Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Afghan woman killed, apparently for bearing girl (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? An Afghan woman has been strangled death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he had hoped for, police said Monday.

It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months ? including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery.

The episodes have raised the question of what will happen to the push for women's rights in Afghanistan as the international presence here shrinks along with the military drawdown. NATO forces are scheduled to pull out by the end of 2014.

In the 10 years since the ouster of the Taliban, great strides have been made for women in Afghanistan, with many attending school, working in offices and even sometimes marching in protests. But abuse and repression of women are still common, particularly in rural areas where women are still unlikely to set foot outside of the house without a burqa robe that covers them from head to toe.

The man in the latest case, Sher Mohammad, fled the Khanabad district in Kunduz province last week, about the time a neighbor found his 22-year-old wife dead in their house, said District Police Chief Sufi Habibullah. Medical examiners whom police brought to check the body said she had been strangled, Habibullah said.

The woman, named Estorai, had warned family members that her husband had repeatedly reproached her for giving birth to a daughter rather than a son and had threatened to kill her if it happened again, said Provincial women's affairs chief Nadira Ghya, who traveled to Khanabad to deal with the case. Estorai gave birth to her second daughter between two and three months ago, Ghya said. Officials did not have a family name for either Sher Mohammad or Estorai.

Police took the man's mother into custody because she appears to have collaborated in a plot to kill her daughter-in-law, Habibullah said. Ghya, who visited the man's mother in jail, said that she swears that Estorai committed suicide by hanging. Police said they found no rope and no evidence of hanging from the woman's wounds.

Boy babies are traditionally prized much more highly than girls in Afghanistan, where a son means a breadwinner and a daughter is seen as a drain on the family until she is married off. Even so, a murder over the gender of a baby would be rare and shocking if proved true.

The U.S. Embassy issued a statement Monday praising the Afghan government for recent declarations supporting women's rights in the wake of the latest abuse cases that have garnered media attention.

"The rights of women cannot be relegated to the margins of international affairs, as this issue is at the core of our national security and the security of people everywhere," the statement said. It did not address the killing of the young woman in Kunduz.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects coding.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Spider-silk skin stops a speeding bullet

Caitlin Stier, video intern

What if your skin could resist a speeding bullet? Now a new futuristic tissue designed by artist Jalila Essa?di, which reinforces human skin cells with spider silk, can stop a whizzing projectile without being pierced. Although its threads may look fragile, a spider-silk weave is four times stronger than Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests.

In the first clip, the bioengineered skin cushions a bullet fired at half speed. But its resistance has its limits: when shot at a full speed of 329 m/s, the bullet pierces the material and travels through it. The same tests were also performed with piglet skin, human skin and human skin fused with regular silkworm silk, which were all penetrated by bullets of both speeds.

An international team worked together to create the new material. First, transgenic goats and silkworms equipped to produce spider-silk proteins spun out the raw material at the synthetic biology lab at Utah State University. The cocoons were then shipped to South Korea, where they were reeled into thread, before being woven into fabric in Germany. The modified silk was then wedged between bioengineered skin cells developed by biochemist Abdoelwaheb El Ghalbzouri at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. After five weeks of incubation, the hybrid skin was ready for target practice.

In addition to exploring the material artistically, Essa?di is also looking into practical uses, such as skin transplants. Spider silk is already being developed by other teams for high-tech applications, which range from artificial corneas to brain implants.

For more about spider silk spin-offs, check out our full-length feature: "Stretching spider silk to its high-tech limits". Or you might also like to find out about the science behind a lavish golden spider-silk cape, currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

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Gaborik claims NHL All-Star Game MVP

AAA??Jan. 29, 2012?7:08 PM ET
Gaborik claims NHL All-Star Game MVP
AP

Team Chara's Marian Gaborik, left, celebrates his second goal against Team Alfredson with teammate Marian Hossa during the first period of the NHL hockey All-Star game Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Team Chara's Marian Gaborik, left, celebrates his second goal against Team Alfredson with teammate Marian Hossa during the first period of the NHL hockey All-Star game Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Team Chara's Marian Gaborik celebrates his goal past Team Alfredson goaltender Henrik Lundqvist during the first period of the NHL All-Star hockey game on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Ottawa. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Team Chara's Marian Gaborik rounds the net after scoring past Team Alfredson goaltender Henrik Lundqvist during the first period of the NHL hockey All-Star game Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand

Team Chara's Marian Gaborik, center, is congratulated following his third goal past Team Alfredsson goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) by teammates Marain Hossa, left, and Dion Phaneuf during the second period of the NHL All-Star hockey game on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Ottawa, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

(AP) ? Marian Gaborik staked his claim to NHL All-Star game MVP honors.

The high-scoring Rangers forward scored twice in the first period against New York teammate Henrik Lundqvist, completed his hat trick in the second period with another goal, and added an assist in the third to carry Team Chara over Team Alfredsson 12-9 on Sunday.

Gaborik, who made his third All-Star appearance, became the 16th player to record a hat trick in the midseason showcase. The previous one was in 2008 by Columbus' Rick Nash, Gaborik's Western Conference teammate in that game.

It has already been a stellar season for Gaborik, who has a team-high 25 goals and 39 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-29-All%20Star%20Game-MVP/id-7d91b0ebd97d4278be7a39afb52b6a3c

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Keep the dishwasher and fridge apart; save a bundle on energy

Why would you put a device that gets hot next to a device that gets cold? They would both be using energy to fight the effects of the appliance next door.

Your dishwasher gets hot. Your dishwasher also gets moist, meaning it?s harder to cool down the air around it. Your refrigerator gets cold. So does your freezer.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

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Why would you put a device that gets hot next to a device that gets cold? No insulation is perfect, after all, so they would both be using energy to fight the effects of the appliance next door.

So many elements of frugality and personal finance come down to paying attention to the details. This is one of those little detail things that so many people will overlook, but over time it just continually costs you money.

When we moved into our current home, one of the things that annoyed me about it was the relatively small kitchen. It wasn?t much larger than the kitchen in our small apartment, having only a small counter that the other did not have.

Even worse, the refrigerator was installed next to the dishwasher, and the only way to fix it would involve an extensive reworking of our kitchen, as the cabinets are all formed around slots for the appliances.

There?s no doubt that energy is lost in this process. The dishwasher, while running a cycle, puts off a tremendous amount of heat, some of which you can feel on the side of the refrigerator. I often hear the refrigerator kicking on just a minute or two after starting a dishwasher load due to the rise in internal temperature of the refrigerator. It?s actively costing us money.

So, what can we do about this? At the moment, not much. Other than the side-by-side appliance issue, our kitchen is laid out fairly well for its size. Although we?ve looked at alternate arrangements, none of them have provided enough value to be worth the cost of rearranging things.

One short-term fix we?ve done is to insert a piece of thin insulation between the two appliances. There was just enough room for a small piece of insulation to fit between the two, so we purchased a piece of heat-resistant insulation. While this isn?t a perfect fix, it does reduce the heat directly transferred between the two devices.

We also try to make an effort to keep the refrigerator door closed while the dishwasher is running. Opening the refrigerator door while the dishwasher is running causes the cool and dry air to rush out and the warm, damp air to move in, making it that much harder for the refrigerator to do its job.

However, we do plan to build a new house in the future. When we do that, we?ll make sure to avoid having a ?hot? appliance next to a ?cold? one. In fact, in our latest design sketches (a fun project that Sarah and I work on sometimes in the evenings is doing sketches on the computer of what our dream house would be like), the refrigerator and dishwasher are pretty far apart, with a large counterspace between the refrigerator and the sink and the dishwasher on the other side of the sink.

Another thing to watch out for: avoid having your refrigerator or freezer next to an air vent, particularly if you live in northern climates. During the winter, your air vent will be blowing out hot air, which you don?t want blowing directly onto your refrigerator. This is something else to consider when designing or re-designing a kitchen, as it?s all about the energy efficiency.

Will this save you a lot of money or a little? It?s really hard to measure, as it depends on the modes you?re running in your refrigerator and dishwasher, the amount of insulation between the two, and countless other factors. However, I?d have to be oblivious to not hear our refrigerator kicking on and running almost contiunously when our dishwasher is running. If a simple kitchen design decision will make a real difference in how much your refrigerator is running, it?s well worth keeping in mind as a principle.

This post is part of a yearlong series called ?365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),? in which I?m revisiting the entries from my book ?365 Ways to Live Cheap,? which is available at Amazon and at bookstores everywhere.?

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on www.thesimpledollar.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/mhOTWZaL5s0/Keep-the-dishwasher-and-fridge-apart-save-a-bundle-on-energy

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Connecticut Car Insurance | Cheapest Car Insurance

The state of Connecticut makes sure that they implement their car insurance laws in the state very strictly. And that would mean that drivers should have liability insurance with them whenever they hit the road. Failing to do this would result to penalties which could have been avoided if the driver just followed the rules obediently. This is clearly stated in the Connecticut car insurance law and drivers and people get into a lot of hassle by not abiding this.

The minimum of coverage that the state requires is 20/40/10. That means that $20,000 for a person that is injured in the accident, $40,000 of there are multiple injured persons in the accident, and then $10,000 for the properties like walls and fences that got damaged. The authorities in Connecticut also make sure that a driver would be able to submit a valid proof of insurance before getting their car registered. If the driver fails to present this document, he would pay a fine of $200 and the registration of the vehicle would be put on hold until the owner would be able to present a valid proof of insurance. They also do routine stops to every vehicle on the highway to check if the driver has a proof of insurance with him. If the authorities find out that you are on the road without any proof that you are insured with the minimum liability coverage you will be paying a fine depending on the rules that you broke and there is also a great possibility that your registration would be suspended for a considerable amount of time.

Regarding insurances that have already lapsed, Connecticut has a Mandatory Insurance reporting law that requires insurance companies to inform DMV if an insurance policy has already been cancelled or expired. If this is the case the driver would be sent a notice informing him of the said predicament and then advising him of the actions that he has to take. Inaction to these types of notices would lead to a considerable amount of fines or suspension of driver?s license. Connecticut is one of the states in the county that takes traffic laws really seriously. This is not just a way for them to ensure you safety but the safety of other motorists and public properties as well.

If you are wondering where to find the best car insurance companies in the state, it would be best for you to use the internet in looking for one. You can find a lot of well established companies in the state that have used the internet as a tool to reach other customers. You can find cheap quotes through websites that offer this type of information to interested buyers. The good thing is that the process would be very quick and you don?t have to go through dealing with paper works just to get a quote. Sometimes all you need to do is give out your zip code and some basic information and then you will already see your best options. It would be a great trick if you would collect as many quotes as you can, compare the rate of the premiums, make a little research about the company that you like, and then contact them to buy the insurance.

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Source: http://cheapestcarautoinsurance.com/car-insurance-by-state/connecticut-car-insurance/

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Scoreboard comment 'unfortunate,' Harbaugh says

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It was clear at Friday?s press conference that Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn?t happy with Randy Brown, the team?s kicking consultant, who generated headlines across the Internet earlier this week by raising doubts, albeit jokingly, about the New England Patriots? possible intentions in the final seconds of the AFC Championship Game last Sunday.

?I just think it was unfortunate,? Harbaugh said of Brown?s comments.

Much has been made of the fact that Gillette Stadium?s Jumbotron board showed the incorrect down throughout the Ravens? final series, leading some to speculate there was sideline confusion that may have impacted Billy Cundiff?s ill-fated 32-yard field goal attempt.

In an interview on a Philadelphia radio station several days after the game, Brown tacitly raised doubts about the intentions of the Patriots, who controlled the scoreboard.

?I don?t think you can rule anything out in New England, can you?? Brown said.
That was a reference to a 2007 incident known as ?Spygate,? in which the Patriots were caught filming the New York Jets? defensive coaches? signals from a sideline location ? a violation of league rules that led to New England coach Bill Belichick being fined a half-million dollars.

Brown?s comments about the Patriots ?were unfortunate comments for sure,? Harbaugh said Friday. ?I?ve known Randy for a long time. Randy is a very good person. If you listen to the interview, you get a very clear indication that it was in jest. He?s known those guys for a long time. He?s a Philly guy, he?s been on that radio station a bunch, and they were going back and forth, and there was a lot of laughing going on.

?It wasn?t meant in a serious way, but it doesn?t come out that way in print. Randy should understand that, and he feels really bad about it right now. We in no way at all think that (the Patriots were up to something), and we?ve said that already.?

Harbaugh conceded it was possibly the scoreboard mistake may have confused Cundiff.

?I never looked at the scoreboard, personally. I never do,? Harbaugh said. ?The scoreboard is not what we use to calculate where we?re at down-and-distance-wise. We knew where we were at. Cam called the plays accordingly, and we called the field goal team on the field, and the field goal team headed out. Sometimes the kicker is in back, he?s on his own, he?s at the net, and they get themselves in that place to kick a field goal. He might be looking at the scoreboard ? but he?s also in communication with Randy. Those guys knew, or should have known, what the down and distance was.?

In any case, there was no excuse for missing the field goal, Harbaugh said.

?That?s what Billy said. He?s got to make that kick, no matter what,? Harbaugh said. ?So no matter what happened with that, yeah the scoreboard was behind, but it didn?t affect us in any way, what we were doing. That kick should get made.?

Source: http://www.csnbaltimore.com/01/27/12/Harbaugh-Scoreboard-comment-unfortunate/landing.html?blockID=639854&feedID=6876

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Brooke Burke's Sweat and Butt Wiping (omg!)

Brooke Burke's Sweat and Butt Wiping

Newlywed Brooke Burke Charvet, co-host of Dancing with the Stars, puts the "it" in fit. After having four kids, the audacity to wear a sports bra and short shorts while running could only come from a woman who knows she's got it going on. Her new exercise DVD, Transform Your Body with Brooke Burke: Tone & Tighten, may help you shave an inch or two, but it takes more than a DVD to have a body as great as Brooke's. She tells Fitness her five-day-a-week workout regimen includes Pilates Plus and a couple visits to the gym where she goes for a short treadmill workout and full-body toning.

Brooke Burke Ties the Knot

Hottest Spot: Abs
Even if they weren't so toned, her abs would still be her number one asset. While it's enviable that she lacks signs of carrying children, it's good to know she puts her kids, not her image, first. She reportedly schedules her workouts just as a doctor's appointment or sporting event for her kids, saying she never misses any of these things.

Guilty Pleasure: Spaghetti Bolognese
Brooke wears her craving like a badge of honor. In the February 2012 issue of Ladies Home Journal she says, "If I really crave something, I'll eat it and then get back into the groove afterward. I don't feel like I've failed or fallen off the wagon. Eating healthy shouldn't be torture."

Favorite Sport: Butt Wiping
Today Brooke tweeted her latest blog at? ModernMom.com with the title "The Greatest Butt Wiper." On second thought, it may be too cramped in the bathroom if the whole family decides to spectate. We probably don't need to know what makes her so good at it, seeing as hubby, David, is her only butt wiping competition.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_brooke_burkes_sweat_butt_wiping023200370/44322095/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/brooke-burkes-sweat-butt-wiping-023200370.html

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Friday, January 27, 2012

AC Milan, Valencia reach semis in domestic cups

updated 5:29 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2012

MILAN - AC Milan rallied past Lazio 3-1 Thursday night behind goals by Robinho, Clarence Seedorf and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to advance to the Italian Cup semifinals.

Djibril Cisse put visiting Lazio ahead in the fifth minute, but Robinho tied it in the 15th and Seedorf put the Rossoneri ahead three minutes later. Ibrahimovic entered in the 70th and scored in the 84th.

Aiming for its sixth title in the competition, Milan plays Serie A leader Juventus in the semifinals, while Napoli meets Siena.

___

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) ? Valencia defeated Levante 3-0 on Pablo Piatti's two goals, setting up a semifinal with Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. Valencia eliminated Levante 7-1 total goals.

Piatti assisted on Aritz Aduriz's opening goal in the 25th minute and made it 2-0 five minutes later against Valencia's crosstown rival.

Levante played from the 72nd with 10 men after recent signing Oscar Serrano received his second yellow card for fouling Piatti. Piatti scored on a rebound in the 86th minute to complete the scoring.

Valencia will host Barcelona in the first leg next week. Athletic Bilbao visits third-tier Mirandes in the other semifinal.

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


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'Bad losers' and?'animals'

??Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has labeled Real Madrid's players bad losers and animals after his club won their latest ill-tempered matchup.

Hope for Solo

U.S. women's goalie Hope Solo was back on the practice field Thursday, one day before the game that will determine whether the Americans go to the Olympics.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46154092/ns/sports-soccer/

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Show Your Love With These New iPad/Kindle Fire Cases From DODOcase

LoveMe_Both_DODOHQ_smJust in time for Valentine's Day, DODOcase released new special edition iPad and Kindle Fire cases. They cost slightly more than the standard versions with the Kindle Fire models costing $69 and then $79 for the iPad 2 versions. But nothing says love quite like a unique case.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/K5a0pWmUgsA/

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Heartburn Meds Won't Help, May Harm Kids With Asthma (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Children with asthma who don't have heartburn and other signs of gastroesophageal reflux don't get additional asthma control from acid-reducing medications, according to new research.

And, taking these medications when there are no digestive issues increases a child's risk of developing a respiratory infection, reports the study.

"There's a strong epidemiological link between acid reflux and asthma," explained study co-author Janet Holbrook, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. As a result, current asthma guidelines call for evaluating people with asthma for acid reflux, Holbrook said.

Because definitive tests for excess acid production can cause children discomfort, some doctors may choose to do a trial of acid-suppressing medications called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Some common brand names in this class of medication are Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium.

"Our findings suggest that physicians should not take kids with poorly controlled asthma and test whether PPIs will help," said Holbrook.

Results of the study are published in the Jan. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and conducted by the American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Centers.

Asthma and gastroesophageal reflux (GER or GERD) are common conditions in children. Youngsters with asthma often have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. In adults, PPIs seem to help people with asthma who also have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, but not those who don't have symptoms, such as frequent heartburn.

The current study included 306 children recruited from 19 centers across the United States between 2007 and 2010. The average age was 11 years. All had poor asthma control despite receiving treatment with inhaled corticosteroids.

The children were randomly assigned to receive either lansoprazole -- a PPI -- or a placebo daily for six months. The dose of lansoprazole was based on the child's weight.

Asthma improvement was assessed through a change in the Asthma Control Questionnaire, which has a scale of 0 to 6. A change of 0.5 is considered clinically significant. Lung function was also measured.

After six months, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. The average change in the Asthma Control Questionnaire score was only 0.2, and there were no statistically significant changes in lung function, quality of life or rate of asthma flare-ups.

In addition, among 115 children who also had a 24-hour esophageal acid study, 43 percent were found to have elevated levels of acid production. Yet even in this group, treatment with lansoprazole didn't improve asthma symptoms over placebo.

Holbrook said although this study only looked at one PPI, she believes the results would hold true for other medications in this class of drugs.

Children taking lansoprazole had about a 30 percent higher risk of respiratory infections and sore throats in this study. PPIs were also associated with a difference in the risk of activity-related bone fractures, although the difference was not statistically significant, according to an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal.

"PPIs do not improve asthma in children who do not have symptoms of GER/GERD, and it is unlikely to be of great benefit even in children who do have such symptoms," said the editorial author, Dr. Fernando Martinez, director of the Arizona Respiratory Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

"The substantial increase in use of PPIs in children during the last decade is worrisome and unwarranted," he wrote.

Still, Martinez advised parents not to abruptly discontinue any medications. Parents "should consult their pediatricians, who can best evaluate the clinical situation for each child," he said.

Holbrook agreed and said if a child is on a PPI, it's reasonable for parents to ask why. She noted that these medications may come with an additional risk and cost, and they may not have any additional benefit.

"If your child is on a PPI for asthma, it's not an effective treatment. These medications are approved for the treatment of acid reflux," said Holbrook.

More information

Learn more about asthma treatment from the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120125/hl_hsn/heartburnmedswonthelpmayharmkidswithasthma

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IAEA checks Japan reactor pending safety approval (AP)

OHI, Japan ? Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of a Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests" ? a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.

A 10-member IAEA team was inspecting the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui, western Japan, where 13 reactors are clustered in four complexes along the snowy Sea of Japan coast, making it the country's nuclear heartland.

"We look forward to seeing the types of specifications and types of improvements that Kansai Electric Power Co. has made at the Ohi nuclear plant," mission leader James Lyons said at the outset of the plant visit. "Because that would give us opportunity to see how nuclear utilities are responding to these instructions."

After exchanging views at a meeting, members of the IAEA mission inspected an emergency power unit set up behind the No. 3 reactor building. They watched three plant workers plug in several cables and start the generator as black smoke rose up to the gray sky in heavy snow.

The inspection comes a week after Japanese nuclear safety officials gave preliminary approval on the Ohi reactors, a step closer to restarting them.

Authorities have required all reactors to undergo stress tests in the wake of Fukushima nuclear crisis and make necessary modifications to improve safety. The stress tests, similar to those used in France and elsewhere in Europe, are designed to assess how well the plants can withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, loss of power and other crises.

Only four of Japan's 54 reactors are currently operating, and if no idled plants get approval to go back on line, the country will be without an operating reactor by the end of April.

Another hurdle will be gaining local approval for the plants to restart. While local consent is not legally required for that to happen, authorities generally want to win local support and make efforts to do so.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has said that the final decision on whether to restart the nuclear plants would be political, suggesting that the government would override possible local opposition if Japan's energy needs were dire.

Public concerns about the safety of nuclear power have grown after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the vital cooling system at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, sending three of its reactors to meltdowns and releasing massive radiation into the environment.

Noda has promised to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power over time and plans to lay out a new energy policy by the summer. But the nation obtained about 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear power before the crisis, and it could face power shortages if it cannot get more nuclear plants back on line soon.

Japan has temporarily turned to oil and coal generation plants to make up for the shortfall, and businesses have been required to reduce electricity use to help with conservation efforts.

Some experts have been critical of the stress tests, saying they are meaningless because they have no clear criteria. They also say that the government's simulations of crises based on a single event are not realistic because disasters often occur in a string of events.

(This version corrects that local approval isn't required for plants to restart, but is generally a precondition.) )

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_nuclear

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Studies: Avastin may fight early breast cancers (AP)

Surprising results from two new studies may reopen debate about the value of Avastin for breast cancer. The drug helped make tumors disappear in certain women with early-stage disease, researchers found.

Avastin recently lost approval for treating advanced breast cancer, but the new studies suggest it might help women whose disease has not spread so widely. These were the first big tests of the drug for early breast cancer, and doctors were cautiously excited that it showed potential to help.

In one study, just over one third of women given Avastin plus chemotherapy for a few months before surgery had no sign of cancer in their breasts when doctors went to operate, versus 28 percent of women given chemo alone. In the other study, more than 18 percent on Avastin plus chemo had no cancer in their breasts or lymph nodes at surgery versus 15 percent of those on chemo alone.

A big caveat, though: The true test is whether Avastin improves survival, and it's too soon to know that ? both studies are still tracking the women's health. The drug also has serious side effects.

"I don't think it's clear yet whether this is going to be a winner," Dr. Harry Bear of Virginia Commonwealth University said of Avastin. But he added, "I don't think we're done with it."

Bear led one study, in the United States. Dr. Gunter von Minckwitz of the University of Frankfurt led the other in Germany. Results are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Avastin (uh-VAS'-tihn) is still on the market for some colon, lung, kidney and brain tumors. In 2008, it won conditional U.S. approval for advanced breast cancer because it seemed to slow the disease. Further research showed it didn't meaningfully extend life and could cause heart problems, bleeding and other problems. The government revoked its approval for breast cancer in November.

Now doctors can prescribe Avastin for breast cancer but insurers may not pay. Treatment can cost $10,000 a month. The drug is made by California-based Genentech, part of the Swiss company Roche. It is still approved for treating advanced breast cancer in Europe and Japan.

The new studies tested it in a relatively novel way ? before surgery. This is sometimes done to shrink tumors that seem inoperable, or to enable women to have just a lump removed instead of the whole breast.

The women in the studies had tumors that were large enough to warrant treatment besides surgery. Their cancers were not the type that can be treated by Herceptin, another widely used drug.

In the U.S. study, 1,200 women were given chemo or chemo plus infusions of Avastin. By the time of their surgery, no cancer could be found in the breasts of more than 34 percent of those given Avastin versus 28 percent of the others. (Surgeons still have to operate because they don't know the tumor is gone until they check tissue samples.)

The German study involved 1,900 women including some with larger tumors. It used a stricter definition of cancer-free at surgery: no sign of disease in the breast or lymph nodes rather than just the breast. No cancer was seen in 18 percent of women on Avastin versus 15 percent of those given only chemo. Different chemo drugs were used ? a factor that might change Avastin's effectiveness.

The U.S. study was paid for by the National Cancer Institute with some support from drug companies. The German study was sponsored by drug companies. Some researchers consult for Genentech or other makers of cancer drugs.

If even one of these studies shows a survival advantage for Avastin "that would be a game changer" although side effects remain a concern, said Dr. Gary Lyman. He is a Duke University researcher who was on the federal advisory panel that recommended revoking Avastin's approval.

However, von Minckwitz said side effects are more justifiable in early breast cancer patients because "the intention is cure" rather than in late-stage disease where cure isn't usually possible.

Of the more than 200,000 women in the U.S. diagnosed each year with breast cancer, about 30,000 are like those in the new studies, Lyman estimated.

But the studies' impact could be far greater: The participants' tissue samples are being analyzed for genes and biomarkers to predict which women are most likely to respond to Avastin. That could lead to a relook of using the drug for certain women with advanced disease, too.

Three other studies are under way testing Avastin in early breast cancer; one is expected to have results by the end of this year, said Dr. Sandra Horning, global development chief of cancer drugs for Roche and Genentech. The company does not plan to seek any change in Avastin's use until more results are available, she said.

___

Online:

Studies: http://www.nejm.org

Avastin: http://www.avastin.com

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_he_me/us_med_breast_cancer_avastin

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Officials: Sunni militia leader killed in Baghdad (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Iraqi officials say a leader of a Sunni militia that turned against al-Qaida in Iraq and sided with the U.S troops to fight the militants has been killed in Baghdad.

Police and hospital officials say Mullah Nadhum al-Jubouri died in a drive-by shooting in western Baghdad on Tuesday.

The officials spoke Wednesday on condition on anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to the media. Postings on an Islamic extremist website celebrated al-Jubouri's death.

Before joining the pro-government group known as Awakening Councils, al-Jubouri fought Americans alongside al-Qaida militants.

In 2009, al-Jubouri was detained in a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid on suspicion of carrying out attacks three years earlier, including downing a U.S. helicopter. He was later released.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Obama offers condolences to Paterno's family (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama has offered his condolences to the family of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who died Sunday of lung cancer.

The White House says the president spoke with Paterno's wife, Sue, and son, Jay, on Monday to express his condolences.

The White House says the president recalled fond memories of when he first met Coach Paterno and said he and first lady Michelle Obama would keep the Paterno family in their prayers.

Penn State is planning a memorial service on Thursday for Paterno, who was fired in November after he was criticized over his handling of child sex-abuse allegations leveled against his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno won two national championships and 409 games ? the most in the history of major college football.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_paterno

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Source: http://www.youminute.com/?p=517

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Olympus shareholders seek damages for share price drop: source (Reuters)

OSAKA, Japan (Reuters) ? Shareholders of scandal-hit Olympus Corp will file a lawsuit against the company as early as Monday, seeking more than 200 million yen ($2.6 million) in damages over the fall in its share price, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

($1 = 77.1200 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Yoshiyuki Osada; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/bs_nm/us_olympus_lawsuit

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Should Queen Elizabeth be a 'have-yacht' among have-nots?

Reports that a British government official proposed that the royal yacht for Queen Elizabeth be funded with public money has stirred up anger in a time of austerity.

It?s the other big boat story this week: Does Queen Elizabeth need or deserve a new royal yacht to mark her 60th?year on the throne? The debate is hotting up, with Prime Minister David Cameron sailing into rough seas of opinion after supporting the idea, despite an epic year of job loss and austerity in the United Kingdom.

Skip to next paragraph

Cameron?s Liberal Democrat coalition partner Nick Clegg, who has been pushing ?tax the rich? schemes of late, told reporters it was a debate about ?haves and have-yachts.?

In a memo this fall, Education Secretary Michael Gove floated the idea of funding a?$125 million yacht with Britain's public funds.?Mr. Gove,?a staunch monarchist,?was worried that her majesty?s Diamond Jubilee could be overshadowed by the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London.?

The proposed vessel would replace the former royal yacht Britannia, whose decommissioning in 2006 caused a famous tear from Queen Elizabeth.?

The notion of using public funds to buy a yacht for one of the world?s richest women in the midst of a dire economic climate was quickly scotched by Mr. Cameron, who favors private financing for the idea.?

British newspaper The Guardian broke the story?about Gove's suggestion that public funds be used for the gift and later reported that Prince Charles and a prominent rear admiral supported the plan. (In an article today headlined?"Britannia CAN rule the waves!" The Daily Mail ???a major proponent of the project and often of the monarchy ??rejected the claims that Gove had proposed public funding.)

Since the Guardian broke the story and the government made strong reassurances that the project would not receive public funding, the charity behind the plan has set out to campaign for private donations instead.

Plans for the yacht to be turned into a self-financing training and instructional vessel are in the works, should the proposal pan out.?However, potential donors say it is still unclear how much of the upkeep, security, staff, and other often hidden expenses of large vessels will cost the public.?

Queen Elizabeth is still going strong in her Diamond Jubilee year, and has achieved a singular level of popularity among ordinary Brits that is helping the monarchy and the damaged reputation of the royal family, says Nick Spencer of Theos, a public theology think tank.

?But this is very badly timed,? says Mr. Spencer.

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox.?Sign up today.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/ocjTmyJxy3k/Should-Queen-Elizabeth-be-a-have-yacht-among-have-nots

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Neil Young journeys to Utah with new concert film

Neil Young from the film "Heart of Gold," poses for a portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Victoria Will)

Neil Young from the film "Heart of Gold," poses for a portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Victoria Will)

Neil Young, left, and Jonathan Demme from the film "Heart of Gold," pose for a portrait during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Victoria Will)

COMMERCIAL IMAGE - In this photo taken by AP Images for Fender Music Lodge, Neil Young visits Sony at the Fender Music Lodge during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 in Park City, Utah. (Katy Winn/AP Images for Fender Music Lodge)

(AP) ? Neil Young recalls how his first concert film with director Jonathan Demme was a lush, stately tribute to country music.

He says their latest, "Neil Young Journeys," is more like an electric bolt, with a "grinding, blinding beauty to it."

Their 2006 film "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was a reflective, comforting chronicle of two shows Young performed at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium alongside such longtime musical comrades as Emmylou Harris, Ben Keith and Spooner Oldham.

"Journeys" is a raw, thunderous counterpart, filmed by Demme at Toronto's Massey Hall during the closing shows of Young's solo tour last year. Solo often implies intimate and acoustic, but Young wails away on electric guitar, harmonica, piano and organ throughout the show.

The new film played Saturday at the Slamdance Film Festival, a rival showcase to Sundance. Demme says it was a fitting place because both Slamdance and the film share something of a "bad-boy" attitude.

"'Journeys' is so different from 'Heart of Gold.' It's like the other side of the universe," Young, 66, said in an interview alongside Demme. "'Heart of Gold' was a massive production with great caretaking to present this whole image of this forgotten style of presenting music, in this great old chapel of country music. ...

"This film we just made is so opposite of that. It's just one person. The sound is completely different and the attitude of it is different. The look is different. ... The sounds are kind of enveloping. You get to move way inside, whereas, 'Heart of Gold,' you're way back, going, 'Oh, it's beautiful seeing it from the back, seeing all these beautiful people, these great musicians.' And this one here, you're like inside my instrument, inside the distortion of the guitar. There's nothing in the way."

Demme and Young seem to be on a never-ending film journey. The new movie marks the fourth film collaboration between Young and Demme, the Academy Award-winning director of "The Silence of the Lambs."

Young earned an Oscar nomination for the title song of Demme's 1993 AIDS drama "Philadelphia," and in between "Heart of Gold" and "Journeys," the two made the 2009 concert film "Neil Young Trunk Show."

"Journeys" premiered at last September's Toronto International Film Festival and has since been picked up for theatrical distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.

The film includes extreme close-ups of Young captured by a tiny camera mounted on his microphone. The camera was so close its lens catches globs of spit from Young as he's singing, adding a bit of a psychedelic tinge to the images.

"It's more distorted and funky. It's a little bit more in your face," Young said. "It's like zooming in on something, losing everything that's usually around it, and you're just losing everything else. There's no bass, no drums, there's no other guitars, there's no other voices, there's no synthesizers, there's no echo. There's just this thing. It's a big sound, because you're right up on it. It's like a fantastic voyage into your guitars."

Along with songs from Young's 2010 album "Le Noise," ''Journeys" features such classics as "After the Gold Rush," ''Ohio" and "Down by the River."

Intercut between the songs in "Journeys" is a road trip Young takes to one of the Toronto shows from his northern Ontario hometown of Omemee, cruising with Demme in a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria and commenting on how the towns and landscape have changed.

"This whole world of cars and music, that's a big chunk of Neil's DNA. He's all about cars and driving and music in motion," Demme said. "I don't think we had any discussions. It was just like, well, we're going to Canada to shoot the concert in Toronto. Obviously, we'll drive down there from Omemee and take a look and see what's changed, and kind of just discover the past in the present. The same way the songs are very often kind of reflective. ...

"It put a lens up to his life. He's a medium for all of our lives. Certainly, our generation, whatever Neil's been singing about for the last 40 years or whatever, it's like, 'Thank you. That's exactly what I was feeling. You've put it into words and music.'"

___

Online:

http://www.slamdance.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-22-Film-Sundance-Neil%20Young/id-4c909ea8cdb3444897d7c0cc6e7cb56c

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Obama to press Congress to revisit $1.2T in cuts

(AP) ? In its budget submission next month, the Obama administration will urge lawmakers to revisit the failed attempt by a congressional supercommittee to cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion, the White House says.

The proposal runs counter to the common wisdom in Washington that any major deficit reduction effort is unlikely in a presidential election year. Instead, lawmakers are focusing on a one-year extension of a payroll tax cut and supplemental jobless benefits sought by the president as part of last fall's jobs agenda.

But also looming are sweeping across-the-board spending cuts required next year because of the supercommittee deadlock. Top lawmakers like House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., are focusing on a less ambitious one-year plan to give the Pentagon a reprieve from cuts that both the administration and Republicans say would cripple the military.

The White House plan, likely to reprise new taxes and fee proposals that are nonstarters with Capitol Hill Republicans, would turn off the entire nine-year, $1.2 trillion across-the-board spending cuts, referred to as a "sequester."

"We have a sequester coming less than a year from now unless Congress acts," said a senior administration official. "We're going to ask Congress to do now what we think Congress should have done in December, which is enact more than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, turn off the sequester and maintain the (spending caps)."

The official required anonymity as a condition to speak to a reporter on the plan.

That plan of budget cuts would be imposed under last summer's budget and debt pact between Obama and Congress that imposed $900 billion in savings from accounts appropriated by Congress each year and promised at least $1.2 trillion more from the work on the deficit supercommittee, or, failing that, across-the-board cuts to a sweeping set of defense and domestic programs.

The threat of the across-the-board cuts was supposed to prod the panel, but it never got on track and collapsed just before Thanksgiving over intractable differences on tax increases and cuts to popular programs like Medicare.

The failure of the panel capped a long, difficult budget year in which the warring sides were only able to agree when facing either a shutdown of the government or an unthinkable default on U.S. obligations. Policymakers face the prospect of more gridlock this year as election-year politics promise to even further cripple the already limited ability of Obama and Capitol Hill Republicans to work together.

In that light, the administration's proposal could be doomed to dead-on-arrival status despite widespread desire to turn off the automatic cuts

At the same time, a new wrinkle has emerged due to the collapse of the supercommittee: a new set of spending caps for the 2013 budget year that begins Oct. 1 that require cuts of about $8 billion from the $554 billion budget for defense programs, the first outright cuts since the so-called peace dividend of the early 1990s.

The required defense cuts are separate from those that would be imposed under the sequester, but the administration official predicted lawmakers might revisit them when turning to the annual appropriations bills later this year.

The budget is slated to be released Feb. 6.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-20-US-Obama-Budget/id-8f2c11eb2a4348379cd7942ce1869bc4

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Martin scores 32 in Houston's 90-88 OT win (AP)

HOUSTON ? Kevin Martin scored 27 of his 32 points in the first half, Samuel Dalembert grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds and the Houston Rockets survived one of the worst fourth quarters in team history to beat the New Orleans Hornets 90-88 in overtime on Thursday night.

Courtney Lee scored a season-high 17 points and Kyle Lowry added 10 points and eight assists for the Rockets, who've won five in a row.

Jason Smith scored 17 points and Jarrett Jack and Marco Bellinelli added 15 points apiece for the Hornets, who've lost 12 of 13.

The Rockets led by as many as 14, but went 3 for 21 from the field and tied a franchise-record low by scoring only 7 points in the final quarter.

Jack swished a baseline jumper with 3:47 left in overtime to give New Orleans its first lead, and Smith hit one from nearly the same spot to put the Hornets up 86-83.

Jack scored again before Dalembert converted a three-point play. Luis Scola sank two free throws to tie it with 1:10 remaining.

Martin picked up a loose ball with under 30 seconds left and missed a layup on a fast break, but Dalembert grabbed the rebound and dunked with 11 seconds left.

Marco Bellinelli missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and Houston escaped to beat the Hornets for only the second time in the last eight meetings.

Martin hit 10 of 14 shots in the first half, including five 3-pointers, as Houston built a 58-49 halftime lead. Houston went 8 for 14 from 3-point range in the opening half and matched its first-half season high point total set in Monday's 114-106 win in Washington.

With the Hornets focused on Martin, Dalembert scored six points inside in the third quarter to keep Houston in front. The Rockets' bench was unable to stretch the lead early in the fourth, but Martin returned and converted a three-point play with 7:02 left for a 78-69 Houston lead.

The Hornets' defense finally stiffened, and New Orleans went on a 9-0 run capped by Smith's turnaround jumper to cut the deficit to 80-79 with just over two minutes remaining.

Smith had a chance to win it in regulation, but his turnaround at the buzzer rimmed out.

NOTES: The Rockets have held double-digit leads in eight straight games, one shy of matching their longest streak since 2008-09. ... Houston has won 18 consecutive games when holding its opponent below 100 points. ... Dalembert has three double-doubles this season, all in the last week. ... The Hornets have held 12 of their first 14 opponents below 100 points. ... The Rockets had a 53-48 edge on the boards, only the third time this season that the Hornets have been outrebounded. ... Hornets coach Monty Williams said had no target date for the return of shooting guard Eric Gordon, who's been out since Jan. 4 with a bruised right knee. ... Rockets F Jordan Hill sat out with flu-like symptoms.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bkn_hornets_rockets

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Costa Concordia: Did the captain break any law in abandoning ship?

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is one of the most important international treaties concerning the safety of ships. It governs ships engaged in international commerce, which includes cruise boats, and was first adopted in 1914 following the Titanic disaster. The most recent version was adopted in 1974, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations regulatory agency.

SOLAS outlines shipbuilding standards as well as minimum safety requirements, such as the number of lifeboats kept on board or fire-safety provisions.? The convention also covers navigational safety regulations, which obligate shipmasters, or captains, to assist passengers and crew members in times of distress. "A master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance," states SOLAS chapter five, regulation 33.

Another international convention is the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).? This was one of the original conventions to create international safety standards and procedures, and came into force in 1984.? The document is used to train most aspiring sailors and captains worldwide, and demonstrated competency in the standards is required before one can obtain a maritime license or certificate.

Overseeing an evacuation is part of a captain?s duties. The responsibilities of the captain and crew in the event of an emergency are laid out and approved by the country under whose flag the boat flies.

These regulations are more functional than legislative, however, says Anthony Palmiotti, professor of marine transportation at SUNY Maritime College in New York.

Regardless of the boat?s approved safety plan, the captain is at the helm, says Mr. Palmiotti. ?You?re communicating with the outside world from [the command and control center] and internally through telephones and radios,? Palmiotti says. ?If there?s no command, there?s no control.? [The captain] has a position on board that?s responsible for coordinating everything, but ? I can?t think of a [legally binding] law that enforces that.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Qw15i99HBMk/Costa-Concordia-Did-the-captain-break-any-law-in-abandoning-ship

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Popular file-sharing website Megaupload shut down (AP)

McLEAN, Va. ? One of the world's most popular file-sharing sites was shut down Thursday, and its founder and several company officials were accused of facilitating millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content.

A federal indictment accused Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers.

The news of the shutdown seemed to bring retaliation from hackers who claimed credit for attacking the Justice Department's website. Federal officials confirmed it was down Thursday evening and that the disruption was being "treated as a malicious act."

A loose affiliation of hackers known as "Anonymous" claimed credit for the attack. Also hacked was the site for the Motion Picture Association of America and perhaps others.

Megaupload is based in Hong Kong, but some of the alleged pirated content was hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Va., which gave federal authorities jurisdiction, the indictment said.

The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom, 37, and three other employees were arrested Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Three other defendants are at large.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that, "This kind of application of international criminal procedures to Internet policy issues sets a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?"

Before Megaupload was taken down, it posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were "grotesquely overblown."

"The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the DOJ said its web server for justice.gov was "experiencing a significant increase in activity, resulting in a degradation in service." It was working to fix it and "investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause of the disruption," the agency's statement said.

A spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America said in an emailed statement that the group's site had been hacked, although it appeared to be working later in the evening.

"The motion picture and television industry has always been a strong supporter of free speech," the spokesman said. "We strongly condemn any attempts to silence any groups or individuals."

Megaupload was unique not only because of its massive size and the volume of downloaded content, but also because it had high-profile support from celebrities, musicians and other content producers who are most often the victims of copyright infringement and piracy. Before the website was taken down, it contained endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Kanye West, among others.

The company listed Swizz Beatz, a musician who married Keys in 2010, as its CEO. He was not named in the indictment and declined to comment through a representative.

According to the indictment, Megaupload was estimated at one point to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the Internet. Current estimates by companies that monitor Web traffic place it in the top 100.

The five-count indictment, which alleges copyright infringement as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering, described a site designed specifically to reward users who uploaded pirated content for sharing, and turned a blind eye to requests from copyright holders to remove copyright-protected files.

For instance, users received cash bonuses if they uploaded content popular enough to generate massive numbers of downloads, according to the indictment. Such content was almost always copyright protected.

The site boasted 150 million registered users and about 50 million hits daily. The Justice Department said it was illegal for anyone to download pirated content, but their investigation focused on the leaders of the company, not end users who may have downloaded a few movies for personal viewing.

A lawyer who represented the company in a lawsuit last year declined comment Thursday. Efforts to reach an attorney representing Dotcom were unsuccessful.

Megaupload is considered a "cyberlocker," in which users can upload and transfer files that are too large to send by email. Such sites can have perfectly legitimate uses. But the Motion Picture Association of America, which has campaigned for a crackdown on piracy, estimated that the vast majority of content being shared on Megaupload was in violation of copyright laws.

The website allowed users to download some content for free, but made money by charging subscriptions to people who wanted access to faster download speeds or extra content. The website also sold advertising.

The indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, which claimed jurisdiction in part because some of the alleged pirated materials were hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Va. Prosecutors there have pursued multiple piracy investigations.

Steven T. Shelton, a copyright lawyer at the Cozen O'Connor firm in New York, said opponents of the legislation are worried the proposals lessen the burden for the government to target a wide variety of websites. Shelton said he expects to see the government engage in more enforcement in the future, as technology makes it easier to catch and target suspected pirates.

"I think we'll be seeing more of this," he said. "This is just the beginning."

Dotcom, a resident of both Hong Kong and New Zealand, and a dual citizen of Finland and Germany, made more than $42 million from the site in 2010 alone, according to the indictment.

Dotcom had his name legally changed. He was previously known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor. He is founder, former CEO and current chief innovation officer of Megaupload.

Officials estimated it could be a year or more before Dotcom and the others arrested in New Zealand are formally extradited.

The others arrested were Finn Batato, 38, a citizen and resident of Germany, the company's chief marketing officer; Mathias Ortmann, 40, a citizen of Germany and resident of both Germany and Hong Kong, who is the chief technical officer, co-founder and director; and Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, 29, a Dutch citizen and resident of both the Netherlands and New Zealand, who oversees programming.

Still at large are Julius Bencko, 35, a citizen and resident of Slovakia, the site's graphic designer; Sven Echternach, 39, a citizen and resident of Germany, head of business development; and Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and resident of both Turkey and Estonia, head of the development software division.

Several sister sites were also shut down, including one dedicated to sharing pornography files.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/digitalmusic/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_hi_te/us_internet_piracy_indictment

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

PFT: Roger Craig sees a Harbaugh-49ers dynasty

Divisional Playoffs - New Orleans Saints v San Francisco 49ersGetty Images

Exactly 30 years ago, coach Bill Walsh transformed a perennially mediocre-at-best 49ers franchise into a juggernaut that would capture five Super Bowl titles in 14 seasons.

After 17 years without a return to the NFL title game, one of the key members of Walsh?s 49ers predicts a return to glory under coach Jim Harbaugh.

?I see these guys doing some wonderful things this decade ? I think Jim will do great job of creating another dynasty and winning some Super Bowls,? Craig recently told the San Francisco Chronicle, via NFL.com.? ?I foresee us winning some Super Bowls in the next decade, if not this year then in the years ahead.? Wherever he goes, he wins.? He has the secret sauce, and I?m loving his flavor.?

(Look, it would be way too easy to make a juvenile remark at this point, including but not limited to ?that?s what she said.?? Instead, I?ll just sit here and wonder how close Craig came to calling back Eric Branch of the Chronicle and begging him to pull that last sentence.)

?Jim Harbaugh is an amazing guy, an innovator, amazing coach, a leader,? Craig added.? ?When you get players to buy into your system the way he has, you?re going to have success.?

Amen to that.? We thought Harbaugh would make enough of a difference to win the NFC West, but we never dreamed he?d take the team to a 14-3 record and a berth in the NFC title game, especially since he had only seven weeks to get his team ready.

Some think that Jeff Fisher avoided the Dolphins for fear of competing directly with Bill Belichick and the Patriots.? In the end, Fisher may have wished he picked Belichick as his arch-rival instead of Harbaugh and the 49ers.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/18/roger-craig-sees-a-harbaugh-led-49ers-dynasty/related/

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