Clooney's ex Canalis is dating a ... 'Jackass'

By Kurt Schlosser

Elisabetta Canalis has pulled off a stunt that doesn't involve a Porta-Potty, a runaway shopping cart or driving staples into any of her body parts. Yet.

The Italian model/actress and former girlfriend of George Clooney is apparently dating Steve O, the comedian/stuntman who came to fame with Johnny Knoxville's "Jackass" bunch.

The two stepped out Monday and were seen engaging in what Us Weekly called "numerous kisses and extended makeout sessions." TMZ takes it a step further with photographic proof of a lip lock.

Live Poll

Who would you rather date?

• 174825

  George Clooney (You're kidding, right?!)

  48%

• 174826

  Steve O (He'd be fun ... and less pressure than Mr. Sexy)

  13%

• 174827

  Neither

  39%

VoteTotal Votes: 1402

Clooney, who holds around 47 Sexiest Man Alive titles, and Canalis, who took a turn in the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom, dated for two years and broke up last July. The Oscar winner, 50,?rebounded with another "Dancing" alum, 33-year-old Stacy Keibler.

Steve O, whose real name is Stephen Glover, graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1997. He also starred on "Dancing" in 2009. His true talents are on full display in a wide range of YouTube clips.

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/01/10288289-clooneys-ex-goes-from-sexiest-man-alive-to-jackass

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Monti takes on lobbies in fight to modernize Italy (AP)

ROME ? Fresh bread on Sundays.

It may not sound like a call to revolution, but it has come to symbolize Mario Monti's campaign to reshape Italy as a modern economy, as the reformist premier takes on powerful lobbies that have stifled economic growth by keeping swaths of the economy in the hands of insiders.

These groups have long behaved like Medieval guilds ? regulating standards, working hours and prices ? and Monti now has a lengthening list of enemies that include bakeries, taxi drivers, pharmacists, lawyers, notaries, railroad workers and newsstand dealers.

In one bold stroke last month, Monti issued a decree that overturns decades of arcane rules that have coddled many of the small businesses that represent an outsized portion of the Italian economy. Bakeries will be able to open on Sundays and holidays, opening the way for fresh competition to established shops. The notoriously closed taxi industry will be liberalized. Rules preventing pharmacies from setting up close to one another are being lifted.

"We want to create more space for competition and merit," Monti declared.

Monti's mission is stirring waves of anger that indicate a tough battle ahead: Past Italian leaders have tried and failed to bust lobbies in the past ? finding the old way of doing things simply too entrenched.

Since Monti issued his decree on Jan. 20, taxi drivers have staged strikes to protest plans to issue more licenses; angry truck drivers have erected blockades against increased taxes on fuel; even normally mild-mannered pharmacists, objecting to an expansion of drug stores and working hours, plan walkouts.

Monti and his new team of economic experts, named to succeed the discredited Silvio Berlusconi when Italy's debt crisis began to spin out of control in November, first enacted stiff austerity measures to tackle the emergency.

A second sheaf of measures announced this year was aimed at reviving growth. That put him straight into the path of entrenched interests ? unions, public employees and professional organizations ? that have for decades cast a long shadow over politics and the economy.

In many ways, these lobbies go to the heart of what makes Italy tick.

Italian professions have long been protected by systems of patronage, personal favors and backroom dealing. Defenders of the Italian way say that keeping business closed to outsiders guarantees quality and tradition ? think fine wines and tailor-made suits. Critics counter that it stifles innovation, entrenches corruption and leads to stagnation.

Monti, an economics professor and former EU competition commissioner is being likened to Margaret Thatcher, who earned her the nickname Iron Lady by taking on labor unions as part of free market reforms that many say modernized Britain but also left it deeply divided and scarred by strife.

Italy's small business lobbies have had a stifling effect on Italy's economy by blocking competition, keeping work hours short and perpetuating deep inefficiencies in business practices.

For example, most pharmacies are closed Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. Newspapers are only sold at newsstands. Gas station owners in Italy have been barred, with the exception of some highway stops, from selling anything but petrol products, which many argue keeps gas prices in Italy among the highest in Europe.

Monti said the aim is to reduce protectionism and the way industry in Italy "tries to create advantages for those who are inside the fortress to the detriment of those who are outside."

Like in the Middle Ages, professions are handed down from generation to generation within the family, reflecting both tradition and the lack of social mobility that Monti wants to address. And Italy has remained stubbornly provincial, with regional quotas on notaries, taxis and pharmacies.

While commentators have hailed Monti's program as revolutionary, many working men and women have rejected his ideas, reflecting the difficulty of change in this highly conservative country.

"Monti sounds good, he wants to spur employment by giving out more taxi licenses," said 62-year-old Mario Parisi as he drove his cab across the Tiber River in Rome. "But more work for others means less work for me and I am only making euro2,000 a month."

The voice of business, the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, is praising Monti's efforts, pointing out that "in less than 20 words" ? the length of his edict on bakeries ? the government has changed the history of business in Italy by allowing breadmakers to work seven days a week.

So far, at least, the reform package appears to be proving popular with the public. A survey published this week in the leading Corriere della Sera shows Monti with a 57 percent approval rating. The margin error on the telephone poll was 3 1/2 percent.

Monti has remained remarkably impervious to public and political pressure. The technocrat has made clear that since he was not elected, he does not have to pander to voters or parties seeking favors, while keeping an open door to the sectors he is seeking to reform.

After meeting with taxi drivers, the government did compromise on some measures. For example, if more licenses are issued, drivers who already have one will receive "tangible" compensation.

A new government authority will decide city by city whether the number of taxi licenses should be raised or reduced, instead of issuing one rule for all. That already gives wiggle room for the powerful taxi lobby to fight for the status quo.

Still, Monti has stood firm on the idea that removing privilege and opening sectors to greater competition can spur the economy.

Growth ? which in Italy has been stuck at zero for a decade ? is viewed by economists as the best way to bring down Italy's dangerously high public debt of euro1.9 trillion, or 120 percent of GDP.

Italy is expected to enter a recession this quarter. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the Italian economy will contract in 2012 by 2.2 percent, while the Confindustria industrial lobby puts the shrinkage at 1.6 percent.

One of the most corrosive effects of the pervasive clubbiness of Italian industry has been the way it keeps young people out of work. Italy is increasingly known as a gerontocracy that entrenches older generations in plum jobs. The nation has suffered an alarming brain drain as talented young people move abroad in search of work. One Italian in four under 30 is not studying, working or in training.

"More competition also means more opening, more space for the young, less space for privilege and more recognition for merit," Monti told a press conference announcing the reforms. "It is not just a big economic operation, but also a big social action."

But most Italians, for the moment, are worried about losing what they have ? not about the possible longer-term gains of painful reforms.

A new study produced by the Bank of Italy indicates that Italian families are poorer than just two years ago, and also carry more debt.

Monti refuses to place all the blame on the politicians who preceded him.

"Are we citizens doing our duty to help Italy grow?" he recently asked.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_busting_the_lobbies

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Homeboy Industries Shares Gang Members' Stories Of Success

Within the country's largest gang intervention program, young men and women learn job skills working side-by-side with their would-be rivals. That's because one of Homeboy Industries' founding principles is that it works with gang members.

Los Angeles-based Homeboy Industries provides academic, career and re-entry services to thousands of current and former gang members every day, founder and director Father Gregory Boyle explained to a group of Huffington Post editors and reporters on Monday.

The organization's opportunities and programs fill in gaps in government services, Boyle said. It has grown to include a charter school as well as social services and job training facilities. The nonprofit also has a bakery, farmers markets and a cafe that all employ gang members.

Boyle, a former Los Angeles pastor, said he had to bury 180 young people lost to violence in the 1980s, which prompted him to create the organization. He explained that the approach to re-entry services must go much deeper than the common perception of what causes gang violence.

"It's not about conflict, or else peacemaking would work," he said. "It's about despair -- not rational grievance. No shooter is hoping to kill; rather they are hoping to die."

Boyle said Homeboy has received recognition for its role in Los Angeles' declining gang-related homicide rate. But perhaps an even greater testament to its effectiveness is Will Lopez, a former gang member who found a new start through Homeboy. He sought out the help of Father Doyle, his neighborhood priest at the time, who assisted him in finding a job and a direction in life.

Lopez told The Huffington Post that he has worked in fields from maintenance to computer technology, but that he has developed a specific interest in speaking out against domestic violence. His father was murdered, and he wanted to make sure he would be involved in his own daughter's life.

"I made a commitment to my daughter that that wouldn't happen," he said.

Like the gang members it helps, Homeboy has had its share of hardships. After the Homeboy Bakery burned down in October 1999, the nonprofit relied on donors. (Disclosure: HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington helped lead that effort.)

Father Boyle added that the organization ran out of money 18 months ago, due in part to the recession. The company laid off numerous employees and Boyle stopped taking paychecks.

"In the early days, you could always find jobs for the 'homies,'" Boyle said, noting that competition in the job market took a toll on the organization's efforts.

Homeboy has inspired 15 similar initiatives around the country, from San Francisco to Boston. The organization also has a successful food line found in major grocery stores, and it is working to spread the word about how its programs can work in other areas. Boyle sums it by saying the approach comes down to one mantra.

"Let's be smart on crime, rather than soft or hard on crime."

Learn about opportunities to get involved with Homeboy Industries here.

Russell Bishop contributed reporting.

Homeboy Industries, the country's largest gang intervention program, visits HuffPost.

Homeboy Industries, the country's largest gang intervention program, visits HuffPost.

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Homeboy Industries, the country's largest gang intervention program, visits HuffPost.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/homeboy-industries-gang-members_n_1244966.html

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Rotblat's pursuit of nuclear peace

Edwin Lyman, contributor

NOBEL laureate and eminent scientist Joseph Rotblat was a man of inexhaustible energy, optimism and dedication. In this new biography, author and radiation oncologist Andrew Brown faithfully captures his character. Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience chronicles Rotblat's journey from his beginnings in a prosperous Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland, before the first world war, to his rapid rise from electrician to internationally prominent nuclear physicist, and ultimately his committed opposition to nuclear weapons.

A prot?g? of neutron discoverer James Chadwick, Rotblat had been one of the scientists on the Manhattan Project. Yet he left in 1944, and after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945, his concern about the misuse of nuclear science drove him to become a vocal opponent of nuclear weapons. He went on to pursue a career in medical physics, and with the like-minded Bertrand Russell, organised the first Pugwash conference in 1957 in Canada.

Even as cold war mistrust reached fever pitch, this path-breaking and audacious event brought together Soviet and western scientists to discuss risks from weapons of mass destruction. Its success led to a series of conferences, continuing to this day, that helped lay the groundwork for a number of arms control agreements, including the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. Rotblat and the Pugwash conferences were jointly awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1995.

Brown's great respect for his subject is apparent, but this is no hagiography. He hints at a personality that could be prickly and arrogant, and also takes a closer look at Rotblat's famous resignation from the Manhattan Project. By Rotblat's own account, he lost interest when Allied intelligence was convinced the Nazis had abandoned their own atomic bomb project. Although his moral qualms clearly were a major motivating factor, Brown presents a more complex story.

Whatever his motivations, Rotblat's departure from the Manhattan Project sealed his fate as an outsider: he learned about its "success" from a news report. Still, he was determined to play a major role in establishing policies to control the bomb that he had helped to develop.

His stature as a nuclear physicist enabled him to provide high-level expert advice and his public warnings about the dangers of fallout from hydrogen bomb tests soon rankled with the US and UK nuclear weapons establishments.

At times, Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience seems as much a history of the Pugwash conferences as a biography of Rotblat. Yet Brown makes a convincing case that the two were so closely intertwined that Rotblat deserves some credit for all its accomplishments.

Beyond its successes, the book also details Pugwash's many internecine conflicts - such as whether the organisation should pursue Rotblat's vision of an internationally verified nuclear weapon-free world or a more pragmatic, incremental approach to arms control. Rotblat, who periodically flirted with the idea of world government, was long concerned that the concept of national sovereignty enshrined in the UN charter hindered the international inspection and enforcement necessary to abolish nuclear weapons, and ultimately war itself. Today, when many nations routinely invoke "national sovereignty" to block international initiatives to slow the proliferation of sensitive nuclear facilities, increase the security of nuclear materials and strengthen the safety of nuclear power plants, it is hard to deny that Rotblat had a point.

Though he could do without so much speculation about the feelings of various players, Brown's use of numerous interviews, including one with Rotblat himself, make for compelling reading. Overall, Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience is a fine work that lucidly depicts the challenges faced by Rotblat and his Pugwash colleagues as they relentlessly pursued a more peaceful world.

Edwin Lyman us a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, DC.

Book Information
Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience: The life and work of Joseph Rotblat
by Andrew Brown
Published by: Oxford University Press
?18.99/$29.95

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Google, Facebook, Privacy ? And You

Editor?s note: Guest author Keith Teare is General Partner at his incubator Archimedes Labs and CEO of newly funded just.me. He was a co-founder of TechCrunch. Like millions of other people, I got an email from Google this morning. It was entitled ?Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service?. The first sentence describes the intent of the changes as shortening 60 policies into one, and improving their readability. Then there is a longer explanation captured in the graphic above. The email goes on to assert that Google has not changed its privacy policy and will not sell our personal information to third parties ? ?Our privacy policies remain unchanged?. So what is going on here? Facebook is the shiny object that Larry is focused on. This is a week where Sheryl Sandberg ? Chief Operating Officer at Facebook ? spoke at Hubert Burda?s DLD conference in Munich and stated that we were in the middle of 3 trends. First, a trend ?from anonymity to real identity?. Secondly, a trend from ?wisdom of crowds to wisdom of friends? and third, a trend ?from being receivers of information to broadcasters of information?. See the video below for the actual points she made. It was a thoughtful and at the same time a polemical speech, a speech with a strong point of view. In thinking about Google?s privacy policy changes it helps to listen to Sheryl?s remarks and reflect on the context. Facebook is saying that the Internet as a pure information retrieval mechanism is dead. That the ?readwrite? web that began as long ago as cheap web site hosting in 1998, has entirely replaced the read-only web. That the identifiable author has replaced the anonymous one. We are broadcasting and we are identifiable. That reading what friends say is now dominant in that world. Facebook envisages a future in which we all broadcast almost everything to almost everybody. Google?s problem. In that world, Google?s PageRank algorithm is seriously out of date. It promotes pages based on the number of links to it. Today, pages are no longer the unit of publishing. Far smaller items than a page dominate our senses. And those smaller messages are produced in huge quantity and in real time. So the signals that make something relevant have now changed. Facebook (and Twitter) have oodles of such signals. Google, until recently, had none. Google?s solution. The changes

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JaxxfzBvTGI/

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Check Out These Latest Small Business Awards and Contests

This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

Also, if you?ve entered and won a contest or award listed here, let us know so we can share your news.

-
* * * * *

Tibbetts Awards 2012
Enter by January 31, 2012

The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for its Tibbetts Awards, recognizing small-business research and innovation. The awards recognize companies that have taken part in the SBA?s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Three awards will be given, one for companies that have participated in the SBIR/STTR programs, one for individuals who advocate on behalf of the programs, and a third ?Hall of Fame? award recognizing companies that have a track record of success in research, innovation and product commercialization within the SBIR or STTR program.

Small Business Book Awards
Enter by January 31, 2012

Nominations are now open for the 4th Annual Small Business Book Awards. They recognize business books of special interest to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Last year there were 106 books nominated and 41,000 votes cast by the community.

This year, over 100 books have already been nominated with over 2 weeks to go. Books published between November 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 are eligible.

You can nominate one book ? or as many books as you like, and anyone can nominate. Authors, you are encouraged to nominate your own book. Publishers and publicists can also nominate books. ?Book lovers ? you can nominate, too!

PA Tech Awards 2012
Enter by February 1, 2012

Nominations for winners in eight categories will be accepted on the event?s new website in a unique, open format. Every submitted nomination in every category can be viewed immediately by visitors to the site and shared to social media channels, delivering increased global visibility for all nominees. The annual gala on March 30, 2012 celebrates and honors the brightest technology leaders and innovators from across the state.

The Next Teen Tycoon Contest
Enter by February 3, 2012

Vertical Response is searching for the country?s most promising teen entrepreneurs with the ?Next Teen Tycoon? online video contest.

The contest is open to teens between 13 and 18 years old who have their own business or a viable business idea. The top three contest winners will receive prizes totaling more than $10,000 in worth. They include one grand prize winner, who will receive $4,000 in ?seed cash? to help him/her launch or grow the business, and a trip to the 2012 TEDxTeen conference in New York. Two second place winners will win $2,000 in ?seed cash? each.

2012 Small Business Strategy Award
Enter by February 10, 2012

If you have been in business at least five years, have annual revenues of less than $5 million and have realized success from a specific strategy you?ve implemented within the past two years, you are encouraged to apply for the coveted 2012 Small Business Strategy Award.

The winner will be announced at the Seventh Annual Small Business Summit in New York City on March 6, 2012.

Fulton County PA Excellence in Small Business Award
Enter by February 17, 2012

The Awards Committee of the Fulton County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism is accepting nominations of local businesses for the 2011 Excellence in Small Business Award. The award will be presented at the Chamber-Tourism?s Award Celebration. The category provides public recognition for the accomplishments of small businesses, those employing ten or fewer full-time employees. This category requires demonstration of growth, overall stability, a positive community image, leadership and civic involvement. Nominees do not have to be a member of the Fulton County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, but must be a Fulton County business.

Connecticut Innovations TechStart Fund
Apply by February 22, 2012

The TechStart Fund was created to spur technology innovation at its very earliest stage. The fund provides entrepreneurial or student teams with initial capital so they can determine whether a technology concept and business are viable and whether future funding can be obtained to launch a new business. Teams applying for TechStart funding will need to participate in a 10-week program, during which they will be provided with mentors and various professional resources offering strategic guidance in launching a new business. The initial 10-week pilot program will be held at CTech@Science Park at Yale in New Haven and will begin in March 2012.

See website for more details and entry requirements.

Office Depot?s Small Business Makeover Contest
Enter by February 27, 2012

The Small Business Makeover contest is designed to help small business owners augment or adjust their business in order to save time, grow and prosper in 2012 and beyond. The contest will award three small businesses a makeover from Office Depot, which includes a one-on-one financial coaching session with Jean Chatzky, office furniture, and supplies featuring Jean?s line of Mead financial organization products, available exclusively at Office Depot.

Small businesses can enter the contest by visiting Office Depot?s Facebook page and submitting, in 100 words or less, why their small business is in need of a makeover.

The Amazing Entrepreneur
Enter by February 29, 2012

The 2nd Annual Amazing Entrepreneur Business Plan Competition is an initiative by Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development and The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to foster new business development in Gwinnett County, GA. The contest is open to individuals who own or manage a small business, which has been in operation less than 36 months, in Gwinnett County.

The Grand Prize winner will receive $2500 cash to be used solely for the business entering the contest, a trip to Sage Software?s Customer Conference in Nashville, TN (airfare, hotel stay, conference fees), one-year membership to Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, one-year participation in the Chamber?s Gwinnett Business Institute program ($180 value), a consultation with an attorney from Arnall Golden Gregory ($2500 value), and research assistance from Chamber?s economic development department

2012 Small Business Online Marketing Contest
Enter by February 29,2012

For the second year, Chicago-area small businesses are being recognized for their marketing success. Constant Contact kicked off the 2012 Small Business Online Marketing Contest today in partnership with the Chicago City Treasurer?s Office. The contest will award more than $12,000 in cash and prizes to businesses submitting winning entries in ?Best Business Email Marketing? and ?Best Overall Users of Social Media? categories, including ?Rookie Awards.?

CoolCalifornia Small Business Award
Enter by February 29, 2012

The CoolCalifornia Small Business Awards recognize California small businesses that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, promote climate friendly practices and integrate the tools on CoolCalifornia.org into their business operations.

There are two award categories: CoolCalifornia Small Business of the Year Award, and CoolCalifornia Climate Leader Award.

Brother Small Business Grant Program
Enter by March 2, 2012

StartupNation has collaborated with Brother, a leader in small business technology, to bring you
the 2012 Brother Small Business Grant Program.

The grant program will award a total of $25,000 to five small business owners who submit the most original and creative business plan.

Verizon California Small Business Makeover Contest
Enter by March 2, 2012

Verizon wants to hear about Southern California small businesses? technology challenges and will award a business makeover worth more than $5,000 to the company that best tells its story. Register and submit an essay, of no longer than 500 words, describing the technology challenges facing your business. Small businesses also have the opportunity to win a $500 American Express Gift Card if they view quick, informative videos about Verizon Small Business solutions on the contest website.

A panel of judges will determine the grand-prize winner and four semifinalists. The grand prize consists of $2,000 in cash; an HP Laptop; a Verizon Wireless 4G LTE LG Revolution Smart Phone; the Intuit Website Design Services Package; and Mobile Pay and Google Personal Support for Google Products. The semifinalists will each receive custom business-technology recommendations valued at $125.

Staples Give Your Small Business the Push it Needs Contest
Enter by March 14, 2012

Staples has launched its ?Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs? contest, which will offer five small businesses up to $50,000 in free television advertising in their home market.
Small businesses can enter the contest by submitting a 15-second video about their company on Facebook.com/Staples by March 14. Five winners will be chosen to receive 15 seconds of advertising in a 30-second Staples television ad to run in their local market. Winners can have $50,000 in advertising or $40,000 in advertising and $10,000 in cash.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.
If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it?s free).

Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.

About the Author

Laura Leites is managing editor of SmallBizTechnology. In addition to writing about technology tools for SMBs, Laura manages the day-to-day operations of Smallbiztechnology.com. She also produces their live and virtual events, including the Taste of Technology Small Business Series.

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/01/check-out-small-business-awards-contests.html

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Ex-Palm chief leaves HP after WebOS move (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Jon Rubinstein, who was instrumental in crafting Apple Inc's iPod music player, has left Hewlett Packard Co after two years on the job there.

Rubinstein was CEO of smartphone maker Palm when that company was acquired by HP in 2010. He last held a product-innovation role within HP's Personal Systems Group headed by Todd Bradley.

"Jon has fulfilled his commitment to HP," a HP spokesman said.

Rubinstein is still a board member at e-commerce company Amazon.com.

Last year HP, the largest U.S. technology company by revenue, announced it was halting its TouchPad line of tablets and any other devices based on WebOS, the mobile software it acquired when it bought Palm.

In December, HP said it would open its WebOS mobile operating system to developers and companies, potentially taking on Google Inc's free Android platform.

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; editing by John Wallace)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/tc_nm/us_hewlettpackard

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