From locksmith to limelight: Dujardin, star of 'The Artist,' adored in France

Jean Dujardin, who has already won a Golden Globe for his role in 'The Artist' and is nominated for an Oscar, has endeared himself ? particularly his eyebrows ? to the French.

Move over G?rard Depardieu. France has a new face on the global silver screen.

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Jean Dujardin, who manages to be both suave and folksy ? in a French sort of way ? is a 2012 "Best Actor" Oscar nominee for his role in ?The Artist,? a black and white ?silent? throwback to the 1920s, with swing-era jazz and plenty of playful nostalgia.

Mr. Dujardin, unknown abroad until now, is loved in France as an unsnobby comic who rose from a working class Paris suburb, a one-time locksmith who was told his face was too rotund for the camera.

?I adore him ?he is a born clown,? says Christine Bertholts, a legal secretary in Paris, in a typical comment. ?And those eyebrows!???

While France has produced several female Oscar winners, Dujardin, will be the first French male to take home the prize?if he gets the nod on Feb. 26.?

Dujardin plays George Valentin, a silent star with a pencil-thin moustache who can?t or won?t make the transition to talkies and goes into a funk, but is saved by his adorable dog and a woman he generously helps when he?s riding high.

The French actor learned to tap dance for the part, and says his favorite American actor is Paul Newman. He is up against George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Demian Bichir, and Gary Oldman for the Oscar. ?

The Artist is nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. It just won three Golden Globe awards ? including best actor in a comedy for?Dujardin ? throwing film-crazy France into a small state of euphoria.?In interviews after the ceremony, French radio hosts had fun with an Anglo version of Dujardin?s last name, asking if they were speaking with ?Jean of the Garden.?

"When I started [as an actor],? Dujardin said after winning the Golden Globe, ?An agent told me, ?You won?t make films, your face is too expressive??It's not my fault,? I told him, ?My eyebrows act independently!?"

France's main Hollywood presence for years has been Mr. Depardiu, who earned a 1990 Academy Award nomination for Green Card, but did not win. Le Point, a French news magazine, said of Dujardin, ?He may even de-throne Depardieu in the Anglo-Saxon heart.?

"We thought it would be a film for festivals, a film that critics could like, but we weren?t counting on this!" French daily Figaro quoted director Michel Hazanavicius saying about its commercial and critical success.

It's a good thing "The Artist" is a silent film. Dujardin speaks little English and says he?s not preparing for work outside of France.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/q8JnXu6TVlU/From-locksmith-to-limelight-Dujardin-star-of-The-Artist-adored-in-France

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Super Bowl ads without toilet humor

Chrysler took a gamble on their sober "Imported From Detroit" ad. But the longest spot in big game history was a hit.

By Peter Hartlaub, msnbc.com contributor

They appear out of nowhere, as out-of-place as organic cheese on your nachos at the stadium concession stand. ?

Serious Super Bowl ads play on emotions instead of humor or sex appeal. They are generally few and far between, and if they bomb, they have the potential to bomb in a very big way.

?Obviously, it can be effective to pull everyone?s heartstrings. But you don?t want to miss,? said Tod Puckett, an executive producer at San Francisco-based advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. ?In 30 seconds, it can be much easier to make a connection with humor.?

And yet when you look on any all-time best Super Bowl commercial list, the chances are good that at least few somber or emotional ads are included among the beer-loving frogs and office linebackers.

Puckett, who worked on the heralded E*Trade dancing monkey Super Bowl ad of 2000, credits the makers of Budweiser?s post-Sept. 11 ?Respect? with taking the type of heavy risk that many advertisers aren?t willing to consider.

Puckett hasn?t seen a flood of serious ads yet for next week?s Super Bowl XLVI, but he?s hopeful there will be some memorable ones.

?I?ve been very disappointed in the past few years with Super Bowl commercials,? he said. ?(Animals) and throwing bottles at people?s heads. I think we can do better.?

Below, in descending order, are our favorite serious advertisements of all time. We defined ?serious? as any advertisement that is not driven by humor, sex, action or visual effects.?

Volkswagen ?Big Day? (2001)

The commercial: Scenes of a woman preparing for her wedding are interspersed with a well-dressed man, becoming increasingly frustrated as he winds through traffic and other obstacles in a Jetta VR6. He arrives in a church where the woman is about to marry another man. The priest says ?Speak, or forever hold your peace,? they lock eyes and the screens fades to black.?

Tagline: ?Fasten your seatbelts?

Legacy: The commercial was a viewer favorite, and started a strong Super Bowl ad run for Volkswagen ? which had a winner last year featuring a little kid trying to use The Force in a Darth Vader costume.??

Master Lock ?Tough Under Fire? (1973)

The commercial: The commercial features a man on a rifle range, followed by slow motion video of a bullet piercing the center of a Master Lock. The couldn?t-be-more-serious narrator explains: ?The Master Lock model No. 15 sustained considerable damage, but did not open.??

Tagline: ?Whatever your protection needs, there?s a Master Lock ready for the job.?

Legacy: Arguably the first landmark Super Bowl advertisement, new generations are discovering it nearly 40 years later. Master Lock posted a grainy version of the commercial on YouTube, and it has received almost 400,000 views.?

Google ?Parisian Love? (2010)

The commercial: In a story told entirely within the Google search field (with a few well-placed audio effects), a student studies abroad, meets a woman, courts her, marries and has a baby ? using Google searches to book flights, translate French, locate a church and finally assemble a crib.

Tagline: ?Search on.?

Legacy: Google?s first Super Bowl ad was a huge hit ? both during the game and after, when millions watched the video. (Presumably after searching Google for it.) The inevitable parodies started appearing within hours, which was probably part of the tech giant?s plan.

Budweiser ?Applause? (2005)

The commercial: Travelers go about their business in a busy airport. People of all ages and all walks of life burst into a building applause, before the subjects of their tribute ? a group of military personnel returning from overseas ? walk wearily but purposefully into view.

Tagline: ?Thank you.?

Legacy: The commercial received a lot of buzz and positive attention for the beer-maker. Budweiser aired ?Applause? only twice in 2005 ? during the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500, before using it again in 2008 to support the United Service Organizations.

Chrysler ?Imported From Detroit? (2011)

The commercial: Images of Detroit flash by, as a narrator talks about the Chrysler?s comeback. The pep talk hits a crescendo as the instrumental to Eminem?s ?Lose Yourself" builds, a choir appears, the rapper points at the camera and says, ?This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.?

Tagline: ?Imported from Detroit?

Legacy: The two-minute version of the commercial received 14 million YouTube hits in less than a year. A few were critical of such a large ad buy so soon after a government bailout for the company. But the longest ad in Super Bowl history was hailed by fans and ad insiders.

Apple ?1984? (1984)

The commercial: Workers in drab grey uniforms march in lockstep, as an Orwellian leader dispenses propaganda on a giant video screen. Police with batons chase a woman in a white tank top and orange running shorts, who spins and hurls a sledgehammer at the screen.

Tagline: ?On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you?ll see why 1984 won?t be like ?1984.??

Legacy: The Ridley Scott-directed commercial was a huge hit for Apple, and is considered a watershed moment for Super Bowl advertising. Apple followed the next year with the shockingly depressing ?Lemmings? ad, arguably one of the worst in Super Bowl history.

Budweiser ?Respect? (2002)

The commercial: A team of the brewer's iconic Clydesdales takes a long, somber journey along a snowy landscape from Vermont to New York. When they reach New York City, the horses kneel solemnly with the space that used to be the World Trade Center in the distance.

Tagline: None.

Legacy: What had to be a huge risk for Budweiser was almost universally hailed. It routinely shows up at the top of all-time-best lists. Budweiser created a 10-year anniversary edition late last year, which was hard to distinguish from the original.

Coca-Cola ?Mean Joe Greene (1980)

The commercial: A limping Mean Joe Greene walks down a tunnel toward the locker room after a tough game. A boy stops Greene, asks if he needs help and offers him a Coke. The surly defensive end takes the drink, stops the boy (?Hey kid ? catch?) and throws him a jersey.

Tagline: ?Have a Coke and a smile.?

Legacy: While the commercial actually debuted during the football season in 1979, it became a sensation after it aired during Super Bowl XIV. A spin-off movie (?The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid?) aired, a duplicate version starring Diego Maradona was filmed, and the ad continues to resonate in popular culture.

Peter Hartlaub is the pop culture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10265161-but-seriously-folks-these-super-bowl-ads-didnt-need-toilet-humor-or-pratfalls

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Chirality of a nanotube controls growth: Armchair nanotubes grow fastest

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? The Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, has experimentally confirmed a theory by Rice University Professor Boris Yakobson that foretold a pair of interesting properties about nanotube growth: That the chirality of a nanotube controls the speed of its growth, and that armchair nanotubes should grow the fastest.

The work is a sure step toward defining all the mysteries inherent in what Yakobson calls the "DNA code of nanotubes," the parameters that determine their chirality -- or angle of growth -- and thus their electrical, optical and mechanical properties. Developing the ability to grow batches of nanotubes with specific characteristics is a critical goal of nanoscale research.

The new paper by Air Force senior researcher Benji Maruyama; former Air Force colleague Rahul Rao, now at the Honda Research Institute in Ohio; Yakobson and their co-authors appeared this week in the online version of the journal Nature Materials.

It's an interesting denouement in a saga that began with a 2009 paper by Yakobson and his collaborators. That paper, which presented the theoretical physicist's dislocation theory of chirality-controlled growth, described how nanotubes emerge as if single threads of atoms weave themselves into the now-familiar chicken-wire-like tubes. It also garnered a bit of controversy over what precisely the results meant.

"Boris caught some heat over it," Maruyama said. "The experimental work out there indicated his theory might be true, but they couldn't confirm it. The good part about our work is that it's fairly unambiguous."

Yakobson, Rice's Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and professor of chemistry, took it all in stride. "The criticism didn't affect anything; it was actually the best advertisement and motivation for further work," he said. "In fact, (nanotube pioneer Sumio) Iijima noted early that 'helicity may aid the growth.' We have transformed it into a verifiable equation."

Experimental confirmation of a theory is never final but always satisfying, he admitted, and the Air Force lab was uniquely equipped to prove the linkage between the speed of a nanotube's growth and its chiral angle.

The chirality of a single-walled nanotube is determined by the way its carbon atoms are "rolled." Yakobson has described it as similar to rolling up a newspaper; sometimes the type lines up, and sometimes it doesn't. That alignment determines the nanotubes' electrical properties. Metallic armchair nanotubes, so named for the shape of their uncapped edges, are particularly desirable because electrons pass through from tip to tip with no resistance, while semiconducting nanotubes are useful for electronics, among other applications.

Rao developed a technique in Maruyama's lab to measure the growth rates of individual nanotubes. "It's an impressive setup," Yakobson said. "They can grow individual tubes in very low density and identify their signatures -- their chirality -- and at the same time measure how rapidly they grow."

The technique involved mounting catalyst nanoparticles on microscopic silicon pillars and firing tightly controlled lasers at them. Heat from the laser triggered the nanotubes to grow through a standard technique called chemical vapor deposition, and at the same time, the researchers analyzed nanotube growths via Raman spectroscopy.

From the spectra, they could tell how fast a nanotube grew and at what point growth terminated. Subsequent electron microscope images confirmed the spectra were from individual single-walled nanotubes, while chiral angles were determined by comparing post-growth Raman spectra and nanotube diameters to the Kataura plot, which maps chirality based on band gap and diameter.

They noted in the paper that the results provide a basis for further research into growing specific types of nanotubes. "Now that we know what the growth rate is for a particular chirality nanotube, one could think about trying to achieve growth of that specific chirality by influencing growth conditions accordingly," Rao said. "So, basically, we now have another 'knob' to turn."

"This work is at a very early development stage, and it's all about post-nucleation," Yakobson said. "Nucleation sets what I think of as the genetic code -- very primitive compared to biology -- that determines the chirality and the speed of growth of a nanotube." He said it may be possible someday to dictate the form of a nanotube as it begins to bubble up from a catalyst, "but it will take a lot of ingenuity."

Yakobson revealed a formula last year that defined the nucleation probability through the edge energies for graphene, which is basically a cut-and-flattened nanotube. But the earlier and related dislocation theory applies to the following growth, and if confirmed further may turn out to be his masterwork.

"The dislocation theory of growth is elegant and simple," Rao said. "It's still too early to say that it is the only growth mechanism, but Boris should be given plenty of credit for proposing this bold idea in the first place."

Co-authors are former Rice graduate student Tonya Leeuw Cherukuri and David Liptak, both researchers at the Air Force lab.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Research Council funded the work.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rice University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Rahul Rao, David Liptak, Tonya Cherukuri, Boris I. Yakobson, Benji Maruyama. In situ evidence for chirality-dependent growth rates of individual carbon nanotubes. Nature Materials, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3231

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

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

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130130843.htm

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Another 'American Idol' alum heading to Broadway (AP)

NEW YORK ? A former "American Idol" contestant is heading to Broadway with a character who, it's safe to say, is truly two-faced.

Constantine Maroulis will play the title dual role in a revival of the musical "Jekyll & Hyde" that's slated to come to New York in spring 2013 after a 25-week national tour that starts in San Diego on Oct. 2, Nederlander Presentations Inc. announced Sunday.

Maroulis, who was a finalist on the fourth season of "American Idol," had a three-year run in Broadway's "Rock of Ages" and received a best actor Tony nomination and a Drama League nomination for his performance. He also played the role of Roger Davis in a recent national tour of "Rent."

Maroulis made his Broadway debut in "The Wedding Singer" and is currently in the title role of "Toxic Avenger" at the Alley Theatre in Houston. His debut album, "Constantine," was released on his own label, Sixth Place Records.

"Jekyll & Hyde" features a story and lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn, who co-conceived the musical. It will be directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun.

Additional cast and creative team, as well as tour cities, will be announced later.

Wildhorn has had a tough time on Broadway recently, with back-to-back shows that have failed. His show this spring called "Wonderland," an updated telling of "Alice in Wonderland," was poorly reviewed and his "Bonnie & Clyde" recently closed early this season.

"Jekyll & Hyde" made its Broadway debut in 1997 with such songs as "This is the Moment," "A New Life" and "Someone Like You," earning four Tony nominations. It tells the story of a London doctor who accidentally unleashes his evil alternate personality in his quest to cure his father's mental illness.

Robert Cuccioli played the lead, and Sebastian Bach and David Hasselhoff later took over. After 1,543 performances, the production played its final performance on Jan. 7, 2001.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_ot/us_theater_jekyll_and_hyde

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Cancer screening rates still too low, says CDC

Cancer screening for three major cancer types in the US remain below goals for 2020, according to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Rates for Asian and Hispanic Americans are lower than other groups.

According to the report, in 2010:
-- The screening rate for breast cancer was 72.4%,; the 2020 national target is 81%
-- The screening rate for cervical cancer was 83%; the 2020 target is 93%
-- The screening rate for colorectal was 58.6%; the 2020 target is 70.5%.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) makes the recommendations for cancer screening, and the US Department of Health and Human Services has set 10-year national targets for screening as an aspect of its Healthy People 2020 program.

Source: Medical News Today

Source: http://www.cancertreatment.net/news/breast-cancer/cancer-screening-rates-still-too-low-says-cdc

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PFT: Neighbor calls Cassel hero after house fire

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It?s official.? In Saturday?s edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, ?reader representative? Ted Diadiun addressed at length the decision to remove long-time Browns writer Tony Grossi from the team?s beat.? Diadiun?s article is well-written, superficially persuasive, and apparently effective, given the number of emails we?ve received from folks who believe based on Diadiun?s article that the newspaper did the right thing.

But it doesn?t change our opinion that the Plain Dealer cowered to the Browns.? In fact, it strengthens it.

When scrutinizing an employment decision, inconsistencies in the reasons and rationalizations from the employer become extremely important.? The thinking is that, if the employer can?t tell a unified story in support of a supposedly legitimate decision, it?s possible that the employer is trying to conceal potentially illegitimate motives.? Circumstantial evidence also takes on a critical role, since the employer rarely will admit to ordering the Code Red.? Or, perhaps for these purposes, a Code Orange.

And that?s really the ultimate question.? Did the Browns order a Code Orange on Grossi?? Or, more accurately, did the Plain Dealer reassign Grossi because it believed the Browns wanted Grossi out?

Let?s consider the facts, the circumstances, and the inconsistencies.

First, the facts.? Grossi posted on his Twitter page a message that he had intended to keep private.? In the message, Grossi called Browns owner Randy Lerner a ?pathetic figure? and ?the most irrelevant billionaire in the world.?? (Of all the billionaires in the world, technically one of them must be the most irrelevant.)? Grossi immediately deleted the tweet once he realized his mistake.? By then, however, his words had been copied and repeated across the Internet, and it was impossible to unring the bell.

Grossi apologized publicly, the Plain Dealer apologized publicly, and Plain Dealer publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger sent a written apology to the Browns and to Lerner.

Though not addressed in Diadiun?s column, the Browns responded with silence.? Apart from declining to comment in response to inquiries from PFT, the Browns and Lerner refused to take calls from Grossi, and possibly from other officials of the Plain Dealer.? Indeed, Diadiun admits that ?[n]one of the editors involved talked with anyone connected with the team? before making the decision to reassign Grossi.

Diadiun omits reference to the key question of whether the Plain Dealer tried to have such discussions.

Second, the circumstances.? Most significantly, Diadiun admits that Egger personally met with Lerner and team president Mike Holmgren on Wednesday, after the decision was made to reassign Grossi.? The fact that a meeting occurred invites speculation that the Browns cared ? or at a minimum that the Plain Dealer believed the Browns cared ? about the manner in which this situation was handled.

Third, the inconsistencies.? On Thursday, Plain Dealer managing editor Thom Fladung told 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland that the ?determining factor? for the decision was the following standard:? ?Don?t do something that affects your value as a journalist or the value of your newspaper or affects the perception of your value and the perception of that newspaper?s value.?? Fladung also said that Grossi?s opinions would have been permissible if he had posted them not on his Twitter page, but in the pages of the Plain Dealer.? ?Let?s say Tony had written that Randy Lerner?s lack of involvement with the Browns and their resulting disappointing records over the years has made him irrelevant as an owner, that?s defensible,? Fladung said.? ?That?s absolutely defensible.?

But Diadiun?s item contains a contradictory quote from Plain Dealer editor Adam Simmons, who thinks that Grossi?s role as a beat writer precluded him from making the statements about Lerner in any context.? ?If it had been a columnist who wrote that, we might cringe, but that role is different,? Simmons said. ?They?re paid to offer up opinions, however prickly. But we?re not asking them to go out and cover a team in a fair and balanced and objective way, like we are with a reporter.?? (Presumably, Simmons also believes that a columnist could have offered those opinions on his Twitter page, since opinions are fair game for a columnist.)

Complicating matters is Diadiun?s attempt to reconcile the action against Grossi with his First Amendment rights.? Rather that relying on the simple ? and accurate ? notion that employees of a private, for-profit enterprise have no First Amendment rights, Diadiun draws a clumsy line between personal and professional social media.? ?Anyone who works at the paper has the right to say, write or Tweet anything they wish,? Diadiun writes.? ?But they do not have a corresponding right to say it in the newspaper or on the website or on their newspaper Twitter account.? If they do, the editors who are in charge of maintaining the credibility of the newspaper have the right to change their assignment.?

So Fladung says that Grossi could have said what he said in the paper, Simmons says that Grossi couldn?t have said what he said anywhere unless he was a columnist, and Diadiun says that Grossi could have said what he said on his own, personal Twitter page.? And no one says it?s impermissible for Grossi to secretly possess those views, even if those views (as Diadiun writes) undermine his credibility.? Under the newspaper?s view of journalistic ethics, it only becomes a problem when those views are disclosed ? which actually should make Grossi even more credible, since he has openly acknowledged his bias.

The end result is a stew of mixed messages, which invites speculation that the real reason for the move was to maintain a good relationship with the Browns.? Though there continues to be ? and likely never will be ? any evidence that the Browns told the Plain Dealer what the Browns wanted the Plain Dealer to do, some of the loudest and clearest messages can be sent through silence.

When Grossi or others from the Plain Dealer tried to call Lerner and/or Holmgren and they refused to speak, what should a reasonable person conclude?? Moreover, why would a meeting with Lerner and Holmgren even be needed if the Plain Dealer didn?t care about the team?s response to the situation?? If this decision was solely about journalistic standards and the integrity and credibility of Grossi?s coverage in the eyes of the audience given his personal views regarding Lerner, there was no reason to go to Berea and kiss rings and/or smooch butts.

That?s the fundamental disconnect.? The Plain Dealer wants us to believe it engaged in a textbook exercise in ethics while at the same time doing things like writing letters of apology to Lerner and publicly calling Grossi?s words about Lerner insulting and personally meeting with Lerner and Holmgren.

Though the Browns may not have intended to order a Code Orange, we believe that the Plain Dealer believed that it needed to remove Grossi from the beat in order to remain in the good graces of the Browns.? And we?d have far more (or, as the case may be, any) respect for this decision if the Plain Dealer would simply admit that which upon inspection of the facts, the circumstances, and the inconsistencies seems obvious.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/29/neighbor-calls-matt-cassel-a-hero-after-house-fire/related/

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Sarkozy details measures for growth, jobs (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? President Nicolas Sarkozy used a primetime television interview on Sunday to flesh out a flurry of measures to boost employment and competitiveness which he hopes to rush through France's parliament before a presidential election in April.

Sarkozy, who is running far behind Socialist challenger Francois Hollande in opinion polls for the election, said he would raise the VAT rate to 21.2 percent from 19.6 percent from October to fund a reduction in social charges on companies.

The move, which Sarkozy first alluded to in a New Year's speech, is aimed at narrowing a competitiveness gap with Germany that is weighing on French growth, but it risks angering voters.

Among other measures, Sarkozy said he would set up an industrial investment bank in February with a billion euros in capital that will lend to small and medium-sized businesses struggling to obtain financing in today's climate.

He also said companies with more than 250 employees would be obliged to take on interns to the level of 5 percent of total staff, as a way of helping reduce chronic youth unemployment.

Sarkozy said he had a duty as president to hold off announcing his re-election bid until as late as possible.

Yet his interview, broadcast live across eight TV channels, seemed timed to respond to a series of TV appearances and speeches last week by Hollande, who is campaigning at full throttle for the two-round election on April 22 and May 6.

"We have to protect employment, we have to defend it, value it," said Sarkozy, who has thrown his focus onto growth and jobs since it became clear late last year that his deficit-cutting efforts could not save France from a credit rating downgrade.

"I am convinced this decision will save jobs and that it's the only credible way to stop outsourcing," he said of his so-called "Social VAT" plan to ease firms' social contributions.

Sarkozy, who turned 57 on Saturday, said a financial transaction tax he is planning for August would set a tax of 0.1 percent on transactions in French securities.

He gave no detail on the tax, which France wants to be adopted across the European Union, but a government source later said it would target shares, not bonds, and could raise a billion euros annually.

Separately, Sarkozy announced a rise in taxes on individuals' financial income such as interest and dividends.

UPS AND DOWNS

Sarkozy has worked hard in recent months to present a more austere and presidential demeanor following criticism of his informal and sometimes brash manner, and he stuck to a highly technical discourse on Sunday. He referred frequently to Germany as an economic model that France should be copying.

Setting the stage for what aides say will be an "honest" campaign that admits past mistakes yet seeks to show he is the safest pair of hands to steer France out of economic gloom, Sarkozy sounded a note of humility about his years in office.

"I accept the criticism," he said, adding that there had been "ups and downs" and things he regretted.

Opinion polls show Sarkozy could lose a runoff against Hollande by 10 percentage points, and some in his UMP party believe he is suffering from his decision to leave launching his campaign until close to a March 16 deadline.

Hollande put in an able performance last week in a TV debate against Alain Juppe, Sarkozy's foreign minister and one of the most talented politicians in his team, and he also unveiled a weighty and fiscally responsible economic plan.

In an attempt at one-upmanship, Sarkozy said France's public deficit for 2011 could come in as low as 5.4 or 5.3 percent of gross domestic product, well below a target of 5.7 percent.

Yet illustrating the economic challenge ahead, the source said that the government will soon revise down its 1.0 percent forecast for 2012 growth.

Both Hollande and Sarkozy are seizing on the euro zone crisis and what many fear is a descent into recession in France as their key focus for the 2012 election.

While Hollande blames France's woes on more than a decade of conservative leadership, Sarkozy is playing on his experience next to a man who has never been a government minister.

An Ifop poll published on Sunday showed, however, that many see Hollande as the best candidate to tackle debt reduction and unemployment, which is running at a more than 12-year high.

The poll found 46 percent of respondents trusted Hollande most to fight unemployment, versus 22 percent for Sarkozy, and 34 percent chose Hollande as the best to handle the public debt, versus 32 percent for Sarkozy.

Underlining a belief that Hollande could defeat Sarkozy, Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party said on Saturday that the German Chancellor plans to actively back Sarkozy in his campaign by making joint appearances with him.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/ts_nm/us_france_sarkozy_deficit

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IFC Films acquires "Killer" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? IFC Films has purchased the North American rights to the thriller "Simon Killer," TheWrap has confirmed.

Directed by Antonio Campos and starring Brady Corbet, the film centers on a recent college student who travels to France where he meets and becomes involved with a prostitute. Campos wrote the screenplay for the film. He is a co-founder of the filmmaker collective Borderline Films, which was behind last year's Sundance breakout "Martha Marcy May Marlene."

In a generally favorable review, the Guardian's Jeremy Kay wrote, "'Simon Killer' is a difficult, dark ride. It's well acted but a little flabby and internalized in places, punctuated by unsettling stroboscopic digital wipes and distinguished by a seductive, urgent score and soundtrack."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/film_nm/us_simonkiller

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Evan Dunham stops Nik Lentz at UFC on Fox 2

CHICAGO -- Evan Dunham finished off the preliminary card of UFC on Fox 2 with a pummeling of Nik Lentz. Dunham won after two rounds because of a doctor's stoppage.

Both fighters were light on their feet and throwing several punches early in the round. Lentz tried for takedowns, but Dunham was able to spring back to his feet. Dunham got a big takedown late in the round.

Again in the second round, Dunham got the takedown. When they returned to their feet, they traded leather, smiling as they threw abuse at each other's bloody face. Dunham broke from their punchfest to get another takedown. He tried for a guillotine, but when he couldn't choke Lentz out, Dunham punished him with elbows. They returned to their feet in the final thirty seconds, with Lentz's face showing the damage he sustained in the round. Because of the damage, the bout was stopped before the third round began.

Dunham is now 13-2, while Lentz falls to 21-5-2.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/evan-dunham-stops-nik-lentz-ufc-fox-2-004514000.html

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Elevated risk factors linked to major cardiovascular disease events across a lifetime

Elevated risk factors linked to major cardiovascular disease events across a lifetime

Thursday, January 26, 2012

In one of the largest-ever analyses of lifetime risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers have found that middle-aged adults who have one or more elevated traditional risk factors for CVD, such as high blood pressure, have a substantially greater chance of having a major CVD event, such as heart attack or stroke, during their remaining lifetime than people with optimal levels of risk factors. This National Institutes of Health-supported study used health data from 257,384 people and was the first to look simultaneously at multiple risk factors for CVD across age, sex, race, and birth generation.

The paper will be published in the January 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"This paper adds to the substantial body of evidence that modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors in healthy men and women heavily influence the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, regardless of their backgrounds," said Susan B. Shurin, M.D., acting director of the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

"Prevention of cardiovascular disease is a lifetime opportunity for and a responsibility of individuals, families, communities, and the health care system. This paper reinforces that cardiovascular disease can be prevented and controlled throughout the course of an adult's lifetime," she added.

As part of the Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project, investigators analyzed 50 years of data from 18 existing cohort, or population-based, studies in the United States. The investigators pooled the data from the 18 cohorts and measured traditional CVD risk factors ? including high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and smoking status ? in men and women from both black and white populations at ages 45, 55, 65, and 75 years.

Men who were 55 years old with at least two major risk factors were six times as likely to die from CVD by age 80 as were men with none or one CVD risk factor (29.6 percent vs. 4.7 percent). Women with at least two major risk factors were three times as likely to die from CVD as were women with no or one CVD risk factor (20.5 percent vs. 6.4 percent).

When all CVD events ? fatal and non-fatal ? were considered, the results were even more striking. Forty-five-year-old men with two or more risk factors had a 49.5 percent chance of having a major CVD event through age 80, while 45-year-old women had a 30.7 percent chance. On the other hand, men with optimal risk factor levels only had a 1.4 percent chance of having a major CVD event, while women had a 4.1 percent chance of having a major CVD event through age 80.

The results from each individual study were consistent with one another and with those of the pooled group, and showed that traditional risk factors predicted a person's long-term development of CVD more than age. All of the risk factors appeared to carry the same levels of risk as they did 20, 30, or 40 years ago. While black Americans had a higher prevalence of CVD risk factors than white Americans, their lifetime risks were similar when their risk factor profiles were similar.

"In general, previous studies have only looked at CVD risk factors across one specific age or gender in white populations," said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., principal investigator of the study and an associate professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "We analyzed an enormous pool of available data, which allowed for a more precise estimate of lifetime CVD risks across the age, sex, race, and risk factor spectrum."

Lloyd-Jones added, "These data have important implications for prevention. We need to get more serious about promoting healthy lifestyles in children and young adults, since even mild elevations in risk factors by middle age seem to have profound effects on the remaining lifetime risks for CVD."

The NHLBI supported several of the cohort studies involved, including the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, Cardiovascular Heart Study, Framingham Heart Study, Framingham Offspring Study, Honolulu Heart Program, Puerto Rico Heart Health Program, and Women's Health Initiative.

"This paper illustrates the power of pooling data from epidemiological studies," said Michael Lauer, M.D., director of the NHLBI's Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. "Because of the U.S. government's investments in these studies, it was possible for the investigators to gather and analyze data on over a quarter of a million people, which could lead to substantial public health and clinical practice implications."

"It is important for adults to know their blood pressure and cholesterol numbers and whether they are at risk for diabetes and also to understand the different approaches they can take to prevent or control their risks for CVD. As American Heart Month approaches in February, this paper underscores the importance of raising awareness of heart disease and coronary heart disease ? the most common type of heart disease and the number one killer of both men and women in the United States," said Lloyd-Jones and Shurin.

In an effort to help people reduce their risks of cardiovascular disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently launched the Million Hearts Campaign, a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.

Also, in December 2010, in an effort to promote healthy behaviors and prevent diseases, including cardiovascular disease, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched Healthy People 2020. Healthy People 2020 and its specific, measurable health objectives represent the nation's disease prevention and health promotion goals for the coming decade.

###

NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov

Thanks to NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117092/Elevated_risk_factors_linked_to_major_cardiovascular_disease_events_across_a_lifetime

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Hollywood's Newest Redheads: Jennifer Lawrence and Berenice Bejo! (omg!)

Blake Lively, Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson are just some of the many stars who dyed their hair red last year, and it appears that the fiery color is still going strong in 2012.

PHOTOS: More celebs who went red in 2011

Jennifer Lawrence debuted a copper-y color at the Oscar nominations announcements on Monday. The actress, who famously went from blonde to brunette for her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, ended up with her current hue by accident, according to her hairstylist Mark Townsend.

PHOTOS: Meet The Hunger Games cast

On Wednesday, The Artist's Berenice Bejo arrived at Elie Saab's couture show in Paris rocking a rich auburn shade (she was previously a brunette).

PHOTOS: Berenice and other stars who received an Oscar nom

Tell Us: Do you like these stars as redheads?

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_hollywoods_newest_redheads_jennifer_lawrence_berenice_bejo205321662/44318951/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/hollywoods-newest-redheads-jennifer-lawrence-berenice-bejo-205321662.html

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Davos leaders look to China's investments abroad

John Zhao, CEO of Hony Capital, attends a panel session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The head of one of China's biggest private equity firms says Chinese investors are trying to follow the rules when investing abroad. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

John Zhao, CEO of Hony Capital, attends a panel session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The head of one of China's biggest private equity firms says Chinese investors are trying to follow the rules when investing abroad. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization, WTO, arrives for a panel session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Chinese investors are trying to follow the rules when spending money abroad, the head of one of China's biggest private equity firms said Thursday, as global leaders increasingly look to the country to prop up the world economy.

Worries that Europe's slowdown would hurt stronger economies are overshadowing discussions at this week's World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Attention turned Thursday to how China can help, even as some remain wary about its growing dominance.

John Zhao, CEO of Hony Capital, said foreign prejudice about Chinese investments is unfair, but acknowledged that some companies are still learning a game that much of the world has been playing for decades.

Chinese companies and government funds have been using vast reserves of cash to buy up foreign companies and invest in foreign government bonds in recent years. But with billions of dollars in Chinese investments pouring into their countries, some governments have accused China of seeking to exploit the economic weakness of others to grab valuable natural and technological resources at rock bottom prices.

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has also repeatedly accused China of breaking global trade rules by giving unfair protection to its companies and domestic workers.

"The vast majority of Chinese companies are trying to follow the rules as they understand it," said Zhao, whose company controls PC maker Lenovo, which bought IBM's computer division in 2005. "But many Chinese companies are still trying to learn the rules."

The director general of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, said China will continue to face "public perception problems" from its investments abroad.

"We will see in the years to come, as China's investments grow and grow. ... We will have the same sort of political turbulences as we have had on trade for the last 10 years," he said.

One way for China to ease the rest of the world's fears about its extravagant corporate shopping sprees is be more open about its vast poverty problem at home, said Lamy.

"In order for this to result in a win-win game a number of public perception issues have to be addressed," he said.

Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld reminded listeners that China's companies aren't the only ones with a reputation problem.

"We in the Western world have had a long tradition of corporate misdeeds," he said, citing Enron in the United States and Parmalat of Italy ? both of which collapsed after years of hiding massive holes in their accounts.

Yale President Richard C. Levin suggested the rest of the world could be grateful for China's investment interest, as eventually the country of over 1 billion people will have to start spending more of its cash on problems at home, including the lack of proper social security for an aging population.

"Some fraction of these trillions could be used domestically," he said.

The head of the Asian Development Bank said Asia has already been affected by the ongoing European financial crisis in two ways ? through the withdrawal of credit in Asia by many European banks and financial institutions and a drop in trade, which will impact China because Europe is its largest export market.

"I really hope that the European financial crisis can be overcome," Haruhiko Kuroda said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Davos forum, where business and political leaders gather every year in an invitation-only event, is under growing criticism by those who feel it's too removed from the real world.

Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and other leaders brought any sense of euphoria crashing back down to earth, appealing for the millions of people who do not have enough food to eat.

"The world can feed itself. Africa can feed itself. The problem is we have vulnerable populations who do not have access," Okonjo-Iweala said.

Malnourished people, particularly kids, are more susceptible to dying from malaria and other diseases in Africa, said Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose philanthropy has mainly focused on promoting health.

Gates also rode to the rescue of a beleaguered health fund by pledging $750 million to fight three of world's killer diseases. A donor backlash over losses at the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria forced it to cancel more than $1 billion in new spending last year. The fund's executive director said Tuesday he is resigning.

Leaders at the Davos forum are looking later Thursday at challenges to democratic institutions around the world, including protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street.

Activists from Occupy Davos are camping out in igloos and yurts to call attention to income inequality.

"With 50 million people going below the poverty line, and over 200 million becoming unemployed with the recent crisis, it's stopped being a question of hardship and starting to become an issue of human rights violations," said Salil Shetty, the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

"This is a man-made crisis and the people who have caused the crisis, many of whom are in Davos, should be held to account," he told The Associated Press.

___

John Heilprin and Edith M. Lederer in Davos contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-26-EU-Davos-Forum/id-4cd728a890c54bc08c5c371aba743577

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J.C. Penney revamp: Lower prices, fewer sales

By Msnbc.com staff and wire

No more waiting for?sales. That's the word from retailer J.C. Penney, which announced Tuesday a revamp that would mark down prices on all of its merchandise?by at least 40 percent.

The company said?the move would simplify pricing for consumers, who may have been confused by its constant promotions and discounts.

"The customer knows the right price. To think you can fool a customer is kind of crazy,"?chief executive Ron Johnson said at an event in New York to present?Penney's plans to reinvent itself, boost revenues and catch up with rivals such as Macy's and Kohl's.

He said that only 0.2 percent of sales came from full price items. He also said Penney's 590 unique promotions a year were confusing and failed to draw shoppers. Some 72 percent of Penney revenue came last year from items discounted at least 50 percent.

"At some point, you seem desperate," said Johnson, who become CEO in November after 11 years at Apple Inc, where he built that company's retail chain.

Starring Feb. 1, Penney will offer three types of pricing -- everyday pricing, best prices and month-long deals -- and do away with clearance.

Johnson said the barrage of promotional emails from Penney was "confusing," leading him to see the need for simpler pricing.

The plan is similar to Wal-Mart Store Inc.'s iconic everyday low pricing strategy except that Penney's goal isn't to undercut competitors. Instead, Penney aims to take the guesswork out of shopping in its stores by offering customers fewer sales and more predictable pricing.

Penney's plan comes at a time when stores are struggling to wean shoppers off the profit-busting bargains that they have come to expect in the weak economy. The move is risky because shoppers who love to bargain-hunt may be turned off by the absence of sales.

"The big question on investors' minds will be how customers will react to a single price point versus a perceived discount under the old strategy," says Citi Investment Research analyst Deborah L. Weinswig.

Here's how Penney's pricing will be different:

• Sale prices become everyday prices. The company will use sales data from last year to slash prices on all merchandise at least 40 percent or lower than the previous year's prices. So, a woman's St. John's Bay blouse regularly priced at $14.99 could have the "Every Day" price of $7.
• Fewer sales. The retailer will pick items to go on sale each month for a "Monthly Value." For instance, in February, it might be jewelry for Valentine's Day and in December it could be Christmas decorations. Items that don't sell well would go on clearance and be tagged "Best Price," signaling to customers that's the cheapest price.
• New tags. The retailer used to pile stickers on price tags to indicate each time an item was marked down. But now each time an item gets a new price, it gets a new tag too. A red tag indicates an "Every Day" price, a white tag a "Monthly Value" and a blue tag a "Best Price."
• Simpler pricing. Penney will use whole figures when pricing items. In other words, you won't see jeans with a price tag of $19.99, but rather $20.
• New advertising. There will be an ad that shows shoppers screaming "No" to discounts as they look in their mailboxes, a pile of coupons and big sales signs. A 96-page colorful catalog that highlights "Monthly Value" items will be mailed each month to 14 million customers, along with other promotional efforts.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CNBC's Courtney Reagan has the details on J.C. Penney's plans to revive itself with a new look.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10233945-jc-penney-revamp-lower-prices-fewer-sales

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Strong solar storm lashes Earth

24 January 2012 Last updated at 09:55 ET By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

Our planet is being bombarded by high-energy particles unleashed by the strongest solar storm since 2005, scientists say.

The charged particles are mostly a concern for satellites - which they can disrupt - and astronauts.

But they can also cause communication problems for aircraft travelling near the poles.

The geomagnetic storm has been caused by a potent flare that erupted from the Sun at 0400 GMT on Monday.

The effects are likely to be felt on Earth throughout Wednesday.

A more benign effect of the outpouring of particles is the ability to see aurorae, or "Northern lights", farther south than is usually possible.

A spokesman for US space agency Nasa said that flight surgeons and solar scientists have modelled the flare's predicted effects.

They decided that the six astronauts on the International Space Station do not have to take any action to protect themselves from the incoming stream of particles.

Solar flares are caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy stored in the Sun's atmosphere.

In an event called a coronal mass ejection (CME), bursts of charged particles are released into space.

Solar scientist Dr Lucie Green says the solar storms have meant people further south can see the Northern Lights

Nasa's Goddard Space Weather Center predicted that the coronal mass ejection was moving at almost 2,200 km/s when it was due to reach Earth's magnetosphere - the magnetic envelope that surrounds our planet - on Tuesday at 1400 GMT (plus or minus 7 hours).

This can interfere with technology on Earth, such as electrical power grids, communications systems and satellites - including satellite navigation (or sat-nav) signals.

In 1972, a geomagnetic storm provoked by a solar flare knocked out long-distance telephone communication across the US state of Illinois.

And in 1989, another storm plunged six million people into darkness across the Canadian province of Quebec.

But a spokesman for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (Noaa) Space Weather Prediction Center said the effects of this solar eruption seem likely to be moderate.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16701407

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Marine denies firing at Iraqi women and children (AP)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. ? A Marine sergeant whose squad killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in assaults after a bomb killed a fellow Marine told a judge he never fired his weapon at any women or children that day.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich addressed a Camp Pendleton, Calif., court during sentencing for negligent dereliction of duty in the 2005 attacks in Haditha, Iraq.

A plea deal Monday ended a manslaughter case against the Marine from Meriden, Conn. Prosecutors implicated Wuterich in 19 of the 24 deaths.

"The truth is: I never fired any weapon at any women or children that day," Wuterich said in a statement during his sentencing hearing.

He began by telling the family members of victims, "Words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of your loved one. I know there is nothing I can say to ease your pain. I wish to assure you that on that day, it was never my intention (to) harm you or your families. I know that you are the real victims of Nov. 19, 2005."

He went on to say he went to Iraq to do his duty, serve his country and do the best job he could.

"When my Marines and I cleared those houses that day, I responded to what I perceived as a threat and my intention was to eliminate that threat in order to keep the rest of my Marines alive," he said. "So when I told my team to shoot first and ask questions later, the intent wasn't that they would shoot civilians, it was that they would not hesitate in the face of the enemy."

Military prosecutors worked for more than six years to bring Wuterich to trial on manslaughter charges that could have sent him away to prison for life.

But only weeks after the long-awaited trial started, they offered Wuterich a deal that stopped the proceedings for the squad leader who ordered his men to "shoot first, ask questions later" and resulted in one of the Iraq War's worst attacks on civilians by U.S. troops.

The 31-year-old Marine, who was originally accused of unpremeditated murder, pleaded guilty Monday to negligent dereliction of duty for leading the squad that killed the civilians.

Wuterich now faces no more than three months in confinement.

It was a stunning outcome for the last defendant in the case once compared with the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The seven other Marines initially charged were exonerated or had their cases dropped.

"I was expecting that the American judiciary would sentence this person to life in prison and that he would appear and confess in front of the whole world that he committed this crime, so that America could show itself as democratic and fair," one of the survivors, Awis Fahmi Hussein, told The Associated Press in Haditha.

Military judge Lt. Col. David Jones began hearing Military judge Lt. Col. David Jones began hearing arguments from both sides Tuesday at Camp Pendleton before making a sentencing recommendation to be considered by the commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command.

Legal experts said the case was fraught with errors made by investigators and the prosecution that let it drag on for years. The prosecution was also hampered by squad mates who acknowledged they had lied to investigators initially and later testified in exchange for having their cases dropped, bringing into question their credibility.

In addition, Wuterich was seen as taking the fall for senior leaders and more seasoned combat veterans, analysts said. It was his first time in combat when he led the squad on Nov. 19, 2005.

Brian Rooney, an attorney for another former defendant, said cases like Haditha are difficult to prosecute because a military jury is unlikely to question decisions made in combat unless wrongdoing is clear-cut and egregious, like rape.

"If it's a gray area, fog-of-war, you can't put yourself in a Marine's situation where he's legitimately trying to do the best he can," said Rooney, who represented Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking Marine charged in the case. "When you're in a town like Haditha or Fallujah, you've got bad guys trying to kill you and trying to do it in very surreptitious ways."

The Haditha attack is considered among the war's defining moments, further tainting America's reputation when it was already at a low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.

It still fuels anger in Iraq today.

"We wonder about such a sentence issued against the defendant. We called upon US to be fair in passing sentences. Regrettably, we are disappointed about the issuance of such sentences," said Khalid Salman Rasif, a member of the Provincial Council in Haditha, adding he would contact the lawyer for victims' families for an explanation.

Kamil al-Dulaimi, a Sunni lawmaker from the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi, called the plea agreement proof that "Americans still deal with Iraqis without any respect."

"It's just another barbaric act of Americans against Iraqis," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press. "They spill the blood of Iraqis and get this worthless sentence for the savage crime against innocent civilians."

Wuterich, the father of three children, had faced the possibility of life behind bars when he was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, which will be dropped. Along with facing a maximum of three months in confinement, he could also lose two-thirds of his pay and see his rank demoted to private when he's sentenced.

Wuterich, his family and his attorneys declined to comment Monday after he entered the plea. Prosecutors also declined to comment on the plea deal.

During the trial before a jury of combat Marines who served in Iraq, prosecutors argued he lost control after seeing the body of his friend blown apart by the bomb and led his men on a rampage in which they stormed two nearby homes, blasting their way in with gunfire and grenades. Among the dead was a man in a wheelchair.

In the deal, Wuterich acknowledged that his orders misled his men to believe they could shoot without hesitation and not follow the rules of engagement that required troops to positively identify their targets before they raided the homes.

He told the judge that caused "tragic events."

"I think we all understood what we were doing so I probably just should have said nothing," Wuterich told the judge.

He said his orders were based on the guidance of his platoon commander at the time, and that the squad did not take any gunfire during the 45-minute raid.

Many of his squad mates testified that they do not believe to this day that they did anything wrong because they feared insurgents were inside hiding.

Haditha prompted commanders to demand troops be more careful in distinguishing between civilians and combatants.

Former Navy officer David Glazier said the case shows such rules are essential to helping the United States prevail in an armed conflict.

"The reality is that this incident has had significant consequences for the U.S. in Iraq," said Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "It probably fueled the resistance and so it probably ended up costing additional soldiers and Marines their lives later on."

___

Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Mazin Yahya in Baghdad, Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Raquel Dillon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_us/us_marines_haditha

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Comcast's extra ads ruin NFC championship game conclusion in some areas

It wasn't just RIM that had designs on the limelight during the football action last night. Comcast affiliates inserted extra commercials over the NFC Championship game last night, thoughtfully playing the clips over the climax of the match 'twixt the Giants and the 49ers. Frustrated fans who missed out on parts of the fourth quarter and overtime promptly began voicing dissent on the company's support forums. The Washington Post has a quote from spokesperson Amiee Metrick indicating the problems were due to a possible "equipment failure" at local affiliate resulting in the ill-timed ads reported in Oregon and Washington D.C. We've heard that it's offering a $10 credit and an apology, but it seems unlikely to soothe the brow of those -- like the person who recorded video of the incident you can see after the break -- thinking of switching to FiOS.

[Thanks, John]

Continue reading Comcast's extra ads ruin NFC championship game conclusion in some areas

Comcast's extra ads ruin NFC championship game conclusion in some areas originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Comcast forums, Washington Post  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/comcast-xfinity-ads-interrupt-nfc-championship/

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Parties jockey on State of the Union point-scoring

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A top adviser to President Barack Obama says the White House is "happy to have a debate" about Obama's performance in office, while a leading House Republican says the president can't win on his record.

The contrasting views of senior White House adviser David Plouffe (pluhf) and Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan serve as a warm up for Obama's State of the Union address.

Plouffe says the administration considers this "a make-or-break" moment for the middle class. The Republican congressman from Wisconsin, says "it sounds like we're going to hear more of the same," predicting that Obama will "resort to divisiveness."

Plouffe says the wealthy should pay a greater portion of America's tax burden, arguing that many Republicans "are gravitating toward" that concept.

.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-24-State%20of%20the%20Union-Politics/id-b30e17eacdc34b7092522cbdf47571dc

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"Shahs of Sunset" puts young Iranians on U.S. TV map (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? California's vibrant Iranian-American community is getting its own reality TV show -- its stars spending, squabbling and showing off in what looks like a cross between the gossipy "Real Housewives" series and splashy "Keeping up with the Kardashians".

"Shahs of Sunset", premiering on cable TV channel Bravo on March 11, follows six "passionate socialites" in their 30s who try to juggle their careers and social lives with family and tradition, Bravo said on Monday.

Four of those taking part in the show work in real estate in Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Hills and other pricey areas of Los Angeles. Most enjoy a lavish lifestyle where expensive cars, huge mansions, gold jewelry and shopping are a must, judging by a short promotional trailer for the new series.

Among the cast is one of the few openly gay men in southern California's Iranian-American community, Bravo said.

The series is thought to be one of the first on U.S. TV to document the lives of young Persians whose parents fled Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, or who settled in California as young children.

An estimated 500,000 Iranian-Americans live in the Los Angeles area -- the largest Persian community outside Tehran -- and some 20 percent of the population of Beverly Hills are of Iranian descent.

"From outings on Rodeo Drive to traditional Persian feasts at home, this series celebrates the unique lifestyle of a group of friends who have worked hard for what they have and are not afraid to flaunt it," Bravo said.

"Shah's of Sunset" is produced by Ryan Seacrest, host of "American Idol" and the producer of the popular "Keeping up with the Kardashians", about Armenian-American socialite sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney, and its spinoff series.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/tv_nm/us_shahsofsunset

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Video: Gregory asks Gingrich about family values

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/46090469#46090469

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Florida???s Demographics Vastly Different from Previous Primary States (ContributorNetwork)

Four mainstream candidates for the GOP's presidential nomination are in Florida campaigning ahead of the state's primary set for Jan. 31. Pollsters are expecting a close fight. The Washington Post reports there is more at stake in Florida than in the previous states. Florida has 50 delegates in a winner-take-all format. Mitt Romney leads the pack with 33 of the 1,144 delegates needed to win.

Here's a look at Florida's demographics as compared to the previous states in which a presidential preference contest was held.

Population

Florida has a population of 18.8 million as of 2010, according to the U.S. Census. Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have a combined population of around 9 million people. Florida has twice as many people living in the state than the three previous states with presidential elections combined. Florida's population increased 17.6 percent from 10 years ago.

Nearly 79 percent of the population is of voting age in Florida. Just more than 17 percent are older than 65. Three-fourths of Florida's residents are white, 16 percent are black and 22.5 percent are Hispanic.

Economic Woes

The unemployment rate in Florida is 10 percent as of November, a full percentage higher than the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Foreclosure rates are also much higher than they are nationally. The South Florida Business Journal reported in early January that the national foreclosure rate was 3.51 percent in October 2011. Yet Miami-Dade County has foreclosure rates at 18 percent. Broward County is at 14.45 percent. Palm Beach is just under 13 percent in terms of foreclosure rates. These figures have been steady since October 2010. Delinquencies of 90 days are also at high rates with Miami sitting at 25 percent.

Voters

As of Jan. 15, there are more than 11.2 million registered voters in Florida. Only registered Republicans can vote in the 2012 GOP primary. There are just over 4 million registered Republicans in the state that may participate in this year's primary.

The New York Times reported Sen. John McCain won the Florida primary in 2008. He garnered more than 700,000 votes and earned 57 delegates. He defeated Romney by nearly 100,000 votes and by 5 percentage points.

Road to the Nomination

There have only been 62 delegates assigned to the Republican National Convention to this point. Florida can give a boost to the winner since there are more delegates based upon the state's higher population. The 2012 Republican National Convention will be held in Tampa, Fla., in late August.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120123/pl_ac/10873533_floridas_demographics_vastly_different_from_previous_primary_states

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Taiwan voters face tight election, but keep typical rowdiness in check (+video)

As Taiwan prepares to go to the polls on Saturday, almost three decades of democracy may have rubbed the shine off some of its novelty ? and instability.?

Today, as Taiwan prepared to go to the polls for tomorrow's ultra-tight presidential election, police kept a watchful eye on a handful of antigovernment protesters staked out in front of the ruling party?s cavernous 2012 campaign headquarters in anticipation of a news conference by the president.?

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It past elections, it was common for angry street demonstrations to swell above 100,000 people ahead of votes in Taiwan, which was under authoritarian until the late 1980s.

But the 2012 campaign is calmer than those in the past, despite the tight race.?After four presidential races and local elections somewhere on the island almost every year, the Taiwanese have gotten used to the democratic process.

?It's certainly more sedate than in previous years,? says Michael Turton, an American-born politics blogger based in central Taiwan. ?We're in our third decade of real elections. They are normal, not novelties.?

Before the presidential race in 2004, a bullet grazed incumbent Chen Shui-bian, who went on to win. In 2010, a gunman shot and wounded the son of former-vice president Lien Chan at a city council campaign event near Taipei. Another man was killed.

But now the banners, the protest, and the news conference have become common features of Taiwan?s vibrant democracy. They can be seen all year, any year. And this week they were a mere blip on Taipei?s broader landscape of traffic snarls, lunch-hour lines at dumpling shacks, and folks running errands before the Lunar New Year holiday begins on Jan. 23.

Incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou and his main rival, Tsai Ing-wen, are the top two candidates. Ms. Tsai is backed by a party that is colder toward Taiwan?s longtime political rival China than Mr. Ma?s. Both are trying to outdo each other this year in their attention to Taiwan?s lower class. The economy has hit speed bumps since 2008 and faces an uncertain 2012.?

Rallies on Sunday afternoon for the two appeared to draw just hard-line supporters, who?cheered on the opposition?s goal of Taiwanese independence from China and the incumbent?s eagerness to engage China. Beijing claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and insists that the two sides some day be reunified. Relations have improved since 2008 following a rack of new trade deals.?

But swing voters largely stayed home during Ms. Tsai?s street-shaking rock concert and Ma?s thundering speech. The swing contingent, estimated at 20 percent of Taiwan?s potential electorate of 18 million, encompasses first-time voters, undecided voters ? and, like any democracy, people who can afford to just not care.

?The rallies have been pretty cold,? says Lin Chong-pin, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan. ?It may be that the voters are becoming apathetic.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/GS6n2RcO9P4/Taiwan-voters-face-tight-election-but-keep-typical-rowdiness-in-check-video

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The Engadget Show is live, here at 6:00PM ET!

Hey kids, it's that time again! We're kicking off the year right with an action-packed edition of the Engadget Show. The first episode of 2012 is going to be a doozy. We're going to take you through the coolest gadgets of CES and Apple's bid to transform the textbook industry. We'll also be taking a close up look at the latest camera from Red and the new MakerBot Replicator. Plus we've music from Brooklyn's Ducky and all kinds of surprises. We'll be live tonight at 6PM ET, and you can join us at this very URL -- so keep your browser locked to this spot.

Continue reading The Engadget Show is live, here at 6:00PM ET!

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