Introducing video games for guys that can be played with their pee streams in bar bathrooms. These new games have been installed in a bar in London, and the main objective is actually promotional. Create a game that grabs their attention while they're standing there anyway, and serve up digital ads, too.
Oh, and now, introducing lines outside of the men?s bathroom.
With a US Congress 'super committee' unable to cut spending and Britain's government also struggling, the West is looking like a wastrel; and Cairo's Tahrir Square seethes once more.?
The front pages today appear to be full of failure: failure of the US Congress?s ?super committee? to bring down spending in line with tax revenues; failure of Britain?s government to bring down its own rising levels of debt; and failure (thus far) of Egyptian protesters to push the country?s military from political control of the government.
Skip to next paragraph
Reading a story about failure requires a certain amount of masochism, unless one is looking for clues on how to learn from this failure and to improve. The articles in today's Good Reads push the news beyond failure and dole out golden nuggets of explanation and context to consider. So let?s learn, shall we?
In today?s New York Times, Binyamin Appelbaum and Annie Lowrey write about the likely economic consequences of Congress?s inability to come up with a compromise on spending cuts. Instead of finding a gentler way to reduce spending, Congress has essentially put the country into a form of receivership, where the law will now require equal cuts of new spending in both defense and domestic budgets.
Not only will this mean deep cuts in military programs and health care, but the Times' writers say it also ?threatens to significantly slow growth in an already ailing economy by raising taxes on almost everyone while reducing government spending on almost everything.?
But, wait: Mr. Appelbaum and Ms. Lowrey find an economist who finds a lesson in all this.
?There could be a bit of a silver lining,? said?Rosanne Altshuler, an economist at Rutgers University who served on President George W. Bush?s 2005 tax reform panel. ?It forces us to come to terms with cuts in areas that have been difficult to touch ? the military and?Medicare. We may not like how the cuts are going to be done, but we better start dealing with the fact that cuts are going to have to be made.?
So why did the ?super committee? fail? Ideology, according to the Washington Post.
Although Republicans offered to raise taxes by $300?billion over the next decade, they insisted on conditions that all but guaranteed that the wealthy would not be hit hard. And Democrats refused to agree to deep cuts in spending on health care for the poor and the elderly unless the rich were forced to make greater sacrifices.
If Congress is having trouble getting debt under control, it is largely because debt has become such a major part of the US economy, writes the Monitor?s Mark Trumbull.
Chicago, IL ? November 25, 2011 ? Four free stock picks are being made available today on Zacks.com. The industry?s leading independent research firm highlights one Zacks #1 Rank Strong Buy or a Zacks #2 Rank Buy stock for each of the four main styles of investing: Aggressive Growth, Growth & Income, Momentum, and Value.
The four highlighted picks are: Allot Communications Ltd. (ALLT - Snapshot Report), Philip Morris International Inc. (PM - Analyst Report), AutoZone, Inc. (AZO - Analyst Report) and Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX - Analyst Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Four daily picks are offered free. http://at.zacks.com/?id=88
From 1988 through the present ? a period that included serious corrections and recessions ? the Zacks #1 Rank Stocks have nearly tripled the market with a fully documented average gain of +28% per year.
Here is a summary of today's selected stocks that are now highly rated by Zacks:??????????
Aggressive Growth ? Allot Communications Ltd. (ALLT - Snapshot Report)
While many are fearing EU-reliant stocks, Allot Communications Ltd. is on the rise and sees growing demand in the region. Is now a good time to pick up shares of ALLT?
Zacks Guide to Aggressive Growth Investing (free!) - http://at.zacks.com/?id=4309
Growth & Income ? Philip Morris International Inc. (PM - Analyst Report)
Philip Morris International Inc. continues to deliver excellent financial results. Third quarter earnings jumped 37% year-over-year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11%.
Zacks Guide to Growth & Income Investing (free!) - http://at.zacks.com/?id=4310
Momentum ? AutoZone, Inc. (AZO - Analyst Report)
AutoZone, Inc. continues to trade near its all-time high, jumping higher on another strong quarter from late September. With a high industry rank and bullish growth projection, this Zacks #1 Rank stock is primed for momentum.
Zacks Guide to Momentum Investing (free!): ?http://at.zacks.com/?id=4311
Value ? Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX - Analyst Report)
Barrick Gold Corporation hasn't lost its shine as it reported record earnings in Q3. The gold mining giant is expected to grow earnings by the double digits in both 2011 and 2012. Yet, this Zacks #2 Rank (buy) is also a value stock, with a forward P/E of just 10.2.
Zacks Guide to Value Investing (free!) - ?http://at.zacks.com/?id=4312
How to Regularly Access Top Zacks Rank Picks for Free - http://at.zacks.com/?id=7154
Underlying the four free stock picks is a simple truth that first appeared in a Financial Analysts Journal article published in 1979. Leonard Zacks, a Ph.D. from M.I.T. found that "earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." ?Zacks #1 Rank is awarded to a stock when analysts sharply upgrade their estimates of what the company will earn.
Today, Zacks is promoting its stock recommendations by offering four daily picks free to those who register here: http://at.zacks.com/?id=7155
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Len Zacks. The company continually processes stock reports issued by 3,000 analysts from 150 brokerage firms.? It monitors more than 200,000 earnings estimates, looking for changes.
Then, when changes are discovered, they?re applied to help assign more than 4,400 stocks into five Zacks Rank categories: #1 Strong Buy, #2 Buy, #3 Hold, #4 Sell, and #5 Strong Sell. This proprietary stock-picking system continues to outperform the market by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. ?
More Free Stock Picks
Each weekday, new Zacks #1 Rank or Zacks #2 Rank stock picks are released on the free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros. Investors are invited to register for their free subscription here: http://at.zacks.com/?id=91
Follow us on Twitter:? http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook:? http://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com
Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Read the full analyst report on ALLT
Read the full analyst report on PM
Read the full analyst report on AZO
Read the full analyst report on ABX
Please login or register to post a comment
Best Stocks. Best Insight. Join Now...it's FREE!
Over 700,000 investors look forward to the timely insights in our email newsletter; Zacks Profit from the Pros. In each daily issue you will find:
Free? Four Zacks #1 Rank "Strong Buy" Stocks
Free? Timely Market Commentary
Free? Wealth Management Tips
Free? Profitable Strategy Screens
Free? Bull and Bear Stocks of the Day
More Zacks Resources
Zacks Rank Home - Evaluate your stocks and use the Zacks Rank to eliminate the losers and keep the winners. Mutual Fund Rank Home - Evaluate your funds with the Mutual Fund Rank for both your personal and retirement funds. Stock/Mutual Fund Screening - Find better stocks and mutual funds. The ones most likely to beat the market and provide a positive return. My Portfolio - Track your Portfolio and find out where your stocks/mutual funds stack up with the Zacks Rank.
Immortals (2011)DVD ENG DVDRip HQ 1 Link NO RAR
HD (High Definition)
IMDB Rating: Immortals (2011) - IMDb
Genre: Action | Drama | Fantasy
Language: English
Director: Tarsem Singh
Writers: Charley Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides
Stars: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke and John Hurt
Plot Details:
Years after the Titanomachy, the Titan Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) declares war on humanity. He searches for the Epirus Bow, a legendary weapon created by the war god Ares (Daniel Sharman), which will allow him to free the rest of the Titans from Tartarus and take revenge on the Olympians who brought about their downfall. In accordance with ancient laws, the gods are unable to take a side in the war between Hyperion and humanity. It is left to a peasant named Theseus (Henry Cavill), chosen by Zeus (Luke Evans) and accompanied by the priestess Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and a slave (Stephen Dorff), to protect his homeland and save the gods.
Official Trailer [HD] : Immortals - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube
Immortals (2011) DVDRip / Single Link/ Best Available Quality!
EXCLUSIVE FILE!!!!
>>>>> Start Download Full Movie Now!<<<<<
.................................................. .................................. filesonic.com THE BEST fileserve.com rapidshare.com megaufload.com wupload.com mediafire.com hotfile.com
Immortals (2011) ENG DVDRip 1 (Single) Link HQ HD (High Definition) No rar,Rapidshare, Hotfile, Fileserve, Wupload, Megaufload,Mediafire, Filesonic links , link, 1link 127 720p 1080p 2008 2009 2010 2011 ac3 angeles battle bdrip big bluray brrip cam class code dead deathly drugs dts dvd dvdrip dvdripengaxxo dvdripxvid dvdripxviddiamond dvdscr eng fast film green hangover harry hdtv hood hornet hot imagine limited line link los m720p max movie multi multi| number part paul pirates potter priest punch readnfo red rio rite single source sucker unrated war x264 xvid xvidarrow xvidimagine xvidunveil xvidvip3r free download
All Critics (154) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (144) | Rotten (10)
Still, it's Gordon-Levitt's choices that continue to impress. Sure, he owned one of the most jaw-dropping sequences in last summer's blockbuster Inception. But the actor remains drawn to profoundly human-scale hurts and quiet triumphs.
Gordon-Levitt is an agreeably undemonstrative actor who plays well opposite the burbly Rogen.
Chances are about 90/10 that you'll enjoy 50/50.
Scene by scene, 50/50 can be both amusing and moving, with the tightly wound Gordon-Levitt and the boundaryless Rogen forming an oddly complementary pair. But as a whole the movie never quite coheres.
In other hands, Adam might well be hard to take. But as the comedy in 50/50 turns darker, Gordon-Levitt, who's maybe the most natural, least affected actor of his generation, makes prickly plenty engaging.
An everyman tale with plenty of heart and honesty, the serious subject matter is regularly enlivened with jolts of genuine hilarity, some of it in delightfully questionable taste.
It's not a major landmark on anybody's r?sum?, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either.
The Gordon-Levitt-Rogen bromance is one of the most exciting and fun ones in recent comedy history, and the pair have a wonderful natural rift ...
Seth Rogen might be there to puts bums on seats, but it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt who will keep you watching.
It may be a marketing nightmare, but as examinations of mortality go, few come funnier, wiser or more astutely acted.
Whether you're after a comedy-drama about cancer or a Rogen laugh-fest with added heart, this does a remarkable job of balancing the odds.
This is the terminal illness weepie for people who don't watch terminal illness weepies, and it's much the better for it.
It's refreshing to see a movie that embraces the ugly side of what happens to complicated personal relationships. Its quite uncomfortable at times, and the frank exploration of the cancer patient journey makes the comedy even funnier.
It is tough to make a comedy about cancer, since it touches us all. It is not funny. When you have Seth Rogen in a film, however, anything can be funny.
The elements of 50/50 that do work are strong enough to carry the film along and affecting enough to bring losers like me to tears in their cinema seats.
Tackles a distressing subject with a healthy dose of humour, thanks to a sharply observed script, well-rounded, likeable characters, astute direction and a trio of terrific performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick.
There couldn't be a more serious subject, yet Gordon-Levitt and especially Rogen (who co-produced the movie) make the comedy seem both spontaneous and organic.
Nimbly switching gears between heartful drama and uproarious comedy, 50/50 tackles the near-impossible and makes a film about cancer that'll have you crying like a baby one minute and laughing so hard your sides hurt the next.
Jonathan Levine directs a film that may be one of the year's best but still makes one yearn for the serious and uncompromising films of the 1950s and 1960s.
Yes, cancer can be funny. Sort of.
Films about cancer aren't generally this funny. And while this movie isn't a comedy, beyond its generous dose of realistic humour, it has a smart, personal script that dares to face a difficult situation head on.
Life is hard. Cancer is hard. Relationships are hard. Family is hard. '50/50' managed to find the power in all of those things and give us plenty of laughs so we're not simply in a ball crying.
A near-great movie made out of the hardest-to-thread, most oxymoronic genre imaginable - "cancer comedy."
a good movie with a moderate sense of daring that ultimately spends too much time telling the wrong story
With its excellent cast and emotionally intelligent script, 50/50 isn't necessarily a feel good movie about cancer, but is an exceptional telling of one man's story, mixed with a perfect balance of sympathy and laughs.
Colin Firth wants someone to buy him -- for charity, of course. The Oscar-winning actor is autioning off a chance to meet him and attend the swanky premiere party for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in Los Angeles.
Rush Limbaugh does not like Barack and Michelle Obama, particularly their desire to lower carbon emissions and the First Lady's crusade against obesity (that hits too close to home, clearly, for the radio pundit). Which is fine, he's entitled to an opinion.
Sometimes his points are clouded by obvious hatred and racism, however.
Rush's argument was, by and large, legitimate and directed at media figures outraged and confused by the booing: It's not a crowd predisposed to like Obama anyway, he's at 44% approval, and people go to sporting events to escape politics.
Fair enough. But then he went overboard bashing the First Lady, who he terms "Moo-Chelle" and tears a new one for (gasp) using a private jet:
"I'll tell you something else," he said. "We don't like paying millions for Obama's vacations. A NASCAR crowd doesn't quite understand why, when the husband and the wife are going the same place, the first lady has to take her own Boeing 757 with family and kids and hangers-on four hours earlier than her husband, who will be on his 747."
"NASCAR people understand that's a little bit of a waste. They understand it is a little bit of uppity-ism. First ladies have not been known to hop their own 757s four hours ahead of their husband when they're going the same place."
The L.A. Times defines "uppity" as self-important or arrogant, historically to describe "blacks whom white people perceived as trying to rise above their station in life."
LISBON, Portugal ? Portugal is bracing for a broad shutdown of public services Thursday as trade unions stage a general strike against austerity measures adopted in return for a euro78 billion ($104 billion) international bailout.
The 24-hour walkout comes amid increasing hardship as Portugal, one of western Europe's frailest economies, sheds jobs and sinks deeper into recession.
Travelers faced severe disruption. More than 470 international flights could be canceled, while some 1 million commuters had to make their way to work without regular bus or train services. The Lisbon subway was to close all day.
Government offices, school classes, mail deliveries, trash collection and other public services were also likely to be severely disrupted, authorities said.
Portugal is locked into a three-year program of debt-reduction measures in return for the financial rescue package from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund. The center-right coalition government, which has an overall majority in Parliament, and the opposition center-left Socialist Party gave their blessing to the bailout conditions in May.
Failure to abide by the bailout terms could hold up the bailout payments.
But as in Greece and Ireland, other eurozone countries that needed a financial lifeline, falling living standards have stoked outrage at the austerity measures. Unemployment is up to 12.4 percent and prospects for an improvement are grim as a double-dip recession is forecast to worsen next year.
Next year, the Portuguese people will pay more sales tax, income tax, corporate tax and property tax to help settle the country's debts. At the same time, their welfare entitlements are being curtailed.
The government next year is scrapping public employees' Christmas and vacation bonuses ? each roughly equivalent to a month's pay ? after cutting their regular monthly pay this year. The government also wants a legal change that would let private companies demand that employees work an extra 30 minutes a day without overtime pay.
Portugal's two largest trade unions, representing more than 1 million mostly blue-collar workers, are holding 34 marches across the country.
One of them, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers, accused the government of implementing a "scorched-earth policy."
"We have to stand up for the interests of the country, the workers and the people, and look after our future and our development, not the interests of speculators and usurers," it said.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Wednesday defended the right to strike but added "it's important to find a way out of the crisis through hard work."
Though trade unions called for a general strike, few private companies are expected to close. Even so, they face disruption.
A huge Volkswagen car plant south of Lisbon, which accounts for 10 percent of Portuguese exports, decided to shut down production for the day because of problems facing its suppliers.
NEW YORK?? Longtime jazz drummer and composer Paul Motian, who came to prominence as a member of pianist Bill Evans' trio in the late 1950s and influenced a generation of musicians with his astounding sense of time, died Tuesday at age 80.
Motian died at a Manhattan hospital because of complications of a bone marrow disorder, said friend and bandmate Joe Lovano, a tenor saxophonist who began performing with him in 1981.
"He was a hard-swinging free jazz drummer with an uncanny sense of time-phrasing and form that was beyond description," Lovano said.
Motian, who grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and spent time in the Navy, came to the forefront while a member of Evans' trio in the late 1950s and early 1960s, playing on landmark recordings such as "Waltz for Debby" and "Sunday at the Village Vanguard." He also had longtime partnerships with pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Bill Frisell.
More Entertainment stories
J.Lo didn't drive that Fiat 'round the block
Jennifer Lopez appears to be headed back to the Bronx in her new car commerical, but sources say she did her driving in L.A.
'Arthur Christmas' a jolly new holiday tradition
'Dancing's' mirror ball trophy goes to ...
Best Muppets are the underrated ones
'Breaking Bad' boss doesn't know how it'll end
Lovano called him a "true natural and one of the most expressive musicians in jazz."
"His touch and sound, sense of dynamics were so personal and unmatched," Lovano said.
Motian's career also included stints as a bandleader, beginning with the album "Conception Vessel" in 1972, and as a composer of works Lovano characterized as "hauntingly beautiful." As a leader, he recorded nearly three dozen albums for the ECM, WInter & Winter and JMT labels.
"As a composer he wrote pieces of music that were vehicles for improvisation," Lovano said.
Even after Motian stopped touring, he continued to perform and record, mostly in New York and most often at the Village Vanguard jazz club, where he last performed in September, according to Lovano. His repertoire included originals, American songbook standards and traditional bebop.
Jarrett said Motian was a good drummer because he "understood composition."
"A lot of drummers are good drummers because they have some understanding of rhythm," Jarrett told The New York Times. "Paul had an innate love of song."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks fell on Tuesday as record-high yields at a Spanish debt auction and a downward revision of U.S. economic growth raised concerns about the global economy.
The market showed a muted reaction to minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent policy meeting in which some officials said they were prepared to do more to support the domestic economy. But the committee decided to hold off taking action amid an uncertain outlook.
"The market is pretty much in the wait-and-see mode now," said Mark Lamkin, chief investment strategist at Lamkin Wealth Management in Louisville, Kentucky.
"The politicans here and overseas need to show more efforts in terms of what they are going to do" for the market to see a sustained rally, he said.
Stocks briefly turned positive after the International Monetary Fund introduced a six-month liquidity line to help countries at risk from the euro zone crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 32.47 points, or 0.28 percent, at 11,514.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 2.16 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,190.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was off 2 points, or 0.1 percent, at 2,520.
Worries about debt problems in the United States and Europe pushed the benchmark S&P 500 down more than 5 percent over the past week.
Before the market's open, data showed the U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, down from the government's prior estimate of 2.5 percent one month ago.
In Europe, Spain's short-term borrowing costs hit a 14-year high on Tuesday as political uncertainty about a solution to the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis punished another vulnerable southern European country.
The S&P had fallen through a key support level at 1,200 but again managed to hold near 1,187, seen as the next technical support, representing the 61.8 percent retracement of the 2011 high to low.
Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) dropped 2.2 percent to $26.27 as the worst performer on the Dow after the computer and printer maker gave a 2012 profit outlook that was below consensus late Monday.
Among Nasdaq stocks, Groupon Inc (GRPN.O) slumped as much as 14 percent on Monday on concern about increased competition, leaving shares of the largest daily deal company close to their $20 initial public offering price.
Trading volume is likely to be thin this week as the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday will keep many investors on the sidelines.
(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Kenneth Barry)
Coming Soon: January 2012 Pets | WKN: Webkinz Newz
'); $('a.homeButtonNow').css('color','#1A87C0 !important '); $('#wkn_search').css('margin-top','-19px'); $('li.cat-item-289').addClass('current-cat'); $('li.cat-item-661 a').css('margin-left','-15px') $('li.cat-item-661 a').css('width','142px') //this is to make sure the home is selected when no category is selected var checkCat = '289' if (checkCat == '' || checkCat == '-1') { $('div.firstOnList a').addClass('homeButtonNow2'); }else if (checkCat != '') { $('div.firstOnList a').addClass('homeButtonNow'); } $('.current-post-parent').css('background-color','#CEE5F0'); $('.current-post-parent a').addClass('MoveUpClass'); });
Airedale Terrier
Blossom Sea Turtle
Charming Panda
Cotton Candy Puppy
Darling Dino
Holland Lop Bunny
Mohawk Puppy
White Tiger
Signature Siberian Husky
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
This entry was posted in Coming Soon and tagged Airedale Terrier, Blossom Sea Turtle, Charming Panda, Cotton Candy Puppy, Darling Dino, Holland Lop Bunny, Mohawk Puppy, Signature, Signature Siberian Husky, Webkinz, White Tiger. Bookmark the permalink.
Six months after a face transplant gave her another chance at life, chimp attack victim Charla Nash grants an exclusive interview to TODAY, telling Meredith Vieira what it's like to enjoy simple pleasures like shopping in public or smelling perfume again.
An annual Roanoke event brought out the young and the young at heart.
Every year the Grandin Village Holiday Childrens Parade kicks off the holiday season.
No one really knows how old the event is, but organizers tell News7 it has been going on for more than 30-years.
Even though it has been a community staple, it's not your traditional parade.
No registration is required and kids of all ages are welcome.
"It's a children's parade, so no motorized vehicles. Try to make floats out of little red wagons and there are all kinds of kids groups- boy scouts, girl scouts, church groups- any kind of kid regardless of the size, age, whatever!" laughs Susan Stump of the Grandin Village Business Association.
The route takes parade participants less than a mile through historic Grandin Village.
The event is sponsored by the Grandin Village Business Association.
BEIJING (Reuters) ? First it was money folded into paper planes that were flown over the walls of dissident artist Ai Weiwei's home. Now Chinese Internet users' latest show of solidarity with Ai has taken the unlikeliest form of protest: mass nudity.
By Monday afternoon, seventy people had posted nude photos of themselves on a website called "Ai Wei Fans' Nudity -- Listen, Chinese Government: Nudity is not Pornography" -- a rare form of protest in a country where public nudity is still taboo.
They uploaded the photos after Beijing police questioned Ai's videographer on Thursday for allegedly spreading pornography online by taking nude photographs of Ai and four women.
Supporters of Ai, whose 81-day secret detention earlier this year sparked an international outcry, say that the questioning over the nude photographs is China's latest effort to intimidate its most famous social critic.
The videographer, Zhao Zhao, said Beijing police interrogated him for about four hours on the motives behind the photographs.
"They said: 'Don't you know that the photos that you've taken are obscene photos?'" Zhao told Reuters by telephone. "I said: 'I didn't know that' and said 'how can they be considered obscene?' They said they've characterized them as such."
Ai paid a bond of 8.45 million yuan ($1.3 million) last Tuesday, paving the way to file what he fears may be an ultimately futile appeal on a tax evasion charge that his supporters have said is a political vendetta. The money was raised from contributions from his supporters.
Wen Yunchao, who posted two nude photographs of himself on the website, said he believed the investigation against Ai's assistant was the latest form of "persecution" against Ai.
"This is a matter that has made many people very indignant," Hong Kong-based Wen said. "Because the interpretation of people's naked bodies in itself is an individual freedom and a form of creative freedom. Also, we don't see any pornographic elements in (Ai's) photographs. So we are using this extreme method to express our protest."
Many of the photos posted on the website were accompanied with politically tinged commentaries.
"Grandpa, is this pornography?" wrote a user, who was photographed bare-bottomed and writing on a wall with the words "'89 political turmoil," referring to the June 4, 1989, armed crackdown in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
During Ai's confinement, police had also questioned him about the nude photographs that were taken in August last year, Ai told Reuters.
Ai said the nude photographs had no deeper political meaning and were not meant to criticize the government, but he added that the government could perceive the photos as a "rebellious act."
"We did it because it was a way to remove fear and the feeling of isolation," Ai told Reuters. "Because fear and the feeling of isolation are defining characteristics in certain societies.
"Today, in reality, these (actions) are inappropriate for the time being. So when I see everyone like this, I feel young people still have some conscience."
Don't be so quick to file this one under "duh!" -- Amazon's added a whole lotta sweetener to its usual smartphone-for-a-penny pot. If your frugal heart's been holding out hope for a discounted drop of the high-end mobile goods, now would be the time to pounce. The Seattle-based web retailer's wireless arm is throwing every phone from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T under the $0.01 umbrella for a limited time. Starting today and running until the 28th, you can snatch up a Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Droid RAZR, Rezound or Focus S (just to name a few) for one Lincoln-embossed, copper-plated piece. But there's a catch, and you knew it was coming. In order to take advantage of this Crazy Eddie-like steal, you'll have to sign up for a new line of service. So, bust out the credit card (and your credit report), the mobile bargains lie in wait at the source.
