Time for rubber match between Phelps, Lochte

Michael Phelps and Charlie Houchin talk after swimming in the men's 200-meter freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Michael Phelps and Charlie Houchin talk after swimming in the men's 200-meter freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Michael Phelps, left, talks with Tyler Clary after swimming in the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Thursday, June 28, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Phelps won the final. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Michael Phelps dives at the start of the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Thursday, June 28, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Phelps won the final. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Michael Phelps swims to victory in the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Thursday, June 28, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

David Walters, from left, Jason Lezak and Ryan Lochte dive at the start of a men's 100-meter freestyle semifinal at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Thursday, June 28, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? The Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte Show is down to its last act at the U.S. Olympic trials.

The world's two best swimmers go at it in the 200-meter individual medley starting with preliminaries on Friday morning. So far, they are 1-1 against each other in thrilling races.

Lochte won their first showdown in the 400 IM on opening night. Then Phelps got revenge by winning the 200 freestyle on Wednesday.

The 200 IM is up for grabs.

Lochte beat Phelps in the event at last year's world championships in Shanghai while setting the first world record since high-tech body suits were banned. But the Floridian also has to swim the prelims and semifinals of the 200 backstroke ? he is the world champ in it ? on Friday, while Phelps only has one event.

"I have a hard double tomorrow," he said.

Lochte scratched the 100 freestyle final on Friday night to ease his schedule and focus on his stronger events. Matt Grevers also scratched, and their moves opened up spots in the eight-man final for Jason Lezak and Dave Walters. Lezak saved Phelps' bid for eight gold medals in Beijing with his anchor leg of the 400 free relay.

"He better owe me something," Lochte joked when asked about giving Lezak another chance to get back to the Olympics at 36.

The 100 free is loaded with Olympic medalists like Lezak, Nathan Adrian, Ricky Berens, Cullen Jones and Garrett Weber-Gale.

While Lochte advanced through the prelims and semis of the 100 free before bowing out, Phelps scratched the event altogether so he could steal a rare morning off. He spent part of Thursday in his hotel watching "Act of Valor" and ordering room service with training partner Allison Schmitt.

"We were able to just sit around and tell jokes," he said.

In the evening, he returned to the pool and easily won the 200 butterfly, his signature event and a favorite of his family since his two older sisters used to swim it, too.

"Very relaxing day. And yeah, I think it showed in the race," Phelps said. "I was comfortable. That was something that just helped everything, and hopefully will carry through the rest of the meet."

Phelps took the lead on the third lap and he finished a body length ahead of the field in 1 minute, 53.65 seconds, his easiest final yet in Omaha.

Phelps said he will have to go even faster in London to claim his third straight gold in the 200 fly.

"It's not a good enough time to win a gold medal, but I think I'm OK with it," he said. "Going into the last wall. I didn't want to have any close ones, so I tried to stay under as long as I could. Today was the best my stroke has felt throughout the whole meet."

Phelps' biggest challenge came at the end of the night when he visited the news conference room, where the air conditioning was cranked and cold air was blowing.

"Sorry, I can't even think right now, it's freezing in this place. Holy crap," he said, his arms wrapped around his shivering body, "and I just got out of a 48-degree ice bath."

Phelps' victory locked up his third individual event for the London Games, and he's got the 200 IM and 100 butterfly left in Omaha. That sets him up to swim eight events at the Olympics, including a likely spot on all three relays, and gives him a chance to duplicate his record from the Beijing Games.

On Friday, Eric Shanteau and Brendan Hansen are the favorites in the 200 breaststroke final, although Clark Burckle goes in with the fastest qualifying time. Teresa Crippen, sister of the late open-water swimmer Fran Crippen, has a shot at making the Olympic team in the 200 butterfly final.

The other Olympic berth in the 200 fly went to Tyler Clary, who finished second with a time of 1:55.12 on Thursday.

"It was amazing," Clary said. "I can't even put into words how the end of that race felt, not only the pain in the last 20 meters but just the complete and total turnaround."

Phelps' pal Schmitt was equally dominating in winning the 200 free. She broke her own American record with a time of 1:54.40, the best in the world this year. She had already won the 400 free here.

"I didn't feel like I was on my record pace, but I could hear the crowd," Schmitt said. "And when I touched and saw the flames go off I was pretty excited before I even looked up and saw the time."

Seventeen-year-old Missy Franklin locked up another Olympic race, claiming the second 200 spot in 1:56.79. She rallied from fifth place at the first turn.

Franklin already won the 100 backstroke and looks poised to have another huge performance in London, after breaking through at last year's worlds with five medals.

Dana Vollmer and Lauren Perdue finished third and fourth, assuring themselves of being in the pool for the 800 free relay. Shannon Vreeland (fifth) and Alyssa Anderson (sixth) also are likely to be taken to London as potential relay swimmers.

Caitlin Leverenz became a first-time Olympian with a victory in the 200 IM. She was dominating on the final two legs ? breaststroke and freestyle ? and pulled away to win in 2:10.22.

Ariana Kukors, who won gold in the event at the 2009 world championships and was third at last year's worlds, rallied to claim a spot on her first Olympic team, as well. She touched second in 2:11.30, just 25-hundredths ahead of Elizabeth Pelton, who led the first two laps but couldn't hang on.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-06-29-OLY-SWM-US-Swim-Trials/id-65a01a6ee0ad40b3b55c158880bee221

jackie robinson virginia tech emancipation proclamation april 16 tornadoes mitch hedberg secret service scandal

RedmondPie: Missed It?: The Amazing Spider-Man Game For iPhone, iPad And Android Now Available For Download! http://t.co/iBof6Omo

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/RedmondPie/statuses/218559935074668544

one tree hill projectglass stock act new york auto show khalid sheikh mohammed masters par 3 gwen stefani

Deal of the Day ? Logitech Z623 2.1 THX-Certified Speaker System

Friday’s LogicBUY Deal is the Logitech Z623 2.1 THX-Certified Speaker System for $99.99.? Features: ?200 watts (RMS) of power, integrated controls and includes subwoofer. $145.99 – $46 instant = $99.99 with free shipping. This deal expires July 5, 2012 or sooner. Check the above link for more details on this deal, and check the LogicBUY [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/06/29/deal-of-the-day-logitech-z623-2-1-thx-certified-speaker-system-2/

signing day 2012 football gasland college football recruiting bjork national signing day 2012 landon collins dorial green beckham

Georgia woman sentenced to 18 months for ... - Atlanta condominiums

The exterior of Gulf Shores Plantation is seen on April 7, 2011. A federal judge in Mobile on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, sentenced Melissa Gulledge to 18 months in prison for her role in a real estate scheme involving condominium units she bought there in 2007. (Press-Register/John David Mercer)
MOBILE, Alabama ? A federal judge today sentenced an Atlanta-area woman to 18 months in prison and ordered her to pay more than $1.6 million to victims of a Baldwin County real estate scam that she helped her brother engineer.

Melissa Gulledge put her head in her hands and sobbed as Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele pronounced the sentence. Gulledge tearfully embraced her family afterward.

?I didn?t do anything wrong,? she said, surrounded by her 5 daughters and other relatives.

To the contrary, Steele said, a jury in December found that she had done plenty wrong. The panel convicted her of 15 counts, including conspiracy, making false loan applications, mail fraud and fire fraud. The judge questioned why Gulledge chose to take the case to trial rather than accept a plea bargain.

?When I heard the evidence in this case, I was quite frankly shocked,? he said. ?These are offenses that affect real people in real ways.?

Steele noted testimony from a septuagenarian who said she had purchased a Gulf Shores condominium as an investment that she could sell to finance her retirement. Instead, members of the conspiracy led by the defendant?s brother, Lance A. Collins, sucked the equity out of the property and left the seller with nothing when they defaulted on their loan.

Under a scheme that Melissa Gulldege participated in, she borrowed directly from the sellers of Gulf Shores condos in 2007 without informing commercial lenders that also had lent her money.

The arrangements allowed her to walk away with more money than she put down on each property.
?
Prosecutors said Gulledge reaped $546,470 from the sale of 4 Gulf Shores condos, sucked out all of the equity and left the sellers empty-handed when she and her partners stopped making payments and drove the properties into foreclosure.

It worked like this:

• 400 W. Plantation Road, Unit 4404. She borrowed $380,424, 115 percent of the condo?s $330,000 selling price. She walked away from the closing table with $119,757 in cash.

• 301 Peninsula Blvd. She borrowed $845,200, 112 percent of the condo?s $750,000 selling price. She walked away from the closing table with $161,567 in cash.

• 400 W. Plantation Road, Unit 3319. She borrowed $360,594, 120 percent of the condo?s $299,000 selling price. She walked away from the closing table with $141,700 in cash.

• 400 W. Plantation Road, Unit 4309. She borrowed $413,901, 120 percent of the condo?s $344,000 selling price. She walked away from the closing table with $123,446 in cash.

Now, Steele noted, the woman is working 2 jobs ? one unloading trucks and one climbing roofs to take measurements to determine insurance claims.

?There are no golden years for her,? he said.

Still, Steele rejected the recommendation of prosecutors, who called for nearly 4 years in prison. He said he did not believe the defendant played as large a role as other defendants, including Collins, who is serving a 5-year prison term.

Prosecutors put on evidence during the trial that Gulledge served as a ?straw purchaser? of 4 Gulf Shores condominiums in 2007. She signed documents stating that she would be responsible for the mortgage payments and down payments but that Collins secretly put up all the money.

Prosecutors also contended during the weeklong trial that Gulledge overstated her income and assets to obtain mortgage loans from First Educators Credit Union.

Gulledge did not disclose to the commercial lenders that she had worked out second mortgages in which she promised to make monthly payments directly to the sellers. The arrangement allowed her borrow more money than the condo units cost and actually walk away from the closing table with more money than she had put down. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Griffin said that the defendant collected more than $546,000 in a span of 40 days in this way.

Collins and his partners bought dozens of properties using this method. When the beach real estate market was booming, they would quickly resell condos for a profit and everyone got paid. When the market collapsed, though, they found themselves unable to make mortgage payments. The lenders would foreclose on the properties and the sellers would be left with no money and property.

?This case was not a one-shot, quick thing. It was repeated over and over again,? Griffin told Steele. ?I think it?s telling that one of the victims at the trial turned to Ms. Gulledge and said, ?Why did you do this? You knew you couldn?t pay.??

Federal Defender Carlos Williams said his client trusted her brother and that both were trying to run a legitimate business.

?It is a fact? that some of these initial purchases were paid off and that they were putting profits back in the properties,? he said. ?What was the principal difference between the successful purchase and the ones that failed??

Williams also argued that his client would not receive adequate medical care in prison to treat her multiple sclerosis. He noted that Gulledge lost everything when the business went bust.

?Once this fell through, she was homeless,? he said.

Article source: http://blog.al.com/live/2012/06/atlanta-area_woman_sentenced_t.html

Tags: atlanta condominiums

This entry was posted on 29 junio, 2012 at 6:24. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Sin categor?a by admin

Source: http://atlantacondominiums.us/06-georgia-woman-sentenced-to-18-months-for-mortgage-fraud-ordered-to-pay-1-6-million-2-atlanta-condominiums.html

jeff gordon artie lange nascar daytona 2012 kasey kahne angelina jolie right leg saving face academy award winners

European court upholds most of Microsoft fine

FILE - This set of flagpoles sits at one of the entrances to Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash., in this Oct.19, 1998 file photo. The General Court of the European Union has upheld most of a massive fine against Microsoft Corp. by the European Commission's competition watchdog in 2008. In a ruling Wednesday, June 27, 2012, it rejected Microsoft's appeal but did cut the fine by ?39 million to ?860 million ($1.1 billion). (AP Photo/Joe Brokert, File)

FILE - This set of flagpoles sits at one of the entrances to Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash., in this Oct.19, 1998 file photo. The General Court of the European Union has upheld most of a massive fine against Microsoft Corp. by the European Commission's competition watchdog in 2008. In a ruling Wednesday, June 27, 2012, it rejected Microsoft's appeal but did cut the fine by ?39 million to ?860 million ($1.1 billion). (AP Photo/Joe Brokert, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2007 file photo Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks during a ceremony in Bucharest, Romania. A European court on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 upheld most of a massive fine levied against Microsoft by the European Commission's competition watchdog, closing a case against the software giant that began in 1998. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2011 file photo, European Union Commissioner for Competition Joaquin Almunia speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. A European court on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 upheld most of a massive fine levied against Microsoft by the European Commission's competition watchdog, closing a case against the software giant that began in 1998. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

FILE - This set of flagpoles sits at one of the entrances to Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash., in this Oct.19, 1998 file photo. The General Court of the European Union has upheld most of a massive fine against Microsoft Corp. by the European Commission's competition watchdog in 2008. In a ruling Wednesday, June 27, 2012, it rejected Microsoft's appeal but did cut the fine by ?39 million to ?860 million ($1.1 billion). (AP Photo/Joe Brokert, File)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? A European court on Wednesday upheld most of a massive fine levied against Microsoft by the European Commission's competition watchdog, closing a case against the software giant that began in 1998.

In an appeals ruling, the General Court of the European Union rejected Microsoft Corp.'s request to dismiss the fine levied in 2008, but did trim it by ?39 million to ?860 million ($1.1 billion). Counting two earlier fines, the case has wound up costing Microsoft a grand total of ?1.64 billion.

That's the most ever resulting from a single antitrust case in Europe, though in 2009 Intel Corp. was hit with the largest single fine, ?1.09 billion.

The court in Luxembourg said its decision "essentially upholds the Commission's decision and rejects all the arguments put forward by Microsoft in support of annulment."

The ?860 million fine is a "penalty for noncompliance" with the watchdog's 2004 order for Microsoft to make computer programming code available that would allow competitors' products to interface properly with Microsoft's server software.

Microsoft did so, but at a price the Commission said was so exorbitant it amounted to not complying.

The court upheld that finding, but said Microsoft deserved a small break because of a letter the Commission sent in 2005 saying the company didn't have to freely distribute code that wasn't its own and was freely available elsewhere. That letter gave Microsoft some room to think it was okay to continue acting the way it had until 2004, and should have been "taken into account in determining the gravity of the conduct found to be unlawful," the written decision said.

The Commission's top regulator Joaquin Almunia said the judgment "fully vindicates" his office's action against Microsoft and "brought significant benefits to users."

"A range of innovative products that would otherwise not have seen the light of day were introduced on the market," thanks to the Commission, he said.

Microsoft was less enthusiastic.

"Although the General Court slightly reduced the fine, we are disappointed with the Court's ruling," the company said in a statement.

Microsoft was initially fined ?497 million along with the 2004 order, then it was penalized another ?280.5 million for noncompliance in 2006, and then another ?899 million in 2008.

The company has already booked provisions for all the fines and penalties and after the ruling it has no active outstanding quarrels with European regulators.

"In 2009 Microsoft entered into a broad understanding with the Commission that resolved its competition law concerns," the company said.

Most notably in the 2009 deal, Microsoft ended an investigation into allegedly abusive practices for bundling its Internet Explorer web browser along with its operating systems. Microsoft agreed to instead offer customers a range of browsers to choose from.

In a sign of the times, Microsoft itself turned to the watchdog in 2012, asking it to investigate Google Inc. for anticompetitive practices. Microsoft alleged that Google was demanding unreasonable fees to license its technologies and asking courts to pull Microsoft products from shelves if they don't pay up. Google shot back with a similar request for the Commission to again investigate Microsoft last month.

Many observers say companies such as Apple Inc., Google and Microsoft are increasingly acting as "patent trolls," using the legal and regulatory systems as tools to thwart competitors as part of their wider struggle for market share.

Almunia said in February "the Commission will continue to keep a close eye on the behavior of all market players in the sector, particularly the increasingly strategic use of patents."

Associated Press

green book some like it hot whale shark whale shark duke university platypus platypus

German court rules religious circumcision on boys an assault

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

fletcher cox charlotte bobcats denver broncos new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island michael brockers

Get Printed at Sports Graphics | Go Valley Kids: Your Guide to Kids ...

The last stop of our Eat, Play, Wear Series brings us to Sports Graphics located at 333 First Street in Menasha. Sports Graphics has long been a staple of Menasha as one of the local favorite spots for screen printing and embroidery. Under new ownership since the Fall of 2011, the store is growing by leaps and bounds. They are currently expanding into a huge retail area next to their current address. Not only is their customer service personal and friendly, but they boast a super speedy turnaround on orders, which you can also place online.

Check out Sports Graphics to get your next batch of sports t-shirts and apparel printed for sports teams, corporate uses and special events. Or stop in the store for any high school related apparel in all sizes. This is a great place to even get a baby gift ? they do custom printing for any of your needs. Check out this great onesie and hat that I found for an awesome price!

?

Share and Enjoy

superbowl birmingham news lee evans lee evans 49ers 49ers vs giants joe paterno

Kim Kardashian and Beyonce: Besties in Birmingham!

So much for that Kim Kardashian vs. Beyonce feud.

The wife of Jay-Z and the pretend girlfriend of Kanye West sat together Friday night at a Watch the Throne concert in Birmingham, England, smiling, laughing and dancing it up as their men performed on stage.

"Kim and Beyonce were dancing all night! They even went into the mosh pit!" a witness recounts to Us Weekly. "It was the most hectic thing ever!"

Previous reports stated that Beyonce took issue with Kim dating Kanye, partly due to the difference in upbringings between Knowles and Kardashian and partly, we presume, because Beyonce has actually talent and earned her way to the top, as opposed to videotaping her way there.

But "Kim and Beyonce have always been cool," a source says to the tabloid. "Beyonce and Jay love Kim and think she's a good match for Kanye."

Last night, meanwhile, Beyonce's husband took to the stage in England alongside Rihanna. Watch their rendition of "Run This Town" below.

Jay-Z and Rihanna - "Run This Town" (Live)

dantoni gillian anderson leah remini desean jackson kyle orton kyle orton ncaa tournament schedule

Japan heading for solar power boom

Tokyo: Japan is poised to overtake Germany and Italy to become the world?s second-biggest market for solar power as incentives starting on July 1 drive sales for equipment makers from Yingli Green Energy to Kyocera.

Industry minister Yukio Edano set yesterday a premium price for solar electricity that?s about triple what industrial users now pay for conventional power. That may spur at least $9.6 billion in new installations with 3.2 gigawatts of capacity, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast.

?The tariff is very attractive,? said Mina Sekiguchi, associate partner and head of energy and infrastructure at KPMG in Japan. ?The rate reflects the government?s intention to set up many solar power stations very quickly.?

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda?s effort to cut dependence on atomic energy that provided about 30 per cent of Japan?s power before the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011 will help a solar industry suffering incentive cuts across Europe. It?s also raising concern among Japanese business groups that clean power aid will raise bills and slow Japan?s economic recovery.

Japan ranked sixth worldwide by new installations last year, when it added 1.3 gigawatts of solar to bring its installed base to 5 gigawatts. Next year builders will erect triple that level, or another 3.2 to 4.7 gigawatts.

, New Energy Finance forecasts. A gigawatt is enough to supply about 243,000 homes in Japan.

(Follow timesofoman.com on Facebook and on Twitter for updates that you can share with your friends.)

the big c the visitor king of kings ostara andy kaufman masters 2012 tom watson

Snooki's Pregnancy Announcement Had JWoww Feeling 'Punk'd'

'I didn't even know what to say. I kinda came off a little weird,' 'Snooki & JWoww' star tells MTV News.
By Christina Garibaldi

Jwoww and Snooki
Photo:

Best friends Snooki and JWoww are about to embark on a whole new adventure. The two have traded in the boardwalk of Seaside, New Jersey, for the streets of Jersey City as they star in their new MTV spin-off, "Snooki & JWoww." Joining them on this new journey are their significant others and, of course, Snooki's baby boy, who's due in September.

When the two first started filming, Snooki had just found out about her pregnancy, and we witness, on camera, Snooki breaking the big news to her "Jersey Shore" housemates, including her partner in crime JWoww.

"I told Jenni, and obviously it's freaky, because if Jenni told me that, I'd be like, 'What the hell is going on?' Snooki told MTV News. "The fact that I have Jenni's support, and the roommates came over and I got to tell the roommates, everyone was freaked out at first. Obviously it's a lot of news, but in the end everybody does support me, so it's nice to have that."

JWoww admits that when Snooki told her that she was not only engaged to Jionni LaValle but also pregnant, she was convinced it was a joke.

"I didn't even know what to say. I kinda came off a little weird — it was just my reaction," JWoww admitted. "I thought I was getting Punk'd 'cause I'm like, this is MTV. In two minutes, engaged and pregnant. I was like, 'No!' "

JWoww wasn't the only one that was surprised at first. Snooki revealed that she and LaValle were planning on waiting to become parents but are now overwhelmed with joy for their upcoming arrival.

"I've always wanted to have a family, have kids and then be engaged," Snooki said. "But I didn't think it would be this soon. I was thinking two years from now, but the fact that it happened ... I think everything happens for a reason, and I'm so excited."

Snooki, who announced that she was pregnant and engaged back in March, was met with mixed reactions, but she said she doesn't pay attention to the negativity. She's just ready to become a good mom.

"We all know I really don't care what people think about me and I'm just myself, and if you like me or you don't, it is what it is," Snooki said. "As long as I know that I'm going to be a good parent and I'm taking care of myself and being healthy, that's all that really matters."

"Snooki & JWoww" premieres Thursday, June 21, at 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT.

Related Videos

• MTV News Extended Play: Snooki And JWoww

Related Photos

• Snooki's Brand-New Bling
• Evolution Of: Snooki

adam lambert arrested barkley beltran space ball jim mora the weeknd echoes of silence gio gonzalez

Secret US spaceplane shows China the future

Paul Marks, senior technology correspondent

(Image: Vandenberg Air Force Base/US Air Force)

China's space agency took the plaudits for successfully docking its crewed Shenzhou-9 spacecraft with its orbiting lab Tiangong-1 today, but the feat was slightly overshadowed by the weekend landing of the US X-37B spaceplane, which after a record-breaking orbital flight of 469 days showed just how far China has to go to catch up with advanced spacefaring nations.

At around noon local time, the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre relayed live pictures of Shenzhou-9's docking on state broadcaster China Central Television. The space capsule held off at a distance of 62 kilometres from Tiangong-1 before making its docking approach just before 2pm - and once the crew had manually locked on to the latter's cruciform docking target it took only eight minutes to latch the spacecraft together safely.

They didn't hang around: shortly afterwards, all three crew - commander Jing Haipeng plus astronaut Liu Wang and China's first woman in space, Liu Yang - were all pictured inside the space laboratory and smiling broadly as they stretched their legs in zero-g. They will spend the rest of their two week mission conducting "scientific experiments and technical tests" - though compared to the ISS (and even the now deorbited Mir) Tiangong-1's bare, padded interior looks surprisingly devoid of instruments.

(Image: Jia Qing/AP/Press Association Images)

Not much is known about Tiangong-1's purpose beyond its claimed role as a testbed for docking systems for larger space station modules that will fly later this decade. That lack of knowledge has fuelled speculation that the US Air Force's X-37B spaceplane, which was loitering in various orbits after being launched in March 2011, was spying on the space lab. ?

This?Boeing-built spaceplane, roughly one quarter the size of the space shuttle, is equally mysterious. It flies to orbit on a regular rocket and when there deploys a solar array that gives its sensors the power they need for extended missions. It also has enough propellant to fire thrusters that make small changes to its orbit in a bid to foil surveillance. The vehicle re-enters the atmosphere just like the shuttle but lands entirely autonomously, making it a space drone.?

At no point has the USAF revealed the craft's purpose: in addition to spacecraft surveillance, it could deploy a robot that repairs (or disables) satellites in orbit, say some, while at the darker end of the spectrum of possibilities - it was a DARPA project in its early days - it could carry a warhead, using its drone homing capability to provide surprise precision strike from orbit.?

But whatever it is for, the X-37B seems to be a triumph of spacecraft reusability, the holy grail of latter-day western spaceflight. In December 2010, the first X-37B (called OTV-1) landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base?in California after a 220-day mission, its nose still glowing in infrared footage with the residual heat of its incandescent re-entry. Now that mission time has been more than doubled by the second vehicle which landed on 16 June: OTV-2 managed an astonishing 469-days in orbit (see it landing in the video below).

In geopolitical terms, and at a time of major cost pressures, developing viable reusability like this is key. It is the major technology driver for SpaceX, for example, the first firm to fly a commercial cargo flight to the ISS and which is now converting that technology for crewed missions. Boeing says the X-37B is designed to develop "reusable space vehicle technologies that could become key enablers for future space missions". It's design is scalable, too, so larger versions could be made to carry astronauts.

So while China's achievement today is impressive, it's on the trailing edge of spaceflight technology: the US and Russia docked with their own orbital space stations in the early 1970s - and even with each other in Apollo and Soyuz capsules in 1975. So its congratulations to the Chinese space agency - but the landing of the X-37B only serves to show them how far they have to go.

nfl combine 84th annual academy awards beginners 2012 oscars the shore meryl streep oscar wins sasha baron cohen oscars

Toughbook goes Ivy Bridge with 10-inch magnesium CF-19

One thing we haven't seen too much of from the ongoing Ivy Bridge onslaught, is rugged notebooks. Sure, there was that Durabook from last week, but not much else -- and we all know the big name in indestructible laptops, is Panasonic's Toughbook line. Luckily, for those of you with jobs or hobbies that tend to involve dust storms and precipitous drops, the CF-19 is on the way with a 3.3GHz Core i5 under its 10.1-inch hood. The €2,950 (roughly, $3,727), convertible notebook has an optional touchscreen, 500GB hard drive, SSD options for the drop prone, as well as lone USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. If you're a truly mobile warrior, there's even an HSPA+ upgrade available for the wireless card. Basically its the Toughbook 19 we've all grown to know and love, but with some nice Intel upgrades on the inside. The updated rugged lappy should start shipping in Europe this July, but we're still waiting on availability info for the US.

Toughbook goes Ivy Bridge with 10-inch magnesium CF-19 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Electronista  | Email this | Comments

slither chris christie naacp glen campbell jerusalem artichoke bud shootout aretha franklin

Swiss voters say no to yet more referendums

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

what is autism the giver march 30 rimm george h w bush pauly d project faith hill

Four presumed dead after McKinley avalanche

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

josh johnson kim kardashian flour matt forte jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland bracket

Suu Kyi to make bittersweet return to Oxford

LONDON (AP) ? Before Aung San Suu Kyi was a prisoner of conscience and a political icon, she inhabited a world of children's birthday parties, university libraries and bicycle-filled English suburbs.

The leader of Myanmar's democracy movement spent years in the university city of Oxford with her English academic husband and their two sons. She left one day in 1988 to care for her sick mother, thinking she would be gone for weeks. Almost a quarter of a century later, she is about to return for the first time.

On Monday, Suu Kyi begins a weeklong trip to Britain as part of a European tour. Her itinerary includes talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, an address to Parliament and a meeting with Prince Charles.

But the most bittersweet moment will likely be her homecoming to Oxford, where on Wednesday the 66-year-old will finally accept the honorary doctorate she was awarded in 1993, while she was under house arrest in Yangon.

Oxford looks much the same as when she left, a traffic-clogged jumble of spires and bridges and Gothic college buildings. But her children are grown and her beloved husband, Michael Aris, is dead.

"I'm sure within herself it'll be an extremely emotional moment," said Peter Popham, author of "The Lady and the Peacock," a biography of Suu Kyi. "When she left in March 1988 she expected to be away for a while, possibly a few months, but certainly not 24 years."

Suu Kyi arrived in Oxford in 1964 from a background marked by both privilege and tragedy.

She had been educated at a convent school in New Delhi, where her mother was ambassador for the country then known as Burma. Her father, Gen. Aung San, a political leader who negotiated Burma's independence from Britain, had been assassinated by political rivals in 1947, when she was 2.

She studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University's then-women-only St. Hugh's College, a handsome collection of red brick Edwardian buildings set in extensive gardens.

Student friend Ann Pasternak Slater recalled a striking figure whose "firm moral convictions and inherited social grace contrasted sharply with the tatty dress and careless manners, vague liberalism and uncertain sexual morality" of her English counterparts.

Suu Kyi was not a party animal ? she tasted alcohol just once, to see what it was like ? but did embrace other Oxford traditions.

In the essay collection "Freedom From Fear," Pasternak Slater described her learning to operate a punt ? Oxford's characteristic flat-bottomed boats ? and to ride a bicycle, swapping her traditional Burmese long skirt, the lungi, for a pair of white jeans.

While at Oxford, Suu Kyi met Aris, a Himalayan scholar who later served as tutor to the children of the king of Bhutan. They married in 1972 ? on condition that if her country ever needed her, she would go.

Neither imagined how high the price would be.

"She thought she might go to Burma one day to set up a mobile library once the kids were grown and Michael was retired," said Rebecca Frayn, screenwriter of "The Lady," a recent feature film about Suu Kyi. "They had a little dream that he would grow orchids."

The couple lived in Bhutan and London, then settled in Oxford when Aris got an academic post. Suu Kyi looked after sons Alexander and Kim and pursued doctoral studies.

Frayn said the future Nobel peace laureate embraced her role as academic wife and "utterly devoted mother."

"She was famed for her exquisitely organized birthday parties," Frayn said. "The common thing is that she did whatever she did to the Nth degree."

In March 1988, Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar to nurse her dying mother, and found herself on the front line of mass pro-democracy protests that erupted soon after. The hospital where her mother was being treated was inundated with injured demonstrators.

As the daughter of a national hero, Suu Kyi was an instant emblem of the movement. She embraced her destiny and helped form the National League for Democracy ? with the support of her far-off husband.

"From the outset, they knew it was a tough decision to go into politics," Popham said. "But I don't think any of them had an idea of how hard it was going to be. Michael thought the regime would collapse within months and they would be reunited by Christmas 1988."

In fact, Aris saw his wife only a handful of times after she left Oxford.

The NLD won elections in 1990, but was kept from power by the military junta. Suu Kyi spent much of the next 20 years under house arrest, finally being released in November 2010. In April, she won a seat in the country's national assembly, and is campaigning for further reform.

The couple's predicament took a cruel twist in 1997, when Aris was diagnosed with what turned out to be terminal prostate cancer. The junta would have allowed Suu Kyi to leave Myanmar to visit him ? but she feared she would not be allowed to return. He applied 30 times for visas to visit her; all were rejected.

"He was adamant she shouldn't come back," Frayn said. "He was convinced (his visa) would be granted and he would die in her arms."

Aris died in Oxford on his 53rd birthday in 1999. He had not seen his wife in more than three years.

Frayn said the years of separation had left a "complex emotional legacy" for Suu Kyi's sons, now in their 30s.

Kim Aris lives in Oxford and has visited his mother several times since her release from house arrest. Elder brother Alexander ? who at age 18 delivered the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize address on behalf of his mother ? lives in a Buddhist community in Portland, Oregon. Neither has given interviews to the media.

Suu Kyi, too, rarely speaks of her emotions ? a reflection, Frayn said, both of her Buddhist faith and of her political convictions.

"She is surrounded in the National League for Democracy by people who spent many years in prison, and in some senses her context is that she got off lightly compared to a lot of her close political colleagues," Frayn said. "She has said that this is in a sense her cross to bear, the long-term separation from her sons.

"A journalist once said to her that her story was like a Greek tragedy. She absolutely rebuked him and said: I made a choice."

___

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

bo jackson bo jackson weather houston weather houston small business saturday small business saturday hank baskett

Suu Kyi: Nobel Peace Prize shattered my isolation

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a press conference with Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Friday, June 15, 2012. Suu Kyi formally accepts the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday June 16, 2012, in the Norwegian capital. (AP Photo / Vegard Groett / NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a press conference with Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Friday, June 15, 2012. Suu Kyi formally accepts the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday June 16, 2012, in the Norwegian capital. (AP Photo / Vegard Groett / NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a press conference with Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Friday, June 15, 2012. Suu Kyi formally accepts the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday June 16, 2012, in the Norwegian capital. (AP Photo / Vegard Groett / NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi briefs the media after a meeting with Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the Norway government guest house in Oslo, Friday, June 15, 2012. Suu Kyi formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday June 16, 2012, in the Norwegian capital, that originally thrust her into the global limelight two decades ago. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, third from left, signs a book at the Nobel Institute after a meeting with the Norwegian Nobel Committee members in Oslo, Norway, Saturday, June 16, 2012. It's been 21 years, and Suu Kyi is about to give her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. (AP Photo/Cathal McNaughton, Pool)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi signs a book at the Nobel Institute after a meeting with the Norwegian Nobel Committee members in Oslo, Norway, Saturday, June 16, 2012. It's been 21-years since Aung San Suu Kyi won the world's highest diplomatic honor in 1991, and Burmese opposition leader is about to give her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. (AP Photo/Cathal McNaughton, Pool)

OSLO, Norway (AP) ? Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi declared Saturday that the Nobel Peace Prize she won while under house arrest 21 years ago helped to shatter her sense of isolation and ensured that the world would demand democracy in her military-controlled homeland.

Suu Kyi received two standing ovations inside Oslo's city hall as she gave her long-delayed acceptance speech to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in front of Norway's King Harald, Queen Sonja and about 600 dignitaries. The 66-year-old champion of political freedom praised the power of her 1991 Nobel honor both for saving her from the depths of personal despair and shining an enduring spotlight on injustices in distant Myanmar.

"Often during my days of house arrest, it felt as though I were no longer a part of the real world," she said to a silent chamber, which was lined with rainbows of freshly cut chrysanthemums and towers of orchids for the occasion. "There was the house which was my world. There was the world of others who also were not free but who were together in prison as a community. And there was the world of the free. Each one was a different planet pursuing its own separate course in an indifferent universe.

"What the Nobel Peace Prize did was to draw me once again into the world of other human beings, outside the isolated area in which I lived, to restore a sense of reality to me. ... And what was more important, the Nobel Prize had drawn the attention of the world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. We were not going to be forgotten," she said during her 40-minute oration.

Suu Kyi, who since winning freedom in 2010 has led her National League for Democracy party into opposition in Myanmar's parliament, offered cautious support for the first tentative steps toward democratic reform in her country. But she said progress depended on continued foreign pressure on the army-backed government.

"If I advocate cautious optimism, it is not because I do not have faith in the future, but because I do not want to encourage blind faith. Without faith in the future, without the conviction that democratic values and fundamental human rights are not only necessary but possible for our society, our movement could not have been sustained throughout the destroying years," she said, referring to the past two decades since Myanmar's military leaders rejected her party's overwhelming triumph in 1990 elections, one year after Suu Kyi's own imprisonment.

Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, introduced Suu Kyi as a leader of "awe-inspiring tenacity, sacrifice and firmness of principle."

"In your isolation, you have become a moral leader for the whole world," he said from the podium, turning to the seated Suu Kyi.

"Your voice became increasingly clear the more the military regime tried to isolate you. Your cause mobilized your people and prevailed over a massive military junta. Whenever your name is mentioned or when you speak, your words bring new energy and hope to the entire world," Jagland said to applause.

Suu Kyi, in a traditional Burmese gown of purple, lilac and ivory, offered only a stoic Mona Lisa smile at the end of her speech, greeted with a 2-minute ovation. As on her previous public events this week in Switzerland and Norway, she spoke with a voice of unerring crisp diction but a physical presence bordering on exhaustion.

Yet Saturday's schedule offered no letup. She left the city hall for the neighboring Nobel Peace Center where artists had designed an interactive display called "Mother Democracy" chronicling the highlights of her life. Later she was scheduled to address a public rally outside city hall.

There, thousands of locals and tourists, many from foreign cruise liners docked in Oslo's fjord, mingled among outdoor stalls selling arts and crafts as a local rock band warmed up on an outdoor stage.

"Suu Kyi is such an incredible person. It's a blessing to be here, to get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see her, to hear her," said Javier Rodriguez, 50, an airline steward from Los Angeles who happened to be on an Oslo layover and staked out the peace center before Suu Kyi's arrival.

"There's so few people in the world willing to sacrifice everything for justice and peace. She's in the same league as Nelson Mandela. Everyone should cherish and honor her," he said.

Suu Kyi's speech related her long experience of state-ordered isolation to key precepts of her Buddhist faith, particularly two forms of suffering: Being forced to live apart from loved ones, and being forced to live among those one dislikes. She referred only fleetingly to the Myanmar authorities' refusal to permit her husband, the Buddhist scholar Michael Aris, to see her from 1995 until his death from cancer in 1999.

Instead she emphasized the continued suffering of others. She won spontaneous applause from the crowd as she appealed for foreign governments to understand that many hundreds of political prisoners remain in Myanmar.

"It is to be feared that because the best known detainees have been released, the remainder, the unknown ones, will be forgotten. I am standing here because I was once a prisoner of conscience. As you look at me and listen to me, please remember the often repeated truth that one prisoner of conscience is one too many," she said.

She said it was unrealistic to expect the world ever to reach a state of "absolute peace," yet mankind must be compelled to pursue the goal "as a traveler in a desert fixes his eyes on the one guiding star that will lead him to salvation. Even if we do not achieve perfect peace on earth, because perfect peace is not of this earth, common endeavors to gain peace will unite individuals and nations in trust and friendship, and help us to make our human community safer and kinder."

And Suu Kyi praised the value of simple, every-day acts of human kindness as the most powerful force in promoting peace anywhere. " Every kindness I received, small or big," she said, referring to her 15 years of house arrest or imprisonment, "convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world."

On Sunday she heads to the Norwegian city of Bergen to meet charities and members of Norway's Burmese refugee community, then on Monday speaks alongside U2 singer Bono before the pair fly to Dublin, Ireland, for a celebrity-studded concert in her honor. On Tuesday she starts engagements in England, including a visit to her Oxford University alma mater and a speech to the joint houses of Parliament.

___

Online:

Mother Democracy exhibition, http://bit.ly/LZAVhW

Associated Press

the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin pietrus cheney tori spelling

Video: Obama, Romney go head to head in speeches

Hidden hairs can strangle baby's tiny toes

If a single strand of hair wraps around a baby?s toe, it can cut off circulation and ultimately doom the appendage. Though rare, this happens often enough for doctors to have given it a name: toe tourniquet syndrome.

super bowl 2012 soul train nevada caucus ufc 143 what time does the super bowl start ben gazzara nfl hall of fame 2012

Telecommunications - Mexico - CFC approves Televisa, Iusacell deal with conditions

Mexico's anti-trust body CFC on Thursday approved broadcaster Televisa's controversial bid for 50% of mobile operator Iusacell but imposed certain con...

Free trial ended?

Ask for your subscription.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need aditionalinformation, please write to us.

space ball jim mora the weeknd echoes of silence gio gonzalez san francisco fire patti labelle the weeknd

Paraguay: 17 killed in violent land dispute

The body of a farmer killed during a land eviction, is carried off a truck in Curuguaty, Paraguay, Friday, June 15, 2012. Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve the violent land dispute in Curuguaty, a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gun battles between police and landless farmers when police were trying to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. (AP Photo)

The body of a farmer killed during a land eviction, is carried off a truck in Curuguaty, Paraguay, Friday, June 15, 2012. Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve the violent land dispute in Curuguaty, a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gun battles between police and landless farmers when police were trying to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. (AP Photo)

The body of a farmer killed during a land eviction, is carried off a truck in Curuguaty, Paraguay, Friday, June 15, 2012. Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve the violent land dispute in Curuguaty, a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gun battles between police and landless farmers when police were trying to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. (AP Photo)

The bodies of farmers killed by police during a land eviction, lie covered on a hospital floor in Curuguaty, Paraguay, Friday, June 15, 2012. Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve the violent land dispute in Curuguaty, a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gun battles between police and landless farmers when police were trying to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. (AP Photo)

A farmer wounded in a land dispute is carried on a gurney to a nearby hospital, in Curuguaty, Paraguay, Friday, June 15, 2012. Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve the violent land dispute in Curuguaty, a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gun battles between police and landless farmers when police were trying to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. (AP Photo)

A police officer wounded in a land dispute waits to be transferred to a gurney after arriving at the airport in Asuncion, Paraguay, from Curuguaty, Friday, June 15, 2012. Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve the violent land dispute in Curuguaty, a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gun battles between police and landless farmers when police were trying to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. (AP Photo)

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) ? Paraguay deployed its army on Friday to resolve a violent land dispute in a remote northern forest reserve, where 17 people have been killed in gunbattles between police and landless farmers.

The clash occurred as police tried to evict about 150 farmers from the reserve, which is part of a huge estate owned by a Colorado Party politician opposed to leftist President Fernando Lugo. Among the seven officers killed was the brother of Lugo's chief of military security. Ten farmers also were killed, and 27 other officers were injured as police kept up the firefights in the forest, some 150 miles north of the capital Asuncion.

The farmers later dispersed into the jungle and police took control of the reserve, said Gregorio Almada, security vice minister for the Interior Ministry.

Lugo suspended his agenda and called a Cabinet meeting. He said the army has his support to put an end to the violence and ruled out any connections to the Paraguayan People's Army, a small leftist guerrilla group that has attacked rural police posts in the northern part of the country.

"I extend my sorrow and repudiation of the actions that led to the killing of these people," Lugo told reporters. It is one of the most violent land disputes in decades in the usually peaceful South American nation.

The 4,900-acre (2,000)-hectare reserve is part of a vast ranch owned Blas Riquelme. "Twenty years ago we declared this a forest reserve but farmers have wanted to occupy it since last year," said Jose Riquelme, the owner's son.

Activists for poor farmers, however, say Riquelme acquired the land from the state decades ago and that it should have been put it to use for land reform. Paraguay is the world's fourth-largest supplier of soybeans and land disputes have risen in recent years as farmers seek more land to grow the country's top export earner.

Lugo won election in 2008 in part on a promise of agrarian reform that would benefit 87,000 Paraguayan farm families, though as he nears the end of his term he has yet to deliver and the problems are more vexing than ever.

"Lugo can't fix a grave social problem: the recovery of state lands seized decades ago by people like Riquelme who we not subject to the land reform," said Jose Rodriguez, an adviser for the landless rights groups.

"We're living a serious situation and it will just worsen because the poor need a piece of land," Rodriguez said. "Our people resisting the police attack only have .22-caliber rifles; they don't have army training or weapons to wage a war."

Associated Press

moonshine news channel 4 radar weather weather channel noaa mike brown jacoby ellsbury