Hope Solo: I Was Too Muscular for Dancing With the Stars (omg!)

When Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy were voted off Dancing With the Stars on November 15, the 30-year-old soccer player was so distraught she refused to speak to reporters backstage.

VIDEO: An angry Maks lashes out at the judges

The athlete broke her silence during a Tuesday appearance on Anderson, where Solo told host Anderson Cooper she felt "very naive" during her time on the ABC show.

"It is very much reality television. From day one, they casted our characters," she said.

Though she frequently sparred with Chmerkovskiy, 31, Solo insisted "Maks and I were great friends and we had an endearing relationship."

PHOTOS: DWTS' incredible body makeovers

Solo felt that the three judges -- Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli -- were wary of her from the beginning.

PHOTOS: DWTS' sexiest power couples

"I was told I had too much muscle and I was too intense and wasn't very dainty. Well, hello -- you cast a female professional athlete! Help me get better as a dancer," she said. "There's no hard feelings at all. I understand that it's television."

Tell Us: Did Hope Solo deserve to be sent home on November 15?

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_hope_solo_too_muscular_dancing_stars223015752/43730421/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/hope-solo-too-muscular-dancing-stars-223015752.html

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Christina Patterson: If You Dress Your Child Like a Tart, Don't Worry, You're Not to Blame

If I were a mother, I'm not sure that I'd be rushing to take advice from someone who went back to work seven hours after giving birth.

I think I might think that pushing something the size of a cat out of something that had struggled to accommodate a speculum might earn me at least a few days off. I think I might be a little bit worried when I heard her say that she wanted to be "an excellent role model," and particularly when I heard that she was the head teacher of a school for girls.

"Most women," said Helen Wright last year, after giving birth in the early morning, and being back at her desk by lunch, "have a choice of taking maternity leave or going back to work and having their babies looked after. Why," she asked, "can't there be a third way -- taking your baby to work with you?"

Well, why indeed? Apart, perhaps, from the fact that it might get in the way of the photocopier, and the fact that it's quite hard to tap away at a computer when you've got a small human being hanging from your chest. And, perhaps, the fact that the other 150 people who share your office don't mind the odd phone call, but aren't all that keen on primal screams.

If I had a daughter at her school (which I probably wouldn't, because it costs nearly ?30,000 a year) and had to choose between that and a home, I think I'd worry that she might grow up with the kind of expectations you give children at state primary schools when they come last in the egg and spoon race but still get a gold star. But I think I'd find it hard to disagree with the comment Helen Wright made at a conference for the Girls' School Association earlier this week, that when little girls wear "Future WAG" T-shirts, and make-up, and high heels, there's "something intensely wrong."

Parents, she said, aren't to blame. Schools, she said, had "a key role to play" in providing guidance. "We need to take away," she said, "the stigma for parents that they have to know everything."

If I were a parent, I think I'd be pleased to be told that I wasn't to blame, and that someone else should take away the "stigma" of anything that anyone thought I'd done wrong. If, for example, like the parents of some of the children at schools near me, I didn't bother to teach my child how to put its shoes on, or how to eat at a table, or how to use a sentence without using the word "fuck," and if I sent it to school without breakfast, or lunch, and didn't give it tea when it got home, I think I'd be quite pleased that the school didn't think that it was up to me to do "everything."

And if my child wasn't reading all that well, I might, like some parents who were quoted in the Evening Standard this week, quite like to stand at the school gates, and talk to the other parents about how the school was letting my child down. I might like to talk, for example, about how the children should be getting more homework, and how the teachers should be doing a better job.

But if I were a teacher, I think I might feel that if you'd gone to all the trouble of pushing something the size of a cat out of something that used to struggle with a speculum, then it wouldn't kill you to give it a couple of pieces of toast, and maybe a couple of fish fingers when it got home. And if I were a teacher at the school mentioned in the Standard this week, and was trying to teach a class where 80 percent of the students didn't speak English at home, I think I might also feel that it wouldn't kill the parents to swap a few minutes of The X Factor for, say, a few pages of The Gruffalo.

And if I saw the children I was teaching wearing T-shirts saying things like, "So many boys, so little time," and maybe even, through the T-shirt, a padded pink bra, I think I might wonder if parents needed a Ph.D. to know that it wasn't a great idea to buy their small daughters clothes that made them look as though they wanted to be paid for sex. I think I might even wonder why the bloody hell these people had bothered to push the cat-sized thing out of the thing that used to struggle with a speculum if they didn't want to feed it, or talk to it, or read to it, or dress it in relatively normal clothes.

But if I were a teacher and saw the child dressed as a prostitute, and could see that it was quite likely to end up as a teenage mother, since the U.K. has more of them than anywhere in Europe, and that the teenage mother might also not be keen on making toast or heating fish fingers, which would just create a cycle that would go on for ever, I think I might well feel that even though I didn't become a teacher in order to become an effing social worker, I didn't really have a choice.

I think I might feel that I'd better teach the child about toast and fish fingers, too, and hope that the government goes ahead with its plans to run courses in toast and fish fingers for grown-ups (which it's calling courses in "parenting") so that a few more people in this country could learn that if you want to have a child, you might also want to think about whether you actually want to bring it up.

?

Follow Christina Patterson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/queenchristina_

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-patterson/if-you-dress-your-child-l_b_1114852.html

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Egypt activists to step up protests

CAIRO?? Activists vowed to crank up pressure on Egypt's generals on Friday, a day after a court ordered the release of three American students arrested during the unrest in Cairo.

Demonstrators plan an overwhelming show of people power to cap almost a week of protests against army rule that have left 41 people dead.

State media said the army leaders picked a political veteran in his late 70s to form a national salvation government, a choice that was quickly snubbed by many of the young activists who have led the demonstrations in Tahrir Square.

Kamal Ganzouri agreed in principle to lead the new government after meeting the head of the military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the website of state newspaper Al Ahram reported, citing sources close to Ganzouri.

As talk of a Ganzouri appointment filtered through the crowds thronging Tahrir on Thursday night, discussion quickly focused on his age.

"Ganzouri is no good for this transitional period, which needs youth leaders not grandparents," said student Maha Abdullah.

Freedom ordered for US students
Meantime, freedom was expected for three Americans who attend the American University in Cairo. Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student, Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student, and Gregory Porter, a 19-year-old Drexel University student, were arrested on Sunday on the American University roof near Tahrir Square where they were allegedly throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

Attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, from a Philadelphia suburb, said his client remained in custody at a police station as of Thursday afternoon Eastern time.

Video: Protesters throw stones, conflict grows in Cairo (on this page)

But Simon said he was able to speak by phone with Porter, describing the student's demeanor as "calm and measured, demonstrating a maturity well beyond his 19 years."

"He was extremely thankful and appreciative for our efforts and the unconditional support of his mother and father," Simon said.

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Sweeney's mother, Joy Sweeney, said she is "absolutely elated" at the news of her 19-year-old son's release.

"I can't wait to give him a huge hug and tell him how much I love him," she said, adding that the news of the court order was the best Thanksgiving gift.

Meanwhile an American film maker and journalist was arrested by Egyptian police while documenting clashes in Tahrir Square, she told a colleague by phone.

Karim Amer, the producer for Jehane Nojaim ? an award-winning film maker of Egyptian ancestry who is best-known for her al-Jazeera TV documentary "Control Room" ? said Nojaim was detained and her camera was confiscated.

Amer said he was separated from her after they both fled from tear gas.

Egyptian-American columnist and activist Mona Eltahawy, who regularly appears on news channels as a self-described "speaker on Arab and Muslim issues" was also reportedly arrested in Cairo.

"Beaten arrested in interior ministry," she posted on her Twitter account overnight.

She tweeted "I AM FREE" at about 5:30 a.m. ET, and then sent several messages saying she had been beaten and sexually assaulted, using strong language to condemn the Egyptian police.

She also said her right hand was "so swollen I can't close it." She posted a picture of her hand. She tweeted she was being taken to hospital.

The U.S. Department of State tweeted early Thursday that it was aware of the reports that Nojaim and Elthawy had been arrested and said the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was "engaging authorities."

Military apologizes
Egypt's military also issued a statement on Thursday apologizing for the loss of life and vowing to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of protesters in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square and elsewhere in the country.

Slideshow: Violent clashes in Egypt (on this page)

Army troops have used metal bars and barbed wire to build barricades to separate the protesters and the police on side streets leading from Tahrir to the nearby Interior Ministry. Most of the fighting has been taking place on those side streets.

A truce came into force around 6 a.m. and was still holding late Thursday.

In a communique, protesters called the million-man march on "the Friday of the last chance" for the army to hand over power.

The Egyptian Independent Trade Union Federation called for a workers' march to Tahrir. Another labor rights group called for a general strike to back the protests. Labour unions played an important role in the movement that toppled Mubarak.

Supporters of the army council had said they would hold a rally to back the military. In a statement on its Facebook page, the army council said it was "appealing to them to cancel the demonstration," saying it wanted to avoid divisions.

Suspicion that the army will continue to wield power behind an elected civilian administration has grown in recent weeks as the government and political parties tussled over the shape of a new constitution.

The military council originally promised to return to barracks within six months of the fall of Mubarak, but then set a timetable for elections and drawing up the constitution that would have left it in power until late next year or early 2013.

The Associated Press, Reuters and NBC News contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45426434/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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World stocks fall on Europe debt crisis impasse (AP)

BANGKOK ? World stock markets were mostly lower Friday after Germany continued to oppose a bigger role for the European Central Bank in managing the continent's debt crisis and Portugal's credit rating was lowered to junk.

Benchmark crude clung just above $96 a barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and was steady against the yen.

European shares were mixed in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,106.36 while Germany's DAX was 0.2 percent higher at 5,434.49/ France's CAC-40 rose 0.1 percent to 2,825.28.

Wall Street was headed for a lower opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures falling 0.2 percent to 11,209 while S&P 500 futures lost 0.2 percent to 1,157.30.

In Asia, trading was sluggish following a public holiday that closed markets in the U.S. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed marginally down at 8,160.01 while South Korea's Kospi lost 1 percent at 1,776.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.4 percent to 17,689.48 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.5 percent at 3,984.30.

In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent to 2,380.22, its lowest closing level in a month.

Investment sentiment waned after a meeting Thursday in Strasbourg, France of the leaders of the three biggest euro economies: Italian Premier Mario Monti, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The three leaders pledged to push for changes to European Union treaties to bring the fiscal policies of countries using the euro common currency more in line with each other.

But many investors were hoping Merkel might drop her steadfast opposition to a greater role for the European Central Bank or the creation of a eurobond that would pool the debts of all countries in the currency union. Some experts believe the ECB is the only institution capable of getting Europe past its debt crisis.

Piled onto the disappointment from the Strasbourg summit was a debt demotion for Portugal.

Fitch Ratings, citing Portugal's large fiscal imbalances, its high indebtedness across all sectors and an adverse macroeconomic outlook, reduced the country's credit rating to BB+. That means Portugal is considered non-investment grade by Fitch, making it even more difficult for the struggling country to return to the bond markets.

Adding to the pain was Hungary, which was downgraded to junk by Moody's Investors Service late Thursday.

Analysts said many investors have concluded that Europe is likely headed for a slowdown or recession ? or even a breakup of the currency union ? given the inability so far to map out a plan for saving countries that are at risk of default because of unsustainable debt levels.

Such an event could engulf major banks and freeze credit markets in a similar fashion to the global financial paralysis after Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.

"Are we going to see a breakup of the euro or not? The comments and the downgrades overnight continue to worry investors," said Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray in Hong Kong.

"The inability to resolve the debt crisis and come out with a workable solution ? people have the obvious worry of what that will do to bond yields," Sullivan said. "This is a debt problem, and this is going to cost money to resolve."

Chinese banking shares sank following a day of gains based on speculation ? later denied by the government ? that the central bank was aiming to ease its tight monetary policy. Hong Kong-listed Agricultural Bank of China fell 2.9 percent and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank by market value, lost 1.4 percent.

Building materials and oil shares, which are closely tied to economic growth, fell as worries brewed about a global slowdown. Hong Kong-listed China National Building Material Co. fell 5.8 percent and China Coal Energy lost 5.3 percent. Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. plunged 5.8 percent.

Tokyo-based camera and medical equipment company Olympus Corp. soared 8.6 percent. It earlier announced the resignations of three board members in an unfolding scandal involving a $687 million payment to an obscure Wall Street firm for financial advice and expensive acquisitions that were used to cover up investment losses dating to the 1990s.

In the U.S., where markets were closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, traders were bracing for a crucial test of the world's No. 1 economy ? so-called Black Friday, the day that kicks off the holiday shopping season. How well retailers do will have consequences for the still-fragile U.S. economic recovery.

The November-December period accounts for 25 percent to 40 percent of annual sales. About a quarter of jobs in the U.S. are directly or indirectly supported by the retail industry.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 2 cents at $96.11 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract last settled on Wednesday in New York at $96.17, down $1.84.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3303 from $1.3326 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar was unchanged at 77.35 yen.

___

AP researcher Fu Ting contributed from Shanghai.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_re_as/world_markets

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On Thanksgiving, space station astronauts don't have to watch their weight

The Thanksgiving menu for astronauts aboard the International Space Station includes turkey, yams, and cherry-blueberry cobbler, all served up ? or is it down? ? in a microgravity environment.?

A light Thanksgiving dinner doesn't necessarily mean skimping on the turkey or stuffing, not even aboard the International Space Station. The three crew members, who arrived just in time to spend a weightless holiday in orbit, will enjoy a feast of irradiated smoked turkey and heat-treated yams while floating 220 miles (354 kilometers) above Earth tomorrow (Nov. 24).

Skip to next paragraph

The?weightless feast?will include traditional favorites with a space-y twist, such as NASA's own cornbread dressing, home-style potatoes, cranberries, and for dessert ? drum roll! ? cherry-blueberry cobbler, served in a space pouch.

Around the table will be NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. The trio arrived at the space station Tuesday (Nov. 22), and they are scheduled to live and work aboard the outpost until March. Their time will be spent conducting experiments and preparing for the arrival of new commercial cargo-carrying spacecraft.

Burbank recently described the crew's Thanksgiving plans in a NASA holiday video message, with Burbank catching floating food packages as he gave Earthlings a rundown of the Thursday menu. [A Gallery of Space Food]

The one important missing ingredient? Family.

"We're going to be missing the family and friends back home; we're going to hopefully get a chance to talk to them," Burbank said.

Even so, the astronaut has a lot on his gratitude list.

"We're going to enjoy some great food, we're going to enjoy?a view of planet Earth from here, we're going to be real thankful for the opportunity that we have to fly aboard this magnificent space station, and we're going to be thankful for the love and support of all the folks that we have back home," Burbank said.

Even though the crew members won't be able to bow their heads in thanks with their families and friends, the feast will provide a reminder of home. "The food we eat in space tastes very much like the food we enjoy on Earth," a former space station occupant, NASA astronaut Clay Anderson, said from the ground.

The trickiest part of preparing a space Thanksgiving meal has to do with shelf life: Without any food refrigerators or freezers on the space station, food must last in room temperature for long periods of time, said NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris, manager of the space station's food system. That's why they freeze-dry and thermostabilize the foods. Thermostabilizing involves pre-heating the food to kill bacteria.

Outdoing a meal with family and friends may be difficult, but the space station has something Grandma's house doesn't, and that's microgravity.

"It's totally legal to play with your food in outer space," Anderson told SPACE.com, adding that astronauts can spin the floating food on their spoon, which is "great fun." And Anderson would know. He spent 152 days living aboard the station in 2007, returning to the outpost in 2010 as a member of space shuttle mission STS-131.

During his stays, he said, he ate all of the foods being served at Thanksgiving, though he wasn't on the station for turkey day or?Christmas in space.

The astronauts may wind up in the same?turkey coma?as people on Earth. Anderson said that even in microgravity it's tempting to stuff yourself. "I ate like a pig when I was there," he said, "and I still lost weight."

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcomand on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/hm-Q7z3ccvc/On-Thanksgiving-space-station-astronauts-don-t-have-to-watch-their-weight

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Soft, Scrunchable Map Is Kid-Friendly, Kid-Proof

You can take kids with you on vacation, but I imagine it must be pretty exhausting to drag the young’uns around the streets of Amsterdam or Paris all day long. So why not give junior their own map, so they can follow along with your touristic meanderings?
The Crumpled City Junior is just that — a [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/JQIQzNwnHAw/

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AP Interview: Gorbachev supports Egypt protests (AP)

BERLIN ? Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms emphasizing change and openness helped lead to the fall of Communism, said Tuesday he sees today's protests in Egypt as "well-grounded and of vital importance."

"I am on the protesters' side," the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner told The Associated Press.

The comments came during the third straight day of violent clashes in Cairo between protesters and security forces. Demonstrators are calling for a "second revolution" to force out the generals who have failed to stabilize the country, salvage the economy or bring democracy since the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.

More broadly, Gorbachev said that leaders across the Arab world are now faced with rising calls for democracy because they have been in power for too long, and have created situations where people's voices have not been not heard.

"It's clear no one provoked them, that this conflict appeared out of the blue," Gorbachev said of the demonstrators. "Things were building up, and it all means that democracy ? they way they had it ? did not really work."

He said, however, that there was not any one-size-fits-all solution for the region.

"I don't think there will be a single model for all (the protests) developing in those countries..." he said. "Each country has its own history, culture, experience ? you can't ignore that."

Gorbachev, whose policies of perestroika and glasnost brought the democratic changes that led ? against his will ? to the 1991 Soviet collapse, was in Berlin to announce that the city would host the 2012 awards that bear his name.

The Mikhail Gorbachev Award, which is given to people who bring change to the world, will this year focus on addressing the sustainability of the world's megacities and be presented in March.

He said Russian democracy is now facing a problem with Vladimir Putin, who served two terms as president before becoming prime minister. He is running again for the presidency in the country's upcoming March election and seems certain to be returned to office.

"No matter how it formally fits the constitution, it essentially discredits democratic principles," Gorbachev said.

He said that Russia is still "very far from becoming a country with a developed, rooted democracy" and what is needed is for leaders who truly represent the people to be elected, versus those who "act based on corporate ideas and interests."

"If a true democracy (emerges) in Russia, people who enjoy respect will come to power," he said. "People who can play the role of leaders, and who can defend and express the interests of the people."

He cautioned, however, that day may still be some time in coming.

"Russia is in the middle of its way to sustainable and effective democracy," he said. "Churchill was right by saying that democracy is not the best form of government, but the rest of them are even worse."

___

Associated Press Writer Mansur Mirovalev contributed to this report from Moscow.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_gorbachev

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11 Uncomfortable Facts About How IQ Affects Your Life

We'd like to think that IQ isn't the determining factor for success in life.

But psychology professors David Hambrick and Elizabeth Meinz recently wrote an Op-Ed for The New York Times, "Sorry Strivers, Talent Matters," where they cite a few scientific studies that point to innate talent ? not practice ? as what separates the good from the great.

This is a bummer for many of us who want to believe that putting in the work will yield successful results. And not to say it doesn't: it just can't compete with outright intelligence.

Another unpopular idea is that of intelligence quotient (IQ) tests being an accurate barometer of a person's smarts (the Op-Ed also points out that SAT tests are pretty good measures of IQ).This all goes against recent thinking on the subject ? including Malcolm Gladwell's thesis in Outliers, which says that hard work is a key predictor of one's success.

As it turns out, many factors throughout our lives affect our IQ scores ? and conversely, our IQ scores can greatly affect the outcome of our lives.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-you-dont-want-to-know-iq-2011-11

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Analysis: Gingrich gambles in bid to catch Romney

Republican presidential candidates former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talk with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a Republican presidential debate in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidates former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talk with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a Republican presidential debate in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a Republican presidential debate in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney answers a question during a Republican presidential debate in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Newt Gingrich, a political gambler his whole life, is banking on unorthodox stands on immigration, Social Security and other issues to propel him past Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential contest.

In a few weeks, GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will show whether they think the best person to challenge President Barack Obama is a comparative stranger to Washington politics or a contentious and sometimes cantankerous veteran of decades of inside-the-Beltway battles.

Gingrich, 68, may be the most familiar of the eight Republican candidates. But he has never been a play-it-safe politician. He has a long career of highs and lows to prove it.

Romney, meanwhile, is sticking with his run-out-the-clock strategy. He's adhering to GOP orthodoxy on immigration, not making too much noise about Social Security, and focusing his criticisms on Obama.

His strategy has kept him fairly steady in the polls for months while others ? notably Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businessman Herman Cain ? have risen and fallen. Now it's Gingrich, the history-quoting former House speaker, with a chance to prove he's the Romney alternative who can rally and inspire Republican voters.

With time running short, he's drawing attention to himself with a familiar mix of big ideas, huge confidence and occasional bombast.

Gingrich highlighted his break with traditional GOP thinking on immigration Tuesday in a televised debate, stepping into a touchy area that tripped up Perry earlier this year. Gingrich said he favors pathways to legal status for illegal immigrants who have lived peaceful, law-abiding, tax-paying lives in the United States for many years.

"I don't see how the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families which have been here a quarter-century," Gingrich said in the forum, televised on CNN. "I'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law."

That spells amnesty to some critics of illegal immigration. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and the GOP establishment's favorite, was among those who refused to play along. Any type of pathway to legal status is a magnet for more unlawful crossings from Mexico, Romney said.

Immigration has vexed U.S. politicians for years. Many analysts say Republicans risk angering the fast-growing Hispanic population by showing little sympathy for the millions of illegal residents already here.

Gingrich, like fellow Republicans John McCain and George W. Bush, has supported more lenient immigration policies in the past. On Tuesday he chose to portray his record as humane and courageous. In coming days, GOP insiders will watch to see if voter reaction mirrors the rebuke that Perry suffered for saying people are heartless if they don't support his policy of granting in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants.

"Newt did himself significant harm tonight on immigration among caucus and primary voters," said Tim Albrecht, deputy chief of staff to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, on Twitter.

Pushing new ideas for conservative governance and congressional reform, Gingrich led the 1994 Republican revolution that put his party in control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Four years later, after overreaching in his battles with President Bill Clinton and even some fellow Republicans, Gingrich was dumped from leadership. He soon left Congress.

Since then he has lectured, written books, made documentaries and earned millions of dollars as a consultant to organizations, including Freddie Mac, a backer of thousands of home mortgages.

Eyeballs sometimes roll when Gingrich cites his books, college degrees and big-thinking proclivities. But he's rarely dull. On Tuesday he detailed why he thinks the United States should follow Chile's model of making Social Security accounts private for workers.

"It has increased the economy, increased the growth of jobs, increased the amount of wealth, and it dramatically solves Social Security without a payment cut and without having to hurt anybody," Gingrich said.

Cain, who struggled to break through in Tuesday's foreign-policy-focused debate, also has hailed the Chilean model, but in less detail than Gingrich.

Reviews from Chileans are more mixed than Gingrich suggests. But any talk of privatizing Social Security runs risks in this country. That's especially true in general elections, when Democrats and independents vote.

Americans soundly rejected Bush's bid to partly privatize the government retirement program just after his 2004 reelection as president. Many Republicans have avoided the subject ever since, or at least addressed it more gently than Gingrich.

Gingrich also has criticized abortion with greater emphasis and detail than some of his rivals. He supports a national "personhood amendment," which would define life as beginning at conception. It would effectively ban all abortions and some forms of birth control. Mississippi voters resoundingly rejected a similar measure in a state referendum this month.

Romney once supported legalized abortion but now opposes it. He says a future Supreme Court should overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that barred states from outlawing abortion.

Romney took few chances in Tuesday's debate. He is all but ignoring his GOP rivals as he sharpens his attacks on Obama. His campaign drew fire Tuesday for a new TV ad that quotes Obama out of context in a 2008 speech about the economy.

The CNN debate offered significant TV time for Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. But few veterans of Republican campaigns give them a chance to win the nomination.

Gingrich, for now, seems to have the best chance to derail Romney, but his history of groundbreaking political achievements and stark blunders leaves some GOP insiders unwilling to predict the results.

Republican campaign consultant Matt Mackowiak said Gingrich "made his view on immigration more persuasively than Perry had previously." But Gingrich will suffer if it "can be construed as amnesty," he said.

"Gingrich's mouth got him back into the race," Mackowiak said. "And it very well might take him right back out."

---

Charles Babington covers politics for the Associated Press.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-11-23-GOP%20Debate-Analysis/id-537579ec84404663b1c1f5c14b64c41b

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Best- and Worst-Dressed at the American Music Awards!

See who looked fabulous (Taylor Swift!) and who fell flat (Nicki Minaj!) at the star-studded event

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/best-and-worst-dressed-american-music-awards/1-b-404496?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Abest-and-worst-dressed-american-music-awards-404496

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Pope to African leaders: Do not deprive people (AP)

COTONOU, Benin ? Pope Benedict XVI has made an impassioned plea to Africa's leaders to stop depriving their people of hope.

The pope made his comments during a meeting Saturday with the ruling elite of Benin, a country that has provided a rare example of functioning democracy in the region.

"From this place, I launch an appeal to all political and economic leaders of African countries," Benedict said. "Do not deprive your people of hope. Do not cut them off from their future by mutilating their present. Adopt a courageous, ethical approach to your responsibilities."

The highlight of the pope's 3-day visit is the unveiling of a document outlining the role of the church in Africa ? planned for later Saturday. The thrust of the document explains how church doctrine can be used to address the continent's ills.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111119/ap_on_re_af/af_benin_pope

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Video: Super Committee Stalemate

With just five days left to reach a deal, Democrats in the Super Committee rejected another deficit-cutting plan, with Rep. Robert Andrews, (D-NJ), and Sen. David Vitter, (R-LA). Steve Moore, "Return to Prosperity" author, also weighs in.

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Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

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Good news from The Tide (hamptonroads)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Google launches music service (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Google Inc has turned on the music at its new online store, aiming to wrest the lead from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc in audio entertainment distribution despite the absence of a major record label.

Google Music, with more 13 million songs, will be integrated with Android Market, the company's online store for smartphone apps and videos as it plays catch-up with its rivals. Apple, Amazon and Facebook have to varying degrees integrated music into their core online and mobile products.

Google Music will allow the Web search leader to do the same by letting consumers access music from various Internet-connected devices and easily share tracks with friends.

But analysts said the lack of soundtracks from Warner Music - a major label whose artists include Led Zeppelin and Prince, among others - will limit the appeal of Google Music.

"They've got to get that catalog filled pretty quickly," said Mike McGuire, an analyst at industry research firm Gartner. "It's a launch, but it's kind of like a work-in-progress."

Google Music was unveiled at a splashy event at the Mr. Brainwash Studios in Hollywood, California on Wednesday.

Google has negotiated U.S. deals with three of the four major music companies: Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group; Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment; and EMI. It has also signed deals with the increasingly influential independent label group Merlin and London-based Beggar's Banquet label group, home to the year's biggest selling artist, Adele.

Analysts say selling online music is unlikely to provide much of a lift to Google's revenue. But they say Google needs to be in the market to ensure that its Android-based mobile efforts can match offerings from competitors.

Android is the world's No. 1 smartphone operating system, powering about 200 million devices worldwide. But without a music service, Android-based smartphones and tablets may not be as attractive to consumers seeking a product that offers a seamless media experience.

And with music storage increasingly moving to remote Internet servers in "the cloud" rather than on the device itself, companies like Google and Apple have a way to keep users locked in to their respective mobile services, said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

"Everyone is using music and media as a jail. Ultimately, this stuff is going to be stored in the cloud and it becomes harder and harder to switch systems," he said.

To help jump-start the new music store, Google said it will offer one free song for consumers to download every day.

Google will also allow consumers to share purchased songs with friends on the Google+ social network. The feature will give users of Google+ a "free, full-play" of songs purchased by their friends.

"Recommendations from friends are the single most important way that people discover music and we think that this feature has the potential to really transform purchasing behavior," said Zahavah Levine, Google's director of content partnerships for Android, at Wednesday's event.

Music executives said that even though sales have struggled in recent years, music usage has never been more popular on different types of formats like social networks and mobile devices.

Facebook, the world's largest social network, unveiled a tab in September through which music services like Spotify, Rdio and MOG enable Facebook users to share music. Amazon has also long been a major music retailer and has a music locker service

Earlier this year, Google unveiled the Google Music beta, which allowed users to upload their music to Google servers, and access the music from multiple devices.

Shares of Google, which finished Wednesday's regular session at $611.47, were up 72 cents in after-hours trading.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Yinka Adegoke in New York and Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Bernard Orr and Richard Chang)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111117/en_nm/us_google_music

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Sudan turns to oil, China, and food exports to ease economic crisis

Sudan was suffering economically even before it lost South Sudan, and now the economic climate is worse. President Bashir is pushing oil and food production ? and reaching out to China ? to fix the situation.

Even before South Sudan became independent in July of this year, (North) Sudan was suffering from high inflation and other economic woes. Inflation rates?began to climb?in the winter of 2010-2011 (.pdf, see figure 6), driven in part by rising costs for staple foods. The loss of the South (which produced around 75 percent of the unified Sudan?s oil) compounded?Sudan?s economic problems, and inflation has remained high (around 20 percent), though it?fell slightly in October. Continued violence and uncertainty in?border areas?and in Darfur has no doubt added to economic volatility.

Skip to next paragraph

In July, the government in?Khartoum announced austerity measures?and launched a three-year economic recovery program. Now Khartoum is taking at least three more steps to address the economic crisis:

1. Boosting oil production?from the current level of around 117,000 barrels per day to 180,000 bpd in 2012
2. Upping its food exports
3. Maintaining and?deepening?its relationship with China

Khartoum?s political problems, especially the issues connected to its relations with the newly independent South Sudan, are central concerns for the government. But the economic crisis has huge domestic importance, and the course of Sudan?s internal politics in 2012 could be strongly affected by the success or failure of the measures listed above.

? Alex Thurston is a PhD student studying Islam in Africa at Northwestern University and blogs at Sahel Blog.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of Africa bloggers. 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.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/E00f5SnJ7-s/Sudan-turns-to-oil-China-and-food-exports-to-ease-economic-crisis

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Video: ASPCA honors animal (and human) heroes

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29054368/vp/45339655#45339655

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Diddy is recovering at home after undergoing shoulder surgery today

The rapper has assured fans he’s doing well following the procedure, but admits the pain he’s experiencing is like being “shot” in the arm. In a post on his Twitter.com page, he writes, “Had shoulder surgery yesterday-at home recovering-feels like Ive been shot in my arm & have to wear a sling but I’m ok! [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/diddy-is-recovering-at-home-after-undergoing-shoulder-surgery-today/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diddy-is-recovering-at-home-after-undergoing-shoulder-surgery-today

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Video: SNL spoofs Perry?s ?oops? moment

Defibrillator 'upgrade' apparently a dud

Just over a decade ago, hospitals around the country began spending millions of dollars to buy automated defibrillators to save the lives of more patients who go into sudden cardiac arrest. But today the costly equipment switchover increasingly seems to have been a mistake.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45294778#45294778

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[OOC]Gantz: Vampire Info Board

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Gantz: Phase Two?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
Head Quarters:
Shinjuku Host Club

Intro:
The "vampires" are enemies of the Gantz game's participants, whom they refer to as "Hunters". They have worked with aliens to attack the hunters during missions, and have also attacked the some of the hunters outside of missions. The vampires are a result of numerous nanomachines within the human body, giving them super-human reflexes and strength.

-They have special sunglasses and contact lenses to see hunters in stealth mode.
-They can spawn weapons from their bodies.
-Vampires are able to survive on a regular human diet, but get weaker and have a bat-wings-shaped eczema on their back if no human blood is consumed.
-The UV radiation found in sunlight is lethal to the vampires, though some take some special medicine that makes them immune.

Equipment:
Keep it to handguns and close range melee weapons. (swords, axes etc.)
They usually where suits or some type of dress clothes.

Character Sheet:

Faction:
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Race(ethnicity):
Appearance: (Pictures anime or real/ not required for killable character.)
Height-
Weight-
Build-
Eye color-
Hair color-
Personality:
Sexual Orientation: (gay, straight, bi, ambiguous, secret)
My Occupation: (Be specific. Where do you work?What do you do? What's your major? etc)
Home: (Please place Home State or other Country if Not a Japanese citizen, *optional: Please add city/town name)
Back-story: (This is not required to be filled out if its for Killable character.)
Main or Killable:
Equipment: (Use the equipment hotlink)

CherrySwirl

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Amazon: Actress lawsuit over age revelation bogus

SEATTLE (AP) ? Frivolous and selfish is how lawyers for Amazon.com Inc. describe a lawsuit brought by an actress upset that her advanced age ? 40 ? was revealed on an Internet database.

The company, along with its Internet Movie Database, asked a federal judge last week to dismiss the million-dollar complaint brought by the woman, who identified herself only as Jane Doe, a Texas resident of Asian descent.

The woman claimed that soon after she signed up for a subscription service called IMDb Pro, her birthdate appeared on her profile on the database ? and her offers for roles dropped sharply. She alleged that Amazon and IMDb had used her credit card information to glean her birthdate, which she had always tried to keep a secret because she looks so much younger than she is.

The case prompted discussions about ageism in Hollywood ? as well as rampant online speculation about who the actress might be. But in its two motions to dismiss the case, Amazon and IMDb argued that it's about something else: "the perpetration of fraud."

"Plaintiff's attempt to manipulate the federal court system so she can censor IMDb.com's display of her birthdate and pretend to the world that she is not 40 years old is selfish, contrary to the public interest and a frivolous abuse of this court's resources," they wrote.

Her failure to identify herself in the complaint without first seeking the court's permission violated court rules, they said, and although they believe they know who she is, they're not entirely sure. Furthermore, they argued, when customers subscribe to IMDb Pro, they agree to a privacy policy which makes clear that the database can keep and use certain personal information.

"Even if IMDb.com used plaintiff's name, address or zip code from her credit card subscription to locate her birthdate, such use is consistent with the subscriber agreement and privacy policy," they wrote.

The actress claimed that she had always been careful about keeping her given name and birthdate confidential. As an unknown, she used an Americanized stage name in 2003 when she first listed herself on imdb.com, a listing which she said brought her several jobs, and her real name was not publicly known, she said.

"If one is perceived to be 'over-the-hill,' i.e., approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress, such as the plaintiff, to get work as she is thought to have less of an 'upside,'" her claim said.

She argued that she never consented to having the personal information she provided used for anything but the commercial transaction. IMDb refused to remove the reference to the woman's age from her profile when asked, the lawsuit said.

IMDb agreed that it had refused to remove her birthdate ? and noted in asking the judge to dismiss the case that the actress had also requested that the company falsify her age on the website.

The actress is seeking $1 million or more in punitive damages as well as $75,000 or more in compensatory damages. She accuses Amazon and IMDb of breach of contract, fraud and violation of privacy and consumer protection laws.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-11-14-US-Amazon-Actress-Age/id-cf16a0467e854bae96a0294abe79dfeb

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ClarityOne Earbuds

ClarityOne Earbuds are the company's first product. Technically, though, the name is a misnomer. The Earbuds are actually earphones that seal off your ear canal, not earbuds, which are flat and don't enter the canal. We'll let it slide because the $129.99 (direct) Earbuds offer crisp highs and a solid low frequency response. At maximum volume, however, that response is challenged on deep bass tracks, distorting just slightly. The built-in iPhone controls use an older design than most current competitors and thus lack dedicated menu and track navigation buttons. The high quality of the audio performance is reason enough to consider the ClarityOne Earbuds, but in this general price range, there are other solid options with fewer limitations.

Design
With an attractive, clean design, the ClarityOne Earbuds are metallic-colored, with semi-transparent silicon ear tips that offer a secure fit. Each cylindrical earpiece features a small ClarityOne logo. The iPhone controls and microphone sit a few inches below the left ear, along the 48-inch cable's transparent housing. A single button controls track navigation and phone calls. A rapid pressing of that button three times skips a track, while holding it down once plays, pauses, or answers a call. It works, but better iPhone controls with dedicated navigation buttons are available these days. The microphone provides intelligible call clarity, however.?The controls also work with some Android and BlackBerry phones, but there's no guarantee from ClarityOne that your specific model is compatible.

A zip-up, hard shell protective case with carabiner ships with the Earbuds. Three pairs of silicon ear tips in various sizes are also included. The earphones fit securely when you remain fairly stationary, but a rigorous run or workout might pull them from your ears, so they're not ideal for the gym.

Performance
On tracks with deep bass, the ClarityOne Earbuds offer a generally strong performance, but is at times inconsistent at high volumes. For instance, The Knife's "Silent Shout" typically separates the strong earphones from the weak, and the Earbuds have no distortion at maximum volume when playing back this challenging song. However, on another track, Thom Yorke's "Cymbal Rush," which has more resonant lows but at different frequencies, the Earbuds do distort at maximum volume. The distortion is not intense, and it only occurs at the unsafe maximum volume level, but it's worth noting because most mid-$100 earphones of high quality will not distort on either track. On instrumental selections, like John Adams's "The Chairman Dances," the mids and highs are crystal clear and never harsh, while the lows of the strings and larger percussion are robust. Excluding the minor distortion issues, this is a great pair of earphones for just about any genre of music.

Yet, the distortion can't be completely ignored when a less expensive option like the excellent Shure SE215 ($119, 4 stars), an Editors' Choice, not only lacks distortion but comes with handy extra features like a detachable, and thus replaceable, cable. For a little more money, but still under $200, another recent Editors' Choice, the Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones ($179.95, 4.5 stars), offers not only wonderful audio performance, but modern iPhone controls with dedicated menu and track navigation buttons and a super-secure fit. If this price range is beyond your budget, there is hope. While you shouldn't expect the same level of sonic performance, the significantly less-expensive AKG K 350 ($79.95. 4 stars) comes with full iPhone controls and a generally pleasing audio performance. For a debut, the ClarityOne Earbuds are impressive, but better iPhone controls and zero distortion would make them a more-appealing option. Regardless, if audio is your number one priority and you don't plan on listening to deep bass tracks at maximum volume, this is a pair worthy of your consideration.

More Headphone Reviews:
??? ClarityOne Earbuds
??? Etymotic ETY Kids 5
??? Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset
??? Turtle Beach Ear Force Z6A PC Gaming Headset
??? Tritton AX 180
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/WZxPH8F8Nd4/0,2817,2395936,00.asp

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Berlusconi faces future of legal, business woes (AP)

ROME ? His legacy tarnished and his hopes of clinging to power dashed, Silvio Berlusconi faces daunting legal and financial challenges and the prospect of life outside the international spotlight now that he has left office.

He has vowed he won't run again for office, though few expect he'll abandon Italian politics for good. Berlusconi himself has already said he might help out a campaign here or there because, well, "they've always turned out well for me."

But with Berlusconi's resignation as premier Saturday following months of market turmoil, a political era in Italy closes and the 75-year-old Berlusconi is just a billionaire businessman once again.

"What we are viewing now is not the end of a government, but the end of a system, of a political system," said Massimo Franco, a political analyst for leading daily Corriere Della Sera.

Indeed, Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for the last 17 years, a polarizing figure who served three terms as premier. He held off political opponents and jousted with magistrates pursuing him on corruption and sexual misconduct charges, but was felled by massive international and market pressure.

The media mogul had thrived rubbing shoulders with the powerful, whether vacationing with Russia's Vladimir Putin or getting a taste of Texas ranch life when hosted by then President George W. Bush in a meeting of Iraq war allies.

But seen as an impediment to economic reform, his exit came quickly as Italy was swept up by Europe's debt crisis.

Whether he goes back to running his media empire or even returning to the vacant post as president of his beloved AC Milan soccer team, he faces an unpleasant agenda. Judging from how his media voices are reacting, it won't be a completely quiet exit.

"Stop a Europe of technocrats," clamored a headline in the family newspaper Il Giornale of Italy's presumed new government headed by economist Mario Monti. "This government is a coup."

Berlusconi's resignation will mean he can no longer claim official government business as a reason for missing hearings in his three trials, a tactic that has been used to delay proceedings. His attempt at fashioning a law that would have given him immunity was overturned by the Constitutional Court.

But charges in two Milan trials related to his business dealings will run out due to the statute of limitations early next year ? leaving little peril that the billionaire would face any penalty even if courts can reach a conviction in the first trial. The Italian system allows for two levels of appeal.

Berlusconi is expected to testify before Christmas in his trial on charges of paying British lawyer David Mills to lie for him on the stand in another case. A verdict is expected in late January, but with the statute of limitations set to expire in March, it is impossible that two levels of appeal could be completed to make any verdict final.

Berlusconi has denied the charge, and Mills saw his conviction overturned on appeal.

In the other trial concerning his Mediaset media empire, Berlusconi is charged with tax fraud in the purchase of TV rights. Berlusconi denies the charges, which also expire in the spring.

In Berlusconi's most sensational trial, the 75-year-old is accused of paying for sex with a Moroccan teen ? known by her nickname Ruby Rubacuore, "Ruby the Heartstealer" ? and using his influence to cover it up. No fewer than 22 court dates have been scheduled through May.

A conviction would mean Berlusconi would be permanently barred from public office ? but he has already pledged not to run again and his hopes of one day becoming Italian president were dashed by the sex scandal.

That leaves the billionaire back where he started: running his considerable empire. The economic crisis has made that more challenging.

Shares in Mediaset have lost half of their value since May, as the debt crisis lapped ever more perilously at Italian businesses, and dropped by as much as 10 percent in trading sessions this week as Berlusconi's political future was decided by the markets.

Mediaset ? which is controlled by the family holding company Fininvest and includes private TV stations as well as newspapers and other publications ? dropped from euro4.242 a share in May to euro2.142 on Friday.

"It could be that Berlusconi is very scared by the financial crisis. If you think that Fininvest is 95 percent invested in Italy," said Carlo Guarnieri, a political scientist as the University of Bologna.

Even more dangerous was his loss of a civil suit to rival media group over corruption in the acquisition of the Mondadori publishing empire. A court has ordered him to euro560 million ($800 million) for corrupting a judge.

Alarmed by the amount, Berlusconi went as far as quietly introducing a measure into Italy's austerity budget this summer that would have allowed the company to delay payment until the final appeal, but withdrew it after political opponents raised an outcry.

He can still count on friends in high places to look after his interests: his 41-year-old political heir, Angelo Alfano, now heads his People of Liberties party and he remains its founder.

But Franco, the Corriere della Sera analyst, said Berlusconi's future in the near-term is probably not on Italy's center political stage.

"I think Berlusconi can just survive, maybe with a personal party, but I don't think he is due to rule and lead Italy in the foreseeable future any more," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111113/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_berlusconi_s_future

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New approaches may prevent certain side effects in BRAF mutation-positive melanoma

Public release date: 13-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
215-446-7109
American Association for Cancer Research

SAN FRANCISCO Findings from preclinical studies in a skin cancer model showed that next-generation BRAF inhibitors used alone, or first-generation BRAF inhibitors used in combination with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, may have the potential to prevent drug-induced skin lesions in BRAF mutation-positive patients treated for melanoma.

The studies, presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011, further elucidated the potential mechanism of action underlying this skin lesion side effect, which could further the development of next-generation drugs with improved safety and efficacy profiles for the treatment of BRAF mutation-positive melanoma, according to the researchers.

"Our data suggest that adding an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor may prevent skin lesions that sometimes appear during treatment with a first-generation BRAF inhibitor," said Gideon Bollag, Ph.D., senior vice president of research at Plexxikon in Berkley, Calif. "Perhaps more importantly, our data also suggest that our next-generation BRAF inhibitors (which we call 'paradox breakers') represent a novel, single-agent treatment that may avoid this side effect and may also extend treatment durability."

In a laboratory study, Bollag and colleagues used skin cells activated by oncogenes such as HRAS or by signaling through the EGFR receptor with a first-generation BRAF inhibitor. They observed that treatment led to upregulation of ligands for the family of HER receptors, consequent skin cell transformation and enhanced growth. In contrast, Plexxikon's novel "paradox breakers" did not induce this upregulation and, therefore, may prevent the skin lesion side effect observed for all first-generation BRAF inhibitors to date.

Bollag said he and his research team were initially surprised by the upregulation of growth factor expression but were able to identify its cause with a model system. They then used this model system to differentiate the new "paradox breaker" compounds.

The "paradox breakers," which are in preclinical development, are being studied in BRAF-mutant cancer, and Plexxikon is aiming to file an investigational new drug application in 2012.

###

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr

Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 13-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
215-446-7109
American Association for Cancer Research

SAN FRANCISCO Findings from preclinical studies in a skin cancer model showed that next-generation BRAF inhibitors used alone, or first-generation BRAF inhibitors used in combination with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, may have the potential to prevent drug-induced skin lesions in BRAF mutation-positive patients treated for melanoma.

The studies, presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011, further elucidated the potential mechanism of action underlying this skin lesion side effect, which could further the development of next-generation drugs with improved safety and efficacy profiles for the treatment of BRAF mutation-positive melanoma, according to the researchers.

"Our data suggest that adding an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor may prevent skin lesions that sometimes appear during treatment with a first-generation BRAF inhibitor," said Gideon Bollag, Ph.D., senior vice president of research at Plexxikon in Berkley, Calif. "Perhaps more importantly, our data also suggest that our next-generation BRAF inhibitors (which we call 'paradox breakers') represent a novel, single-agent treatment that may avoid this side effect and may also extend treatment durability."

In a laboratory study, Bollag and colleagues used skin cells activated by oncogenes such as HRAS or by signaling through the EGFR receptor with a first-generation BRAF inhibitor. They observed that treatment led to upregulation of ligands for the family of HER receptors, consequent skin cell transformation and enhanced growth. In contrast, Plexxikon's novel "paradox breakers" did not induce this upregulation and, therefore, may prevent the skin lesion side effect observed for all first-generation BRAF inhibitors to date.

Bollag said he and his research team were initially surprised by the upregulation of growth factor expression but were able to identify its cause with a model system. They then used this model system to differentiate the new "paradox breaker" compounds.

The "paradox breakers," which are in preclinical development, are being studied in BRAF-mutant cancer, and Plexxikon is aiming to file an investigational new drug application in 2012.

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The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/aafc-nam110911.php

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