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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Exclusive Preview: OK Go's New Thousand-Instrument Music Video [Video]
Monday, January 30, 2012
Stealthy leprosy pathogen evades critical vitamin D-dependent immune response
ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2012) ? A team of UCLA scientists has found that the pathogen that causes leprosy has a remarkable ability to avoid the human immune system by inhibiting the antimicrobial responses important to our defenses.
In one of the first laboratory studies of its kind, researchers discovered that the leprosy pathogen Mycobacterium leprae was able to reduce and evade immune activity that is dependent on vitamin D, a natural hormone that plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections.
The pathogen manipulated micro-RNAs, tiny molecules made of ribonucleic acids that carry information and that help regulate genes to direct cell activity, including immune system defenses. Micro-RNAs are short RNAs that do not code information for proteins, which carry out all cell activity; rather, they bind to the RNAs that do code for proteins and block them.
Published in the Jan. 29 online edition of the journal Nature Medicine, the findings demonstrate how an infectious disease pathogen like M. leprae can use micro-RNAs to impact the immune system's fight response.
"We may find that these tiny micro-RNAs can be exploited by pathogens to weaken our immune response," said the study's first author, Dr. Philip T. Liu, an assistant professor of medicine at the Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center and in the department of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "By better understanding how pathogens can escape our immune cells, we can design more effective therapies to boost our immune responses to these difficult to treat infections like leprosy."
Leprosy, one of the world's oldest known diseases, is a chronic infectious disease that affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, the upper respiratory tract and the eyes and can lead to disfigurement of the hands, face and feet. In 2008, approximately 249,000 new cases of leprosy were reported worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
For the study, researchers compared the micro-RNAs in human skin lesions from two types of leprosy: tuberloid leprosy, a milder infection that is more easily contained, and lepromatous leprosy, which is more serious and causes widespread infection throughout the body.
In the lab, the scientists identified 13 micro-RNAs that differed between the two types of leprosy. The micro-RNAs that were found to be more common in lepromatous leprosy seemed to target the genes important for directing key immune system cells, including macrophages and T cells.
The team found that a particular micro-RNA, hsa-mir-21, inhibited the gene activity of the vitamin D-dependent immune pathway used to help fight infection. When researchers neutralized the activity of hsa-mir-21 in macrophages, the cells were able to kill the bacteria again.
"The leprosy pathogen was able to effectively evade the host's immune response by regulating critical immune system genes," said senior investigator Dr. Robert Modlin, UCLA's Klein Professor of Dermatology and chief of dermatology at the Geffen School of Medicine. "It's like having the enemy sending a decoy message to your combat troops and telling them to lower their weapons."
To test the significance of this micro-RNA with other infectious diseases, the researchers also introduced hsa-mir-21 to human macrophages that were then infected with tuberculosis in the lab. Researchers found that the micro-RNA similarly blocked the ability of the macrophages to kill the bacteria.
Researchers also demonstrated that immune activation of the leprosy-infected immune cells decreased the leprosy bacteria's viability four-fold -- but only when hsa-mir-21 activity was silenced. In fact, an over-expression of this micro-RNA blocked immune activity, resulting in a five-fold increase in bacterial viability.
"We were surprised at the devastating effects that even a single micro-RNA had on the ability of immune cells to fight the infections," Liu said.
In addition, the team showed that this micro-RNA was found in human immune cells only 18 hours after the onset of leprosy infection. The presence of the micro-RNA so early in the infection suggests it might play a role in actual disease development, the researchers said.
Further investigation of this single micro-RNA in leprosy may provide a framework for analyzing other micro-RNAs to help determine their cumulative role in regulating the immune response.
The micro-RNAs are small, and therefore it is possible to develop treatments which neutralize them, the researchers said.
"We may find that a combination of vitamin D supplementation with a genetically targeted therapy could provide an optimal treatment approach to leprosy and possibly other chronic infectious diseases," said Modlin, who also serves as vice chair for cutaneous medicine and dermatological research at UCLA and is a distinguished professor of medicine and of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics.
"Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with a number of infectious and autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease and cancers," Modlin added. "Our study indicates that micro-RNAs can alter human vitamin D responses and contribute to disease pathology."
Dr. Barry Bloom of Harvard University, who was not an author of this study but is part of the research team studying this field, agreed.
"Such a novel approach may be especially worth exploring in treatment of drug-resistant pathogens such as some forms of tuberculosis, where antimicrobial therapy is becoming increasingly problematic," Bloom said.
Bloom, the former dean of the faculty at Harvard's School of Public Health, is Harvard's Distinguished University Service Professor and the Jack and Joan Jacobson Professor of Public Health in the School of Public Health's department of immunology and infectious diseases and department of global health and population.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Arthritis, Skin and Musculoskeletal Diseases, both parts of the National Institutes of Health.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, Los Angeles. The original article was written by Rachel Champeau.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Philip T Liu, Matthew Wheelwright, Rosane Teles, Evangelia Komisopoulou, Kristina Edfeldt, Benjamin Ferguson, Manali D Mehta, Aria Vazirnia, Thomas H Rea, Euzenir N Sarno, Thomas G Graeber, Robert L Modlin. MicroRNA-21 targets the vitamin D?dependent antimicrobial pathway in leprosy. Nature Medicine, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nm.2584
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120129151106.htm
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Cambodia holds Senate elections; most can't vote (AP)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia ? Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's party is expected to sweep Senate elections in a vote that is closed to the general population and criticized for lacking credibility.
The country's 61-member upper house of Parliament is being chosen Sunday by local officials and members of the National Assembly, or lower house. Two seats are appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni and two by the National Assembly.
In the last Senate election in 2006, the ruling Cambodian People's Party won 45 seats, followed by the royalist Funcinpec party with 10. Two seats went to the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.
The Senate has no power to amend or veto legislation and is widely seen as an ineffectual body that rubber-stamps bills from the lower house, which the ruling party dominates.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Yogurt dip: Dannon joins Super Bowl party
By Rob Neill, msnbc.com
If turkey is the national dish on Thanksgiving, on Super Bowl Sunday it's pizza, wings, seven-layer dip and beer.
Now Dannon plans to bring yogurt to the party. The company will?debut its?first ever ad during the game Feb. 5?featuring its?Oikos Greek yogurt brand.
The spot, featuring b-list actor John Stamos, comes at a time when popularity of Greek yogurt is soaring. Partially for that reason, the company felt comfortable spending ?in the $3.5 million range? for the 30-second spot, said , Dannon spokesman Michael Neuwirth.
?It?s not to change snacking habits during the Super Bowl obviously,? he said. ?But we?re in a category of food that continues to grow. It?s a long-term trend.?
And for exposure, ?there?s no better way to do that than the Super Bowl.?
The spot, which will debut online in the days before the Super Bowl XLVI, features a woman enjoying Oikos at her breakfast table. The ?alarmingly handsome? (Neuwirth?s words) Stamos enters the kitchen. She offers a bite to Stamos. Then he offers her a bite, but pulls it back at the last second to eat it himself. A few more teases later there is a battle between the two that ? well, Neuwirth said, you?ll have to watch the ad.
It has no dialogue.
Actor John Stamos and a young woman share, and then don't share, some nibbles of Oikos Greek yogurt in the company's first-ever Super Bowl ad.
?
A woman eating yogurt? For breakfast? John Stamos? Isn?t Dannon concerned that?s a bit feminine for the big game?
?The yogurt-buying public is broader than you think,? Neuwirth said. ?More than 80 percent of households have yogurt in the refrigerator at some point during the year.?
?The business environment is right for us. Especially with the sustained interest in Greek yogurt.?
Greek yogurt, which is thicker than ordinary yogurt, with more protein and less fat, now?accounts?for a quarter of U.S. yogurt sales, according to The Associated Press.?Neuwirth said the appetite among male customers is increasing.
In any case the?battle-of-the-sexes theme is a?tired-and-true Super Bowl tradition, as much a part of the game as?the pratfalls and talking animals that dominate ads during the big game.
?Anecdotally we?ve heard (the commercial) has a strong appeal to men, for in some cases the same attributes? as women, he said.
Each year, a few companies take the risky plunge and try advertising for the first time on the nation's biggest televised stage. With a reported cost that has risen this year to as much as?$4 million for 30 seconds plus production costs, it?s a bet that does not always pan out (ask Pets.com).
?We started our company in 1942, Neuwirth said. "We?re not a technology company that?(has)?an untested model. We understand there is a higher expectation of quality and creativity. But this ad is very different from our everyday ads.?
Dannon, based in White Plains, N.Y., is a unit of France's Danone.
Full coverage:
The Super Bowl of Advertising
Super Bowl XLVI on NBC Sports
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Conn. mayor blasted for 'taco' quip about Latinos (AP)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? The mayor of a working-class city roiled by allegations of police discrimination against Hispanics faced scathing criticism Wednesday from officials including the governor for saying he "might have tacos" as a way to do something for the community.
The comments by East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo brought unwanted attention to the leadership of the New Haven suburb, where four police officers were arrested Tuesday by the FBI on charges including deprivation of rights and obstruction of justice. The mayor was also criticized for his recent reappointment of police Chief Leonard Gallo, who was apparently referred to in the indictment as a co-conspirator.
The four officers are accused of waging a campaign of harassment against Latino residents and businesses, including assaulting people while they were handcuffed and intimidating people who tried to investigate or report misconduct allegations. All four have pleaded not guilty.
The taco comment came as Maturo, a Republican, was being interviewed late Tuesday by a reporter from New York's WPIX-TV, Mario Diaz, who asked, "What are you doing for the Latino community today?"
Maturo's response: "I might have tacos when I go home; I'm not quite sure yet."
He initially defended his response and said it was being unfairly twisted. But he later apologized, saying he'd had a long day of interviews.
Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the comments are "repugnant."
"They represent either a horrible lack of judgment or worse, an underlying insensitivity to our Latino community that is unacceptable. Being tired is no excuse. He owes an apology to the community, and more importantly, he needs to show what he's going to do to repair the damage he's done. And he needs to do it today," Malloy said.
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, a native of Puerto Rico, said he was "disgusted" by Maturo's comment. East Haven Democratic Town Committee Chairman Gene Ruocco called for Maturo's resignation.
The comment "goes to the root of the racial profiling allegations here in East Haven," Ruocco said in a statement. "Everyone knows the seriousness of this matter and for him, as the leader of our community, to say something so utterly insensitive is a complete disgrace."
Racial profiling complaints surged in recent years in East Haven, a predominantly white suburb on Long Island Sound where the Hispanic population more than doubled in size over a decade to 10.3 percent of its 28,000 people. Last month, a lengthy civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice concluded there was a pattern of biased policing in East Haven, where only one of the roughly 50 police officers speaks Spanish.
Neighboring New Haven, in contrast, has drawn national attention for its sympathetic approach to immigrants, including becoming the first city in the nation to issue municipal identification cards for all residents ? including illegal immigrants ? to provide services such as banking and using the library.
The indictment of the East Haven police officers says a leader in the police department, described only as co-conspirator 1, blocked efforts by the police commission to investigate misconduct allegations. That refers to Chief Leonard Gallo, according to his attorney, Jon Einhorn, who denied that Gallo blocked the investigation and said it was unfair for him to be mentioned when he is not charged.
The allegations show federal authorities are concerned not just with the actions of the four police officers but also with the wider culture, said Jeffrey Meyer, a law professor at Quinnipiac University and a former federal prosecutor.
"The significance of the allegations against co-conspirator 1 go to the overall tolerance and permissiveness of this police department with respect to the abuses committed by the indicted officers," Meyer said.
The investigation was continuing, but experts said federal authorities sometimes don't charge a person named as a co-conspirator.
"He's probably losing some sleep," Stan Twardy, a defense attorney and former U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said of Gallo. "The uncertainty of it is going to be uncomfortable for him."
Maturo is a lifelong East Haven resident and Republican who was mayor from 1997 to 2007 and re-elected again in the fall.
After taking office Nov. 19, he reinstated Gallo as police chief. Gallo had been on paid administrative leave since federal authorities began investigating in 2010.
"I stand behind the police department," Maturo said Tuesday. "We have a great police department."
The Rev. James Manship, a priest at St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven who has advocated for East Haven's Latinos, said he was incredulous that Gallo was welcomed back.
"I remain absolutely dumbfounded on how the mayor would reinstate Chief Gallo, who was at the helm of the police department when the culture and these things were happening," said Manship, who was arrested in 2009 while videotaping East Haven police officers to document harassment complaints as officers removed license plates from the wall of a Hispanic couple's store.
Maturo released a statement Wednesday to express his "sincerest apologies" to East Haven and its Latino residents and business owners for the taco comment, asking residents to "have faith in me and our community as we address the challenges arising out of the past days' events."
"Unfortunately, I let the stress of the situation get the best of me and inflamed what is already a serious and unfortunate situation," he said. "I regret my insensitive comment and realize that it is my job to lead by example."
____
Associated Press writer Michael Melia contributed to this report from Hartford.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Correction: US-Horn of Africa Famine story (AP)
WASHINGTON ? In a story about the humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa, The Associated Press erroneously reported that refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya were still in the process of opening. The camps opened between June and November of last year.
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5 things not in the State of the Union (Politico)
What gets into a State of Union matters. What doesn?t matters too ? sometimes just as much.
President Barack Obama embraced his base Tuesday night by affirming his commitment to Israel, clean energy, economic equality and immigration. He also placated his supporters by avoiding a few sensitive subjects.
Continue ReadingHere?s POLITICO?s list of the top 5 things that didn?t make Tuesday?s State of the Union.
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations
Obama took time out to talk about Israel ? key for securing Jewish support in November.
?Our iron-clad ? and I mean iron-clad ? commitment to Israel?s security has meant the closest cooperation between our two countries in history,? Obama said, adding the second ?iron-clad? to the prepared version of the speech. He?s also likely to get applause for the tough line he took against Iran over its nuclear program.
But Obama avoided any mention of peace negotiations ? and of the trouble he faced for his unsuccessful effort to jump-start them.
Since Palestinians formally applied for statehood at the United Nations in September, despite pleas from the U.S. not to do so, Obama could have addressed the topic this year. He did in his 2009 message to Congress, when he referred to the special envoy appointment of former Sen. George Mitchell, who ultimately resigned last May.
Obama did pay tribute to the Arab Spring democracy movement, welcoming the demise of Libya?s Muammar Qadhafi and warning that Syria?s Bashir Assad?s government ?will soon discover that the forces of change can?t be reversed.? But he left discussions of the negotiations over the region?s thorniest problem to another day.
Keystone XL Pipeline
Obama?s speech Tuesday night was chock-a-block with mentions of energy ? 23 in all. Not one of them was about the major decision he made just last week to reject ? at least for now ? plans to build a massive, 1700-mile long pipeline to carry oil sands from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The Keystone project pits two major Democratic constituencies ? environmentalists and labor ? against one another. Greens oppose the pipeline not just because of the acquifer issue, but because processing and burning the oil sands has a heavy greenhouse gas impact. Unions are eager for the thousands of jobs involved in constructing it. Obama chose to incite neither.
But Republicans wouldn?t let the night go by without mentioning it. The party views the pipeline rejection as a perfect example of Obama?s unwillingness to make job creation a priority. In the official GOP response to the president?s speech, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels warned against ?the extremism that?cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ tens of thousands.?
Anti-piracy legislation
The showdown over the Stop Online Privacy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act consumed both chambers of Congress last week. But there wasn?t a peep about it from the president?s podium Tuesday night.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Convicted fraudster admits try to kill NY witness (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The architect of a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme admitted on Monday to attempting to arrange the murder of a witness who testified against him at trial.
Aaron Hand, 40, pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree conspiracy to commit murder before Acting Supreme Court Justice Laura Ward in Manhattan.
"The defendant's actions strike at the heart of the justice system," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Nothing is more important than the safety of witnesses, and my office will do everything in its power to ensure their safety."
Hand is serving a prison sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years for racketeering, grand larceny, fraud, and conspiracy. He faces a further 8- to 16-year term when he is due to be sentenced on February 6.
His lawyer, Kevin Canfield, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Prosecutors declined to identify the threatened witness.
Hand was convicted in July 2010 of masterminding a mortgage fraud scheme, following an investigation that eventually led to the indictment of 27 defendants from all corners of the real estate industry, all of whom either were convicted or pleaded guilty.
According to prosecutors, in 2011, Hand met in prison with an undercover investigator posing as a hit man, and tried to hire him to murder an unidentified witness for $2,000.
Prosecutors said Hand was caught on tape giving instructions to the undercover "hit man" on how to kill the witness -- and, if necessary, his wife and child -- without leaving evidence.
Hand created his company, Long Island-based AFG Financial Group, solely to defraud lending banks of millions of dollars while taking advantage of low-income homebuyers, according to prosecutors. The company located distressed properties and recruited straw buyers -- people who had excellent credit but little cash -- to purchase them.
Hand used phony appraisals, forged documents, and false loan qualifications for the buyers to secure financing, with the aid of corrupt bank and mortgage lender employees, appraisers, lawyers, and real estate agents, according to prosecutors.
The company kept most of the bank's loan money, allowing the properties to be foreclosed upon and leaving the straw buyers with ruined credit and no return on their investment, prosecutors said.
(Editing by Daniel Trotta)
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Court won't hear arguments demanding Kagan recusal (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Supreme Court won't hear arguments from a conservative watchdog group that wants Justice Elena Kagan disqualified from deciding the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's national health care overhaul.
Freedom Watch asked the high court for time to demand Kagan's recusal or disqualification during arguments on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law is aimed at extending health insurance coverage to more than 30 million previously uninsured people and would, by 2019, leave just 5 percent of the population uninsured, compared with about 17 percent today, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Justices, who will be hearing more than five hours of arguments on the health care overhaul, rejected the request without comment.
Kagan, who was solicitor general under Obama, did not participate in the decision.
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Offshore quake causes panic, no tsunami in Chile (AP)
SANTIAGO, Chile ? A magnitude-6.2 earthquake has struck just off the shore of south-central Chile, the area devastated by a massive temblor two years ago. There are no immediate reports of damage and authorities say it will not cause a tsunami.
Monday's quake was centered 31 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Concepcion, and was relatively shallow at 12 miles (20 kilometers) under sea level. But Chile's navy announced that it wasn't the kind of quake to generate a deadly tsunami of the kind that ravaged nearby coastal cities when an magnitude-8.8 quake devastated Chile in 2010.
The U.S. Geological Service says the quake struck at 1:04 p.m. local time (1604 GMT). Chile's national emergency office says there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Swiss econony minister sees franc weakening midterm: paper (Reuters)
ZURICH (Reuters) ? Switzerland's economy minister Johann Schneider-Ammann expects the Swiss franc to weaken to about 1.40 francs per euro in the medium term, he told a Swiss newspaper on Sunday.
"My minimum expectation is that the Swiss National Bank keeps the lower boundary of 1.20 (francs per euro)," he told SonntagsZeitung. "In the midterm I expect purchasing parity to be reestablished. It lies at about 1.40 francs per euro."
The SNB set a cap at 1.20 francs per euro on September 6 to put a halt to the appreciation of the Swiss currency that threatened to tip the Alpine country into recession.
"The risk of a deindustrialization is still there at 1.20. Smaller and midsized companies cannot invest or replace staff," Schneider-Ammann said in the interview.
The franc has been trading in a range of 1.20-1.25 francs per euro since the SNB set its cap. It has gained ground towards the cap since central bank ex-Chairman Philipp Hildebrand stepped down in the wake of a scandal at the beginning of the month.
"The franc's strength has nothing to do with Mr Hildebrand's resignation. It is rather the downgrades by rating agencies that have led to uncertainty, pushing many towards the Swiss franc."
Schneider-Ammann stressed the SNB was independent and remained capable of acting despite the recent crisis.
Swiss industry representatives have repeatedly called for a shift in the euro-franc floor to 1.30 or even 1.40 but Hans Hess, president of industry lobby Swissmem, told SonntagsZeitung in a separate article this scenario was less likely at present.
"The risk of not being able to maintain an exchange rate of 1.30 francs per euro is much bigger than the risk of failing at 1.20," he said, adding that a shift would also mean acknowledging that the September move was not sufficient.
"That would harm the SNB's credibility in international markets that would certainly massively test this new floor."
Gerold Buehrer, head of business lobby economiesuisse who had called for a shift in the cap in the past, said: "The SNB has to defend the rate of 1.20 at all costs, a shift to 1.30 would be difficult given the unsolved euro zone debt crisis."
Only Swiss trade unions continue to plead for a shift in the franc cap, SonntagsZeitung reported.
(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
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SC-2012 Primary: 37% Gingrich, 28% Romney, 16% Santorum, 14% Paul (PPP 1/18-20)
Public Policy Polling (D)
1/18-20/12; 1,540 likely Republican primary voters, 2.5% margin of error
Mode: Automated phone
PPP release
South Carolina
2012 President: Republican Primary
37% Gingrich
28% Romney
16% Santorum
14% Paul
(chart)
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/sc-2012-primary-37-gingri_n_1220410.html
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Libya hopes African Cup success can bring joy
By MARK WALSH
Associated Press
Associated Press Sports
updated 5:02 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2012
BATA, Equatorial Guinea (AP) -For Libya, a victory at the African Cup of Nations would be about so much more than just sports.
Libya will take on co-host Equatorial Guinea in the opening match of Africa's continental championship on Saturday, marking the culmination of an unlikely 12-month campaign to reach the event amid political turmoil and civil war.
While the rebellion against Moammar Gadhafi raged at home, Libya's national team went undefeated in qualifying despite having to play all their matches in other countries - and with some players having joined the rebel forces on the front line.
The team became a symbol of the revolution when it donned new uniforms featuring the red, black and green colors of the country's new flag in a 1-0 qualifying win over Mozambique, and is hoping to provide a similar sense of pride to people back home by doing well in the tournament.
"This is much more important than just some football cup," said midfielder Walid al-Katroushi, who fought on the rebel front line against the Gadhafi regime. "We came here because we want to do something good for Libya - we are not here to enjoy ourselves."
The team arrived in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday with the players looked tired but relaxed as they checked into a brand new hotel in the coastal city of Bata. A handful of Equatorial Guinea soldiers and police were there as security.
Al-Katroushi wore a stoney expression on his face as he arrived, mirroring a quiet determination that was spread among the rest of the squad as well.
Al-Katroushi said that was partly due to the responsibility the team carried ahead of the opening match.
"The Libyan people understand football - they love the game," he told The Associated Press. "It's a long time since the country had something to smile and be happy about and that's up to us now."
Al-Katroushi left a football training camp in Tunisia in April to join the rebel forces, a decision that has given him a different perspective on things like football.
"Of course, everybody would be afraid of dying at a young age, but we had to do something to make a change in the government," said the 25-year-old midfielder, who plays for Libyan club Etihad. "I'm proud of what we did, but that's not why we fought. We did it for our country."
The team's Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta told the AP that the players used the political crisis as extra motivation.
"The players have talent but they didn't believe in this talent before," he said. "We had to change that mentality to give them courage and attitude. The rebellion seemed to make them more determined, more focused, more able to play above themselves."
Libya has a good chance to advance from Group A, having been drawn with No. 151-ranked Equatorial Guinea, an injury-hit Zambia side and the strongest opposition on paper, Senegal. The top two teams progress to the quarterfinals.
Equatorial Guinea's players were given a different kind of motivation for its debut match at the African Cup after the president's son announced he was putting up a $1 million win bonus for the team to share, plus $20,000 per goal against Libya.
Despite the financial incentive and home advantage, the lowly ranked team - currently behind minnows Benin and Samoa in FIFA's standings - should give Libya few problems.
The co-host's preparations were further hit when experienced French coach Henri Michel resigned just a few weeks before the tournament, leaving Brazilian replacement Gilson Paulo with little time to tune his squad.
"If we win the first game that will be an added boost, but we must go step by step," said Paqueta. "It would be a dream for the players to do well and go far in the tournament - it would be a miracle to be champion."
Libya wrapped up its preparations with a respectable 1-0 loss to tournament favorite Ivory Coast in a friendly in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Ivorian defender Kolo Toure praised the Libyans after the match.
"They are a good team and very well organized," the experienced Manchester City player said. "They don't have a lot of stars but they have pride. We have a lot of respect for them. This team (Libya) is really, really strong."
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsAFP - Getty ImagesPuyol, Abidal spark Barca
??Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal scored rare goals to rally Barcelona over defending champion Real Madrid 2-1 Wednesday night in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal.
Getty ImagesHe's back
David Beckham has re-signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, agreeing to a new two-year contract with the Major League Soccer club.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46040124/ns/sports-soccer/
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Why should we stop online piracy?
Continue reading page |1 |2
Congressional bill names are a reliable indicator of the state of conventional wisdom in the US. That Congress is weighing bills called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) tells us that, at a minimum, the idea of stopping online piracy is popular.
It shouldn't be. There's no evidence that the US is currently suffering from an excessive amount of online piracy, and there is ample reason to believe that a non-zero level of copyright infringement is socially beneficial. Online piracy is like fouling in basketball. You want to penalise it to prevent it from getting out of control, but any effort to actually eliminate it would be a cure much worse than the disease.
Much of the debate about SOPA and PIPA has thus far centred around the entertainment industry's absurdly inflated claims about the economic harm of copyright infringement. When making these calculations, intellectual property owners tend to assume that every unauthorised download represents a lost sale. This is clearly false. Often people copy a file illegally precisely because they're unwilling to pay the market price. Were unauthorised copying not an option, they would simply not watch the movie or listen to the album.
Dead weight bounce
Critics of industry estimates have repeatedly made this point and argued against the inflated figures used by SOPA and Protect IP boosters. But an equally large problem is the failure to consider the benefits of illegal downloading. These benefits can be a simple reduction of what economists call "dead-weight loss". Dead-weight loss exists any time the profit-maximising price of a unit of something exceeds the cost of producing an extra unit. In a highly competitive market in which many sellers are offering largely undifferentiated goods, profit margins are low and dead-weight loss is tiny. But the whole point of copyright is that the owner of the rights to, say, Breaking Bad has a monopoly on sales of new episodes of the show. At the same time, producing an extra copy of a Breaking Bad episode is nearly free. So when the powers that be decide that the profit-maximising strategy is to charge more than $100 to download all four seasons of Breaking Bad from iTunes, they're creating a situation in which lots of people who'd gain $15 or $85 worth of enjoyment from watching the show can't watch it. This is "dead-weight loss", and to the extent that copyright infringement reduces it, infringement is a boon to society.
After all, things like public libraries, used bookstores, and the widespread practice of lending books to friends all cost publishers money. But nobody (I hope) is going to introduce the Stop Used-Book Stores Now Act purely on these grounds. The public policy question is not whether the libraries are bad for publishers, but whether libraries are beneficial on balance.
Download or pizza?
By the same token, even when copyright infringement does lead to real loss of revenue to copyright owners, it's not as if the money vanishes into a black hole. Suppose Joe Downloader uses BitTorrent to get a free copy of Beggars Banquet rather than forking over $7.99 to Amazon, and then goes out to eat some pizza. In this case, the Rolling Stones's loss is the pizzeria's gain and Joe gets to listen to a classic album. It's at least not obvious that we should regard this, on balance, as harmful.
Meanwhile, the benefits of forcing copyright holders to compete with free-but-illegal downloads are considerable. I am not, personally, in the habit of infringing on copyrights (though I will cop to some book lending and the fact that my fianc?e and I, like any sensible couple, share Netflix and Hulu subscriptions) but recently have found myself firing up btjunkie.org again. Why? Because the BBC in its infinite wisdom decided to start airing season 2 of its excellent programme Sherlock in the UK without making it available at any price to Americans [including the author]. That's dumb, but until relatively recently it was a universal problem. It used to be that studios and labels didn't make their wares available to people willing to pay for them. That created an underground market for pirated TV shows and music. The pirated market, in turn, pressured the entertainment industry to create legal options such as iTunes and Hulu. The illegal competition is a valuable consumer pressure on the industry.
This is not to say that we should have no copyright law or that there should be no penalties for piracy. Used-book stores may slightly depress sales of new books, but they don't threaten to destroy the entire publishing industry. Large-scale, unimpeded, commercialised digital reproduction of other people's works really could destroy the US's creative industries. But the question to ask about the state of intellectual property policy is whether there's a problem from the consumer side. If infringement got out of hand, we might face a bleak scenario in which bands stop recording albums and no new TV shows are released.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Plans (ContributorNetwork)
On Wednesday, the Obama administration has made a decision to reject TransCanada Corp's plans to build the Keystone XL pipeline, according to MSNBC. In his address today, President Barack Obama noted that the rejection of TransCanada's application was to be blamed in large part on Republicans in Congress in their attempt to circumvent the administration's decision. Initially Obama had tried to delay the decision until 2013.
Despite this setback for Keystone XL, the company can still apply again for a permit, but only under new circumstances like identifying a new route. With this major decision over such a large environmental and energy debate in the U.S., here are some facts about the pipeline and the continuing debate:
* The National Journal reported that the Keystone XL pipeline is a $7 billion project that would extend 1,700 miles and deliver 700,000 barrels of crude oil from Alberta, Canada to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast.
* One of the major areas of concern over the pipeline took place in Nebraska, where the proposed pipeline was planned to cut right through the state, because of the proximity to the state's Ogallala aquifer.
* Keystone XL has garnered support from Republicans and industry representatives through its potential to create both permanent and temporary jobs from construction and operation in the U.S., reported the Washington Post.
* TransCanada's initial estimate of the 20,000 jobs that would be created by the project has also come under debate in light of the State Department's own estimate of 6,500 jobs.
* An article from the Guardian noted that numerous environmental groups and landowners in Nebraska had fought hard against the initial proposed route because it posed a threat to the state's ecologically fragile Sand Hills region.
* Environmental organizations also argued that the pipeline would undermine the country's goal of moving towards clean energy production and increase the dependence on fossil fuels.
* Following the Obama administration's rejection of the pipeline plans, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association Charles T. Drevna issued a statement noting that the rejection threatens the nation's energy security and job growth, added the Sacramento Bee.
* Drevna also added that the administration's decision was just to appeal protest groups and ignores over three years of research that shows the pipeline is safe.
* According to the Vancouver Sun, Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, offered praised for the President's decision, saying that it addresses "wildly exaggerated jobs claims."
* Additionally, President Obama was given until Feb. 21 to make an official ruling on Keystone XL, a deadline imposed by Congress.
Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Beyonce Doing "Fabulous," Band Mates Say
New celebrity mom Beyonce is recovering fully and doing fabulously since the birth of Blue Ivy Carter, according to those that know her best.
"She's doing fabulous," Michelle Williams said on the red carpet at the taping of the 2012 BET Honors in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night.
"She was born to be a mother," their fellow Destiny's Child band member Kelly Rowland added at the show, which will air February 13.
"She's just wonderful."
According to Williams, Beyoncé has what it takes to be a great mother to baby Blue: "She has such compassion for people and humanity, period."
Still, Williams (who refused to congratulate Bey on Twitter) admits they never thought their frontwoman would be the first to become a mom.
"We were very shocked ... we were laughing with each other the other day and she was like, 'Can y'all believe it? I was the anti - like no children for me,' and she's the first one [of us to have a baby]," Williams said. "So it was so amazing to see."
Williams, who already spent time with "the bundle of joy," says Beyoncé and Jay-Z's little chart topper just might be the most stylish baby on the scene.
After all, she has Kelly and Michelle looking after her!
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/beyonce-doing-fabulous-band-mates-say/
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Report: UK police lose Olympic security documents
By msnbc.com and news services
A British tabloid newspaper reported Tuesday that it had been handed documents about security arrangements for the London Olympics that were left on a train by a police officer, the latest in a series of embarrassing mishaps involving British authorities misplacing government documents.
London police confirmed Tuesday that one of its officers lost a bag containing documents on Jan. 5 and reported it to his bosses, telling The Associated Press that "obviously the loss of restricted material is a matter for concern," in a statement.
However, in a statement to msnbc.com, the police played down the importance of the document.
?
"We do not believe the bag contained operationally sensitive documents and the documents are now back in police possession," the statement said.
It added that its "Directorate of Professional Standards" had been informed about the loss, "as is routine."
Passenger found documents
The Sun newspaper said it received the documents from a passenger who found them on the train, and that it returned them to the police.
It said the papers contain accounts of meetings where security measures were discussed, and details of contingency plans for the Olympics.
The Sun published an image of some of the documents in its print edition, and described in sweeping terms some of the complaints police had about communications systems.
Olympics experts deemed the breach embarrassing.
"It will do nothing but undermine confidence in the Olympics security operation, already brought into question by the prospect of riots and terrorist attacks," Ellis Cashmore, a professor of culture, media and sport at Staffordshire University in England, told The Associated Press. "With so much scrutiny, it's almost beyond belief that someone in a responsible position would be guilty of such crass absentmindedness."
Security has been a top priority for the Olympics since 1972, when 11 Israeli athletes and coaches died in a terror attack at the games in Munich. The nature of nations squared off against nations also opens up the Olympics to an array of political issues.
The incident comes only a few weeks after London police experts managed to smuggle a fake bomb into Olympic Park in a security test.
Safe, but not an armed camp
Security experts said that while such testing is routine, it underlined the constant and ongoing struggle faced by security forces to create a system that will safeguard the July 27-Aug. 12 event without making London feel like an armed camp.
Authorities have already acknowledged they vastly underestimated the number of people needed to search spectators and otherwise secure venues and other Olympic sites, and have substantially increased the number of military, police and security guards taking part in the games.
The document debacle was also another in a series of embarrassing mishaps involving sensitive information left on London's busy commuter network.
In January 2008, an unencrypted computer carrying information on 600,000 prospective military recruits was stolen from the car of a Royal Navy recruitment officer in central England.
The month before, the government's top transport official said a disc containing personal information of 3 million driving-test candidates was lost. The Department of Health, meanwhile, lost information on 168,000 patients in a separate incident.
Dwarfing all those incidents was the revelation in November 2007 that British tax officials lost computer discs containing information ? including bank records ? for 25 million people, nearly half the country's inhabitants.
The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Galaxy's Gonzalez has knee surgery
updated 10:15 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2012
CARSON, Calif. - Los Angeles Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez will be out seven to nine months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee.
Gonzalez had surgery Friday in Los Angeles.
The injury leaves the Galaxy without the player voted MLS' top defender last season after he helped Los Angeles claim the league title. The 23-year-old Gonzalez is the youngest player to win the award.
Gonzalez was injured while on loan to FC Nuremberg of the Bundesliga last week, getting hurt on his first day of training with the club on a trip to Turkey.
Gonzalez has twice been selected to MLS' Best XI while starting 87 games over the past three seasons with the Galaxy.
Gonzalez will begin rehabilitation later this month. Los Angeles opens defense of its title in March.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsArsenal's slim hopes take hit
Arsenal's slim chance to contend for the Premier League title took a serious blow on Sunday when the Gunners lost 3-2 at newcomer Swansea.
Convincing
Roundup: Paul Scholes scored his first goal since ending his short-lived retirement to help Manchester United to a 3-0 Premier League win over Bolton on Saturday.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45994401/ns/sports-soccer/
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Heavy?s UFC 142 Fight Day Live starts at 6 p.m. ET
UFC 142 pre-show Fight Day Live is back this afternoon. Host Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will guide you through the full fight card and all of the biggest news in the UFC.
[Don't miss the action: Watch UFC 142 live on Y! Sports]
Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? UFC champ Jose Aldo Jr. eyes win in Brazil
? Serena Williams hasn't been on a date in 'forever'
? Video: Are the Lakers still the top team in L.A.?
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/heavy-ufc-142-fight-day-starts-6-p-173728511.html
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Stingy 49ers hold down Drew Brees, Saints 36-32
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) greets New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) after an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. The 49ers won 36-32. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) celebrates after an NFL divisional playoff football game against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. The 49ers won 36-32. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) celebrates with tight end Justin Peelle (81) and guard Jonathan Goodwin (59) after scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) scores on a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith over New Orleans Saints strong safety Roman Harper (41) during the fourth quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? In one triumphant afternoon, playoff first-timer Alex Smith joined a pair of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterbacks with his own indelible postseason moment.
Joe Montana had "The Catch." Steve Young had "The Catch II." Now, Smith added another epic play to the 49ers' storied history: "The Grab."
Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.
"You've got to call it 'The Grab,'" Davis said of his play. "We were down. I had to make it happen to take my teammates where we want to go."
What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of "The Catch."
Montana to Dwight Clark then. Smith to Davis now.
Smith ran for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 left and threw another scoring pass to Davis in the first quarter. Coach Jim Harbaugh's NFC West champions (14-3) proved that a hard-hitting, stingy defense can still win in the modern, wide-open NFL by holding off one of league's most dynamic offenses.
"This is huge for us," Davis said. "It's history, legendary, anything you can describe."
Brees completed a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham with 1:37 left and the Saints seemed poised to rally from an early 17-point deficit when Smith and Davis delivered once more. It was a wild back-and-forth finish featuring an impressive passing duel over the waning moments.
Their highlight show came in the opposite end zone from where Clark caught a stretched-out 6-yard pass from Montana on Jan. 10, 1982. Saturday's game-winner by a leaping Davis ? who plowed over a defender as he landed ? came in the same end zone where Steve Young hit Terrell Owens for a winning TD with 3 seconds left in a 30-27 wild-card win over the Packers in the 1999 playoffs. T.O.'s grab became known as "The Catch II."
San Francisco triumphed in its first playoff game in nine years and will move on to face the New York Giants or defending champion Green Bay Packers, who play Sunday. A win by the Giants would give the 49ers the home field.
The 49ers pulled off another last-second win in a season full of them ? and on a day former coach George Seifert served as honorary captain for the coin toss. San Francisco came from behind for five victories during the regular season, four on the road.
Smith helped the Niners become the first team in NFL history to score two lead-changing touchdowns in the final 3 minutes to win a playoff game, according to STATS LLC.
Davis, who wept on the sideline afterward days after saying he was overwhelmed early on by Harbaugh's thick playbook, finished with seven catches for 180 yards. It was the most yards receiving by a tight end in a playoff game. He averaged 25.7 yards per catch.
Smith found Davis for a 47-yard completion on a cross to the left sideline with 31 seconds left and Smith then connected with Frank Gore to put the Niners on the 14 for third down. Davis produced on a play they call "Vernon Post" ? one they worked on all week, just from the right side instead of the left where it worked Saturday.
Brees came up big down the stretch just as he did throughout a record-setting season, also hitting Darren Sproles for a 44-yard TD with 4:02 remaining ? one of Sproles' 15 catches for 119 yards.
"It stings right now because of the expectation level that we had coming into this tournament and understanding that if we win here we're into the NFC championship game and anything can happen," Brees said. "That's tough. Tough to swallow at this point."
With Donte Whitner bringing the bruising hits and Dashon Goldson, Patrick Willis and their defensive mates pressuring Brees and forcing turnovers from every angle, surprising San Francisco is a win away from returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since capturing the proud franchise's fifth championship after the 1994 season.
Brees, whose team was coming off consecutive 600-yard games, completed 40 of 63 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns and was sacked three times. He also threw two interceptions, his first in the postseason in five years, and New Orleans (14-4) fell short again in its quest to get back to the Super Bowl after winning it all two years ago. The Saints are still searching for the first postseason road victory in franchise history after falling to 0-5.
"Kind of an unbelievable game the way it went back and forth," New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. "It's obviously a difficult game to lose."
How far these 49ers have come since that 24-3 trouncing they took back in August at the Superdome in the teams' exhibition opener. Now, Harbaugh's "Who's got it better than us? No-body!" group is drawing comparisons to the good ol' days of Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and Steve Young. And of course, Dwight Clark, who came through with "The Catch" to beat Dallas in the NFC title game on Jan. 10, 1982.
All-Pro David Akers, the Niners' most experienced playoff veteran whose 44 field goals set a single-season record, kicked three more when it mattered most ? from 25, 41 and 37 yards.
The underdog 49ers made the big plays on both sides of the ball and on special teams.
"Guys were so confident, as long as we had time we had a shot," Smith said.
They also had a towel-waving sellout crowd of 69,732 behind them at Candlestick Park on a beautiful sunny winter day in the Bay Area. It was 62 degrees at kickoff.
Who Dat? It's the Saints headed home to the Big Easy empty-handed.
A year ago, New Orleans came out West and suffered a stunning loss to the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild-card round.
The Saints had lost five fumbles all season, then gave three away Saturday against San Francisco's opportunistic defense that pressured all day.
Harbaugh's theme "don't overcook it," rang true as the 49ers relied on what got them here ? perhaps the league's best defense and special teams.
Brees drove the Saints close to the goal line on their opening drive but Pierre Thomas lost that fumble and was lost for the game to a head injury after being hit by Whitner. Two other turnovers came on special teams.
Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick booed so often his first six seasons, hit Davis on a 49-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and then Michael Crabtree on a 4-yard TD strike as the 49ers jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead. He finished 24 for 42 for 299 yards with a 103.2 passer rating.
"It shows he's becoming an elite quarterback. I'm glad the world could see what he did today," Willis said.
Smith and his offense were determined to make their mark on these playoffs after being overlooked all season, and showed a little flair of their own. Davis dunked the football over the goal post after his score to make the Niners' most significant game on the NFL's big stage since rallying to stun the New York Giants 39-38 in January 2003.
Brees threw two first-half interceptions and had his NFL-record streak of 226 postseason passes without an interception snapped on Goldson's pick in the opening quarter. Brees' streak dated to the NFC championship game against Chicago five years ago.
But he hit a well-guarded Graham for a leaping 14-yard touchdown catch at the 9:32 mark of the second quarter, then had a 25-yard TD completion to Marques Colston to send the Saints into halftime trailing only 17-14.
Any momentum New Orleans gained was hurt when Colin Jones forced return man Sproles to fumble after the 49ers punted on their first possession of the second half. That set up Akers' second field goal of the day.
Notes: Brees finished the regular season and playoffs with 6,404 yards passing, surpassing Marino's 6,085 on the way to the Super Bowl in the 1984 season. ... 49ers WR Ted Ginn Jr., nursing a tender left ankle, left for the locker room before halftime and didn't return.
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