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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Many U.S. fertility clinics don't tell egg donors that embryos made from their eggs may end up being used in stem cell research, according to a new government survey.

That's despite widespread opposition to such research, which is considered morally offensive by a third of Americans, researchers write in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

They found that among 100 fertility clinics, two said they didn't have a consent form for women donating eggs.

Of the 66 clinics that sent in a consent form and said they used excess embryos for research, just 20 told women about that. And only three of 38 clinics that used some embryos for stem cell research in particular disclosed that to donors.

"The survey shows that only a minority of IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinics mention to egg donors who are donating for the sake of treatment (as opposed to research) that resultant embryos might ultimately be used in research," said study co-author Gerald Owen Schaefer of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "An even smaller minority mention stem cell research explicitly."

"Since possible research use of embryos, especially for stem cell research, may be material information affecting some women's decision about donation, egg donors should be so informed," he and his colleagues wrote in the paper.

Some women have eggs taken out as part of their own fertility treatment, while others receive handsome payments -- often several thousand dollars -- to donate an egg.

"We recommend that all IVF clinics that provide some embryos for research inform egg donors about the possibility of such research (including stem cell research, which is particularly controversial)," Schaefer told Reuters Health by email. That agrees with several organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

Bioethicists not involved in the new study questioned whether disclosing that surplus embryos might be used for research would have an effect on women's decision to donate.

"I think it's unlikely that this would have an impact on women who are engaged in commercial egg donation," said Dr. Steven Miles, a professor of bioethics at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. "Whether it should be disclosed is another issue -- in general, disclosure is a good thing."

Raymond De Vries, a social scientist and a professor of bioethics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, said the survey left crucial questions unanswered.

"Clearly it is important for women to know where their eggs are going. But we don't know from this survey, are women upset by this?" he told Reuters Health. "What is missing is, these women who donate eggs, what do you know about them?"

De Vries said there are examples of ads luring in potential donors with compensations upward of $10,000, although harvesting an egg is not a straightforward procedure.

"Getting an egg out of a woman is not like going to the chicken coop and getting an egg," he said. "It is not a completely risk-free endeavor."

Yet, there is no federal regulation of IVF clinics in the U.S., according to De Vries.

"It's cowboy land out there," he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/sqdomr Fertility and Sterility, online December 23, 2011.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111229/hl_nm/us_stem_cell

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Posted: 7:45 am Fri, December 30, 2011
By Burl?Gilyard
Tags: Artis REIT, Dan Levitt, Ryan Watts, Steve Buss, Tom Holtz, Two MarketPointe

The Ryan Cos. developed Two MarketPointe in Bloomington, which was completed in 2008. The office building earned LEED gold certification. (File photo: Bill Klotz)

The Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. US Inc. has sold the Two MarketPointe office building in Bloomington to a Canadian real estate investment trust, Artis REIT, for approximately $60.6 million. The sale closed Dec. 22.

Dan Levitt, senior vice president of capital markets for Ryan Cos., said that it is common for Ryan to sell projects it has developed once the buildings are leased up.

?It?s pretty much our typical process,? Levitt said. ?We think the capital markets are pretty attractive for real estate right now.?

Ryan tapped the local investment sales team of CBRE Group Inc. including brokers Tom Holtz, Steve Buss and Ryan Watts to sell Two MarketPointe, but Levitt acknowledged that the building was being marketed quietly.

Ryan has done previous deals with Artis, a REIT based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Last year Artis paid $17.9 million for an office building that Ryan developed in New Brighton. Earlier this year, Artis paid $28.3 million for a collection of five local retail properties from Ryan.

A representative of Artis REIT could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

The deal included the Two MarketPointe office building at 4400 78^th St. W. in Bloomington and an adjacent 5.75-acre site at 4300 78^th St. W. The parcels were owned by separate entities: Two MarketPointe was owned by Two MarketPointe LLC, and the land was owned by Bloomington Associates 2005 II LLC. The sites are near the intersection of Interstate 494 and France Avenue South.

Ryan once had plans to develop a third building, Three MarketPointe, on the additional land.

Ryan previously sold the nearby One MarketPointe, completed in 1999, at 4300 Market Pointe Drive in Bloomington for $47.15 million in September 2007.

The Ryan Cos. developed the 240,000-square-foot Two MarketPointe office building. It was completed in September 2008 as the office market was beginning to take a turn.

Tenants at Two MarketPointe include the local office of Los Angeles-based CBRE Group Inc., the world?s largest commercial real estate services company. Other tenants include Rasmussen College and Apogee Enterprises Inc. A midyear market report from Bloomington-based Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services showed that Two MarketPointe is 90 percent occupied.

Two MarketPointe is certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold by the U.S. Green Building Council.

There seems to be a flurry of investment sales deals closing before the end of the year. Finance & Commerce reported earlier this week that a New York buyer paid about $52 million last week for the Colonnade office tower and adjacent land in Golden Valley.

Many market watchers have noted that in today?s market, investment properties seem to fall into two categories: top shelf, well-leased properties and, at the other end of the spectrum, distressed deals for foreclosed or otherwise troubled assets.

?I think it?s a very bifurcated market. For quality property that?s leased, I think people are excited to buy it,? Levitt said.

The certificate of real estate value for the transaction is available here.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 7:45 am and is filed under Real Estate, Top Story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://finance-commerce.com/2011/12/ryan-sells-two-marketpointe-for-60-million-plus/

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kiebalaalene38 · on December 30, 2011 10:00 PM

News, Nintendo, Sony

by Eder Campuzano on December 30, 2011 10:00 PM

No, three of the biggest names in gaming aren?t saying they don?t like Spanish soup. The Stop Online Piracy Act, also known as the Congressional bill that would essentially make linking anything to anything else on the Internet illegal, lost these supporters in the latest version of this?list.

The companies haven?t stated why they?ve dropped support for the bill. But take a quick look at what happened when GoDaddy users found out the domain registration provider was on board with SOPA and you might get an idea of what got Sony, Nintendo and EA to distance themselves from the controversial proposal.

In essence, the bill states that the U.S. government and private corporations should have the right to censor and blacklist certain websites and cut them off from any ad network or payment provider. The attorney general would have the authority to remove select websites from Google?s search algorithm and deny access of systems like Visa and Paypal to any site.

The act would allow copyright holders and the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders against a website or group they believe facilitates copyright infringement. So that picture of fictional Sony Vice President of Everything Kevin Butler posing with Mario and Luigi? Yeah, that might not be possible if SOPA were in effect.

One of the biggest sources of controversy for the bill is that the execution of any of its penalties may be done with very little transparency and a short window for appeal. Congress will continue debating the bill when its winter recess ends in early 2012. Until then, we?ll just have to wait and see how the Internet reacts to it. Hell, even Wikipedia is gauging whether a 24-hour blackout will help.

Update: As of this moment only Sony Computer Entertainment America has rescinded its support of SOPA. The company?s music arms still stand in support of the bill, as you can see on the House Judiciary Committee?s report linked above. Also, as other news sources have reported, the Entertainment Software Association remains on the list of SOPA supporters, all of which can be found here. While each company pulling its support individually is notable in and of itself, they?re still affiliated with the bill in some way through the ESA.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DSRSS/~3/JRyUA_lsy1M/

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SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt.?? A Vermont airport has responded to two emergency landings in one day.

Don't miss these Travel stories
1. World's coolest movie theaters
  Some new and classic theaters are luring customers with advanced technology, cool events and such gourmet treats as bacon-fat popcorn.
2. Frightening frosting? TSA confiscates cupcake
3. Southwest mix-up leaves 9-year-old stranded
4. TSA unveils helpline for fliers with disabilities
5. Great hotels that won't break the bank

A Delta flight carrying 33 passengers and three crew members landed safely Wednesday afternoon. No injuries were reported.

A spokesman for regional jet operator Pinnacle Airlines says the main passenger door was making a noise. He says the flight was cancelled and passengers were booked into hotels because the crew had reached the maximum time allowed to remain on duty. The passengers are expected to fly to Quebec on Thursday.

Earlier in the day a Chicago-bound United Airlines regional jet made an emergency landing at the two-runway Burlington International Airport shortly after takeoff.

United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson says a cockpit indicator light erroneously alerted the flight crew to smoke in the cargo hold. He says passengers flew in a different plane to Chicago and landed safely.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45806508/ns/travel-news/

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Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/Xataka/posts/10150457965687636

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Marvin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks opened a double-digit lead early and cruised to a 106-70 victory against the sluggish New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night in their final home opener at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Jeff Teague added 13 points, Joe Johnson had 11 and the Hawks got big games off the bench from Zaza Pachulia (13 points and 11 rebounds) and Vladimir Radmanovic (17 points) in finally opening the lockout-delayed season by embarrassing the Nets in a game in which the crowd was booing the Brooklyn-bound team by halftime.

Entering Tuesday, only Atlanta and Utah had not played a game.

Rookie MarShon Brooks had 17 points to lead the cold-shooting Nets, who looked tired coming off a season-opening win Monday in Washington.

The Hawks, who held the Nets to a dismal 31 percent shooting from the field, took command early as Williams hit two 3-pointers in a game-opening 11-2 spurt.

Atlanta led 28-11 at the end of the first quarter with Radmanovic supplying a late spark with nine points.

Atlanta, which has made the playoffs the past four seasons, was not overly impressive.

It shot 44.2 percent from the field and only showed flashes of good basketball.

The best came early in the second half when Williams and Josh Smith combined on a fastbreak in which the ball did not touch the floor and they exchanged four passes before Smith hit a layup.

The Hawks increased their lead to 22 points at halftime on a long 3-pointer by Teague with less than a second to play.

They led by as many as 39 points while resting most of the their starters for the final 18 minutes.

Hawks guard Willie Green played in his 500th game.

The Hawks had lost in their previous two visits to New Jersey.

The Nets, who never led in the game, also gave up early, sitting Deron Williams and Kris Humphries most of the second half.

Deron Williams finished with 10 points on 3 of 11 shooting with six turnovers, while Humphries had 11 points and six rebounds.

The most shocking part of the night was the cheers that Humphries got.

He has been booed early in the preseason because of his embarrassing failed marriage to Kim Kardashian.

He was wildly cheered by the fans at the Prudential Center.

When he played well early, there were even cheers of "We love Humphries!"

First published on December 28, 2011 at 12:00 am

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11362/1199652-275.stm?cmpid=sports.xml

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Randomly accurate rumor site, Digitimes has word from “industry sources” that suppliers are starting to build materials for 32- and 37-inch [Apple Televisions](Rumor: 32 and 37-inch Apple Television coming in late 2012) for release in the second or third quarter of 2012.

Instead of a form of set-top

...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/dH3YoFogMkA/story01.htm

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College Hockey Slap Schotts 2011-12: Week 11 ? The top 10 college hockey stories of 2011

Years from now, when we look back at what happened in college hockey in 2011, it will be very memorable for a lot of reasons.

We saw Union win a championship. We witnessed Union and RPI making the NCAA hockey tournament. There were several coaching changes, and some players left programs early for the pros. And there was a near Armageddon in the sport during the summer.

All in all, it was a very memorable 2011. Here is my top 10 stories of the year, with a heavy concentration on ECAC Hockey.

1) Union wins first ECAC Hockey regular-season title.
The 20th season of Division I hockey proved to be a memorable one for the Dutchmen. On Feb. 26, the Dutchmen trounced Princeton, 5-0, to capture its first ECACH regular-season title. The Dutchmen went on a 15-1-1 run to earn the championship.

It also ended a long journey for the program that wasn't given much of a chance when it was elevated from Division III to Division I in 1991. The team wasn't going to have the benefit of athletic scholarships. There were many lean years, but the turnaround started in the early 2000s under coach Kevin Sneddon. When Sneddon left for Vermont in 2003, Nate Leaman came in and took the program to new heights.

Winning the championship validated the move the Dutchmen made in 1991.

2) Union, RPI reach NCAA tournament
While neither team got to the ECACH tournament final four, the Dutchmen and Engineers built up enough key wins during the season to reach the NCAA tournament.

For the Dutchmen, it was their first trip to the NCAAs at the Division I level. For the Engineers, it was their first trip to the NCAAs under coach Seth Appert, and the first since 1995.

Unfortunately, both teams' stay in the tournament didn't last very long. Union was ousted by eventual national champion Minnesota Duluth, 2-0, in the East Region semifinal. North Dakota blitz RPI, 6-0, in the Midwest Regional semifinal.

3) Leaman leaves, Bennett takes over
For weeks, rumors were swirling that Nate Leaman was being courted by Providence, which was looking for a coach to replace the departed Tim Army. At first, Leaman denied he was interested, or had been on campus to interview for the job.

The rumors turned out to be true. On April 23, which was Good Friday, Leaman announced he was leaving to become the Friars' new coach. He ended his eight-year tenure at Union with a 138-127-35 record.

Union didn't wait very long to find Leaman's replacement. The school immediately promoted associate head coach Rick Bennett to head coach. Bennett had been an assistant/associate head coach for 11 years, the last six at Union.

The transition has been very smooth. The Dutchmen are 9-3-5 and ranked 10th in the country.

4) Kinkaid, York leave early
Leaman wasn't the only college hockey person to leave a Capital Region program. Two goalies gave up their college

Shortly after the Engineers were eliminated from the NCAA tournament, RPI' Allen York signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. York had one year of college eligibility left.

On April 18, Union sophomore Keith Kinkaid surrendered his final two years of college play to sign with the New Jersey Devils.

Both goalies got called up to be with their respective NHL teams. York got into a couple of games for the Blue Jackets, including starting one against the Chicago Blackhawks. Kinkaid backed up Johan Hedberg while Martin Brodeur was injured.

5) Conference chaos
When the Big Ten announced it would start a college hockey conference in 2013-14, no one was surprised. With the addition of Penn State, the Big Ten would field a six-team league (Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin are the other hockey-playing Big Ten schools).

But no one expected several other teams to shift conferences.

In mid-July, the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference was formed. Colorado College, Denver, Miami (Ohio), Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota were the six original teams to start the conference. A couple of months later, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan joined.

The leagues most affected by the conference shifts were the CCHA and WCHA. The WCHA will survive come 2013-14, while the CCHA will fade away. Also, Notre Dame will go from the CCHA to Hockey East in 2013-14. RPI has been mentioned as possibly heading to Hockey East, too, but school athletic director Jim Knowlton denied that in an interview before the season.

6) Coaching changes
Teams switching conferences weren't the only changes during the offseason.

Ten schools hired new coaches, including three in the ECACH. Besides Rick Bennett taking over for Nate Leaman at Union, Bob Prier took over at Princeton for Guy Gadowsky, who was hired as Penn State's first Division I coach on April 25; and Cornell associate head coach Casey Jones became the new Clarkson coach after George Roll was fired.

7) Colgate conquers Capital Region
It was a rough 2010-11 season for Colgate. The Raiders surprisingly finished last in the ECACH standings with a 4-15-3 league record. At one point, they were 0-11 overall in one-goal games. And they were given little chance to advance in the ECACH tournament.

But Colgate came to the Capital Region and took out fifth-seeded RPI and top-seeded Union on consecutive weekends to reach the conference's final four. In each series, Colgate lost the first game in the best-of-three series, won Game 2 and then captured Game 3 in overtime.

8) Awards galore
It was a repeat performance for Nate Leaman and RPI forward Chase Polacek in the ECACH awards.

Leaman won his second straight Tim Taylor Award as ECACH coach of the year. In addition to that, Leaman won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year.

Polacek captured his second consecutive Player of the Year award after finishing in a tie with Yale's Andrew Miller for the ECACH scoring title with 11 goals and 16 assists.

Several Union players were ECACH award winners. Keith Kinkaid won the Ken Dryden Award as the league's top goalie, Brock Matheson won Best Defensive Defenseman, Adam Presizniuk earned Best Defensive Forward and forward Stephane Boileau won the Student-Athlete Award.

9) Minnesota Duluth wins NCAA title
Minnesota Duluth was ousted in the quarterfinals of the WCHA tournament by Bemidji State. The Bulldogs got an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, and didn't lose.

In the East Region, they eliminated Union and Yale to make it to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn. Playing in their home state, the Bulldogs beat Notre Dame, 4-3, in the semifinals, and then defeated Michigan, 3-2, in overtime to win the title. Kyle Schmidt, who scored the first goal of the tournament, got the last one, too, at 3:22 of OT.

10) NBC Sports Group adds college hockey
With Versus becoming NBC Sports Network Jan. 2, the channel needed some additional programming. College hockey fit the bill.

In October, NBC Sports Group announced a 16-game package of regular-season games, plus the Hockey East tournament championship round. While other networks such as CBS Sports Network and ESPNU have televised regular-season games, those channels are on a special tier on Time Warner Cable, and you have to pay extra if you want those channels. Versus is available to everyone, so the game will get some great exposure, starting Dec. 31 when Boston University faces Notre Dame.

RPI will have two games on NBC Sports Network: Jan. 6 against Dartmouth and Feb. 3 against Cornell.

Also, NBC Sports Network will televise all of Notre Dame?s home games starting in 2013-14, when the team moves from the CCHA to Hockey East.

Source: http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/schott/2011/dec/26/college-hockey-slap-schotts-2011-12-week-11-the-to/

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Claimed iPad 3 parts have been circulating for some time already, but a few more pieces to the puzzle are starting to appear. 9to5Mac posts this photo of iPad 3 home buttons in comparison to the existing iPad 2 ones.

No real surprises, though it should help kill already sketchy rumors that Apple might do away with a home button altogether. The backside is slightly tweaked, though we'd be hard pressed to draw any conclusions from it. The biggest takeaway is that iPad 3 parts are continuing to leak as production and shipment draws near.

The iPad 3 is expected to arrive in early 2012, anywhere from February to April in timeframe. The iPad 3 is also expected to carry an ultra high resolution 'Retina' display.

Netbooktosh - News

More from Digital Trends

Best Nintendo 3DS games of 2011

Nintendo 3DS: Video Review

Nintendo 3DS launch title review roundup

Nintendo 3DS pictures: A closer look

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111222/tc_digitaltrends/mandresseslikemarioforamonthtogetfreenintendo3ds

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MAIDENHEAD, England (Reuters) ? As its name might suggest, The Albion Christmas Band has a limited sell-by date musically speaking. There is little demand for songs celebrating holly and ivy in August.

That said, the band - which includes some of British folk-rock's best-known performers - is currently on its 12th seasonal tour, proving that there is little more Christmassy than a blast of Anglo-Celtic roots music.

A recent performance at Norden Farm, a rural-ish venue some way out to the west of London, was a case in point.

From the opening 19th century "Sans Day Carol" through the medieval "Cherry-Tree Carol," the band took the audience deep into Britain's winter festival with visions of frosty mornings, a rejoicing Earth, burning logs and berries.

All delivered with professional flair mixed with tones redolent of a rustic English village

"We have shed a light into every little dark corner of Christmas that we can find," said guitarist and vocalist Simon Nicol, enjoying a side-project with the band from his full-time job at folk-rock group Fairport Convention.

Along the way was a magnificent rendition of the Tears for Fears classic "Mad World" - not a Christmas special per se, but certainly in the spirit of the thing.

The song was taken to gorgeous vocal heights by singer Kellie While, a more-than-worthy successor in her mid-30s to folk-rock divas from the late 1960s/early 1970s such as Steeleye Span's Maddy Pryor and Fairport's Sandy Denny.

Which is just as well given that as well as Nicol, Albion Christmas features bassist Ashley Hutchings, who was a founding member of both bands and is something of a godfather for the genre.

The band was rounded off by Simon Care, a rollicking melodeon player who started off with ceilidhs and Morris dance bands and was a member of The Albion Band.

If the latter sounds suspiciously familiar, it is because the Albion Christmas Band is a surviving combo from Hutchings's Albion groups - The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band and the plain old Albion Band.

A new Albion Band is starting to do the rounds with a new generation of musicians, including Hutchings's son. British folk rock can be a fairly incestuous affair.

Care, who got his start playing in a Morris dance band at age nine, reckons there is a synthesis between Christmas and folk culture in Britain.

This stretches from music to dance and to Mummers plays, colorful traditional street theatre often performed at Christmas and celebrating the triumph of good over evil.

The Albion Christmas Band, which has a new album called "A Sound in the Frosty Air on Rooksmere Records paid homage to this culture with "The Calling On Song," welcoming the arrival of Mummers.

"The folk world embraces Christmas because of the traditional aspect of it all," Care said.

(Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111222/music_nm/us_music_albion

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Update: Thursday evening, the House Republicans agreed to a deal.

Like most economists, I tend to assume that people act in their own best interests: not in all cases?heavy smokers and chronic gamblers are obvious exceptions?but as a general rule. How then to explain the latest actions of the House Republicans?

In voting down a Senate bill to extend payroll-tax cuts, as well as unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for more than six months, Speaker Boehner and his colleagues have presented President Obama with an early Christmas present. No wonder he was looking so fired up (by his standards, anyway) in the White House briefing room Thursday, where, surrounded by a dozen or so ordinary Americans, he pointed out that many Republicans in the Senate had agreed to the compromise proposal, and snapped, ?Has this place become so dysfunctional that even when people agree we can?t get things done? Enough is enough.?

Having delayed his Christmas vacation in Hawaii until the stalemate is resolved, the President, for once, is in the catbird seat. If an agreement can?t be reached before the New Year, the typical American family will face a tax increase of about a thousand dollars a year, which is roughly forty dollars for each bi-weekly paycheck. A couple of days ago, somebody in the Administration had the smart idea of asking Americans, via Twitter and Facebook, what forty dollars means to them. According to the White House, more than thirty thousand people responded?you can see some of their comments here?and some of them were standing on the press-room dais with Obama.

It wasn?t immediately clear whether they included ?Joseph from New Jersey,? who said he would have to sacrifice a pizza night with his daughters, or ?Pete from Wisconsin? who said he would have to cancel a car trip to visit his father in a nursing home, but the President, in what was one of the most cleverly orchestrated and blatantly political events of his Presidency, told their stories anyway. For Republicans with any nous at all, it must have made for painful viewing.

Even before Obama?s appearance, some senior Republicans who can spot a disaster in the making were calling on their colleagues in the House to relent. Speaking on the Thursday edition of ?The Early Show,? on CBS, Senator John McCain said the standoff was hurting the Party and its hopes of winning the Presidential election?a point that echoed something Newt Gingrich said on Wednesday: ?Incumbent presidents have enormous advantages. And I think what Republicans ought to do is what?s right for America. They ought to do it calmly and pleasantly and happily.?

Also on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal?s editorial page, hardly a haven of moderate views, published a despairing comment, which began:

GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected. Given how he and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the President before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest.

The headline on the Journal editorial was ?The GOP?s payroll tax fiasco: How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama?? But the answer the article provided?political incompetence on the part of McConnell and Boehner?was woefully inadequate. Wary of the dangers they were facing, the two Republican leaders had reportedly agreed on the compromise deal that passed the Senate. This would have extended the tax cuts and unemployment benefits for two months. In return, the White House had provisionally agreed to bring forward its decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

It wasn?t McConnell and Boehner who formed what the Journal editorial aptly referred to as a ?circular firing squad.? It was the enrag?s in the House who rebelled against the deal, just as they rebelled, during the summer, against Boehner?s efforts to reach a compromise deal on the debt ceiling and the deficit. The stalemate that ensued helped bring Congress?s approval rating down to thirteen per cent in the August Gallup poll. Today, Congress?s approval rating is even lower: eleven per cent?the lowest figure recorded since Gallup started asking the question in 1974.

Sticking with the self-interest theory for a moment, one possible explanation for the Republicans? actions is that most congressional districts are now so uncompetitive, due to gerrymandering or whatever, that incumbents have no fear of losing office. I don?t find this argument persuasive. Many of the Tea Party supporters swept to victory in a midterm election. Such contests almost always see the Party that holds the White House losing seats. Presidential elections are very different. In what is shaping up to be a close race, many members of the Class of 2010 could be voted out.

A more compelling argument is that the Republican Party is no longer a mean electoral machine, but an uneasy alliance of potentially competing groups. As long as they are attacking President Obama, these groups get along fine. But when they have to actually govern and make decisions, big problems arise.

Despite all that has happened, the Republican establishment in Washington is still, fundamentally, the agent of corporate America and its most privileged denizens. Folks like McConnell and Boehner, but also strategists like Karl Rove and Stuart Stevens (Mitt Romney?s svengali figure), believe in occupying power, both to keep out the Democrats and to protect the interests of their wealthy supporters. Arrayed beneath this traditional structure is a seething populist movement that contains elements of everything from Know Nothing nativism to Poujadism to Christian fundamentalism to economic Libertarianism.

The representatives of this movement didn?t come to Washington to boost demand in the economy, to preserve tax breaks for the local gentry, or even, necessarily, to preserve their own seats. They came to put the country on a new path, downsize the federal government, and generally make a racket. After a year in the capital, they have succeeded in the third aim but not the first two?hence their frustration.

To Republican congressmen of this ilk, the Senate payroll-tax bill was a typically shoddy Washington compromise, which didn?t resolve any outstanding disputes but merely shooed them away for a bit. As it happens, the insurgents were right about that. Extending important tax and spending legislation for a period of two months is no way to run the world?s largest economy. But given the political realities of the moment, it was all the leaders of the two parties could cobble together.

In registering their protest vote, Eric Cantor and his crew have put themselves in an untenable position, from which, at some point in the next few days, they will surely try to extricate themselves. But don?t expect President Obama to do them any favors. So far the dispute has cost him a few days on the beach. The political benefits he has reaped are incalculable.

Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

Source: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2011/12/obama-payroll-tax-cuts.html

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The "X Factor" finalists, from left, Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik. Photo credit: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Melanie Amaro had a huge advantage after the first round tonight on ?The X Factor.? Her?rival finalists, Josh Krajcik on ?Uninvited? and Chris Rene on ?Complicated,? sounded off-key as they began their songs. Of course, the judges used other words to explain the problem.

Nicole Scherzinger said Rene was ?a little shaky at the start,? and Simon Cowell said Krajcik seemed ?a bit intimidated at the beginning.? Whatever.

They were later joined by stars ? Krajcik by Alanis Morissette, Rene by Avril Lavigne ? and the songs improved vastly.

But Amaro, who is from Sunrise, was in superb voice on ?I Believe I Can Fly? before R. Kelly joined her. Amaro won the first round easily.

The second round was much closer. Krajcik forcefully delivered ?At Last? and played only his guitar. Going the unplugged route was a refreshing change of pace on the overproduced ?X Factor.?

Rene was at his?best on ?Young Homie? and confidently presided over a splashy production number.

Yet I?d give the edge again to Amaro, who plowed through an overproduced ?Listen? with startling intensity. She wasn?t going to let Cowell?s excesses drag her down.

The three are competing for a $5 million recording contract. The greatest praise was reserved for Amaro. Judge L.A. Reid said Amaro had delivered a $50 million performance, and Cowell predicted she would win based on the ?Listen? performance.

The results will be revealed in a two-hour finale that starts at 8 p.m. Thursday on Fox.

To fill up the time, ?The X Factor? in bringing in Justin ?I?m Everywhere? Bieber, Leona Lewis, Pitbull, Ne-Yo and ?others,? according to Fox. I hope the ?others? provide some surprises, because the singing competition won?t. Amaro won it. Easily.

Source: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/12/the-x-factor-floridas-melanie-amaro-outshines-rivals.html

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Indianapolis Colts middle linebacker Pat Angerer (51) celebrates with cornerback Kevin Thomas after making an interception against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The Colts defeated the Titans 27-13. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky (6) throws against the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The Colts defeated the Titans 27-13. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning looks on during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. Colts vice chairman Bill Polian said Manning will not return to play in the final two games of the season, but the franchise quarterback did take snaps from center Jeff Saturday this week. The Colts defeated the Titans 27-13. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell reacts late the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The Colts defeated the Titans 27-13. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky (6) is congratulated by center Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday as he carries off the game ball under his jersey following a 27-13 win over Tennessee Titans in an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? The Colts avoided their first 0-16 season thanks to a quarterback who was trying to prevent his second.

Dan Orlovsky, who closed out the NFL's only 0-16 season with Detroit in 2008, threw one touchdown pass and the key block to spring an 80-yard touchdown run Sunday and lead the previously winless Colts to a 27-13 win over playoff hopeful Tennessee.

It was the franchise's first win in 14 years without Peyton Manning, and all it took was 14 tries and three quarterbacks.

Players and coaches celebrated by throwing their arms in the air, and Orlovsky got to close it out by taking the traditional kneel downs for the first time in his NFL career.

"I'm happy for a lot of people on this team, for a lot of people in this organization," Orlovsky said. "It's a lot better than the feeling we've had lately."

Indianapolis (1-13) had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity, 50 weeks, since their previous win, also at home against the Titans.

For Orlovsky, the drought was even longer. The seven-year veteran was 0-9 in his previous NFL starts. He didn't have to do too much Sunday, going 11 of 17 for 82 yards with one touchdown, but he didn't turn the ball over.

And though the numbers looked nothing like Manning's, they were good enough to get a win.

"I think in my career, I've learned not to take them (wins) for granted," Orlovsky said, drawing polite laughter.

Donald Brown added a career-high 161 yards rushing, including a late 80-yard TD run for Indy.

The Colts will need their offense to keep playing like this in the final two games, too, after team vice chairman Bill Polian announced Manning would not be back this season, though he has started throwing to his teammates.

For Tennessee, the loss is a devastating blow.

Had Tennessee (7-7) closed out the season with three wins, it might have been able to reach the postseason without any help. Now the Titans will probably need to win their last two games and get help from some others to make it.

But Tennessee had only itself to blame for this one.

Matt Hasselbeck was 27 of 40 for 223 yards with no TDs and two interceptions before being lifted in favor of rookie Jake Locker. Chris Johnson ran 15 times for 55 yards. The Titans lost a fumble and muffed a kickoff out of bounds at their own 1-yard line.

"I never would have expected us to come out, and they're playing like the team going to the playoffs and we're the team that's 0-13," coach Mike Munchak said. "We just weren't playing well at all. The intensity wasn't there at the start."

Nor was it there at the end.

Locker's 7-yard TD pass to Nate Washington with 3:43 to go, got Tennessee within one score as tense Colts fans began to wonder if this one would slip away, too.

On the Colts' next play, the Titans appeared to have Brown corralled in the backfield. But when Brown reversed field and got away from the defenders. Orlovsky jumped in front of the man closest to him, providing enough of an obstacle to give Brown a wide-open lane on the edge. All Brown had to do was outrun the defense 80 yards to the end zone.

The play tied Tom Matte's record for the franchise's longest run, set Oct. 12, 1964, against St. Louis.

Brown then enjoyed an overdue celebration with Orlovsky in the end zone.

"The O-line did a great job, somebody came free, the running back's job is to make him miss, Dan threw a great block, Reggie threw a great block and I think (Jacob) Tamme was running down there, too," Brown said. "It was just an all-out great effort by the guys on offense."

Sunday's game had a totally different complexion from the first 13.

Indy spent the past nine weeks fighting for a lead, any lead. After playing more than 500 minutes from behind or tied, the Colts finally took the lead on Adam Vinatieri's 47-yard field goal.

The Colts gave it right back just before halftime when Rob Bironas made his second field goal to give the Titans a 6-3 lead. It didn't last long.

Orlovsky hooked up with Reggie Wayne for an 18-yard TD that made it 10-6 early in the third quarter. The Colts never trailed again.

Jacob Lacey, the oft-criticized cornerback, returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown to give the Colts a 17-6 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Marc Mariani tried to field the bouncing ball in the end zone, but kicked it out of bounds inside the Titans 1. That mistake and Brown's 39-yard run, set up Vinatieri for a 40-yard field goal to make it 20-6 with 12:53 to play.

Locker gave the Titans a chance with his TD pass, but Orlovsky and Brown took it away with run that ended Indy's chase of 0-16 and the first 0-14 mark in franchise history.

"It means a lot, but we're a proud ballclub so one game out of 13 or 14, we still have a ways to go," defensive end Robert Mathis said. "Everybody held the fort today. We just kept chopping wood and the tree fell today."

Notes: Colts running back Delone Carter left in the first half with an undisclosed forearm injury. Carter did not return. ... The Titans failed to sweep Indy for the first time since 2002 and are 0-4 all time at Lucas Oil Stadium. ... Locker was 11 of 16 for 108 yards with one TD after relieving Hasselbeck and Johnson had eight catches for 54 yards. ... Lacey has two career TDs in three NFL seasons.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-18-Titans-Colts/id-2e662c426bf44c7ea1b0ca72fa5c0eef

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WASHINGTON ? Republicans in Congress are flipping the dimmer switch on a law that sets new energy-savings standards for light bulbs.

They've reached a deal to delay until October enforcement of new standards that some fear will be the end of old-style, 100-watt bulbs. GOP lawmakers say they're trying to head off more government interference in people's lives.

But environmentalists and the light bulb industry say the move is not too bright.

Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House energy panel, said the delay shows Congress is listening to Americans who don't want the government determining how they light their homes.

But Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat who leads the Senate energy panel, said the move only confuses industry and the public.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_light_bulbs

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LONDON ? An appeals court issued a landmark ruling Wednesday ordering the British government to free a Pakistani detainee who has been held in U.S. custody for nearly eight years without charge.

It was unclear whether Yunus Rahmatullah would be released as required, however, because the U.S. government is not bound by the ruling. It announced that it was reviewing the ruling.

Britain has seven days to produce Yunus Rahmatullah, who is being held by American forces in Afghanistan, according to the Appeals Court's ruling.

Although Rahmatullah, 29, is not a British national, the UK-legal charity Reprieve filed a habeas corpus petition claiming that his detention lacked sufficient cause or evidence, and that British forces violated international law when they rendered him to U.S. custody.

British forces in Iraq seized Rahmatullah in 2004, but then handed him over to the Americans who sent him to the U.S. Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan ? a sprawling base that includes the Parwan detention facility where just under 3,000 detainees are being held.

Wednesday's ruling marks one of the first times that a habeas corpus petition has been successful for a detainee at the U.S. base. It puts the United States and Britain in an awkward position ? Britain is bound by the ruling, but the United States is not because the decision was handed down by a foreign court.

Britain's Foreign Office and the Pentagon both said they were reviewing the court's decision.

"We are aware of the opinion and are reviewing the decision by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)," said U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Defense Todd Breasseale.

Reprieve first sued the British government to formally identify Rahmatullah. It then filed a habeas petition asking for his release. Wednesday's ruling reversed an earlier decision by the High Court, which refused to grant habeas relief ? a principle enshrined in English law for centuries.

"The court is quite right ? once the U.K. takes a prisoner it cannot simply wash its hands of him, or of the Geneva Conventions," said Cori Crider, Legal Director of Reprieve. "The (British) government stands warned: failure to get Yunus out of Bagram now may be to aid and abet a war crime."

The appeals court found that the British government has to take action.

"On the face of it (Rahmatullah) is being unlawfully detained and (British ministers) have procedures at their disposal ... to enable them to take steps which could bring the unlawful detention to an end," said one of the three appeal judges, Lord Justice Maurice Kay, in the ruling on Wednesday.

James Eadie, the attorney representing the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, said it wouldn't be appropriate for a British court to make a judgment on the lawfulness of U.S. detention and said ordering British ministers to demand Rahmatullah's freedom could affect Britain's relationship with America.

Unlike the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, detainees have no access to lawyers at Parwan.

The detention facility is slated to be turned over to Afghan authorities in the future.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_bagram_lawsuit

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ROME (Reuters) ? Italy's government easily won a confidence vote on its tough austerity package on Friday, the first step in parliamentary approval for sweeping measures aimed at saving the euro zone's third-largest economy from financial disaster.

The Chamber of Deputies approved the 33-billion euro ($43 billion) package, which affects everything from pensions to home ownership taxes, by 495 votes to 88.

The plan, contested by Italy's unions and the opposition Northern League, has been in effect since Monti's government approved it on December 4. But it needed full parliamentary approval within 60 days to remain in force.

The upper house, where Monti is a life senator, is expected to approve the package definitively next week, most likely in another confidence vote.

Monti, a former European commissioner, called the vote in the lower house to speed the package through parliament and avoid debate on dozens of amendments, mostly tabled by the League which has tried to obstruct the measures.

The package, which has been hailed by Italy's European partners, will cut costs, raise taxes and reform pensions in a bid to restore market confidence in Italy's finances and balance its budget by 2013.

The collapse of investors' confidence during the summer under the previous government of Silvio Berlusconi thrust Italy to the centre of the euro zone debt crisis and pushed its borrowing costs to untenable levels on bond markets.

While Monti has seen his popularity slip slightly in opinion polls since he formed his technocrat government nearly one month ago, his overall support in parliament is strong.

The two biggest groups, Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), support the government although both want it to soften the plan's impact on their core supporters.

Both parties know they cannot sabotage the government despite their misgivings without risking an economic catastrophe that would probably lead to a sovereign default and destroy the euro currency.

"We would have wanted more but we will continue our battle ... to support those who don't have a voice," Dario Franceschini, lower house PD leader, said in his pre-vote address to parliament.

"This is just the beginning. Our aim is to save our country," he said.

PDL parliamentary leader Fabrizio Cichitto, speaking as Berlusconi sat next to him in the cramped party benches instead of the government dais he occupied until last month, said: "We are entering a recession and we realize this calls for extraordinary measures."

"STALINIST-STYLE" DECISIONS

But Cichitto asked Monti to introduce more measures to stimulate growth and called some of his proposals to liberalize closed professions, "Stalinist style."

Pressure from the centre-right has forced Monti to delay plans to liberalize some sectors, such as pharmacies, taxis, lawyers and notaries, which are still protected by unions and guilds which want to keep their numbers low.

The devolutionist League and the small centrist Italy of Values party voted against Monti. The Northern League heckled him in the Senate earlier this week, holding up placards saying, "This is not a budget, but a hold-up."

At Friday's vote, League parliamentarian Emanuela Munerato turned up dressed as a factory worker to suggest the working class is most hurt by the austerity package, which the government says is necessary to prevent economic ruin.

Analysts say soaring borrowing costs and the prospect of a fast-deepening recession still threaten to undermine Italy's fiscal consolidation efforts, while much of the country's fate is out of its hands, as investors react to a lack of decisive action by European leaders to face the broader debt crisis.

Underlining the depth of the crisis, the main employers' lobby Confindustria on Thursday slashed its growth forecast for Italy next year to minus 1.6 percent from a previous estimate of plus 0.2 percent and said the country was already in recession.

It said even this forecast was based on Italian bond yields dropping to below 5 percent by April compared to around 7 percent now -- the level at which Ireland, Greece and Portugal were forced to take bailouts.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by Barry Moody)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/bs_nm/us_italy_vote

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Peter Gabriel - New Blood: Live in London (DVD)

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It's pretty safe to say that Peter Gabriel's fans are adventurous listeners; the singer has never been one to offer (with a few exceptions like "Solsbury Hill") simple pop tunes. Gabriel has always favored lush instrumentation and still does for this show, although it is present in a different form. Gabriel is backed here by a forty-six person orchestra and no rock band---no guitars, no bass and no drum kit. The result is often stunning, revealing a deeper beauty to already nearly perfect songs like "Blood of Eden" and "Washing of the Water." Gabriel works the swells and quiet moments of the orchestra passages like he's been doing it forever and in his head he probably has been. Fans looking for Gabriel's boisterous side won't find it here although "Solsbury Hill" and "Red Rain" do rock a little. Noticeable by its absence is "Sledgehammer;" clearly though that is one song in Gabriel's canon that is not appropriate for an orchestral version. The show closes with a take on the emotional "Don't Give Up" where the part originally sung by Kate Bush is handled by Ane Brun.

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Peter Gabriel - New Blood: Live in London (DVD)

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Source: http://www.antimusic.com/reviews/11/Peter_Gabriel_-_New_Blood-_Live_in_London_(DVD).shtml
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?The X Factor?: Florida?s Melanie Amaro outshines rivals

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Monti wins vote on Italian austerity package (Reuters)

Peter Gabriel - New Blood: Live in London (DVD)