Fisker recalls 239 Karma cars over battery defect (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Fisker Automotive, the electric carmaker backed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, is recalling 239 Karma plug-in hybrid cars in the United States due to a possible defect in batteries flagged by A123 Systems.

A123 outlined the problem in a Dec 23 memo. In some cases, hose clamps on batteries made for the Karma were not aligned properly, which could lead to a leak of coolant fluid and possibly an electrical short circuit.

In the worst case scenario, the coolant could seep into the battery compartment and cause a fire, Fisker told U.S. safety regulators according a posting on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website on Thursday.

Fisker said fewer than 40 of these vehicles are with consumers and the rest remain in dealer inventories. The vehicles, made for the 2012 model year, were built from July to November of this year.

Scrutiny of electric vehicles has intensified recently after battery fires in some NHTSA crash tests of General Motors Co's Chevrolet Volt.

The $96,000 plug-in hybrid Karma is the first production vehicle for the fledging automaker that was founded in 2007 by Henrik Fisker, a one-time Aston Martin designer.

Fisker also received a $529 million loan from the Department of Energy to spur car development.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111229/us_nm/us_fisker_recall

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Zac Efron to Star in The Paperboy: First Poster

Zac Efron really is all grown up.

The former High School Musical actor will anchor his most mature movie to date in 2012, starring alongside Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack and others in The Paperboy, an upcoming drama based on a 1995 novel by Pete Dexter.

Check out the first official poster now:

The film focuses on a Miami Times reporter who comes back to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate. It's not the only film to star Efron in the new year, either.

Check out The Lucky One trailer now!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/zac-efron-to-star-in-the-paperboy-first-poster/

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Gary Johnson sets third-party pot bubbling as he quits GOP race

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said Wednesday he is quitting the Republican primaries and will run for president as a Libertarian, highlighting the possibility a third-party candidate could impact the 2012 election.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said Wednesday that he is quitting the Republican primaries and will run for president as a Libertarian, highlighting the possibility a third-party candidate could play a role in deciding the 2012 presidential election.

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Governor Johnson was not a factor in the battle between Republican candidates now raging in Iowa. As a result of his meager performance in the polls, he was excluded from all but two of this year?s 15 Republican presidential debates.?

Barring a major surge in his appeal to voters, Johnson?s switch of party affiliation is not likely to have a major nationwide impact. The move could affect the results in the swing state of New Mexico. A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey there found Johnson could draw 20 to 23 percent of the vote, insuring that President Obama would carry the state with 44 to 45 percent of the vote.

Beyond its implications in New Mexico, Johnson?s move increases the likelihood the 2012 presidential race will feature a stronger than usual third-party showing. Democratic strategist Stanley Greenberg recently predicted ?there is going to be a third party candidate? based on high levels of voter dissatisfaction. When Ross Perot made his third party run in 1992, ?those were happy times compared to now in terms of the mood of the country,? Greenberg said. ?

Greenberg?s view is that ?almost any third party helps Obama? by splintering the president?s opposition. He spoke at a recent Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters.

Americans Elect is a major force helping boost the prospects for a stronger third-party movement. On its website, the group says its goal is ?to nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to voters ? not the political system.? The non-partisan organization is now on the ballot in 13 states including California, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan, and signature collecting efforts are underway in 17 others. It has raised $22 million to date. Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus recently wrote that Americans Elect is the ?political wild card for the Internet? age.

Another wild card is who Governor Johnson will have to battle for the Libertarian nomination. One possibility is that Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who ran for president under the Libertarian banner in 1988, might seek to run on the Libertarian ticket if he does not land the Republican nomination. Congressman Paul has not definitively ruled out seeking the Libertarian nomination.

In a statement, Libertarian Party executive director Carla Howell welcomed Johnson to the party, saying he had ?an outstanding record for vetoing legislation? and ?has also proposed a substantial reduction in federal spending.? ?He also supports legalizing marijuana and abortion rights.?The Libertarian nominating convention is scheduled for May 5.?

Prior to his formal announcement at a Santa Fe press conference, Johnson sounded bitter about the Republican primary process. He told the Alamogordo Daily News that ?anyone who looks at what has happened would say I have been treated unfairly. I think I?ve been hung out to dry by the Republican Party.?

It is not clear whether life in a third party will be better. As the National Journal?s Hotline noted, the last time a third-party candidate was included in a general election debate was 1996, when Ross Perot was running on the Reform Party ticket.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hMgGCCvwhyk/Gary-Johnson-sets-third-party-pot-bubbling-as-he-quits-GOP-race

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Cam Ward Goal: Hurricanes Goalie Scores Bizarre Empty-Netter Against Devils (VIDEO)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Cam Ward made 23 saves and was credited with a bizarre empty-net goal, leading the Carolina Hurricanes past the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Monday night.

Brandon Sutter had a short-handed goal, Tuomo Ruutu and Anthony Stewart scored in the second period, and Tim Gleason and Tim Brent each had two assists for the Hurricanes.

Ward's first career goal came at the end of a strange sequence. Ilya Kovalchuk's errant pass for Adam Henrique from the end line wound up going the length of the ice and into an empty net with 29.4 seconds left.

Officials initially awarded the goal to Sutter before a postgame review determined he never touched the puck.

David Clarkson had a goal and an assist for New Jersey. He and Henrique scored in the third period and Johan Hedberg made 30 saves for the Devils, who had won seven of nine.

Clarkson broke up the shutout when he scored with 7:22 left. Henrique then pulled the Devils to 3-2 when he scored with 2:20 remaining before the odd sequence in the final minute.

Anton Volchenkov finished with two assists for New Jersey, which lost Ryan Carter to a game misconduct late in the first period for drilling Jaroslav Spacek hard into the end boards.

Carolina, in last place in the Southeast Division, has earned points in six of eight games.

Two of the best players in Devils history were behind Carolina's bench. New coach Kirk Muller and assistant John MacLean combined for 532 goals during their time on the ice in New Jersey.

The Devils sure could have used their offensive punch early in this one. Instead, for most of the way, it was the Hurricanes who showed off their firepower.

Ruutu pushed Carolina's lead to 2-0 by scoring his team-leading 13th goal just over 7 minutes into the second. He chipped in a rebound past a sprawled-out Hedberg and into an open net. Stewart then made it a three-goal game 10 minutes later when his wrist shot from the circle got past Hedberg's stick.

That came after Sutter scored the Hurricanes' first goal midway through the first and 23 seconds into a tripping penalty on Ruutu.

Sutter chased down the puck near center ice and skated in on Hedberg before uncorking a wrist shot from the circle that clipped the left pipe on its way in. That gave the Hurricanes their seventh short-handed goal ? tying them with the Devils for most in the NHL ? and marked the league-worst 11th allowed by New Jersey.

It could have been worse for the Devils, who held Carolina scoreless during a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:19, a sequence that included the misconduct and 5-minute boarding major on Carter. Drayson Bowman rang the left post moments after Stewart's goal.

NOTES: New Jersey has allowed at least three goals in five straight games. ... Ruutu has points in five straight games. ... Sutter has three short-handed goals. ... The two shots allowed in the second were the fewest yielded in a period by Carolina all season. ... The Devils lead the season series 2-1, with the home team winning every game.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/cam-ward-goal-hurricanes-goalie-scores-devils-nhl_n_1170838.html

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Alexei Navalny, key engine behind Russian protests (AP)

MOSCOW ? Alexei Navalny has done more than any other opposition leader to lay the groundwork for the protest movement now challenging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year grip on power. His reward came last weekend when he took the stage before tens of thousands of cheering demonstrators.

Working the crowd like a firebrand preacher, Navalny had people responding to his calls with cries of "Yes" and "We are the Power!" His role now looks set only to grow.

The 35-year-old corruption-fighting lawyer and popular blogger has inspired and mobilized many in Russia's young Internet generation, who until recently had seemed reluctant to get up from their laptops.

He reaches tens of thousands through his blog, consistently among the top three on Live Journal, and has more than 167,000 followers on Twitter.

He has tapped into deep anger throughout society, particularly over the corruption that pervades public life and the generous subsidies sent to the restive mostly Muslim regions in southern Russia. Navalny's description of Putin's political party as the "party of crooks and thieves" and his call to "Stop feeding the Caucasus" have become catchphrases of the opposition.

The Kremlin has woken up to the threat posed by the charismatic and ambitious Navalny, but efforts to silence him have only added to his stature.

Navalny was arrested after leading a protest march in defiance of police the day after Dec. 4 parliamentary elections. The shameless falsifications that had helped Putin's United Russia party retain its majority outraged many Russians, and more than 5,000 joined what turned into the largest anti-Putin demonstration in years. Navalny was jailed for 15 days, but the protests only grew.

When he was released last week, Navalny said he felt that he had been "jailed in one country and freed in another." Dozens of camera crews had waited into the early hours of the morning for his release, in a sign of his growing fame.

He was one of the most anticipated speakers at Saturday's rally, which drew an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 people in the largest protest in the country since the demonstrations that swept away the Soviet Union two decades ago.

The outpouring of public anger has shaken Putin as he prepares to return to the presidency in a March election. He needs more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a second round, and polls show he will have trouble pulling this off if he meets protesters' demands for a free and fair election.

Still, Putin's eventual victory does seem assured. He faces a handful of challengers in what appears to be a Kremlin strategy to split the protest vote. His most serious rival is the veteran Communist leader, an unpalatable choice for most of the demonstrators. The opposition has no consensus candidate it could rally behind.

Navalny says he won't stand in this election because of the barriers that block any candidates that do not have Kremlin approval.

Speaking Monday night on Ekho Moskvy radio, he called for continued pressure on the Kremlin to follow through on its promises to make it easier for opposition candidates to compete in elections. If this happens, he said he might form his own political party and run for president in the future.

In the meantime, he intends to drive the protest movement on the street, giving voice to Russians who are tired of having their votes stolen.

"We will take to the streets as long as they don't give us back what belongs to us!" Navalny shouted at the weekend rally. "We are peaceful people, but there is an end to our patience!"

Stanislav Belkovsky, a well-connected political analyst, said that while Putin's team hopes to retain power by splitting the opposition and incorporating some of its leaders into the government, it doesn't know what to do with Navalny.

"Navalny's name is taboo for them, they are really afraid of him," Belkovsky said.

Navalny first made his name a few years ago by fighting corruption. Using his rights as a minority shareholder, he gathered evidence of corruption at state-controlled oil and gas companies and banks. Cases he filed against some of the biggest names in Russian business have made little progress in court, but he exposed some seemingly outrageous practices.

He also has used his skills to attack corruption inside government at all levels. About a year ago he set up a website where he posts government documents announcing tenders for various goods and services. His team of lawyers studies them and he also invites anyone who is interested to review the documents online. Navalny claims the government has withdrawn scandalous tenders worth millions of dollars after they were exposed by his site. In one telling example, the Interior Ministry canceled an order for a hand-carved gilded bed intended for one of its residences.

Yulia Latynina, a columnist who supports Navalny, said he has proved his political skills.

"He made half of the Russian Internet work for him and he built a strategy for the parliamentary campaign without taking part in it," she wrote in an online commentary.

Navalny, however, has plenty of detractors even among the opposition. Some are turned off by his shrill populism and his flirting with ethnic Russian nationalists.

"Society, unlike a crowd, demands respect," Alexander Podrabinek, a former Soviet dissident and political prisoner, wrote in a commentary on Grani.ru. "If you openly manipulate it as Navalny does, the best part of it will be reluctant to show up at the next rally. Rallies of the liberal opposition will then turn into something similar to the Russian Marches."

Navalny took part in last month's Russian March in which thousands of nationalists marched through Moscow to call on ethnic Russians to "take back" their country, some raising their hands in a Nazi salute.

Many Russians resent the influx of dark-skinned Muslims into Moscow and other cities. Many also resent the disproportionate amount of budget money sent to Chechnya and other Caucasus republics, seen as a Kremlin effort to buy loyalty after two separatist wars.

Navalny defends his association with nationalists by saying their concerns are widespread and need to be addressed as part of any broad movement pushing for democratic change, but many in the liberal opposition fear that he is playing with fire.

Some opposition leaders also seem alarmed by Navalny's soaring popularity.

"We are already seeing signs of a Navalny cult," Vladimir Milov wrote in a column in the online Gazeta.ru. "I wouldn't be surprised if grandmothers from the provinces start showing up here asking where they can find him so he can cure their illnesses."

Milov, who is 39, said some of the older liberal opposition leaders who have been involved in politics since the 1990s would try to prevent Navalny from taking over the protest movement.

"Old political foxes who hate a young and promising competitor will try to drown him," he wrote.

Navalny has avoided public spats with other opposition leaders, focusing on the need to consolidate the protest movement and bring a growing number of people onto the streets to push for a fair presidential election.

"We will get 1 million people and they won't be able to do anything but fulfill our demands," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_protest_hero

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China expects 11 percent industrial output growth in 2012 (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's industrial output is expected to grow 11 percent for 2012, easing from an estimated 13.9 percent in 2011, China's industry minister said on Monday.

The forecast by Miao Wei, the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, will also serve as the official target for China's industrial output, China's state radio reported on its website (www.cnr.cn).

Miao was quoted by the radio as saying that China's industrial development in 2012 "would not be optimistic" partly due to an uncertain global economy.

China's industrial sector has lost steam in recent months with annual industrial output growth falling to 12.4 percent in November from 13.2 percent in October and down from the year's high point of 15.1 percent in June.

The annual rise of China's industrial output, which covers enterprises with a minimum annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($3.16 million), is closely correlated with GDP growth in the world's second biggest economy.

An 11 percent annual expansion in industrial output is regarded by Beijing as appropriate to achieve an annual 8 percent GDP growth rate. Miao's ministry had an 11 percent target of industrial output growth for both 2010 and 2011.

China's latest five-year plan targets an average annual GDP growth rate of 7 percent over the five-year period, with industrial output targeted at 10 percent.

Huang Libin, a senior official with the industry ministry, said at an online briefing last month that China's factory output growth may hit 12-13 percent in 2012.

CONSOLIDATION

Miao said China would try to cut energy consumption for every yuan of industrial output by 5 percent in 2012, and cut water consumption by 7 percent.

According to China's state radio, Miao's ministry has decided to launch a number of new initiatives designed to safeguard the healthy development of China's economy.

The focus will be put on consolidation of key industries.

"We will launch implementation plans for mergers and acquisitions in sectors like steel, automobiles and cement," Miao was quoted as saying.

In addition, the ministry would try hard to boost the growth of strategic emerging industries and small industrial firms. ($1 = 6.3364 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Zhou Xin and Kevin Yao; Editing by Nick Edwards and Ramya Venugopal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111226/bs_nm/us_china_economy_ip

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Progress report: Getting better globally

Up close, there are grave problems in the world -- hunger, repression, discrimination, violence. But when you take the long view, you can see evidence of progress on many fronts.

Half full or half empty? You can?t go wrong with half empty. It?s the serious person?s default mode. No one can say ?I told you so? when bad things happen. No one can accuse you of being a Pollyanna or glossing over the suffering in the world.?

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They?re right about the suffering. Progress is happening on many provable fronts. But it is not evenly distributed. In Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan,?Zimbabwe, North Korea, and too many other places, violence, fear,?hunger, and oppression still hold sway. These are real problems that demand intelligent, compassionate, and sometimes aggressive action.

With the reach of global media, we know more about bad things happening in the far corners of the world than ever before. Shining a light on bad things alerts good people to what?s going on. That can be the first step in rallying international aid or pressing governments to treat their people better.
But perspective is important. Focus only on present pain and suffering, and the world looks bleak. Take the long view, however, and there is strong evidence that war is actually decreasing, poverty is shrinking, women?s rights are improving, and democracy is awakening.

Up close, the pain is real and immediate. Step back, however, and you?ll see a world getting better.

Here?s a small illustration of what I mean. I recently scooped up a trove of old Life magazines at a thrift store and took the Wayback Machine to the late 1960s. Along with the amusing images and ads (wow, were cigarettes and booze hawked shamelessly!), the celebrity profiles (Candice Bergen, Joe Paterno) and slice-of-life features (?A Tom Sawyer Boyhood ? 1970 Style?), were stories of war, racial tension, and urban blight. And on one page was an interesting juxtaposition: book reviews of Joan Didion?s ?Play It As It Lays? and Alvin Toffler?s ?Future Shock.??

Ms. Didion?s reviewer noted how with ?eyes that will not shut properly? she eloquently described the suffering and pain too many people experience. On the same page, Mr. Toffler (a man of ?genuinely humane temper,? said his reviewer) was grudgingly applauded for seeing a coming world of greater diversity and freedom.

Both authors have been proved right. Forty years later, Didion remains an eyewitness to life?s pain, having written recently about the loss of her husband and daughter. And yet, over time, Toffler?s vision of a better future also rings true.

Here?s a prediction: Forty years from now, there will still be pain and broken hearts. But year by year, human progress will have increased, too.?

* * *

Hope is an important ? but not a sufficient ? condition for progress.

Last spring, The Monitor published Jina Moore?s powerful cover story on peacebuilding (?The Peacebuilders,? April 4). If you haven?t read it, it is well worth your time. As Jina noted, after war and social breakdown, after peacemaking and peacekeeping, something more needs to be done. ?Peacebuilding,? she wrote, ?is about what comes next ? the slow and thankless slog of building a country back up.?

On Dec. 14, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon awarded Jina the highest honor of the UN Correspondents Association for her cover story. (Her reporting was made possible by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.)?

The award is named in honor of Elizabeth Neuffer, a correspondent for The Boston Globe who died in Iraq in 2003. I was privileged to work with Elizabeth. Like Jina, she traveled the world writing not just about conflict but its causes and aftermath. Her 2001 book, ?The Key to My Neighbor?s House,? examined the search for justice in post-conflict Bosnia and Rwanda.

Violence and hatred do terrible damage. It takes hope and hard work to build peace.

John Yemma is the editor of The Christian Science Monitor.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/kXIUWcEX5mo/Progress-report-Getting-better-globally

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Apple kicks off 12 Days of iTunes, offers a dozen freebies to last into 2012

Find yourself something Apple-flavored underneath the Christmas tree yesterday? Need some gentle coaxing into using iTunes? Well, you're in luck; Cupertino's annual download giveaway starts today and runs through January 6th. The free gifts kick off with some Coldplay tracks and videos from the band's latest Apple-sponsored festival appearance. But don't let that put you off; we expect to see more music, some apps and even books over the next few days. Each one's available for just 24 hours, so it could be worth checking the dedicated app daily. It's up for grabs at the link below.

Update: The app appears to be Europe-only at the moment. No news just yet on whether a US edition will make an appearance later today. Let us know in the comments if you're able to grab the free gifts.

Apple kicks off 12 Days of iTunes, offers a dozen freebies to last into 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/RZlX_b7eepA/

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Please help! I need to pick a wedding ring (pics of e-ring)

We're getting married in February, but our jewelry store is doing a 20% off sale only through the end of the year. I'd ordered a plain flat band. I went to pick it up and didn't love it with my ring. It looks... okay. I really don't care for the matching set (the engagement ring with the intended band that matches it exactly). I need ideas of what to do! My FI couldn't come to town before Christmas so he's no help. I am so worked up about this. I know that if I don't get something pricier while the sale is on then I definitely won't get it later. The price isn't the issue, and FI agrees.

I tried on my e-ring with the matching band and I didn't care for it. My center stone seemed to get lost in all that bling. For reference, my center is a 1.2 carat and my ring size is 4.5.

I tried a really wide plain band and I hated it. I knew I wanted a very narrow band, which the one I ordered is 2mm, but it's still too wide compared to how narrow the diamonds in my channel set are.

I was even thinking now that I could do 3 rings... engagement, wedding band, and another one. A friend has these in fashion rings with her diamond mounted on one. For sentimental reasons my FI would be heartbroken to change my engagement band in any way.

Here are pics of my ring:

Here is the band I ordered. It's flat and plain and 2mm wide:

Here is a picture similar to what the set would look like (I don't like how matchy matchy it is)

Any ideas of what to do?

Source: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/please-help-i-need-to-pick-a-wedding-ring-pics-of-e-ring-t169837.html

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Japan, China look to trade talks, debt buys

By Kiyoshi Takenaka

BEIJING | Sun Dec 25, 2011 1:26pm EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Japan and China agreed to start formal talks early next year on a free trade pact that would also include South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Sunday after talks that showed the deepening bonds between Asia's two biggest economies.

Japan also said it was looking to buy Chinese treasury debt, and the two governments agreed to enhance financial cooperation.

"On a free trade agreement among Japan, China and South Korea, we've made a substantial progress for an early start of negotiations," Noda told reporters after his meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao.

China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, said on its website (www.pbc.gov.cn) that the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral financial market cooperation and "encourage the use of the renminbi and Japanese yen in international trade transactions between the two countries."

The renminbi is another name for China's yuan currency.

The trade talks announcement builds on an agreement between the three countries last month also to seek a trilateral investment treaty and finish studies on the proposed free trade agreement by the end of December so that they could start formal negotiations on the trade pact.

"China is willing to closely coordinate with Japan to promote our two countries' monetary and financial development, and to accelerate progress of the China-Japan-Republic of Korea free-trade zone and East Asian financial cooperation," Wen told Noda at the meeting, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry's official website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

But the regional trade negotiations could also compete for attention with Washington's push for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), after Japan said last month it wants to join in the talks over the U.S. proposal.

CLOSER ECONOMIC TIES

Despite sometimes rancorous political ties between the two neighbors, Japan's economic fortunes are increasingly tied to China's economic growth and consumer demand.

China and Japan are also the world's first and second-biggest holders of foreign reserves. Wen told Noda that closer economic ties were in both countries' interests.

"The deep-seated consequences of the current international financial crisis continue to spread, and the complexity and severity of global and world developments have exceeded our expectations," Wen said.

"China and Japan both have the need and conditions to join hands more closely to respond to challenges and deepen mutually beneficial strategic relations."

China has been Japan's biggest trading partner since 2009.

In 2010, trade between the two nations grew by 22.3 percent compared to levels in 2009, reaching 26.5 trillion yen ($339.3 billion), according to the Japan External Trade Organization.

In a statement issued after the two leaders' meeting, the Japanese government said it would seek to buy Chinese government bonds -- a tentative step toward diversification of Tokyo's large foreign exchange reserves that are believed to be mostly held in dollars.

China central bank said the two governments agreed to support Japanese businesses issuing yuan bonds in Tokyo and other markets outside of China, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation would begin a pilot scheme for issuing yuan-denominated bonds in mainland China.

The People's Bank of China also said it will support Japan in using the yuan for direct investment in China.

But Japanese officials have stressed that Japan's trust in dollar assets remains unshaken, and the scale of the planned purchase of Chinese government bonds will be small.

Wen and Noda also agreed to set up a framework to discuss maritime issues after diplomatic ties deteriorated sharply last year following Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed isles in the East China Sea.

Bilateral meetings attended by vice ministers and senior officials from relevant ministries will be held periodically to exchange views, in an effort to prevent a similar row from happening.

"On maritime matters, we have successfully set up a channel to solve problems through multi-layered dialogue," Noda told reporters.

(Additional reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Writing by Chris Buckley; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/businessNews/~3/okQdYqGYWC4/us-china-japan-korea-idUSTRE7BO07S20111225

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Wives in ads, kids on the bus as GOP voting nears (AP)

CONCORD, N.H. ? Mitt Romney's wife gushes about his silly side and devotion to their five sons and 16 grandchildren. Rick Santorum's college-age daughter opines online about missing the campus coffee shop and chats with friends about their Friday night plans. Jon Huntsman's daughters generate much-needed buzz for him with a joint Twitter account and online videos, including at least one that went viral.

Days away from voting in the Republican presidential race, the path to the nomination is quickly becoming a crowded family affair with spouses and offspring pitching in and doing far more than just smiling from the sidelines.

Ann Romney, Anita Perry and Callista Gingrich are starring in new TV ads for the husbands they've loyally campaigned for. Romney extols her husband's character and says "to me that makes a huge difference" in a candidate. Perry tells the "old-fashioned American story" of how she and her husband were high school sweethearts who had to wait until he was done flying airplanes around the world for the Air Force before they could marry. Callista Gingrich wishes the nation a Merry Christmas "from our family to yours" in husband Newt Gingrich's new holiday-themed TV ad.

Candidate kids, including those born to Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul, are helping, too, acting as surrogates, strategists and, in some cases, sounding boards for parents competing for the right to challenge President Barack Obama next fall.

"There are times when I wonder why I'm not sitting in the coffee shop on campus with my friends, lightheartedly discussing ('Saturday Night Live') videos, how bad the cafeteria is, what our plans are for Friday night or how absolutely swamped we are with school work," Santorum's daughter Elizabeth lamented in a recent blog post. "But this is where God wanted me."

She has taken time off from her junior year at the University of Dallas to serve as a self-described "field staffer/phone banker/chauffeur/surrogate speaker," for her father, primarily in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa.

Her father, who hopes Iowa's socially conservative voters turn out for him on caucus night Jan. 3, rolled out an ad late last week featuring the entire Santorum clan, including the family German shepherd, Schotzy. The spot highlights his 21-year marriage to his wife, Karen, notes that he has coached Little League and introduces viewers to the youngest of the couple's seven children, Isabella, born in 2008 with a genetic disorder.

Sometimes the family members campaign with the candidates and other times they go it alone.

Such family involvement carries risks and benefits. The stories they tell often humanize the candidates and help voters relate to them. But the things they say, and do, can sometimes cause headaches for the campaign advisers who are left to try to figure out a way out.

While Rick Perry spent several days campaigning in Iowa recently, his wife was hundreds of miles away in New Hampshire emphasizing his small-town upbringing and conservative values at a retirement community chapel. Audience members then peppered her with detailed questions about such subjects as taxes, immigration and the death penalty.

"She handled them quite well," said Sid Schoeffler, an independent voter from Concord. "When she knew the answer or knew the campaign's story line, she recited it. And when she didn't know, she said so. I thought that was refreshing."

"Compared to what I expected, she made a favorable impression," he said. "But whether it's enough to swing my vote, I don't know yet."

Earlier in the year, as Bachmann rose in public opinion, her husband, Marcus, was forced to defend his Christian counseling business from claims that its therapies included "curing" people of being gay. With Bachmann now near the back of the GOP pack in polls, Marcus Bachmann joined her at the start of her bus tour of Iowa's 99 counties but was quickly replaced by four of their five children.

"My husband had to go home. We're small-business owners and someone had to go home and mind the store," Bachmann told one crowd. And at one point, Bachmann, who began losing her voice in the middle of the jam-packed tour, turned over the microphone to son Harrison, a teacher who talks up his family's ties to the state, and teased: "Harrison, say some nice things about me and you'll get extra cookies."

In Paul's case, he's probably hoping validation from his son, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a favorite of the tea party, will give him a boost with that pivotal constituency in Iowa. Rand Paul is also appearing in a television ad for his father.

Romney's five-son family and wife of more than four decades have long been a part of his presidential campaigns. But the spotlight has been shining more brightly on his wife and their brood in recent weeks as the campaign seeks to cast the former Massachusetts governor as a person of "steadiness and constancy" while drawing a contrast with the thrice-married Gingrich.

Ann Romney also has spoken openly about how her husband supported her through her struggle with multiple sclerosis.

Huntsman's wife and the couple's three oldest daughters are near-constant companions in New Hampshire, the only state where the former Utah governor is earnestly campaigning. His daughters recently generated a huge amount of buzz with a video spoof of an ad by former rival Herman Cain. They donned oversized glasses and fake mustaches to look like Cain's campaign manager.

"We are shamelessly promoting our dad like no other candidate's family has," one daughter said in the ad. "But then again, no one's ever seen a trio like the Jon2012 girls."

___

Associated Press writers Philip Elliott and Steve Peoples contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_campaign_a_family_affair

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Justin Bieber Debuts New Song, 'Be Alright'

MTV News' #5 Newsmaker of 2011 tells 'Home for the Holidays' audience in Toronto that the tune might appear on his next album.
By James Dinh

Justin Bieber performs during his "Home for the Holidays" concert special in Toronto
Photo: George Pimentel / WireImage

Much like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber is treating his crew of Beliebers to some new music right in time for the Christmas holiday. On Wednesday night, the pop superstar debuted a new track called "Be Alright" to a jam-packed crowd during his Toronto-based TV concert special, "Justin Bieber: Home for the Holidays," which airs Thursday night (December 22) on MuchMusic and CTV.

"You might hear this on my next album, you might not, but it's a song I'm working on. I still haven't really finished it," Bieber told the screaming crowd, before unveiling the acoustic tune. "Basically, the concept is: Even though when times get hard with your girlfriend or boyfriend, when times get hard, you gotta just let them know that in the end, everything's gonna be alright."

Sitting beside his guitarist, MTV News' #5 Newsmaker of 2011 crooned to the slow jam as the audience clapped their way through his performance, and later on, helped the star sing along to the simple hook. "Across the ocean, across the sea/ Starting to forget the way you look at me now/ Over the ocean and across the sky/ Starting to forget the way you look in my eyes," he sang.

After the holiday special, the teen singer took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the memorable evening, writing, "Tonight was special. No rules. Music, family, friends, fans, charity, and music. Thank you. #HomeForTheHolidays."

"Be Alright" is just a taste of what may come from the singer's next album release. MTV News recently spoke with JB's longtime vocal producer, Kuk Harrell, who discussed his thoughts about the pop star's transition into adulthood.

"The only conversation we've had about Justin's album that we're about to do is it's really important that it's the proper transition because we've seen him [with] 'Baby,' now we're watching him grow up," Harrell told us. "And we can't just throw him into the adult game right away. It has to be the proper transition. There's a record in between."

What do you think of JB's new tune? Share your reviews below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676443/justin-bieber-be-alright-new-song.jhtml

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Medvedev offers some reforms but demands stability (AP)

MOSCOW ? President Dmitry Medvedev responded to protests over the fraud-tainted election by proposing some reforms Thursday to liberalize Russia's political system, but sternly warned that the government won't allow "provocateurs and extremists" to threaten stability.

The opposition said the proposed changes were welcome but insufficient, vowing to keep their push for the Dec. 4 parliamentary vote to be rerun and election officials accused of violations to be punished.

Medvedev, a lame-duck leader speaking in his last state-of-the nation address before Russia's March 4 presidential election, said Russia "needs democracy, not chaos" and that the government would strongly resist foreign pressure.

The statement follows massive rallies against fraud in the Dec. 4 vote, in which the main Kremlin party, United Russia, lost a quarter of its seats. Opposition leaders and independent election monitors say United Russia only managed to retain its majority by fraud.

A rally in Moscow demanding a repeat vote and punishment for the officials involved was the largest show of discontent since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Another massive rally is set for this weekend.

The protests have dented the power of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and signaled that his bid to reclaim the presidency in next March's vote may not be as trouble-free as had been thought. He and Medvedev have said they planned to exchange places.

Both Putin and Medvedev, his loyal placeholder, have firmly rejected calls for a rerun, saying the vote reflected the people's will. Putin has accused the United States of fomenting the protests in order to weaken Russia and Medvedev has rejected U.S. criticism of the vote.

"We won't allow provocateurs and extremists to drag society into their adventures, and we won't allow any outside interference into our domestic affairs," Medvedev said Thursday.

While defending the vote results, Putin has suggested easing the tight controls on Russia's political life that he introduced while he was president from 2000 to 2008.

Putin said he would support relaxing the draconian rules of registration for political parties and restoring the direct elections of governors. Putin added, however, that the president would retain the power to approve gubernatorial candidates.

Medvedev repeated the pledge to return to direct elections of governors and spelled out Putin's promise to ease registration rules for political parties. He said a group of 500 people representing more than half of Russia's provinces would be allowed to register a party ? a significant simplification of the current arcane procedure that requires a party to have at least 45,000 members.

Medvedev also proposed reducing the number of signatures a candidate must collect to get on the presidential ballot from 2 million to 300,000. He also promised to ease rigid state control over TV, saying one of the three nationwide TV stations should be allowed to shape its coverage without government interference.

The opposition, however, would only be able to take advantage of the new procedures in the next election cycle.

"Medvedev's address is like an injection in an artificial limb," tweeted Oleg Kashin, a columnist at the Kommersant daily.

Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader, said Medvedev's proposals were welcome but not enough, adding that Saturday's rally will continue to push for the latest election to be voided and rerun.

"We wouldn't have heard any of these proposals if there hadn't been protests," Nemtsov said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

Vladimir Ryzhkov, whose liberal Parnas party had been denied registration, said the changes proposed by Medvedev were long overdue, but added they would mean little if the authorities continued to reject demands for a vote rerun.

On the Internet, many argued for keeping pressure on the government to bring more democratic changes. Over 39,000 already have signed up on Facebook for Saturday's rally.

"Well, they threw some bones to us," Elena Panfilova, head of Transparency International in Russia, said on Twitter. "Now we can either try to build something good out of them or demand the rest of the skeleton."

____

Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_president

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Mexico disbands entire police force in top port (AP)

VERACRUZ, Mexico ? A Mexican state plagued by drug violence has disbanded the entire police force in the major port city of Veracruz, and officials say the Navy will take over.

The Veracruz state government says it's part of an effort to root out corruption from law enforcement and start from zero in the city of Veracruz.

State spokeswoman Gina Dominguez said Wednesday 800 police officers and 300 administrative employees were laid off. At a press conference, she said they can still apply for state police jobs but must meet stricter standards.

Armed marines have barricaded police headquarters and Navy helicopters were flying above the city where 35 bodies 35 bodies were dumped in September. It was one of the worst gang attacks of Mexico's drug war.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_police_disbanded

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More powerful supercomputers? New device could bring optical information processing

ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2011) ? Researchers have created a new type of optical device small enough to fit millions on a computer chip that could lead to faster, more powerful information processing and supercomputers.

The "passive optical diode" is made from two tiny silicon rings measuring 10 microns in diameter, or about one-tenth the width of a human hair. Unlike other optical diodes, it does not require external assistance to transmit signals and can be readily integrated into computer chips.

The diode is capable of "nonreciprocal transmission," meaning it transmits signals in only one direction, making it capable of information processing, said Minghao Qi (pronounced Chee), an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University.

"This one-way transmission is the most fundamental part of a logic circuit, so our diodes open the door to optical information processing," said Qi, working with a team also led by Andrew Weiner, Purdue's Scifres Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The diodes are described in a paper to be published online Dec. 22 in the journal Science. The paper was written by graduate students Li Fan, Jian Wang, Leo Varghese, Hao Shen and Ben Niu, research associate Yi Xuan, and Weiner and Qi.

Although fiberoptic cables are instrumental in transmitting large quantities of data across oceans and continents, information processing is slowed and the data are susceptible to cyberattack when optical signals must be translated into electronic signals for use in computers, and vice versa.

"This translation requires expensive equipment," Wang said. "What you'd rather be able to do is plug the fiber directly into computers with no translation needed, and then you get a lot of bandwidth and security."

Electronic diodes constitute critical junctions in transistors and help enable integrated circuits to switch on and off and to process information. The new optical diodes are compatible with industry manufacturing processes for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors, or CMOS, used to produce computer chips, Fan said.

"These diodes are very compact, and they have other attributes that make them attractive as a potential component for future photonic information processing chips," she said.

The new optical diodes could make for faster and more secure information processing by eliminating the need for this translation. The devices, which are nearly ready for commercialization, also could lead to faster, more powerful supercomputers by using them to connect numerous processors together.

"The major factor limiting supercomputers today is the speed and bandwidth of communication between the individual superchips in the system," Varghese said. "Our optical diode may be a component in optical interconnect systems that could eliminate such a bottleneck."

Infrared light from a laser at telecommunication wavelength goes through an optical fiber and is guided by a microstructure called a waveguide. It then passes sequentially through two silicon rings and undergoes "nonlinear interaction" while inside the tiny rings. Depending on which ring the light enters first, it will either pass in the forward direction or be dissipated in the backward direction, making for one-way transmission. The rings can be tuned by heating them using a "microheater," which changes the wavelengths at which they transmit, making it possible to handle a broad frequency range.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Emil Venere.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Li Fan, Jian Wang, Leo T. Varghese, Hao Shen, Ben Niu, Yi Xuan, Andrew M. Weiner, and Minghao Qi. An All-Silicon Passive Optical Diode. Science, December 22, 2011 DOI: 10.1126/science.1214383

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/6uPYR5N4ZQU/111222152014.htm

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Jay Mohr joins the comedy film "Burt Wonderstone" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Jay Mohr has landed a role in "Burt Wonderstone," New Line's comedy starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Olivia Wilde, Steve Buscemi and James Gandolfini, TheWrap has learned.

The actor, comedian and "Last Comic Standing" host and executive producer will play Rick the Implausible, a magician.

New Line's movie begins shooting in January. It is about successful Las Vegas magician, Burt Wonderstone, whose partner dies in a risky stunt. After the death, Wonderstone, played by Carell, struggles to rediscover his love for magic and defeat a rival magician.

Don Scardino, who has directed more than 70 episodes of "30 Rock" and many episodes of "Law and Order," "Hope & Faith" and others, is directing.

Jason Reitman wrote the most recent version of the script.

Mohr played Bob Sugar in 1996's "Jerry Maguire," Marty in 2005's "Are We There Yet?," Sgt. Mike Clady in the 2008 film "Street Kings" and Billy in 2010's "Hereafter."

He also starred as Gary Brooks in the 2010 CBS series "Gary Unmarried."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/film_nm/us_jaymohr

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Atomic refrigerators ? now those are cool

The coolest things of the future might be created using what are essentially refrigerators that work on the atomic level, researchers say.

The level of control over matter that scientists are now developing to create ultra-cold objects could also be used to create entirely new states of matter and super-powerful quantum computers, researchers added.

Scientists routinely cool matter to a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero, the coldest temperature theoretically possible, which corresponds to minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-273.15 Celsius). Still, they would like to chill matter to even-colder temperatures to better understand other extreme phenomena, such as superconductivity, where electrons zip without resistance through objects.

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Now physicists reveal a new way to create ultra-cold matter, with an idea similar to how fridges work. Refrigerators pump a fluid known as a refrigerant around the area they are cooling. This fluid sucks up heat. The refrigerant is then pumped someplace where it dumps this heat.

Chill atoms
First the researchers cooled atoms of rubidium with lasers. When set up properly, these beams can force atoms to glow in a way that makes them emit more energy than they absorb, thus making them colder.

When the atoms gave off light as a result of being hit with the laser, this exerted a slight pressure on them. The scientists took advantage of that pressure to control the atoms, either keeping them in place or moving them around, sometimes creating collisions.

The researchers then made the atoms even colder with evaporative cooling, in which matter gets cooled in much the same way as a cup of coffee loses its warmth ? the hottest atoms are allowed to evaporate, leaving behind the colder ones.

Finally, the researchers used webs of lasers known as "optical lattices." When two atoms are made to collide within the optical lattice, the excitations of one suppress the excitations of the other, a phenomenon called "orbital excitation blockade." The excited atoms are then removed from the system ? taking away entropy, the amount of energy available for work ? thus causing the remaining atoms to chill down.

In experiments with rubidium atoms in optical lattices, the physicists successfully demonstrated they could remove entropy from atoms via orbital excitation blockade. In principle, they can reach temperatures 10- to 100-times colder than currently achieved, to temperatures of tenths-to-hundredths-of-a-billionth of a degree above absolute zero. However, they likely need lasers of longer wavelengths to do so in real life, said researcher Markus Greiner, a physicist at Harvard University.

Exotic matter
Their research could help "create exotic new states of matter, ones never seen before," Greiner told LiveScience. "Who knows what the properties of these materials might be?"

The ability to create perfect arrays of atoms could also be "a great starting point for a general-purpose quantum computer," Greiner said. Quantum computers exploit the bizarre nature of quantum physics ? such as how subatomic particles can effectively spin in two opposite directions at the same time ? to run calculations exponentially faster than normal computers for certain problems.

Research into quantum computers has mostly been on devices designed to each crunch one specific kind of problem, but optical lattices could lead to general-purpose quantum computers that, like modern personal computers, can tackle many different kinds of problems.

The scientists detailed their findings in the Thursday issue of the journal Nature.

? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755781/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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The Gingrich Dive (talking-points-memo)

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Sen. Koch quit over 'inappropriate' relationship (Star Tribune)

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Smaller turnout at 2nd round of Moscow protests

With Yabloko party flags in the background, Russian protesters listen to a speaker during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

With Yabloko party flags in the background, Russian protesters listen to a speaker during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian protesters with white ribbons, a symbol of protest, gather together during a rally against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

With Yabloko party flags in the background, and a balloon bearing the words "They cheated me", Russian protesters gesture during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

With Yabloko party flags in the background, Russian protesters shout slogans during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Leader of the liberal Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky gestures while speaking during a rally to protest against alleged vote rigging at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday on a square in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against the fraud-tainted vote, and demonstrations took place in at least two other cities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW (AP) ? About 1,000 demonstrators demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections gathered Saturday in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests against Russia's fraud-tainted vote, a comparatively small crowd that underlined the challenge to the opposition of keeping up public pressure on authorities.

The turnout was far below the nationwide protests last Saturday in at least 60 cities, including a dramatic gathering of tens of thousands in Moscow, the largest show of public anger in post-Soviet Russia. Demonstrations took place in at least two other cities on Saturday.

The protests follow the Dec. 4 national parliamentary elections, in which the ruling United Russia party lost a significant share of its seats in the State Duma, though it retained a narrow majority. Opposition forces claim even that was unearned, supported by reports from local and international observers of widespread vote-count irregularities and outright fraud.

Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the Yabloko party that failed to make it into the parliament and staged Saturday's rally, said it had filed hundreds of appeals to protest the vote results. "We need a new election law and new, honest elections," he told the rally at Bolotnaya Square, on an island in the Moscow River a few hundred meters (yards) from the Kremlin.

The combination of fraud and United Russia's declining fortunes galvanized opposition groups that have been repressed under Putin's 12 years of rule. After several nights of unauthorized protests that police broke up harshly, Moscow authorities showed unprecedented largesse in granting permission to hold several large protests last weekend.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin this week effectively rejected calls to rerun the election, declaring that its result reflected the people's will. The new Duma is to have its opening session on Wednesday.

President Dmitry Medvedev, who is stepping aside to allow Putin to run for a new term in the Kremlin, warned Saturday against attempts to "delegitimize" the government, saying it will mean the collapse of the state. Like Putin earlier this week, he promised to modernize Russia's political system, adding that the "old model has exhausted itself."

Medvedev on Friday had a phone call with President Barack Obama, who raised questions about the disputed election and welcomed his promise to investigate whether fraud had occurred, the White House said.

Taking a defiant note at a meeting with United Russia activists Saturday, Medvedev said he had told Obama Russia doesn't care about the U.S. assessment of the vote and that the U.S. criticism was unacceptable.

"When we hear lectures in the worst traditions of the Cold War, it causes indignation," Medvedev said.

Unimpressed by the government's vague promises of liberalization, the opposition aims to keep up the pressure with a series of protests, and is placing much hope on a Moscow rally Dec. 24 that organizers believe will attract at least 50,000 people.

Protesters on Saturday repeated demands of last weekend's protest, calling for a repeat election, the punishment of those responsible for vote fraud and the release of political prisoners. Speakers angrily dismissed Putin's comment this week in which he claimed protest leaders were acting at the West's behest and sarcastically said he thought the white ribbons many protesters wear as an emblem were condoms.

"He was calling us condoms financed by the State Department, crooks that are trying to steal the country, and I think that this is the reaction that shows he was scared," said Ilya Ponomarev of the Left Front opposition movement

"We are speaking here against vote fraud, which is a political HIV," Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin said, citing an inscription Yabloko printed on white ribbons handed out to protesters.

Russian news media also reported about 500 people held a protest in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, several hundred gathered in Yekaterinburg in the Urals and about 100 tried for an unauthorized rally in Samara, where four demonstrators were arrested.

The wave of protest comes less than three months before Putin is to run for a new term as president, the post he held in 2000-2008, and indicates his return to the Kremlin may be less easy than initially assumed for the man who has dominated Russia over the past dozen years.

On Saturday, the Communist Party nominated its leader Gennady Zyuganov to run for president. Zyuganov forced Boris Yeltsin into a run-off in the 1996 presidential election and although the Communists' support has declined since then, he could attract a protest vote against Putin.

_____

Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

(This version corrects attribution of "scared" quote to Ponomarev.)

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-17-EU-Russia-Politics/id-370926f8073043b28071959e9be4d7f1

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