Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Breitbart Editor John Nolte Picks a Fight With the Muppets (Little green footballs)

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Why the US won't fund Palestinian 'Sesame Street'

Following a Palestinian appeal for UN recognition, US congressional funding for aid projects including a local version of 'Sesame Street' have been frozen.

? A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.

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Daoud Kuttab usually produces a Palestinian version of ?Sesame Street? that teaches children how to count. But lately he has had to focus on his own bottom line. Three months after an American funding freeze, his show is so behind schedule that the writers? workshop rooms are empty, the editing studios are dark, and the Muppets have left the West Bank for repairs.

Think you know the Middle East? Take our geography quiz.

Mr. Kuttab says that in October he was expecting to receive $2.5 million from the US Agency for International Development for the next three years. But Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) of Florida froze $192 million in congressional funding to USAID?s programs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations, which the United States opposed.

Each season, Kuttab works with teachers and child psychologists to craft 26 episodes around themes of tolerance, sharing, and friendship. Kuttab said that even if money is restored he will not manage to produce any new episodes in 2012.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/aOwVL3qu_hU/Why-the-US-won-t-fund-Palestinian-Sesame-Street

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Buying shares- Investing in an opportunity

The division of capital into units of equal denominations by a joint stock company where every such unit is called a share makes for a major part at the stock exchange. And by obtaining or acquiring shares of a particular company makes the shareholder one of the many owners of the company. In earlier times where purchasing and selling shares was a privilege for the rich the upper middle and lower middle classes would not even dare dream of investing in shares. In the current internet age where all the information is made available to the common man at a click of a mouse makes it easier to know about the standings at the stock market.

Though over the past few decades various companies have been coming up with initial public offerings and listing at stock exchange and making money of opportunity. When investing in sharesit is advisable to take assistance of a broker who would tender best of stock options so that you can make the most of the investment.

The best part about investing and purchasing shares is that you become the part of the company which automatically entitles you to a share in the profits of the company. The flip side to the same is that any decrease in the value of the share can turn into a loss. It is for these reasons that many deter to invest in shares as they feel it is too much a risk for them.

The perfect formula which many apply while investing in the stock market is to buy low and sell high. In other words, the best way to make money through shares is to buy the share when its price is low and sell it when the price is high. It is the advice which matters and if applied at the correct time goes a long way in offering long term benefits. To begin with start with small value then learn and experience and then make higher value investments. Purchasing shares is also like an art form which requires learning and mastering, which one has to do all by self.

Source: http://daytradinginstocks.com/buying-shares-investing-in-an-opportunity/

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Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony Come Together for Q'Viva: The Chosen


Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are back together. On the small screen, at least.

The former couple premiered Q'Viva: The Chosen last night, a talent search competition on Univision that finds this pair (along with concert director Jaime King) traveling around Latin America in search of the most impressive acts to eventually showcase in a Las Vegas showcase.

"We're just meant to be in each other's lives on different levels," Anthony says of working with his ex-wife. "This is a long story, it's not a short story.... Marriage was just one chapter... And kids are another. We've got each other for life."

This is a much calmer tone than the one Anthony has reportedly struck in the past, as reports have said he's angry J. Lo has moved on with Casper Smart and that he wants to make her suffer.

At one point on the premiere, while in Puerto Rico, Loepez and Anthony joked about being akin to "Sonny and Cher after the divorce," with Jennifer saying she has "bad memories" of filming a movie together and Anthony responding:

"We've always been like this even when we were together. Busting each other's chops."

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/jennifer-lopez-and-marc-anthony-comes-together-for-qviva-the-cho/

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

British film "Shadow Dancer" lifts crowd at Sundance (Reuters)

PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) ? A tense British thriller about a mother deeply entrenched in the IRA and forced to choose between the organization and the family she loves has earned high praise among the foreign films at this week's Sundance Film festival.

"Shadow Dancer," set against a backdrop of a Northen Ireland in transition, gave the festival a lift after it premiered earlier this week following some of the higher-profile U.S. fiction films that have failed to live up to pre-festival hype.

The film stars Andrea Riseborough as a Belfast mother who, along with two of her brothers, is active in the Irish Republican Army when she gets offered a deal by an British intelligence officer (Clive Owen) to turn against her colleagues and become an informant or else go to prison.

James Marsh, who made Oscar-winning documentary "Man On Wire," directed "Shadow Dancer" which 1990s Northern Ireland TV correspondent Tom Bradby adapted from his book of the same name. Marsh said he was initially reluctant to work on the movie but ultimately won over by the idea of telling a more personal story of the conflict.

"In Britain you have this sort of exhausted sense of the Northern Irish troubles," he told Reuters. "But I quickly got caught up in the premise of the story where you take a young single mother and you go and force her to spy on her own family. It's an impossible bargain."

The moral quandary of Riseborough's character -- choosing between loved ones and dealing with the guilt of betrayal -- are themes most audiences could relate to, said Marsh.

Marsh applauded other films such as 2002's "Bloody Sunday" that captured a particular episode of the Northern Ireland conflict, but said he was more interested in the microcosm of one family's turmoil and how it reflected the region's larger troubles.

"We didn't try and bring in the bigger political story or the facts involved in this conflict. It felt like a very boiled down family thriller," he said, adding he was not interested in getting "flashy and flamboyant."

His restrained style has been lavished with praise. The Hollywood Reporter hailed his "carefully crafted" film, while The Guardian called it "a poetic and unapologetically arthouse story of betrayal and loyalty that, with its terrific score, measured pacing and fierce female performances, is a raw reminder of a sad and painful past."

RISEBOROUGH ON THE RISE

Working alongside a support cast of Irish actors, the English-born Owen agreed only at the last minute to take the role, while American actress Gillian Anderson turns up in an unrecognizable role as Owen's frosty British boss.

In the main role is English-born Riseborough, 30, who was recently seen playing Wallis Simpson in Madonna's "W.E." Marsh said she was partly cast due to her turns as "a surprising actress, every role she did, you didn't quite recognize her."

"She has something of the quality of a silent movie actress, you can photograph her in close-up and so much is available so discreetly," he said.

Filmed over 5 weeks in Dublin and one week in London, the cinematography features strong shades of gray in stark contrast to Riseborough standing out in a rich red raincoat in tones that Marsh said were inspired by the 1964 Hitchcock film "Marnie."

Marsh, 48, was offered the film after directing "1980," the second movie of the "Red Riding" trilogy. "Shadow Dancer" is his largest fiction feature to date, but he said making fiction films -- as opposed to documentaries like "Man on Wire" or last year's "Project Nim" -- was always a part of his dream.

"The one thing you want from your career is one film leading to another film, and that hasn't always been the case for me. So I am just thrilled to be working and making films," he said. "I am as happy as can be."

"Shadow Boxer" is not the only foreign film winning fans at Sundance, which is considered the premiere festival for U.S. independent moviemakers but in recent years has lured more work from overseas and launched a world cinema competition.

"Wish You Were Here," the Australian drama starring Joel Edgerton as a father struggling to keep his family and himself together after a disastrous holiday, has earned praise. As has "The Raid," a bloody, bone-crunching, martial arts action drama from Indonesia that played at the Toronto film festival.

Also receiving a warm response has been "Madrid, 1987", Brazil's "Father's Chair," Chile's "Violeta Went to Heaven," and Turkish drama "Can," the first Turkish film to play Sundance.

(Reporting By Christine Kearney; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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

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Lisa Vanderpump: I Didn't Upstage My Daughter's Wedding

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/lisa-vanderpump-real-housewives-video/1-a-422409?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Alisa-vanderpump-real-housewives-video-422409

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Schiano's late departure leaves Rutgers in a bind (AP)

Greg Schiano came to Rutgers when the football program was in a state of disarray ? then left it in a bind.

Less than a week before Rutgers was expected to lock up a highly touted recruiting class, Schiano accepted an offer to become coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.

There is, however, no doubt that Schiano leaves Rutgers football in better shape than he found it when he was hired to coach the Scarlet Knights in 2000. The New Jersey native had six winning seasons in the last seven years and guided the Knights to a 5-1 record in bowl games. Rutgers had been to one bowl in its history before Schiano arrived.

The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 9-4 season and have most of their key players back next year to make a run at a Big East title.

"This program is not a rebuild," athletic director Tim Pernetti said at a news conference on campus in Piscataway, N.J. "This program is priced to move in every way."

Pernetti, a former Rutgers football player who was coached by Schiano in high school, said he was not blindsided by his friend's decision. He'd known of Tampa Bay's interest in Schiano for about a week, but it picked up earlier this week. Pernetti said he was in constant communication with Schiano throughout the process.

Schiano met Thursday with the team, including paralyzed former player Eric LeGrand, and said goodbye.

"He's got to do what's best for his family," said LeGrand, who injured his spinal cord while making a tackle during a game in 2010. "Who could argue with him?"

Still, it's an awkward time to be looking for a coach.

Wednesday is national signing day, the first day high school recruits can sign a national letter of intent with a school. Rutgers was in position to sign a recruiting class rated by analysts as its best under Schiano.

Pernetti said he will reach out to recruits to assure them Rutgers is still the place to be.

"The message is this is the same program it was two days ago," he said.

He added that he could not guarantee hiring a permanent coach by signing day, but did say it is "doable."

"Any AD worth what they're paying him has a list (of coaching candidates) in his pocket," he said.

Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Kyle Flood was promoted to interim coach, though offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti would seem to be the most likely candidate if Pernetti hires from within.

Speculation about possible candidates from outside almost immediately started with Florida International coach Mario Cristobal, who, like Schiano, is a former University of Miami assistant.

For now it's up to Pernetti, Flood and the assistants left behind to hold together the recruiting class.

"It's just a bad situation because of the timing," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said.

According to Rivals.com, Rutgers had 17 non-binding verbal commitments before Schiano's departure and at least two more blue-chip prospects from New Jersey ? defensive lineman Darius Hamilton from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey and receiver Devin Fuller of Old Tappan High School ? were strongly considering going to Rutgers.

Farrell said most of Rutgers' top committed players had told him that they were contacted by other programs not long after news broke about Schiano. Many of the recruits were lining up last-minute official visits to other schools, he said.

The fact that a coach could jump from Rutgers to the NFL is a testament to the turnaround Schiano orchestrated. Pernetti even said that Schiano took over the "worst program" in the country.

The three previous coaches went 67-114-5 from 1984-2000, graduation rates were low and the facilities were hardly at the Division I-A level.

Rutgers won three games in Schiano's first two seasons and 12 in his first four. The Scarlet Knights went 7-5 in 2005, setting the stage for a startling breakthrough. Rutgers finished 11-2 in 2006, ranked 12th in the nation.

Miami in 2006 and Michigan in 2007 tried to hire Schiano away, but he turned down those offers and moved into a newly built house ? that the university paid for ? about a mile from the football stadium.

"I've had several opportunities over the years and none of them felt right," Schiano told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., as he left Rutgers' football facility Thursday night. "This time, this one felt right."

The Scarlet Knights haven't gotten back to that '06 level, but they also haven't returned to the dark days. Rutgers slipped to 4-8 in 2010, then bounced back to go 9-4 this past season with a victory against Iowa State in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The remarkable rebuild did come with a price, though ? and not just the $2.35 million annual salary Schiano's latest deal was to pay him through 2016.

Rutgers expanded and renovated its stadium at a cost of $102 million. The school had hoped to raise the money through private donors, but fell short. Rutgers scaled back plans for the expansion and issued bonds and borrowed money to complete the project.

That combined with the fact that the school had to cut six varsity sports in 2006 ? including men's tennis and crew ? led many in the state to question whether the school had overcommitted to football.

But there were also plenty of fans thrilled with the results on the field, and it looked as if Schiano was setting up the Scarlet Knights to contend for Big East's titles for the next several seasons.

"This thing that has been built is bigger than any one individual," Pernetti said.

____

Associated Press Writer Dave Porter in Piscataway, N.J., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_rutgers_scrambles

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Baltimore man tricked by FBI pleads guilty to trying to bomb recruiting site (The Christian Science Monitor)

A Baltimore man entered a guilty plea on Thursday to attempting to use a car bomb to destroy a military recruiting office and kill the six service members in the building in an effort to wage Islamic holy war on US soil.

Antonio Martinez agreed to drive an SUV laden with what he thought was an active bomb to the front entrance of a recruiting station in Catonsville, Md. on Dec. 8, 2010.

After parking the car bomb, Mr. Martinez traveled to a safe distance where he attempted to detonate the explosives.

What Martinez did not know was that his co-conspirators in the bombing were working undercover with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bomb was inert and the triggering device was rigged to fail.

IN PICTURES: American jihadis

Law enforcement officials stress that they gave Martinez multiple opportunities to back out of the bombing plot, including a chance four days before the planned attack.

?I came to you about this, brother,? Martinez said to an undercover FBI agent posing as a militant Muslim with connections in Afghanistan.

Under terms of a plea agreement, prosecutors are asking that Martinez be sentenced to 25 years in prison. He faces up to life in prison.

US District Judge Frederick Motz has set sentencing for April 6.

Martinez is a US citizen and was a recent convert to Islam at the time of the plot. He had come to admire the writings of Anwar Awlaki, the US-born militant cleric who had called on American-based Muslims to attack inside the US. The cleric was killed by an American missile in Yemen last year.

Martinez called him ?a real inspiration.? He once wrote: ?I love Sheikh Anwar al Awlaki for the sake of ALLAH.... I don?t care if he is on a terrorist list!?

According to court documents, the bomb plot began in the fall of 2010 when Martinez began attempting to recruit fellow Muslims for a violent operation against the US military in Maryland.

He told an associate that he wanted to send a message that American soldiers would be killed as long as the US continued its ???war??

But Martinez admitted that he did not know how to conduct an attack with explosives. At one point he suggested that perhaps they could stuff socks in the exhaust pipes of the soldiers? cars with the hope that they would suffocate as they drove home.

By November, Martinez expressed a willingness to die in an attack, if necessary. ?I have a desire to die in the cause of Allah? And if I got to hell for that, then I?ll be happy ? we blow one recruiting center up ? people ain?t gonna be able to get recruited at that one,? he told an associate, according to court documents. ?Then we hit another one, then we hit another one.?

A week later in November 2010, he expressed similar views. ?Every soldier that we see in uniform will be killed on the spot, God willing,? he said. ?They will be killed until they stop waging war against Islam. We won?t stop, God willing, until they kill us or they lock us up. This is for Allah.?

The US Attorney in Maryland, Rod Rosenstein, said investigators relied on individuals coming forward from within the Muslim community to make the case.

?We are catching dangerous suspects before they strike, and we are investigating them in a way that maximizes the liberty and security of law-abiding citizens,? Mr. Rosenstein said. 

IN PICTURES: American jihadis

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120127/ts_csm/457242

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Video: Does the Buffet rule have a new poster boy?

Tanier: Patriots then hardly resemble Patriots now

Tanier: But the 2011 Patriots are not the 2001 Patriots, or the 2007 Patriots, or any of the other teams that made the Super Bowl in the last 11 years. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the only real constants, yet they also have changed through the years. To understand where the Patriots are now, it helps to remember, clearly, where they have been.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46154786#46154786

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Davos leaders look to China's investments abroad (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? 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.

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

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Romney's mountain of wealth could cast loud echo (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney's newly released tax returns represent an extraordinary accounting of the household finances and far-reaching corporate investments of one of the richest U.S. presidential candidates in generations, with an annual income that tops $20 million.

How the details of Romney's extensive wealth will play among Republican taxpayers, rival campaigns, the media and the American public only started to emerge Tuesday, as more than 500 pages from a 2010 tax return and a 2011 estimate spilled out both significant and minor revelations about Romney's scattered holdings, tax strategies and charitable donations.

The returns outline both the dimensions of Romney's finances and the complexity of the tactics used to reduce his effective tax rate close to the low 15 percent paid by many middle-class Americans. Among the new details contained in the documents are Romney's continuing profits from the private equity firm he founded but no longer runs, a Swiss bank account closed just as Romney launched his White House run and new listings of investment funds that were set up in offshore locations from the Caribbean to Ireland and Luxembourg.

Romney's advisers stressed that he met all his federal tax obligations, provided maximum transparency and did not take advantage of "aggressive" strategies often used by the ultra-rich. Still, for millions of American taxpayers who are just beginning to grapple with their latest returns as tax season looms, Romney's multimillion-dollar returns provide a window into an unfamiliar world.

Tax law experts familiar with the formidable financial portfolios of investment fund managers said Romney's returns would at the very least reinforce the rising public issue of income inequity.

"The average American has a hard time understanding their own two-page tax return let alone Gov. Romney's 200-page return," said Joseph Bankman, a Stanford University professor of business and law who has testified to Congress on tax issues. "What would jump out at anyone is the sheer amount of money and low tax rate he pays, as well as the enormous complexity of his financial transactions."

Romney paid about $3 million in federal income taxes in 2010, having earned more than seven times that from his investments. That income, $21.7 million, put him among the wealthiest of American taxpayers. Romney's campaign said Tuesday he followed all tax laws.

At the same time, Romney gave nearly $3 million to charity ? about half of that amount to the Mormon Church ? which helped lower his effective tax rate to a modest 14 percent, according to records his campaign released Tuesday.

Romney's income puts him in the top 0.006 percent of Americans, based on the most recent Internal Revenue Service data, from 2009. That year, only 8,274 filers reported income above $10 million.

He could be worth up to $250 million, based on previously released financial information.

The documents were released as President Barack Obama prepared to deliver his State of the Union message, in which he is expected to talk about economic fairness.

Asked during a round of TV interviews Tuesday about Romney's tax rate, given that he's a multimillionaire, White House adviser David Plouffe said: "We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share."

Other Democratic Party voices were less restrained. "He used every loophole in the book available to the wealthy and corporations to avoid paying his fair share," said Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard.

Romney's GOP rivals had no immediate comment. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended the Romney's tax rate as being close to what most Americans pay on long-term capital gains from the sale of investments.

"We all know that there's a reason we have low rates on capital gains," Boehner told reporters "That is because it spurs new investment in our economy and allows capital to move more quickly."

Romney had long refused to disclose any federal tax returns, then hinted he would only offer a single year's return in April. But mounting criticism from his rivals and a hard loss in last week's South Carolina primary forced his hand.

For 2011, Romney will pay about $3.2 million with an effective tax rate of about 15.4 percent, the campaign said. Those returns haven't yet been filed yet.

In total, he would pay more than $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income in the past two years, his campaign said.

"Gov. Romney has paid 100 percent of what he owes," said Benjamin Ginsberg, the Romney campaign's legal counsel. Ginsberg and other advisers insisted Romney did not use any aggressive tax strategies to help reduce or defer his tax income.

The advisers acknowledged that Romney continues to earn money from investments from Bain Capital, the Boston-based private equity firm the candidate founded and managed between 1984 and early 1999. Under an agreement with the firm when he left, Romney continued to earn "carried interest" on new Bain investments as a former partner in the firm even though he no longer ran the operation.

Romney earned $7.5 million in Bain earnings in 2010 and expects to make $5.5 million in 2011, Ginsberg said.

The former Massachusetts governor had been cast by his GOP opponents as a wealthy businessman who earned lucrative payouts from his investments while Bain slashed jobs in the private sector. Rival Newt Gingrich released his 2010 returns last Thursday showing he paid almost $1 million in income taxes, a tax rate of about 31 percent.

Romney's advisers acknowledged Tuesday that Romney and his wife, Ann, had a bank account in Switzerland as part of her trust. The account was worth $3 million and was held in the United Bank of Switzerland, said R. Bradford Malt, a Boston lawyer who makes investments for the Romneys and oversees their blind trust, which was set up to avoid any conflicts of interest in investments during his run for the presidency.

In 2009, UBS admitted assisting U.S. citizens in evading taxes, and agreed to pay a $780 million penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.

Malt said he closed the account in early 2010 for "diversification" and because it "just wasn't worth it." He sidestepped a question about whether he did so because the account could have been a political liability, saying it "might or might not be inconsistent with Gov. Romney's political views." Malt has sold off other accounts in recent years ? including investments in firms that did business with Iran and China ? because of possible political inconsistency or embarrassment with Romney's political positions.

Malt also confirmed that some of Romney's investments are routed through affiliate funds set up in the Cayman Islands. He insisted there were no actual offshore accounts, and added that Romney paid the same amount of U.S. taxes using the Cayman affiliates as he would have if the investment funds were set up in the U.S.

Romney's 2010 tax return also shows a number of foreign investments, including funds based in Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. The documents also detailed another investment fund routed through a Bain Capital affiliate set up in Bermuda.

The returns showed about $4.5 million in itemized deductions, including $1.5 million to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Romney's charitable giving is above average, even for someone at his income level. In 2009, more than 37 million filers claimed charitable deductions averaging more than $4,000. Among those making more than $10 million, the average charitable deduction was about $1.7 million, according to the IRS.

Before the tax records were released, Romney's old investments in two government-backed housing lenders stirred up new questions at the same time his campaign targeted Gingrich for his work for Freddie Mac.

Gingrich earned $1.6 million in consulting fees from Freddie Mac. Romney has as much as $500,000 invested in the U.S.-backed lender and its sister entity, Fannie Mae.

The fight over releasing the tax information highlighted an argument that Democrats are already starting to use against Romney ? that he is out-of-touch with normal Americans. And it probably hurt him in the South Carolina primary, where he lost by 12 percentage points to Gingrich after spending several days resisting calls to release the returns.

___

Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt reported from Tampa and Stephen Ohlemacher from Washington.

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

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Palestinian leader: Talks with Israel over (AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank ? RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? Exploratory peace talks with Israel have ended with nothing to show for them, the Palestinian president said Wednesday, pledging to consult with the Arab League about the next moves and leaving open the possibility of an extension.

After a total break of more than a year, international mediators persuaded the sides to send their negotiators to Jordan to explore the possibility of resuming peace talks. Reflecting the depth of their differences, they could not even agree on when to submit proposals.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would discuss the prospects with the Arab League next week, Israel wants to keep talking, and Abbas is under mounting international pressure not to walk away.

Visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is scheduled to meet separately over the next two days with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two officials involved in the contacts said she is trying to put together a package of Israeli incentives that would keep the Palestinians in the talks.

In the Jordanian-mediated exploratory talks, Israeli and Palestinian envoys met several times over the past month, including on Wednesday. The Quartet of international mediators ? the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia ? said last fall that it expected both sides to submit detailed proposals on borders and security arrangements, in hopes the dialogue would evolve into full-fledged peace talks.

Palestinian officials said they submitted their proposals, but that Israel did not. "If we demarcate the borders, we can return to negotiations, but Israel does not want to do that," Abbas said Wednesday, after talks in Jordan with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Israel says it has submitted a document outlining the areas that need to be discussed, but it was not characterized as a proposal.

Abbas said he would consult with the Arab League ? which usually rubber stamps his decisions ? on Feb. 4. This would allow for an additional nine days of diplomatic maneuvers to save the talks.

A walkout could cost the Palestinians international sympathy at a time when they seek global support for U.N. membership for a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel is eager to keep talking and to "try to achieve a historic agreement before the end of the year," an Israeli government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters. "We hope that the Palestinians aren't looking for an excuse to walk away from the table."

Ashton said during a visit to Gaza on Wednesday that "we need to keep talks going and increase the potential of these talks to become genuine negotiations."

The two sides disagreed on how much time was set aside for the exploratory talks.

The Palestinians said the deadline is Thursday, or three months after the Quartet issued its marching orders, while Israel believes it has until early April, or three months after the start of meetings.

Underlying the impasse is Abbas' conviction that it's impossible to reach an acceptable border deal with the hard-line Netanyahu.

The Palestinians are ready for minor adjustments in the lines of the West Bank through land swaps, but Israel has not submitted a proposal. Netanyahu has not endorsed the land-swap concept and insists that east Jerusalem belongs to Israel.

Netanyahu has also rejected Palestinian demands that he halt construction in Jewish settlements on occupied lands or recognize the pre-1967 war's cease-fire line as a baseline for border talks.

Abbas argues that without such assurances, there is no point in returning to negotiations. He fears Israel will use continued negotiations as a diplomatic cover for seizing more land, through settlements, that the Palestinians want for their state. Israel counters that the Palestinians have not made a halt to settlement construction a condition for peace talks in the past.

The Palestinians reluctantly agreed to the Jordanian-mediated talks because they did not want to turn down a request by the Jordanian monarch. Strong ties with Jordan, which neighbors the West Bank and is home to millions of Palestinians, are a pillar of Abbas' foreign policy.

___

Additional reporting by Associated Press writer Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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Iran slams EU oil embargo, warns could hit U.S. (Reuters)

TEHRAN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Iran accused Europeans on Monday of waging "psychological warfare" after the EU banned imports of Iranian oil, and President Barack Obama said Washington would impose more sanctions to address the "serious threat presented by Iran's nuclear program."

The Islamic Republic, which denies trying to build a nuclear bomb, scoffed at efforts to choke its oil exports, as Asia lines up to buy what Europe scorns.

Some Iranians also renewed threats to stop Arab oil from leaving the Gulf and warned they might strike U.S. targets worldwide if Washington used force to break any Iranian blockade of a strategically vital shipping route.

Yet in three decades of confrontation between Tehran and the West, bellicose rhetoric and the undependable armory of sanctions have become so familiar that the benchmark Brent crude oil price edged only 0.8 percent higher, and some of that was due to unrelated currency factors.

"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, told Fars news agency a day after U.S., French and British warships sailed back into the Gulf.

"If America seeks adventures after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will make the world unsafe for Americans in the shortest possible time," Kossari added, referring to an earlier U.S. pledge to use its fleet to keep the passage open.

In Washington, Obama said in a statement that the EU sanctions underlined the strength of the international community's commitment to "addressing the serious threat presented by Iran's nuclear program."

"The United States will continue to impose new sanctions to increase the pressure on Iran," Obama said.

The United States imposed its own sanctions against Iran's oil trade and central bank on December 31. On Monday it imposed sanctions on the country's third-largest bank, state-owned Bank Tejarat and a Belarus-based affiliate, for allegedly helping Tehran develop its nuclear program.

The EU sanctions were also welcomed by Israel, which has warned it might attack Iran if sanctions do not deflect Tehran from a course that some analysts say could potentially give Iran a nuclear bomb next year.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: "This new, concerted pressure will sharpen the choice for Iran's leaders and increase their cost of defiance of basic international obligations."

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, reiterated Washington's commitment to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. "I think that Iran has undoubtedly heard that message and would be well advised to heed it," she said at a meeting of the board of governors of the American Jewish Committee in New York.

CALLS FOR TALKS

Germany, France and Britain used the EU sanctions as a cue for a joint call to Tehran to renew long-suspended negotiations on its nuclear program. Russia, like China a powerful critic of the Western approach, said talks might soon be on the cards.

Iran, however, said new sanctions made that less likely. It is a view shared by some in the West who caution that such tactics risk hardening Iranian support for a nuclear program that also seems to be subject to a covert "war" of sabotage and assassinations widely blamed on Israeli and Western agents.

The European Union embargo will not take full effect until July 1 because the foreign ministers who agreed the anticipated ban on imports of Iranian crude at a meeting in Brussels were anxious not to penalize the ailing economies of Greece, Italy and others to whom Iran is a major oil supplier. The strategy will be reviewed in May to see if it should go ahead.

Curbing Iran's oil exports is a double-edged sword, as Tehran's own response to the embargo clearly showed.

Loss of revenue is painful for a clerical establishment that faces an awkward electoral test at a time of galloping inflation which is hurting ordinary people. But since Iran's Western-allied Arab neighbors are struggling to raise their own output to compensate, the curbs on Tehran's exports have driven up oil prices and raised costs for recession-hit Western industries.

A member of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian, said Tehran should respond to the delayed-action EU sanctions by stopping sales to the bloc immediately, denying the Europeans time to arrange alternative supplies and damaging their economies with higher oil prices.

"The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

'PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE'

"European Union sanctions on Iranian oil is psychological warfare," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. "Imposing economic sanctions is illogical and unfair but will not stop our nation from obtaining its rights."

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told the official IRNA news agency that the more sanctions were imposed on Tehran "the more obstacles there will be to solve the issue".

Iran's Oil Ministry issued a statement saying the sanctions did not come as a shock. "The oil ministry has from long ago thought about it and has come up with measures to deal with any challenges," it said, according to IRNA.

Mehmanparast said: "The European countries and those who are under American pressure, should think about their own interests. Any country that deprives itself from Iran's energy market, will soon see that it has been replaced by others."

China, Iran's biggest customer, has resisted U.S. pressure to cut back its oil imports, as have other Asian economies to varying degrees. India's oil minister said on Monday sanctions were forcing Iran to sell more cheaply and that India planned to take full advantage of that to buy as much as it could.

The EU measures include an immediate ban on all new contracts to import, purchase or transport Iranian crude and petroleum products. However, EU countries with existing contracts can honor them up to July 1.

EU officials said they also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious metals with the bank and state bodies.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said: "I want the pressure of these sanctions to result in negotiations."

"I want to see Iran come back to the table and either pick up all the ideas that we left on the table ... last year ... or to come forward with its own ideas."

Iran has said it is willing to hold talks with Western powers, though there have been mixed signals on whether conditions imposed by both sides make new negotiations likely.

IAEA INSPECTORS VISIT

The Islamic Republic says it is enriching uranium only for producing electricity and other civilian uses. The start this month of a potentially bomb-proof - and once secret - enrichment plant has deepened skepticism abroad, however.

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed plans for a visit next week by senior inspectors to try to clear up questions raised about the purpose of Iran's nuclear activities. Tehran is banned by international treaty from developing nuclear weaponry.

"The Agency team is going to Iran in a constructive spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in that same spirit," IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement announcing the January 29-31 visit.

Iran, whose regional policies face a setback from the difficulties of its Arab ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has powerful defenders in the form of Russia, which has built Iran a reactor, and China. Both permanent U.N. Security Council members argue that Western sanctions are counter-productive.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, classifying the EU embargo among "aggravating factors", said Moscow believed there was a good chance that talks between six global powers and Iran could resume soon and that Russia would try to steer both Iran and the West away from further confrontation.

His ministry issued an official statement expressing "regret and alarm": "What is happening here is open pressure and diktat, an attempt to 'punish' Iran for its intractable behavior.

"This is a deeply mistaken approach, as we have told our European partners more than once. Under such pressure Iran will not agree to any concessions or any changes in its policy."

But that argument cuts no ice with the U.S. administration, for which Iran - and Israel's stated willingness to consider unilateral military action against it - is a major challenge as Obama campaigns for re-election against Republican opponents who say he has been too soft on Tehran.

(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy and Mitra Amiri in Tehran, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Adrian Croft in London, John Irish in Paris, Alexei Anishchuk in Sochi, Ari Rabinovitch and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Rachelle Younglai and Andrew Quinn in Washington, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Robert Woodward and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_iran_eu_deal

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

CSN: Fielder saga nearing conclusion?

January 23, 2012, 1:51 pm

? ?
Trying to decipher fact from fiction in the ongoing Prince Fielder saga is like trying to drink coffee with a fork. You can certainly try, but your chances for success are minimal.

As each day this month passes, it becomes more and more difficult to figure out what exactly is going on in Fielder's quest to sign with some major-league club. The handful of people actually in the know are saying very little -- if anything at all -- leaving the rumor mill to sustain itself through all manner of reports ... some of them legitimate, many of them not.

The saga reached perhaps a new low point late Sunday night, when two obscure Twitter users posted fairly emphatic reports about Fielder having signed -- except one report said he had signed with the Nationals while the other claimed he had signed with the Rangers. That set off a chain of retweets and unsubstantiated rumor spreading, including from a handful of professional journalists who never bothered to check the validity of either report before passing it along as fact.

In the end, of course, neither report was accurate. As of this afternoon, Fielder remains unsigned, and no reputable baseball reporter has offered any substantial new information to suggest a deal has been reached with anyone.

That said, it does appear we're inching ever so slowly toward a resolution to this matter at long last. A handful of clubs have been identified by multiple reporters as contenders to acquire Fielder, including the Nationals, Rangers and possibly the Dodgers and Orioles.

No one is suggesting a final decision has been made, and Nationals sources continue to insist nothing has changed from their perspective. But we've probably reached the final leg of this unprecedented ordeal. At this point, agent Scott Boras is merely trying to milk whatever few dollars more he can get out of the contending clubs, trying to play them off each other. Soon enough, those offers will be final and Fielder will have to make his choice.

No free agent has ever gone this deep into the off-season before signing a nine-figure contract. Fielder will be the first to do that. But he probably won't make everyone wait too much longer. Which means we won't be subjected to these wild (and usually unreliable) rumors anymore, a fact reporters and fans alike will certainly appreciate.

Source: http://www.csnwashington.com/blog/nationals-talk/post/Fielder-saga-nearing-conclusion?blockID=636600&feedID=6458

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How protein networks stabilize muscle fibers: Same mechanism as for DNA

How protein networks stabilize muscle fibers: Same mechanism as for DNA [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Dr. Wolfgang Linke
wolfgang.linke@rub.de
49-234-322-9101
Ruhr-University Bochum

Research team with RUB involvement reports in Genes and Development

The same mechanism that stabilises the DNA in the cell nucleus is also important for the structure and function of vertebrate muscle cells. This has been established by RUB-researchers led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Linke (Institute of Physiology) in cooperation with American and German colleagues. An enzyme attaches a methyl group to the protein Hsp90, which then forms a complex with the muscle protein titin. When the researchers disrupted this protein network through genetic manipulation in zebrafish the muscle structure partly disintegrated. The scientists have thus shown that methylation also plays a significant role outside the nucleus. They published their results in Genes and Development.

Methylation in the nucleus

Enzymes, called methyltransferases, transfer methyl (CH3) groups to specific sections of the DNA in the nucleus. In this way, they mark active and inactive regions of the genes. However, not only DNA but also nuclear proteins incur methylation, mostly at the amino acid lysine. Methylated lysines on nuclear proteins promote the formation of protein complexes that control, for example, DNA repair and replication. However, methyltransferases are not only found in the nucleus, but also in the cellular fluid (cytoplasm). Yet, it is not well established which proteins they methylate in the cytoplasm and how this methylation may affect function.

Shown for the first time: methylation in the cytoplasm promotes protein complex formation

The researchers first identified an enzyme which is mainly present in the cytoplasm and which methylates the amino acid lysine (Smyd2). Then they searched for interaction partners of the enzyme Smyd2 and found the heat shock protein Hsp90. The scientists went on to show that Smyd2 and methylated Hsp90 form a complex with the muscle protein titin. "Titin is the largest protein in the human body and known primarily for its role as an elastic spring in muscle cells" explains Linke. "Precisely this elastic region of titin is protected by the association with methylated Hsp90."

Titin requires protection by methylated proteins

In skeletal muscle cells of the zebrafish, Linke's team explored what happens when the protection by the methylated heat shock protein is repressed. By genetic manipulation they altered the organism in such a way that it no longer produced the enzyme Smyd2, which blocked the methylation of Hsp90. Without methylated Hsp90, the elastic titin region was unstable and muscle function strongly impaired; the regular muscle structure was partially disrupted.

###

Bibliographic record

L.T. Donlin, C. Andresen, S. Just, E. Rudensky, C.T. Pappas, M. Kruger, E.Y. Jacobs, A. Unger, A. Zieseniss, M.-W. Dobenecker, T. Voelkel, B.T. Chait, C.C. Gregorio, W. Rottbauer, A. Tarakhovsky, W.A. Linke (2012): Smyd2 controls cytoplasmic lysine methylation of Hsp90 and myofilament organization, Genes and Development, doi: 10.1101/gad.177758.111

Further information

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Linke, Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine at the Ruhr-Universitt, 44780 Bochum, Germany, Phone: +49/234/32-29101
wolfgang.linke@rub.de

Click for more

Cardiovascular Physiology at RUB
http://www.py.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/kardp/Index.html.en

Figure online

A figure related to this press release can be found online at: http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2012/pm00017.html.en

Editor

Dr. Julia Weiler


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


How protein networks stabilize muscle fibers: Same mechanism as for DNA [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Dr. Wolfgang Linke
wolfgang.linke@rub.de
49-234-322-9101
Ruhr-University Bochum

Research team with RUB involvement reports in Genes and Development

The same mechanism that stabilises the DNA in the cell nucleus is also important for the structure and function of vertebrate muscle cells. This has been established by RUB-researchers led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Linke (Institute of Physiology) in cooperation with American and German colleagues. An enzyme attaches a methyl group to the protein Hsp90, which then forms a complex with the muscle protein titin. When the researchers disrupted this protein network through genetic manipulation in zebrafish the muscle structure partly disintegrated. The scientists have thus shown that methylation also plays a significant role outside the nucleus. They published their results in Genes and Development.

Methylation in the nucleus

Enzymes, called methyltransferases, transfer methyl (CH3) groups to specific sections of the DNA in the nucleus. In this way, they mark active and inactive regions of the genes. However, not only DNA but also nuclear proteins incur methylation, mostly at the amino acid lysine. Methylated lysines on nuclear proteins promote the formation of protein complexes that control, for example, DNA repair and replication. However, methyltransferases are not only found in the nucleus, but also in the cellular fluid (cytoplasm). Yet, it is not well established which proteins they methylate in the cytoplasm and how this methylation may affect function.

Shown for the first time: methylation in the cytoplasm promotes protein complex formation

The researchers first identified an enzyme which is mainly present in the cytoplasm and which methylates the amino acid lysine (Smyd2). Then they searched for interaction partners of the enzyme Smyd2 and found the heat shock protein Hsp90. The scientists went on to show that Smyd2 and methylated Hsp90 form a complex with the muscle protein titin. "Titin is the largest protein in the human body and known primarily for its role as an elastic spring in muscle cells" explains Linke. "Precisely this elastic region of titin is protected by the association with methylated Hsp90."

Titin requires protection by methylated proteins

In skeletal muscle cells of the zebrafish, Linke's team explored what happens when the protection by the methylated heat shock protein is repressed. By genetic manipulation they altered the organism in such a way that it no longer produced the enzyme Smyd2, which blocked the methylation of Hsp90. Without methylated Hsp90, the elastic titin region was unstable and muscle function strongly impaired; the regular muscle structure was partially disrupted.

###

Bibliographic record

L.T. Donlin, C. Andresen, S. Just, E. Rudensky, C.T. Pappas, M. Kruger, E.Y. Jacobs, A. Unger, A. Zieseniss, M.-W. Dobenecker, T. Voelkel, B.T. Chait, C.C. Gregorio, W. Rottbauer, A. Tarakhovsky, W.A. Linke (2012): Smyd2 controls cytoplasmic lysine methylation of Hsp90 and myofilament organization, Genes and Development, doi: 10.1101/gad.177758.111

Further information

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Linke, Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine at the Ruhr-Universitt, 44780 Bochum, Germany, Phone: +49/234/32-29101
wolfgang.linke@rub.de

Click for more

Cardiovascular Physiology at RUB
http://www.py.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/kardp/Index.html.en

Figure online

A figure related to this press release can be found online at: http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2012/pm00017.html.en

Editor

Dr. Julia Weiler


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/rb-hpn012312.php

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Altitude sickness causes Tracy Morgan Sundance collapse (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? "30 Rock" actor Tracy Morgan collapsed at the Sundance film festival over the weekend and is being treated for exhaustion and altitude sickness, his publicist said on Monday.

Spokesman Lewis Kay said initial reports that Morgan was drunk were untrue.

"From a combination of exhaustion and altitude, Tracy is seeking medical attention. He is with his fiance and grateful to the Park City Medical Center for their care. Any reports of Tracy consuming alcohol are 100% false," Kay said in a statement.

Morgan, 43, was taken to the hospital in Park City, Utah, on Sunday while attending a charity event during the annual Sundance film festival in the ski resort.

The actor's new comedy "Predisposed" is one of the dozens of films at the festival, which champions independent movies.

(Reporting By Jill Serjant)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/en_nm/us_tracymorgan

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Arnie visits Austrian town run on green energy (AP)

GUESSING, Austria ? It was another chance to tuck into a schnitzel. But Arnold Schwarzenegger's visit to a small eastern Austrian town had a more compelling purpose.

Austria's most famous living son is proud of his record of greening California while governor. So his visit to Guessing, which meets its energy needs through renewables, was fitting.

In both Guessing and California, "the world has already become a better one," he told fans and dignitaries gathered in his honor Sunday.

After a lunch of Wiener schnitzel and Kaiserscharrn ? chopped up pancakes with jam ? Arnie toured the village's energy plants, describing his push for green energy as "my crusade."

And yes, the "Terminator" star did say, "I'll be back."

___

Philipp Jenne contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_en_ce/eu_austria_people_schwarzenegger

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Maxxeon WorkStar 2000 Technician?s Floodlight Review

Make no mistake.? We’re suckers for flashlights at The Gadgeteer!? I thought I’d seen it all, but this odd duck grabbed my attention.? The WorkStar 2000 Technician’s Floodlight from Maxxeon has a swiveling head, magnets, a hook and a rechargeable battery?? Let’s take a look! You get a wall charger, car charger, belt clip and [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/21/maxxeon-workstar-2000-technicians-floodlight-review/

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Grey's Anatomy's Sarah Drew Welcomes First Child (omg!)

Grey's Anatomy cast member Sarah Drew gave birth to a baby boy Wednesday in Los Angeles, People reports.

Drew, 31, delivered son Micah Emmanuel Lanfer at 6:21 p.m. on Jan. 18, weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. "She and her husband, Peter Lanfer, are in love with him," her rep said in a statement to People.

Grey's Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw expecting third baby

This is the first child for Drew and Lanfer, who wed in 2002.

Drew's Grey's Anatomy co-star, Jessica Capshaw, recently announced she is pregnant with her third child.

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_greys_anatomys_sarah_drew_welcomes_first_child234800232/44237288/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/greys-anatomys-sarah-drew-welcomes-first-child-234800232.html

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Synthetic Windpipe Transplant Boost For Tissue Engineering

Surgeons in Sweden replaced an American patient's cancerous windpipe with a scaffold built from nanofibers and seeded with the patient's stem cells. Lead surgeon Dr. Paolo Macchiarini discusses the procedure and the benefits of tissue-engineered synthetic organs.

Copyright ? 2012 National Public Radio?. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow.

An American cancer patient became the second person in the world to receive a synthetic windpipe transplant. Surgeons in Sweden replaced a patient's cancerous windpipe with one that was grown in the laboratory. It was made from plastic nanofibers and seeded with the patient's stem cells.

But just how is this artificial organ turned into a functioning airway? And how can this experimental procedure be used on other organs, perhaps lungs, even the heart in the future?

My next guest, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, was the lead surgeon for both synthetic windpipe transplants. Dr. Macchiarini is the director of the Advanced Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Welcome to Science Friday.

DR. PAOLO MACCHIARINI: Thank you so much.

FLATOW: Thank you for joining us.

Let's start at the beginning. How was the scaffold for the synthetic trachea built?

MACCHIARINI: Well, basically, by the same fibers that everybody of us has, nanofibers; very, very small fibers that are composed and native to the human trachea. So when we wanted to transplant this organ, we thought what is best. And the best would be to just replicate what human nature has done. And this is the reason why we use these very thin fibers.

FLATOW: And then you seeded the fibers, the mold, so to speak, the plastic, with the patient's own stem cells.

MACCHIARINI: Exactly. Because these first steps, the generation of the scaffold, was entirely made in the laboratory. But without the cells, the scaffold could not be implanted, because the trachea is the only organ which is in contact with the external environment. So if you put a prosthesis(ph) or synthetic material (unintelligible) become infected. And you can have different lethal problems. By reseeded the scaffold with a patient's own stem cells, we were making living plastic tissue.

FLATOW: Did the stem cells then start to grow as trachea cells?

MACCHIARINI: Well, the first step is to produce a nano(ph) composite. Then the second step is to take the stem cells of the patient. The third step is to put the two together using a so-called bioreactor, which is a shoebox where you put this (unintelligible) cells and the scaffold. And the cells are attracted by this scaffold, because it is biomaterial and permits attachment of the cells. And the cells are not only attaching, but then starts to proliferate, are living. So that they feel like they would be in a physiological (technical difficulties).

Once you have done this, you implant it, implant this in the human body and you give bioactive (unintelligible) that differentiate the stem cells into the (unintelligible) of the trachea. And this happens usually within 14 days after the transplantation.

FLATOW: And so that the stem cells basically grow and become part of the trachea?

MACCHIARINI: Well, rather than growing, they differentiate into the given specific cells. And to avoid infection (unintelligible) the graft. Yes.

FLATOW: And so by the time you transplant it back into the patient, you have the plastic structure and you have tracheal cells that you're putting back into the patient?

MACCHIARINI: Well, we have the nano composite. We have cells. But these are not tracheal cells, because in such a short time you cannot differentiate a cell. You just can have cells that are living. And once they are implanted in the human body, we use the human body as a so-called own bioreactor and we boost the regeneration.

FLATOW: And so how long would it take for those cells to regenerate once they're back in the human?

MACCHIARINI: Well, after one week of the transplantation, we did an endoscopy. That means an evaluation of the graft. And by taking the cells out, we were finding evidence that the cells of the (technical difficulties) inside it were already there. So in short of seven days you can have differentiated cells starting from not differentiated cells.

FLATOW: And how long would it take to cover and make a complete trachea?

MACCHIARINI: Well, we did - before the last patient came home, we did again an endoscopy. And it was lined with the cells. And today we just proved, with the pathologist, that cells were all there. So probably this depends (technical difficulties) three dimensional measures of the trachea. Because if it a - it's a very long - it is a trachea with bifurcation so that many factors play a role. But usually within two to three weeks, if you tell the body to boost, to accelerate regeneration, you can get the complete differentiated trachea.

FLATOW: Two to three weeks you can make the whole trachea.

MACCHIARINI: Well, using the human body as a bioreactor, yes.

FLATOW: So I imagine you could try to do this with other organs in the body, other things.

MACCHIARINI: Well, we are starting to learn what happens with this still experimental therapy. So I'm not so pessimistic to try to do the same with other tissues or organs. And since I'm a thoracic surgeon, I deal with organs of the chest. So I would think of the esophagus at the chest wall, at the liver ? at the lung, and eventually at the heart. Yes.

FLATOW: And how are the patients doing?

MACCHIARINI: Well, probably there was a huge media coverage when he came back in the United States. And he's doing very well. He was seen yesterday by his referring physician in Baltimore. And as far as I know he's doing fine.

FLATOW: Can you reconstruct blood vessels this way?

MACCHIARINI: Well, actually, the Yale University has started to - a clinical trial approved by the FDA using tissue (unintelligible) in children. So the answer would be yes.

FLATOW: And just to understand more completely, this is a - the trachea is - it has a microfiber backbone to it, on top of which you have permeated with stem cells. And the stem cells have been coaxed into becoming tracheal cells?

MACCHIARINI: Exactly.

FLATOW: Exactly. And then they have now totally covered and taken over on top of this structure of plastic? They have now become sort of a living organism?

MACCHIARINI: Yes, sir.

FLATOW: Wow. And you did this all - it all happened within just a matter of a few weeks?

MACCHIARINI: Well, usually - again, depending on the degree of difficulty of the three dimensional aspect of the tissue, you can produce a trachea, for instance, just the tube, in two days. And a bifurcated trachea in 10 days. So now - then you need two days for getting the cells, reseeding the grafts, or in two weeks you have an entire trachea.

FLATOW: And perhaps you might extend your work further, because you deal in this and possibly into the lungs.

MACCHIARINI: Well, ideally, yes. But to me my dream would be another one. It would be rather than replacing the lung or replacing the heart, you use cell therapy to treat these organs before they ultimately do not work anymore. so rather than doing a transplantation, just when we have the first signs of insufficiency, whether to treat these organs with the patient's stem cells, probably targeting the defect that they have, so prolonging and extending their life.

FLATOW: So if you have untreatable tumors, for example, within the patient, you might be able to instead of putting a new part in put the stem cells in and they would grow to replace that?

MACCHIARINI: Well, I don't think that this is so easy. We first need to be very cautious to identify so-called cancer stem cells, because within the cancer you have cells that do proliferate forever and have many of the aspects of undifferentiated and ever proliferating stem cells.

So whether we could target these cells to block the growth and eventually treat cancer, this is very, very early.

FLATOW: So what makes your technique so revolutionary?

MACCHIARINI: Well, the fact that, first of all, in six months we've had three - we were able to treat 31 and 30 years respectively, young gentlemen that had a tumor of the trachea and they're still alive. So the revolution is there, because there wouldn't be any other treatment options.

And the second revolution is that (unintelligible) is too much, but a new thing is that we were able to ? we saw in the blood of the patient's stem cells that as soon as the (unintelligible) transplant, were already expressing the profile of respiratory cells. So they were recruited from the preferred(ph) and went home to the site of the transplant to make the cells of the trachea.

So that means that indeed, we could do and replicate this for other types of - like the liver, kidney, heart. We just need time and more economic support to prove this concept.

FLATOW: Yes, time and money. That's all we need.

MACCHIARINI: Exactly, as usual.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

MACCHIARINI: Exactly.

FLATOW: Well, thank you very much, Dr. Macchiarini, for...

MACCHIARINI: Thank you.

FLATOW: ...taking time to talk with us.

Dr. Paolo Macchiarini is the director of the Advanced Center for a Translational Regenerative Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

We're going to take a break. After the break, we're going to look at two renewable energy projects using pioneering technology. One that taps the heat that causes - under volcanoes. And another project: to float wind turbines off the coast of Maine in really deep water. Not close to shore but far away so you can't even see them from the shore. In deep water creating, you know, electrical energy that way.

We'll talk about it when we get back. Our number: 1-800-989-8255. Tweet us at SciFri@SCIFRI. We'll be right back after this break.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FLATOW: I'm Ira Flatow. This is Science Friday from NPR.

Copyright ? 2012 National Public Radio?. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/20/145525008/synthetic-windpipe-transplant-boost-for-tissue-engineering?ft=1&f=1007

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