The Legal Ramifications Of Drinking And Flying - This Just In ...

Have you ever been on a plane next to someone who seems a little wobbly? Maybe they smell a bit of rum and coke. Or are slurring. Maybe they start to act up a little, start demanding more drinks, or harassing the crewmembers and other passengers.

It's one thing to have a drink before your flight, or to have some wine with dinner onboard. But, if you're wondering what the consequences are for being completely intoxicated on a flight, they can be pretty severe.

Earlier this month, an American Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles was diverted to Denver after a drunken passenger struck a flight attendant in the face, the Associated Press reported. Flight attendants had to restrain and sit on him until the flight landed, upon which he was arrested and charged with interfering with flight crew.

First off, a passenger who already appears intoxicated at the gate shouldn?t be allowed to board, according to federal regulations.

Air carriers have federally-required protocol for dealing with disturbances involving the service of alcoholic beverages onboard, the removal of a passenger who appears to be intoxicated, and how to handle passengers who have brought their own alcoholic beverages onboard (I personally witnessed this last one myself, when an elderly woman on an international flight I was on tried to crack open her Duty Free vodka bottle).

If a passenger doesn't comply with federal regulations and interferes with a crewmember, it can be considered a criminal violation, resulting in arrest.

In August, the U.S. Ski Team dismissed an 18-year-old member of its development squad after he was accused of getting drunk and then urinating on a fellow passenger aboard a JetBlue flight to New York, according to a story in USA Today. Criminal charges were later dropped.

While these are some of the more extreme cases, surely many readers have been in a situation that could have veered towards the uncomfortable and even dangerous had a passenger's drinking habits escalated during the flight.

Have any drunken passenger horror stories you care to share? Indulge (but perhaps don't over overindulge) us in the comment section below.

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Ever seen a flight attendant freak out?

Source: http://blog.budgettravel.com/budgettravel/2011/10/the_legal_ramifications_of_dri.html

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Brazil's ex-president Lula has throat cancer (Reuters)

SAO PAULO (Reuters) ? Brazil's popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was diagnosed with throat cancer on Saturday, casting doubt on his political future in Latin America's largest economy.

Lula, as he is universally known, is a former metalworker and union leader who rose from poverty to become Brazil's first working-class president. He led the country between 2003 and 2010, a period of robust economic growth in which more than 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty and joined the middle class.

Speculation has swirled that Lula -- who remains immensely popular in Brazil -- could run for the presidency again in 2014 if President Dilma Rousseff, his political protegee, were to decide not to seek re-election.

Lula, who turned 66 this week, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in the larynx and will start chemotherapy in the coming days, according to Sao Paulo's Sirio Libanes Hospital. Rousseff herself was treated for cancer at the same medical center before taking office in January.

Dr. Artur Katz, an oncologist on Lula's medical team, told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that the tumor was "not very big" and that "the odds of a cure are excellent."

Chemotherapy was chosen over surgery to preserve the functions of Lula's larynx, or voice box, he said.

Dr. Paulo Hoff, another oncologist on the team treating Lula, told local news Web site ig.com.br that the tumor was localized and had not spread through the neck or to his lymph nodes. He said Lula would also undergo radiation therapy.

"He's a fighter," Finance Minister Guido Mantega said after visiting Lula in hospital. "There's no metastasis. Nothing has spread to other organs and everything was detected.

Lula left the hospital in the early evening and is expected to return for outpatient treatment starting on Monday.

POLITICAL ROLE

Lula, who left office with a sky-high approval rating of 87 percent, could play a vital role in next year's municipal elections, helping stump for candidates from his left-leaning Workers' Party, known as the PT.

But it is in the next presidential election in 2014 that Lula's role could be key -- whatever that role ultimately is.

"The presence of Lula is an extremely important ace in the hole for the Workers' Party," said Latin America analyst Christopher Garman of the Eurasia consultancy in Washington.

Whether Lula campaigns for Rousseff or, should she falter, runs himself, Garman said, his participation "guarantees the opposition have a hard time reaching office in 2014."

More recently, Lula's presence has been a boost for Rousseff because it "means that allies were never going to abandon ship," Garman said. "He's an extremely important political hedge for this administration."

Since leaving office Lula has done little to lower his profile, founding a public policy institute and traveling the world speaking on democracy.

He's also kept a hand in domestic politics, privately advising Rousseff on a series of corruption scandals that have rocked her government. Six ministers have so far left her administration this year, five of them over ethics breaches.

Brazilians flooded the social media site Twitter with well-wishes, prayers and more. "We'll keep an eye out for you in 2018," one tweeter said.

CIGAR SMOKER

A folksy leader who has suffered occasional health problems over the years, Lula is a smoker with a weakness for cigarillos, or baby cigars. He was also known as a drinker, which contributed to his image as a man of the people.

Both drinking and smoking boost the chances of throat cancer, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Dozens of reporters and TV crews gathered outside the hospital to try to get a glimpse of Lula. The news dominated Brazil's television and radio programs, with one commentator calling the diagnosis a "bombshell."

Rousseff issued a statement wishing her predecessor a speedy recovery, calling him a "symbol and an example" for all Brazilians. An aide said Rousseff, who was plucked from relative obscurity by Lula and groomed to succeed him, planned to visit the former president on Monday.

Lula is particularly known for his trademark beard and gruff voice, whose roughness seemed to mirror his own unpolished edges. But he recently had noticed more gruffness in his voice as well as some discomfort, according to local radio and television reports.

A politician with a Midas touch among voters -- particularly among the lower-income classes that make up the PT's base -- Lula helped bolster Brazil's influence on the world stage during his eight years in office.

(Additional reporting by Juliana Schincariol in Rio de Janeiro, Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo and Jefferson Ribeiro in Brasilia; Editing by Todd Benson and Anthony Boadle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111029/hl_nm/us_brazil_lula

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Halloween doesn't have to be gorge-fest to be fun

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 file photo, Hannah Moos, 5, dressed as a bunch of grapes, asks for candy with her father Kyle, of Melba, Idaho at a Halloween event in downtown Nampa, Idaho. Dentists and dieticians say one can still make Halloween reasonably healthy for kids without resorting to tactics like no candy. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 file photo, Hannah Moos, 5, dressed as a bunch of grapes, asks for candy with her father Kyle, of Melba, Idaho at a Halloween event in downtown Nampa, Idaho. Dentists and dieticians say one can still make Halloween reasonably healthy for kids without resorting to tactics like no candy. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)

CHICAGO (AP) ? Offer apples to trick-or-treaters and risk having your house get egged ? maybe even by your own kids.

But dentists and dietitians say you can still make Halloween reasonably healthy for little devils and witches without resorting to dracul-onian tactics, like no candy.

"This is such a big adventure for them ? let them have it, obviously with some caveats," said Dr. Rhea Haugseth, a dentist in Marietta, Ga., who's president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

There are tricks for keeping Halloween fun without risking cavities and extra pounds, like handing out dark chocolate instead of chewy candies or even bribing kids with a toy in exchange for the Halloween loot. Some studies have suggested dark chocolate is good for the heart, and chewy candies stick to the teeth.

Just don't go overboard on restrictions, says Cole Robbins, a Chicago 12-year-old and Halloween veteran.

"Halloween is the one day of the year where we kids just kind of break out and overload on candy," he said.

To help prevent that kind of gorging, try to give children a healthy, filling meal before trick-or-treating, says Bethany Thayer, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association who works at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

Procrastinators, take heart. Thayer also recommends waiting until Halloween day before buying candy, so no one is tempted to indulge beforehand.

"I know people who have to go back to the store because they've completely gone through their candy" before Halloween, she said.

Haugseth suggests avoiding cavity-promoting treats like caramels that stick to the teeth, or lollipops that bathe teeth in a long sugary bath.

Also, having kids brush their teeth before trick-or-treating helps reduce plaque and bacteria, which interact with sugar to produce tooth-decaying acid, Haugseth said. Kids should also brush right after eating candy, she said.

Ronni Litz Julien, a Miami nutritionist whose patients include overweight and obese kids, says another trick for parents is to ask kids not to dip into their loot bags until they bring it all home. That's for safety, so parents can toss any suspicious-looking candy, but it also can prevent an "eating frenzy."

She suggests parents help sort through the loot, have kids select their 10 favorite pieces, and give the rest away. Offer the choice of eating all 10 pieces at once, or over 10 days. That gives them a sense of control, without feeling shortchanged, she said.

"You can't deprive them. It's Halloween, for God's sake," she said.

President Barack Obama joked this week on "The Tonight Show" that he'd warned his health-promoting wife that the White House would get egged if she gave trick-or-treaters fresh fruit and raisins instead of candy. During festivities on Saturday, the Obamas will hand out White House M&Ms, cookies and dried fruit as they did the past two years.

Dr. Janet Silverstein, a Gainesville, Fla. pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' nutrition committee, says she doesn't give out candy, offering fruit or pencils instead; so far her house is unscathed.

When her own children were young, Silverstein would buy their candy for a nickel a piece. She recommends that to her patients' parents, too ? though not necessarily her other solution ? she used to eat her kids' candy.

In some places, kids willing to give up their candy can make more than a nickel. About 1,500 dentists across the country have agreed this year to participate in a Halloween candy buyback organized by Operation Gratitude. The California-based group periodically sends care packages to U.S. troops overseas. Some dentists pay kids $1 per pound of Halloween candy; last year, the program brought in 250,000 pounds of candy, said Carolyn Blashek, founder of the Van Nuys, Calif.-based group.

Blashek said troops overseas appreciate it as a token of gratitude, and Halloween candy brings back lots of fond childhood memories. Some have given their candy to Afghan children, she noted. Entering your ZIP code on the group's website, http://bit.ly/F1iSy will identify participating dentists.

Parents who plan to encourage giving up candy should be sure not to take it right away, says Brian Wansink, a Cornell University food behavior scientist and author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."

That's because of a psychology principle called "the endowment effect." It refers to kids feeling a sense of ownership and putting a high value on candy they haul in.

If you let them eat several pieces first, that feeling can fade and they won't even feel hungry anymore. That's the time to offer a trade, Wansink said.

He's tried that trick with his own three daughters, aged 2, 4, and 6, and says "it works like a charm." His girls eagerly give up the rest of their Halloween candy in exchange for a new trinket or other toy that won't rot their teeth, he said.

Young kids aren't really aware of how much they brought home, and when "they sort of count their booty, that's probably the age where kids shouldn't be trick or treating anymore," he said.

___

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry: http://www.aapd.org

American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org ___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-28-Halloween-Kids%20and%20Candy/id-7effa734ea8d48caae04a799ad04dc43

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Dalai Lama: China policy caused monk immolations (AP)

TOKYO ? Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, pointed to what he called China's "ruthless policy" as prompting the recent deaths of Tibetan monks who set themselves on fire in protest.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate called on Beijing to change its approach to ruling over the Himalayan region.

"For their own interest, not just the interest for certain sort of problem here and there, but for the whole country's sort of future, they have to act (with a) realistic sort of policy," he told reporters Saturday at a Tokyo hotel, while in Japan to visit victims of the devastating March 11 tsunami.

At least nine Tibetans in their late teens and 20s have self-immolated since March in protest of Chinese rule, and five of them have died of their injuries. Many Tibetans consider the Dalai Lama as their rightful leader.

The self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile has described the self-immolations as tragic acts and called for the international community to urge Beijing to open a dialogue on its policies in Tibet and traditionally Tibetan regions of western China.

"Actually, the local leader must look what's the real causes of death," the Dalai Lama said of the China. "It's their own sort of wrong policy, ruthless policy, illogical policy."

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama and his supporters of encouraging the immolations.

The Dalai Lama fled the Himalayan region in 1959 amid an abortive anti-Beijing uprising and is reviled by China's communist government.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111029/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_tibet

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PFT: Tracking all the Week 8 inactives

AP

Over the last two years, the NFL has done plenty to improve the procedures that apply after a player has been diagnosed with a concussion.? The next frontier will be improving the procedures for determining that the player has a concussion in the first place.

The league?s various measures, which came promptly after Congress rattled the antitrust exemption sword in Octoer 2009, include the requirement that a player with a concussion be cleared by an independent neurologist before being allowed to practice or to play in a subsequent game.? More recently, the league promulgated the ?Madden Rule,? which provides that any player diagnosed with a concussion ?must leave the field and be immediately escorted to the locker/training room, and a member of the medical staff . . . must remain with the player to observe him if his injury does not require immediate hospitalization.?

But while the league also has generally mandated that if there is ?any suspicion? that a player has suffered a concussion, he must be pulled from the game, the league has yet to implement specific procedures for ensuring that such suspicions will be acknowledged before a given game ends.? There is no independent neurologist available during games ? there isn?t even a requirement that the teams have neurologists present.? Also, the NFL has no system in place for flagging players who may need to be evaluated for the presence of a concussion.

As a result, we?ve heard terms lately like ?dirt on the face? and ?concussion-like symptoms,? and we saw Chargers guard Kris Dielman stumble and bumble and ultimately remain in the game after giving a quick ?I?m good? wave to the sideline.

Improvements also are needed as to the process of evaluating players who may have concussions.? As Dr. Julian Bailes, Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the NorthShore University Health System, told PFT via email this morning, ?Making the diagnosis of concussion on the field or sideline has always been difficult.? Lately I?ve come to think that the safest way if an athlete has ?concussion-like symptoms,? is?to remove them to the locker room where you can be away from the noise, cold, and distractions.? If there is any suspicion that a concussion has occurred, then they are not put back in the game.?

Dr. Bailes, who has been instrumental in the detection of Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy, used that approach during his time as the on-field neurologist at West Virginia University.? And it makes plenty of sense.? It?s loud and it?s hectic and teammates are milling about and coaches are sticking their noses into the situation, hoping that their guys will get back on the field.? The better approach is to get the player into a more calm environment, get his shoulder pads off, let him sit and rest and try to collect his wits, and then engage in an assessment of his condition.

Of course, before it ever gets to that point, the league and its teams need to have a quicker trigger for conducting the review.? But these various steps must be taken by the NFL as soon as possible.? If another Congressional hearing is needed in order to make that happen, then another Congressional hearing should be held.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/30/week-eight-early-inactives/related/

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Turkey ends search for quake survivors

ERCIS, Turkey?? The death toll from last week's earthquake in southeast Turkey rose to 596 Sunday, the day after authorities stopped searching for survivors and focused on helping thousands of homeless families in crisis.

In Ercis, the town hit hardest by the 7.2 magnitude quake that devastated Van province on October 23, some shops reopened on Sunday, electricity was switched back on in parts of town and one bank's ATM started working.

But with barely any of Ercis's nearly 100,000 residents ready to return to their damaged homes with strong aftershocks still rattling the area, life is anything but normal. One aftershock Sunday morning registered at magnitude 5.3.

Winter is fast approaching, temperatures plunge at night, and young and old in particular are falling sick in tent encampments set up by relief agencies on the outskirts of town.

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Story: Boy drank rain to survive after Turkey quake

The government's disaster management website said more than 43,000 tents had been handed out in Van. Officials say that is more than needed because people whose homes are not so badly damaged are demanding tents as they feel safer under canvas.

"Our house is in good shape but we live in a tent due to fear. We will go back once the aftershocks are gone and the government says our house is safe," said Fadli Kocak, owner of a bakery in Ercis, who hopes to be back in business in a week.

Many people were queuing to register for tents Sunday, a first step to having an inspection done of their home, as authorities say they will hand them out only after verifying that a building is too risky to live in.

"The problem here is that you can't give 100,000 tents in a town whose population is equal to that," Yalcin Mumcu, who coordinated search and rescue operations in Ercis, told Reuters.

"Our people need to the trust the government, too. Everybody is asking for tents. They need to be patient, if the Prime Minister says they are going to build a new, better Van, I am sure they will," he said.

The relief operation is politically sensitive as the southeast is where most of Turkey's Kurdish minority lives, and the army has been fighting a separatist insurgency there that has cost more than 40,000 lives since it first erupted in 1984.

After criticism in the first days of the disaster, state authorities cranked up relief operations, asking for foreign help providing tents, containers and prefabricated houses.

Hoardes of people in provincial capital Van have also clamored for tents even though far fewer buildings collapsed there. Villagers in surrounding hills are seen as more in need because most of their primitively built houses were destroyed and they would be caught in the open if there is early snow.

"Most of us sleep outside. The village has received coal and blankets but no tents," said Mehmet Siddik Demirtas, headman at Yukari Isikli village, about 10 km (6 miles) from Ercis.

"We go every day to the city of Ercis to ask for tents but they tell us to wait," he said.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45094022/ns/world_news-europe/

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Connie Mack IV will shake up Florida Senate race (AP)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ? As Rep. Connie Mack IV of Florida prepares to jump into a U.S. Senate race instead of seeking re-election, he is likely to become the instant front-runner ? at least for now ? in a Republican primary where the current field has failed to gain momentum.

His name alone will help move him toward the lead of a five-way race to see who will challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. His father, Connie Mack III, was a popular senator until retiring in 2001 and his great-grandfather was the legendary baseball manager and Hall of Famer Connie Mack. And as a sitting congressman whose family has built a political network, he should be able to raise money.

"He probably enters the race as the front-runner," said Jamie Miller, a Republican consultant who served as Senate candidate Katherine Harris' campaign manager. "I'm not going to say that it's a slam dunk for Connie, but if he's able to put his ducks in a row and is committed to the race and works hard on fundraising and campaigning, Connie Mack will be a tough person to beat."

Strategists from both political parties believe Mack will generate excitement, at least to start, in a race that has lacked enthusiasm. A Quinnipiac University poll last month showed that 58 percent of Republicans were undecided and no candidate was favored by more than 17 percent of Republicans.

Mack's political spokesman David James said Thursday an official announcement is still weeks away, and for now Mack is building a team. He has nearly $350,000 in his House campaign account that he can use in a Senate race. James said Mack won't comment on the Senate run until his announcement.

But just the tease about him entering the race is creating a buzz.

"He'll probably start the race ahead in the polls because of name ID and there will be some sense that he's the inevitable guy," said Democratic strategist Steve Schale. "But it's not like he's a Jeb Bush getting in the race."

Schale and Miller agree that after his initial bump, he'll still have to prove he deserves the support. If not, Miller said he risks being the Senate race's version of Texas Gov. Rick Perry entering the Republican presidential primary. Perry jumped to the top of the polls as an alternative to a field that wasn't generating excitement, but quickly plummeted after poor debate performances. Similarly, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann rose in the polls after winning the Ames, Iowa, straw poll and later plummeted. Herman Cain surged as Perry fell, but has since stumbled.

"You can kind of look to the presidential race that he's going to need to prove to voters that he deserves the (front-runner) status," Miller said.

Also seeking the nomination are retired Army Col. Mike McCalister, former state Rep. Adam Hasner, former Ruth's Chris Steak House CEO Craig Miller and former Sen. George LeMieux, who was appointed to serve the last 16 months of Sen. Mel Martinez' term.

Mack served three years in the state House representing the Fort Lauderdale area before moving back to Fort Myers and winning his congressional seat in 2004.

He's married to U.S. Rep. Mary Bono Mack of California, and there have been complaints that he hasn't spent enough time in his district. And while he benefits from his father's legacy, his father hasn't been in office for 10 years. The younger Mack has built a reputation as a fiscal conservative. As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, he's been an outspoken critic of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

His opponents will criticize him for supporting embryonic stem cell research and for opposing the Arizona immigration law that is popular with many Republicans.

Mack announced in March that he would seek re-election instead of the Senate seat. He endorsed Senate President Mike Haridopolos, but Haridopolos has since dropped out of the race.

Mack reconsidered after seeing poll numbers and lackluster fundraising from the current field, Haridopolos said.

"There was not much interest in the Republican field," Haridopolos said. "He's what a lot of us were looking for in a candidate."

Sen. Marco Rubio, who won his seat last year, praised Mack and said his entry will make it a better primary.

"I respect him. I think he'll be a good candidate. I think he improves the field and adds to an already good field of candidates," Rubio said after an Orlando event. "His dad has done great service for our state, I'm sure that won't hurt. But he has his own identity and his own views on issues and that's what I'm sure he'll run on."

___

Reporter Kyle Hightower contributed to this report from Orlando.

Brendan Farrington can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bsfarrington

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_el_se/us_florida_senate_mack

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The Texas Tribune: Windmillers? Tradition Hangs on in Texas Panhandle

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Windmilling is difficult and dangerous work, and the business is facing competition from solar pumps, but old-timers in the Texas Panhandle don?t see the occupation fading away just yet.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=b25ce848ec07de4e4a27f915e32a5d9a

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Fundamentalist Christians protest at Paris theater

A riot police officer moves back a Christian activist during a demonstration, in Paris, Thursday Oct. 27, 2011, in front of the Theatre de la ville, where the Italian director Romeo Castellucci's play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is being performed. Christian fundamentalists protest against the play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus)

A riot police officer moves back a Christian activist during a demonstration, in Paris, Thursday Oct. 27, 2011, in front of the Theatre de la ville, where the Italian director Romeo Castellucci's play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is being performed. Christian fundamentalists protest against the play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus)

A Christian activist holds a crucifix during a demonstration, in Paris, Thursday Oct. 27, 2011, in front of the Theatre de la ville, where the Italian director Romeo Castellucci's play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is being performed. Christian fundamentalists protest against the play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus)

A Christian activist holds a crucifix during a demonstration, in Paris, Thursday Oct. 27, 2011, in front of the Theatre de la ville, where the Italian director Romeo Castellucci's play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is being performed. Christian fundamentalists protest against the play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus)

A Christian activist holds a placard reading "No fraternity without respect of the other" as she prays during a demonstration, in Paris, Thursday Oct. 27, 2011, in front of the Theatre de la ville, where the Italian director Romeo Castellucci's play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is being performed. Christian fundamentalists protest against the play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus)

A Christian activist holds a banner reading "Christ stoned, Christians insulted" during a demonstration, in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, in front of the Theatre de la ville, where the Italian director Romeo Castellucci's play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is being performed. Christian fundamentalists protest against the play featuring the face of Christ drizzled with fake excrement. (AP Photo / Thibault Camus)

PARIS (AP) ? The city of Paris is filing legal complaints against a group of fundamentalist Christians who have been protesting a play currently showing at the municipal theater, claiming it is blasphemous, the mayor said Friday.

Riot police have been called in to chase off demonstrators bearing crosses loudly protesting in front of, and sometimes inside, the Theatre de la Ville since the Oct. 20 opening of the play.

"Sur le Concept du Visage du fils de Dieu" ("On the Concept of the Son of God's Face"), by Italian Romeo Castellucci is a provocative story centering on a young man caring for his aged and incontinent father. A portrait of the face of Christ looms large onstage throughout and projectiles are ultimately thrown at it.

Each night, police have had to defend the theater from a group of ultra-Christian protesters ? organized by the group Renouveau France ? who turn up with crucifixes and banners denouncing "Christianophobia," determined to disrupt the show .

Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said in a statement that Paris can't tolerate "such expressions of fundamentalism and intolerance."

His statement said the city is filing complaints when demonstrators try to interrupt performances.

The play has been shown elsewhere without incident, including in Poland, Italy and Spain ? traditionally Catholic countries.

Commentators backing the play contend it is not intended to offend Christ.

The director of the theater, in the center of Paris, Emmanuel Demarcy-Moto, denounced the "odious threats" and vowed that the show must go on.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-28-France-Theater%20Protest/id-a16fcfbf8da547fbb63300a712f53a5d

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Flat tax renews fight on 'trickle-down economics' (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The flat tax is making a comeback among Republican presidential candidates. But it faces tough opposition in Congress because it tends to favor the rich at the expense of other taxpayers, renewing an old debate about "trickle-down economics."

Most of the top GOP contenders ? Mitt Romney's an exception ? offer a variation of the tax plan in which everyone pays the same rate. Businessman Herman Cain has his 9-9-9 proposal, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry unveiled a 20 percent flat tax on income this week. Even Romney foresees a flatter tax system in the future, though he favors something closer to the current setup in the short term.

The idea of a flat tax has long been championed by conservative politicians as being simple and fair. Publisher Steve Forbes made it a centerpiece of his Republican presidential campaigns in 1996 and 2000. Forbes has endorsed Perry, calling his economic plan "the most exciting plan since (Ronald) Reagan's."

"American families deserve a system that is low, flat and fair," Perry wrote in his tax plan. "They should be able to file their taxes on a postcard instead of a massive novel-length document."

Conservative economists argue a flat tax would promote long-term economic growth by lowering taxes on the people who save and invest the greatest share of their income: the wealthy.

Lowering taxes on the wealthy, however, could prove politically difficult, especially now, with protesters around the country occupying public spaces and calling for the rich to pay more. President Barack Obama and many Democrats in Congress also want higher taxes for the highest-income Americans.

"It's all about political rhetoric," said William McBride, an economist the Tax Foundation, a conservative think tank. "The inevitable result of shifting the tax burden away from saving and investment is that you reduce the tax burden on the rich."

Liberals and many moderates complain that a flat tax is a giveaway to the rich, renewing an old debate over whether the benefits of tax cuts for those at the top trickle down to the rest of the population.

"This idea of lowering taxes on high-income people and somehow middle class people will benefit has been there for a long time," said Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Obviously it hasn't worked very well."

Flat tax plans by both Cain and Perry have provisions to protect low-income families from tax increases. But that raises questions about who will be left to pay the tab, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.

"If you exempt the low-income people from higher taxes, if you cut the taxes for the wealthy, getting the same amount of revenue means the middle class are going to pay more, a lot more," Williams said.

The federal income tax currently has six marginal tax rates, also known as tax brackets. The lowest rate is 10 percent, and it applies to taxable income up to $17,000, for a married couple filing jointly. The top tax rate is 35 percent, on taxable income above $379,150.

"Taxable income" is income after deductions and exemptions, which can greatly reduce the amount that is taxed. There are also many tax credits that can further reduce tax bills.

In all, nearly half of U.S. households pay no federal income tax because their incomes are so low or because they qualify for so many tax breaks, according to the Tax Policy Center. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 pay, on average, 7.2 percent of their income in federal income taxes.

By contrast, the top 10 percent of households, in terms of income, pay more than half of all federal taxes and more than 70 percent of federal income taxes, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Cain's plan would scrap most of the current tax system. He would eliminate the payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, and replace the progressive federal income tax with a flat 9 percent tax on income. He would lower the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 9 percent, and impose a new 9 percent national sales tax. The tax on capital gains would be eliminated.

The only income tax deductions allowed under Cain's original plan were for charitable contributions. He has since said people living below the poverty line ? $22,314 for a family of four ? would also be exempt from income tax.

Perry's plan would impose an optional 20 percent flat tax. Families could choose between the current tax structure and a new 20 percent tax on income, presumably picking the one that taxes them the least.

Perry's flat tax would preserve deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations and state and local taxes. It also includes a $12,500 exemption for individuals and their dependents, meaning a family of four could make $50,000 and pay no federal income tax.

Perry's plan would reduce the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 20 percent and would eliminate the tax on dividends and long-term capital gains.

Romney's tax plan would initially maintain the current tax rates, extending sweeping tax cuts that were enacted under former President George W. Bush and extended through 2012 by Obama. Romney would eliminate taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest for taxpayers with adjusted gross income below $200,000. He would push to lower the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 25 percent.

In the long term, Romney would "pursue a conservative overhaul of the tax system that includes lower and flatter rates on a broader tax base."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_bi_ge/us2012_gop_flat_tax

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[OOC] In Sanity City

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Pope expresses shame for Christian violence in history (Reuters)

ASSISI, Italy (Reuters) ? Pope Benedict, leading a global inter-religious meeting, acknowledged on Thursday "with great shame" that Christianity had used force in its long history but said violence in God's name had no place in the world today.

Benedict spoke as he hosted some 300 religious leaders from around the world - including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Taoists, Shintoists and Buddhists - in an inter-faith prayer gathering for peace in the city of St Francis.

"As a Christian I want to say at this point: yes, it is true, in the course of history, force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith," he said in his address to the delegations in an Assisi basilica.

"We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is utterly clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith, one that evidently contradicts its true nature," he said.

It was one of the few times that a pope has apologized for events such as the Crusades or the use of force to spread the faith in the New World. The late Pope John Paul apologized in 2000 for Christianity's historical failures.

Benedict, who in his address condemned terrorism, said history had also shown that the denial of God could bring about "a degree of violence that knows no bounds." He said the concentration camps of World War Two revealed "with utter clarity the consequences of God's absence."

The Assisi gathering, held on the 25th anniversary of a historic initiative in favor of peace hosted by John Paul in 1986, this time did not include common prayer among the delegates.

"ALL RELIGIONS NOT EQUAL"

The difference reflected Benedict's more conservative view of Catholic relations with other religions. In fact, Benedict, who did not attend the 1986 meeting when he was a cardinal, later implicitly criticized it because it implied that all religions were somehow equal.

The 1986 meeting, which took place at a time of the Cold War and conflicts in Lebanon, Northern Ireland and Central America, was billed as a "meeting of prayer for peace."

Thursday's anniversary gathering in Assisi, birthplace of St Francis, one of the world's most universally recognized symbols of peace, was called a "pilgrimage" for truth and peace.

In fact, instead of praying in each other's presence, as they did in 1986, the delegates were withdrawing to various rooms around the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels in the lower part of Assisi for what the program called "silence, reflection and personal prayer."

In his morning address, the Muslim delegate, Kyai Haji Hasyim Muzadi, general secretary of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars, said:

"Reality demonstrates that many human problems on this planet in fact originate from people with religions."

A representative of African traditional religions appeared to chide the big churches.

"The time has come for the leaders of all the world's religions to have a new frame of mind in which indigenous religions are given the same respect and consideration as other religions," he said.

Thursday's gathering included four people billed as "non-believers" -- agnostics the pope said had been invited to represent people in the world who have no faith but are "on the lookout for truth, searching for God."

He said such non-believers should not be confused with militant atheists, who, he said, live in the "false certainty" that there is no God.

In the afternoon, the delegates were moving to the upper part of Assisi for another round of speeches and to pay homage at the tomb of St Francis.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111027/wl_nm/us_pope

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How Do I Fix My Bricked Android Phone? [Video]

Dear Lifehacker,
Rooting my Android phone went well, but I've tried to flash a custom ROM and now I think I've bricked my phone. Is there anything I can do? More »

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Dina Chizhik: Musings of a Bored Teenager (Huffington post)

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The top 10 songs and albums on the iTunes Store (AP)

iTunes' Official Music Charts for the week ending Oct. 24, 2011:

Top Songs:

1. "We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)," Rihanna

2. "Sexy and I Know It," LMFAO

3. "Make Me Proud (feat. Nicki Minaj)," Drake

4. "Someone Like You," ADELE

5. "Mistletoe," Justin Bieber

6. "Pumped Up Kicks," Foster the People

7. "Moves Like Jagger (Studio Recording from "The Voice" Performance) (feat. Christina Aguilera)," Maroon 5

8. "Without You (feat. Usher)," Usher,David Guetta

9. "Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine)," Gym Class Heroes

10. "Paradise," Coldplay

___

Top Albums:

1. "Mylo Xyloto," Coldplay

2. "21," ADELE

3. "Come to the Well," Casting Crowns

4. "Footloose (Music from the Motion Picture)," Various Artists

5. "Evanescence," Evanescence

6. "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.," M83

7. "Torches," Foster the People

8. "The Great Escape Artist," Jane's Addiction

9. "Conditions of My Parole," Puscifer

10. "Tha Carter IV," Lil Wayne

___

(copyright) 2011 Apple, Inc.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_en_mu/us_itunes_music_top10

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For Obama, new focus on the piecemeal (The Arizona Republic)

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Nokia proclaims new dawn with Windows phones (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Nokia unveiled two sleek new Microsoft Windows phones on Wednesday, a first step in the ailing cellphone maker's fightback against Apple and Google.

The flagship Lumia 800 and more basic Lumia 710 will go on sale in key European markets by the Christmas holiday season.

Examining the first fruits of Chief Executive Stephen Elop's big bet on Microsoft software that spooked investors earlier this year, some analysts were impressed, but others said the pairing remains well short of finding an iPhone killer.

"It's a new dawn for Nokia," Elop told about 3,000 customers, partners, developers, analysts and journalists gathered in London for the much-anticipated launch at the company's annual conference.

He said the new phones' minimalist design and superior navigation features would make them stand out among rival Windows phones, some of which have been faster to market with Microsoft's new mobile platform.

The Lumia 800, with vivid colours and a curved, black display, features live icons on the home screen that automatically update news, weather or Facebook feeds. It also boasts free navigation and Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 browser.

It will sell for about 420 euros ($584) excluding taxes and subsidies, putting it in the same bracket as Apple's new iPhone and Samsung's top-end Galaxy phones.

The Lumia 710 will sell for about 270 euros.

"These devices are a good start but the reality is that they are pretty much plain vanilla Windows Phone products," said Ben Wood, director of research at UK-based telecoms analysis firm CCS Insight.

"The real fruits of Nokia's and Microsoft's labours will come next year... but it remains a Herculean task to recapture this lucrative market from Apple and Android."

Others said that Microsoft's marketing muscle and Nokia's still-strong relationships with mobile phone operators should help push the new phones into the hands of consumers through prominence in stores and attractive package deals.

"The Lumia phones do have some strong selling points in their own right... and they offer a look and feel that's radically different from anything seen previously on a Nokia device," said John Delaney, research director at technology research firm IDC.

"These devices are strong contenders."

Nokia shares were sharply up before Wednesday morning's announcement but gave up most of their gains to trade up 1.5 percent by 1029 GMT, still outperforming a flat wider market.

The phones will go on sale in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain in November, with 31 operators and retailers providing marketing support, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year.

Nokia said it would address the crucial U.S. market, where it has always struggled, early next year, and mainland China in the first half of 2012.

Nokia also unveiled four new basic phones for emerging markets, where it still holds a leading position.

Nokia's market value has halved since February as investors are unsure whether it can ever regain its once-commanding market share.

Its third-quarter results beat low expectations, sparking hopes that the company can survive a painful revamp, but smartphone sales still dropped 38 percent from a year ago.

The annual Nokia World media and industry event in London where the launch took place on Wednesday includes speakers from the world's largest carriers: China Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and MTN. ($1 = 0.719 Euros)

(Additional reporting by Terhi Kinnunen in Helsinki; Editing by Erica Billingham and Andrew Callus)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/india_nm/india601306

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Creator Of Lisp, John McCarthy, Dead At 84

The creator of Lisp and arguably the father of modern artificial intelligence, John McCarthy, died last night. He studied mathematics with the famous John Nash at Princeton and, notably, held the first "computer-chess" match between scientists in the US and the USSR. He transmitted the moves by telegraph. McCarthy believed AI should be interactive, allowing for a give and take similar to AI simulators like Eliza and, more recently, Siri. His own labs were run in an open, free-wheeling fashion, encouraging exploration and argument. He won the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in 1972 and the National Medal of Science in 1991.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Fh9bCSQH-RE/

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Perry places hopes on flat tax (Reuters)

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) ? Republican Rick Perry on Tuesday placed his hopes for a comeback in the U.S. presidential race on a plan for a 20 percent flat tax that would give the richest their lowest tax rate in almost a century.

Perry's roll-out of his tax proposal, part of a broad economic plan, came as a poll showed him struggling in the race to decide the Republican presidential nominee.

The Texas governor's plan would also slash taxes for corporations and could mean a tax cut for low- to middle-income households.

Speaking at a plastics plant in the rural town of Gray Court, Perry waved a postcard-sized form that he said would be the same size as a tax return under his plan to simplify the huge U.S. tax code.

"It is time to pass a tax that is flat and fair and frees our people to invest and grow and prosper," Perry said in South Carolina, where conservative voters are dominant and a state Perry would need to win for any chance at the nomination.

A new CBS/New York Times poll of Republicans said Perry stands at only 6 percent, down from 12 percent earlier this month. He trails four other contenders led by businessman Herman Cain with 25 percent support and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 21 percent.

Perry's flat tax proposal is his answer to Cain's simple 9-9-9 plan.

Perry would cut corporate taxes from 35 percent to 20 percent and encourage U.S. corporations that collectively have socked away $1.4 trillion in profits overseas to repatriate the money by letting them pay a reduced 5.25 percent tax for a limited time.

A 20 percent top individual income tax rate would be the lowest U.S. levy on the richest Americans since 1916, when it was 15 percent. The current top rate is 35 percent.

But Perry rejected charges that his plan would mostly benefit the wealthiest, saying he is interested in creating jobs, and "if folks who have money are going to be creating those jobs, I don't have a problem in the world with that."

Taking questions from reporters, Perry dismissed polls saying he is lagging behind his rivals and said once Republicans look at his economic plans they will decide, "that's where we want to go."

"I've always said polls are going to go up and down," he said, while suggesting he may make some tactical changes. "There is a long time until this campaign is over."

CONSERVATIVE GOALS

Perry's plan reflected the conservative goal of less government involvement in Americans' affairs. He would cut government spending, roll back regulations and attempt to balance the budget by 2020.

He would overhaul the Social Security program for retirees by letting younger workers invest a portion of their payroll taxes in a market-based pension system. Republican President George W. Bush attempted a similar Social Security reform but could not get it through Congress.

Perry rests most of his plan on tax cuts, giving Americans an option of a 20 percent flat tax or keeping their current tax rate. To blunt criticism that it would hurt the middle class, he would allow Americans making less than $500,000 a year to keep popular deductions on home mortgage loan interest and charity donations.

Perry would also eliminate the tax on qualified dividends and long-term capital gains.

"To do the kind of tax cuts he's talking about implies massive cuts in government spending," said Howard Gleckman, a fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan think tank. "I don't quite see how he could possibly balance the budget."

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign said Perry's tax plan seemed guided by the principle of shifting the tax burden from large corporations "onto the backs of the middle class."

Perry proposed the plan after consultations with Steve Forbes, the Republican who offered a flat tax plan in his 1996 bid for the party nomination. Forbes endorsed Perry on Monday.

Perry shot to the top of Republican voter polls when he launched his campaign two months ago but has fallen back after shaky debate performances and a series of distractions.

He seemed to get caught up in yet another distraction on Tuesday when he brought up the largely discredited issue of whether Obama was actually born in the United States, a constitutional requirement to being president.

Obama produced his Hawaii birth certificate earlier this year and the storm over the issue seemed to have calmed. But in a CNBC interview, Perry said: "It's a good issue to keep alive," saying it was fun to poke at Obama on the topic.

He changed his tune a bit when asked about it in Columbia, calling the birth certificate issue a "distraction."

(Additional reporting by Patrick Temple-West and Stella Dawson; Editing by Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111025/pl_nm/us_usa_campaign_perry

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Apple iPod touch (2011)

In 2010, Apple's fourth-generation iPod touch got two cameras?one for shooting HD videos and photos, one for FaceTime chats. In 2011, the changes to the iPod touch are all based on the new iOS 5, which brings with it iMessage, iCloud, notifications, and Game Center enhancements. Physically, the player is unchanged, except now it's offered in white. The high-res Retina display remains crisp, colorful, and highly responsive to touch. Since the iPod nano ($129, 3 stars) no longer supports video, the 8GB touch is the least-expensive video-playing iPod, starting at $199 direct?a $30 price drop from 2010. The other two models remain $299 (32GB) and $399 (64GB). Despite the hefty price, the iPod touch is still, by far, the best portable media player you can buy?and it retains our Editors' Choice.

Design
There's a new white model, which is white on the front face and mirrored on the back, but the touch retains its 2010 dimensions: 4.4 by 2.3 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and 3.6 ounces. Apple's custom A4 chip powers the device, and the super-sharp Retina display remains 3.5 diagonal inches and 960-by-640 pixels (at 326 pixels per inch). The touch's left-hand panel houses two Volume buttons. A headphone jack, a speaker, and a 30-pin connector for USB computer syncing are on the bottom of the player. The Power button sits up top, and the Home button remains below the display on the front panel. There are two camera lenses?one toward the top of the display, and one on the back, in the top left corner, which is accompanied by a mic. The mirrored back panel is excellent for checking your teeth on the sly, but it picks up fingerprints very easily.?

In the box, you'll find a Quick Start Guide, a proprietary USB cable for connecting the touch to your computer, and a pair of Apple signature earbuds. It's a good idea to upgrade those bass-deprived, ill-fitting earbuds to earphones, and our Ultimate Guide to Headphones is a good place to start your search for the right pair.

User Interface
With the inclusion of iOS 5, the iPod touch now becomes a messaging device. It can also use the new iCloud function, which features iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, and Documents in the Cloud, so you can share content wirelessly between your computer, your iPod touch, your iPhone, and your iPad. Another useful new feature is Notifications, which works with just about any relevant app to keep you informed about updates and friends' responses. For more about what iOS 5 can do, check out PCMag's full review, or read on here to discover some of the nuances that improve the iPod touch's performance.

Audio and Video
Navigating the music menus on the iPod touch is completely intuitive. First off, there are so many ways to do it?using CoverFlow, searching Artist or Song, or perusing playlists. Apple has made everything fast and easy?scroll song or artist lists by dragging a finger or skip ahead to a letter on the scrollable alphabet on the right side of the screen. The Now Playing view is a showcase for album art, and you can play music while you surf the Web, view photos, or even play games.

By itself, the iPod touch is a fine audio device?plug in a pair of good-quality headphones and you won't be disappointed with the frequency range and overall audio quality. To my continuing disappointment, Apple still offers its stock, subpar earbuds. Audiophiles listening to Lossless tracks on the touch will be best served by leaving the EQ off. The settings Apple provides are presets; there's still no user-customizable EQ. Extra features like Shake to Shuffle, Volume Limit, and Sound Check can all be enabled or disabled easily.

The iTunes Store can be accessed via Wi-Fi for on-the-spot music and video purchases. Video looks fantastic on the Retina display. YouTube and Netflix will not look as sharp as video purchased from the iTunes Store, of course, but the speed with which video can be cued up without stuttering is impressive. Again, this is dependent on the strength of your Wi-Fi signal.

The touch integrates Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, though 802.11n only operates on the 2.4GHz band. Nike+ iPod support is also included for those who want to use the touch to help keep in shape.

Camera
The rear-facing camera records video in HD (720p), up to 30fps, capturing audio through the rear panel mic. Still photos max out at 960 by 720 pixels. This amounts to less than a megapixel, and compared with the iPhone 4S?($199.99-$399.99, 4.5 stars) and its 8-megapixel rear camera, the quality in images is stark. (See the slideshow for a side-by-side comparison.) The front-facing camera, intended for FaceTime video chat, offers lower resolutions: VGA-quality for photos and videos, again, up to 30fps.

Camera operation couldn't be more intuitive. An onscreen slide control toggles between still and video camera modes, and an icon in the lower left takes you to your gallery, where you can peruse your photos and videos. Video footage plays back onscreen with a scroll tool that shows a thumbnail timeline of your footage, making skipping to a certain spot easy. You can trim your footage on the player by dragging your finder over the thumbnail timeline of the footage and selecting segments to cut.

Capturing video is achieved by pressing the red Record button onscreen when in video camera mode, and tapping it again to end recording. The screen acts as your viewfinder and everything moves along in real time without stuttering. Low-light situations will make for some noisy footage, but in well-lit scenarios, the touch's video looks colorful and crisp. Uploading your video to YouTube or sending it as an email attachment, provided you have a Wi-Fi connection, is made easy with a button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen that walks you through a streamlined process to do either.

Unlike the iPhone 4S's camera, the iPod touch's has no flash, which makes low-light?particularly back-lit?scenarios rather challenging. You get 5x digital zoom for photos, which is activated by moving the slider on the screen above the on-screen shutter button, but zooming in creates noticeable artifacts. Landscape shots in adequate lighting look decent for a camera built into a player, and well-lit portraits look sharper than you'd expect, provided you don't zoom in too far. Like videos, photos can be sent out immediately via email, or you can assign a photo to be your new wallpaper or a friend's contact photo, all by pressing the lower left-hand button when viewing your image.

iMessage and FaceTime
iOS 5 brings iMessage to the iPod touch. If you use an iPhone, the difference between an iMessage and a text message is pretty much undetectable?they appear the same in your Messages app. However, iMessage uses Wi-Fi rather than a carrier's signal, which means that Wi-Fi devices, like the iPod touch, are invited to the party. Not invited: Devices not running iOS 5. Still, any friends of yours with an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad can now be sent virtual texts via iMessage?all you need is a wireless signal. This means you can send them photo and video straight from your iPod touch, too.

FaceTime still works quite well?images are fairly crisp and clear, aided by the smaller screen, and it's easy to understand what your chat partner is saying. Of course, this is contingent on your Wi-Fi signal being strong, but in ideal scenarios, it's not much different than video chatting on a laptop. However, Google Talk has a bit of an advantage over FaceTime, in that it works across multiple operating systems. You can, for instance, chat on Google Talk between a Motorola Xoom ($599, 3.5 stars) and an Apple laptop; FaceTime, like iMessage, only works between iOS devices and some Apple computers. But what began as a portable media player with no camera now has video chat and virtual text messaging capabilities?even with its iOS 5-only limitations, that is quite impressive.

Gaming and Apps
In 2010, Apple introduced Game Center, a feature that encourages you to find a friend?either someone you know or a stranger with an iPod touch or an iPhone?to play real-time games. Your success (or failure) earns you a ranking you can use for bragging rights or to seek out opponents with similar skill levels. With iOS 5, Game Center gets a few new features, like the ability to purchase new games from within the app and add photos to your profile.

Meanwhile, the App Store, which is accessed via Wi-Fi, is loaded with single-player, accelerometer-driven games like Zombie Highway, that look fantastic on the Retina display. There are more than 500,000 apps with a range far too wide to detail here. If you're familiar with the iPhone or iPod touches past, you know the possibilities are endless.

Web, Email, and Notifications
Surfing in Safari on the iPod touch is a great experience.? Now that the Zune HD (4.5 stars), which was also a strong Internet device, is officially a relic, the iPod touch offers the strongest Web experience on any device this size that isn't a mobile phone. Still, there are some annoyances. Given Apple's stance on Flash support, you shouldn't expect it on any iPod or iPhone anytime soon, and that's the single advantage competing mobile browsers can offer.

Email remains easy to customize and use?AOL, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Microsoft Exchange, and mobileMe remain options in the mail section, where you can also add an iCloud account. Multiple accounts can be synced via Exchange.

With the new notifications features in iOS 5, email notifications appear on-screen, as well as app notifications?say, when your opponent makes a new play or a friend comments on your Facebook post. Notifications appear on the Lock screen (Alerts), at the top of the home screen (Banners), just over the app's icon (Badges), and you can choose between various combinations of the three for each app?or to turn them off completely.

Battery Life and Conclusions
Apple rates the battery life for the iPod touch at an impressive 40 hours for audio and seven hours for video. We ran three different battery rundown tests. With Wi-Fi on, and the screen illuminated (meaning Auto-Lock is disabled) and audio playing, we got a reasonable four hours and 25 minutes. With Wi-Fi off and the screen going dark (Auto-Lock set to one minute), we got a great result: 47 hours and 25 minutes. For video playback with the screen brightness at maximum and with no Wi-Fi on, we got one hour and 41 minutes?not enough time to watch a full movie, in most cases.?

There are very few devices left that you can actually compare directly with the iPod touch, though both Sony and Samsung have announced, but not yet shipped Android-based PMPs. Many manufacturers have thrown in the towel and are taking on slightly less daunting targets, like the iPod nano or the iPod shuffle ($49, 3.5 stars), or are focusing on tablets instead. The only real problem with the touch is its high price?especially if you want a decent amount of storage. But with an entry point of $199, you do get a camera, HD video recording, messaging and video chat, a music and video player, portable gaming, the Web, email, and apps all in one slick, pocket-size package. It was true when it first debuted, and even more so now: No other portable media player can compete with the iPod touch.

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