Omaha Diner, from left to right: Skerik, Charlie Hunter, Steven Bernstein, and Bobby Previte
(Credit:
Kate Previte)
Paying for recorded music is a voluntary act — you can get almost any tune you want on demand from streaming music services or YouTube. Of course, musicians wind up making little or no money from this arrangement, but thanks to crowd-funding, bands can get paid in advance of making a record. At least initially there are no freeloaders, so the band really has an incentive to record! The same Internet that made it ha [...]
Crowd-funded music: Omaha Diner joins a wave of artists asking fans for direct support
Omaha Diner, from left to right: Skerik, Charlie Hunter, Steven Bernstein, and Bobby Previte
(Credit:
Kate Previte)
Paying for recorded music is a voluntary act — you can get almost any tune you want on demand from streaming music services or YouTube. Of course, musicians wind up making little or no money from this arrangement, but thanks to crowd-funding, bands can get paid in advance of making a record. At least initially there are no freeloaders, so the band really has an incentive to record! The same Internet that made it ha [...]
IMF: UK ‘long way from recovery’
22 May 2013
Last updated at 10:22 ET
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Chancellor George Osborne says it is a “hard road to recovery” for the UK economy
The UK economy is still a long way from “a strong and sustainable recovery”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.
In its concluding statement on its mission to the UK, the IMF said austerity measures were acting as a drag on the econo [...]
U.S. vacationers to hit road, grounded by high fares: AAA
By Anna Louie Sussman
Wed May 22, 2013 10:12am EDT
May 22 (NEW YORK) – More Americans will take to the road over the Memorial Day holiday weekend this year than in 2012, but overall travel is expected to decline slightly, as high airfares ground would-be flyers, travel group AAA said on Wednesday.
“American travelers are experiencing fee fatigue and frustration with everything from higher fares to airport security,” AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet said in a statement.
“As a result, man [...]
$1bn aid for DR Congo and neighbours
22 May 2013
Last updated at 10:49 ET
Government troops fought with rebels as the M23 took control of Goma last year
The World Bank has unveiled a $1bn (£660m) aid package to help the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbours, as fighting continues near the eastern city of Goma.
The money is to be used for health, education, cross-border trade and hydroelectricity projects, it said.
The announcement comes as World Bank head Jim Yong Kim and UN chief Ban Ki-moon start a tour of the region.
One person was killed when a [...]
Stocks pop as Bernanke eases fears
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Stocks popped Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke eased fears the central bank could scale back its stimulus policies anytime soon.
Bernanke told lawmakers that the Fed is aware of the potential risks associated with its bond-buying program, but said slowing the pace of purchases and raising interest rates prematurely could derail the economic recovery.
Investors have been rattled recently by Fed officials who have expressed concerns about the size of the asset purchases. The Fed will [...]
Memorial Day travel to dip this year
The volume of travel during Memorial Day weekend is expected to decline slightly this year, said AAA on Wednesday, due to a steep drop in air travel amid a shaky economy.
The motorist organization forecasts a decline of 0.9% in overall travel compared to last year, with 34.8 million Americans making a journey of 50 miles or more.
AAA President Robert Darbelnet blamed the decline on “an up and down economy” and “the impact of the end of the payroll tax holiday on working families.”
A steep decline in project [...]
Straily bests Darvish in pitching duel as Athletics beat Rangers again
The rookie Dan Straily got the better of Yu Darvish in a pitchers’ duel, steering the Oakland Athletics to a 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, further trimming the gap to the American League West division leaders.
Among other games, Nate McLouth’s homer in the 10th inning lifted Baltimore over the Yankees, Colorado also needed 10 innings to edge Arizona, and Detroit ended Cleveland’s winning streak. St Louis’ Daniel Descalso hit a grand slam in a win over San Diego, San Francisco left it late to beat Washi [...]
Oncolytics cancer drug meets mid-stage trial goal, shares rise
Wed May 22, 2013 9:46am EDT
(Reuters) – Oncolytics Biotech Inc said preliminary data from a mid-stage trial showed that its cancer drug, Reolysin, met the main goal of reducing the size of tumors in patients with metastatic melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
Shares of the Calgary-based company rose as much as 11 percent to C$3.14 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Its Nasdaq-listed shares were up 10 percent.
Reolysin was administered intravenously along with chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel [...]
IRS’ Lerner says did nothing wrong, refuses to answer questions
WASHINGTON |
Wed May 22, 2013 10:48am EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Internal Revenue Service official who this month revealed the tax agency’s targeting of conservative groups asserted her constitutional right not to answer questions before a congressional committee on Wednesday.
Lois Lerner, head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations unit, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a House of Representatives hearing after House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa accused her o [...]
How Toys Are Preparing Kids For A Future With Robotic Friends
For Christmas in 1993, my father gave me a My Magic Diary, a children’s version of Casio’s digital organizer. From that point on, I always had some iteration of that device—whether a PalmPilot or the iPhone 5 I carry today. Like most others my age, I was raised around mobile devices, so now as an adult, I’m generally unfazed by a new phone or tablet or piece of software. The next generation, Generation Z, will be raised with something entirely different. That thing will be robots.
Just as I had my little digital organizer, children [...]
Xbox One: does the Microsoft console have anything new to offer?
It does everything. But is everything what we want? When Microsoft unveiled its new games console, the Xbox One, yesterday, tech fans struggled to keep up with an information overload. It will, we learned: read your heartbeat; recognise and respond to your face and voice; play games, music, films, TV and Blu Ray discs; browse the internet; make Skype calls and conference calls; and, in its split-screen Snap Mode, do two of the above at once. Well, so what?
Computer manufacturers have attempted to market such all-in-one systems before, wit [...]
FBI says man shot dead while being questioned about Boston bombings
By Barbara Liston and Mark Hosenball
ORLANDO, Fla./WASHINGTON. |
Wed May 22, 2013 10:24am EDT
ORLANDO, Fla./WASHINGTON. (Reuters) – An FBI agent shot and killed a Florida man who turned violent while being questioned about the Boston Marathon bombings early on Wednesday, the bureau said.
A friend of the dead man told the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando television stations that he was 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev of Orlando, a Chechen who had previously lived in Boston. Two brothers identified by the FBI as [...]