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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Katy Perry, Russell Brand Divorce Rumors Are Ridiculous
It felt like Katy Perry and Russell Brand?s marriage came out of the blue a little while back. They always seemed like an unlikely couple, but every time you see them in public they look very happy anyway. Even more surprising are these nasty rumors that they may be on the outs ? especially because of the timing. During an extremely slow news weekend, the only big story seemed to be Katy Perry splashing around in a bikini at the beach, looking happy as ever. So now all of sudden TMZ is reporting that there are some photos surfacing showing Brand without his wedding ring (see the photo above WITH the ring). Usually that isn?t that big of a deal, but in this case it goes along with the news that they spent Christmas apart. VERY apart. In fact, one of them was all the way over in England, while the other was in Hawaii. It seems likely newlywed celebs would be spending quality holiday time together, wouldn?t you think? So naturally all of the gossip outlets are in a frenzy over those two things. No ring. No Christmas together. But other than that we have nothing to go on. [...]
Friday, December 30, 2011
North Korea says names Kim Jong-un top military commander (Reuters)
SEOUL (Reuters) ? North Korea announced on Saturday it has appointed Kim Jong-un, the anointed successor and youngest son of Kim Jong-il, as supreme commander of its 1.2 million-strong military, two days after official mourning for the late leader ended.
The North's state news agency KCNA said the appointment was made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Friday.
KCNA said the Political Bureau members "courteously proclaimed the dear comrade Kim Jong-un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army," according to a will made by Kim Jong-il on October 8.
It did not elaborate on the will.
Since Kim Jong-il's death on December 17, the North's state media have dubbed Kim Jong-un "supreme commander." Some Korea-watchers say it may take Kim Jong-un some months to assume the full panoply of official titles held by his father.
But the announcement of the politburo's decision not only meant official approval of his control of one of the world's most powerful armed forces but also indicated the consolidation of his power could be much faster than expected.
Footage aired recently by the North's state TV has shown Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his 20s, flanked or followed by the North's top military officers and a coterie of leaders during a series of mourning ceremonies for his father.
This signaled a smooth transfer of power to Kim Jong-un, the third generation of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state since shortly after World War Two.
"Faced with the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong-un and his supporters, who appear to be less prepared and insecure, may think they do not have much time in solidifying the young Kim's position," Professor Koh Yu-hwan, an expert on the North's leadership from Seoul's Dongguk University, told Reuters.
"The approval (of his supreme leadership of the military) should be one of the fastest ways to allow him the sovereign ruler position," Koh said. This ties in with the North's "military-first" policies on which Kim Jong-il relied heavily.
Kim Jong-un was named a four-star general and given the vice-chairmanship of the ruling party's Central Military Commission by his father in 2010.
Many Korea-watchers also expect the inexperienced new leader, who had only been groomed for rule since 2009, to lead with the aid of a close coterie around him that includes his uncle and key power-broker, Jang Song-thaek, at least in the early stages of the power transition.
Jang, husband of Kim Jong-il's younger sister, Kim Kyong-hui, stood behind his nephew in Wednesday's mass funeral parade, escorting the hearse carrying Kim's body.
Despite Pyongyang's determination to project an unbroken line from Kim Jong-un's iron-fisted predecessors, which began with his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, there have been questions among outsiders about his capacity to lead the country.
North Korea, whose military is pursuing a nuclear arms program, is technically still at war with the South and is suffering from chronic food shortages.
Labeling its opponents "foolish," North Korea warned the South on Friday it would stick to its hardline policies and said
Pyongyang would never engage with the current government of South Korea.
(Reporting by Sung-won Shim; Editing by Paul Tait)
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PFT: Don't ask Bears' Smith about Martz
Getty ImagesJets quarterback Mark Sanchez has taken a lot of criticism from fans and the media. But he says he has no doubt that within the locker room, he has unconditional support.
Asked at his press conference today if he is confident that everyone in the locker room supports him, Sanchez answered, ?Absolutely, no question.?
Sanchez offered a similar answer when asked if he thinks he has improved during his three-year NFL career.
?No question, absolutely,? Sanchez said. ?Whether it?s defensive recognition or clock management and stuff like that, understanding the offense and the system, I?m light years ahead, so it?s been a great run so far and we?re not done yet. Hopefully, we?ll get a win and see what happens.?
But watching Sanchez, it?s hard to see how he has really improved in terms of his defensive recognition and clock management. He still makes too many mental mistakes, and he wastes timeouts too often to claim he has improved at clock management.
Ball security is also a huge problem for Sanchez, who fumbled 10 times in his rookie year, nine times last year and has fumbled 10 times this year. Those ball security problems were largely overlooked in his first two seasons because the Jets recovered seven of his 10 fumbles his rookie year and eight of his nine fumbles his second year. But this year the Jets have only recovered two of Sanchez?s 10 fumbles, and the problem of a quarterback who puts the ball on the ground too much has become more apparent.
Ultimately, Sanchez probably got too much credit when the Jets got to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in his first two years, and now he?s probably getting too much blame for the Jets likely missing the playoffs.
?We went to the AFC Championship two years in a row, so there is only one more step to make really, win that game and then go win the Super Bowl,? Sanchez said. ?With those expectations, that?s fine. When things don?t go right, people are going to immediately question me.?
No one said playing quarterback for the New York Jets would be easy.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/28/dont-ask-lovie-smith-about-mike-martz/related/
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Analysis does not support genetic test before use of anti-clotting drug
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Michael V. Holmes, M.B.B.S., M.Sc.
mvholmes@gmail.com
JAMA and Archives Journals
CHICAGO Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that a certain type of genetic testing (for the genotype CYP2C19) be considered before prescribing the drug clopidogrel to identify individuals who may be less responsive to the medication, a review and analysis of previous studies did not find an overall significant association between the CYP2C19 genotype and cardiovascular events, according to a study in the December 28 issue of JAMA.
Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug used by approximately 40 million patients worldwide to treat or prevent atherothrombotic (blood clot from thickening of inner lining of arteries) events and after percutaneous coronary revascularization (such as balloon angioplasty). "Despite the overall benefit, some individuals may be less responsive to clopidogrel than others because clopidogrel is a prodrug activated by several enzymes, including CYP2C19, and common genetic variation in CYP2C19 alters enzyme activity," according to background information in the article. The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiologists have argued evidence is insufficient to support CYP2C19 genotype testing.
Michael V. Holmes, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., of University College London, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the strength and quality of evidence on the association of CYP2C19 genotype with responsiveness to clopidogrel. The researchers conducted a search of the medical literature and identified 32 studies that met criteria for inclusion. These included studies that reported clopidogrel metabolism, platelet reactivity or clinically relevant outcomes (cardiovascular disease [CVD] events and bleeding), and information on CYP2C19 genotype.
The 32 studies included 42,016 patients reporting 3,545 CVD events, 579 stent thromboses, and 1,413 bleeding events. Six studies were randomized trials ("effect-modification" design) and the remaining 26 reported individuals exposed to clopidogrel ("treatment-only" design). In treatment-only analysis, individuals with 1 or more CYP2C19 alleles (an alternative form of a gene) associated with lower enzyme activity had lower levels of active clopidogrel metabolites, less platelet inhibition, lower risk of bleeding, and higher risk of CVD events. However, there was evidence of small-study bias, the authors write. When analyses were restricted to studies with 200 or more events, the point estimate was lessened.
In effect-modification studies, CYP2C19 genotype was not associated with modification of the effect of clopidogrel on CVD end points or bleeding. A limitation included selective outcome reporting.
"Despite associations between CYP2C19 genotype, clopidogrel metabolism, and platelet aggregation, this systematic review and meta-analysis does not demonstrate a clinically important association of genotype with cardiovascular outcomes with the possible exception of stent thrombosis," the researchers write.
"Our appraisal has identified issues pertaining to the design and analysis of pharmacogenetic studies that are important in the understanding of the significance of the CYP2C19 genotype."
(JAMA. 2011;306[24]:2704-2714. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Editorial: Pharmacogenomics and Clopidogrel - Irrational Exuberance?
Steven E. Nissen, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, writes in an accompanying editorial that several factors led to the unrealistic expectations of the effectiveness of CYP2C19 genotyping for clopidogrel, and that a large randomized controlled trial is needed to adequately test the clopidogrel pharmacogenomic hypothesis.
"In the absence of such a study, physicians should use CYP2C19 or platelet reactivity testing rarely, if ever, and interpret the results with caution. It is still likely that pharmacogenomics has a bright future in cardiovascular medicine, but the pharmacogenomics approach to drug therapy must undergo the same rigorous testing for efficacy and cost-effectiveness that is required for other therapies. Overzealous adoption based on limited biochemical data does not serve the public interest."
(JAMA. 2011;306[24]:2727-2728. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
To contact Michael V. Holmes, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., email mvholmes@gmail.com. To contact editorial author Steven E. Nissen, M.D., call Brian Kolonick at 216-225-5614 or email Kolonib@ccf.org.
###
[ | 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: 27-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Michael V. Holmes, M.B.B.S., M.Sc.
mvholmes@gmail.com
JAMA and Archives Journals
CHICAGO Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that a certain type of genetic testing (for the genotype CYP2C19) be considered before prescribing the drug clopidogrel to identify individuals who may be less responsive to the medication, a review and analysis of previous studies did not find an overall significant association between the CYP2C19 genotype and cardiovascular events, according to a study in the December 28 issue of JAMA.
Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug used by approximately 40 million patients worldwide to treat or prevent atherothrombotic (blood clot from thickening of inner lining of arteries) events and after percutaneous coronary revascularization (such as balloon angioplasty). "Despite the overall benefit, some individuals may be less responsive to clopidogrel than others because clopidogrel is a prodrug activated by several enzymes, including CYP2C19, and common genetic variation in CYP2C19 alters enzyme activity," according to background information in the article. The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiologists have argued evidence is insufficient to support CYP2C19 genotype testing.
Michael V. Holmes, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., of University College London, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the strength and quality of evidence on the association of CYP2C19 genotype with responsiveness to clopidogrel. The researchers conducted a search of the medical literature and identified 32 studies that met criteria for inclusion. These included studies that reported clopidogrel metabolism, platelet reactivity or clinically relevant outcomes (cardiovascular disease [CVD] events and bleeding), and information on CYP2C19 genotype.
The 32 studies included 42,016 patients reporting 3,545 CVD events, 579 stent thromboses, and 1,413 bleeding events. Six studies were randomized trials ("effect-modification" design) and the remaining 26 reported individuals exposed to clopidogrel ("treatment-only" design). In treatment-only analysis, individuals with 1 or more CYP2C19 alleles (an alternative form of a gene) associated with lower enzyme activity had lower levels of active clopidogrel metabolites, less platelet inhibition, lower risk of bleeding, and higher risk of CVD events. However, there was evidence of small-study bias, the authors write. When analyses were restricted to studies with 200 or more events, the point estimate was lessened.
In effect-modification studies, CYP2C19 genotype was not associated with modification of the effect of clopidogrel on CVD end points or bleeding. A limitation included selective outcome reporting.
"Despite associations between CYP2C19 genotype, clopidogrel metabolism, and platelet aggregation, this systematic review and meta-analysis does not demonstrate a clinically important association of genotype with cardiovascular outcomes with the possible exception of stent thrombosis," the researchers write.
"Our appraisal has identified issues pertaining to the design and analysis of pharmacogenetic studies that are important in the understanding of the significance of the CYP2C19 genotype."
(JAMA. 2011;306[24]:2704-2714. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Editorial: Pharmacogenomics and Clopidogrel - Irrational Exuberance?
Steven E. Nissen, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, writes in an accompanying editorial that several factors led to the unrealistic expectations of the effectiveness of CYP2C19 genotyping for clopidogrel, and that a large randomized controlled trial is needed to adequately test the clopidogrel pharmacogenomic hypothesis.
"In the absence of such a study, physicians should use CYP2C19 or platelet reactivity testing rarely, if ever, and interpret the results with caution. It is still likely that pharmacogenomics has a bright future in cardiovascular medicine, but the pharmacogenomics approach to drug therapy must undergo the same rigorous testing for efficacy and cost-effectiveness that is required for other therapies. Overzealous adoption based on limited biochemical data does not serve the public interest."
(JAMA. 2011;306[24]:2727-2728. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
To contact Michael V. Holmes, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., email mvholmes@gmail.com. To contact editorial author Steven E. Nissen, M.D., call Brian Kolonick at 216-225-5614 or email Kolonib@ccf.org.
###
[ | 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/2011-12/jaaj-adn122211.php
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Rutgers-Eagleton Poll: Romney Still Preferred by New Jersey GOP; Obama Looks Strong Against Top Republican Challengers
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J ? New Jersey Republican voters continue to make former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney their candidate of choice against President Barack Obama, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. While former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has built a following here, registered Republicans and independents leaning Republican prefer Romney by 28 percent to 20 percent over Gingrich.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul runs a distance third at 5 percent; no other candidate gets more than 3 percent. More than one-third (37 percent) have no preference.
The poll also finds that Obama holds a strong lead in head-to-head matchups with all three GOP front-runners. While Romney does best, Obama leads him by 51 percent to 32 percent. The president doubles Gingrich, 54 percent to 27 percent, while Paul loses, 50 percent to 29 percent.
?New Jersey reflects the rise of Newt Gingrich seen elsewhere, though he has not managed to dethrone Mitt Romney, who has led in every poll we?ve done,? said poll director David Redlawsk, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. ?At the same time, Romney has yet to break out of the 20s in our open-ended question and more than a third have no preference at all. Gingrich is just the latest in a series of threats, which included Sarah Palin and Chris Christie early in the year, and Rick Perry and Herman Cain more recently.?
Results are from 823 registered voters drawn from a survey of 907 adult respondents conducted from Dec. 15-18. The registered voter sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. The subsample of 260 registered Republicans and independents leaning Republican has a margin of error of +/- 6.0 percentage points.
The Republican race in New Jersey
Despite more than a dozen nationally televised GOP debates so far, and extensive news coverage of the campaign, 38 percent of Garden State Republicans are still not sure who to support. Although Romney has led in every Rutgers-Eagleton Poll this year, he has not been able to break away, even with Christie?s vocal support.
Although Romney leads among Republican voters, Gingrich ties the former Massachusetts governor among conservatives, at 26 percent. Moderate Republicans prefer Romney to Gingrich by 2 to 1 (28 percent to 14 percent), but are also much more likely to be unable to name any candidate. Almost half (46 percent) are unsure of their final choice compared to 30 percent of conservatives. Women are also more likely than men to be unsure: 49 percent cannot name a preferred candidate, versus 29 percent of men. Twenty-one percent of women support Romney, 15 percent Gingrich and 8 percent name Paul. Among men, 33 percent prefer Romney, 24 percent Gingrich and 4 percent Paul.
?While Governor Christie has had success getting New Jersey Republican to line up behind Romney, rank-and-file voters are not really there yet,? said Redlawsk. ?In spite of leading throughout 2011, Romney has yet to break 30 percent support. Most Republicans seem to be casting about for alternatives, if they can name any candidate at all.?
Despite lukewarm ratings, Obama strong in head-to-heads
Perhaps benefiting from an unsettled GOP race, Obama appears to have a solid lead about 11 months before Election Day. While a November Rutgers-Eagleton Poll found only 32 percent of New Jersey voters gave Obama?s job performance an ?A? or ?B,? the president easily leads the top three Republican contenders. Romney does best (losing by 19 points) and Gingrich worst (down 27 points). Paul trails Obama by 21 points.
Two keys to the president?s strength are that Democrats are nearly united behind him and independents are currently swinging his way. More than eight in 10 Democrats support Obama against any of his challengers. Republican voters are less unified, except in the case of a Romney-Obama race. Paul does best among independents in losing to Obama by 13 points. Romney falls 15 points short and Gingrich trails by 24 points among independents.
?Several months ago we asked whether Obama deserves to be re-elected, and just about as many voters said no as yes,? said Redlawsk. ?But faced with specific challengers, voters can focus, and they now prefer to re-elect the president. Voters are not very thrilled with Obama?s job performance, but they like him better than the Republican contenders.?
The gender gap is alive and well in New Jersey, Redlawsk noted. Obama does extremely well with women, leading Romney by 30 points, Paul by 36 points and Gingrich by 37 points. The Republicans do much better among men, where Paul trails by four points, Romney by seven points and Gingrich by 15 points.
Romney holds his own among white voters; at 41 percent, he lags Obama by one percentage point. Gingrich and Paul do noticeably worse with whites: Gingrich trails, 46 percent to 35 percent, and Paul trails, 42 percent to 35 percent. Obama continues to win about 90 percent of African-American voters.
Republican candidates do best in the northwestern part of the state, with Romney and Gingrich both leading Obama in exurban New Jersey, while Paul draws even. Obama is strongest in north Jersey urban areas, leading all Republicans by about 40 points or more, though he leads in all parts of the state outside northwestern New Jersey.
?Obama?s strength reflects that New Jersey is still a Democratic state when it comes to presidential elections,? said Redlawsk. ?Overcoming that for any Republican may be tough. Of course, the election is nearly year away, and New Jersey voters have yet to become engaged in it. Once the Republicans have a nominee, we should expect to see things tighten.?
?
?
Media Contact: David Redlawsk
732-932-9384, ext. 285
E-mail: redlawsk@rutgers.edu
Source: http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2011/12/rutgers-eagleton-pol-20111220
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Italy raises $14 billion at much lower rates (AP)
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ROME (AP) ? Italy saw investors more willing to part with their cash Wednesday as it raised euro10.7 billion ($14 billion) in a pair of auctions, a sign that market jitters may be easing as the country presses ahead with its austerity measures.
The lower rates Italy had to pay are the first post-Christmas test of sentiment in the markets over the debt crisis that has engulfed the 17 countries that use the euro, and may be a signal that some of last week's massive injection of money into the European banking system from the European Central Bank may be filtering through into government bonds.
The scale of the falls in Italy's funding costs were dramatic and helped the country's benchmark ten-year bond yield in the markets ease further below the 7 percent level, widely considered to be unsustainable in the long-run.
The Bank of Italy said the average yield on its euro9 billion ($11.8 billion) six-month bill offering was 3.251 percent, half the 6.504 percent rate it had to pay at the equivalent auction last month. And an auction of two-year bonds, which raised euro1.732 billion ($2.3 billion), also saw the yield fall to 4.853 percent from 7.814 percent last month.
Italy is the eurozone's third-largest economy and is considered too big to save under the eurozone's current bailout funds. Markets have grown fearful over the past few months that Italy will find it difficult to pay off its massive debts, which stand at around euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion).
A further test of investors' appetite for Italian debt will come Thursday when the country offers more bonds, that could potentially raise a similar amount to Wednesday's offerings.
"Today's result sends a positive signal ahead of tomorrow three-year and ten-year auction," said Luca Cazzulani, deputy head of fixed income strategy at Unicredit.
Mario Monti, the country's new premier, got parliamentary approval last week for more spending cuts and tax increases intended to save the country from financial disaster. One of the most controversial aspects of the austerity package is reform of Italy's bloated pension system.
Later Wednesday, Monti is to chair a Cabinet meeting on a second wave of measures designed to boost Italy's anemic economy, which is expected to enter into recession in the first quarter of the new year.
The market responded positively to the auctions, with Italian shares outperforming their peers in Europe ? the main FTSE MIB index was up 0.9 percent by lunchtime ? and the yield on the country's 10-year bond back down at 6.75 percent. On Tuesday, the yield had spiked over 7 percent ? a level that is considered unsustainable in the long run and eventually forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek outside financial help.
The lower borrowing costs appeared a consequence of increased confidence that Monti's efforts will keep the country's finances on a sustainable path.
Demand for the bonds could also have been supported as well by a large infusion of credit to eurozone banks last week from the European Central Bank. There has been speculation that the stronger banks might use the cheap, long-term loans ? on which the current interest rate is 1 percent ? to purchase government bonds that carry higher interest rates and profit from the difference.
That could support both government and bank finances. But it would run contrary to efforts by many banks to lower their exposure to bonds issued by heavily indebted governments.
___
AP Business Writer David McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.
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Current Conditions from E. Peoria Community HS, East Peoria, IL
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Jason_Hickman: RT @chadbabel: Wow ?@JayBilas: Around $1 Million for bands to attend BCS title: http://t.co/mfhBve0B. I'm sure NCAA says it's to enhance ...
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Wow ?@JayBilas: Around $1 Million for bands to attend BCS title: bit.ly/v0ED3o. I'm sure NCAA says it's to enhance player experience" 
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97% The Artist
All Critics (134) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (130) | Rotten (4)
The Artist is the most surprising and delightful film of 2011.
A silent movie shot in sumptuous black-and-white, no less. A silent flick made with not a jot of distancing winking, but instead born of a heady affection for a bygone, very bygone, era of filmmaking.
It's a rocket to the moon fueled by unadulterated joy and pure imagination.
Strangely, wonderfully, The Artist feels as bold and innovative a moviegoing experience as James Cameron's bells-and-whistles Avatar did a couple of years ago.
"The Artist'' is a small, exquisitely-cut jewel in a style everyone assumes is 80 years out of date.
A beguiling tale about Hollywood's silent movie days that is itself silent, this made-in-L.A. French feature will charm cinephiles with its affection for one of the movies' golden ages.
...a good film with some great moments and two excellent lead performances...
full review at Movies for the Masses
...one of the most original films of this decade.
It's a valentine to the cinema that comes from the heart.
It's easy to dismiss The Artist as a simple love letter to the silent-film era, but there is a lot more at work here than just an attention-getting gimmick.
This film says a lot, without saying nearly any words. It's one of the best of 2011. (Content Review for Parents also available)
Not only does 'The Artist' clearly demonstrate that something was lost when movies started talking, but it also proves that we haven't begun to learn what can be done with images alone.
It may be silent, but The Artist earns some very loud applause
The Artist is a slight confection, really, but it's so delicious and knowing that it may well end up on any number of cineastes' desert-island lists. It's certainly on mine.
"The Artist" may be too cute to qualify as high art, but it's highly entertaining.
The story and the silent-era conventions may not be entirely original, but the director revives this uniquely American storytelling style with such infectious joy and life-affirming enthusiasm that it's nearly impossible not to respond in equal measure.
Essentially a stunt, but an expertly executed one that's immensely enjoyable, especially for movie buffs...a nimble, exuberant lark.
'The Artist' paints a glorious picture of old Hollyood.
In the more eye-pleasing The Artist, the plot eventually comes too close to its inspiration, though its early moments were headed for mastery - and transformation - of style.
Hazanavicius crafted more than a replica of the silent era... a masterwork that likely won't be imitated. How many movies in 2011 can you say that about? Only the best one.
"The Artist" is a delightful treasure. It is a charming mixture of comedy, melodrama and romance that cinema lovers should make a point of experiencing.
This is not some clinical dissection of bygone cinematic techniques; it's a lively, appealing effort that mostly rises above mere novelty.
It's about more than the gimmick, and The Artist will be calling to you, entrancing you and making you feel the love.
More Critic ReviewsNo quotes approved yet for The Artist. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/
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Monday, December 26, 2011
U.S. Mobile Device Use Increasingly Important To Holiday Sales (NewsFactor)
The use of mobile devices for making online purchases doubled in December from nine months earlier, according to a new report from RichRelevance. The customized-shopping-experience designer's study also indicates that over 90 percent of U.S. consumers making mobile purchases over the period were using an Apple device.
"The numbers across our retailing partners sites demonstrate just how powerful the iOS platform is enabling mobile web shopping and, while still below 5 percent in total conversion, mobile traffic's doubling in eight months is a trend we only see accelerating," said RichRelevance CEO David Selinger.
However, companies engaged in e-commerce also will need to boost their own efforts to make the e-commerce experience as painless as possible for consumers.
"In order to succeed in this dynamic market, retailers and brands must ensure they are addressing relevance throughout the channels where people are shopping, ensuring a seamless experience across the interplay of device, context and consumer behavior," Selinger said.
Mobile Users Spending More
The new study based on 3.4 billion shopping sessions at the Web sites of U.S. online retailers between April 1 and Dec. 18 shows that 24 percent of all U.S. online shoppers on Thanksgiving were using a mobile device. What's more, Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said the heightened use of mobile devices for online shopping is the most notable difference during this year's holiday shopping season.
"Sixteen percent of online buyers said they shopped with their mobile devices over the Thanksgiving weekend this year -- up from 9 percent last year," Mulpuru wrote in a blog.
Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 18, U.S. consumers equipped with iOS-enabled devices spent 19 percent more on their online purchases than Android device owners, RichRelevance said. Apple device-user purchases generated $123 vs. $101 for those made by Android device users.
Over the course of the study's nine-month period, mobile-device purchases accounted for a mere 3 percent of U.S. consumer purchases overall. However, RichRelevance expects this holiday season's trend toward more mobile purchasing to continue accelerating in the years ahead as more U.S. consumers adopt smartphones and media tablets.
Meeting Mobile User Expectations
With millions of new U.S. consumers have just unwrapped a smartphone or media tablet over the holidays, the entertainment, software publishing and multimedia industries will doubtlessly see a bump in online purchases in the weeks ahead. And over the long run, Gartner is predicting that by 2015 companies engaged in e-commerce will be generating 50 percent of their Web sales by way of their social presence and mobile apps.
Mobile browsing accounted for 6.7 percent of the global market in December -- with Apple's Safari leading the pack with a 55 percent share, according to the latest data from Net Applications. With Apple's mobile devices accounting for 92 percent of all mobile purchases in December, the key lesson for mobile device rivals is that they need to revamp their own browser offerings to elevate the e-commerce experience they offer mobile device users.
Companies and organizations engaged in e-commerce also will need to "scale up their operations to handle the increased visitation loads resulting from customers not having to wait until they are in front of a PC to obtain answers to questions or place orders," noted Gartner Vice President Gene Alvarez.
As more consumers use smartphones and other mobile devices, Alvarez noted, they will expect an extension of their customer experience to be supported by this kind of device while demanding that social aspects of the Web be intertwined with this experience.
"In time, e-commerce vendors will begin to offer context-aware mobile-shopping solutions as part of their overall Web sales offerings," Alvarez predicted.
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111226/tc_nf/81529
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Gingrich fails to qualify for Va. primary ballot (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich failed to qualify for Virginia's Super Tuesday primary ballot, the latest setback for a candidate whose standing in polls has been slipping. Gingrich's campaign said he would pursue an aggressive write-in campaign, though state law prohibits write-ins on primary ballots.
The state party said early Saturday that Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to appear on the March 6 ballot.
Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia, where Gingrich lives, underscores the difficulty first-time national candidates have in preparing for the long haul of a presidential campaign.
And it illustrates the advantage held by Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who has essentially been running for president for five years. Romney's team, larger than those of most of his opponents, has paid close attention to filing requirements in each state. He will appear on the Virginia ballot along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also has run a national campaign before.
Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week.
The former House speaker surged in popularity in early December and tried to use that momentum to make up for a stalled campaign organization. But his standing in polls has slipped in recent days amid a barrage of negative ads in Iowa, where the Jan. 3 caucuses begin the contest for the Republican presidential nomination.
Three other candidates ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman ? did not submit signatures before Virginia's deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday.
Gingrich's campaign attacked Virginia's primary system on Saturday, saying that "only a failed system" would disqualify Gingrich and other candidates and vowing to run a write-in campaign.
"Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates," Gingrich campaign director Michael Krull said in a statement. "We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice."
However, according to state law, "No write-in shall be permitted on ballots in primary elections."
"Virginia code prohibits write-ins in primaries. He can't do it," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at University of Richmond.
Tobias said Gingrich may have had trouble meeting a requirement that he must submit 400 signatures from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts.
Gingrich's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gingrich had been concerned enough to deliver his signatures personally. Rushing Wednesday from New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan. 10, he had supporters sign petitions before entering a rally in Arlington, Va.
Virginia GOP spokesman Garren Shipley said in a statement that volunteers spent Friday validating signatures on petitions that Romney, Paul, Perry and Gingrich had submitted. "After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the party announced early Saturday on its Twitter feed. Shipley did not respond to telephone calls Saturday seeking comment.
Forty-six delegates will be at stake in Virginia's Super Tuesday primary. That's a small fraction of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination. But they could prove pivotal in a close race, especially for a candidate like Gingrich, who expects to do well in Southern contests.
Gingrich already missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in Missouri's Feb. 7 primary, though he insists it doesn't matter because the state awards delegates based not on the primary but on a Republican caucus held in March.
Meanwhile, Virginia's Democrats said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign gathered enough signatures to get him on the state's primary ballot though he was the only candidate who qualified.
___
Associated Press writers Will Lester and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Chinese economist warns America against deficit spending.
It is my hope that China's comparative advantage as a low-wage producer does disappear - the sooner the better.
Fan Gang.??Is Low-Wage China Disappearing?1
?
Since I am sure you are all sick, as I am, of reading about the euro crisis, I am not going to harp on that painful subject, except to remind you of a favourite theme of mine. The founding fathers of modern free-market ideology claimed that we could eliminate the threat of arbitrary, capricious tyranny by taking power away from governments and handing it over to markets. Our present pathetic condition, terrorised by bullying financial markets and the rating agencies that serve them, shows how wrong were those theorists.
Recently reported, however, was a stirring declaration by the president of the European Commission, Jos? Manuel Barroso: the European project was born in the aftermath of war, ruin and destitution; surely it can cope with an army of bond traders.2 Bully for him.
?
Now to my main topic. Fan Gang (born 1953) is one of China's leading academic and public policy economists. He is a professor at Beijing University, chairman of the China Reform Foundation3 (a non-profit, non-governmental think-tank), an advisor to the Chinese central and provincial governments, and has served on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Chinese central bank.
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Given the rising importance of China, we should surely know more about what influential Chinese experts are thinking. Fan Gang, you will be glad to hear, is neither obscure nor depressing. His writings are lucid, practical and encouraging.?
Cheap labor and inequality
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Western economic policies in recent decades have been dominated by efforts to keep labour costs down, largely because of worries over competition from low-wage developing countries like China. We have weakened our trade unions, mechanised our services a well as what remains of our manufacturing, and subcontracted much of our work to low-wage countries. Thus we have suffered increasing unemployment and inequality. So it is pleasing to hear a top Chinese economist deplore the low (though rising) levels of wages in his own country. Cheap labour has contributed to profound income disparities...these might cause social crises...China must avoid such a scenario.4
According to Fan Gang, the most underpaid labour in China is in agriculture, which still employs about 30% of the workforce (compare: less than 2% in the USA, 6% in South Korea). This explains the continual migration from country to town. The economy needs to create 150 million new non-farm jobs, he argues, leading ultimately to an equilibrium with 10% in agriculture.?
He observes that, in rural areas, education is underfunded and there is little or no social security. However, to cope with these problems, the government is spending more on rural development, increasing minimum wages by 20% to 30%, and extending the scope of social security. Despite the great importance of tea for the Chinese, they don't seem very fond of tea parties.
?
Yet, he says, the best social welfare programme is economic growth.5 That must surely be true in developing countries like China, where average income per capita is around $7,500 a year.6 In richer countries, the position is different. We Europeans and Americans are consuming too much of the planet's resources; we cannot continue to pursue further rapid growth, unless that can be achieved without overall growth in consumption of physical resources. We need greater emphasis on redistribution of existing revenues.
?
Like many other countries, China shows wide disparities not only in levels of income, but also in rates of growth of income. The rich get richer quicker. Skilled workers have enjoyed strong growth in earnings, migrant workers (those who have migrated from country to town) much slower growth, while for rural workers, progress? has been slower still. The target set by the new [2011 - 2015] five-year plan, says Fan Gang, is thus also a policy manifesto to battle these social disparities.7
?
Credit and Bubbles
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According to Fan Gang, Chinese policymakers are vigilant and prepared to bear down on incipient bubbles.8 China's still centralized and largely planned economic system, he says, facilitates this strategy. After all, although modern market economics provides a sound framework for policymaking - as Chinese bureaucrats are eagerly learning - the idea of a planned economy emerged in the nineteenth century as a counter-orthodoxy to address market failures. Some people would prefer China to move to a totally free market without regulation and management, but the recent crises have reminded everyone that free-market fundamentalism has its drawbacks, too.
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With a view to deflating bubbles in their early stages, the central government uses various methods to restrict the growth of credit:9
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(a) The required reserve ratio: for every 100 yuan deposited with a bank, the bank is required to place (at present) 21 yuan in reserve with the central bank. These reserves are sterilised; they cannot be used to finance credit to customers. This 21% reserve ratio is extremely high by international standards; it has been increased several times in recent months, reflecting the Chinese government's concern about overheating and inflation. However, the ratio is less than it was; it was trimmed from 21.5% to 21% on 30th November 2011, in the context of a concerted effort by the world's leading central banks to avoid a global credit squeeze.
In the eurozone, the obligatory reserve ratio is now only 1% (reduced from 2% in December 2011); in the UK there is a tiny minimum requirement, for the larger banks, of 0.11%; in the USA the requirement applies only to very large 'transaction accounts'; it is 3% for deposits in excess of $11.5 million, and 8% for deposits over $71 million (Federal Reserve 'Regulation D').
(b) The? requirement of commercial banks to buy 'central bank bills'. In theory this is voluntary, but banks are expected to buy. Cash invested in these bills, like cash in reserve at the central bank, is unavailable for providing credit.
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(c) Ceilings and quotas. From time to time, the central bank imposes 'credit ceilings' or 'credit quotas' on commercial banks, again with a view to restraining their lending. This tactic was long used by the Bank of England, but was abolished in the wide-ranging programme of 'reforms' advocated by the Bank of England's 1971 paper Competition and Credit Control. It has never been reinstated, despite the often carelessly excessive lending of UK banks at various times between the 1970s and the recent past.
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So Fan Gang politely rebukes those who have acted less prudently: what Chinese policymakers have been doing in practice happened to be a lot better that what their counterparts in some other countries were doing - a lot of deregulation but too little on cooling things down when the economy was booming.10
?
The Chinese are great savers
China's national savings rate has been very high in recent years, amounting to 52% of GDP in 2008...a savings rate of 50% of GDP is too high under any cicumstances says Fan Gang. But he believes that a fairly high savings rate is necessary in a developing country which needs to build up its capital assets. China's per capita stock of capital assets is still 8 to 10 times lower than in advanced countries like the United States and Japan.11
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By contrast, in the United States we have seen the opposite situation in recent years: the savings rate has been extremely low, and many Americans complain that their country's infrastructure is deteriorating.
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High savings rates mean that Chinese households and businesses are saving large proportions of their income. Consumption is still startlingly low, not just because personal incomes are low by Western standards, but because the Chinese, even if their incomes are small, are putting money aside.
According to Fan Gang, household consumption equivalent to 35% of GDP is too low, 35% being the remarkably small figure for 2008 (compare: around 70% in the USA). What China really needs is a greater effort to promote domestic consumption and lower the savings rate.
Sooner or later, no doubt, the Chinese will start behaving more like grasshoppers and less like ants. This will stimulate growth in the rest of the world, by inflating demand for imports from other countries. But it will also reduce China's trade surplus and thus the amounts that China can lend to Americans and Europeans who run budget deficits. So, as the Chinese spend more, those budget deficits will have to shrink!
A 'eurozone' problem in China
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Just as the eurozone has national governments without currencies of their own, so China has provincial governments without their own currencies, since all China, except Hong Kong and Macau, uses the same currency, the yuan (also called the renminbi). As Fan Gang explains, in both cases, when a debt is defaulted upon or loans become non-performing, the negative consequences are felt by the entire financial and monetary 'zone' - the entire eurozone or all of China.12
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In fact, overborrowing by local governments became a problem in the early 1990s. So China's Budget Law, adopted in 1994, forbade local governments from borrowing autonomously, either by issuing bonds to the public or by getting credits from banks. In theory this means that local authorities cannot finance their deficits by increasing their debt levels, because they can borrow only from...central authorities.
?
However, local governments got around this law by allowing investment companies, controlled by themselves, to borrow. This is a Chinese version of the 'off-balance-sheet borrowing' tactic that has got the Greek government, and many banks, into trouble. The central government had to tackle this new problem by? privatisation of state-owned enterprises and improved financial regulation, including bank supervision and risk control. By 2007-2008, the ratio of total public debt to GDP was down to 22%, including local borrowings.
As from 2009, borrowings have risen because of the need to stimulate the Chinese economy, to counteract the effects of the crisis in the Western world. Total Chinese public debts now amount to around 50% of GDP, according to a statement by deputy finance minister Li Yong in August 2011.13 This is a very moderate level by comparison with current levels of more than 80% in Britain, France and Germany. But the famously pessimistic economist Nouriel Roubini thinks that China has substantial hidden debts, so that the real ratio might be around 80%.
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Fan Gang is not unduly worried: I believe that this problem is manageable...China's monetary authorities have been putting the brake on the growth of local debts since late in 2009...the leverage of any public entity must be monitored, supervised and restricted.
In a further comment that seems highly relevant to Europe today, Fan Gang remarks that with economic growth continuing, the potential risk posed by this debt will diminish.
A warning for America
In a very recent article, Fan Gang comments on the excessive deficits of the United States. For many countries, such as Argentina or Vietnam, a budget deficit of more than 3% of GDP, or a 5% current account deficit, has been enough to plunge them into a financial crisis. The US, by contrast, maintained about the same figures...for a decade while enjoying a period of economic expansion.14 This has been possible, Fan Gang explains, because of the special position of America, whose dollar is the world's reserve currency.
However, the result was overconfidence and a flawed vision of limitless potential growth, as if America could keep spending without saving, to no-one's detriment...You can see the logical consequences of this illusion in today's over-leveraged, debt-plagued US economy, the major cause of both the 2008 global financial crisis and the current concern over US government debt...America's long experiment with ballooning debt and an ever-expanding financial sector has left the country with other problems too...[it has] resulted in deteriorating industrial competitiveness, growing trade deficits and unemployment.
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Today, warns Fan Gang, even America, the world's banker, cannot put off the reckoning any longer. Since the American government depends heavily on China to finance its still growing borrowings, it should surely listen carefully to the views of one of China's most prominent and influential economists.
?
?Spero?columnist?Angus?Sibley is an actuary and writer on economic and political issues who writes from Paris. See?Equilibrium-Economicum.net?
Quotations from Fan Gang are taken, unless otherwise noted, from the series Enter the Dragon of essays by him, accessible at www.project-syndicate.org
?
1? Fan Gang, Is Low-Wage China disappearing? (30 August 2010)
2? See Julian Coman, Eurozone Crisis in The Observer (London), 20 November 2011
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3 The Foundation's functions depend fully on contributions from a variety of sources. To ensure its financial and intellectual independence, the Foundation solicits donations from all types of donors, including individuals, corporations, governments and other foundations: see the Foundation's site, www.crfoundation.org
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4? Loc. cit. (note 1)
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5? Fan Gang,? China's War on Inequality (29 October 2010)
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6 Recent estimates: $7,536 (WorldBank), $7,504 (IMF), $7,600(CIA); see Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
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7? Loc. cit. (note 5)
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8? Fan Gang, The Illusion of Chinese Bubbles (25 February 2010)
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9? Fan Gang, China's Monetary Sterilization (29 November 2010)
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10? Fan Gang, The Chinese Economy's Secret Recipe (29 June 2010)
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11? Fan Gang, Balancing China's High Savings (29 July 2010)
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12? Fan Gang, Athens, China (31 May 2010)
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13? See www.china.org.cn/business/2011-08/15/content_23215992.htm
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14 Fan Gang, Cashing Out in Foreign Policy, November 2011; see www.foreignpolicy.com
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The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not of Spero News.
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Mom: School put my autistic son in a bag
LOUISVILLE, Ky.?? A 9-year-old autistic boy who misbehaved at school was stuffed into a duffel bag and the drawstring pulled tight, according to his mother, who said she found him wiggling inside as a teacher's aide stood by.
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The mother of fourth-grader Christopher Baker said her son called out to her when she walked up to him in the bag Dec. 14. The case has spurred an online petition calling for the firing of school employees responsible.
"He was treated like trash and thrown in the hallway," Chris' mother, Sandra Baker, said Thursday. She did not know how exactly how long he had been in the bag, but probably not more than 20 minutes.
Mercer County schools Interim Superintendent Dennis Davis said confidentiality laws forbid him from commenting.
"The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment," Davis said in a statement.
State education officials said they were investigating.
Story: Autism 5 times more common among low birth weight babiesChris is a student at Mercer County Intermediate School in Harrodsburg in central Kentucky. The day had barely begun when his family was called to the school because Chris was acting up. He is enrolled in a program for students with special needs.
Walking toward his classroom, Baker's mother saw the gym bag. There was a small hole at the top, she said, and she heard a familiar voice.
"Momma, is that you?" Chris said, according to his mother.
A teacher's aide was there, and Baker demanded that her son be released. At first, the aide struggled to undo the drawstring, but the boy was pulled out of the bag, which had some small balls inside and resembled a green Army duffel bag, Baker said.
"When I got him out of the bag, his poor little eyes were as big as half dollars and he was sweating," Baker said. "I tried to talk to him and get his side of the reason they put him in there, and he said it was because he wouldn't do his work."
Baker said when school officials called the family to pick him up, they were told he was "jumping off the walls." Days later, at a meeting with school officials, Baker said she was told the boy had smirked at the teacher when he was told to put down a basketball, then threw it across the room.
Story: Autism can be an 'advantage,' says researcherAt a meeting with school district officials, the bag was described as a "therapy bag," Baker said, though she wasn't clear exactly what that meant. She said her son would sometimes be asked to roll over a bag filled with balls as a form of therapy, but she didn't know her son was being placed in the bag. She said school officials told her it was not the first time they had put him in the bag.
So far, almost 700 people have signed a petition on the website change.org. Lydia Brown, an autistic 18-year-old Georgetown University freshman from Boston, said she started it after reading a story about Chris.
"That would not be wrong just for an autistic student. That would be wrong to do to anyone," Brown said.
Advocates for the autistic were outraged.
Landon Bryce of San Jose, Calif., a former teacher who blogs about issues related to autism, said the school's treatment of Chris was "careless and disrespectful."
"A lot of the damage that we do to students with all kinds of disabilities is by treating them as though they deserve to be treated in a way that's different from other people," Bryce said.
Baker said she heard different accounts about her son's behavior that day.
Baker stopped short of calling for the dismissal of school employees, but she said they should be suspended. They also need more training, she said.
In Kentucky, there are no laws on using restraint or seclusion in public schools, according to documents on the state Department of Education's website.
A July letter from the state agency to special education directors said the state had investigated two informal complaints this year.
In one, "a student (was) nearly asphyxiated while being restrained," and in the other, a student vomited from panic attacks after spending most of an academic year "confined to a closet, with no ventilation or outside source of light," according to the letter.
Baker's case was first reported by WLEX and WKYT.
___
Associated Press writer Janet Cappiello contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45770432/ns/us_news-life/
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Apple May Get To Remove Obvious Features From Android
from the how-does-this-promote-the-progress dept
In one of the many-pronged attack that Apple has been making on Android, it's scored a victory at the International Trade Commission, where it's been determined that the idea, that if you see a phone number in an email or on a web-page and click it to call the number, is so special and wonderful that only Apple could possibly use it. It's rulings like this that make anyone with a modicum of technology smarts shake their heads and wonder why we let clearly non-technical people make decisions like this. Patents are supposed to protect inventions that are non-obvious to those skilled in the space. If you put a 100 groups of five engineers in rooms, asking them to design various smartphone features and interfaces around things like this, I'd bet 99 would come up with a similar feature. It's just natural.
In the meantime, Apple's statements about the ruling are equally ridiculous, given Apple's history of copying others (including Android):
"We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."Copying an idea and building on it is not "stealing." And if Apple had to build its devices without building on the ideas of others, it wouldn't have very much today. This whole thing is a joke, and it's rulings like this that make engineers have even less respect for the patent system.
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The Champions: Denny Rehberg Gets Mining Industry Backing in Montana Senate Bid
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Representative Denny Rehberg of Montana has been an aggressive advocate for the coal and minerals mining industry, a big employer in Montana.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=3f1ba2e1a0e3ab96fe5a2543d9e76319
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Friday, December 23, 2011
marcaplayer: Metal Gear 3 3D incorporar? dos nuevas vistas, una c?mara en primera persona y otra detr?s del hombro http://t.co/kjnP2gFB
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Rove On House GOP: They Lost The Optics
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Source: http://www.stevelackner.com/2011/12/rove-on-house-gop-they-lost-optics.html
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