House committee delays vote on anti-piracy act (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? A key House vote on controversial anti-piracy legislation has been delayed.

The House Judiciary Committee adjourned on Friday without deciding on whether or not to send the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act to the House floor.

The committee had been engaged in a marathon markup version of the bill, but the session came to an abrupt end, as Congress had to turn its attention to a floor vote on a nearly $1 trillion spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.

The discussion will resume when Congress is next in session -- which could be next week.

The law, along with its Senate sister, the Protect IP Act, are both championed by the recording and film industries. They both seek to combat online piracy by giving the Justice Department authority to block offshore "rogue" websites that engage in the illicit sale of everything from pirated films to bogus pharmaceuticals.

The act would give federal authorities new power to block service providers, search engines, payment processors, and advertising networks it considers to be facilitating illegal on-line activity, such as streaming pirated television programs, films or selling pharmaceuticals.

However, the legislation has been fiercely opposed by a coalition of high-tech companies such as Google, Yahoo, PayPal, Twitter and eBay, who have charged that the effort to crack down on illegal downloads are too far-reaching and akin to censorship.

In a feisty statement, Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) expressed optimism that the bill will pass once Congress is in session.

"The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality," Smith said. "Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts."

Friday's committee session adjourned after considering 25 amendments to the bill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/media_nm/us_antipiracy

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Jon Huntsman leapfrogs Ron Paul in New Hampshire, says poll

GOP candidate Jon Huntsman has replaced Ron Paul in third place in New Hampshire, behind Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, says a new Suffolk University poll.

The latest poll out of New Hampshire (released late Wednesday night) shows Mitt Romney well in the lead, Newt Gingrich continuing to pick up steam but a surprising charge into third place - Jon Huntsman.

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Romney?s pulling 38 percent; Gingrich comes in next with 20 percent (up six percentage points since last month) and then there?s Huntsman at 13 percent, eclipsing former show horse Ron Paul at about eight percent. (See the whole poll for yourself here.)

The rest of the candidates pile up an unimpressive 10 percent of the electorate between them.

What?s behind Huntsman gaining ground? As the director of Suffolk University?s polling center points out, Huntsman is striking a chord with registered independents:

[Huntsman] is scoring his highest numbers in New Hampshire polling this year, largely due to the support of independents, who are eligible to vote in the New Hampshire primary.? Huntsman polled second among independents ? besting Gingrich ? and trailed Romney by just 11 percent.? In New Hampshire there are three registered independents for every two registered Republicans.??If independents participate in a big way next January, Huntsman will benefit,? said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University?s Political Research Center.? ?While other candidates have focused on the more traditional Republican voters, Huntsman has traction among independents, who could dominate the Republican Primary if mobilized.?

Oh, and a Super PAC rumored to be funded by his daddy is pumping money into the state. Probably should mention that.The poll did only connect with voters who said they were ?very likely? to vote in the GOP primary so those independent voters are clearly fired up to get in the fray.What else is remarkable about this poll? Other than Huntsman?s growing strength, the rest of the storyline is pretty much all Romney, all the time. Consider:

• Perry?s horrific favorability rating: Of those who had heard of him, a whopping 67 percent disapproved to only 18 percent approval (underwater by nearly 50 percentage points.) By comparison, Sarah Palin is a negative 16 and ?

• Mitt Romney?s is plus 50, which dwarfs Gingrich (plus two), Paul (plus seven) and Huntsman (plus 10).?

• And guess who Gingrich voters believe has a better presidential temperament? It?s not their man: ?Gingrich voters (43 percent) said that Romney had the personality best suited to be president, compared to 42 percent for Gingrich.?

• That?s not the only thing they like: ?Of the two leaders ? Romney and Gingrich ? Romney was trusted more to fix the economy by 59 percent to 20 percent over Gingrich, while 62 percent of voters said Romney would be better at bringing America together than Gingrich (18 percent). Romney was considered to have the personality best suited to be president (70 percent) compared to Gingrich (16 percent).?

• But not all is bright in Romneyworld: ?Most notably, Romney?s lead dropped from +48 to +11 in Rockingham County, the second largest county in New Hampshire, located in the southeast along the Massachusetts border.? In addition, Romney?s lead fell from +34 to +12 among likely voters ages 55-74 years.? In other words, Huntsman/Gingrich are chewing him up where it hurts.?

Don?t just sit there, go out and see for yourself:

Like your politics unscrambled? Check out DCDecoder.com

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/zFxqNvZWk1U/Jon-Huntsman-leapfrogs-Ron-Paul-in-New-Hampshire-says-poll

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No. 1 Baylor women set to host second-ranked UConn

Brittney Griner has been looking forward to another shot against Connecticut. She'll get her chance on Sunday when top-ranked Baylor faces the No. 2 Huskies.

The two teams met early last season with the rankings reversed and UConn escaped with a one-point victory in Hartford, rallying from a late eight-point deficit. The 6-foot-8 phenom felt the loss was her fault.

"That last game with UConn has been on my mind for a long time," Griner said. "The one thing I think about the most is my free throws. It was just horrible that game. After that game, I hit almost every free throw I attempted."

Griner missed eight of 13 from the free throw line, including some key misses down the stretch that allowed UConn to rally for the 65-64 win.

She hasn't been missing much of anything this season, leading Baylor to victory after victory. Griner is averaging 22.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.9 blocks in just 30 minutes a game this season for the Lady Bears (10-0). She's also shooting 73 percent from the foul line.

So far Baylor and Connecticut's games this season have been anything but competitive. The Lady Bears have won by an average of 34.5 points. Throw out wins over ranked Notre Dame and Tennessee and the margin jumps to nearly 40 a game.

"I know I'm definitely ready for a game like this. Our team is ready for a game like this," Griner said. "These are the kind of games basketball players live for, 1 vs. 2, big games. Nobody wants to blow out a team, that's not fun. You want hard competitive games when everybody puts it on the line. Those games I love playing."

There has been a definite buzz around Waco leading up to the game, which sold out weeks in advance for the first time in school history.

"It's great for women's basketball, great for Baylor," Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said. "The thing I will take away from it win or lose, now we've played Notre Dame, we've played Connecticut, we've got Big 12 coming up. ... Win or lose, where do we need to improve? It's a gauge, nothing more than a gauge right now. That is the way I will approach it after the game is over."

Connecticut (9-0) has run through its opposition this season winning by nearly 41.5 points a game, including a 30-point demolition of defending national champion Texas A&M in the Jimmy V Classic. Yet they are in a little different role, playing only their second road game of the season and for once may not be expected to win.

"It's weird," UConn center Stefanie Dolson said. "Everyone always says you don't focus on the ranking and the hype that everyone's talking about. Who's going to win? Who's the underdog? So for us we don't really focus on that. We're just going to kind of go out and play as hard as we can, compete as hard as we can. And whoever wins is the better team that night."

There haven't been many nights over the last few years that the Huskies haven't been the better team. It's the first time in four seasons that UConn will be playing a higher ranked opponent. UConn has only lost twice in the last three seasons ? falling at Stanford last December that ended their record 90-game winning streak. The Huskies then lost in the Final Four to Notre Dame.

"I don't think there has been a better team in the country of going on the road and playing against Top 5 teams in the country and done a better job than us in the last 10 years or so," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "That is the beauty of it. I am like a fan going down there Sunday night. I really want to see how we handle this."

Auriemma always expects greatness out of his players. He got to know Griner while she played for the U.S. national women's basketball team on a European tour this past Fall and came away impressed.

"There's nobody else in the world like her," Auriemma said. "I don't care who Australia has. I don't care who Russia has or anybody else has. Nobody has anybody like Brittney Griner ... There's things that she can do that no one else can do on any other team in the world."

Griner has a mutual respect for the Hall of Fame coach. She even spent a little time on the trip going to the town in Italy where he was born and meeting his family.

"I always viewed him as a great coach, he's done a lot for the UConn program and women's basketball," she said. "I view him as an opponent this game, but this past summer, he was my coach. You've got to turn it on. Like when you're playing in AAU, your best friend would be on another team, you're best friends, but both are trying to win, doing everything to win and at the end of the day you're still best friends. It's the competitive nature."

Sadly this might be the last time these two meet as opponents unless it's in the NCAA tournament. The budding rivalry will come to an end Sunday as the two teams aren't schedule to play against next season. UConn first beat Griner and Baylor when she was a freshman in the Final Four.

ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, who will be broadcasting the game, was disappointed to hear that they won't be playing anymore in the regular season.

"''They should do a mini playoff series, three straight games," he said." Once you get past the top 10 or 15 teams, who's challenging these teams? The preseason is almost a joke, beating teams by 30 or 40. It's not good for the sport."

___

AP Basketball Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed from Waco, Texas.

___

Follow Doug Feinberg at http://twitter.com/dougfeinberg

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-17-BKW-T25-Connecticut-Baylor-Showdown/id-6cc6ec43f564432aa22bfed26e821035

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Bad batch of moonshine kills more than 100 in India (Reuters)

MOGRAHAT, India (Reuters) ? An adulterated batch of bootleg liquor has killed at least 100 drinkers in eastern India, with dozens more arriving at a cramped rural hospital with poisoning symptoms.

The deaths come just days after a hospital fire killed 93 people in the same state of West Bengal. Both disasters highlight lax health and safety standards as the nation of 1.2 billion people rapidly modernize.

Residents of Mograhat, a town about 50 km (31 miles) south of West Bengal's capital Kolkata, fell severely ill after drinking liquor from several illegal shops. Ambulances brought more patients from villages to the town every few minutes.

"He drank the alcohol late in the afternoon yesterday...we didn't realize his health was deteriorating," Zamir Sardar said about his 32-year-old uncle Jahangir Sardar, a leather cutter, who passed away Thursday.

"In the morning, his condition seemed very unusual, he cried out in pain. Then we brought him to the hospital as soon as we could, but he passed away within a couple of hours," he told Reuters Thursday.

Half-conscious patients were carried into hospitals on stretchers, and treated on the floor due to lack of beds.

A hospital document seen by a Reuters witness listed 81 dead, while doctors at the hospital said the toll was climbing rapidly. The Press Trust of India news agency reported at least 107 had died.

Mass deaths from drinking moonshine are common in India, where the poor often drink "country liquor" which is cheaper than alcohol from licensed shops.

(Additional reporting in NEW DELHI by Annie Banerji; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/wl_nm/us_india_hooch

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Oil hovers above $100 ahead of OPEC meeting (AP)

SINGAPORE ? Oil prices hovered above $100 a barrel Wednesday in Asia amid expectations OPEC will likely keep its output quotas unchanged.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 10 cents to $100.04 a barrel in midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.37 to settle at $100.14 on Tuesday.

In London, Brent crude was down 47 cents at $109.03 on the ICE futures exchange.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet later Wednesday in Vienna amid a slowing global economy threatened by rising energy costs. The 12-nation group will also seek to avoid a supply glut as Libya's oil exports gradually recover next year.

"The cartel will be threading a fine line between any decision that would further elevate prices and at the same time, making some attempt to accommodate a return of Libyan barrels into the market," energy consultant Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.

Crude jumped Tuesday after Iranian officials said the OPEC member plans to carry out military maneuvers near the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow pass in the Persian Gulf where about 30 percent of the world's crude exports pass through. Iran said it could retaliate if Europe imposes sanctions because of the country's nuclear power program.

"Rising tensions in the Middle East have been providing support to elevated prices and any provocative activity in the region would most likely launch prices quickly upward," said Richard Soultanian of NUS Consulting.

A report showed U.S. energy supplies were little changed last week. The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories rose 462,000 barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted a decrease of 2.0 million barrels.

Inventories of gasoline fell 12,000 barrels last week while distillates rose 1.2 million barrels, the API said.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday.

In other energy trading on the Nymex, natural gas fell 3.6 cents at $3.24 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil fell 0.7 cent to $2.92 a gallon and gasoline futures slid 0.6 cent to $2.62 a gallon.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_re_as/oil_prices

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Ban drivers' cellphones? Police see a tough road

John Walls, vice president of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, discusses the NTSB proposal.

By M. Alex Johnson, msnbc.com

?

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The government's proposal to ban drivers from using cellphones in any way ? even with hands-free help ? is dividing police and lawmakers alike, who agree on?one thing: Any such ban would likely be hard to enforce.

The National Transportation Safety Board urged all 50 states Tuesday to ban drivers from using portable electronic devices, with only two exceptions: You could still use GPS navigation devices, and you could use your cellphone in an emergency.

US calls for ban on in-car phone use ... even with Bluetooth

The effectiveness of any such ban would come down to enforcement by local authorities, something that not all of them agree on.

---

Michigan State Police are already having a tough time enforcing the state's ban on texting while driving, and expecting troopers to be able to tell whether someone is talking through a tiny earpiece is "an unrealistic expectation for law enforcement," State Trooper Jamie Voss told NBC station WPBN of Traverse City.?

Todd Nehls, sheriff of ?Dodge County, Wis., said he also wouldn't support a ban, telling NBC station WTMJ of Milwaukee that "millions of people talk on the cellphone and drive safely every day" ? echoing the contention of the Consumer Electronics Association one of two industry trade groups the NTSB singled out to lead development of safer technology.

More on this story:

"Rather than prohibit using cellphones, we should continue to educate the public about the dangers of using cellphones while driving," Nehls said.

But Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Randall Martin contended that a complete ban would actually be easier to enforce than the state's current ban on texting while driving is illegal.?

Under current law, Martin told NBC station WBIR of Knoxville, it's difficult to tell whether a person is texting or dialing. A total ban would eliminate the guesswork because drivers wouldn't be allowed to touch their phones at all.

"Anything that's going to take a distraction out of a driver's hand or field of view is a bonus," Martin said.

The NTSB's recommendation isn't binding, which means enactment "will probably be a patchwork implementation as it goes and most likely driven by reformers at the state level," said Michael Wolf, a political science professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The federal government could bring extra pressure to bear, Wolf told NBC station WISE of Fort Wayne, by enacting measures "to coerce states through withholding federal highway funds or save other grants to move them in that direction."

Lawmakers agreed that putting together a nationwide ban would be difficult.

Delegate Cheryl Glenn, a Democrat from Baltimore who's a member of the Maryland House transportation subcommittee, said a total ban probably isn't realistic in any state, because most offenses wouldn't be considered major driving offenses.

"You can be right next to the police and talking away, and they can't do a thing to you unless you run a red light," Glenn told NBC station WBAL of Baltimore.?

Lawmakers in several other states said essentially the same thing: A ban on phone conversations probably wouldn't fly.?

"I don't think you'll get that passed," Republican Utah state Sen. Lyle Hillyard told NBC station KSL of Salt Lake City.

And Rep. Joe Palmer, chairman of the Idaho House Transportation Committee, said a blanket approach would be especially unworkable in a rural state like his, where long, open stretches of highway pass through multiple unincorporated areas without police agencies.

"I recommend more education," Palmer told NBC station KTVB of Boise. "It's not safe for people to be driving and texting, but it's a bigger issue than that."

An Ohio businessman, meanwhile, raised a separate objection.

"That would have a negative impact on our business," said Derek Temke of A-Abel Heating and Air Conditioning in Dayton.?

Like many other businesses that make house calls ? think UPS, FedEx and just about every pizza chain in the country ? "I drive around all day, and I am making calls to customers," Temke told NBC station WDTN of Dayton. "It could cost us a lot of money and a lot of time, because we would have to pull over to talk on the phone."?

Even so, Temke said he understands why some people want a total ban.

"Cellphones can be dangerous," he said.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9452292-proposed-cellphone-ban-splits-police-lawmakers

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Liz Ryan: The Direct Approach: Talking to Your Prospective Boss at an Industry Event

Don't Shy Away from the Direct Approach, If You Find Yourself in the Presence of the Manager You'd like to Work For

Dear Liz,

I've got a particular employer in mind for my next job, and I've been networking like crazy to get closer to the decision-makers in that organization and with luck start a dialog with them about hiring me. (I'm a marketing person with a huge sales-training focus.)

HERE is my question... How do I introduce myself given the fact that I've targeted their company (it's VERY high up on my list of places I'd LOVE to work), I've sent the CEO and the VP of Marketing pain letters and I'm now at an event where they (the CEO and VP of Marketing) are the guests of honor. I suppose I'm trying to straddle the line between being confident/determined/ambitious and stalker-ish. I appreciate any advice you have for me!

Thanks,
Patrice

Dear Patrice,

When you introduce yourself to these folks, mention something that's newsy and exciting in their business -- a new product launch coming up or one that just happened, for instance. Here's an example.

YOU: Hi, Neil -- it's nice to meet you. I'm Patrice.
HIM: Hi Patrice! Thanks for stopping by.
YOU: I was excited to see that you guys just launched your edible nail-polish line -- how fun! Have you had much response from customers yet?
HIM: Oh, that's going to be a huge product. We're so excited about it. Have you tried some? I might have a sample here someplace.
YOU: They don't have it at my salon yet, but I'm taking my brother's fiancee for a manicure this weekend and we're going to try it.
HIM: Fantastic!
YOU: So, what's next? Are you going to do edible hair gel, and other edible products, or what?
HIM: Not hair gel, but we're thinking about edible glitter makeup.
YOU: So, you've gone from $2M in sales to $22M in a year -- you must be drinking from a firehose all day every day.
HIM: Pretty much.
YOU: Your sales team and your client service folks -- how do they get the specs and the FAQs on all the new products you're launching? I'd have to imagine that keeping the sales team up to speed on new products and features is a constant struggle.
HIM: It is, actually.
YOU: I asked because I do that sort of work -- I'm a Marketer with a huge sales-training bent. At Acme Explosives I've been setting up an online help system for our salespeople, to keep them on top of everything that's happening with any of our products.
HIM: Cool!
YOU: Maybe you're good -- you definitely have a lot of smart people in your group. I'm looking to make a job change, but you may have all the help you need.
HIM: That's never the case. Here, let me introduce you to Sam Spade, our VP of Marketing. Sam, this is Patrice. She likes to train salespeople on new products and things.
SAM: Hi, Patrice.
YOU: Hi, Sam! Congratulations on Edible Nails!
SAM: That stuff is addictive. I don't paint my nails but I guzzle it down.
YOU: Oh man, that's gross.
SAM: Right! It is. So you train salespeople?
YOU: Yeah, I'm a Marketing person but I do a ton of training, because I can crank brochures all day but if the salespeople don't know everything there is to know about the products and when to say what to whom....
SAM: I hear you. Do you know anything about customer service?
YOU: Ha ha! That's a great question. Yeah, I've run customer service groups for Acme Explosive and wrote the customer-service manual for Wimpy Burgers. Is that a big focus area for you now?
SAM: Huge.
YOU: Here we are at this conference - you're slammed. Let's talk next week. Do you have your book?
SAM: How's Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.?
YOU: Great -- in your office?
SAM: There's a Starbuck's on the corner.
YOU: See you there. Ten a.m. Tuesday -- I'll email you also.
SAM: Magnificent!

?

Follow Liz Ryan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asklizryan

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-ryan/networking-tips_b_1147441.html

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