Google Books blow US Justice Department criticises latest settlement proposals  "The court said the proposals still posed copyright and antitrust issues, and it criticised the settlement for forcing authors to "opt out" of having their books scanned and digitised, rather than opting in, which is the usual assumption for copyright law. The court also said that class representatives spoke inappropriately on behalf of foreign authors whose books had been published in the United States, and for authors of "orphan works" for whom the rights holder for that book cannot be traced."      

 Democrats find themselves on wrong end of the politics of discontent
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 President Obama and the Democrats rode a wave of anger aimed at the presidency of George W. Bush to victories in 2006 and 2008. Now, a year to the day after Obama was sworn into office, in a dramatic reversal of fortunes, populist anger has turned sharply against the president and his party. The politics of discontent rolled across Massachusetts in stunning fashion Tuesday, delivering the seat held for more than four decades by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to Republican state Sen. Scott Brown in an upset of historic proportions. Gloomy Democrats were left to wonder whether they and Obama have an answer to that anger that can head off potentially devastating losses in the November midterm elections, and they faced more potential fractures within their ranks. The widespread dissatisfaction has led to a massive erosion in the support Democrats once enjoyed among independents, who were critical to the party's success in 2006 and 2008. Without exit polls, it was difficult to say with any precision Tuesday night how independents voted in Massachusetts. But there was no way Brown could have won the state, where Democrats have a huge edge over Republicans in registration, without a significant margin among independents. Tuesday's loss triggered unsightly Democratic recriminations, a clear indication of the confusion, disappointment and disillusionment that have set in over the past few months as the party has lost gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and now an almost sacred Senate seat in one of the most Democratic states in the nation. Democratic strategists privately heaped criticism on Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley as a lackluster candidate and on her campaign as asleep…

 Al-Qaeda has trained female suicide bombers to attack West.Al-Qaeda terror cells have trained a group of female suicide bombers to attack Western targets, US officials have warned. By Phil Sherwell, in New York and Sean Rayment, Security Correspondent
Published: 8:30PM GMT 23 Jan 2010Female terrorist Photo: Alamy  The women, who may have a "non Arab" appearance and be travelling on Western passports, have been prepared for their missions by the Yemeni group responsible for the operation to blow up an airliner over the United States on Christmas Day. Details of the bombers emerged just hours after British spy chiefs raised the UK threat state to "severe" amid fears that al-Qaeda was planning a wave of attacks against western targets. Terror experts within the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, a unit of MI5, now believe that an attack against the UK is "highly likely". US law enforcement agents have been told to be on the lookout for female suicide bombers who may attempt to enter the country. At least two are believed to be connected to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which dispatched underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who tried unsuccessfully to bring down a transatlantic airliner over Detroit. Richard Clarke, a former chief White House counter terrorism adviser, said: "They have trained women. "There are others who are still out there who have been trained and who are clean skins – that means people who we do not have a record of, people who may not look like al-Qaeda terrorists, who may not be Arabs, and may not be men." Security sources said that it was "inevitable" that al-Qaeda would eventually turn to using women with a western appearance to carry out suicide attacks. Officials said that airliners and all forms of transport could be targeted as well…

  Blockbuster on a DimeThe 3-D animated movie "Despicable Me" in less than one week has recouped its relatively modest production budget, making it the envy of Hollywood. Read Article   

From The Sunday Times January 18, 2009Wealthy men give women more orgasms Jonathan Leake, Science and Environment Editor
Scientists have found that the pleasure women get from making love is directly linked to the size of their partner’s bank balance. They found that the wealthier a man is, the more frequently his partner has orgasms. “Women’s orgasm frequency increases with the income of their partner,” said Dr Thomas Pollet, the Newcastle University psychologist behind the research. He believes the phenomenon is an “evolutionary adaptation” that is hard-wired into women, driving them to select men on the basis of their perceived quality. Related Links Why women have better sex with rich men The study is certain to prove controversial, suggesting that women are inherently programmed to be gold-diggers. However, it fits into a wider body of research known as evolutionary psychology which suggests that both men and women are genetically predisposed to ruthlessly exploit each other to achieve the best chances of survival for their genes. The female orgasm is the focus of much research because it appears to have no reproductive purpose. Women can become pregnant whatever their pleasure levels. Pollet, and Professor Daniel Nettle, his co-author, believed, however, that the female orgasm is an evolutionary adaptation that drives women to choose and retain high-quality partners. He and Nettle tested that idea using data gathered in one of the world’s biggest lifestyle studies. The Chinese Health and Family Life Survey targeted 5,000 people across China for in-depth interviews about their personal lives, including questions about their sex lives, income and other factors. Among these were 1,534 women with male partners whose data was the basis for the study. They found that 121 of these women always had orgasms during sex, while 408 more had them “often”.…