Google's New Privacy Policy change, Good or Bad ?

Google Privacy policy change is a bit of concern for some sectors but people ignore that Facebook has openly admitted that it tracks user browsing pattern even if they are logged out and keeps pages long data about their customers. I personally trust Google as my email IDs been with them since a long time and nothing wrong happened to me till date. I continue to use Gmail and has no plans to stop as other services are not so popular. My contacts are on gtalk and I will be using it onwards. It is a bit of concern that is someone else bought Google, they may be not like the current management. But we must not forget that all those internet is built on Google's money. The search we do, the sites which offer free guides and solution through search results, the web industry and people who depend on that for livelihood etc. It would not have been possible for every individual to get ads for a useful site and imagine a life without Google. Google of course is doing a business and it earns heavily from it, but on the other side, we are getting benefited 10 fold that too for free.

If some other provider was in Google's place, first 10 searches per day will be free and then Rs. 10 or $ 1 per search. That is how things still work outside. Free is something we started to hear after Google. Though I would like people to make their concern reach Google and they take some steps to lessen the concern, it would be a bit harsh to criticize Google when it asks in Google Chrome that would you like to keep as default search engine for Chrome. Which other browser asks us whether or not to choose a provider that is not as profitable as the search page they offer ?

Fresh fire in Fukushima N-plant

Japan races to avert a catastrophe after fire broke out on Wednesday at a nuclear plant that has sent low levels of radiation wafting into Tokyo, prompting some people to flee the capital and triggering growing international alarm at the escalating crisis.
When tragedies strike, perhaps the saddest question that surfaces in the aftermath is "Could this have been avoided?". That question surfaced in relation to the Japan calamity, with Steven Swinford and Christopher Hope of the Telegraph, UK, reporting that an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency as warning, way back in December 2008, that safety rules in some Japanese nuclear plants were out of date, and that a strong earthquake could cause serious problems. Citing cables from Wikileaks, the Telegraph reported that the Japanese government had at the time pledged to upgrade safety measures at all its plants. However, though an emergency response center was built at the Fukushima plant, it was only designed to withstand tremors of 7.0 magnitudes, and not able to resist the 8.9 quake that struck on March 11

poster girl

Nomination Dispute on Oscar Doc Short POSTER GIRL Ignites Divisive Fight at the Academy

For most of the world, the press release sent out by the Academy one week ago today seemed simple and direct.  Headed "Oscar Credits Determined for Documentary Short Subjects", the release was only somewhat notable in that it announced the first Oscar nomination for Mitchell Block, a veteran player and somewhat controversial figure in the documentary world, for the short film POSTER GIRL, which was directed by Sara Nesson.
But what seemed simple on the outside masked an fierce dispute within the Academy's Documentary Branch.  Two different committees had ruled that Block had not done enough work on the film to qualify for an Oscar nod, but those decisions were overturned by a four-person review committee that represented the Academy's Board of Governors.  How and why the decision went to the four-person committee is at the crux of the conflict.
Perhaps none of this would be known outside of the Academy if Freida Lee Mock, the Oscar winning filmmaker and former Doc Branch Governor, had not emailed some of the details to Roger Ebert, who last Friday wrote about the dispute and then quickly deleted the blog post, reportedly after hearing from Movie City News' David Poland.  By late Friday afternoon, all that remained was Poland's own post, which was sympathetic to Block and critical of Mock, but which remained somewhat vague as to what actually happened.
While Poland suggested that the situation was a smear job against Block, conversations with a number of Academy members over the weekend reveal a much more complicated - and a far more divisive - battle than has been publicly made known.  And while the heart of the dispute rests with the Academy's real desire to limit inappropriate producer credits, it's set against a backdrop of a series of personal grudges that date back to the late 1980s.

At its essence, the POSTER GIRL fight begins with an Academy-wide effort to confirm that the producer who is nominated is the person who actually does the work of a day-to-day producer, primarily responsible for overseeing the whole filmmaking process.
It's an open secret that producer credits are handed out indiscriminately in film, so over the past few years the Academy has worked, in partnership with the Producers Guild, to strengthen the rule and to make sure nominations aren't given to money men (or women), distributors and the like.
This is true even (and maybe especially) in the documentary branch, where only two people may receive nominations for a film (as compared to three people in the Best Picture category).  In addition to other controversies that mark the last few decades of the branch, there's a history of nominees (and even winners) who were not the true producer of record, and this recent effort is an attempt to rectify that.
In conversations with Academy members, several pointed to Michael Donovan, who shared the Documentary Feature Oscar with Michael Moore on BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, as one such example.  All agree that Donovan was the financier on the film, with two stating that the true producer on the film was Moore's wife, Kathleen Glynn (others suggested this was not the case).  Another mentioned the double wins in the 1990s by Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center as an example of an Oscar winner who didn't take on the true tasks of a real day-to-day producer.
Nearly all noted an intense, behind-the-scenes discussion last year as to who should be the second nominee on Louie Psihoyos' THE COVE - Paula dePre Pesman, who had overseen the entire production, or Fisher Stevens, who helped shape the film into its final form during post-production.  Many felt that Pesman should be the nominee, but Stevens was ultimately named as such by the Academy (and he eventually won).  One Academy member called this particular decision a "Sophie's choice" caused by AMPAS rules that allow only one award be given to a documentary film's producer.
Several people who have been nominees in the past few years described a thorough vetting process, with one equating it to a cross-examination, although most seemed to take it in stride.  One veteran player in the documentary world told me that the vetting process was even more stringent at the Primetime Emmys.
None the Academy members I spoke to were willing to speak for attribution and many would only confirm details that I'd heard from other sources.
This year, the Producers Guild told the Academy that they couldn't handle doing the vetting on the documentary short films, which turned the process over to an internal committee of documentary branch members, of which Freida Lee Mock was reportedly a member.  It was the first time that an internal documentary branch committee had overseen the vetting process since the Academy stepped up regulation of producer credits a few years ago.
In the case of POSTER GIRL, the filmmakers filled out their paperwork asserting that Sara Nesson and Mitchell Block should be that film's potential nominees.  And while Oscar procedures now allow for anonymous complaints about who should be nominated, all of the Academy members I spoke to said that there were no complaints from anyone connected with POSTER GIRL regarding Block's potential nomination.
But the history of POSTER GIRL paints a more complicated path to its inception, one that was sure to raise eyebrows of the documentary branch.

oscar winners 2011

oscar winners 2011
The 83rd Annual Academy Awards , hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco, will be underway at 8:00 p.m. ET tonight.
Gossip Cop will update the list of 2011 Oscars winners right here…
Best Art Direction – ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Best Cinematography – INCEPTION
Best Supporting Actress – MELISSA LEO (THE FIGHTER)
Best Animated Short Film – THE LOST THING
Best Animated Feature – TOY STORY 3
Best Adapted Screenplay – AARON SORKIN (THE SOCIAL NETWORK)
Best Original Screenplay – THE KING’S SPEECH
Best Foreign Language Film – IN A BETTER WORLD
Best Supporting Actor – CHRISTIAN BALE (THE FIGHTER)
Best Original Score – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Achievement in Sound – INCEPTION
Best Sound Editing – INCEPTION
Best Achievement in Makeup – THE WOLF MAN
Best Achievement in Costume Design – ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Best Documentary Short – STRANGERS NO MORE
Best Live Action Short – GOD OF LOVE
Best Documentary Feature Film – INSIDE JOB
Best Visual Effects – INCEPTION
Best Film Editing – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Best Original Song – RANDY NEWMAN (TOY STORY 3)
Best Director – TOM HOOPER (THE KING’S SPEECH)

Britney Spears Announcement : Is She Pregnant?

Britney Spears Announcement : Is She Pregnant?

During the commercials in the Oscars 2011 , Britney Spears seems to have a big announcement. Many viewers is sure wondering what is her announcement, do you think she is engaged again? Or Britney is having a baby?

According to the reports Britney Spears’ announcement is all about her upcoming concert. Britney Spears’ will have a very “special concert” and where she said, “Good morning, America. I am excited to tell you on Tuesday morning, March 29, I will be performing for the first time ever in a special concert in San Francisco’s historic Castro District on ‘Good Morning America.’ “

Well we thought it will be an alarming announcement for Britney Spears’ but it seems it’s like nothing… That’s Britney Spears’ announcement that she will be performing in a concert by March 29 at the San Francisco Castro District.

 

alexei kovalev

alexei kovalev
 
Penguins Re-Acquire Forward Alexei Kovalev
The Penguins acquired Kovalev in a trade with the New York Rangers in 1998, with Petr Nedved being the principle piece traded the other way.  From then until 2003 Kovalev skated 345 games with Pittsburgh, putting up 347 points (149 goals, 198 assists).  In 2003, with the team plunging into economic turmoil, the Pens had to trade Kovalev back to the Rangers, with this time the principle piece being $5 million dollars coming back to Pittsburgh.

Since leaving Pittsburgh, Kovalev's reputation has taken several hits.  New York traded him to Montreal in '04, tired of his inconsistent play.  His time in Montreal would be a roller coaster of good times (like when he scored 84 points in '07-08) and bad points, again plagued by a lack of team mentality and run-ins with the Montreal media.  Then Kovalev jumped ship to Ottawa in the summer of '09, where he was mostly a bust.

This is the final year of his $5 million contract, and ironically, Pittsburgh is now one of the few contending teams that can afford him under the salary cap and was obviously willing to have him.

To acquire Kovalev at a pittance of a seventh round pick shows there was no market for him, no other bidders.  Ottawa was happy just to get something for him and clear him off the books as they move to rebuild.
What does it mean for Pittsburgh?  We told you here it wasn't crazy for the Pens to consider it, Kovalev is one of the few vets with skill that wouldn't cost a heavy price on the trade market.
Will he fit the Penguins style?  Pittsburgh wingers are notorious for being low on skill and high on work ethic/positioning and "buying in" to the team concept.  Alexei Kovalev is a polar opposite.  No one knows if he will fit on this team, but even if it doesn't work, surely he'll be benched much like Alexei Ponikarovsky, Miroslav Satan and Petr Sykora have been in recent years.  That didn't hurt team morale or cause any problems and neither will this move.

Acquiring Alex Kovalev for a 7th round pick is a low-to-no risk move with a potentially nice return.  He's not a 80-90 point guy anymore, but he can add some desperately needed skill, especially when you look at who the team has had to resort to playing on the power play lately.

space shuttle launch

space shuttle launch

Discovery's final countdown: Space shuttle launch signals NASA transition
After 27 years and more than 143 million miles, the space shuttle Discovery is poised for her final countdown.
The orbiter and its crew of six astronauts are scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:50 p.m. local time – with a packed cargo bay.

The ship is carrying an Italian-built cargo carrier re-engineered to provide extra storage space on the International Space Station. In addition, the orbiter is lofting some 5 tons of supplies and Robonaut 2, which designers envision as an eventual humanoid helpmate for future space-station crews.

Discovery's launch marks the first of three curtain calls – one for each of the remaining vessels in the shuttle fleet – as NASA's human spaceflight program enters a period of profound transition.

Final shuttle launch for Discovery: Was shuttle program worth it?

NASA is handing off the responsibility of ferrying goods and US astronauts to and from the station to private launch companies.

NASA can then focus on preparing to send human explorers beyond the space station's confines in low-Earth orbit, possibly to asteroids, the moon, and Mars.

Such missions, however, likely would be launched in the 2020s, depending on how agreeable successive administrations are to the current blueprint.
Discovery's last launch

As with the end of any long-running production, the cast and support crew behind Discovery's launch are finding this a bittersweet moment.

"She's been an amazing machine; she's done everything we've asked of her," says Michael Leinbach, the shuttle launch director.

For now, the entire team is focused on successfully completing the mission, he says.

But "landing day is going to be tough," he added during a prelaunch briefing Wednesday. "You'll see a lot of people on the runway who will probably choke up some."

Between launch and landing, however, a packed schedule remains. In addition to Robonaut 2, the orbiter is packing what missions payload manager Scott Higgenbotham calls "one big honkin' radiator," to remain at the space station as a spare, should one of the existing radiators – which shed excess heat from the station's interior – fail.

The radiator is bolted to a platform, which astronauts will attach to the outside of the station to serve as storage space for the additional spare parts slated to arrive during the final two missions.
Discovery's false starts

This launch originally was scheduled for early November. But as controllers filled the shuttle's bullet-shaped external fuel tank with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, they detected a hydrogen leak that forced them to scrub the launch.

When technicians returned to the pad after the fuel had been removed to inspect the tank, they found cracks in key structural supports, or stringers, on the tank's outer shell.

Mission managers opted to roll the orbiter back to the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building, where they discovered more cracked stringers.

Repairs went smoothly, but mission managers continued to postpone the launch until they were convinced both that they understood the reasons for the stringer cracks and that the repairs had addressed that problem.

Investigators traced the problem to stringers that were strong enough to handle the stress that fueling imparts to the empty tank, but not strong enough to handle that stress when coupled with stress unexpectedly added during construction.

Now, "the hardware is ready to fly," says Michael Moses, who heads the shuttle's mission managements team.

As for weather, "We've had some really great weather coming all the way up to launch," says Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer. Some isolated showers may pop up during the afternoon close enough to the launch site to warrant yet another postponement. But she gives that a 20-percent chance of happening.

Her bumper-sticker forecast? "Good payload, good launch," she says.

Final shuttle launch for Discovery: Was shuttle program worth it?

lincoln tunnel accident

 lincoln tunnel accident
Over 30 people were hurt in this morning’s crash in the Lincoln Tunnel.

There was a terrible accident this morning in New York City’s Lincoln Tunnel that involved a motorcyclist and three buses. It occurred at about 7:27 a.m., nearly three-quarters of the way toward Manhattan in the tunnel that connects New Jersey and New York City.

The motorcyclist is said to be the most severely injured as he was trapped under a bus and is currently listed in critical condition. At least 30 other injuries have been reported concerning people who were on the buses. NJ Transit operated two of the buses and a Monsey Tours was the third bus involved.

As one would expect, traffic was disrupted and the morning commute was still going on at noon. Luckily there have been no reported deaths.

What disturbed me upon hearing this news all over the television programs today was the complete lack of empathy for the people actually involved in the crash. There was about a five-second spot saying over 30 were injured and the motorcyclist was in critical condition and then the coverage went straight to the traffic tie-ups and wasted two minutes interviewing people stranded in their cars. Most complained how they were sick of being in traffic, how they were late for work, how they had been inconvenienced. Not one commented on the accident itself or the people involved in it.

This is nothing new. Just look at the next time television news covers accidents, even fatal ones. They invariably mention the accident and then go straight to the people in traffic.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the frustration of the people sitting in traffic for hours, but the way TV tends to tell the story places such a selfish view. It almost dismisses the injured parties. I understand that the news has to appeal to everyone, attract viewers, and also let their audience know about disruptions, but that can surely be a follow-up story outlining service disruptions, after reporting the accident itself. I don’t think we need to hear how irritated the people in traffic are at being held-up.

I remember one time watching another accident report a few months ago, when the newscaster asked an older man sitting in traffic how angry he was about being stuck. The man replied that he was surely better off than the people who were hurt and he hoped they would all be OK.

That was a considerate thought. No one likes to get stuck in traffic obviously. We try to teach our kids everyday to be considerate, to help others, and not to always think about themselves first, yet everyday we see examples of adults doing the opposite. This is just another thing to add to the list. I know it’s not a big thing and some of the newscasters probably aren’t even aware that they are doing it, and have no ill will, but it’s something that I find absurd.

Traffic is said to be easing up now and hopefully all the people who were hurt are recovering. While none of the thirty bus injuries were thought to be life-threatening, the motorcyclist was the most severely injured and could definitely use a few good wishes and prayers

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