The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco

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Bombs rock Baghdad, raising fears of sectarian war (AP)

BAGHDAD ? A terrifying wave of bombs tore through mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 69 people and evoking fears that Iraq could dissolve into a new round of sectarian violence now that American troops have left.

The attacks appeared to be a well-coordinated assault by Sunni militants linked to al-Qaida and targeted markets, grocery stores, cafes and government buildings in a dozen neighborhoods. They coincided with a government crisis that has already strained ties between the two sects to the breaking point.

For many Iraqis, this could be the beginning of a nightmare scenario: The fragile alliance in the governing coalition is collapsing, large-scale violence bearing the hallmarks of al-Qaida insurgents has returned and Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may be moving to grab the already limited power of the minority Sunnis.

"The conditions that perpetuate civil wars are making a hasty comeback," said Ramzy Mardini, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.

The bombings may be linked more to the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops Sunday than the political crisis, but all together the developments raise the specter of a return to the Shiite-Sunni sectarian bloodshed that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

Al-Maliki is engaged in a showdown with the top Sunni political leader in the country. His government has issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi for what al-Hashemi says are trumped-up charges that he ran hit squads against government officials.

That has thrown Iraq's political community into a crisis, with Sunnis suspicious that al-Maliki is making a power grab in the wake of the American military departure.

Thrown into this already heated mixture was some of the worst violence Iraq has seen this year.

At least 16 blasts went off across Baghdad, killing 69 people and wounding nearly 200 more. Most exploded in the morning but at least two struck Thursday evening.

The deadliest attack was in the Karrada neighborhood, where a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden vehicle blew himself up outside a government office. Two police officers at the scene said the bomber was driving an ambulance and told guards that he needed to get to a nearby hospital. After the guards let him through, he drove to the building and blew himself up, the officers said.

"I was sleeping in my bed when the explosion happened," said 12-year-old Hussain Abbas, standing in his pajamas. "I jumped from my bed and rushed to my mom's lap. I told her I did not want to go to school today. I'm terrified."

In Washington, the White House condemned the bombings and said attempts to derail progress in Iraq will fail. Press secretary Jay Carney said the attacks serve no agenda "other than murder and hatred."

Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama's point man on Iraq, called President Jalal Talabani to discuss the situation. It was Biden's second round of phone calls to Iraqi officials this week.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. Army chief of staff, also visited Baghdad Thursday in what was described as a trip arranged before the political crisis erupted.

It was exactly this type of violence in the early days after the U.S.-led invasion that eventually spiraled into a near-civil war. Sunni militants such as al-Qaida saw Iraq as their battleground against first the U.S. and then Shiites, whom they do not consider as true Muslims.

Shiite militias, fired up by years of anger over repression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime, then fought back in what eventually became a tit-for-tat battle fought mainly across Baghdad. A bombing against a Shiite neighborhood would be answered by residents of a Sunni neighborhood being dragged out and shot.

That's the type of reaction that analysts say al-Qaida is trying to spark with violence such as Thursday's blasts. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the bombings bore all the hallmarks of al-Qaida's Sunni insurgents: a mix of sticky bombs, a suicide bomber, roadside blasts and car bombs.

Al-Qaida in Iraq is severely debilitated from its strength in the early years of the war, but still has the capability to launch coordinated and deadly assaults from time to time. U.S. military officials worried about a resurgence of al-Qaida after their departure.

If Sunnis feel invested in the political process and see that they have a future within it, analysts say it's unlikely that al-Qaida and its ilk could gain much traction within the wider Sunni community, especially after the bloodbath that Iraqis have already endured and are not eager to repeat.

Many Sunnis fear the arrest warrant against al-Hashemi is part of a wider campaign to go after Sunni political figures and shore up Shiite control across the country.

In this already tense atmosphere, Hadi Jalo, a Baghdad-based political analyst, said Thursday's violence will likely elicit an even stronger crackdown by al-Maliki as opposed to a conciliatory move.

"What is clear now is that the situation is deteriorating," he said. "I think al-Maliki, who has the absolute power now ... will strike back, and he will escalate his crackdown against his political rivals. The situation now will continue to fuel the sectarian tensions."

Coordinated campaigns such as this generally take weeks to plan, and could have been timed to coincide with the end of the American military presence in Iraq, possibly to undercut U.S. claims that they are leaving behind a stable and safe Iraq.

Iraqis have mixed feelings toward the departure of the American military that invaded nearly nine years ago. Their gratitude for the ouster of Saddam is coupled with anger at the violence that eventually overcame the country.

Now, especially after Thursday's explosions, they wonder whether their security forces are up to the task of protecting the country and whether their political institutions will survive intact.

"Such horrible blasts have occurred just one week after the American withdrawal, and then imagine what would happen after one month or one year after the Americans leaving," said Abdul Rahman Qassim, a 46-year-old lawyer in the northern city of Mosul.

__

Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Mazin Yahya contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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Polk Audio UltraFit3000

Polk Audio is a familiar brand name when it comes to speakers, but recently, the company launched its first line of headphones, and interestingly, they are all exercise-focused models. At $99.95 (direct), the Polk Audio UltraFit3000 is affordable, offering respectable audio performance and the secure fit required for gym earphones. Its design features a twistable, moldable "SecureFit" over-the-ear support piece and a wide assortment of differently-shaped and sized eartips, as well as iPhone controls built into the cable. With generous bass response, given its cost and size, the UltraFit3000 offers a generally solid audio performance, but at maximum volume, expect a very slight-but-forgivable amount of distortion on deep bass songs. While the fit is secure, there is an issue with ear-to-ear consistency that ultimately holds the UltraFit3000 back a bit.

Design
The Polk Audio UltraFit3000 is offered in three color schemes: white-and-orange, black-and-red, and the color scheme of our test unit, white-and-gray. The aforementioned "SecureFit" ear piece extends from the eartip that enters your canal and goes over the top ridge of your outer ear, tucking behind it. The cable extends from the end of the support tip and terminates at?about mid-chest. You have three cable options to attach at this termination point, the primary option is a longer (41-inch), flat-style cable (think: linguini) similar to the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour High Resolution In-Ear Headphones ($149.95, 4 stars) cable. This cable comes with the built-in Apple three-button controls that operate playback, volume, menu navigation, and call answering. The second cable is a mere 14-inches, and is designed for minimal slack when using an MP3 player tucked into a shirt pocket or attached using a shirt clip. And a third cable is roughly 5-inches long and intended for tiny, shirt collar-attached players. Also included with the UltraFit3000: seven differently-sized and shaped eartip pairs, a shirt clip, and a soft zip-up pouch. The overall fit of the earphones is quite secure and excellent for the gym, but there are some inconsistency issues, from ear-to-ear, that we'll address in the next section.

Performance
On tracks with deep bass, as noted earlier, the UltraFit3000 sounds great at moderate-to-loud volumes, but begins to distort slightly at maximum volume when using an iPhone or laptop as your sound source. For instance, the Knife's "Silent Shout," a song with very deep bass, made the UltraFit3000 distort slightly at max volume, though not enough to really knock the earphones for. At reasonable volumes, on tracks with deep bass or not, the Ultrafit300 sounds fantastic, especially given the price. If you're the type to exercise to orchestral music?congratulations on your originality, by the way?you'll find the UltraFit3000's response rewarding, adding a nice resonance to the lower frequencies of the percussion and stringed instruments, while maintaining clarity in the mids and highs, in James Horner's?Star Trek II?film score. Bill Callahan's guitar work on?Apocalypse?sounds bright without being invasive, and the same treble presence lends itself nicely to the gravelly edge of his rich baritone vocals.?

One gripe: The moldable fit makes it possible to favor one ear over the other in terms of volume. The fit was always secure, for sure, but the over-ear support piece can press the driver of one ear more intensely against and into your canal than the other. It can be a bit difficult to achieve consistent fit from ear-to-ear, regardless of how incredibly secure the fit is, and this can mess with the stereo images by making one ear appear to be receiving more volume than the other. After some fiddling, this issue can be resolved, but not everyone will enjoy fiddling with them while jogging.

If absolute secure fit is your number one priority, the UltraFit3000 is not a bad option, but if you have a little more money to spend, the Editors' Choice Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones ($179.95, 4.5 stars), though not specifically designed for exercise, are the most secure-fitting earphones we've ever tested, and they sound fantastic too.? In the realm of exercise earphones, another Editors' Choice, Sennheiser's CX 680 (now $89.95, 4 stars) is, at this point, an old standby in the category?the sweat-proof and secure-fitting result of a partnership with Adidas. They also happen to be washable?you can rinse them in running water?and they sound pretty excellent, especially for their price, which was lowered substantially recently. In short, the UltraFit3000 is an affordable earphone option, ideal for exercise?especially if you use an iPhone or iPod while you workout, but its minor fit and distortion issues hold it back from a slightly higher rating.

More Headphone Reviews:
??? Polk Audio UltraFit3000
??? Klipsch Image ONE Headphones
??? TDK ST700 High Fidelity On-Ear Headphones
??? Shure SRH550DJ
??? Logitech Wireless Headset
?? more

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Senate OKs $1T budget bill, payroll tax cut

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, comments in the U.S. Capitol Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, after leaving the floor of the Senate, where legislation was passed to extend Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, setting the stage for another fight in February. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and requires President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline within 60 days unless he declares the project would not serve the national interest. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, comments in the U.S. Capitol Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, after leaving the floor of the Senate, where legislation was passed to extend Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, setting the stage for another fight in February. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and requires President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline within 60 days unless he declares the project would not serve the national interest. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, left, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., comment as the Senate approves legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., arrives as the Senate votes to approve legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, left, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., comment as the Senate approves legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talks on his cell phone just off the floor of the Senate as the body votes to approve legislation that extends Social Security payroll tax cuts for two months, at the Capitol in Washington. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months and forces President Barack Obama to approve construction of a controversial oil pipeline. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate passed legislation Saturday extending a Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, handing President Barack Obama a partial victory while setting the stage for another fight in February.

It also brought a peaceful end to a year-long battle over spending by passing a $1 trillion-plus catchall budget bill that wraps together the day-to-day budgets for 10 Cabinet departments and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House passed the measure Friday, and the White House has signaled that Obama will sign it.

The renewal of the 2-percentage-point cut in the Social Security payroll tax for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits averaging about $300 a week for the additional millions of people who have been out of work for six months or more is a modest step forward for Obama's year-end jobs agenda.

As a condition for GOP support of the payroll tax measure, Obama has to accept a provision that forces him to decide within 60 days whether to approve or reject a proposed a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that promises thousands of jobs.

Obama didn't reference the pipeline issue in a brief appearance at the White House after the vote. He welcomed the Senate's passage of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance extension and said it would be "inexcusable" for Congress not to extend them for the rest of 2012 when lawmakers return from their holiday break.

The budget bill, passed 67-32, heads to the White House for Obama's signature; the payroll tax measure won a 89-10 tally that send it back to the House ? where many Republicans only reluctantly support it ? for a vote early next week.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would not predict whether the House would accept the Senate payroll tax measure, saying GOP leaders would have to discuss it with the rank and file. But Democrats assume Senate Republicans would not have allowed the short-term measure to advance without a signal from Boehner that the House would go along.

Democratic and GOP leaders opted for the short-term extension of the payroll tax and jobless benefits measure after failing to agree on big enough spending cuts to pay for a full-year renewal. The measure also provides a 60-day reprieve from a scheduled 27 percent cut in the fees paid to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

The $33 billion cost of the measure would be covered by raising fees on new mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The fees, drawn from a Treasury Department housing finance market reform plan, would effectively raise the interest rate on home loans guaranteed by the mortgage giants and the Federal Housing Administration by one-tenth of a percentage point.

The idea is to open up the market to private companies currently priced out by the implicit subsidies of Fannie and Freddie.

The White House says the fee would increase the monthly cost of a typical $220,000 mortgage by almost $15 a month. Over 30 years, the fees would increase the total cost of such a mortgage by more than $5,000.

In contrast, a worker making a $100,000 salary would reap a tax cut of about $330 through the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. A worker with a typical $50,000 salary would get just a $165 tax cut.

Officials said that in private talks, the two sides had hoped to reach agreement on the full one-year extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits that Obama had made the centerpiece of the jobs program he submitted to Congress last fall.

Those efforts failed when the two sides could not agree on enough offsetting cuts to blunt the measure's impact on the debt.

The failure tees up the issue again for early next year, but it won't get any easier to agree on spending cuts.

Neither House Speaker Boehner nor his aides participated in the negotiations, although McConnell said he was optimistic about the measure's chances for final approval. The payroll tax cut is unpopular in GOP ranks and another vote in two months could present a headache for GOP leaders.

On the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, the legislation requires the president to grant a permit unless he makes a determination that it is "not in the national interest." One senior administration official said the president would almost certainly refuse to grant a permit. The official was not authorized to speak publicly.

The White House on Friday backed away from Obama's earlier threat to veto any bill that linked the payroll tax cut extension with a Republican demand for a speedy decision on the proposed 1,700-mile pipeline. Obama said on Dec. 7 that "any effort to try to tie Keystone to the payroll tax cut I will reject. So everybody should be on notice."

The president recently announced he was postponing a decision on the much-studied pipeline until after the 2012 election. Environmentalists oppose the project, but several unions support it. The legislation puts the president in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between customary political allies.

The State Department, in an analysis released this summer, said the pipeline project would create up to 6,000 jobs during construction, while developer TransCanada put the total at 20,000 in direct employment.

The pipeline would carry oil from western Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

The spending bill locks in spending cuts that conservative Republicans won from the White House and Democrats earlier in the year.

Republicans also won their fight to block new federal regulations for light bulb energy efficiency, coal dust in mines and clean water permits for construction of timber roads.

The White House turned back GOP attempts to block limits on greenhouse gases, mountaintop removal mining and hazardous emissions from utility plants, industrial boilers and cement kilns.

___

Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram, Donna Cassata and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-17-US-Congress-Rdp/id-8adf9e83e2624e649b265a8e0ac73a98

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Mobile Miscellany: week of December 12, 2011

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of December 12, 2011:

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of December 12, 2011

Mobile Miscellany: week of December 12, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flash floods kill more than 400 in Philippines

Residents are rescued by volunteers following a flash flood that inundated Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. A tropical storm triggered flash floods in the southern Philippines, killing scores and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. (AP Photo/Erwin Mascarinas)

Residents are rescued by volunteers following a flash flood that inundated Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. A tropical storm triggered flash floods in the southern Philippines, killing scores and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. (AP Photo/Erwin Mascarinas)

A resident rummages through debris following a flash flood that inundated Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. A tropical storm triggered flash floods in the southern Philippines, killing scores of people and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. (AP Photo/Froilan Gallardo)

Police rescue trapped residents following a flash flood that inundated Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. A tropical storm triggered flash floods in the southern Philippines, killing scores of people and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. (AP Photo/Froilan Gallardo)

Police carry the body of a victim by a flash flood that hit Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. A tropical storm triggered flash floods in the southern Philippines, killing scores of people and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. (AP Photo/Froilan Gallardo)

Trapped residents, perched on rooftops, are rescued to safety following a flash flood in Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. A tropical storm triggered flash floods in the southern Philippines, killing scores of people and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. (AP Photo/Froilan Gallardo)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? Flash floods devastated a southern Philippines region unaccustomed to serious storms, killing more than 400 people while they slept, rousting hundreds of others to their rooftops and turning two coastal cities into muddy, debris-filled waterways that were strewn Saturday with overturned vehicles and toppled trees.

Most of the victims were asleep Friday night when raging floodwaters cascaded from the mountains after 12 hours of rain from a late-season tropical storm in the southern Mindanao region. The region is unaccustomed to the typhoons that are common elsewhere in the nation of islands.

Ayi Hernandez, a former congressman, said he and his family were resting in their home in Cagayan de Oro late Friday when they heard a loud "swooshing sound" and water quickly rose ankle-deep inside. He decided to evacuate to a neighbor's two-story house.

"It was a good thing, because in less than an hour the water rose to about 11 feet (3.3 meters)," filling his home up to the ceiling, he said.

At least 436 were dead, based on a body count in funeral parlors, Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Gwen Pang told The Associated Press. She said that 215 died in Cagayan de Oro ? a city of more than 500,000 ? and 144 in nearby Iligan, with more than 300,000 residents. The rest died in several other southern and central provinces, she said.

Many of the bodies were unclaimed after nearly 24 hours, suggesting that entire families had died, Pang said.

The number of missing was unclear Saturday night. Before the latest Red Cross figures, military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said about 250 people were still unaccounted for in Iligan.

The swollen river sent floodwaters gushing through neighborhoods that do not usually experience flooding. A man floated in an inner tube in muddy water littered with plastic buckets, pieces of wood and other debris. Ten people in one home stood on a sloping roof, waiting for rescuers even as water still flooded the lower floors.

Local television footage showed muddy water rushing in the streets, sweeping away all sorts of debris. Thick layers of mud coated streets where the waters had subsided. One car was thrown over a concrete fence and others were crushed and piled in a flooded canal.

Benito Ramos, chief of the government's Civil Defense Office, attributed the high casualties in Mindanao "partly to the complacency of people because they are not in the usual path of storms" despite four days of warnings by officials that one was approaching.

Thousands of soldiers backed up by hundreds of local police, reservists, coast guard officers and civilian volunteers were mobilized for rescue efforts, but they were hampered by the flooded-out roads and lack of electricity.

Many roads were cut off and there was no electricity, hampering relief efforts.

The missing included prominent Filipino radio broadcaster Enie Alsonado, who was swept away while trying to save his neighbors, Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz said.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro said that about 20,000 residents of the city had been affected and that evacuees were packed in temporary shelters.

Authorities recovered bodies from the mud after the water subsided. Parts of concrete walls and roofs, toppled vehicles and other debris littered the streets.

Rescuers in boats rushed offshore to save people swept out to sea. In Misamis Oriental province, 60 people were plucked from the ocean off El Salvador city, about six miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Cagayan de Oro, said disaster official Teddy Sabuga-a.

About 120 more were rescued off Opol township, closer to the city, he added.

Cruz said the Philippine coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off Iligan for survivors or bodies that may have been swept away to sea.

Tropical Storm Washi dumped on Mindanao more than a month of average rains in just 12 hours.

It quickly cut across the region overnight and headed for Palawan province southwest of Manila on Saturday night.

Forecaster Leny Ruiz said that the records show that storms that follow Washi's track come only once in about 12 years.

Lucilo Bayron, vice mayor of Puerto Princesa in Palawan, said he already mobilized emergency crews but local officials have not ordered an evacuation yet because the weather was still fine.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement that the Obama administration offered "deepest condolences" for the devastation in the southern Philippines.

"The U.S. government stands ready to assist Philippine authorities as they respond to this tragedy," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected."

___

Associated Press writer Hrvoje Hranjski contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-17-AS-Philippines-Storm/id-c0a20db422974a5591d9d2db205d91b7

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iTunes Match rolls out to international community, makes music lovers flinch

Thought you'd have to wait until 2012 to snag an international iTunes Match account? Think again. It seems Apple ended its negotiations with British record companies earlier than expected, as the outfit prematurely launched the music matching service on Wednesday, pulled it and refunded early subscribers, and finally relaunched a fully functional Match to the international community on Thursday. Users from the UK, Australia, Canada, France, the Czech Republic and other countries are now reporting that the service is live, appearing in the iTunes Store and fully functional. If the US rollout was a little late, we certainly don't mind the international debuting a tad early.

iTunes Match rolls out to international community, makes music lovers flinch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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