Published: December 31, 2011
Ken George ?Stars and Stripes
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, November 16, 1990: NBC-TV weatherman Willard Scott broadcasts from Dhahran Air Base during Operation Desert Shield.
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The Alabama Department of Insurance said insurers have paid at least $2.2 billion in claims arising from the April tornado outbreak in Alabama, and more than 2,500 claims are still pending eight months after the storms.
According to the Birmingham News, the figures include amounts that insurance companies regulated by the state have paid for homes, cars, businesses and other property damaged on April 27.
The figures do not include claims paid by companies such as Lloyd's of London, which insure some Alabama property but are not regulated by the state.
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TUESDAY, Dec. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Racial and cultural factors still affect the diagnosis and treatment of depression in elderly Americans, despite improvements to diagnostic tools and therapies in recent decades, according to a new study.
Researchers found that elderly blacks are less likely to be diagnosed -- and therefore treated -- than whites or Hispanics.
About 6.6 percent of elderly people in the United States have an episode of major depression each year, making it a significant public health issue for older Americans, the Rutgers University researchers pointed out in a university news release.
If it's left untreated or undertreated, depression can have a major negative impact on quality of life and can also complicate medical conditions that are common in elderly people, including congestive heart failure, arthritis and diabetes, Ayse Akincigil, an assistant professor in Rutgers' School of Social Work, and colleagues explained.
The investigators analyzed data collected from nearly 34,000 Medicare beneficiaries between 2001 and 2005, and found that rates of depression diagnosis were 6.4 percent for whites, 4.2 percent for blacks, 7.2 percent for Hispanics, and 3.8 percent for other groups.
"Efforts are needed to reduce the burden of undetected and untreated depression and to identify the barriers that generate disparities in detection and treatment," the researchers concluded.
"Promising approaches include providing universal depression screening and ensuring access to care in low-income and minority neighborhoods," they added. "An increase in the reimbursement of case management services for the treatment of depression also may be effective."
The study was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about older adults and depression.
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The Philadelphia Phillies were ousted by the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division series. Since then, they have added a top-rated closer and have modestly tweaked their roster.
Will a basic shuffling of their aging baseball cards help the Phillies to make progress in 2012?
Being realistic
The Phillies were widely picked as World Series favorites after signing Texas Rangers free agent pitcher, Cliff Lee to a long-term deal last December. On paper they looked invincible. Reality proved that they were beatable.
The game of baseball involves pitching, defense and hitting. Last season, the Phillies only offered two thirds of that pie on their table. Yes, their offense was good at times. But, it wasn't in the playoffs and that was the main reason why they went home early.
So, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. looked at his aging baseball cards and knew that he had to do something before next spring arrived. He picked the option of reshuffling the deck.
Contractual limitations
As of late December, the Phillies had 16 players with guaranteed contracts that totaled $138.5 million. While Citizens Bank Park is a cash cow, it can only offer so much money milk each season.
With that in mind, there are only so many moves that Amaro could make without tearing apart the team. As a result, he completed one necessary acquisition, when he filled the closer's role, added some complimentary guys and re-signed Jimmy Rollins.
New expectations
Inking former Boston Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon isn't a significant risk from a sabermetric standpoint, as he should continue to generate 30 to 40 saves per season. As far as his $50 million+ salary goes, $11 million of it is included in the $138.5 million tally noted above.
This time around, the Phillies didn't need to offer Jim Thome a monster deal to refit his old red pinstriped suit. His $1.25 million deal reincorporates a great baseball guy into a group that will benefit from his positive nature and will also hopefully yield some left-handed lightning in a pinch.
Ty Wigginton ($4 million), Laynce Nix ($1.15 million) and Dontrelle Willis ($850,000) all offer cost-effective roster support. Wigginton may play the role of a utility man around the field, particularly spelling Placido Polanco at third base.
John Mayberry, Jr. has shown promise, but isn't a proven commodity. His 2011 statistical spike may lead to continued growth in 2012, but the production sample size is small and thus Nix was signed as a left-handed compliment for their left-field slot.
In keeping with the theme of versatility, the Phillies now have retooled their bench so that a variety of players can perform at various locations around the field. The undated return of Ryan Howard to the first base area and to the cleanup slot will also allow some of the other names mentioned above to fill-in for him during his absence.
The bottom line
In the end, these moves represent a belief that the core of this team can produce stronger playoff results if it can avoid the injury problems that affected the roster last season.
The amount of currently guaranteed money doesn't include pending 2012 contracts for Cole Hamels and Hunter Pence. These previously created financial obligations have limited what Amaro could have done without moving someone like Victorino who is entering the final year of his contract.
Sean was born in the Philadelphia region and has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB
More from Sean O'Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:
When Baseball Cards were King
Rounding out the Phillies 2012 lineup
The story behind Mike Schmidt's 1980 baseball card
Jim Thome's impact on the Phillies now and then
When Phillies' legend Richie Ashburn played the game
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5668407316
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The Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem, and Israel, which controls Jerusalem's Old City, adopted the delicate status quo in operation since the British mandate, under which no changes, however minor, can be made without the approval of all three denominations.
The result has been that the Church of the Nativity has fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair.
Last month, after years of arguments, the sects finally reached agreement to replace the church's leaking roof. The renovations, planned for next year, will mark the first major repairs in 150 years.
In a separate development, the Jerusalem municipality has approved the construction of another 130 homes in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo, built over the Green line, on land captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war. The move is likely to anger the Palestinians, who insist that Israel must halt all settlement construction before direct peace talks can resume.
An announcement by Israel earlier this month that it intended to build more than a thousand new homes in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem was condemned by Britain, , which along with the other EU members of the United Nations Security Council -France, Germany and Portugal ? issued a statement saying they were "dismayed by these wholly negative developments."
They said Israel's move to accelerate the construction of settlements in the West Bank "sends a devastating message" and they called on the Israeli government to cancel the construction.
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PARIS ? France's government says it will not arrest the former spokeswoman for the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, convicted for revealing confidential decisions during the trial of Slobodan Milosevic.
Florence Hartmann, a French national, was convicted of contempt of court in July and fined in the case, which involved disclosures she made in a 2007 book.
The U.N. court's appeals panel last month converted the fine into a seven-day prison term, and asked French authorites to find and arrest Hartmann.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said Monday that it would be impossible to fulfill the court's request.
He said judicial agreements between France and the court apply only to "the serious crimes that the tribunal is charged with prosecuting" ? and not with such offenses as contempt of court.
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With 2011 nearing its close, the?Reporter is taking a look back at the best that was in the world of Bellevue area sports and recreation. From now until the end of the year, we will recap the best moments, stories and athletes of our area.
Biggest Surprise - Bellevue Christian football
When the news first came out that Bellevue Christian would begin a football program in 2011 and compete against a varsity schedule, it was tough to imagine what the product would look like on the field.
But with longtime youth coach Greg Schneider at the helm, a group that is familiar with success in a variety of other sports and in many cases has competed together for several years, the Vikings surpassed any and all expectations with a 5-4 mark, including a pair of wins to open the season.
The highlights of the year included a 41-8 victory over Northwest Christian School (Lacey) in the first-ever game and a 44-20 win over Chief Leschi.
Also considered: Interlake baseball; Bellevue Christian baseball; Sammamish track and field; Newport boys basketball
The rest of the Best: Humanitarian?Recognition
Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/belsports/~3/QxltylGzCU0/136230453.html
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Source: www.globalnews.ca --- Sunday, December 25, 2011
OTTAWA - Canadians stationed overseas received a special visit over Christmas. ...
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MILAN (Reuters) ? European Central Bank Governing Council Member Ignazio Visco said in a newspaper interview on Saturday that the bank will be attentive to the economic cycle when setting monetary policy, suggesting rates could fall more if the euro zone economy worsens.
The ECB has cut interest rates for two months in a row and this month unveiled a raft of measures to support Europe's cash-starved banks to counter a forecast recession brought on by widespread austerity measures.
"Monetary policy will be attentive to the (economic) cycle. It is thus that we defend monetary stability in the medium-term," the governor of the Bank of Italy, said in the interview in Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
Visco also said the upward trend in Italian bond yields has been stopped and turned around, even if financial markets remain very volatile.
On Friday, the yield on the 10-year Italian government bond rose above 7 percent, the highest since December 16, and the spread over the equivalent German Bund was more than 500 basis points on worries about the euro zone in 2012.
"All the same the trend for higher yields is stopped and turned around, and today we are well below the highs registered in the last few months," Visco said in the interview in Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
"Certainly there is a lot of volatility, but we know that confidence on the markets is lost quickly and regained only slowly and with a constant and continuous commitment," said Visco, who is also governor of the Bank of Italy.
Visco said that the Italian government's 33 billion euro ($43 billion) austerity package, approved definitively by the Senate on Thursday, was "indispensable," but he added that structural measures to boost growth and create jobs and wealth should be accelerated.
"It is with policies that sustain growth in a credible way that it will be possible to convince the rest of the world that - as our analyses clearly confirm - our public debt is sustainable," he said.
In an interview on Friday, Standard & Poor's top executives said the first quarter of 2012 will be a test for Italy because of the huge amount of sovereign debt it has to refinance.
The record-high yields Italy has paid at recent sales have led to concerns the euro zone's third-largest economy may have trouble refinancing the more than 150 billion euros of debt coming due between February and April next year.
The spread between the 10-year Italian bond and the equivalent Bund can fall if the growth capacity of national economies is judged favourably, on prospects for political integration in the euro zone, and international cooperation, he said.
BANK FUNDING, CAPITAL
Asked about growth and the problem of the economic cycle, Visco said: "This is the reason for which, with the last decisions of the governing board, we have made monetary policy still more accommodating than it was already before."
He added that the ECB does not only respond to short-term inflation trends when setting policy.
A year of complete stagnation awaits the euro zone economy in 2012, according to a recent Reuters poll of economists, who said a recession has already started that will last until the second quarter of next year.
European banks gobbled up nearly 490 billion euros in three-year cut-price loans from the ECB on Wednesday, easing immediate fears of a credit crunch but leaving unresolved how much will flow to needy euro zone economies.
More than a dozen Italian banks, including top lenders UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), tapped 116 billion euros ($143.5 billion) of the three-year loans - about a quarter of the total.
"Bank liquidity is suffering strong pressure because of the difficulty in renewing wholesale funding, which is determined by the strong increase in sovereign risks in the euro zone," Visco said in the paper.
Visco said the European Banking Authority's demand for higher capital buffers, which has come under fire in Italy, is a one-off exercise and is not aimed at deleveraging or reducing lending to the economy.
"I understand that (raising capital on the market) is not easy, but we are not talking about extraordinary figures," he said, adding that other options include cutting dividends and bonuses, and selling non-strategic assets.
(Writing by Nigel Tutt and Philip Pullella)
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Tornado warning for Melbourne. You heard me. Tornado warning. Yes. TORNADO WARNING. - bom.gov.au/products/IDV65? 
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Source: http://twitter.com/sterow/statuses/150828104636567552
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Last week, 300 local residents who needed a helping hand got it. Each were warmed with Christmas dinner and had their pick of winter coats and warm clothes?collected largely by local realtors?to take home.
?We made sure that Santa Claus was here and came to the dinner and everybody really seemed to enjoy themselves,? said Major Brad Smith of the Salvation Army, whose Richmond branch brought Christmas early to low-income residents.
The Salvation Army is just one local charity making the holiday season a little brighter this year.
Smith believes the need in the community is greater this year.
?We have people that call us and they have some really sad situations that we try to help them out in to make sure they have a good Christmas,? he said.
The community has stepped up with donations, and Smith said he?s grateful to all who?ve offered their support.
As of last Saturday, the community donated $127,244 to the local branch?that?s $6,000 less than last year. Donations can still be made at Christmas Kettles around town until 4 p.m. Dec. 24. (Those who donate cheques will be issued a tax receipt.)
Donations of cheques and new toys are also accepted directly at the Salvation Army, 8280 Gilbert Rd.
All money goes toward a weekly community luncheon and goes to help people buy groceries throughout the year. It also goes toward the operation of a 10-bed shelter.
This year proved a busy one for Richmond Food Bank, which served an average of 500 households per week?a 60 per cent increase in three years.
But executive director Margaret Hewlett said the community has offered lots of support this season?through donations of cash, food and time.
Hewlett said there is growing awareness of the food bank and the needs that exist in the community. But there are still lots of opportunities for the community to help, detailed at richmondfoodbank.org.
?There opportunity to help is ongoing. We?re a year-round service and always open to donations and inquiries from potential volunteers,? she said.
Help this holiday season has also come from the Richmond Christmas Fund, which distributes grocery vouchers to over 2,000 low-income residents, and provides over 900 children with toys, games and books.
Co-ordinator Ryan Luetzen of Volunteer Richmond Information Services, which organizes the fund, said donations from individuals, businesses and community groups have totalled $125,000 this season.
The Richmond Auto Mall?s Windows of Hope is among the large fundraising campaigns for the Richmond Christmas Fund. The effort, in which teams of volunteers paint windows of car dealerships with a holiday theme, resulted in a $20,000 donation from the Richmond Auto Mall Association.
Another significant contribution came from the Richmond Christmas Fund Realtor Challenge, organized by Patti Martin and Shafik Ladha. With contributions from nine other local realtors, at least $10,000 has been raised so far.
Ashton Service Group contributed a further $5,000 to the fund and sponsored the program?s new online donation page.
And more than a dozen local businesses each contributed $500 as part of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce Member to Family Challenge.
At the fund?s first drive-thru event held Dec. 8 at the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel, nearly $2,000 was donated, along with dozens of bags of toys and books.
Donations can still be made to the Christmas fund at www.volunteer richmond.ca.
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Source: http://www.richmondreview.com/community/136111058.html
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Fans of the new Tintin movie will love 'The Art of the Adventures of Tintin' app for the iPad.
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The Art of the Adventures of Tintin features 360? Immersive Environments, 360? Turnaround Characters, Video Clips and Exclusive new content, as a part of the narrative that turns the amazing story and evolution of Herg?'s original artwork into the blockbuster 3D performance captured in the film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.
Based on content from the beautifully presented book, the Art of the Adventures of Tintin by Chris Guise, the app takes the reader further into the story by exploring and interacting with various features throughout the book. Readers are able to see the transformation of concept illustrations into final shots from the film, as well as listen to the artists and filmmakers who worked on the film, including Oscar Winners Joe Letteri and Richard Taylor. Joe Letteri and Richard Taylor also share their insights into the filmmaking experience in their video introductions for this outstanding book. The die-hard Tintin fan can also take pleasure in the inclusion of never before published footage of Herg? working in his studio as well as never seen before concept art and interactive features.
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You can purchase The Art of the Adventures of Tintin from the App Store for $5.99.
Read More
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Follow @iClarified The iClarified Newsletter is sent once a day and includes any news or tutorials posted in the last 24 hours. To signup for the Newsletter click here. Make sure you choose "Yes" to be added to our Mailing List.Source: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=18969
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(Reuters) ? Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Thursday its liver cancer drug brivanib failed to meet the primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial.
Brivanib failed to meet the main goal of improving overall survival versus placebo in liver cancer patients who failed or are intolerant to sorafenib. Sorafenib is used to treat advanced primary liver cancer.
Bristol-Myers said three other trials, to evaluate brivanib in different liver cancer patient groups, will continue as planned.
"We remain committed to the development of brivanib as a potential treatment option for patients with liver cancer, and the ongoing study investigating brivanib 'first-line' is expected to complete in 2012," senior vice president Brian Daniels said in a statement.
Shares of the company closed at $35.09 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)
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By Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold
One thing that is intriguing about the precious metals sector is the vast composition of the companies in the sector. The entire equity sector can be divided in so many forms and ways. We can divide the gold and silver stocks, the producers and non producers, the explorers and the developers, the royalty companies and non-royalty companies as well as those making money and those not making money. To make money in this sector one really needs to have a plan and know what they are doing. Specifically, one needs to define an investment and a speculation.
Though the sector itself is risky, there are still numerous companies that can be defined as an investment. An investment is something which you receive a return on your money and a return of your money. Therefore we are looking for companies that are making money and have the reasonable ability to grow cash flow and earnings. The royalty companies and large and senior producers fit this bill. An investment in GDX or a gold mutual fund fit this category. Mid-tier and smaller producers with experienced management, a track record and a strong financial position can be categorized as investments.
Anything and everything else falls into the speculation category. How about a large developer with 10 M oz Au? It is a speculation. No one knows if the owner will ever be acquired, much less if the project will ever go into production. Even if a junior explorer or junior developer are trading at $10/oz in the ground, it still qualifies as a speculation.
Why are we talking about this?
Many gold bulls were hurt in 2007-2008 and again this year as they forgot that most of the companies in this sector as speculations. They forgot that shares can fall tremendously, even as the metals remain firm or even rise. You cannot just sit in your juniors and think they will be up 50-fold by the end of this bull market. After all, you should know by now that most juniors will fail and even fail in this historic bull market.
This year provides a clear example of the difference between speculating and investing. GDX is down 14% while GDXJ is down 33% while the CDNX is down 38%.
When it comes to investing, you cannot settle for anything less than the fastest and most efficient news feed. That is why we created Benzinga Pro. Sign up for a free trial today!
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PHILADELPHIA ? Jimmy Rollins is bringing his swagger back to the Phillies.
Three people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Rollins has agreed to a 3-year, $33 million contract with Philadelphia. The deal includes a vesting option for a fourth year.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the agreement is pending a physical.
"Gotta deal with me for 3 (4) more years!" Rollins wrote on Twitter. He also thanked former Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, who tweeted congratulations to Rollins and the Phillies.
Rollins is a three-time All-Star shortstop and the 2007 NL MVP. He has spent his entire career with the Phillies after being selected in the second round of the 1996 amateur draft, and was a free agent for the first time.
Rollins, who turned 33 last month, sought at least a five-year deal. The Phillies didn't want to go that long, and were able to reach an agreement after the market for Rollins lessened.
From the start, Rollins said he wanted to stay in Philadelphia. He has been the heart and soul of a team that has won five consecutive NL East titles and the 2008 World Series. Rollins is undeniably the team leader, a charismatic personality who brings a special confidence to the clubhouse.
Rollins was the guy who boldly proclaimed the Phillies were the team to beat in the division before the 2007 season, even though Philadelphia hadn't won anything in 14 years. He backed that up by having an MVP year, and leading the Phillies to their first postseason appearance since 1993.
Rollins hasn't come close to matching the numbers he put up in 2007 ? .296 average, 30 homers, 94 RBIs, 20 triples, 41 steals. But he remains one of the best defensive players at his position, and is still an offensive threat atop the lineup.
He hit .268 with 16 homers, 63 RBIs and 30 steals this year. He has been plagued by leg injuries in three of the last four years, and played in a career-low 88 games in 2010. He started 135 this year.
Re-signing Rollins had been a top priority for the Phillies. Their biggest move of the offseason was giving former Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon a $50 million, four-year contract.
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BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? Iraq's Shi'ite prime minister asked parliament to fire his Sunni deputy, and security sources said an arrest warrant was issued for the Sunni vice president, straining the fragile sectarian coalition on the day the last American troops left.
The last convoy of U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq on Sunday ending nearly nine years of war but leaving behind a country in fear that a shaky peace between Shi'ites and Sunnis could collapse, reigniting sectarian slaughter.
Security sources and lawmakers said on Sunday an arrest warrant had been issued for Tareq al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents. They said Sunni and Shi'ite politicians had intervened to stop the arrest from being carried out.
Lawmakers also said on Sunday that a parliamentary official had received Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's request overnight for a vote of no confidence against Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq.
Hashemi and Mutlaq, Iraq's two most-senior Sunni politicians, are leaders of the Iraqiya bloc, a secular group backed by many Sunnis, which joined Maliki's unity government only reluctantly and has long complained of being marginalized.
"The Prime Minister told us that he cannot work with Mutlaq any more.... If this will affect the work and the performance of the cabinet then we will be with him," said Amir al-Kinani, a lawmaker from a Shi'ite bloc.
Iraqiya's parliamentary bloc suspended its participation in parliament on Saturday, accusing Maliki's Shi'ite-led government of concentrating power.
Iraqiya lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani accused Maliki's authorities of carrying out "political targeting" - using the security forces and justice system against political opponents.
"There must be a way of dealing with these issues, without replacing the celebration of the U.S. withdrawal with the politicization of security matters to target political rivals," he told Reuters.
BODYGUARDS HELD
The security sources, who asked not to be identified, said the arrest warrant for Hashemi was issued after the vice president was linked to terrorist activities by four of his bodyguards, arrested on terrorism charges two weeks ago.
The existence of the arrest warrant for Hashemi could not be confirmed, and Iraqiya state television said Hashemi's office had issued a statement denying it. Reuters was not able to reach Hashemi for comment.
The large scale sectarian violence of 2006-07 has largely subsided, but tensions still simmer close to the surface, with many Sunnis feeling marginalized following the rise to power of majority Shi'ites after the ousting of Saddam Hussein.
In the last years of the U.S. presence, Washington worked hard to keep Sunnis inside the political process to prevent it from unraveling.
Iraq's power-sharing government splits the presidency, the prime minister's post, two vice presidencies and two deputy premierships among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs. But Sunni politicians complain they are kept out of decision making.
Iraqiya, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, won the largest number of seats in a March 2010 national election with the support of many Sunnis, but failed to muster a governing majority.
Instead, it joined a unity coalition headed by Maliki, winning posts such as the parliament speakership, vice presidency, and other ministerial positions, but it has since said it has been shunted aside by his lack of cooperation.
(Reporting by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Serena Chaudhry and Peter Graff)
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ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2011) ? Will a drug used to treat childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other pediatric cancers cause heart problems later in life?
UB associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, Javier G. Blanco, PhD, who sees his work as a bridge between research and clinical practice, has focused recent efforts on trying to answer this question.
Blanco and colleagues' recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology looked for the underlying genetic answers to why some childhood cancer survivors who were treated with anthracylines -- powerful antibiotics like Adriamycin and Daunomycin -- developed cardiomyopathy, such as congestive heart failure, later in life.
"Anthracyclines are effective drugs used to treat a variety of pediatric cancers, they are also used to treat breast cancer and other malignancies in adults," Blanco says. "After cancer, survivors can develop cardiac toxicity anywhere from one year to more than 15 years after the initial chemotherapy with anthracyclines. The window separating the effectiveness of these drugs from their toxicity is narrow. The dosage has to be precise to achieve a therapeutic effect without toxicity."
Blanco explains that the key to individualizing any drug treatment comes down to understanding the way an individual is genetically coded to respond to the drug once it enters the body, and then adjusting the dose accordingly.
Working closely with Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope National Medical Center in California and senior author of the study, Blanco and a team of researchers decided to look at how the drug was broken down by enzymes encoded by specific genes.
The study, which began seven years ago, compared DNA genotypes of 170 childhood cancer survivors diagnosed with anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy to a control group of 317 survivors without heart disease.
Using the candidate gene approach, Blanco and his team were able to identify a tiny gene variant related to the risk of cardiotoxicity.
"We pinpointed the genetic difference or polymorphism that makes an enzyme work faster or slower in patients," said Blanco, "slower is better."
They zeroed-in on carbonyl reductases (CBR1 and CBR3) -- two enzymes that break down anthracyclines into cardiotoxic alcohol metabolites. Blanco notes that in mouse models, higher levels of CBRs or faster enzymes dictate higher levels of these metabolites -- and more cardio toxicity.
The research showed that the risk of cardiomyopathy was significantly increased among individuals with two copies of the "G" version of the CBR3 polymorphism when exposed to low-to-moderate doses of anthracycline.
Blanco says that while the results of the study validated the findings of an earlier study in a totally independent cohort of cancer survivors, further study is required.
"We have to be careful," says Blanco. "So far, we are showing an association, not yet causation. Our next step will be to conduct a prospective study -- where we don't study individuals who were exposed to anthracyclines in the past but follow them in real time as they are receiving the drug and after."
What does this mean for children who are taking or have taken anthracyclines?
"If we stop using anthracyclines we will not be able to cure up to 90 percent of the children who suffer from acute lymphoblastic leukemia." Blanco says. "Parents must continue to have their children's health monitored long after the cancer is cured to identify cardiac problems if they develop."
Blanco's research is primarily funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, among many others.
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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111216175244.htm
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Microsoft
By Suzanne Choney
You may be waiting for the ball to drop for 2012, but Microsoft has another countdown underway that the company deems more urgent: Getting rid of Internet Explorer 6, a decade-old version of the Web browser that seems to have more security holes than Swiss cheese but is still in use by some.
"10 years ago a browser was born. Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we?re in 2011, in an era of modern Web standards, it?s time to say goodbye," the company says on its IE 6 countdown site.?
More than 8 percent of the world still uses IE 6 (in the U.S., it's less than 1 percent), and the company would like to see global usage down to less than 1 percent worldwide. And soon.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
To help expedite the farewell (or rather, the execution) of its ancient Web browser, Microsoft says next month it will start to upgrade Windows customers automatically?to the latest version of IE available for their computer.
"This is an important step in helping to move the Web forward," wrote Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's general manager of Internet Explorer business and marketing, on a company blog. "We will start in January for customers in Australia and Brazil who have turned on automatic updating via Windows Update. Similar to our release of IE 9 earlier this year, we will take a measured approach, scaling up over time."
And, he wrote:
For consumers, the safety benefits are one of the key reasons that the industry has been moving towards automatic updates as the norm. This is increasingly important since the biggest online threat these days is socially engineered malware, which typically targets outdated software like Web browsers. The latest Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, which is based on data from over 600 million systems in over 100 countries, is good reading to give you a sense of risks that stem from outdated software.
But what if you don't want to update your version of Internet Explorer? Under a section of the post called "Respecting Customer Choice and Control," Gavin says that IE 8 and IE 9 Automatic Update Blocker toolkits "prevent automatic upgrades of IE for Windows customers who do not want them. Of course, we firmly believe that IE 9 is the most compelling browser for business customers, and we want them to make the decision to upgrade at their convenience."
Customers "who have declined previous installations of IE 8 or IE 9 through Windows Update will not be automatically updated," he wrote. "Customers have the ability to uninstall updates and continue to receive support for the version of IE that came with their copy of Windows. And similar to organizations, consumers can block the update all together and upgrade on their own. Finally, future versions of IE will provide an option in the product for consumers to opt out of automatic upgrading."
But say good-bye to IE 6 if you have it. And some of you may already be saying good-bye to IE in general. Google's Chrome appears to be gaining more of a foothold among users, as IE's market share continues to drop.
Related stories:
Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on?Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
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PARIS (AP) ? A French court found former President Jacques Chirac guilty of embezzling public funds to illegally finance the conservative party he long led, in a historic verdict Thursday with repercussions for his legacy and France's political elite.
Chirac, a savvy world diplomat and icon of France's ruling establishment for decades, will not go behind bars but was handed a two-year suspended sentence that goes on his criminal record. Anti-corruption crusaders, long frustrated by dirty dealings in the French political machine, rejoiced at the conviction.
He's the first former French head of state to face prosecution since the World War II era. But the 79-year-old former leader did not take part in the trial, after doctors determined that he suffers severe memory lapses.
The court said Thursday it had found Chirac guilty in two related cases involving fake jobs created at the RPR party, which he led during his 1977-1995 tenure as Paris mayor. He was convicted of embezzling public funds, abuse of trust, and illegal conflict of interest.
Chirac repeatedly denied wrongdoing. It took years to get him to trial because he enjoyed immunity from prosecution during his 1995-2007 presidential tenure, during which he led France into the shared euro currency and became the global champion of opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The court said it took into account his age, health and status as a former head of state when determining the light sentence.
Unusually, the prosecutor had requested that Chirac and the nine other defendants in the complex two-part case be acquitted, saying not enough evidence proved intentional corruption. The court disagreed, saying his guilt results "from long-standing and reiterated practices" of illegal party financing.
Chirac's adopted daughter fought back tears as she lamented the ruling.
"The justice system has been very severe, but this is a fair and independent justice system. For the family, it's a great pain we have to accept," said Chirac's adopted daughter Anh Dao Traxel, her voice cracking with emotion as she spoke to reporters outside the courtroom.
"I think this decision is too, too severe for him and our family has more than ever to show solidarity and be supportive, for his health for the rest of his life," said Traxel, a former Vietnamese boat person. Chirac and his wife formally adopted Traxel after she came to Paris in 1979.
Chirac spokeswoman Benedicte Brissart declined to comment immediately, saying time was needed to go over the decision.
Chirac lawyer Georges Kiejman called the ruling disappointing and said he expected a decision later Thursday on whether Chirac would appeal.
"We have to take a step back and read this ruling, we have to speak of course with the main person involved (Chirac), and we will know tonight if he accepts this decision," Kiejman said. "What I hope is that this ruling doesn't change in any way the deep affection the French feel legitimately for Jacques Chirac."
The ruling is certain to bruise Chirac's public image. Leaving office in 2007 did wonders for his popularity: while polls showed that he was unpopular in his final years as president, those numbers soared afterward ? and even today, the avuncular former leader, who now focuses on charitable work, has been one of France's most popular public figures.
Critics had pushed for years to see Chirac answer charges of illegal party financing, frustrated by his presidential immunity and a sense that the political machine would never let the sensitive trial come to pass.
Jerome Karsenti, a lawyer for the anti-corruption group Anticor, which had argued against Chirac as a civil party to the case, said the reverberations could be widespread for France's political elites.
"This is a strong message from the court ? a message to all politicians of responsibility. It's also proof of a mature and transparent democracy that is today able to make a distinction and try a former president," Karsenti said.
"I see it as a historic and very important decision for the future of French democracy," he said.
The latest baring of France's underworld of back-room cronyism, corruption and political wrongdoing could loom large in voters minds as the French cast ballots in presidential and legislative elections next year.
The party that succeeded the RPR, President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party, and the opposition Socialist Party have seen their share of scandal recently. Two longtime Sarkozy allies have been targeted since September in a case of suspected kickbacks in a 1990s French defense deal with Pakistan. Sarkozy served as budget minister at the time, but his office and allies insist he was not involved.
In Thursday's ruling, the court found that 19 totally or partially fake jobs were created to benefit Chirac. "The case and the debates established that Jacques Chirac was the initiator and principal author of crimes of abuse of trust, embezzling and illegal conflict of interest," the ruling said.
A career politician, Chirac was a debonair master of the workings of public office. He modeled himself after longtime French leader Charles de Gaulle and was nicknamed "Le Bulldozer" early in his career for his determination and ambition.
France's last leader with memories of World War II, Chirac was the first to acknowledge the nation's responsibility for the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust. But he struggled to achieve reforms to the regulated economy and failed to defuse tensions between police and minority youth that exploded into riots in 2005.
___
Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.
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