Addicts' cravings have different roots in men and women

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? When it comes to addiction, sex matters. A new brain imaging study by Yale School of Medicine researchers suggests stress robustly activates areas of the brain associated with craving in cocaine-dependent women, while drug cues activate similar brain regions in cocaine-dependent men.? The study, expected to be published online Jan. 31 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, suggests men and women with cocaine dependence might benefit more from different treatment options.

"There are differences in treatment outcomes for people with addictions who experience stress-induced drug cravings and those whose cravings are induced by drug cues," said Marc Potenza, professor of psychiatry, child study, and neurobiology and first author of the study. "It is important to understand the biologic mechanisms that underlie these cravings."

The researchers conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of 30 cocaine-dependent individuals and 36 control subjects who were recreational drinkers. While undergoing brain scans, researchers then presented subjects with personalized cues (situations or events) the participants had indicated were personally stressful and other cues involving cocaine or alcohol.

As expected, cocaine-dependent individuals showed greater activation in broad regions of the brain linked to addiction and motivation than the control subjects. Patterns of activation between the groups, however, differed markedly in men and women when presented with stress or drug cues.

Potenza said the findings suggest that women with cocaine dependence might benefit from stress-reduction therapies that specifically target these cravings. Men, on the other hand, might derive more benefit from elements of cognitive behavioral therapy or 12-step programs based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The senior author of the paper is Rajita Sinha of Yale. Other Yale authors are Kwang-ik Adam Hong, Cheryl M. Lacadie, Robert K. Fulbright, and Keri L. Tuit.

The study was supported by the Yale Stress Center, Women's Health Research at Yale, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and grants from the National Institutes of Health and its Office of Research on Women's Health.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/zGnBhgVBXhA/120130131511.htm

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ABB to buy Thomas & Betts for $3.9 billion

GENEVA (AP) ? Swiss engineering group ABB Ltd. said Monday that it has agreed to pay $3.9 billion in cash for Thomas & Betts Corp., a deal that boosts its market presence in North America.

The Zurich-based maker of power and automation technology and the Memphis, Tennessee-based supplier of low-voltage products jointly announced that both companies' boards have agreed to ABB paying $72 a share for the U.S. company. The board of Thomas & Betts has recommended the deal to its shareholders.

ABB, a market leader for industrial motors, described the deal as part of a strategy that boosts its market presence in North America, and said the price of $72 a share is a 24-percent premium over Thomas & Betts' closing stock price on Jan. 27.

The Swiss company has about 130,000 employees spread among operations in 100 nations. In the U.S., ABB is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, and has 18,000 workers. It reported $5 billion in revenues for the first nine months of 2011.

Thomas & Betts employs about 9,400 people and is forecast to report 2011 revenues of about $2.3 billion.

Through the deal the Swiss firm said it expects to save costs and gain revenues of about $200 million a year by 2016.

ABB expects the deal to close sometime in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approvals. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is helping finance it.

ABB Chief Executive Joe Hogan called the acquisition "a great fit" It is his firm's largest such deal since ABB's purchase of Baldor Electric Co. in 2010.

"Thomas & Betts is a well-run company with strong brands and excellent distribution channels in the world's largest low-voltage products market," Hogan said. "This is another big step toward our goal of expanding our presence in the key North American market."

A year ago the Justice Department's antitrust division approved ABB's $3.1 billion acquisition of Baldor, a Fort Smith, Arkansas-based industrial-motor company.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-30-EU-ABB-Thomas-and-Betts/id-5a661c7632e648d8a82d10928fc1ce08

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Warming in the Tasman Sea, near Australia, a global warming hot spot

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? Oceanographers have identified a series of ocean hotspots around the world generated by strengthening wind systems that have driven oceanic currents, including the East Australian Current, polewards beyond their known boundaries.

The hotspots have formed alongside ocean currents that wash the east coast of the major continents and their warming proceeds at a rate far exceeding the average rate of ocean surface warming, according to an international science team whose work was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Paper co-author, CSIRO's Dr Wenju Cai, said that while the finding has local ecological implications in the region surrounding the hotspots, the major influence is upon the ocean's ability to take up heat and carbon from the atmosphere.

In Australia's case, scientists report intensifying east-west winds at high latitudes (45?-55?S) pushing southward and speeding up the gyre or swirl of currents circulating in the South Pacific, extending from South America to the Australian coast. The resulting changes in ocean circulation patterns have pushed the East Australian Current around 350 kilometres further south, with temperatures east of Tasmania as much as two degrees warmer than they were 60 years ago.

"We would expect natural change in the oceans over decades or centuries but change with such elevated sea surface temperatures in a growing number of locations and in a synchronised manner was definitely not expected," said CSIRO's Dr Wenju Cai.

"Detecting these changes has been hindered by limited observations but with a combination of multi-national ocean watch systems and computer simulations we have been able to reconstruct an ocean history in which warming over the past century is 2-3 times faster than the global average ocean warming rate," says Dr Cai, a climate scientist at CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Research Flagship.

The changes are characterised by a combination of currents pushing nearer to the polar regions and intensify with systematic changes of wind over both hemispheres, attributed to increasing greenhouse gases.

Dr Cai said the increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been the major driver of the surface warming of Earth over the 20th century. This is projected to continue.

He said the research points to the need for a long-term monitoring network of the western boundary currents. In March next year, Australian scientists plan to deploy a series of moored ocean sensors across the East Australian Current to observe change season-to-season and year-to-year.

Lead author of the paper was Dr Lixin Wu, of the Ocean University of China, with contributing authors from five countries, many of whom are members of the Pacific Ocean Panel working under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organisation.

The research was partly funded by a grant from the Australian Climate Change Science Program supported by the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

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Journal Reference:

1. Lixin Wu, Wenju Cai, Liping Zhang, Hisashi Nakamura, Axel Timmermann, Terry Joyce, Michael J. McPhaden, Michael Alexander, Bo Qiu, Martin Visbeck, Ping Chang, Benjamin Giese. Enhanced warming over the global subtropical western boundary currents. Nature Climate Change, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1353

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130102538.htm

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Video: Thompson, McCain full segment

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/46180969#46180969

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Video: CNBC.com Market Outlook: Facebook IPO Filing Wednesday?

The week's top business news and investing advice for next week, highlighting Apple's surge, Facebook's anticipated IPO, Ford, and the euro, with CNBC's Brian Shactman.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46168712/

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Video: McCain Makes the Case for Mitt

Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), discusses Mitt Romney's economic and conservative credentials, saying it is time to put a business man back in the White House.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46170401/

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Knewton Prepares To Take Education by Storm [TCTV]

Here at the World Economic Forum in Davos, among the banking, shipping, steel and transport magnates of the global economy, there are a number of technology entrepreneurs floating around. As they rub shoulders with the likes of Eric Schmidt, Sean Parker, Loic Le Meur and Robert Scoble, it's possible to peel them off from the crowd. I managed to catch Jose Ferreira, CEO and Founder of Knewton a startup which is aiming a silver bullet at the education problem with something that one might even call an audacious platform.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/rfZ0mHoA_9A/

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Roche's Avastin helps colorectal cancer patients (Reuters)

ZURICH (Reuters) ? Patients with advanced colorectal cancer who received Roche's Avastin live longer when they also receive the drug as part of their second round of treatment, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday, citing a late-stage study.

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer first treated with Avastin and standard chemotherapy before being given Avastin with a different chemotherapy after their disease had progressed lived significantly longer than those given only chemotherapy in the second-line setting, Roche said.

The news is likely to boost sentiment around the drug, which recently suffered a major setback when U.S. authorities decided to revoke their backing of its use in breast cancer.

Roche will submit the results of the ML 18147 study at an upcoming medical meeting.

In Europe, Avastin is currently approved in colorectal, lung, renal, breast cancer and it has just won approval in ovarian cancer.

(Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/hl_nm/us_roche

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Futurity.org ? Pan-fried fish may raise cancer risk

Diets high in dark fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines reduced the risk of prostate cancer if the fish were cooked at low temperatures, like baking or boiling. This suggested protective effect disappeared when the fish was cooked at high temperatures, such as broiling, grilling, or pan-frying. iStockphoto)

USC (US) ? The type of fish and how it is cooked may affect whether the fish offers protection against?or raises the risk for?developing prostate cancer, new research shows.

Previous studies have emphasized the health benefits of dark fish?rich in omega-3 fatty acids?linking their consumption to the prevention of various diseases.

?One would expect eating dark and oily fish would be beneficial in preventing prostate cancer, but that protective effect seems lost if fish are cooked with high-temperature methods, in particular pan-frying,? says Mariana Stern, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California.

?Similarly, diets high in lean, white fish seem to mostly increase risk when the fish is pan-fried, and appear to offer no protective benefit when cooked using other methods.?

Published in the journal Cancer Causes & Control, the study is the first to show that fish type and its method of cooking may be relevant in terms of protecting against or increasing the risk for prostate cancer.

In the United States, more than 240,000 men are diagnosed annually with prostate cancer and about 33,720 die from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. Only lung cancer kills more American men. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, there are no proven strategies for preventing the disease, but changes in diet and lifestyle appear to have reduced the risk of disease progression.

The researchers analyzed data from nearly 3,000 men who participated in the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas. Study participants completed a comprehensive survey that included questions about the amount and types of fish they consumed on a weekly basis and how the fish was cooked. More than 60 percent of the men were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

Diets high in dark fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines reduced the risk of prostate cancer if the fish were cooked at low temperatures, like baking or boiling. This suggested protective effect disappeared when the fish was cooked at high temperatures, such as broiling, grilling, or pan-frying.

Surprisingly, men who ate two or more servings per week of white fish cooked using high-temperature methods were twice as likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than men who never ate any fish. The study found no association between cancer and diets high in white fish cooked using low-temperature methods.

The study also noted that high intake of deep-fried fish, such as fish sticks and fish sandwiches, was linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer among Hispanic men, but not among non-Hispanic whites or African-Americans, who reported the highest intake of fried fish than any other ethnic group studied.

The researchers do not know what causes the disparities they observed between dark and white fish, but they propose two hypotheses.

One, carcinogens may form while cooking fish at high temperatures, harm from which may be negated by the omega-3 fatty acids in dark fish. Alternatively, given that white fish absorbs more oil than dark fish when pan-fried, this cooking method could alter the ratio of good fats to bad ones.

?It?s too early to make any dietary recommendations but, given the few known risk factors for prostate cancer, the results of this study emphasize that diet may be a relevant modifiable factor for prostate cancer risk,? Stern says.

More news from USC: http://uscnews.usc.edu/

Source: http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/pan-fried-fish-may-raise-cancer-risk/

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A leukemia drug kills cancerous T-cells while sparing normal immunity

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Leukemic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (L-CTCL) is a leukemia arising from T-cells, a type of white blood cell. This cancer can involve the skin and other organs, and patients often die within three years.

Rachael A. Clark, MD, PhD, BWH assistant professor of dermatology and associate dermatologist and Thomas Kupper, MD, BWH Department of Dermatology chairman and their colleagues now report a new study that low-dose Campath (alemtuzumab) not only treats patients with L-CTCL but does so without increasing their risk of infections.

The study was electronically published on January 18, 2012 in Science Translational Medicine.

Campath was previously believed to kill all lymphocytes (T-cells and B-cells) in the body and render patients susceptible to infections. However, Clark and Kupper found that Campath only kills T-cells that enter the bloodstream, but it spares a newly discovered population of T-cells that live long-term in the tissues.

"We noticed that our patients were not getting infections, and we looked in the skin. We saw healthy T-cells remaining there despite the fact that there were no T-cells in the blood," said Clark. "We used to believe that most T-cells responsible for protecting against infection were in the bloodstream. But we now realize that highly protective T-cells also inhabit tissues such as the skin, lungs and gastrointestinal tract. It is these tissue resident T-cells that are critical in protecting us from infection on a day-to-day basis."

By showing that Campath kills circulating T-cells, including the cancerous T-cells, but spares tissue resident T-cells, Clark and Kupper have shown that Campath effectively treats L-CTCL while sparing normal immunity. Their findings are also the first demonstration in human beings that tissue resident T-cells provide frontline immune protection of the skin.

"We're very grateful to our patients for entrusting us with their care and for teaching us important lessons about the immune system." said Clark.

In a companion piece, Mark Davis, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, called the work a "translational tour de force."

###

Brigham and Women's Hospital: http://www.brighamandwomens.org

Thanks to Brigham and Women's Hospital for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117050/A_leukemia_drug_kills_cancerous_T_cells_while_sparing_normal_immunity

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Japanese Homes and Business Sold 2150 Gigawatt-Hours of Solar ...

Small businesses and homeowners in Japan sold an amazing 2,150 gigawatt hours of solar energy back to utilities last year ? a figure that shows a fifty percent increase since 2010. The surge in solar is thanks to a plan by the Japanese government to push the private installation of solar panels to power homes and feed the grid. Japan?s 10 regional power companies spent a whopping $1.2 billion purchasing the clean energy from consumers this year.

After the Fukushima nuclear crisis last year and the ongoing issues that have arisen because of it, Japan has set to work on changing their energy policy to rely less heavily on nuclear power generation. In 2010, power companies bought just 1,400 gigawatt hours of surplus solar energy, so it seems the government?s push is working.

For now power companies pay 61 cents (48 yen) per kilowatt-hour of energy purchased from an owner with fewer than 10 kilowatts and 30 cents (24 cents) for owners of larger arrays. The pricing scheme is set to change in July, but the panel of experts who will rework the system has not yet been assembled. There has been talk of power companies only being required to buy power back from smaller arrays, but for now nothing is set in stone ? and small Japanese solar power plants are sending green energy into the grid and getting a nice paycheck in return.

Via Reuters

Source: http://inhabitat.com/japanese-homes-and-business-sold-2150-gigawatt-hours-of-solar-energy-back-to-the-grid-in-2011/

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Ultrafast magnetic processes observed 'live' using an X-ray laser

ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2012) ? In first-of-their-kind experiments performed at the American X-ray laser LCLS, a collaboration led by researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute has been able to precisely follow how the magnetic structure of a material changes.

The study was carried out on cupric oxide (CuO). The change of structure was initiated by a laser pulse, and then, with the help of short X-ray pulses, near-instantaneous images were obtained at different points in time for individual intermediate steps during the process. It appears as if the structure begins to change 400 femtoseconds after the laser pulse strikes (1 femtosecond = 0.000 000 000 000 001 seconds). Apparently, the fundamental magnets within the material need that much time to communicate with each other and then react. In addition to this scientific result, the work proves that it is actually possible with X-ray lasers to follow certain types of extremely rapid magnetic processes.

This is another milestone, because such investigations will also be a major focus of research at the planned Swiss X-ray Laser, SwissFEL, at PSI. The results could contribute to the development of new technologies for magnetic storage media for the future.

The researchers have reported on their work in the latest edition of the technical journal Physical Review Letters (PRL).

Materials with particular magnetic properties are the basis of many current technologies, in particular, data storage on hard discs and in other media. For this, the magnetic orientation in the material is most often used: the atoms in the material behave to some extent like tiny rod magnets ("spins"). These mini-magnets can be oriented in different ways and information can be stored through their orientation. For efficient data storage, it is crucial that old data can be rapidly overwritten. This is possible if the magnetic orientation in a material can be altered in a very short time. To develop innovative materials which can store data quickly, it is therefore important to understand exactly how this change occurs as a function of time.

Magnetic orientation in motion

In experiments performed at the X-ray laser LCLS at Stanford, California, a collaboration led by researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute have been able to study the magnetic orientation in cupric oxide, CuO. This material demonstrates completely different magnetic orientations depending on temperature: Below -60?C, the spins, which function in the copper atoms (Cu) like magnets, point periodically in one direction and then the opposite; between -60?C and -43?C, they are arranged helically, as if they were forming a spiral staircase. Although the spin orientations for the two arrangements have been known for some time, the time required to move from one arrangement to the other has only now been shown by the experiment.

"In our investigation, we began with a 'cold' sample and then heated it with an intense flash of light from an optical laser," explains Steven Johnson, spokesman for the PSI experiment. "Shortly after this, we determined the structure of the sample by illuminating it with an extremely short pulse from an X-ray laser. When we repeated this at different time intervals between the flash of light and the X-ray pulse, we were able to reconstruct the course of the change in the magnetic structure."

Mini-magnets need 400 femtoseconds to agree amongst themselves.

The results show that it takes about 400 femtoseconds before the magnetic structure begins to alter visibly. Then the structure gradually reaches its final state. The more intense the initiating flash of light, the faster the change of state. "The spins of all copper atoms are involved in the magnetic structure. Thus the atoms at opposite ends of the material must be coordinated before the structure can change. This takes 400 femtoseconds," explains Urs Staub, one of the PSI researchers responsible. "For cupric oxide, that is the fundamental limit; it simply cannot happen faster than that. This depends upon how strongly the spins are coupled between neighbouring atoms."

There is a good reason why the researchers were particularly interested in cupric oxide. Along with the screw-like magnetic orientation that occurs between -60?C and -43?C, the material is also 'multiferroic', a material where electrical and magnetic processes mutually influence one another. These materials have many different potential areas of application where magnetism and electronics interact.

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Journal Reference:

1. S. Johnson, R. de Souza, U. Staub, P. Beaud, E. M?hr-Vorobeva, G. Ingold, A. Caviezel, V. Scagnoli, W. Schlotter, J. Turner, O. Krupin, W.-S. Lee, Y.-D. Chuang, L. Patthey, R. Moore, D. Lu, M. Yi, P. Kirchmann, M. Trigo, P. Denes, D. Doering, Z. Hussain, Z.-X. Shen, D. Prabhakaran, A. Boothroyd. Femtosecond Dynamics of the Collinear-to-Spiral Antiferromagnetic Phase Transition in CuO. Physical Review Letters, 2012; 108 (3) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.037203

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123123355.htm

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Skip the dryer, save $200

Air drying your clothes instead of using the dryer will save you up to $200 per year. Here's how.

On any given day, if you were to wander into our laundry room, you?d find damp clothing hung up, laid out, or somehow exposed to the relatively warm and relatively dry air in there. They tend to dry out perfectly in a day or so, enabling us to just fold them up and take them upstairs without even having spent a single penny on drying.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

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

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This works particularly well in the winter months, when the air in our home is naturally dry because of the furnace. The air seems to simply wick the moisture out of our clothing, leaving them dry in a surprisingly brief amount of time.

A clothing rack is certainly one option for doing this, as depicted above. You can make a clothing rack out of almost anything that provides really good air flow over most of the item. I?ve seen people use anything from treadmills to garden tools (in a bucket with the handle sticking out) as clothing racks in the past.

The most highly efficient way, though, is with a clothes line. Simply stretch a sufficiently strong line or piece of string between two points, grab some clothes pins, and hang up your clothes. It only takes a few minutes to hang them up and take them down and you can fit a lot of clothes onto a single line.

You can stretch a line across a spare room in your house. We?ve stretched lines across our guest bedroom and across our laundry room for the purposes of drying clothes. This can be quite convenient as you can just take down the line any time you?re not using it, so you?ll have a clothesline on a typical weeknight, but it can quickly vanish if you?re going to have guests.

However, my ideal clothesline is an outdoor one. One of my biggest regrets concerning our current home is that there?s no good place to put a clothesline where it catches adequate air flow without dominating the open space of our yard. A clothesline is one of the first things we intend to install when we eventually buy our house in the country.

An outdoor clothesline lets you capture the power of the wind to dry your clothes. The wind billows through, gently drying your clothes and making them smell fresh in a way that a dryer just can?t quite recapture.

How much does this actually save? Mr. Electricity reports that if you run 7.5 dryer loads per week and have a $0.15 per kWh rate from your electric company, you?ll save just shy of $200 per year by air-drying your clothes. Given how quickly I can hang up and take down clothes (remember, there?s no loading or unloading of the dryer if you do it this way), it?s worth it for me to do this most of the time.

From my experience, dryers are a convenience in time-pinched situations. We tend to use our dryer when we need to get a lot of laundry done quickly (usually in conjunction with rack or line drying) or when we need a specific item dried quickly. It?s a convenient tool, but it?s one where the costs can add up if we use it all the time.

Most of the time, we have the spare drying time and the spare space to hang our clothes to air dry, and it takes so little time to actually lay out or hang up the clothes that it?s well worth it.

It?s just another small step toward living cheap.

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

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

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/rwtzbCJac8c/Skip-the-dryer-save-200

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Chesapeake to cut natural gas production (AP)

NEW YORK ? Faced with decade-low natural gas prices that have made some drilling operations unprofitable, Chesapeake Energy Corp. says it will drastically cut drilling and production of the fuel in the U.S.

Chesapeake, the nation's second largest natural gas producer, said Monday that it plans to cut production 8 percent. That means the company would produce the same or slightly less natural gas in 2012 than it did in 2011. Chesapeake produces about 9 percent of the nation's natural gas.

That's a change from the dramatic increase in domestic output seen in recent years. Chesapeake and other drillers have learned to tap enormous reserves of natural gas trapped in shale formations under several states using a controversial drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling. The drillers force millions of gallons of water and sand, laced with chemicals, into compact rock to create cracks that serve as escape routes for the gas.

Extreme weather for two winters and two summers kept natural gas prices high by boosting demand for home heating and power generation. But this season's mild winter weather especially in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, has crimped demand and led to a glut.

Natural gas futures slipped to $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet last week, their lowest levels since 2002, before rising slightly to $2.34 on Friday. Prices have fallen 23 percent since the beginning of the year. Storage levels of the fuel are 21 percent higher than their 5-year average for this time of year, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The drop in price has meant lower revenues and profits for drillers. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate that Chesapeake's earnings fell to $2.81 per share in 2011, excluding special items, from $2.95 per share in 2010. They say at today's prices only the least expensive, most productive natural gas wells remain profitable for drillers.

In electronic trading Monday morning, natural gas prices were up 3.9 percent to $2.434 per 1,000 cubic feet, getting a boost from the Chesapeake announcement. Chesapeake shares were up 6.6 percent to $22.35.

Drillers had already begun to shift their drilling activity toward shale formations and other regions that produce oil and other liquid hydrocarbons. Strong global demand has kept oil prices high and made these drilling operations extraordinarily profitable.

Chesapeake said it would cut its current activity in so-called dry-gas regions by half, to 24 rigs, by the second quarter. That's 67 percent fewer rigs than an average of 75 rigs the company had in use last year.

Chesapeake increased natural gas production by 13.5% from 2010 to 2011. It now plans to cut spending on natural gas regions to $1 billion in 2012, down from $3.1 billion in 2011.

The plan calls for a cut of 500 million cubic feet of gas per day, about 8 percent of its current production, in two drilling regions in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The move is designed to reduce the glut of natural gas in the country, and therefore increase prices. But analysts caution that drillers historically have reneged on plans to cut output in times of low prices, bowing to pressure from investors to increase production.

Also, even as drillers avoid dry-gas regions, they are aggressively increasing drilling in regions rich in oil and other liquids. Those regions also produce large amounts of natural gas, which will help keep total natural gas production high and will likely keep prices relatively low.

Chesapeake and others are also working to stimulate demand for the fuel, advocating its use as a transportation fuel or exporting it. International natural gas prices are high because they are linked to the price of oil.

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chesapeake_natural_gas_slowdown1st_ld

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Kurt A. Gardinier: Is Newt Race-Baiting?

If asked, Newt Gingrich would obviously say no, in his arrogant, 'you're asking me a ridiculously stupid question' sort of way, but it sure sounds like he is lately. And if he is, he may be doing the "right" thing politically. At least for now as the next two primaries take place in the south (South Carolina and Florida).

Over the past few weeks Gingrich asserted that the poor children of the country need to learn how to work, and he has repeatedly called President Obama "the best food stamp president in American history," which inspired enthusiastic applause at Monday's Fox News GOP Debate, and a standing ovation shortly thereafter. During a campaign event in New Hampshire earlier this month, Gingrich told an audience, "If the NAACP invites me, I'll go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps." Is he suggesting that African-Americans choose not to work and are satisfied with not working and receiving food stamps? Seems like it. And it doesn't seem like he's even trying to be subtle about it.

The race-baiting strategy proved an effective one for another politician from the south. George Wallace. The four-time Alabama Governor who ran for president in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 (three as a Democrat and one on the American Independent ticket). His most successful run was in '68 where he won five states (all southern), 46 electoral votes and 13.5% (nearly 10 million) of the popular vote (Wallace remains the last third party candidate to win any electoral votes). And he accomplished all that without ever really saying anything overtly racist, but he spoke in code, a code that was easily deciphered by the millions of white southern voters who supported him.

In the George Wallace show I produced for C-SPAN's "The Contenders" series in November, Wallace's daughter Peggy Wallace Kennedy said that her father "was not a racist. He was a politician." There is certainly a case to be made that he was not a racist, or at the very least that he wasn't always one. During the 1958 campaign for governor, Wallace said, "if I didn't have what it took to treat a man fair regardless of his color, then I don't have what it takes to be the governor of your great state." His tone on race drastically changed during his next run for governor four years later when he famously called for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever" during his inaugural address.

Whether or not Wallace was truly a racist or not, he effectively used racism (however subtle it may have been) as a prominent theme of his gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Gingrich seems to be doing just that in his current campaign (nearly forty years since Wallace last ran for President), aiming to make radical, latently racist ideas seem somehow acceptable or mainstream by articulating them clearly, confidently and unapologetically.

In the 1995 book From George Wallace to Newt Gingrich: Race in the Conservative Counterrevolution, 1963-1994, author Dan T. Carter discusses the role of right-wing reaction to the civil rights movement in Republican politics beginning with George Wallace's entrance on to the national scene, arguing that conservatives still exploit racism for political gain. According to Carter, Gingrich was already in the Wallace/race-baiting category back in the early 1990s, so it doesn't surprise me that these race-baiting allegations are being thrown at him now. Carter writes of the strategy of using race to win elections: "The trick lay in sympathizing with and appealing to the fears of angry whites without appearing to become an extremist and driving away moderates-or, as Ehrlichman described the process, to present a position on crime, education, or public housing in such a way that a voter could 'avoid admitting to himself that he was attracted by a racist appeal.'" This tactic seems like a tough thing to pull off, but so far Gingrich seems to be doing it, and effectively, as he continues to rise in the South Carolina polls.

No one will ever truly know if Gingrich is a racist (or if Wallace truly was for that matter) or if he is consciously race-baiting for votes, but like Wallace, he does seem to be speaking in the same kind of code, which may unfortunately work, at least in the short-term (in the upcoming southern primaries). With Governor Rick Perry dropping out yesterday and endorsing Gingrich, who knows what will happen Saturday. It sure is likely that it'll be close, and as Gingrich continues to remind us, every candidate who has won the South Carolina primary has gone on to be the Republican nominee for president.

Kurt A. Gardinier is a freelance producer, editor and writer who has worked at CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN and various production companies.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kurt-a-gardinier/newt-gingrich-race-baiting_b_1220673.html

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Mystery surrounds Air Force's secretive X-37B

The United States Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane has been circling Earth for more than 10 months, and there's no telling when it might come down.

As of Friday (Jan. 20), the mysterious robotic X-37B spacecraft has been aloft for 321 days, significantly outlasting its stated mission design lifetime of 270 days. But it may stay up for even longer yet, experts say, particularly if the military views this space mission ? the second ever for the hush-hush vehicle ? as something of an endurance test.

"Because it is an experimental vehicle, they kind of want to see what its limits are," said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser with the Secure World Foundation and a former orbital analyst with the Air Force.

A long mystery mission
The Air Force launched the X-37B in March 2011, sending the reusable space plane design on its second space mission. The X-37B now zipping around our planet is known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, or OTV-2.

Another X-37B vehicle, the OTV-1, launched in April 2010 and landed in December of that year, staying on orbit for 225 days ? well under the unmanned spacecraft's supposed 270-day limit. But OTV-2 has already exceeded that limit by more than seven weeks, and the calendar keeps turning over. [ Photos of the 2nd Secret X-37B Mission ]

Racking up a lot of time in space might be a key part of the current mission, according to Weeden.

"I think they didn't want to push it, just because it was the first of its kind," he told SPACE.com, referring to OTV-1's flight. "But I think that they are looking to push the second one."

Statements from Air Force officials appear to support Weeden's supposition.

"This successful flight is important in the progression of the X-37B program, moving us forward in our effort to prove the utility and cost-effectiveness of an unmanned, long-duration, reusable spacecraft," Air Force Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre, the X-37 systems program director, told SPACE.com in late November, when OTV-2 hit the 270-day milestone.

"We look forward to trying to expand the platform's envelope by extending the mission further," McIntyre added.

Testing new technologies?
The X-37B looks a lot like NASA's now-retired space shuttle, only much smaller. The unmanned vehicle is about 29 feet long by 15 feet wide (8.8 by 4.5 meters), with a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed. For comparison, two entire X-37Bs could fit inside the payload bay of a space shuttle.

Just what the X-37B does for so long while circling our planet remains a mystery, because the space plane's payloads and missions are classified.

1. More space news from msnbc.com

   1. Reality-TV winner might go into space

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Reality-TV impresario Simon Cowell says the winner of "Britain's Got Talent" could go into outer space on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.

   2. 'Oozing' alien planet is a super-Earth wonder
   3. Is some poor little planet getting blasted?
   4. Space station's private hookup delayed till March

Partly as a result of the secrecy, some concern has been raised ? particularly by Russia and China ? that the X-37B might be a space weapon of some sort. But the Air Force has repeatedly denied that charge, claiming that the vehicle's chief task is testing out new technologies for future satellites.

That's likely to be the case, said Weeden, who published a report in 2010 that investigated the X-37B and its likely missions.

The Air Force doesn?t disclose the X-37B's orbital parameters, but amateur observers have tracked the movements of both OTV-1 and OTV-2. They've found that OTV-2 is not looping around Earth in a polar orbit, which enables a good look at every spot on the globe.

Rather, the spacecraft is flying repeatedly over the stretch of Earth from 43 degrees north latitude to 43 degrees south latitude. Weeden thinks the space plane may be observing the Middle East and Afghanistan with some brand-new spy gear, perhaps instruments optimized to observe in wavelengths beyond the visible-light spectrum.

Earlier this month, an article in Spaceflight Magazine, a British publication, speculated that OTV-2 might be spying on Tiangong 1, China's recently launched prototype space module. But the orbits of the two robotic vehicles are quite different, making this scenario highly unlikely, Weeden and other experts have stressed.

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter:@michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091282/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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African leader's son fights to keep U.S. assets (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The son of the leader of Equatorial Guinea asked a court to dismiss attempts by the Obama administration to seize some $71 million worth of his assets, denying charges that they were obtained with allegedly corrupt funds taken from his country.

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of longtime President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, argued he had not violated U.S. or Equatorial Guinea law and called the corruption allegations "character assassination" against him and his country.

U.S. authorities in October filed to seize a $30 million Malibu, California, oceanfront home, a $38.5 million Gulfstream jet, a Ferrari worth more than $500,000 and dozens of pieces of pop singer Michael Jackson memorabilia worth almost $2 million.

They argued that Obiang obtained the items with money corruptly taken from the impoverished African nation through a variety of alleged schemes, including requiring companies to pay so-called taxes and fees to him as well as to make donations to his pet projects and then took those funds for his own use.

Obiang serves as minister of forestry and agriculture, a job that pays him almost $82,000 a year, under his father who has ruled for more than 30 years. Billions of dollars in revenue come into the country from its large oil, timber and natural gas resources.

"This forfeiture action is not only misplaced, but fatally flawed," Obiang's lawyers wrote in a motion filed late on Friday that requested a U.S. judge in California to dismiss the forfeiture attempt.

They said that Obiang was granted a 20-year concession to harvest timber in the country in the mid-1990s and that made him a "very wealthy man" by 2005 when he bought most of the assets.

Further, there was insufficient detail to prove that the assets were paid for with so-called fees and taxes allegedly collected for personal gain, the filing said.

"There is thus no basis to establish, much less by a heightened showing, that Minister Nguema's assets can be traced to illegally gotten gains sufficient to justify civil forfeiture," Obiang's lawyers wrote.

Obiang's lawyers also included an April 2005 letter from the U.S. Justice Department that said at the time they had no reason to block, seize or forfeit assets he planned to use to buy a Gulfstream jet and that there was no evidence that the funds to be used would violate U.S. money-laundering laws.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment because the litigation is pending. U.S. authorities have taken custody of the memorabilia, the Malibu house and the Ferrari, but so far they have not yet been able to get custody of the plane.

Obiang's lawyers asked for a hearing to be held as early as February 27 on their motion to dismiss the forfeiture complaint.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/ts_nm/us_usa_equatorialguinea_obiang

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Does Google Have An Interest In Pinterest?

I've spent about a week trying to track down the rumors that Google had expressed interest in a Pinterest acquisition and here's what I know thus far (here's where to email if you know more): So Google never gave an official offer to grid bookmarking service Pinterest, but the desire to do was expressed (somehow?) indirectly, with a price in the "hundreds of millions" according to multiple sources. This makes sense, as Google wanted to buy Path for $200 million before it had any users. Pinterest has a bajillion users.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/r2pGycwXvp8/

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Mr. Chow's million stolen recipe dispute goes to trial (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Mr. Chow has been a Hollywood institution for decades. Its sleek decor and Peking duck attracts A-listers and power-brokers on a daily basis.

The tony restaurant chain, which started in London, now has outposts in New York, Miami and Las Vegas.

Similarly themed, but less established, is Philippe or Philippe Chow. It shares a surname with the famous restaurant, as well as a similarly posh aesthetic and high-end menu. It, too, has outposts in New York and Los Angeles.

In this case, any imitation is not being treated as flattery by Michael Chow, the art collector and restaurateur behind the original Mr. Chow chain.

Three years ago, he slapped Philippe Chow with a $10 million lawsuit, alleging, among other things, that his former employee ripped off his recipes and changed his name so he would be more closely identified with the restaurateur. The case will go to trial in Miami federal court on Tuesday, with high-powered showbiz litigator Bert Fields representing Michael Chow.

Philippe Chow, who changed his name from Chak Yam Chau before starting the restaurant, fired back with a countersuit charging defamation. The trial is expected to last three weeks, with Michael Chow planning to take the stand next week.

"Michael Chow is one of the great restaurateurs of our age," Fields told TheWrap. "Mister Chow is famous the world over. It pains me to see this man whose name wasn't even Chow copy his restaurant and profit by taking all of those recipes that Michael created. I believe a judge and jury will see things our way and that Michael will come out of this trial just fine."

The suit also accuses Philippe Chow of misrepresenting his past association with the original chain of chi-chi eateries. It alleges that, contrary to Philippe Chow's claims he served as the executive chef of Mr. Chow for over 25 years, he was nothing more than a chopper in the kitchen who rarely cooked.

Philippe Chow and his business partners Stratis Morfogen, David Lee, Costin Dumitrescu and Manny Hailey are named as defendants in the suit.

In an interview with TheWrap, Morfogen lashed out at Michael Chow, accusing him of trying to muddy the waters for his former chef and now competitor. He told TheWrap that the chain is countersuing the restaurateur for defamation.

"If Michael Chow owns lettuce wraps then his next lawsuit should be against P.F. Chang's," Morfogen said.

"We believe the case is meritless," he added. "We believe in the judicial system, and we're not looking to settle -- certainly not with the conditions Chow is looking for."

He said that all of the recipes for the 12 "signature" dishes that the suit claims were stolen -- such as Chicken Satay and Chicken Joanna -- are commonplace in Chinese cooking. He also claims that Philippe Chow did not sign any confidentiality agreements that would bar cooking the same food.

He also stringently refutes the suit's claims that Philippe Chow lacks restaurant experience.

"They called him a food shopper," Morfogen told TheWrap. "Well how does the food shopper beat him every year in Zagat?"

Attorneys for Mr. Chow paint a starkly different picture, alleging that Philippe Chow did indeed sign confidentiality agreements related to the recipes.

But the dispute is about more than just recipes for green prawns, according to the suit.

"Defendants directed their staff to misrepresent that the Defendants' restaurants were in fact Mr. Chow Restaurants or that they were associated or affiliated with the Mr Chow Restaurants, and that the fictitious 'Philippe Chow' (played by Defendant Chau) was 'Chef Chow' of the famous Mr. Chow restaurants, or that he was the son or brother of the real Mr. Chow," the suit reads.

It claims that Morfogen has a pattern of trading on the name and profile of well-established restaurants and has been sued for the practice before. Morfogen opened a restaurant in New York City called "Sea Grill of the Aegean" and was sued by the owners of Rockefeller Center's "Sea Grill" in 1997.

He admitted to TheWrap that he settled the case and agreed to take Grill out of the restaurant's name.

"They paid us to change the name and we settled," Morfogen told TheWrap.

Mr. Chow has six locations in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Las Vegas, and London. The original eatery opened in London in 1968, with the Beverly Hills outpost following in 1974.

Philippe Chow launched in 2005 and has established outposts in West Hollywood, Boca Raton, Fla., Miami Beach, New York City, Jericho, N.Y., and Mexico City.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/people_nm/us_mrchow

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Verizon reportedly trials VoLTE services in two cities, eyes nationwide rollout next year

Verizon's Voice over LTE (VoLTE) platform has been in the works for a while now, and according to industry insiders, it's about ready to hit the big time. Catharine Trebnick, an analyst at Northland Capital Markets, told Light Reading Mobile this week that the service has already launched on a trial basis in two cities, and that Big Red plans to roll it out on a nationwide level in 2013. According to Light Reading Mobile, Trebnick's claims were later corroborated by a second, anonymous source. Verizon, as you may recall, had previously pegged 2012 for the commercial launch of its new platform, and could still achieve that goal with launches in select markets, before going live on a nationwide basis next year, as rumored. The company, however, is playing its cards close to the chest, saying in a statement that it's "continuing to work on VoLTE and the services it brings, and will share any launch or availability plans in due course."

Verizon reportedly trials VoLTE services in two cities, eyes nationwide rollout next year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Light Reading Mobile  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/verizons-reportedly-trials-volte-services-in-two-cities-eyes-n/

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Kodak files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection

[unable to retrieve full-text content]ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) ? Photography icon Eastman Kodak has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as it seeks to boost its cash position and stay in business.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-19-US-Kodak-Bankruptcy/id-574625c330f7418ebc03d3ed8f92023a

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Source: http://forums.asp.net/p/1759269/4782964.aspx/1?windows+like+datadriven+apps+for+Tablet

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AmEx Puts $125M In And Partners With Chinese Mobile Payments Company Lianlian To License Serve

American Express is making a significant move in the expansion of its digital wallet, Serve to international markets today. The credit card company is announcing the first global partnership for Serve with Lianlian Group, of of China's leading mobile payments providers. Additionally, AmEx has also made an equity investment of $125 million in LianLian Pay. For background, Serve integrates a variety of payment options into a single account that can be funded from a bank account, debit, credit or charge card. AmEx has landed a number of lucrative carrier partner deals for Serve in the U.S. but this is the first step towards expanding Serve's technology into one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/YixZwNY3n2I/

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US seeks stronger democracies, partners in Africa (AP)

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast ? After an intense year of diplomacy sparked by revolution and repression across the Arab world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is taking stock this week of an entirely separate democratic advance a half-continent away in West Africa.

The region's improvements in multiparty governance and the rule of law may have been overshadowed by the tumult of the Arab Spring. It made its own democratic gains in the past two years, even if the progress came in fits and starts, and often on the back of political violence. In Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won a second term in an election that likely would have been declared free and fair, only to be marred when the opposition leader called for a boycott, forcing Sirleaf to run unopposed.

Here in Ivory Coast, the country successfully held its first transparent election in a decade, but the winner of the polling had to enlist the help of a rebel army in order to force the former president from power, after he refused to accept defeat.

Guinea also returned to democracy after five decades of strongman rule, and encouraging progress was made in Niger, where a military junta handed over power to a democratically elected government.

West Africa's democratic wave was hardly foreseen, with political scientists only a couple of years ago still referring to the region's "democratic recession." The turnaround is strengthening hopes in the United States of a new spirit prevailing and fuller partners emerging on a resource-rich continent where China is investing billions of dollars in trade and infrastructure ? and his little concern for democracy.

"We are committed to standing with the people of Liberia as they continue their important journey, reconciling political and ethnic differences, strengthening democracy and bringing prosperity and opportunity to people," Clinton said Monday after watching Sirleaf get sworn in for a new six-year term.

Clinton meets Tuesday with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, who won a 2010 election but relied on his forces and international help to oust predecessor Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo later was extradited to The Hague to face charges of murder, rape and other crimes allegedly committed by his supporters as he clung to power.

Clinton also will hold meetings Tuesday with the reform-minded President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, which last year held the closest thing in its history to multiparty elections, and Cape Verde Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves before returning to Washington. It is the first trip ever by a U.S. secretary of state to Togo, a nation long ignored by Washington when Togo was under the three-decade dominion of Gnassingbe's strongman father.

Sirleaf, the 73-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, represents Washington's ideal in an African leader. A Harvard University-educated technocrat, she held senior positions at the World Bank and Citibank before being elected in 2005 to spearhead Liberia's recovery from a disastrous 14-year civil war.

Yet even as Sirleaf was lionized abroad, she faced a tough re-election battle at home amid persistent unemployment. She has had difficulties stamping out graft, which she once declared "Public Enemy No. 1." And many in the impoverished country are pressing to see the fruits of economic progress trickle down to the lower classes.

Clinton lent her support in a private meeting ahead of the inauguration ceremony, where the women discussed strategies to fight corruption.

"It's one of the roadblocks to greater prosperity here," Clinton told staff at America's sparkling new, marbled embassy on a Monrovia hilltop, meant to underline the U.S. commitment to Liberia's stability.

Across town and above the stunted concrete edifices of Liberia's capital stood the nearly as new Chinese Embassy, a reminder of the Asian power's growing commercial and diplomatic clout in Africa. With diamonds and timber, and possibly even offshore oil, Liberia is typical of many African countries waiting for a surge in prosperity and a partner to share in the spoils of its increased development.

"We're missing an important strategic opportunity for the United States," warned Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., who joined Clinton in the delegation to Sirleaf's ceremony. "China is taking advantage of our absence as a major funder of infrastructure and is advancing their economic and, I think, policy agenda across the continent."

The U.S. is providing significant aid. It supports groups like the National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center helping to build democratic institutions, while funding various projects to improve health, education, electricity and small companies. The U.S. Agency for International Development spent $207 million in Liberia last year, providing power to the capital and fighting disease.

But Coons, chairman of a Senate subcommittee on Africa, said Washington needs to aggressively pursue its own policy objectives, from anti-corruption and free media to religious tolerance. At a time when many in Congress are slashing aid budgets, he said the U.S. should be trying to "celebrate and lift up the countries in Africa that have chosen to make the difficult transition to democracy."

Ivory Coast is one such country. In Abidjan, life is returning to normal after a year consumed largely by war and reconciliation efforts. U.S. officials have cheered Ouattara's ascent to the presidency, even if the means were messy, and Ouattara's forces now stand accused of crimes against humanity.

At least 3,000 people on both sides died before fighting ended in April. Rights groups accuse Gbagbo's and Ouattara's supporters of carrying out wanton human rights violations. Even though Gbagbo has been extradited to The Hague, little has been done to hold Ouattara's camp accountable, and many are accusing him of "victor's justice."

U.S. officials are holding out hope that Ouattara, a former International Monetary Fund economist, will deliver on his promise of accountability even for the crimes of his allies. They credit him with successfully helping reopen ports, rebuild roads, increase exports and restore much of the Ivorian economy, but acknowledge that his government will need to prove its fairness.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_re_af/af_clinton_africa

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QuasiDisk For iPhone Brings Dropbox-Like Functions To iCloud Storage

The iMessage was first introduced along with the iOS 5 in October 2011, which not only brought bundles of new features to the iOS devices, but also brought a host of new API?s for developers to take advantages of. The latest iOS 5 firmware made its way by becoming the most advanced mobile operating system which was finally launched with a full new array of software development kit with over 1,500 new APIs and development tools as well.

I forgot, when the iOS 5 SDK launched, it provided developers to develop some innovative ways to take advantage of iCloud storage, Newsstand kit, Twitter and all new Game Center as well.

Today we here to tell you about QuasiDisk, Chris Simpson who is one of the registered members of iPhone development program, took the iCloud challenge. Simpson was the man who developed the iOS application called ?QuasiDisk?. He has received recognition amongst the jailbreak community for his ?3DBoard? and ?RecognizeMe? tweaks on the Cydia store, which enhance the functionality of jailbroken devices.

The Simpson?s QuasiDisk brought the Dropbox-like functionality to the iCould, which enables applications to store documents and key value data in the cloud. The main benefit being that the service automatically pushes data/content to all of the user?s devices and updates automatically.

QuasiDisk is now available on the iTunes App Store in the utilities section for all iPhones and compatible to iPod Touches running iOS 5 Firmware. This Application is tagged as a simple file manager and viewer allowing all the iOS users to use any files, Photos, documents on the go. Users can add files to QuasiDisk over USB iTunes file sharing, WiFi over the integrated FTP server or by syncing files within the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch or even sync to Mac over the iCloud service. QuasiDisk is not only an unique files storing app, but its very faster than any one before. Try it!

QuasiDisk boasts an impressive array of compatible file types, with the fall back in place to open via and third party application if the type is not supported. The supported types are:

* Apple?s Pages documents
* Apple Keynotes presentations
* Apple Numbers spreadsheets
* Adobe PDF
* Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats
* Plain text files
* RTF text files
* HTML documents
* Supported video types ? MOV, M4V, MP4 (anything with .h264 video and mpeg audio encoding with no DRM)
* Supported audio types ? MP3, ACC, WAV (anything supported by iPod player with no DRM)

if the application that mentioned above doesn?t support a particular file type, the fall back is built in to allow external opening in another application that does support it. A very functional, well designed and well thought out QuasiDisk application which becomes one of only a handful of applications which currently offer iCloud support.

Get it and try it which can be purchased for just $1.99, its worth and easy wat to put iCloud for better use.

Download QuasiDisk for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch [iTunes link]

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Source: http://www.grabi.org/quasidisk-for-iphone-brings-dropbox-like-functions-to-icloud-storage/

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Ron Paul Gains Major Endorsements You Haven't Heard About (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | This election cycle there has been a lot of talk about mainstream news media bias. The main focus of outrage regarding this bias has been the lack of relevant coverage for Texas congressman and presidential hopeful Ron Paul. Now in the thick of the Republican presidential primaries, we've been hearing on a daily basis about these "major" endorsements coming in for every candidate still in the hunt for the nomination. Well, that is, except for Ron Paul.

It would almost seem as if no one is interested in endorsing Dr. Paul. If they are the media sure doesn't seem to know about it, and if they aren't reporting on it like they seem to do with every slightest mention of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, then it must not have happened right? It appears that's just not the case. In fact there have been pretty significant endorsements that have been made recently in support of Paul.

State Senator Tom Davis of South Carolina elaborates on his endorsement of Dr. Ron Paul for President, "If you believe in the founding principle of this country, and you read Ron Paul's book, and you look at his voting record, there is only one candidate that you can vote for, there is only one candidate that does stand for individual liberty and limited government and that's Dr. Paul. Right now is the time to stand up for him. He needs our help in South Carolina. We can win this primary."

Senator Davis is considered among the biggest endorsements one could acquire in South Carolina. Many of the candidates had previously been vying for the backing of the Senator. One of those candidates was Rick Santorum who recently spoke about how big an endorsement from Senator Davis would be for his campaign to The Island Packet, "to get an endorsement from someone like Tom Davis is a big deal. It would speak volumes to folks and make them take notice and give us a look."

In the Christian Newswire last week the Evangelical leader Dr. James Linzey, the president and founder of the Military Bible Association, also endorsed Paul, saying in a statement to him, "Having thoroughly examined your political philosophy and finding that your platform is 100% in line with the Constitution of the United States of America, and examining your political record to find that you have consistently upheld the Constitution and thereby faithfully represented your constituency, and studying your statement of faith to find that your faith and religious experience is 100% compatible with Evangelical Christianity and Orthodox Christianity, I hereby endorse you for the Office of the President of the United States of America. I wish you Godspeed!"

Dr. Linzey later explained more of his endorsement in the Christian Newswire by saying, "Among the six remaining GOP hopefuls, two are evangelical -- Ron Paul and Rick Perry. But the telltale sign of being qualified for the presidency is not faith, but loyalty to the Constitution which defends the open expression of faith. Paul seems to be the candidate most loyal to the Constitution according to the records. So when other evangelical leaders endorse GOP contenders of other faiths and traditions, some of whom have received funds from special interest groups, and are not as loyal to the Constitution as is Dr. Paul, one must necessarily ask, 'What is their agenda?' because they certainly are not endorsing the most qualified nor the most evangelical. If evangelicals wish to make faith an issue, then they should take a closer look at Dr. Paul's statement on his web site, 'Let me be very clear here: I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and I endeavor every day to follow Him in all I do and in every position I advocate.'"

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120117/us_ac/10840705_ron_paul_gains_major_endorsements_you_havent_heard_about

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Car bomb kills at least 9 in Iraq's Mosul (Reuters)

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) ? A car bomb exploded inside a residential complex for displaced Shi'ite Muslims in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding five, hospital and police sources said.

The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on Shi'ite targets since a political crisis erupted a month ago threatening the survival of Iraq's fragile power-sharing government following the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

A Reuters reporter at the scene of the blast in a small village of Shi'ites from the Shabak minority said the explosion left a shallow crater four meters across and flesh scattered nearby. A taxi shattered by shrapnel lay 30 meters from the explosion with pools of blood beneath it.

"All this because of the political conflict over government posts and we are the poorest people paying the price," Abu Ebrahem, a village resident, told Reuters. "They want to agitate sectarian unrest, but they won't succeed."

Police said they found another car bomb at the scene and closed the area for several hours to defuse it.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualty toll.

Political tensions in Iraq have been high since December, when Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government ordered the arrest of a Sunni vice president, touching off a crisis that many fear will bring a relapse into sectarian conflict.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman killed at least 53 people and wounded scores in an attack on Shi'ite pilgrims at a checkpoint in the southern city of Basra.

Mosul, in northern Iraq, was once an al Qaeda stronghold, and witnessed some of the fiercest fighting during the war that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The eastern outskirts of Mosul form part of the disputed areas between the central government and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region Government in the north.

The disputed territories between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds are seen as a flashpoints for possible conflict after the last American troops left Iraq in December, nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

(Writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Patrick Markey and Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/wl_nm/us_iraq_violence

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