2011 Honda Fit Receives More Standard Features; VSA Added to All Models

Accommodating, versatile and fuel-efficient five-door now includes standard VSA, USB, cruise control and remote entry on all models

TORRANCE, Calif. – 11/29/2010 – The Honda Fit offers even more value for the 2011 model year in its already versatile, fun-to-drive and fuel-efficient five-door package.  New for 2011, all models include Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®) as standard equipment, along with more comfort and convenience features.

New features on the 2011 Honda Fit (base model) include cruise control, remote entry, a USB audio interface and VSA.  The Fit Sport (non-navigation) also gains VSA for 2011, along with carpeted floor mats.  The Fit Sport with Navigation (previously equipped with VSA as standard equipment) receives carpeted floor mats as standard equipment.  Four new colors become available – Alabaster Silver Metallic, Polished Metal Metallic, Celestial Blue Metallic and Vortex Blue Pearl – and replace similar colors from the previous model year.

Compact on the outside yet spacious inside, 2011 Honda Fit stands apart from other entry-level vehicles with its multi-functional interior and emphasis on quality and refinement.  The exclusive 60/40 split rear Magic Seat® offers multiple seating and cargo-carrying configurations – tall object mode, long object mode and utility mode – in addition to the standard five-passenger mode.

The exterior design provides excellent outward visibility and contributes to the vehicle’s aggressive, sporty stance.  The 1.5-liter, i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine is tuned to deliver a rewarding combination of power and fuel economy.  A five-speed manual transmission is standard and a five-speed automatic transmission is available.  Steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters on Fit Sport models equipped with the available automatic transmission allow for manual gear selection.

Compact on the outside with an overall length of 161.6 inches, the interior provides an impressive passenger volume of 90.8 cubic feet for its class and a rear cargo volume of 20.6 cubic feet.  The rear Magic Seat provides convenient one-motion dive-down functionality and can fold flat into the floor to create a rear cargo volume of 57.3 cubic feet.

Safety highlights include the Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure, standard VSA, anti-lock brakes and more.  Dual-stage, multiple-threshold front airbags, dual front-side airbags with passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) and side-curtain airbags are standard equipment on all models.

The engine produces 117 horsepower at 6,600 rpm and 106 lb-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm.  2011 Honda Fit equipped with the available automatic transmission has an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) city/highway/combined fuel economy rating of 28/35/31 miles per gallon .   2011 Honda Fit Sport with the available automatic transmission has an EPA city/highway/combined fuel economy rating of 27/33/30 miles per gallon¹.  All manual transmission-equipped models have an EPA city/highway/combined fuel economy rating of 27/33/29 miles per gallon.¹

The front MacPherson strut suspension and torsion beam rear suspension settings are tuned to provide a sporty, refined and dynamic driving experience. Fifteen- and 16-inch wheels (Fit and Fit Sport, respectively) feature 175/65 R15 84S (Fit) and 185/55 R16 83H (Fit Sport) tires. The standard anti-lock braking system (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) uses 10.3-inch ventilated discs in the front and 7.9-inch drums in the rear.

2011 Honda Fit comes with standard amenities such as air conditioning, cruise control, remote entry, an AM/FM/CD audio system with four speakers, USB audio interface², auxiliary audio input jack, MP3/WMA playback capability, Radio Data System (RDS), power windows, power mirrors and power door locks.  The Fit Sport adds or replaces: carpeted floor mats, alloy wheels, an underbody aero kit, rear roofline spoiler, fog lights and a security system.

2011 Honda Fit Sport audio system provides six speakers.  The Fit Sport is available with the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System™ with Voice Recognition³, featuring a 6.5-inch screen and more than seven million points of interest.

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Criminal investigation underway into leak of classified diplomatic documents

resident Barack Obama was not the only one under attack after returning from his Asian trip. It appears that a highly coordinated smear campaign is also being directed against Michelle Obama. First, mainstream news reports have criticized the First Lady for no longer reaching out to people who are not a part of her "inner circle." They also allege that she is defensive and often keeps to herself. Second, it was leaked that Sarah Palin's new book slams Michelle Obama for her statements during the 2008 election in expressing how proud she was of her country because it felt like hope was making a comeback. (On another occasion, she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.")

One must ask if the recent attacks against Michelle Obama are due to her inspiring, cooperative and inclusive message while in Asia. Not only did she visit Asia's largest mosque in Indonesia, the Istiqlal Mosque, but everywhere she went she spoke of peace and religious toleration. While in Mumbai, Michelle Obama danced, sang and played vocabulary games with children from the Indian charity Make a Difference that services orphans and runaways and economically disadvantaged youth. After forming a circle where she played the tambourine, she talked about the importance of education and setting goals. When she invited questions, one child exclaimed that meeting the First Lady of the U.S. was like a dream come true. Michelle Obama replied: "No, you are my dream come true!"

As First Lady, Michelle Obama has taken up many causes within the United States. She has advocated for continued diversity in public education and supports organic gardening and buying organic food, including pursuing a more healthy lifestyle and addressing the sensitive issue of childhood obesity. She has visited numerous homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and continually encourages citizens to commit to some type of national or community service. She has shown a deep concern for veterans and have been a campaigner in assisting military families with certain needs. Not only has Michelle Obama been an outspoken proponent for pay equity laws, but she has attended meetings focusing on improving balancing parenting and a career.

As First Lady, Michelle Obama's global inclusiveness, intelligence, articulation, activism, and role as a mother, is just what the U.S. desperately needs. Since the end of World War II and with the onset of the Cold War, the loss in Vietnam, and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many Americans have turned inwards and have tried to find solutions from manipulative, racially biased, and hate-filled media demagogues. Studies have proven that the tender and early love of a mother creates deep reservoirs of self-confidence and courage throughout one's life. Children who are denied physical and social contact and affirmation have difficulty speaking, walking and integrating into groups, let alone working cooperatively. When children experience their mother as being confident, secure and loving, they are more likely explore and become trustworthy and industrious people.

In the 2000 election, another First Lady, this one from Florida, exclaimed: "It's going to be a great four years...eight years! God bless America."(1) Her speech came immediately after hundreds of thousands of Floridians were wrongly disqualified from voting. Others were either illegally purged from voter registrations, or intimidated at road blocks on their way to vote. Still, Al Gore won the popular vote by 539,898. If not for the ruling of the conservative Supreme Court that usurped 154 million votes, a recount or emergency revote in Florida would have revealed or enabled Al Gore to become president. Instead, "compassionate conservatism" has caused numerous genocidal wars, an economic collapse unparalleled since the Great Depression, a shameful increase in economic disparity, and an intolerance, militancy and exclusiveness not experienced since the days of McCarthyism.

When Michelle Obama hosted a town hall meeting with St. Xavier College students in Mumbai, she commented on how wonderful India's cultures and peoples were. After describing her meager upbringing, she told how her parents instilled into her a strong work ethic and the importance of humility and of treating others with dignity and respect. Then, she said the shared responsibilities for building the present and future must be met with education and a reverence for the environment and for the most vulnerable citizens of the world. She also mentioned the importance of healing divisions that too often keep people and nations apart. Michelle Obama concluded by declaring that all children, regardless of their circumstances and where they live, deserve the same chance to get an education and to build productive and meaningful lives.

With deep sorrow and even a sense of shame, one must wonder why the U.S. is one of the few remaining modernized and industrial nations (one could even include emerging countries) of the world that has yet to elect a female head of state. Meanwhile, women who do strive politically are either confined to a "fashion statement" or comparatively demeaned too those who work in the sex industries. Still, women who attempt to lead and initiate beneficial change-like Hillary Rodham Clinton who tried to reform for-profit health care corporations and pharmaceutical monopolies that cause the deaths of forty-thousand Americans each year, including untold misery and suffering for millions who do not have health care benefits-are attacked, derided, ridiculed, and threatened with political suicide.

For one of the first times since the end of World War II, and regarding a nation that has acted sexist, arrogant, belligerent, and which seems to be ignorant and intolerant of other cultures, some Americans are proud of you too Michelle Obama!

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Anna Dello Russo, Dior & Beyonce

Vogue Japan editor Anna Dello Russo’s new fragrance Beyond will be on shelves in time for Christmas. The fashion news editor announced on her blog that the Beyond fragrance will be on sale in a unique little golden shoe bottle in time for girls to get it in their stockings. There is also an ad for the vanilla fragrance that shows off the golden bottle in all its girly glory. We told you before that Natalie Portman was the new face of Dior fragrances, now beauty news sites have uncovered that Natalie is filming the first commercial for Dior fragrances in Paris with director Sofia Coppola. Sofia Coppola directed the previous ad for the Dior Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, so it’s not surprising they returned to her. Beyonce is launching another celebrity fragrance. This time Beyonce’s Ultimate Elixir will be tempting fragrance fans. Beyonce Heat Ultimate Elixir is a spin on her original fragrance. Beauty news stories say the new fragrance will be more ‘intimate’ than the punchy scent of Heat. The new Beyonce fragrance will be in stores in September.

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Inkoom To Be The Face Of G-SHOCK Watches

PRODUCT endorsement deals for world-renowned football stars have become the order of
the day with popular players raking in fortunes just by signing on to be the face of
several products ranging from fizzy drinks to colourful underwear.

The list is endless. Cristiano Ronaldo (Armani underwear), Wayne Rooney (EA Sports),

Ronaldinho (NIKE), David Beckham (Pepsi), Stephen Appiah / Michael Essien (MTN) are
quite a few. But one player who is gradually making the bucks from his off-the-pitch
activities due to his marketing appeal is FC Basel’s Ghanaian defender, Samuel

Inkoom.

The 21-year-old starlet has been in terrific form for his Swiss club and off the
pitch too, he is doing well as he continue to attract major companies to endorse
their brands with the latest being world-renowned watch-maker CASIO.

Inkoom has exclusively revealed to 90 MINUTES of his pending deal with the
electronic giants to be a brand ambassador for G-SHOCK, one of CASIO’s brand of
watches which is known for its resistance to shocks.

He told us: “I would soon be the brand ambassador for G-SHOCK watches as
negotiations have been fruitful. The deal would hopefully be signed in January and I
would do my possible best to project the image of the product. Products from CASIO
are undoubtedly of higher quality and for them to have me on board is quite
unbelievable.”

Inkoom currently has endorsement deals with NIKE & VOLTIC Mineral Water.

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Dell Laptop Uses New Intel Cooling Technology

Dell has announced an ultraportable laptop with a new technology from Intel that sucks in outside air to keep the system quieter and cooler.
Dell's Vostro V130 is one of the first laptops to incorporate Intel's Hyperbaric cooling technology, which uses an internal fan that draws air into the laptop to keep it from overheating. With most existing designs, the internal fans are used to push hot air out.
The air that's pulled in is channeled toward key components to keep them cool, such as the CPU. The air is drawn in through the left side of the laptop, and the warm air is then expelled out the right.
The system allows the fans to run at lower speeds, which results in a quieter laptop, said Rajiv Mongia, a principal engineer at Intel. It also leads to a cooler laptop, according to Intel, because the cooling system is more efficient.
"By using cold air directly from the outside and then directly blowing across the hot components, you create a more efficient cooling solution. This is because by blowing air across the components, you create more intense convective cooling and often get more cooling flow through the platform," Mongia said.
Intel has not measured the impact of Hyperbaric cooling on the battery lives of laptops, Mongia said.
The laptop is targeted at business users, a Dell spokeswoman said. It has a 13.3-inch screen and weighs 3.5 pounds (0.45 kilograms). It is powered by ultra-low-voltage Core i3 or Core i5 processors from Intel. It has a six-cell battery that offers four-and-a-half hours of battery life, according to Dell.
The laptop has up to 4GB of RAM and up to a 640GB hard drive. It also has an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) port, 802.11n wireless technology, a 5-in-1 media card reader and a webcam. WiMax broadband and a SIM card slot are optional. It's priced starting at US$429 and is shipping worldwide.

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Pressure on US as Clinton faces flak at summit

It will get personal very quickly for Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State. While all of Washington scrambled yesterday to contain the fallout from the leak of secret diplomatic cables, she will have some face-to-face explaining to do when she arrives at a European security summit in Kazakhstan tomorrow.

Of the many very bad things about this latest round of disclosures of how America conducts foreign policy, one is the timing – at least, for Mrs Clinton. After the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe gathering, she travels to the Middle East, which was a focus of many of the leaked cables. Perhaps with that tour in mind, Mrs Clinton vehemently criticised the leaks last night and insisted that America's relationships would not be harmed.

"I am confident that the partnerships that the Obama administration has worked so hard to build will withstand this challenge," she said. "I want to make clear that our policy is not set in these messages but here in Washington." And, she added ominously, the US is "taking aggressive steps to hold responsible those to account".

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U.S. behind disclosures, says Ahmadinejad

DUBAI: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused the U.S. of masterminding the release of thousands of cables by the WikiLeaks website as part of a “psychological warfare” campaign. At a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Mr. Ahamdinejad said the Americans had released the documents intentionally as part of a well organised plan. Asked to elaborate, he said: “Let me first correct you. The material was not leaked, but rather released in an organised way,” Iran's state-run Press TV reported.

A cable of April 20, 2008 released by WikiLeaks cites Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz comparing Iran to the “head of a snake” which needed to be “cut off.” However, in his riposte, the Iranian President stressed that the documents would not affect Tehran's external relations. “The U.S. administration released them and based on them they pass judgment …. [The documents] have no legal value and will not have the political effect they seek,” Press TV quoted him as saying. Mr. Ahmadinejad compared the WikiLeaks disclosure to a “game,” which, in his view is “not worth commenting upon and that no one would waste their time reviewing them”.

In response to King Abdullah's reported comments, a senior diplomatic source in the region told The Hindu, on conditions of anonymity, that Saudi Arabia's position on the developments in the region including Iran has been evolving, especially since the Gaza war which ended in January 2009. He added that Saudi Arabia had “since been working together with countries in the region including Iran to defuse tensions in West Asia's various trouble spots”. “To my mind the cable of April 20, 2008 is outdated and has been overtaken by events,” he observed.

AFP reports from Tehran: The cables also show that Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed as early as 2005 expressed support for military action against Iran. “I believe this guy is going to take us into war,” he said in 2006. “Al-Qaeda is not going to get a nuclear bomb; Iran is a matter of time,” he said in 2009. King Hamad of Bahrain told U.S. General David Petraeus in November 2009: “That [nuclear] programme must be stopped .... The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it.”

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