Private Rocket Builder Has High Hopes for 'Year of the Dragon' (SPACE.com)

This story was updated at 4:47 p.m. ET.

The lunar New Year ushered in the "Year of the Dragon" today (Jan. 23), according to the Chinese calendar, with one U.S. rocket company hoping to celebrate with a big fireworks display of its own soon.

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is putting the finishing touches on its first private spaceship to visit the International Space Station, with the launch now aimed for late March. The gumdrop-shaped capsule is called Dragon and the company has taken a stylized depiction of the mythical beast as a logo.

The company celebrated the Chinese New Year by releasing an interactive panorama of the Dragon space capsule's interior and a digital vehicle and space station above Earth.

"Today marks the start of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar and this year, SpaceX's Dragon will become the first privately developed spacecraft to visit the International Space Station," SpaceX officials wrote in a statement today. "Space travel is one of the most difficult of all human endeavors, and success is never a guarantee. This flight introduces a series of new challenges and new magnitudes of complexity; if even the smallest thing goes wrong, we will be forced to abort the mission."

Led by veteran entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX is one of two companies contracted by NASA to provide robotic cargo ships to haul supplies to the International Space Station. Musk has said he named the spacecraft "Dragon" after the fictional "Puff the Magic Dragon" in the song by the music group Peter, Paul and Mary because many critics considered the idea impossible when he founded the company in 2002.

Today, SpaceX has a $1.6 billion deal to provide 12 unmanned cargo flights for NASA. The other company ? Orbital Sciences Corp., in Virginia ? is also planning its first launch to the orbiting lab later this year.

SpaceX launched its first Dragon capsule on a short test flight in December 2010 in a historic milestone that marked the first flight and retrieval of a private space capsule. But that flight, which orbited Earth twice before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, was only a trial run.

The real test will come in March or shortly thereafter, when the first Dragon capsule pulls up to the International Space Station and astronauts aboard the outpost grab it using a robotic arm. [Photos: Dragon, SpaceX's Private Spaceship]

"There will be challenges along the way, but SpaceX will again make history and become the first private company to send a spacecraft to the Space Station," SpaceX officials wrote. "We take this responsibility very seriously and will not stop until we succeed."

SpaceX and NASA originally aimed to launch the Dragon capsule test flight on Feb. 7, but the need for some final tests and checks forced the latest delay, SpaceX officials said.

SpaceX's Dragon capsules can carry about 13,228 pounds (6,000 kilograms) of cargo to low-Earth orbit and are designed to launch atop the company's Falcon 9 rockets. While the capsules can rendezvous with the space station, they are built to be grappled by the space station's robotic arm and attached to an available parking spot on one of the outpost's modules.

SpaceX is also hoping to modify the Dragon capsule to carry up to seven astronauts on trips to and from low-Earth orbit. The company is one of several private spacecraft firms to receive some NASA funds to develop private space taxies capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the space station.

"Dragon is a spacecraft unlike any other," SpaceX officials wrote. "Not only is it the first privately developed spacecraft to successfully return from Earth orbit, but it is also the only reusable spacecraft designed for human transport in operation today."

Like the mythical dragon, SpaceX's capsule does have a pair of wings, but only to generate power. The twin solar arrays are designed to unfold from the capsule after it reaches orbit.

But the spacecraft's solar arrays form just one part of the complicated spacecraft and SpaceX officials pledged to take a closer look at many other systems in the space capsule in the days ahead.

"In the coming days, we'll take a closer look at some of Dragon's advanced technologies in celebration of the Year of the Dragon and the opening of a new era in space travel," they said.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120123/sc_space/privaterocketbuilderhashighhopesforyearofthedragon

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Merkel, Sarkozy meet amid new year of euro gloom (AP)

BERLIN ? The leaders of Germany and France are holding their first meeting of the year as the eurozone's weaker countries worry about high borrowing costs and Europe works to hammer out a treaty enshrining tougher budget rules.

Monday's meeting of Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy comes ahead of new Italian Premier Mario Monti's first visit to Berlin Wednesday.

Merkel and Sarkozy will travel to Italy Jan. 20 before a European summit at the end of the month.

Italy is a key focus of the crisis because of its size, huge debt load and need to borrow heavily in the first quarter. The yield on its 10-year bonds rose back above the 7 percent level that is considered a danger mark late last week.

Meanwhile, Greece's prime minister has warned of possible default if details of a second bailout aren't finalized.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120109/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Screws tighten on Iran as big buyers shun its oil

TEHRAN?? Iran faced the prospect on Thursday of cutbacks in its oil sales to China and Japan as new measures to cut off Tehran's crude exports appeared to be driving its economy to the wall.

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The developments in Asia follow news on Wednesday that EU leaders had agreed to halt European purchases of Iranian crude.

China, Iran's biggest trade partner, has already cut its purchases of Iranian oil by more than half this month and will extend the cuts to February, a Beijing-based trader who deals with Iranian oil said.

Japan will consider cutbacks in its Iranian oil purchases to secure a waiver from new U.S. sanctions signed into law on New Year's Eve by President Barack Obama, a government source said.

Between them, China, the EU and Japan buy about half of Iran's exports of 2.6 million barrels of oil per day.

Iranians rush to buy dollars
International sanctions that for years had little effect are for the first time having a real impact on day-to-day life in Iran, where the rial currency has tumbled and people have rushed to convert savings into dollars.

Most oil traders still expect Iran will be able to find buyers for its crude, but it will have to offer steeper discounts that will cut the hard currency revenue it needs to import food and other basic supplies for its 74 million people.

Iran warns US carrier to stay out of Persian Gulf

Iran has put on a brave face. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday Iran would "weather the storm."

"Iran, with divine assistance, has always been ready to counter such hostile actions and we are not concerned at all about the sanctions," he told a news conference.

The economic hardship comes just two months before a parliamentary election, the country's first since a disputed presidential vote in 2009 led to massive public demonstrations across the country.

Will Iran make good on its threat against US?

The authorities put those protests down by force, but since then the Arab Spring has revealed the vulnerability of authoritarian governments in the region to public anger driven by economic hardship.

Iran's leaders have responded to the sanctions with military saber-rattling, including a threat to blockade the Middle East's oil by shutting the Strait of Hormuz that leads to the Gulf, and even challenging a U.S. aircraft carrier if it sails the strait.

U.S., U.K. ships to keep strait open
Britain's defense secretary Philip Hammond warned Iran that any attempt to block the key global oil passageway would be illegal and unsuccessful ? hinting at a robust international response.

Hammond told the Atlantic Council in Washington on Thursday that the presence of British and American naval ships in the Persian Gulf would keep the route open for trade.

Story: Israel, US to stage major defense drill

However, Hammond ? holding his first talks at the Pentagon with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ? did not specifically threaten Iran with a military response.

About one-sixth of the world's oil passes on tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to close the route in possible retaliation to new U.S. and European sanctions.

Washington says it will sail the strait at will and will guarantee free passage through the international waterway.

Video: U.S.-Iran tension escalates (on this page)

European diplomats said this week they had agreed in principle to impose an EU oil embargo. The bloc ? particularly Italy, Spain and Greece ? has collectively bought about 500,000 barrels per day of Iran's oil, making it Iran's second biggest customer after China.

EU leaders have yet to agree when the embargo will take effect, but are expected to announce it at a foreign ministers meeting at the end of this month.

China, the largest buyer, which imported about 550,000 bpd of Iran's oil last year, has cut its purchases by more than half for this month and would now extend that cut to February, according to the Beijing-based trader.

China is seeking deeper discounts for continuing to do business with Iran in spite of Western sanctions.

Video: Iran makes big claims (on this page)

The new U.S. measures, if implemented fully, would make it impossible for most countries' refineries to buy Iranian crude, marking a qualitative change in the West's approach to Tehran, which it accuses of seeking a nuclear weapon.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. That standoff had led to four rounds of economic sanctions from the U.N. security council and a range of U.S. and European measures, but none of these directly hurt its ability to sell oil in the past.

Western resolve appears to have stiffened in recent months, especially after a U.N. report in November suggested Iran had taken concrete steps to develop a bomb. The storming of Britain's embassy by an Iranian crowd galvanized support among European countries for measures with more teeth.

'No trade'
In Iran's bazaars, prices for basic foodstuffs and other goods have been rising fast in recent months.

Much of that inflation has been caused by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policy of cutting back on government subsidies for staples that held prices down, a policy that has been praised by the International Monetary Fund.

The government has tried to ease the pain by giving cash payments to families. But the fall in the rial currency has slashed the value of those payments in dollar terms from about $45 a month to $27.

There are signs that some Iranians may blame the authorities for charting a foreign policy course that brought on sanctions.

"They give us some subsidy cash but it doesn't compensate for anything," said Saeed, a 33-year-old Tehran taxi driver, complaining that his imported cigarettes had doubled in price. "When I ask people why things are becoming more expensive, they all say it's the sanctions."

Clothes merchant Mohammad, 34, said there was "no trade" despite the usual crowds swarming the shops and stalls in the maze of vaulted tunnels.

"We have to make the products more expensive because we have to pay more for dollars. We shopkeepers are putting pressure on people but we have no choice," he added.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45886834/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Twitter index: Justin Bieber's songs get a Twitter title makeover

Justin Bieber?s song titles have been given a Twitter makeover as Tweeps get creative with the hashtag ?#ReplaceABieberSongWithArm.? Twitter users have transformed his songs ?Never Say Never? and ?Stuck in the Moment? into ?Never Say Arm? and ?Stuck In the Arm.?

Justin Bieber fans are also thanking the Canadian pop star for his music and inspiration in 2011 with the number two hashtag ?#thanksjustin.? Thanks Justin, say microbloggers, ?for bringing such an inspiration to us, for giving back, for sharing your music to the world, for everything. We love you.?

Twitterers are counting down the 366 days of 2012 with the phrase ?Page 2 of 366? and listing difficult situations with the Spanish phrase ?#SabesQueTeJodisteCuando? (?You know you're screwed when? in English).

?It's A #MajorTurnoffWhen You typE LyKE dHiS,? say microbloggers using the first place hashtag ?#MajorTurnoffWhen.? Other turnoffs include trying ?to sound smart but you're just using big words the wrong way,? ?when a girl lets me know how many dudes were before me? and when ?you can't spell... there, their, they're your, you're It's not difficult to get them right...?

Microbloggers are discussing the movies ?Friday After Next? and ?Set It Off? and the TV series ?Robot Chicken? and ?Are You Afraid of the Dark? as they sit back on the couch with the TV on and their fingers on the keyboard.

The top 10 most talked about topics on Twitter on January 2 at 7:30 AM GMT are:

1. #MajorTurnoffWhen (new)
2. #thanksjustin (new)
3. #SabesQueTeJodisteCuando (new)
4. Never Say Arm (new)
5. Stuck In the Arm (new)
6. Robot Chicken (new)
7. Set It Off (new)
8. Friday After Next (new)
9. Are You Afraid of the Dark (new)
10. Page 2 of 366 (new)

Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5688741330&f=378

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Adding in recount bills, GOP debt reaches $2 million

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Source: www.startribune.com --- Friday, December 30, 2011
Heading into a fierce election year, Minnesota GOP Debt is far worse than most activists had imagined. ...

Source: http://www.startribune.com/politics/136435743.html

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Paula White Declared Official Pastor of Tims? Church

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*Uh oh, Riva Tims? backers and fans aren?t gonna like this news.

The Christian Post reports that New Destiny Christian Center?announced Thursday morning that?Paula White?is the new?senior pastor?of the?Florida megachurch?the late?Zachery Tims?founded 15 years ago with his ex-wife, Riva Tims, who is also suing the?Florida?megachurch.

RELATED: Protesters Want Zachery Tims? Ex-Wife Riva as New Leader of New Destiny Church

After weeks of speculation that White, who currently leads?Without Walls?International Church in Tampa,?would be taking over?leadership?duties for the Apopka church, NDCC administrators confirmed the rumors in a press release.

RELATED: Zachery Tims Church to Move On

?We celebrate the continuation of a vision, a vision launched back in 1996 with the founding of New Destiny Christian Center as a non-denominational church with a multi-cultural mission,? read the statement attributed to Board of Directors member Elder Marguerite Esannason, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Read the full story at ChristianPost.com.

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Source: http://www.eurweb.com/2011/12/paula-white-pastor-of-tims-church/

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Rybak launches pre-caucus media blitz in Iowa (Star Tribune)

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