Afghan woman killed, apparently for bearing girl

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, an Afghan woman, center, peeks inside a hospital while she and others wait for an employee to let them enter, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, an Afghan woman, center, peeks inside a hospital while she and others wait for an employee to let them enter, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011 file photo, an Afghan woman carries her sick child to the emergency room at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, March 8, 2007 file photo, Afghan women look at photographs on display during a fair organized by United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to mark Women's Day at a women's park in Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan woman has been strangled to death, apparently by her husband, who was upset that she gave birth to a second daughter rather than the son he wanted, police said Monday. It was the latest in a series of grisly examples of subjugation of women that have made headlines in Afghanistan in the past few months including a 15-year-old tortured and forced into prostitution by in-laws and a female rape victim who was imprisoned for adultery. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-AS-Afghanistan/id-9ed9aa939f88461c869074e74cfc937d

advent calendar adobe air 2005yu55 advanced search alexander the great personhood amendment haynesworth

Rick Santorum says 3-year-old daughter recovering, and he's back to campaigning

Rick Santorum said that his 3-year-old daughter has now 'turned a corner' after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Santorum is schedule to speak in Missouri and Minnesota Monday.?

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Sunday his daughter Bella is recovering from pneumonia after a rough 36 hours.

Skip to next paragraph

Santorum spoke with Florida supporters by telephone from 3-year-old Bella's hospital room and said doctors hope she can go home in the next few days.

The former Pennsylvania senator also said, "We're going to get out on the campaign trail later tomorrow [Monday] ... heading out to the Midwest, and start campaigning in the next states as we move this campaign forward."

RECOMMENDED: 10 things to know about Rick Santorum

Santorum scheduled a speech Monday in Missouri and another event in southwest Minnesota ? two states with early February contests. He then planned to head to Colorado and Nevada for events Tuesday.

Santorum is scheduled for an afternoon appearance at St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, Mo., followed by an evening event in southwestern Minnesota. His event at a Pizza Ranch in Luverne, Minn., would make him the first 2012 presidential candidate to campaign in the state this year.

Minnesota holds its precinct caucuses next week, but the results of a preference poll are nonbinding. Texas Rep. Ron Paul is airing TV ads in the state. Santorum and Paul have all but conceded Florida, where Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are competing hard for a win Tuesday.

"I feel very, very good about where we are and where the campaign is going," the candidate said.

But during the call with Florida voters, Santorum? opened with remarks about his daughter. "She without a doubt has turned the corner," he said. But he cautioned she "isn't out of the woods yet."

Santorum called his daughter's improvement a "miraculous turnaround" after an unexpected detour from the campaign just days before Tuesday's Florida primary.

Santorum got to his home in Virginia around midnight Friday for a quick break to do his taxes, but found his daughter "was not doing well."

"I was up with her a lot of the night," he said. "By the end of the day, it was really, really clear she was struggling."

Saturday evening, Santorum aides announced Bella had been admitted to the hospital and they canceled his morning interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" and church services in Miami. His aides later canceled his trip to Florida and instead sent his 20-year-old daughter to campaign for him.

Santorum described the situation as a "very, very tough night last night" but said by late Sunday Bella was "alert and back to her own beautiful, happy girl."

"It's been a very hectic 36 hours," Santorum said. "Life in the Santorum family has dramatically improved since the late afternoon."

RECOMMENDED: 10 things to know about Rick Santorum

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/o8hhGfqLKQk/Rick-Santorum-says-3-year-old-daughter-recovering-and-he-s-back-to-campaigning

project runway winner project runway winner hunter s thompson hunter s thompson berkman berkman new beavis and butthead

Suu Kyi galvanizes once-repressed Myanmar politics (AP)

DAWEI, Myanmar ? Euphoric seas of supporters waved opposition party flags and offered yellow garlands. They lined crumbling roads for miles and climbed atop trees, cars and roofs as Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at impromptu rallies. Some cried as her convoy passed.

Cheered by tens of thousands, the 66-year-old opposition leader electrified Myanmar's repressive political landscape everywhere she traveled Sunday on her first political tour of the countryside since her party registered to run in a historic ballot that could see her elected to parliament for the first time.

"We will bring democracy to the country," Suu Kyi said to roaring applause as her voice boomed through loudspeakers from the balcony of a National League for Democracy office in the southern coastal district of Dawei. "We will bring rule of law ... and we will see to it that repressive laws are repealed."

As huge crowds screamed "Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!" and others held banners saying "You Are Our Heart," she said: "We can overcome any obstacle with unity and perseverance, however difficult it may be."

Suu Kyi's campaign and by-elections due April 1 are being watched closely by the international community, which sees the vote as a crucial test of whether the military-backed government is really committed to reform.

The mere fact that Suu Kyi was able to speak openly in public in Dawei ? and her supporters were able to greet her en masse without fear of reprisal ? was proof of dramatic progress itself. Such scenes would have been unthinkable just a year ago, when the long-ruling junta was still in power and demonstrations were all but banned.

Suu Kyi's visit was equivalent to waking a sleeping dragon, said environmental activist Aung Zaw Hein.

"People had been afraid to discuss politics for so long," he said. "Now that she's visiting, the political spirit of people has been awakened."

Looking into the giant crowds, Hein added: "I've never seen people's faces look like this before. For the first time, they have hope in their eyes."

Businesman Ko Ye said he was ecstatic that Suu Kyi came, and like most people here, he welcomed the recent dramatic changes that made her trip possible. "We are all hoping for democracy," the 49-year-old said, "but we're afraid these reforms can be reversed at anytime."

After nearly half a century of iron-fisted military rule, a nominally civilian government took office last March. The new government has surprised even some of its toughest critics by releasing hundreds of political prisoners, signing cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, increasing media freedoms and easing censorship laws.

Suu Kyi's party boycotted the 2010 election as neither free nor fair. It sought to have its legal status restored after the government amended electoral laws. Her party has been cleared to offer candidates in the April vote, and an Election Commission ruling on Suu Kyi's candidacy is expected in February.

Some critics are concerned the government is using its opening with Suu Kyi to show it's committed to reform. The government needs her support to get years of harsh Western sanctions lifted.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi said the opposition had struggled for democracy for decades, but the best way to do that now was to fight "from within parliament." But she also expressed caution over the challenges ahead. "It's easy to make problems, but it's not easy to implement them," she said. "We have a lot to do."

An NLD victory would be highly symbolic, but her party would have limited power since the legislature is overwhelmingly dominated by the military and the ruling pro-military party. Up for grabs are 48 seats vacated by lawmakers who were appointed to the Cabinet and other posts.

Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the past 23 years under house arrest, and as a result, has rarely traveled outside Yangon. Although she conducted one successful day of rallies north of Yangon last year, a previous political tour to greet supporters in 2003 sparked a bloody ambush of her convoy that saw her forcibly confined at her lakeside home.

She was finally released from house arrest in late 2010, just days after the elections that installed the current government and led to the junta's official disbandment.

Suu Kyi met with party members in Dawei, including one running for a parliament seat. She will make similar political trips to other areas, including the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, in early February before officially campaigning for her own seat, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

Suu Kyi is hoping to represent the constituency of Kawhmu, a poor district just south of Yangon where some villagers' homes were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

Lay Lay Myint, a 35-year-old grocery store manager, said Suu Kyi's platform in parliament would allow her to "let the world know what is happening" in Myanmar.

"People have been living in fear here," Myint said. "Just seeing her hear makes us braver, more courageous."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_as/as_myanmar_suu_kyi

neil degrasse tyson bears lions bears lions heavy d heavy d taser gun patriots vs jets

The Emergence Of The Content Creation Class

The content creation class shall inherit the Internet. Richard Florida coined the expression the Creative Class, his belief being that these 30 to 40 million would be the driving force for economic development in a postindustrial world. Instead of driving the macro economy the Content Creation Class refers to the group of people who drive content on the internet those that write blogs, those that upload video to YouTube, and those that upload pictures to share with the world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/n4sjVohgzUc/

ucla usc ucla usc sean taylor usc football cybermonday coach outlet apostasy

EU rejects call for control over Greek budget

BRUSSELS (AP) ? The European Union's executive body is rejecting calls from Germany to establish a eurozone budget commissioner who would directly control tax and spending decisions in debt-ridden Greece.

The European Commission said Saturday that "executive tasks must remain the full responsibility of the Greek government, which is accountable before its citizens and its institutions."

The Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund already have unprecedented powers over Greek spending, after negotiating with Athens stringent austerity measures and economic reforms in return for a first, multi-billion euro bailout.

They are reviewing implementation of these measures and discussing a second bailout.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-31cf6cee761c45599f4dea1e6bb6fd1f

chapter 11 bankruptcy big ten acc challenge 2011 john wayne gacy amr jack del rio fired jack del rio fired made in america

Robotic Russian Supply Ship Docks at Space Station (SPACE.com)

A robotic Russian cargo ship pulled up to the International Space Station Friday (Jan. 27), delivering tons of fresh fruit, clothing and other vital supplies for the orbiting lab's six-man crew.

The Progress 46 cargo ship arrived at the space station at about 7:09 p.m. EST (0009 GMT Jan. 28) after a two-day spaceflight that marked Russia's first space mission of the year. The supply ship launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with the space station as the two spacecraft sailed about 240 miles (386 kilometers) above the northeastern coast of Brazil.

The unmanned spacecraft is carrying about 2.9 tons of supplies for the space station's Expedition 30 crew, according to a NASA description. The cargo ship is packed with about 2,050 pounds (930 kilograms) of fuel, 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen and air, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and 2,778 pounds (1,260 kg) of spare parts and experiment gear.

The space station is currently home to three astronauts and three cosmonauts. Three Russians, two Americans and one Dutch astronaut make up the Expedition 30 crew. The Russian cosmonauts stood ready to take remote control of Progress 46 in case the automated spacecraft veered off course, but the cargo ship parked itself flawlessly as planned.

Russia's robotic Progress spacecraft are 24 feet (7.3 meters) long and have a three-module design that resembles the crewed Soyuz space capsules that are used to ferry astronauts and cosmonauts to and from the International Space Station. But instead of the crewed capsule used on Soyuz vehicles, Progress spacecraft have a propellant module filled with fuel for the station's Russian-built thrusters. [Infographic: How Russia's Progress Spaceships Work]

Progress vehicles are disposable and are intentionally commanded to burn up in Earth's atmosphere at the end of their space missions. Russia's Federal Space Agency plans to launch several Progress vehicles this year to keep the station stocked with supplies.

Earlier this week, an older Progress spacecraft ? Progress 45 ?undocked from the space station's Earth-facing Pirs docking port to make room for the new supply ship. Progress 45 deployed a small, 88-pound (40-kg) microsatellite called Chibis-M before ending its mission with a fiery plunge toward Earth. The Chibis-M satellite is designed to study how plasma waves interact with Earth's ionosphere, NASA officials have said.

As the space station crewmembers prepare to unpack the Progress 46 cargo ship, NASA engineers at Mission Control in Houston are tracking a piece of Chinese space junk to determine if the space station will have to fire its thrusters to dodge the orbital trash.

The space junk is a piece of debris from China's Fengyun 1C weather satellite, which was destroyed in 2007 during a Chinese anti-satellite test. There are seven "opportunities for the debris to make a close approach to the station," NASA officials said.

If a dodging maneuver is required, the space station would likely perform the move on Saturday (Jan. 28) at 6:50 p.m. EST (2150 GMT).

Meanwhile, Russian space station officials are discussing a potential launch delay for the next crewed Soyuz capsule bound for the orbiting lab. That Soyuz spacecraft was slated to blast off with three new station crewmembers on March 29, but a recent pressurization test revealed cracks in the vehicle's crew capsule.

Russian spacecraft engineers plan to replace the crew module and work to determine why it failed the pressurization test, which was designed to check whether it was airtight and fit for spaceflight.

You can follow Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik.?Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120127/sc_space/roboticrussiansupplyshipdocksatspacestation

lavar arrington hope solo dancing with the stars hope solo dancing with the stars jack wagner matt jones snow white and the huntsman trailer snow white and the huntsman trailer

US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The federal government's plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans' civil liberties.

In a report for release Friday, The Constitution Project warns that as the Obama administration partners more with the energy, financial, communications and health care industries to monitor and protect networks, sensitive personal information of people who work for or communicate with those companies could be improperly or inadvertently disclosed.

While the government may have good intentions, it "runs the risk of establishing a program akin to wiretapping all network users' communications," the nonpartisan legal think tank says. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report in advance.

Cybersecurity has become a rapidly expanding priority for the government as federal agencies, private companies and everyday people come under persistent and increasingly sophisticated computer attacks. The threat is diverse, ranging from computer hackers going after banking and financial accounts to terrorists or other nations breaching government networks to steal sensitive data or sabotage critical systems such as the electrical grid, nuclear plants or Wall Street.

Privacy has been a hotly debated issue, particularly as the Pentagon broadens its pilot program to help defense contractors protect their networks and systems. Several companies, including critical jet fighter and drone programs, have been attacked, although the Pentagon has said that no classified information was lost.

And there are plans for the Homeland Security Department to use the defense program as a model to prevent hackers and hostile nations from breaching critical infrastructure. Officials have suggested that Congress needs to craft legislation that would protect companies from certain privacy and other laws in order to share information with the government for cybersecurity purposes.

DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said the legislative proposals reflect the administration's commitment to privacy protections and contain standards to minimize contact with personal information while dealing with cybersecurity threats. "DHS builds strong privacy protections into the core of all cybersecurity programs and initiatives," Chandler said, adding that the agency realizes that providing assistance to private companies is a sensitive task that requires "trust and strict confidentiality."

The Constitution Project report recommends that officials limit the amount and nature of personal information shared between the public and private sectors. And it calls for strict oversight of the cyber programs by Congress and independent audits, to ensure that privacy rights have not been violated.

"The government should not be permitted to conduct an end-run around Fourth Amendment safeguards by relying upon private companies to monitor networks," it said.

In addition, the report raised concerns about the ongoing development of the Einstein 3 program, a government network monitoring system that would both detect and take action against cyberattacks on federal systems. DHS officials have said that extensive privacy protections are in place.

But the report expressed concerns that as DHS and the secretive National Security Agency share information about potential computer-based threats, the NSA could review communications from U.S. individuals without setting up privacy safeguards.

"With more and more people needing to share sensitive personal and financial data over the Internet, it is absolutely vital that, while we are looking to protect our networks against cyberattack, we also preserve our constitutionally guaranteed rights to privacy," said Constitution Project committee member Asa Hutchinson, a former DHS undersecretary who also served as a GOP congressman from Arkansas.

Lawmakers who have been wrestling with these issues over the past several years have several bills in the works, and most include some privacy provisions.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-27-US-Internet-Privacy/id-8961cefe930944ee9d1cc28352b3557e

kourtney kardashian pregnant kourtney kardashian pregnant eli manning eli manning steven tyler ny giants chip kelly

2 Chainz Praises 'Father Figure' Too $hort On 'RapFix Live'

Atlanta rapper commends Short Dog on his beef-free career and way with the ladies.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Too $hort
Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News

No doubt 2 Chainz is the hottest underground rapper in the streets right now, so when he threw a nod to rap legend Too $hort on Rick Ross' "F--- Em," it proved that the ATL spitter's hip-hop ties were deep-rooted. "Dad wasn't around; my father figure was Too $hort," 2 Chainz spit when he appeared on Rozay's Rich Forever mixtape.

So when Chainz and Short Dog appeared on Wednesday's "RapFix Live," they shared quite a moment. It was $hort's 1988 album Life Is ... Too $hort that provided 2 Chainz with his earliest musical memories after he sent someone much older than him to the store to buy the explicit CD LP for him. "I remember being in the neighborhood and all the other kids' parents thought I was bad because I was tryin' to get them to get on that," 2 Chainz said.

2 Chainz went on to praise $hort for his beef-free career as well as his way with the ladies. "I can only imagine why $hort has never had beef with nobody," 2 Chainz told "RapFix" host Sway Calloway. "He's a straight-up businessman. He got a savvy and it is about the women. And at the end of the day, it's about getting your money."

Getting money is something 2 Chainz knows plenty about. His current single, "Spend It," is a lyrical celebration of life's excesses. Industry insiders expect Chainz to go on to cash even bigger checks once he signs with one of the major labels that have been pursuing him. "I'm coming up to New York to have a few finalized meetings," 2 Chainz said about his plans for next week.

Chainz is also headlining his first major NYC show at SOB's on Monday and will stop by "RapFix Live" next Wednesday.

Related Videos

• 'RapFix Live' With Bow Wow And Too $hort

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678029/too-short-2-chainz.jhtml

st louis weather jack the cat frank lucas lego man lego man cheryl hines john lackey

Iran could ban EU oil exports next week: lawmaker (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? A law to be debated in Iran's parliament on Sunday could halt exports of oil to the European Union as early as next week, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a lawmaker as saying on Friday.

"On Sunday, parliament will have to approve a 'double emergency' bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe starting next week," Hossein Ibrahimi, vice-chairman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying.

Parliament is pushing for the export ban to deny the EU a 6-month phase-in of the embargo on Iranian oil that the bloc agreed on Monday as part of a raft of tough new Western sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to curb its nuclear program.

The EU accounted for 18 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the first half of 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), making it Iran's second biggest customer after China.

"If the deputies arrive at the conclusion that the Iranian oil exports to Europe must be halted, the parliament will not delay a moment (in passing the bill)," Fars quoted Moayed Hosseini-Sadr, a member of parliament's energy committee, as saying.

"If Iran's oil exports to Europe, which is about 18 percent (of Iran's oil exports) is halted the Europeans will surely be taken by surprise, and will understand the power of Iran and will realize that the Islamic establishment will not succumb to the Europeans' policies," he said.

Reflecting how seriously Tehran was taking the idea, Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi told the ILNA news agency the country might choose to raise the issue at the next OPEC meeting.

Iran's conservative-dominated parliament has previously shown it is ready to force the government to take action against what it sees as hostility from the West.

In November it voted to expel the British ambassador after London announced new sanctions ahead of other EU countries.

The day after that vote, radical Iranians stormed the British embassy, causing London to withdraw all staff and close the mission.

(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; editing by James Jukwey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_iran_sanctions_oil

mlk memorial brown recluse brown recluse heather locklear hospitalized joplin tornado there will be blood there will be blood

Jobs told Google to stop poaching workers

Apple's Steve Jobs directly asked former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to stop trying to recruit an Apple engineer, a transgression that threatened one junior Google employee's job, according to a court filing.

The 2007 email from Jobs to Schmidt was disclosed on Friday in the course of civil litigation against Apple, Google and five other technology companies. The proposed class action, brought by five software engineers, accuses the companies of conspiring to keep employee compensation low by eliminating competition for skilled labor.

In 2010, Google, Apple, Adobe Systems, Intel, Intuit and Walt Disney's Pixar unit agreed to a settlement of a U.S. Justice Department probe that bars them from agreeing to refrain from poaching each other's employees.

According to an unredacted court filing made public in the civil litigation on Friday, the now-deceased Jobs emailed Schmidt in March 2007 about an attempt by a Google employee to recruit an Apple engineer. Schmidt was also an Apple board member at the time.

"I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this," Jobs wrote.

Schmidt forwarded Job's email onto other, undisclosed recipients.

"Can you get this stopped and let me know why this is happening?" Schmidt wrote.

Google's staffing director responded that the employee who contacted the Apple engineer "will be terminated within the hour."

He added: "Please extend my apologies as appropriate to Steve Jobs."

Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said on Friday the company, "has always actively and aggressively recruited top talent."

Apple representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The tech defendants have asked a U.S. judge in San Jose, California to quickly dismiss the civil lawsuit, arguing that the companies engaged in bilateral anti-poaching deals to protect collaboration. The companies did not participate in an "overarching conspiracy," they argued in filings.

But at a court hearing this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said the civil lawsuit will proceed, although it may be split up into multiple potential class actions.

Among the revelations stemming from the civil litigation is a 2007 note from Palm's chief executive to Apple's Steve Jobs, saying that an anti-poaching agreement would be "likely illegal."

The latest court filing also refers to a 2007 note from Intel chief executive Paul Otellini discussing that company's agreement with Google.

"Let me clarify. We have nothing signed," Otellini wrote. "We have a handshake 'no recruit' between eric and myself. I would not like this broadly known."

Intel representative Sumner Lemon said on Friday the company, "disagrees with the allegations contained in the private litigation related to recruiting practices and plans to conduct a vigorous defense."

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is In Re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-cv-2509.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46169428/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

footlocker julia gillard julia gillard pecan pie the hobbit trailer prometheus trailer red velvet cake recipe

New version of Google Music Manager allows easy downloading of purchased tracks

Here at AC, we love Google Music, and some of us have it cranked high all day long while the lovingly sweet sounds of Led Zepplin or Motorhead coax us through the workday.  But I digress, and maybe that's only me.  We especially love it when changes get made to makes things easier, and today is a good day for easy.  Google has updated the Google Music Manager program to allow for easy downloading of songs you have uploaded or purchased from the Android Market.  Music Manager is the portion of the service you run on your computer to upload and manage your library, and we have to admit when compared to competitors like iTunes or Zune it's a little sparse.  

With today's update, you can download all your legitimately *cough* purchased and uploaded music with just a few button clicks.  Right click on the Music Manager in your system tray, open the options dialog and choose the "Download" tab.  From there you have the option to download your library.  If you've downloaded it before, you'll also have an option to only download newly added songs.  The tracks are saved in the folder you specify as 320 kbps .mp3 files.  Your songs still stay in the cloud, but now you've got a local copy as well.

In addition, server side changes now allow you to share the Youtube video for purchased songs with your Google+ circles.  Click the dropdown next to the song title to share the video with your circles, and they'll see it in their Google+ timeline.  Now if only the rest of the planet could use Google music, it would be perfect.

Source: Android Market support; via +Android

 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/1hJse_21Xfc/story01.htm

shroud of turin barkley beltran space ball jim mora the weeknd echoes of silence gio gonzalez

Video: PRESS Pass: Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau Richard Cordray

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/46154968#46154968

zynga stock sam houston state university sam houston state university bradley manning whoopi goldberg tebowing tebowing

Mitt Romney Overseas Money: GOP Candidate Revising Disclosures For Overseas Accounts

First Read :

But while the returns have produced no revelations about any improper dealings on Romneys' part, they have continued to raise questions about how and why some of his multiple overseas investments were made in the first place, and why there were not more fully reported on Romney's financial disclosure forms.?

But while the returns have produced no revelations about any improper dealings on Romneys' part, they have continued to raise questions about how and why some of his multiple overseas investments were made in the first place, and why there were not more fully reported on Romney's financial disclosure forms.?

Read the whole story: First Read

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/mitt-romney-overseas-accounts_n_1234848.html

jo paterno dead south carolina mike james tuskegee airmen cbs red tails red tails

Obama to propose tax credit for natural gas trucks (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama was set on Thursday to promote a plan for greater use of natural gas and open up more land for offshore drilling during a campaign-style tour aimed at shoring up confidence in his economic stewardship.

At a stop in Las Vegas, Nevada, Obama will seek to counter Republican criticisms of his energy policies by rolling out a proposal to offer tax incentives for companies to buy natural gas trucks, which would help build demand for abundant supplies of the fuel.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Obama acknowledged the nation's booming natural gas sector, which has grown dramatically in recent years as advances in technology have unlocked vast new reserves.

Obama will talk up the idea during a visit to a UPS facility in Las Vegas, which received stimulus funding to invest in liquefied natural gas vehicles and construct a public LNG refueling station.

"We think that we're going to be looking at 600,000 jobs in natural gas extraction here in the United States and all the industries that come with it," Obama said in an interview with Univision on Wednesday in Arizona.

The president was also to visit Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, where the Air Force was installing a one-megawatt solar panel system, and where last year it test-piloted jets that run on advanced biofuels.

Obama, seeing some improvement in his poll numbers, is touring five states after his combative State of the Union address in which he took aim at income inequality and also announced new proposals on manufacturing, student loans and energy.

But his effort to keep a spotlight on his policy prescriptions suffered a setback on Wednesday when a tense encounter in Arizona with Republican Governor Jan Brewer grabbed headlines and dented his hopes of portraying himself as above the partisan fray.

A CLEAN ALTERNATIVE?

Using domestic natural gas as a "clean" alternative to importing foreign oil has been heavily promoted by Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens and has attracted support from both sides of the aisle in Congress.

Still, Obama's proposal, which would need Congressional approval, could face an uphill battle to make it into law, with Republicans offering more resistance to costly energy subsidies.

Similar measures aimed at expanding tax breaks for natural gas vehicles have failed to break through partisan gridlock, and conservative groups have opposed such legislation on the grounds that government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the energy sector.

Republicans have hammered Obama on his energy policies, and were enraged over his decision to block the Keystone pipeline, which they say would have created jobs and reduced dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Increasing domestic natural gas consumption would benefit drillers, as U.S. natural gas prices have fallen sharply because of the growing glut and the relatively warm winter.

Producers such as Chesapeake Energy are cutting output in the face of the weakest gas prices in 10 years.

Obama was also expected to announce that the Interior Department will hold the last scheduled offshore lease sale of the government's current five-year drilling plan in June, offering 38 million acres for development in central Gulf of Mexico.

The department held its first offshore lease sale since the massive BP oil spill in December, with companies successfully bidding more than $337 million for rights to drill in the Gulf.

Analysts said those results were a sign that drilling is rebounding in the Gulf after the administration temporarily shut down deepwater exploration after the BP disaster.

Still, oil and gas industry backers have complained that the administration has hindered drilling through slow permitting and a raft of new rules implemented since the 2010 oil spill.

(Editing by Gary Hill and Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/pl_nm/us_obama_energy_natgas

johnny weir quadrantid meteor shower aretha franklin osu football osu football oklahoma state santonio holmes

Jenelle's fighting mad on 'Teen Mom 2'

MTV

In a familiar turn of events, Jenelle Evans had a violent outburst on the latest episode of "Teen Mom 2."

By Drusilla Moorhouse, E! Online

Think you have a roommate from hell?

You obviously haven't seen last night's episode of "Teen Mom 2," which featured an all-out smackdown between Jenelle Evans and her new housemates.

Instead of the front lawn or, say, the parking lot of Planet Fun ? this four-way fracas went down in the young mama's boudoir....

EXCLUSIVE: "Teen Mom's" Jenelle Evans Talks Recent Arrests: "They Are Trying to Charge Me With Things Out of Spite"

It all happened so fast. One minute Jenelle was crying because Kieffer was texting the 508 area code, the next she was threatening to move out and take her couches with her. Her first victim, the bathroom door, was entirely innocent (like her friend Ben's change jar); but even after she nearly slammed it off its hinges, roommate Tori was consoling her. But when Jenelle complained about Tori's boyfriend, Tylor, invading her space (he's not a model houseguest like Kieffer, after all), she was forced to bring out the drumsticks.

Actually we have no idea why Tori was waving around drumsticks, but some serious beating took place in Jenelle's room. The girls shoved each other atop Jenelle's bed, then rolled around on the floor between the legs of Kieffer and Tylor ? who were also locked in battle until they fell to the floor with the girls.

In the end, Jenelle screamed, "Just leave me alone!"

And scene.

MORE: "Teen Mom 2" Star (and Her Victim) Arrested for Brutal On-Camera Assault

Oh wait, some other stuff happened with the other "Teen Moms" tonight.

Chelsea got off to a promising start at her tanning salon job, but cried because Adam broke up with her. (Maybe he found someone else in the 508 area code?) Kailyn hired an attorney because Jo would rather finance his music career than pay child support.

READ: Jenelle's Accused Cyberstalker: "Teen Mom 2" Star Is the Bully, Not Me!

Meanwhile, aspiring coal miner Corey would rather buy a new truck than a trailer home for his family. We thought Leah's demands that they purchase land and a double wide were unrealistic ? until she took us down to that terrifying basement, which is creepier than the haunted cellar in "American Horror Story." The only place she can bathe her daughters is in a moldy spider's home with a faucet coming out of the ceiling?

PHOTOS: "16 and Pregnant's" Teen Moms: Where Are They Now?

"This is over," she tells Corey when he refuses to support her. "I'm leaving."

Sigh. Not everyone can have a storybook romance like Jenelle and Kieffer's.

Are you on Team Corey or Team Leah? Team Jenelle or Team Drumsticks? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Related content:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10232855-jenelles-fighting-mad-on-teen-mom-2

cordova beezow doo doo zopittybop bop bop lsu game lsu game truffles truffles 316

Mitch Daniels State of the Union rebuttal makes GOP wonder: 'What if?' (The Christian Science Monitor)

Mitch Daniels, Republican presidential nominee?

Once upon a time, that was a key Republican Party strategy to win back the White House from President Obama. The two-term Indiana governor decided early last year to not seek the party's nomination, but the wishful thinking has only deepened after Mr. Daniels' concise and reasoned GOP rebuttal Tuesday night to Mr. Obama's State of the Union address.

?I could hear sighs all over the country from Republicans [about] what might have been,? conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer told Fox News late Tuesday. ?That was one of the best speeches I?ve heard ? and I think it was one of the best presentations of the conservative idea against the larger government of Obama.?

How much do you know about the State of the Union speeches? A quiz.

Such accolades have not yet been heaped upon the two front-runners in the Republican presidential race: former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. 

The first three GOP contests have not produced a definitive winner, and the Republican leadership, in picking Daniels to deliver the party's rebuttal on Tuesday, may be circling back to someone they perceive as able to ?bridge the gap? between the far right faction of their party and the more doctrinaire establishment, says Bruce Buchanan, who teaches presidential politics and public policy at the University of Texas in Austin.

Daniels ?strikes people clearly as a grownup ? [and] the fact [that the Republican Party] invited Daniels and he accepted most likely indicates some hopes of attracting him,? Mr. Buchanan says.

Mr. Romney, who has a record as a moderate governor and whose Mormon faith is worrisome to evangelical Christian conservatives, and Mr. Gingrich, who resigned as speaker and whose marital infidelities are no secret, are perceived in some quarters as flawed. Compared with them, Daniels is largely free of controversy, and he has a record of working with both parties and of taking pragmatic positions on fiscal and social issues. He is also ?more comfortable in his own skin? and ?pretty unflappable,? which makes him less prone to gaffes than Romney or Gingrich, says Buchanan.

Daniels also spent time in Washington, as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in the George W. Bush administration.

The national Republican Party courted Daniels for the 2012 race, but he bowed out last spring. His wife, Cheri Daniels, is reported to have vetoed the idea, citing privacy concerns. Mrs. Daniels and her husband divorced in 1993 and remarried four years later. In the interim, she married and divorced another man in California and was subsequently criticized for not sharing the responsibility of raising the four daughters with Daniels, a charge the governor publically said was false.

Today, those personal issues barely seem a liability, especially compared with Gingrich's marital record, says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The national party is returning to Daniels, he says, because it leaders suspect neither Romney nor Gingrich is capable of defeating Obama.

?They?re in a mess. They don?t want Gingrich and they don?t like Romney. They pushed Daniels to begin with. I don?t know if anything?s changed,? says Mr. Sabato.

At this point in the primary season, Daniels would need to be drafted as a nominee, a process that would involve the front-runner, either Romney or Gingrich, stepping down. That is an unlikely scenario. 

Another potential roadblock is that Daniels, like Romney, will face accusations that he backtracks on issues, such as past statements he made about his disinterest in pursuing a so-called "right to work" law in Indiana. He now supports the legislation, designed to give workers the right to opt out of paying union dues ? a move widely expected to undermine union organizing powers. It cleared the Indiana House late Wednesday.

Although Daniels is often described as a moderate for saying fiscal policy trumps social policy, his positions are ?right in the mainstream of the conservative party,? says Marjorie Hershey, a political scientist at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Ms. Hershey doubts Daniels will change his mind about running for president. His wife?s concerns about family privacy are as just as salient now as they were last year, she says.

?A cabinet post might be an option for him or perhaps an ambassadorship.? However, I suspect he might be more at home on a corporate board and be done with all of this,? Hershey says.

Any discussion of Daniels? future in this year?s presidential race is ?hypothetical,? although it is certain ?he?ll play a role in the conversation,? says Pete Seat, communications director for the Indiana Republican Party.

?The only reason that people are looking to him for guidance and for a vision is because of the results that we had in this state. We?ve taken those policies that the candidates are talking about and actually putting them into use,? Mr. Seat says.

One reason Daniels holds appeal for Republicans is an intangible one: He seems more authentic to voters than does the competition, says Seat. Daniels writes his own speeches, including Tuesday night?s rebuttal, and is known to be so close with the people in Indiana that he strikes up e-mail conversations with constituents and, when traveling, accepts invitations for overnight stays in their homes.

?He stays in the homes of Hoosiers when he travels around on the road. He?s sleeping in kids? rooms with stuffed animals on the bed and Superman wallpaper," says Seat. "That?s how he keeps in contact with [his constituents]. He listens to people.? 

For State of the Union: Top five presidential orators of modern times 

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

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120125/ts_csm/456584

macaroni and cheese festivus festivus zeno melanie amaro new air jordans the patriot

UK's tallest building adds drama to London's sky (AP)

LONDON ? Passengers stepping out of London Bridge tube station cannot help but crane their necks to gaze at the jagged tower under construction: The Shard is the tallest building in the European Union and looks like a slice of glass balanced on the edge of the financial district.

When the tower opens next year, visitors to the observation deck will see helicopters fly by at eye level and take in the metropolis all the way to the distant north Downs Hills. The structure designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano dwarfs nearby landmarks like Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral across the Thames.

The ambitious project speaks of now faded boom times: 1.5 billion pound ($2.34 billion) price tag, fancy restaurants, corporate office space, posh hotel. But it is being completed as Britain and Europe totter on the brink of recession ? and the Shard will loom over a city in decline.

Neighbors are hoping the dramatic tower, visible from most parts of London, will bring big spenders to its south-of-the-river location, for centuries the less prosperous side of the Thames.

"I like the design, I like the promise. I think it's going to blast this neighborhood out of the water," said Cherille McNeil-Halward, 71, who runs a picture framing shop a few minutes away from the Shard. "This tower will bring people with money to spend here, and that's got to be a good thing."

There is no question that the Shard is a riveting addition to the traditionally low-rise London skyline. But some complain it dominates the view, obscuring sights such as St. Paul's impressive dome.

The developer Irvine Sellar sees the project as a symbol of London's status as a world city. The 72-floor, 310 meter- (1,016 foot-) tall building is designed by an Italian, financed by the Qatar government, and the Chinese hotel group Shangri-La were the first tenants to sign up.

"We want this building to be a building Londoners will feel ownership of," said Sellar. "You can eat there, you can work there, you can sleep there. And you can see the view from there."

The building's exterior will be finished in June but it is unlikely to open until early next year. It will open in a truly historic neighborhood, close to the Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe, and Borough Market.

In fact, the ultra-modern Shard sits at the edge of ancient London. The first Roman settlement Londinium was nearby on the banks of the Thames. Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit" was set in the streets behind the Shard.

The developers conceived the project more than 11 years ago when there was a financial appetite for building tall. But it generated almost immediate opposition from conservation groups who didn't want the fabric of the city changed.

English Heritage and other groups complained that the design did not fit in with the surrounding architecture, but were overruled.

Prince Charles, who has waged a passionate campaign against modern architecture, wryly referred to the Shard as "an enormous salt cellar" shortly after it won planning permission but has not formally tried to block the project.

Last year UNESCO said it is reviewing the status of the Tower of London as a World Heritage Site, partly because of the way the Shard and other buildings loom over its courtyard.

The future of the building is still not secure. Along with Shangri-La, some restaurants have signed leases, Sellar said, but most of the office space has not yet been rented at a time when many London-based businesses are striving to reduce costs.

A report by Barclays Capital published this month finds a correlation between the construction of skyscrapers and financial crises, concluding that ambitious building projects often open just as the economy declines.

It cites the economic and oil crises of the early 1970s, which coincided with the completion of the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago. In Malaysia the building of the Petronas Towers coincided with the Asian economic crisis on 1997. And in Dubai the Burj Khalifa ? the world's tallest building ? went up as the emirate almost went bust.

The Shard itself was hit by the credit crunch. Sellar secured funding from investment bank Credit Suisse in 2008, but the bank pulled out after Lehman Brothers crashed in September of that year. Eventually the central bank of Qatar stepped in to finance the project.

Other tall buildings have been built in recent years as London has become a more vertical city ? including Norman Foster's famous "Gherkin." But the Shard dominates them all, and is likely to become a prominent symbol of London.

"You are going to see this building from everywhere in the city," said Jonathan Glancey, architecture critic at The Guardian newspaper. "It is going be the building that says `this is London,' and the message it is going to send is that London is brash, shiny and pretty bling."

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

barnaby giuliana rancic giuliana rancic the cabin in the woods the cabin in the woods trace adkins the darkest hour

Between the Lines (TIME)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191765793?client_source=feed&format=rss

dre kirkpatrick mls superdraft school cancellations bald barbie peoples choice awards friends with kids andy cohen

Genes and timing of menopause

Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andrew Gould
andrew.gould@pcmd.ac.uk
44-139-268-6107
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry

An international team of researchers has discovered 13 new regions of the genome associated with the timing of menopause. These genes shed light on the biological pathways involved in reproductive lifespan and will provide insights into conditions connected to menopause, such as breast cancer and heart disease.

Menopause is a major hormonal change that affects most women when they are in their early 50s. The timing of menopause can have a huge impact on fertility, as well as influencing the risk of a range of common diseases such as breast cancer. It has been known for some time that genetic factors influenced the onset of menopause, however until recently very few genes had been identified.

In the new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics on 22 January 2012, Dr Anna Murray, University of Exeter, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) Dr John Perry, PCMD and WTCHG, University of Oxford, and dozens of international collaborators, examined the genomes of over 50,000 women. They identified 13 novel gene regions associated with menopause onset, and confirmed four previously identified. Most of the 17 regions include genes related to DNA damage/repair or the immune system, whilst others are linked to hormonal regulation.

Dr Perry said: "The new findings highlight biological pathways not previously associated with reproductive lifespan, and may provide insights into the other conditions connected with menopause age, such as cardiovascular disease and breast cancer."

The association with breast cancer is related to the length of time a woman menstruates in total and is thought to be related to oestrogen exposure over a lifetime - in fact earlier menopause is protective for breast cancer. Cardiovascular risk is increased in post-menopausal women compared to pre-menopausal and reduced oestrogen is thought to be a key component of this increased risk. Genetic studies will be beneficial in working out exactly what the relationships are between these conditions.

Dr. Murray added: "Menopause is a process most women go through, yet we know very little about what governs the timing of this key event in a woman's life. By finding out which genes control the timing of menopause we hope to be able understand why this happens very early to some women, reducing their chances of having children naturally."

The authors said they expected further research will identify additional genes, and also assess the impact of these genetic regions on related reproductive disorders. The research team are currently investigating women who had very early menopause, before 45 years, to determine whether the new menopause genes play a role in this clinically important condition which affects over five per cent of women.

Besides Dr Murray and Dr Perry, senior authors on the study include Professor Kathryn Lunetta and Dr Joanne Murabito at the Boston University schools of Public Health and Medicine, and Jenny A. Visser, a scientist at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (Netherlands).

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andrew Gould
andrew.gould@pcmd.ac.uk
44-139-268-6107
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry

An international team of researchers has discovered 13 new regions of the genome associated with the timing of menopause. These genes shed light on the biological pathways involved in reproductive lifespan and will provide insights into conditions connected to menopause, such as breast cancer and heart disease.

Menopause is a major hormonal change that affects most women when they are in their early 50s. The timing of menopause can have a huge impact on fertility, as well as influencing the risk of a range of common diseases such as breast cancer. It has been known for some time that genetic factors influenced the onset of menopause, however until recently very few genes had been identified.

In the new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics on 22 January 2012, Dr Anna Murray, University of Exeter, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) Dr John Perry, PCMD and WTCHG, University of Oxford, and dozens of international collaborators, examined the genomes of over 50,000 women. They identified 13 novel gene regions associated with menopause onset, and confirmed four previously identified. Most of the 17 regions include genes related to DNA damage/repair or the immune system, whilst others are linked to hormonal regulation.

Dr Perry said: "The new findings highlight biological pathways not previously associated with reproductive lifespan, and may provide insights into the other conditions connected with menopause age, such as cardiovascular disease and breast cancer."

The association with breast cancer is related to the length of time a woman menstruates in total and is thought to be related to oestrogen exposure over a lifetime - in fact earlier menopause is protective for breast cancer. Cardiovascular risk is increased in post-menopausal women compared to pre-menopausal and reduced oestrogen is thought to be a key component of this increased risk. Genetic studies will be beneficial in working out exactly what the relationships are between these conditions.

Dr. Murray added: "Menopause is a process most women go through, yet we know very little about what governs the timing of this key event in a woman's life. By finding out which genes control the timing of menopause we hope to be able understand why this happens very early to some women, reducing their chances of having children naturally."

The authors said they expected further research will identify additional genes, and also assess the impact of these genetic regions on related reproductive disorders. The research team are currently investigating women who had very early menopause, before 45 years, to determine whether the new menopause genes play a role in this clinically important condition which affects over five per cent of women.

Besides Dr Murray and Dr Perry, senior authors on the study include Professor Kathryn Lunetta and Dr Joanne Murabito at the Boston University schools of Public Health and Medicine, and Jenny A. Visser, a scientist at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (Netherlands).

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/tpco-gat012312.php

michelle obama adam lambert arrested shroud of turin barkley beltran space ball jim mora

Corning 4Q profit falls 53 pct, shares sink (AP)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. ? Corning Inc. posted a 53 percent slump in fourth-quarter profit Wednesday and said it is scaling back production of liquid-crystal-display glass because lackluster demand for LCD televisions has led to a steep drop in glass prices.

Its stock fell almost 10 percent, despite the assertion from Chief Financial Officer Jim Flaws that producing LCD glass remains "extraordinarily profitable."

The world's largest maker of LCD glass, Corning said it has had to cut its prices in recent months because Asian panel makers have excess supplies.

Corning hopes that by lowering its output it will help glass supplies "become balanced with glass demand at some point during the year," Flaws told analysts during a conference call.

Corning's net income fell to $491 million, or 31 cents per share, in the October-December period. That's down from $1.04 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it said it earned 33 cents a share. That matches the average forecast from Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $1.89 billion from $1.77 billion, lifted by a 4 percent rise in sales of LCD glass, which totaled $780 million. That beat analysts' average expectation for revenue of $1.85 billion.

Flaws said "price declines would be significant" in the January-March quarter ? as they were in the fourth quarter ? and reach into double digits over the two quarters.

"We are hopeful that our pricing actions, combined with our capacity decisions, will help us get back to more stable price declines in the coming quarters," he said.

Corning shares fell $1.42, or 9.7 percent, to $13.20 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from $11.51 to $23.43 in the past year.

Corning expects the retail market for LCD products to grow to 3.6 billion square feet in 2012 from about 3.2 billion square feet in 2011. Revenue from LCD glass rose 4.5 percent to $3.1 billion last year, accounting for 40 percent of overall sales.

DisplaySearch estimates that 206 million LCD-TVs were shipped worldwide in 2011, up 7.5 percent from 2010, while shipments in North America fell 2 percent to 37.5 million units.

In 2012, the market-research firm in Austin, Texas, projects a 9 percent jump in global shipments to 225 million units, and a 3.7 percent rise in North American shipments to 38.9 million units.

"With small but continuous improvements in the economic outlook ... there's better times ahead for the industry," said DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon.

Environmental technologies revenue amounted to $238 million in the fourth quarter, in line with a year ago. Life-sciences revenue rose 2 percent to $143 million, and telecommunications sales rose 11 percent to $490 million.

Propelled by ultra-strong Gorilla glass used in handheld, tablet devices and upscale TVs with frameless monitors, Corning's specialty materials revenue swelled 21 percent in the fourth quarter to $238 million. Invented in 1962, Gorilla found commercial use only in 2008 and sales surged to $710 million in 2011.

For all of 2011, Corning's revenue hit an all-time high of $7.9 billion, up 19 percent from $6.6 billion in 2010. But its net income fell 21 percent to $2.8 billion, or $1.77 a share, from $3.6 billion, or $2.25 per share, a year earlier.

Based in western New York, Corning employs 26,000 people. It also makes air-pollution filters for vehicles and industrial plants and is the world's largest producer of optical fiber and cable.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_corning

extremely loud and incredibly close south carolina primary 10 minute trainer squirrel appreciation day billy beane shark tank kirkwood

Identity theft insurance not always worth the cost ? Maine Business ...

The phrase ?identity theft? has become one of those terms that makes one?s blood run cold. We?ve heard so many stories of financial losses, ruined credit and related horrors that we react emotionally to the subject.

That emotional response has prompted many consumers to buy insurance that kicks in if some form of identity theft strikes the insured. The question before us is, is such insurance worth the cost?

There?s no simple answer, as is usually the case in consumer matters. The quick historical view back to 2006 finds Consumer Reports said such coverage was ?typically not worth the money.? The magazine notes more than half of ID theft protection is sold by banks, and that those premiums amount to a consumer subsidy for federally required loss protection through credit card and bank account fraud. The passing of time hasn?t changed CR?s opinion that you can ? and should ? take more effective steps yourself to protect your credit and good name.

ID theft insurance typically costs $120 to $300 a year. That?s more than victims often incur through the theft and misuse of their credit card numbers, the most frequent type of ID theft. Federal law limits liability in such cases to $50 per card.

Those who sell the coverage point to the time-consuming process of restoring credit and correcting information on their credit histories. The insurers say their policies can help consumers cope with what can be a trying and frustrating process.

Most people in the insurance industry give the same advice they would when buying other types of coverage. Find out what the policy limits are; the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says most ID theft policies have policy limits of $10,000 to $15,000. If the policy covers lost wages, find out how the coverage is triggered and what limits apply. Know if there is a deductible; some policies require the holder to pay as much as $500 toward the cost of reclaiming your financial identity before the insurer pays a penny.

Before buying, check your homeowner?s insurance policy. It may include ID theft coverage, or you might be able to add coverage more affordably than buying separate coverage. If you decide to buy a separate policy, compare the coverage of several companies.

The insurance commissioners warn against becoming a victim of insurance fraud by making sure the agent and company you?re dealing with are licensed to do business in Maine. Find the Bureau of Insurance online ( http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance), by phone (207-624-8475 or TTY 888-577-6690) or by writing to the Bureau at 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

David Leach, principal consumer credit examiner for the Maine?s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, advises people to be their own advocates. Leach says it?s critical for each of us to get one free credit report from one of the reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) every four months. Do this by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com and only that site. That, plus keeping a close watch on all credit card activity, will help keep identity thieves at bay.

As to separate insurance, Leach says, ?Consumers who sign up for these types of services are paying close to $250.00 a year for a service they can essentially run themselves.? He notes that most financial institutions that issue credit cards will waive all losses in cases of identity theft or fraud. Visit the bureau?s website at www.credit.maine.gov.

For a rundown on federal ID theft laws and tips to protect yourself, visit the Federal Trade Commission website, www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine?s membership-funded, nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write: Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, or go to necontact.wordpress.com, or email atcontacexdir@live.com.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/22/business/identity-theft-insurance-not-always-worth-the-cost/

christina hendricks emmys emmys tom bosley nina dobrev nina dobrev jon hamm