Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments Similar in Long Run ...

WEDNESDAY Jan. 30, 2013 For men with prostate cancer who are trying to decide between surgery or radiation therapy, new research shows that declines in sexual, urinary and bowel function do differ with each treatment in the short-term, but those declines tend to even out in the long run.

The study included more than 1,600 men treated for early-stage prostate cancer. Researchers asked them about their urinary, sexual and bowel health following either surgery to remove the prostate or radiation therapy.

Although the rates of health decline in these areas differed at two and five years after treatment, men reported similar declines regardless of their treatment after 15 years.

While men who underwent surgery experienced higher rates of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction two and five years later, men who received radiation therapy had higher rates of bowel urgency, or feeling like they had to pass stool but not being able to do so.

The study was published in the Jan. 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Our hope was that measuring patient-reported outcomes at a 15-year time point would provide patients and their physicians with a realistic picture of the prostate cancer survivorship experience," said study author Dr. Matthew Resnick, an instructor of urologic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Urinary, sexual and bowel problems are among the most common side effects of treatment for prostate cancer, Resnick added. Declines are probably due to a combination of the treatment and aging in general, and the side effects even out after 15 years.

However, the shorter-term differences could be enough to steer some men toward one treatment or the other.

"There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach; different men feel differently about the possibility of benefits and risks of treatment," Resnick said. For example, men who were already experiencing urinary incontinence might want to choose a treatment like radiation therapy because it was associated with lower rates of urinary problems in the short-term.

Surgery to remove the entire prostate, called radical prostatectomy, and radiation therapy are both recommended treatments for low- and medium-risk prostate cancer, according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines.

However, these guidelines state that, for men with low-risk prostate cancer, watchful waiting -- closely monitoring the disease and treating it only if it changes -- is the best option.

It remains to be seen how men who opt for watchful waiting will fare in terms of their urinary, sexual and bowel health, especially in the long-term, Resnick noted.

Previous research has found doing watchful waiting for one year after diagnosis was associated with lower rates of urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction, but higher rates of urinary blockage seven years later, compared to men who were treated immediately.

The current study involved 1,655 men who had stage 1 or 2 prostate cancer, which had not spread beyond the prostate. Men were diagnosed between ages 55 and 74 in 1994 and 1995, and most were treated in the year of diagnosis.

About 70 percent of the participants had radical prostatectomy, while the remaining 30 percent had external-beam radiation therapy, in which high-energy rays are directed from outside the body.

Treatment choice can vary based on a number of factors including age, prostate cancer stage and other diseases, Resnick said. The researchers took into account these differences when analyzing treatment outcomes.

The study authors asked the men about their urinary, sexual and bowel function before they had been diagnosed, as well as in the months following treatment. Participants also rated their own health in these areas.

Although there were declines after both treatments, men who received surgery reported sharper declines in urinary and sexual health, from a score of about 95 and 70, respectively, before surgery to about 60 and 20 in the months after.

"We would look at these changes and say they are meaningful," said Dr. John Wei, a professor of urology at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the study.

Even though their urinary and sexual health rebounded about a year after treatment, surgical patients were still six times more likely to have urinary incontinence and 3.5 times more likely to erectile dysfunction two years after treatment than radiation patients.

"The trajectory of the lines is different," Resnick said. "Obviously surgery is much more of an acute insult than radiation."

However, men who received radiation therapy reported greater early loss in bowel function, from a score of about 90 to 75. Although they went on to recover some function, the men who had surgery were 39 percent and 47 percent less likely to report bowel urgency two and five years later, respectively.

"I have been telling patients for years about these types of differences associated with prostate cancer treatment," Wei said.

This study gives a reference point when explaining these issues to patients, Wei said, adding that he applauds the authors for following the men in this study for 15 years.

By 15 years after treatment, the declines were in the same range for both treatment groups. Men reported a score of between 70 and 80 for urinary function, about 20 for sexual function and 80 for bowel function.

Nonetheless, "I would be somewhat careful in showing the results [of this study] to my patients," Wei said.

Intensive prostate cancer treatments are done differently today; for example, surgery can be done with a robot or with minimally invasive laproscopy using small incisions in the abdomen. Cancers also tend to be detected earlier when they are less aggressive, and so treatment could be less aggressive.

These differences could add up to lower side-effect rates, Wei said.

In the end, it comes down to what men decide with their doctors. Some men may worry about the invasiveness of surgery and opt for radiation therapy, whereas others might prefer surgery because they feel more comfortable knowing that their prostate has been removed and there is no chance of recurrence of prostate cancer, Wei said.

More information

For more about prostate cancer and treatments, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Posted: January 2013

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Source: http://www.drugs.com/news/prostate-cancer-treatments-similar-long-run-study-42847.html

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Beckham joins PSG, donating salary to charity

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 file photo Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham, top center, of England, poses with his sons, from left, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz after the Galaxy's 3-1 win in the MLS Cup championship soccer match against the Houston Dynamo in Carson, Calif. David Beckham's eldest son just might be the next person in his family to play in the Premier League. Brooklyn Beckham, the oldest of Beckham's four children at 13, is having a trial with London club Chelsea and played in an under-14 game on Tuesday at the team's training base, people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 file photo Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham, top center, of England, poses with his sons, from left, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz after the Galaxy's 3-1 win in the MLS Cup championship soccer match against the Houston Dynamo in Carson, Calif. David Beckham's eldest son just might be the next person in his family to play in the Premier League. Brooklyn Beckham, the oldest of Beckham's four children at 13, is having a trial with London club Chelsea and played in an under-14 game on Tuesday at the team's training base, people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 file photo Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham, of England, acknowledges the fans as he leaves the field after the team's 3-1 win in the MLS Cup championship soccer match against the Houston Dynamo in Carson, Calif. According to reports Thursday Jan. 31, 2013, David Beckham is to join Paris Saint-Germain. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

PARIS (AP) ? David Beckham has joined Paris Saint-Germain, and will be donating his salary to a children's charity.

The 37-year-old former England captain was presented at a news conference Thursday at the French club's Parc des Princes stadium. The club said he signed a five-month deal.

PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi says "we're very happy to welcome David Beckham to Paris Saint-Germain. He will be joining for five months until 30 June."

During that time, Beckham says his salary will go to a Paris children's charity.

PSG is the latest stop in Beckham's glamorous career, which has seen him win titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham ended his six-year stint in the U.S. last month.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-31-SOC-Beckham-PSG/id-1161888fb237407bbc956cb6cd51990a

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Why Star Trek Phasers Don't Exist Yet

The 21st century has been a real disappointment so far. Our robot servants top out at mediocre vaccums, self-driving cars are years away (and won't be able to fly even when they do arrive), and we're closer to inventing tricorders than phasers. A tricorder. Who wants a goddamn medical scanner when you could be blasting baddies with awesome handheld lasers? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/dUKYHibEsEI/why-star-trek-phasers-dont-exist-yet

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Whim leads TV writer to Nebraska to sell gongs

Andrew Borakove of Gongs Unlimited strikes a gong in his warehouse in Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 17, 2013. Borakove, a former comedy writer from California, switched occupations and moved to Lincoln, Neb., where he may be the world's pre-eminent gong dealer, selling hundreds of gongs, stands and gong-banging mallets a year. His clientele runs the gamut from car dealerships to Dubai casinos to rocker Roger Daltrey. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Andrew Borakove of Gongs Unlimited strikes a gong in his warehouse in Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 17, 2013. Borakove, a former comedy writer from California, switched occupations and moved to Lincoln, Neb., where he may be the world's pre-eminent gong dealer, selling hundreds of gongs, stands and gong-banging mallets a year. His clientele runs the gamut from car dealerships to Dubai casinos to rocker Roger Daltrey. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? Listen closely, and the deep rumblings of gongs can be heard emanating from a small warehouse in an industrial section of Lincoln in southeast Nebraska.

New York City native Andrew Borakove keeps his inventory for Gongs Unlimited in the building tucked away on the southwest edge of the city. And each day, he "tests" the merchandise for customers who call wanting a certain sound by holding the phone up to the gongs as they're struck.

A decade ago, Borakove, 51, was a television comedy writer living in Los Angeles. But the work was hit-or-miss, and his family was growing.

He said he headed to the beach one day to meditate and seek divine guidance for his life. It was during that time that he was hit with the notion to sell gongs.

"You get the vision, then you test it with software," Borakove said. "You beta-test it."

His research showed there was high demand for the flat, metal musical discs, but few sellers on the Internet. So, in 2005, he started Gongs Unlimited with a $3,000 line of credit. Two years later, he and his business moved from LA to Lincoln's southwest edge ? sight unseen ? after he had another whim, this time to relocate to a midsize Midwest community.

"I just put my finger on a map, and it landed on Nebraska," Borakove said. "My wife is from Elkhorn. She's the one who went and picked out the house. But the day I moved was the first time I ever set foot in Nebraska."

Now, Borakove may be the world's pre-eminent gong dealer, selling hundreds of gongs, stands and gong-banging mallets a year ? $800,000 worth last year. His clientele runs the gamut from car dealerships to Dubai casinos to rocker Roger Daltrey of The Who.

"We're growing. We're bursting at the seams with our gongs," he said. "We're putting on a big gong show, really."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-30-Gongs%20Unlimited/id-804a6bd88f9e46bab51e847d60a84491

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J.C. Penney looks to sales to lure back shoppers

3 hrs.

Anne D'Innocenzio , The Associated Press

J.C. Penney is bringing back sales.?

The struggling department store chain this week will begin adding back some of the hundreds of sales it ditched last year in hopes of luring shoppers who were turned off when the discounts disappeared, CEO Ron Johnson told The Associated Press.?

Penney also plans to add price tags or signs for more than half of its merchandise to show customers how much they're saving by shopping at the chain ? a strategy used by a few other retailers. For store-branded items such as Arizona, Penney will show comparison prices from competitors.?

The reversal comes on the eve of the one-year anniversary of its original vow to almost completely get rid of the sales that Americans covet but that cut into a store's profits. The idea was to offer everyday low prices that customers could count on rather than the nearly 600 fleeting discounts, coupons and sales it once offered.?

The bold plan has been closely watched by others in the retail industry, which commonly offers deep discounts to draw shoppers. But so far the experiment has served as a cautionary tale of how difficult it is to change shoppers' habits: Penney next month is expected to report its fourth consecutive quarter of big sales drops and net losses. After losing more than half of its value, Penney's stock is trading at about $19. And the company's credit ratings are in junk status.?

Johnson, who rolled out the pricing plan shortly after taking the top job in November 2011, told The Associated Press the latest moves are not a "deviation" from his strategy but rather an "evolution."?

"Our sales have gone backward a little more than we expected, but that doesn't change the vision or the strategy," said Johnson, who previously masterminded Apple Inc.'s retail stores and Target Corp.'s cheap chic fashion strategy. "We made changes and we learned an incredible amount. That is what's informing our tactics as we go forward."?

But critics say Johnson is backpedaling. Walter Loeb, a New York-based retail consultant, said Johnson "is now realizing that he has to be more promotional to attract shoppers."?

The pricing strategy has been a key part of Johnson's plan to reinvent Penney, which had failed to change with the times as its competitors updated their stores to make them cool places to shop. The plan includes adding hip new brands such as Joe Fresh and replacing racks of clothing with small shops-within-stores by 2015. But this isn't the first time the pricing strategy has been tweaked.?

When it was rolled out in February 2012, the plan entailed permanently slashing prices on everything in the store by 40 percent. Penney decided to have just 12 monthlong sales events on some merchandise. And there would be periodic clearance events throughout the year.?

But the new pricing plan wasn't well received on Wall Street or Main Street, so six months after launching it, Johnson ditched the monthlong sales, saying that they were too confusing to shoppers. Johnson said Penney has learned that people don't shop on a monthly basis, but rather they buy when they need something for say, back-to-school or during the winter holidays. And during those times, he said, they're looking for even more value.?

"I still believe that the customer knows the right price, but they want help," he said.?

Penney declined to say how many sales events it will offer going forward, citing competitive reasons. But the company said the figure will still be well below the nearly 600 it used to offer. The company said the discounts will vary depending on the sale. From Feb. 1 through Feb. 14, for instance, shoppers will get 20 percent off some jewelry for Valentine's Day. One example: half-carat diamond heart pendants on sale for $96, below Penny's everyday price of $120.?

Penney said the decision to add tags or signs on much of its merchandise that shows the "manufacturer's suggested retail price" alongside Penney's "everyday" price was a result of his realization that shoppers want a reference price to consider.?

National brands were also asking Penney to show the suggested price to shoppers, he said. Penney began showing the suggested manufacturer's price on Izod men's merchandise last fall and was encouraged by the response.?

Burt Flickinger, a retail consultant, said the move could help Penney because manufacturers' suggested retail prices can be as much as 40 percent higher than what retailers wind up charging. The practice is common in the home appliance industry but spotty in the department-store industry because stores generally hike prices up even more to give shoppers the illusion of a big discount, he said.?

"The strategy will be helpful for shoppers to understand lower prices," Flickinger said. "At the same time, it will be tough to get consumers back in the store from competitors."?

But Craig Johnson, another retail consultant, said that adding the suggested manufacturer's price is just a gimmick. "The objective of this exercise is to maximize the perceived value for the purchase."?

Johnson said that for Penney's own store brands like Arizona and Worthington, the team will research other stores and will submit supporting data to its legal team for approval before it advertises comparison prices, using certain criteria. For example, they'll make sure the fabric used is of the same quality as its rivals. For jewelry, Penney is using the International Gemological Institute, a third-party appraiser.?

"There are no makeup prices here," Johnson said. "It's all about trying to communicate what it's worth to the customer."?

Penney will not show comparison prices for merchandise that is part of exclusive partnerships with brands such as Nicole Miller and Mango, however. The company said it's difficult to offer such references.?

To promote the strategy, Penney on Wednesday will begin launching TV, print and digital ads. One TV ad compares a $9 polo shirt under its store brand Arizona with $19 "elsewhere." "Two polos, same color, same vibrant, same details, same swing, same swagger, different prices," the ad said.?

Johnson reiterated that he expects Penney to return to sales growth sometime in 2013. That would be a welcome change for Penney, which has had steep sales and profit losses since the new strategy was launched.?

For the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Penney lost $433 million, or $1.98 per share compared with a loss of $65 million, or 30 cents per share in the year-ago period. Total sales dropped 23.1 percent to $9.1 billion.?

Analysts expect Penney to post a loss of 17 cents on sales of $4.22 billion for the fourth quarter. They expect the company's annual sales to fall by 23 percent, or nearly $4 billion, to $13.3 billion for the latest year. Revenue at stores opened at least a year ? a measure of a retailer's health ? are expected to drop 25 percent, in line with the third quarter, according to analyst polled by research firm FactSet.?

Meanwhile, investors have sent shares down more than 55 percent from a peak of $43 in the days after the plan was rolled out in February. Shares slipped 18 cents to $19.17 on Monday.?

"A year ago, we were launching a major transformation and didn't know what to expect," he said. "Today, I know what happened. Our team has a year's worth of history. This is going to be a great year because the new JCP is coming to life for customers."?

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/j-c-penney-hopes-lure-back-customers-sales-1C8162018

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Google Flu Trends For Travel - Business Insider

Traveling on a plane can sometimes feel like being trapped in a germ incubator.

This year, that is especially true.

In America the flu season is so bad that many travellers are delaying their trips or are taking precautions ? such as avoiding the hotel gym or waiting for an empty lift.

Some hotels, such as the Omni Berkshire Place in New York, are preparing chicken soup for sick guests.

The flu isn't much fun, especially if you are away from home. Thankfully, there are lots of websites that enable travellers to check just how virus-ridden their destination is. Google's Flu Trends aggregates data on flu-related Google searches to estimate activity in about 30 countries.

The 2012-13 season has been the worst in the tracker's seven-year history. Clicking on America reveals that activity is "intense". If you are visiting the Dakotas, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi or Nevada, you might just escape it. If you head anywhere else, pack a few extra tissues.

The Google data don't precisely match the information provided by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, but they are close. The agency's flu map shows sniffling all over mainland America, except in Tennessee and the District of Columbia.

It does not give the severity of outbreaks, instead providing national weekly hospitalisation rates. And there is lots more information on the site to make hypochondriacs nervous.

Other countries track the flu too. In Britain the Health Protection Agency gives weekly updates. The Public Health Agency of Canada?s FluWatch displays widespread outbreaks in the southern portions of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, (ie, where most of the big cities are) as well as in Newfoundland, where it's already miserable in winter.

There is no shortage of advice on how to avoid catching the virus. The simplest way, says Canada's health agency, is to wash your hands?a lot. An annual flu vaccination will help, too. It also advises people to stay at home and avoid crowds when sick. That is very sensible, but it can take up to a week for symptoms to appear.

The truth is you are likely to encounter someone with the flu while travelling. Then again, the chances are you would have anyway if you were at home, especially if you have school-aged children. But if you really have to travel, Australia and Romania are looking relatively snot-free.

Click here to subscribe to The Economist

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-flu-trends-for-travel-2013-1

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Casey Anthony reportedly mulling legal career - U.S. News

Joe Burbank / Pool via AP

By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

Casey Anthony's long road through the U.S. justice system has inspired her to consider a new career path: Becoming a paralegal, according to one of her lawyers.

Anthony already knows a good deal about the criminal justice system. ?At 26 she was thrust into the national spotlight when her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, disappeared from their Orlando, Fla., home in 2008.

The toddler's body was found that December and despite Anthony's initial tale of a kidnapping babysitter, the mother was later considered the number one suspect and spent various stints behind bars on charges related to the investigation.

But in July 2011 -- after a trial full of bombshells and intense media attention -- a jury found her not guilty in her daughter's murder, yet convicted her of lying about Caylee's disappearance. A?poll at the time ranked Anthony as America's "most hated woman."?

Anthony, who has received death threats since her trial began, has been in hiding. After she was acquitted of murder but convicted of lying to police, she got credit for the three years of time she served behind bars, and was free to leave; however, she still has a number of civil lawsuits pending against her, which may prevent her from moving beyond Florida state lines.

Now, with just $1,100 worth of assets to her name, according to a recent bankruptcy filing, Anthony is considering ways to start making money.

"She would like to get a job,?I can assure you, but she can't work at McDonald's. People would be looking at her instead of at the menu," one of her attorneys, Charles Greene, told ABCNews.com on Monday, several days after Anthony filed for bankruptcy protection in Orlando, Fla.

Greene said Anthony, who hasn't worked for the past four years and is nearly $800,000 in debt, might want to become a paralegal in the future.

"She's better than many paralegals I know," he told ABCNews.com. "She could be a paralegal or something like that right away. She is very organized, a very intelligent, very computer savvy person, so I think her skills and her desire may lie somewhere in that field."

Greene wouldn't comment on her whereabouts. The most recent sighting the public got of Anthony was in the form of a video diary she had put online, reportedly without the approval of her attorneys, in January 2012.

Anthony may take some more time before she tries to pursue a career, her attorney said, but she "believes strongly in our justice system."?

"You don't go from the most hated woman in the world, according to some media outlets, to being a normal person or being able to live a normal life," Greene said. "I'm not saying she's not a normal person, but people do not perceive her as a normal person."

There are no plans for Anthony to write a "tell-all book" or "tell-all movie," he said.

"The events are very private and Miss Anthony is still yet to come to terms with them and they're still so emotional, so emotionally traumatic for her," he said. "There's just moments she breaks down and starts crying when she starts thinking about it. It's nothing she's going to talk about. She's a very private person and she won't let people see that side of her either. She'll put up a tough face."

Of the approximately $792,000 that Anthony is in debt for, $500,000 is owed to her defense attorney, Jose Baez; $100,000 of it is to search and rescue organization Texas EquuSearch, which is suing her for $100,000 for the time it spent searching for Caylee; and the rest of the money is to the IRS and Florida law enforcement.?

Anthony is also being sued by the woman she claimed had kidnapped Caylee and a former meter reader who found Caylee's body, who says Anthony's attorneys portrayed him as a potential murderer.

Other recent stories on Casey Anthony:

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/29/16753017-casey-anthony-reportedly-mulling-legal-career

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Cadavers honored in med student dissection lab

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Jimmy Beasley, left, speaks with Joan Terry, about her sister, donor Judy A. Clemens, after a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Jimmy Beasley, left, speaks with Joan Terry, about her sister, donor Judy A. Clemens, after a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., family members watch as a medical student lights a candle atop the remains of their grandfather, donor William N. Kelly, during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., A military honor guard folds the flag of a Viet Nam veteran and anonymous donor, during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., Linsdey Ellingsen, granddaughter of donor William N. Kelly, wipes a tear from her eye as a song is sung during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Sarah F. Shaaban reads from the Quran during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

GARY, Ind. (AP) ? When medical students have finished their study and practice on cadavers, they often hold a respectful memorial service to honor these bodies donated to science.

But the ceremonies at one medical school have a surreal twist: Relatives gather around the cold steel tables where their loved ones were dissected and which now hold their remains beneath metal covers. The tables are topped with white or burgundy-colored shrouds, flags for military veterans, flowers and candles.

The mixture of grace and goth at the Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest campus might sound like a scene straight out filmmaker Tim Burton's quirky imagination. Yet, despite the surrounding shelves of medical specimens and cabinets of human bones, these dissection lab memorials are more moving than macabre.

The medical students join the families in the lab and read letters of appreciation about the donors, a clergy member offers prayers, and tears are shed.

Family members are often squeamish about entering that room. This year's ceremony was last Friday, and relatives of one of the six adult donors being honored chose not to participate. And some who did attend had mixed feelings.

Joan Terry of Griffith, Ind., came to honor her sister, Judy Clemens, who died in 2011 at age 51 after a long battle with health problems including multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis. Terry said she felt a little hesitant about being in the dissection lab and was relieved that nothing too graphic was visible.

"I was kind of looking forward to coming," Terry said. "This is ... like a closure. I know Judy's not with us anymore. I know that she's dancing on the streets of gold in heaven. She's probably smiling knowing that her body's helping other people, helping these young doctors learn something about her, because that's what she wanted. That's the type of person that she was. She was always giving."

More than three dozen students, donors' relatives and campus staff members crowded the anatomy lab during Friday's memorial, surrounding the tables and standing solemnly along the room's perimeter. Some dabbed their eyes as prayers and remembrances were said, but faces were mostly stoic and there was no sobbing. The lab's usual odor of formaldehyde was strangely absent, masked perhaps by the sweet aroma of bouquets decorating the cadaver tables.

Some donors' relatives wore formal funeral attire. Terry, noting her plain pink T-shirt, said her sister wasn't a fancy person, either. Terry closed her eyes and struggled not to cry during the service, saying beforehand that Clemens "would be upset if I did."

Abdullah Malik, a medical student who worked on Judy Clemens, thanked her in a letter he read aloud during the ceremony.

"To have the courage and fortitude to endure as much as she did is a testament to her strength and an inspiration to us all," he read, standing next to Clemens' sister beside the dissection table holding Clemens' remains.

Ernest Talarico Jr., an assistant professor and director of anatomy coursework, created the unusual program and began holding the laboratory ceremonies in 2007. The cadavers are considered the medical students' first patients, and students are encouraged to have contact with the donors' families during the semester, too.

At other medical schools, donated bodies remain anonymous and students never meet the families. Talarico said his program humanizes the learning experience.

Talarico views the services as life-affirming and a chance to give thanks. The education these donated bodies have provided is invaluable, he says, teaching doctors-to-be how the body works, and what causes things to go wrong.

"We look at it as a celebration of the lives of those individuals and the gift that they have given to us," Talarico said.

He considers the location fitting.

"I think it is appropriate in that we honor them in the setting in which they desired to give what they viewed as their last gift to humanity," he said.

Malik, the medical student, said knowing the donors' identities and meeting their families enriches the students' medical education.

"Once you put a name and a face to the body that you're working with, once you kind of put an identity to it, you kind of connect to it in a really meaningful and powerful way," he said.

Medical student Kyle Parker said he admired the donors' relatives for showing up, and wondered if he were in their shoes, "would I be willing to meet the people who have actually dissected my family member?"

Parker said he hopes the answer would be yes.

___

Online:

Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest: http://iusm-nw.medicine.iu.edu

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at: http://www.Twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-01-29-Cadaver%20Memorial/id-015833758b8a440bbea0198148c2bd7d

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Iran says it successfully sent a monkey into space

In this undated image taken from AP Television, scientists in Iran surround a monkey ahead of a space launch. Iran said it had successfully sent the monkey into space on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight. According to a brief report on state TV, the monkey was sent up to a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles) on board a rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi. (AP Photo/AP Video)

In this undated image taken from AP Television, scientists in Iran surround a monkey ahead of a space launch. Iran said it had successfully sent the monkey into space on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight. According to a brief report on state TV, the monkey was sent up to a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles) on board a rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi. (AP Photo/AP Video)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A gray-tufted monkey strapped in a pod resembling an infant's car seat rode an Iranian rocket into space and returned safely, officials said Monday in what was described as a step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.

The mission also touched on concerns that advances in Iran's rocket expertise could be channeled into military use for long-range weapons that might one day carry nuclear warheads. Iran says it does not seek atomic weapons.

Launching a live animal into space ? as the U.S. and the Soviet Union did more than a half-century ago in the infancy of their programs ? may boost a country's stature. But John Logsden, a space policy professor emeritus at George Washington University, said Iran's achievement should draw no concern.

"A slight monkey on a suborbital flight is nothing to get too excited about," he said. "They already had the capability to launch warheads in their region."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. had no way to confirm the monkey's voyage, but that it was concerned by the reports because "any space launch vehicle capable of placing an object in orbit is directly relevant to the development of long-range ballistic missiles."

The U.N. Security Council has expressly forbidden Iran from such ballistic missile activity, Nuland added.

In June 2010, the Security Council banned Iran from pursuing "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons."

With its ambitious aerospace program, Iran has said it wants to become a technological leader for the Islamic world.

It's not the first time Iran has announced it had rocketed a live creature out of the Earth's atmosphere. The country sent a mouse, a turtle and some worms into space in 2010, officials said.

But the purported successful voyage of the small monkey, shown wearing a protective vest, put Iran among just a handful of nations that have sent a primate into space in a mission seen as a precursor of human spaceflight. No name was given for the monkey.

Earlier this month, the director of Iran's space agency, Hamid Fazeli, said Iran wanted to launch its first manned space mission in as soon as five years ? a goal that stretches back to the shah's fascination with NASA years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"Iran is on its way to send a man into space," said Iran's Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi in comments posted on the ministry's website.

He added that the capsule "returned to Earth safely at the expected speed, together with the monkey inside," without giving further details.

According to state TV, the rocket dubbed "Pishgam," or "Pioneer" in Farsi, reached a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles), pushing into the threshold of space.

Iran's state TV broadcast its first video pictures showing Iranian scientists fixing the seated monkey into the rocket before the launch. It did not give any details on the timing or location of the launch.

Still images also showed the monkey wearing a type of molded body protection and being strapped tightly into a red plastic seat. The monkey was shown immobilized with straps and his face poked through a purple shield that covered his head and upper body.

Fazel said the monkey parachuted safely with the remaining last stage of the rocket. The TV also showed experts walking to the site in the middle of a desert where the monkey landed.

Fazel told the state TV that Iran will launch a bigger rocket together with a larger animal to obtain greater safety assurances before sending a man into space.

For Iran, its aerospace program is a source of national pride at a time of slumping economic fortunes from Western sanctions. It's also one of the pillars of Iran's aspirations to be seen as the technological hub for Islamic and developing countries.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and others repeatedly describe scientific progress ? including Iran's uranium enrichment labs ? as a patriotic duty in response to Western economic and diplomatic pressures.

Iran's rocket technology alarms the West as giving it intercontinental reach for a possible arsenal. Already, conventional Iranian missiles are capable of reaching Israel and U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf.

Iran insists it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and medical applications. But authorities also say there can be no retreat from homegrown technological development in all fields ? from peaceful nuclear research to military surveillance drones.

Tehran has announced several successful launches of satellites, dating back to 2005 in a joint project with Russia.

In November, the head of Iran's powerful parliamentary committee on security and foreign policy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, warned that "no power can prevent Iran's progress in scientific and nuclear science fields."

Similar statements were made last year when Iran announced plans for a new space center.

Few details have emerged on the new facility, but Iran already has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tehran. A satellite monitoring facility is located outside Mahdasht, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Iranian capital.

Iran says it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation, improve telecommunications and expand military surveillance in the region.

The mission involving the monkey drew historical links to the earliest years of the space race in the 1950s when both the U.S. and the Soviet Union tested rockets with animals on board, including American capsules carrying monkeys and Moscow's holding dogs. Many of the animals on the early flights perished because of equipment failure or technology unable to cope with re-entry from sub-orbit.

Later in the 1960s, the U.S. and Soviets sent animals into orbit for further biological tests on space flight and other nations, including France and China, sent animals on rocket flights.

"They're following the path that we followed more than half a century ago," Logsdon said, adding that Iran is probably ahead of India in terms of space ability, but behind its arch foe Israel.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it was "appalled" by photos of what it described as a "visibly terrified monkey crudely strapped into a restraint device."

It said it had urged Iran in 2011 not to send a primate into space.

"Iran is repeating the wasteful and cruel mistakes that marked the darkest days of the space race," PETA said in a statement.

____

Science Writer Seth Borenstein and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-28-Iran-Space%20Monkey/id-555aa0dca5664bdaa1a7c98d225e7b54

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Nashville, Season 1

Eric Close, Connie Britton, and Hayden Panettiere in Nashville

Hi, Gunnar?s fugitive brother! It was a pleasure to meet you recently on Nashville, but I worry you won?t be around long. After all, the series has an incredibly high metabolism for its supporting players, introducing characters in a flash and dropping them like hot Southern biscuits. (Bye, Hailey. Bye, Sean.) Meanwhile, Nashville sometimes forgets its leads, in that they could mingle a lot more than they do and probably generate a lot more sharp drama.?

In an AV Club recap, Todd VanDerWerff sums all this up beautifully when he writes that plotlines on Nashville ?feel hermetically sealed off from each other? the stories are all taking place in bubble universes that never cross over.? And he takes as evidence the ?Wrong Song? celebration party, in Episode 11, during which encounters between characters who don?t normally associate?Rayna and Joleen, Juliette and Avery?end up feeling not satisfying but weird and unreal. As these interactions unspool, he says, ?it?s just not immediately clear what the show is going for or what we?re supposed to think or anything. It?s just another thing that happens.?

Nevertheless, two of those bizarre, disembodied t?te-?-t?tes stuck with me last week, not so much because they constituted great TV but because they raised interesting questions about how various characters reflect and relate to each other. Given that we viewed the conversation between Rayna and Joleen through Juliette?s eyes, this fleeting episode produces a neat triangle. One way of looking at it would be to see Rayna and Joleen as the base and Juliette as the apex: two potential mother figures and one daughter. During Thursday?s TV Club, June and I wondered whether Juliette?s mommy issues informed her hostility toward Rayna, a musical forebear. Seeing Joleen and Ma James together in one frame drove home the connection between them. (In their next conversation, maybe, they can bond over Juliette?s rudeness.)

At the same time, though, class holds the pair apart. Rayna equals old aristocratic Nashville, all graciousness and platinum-gold princess weeds. Joleen, dressed in brown and hoarding mini-hamburgers in her cocktail napkin, hails from a world of trailer parks and addiction. That Joleen?s overture to Rayna embarrasses her daughter on a deep and personal level hints at the emergence of a different dynamic. Nashville may present Rayna and Joleen as doubles, but it also submits Joleen as a surrogate for Juliette.

What I mean by this is that perhaps it makes more sense to group Jules and Jo together at the base of the triangle and to imagine Rayna at the apex. Mrs. Barnes, whose last name sounds like barns, embodies a past Juliette can?t quite outrun. When she chats up Rayna (who, yes, reigns), it?s her daughter as much as herself who?s on full, painful display. And the feeling that Joleen is somehow a (very, very unwelcome) mouthpiece or shadow self for Juliette at the party is compounded when Joleen later reveals that her daughter also used to idolize Rayna. Joleen distills Juliette?s vulnerabilities. No wonder Jules seems in such a hurry to disown her.

But?wait?are the true doppelg?ngers here Juliette and Rayna? Such a reading falls in line with the June Thomas theory of Nashville, which says the show?s main arc will involve Ms. James and Ms. Barnes realizing how much they have in common. (Their shared drive, charisma, and talent make them ?sisters under the skin,? writes June.) And that also seems right: Despite her mom complex, would Jules really resent Rayna?s privilege so hotly if she didn?t see the other woman as a direct competitor? Joleen is both Juliette?s mother and her alter ego (by way of the trailer park); Rayna, too, is at once mother figure and rival, a vision of who Juliette might be or become. (And, obviously, Juliette?s day-to-day lifestyle resembles Rayna?s a lot more than it does Joleen?s.)

And then there was Avery?s sad, sad attempt to ingratiate himself to Juliette. Mostly, this scene, in which the chin-teed rocker approaches the starlet and gets rejected, instructs us in the Ways of Avery. He is ambitious and full of himself, in addition to having horrible facial hair. I was prepared to file the moment under ?Nashville youth behaving badly? and move on, but an observation in the comments sparked an epiphany. User marijocook points out that Avery and Juliette mirror one another, too, in their self-importance and lack of consideration! What?s more, she explains, they could one day be soul mates. ?Avery will persevere and fight his way into stardom exactly the same way she [Juliette] has done, and he will weasel his way into her life? just as she?s insinuated herself in Deacon?s.

The prediction sounds horrifying, delicious?and plausible. Nashville may play host to many insulated narratives, but ultimately, as marijocook concludes, ?it?s a small city.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=fac01a01bc041784a90af3b5ec72966e

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Four killed, many hurt at funerals in Egypt port city

CAIRO (Reuters) - Four people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Egypt's Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 protesters killed at the weekend, part of a wave of violence piling pressure on Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

State television said Mursi would address the nation later on Sunday. A total of 46 people have been killed in demonstrations around the country since Thursday and his opponents have called for more protests on Monday.

"Down, down Mursi, down down the regime that killed and tortured us!" people in Port Said chanted as the coffins of those killed on Saturday were carried through the streets.

Port Said's head of hospitals, Abdel Rahman Farag, told Reuters an 18-year-old man and three other people died from gunshot wounds on Sunday. More than 429 people suffered from teargas inhalation, while 38 were wounded by gunshots, he said.

Gunshots had killed many of the 33 who died on Saturday when residents went on the rampage after a court sentenced 21 people, mostly from the Mediterranean port, to death for their role in deadly soccer violence at a stadium there last year.

A military source said many people in Port Said, which lies next to the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula, possess guns. But it was not clear who was behind the deaths and injuries.

In Cairo, police fired teargas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in a fourth day of clashes over what demonstrators there and in other cities say is a power grab by Islamists two years after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.

The protesters accuse Mursi, elected in June with the support of his Muslim Brotherhood group, of betraying the democratic goals of the revolution. Most of the deaths since Thursday were in Port Said and Suez, both cities where the army has now been deployed.

The violence adds to the daunting task facing Mursi as he tries to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary election expected in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.

It has exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Mursi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt's first freely elected leader by undemocratic means.

Although Sunday's violence was less severe than the previous two days, Mursi may have little respite. The opposition Popular Current and other groups have called for more protests on Monday to mark what was one of the bloodiest days of the 2011 uprising.

The Popular Current, led by leftist Hamdeen Sabahy, said it "denounces the state of silence of the presidency and the government during the sad events that the country went through the past 48 hours".

"BLOOD BEING SPILT"

On a bridge close to Tahrir Square, youths hurled stones at police in riot gear who fired teargas to push them back towards the square, the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.

"None of the revolution's goals have been realized," said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday.

"Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests."

Clashes also erupted in other streets near the square. The U.S. and British embassies, both close to Tahrir, said they were closed for public business on Sunday, normally a working day.

The army, Egypt's interim ruler until Mursi's election, was sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, which both lie on the Suez canal. In Suez, at least eight people were killed in clashes with police.

Egypt's defense minister who also heads the army, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, called for the nation to stand together and said the military would not prevent peaceful protests. But he called on demonstrators to protect public property.

Many ordinary Egyptians are frustrated by the regular escalations that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.

"They are not revolutionaries protesting," said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30, referring to those gathered in Tahrir. "They are thugs destroying the country."

CALL FOR DIALOGUE

The National Defense Council, headed by Mursi, called on Saturday for national dialogue to discuss political differences.

That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition National Salvation Front. But the coalition has demanded a clear agenda and guarantees that any agreements will be implemented.

The Front, formed late last year when Mursi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and call for more protests if its demands are not met, including for an early presidential vote.

Egypt's transition has been blighted from the outset by political rows and turbulence on the streets that have driven investors out and kept many tourists away. Its currency, the pound, has steadily weakened against the dollar.

The Port Said clashes erupted after a judge sentenced 21 men to death for involvement in 74 deaths at a soccer match on February 1, 2012 between Cairo's Al Ahly club and the local al-Masri team. Many of the victims were fans of the visiting team.

There were 73 defendants in the case. Those not sentenced on Saturday will face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.

Al Ahly fans cheered the verdict after threatening action if the death penalty was not meted out. But Port Said residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.

(Additional reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/riots-over-egyptian-death-sentences-kill-least-32-005245042.html

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How to make your iPhone password better: Use an accent

10 hrs.

Thorin Klosowski , Lifehacker

We've?talked before?about using a longer passcode on your iPhone instead of a 4-digit pin, but as the tech blog Digital Inspiration points out, adding in accented characters adds yet another level of security.

The idea is that most people aren't going to bother dealing with accented characters (if you hold down on a letter, the available accented characters show up) when they're trying to guess your password. To use these, you first have to turn on the alphanumeric passcode. Just head into Settings > General > Passcode Lock, and turn off Simple Passcode. You'll be asked to enter in a new password, so throw in a few accented characters. It might make it a bit of a pain to enter in your passcode, but at least it's more secure.

[via Digital Inspiration]

More from Lifehacker:

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/use-accented-characters-make-your-ios-password-even-stronger-1C8120707

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Teresa Giudice: I Give It to My Husband Every Night!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/teresa-giudice-i-give-it-to-my-husband-every-night/

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Chandigarh Hotels: Quality Property At Cost-effective Price

Chandigarh is India's first developed city and thus its new resorts, radiant cafes, fully air-conditioned hang-out places, clean roads and extensive shopping attracts number of young guests each period. A wide number of company and relaxing guests are thus watching the city every period and they all find their ideal protection at numerous of Chandigarh resorts. These resorts are available in all groups which range from cost-effective economic system category to amazing high-class features. Visitors can thus choose from a variety of resorts in Chandigarh which fit their budget and choice.

Most of the features are lately designed and show their signature design and amazing evaluate of advantages to woo guests. The town's salubrious environment helps in defending and healthy beauteous places and scenery for which Chandigarh obtained the epithet of "The City Beautiful". Pleasant company and relaxing guests with open hands the four superstar Chandigarh resorts are decked with enjoyable environment and stylish options for a individuals comfortable stay. Best of 4 superstar category resorts in the city are:

Hotel Piccadily: Resort Piccadily provides amazing advantages and all modern pleasure to its guests. From company to entertainment, from entertainment to cusine solutions all is obtained under the roof of this amazing four superstar property. Bed bed rooms are incredibly done with solutions such as satellite tv tv tv TV, on the internet Online, writing desk, strike outfits hair outfits clothing outfits dryer, electronic safe, tea and coffee manufacturer, immediate getting in touch with telephone and more Resort Le Mariet: One of its kinds Resort Le Mariet is a amazing company which epitomizes beauty. Offering amazing features to its guests, the position is one of the best features in the city. Resort provides resorts at 34 amazing bed bed rooms acquiring beauteous view of the nearby mountains and amazing scenery. Its professional team of cooking food professionals makes amazing world recipes which are offered hot at the resort's in-house cafe.The Toy Hotel: A amazing developer property, The Toy Resort is indeed one of the best resorts in Chandigarh. Situated in Industry 34 it is a property specifically designed for the design aware and stylish customers watching Chandigarh on company or relaxing visits. The position interest its guests with a amazing accessibility area first followed by more more more more luxuriously created guestrooms decorated with stylish bed sheets, Online accessibility, large desk, lcd TV and stylish designs. At its in-house cafe, Cabaacha amazing Regional local native indian local, recipes are prepared with fresh products. Generate & Co. provides amazing service and provides amazing coffee throughout the day.

Hometel Chandigarh: Hometel Chandigarh can be found right in the center of professional hub of the city and thus is roughly 10 minutes drive away from practice position and airport terminal terminal terminal. Its ideal location and state-of-the-art solutions make it one of the most recommended Chandigarh resorts. At Hometel Chandigarh choose from 114 well- large bed bed rooms full of all modern pleasure for a relaxing holiday.
-A amazing developer property, The Toy Resort is indeed one of the best resorts in Chandigarh. Situated in Industry 34 it is a property specifically designed for the design aware and stylish customers watching Chandigarh on company or relaxing visits. The position interest its guests with a amazing accessibility area first followed by more more more more luxuriously created guestrooms decorated with stylish bed sheets, Online accessibility, large desk, lcd TV and stylish designs. At its in-house cafe, Cabaacha amazing Regional local native indian local, recipes are prepared with fresh products. Generate & Co. provides amazing service and provides amazing coffee throughout the day.

Hometel Chandigarh: Hometel Chandigarh can be found right in the center of professional hub of the city and thus is roughly 10 minutes drive away from practice position and airport terminal terminal terminal. Its ideal location and state-of-the-art solutions make it one of the most recommended Chandigarh resorts. At Hometel Chandigarh choose from 114 well- large bed bed rooms full of all modern pleasure for a relaxing holiday.
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About the Author:
Chandigarh is India's first developed city and thus its new resorts, radiant cafes, fully air-conditioned hang-out places, clean roads and extensive shopping attracts number of young guests each period.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Chandigarh-Hotels--Quality-Property-At-Cost-effective-Price/4401547

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Halliburton 4Q tops Wall Street expectations

HOUSTON (AP) ? Halliburton's net income for the fourth quarter fell 26 percent because of a decline in North America, where drilling activity slowed and the company has been forced to charge lower prices for its services.

Still, the results beat Wall Street expectations and shares rose 5 percent.

The world's second-largest oilfield services company earned $669 million, or 72 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. That's down from $906 million, or 98 cents per share, a year ago. But excluding one-time items, earnings were 67 cents per share, 6 cents above the forecast of analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Halliburton is a major provider of the pressure-pumping technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which has enable drilling companies to unlock vast supplies oil and natural gas from underground shale deposits in the U.S. Natural gas production in the U.S. rose by about 20 percent between 2007 and 2011, according to the Energy Department. Halliburton's revenue rose more than 60 percent in that same period.

But now supplies of gas are plentiful and the price has dropped sharply. Natural gas futures prices averaged about $2.83 per 1,000 cubic feet in 2012, down from $4.03 in 2011. The number of rigs drilling for natural gas has fallen off, and some of Halliburton's pressure-pumping equipment is sitting idle, although a boom in oil drilling in North Dakota and Texas has offset some of the slump in the natural gas business.

Halliburton's North American operating income fell 58 percent. Schlumberger, the world's biggest oilfield services company, was able to offset the decline in drilling on land with increased revenue in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Schlumberger has bigger operations overseas.

While Halliburton had traditionally kept its focus closer to home, it is looking increasingly abroad. And it's expertise in the epicenter of hydraulic fracturing could give the company cache in countries desperate to use the same technology to ease their energy dependence.

During the fourth quarter, revenue rose in Latin American, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Overall revenue increased 3 percent in the quarter to $7.29 billion from $7.06 billion. Halliburton said the quarterly revenue performance was the highest in its history.

Halliburton's stock rose $1.91, or 5 percent, to close at $39.72 Friday.

"The company's international growth strategy continued to benefit the top and bottom lines," said Scott Gruber, an analyst with Bernstein Research. "In fact, following spectacular 20 percent (year-over-year) revenue growth abroad and 39 percent income growth, Halliburton generated 57 percent of its income abroad."

While the final quarter of the year was exceptionally slow, company officials indicate the environment in North America will remain subdued this year.

"In 2013, we anticipate the North America rig count will improve from fourth quarter levels but will be down slightly compared to 2012," said Chairman and CEO Dave Lesar in a statement.

For the year, the Houston company earned $2.64 billion, or $2.84 per share. In the prior year it earned $2.84 billion, or $3.08 per share.

Earnings from continuing operations were $2.78 per share.

Annual revenue rose 15 percent to $28.5 billion from $24.83 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/halliburton-4q-tops-wall-street-expectations-123239237--finance.html

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Egypt sends military onto streets amid deadly clashes ... - World News

Mohammed Nouhan / AP

Families and supporters of those accused of soccer violence from the Port Said soccer club react to the announcement of death sentences for 21 fans.

By Yusri Mohamed and Yasmine Saleh, Reuters

PORT SAID/CAIRO - At least 30 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned tires in anger that people from their city had been blamed for stadium deaths last year.

The rioting in Port Said, one of the most deadly spasms of violence since Hosni Mubarak's ouster two years ago, followed a day of anti-Morsi demonstrations on Friday, when nine people were killed. The toll over the past two days stands at 39.

The flare-ups make it even tougher for Morsi, who drew fire last year for expanding his powers and pushing through an Islamist-tinged constitution, to fix the creaking economy and to cool tempers enough to ensure a smooth parliamentary election.

That vote is expected in the next few months and is meant to cement a democratic transition that has been blighted from the outset by political rows and street clashes.

Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

Al Ahly fans, also known as "Ultras", celebrate and shout slogans in front of the Al Ahly club after hearing the final verdict of the 2012 Port Said massacre in Cairo Saturday.

The National Defense Council, led by Morsi and which includes the defense minister who commands the army, called for "a broad national dialogue that would be attended by independent national characters" to discuss political differences and ensure a "fair and transparent" parliamentary poll.

The statement was made on state television by Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud, who is also on the council.

The National Salvation Front of liberal-minded groups and other opponents cautiously welcomed the call but demanded any such dialogue have a clear agenda and guarantees that any deal would be implemented, spokesman Khaled Dawoud told Reuters.

The Front spurned previous calls for dialogue, saying Morsi ignored voices beyond his Islamist allies. The Front earlier on Saturday threatened an election boycott and to call for more protests on Friday if demands were not met.

Its demands included picking a national unity government to restore order and holding an early presidential poll.

Threats of violence
The political statements followed clashes in Port Said that erupted after a judge issued a verdict sentencing 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths of 74 people after a local soccer match on February 1, 2012, many of them fans of the visiting team.

Visiting fans had threatened violence if the court had not meted out the death penalty. They cheered outside their Cairo club when the verdict was announced. But in Port Said, residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.

Protesters ran wildly through the streets of Mediterranean port, lighting tires in the street and storming two police stations, witnesses said. Gunshots were reported near the prison where most of the defendants were being held.

A director for Port Said hospitals told state television that 30 people had been killed, many as a result of gunshot wounds. He also said the more than 300 had been wounded.

Inside the court, families of victims danced, applauded and some broke down in tears of joy when they heard Judge Sobhy Abdel Maguid declare that the 21 men would be "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote execution, as all death sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority.

There were 73 defendants on trial. Only a handful appeared in court in Cairo. Those not sentenced on Saturday would face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.

At the Port Said soccer stadium a year ago, many spectators were crushed and witnesses saw some thrown off balconies after the match between Cairo's Al Ahly and local team al-Masri. Al Ahly fans accused the police of being complicit in the deaths.

The fans, who call themselves "Ultras Ahlawy", said Saturday's ruling started the process of retribution, and hoped the rest would face the same fate when verdicts are issued on March 9.

Among those killed on Saturday was a former player for al-Masri and a soccer player in another Port Said team, the website of the state broadcaster reported.

Teargas rains down
On Friday, protesters angry at Morsi's rule had taken to the streets for the second anniversary of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and which brought Mubarak down 18 days later.

Police fired teargas and protesters hurled stones and petrol bombs. Nine people were killed, mainly in the port city of Suez, and hundreds more were injured across the nation.

On Saturday, some protesters again clashed with police. In the capital, youths pelted police lines with rocks near Tahrir Square. In Suez, police fired teargas where protesters angry at Friday's deaths hurled petrol bombs and stormed a police post.

"We want to change the president and the government. We are tired of this regime. Nothing has changed," said Mahmoud Suleiman, 22, in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cauldron of the 2011 anti-Mubarak revolt and near where youths again stoned police.

Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, which have witnessed some of the worst violence in the past two days, lie on the Suez Canal but a canal official said there was no disruption to shipping through the waterway vital to international trade.

Morsi's opponents say he has failed to deliver on economic pledges or to be a president representing the full political and communal diversity of Egyptians, as he promised.

"Egypt will not regain its balance except by a political solution that is transparent and credible, by a government of national salvation to restore order and heal the economy and with a constitution for all Egyptians," prominent opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account.

Morsi's supporters say the opposition does not respect the democracy that has given Egypt its first freely elected leader.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Morsi to office, said in a statement that "corrupt people" and media who were biased against the president had stirred up fury on the streets.

The political schism between Islamists and secular Egyptians and frequent bouts of violence have hurt Morsi's efforts to revive an economy in crisis as investors and tourists have stayed away, taking a heavy toll on Egypt's currency.

Mustapha Kamal Al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said the latest violence reflected the frustration of many liberal-minded Egyptians and others.

"The state of polarization between Islamists and others is most likely to continue and will have a very negative impact on the state's politics, security and economy," he said.

Related:

Egypt court sentences 21 to death for stadium disaster

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/26/16705250-egypt-sends-military-onto-streets-amid-deadly-clashes-near-suez-canal

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