95% Blancanieves

All Critics (44) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (2)

Most films are experiences to be ignored or at best forgotten. "Blancanieves" is a little classic to be treasured.

It is a full-bodied silent film of the sort that might have been made by the greatest directors of the 1920s, if such details as the kinky sadomasochism of this film's evil stepmother could have been slipped past the censors.

Blancanieves, which won 10 Goyas (Spain's equivalent of the Oscars) and was a smash hit in its native Spain, has traces of a kinky undertone and an uncommon willingness to embrace the darkness inherent in this fairy tale.

As if bewitched, the legend of Snow White is transferred to Seville in the early twentieth century and transformed into high melodrama.

Sensuous, mischievous, hotblooded retelling of the old Teutonic fairy tale.

This gorgeous silent film is an unexpected gift from the gods of pure cinema.

A completely enchanting fairy tale about the vicissitudes of fate, in live action and glorious black and white.

The fun in the Spanish "Blancanieves" is the way it plays with our expectations.

May not have much depth to its characters or particular surprise, but its lovely depiction of family's ability to harm and mend has the flair of flamenco and the sorrow of opera.

No, "Blancanieves" isn't subtle, but it's an unforgettable time at the movies.

Inspired filmmaking steeped in the imagery of silent film history, a dark Iberian strain of Roman Catholicism and the magic of fairy tales.

... lusty and heartfelt, fiery flamenco and spirited country jig. Don't go expecting a Disney-fied fable. Berger seasons with S&M and the kind of macabre touches you'd expect in vintage Browning or Bunuel.

If not for some faintly disturbing imagery and a pleasingly feminist heroine, you could mistake this for a movie actually made in the 1920s (and even those two factors weren't utterly unknown then).

A loving tribute to European silent films of the 1920s; a reminder that cinema need not be constrained by words.

By the time the film arrives at its grand theatrical finale, you're almost prepared for Berger's last great twist. Almost.

this beautifully shot and imaginatively told fairy tale should be seen my many, but only a few will likely get to enjoy it. This is a shame for the audience it is intended for.

This film is simply gorgeous, pure beauty on film, a vision that leaves you breathless and reeling.

Much of the film's emotion is conveyed by Alfonso de Vilallonga's music, which celebrates Spain with uptempo guitar and flamenco when it isn't tipping its hat to Bernard Herrmann during a scene inspired by Hitchcock.

A visual feast, a musical masterpiece and a heartbreaking romance.

The actors are well-chosen and make you forget the lack of dialogue, especially with the artful support of Alfonso de Vilallonga's music.

The silent trappings seem like a gimmick when employed in 2013, but the story's impact is never dulled.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blancanieves/

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Mapping of cancer cell fuel pumps paves the way for new drugs

Apr. 28, 2013 ? For the first time, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have managed to obtain detailed images of the way in which the transport protein GLUT transports sugars into cells. Since tumours are highly dependent on the transportation of nutrients in order to be able to grow rapidly, the researchers are hoping that the study published in the scientific magazine Nature Structural & Molecular Biology will form the basis for new strategies to fight cancer cells.

In order to be able to fuel their rapid growth, cancer tumours depend on transporter proteins to work at high speed to introduce sugars and other nutrients that are required for the cell's metabolism. One possible treatment strategy would therefore be to block some of the transporters in the cell membrane which operate as fuel pumps, thus starving out and killing the cancer cells.

One important group of membrane transporters is the GLUT family, which introduces glucose and other sugars into the cell. Glucose is one of the most important energy sources for cancer cells and GLUT transporters have been shown to play a key role in tumour growth in many different types of cancer.

In the current study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet have performed a detailed study of the way in which suger transport is executed by the protein XylE, from the Escherichia colibacterium, whose function and structure is very similar to GLUT transporters in humans. For the first time, the researchers have described the way in which the protein's structure changes between two different conformations when it binds and transports a sugar molecule.

"In showing details of the molecular structure of the region that bind the sugar, our study opens up the opportunities to more efficiently develop new substances that may inhibit GLUT transporters," says P?r Nordlund at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, one of the researchers behind the study. "Information on the structure of the transport protein facilitates the development of better drugs in a shorter time. Such GLUT inhibitors could potentially be used to treat cancer in the future."

The study may be of significance not just to cancer research but also in the field of diabetes. GLUT plays a key role in diabetes since insulin works by activating the uptake of glucose from the blood by means of GLUT transporters in the cell membrane.

GLUT and the studied XylE transporter belong to the very large group of metabolite transporters called the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS), which is important in many diseases and for the uptake of medicines in cells.

"Many aspects concerning molecular mechanisms for the function of GLUT transporters are probably common to many members of the MFS family, which are involved in a broad spectrum of diseases in addition to cancer and diabetes," says P?r Nordlund.

As well as membrane transporters, which have undergone in-depth analysis in the current study, many different membrane proteins pass through the surface membrane of the cells. Their significance to the cell function and the development of drugs has been noted before, not least through the Nobel Prizes that were awarded to researchers who used mechanistic and structural studies to map the function of two other major membrane protein families, G-protein-coupled receptors and ion channels.

The current study has been financed by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Cancer Society, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and The Danish Council for Independent Research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Karolinska Institutet, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Esben M Quistgaard, Christian L?w, Per Moberg, Lionel Tr?saugues, P?r Nordlund. Structural basis for substrate transport in the GLUT-homology family of monosaccharide transporters. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2569

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/YpfcBJy_z0w/130428144853.htm

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Google's virtual assistant invades Siri's turf

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The duel begins Monday with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri.

It's the first time that Google Now has been available on smartphones and tablet computers that aren't running on the latest version of Google's Android software. The technology, which debuted nine months ago, is being included in an upgrade to Google's search application for iOS, the Apple Inc. software that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It's up to each user to decide whether to activate Google Now within the redesigned search app.

Google Now's invasion of Siri's turf marks Google Inc.'s latest attempt to lure iPhone and iPad users away from a service that Apple built into its own devices.

Google quickly won over millions of iPhone users in December when it released a mapping application to replace the navigation system that Apple dumped when it redesigned iOS last fall. Apple's maps application proved to be far inferior to Google's ousted service. The app's bugs and glitches made Apple the butt of jokes and fueled demand for Google to develop a new option.

Apple has been losing to Google on other fronts in a rapidly growing mobile computing market, an arena that was revolutionized with the iPhone's release in 2007. Smartphones and tablet computers running Google's free Android software have been steadily expanding their market share in recent years, partly because they tend to be less expensive than the iPhone and iPad. At the end of 2012, Android devices held about 69 percent of the smartphone market while iOS held about 19 percent, according to the research firm IDC.

Android's success has been particularly galling for Apple because its late CEO Steve Jobs believed Google stole many of its ideas for the software from the iPhone. That led to a series of court battles over alleged patent infringement, including a high-profile trial last year that culminated in Apple winning hundreds of millions in damages from Samsung Electronics, the top seller of Android phones. That dispute is still embroiled in appeals.

The rise of Android also is squeezing Apple's profit margins, and has contributed to a 40 percent drop in the company's stock price since it peaked at $705.07 last September around the time that the iPhone 5 came out.

Android's popularity is good news for Google because the company's services are built into most versions of the operating system. That brings more traffic to Google services, creating more opportunities for the company to sell ads ? the main source of Google's revenue.

Siri, billed by Apple as an "intelligent feature." Since the technology's release in October 2011, Apple has made it a centerpiece of some marketing campaigns that depict Siri and its automated female voice as an endearing and occasionally even pithy companion.

When asked for an opinion about Google Now, Siri responded: "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather Google later."

Google believes its Siri counterpart is smarter because Google Now is designed to learn about a user's preferences and then provide helpful information before it's even asked to do so. The technology draws upon information that Google gleans from search requests other interactions with the company's other services. Knowing a person's location also helps Google Now serve up helpful information without being asked.

"This concept of predicting your needs and showing you them at the right time is unique to Google Now," said Baris Gultekin, Google Now's director of product management. "We want computers to do the hard work so our users can focus on what matters to them so they can get on with their lives."

If the technology is working right, Google Now is supposed to do things like automatically tell people what the local weather is like when they awaken to help decide what to wear and provide a report on traffic conditions for the commute to work. During the day, Google Now might provide an update on the score of a user's favorite sports team or a stock quote of a company in a user's investment portfolio. On a Friday evening, Google Now might offer suggestions for movies to see or other weekend events tailored to a user's interests. For international travelers, Google Now might provide currency conversion rates, language translations of common phrases and the time back home.

Most of this automatic information is provided in summaries that Google calls "cards." Like Siri, Google Now also is equipped with voice technology that allows it to respond to questions and interact with users, though it hasn't shown the wit that amuses some of Siri's users.

The Google Now app for iOS isn't as comprehensive as the Android app, which only works on devices running on the latest version of Android ? known as "Jelly Bean." Some of the Android features missing from Google Now's iOS app include cards for showing airline boarding passes and movie tickets bought though online vendor Fandango. Both of those options are available on the iOS through Apple's built-in Passbook feature that's designed to be a digital wallet.

Google Now's expansion on to the iOS underscores Google's ambitions for the service. The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., views it as a pivotal tool in its effort to peer deeper into its users' brains. In doing so, Google believes it will be able to provide more useful services and also show more relevant ads. For Google Now to become more intuitive, it needs to widen its availability.

"The more you use Google Now, we will have a better chance of understanding what your needs are and providing you with the right information," Gultekin said. "It's a virtuous cycle."

Gultekin declined to discuss whether there are plans to make Google Now apps for mobile devices running on Microsoft's Windows system. He also refused to comment on speculation circulating in technology blogs that a Web version of Google Now will be offered as a replacement for iGoogle, a tool that allows people to encircle the Google search engine with a variety of services suited to their tastes. IGoogle is scheduled to close in November.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-29-Google-Apple-Dueling%20Assistants/id-636531294cf7433eb0077c22e032a924

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New conservative lobbying push for gay marriage

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? A national group of prominent GOP donors that supports gay marriage is pouring new money into lobbying efforts to get Republican lawmakers to vote to make it legal.

American Unity PAC was formed last year to lend financial support to Republicans who bucked the party's longstanding opposition to gay marriage. Its founders are launching a new lobbying organization, American Unity Fund, and already have spent more than $250,000 in Minnesota, where the Legislature could vote on the issue as early as next week.

The group has spent $500,000 on lobbying since last month, including efforts in Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, West Virginia and Utah.

Billionaire hedge fund manager and Republican donor Paul Singer launched American Unity PAC. The lobbying effort is the next phase as the push for gay marriage spreads to more states, spokesman Jeff Cook-McCormac told The Associated Press.

"What you have is this network of influential Republicans who really want to see the party embrace the freedom to marry, and believe it's not only the right thing for the country but also good politics," Cook-McCormac said.

In Minnesota, the money has gone to state groups that are lobbying Republican lawmakers and for polling on gay marriage in a handful of suburban districts held by Republicans. So far, only one Minnesota Republican lawmaker has committed to voting to legalize gay marriage: Sen. Branden Petersen, of Andover.

"I think there will be some more. There are legislators out there that are struggling with this," said Carl Kuhl, a former political aide to former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Kuhl's public affairs firm is contracted by Minnesotans United, the lead lobby group for gay marriage in Minnesota and main recipient of American Unity's Minnesota spending.

Gay marriage's fate in Minnesota may rest with the House, where support is seen as shakier than in the Senate. A handful of votes from Republicans could put it over the top. Nearly two dozen House Republicans represent more socially moderate suburbs and might be candidates to vote yes.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said he has encouraged advocates of the marriage bill to round up Republican votes, if nothing else than to send a message to Minnesota residents that it's not a partisan proposition. But that will be politically risky; the main opposition group to same-sex marriage, Minnesota for Marriage, has said it will seek consequences for Republicans who stray on gay marriage.

Part of American Unity PAC's original mission was to spend money on behalf of Republican gay marriage supporters. Many GOP lawmakers have faced primary challenges funded in part by anti-gay marriage groups such as the National Organization for Marriage, which argue that the lawmakers had betrayed the party's core principles.

Since forming the lobby group last month, American Unity also spent money to win over Republican lawmakers in Rhode Island, where last week all five Republicans in the state Senate jumped on the gay marriage bandwagon. Rhode Island is on track to legalize gay marriage by next week, which would make it the 11th U.S. state where gay marriage is legal.

There are also plans to lobby federal lawmakers on gay rights issues.

"We intend to work on this effort until every American citizen is treated equally under the law," Cook-McCormac said. Other wealthy, traditionally Republican donors giving money to the group include Seth Klarman, David Herro and Cliff Asness.

Though only one current GOP officeholder in Minnesota is on record supporting gay marriage, a handful of prominent Republicans have spoken out in favor of it. They include former state auditor Pat Anderson and Brian McClung, who was spokesman for former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Prominent Republican donors including former politician Wheelock Whitney and businesswoman Marilyn Carlson Nelson have also lent support and donated money.

Since it first formed to campaign against last fall's gay marriage ban and then shifted to pushing for its legalization at the Capitol, Minnesotans United has been building Republican alliances, hiring multiple lobbyists with Republican ties.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/conservative-lobbying-push-gay-marriage-050802280.html

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'Derrick' actor: Nazi with SS? Dutch TV pulls show

'Derrick' actor: Nazi with SS? The late German actor Horst Tappert, known for his role as TV sleuth Stefan Derrick, was reportedly a member of a Nazi SS unit during World War II.

By Frank Jordans,?Associated Press / April 27, 2013

Reports that the late German actor Horst Tappert, best known for his longtime role as dapper TV sleuth Stefan Derrick, served in a feared Nazi SS unit prompted at least one European broadcaster to announce Saturday that it would drop the show's reruns from its schedule.

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Dutch TV station MAX pulled reruns of the show, which was produced from 1974 to 1998, after daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published documents Friday showing the actor had been in the SS during World War II.

"Derrick" was one of the most widely syndicated German TV shows, broadcast in over 100 countries including China, Australia, France and Norway.

"We are not going to honor an actor like this who has lied about his past," Dutch public broadcaster NOS quoted MAX chairman Jan Slagter as saying.

Tappert had spoken of his wartime service as a medic in an interview 10 years before his death in 2008. But he didn't mention that his unit was part of the elite SS Armored Infantry Regiment 1, nicknamed the "Skulls" after the emblem they wore.

The SS is known to have committed atrocities during World War II but it was unclear from the newly discovered documents whether Tappert was directly involved.

The German news organization Der Spiegel reports:

"The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Friday that Tappert was a member of an SS anti-aircraft group (SS-Flakabteilung), in Arolsen, Germany, that was under the command of the notorious Waffen-SS.

Sociologist J?rg Becker uncovered a document showing Tappert had been a member of the SS while conducting research at the German agency WASt -- which maintains records of members of the former Wehrmacht, the German military under the Nazis -- for a memoir he is writing about another person. Becker told the newspaper the document shows that Tappert became a member of the Waffen-SS as a low-level grenadier by March 1943 at the latest, at the age of 19."

Peter Grune, a spokesman for German public broadcaster ZDF that co-produced the show's 281 episodes, said nobody at the station had known of Tappert's SS past.

"Stories like these come up now and again," he said. "For us it's not an urgent matter because he's dead."

The hidden history of prominent Germans' involvement in the war has become a subject of public debate again in recent years, after being largely ignored for decades.

In 2006, German Nobel literature laureate Guenter Grass admitted in an autobiography that he had been a member of the SS in the final months of the war. The revelation hurt Grass' image as one of the 'moral consciences' in post-war Germany.

Earlier this year ZDF broadcast a three-part drama about the war, accompanied by a publicity campaign that urged Germans to seek out survivors of the Nazi period and ask them about the role they played at the time.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/rRdRgsza29c/Derrick-actor-Nazi-with-SS-Dutch-TV-pulls-show

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Homeland security chairman: FBI checking training angle in bombing

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday that the FBI is investigating in the United States and overseas to determine whether the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing received training that helped them carry out the attack.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is charged with joining with his older brother, Tamerlan, who's now dead, in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs. The bombs were triggered by a remote detonator of the kind used in remote-control toys, U.S. officials have said.

U.S. officials investigating the bombings have told The Associated Press that so far there is no evidence to date of a wider plot, including training, direction or funding for the attacks.

A criminal complaint outlining federal charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev described him as holding a cellphone in his hand minutes before the first explosion.

The brothers are ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago with their parents.

"I think given the level of sophistication of this device, the fact that the pressure cooker is a signature device that goes back to Pakistan, Afghanistan, leads me to believe ? and the way they handled these devices and the tradecraft ? ... that there was a trainer and the question is where is that trainer or trainers," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on "Fox News Sunday."

"Are they overseas in the Chechen region or are they in the United States?" McCaul said. "In my conversations with the FBI, that's the big question. They've casted a wide net both overseas and in the United States to find out where this person is. But I think the experts all agree that there is someone who did train these two individuals."

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he thought it's "probably true" that the attack was not linked to a major group. But, he told CNN's "State of the Union," that there "may have been radicalizing influences" in the U.S. or abroad. "It does look like a lot of radicalization was self-radicalization online, but we don't know the full answers yet."

On ABC's "This Week," moderator George Stephanopoulos raised the question to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee about FBI suspicions that the brothers had help in getting the bombs together.

"Absolutely, and not only that, but in the self-radicalization process, you still need outside affirmation," responded Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.

"We still have persons of interest that we're working to find and identify and have conversations with," he added.

At this point in the investigation, however, Sen. Claire McCaskill said there was no evidence that the brothers "were part of a larger organization, that they were, in fact, part of some kind of terror cell or any kind of direction."

The Missouri Democrat, who's on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that "it appears, at this point, based on the evidence, that it's the two of them."

Homemade bombs built from pressure cookers have been a frequent weapon of militants in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen once published an online manual on how to make one.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was an ardent reader of jihadist websites and extremist propaganda, officials have said. He frequently looked at extremist sites, including Inspire magazine, an English-language online publication produced by al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate.

In recent years, two would-be U.S. attackers reported receiving bomb-making training from foreign groups but failed to set off the explosives.

A Nigerian man was given a mandatory life sentence for trying to blow up a packed jetliner on Christmas Day 2009 with a bomb sewn into his underwear. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had tried to set off the bomb minutes before the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight landed.

The device didn't work as planned, but it still produced smoke, flame and panic. He told authorities that he trained in Yemen under the eye of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric and one of the best-known al-Qaida figures.

A U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed al-Awlaki in 2011.

In 2010, a Pakistani immigrant who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York's Times Square also received a life sentence. Faisal Shazad said the Pakistan Taliban provided him with more than $15,000 and five days of explosives training.

The bomb was made of fireworks fertilizer, propane tanks and gasoline canisters. Explosives experts said the fertilizer wasn't the right grade and the fireworks weren't powerful enough to set off the intended chain reaction.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmaker-fbi-checking-training-angle-bombing-154952300.html

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Spain slashes forecasts and delays deficit targets

MADRID (AP) ? Spain slashed its economic forecasts Friday and said it would take two years longer than promised to cut its swollen deficit in an acknowledgement that its harsh austerity measures had failed to bring its finances under control.

Revealing its latest batch of reforms and measures, Spain's economy ministry warned that the country's economy will contract 1.3 percent in 2013, instead of 0.5 percent as originally predicted, but would grow 0.5 percent in 2014.

The Economy Ministry also said that the country's deficit would fall to 6.3 percent of its annual gross domestic product for this this year ? more than 3 percent higher than the target set by the European Union, but much lower than 2012's figure of 10.6 percent.

It would meet the EU target in 2016 ? two years later than the country had originally promised in July 2012 ? when it would hit 2.7 percent.

There was also bad news for the country's biggest problem ? unemployment, which reached 27.2 percent in the first quarter. The proportion of Spaniards out of work will barely change over the next two years, the government said, ending the year at 27.1 percent and dropping just marginally to 26.7 percent in 2014.

"The results have not been good but they could have been much worse," said Luis de Guindos, Economy Minister, Friday.

Spain's economy has been stuck in reverse since the collapse of the country's housing bubble in 2008 with the government running up a huge deficit ? the highest among the 17 EU countries that use the euro? trying to prop up the country's banks. To rein in the government's finances, the country's conservative government has launched a series of financial and labor reforms and pursued a raft of spending cuts and tax increases.

But austerity has also inflicted severe economic pain. Slashing spending and raising taxes have proved to be less effective at reducing the deficit than initially thought ? and perhaps counter-productive. As economies shrink, so do their tax revenues, potentially making it harder to close budget gaps.

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria denied there was a sense of failure within the government.

"Without a doubt much more needs to be done but the macroeconomic situation is better than it was at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012," she said.

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund gave her backing to the Spanish government Friday.

"I strongly support the Spanish government's objectives of restoring a sound fiscal position while securing a recovery and creating jobs," she said.

"Today's announcement to pursue a more gradual consolidation path is a welcome step."

But some analysts were not impressed.

"Spain has, to all intents and purposes, thrown in the towel on fiscal austerity," said Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy. "The scale of the government's revisions to the country's GDP and budget deficit targets underscore the extent to which front-loaded fiscal retrenchment has exacerbated Spain's economic downturn and become self-defeating."

"This is a belated acknowledgement on the part of the Rajoy government that its macroeconomic policies have failed," he said in an analyst's note.

As the eurozone's economies continue to struggle to recover from the financial crisis, the effectiveness of using austerity as the main tool to bring deficits under control has been questioned. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said this week that the prescription of lower spending and higher taxes may have hit the limits of public acceptance.

But Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has stuck to the line that spending your way out of an economic downturn would only result in more debt and deficit. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio Thursday that "the misery would only start over again" if countries started to run up more debt.

The forecasts and reforms program are now going to be submitted to European Union authorities.

Among Spain's latest reforms revealed Friday, Saenz de Santamaria said a newly formed commission would study ways to adjust pensions. At present they are indexed to inflation.

Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said the government was studying a new environment tax but ruled out a hike in gasoline taxes. He said it would introduce a tax on certain bank deposits it hoped would bring in some to 300 million euros.

"We find ourselves at a point where we do not have to make major tax increases," said Saenz de Santamaria.

"The efforts made so far allow us to not have to make big adjustments, but rather continue to bet on the structural reforms made."

_____

Associated Press writer Harold Heckle contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spain-slashes-forecasts-delays-deficit-targets-165237261.html

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How to ensure great music at your wedding - Artipot

Weddings are special and are carefully woven to include a series of events that make it a lifelong memory. In fact, whenever you would look at past experiences, you will notice that the recall factor associated to a wedding is it's festive ambience that the music creates. After all, it's the mesmerizing music that gets your guests moving to the dance floor. While choosing great wedding music is not a daunting task, you will still need to be cautious to be able to make the right decision. Everything from live bands to recorded music falls under the purview of wedding music. Your discretion will lie in choosing the right mix of different factors to ensure the perfect wedding music for your occasion.

Here is an elucidation of the basic tips that need to be kept in mind when it comes to choosing wedding music.

Know your guest list

Often, most of us end up becoming extremely busy planning other aspects of the wedding that we tend to ignore the music requirements. But this could lead to a disaster for your wedding. To avoid such mishaps, begin by knowing the demographics of the audience that you are expecting at the wedding. Accordingly prepare a music list that appeals to every age group. You can include a few personal favorites but don't go overboard with your choices forgetting it's a family affair.

Include variety but avoid repetition

As we have always emphasized, variety in the wedding music is a must. It keeps your guests entertained as well as engaged. Another disaster that has high chances of spoiling your event is repetition of songs and tunes in your wedding music. Don't think your guests won't notice just because they refuse to acknowledge it upfront.

Something for the senior citizens

A lot of the guests at a wedding are going to be old people who have come down all the way to bless the newly-weds. Ensure that your wedding music is not a pain to their ears. In fact, try to include some popular hits from their eras to make them feel special.

Guest requests

Yes! Ask your guests to send across requests for their favorite numbers and have them included in your wedding music playlist. This works well when you need extra time to fine tune the instruments or even cover up for a flaw.

Get your guests on the dance floor

A lot of the guests refuse to come to the dance floor due to their shyness. As a result of this half your dance time goes in convincing others. The best resort in such solutions is to get your guests started early when it comes to dancing. Once on the dance floor, its easy to let go of inhibitions and enjoy the festivities of the wedding.

Always have a list of don't plays

Yes! Most of us would be shocked to hear this. But just as you love to hear some songs, there are many songs that become a burden for the ear. Prepare a list of such don't plays and pass it on to the wedding music organizers. This will help them plan your wedding music better.

Source: http://www.artipot.com/articles/1563001/how-to-ensure-great-music-at-your-wedding.htm

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Toll in Bangladesh building collapse climbs to 290

A Bangladeshi rescuer looks out from a hole cut in the concrete as he looks for survivors at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 25, 2013. By Thursday, the death toll reached at least 194 people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi rescuer looks out from a hole cut in the concrete as he looks for survivors at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 25, 2013. By Thursday, the death toll reached at least 194 people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi woman survivor is lifted out of the rubble by rescuers at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 25, 2013. By Thursday, the death toll reached at least 194 people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

In this image taken from AP video, garment worker Mohammad Altab moans to rescuers for help while trapped between concrete slabs and next to two corpses in a garment factory that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Deep cracks visible in the walls of the Bangladesh garment building had compelled police to order it evacuated a day before it collapsed, officials said Thursday. More than 200 people were killed when the eight-story building splintered into a pile of concrete because factories based there ignored the order and kept more than 2,000 people working. (AP Photo/AP video)

In this image taken from AP video, garment worker Mohammad Altab moans to rescuers for help while trapped between concrete slabs and next to two corpses in a garment factory that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Deep cracks visible in the walls of the Bangladesh garment building had compelled police to order it evacuated a day before it collapsed, officials said Thursday. More than 200 people were killed when the eight-story building splintered into a pile of concrete because factories based there ignored the order and kept more than 2,000 people working. (AP Photo/AP video)

Bangladeshi people gather as rescuers look for survivors and victims at the site of a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh,Thursday, April 25, 2013. By Thursday, the death toll reached at least 194 people as rescuers continued to search for injured and missing, after a huge section of an eight-story building that housed several garment factories splintered into a pile of concrete. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? Crews bored deeper Friday into the wreckage of a garment-factory building that collapsed two days earlier, hoping for miracle rescues that would prevent the death toll from rising much higher, as angry relatives of the missing clashed with police.

Some of those trapped under fallen concrete in the Rana Plaza building were still alive, rescue workers said, but they were so badly hurt and weakened that they will need to be extricated within a few hours if they are to survive.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, who is overseeing rescue operations, said the death toll at the Rana Plaza building had reached 290, and that 2,200 people have been rescued. The garment manufacturers' group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed Wednesday.

Hundreds of rescuers, some crawling through the maze of rubble, spent a third day working amid the cries of the trapped and the wails of workers' relatives gathered outside the building, which housed numerous garment factories and a handful of other companies.

Police cordoned off the building site, pushing back thousands of bystanders and relatives, after rescue workers said the crowds were hampering their work.

Clashes erupted between relatives of those still trapped and police officers, who used batons to disperse the mobs. Police said 50 people were injured in the clashes.

"We want to go inside the building and find our people now. They will die if we don't find them soon," said Shahinur Rahman, whose mother is missing.

An army rescue worker, Maj. Abdul Latis, said he found one survivor still trapped under concrete slabs, surrounded by several bodies. At another place in the building, four survivors were found pinned under the debris, a fire official said.

The rescue workers said they were proceeding very cautiously inside the crumbling building, using their hands, hammers and shovels, to avoid more injuries to trapped survivors and avoid further collapses.

Police say cracks in the building had led them to order an evacuation of the building the day before it fell, but the factories ignored the order.

A military official, Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, told reporters that search and rescue operations would continue until at least Saturday.

"We know a human being can survive for up to 72 hours in this situation. So our efforts will continue non-stop," he said.

Some people have been pulled out of the wreckage alive, though severely weakened, more than a day after the collapse.

Forty people had been trapped on the fourth floor of the building until rescuers reached them Thursday evening. Twelve were soon freed, and crews worked to get the others out safely, said Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, who is overseeing rescue operations. Crowds at the scene burst into applause as survivors were brought out.

The odor of decaying bodies at the site of the collapse, in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, is a constant reminder that many garment workers were not so lucky.

Thousands of workers from the hundreds of garment factories across the Savar industrial zone and other nearby industrial areas have taken to the streets to protest the collapse and poor safety standards.

Local news reports said protesters had smashed dozens of vehicles at one strike Friday. Most of the other protests were largely peaceful.

The disaster is the worst ever for Bangladesh's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve the country's worker-safety standards.

Instead, very little has changed in Bangladesh, where wages, among the lowest in the world, have made it a magnet for numerous global brands.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-26-AS-Bangladesh-Building-Collapse/id-996fb287a6c24e4bb40e01d2df57ec44

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Maker Mama: Austin Treehouse | Sustainable Home Improvement

Earlier this month I was invited up to Austin for a tour of Treehouse, a home improvement store dedicated to sustainable living. I drooled over their website and immediately made plans to go.

I've never heard about a home improvement store dedicated to sustainability, and was excited to meet with local bloggers to learn more.

I have a big heart for green living (although I'm far from perfect at it), and to find a store that not only seeks to provide products that are good for you and your home, but that also holds itself accountable was like heaven on Earth to me.?

At first glance, Treehouse may look like any other home improvement store--but there's no second-guessing once you take a closer look (inside or out--they have giant rain barrels and solar panels out front). I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they're housed in a former Borders bookstore (bittersweet memories). I love?when companies repurpose old buildings.?

After an amazing story about his passion for healthy homes, cofounder Jason Ballard led us on a tour around the store showcasing the high quality products handpicked by the Treehouse team. Each item goes through the Treehouse product filter and must meet health, performance, sustainability, and corporate responsibility requirements to earn their place in the store.?

I must have thrown a couple dozen questions at Jason throughout the tour and he didn't bat an eye. He had straight answers for every question and was friendly in sharing his wealth of information--this guy knew his stuff.?

One of the most shocking things I learned? Our homes are the number-one offender to the health of our world--there's no escaping the toxins we escape to each day--unless we make our homes smarter. Treehouse's mission is to help us do just that.?

Some of Treehouse's top products include rain barrels (they actually sold the last ones that night--definitely high demand in South Texas), VOC-free paints (including milk paint--I also loved their clay plaster), and LED lightbulbs. In fact, Treehouse is the very first home store to sell the brand new omnidirectional LED lightbulb by Switch, how awesome is that?

And what home improvement store do you know that hunts down salvaged items to share with its customers? I didn't think so.?

Treehouse also goes beyond your typical home improvement items, with awesome sustainable gift ideas for kids as well as home goods like locally sourced beeswax candles and eco-friendly cleaning supplies. I could have wondered the aisles for hours (and brought home one of everything).?

They even have a garden section with native plants only, and homestead products like chicken feed and homebrewing kits! If I could marry a store, this would be the one.

I'm totally pining over it even thinking about it--I feel like prank calling just to hear Treehouse's voice--I'm that obsessed with this store. Now when are they moving to San Antonio? This is my new secret mission. I'll be there at the ribbon-cutting!?

But seriously. I'm in love with this store because it's doing something that no other home improvement store has yet done. People come first, and the products on their shelves are their to make every life better. They have a dream and a vision, and it is good. 'Nough said. Forget Ikea*, who wants to take a trip to Treehouse with me??

Want to help Treehouse make it big and (hopefully) one day open a store near you? Go stalk?like them on Facebook or Twitter. And make a few prank calls to their store. Okay, not that last one. But really, let's help them make it to the big time--it's about time for a store like Treehouse!

*Austin has the closest Ikea store for we San Antonians, but Treehouse is even closer!

This is not a sponsored post--I'm writing about Treehouse because I'm in love.?

Source: http://www.makermama.com/2013/04/treehouse-sustainable-home-improvement.html

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Newfound hormone holds hope for diabetes treatment

In this April 5, 2013 photo provided by Harvard University, Harvard Stem Cell Institute Co-Director Doug Melton, right, and Peng Yi, a post doctoral fellow in his lab, review data from recent experiments in Melton's lab in Cambridge, Mass. Melton and Yi have identified a hormone that can sharply boost a mouse's supply of cells that make insulin, a discovery that may someday provide a diabetes treatment. People make the hormone naturally, and the new work suggests that giving them more might one day let patients avoid insulin shots. (AP Photo/Harvard University)

In this April 5, 2013 photo provided by Harvard University, Harvard Stem Cell Institute Co-Director Doug Melton, right, and Peng Yi, a post doctoral fellow in his lab, review data from recent experiments in Melton's lab in Cambridge, Mass. Melton and Yi have identified a hormone that can sharply boost a mouse's supply of cells that make insulin, a discovery that may someday provide a diabetes treatment. People make the hormone naturally, and the new work suggests that giving them more might one day let patients avoid insulin shots. (AP Photo/Harvard University)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Scientists have identified a hormone that can sharply boost the number of cells that make insulin in mice, a discovery that may someday lead to a treatment for the most common type of diabetes.

People have their own version of this hormone, and the new work suggests that giving diabetics more might one day help them avoid insulin shots.

That would give them better control of their blood sugar levels, said Harvard University researcher Douglas Melton, senior author of a report published Thursday by the journal Cell.

Experts unconnected with the work cautioned that other substances have shown similar effects on mouse cells but failed to work on human ones. Melton said this hormone stands out because its effect is unusually potent and confined to just the cells that make insulin.

An estimated 371 million people worldwide have diabetes, in which insulin fails to control blood sugar levels. High blood sugar can lead to heart disease, stroke and damage to kidneys, eyes and the nervous system. At least 90 percent of diabetes is "Type 2," and some of those patients have to inject insulin. Melton said the newly identified hormone might someday enable them to stop insulin injections and help other diabetic patients avoid them.

As for its possible use to treat Type 1 diabetes, Melton called that a "long shot" because of differences in the biology of that disease.

Insulin is produced by beta cells in the pancreas.

Melton and co-authors identified a hormone they dubbed betatrophin (BAY-tuh-TROH-fin) in mice. When they made the liver in mice secrete more of it by inserting extra copies of the gene, the size of the beta cell population tripled in comparison to untreated mice. Tests indicated the new cells worked normally.

Melton said it's not known how the hormone works. Now the researchers want to create an injectable form that they can test on diabetic mice, he said. If all goes well, tests in people could follow fairly quickly.

Dr. Peter Butler, a diabetes researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, who had no role in the new work, cautioned in an email that no evidence has been presented yet to show that the hormone will make human beta cells proliferate.

But Philip diIorio, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, said he found the work to be "quite promising" because it offers new leads for research, and that it might someday help in building supplies of human beta cells in a lab for transplant into patients.

___

Online:

Cell: http://www.cell.com/

International Diabetes Federation: http://www.idf.org

___

Malcolm Ritter can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/malcolmritter

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-04-25-US-SCI-Diabetes-Hormone/id-8cc4bb37a54a456fa267cc5365bde449

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Learning disabilities affect up to 10 percent of children and co-occur at higher than expected rates

Public release date: 26-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Liz Banks-Anderson
banks@unimelb.edu.au
61-383-444-362
University of Melbourne

Up to 10 per cent of the population is affected by specific learning disabilities (SLDs), such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and autism, translating to two or three pupils in every classroom, a new study has found.

Led by Professor Brian Butterworth, a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Psychological Sciences and Emeritus Professor of cognitive neuropsychology at University College London, the study gives insight into the underlying causes of specific learning disabilities and how to tailor individual teaching and learning for individuals and education professionals.

The study found children are frequently affected by more than one learning disability and that specific learning disabilities co-occur more often than expected.

For example, in children with attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder, 33 to 45 per cent also suffer from dyslexia and 11 per cent from dyscalculia, a learning disability in mathematics.

Professor Butterworth said the results showed there were many neurological development disorders that result in learning disabilities, even in children of normal or even high intelligence.

Specific learning disabilities arise from atypical brain development with complicated genetic and environmental factors, causing such conditions as dyslexia, dyscalculia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment.

As part of the study, Professor Butterworth and colleague Yulia Kovas have summarised what is known about SLD's neural and genetic basis to help clarify how these disabilities develop, helping improve teaching for individual learners, and also training for school psychologists, clinicians and teachers.

The study suggests causes of SLDs are due to difficulties processing speech, language and numbers at a cognitive level. From a neurological basis, evidence suggests each SLD is associated with an abnormality in a distinct neural network. A single neurophysiological cause may affect distinct regions in the brain, affecting an individual's learning ability.

"We are also finally beginning to find effective ways to help learners with one or more SLDs, and although the majority of learners can usually adapt to the one-size-fits-all approach of whole class teaching, those with SLDs will need specialised support tailored to their unique combination of disabilities," he said.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 26-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Liz Banks-Anderson
banks@unimelb.edu.au
61-383-444-362
University of Melbourne

Up to 10 per cent of the population is affected by specific learning disabilities (SLDs), such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and autism, translating to two or three pupils in every classroom, a new study has found.

Led by Professor Brian Butterworth, a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Psychological Sciences and Emeritus Professor of cognitive neuropsychology at University College London, the study gives insight into the underlying causes of specific learning disabilities and how to tailor individual teaching and learning for individuals and education professionals.

The study found children are frequently affected by more than one learning disability and that specific learning disabilities co-occur more often than expected.

For example, in children with attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder, 33 to 45 per cent also suffer from dyslexia and 11 per cent from dyscalculia, a learning disability in mathematics.

Professor Butterworth said the results showed there were many neurological development disorders that result in learning disabilities, even in children of normal or even high intelligence.

Specific learning disabilities arise from atypical brain development with complicated genetic and environmental factors, causing such conditions as dyslexia, dyscalculia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment.

As part of the study, Professor Butterworth and colleague Yulia Kovas have summarised what is known about SLD's neural and genetic basis to help clarify how these disabilities develop, helping improve teaching for individual learners, and also training for school psychologists, clinicians and teachers.

The study suggests causes of SLDs are due to difficulties processing speech, language and numbers at a cognitive level. From a neurological basis, evidence suggests each SLD is associated with an abnormality in a distinct neural network. A single neurophysiological cause may affect distinct regions in the brain, affecting an individual's learning ability.

"We are also finally beginning to find effective ways to help learners with one or more SLDs, and although the majority of learners can usually adapt to the one-size-fits-all approach of whole class teaching, those with SLDs will need specialised support tailored to their unique combination of disabilities," he said.

###

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uom-lda042613.php

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'We stand with you and we do not forget'

WACO, Texas (AP) ? President Barack Obama consoled a rural Texas community rocked by a deadly fertilizer plant explosion, telling mourners Thursday they are not alone in their grief and they will have the nation's support to rebuild from the devastation.

"This small town's family is bigger now," Obama said during a memorial service at Baylor University for victims of last week's explosion in nearby West, Texas, that killed 14 and injured 200. Nearly 10,000 gathered to remember the first responders killed in the blast, a crowd more than triple the size of West's entire population of 2,700.

"To the families, the neighbors grappling with unbearable loss, we are here to say you are not alone. You are not forgotten," Obama said to applause. "We may not all live here in Texas, but we're neighbors too. We're Americans too, and we stand with you."

The April 17 explosion left a crater more than 90 feet wide and damaged dozens of buildings, displacing many residents from their homes. The Insurance Council of Texas estimates it caused more than $100 million in damage, and crews were sifting the rubble to search for clues to what caused the explosion or whether foul play was involved.

The blast came about 20 minutes after a fire was reported at West Fertilizer. Ten of those killed were first responders who sped out to the nighttime blaze.

The memorial service honored those first responders and two civilians who tried to fight the fire and were posthumously named volunteer first responders. Among the dead were brothers Douglas and Robert Snokhous, West High School graduates who volunteered together for the town's fire department for more than 13 years.

As Obama spoke, the gymnasium lit up with the flashes of cameras and cellphones, glimmering like stars in the dimly lit room. The president spoke for 16 minutes, quoting scripture and lauding the men whose flag-draped coffins laid before him. "When you got to the scene, you forgot fear and you fought that blaze as hard as you could, knowing the danger," Obama said.

The service opened with a photo slideshow set to country music and projected onto a movie screen. It showed images of the men from their childhood, their weddings and other moments throughout lives filled with children and friends. Mourners were given programs with full-page profiles of each of the victims, describing their lives, their values and their faith.

Both the president and first lady Michelle Obama wiped away a tear as bagpipes sounded "Amazing Grace."

"How does one find such love to be willing to lay down your life so that others may live?" asked Texas Sen. John Cornyn, speaking on behalf of the state's congressional delegation. "This will forever be the legacy of those who ran toward the fire last week."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry eulogized the unpaid first responders, lamenting that each had a personal story and journey that drew to a close too soon.

"These are volunteers. Ordinary individuals blessed with extraordinary courage and a determination to do what they could to save lives," he said. "They're the ones who proudly said 'not on my watch' in the moments immediately following that explosion."

Perry's remarks were followed by video of the victims' grim-faced family members remembering their lives and expressing pride for their heroism. The brother-in-law of Cody Dragoo, another volunteer firefighter, remembered how Dragoo would leave notes for his wife, Patty, when he was traveling, and how he loved hunting and NASCAR.

Obama added his appearance at the memorial service onto a long-planned trip to Texas for Thursday's opening of George W. Bush's presidential library at Southern Methodist University. Bush sent his sympathies in a statement read at the service by Baylor President Ken Starr, the former special prosecutor who investigated President Bill Clinton.

Obama's solemn reflections at the memorial required an abrupt shift in tone by the president, whose morning in Dallas was filled with smiles, music and pageantry as he and the other four living presidents celebrated one of their own. Less than an hour later, Obama was airborne over West, circling the scene of the explosion ? still a harrowing site more than a week after tragedy first touched the small Texas town.

From his helicopter, Obama saw what looked like a massive construction site, with cranes and dozens of vehicles dotting a wide swath of brown earth. Piles of burnt rubble and scorched earth were clearly visible. Obama could also see the school field first responders used as a staging ground.

Obama has made such a trip countless times before, touring damage and consoling survivors of other disasters including Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Sandy and a string of mass shootings. It was just one week ago that Obama was in Boston, offering solace to the nation at a memorial for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, another larger-than-life tragedy that compounded the nation's grief the same week as the explosion in West.

After the service, the president and first lady were planning to visit privately with relatives and friends of firefighters killed in the explosion, the White House said.

Fire trucks and other first responders' vehicles paraded through Waco en route to the ceremony at Baylor's sports arena. The vehicles entered under an archway formed by the ladders from two fire trucks with an American flag hung between them. Many of the mourners wore the uniforms of police, firefighters and paramedics and wiped tears from their eyes.

Brian Crawford, fire chief in the Dallas suburb of Plano, attended with 11 others from his department even though they live 100 miles from West.

"With these unfortunate circumstances, it's time to show we are all a family," Crawford said. "These were our brothers and they paid the price."

As the service drew to a close, a bell was rung once for each victim, reverberating through the hall and setting off a long moment of silence.

Then, with hushed sobs breaking the quiet, a loudspeaker re-enacting a dispatcher's radio identified the victims one by one, calling each firefighter to duty for the last time:

"Until we meet again. Dispatch clear."

___

Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-consoles-families-survivors-texas-blast-191048180.html

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Robert Redford noncommittal on future of London's Sundance event

By Belinda Goldsmith

LONDON (Reuters) - Robert Redford said on Wednesday that the future of London's Sundance film and music festival was by no means certain, as he launched the British version of an event that aims to boost interest in independent film.

Last year was the first time that the U.S. actor-director had ventured outside the United States with a version of the Sundance Film Festival, the world's leading independent film festival, that he set up in Park City, Utah, 35 years ago.

Redford said last year was "a toe-in-the-water experiment" and had been successful enough to repeat, with this year's line-up including the U.S. rock band the Eagles and the Canadian musician and performance artist Peaches.

But he was noncommittal on its future.

"It is hard to declare a length of commitment until you let it play out and see how it goes," Redford told a news conference before the festival at London's O2 venue from April 25-28.

Last year he told reporters that he hoped Sundance London would prove a success with audiences and allow him to expand the festival to other parts of the world as a counterweight to the Hollywood blockbusters that dominate cinemas globally.

When asked on Wednesday if he still planned to take Sundance to other countries, he replied with a curt "No".

Redford, 75, set up the Sundance Institute in 1981, which led to the film festival, to encourage emerging and aspiring filmmakers working outside Hollywood's major studios. But he said the sector continued its uphill battle.

"Independent film has always had to struggle for a place in the universe ... overall mostly due to the economy it is difficult," he said.

A slate of 119 films from 32 countries were shown at Sundance in January, and 21 U.S. and British films were selected for London as well as musical performances by Peaches and indie rock band British Sea Power. The Eagles are not performing.

This year's films include nine documentaries, which focus on a variety of themes ranging from a struggling British dairy farmer in "The Moo Man", the ill-fated 2008 K2 climb in "The Summit", and the "History of The Eagles Part One".

Others British premieres include Michael Winterbottom's "Look of Love", in which Steve Coogan plays porn king Paul Raymond; Lynn Shelton's comedy "Touchy Feely" about a massage therapist; and Barbara Kopple's documentary "Running From Crazy" about Mariel Hemingway.

Redford said he was particularly fond of documentaries and proud of the advances made in this genre in recent years, which he attributed to encouragement by the independent film sector.

"We kept pushing documentaries forward so that now in our festivals they take up pretty much the same space as others films do," he said.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/robert-redford-noncommittal-future-londons-sundance-event-140001575.html

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PFT: GM calls 2013 NFL draft class 'historically bad'

Getty Images

As this year?s crop of incoming players, especially those taken in the first two rounds, celebrate their new circumstances, they need to keep one thing in mind.

Several months from now, there?s a chance they will think those circumstances stink.

Rams running back Isaiah Pead fell right into that category last season, despite being the 50th overall pick in the 2012 draft.? Presumed to be the heir apparent to Steven Jackson, Pead became largely forgotten last year, sliding behind seventh-rounder Daryl Richardson.

?Honestly, I would call it miserable,? Pead said of his rookie season, via the University of Cincinnati official website. ?Miserable life.? Miserable four-five months.?

When the season finally ended, Pead packed up and left.

?I took off and I didn?t come back until it was time to,? Pead said.? ?I just wanted to stay out of this area, I came back for a couple days to pack up then all the memories and walking back into my house by myself, had a couple days by myself, I just needed to get out of that area.?

Pead is partially responsible for his misery.? He didn?t deal well with being demoted behind a guy taken 202 spots later, showing up late for a pair of meetings.

?I was literally fed up with football,? Pead said.? ?Not a quitter, not quitting, I was just tired of football.? Tired of practice for the day and I would just lay there play video games and whatnot because it was so miserable, so stressful.?

With a fresh opportunity coming from the departure of Jackson, Pead is ready to turn the page.

?Whole new era, whole new attitude, whole new team, whole new Pead,? Pead said. ??I?m not going to sit and linger on something, but I am one to not forget about a situation.? I am moving on from last year, last year is last year, but I have not forgot about last year.? I wouldn?t call it revenge, but the chip that I put on my shoulder is just a little bigger.?

He needs to perform more than a little better to erase the head start that Richardson earned in 2012.? While Pead finished with 10 carries for 54 yards, Richardson had 98 carries for 475 yards.

Pead also needs to hope the Rams don?t use one of their high draft picks on a rookie who?ll get a chance to in 2013 that which Pead couldn?t in 2012.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/23/one-gm-says-this-draft-is-historically-bad/related/

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CISPA Protest Carried Out by Annonymous

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/cispa-protest-carried-out-by-annonymous/

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