Britney Spears: 30 Videos for 30 Years
Photo: Jive

Voting is now open for MTV News’ Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years!

It’s up to Britney fans and all MTV.com readers to vote in the first round, where we have pitted 30 of Britney’s iconic videos against each other bracket-style to battle it out for the highest honor of being named the Best Britney Video Ever, just in time for Spears’ 30th birthday December 2.

The first round of voting is open until Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., at which point the 30 videos will be narrowed down to the top 16. You can vote as many times as you wish and campaign as much as you see fit for your favorite videos to move on to the next round of voting.

Will the classic ” … Baby One More Time” go all the way? Or are we still intoxicated by “Toxic”? MTV News correspondents will weigh in with their picks, alongside celebrities and Britney experts alike.

Since 30 videos is an unusual number to balance a tournament bracket, we have automatically pushed forward two of Britney’s VMA-winning videos videos — “Piece of Me” and “Till the World Ends” — to the second round, where they will no longer be safe from elimination.

Head over to Britney30.MTV.com and vote for your favorite music video in MTV News’ Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years.

Don’t forget about the lesser-known videos that may not have received much airtime, including “My Prerogative” and “Do Somethin’,” since there’s something unique about each clip. Make your votes count — and remember, you are voting for your favorite videos, not songs!

Voting for round two begins at 7 a.m. Wednesday and will last all the way through Thanksgiving weekend, closing Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

As of Monday, November 28, we will begin with eight videos, then four, then two, until we announce the winner Friday, December 2 — Britney’s actual 30th birthday!

Start voting and keep up with us at MTVNews.com through December to see which clip reigns victorious.

What’s your favorite Britney video? Make sure to vote at Britney30.MTV.com or the MTV Newsroom blog, and share your picks in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674712/britney-spears-30-birthday-video-tournament.jhtml

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A memorial service will be held at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater for head coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna, alumnus Olin Branstetter and his wife, Paula.

Branstetter was flying the single-engine Piper Cherokee when it crashed late Thursday afternoon near Perryville, about 45 miles west of Little Rock.

Budke and Serna’s deaths come more than a decade after two men’s basketball players and eight others associated with that program were killed in a January 2001 plane crash in Colorado.

“Certainly, it’s a little early, we’re still kind of recovering from this, but we’ll certainly look at the policy,” spokesman Gary Shutt said Sunday. “Any time you have a terrible accident like this, definitely you look at the policy.”

Changes were made to the travel policy after that tragedy. There was a new rule requiring two pilots to be on board for all OSU travel involving student athletes and a requirement that team aircraft be powered by two or more turbine engines. But Shutt said the policy doesn’t apply to recruiting trips for coaches, who were allowed to make travel arrangements at their own discretion.

Budke and Serna were flying to Little Rock to watch two prospective recruits play in a game, two days before the Cowgirls were scheduled to play two weekend games, Shutt said.

“Obviously the high school season coincides with the college season, so if you want to go see players, you need to have the flexibility and ability to make quick trips,” Shutt said.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, already has ruled out weather as a factor. Investigators were still trying to determine whether the pilot radioed for help before the plane went down, NTSB spokesman Terry Williams said.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, Branstetter passed a medical examination, was certified to be a commercial pilot and was flight-instrument rated.

“Every pilot, regardless of age, is required to have a medical exam a minimum of every two years, and every pilot must also do a check ride with a certified instructor every two years,” FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. “That means you have to both prove that you’re medically fit to fly, as well as ride with someone who can sign off on your abilities to handle the duties that come with being a pilot.”

Shutt said it was his understanding that Branstetter hadn’t taken coaches on any other flights before Thursday’s crash. Branstetter, a former state senator, was an Oklahoma State University alumnus and donated to scholarships at the school, Shutt said.

The Cowgirls were scheduled to play Grambling State on Saturday and Texas-Arlington on Sunday, but those games were canceled.

Associate head coach Jim Littell has been named interim head coach. The next game is set for this coming Saturday.

“The intent is to resume the season at some point,” Shutt said. “(Team officials) will assess things and move forward as quickly as they can.”

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-21-Fatal%20Plane%20Crash-Coaches%20Killed/id-c13cbc71acb6443cab13ddfb78746ff2

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Rihanna performs on “X Factor UK”
Photo: itv

Rihanna seems to be making trouble everywhere she goes these days. On Sunday night, she accepted her American Music Award for Favorite R&B/Soul Album remotely from the U.K., where she was performing on “The X Factor.” And part of her ensemble for that performance had heads turning.

She donned a demure plaid dress and clunky punk shoes with writing scrawled all over them, and one phrase on the footwear had some people up in arms. According to The Telegraph, the words “F— Off” were written on Ri’s shoes. While the offensive statement may have left audiences a bit shocked, a spokesperson for the show played down the controversy.

“There were no close-up shots of Rihanna’s shoes,” the spokesperson said. “We believe the performance was suitable.”

Rihanna caused a similar stir last December when she appeared on the British reality program scantily clad in a provocative outfit.

It’s not just the Brits that Rihanna is making blush. According to Pressparty, Rihanna’s “We Found Love” video has been banned from being played before 10 p.m. in France. The Officials at the Supreme Audiovisual Council of France have deemed the video, which includes drug use, sex and domestic violence, inappropriate for viewing before that hour.

The video’s director, Melina Matsoukas, recently defended the video’s imagery when she spoke to MTV News. “We love, obviously, to do provocative imagery … we always try to definitely push the limits,” Matsoukas said. “I think because, in the end, it’s not really at all about domestic violence. It’s really just about it being toxic, and they’re on this drug trip and that definitely plays a part, but I think it’s also about being triumphant over those weaknesses, and she leaves him. It’s not trying to glorify that type of relationship. The bad parts of it, that’s what you don’t want. In the end, her leaving, it represents her getting that out of her life. The drugs and the addiction and the toxic — that’s what brings her downfall and brings a lot of harm.”

Rihanna’s video for “S&M,” also directed by Matsoukas, was banned for using provocative imagery when it was released back in February.

Rihanna drops her new album, Talk That Talk, a grinding party record full of provocative lyrics, this week. “We Found Love” is the first single off the record.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674742/rihanna-x-factor-uk-shoe.jhtml

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The University of California campuses have a long history with free speech, with UC Berkeley serving as a symbol of the student movement and Civil Rights movement in the 1960′s. Even the architecture of newer UC campuses, like UC Irvine, integrated in facets to account for the turbulence of the protests in the 1960′s (There is a reason Aldrich Park is surrounded by Ring Road. It can be easily infiltrated from all sides if a protest occurs). The public university particularly invites itself to serve as a locus for the exercise of protest, peaceful and otherwise.

The First Amendment is not absolute. As such, many public institutions rely on the progeny of cases relating to the “time, place and manner” in which free speech can be exercised. Some schools have implemented “free speech zones” or in my time at UC Irvine, space had to be reserved from the Dean of Students to table on our campus. Amplification was also limited to particular times of the day, primarily the lunch hour. These measures are taken with the intent to avoid arguments over “prime” tabling spots on campus or competing events “out amplifying” one another.

Yet, this type of management can go too far, and at times, it did during my time at UC Irvine. Where this management of a “peaceful” campus environment has gone to the extreme has been at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, arresting, jostling, abusing, pepper spraying and generally criminalizing the exercise of speech on these campuses.

It cannot be a surprise students are protesting. Amongst one of the protest messages is the rise in fees at the University of California. These protests and awareness efforts have been going on since 2002, when the first major fee increases were put in place by the UC Regents during a Christmas break (I would know, I was there at UCLA when it happened). It was only a matter of time when students would come to the conclusion that enough was enough. Combine this with the other societal problems our nation is facing, and it is easy to deduce that these times are ripe for protest.

It is understandable that a bullhorn outside of Organic Chemistry would likely disturb class. But these actual laboratories are not the only laboratories at the university; in fact, our nation’s universities are supposed to be laboratories in and of themselves, allowing students to explore their education and interests. Part of this exploration is developing ideology, exploring politics and coming to conclusions about the larger world. This can include a variety of endeavors in college, including becoming passionate about issues and exercising one’s First Amendment rights as an expression of such.

The UC crest reads upon it, “Let there be light.” The UC must allow space for its students to express their opinions and raise their voices. If they do not, there are plenty of alumni, lawyers particularly, willing to step in and help them do so.

?

Follow Christina Gagnier on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gagnier

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-gagnier/uc-davis-pepper-spray_b_1102944.html

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Regis Philbin Signs Off After 28 Years (VIDEOS)

Regis Philbin left his television show today after 28 years with a touching final show filled with celebrities such as Katie Couric, Donald Trump, Tony [...]

Regis Philbin Signs Off After 28 Years (VIDEOS) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2011/11/18/regis-philbin-signs-off-after-28-years-videos/

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“I’ll arrive on Wednesday afternoon,” Michael Woodford told Reuters by telephone, adding he expected the Japanese authorities to ensure his safety while in the country.

Woodford, a Briton, fled Japan after being fired on October 14, and said earlier this month he didn’t think it would be safe for him to return to the country. The scandal has raised fears, denied by Olympus, that the deals could be linked to “anti-social forces,” a euphemism in Japan for organized crime.

Woodford will meet with Japanese police, prosecutors and officials of the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, the Japanese financial market regulator.

Olympus is under investigation after admitting hiding investment losses for decades and using payments linked to acquisitions to aid the cover-up.

Those payments included a $687 million fee paid to obscure financial advisers for Olympus’s $2.2 billion purchase of British medical equipment firm Gyrus in 2008. The fee is the world’s biggest, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The Nikkei business daily said earlier Olympus may sell assets to help pay down debt under a plan aimed at keeping the support of its banks. Their backing is vital because the firm is relatively highly geared and is expected to have to make some hefty writedowns after its accounts are put straight.

Katsunori Nagayasu, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association and president of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the country’s top bank, said it was the responsibility of main creditors to show support for a company in trouble.

“But, if a company is found to have problems, like the involvement of anti-social forces, banks are not able to give support,” he told reporters.

Olympus released a presentation shown to creditors on Wednesday that included a simulation of how it could cut its interest-bearing debt by a third over 3 years to 408 billion yen ($5.3 billion), and still have cash left in the bank.

SMALLER HOLDING

Olympus’ top shareholder, Nippon Life Insurance, has cut its stake in the firm to 5.11 percent from 8.18 percent due to the uncertainties, but will remain an investor as it believes Olympus has a strong core business and technology.

“Our basic stance is that we will continue to support Olympus due to the company’s high technological strength in its core business and because it is in the public’s interest,” said Akira Tsuzuki, an official at Nippon Life.

Olympus, which employs nearly 40,000 people, is the global leader in endoscopes, and its optical technology may have defense applications.

Shares in Olympus, which have lost 70 percent of their value since the scandal broke last month, see-sawed in heavy trade on Thursday, surging by as much as 18 percent then giving up almost all those gains to end 0.95 percent up at 747 yen.

Investors are betting the firm will keep its coveted Tokyo Stock Exchange listing, though executives deemed responsible for the scandal may face criminal charges.

Fumiyuki Nakanishi, strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, said banks were major shareholders as well as lenders to Olympus and none would benefit from a delisting, which would effectively cut the firm off from equity capital markets.

“The big shareholders are the banks. They’re the ones that are going to suffer if Olympus shares turn into scrap paper,” said Nakanishi, noting Olympus still needed to meet a December 14 deadline for publishing its half-year accounts.

TO DELIST, OR NOT?

Olympus shares are on a watchlist as a possible prelude to delisting, which would be automatic if it misses next month’s deadline. The company has reaffirmed it would announce its earnings by that date.

The bourse can still delist the shares depending on the scope of past misstatements. But a securities watchdog source has said it might recommend the company be fined, a move that could decrease the risk of delisting.

“Institutions and funds are selling their Olympus holdings, but as long as the company looks as if it might avoid delisting, hedge funds and speculator traders will keep buying it back, looking for short-term gains,” said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.

But, he added, “the rising trend could turn around quickly” if the company looked like it might miss the deadline.

ANNUAL PROFIT

In a sign that Olympus expects its core businesses to keep ticking over, it showed creditors a tentative operating profit forecast of 35.6 billion yen for the year to March – some way below a previous forecast of 50 billion yen announced in August, but about the same as last year’s profit.

Olympus said it may need to erase about 33.4 billion yen ($434 million) in goodwill related to its Gyrus acquisition when it revises past earnings statements. An independent panel commissioned by Olympus is still looking into this.

If this were the only revision, such an amount would put a big dent in the company’s equity, but not destroy it.

At Wednesday’s meeting, which involved about 100 bankers, two major creditors — Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) — said they would continue to support the firm, multiple sources told Reuters.

Olympus’ interest-bearing debts were about 650 billion yen ($8.45 billion) on a consolidated basis as of end-March. The two banks have total loans of over 400 billion yen to the firm, which also borrowed about 100 billion yen in syndicated loans, according to banking sources.

($1 = 76.950 Japanese Yen)

(Additional reporting by Mari Saito, Yoko Kubota, Lisa Twaronite, Tim Kelly and Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo; Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111117/bs_nm/us_olympus

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On Thursday, the company opened its second wholesale or cash and carry store in Mumbai, at an investment of 1.2 billion rupees, taking its investment in Maharashtra to 2.4 billion rupees.

The store will have a size of 50,000 square feet, the statement added.

The company also said it plans to open its next store in Jalandhar in Punjab in December and then open in Delhi in January.

India currently allows 51 percent foreign investment in single-brand retailers and 100 percent for wholesale operations.

Metro Cash & Carry entered the Indian market in 2003 and at present operates six wholesale distribution centres, including two each in Bangalore and Hyderabad and one each in Mumbai, Kolkata and Ludhiana.

In September, Reliance Retail, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, opened its first wholesale cash-and-carry format store at Ahmedabad, and now plans to accelerate expansion in that format.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Subhadip Sircar)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111117/india_nm/india605881

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The flowchart covers more than a dozen deal sites and leads you through questions about what you like to buy. It’s a pretty simple graphic that might help you avoid signing up for irrelevant sites (and the overflow of deal emails that follow). Here’s the full image (click to expand):

For another look at how the major deal sites stack up, check out our previous daily deals faceoff.

What Deal Site Are You? | The Dealmix via TechCrunch

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/eASrHGD2FjM/find-the-right-daily-deal-site-for-you-with-this-flowchart

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Living light from fireflies, bacteria, and other luminescent creatures could change the way we illuminate our cities, fight cancer, and find toxins in our water. By Adam Hadhazy

1 of 7

Many of us know of bioluminescence from the yellow-green glow of fireflies’ abdomens in backyard woods. Some other organisms on land, including mushrooms and glow worms, can light up the night, too. And in the oceans, bioluminescence flourishes: shrimp, squid, sharks, bacteria, and the vast majority of fish in the deep sea’s inky black exhibit this talent.

Today, scientists and engineers are trying to harness the radiance of living things. Fortunately, the chemistries that produce bioluminescence tend to be relatively simple. A light-emitting protein, dubbed luciferin, typically reacts with oxygen in the presence of an enzyme called luciferase, along with other agents. In contrast to fire and electrically generated light, bioluminesce is “cold light”?the reactions that create this light waste very little energy as heat. This aspect makes the phenomenon useful in sensitive environments, such as the tissues of living beings. It’s one reason researchers are now tapping the light of life for medical studies, military weapons systems, and more

Here’s a breakdown of six of the most promising areas of interest.

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Forget home-field advantage: When species roam, they can thrive. Free from their own predators and among other species that aren’t used to competing with them, invasive species can monopolize resources and alter delicate ecological relationships. Read More

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Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/6-bright-ideas-for-bioluminescence-tech?src=rss

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I’ve seen dogs do this countless times, cats too, but Carli Davidson’s photos make you appreciate how intense the shake must be to literally toss the water droplets outward. The animal will typically start by shaking its head side to side, twisting its neck, then the shaking motion moves through the rest of the body, ending with the tail. Does this hurt? (I imagine not. Think about being a woodpecker.) Still, there are times when rainy days must be a real headache. Imagine having to shake with an extra-heavy load of bone, like this guy.

But here’s the news: This month, Victor Manuel Ortega-Jimenez and Robert Dudley at the University of California, Berkeley, published a paper describing how an animal weighing about an eighth of an ounce does the same thing. The Anna’s hummingbird whips its head back and forth 202 degrees ? which is more than half way around ? at the amazing rate of 132 times every second, and not while standing in place, legs on the ground like a dog or a deer. No, it does this while flying through the air! So it’s shaking, navigating AND flapping at the same time. Take a look.

The third bird in this sequence looks like its head might break off.

But Why Do They Do It?

Here’s why they do it. A little drop of rainwater is a heavy burden when you only weigh an eighth of an ounce. If you can’t flick it off, you’ll either need a lot of extra calories or you’d better hide on rainy days (and starve, because Anna hummingbirds live in cloud forests.)

The surprise is that these hummingbirds can do this AND keep their sense of direction. As Robert Dudley told the BBC, swinging one’s head wildly left to right every tenth of a second can’t be good when you are trying to get someplace.

“We know visual information is the key to flight control, and, obviously, when you are shaking your head, you don’t have that input of flight acceleration, and yet they remain basically stable ? they are not falling out of the air.”

Plus, they’re keeping dry and getting where they need to go.

Not that I’d trade my towel or my umbrella for their shake-it system, but still … Wow!

Victor Manuel Ortega-Jimenez and Robert Dudley’s paper is called “Aerial shaking performance of wet Anna’s hummingbirds,” Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Nov. 9, 2011. Carli Davidson’s photo essays on animals can be found on her site, http://carlidavidson.photoshelter.com. And thanks to photographer A.M. Ruttle for her shot of the rain-shaking deer.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/11/16/142387948/shake-it-how-dogs-cats-even-hummingbirds-keep-dry?ft=1&f=1007

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