"Hebrew Hammer" sequel profits from crowdfunding campaign

The Hebrew Hammer vs. Hitler," the sequel to 2003's "The Hebrew Hammer," will begin filming next year, after an innovative crowdfunding campaign that's raised $35,000 on Jewcer.com, the filmmakers announced Tuesday.
Adam Goldberg will return in the lead role, with principle photography expected to begin in May 2013.
In the film, Goldberg's character, now married and enjoying the good life in suburbia, is forced to dust off his black-leather couture to confront a new menace: a time-traveling Hitler intent on altering key moments in Jewish history.
The original film launched at Sundance and had a limited theatrical release before being picked up by Comedy Central in a five-year deal.
"It's been amazing," filmmaker Jonathan Kesselman, writer and director of both movies, said in a statement. "The fans are making this happen. The cult status of the first movie attracted millions of fans around the world, making crowd-funding a viable option. Funding is now in the hands of fans who can help make the movies they want to see."
Kesselman negotiated for the rights to the sequel with John Schmidt at ContentFilm, ending a near decade-long tussle and several attempts at getting it made.

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Instagram says no plans to put user photos in ads

 Instagram, the popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc, said on Tuesday it has "no plans" to incorporate user photos into ads in response to a growing public outcry over new privacy policies unveiled this week.
Instagram Chief Executive Kevin Systrom said in a blog post that users had incorrectly interpreted Instagram's revised terms of service, released on Monday, to mean that user photos would be sold to others without compensation.
"This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing," Systrom said. "To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear."
But Systrom said Instagram may display users' profile pictures and information about who they follow as part of an ad - a social marketing technique similar to what Facebook uses in its "sponsored stories" ad product.
He added that Instagram will not incorporate users' uploaded photos as ads because the service wants "to avoid things like advertising banners."
Instagram, which is free to use, triggered an uproar this week when it revised its terms of service in order to begin carrying advertising.
Facebook bought the fast-growing photo service - now with 100 million users - earlier this year in a cash-and-stock deal valued initially at $1 billion. The transaction closed in September at $715 million, reflecting a decline in the value of Facebook shares.

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Sberbank to buy Yandex online payments service: source

 Sberbank, Russia's top lender, plans to buy Yandex.Dengi, an online payment service owned by Russian search engine Yandex, a source familiar with the matter said.
Sberbank declined to comment. Yandex, which was not available to comment, was expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday.
Sberbank, which accounts for a third of overall lending in Russia, has been expanding in the consumer credit market amid weak corporate loan portfolio growth.
In recent years, it has launched its own credit card business and tied up with French bank BNP Paribas in a joint venture focusing on point-of-sale lending, a popular form of in-store consumer finance in Russia.
Yandex, which raised $1.4 billion when it floated on the U.S. stock market in May 2011, came under scrutiny during election protests over the past year when it was reported that opposition leaders were raising funds via Yandex.Dengi.

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Tubular raises $2.5 million to serve burgeoning YouTube industry

Tubular, a small San Francisco start-up that provides analytics for YouTube content creators, has raised $2.5 million in venture capital in the latest sign of how far the business ecosystem has evolved around the Google-owned video repository.
YouTube was once known as Wild West of online video, but over the past two years Google has focused on raising the quality of YouTube content through a series of direct investments and the cultivation of third-party "networks".
The result is a cluster of small studios, mostly based in Los Angeles, that acts like a digital Hollywood, pumping out slick YouTube hits.
With the ultimate goal of hosting enough high-quality content to lure big-spending advertisers to YouTube, Google doled out more than $100 million last year in grants to its networks and bedroom stars.
In May Google led a group of investors who poured $35 million into Machinima, a leading network, to stoke growth in the YouTube industry.
That market has now grown to the point that it can support its own start-ups, says Tubular's founder Rob Gabel.
COMPETITION
As more semi-professional and professional YouTube creators enter the sector, with increasing competition among them, there is a growing need for analytical services.
Tubular is one such service, allowing customers to monitor and measure when videos get the most views and comments, or the sources of referred traffic.
The software includes a dashboard that displays the real-time analytics, which are generated by tapping into a stream of data provided by YouTube.
"If YouTube is a multibillion-dollar market, then that's billions of dollars going out to content creators who can then invest that again," said Gabel, a former Machinima employee.
"On every platform, from Google to Facebook to Twitter, people have turned to third parties' helpful tools."
At a high level, the pie is large and continuing to grow rapidly. Former Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimates that YouTube will bring Google a total of $3.6 billion in 2012.
Rich Heitzmann, a co-founder of FirstMark Capital, which led Tubular's latest funding round, said that Google is far from wringing out all of the potential revenue from YouTube.
"We think the ecosystem is at least the size of Facebook's, considering it has a billion users and if you consider the time spent on YouTube," Heitzmann said.
"The advertising opportunities are there, and yet the ecosystem hasn't evolved technologically."
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
Other investors in Tubular's first tranche of equity financing included High Line Venture Partners, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures and Bedrocket Media Ventures.
Still, Gabel is betting that he can create a long-term, sustainable business on YouTube's platform at a time when some Silicon Valley companies are wary of building on the backs of larger companies.
Twitter, for instance, courted controversy this year when it made a business decision to shut off its firehose of data for a number of popular third-party developers to drive more visitors to its own site.
Allen DeBevoise, the CEO of Machinima who is also a Tubular investor, said that YouTube has reason to foster its independent developers rather than squash them.
"It's a thriving and fast-moving ecosystem now," he said. "But a lot of players are needed to make it all work."
Though Gabel acknowledges that the YouTube industry's rapid expansion is no guarantee of success, he has high hopes.
"Everything is a bit of gamble," he said, "but I feel good gambling on YouTube and online video.

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Instagram tests new limits in user privacy

 Instagram, which spurred suspicions this week that it would sell user photos after revising its terms of service, has sparked renewed debate about how much control over personal data users must give up to live and participate in a world steeped in social media.
In forcefully establishing a new set of usage terms, Instagram, the massively popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc, has claimed some rights that have been practically unheard of among its prominent social media peers, legal experts and consumer advocates say.
Users who decline to accept Instagram's new privacy policy have one month to delete their accounts, or they will be bound by the new terms. Another clause appears to waive the rights of minors on the service. And in the wake of a class-action settlement involving Facebook and privacy issues, Instagram has added terms to shield itself from similar litigation.
All told, the revised terms reflect a new, draconian grip over user rights, experts say.
"This is all uncharted territory," said Jay Edelson, a partner at the Chicago law firm Edelson McGuire. "If Instagram is to encourage as many lawsuits as possible and as much backlash as possible then they succeeded."
Instagram's new policies, which go into effect January 16, lay the groundwork for the company to begin generating advertising revenue by giving marketers the right to display profile pictures and other personal information such as who users follow in advertisements.
The new terms, which allow an advertiser to pay Instagram "to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata)" without compensation, triggered an outburst of complaints on the Web on Tuesday from users upset that Instagram would make money from their uploaded content.
The uproar prompted a lengthy blog post from the company to "clarify" the changes, with CEO Kevin Systrom saying the company had no current plans to incorporate photos taken by users into ads.
Instagram declined comment beyond its blog post, which failed to appease critics including National Geographic, which suspended new posts to Instagram. "We are very concerned with the direction of the proposed new terms of service and if they remain as presented we may close our account," said National Geographic, an early Instagram adopter.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
Consumer advocates said Facebook was using Instagram's aggressive new terms to push the boundaries of how social media sites can make money while its own hands were tied by recent agreements with regulators and class action plaintiffs.
Under the terms of a 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook is required to get user consent before personal information is shared beyond their privacy settings. A preliminary class action lawsuit settlement with Facebook allows users to opt-out of being included in the "sponsored stories" ads that use their personal information.
Under Instagram's new terms, users who want to opt-out must simply quit using the service.
"Instagram has given people a pretty stark choice: Take it or leave, and if you leave it you've got to leave the service," said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a Internet user right's group.
What's more, he said, if a user initially agrees to the new terms but then has a change of mind, their information could still be used for commercial purposes.
In a post on its official blog on Tuesday, Instagram did not address another controversial provision that states that if a child under the age of 18 uses the service, then it is implied that his or her parent has tacitly agreed to Instagram's terms.
"The notion is that minors can't be bound to a contract. And that also means they can't be bound to a provision that says they agree to waive the rights," said the EFF's Opsahl.
BLOCKING CLASS ACTION SUITS
While Facebook continues to be bogged in its own class action suit, Instagram took preventive steps to avoid a similar legal morass.
Its new terms of service require users with a legal complaint to enter arbitration, rather than take the company to court. It prohibits users from joining a class action lawsuit unless they mail a written "opt-out" statement to Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park within 30 days of joining Instagram.
That provision is not included in terms of service for other leading social media companies like Twitter, Google, YouTube or even Facebook itself, and it immunizes Instagram from many forms of legal liability, said Michael Rustad, a professor at Suffolk University Law School.
Rustad, who has studied the terms of services for 157 social media services, said just 10 contained provisions prohibiting class action lawsuits.
The clause effectively cripples users who want to legally challenge the company because lawyers will not likely represent an individual plaintiff, Rustad argued.
"No lawyers will take these cases," Rustad said. "In consumer arbitration cases, everything is stacked against the consumer. It's a pretense, it's a legal fiction, that there are remedies."
Instagram, which has 100 million users, allows consumers to tweak the photos they take on their smartphones and share the images with friends. Facebook acquired Instagram in September for $715 million.
Instagram's take-it-or-leave-it policy pushes the envelope for how social networking companies treat user privacy issues, said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"I think Facebook is probably using Instagram to see how far it can press this advertising model," said Rotenberg. "If they can keep a lot of users, then all those users have agreed to have their images as part of advertising.

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Germany's Merck suffers setback with cancer drug

 German pharmaceutical company Merck KgaA says a late stage trial of a new lung cancer drug has failed to meet expectations.
The company, based in Darmstadt, says the drug Stimuvax did not improve the overall survival of patients in the phase III study.
Merck shares fell 3.1 percent to €98.20 ($129.41) after the announcement early Wednesday.
The company is a separate entity from Merck & Co., which is based in the U.S.

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Oncothyreon lung cancer drug fails in late-stage trial

Biopharmaceutical company Oncothyreon Inc said a late-stage trial of its experimental lung cancer drug did not meet the main study goal of improving overall survival.
The drug, codenamed L-BLP25, is being tested in patients with unresectable, locally advanced stage IIIA or stage IIIB, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The trial was conducted by Merck Serono, a division of Germany's Merck KGaA, under a license agreement with Oncothyreon.

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Merck KGaA, Oncothyreon hit as cancer vaccine fails

An experimental lung cancer vaccine from Germany's Merck KGaA failed to improve survival in a pivotal study, dealing a blow to the company and the high-risk field of using vaccines to fight tumors.
Stimuvax, which Merck licensed from U.S. biotech firm Oncothyreon, failed to increase overall survival in the Phase III clinical trial, the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group said on Wednesday.
The trial's coordinating investigator, Frances Shepherd of the University of Toronto, said the result was disappointing, although she said "notable treatment effects were observed in certain subgroups of patients".
While this could mean that Merck might conduct more studies to try and find particular groups of patients who would benefit from the treatment, industry analysts were skeptical that Stimuvax had any future.
"Despite potential positive effects in subgroups, we consider the drug dead," said Deutsche Bank analyst Holger Blum.
The trial was testing Stimuvax on more than 1,500 patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors could not be completely removed via surgery and whose disease had at least stabilized following chemoradiotherapy.
Merck said it would discuss the data with experts and regulatory authorities over the coming months.
Helvea analyst Odile Rundquist, who cut her price target on Merck by 2 euros to 97 euros a share, said the setback for Stimuvax was another blow for Merck's pharmaceutical division following recent disappointments with cancer drug Erbitux and the earlier failure of cladribine in multiple sclerosis.
Merck shares fell 3.3 percent to 98.22 euros by 1145 GMT, while Germany's blue-chip DAX index was up 0.2 percent. The market impact was limited by the fact that many Merck analysts had not included Stimuvax sales forecasts in their financial models, given the risky nature of the project.
The news is a much bigger setback for the German company's small U.S. partner Oncothyreon, whose shares fell 70 percent in premarket trading on Nasdaq.
Stimuvax is one of a number so-called therapeutic cancer vaccines being developed by drug companies to fight tumors by stimulating the body's immune system.
The first such vaccine was approved two years ago but Provenge for prostate cancer, made by Dendreon, has met with limited success, due to management missteps and doctors' reluctance to adopt the difficult-to-administer therapy.
A number of other cancer vaccines are in development that analysts believe may be more successful, including a product from GlaxoSmithKline against melanoma and lung cancer which is set to report clinical trial results next year.
Some investors had already been wary about prospects for Stimuvax after Merck said in March the trial would be continued and final data would be presented later than expected, raising doubts over its success.
"Given the history of the drug's development with postponements, discontinuations and break-ups we are not surprised about today's outcome," DZ Bank analyst Peter Spengler said.

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Russia fund in consortium to back U.S. pharma firms

 Russian state technology firm Rusnano, alongside a group of investors, is investing $93 million in three U.S.-based pharmaceutical firms to develop drugs to treat illnesses such as epilepsy, the investors said on Wednesday.
Rusnano is making the investment with U.S. venture capital fund Domain Associates and other investors. Rusnano partnered with Domain in March with plans to invest around $760 million in U.S. healthcare and pharmaceutical firms to bring new drugs to the Russian market.
The three companies receiving investments - Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Lithera and Regado Biosciences - are portfolio companies of Domain and the investments will be used to register medications and undertake further clinical trials in the U.S. and Russia, the companies said.
Marinus is developing a drug for the treatment of epilepsy, Lithera works on products for aesthetic medicine and ophthalmology and Regado is developing antithrombotic products.

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Texas governor asks cancer agency to halt grants

A $3 billion cancer-fighting effort that's already under criminal investigation received yet more humiliation Wednesday when Texas Gov. Rick Perry called for a moratorium on new grants until confidence is restored in a once-celebrated agency that has plunged into turmoil in just three years.
Leaders of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas quickly embraced the request from Perry, who unveiled the unprecedented state-run cancer fight in 2009 with promises of medical breakthroughs. But the effort has unraveled into one of Texas' biggest tempests involving a state agency in Perry's 12 years as governor.
A key Republican lawmaker who filed the original bill creating CPRIT piled on Wednesday by introducing new legislation, this time calling for new polices to bolster agency oversight and accountability. The agency also faces another round of scrutiny Thursday in front of a key state budget-writing committee.
"The mission of defeating cancer is too important to be derailed by inadequate processes and a lack of oversight," Perry said in a letter to CPRIT's oversight committee. That panel includes members appointed by Perry and some of his top political donors.
The governor added, "It is important that we restore the confidence of the Texas taxpayers who approved this important initiative before new funds are dispersed."
The letter was co-signed by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state House Speaker Joe Straus, who also appoints members of the agency's governing board.
CPRIT controls the nation's second-largest pot of cancer research dollars, behind the National Institutes of Health. That federal department's cancer-research arm, the National Cancer Institute, also has said it is reviewing the troubles surrounding the Texas agency.
NCI confers on CPRIT prestigious status as an approved funding entity and losing that designation would be another blow for the beleaguered agency. It's already under a criminal investigation, is the target of widespread rebuke from scientists and has seen its leadership purged by resignations, including its executive director last week.
In a statement, oversight committee Chairman Jimmy Mansour and Vice Chairman Joseph Bailes said they agreed with Perry's call to cooperate with current reviews, implement recommended changes, enact reforms and fill key positions.
"These issues need to be resolved to restore public confidence in CPRIT," they said in a joint statement.
The reviews began after CPRIT disclosed that an $11 million grant to a private company had bypassed review.
The award to Dallas-based Peloton Therapeutics, a biomedical startup, marked the second time this year that a lucrative taxpayer-funded grant authorized by CPRIT instigated backlash and raised questions about oversight.
The first involved a $20 million grant to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston that CPRIT's former chief science officer, Nobel laureate Dr. Alfred Gilman, described as a thin proposal that should have first been scrutinized by an outside panel of scientific peer-reviewers, even though none was required under the agency's rules.
Dozens of the nation's top scientists agreed. They resigned en masse from the agency's peer-review panels along with Gilman. Some accused the agency of "hucksterism" and charting a politically-driven path that was putting commercial product-development above science.

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LG unveils gorgeous new HDTV models with Google TV 3.0

Google TV 1.0 and Google TV 2.0 haven’t drawn much attention in the marketplace at this point, but that won’t stop Google TV 3.0-packing HDTVs from swarming the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vega, Nevada next month. LG (066570) is among the first to take the wraps off of new televisions with the third major iteration of Google’s (GOOG) software baked in, and it will be bringing 42-, 47-, 50-, 55- and 60-inch models to CES 2013 next month.
[More from BGR: Sprint salesman refuses to sell iPhone to customer, says his ‘fingers are too fat’ to use it]
Split into two lines — GA7900 and GA6400 — the sets feature ultra-thin bezels surrounding LG’s vivid display panels along with a new stand, integrated OnLive gaming and a redesigned Magic Remote with an integrated QWERTY keypad.
[More from BGR: First photos of BlackBerry 10 ‘N-Series’ QWERTY smartphone leak]
“LG is committed to providing diverse home entertainment options that offer the most satisfying user experience and the latest LG Smart TVs with Google TV do just that,” CEO of LG Electronics’ home entertainment business Havis Kwon said. “They deliver a stellar user experience by merging the latest Google TV platform with LG’s proven Smart TV technology. The result is a comprehensive system that is groundbreaking in its simplicity.”
LG’s full press release follows below.
LG Expands Google TV Line-Up For 2013
To Be Introduced at CES 2013, Seven New Models to Offer Most User-friendly Way to Search and Discover Amazing Content
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Dec. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Building on the success of its Smart TVs with Google TV, LG Electronics (LG) is expanding its 2013 Google TV lineup to seven models in five screen sizes for 2013 – including premium models featuring LG’s popular CINEMA SCREEN design, the company announced today.
The extended LG Google TV lineup, which will be officially introduced at next month’s 2013 International CES® in Las Vegas, encompasses two model series (GA7900 and GA6400) designed to deliver an outstandingly intuitive user experience, various sizes and new design to better meet consumers’ expectations.
Google’s latest platform and LG’s redesigned Magic Qwerty Remote work together to enhance the effectiveness of Voice Search and the PrimeTime quick guide. The updated Home Dashboard also adds to the user experience by offering convenient, streamlined access to premium video on-demand, such as HBO GO, content from YouTube and more apps*. Discovering exciting new content from the rich pool of choices available on LG Google TV has never been easier. Additionally, the premium models will incorporate LG’s advanced CINEMA SCREEN design for an undeniably sleek and modern finish.
“LG is committed to providing diverse home entertainment options that offer the most satisfying user experience and the latest LG Smart TVs with Google TV do just that,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. “They deliver a stellar user experience by merging the latest Google TV platform with LG’s proven Smart TV technology. The result is a comprehensive system that is groundbreaking in its simplicity.”
LG Google TV aims to redefine the user experience. The new Home Dashboard offers varied types of “cards” that act as folders to display apps and other content. The new “My Interest” Card can even display useful information including real-time weather and customizable news.
The entire user interface can be navigated using the redesigned Magic Qwerty Remote, which combines a complete keyboard with the convenient benefits of the Magic Remote’s point-and-click control. The enhanced natural language recognition incorporated in the revamped remote is a perfect match with Google’s outstanding search functionality so that broadcast TV or Internet content can be found with only one vocal command. Consumers can use search terms like “romantic comedy” to get results.  Consumers can also tell it to switch to a specific channel number, station or website with one voice command, eliminating extra scrolling and controller clicking. The overall voice-based capabilities multiply the effectiveness of the PrimeTime quick guide to provide an ultimate user experience and make browsing through the more than 100,000 available movies and TV episodes on LG Google TV a breeze.
The LG Smart TV with Google TV offers superb connectivity options and can connect to a variety of devices wirelessly. The latest YouTube app update for Android, smart phones and tablets can be automatically paired with Google TV over the same home network via Wi-Fi, making it easy to send videos from your device to your TV with just the touch of one button.  Gamers will be pleased to know that LG Google TV will offer the OnLive® app pre-installed, which transforms the TV into an incredible gaming platform without the need for a separate console. The app makes hundreds of high quality video games available instantly from the cloud.
The embedded dual core CPU enables easy menu navigation, fast Internet browsing and video streaming. The additional processor power allows the TruPicture XD Engine to process images more quickly and precisely, resulting in richer colors, deeper contrast and greater overall picture clarity. Also offering CINEMA 3D TV functionality, the LG Google TV employs FPR technology to give movie buffs and gamers a great 3D effect.
The GA6400 series will be available in 42-, 47-, 50-, 55- and 60-inch class screen sizes (42.0-, 47.0-, 50.0-, 55.6- and 59.8-inch diagonals, respectively).  LG applied its CINEMA SCREEN design to its 2013 premium GA7900 series (47- and 55-inch class screen sizes) to offer a sleek, modern look for discerning consumers who want the Google experience, but don’t want to sacrifice on aesthetics. This design further minimizes width of the bezel, giving the TV a streamlined appearance while creating the impression of a borderless display. Along with the LG Google TV’s unique stand design, it integrates perfectly with interior design of a living room.
*Smart TV devices include HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc Players and Network Home Theater Systems. Internet connection and certain subscriptions required and sold separately. Content and services vary by product and are subject to change without notice.
*For a small percentage of the population, the viewing of stereoscopic 3D video may cause discomfort such as dizziness or nausea. If you experience any of these symptoms, discontinue using the 3D functionality and contact your health care provider.
*Designs, features and specifications subject to change without notice.

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Ind. taxpayers to see $111 credit from surplus

Indiana taxpayers will receive a $111 credit on their state income tax returns next year as the state distributes part of its budget surplus.
Gov. Mitch Daniels on Wednesday announced the credit that will be $222 for couples filing joint returns. The credit represents the automatic taxpayer refund plan that Daniels pushed through the state Legislature last year.
That refund kicked with the state's reserves reaching about $2.1 billion. The governor's office says about $360 million will go toward the tax credits, with another $360 million to the state's pension liabilities.
Daniels says including the credit on tax returns is simpler and less expensive than mailing out additional checks.
Critics argue that Daniels created the surplus by cutting money for public schools, the child welfare agency and other important services.

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Lawmakers urged to resolve property tax inequities

 County and real estate officials urged the Legislature on Wednesday to deal with a thorny problem of property tax inequities among New Mexico homeowners, also known as "tax lightning," when taxes skyrocket on some residential property.
At issue are widely varying valuations of residential property for tax purposes and continuing fallout from a more than decade-old law intended to protect longtime homeowners in communities such as Santa Fe when market prices — and potentially property tax bills — were rising dramatically.
Several county officials told a legislative committee it's a good time for lawmakers to resolve the property tax problem because recent market declines will ease some of the needed valuation changes.
The goal is to equalize valuations of residential property — ensuring that New Mexicans pay their fair share of property taxes — but minimize the tax increases for those whose homes are assessed for tax purposes at well below market prices.
Under a law that took effect in 2001, property values can climb only 3 percent a year for tax purposes. However, that doesn't apply when a home changes hands. New homeowners can be hit by "tax lightning" and their property taxes are much higher than their neighbors whose houses are covered by the 3 percent annual cap.
A homeowner's property tax bill depends upon local tax rates as well as the taxable valuation of their property.
San Juan County Assessor Clyde Ward outlined a proposal to a legislative committee to update the assessed valuation of most homes to 90 percent of market values. However, there would be limits on the valuation increases for certain people, including those who've lived in their homes at least 10 years.
He estimated that one-third of the homes in New Mexico were valued at less than 80 percent of market values.
The proposal was developed by a task force assembled by the Realtors Association of New Mexico. Among those who participated were county assessors, the New Mexico Association of Counties, a legislator who leads a tax committee and officials from budget and tax agencies in Gov. Susana Martinez's administration.
Ward and Gary Perez, Santa Fe County deputy assessor, acknowledged that some New Mexicans will face property tax increases but said the proposal softens the impact.
"It's not a win-win situation," said Ward. "We're going to have a near-win, near-win situation because there is no way we can rip this off after so many years of the cap being in place. We have to have some sort of adjustment."
The effect of the proposal would vary widely from county to county. Only about 10 percent of homes in Santa Fe are below 90 percent of market value, according to Perez.
In the Albuquerque area, however, there are some homes at about 40 percent of market value, lawmakers were told.
Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, expressed concern that the proposal could cause large tax increases if property valuations jump by as much as 40 percent for some homeowners.
"How is that not going to result in a displacement situation where someone simply can't afford to pay those taxes?" Wirth asked.
County officials said there are protections in current law, including a freeze on valuations for low-income and elderly taxpayers. They also emphasized that all homeowners potentially suffer from higher tax rates when property valuations are artificially low. If property valuations are equalized, they said, there's a broader tax base and rates potentially may go down under the state's "yield control" law that's supposed to prevent large revenue spikes for government simply from a property revaluation.

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Exclusive: India's fiscal deficit could reach 5.5-5.6 percent of GDP in 2012/13 - source

 India's fiscal deficit could reach 5.5-5.6 percent of GDP in the current fiscal year that ends in March, forcing the government to borrow up to 400 billion rupees ($7.2 billion) extra from the market, a senior government official told Reuters on Thursday
Just last month, subdued tax revenue and higher spending on subsidies forced the government to revise its fiscal deficit target to 5.3 percent for the current financial year from a previous target of 5.1 percent.
However, a dismal response to last week's auction of mobile phone airwaves, has cast doubts on that target.
India, which had budgeted for 400 billion rupees revenue from the auction of mobile phone airwaves, managed to raise about 94 billion rupees from an auction this month. The government plans to conduct a second auction in this financial year for the unsold airwaves.

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Consumer sentiment stalls ahead of Black Friday

 Consumer sentiment weakened in November as the holiday shopping period was getting underway amid growing uncertainty over federal tax and spending programs next year, a survey released on Wednesday showed.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on consumer sentiment came in at 82.7, a touch up from 82.6 in October but down from a preliminary reading of 84.9 released earlier this month.
It was also below the median forecast of 84.5 among economists polled by Reuters.
The softening in sentiment comes as the holiday shopping season kicks off with the so-called Black Friday shopping day after this week's Thanksgiving holiday. The period is critical for retailers, who often see their books turn from loss to profit at the end of the year.
"This holiday season might be softer than last year," said Conrad Dequadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics in New York, citing the late October storm that crippled the Northeast and the ongoing impasse in Washington over budget talks.
But Dequadros added: "Even with the pullback, we are sitting near the high of the recovery."
The main culprit behind the index's softening came in how consumers see the future. The survey's gauge of consumer expectations slipped to 77.6 from 79.0 in October and was lower than the forecast of 80.1.
"The late-month retreat was accompanied by more economic uncertainty about future federal taxes and spending programs and the inability of the political parties to reach a settlement," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.
The survey's barometer of current economic conditions fared better. The gauge, which measures how consumers view their present situation, rose to 90.7 from an October final reading of 88.1 and just above a forecast of 90.6.
U.S. retail sales should rise 4.1 percent this holiday season, slower growth than in the past two years as mixed economic data and political uncertainty weigh on consumers, the National Retail Federation said in October.
Peter Boockvar, a portfolio manager at Miller Tabak, said the confidence numbers in themselves are not a reliable indication of how holiday sales will shape up.
"In terms of holiday spending, confidence is a coincident indicator and thus won't tell us much about how much spending we'll see relative to the same time last year," he said in an e-mail.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey's one-year inflation expectations were steady at 3.1 percent, while the survey's five-to-10-year inflation outlook was at 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent.

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New job posting suggests Nokia may still be considering Android after all

Nokia (NOK) may finally be crying “uncle!” on its decision to go solely with Windows Phone. Per Gizmodo, Nokia has posted a new job listing on its LinkedIn page for a principle software engineer whose job will be to oversee the development of “embedded Linux device software and hardware drivers for our exciting new products.” As Gizmodo notes, Android is based on a Linux kernel so it’s possible that whatever the new software engineer does, it might involve Google’s (GOOG) hugely popular open-source mobile operating system. Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa said this past summer that his company has a backup plan in place in case Windows Phone doesn’t catch on, so it’s within the realm of possibility that Nokia could be giving Android a second look.

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Nokia debunks rumor that it may be considering shift to Android

A recent job listing on Nokia’s (NOK) LinkedIn page led to a great deal of speculation that the Finnish vendor was still considering Android as a potential smartphone platform in the event its efforts with Windows Phone continued to flounder. The listing sought a principle software engineer to lead the development of “embedded Linux device software and hardware drivers for our exciting new products.” Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson on Sunday confirmed that the job listing does not relate to the development of Android phones, but rather to the company’s mobile mapping solutions. “Our recently posted job is linked to our HERE Maps support for other platforms, including iOS and Android,” Dawson wrote on his Twitter account. Nokia recently launched HERE Maps for the iPhone and iPad, and the company now has to launch a similar solution for Android devices.

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$120 tablet that runs both Android and Linux to launch in early 2013

For anyone who has ever used his or her Android tablet and wished that it could double as a desktop-style device, PengPod has a product just for you. Ars Technica reports that the new PengPod tablet, which runs both Android and Linux, has met its crowd-sourced fundraising goals and will so on sale in January for $120 a 7-inch model and $185 for a 10-inch model. According to Ars, the tablet will be able to “dual-boot Android 4.0 and a version of Linux with the touch-friendly KDE Plasma Active interface.” Overall, the tablet received funding of nearly $73,000, or around 49% more than the $49,000 that the company had been seeking.

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Habla el hombre que definió qué significa ser un hacker

Soy un hacker." La frase la pronuncia, sin titubeos, Pekka Himanen, un finlandés de 39 años que publicó, en 2001, La ética del hacker y el espíritu de la era de la información , un libro fundacional en su análisis de lo que significa la tecnología moderna en nuestra sociedad, y la influencia que tendrán los hackers en la sociedad futura. El hombre no acuñó el término, por supuesto (que ya estaba en uso desde los '70), pero su libro modificó la comprensión que se tiene de la filosofía detrás de un hacker.
La entrevista está por comenzar. El punto de encuentro es un hotel céntrico de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, pero en lugar de recibirnos en el salón exclusivo reservado con este fin, el filósofo Himanen (recibido en la universidad de Helsinki a los 20 años) prefiere reunirse en el café del hotel, rodeado de gente y atento a su entorno.
Este hombre, que hoy es profesor en la Universidad de Arte y Diseño de Helsinki, y profesor visitante de la Universidad de Oxford y el Instituto IN3 de Barcelona, y miembro del Instituto Helsinki para la Tecnología de la Información (HIIT) es autor, también, de El Estado del bienestar y la sociedad de la información: el modelo finlandés , que realizó junto con el sociólogo español Manuel Castells.
Himanen llegó a nuestro país invitado por la Universidad Nacional de San Martín, la Universidad Diego Portales y por la Fundación OSDE, pero además de esta convocatoria también lo trajo una de sus grandes pasiones: la investigación. "Estamos estudiando, junto con Manuel Castells, qué tipo de modelo de desarrollo nuevo se necesita después de la crisis mundial. Me refiero a un modelo de desarrollo económico combinado con desarrollo humano. Creo que es fundamental combinar una economía sustentable con el bienestar sustentable", sostiene al comenzar la entrevista. Según cuenta el filósofo, Argentina es parte de un gran estudio que está llevando a cabo en distintos países de América latina, Asia, África, Estados Unidos y Europa.
¿Usted se considera un hacker?
Sí, claro que sí. Para mí un hacker es alguien creativamente apasionado por lo que hace y quiere hacerlo con otros. No necesariamente tiene que tener que ver con las computadoras, se puede ser hacker del conocimiento o de cualquier otro campo. Es importante decir que utilizo el término hacker en el sentido original del término, que no quiere decir delincuente informático.
¿Y usted es hacker en qué área o con qué especialización?
Yo diría en la filosofía, investigación y quizás en la vida.
¿Cómo es eso?
La etica del hacker es un libro que también habla sobre la filosofía de vida, es decir, uno tiene que preguntarse a sí mismo: ¿cuál es mi pasión creativa? ¿Qué es lo que le da significado a mi vida? Esas son grandes preguntas que todos deberíamos considerar.
Popularmente el término hacker tiene una mala connotación pero según usted explica, es un error. En su libro menciona otro término: cracker ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre ambos?
Hacker quiere decir que la persona es creativamente apasionada por lo que hace, y lo quiere realizar con lo que yo denomino "interacción enriquecedora", es decir con otras personas. Cracker, en cambio, es el delincuente informático, la persona que ingresa en los sistemas informáticos y esparce virus, entre otros delitos.
¿Por qué, entonces, los hackers son considerados delincuentes?
Todo comenzó en los medios de comunicación, en los inicios del software. Por aquel entonces los medios tomaron la palabra hacker y comenzaron a utilizarla como sinónimo de delincuente informático para hacerlo más atractivo y dar impacto en sus noticias, pero la palabra hacker no tiene nada que ver con la delincuencia informática.
Según su libro los hackers informáticos ponen a disposición gratuita de los demás su creación para que la utilicen, pongan a prueba y la desarrollen. ¿Cómo un hacker se transforma en Bill Gates? En otras palabras, ¿cómo se transforma un hacker en un hombre de negocios?
La ética hacker es una ética de trabajo creativa en la era informática que reemplaza lo que Max Weber describió como "ética de trabajo industrial" pero después depende de cuán abierto es uno en el desarrollo de otras cosas. No necesita ser cerrado para ser un éxito, por ejemplo Linus Torvalds está a favor de la apertura total y también ha tenido mucho éxito. Internet corre en Linux, tres de cada cuatro smartphones en el mundo corren en Linux, porque Android está basado en Linux. Pero más allá de eso no hay contradicciones, porque uno puede tener pasión creativa como empresario. Lo importante es dar suficiente nivel de apertura.
¿Cómo ayudan a la sociedad los hackers y las redes sociales en situaciones de conflicto, injusticia social o cuando no hay libertad de expresión?
En situaciones como la guerra de Kosovo o en la Primavera Árabe -levantamientos populares de países árabes realizados entre 2010 y 2012- la difusión de lo que estaba pasando fue a través de las redes sociales. Y es muy importante tener en cuenta que las redes sociales tienen un impacto en la vida real. Si pensamos en la Primavera Árabe, por ejemplo, algunos de los peores dictadores que nosotros pensamos que nunca dejarían el poder, colapsaron. Y las redes sociales colaboraron mucho en la caída de estos dictadores porque la Primavera Árabe estuvo organizada a través de Internet. También en Europa se produjeron hechos similares. Las redes sociales tuvieron gran protagonismo en el movimiento de "Los Indignados", que produjeron cambios políticos en España y en Grecia.
¿Le parece que lo que escribió hace más de una década sigue vigente?
Sí. El libro es más actual ahora. Si uno toma, por ejemplo, el capítulo de open source o de código abierto, su utilización ha crecido exponencialmente si tenemos en cuenta que Internet corre en software en código abierto y se diseminan en varios equipos como teléfono, grabadores digitales y televisores. Probablemente uno no se de cuenta que está utilizando código abierto, pero todos lo estamos utilizando. En cuanto al trabajo empresarial, la nueva ética de pasión creativa enriquecedora está impulsando al Silicon Valley.
¿Cómo ve a la sociedad futura?
Creo que la gran pregunta es lo que hoy estamos investigando en el proyecto que estoy realizando, donde nos damos cuenta que el viejo modelo de desarrollo ha llegado a su fin y ahora tenemos que replantear las prácticas grandes en la economía, la sustentabilidad ecológica. Creo que vamos a necesitar del potencial completo de la cultura de la creatividad y hemos de desarrollar esa nueva forma de bienestar sustentable, especialmente la sustentabilidad ecológica. Debemos tener en cuenta que el planeta no tiene problema en cuanto al cambio climático, puede continuar sin nosotros, pero nosotros no podemos continuar sin el planeta.
Por último, ¿qué trata de decirnos con su libro?
Para mí la clave es que todos debemos preguntarnos: ¿cuál es mi pasión creativa, cuál es mi propósito significativo en esta vida?

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How Google Stole Christmas (And is Bringing it Back)

Google's Nexus smartphones and tablets have a unique feature that's also a curse. They come with the latest version of Android (which is actually unusual among Android devices), and they're basically guaranteed to get updates throughout their lifespan (which is also unusual). But on the downside, Nexus owners are also the first to discover new "features" in each version of Android ... like Google's new 11-month calendar.
​'Tis (not) the season
​ You may not have noticed, if none of your friends or family members were born in December. But if you tried to enter in somebody's birthday in Android's "People" app, you may have noticed that the spin-dials for selecting a date don't include the last month of the year, in one of the oddest bugs to hit Android.
Other bugs found in the Android 4.2 update include random reboots, unstable apps, and overall slow and sluggish performance. David Ruddock of the Android Police blog has written up an extensive list of these bugs, and of which Nexus devices have been affected.
​Appy holidays
Most of these bugs are tied to specific apps not working correctly with the 4.2 update. The HD Widgets app, for instance, seems to cause the random reboots. Even first-party apps, like the Google Currents web magazine reader, are apparently responsible for some of the issues.
Some developers have fixed their apps. Mozilla quickly corrected a bug in the Android version of its Firefox web browser which caused it to randomly (and frequently) force close. But for now, the only real solution is to stop using certain apps, or features of apps like Currents' background sync.
Need a little Christmas?
Fortunately for Nexus device owners, a fix for at least one of the issues (the missing month of December) has already been written, and is on its way if you haven't gotten it already. A new version of Android is being sent over the air to Nexus devices, and Android developer Al Sutton reports that "Santa is back."
It remains to be seen, however, whether or not Google can "save Christmas" for people who've ordered (or tried to order) an unlocked Nexus 4 smartphone from its Google Play store. Right now, the 8 GB model "Ships in 8- 9 weeks," while the 16 GB model won't ship until around New Years'. And that's if you can even place an order; many Google customers are reporting that the ordering system simply won't work, although Google+ user Syko Pompos has discovered a way around the faulty website.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

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Asia stocks fall as US budget negotiations stall

BANGKOK (AP) — Heightened uncertainty about the outcome of budget negotiations in Washington among President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican lawmakers drove Asian stock markets lower Friday.
If a compromise is not in place by Jan. 1, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire and spending cuts will kick in automatically — a one-two punch to the economy that many experts fear will push the U.S. economy back into recession just as it begins to recover from the last one.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell nearly 0.8 percent to 9,964.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.8 percent to 22,483.20. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.9 percent at 1,982.49. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 4,618.60. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan also fell. Malaysia and the Philippines rose.
U.S. stock futures tumbled after rank-and-file Republican lawmakers failed to support an alternative tax plan by House Speaker John Boehner late Thursday in Washington. That plan would have allowed tax rates to rise on households earning $1 million and up. Obama wants the level to be $400,000.
"I think the Republicans will have to yield," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. "Fighting for rich men does not endear you to voters. People earning more than $1 million are considered rich, so it doesn't do the Republican Party any good to really fight for the rights of rich people."
Ironically, the two leaders had significantly narrowed their differences toward a compromise. The latest setback, with Republicans bucking their leader, left precious little time for an agreement to be reached before the "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts goes into effect.
Dow Jones industrial futures dropped 1.5 percent to 13,070 and S&P 500 futures lost 1.6 percent to 1,418.30. Analysts cautioned, however, that market swings would be exaggerated because of light trading volumes that typically accompany end-of-year holidays.
"Approaching the weekend and holiday, volumes will likely remain thin, with choppy trading sessions while the 'fiscal cliff' talks will stay in the spotlight," said Kintai Cheung of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong in an email commentary.
Among individual stocks, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. fell 7 percent, days after Japan's Transport Ministry issued a warning to the carmaker over the handling of oil leaks in mini-vehicles. Troubled electronics giant Sharp Corp. dropped 6 percent. Australian surf wear maker Billabong International rose 1.3 percent a day after chief financial officer Craig White left the troubled retailer.
Benchmark crude for February delivery fell $1.01 to $89.12 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 15 cents to finish at $90.13 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3194 from $1.3241 late Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 83.95 yen from 84.42 yen.

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Pakistani polio workers get police protection

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Under police guard, thousands of health workers pressed on with a polio immunization program Thursday after nine were killed elsewhere in Pakistan by suspected militants who oppose the vaccination campaign.
Immunizations were halted in some parts of Pakistan and the U.N. suspended its field participation everywhere until better security was arranged for its workers. The violence risks reversing recent progress fighting polio in Pakistan, one of three countries in the world where the disease is endemic.
The Taliban have denied responsibility for the shootings. Militants have accused health workers of acting as spies for the U.S., alleging the vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.
Taliban commanders in Pakistan's troubled northwest tribal region also said earlier this year that vaccinations can't go forward until the U.S. stops drone strikes in the country.
Insurgent opposition to the campaign grew last year after it was revealed that a Pakistani doctor ran a fake vaccination program to help the CIA track down and kill al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, who was hiding in the town of Abbottabad in the country's northwest.
There were a few attacks on polio workers in July, but the current level of violence is unprecedented. A polio worker died Thursday after being shot in the head in the northwestern city of Peshawar a day earlier, said health official Janbaz Afridi.
His death raised to nine the number of Pakistanis working on the campaign who have been killed this week. Six of the workers gunned down were women, three of whom were teenagers. Two other workers were critically wounded. All the attacks occurred in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the southern city of Karachi.
Despite the threat, local officials in the eastern city of Lahore continued the vaccination drive Thursday under police escort, said one of the top government officials in the city, Noorul Amin Mengal. About 6,000 Pakistani health workers were escorted by 3,000 police as they fanned out across the city, he said.
"It would have been an easy thing for us to do to stop the campaign," he said. "That would have been devastating."
Saddaf Malik, one of the polio workers in Lahore, said the killings sent a shudder of fear through him and his colleagues.
"We will carry on with our job with determination, but we want the government to adopt measures to ensure the security of polio vaccinators," he said.
This week's killings occurred as the government and the U.N. began a vaccination drive Monday targeting high-risk areas in the country's four provinces and the semiautonomous tribal region, part of an effort to immunize 34 million children under age 5. The campaign was scheduled to end Wednesday in most parts of the country, except for Lahore, where it ran a day longer.
Government officials ended the drive early in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Sindh province, where Karachi is the capital, said Elias Durry, the U.N. World Health Organization's senior coordinator for polio in Pakistan. The campaign ran its full course in the provinces of Baluchistan and Punjab, where Lahore is the capital, as well as in the tribal region, he said.
The government has approximately 250,000 people working on the campaign, said Durry. Most of them have other jobs, such as teaching or working as government clerks, and sign on to the vaccination drive to earn a little more money, about $2.50 per day, officials said.
The WHO and UNICEF have about 2,000 people between them who provide technical assistance to the polio teams across the country and educate locals about the program, said Durry and Michael Coleman, a UNICEF spokesman in Pakistan. The U.N. staff were pulled out of the field and asked to work from home Wednesday.
The goal for this week's drive was to immunize 18.3 million children, but workers were only able reach about 9 million during the first two days of the campaign, said Durry.
Polio usually infects children living in unsanitary conditions, attacks the nerves and can kill or paralyze. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria remain the last battlegrounds for the fight against the disease.
There is no history of attacks on polio workers in Afghanistan, even though the country also faces a domestic Taliban insurgency. Muslim leaders in Nigeria have spoken out against polio vaccination in the country in the past, also claiming it makes children sterile. Many now support the campaign, but some Nigerians remain suspicious.
Prevention efforts have managed to reduce the number of cases in Pakistan to 56 this year, compared with 190 in 2011, a drop of about 70 percent. Most of the news cases in Pakistan are in the northwest, where the presence of militants makes it difficult to reach children. Clerics and tribal elders have been recruited to support polio vaccinations to try to open up areas previously inaccessible to health workers.
Israrullah Khan, a villager who attended the funeral of the polio worker who died Thursday, said most of the clerics and Islamic political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were in favor of the campaign.
"We don't understand why these attacks have suddenly started," Khan said. "It's very sad because they were trying to save our children's future for very low wages."

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Japan's next leader wants freer rein for military

TOKYO (AP) — Imagine that North Korea launched a missile at Japan. Tokyo could — and would certainly try to — shoot it down. But if the missile were flying overhead toward Hawaii or the continental United States, Japan would have to sit idly by.
Japan's military is kept on a very short leash under a war-renouncing constitution written by U.S. officials whose main concern was keeping Japan from rearming soon after World War II. But if Japan's soon-to-be prime minister Shinzo Abe has his way, the status quo may be in for some change.
Abe, set to take office for a second time after leading his conservative party to victory in elections last Sunday, has vowed a fundamental review of Japan's taboo-ridden postwar security policies and proposed ideas that range from changing the name of the military — now called the Japan Self-Defense Forces — to revising the constitution itself.
Most of all, he wants to open the door to what the Japanese call "collective defense," which would allow Japan's troops to fight alongside their allies — especially the U.S. troops who are obliged to defend Japan — if either comes under direct attack. The United States has about 50,000 troops in Japan, including its largest air base in Asia.
Right now, if Japan's current standoff with China over a group of disputed islands got physical, and U.S. Navy ships coming to Japan's assistance took enemy fire, Japan wouldn't be able to help them.
"With the U.S. defense budget facing big cuts, a collapse of the military balance of power in Asia could create instability," Abe said in the run-up to the election, promising to address the collective defense issue quickly. "We must foster an alliance with the United States that can hold up under these circumstances."
While welcome in Washington, which is looking to keep its own costs down while beefing up its Pacific alliances to counterbalance the rise of China, Abe's ideas are raising eyebrows in a region that vividly remembers Japan's brutal rampage across Asia 70 years ago.
"The issue of whether Japan can face up to and reflect upon its history of aggression is what every close neighbor in Asia and the global community at large are highly concerned about," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference in Beijing this week. She said any move to bolster the military "deserves full vigilance among the Asian countries and the global community."
Even so, many Japanese strategists believe the changes are long overdue.
Japan has one of the most sophisticated military forces in the world, with a quarter million troops, a well-equipped navy and an air force that will acquire dozens of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters over the next several years, in addition to its already formidable fleet of F-15s. Japan's annual defense budget is the world's sixth largest.
"We should stand tall in the international community," said Narushige Michishita, who has advised the government on defense issues and is the director of the security and international program at Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
"These are good, well-trained conventional forces," he said. "We are second to none in Asia. So the idea is why don't we start using this. We don't have to start going to war. We can use it more effectively as a deterrent. If we get rid of legal, political and psychological restraints, we can do much more. We should start playing a larger and more responsible in international security affairs."
Outside of very constrained participation in U.N.-sanctioned peacekeeping operations and other low-intensity missions, Japan's military is tightly restricted to national defense and humanitarian assistance. Although Japan did support the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, its troops were kept well away from frontline combat.
Such restrictions, seen by conservatives as a postwar relic that has kept Japan from being a bigger player on the international stage, have long been one of Abe's pet peeves.
When he was first prime minister in 2006-2007, he was so disturbed by the kinds of crisis scenarios in which Tokyo's hands were tied that he commissioned a panel of experts to explore Japan's options. He left office before the report could be completed. His party was ousted from power two years later, and the issue was essentially dropped.
This time around, it's not clear how effectively or how soon Abe will be able to push the military issue, since stimulating the nation's economy will be his first task, and he faces strong opposition in parliament, where he has been slammed as a historical revisionist and a hawk.
But with the daily cat-and-mouse game between the Chinese and Japanese coast guards over the disputed islands not expected to end soon, polls indicate support for beefing up the military is stronger than ever.
"These are real issues, important issues," Michishita said. "And I think Abe will try to do something about it."

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Australian boy's egg collection turns into snakes

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A 3-year-old Australian boy was lucky to escape uninjured after a collection of eggs he found in his yard hatched into a slithering tangle of deadly snakes.
Reptile specialist Trish Prendergast said Friday that young wildlife enthusiast Kyle Cummings could have been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes — the world's most venomous species on land after Australia's inland taipan.
Kyle found a clutch of nine eggs a few weeks ago in the grass on his family's 1.2-hectare (3-acre) property on the outskirts of the city of Townsville in Queensland state, Prendergast said. He had no idea what kind of eggs they were.
He put the eggs into a plastic takeout food container and stashed them in his bedroom closet, where his mother, Donna Sim, found them Monday. Seven had hatched, but the snakes remained trapped under the container's lid. The remaining two eggs were probably infertile and were rotten, Prendergast said.
"I was pretty shocked, particularly because I don't like snakes," Sim told the Townsville Bulletin newspaper.
Prendergast, who is the Townsville-based reptile coordinator of the volunteer group North Queensland Wildlife Care, was handed the container on Tuesday and released the snakes into the wild that night.
She was relieved that no one had handled the snakes.
"Their fangs are only a few millimeters long at that age, so they probably couldn't break the skin, but they're just as venomous as full-grown snakes," Prendergast said.
"If venom had got on Kyle's skin where there was a cut of if he put it in his mouth, it could have been fatal," she added.
Eastern brown snakes — which can grow to more than 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) long — usually stay with their eggs but sometimes leave for short periods to feed.
"He's very lucky he didn't encounter the mother while he was taking her eggs. That also could have been fatal," Prendergast said.
The snakes were 12 to 15 centimeters (5 to 6 inches) long and had probably hatched around five days before they were released, she said, adding that they were thirsty but otherwise healthy.
Australia averages around three fatal snake bites a year, and eastern browns are responsible for the majority of them.
Sim did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday.

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AP PHOTOS: A photo journey through N.Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — My window on North Korea is sometimes, quite literally, a window — of a hotel room, the backseat of a car, a train. Fleeting moments of daily life present themselves suddenly, and they are opportunities to show a side of the country that is entirely at odds with the official portrait of marching troops and tightly coordinated pomp that the Pyongyang leadership presents to the world.
In April, I was part of a group of international journalists that traveled by train to the launch site for this year's first, failed rocket test. We traveled in a spotless train used by the Communist leadership, and I spent the five-hour journey inside my sleeper car looking out the large, clean window at a rural landscape seen by few foreign eyes. The tracks cut across fields where large groups of farmers were at work in clusters. Occasionally, there was a plow drawn by oxen or a brick-red tractor rolling along the gravel roads. On a rocky hilltop above the train tracks, a small boy sprinted and waved at the passing train. Every few hundred yards along the entire route, local officials in drab coats stood guard, their backs to the tracks, until its cargo of foreign reporters had safely passed.
I have made 17 trips into North Korea since 2000, including six since The Associated Press bureau in Pyongyang opened in January 2012. It is an endlessly fascinating and visually surreal place, but it is also one of the hardest countries I have ever photographed. As one of the few international photographers with regular access to the country, I consider it a huge responsibility to show life there as accurately as I can. 
That can be a big challenge. Foreigners are almost always accompanied by a government guide — a "minder" in journalistic parlance — who helps facilitate our coverage requests but also monitors nearly everything we do. Despite the official oversight, we try to see and do as much as we can, push the limits, dig as deeply as possible, give an honest view of what we are able to see. Over time, there have been more and more opportunities to leave the showplace capital, Pyongyang, and mingle with the people. But they are usually wary of foreigners and aware that they too are being watched.
This has been a historic year for North Korea, with large-scale dramatic displays to mark important milestones, struggles with food shortages, crippling floods, drought and typhoons, as well as growing evidence that people's lives are changing in small but significant ways. But in a country that carefully choreographs what it shows to the outside world, separating what is real from what is part of the show is often very difficult.
Last spring, as North Korea was preparing for the 100th birthday of its late founder, Kim Il Sung, citizens practiced for weeks, even months, for the large-scale military parade and public folk dancing that was part of the celebration.
One morning, on our way through town, we saw small groups of performers walking home from an early rehearsal. They wore their brightly colored traditional clothing, but covered over with warm winter coats. In their hands were the red bunches of artificial flowers that they shake and wave in honor of country's leaders during mass rallies.
From the van window, I saw a woman standing alone, holding her bouquet as she waited for the bus. It was, to me, a more telling moment than the actual events we would cover a week later, a simple but provocative glimpse into one person's life.
For this project, I used a Hasselblad XPAN, a panoramic-view film camera that is no longer manufactured. Throughout the year, I wore it around my neck and shot several dozen rolls of color negative film in between my normal coverage of news and daily life with my AP-issued digital cameras.
The XPAN is quiet, discrete, manual and simple. Because it has a wide panoramic format, it literally gives me a different view of North Korea. The film also reflects how I feel when I'm in North Korea, wandering among the muted or gritty colors, and the fashions and styles that often seem to come from a past generation.
In my photography, I try to maintain a personal point of view, a critical eye, and shoot with a style that I think of as sometimes-whimsical and sometimes-melancholy. My aim is to open a window for the world on a place that is widely misunderstood and that would otherwise rarely be seen by outsiders.
I hope these images help people to develop their own understanding of the country, one that goes beyond the point-counterpoint presented by Pyongyang and Washington. And maybe they can help create some sort of bridge between the people of North Korea and the rest of the world.

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Tanzania c/a deficit widens on higher oil import costs

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania's current account deficit increased by 13.1 percent in the year to October following a rise in imports of oil and of machinery for gas and oil exploration, its central bank said on Friday.
The deficit in east Africa's second-biggest economy, which is fast becoming a regional energy hub following recent major discoveries of natural gas in its offshore waters, widened to $3.84 billion from $3.397 billion in the year-ago period.
Oil imports surged 21.3 percent to $3.516 billion due to a rise in domestic demand.
"There was ... a substantial increase in imports of machinery associated with an increase in gas and oil exploration activities," said the central bank in its latest monthly economic review.
The country's total imports bill rose by 15.8 percent to $13.06 billion, while exports jumped by 14.9 percent to $8.43 billion from a year ago.
The central bank said gold exports, the country's top foreign exchange earner, fetched $2.17 billion in the year to October from $2.15 billion in the same period last year, reflecting an increase in gold prices on the world market.
Tanzania, with a population of around 43 million people, is Africa's fourth-largest gold producer after South Africa, Ghana and Mali. Gold accounted for 51.5 percent of the country's total non-traditional exports.
Also a big tourism destination in the region, Tanzania said earnings from that sector increased to $1.53 billion from $1.34 billion a year ago as tourist arrivals rose.
Gross official foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased to $4.1 billion in the year to October, or about 3.8 months of import cover, from $3.484 billion a year ago.

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The American Economy Is on Fire Again, Apparently

For the first time in years, everyone seems to agree that the economy truly appears to be back on track, as most of this week's new economic indicators zoomed past expectations. Earlier this morning, durable goods orders (an important of measure of how the manufacturing sector is doing) came in with impressive figures, while personal income and savings rates all blew past economists' expectations, and consumer spending is up, too. Yesterday, it was GDP, which beat even the highest predictions and was the best number seen in years.
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That's not all. Other manufacturing surveys show huge gains. Home sales are up, foreclosures are down, and more construction is on the way. FedEx and UPS are both setting holiday shipping records. All this despite the expected slowdown from Hurricane Sandy. Even the international news is good. Japan's stock market is way up, Greece got its bailout, and the European debt crisis is (for now) under control. The recession is over, and the people are actually starting to notice:
Also big beat on income and spending. Economy is humming.
— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) December 21, 2012
The economy is on fire
— Also sprach Analyst (@theanalyst_hk) December 21, 2012
Recent strength of economy shows how sad it would be if Washington decided to kill the momentum.
— Zachary A. Goldfarb (@Goldfarb) December 21, 2012
That's what makes the ongoing fiscal cliff fight so frustrating. Already markets were down after the House Republicans' failure to pass Speaker John Boehner's Plan B last night, and if no deal is made on taxes or the sequester, odds are that the economy will come to a grinding halt in January. (The current growth is even more remarkable when you consider that many people are expecting that scenario to happen.) If a deal is stuck, no matter what form it takes, some people are seeing their taxes go up and at least some government programs meant to provide stimulus will die. Even if you believe in the (dubious) long-term benefits of austerity, the economy will almost certainly take a hit at the beginning of 2013, economists say.
RELATED: 'Hope and Change' Still Good for Something...
There's also one major data point that sadly refuses to budge: unemployment. Claims were still up this week, even as companies and consumers are spending more money. Maybe a solution on taxes would get people hiring again, but all the positive economic gains have just not created as many jobs as had been hoped. However, if things keep improving at this rate, 2013 could be a different story. If the government can manage to stay out of its own way.
RELATED: Federal Reserve Officials Look Extra Dumb in 2006 Transcripts
Still, everyone said that whoever won the presidential election would also be winning the chance to oversee (and take credit for) a big economic recovery. The hard part will be keeping it going.

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GE to buy aviation unit of Italy's Avio for $4.3 billion

MILAN (Reuters) - General Electric Co has agreed to buy the aviation business of Italy's Avio for $4.3 billion, in a sign of confidence about the country's underlying strength despite its deep recession.
The deal comes as Europe's fourth-biggest economy labors to become more competitive under a reform agenda set by technocrat prime minister Mario Monti, who is due to step down on Friday before general elections seen in February.
"We are convinced that Italy will exit the crisis," Nani Beccalli, president and chief executive of GE Europe, told reporters on Friday. "There are undoubtedly hurdles linked to red tape. But the strategic value of the deal is so big (it would offset other issues)", Beccalli said.
GE agreed to buy Avio from private equity fund Cinven and Italian state-controlled defense group Finmeccanica . The move frustrated the aspirations of France's Safran and Italy's state-backed Strategic Fund, which had been trying over the last few months to take over Avio.
GE, whose businesses range from infrastructure technology to financial services, said Avio would boost its global supply chain capabilities as its engine production rates rise to meet growing customer demand.
Avio, which makes components for the GE Dreamliner engine used by Boeing Co , ranks among Italy's industrial jewels and is one of the most technologically advanced companies in its field.
William Blair & Co analyst Nick Heymann said the move, which amounts to GE buying a supplier to its jet engine program, was intended in part to protect new technologies.
"They're trying to get more vertically integrated and have more control over critical aspects of the manufacturing process," he said.
GE is developing composite ceramics for jet engines, a technology it also plans to use in other products such as electric turbines and equipment used in oil and gas production.
"Rather than developing (composite ceramics) and trust someone not to give it away, you want to keep it in-house," Heymann said.
The move could be a sign that GE in coming years might be ready to consider larger acquisitions outside of the $1 billion to $3 billion range that GE's CEO, Jeff Immelt, has described as the company's sweet spot over the past few years.
"We're slowly inching our way back into larger capital redeployment," Heymann said.
GE shares were down 0.6 percent at $20.92 on Friday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.
STRATEGIC ASSET
GE said the purchase price values the aviation business of Avio, which also supplies Rolls Royce Holdings , at 8.5 times its expected 2012 core earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
"No nitpicks here. This is an excellent deal," said Brian Langenberg, of independent research firm Langenberg & Co.
Debt-laden Finmeccanica, which owned 14 pct of Avio, will use the 260 million euros it is earning from its stake sale to lower debt. The sale is the first of a number of disposals the company needs to carry out to keep its investment-grade credit rating.
The U.S. group will not be buying Avio's space unit, which the Italian government considers strategic. The unit, which is expected to make sales of between 280 million euros and 285 million in 2012, will remain for the time being under the control of Cinven and Finmeccanica.
Avio's revenue in the aviation sector was 1.7 billion euros ($2.25 billion) in 2011, with more than 50 percent derived from components for GE and GE joint-venture engines.
Cinven had bought Avio in 2006 for some 2.6 billion euros.
Under GE's ownership, Avio will invest 1.1 billion euros over the next 10 years, company executives said.
GE said it planned to pursue new opportunities for Avio in the power generation, oil and marine products industries.
The GE deal comes after a planned initial public offering for Avio was scrapped earlier in 2012 because of weak market conditions.

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Two killed in supermarkets looting in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in Argentina as looters broke into supermarkets in several cities, stirring memories of the country's devastating economic crisis 11 years ago.
The violence erupted on Thursday in the Patagonian ski resort of Bariloche when dozens of looters stormed a supermarket and made off with LCD televisions and other goods.
Government officials condemned the violence and deployed 400 military police to the southern city. Similar unrest broke out in the central city of Rosario and in several parts of the urban sprawl that surrounds the capital Buenos Aires early on Friday.
"These are isolated incidents and in none of them have we seen people stealing food. They've been taking televisions," said Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Abal Medina, blaming the unrest on opposition trade union groups.
Two people were killed during looting in Rosario, said provincial security secretary Matias Drivet. Several hundred people were arrested nationwide.
The unrest is more bad news for President Cristina Fernandez, who often contrasts the country's current economic stability with the 2001/02 crisis that plunged millions of Argentines into poverty and unleashed a wave of looting for food in supermarkets.
Fernandez was re-elected by a landslide just over a year ago, but her approval ratings have since plunged due to sluggish economic growth, high inflation and middle-class anger over currency controls, and the leader's combative style.

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US budget negotiations setback drives stocks down

PARIS (AP) — A failed attempt find a compromise in U.S. budget negotiations sent global stock markets plummeting Friday, as investors feared the world's largest economy could teeter into recession if no deal is found.
Without an agreement, the U.S. economy will fall off the so-called "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1 when Bush-era tax cuts expire and spending cuts kick in automatically. The measures were designed to have a negative effect on the U.S. economy, in the hopes that the feared outcome would push lawmakers and President Barack Obama to find a deal.
"We've seen Europe's politicians repeatedly flirt lemming-like with cliff-diving in 2012, and now it's the turn of U.S. 'leaders,'" said Kit Juckes, an analyst with Societe Generale. "The nagging fear is always there that someone, on one side of the Atlantic or the other, will forget to let rational thought take over at the last second."
Amid the uncertainty, European shares fell. France's CAC dropped 0.15 percent to close at 3,661, while the DAX in Germany dropped 0.5 percent to end the day 7,636. The FTSE index of leading British shares retreated 0.3 percent to 5,939.
The euro also fell sharply, dropping 0.5 percent to $1.3159.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 1 percent lower at 9,940.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 percent to 22,506.29. South Korea's Kospi shed 1 percent at 1,980.42. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,623.60. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed.
U.S. stock futures tumbled after rank-and-file Republican lawmakers failed to support an alternative tax plan by House Speaker John Boehner late Thursday in Washington. That plan would have allowed tax rates to rise on households earning $1 million and up. Obama wants the level to be $400,000.
In midday trading trading in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.25 percent to 13,147, while the broader Standard & Poor's index fell 1.3 percent at 1,424.
"The fiscal cliff is a real threat not just for U.S. growth next year but for the outlook for global growth," said Jane Foley, currency analyst with Rabobank.
When growth slows, energy demand does, too, and oil prices fell in anticipation.
Benchmark crude for February delivery fell $1.78 to $88.35 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Tom Cruise tabloid lawsuit: abandonment claims "substantially true" - publisher

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The publisher of "Life & Style" and "In Touch," which is being sued by Tom Cruise for printing that the "Jack Reacher" star had abandoned his daughter Suri following his divorce from Katie Holmes, has fired back at the actor's suit.

In an answer to Cruise's defamation lawsuit, filed in October, Bauer Publishing Co. says that its reporting is "substantially true."

Bauer's answer, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in California, also asserts a number of defenses, including that it's protected by the First, Fifth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, as well as Article 1, Section 7 of the California Constitution.

Bauer asserts that it's not liable for damages because, among other things, "one or all of the allegedly defamatory statements complained of by the plaintiff are true or substantially true."

Bauer also claims that Cruise "cannot prove that he has suffered any compensable damage as a result of any actionable of any actionable statement published by the Bauer Defendants," and that he is "a public figure and the Bauer Defendants did not act with actual malice."Cruise's attorney has not responded to TheWrap's request for comment.

The actor sued over stories published by "Life & Style" and its sister publication, "In Touch," claiming that Cruise had "abandoned" his six-year-old daughter, Suri. Cruise's attorney called the stories, published in July and October, "a disgusting, vicious lie."

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Paramount alters marketing campaign for "Jack Reacher" after Newtown shooting

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Paramount has altered the marketing for its upcoming Tom Cruise film "Jack Reacher" to minimize the gunfire and violence, an individual with knowledge of the studio's plans told TheWrap.

While the studio declines to give specifics, its move was made because of the recent school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Paramount postponed last week's Pittsburgh premiere of the film, which opens in theaters on Friday.

"Jack Reacher" stars Cruise as a drifter and former military cop tracking down a sniper guilty of killing five. He becomes convinced the sniper is innocent and works to prove it.

The film opens with sniper fire, and the trailer features semi-automatic weapons (above) and a taser.

The studio took any appearance of gunfire and use of weapons under consideration in light of the recent tragedy, the second worst school shooting in United States history, the individual told TheWrap.

It has made no changes to the film and plans to release it as scheduled.

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"Amour" review: A wrenching but essential look at a disintegrating life

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Movies love to speed up the dying process, whether it's the rosy-cheeked young girl who succumbs to a mysterious fatal illness in the final reel or the hero cop suddenly felled by one random bullet after committing an act of extraordinary heroism.

But the actual mechanics of death and dying - the slow degeneration of mind and body, the subtle shadings in which people gradually lose their mobility and faculties and independence - those tend to be absent from the big screen.

It's not compact or convenient. It's a subject people would just as soon avoid, whether or not they've faced it firsthand in their own lives. And frankly, as plots go, it's exceedingly depressing.

I won't argue that Michael Haneke's "Amour," winner of this year's Cannes Palme d'Or and Best Picture from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (of which I am a member), isn't sad and wrenching and devastating, but it's those qualities that make it such a powerful piece of moviemaking.

While this might not be the post-gift-unwrapping movie destination of choice this holiday season, the brutal honesty and emotional truth of "Amour" make it one of this year's best films.

Veteran French film stars Emmanuelle Riva ("Hiroshima mon amour") and Jean-Louis Trintignant ("My Night at Maud's") star as Anne and Georges, an upscale, educated older couple in Paris who live in a sophisticated bubble of art and classical music and books and witty friends. And none of these trappings, as it turn out, will help much when Anne suffers a minor stroke, so brief that it's practically over before Georges can even respond to it.

But this event marks the beginning of a slow decline for Anne: Soon, she's lost the use of one side of her body. Before long - and it's part of Haneke's deft grace as a storyteller that the passage of time is more often suggested than literally spelled out - she becomes bedridden, then loses her ability to speak or control her bodily functions, as Georges devotes himself more and more to her caretaking, even to the exclusion of their ostensibly concerned daughter Eva (Isabelle Huppert).

Haneke eschews sentimentality in telling this story, and he allows us to draw our own conclusions about the characters and their motivations. Is Georges being overly controlling? Does Eva really want to participate in her mother's care, or does she feel obligated to make a show of concern given the circumstances? And does Anne, for her part, even want to stay alive as she fades away? (In their first major discussion following the stroke, she all but tells Georges that she'd rather not be around for the next part.)

With his previous film, "The White Ribbon," and now "Amour," Haneke seems to be showing a more humane side than the manipulative and even sadistic streak he revealed in films like "Funny Games." But even so, he keeps things cool and detached enough to avoid the easy bathos that could come out of a story like this one.

He bolts his camera still for long periods and expects you to figure out why, and he shuns anything extraneous.

There's a sequence late in the film when Georges imagines he's seeing Anne back at her piano. Almost any other director would, after cutting to Georges, cut back to the empty piano bench, but Haneke trusts us enough to get the moment without spelling it out in big, bold letters.

Riva, 85, and Trintignant, 82, tackle these roles that are both physically and emotionally complex with gusto; any discussion of the ability of actors to continue to do challenging and gut-wrenching work after the age of 75 would have to include these two extraordinary performances.

Is "Amour" hard to watch? Emotionally, yes, but it's never tedious or meandering or spinning its wheels. It pulses with vitality, even as its main characters cope with life's passing.

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"The Guilt Trip" review: Not like buttah, but better than margarine

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The trailer, the casting, even the title of "The Guilt Trip" sets us up for a specific kind of movie: Nice neurotic boy henpecked by his nagging, smothering Yiddishe mama. It's a dynamic we've seen everywhere from the novels of Philip Roth to Woody Allen's "Oedipus Wrecks" and countless other movies and sitcoms over the last half-century or so.

But "The Guilt Trip," starring gravelly voiced everyslacker Seth Rogen as the son and Barbra Streisand as the mom, has its own agenda that goes far beyond cheek-pinching and boiled chicken.

The movie, directed by Anne Fletcher ("The Proposal," "27 Dresses") from a script by Dan Fogelman ("Crazy Stupid Love," "Cars"), may occasionally err on the side of innocuousness, but at least it explores actual facets of the mother-adult son relationship without veering into caricature.

Young inventor Andrew Brewster (Rogen), at the end of his financial rope, sets out on a cross-country road trip in an attempt to sell his organic cleaning product to one of the major retail chains. Flying to his home in New Jersey from L.A., he pays an all-too-rare visit to his mother Joyce (Streisand), who dotes on her son cross-country with a seemingly endless series of phone messages, sharing everything from encouragement to tips on underwear sales at The Gap.

During his visit, Andrew tries to get Joyce to go to a singles' mixer for older people, but she's clearly not having it. That night, she tells him about her first love, a boy from Florida whom she loved passionately but who ultimately never proposed to her, suggesting instead that she accept the offer from Andrew's father.

Andrew tracks the man down on Google, finds him in San Francisco, and suggests that Joyce accompany him on the trip, mainly so he can attempt a reunion by the bay for his mom and the guy she never fully got over.

In a cheesier movie, the rest of the film would just be about overbearing Joyce getting on Andrew's nerves in an enclosed space, but "The Guilt Trip" goes in smarter directions than that, whether it's the two of them listening to the audiobook of Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" (a constant source of discomfort for Andrew, who feels awkward listening to discussion of genitals in his mother's presence) or Joyce's attempts to help Andrew out with both his professional and romantic life.

Viewers of a certain age will be thrilled to know that Joyce's advice is right far more often than it's wrong. In fact, one of the film's strengths is that both characters genuinely learn things from and about each other in ways that rarely feel contrived or phony. Mother-love tends to get a bad rap in pop culture, but not here.

There's not a ton of plot, granted, but the real pleasure of the film comes from watching Rogen and Streisand (looking more loose and relaxed than she's appeared in any medium for some time) interact.

I will always, always laugh uproariously at "What's Up, Doc?" no matter how many times I see it, so it's been disappointing to see Streisand ignore her comedic roots for so long. (And let's not count the "Fokkers" movies, which did no one's funny bone any favors.) Her unflagging insistence and his laid-back withdrawal mesh perfectly; this is a comic duo that should keep working together.

The movie's also peppered with lots of great character actors, who apparently agreed to glorified walk-ons just for the opportunity to spend a day with an icon like Streisand: Keep an eye peeled for the likes of Kathy Najimy, Adam Scott, Casey Wilson, Rose Abdoo, Miriam Margolyes, Colin Hanks, Dale Dickey and Nora Dunn, among others. (Special mention to Brett Cullen, most recently seen in the "Red Dawn" remake, as a soft-spoken Southwesterner smitten with Joyce and her skill at putting away a big steak dinner.)

"The Guilt Trip" is too gentle to be uproarious (although no one makes a comment like "This place smells like strawberry gum" about a topless bar the way Streisand can), but if you're in the mood for something easygoing and well-acted, it's a sweet little character piece. Take your mom - or at least call her. You know how she worries.

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Kevin Nealon, Tig Notaro fill out "Walk of Shame" cast

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Kevin Nealon, Tig Notaro and Liz Carey are among the 11 actors who have joined the cast of "Walk of Shame," a comedy starring Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden and Gillian Jacobs.

Written by Steven Brill, who will direct, the film stars Banks as an uptight anchor who gets locked out of her apartment after a late night out. Stranded without her wallet, phone, ID or car, she embarks on a series of adventures. Marsden plays her love interest.

Lakeshore and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment have filled out the cast with Nealon (left), Notaro, Carrey Bill Burr, Ken Davitian, Willie Garson, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Oliver Hudson, Alphonso McAuley Ethan Suplee and Sarah Wright.

Brill's previous directorial efforts include "Drillbit Taylor" and "Mr. Deeds. He also wrote the three "Mighty Ducks" movies.

Lakeshore Entertainment's Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi will produce, along with Sidney Kimmel.

FilmDistrict will distribute this film domestically, while Lakeshore and Sierra/Affinity are shopping it internationally.

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How to find a good yoga teacher

Finding a yoga class is easy, but finding one that is a good fit is an altogether different matter. If you're new to yoga, or still searching for a class that strikes the right chord, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

A good place to start is by talking: ask your friends or colleagues at work to recommend a teacher or studio or school. Even if you consider yourself in great shape but are new to yoga, sign up for a beginner's class. Also investigate the methods beforehand: some techniques are notoriously intense, such as Ashtanga, while others are gentle, such as Kripalu.

Before unrolling your mat, have an idea of what you're getting to. Get the details beforehand on the length of the class, the cost, what kind of dress is recommended (for example, for heated classes such as Bikram and Power Yoga, you'll want lightweight clothes that breathe), whether or not you need to bring your own yoga mat, and how large the class is. More experienced and popular teachers can draw huge, tightly packed classes, meaning less time to work with individuals. Newer teachers, while a little rougher around the edges, will have more time to give you personalized attention.

When it comes to finding a good teacher, make sure he or she not only has been certified to teach yoga but also continues to practice and study under a master yoga teacher. Talk to your teacher beforehand if you have any problems or issues, and look for a teacher who is patient and respectful.

While yoga can be challenging and will initially at least cause some pain, never perform a position in class that generates "bad" pain, especially in the knees, lower back, and neck. Talk to your teacher, ask for a modified pose, or assume a rest position. Never allow a teacher to encourage you to "work through" this kind of pain.

Also a good teacher will walk around the class, looking at the students' poses, making adjustments as necessary. Get a feel for how the students respond, whether or not there is camaraderie in the class, and if he or she offers feedback and alternatives. Also be sure your teacher incorporates some breath work, which is an intricate part of all forms of yoga.

If you find a teacher you like, it's best to study under that teacher as much as you can, allowing your teacher to familiarize herself with your practice. A good teacher will take a personal interest in you and your yoga by listening to your goals and hopes.

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Top 10 Reasons to Hire Older People

In a world where traditional retirement makes less and less sense, the need and desire of older people to retain or find meaningful jobs depends in part on overcoming bogus attitudes about older employees. Smart and progressive employers get this. Sure, Google is probably not losing any sleep over failing to train septuagenarians about search-engine algorithms. But being uninterested in crowd-sourcing the best taco stand within four blocks of your smartphone is not a disqualification for being an excellent employee.

[See 10 Workplace Myths Debunked.]

Unemployment rates among older workers are lower than that of the general workforce. However, when an older person does lose a job, it has been much harder to find a new one. Older job seekers need to do an honest self-assessment of their skills and upgrade them if needed or set their sights on jobs that better match their current capabilities.

Employers need to make their own adjustments, beginning with tossing preconceptions of older workers out the window. Judge each job applicant as an individual. It's the law, and it's also the right thing to do. In assessing the suitability of older job applicants, here are 10 other things to keep in mind:

1. They are not unhappy. MetLife recently completed its 10th annual survey of employee benefits, based on extensive surveys of hiring managers and employees. It finds that younger employees are really unhappy these days. Older workers, by contrast, tend to be more appreciative of what they've got.

2. They are not going to jump ship. MetLife also found that alarming percentages of younger workers would like to be working somewhere other than their current employer in 2012. Among Gen Y workers (born 1981 to 1994), it was 54 percent, while 37 percent of Gen X workers (born 1965 to 1980) were ready, willing, and able to bail on their employers. The comparable figures were 27 percent for younger boomers (born 1956 to 1964) and 21 percent for older boomers (born 1946 to 1955).

3. They are not as needy. Upwards of two-thirds of Gen Y and Gen X employees want more help from employers in providing benefits that better meet their needs. Among older baby boomers, only 31 percent felt that way.

4. They don't want their boss's job. Older employees have, by and large, recognized where they are in terms of professional advancement. They don't waste a lot of time, either theirs or their employer's, with career concerns.

[See When Your Boss is Younger than Your Child.]

5. Their skills shortage may be way overblown. Don't assume that older employees don't know their stuff. Maybe they are not texting during meetings because they are more polite. Odds are, they may actually know how to spell complete words, too, if that's important to you.

6. They know what they want. Personal quests are great but they shouldn't be done on work time. Older workers tend to leave their angst at the door when they get to work.

7. They show up on time every day. Any older employee with a solid resume has already developed the kind of attendance and reliability records employers want.

8. They have few personal or family distractions. Seniors love their children but are gladly done with afternoon school runs, soccer games, and any number of other parental duties.

9. Benefits are not as crucial. The MetLife research found that much more pressure for better benefits comes from younger workers. In part, that's because they don't believe Social Security and Medicare benefits will be around for their later years. Older workers, by contrast, have much greater confidence in being able to count of those government programs.

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Half of all cancers are preventable: study

Half of all cancers could be prevented if people just adopted healthier behaviors, US scientists argued on Wednesday.

Smoking is blamed for a third of all US cancer cases and being overweight leads to another 20 percent of the deadly burden that costs the United States some $226 billion per year in health care expenses and lost productivity.

For instance, up to three quarters of US lung cancer cases could be avoided if people did not smoke, said the article in the US journal Science Translational Medicine.

Science has shown that plenty of other cancers can also be prevented, either with vaccines to prevent human papillomavirus and hepatitis, which can cause cervical and liver cancers, or by protecting against sun exposure, which can cause skin cancer.

Society as a whole must recognize the need for these changes and take seriously an attempt to instill healthier habits, said the researchers.

"It's time we made an investment in implementing what we know," said lead author Graham Colditz, an epidemiologist at the Siteman Cancer Center at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Exercising, eating right and refraining from smoking are key ways to prevent up to half of the 577,000 deaths from cancer in the United States expected this year, a toll that is second only to heart disease, according to the study.

But a series of obstacles to change are well enshrined in the United States, which will see an estimated 1,638,910 new cancer cases diagnosed this year.

Those hurdles include skepticism that cancer can be prevented and the habit of intervening too late in life to stop or prevent cancer that has already taken root.

Also, much of the research on cancer focuses on treatment instead of prevention, and tends to take a short-term view rather than a long-term approach.

"Humans are impatient, and that human trait itself is an obstacle to cancer prevention," said the study.

Further complicating those factors are the income gaps between the upper and lower social classes that mean poor people tend to be more exposed to cancer risk factors than the wealthy.

"Pollution and crime, poor public transportation, lack of parks for play and exercise, and absence of nearby supermarkets for fresh food hinder the adoption and sustained practice of a lifestyle that minimizes the risk of cancer and other diseases," said the study.

"As in other countries, social stratification in the United States exacerbates lifestyle differences such as access to health care, especially prevention and early detection services.

"Mammograms, colon screening, diet and nutrition support, smoking cessation resources and sun protection mechanisms are simply less available to the poor."

That means any bid to overcome deep social imbalances must be supported by policy changes, said co-author Sarah Gehlert, professor of racial and ethnic diversity at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and the School of Medicine.

"After working in public health for 25 years, I've learned that if we want to change health, we need to change policy," she said.

"Stricter tobacco policy is a good example. But we can't make policy change on our own. We can tell the story, but it requires a critical mass of people to talk more forcefully about the need for change."

A separate annual report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other major US cancer groups found that death rates from cancer in the United States continued to decline between 1.3 and 1.7 percent from 1998 to 2008.

New cancer diagnoses also decreased less than one percent per year from 1996 to 2006 and leveled off from 2006 to 2008.

However, the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer also highlighted the problem of obesity-related cancers, such as colorectal cancer, as well as cancer of the kidney, esophagus, pancreas, breast and endometrial lining.

"If you watch your diet, exercise, and manage your weight, you can not only prevent your risk of getting many lethal forms of cancer, you will also increase your chances of doing well if you should get almost any form of cancer," counseled Edward Benz, president of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

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