Who's Your Pick for Oscars Best & Worst Dressed?

Hollywood's biggest night is also a huge night in fashion! From daring ensembles to megawatt bling, the stars turned out for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in style! While some looks sang out with style, others hit a flat note. Who's your pick for best and worst dressed at this year's Oscars? Give us your thoughts below, then watch "The Insider" on TV tonight to see if your comments make it on air! [Read full story on The Insider]

View original story : 2008+note+0.0 Feed : The Insider Featured News

Foreign Leaders Not Fond of Anointed One

So much for the farcical claim that putting a clearly unqualified yet grotesquely self-satisfied left-wing community organizer in the White House would enhance America's standing in the world. As even Jackson Diehl at WaPo admits: I recently asked several senior administration officials, separately, to name a foreign leader with whom Barack Obama has forged a strong personal relationship during his first year in office. A lot of hemming and hawing ensued. One official mentioned French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is scheduled to bring his glamorous wife to the White House residence this month for a couples dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama. But in France, Sarkozy's bitterness toward Obama, the product of several perceived snubs, is an open secret, reported widely in the French press. In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in September Sarkozy appeared to mock Obama's signature disarmament initiative, saying "we are living in a real world, not a virtual world." Angela Merkel's name also came up: Obama and the German chancellor, I was told, share a down-to-business pragmatism. But Merkel, too, has been conspicuously cool toward Obama ever since he made Berlin a stop on his 2008 election campaign. She stopped him then from appearing at the Brandenburg Gate and was said to be miffed last November when Obama didn't show for ceremonies celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Anyway, diplomats say that Merkel has a much warmer relationship with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. No one named Gordon Brown. That's fairly remarkable: The relationship between the sitting British prime minister and U.S. president has been consistently close over the past 30 years. Think Reagan and Thatcher, Clinton and Blair, Bush and Blair. But Obama has been portrayed as dissing Brown ever since he presented him with a set of DVDs as a gift during their first meeting in Washington a year ago. Last fall the British press reported that the White House had turned down five requests for Obama to meet Brown one-on-one at the United Nations or the G-20 summit. Finally, I was offered a name I didn't expect: Dmitry Medvedev. Obama, I was assured, has built a solid relationship with the Russian president during their several bilateral meetings, which have focused in part on a new nuclear arms control agreement that both could count as a distinctive achievement. But the deal hasn't been clinched — maybe because Vladimir Putin, whom Obama has held at arm's length [and who is the one actually in charge], doesn't like it. And could it really be that an American president has found his closest foreign partner in the Kremlin? In contrast, the despised W "forged close ties with a host of leaders — Aznar of Spain, Uribe of Colombia, Sharon and Olmert of Israel, Koizumi of Japan." There is a reason that presidents who have some clue what they're doing make the effort to build personal relationships with allied leaders. Would Sarkozy have fought French public opinion and sent more troops to Afghanistan (he has refused) if he had been cultivated more by Obama? Would Israel's Netanyahu be willing to take more risks in the (moribund) Middle East peace process if he believed he could count on this U.S. president? Would Karzai cooperate more closely with U.S. commanders in the field if Obama had embraced him? The answers seem obvious. In foreign as well as domestic affairs, coolness has its cost. It will take a generation for America to live down having elected this character — and longer still to pay off the debts he's running up. Arrogance doesn't appeal to everyone. On a tip from Edward.

View original story : 2008+note+0.0 Feed : Moonbattery

3DS Reports 4th Quarter Financial Results

3DS Partner Letter: "Last week we reported our fourth quarter and full year 2009 results. Considering the unprecedented economic climate that continues to challenge us all, we are pleased to share with you that we delivered diluted earnings per share of 16 cents for the fourth quarter of 2009 and 5 cents for the year on lower revenue. We are grateful to all of you for your contribution to the continued improvement in our operating performance and financial results. During 2009 we generated $7.7 million of net cash from operations, of which $5.2 million was used to fund our strategic investing activities. We remain debt free and ended the year with $24.9 million of available cash compared to $22.2 million at December 31, 2008. Read more. We believe that these results validate the strategic direction that I shared with you last quarter; our focus on Parts, Printers and Production Systems. Over the last 140 days 3Dproparts™ has become the fastest growing parts service in the industry. On November 24, 2009 we acquired AdvaTech Manufacturing, a well established and respected name in the aerospace and defense industries. This past month, on February 16th we took another step with the acquisition of Moeller Design and Development based in Seattle, Washington. With the addition of AdvaTech and Moeller Design to 3Dproparts™ we have broadened our portfolio of Premier Services to include several high value offerings across our network, such as QuickCast™, Certified Parts Solutions, On-Demand Dental Production and more. By the end of 2010, we expect sales of 3Dproparts™ to reach 10% of our total revenue. While the economic recovery will take time, we are confident that with your strong partnership and our expanding products and services portfolio will sustain the positive revenue and profit trend we are experiencing. We our fully committed to our long-term growth objectives and confident in our ability to provide value to you, our other stakeholders and our stockholders."

View original story : 2008+note+0.0 Feed : Novedge Pulse - Today

Swiss reject ‘lawyers for animals’ proposal

Switzerland has massively rejected a proposal to have lawyers representing all animals involved in court proceedings. Around 70% of voters opposed the move in a referendum on the issue on Sunday. Zurich already provides lawyers for animals in cases of alleged animal cruelty but campaigners were trying to extend the provision to all of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. Switzerland has a history of animal rights legislation that some would consider extreme. In 2008 researchers worried that a court ban on two primate experiments could threaten all basic research on animals in the country. The same year a government ethics committee also debated when research might become un-fundable for compromising the ‘dignity of plants’. Having a lawyer specifically to represent animals in court seems to have been a step too far for most Swiss though. “The Swiss people have clearly said our animal protection laws are so good we don't need animal lawyers,” says Jakob Buechler, of the Christian People’s Party (SF1, via PA). Before the vote last week Antoine Goetschel, currently Zurich’s only ‘animal advocate’, told the Guardian, “It can all lead to some interesting dilemmas. For example, what about the scientist who is trying to make a flea with 12 eyes? Who is representing the dignity of this creature?” The referendum did pass a proposal to amend the constitution with regards human dignity in biomedical research. This sets the stage for a future reform aiming to ensure research can continue, while also ensuring protection for human subjects (details in German, comments in English from SwissInfo). Image: photo by ianlord via Flickr under creative commons.

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H1N1, Concussions, and Wood Mulch. What Have We Done To Our Playgrounds?

Thanks to wood mulch and similarly unsafe surfacing options, even today over 500 kids end up in the emergency room every single day as a result of playground injuries. Submitted by Emmanuel Defreitas to Society & Culture | Note-it! | Add a Comment

View original story : 2008+note+0.0 Feed : Care2 News Network - Newly Submitted

Writers Needed for Ongoing Bulk Article Project-2 by OutsourcingComp

Hello, I am in need of many writers to help complete over 2000 articles. Please put "agree" in your bid note. Terms: All articles must pass copyscape Any copy and paste material... (Budget: $250-750, Jobs: Articles, Copywriting, Ghostwriting)

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Caring for an Ill Person: Altering the Environment to Aid in Healing

When a person becomes ill or is suffering from a terminal illness, creating a peaceful and inspirational atmosphere is an important part of the healing process. Submitted by Lynne Nofziger to Health & Wellness | Note-it! | Add a Comment

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U. S. Supreme Court Rejects Rehearing in Osburn Murder Case

Kenneth Ray Osburn, convicted in January, 2008, of kidnaping and capital murder in connection with the 2006 death of Pine Bluff teenager Casey Crowder, may be coming back to the Ashley County Jail.

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Archaeologist lifts the lid on the Staffordshire Hoard at Lichfield talk

An audience of 300 discovered all about the Staffordshire Hoard at archaeologist Ian Wykes’ talk at the Lichfield Garrick. Submitted by Marty Powell to Science & Tech | Note-it! | Add a Comment

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A Look At Livia Lancelot, Female Motocross Knight

On the day after World Woman Day (I'm always a bit late), here's a closer look at Livia Lancelot. Who is Livia Lancelot you may ask? She is the 2008 World Champion Female Motocross!! Not an easy feat, so she deserves a closer look. ...

View original story : 2008+note+0.0 Feed : Bikes in the Fast Lane - Daily Motorcycle News