lundi 31 janvier 2011

Acrophobia!

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Acrophobia!

Photo taken with sony HX1 camera.
Location: Gibraltar - Upper Rock Nature Reserve. (Med Steps)

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Sony X1

Nicholas Ferrary

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dimanche 30 janvier 2011

samedi 29 janvier 2011

mosque front door

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mosque front door

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Red Eye Radio

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Red Eye Radio

Ladies' Night at the Beauty Bar with RED EYE RADIO - 1/26/2011

View On Black

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vendredi 28 janvier 2011

Emmanuel Adebayor backs Manchester City to win Premier League title after completing loan to Real Madrid

Emmanuel Adebayor backs Manchester City to win Premier League title after completing loan to Real Madrid

Emmanuel Adebayor believes Manchester City can go all the way in their pursuit of the Premier League title this season.

Emmanuel Adebayor backs Manchester City to win Premier League title after completing loan to Real Madrid

New surroundings: Emmanuel Adebayor is unveiled at Real Madrid Photo: AP

By Telegraph staff and agencies 6:52AM GMT 28 Jan 2011

Speaking at his presentation with Real Madrid, who Adebayor has joined on loan from City until the end of the season, the former Togo captain feels that Roberto Mancini's men have a "big chance" to win the title.

Big-spending City, who last won the league back in 1968, are currently third in the standings, six points behind leaders Manchester United while they have also played a game more than their local rivals.

When asked if City can win the league, the 26 year-old said: "Of course, why not?

"I think Manchester City have a big chance to win the league this season, with all the players that they've bought, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, they've got a big squad.

"And at the minute they are playing good football, so they have a chance to win it. It's not going to be easy, don't get me wrong, but I think they will do everything to achieve that because it's a dream of the club."

Adebayor also spoke about his new club's chances of finishing the Spanish Primera Division season as champions.

Madrid are four points behind reigning champions Barcelona at the top of the table, although that is essentially a five-point gap as Jose Mourinho's men lost 5-0 at the Nou Camp and would need something special in the return meeting at the Bernabeu to gain the better head-to-head record.

Adebayor said: "Here in Spain, Madrid are only four points behind Barcelona and I think everyone will agree with me that Barcelona are playing fantastic football at the moment, but in football you just have to keep winning games, and then we have to beat them at home and wait for them to lose points to get ahead of them.

"It's not going to be easy but at the end of the day we have to try and give everything until the end of the season, and we'll see how it goes."

Madrid swooped for Adebayor after recently losing Gonzalo Higuain, their top scorer for the last two league campaigns, to a back injury that could keep the Argentina international sidelined for up to four months.

That left coach Mourinho with just Karim Benzema as his only recognised centre-forward, and the Frenchman has found himself under pressure following a disappointing time with the Spanish giants since his big-money move from Lyon in 2009.

The competition for playing time between Adebayor and Benzema - who has scored the winning goal in Madrid's last two matches against Real Mallorca and Sevilla - was a hot topic during Thursday's presentation, but Adebayor was full of praise for his fellow forward and insists he can play alongside the France international.

"I had a chance to know Karim in France when he played for Lyon and for me he's a fantastic player with a good attitude and I know him very well off the pitch as well. And for me I think he's doing quite well at the minute, he's lost a bit of confidence but he'll be back and as we can see he scored a great goal yesterday (against Sevilla)

"I'm not here to replace anybody. I'm just here to play my football and enjoy myself. I can play with Benzema, I can play with Higuain in the future if he comes back.

"I'm not here to kick him (Benzema) out, we are both here to win and we know that Real Madrid is a wonderful club that needs those victories.

"We are strikers and we are playing to do our best for the team and we want to win all the prizes that this club deserves."

emmanuel adebayor, spanish primera division, roberto mancini, jose mourinho, point gap, telegraph staff, real madrid, nou camp, bernabeu, manchester city, six points, manchester united, four points, edin, 28 jan, premier league, gap, rivals, surroundings, mario

Telegraph.co.uk

jeudi 27 janvier 2011

Olympics Draw Refugees

[olyref] Getty Images

Spectators watch the Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics.

The Vancouver Olympics has had one curious byproduct: refugees. Canada has received seven requests for asylum from foreign Olympics spectators so far—including two from Japan, one from Russia and four from Hungary. If past trends are any indication, that number could increase.

The flurry of asylum applicants underscores Canada's reputation as an easy place to ask for refuge: Nearly anyone can do it, as long as they have entered the country and haven't been identified as an international security risk.

That ease has prompted a surge in asylum applications in recent years, from a list of countries that include Mexico, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Canada received nearly 34,000 requests for asylum in the past year, according to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Some 61,000 such applications were pending as of the end of December, the highest ever under the current system.

Asylum seekers generally apply under the standard definition of a refugee as laid out by the United Nations, meaning they fear persecution at home based on factors such as race, religion, politics or membership in a persecuted group, often gays or lesbians.

Those who can't prove they are truly in danger of persecution are sent home—as some 60% of applicants have been in recent years. But applicants are allowed to stay in Canada, with full benefits, until they get a hearing, which could take years.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said on a Canadian politics television show Tuesday: "It is a pretty obvious signal to people that they can come make a claim, get welfare benefits, get a work permit, stay here sometimes for years, and try to get permanent residency.''

Canada has tried to stem the rush by making it harder for citizens of top refugee producers to get in. In July, Citizenship and Immigration Canada started requiring visas for travelers from Mexico, which ranked No. 1 last year with 9,296 asylum requests. (It has a 9% acceptance rate.) Mexico slapped visa requirements on Canadian diplomats and officials in return.

The same month, Canada reimposed a visa requirement on then-No. 2-ranked Czech Republic, noting that nearly 3,000 refugee claims had been filed by Czech nationals in the roughly two years during which visas hadn't been required.

International sporting events have been magnets for refugee claims. Canada received 1,390 refugee claims associated with the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, and 1,592 from the 2001 Francophone Games in Ottawa and Gatineau, Quebec, said Johanne Nadeau, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Write to Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@wsj.com

citizenship and immigration canada, immigration and refugee board, refugees canada, immigration and refugee, asylum requests, asylum seekers, asylum applications, citizenship and immigration, asylum applicants, definition of a refugee, immigration minister, welfare benefits, jason kenney, security risk, permanent residency, canadian politics, byproduct, international security, current system, list of countries
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Online.wsj.com

mercredi 26 janvier 2011

mardi 25 janvier 2011

AP1100837

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AP1100837

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Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement

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Newsday in the snow

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Newsday in the snow

Melville, Long Island, New York, United States of America

If you want to know more about my walks and photos, check out my blog.

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ee uu, newsday, nueva york, long island new york, long island, states of america, walks, blog, photos, united states
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lundi 24 janvier 2011

St Ives

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St Ives

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Rock, Log, and Falls

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Rock, Log, and Falls

Taken during an outing with my good friend Jeff Schreier, uh, I mean Dave Deiter.

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deiter, friend jeff, good friend
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Torre Ovo (Taranto). 23 gen 2011(5)

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Torre ovo (Taranto). 23 gen 2011(5)

marina di Torricella (Taranto)

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torricella taranto, ovo
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dimanche 23 janvier 2011

Welcome to the Jurassic Park

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Welcome to the Jurassic Park

No it's not hawaii...!
White Rock, Southern Wairarapa.

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(c) 2011 Mike Brebner

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samedi 22 janvier 2011

Bird of Paradise 2

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Bird of Paradise 2

Garden: Mission San Diego de Alcal, San Diego, CA

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EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

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vendredi 21 janvier 2011

Chobe River

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Chobe River

Chobe game Reserve

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IMG_19868

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IMG_19868

Incline Village, Nevada

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mercredi 19 janvier 2011

Senior Goldman Sachs' worker Kevin Connors leaves after 'internal breach'

Senior Goldman Sachs' worker Kevin Connors leaves after 'internal breach'

One of Goldman Sachs' most senior London-based staff has left the bank just days before the firm is due to pay out billions of pounds in staff bonuses.

A sign for Wall Street is seen with the US flags on the New York Stock Exchange in the background in New York. Goldman Sachs' Kevin Connors leaves over 'internal breach'

Goldman Sachs has announced its results for the fourth quarter and staff will be informed of their bonuses for 2010 on Thursday and Friday Photo: EPA

Harry Wilson

By Harry Wilson 9:10PM GMT 19 Jan 2011

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Kevin Connors, co-head of global foreign exchange sales for G10 currencies, left the bank last week for allegedly breaking unspecified internal rules, meaning he is likely to miss out on a bonus worth several million pounds.

Until his departure, Mr Connors had been one of the Goldman's most senior London-based employees and was a member of the bank's partnership, putting him in line for extra bonus payments.

Mr Connors' alleged actions are not understood to have affected any of the bank's clients and no other staff were involved, according to one source.

However, the circumstances of his departure mean the bank will pay him the minimum it is legally entitled to do. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

On Wednesday Goldman Sachs announced its results for the fourth quarter and staff will be informed of their bonuses for 2010 on Thursday and Friday.

In its results the bank said it had set aside $15.4bn (£9.6bn) in pay and bonuses for 2010, working out at an average of $430,700 per employee.

Many staff are likely to have earned far more than this, with some top traders receiving eight-figure bonuses.

Back in 2006, Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, received a pay package worth $54.4m, making him one of the highest paid executives on Wall Street.

Mr Connors, who holds an Irish passport, was a long-serving employee of the bank and joined in 1990. He was promoted to the partnership in 2008.

Foreign exchange trading was one of the most profitable businesses for Goldman Sachs last year and London is the world's largest centre for currency trading.

As a member of the sales team, Mr Connors' duties would have included dealing with the bank's largest institutional and corporate clients and generally marketing the bank's foreign exchange services to customers.

Being a salesman he is unlikely to have been directly involved in the bank's trading activities and his team would have been acting as a conduit between clients and the trading teams.

His departure comes just days after Goldman Sachs released a 67-page report on "Business Standards", in which it outlined a 14-point code for staff conduct.

In the report the bank said it expected its staff to "maintain high ethical standards in everything they do, both in their work for the firm and in their personal lives".

The report followed last year's investigation into Goldman Sachs by US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission, which looked at the bank's sale of a complex credit product to investors.

Goldman ended up paying $550m to settle the case, which led to the suspension of London-based banker Fabrice Tourre, who was involved in the sale of the product.

It is extremely rare for senior investment bank managers to be forced out and Mr Connors' departure is one of the most high-profile in recent years.

foreign exchange trading, goldman sachs, lloyd blankfein, global foreign exchange, connors co, irish passport, bonus payments, harry wilson, exchange sales, kevin connors, currency trading, top traders, profitable businesses, 4m, fourth quarter, billions, breach, nbsp, chief executive, wall street
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Telegraph.co.uk

IMAG0061

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IMAG0061

A Happy Sack!

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Townships

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Townships

66squarefeet.blogspot.com/2011/01/good-to-eat.html

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Michelin Guide 2011: women chefs recognised

Michelin Guide 2011: women chefs recognised

Female chefs in Britain are holding their own in a notoriously male-dominated industry, thanks to the lightness of their cooking, according to the influential Michelin Guide, which honoured a record number this year.

Skye Gyngell at Petersham Nurseries, awarded her first star in the Michelin Guide 2011

Skye Gyngell at Petersham Nurseries, awarded her first star in the Michelin Guide 2011 Photo: CHRIS TERRY

Harry Wallop

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor 4:30PM GMT 18 Jan 2011

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No restaurants were added to the elite club of three stars, but two chefs were given two stars: Hélène Darroze at The Connaught in London and Nathan Outlaw, at Rock in Cornwall.

Ms Darroze's accolade confirms the increasing influence of female chefs in Britain, with Skye Gyngell, who runs Petersham Nurseries Cafe in Richmond, London given a one-star for the first time.

Clare Smyth, who runs the kitchen at Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant – the celebrity chef spends most of his time filming television shows – was confirmed as one of just four chefs in the country to have three stars.

Women are still in a minority in the top kitchens of Britain but an increasing number are included each year in the Michelin Guide, adding to the pioneering work achieved by Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray at the River Cafe in London, as well as Sally Clarke.

Angela Harnett at Murano in London has kept her star, along with Frances Atkins, who runs Yorke Arms in North Yorkshire. Though Le Gavroche in London, which has two stars, is overseen by Michel Roux Jr, the kitchen is run on a day to day basis by Rachel Humphrey.

Six years ago, there were just two restaurants with Michelin stars headed by women.

A total of 143 stars were handed out to British and Irish restaurants in the Michelin Guide 2011, considered the most influential in the catering industry, topping the 140 awarded last year and the 137 the year before.

Derek Bulmer, the editor of the guide, who has since stepped down after 33 years in the business, said food in British restaurants had improved immensely since he started, helped in part by women chef's and the lightness of their cooking.

"Women are cooking in two and three-star restaurants. More and more women are coming into the industry and reaching the very top. You sometimes can really detect a lightness of touch with a female chef.

"They think healthier then men do. Cooking is getting lighter in this country over recent years. When I started out everything was covered in a cream sauce. You hardly see them any more."

Helen Darroze said of her second star: "I am so happy to see more women winning Michelin stars and I hope there will be many more. Women tend to work more with their heart and their emotion and think about technique after. I think women are maybe better communicators and more sensitive to peaceful workplace.

"Now with chefs such as Skye, Angela Hartnett, and Clare Smyth we are becoming a force to reckon with!"

Signature dishes of hers include a “Fines de Claire” oyster tartare with caviar from Sologne and a chilled velouté of white beans from Béarn; as well as a black and creamy Carnaroli Acquarello rice, line-caught calamari sautéed with confit tomato and chorizo, a jus with parsley and Parmegianno Reggiano foam.

Ms Gyngell's restaurant, which started out as a simple café in a garden centre, is described by the guide as: "The food's all about natural flavours and fresh, vibrant ingredients; its earthiness seems so right when you're eating among plants and flowers."

In 1974, the first year Michelin Guide published its guide in Britain under its current format, there were just 25 stars in total, compared with this year's 143.

Mr Bulmer added: "I remember eating large portions of very ordinary food from large à la carte menus, and all the ingredients came from the freezer. Our gastronomic reputation was, let's be generous, poor.

"We've come a long way in the past 30 odd years. We can now hold up our heads high in this county, stand on our own two feet, because our food compares favourably to anywhere in the world. We can once again take pride in our gastronomic heritage."

He added that though Britain may not have as many stars as France, Italy or even Germany, there were few cities in the world that attracted as many top-flight chefs as London.

"They all want to come here," he said. "Nowhere has such a diverse range of cuisine. It is such a happening place."

Gordon Ramsay, after losing a star last year for his Claridges restaurant, has gained one for his new Petrus venture. Some restaurant watchers were surprised that his former colleague, and now rival, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley had not been promoted from two to three stars.

The Michelin star rating is still considered the most simple – and yet ruthless – method of scoring restaurants, with only 90 restaurants around the world given three stars, though many critics say it favours heavy, formal, French dining over any other form of eating out.

Its criteria are the same as when the Michelin guides started out as a driving guide for the early era of motorists. Three stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey; two stars are for excellent cooking, worth a detour; one star denotes a very good restaurant in its category, worth a stop.

Here is a full list of starred restaurants included in the new Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2011 (in bold denotes a new entry):

:: THREE STARS

Fat Duck, Bray, Windsor & Maidenhead

Waterside Inn, Bray, Windsor & Maidenhead

LONDON

Gordon Ramsay, Kensington & Chelsea

Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, Mayfair

:: TWO STARS

ENGLAND

Midsummer House, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon

Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Rock, Cornwall

LONDON

Pied à Terre, Bloomsbury

The Ledbury, Kensington

Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, Belgravia

Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Mayfair

Le Gavroche, Mayfair

Hibiscus, Mayfair

Square, Mayfair

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Covent Garden

SCOTLAND

Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Perth & Kinross

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Patrick Guilbaud, Dublin

:: ONE STAR

ENGLAND

The Samling, Ambleside, Cumbria

Michael Wignall at The Latymer, Bagshot, Surrey

Fischer’s at Baslow Hall, Baslow, Derbyshire

The Park (at Lucknam Park Hotel), Bath & North East Somerset

The Terrace (at Montagu Arms Hotel), Beaulieu, Hampshire

The Pipe and Glass Inn, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

West House, Biddenden, Kent

Fraiche, Birkenhead, Merseyside

Purnell’s, Birmingham, West Midlands

Simpsons, Birmingham, West Midlands

Turners, Birmingham, West Midlands

Northcote, Blackburn, Lancashire

Morston Hall, Blakeney, Norfolk

Curlew, Bodiam, East Sussex

Burlington (at Devonshire Arms), Bolton Abbey, North Yorks

Lords of the Manor, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire

Royal Oak, Bray, Berks

Casamia, Bristol

Manor House, Castle Combe, Wiltshire

Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor, Cheshire

Pony & Trap, Chew Magna, Somerset

Apicius, Cranbrook, Kent

Ockenden Manor, Cuckfield, West Sussex

Sienna, Dorchester, Dorset

36 on the Quay, Emsworth, Hampshire

Read’s, Faversham, Kent

L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria

The Neptune, Hunstanton, Norfolk

Box Tree, Ilkley, West Yorkshire

Atlantic, Jersey

Bohemia (at The Club Hotel), Jersey

The Stagg Inn, Kington, Herefordshire

La Bécasse, Ludlow, Shropshire

Mr Underhill’s at Dinham Weir, Ludlow, Shropshire

Harrow at Little Bedwyn, Marlborough, Wiltshire

Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House, Marlow, Bucks

The Hand and Flowers, Marlow, Bucks

The Nut Tree, Murcott, Oxfordshire

Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

Hambleton Hall, Oakham, Rutland

Yorke Arms, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire

JSW, Petersfield, Hampshire

L’Ortolan, Shinfield, Berks

Drakes, Ripley, Surrey

Mallory Court, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

Old Vicarage, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

The Masons Arms, South Molton, Devon

The Olive Branch and Beech House, Stamford, Lincs

Room in the Elephant, Torquay, Devon

Sharrow Bay Country House, Ullswater, Cumbria

Auberge du Lac, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

The Sportsman, Whitstable, Kent

Hambrough, Isle of Wight

5 North St, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

The Black Rat, Winchester, Hampshire

Holbeck Ghyll, Windermere, Cumbria

Paris House, Woburn, Bedfordshire

LONDON

Chapter One, Bromley, Kent

Hakkasan, Bloomsbury

Club Gascon, City of London

Rhodes Twenty Four, City of London

Harwood Arms, Fulham

River Café, Fulham

La Trompette, Chiswick

St John, Clerkenwell

Rasoi, Kensington & Chelsea

Tom Aikens, Kensington & Chelsea

Kitchen W8, Kensington & Chelsea

The Glasshouse, Richmond-upon-Thames

Bingham Restaurant (at Bingham Hotel), Richmond-upon-Thames

Petersham Nurseries Café, Richmond-upon-Thames

Viajante, Tower Hamlets, Bethnal Green

Galvin La Chapelle, Tower Hamlets, Spitalfields

Chez Bruce, Wandsworth

Amaya, City of Westminster, Belgravia

Apsleys (at Lanesborough Hotel), Belgravia

Pétrus, Belgravia

Zafferano, Belgravia

Benares, Mayfair

Galvin at Windows (at Hilton Hotel), Mayfair

Greenhouse, Mayfair

Kai, Mayfair

Maze, Mayfair

Murano, Mayfair

Nobu (at The Metropolitan Hotel), Mayfair

Nobu Berkeley St, Mayfair

Semplice, Mayfair

Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library), Mayfair

Tamarind, Mayfair

Umu, Mayfair

Wild Honey, Mayfair

L’Autre Pied, Marylebone

Locanda Locatelli, Marylebone

Rhodes W1 (Restaurant), Marylebone

Texture, Marylebone

Seven Park Place (at St James's Hotel and Club) St James’s

Arbutus, Soho

Gauthier-Soho, Soho

Yauatcha, Soho

Quilon, Victoria

SCOTLAND

Braidwoods, Dalry North, Ayrshire

Number One (at Balmoral Hotel), Edinburgh

21212, Edinburgh

Kitchin, Edinburgh

Martin Wishart, Edinburgh

Plumed Horse, Edinburgh

Sangster’s, Elie, Fife

Inverlochy Castle, Fort William, Highland

Champany Inn, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Albannach, Lochinver, Highland

Boath House, Nairn, Highland

Peat Inn, Fife

Knockinaam Lodge, Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway

Kinloch Lodge Isle of Skye/Sleat, Highland

WALES

The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny/Llanddewi Skirrid, Monmouthshire

Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo, Denbighshire

Ynyshir Hall, Machynlleth, Powys

Crown at Whitebrook, Monmouth/Whitebrook, Monmouthshire

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

House (at Cliff House Hotel), Ardmore, Waterford

Chapter One, Dublin

L’Ecrivain, Dublin

Thornton’s (at The Fitzwilliam Hotel), Dublin

Bon Appétit, Malahide, Dublinqtdz
Telegraph.co.uk

mardi 18 janvier 2011

Smart phones, tablets can give kids access to unsavory content

Photo: Fourth-grader using iPod Touch

Fourth-grader Yesenia Hernandez Ramirez does math exercises on an iPod Touch at a school in Canby, Ore., in November. (Doug Beghtel, Oregonian / November 2, 2010)

Every day, Teresa DiFalco's children clamor for her iPhone.

The kids, ages 9 and 11, use the smart phone and DiFalco's iPod Touch to play such games as Angry Birds and Zombie Farm. Around the nation, other kids are doing the same, either on their own or on their parents' mobile devices, such as smart phones, iPads and other tablets.

But to the alarm of some parents, these mobile devices can do far more than enable their children to send text messages and play games. The gadgets are powerful little computers that can access the Internet in all its tastelessness. A few companies now are promoting products to block unwanted online content.

"It's not your grandfather's Internet anymore," said Stephen Balkam, chief executive of nonprofit advocacy organization Family Online Safety Institute.

"We're getting to a stage now where just about anything with a screen is connected to the Net, but we still have a generation of parents who were born in the analog age," he said.

Since the rise of the personal computer, Internet users have been concerned about their children finding graphic images of sex and violence and increasingly about their kids' sending inappropriate content or bullying messages to one another online, Balkam said.

But it took time for some parents to realize that mobile devices carry the same capabilities and risks.

Apple Inc.'s mobile devices offer the option to disable the Safari Web browser, but some parents don't want to cut off Internet access completely.

Wireless carriers offer their own sets of parental controls for smart phones, including Internet filtering, but those controls work only when the devices are accessing the Internet via the carrier's network rather than through a local wireless signal.

So a growing number of applications — including Safe Eyes Mobile from InternetSafety.com, owned by McAfee Inc., and Safe Browser from Mobicip — are offering "kid-safe" filtered Internet browsers that can be set as an alternative to Safari on Apple devices.

Mobicip, based in Thousand Oaks, initially developed its application for use by schools to allow them to comply with the federal Children's Internet Protection Act, company founder Suren Ramasubbu said.

It found a market among parents as well, although Ramasubbu said tens of thousands of consumers have bought the app, compared with the millions who have bought Apple's mobile devices.

DiFalco, 42, a freelance writer in Vancouver, Wash., installed the Mobicip browser on her phone after testing it for the Parents' Choice Foundation, a nonprofit that rates children's products.

Before that, she said, she hadn't really thought about the need to filter access to the Internet on her phone.

"Smart phones and devices and kids are new territory for most parents I know," DiFalco said. "So where we all knew to protect computer Internet with filters, having Internet available on phones kind of snuck in."

Not all parents feel a need to restrict their children's access to the Web.

Sheila Spencer, 50, a business consultant and mother of two from Santa Monica, bought an iPod Touch for her 10-year-old daughter, Lindsey, for Christmas 2009 and one for 13-year-old son Ryan for his birthday last month.

The kids use the devices to play music and games. Lindsey uses hers to e-mail her friends, and Ryan has apps for Wikipedia, the Internet Movie Database and Facebook.

Spencer said she has talked to her children about appropriate Internet use and trusts them to make good decisions.

"If kids are going to look up something inappropriate on the Internet, they're probably going to find a way to do it," she said. "So it probably has more to do with talking to them about making good choices and bad choices, and values, and what's appropriate or inappropriate."

abby.sewell@latimes.com

nonprofit advocacy organization, computer internet users, personal computer internet, safari web browser, math exercises, zombie farm, difalco, images of sex, sex and violence, promoting products, wireless signal, safety institute, iphone, graphic images, ipod touch, internet filtering, kids ages, wireless carriers, parental controls, smart phones
qtdz
Latimes.com

lundi 17 janvier 2011

L1040025

photo

L1040025

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france

lorraine

pont

mousson

PAM

leica

M8

summilux

35

ville

nuit

night

couleur

colorqtdz
Flickr.com

Bring home heads of Belichick and Brady!

headshotSteve Serby

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. &mdash; For Rex Ryan, for Antonio Cromartie, for all the Jets, the talking is over.

Now go win a game nobody thinks you can win except you.

Go into the Patriots’ hostile, inhospitable house and beat the Hall of Fame coach and the Hall of Fame quarterback and the roadblock team you hate.

Go win the kind of big game this franchise hasn’t won since Super Bowl III, from the Mud Bowl to the 1998 AFC Championship to the 2009 conference title game.

Go march toward history.

Go make New York proud.

Go bring home the heads of Belichick and Brady.

Go keep the Empire State Building lit up green and white.

SMILES TO GO: Coach Rex Ryan loosens up during a Jets workout in preparation for their AFC <a href=divisional playoff battle today against the hated Patriots in Foxborough, Mass." title="SMILES TO GO: Coach Rex Ryan loosens up during a Jets workout in preparation for their AFC divisional playoff battle today against the hated Patriots in Foxborough, Mass." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2011/01/16/sports/photos_stories/rex--300x300.jpg" />

Jeff Zelevansky

SMILES TO GO: Coach Rex Ryan loosens up during a Jets workout in preparation for their AFC divisional playoff battle today against the hated Patriots in Foxborough, Mass.

Go capture the imagination of a town that worships miracle teams: the Miracle Mets, the Willis Reed-Clyde Frazier Knicks, the Messier Rangers. The Joe Namath Jets.

It’s your chance now to be Miracle Jets.

Go bring a miracle home.

You can do this.

These guys have been standing between you and the Lombardi Trophy long enough. Take it to them, and take the AFC East heavyweight championship from them. It is there for the taking. And you are the right men to take it.

Be the Rexterminators, once and for all.

No better day to do this than Hateriots Day.

It will be Ali-Frazier in shoulder pads and helmets, a cold-blooded fight to the finish that will be won — survived — by the one with the indomitable will and nerve and grace under pressure.

Rexterminators and Belichick’s Patriots, standing toe-to-toe, trading punches instead of barbs, a chiller and a thriller a long, long way from Manila.

From Namath’s mouth to God’s ears, this will be a long-awaited night of payback for everything from HC of NYJ to Spygate.

When Ryan, soaked in Gatorade, is either carried off on his players’ shoulders, or reduced to making the long, empty walk to midfield to shake Belichick’s hand, and trudge off into the night to the taunts of footloose Patriot fans, wondering whether he will be able to stomach the sight of President Obama kissing Belichick’s fourth ring.

When Cromartie intercepts a confused Brady and points to the Patriots bench while taking it to the house, or Brady methodically humbles Ryan’s beloved defense and blows the Jet coach a kiss after each one of his four touchdown passes.

When Mark Sanchez shows up as the Sanchise on a night when Belichick will dare him to win the game. When Ground & Pound drives the Patriots back to Copley Square, or Vince Wilfork drives Sanchez’s throwing shoulder into the ground, making a fourth-quarter hero out of Devin McCourty.

When LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor, forever young, dance 60 minutes away from their first Super Bowl, or stagger forlornly out of Last Chance Saloon.

Cinderella Men, finally able to distance themselves from F-bombs on “Hard Knocks” to Ines Sainz to Braylon Edwards’ DUI to Sal Alosi, piercing the hushed, shell-shocked New England air with shrieks of joy, or returning home with their feet in their mouths.

Darrelle Revis, two days before the Colts game, said he felt it in his heart that the Jets would win. Does he have the same feeling?

“Yes,” Revis said.

Even more so?

“Yes, ‘cause it’s one more step closer to where we want to be, and that’s getting back to the AFC Championship, and anything less of that is failure, if we don’t reach the AFC Championship game to try to get over that hump itself.”

This is the most difficult hump. That diabolical genius across the way in the gray hoodie, that dashing golden boy with the golden arm, forever conspiring to keep the Jets down.

Enough is enough.

The Patriot Way has worked so well that Woody Johnson installed Patriots South. He found out that The Patriot Way works wonderfully if the modern-day Lombardi is the coach and the modern-day Montana is the quarterback.

Enter the Rex Way.

The Patriot Way is walk softly and carry a big stick. The Rex Way is walk loudly and carry a big mouth.

The Patriot Way is never give your adversary a word of bulletin board material. The Rex Way is say whatever you damn well please.

It won’t be 45-3 this time.

“Guys are very upset about getting embarrassed, and losing like we did, so I think that’s the extra edge we have, of guys are just anxious for this game, and ready to prove the Patriots wrong,” Revis said.

It’s time.

steve.serby@nypost.com

antonio cromartie, miracle mets, lombardi trophy, joe namath, rex ryan, empire state building, mud bowl, willis reed, fight to the finish, grace under pressure, belichick, divisional playoff, mdash, heavyweight championship, nyj, shoulder pads, hall of fame, barbs, chiller, roadblock
qtdz
Nypost.com

dimanche 16 janvier 2011

Birds of Smith Point

photo

Birds of Smith Point

Photo By Dan Pancamo @pancamo

Tags

2011

Bird

Birds

Canon 2.0x II

Canon 300mm f2.8 IS USM

Canon 7D

January

Nature

Ospey

Pandion haliaetus

Smith Point

Smith Point Texas

Texasqtdz
Flickr.com

Jungle Island Miami Florida

photo

jungle island Miami Florida

Animals at Jungle South Florida

Jungle Island
1111 Parrot Jungle Trail
Miami, Florida 33132 USA
305-400-7000
guestrelations@jungleisland.com
www.jungleisland.com

Photo
Miami Florida USA
11-24-2010

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www.jungleisland.com

Jungle Island

Jungles

Island

Islands

Miami

Miami Florida

South Florida

Florida

FL

Fla

305

area code 305

33132

zip code 33132. animal

animals

pet

pets

petting zoo

caged animals

wild animal

wild animals

nature

natural beauty

exotic animal

pet store

trained animals

wild creatures

cute

pretty

photo

photos

animal photos

animal photography

parrot jungle, jungle island, jungleisland, photography
qtdz
Flickr.com

samedi 15 janvier 2011

Day 15

photo

Day 15

Dissapointed with this, but I had no extra time today. :/

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day 15

365

grapefruit

food

fruitqtdz
Flickr.com

IMG_0023

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IMG_0023

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landscape

nature

analog

analogous

film

kodak

vr

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snowqtdz
Flickr.com

vendredi 14 janvier 2011

Wave-Particle Duality

photo

Wave-particle Duality

Streams of water from the showerhead, partly frozen by the flash, and partly keeping their stream-like nature from the natural light coming from the window.

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d70

dailyshoot

drops

ds425

motion

nikon

water

showerhead, particle
qtdz
Flickr.com

Peanuts Lady

photo

Peanuts Lady

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africa

peanuts

lady

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white

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crazy

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g9

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streetqtdz
Flickr.com

la queue leu leu

photo

la queue leu leu

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boats

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Ste

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ville

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mer

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photographie

picture

wallpaper

fond d'cran

Languedoc

France

Francia

Frankreich

europe

geotagged

beauty

colours

color

colour

couleur

leu, queue
qtdz
Flickr.com

jeudi 13 janvier 2011

gas station, St Lucia

photo

gas station, St Lucia

Shell gas station on the corner of Sir Fred Schonell drive and Gailey road. Water receded for abouot one meter from its maximum. January 13, late afternoon.

Tags

Brisbane

flood

2011

flooding

StLucia

Queensland

sir fred, late afternoon, gas station
qtdz
Flickr.com

mercredi 12 janvier 2011

The Cuban Cars

photo

The cuban Cars

Buick 51

Yank tank or mquina are the words used to describe the many classic cars present in Cuba with an estimated 60,000 of them still driving the roads today.
In 1962 an embargo was placed on Cuba by the United States, effectively cutting trade between the countries. This meant that the cars in Cuba could no longer receive new replacement parts when something broke. Currently, the only way to keep these cars on the road today is by using Cuban ingenuity to adapt household products and Soviet technology into these vehicles.
If a car is unable to be repaired at the time, the car is usually either “parked” for future repair or “parted out” (to produce extra income for the owner’s family) so that other cars can remain on the road.
During the years of Soviet Union influence on Cuba, Ladas, Moskvitchs and Volgas became the main cars imported by the communist regime, mainly for state use. As a result of these internal economic restrictions, to this day there is no such thing as a new or used private European or Asian automotive dealership branch in Cuba for independent purchasing by normal Cubans.

More info: Wikipedia

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Cars

Cuba

old

Classic

varadero

havana

carros

viejos

americanos

american

HDR

vieux

voitures

vieilles

collection

live

museum

coches

automobiles

cubains

americains

50

1950

communist regime, economic restrictions, union influence, household products, ladas, classic cars, cubans, extra income, ingenuity, replacement parts, soviet union, embargo, cuba, tank, united states
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Flickr.com

Ahuriri Estuary.

photo

Ahuriri Estuary.

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D80

DX

Napier

Hawkes

Bay

New

Zealand

Nikkor 18-200mm VRqtdz
Flickr.com

mardi 11 janvier 2011

Bagildig Village

photo

Bagildig Village

Woman preparing meal

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Papua New Guinea

Madangqtdz
Flickr.com

Petrol prices forcing parents to share school run

petrol prices forcing parents to share school run

Nearly half of parents are thinking of sharing the school run in an attempt to cut down on the cost of running their cars, after petrol prices hit a fresh record.

Harry Wallop

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor 2:48PM GMT 11 Jan 2011

Comments

The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol climbed higher on Tuesday from 127.80p to 127.88p, edging ever closer to the equivalent of £6 a gallon (132p a litre).

The price has climbed steadily since the New Year, when first fuel duty was increased, and then a few days later the increased level of VAT came into force.

Consumers have been cutting back on driving – as they did during the fuel price spike of 2008. According to a poll by Halfords, the retailer, 44 per cent of parents say they are talking to friends about sharing the school run.

The survey also suggested that 78 per cent plan to drive less, with daily short trips to local shops the biggest casualty of the attempt to save on transport costs.

Figures from HM Revenue and Customs suggest that fuel consumption falls when the price of petrol increases. During December 4.28 billion litres of fuel – either unleaded petrol or diesel – was released for consumption, a fall of 4.48 billion in November.

A spokesman for the AA said: "This is a real risk with higher petrol prices. We know that fuel duty receipts fall."

The price of petrol has also been pushed upwards by the climbing price of oil, which shot up after BP and its partners had been forced to shut down the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which carries 15 per cent of America's oil, after a leak was discovered.

Last week the International Energy Agency said that international oil price was now in "danger territory" and threatening the global recovery.

Hauliers have indicated that fuel protests, last seen in 2000 when petrol prices went above £1 a litre, were a distinct possibility.

trans alaska pipeline, trans alaska pipeline system, international energy agency, hm revenue and customs, fuel duty, fuel consumption, petrol prices, global recovery, 88p, unleaded petrol, short trips, international oil, distinct possibility, transport costs, wallop, price of oil, fuel price, oil price, consumer affairs, litre
qtdz
Telegraph.co.uk

dimanche 9 janvier 2011

Kuta Bali

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Kuta Bali

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jalan

poppies

bali

indonesia

kuta

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white

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ocean

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destinationqtdz
Flickr.com

Snow Night, Brighton

photo

Snow Night, Brighton

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snow

fall

brighton

hove

december

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alley

way

alleyway

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eos

550d

lightsqtdz
Flickr.com

Prunus mume

photo

Prunus mume

MINOLTA AF 100mm F2.8 MACRO

Prunus mume

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sony

digital

alpha

100mm

macro

MINOLTA AF 100mm F2.8 MACROqtdz
Flickr.com

Clear Sailing

photo

Clear Sailing

A sunny day, the last of the ice gone, just the right size of waves on the water, and Tristan couldn't wait to set out for a sail all the way across the lagoon and the delight of chasing a couple of the other swans who happened to be on his route. Swan paradise!
Weather forecasts predict more freezing temperatures, so his style may be cramped again by next week!
View On Black

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Vancouver

“British Columbia”

Canada

“Stanley Park”

“Lost Lagoon”

“Cygnus olor”

“Mute Swan

swans

waterfowl

“water birds”

nature

cob

male

Tristan

winter

lake

water

british columbia canada, water birds, stanley park, weather forecasts, lagoon, sunny day, swans, waves, swan, temperatures
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Flickr.com

samedi 8 janvier 2011

Presa de Chira

photo

Presa de Chira

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agua

water

naturaleza

nature

Chira

San Bartolom de Tirajana

Gran Canaria

Canarias

Nikon

D200

presa

lluvia

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escorrenta

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Cumbreqtdz
Flickr.com

vendredi 7 janvier 2011

Police cuts will push up crime, think tank warns

Police cuts will push up crime, think tank warns

Cuts in police numbers will lead to a rise in crime and more victims, a think thank warns today.

Tom Whitehead

By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor 7:00AM GMT 07 Jan 2011

The public will be at greater risk with an expected fall in officer numbers during the Government's austerity drive, according to a study by Civitas.

Police forces across the country are facing budget cuts of up to 20 per cent over the next four years which is likely to result in thousands of fewer officers and staff.

The Home Office has insisted crime can still be reduce while police officer number decline and has pointed to examples around the world including New York.

But an analysis of other countries by Civitas suggests crime is higher where there is fewer police.

A comparison of the number of police officers and the number of recorded offences per 100,000 people in European countries showed "a nation with fewer police is more likely to have a higher crime rate", it said.

The report, entitled 2011: the start of a great decade for criminals?, said reducing police numbers "could lead to an increase in the crime rate".

Its author Nick Cowen wrote: "It is plausible to suggest that police resources play an essential role in tackling crime.

"While police numbers and resources are far from the only contributor to police effectiveness, it seems highly unlikely that the swingeing cuts now being enacted will be made without significantly decreasing detection rates.

"The result will be that offenders will be able to engage in criminal acts with a reduced risk of being caught and sanctioned, making criminal acts less risky and more attractive for potential offenders.

"As a result, it is possible that recent falls in crime will be halted or even reversed.

"Members of the public are at greater risk of crime in the coming years."

He admitted that establishing a "causal relationship" was "notoriously difficult in criminology", but added that "crime rates have been consistently negatively correlated with key measures of police effectiveness".

Nick Herbert, the policing minister, said: "I totally reject these assumptions. The report ignores the savings of over £1 billion a year which the independent Inspectorate of Constabulary says forces can make while protecting the front line, and it makes a simple link between crime levels and police numbers which the evidence does not support.

"In New York, police numbers have fallen but crime has fallen faster still, while in Sweden and Spain, crime has risen even though police numbers have risen, too."

austerity drive, home affairs editor, tom whitehead, police effectiveness, criminal acts, police numbers, causal relationship, police resources, budget cuts, crime rate, crime rates, cowen, police forces, criminology, european countries, police officers, police officer, contributor, criminals, decline
qtdz
Telegraph.co.uk

refinery at night time

photo

refinery at night time

Tags

Germany

Hamburg

HDR

Harbour

Nightqtdz
Flickr.com

jeudi 6 janvier 2011

German Party Battles to Rally Support

BERLIN—German Vice-Chancellor Guido Westerwelle might stir up friction in the coalition government as he tries to rally his party's support after plunging polls triggered rank-and-file calls for his resignation as chairman of the Free Democratic Party.

Mr. Westerwelle, speaking at a party conference Thursday, promised to accelerate the simplification of Germany's tax code and provide tax relief to small and mid-sized businesses.

The pledge in part resurrected the FDP's pre-election pledge to cut taxes, a promise it had to reverse in order to form a coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, which favors deficit reduction over tax relief.

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GERGOV_chart

GERGOV_chart

GERGOV_chart

The reversal on taxes helped pull down the FDP's showing in opinion polls, where the party now hovers below the critical 5% needed to gain any seat in parliament, down from nearly 15% of the vote in the 2009 general elections.

New general elections are still more than two years away. But coming into this year's string of elections in seven of Germany's 16 federal states, the last thing Merkel needs now is an open break with her junior coalition partner over taxes.

"The weakness of its coalition partner isn't pretty for the Chancellor," even if there's no immediate danger for the government, says Oskar Niedermayer, who heads a center for political sociology at Berlin's Free University.

The government may even lose its majority in the conservative and liberal mainland of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, where recent opinion polls show that a coalition led by the Green Party for the first time has a chance to win state elections in March. Conservative-led governments had held the key state for almost six decades.

Herbert Mertin, who leads the party into elections in Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state in late March, earlier this week said that Mr. Westerwelle needs to explain at the party meeting how he wants to start a new "offensive" to counter the loss of voter trust caused by the way he presents politics.

The FDP's performance in the federal government has handicapped the party in state and local politics, Mr. Mertin said. No one in his state so far has issued the wish for Mr. Westerwelle to participate in the Rhineland-Palatinate state election campaign.

"Opinion polls are not good. We need a new beginning," Mr. Mertin said, stopping short of demanding Mr. Westerwelle's resignation of party leader.

Responding to his critics Thursday, Mr. Westerwelle portrayed the FDP as key to preventing center-left successes at the state level, and later on a nationwide basis.

"We need to fight, if Germany isn't to be left over to the left," said Mr. Westerwelle, who also is Germany's foreign minister.

His warning was directed at speculation that Ms. Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats will dump its enfeebled junior government partner in favor of the resurgent Green Party. Some commentators also said Ms. Merkel might want to restore her previous coalition with the center-left Social Democrats, the pairing the governed Germany from 2005 to 2009.

chancellor angela merkel, christian democratic union, herbert mertin, guido westerwelle, angela merkel, elections in germany, free democratic party, election pledge, political sociology, vice chancellor, state elections, general elections, coalition partner, southern germany, federal states, niedermayer, deficit reduction, opinion polls, coalition government, rank and file
qtdz
Online.wsj.com