Alcohol consumption and risk of colon cancer in people with a family history of such cancer

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
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Contact: R Curtis Ellison
ellison@bu.edu
508-333-1256
Boston University Medical Center

A study based on more than 87,000 women and 47,000 men in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, looks at whether there is a link between colon cancer and alcohol, and if so at what level of consumption, and the importance of a family history of the disease. A total of 1,801 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed during follow-up from 1980 onwards.

The authors results found that subjects with a family history, whose average alcohol intake was 30 or more grams per day (about 2 typical drinks by US standards or 4 UK units) had an increase in their risk of colon cancer. Those at greatest risk also ate the most red meat, smoked the most, and had the lowest intake of folate (suggesting they ate fewer green vegetables and cereals. Hence, these people have the most unhealthy lifestyles in general of the populations studied. There was not a significant association between alcohol consumption and colon cancer among subjects without a positive family history in this study.

Forum reviewers were concerned that the pattern of drinking (regularly or binge drinking) was not assessed, and that there was not a consistent increase in risk of cancer with greater alcohol intake found. Further, adequate folate intake was found to lower risk, with the highest risk for subjects with a positive family history of colon cancer, low levels of folate, and in the highest category of alcohol consumption, indicating the importance of other lifestyle facts such as a healthy diet.

The present study provides some support for an association between higher levels of alcohol intake and the risk of colon cancer among subjects with a positive family history of such cancer. It should be noted that there have been changes in the guidelines for screening for colon cancer (by endoscopy, with removal of pre-malignant tumours) and other preventive measures for people with a positive family history of colon cancer, making it hard to draw conclusions on data for colon cancer that is 30 years old. The new recommendation for screening frequency and age at initiation of screening are so different now. At least some of these cases would probably have been prevented if managed according to current guidelines. Such measures could modify the effects of all risk factors for colon cancer in future analyses.

###

Reference: Cho E, Lee JE, Rimm EB, Fuchs CS, Giovannucci EL. Alcohol consumption and the risk of colon cancer by family history of colorectal cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;95:413.

Comments on this critique were provided by the following members of the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research:

Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

Lynn Gretkowski, MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Mountainview, CA, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Dee Blackhurst, PhD, Lipid Laboratory, University of Cape Town Health Sciences Faculty, Cape Town, South Africa

R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

Erik Skovenborg, MD, Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, Practitioner, Aarhus, Denmark

Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Gordon Troup, MSc, DSc, School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, go to http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum and/ or http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum/critique-068-heavier-alcohol-consumption-may-increase-risk-of-colon-cancer-in-people-with-a-family-history-of-such-cancer-30-january-2012/

The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject.

Contacts for Editors

Professor R Curtis Ellison: ellison@bu.edu, Tel: 508-333-1256

Helena Conibear: helena@alcohol-forum4profs.org, Tel: 44-1300-320869 or 44-7876-593-345

---

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

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: R Curtis Ellison
ellison@bu.edu
508-333-1256
Boston University Medical Center

A study based on more than 87,000 women and 47,000 men in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, looks at whether there is a link between colon cancer and alcohol, and if so at what level of consumption, and the importance of a family history of the disease. A total of 1,801 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed during follow-up from 1980 onwards.

The authors results found that subjects with a family history, whose average alcohol intake was 30 or more grams per day (about 2 typical drinks by US standards or 4 UK units) had an increase in their risk of colon cancer. Those at greatest risk also ate the most red meat, smoked the most, and had the lowest intake of folate (suggesting they ate fewer green vegetables and cereals. Hence, these people have the most unhealthy lifestyles in general of the populations studied. There was not a significant association between alcohol consumption and colon cancer among subjects without a positive family history in this study.

Forum reviewers were concerned that the pattern of drinking (regularly or binge drinking) was not assessed, and that there was not a consistent increase in risk of cancer with greater alcohol intake found. Further, adequate folate intake was found to lower risk, with the highest risk for subjects with a positive family history of colon cancer, low levels of folate, and in the highest category of alcohol consumption, indicating the importance of other lifestyle facts such as a healthy diet.

The present study provides some support for an association between higher levels of alcohol intake and the risk of colon cancer among subjects with a positive family history of such cancer. It should be noted that there have been changes in the guidelines for screening for colon cancer (by endoscopy, with removal of pre-malignant tumours) and other preventive measures for people with a positive family history of colon cancer, making it hard to draw conclusions on data for colon cancer that is 30 years old. The new recommendation for screening frequency and age at initiation of screening are so different now. At least some of these cases would probably have been prevented if managed according to current guidelines. Such measures could modify the effects of all risk factors for colon cancer in future analyses.

###

Reference: Cho E, Lee JE, Rimm EB, Fuchs CS, Giovannucci EL. Alcohol consumption and the risk of colon cancer by family history of colorectal cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;95:413.

Comments on this critique were provided by the following members of the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research:

Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

Lynn Gretkowski, MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Mountainview, CA, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Dee Blackhurst, PhD, Lipid Laboratory, University of Cape Town Health Sciences Faculty, Cape Town, South Africa

R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

Erik Skovenborg, MD, Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, Practitioner, Aarhus, Denmark

Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Gordon Troup, MSc, DSc, School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, go to http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum and/ or http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum/critique-068-heavier-alcohol-consumption-may-increase-risk-of-colon-cancer-in-people-with-a-family-history-of-such-cancer-30-january-2012/

The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject.

Contacts for Editors

Professor R Curtis Ellison: ellison@bu.edu, Tel: 508-333-1256

Helena Conibear: helena@alcohol-forum4profs.org, Tel: 44-1300-320869 or 44-7876-593-345

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/bumc-aca013012.php

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Ron Paul Can Stop Now (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Ron Paul has no chance of winning the nomination, but he is intent on creating havoc at the Republican Convention. He already concedes he cannot win the nomination and even went so far to say during the debate on Thursday that he was out for delegates only.

The feisty Texas congressman told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he was seeking delegate-rich victories because "the delegates are what counts," according to The Ticket. Delegates do count, but a true Republican that was interested in a November victory would not choose to remain a candidate just to accumulate delegates in an impossible quest for a nomination he cannot win. Unless Paul is nothing more than a spoiler, which I have suspected for some time.

If Tuesday's Florida primary is a Mitt Romney win, the former Massachusetts governor could ride a wave toward victory by winning upcoming states in quick succession to achieve a delegate majority before the convention. But if former House Speaker Newt Gingrich pulls out another win, the process could be a bit bumpier, which might lead to no single candidate having the 1,144 delegates they need leading into the convention. That's when Paul expects to play his trump card. Even the Washington Post labeled him "dangerous" to a GOP victory in November.

If he is expecting a running mate invitation, Paul is kidding himself. None of the remaining three candidates would seriously consider him for the vice president spot -- and rightfully so. Romney and Gingrich were seen grimacing during Paul's responses during the debate. Paul's positions are so far from the mainstream that the party would never back him, which is precisely why his message hasn't resonated well to this point.

Being an elected Republican doesn't give Paul true conservative, Republican Party values. He is, first and foremost, a libertarian running on a major party ticket. His ideas were cute in the beginning, and his comic responses were funny the first time Thursday, but they grew tiresome. The Republican Party is in the serious business of picking a nominee to challenge the sitting president. It does not need a comedian masking himself in GOP credentials that cannot possibly be a serious challenger.

For that reason, there are only three Republican candidates remaining: Romney, Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Santorum, and one of them has a campaign on life support.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120128/pl_ac/10896683_ron_paul_can_stop_now

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Egypt bans travel for US official's son, 9 others (AP)

CAIRO ? Egypt banned at least 10 Americans and Europeans from leaving the country, including the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, hiking tensions with Washington over a campaign by Egypt's military against groups promoting democracy and human rights.

The United States warned Thursday that the campaign raised concerns about Egypt's transition to democracy and could jeopardize American aid that Egypt's battered economy needs badly after a year of unrest.

The travel ban was part of an Egyptian criminal investigation into foreign-funded democracy organizations after soldiers raided the offices of 10 such groups last month, including those of two American groups.

The investigation is closely intertwined with Egypt's political turmoil since the fall of Hosni Mubarak nearly a year ago. The generals who took power have accused "foreign hands" of being behind protests against their rule and they frequently depict the protesters themselves as receiving foreign funds in a plot to destabilize the country.

Egyptian opponents of the military say the generals are trying to smear the protesters in the eyes of the public and silence organizations they fear will undermine their managing of the country.

Also startling is the military's willingness to clash with its longtime top ally, the United States, over the issue, particularly since the army itself receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington. The December raids brought sharp U.S. criticism, and last week President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Egyptian military chief Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to emphasize "the role that these organizations can play in civil society," according to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Thursday.

The ban became public after Sam LaHood, Egypt director of the Washington-based International Republican Institute, went to Cairo's airport Saturday to catch a flight and was told by an immigration official that he couldn't leave.

"I asked her why I was denied, she said she didn't know. I asked how to fix it, and she said she didn't know," said LaHood, 36. An hour later, a man in civilian clothes gave him back his passport and escorted him to the curb, LaHood said.

"It's a dark signal for groups who are interested in doing this kind of work," he said.

LaHood's father, a former congressman from Illinois, is the only Republican in Obama's Cabinet. The elder LaHood declined to comment.

The IRI was among the groups raided last month, along with the National Democratic Institute and a number of Egyptian organizations. Both American groups, linked to the political parties of the same name, monitored Egypt's recent parliamentary elections. In the raids, troops ransacked 17 offices of the 10 organizations around the country, carting away computers and documents.

The Egyptian government said the raids were part of a legitimate investigation into whether the groups were operating legally.

Sen. John McCain blasted Egypt's handling of the issue Thursday, warning that continued restrictions on civil society groups "could set back the long-standing partnership between the United States and Egypt."

IRI and NDI officials said they have been trying since 2005 to register as required by law, but were left in legal limbo, never officially denied nor granted permission. Both groups continued to operate while keeping authorities abreast of their activities, they said. Many Egyptian non-governmental organizations say officials often keep their groups in such limbo to maintain a threat over their heads.

Sam LaHood said he was told by his lawyer that he is under investigation on suspicion of managing an unregistered NGO and receiving "funds" from an unregistered NGO, namely, his salary.

Two other Americans and a European with IRI have also been banned from travel, Lahood said his lawyer had been told. From the National Democratic Institute, three Americans and three Serb employees are also on the list, according to its Egypt director Lisa Hughes.

Hughes, who is among those barred, said she has been interrogated for more than four hours about her group's work and that she had planned to fly to the U.S. next month before she heard about the ban.

"I think we would be silly not to be concerned," she said. "We were concerned the moment armed men showed up at our office door, and this has done nothing to calm those concerns."

The State Department's top human rights official, Michael Posner, told reporters in Cairo Thursday that such moves could jeopardize U.S. aid to Egypt, one of the biggest recipients.

"All need to have the ability to operate openly, freely, without constraint, not based on the content of their work," he said.

Posner pointed to recent U.S. legislation that blocks annual aid to Egypt unless it takes certain steps. These include abiding by its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, holding free and fair elections and "implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association and religion and due process of law."

"Obviously, any action that creates tension between our governments makes the whole package more difficult," Posner said.

The U.S. is due to give $1.3 billion in military assistance and $250 million in economic aid to Egypt in 2012. Washington has given Egypt an average of $2 billion in economic and military aid a year since 1979, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Egypt's military has been locked in a confrontation for months with protesters who demand it immediately hand over power to civilians.

Hundreds of protesters camped Thursday in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, a day after several hundred thousand people massed there to mark the one-year anniversary of the 18-day anti-Mubarak uprising.

Thursday evening, hundreds moved from Tahrir and rallied in front of the state TV building, beating drums as they chanted for the "liberation" of state-run media from the military's control. They projected video footage of soldiers beating protesters onto the building.

State TV has been a mouthpiece of the military, broadcasting its accusations against protesters. Activists demand it be restructured as an independent media institution.

"The media is still manipulated and projects the same lies," said protester Mahmoud Ragab. "We will be here everyday to let them know it is a revolution."

___

Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

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

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Dow opens near post-crisis peak but ends lower (AP)

A brief morning rally Thursday pushed the Dow Jones industrial average above its highest close since the financial crisis of 2008, but disappointing economic data tempered traders' optimism later in the day, and stocks finished lower.

Solid news on factory orders and strong earnings from U.S. manufacturers, highlighting one of the economy's bright spots, helped the market open higher. The Dow rose 85 points.

But the Dow and broader indexes turned negative after weaker reports on home sales and future economic growth were released in the late morning. The Dow closed down 22.33 points, or 0.2 percent, at 12,734.63.

The Dow and other indexes are still up sharply for the year, and for about 45 minutes Thursday morning, the Dow traded above 12,810.54, its peak from last year and the highest close since the spring before the 2008 financial crisis.

Traders appear less afraid of spillover damage from the European debt crisis, and data on jobs and manufacturing have been consistently strong. The Dow is up more than 4 percent for the year.

"With global risk off center stage and attention going back to the fundamentals, this market was ready to explode, which is exactly what it is doing," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist with ING Investment Management.

The government reported early Thursday orders to factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December for the second straight month, and a key measure of business investment rose solidly.

That strong demand was apparent in quarterly earnings reports from U.S. manufacturers. 3M stock closed 1.3 percent higher after its fourth-quarter profit beat Wall Street's estimates.

Caterpillar, the world's biggest heavy equipment maker, rose 2.1 percent, the most of the 30 companies in the Dow, after beating analysts' estimates last quarter. The company expects to do the same this year as global demand remains high.

Later in the day, the government reported an unexpected drop in new home sales in December, capping the worst year for home sales since record-keeping began in 1963. A private gauge of future economic activity also grew more slowly than expected.

3M and Caterpillar led the gains for the Dow. AT&T dragged the average lower, falling 2.5 percent after its earnings missed Wall Street's forecasts. AT&T depends heavily on the Apple iPhone but recently lost its exclusive rights to sell it in the U.S.

The Dow's post-crisis high during the trading day was 12,928.45, reached May 2, 2011. It traded as high as 12,841.95 on Thursday. The average would need to rise about 11 percent to get to its record high close of 14,164.53, reached on Oct. 9, 2007.

The Standard & Poor's 500 closed down 7.63 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,318.43. It was dragged lower by volatile financial companies and telecommunications firms including AT&T. Its post-crisis peak was 1,370.58, also set May 2, 2011.

The Nasdaq shed 13.03 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,805.28.

Stocks had their highest close in eight months Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates extremely low until late 2014 to encourage lending and investment and support the economic recovery.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.93 percent late Thursday from 1.99 percent late Wednesday. The prospect of more bond-buying by the Fed helped make Treasurys more attractive. A bond's yield falls as demand for it increases.

Among the other U.S. companies making big moves after reporting quarterly earnings:

? Time Warner Cable Inc. rose 7.8 percent after the company reported earnings far above analysts' estimates. It also raised its dividend 17 percent to 56 cents per share and announced plans to buy back more of its own stock.

? United Continental Holdings, parent of United and Continental airlines, surged 6.3 percent. Its fourth-quarter loss narrowed, its adjusted earnings were more than double what analysts had expected, and the cost of integrating the two companies fell.

? Netflix soared 22.1 percent, the most of any stock in the S&P 500, after the video streaming and DVD-by-mail company reported a huge gain in customers and a bigger fourth-quarter profit than analysts had expected.

? Colgate-Palmolive rose 1.9 percent after saying it will raise prices in the U.S. for the first time in years to cover higher costs for materials. The company's profit declined last quarter, but core sales in emerging markets were much stronger.

___

Follow Daniel Wagner at http://www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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'Hottest MCs In The Game' Debate To Return On MTV2

Annual roundtable discussion follows new installment of 'MTV2 Presents: Yo! MTV Raps Classic Cuts' on February 19.
By Rob Markman

Reigning Hottest MC in the Game Eminem
Photo: Getty Images

The real is back! Hip-hop's most highly contested debate returns to MTV2 on Sunday, February 19, with the "Hottest MCs in the Game VII." MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway will oversee the roundtable discussion while the Hottest MCs Hip-Hop Braintrust will convene to decide who the top rappers in the game are!

Eminem snagged the top spot on "Hottest MCs in the Game VI," and Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne have all topped the list in previous years. Drake, Rick Ross, Ludacris and Waka Flocka Flame all appeared in the top 10 during the last debate, and Nicki Minaj became the first female MC to ever earn a spot on "Hottest." So who will make the list this year? Tune in to find out!

"Hottest MCs in the Game VII" will come on a special night of cutting-edge rap programming on MTV2. The game's legends will be honored on "MTV2 Presents: Yo! MTV Raps Classic Cuts." During the 30-minute retrospective, which will also be hosted by Sway, "Yo!" will take a look back at three classic tracks that helped shape hip-hop culture. That's not all. The night will conclude with the brand-new "Sucker Free Certified," which will celebrate five of the most talented and buzzworthy artists in rap. It's shaping up to be quite the night, where rap's past, present and future all be honored.

Tune in to MTV2 on Sunday, February 19, at 10 p.m. ET/PT to catch "MTV2 Presents: Yo! MTV Raps Classic Cuts," then watch "Hottest MCs in the Game VII" immediately after at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT before capping the night off with "Sucker Free Certified" at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Who do you think should top the "Hottest MCs in the Game VII" list? Tells us in the comments!

Related Videos

• Hottest MCs In The Game VII Is Coming

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677709/hottest-mcs-in-the-game-2012.jhtml

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Gadgets for your small business from CES - Holy Kaw!

CES had tons of cool stuff. But what use would those gadgets have for your work? Open Forum gives the top seven gizmos for your small business. For example:

As a small business, most of your lean team is analogous to a Swiss army knife?each person is does a little bit of everything in one handy package. Well, now there's an actual Swiss army knife that will prove useful to your business?and we're not talking about using the knife to open FedEx boxes. The Victorinox SSD has all the bells and whistles of your standard Swiss army knife?blade, scissors, nail file with a screwdriver tip and a LED laser pointer?along with a little something extra?a USB flash drive that holds 1 terabyte of data. And in case you're wondering, aterabyte is huge.

But that's not all?this knife also it connects to eSATA II/III and USB 2.0/3.0 with a single connector, there's a graphic display showing what?s saved to the drive. Plus, it supports 256 AES encryption, so you don't have to worry about file security. Price: TBD

Full story at Open Forum.

Top gadgets news.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Source: http://holykaw.alltop.com/gadgets-for-your-small-business-from-ces

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Los Angeles mandates porn stars wear condoms (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Porn stars in Los Angeles will be legally required to wear condoms during film shoots after the city council voted on Tuesday to mandate their use, despite a threat by skin flick producers to leave town over the requirement.

The move comes amid persistent questions about how to enforce the health measure, which backers say will protect performers in the multibillion-dollar porn industry from contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Producers complain the sight of a condom in a sex scene turns off consumers of their videos.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-1 on Tuesday to give final approval to the measure, proposed after the AIDS Healthcare Foundation qualified an initiative for the ballot that would have asked voters in June to mandate condoms at porn shoots as a condition of obtaining film permits.

The city would have had to spend over $4 million to hold the election, and city officials said a decision to simply adopt the condom requirement allowed them to dodge that costly poll.

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, who brought the measure, said he expected residents at the ballot box would have overwhelmingly approved the condom requirement, so it was a "no-brainer" to adopt it now.

"For us right now, our only real policy issue is do we spend $4 million and have this become law? Or do we not spend $4 million and have this become law?" Koretz said.

The council gave preliminary approval to the measure last week, and its passage made the city the first in the nation to impose such a requirement. Most of the U.S. porn industry is based in Los Angeles.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) already requires porn performers to wear barriers, such as condoms, when they are in contact with bodily fluids.

But enforcement has been a challenge for the state. For one, the Cal-OSHA requirement is not specifically aimed at adult films, and it is openly violated within the industry, said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare. He has clashed with porn producers for years over the issue.

"I don't know of any other industry where people go out in public and say they're not going to follow the law," Weinstein, whose group provides care to AIDS patients, said last week.

'FILM RECORD'

The language of the newly adopted condom measure does not state how it will be enforced. But Koretz said that violations would be "awful tough to hide" because they would be caught on camera.

He said that was especially true for large production companies based in porn hub the San Fernando Valley, which is part of the city. But he said some smaller companies, which are less likely to get film permits, were more difficult to track.

"If you're hiding in the weeds, that will continue to be the case," he said.

Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., a nonprofit hired by the city to oversee television and film productions, said his office normally has Los Angeles police handle enforcement when problems arise with permitted shoots.

But Audley said last week that he told city leaders he believes workers with health licenses would be best able to make sure adult film performers use condoms. He said his office and representatives from Cal-OSHA would soon meet to discuss how the new city mandate should be enforced.

FilmL.A. hands out under 500 permits a year for adult movie shoots, Audley said. But some estimates put the number of adult films shot in the Los Angeles region at 50,000 a year, he said.

Now that it has succeeded in having the City Council adopt the condom measure, AIDS Healthcare is widening its campaign by pushing for a November ballot initiative that would force porn producers to obtain a public health permit from Los Angeles County officials. The permit is similar to what barber shops must receive, said Ged Kenslea, a spokesman for AIDS Healthcare.

If that county measure passes, it would stop producers within Los Angeles city limits from moving shop to neighboring communities to avoid using condoms, Weinstein said.

Porn producers have been critical of the condom mandate.

Steven Hirsch, the co-chairman and founder of adult film company Vivid Entertainment, said last week his company has a "condom-optional" policy and leaves it up to performers.

While over 80 percent of the U.S. porn industry is based in Los Angeles, where performers are regularly tested for sexually transmitted diseases, productions could move to other states or countries due to the condom mandate, he said.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/us_nm/us_condoms_porn

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Cruise ship victims can't use U.S. courts: experts (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Victims of the Italian cruise ship disaster who might seek to sue in the United States, where damages lawsuits are a virtual industry, may be barred from doing so.

The primary reason, legal experts said, is that contracts written into the tickets state that lawsuits must be brought in the courts of Genoa, Italy.

The contracts allow exceptions in the case of voyages to U.S. ports. But the cruise that ended in tragedy on Friday had just left the port of Civitavecchia near Rome headed for Barcelona and Majorca.

The ship, one of the biggest passenger vessels ever to be wrecked, foundered after striking a rock. Six bodies have been found and 16 are missing among the 4,200 passengers and crew.

U.S. citizens seeking to bring claims against cruise operators have tried to challenge similar contracts in the past, arguing it is too burdensome to litigate in a foreign country. But courts have generally upheld the contracts, according to maritime law experts.

In August 2010, for example, a federal appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against Regent Seven Seas Cruises, whose contract required claims over voyages not involving a U.S. port to be brought in Paris. Nina Janet Seung, who suffered injuries while on board a Regent cruise within French Polynesia, claimed she was financially unable to bring a lawsuit in Paris and that her medical condition prevented her from traveling there.

But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that her arguments were insufficient to override that part of the contract. The 11th Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over federal courts in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Carnival Corp, the Miami-based parent of operator Costa Crociere, is also unlikely to face criminal liability in the United States, since the incident happened in Italian territorial waters, legal experts said. Most U.S. criminal laws are not applied outside the United States.

"In the case of Costa, the litigation in the United States is going to be severely limited," said Jason Margulies of the law firm Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkelman, which specializes in maritime law.

Nevertheless, some U.S. lawyers said the unique circumstances of this case may merit a challenge, even though past case law is not on their side.

"When the stakes are high, it makes certain legal battles worth going forward with," said Brett Rivkind, an attorney with Rivkind & Margulies, who represents victims in cruise incidents.

LIABILITY CAP

Even if U.S. citizens who suffered injuries aboard the ship were able to bring a lawsuit in U.S. courts, their damages may be limited. Under the Athens Convention, which limits the liability of cruise operators, the cap currently stands about $80,000 per person, according to legal experts.

One way plaintiffs may be able to overcome this cap would be to prove willfulness or recklessness, which may be possible in this case, said attorney Tonya Meister-Griffith of Meister Law. For example, she said the passengers may be able to show that the captain was reckless in navigating the ship.

The captain, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on Saturday and accused of manslaughter and abandoning the ship before all of the people were evacuated.

"I think there are some good facts in this case to argue that it doesn't apply," said Meister-Griffith.

Crew members who suffered injuries aboard the Costa will not have any easier time getting their cases heard in U.S. courts. Most cruise operators have contracts with their crews that require them to arbitrate any disputes. U.S. courts have routinely upheld those provisions, according to maritime law experts.

The leading case law was established by the 11th Circuit in a case stemming from a steam boiler explosion on the S/S Norway on May 25, 2003, in the port of Miami. The estates of six crew members who were killed in the incident and four members who were injured sought damages under U.S. maritime law against the owner of the ship, Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd and its parent, Star Cruises.

The crew members argued that the part of their employment contracts that required them to arbitrate their cases was unfair. They also said their claims could not be adequately arbitrated in the Philippines, where their contracts were executed. But in a decision issued on January 25, 2005, the 11th Circuit affirmed a lower court's order mandating arbitration.

(Reporting by Andrew Longstreth; Editing by Eddie Evans)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/ts_nm/us_italy_ship_usa_law

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Watch Good and Evil Shoot It Out in Little Tombstone [Video]

Aside from True Grit there hasn't been a decent Western movie in years. No, Rango was neither a Western nor good. But Little Tombstone, made by students at ESMA Toulouse, makes me long for the days of the Spaghetti Western and shows, once again, why being an Undertaker is the superior career path. [Little-Tombstone via Vimeo] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/evi6Bf4HZ8o/why-you-dont-bring-a-shovel-to-a-gun-fight

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ASUS Eee Pad Transformer's ICS update currently awaiting Google's approval

Users of the ASUS Transformer Prime may already be enjoying their hot-off-the-press upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, but when will its predecessor be so lucky? We've heard that it would be inbound sometime in February, but there's still a slight possibility that it'll get here even sooner. On its North American Facebook page, ASUS responded to a curious user, mentioning that it's in the process of getting Google's official stamp of approval. Once this is complete, ASUS will click the big red button and commence pushing Android 4.0 out to the tablet. So hang tight, folks, the wait's almost over.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer's ICS update currently awaiting Google's approval originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/16/asus-eee-pad-transformers-ics-update-currently-awaiting-google/

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Steven Spielberg Talks Labor Of Love Project 'Smash' (omg!)

Steven Spielberg is bringing the ambitious behind-the-scenes-of-Broadway drama "Smash" to NBC and the television series really is a labor of love for the filmmaking legend.

"I came up with the idea for the series," Steven told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush at Sunday night's Golden Globes, where his movie, "The Adventures of Tintin," won Best Animated Feature.

PLAY IT NOW: 2012 Golden Globes Backstage: Steven Spielberg ?Totally Surprised? By ?Tintin? Win

"I'd been flogging it for about five years," Steven continued of "Smash." "It took [NBC's entertainment president] Bob Greenblatt to step forward, because he's done musical theater with '9 to 5.' He really responded to the material."

The legendary director and producer said that although he was behind the series, which stars Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing and former "American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee, the NBC boss was the only one who realized the show had value.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Behind The Lens: Hollywood?s Directors

"I couldn't get anybody else to buy it. Bob stepped forward and took the show for NBC," Steven added. "So, I hired myself and my... two TV partners at DreamWorks Television... We then hired Theresa Rebeck to really create the show. She wrote a wonderful play called, 'The Understudy.' She had done a lot of writing for theater and I wanted theater. I wanted writers from theater to write about theater."

While the name Steven Spielberg can drum up fan interest in a project, he said he sometimes keeps his name from use in promotional materials for programs.

"Do you ever say, can you please take my name down?" Billy asked.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Lovely Ladies Of Primetime Television

"I do. I do. I limit the use of the name on all of the billboards out there when I'm doing television and I limit it was much as I possibly can because it just... I get tired of seeing my own name," he laughed.

But not with "Smash." The project proudly bares its top boss' name on the posters.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Katharine McPhee

"Smash" premieres on NBC Monday, February 6, at 10 PM ET/PT, and, beginning Monday, the pilot episode is available on NBC's Video on Demand partners, including its parent company, Comcast.

Starting January 23-February 6, the first episode of "Smash" will be available to stream on NBC.com and Hulu.

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_steven_spielberg_talks_labor_love_project_smash001221471/44199942/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/steven-spielberg-talks-labor-love-project-smash-001221471.html

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Box Office Guru Wrapup: Contraband Steals Box Office Crown

Mark Wahlberg's action-thriller Contraband took control of the box office this weekend, while the latest Disney 3D re-release did relatively well and last weekend's champ crashed and burned in its second go around.

Giving off some good vibrations this weekend was Universal's Contraband, which opened with an estimated $24.1M this weekend from 2,863 playdates, for a per screen average of $8,418. Wahlberg is a surprisingly strong draw at the box office, with all of his wide releases over the last decade opening in the double digits. His box office history reminds me of a poor man's Denzel Washington, just without the accolades. Audiences dug the film as evidenced by its A- grade from Cinemascore.

Second place went to the 3D re-release Beauty and the Beast, which follows last year's huge re-release of The Lion King. Beast opened with $18.5M, according to estimates, for a per screen average of $7,044. It didn't quite reach the heights of The Lion King, which opened last September to $30.2M, but for a 20 year old film, it's still pretty strong, especially when you consider the 3D Blu-ray has been on sale for 3 months already. Beast also now holds the record for highest opening weekend for an animated film in January, taking down Hoodwinked from this weekend in 2006. If there's any company that knows how to milk their products for all they're worth, it's Disney. They've got Finding Nemo ready for 3D later this year.

Tom Cruise's latest impossible mission fell to number three this weekend, with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol taking in $11.5M, according to estimates, a drop of 42% from last weekend. Its total now stands at $186.7M, with the $200M barrier ready to fall.

The musical notes of Joyful Noise opened in fourth place this weekend, with an estimated $11.3M, for a per screen average of a decent $4,148. Starring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah, the film also received an A- from Cinemascore, meaning that it might have some legs over the next few weeks.

A franchise star arrived in the next spot. Robert Downey, Jr. (star of not one, but two current major franchises) landed in fifth place this week with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows which dipped 39% to an estimated $8.4M, bringing its cume to $170M after five weeks.

And the moment we've been waiting for... last weekend's shocking box office champ The Devil Inside completely collapsed in its second weekend tumbling 76.6% to an estimated $7.9M. The drop was one of the worst in box office history, which isn't surprising considering a) horror films generally are front-loaded and b) the reviews were downright horrible (which still may be too nice). Still, with a total take of $46.2M so far, Paramount is laughing all the way to the bank, and we can expect to see even more of these low budget, found footage films in the future.

Seventh place belonged to Craig, Daniel Craig and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which fell 40% to an estimated $6.8M, bringing its total up to $88M. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked followed in eighth place with an estimated $5.8M, a drop of 39% from last weekend, bringing its cume to $118.8M after five laps. Ninth place belonged to even more animals as the Steven Spielberg-directed War Horse brought in $5.6M, according to estimates, bringing its total up to $65.8M.

Meryl Streep's latest bid for a third Oscar, the Margaret Thatcher political drama The Iron Lady, did well in its nationwide expansion after two weeks of platform release. The Weinstein Co. title grossed an estimated $5.4M from 802 sites (up from 5) averaging a solid $6,716 per theater. It was almost identical to last weekend's expansion of another British political drama Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which debuted in 809 locations for a similar $6,772 average playing to an older upscale crowd.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $105.3M which was down 2% from last year when The Green Hornet opened in the top spot with $33.5M; and down 29% from 2010 when Avatar remained at number one with $42.8M in its fifth frame.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924322/news/1924322/

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Scientists say cut soot, methane to curb warming

FILE - In this June 15, 2005 photo, methane gas burns off a stack near the Washington Electric Cooperative power plant in Coventry, Vt. An international team of scientists say they've figured out how to slow global warming in the short run, prevent millions of deaths from dirty air and increase food production. And it will save more money than it will cost. They say the key is to reduce emissions of two other greenhouse gases instead of carbon dioxide. Those pollutants are methane and soot. Those powerful gases are fast acting so reducing them would pay off quickly. Soot also is a big health problem, so cutting it would save lives. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

FILE - In this June 15, 2005 photo, methane gas burns off a stack near the Washington Electric Cooperative power plant in Coventry, Vt. An international team of scientists say they've figured out how to slow global warming in the short run, prevent millions of deaths from dirty air and increase food production. And it will save more money than it will cost. They say the key is to reduce emissions of two other greenhouse gases instead of carbon dioxide. Those pollutants are methane and soot. Those powerful gases are fast acting so reducing them would pay off quickly. Soot also is a big health problem, so cutting it would save lives. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

FILE - In this June 25, 2007 file photo, a gas well recovering methane gas at a landfill in Ferris, Texas. An international team of scientists say they've figured out how to slow global warming in the short run, prevent millions of deaths from dirty air and increase food production. And it will save more money than it will cost. They say the key is to reduce emissions of two other greenhouse gases instead of carbon dioxide. Those pollutants are methane and soot. Those powerful gases are fast acting so reducing them would pay off quickly. Soot also is a big health problem, so cutting it would save lives. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An international team of scientists says it has figured out how to slow global warming in the short run and prevent millions of deaths from dirty air: Stop focusing so much on carbon dioxide.

They say the key is to reduce emissions of two powerful and fast-acting causes of global warming ? methane and soot.

Carbon dioxide is the chief greenhouse gas and the one world leaders have spent the most time talking about controlling. Scientists say carbon dioxide from fossil fuels like coal and oil is a bigger overall cause of global warming, but reducing methane and soot offers quicker fixes.

Soot also is a big health problem, so dramatically cutting it with existing technology would save between 700,000 and 4.7 million lives each year, according to the team's research published online Thursday in the journal Science. Since soot causes rainfall patterns to shift, reducing it would cut down on droughts in southern Europe and parts of Africa and ease monsoon problems in Asia, the study says.

Two dozen scientists from around the world ran computer models of 400 different existing pollution control measures and came up with 14 methods that attack methane and soot. The idea has been around for more than a decade and the same authors worked on a United Nations report last year, but this new study is far more comprehensive.

All 14 methods ? capturing methane from landfills and coal mines, cleaning up cook stoves and diesel engines, and changing agriculture techniques for rice paddies and manure collection ? are being used efficiently in many places, but are not universally adopted, said the study's lead author, Drew Shindell of NASA.

If adopted more widely, the scientists calculate that would reduce projected global warming by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius) by the year 2050. Without the measures, global average temperature is projected to rise nearly 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) in the next four decades. But controlling methane and soot, the increase is projected to be only 1.3 degrees (0.7 degrees Celsius). It also would increase annual yield of key crops worldwide by almost 150 million tons (135 million metric tons).

Methane comes from landfills, farms, drilling for natural gas, and coal mining. Soot, called black carbon by scientists, is a byproduct of burning and is a big problem with cook stoves using wood, dung and coal in developing countries and in some diesel fuels worldwide.

Reducing methane and black carbon isn't the very best way to attack climate change, air pollution, or hunger, but reducing those chemicals are among the better ways and work simultaneously on all three problems, Shindell said.

And shifting the pollution focus does not mean ignoring carbon dioxide. Shindell said: "The science says you really have to start on carbon dioxide even now to get the benefit in the distant future."

It all comes down to basic chemistry. There is far more carbon dioxide pollution than methane and soot pollution, but the last two are much more potent. Carbon dioxide also lasts in the atmosphere longer.

A 2007 Stanford University study calculated that carbon dioxide was the No. 1 cause of man-made global warming, accounting for 48 percent of the problem. Soot was second with 16 percent of the warming and methane was right behind at 14 percent.

But over a 20-year period, a molecule of methane or soot causes substantially more warming then a carbon dioxide molecule.

The new research won wide praise from outside scientists, including a conservative researcher who held a top post in the George W. Bush administration.

"So rather than focusing only on carbon dioxide emissions, where we have to make a tradeoff with energy prices, this strategy focuses on 'win-win-win' pathways that have benefits to human health, agriculture and stabilizing the Earth's climate," said University of Minnesota ecology professor Jonathan Foley, who wasn't part of the study. "That's brilliant."

John D. Graham, who oversaw regulations at the Office of Management and Budget in the Bush administration and is now dean of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University, said: "This is an important study that deserves serious consideration by policy makers as well as scientists."

The study even does a cost-benefit analysis to see if these pollution control methods are too expensive to be anything but fantasy. They actually pay off with benefits that are as much as ten times the value of the costs, Shindell said. The paper calculates that as of 2030, the pollution reduction methods would bring about $6.5 trillion in annual benefits from fewer people dying from air pollution, less global warming and increased crop production.

In the United States, Shindell calculates the measures would prevent about 14,000 air pollution deaths in people older than 30 by the year 2030. About 0.8 degrees Fahrenheit of projected warming in the U.S. would be prevented by 2050.

But health benefits would be far bigger in China and India where soot is more of a problem.

The study comes a day after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the most detailed data yet on American greenhouse gas emissions. Of the emissions reported to the government, nearly three-quarters came from power plants. But with methane, it's different. Nineteen of the top 20 methane emitters were landfills.

Stanford University climate scientist Chris Field, who is a leader in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change but wasn't part of this study, praised the study but said he worried that officials would delay cutting back on the more prevalent carbon dioxide. Focusing solely on methane and soot and ignoring carbon dioxide "tends to exacerbate climate change," he said.

Another outside climate expert Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in Canada said the study is good news amid a sea of gloomy reports about climate change.

"This is a no-brainer," he said. "We have solutions at hand."

___

Online:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

NASA's interactive of benefits by nations: http://1.usa.gov/zqXdyJ

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-01-12-Warming%20Fix/id-e577823c07e04522bc1c36288d389011

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Martin Luther King, Jr.: Who misquoted King so monumentally?

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says a key quote on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial must be changed. Poet Maya Angelou had said it makes the civil rights leader sound ?like an arrogant twit.?

As America gets ready to take Monday off in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., the creators of the new MLK Monument in Washington will be thinking about how to fix what some have called a monumental misquote on the granite edifice.

Skip to next paragraph

At issue is a prominent quote on the side of the memorial that now states, ?I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness.? The problem, as MLK's son pointed out in a CNN interview, is, ?That's not what Dad said.?

While the quote comes off as a boast, the actual line uttered by MLK in a speech a month before his April 4, 1968, assassination in Memphis had a different tone.

?If you want to say I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace?,? King said, putting a less self-congratulatory spin on it.

The mistake not only makes King sound like ?an arrogant twit,? as the poet Maya Angelou said last year, but undermines King's point in the so-called ?Drum-Major Instinct? sermon, which was about the ?folly? of wanting ?to be great without doing any great, difficult things.?

?As many have since pointed out, the 'if' and the 'you'?entirely change the meaning,? writes the Washington Post's Rachel Manteuffel, whose editorial on the mistake started the correction process churning. ?To King, being a self-aggrandizing drum major was not a good thing; if you wanted to call him that, he said, at least say it was in the service of good causes.?

On Friday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose department oversees the National Mall, gave the King Memorial Foundation 30 days to come up with an alternative excerpt for the north side of the 30-foot-tall statue. ?This is important because Dr. King and his presence on the Mall is a forever presence for the United States of America, and we have to make sure that we get it right,? Salazar told the Post.

Salazar also addressed the issue during a Monitor breakfast before the Oct. 16, 2011 dedication of the sculpture. ?I looked at the quote," he said. "I looked at all the other quotes. It is a wonderful memorial. But there are some issues that we will resolve and we will work on them ..."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3nQXLa3WWoQ/Martin-Luther-King-Jr.-Who-misquoted-King-so-monumentally

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New Hampshire: 5 things to watch (Politico)

It?s finally here.

The outcome of the New Hampshire primary has been widely predicted for more than a year, but still there are minidramas and key markers to watch for.

Continue Reading

Below are POLITICO?s five things to keep your eyes peeled for before and after the polls close:

1) Mitt Romney?s number

Barring a miracle, Mitt Romney will win the New Hampshire primary. The question is, how handily.

The expectations for a runaway Romney victory are so high that the campaign has been fighting voter apathy for days, hoping to boost turnout.

The range varies for the figure insiders believe he needs to achieve. Rich Killion, a New Hampshire-based GOP strategist, argued that 38 percent is the floor for Romney.

?That?s what (John) McCain got,? Killion said.

It would also be higher than Romney got in 2008, when he snared 32 percent of the vote for a second-place finish.

Polls have consistently shown Romney between 35 percent and 40 percent for the past several months in the Granite State, a neighbor to the one he once governed and now a place where he owns a home.

This time around, Romney hasn?t campaigned in New Hampshire with anywhere near the frequency of 2008. But in order to head into South Carolina with a serious bounce, he needs a convincing double-digit win. Anything north of 40 percent is comfortable for him; below 35 percent, and the questions will continue about his ability to grow his base.

It may not be fair ? after all, Romney will have just pulled off an unprecedented feat as a nonincumbent by winning both Iowa and New Hampshire ? but that?s the game of politics.

2) Will Ron Paul fade at the end?

Paul was thought to be a potential winner in the Iowa caucuses, where he was known to have a strong organization. Yet he came in third place behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, who were divided by a minuscule margin.

Paul certainly was able to grow his base from where it was in the 2008 caucuses, and he cleared the 20 percent bar. Still, third place is third place.

In New Hampshire, where Paul has also devoted lots of time and built up a strong ground game, polls show him flagging ahead of the primary vote. Instead, the momentum seems to favor Jon Huntsman, who has been very much on the rise.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71265_html/44129016/SIG=11m1hu5ph/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71265.html

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Chaotic Moon shows Xbox Kinect / Windows 8-powered electric skateboard (video)

What if you combined a prototype Windows 8 tablet, an electric skateboard and Microsoft's Kinect? Funnily enough, the folks at Chaotic Moon Studios wondered the same, and they didn't stop there. Here at CES 2012, the outfit showcased a downright amazing wheeled machine, capable of reaching speeds as high as 32mph. It's being labeled the Board of Awesomeness, but frankly, that's an understatement. The company's calling this the world's first Xbox Kinect-controlled skateboard, utilizing video recognition, speech recognition, gesture recognition, localization data, accelerometer data, and other factors to determine what the user wants to do. Enough chatter -- head on past the break to see this thing in action.

Continue reading Chaotic Moon shows Xbox Kinect / Windows 8-powered electric skateboard (video)

Chaotic Moon shows Xbox Kinect / Windows 8-powered electric skateboard (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/chaotic-moon-xbox-kinect-windows-8-electric-skateboard-video/

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Daily_Express: England made to work for victory http://t.co/W2IObhZU #sports #news

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Candidates woo DeMint as he stays on sidelines

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2011, file photo, Sen. Lindsey Graham, right, and Sen. Jim DeMint prepare to watch the CBS News/National Journal foreign policy debate at the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. In the 2012 Republican nominating contest, DeMint is like the pretty girl all the boys want to take to the prom. Nearly every GOP presidential candidate has come a-courting the South Carolina Republican ahead of his state?s Jan. 21 primary. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2011, file photo, Sen. Lindsey Graham, right, and Sen. Jim DeMint prepare to watch the CBS News/National Journal foreign policy debate at the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. In the 2012 Republican nominating contest, DeMint is like the pretty girl all the boys want to take to the prom. Nearly every GOP presidential candidate has come a-courting the South Carolina Republican ahead of his state?s Jan. 21 primary. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? In the 2012 Republican nominating contest, Sen. Jim DeMint is like the pretty girl all the boys want to take to the prom. Nearly every GOP presidential candidate has come a-courting the South Carolina Republican ahead of his state's Jan. 21 primary.

A dean of the influential and well-funded tea party movement, DeMint has made it clear he's sitting this one out.

The senator suggests he's not feeling that special attraction to any of the candidates, whether it be front-runner Mitt Romney or one of his rivals, or feeling peer pressure to pair up for the big dance. Instead, he has his eye on another class of candidate entirely ? those aiming to win enough Senate seats to flip the chamber from Democratic to Republican control.

"My priority is the Senate," DeMint said this week in an interview, adding that it doesn't matter who is elected president if Republicans don't get a Senate majority. He's again turning to his political action committee, Senate Conservatives Fund, to help candidates he wants to see elected to the Senate.

"I have the ability to raise $10 (million) or $15 million to elect some senators and that's how I think I can help the next president. So that's what I want to do," he said. "As soon as I get involved with one (presidential) candidate, I've got 80 percent of my supporters mad at me."

Still, for all of DeMint's efforts not to get dragged into the GOP presidential race, he waded into it on Tuesday with a prediction.

"I think Romney's going to win here," DeMint, 60, told South Carolina conservative radio host Mark Levin.

There are other signs that DeMint is warm to Romney. The senator's political adviser, Warren Tompkins, and former top aide, Luke Byars, are working on the candidate's behalf. And some close to DeMint, who endorsed Romney in 2008, say he's quietly telling people that he's backing Romney and they should, too.

In public, he'll only go so far. "I don't have anything against Mitt Romney or any of the candidates," he says. "I think we've got a good slate. I don't see any of them as unacceptable." He says he worries that endorsing one candidate might alienate supporters of the others.

Whether coy or genuine, DeMint's demurral hasn't discouraged his pursuers as the Republican political machinery rumbles south from New Hampshire. South Carolina's famously nasty nomination contest has proved decisive in the past; the winner has become the GOP's presidential nominee every time since 1980.

Romney faces challenges from Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Nearly every one of them has wooed DeMint.

A nod from the former ad executive could mean millions of campaign dollars in campaign donations. And it could help send an underdog to Washington, as DeMint's endorsement did in 2010 for Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

That explains why DeMint's name keeps popping up ? in glowing terms ? on the presidential campaign trail.

Perry told an audience Tuesday that he wants DeMint on his team.

"Jim DeMint is a conservative icon and he's well respected and his opinion matters here," said Katon Dawson, the former state GOP chairman running Perry's South Carolina campaign.

On that, Romney's camp agrees.

"If there's a kingmaker, it's Jim DeMint," said State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Romney's chairman.

It wasn't long ago that DeMint was ignored and even shunned by prominent Republicans.

Elected to the Senate in 2004, he made no friends in the collegial chamber when he scolded fellow Republicans for the party's dismal performance in the 2008 elections.

Two years later, he marshaled enough money to step past more senior Republicans and support his preferred candidates in home-state battles for Senate. Paul and Rubio were DeMint's success stories. Other DeMint candidates, such as Delaware's Christine O'Donnell, defeated the establishment's choice in the Republican primary but lost the general election.

Some in the GOP complained that while DeMint's activities may have won like-minded conservatives several seats in Congress, they also enabled Democrats to keep some vulnerable seats and maintain their majority.

This year, DeMint says he has no interest in playing kingmaker in the presidential race.

"Why he would sit this out and not get involved surprises me," said Tim Brett, a former state legislator and longtime GOP strategist.

Others say this is typical DeMint. "He's never really believed that just endorsing someone really helps that much," said Barry Wynn, a former state GOP chairman who backs Perry.

DeMint has been down the presidential endorsement road before. In 2008, he charged into the race by endorsing Romney, a notable move for someone already known as one of the Senate's staunchest conservatives. Romney lost the nomination to Sen. John McCain.

DeMint says he expects his network of wealthy and influential South Carolina donors to be more vocal during the next week.

"A lot of them want to get involved," he said. "I think you'll see some support Mitt and some Newt and some Perry. I'm certainly not giving them directions."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-12-Wooing%20DeMint/id-67d4cedfaa1c488d9fddc8de471847d0

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