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Saturday 31 December 2011
Friday 30 December 2011
Avastin can stabilize tumors in ovarian cancer, studies find
Avastin can stabilize tumors in women suffering from advanced-stage ovarian cancer, extending the period before the disease worsens by more than 3.5 months, according to the results of two large, international clinical trials conducted by separate research teams.
The findings, published in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, come less than a week after the European Commission approved Avastin for treating women newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. The drug, known generically as bevacizumab, has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat ovarian cancer in the U.S.
Though Avastin has not been shown to prolong the lives of women with ovarian cancer and does come with significant side effects, it offers some hope for treating what remains the deadliest of gynecologic cancers, researchers said.
Ovarian cancer affects an estimated 200,000 women worldwide and causes 125,000 deaths each year, including more than 15,000 in the U.S. The cancer is particularly difficult to treat because it usually found after it has already spread to other organs. Surgery can remove only some of the tumors, and the two chemotherapy drugs most commonly used aren't very good at killing the cancer cells left behind.
But the study results suggest that treatment for ovarian cancer could improve for the first time in 15 years, said Dr. Robert Burger, a surgical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center and lead author for one of the studies.
"I think we finally have a third component of treatment that works differently and that may greatly complement our therapeutics for ovarian cancers," he said.
Avastin is a biological antibody that interferes with a growth factor that cancer cells need to grow new blood vessels. When used in concert with chemotherapy, the drug helps keep cancers that have metastasized from growing and spreading. The FDA has approved the drug for use in a number of different cancers, including non-small-cell lung, kidney, brain and colon cancer.
Most recently, its use in treating breast cancer has become a source of controversy, as the FDA last month withdrew its approval of Avastin for patients with advanced breast cancer because the modest benefits were not seen as outweighing the drug's side effects. Physicians, however, can still prescribe Avastin off-label.
Burger's team, known as the Gynecologic Oncology Group, looked at what's called progression-free survival ? the length of time before the cancer gets worse ? in 1,873 women with newly diagnosed stage III and stage IV ovarian cancers, which typically have 5-year survival rates ranging from 18% to 45%. The investigators found that patients who received Avastin throughout their chemotherapy treatment experienced 14.1 months of progression-free survival, compared with the 10.3 months for patients who received standard chemotherapy plus a placebo. (Patients who received Avastin only during the initial treatments had 11.2 months of progression-free survival.)
The second study, by the International Collaboration on Ovarian Neoplasms, looked at 1,528 ovarian cancer patients and found a smaller difference in progression-free survival ? 24.1 months for those who took Avastin versus 22.4 months for those who didn't.
But when they focused on the 465 patients with the most advanced cancers, they found a bigger benefit ? 14.5 months with standard therapy alone and 18.1 months with Avastin added. They also found that overall survival for these patients was better with Avastin, at 28.8 versus 36.6 months.
On the whole, however, the researchers said they would not able to say much about overall survival rates until the patients had been tracked for a few more years.
The studies documented some notable side effects from the drug, including an increased risk of hypertension and gastrointestinal wall disruption, when a hole develops in the gastrointestinal tract. But these problems did not affect patients' quality of life, both studies found.
Avastin does not come cheap. The drug, made by Genentech Inc., can cost about $50,000 to $100,000 a year, which may be a lot to pay for just a few months more of remission, said Dr. Joanne Mortimer, director of the Women's Cancers Program at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte. Many insurance companies cover at least some of that cost.
"Is it worth it?" said Mortimer, who served on two of three FDA advisory panels that debated the use of Avastin for breast cancer. "These are positive studies, but are they meaningful differences?"
Though the answer for breast cancer was no, the answer for ovarian cancer may be different, she said. Drugs for breast cancer are held to a higher standard because much more is known about how to treat the disease. The bar is lower for ovarian cancer because the treatment options aren't as good, Mortimer said.
Dr. Timothy Perren, a medical oncologist at Spire Leeds Hospital in Yorkshire, England, who led the second study, said the trials were promising steps that would "cement the place of Avastin in treating ovarian cancer." But researchers from both groups noted that more work needed to be done to figure out which patients would benefit the most from the drug and the best way to administer it.
The studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute for Health Research in Britain, Genentech and its parent company, Roche.
amina.khan@latimes.com
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Thursday 29 December 2011
Company sues former employee over Twitter followers
Noah Kravitz, of Oakland, California, worked as a product reviewer and video blogger for South Carolina-based PhoneDog from 2006 to 2010, according to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for Northern California.
Kravitz told the New York Times that he had left PhoneDog on good terms with an agreement that he would "tweet on their behalf from time to time".
Eight months later, however, the company filed suit against him, a move Kravitz told the newspaper was retaliation for his claim to 15 per cent of PhoneDog's gross advertising revenue.
In a statement to the Times, the company said: "The costs and resources invested by PhoneDog Media into growing its followers, fans and general brand awareness through social media are substantial and are considered property of PhoneDog Media.
"We intend to aggressively protect our customer lists and confidential information, intellectual property, trademark and brands," it said.
Henry Cittone, an intellectual property lawyer, told the Times the case will "establish precedent in the online world, as it relates to ownership of social media accounts.
"We've actually been waiting to see such a case as many of our clients are concerned about the ownership of social media accounts vis-?-vis their branding," Cittone said.
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Muslims upset by NYPD to boycott mayor's breakfast (AP)
NEW YORK ? Several Muslim leaders have declined invitations to the mayor's annual year-end interfaith breakfast, saying they're upset at police department efforts to infiltrate mosques and spy on Muslim neighborhoods.
The imams and activists said in a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg that they're disturbed at his response to a series of stories by The Associated Press detailing New York Police Department intelligence-gathering programs that monitored Muslim groups, businesses and houses of worship.
Bloomberg has defended the NYPD, saying last week it doesn't take religion into account in its policing.
Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser acknowledged Wednesday that about a dozen people turned down the breakfast invitation. But he said "a couple dozen" more said they plan to attend.
The letter to Bloomberg contained the names of several dozen Muslim leaders and organizations and said they believe such police measures "threaten the rights of all Americans, and deepen mistrust between our communities and law enforcement."
"Mayor Bloomberg, the extent of these civil rights violations is astonishing, yet instead of calling for accountability and the rule of law, you have thus far defended the NYPD's misconduct," the letter said.
The Muslim leaders said they appreciate the mayor's staunch support a year ago during an uproar over a planned Islamic center near the World Trade Center site. But they said they were disappointed by what he said after the AP stories since August about the police department's efforts to infiltrate Muslim neighborhoods and mosques with aggressive programs designed by a CIA officer who worked with the department after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The stories disclosed that a team of 16 police officers speaking at least five languages was assigned to use census information and government databases to map ethnic neighborhoods in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Documents reviewed by the AP revealed that undercover police officers known as rakers visited local businesses such as Islamic bookstores and cafes, chatting up store owners to determine their ethnicities and gauge their views. They played cricket and eavesdropped in ethnic cafes and clubs.
The AP stories also revealed that one of the CIA's most experienced clandestine operatives began working inside the police department in July as the special assistant to the deputy commissioner of intelligence.
The CIA is prohibited from spying domestically. Its unusual partnership with the NYPD has troubled top lawmakers and prompted an internal investigation.
Bloomberg in October defended the arrangement, saying it was necessary in a dangerous world.
"There are people trying to kill us," he said. "And if the CIA can help us I'm all for getting any information they have and then letting the police department use it as ? if it's appropriate to protect you and to protect me."
The letter noted that Muslims comprise at least 10 percent of the city's population. It said the Muslims leaders were seeking a meeting with the mayor to discuss the issues raised by the reports.
"We believe it is unequivocally wrong and fundamentally misguided to invest law enforcement resources in religious or racial profiling, rather than investigating suspicious activity," it said. "We seek your clear, unambiguous, public support for the rights and privacy of all New Yorkers, including Muslims; and a condemnation of all policies that profile and target communities and community groups solely based on their religion or the color of their skin."
It also said: "We are deeply disturbed that to date we have only heard your words of strong support for these troubling policies and violations of our rights. We are equally disturbed by (police Commissioner Raymond) Kelly's denials of what we know to be true as verified by the leaked documents."
Kelly, meanwhile, met Wednesday evening at a Bronx mosque with two imams who weren't listed on the letter and with young fans of an NYPD youth soccer league, whose winners were presented with a trophy.
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Wednesday 28 December 2011
Golf4Beginners: Rod Pampling, Of Australia, Tees (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (Yahoo!) http://t.co/LwP1v9zs #golf
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Georgia Kelly: Thrive: Deconstructing the Film
There have been many screenings in the Bay Area of a privately produced film called Thrive. It is a long documentary, created in a New-Agey, pseudoscientific mode, which would be fairly innocuous if it were not masking a reactionary, libertarian political agenda that stands in jarring contrast with the soothing tone of the presentation.
Foster Gamble, the creator and narrator of the film, is heir to the Proctor Gamble empire. One advantage of being wealthy is that you can make a film for which you choose the cast, director, producer, and staff. One of the disadvantages is that you end up working with people who won't challenge your ideas or politics. That feedback loop is clearly missing from Thrive.
Certainly, progressives can find common ground with some of the stated goals of the film. We may agree on banning GMOs, eradicating pollution, and stopping bank bailouts, but our solutions are very different from the anti-government ones posed by libertarians and by the ones promoted in Thrive. For example, government regulations could have prevented the runaway libertarian agenda that was pushed by Alan Greenspan and his Ayn Randian cohorts. They could have prevented bundled foreclosure loans and derivatives that gambled away people's pensions and savings. And they could have prevented the housing bubble and subsequent foreclosure debacle. At one time, we did have such legislation. That was before the right-wing attack on all things government.
Although Gamble thinks he is creating a political center where the right and left can join together, he proposes only libertarian solutions (e.g., voluntary education, voluntary taxes, and shrinking the government).
Oliver Wendell Holmes reportedly said, "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society." Gamble considers taxes to be theft and doesn't realize that an informed citizenry might create a government by, of, and for the people who pay the taxes. But, this would require a mature citizenry, not one stuck in the adolescent phase of development that focuses doggedly on individual rights with little regard for the individual's responsibility to civil society.
Gamble admits to being "profoundly influenced by Ludwig von Mises," founding member of the libertarian Austrian School of Economics. As an author, von Mises is celebrated by right-wing presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who claims, "When I go on vacation and I lay on the beach, I bring von Mises."
If I thought the film was libertarian propaganda, it was nothing compared to what I found on the Thrive website. The "Liberty" paper (under the Solutions section) is a real shocker. Peppered with quotes from Ayn Rand, Ron Paul, and Stefan Molyneux, there is even an attack on democracy! Gamble lumps democracy in with bigotry, imperialism, socialism, and fascism and says they all -- including democracy! -- violate the "intrinsic freedom of others."
Another disturbing aspect of the film is that Gamble primarily interviewed progressives: Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Elisabet Sahtouris, Danny Sheehan, John Robbins, Amy Goodman, and several others. By speaking with a few of these people, I learned that they did not know the political slant of the film when they were interviewed. One interviewee said he felt this was manipulative. Interviewing admired progressive thinkers and doers in a film that ultimately supports a radical, libertarian agenda does seem odd -- unless there is another agenda at work. Perhaps in next year's election campaigns, we might see Gamble and the thrive movement endorse Ron Paul and the new Americans Elect third party, which is a right-leaning movement masquerading as a "center" party.
This reactionary program sold as a "vision" on the Thrive website is nothing short of a dark fantasy intent on returning us to the 19th century, complete with no taxes, no labor laws, no child labor laws, no regulation of pollution, no social security, no Medicare, no public education, no government programs for the people. Instead, there would be a voluntary type of social regulation. We saw how well that worked in the 19th century.
It is our responsibility to educate family and friends about the reactionary philosophy behind Thrive. This is a great opportunity for discussion and debate!
?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgia-kelly/thrive-film_b_1168930.html
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Tuesday 27 December 2011
This Week?s Hot Deals from TechBargains
Apple iPad 2 Luxury Bluetooth Keyboard with Detachable Inner Enclosure $29.99 Apple Store: $30-$50 Price drops on Refurbished Apple iPad 2 (16GB $419) EXOPC Slate Intel Atom N455 1.66GHz 11.6in 1366×768 Tablet $399 Free Shipping CowBoom Coupon Code 15% off Sitewide (REFURB Apple iPad WiFi 32GB $296) 5dot 10in Netbook/Tablet Reversible Sleeve (Various Colors) $3.99 [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/25/this-weeks-hot-deals-from-techbargains-3/
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Mexico police arrested over torture video (Reuters)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) ? Mexican authorities arrested five policemen on Monday on suspicion of torture after a video was made public showing police officers submerging a detainee's head in a bucket of water.
An official at the attorney general's office said five Mexico City police officers were taken into custody over the alleged torture, which took place in the capital's tough inner city neighborhood of Tepito last month.
Soon after the incident, a video was posted on the Internet showing a man with his shirt pulled over his head being dunked in a bucket of water while in the custody of a unit of well-armed policemen. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spQi5-e4ft4 )
President Felipe Calderon's term in office has been dominated by an army-led crackdown on drug trafficking cartels, which sparked a wave of criminal violence that has claimed more than 45,000 lives in the past five years.
Human rights groups have accused the police and army of abuses, including torture and killings, though very few officials have been convicted. Last month activists asked the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate Calderon and top officials over the allegations.
(Reporting by Patrick Rucker and Dave Graham; editing by Anthony Boadle)
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Monday 26 December 2011
WAAYTV: Democrats Slow to Challenge Alabama GOP Reps: BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Just two Democrats have indicated they pl... http://t.co/93asuka8
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Democrats Slow to Challenge Alabama GOP Reps: BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Just two Democrats have indicated they pl... bit.ly/sSG3nQ 
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Familiar face takes mayor's gavel in Pinole
Familiar face takes mayor's gavel in Pinole ??
?????Monday 26th December, 2011??Source: Oakland Tribune ??
| Pete Murray began his fifth tour as Pinole mayor this week with a thank-you to his family, praise for the city staff, and appreciation for the tone of respect prevalent on the City Council. Outgoing Mayor Roy Swearingen sounded similar themes in a going-out speech earlier in the evening, also praising the city staff, thanking volunteers for jumping... | Breaking News |
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Sunday 25 December 2011
A Health Insurance Plan President Gingrich Might Support - Kaiser ...
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has been pounded by his opponents for once backing a mandate that people buy health insurance. But he has received little attention for another health care idea that he has explored and that also could prove controversial.
The lesser known proposal would encourage people to purchase insurance by giving them tax credits or deductions. Those who don?t buy insurance and need care would get it through hospitals and clinics serving the poor, which would receive subsidies not claimed by individuals.
Gingrich has ?explored [the idea] and is generally supportive of it,? David Merritt, a campaign adviser, said in an interview. In March, Gingrich asked the author of the concept, conservative think tank president John Goodman, to explain it at an event sponsored by the Center for Health Transformation, a collaboration of public and private sector leaders that Gingrich founded in 2003.?
But Gingrich hasn?t promoted the idea in his campaign. While his website offers support for tax credits or deductions to purchase private insurance, an approach popular among some conservatives, it doesn?t mention subsidies for so-called safety-net hospitals to care for the uninsured.
The latter proposal raises several important questions, says Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonpartisan organization that works with states on health policy issues. To begin with, which hospitals and clinics would receive the federal subsidies to treat the uninsured?
While some hospitals are publicly owned and serve a high proportion of indigents, many first-rate urban teaching hospitals also treat a lot of poor patients. ?They are doing the highest-end clinical trials and using the newest techniques, but they are treating every medical problem that walks in the door,? said Weil.
Other issues would have to be addressed, Weil says, including how to deal with the health needs of illegal immigrants who almost certainly wouldn?t receive tax credits. Another would be determining the amount of the tax credit since older people pay more for insurance because medical spending generally increases with age.
Goodman, who heads the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, offers some details. While he isn?t an official Gingrich adviser, he has been talking to Gingrich about health care for more than two decades, and worked with him in the early 1990s to get Congress to promote medical savings accounts, which preceded health savings accounts.
?Newt has been a fan of Goodman for a long time, going back to his advocacy of health savings accounts,? Merritt said. ?They agree on pretty much all of the issues and they?ve swapped some ideas.?
Goodman would restructure tax incentives for health insurance. Currently, both employers and employees get tax breaks for employer-sponsored group health insurance, but individuals who buy policies on their own do not. He would scrap that system and instead make available to every individual a refundable tax credit to purchase insurance. The subsidy would be the same for everyone, regardless of age, income or health status.
Goodman envisions a credit of about $7,000 per family to buy basic, catastrophic coverage. An individual, or an employer, could kick in more money to obtain richer benefits. If a health plan costs less than the subsidy, the person could keep the after-tax savings, after taxes.
For individuals who declined to use the tax credit to buy insurance, the federal government would redirect the subsidy to help fund safety net institutions, which would then care for the uninsured.
?If you turn us down and decide to be uninsured, we take the credit that would have gone to you and put it in a safety net,? Goodman said at the March event. ?We?re not going to let you go without care, and the safety net is not as attractive as private sector medicine. But the government makes a commitment to the people. If you want insurance, we put the money there. If you want to be in a safety net, we put the money there.?
Sitting on the panel with Goodman,?Gingrich stressed the importance of providing access to care to as many people as possible. ?It?s much easier to guarantee access to care than it is to guarantee insurance,? Gingrich said. ?You can design a system that pays for emergency rooms and community health centers. You can guarantee every American gets care. What gets expensive is guaranteeing that every American is going to go to the most expensive place in America, for the most expensive treatment, at their convenience, when they feel like it.?
Giving individuals greater power to make purchasing decisions will only work, however, if the government makes it easier for people to buy coverage in the individual insurance market, said Merritt. For those who have been unable to get affordable insurance because of poor health, Gingrich wants to improve the state network of high-risk pools used by people who have been turned down for individual policies.
?If you put everyone in the same market, it raises premiums for everyone,? Merritt said. ?High-risk pools are a way of providing coverage without raising premiums for everyone else.? Under the health law, high-risk pools are phased out after 2014, when individuals will be able to purchase health insurance through state exchanges.
Merritt says to expect more detailed health proposals if Gingrich becomes the Republican presidential nominee. ?It?s hard to be focused on health care when the focus has been on jobs and the economy,? he said.
All original KHN material ? articles, graphics and videos ? can be used for free, if you credit us and link to us. Learn more
Source: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2011/December/23/Gingrich-health-insurance-plan.aspx
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HoustonTexans: RT @NickScurfield: How's this for disparity: The #Texans lead the NFL in yard differential at +99.6/game. The Colts rank last at -101.4
How's this for disparity: The lead the NFL in yard differential at +99.6/game. The Colts rank last at -101.4 Source: http://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/statuses/150011198304292865
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Saturday 24 December 2011
WEWS: My Ohio: Cleveland Catholic Bishop Lennon comments on closed church buildings, sends Christmas prayers http://t.co/Y9lUegdV
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EPA tells nation's dirty power plants to clean up
FILE - In this July 27, 2010 file photo shows one of the stacks at the Four Corners Power Plant, near Fruitland, NM. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is slated to release rules aimed at reducing mercury pollution from large coal-fired power plants. The Four Corners Power Plant in the Four Corners region stands ready to meet the rules, but the new standards did play a role in Arizona's largest utility planning to shutter three generators at a coal-fired power plant it runs on the Navajo Nation.(AP Photo/Paul Foy, file)
FILE - In this July 27, 2010 file photo shows one of the stacks at the Four Corners Power Plant, near Fruitland, NM. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is slated to release rules aimed at reducing mercury pollution from large coal-fired power plants. The Four Corners Power Plant in the Four Corners region stands ready to meet the rules, but the new standards did play a role in Arizona's largest utility planning to shutter three generators at a coal-fired power plant it runs on the Navajo Nation.(AP Photo/Paul Foy, file)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Clean up or shut down.
That's the decision facing hundreds of the nation's oldest and dirtiest power plants under an Environmental Protection Agency rule announced Wednesday that will force plants to control mercury and other toxic pollutants for the first time.
The long overdue national standards rein in the largest remaining source of uncontrolled toxic pollution in the U.S. ? the emissions from the nation's coal- and oil-fired power plants, which have been allowed to run for decades without addressing their full environmental and public health costs.
The impact of the ruling will be greatest in the Midwest and in the coal belt ? Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia ? where dozens of units likely will be mothballed, according to an Associated Press survey. The majority of facilities will continue to run, and find ways to reduce pollution.
About half of the 1,200 coal- and oil-fired units nationwide still lack modern pollution controls, despite the EPA in 1990 getting the authority from Congress to control toxic air pollution from power plant smokestacks. A decade later, in 2000, the agency concluded it was necessary to clamp down on the emissions to protect public health.
At a news conference Wednesday at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the regulation was the Obama administration's "biggest clean air action yet", trumping a landmark agreement to double fuel economy standards for vehicles and another rule that will reduce emissions from power plants that foul the air in states downwind.
The administration was under court order to issue a new rule, after a court threw out an attempt by the Bush administration to exempt power plants from toxic air pollution controls.
"Before this rule, there were no national standards limiting the amount of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases that power plants across the country could release into the air that we breathe," said Jackson, listing the contaminants linked to cancer, IQ loss, heart disease and lung disease that are covered by the rule, and that also pollute lakes, streams and fish.
In a video released Wednesday afternoon, President Barack Obama said the decades of delays caused by special interest groups that resulted in standards never being put into place for power plants "was wrong."
"Today, my administration is saying, 'Enough'," he said.
When fully implemented in 2016, the standards will slash mercury pollution from burning coal by 90 percent, lung-damaging acid gases by 88 percent and soot-producing sulfur dioxide by 41 percent.
Power plant operators will have to choose between installing pollution control equipment, switching to cleaner-burning natural gas, or shutting down the plant. None of those choices come cheap ? the EPA estimates the rule will cost $9.6 billion annually, making it one of the most expensive the agency has ever issued.
Some power producers intensely lobbied the Obama administration to weaken the rule and to delay it, and Republicans in Congress passed legislation to do so, saying it would threaten jobs and the reliability of the power grid, and raise electricity prices.
To ease those concerns, the administration will encourage states to make "broadly available" an additional fourth year to comply with the rule, as allowed by the law. Case-by-case extensions could also be granted to address local reliability issues, according to a presidential memorandum sent Wednesday to Jackson.
In the memorandum, Obama directs the EPA to ensure that implementation of the rule "proceed in a cost-effective manner that ensures electric reliability."
Environmentalists said Wednesday that the added flexibility did not jeopardize the public health benefits of the regulation.
"After more than two decades of delay, dirty coal-fired power plants are going to be cleaned up in short order," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, who said the EPA "bent over backwards" to accommodate concerns about reliability.
For those in the industry, and some in Congress, the concessions didn't go far enough.
Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate's environment committee, said he would file a joint resolution, a rarely used Congressional tactic, to get the rule overturned.
Some in the industry pushed for an automatic delay, or "safety valve," to make sure that plants that have to run to ensure reliability aren't found in violation of the rule and too many plants don't close down at once. In addition to those that will retire, hundreds of units will need to be idled temporarily to install pollution control equipment. Some of those units are at critical junctions on the grid and are essential to restarting the electrical network in case of a blackout, or making sure voltage doesn't drain completely from electrical lines, like a hose that's lost its water pressure.
The Edison Electric Institute, whose members were split on the toll of the rule, said in a statement Wednesday that while the EPA "made useful technical changes", it believes "the administration is underestimating the complexity of implementing this rule in such a short period of time."
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, which is an association of companies producing electricity from coal, said the rule will destroy jobs, raise the cost of energy and make electricity less reliable. A study by the group estimated that as much as 12 percent of coal-fired generation would be forced to retire due to the regulation.
But an AP survey of 55 power plant producers found that estimate, and others, to be inflated. The mercury rule, along with another to reduce power plant pollution that blows downwind, will force portions of more than 32 mostly coal-fired power plants in a dozen states to retire, and put another 36 power plants on the brink of retirement.
But not a single operator interviewed said the EPA was solely to blame for the decision. And coal is still likely to be the country's dominant electricity source until 2035, according to the Energy Information Administration.
For the older, aging plants, many of which only ran when electricity demand peaked, the rules were the final blow. Coal was already struggling to compete against low natural-gas prices, demand from China and elsewhere driving up its price, and lower electricity demand.
The average age of the units retiring or at risk of shutting down was 51 years old, the AP found. And while they produce enough power for more than 22 million households, experts say they probably won't cause the lights to go out, because in many cases the power is being replaced.
___
Online: Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/mats
___
Follow Dina Cappiello on Twitter (at)dinacappiello
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Friday 23 December 2011
VideoCam3D For iOS Lets You Shoot & Convert Movies To 3D
NXP Software, developer of the CineXPlayer mobile application, is launching a new iOS app for recording and converting video into 3D. The app, VideoCam3D,?lets you record in both blue/red and split screen 3D and works in conjunction with the CineXPlayer video viewing app, which also supports 3D movie playback.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/F_EzByJ2x0I/
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J. Lo and Marc Anthony's split turning 'vicious'?
It's war!
After what appeared to be a fairly civilized July split following seven years of marriage, things between Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are getting seriously ugly, multiple insiders tell the new Us Weekly, out now.
PHOTOS: Marc and J Lo in happier times
The catalyst? Lopez's newfound love with Casper Smart, a 24-year-old backup dancer who's already getting along swimmingly with Max and Emme, Lopez's 3-year-old twins with Anthony, 43.
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What's the best Christmas movie?
When the Latin crooner spotted photos of Lopez and Smart bonding with his son and daughter during a Thanksgiving vacation in Kauai, Hawaii, he "hit the roof," one source says. "It caused a huge blowup."
PHOTOS: Did Marc cheat during their marriage?
Anthony's next move: Although he and Lopez, 42, already hammered out custody arrangements for the twins ? ceding primary custody to the singer and "American Idol" judge ? a close source tells Us he's "going back on his word and saying his wants joint custody."
PHOTOS: How Max and Emme have grown up
His ultimate motive, says the source? "He wants to make Jennifer suffer because she's having fun with someone new, and he knows this will hurt her on the deepest level."
VIDEO: Why Jen was one of the best-dressed celebs of the year
But Lopez, says another pal, is "ready to smash him if he tries anything.... It's getting vicious."
Copyright 2011 Us Weekly
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45751142/ns/today-entertainment/
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Thursday 22 December 2011
Kathy Griffin And Kardashians On Fake Wedding And Biography
By: Andy Hodges
12/21/2011 11:19 PM ET
Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony divorce settlement talks. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are negotiating the terms of a settlement before filing for divorce.
The couple ? who announced their separation in July after seven years of marriage ? are said to be in ?no rush? to make their marital split official, and it could be ?months? before their union comes to an end in the eyes of the law.
A source told RadarOnline.com: ?They have been working out terms of a settlement before they officially file for divorce. There is no rush to do so because both sides agree on the formal date of separation.
?Marc and Jennifer have homes, businesses, and are minority owners of the Miami Dolphins football team. It?s complicated, and it could be at least several more months before final terms of the settlement are agreed upon.
?They will formally file in California, because it?s a no fault state, and the divorce will be legal six months from the time it?s filed.?
Jennifer ? who raises three-year-old twins, Max and Emme, with Marc ? recently admitted despite having three failed marriages behind her, she remains an ?eternal optimist? about love.
She said of the split: ?This was the hardest decision I?ve ever had to face. I really wanted this family to work. That was my biggest dream, and I worked hard at it. We both did. Sometimes it doesn?t work ? and that?s sad.
?But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love?It?s still my biggest dream.?
The 42-year-old star is now dating 24-year-old backing dancer Casper Smart.
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Source: http://www.newsoxy.com/entertainment/kathy-griffin-and-kardashians-46393.html
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Monday 19 December 2011
Jones lavishes praise on Romo
Getty ImagesThe effort by Congress to compel the NFL and the NFLPA to follow through on their agreement to conduct HGH testing has petered out in recent weeks.? At a time when both sides have reason to be concerned about Congress opting to move aggressively regarding the inability of the parties to turn their agreement to conduct HGH testing into actual HGH testing, the latest effort from Capitol Hill looks more like window dressing than meaningful action.
Earlier this week, four doctors who serve in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith urging the adoption of HGH testing.? The letter, signed by Dr. David ?Phil? Roe (R-Tenn.), Dr. John Fleming (R-La.), Dr. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Dr. Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), points out the risks and side effects of HGH (cancer, diabetes, hypertenson, harm to reproductive health, thyroid problems, and abnormal growth of bone and connective tissue).? The doctors also explain that HGH is normally prescribed only for patients in the late stages of AIDS, for children with growth hormone deficiency, and for treatment of certain types of pituitary tumors.
And then there?s the fact that HGH possession and use without a prescription is illegal.
But there?s no teeth to the letter or any of the other efforts to date from Congress.? The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reportedly intends at some point to conduct public hearings and/or private efforts to gather information that could result in players being placed under oath about what they know about HGH us and how they or others get HGH, absent clear progress toward HGH testing.? As the offseason approaches, however, the likelihood of the NFL and the union working together to resolve the situation will increase.? Some believe that NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has been trying to delay the issue until after his re-election in March 2012, given that a significant number of players are opposed to HGH testing of any kind.
Regardless, the new CBA clearly states that HGH testing will occur.? The only question is how it will happen.? To date, the NFLPA has refused to proceed with the procedure used by the World Anti-Doping Agency.? (Though the NFLPA has not suggested a test other than the WADA procedure, the NFLPA last month suggested a protocol premised on the WADA test.)? Congress has accused the NFLPA of dragging its feet, but the NFL likewise has failed to enforce the agreement via any of the available legal remedies for forcing a party to honor its written commitments.
Thus, the blame on this one cuts both ways.? The NFLPA has failed to honor its agreement, and the NFL has opted to merely sit back and wait for someone else to pressure the NFLPA to live up to its word.? If the NFL were genuinely serious about eradicating HGH from the game, the NFL would have pursued arbitration and/or litigation aimed at forcing the issue.
And if Congress were genuinely serious about it, they would be doing more than sending letters.
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Sunday 18 December 2011
Did Bachmann Just Save Romney?
Romney didn't attack Gingrich. His commercials, surrogates, and comments in the paper are softening Gingrich enough. Plus, at this stage in the race?ith so little time left?it's a time for candidates to offer voters their closing arguments, the main thrust of their candidacies. Romney focused on his business career, his four experiences as a leader, and ?the failures of President Obama.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6a2a8a7fdc0be08a1866761b825ee023
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Judge to consider challenge of Utah bigamy law (omg!)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? A polygamous family made famous on a reality television show is asking a U.S. judge not to block their challenge of Utah's bigamy law.
Kody Brown and wives Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn filed a lawsuit in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court in July.
The stars of the TLC show "Sister Wives" say the law is unconstitutional because it prohibits them from living together and criminalizes their private sexual relationships.
The Browns moved to Nevada in January after police launched a bigamy investigation.
No criminal charges have been filed.
State attorneys say the judge should dismiss the lawsuit. They say the Browns are not likely to be prosecuted.
Oral arguments in the case are set for Friday.
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Saturday 17 December 2011
Esophageal Cancer: Facts and Figures (ContributorNetwork)
British journalist and author Christopher Hitchens died Thursday at 62 from complications of esophageal cancer. The well-known contributing editor of Vanity Fair magazine had been diagnosed in June 2010. Here are some key facts and figures about esophageal cancer.
* Men develop esophageal cancer four times more frequently than women and also have a higher mortality than women.
* Esophageal cancer ranks seventh as the cause of cancer deaths among men.
* This year in the United States, approximately 17,000 adults will receive a new diagnosis of esophageal cancer.
* Approximately 15,000 deaths will be attributed to esophageal cancer this year.
* The lifetime risk of esophageal cancer in the United States is estimated to be 1 in 125 for men and 1 in 400 for women.
* Symptoms include difficulty swallowing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, choking while eating, indigestion, vomiting, persistent hiccups and hoarseness. Symptoms frequently do not appear in the early stages of esophageal cancer.
* The most common age for esophageal cancer to occur is between 45 and 70.
* Risk factors include drinking alcohol, chewing tobacco, obesity, drinking extremely hot liquids, bile reflux, GERD, smoking, Barrett's esophagus, radiation to the upper abdomen or chest, eating foods preserved in lye and eating too few fruits and vegetables.
* Endoscopy and barium swallow are usually done to make a diagnosis of esophageal cancer.
* Since symptoms do not usually occur until the later stages, treatment options carry a poor survival rate.
* Treatment may involve surgery and almost always involves chemotherapy and radiation combined.
* In the U.S., the five-year survival rate is 17 percent, excluding patients who die from other causes. For anyone with early stage esophageal cancer, the survival rates are higher.
* Esophageal cancer is much more prevalent in countries other than the U.S. For example in places such as northern China, India, Iran and southern Africa the rates are 10 to 100 times higher,
* Two types of esophageal cancer are the most common and are named after the cells at their point of origin. These include adenocarcinoma, which begins in the lower part of the esophagus and is the most common in western societies, and is caused most often by reflux and Barrett's esophagus. The second type is squamous cell carcinoma, which begins in the lining of the middle and upper esophagus. This type is most often caused by smoking and alcohol use and is the most common worldwide.
* Squamous cell carcinoma occurs three times more often in blacks than whites, while adenocarcinoma is most prevalent in white males.
Margie Miklas is a critical-care nurse with more than 30 years' experience. She currently works in South Florida in a cardiovascular ICU with a specialty certification in cardiac surgery.
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FACT CHECK: Gingrich off on his budget history
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Newt Gingrich overlooked a couple of years of red ink when he asserted Thursday night that he balanced the budget for four years as House speaker. And in claiming sole credit for the achievement, he glossed over the fact that budgets are not a one-man show: There was a Democratic president in town, too.
In the last debate before the leadoff Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, Gingrich persisted in repeating a claim he has made often in the campaign, sometimes more accurately than others. Here and there, other candidates, too, reprised misstatements or partial truths from the string of debates and from the stump. Mitt Romney once again declared he has spent his life in the private sector, ignoring his years as governor and political candidate.
A look at some of the claims in the debate and how they compare with the facts:
GINGRICH: "I balanced the budget for four straight years, paid off $405 billion in debt ? pretty conservative."
THE FACTS: In the 1996 and 1997 budget years, the first two years he served as speaker of the House of Representatives, the government actually ran deficits. In 1998 and 1999, the government ran surpluses. Two more years of surpluses followed, but Gingrich was gone from politics by then and had nothing to do with them.
Moreover, the national debt went up during the four years Gingrich was speaker. In January 1995, when he became speaker, the gross national debt was $4.8 trillion. When he left four years later, it was $5.6 trillion, an increase of $800 billion.
To be sure, Gingrich did not single-handedly deepen America's debt, just as he didn't balance any budgets on his own. He was a driving force, along with Democratic President Bill Clinton and figures in both houses of Congress, in the economic setbacks and advancements of that time.
___
ROMNEY: "I spent my life, my career, in the private sector."
THE FACTS: This is true ? except for four years as Massachusetts governor, recent years running for president in the 2008 and 2012 elections, a few years running the Olympics and the time he put into his failed run for a Senate seat in 1994.
In essence, Romney has devoted himself to political endeavors since his successful run for governor in 2002, and has been pursuing the presidency for five years.
A month after his term as governor ended in 2007, he announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. After John McCain defeated him for the nomination, Romney devoted himself to building a political network, helping Republican candidates raise money, and writing a book that set the stage for his second run for president.
Indeed, Romney, who made his fortune as founder of the investment firm Bain Capital, has not held a private-sector job with a regular paycheck for more than a decade.
___
MICHELE BACHMANN: "We have an IAEA report that just recently came out that said literally Iran is within just months of being able to obtain that (a nuclear) weapon."
RON PAUL: "There is no U.N. report that said that. It's totally wrong, what you just said."
Bachmann: "It's the IAEA report."
THE FACTS: As Paul said, the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency does not state that Iran is within months of having nuclear arms. The U.N. agency report does suggest that Iran conducted secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear weapons but did not put a time frame on when Iran might succeed in building a bomb, and it made no final conclusion on Tehran's intent.
Bachmann also erred by arguing that Iran has "stated they will use it (a nuclear weapon) against the United States."
Iran vehemently rejects that it is developing a nuclear bomb, let alone that it plans to drop one on the U.S.
___
ROMNEY: "I'm firmly in support of people not being discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation. At the same time, I oppose same-sex marriage. That's been my position from the beginning."
THE FACTS: In large measure, Romney has been consistent in those two positions, despite accusations of flip-flopping on gay rights.
He walked a fine line back in his failed 1994 Senate campaign, vowing to fight for equality but stopping short of endorsing gay marriage. That's the same line he walked Thursday night.
He has changed, though, on whether gay marriage should be addressed at the state or federal level. He has favored a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage at least since the beginning of his 2008 presidential bid, when he was the only major Republican candidate to do so. In 1994, he had said the matter should be decided by individual states. That was before the idea of a constitutional ban had gained traction in politics.
___
BACHMANN: "After the debates that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true."
THE FACTS: False.
For the second debate in a row, Gingrich complained that Bachmann wasn't getting her facts straight, this time when she went after him for the big money he made from Freddie Mac. In her own defense, Bachmann cited ratings from PolitiFact, a fact-checking organization that ranks statements on a scale from true to false, with the worst offender being "Pants on Fire" false.
PolitiFact rated two Bachmann statements from last week's debate. One, claiming Gingrich once believed in an individual health care mandate, was ranked mostly true. The other, that Romney introduced "socialized medicine" in his state, was judged "Pants on Fire" false.
Indeed, Bachmann has the worst record of accuracy in the Republican field, as rated by that organization and traced by others. Fully 73 percent of her statements checked by PolitiFact were judged mostly false or worse. Gingrich was wrong the next most often, 59 percent of the time.
___
Associated Press writers Steve Peoples, Bradley Klapper, Douglass K. Daniel and Jim Drinkard contributed to this report.
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Friday 16 December 2011
Come On, Microsoft: Siri Is Making You Look Terrible
Last week, Microsoft overhauled the Xbox 360. The update brought dozens of new features, but there was one I was particularly excited about: when paired with a Kinect, the new interface was said to pack voice recognition support pretty much everywhere. As I noted in my initial Kinect review well over a year ago, the Kinect's voice system was the one bit I found particularly disappointing. After finally seeing someone do something right with voice with Siri, the idea that the 360 might be getting a wonderful voice interface had me beyond excited. Alas, it still sucks.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/lM2pxMZv-6U/
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Dan Greenshields: Responsible Holiday Spending
The holiday shopping season is in full swing. Millions of Americans are searching for that perfect gift for that special someone. But in the rush to pass along some of that good cheer, remember: enjoying the holidays doesn't require financial recklessness.
While often that may be a lesson that goes unheeded, this year, according to a recent ING Direct survey, Americans seem to have learned the pitfalls of piling up credit card debt. About three-quarters say they plan on using cash or debit cards to pay for holiday gifts instead of using credit cards.
So rather than breaking the bank and racking up credit card debt, the survey found that more than one-third of Americans say they are able to pay off holiday debt in one month or less, and just over one in 10 say it will take them more than two months to pay the holiday bills.
With continued economic turmoil cutting heavily into the income of average Americans, 2011 is the holiday season to be a smart shopper and budget-conscious consumer. According to data from the Census Bureau, median household income in this country dropped 6.7 percent between June 2009 and June 2011 -- from $53,518 to $49,909. A key to being a successful shopper with an eye on your bottom line is to recognize the value of long-lasting gifts instead of springing open the wallet on the latest holiday fad.
In response to an increase in spending, businesses are gearing up for a major jump in demand. The National Retail Federation is estimating a stunning $465.6 billion in holiday sales this year -- up 2.8 percent from 2010. Online retail sales alone are expected to jump 15 percent this winter over last and will total nearly $60 billion, according to Forrester Research.
Most ING Direct survey respondents -- 72 percent -- say they plan to spend the same or more than they did in past years. With that in mind, don't get swept up in the blind consumption. Be mindful of what you purchase and for what price. Being responsible doesn't mean going without good holiday cheer -- but it does take a little bit of planning.
For starters, don't rack up credit card debt. It is so tempting to put a big holiday purchase on plastic and promise to pay it off before the next billing cycle. Too often, that just doesn't happen.
Also, consider buying the gift of stock for your kids. It's an excellent way to introduce them to the world of finance. Pick a stock in a company that your child is likely to have an emotional connection to. Then commit to following that stock's performance over the course of 2012.
No matter if the stock price drops or increases, the real value is in familiarizing a young mind with the nature of finance. They're getting an early and fun opportunity to educate themselves in essential concepts like short-term vs. long-term gains, market volatility, etc.
In the long run, that knowledge will be much more valuable than some plastic gizmo they get bored of within a week of ripping off the wrapping paper.
The lack of financial literacy is a real problem among today's young people. One analysis from the non-profit National Jump$tart Coalition found that less than half of high school seniors grasp even basic financial concepts. And young, financially illiterate kids tend to grow into financially reckless adults. No doubt one big contributor to the country's huge debt problem today is that people weren't getting the financial education they needed during their formative years.
You can do your part to ensure that the children in your life don't fall into the ranks of the financially illiterate. Buy them some stock this winter and kick-start a life-long commitment to financial education.
Next, automate your investments and savings right now -- before the real holiday spending surge. If you haven't done so already, fill out the paperwork with your employer to have a preset slice of your salary diverted to your retirement and savings account every pay cycle Do your future self a favor.
And any money you automatically invest could grow by this time next year. Over the long term, stocks will still be a good investment. Instead of racking up more disposable and instantly forgettable holiday treats, you'll be building an asset that can provide financial security for you and your family for decades to come.
You don't need to be a scrooge to retain financial responsibility this holiday season. You can still buy gifts for those you love while making sure you'll be in a strong shape money-wise come January.
Dan Greenshields, CFA, is President of ING DIRECT Investing, a subsidiary of ING Bank, fsb.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-greenshields/responsible-holiday-spend_b_1149673.html
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