Saturday, January 28, 2012

XYBOARD buyers, Galaxy Nexus wallpapers [From the Forums]

From The Forums

We've rolled through this week like there was no tomorrow and we've finally reached the weekend. We packed a lot of coverage into this week so be sure to get yourself caught up by skipping a few pages back. Looking for more? Head on into the Android Central forums and dig in:

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/mCMH6OsBpQQ/story01.htm

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Jean Paul Gaultier Pays Homage to Amy Winehouse at Fashion Show; Family Rages on Twitter


Designer Jean Paul Gaultier paid homage to Amy Winehouse's unique style at his Paris runway show earlier this week. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

Wrong, if you're the late singer's father, Mitch Winehouse.

"We don't support the Jean Paul Galtier [sic] collection. It is in poor taste," the elder Winehouse tweeted, incensed at his daughter's image being used to sell clothes.

The Late Amy Winehouse

"The family was upset to see those pictures. They were a total shock," he told The Sun.

"We're still grieving, and we've had a difficult week with the six-month anniversary of Amy's death." Mitch said Gaultier's show portrayed "a view of Amy when she was not at her best, [glamorizing] some of the more upsetting times in her life."

Mitch felt it inappropriate to try and cash in on his daughter's legacy.

"To see her image lifted wholesale to sell clothes was a wrench we were not expecting or consulted on. We're proud of her influence on fashion but find black veils on models, smoking cigarettes with a barbershop quartet singing her music in bad taste."

He wasn't the only harsh critic of the celebrity fashion designer.

Kelly Osbourne, a close friend of Amy Winehouse, also Tweeted in response: "Although @JPGaultier was paying homage to my friend and icon to the world, I found it to be lucratively selfish and distasteful. Exploitation=evil."

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/jean-paul-gaultier-pays-homage-to-amy-winehouse-at-fashion-show/

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Sports Open Line: Business Perspective on the Rams Future ? CBS ...

Darell Scott #97 of the St. Louis Rams is introduced prior to playing against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome on November 27, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Darell Scott #97 of the St. Louis Rams is introduced prior to playing against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome on November 27, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

There is no one better in town at discussing the business aspect of sports than Dr. Patrick Rishe, the Sports Marketing Consultant, Sportsimpacts.net Sports Business Contributor, Forbes.com Sports Business Professor, and also teaches at Webster University. With the uncertainty of the Rams future in St. Louis, many are curious what owner E. Stanley Kroenke may do with the franchise over the next few years.

Sports Open Line

Source: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/01/25/sports-open-line-business-perspective-on-rams/

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Iran's Ahmadinejad ups rates to stem money crisis (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to increase bank interest rates on Wednesday, hoping to halt a spiraling currency crisis intensified by new Western sanctions.

"The economy minister has announced Ahmadinejad has agreed with the approval of the Money and Credit Council to increase interest rates on bank deposits to up to 21 percent," the official IRNA news agency reported.

Sanctions the United States and the European Union announced over the last month - targeting Iran's vital oil exports and its central bank - exacerbated fears about the economy and worsened a dash for hard currency.

The rial was already losing value since a decision last April to cut interest paid on bank deposits to a range of a 12.5-15.5, below inflation which is currently around 20 percent, prompting many Iranians to withdraw savings and buy gold and foreign currency and pushing up the price of both.

But the dash for those safe havens accelerated sharply after the new sanctions were announced, resulting in the rial losing 50 percent of its value against the price of dollars available on the open market in just one month.

Monday's decision marks a policy U-turn for Ahmadinejad, who faces a political test in March 2 parliamentary election. He previously vetoed efforts by Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani to increase rates.

The rial's slide is a huge risk to already rising inflation as Iran is heavily reliant on imported consumer and intermediate goods whose prices have surged as the rial has depreciated.

BUBBLE

The West hopes the economic pressure will force Iran to curb the nuclear work they fear is aimed at making bombs but which Tehran says is entirely peaceful.

Ahmadinejad's representative in parliament - which is already highly critical of the president and may become more so after March 2 - said the new policy would burst what he called the bubble of gold and dollar prices.

"The effects of the new decision will be clear in the market very soon and the bubbles being created for foreign currency and gold will be removed," the ISNA news agency quoted Mohammad Reza Mirtajedini as saying.

The deputy head of parliament's economics committee criticized the government for reacting late to the crisis which he said had "no reasonable, logical basis."

"Increasing the bank deposit interest rates is an appropriate tool for people's investments but doing it in a hasty manner and the current inflamed situation of the market will not solve any problem," Mostafa Motavarzadeh told the semi-official Fars news agency.

The price of 8.133-gram gold coins dropped on the news, local media reported, to 8,500,000 rials, reversing most of last week's 45 percent increase when the price rose to 10,100,000.

The effect on the price of dollars was negligible however with ISNA saying the price had fallen on the news to 22,500 rials from 23,000 rials - still double the central bank's official "reference rate" of 11,293 rials.

However, exchange agencies contacted by Reuters said they had no dollars to sell, reflecting either a shortage of notes or a reluctance to sell in such a volatile atmosphere.

(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wl_nm/us_iran_economy_rates

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'Touch' Preview: Kiefer Sutherland's Martin Learns How To Communicate With His Son (VIDEO)

Hoping to recreate the anticipation and buzz that helped make "Glee" a breakout hit a few seasons back by previewing the series a few months before its official debut, Fox offered potential viewers a sneak preview of "Touch" (Wed., 9 p.m. EST on Fox) after the Aspen auditions of "American Idol." The actual series premieres Monday, March 19 at 9 p.m. EST, after "Alcatraz" finishes its inaugural run.

In this premiere, viewers were introduced to Jacob Bohm, an 11-year old boy diagnosed with autism. It looks like the situation is far more complex than that, which is to be expected from a series created by Tim Kring ("Heroes"). Kiefer Sutherland plays his bewildered father, who's been struggling to take care of and connect with his son since his wife's death in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw rounds out the core team as the social worker brought in to assess Jacob after his third trip atop a radio tower. She found herself pulled into the mythology when she started to see that Jacob was using numbers to communicate, seeing patterns in the numbers that connect the world and everyone in it. Danny Glover provides support as an expert on children with an affinity to numbers.

The premiere featured a convoluted group of people around the world who had no reason to be connected. But either through happenstance, or the subtle manipulations of Jacob, their lives all touched by the end of the hour, and in doing so they each found an improvement in their situation. Jacob can see the pattern, and perhaps then can see a bit of the future, but can he manipulate it as well.

Check out Maureen Ryan's thoughts on this sneak preview of "Touch," and come back Monday, March 19th at 9 p.m. EST for the series premiere.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Related on HuffPost:

MONDAY, JANUARY 23: "Gossip Girl"

1? of ?19

"Gossip Girl" (8 p.m. EST, The CW) "Clueless" writer/director Amy Heckerling makes her first foray into TV directing since 2005 for Blair's bachelorette party, as others scheme behind Queen B's back to make it a night to remember. After discovering the truth behind Chuck and Blair's car accident, Nate joins forces with a surprising ally to gather the evidence, while Serena and Dan pretend to be dating again to protect Blair's secret. "Gossip Girl" (8 p.m. EST, The CW)
"Clueless" writer/director Amy Heckerling makes her first foray into TV directing since 2005 for Blair's bachelorette party, as others scheme behind Queen B's back to make it a night to remember. After discovering the truth behind Chuck and Blair's car accident, Nate joins forces with a surprising ally to gather the evidence, while Serena and Dan pretend to be dating again to protect Blair's secret.

MONDAY, JANUARY 23: "Gossip Girl"

"Gossip Girl" (8 p.m. EST, The CW) "Clueless" writer/director Amy Heckerling makes her first foray into TV directing since 2005 for Blair's bachelorette party, as others scheme behind Queen B's back to make it a night to remember. After discovering the truth behind Chuck and Blair's car accident, Nate joins forces with a surprising ally to gather the evidence, while Serena and Dan pretend to be dating again to protect Blair's secret. "; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/touch-kiefer-sutherland-communicate-son-video_n_1232972.html

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Leonardo admits defeat in pursuit of Carlos Tevez

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:57 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2012

PARIS (AP) -Paris Saint-Germain has failed in its latest effort to recruit a star player, with sporting director Leonardo saying the French club has ended negotiations to sign Carlos Tevez from Manchester City.

After missing out on former England captain David Beckham and AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, Tevez became PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti's priority signing and Leonardo met with the player's adviser, Kia Joorabchian, in Paris last week.

"We've ended the negotiations. We made a handsome offer but we couldn't reach an agreement," sports daily L'Equipe quoted Leonardo as saying on its website on Tuesday. "So we're stopping. It's over."

Tevez has not played for City since September.

PSG is top of the French league and leads Montpellier by three points, but may now have to wait until the offseason before signing the big name it craves.

"There aren't many opportunities left and we're not going to splash out," Leonardo said. "We're already fine as we are. We have a competitive squad."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


advertisement

Reuters
That's a reason?

AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng is hurt again, and his girlfriend says it's because they have sex "7-10 times a week." Oh.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46054835/ns/sports-soccer/

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Cocoa could prevent intestinal pathologies such as colon cancer

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A new study on living animals has shown for the first time that eating cocoa (the raw material in chocolate) can help to prevent intestinal complaints linked to oxidative stress, including colon carcinogenesis onset caused by chemical substances.

The growing interest amongst the scientific community to identify those foods capable of preventing diseases has now categorized cocoa as a 'superfood'. It has been recognised as an excellent source of phytochemical compounds, which offer potential health benefits.

Headed by scientists from the Institute of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN) and recently published in the Molecular Nutrition & Food Research journal, the new study supports this idea and upholds that cacao consumption helps to prevent intestinal complaints linked to oxidative stress, such as the onset of chemically induced colon carcinogenesis.

"Being exposed to different poisons in the diet like toxins, mutagens and procarcinogens, the intestinal mucus is very susceptible to pathologies," explains Mar?a ?ngeles Mart?n Arribas, lead author of the study and researcher at ICTAN. She adds that "foods like cocoa, which is rich in polyphenols, seems to play an important role in protecting against disease."

The study on live animals (rats) has for the first time confirmed the potential protection effect that flavonoids in cocoa have against colon cancer onset. For eight weeks the authors of the study fed the rats with a cocoa-rich (12%) diet and carcinogenesis was induced.

Possible protection

Doctor Mart?n Arribas outlines that "four weeks after being administered with the chemical compound azoxymethane (AOM), intestinal mucus from premalignant neoplastic lesions appeared. These lesions are called 'aberrant crypt foci' and are considered to be good markers of colon cancer pathogenesis."

The results of the study showed that the rats fed a cocoa-rich diet had a significantly reduced number of aberrant crypts in the colon induced by the carcinogen. Likewise, this sample saw an improvement in their endogenous antioxidant defences and a decrease in the markers of oxidative damage induced by the toxic compound in this cell.

The researchers conclude that the protection effect of cocoa can stop cell-signalling pathways involved in cell proliferation and, therefore, subsequent neoplasty and tumour formation. Lastly, the animals fed with the cocoa-rich diet showed an increase in apoptosis or programmed cell death as a chemoprevention mechanism against the development of the carcinogenesis.

Although more research is required to determine what bioactive compounds in cocoa are responsible for such effects, the authors conclude that a cocoa-rich diet seems capable of reducing induced oxidative stress. It could also have protection properties in the initial stages of colon cancer as it reduces premalignant neoplastic lesion formation.

A not-so-guilty pleasure

Cocoa is one of the ingredients in chocolate. It is one of the richest foods in phenolic compounds, mainly in flavonoids like procyanidins, catechins and epicatechins, which have numerous beneficial biological activities in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and cancer (mainly colorectal cancer).

In fact, compared to other foods with a high flavonoid content, cocoa has a high level of procyanidins with limited bioavailability. These flavonoids are therefore found in their highest concentrations in the intestine where they neutralise many oxidants.

###

ldefonso Rodr?guez-Ramiro, Sonia Ramos, Elvira L?pez-Oliva, Angel Agis-Torres, Miren G?mez-Juaristi, Raquel Mateos, Laura Bravo, Luis Goya, Mar?a ?ngeles Mart?n. "Cocoa-rich diet prevents azoxymethane-induced colonic preneoplastic lesions in rats by restraining oxidative stress and cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis". Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 55:1895-1899, diciembre de 2011. DOI 10.1002/mnfr.201100363.

FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology: http://www.fecyt.es/fecyt/home.do

Thanks to FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 74 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116996/Cocoa_could_prevent_intestinal_pathologies_such_as_colon_cancer

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Emily Maynard is the next 'Bachelorette'

Finally, Emily Maynard has a commitment!

No, not to a man or anything, but maybe that'll come next.

Story: Sources: Emily Maynard is the new 'Bachelorette'

ABC has officially announced that the single mother (whose relationship with recent Bachelor Brad Womack ended) will be the next "Bachelorette."

So, since this casting has been rumored (and confirmed by our sources) for weeks, what took so long for ABC to put a ring on it?

MORE: Meet the New Bachelorette!

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    5. Heigl gets jealous while watching 'Grey's'

According to sources, "Bachelor" producers have wanted ? and heavily courted ? Emily since the very beginning of the casting process. However, the West Virginia mom was a bit trepidacious at first, and even after she said yes, the network did not sign off on Emily's casting until this week.

Production on the show's eighth installment is expected to begin soon, and air this spring.

Story: Jake Pavelka: I would be the 'Bachelor' again

Chris Harrison recently told us of Emily: "I'm hearing the same rumors, if those rumors are true I will be over the moon excited. If they are true, I don't know if they're true, but I've heard the same thing and man, I hope it's true."

Story: 'Bachelor' Brad Womack wants Emily Maynard back

? 2012 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46115753/ns/today-entertainment/

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Mexico authorities unravel child trafficking ring (AP)

ZAPOPAN, Mexico ? Life seemed to give Karla Zepeda a break when a woman came to her dusty neighborhood of cinderblock homes and dirt roads looking for babies to photograph in an anti-abortion ad campaign.

The woman asked to use the 15-year-old's baby girl in a two-week photo shoot for $755 ($10,000 pesos), a small fortune for a teen mother who earns $180 a month at a sandwich stand and shares a cramped, one-story house with her disabled mother, stepfather, and three brothers.

But 9-month-old Camila wasn't just posing for photographs when she was taken away.

Jalisco state investigators say the child was left for weeks at a time in the care of an Irish couple who had come to Ajijic, a town of cobblestone streets and gated communities 37 miles (60 kilometers) away, thinking they were adopting her.

Prosecutors say the baby was apparently part of an illegal adoption ring that ensnared destitute young Mexican women trying to earn more for their children and childless Irish couples desperate to become parents.

Camila and nine other children have been turned over to state officials who suspect they were being groomed for illegal adoptions. And authorities hint that far more children could be involved: Lead investigator Blanca Barron told reporters the ring may have been operating for 20 years, though she gave no details. Prosecutors also say four of the children show signs of sexual abuse, though they gave no details on how or by whom.

Nine people have been detained, including two suspected leaders of the ring, but no one has yet been charged.

At least 15 Irish citizens have been questioned, the Jalisco state attorney general's office said, but officials have not released their names. Neighbors say most or all have returned to Ireland after spending weeks or months in Ajijic trying to meet requirements for adopting a child. None was detained.

For Karla Zepeda, the story began in August, when she was approached by Guadalupe Bosquez and agreed to lend her daughter for an anti-abortion advertising campaign, she told The Associated Press. Bosquez later returned with another woman, Silvia Soto, and gave her half the money as they picked the child up. She got the rest two weeks later when they brought Camila home.

"They showed me a poster that showed my girl with other babies and said 'No To Abortion, Yes To Life,'" said Karla, a petite girl cleaning her house to loud norteno music. "I thought it was legal because everything seemed very normal."

Before long, the message spread to her neighbors. Seven other women, most between the ages of 15 and 22, agreed to let their babies be part of the ad campaign. Some already had several children. Some are single mothers. One of them doesn't know how to read or write. Five of them told they AP that they did not even have birth certificates for their babies when they came across Bosquez and Soto.

One said she needed money to pay for her child's medical care, another to finish building an extra room on her house.

All deny agreeing to give their children up for adoption.

"We're going through a nightmare," said Fernanda Montes, an 18-year-old housewife who said she took part to pay a $670 hospital bill from the birth of her 3-month-old. "How could we have trusted someone so evil?"

The women say that Bosquez and Soto persuaded three of them to register their children as single mothers so they could participate in the anti-abortion campaign, even though they live with the children's fathers.

Children's rights activists say that also could have made it easier to release the child for adoption: only the mother's signature would be needed.

The mothers were assured that the babies were being taken care of by several nannies and checked by doctors. The babies often returned home wearing new clothes.

Some of the mothers said they began having second thoughts. But when they declined to send their children back, they say, Bosquez and Soto insisted they would have to pay for the strollers, car seats, diaper bags and everything else they had bought for the babies.

Investigators say that Bosquez and Soto were taking the children to a hotel in Guadalajara, where they met with Irish couples who believed they were going to adopt them.

The plan began to unravel on Jan. 9, when local police detained 21-year-old Laura Carranza and accused her of trying to sell her 2-year-old daughter.

Investigators said Carranza denied that allegation, but acknowledged she was "renting" her 8-month-old son. She then led authorities to Bosquez and Soto.

Both are now being held on suspicion they ran the alleged anti-abortion ad campaign as a front for an illegal adoption ring. It was not clear if they have attorneys and they have not yet been brought before a judge to say if they accept or reject the allegations.

Carranza is also being held, as is Karla's mother, Cecilia Velazquez, who hasn't worked since she lost both legs in a traffic accident in 2010. Karla says her mother's only fault was agreeing to the ad campaign.

Seven of the mothers interviewed told the AP that the children had most recently been picked up by Bosquez and Soto between Dec. 27 and Dec. 30 for an alleged photo shoot. They returned the babies on Jan. 9 and 10, saying "there had been problems." The mothers said they didn't notice anything wrong with the babies or any signs of abuse.

Then state police investigators showed up at their homes and drove them and their children to the police department for questioning. The babies were taken from them and put into state protective custody. The women complained that only four of them have been allowed to see their babies since, and only once.

A statement from Jalisco state prosecutors' said authorities seized Carranza's two children from her and the other seven while they were with Irish couples. Prosecutors didn't respond to requests by the AP to clarify the discrepancy.

Residents of Ajijic, a town on the shore of Lake Chapala favored by American and Canadian retirees, say Irish citizens looking to adopt Mexican children began appearing there at least four years ago.

Jalisco state prosecutors' spokesman Lino Gonzalez wouldn't confirm the Irish had left, but said none had been charged with a crime.

Even if they had adopted the children, Ireland might not have accepted them because the adoptions were handled privately, said Frances FitzGerald, Ireland's minister for children.

"Obviously, for any couple caught up in this, it's a nightmare scenario," she said.

"What you can't have in Mexico is people going to local agencies or individuals doing private adoptions because when they come back, there is going to be a difficulty."

Prosecutors say they have been trying without success to reach the attorneys who were handling the adoption paperwork in the neighboring state of Colima.

Custody release statements signed by all of the mothers carry the logo of Lopez y Lopez Asociados, a firm owned by Carlos Lopez Valenzuela and his son, Carlos Lopez Castellanos. Authorities raided their home last week.

The release statements were shown to the AP by a local advocate for missing and stolen children, Juan Manuel Estrada of Fundacion FIND, who said they had been leaked to him by a state official. He said Lopez Valenzuela had separately sent him a lengthy statement by email declaring that he too may have been duped in the case and denying wrongdoing.

Prosecutors wouldn't confirm the authenticity of that statement, but it mirrors the stories of seven mothers who were interviewed by the AP.

According to the statement Lopez said he had handled adoptions in Colima state for 63 Irish couples since 2004. He said he first met Bosquez when she approached him in 2009 about giving her own unborn child up for adoption to an Irish couple, a process, he wrote, that was completed legally.

The statement said that Bosquez also introduced Lopez to a social worker and together they brought him the current case involving Zepeda and the other women from Zapopan, apparently hoping he could match the children to adopting couples.

It says Lopez was told the mothers wanted only to deal with the two women, and he agreed. The young mothers confirmed they never met Lopez.

Lopez didn't respond to emailed interview requests from the AP.

According to the statement, Lopez said he follows the stringent adoption laws set by the Hague Adoption Convention, which Mexico has signed.

Unlike Guatemala or China, Mexico has not been a popular destination for foreigners looking to adopt, perhaps because the process, done by law, is complicated.

"The legal adoption process in Mexico is difficult, but cheating in Mexico is very easy," Estrada said.

___

Associated Press writer Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_child_trafficking

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Lobbying's SOPA opera lessons (Politico)

K Street boom days have come and gone.

A bad economy and rigid stalemates on Capitol Hill took its toll on big firms for the second year in a row, with seven out of the 10 biggest lobbying groups reporting flat or negative revenues in 2011, a significant contrast with the double-digit growth many of the same firms experienced in the mid-2000s, according to recently filed federal lobbying reports.

Continue Reading

And the stagnant revenues aren?t expected to pick up in the coming year with the economy still slow and an even bigger change afoot in the industry. Fights are no longer just about which side has the most ? or best ? lobbyists. The new world of Washington influence is more diverse:Traditional access lobbying is waged alongside campaigns that use media, grass-roots activism and the Internet ? activity often not reported in federal lobbying filings.

?This is not your grandfather?s lobbying business,? said Nick Allard of Patton Boggs. ?The nature of it is less of a premium on getting information and more of a demand for expert advice.?

Patton Boggs maintained its position as the top-grossing lobbying firm, bringing in $48.4 million in lobbying revenue in 2011. That was up from $45.2 million in 2010. The uptick stems more from the firm?s June merger with Breaux Lott Leadership Group than from overall business growth.

Several lobbyists pointed to last week?s massive online mobilization that tanked two fast-moving anti-online piracy bills as the perfect example of how the influence game is changing. While clients are still willing to pay for access lobbying, there is more of a focus on nonreportable strategy through social media and other grass-roots initiatives.

?A well-resourced content group of people completely got outmaneuvered by the guys in the basement,? Ogilvy Government Relations? Drew Maloney said of the anti-piracy fight. ?It?s not a secret that a lobbying campaign involves a lot of different tools now than maybe it did 10 to 15 years ago.?

The numbers do not come as a surprise to lobbyists, who have been saying all year that K Street is no longer easy street for hired guns.

?Generally speaking, the industry was down, so even in a down year, even is a good thing,? Alex Vogel of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti said.

Marquee firms like Podesta Group, Van Scoyoc & Associates, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and Holland & Knight saw their revenues nose dive. Others ? like Cassidy & Associates, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates and Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti ? reported relatively flat years.

Competition has also increased as more K-Streeters are hanging out a shingle rather than going to top firms, and clients aren?t as willing to pay huge monthly retainers.

Van Scoyoc & Associates faced one of the steepest declines: Its revenues declined about 14 percent. The firm billed clients $25.3 million for lobbying in 2011, down from $29.4 million in 2010. Holland & Knight?s lobbying revenue dropped 10 percent with the firm bringing in $19 million in 2011, down from $21 million in 2010. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck also dropped about 9 percent. The firm billed $22.1 million in revenue in 2011 compared with the $24.4 million it charged in 2010.

Brownstein Hyatt?s Al Mottur said the drop wasn?t unexpected and that the firm?s explosive, double-digit percentage growth in recent years wasn?t sustainable. Holland & Knight also said the downturn in reportable lobbying revenues was offset by regulatory work as the action moved to the agencies.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71799_html/44269759/SIG=11m59ck9b/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71799.html

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Rights group calls on West to end 'Arab exception' (AP)

CAIRO ? Popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world exposed biases by Western governments that supported Arab autocratic rulers for the sake of "stability" while turning a blind eye to their repressive policies, Human Rights Watch said Sunday.

The New-York based group urged democratic governments to adopt persistent and consistent support for peaceful protesters and to press both autocratic rulers and newly emerging democracies to avoid intolerance and seeking revenge.

"The events of the past year show that the forced silence of people living under autocrats should never have been mistaken for popular complacency," HRW's executive director Kenneth Roth said. "It is time to end the 'Arab exception.'"

The Arab Spring revolts began in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, deposing or challenging authoritarian rulers as citizens who long seemed incapable or unwilling to rise against decades of repression took to the streets in a stunning awakening.

In some ways, the unexpected uprisings amounted to a slap to the United States and other Western governments, which had supported autocratic regimes that served as bulwarks against Islamists hostile to the West and appeared to offer stability in a volatile region.

Western governments also have been accused of being selective in supporting the protesters, with NATO airstrikes proving key to the ouster of slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Meanwhile, the West has stood largely on the sidelines amid continued crackdowns in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.

"The people driving the Arab Spring deserve strong international support to realize their rights and to build genuine democracies," Roth said in the group's annual report, which covers some 90 countries. He added that the Arab world is in a "transformative moment," and it will not be an easy one.

Human Rights Watch pointed to five main issues that dominated the relationship between Western governments and their Arab autocratic friends: the threat of political Islam, the fight against terrorism, support for Israel, protection of the oil flow and cooperation in stemming immigration.

Even after the leaders of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia were toppled, Western governments remained hesitant to lean too hard on other shaky authoritarian leaders, the group said.

As an example, the watchdog group singled out the United States, saying it has been reluctant to "press Egypt's ruling military council to subject itself to elected civilian rule," nearly a year after the country's longtime leader was ousted following an 18-day uprising.

Roth acknowledged Western governments were re-evaluating their policies as new governments emerge in the region, but said changes have been selective.

"The West has not put Bahrain under pressure, and other monarchs, to carry out reforms," he told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the report's release in Cairo.

The organization also blamed the Western hesitation in part on the ascendence of political Islam in most of the countries that witnessed the fall of their autocratic rulers like Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia.

HRW urged the West to recognize that Islamists are the "majority preference," while keeping pressure on the emerging new governments to respect human rights, especially regarding women and religious minorities.

Roth was cautious when asked about concerns about potential human rights violations under Islamist rule, particularly in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis won a majority of seats in the first post-Hosni Mubarak parliament.

He said the Muslim Brotherhood has been "saying the right things" but "we have to see how they govern and how they deal with women, religious minorities. These are the big questions."

The popular uprisings also have alarmed other repressive regimes such as China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan, where rulers were worried about facing similar fates. The group said China and Russia in particular acted "obstructionist," using their veto power at the U.N. security council to halt pressure on Syria to stop killings of protesters.

Saudi Arabia also continues to discriminate against its citizens and workers, according to HRW, which said 9 million women, 8 million foreign workers and 2 million Shiite citizens are either suppressed or lacking rights in the country.

"As we mark the first anniversary of the Arab Spring, we should stand firmly for the rights and aspirations of the individual over the spoils of the tyrant," Roth said.

Outside the Arab world, the last year has not witnessed significant progress in countries with poor human rights records, including China and North Korea, according to the report.

Corruption, poverty and repression still prevail in Equatorial Guinea, the tiny, oil-rich nation off the western coast of Africa, which has been ruled by Africa's longest-serving ruler Teodoro Obiang Nguema since he seized power in a 1979 coup, the group said.

Eritrea continues to be governed by "one of the world's most repressive governments," and its citizens are subjected to torture, detentions, restrictions on freedom of speech, HRW said.

It also cited Colombia, saying armed conflict in the South American country has displaced millions while paramilitary groups with ties to the security apparatus are on the rise.

Cuba, HRW said, remains "the only country in Latin America that represses virtually all forms of political dissent."

The group also claimed that even member states of the European Union have violated human rights through restrictive asylum and migration policies.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_mi_ea/human_rights_report

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Megaupload site wants assets back, to fight charges (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Internet website Megaupload.com, shut down by authorities over allegations that it illegally peddled copyrighted material, is trying to recover its servers and get back online, a lawyer for the company said on Friday.

The company and seven of its executives were charged in a 5-count, 72-page indictment unsealed on Thursday accusing them of engaging in a wide-ranging and lucrative scheme to offer material online without compensating the copyright holders.

Authorities in New Zealand arrested four of those charged, including one of its founders, who legally changed his name to Kim Dotcom. Assets were also seized money, servers, domain names and other assets in the United States and several countries.

"The company is looking at its legal options for getting back its servers and its domain and getting its servers back up online," Megaupload's lawyer Ira Rothken told Reuters. "Megaupload will vigorously defend itself."

He said the company simply offered online storage. "It is really offensive to say that just because people can upload bad things, therefore Megaupload is automatically responsible," he said.

No decision has been made yet about whether they will fight extradition from New Zealand to the United States, Rothken said.

U.S. authorities have painted a much darker picture of the company's operations, saying that Megaupload readily made available copyrighted material including music, television shows, movies, pornography and even terrorism propaganda videos.

Users could upload material to the company's sites, which then would create a link that could be distributed so others could download it, according to the indictment. Some paid subscription fees for faster upload and download speeds.

Despite complaints from copyright holders, the Megaupload did not remove all of the material when requested to do so, prosecutors said. The company's executives earned more than $175 million from subscription fees and advertising, they said.

POSSIBLE NEW MEGAUPLOAD SITE

Less than a day after U.S. authorities shut down the Megaupload.com site and several of its sister sites, there appeared to be an attempt to resurrect the site.

Twitter was flooded with messages circulating a new Internet Protocol address, but the site offered no substantive content immediately and it did not appear that it was sanctioned by Megaupload.

The new website, which is being hosted in the Netherlands, looked similar to the original Megaupload.com website. The company's lawyer said that he was not directly familiar with the new site.

"We're not familiar with any official effort at this point to get the site back up in light of the fact that its major servers are in the possession of the United States government and other governments," Rothken said.

One of those arrested on Thursday was Bram van der Kolk, who has citizenship in the Netherlands and New Zealand. He oversaw programming and the network structure for Megaupload's websites, according to court papers.

U.S. officials were asked on Thursday about the risk of the site reappearing elsewhere in the future, a key issue that has confronted authorities in the past when they've tried to shut down Internet sites selling counterfeit goods.

"Right now we're in the process of executing search and seizure warrants and certainly it's not going to pop up again today. But I couldn't speculate as to what may or may not happen in the future," one Justice Department official said on Thursday.

Another official said "maintaining and running and assembling a site like this is very expensive. And obviously the seizure of financial assets is critical in this type of investigation and prosecution in preventing it from going forward."

The case, which started as an investigation in March 2010, emerged just as lawmakers in Congress have been battling over new legislation sought by the television, movie and music industries that was aimed at making it harder for such material to be so easily peddled over the Internet.

Some major technology companies, including Google and Facebook, have sought to derail the current versions of the legislation because they were concerned they would lead to censorship and lengthy litigation.

Earlier on Friday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed a vote on one bill that was set for Tuesday until several issues are resolved.

(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Howard Goller, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/media_nm/us_usa_crime_piracy

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Gunmen kidnap American in Nigeria's delta region (Reuters)

PORT HARCOURT (Reuters) ? Gunmen kidnapped an American working for Marubeni Corp in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region on Friday, killing his driver and demanding a 50 million naira ($310,300) ransom, a security source said.

The U.S. embassy confirmed that one of its citizens had been abducted.

"A foreign national was kidnapped this morning in Warri by gunmen who trailed him from Sapele," Charles Muka, spokesman for the Delta Police Command, told Reuters.

"They killed his police escort and forcefully took him away from the car. He was going to the bank when the attack occurred," he said.

A security source, who could not be named, said that the hostage was an American working for Japanese conglomerate Marubeni, but gave no further details.

"The U.S. Embassy and Consulate are aware of the kidnapping of an American citizen this morning in Warri. We continue to monitor the situation closely and assist," a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy told Reuters.

The Niger Delta, heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, is prone to bouts of unrest and riven by militant factions. Gangs use guns and speedboats to run criminal fiefdoms that profit from kidnapping and oil theft.

Militant activity decreased after an amnesty for several commanders in 2009, but the region remains volatile.

(Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Abuja; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/wl_nm/us_nigeria_kidnapping

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Daily Desired: Is this a Space Heater or an iPod Dock? [Desired]

Everdure's beautiful little box doesn't play music, but it sure looks like it could. In fact, the design more than an iPod dock, the E Cubo reminds me of Sony's old Digicube "Dream Machine" alarm clocks from the 1980s. But alas, it's built to heat your frigid room. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/a0ZRYiFJSeg/daily-desired-is-this-a-space-heater-or-an-ipod-dock

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Monkey Feared Extinct Rediscovered (LiveScience.com)

An elusive monkey feared extinct has shown up in the remote forests of Borneo, posing for the first good pictures of the animal ever taken.

The mug shots reveal a furry Count Dracula of sorts, with the monkey's black head, face tipped with white whiskers and a pointy collar made of fluffy white fur.

The Miller's grizzled langur, an extremely rare primate that has suffered from habitat loss over the last 30 years, popped up unexpectedly in the protected Wehea Forest in east Kalimantan, Borneo.

"We knew we had found this primate that some people had speculated was potentially extinct," said study researcher Stephanie Spehar, a primatologist at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. "It was really exciting."

But the animal is still in grave danger, Spehar told LiveScience, and no one knows how many of these langurs are left. The researchers observed only two small groups of them.

Vanishing act

The shy monkey (Presbytis hosei canicrus) was seen in the 1970s in Kutai National Park in Borneo, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from where the new population lives. But as the years passed, fires and illegal logging devastated Kutai. By 2008, the Miller's grizzled langur seems to have vanished from the park. A survey that year found just five langurs living on the Sangkulirang Peninsula in East Kalitmantan, also about 50 miles (80 km) away from the newly discovered langur habitat. But by 2010, that group of primates had also disappeared.

"At this point, we didn't know if this animal still existed or whether it was still hiding out in little pockets," Spehar said.

Spehar has been working in the Wehea Forest of Borneo for four years, but she'd never seen a Miller's grizzled langur there. Last summer, however, one of her undergraduate students camped out by a mineral lick area for 10 days, a spot where animals come to get nutrients from mineral-rich soil and water. The student, Eric Fell, was conducting his own research project on animals' use of these licks, and was photographing the creatures that dropped by. [Gallery: Elusive Wildlife Photos]

Upon returning from his stakeout, Fell showed Spehar his photographs. Among them were images of long-tailed, black-headed langurs.

"I knew this was something special," Spehar said. "I knew that it was something that was unexpected and we hadn't seen before."

Monkey reborn

Spehar, who credits the find to the work of local communities and governments that protect the forest and support her research, showed the photos to another researcher working in the woods, the director of the conservation organization Ethical Expeditions Brent Loken. The revelation surprised both parties: It turned out that Loken's group had also been staking out a mineral lick 5 miles (8 km) away from Fell's with a motion-triggered camera. They'd captured an image of the same type of primate. [Video of the monkeys]

"We realized that we had basically rediscovered this animal," Spehar said. Taxonomists confirmed the find as a Miller's grizzled langur. The researchers reported their find today (Jan. 20) in the American Journal of Primatology.

The simultaneous discovery suggests that there is a decent-size population of the langurs in Wehea, but Spehar cautioned that incredibly little is known about the species. No one knows how wide the langurs' range is, she said, how many there are, or their population density. That lack of knowledge isn't uncommon for many threatened species, according to Loken.

"This monkey represents a lot of species on the planet that we know very little about," Loken told LiveScience. "We don't know how many there are, we don't know where they live, what ecological requirements they need to live, and unless we get some of that information quickly, some of these species could slip into extinction before we know anything about them, or even realize that they're gone."

While Wehea itself is a more than 98,000-acre (40,000-hectare) oasis of protection, it is surrounded by forest used for logging, palm oil plantations and mining ? the same sort of human uses that presumably drove the langurs out of the habitats where they once thrived. Additionally, the forest is only protected by the local community, Loken said, not the central government.

That makes the future of the Miller's grizzled langur very uncertain, Spehar said. She and her colleagues plan to conduct further research into the monkey's range and behavior to understand how best to save it from extinction. Meanwhile, Loken's group and others are working to secure extra protection for the forest.

"What we hope to do is to work with companies and concessions and with local governments to ensure this animal's protection," Spehar said. "That's the only way we will ensure that it doesn't disappear."

You can follow LiveScience?senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience?and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120120/sc_livescience/monkeyfearedextinctrediscovered

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Northern Irish militant found guilty of soldiers' killing (Reuters)

ANTRIM, Northern Ireland (Reuters) ? A Northern Irish Catholic was found guilty on Friday of the 2009 murder of two British soldiers outside an army base, one of the worst attacks since a 1998 peace deal mostly ended three decades of sectarian violence.

The shootings were claimed by the Real IRA, a dissident group which opposes the Irish Republican Army's ending of its armed campaign against British rule.

Brian Shivers, 46, from county Londonderry, was found guilty of the killing of soldiers Patrick Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23. His co-accused Colin Duffy, 44, was acquitted.

Azimkar, 21, and Quinsey, 23, were shot dead outside the Massereene Barracks in Antrim as they collected a pizza just hours before they were due to fly out to Afghanistan. Four other people were seriously injured, including the pizza delivery men.

(Reporting by Ivan Little; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/wl_nm/us_irish_trial

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hollywood Golden Age a hot look at Golden Globes (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Timeless elegance, fitted bodices and mermaid trains ruled the Golden Globes' red carpet on Sunday as A-list celebrities channeled old-style Hollywood glamour.

Angelina Jolie looked like Grace Kelly in her white-satin Atelier Versace gown with a twist of Marlene Dietrich thanks to a red fold over collar, matching red lips and red clutch. "Modern Family" actress Sofia Vergara seemed Jayne Mansfield-esque in her strapless teal Vera Wang gown, ruffled train and Harry Winston jewels.

Charlize Theron could have passed for Lana Turner back in her heyday in Dior Couture with a plunging neckline and thigh-high slit dress, while Evan Rachel Wood was a modern-day Joan Crawford in her sparkling green Gucci Premiere gown, also with a plunging neckline.

"It's old Hollywood glamour. We've never seen this many 40s-style fit and flare dresses," said style expert and TV host Sam Saboura. "It's all about the mermaid shape, the hour-glass shape."

Saboura cited Jolie, Theron, Wood, Vergara, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Beckinsale, Rooney Mara, Salma Hayek, Elle McPherson and Debra Messing as just a handful of actresses who opted for some sort of "fit and flare" dress, many with embellished fishtails of ruffles, tules or feathers.

"So many women wore pink! " said designer Rachel Pally, referring to the likes of Theron, McPherson, Mary J. Blige, Octavia Spencer, Natalie Portman, Sarah Paulson and Heidi Klum.

"Pink is a tricky color to pull off because it can often come across as too cute or too young. But it was great to see different shades of pink, like soft blushes and pastels. They were pretty without being too sweet," Pally said.

PASTEL TO PURPLE

Saboura said pastels will be big in fashion this coming spring, as seen in the soft pinks and lavenders, but he noted that many fashion-forward stars were already skipping to fall 2012 on the red carpet, choosing to wear dark, rich colors.

Vergara, Freida Pinto, French actress Berenice Bejo, Tilda Swinton, Helen Mirren and Madeleine Stowe opted for dark blues or peacock tones. Burgundys and rich purples were favored by Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, Juliana Margulies, Emma Stone and Tina Fey, while greens were seen on Melissa McCarthy, Laura Dern and Kelly Macdonald.

"Headbands were also a trend, whether you like them or not," observed Saboura of the accessory worn by Theron and Williams. "With films like 'The Artist' and the forthcoming 'The Great Gatsby,' this is just the beginning of this type of '20s style that we're going to see."

But the consensus among experts seemed to be that Jolie's red fold over collar and matching red lips and clutch purse was among the most stunning looks of the night.

"She looked amazing," said celebrity designer Bruno Schiavi. "The top of the dress was very structured -- I bet it had some corsetry inside -- with a small train at the bottom that was not too over done. She wanted people to look at that red accent with the color red being daring, dangerous and sexy. She was very much 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith,' but not too overdone because she's still a mum."

(Reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/en_nm/us_goldenglobes_fashion

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Monday, January 16, 2012

Stephen Colbert super PAC hits Mitt Romney on Bain record (VIDEO) (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Michelle Obama stresses service at BET honors (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage at an awards ceremony Saturday with poet Maya Angelou, performers Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey, and other African American celebrities who called the black community to civic action, starting with voting in the 2012 presidential election.

The taping of the BET Honors, hosted by Black Entertainment Television was held at the historic Warner Theatre in downtown Washington.

It brought out stars including singers Patti LaBelle and queen of soul Aretha Franklin, as well as Washington political figures such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The politics-meets-glamour event fits in with the recently ramped up efforts by Obama to help her husband, President Barack Obama, win a challenging re-election bid in November.

Obama, in a crimson, one-shouldered gown, presented the Literary Arts award to Angelou and appealed to the crowd to follow Angelou's example as an activist.

"It is not enough merely to seek greatness for ourselves, we must help others discover greatness within themselves. We need to reach down and reach out, and give back and lift others," she said.

Speakers at the ceremony praised the Obamas for being the first black family in the White House and told the audience to "vote like your life depends on it."

"We have to exercise our constitutional right to vote. And there's a man out there with a vision for this country and he intends to finish what he started," said Beverly Kearney, head coach of the University of Texas' women's track team.

Those honored were filmmaker Spike Lee, World War Two Tuskegee airmen, as well as Angelou, Kearney, Wonder and Carey.

Obama stayed for the three-hour taping during which several acts had to be done over. While posing on stage with the award winners an audience member yelled, "We love you, First Lady!"

"Just her coming out and having a good time, it comes off like she's just like the rest of us. Since she connects, it's going to be helpful to her in helping Barack get another term," said Sonya Lowery, 41, of Maryland.

(Reporting by Lily Kuo; Editing by Jackie Frank)

(Corrects spelling of Tuskegee)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120115/people_nm/us_usa_obama_michelle

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Anthrax capsule vaccine protects monkeys from lethal infection

Friday, January 13, 2012

Vaccination with the anthrax capsule?a naturally occurring component of the bacterium that causes the disease?protected monkeys from lethal anthrax infection, according to U.S. Army scientists. The study, which appears in the Jan. 20th print edition of the journal VACCINE, represents the first successful use of a non-toxin vaccine to protect monkeys from the disease.

Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, is recognized as one of the most serious bioterrorism threats. It produces three main components that allow it to do harm?lethal toxin, edema toxin, and the capsule. During anthrax infection, the bacterium invades and grows to high concentrations in the host. The capsule surrounds the bacterium and prevents it from being ingested and destroyed by the white blood cells, thus allowing anthrax infection to progress. The toxins are thought to act mainly by damaging the body's natural defense mechanisms.

Current human vaccines for anthrax are based on the protective antigen, or PA, component of the anthrax toxins. Scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have extensively studied protective antigen, demonstrating that PA alone confers protection in animal challenge studies with both rabbits and monkeys.

However, according to senior author Arthur M. Friedlander of USAMRIID, concerns about reliance on a single antigen?as well as the issue of protecting against anthrax strains that may be vaccine resistant?have prompted the search for additional vaccine components. Bacterial capsules are commonly used in licensed vaccines for other diseases, including certain types of pneumonia and meningitis.

Friedlander's group had already demonstrated, in published mouse studies, that the anthrax capsule plays a role in conferring protection. In their current work, the team describes testing the capsule vaccine in both rabbits and monkeys against an aerosol challenge with anthrax spores. The vaccine induced anti-capsule antibody responses in both species. While rabbits were not protected against a high aerosol challenge dose, a significant number of the monkeys who received the capsule vaccine survived.

"This is the first non-toxin anthrax vaccine shown to be protective in monkeys," Friedlander said. "In addition, this new capsule vaccine is expected to work against possible vaccine-resistant strains of anthrax, as well as in recipients whose immune systems may not respond to protective antigen alone."

The results suggest that addition of capsule to protective antigen to create a multi-component vaccine may broaden and enhance the protection afforded by protective antigen-based vaccines. Friedlander said the next step would be to do a larger study in monkeys looking at varying doses of the capsule vaccine.

###

US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases: http://www.usamriid.army.mil

Thanks to US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116718/Anthrax_capsule_vaccine_protects_monkeys_from_lethal_infection

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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Ford talks Focus Electric and its deep integration with Android

Android Central @ CES Ford's Sync system has been leading the way as far as in-car mobile technology is concerned. With the upcoming launch of the Focus Electric, Ford is leaping into the mobile space with a new app that allows owners to manage their vehicle remotely. While it won't let you drive (sorry James Bond wannabes), the MyFord Mobile app they're showing off at CES 2012 enables Focus Electric owners to manage how and when their cars charge at home, allowing you to set it so the car charges at night off peak hours with lower electric rates or override it to get your car charged up for an impending trip. MyFord Mobile users will also be able to find charging stations out and about and even plan trips around those charging stations (useful, given the 100-mile range of the all-electric vehicle).

The app, which will be available for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry smartphones is launching with the Focus Electric, which itself is ramping up production right now.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/FE0BVUr60-U/story01.htm

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Video: Video: 49ers face tall order of stopping Brees

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Friday, January 13, 2012

How to rip Blu-ray DVD convert video to iPad 2



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Keep track of your valuable collections with these iPhone apps (Appolicious)

If you?re excited to get your hands on the upcoming Steve Jobs action figure you might be waiting an awful long time. It seems Apple is attempting to block the sale of the toy Jobs. But while you?re waiting for the figure to release, you could take your spare time and start appraising your current toy collection with a few apps that will make the job easier.

If Star Wars figures are your main passion, the SW Action Figure Collector?s Guide ($0.99) should come in handy when assessing your favorite Star Wars collectables. The app includes listings for vintage Star Wars action figures (meaning figures covering the original trilogy plus an Ewoks and Droids series). You can also see lists of figure variations as well as the numerous accessories that come with the figures.

Maybe your interest in action figures goes beyond Star Wars. If so, take a look at Action Figure Collector (free), an app where you can search a database of over 40,000 action figures. You can note which figures are already in your collection and which you?re still trying to track down. If you?re in the market to buy or sell, the app also comes with access to an online values guide so you?ll be sure not to get ripped off in future transactions.

Maybe your love of collectables encompasses a wide variety of objects, from wine to coins, or from snow globes to comic books, and you want a way to catalogue and sort them. The free Collectors app should do the trick. Collectors lets you use barcode scanning, database search and manual barcode entry to list all of your valuable collectibles under one app. You can even note if you?ve loaned something out to a friend so you don?t forget.

If you?re a classic video game collector who wants something more specific to your hobby, the SNES Collector ($3.99) and NES Collector ($3.99) are tailor-made for your old school gaming collection obsession. Both apps list how valuable and rare each game ever released for the system is, and you can keep track of all the games in your collection to watch their value rise or lower before your eyes. Users can also keep notes, so if you?re missing instructions for a game, you?ll be able to note that without going back and checking the game box later if you decide to sell the title.

If your hobby is strictly DVDs, there?s an app for you, too. DVDLister ($4.99) lets you quickly list every DVD you own. Once your DVDs are loaded, you can sort them alphabetically, by actor, date, genre or even studio. You can also email the list of your collection to your friends to contrast and compare. Essentially, DVDLister lets you keep every detail of your film collection in your iPhone at all times.

Unless your hobby is collecting Steve Jobs action figures, there?s an app to help you catalog and backup your collection no matter how specific it is. Now, if only there was an app that helped you keep track of all the collection apps you own? Whoa.

Create a list of your favorite apps

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10688_keep_track_of_your_valuable_collections_with_these_iphone_apps/44136047/SIG=13f3eqhu8/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/10688-keep-track-of-your-valuable-collections-with-these-iphone-apps

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