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NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the latest example that the U.S. dollar just ain’t what it used to be, some shops in New York City have begun accepting euros and other foreign currency as payment for merchandise.

“We had decided that money is money and we’ll take it and just do the exchange whenever we can with our bank,” Robert Chu, owner of East Village Wines, told Reuters television.

The increasingly weak U.S. dollar, once considered the king among currencies, has brought waves of European tourists to New York with money to burn and looking to take advantage of hugely favorable exchange rates.

“We didn’t realize we would take so much in and there were that many people traveling or having euros to bring in. But some days, you’d be surprised at how many euros you get,” Chu said.

“Now we have to get familiar with other currencies and the (British) pound and the Canadian dollars we take,” he said.

While shops in many U.S. towns on the Canadian border have long accepted Canadian currency and some stores on the Texas-Mexico border take pesos, the acceptance of foreign money in Manhattan was unheard of until recently.

Not far from Chu’s downtown wine emporium, Billy Leroy of Billy’s Antiques & Props said the vast numbers of Europeans shopping in the neighborhood got him thinking, “My God, I should take euros in at the store.”

Leroy doesn’t even bother to exchange them.

“I’m happy if I take in 200 euros, because what I do is keep them,” he said. “So when I go back to Paris, I don’t have to go through the nightmare of going to an exchange place.”

NEW YORK - Tobacco use killed 100 million people worldwide in the 20th century and could kill 1 billion people in the 21st unless governments act now to dramatically reduce it, the World Health Organization said in a report Thursday.

Governments around the world collect more than $200 billion in tobacco taxes every year but spend less than one-fifth of 1 percent of that revenue on tobacco control, it said.

“We hold in our hands the solution to the global tobacco epidemic that threatens the lives of 1 billion men, women and children during this century,” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in an introduction to the report.

The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 calls on all countries to dramatically increase efforts to prevent young people from beginning to smoke, help smokers quit and protect nonsmokers from exposure to second hand smoke.

It urges governments to adopt six “tobacco control policies” — raise taxes and prices of tobacco; ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; protect people from second hand smoke; warn people about the dangers of tobacco; help those who want to quit smoking; and monitor tobacco use to understand and reverse the epidemic.

Chan announced the report Thursday at a news conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, helped fund it with a $2 million grant. The report examines the tobacco policies of 179 countries for the first time, Bloomberg said.

According to the report, nearly two-thirds of the world’s smokers live in 10 countries: China, which accounts for nearly 30 percent, India with about 10 percent, Indonesia, Russia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

It forecast that more than 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries by 2030.

Dr. Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, said WHO estimates 5.4 million smoking-related deaths a year, rising to more than 8 million a year by 2030 if nothing is done. That adds up to 175 million between 2005 and 2030. Beyond that, he said, deaths will continue to rise and statistical projections put the death toll at near 1 billion by the end of the century.

Tobacco use is growing fastest in low-income countries, the report said, “due to steady population growth coupled with tobacco industry targeting, ensuring that millions of people become fatally addicted each year.”

It warned that “the shift of the tobacco epidemic to the developing world will lead to unprecedented levels of disease and early death in countries where population growth and the potential for increased tobacco use are highest and where health care services are least available.”

For the tobacco industry to survive, and keep existing customers hooked and attract new customers, “it spends tens of billions of dollars a year on advertising, promotion and sponsorship,” WHO said.

Michael Pfeil, vice president for communications for Lausanne, Switzerland-based Philip Morris International, said the company advocates “for tough, fair, cohesive regulation of the industry” and believes many countries need to do more. The company has operations in 160 countries.

He said regulations Philip Morris supports mirror some core provisions of the U.N. anti-smoking treaty that came into force last year. These include mandatory health warnings, restrictions on advertising including bans in some media, and minimum age laws for smoking, he said.

“We’re going to continue to spend money,” Pfeil said in a telephone interview. “I think we have a duty as a commercial entity to continue to grow our business, but … our interest is in marketing to adult smokers who are smoking competitive products.”

Google China (along with Google Taiwan, Hong Kong, and possibly other versions of Google in Asia) celebrates Chinese New Year today.

Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. It is an important holiday in East Asia. [Wikipedia]

This year is the Year of the Rat, that’s why you are seeing the rats up there. The Chinese character on the logo (福), loosely translates as luck and wealth. Google Translate returns something else though.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Atkins is a city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,878 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Atkins is located at [show location on an interactive map] 35°14′37?N, 92°56′18?W (35.243485, -92.938212)[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (15.9 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 2,878 people, 1,117 households, and 817 families residing in the city. The population density was 469.8 people per square mile (181.3/km²). There were 1,210 housing units at an average density of 197.5/sq mi (76.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.05% White, 0.87% Black or African American, 0.69% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,117 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,339, and the median income for a family was $38,309. Males had a median income of $27,470 versus $17,462 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,979. About 11.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 19.8% of those age 65 or over.

Severe Weather

In the afternoon of February 5 2008, a tornado touched down near the city center. A family of three was killed when the tornado hit their home.

Notable residents

* Ellis Kinder, born in Atkins, major league baseball player[3]
* Wilson Matthews, born in Atkins, former University of Arkansas assistant football coach.

Exactly as rumored, Apple announced the new monstrous 16GB version of the famous or better yet notorious Apple iPhone. Currently the new Apple iPhone 16GB is available through the Apple store and AT&T stores in USA. The European carriers offering the iPhone are a bit slow to catch up in active promoting - they are expected to start offering it as of tomorrow - the 6th February 2008.

The Apple iPhone is probably the single most controversial mobile phone in the industry and it’s changed the US mobile market beyond recognition. We are not going to elaborate on its features but we’ll better concentrate on its price tag right after this graphic jump.

The latest Apple iPhone 16GB will be sold for USD 500 before taxes, while the current 8GB model will be selling for the same USD 400 price (again before taxes). If you ask us, it’s simply a matter of time before Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs announces the next price cut just as he did with initial iPhone 4GB/8GB models.

As far as European carriers are concerned, the only details we have now, is that O2 UK will be selling the new 16GB model for GBP 330, which is around EUR 440 or USD 650. You probably already know that the iPhone is selling with a hefty European premium here at the Old Continent (some serious tax burden as it seems).

The other interesting announcement today is that the iPod Touch, the iPhone’s cousin, also has received a doubled storage space. The new iPod Touch 32GB will be selling at a USD 500 price tag (before taxes). The 16GB version which has been available for quite some time retains the USD 400 price, along with the 8GB model, which is still priced at USD 300.

The new Apple iPhone 16GB is already available for purchase.

Source: Mobile Phones

Google Inc. yesterday reported that its first-quarter profit more than quadrupled and revenue nearly doubled because of surging online ad sales. The news, disclosed after the close of the regular trading day, sparked a rally in the search engine giant’s stock price.

For the three months ended March 31, Google reported profit of $369.2 million ($1.29 a share), up from $64 million (24 cents) in the first quarter last year. Revenue, almost entirely from online advertising on Google and its partner Web sites, increased 93 percent, from $651.6 million to $1.3 billion this year.

Google stock shot up nearly $20 in after-hours trading as share prices pushed above $220. Google shares, which started the week trading at about $185, started rising earlier this week following rival Yahoo Inc.’s positive earnings report, which was released late Tuesday. Google went public in August at a price of $85 a share.

“Our focus remains very clearly and steadfastly on long-term growth. In the meantime, we have a quarterly earnings report about which we are very pleased,” said Google chief executive Eric E. Schmidt.

Millions of computer users use Google to find information rapidly on the World Wide Web. The firm profits when people click on the text-based ads that it serves up alongside its free search results. The company does business in the United States and dozens of foreign countries.

“We were very busy this quarter launching dozens of new products and features,” said Google co-founder Larry Page. But, he added, “We remain most focused on the core technology of search.”

Sergey Brin, the other co-founder, said the company also put new systems in place that made it easier for large advertisers to join the thousands of small and medium-size firms that promote their products and services on Google. He said Google’s online ads enable firms to measure the results of their spending more precisely than with traditional media. “We also see more use of Google advertising by companies for branding to make sure their name and products are known throughout the world,” Schmidt said.

Born     March 24, 1979 (1979-03-24) (age 28)
New York City, New York, United States

Biography

Early life

Bell was born in New York City, the daughter of Robin Bell, a senior designer at a decorating firm,[1] and Harvey Siegel. Her father is Jewish and her mother is of W.A.S.P. background.[2] She has an older brother named Luke Siegel who owns a sliding wall and door company called Raydoor in New York City. She also has two half-sisters, Courtney and Mackenzie.

Bell attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York before transferring to Rose Bruford College in London, England. There, she landed roles in several theatrical productions, including The Seagull and The Pentecost. She remained in London for a year after graduating, then relocated to Los Angeles, California.

Career

Bell landed her first big job with the lead female role in NBC’s War Stories, also starring Jeff Goldblum. She made two guest appearances on ER in 2002, then went on to play Alicia Silverstone’s wisecracking best friend, Victoria, in NBC’s short-lived series Miss Match. In 2004, Bell made her debut as Sally Heep in The Practice, and her character was carried over into the series offshoot, Boston Legal, where she was made a regular cast member until she left the series in 2005. Bell went on to play the lead role in the sci-fi show Surface, which premiered September 19, 2005, and was cancelled in May 2006.

In the fall of 2006, Bell returned to Boston Legal for two episodes, reprising her role as Sally Heep as opposing counsel to Alan Shore (portrayed by James Spader). Her film work includes Chris Fisher’s The Hillside Strangler (2004), Love Your Work (2003), Speakeasy (2002), and Slammed (2001). She recently wrapped on her latest film, Pride and Glory (2008), which also stars Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. She also has a leading role in the upcoming thriller Still Waters (2008), starring opposite Jason Clarke and Clifton Collins, Jr.

Former UT Vol Andy Kelly is leading the new team for Tennessee in the upstart All American Football League (AAFL). Kelly was the Vols QB from 1988-91 before heading toward the Arena Football League where he still owns a large handful of passing records. Although he is retired from playing QB, Kelly begins his head coaching career with the Tennessee team for the AAFL based here out of Knoxville.

So what’s the AAFL?

That’s a good question. Even living here in Knoxville we don’t know much about it. However, here’s what we do know. The league is trying to build its fan base out of college football markets like Knoxville, Michigan, ‘Bama, and Florida. The players initially are expected to have exhausted their college eligibility and have a degree from college to be able to participate. Essentially, it’s like a pick-up league of old college players who didn’t make the NFL.

The timing for the AAFL is good with the recent folding of the NFL Europe league. While we don’t expect the AAFL to be a household name anytime soon it is a cool idea to keep the rabid college football fans busy during the offseason. The league has 6 teams based in the most fanatical college football cities. Along with Knoxville, TN, there are teams in Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, and Alabama.

Some interesting rules of the AAFL are:

1. Four-year degrees are required to play.
2. Teams will have 46-man rosters.
3. The season will run from April 12 to July 5.
4. Games will be played on Saturdays.
5. A college size football will be used.
6. The league will have NFL officials.
7. Some of the rules are based on the college game, such as receivers needing to have one foot in bounds and a live ball on PATs.
8. Overtimes will be played like the college game, but offenses will start on the 35-yard line.

Obama’s speech seeks to turn the story of his victory here and around the country into his message:

They are young and old, rich and poor. They are black and white, Latino and Asian. They are Democrats from Des Moines and Independents from Concord; Republicans from rural Nevada and young people across this country who’ve never had a reason to participate until now. And in nine days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again.

Also, he hits the Clintons, while recognizing the danger a story line about race poses him:

We are up against the idea that it’s acceptable to say anything and do anything to win an election. We know that this is exactly what’s wrong with our politics; this is why people don’t believe what their leaders say anymore; this is why they tune out. And this election is our chance to give the American people a reason to believe again.

And what we’ve seen in these last weeks is that we’re also up against forces that are not the fault of any one campaign, but feed the habits that prevent us from being who we want to be as a nation. It’s the politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon. A politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within the confines of the categories that supposedly define us. The assumption that young people are apathetic. The assumption that Republicans won’t cross over. The assumption that the wealthy care nothing for the poor, and that the poor don’t vote. The assumption that African-Americans can’t support the white candidate; whites can’t support the African-American candidate; blacks and Latinos can’t come together.

Full remarks, as prepared, after the jump.

Over two weeks ago, we saw the people of Iowa proclaim that our time for change has come. But there were those who doubted this country’s desire for something new — who said Iowa was a fluke not to be repeated again.

Well, tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina.

After four great contests in every corner of this country, we have the most votes, the most delegates, and the most diverse coalition of Americans we’ve seen in a long, long time.

They are young and old, rich and poor. They are black and white, Latino and Asian. They are Democrats from Des Moines and Independents from Concord; Republicans from rural Nevada and young people across this country who’ve never had a reason to participate until now. And in nine days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again.

But if there’s anything we’ve been reminded of since Iowa, it’s that the kind of change we seek will not come easy. Partly because we have fine candidates in the field — fierce competitors, worthy of respect. And as contentious as this campaign may get, we have to remember that this is a contest for the Democratic nomination, and that all of us share an abiding desire to end the disastrous policies of the current administration.

But there are real differences between the candidates. We are looking for more than just a change of party in the White House. We’re looking to fundamentally change the status quo in Washington — a status quo that extends beyond any particular party. And right now, that status quo is fighting back with everything it’s got; with the same old tactics that divide and distract us from solving the problems people face, whether those problems are health care they can’t afford or a mortgage they cannot pay.

So this will not be easy. Make no mistake about what we’re up against.

We are up against the belief that it’s ok for lobbyists to dominate our government — that they are just part of the system in Washington. But we know that the undue influence of lobbyists is part of the problem, and this election is our chance to say that we’re not going to let them stand in our way anymore.

We are up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as President comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House. But we know that real leadership is about candor, and judgment, and the ability to rally Americans from all walks of life around a common purpose - a higher purpose.

We are up against decades of bitter partisanship that cause politicians to demonize their opponents instead of coming together to make college affordable or energy cleaner; it’s the kind of partisanship where you’re not even allowed to say that a Republican had an idea — even if it’s one you never agreed with. That kind of politics is bad for our party, it’s bad for our country, and this is our chance to end it once and for all.

We are up against the idea that it’s acceptable to say anything and do anything to win an election. We know that this is exactly what’s wrong with our politics; this is why people don’t believe what their leaders say anymore; this is why they tune out. And this election is our chance to give the American people a reason to believe again.

And what we’ve seen in these last weeks is that we’re also up against forces that are not the fault of any one campaign, but feed the habits that prevent us from being who we want to be as a nation. It’s the politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon. A politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within the confines of the categories that supposedly define us. The assumption that young people are apathetic. The assumption that Republicans won’t cross over. The assumption that the wealthy care nothing for the poor, and that the poor don’t vote. The assumption that African-Americans can’t support the white candidate; whites can’t support the African-American candidate; blacks and Latinos can’t come together.

But we are here tonight to say that this is not the America we believe in. I did not travel around this state over the last year and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina. I saw South Carolina. I saw crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children. I saw shuttered mills and homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from all walks of life, and men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. I saw what America is, and I believe in what this country can be.

That is the country I see. That is the country you see. But now it is up to us to help the entire nation embrace this vision. Because in the end, we are not just up against the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, we are also struggling against our own doubts, our own fears, and our own cynicism. The change we seek has always required great struggle and sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we’re willing to work for it.

So let me remind you tonight that change will not be easy. That change will take time. There will be setbacks, and false starts, and sometimes we will make mistakes. But as hard as it may seem, we cannot lose hope. Because there are people all across this country who are counting us; who can’t afford another four years without health care or good schools or decent wages because our leaders couldn’t come together and get it done.

Theirs are the stories and voices we carry on from South Carolina.

The mother who can’t get Medicaid to cover all the needs of her sick child — she needs us to pass a health care plan that cuts costs and makes health care available and affordable for every single American.

The teacher who works another shift at Dunkin Donuts after school just to make ends meet - she needs us to reform our education system so that she gets better pay, and more support, and her students get the resources they need to achieve their dreams.

The Maytag worker who is now competing with his own teenager for a $7-an-hour job at Wal-Mart because the factory he gave his life to shut its doors — he needs us to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship our jobs overseas and start putting them in the pockets of working Americans who deserve it. And struggling homeowners. And seniors who should retire with dignity and respect.

The woman who told me that she hasn’t been able to breathe since the day her nephew left for Iraq, or the soldier who doesn’t know his child because he’s on his third or fourth tour of duty — they need us to come together and put an end to a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged.

The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It’s not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white.

It’s about the past versus the future.

It’s about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today, or whether we reach for a politics of common sense, and innovation — a shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.

There are those who will continue to tell us we cannot do this. That we cannot have what we long for. That we are peddling false hopes.

But here’s what I know. I know that when people say we can’t overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of the elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day — an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside. So don’t tell us change isn’t possible.

When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can’t join together and work together, I’m reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with, and stood with, and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don’t tell us change can’t happen.

When I hear that we’ll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who’s now devoted to educating inner-city children and who went out onto the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don’t tell me we can’t change.

Yes we can change.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can seize our future.

And as we leave this state with a new wind at our backs, and take this journey across the country we love with the message we’ve carried from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire; from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast; the same message we had when we were up and when we were down - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people in three simple words:

Yes. We. Can.

Deanna Russo, one of the stars of SCI FI Channel’s upcoming original movie Ghost Voyage, told SCI FI Wire that the movie is “like Sartre with ghosts,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to the French existentialist.

“The character I play on Ghost Voyage, her name was Serena,” Russo said in an interview, adding: “She’s an art curator, and she wakes up on this ship with a bunch of other strangers, and they don’t know what they’re doing there, and it’s kind of a surreal, you know? [There’s a] No Exit kind of moment when they realize where they are. It could be the afterlife, we don’t know. It could be, like, the transitional period.”

No Exit was the 1944 existentialist play by Jean-Paul Sartre, about three people who find themselves trapped in a hotel room with no way out.

Russo was sort of kidding about the No Exit comparison, of course. But what really impressed her about Ghost Voyage was the location.

“We shot it in Bulgaria, and I can’t wait to go back, actually,” she said. “I really want to go back and work with the Bulgarians.” Ghost Voyage airs on Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Russo will next be seen in NBC’s upcoming Knight Rider TV movie, which airs in February.