Occupy L.A.: LAPD on tactical alert; protesters say eviction imminent

The Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday night issued a citywide tactical alert as Occupy L.A. protesters braced for their imminent eviction from the City Hall lawn.

Los Angeles police have not said when they will evict the protesters.Belstaff An LAPD email alert said the tactical alert was "due to unusual occurrence in downtown L.A." The LAPD was beginning to put up traffic barriers along streets around City Hall.

Several people reported seeing large numbers of police cars driving into Dodger Stadium, where officers were apparently gathering.

Occupy L.A.: Photos | 360° photos | Video | Webcam

Some activists placed trash and recycling bins to block the main entrance to the lawn,Belstaff outlet saying they saw the barrier as some level of protection against the expected eviction.

The LAPD set a Monday morning deadline for the protesters to leave.

At a meeting of demonstrators Tuesday evening, organizers said that it was "very probable" that some kind of raid will occur Tuesday.Belstaff jacket They did not reveal the source of the information.

An excited man ran through the camp screaming "the cops are coming from the northeast side! The cops are coming!" His Paul Revere-like sprint set the camp ablaze with nervous talking.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he decided that it was time to evict Occupy L.A. protesters from the City Hall lawn after learning that there were children staying there.

Given the smattering of assaults and other incidents reported at the camp, “the chaos out there could produce something awful,”Belstaff blouson he said in an interview with The Times.

The mayor, a former union organizer and president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck jointly made the decision to allow overnight camping on the lawn in hopes of charting a “different path” with protesters. That was, he said, in part because he respects many of their views.

FULL COVERAGE: Occupy protests

Many at the tent city--which grew to include its own library, multitude of committees and even a schedule of yoga classes--were drawn by outrage at economic policies that they say favor the rich. But many also pledge allegiance to a variety of other causes, including legalizing marijuana and ending the Federal Reserve.

Climate Change Evaporates Part of China's Hydropower

SHANGHAI -- China has set ambitious goals for itself to develop hydropower to help mitigate the risks of climate change,Belstaff Outlet but increasing extreme weather events likely rooted in climate change are now sabotaging the goals' foundations.
The latest blow came in September, when many major rivers across China ran into an unusual shrinkage, with less than 20 percent water remaining at some stretches. As a result, the nation's hydroelectric generation dropped by almost a quarter compared with last year. There has been an ever-widening decrease in power each month since July, according to a recent government statement.
As water stocks in key hydro stations decline,Canada Goose Chilliwack the regular dry season is approaching. The resulting stress on hydroelectric generation will last into next year, the statement said.
The Chinese government has yet to explain why the water flows slumped. But experts blamed it on climate change, warning of more future droughts in areas traditionally blessed with water.
If this expectation comes true,Canada Goose Expedition it will hamper China's hydropower sector, which contributes most of the country's carbon-free electricity. It will also threaten a national strategy in transmitting electricity from resource-rich western China to feed the country's power-hungry manufacturing sector, most of which is in the east.
For Guangdong province, located on China's east coast, this threat has already turned into a daily reality. Since its western neighbors this year failed to send as much electricity as usual, the manufacturing hub, with a capacity to produce more than half of the world's desktops and toys, is forced to conserve electricity.
Turbines left high and dry
China Southern Power Grid, the region's electricity distributor, attributed the energy shortage partly to the evaporation of hydropower.
As of July, on average,Belstaff Jacket not even half of its installed hydropower capacity found water to turn turbines, the company's statistics show. And several major hydro stations, built as part of the west-to-east electricity transmission plan, failed to do their jobs.
Goupitan, the largest hydroelectric generator in Guizhou province, reportedly produced only 10 percent of its normal output per day, due to shrinking water flows. And in another hydro station called Longtan, located in the Guangxi region, this year's missing rain dropped its reservoir's water level to a point dozens of meters lower than previous years.
"This will definitely negatively affect our hydroelectric production from now to next summer," said Li Yanguang, who is in charge of public relations in the power station. Asked whether next summer -- a regular rainy season -- could make the situation better, Li answered in a cautious tone.
"This totally depends on weather," he said. "We can't predict that."
Hydro growth plan sticks despite falling power output
But Lin Boqiang, one of China's leading energy experts, is confident that the nation's hydroelectric generation may just go in one direction: getting worse.
"If climate change caused this year's water flow decreases, which I think it did, and then its impact [on rivers] will be a long term. It will take a toll on China's hydroelectric output, and also push up the cost of using it," explained Lin, who directs the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.
But still, from Lin's point of view, such setbacks can't compete with the Chinese desire for tapping more water power. China, already the world's largest hydropower user, plans to add another 120 gigawatts by 2015 -- a crucial step toward greening 15 percent of its power mix by the end of the decade.
Yang Fuqiang, a senior climate and energy expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, agreed that China's hydropower plan will stand, though not primarily for energy supply concerns.

Defense: Brittany Norwood ‘lost control’ in attack on Jayna Murray in yoga store

Brittany Norwood lost control the night she killed her co-worker at a Bethesda yoga store, her defense attorney said Wednesday as the high-profile trial began.

Norwood, 29, and co-worker Jayna Murray, 30, got into a “horrific fight” that March night, Douglas Wood told jurors during his opening statement. He said that Norwood grabbed makeshift weapons from the store and that Murray was dead within 15 minutes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Brittany Norwood lost it,” Wood said. “There’s no doubt about that. She lost it. She lost control.”

Wood’s explanation Wednesday marked the first time Norwood’s legal team has laid out her defense in the murder case. The admissions reflect overwhelming evidence tying Norwood to the killing. The defense’s hope: that jurors conclude that things started as a fight between the women and that Norwood never had the intent required for a first-degree-murder conviction.

The distinction could make a big difference. In Maryland, premeditated murder carries the possibility of life with no chance for parole. Second-degree murder carries a maximum of 30 years in prison with a chance for release after 15 years.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy described what he characterized as a brutal and prolonged attack that left hundreds of wounds. He told jurors in his opening statement that Norwood cracked Murray over the head with a foot-long metal bar that was part of a merchandise rack, chased her through the store and kept pounding on her as she fell to the floor.

Norwood apparently used a hammer, a wrench, a knife and a peg used to hold up a mannequin in the attack, he said.

On top of that, the prosecutor said, Norwood tried to strangle Murray.

“This is the rope,” McCarthy said, holding up the bloodstained item. “And you can see the hair, Jayna’s hair, hanging on the rope.”

At one point on that night, he said, an employee at the Apple Store next-door to Lululemon Athletica heard a woman’s voice cry out:“Oh God, please help me.” A worker pounded on the wall but did not take further action, he said.

In the end, Murray suffered at least 322 wounds, 107 of which were defensive wounds inflicted as she tried to use parts of her body — including her hands and forearms — to shield herself, McCarthy said. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy said she had never seen so many defensive wounds, he told jurors.

“On March the 11th of this year, she savagely ended the life of Jayna Murray,” McCarthy said. “Today we begin the process of holding her accountable for the crime she committed . . . first-degree, premeditated murder.”

Under Maryland law, premeditation can happen within seconds. The longer McCarthy is able to draw out the attack in jurors’ minds, the stronger his case becomes.

“The defense has a very tough battle on their hands,” said Victor Del Pino, a defense attorney and former Montgomery prosecutor who watched the proceedings and is not involved in the case.

Norwood’s defense lawyers tried to plant the idea that she had lost her ability to think that night. “What they’re trying to do is minimize the culpability, based on her state of mind,” Del Pino said.

McCarthy anticipated such a defense and began the trial by quickly drawing a distinction between Murray and Norwood. He called the former an “extraordinary young woman” pursuing two master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University at the time of the crime. The first photo he showed jurors, projected on a large screen, was of Murray’s smiling face.

The second photo was of Norwood, with a dour expression, taken on one of the nights police questioned her.

Families of both women, including their parents, sat in the third row of the courtroom separated by the middle aisle. The trial is expected to last about eight days.

McCarthy, a former high school teacher who has prosecuted more than 100 murder trials, slowly walked jurors up to the morning of March 12, when Murray was found dead inside the store and Norwood, discovered tied up in a bathroom. Norwood would later tell detectives they had been attacked by masked men who slipped into the store after closing.

Police at first considered Norwood a victim but discovered that her story was part of a detailed coverup, McCarthy told jurors.

Norwood staged a robbery and tossed mops, brooms and chairs around the room, he said. McCarthy said she cut Murray’s pants to make it appear that she had been sexually assaulted. And he suggested that she used a pair of men’s shoes to track blood around the store — trying to make it appear that a large man had been there.

But Wood said Norwood wasn’t cunning after the killing, as McCarthy maintained.

“Things that Brittany Norwood did after this were totally inept,” said Wood, who has been a defense attorney in about 75 murder cases. “They show someone, we submit, who got involved in a nightmarish situation, a nightmare, and had this sort of imagination, or this explanation of what happened, and it was full of holes because there was no premeditation, deliberation and willfulness.”

Motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli killed in crash Sunday, one week after Dan Wheldon's IndyCar death

Marco Simoncelli, a rising MotoGP star, died Sunday at the same Malaysian circuit where the Italian won the 250cc world title in 2008. He was 24.

Nicknamed 'Super Sic' and sporting a mop of curly hair, Simoncelli was predicted by many to be a future MotoGP world champion. He died a week after Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-car accident in the IndyCar finale at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Simoncelli lost control of his Honda at turn 11 four minutes into the Malaysian MotoGP. After regaining partial grip, Simoncelli's bike swerved across the track - and into the path of American Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi of Italy.

"Marco was a strong rider and he always pushed hard," said Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso of Italy. "We raced together since we were kids, I saw him always pushing to the maximum, he crashed many times, but without major injuries, he seemed invincible. What happened today seems impossible."

PHOTOS: ATHLETES GONE TOO SOON

Rossi had been one of the earliest riders to praise Simoncelli's desire to win.

"Going into a duel with him is like going into a fight with someone bigger than you," Rossi said. "You know he's going to take you."

Simoncelli was born on Jan. 20, 1987, in Cattolica in eastern Italy. He developed a passion for the sport at a young age and started racing in the Minibike Championships when he was 7.

He won the European 125cc title in 2002, the same year in which he made his debut in the 125cc World Championship, moving to the global competition full time the following season.

Simoncelli finished 21st that year but improved in 2004, when he moved up to 11th and earned his first win - the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

In 2005, Simoncelli joined the Nocable.it Race team. He won in Jerez again and totaled six podium finishes, ending the season - and his time in 125cc - in fifth place.

Ads add up for airlines, but some fliers say it's too much

For a cool $14 million, you can advertise for a year on the exterior of every Spirit Airlines jet.
If that's too steep, consider plunking down $196,000 for three months of ads on the overhead bins in Spirit's planes, $119,000 for ads on the tray tables or $18,500 for ads on air-sickness bags.

Spirit, along with Europe's leading cut-rate airline Ryanair, are unashamed industry leaders at generating ancillary revenue by seemingly renting every inch of in-flight display space to advertisers.

But they're just leading the way. A growing number of U.S. airlines — perhaps emboldened by billions of dollars of extra revenue collected annually for bag fees — are reaching out to advertisers, too.

Ads are appearing not only on overhead bins, seat backs and tray tables but on flight attendants' aprons, snack boxes and napkins.

And in announcements by flight crews and even in safety videos.

That's sacrilege to some fliers who view a plane — and a few hours alone in the air without a cellphone or other interruption — as a respite from life on the ground, the office, home or even the airport. To and from the boarding gate, travelers face ads in taxis, at ticket kiosks, on airport walls, billboards and digital screens, in jetways and on baggage carousels.

"I get aggravated by advertising during the flight," says Memphis-based frequent flier Trey Block, the chief financial officer of a chemical distribution company. "Anywhere inside a cabin is inappropriate."

Block and frequent business traveler Michael Sommer, of Jacksonville, say they were annoyed by a Lincoln automobile commercial that was shown before Delta Air Lines' pre-flight safety video.

"Safety should be the primary concern, and if it's Delta's priority, then why distract someone's attention from the video screen?" says Sommer, who works as a consultant. "As soon as I see the advertisement, I look away and go back to what I was doing."

This month, Delta added a welcome by CEO Richard Anderson and began running the Lincoln commercial after the safety demonstration. That doesn't appease Sommer.

"I pay for a ticket to get from point A to point B safely," he says. "If they want to bombard me with advertising, then give me a discount."

A discount isn't likely. Nobody has exact figures on how much airlines make selling advertising. Airlines don't divulge it. But the revenue is large enough that no marketing expert foresees a rollback.

Airlines realize airfares cannot be the sole source of revenue and are constantly looking for new sources, says Michael Houston, an associate dean at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.

"If they can attract more advertising revenue, they will be in a better position to keep airfares from going up too rapidly," he says.

Backlash at ads? 

Some marketing experts warn that the airlines may be going too far.

Marketing consultant Bruce Silverman, a former creative director at three of the largest ad agencies, says many frequent fliers "regard their in-flight experience as their private time, when they can hold normal intrusions of the outside world at bay."

The growth of in-flight advertising "is repellent to these passengers" — an "insult" to paying customers, he says.

"There is already too much advertising clutter in the world," Silverman says. "I truly believe advertisers who choose to intrude on airline passengers are likely to lose — not gain — customers."

Tobe Berkovitz, an associate professor of advertising at Boston University, likens the aircraft cabin to a movie theater and says "airplanes have become one of many environments where advertising clutter has proliferated."

He says moviegoers years ago complained about having to watch commercials after buying tickets, but theater owners didn't stop reaching for the extra revenue.

"It's the same for airlines," Berkovitz says. "At least you could walk out of a movie. Good luck walking out of an airplane."

Some business travelers say magazines — in which readers can choose whether to look at ads — should be the only place for them in cabins.

"I would like to see the advertising restricted to the airline's magazine," says Robert Milk, a management consultant in Glen Allen, Va. "The remainder is garish and a turnoff."

Houston, of the University of Minnesota, says too much advertising aimed at fliers "could certainly backfire," but it is unclear whether an airline's image would suffer.

"The backlash could be against the advertiser," he says.

Always seeking revenue 

Neither the airlines nor advertisers seem concerned about any pushback.

If anything, airlines are looking for more ways to sell ads, because they like the revenue, and advertisers like their captive audience.

Revenue from airline tickets, advertising and other sources such as fees doesn't cover airlines' operating costs, says Steve Lott, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association of America, which represents U.S. airlines.

"Airlines need to be sustainably profitable to be able to invest in their people, their product and continue to serve markets," he says. "As with other modes of transportation and other industries, including sports and entertainment, advertising revenue helps offset the high costs faced by the airline industry."

Carol Thiel, American Airlines' managing director of marketing solutions, says the carrier's in-flight advertising "is a win for everyone."

Passengers receive special offers, such as free in-flight Wi-Fi or bonus frequent-flier miles, and advertisers can share information on their products and brands, she says. "And the airline benefits from having a customer that is more engaged, while generating some incremental revenue."

In-flight advertising is effective because the traveler is captive on the plane and there are "limited distractions," says Ryan Matway, president of Air Advertainment. His company provides the snack boxes with display ads that US Airways gives, free, to passengers.

Matway says the snack boxes create goodwill, because passengers don't have to pay for them. They're more effective than a quick 15-second commercial, because they may sit for 15 minutes in front of a passenger, he says.

GuestLogix, which provides airlines with handheld credit card readers, last year launched a service that prints advertisements on receipts issued to passengers.

"Airline passengers are among the greatest consumers in the world," the company says. "They are focused shoppers with a strong appetite to purchase."

Advertising in aircraft "is a unique way to reach a very affluent customer and allows a brand to differentiate its delivery channel over a competitor," Thiel says. "For advertisers, an aircraft can be an effective medium, because it allows them to inform the public about their products at the right time in a relatively uncluttered medium."

Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Misty Pinson says on-board ads have the highest ad recall rate of all media.

"These results are unachievable with traditional advertising mediums," she says. "We provide an environment where cellphones are turned off and the consumer is stationary with the ability to focus on nothing but your brand for an average of three hours."

On Nov. 1, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority will begin six months of advertising in Spirit jets on overhead bins, middle-seat tray tables, bulkheads, boarding passes and ticket jackets.

Nasdaq will advertise on the aisle and window tray tables for the next three months. The Colombian region of Quindío begins advertising on seat back inserts next month, and flight attendants are wearing aprons advertising the Colombian beach-resort city Cartagena de Indias.

Setting limits on ads 

Still, some airlines say they're conscious about not bombarding passengers. And some are careful about who they let advertise.

Southwest tries "not to hit customers with too many advertising messages," says spokeswoman Ashley Dillon. "Our goal is to keep the messages travel-related and focused on Southwest products."

The airline has a long-term partnership with SeaWorld, and three airplanes painted with Shamu, a killer whale. In the past, Southwest painted a Slam Dunk One aircraft for the National Basketball Association and other aircraft for states it served.

JetBlue has planes painted for business partner DirecTV and two sports teams it sponsors, the New York Jets football team and the Utah-based soccer team Real Salt Lake.

Southwest and JetBlue say their planes are painted only for marketing partners and sponsors, and no ad space is for sale on the exterior of their jets.

Other companies' advertising on JetBlue's in-seat TV and seat-back cards enables the airline to provide passengers with free amenities, including 36 channels of in-seat TV and name-brand snacks and drinks, says spokeswoman Allison Steinberg.

"Advertising helps us invest our funds into the product, so we get a better experience for the customer," she says.

US Airways, which has planes painted for four NFL teams it sponsors, says advertising is "an important source of revenue" that can be found, among other places, on tray tables and boarding passes.

Such advertisers as Verizon, Samsung, Yoplait, Mercedes-Benz and the History Channel have displayed ads on the airline's tables.

Jan Slater, a professor of advertising at the University of Illinois College of Media, says airports "have long been a prime advertising opportunity," but advertisers have to be more cautious about linking up with airlines.

"The advertiser is immediately aligning itself with the airline brand — and that is not always advantageous," says Slater, who is an interim dean at the university's College of Media.

"If the airline does not provide good service, has long delays, has a history of safety violations, charges for every single thing — these may be elements that another brand does not want to be associated with," Slater says.

Though many business travelers say they're bothered by the growing amount of advertising aimed at them, others aren't.

Mitch Fong of Mill Valley, Calif., says he's "not opposed to any of the advertising" he has seen, and he doesn't mind advertising on the carry-on baggage storage bins.

"The only objection I could foresee is the signage at an airport getting so cluttered I couldn't find the necessary information," says Fong, a vice president in the financial services industry.

Frequent flier Steven Gordon of Virginia Beach, has no problem with airport ads or some in-flight ads.

"Hey, isn't everything for sale to advertisers in this country?" he says.

Olympus Shares Plummet

TOKYO—Shares of Olympus Corp. fell as much as 24% Monday morning as an abrupt ouster of its foreign chief executive clouded prospects for the Japanese company's earnings and triggered an immediate string of brokerage downgrades.
The heavy selloff sent the stock to the lowest level since May 2009, as both foreign and domestic investors winced at the growing uncertainty, stoked by fresh questions raised by the ousted executive Michael Woodford about the company's governance practices.

In a weekend interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Woodford said he sent a letter to the imaging-equipment's chairman raising questions about the prices and advisory fees paid in a series of acquisitions in the years before he joined Olympus's board.

Olympus said Monday that its mergers-and-acquisitions deals "all go through appropriate procedures" and take place after "appropriate accounting practices."

"As we have explained before, (Mr. Woodford) was removed from his posts because of major differences in the direction and style of management from other senior executives, which caused difficulties in management decision making," said Olympus spokesman Yoshiaki Yamada.

Olympus, which makes cameras and medical equipment, said Friday it fired 51-year-old Mr. Woodford, the company's first non-Japanese chief executive, due to a clash in management style with other senior executives.

"If it's just a CEO resignation, we can expect a rebound in shares. But it's difficult to invest in this stock now since we don't know what's going to come out from here," Monex Inc. senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said.
Nomura Securities lowered its rating on the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed its target price to ¥2,000 ($26) from ¥3,300, saying Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, who took over as president, is unlikely able to push through cost-cutting measures that he couldn't deliver over the past decade.

"With the firing of Mr. Woodford, who had been a strong proponent of cost cutting, we no longer have any expectations of earnings improvement resulting from bold cost reductions in FY 2012 onward," Nomura analyst Motoya Kohtani wrote in a client note.

JPMorgan Securities immediately cut its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2013 to ¥60 billion from ¥70 billion, also citing cost-cutting uncertainties and the risk of intensified competition in the mirrorless camera market. House lowered its rating to Neutral from Overweight.

Olympus shares extended Friday's 18% drop and briefly went limit-down to ¥1,545. At 0130 GMT, shares were down 23% at ¥1,575.

Johnny Depp falls to the ground in Hollywood after late night out

Did Johnny Depp take his role in "The Rum Diary" a bit too seriously?

The 48-year-old actor, who plays a booze-loving journalist in the upcoming film based on a Hunter S. Thompson novel, took a spill outside of a Hollywood hot spot Saturday night -- and it was caught on film.

Depp was spotted by Hollywood.tv leaving the restaurant 25 Degrees when he and a friend who was escorting him to his car tumbled onto the Los Angeles sidewalk.

DEPP'S DREAMY BUT WHO ARE HOLLYWOOD'S OTHER HUNKS?

Depp managed to get off the ground, sign an autograph for a fan and climb into his waiting car before flashing an odd sign at paparazzi.

Perhaps the actor was celebrating the recent news that he'll be producing – and perhaps starring in – an upcoming Dr. Suess biopic. Or drinking away the sorrow of his recent gaffe, complaining to Vanity Fair that sitting for a photo shoot is like "being raped."