it will take for you to make the copy will likely save you hours when getting it replaced during your travels.
When going on a road trip, think ahead and pack a cooler full of drinks and snacks for the trip. You are bound to get hungry along the way, especially if it is a long distance trip. Many people don't think about doing this and have to stop and waste money at some stores along the way for goodies that could have easily been packed prior to leaving.
If you plan on traveling to a different continent, make sure you get the necessary shots before going. Your body might not be used to these foreign diseases and you would find yourself extremely weakened if you got sick, not to mention that certain diseases are lethal. Ask your doctor about what kind of shots you should get.
Another good way to get some sleep on an airplane is by using headphones or ear plugs. This will drown out the constant engine noise and also the little kids and talkative adults on the plane. You will be able to relax and get some much needed rest.
Make sure to get your credit cards in order while traveling. Check your limits and meticulously stay below them- Americans have been arrested for accidentally exceeding their card limit while traveling abroad. Also be sure to know in advance how to report a stolen card; an 800 number will not work overseas, so you'll need to know an international number.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to think about to stay safe when traveling, whether you're planning a trip or are already at the destination. Make sure to keep this article as a checklist so you can be sure not to forget anything you need to stay safe.
Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Travel-Safe-With-These-Tips/4383804
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By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY
Who needs the Oscars? Ben Affleck may have been snubbed by the Academy Award nominations, but he?took center stage at the Golden Globes Sunday night. Affleck claimed the best director honor and his film,?"Argo," won the award for best drama.?
Reuters, AP, Getty Images
"Look, I don't care what the award is," Affleck said while accepting the director's award, going on to extol the virtues of his fellow nominees.
Affleck also won the Critics' Choice best director award?Thursday night, joking in his acceptance there that, "I'd like to thank the academy."
Many had thought the directing award would go to Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln," but that acclaimed film won only one award, for lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis, a heavy favorite to repeat with an Oscar win on Feb. 24,?thanked Spielberg, saying "you have given me an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life."
Who wore it best? Vote for your favorite Golden Globe look
And "Argo" winning for best motion picture drama was a stunner as well. Many expected that award to go to either "Lincoln" or "Zero Dark Thirty," Kathryn Bigelow'ssearing look at the hunt to find Osama bin Laden.
While Bigelow and "Zero Dark Thirty" didn't win their categories, the film wasn't shut out. In another win that could easily be repeated at the Academy Awards, Jessica Chastain?won for best actress in a motion picture drama for playing the CIA agent whose work led to the final raid on bin Laden's compound.
Chastain said that she had "wanted to be an actress since I was a little girl." She also thanked her grandmother for "teaching me to always believe in my dreams, and this is an absolute dream come true."
Hosts?Tina Fey and Amy Poehler kept the three-hour show lively?with jokes and skits, including mocking themselves when they lost out to Lena Dunham in the?best actress in a television musical or comedy series category. Before that award was announced, Fey was seen hugging singer Jennifer Lopez in faux nervousness, while Poehler was seen snuggling actor and heartthrob George Clooney.
Early on, Fey and Poehler directed a joke at controversial former ceremony host Ricky Gervais, noting that "when you run afoul of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, they make you host the show two more times."?
Fey and Poehler may have thrown out gentler barbs than Gervais, but they weren't afraid to land some digs. Poehler admitted she hadn't really been following the waterboarding controversy surrounding "Zero Dark Thirty," but joked of its director?Bigelow, "when it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to ("Titanic" director) James Cameron."
They even got a joke in at the host of a different awards show, praising Anne?Hathaway's?role as the abandoned young mother in?"Les Miserables"?by saying they "had not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since (Hathaway was) on stage with?James Franco?at the Oscars."
Hathaway didn't feel alone or abandoned later on in the show, when she won the award she was heavily favored to pick up, that of best supporting actress in a motion picture.
John Shearer / AP
"Thank you for this lovely blunt object that I will forevermore use as a weapon against self-doubt," Hathaway said. She went on to pay tribute to fellow nominee Sally Field, thanking Field for demonstrating how an actress can progress from youthful comic roles to more serious parts.
Hathaway also thanked her mother, "who I saw perform this role when I was 8." Kathleen Hathaway played Fantine in the first U.S. tour of "Les Miserables."
It was a good night for the big-screen adaptation of "Les Mis." In addition to Hathaway's supporting actress honor, the film won for best comedy or musical, and star?Hugh Jackman, took home the award for best actor in a motion picture musical or comedy.
"Les Miserables is a project of passion," Jackman said in his acceptance speech. "It took a lot of courage to make it."?
What could have been a standard lifetime achievement award presentation rose above the ordinary when actress Jodie Foster, who received the Cecil B. DeMille Award, thanked her longtime partner Cydney Bernard, who helped her raise their two sons, calling her a ?co-parent and ex-partner in love.?
Before mentioning Bernard, she denied her words constituted a coming-out speech, saying ?I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago.?
Foster, who has never made a formal statement about her sexuality, also said, ?If you had been a public figure since the time you were a toddler ... maybe you too would value privacy against all else.?
Jennifer Lawrence?won the award for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook." Upon taking the stage, Lawrence looked at her award and joked, "Oh, what does it say? I beat Meryl (Streep)!"
Showtime's "Homeland" series was nominated for four Golden Globes, and claimed three of four. The show won for best television drama, and stars?Damian Lewis and Claire Danes won acting awards.
Lewis dedicated his award to his late mother. "Mom, I love you," he said.
Danes thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the awards, for "being so generous to me over the years," noting "I was up here when I was 15." In 1994, Danes won the same award for her role as Angela Chase in "My So-Called Life." Then a teen, she's now an acclaimed actress and a mother: Danes' son Cyrus was born just a month ago.
Singer?Adele,?a nine-time Grammy winner, won her first Golden Globe for best original song for "Skyfall," the theme to the latest James Bond movie. Like Danes, she's also a new mom. The singer, 24, gave birth to her first child, a son, in October.
?
One of the biggest standing ovations of the evening came when former president Bill Clinton walked on stage to introduce "Lincoln" which led all nominees with seven.
Co-host Poehler later joked, "That was Hillary Clinton's husband! So exciting!"
Director?Quentin Tarantino?won the best screenplay award for his bloody slavery drama "Django Unchained." The director thanked his cast and the friends to whom he read scenes, and admitted "This is a damn surprise, and I'm very happy to be surprised."
Another surprised winner was first-time nominee Lena Dunham, who won the award for best actress in a television musical or comedy series for her starring role in HBO's "Girls." After praising her fellow nominees and thanking her cast and family, Dunham said her award was "for everyone woman who has ever felt there wasn't a space for her. This show has made a space for me."
Dunham was back on stage again later when "Girls" won the Golden Globe for best TV series, comedy or musical, and thanked the show's cast for showing her "the meaning of nakedness, both emotional and physical."
Christoph Waltz, who plays a dentist turned bounty hunter in "Django Unchained," won the award for best supporting actor in a motion picture.
"Let me gasp," Waltz said, before thanking director Tarantino "for entrusting me with this character" and praising his castmates, one of whom, Leonardo DiCaprio, he beat for the award.
Maggie Smith, whose acerbic barbs make her a favorite on PBS's "Downton Abbey," won the Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or television film. Smith, 78, was not in attendance.
"Game Change,"?HBO's political drama about the 2008 presidential election, won the award for best miniseries or television film, and star Julianne Moore?won for best actress in a miniseries or television film for her role as vice-presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin. ?"Game Change" leads all television nominees with five.?
Kevin Costner won the award for best performance in a miniseries or television film for his role as Devil Anse Hatfield in the History Channel miniseries "Hatfields and McCoys."
"Kind of a short walk and a long career and a lot of people to thank along the way," Costner said.?He mused on the first time he ever attended the Golden Globes, remembering how "no one said anything to me" and how inspired he was by watching a retrospective of the career of Gregory Peck.?
Don Cheadle claimed the award for best actor in a television comedy or musical for "House of Lies."
Ed Harris, who played Sen. John McCain in "Game Change," won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or television film.
"Life of Pi,"based on the bestselling Yann Martel novel, won the award for best original score in a motion picture for Mychael Danna.
Austrian film "Amour" won the award for best foreign film, with Austria native Arnold Schwarzenegger announcing the film's win.
Pixar's "Brave" won for best animated feature film.
Watch TODAY Monday morning as Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Natalie Morales report live from Hollywood on the Golden Globe winners, surprises and after-party details.
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A hog-nosed skunk is seen near a campsite in the Grand Canyon in Arizona in this photo made on Aug. 4, 2012. A river guide familiar with animals in the Canyon spotted the skunk - not known to the area - and now park officials are deciding whether to add it to the list of species found in the park or ignore it as just another animal passing through. (AP Photo/Jen Hiebert)
A hog-nosed skunk is seen near a campsite in the Grand Canyon in Arizona in this photo made on Aug. 4, 2012. A river guide familiar with animals in the Canyon spotted the skunk - not known to the area - and now park officials are deciding whether to add it to the list of species found in the park or ignore it as just another animal passing through. (AP Photo/Jen Hiebert)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) ? Desert bighorn sheep, river otters and mountain lions, yes. But a hog-nosed skunk at the Grand Canyon? Hardly.
The striped creatures are usually found in southeastern Arizona, Texas and Mexico. But one of them somehow made its way north of the Colorado River last year.
A group of rafters camping along the river in August was headed for bed when they noticed a black-and-white animal in the bushes near one of their tents. Jen Hiebert grabbed her camera, zoomed in and took some pictures.
When the rafters didn't see the skunk listed as one of the animals found at the Grand Canyon, Hiebert sent photos and a note to the National Park Service.
"It was just walking through the canyon, totally ignored us and was just digging away in the sand," said Hiebert, of Moscow, Idaho. "I'm not sure what it was after."
Grand Canyon biologists later confirmed the group's suspicion that it was a hog-nosed skunk.
At first, officials weren't sure whether the skunk was merely visiting the area, or if they should to add it to the list of about 90 mammals that live in the national park. They decided that by listing it ? even as extremely rare ? people might be on the lookout for more of the skunks, and that could help biologists determine how prevalent they are in the park.
"Obviously it's in the park and there's a photograph of it," Grand Canyon wildlife program manager Greg Holm said. "I guess the question would be, is it going to live out its life here or was it traveling from point A to point B?"
The hog-nosed skunk is just as smelly as the western spotted skunk and the striped skunk, which are also found in the park. But it's distinguished in appearance by its entirely white back and tail, largely naked snout and long claws.
Holm said skunks tend to be solitary animals so it wasn't strange that Hiebert and the others saw just one. The puzzling thing for biologists was how it crossed the Colorado River, which Holm said tends to be a significant barrier to animal movement because of water temperature, the river's flow and its size.
"Whether or not it crossed, swam across, it certainly could," he said. "How else would it get there?"
The other idea is that the skunk came from southern Nevada, traveling east from the north end of Lake Mead through the Grand Canyon, but "it's all speculation," Holm said.
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