Photos: Santa Claus is coming to town as NORAD tracker prepares for launch

It’s ten days until Christmas and the world is preparing for Santa Claus to come to town. One way that children worldwide await the arrival of the ol’ jolly one himself is through the NORAD tracker. Equipped with interactive games for children and updates on Santa’s whereabouts and current activities, the NORAD Santa tracker launches each year to let children know when Saint Nick departs the comforts of his North Pole abode.

The NORAD Tracks Santa program is a division of the United States and Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command organization. The Santa Claus tracker began in 1955 and started with the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), NORAD’s predecessor. The official NORAD website (found here http://www.noradsanta.org/en/faq.html) offers a number of answers to many questions regarding Santa’s activities throughout the year, the path he takes and addresses how the NORAD project came into existence.

The NORAD project is run by volunteers and has brought delight to children worldwide for more than fifty years. NORAD has joined with Google Earth to enable children the ability to track Santa’s activities on Christmas Eve with the free program.

You may see photos of Santa Claus appearing in recent events in the photo slideshow to the left.

Flattery or rip-off? 'Mock' market threatens retailers

If you haven't got it, fake it – or so the saying goes.

And it seems increasing numbers of people are doing just that, as luxury retailers face a growing threat from the booming 'mock' market.

From sunglasses to handbags, the choice is no longer between illegal counterfeit goods or the real – expensive – deal thanks to gaps in intellectual property law that have led to the proliferation of 'legal fakes'.

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And there are genuine bargains to be found.

Christopher Zinn, from consumer group Choice, said some replica fashion or food products sold legally were comparable to the brand-name goods they imitated.

“The truth of the matter is that while [brand name goods] might once have been consistently superior, and the very best have maintained this case, these luxury brands are bought, sold and traded and the same quality control is not always there,” he said.

“Incredible things do happen, like the same product being sold at many different prices.

“The imitation - made by someone else with a proper label - perhaps might be in fact the same people who make the designer label.

“People need to look at that and make up their own mind.”

Mr Zinn named televisions, sunglasses, apparel, luxury accessories and generic food products as among items where shoppers could find equivalent replicas for a fraction of the price.

Anthea Muir, vice president for product at Luxottica, the Italian based company that owns sunglass brands Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Vogue, Arnette and REVO, said growing demand for the “luxury look” had contributed to a rise in rip-off products aimed at shoppers who weren't brand loyal or swayed by optical protection.

She said it was hard to measure the impact imitation goods were taking on sales of original designs such as Ray-Ban's oft-imitated Wayfarer and Aviator lines.

“It's hard to say whether [imitation] helps,” Ms Muir said.

“I think what it does show is that people want the original Aviator or the Wayfarer.

“On one hand you've got to look at it and say, 'Hey, well we've got the greatest product, that's what everyone is aspiring to and hopefully, one day when they can afford it, they can buy the original'.

Australian academic and Intellectual Property lawyer Kimberlee Weatherall said unlike counterfeit goods, legal fakes did not infringe on IP rights despite their striking resemblance to brand-name products.

Part of the reason was the complicated nature of defining what's covered by IP law, she said.

A pair of sunglasses could bear several forms of protection including rights to a particular design, brand logo or trademark.

The lifespan of these protections varied, from 70 years for copyrights to a decade for design, though companies could apply to extend their intellectual property rights.

In the absence of such protection, Ms Weatherall said it was legal to manufacture lookalike products, although the line remained open for debate.

“We've had quite a lot of litigation over fast-moving consumer goods in recent years,” she said. “In a supermarket context right now it's a contentious issue because we're going through that same transition that the UK has where there are chains pushing generic lines to a much more significant extent.

“The boundaries of how far they can go on that are still a little unclear so we're seeing a bit of litigation.”

Ms Weatherall said that intellectual property rights sought to protect both buyers and sellers.

“While you say, on the one hand we want to protect people with good ideas, ray ban 2010 we also want to allow for competition,” she said.

“Where that balance lies is kind of hard [to determine].”

Britney Spears breaks her silence on abuse allegations

"Star Magazine, Radar Online, Jason Alexander und der Rest von euch Lügnern, kann Jolle kiss my lilienweiss Southern Louisiana Esel", der 29-jährige Sängerin Tweeted Donnerstag.
Die Pop-Prinzessin war, die Berichte dieser Woche veröffentlichte die angebliche Spears aus ihrem Ex-Mann von 55 Stunden, Jason Alexander, erreichte sagte ihm, dass ihr Agent-turned-Freund Jason Trawick war körperlich misshandelt, reagiert.
Spears 'Lager hat vehement die Berichte bestritten, mit ihrem Manager Larry Rudolph sagte: "Was Star Magazine und Online-Radar hat ist eine Schande und unverantwortlich! Wir werden das nicht im Sitzen. "
Radar Online lief ein Tonband angeblich von Spears in einem Telefongespräch mit Alexander werden. Spears 'Handler genannt haben das Band eine Fälschung.
"Ok, ab auf ein romantisches Wochenende mit Jason zu meinem Geburtstag. Xoxo Brit ", thomas sabo outlet sagte sie später Tweeted.