Europe crisis "serious risk" to outlook: Treasury (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Europe's debt crisis has deepened and become more entrenched, posing a serious risk to the economic outlook, a senior Treasury official told lawmakers on Friday.

Mark Sobel, Treasury deputy assistant secretary for international affairs, said in prepared testimony before the House of Representatives Oversight subcommittee that the crisis has sharply weakened Europe's economic prospects for next year.

"Growth in the euro area is projected by most analysts to be negative this quarter and into early 2012, with weak growth persisting in 2012," Sobel said.

He added that Europe's problems were a "serious risk for the U.S. economic outlook and said that President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner were "actively engaged" with European counterparts to help them deal with the crisis.

Sobel also repeated Obama administration's views that stronger European countries must do more to contain the crisis on their own.

"As European countries act to develop critical economic reforms and to strengthen fiscal governance, Europe must also continue mobilizing the requisite resources to put in place a strong and credible firewall commensurate with the scale of the challenge," he said. It must do so quickly, with force and determination."

While the International Monetary Fund can play a role in easing the crisis, "the IMF cannot substitute for a strong and credible European firewall and response," he added.

(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/bs_nm/us_eurozone_usa_treasury

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Samsung Releases Extended Battery Bundle (With Cover) For Your New Galaxy Nexus

The Galaxy Nexus is a beautiful phone, no doubt about it. That gorgeous 4.65-inch Super AMOLED Plus display paired with LTE support and a fresh build of ICS thrown in there for good measure is about as good as it gets. But the same things that make this phone great — its massive screen and LTE radio — are also the things that will leave you screaming at it at 4p.m. on a Thursday, when it's completely dead. But Samsung has prepared for this, launching an extended battery pack/cover bundle specifically for the Galaxy Nexus.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qmwvb166CkA/

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Maytha Alhassen: Remixing Public Diplomacy: American "Hip Hop Jam Sessions" in Post-Revolution Tunisia

This past summer, in the heat of the Arab revolution movements, I joined American hip hop collective Remarkable Current (RC), Tunisian hip hop artists and youth activists for the remaining days of the tour--a tour that occurred only a couple of weeks after a national curfew was lifted and 24 hour sit-ins in the Tunis's famous Casbah took place. My experience in Tunis has taught me that the U.S. should reexamine its diplomatic approach: one that challenges the notion of top-down diplomacy and includes youth in the dialogue. After all, it was the Tunisian youth, from a self-immolated 26 year-old street vendor to a jailed rapper to those who are still organizing sit-ins and food-banking for Libyan refugees, who were the architects and infrastructure builders of the thawret al-ahrar (revolution of the free) or thawret al-karama (revolution of dignity) and are demanding political incorporation into its democratic transition. And hip hop (music, break-dancing, graffiti-ing, etc), a shared global language of youth culture, as demonstrated by the inspirational relationship building between RC and Tunisian youth, offers a genuine medium for information exchange and developing transnational solidarity.

Hip hop music has emerged as the youth's national anthem for the Dignity movements blazing across regional boundaries in the Arab world. As the era of the 60s protest movements in the U.S. proved with songs like "We Shall Overcome" and "Can't Turn Me 'Round," there seems be a natural link between music and political movements. This has been the case throughout Arab history as well. Egypt's beloved "Dark Nightingale" Abdel Halim Hafez's "High Dam" recounted his country's struggle over colonialism that led to the completion of the Aswan Dam in 1964, ("This isn't a story about the Dam/It's a story about the struggle behind the Dam... It's the story of a war/Between us and colonialism"). Lebanon's national hero Fairouz crooned similar allegiant ballads but also used the popularity of her voice to protest civil war strife by silencing it during the senseless bloodshed. In some cases, governments, as has happened in Syria, have co-opted hip hop's popularity by supporting and exclusively giving national TV airtime to artists with pro-regime lyrics. An interesting phenomenon developing in the Arab world is the transnational musical productions forged between Arab and American artists, especially African Americans responsible for pioneering hip hop.

"Remarkable Current has more of an impact on Tunisia than Secretary Hillary Clinton," asserted Tunisian youth activist Achref Aouadi (I-Watch Tunisia). Can practioners of hip hop aid in ameliorating the U.S.'s sullied reputation with Tunisians? Does American hip hop collective RC's focus on oneness and positive, uplifting messages provide a 'bab' (door, opening) for critical engagement? How do those skeptical of American involvement, critical of the Western response to the Tunisian revolution receive a U.S. State Department sponsored concert tour?

U.S. embassy Tunisia's Alum Coordinator Aouadi, one of the organizers of the Embassy's May 27-June 3 hip hop concert tour featuring RC and local Tunisian rappers, seems to think so. The grad student, who is a passionate proponent of "people to people diplomacy" and deeply embedded in the Tunisian hip hop scene, explained the basic formula: The secretary meets with elites and RC meets and connects with the locals. For Aouadi, Secretary Clinton's visit last March to meet with Tunisia's interim regime paled in comparison to the critical impact RC's visit had with youth. He credits this "people to people diplomacy" through the soundtrack to the Tunisian thawra, hip hop, for creating the possibility of incalculably meaningful and enduring exchange between the U.S. and Tunisia.

The U.S. lost significant credibility with Tunisian civil society the moment the administration tiptoed around the illegitimacy and impetuosity of Ben Ali's regime. When President Obama prodded Ben Ali's forces to exercise "restraint" instead of condemning the excessive dictatorial violence unleashed on protesters, it left a sting still felt to this day. As such, clarion calls by American public officials to "congratulate" and offer their "support" to a Tunisia in transition has fallen on skeptical ears.

Remarkable Current, the musical collective founded by Anas Canon launched a cultural envoy and musical exchange program called "Hip Hop Ambassadors." The initiative is consciously modeled as a 21st century update to an earlier century's "Jazz Ambassadors" run by the State Department that emerged out of the Cold War context of the mid-1950s to the 1970s. Led by jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Quincy Jones, the productive outcome of these tours were concerts and "jam sessions" of intercultural dialogue and musical exchange. In accordance with this mission, RC intentionally recruits American musicians who are not only eminent in their fields, but also ones who "exude a loving spirit and a disposition of universal inclusiveness." Canon explains, ?When walking on to the stage or visiting an orphanage, you don't have to speak the local language to communicate that you are there to share yourself with them. People can feel when you are as excited to meet them as they are to meet you." Thanks to modern technology these meetings end up in collaborative endeavors.

For example, Tunisian rapper El General, who lyrically scribed the unofficial national anthem of thawret al-karama "Rais Lebled" and one of those suspicious of Western intentions, surprisingly agreed to collaborate with RC on a track produced by Canon, a melodic and linguistic version of Arabic and English stylings called "Pick Up the Pieces." Ranked by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2011, El General was the symbolic representation of youth grievances with the state and the drastic politically repressive measures it takes to silence those critiques.

The "hip hop jam session" between African American hip hop musicians and Sfax native El General is at that the core of the philosophy undergirding RC's hip hop diplomacy: critical cross-cultural exchange and dialogue achieved through musical collaborations. In preceding days, RC collaborated with Tunis-based rap group Empire on a beat and hook written by Canon who was inspired by the self-immolated marginalized fruit and vegetable stand vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, the culminative fire to the keg powder of years of escalating organized opposition to the regime. The hook celebrates the profundity of his sacrifice: "Hey Bouazizi, hey Bouazizi, set it off, set it off one time because a young man's spark will make an old man fly." The track, "A Young Man's Spark (Bouazizi)," along with "Pick Up the Pieces" have already been playing on Tunisia's national radio station Radio Mosaique and are available for free digital download online.

At the close of their last show, which ended with concert goers demonstrating their adeptness in the art of break-dancing and (even) salsa dancing on stage to RC's hip hop rendition of James Brown's "I Feel Good," I was reminded of Aouadi's strong investment in the power of people to people diplomacy. How many of these youth would have an opportunity to interact with Secretary Clinton or Vice President Biden? How many would even watch a televised conference with these U.S. public officials?

From the likes of Aouadi and other grad-educated activists to Bouazizi and dissenting interior dwellers to that of state censored and harassed rappers like El General, these concert attendees are the architects and construction workers of the revolution. If these youth voices, some of the lead organizers of civil society and new Tunisia, are marginalized and political elites are once again viewed as the primary and sole representation of state politics, we risk supporting the re-creation of the conditions that produced a Ben Ali. We also risk continuing a legacy with a disillusioned Arab populace of questionable American credibility.

My generation stands to learn from the enfranchisement blueprint designed by Tunisian youth (ones taking cues from the Civil Rights movement). Americans of all generations stand to learn about Tunisians beyond their historic revolution. How much did we know about Tunisia before December 2010? And what do we know about them now? What are the hopes and dreams of those Tunisians striving for "karama" (dignity)? The interaction between youth and envoys like RC artists through a shared global language (hip hop and social media technologies) may be a "bab" for this bilateral political and cultural education.

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Follow Maytha Alhassen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mayalhassen

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maytha-alhassen/remarkable-current-tunisia_b_1151966.html

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Review: Samsung's Galaxy Nexus a sweet smartphone (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? As fans of Google's Android mobile software well know, each new version is named after a sugary treat, such as Gingerbread or Honeycomb. Android is about to get even sweeter with Ice Cream Sandwich ? a smooth, feature-rich operating system that will run first on the delectable Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

The combination of Google's software and Samsung's hardware makes the Galaxy Nexus one of the best candidates to compete with Apple's latest iPhone, though its price is steep. It will be available Thursday in the U.S. for $299 with a two-year Verizon Wireless contract.

Like the previous phone in the Nexus line, the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus was jointly developed by Google Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. It features a slim frame with a large, curved glass screen that's comfortable for chatting with friends and excellent for watching videos. There are 32 gigabytes of built-in storage space on the Verizon version of the phone, but no external slot for a microSD memory card.

The screen, a pocket-busting 4.65 inches at the diagonal, makes the iPhone's 3.5-inches look diminutive. And despite the size, the Galaxy Nexus manages to weigh just 4.8 ounces, slightly less than Apple's offering.

On it, videos and Web pages looked crisp and bright, with rich colors. I started watching a video during testing ? an HD copy of "The Help" that I rented from Google's Android Market ? and had to force myself to break away to test other features of the device.

With the latest version of Android under the hood, the Galaxy Nexus is packed with new and improved features. Many of them are great; others are simply great in theory.

Overall, the software looks fresher and less cluttered. The virtual "buttons" that usually sit at the bottom of the screen have been redesigned. There's still a "home" and a "back" button, but no "menu" button to pull up various options within an app. Instead, there's now a "recent apps" button that shows what you've been doing lately on the phone.

Another neat change: The buttons are completely virtual, so they change directions when you flip the phone sideways and disappear when you're viewing photos or videos.

Other changes to Android include an overhaul of its virtual keyboard, meant to make it easier to type without messing up ? something I've always had trouble with on the stock Android keyboard. I was often able to type more accurately than in the past, but sometimes still ended up with unintended words in my messages.

The Android browser and Gmail are updated, too. Gmail's new functions include the ability to search emails while offline, while the browser is zippier and has a "request desktop" option so you can check out webpages in their non-truncated desktop version.

One new feature that falls into the "great in theory" category is Face Unlock, which uses facial-recognition technology to unlock the phone from standby mode. To set it up, you take a picture of your face with the phone. Then, all you have to do to unlock the phone is stare at the screen after you press the power button.

Most of the time it didn't work, though, probably because the phone couldn't recognize my face from certain angles. I was also able to fool it by holding up a shot of my face on an iPhone. So much for security.

Ice Cream Sandwich also has Android Beam, which lets you share such content as a Web page, map or video between two Android phones by bringing the backs of the phones close together. It only works with phones that have this Android software and near-field communication technology, though, so unless you and your friend both buy the Galaxy Nexus you'll be out of luck at launch.

More immediately useful was the phone's 5-megapixel camera, which is the snappiest I've seen on any Android phone. There was almost no shutter lag between shots, even when I had just turned the camera on.

Still, I would have preferred a higher-resolution sensor ? 8-megapixel cameras are quickly becoming common on smartphones. In addition, photos I took could have been brighter, though this can be improved on somewhat by using some of the available editing options, including numerous color filters and adjustable contrast options.

Like the iPhone 4S and some other high-end smartphones, the Galaxy Nexus can record high-definition videos in 1080p ? the best resolution you can get on a consumer camera. I had some fun taking sunset videos with a time-lapse feature, and there are some goofy filming effects to play around with, too.

And yes, you can make calls on the Galaxy Nexus. Its thin body and curved screen make it comfortable to hold against your ear, and calls generally sounded good.

Sadly, high-speed networks guzzle battery power like a milkshake, so I wasn't able to spend a ton of time using the device on a single battery charge.

The phone Google loaned me to test was a version that works with AT&T or T-Mobile, so I couldn't test its speed or battery life with the carrier actually selling it in the U.S., Verizon, or with its high-speed 4G network.

Using both T-Mobile's standard 3G and speedier HSPA+ networks, at least, I got about three hours and 15 minutes out of the Galaxy Nexus for surfing the Web, streaming a movie, sending instant messages, chatting on the phone and other activities. The phone got quite warm with all this use. Over Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network, it's possible that the phone's battery would drain even faster if you're doing a lot of downloading.

Another bummer: Verizon is blocking the Galaxy Nexus from supporting Google Wallet, which is supposed to allow the phone to be used to buy items in some stores by tapping it to payment terminals.

Generally, though, the Galaxy Nexus is a well-rounded smartphone that serves up a noticeably freshened-up version of Android with sleek hardware. Delicious, indeed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_digital_life_tech_test_samsung_galaxy_nexus

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Eagles, Tom Petty to perform at 2012 Jazz Fest (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? The Eagles, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Foo Fighters and John Mayer are among the headliners to perform at next year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

It will be the first year the Eagles and Tom Petty play Jazz Fest, the outdoor music event that features hundreds of Louisiana artists in such genres as jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, Cajun and zydeco. The festival is accented by national acts that in 2012 will include the Zac Brown Band, Herbie Hancock, My Morning Jacket, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, Jill Scott and Florence & the Machine.

In all, hundreds of acts will perform on roughly a dozen stages over two weekends from April 27 through May 6 at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. Roughly 85 percent of the lineup is from Louisiana, including New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas, singer-pianist Allen Toussaint and jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain.

"This festival really offers the best of both worlds," said Quint Davis, the festival's producer. "The heart and soul of the festival is all the Louisiana artists, but added to that is the very best of all these other genres."

Davis said it was a treat to land both the Eagles and Tom Petty the same year, especially considering the Eagles aren't on tour.

"They've been on our most in demand list for years," Davis said. "They are both legendary groups that you hope someday you can get. To have both in the same year and on top of that have the Foo Fighters, it's amazing that they've all come together in one year."

Next year's Jazz Fest will include a 50th anniversary celebration of Preservation Hall, the French Quarter venue founded in 1961 to protect and honor New Orleans jazz. It's also home to the world-renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The celebration will include a concert the second weekend of the festival, Davis said. Performers for the event will be released next year, he said.

The Mardi Gras Indians will be given an entire pavilion to showcase their photos, costumes, and music, Davis said.

Davis said the HBO television series "Treme" brought national attention to the Mardi Gras Indians, so next year the festival plans to include a lecture series, costume demonstrations and a photo display showing the history of the Mardi Gras Indian culture in New Orleans.

"`Treme' was probably the first national look at the Mardi Gras Indians," Davis said. "Millions of people saw that for the first time, and it generated interest. It made more people aware."

The lineup will include performances by the Mardi Gras Indians as well as the city's popular brass bands.

"We have music that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world, and that's an amazing thing to be able to say," Davis said. "It's a unique birthright that nobody else can claim."

Tickets for the 2012 festival go on sale Wednesday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_en_mu/us_jazz_fest_lineup

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iPhone Live 184: iPhone 4S 2 months later

Rene, Seth, and Jon Fingas of Electronista talk iPhone 4S 2 months later, Galaxy Nexus competition, Nokia hipsters, iOS 5.1 beta 2, PhotoStream, fake iPhone strings, Netflix, Microsoft apps, newnew Twitter, UI, and more. This is iPhone Live! Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video Subscribe via RSS:...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/S-xo5z7Zb3I/story01.htm

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CEOs see slow, uneven recovery: Roundtable (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Chief executives expect the U.S. economy to continue its slow, uneven recovery over the next few months and are concerned about the rising costs of raw materials and the expense of complying with regulations, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

One in four CEOs polled by the Business Roundtable cited materials as their main cost worry, followed by the cost of complying with regulations, which worried 24 percent.

"There are old fashioned regular business pressures. Commodity prices, oil prices, challenges with health care costs," said James McNerney, CEO of Boeing Co (BA.N) , who serves as chairman of the Roundtable.

The group's quarterly CEO Economic Outlook index was little changed. It inched up to 77.9, from 77.6 in the third quarter. Any number above 50 represents growth. They estimated real U.S. gross domestic product would rise 2 percent next year.

"We continue to see strengthened fundamentals in American business but it's combined with an uneven and slow recovery and reflects continued uncertainty by CEOs over the next six months," McNerney said on a conference call with reporters.

"We're right at the point where the economy is growing but not enough to offset productivity and create jobs," McNerney said.

Of the Business Roundtable CEOs polled, 35 percent said they expected to add jobs in the United States over the next six months, down from 36 percent who expected that in October. Sixty-eight percent expected their companies' sales to rise in the next six months, up from 65 percent last quarter.

Corporate America has taken a cautious but generally positive view of 2012, despite the worries posed by the European debt crisis. General Electric Co (GE.N) on Tuesday forecast double-digit percentage growth in profit next year, and DuPont (DD.N) said earnings per share could rise 12 to 17 percent next year.

The Roundtable, which represents businesses that collectively generate $6 trillion in annual revenue, surveyed its members between October 31 and November 18.

(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston, editing by Dave Zimmerman and Gerald E. McCormick)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_roundtable

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