Tyler Clary live tweets NBC's coverage of his gold finish

http://sirifarm.com/index.html

Tyler Clary live tweets NBC's coverage of his gold finish

By Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY 2012/8/03
While NBC's primetime, tape-delay coverage has been heavily scrutinized throughout the London Games, Tyler Clary only added fuel to the fire.
The swimmer, who won an Olympic gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke Wednesday afternoon, decided to make use of social media by live tweeting his victory with hilarious play-by-play analysis on the Wednesday night NBC broadcast.

That's the beauty of a tape delay, and with the Summer Olympics being dubbed the "Social Games" for its emphasis on Twitter and Facebook, Clary took full advantage of getting to watch his gold medal victory when Americans tuned in.

Bradley Wiggins on his Olympic throne – a reminder of Britain's true history

http://sirifarm.com/

Bradley Wiggins on his Olympic throne – a reminder of Britain's true history

This picture hints at something that was missing from Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony: empire
Jonathan Jones
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 August 2012
The 2012 Olympics began with a vision of British history. Danny Boyle's romantic panorama started in a pastoral land of shepherds, then showed it torn apart by the rising chimney stacks of the industrial revolution. But out of this pandemonium rose the suffragettes, marching for the vote, and the wonder that is the National Health Service.

Five days into the Games, and Bradley Wiggins was pictured here on a golden throne in front of Hampton Court Palace. Wiggins sprawls on his throne for photographers after winning his gold medal in the cycling time trial. He paid this royal palace the ultimate insult of apparently not knowing where he actually was – "wherever we are", he told interviewers. This picture might be seen as a sequel to Boyle's imaginary revolution. The people have occupied the palaces! Comrade Wiggins sits on the tsar's throne!

India set to launch Mars mission in 2013

http://sirifarm.com/

India set to launch Mars mission in 2013

2012/8/02
BANGALORE, India — India plans to launch a mission to Mars next year, putting an orbital probe around the red planet to study its climate and geology, top space department officials said on Thursday.
The mission would mark another step in India's ambitious space programme, which envisages the Asian giant's first manned mission in 2016.
"We will embark on the Mars mission after the Department of Science gives the green signal and decides the schedule early next year," Deviprasad Karnik, director of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told AFP.
A 320-tonne Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket will be used to carry the orbiter spaceship, blasting off from the ISRO launch site at Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Another senior official at ISRO, requesting anonymity, estimated the cost of the mission at 4.0-5.0

Bollywood gets racy with ‘Jism 2,’ this is not a porn movie, really, we swear

http://sirifarm.com/

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, August 2
MUMBAI, India — “Jism 2” stars a hard-core porn actress, and it does have that pesky title. But it’s not a porn movie. Bollywood is certainly not ready for that.

The film, which will be released across India on Friday, is pushing the ever-widening sexual boundaries enjoyed by many in urban India. It shows no frontal nudity — government censors monitoring a film industry that long refused to show onscreen kissing would never clear that — but with its oil massages and fantastic lingerie it promises to be one of the most graphic films in Bollywood history.
At the same time, growing sexual freedom has sparked a backlash by traditionalists who have torn down its risque poster, led a crackdown on bars in Mumbai and even advocated an informal curfew for women.

First, a few words about the movie’s title.

Jism means “body” in Hindi. Director Pooja Bhatt insists there was no double entendre intended.

But the title, coupled with the oeuvre of the film’s leading lady, set off alarm bells at Apple, Google and YouTube.

Apple rejected the filmmakers’ request to list “Jism 2” — a sequel to the 2003 film “Jism” — on its Movie Talkies app.

“They wrote to us saying I’m sorry it’s a rude word, this is porn,” Bhatt said. “We said no it’s not, it’s a legitimate Hindi film and the word j-i-s-m actually means body.”

There are more than 83 million active 'fake' users on Facebook

http://sirifarm.com/

There are more than 83 million active 'fake' users on Facebook

2012/8/02
By Wayne Williams
Tucked away in Facebook’s company filings published this week, was an interesting snippet of information. Although the social network had 955 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) as of June 30, 2012, an increase of 29 percent from this time last year, some 8.7 percent of that figure – around 83 million users - were identified by Facebook as likely to have come from fake sources.

SI's Daily Olympic Briefing: Aug. 2

http://sirifarm.com/

SI's Daily Olympic Briefing: Aug. 2

By Richard Deitsch>INSIDE OLYMPICS
August 2, 2012

LONDON -- Nadia. Mary Lou. Nastia. The women's gymnastics individual all-around final has historically turned athletes into one-name sporting icons, and the title of Olympic darling gets awarded today (starts at 11:30 a.m.), with Americans Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman both contenders for the gold medal. Douglas, she of Flying Squirrel fame and winner of the U.S. Trials, was expected to be here. So was world champion Jordyn Wieber -- but it was Raisman, once thought to be too weak on uneven bars to be a serious threat in the all-around, who delivered a life-changing performance last Sunday to earn a spot in today's all-around. (Only two gymnasts per country can qualify for the all-around final.) "Even Raisman herself said she was stunned when it sunk in that she would be competing in the all-around final instead of Wieber, her close friend and roommate in the Olympic Village," wrote SI.com's Brian Cazeneuve.

'Citizen Kane' bumped by 'Vertigo' as greatest film ever made on BFI's Sight and Sound poll

http://sirifarm.com/

'Citizen Kane' bumped by 'Vertigo' as greatest film ever made on BFI's Sight and Sound poll

Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' dominated the British Film Institute's magazine's all-time list of the greatest films for 50 years, until this year when 'Vertigo' received the top honor.
BY MICHAEL WALSH / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012
Just as Charles Foster Kane longed for Rosebud, the character might start yearning for his film's previously unrivaled critical status.
Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" has dethroned Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" as the greatest film of all time on the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound critics' film poll. "Citizen Kane" topped the list for 50 years, from 1962 on. But the 2012 worldwide survey of 846 cinema experts passed the

Jobless Claims In U.S. Climbed Less Than Forecast Last Week

http://sirifarm.com/

Jobless Claims In U.S. Climbed Less Than Forecast Last Week

By Shobhana Chandra - Aug 2, 2012
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose less than forecast last week as annual auto shutdowns continued to influence the number.
Jobless claims climbed by 8,000 to 365,000 in the week ended July 28, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for an increase to 370,000. Starting next week, the data should be clear of any influence from the annual auto plant retooling closures that make it difficult to adjust the data for seasonal variations, a Labor Department spokesman said as the report was released to the press.
Apart from the statistical noise, the job market may take time to heal as a global slowdown and looming U.S. fiscal policy changes in the world’s biggest economy keep employers reluctant to add workers. Unemployment above 8 percent is among reasons Federal Reserve policy makers yesterday

Former spymaster says Iran should be worried by Israeli threats

http://sirifarm.com/

Former spymaster says Iran should be worried by Israeli threats

The Associated Press
Published Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012
JERUSALEM -- A former Israeli spymaster says if he were an Iranian, he would be "very worried" by Israel's talk about possibly attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.

Ephraim Halevy says the next 12 weeks will be "very critical" to Israel's decision on whether to strike. Halevy told Israel Radio on Thursday that if the Iranians "continue to play their games" in nuclear talks with world powers, they're underestimating Israel's resolve.

He says the Iranians' "math is off if they think they have open-ended immunity" in these talks.

London’s West End Denied Olympic Travel Boom as Fans Go East

http://sirifarm.com/
Bloomberg News

London’s West End Denied Olympic Travel Boom as Fans Go East

By Roxana Zega on August 02, 2012
London’s West End entertainment and retail district has missed out on a jump in subway visitors as the city hosts the 2012 Olympics, with a surge in passenger trips focused on major games sites further east.

While journeys increased 10.5 percent across the Tube network on Tuesday, passenger numbers at stations serving the West End remained at year-ago levels, Transport for London said today in a statement. The east of the city, where the main stadium and more than half a dozen other venues are located, has seen a “huge” jump in travel, TfL spokesman Matt Brown said.

AdWatch: Obama ad portrays Romney as favoring rich

AdWatch: Obama ad portrays Romney as favoring rich

August 2, 2012
WASHINGTON — TITLE: "Worried"

LENGTH: 30 seconds.

AIRING: Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, and Florida

KEY IMAGES: Black-and-white shots of worried-looking people, footage of the war in Iraq and people boarding a private jet.

"You watched, and worried," a narrator says. "Two wars. Tax cuts for millionaires. Debt piled up. And now we face a choice." The downbeat music turns upbeat, and a color image of Mitt Romney flashes on the screen, followed by an image of luxury yachts, an overhead shot of the Pentagon and, again, a pair of worried-looking voters.

3 US Airways planes narrowly avoid collision at Reagan National Airport

3 US Airways planes narrowly avoid collision at Reagan National Airport

Published August 02, 2012
FoxNews.com
WASHINGTON – Three US Airways planes came within seconds of a midair collision Tuesday afternoon at Ronald Reagan National Airport after air traffic controllers reportedly mistakenly cleared two outbound flights to head in the direction of an incoming plane.
The Washington Post reports that the commuter planes were carrying 192 passengers and crew members. The newspaper cites federal officials with direct knowledge of the incident.
Based on the planes’ speeds and their trajectory, they were apparently 12 seconds from colliding with each other, MyFoxDC.com reported.

Has Housing Bottomed?

Home Prices Rise in May: It’s “Pretty Clear” Housing Market Has Bottomed Says WSJ’s Wessel

By Stacy Curtin | Daily Ticke
2012/8/01
U.S. home prices were up for the fourth straight month in May and came in better than most economists expected.
According to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, the price of single-family homes rose a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent from April to May, versus forecasts for a 0.5 percent increase. But home prices did fall 0.66 percent year-over -year.
"The housing market seems to be stabilizing, but we are definitely in a wait-and-see mode for the next few months," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, in a

Sorry Bernanke...

Sorry Bernanke, the ECB Is the Main Attraction for Now

By Matt Nesto | Breakout
2012/8/01
Just as we were wrapping our American heads around the idea that checking on Spanish bond yields was a necessary part of our morning pre-market routine, now come grumblings that tomorrow's European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting is actually more important than what the Fed will say today.
"It [the ECB meeting] is more important in terms of the drama in the euro zone," concedes Andrew

Hawk Koch named new Oscars boss

Hawk Koch named new Oscars boss

1 August 2012
Producer Hawk Koch has been elected the new president of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages The Oscars every year.

Koch, whose credits include Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and the Wayne's World films, replaces Tom Sherak, after three years.

He will spend one year in the unpaid role after being voted for by the group's board of governors.

One of his first big tasks will be to choose a producer for 2013's Oscars.

Koch had already served as first vice president of the film academy last year, and is currently also co-president of the Producers Guild of America.

He also previously worked as assistant director on films such as The Way We Were and Chinatown.

Researchers: Modern culture may have earlier start

Researchers: Modern culture may have earlier start

2012/8/01
JOHANNESBURG (AP) – Poisoned-tipped arrows and jewelry made of ostrich egg beads found in South Africa show modern culture may have emerged about 30,000 years earlier in the area than previously thought, according to two articles published on Monday.
The findings published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" show that the 44,000-year-old artifacts are characteristic of the San hunter-gatherers. The descendants of San people live today in southern Africa, so the items can clearly be traced forward to modern culture, unlike other archaeological finds, researchers said.
South African researcher Lucinda Backwell said the findings are the earliest known instances of "modern behavior as we know it." Backwell said the discovery reinforces the theory that modern man came from southern Africa.

Bloomberg to New York Mothers: Breast-feed Your Baby

Bloomberg to New York Mothers: Breast-feed Your Baby

Published August 01, 2012
Fox News Latino
We have all heard of the benefits of breast milk, but this time the message is from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg: breast-feed your baby, if possible.
Starting in September, dozens of city hospitals will ask mothers of newborns to listen to talks about why their breast milk is better than the sample formulas many hospitals offer for free. Then the women can decide for themselves, says the mayor.
Bloomberg has been ribbed as the city's "nanny" for pushing programs aimed at making New Yorkers healthier — from clamping down on big sugar-loaded drinks to creating no-smoking zones in public

Olympics-Pressure is off, let British gold rush begin

Olympics-Pressure is off, let British gold rush begin

By Martyn Herman
LONDON | Wed Aug 1, 2012
Aug 1 (Reuters) - The 500-1 bet is off and the Queen classic "Under pressure" resounding around some of the London 2012 venues no longer brings home competitors out in a sweat because Team GB has struck gold.
Bookmakers had been offering those huge odds that Britain would not win a single gold medal at the Games.

While that was an improbable scenario, four days of failure in archery, shooting, judo, handball and canoeing, punctuated by some plucky near misses, had caused a mild degree of panic and some smug smirks from some of Britain's sporting arch rivals, namely Australia.

Sideshow: No longer a Dogg, but king of the beasts

Sideshow: No longer a Dogg, but king of the beasts

By Tirdad Derakhshani Aug. 1, 2012

Inquirer Staff Writer
"I want to bury Snoop Dogg."

That's not the bitter pronouncement of a disgruntled music critic. Those words come straight from Snoop Dogg, who has changed his name to Snoop Lion.

Snoop, 40, finally explained the sudden shift during a confab Monday night. He says he was hit with a thunderbolt from above during a visit to a Rastafarian temple in Jamaica.

Cuba Gooding Jr. Wanted by Police in New Orleans

Cuba Gooding Jr. Wanted by Police in New Orleans

SANDIE ANGULO CHEN ON AUG 1, 2012
Cuba Gooding Jr. is wanted by New Orleans police after an incident at a bar early Tuesday morning. The Academy Award winner allegedly pushed a female bartender twice at a French Quarter establishment.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the New Orleans police department issued a battery arrest

Dollar Gains on Euro and Yen on ADP Job Data

Dollar Gains on Euro and Yen on ADP Job Data

By: Reuters
Published: Wednesday, 1 Aug 2012
The dollar gained against the yen and euro on Wednesday as data showed the U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected in July.
The dollar [JPY= 78.21 0.10 (+0.13%) ] rose to 78.19 yen from 78.10 yen before the data. The U.S. currency was up 0.1 percent on the day.

The euro [EUR= 1.2313 0.001 (+0.08%) ] last traded at $1.2287, down from the $1.2307 it traded at before the report and down 0.1 percent from the prior New York close. The move lower in the euro began in the minute before the data's release.

"ADP has a poor correlation with non-farm payrolls but that won't stop positive anticipation for Friday's job report based on today's better than expected number," said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at Worldwide Markets, Woodcliff Lake in New Jersey.

Badminton Players Disqualified for Throwing Matches

Badminton Players Disqualified for Throwing Matches

By KEN BELSON
Published: August 1, 2012
LONDON — Badminton officials took the extraordinary step of tossing out four pairs of women — two from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia — for deliberately trying to lose their preliminary matches Tuesday night, the latest judging controversy to sweep through the Olympics.
The decision less than a day after the final matches in the preliminary rounds of the women’s doubles immediately threw the tournament into turmoil, and is likely to prompt protests and rule changes in the coming days and weeks. Korea and Indonesia have appealed the decision, and officials hoped to rule on the appeal within an hour.

Poll: Obama leads in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania

Poll: Obama leads in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania

Aug 01, 2012
By David Jackson, USA TODAY
A new poll gives President Obama solid leads in three key swing states: Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

The president hits 50% in all three states, according to the survey by Quinnipiac University, the New York Times and CBS News.

Obama leads Republican Mitt Romney by 50%-44% in Ohio, by 51%-45% in Florida, and 53%-42% in Pennsylvania.

"If today were Nov. 6, President Barack Obama would sweep the key swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania and - if history is any guide - into a second term in the Oval Office," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Power Is Restored Across India After Crippling Blackout

Power Is Restored Across India After Crippling Blackout

By GARDINER HARRIS and JIM YARDLEY
Published: August 1, 2012
NEW DELHI — As electric power was restored across India on Wednesday, the nation’s new power minister sought to tamp down a growing argument between state and federal ministers over who was to blame for Tuesday’s unprecedented blackout.
“I don’t think one can have a blame game between the state and the center,” said the minister, Veerappa Moily.

Obama tweets shout-out to Michael Phelps after record

Obama tweets shout-out to Michael Phelps after record

By Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY
2012/8/1
Missy Franklin heard from Justin Bieber after winning her first gold medal. Michael Phelps got an bigger tweet after earning a record 19th Olympic medal — from President Barack Obama.
Obama tweeted:

Congrats to Michael Phelps for breaking the all-time Olympic medal record. You've made your country proud. -bo

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama)

Phelps said Wednesday morning that he was enjoying the Twitter attention. "I woke up and started scrolling through thousands of mentions (on Twitter). It was just like madness. I wanted to thank all

Gore Vidal dies: Cultural icon made his mark on Broadway

Gore Vidal dies: Cultural icon made his mark on Broadway

By David Ng
August 1, 2012, 5:00 a.m.
Gore Vidal, who died Tuesday at 86, was a cultural icon who occupied a uniquely wide-ranging position in American letters. An essayist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and occasional actor, Vidal was a prolific polymath whose diverse output was united by an acerbic and politically engaged intelligence.

Seven tips for a stress-free vacation

Seven tips for a stress-free vacation

Published July 31, 2012
FoxNews.com
Soaking up sun and sand on the beach, sipping something fruity poolside--vacation is supposed to be relaxing, right? Unfortunately, for many of us trying to get away from it all, vacations can easily become just another source of stress. If you're feeling frantic about an upcoming trip, melt away anxiety with the expert tips below.
1. Plan ahead. When vacationing with a group, plan accommodations, travel and excursions in advance.
"This will ensure everyone's expectations are met and there are no surprises while on your trip," says SmarTravel CEO David Wise. He warns that tension can result when one person is really looking forward to the nightlife and another only budgeted enough to stay in the hotel or at the beach.
To avoid such a scenario, it's a good idea to discuss expectations before you go.